British revenue systems: the Permanent Settlement in Bengal
Why the Company fixed the revenue
After 1765 the East India Company collected land revenue in Bengal. Revenue means the tax on land. The Company wanted a steady income. It also hoped that if the tax was fixed, zamindars would invest in land and farming would grow.
How it worked
In 1793, under Governor-General Cornwallis, the Permanent Settlement began. The zamindar was not a farmer. He was a collector of revenue from many villages (his zamindari). He had to pay a fixed sum to the Company every year, for ever.
Why zamindars failed to pay
- The first demands were set very high.
- Prices of farm goods were low in the 1790s, so ryots could not pay.
- The sunset law: if payment did not arrive by sunset on the due day, the estate could be auctioned.
- The zamindar's power was cut: his troops were disbanded and his courts were taken away.
Many estates were auctioned. Some zamindars played tricks: they made fake sales (benami purchases) to buy back their own land.
The rise of the jotedars
Jotedars were rich peasants. They held large areas of land, lent money and traded grain. They lived in villages and had real control over poor farmers. In many places they became more powerful than zamindars. They often led ryots to delay rent to the zamindar.
Peasants and forest people in the Rajmahal hills
The Paharias
The Paharias lived in the Rajmahal hills. They did shifting farming (called jhum): clear a patch, grow food, then move on. They collected forest products and sometimes raided plains villages. The forest was their home.
The Santhals
The Santhals came into the area around the 1800s. They were settled plough farmers. The British liked them because they cleared forest and paid revenue. In 1832 the Company marked a large area as the Damin-i-Koh, the land of the Santhals, with boundary pillars.
Conflict and revolt
The Paharias were pushed deeper into rocky hills. The Santhals, in turn, faced heavy tax, high interest from moneylenders (dikus, outsiders) and loss of land. In 1855โ56 the Santhals rose in revolt. Afterwards the British created the Santhal Pargana with special laws.
The Deccan: ryotwari, cotton and the riots of 1875
Ryotwari settlement
In the Bombay Deccan (1820s) the Company made a deal straight with the ryot (peasant). This is the ryotwari system. The land was surveyed and the revenue was fixed for about 30 years. The demand was high, so many peasants borrowed from moneylenders (sahukars).
The cotton boom and crash
When the American Civil War (1861โ65) cut cotton from America, Britain wanted Indian cotton. Prices rose, and moneylenders gave easy loans. After 1865 American cotton came back. Prices fell, loans stopped, and the government raised revenue at the next settlement. Peasants fell deep into debt.
The Deccan riots
In May 1875 in Supe (Pune district) and many villages nearby, peasants attacked moneylenders' houses. They seized and burnt account books and loan bonds, because these papers were the proof of their debt. The Limitation Law of 1859 said loan bonds were valid for only three years, but moneylenders made peasants sign new bonds every three years, often with fake entries.
Artisans
Rural artisans such as weavers also suffered as British machine-made cloth reached villages and local demand fell.
Official archives: reading the records carefully
Main sources
- The Fifth Report (1813): a report to the British Parliament on the Company's rule in India. It had over 1,000 pages and talked about zamindars and ryots.
- Francis Buchanan's survey: he travelled through the Rajmahal hills and Bengal in the early 1800s and wrote about land, people and crops.
- Deccan Riots Commission (1878): a report to find out why the riots happened.
How to read them
These records are very useful. But they were written by officials for officials. They show what the government wanted to see. For example, the Riots Commission blamed moneylenders and the peasants' anger, and said little about the high revenue. Buchanan praised land that could be made profitable. So always ask: Who wrote this? For whom? What did they want?
Key formulas and definitions
- Permanent Settlement = fixed revenue, for ever, paid by zamindars (Bengal, 1793)
- Ryotwari = revenue straight from the ryot, reset about every 30 years (Bombay Deccan, 1820s)
- Sunset law = pay by sunset of the due date or the estate is auctioned
- Jotedar = rich village peasant, lender and trader in Bengal
- Damin-i-Koh = land marked for Santhals in 1832
- Sahukar = moneylender and trader in the Deccan
Worked examples
1. Why were many zamindari estates auctioned after 1793?
The fixed demand was very high, crop prices were low, ryots delayed rent, and the sunset law allowed auction if even one payment came late. The zamindar had also lost his troops and courts, so he could not easily force payment.
2. How did the jotedars become powerful?
They owned or controlled large lands, lent money to poor peasants and traded grain. Because they lived in the village, they controlled daily life there, while zamindars lived far away. They could even stop ryots from paying the zamindar on time.
3. Why did the Deccan peasants burn account books in 1875?
Account books and loan bonds were the written proof of their debts. Peasants believed moneylenders had cheated them with false entries. Destroying the papers was a way to destroy the debt.
4. Why did the British prefer the Santhals over the Paharias?
Santhals were settled plough farmers who cleared forests and grew crops that could be taxed. Paharias moved around, lived on forest products and sometimes raided the plains, so they gave little revenue.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the zamindar was a farmer. He was a revenue collector over many villages; ryots did the farming.
- Mixing up systems: Permanent Settlement was in Bengal (1793) with zamindars; ryotwari was in Bombay and Madras with ryots.
- Believing official reports are neutral. They were written by officials and show the government's view.
- Saying the cotton boom made peasants rich for ever. It ended after 1865, and debt grew.