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Post-famine, the Company introduced the Permanent Settlement to incentivize zamindars to invest in agriculture. However, the system created setbacks like high revenue demands and absenteeism among zamindars, leading to an inefficient agricultural system that needed further reform, like the Mahalwari and Ryotwari systems.
After the catastrophic famine in Bengal in 1770, which resulted in the loss of nearly ten million lives, officials of the East India Company recognized a pressing need to stabilize the agricultural economy to assure their revenue income. Many debates ensued, culminating in the introduction of the Permanent Settlement of 1793. This settlement designated zamindars as the primary tax collectors and aimed to secure fixed revenue. While this approach sought to encourage agricultural improvements, it paradoxically increased the burden on zamindars, many of whom failed to invest in land improvements. The revenue demands became excessive, leading to significant complaints from both zamindars and peasants alike. Meanwhile, in regions like the North Western Provinces, new strategies such as the Mahalwari System emerged, focusing on village-centric revenue assessments, and later the Ryotwari System emphasized direct dealings with individual cultivators. However, even these reforms faced challenges as they often perpetuated high demands and led to peasant distress, showcasing the complex dynamics of agricultural governance under colonial rule.
Permanent Settlement: Revenue system fixing zamindars' payments permanently.
Zamindars: Land revenue collectors recognized by the British.
Mahalwari System: Focuses on village-level revenue management.
Ryotwari System: Direct revenue collection from individual farmers.
Famine struck with a heavy hand, ten million lost across the land. Zamindars were meant to invest, but high taxes put them to rest.
Once in Bengal, a terrible famine occurred, forcing zamindars to step up but instead they faltered under revenue burdens, leading to distress among the farmers.
Remember the order: Famine leads to Permanent Settlement, then Mahalwari, and finally Ryotwari.
Example of the Permanent Settlement is how zamindars were motivated to collect taxes without investing in land improvement.
The Mahalwari system effectively adjusted revenue collection but still carried high demands.
Term: Permanent Settlement
Definition: A revenue system introduced by the British in 1793, fixing land revenue demand permanently for zamindars.
A revenue system introduced by the British in 1793, fixing land revenue demand permanently for zamindars.
Term: Zamindar
Definition: Landowners who collected taxes from peasants and paid fixed revenue to the British.
Landowners who collected taxes from peasants and paid fixed revenue to the British.
Term: Mahalwari System
Definition: A revenue collection system at the village level, introduced in the early nineteenth century.
A revenue collection system at the village level, introduced in the early nineteenth century.
Term: Ryotwari System
Definition: A revenue system where land revenue was paid directly by cultivators, initiated in southern India.
A revenue system where land revenue was paid directly by cultivators, initiated in southern India.