NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside

NCERT Solutions for Chapter 3 of Class 8 History (Our Pasts–III)—“Ruling the Countryside”—explains how the East India Company restructured rural India after becoming the Diwan of Bengal (1765). The chapter traces the land-revenue systems—Permanent Settlement (1793), Mahalwari (1822), and Ryotwari—and shows how these policies affected zamindars, ryots, production, and village life. It also covers indigo cultivation (nij and ryoti), the Blue Rebellion (1859–60), and the Indigo Commission (1860), linking agrarian change to wider economic and social impacts.

For quick revision, our NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside include concise notes/summary, step-by-step questions and answers, and practice sets (MCQs, assertion–reason, and case/source-based questions). These Class 8 History Chapter 3 notes clarify key differences—Permanent vs Mahalwari vs Ryotwari, nij vs ryoti—and explain why peasants resisted indigo and how policy shifts shaped the countryside.

Overall, the NCERT solutions Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 page gives a clear foundation for exam prep: concept explanations, Q&A, and a free PDF to help you master “Ruling the Countryside” and understand its place in the broader historical narrative.

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Class 8 History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside

In the Class 8 curriculum, you'll find Chapter 3 titled "Ruling the Countryside" in the History book "Our Past 3." This chapter has been designed with a focus on clarity, featuring straightforward explanations complemented by diagrams and maps when necessary.

Our team of subject matter experts has meticulously crafted these NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Chapter 3, "Ruling the Countryside," ensuring an engaging and insightful learning experience. These solutions not only make the study process enjoyable but also lay a strong foundation for students as they progress through their academic journey.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside PDF

Build rock-solid conceptual clarity and score higher with Infinity Learn’s NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3: “Ruling the Countryside.” This chapter explains how the East India Company shaped agrarian India after becoming the Diwan of Bengal (1765), why the British experimented with Permanent Settlement (1793), Mahalwari (1822) and Ryotwari, and how indigo became a global commodity—culminating in the Blue Rebellion (1859–60) and the Indigo Commission (1860).

What you will learn with NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Chapter 3 History

• The Company becomes the Diwan (1765): how revenue collection changed after the Company got Diwani rights in Bengal.
• Permanent Settlement (1793): fixed revenue, zamindars as intermediaries, why many estates were auctioned.
• Mahalwari (1822, Holt Mackenzie): village-based assessment, periodic revision, role of village headmen.
• Ryotwari (Read & Munro): direct settlement with cultivators (ryots) in parts of south/west India.
• Indigo for Europe: nij vs ryoti systems, advances (dadon), gomasthas and lathiyals, rising global demand, synthetic dyes later.
• Blue Rebellion & Indigo Commission (1859–60): peasant resistance, official enquiry, outcomes. 

NCERT Exercise Solutions – Chapter 3 Question Answers

A. Match the Following (Answer Key at a glance)

• Ryot → Peasant
• Mahal → Village
• Nij → Cultivation on planter’s own land
• Ryoti → Cultivation on ryot’s land

Why: “Nij” meant planters grew indigo on estates they controlled directly; “Ryoti” forced ryots to grow under contracts/advances. (Explained under “Crops for Europe”.) 

B. Fill in the Blanks (Concept-check)

1. European woad growers feared competition from indigo.
2. Demand for indigo rose in late 18th-century Britain with booming cotton textile production.
3. International demand later fell with the discovery of synthetic dyes.
4. The Champaran movement (1917) targeted abuses by indigo planters in Bihar. 

C. Short Answer Type (40–60 words)

Q1. State three features of the Permanent Settlement (1793).
Ans. Revenue was fixed permanently; zamindars (rajas/taluqdars) collected rent and paid the Company a stipulated amount; failure meant auction of estates. The system aimed at predictable collections but often burdened both peasantry and zamindars due to inflexible targets. 

Q2. How did Mahalwari differ from Permanent Settlement?
Ans. Mahalwari (1822) assessed entire villages (mahals); revenue was periodically revised and collected by village headmen. Permanent Settlement fixed revenue once for all and used zamindars as intermediaries. 

Q3. Why did the Munro/ Ryotwari approach face problems?
Ans. Officials often set unrealistically high assessments. Crop failures made payment impossible; many villages saw arrears and desertion, revealing weak risk-sharing and poor on-ground data. 

Q4. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?
Ans. Low procurement prices, coercive contracts/advances, loss of soil fertility on prime lands, and planter control through gomasthas made indigo unviable; peasants preferred food crops like rice on the best fields. 

D. Long Answers (150-200 words)

Q5. Explain nij vs ryoti cultivation with two consequences for peasants.

