INSTITUTE-UILS

DEPARTMENT OF LAW
B.A LLB
History-III (HIT213)

Features of the Dual System and the Permanent

Settlement of Bengal
DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER
 HISTORY
Course Outcome
CO Number Title Level
• Mahalwari and Ryotwari
1 Students will know the  Understand
policies of the Britishers in
annexing India and their
impact on India
2 Students will understand the Understand
reasons of cultural synthesis in  
India
3 Students will be able to Understand
analyze the causes and events
of Revolt of 1857
4 Students will be able to Understand
understand about the various
Socio Religious reform
movements.

Will be covered in this

lecture
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 Mahalwari
•The government of Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of India (1828 to 1835) introduced
the Mahalwari system of land revenue in 1833.
•This system was introduced in North-West Frontier, Agra, Central Province, Gangetic Valley,
Punjab, etc.
•This had elements of both the Zamindari and the Ryotwari systems.
•This system divided the land into Mahals. Sometimes, a Mahal was constituted by one or more
villages.
•Tax was assessed on the Mahal.
•Each individual farmer gave his share.

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• Here also, ownership rights were with the peasants.
• Revenue was collected by the village headman or village leaders
(lambardar).
• It introduced the concept of average rents for different soil classes.
• The state share of the revenue was 66% of the rental value. The
settlement was agreed upon for 30 years.
• This system was called the Modified Zamindari system because the
village headman became virtually a Zamindar.
• Further the land revenue demand by the British Indian Government
was fixed once for all. This system no doubt had its advantages such
as full security of revenue, minimization of man power as well as
expenditure, creation of invaluable political allies, even immediate
increase in agricultural productin. 4
Mahalwari System and its effects:
• In north and central India the British adopted the Mahalwari system because of the special
conditions and also their desire to realize both revenue objectives. The main person responsible
for advocating this system was Charles Metcalfe who spent most of his service in north India.
• He strongly favoured the settlement of land revenue with the Mahal, which was the lowest unit
of land revenue under the Mughals corresponding with one large or two or three small villages.
After some initial problems the system was finally adopted in the North-western provinces in
1833 on the order of William Bentinck. But the actual implementation was done by R M Bird who
was the Lieutenant Governor stationed at Agra.
• Subsequently this system was extended to central provinces and the Punjab. Under this system,
the ownership of land as well as responsibility of revenue was shared by the entire village
communities through each individual peasant who had its respective parts of land.
• In this system also both objective of the British were realized and peasants have better protection
than in the Zamindari or Ryotwari system.

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 Ryotwari System and its effects
• It was Sir Thomas Munro who should be given full credit for introducing the Ryotwari system in
Madras in 1820 after more than two decades of experimentation at the grass root levels. Inspired
by Munro, his colleagues Elphinstone and Malcom implemented it in the third and fourth decades
of the 19th
• Later, it was also extended to few more areas like Berar, Coorg, Assam and Burma with the
necessary modifications. Under this system each Ryot (Peasants) recognized as the individual
owner of his land.
• This system fulfilled both the object of the British namely security and maximization because of
the individual ownership on one hand and provisions of periodic revision on the other hand. The
British could also claim that they were implementing the utilitarian principles as well as
preserving the traditions of India.
• .

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• In Ryotwari system the ownership rights of the land were given to the peasants
i.e. the rights of the land were hereditary.
• British Government would collect taxes directly from the peasants so that the
involvement of middle man or zamindars would be nil.
• The revenue rate of Ryotwari system was somewhere about 50% to 60% of the
land under irrigation. The percentage depended upon how much yield a land can
produce.
• The Government settlement with the ryots was fixed for a period of thirty years.
After that it was subject to re- assessment and re-settlement with new rules.
• As long as the peasants paid revenue on time, they were not evicted from the
land they were catering.
• Every farmer was held responsible for paying direct revenue to the Government.
• The farmers being the proprietor of the land could sell, mortgage or gift his land.

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 Assessment Pattern
1. Analyze the Mahalwari system?

2. Evaluate Ryoywari system’?

3. Explain effects of Mahalwari system?

4. Evaluate effects of ryotwari system

5. Diffentiate between Mahalwari and Ryotwari?

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 REFERENCES
• Reference Books:
• Sarkar Sumit, Modern India 1885-1947, Macmillan, New Delhi, 2001.
• Pandey Gynendra,Remembering Partition, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi, 2003
• Pal Bipin Chandra, India’s Struggle for Independence, Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2002

• Reference Website:
• https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/152829/9/09_%20chapter%20ii.pdf

• Reference Journal for advance study

• Crimmigration and the prison: Comparing trends in prison policy and practice in England & Wales and Norway

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THANK YOU

For queries
Email:sneha.e9797@cumail.in