Rural Society – UGC NET History – Practice Questions

1. According to Abul Fazl and contemporary writers, ownership rights in land in medieval India were:
A) Very old and continuously evolving
B) Introduced by the British
C) Restricted only to nobles
D) Unknown before the Mughals

2. In medieval India, a person who first brought wasteland under cultivation was generally considered:
A) Tenant-at-will
B) Owner of the land
C) Village servant
D) Revenue official

3. Cultivable wasteland in medieval India was commonly known as:
A) Khalisa
B) Jagir
C) Banjar
D) Muafi

4. The hereditary right of zamindars to collect land revenue from villages was known as:
A) Mansab
B) Ijara
C) Khalisa
D) Taluqa or Zamindari

5. Assertion (A): Zamindars owned all the land in their zamindari.
Reason (R): Peasants had hereditary rights and could not be dispossessed if revenue was paid.

A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
B) A is false, but R is true.
C) A is true, but R is false.
D) Both A and R are false.

6. Zamindars could receive up to what percentage of land revenue in some regions?
A) 25 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 75 percent

7. Peasants could not be dispossessed from land as long as they:
A) Served in the army
B) Paid land revenue
C) Worshipped village deities
D) Worked for zamindars only

8. Zamindars generally maintained close ties with peasants through:
A) Religious conversions
B) Trade guilds
C) Caste, clan, and tribal links
D) Urban associations

9. Match List I with List II and choose the correct answer.

A-) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
B-) A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1
C-) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
D-) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

10. Compared to nobles, most zamindars generally had:
A) Greater wealth
B) Equal living standards
C) Urban lifestyles
D) More limited income

11. Larger zamindars sometimes had lifestyles comparable to:
A) Petty rajas or nobles
B) Merchants only
C) Village artisans
D) Religious mendicants