Answer: Option A
:
A
Explanation:
Jotedars were a group of rich peasants. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, they had acquired vast areas of land. A large part of their land was cultivated by sharecroppers (adhiyars or bargadars) who brought their own ploughs, worked in the field, and handed over half the produce to the jotedars after the harvest.
In the villages, the power of the jotedars was more effective than that of the zamindars. Unlike zamindars, who often lived in urban areas, jotedars were located in villages and had direct control over a large section of poor villagers. They resisted ferociously the efforts of the zamindars to increase the village jama, prevented the zamindari officials from carrying out their duties, mobilized the ryots that relied on them, and deliberately delayed the payment of revenues to the zamindar.
Thus the jotedars were not appointed by the zamindars. Zamindars appointed officials named amlah for the collection of revenue.