2. East India Company need money to:
Purchase goods in India and export them.
To run the administration
To maintain an army
Fund the numerous wars that they fought, both in India
and abroad.
There main aim was to make as much money as
possible.
3. There main source of income was revenue from land.
Warren Hastings gave the right to collect revenue from an
area to the highest bidder.
But this system failed as bids were made for an amount much
more than what the land could actually produce.
They never got full amount.
For this reasons they introduced three new revenue systems-
the Permanent Settlement, the Mahalwari system, the
Ryotwari system.
4. This scheme was introduced by Lord Cornwallis.
The revenue to be collected from an area was fixed
permanently with no scope of revision.
The local zamindar was asked to collect the revenue
from the peasants.
Every year , he had to pay fixed amount by a certain
date.
5. In advance was advantageous to the
company.
Ensured regular income to the company
Fixed amount at fixed time was collected.
No trouble of collecting it from each
peasants.
6. Peasants suffered terribly under this system.
They had to pay high taxes and could be evicted if they
failed to pay.
The zamindars were not interested to work for the
increase in productivity of land.
Production declined.
Peasants were forced to borrow money from
moneylenders..
7. It was introduced in present day western UP, parts of MP
and Punjab.
Here land was owned by a group of villages,
called’Mahals’.
The work of collecting revenue was given to the village
headman of each mahal.
The revenue demand was not fixed permanently, but
could be revised periodically.
8. This system was devised by Thomas Munro.
It was introduced in parts of Madras and Bombay
presidencies.
In this the company made a revenue settlement directly
with the ‘ryot’ or peasants.
The farmer was reorganized as the owner of the land as
long as they paid the revenue.
The revenue was fixed according to fertility of land.
9. These system of company impoverished the
peasants.
Land now became a saleable commodity which
could be bought , sold or mortgaged.
This had deep impact on rural life and economy.
A new class of zamindars and moneylenders were
introduced.
10. Farmers were forced to grow cash crops
like indigo, opium, oilseeds, tea, etc.
This lead to decline of food grains an
acute shortage of food supply.
11. Indigo is a blue colored dye obtained from the indigo
plant.
Industrial Revolution in England increased demand of
indigo to dye cloth.
The company forced farmers in Bengal to grow only
indigo.
12. Because it reduced fertility of soil.
Decline food grains.
No profit.
The farmers went into debt and became poor.
This resulted in rebel.
13. The indigo rebellion of 1859-1860, in Bengal was a
powerful peasants protest.
It was a non-cooperation with the planters.
The cultivators attacked the indigo factories.
Thousands of peasants refused to sow indigo.
The gomasthas or agents of the planters were beaten up.
At some places local Zamindars the peasants.joined
14. Indigo commission to look into the system of indigo
production and suggest changes was set up.
Bengal stopped being the hub of indigo cultivation.
The plantation shifted their base to Bihar.
Exploitation of farmers continued till the satyagraha
movement started by Gandhiji in Champaran.
