Monday, November 30, 2009

IMPACT OF BRITISH LAND REVENUE SYSTEMS

IMPACT OF BRITISH LAND REVENUE SYSTEMS

Various types of revenue settlement gave rise to a new form of private ownership of land in which, the benefit of the innovation did not reach the cultivators. Instead, it led to the impoverishment of the peasantry and hence rural
indebtedness.

With zamindar's permanent right on land, the ownership of land became inequal.
Land became saleable, mortgage­able and alienable to protect the government's rev­enue.
The village com­munity was divided into two hostile groups: land owning class and landless peasantry. The stability and continuity of the Indian village was shaken.

The village artisans became jobless and were converted into landless labourers.Under these systems, law courts, lawyer's fees and formal procedures replaced the old body of customs.

The British land revenue systems exposed the Indian peasantry to the exploitations of the money lenders and the middlemen. The government demand of revenues was arbitrarily high. In such a situation, the landlords delegated the collection of revenue to middlemen who squeezed high sums from the peasants.
The new systems gave rise to absentee landlordism as the practice of subletting revenue collection rights came into being.

Exorbitant revenue demands led to commercialisation of agriculture.

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