Colonialism & the Countryside: Class 12 Previous Year Questions

Colonialism & the Countryside questions asked in CBSE board exams

Repeated questions first. Open the free app to see each question as it appeared in the paper, with its marking scheme.

1. Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow : On clearance and settled cultivation Passing through one village in the lower Rajmahal hills, Buchanan wrote : The view of the country is exceedingly fine, the cultivation, especially the n…
   Board 20264 markscase-basedRepeated: 2025,2026
2. Page 27 of 32 33. Read the following source carefully and answer the questions that follow : On clearance and settled cultivation Passing through one village in the lower Rajmahal hills, Buchanan wrote : The view of the country is exceedingly fine, the cultiva…
   Board 20254 markscase-basedRepeated: 2025,2026
3. Identify the major long-term consequence of the permanent settlement for the Indian peasantry from the following : 1 (A) Increased ownership of land among farmers. (B) Investment in agricultural technology. (C) Increased exploitation and indebtness. (D) Abolit…
   Board 20261 markMCQ
4. How did the arrival of Santhals in the Raj Mahal hills affect the Paharias ? Choose the correct options : 1 (A) The Paharias were displaced and moved to the upper hills. (B) The Santhals helped the Paharias in expanding agriculture. (C) The Paharias spread int…
   Board 20261 markMCQ
5. Find the odd one out from the following : 1 (British Officers) (Policy) (A) Dalhousie – Doctrine of Lapse (B) Cornwallis – Permanent Settlement (C) Wellesley – Western Education (D) Hardinge – Enfield rifles for soldiers
   Board 20261 markMCQ
6. _________ Page 17 of 32 { } 21. Identify the British Officer with the help of following information : 1  Was a Physician.  Organised Zoo in Calcutta.  Did survey of Bengal.  He assumed family name as Hamilton. (A) Col. Mackenzie (B) Francis Buchanan (C) Th…
   Board 20261 markMCQ
7. Which one of the following was the main cause of the Santhal Rebellion of 1855 ? 1 (A) Imposition of the Summary Settlement (B) Cultural suppression by the British (C) Imposition of Western education (D) Heavy taxes and land annexation
   Board 20251 markMCQ
8. Page 15 of 32 16. Find the odd one out regarding the Permanent Settlement of 1793. 1 (A) The Sunset law (B) The Burdwan’s Auction (C) The Fifth Report (D) The Deccan Riots Commission Page 16 of 32 17. -I   -II        …
   Board 20251 markMCQ
9. Page 10 of 23 15. {ZåZ{b{IV H$mo H$mbH«$_ _| ì`dpñWV H$s{OE Am¡a ghr {dH$ën H$m M`Z H$s{OE : (i) n[agr_Z H$mZyZ (ii) gy`m©ñV H$mZyZ (iii) g§Wmb {dÐmoh (iv) ~å~B©-XŠH$Z X§Jo {dH$ën : (A) (ii), (iii), (i), (iv) (B) (i), (ii), (iv), (iii) (C) (iii), (iv), (ii), (…
   Board 20241 markMCQ
10. Page 8 of 23 15. ZrMo Xmo H$WZ {XE JE h¢, A{^H$WZ (A) Am¡a H$maU (R) & CÝh| Ü`mZnyd©H$ n{‹T>E Am¡a ghr {dH$ën H$m M`Z H$s{OE : A{^H$WZ (A) : BñV_amar ~§Xmo~ñV _| µO_tXma amOñd _m±J H$mo AXm Zht H$a nmE Am¡a ~H$m`m aH$_| ~‹T>Vr JBª & H$maU (R) : gy`m©ñV {d{Y (H…
    Board 20241 markvery short
11. Read the following source and answer the questions that follow : 1 + 1 + 2 = 4 From the Fifth Report Referring to the condition of zamindars and the auction of lands, the Fifth Report stated : The revenue was not realised with punctuality, and lands to a consi…
    Board 20235 markscase-based
12. Arrange the following in chronological order and select the correct order from the following options : I. Santhal Rebellion Riots in Deccan Villages III. Permanent Settlement in Bengal IV. First Revenue Settlement in Bombay Deccan Options : (A) I, II, II and I…
    Board 20231 markMCQ
13. Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion (A) and other labelled as Reason (R) : Assertion (A) : Zamindars defaulted on payments in the Permanent Settlement. Reason (R) : Prices of the agricultural produce were low. (A) (A) and (R) are correct …
    Board 20231 markAssertion-Reason
14. Why did British introduce the Permanent Settlement in Bengal ? Explain. Page 3 ( ) 6 × 3 = 18 6. ,() 7. ( 3 ) 4 ×2= 8 1 + 1 + 2 = 4 Page
    Board 20221 markvery short
15. (a) Analyse the policies adopted by the British towards Paharias of Rajmahal Hills during the eighteenth century. 3 OR (b) Examine the role of Francis Buchanan as an extraordinary observer of British East India Company.
    Board 20221 markvery short
16. g p 26. Assess the impact of the British-introduced Permanent Settlement of 1793 on the powers of zamindars and the emergence of the jotedars.
    CBSE practice 2023-243 marksshort answer
17. Why did the East India Company introduce the Permanent Settlement in Bengal?
    Sample paper 2026-273 marksshort answer
18. Give three differences between the roles that Zamindars and Jotedars played in the Permanent Settlement revenue system of Bengal of the 18th century. [3] OR Describe how the British transformed the Santhals into settled agriculturalists in the 19th century. [3…
    CBSE practice 2021-223 marksshort answer
19. ‘The East India Company commissioned Buchanan with specific instructions about what he had to look for and what he had to record.’ Justify the above statement with three suitable arguments.
    CBSE practice 2022-233 marksshort answer
20. What do you infer by Damin-i-Koh? How did it come into being, illustrate?
    CBSE practice 2023-243 marksshort answer

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