Please see Chapter 10 Colonialism and The Countryside Exam Questions Class 12 History below. These important questions with solutions have been prepared based on the latest examination guidelines and syllabus issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. We have provided Class 12 History Questions and answers for all chapters in your NCERT Book for Class 12 History. These solved problems for Colonialism and The Countryside in Class 12 History will help you to score more marks in upcoming examinations.
Exam Questions Chapter 10 Colonialism and The Countryside Class 12 History
Short Answer Questions :
Question. What steps were taken by East India Company to control the Zamindars?
Ans. (1) The troops of Zamindars were disbanded;
(2) The courts were brought under the control of British collectors.
Question. Why Jotedar were more powerful than Zamindar?
Ans. (1) The Jotedar had vast area of land.
(2) He was a local moneylender.
(3) He was local trader.
(4) The Jotedar lived in the village.
(5) He would not allow Zamindar to perform his duties.
Question. Examine the impact of limitation law passed by British in 1859.
Ans. 1859 British passed a limitation law that stated that loan bond signed between money lender and Royt would have validity for three years which check the accumulation of interest over time. The moneylender however turned around a law for forcing the ryot to sign to new bond every three years; money lenders used variety of other means to short change the ryot; they refuse to give receipt when loan repaid, entered fictitious figures in bond, acquired the harvest at low prices and ultimately took over peasants property.
Question. what were the demerits of ryotwori system?
Ans. The land revenue was very high. To pay land revenue was compulsory.
Question. Examine the policies adopted by the British towards Paharias during 18th century.
Ans. (1) Firstly British adopted policy of extermination.
(2) Augustus Cleveland, the collector of Bhagalpur proposed policy of pacification.
(3) Under policy of pacification Paharia chiefs was to ensure proper conduct of their men.
(4) Paharia went into mountains and deep forests and continued their war against outsiders.
Long Answer Questions :
Question. What explains the anger of the Deccan ryots against the moneylenders?
Ans. (1) Ryotwari settlement of land revenue was direct revenue settlement of government with ryot.
(2) The peasants were in need of money for many purposes.
(3) Once they got entangled in the clutches of Sahukar, it became very difficult for them to get them self free from it.
(4) Being unable to return back the loan to the moneylender, they had no choice but to give up all their possessions.
(5) They took land on rent and animals on hire from Sahukar.
(6) The Sahukars would not give receipts when loans were repaid.
(7) Fictitious figures were entered in the bonds.
(8) Peasants’ harvest was procured at low prices.
(9) The government increased the land revenue from 50 to 100 percent.
(10) After American civil war, moneylenders refused to extend advances.
(11) The moneylender started renewing the bond every three years.
Question. Give the account of Buchanan in detail. Why did East India Company appoint him as surveyor? Explain it.
Ans. (i) Buchanan was the employee of East India Company and he marched every where with draftmen, surveyors.
(ii) Buchanan had specific instructions about what he had to look for and what had to record according to company need because company wanted to exploit Indian resources.
(iii) Buchanan was extra ordinary observer. He observed the stones and rocks, different strata and layers of soil he searched for minerals, iron, mica granite and saltpeter.
(iv) Buchanan wrote how the land could be transformed and made more productive.
(v) What craft could be cultivated, which trees cut down and which ones grown.
(vi) Buchanan vision and Priorities different from those of the local inhabitants, his assessment of what was necessary was set by the commercial concerned of the company.
(vii) He was inevitably critical of life style of forest dwellers and felt that forest land to be turned into agricultural lands. He gave the details of santhal life style.
(viii) Company wanted to consolidated its power and expanded its commerce by natural resources it could control. Hence company appointed Buchanan survey the natural resources of India in Rajmahal hills.
Question. In what ways was the livelihood of the Paharias different from that of Santhals?
Ans. (1) The Paharias practiced shifting cultivation and lived on forest production. The Santhals practised settled-cultivation.
(2) The agriculture of the paharias depended on hoe. Santhals practised with plough.
(3) Besides agriculture the forest products too were means of livelihood of the Paharias. The Santhals gave up life of mobility and had started settled cultivation.
(4) The Paharias were intimately related to the forest because of their occupations. The Santhals were settled in a specific region.
(5) The Paharias regularly raided plains for food, power and tax. The Santhals had friendly relations with British, moneylender and traders.
(6) The Paharias liked to gather forest produce for selling in the market but Santhals did not like it.
Question. How did zamindar of Bengal succeed to save their zamindaries during auction? 8 Explain it.
Ans. (i) Numerous purchasers came to the auction and estate were sold to highest bidder. Many of purchasers turned out to be servants and agent of Rajas who had bought the land on behalf of their masters
(ii) Over 95% of sale at the auction was fictitious the Rajas state had been publically sold but he remained in control of his Zamindari.
