Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Extra Questions History Social Studies (S.St) Important Questions Answer Included
Very Short Answer Questions:
1. When was the East India Company appointed as the Diwan of Bengal?
Answer
On 12th August 1765, the East India Company was appointed as the Diwan of Bengal.
2. When did Bengal face a severe famine and how many people were killed in it?
Answer
A terrible famine occurred in Bengal in 1770 and around 10 million people were killed.
3. Who were made the owners of land in Permanent Settlement?
Answer
The rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars and they were made the owners of land.
4. Name the Governor-General of India when the Permanent Settlement was introduced.
Answer
Charles Cornwallis.
5. What did the Permanent Settlement actually mean?
Answer
The amount of revenue the peasants were expected to pay was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be increased ever in future.
6. What was the advantage of Permanent Settlement to the Company?
Answer
As a result of the Permanent Settlement, the Company was assured of a fixed and regular income.
7. Who introduced the mahalwari system and where?
Answer
An Englishman named Holt Mackenzie devised the mahalwari system in the north-western provinces of the Bengal Presidency in 1822 CE.
8. What was the unit of measurement in the mahalwari system?
Answer
Mahal or village was the unit in the mahalwari system.
9. Who was to pay revenue in the mahalwari system?
Answer
It was decided that the village would pay the revenue in the mahalwari system.
Short Answer Questions:
1. How did the responsibility of the Company change as the Diwan of Bengal?
Answer
• When the Company got Diwani rights of Bengal, it became the chief financial administrator of the areas under its control.
• Now, the Company had to manage and organise revenue resources.
• The Company was also responsible for the administration of its territory. It had to yield enough revenue to meet the increasing expenses.
2. How did the Bengal economy fall into a deep crisis?
Answer
• After the Company became the Diwan of Bengal it began its efforts to increase the revenue as much as it could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible.
• Within five years the value of goods bought by the Company in Bengal doubled. Before 1765, the Company had purchased goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain.
• Now the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of goods for export. This caused huge loss of revenue for Bengal which paralysed its economy.
3. What did the Company officials learn from their past experiences as administrators?
Answer
• As administrators, the Company officials learnt a lot from their past experiences. The officials had to move with great caution since they represented an alien or foreign power.
• They had to pacify the local people who had ruled the countryside and wielded extensive power in the society.
• The Company officials knew it well that these local rulers could only be controlled, and not entirely eliminated.
4. What were the consequences of the economic crisis that gripped Bengal?
Answer
• Artisans began to leave villages since they were being forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices.
• Peasants were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them.
• Artisanal production was in decline and agricultural cultivation showed signs of collapse.
• The most terrible consequence came to be seen in 1770 when a terrible famine hit Bengal killing ten million people. About one- third of the population was wiped out.