3. LAND REVENUE POLICY
After establishing political supremacy in Bengal and
other parts of India the East India Company need
much money to meet their several expenses.
For this the British overthrew the traditional land
revenue system and made several experiments in this
field.
4. They had some specific aim behind this:
They wanted to collect as much revenue as possible from
India
They wanted to increases the production of agricultural
commodities that they wanted to export to England
The British wished to create a new ‘class’ in India who
would with them in all days
5. Permanent settlement
Lord Cornwallis the viceroy of British India introduced
a new revenue system in the states of Bengal ,Bihar
and Orissa.
6. The settlement was made with zamindars, who collected
revenue from the peasants and handed over a fixed amount to
British.
Zamindars extracted exorbitant revenue from the peasants
and became wealthy.
The cultivators were reduced to the status of mere tenants and
deprived of their longstanding rights to the soil.
The company also received their share without any failure
But the condition of the peasants, who where unable to bear the
tax burden, was pathetic.
7. Effects
The permanent settlement has given permanent
proprietary rights to a class of tax collectors.
They where a class who had no rights to ownership
The only benefit of the settlement was that the company
got stable revenue.
8. Ryotwari system
Ryotwari system prevailed in the southern provinces of
British India.
Under this system company collected revenue directly
from farmers
But they did not provide any proprietary rights on the
cultivating land to the peasants.
The tax was also high.
9. Effects
Ryotwari system upon rural economy was harmful.
The ryotwari settlement did not bring into existence
system of peasants ownerships.
The ryot had to pay revenue even when his produce was
partially or wholly destroyed by floods ,droughts etc.
10. Mahalwari system
Mahalwari system of the Northern and Central
Provinces was another system of revenue collection.
According to this system, the company collected taxes
remitted by village heads or heads of joint families and
not from the individual farmers.
These land revenue systems were not favourable to the
farmers.
If the crops were destroyed or the harvests declined
due to adverse climatic conditions, the peasants were
not given any reduction in their revenue demand.
11. Effects
The areas under the control of the big talukdars were reduced.
The British officers made direct settlements with the village
zamindars as far as possible.
Mahalwari system ruined the village zamindars.
The indebted farmers were ill-treated by the zamindars and the
money lenders.
The intensity of the exploitation faced by the peasants
increased day by day and finally led to the clashes between
landlords and peasants.
