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

Match the British colonial administrative policies and revenue systems in List-I with their defining historical features in List-II:

  • Permanent Settlement (Sunset Law)Land revenue arrangement where failure to pay by sunset on a specified date led to auction of zamindari rights
  • Subsidiary Alliance SystemMilitary arrangement requiring Indian rulers to maintain British troops at their own expense
  • Mahalwari SystemLand revenue assessment fixed with the village community as a collective unit
  • Doctrine of LapseAnnexation policy targeting princely states whose rulers died without a natural male heir

Answer

The correct pairings match Permanent Settlement with the Sunset Law provision, Subsidiary Alliance System with the maintenance of British troops by native rulers, Mahalwari System with village collective revenue assessment, and Doctrine of Lapse with annexation upon lack of a natural male heir.
The pairings correctly match each colonial policy with its defining historical feature: the Permanent Settlement incorporated the Sunset Law for auctioning defaulting zamindaris; the Subsidiary Alliance mandated states to pay for British military presence; the Mahalwari system collected revenue collectively from village units; and the Doctrine of Lapse prohibited unauthorized adopted heirs from inheriting princely thrones.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key provision of the Permanent Settlement (Sunset Law).
The Sunset Law stipulated that revenue must be paid by sunset on a designated date, failing which the zamindari estate was auctioned.
This was a distinct legal enforcement mechanism of Lord Cornwallis's 1793 land settlement.
2
Determine the main requirement of the Subsidiary Alliance System.
Native Indian states signed treaties agreeing to host and fund a British army detachment (subsidiary force).
Lord Wellesley used this diplomatic tool to expand British control without direct administrative costs.
3
Analyze the structural basis of the Mahalwari System.
The Mahal (village community) was treated as a collective unit responsible for paying land revenue.
Introduced in Northern and North-Western India to account for communal land tenure patterns.
4
Recall the core principle of the Doctrine of Lapse.
States without a direct male lineage heir lapsed to British rule rather than passing to adopted sons.
Lord Dalhousie applied this policy to annex states like Satara, Jhansi, and Nagpur.

Key Concept

British Colonial Expansion, Economic Policies, and Administrative Systems
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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British Colonial Expansion, Economic Policies, and Administrative Systems