Revenue Policies

The reforms of Cornwallis had increased the litigation after the introduction of the land settlement system, and the main reason for this was the removal of Court Fee, and now everybody could drag anybody to the courts. Also, the extension of the right to appeal made it easier for people to take their disputes to court.

The common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century was the complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities. The agrarian order was essential for the livelihood and social structure of tribal communities. The disruption of this order led to widespread dissatisfaction and eventually insurrection among the tribes. This change was more impactful than other factors like new taxation systems, influence of missionaries, or the rise of middlemen in tribal areas.

The Ryotwari System was a land revenue system implemented by the British in India. **Statement 1 is correct:** Under this system, the rent was indeed paid directly by the peasants to the government. **Statement 2 is correct:** The government also gave pattas or legal documents to the ryots (peasants) as a form of land ownership. **Statement 3 is correct:** The lands under this system were surveyed and assessed before being taxed. Therefore, all three statements are correct.

**Statement 1 is incorrect:** The assessment of land revenue based on the nature of soil and quality of crops was introduced much earlier by Sher Shah Suri and later refined under the Mughal emperor Akbar during the Ain-i-Dahsala system (by Todar Mal). It was not introduced by the English. **Statement 2 is incorrect:** The use of mobile cannons in warfare was introduced to India by the Mughals, particularly Babur, during the First Battle of Panipat (1526), not by the English. **Statement 3 is incorrect:** The cultivation of tobacco and red chillies was introduced by the Portuguese in India after their arrival in the 16th–17th centuries, as these crops came from the Americas (New World).

The Ryotwari system was a land revenue system in British India, introduced by Sir Thomas Munro in 1820 based on system administered by Captain Alexander Reid in the Baramahal district. It allowed the government to deal directly with the peasant (ryot) for revenue collection and gave the peasant freedom to give up or acquire new land for cultivation. The peasant was assessed for only the lands he was cultivating. 

**Pair 1 is not correct.** Aurang was a Persian term for a warehouse, a place where goods are collected before being sold; also refers to a workshop. **Pair 2 is correct.** Banians (banias) were agents of the company. A Banyan is a personby whom the English gentlemen in general conduct all their business. He is interpreter, head book-keeper, head secretary, head broker, the supplier of cash and cash-keeper, and in general also secretkeeper. They might appear to have become their masters? servants, merely managing their trade for them; but the reality was often less that of master and servant than of trading partners. The banian brought his skill and his capital to the partnership; the European contributed his privileges. **Pair 3 is correct.** Mirasdar in Urdu means hereditary landowner, co-proprietor. In Persian, miras is inheritance, estate. He was also a revenue payer to the state.

* **Statement 1 is incorrect:** Introduced primarily in Madras (now Tamil Nadu) and Bombay (now Mumbai) presidencies by **Alexander Reed and Thomas Munro.** Ryotwari System, while aiming to establish direct contact with the cultivators (ryots), did not offer blanket exemption from revenue payment during bad harvests or calamities. While some provisions for remission existed, they were not automatic or guaranteed. * **Statement 2 is correct:** Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, and parts of Odisha by **Lord Cornwallis** in 1793. A key feature of the Permanent Settlement was the strict revenue collection timeline. Zamindars were obligated to pay a fixed amount of revenue to the British by a specific date. Failure to do so could result in the auctioning of their Zamindari to recover the dues. _Note: UPSC dropped this question from the final answer key._