SEBA Class 9 History: Beginning of British Administration in Assam
Find out the correct answer
1. The Jaintia king Rajendra Singh / Govinda Chandra / Tirot Singh was deported to Sylhet by the British.
Answer: Rajendra Singh.
2. The Last Ahom king was Chandra Kanta Sinha / Kamaleswar Sinha / Purandar Sinha / Jogeswar Sinha.
Answer: Purandar Sinha.
3. Tirot Singh was a patriot of Khasi / Manipuri / Jaintia.
Answer: Khasi.
Short answer type questions
1. To which kingdom did Govinda Chandra belong?
Answer: Govinda Chandra belonged to the kingdom of Cachar.
2. Who was David Scott?
Answer: David Scott was an Agent to the Governor General of Bengal who was responsible for the Brahmaputra Valley and played a major role in the expansion and administration of the East India Company in Assam.
3. Who was the next commissioner to David Scott?
Answer: After the death of David Scott in 1831, T. C. Robertson was appointed as the Commissioner of Assam in April 1832.
4. Of which kingdom Tirot Singh was the Siyem?
Answer: Tirot Singh was the Siyem of the Khasi kingdom.
5. What was the title of the Muttock king?
Answer: The title of the Muttock king was Barsenapati.
6. According to the instruction of Jenkins who lost the kingdom?
Answer: According to the instruction of Jenkins, Purandar Singha lost his kingdom.
7. What were the districts that Jenkins divided into in Lower Assam?
Answer: Jenkins divided Lower Assam into three districts: Goalpara, Darrang and Kamrup.
8. To whom British gave Rupees 50 (fifty only) as pension and occupied Cachar?
Answer: The British gave Tularam Senapati a pension of Rupees 50 and occupied Cachar.
Long answer questions
1. How was the revenue policy of David Scott? Discuss.
Answer: David Scott introduced several changes in the revenue system of Assam. He arranged separate revenue systems for Upper Assam and Lower Assam according to the administrative needs of the British.
In Upper Assam, the paik system was abolished and the paiks had to pay three rupees for their cultivated lands, homesteads and gardens. The old officials of the Khel were entrusted with revenue collection, and later the districts were divided into Mauzas for this purpose.
In Lower Assam, Scott retained the parganas under Choudhurys. Sheristadars, Tahbildars, Patowaris and Thakurias were appointed to collect revenue. He also imposed professional taxes on weavers, goldsmiths, fishermen and brassworkers. Taxes were imposed on rent-free lands such as Devotter, Brahmatter and Dharmottar lands.
Scott also completed a land survey in Lower Assam under the supervision of Captain Matthews. The lands were classified as Basti land, Arable land and Barren land. He also imposed taxes on opium cultivation and introduced poll taxes.
Thus, David Scott's revenue policy brought major changes in the system of revenue collection and helped strengthen British administration in Assam.
2. What steps were adopted in the matters of the judiciary during the time of David Scott?
Answer: David Scott introduced several changes in the judicial system of Assam. His main aim was to settle civil and criminal cases and improve the administration of justice.
For dealing with small civil and criminal disputes, panchayats were formed with local people. Important cases were heard by the Assistants of the Commissioner with the help of these panchayats. If anyone was not satisfied with the decision of a panchayat, an appeal could be made to the Commissioner.
In Upper Assam, Lombodar Barphukan was given the responsibility of trying important civil cases. Criminal cases were dealt with by the Junior Commissioner. In Lower Assam, two civil courts and one criminal court were established.
David Scott also brought changes in the police system of Assam. He personally supervised many matters of administration and worked to improve the system of justice.
Thus, the judicial reforms introduced by David Scott helped to organise the civil, criminal and police administration of Assam.
3. How was the revenue administration of Robertson?
Answer: T. C. Robertson introduced several changes in the revenue administration of Assam. His main aim was to make the system more organised and to prevent the collection of excessive revenue from the cultivators.
He fixed the land revenue according to the quality and quantity of land. He also collected details about the land and the names and addresses of the cultivators. On this basis, pattas were issued to the ryots. They were also given receipts for the taxes they paid, while copies of the records were kept in the collector's office.
The ryots had to pay a capitation tax along with the land revenue. It was called house tax in Kamrup, hearth tax in Darrang and head tax in Nowgaon. Robertson also instructed the revenue officers not to make oppressive exactions from the people.
These measures made the revenue system more systematic and were considered beneficial to the ryots.
4. What were the steps adopted by Major Jenkins regarding the welfare of Assam?
Answer: Major Jenkins took several steps for the development of Assam. He paid attention to industries, transport, education and the administration of the state.
1. He encouraged the use of waste lands for tea cultivation, sugarcane and indigo. He also recognised that Assam was suitable for tea gardens.
2. He abolished check posts that created difficulties in the free flow of trade between Assam and Bengal.
3. During his time, steamships started sailing on the Brahmaputra River for the first time. He also paid attention to the development of roads and communication.
