Colonialism and The countryside

Question 1

1. Introduction
   a. East india company
   raj in the country side
   revenue policies
   policies meant for different sections of society
   what do laws determine
   rich or poorer
   new land loses land
   revenue records
   surveys
   journals
   accounts
   reports

Question 2

2. Bengal and the zamindars
   a.i. colonial rule ; west Bengal 1st
   a.ii. reorder rural society
   a.iii. establish regime of land rights and a revenue system
   a. an auction in Burdwan
   i. 1797
   ii. auction at Burdwan bardhaman
   iii. big public event
   iv. no. of mahals estates
   v. held by raja burdwan sold
   vi.1793 ; permenant settlement
   vii. fixed revenue by e.ic. that each zamindar had to pay
   viii. who failed to do so their estates were sold to recover the money
   ix. huge arrears accumulated by raja]
   x. estate put up to auction
   xi purchasers
   xii. sold to highest bidder
   xiii. strange twist
   xiv. servants and agents of raja
   xv. 95% of sales fictitious
   xvi. despite sale control over land by raja

b. the problem of unpaid revenue
i. 75% zamindaris changed
ii. secure of property rights and fixed rates revenue demands
iii. revenue permanently fixed
iv. regular flow of revenue
v. yeomen farmers and rich landowmners
vi. permenant settlement made with rajas and taluqdars
vii. zamindars revenue demand fixed in perpetuity
viii. revenue collector of stae
ix around 400 villages under him
x. one revenue state
x.totalo demand of entire state which revenue payed by zamindar
xi. z; collected revenue payed the revenue to companya nd retained the difference as his income
xii. taluqdar refers to one who holds taluq (Territorial unit)

c. why zamindars defaulted on payments
i. company offcios felt
ii. sense of security
iii. assured returns on investments
iv.but this failed why?
v. initial demands very high( becauseif low fixed revenue and profit expanded company wont get benefit so initial demands high)
vi. imposed in 1790s a dipressed decade of agricultural produce( ryots could pay dues)
vii. revenue invariable and had to be payed punchuality ( sunset law revenue payment by specif dates sunset other wise auction)
viii. liminting the power of zamindar
viii.a. control and regulate them
viii.b. subdue authority and restrict autonomy
viii.c. troops disbanded of zamindars
vii.d. custom duties abolished
viii.e. cuctheries bought under the supervision of collector appointed by cm
viii.f. local justice and local police
viii.g. Amlah (Officer of zamindar) came to collect rent but it was a perennial problem as bad harvests and low prices made it difficult of ryots to pay their dues
viii.h. Rich ryots and and village head - jotedars and mandals happy to see zamindar in problem
viii.i. zamindars could prosecute defaulters but was a long drawn judicial process made it difficult (e.g burdwan had 30000 pending suits)
1798

d. rise of jotedars
i. group of rich peasants
ii. francis buchanans survey Dinajpur district in north Bengal description of class of rich peasants known as jotedars
iii. they acquired vast land areas as much 7 thousand acres
iv. controlled trade, moneylending, exercising immense power over the cultivation of the poorer cultivators region
v. their large part of land cultivated through sharecroppers (adhiyars or bargadars)
v.a. brought their own plough
v.b. laboured in field
v.c. handed half the produce to jotedar
vi. power of jotedar more effective than zamindar
vii. zamindars lived in urban areas jotedars lived in village and
viii. exercised direct control over considerable sections of poor.
ix. fierce resistance by them to increasing of jama of the village by zamindars.
x. this prevented zamindari officials to execute their duties
xi. mobilisation of ryots who were dependent of them
xii. deliberately delaying payments of revenue
xiii. when zamindars lands were sold jotedars were often amongs purchasers
xiv. powerful in north bengal
xv. haoladars, gantidars or madals all different names.
((source 1; Kist, pottahs fouzdarry thanna and munsiff))
-> Zamindars were responsible for
-paying revenue to company
-distributing the revenue demand (jama) over villages
-> each village ryot big or smallpaid rent to zamindar
-> jotedars gave loan to other ryots and sold their produce.
-> Ryots cultivated some land and gave out the rest to uther under ryots
-> Under ryots paid revenue to the ryots
e. the zamindars resist
i. fictitious sale
ii. transferring their some of zamindari to mother as it was decreed that womens property cannot be taken over.
iii. manipulation of auctions: revenue deamands with held and unpaid balances allowed to accumulate
iv. if part of estate auctioned zamindars men bought it, out bidding the purchasers
v.zamindar agents -> purchase money not paid -> once again auction ( an endless cycle)
v. it was at last sold back to zamindar at lower price. zamindar never paid full neither iddi company recover full
vi. these happend at grand scle
vii. 1793-1801 , for big zamindars (burdwan inc.) made benami purchases coll. yielded 30 laks of tot. sales over 15% fictitious
viii. people from outside zamindar bought lands they could not always take possessions . at times their agents would be attacked by lathyals of former zamindar.
ix. proja ryots sense of loyalty resist
x. sense of identity, pride were not easily displaced
xi 19th ce depression of prices done deal
xii. zamindars power strengthened , 1930 collapse of their power
benami (trancsaction in name of fictitious or insignificant person
lathyal : none who wielded lathi or stick , strong man of zamindar
f. The fifth report
i. report published to British parliament in 1813
ii. fifte series of reports on the admin. and act. of E.IC. in india.
iii.fifth report
iv. 1002 pages of which 800 pages appendices
v. petitions of zamindars and ryots
vi. reports of collectors from different districts , vii. statistical tables on revenue returnes
viii. notes on revenue
ix. notes on judicial administration of bengal and madras written by offcials.
g. The general mistrust of British on E.I.C
i. since its estd of rule (EICS) in bengal in mid 1960s its activities were closed debated in England
ii. many in Britain opposed the monopoly of E.IC had over tradeiwth india and china
iii. they wanted revocation of the royal charter
iv. inc. no. of private traders wanted a hsaere in Indian trade and industrialists were keen to open up to Indian market for brit manufacturers.
v. conquest of bengal only beneficial to E.IC not the nation
vi. misrule and misadministration hotly debated
vii. greed and corruption publicized)
viii. brit parliament passed a series of acts in late 18th ce to reguale and control COmpany
ix. reports of adminsitraion of india and appointed commities to enquire into affairs of the company
x. ons such report was 5th report
xi.

Question 3

3. The hoe and the plough
   a. in the hills of raajmahal
   b. the Santhals : pioneer settlers
   c. the accounts of buchanan

Question 4

4. A revolt in the countryside the bombay deccan
   a. account books are burnt
   b. a new revenue system
   c. revenue demand and peasant debt
   d. then came the cotton boom
   e. credit dries up
   f. the experience of injustice

Question 5

5. The deccan riots commission