1. Discuss the diftierent land revenue systems, as introduced by the British. 2. Explain the main reasons that led to the crumbling of indigo production in Bengal. B. Draw a comparison between the Mahalwari Sustemand the Ryotwari System.
Answers
Land revenue was one of the major sources of income for Britishers in India. There were broadly three types of land revenue policies in existence during the British rule in India.
Before independence, there were three major types of land tenure systems prevailing in the country:
The Zamindari System
The Mahalwari System
The Ryotwari System
The basic difference in these systems was regarding the mode of payment of land revenue.
The Zamindari System
The zamindari system was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 through Permanent Settlement that fixed the land rights of the members in perpetuity without any provision for fixed rent or occupancy right for actual cultivators.
Under the Zamindari system, the land revenue was collected from the farmers by the intermediaries known as Zamindars.
The share of the government in the total land revenue collected by the zamindars was kept at 10/11th, and the remainder going to zamindars.
The system was most prevalent in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, UP, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
In the British territories in southern India, there was a move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement.
A system that came to be known as the Ryotwari System, was devised by Captain Alexander Read and Sir Thomas Munro at the end of the 18th century and introduced by the latter when he was governor of Madras Presidency (1819–26).
Under the Ryotwari system, the land revenue was paid by the farmers directly to the state.
In this system, the Individual cultivator called Ryot had full rights regarding sale, transfer, and leasing of the land.
The ryots could not be evicted from their land as long as they paid the rent.
It was prevalent in most of southern India, first introduced in Tamil Nadu. It was later extended to Maharashtra, Berar, East Punjab, Coorg and Assam.
The advantages of this system were the elimination of middlemen, who often oppressed villagers.
Issues with the Ryotwari System
This system gave much power to subordinate revenue officials, whose activities were inadequately supervised.
The system was dominated by the mahajans and moneylenders who granted loans to cultivators by mortgaging their land.
The moneylenders exploited the cultivators and evicted them from their land in case of loan default...
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