New Land Revenue Settlements

Question 1

How were peasants self- sufficient before the rule of the British?

Answer 1

Peasant families cultivated land and paid a portion of it to the rulers as revenue which was usually collected by the village headman of intermediaries.

Question 2

How did revenue collection change with the coming of the British?

Answer 2

• fixed revenue amount
• paid in cash
• were forced to grow only the crops that would sell.

Question 3

3. Name the types of revenue settlements.

Answer 3

• Zamindari system/Permanent system (Bengal)
• Ryotwari system (Bombay and Madras)
  -Mahalwari system ( Punjab, north-west and central India)

Question 4

When, where, and by who was the Permanent Settlement introduced?

Answer 4

Bengal
Lord Cornwallis
1793

Question 5

What were the provisions of the Permanent Settlement?

Answer 5

1. Zamindars were made owners of the land and worked as government agents to collect land revenue
2. They were made to give 89% of the revenue to the government
3. They could retain 11% of the revenue
4. The land revenue was fixed permanently for 10 years
5. Zamindars were given the hereditary rights of zamihdari

Question 6

What were the limitations of the Permanent Settlement?

Answer 6

1. New class of landlords in the form of zamindaris (political allies of the British)
2. Wastelands and forests brought under cultivation
3. Oppressive tax collection methods
4. Position of actual cultivators worsened as the zamindars could evict them due to non-payment of dues
5. Benefited the land lords more than the government. By increasing land area, they could collect more revenue while the amount that had to be paid to the government remained same.

Question 7

How was Ryotwari Settlement implemented?

Answer 7

Madras (and spread to Bombay and adjoining areas later on)
Thomas Munro
1820-27

Question 8

Who was the Ryotiwari system with?

Answer 8

Ryots(cultivators)

Question 9

What were the reasons for adoption of Ryotwari system?

Answer 9

1. There were no zamindaries or other intermediaries with whom it could be carried out
2. It generated more revenue than any other system which was forced as 1/3 of the produce

Question 10

What were the limitations of the Ryotwari system?

Answer 10

1. Oppressive
2. Moneylenders seized the land from peasants in debt and evicted them or reduced them to tenants
3. The ryot had to pay revenue even when the produce was partially or wholly destroyed by natural calamities such as floods or droughts

Question 11

Where was the Mahalwari system introduced?

Answer 11

(Modified version of the Ryotwari system)
Ganga Valley
Northwest province
Punjab
Parts of central India

Question 12

List the features of the Mahalwari system.

Answer 12

1. A group of villages made a Mahal
2. Land belonged to the village community who was collectively responsible for paying land revenue
3. Forests and pastures also belonged to the village community
4. Thus, a village wise system of revenue collection was practiced

Question 13

What were the limitations of the Mahalwari system?

Answer 13

1. The high revenue rates caused large portions of the land to pass into the hands of moneylenders and merchants.
2. Increase in poverty and deposession of land among cultivating communities in the 1830s and 1840s
3. The anger of the cultivators was expressed in popular uprisings in 1857