In 18th-century Bengal, the 'dadni' system was primarily associated with:

In 18th-century Bengal, the "dadni" system was a system in which merchants (and later the European companies) paid cash advances (dadan) to weavers, who agreed to produce and supply cloth to them at a fixed price.

How the dadni system worked:

• Merchants or company agents gave the weavers an advance of money to buy yarn and support themselves while weaving.
• In return, the weavers had to deliver a fixed quantity and quality of cloth at an agreed price and date.
• The merchants who acted as middlemen between the companies and the weavers were called "dadni merchants".
• Under the Mughals and the Nawabs, the weavers had some freedom to sell to other buyers.

Changes under the English East India Company:

• After the Battle of Plassey (1757), and especially after it gained the Diwani, the English Company used its political power to control the weavers.
• NCERT notes that the Company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade, and establish more direct control over the weaver.
• It appointed a paid servant called the "gomastha" to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
• It prevented Company weavers from dealing with other buyers; once an order was placed, the weavers who took advances had to hand over the cloth they produced to the gomastha.
• The gomasthas were often harsh, and punished weavers for delays.
• The prices paid to the weavers were very low.

Results:

• Many weavers fell into debt and poverty.
• Clashes between weavers and gomasthas occurred in many villages.

Decline of Indian textiles:

In the 19th century, cheap machine-made cloth from Britain flooded the Indian market, and the Indian weaving industry declined further.

Famous textiles of Bengal:

Muslin of Dacca (Dhaka), jamdani, and silk of Murshidabad.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Land revenue, recruitment of soldiers and salt tax were not associated with the dadni system.