Ryotwari system

E273958

The Ryotwari system was a land revenue arrangement in British India under which taxes were collected directly from individual peasant cultivators rather than through intermediaries.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Ryotwari system canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf agrarian taxation system
land revenue system
actualOutcome heavy revenue burden on cultivators
administrationRequired detailed land surveys
individual field measurement
administrativeUnitOfAssessment field or plot
aimedTo increase state revenue
reduce power of intermediaries
appliedIn British India
associatedWith Alexander Read
avoidsIntermediaries true
basedOn individual holdings
contrastedWith Mahalwari system
Zamindari system
criticizedFor frequent revisions of assessment
high land revenue demand
insecurity of tenure for peasants
distinguishedBy absence of zamindar as revenue intermediary
effectOnPeasants indebtedness
risk of land loss on non-payment
goalClaimedByOfficials protect peasant proprietors
historicalContext Company rule in India
implementedBy British colonial administration
influencedBy earlier South Indian revenue practices
introducedAroundYear 1820
introducedBy Thomas Munro
introducedInRegion Bombay Presidency
Madras Presidency
landOwnershipRecognizedFor cultivating ryot
landRevenueAssessedOn individual cultivator
landRevenuePaidBy ryot
legalStatusOfRyot proprietary rights subject to revenue payment
nameDerivedFrom ryot
partOf British colonial land revenue policy
periodOfIntroduction early 19th century
revenueCollectionRelationship direct relationship between state and cultivator
revenuePaymentForm cash
kind
revenueRateBasis cash value of produce
estimated produce of land
revenueSettlementType individual settlement
ryotMeans peasant cultivator
settlementPeriod often 20 to 30 years
taxCollectedDirectlyBy state
taxCollectedFrom individual peasant cultivators
usedIn South India
Western India

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.