Ruling The Countryside Flashcards
How did the company resolve its low revenue problem?
The permanent settlement system was introduced in 1793. Rajas and taulqdars were recognised as zamindars. The amount of revenue to be paid was fixed. Zamindars were to invest in improving the land in order to pay the taxes required by the EIC.
What was the problem in the permanent settlement system?
- Zamindars were not investing in the improvement of land as the revenue was too high and it was difficult for them to pay
- By the 1st decade of the 19th century, the situation improved and agriculture expanded, but the revenues collected was fixed, so the company didn’t profit.
- The system only benefitted the zamindars as they were the ones who got the most profit.
- Cultivators found it hard to pay the rent and often had to get loans from money lenders.
Mahalwari System
Holt Mackenzie - 1882
Collectors went from village to village, inspecting land, measuring fields and recording the customs and rights of various groups. The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue each village (mahal) had to pay.
This was revised periodically and was not fixed.
The person who collected the revenue and payed it to the company was the village headman, rather than the zamindars.
Ryotwari System/Munro System
Thomas Munro and Captain Alexander Read
There was no middle man between the EIC and farmers, the taxes were directly collected.
The farmers were seen as landowners that could buy, sell or rent their land.
Thomas Munro believed he should act as a paternal figure protecting the Ryots under his charge.
How did the Munro system fail?
- Revenue officials set revenue too high, making farmers unable to pay the taxes.
- This led to farmers fleeing the countryside.
What was Nij cultivation and why did it fail?
- Planters produced indigo from land they directly controlled.
- They bought this land or rented it from zamindars.
- It was difficult to expand as fertile land was densely populated, it was not possible to evict peasants from around the factory.
- It needed lots of manpower and many ploughs and bullocks.
- They were expansive to purchase and maintain.
What was the ryoti system?
- The EIC forced ryots to get loans and sign contracts to do indigo farming.
- 25% of the land was pledged to the loan shark and had to be used to grow indigo.
- Ryots were paid unfairly and treated badly.
- Indigo drained the nutrients from the solid which was kept to grow rice.
When did the Blue Rebellion begin?
March 1859
What was the blue rebellion?
- Ryots refused to pay taxes and attacked indigo factories.
- Those who worked for planters were socially boycotted.
- Ryots swore not to take advances or be bullied by the planter’s lathiyals.
How did the Indigo Commission solve this issue?
- They held the planters guilty.
- Fulfil existing contract but can refuse to produce indigo in the future.
What happened after the revolt?
- The planters shifted their operation to Bihar.
- The invention of synthetic dyes in the late nineteenth century caused business to slow down, but they still expanded production.
- 1917 - Gandhi visited Champaran for the Champaran movement.
