EXERCISE

Find out the correct answer

Q1. The Jaintia king Rajendra Singh/ Govinda Chandra/ Tirot Singh was deported to Sylhet by the British.

Answer: Rajendra Singh

Q2. The Last Ahom king was Chandra Kanta Sinha/ Kamaleswar Sinha/ Purandar Sinha/Jogeswar Sinha.

Answer: Jogeswar Sinha.

Q3. Tirot Singh was a patriot of Khasi/ Manipuri/ Jaintia.

Answer: Khasi

Short answer type question

Q1. To which kingdom Govinda Chandra belonged?

Answer: Govinda Chandra belonged to the kingdom of Cachar.

Q2. Who was David Scott?

Answer: David Scott was an efficient and farsighted British administrator. He was appointed as the Agent to the Governor General of Bengal for the entire North-Eastern region. 

Q3. Who was the next commissioner to David Scott?

Answer: The next commissioner to David Scott was T.C. Robertson.

Q4. Of which kingdom Tirot Singh was the Siyem?

Answer: Tirot Singh was the Siyem (chief) of the Khasi kingdom of Nangkhlou.

Q5. What was the title of the Muttock king?

Answer: The title of the Muttock king was Barsenapati.

Q6. According to the instruction of Jenkins who lost the kingdom?

Answer: According to the instruction of Jenkins, Purandar Singha and the kings of Muttock and Cachar lost their kingdoms.

Q7. What were the districts that Jenkins divided into in Lower Assam?

Answer: The districts that Jenkins divided into in Lower Assam were Goalpara, Kamrup, and Darrang.

Q8. To whom British gave Rupees 50 (fifty only) as pension and occupied Cachar?

Answer: The British gave 50 rupees as a pension to the Jaintia king, Rajendra Singh, and occupied his kingdom.

Long answer questions

Q1. How was the revenue policy of David Scott? Discuss.

Answer: David Scott’s revenue policy aimed to increase revenue for the British while keeping some traditional systems intact. In Upper Assam, he abolished the paik system and instead made the paiks pay a tax of three rupees on their cultivated lands, homesteads, and gardens. The old Ahom officials were entrusted with tax collection. In Lower Assam, which came under direct British administration, he retained the existing ‘parganas’ and appointed a Choudhury in each to collect revenue. Scott also introduced new taxes on professions like weavers, fishermen, and goldsmiths, and levied taxes on rent-free lands used for religious purposes. Additionally, a poll tax was imposed on every male, varying in name across districts.

Q2. What steps were adopted in the matters of judiciary during the time of David Scott?

Answer: During the time of David Scott, the following steps were adopted in the judiciary:

1. Local Panchayats: To settle small civil and criminal disputes, local panchayats were formed with local people.
2. Higher Courts: Important cases were tried by the Assistants of the Commissioner with the help of the panchayats. Appeals against the verdict of the panchayats could be made to the Commissioner.
3. Civil and Criminal Courts: In Lower Assam, two civil courts and one criminal court were established. The Junior Commissioner tried criminal cases.
4. Police Reforms: David Scott also reformed the police system in Assam.

Q3. How was the revenue administration of Robertson?

Answer: Robertson’s revenue administration improved upon Scott’s system and aimed to make it more organized and fair for the cultivators. He introduced land-based taxation, where revenue was determined according to the quality and size of the land. To prevent exploitation by revenue collectors, he started issuing ‘pattas’ (land records) containing details of the cultivator and their land. Robertson also imposed new taxes on households and hearths. Furthermore, he made it mandatory to provide receipts for all taxes paid and to keep copies of records in the collector’s office. These measures ensured transparency and reduced the oppression of the people.

Q4. What were the steps adopted by Major Jenkins regarding the welfare of Assam?

Answer: Major Jenkins took several steps for the welfare of Assam:

1. Industrial Development: Promoted tea, coal, and oil industries; encouraged the use of waste lands for tea cultivation.
2. Transport and Communication: Improved roads, allowed the first steamship on the Brahmaputra, and abolished checkposts to promote free trade.
3. Education: Established English-medium schools in Gauhati and Sivasagar.
4. Employment of Locals: Opposed the appointment of Bengali bureaucrats; promoted recruitment of Assamese people in government jobs.
5. Abolition of Slavery: Ended the slave system in 1843, which also indirectly supported labor for tea gardens.

Q5. How did Jenkins divided Assam into different districts?

Answer: Major Jenkins divided Assam into different districts for administrative convenience and to increase revenue.

1. Lower Assam: He divided Lower Assam into three districts: Goalpara, Kamrup, and Darrang.
2. Upper Assam: He annexed the kingdom of Purandar Singha then divided into two districts: Sivasagar and Lakhimpur. He also annexed the kingdoms of Muttock and Cachar.

Q6. Who was Tirot Singh? Why did he rise against the British?

Answer: Tirot Singh was the chief or Siyem of the Khasi kingdom of Nangkhlou. He rose against the British because of two main reasons:

1. Road Construction: Tirot Singh initially allowed the British to build a road through the Khasi Hills to connect Assam and Sylhet. Khasi chiefs, however, feared British territorial expansion after its completion.
2. British Betrayal: The British did not support Tirot Singh in a dispute with the king of Rani. Instead, they backed his opponent, causing him to distrust the British and view them as a threat to his kingdom’s independence.

Short Notes:

(1) Tularam Senapati: Tularam Senapati was a general of the Cachar kingdom. After the death of King Govinda Chandra, he demanded the whole of Cachar from the British. However, the British only recognized him as the ruler of North Cachar. The British annexed his territory after his death when his sons fought amongst themselves.

(2) Purandar Sinha: Purandar Sinha was an Ahom prince who was restored as the King of Upper Assam by the British in 1832. He was required to pay a tribute of Rs. 50,000 per year. He failed to pay the tribute and was accused of misrule, so the British deposed him in 1838 and took direct control of Upper Assam.

(3) Tirot Singh: Tirot Singh was the Siyem of the Khasi kingdom of Nangkhlou. He gave permission for a road to be built through his territory but later rebelled against the British when he realized their intentions were to occupy his kingdom. He fought a war with the British and surrendered on June 13, 1833.

(4) Gomdhar Konwar: Gomdhar Konwar was an Ahom royal who led the first anti-British uprising in Assam in 1828. He declared himself the King of the Ahoms but was easily defeated by the British and sentenced to seven years in jail.

(5) Occupation Singpho kindom by the British: The Singphos lived in the area east of the Muttock kingdom. The British signed a treaty with them, but the Singphos, at the instigation of some Ahom nobles, rebelled. Captain Neuvile suppressed the revolt, and the British annexed the Singpho kingdom.

(6) British occupation of Jaintia kingdom: The British occupied the Jaintia kingdom in 1835. The Jaintia king, Rajendra Singh, was deported to Sylhet with a pension of rupees five hundred, and a Political Agent was appointed to look after the territory. This annexation was due to the Jaintias committing raids on British territory.