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Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.

Q1. [1] medium thorough-understanding
[mcq] Which of the following best explains why the Great Depression had a more severe impact on Indian peasants than on urban salaried employees in India? (A) Peasants had to pay fixed cash rents and repay loans even as crop prices collapsed, while salaried employees retained steady income. (B) Peasants were taxed at higher rates than urban workers by the colonial government during the Depression years. (C) Peasants lost access to foreign markets while salaried employees benefited from increased domestic demand. (D) The colonial government provided relief funds to urban employees but withheld them from rural communities.
  1. A Urban employees depended on world commodity prices, whereas peasants did not export any goods.
  2. B Peasants' income fell with crashing agricultural prices while revenue demands continued, but urban salaried incomes remained fixed and prices of goods fell, improving real purchasing power.
  3. C The colonial government deliberately protected urban workers by raising their salaries during the depression.
  4. D Peasants refused to sell their produce, causing greater losses, while urban workers adapted by switching industries.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:03 · grounding rag
Model Answer

Answer: (B)

Peasants' income fell with crashing agricultural prices while revenue demands continued, but urban salaried incomes remained fixed and prices of goods fell, improving real purchasing power.

Source: Chapter 3, Section 3.5 India and the Great Depression

Explanation

The textbook explicitly states: "Though agricultural prices fell sharply, the colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands" — hitting peasants hard. Conversely, "those with fixed incomes…middle-class salaried employees — now found themselves better off. Everything cost less." This contrast is the key examiner expectation. Option (B) captures both sides of this comparison directly from the source.

Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.