Farmers were one of the immediate victims of the British rule. It was the land revenue system implemented by the British that destroyed the backbone of the farmers.
The aim of their tax policy was to maximize the income. The land revenue system implemented in the various regions under the British rule was different. The Land Revenue systems introduced by the British were. Permanent land revenue settlement, Ryotwari system, Mahalwari system.
Permanent Land Settlement :
The permanent settlement was introduced by lord Cornwallis, the governor general of British India. This system is also known as the zamindari system. In this system, the zamindars collected tax from farmers. They received 1/11th of the total tax collected as commission.
Features of permanent land revenue settlement :
- In the permanent land revenue settlement the tax was collected by zamindars.
- Zamindar was the owner of the entire land where he had the jurisdiction to collect tax. While the zamindars became the owners of the land, the actual farmers became tenants.
- Farmers were to pay up to 60% of the yield as tax.
- Tax was to be paid even at the time of poor yield.
- The tax was to be paid in cash strictly before the cutoff date.
Ryotwari System :
In the ryotwari system introduced in South India the land revenue was collected directly from the farmers (Ryots). Though ownership of land was vested with farmers, excessive tax impoverished them. Furthermore, the tax rates were frequently increased.
Mahalwari System :
The village headman was assigned the responsibility to collect tax. The tax rate was excessive in this system too. The entire village (Mahal) was considered as a single unit for tax collection.
