The
Land Revenue Policy under the British
Permanent
Settlement
When Robert Clive
obtained the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765, there used to be an
annual settlement (of land revenue). Warren Hastings changed it from annual to
quinquennial (five- yearly) and back to annual again. During the time of
Cornwallis, a ten years’ (decennial) settlement was introduced in 1793 and it
was known Permanent Settlement.
Permanent settlement
were made in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Varanasi division of U.P., and Northern
Karnataka, which roughly covered 19 percent of the total area of British India.
It was known by different names like Zamindari, Jagirdari, Malguzari and
Biswedari.
Salient
Features of the Permanent Settlement
* The Zamindars were
recognised as the owners of land as long as they paid the revenue to the East
India Company regularly.
* The Zamindars acted as
the agent of the Government for the collection of revenue from the cultivators.
* The amount of revenue
that the Zamindars had to pay to the Company was firmly fixed and would not be
raised under any circumstances.
* They gave 10/11 of the
revenue collected by them from the cultivator to the Government.
* The Zamindars would
grant patta (written agreements) to the ryots. The ryots became tenants since
they were considered the tillers of the soil.
* All judicial powers
were taken away from the Zamindars.
Merits
* Under this system many
of the waste lands and forests became cultivable lands.
* The Zamindars became
the owner of the land.
* The Zamindars were
made free from the responsibility of providing justice.
* The Zamindars remained
faithful to the British Government.
* This system secured a
fixed and stable income for the British Government.
Demerits
* The British Government
had no direct contact with the cultivators.
* The rights of the
cultivators were ignored and they were left at the mercy of the Zamindars.
* The peasants were
almost treated as serfs.
* This system was made
the Zamindars lethargic and luxurious.
* Many conflicts between
the Zamindars and the peasants arose in rural Bengal.
Ryotwari
system
Ryotwari system was
introduced by Thomas Munro and Captain Read in 1820. Major areas of
introduction of Ryotwari system included Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam, and
Coorg provinces of British India. By Ryotwari system the rights of ownership
was handed over to the peasants. British government collected taxes directly
from the peasants. Initially, one-half of the estimated produce was fixed as
rent. This assessment was reduced to one -third of the produce by Thomas Munro.
The revenue was based on the basis of the soil and the nature of the crop.
Rents would be
periodically revised, generally after 20 to 30 years. The position of the
cultivators became more secure. In this system the settlement was made between
the Government and the Ryots. Infact, the Government later claimed that the
land revenue was rent and not a tax.
Salient
Features of the Ryotwari system
* Revenue settlement was
done directly with the ryots.
* Measurement of field
and an estimate of produce was calculated.
* Government fixed the
demand at 45% to 55% of the produce.
Effects
of the Ryotwari Settlement
* In most areas the land
revenue fixed was excessive; the ryots were hardly left with bare maintenance
even in the best of seasons.
* Under this system the
government exploited the farmers instead of Zamindars.
Mahalwari
system
Mahalwari system, a
brain child of Holt Mackenzie was modified version of the Zamindari settlement
introduced in the Ganga valley, the North-West Province, parts of the Central
India and Punjab in 1822. Lord William Bentinck was to suggest radical changes
in the Mahalwari system by the guidance of Robert Martins Bird in 1833.
Assessment of revenue was to be made on the basis of the produce of a Mahal or
village. All the proprietors of a Mahal were severally and jointly responsible
for the payment of revenue. Initially the state share was fixed two-thirds of
the gross produce. Bentinck, therefore, reduced to fifty percent. The village
as a whole, through its headman or Lambardar, was required to pay the revenue.
This system was first adopted in Agra and Awadh, and later extended to other
parts of the United Provinces. The burden of all this heavy taxation finally
fell on the cultivators.
Salient
Features of the Mahalwari Settlement
* The Lambardar acted as
intermediaries between the Government and the villagers.
* It was a village-wise
assessment. One person could hold a number of villages.
* The village community
was the owner of the village common land.
* The village land belonged to the village
community.
Effects
of the Mahalwari Settlement
* The Lambardar enjoyed
privileges which was misused for their self-interest.
* This system brought no
benefit to the cultivators.
* It was a modified
version of the Zamindari system and benefited the upper class in villages.
Impact
of the British land revenue system on the cultivators
* A common feature of
all the settlements was the assessment and the maximize income from land. It
resulted in increasing land sales and dispossession.
* The peasants were
overburdened with taxation. Due to the tax burden and famines, in general, the
people suffered in poverty and burdened with debts. They had to seek the
moneylenders who became rich and acquired lands from the peasants.
* The Zamindars,
money-lenders and lawyers exploited the poor peasants.
* The stability and
continuity of the Indian villages was shaken.
* Cottage industries
disappeared on account of the import of British goods and the peasants had
nothing to supplement their income.
* The old body of custom
was replaced by new apparatus of law, courts, fees, lawyers and formal procedures.
* The British policy
proved advantageous only to the government of a privileged section of the
society at the cost of the cultivators who were the rightful owners of their
lands and claimants of the larger share of the produce.