NCERT MCQ Solutions for Class 5 English Santoor Chapter 8 The Decision of the Panchayat

A hardworking farmer who prospered and bought another field. “Since the farmer needed a source of water for his fields he bought the well from his neighbour”.
This was a practical decision to support his farming activities.

The neighbour devised a plan to cheat the farmer. When the farmer went to draw water the neighbour stopped him.
His excuse was “I sold only the well to you not the water. The water still belongs to me. You cannot take it”.

The village chief fixed a day for the Panchayat to resolve the dispute. It describes the setting for this official gathering. It says “the members of the Panchayat gathered under the banyan tree in the centre of the village” which was a traditional meeting spot. 

The Panchayat chief used the neighbour’s own logic against him.
The judgment stated that if the water belonged to the neighbour then “you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately” making the neighbour’s claim impossible. 

The neighbour’s attempt to cheat the farmer failed because of the Panchayat’s wisdom. As a consequence for his actions the text states that “He had to pay a fine as well as apologise to the farmer” serving as a punishment for his dishonesty and cunning plan.

After the sale, instead of cooperating, the neighbour tricked the farmer by claiming that the water in the well still belonged to him and tried to prevent the farmer from using it.

The farmer knew he had been cheated and rather than reacting emotionally he approached the village Panchayat for a fair and just solution to the dispute.

The Panchayat did not accept the neighbour’s illogical claim. Instead, they used his own words to create a clever judgment that forced him to admit his wrongdoing.

The Panchayat’s decision was both clever and just. It upheld fairness and exposed the dishonesty of the cunning neighbour without using force or unfair punishment.

The Dishonest behavior for personal gain will ultimately lead to consequences. The neighbour’s greed cost him respect, money and trust in the village.

The Panchayat is described as the group of elders or village leaders who meet under the banyan tree to resolve disputes and deliver fair judgments.

The beginning of the story praises the farmer for his honesty and hard work which led to prosperity and the ability to expand his land by buying another field.

The neighbour made a dishonest claim about the water with the hope of extracting more money from the farmer, even after selling the well.

The village chief is shown leading the Panchayat and delivering a fair verdict, showing qualities of leadership, wisdom and fairness that earned him the villagers’ respect.

The Panchayat used this clever ruling as a way to expose the foolishness of the neighbour’s argument, making him face the consequences of his trickery.

The villagers acted responsibly by bringing the dispute before the Panchayat, which reflects their trust in a fair decision and their respect for tradition.

The central issue in the story is about whether the water in the well was included in the sale.
This forms the main conflict between the farmer and the neighbour.

The story concludes with the Panchayat delivering a fair decision in favor of the honest farmer, teaching a moral lesson about fairness and truth.

The neighbour’s punishment of paying a fine and apologizing publicly shows that the community values honesty and punishes dishonesty.

The Panchayat system represents an old Indian tradition where community leaders resolve conflicts through discussion, reflecting the cultural practice of collective decision-making.