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Peasants, Zamindars And The State
Cash or Kind?
The Ain on land revenue collection : Let him (the amil-guzar) not make it a practice of taking only in cash but also in kind. The latter is affected in several ways. First kankut : in the Hindi language kan signifies grain, and kut, estimates... If any doubts arise, the crops should be cut and estimated in three lots, the good, the middling, and the inferior, and the hestitation removed. Often, too, the land taken by appraisement, gives a sufficiently accurate return. Secondly, batai, also called bhaoli, the crops are reaped and stacked and divided by agreement in the presence of the parties. But in this case several intelligent inspectors are required; otherwise, the evil-minded and false are given to deception. Thirdly, khet-batai, when they divide the fields after they are sown. Fourthly, lang batai, after cutting the grain, they form it in heaps and divide it among themselves, and each takes his share home and turns it to profit.
Questions:
(i) Explain the term kankut.
(ii) Explain the system of batai or bhaoli system of land revenue collection.
(iii) Explain the system of lang batai.
(iv) Which system of land revenue collection, do you think, is better and why?
Answers:
(i) Kankut : Kankut was a simple system of collection of land revenue in the form of grain or a kind (not in cash). This was practice during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The term kankut can be explain in simple language. The first word it i.e. kan signifies grain and the second word i.e. kut means estimates.
(ii) Batai or bhaoli was a simple system of land revenue collection. The crops are reaped and staged and divided by agreement in the present of parties (i.e. cultivator and landlord or Government official). Batai was also done by dividing farm (khet) i.e. the piece of land cultivated and sowed was divided. In fact the fields were divided generally after they were sown.
(iii) Lang batai : Under this system after cutting the grain (harvesting), the heaps were formed. The heaps of the crops were divided among the parties. Each party use to takes his share home and turns into profits.
(iv) I thinks the cash system of land revenue collection was better than kankut. The payment of land revenue in kind needed honest officials and also honesty on the part of cultivators.
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