Short Answer Type Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Chapter 8: Peasants, Zamindars and the State
(CBSE Class 12 | NCERT Aligned)
1. Why was agriculture central to the Mughal economy?
Answer: Agriculture was central because land revenue from agricultural production was the main source of income for the Mughal state.
2. Who were the peasants in Mughal India?
Answer: Peasants, known as ryots, were cultivators who worked on agricultural land and paid revenue to the state.
3. Explain the social composition of peasant communities.
Answer: Peasant communities were socially diverse and hierarchical, consisting of different castes and groups with varying landholdings.
4. What were kharif and rabi crops?
Answer: Kharif crops were sown in the monsoon season, while rabi crops were sown in the winter season.
5. Mention any two difficulties faced by peasants.
Answer: Peasants faced heavy revenue demands and frequent natural calamities such as droughts and floods.
6. Who were zamindars?
Answer: Zamindars were intermediaries who collected land revenue from peasants on behalf of the Mughal state.
7. What types of people were included among zamindars?
Answer: Zamindars included local chieftains, clan leaders, and heads of dominant landholding families.
8. What rights did zamindars enjoy?
Answer: Zamindars enjoyed hereditary rights over land, revenue collection, and control over local resources.
9. How did zamindars maintain their authority?
Answer: Zamindars maintained authority through armed retainers and fortified houses.
10. Describe the relationship between zamindars and peasants.
Answer: The relationship was both cooperative and exploitative, as zamindars protected peasants but also extracted extra dues.
11. Why was land revenue important to the Mughal state?
Answer: Land revenue funded the army, administration, and royal household of the Mughal Empire.
12. Name the main Mughal revenue officials.
Answer: The main revenue officials were amils, qanungos, and patwaris.
13. What was the role of the amil?
Answer: The amil was responsible for the assessment and collection of land revenue.
14. What duties were performed by patwaris?
Answer: Patwaris maintained village-level land and revenue records.
15. Explain the zabti system.
Answer: The zabti system fixed land revenue based on the average yield of crops over several years.
16. Under whose reign was the zabti system introduced?
Answer: The zabti system was introduced during the reign of Akbar.
17. What was batai?
Answer: Batai was a crop-sharing system in which peasants gave a fixed share of produce as revenue.
18. What was the kankut system of assessment?
Answer: Kankut assessed revenue by estimating standing crops in the fields.
19. What was nasaq?
Answer: Nasaq was revenue assessment based on past records of cultivation and payments.
20. Why did the Mughal state prefer cash revenue?
Answer: Cash revenue was easier to store and use for administrative and military expenses.
21. What were cash crops?
Answer: Cash crops were grown mainly for sale in markets rather than for subsistence.
22. Name any two cash crops of Mughal India.
Answer: Indigo and cotton were important cash crops.
23. How did cash crops affect rural society?
Answer: They linked villages to markets and increased dependence on money transactions.
24. What risks did commercialisation of agriculture create?
Answer: It exposed peasants to market price fluctuations and debt.
25. How did peasants respond to excessive revenue demands?
Answer: Peasants migrated, resisted tax collection, or joined rebellions.
26. Why was migration a form of resistance?
Answer: Migration reduced the state’s revenue and forced officials to negotiate.
27. What role did zamindars play in peasant rebellions?
Answer: Some zamindars led or supported rebellions against the Mughal state.
28. How did the Mughal state control the countryside?
Answer: The state relied on zamindars, revenue officials, and armed force to maintain control.
29. Was Mughal control over villages absolute?
Answer: No, control depended on cooperation with local elites and zamindars.
30. What caused famines in Mughal India?
Answer: Famines were caused by crop failure, war, and over-taxation.
31. How did the Mughal state respond to famines?
Answer: The state sometimes remitted revenue and provided limited relief.
32. What was the Ain-i Akbari?
Answer: It was a detailed administrative record of Akbar’s reign, including revenue data.
33. Why are Mughal records important for historians?
Answer: They provide information about agrarian administration and rural society.
34. Why should Mughal sources be read critically?
Answer: They reflect the official viewpoint of the state rather than peasant experiences.
35. How was land classified for revenue assessment?
Answer: Land was classified according to fertility and cultivation history.
36. What was double cropping?
Answer: Double cropping was the practice of growing two crops on the same land in a year.
37. How did wars affect agrarian life?
Answer: Wars disrupted cultivation and increased the burden on peasants.
38. Who benefited most from agrarian surplus?
Answer: The Mughal state and zamindars benefited most from agrarian surplus.
39. What were the limitations of the Mughal agrarian system?
Answer: It depended heavily on agriculture and was vulnerable to natural disasters.
40. Why is this chapter important for understanding Mughal rule?
Answer: It explains how agrarian relations sustained the Mughal Empire.