Statement I : The Zamindars were an exploitative class in Mughal India. Statement II : The Zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in a large number of agrarian uprisings in North India in the seventeenth century.
- A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
- B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
- C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
- D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, both statements are true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I. The zamindars did exploit the peasants, and yet peasants often backed them against the Mughal state.
Zamindars held rights over land and collected revenue on behalf of the state, keeping a share for themselves. They had their own armed retainers and forts, and they could press the cultivators hard. Their relationship with the peasantry, however, also had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage: many zamindars shared caste or kinship ties with the villagers and helped settle and cultivate new land. So when zamindars rose against the Mughal state in the seventeenth century, peasants often joined them. Peasant support shows these ties, not why zamindars were exploitative, so II does not explain I.
Option A is wrong because Statement II does not explain the exploitation in Statement I. Option C is wrong because Statement II is true. Option D is wrong because Statement I is true.
Exam tip: Mughal zamindars: exploitative, yet tied to peasants by caste, kinship and patronage, so peasants backed their revolts.
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