Consider the following: 1. Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops. 2. Use of mobile cannons in warfare. 3. Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies. Which of the above was/were introduced into India by the English?

UPSC Prelims 2012: Consider the following: Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the… — Answer & Explanation

Prelims 2012 · archive

Easy

Consider the following:

1.Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops.
2.Use of mobile cannons in warfare.
3.Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies.

Which of the above was/were introduced into India by the English?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) None

None of the three was an English introduction. Under Akbar, Todar Mal assessed revenue crop by crop. Babur used field artillery at Panipat in 1526. Tobacco and chillies came from the New World in the 16th–17th centuries. All of this came before the English established themselves in India.

✗ 1. Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister, made detailed surveys of crop yields and prices. On that basis he fixed rates for each crop. This was a Mughal revenue system, long before any English revenue settlement.
✗ 2. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 by relying heavily on gunpowder, field artillery and matchlock guns. That was nearly a century before the English gained any foothold in India.
✗ 3. Akbar and his nobles first came across tobacco in 1604, and smoking soon became widespread. Chillies were introduced from the New World in the same period, along with tomatoes and potatoes. Neither crop was an English introduction.

Remember · Todar Mal's crop-based revenue system, Babur's field artillery at Panipat (1526), and New World crops such as tobacco and chillies all pre-date English rule. None was introduced by the English.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 2 “Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister, introduced an efficient revenue system. He made detailed surveys for crop yields and prices, and determined prices for each crop on the basis of that information.”
NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 2 “Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526, which will later be called the 'First Battle of Panipat'; it relied heavily on gunpowder, field artillery, and matchlock guns”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 4 “Akbar and his nobles came across tobacco for the first time in 1604. At this time smoking tobacco (in hookahs or chillums) seems to have caught on in a big way.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 4 “Vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from the New World at this time, as were fruits like the pineapple and the papaya.”

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·