Chapter Exam

Chapter-8 Peasants — Online MCQ Test

HISTORY · Grade 12 · CBSE(NCERT)

Practice Chapter-8 Peasants with a free chapter-wise online MCQ test for CBSE(NCERT) Grade 12 HISTORY. This chapter covers: Zamindars and the State. AI-generated questions from basic to board-exam level, with instant results and explanations.

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Chapter-8 Peasants — Important Questions & Answers (FAQ)

Frequently asked questions from CBSE(NCERT) Grade 12 HISTORY — Chapter-8 Peasants, with answers and explanations. These are sample questions; the exam has its own separate question set.

What was the primary role of Zamindars in the Mughal administrative system?

A. They were military commanders only
B. They were tax collectors and landholders who held administrative authority over their territories ✓
C. They were merchants controlling trade routes
D. They were religious leaders of villages

Answer: B. They were tax collectors and landholders who held administrative authority over their territories
Zamindars were feudal landholders who collected taxes on behalf of the state and held administrative control over their zamindaris (estates).

Under the Mughal system, the relationship between the state and zamindars was primarily based on:

A. Religious obligations
B. Tax farming contracts where zamindars paid a fixed amount to the state ✓
C. Democratic representation
D. Military service only

Answer: B. Tax farming contracts where zamindars paid a fixed amount to the state
The Mughal state contracted with zamindars to collect revenue; they paid a fixed share to the state and retained the rest as their income.

How did the position of zamindars change from the Mughal period to the British colonial period?

A. They became powerless and lost all authority
B. They became landlords with increased property rights but lost administrative and military powers ✓
C. They gained more authority than before
D. They were completely abolished

Answer: B. They became landlords with increased property rights but lost administrative and military powers
Under British rule, zamindars transformed from feudal administrators collecting taxes into landlords, retaining property rights but losing administrative and military functions.

Analyze the statement: 'The Permanent Settlement was intended to create stability but led to greater rural instability.' Which factor best explains this paradox?

A. The policy was too lenient on peasants
B. Fixed state demands encouraged zamindars to maximize peasant extractions to increase their own income, creating tenure insecurity ✓
C. Peasants voluntarily refused to pay taxes
D. British officials deliberately created conflict

Answer: B. Fixed state demands encouraged zamindars to maximize peasant extractions to increase their own income, creating tenure insecurity
Because the state's revenue was fixed permanently, zamindars had an incentive to extract more from peasants to maximize profits, increasing exploitation and instability.

Examine the long-term impact: How did the zamindari system's transformation during the Permanent Settlement contribute to India's broader agrarian crises in the 19th and early 20th centuries?

A. It had no connection to later crises
B. It directly eliminated agriculture
C. The creation of a powerful intermediate landlord class with property rights but state-fixed revenue demands, combined with lack of peasant tenure security, created structural vulnerability to famines, debt cycles, and revolutionary agrarian movements that plagued India for generations ✓
D. It only affected Bengal negatively

Answer: C. The creation of a powerful intermediate landlord class with property rights but state-fixed revenue demands, combined with lack of peasant tenure security, created structural vulnerability to famines, debt cycles, and revolutionary agrarian movements that plagued India for generations
The Permanent Settlement institutionalized rural exploitation patterns that manifested in 19th-century famines, peasant indebtedness, and eventual agrarian movements throughout India.