NCERT solutions class 8 social science our pasts 3 chapter 3

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3

History is the study of the past, especially  peoples, civilisations, events, and issues, as well as our attempts to comprehend them. It is a goal pursued by all human cultures. History can be told as a fantastic story, a continuous narrative replete with legendary figures and epic tales of struggle and triumph. Each generation contributes its chapters to History while reinterpreting and discovering new information in previously published chapters.

The company colonised the countryside, organised income resources, redefined people’s rights, and produced the crops it desired; all of it explained in NCERT Class 8 History Chapter 3- Ruling the Countryside. This chapter expands on the previously discussed topics with relevant examples so that students may grasp the concepts quickly.

NCERT Solution Class 8 History Chapter 3 is an excellent initiative by Extramarks. These solutions help students comprehend the chapter and retain it after understanding it. Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 was developed exclusively by Extramarks subject experts after much research.

Moving further from NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3. Material such as NCERT books, CBSE revision notes, CBSE sample papers, CBSE previous year question papers, and more can be easily found on the Extramarks website for all classes.

Key Topics Covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3

Mentioning below all the key topics that are covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3- Ruling the Countryside:

  • The Company becomes the Diwan
  • Crops for Europe
  • The “Blue Rebellion” and After

Let us look at Extramarks in-depth information on each subtopic in NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3- Ruling the Countryside.

The company become the Diwan.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 explains how the company became the Diwans.

On August 12, 1765, the East India Company became the Diwan of Bengal. As Diwan, the company was appointed the territory’s principal financial administrator. The company needed to organise its revenue resources and administer the property. In addition, it had to be done to generate enough money to cover the company’s rising expenditures.

Revenue for the Company

The company’s goal was to raise income by purchasing beautiful cotton and silk materials at a low cost. As a result, the value of commodities purchased by the Company in Bengal quadrupled in five years. Before 1865, the company bought products in India by importing gold and silver from the United Kingdom. The income earned in Bengal was now used to fund it.

The need to improve Agriculture

The need to improve Agriculture has been explained in this section of NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3.

The company introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793. The rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars under the agreement’s provisions and were required to collect rent from the peasants and send income to the company. The sum to be paid was set in stone. This agreement would assure a steady flow of money into the company’s coffers while encouraging the zamindars to invest in the land’s improvement.

The Problem

Problems arose because of the Permanent Settlement. Soon after, firm authorities noticed that because the fixed revenue was so significant, the zamindars were not investing in land improvement. The situation had altered by the first decade of the nineteenth century.  Agriculture gradually expanded as market prices rose.Nevertheless, the zamindars were uninterested in developing the land even back then.

The farmers in the villages felt the system was burdensome. So they got a loan from a moneylender because the rent they paid to the zamindar was too costly, and when they failed to pay the rent, they were evicted from the land.

A new system was devised.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 discusses a new and modified system that the company started.

Company officials decided to modify the revenue system. The new system, which went into force in 1822, was designed by Holt Mackenzie. Collectors travelled from village to village, checking the property, measuring the fields, and recording the traditions and rights of various groups, all under his orders. To compute the income each village (mahal) had to pay, the expected revenue of each plot within a village was totaled together. This desire was to be reviewed regularly rather than be set in stone. The village headman, not the zamindar, was responsible for collecting the revenue and paying it to the company. The Mahalwari settlement was the name given to this arrangement.

The Munro System

A new system known as the ryotwari was created in the British colonies in the south (or ryotwari). The British eventually expanded this method over the entire southern Indian subcontinent. The settlement had to be negotiated directly with the ryots (land farmers) who had been tilling the land for centuries. Before the income assessment, their fields had to be correctly and independently assessed.

All was not well

Revenue officials set a high revenue requirement to boost land revenue. As a result, peasants could not pay their debts, ryots abandoned the land, and settlements in many areas became empty.

Crops for Europe

The company attempted to expand opium and indigo cultivation in the late eighteenth century. In other regions of India, the company pushed peasants to grow other crops like jute in Bengal, sugarcane in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), wheat in Punjab,  tea in Assam, cotton in Maharashtra and Punjab, and rice in Madras.

Does colour have a History?

The History and the story of Indigo have been discussed in this section of NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3.

Indigo is a plant that gives the colour its deep blue hue. Indigo plants growing in India were utilised to make the blue dye used in Morris designs in nineteenth-century Britain. At the time, India was the world’s largest source of Indigo.

Why the demand for Indian Indigo?

