Professional Documents
Culture Documents
14 - Chapter 6
14 - Chapter 6
14 - Chapter 6
RYOTWARI SETTLEMENT
The Tamil Nadu agrarian situation should be examined first in its historical
perspective. In most countries, land ownership and the nature of rights and
obligations as between the members of the land-using rural community, are the
economic, social, cultural and political conditions. These are the local
Thus the evolution of States and the origin of the proprietary class should be
Historical Origins
This period may be divided into two parts. The first deals with the
evolution of the zamindari, inamdari and other land systems. The second deals
with the co-existence of the ryotwari system with zamindari and other types, and
intermediary class of proprietors between the crown and the common man for
revenue collection was unknown; this system had to await the advent of Mughal
through its village servants. The collection was effected by accepting a share of the
1
G. Venkataramani,Land Reforms Tamil Nadu, Sangam Publisher, Madras 1973, p.6.
2
Ibid. p.6.
177
produces as tax or by levying a money-rent without the intervention of middlemen,
and initially at any rate, made no attempt to dismiss the old officers who had
served under the Hindu Rajas and to replace them by their own staff. The Muslim
constant and close supervision and considerable local knowledge besides and
therefore, set up a class of intermediaries who were just revenue farmers. They
found that the Deshmukhs and Deshpandes had considerable experience of revenue
collection under the Hindu Rajas and wielded considerable local power and
influence. These, they made the new “revenue farmers” who as a result attained a
certain “fixity of office and independence”. This prepared the ground for their
Ryotwari System
ryotwari. The ryotwari arrangement covered two-thirds of the land system while
the non-ryotwari accounted for one-third of tenures. The system involved the
division of all arable lands, whether cultivated or waste, into blocks or lots, each
block being assessed as a fixed rate for a varying term of years (30 in Madras
Province) 5 and the collection of revenue from each title-holder known as the
3
S.R. Sen, The Strategy of Agricultural Development, Asia Publishing House, Delhi, 1966, p.66
4
G. Venkataramani, Land Reforms Tamil Nadu, Sangam Publisher, Madras 1973, p.7.
5
Ibid, p.10
178
The Ryotwari System has three main features:
The ryot had the right to hold land and bequeath it only so long as he
foreign occupation.
thirty years).
garden lands and there planted with special crop. Restrictions were placed on the
same of lands and re-assessments in subsequent surveys largely followed the first
valuation. From this beginning, the ryotwari become ramified into the system as
we know it today7.
Until Independence, then, and well after that in Tamil Nadu, intermediaries
and owners were bound to the political authority by two major types of tenure or
revenue obligation, the Zamindari and the ryotwari, and between these intervened
survived into Independence. After the transfer of power and during the transition,
6
Ibid, p. 11.
7
M.B. Nanavathi and J.J. Anjaria, The Indian Rural Problem, Bombay, 1945, p. 102.
179
many holders consolidated their lands into large tracts or estates. They made sure
that they were not dislodged from the pedestal of high authority which they had
long enjoyed in relation to their vassals. Thus, in 1948, there were 5092 estates
extending over 11439.28 square miles 8. These estates included all Zamins, under-
tenure and inams in the State. Apart from these, there were 13,565 minor inamdari
villages. Many other intermediary systems also obtained in the State at the time of
Independence. These estates resisted the effort of the new Government to correct
the inequity of the existing land systems 9. As the estate-owners disposed of vast
tracts of land which they could not themselves cultivate, there was a certain
amount of neglect in their function. As they did not have to pay large amounts of
revenue, there was no incentive to increase productivity. On the other hand, there
was inefficient management of these lands with the result that the production of
essential commodities began to decline. In the event, the peasants and tenant
cultivators were the real sufferers as they had to pay their share of the produce to
their immediate masters irrespective of the size of the harvest. Feudalism had
reached the limits of its resilience and the situation was explosive on the eve of
Independence.
All through alien rule and for some years after the national Government
took over, the case of agricultural labourers was either not surveyed or taken
cognizance of or it was ignored. The land systems were such that they helped the
rich to become richer. The remnants of the systems survived into Independence,
with the result that the labourers had to work harder with little increase in their
8
G. Venkataramani, Land Reforms In Tamil Nadu, Sangam Publisher, Madras, 1973, p. 12.
9
Ibid, p.13.
180
wages. They even had to fight to be paid their wages. Agricultural labour had no
time to time, the four Survey and Land Records Ranges at Kakinada, Chitoor,
stone maintenance 11. The cadastral survey, estate surveys, survey of towns and
Panchayats, road survey, boundary survey and miscellaneous 12. The work done
Cadastral survey
Maps of 130 villages comprising 839.94 squares miles in extent were completed in
drawing while maps printed covered an areas of 649 square miles. The Town map
10
Manilal B. Nanavats & J.J. Anjaria, The Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Bombay,
1960, p. 342.
11
Revenue Records and Registration 1948-49, Board of Revenue, Government of Madras, Madras,
1949, p. 6.
12
Ibid, p. 7.
181
of Madras with the new extensions, the revised map of Madurai, the map of
Guntur, the maps of 24 Districts in the Province and nineteen Taluk and five
Districts. Touring Maps were completed. Several maps were reprinted to replenish
the stock of saleable copies. The aggregate value of departmental maps published
during the year was Rs.91,884. The cost of work charged to other departments of
Government, local statutory and private bodies was Rs. 69,469. The amount
realized by the sale of maps to Government departments and private bodies was
Rs. 29,357. Copies of traverse and cadastral survey were also supplied to various
departments and the preparation of special sketches and maps required by the
Board of Revenue and Government was also attended to. The value of this work
Collector were given training in survey and maintenance of Revenue Records and
Registration.
