Question

What was the first political organisation established in India in 1838?
(A) British India Society
(B) Bengal British India Society
(C) Settlers Association
(D) Zamindari Association

Answer 1

Hint: The first political organisation established in India in the year 1838 was formally launched in Calcutta. It was later renamed as the Landholder’s Society.

Complete step-by-step answer:
The first political association or the organisation of modern India was the Zamindari Association which was established in the year 1838 in India. Its leading members were Rajkamal Sen, Bhabani Charan Mitra and Prasanna Kumar Tagore. Its main objective was the promotion of the landholders’ interests through the petitions to the government and discreet persuasion. Securing a halt to the resumption of rent-free tenures was among its aims and there was also an extension of the permanent settlement of land all over India. It also includes the grant of lease of the wasteland to their occupants. Its agenda also included the demand for reform of the police, the revenue departments and the judiciary. The Landholder’s Society was an exclusive aristocratic club with its distinctive mark of loyalism. The membership of the club was not only for the officials but also it was extended to the non – official Britons who are engaged in the trade and the commerce in Bengal. The Landholder’s Society became inactive around 1842 and did not endure long. It almost became moribund by 1843 although it maintained a precarious existence till 1850.

Thus, option (D) is correct.

Note: The Landholder’s Society also maintained close contact with the bureaucracy in Calcutta to attain its aims and objectives. It appointed George Thompson as its President, who was Landholder Society’s agent in London and also established links with the British India Society of London.