Indian Indigo had become very popular during the British times. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 explains why this happened in the below section.

Indigo plants thrive in the tropics, so people used the Indian Indigo to colour textiles in Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. However, only a small amount of Indian Indigo made it to the European market, and the price was exorbitant. As a result, European fabric producers had to rely on a plant known as woad to produce violet and blue dyes. The dye from woad was light and dreary, whereas Indigo created a deep blue colour. The demand for Indian Indigo expanded by the end of the eighteenth century. While indigo demand grew, existing supplies from the West Indies and America dried up due to several factors. Between 1783 and 1789, the world’s indigo output plummeted by half.

Britain turns to India

This section of NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 explains why Britain turned to India when producing the Indigo plant.

Because Indigo was in great demand in Europe, the Company in India sought ways to extend the area under indigo cultivation. As the indigo trade increased, the company’s commercial agents and officials began to invest in indigo production. The potential for enormous earnings enticed Company officials to migrate to India and become indigo growers.

How was Indigo cultivated?

Nij and ryoti were the two major indigo cultivation systems. The planter cultivated Indigo because he directly controlled it under the nij farming method. He acquired or rented  property from other zamindars and produced Indigo using hired labourers.

The problem with Nij cultivation

Planters found it challenging to extend the area under Nij cultivation. Indigo can only be grown on fertile ground. Farmers wanted to lease property near the indigo plant to remove the peasants. Nij farming on a vast scale also necessitated many ploughs and bullocks. Planters were hesitant to increase the area under  cultivation until the late nineteenth century.

Indigo on the lands of ryots

The planters were compelled to sign a contract or agreement under the ryoti system (Satta). Those who accepted the contract received low-interest monetary advances from the planters to produce Indigo. A new loan was approved when the harvested crop was handed to the planter, and the cycle began again. Peasants quickly realised how inefficient the lending system was. Peasants could not seed the soil with rice after an indigo crop.

The “Blue Rebellion” and After

Blue Rebellion is another important aspect of the chapter discussed in NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3.

Bengali ryots refused to grow Indigo. Planters’ employees were socially ostracised, and gomasthas – planters’ representatives – who came to collect rent were beaten severely. The local zamindars and village headmen backed the Bengal ryots in their fight against the plantations. The indigo peasants expected the British government to back them up in their battle against the planters. Following the Revolt of 1857 , the British administration was concerned about the likelihood of another popular uprising. Calcutta intelligentsia hurried to the indigo areas as the insurrection progressed. The government established the Indigo Commission to investigate the indigo-producing system. The Commission advised the ryots that they may refuse to produce Indigo in the future if they don’t fulfil their existing obligations.

After the uprising, Bengali indigo manufacturing ceased. A farmer from Bihar encouraged Mahatma Gandhi to visit Champaran and examine the hardships of the indigo cultivators when he returned from South Africa. So he went to Champaran in 1917, the start of the Champaran uprising against indigo growers.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 Exercise and Solutions

Extramarks is the name that comes to mind when discussing good study materials. This platform has everything from NCERT Solutions to competitive exam preparation materials. Click on the below links to view NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3:

Students can easily understand the situation during colonialism by getting access to NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3.

Along with this, students can also refer to other solutions for primary and secondary classes:

Key Features of NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3

Extramarks, as previously said, is a one-stop solution for students of all classes. There are several platforms available, but none of them compares to Extramarks. The level of work put forward by the specialists and the ultimate results are both noteworthy. Some of the benefits of using Extramarks: 

  • It covers all the chapter end questions along with their comprehensive answers explained with solved examples
  • These Solutions help students with revising their concepts and improving time management skills.
  • Extramarks experts have a wealth of experience, so they know exactly what a student needs to understand in a particular chapter. 
  • These solutions follow all the guidelines of the CBSE.
NCERT Solutions Class 8 (History – Our Pasts) Chapter-wise List
Chapter 1 – How, When and Where
Chapter 2 – From Trade to Territory
Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside
Chapter 4 – Tribals, Dikus and the Vision
Chapter 5 – When People Rebel
Chapter 6 – Colonialism and the City
Chapter 7 – Weavers, Iron Smelters and Factory Owners
Chapter 8 – Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation
Chapter 9 – Women, Caste and Reform
Chapter 10 – The changing World of Visual Arts
Chapter 11 – The Making of the National Movement: 1870s-1947
Chapter 12 – India After Independence

Q.1 Match the following:

ryot – village

mahal – peasant

nij – cultivation on ryot’s lands

ryoti – cultivation on planter’s own land

Ans. ryot – peasant

mahal – village

nij – cultivation on planter’s own land

ryoti – cultivation on ryot’s lands

Q.2 Fill in the blanks:

(a) Growers of woad in Europe saw ____________ as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.
(b) The demand for indigo increased in late eighteenth- century Britain because of ____________ .
(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of ________________.
(d) The Champaran movement was against ______________________.

