Q. Consider the following statements regarding the British policy in Awadh immediately after its annexation in 1856:
1. The taluqdars were dispossessed of their estates but allowed to retain their arms and forts.
2. A Summary Revenue Settlement was made in 1856 assuming that the taluqdars were outsiders.
3. The British believed in taking revenue directly from the peasants by removing the taluqdars.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2 only

Answer : A

Explanation:

Statement I is not correct: Immediately after annexation, the British ordered the complete disarmament of the region. The taluqdars were forced to surrender their weapons and their mud forts were systematically destroyed; they were absolutely not allowed to retain them.
Statement II is correct: The Summary Settlement of 1856 was introduced under the rigid ideological assumption that the taluqdars were parasitic "outsiders" with no permanent, historical rights to the land, leading to their widespread dispossession.
Statement III is correct: Operating under Utilitarian economic theories, the British administration believed that by removing the intermediary taluqdars, they could establish direct contact with the actual cultivators (the peasants), which they wrongly assumed would reduce exploitation and increase colonial state revenue.

Source: https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/24796/1/Unit-5.pdf