'Ruling the Countryside' deals with how the British East India Company established and consolidated its revenue system in Bengal after gaining the Diwani in 1765. The chapter explains that ruling a country requires more than just winning battles; it requires an efficient system to collect taxes, maintain law and order, and ensure that the economy functions smoothly.
The chapter traces the various experiments the British made in revenue collection. From the initial temporary settlements that often proved disastrous, to the Permanent Settlement of Cornwallis in 1793, the British were constantly trying to find ways to maximise revenue. The chapter also discusses the Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems which were introduced in other parts of India.
Along with the revenue systems, the chapter examines how the British transformed agriculture. They encouraged the cultivation of cash crops like indigo and opium, which had devastating effects on the peasantry. The Indigo Rebellion of 1859 in Bengal is a major highlight, showing how the peasants resisted the oppressive practices of the planters.
In 1765, after the Battle of Buxar, the Mughal Emperor appointed the company as the Diwan of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This meant that the company became the chief financial administrator of these regions. The company now had the right to collect all the revenue and use it to finance its trade and administration.
When the company became the Diwan, the actual revenue collection was done by local officials called 'zamindars' and 'naib-diwan'. Initially, the company did not intervene directly in revenue collection. It was content to receive a fixed amount of revenue from the region. However, when it found that the actual collections were much higher than what it was receiving, it decided to take over the collection itself.
The company wanted to increase its revenue from Bengal. It believed that if it controlled the revenue directly, it could increase its income and use it to finance its expanding trade and military. The company's first attempt was to introduce a system where the actual collectors were appointed for a period and could keep a part of the collected revenue.
However, this system was a disaster. The revenue collectors had no incentive to look after the long-term interests of the peasants. They tried to extract as much as possible in their limited time, leading to the ruin of agriculture. Land was being abandoned, peasants fled, and agricultural production declined sharply.
The company realised that if agriculture declined, its revenue would also decline. It understood that for a stable and growing revenue, agriculture needed to be improved. The company therefore attempted to settle the land with actual cultivators, but this proved difficult because of the complex nature of land rights in India.
The company's experiments in settling the land with cultivators did not succeed. The reason was that the British did not fully understand the local systems of landholding, which involved complex relationships between zamindars, headmen (village elites), and cultivators. This misunderstanding was one of the reasons why early revenue experiments failed.
In 1793, Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal. Under this system, the zamindars were recognised as the owners of the land. They were required to pay a fixed amount of revenue to the company every year. The revenue was fixed permanently, and it could not be increased in the future.
The company hoped that by making the revenue permanent, the zamindars would invest in improving agriculture, because any increase in production would benefit them. However, this hope was not realised. The zamindars did not invest in improving agriculture. Many zamindars failed to pay the revenue on time, and their estates were auctioned off. The Permanent Settlement led to the rise of a class of new zamindars who often treated the peasants harshly.
The Ryotwari system was introduced in the Madras Presidency and parts of the Bombay Presidency. In this system, the revenue was settled directly with the 'ryot' (cultivator). The cultivator paid the revenue directly to the state, and there was no intermediary like a zamindar.
The problem with the Ryotwari system was that the revenue rates were set very high. The peasants often could not pay, and when they failed, their lands were taken away. This system also proved burdensome for the peasantry, and many lost their land to money lenders and richer peasants.
The Mahalwari system was introduced in the North-Western provinces, parts of Central India, and Punjab. In this system, the revenue was settled with the 'mahal' or village as a whole. The village headmen were responsible for collecting the revenue and paying it to the company.
The Mahalwari system also suffered from high revenue demands. The village headmen often had to borrow money to pay the revenue, and when they failed to repay, their lands were taken over. Like the other systems, it placed a heavy burden on the peasants.
The British introduced the cultivation of cash crops such as indigo and opium in Bengal. Indigo was a valuable dye crop that was in high demand in Europe. The planters forced the peasants to grow indigo on their best land instead of food crops, which led to a scarcity of food and immense hardship.
The system of growing indigo was highly exploitative. The planters advanced loans to the peasants, which created a cycle of debt from which the peasants could not escape. The peasants had to sell their indigo to the planters at very low prices. This oppressive system led to the Indigo Rebellion of 1859 in Bengal, where the peasants refused to grow indigo and resisted the planters. The British government set up an indigo commission to enquire into the matter, which ultimately recommended that indigo cultivation should not be continued through coercion.
| Revenue System | Region | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent Settlement (1793) | Bengal, Bihar, Orissa | Revenue fixed with zamindars permanently |
| Ryotwari System | Madras, Bombay Presidencies | Revenue settled directly with cultivators (ryots) |
| Mahalwari System | North-Western provinces, Punjab | Revenue settled with the village (mahal) |
| Event | Year | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Company becomes Diwan | 1765 | Right to collect revenue of Bengal |
| Permanent Settlement | 1793 | Introduced by Lord Cornwallis |
| Indigo Rebellion | 1859 | Peasants revolted against indigo planters |
'Ruling the Countryside' reveals the huge gap between the company's intentions and its actual policies. The company wanted to improve agriculture and collect stable revenue, but its high revenue demands, the Permanent Settlement, and the exploitative cash-crop systems devastated the peasantry. The Indigo Rebellion of 1859 showed that peasants were not passive; they actively resisted oppressive policies. This chapter teaches us that colonial revenue and agricultural policies enriched the company while ruining the countryside, a pattern that would continue throughout British rule in India.