Ans.

(a) Growers of woad in Europe saw indigo as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.
(b) The demand for indigo increased in late eighteenth-century Britain because of the expansion of cotton production and industrialisation.
(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of synthetic dyes.
(d) The Champaran movement was against indigo planters.

Q.3 Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Ans.

(i) The East India Company introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793.

(ii) By the terms of the settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars.

(iii) They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company.

(iv) The amount to be paid was fixed permanently and it was not to be increased ever in future.

(v) The purpose of fixing the amount was to ensure a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and at the same time, to encourage the zamindars to invest in improving the land.

(vi) Since the revenue demand of the state would not be increased, the zamindars paid the Company only the fixed revenue and kept the surplus production from the land.

Q.4 How was the mahalwari system different from the Permanent Settlement?

Ans.

The mahalwari Settlement

The Permanent Settlement
(i) The mahalwari system was devised by Holt Mackenzie in 1822, in the North Western provinces of the Bengal Presidency. (i) The Permanent Settlement was implemented in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis.
(ii) It was devised as an alternative to the Permanent Settlement; it treated the village as an important social institution in north Indian society. (ii) It was aimed at ensuring the steady revenue flow to the East India Company.
(iii) The village headmen were in charge of collecting revenue. (iii) The rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars and were in charge of collecting revenue.
(iv) The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village or mahal had to pay. The revenue amount was not fixed permanently, and was to be revised periodically. (iv) The revenue amount was fixed and was never to be increased in the future.

Q.5 Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Ans. The two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue were:
(i) Driven by the desire to increase the income from land, revenue officials fixed too high a revenue demand.
(ii) Peasants were unable to pay, ryots fled the countryside and villages became deserted in many regions.

Q.6 Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Ans.

(i) The ryots were reluctant to grow indigo because the planters paid a very low price for the indigo produce.

(ii) With their meager income, the ryots failed to even recover his cost; earning a profit was a really difficult task. This meant that the ryots struggled always to pay back their loans.

(iii) The indigo planters forced the peasants to cultivate indigo on the most fertile parts of their land, but the peasants wanted to grow rice on the best soils.

(iv) The reason was that after an indigo harvest, the land could not be used for the rice cultivation.

Q.7 What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Ans.

(i) In March 1859, thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo and attacked indigo factories with weapons.

(ii) They attacked the gomasthas (agents of planters) and swore they would no longer take advances to sow indigo.

(iii) In 1859, the indigo ryots felt that the local zamindars and village headmen supported them against the planters.

(iv) In many villages, headmen mobilised the indigo peasants and fought against the lathiyals. The zamindars encouraged them to resist the planters.

(v) The indigo peasants expected support from the British government against the planters. During this time, Lieutenant Governor was touring the region. The ryots saw the tour as a sign of government support for their plight.

(vi) In Barasat, the magistrate Ashley Eden issued a notice to protect the ryots from the indigo contracts.

(vii) Intellectuals from Calcutta visited the indigo districts and wrote about the ryots and the tyranny of the planters, and the horrors of the indigo system.

(viii) The government brought in the military to protect the planters from assault and set up the Indigo Commission to enquire into the revolt. The Commission held the planters guilty.

(ix) The Commission asked the ryots to fulfill their existing contracts, and to refuse to produce indigo in future. After the revolt, indigo production collapsed in Bengal.

Please register to view this section

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Yes, you may entirely rely on the Extramarks NCERT solutions. Some students have difficulty grasping historical concepts. With the support of our qualified teachers, Extramarks has made the content easy to comprehend. The best way to learn is to play the odds and visit the Extramarks’ website.

Our NCERT Solutions are essential to our Class 8 History study materials. Our experienced and talented tutors have prepared these solutions with the utmost care to simplify your exam preparation.

In 1822, Holt Mackenzie established the Mahalwari system. The Mahalwari system was created primarily to increase revenue from the villages, commonly known as ‘Mahal.’ The village headman was responsible for generating finances under the Mahalwari system. The income was supposed to be updated regularly. The Mahalwari system calculated the income each mahal had to return by adding the estimated earnings of each plot within a hamlet.