The correct answer is: b) Land grants to local intermediaries.
The zamindari system was a system of land tenure in India under which the British East India Company granted large tracts of land to local intermediaries, known as zamindars, in exchange for a fixed annual revenue. The zamindars were responsible for collecting revenue from the peasants who lived on their land and for maintaining law and order.
The British introduced a modified form of the zamindari system in parts of Sikkim in the early 19th century. Under this system, the British granted land to local intermediaries, known as thikadars, in exchange for a fixed annual revenue. The thikadars were responsible for collecting revenue from the peasants who lived on their land and for maintaining law and order.
The zamindari system was abolished in India in 1950, but it continued to exist in Sikkim until 1975. The thikadars were then replaced by a system of elected village councils.
Option a) is incorrect because the British did not directly rule Sikkim. Sikkim was a princely state until 1975, when it became an Indian state.
Option c) is incorrect because the British did not abolish all private land ownership in Sikkim. The thikadars were allowed to own land, and they could also lease land to peasants.
Option d) is incorrect because the British did not introduce communal farming practices in Sikkim. The peasants in Sikkim continued to farm their land individually.