Land Revenue Systems In British India (Ryotwari System,Mahalwari system)

 Land Revenue Systems In British India 

• Mahalwari system
• Ryotwari System

Ryotwari System Ryotwari System was introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820.  In Ryotwari System the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants. British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants. The revenue rates of the Ryotwari System were 50% where the lands were dry and 60% in irrigated land. The Ryotwari system was a land revenue system in British India, introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820 based on system administered by Captain Alexander Read in the Baramahal District. It allowed the government to deal directly with the cultivator ('ryot') for revenue collection and gave the peasant freedom to cede or acquire new land for cultivation. The peasant was assessed for only the lands that he cultivated. Mahalwari system The Mahalwari system was introduced by Holt Mackenzie in 1822.The other two systems were the Permanent Settlement in Bengal in 1793 and the Ryotwari system in 1820. It covered the states of Punjab, Awadh and Agra, parts of Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh. During the 1800s, the British established control over the administrative machinery of India. The System of Land Revenue acted as a chief source of income of the British. Land was one of the most important source of income for the British. Thus, they used land to control the entire Revenue system, strengthening their economic condition in India.

Ryotwari System

• Ryotwari System was introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820.
• This was the primary land revenue system in South India.
• Major areas of introduction include Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and Coorg provinces of British India.
• In Ryotwari System the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants. British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants.
• The revenue rates of the Ryotwari System were 50% where the lands were dry and 60% in irrigated land.
• Though ownership of land was vested with the farmers, excessive tax impoverished them. Furthermore, the tax rates were frequently increased.

Mahalwari System

• Mahalwari system was introduced in 1822 by Holt Mackenzie. Later, the system was reformed during the period of William Bentick (1833).
• This was the primary land revenue system in North-West India.
• It was introduced in Central Province, North-West Frontier, Agra, Punjab, Gangetic Valley, etc of British India.
• In this system, the land was divided into Mahals. Each Mahal comprises one or more villages.
• The entire village (Mahal) was considered as a single unit for tax collection.
• The village headman or villages committee was assigned the responsibility to collect tax.
• Ownership rights were vested with the peasants.
• The tax rate was excessive in this system too.
• The Mahalwari system had many provisions of both the Zamindari System and Ryotwari System.

Problems created by the British Land Revenue Policies

The land revenue policies implemented by the British affected the agricultural sector.

When the farmers were unable to pay tax in the form of money before the deadline, they had to take a loan from moneylenders at a high rate of interest. The loans were obtained by mortgaging
agricultural land. The agricultural land of the farmers, who could not pay back the loan and interest, was seized by the money lenders.