Question

Lord Cornwallis introduced_ _ _ _ __
A) Zamindari system
B) Mahalwari system
C) Mansabdari system
D) None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Lord Cornwallis's career was military in nature as he was a British army officer, a diplomat and a civil administrator. He led a series of well-known wars and campaigns against the rivals.

Complete answer: Let us go through the given options- Option A: In February 1786, Lord Cornwallis was appointed to serve as Governor of the presidency of fort William i.e. Bengal presidency and also the position of Commander in chief of British India. He along with Lord Hastings are attributed for expanding the British rule in India through various administrative and judicial policies. In the 1760s the company introduced the permanent settlement under which it could acquire territories of Bengal and led to further collection of high revenues as high as 89% of land produced in the area. Basically, if the zamindars could not pay the rent until the deadline, parts of their estates were auctioned. In 1793, the zamindari system was introduced by the British and the main aim was to increase land revenue, under which the settlement landlords were declared the full proprietorship of land and the zamindars were made responsible for the collection of taxes. The main victims of the zamindari system were peasants as it made situations worse for them by increasing the social inequalities, and led to peasants overexploitation.
Option B: Under the Mahalwari system, the ownership of land was community-based, and even the tax collection was done by the village committee. This option is not correct.
Option C: under Mansabdari system, a precise and planned order of rank and status of the government officials was followed. This option is incorrect.
Option D is incorrect.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer.

Note: Lord Cornwallis, with an aim to reduce corruption and nepotism established the rules for recruiting qualified people into services irrespective of their connections with people in higher authorities. He also led to the formation of Cornwallis code before his departure which mentioned provisions for better judicial and civil administrations.