Sponsor Area

Ruling The Countryside

Question
CBSEENSS8006809

Describe mahalwari system.

Solution

Mahalwari system:


(i)The mahalwari system was devised by an Englishman called Holt Mackenzie which came into effect in 1822.

(ii)He felt that the village was an important social institution in north Indian society that needed to be preserved.

(iii)Under his directions collectors went from village to village inspecting the land, measuring the field and recording the customs and rights of different groups.

(iv)The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village, i.e., mahal had to pay. This demand was to be revised periodically, not fixed permanently.

(v)The village headman was given the charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the Company, rather than the zamindar.