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Updated on 3 Sep 2025, 16:37 IST
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.
No need to worry about internet connectivity—NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 3: Ruling the Countryside are available in PDF so you can download once and study offline. Get them anytime from the Infinity Learn website or our mobile app.
These CBSE Class 8 NCERT Solutions are 100% free and updated for the 2025–26 syllabus. Every answer is concise, exam-ready, and step-by-step, helping you grasp concepts faster and revise efficiently before tests or exams. Download the PDF, bookmark key questions, and learn at your pace—online or offline.
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.
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).
Why: “Nij” meant planters grew indigo on estates they controlled directly; “Ryoti” forced ryots to grow under contracts/advances. (Explained under “Crops for Europe”.)
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.
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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.
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.
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
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.
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It explains how the East India Company reorganised rural India after gaining Diwani (1765), the land-revenue systems—Permanent Settlement, Mahalwari and Ryotwari—and indigo cultivation (nij/ryoti), leading to the Blue Rebellion and the Indigo Commission.
Revenue was fixed permanently; zamindars collected rent and paid a fixed sum to the Company; default led to estate auctions. The rigidity often hurt peasants and even zamindars during poor harvests.
Mahalwari assessed revenue at the village (mahal) level and revised it periodically; village headmen collected dues. Permanent Settlement fixed revenue once for all and used zamindars as intermediaries.
Revenue was settled directly with the cultivator (ryot), mainly in parts of Madras and Bombay Presidencies. Though flexible on paper, assessments were often high, pushing ryots into arrears.
In nij, planters grew indigo on land they directly managed; in ryoti, peasants grew indigo on their own fields under contracts/advances (dadon) overseen by gomasthas—often leading to debt and coercion.
Low procurement prices, debt due to advances, soil exhaustion, diversion of prime paddy land, and coercion by planters’ agents made indigo unviable for ryots.
A mass refusal by ryots in parts of Bengal to sow indigo in response to exploitation and unfair terms. It exposed planter abuses and drew wide public attention.