Mahalwari system

E278067

The Mahalwari system was a colonial-era land revenue arrangement in northern and central India under British rule, in which tax was assessed on entire villages or estates (mahals) collectively rather than on individual cultivators.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Mahalwari system canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial administrative system
land revenue system
administrativeFeature detailed village-by-village land records
recording of co-sharers and their shares
survey and measurement of fields
affectedGroup peasant cultivators
village landowners
appliedIn North-Western Provinces
surface form: North-Western Provinces of British India

Punjab
parts of Central India
parts of United Provinces
appliesTo land revenue
assessmentBasis estimated rental value of land
periodic land revenue settlement
productivity of land
basedOn village or estate (mahal) as revenue unit
collectionResponsibility lambardars
panchayat or village council (in some areas)
village headmen
collectiveLiability entire mahal responsible for revenue payment
contrastedWith Permanent Settlement of Bengal
surface form: Permanent Settlement (Zamindari system)

Ryotwari system
country British India
effect increased control of British state over rural society
pressure on village communities to meet fixed revenue demand
goal to secure stable and predictable land revenue
to use traditional village structures for revenue collection
historicalContext British colonial rule in India
implementedBy British imperial administration
surface form: British colonial administration
introducedBy British East India Company
surface form: British East India Company officials
introducedInPeriod early 19th century
keyOfficialAssociated Holt Mackenzie
Robert Merttins Bird
legalInstrument Regulation VII of 1822 (North-Western Provinces)
region central India
northern India
relatedConcept land settlement in British India
mahal (village estate)
village community tenure
revenueAssessedOn collective landholding unit
entire village
mahal (estate)
revenueNature cash revenue
periodically revisable assessment
revenuePayer landholding co-sharers
village community
timePeriod 19th century
early 20th century (in some regions)

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

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