Consider the following statements about the Bengal countryside at the time of the Permanent Settlement : 1. The zamindars' troops were disbanded. 2. Within the villages, the power of jotedars was more effective than that of zamindars. 3. The East India Company made a rule that the property of women would not be taken over. 4. Adhiyars were sharecroppers on the land owned by bargadars. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
- A.1, 2 and 4
- B.1, 2 and 3
- C.2, 3 and 4
- D.1 and 3 only
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 1, 2 and 3, which is also UPSC's official key. Statement 4 is wrong because adhiyars and bargadars were both sharecroppers who worked the land of the jotedars.
After the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by Lord Cornwallis, the Company tried to tame the zamindars: their troops were disbanded, their customs duties abolished and their courts placed under Company collectors. In many villages the rich peasants called jotedars controlled large areas, lent money and dominated local trade, so their power was more effective on the ground than that of the distant zamindar. The Company had also declared that the property of women would not be taken over, which zamindars used to dodge auctions by transferring estates to female relatives.
A and C include statement 4, which wrongly makes bargadars the landowners. D leaves out statement 2, which is correct.
Exam tip: Permanent Settlement 1793; jotedars were the rich peasants, adhiyars or bargadars the sharecroppers on their land.
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