Topic – Cultivation Tenure System Ms. sarbjeet kaur Goraya Subject: Indian economy

Meaning : A land or cultivation tenure system refers to the possession of rights for the use of land . The relationship between the landlord , the cultivator and the government is known as ‘ Land Tenure System ’ or as the ‘ Cultivation Tenure System ’ .

Importance : 1. For Development of Agriculture : Cultivator has the rights of ownership over the land , if ownership of farmer is secured then the farmers will put more efforts for the progress of agriculture. 2. For Government : Helps in locating who is the actual owner of the land . 3. For Society : If cultivator himself has the right over the land which he is cultivating then income distribution in the economy will be equitable and society will be more peaceful .

Features of An ideal land tenure system : Reasonable rent should be recovered. Person save specific and permanent right over the land. Farmers should have freedom to transfer his land. Limits of cultivation should be clearly specified. Rent should be elastic. Direct contact between government and farmer. Few inequalities in the distribution of land .

Land tenure system in India 1. Ryotwari system 2. Mahalwari system 3. Zamindari system

A. Ryoywari system ( peasant proprietorship ) Under this system , the land is owned by the government . As long as the farmer keeps on paying rent to the government , he shall remain the owner of the land . If he does not pay the rent , the government repossesses the land . Areas : First implemented by Captain Reed and Thomas Munro in Madras in 1822 and now prevalent in the parts of Tamil Nadu , Assam , Maharashtra , Gujrat.

Merits : Peasant’s Ownership – farmer has the right to land . Direct relationship with Government – Government can easily understand the problems of the farmers . Lack of Middleman – no middleman to exploit the farmers . Land Records – records relating to land are easily available . Temporary Settlement – the income of the government from the land revenue is elastic. Government Help – government gives concession in land revenue during famines , floods etc . Social equality – land is distributed among large number of farmers which helps in prevention of exploitation. Uncultivated Land – Farmer is not required to pay rent on all kinds of land or uncultivated land .

Demerits : Sub-division – size of the farm becomes very small. Expensive – Quite expensive. Transfer of Land to Moneylenders – majority of the land has been transferred into the hands of the landlords by the farmers. Arbitrary rent – there are lot of opportunities for favouritism by the government officers while fixing rent . Loss of Commodity life – feeling of brotherhood among the people comes to an end . Lack of Land Reforms – farmer is hesitant in making improvements in the land . Absentee Landlordism – new landlords comes into being who do not cultivate the land themselves but gives it on rent to landless farmers.

B. Mahalwari system Under this system , the land of the village is owned jointly by the village community. Only those people are included in the village community who are the owners of the land in atleast some part of the village . All the partners are collectively liable for the payment of their share of land revenue to the government . All the farmers have the right over the uncultivated land of the village . If farmers want they can let it on rent and distribute the rent among themselves . Areas : This system found in Punjab and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh .

Merits : Co-existence – encourages the feeling of co-existence since assets and liabilities are collective . Coordination between individuality and collectivity – each partner is free to do what he wants with his land but ownership of land remains with the community . Safety from Exploitation – no middleman involved. Elasticity in the income of Government – rent of land can be increased with the increase in value of land . Increased rent will increase the income . Demerits : Demerits of Ryotwari System – e.g.. high rent , high expenses , absentee landlordism . Defects of Zamindari System .

C. Zamandari system Under this system, the whole village or the entire land of the village is owned by one or more persons known as Zamindars who are liable to pay rent to the government on his entire estate. Zamindar is actually a middleman between the cultivators and the government. He lets out his land to the cultivators and recovers high rent from them as he wants to. Kinds of Zamindari system Permanent Settlement Temporary Settlement

Areas : West Bengal , Northern Uttar Pradesh , Parts of Tamil Nadu , Bihar , Orissa , Assam . Merits : Financial Advantage – Stable income for the government and expenses of redetermining rent from time to time were also saved. Political Advantage – People helps in strengthening the roots of the British Empire in India . Social Advantage – Introduction of new techniques of farming and raising the standard of living of the people. Economic Advantage – Beneficial for the development of agriculture .

Demerits : Obstacle to development – No efforts being made to practice agriculture in a scientific manner. Exploitation – Zamindars used to recover as much as higher rent from the cultivators as they desired. Large number of Middleman – Not only 1 there were as many 5 to 9 intermediaries between the zamindars and cultivators of the field. Absentee Landlords – Majority of the zamindars started living in cities and leaving the management of their estates in the villages upon servants who used to exploit the cultivators. No Direct Contact between the Government and the farmer. Adverse effect on Government Income – Rent is determined on permanent settlement . Lack of Help in Difficulties – No government help was available to the farmers at the times of famines or other natural calamities. Increase in Sub-division – Land was divided into small pieces.

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