jan 1, 1819 - Ryotwari System 1819 Alexander Read Thomas Munro

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Alexander Read and Sir Thomas Munro

• In the British territories in southern India, there was a move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement.
• A system that came to be known as the Ryotwari System, was devised by Captain Alexander Read and Sir Thomas Munro at the end of the 18th century and introduced by the latter when he was governor of Madras Presidency (1819–26).
• The officials believed that in south and south-western India, there were no zamindars with large estates with whom settlement of land revenue could be made, and that the introduction of the zamindari system would upset the existing state of affairs.

• Under the Ryotwari system, the land revenue was paid by the farmers directly to the state.
• In this system, the Individual cultivator called Ryot had full rights regarding sale, transfer, and leasing of the land.
• The ryots could not be evicted from their land as long as they paid the rent.
• It was prevalent in most of southern India, first introduced in Tamil Nadu. It was later extended to Maharashtra, Berar, East Punjab, Coorg and Assam.
• The advantages of this system were the elimination of middlemen, who often oppressed villagers.
Issues with the Ryotwari System
• This system gave much power to subordinate revenue officials, whose activities were inadequately supervised.
• The system was dominated by the Mahajans and moneylenders who granted loans to cultivators by mortgaging their land.
• In most areas, the land revenue fixed was exorbitant; the ryot was hardly left with bare maintenance even in the best of seasons.

• The government retained the right to enhance land revenue at will.

• The ryot had to pay revenue even when his produce was partially or wholly destroyed by drought or floods.

"The Ryotwari Settlement did not bring into existence a system of peasant
ownership. The peasant soon discovered that the large number of zamindars
had been replaced by one giant zamindar— the state—and that they were
mere government tenants whose land was sold if they failed to punctually
pay land revenue. In fact, the government later openly claimed that land
revenue was rent and not a tax."
- Bipan Chandra

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