Estates Lands Act in respect of estates and inams coming within the purview of
The number of suits and applications under the Act received during the
Fasli was 84,776 (85,760). Of the total number of proceedings instituted during the
Fasli, that for recovery of rent was 5,894 or 7 per cent and of these only 2,005 or 2
per cent were for recovery by restraint and sale of moveable and holdings. Only
182
very few landholders preferred to recover their rents by means of filing suits and
lands were brought to sale for arrears, totaling Rs. 1,28,778-8-11 of which a sum of
Rs.1.09,177-14-4 was realized. There was slight increase in the number of suits
during the Fasli compared with that receive in the previous Fasli. This increase
was due to the anxiety of the landholders to realize their rents before the
After the formation of the District the question of survey and the
Director of the Survey and Land Records Department for investigation. Based on
especially in view of the fact that the previous survey was done some sixty years
back.
In the ryotwari area of Tamil Nadu, the land revenue assessment was fixed
and levied with reference to the intrinsic fertility of soil, taram, sort and location
of the land. A flat rate of Rs.2/- was being charged by the erstwhile Travancore
replace the flat levy of assessment by different rates of assessment with reference
to the nature of the soil, taram, sort and location of the land, the Tamil Nadu
Transferred Territory 13. (Ryotwari Settlement) Act, 1964 (Act 30/64) was passed.
13
Ryotwari Settlement Act, 1964 (Act. 30/64)
183
the principles set out in the settlement notification for Tirunelveli District, was
issued 14. Under this notification, the lands were classified as dry, wet and manavari
and the soils were divided into different classes and further into sorts. The rate of
assessment was set out for each sort of soil 15. The soil classification work was done
The wet lands were delimited with reference to the commandability of the
irrigation sources. Appropriate assessment rates were fixed taking into account the
taram, sort and classification of the soil. Ryotwari rates of assessment have been
brought into force in the transferred territory from Fasli 1380 onwards, after due
villages which were very large were split up into two villages in Kanya Kumari
Village Officers in the cadre of Assistants and Junior Assistants. They maintain the
accounts in a separate office for each village. They are also liable to be transferred
to other villages.
connected with the temples and the family of Rajah of Travancore on certain items
14
G.O. Ms. NO. 297, Revenue dated 14 February, Government of Madras, Madras, 1966, p. 15.
15
Ibid, p. 16
184
of work connected with the religious services. In order to stop such payments, the
following enactments were passed and implemented in Kanya Kumari District and
abolish this right with effect from the appointed date viz., 1 March 1965 on
payment of tasdic allowance or compensation as the case may be. The work has
been completed.
Act) 39/64: The traditional land owners by name Jenmies were collecting certain
amount called Jenmaikanam from Kudiyans. This Act was passed to extinguish
this right with effect from the appointed date viz. 16 March 1965 on payment of
compensation collectable from the Kudiyans. In all the 265 cases, compensation
An appalling low standard of living and chronic deficit in food supply are
the two ugly repellent features of the economy of the Province of Tamil Nadu 17.
described the situation in the State. For an estimated population of 53:91 millions,
the national income of the State in 1949 was calculated at Rs. 1,370 crores, that is,
16
The Land Revenue Reforms Committee, Second Report, Government Press, Madras, 1951, p. 13.
17
. H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 174.
185
a per capita income of Rs. 254, which might well be an overestimate. Even this per
capita income may be compared with Rs. 4,668 in U.S.A., Rs. 2,355 in U.K., Rs.
2,868 in Canada, and Rs. 1,799 in Australia, i.e., 1/18 of U.S.A., 1/9 of U.K., less
With an area of 1,27,768 sq. miles, Madras State before the formation of
Andhra was one and one-third as big as England and Wales put together. The total
80.4 per cent were rural 19. The total population in 1941 was 4,93,41,810 of which
4,14,76,927 were rural. The population thus increased by 14.4 per cent during the
last decade. During the three preceding decades between 1911 to 1941, the
section still remains in the villages. While in 1911 there were 36.51 million people
living in 53,835 villages, in 1941, 41.48 millions forming 84 per cent of the
population inhabited only 35,430 villages, thus showing a reduction of no less than
18, 405 Village. As against this fall in the number of villages, it is obvious that
occupied in agriculture. In 1931 it was estimated that 50 per cent or over were
actually employed in agriculture; and when the dependents were taken into
account, it was calculated that the figure would work up to 71 per cent. Only 13
18
Ibid, p. 175.
19
The Land Revenue Reforms Committee, Second Report, Government Press, Madras, 1951, p. 7.
186
per cent of the population was engaged in industrial pursuits in 1921 and this
The figures for 1940 regarding the people engaged on land were estimated
as follows.
ii. Tenant cultivators cultivating the land for the fixed amount of lease
iii. Working classes who do not own land but work as agricultural
and sale resulted in the transfer of the lands of small and uneconomic holders into
the hands of moneylenders and richer ryots. This was particularly marked in the
years after the economic slump of 1929 22. According to an enquiry in 1934, the
total ryotwari land that had changed hands from 1931 to 1934 in the province
(except for the West Coast Districts of Malabar and South Kanara) was roughly
10,351 thousand acres, of which about 20 per cent or 2,070 thousand acres, went to
20
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 175.
