The Summary Settlement of 1856 was based on which one of the following assumptions?
- A.The Talukdars were the rightful owners of the land.
- B.The Talukdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in the land.
- C.The Talukdars could evict the peasants from the lands.
- D.The Talukdars would take a portion of the revenue which flowed to the State.
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the Talukdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in the land. The British settlement in Awadh treated the talukdars as intruders who had gained land by force and fraud.
After Awadh was annexed in 1856, the British introduced the Summary Settlement of land revenue there. It assumed that the talukdars stood between the State and the real owners of the soil, the peasants, and that they had no permanent rights. So many talukdars were dispossessed, their estates were taken over, their armed retainers were disbanded and their forts destroyed. The British hoped that removing them would leave the peasants with more and the State with higher revenue. In practice the revenue was over-assessed and peasants gained little, so both talukdars and peasants of Awadh joined the Revolt of 1857.
A is wrong: the settlement assumed the opposite, that the talukdars were not owners.
C is wrong: the settlement was designed to cut talukdars out, not to give them power over peasants.
D is wrong: the aim was to remove talukdars as revenue intermediaries.
Exam tip: Awadh annexed 1856 under Dalhousie (misgovernance); Summary Settlement dispossessed talukdars, who then led the revolt there.
Practice Questions
View allWith reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events?
- A.The Revolt of 1857
- B.The Mappila Rebellion of 1921
- C.The Indigo Revolt of 1859 - 60
- D.Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 - 1900
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Ulgulan, meaning "the great tumult", is the name given to the Munda uprising led by Birsa Munda in the Ranchi region.
Read the full explanation →Regarding Wood's Dispatch, which of the following statements are true ?
1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.
2. Establishment of universities was recommended.
3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Wood's Dispatch introduced grants-in-aid and recommended universities, but it wanted the vernacular languages, not English, at the primary level. Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, sent this dispatch in 1854; it is called the "Magna Carta of English education in India".
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- B.coins of different monetary value
- C.classification of urban land
- D.religious rituals
Show answer
Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units of land measurement found in early Indian land-grant inscriptions. These terms appear mainly in copper-plate inscriptions of the Gupta and post-Gupta period from Bengal, such as the Damodarpur plates, which record the sale and grant of land.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following does NOT figure among the Five Principles of Panchsheel ?
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- B.Equality and mutual benefit
- C.Peaceful coexistence
- D.Nuclear non-proliferation
Show answer
Panchsheel says nothing about nuclear weapons; its five principles concern sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and peaceful coexistence.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about Jaipal Singh is NOT correct ?
- A.He was a member of the Constituent Assembly
- B.He founded the Adivasi Maha Sabha
- C.He was the captain of the first Indian national hockey team
- D.He campaigned for a separate state of Chhattisgarh
Show answer
Jaipal Singh Munda campaigned for a separate state of Jharkhand for the tribal people of Chotanagpur, not for Chhattisgarh. Jaipal Singh, a Munda from Ranchi district, studied at Oxford and won an Oxford Blue in hockey.
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