Chapter Review:
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The East India Company was named the Diwan of Bengal by the Mughal Emperor on August 12, 1765.
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This meant that the British became the chief financial administrator of Bengal, which was now under their control. For the benefit of the Company, they had to devise effective administrative and revenue collecting policies.
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The Company had to devise ways in which the revenues collected could meet the growing expenses of the Company.
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Being a foreign power in India, the East India Company had to carefully decide how it would rule the countryside. This included controlling revenue resources, producing the desired crops, and redefining the rights of the local people under its rule.
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Even though the East India Company had become the Diwan of Bengal, at its core, it was still a trading company. This meant that it put the Company's economic success before the well-being of the people.
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The organization exclusively centered around separating as much as income conceivable from individuals and purchasing crude materials like fine silk and cotton from the locale at costs as modest as could really be expected.
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Earlier, the East India Company had to trade gold and silver from Britain to buy raw materials. Be that as it may, subsequent to turning into the Diwan of Bengal, the income gathered from Bengal was utilized to purchase and fare crude materials.
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This harmed the economy of Bengal. Artisans were forced to sell their goods at low prices to the Company while their taxes kept on increasing. Thus, their economic condition became worse with time, and they were unable to meet their debts. This forced them to desert their villages.
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Artisans leaving their villages increasingly caused the artisanal production to fall. The agricultural industry was also under strain due to the economic burden of the state.
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Finally, a terrible famine occurred in 1770, which took the lives of at least one-third of the population of Bengal. Almost 10 million people lost their lives to this calamity.
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With the drastic fall in agriculture, it was difficult for the Company to collect as much revenue as it wanted. To secure proper revenue from the land, the Company devised several policies which would ensure regular revenue income and would also force the people to look after the land so as to improve the agricultural output.
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Some of these systems are Permanent Settlement, Mahalwari system, and Munro system.
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To ensure that the Company secured revenue from the land, they introduced a revenue system in 1793 known as the Permanent Settlement.
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The Company expected that they would be tempted by higher income; the new zamindars would take effort to improve the land for cultivation. However, that did not happen. The revenue was fixed so high that most zamindars could not meet the demand and had to lose their rights to the property. Others were forced to sell off parts of their lands to pay the revenue in auctions.
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In the early 19th century, agricultural production improved, and the market prices rose. This meant that there was an excess income from agriculture. However, due to the principle of a fixed revenue, the Company could not benefit from the agricultural boom.
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The zamindars were still not interested in improving the land. Some had already lost their rights, while others saw this settlement as a way to secure more money without investment as they realized that as long as they rented their land to peasants, they did not have to invest for the improvement of the land.
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The worst effect was seen on the farmers who were forced to pay high rent. Failing to pay the rent got them evicted. This forced them to take loans from moneylenders. Even with high rents, the peasants had no rights on the land.