21
M.N. Srinivas, India’s Villages, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1960, p. 46.
22
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 177
187
non-agriculturists. The small and medium riot pattadars thus rendered land-less
and cultivating land. The following were the main variety of tenures in the State.
! Unsettled palaiyams or landed estates held without sanads, the land revenue
23
Ibid, p. 178.
188
additions and deductions in certain special circumstances and subject to
! Inam holdings including jagirs or grants of land or land revenue held under
! Lands held on leases other than cowls and lands held on licenses; and
Of these nine main varieties, the two most important are the ryotwari and
About one-fifth of the Province was permanently settled under the Madras
Permanent Settlement Regulation of 1802. In 1352 Fasli the total zamindari area of
the State (cultivated cultivable and uncultivated) was 1,28,42,230 acres. When the
Madras estates Act, 1948, 25 was passed zamindari and inam tenurial systems were
prevalent over 26 per cent area of the State. In his forword to V.V.Sayana’s book,
facilitate the rule of the country by foreigners and to create a hierarchy of social
24
N. Ananda Padmanabhan, History of Land Revenue Settlement and Abolition of Intermediary
Tenures in Tamil Nadu, Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, 1977, p. 106.
25
Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari Act, 1948, p. 8.
26
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 181.
189
“Independent of all considerations, I can assure you that it will be of the
utmost importance for promoting the interests of the Company that a regular
prevailed in the zamindari areas. The overwhelming amount of the income from
the permanently settled estates was used for the luxuries and wasteful pursuits of
the land-lords-foreign travel, building palaces, and the like. Zamindars and their
agents drew the poorest peasants into expensive litigation for recovery of rents. No
records are available regarding the amounts appropriated by the Zamindars from
the tenants. A peep into the matter can, however, be had from the records
maintained about estates managed by the Court of Wards. Members of the family
of the estates of Vizianagaram, 28 for example, got in one year about Rs.4,38,720,
which was about four times the annual wages of the staff for the collection of
revenue, and two times the cost of the maintenance of irrigation work in the State
in a year. This was apart from Rs.30,000 given for expenditures on ceremonies and
Maharaja, expenses on his funeral ceremonies and on the marriage to the eldest
certain Complimentary Regulations were also passed to ensure that the rents which
the ryots had to pay to the zamindar should not be increased beyond the customary
reached alarming proportions. The British rulers enacted the Madras Estates Land
27
Ibid, P. 182
28
Reddy, Ram, Sastry, Devi, Agricultural Economics Oxford and IBH Publishing New Delhi,
2010, p. 598.
190
Act of 1908 which accorded occupancy right to every zamindari ryot subject to the
payment of lawful rent. The Act, however, did nothing to reduce the enhanced
rents. Existing rents were presumed to be fair and equitable till the contrary was
proved. The illiterate and the backward tenants made no use of this provision of the
Act and the rents continued high. In the same year inam villages were also placed
on the same footing as zamindari estates and Estates Land Act was extended over
them 29.
Now we shall deal with the question of reforms in the ryotwari areas of
Madras. The total extent of ryotwari holdings during 1361 Fasli (revenue year
1951-52) was 2,86,66,333 acres as against 2,82,40,408 acres in the previous year,
thus showing an increase of 4,25,925 acres 30. The total assessment on ryotwari
holdings in 1361 Fasli was Rs.628.96 lakhs as against Rs. 617.04 lakhs in the
previous year. The total area cultivated in ryotwari holdings was 21.54 million
acres as against 21.02 million acres in the previous Fasli, showing a net increase of
5,22,015 acres.
The concentration of land into the hands of an upper stratum of the rural
classes would be apparent if it is borne in mind that landholders owning more than
constitute just 0.9 per cent of the total number (72.04 lakhs) of ryotwari
landholders and they have 12.8 per cent of the total extent of land (282 lakhs acres)
links between the tiller or the ryot and the State without the interpolation of
29
P.R. Shanmugam., Land Reforms in Tamil Nadu, Technical Publication, Chennai, 1973, p. 26
30
V.M. Dandekar, Working of Bombay Tenancy Act, Report of Investigation, Golchat Institute of
Politics and Economics, Poona, 1948, p. 4.
31
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 197.
191
intermediaries. But in course of time ryot actually came to mean the registered
holder, or the pattadar of a particular piece of land which he may cultivate or may
not cultivate.
1945-46
Assessment in
Number in Thousands
Lakhs of rupees
1950-51
192
Actually share-cropping became the most marked feature under the
ryotwari system. A considerable section of the bigger ryots, whom we may well
call the occupancy right holder, went into jobs, professions and business in the
cities leaving the cultivation to the share-croppers. The ryot pattadar generally
gave out his land on annual lease and the real cultivator actually remained a tenant-
in 1948. 32 Shri O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar, a former Chief Minister of Madras gave
the following table showing the percentage net share of tenant and landlord in
Chingleput : : 33 67
Thanjavur : : 16.1 83.9
East Godavari : : 40.1 59.9
Vizagapatam : : 44.4 55.6
North Arcot : : 23.1 76.9
Bellary : : 43.5 56.5
Tinnevelly : : 24.3 75.7
Coimbatore : : *7.6 92.4
SouthKanara : : 43.5 56.5
It is clear that the ryot land-lord got the lion’s share of the produce and the
tenant, naturally, lost all incentive for making improvements and for good
owners of uneconomic plots. Shri Reddiar has given a table to show that 82 per
32
Sundararajan Iyangar, Land Tenures in the Madras Presidency, Modern Print, Madras, 1916, p. 42.
