📘 Class 12 History – Chapter 10
🌾 Colonialism and the Countryside (NCERT / CBSE Notes)
❇️ Meaning of Colonialism and Countryside
🔹 Colonialism → Slavery ideology (ग़ुलामी की विचारधारा)
🔹 Countryside → Village or rural life (ग्रामीण जीवन)
👉 Together it means: Impact of British colonial rule on Indian rural society.
⚔️ War of Plassey (1757)
🔹 Fought on 23 June 1757 at Plassey, near River Ganga in Nadia district, 22 km south of Murshidabad.
🔹 British East India Company (under Robert Clive) ⚔️ vs Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal.
🔹 Result → British victory ✅ → Bengal became the first Indian region under British control.
💰 Tax System under British Rule
After victory in Bengal, British introduced new Revenue Collection Systems (राजस्व व्यवस्था):
1️⃣ Isthmari / Zamindari / Permanent Settlement (1793) → Implemented in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, UP, Banaras, North Karnataka (19% land).
2️⃣ Ryotwari System (1792) → In Madras, Bombay, Assam (51% land).
3️⃣ Mahalwari System (1822) → In Central Provinces, UP & Punjab (30% land).
🏰 Isthmari Settlement (Permanent Settlement – 1793)
🔹 Introduced in Bengal under Governor-General Cornwallis.
🔹 Zamindars = Tax collectors (not real landowners).
🔹 Fixed revenue decided → Non-payment = Land Auction (नीलामी).
🔹 More than 75% zamindari estates transferred after its implementation.
🔹 Also called Sunset Law (if payment not done by sunset → land seized).
🎯 Objectives of Permanent Settlement
🔹 Regular & fixed revenue for the Company.
🔹 Solve Bengal’s economic crisis after 1770 famine.
🔹 Encourage agricultural investment 🌱.
🔹 Control zamindars → abolish their military, judicial & administrative powers.
🌟 Benefits to Zamindars
✨ Became hereditary landowners.
✨ Supported British rule & strengthened their power.
✨ Took interest in agriculture → production increased 📈.
✨ British got fixed annual income.
✨ No repeated negotiations for rent → Zamindars collected revenue themselves.
⚠️ Bad Effects on Peasants
❌ Farmers left at mercy of Zamindars.
❌ Exploitation (शोषण) increased.
❌ Peasants had no legal rights on land.
❌ Rent rates were too high → increasing poverty 😞.
❌ Rich Zamindars vs Poor Peasants = Social divide.
❓ Why Zamindars Failed to Pay Revenue?
🔹 Revenue demand was too high → if unpaid, lands were auctioned 🔨.
🔹 Negligence in land reforms → arrears (बकाया) increased.
🔹 British fixed revenue permanently → even during famine/drought, same tax demanded.
🔹 Crop failures 🌾 due to droughts/floods → impossible to pay revenue.
📘 Class 12 History – Zamindars under British Rule
❇️ Control over the Powers of Zamindars
⚔️ Military Weakening – Troops of zamindars were disbanded (भंग कर दिए गए)।
💰 Customs Duty Abolished – Taxes levied by zamindars were removed, benefiting the company.
⚖️ Court Supervision – Zamindar courts came under Company-selected Collectors.
👮 Police Authority Ended – Local police power (used for administration) was abolished.
📜 Collector’s Authority – Over time, collectors handled all administration. If revenue was unpaid, summons were issued immediately.
❇️ Status of Zamindars under East India Company
📜 Permanent Settlement (1793) – If zamindar failed to pay revenue, land was auctioned.
📉 75% Loss – More than three-fourths of zamindars lost land due to frequent auctions.
💰 Tax Collectors Only – Zamindars became just collectors of land revenue.
❇️ Reasons for Decline of Zamindars
💸 High Revenue – Revenue fixed was too high → land auctioned.
🌾 Low Agricultural Prices – Farmers couldn’t pay → Zamindars suffered losses.
🌪️ Natural Calamities – Even in bad crop years, tax had to be paid.
⚖️ Lengthy Lawsuits – Zamindars could only sue farmers, leading to losses & delays.
