Previous Year Question
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R):
Assertion (A): The British Government introduced different land revenue system in different part of India.
Reason (R): It led to create different classes in Indian peasantry.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(A) is true but (R) is false
(A) is false but (R) is true
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Assertion (A) is correct. British rule did not introduce a uniform system of land revenue throughout India. Different regions were principally subjected to the Permanent Settlement or Zamindari System, Ryotwari System and Mahalwari System.
The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 under Lord Cornwallis, principally in the Bengal region. Zamindars were made responsible for paying land revenue to the government and acquired strong proprietary rights over land. As a consequence, large numbers of actual cultivators were reduced to the position of tenants under the zamindars.
In contrast, under the Ryotwari System, the revenue relationship of the government was established directly with the individual cultivator or ryot. The system developed principally in regions of South India and was particularly associated with Thomas Munro. Fields were surveyed and revenue was assessed separately upon individual cultivators.
Under the Mahalwari System, the unit of revenue assessment was the mahal, meaning a village or a group of villages. Collective responsibility for revenue was placed upon the village or its representatives. Thus, the relationship between the state, landlord, village and actual cultivator differed under the three systems.
Reason (R) is also correct. These different land-revenue arrangements produced different forms of land rights and agrarian classes, including zamindars, intermediaries, tenants, pattadari ryots, sharecroppers and landless labourers. The Permanent Settlement strengthened a landlord class, while cultivators and village bodies acquired different legal and revenue positions under other systems.
These arrangements also transformed land into property that could be sold and mortgaged. High revenue demands and indebtedness resulted in the transfer of land from many peasants to moneylenders and other non-cultivating groups, further deepening class differentiation in rural society.
Therefore, in the framework adopted by the question, different land-revenue systems are directly linked with the development of different classes within the Indian peasantry.