193
cent of the holdings in Madras were 5 acres and less out of which as much as 51
per cent were two acres and less. Seven per cent of the holdings were 5 to 10 acres
and 11 per cent were above 10 acres. 33 Shri Reddiar also showed that average
Cultivated area per head of agriculturist in Madras was 0.86 acre, with another
enquired into rural indebtedness in 1946, the aggregate rural debt of the State was
! Big landholders holding 25 acres and above of land wet and dry ;
! Tenants ; and
! Landless labourers.
33
N. Subrahmanian, History of Tamil Nadu, Koodal Publishers, Madurai, 1972, p.37
34
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Department, All India Congress
Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 200.
194
The per capita debt for each class was estimated by Dr. Nayudu as follows :
Rs. Rs.
1 188.5 113.3 -75.2 -39.9
2 78.8 59.4 -19.4 -24.6
3 42.8 37.6 -5.2 -12.3
4 20.5 21.3 +0.8 +4.1
5 5.7 8.3 +2.6 +45.6
bigger than to medium landholders, while the small holders have actually suffered.
The debt of the landless labourers has increased more than that of the tenants. The
debt per head of the fourth class of tenants has risen by about 4 per cent clearly
showing that war years have hit relatively hard the tenants, as against the registered
holders. The case of the land-less labourers is even worse with a rise of 45.6 per
cent.”
healthy progressive rural society. And the problem was no easy one and needed
whether and in what manner the Government should interfere to fix maximum
195
resident pattadars, confer occupancy rights on the tenants and secure for them fair
rents and fixity of tenure. The Committee was asked particularly to take into
Committee. 35
Committee was of the opinion that the land-lord and Tenant system may be
allowed to continue, subject to the regulation of the system in respect of fair rents,
security of tenure, compensation for improvements, grounds for eviction and other
areas. In future all leases should be for a minimum period of five years. In the case
however, the first lease should be for a minimum period of ten years. The tenant
should always have the option of terminating the lease by three months’ notice
The following alone should constitute proper grounds for the landlord
Failure to pay rent within one month of the date stipulated in the lease-
deed;
land;
35
G. Venkataramani, Land Reform in Tamil Nadu, Sangam Publishers, Madras, 1973, p.63
36
Ibid.p. 64.
196
Violation of any of the conditions of the lease-deed regarding the
“There is no need to fix any maximum limit, parse, in the case of existing
than Rs. 250 as assessment. In the case of joint families, separate allowance should
be made for such branch of the joint family subject, however, to an over-all limit of
those for the planning Commission on ‘Land Policy’ are these days under the
37
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 202.
38
P.C. Joshi, Land Reform in India Allied Publishing, New Delhi, 1975, p. 72.
197
Pending a final and comprehensive legislation, the Madras Government has
already passed the Bill. 39 The Bill provides that subject to payment of current rent
South Kanara District will be evicted from his holding for a period of one year
from the date on which the law comes into force. On January 9, 1954, the Madras
Assembly passed into law the Malabar Tenancy (Amendment) Bill as reported by
the Joint Select Committee of the State Legislature with some modifications.
The new Bill is the second amendment to the Malabar Tenancy Act of
The amended Bill reduces the fair rents payable to land-lords by tenants of
On the question of occupancy rights tenants in occupation for six years and
The first batch of estates was taken over by the Government on 7-9-1949. It
Sivaganga, Ramnad, Pithapuram and Bobbili.1 The irrigation works in the estates
taken over had been left without repairs for several decades and immediate
Monsoon in 1949 and 1950 in many parts of the State, and the cyclone in 1949 in
39
The South Kanara Cultivating Tenants Protection Bill, The Madras Government Passed on
January 8, 1954.
40
Ibid, p. 204.
198
the northern District, 41 there was widespread failure of crops in most of the estates
taken over. The Government granted remission of land revenue in these estates on
the same liberal scale as in the ryotwari areas. Where rents were payable in kind it
was found that in spite of the rent reduction processdings, the commuted value of
the reduced grain rents was much above the ryotwari level and to afford further
relief to the ryots, the Government directed that land revenue collected under Sec.
23 of the Act in respect of any class of land shall be the highest ryotwari rate for
the same class of land in the District in which the estate in question is situated.
In respect of the estate actually taken over, the Government deposited with the
compensation. These accounts included a sum of Rs. 48,66,681 which was towards
Government dues under Sec.41 and A of the Act. In addition, Rs. 6,40,709 and
The number of inam villages in the State is 7,423. Of these 4,157 villages
were declared to be inam estates under Sec., 9 of the Act. Un till now 3,300 inam
over by the Government is a regular and complete cadastral survey of the area
41
N. Ananda Padmanabhan, History of Land Revenue Settlement and Abolition of Intermediary
Tenures in Tamil Nadu, Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, 1977, p. 39.
42
Ibid, p. 40.
