- Aurang: In-charge of treasury of the State
- Banian: Indian agent of the East India Company
- Mirasidar : Designated revenue payer to the State
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
- Answer: (b)
Pair 1 is not correctly matched: Aurang, a Persian term for a warehouse –a place where goods are collected before being sold; also refers to a workshop.
Pair 2 is correctly matched: The use of intermediaries with expertise of the local markets and languages became common in the 18th and 19th centuries because of the linguistic difficulties and cultural barriers faced by European merchants, who opened and deepened trade routes throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The intermediaries, called ‘banians’ in the Anglo-Indian trade, fulfilled various internal and external roles for trading companies including, managing treasury functions, securing credit, and acting as brokers in the local markets. They were the interpreter, head bookkeeper, head secretary, head broker, the supplier of cash and cashkeeper. Also, they were known as the Indian agent of the East India Company.
Pair 3 is correctly matched: Under the ryotwari settlement system, the government recognized mirasidars as the sole proprietors of land, dismissing tenants’ rights completely. Mirasidars were the designated revenue payer to the State. Only in villages where the mirasdar system was absent, the villagers holding permanent occupancy rights were recognized as landholders responsible for the payment of land revenue.
