British Administrative and Land Policies

British land and administrative policies transformed the Indian economy and society. NDA tests the three revenue settlements, the architects (Cornwallis, Munro, Wellesley, Dalhousie), and the consequences.

Permanent Settlement (Cornwallis, 1793)

• Region: Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, parts of Madras Presidency.
• Architect: Lord Cornwallis. Operationalised by John Shore.
• System: Zamindars made permanent owners of land. Fixed land revenue payable to Company in perpetuity.
• Idea: Stable income for Company + incentive for zamindars to improve land.
• Reality: Many zamindars couldn't pay; auctioned off. New zamindar class often urban absentee landlords. Cultivators (ryots) became virtual tenants with no security.
• Fixed forever: Company couldn't raise revenue even as agriculture expanded. Revenue stagnated; zamindars grew rich.

Ryotwari Settlement

• Region: Madras Presidency (large parts), Bombay Presidency, Assam.
• Architects: Captain Alexander Read and Sir Thomas Munro (Madras); Mountstuart Elphinstone (Bombay).
• System: Settled directly with individual cultivators (ryots). No intermediary zamindar. Revenue revised every 20-30 years.
• Advantage: Cultivator had ownership rights.
• Disadvantage: Revenue rates were too high. Crop failures meant peasants couldn't pay; lost land to moneylenders.

Mahalwari Settlement

• Region: North-Western Provinces (UP), parts of Punjab, central provinces.
• Architects: Holt Mackenzie (1822), later modified by R.M. Bird and James Thomason.
• System: Settlement with the village (mahal) as a whole — all cultivators collectively responsible. Headman or village body collected revenue.
• Advantage: Preserved village community structures.
• Disadvantage: High revenue rates still impoverished villages over time.

Subsidiary Alliance (Wellesley, 1798)

• Architect: Lord Wellesley (Governor-General 1798-1805).
• Terms imposed on native rulers:
  • Maintain British troops within their territory, at their own expense.
  • Accept a British Resident at court.
  • Could not enter into agreements with other Indian rulers or foreign powers without British permission.
  • Could not employ Europeans of other nations.
  • In return: British "protection" against external and internal threats.
• States that accepted: Hyderabad (1798, first), Mysore (1799), Tanjore (1799), Awadh (1801), Marathas (Peshwa Baji Rao II, 1802), Bhonsle (1803), Scindia (1803), Holkar (1817).
• Effect: Indian rulers retained nominal sovereignty but lost real power and bled financially.

Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie, 1848-56)

• Architect: Lord Dalhousie.
• Principle: A princely state would be annexed if the ruler died without a natural-born male heir. Adopted heirs disallowed.
• States annexed by Lapse:
  • Satara (1848)
  • Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849)
  • Baghat (1850)
  • Udaipur (Chhattisgarh, 1852)
  • Jhansi (1853)
  • Nagpur (1854)
• Awadh annexed (1856): Not by lapse — by alleged misgovernance. Caused enormous resentment; contributed to the 1857 Revolt.
• Aftermath of 1857: British abandoned Doctrine of Lapse; began respecting adoption among princes.

Consequences

• Mass impoverishment of peasants — average revenue demand was 40-50% of gross produce (vs ~17% under Mughals).
• Famines became frequent — Bengal famine 1769-70, several in 19th century, Bengal 1943.
• Indian handicrafts declined — British factory goods displaced them.
• Indian economy became raw-material supplier and finished-goods consumer for Britain.
• Land became a commodity — alienable, mortgageable, transferable.
• Rise of moneylender class. Peasants chronically indebted.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How did the Permanent Settlement affect peasants?

Negatively. Zamindars became absolute owners but cared little for the land's improvement. Peasants (ryots) had no security of tenure — could be evicted. High rents impoverished them. Many became hired labourers on what had been their own land.

What is the difference between Ryotwari and Mahalwari?

Ryotwari — settlement with individual cultivators (ryots). Mahalwari — settlement with village community (mahal). Both differed from Permanent Settlement which used intermediate zamindars.

What was the Subsidiary Alliance and who introduced it?

Lord Wellesley's diplomatic system (1798). Native rulers retained throne but had to: maintain British troops at their cost, host a British Resident, avoid foreign engagements without British consent. Effectively reduced them to puppets.

What was the Doctrine of Lapse?

Lord Dalhousie's policy (1848-56): princely states without natural male heirs would lapse to the Company. Adopted heirs not accepted. Used to annex Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur etc. Contributed significantly to discontent that fed the 1857 Revolt.

Which Indian states accepted the Subsidiary Alliance first and last?

First: Hyderabad (1798). Major Maratha states accepted between 1802-17 — Peshwa Baji Rao II (1802), Bhonsle (1803), Scindia (1803), Holkar (1817 after 3rd Anglo-Maratha War).

Related Topics

NDA HistoryMughal Empire NDA History1857 Revolt NDA HistoryBritish Acts NDA HistoryReform Movements NDAHistory — Full Syllabus