199
concerned. Most of the estates are un surveyed, and even in cases where some sort
found necessary. For this purpose four survey Parties started working at Sivaganga,
Details of the area in square miles which had been already surveyed by
compensation payable to the landholder and other persons who have got a right or
completing these operations, provision has been made in the Act for the payment
compensation payable in respect of each estate and depositing half of the amount
with the Estates Abolition Tribunal concerned within six months of the notified
date. 45
Pending the final ryotwari settlement, the Government has to pay interim
compensation to the owners of estates taken over. The interim payment is equal to
the basic annual sum in respect of an estate. The basic annual sum is worked out as
43
J.H. Nelson, Madras District Manuel, Government of Tamil Nadu, 1868, Part V, pp. 39-41.
44
B.S. Baliga, Studies in Madras Administration, Government of Madras, Madras Vol. 1, 1949. p. 97.
45
Ibid.
200
follows: In the case of a zamindari estate, and a post-settlement under-tenure
estate, the basic annual sum will be roughly one-third of the gross annual ryotwari
demand, i.e., the sum-total of the assessments imposed as a result of the ryotwari
settlement of the estate less certain deductions. In the case of inam estates and pre-
settlement under tenure estates, the basic annual sum is the whole of the gross
Annual ryotwari demand less the quit-rent, jodi and kattubadi payable by
the inamdar or under tenure holder. What is adopted at present is cash payment of
sinking fund from out of the net annual revenues from the estates taken over has
also been constituted for the purpose. The net additional land revenue from the
estates taken over is estimated to be roughly Rs. 30 lakhs. The total compensation
The effect of the amendment was to bring all inam villages within the scope
of the Madras Estates Lands Act. In the case, however, of inam villages which
became estates by virtue of this amending Act, the inamdars were given an
opportunity to prove that they possessed the kudivaram right in lands in such
46
H.D. Malaviya, Land Reforms in India, Economic and Political Research Department, All India
Congress Committee, New Delhi, 1955, p. 237.
47
B.S. Baliga, Studies in Madras Administration, Government of Madras, Madras Vol. 1, 1949. p. 93.
201
Committee presided over by Sri T. Prakasam, the Revenue Minister, to enquire
into the whole question. On the basis of its recommendations the Estates Land
Reforms Bill of 1938 was drafted. But this Bill and a revised Bill prepared in 1939,
however, could achieve nothing as the congress Ministry soon afterwards resigned
Office. In 1940 the Adviser Government, which succeeded the Congress Ministry,
drew up a scheme for the conversion of Zamindari tenure into ryotwari by buying
out Zamindars and paying them compensation on the basis of net income. 48 In
comprehensive land reforms, including the abolition of the Zamindari system, and
after the National Government came to power the legislature passed a resolution
pursuance of this resolution the Government as a first step passed an Act called the
Madras Estates Land (Reduction of Rent). Act XXX of 1947 for reducing the high
rents which prevailed in the estates. It provided for the reduction of rents payable
Bill in the same year for abolishing all estates. The Zamindari system, they Stated,
had perpetuated an assessment which was not only high, but had also no relation to
the productive capacity of the land. It had led to loss of contact between the
Government and the actual cultivators. It had led to loss of contact between the
48
S.Y. Krishnaswami, Monograph on Rural Problems in Madras, Madras, 1947. p. 43.
49
G.O. No. 114, Legal, dated 13th September 1947, p. 4.
50
G.O. No. 3, Legal, dated 7th January 1948, p. 11.
202
improvements. It had, because of its complexities, brought in an immense amount
of litigation in which the illiterate ryots had been placed at the mercy of the
led to a great deal of discontent and agitation among the ryots. Indeed, the system
The bill was passed into the Madras (Estates Abolition and Conversion in
to Ryotwari) Act XVI of 1948. It applies to all zamindaris, all unsettled palayams,
and all whole inam villages except those which became estates by virtue of Act
XVIII of 1936. When an estate is notified under the Act all the earlier enactments
relating to estates, except the Rent Reduction Act of 1947, cease to be applicable to
it; and the entire estate, including all communal lands and porambokes, waste
lands, pasture lands, lanka lands, forests, mines and minerals, quarries, rivers and
streams, tanks and irrigation works, fisheries and ferries stand transferred to the
Government and vest in them free of all encumbrances. The estate is then to be
a Director of Settlement who works under the Board of Revenue. The Settlement
Officer is to enquire and determine whether any inam village in his Jurisdiction is
an inam estate or not in order to find out whether it can be notified and taken over.
51
G.O. No. 114, Legal, dated 13th September 1947, p. 9.
203
the basis applicable to inam estates. The ryots are to be given ryotwari pattas for
their holdings with effect from the notified date and the landholders, Zamindars,
inamdars and under tenure holders are also to be given ryotwari pattas in respect
of their private lands as well as lands personally cultivated by them and satisfying
be paid for every Fasli, till the final compensation is deposited, an interim payment
equal to half the basic annual sum roughly estimated. This interim payment is not
basic annual sum in the case of the Zamindari estates, the gross annual ryotwari
demand in respect of all lands for which persons other than the Zamindar are
entitled to ryotwari pattas under the Act and the average net annual miscellaneous
revenue from all other sources in the lands have to be computed; and one-third of
this figure has to be take to be the Zamindar’s share. This one-third portion is,
of three and one-third per cent on account of the maintenance of irrigation works
which is the zamindar’s responsibility. In calculating the basic annual sum for
inam estates the annual gross ryotwari demand and not any fraction of it is to be
taken as the starting point. From their figure three and one-third per cent is to be
