Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumBritish Colonial Expansion, Economic Policies, and Administrative Systems

Match the British colonial policies and land revenue systems listed in List-I with their primary features or associated mechanisms listed in List-II.

  • Permanent SettlementFixation of state revenue demand in perpetuity with zamindars recognized as legal land proprietors
  • Subsidiary Alliance SystemObligation on native rulers to maintain British military forces at their expense and surrender external sovereignty
  • Ryotwari SystemDirect state assessment and collection of land revenue from individual cultivators without intermediaries
  • Doctrine of LapseAnnexation of native princely states lacking a natural heir by refusing recognition of adopted heirs

Answer

Permanent Settlement matches with the fixation of state revenue demand in perpetuity with zamindars as legal proprietors; Subsidiary Alliance System matches with the obligation on native rulers to maintain British military forces and surrender external sovereignty; Ryotwari System matches with direct state assessment from individual cultivators; and Doctrine of Lapse matches with the annexation of princely states lacking a natural heir.
Each British policy corresponds strictly to its specific mechanism: Permanent Settlement established permanent land ownership for zamindars in exchange for fixed revenue; Subsidiary Alliance bound Indian states militarily to the British East India Company; Ryotwari System created direct fiscal relationships with ryots; and the Doctrine of Lapse annexed states that lacked direct line natural heirs.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key provisions of British land revenue arrangements
Connect Permanent Settlement (1793) with perpetual revenue demand under zamindari ownership, and Ryotwari System with direct settlement with individual ryots (cultivators).
Permanent Settlement relied on zamindars as intermediaries, whereas Ryotwari bypassed intermediaries to collect revenue directly from peasants.
2
Identify the political and expansionist instruments of colonial control
Link the Subsidiary Alliance System to military maintenance obligations on native states, and the Doctrine of Lapse to imperial annexation of heirless principalities.
Wellesley used subsidiary troops to subordinate Indian states, while Dalhousie used the denial of adoption rights to annex sovereign territories.
3
Synthesize the correct pairs
Form the accurate mapping between each policy and its corresponding feature.
Ensures precise categorization of colonial economic and political mechanisms.

Key Concept

Administrative and Economic Mechanisms of British Imperial Expansion
Rate this question

Topics

British Colonial Expansion, Economic Policies, and Administrative Systems