(iii) When a part of state was auctioned zamindars’ men bought property, out bidding other purchasers. Subsequently they refused to pay of money, so that state had to be re sold. Once again it was bought by Zamindar’s agent, once again the purchase money was not paid, once again there was an auction. At last the state was sold at low price back to zamindar’s men.
(iv) When people from outside, the Zamindari bought an Estate at an auction, they could not always take possession. Sometimes even the Ryot resisted entry of outsiders.
(v) Many Rajas transferred some of his zamindaries to his mother. Since company had decreed that property of women could not be taken over.
(vi) By the above methods rajas succeed to save their zamindaries during auction at British time.
Question. Who were Santhal ? why did they revolt against british.
Ans. I. Santhal were the tribals residing foothill of rajmahal. By 1832 a large areas of land was demarcated as damin-I koh.
II. The Land to santhal stipulated that at least one – tenth of the area was to cleared and cultivated within ten years .
III. Cultivation expanded, an increased volume of revenue flowed into company,s coffers.
IV. The santhals soon founded that the land they had bought under cultivation was slipping away from their hands. The state was leving heavy taxes on the land that the santhal cleared .
V. Moneylender (dekus) were charging them high rate of interest and taking over the land when land debt remained unpaid.
VI. Zamindar were asserting control over Damin area.
VII. By the 1850s Santhal thought that time had come to rebel against zamindars, moneylender, and colonial state. Siddhu Manjhi and Kanhu were revolt leaders of Santhal community.
VIII. Revolt begin in 1855 and Santhal attacked on British, Dikus, moneylender and killed so many Britishers.
IX. But British crushed the revolt brutally by killing, hanging Santhal leaders and Santhal people.In 1856 Santhal pargana was created, carving out 5500 sq miles from the districts of
Bhagalpur and Birbhum.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below :
On 16 May, 1875 the district magistrate of Poona wrote to the police commissioner:
On arrival at Supa on Saturday May 15, learnt of the disturbance. One house of a money lender was burnt down; about a dozen were forcibly broken into and completely gutted of their content. Account papers, bonds, grains, country cloth were burnt in the street where heaps of ashes are still to be seen. The chief constable apprehended 50 persons. Stolen property worth Rs. 2000 was recovered. The estimated loss is over Rs. 25000. Moneylenders claim is over 1 lakh.
Question.Where and how did the Deccan riots start?
Ans. The riot started from Supa, a large village in Poona district. It was market centre where many shopkeepers and moneylenders lived. On 12 May, 1875 riots from the surrounding rural areas attacked the shopkeepers and demanded their bahikhatas and debt bonds. They burnt the khatas and looted grain shops.
Question. What steps did the British take to quell the revolt?
Ans. The British established police station in the village. Reinforcements were rushed to the Deccan. 95% people were arrested and many were convicted.
Question. State two reasons why peasants revolted?
Ans. High revenue demand and rigid system of collection angered the peasants, the moneylenders manipulating laws and forging accounts.
SOURCE BASED QUESTION :
Question. On clearance and settled cultivation
Passing through one village in the lower Rajmahal hills, Buchanan wrote:
The view of the country is exceedingly fine, the cultivation, especially the narrow valleys of rice winding in all directions, the cleared lands with scattered trees, and the rocky hills are in perfection; all that is wanted is some appearance of progress in the area and a vastly extended and improved cultivation, of which the country is highly susceptible. Plantations of Asan and Palas, for Tessar (Tassar silk worms) and Lac, should occupy the place of woods to as great an extent as the demand will admit; the remainder might be all cleared, and the greater part cultivated, while what is not fit for the purpose, might rear Plamira (palmyra) and Mowa (mahua).
Question. Explain how the inhabitants of the Rajmahal hills felt about Buchanan’s ideas of production.
Ans. The experience of pacification campaigns and memories of brutal repression shaped the perception of British infiltration into the Rajmahal area. Every white man appeared to
represent a power that was destroying their way of life and means of survival, snatching away their control over their forests and lands. People were hostile, apprehensive of officials and unwilling to talk to them. In many instances they deserted their villages and absconded.
Question. Mention about Buchanan’s opinion of how the land of Rajmahal hills could be made more productive.
Ans. Plantations of Asan and Palas, for Tessar (Tassar silk worms) and Lac; while what is not fit for the purpose, might rear Plamira (palmyra) and Mowa (mahua).
Question. How were Buchanan’s vision and priorities on development different from the local inhabitants? Explain.
Ans. Buchanan’s assessment of what was necessary was shaped by the commercial concerns of the Company and modern Western notions of what constituted progress. He was inevitably critical of the lifestyles of forest dwellers and felt that forests had to be turned into agricultural lands.