52
J. H. Nelson, Manuel of the Madura, Districts Government of Madras, Madras, 1868, Part V, p. 12.
204
deducted on account of maintenance of irrigation works in the estate which the
landholder is obliged to maintain. Then the quit-rent or the jodi, etc., payable
represents the basic annual sum for the inam estate. The compensation is to be the
basic annual sum multiplied by a figure which varies between 12 and 30. Where
the basic annual sum does not exceed Rs. 1,000 the multiplier is 30; over one lakh
of rupees the multiplier is12½. There are to be four intermediate stages 15, 17½, 20
and 25 depending on the annual basic sum. Payments are not to be made direct to
the landholders but are to be deposited with the two tribunals constituted under the
Act. Provision is also made for the appointment of more tribunals when
necessary. 53
These are, in the main, the provisions of the Madras Estates (Abolition and
Conversion into Ryotwari) Act. This Act Was amended by Act I of 1950 to
provide for the payment of a portion of the compensation without waiting for the
completion of the survey and settlement operations. Under the latter Act the
determined2. The Act also ensures the payment of a minimum sum of Rs. 12 ½
crores of rupees as compensation for all the Zamindari estates taken over by the
Government in the State of Madras as it was before the creation of the Andhra
State.3 The Madurai estates were, however, notified for acquisition under these
Acts only after 1951, the year with which this book closes.
53
G.O. No. 75, Legal, dated 18th April, 1960, p. 16.
205
Turning to land tenures, besides the fixed rent and the sharing systems, the
District had formerly three kinds of tenures called the karei, the samibhogam and
the tunduvaram. Under the karei tenure all lands in a village, arable as well as
waste, were held in common by the tenants from a landlord, the arable lands being
called garei and each tenant a gareikaran. This tenure was said to be almost dead
even in 1868. Under the samibhogam tenure which was in vogue mostly in inams,
the tenants cultivated the lands with the help of their own labour and stock and
paid a rent usually in money but sometimes in kind, in addition to a fee called
samibhogam, to the inamdar. The tenants regarded the lands as practically their
own and paid the samibhogam as a mere acknowledgment. The tenants’ share here
normally came to 45 per cent of the gross produce minus the samibhogam which
however varied from place to place. Under the tunduvaram, or bit of share tenure,
the tenants, as in the case of Sambhogam, paid a fee out of their kudivaram called
tunduvaram to the landlord in addition to the melvaram. The fee, however, varied
in proportion to the amount of the crop actually harvested, unlike the samibhogam
which was a fixed acknowledgment payable alike in good and bad seasons. The
tenants’ share or kudivaram here came to 45 per cent minus the tunduvaram which
are said to be either fixed rent tenure or the varam tenure. The fixed rent tenure is
the system by which lands are leased out by the land-lords for fixed rents to the
tenants. It is found principally in the best wet lands of the Palani Taluk, in the best
dry lands (the valuable black cotton lands) of the Tirumangalam Taluk and in the
206
garden lands elsewhere. The varam tenure is the system by which the land is leased
out by the land-lords to the tenants for a share of the produce. This is prevalent in
most parts of the District. On good lands irrigated by river-fed channels or tanks
the usual share taken by the landlord is two thirds of the gross produce. This is
Madurai and Melur Taluks. In these cases the tenant takes the straw and defrays all
the expenses of cultivation and the landlord pays the assessment. On inferior wet
lands the more common practice is to divide the produce equally between the
landlord and the tenant. In these cases also the tenant bears all cultivation expenses
and the landlord pays the assessment. Practice, however, varies in some degree
from village to village. There are some cases in which the landlord gets as much as
three-fourths of the produce or even more and pays only the assessment. Thus in
the Uthamapalaysm sub-Taluk, the landlord takes even four-fifths of the produce.
Generally however if he takes more than two-thirds he either defrays the expenses
of harvest or supplies the manure. If well water is baled to mature the crop, the
water baled. In the case of dry lands the tenant usually takes two-thirds of the
produce but sometimes half. Dry lands, however, are often, as has already been
A few other points of interest connected with the tenancy conditions of the
District may also be mentioned. In recent years there has been an appreciable
54
J.H. Nelson, Manual of the Madurai District, Government of Madras, Madras, 1868, Part V, p.15.
207
Chingleput where it is 19, in Thanjavur where it is 18 and in Ramanathapuram
where it is 12. 55 The temples and charitable institutions of the District, instead of
settling the rents of their lands with their tenants by agreement, sell the right to
generally imposed in the leases; the tenants are not allowed to raise crops like
cholam and gingelly which sap the soil. Remissions are not usually granted to the
tenants; in a few cases however, they are granted for failure of crops. 57 Tenants are
in some cases. Advances are made by tenants to the land-lords wherever there is a
keen competition for lands; in some cases such advances do not carry interest
while in others they carry a 3 per cent interest. The rates of interest on rent vary
cent. In several cases, at the same time, interest is not charged by the land-lords.
Sub-letting is allowed in some cases; absentee land-lords prefer to lease out their
lands to substantial tenants who, in turn, sub-lease such lands to others. 58 Finally,
the tenants are in many cases, required to pen their sheep and goats on the lands of
the land-lords without any payment and, in a few cases, even required to place
themselves and their bullocks at the disposal of the lanlords. Since the accession of
the National Government Tenancy and other land reforms have been actively
55
G.No. 53, Revenue, dated 8th January 1951, pp. 25-26.
56
G.O. No. 1357, Revenue, dated 8th April, 1918, p. 106.