❇️ Why Zamindars Failed to Pay Revenue?
🌾 Famine of 1770 devastated Bengal.
📜 Fixed High Rates (1793) – Rates decided keeping future expectations; very unrealistic.
⏳ Sunset Law – If revenue unpaid by sunset, land was confiscated/auctioned.
👥 Confusion of Authority – Unclear who would collect rent: talukdar, zamindar, or collector.
💰 Rich Farmers Exploited – Wealthy peasants forced small farmers → zamindars couldn’t collect tax.
❇️ Sunset Method (🌅 सूर्यास्त पद्धति)
🔹 If zamindars failed to pay revenue before sunset on due date →
✅ Double penalty on revenue
✅ Zamindar’s land/property auctioned
❇️ Key Terms
👑 Talukdar (तालुकदार) – "Taluka" = district + "dar" = owner → Revenue collector of a district.
🚜 Ryot (रैयत/किसान) – British term for farmer. In Bengal, ryots often leased land to landless farmers instead of farming themselves.
❇️ Auction of Burdwan Estate
👩 Property in Women’s Name – King of Burdwan transferred land to his mother to avoid revenue.
⚖️ Company’s Auction – Land was auctioned; zamindar’s own men bought it at high bids → later refused to pay.
🔄 Re-auction Drama – Process repeated; bidders exhausted. Finally, land sold cheaply back to zamindar.
📊 1793–1801 – In Bengal, 1 in 4 big zamindars lost land. More than 95% were fake/benami sales.
❇️ How Zamindars Saved Their Property from Auction
🎭 Fraudulent Sales – Land transferred under fake ownerships.
👩 Women’s Property Trick – Land registered under women (protected by Isthmari Act).
🕴️ Bribery & Manipulation – Auction agents influenced.
📈 Artificial High Bids – Own men placed higher bids to discourage outsiders.
🥁 Use of Lathiyals (लठैत वर्ग) – Hired men to threaten/beat new buyers.
🚪 Block New Buyers – Prevented outsiders from taking possession of land.
💰 By 1790s – Many zamindars managed to retain wealth despite challenges.
📘 Fifth Report, Ryotwari & Mahalwari Systems, Hill People & Santhals
❇️ Fifth Report (1813)
📜 In 1813, the East India Company presented the Fifth Report to the British Parliament.
- It contained 1002 pages, based on petitions of 800+ landlords & peasants.
- Purpose → To monitor and review the Company’s rule in India.
✨ Features of the Fifth Report
🔹 Opposition in England to the Company’s monopoly.
🔹 Intervention of other political parties in England.
🔹 Interest of private traders in Indian markets.
🔹 Allegations of maladministration & corruption against the Company.
🔹 Became the basis of debates on Company’s rule in Parliament.
🔹 As a result, Regulating Act (1773) made it compulsory for the Company to send regular reports.
⚖️ Criticism of the Fifth Report
🔹 Sparked serious debates in Parliament.
🔹 Exposed decline of zamindars under Company rule.
🔹 Highlighted manipulations by zamindars to save land during auctions.
🔹 Increased opposition from British merchants → Parliament asserted control over Company.
❇️ Ryotwari System
🏞️ First introduced in Bar-Mahal (Madras Presidency, 1792).
👉 Expanded by Captain Munro in 1820.
- Direct relation between Company & ryots (peasants).
- No role of zamindars/middlemen.
- Every farmer = owner of land (recognized by Capt. Read & Munro).
- Revenue to be paid directly to Company.
- Land confiscated on non-payment of tax.
📉 Effects of Ryotwari in Madras
🔹 Farmers exploited → fell into debt & poverty.
🔹 Rural economy declined.
🔹 About 18 crore acres left barren.
🔹 Agriculture deteriorated.
🌾 Ryotwari in Mumbai
- Implemented by Governor Elphinstone (1819–1827) after annexation of Peshwa territories.
- Land survey by Pingal (1824–28) → wrongly estimated yields.
- High tax burden → many lands abandoned, becoming barren.
