UGC NET History Practice Question

The Permanent Settlement covered what percentage of total British Indian territory (chiefly Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Varanasi)?

19% ✓

30%

51%

70%

The Permanent Settlement, despite its major historical significance, actually covered a smaller share of territory (roughly 19%) than either Mahalwari or Ryotwari — a fact worth remembering precisely, since exam questions often test these comparative percentages directly.

What percentage of British Indian territory was governed under the Mahalwari Settlement (North-Western Provinces, Punjab, Central Provinces)?

30% ✓

19%

51%

10%

The Mahalwari system covered roughly 30% of British Indian territory — positioned between the Permanent Settlement's 19% and Ryotwari's 51%, completing the standard set of comparative figures across the three major revenue systems.

In Bengal, sharecroppers who cultivated land owned by Jotedars and surrendered half the produce were locally termed:

Adhiars or Bargadars ✓

Raiyats

Pattadars

Zamindars

Adhiars (or Bargadars) were Bengal sharecroppers who worked Jotedar-owned land in exchange for half the produce — their subordinate position and demand for a better (two-thirds) share directly fed the later Tebhaga movement.

The wealthy class of intermediate rich peasants who emerged in Bengal countryside under the Permanent Settlement were known as:

Jotedars ✓

Ryots

Lathials

Gomastahs

Jotedars emerged as a powerful intermediate class of substantial landholding peasants under the Permanent Settlement's evolving agrarian structure — often themselves employing sharecroppers (Adhiars/Bargadars), forming a distinct rural power layer between Zamindars and the landless.

What was the purpose of the Assam Labour and Emigration Act passed by the colonial administration?

To regulate indentured labor recruitment and prevent tea plantation laborers from deserting estates ✓

To guarantee minimum wages for tea garden workers

To promote free movement of industrial labor

To grant land rights to tribal workers

The Assam Labour and Emigration Act regulated indentured recruitment specifically to bind tea plantation laborers to their estates and criminalize desertion — legislation that served plantation owners' interests far more than workers', part of the broader coercive colonial labor regime.

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More Free UGC NET History Practice

This question is part of our free Unit-Wise mock test series, drawn from the same real question bank used across every UGC NET History mock test on this site. For structured, chapter-by-chapter notes covering everything these questions test, see our UGC NET History Notes, or try the History Glossary Flashcard Quiz for daily term-by-term practice.