57
Report of the Special Officer on Land Tenures in the Ryotwari areas of Madras Province,
Madras, 1947, p. 67.
58
Ibid, p. 69.
208
the Board of Revenue, to consider and report on various tenancy as well as other
land revenue matters. 59 Their reports are now being considered and a Bill has
already been framed for fixing the tenants’ share. But as this book stops with 1951,
As for the machinery employed for collecting it and for administering all other
revenue matters, the District, as has already been seen, has had a Collector from
the very beginning. He was from the early days assisted by one or more sub-
Collectors also. Prior to 1860 the District comprised the Taluks of Tadikkombu,
that year, in accordance with the scheme for the reorganization of the village
new Taluk, the Kodaikanal Taluk, was constituted. In 1910, as a result of the
Madurai, Melur, Tirumangalam and Periyakulam came into being. As for the
Revenue Divisions, they have naturally changed from time to time. At present
59
Report of the Special Officer on Land Tenures in the Ryotwari Areas of the Madras Province,
Madras, 1947, p. 28.
60
G.O. No 2325, Revenue, dated 6th September 1951, p. 76.
61
G.O. No 379, Revenue, dated 22th September 1859, p. 9.
209
these divisions consist of Dindigul, Madurai and Usilampatti. The Dindigul
division comprises the Taluks of Dindigul, palni, Kodaikanal and Nilakkottai; the
Madurai Division comprises the Taluks of Madurai and Melur and the Usilampatti
The Revenue Divisions and the Taluks have been invariably under the
Tahsildars have been having under them the usual revenue sub ordinates, the
always consisted of the village headmen (the Nattamaikarars), the Karnams and the
Kavalkarars. 62
Taking those that have been throughout under the Madras Government
first, excise was, until lately, the most important source of revenue; but to-day,
with the introduction of prohibition, it has dwindled into a very small sum. In
1945-1946, for instance, when prohibition had been suspended by the Adviser
Government, it amounted to no less than Rs. 15.89 crores in the State and Rs 62.07
lakhs in Madurai 63; but in 1952-53, the revenue became insufficient even to meet
the expenditure, there being a deficit of about 33.27 lakhs of rupees in the State.
This revenue was in pre-prohibition days derived from the manufacture and
sale of arrack and toddy, and from the sale of foreign liquors, opium, ganja and
bhang. 64 It is now derived chiefly from foreign liquor. Its history is now merely of
62
G.O. No 631, Revenue, dated 25th April 1860, p. 120.
63
Administration Report of the Excise Revenue, for 1945-49, Government of Madras, p. 19.
64
Administration Report of the Excise and Prohibition Department for 1952-53, Government of
Madras, p. 23.
210
antiquarian interest, but none the less it is interesting, and it has to be recounted in
The revenue of the Districts, including Madurai, was for the first time
regulated by Act III of 1864 as amended by Act V of 1879. The supply of liquor
was then regulated by the farming system. The farming system was replaced in
1874 by the “improved excise system” under which the monopoly of supply of
arrack and toddy in the District was given to a contractor subject to the condition
that he paid duty on every gallon of spirit issued, and guaranteed a minimum
revenue to the Government. It was however soon found that this system was
responsible for a serious growth of illegal practices. As all the shops were in the
hands of the manufacturer and as he had to pay duty only on the quantity issued to
the vendors, it mattered little to him if the shops sold illicit liquor. Further, the
renter failed to maintain the preventive staff required to put down the illicit
improvements and upon its recommendation passed Act I of 1886 65. The
“improved excise system” was now, in the case of arrack, replaced by the free
supply system which was one of free competition among the licensed distillers in
respect of manufacture and supply. This led to unhealthy competition and finally to
the danger of a monopoly. This system was therefore abandoned in 1900 and
replaced by the contract distillery system. Under this system the privilege of
manufacture and vend were entirely separated. The manufacturer was given the
privilege of supplying a fixed area at a definite rate per gallon, the Government
supervising the process and ensuring the quality of liquor. The liquor was issued
65
J.H. Nelson, Madras District Manual, Government of Madras, Madras, 1868, Part V, pp. 17-18.
211
from a central source of supply and the right of retail sale was disposed of by
auction. By this arrangement the prevention of illicit practices was left in the hands
of the Government. In the case of toddy, a fee was levied for the right of retail
vend and a tree tax was also levied upon every tree from which toddy was to be
drawn. As for foreign liquor, tavern licenses were granted for consumption on the
premises, the fees being determined by auction. But, wholesale licenses and retail
licenses for consumption off the premises, for refreshment rooms and bars were
granted on payment of fixed fees. The sale of opium was administered under India
Act I of 1878 and that of ganja under Madras Act I of 1886 and the right of retail
vend to the public was generally sold by auction. The arrack was supplied to the
vendors by the distilleries situated outside this District, toddy was drawn chiefly
from coconut trees, and also from Palmyra and sago palms. This was the position
till October 1947 when prohibition was introduced in the District. 66 The loss of
revenue caused by prohibition has been more than made up by the levy of new
taxes called commercial taxes. The credit for devising and introducing these new
Rajagopalachari. In 1939, the Madras General Sales Tax Act (Act IX of 1939), The
Madras Entertainments Tax (Act X of 1939). The Madras sales of motor spirit
Taxation Act (Act VI of 1939), (the Madras Tobacco (Taxation of Sales and
Licensing) Act (Act VI of 1939) were passed. The last of these Acts was
suspended in 1944 on account of the levy of central excise duty by the Government
the Madras Government for the loss of the State revenue. In 1953 this Act was
66
D.N. Strathir, Excise and Temperance in Madras, Government of Madras, 1922, p. 27.
