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3. Ruling the Countryside

Chapter Review:

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• The East India Company was named the Diwan of Bengal by the Mughal Emperor on August 12, 1765.

• This meant that the British became the chief financial administrator of Bengal, which was now under their control. For the benefit of the Company, they had to devise effective administrative and revenue collecting policies.

• The Company had to devise ways in which the revenues collected could meet the growing expenses of the Company.

• Being a foreign power in India, the East India Company had to carefully decide how it would rule the countryside. This included controlling revenue resources, producing the desired crops, and redefining the rights of the local people under its rule.

• Even though the East India Company had become the Diwan of Bengal, at its core, it was still a trading company. This meant that it put the Company's economic success before the well-being of the people.

• The organization exclusively centered around separating as much as income conceivable from individuals and purchasing crude materials like fine silk and cotton from the locale at costs as modest as could really be expected.

• Earlier, the East India Company had to trade gold and silver from Britain to buy raw materials. Be that as it may, subsequent to turning into the Diwan of Bengal, the income gathered from Bengal was utilized to purchase and fare crude materials. 

• This harmed the economy of Bengal. Artisans were forced to sell their goods at low prices to the Company while their taxes kept on increasing. Thus, their economic condition became worse with time, and they were unable to meet their debts. This forced them to desert their villages.

• Artisans leaving their villages increasingly caused the artisanal production to fall. The agricultural industry was also under strain due to the economic burden of the state.

• Finally, a terrible famine occurred in 1770, which took the lives of at least one-third of the population of Bengal. Almost 10 million people lost their lives to this calamity.

• With the drastic fall in agriculture, it was difficult for the Company to collect as much revenue as it wanted. To secure proper revenue from the land, the Company devised several policies which would ensure regular revenue income and would also force the people to look after the land so as to improve the agricultural output.

• Some of these systems are Permanent Settlement, Mahalwari system, and Munro system.

• To ensure that the Company secured revenue from the land, they introduced a revenue system in 1793 known as the Permanent Settlement.

• The Company expected that they would be tempted by higher income; the new zamindars would take effort to improve the land for cultivation. However, that did not happen. The revenue was fixed so high that most zamindars could not meet the demand and had to lose their rights to the property. Others were forced to sell off parts of their lands to pay the revenue in auctions.

• In the early 19th century, agricultural production improved, and the market prices rose. This meant that there was an excess income from agriculture. However, due to the principle of a fixed revenue, the Company could not benefit from the agricultural boom.

• The zamindars were still not interested in improving the land. Some had already lost their rights, while others saw this settlement as a way to secure more money without investment as they realized that as long as they rented their land to peasants, they did not have to invest for the improvement of the land.

• The worst effect was seen on the farmers who were forced to pay high rent. Failing to pay the rent got them evicted. This forced them to take loans from moneylenders. Even with high rents, the peasants had no rights on the land.

3. Ruling the Countryside

3. Ruling the Countryside:

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Q1. Match the following:

Answer: 

ryot	peasant
mahal	village
nij	cultivation on planter’s own land
ryoti	cultivation on ryot’s lands

Q2. Fill in the blanks:

(a) Growers of woad in Europe saw __________ as a crop which would provide competition to their earnings.
(b) The demand for indigo increased in lateeighteenth- century Britain because of __________.
(c) The international demand for indigo was affected by the discovery of __________.
(d) The Champaran movement was against __________.

Answer: 

(a) Indigo

(b) Industrilasation

(c) Synthetic dyes

(d) Indigo planters

Let’s discuss

Q3. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement.

Answer: The main features of the Permanent Settlement are as follows;

(1) Kings and taluqdars were recognized as landlords.

(2) The task of collecting rent from the farmers and paying the company revenue was entrusted.

(3) The amount to be repaid on their behalf was fixed permanently.

(4) The British made a law for investing in land and farming.

Q4. How was the mahalwari system different from the Permanent Settlement?

Answer: The task of collecting revenue and paying it to the company was entrusted to the head of the village instead of the landlord. This system was named as Mahalwari settlement.

Q5. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

Answer: Following are the two problems that have arisen due to the new Munro system of fixing revenue.

(i) It was expected from the ryots that they would try to improve the land but they did nothing like this.

(ii) The revenue officials had kept the rate of land revenue quite high, the ryots were not in a position to give so much land revenue.

Q6. Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer: These are following reasons by which ryots reluctant to grow indigo -

1) He was given advance loan for indigo cultivation.

(2) At harvest, they were forced to sell the crops at very low prices.

(3) They had to cultivate only a certain part of their land. Therefore, for the second crop they had only a small portion of land left.

(4) Indigo cultivation required extra time and effort.

Q7. What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of indigo production in Bengal?

Answer: The ryots began to resist indigo cultivation. In their conflict, the village headmen and some Zamindars backed them up. The protests were so large that the government had no choice but to interfere. The Indigo commission was formed to look into the issues. The planters' flaws were accepted by the Commission, and the ryots were free to graw anything they wanted. Bangal's Indigo manufacturing eventually came to a halt as a result.

3. Ruling the Countryside

3. Ruling the Countryside:

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Question: When did the Mughal emperor deploy the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal?

Answer: On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor posted the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal.

Question: Where is the plant of indigo found mainly?

Answer: Indigo plant is mainly found in the tropics.

Question: Which Englishman prepared a Mahalwari system when it was implemented?

Answer: The British named Holt McKenzie devised the Mahalwari system which was implemented in 1822.

Question: How many types of indigo are there?

Answer: There are two types of indigo cultivation.

Personal 2. ryoti
Question: Who established the local settlement, when and where?

Answer: Charles Cornwallis did it in Bengal in 1793.

Question: Who was the Governor of Madras?

Answer: The Governor of Madras was Tomas Munro.

Question: When did the world's indigo production halve?

Answer: Between 1783 and 1789 the world's indigo production was reduced to half.

Question: In 1865, what goods were first imported by the company from Britain?

Answer: In 1865 the first company imported gold and silver from Britain.

Question: When was import made by Britain?

Answer: Import Was done by Britain in 1788.

Question: What was the logic of castes like Reid and Munro?

Answer: His argument was that he should settle directly with the farmers who are cultivating the land from generations. Their land should be carefully and separately surveyed before revenue encapsulation.

Question: Write the names of the crops to be grown in any of the six states?

Answer:

(1) Jute in Bengal,

(2) Tea in Assam,

(3) Sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh,

(4) Wheat and cotton in Punjab,

(5) Cotton in Maharashtra,

(6) Rice in Madras.

Question: What is local settlement?

Answer: For investing in land and farming, the British made a law that according to the terms of this settlement, kings and talukdars were recognized as landowners. He was entrusted with the task of recovering revenue from farmers and paying revenue to the company. The amount to be paid on their behalf was fixed permanently. This is called local settlement.