In nij cultivation, European planters raised indigo on land they directly controlled and managed. They arranged capital, presses, labour and cattle themselves, and tried to secure large compact blocks of fertile land to keep costs low. By contrast, under the far more widespread ryoti system, indigo was grown on the ryot’s own field under a contract. The ryot received advances (dadon) and agreed to sow a fixed area with indigo; planter’s agents—gomasthas, often backed by lathiyals—supervised sowing and procurement. For peasants, the arrangement produced two harsh outcomes. First, it created debt traps and under-pricing: advances had to be repaid in indigo at rates fixed by planters, so ryots rarely covered costs or labour. Second, it caused soil exhaustion and opportunity loss: indigo depleted fertility and occupied the best paddy land, reducing subsequent food-grain yields and endangering household food security. Added to this were frequent coercion and disputes over measurement and quality. These pressures built deep resentment in the countryside and eventually fuelled organised resistance against indigo planters.

Q6. What led to the Blue Rebellion and what did the Indigo Commission decide?

By the late 1850s, the ryoti system had become intolerable for cultivators. Ryots faced coercive enforcement of contracts by gomasthas, low procurement prices, and debts tied to advances they could scarcely repay. Indigo also exhausted soils and displaced food crops from the most fertile plots, threatening village subsistence. When petitions and appeals failed, peasant communities in parts of Bengal mounted a collective response: in 1859–60 they refused to sow indigo, rallied village headmen, sought support from sympathetic zamindars, and used boycotts and public testimonies to expose planter abuses—an episode remembered as the Blue Rebellion. The agitation drew wide attention and compelled the colonial state to appoint the Indigo Commission (1860). After recording extensive evidence, the Commission acknowledged planter malpractice and ruled that cultivators could not be compelled to grow indigo. This landmark finding undermined the legal and economic basis of the Bengal indigo enterprise; many contracts collapsed, production plummeted, and planters were forced to scale back, diversify, or abandon operations—marking a decisive victory for peasant agency in the countryside.

MCQs – Ruling the Countryside (with answers)

The Company became the Diwan of Bengal in:

a) 1757 

b) 1765 

c) 1793 

d) 1822 

Ans: b

Permanent Settlement was introduced by:

a) Warren Hastings 

b) Holt Mackenzie 

c) Lord Cornwallis 

d) Thomas Munro 

Ans: c

Under Mahalwari, revenue was primarily collected by:

a) Zamindars 

b) Village headmen 

c) Planters 

d) Police officials 

Ans: b

In nij cultivation, indigo was grown on:

a) Ryot’s land 

b) Planter’s own managed land 

c) State land 

d) Waste land 

Ans: b

The Indigo Commission was set up in:

a) 1857 

b) 1858 

c) 1860 

d) 1862 

Ans: c

Assertion–Reason (AR) – 5 Practice Items

A1. Assertion (A): Mahalwari system allowed periodic revision of revenue.
Reason (R): It assessed the expected produce of the entire village (mahal).
Ans: A and R are true; R explains A. 

A2. Assertion (A): Permanent Settlement improved peasant conditions immediately.
Reason (R): Zamindars reduced revenue when crops failed.
Ans: A is false, R is false; rigid targets often hurt peasants. 

A3. Assertion (A): Indigo demand declined in the late 19th/early 20th century.
Reason (R): Synthetic dyes reduced reliance on natural indigo.
Ans: Both true; R explains A. 

A4. Assertion (A): Ryotwari dealt directly with cultivators.
Reason (R): The Company wanted to bypass zamindars.
Ans: Both true; R is a valid explanation. 

A5. Assertion (A): The Blue Rebellion legalised compulsory indigo.
Reason (R): The Indigo Commission sided with planters.
Ans: Both false; peasants were not bound to sow indigo. 

Bilingual Notes (Hindi snapshot)

• स्थायी बन्दोबस्त (1793): निश्चित लगान, जमींदार मध्यस्थ; असफलता पर नीलामी।
• महलवारी (1822): गाँव/महल के आधार पर आकलन; समय-समय पर संशोधन; मुखिया वसूलते थे।
• रैयतवारी: सीधे रैयत से समझौता; अधिक आकलन की समस्या।
• नील की खेती:निज (यूरोपीय बागान), रैयती (रैयत की ज़मीन); अग्रिम, दबाव, कम कीमतें।
• नील विद्रोह (1859–60) व आयोग (1860): किसानों का प्रतिरोध; ‘नील बोने की मजबूरी नहीं’. 

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NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History

• Class 8 History Ch 2 – From Trade to Territory
• Class 8 History Ch 4 – Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
• Class 8 History Ch 5 – When People Rebel (1857 & After)