Impoverishment of Peasantry

The government, only interested in maximisation of rents and in securing its share of revenue, had enforced the Permanent

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… for most of the colonial era, the story of India manufacturing was of dispossession, displacement and defeat. What happened to India’s textiles was replicated across the board. From the great manufacturing nation described by Sunderland, India became a mere exporter of raw materials and foodstuffs, raw cotton, as well as jute, silk, coal, opium, rice, spices and tea. With the collapse of its manufacturing and the elimination of manufactured goods from its export rosters, India’s share of world manufacturing exports fell from 27 per cent to 2 per cent under British rule.

—Shashi Tharoor in An Era of Darkness

Settlement system in large parts. Transferability of land was one feature of the new settlement which caused great insecurity to the tenants who lost all their traditional rights in land. There was little spending by Government on improvement of land productivity. The zamindars, with increased powers, resorted to summary evictions, demanded illegal dues and ‘begar’ to maximise their share in the produce and, as such, had no incentive to invest for improvement of agriculture. The overburdened peasants had to approach the moneylenders to be able to pay their dues to the zamindars. The money-lender, who was often also the village grain-merchant, forced the farmer to sell the produce at low prices to clear his dues. The powerful money-lender was also able to manipulate the judiciary and law in his favour.

The peasant turned out to be the ultimate sufferer under the triple burden of the Government, zamindar and money- lender. His hardship increased at the time of famine and scarcity. This was as much true for the zamindari areas as for areas under Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems. The peasant became landless.