Sponsor Area

Colonialism And The Countryside

Question
CBSEENHS12028141

Why did the Zamindars fail to pay the revenue-demand in the early decades after the permanent settlement? Explain any two reasons briefly.

Solution

The Zamindars failed to pay the revenue-demand in the early decades after the permanent settlement:

(i) The initial demands were very high. This was because it was felt that if the demand was fixed for all time to come, the Company would never be able to claim a share of increased income from land when prices rose and cultivation expanded. To minimise this anticipated loss, the Company pegged the revenue demand high, arguing that the burden on zamindars would gradually decline as agricultural production expanded and prices rose.

(ii) This high demand was imposed in the 1790s, a time when the prices of agricultural produce were depressed, making it difficult for the ryots to pay their dues to the zamindar.