Land Revenue Settlements

Different aspects of British raj in India will be examined for understanding the significance of the land revenue settlement process in India. The primary reason that makes Britishers conduct settlements of land revenue was that it makes East India Company extend the revenue from India. The collection of taxes can be declared as the primary reason for employing the land revenue settlements. The consequences of the land revenue will be defined briefly in India.

Aspects of the British Raj in India

The British East India Company came to India to trade in different sectors and by employing their monopoly, Britishers were able to make the market in India more supervised for the development of their business. The availability of different agricultural elements is abundant. Constructing the business in the textile and other sectors can make the developed elements in the business with cotton, and indigo. British East India Company aims to make the land acquisition that forces the farmer to grow crops stated by the Britishers and landowners to pay taxes for extra revenue from India. Exporting raw materials can be declared as one of the vital movements played by the East India Company.

Land Revenue Settlement in British India

The land revenue settlement produced by the Britishers is known as the primary and major source of revenue generation for the East India Company to run the administrative procedure in India. Applying for the land revenue settlement, East India Company was able to make the development in the business for their productive progress with the agricultural crops from India. The Zamindari approach was introduced in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis via Permanent Settlement that designated the land ownership of the partners forever without any requirement for settled rent or occupancy rights for genuine cultivators. After the application of the permanent revenue system which is also known as the land revenue system, the Zamindar was forced to pay the maximum of revenue generated from agriculture procedures.

Features of the Permanent Settlement

According to the permanent settlement system employed by the British East India Company, there are some fixed rules and regulations for generating revenue from fixed sources in Bengal, Assam. The following are the features of the permanent settlement system

• Zamindars were introduced as the owner of lands that are used for cultivation
• The landowners have the right to collect taxes from the peasants
• A large portion of the tax revenue needs to be passed to the Britishers
• The rent amount was fixed by the Britishers and the landowners were reliable to pay the amount

Impacts of the Land Revenue System in India

The impact of the land revenue settlement in India has a negative approach on the farmers in India. The aim of collecting revenue made the farmers take advantage of the farmers. This aims in collecting more revenue by pressuring farmers. Putting more pressure on harvesting different crops that are profitable for the East India Company based on their trading preferences makes it difficult for the farmers to sustain. 

Problems 

The landowners lose their power of generating revenue and tax system. Indian landowners also known as the Zamindars were making revenue from land and they had knowledge about the procedure of cultivation. The tax amount was fixed by the landowners and among the farmers. The high rate of taxes made the farmers not possible to pay on time always. Farmers went into debt due to the higher rate of taxes that were not paid on time by them.

Social Impacts 

Generating revenue from the cultivated lands can be defined as the worst decision made by the Britishers. The ruthless technique of collecting taxes was making the farmers convert to rebellion and demand freedom. The fixed amount of tax becomes the reason for farmers dying. During the different seasons, failure in cultivation made the farmers die by paying the fixed rate of taxes.

Conclusion

The application of the land revenue made the agricultural lands go under the control of the British East India Company and their desire for crops was being developed by the poor farmers forcefully. There are endless issues with the land revenue settlement system issued by the British East India Company. Farmers were forced to pay an unnatural amount which led to the loss of land sometimes. Different demanded crops such as indigo make the land no more suitable for harvesting other crops such as rice.