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Rural Life and Society Chapter Notes | History Class 8
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Table of contents
Introduction
The Agrarian Policies of the British
Revenue Farming System
Effect and Impact of the British Revenue Policies
Growth of Commercial Crops
Introduction
This chapter explores the rural life and society in India under British rule, focusing on
the agrarian policies introduced by the East India Company after gaining control
over Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha following the Battle of Buxar. It discusses how the
British implemented various land revenue systems to maximize income, which
significantly impacted peasants and agriculture. The chapter also covers the growth
of commercial crops like indigo, the oppressive practices that led to the Indigo
Rebellion, and the specific effects of these policies in regions like Punjab and Bengal.
The Agrarian Policies of the British
Agriculture was the primary income source for the British in India.
Initially, the East India Company followed traditional revenue collection
methods.
Gradually introduced new land revenue systems to collect maximum revenue.
Revenue was used to buy goods for export, maintain an army, run
administration, and fund wars.
Previously, goods were bought with imported gold and silver; now, revenue from
Bengal was used.
Bengal’s economy faced a crisis, causing artisans to leave villages and peasants
to struggle with high dues.
In 1770, a severe famine killed about one-third of Bengal’s population.
Revenue Farming System
Introduced by Warren Hastings, where revenue collection rights were
auctioned to the highest bidder for five years.
Bidding was not based on land’s actual productivity, leading to overly high bids.
Farmers focused on extracting maximum revenue, ignoring agricultural
productivity.
Peasants faced heavy revenue demands, causing financial strain.
Revenue farmers did not improve land, as it was periodically auctioned.
This system led to the ruin of the agricultural community.
The Company introduced new systems to ensure steady income and restore
agriculture.
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Permanent Settlement
Introduced in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal.
Zamindars were given land ownership rights and became hereditary owners.
Peasants became tenants of zamindars, paying a fixed revenue amount.
Aim was to ensure regular income for the Company and encourage zamindars to
improve land.
Fixed revenue was meant to reduce corruption by officials.
Peasants faced high revenue demands, with no relief during crop failures, floods,
or droughts.
Peasants often borrowed money from moneylenders, leading to debt traps.
Zamindars did not invest in land improvement due to high fixed revenue.
Zamindars had to pay revenue by a fixed date, or their land was auctioned.
Ryotwari Settlement
Introduced by Thomas Munro in Madras Presidency and later in Bombay
Presidency.
Revenue was collected directly from peasants (ryots) by the East India
Company.
Land was surveyed and assessed to fix revenue, aiming to avoid zamindar
exploitation.
In practice, peasants became tenants, with the government as the landowner.
No proper surveys were conducted in many areas, leading to over-assessment.
High revenue demands impoverished peasants, who fell into debt.
Failure to pay dues led to land being sold by the government.
Land market suffered as people avoided buying land due to high revenue
demands.
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Mahalwari Settlement
Introduced in 1822 by Holt Mackenzie in North-Western Provinces, Central
India, and Punjab.
Mahal referred to a village or group of villages with joint land ownership.
Village community was responsible for paying revenue, calculated by summing
individual plot revenues.
Revenue was collected by the village headman.
Over-assessment, corrupt practices, and faulty surveys led to uncultivated or
ruined land.
Peasants faced heavy debt and financial burdens.
Effect and Impact of the British Revenue Policies
All revenue systems aimed to maximize land revenue, leading to over-
assessment.
High revenue demands caused peasants to flee, sell, or mortgage their land.
Peasants borrowed money to pay dues, often becoming bonded laborers
(begari).
Agriculture stagnated as neither the British nor zamindars improved land
productivity.
No facilities like irrigation, fertilizers, or tools were provided to peasants.
Land productivity declined, leading to crop shortages and frequent famines.
Villages lost self-sufficiency as they were forced to grow commercial crops.
Industrial Revolution reduced demand for Indian handicrafts, forcing artisans
into agriculture.
This increased pressure on farmers, worsening their condition.
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Growth of Commercial Crops
British encouraged peasants to grow cash crops like indigo, tea, coffee, rubber,
jute, cotton, silk, and opium.
These crops served as raw materials for British industries.
Crops were grown on large plantations, mostly owned by British or European
planters.
Peasants were forced to grow and sell these crops at low prices.
Lack of storage facilities forced peasants to sell crops immediately after harvest.
This led to low income for peasants and a decline in food grain production.
Food shortages further impoverished peasants.
Oppressive revenue systems and forced crop cultivation led to peasant revolts.
Indigo
Indigo is a blue dye from the indigo plant, used for coloring textiles.
