Class 8th History Chapter 3

📘 Chapter: Ruling the Countryside

🔵 1. Important 1–2 Line Notes

  • In 1765, the East India Company became the Diwan of Bengal.

  • The Company got the right to collect revenue from Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

  • The Permanent Settlement (1793) fixed revenue permanently.

  • The Mahalwari System (1822) fixed revenue at village level.

  • The Ryotwari System fixed revenue directly with peasants.

  • Indigo cultivation led to the Indigo Rebellion (1859).

  • The Champaran Movement (1917) was led by Mahatma Gandhi.

🔵 2. Important Dates

YearEvent
1765Diwani granted to East India Company
1770Great Bengal Famine
1793Permanent Settlement introduced
1822Mahalwari Settlement introduced
1857Revolt of 1857
1859–60Indigo Rebellion
1860Indigo Commission formed
1917Champaran Movement

🔵 3. Important Personalities

  • Robert Clive – Received Diwani of Bengal.

  • Charles Cornwallis – Introduced Permanent Settlement (1793).

  • Holt Mackenzie – Introduced Mahalwari system (1822).

  • Thomas Munro – Developed Ryotwari system.

  • Mahatma Gandhi – Led Champaran Movement (1917).

🔵 4. Important Definitions

  • Diwan – Financial administrator who collected revenue.

  • Zamindar – Landlord who collected rent from peasants.

  • Ryot – Peasant cultivator.

  • Mahal – Revenue village or group of villages.

  • Plantation – Large farm growing one commercial crop.

  • Satta – Contract signed by ryots for indigo cultivation.

  • Bigha – Unit of land measurement.

  • Vat – Large container used in indigo processing.

🔵 5. Revenue Systems (Very Important)

1️⃣ Permanent Settlement (1793)

Introduced by Charles Cornwallis

Features:

  • Zamindars recognized as landowners.

  • Revenue fixed permanently.

  • Zamindars had to pay fixed revenue to Company.

  • If failed → land auctioned.

Problems:

  • Revenue fixed too high.

  • Zamindars did not improve land.

  • Peasants were exploited.

  • No benefit to Company when prices rose.

2️⃣ Mahalwari System (1822)

Introduced by Holt Mackenzie

Features:

  • Revenue fixed at village level.

  • Village headman responsible.

  • Revenue revised periodically.

Difference from Permanent Settlement:

  • Revenue not permanent.

  • Zamindars not main focus.

  • Village treated as revenue unit.

3️⃣ Ryotwari System

Developed by Thomas Munro

Features:

  • Settlement directly with peasants (ryots).

  • No zamindar involved.

  • Fields measured carefully.

  • Revenue revised periodically.

Problems:

  • Revenue demand too high.

  • Peasants fled villages.

  • Villages deserted.

🔵 6. Indigo Cultivation (Very Important for Exams)

Why Demand Increased?

  • Used for blue dye in Europe.

  • Industrial Revolution increased demand.

  • Indigo better than woad.

  • Production in West Indies collapsed.

By 1810, 95% indigo imported into Britain was from India.

Two Systems of Indigo Cultivation

1️⃣ Nij System

  • Indigo grown on planter’s own land.

  • Hired labour used.

  • Required heavy investment.

2️⃣ Ryoti System

  • Peasants forced to grow indigo.

  • Given advance loan.

  • Had to grow indigo on 25% land.

  • Low price paid.

  • Soil exhausted.

🔵 7. Indigo Rebellion (1859–60)

Causes:

  • Forced cultivation

  • Low prices

  • Soil exhaustion

  • Oppression by planters

Events:

  • Ryots refused to grow indigo.

  • Attacked factories.

  • Social boycott of planters.

Government formed Indigo Commission (1860).

Result:

  • Indigo production declined in Bengal.

  • Planters shifted to Bihar.

🔵 8. Champaran Movement (1917)

Led by Mahatma Gandhi.

  • Peasants forced to grow indigo under Tinkathia system.

  • Gandhi investigated conditions.

  • Marked first civil disobedience movement.

🔵 9. One Line Facts (Exam Booster)

  • Diwani granted in 1765.

  • Permanent Settlement introduced in 1793.

  • Bengal Famine killed around 10 million people.

  • Indigo Rebellion started in March 1859.

  • Synthetic dyes reduced indigo demand.

🔵 10. Repeated Exam Questions with Answers

Q1. What was Permanent Settlement?

Answer: A land revenue system introduced in 1793 that fixed revenue permanently with zamindars.

Q2. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer: Because price was low, soil became infertile, and they were trapped in debt.

Q3. Difference between Mahalwari and Permanent Settlement?

Answer: Permanent fixed revenue permanently with zamindars, while Mahalwari fixed revenue at village level and revised periodically.

Q4. Why did Indigo Rebellion occur?

Answer: Due to forced cultivation, low payment, and oppression by planters.

Q5. What was Diwani?

Answer: Right to collect revenue granted to East India Company in 1765.

🔵 11. Map & Location Points (Important for Map Work)

  • Bengal – Permanent Settlement & Indigo cultivation.

  • Bihar – Later indigo cultivation & Champaran.

  • North-Western Provinces (U.P.) – Mahalwari system.

  • South India – Ryotwari system.

🔵 12. Keywords for Revision

Diwani
Permanent Settlement
Mahalwari
Ryotwari
Indigo
Nij
Ryoti
Zamindar
Ryot
Indigo Rebellion
Champaran Movement

If you want, I can now give you:

  • 🔥 30 MCQs from this chapter (with solutions)

  • 📑 10 Long Answer Questions (Board pattern)

  • 📝 Sample 5/10 marks answers for exams

  • 🗺️ Practice Map Questions

  • 🎯 SSC/UPSC level objective questions

Tell me what you want next, Vikrant 👑

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