1856 में अवध के समामेलन (annexation) के तत्काल बाद अवध में ब्रिटिश नीति के संबंध में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :
- 1.तालुकदारों की भूसंपत्ति ज़ब्त कर ली गई, किंतु उन्हें अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्र और किले अधिकार में रखने दिए गए।
- 2.तालुकदारों को बाहरी व्यक्ति मानते हुए 1856 में संक्षिप्त राजस्व बंदोबस्त किया गया था।
- 3.ब्रिटिश, तालुकदारों को हटाकर, कृषकों से सीधे राजस्व लेने में विश्वास करते थे।
उपर्युक्त में से कौन-सा/कौन-से कथन सही है/हैं ?
Read this question in English
Consider the following statements regarding the British policy in Awadh immediately after its annexation in 1856:
1. The taluqdars were dispossessed of their estates but allowed to retain their arms and forts.
2. A Summary Revenue Settlement was made in 1856 assuming that the taluqdars were outsiders.
3. The British believed in taking revenue directly from the peasants by removing the taluqdars.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only · (b) 1 and 3 only · (c) 1, 2 and 3 · (d) 2 only
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (a) केवल 2 और 3
The British would not tolerate the taluqdars' armed power: right after annexation they were disarmed and their forts pulled down, so statement 1 is wrong. The Summary Settlement of 1856 treated the taluqdars as interlopers and removed them wherever it could, aiming to settle land directly with those who tilled it.
- ✗ 1. The taluqdars were not left their arms and forts; they were disarmed and their forts destroyed immediately after annexation.
- ✓ 2. The first British revenue settlement, the Summary Settlement of 1856, assumed the taluqdars were interlopers who had seized land by force and fraud, with no lasting stake in it.
- ✓ 3. Revenue officers expected that removing the taluqdars would let them settle land with the actual owners of the soil, cutting exploitation of peasants while raising the state's revenue.
Remember · Awadh 1856: taluqdars disarmed, forts destroyed; Summary Settlement called them interlopers and cut their share of villages from 67 to 38 per cent.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 2 “Immediately after the annexation, the taluqdars were disarmed and their forts destroyed.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 2 “the first British revenue settlement, known as the Summary Settlement of 1856, was based on the assumption that the taluqdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in land”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 2 “British land revenue officers believed that by removing taluqdars they would be able to settle the land with the actual owners of the soil”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·