RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE
02/09/2022 Revenue System
Date: 02/09/2022 Day : Friday
| Feature | Permanent | Mahalwari | Ryotwari |
|---|---|---|---|
| When ? | Introduced in the year 1793 | Introduced in the year 1822 | Introduced in the year 1820 |
| Who ? | Initiated by Lord Cornwallis | Initiated by Holt Mackenzie Reformed by William bentick (1833) |
Initiated by Alexander Read, and Thomas Munro |
| Where ? | provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Varanasi. | Central Province, North-West Frontier, Agra, Punjab, Gangetic Valley, etc of British India | Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and Coorg provinces of British India |
| Authority? | Zamindars were given the rights to collect the rent from the peasants. | The village headman or villages committee was assigned the responsibility to collect tax. | British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants or cultivators (Ryot) |
| Mode | Fixed land revenue | No fixed land revenue | Fixed land revenue |
| Merits | Farming system was improved | Developed a system of cooperative farming | No middle man between payers & collectors |
| Failure/ Challenges |
*The company noticed that Zamindars did not make any investment to improve the quality of lands * Zamindars lost zamindari rights as they could not pay the revenue * Due to fixed revenue income of zamindars increase but the income of company did not increase * Tenants felt the system was highly oppressive as they had to pay high rents for the land they had no rights on it. |
* Irregularities in land assessments and growing discontent about the fixation of rent. | * Cultivators were required to pay a fixed sum of rent irrespective of the actual field * The company officials fixed the rent randomly and also forcibly extracted more rents from the ryots |
14/09/2022 Remaining notes
Date: 14/09/2022 Day : Wednesday
What is the main idea behind the Zamindari system or Permanent Settlement?
Ans :
1. The main idea behind this system was to ensure continuous flow of income to the company
2. Encourage the zamindars to invest in the improvement of land
What circumstance led to the collapse of Bengal's economy?
Answer:
1. The East India Company’s demands for large revenues from peasants
2. Forcing artisans to sell their goods to the Company at very cheap rates
3. Above reason forced peasants and artisans to migrate from their village
4. This circumstance consequently led to the collapse of Bengal's economy
Why were Zamindars not interested in investing towards improvement of their land?
Answer:
Zamindars did not show any interest in improving their land because some of them had lost their
lands as they could not pay the revenue, while others wanted to earn profits without risking any investment.
Compare the reasons behind the support extended to the blue rebellion by the zamindars and the village headmen.
Answer:
1. Many headmen were unhappy with being forced to sign contracts by the planters. So, they
gathered indigo peasants to battle the lathiyals.
2. The zamindars were angry with the planters who tried to overpower and force them to rent out their lands for long periods.
What led to the demand for indigo in Britain in the late 18th century?
Answer:
1. The onset of industrialization in Britain by the end of the 18th century
2. Expanding cotton production in Britian which demand for dyes grew dramatically
How and why was the Champaran movement initiated?
Answer:
In 1917, Gandhiji visited Champaran in Bihar and, moved by the plight of the ryots, initiated a
movement against indigo planters, which came to be known as the Champaran movement.
How did the British extend indigo production in India?
Answer:
1. To meet the excessive demand for indigo in Europe, the Company tried to extend the area under
indigo cultivation and encouraged indigo farming in Bengal.
2. By the late eighteenth century, Bengal witnessed huge growth in indigo cultivation
3. Indigo from Bengal became famous throughout the world.
4. The share of Indian indigo in the total indigo import of Britain increased
from 30 per cent in 1788 to 95 per cent in 1810.
5. This prompted company officials and commercial agents to invest in indigo production.
6. Many company officials left their jobs and took to indigo plantations.
7. As indigo cultivation offered very high profits, many Scotsmen and Englishmen were
drawn to India to become planters.
8. If required, they could even avail loans for indigo cultivation
from the Company and banks, which were being newly set up during that time
9. This way British extend indigo production in India.
Analyse how the blue rebellion brought about changes in the condition of the indigo cultivators?
Answer:
1. A revolt took place in Bengal in March 1859 by the inspiration of 1857 revolt.
2. Thousands of ryots started a rebellion against indigo cultivation, which later came to be known as the blue rebellion or the Indigo Revolt.
3. Ryots armed with spears, bows, arrows and swords attacked indigo factories and planters.
4. They were joined by women armed with kitchen implements.
5. The ryots refused to pay back the loans taken from the planters and attacked their agents.
6. They boycotted people working for the planters and also swore not to take any other loans from the planters.
7. They also fought against the lathiyals maintained by the planters.
8. The ryots had the support of their village headmen and zamindars, who encouraged
them to revolt.
9. The magistrate of Barasat, Ashley Eden, issued a notice to the planters, asking them not to force
the ryots to sign indigo contracts.
10. With the spread of the rebellion, many intellectuals from Calcutta visited indigo districts and wrote about the pathetic condition of the ryots
11. Th famous book 'Nildarpan' mean mirror of the indigo written by Bengali playwright Bandumitra portrayed the cruelty and oppression faced by the Bengali indigo laborer at the hands of British indigo planters
12. This eventually helped in changing the condition of the indigo planters.