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Which of the following correctly explains why colonial India's agricultural sector stagnated despite employing most of the population?

Agriculture stagnated mainly because land revenue systems like zamindari imposed heavy payments on cultivators, giving little incentive or means to invest, while the colonial government spent little on irrigation and technology. Productivity stayed low, and commercialisation did not raise food grain yields, so the first option is correct.

  1. ALand settlement systems such as zamindari, heavy revenue demands, and low investment in irrigation and technologyCorrect
  2. BLarge public investment in irrigation and fertilisers by the colonial state
  3. CComplete abolition of intermediaries between the state and cultivators
  4. DRapid commercialisation that raised food grain output per hectare significantly

Explanation

Zamindari and similar systems burdened cultivators with high rents and gave them little incentive to invest. The state spent little on irrigation and technology, and commercialisation shifted land to cash crops without raising food output per hectare. Hence stagnation, not the other options, is the correct description.

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