Ruling the Countryside MCQ Questions Class 8 Social Science with Answers

Question. The Champaran movement was against
(a) peasants
(b) East India Company
(c) the oppressive attitude of the planters
(d) none of the above

Answer :   C

Question. Gandhiji visited Champaran
(a) to see the plight of Indigo planters in Champarancorrect
(b) to see the progress of’Indigo plantation
(c) to see the managing system of company
(d) none of the above

Answer :   A

Question. In which year was the Permanent Settlement System started?
(a) 1900
(b) 1885
(c) 1890
(d) 1793

Answer :   D

Question.The lathi weilding strongmen maintained by planters are:
(a) Ryots
(b) Peasant
(c) Lathiyals
(d) Vat-Beater

Answer :   C

Question.Who among the following introduced the Ryotwari Settlement system ?
(a) Thomas Munro
(b) Holt Mackenzie
(c) Lord Dalhousie
(d) Lord Cornwallis

Answer :   A

Question. From among the regions mentioned below, which region introduced the Mahalwari Settlement System in 1822 ?
(a) Bombay
(b) Madras
(c) Bihar
(d) Uttar Pradesh

Answer :   D

Question. Growers of woad in Europe saw crop as competition to their earnings.
(a) tea
(b) rubber
(c) indigo
(d) coffee

Answer :   C

Question. Indigo production came down in Bengal in
(a) 1850
(b) 1852
(c) 1855
(d) 1859

Answer :   D

Question. How much proportion of Indigo was imported from India by Britain in 1810?
(a) 75%
(b) 95%
(c) 90%
(d) 85%

Answer :   B

Question. From the given possibilities, which year did the British introduce the Permanent Settlement of Bengal?
(a) 1793
(b) 1800
(c) 1815
(d) 1780

Answer :   A

Question. The Company tried many experiments to increase the land revenue. Name the Settlement system introduced in the Madras and Bombay presidencies ?
(a) Permanent Settlement System
(b) British Settlement System
(c) Ryotwari Settlement System
(d) Mahalwari Settlement System

Answer :   C

Question. Why was there a popular demand for Indian indigo in Italy, France and Britain?
(a) India was the biggest producer of indigo and no other country produced indigo
(b) There was a ban on indigo import in other countries
(c) Indigo imports were tax free
(d) Indigo was used to dye cloth and there was a huge demand\

Answer :   D

Question. Mahalwari systems was devised by:
(a) Thomas Munro
(b) Holt Mackenzie
(c) Charles Cornwallis
(d) Robert Clive

Answer :   B

Question. What do you mean by the term Mortgage?
(a) Agreement between moneylenders and nawab
(b) Agreement between king and peasants
(c) Agreement between moneylenders and peasants
(d) None of these

Answer :   C

Question. What happened in 1770 in Bengal so that one-third of the population was wiped out?
(a) The British shipped a lot of locals to Britain and the met with an accident.
(b) Robert Clive had to wage a battle with the locals and killed many .
(c) The British and the French had a war in Bengal and many were killed .
(d) Due to a terrible famine, ten million people in Bengal were wiped out.

Answer :   D

Question. What do you mean by nij and ryoti?
(a) The two main trading centres of indigo
(b) The two main areas where indigo was cultivated in India
(c) The two important systems of indigo cultivation
(d) The two main sets of zamindars

Answer :   C

Question. What is Bigha?
(a) Unit of temperature
(b) Unit of capacity
(c) Unit of measurement
(d) None of these

Answer :   C

Question. After harvest, the indigo plant was taken to the in the indigo factory.
(a) dye
(b) vatcorrect
(c) farm
(d) machine

Answer :   B

Question. What is the literal meaning of the Greek word indikon?
(a) Blue
(b) Dye
(c) From India
(d) From England

Answer :   C

Question. Given below are some points with regard to the nij cultivation of indigo. Select the one that is not related to the nij cultivation
(a) The planters produced indigo in the lands that he directly controlled.
(b) Planters cultivated in lands either bought by them or rented it from other zamindars and produced indigo by directly employing hired labourers
(c) Planters needed large areas in compact blocks to cultivate indigo
(d) The planters were forced to sign a contract , an agreement (satt(a)

Answer :   D

Question. Where did the Ryotwari Settlement was introduced?
(a) Bombay Presidency
(b) South and West India
(c) Deccan
(d) Punjab

Answer :   B 

Question- ______ was Governor General of India in 1793
(a) Warren Hastings
(b) Charles Cornwallis
(c) Louis Chole
(d) George Martin