4. Jenkins worked for the spread of education. English-medium schools were established in Gauhati and Sivasagar.
5. He made changes in the revenue system and improved land settlement and revenue collection. He also wanted the development of the local people of Assam.
Thus, Major Jenkins contributed to the development of tea, transport, education and revenue administration in Assam.
5. How did Jenkins divide Assam into different districts?
Answer: Jenkins made several changes in the administrative arrangement of Assam. The Brahmaputra Valley was divided into different districts for the convenience of administration.
Lower Assam was divided into three districts—Goalpara, Darrang and Kamrup. Later, after Purandar Singha was deposed in 1838, his territory was brought under direct British administration and divided into two districts—Sivasagar and Lakhimpur. Jorhat and Lakhimpur were made the headquarters of these two districts respectively.
Thus, the British gradually organised the Brahmaputra Valley into different districts as their administration expanded in Assam.
6. Who was Tirot Singh? Why did he rise against the British?
Answer: Tirot Singh was the Siyem (chief) of the Khasi kingdom. After the British occupied the Brahmaputra Valley, they wanted to build a road through the Khasi Hills to establish a direct line of communication between Assam and Sylhet. Tirot Singh gave permission to the British to construct the road from Rani to Nangkhlou.
However, the other Khasi chiefs became worried that the British would occupy their territories after the road was completed. At the same time, the relationship between Tirot Singh and the British became worse because the British did not help him in his dispute with the king of Rani. Instead, they supported the king of Rani.
These events created distrust between Tirot Singh and the British. In 1829, Tirot Singh, along with a group of Khasis, attacked the British and killed two British officers. This started a war between the Khasis and the British.
The British finally suppressed the Khasi resistance, and Tirot Singh surrendered on 13 June 1833. After the rebellion was suppressed, the British occupied the Khasi Hills.
Short Notes
1. Tularam Senapati
Answer: Tularam Senapati was the general of Govinda Chandra, the king of Cachar. After Govinda Chandra died without an heir in 1830, Tularam demanded the whole of Cachar from the British. However, the British recognised him only as the ruler of North Cachar.
After Tularam's death, his two sons, Nakul Ram Barman and Brajanath Barman, jointly ruled Cachar. A dispute later arose between them, and the Nagas also came into conflict with them. Taking advantage of this situation, the British occupied Cachar.
2. Purandar Sinha
Answer: Purandar Sinha was an Ahom king of Upper Assam. In 1832, he was restored as the Raja of Upper Assam, excluding the Matak kingdom and Sadiya, under an agreement with the British. He had to pay Rs. 50,000 per year as tribute to the British and agree to follow the advice of the British agent.
However, Purandar Sinha could not pay the required tribute and was accused of corruption and maladministration. He was deposed on 16 September 1838 and was given a pension of Rs. 1,000 per month. After his deposition, the whole of Upper Assam was brought under the direct administration of the British.
3. Tirot Singh
Answer: Tirot Singh was the Siyem (chief) of the Khasi kingdom. He initially gave permission to the British to construct a road from Rani to Nangkhlou through the Khasi Hills. Later, his relationship with the British became worse because they did not support him in his dispute with the king of Rani.
In 1829, Tirot Singh and a group of Khasis attacked the British and killed two British officers. This led to a war between the Khasis and the British. Finally, Tirot Singh surrendered on 13 June 1833, after which the British occupied the Khasi Hills.
4. Gomdhar Konwar
Answer: Gomdhar Konwar belonged to the Ahom royal family and was the first man to oppose the British administration in Assam. He declared himself as the Swargodeo after the British withdrew martial law from Upper Assam and shifted their soldiers.
The British easily suppressed his revolt and arrested him. Gomdhar Konwar was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and was sent to Rongpur jail by British Commissioner David Scott. He later escaped from the jail but was recaptured in the Naga Hills and spent seven years in imprisonment at Rongpur.
5. Occupation Singpho kingdom by the British
Answer: The Singphos lived between the No-Dihing and Tengapani rivers, to the east of the Muttock kingdom. Their chief was known as the Gaum.
The Gaum signed a subsidiary treaty with the British, and the Singpho territory came under British control. The Singphos agreed to inform the British about enemies coming from the east. Later, at the instigation of some Ahom nobles, the Singphos revolted against the British. Captain Neuvile suppressed the revolt, and the British continued their control over the Singpho territory.
6. British occupation of the Jaintia kingdom
Answer: The Jaintia king Rajendra Singh maintained a good relationship with the British by signing a treaty. However, he could not assist the British during the Burmese war. Later, the Jaintias made inroads into British territory through the Jaintia Pargana, and the British threatened to invade their territory.
In 1835, Captain Lister occupied the Jaintia kingdom. A Political Agent was appointed to look after the territory. Rajendra Singh voluntarily surrendered to the British and was deported to Sylhet with a pension of Rs. 500.