Ryotwari system
The Ryotwari System was a land revenue system implemented in British India, primarily in the 19th century. Under this system, individual farmers, known as "ryots," were given direct rights to cultivate land and were responsible for paying taxes directly to the government. Unlike other systems where revenue was collected through intermediaries, ryots had a direct relationship with the state. This approach aimed to enhance agricultural productivity and simplify tax collection. However, it often led to heavy taxation and distress among farmers, especially during droughts or poor harvests, making it a contentious aspect of British agricultural policy.
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The Ryotwari system was a land revenue system used in British India, primarily in the 19th century. Under this system, individual farmers, known as "ryots," directly paid taxes to the government based on the land they cultivated. Unlike the Zamindari system, which involved landlords collecting taxes from peasants, Ryotwari aimed to establish a direct relationship between the state and the farmer. This meant that farmers had rights over their land, but they faced the risk of losing it if they failed to pay taxes, which could be quite burdensome, especially in times of poor harvests.