brief note on ryotwari settlement
Answers
British government made a direct settlement with the ryots. A survey was done every 30 years for fixing rate of revenue based on soil condition and nature of produced crop.
Here, the tenant was recognized as the legal land holder. Thus, he gained a new right to transfer his right to others (that is buy/sell the land). This made land a marketable commodity.
The consequences were harsh. The revenue was often fixed at a very high rate. Sometimes even 80% of the produce was taken away. This led to introduction of moneylenders to sell/mortgage land so as to pay regular revenue. Farmers started becoming laboreres on their own land. It also led to rampant unemployment and deterioration of purchasing power of the society. It further led to their oppression and exploitation and further indebtedness.
In British India, the Ryotwari system of land settlement was used for land revenue. When Sir Thomas Munro was governor of Madras in 1820, he implemented this system of land tax. Assam and Coorg provinces, as well as the Madras and Bombay regions, all engaged in this activity.
In this arrangement, the land was considered to belong to the peasants or farmers. They held ownership rights and were able to give, sell, or borrow against the land. The government personally gathered the taxes from the peasants. In dryland, the rates were 50%, while in wetlands, 60%. In contrast to the Permanent System, the rates were high and could be raised. The government would evict them if they didn't pay their taxes.
Ryot is another name for farmers. In contrast to the Zamindari system, no intermediaries were present here. However, the issue of moneylenders entered the play because excessive taxes could only be paid in cash (there was no alternative for paying in kind as there was before the British). The peasants were further burdened by high-interest rates.
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