❇️ Mahalwari System (1822)
📍 Introduced in U.P. & M.P. by Lord Wellesley.
- Revenue fixed → collected through village headman (muqaddam) or big ryot.
- Mahal = village unit for revenue collection.
- Zamindar had to pay fixed revenue, could keep the rest.
📉 Effects of Mahalwari System
🔹 Decline of zamindars’ condition.
🔹 Many lost lands due to revenue arrears.
🔹 Farmers & landlords reduced to labourers.
🔹 Caused discontent → one of the roots of Revolt of 1857.
❇️ Hill People (Paharias)
🏔️ Lived around Rajmahal Hills (present-day Bengal).
- Depended on forests → mahua flowers, silk, red coal, firewood.
- Practised Jhum cultivation (shifting agriculture).
- Burnt bushes & used ashes as manure.
- Kept land fallow for fertility.
- Hostile to outsiders, resisted Company control.
- Gradually displaced as forests shrank & plains agriculture expanded.
❇️ Arrival of Santhals
🌱 In late 18th century, Santhals migrated to Rajmahal Hills.
- Cultivated rice & cotton with plough.
- Cleared forests for timber & permanent farming.
- Settled in lower hills, pushing Paharias further back.
- Conflict arose between Paharias (hoe cultivation) & Santhals (plough cultivation).
❇️ Settlement of Santhals
🏡 In 1832, Company officially settled Santhals in Damin-i-Koh (Rajmahal Hills).
- Encouraged to clear forests & start permanent cultivation.
- Their settlement marked a new agrarian community in Bengal region.
⚔️ Colonialism and the Countryside (Peasants Revolt & Surveys)
❇️ Santhal Rebellion (1855–1856)
🔹 When government officials, landlords & traders exploited the Santhals, they rose in revolt. This uprising is called Santhal Rebellion.
🔹 It began in 1855 (not 1846 ❌) and was led by Sidhu & Kanhu.
🔹 Actions of Rebellion:
- Looted houses of landlords 🏠
- Attacked moneylenders 💰
- Fought against oppressive officials ⚔️
🔹 Beliefs of Santhals –
They considered Sidhu & Kanhu as messengers of God (ईश्वर के दूत) who would end their exploitation.
🔹 Main Demands:
1️⃣ Stop exploitation (शोषण)
2️⃣ Return their lost land (भूमि)
3️⃣ Live an independent life (स्वतंत्र जीवन)
🔹 Company ignored these warnings → Santhals launched an armed revolt using bows, arrows, spears & axes.
❇️ Suppression of Rebellion
🔹 The revolt spread rapidly and even non-Santhals of lower class joined in.
🔹 But the Company, with modern weapons (आधुनिक हथियार), crushed the rebellion.
🔹 After suppression, to pacify Santhals, the British created a separate region – Santhal Pargana (area – 5500 sq. miles) including Bhagalpur & Birbhum districts.
❇️ Francis Buchanan (Hamilton)
🔹 Francis Buchanan (1794–1815 period) contributed valuable accounts & surveys about India.
🔹 Not a historian, but a doctor & surveyor. For some time he served as Wellesley’s surgeon.
🔹 Founded a zoo in Kolkata 🐅 (later Alipore Zoo).
🔹 Conducted land surveys for Bengal government.
🔹 Later adopted his mother’s surname → known as Francis Buchanan Hamilton.
❇️ Deccan Riots (1875)
🔹 Took place on 12 May 1875, in Supa village, Pune district (Maharashtra).
🔹 Cause – Farmers (ryots) angry against moneylenders (सूदखोर).
🔹 Actions during revolt:
- Burnt accounts of moneylenders 📜🔥
- Set their houses on fire 🏚️
- Looted grain shops 🌾
❇️ Deccan Riot Commission (1875)
🔹 Bombay Government appointed a Commission of Inquiry.
🔹 Its Report (1875) sent to British Parliament included:
- Statements of ryots & moneylenders
- Reports of collectors
- Land revenue details
- Petitions of peasants
🔹 This became an important historical source (ऐतिहासिक स्रोत) to study the Deccan Riots.