Answer :   B

Question- Zamindars were responsible for collecting ____ from peasants.
(a) rent
(b) goods
(c) food
(d) money

Answer :   A

Question- _____ was Madras governor in 1819.
(a) Thomas Munro
(b) Franklin
(c) Jacob Smith
(d) Holt Mackenzie

Answer :   A

Question. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal?
(a) Lord Cornwallis
(b) Lord William
(c) Lord Louise
(d) None of these

Answer :   A

Question. What are commercial crops?
(a) Crops cultivated for tax paying
(b) Crops cultivated for own use
(c) Crops cultivated for sale
(d) None of these

Answer :   C

Question- Morris cotton print was invented by
(a) William Morris
(b) Robert Morris
(c) John Morris
(d) Morris Will

Answer :   A

Question. What do you mean by the term ‘Plantation’?
(a) Rearing of animals
(b) A large farm operated by a planter
(c) A Large Kingdom
(d) None of these

Answer :   B

Ruling the Countryside Extra Questions Chapter 3 Class 8 History

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Class 8 History Extra Questions which is very useful in grasping important points inside the chapter properly. Extra Questions for Class 8 will be helpful in answering the difficult questions with ease.

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs):

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.

10. How did the Diwani of Bengal empower the Company?

Answer

As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control. Now it could administer the land and organise its revenue resources.

11. What did the woad producers in Europe want their government to do? Why?

Answer

The woad producers wanted their government to ban the import of indigo because they were worried by the competition from indigo.

12. Why did cloth dyers prefer indigo as a dye?

Answer

Indigo produced a rich blue colour whereas the dye from woad was pale and dull.

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Short Answer Questions (SAQs):

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. 

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.

5. How was indigo cultivated under the ryoti system?

Answer

Under the ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract, known as satta. At times they pressurised the village headmen to sign the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo. But the loan committed the ryot to cultivating indigo on at least 25 per cent of the area under his holding. The planters provided the seed, and the drill, white the cultivators prepared the soil, sowed the seed and looked after the crop. After the harvest the crop was delivered to the planters.

6. Why did the demand for Indian indigo increase in the late-eighteenth century Britain?

Answer

Britain began to industrialise by the end of the eighteenth century. As a result, its cotton production expanded dramatically. This created an enormous new demand for cloth dyes. While the demand for indigo increased, its existing supplies from the West Indies and America collapsed for several reasons. Between 1783 and 1789 the production of indigo in the world fell by half. Cloth dyers in Britain now desperately looked for new sources of indigo supply.

Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside Long Answer Questions (LAQs):

1. Explain in brief about the Permanent Settlement, the ryotwari system and the mahalwari system. 

Answer

(i) Permanent Settlement
• Permanent Settlement is a system of revenue collection which was introduced in the provinces of Bengal and Bihar by Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
• The entire work of revenue collection was assigned to zamindars, who were given hereditary rights over the land on the condition that they would pay a fixed amount of revenue to the government every year.

(ii) Ryotwari system
• This system of land revenue collection was introduced by the British in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies.
• The government made settlements with farmers for a specific period of about 30 years.
• The farmer had to pay 50% of their production to the government every year. The settlement could be revised after the stipulated period.

(iii) Mahalwari system
• Holt Mackenzie, an Englishman, introduced a new system of mahalwari in 1822.
• In this system, the revenue-collectors went from village to village inspecting and measuring the land, and recording the customs and rights of different groups. The estimated revenue was calculated for each village. This demand was not fixed and could be revised.
• The village headman, and not the zamindar, was given the charge of collecting revenue and deposit it to the Company.

2. Describe the processes involved in indigo production.

Answer

Indigo production involved the following processes:

• After harvest, the indigo plant was taken to the vats (a fermenting or storage vessel) in the indigo factory. Three or four vats were needed to manufacture the dye.

• Each vat had a separate function. The leaves stripped off the indigo plant were first soaked in warm water in a vat known as the fermenting vat for several hours.

• When the plant fermented, the liquid began to boal and bubble. Now the rotten leaves were taken out and the liquid drained into another vat that was placed just below the first vat.

• In the second vat, known as the beater vat, the solution was continuously stirred and beaten with paddles. When the liquid gradually turned green and then blue, lime water was added to the vat.

• Gradually the indigo separated out in flakes, a muddy sediment settled at the bottom of the vat and clear liquid rose to the surface. The liquid was drained off and the sediment i.e. the indigo pulp transferred to another vat, known as the settling vat, and then pressed and dried for sale.