It was a major Indian export, in high demand in Europe.
Supply from the West Indies and America collapsed, increasing demand for
Indian indigo.
The Company forced Bengal and Bihar farmers to grow indigo.
Indigo production in Bengal grew rapidly, dominating the world market by 1810
(95% exported to Britain).
Commercial agents and Company officials invested in indigo due to high profits.
English and Scottish planters moved to India, taking loans to start indigo
production.
Causes for the Indigo Rebellion
Indigo required fertile, densely populated land, exhausting soil fertility.
Rice could not be grown after indigo due to soil depletion.
Planters needed large areas, often evicting peasants to lease land.
Labor was required when peasants were busy with rice cultivation.
Indigo was grown through nij (planter-controlled land) and ryoti (peasant
contracts) systems.
In the ryoti system, peasants signed contracts (satta) for cash advances at low
interest.
Peasants had to grow indigo on 25% of their land, using planter-provided seeds
and tools.
Low prices for indigo and continuous loans trapped peasants in a debt cycle.
Oppressive systems led to peasant revolts.
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Chapter Notes: Rural Life and Society
The Indigo Rebellion
In 1859, Bengal ryots refused to grow indigo, known as the Indigo or Blue
Rebellion.
Ryots stopped paying rents, attacked indigo factories, and socially boycotted
planters’ workers.
Women also participated in the rebellion.
Village headmen and zamindars supported ryots, feeling threatened by planters’
power.
Lieutenant Governor John Peter Grant banned forced advances for indigo
cultivation.
The rebellion gained attention through newspapers and the play Neel Darpan by
Dinabandhu Mitra.
The government deployed the military to protect planters.
The Indigo Commission was formed, finding planters guilty of coercive methods.
Ryots were asked to complete existing contracts but could refuse future indigo
production.
Fun Fact
Neel Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra highlighted indigo cultivators’ plight.
Translated into English by Michael Madhusudan Dutt, published by Rev.
James Long.
Attracted attention in India and Britain, leading to Long’s imprisonment
and fine.
The play was staged at the National Theatre in Calcutta, raising
awareness.
After the rebellion, indigo production nearly stopped in Bengal but
continued in Bihar.
In Bihar, oppressive practices persisted, leading to revolts into the 20th
century.
In 1917, Mahatma Gandhi led the Champaran Movement against indigo
planters in Bihar.
Case Study: Impact on Punjab and Bengal
Punjab was annexed in 1849, and British rule brought political stability.
Extensive canal systems expanded arable land in Punjab.
Crops like cotton, wheat, and pulses were grown, increasing agricultural
prosperity.
In Bengal, land revenue systems impoverished peasants and destroyed the
rural economy.
Famines worsened peasants’ conditions in Bengal.
Peasant rebellions occurred across India, initially led by Mughal
zamindars, later by peasants.
Producing Indigo in the West Indies in 1725
Jean Baptiste Labat documented indigo production in Caribbean slave
plantations.
Workers cut indigo branches, soaked them in settler vats, and fermented
them in tanks.
Indigo settled at the tank bottom, was drained, and dried in the sun.
Points To Remember
Permanent Settlement (1793, Cornwallis) fixed revenue, making zamindars
landowners.
Ryotwari Settlement (Munro, Madras/Bombay) involved direct revenue
collection from peasants.
Mahalwari Settlement (1822, Mackenzie) assigned revenue responsibility to
village communities.
Peasants often became bonded laborers to pay debts.
British forced cultivation of cash crops like indigo, tea, coffee, etc., for industrial
raw materials.
Indigo, a key export, was forcibly grown in Bengal and Bihar.
Indigo Rebellion (1859, Bengal) saw ryots resist planters’ oppression.
Indigo Commission allowed ryots to refuse future indigo production after
fulfilling contracts.
Indigo production stopped in Bengal but continued in Bihar until the 20th
century.
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FAQs on Rural Life and Society Chapter Notes - History Class 8 ICSE
1. What were the main features of the British agrarian policies in India?
[Link] British agrarian policies in India were characterized by the introduction of the
revenue farming system, where land revenue was fixed and collected from farmers.
This led to the commercialization of agriculture, focusing on cash crops instead of
subsistence farming. The policies also included land tenure systems that benefited
British interests, often at the expense of local farmers.
2. How did the British revenue farming system impact Indian farmers?
3. What was the significance of the Indigo Rebellion of 1859-1860?
4. What were the consequences of the growth of commercial crops under
British rule?
5. How did British revenue policies contribute to social changes in rural
India?
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