Chapter – 9

The Impact of British Rule in India

Textual Answer key
A. Fill in the blanks
1. Under the Permanent Settlement, the ___________ became the owner of the land.
(Zamindars)
2. The Mahalwari system was put to effect in the year _________. (1830)
3. The Bethune College was founded by _____________________. (John Drinkwater
Bethune)
4. The first railway line was started between ____________ and ___________. (Bombay,
Thane)

B. True or False
1. False
Correction: Under the Permanent settlement, the Zamindar did not invest the land. They
collect the revenue which led to exploit the peasants.
2. True
3. False
Correction: British manufacturers put pressure on their government to restrict and
prohibit the sale of Indian textiles in Britain.
4. True

C. Multiple choice questions:

1. d) The exemption of duty on British goods when they came to India.
2. b) The traditional Indian system of education
3. d) Calcutta
4. b) Calcutta and Diamond Harbor

D. Answer in brief
1. Which were the areas where the Mahalwari system was introduced by the
British?
Ans: The Mahalwari system was introduced by the British in Punjab, the Gangetic plain, the Northwest
provinces and parts of central India.

2) Explain the meaning of the term ‘One-way free trade’.

Ans: The term ‘One-way free trade’ policy meant that the Indian cloths were subject to heavy duties in
England while British goods themselves were sold at extremely cheap prices in Indian market.

3) Who put forward the Drain of Wealth theory? What did this theory state?
Ans: Dadabhai Naoroji put forward the Drain of Wealth theory in 1886. This theory stated that the
Britain was completely exploited India’s economic resources. He also stated that the India’s poverty was
a result of British rule.

4) How did the British economic policies affect Indian traders?

Ans: The British imposed heavy duties on exportation of Indian goods and no duties were charged on
British goods. The Indian manufacturer and importers of some of the finest fabrics in the world became
a supplier of raw material and an importer of machine – made cloth, which adversely affected the Indian
economy and made India a poor country.
E. Answer in detail
1) What was the Permanent Settlement system? Why was it introduced in Bengal? What was its result?
Ans: The term Permanent settlement system was defined as a land revenue settlement system which
goal is to fix the revenue demands on the Zamindars and keep them permanent. The British introduced
this system in Bengal to establishing their control over the revenue collection system in the region.
The results of the Permanent settlement system:
The Zamindars were given security of tenure as long as they paid the revenue on time. The security of
their tenure made many Zamindars negligent of their responsibilities. The Zamindars did nothing to
improve the conditions of land or of the laborers working on it. Peasants were forced to cultivate cash
crops in place of food crops. This reduces the soil fertility and led to shortage of food grains which result
in famines.

2) How was land revenue collected under the Ryotwari system?

Ans: Under the Ryotwari system, the land revenue system was collected by the government from the
Ryot. The Ryot or cultivators were regarded as the owners of the land. This system was practiced in the
Madras and Bombay regions between 1792 and 1827.

3) What led to the ruin of the Indian textile industry in the 18 th century?
Ans: In the 18th century, the British were used the raw materials supplied from the India and produce
cloths with the help of their own industries. Hence, they could produce more products in less amount of
time. The British products flooded the Indian market and the Indian textile industry became reined.

4) Describe the various measures undertaken between 1780 and 1854 by the British to promote
education in India.
Ans: Before the coming of the British, education system in India was largely traditional like Pathshalas
and martabs for elementary education, and tols and madraras for higher education. The modern
Universities and education system in India were developed during British rule.
The Charter Act of 1813 was sanctioned for the spread of education in India which imparted differences
in opinions about the nature of education while the orientalists favored the traditional system of
learnings.
Western education with English as the medium f instruction was introduced in India that promote
Indians as government employees. The British promoted western education system that introduced new
philosophical and scientific ideas in Indian society for their growth.

5) Why did the East India company introduced railways in India? What was its impact on India?
Ans: The East India Company was introduced railways in India to secure a large market and to source
raw materials from distant parts of country. For this, major cities, ports and markets were linked
together by a new network of railways for administrative necessities also promoted the British
government to build railways in India.
The Impact of railways on India: It is easy to communicate between different parts of the country with
the help of the railways. Therefore, it contributed in a major way to the spread of the national
movement.

Look and Learn

1) What is this painting depicting?
Ans: This painting is depicted an Indigo factory in Bengal.
2) How did growing this crop instead of food crops impact the farmers?
Ans: Cotton Yarn is manually dyed in Indigo factories in India. The effect of Indigo cultivation on Indian
farmers was impact negatively. The British forced many farmers to grow indigo instead of food crops
which lead to reduce the fertility of the soil and result in food shortages and famine.