Which among the following statement(s) is/are correct about the Raiyatwari system:-
(A) Raiyat means cultivator.
(B) The actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax.
(C) Zamindars play a dominant role.
(D) Colonial government dealt directly with the farmer.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only
(A) Raiyat means cultivator. Correct. Raiyat means cultivator in Telugu, and the system was named after it.
(B) The actual cultivators were responsible for paying the tax. Correct. Under raiyatwari, the ‘actual cultivators’, rather than the zamindars, were responsible for paying the tax. These ‘actual cultivators’ were often landlords themselves and not tillers.
(C) Zamindars play a dominant role. Incorrect. A dominant zamindar collecting the revenue is the mark of the zamindari system, which ran many other districts. The raiyatwari system left the zamindar out.
(D) Colonial government dealt directly with the farmer. Correct. The raiyatwari system was found in areas under direct British rule. The colonial government dealt directly with the farmers or landlords, rather than through overlords, so the burden of tax was less and cultivators had more reason to invest in agriculture; these areas became more productive and prosperous.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.2 The Impact of Land Reforms … Many districts of colonial India were administered through the zamindari system. In other areas that were under direct British rule had what was called the raiyatwari system of land settlement (raiyat means cultivator in Telugu). In this system, the ‘actual cultivators’ (who were themselves often landlords and not cultivators) rather than the zamindars were responsible for paying the tax. Because the colonial government dealt directly with the farmers or landlords, rather than through the overlords, the burden of taxation was less and cultivators had more incentive to invest in agriculture. As a result, these areas became relatively more productive and prosperous.…” |