212
repealed and the State enacted the Madras Tobacco (Taxation of Sales and
Registration) Act 1953 (Act IV of 1953) 67. This Act came into force from 20th
April 1953. It enabled a tax to be levied on all varieties of cigarettes sold at the
retail point at more than three pies per cigarette on a graduated scale ranging from
10 per cent of the turnover to 30 Per cent of the turnover according to the rate of
the retail price of the cigarette and at thirty per cent of the turnover on cigars, and
cheroots sold at not less than two annas per cigar or cheroot and on pipe tobacco or
cigarettes tobacco. In 1955, the tax was extended to the sale of cigarettes at retail
point at not more than three pies per cigarette, at the rate of 3-1/8 per cent of the
turnover. The tax realized for the year 1953-1954 for the whole State was Rs.
30,21,662.
The General Sales Tax Act came into force on 1st October 1939. It was
levied on all businesses the turnover of which exceeded Rs. 10,000 thereby
exempting all small traders dealing in food Clothing, etc. To facilitate its levy and
to avoid detailed investigations into the exact turnovers in the case of smaller
business the amount of the tax was fixed at Rs. 5 per month when the turnover was
between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000. A tax at half a per cent was levied when the
turnover exceeded for. 20,000. Safeguards were provided in the Act to avoid the
taxation of both the seller and the buyer in respect of one and the same transaction
and also on both the purchases and sales of the same goods of the same dealer.
Exemptions were made in the case of certain articles like bullion and specie,
cotton, cotton yarn, and cloth woven on handlooms and sold by persons
exclusively dealing in such cloth. In the case of hides and skins provision was also
67
G.O.No.338, Revenue, Dated 12th February 1941, p. 84.
213
made to levy the tax at a single point in a series of sales by successive dealers. In
the tax levied on sales of such articles for delivery outside the State was allowed.
The sale of electrical energy, motor spirit and manufactured tobacco was exempted
from the tax. 68 In 1940-1941, the rates of tax were reduced to Rs. 4 per month on
turnovers between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000 and at one-fourth per cent on
turnovers exceeding Rs. 20,000.3 In 1944, the rates of taxation were raised to Rs.
12 per mensem on turnovers between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000, Rs. 12 per
mensem on turnovers between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000 and 1 per cent on
turnovers exceeding Rs. 20,000. 69 In 1949, the slab rate system of taxation was
abolished except in the case of fruits and vegetable dealers and a tax of 3 pies per
rupee was levied in all cases in which the turnover was Rs. 10,000 or more. In
respect of certain luxury goods, an additional tax at the rate of 3 to 6 pies per every
rupee was also levied at the stage of sale by the first dealer. In 1949 the slab rate
dehydrated vegetables and fruits. In the same year, the tax on food and drink sold
in hotels boarding houses and restaurants was raised to 4½ pies in the rupee when
the turnover was Rs. 25,000 or more: and the sale of cotton which had been
exempted from tax prior to 1st August 1949 now became liable to a tax at a single
point at the rate of half a per cent on the turnover. From 1950, by virtues of Article
286 (1) of the Constitution of India, sales for export outside the territory of India
were exempted from tax, while the taxes on other sales, including sales for export
68
G.O. No. 2528, Revenue, dated 5th November 1941, p. 16.
69
G.O. No. 69, Revenue, dated 28th November 1947, p. 12.
214
to the other States in India. Continued to be levied under the special permission of
the president. 70 The net result of all this brought no less than Rs. 16,48,25,763 to
the State in 1950-1951. Madurai contributing Rs. 1,08,56,398. 71 From 1954, the
levy of additional tax was extended to certain varieties of mill cloth, fine or
superfine, cotton cloth other than hand loom cloth, hosiery goods other than those
made wholly of cotton and medium cotton, mill cloth at the rate of1 anna 3 pies
and precious stones at the rate of 6 pies. From 1956, the sale of sugar was also
subjected to the additional tax at the rate of 1 anna in the rupee. A single point tax
of 6 pies was also levied on the sale of raw tobacco and certain varieties of
manufactured tobacco which were not subjected to tax under the Madras Tobacco
(Taxation of Sales and Registration) Act, 1953. From 1st April 1955 to onions,
potatoes, betel leaves and plantain leaves and to co-operative societies effecting
sales of palm gur and to sales effected by cottage industrial co-operative societies.
The Entertainments Tax Act came into force on 1st August 1993. 72 This Act
repealed a previous Act of 1926 (Act V of 1927) by which local bodies could levy
the levy of a tax on a graduated scale according to the value of the payment made
for admission to any entertainment. When the payment was not more than 2 annas,
but less than 6 annas it was levied at 6 pies. In the case of higher payments, it rose
gradually from 1 anna in the case of payments between 6 annas and 12 annas to
Rs. 2 in the case of payments between Rs. 9 and Rs. 10. When the payment was
RS. 10 or more, it was Rs. 2 for the first 10 rupees and Rs. 2 for every 10 rupees or
70
G.O. 429, Revenue, dated 23rd February 1949, p. 25.
71
G.O. No. 2134, Revenue, dated 11th August 1951, p. 23.
72
G.O. 3075, Revenue, dated 11th August 1951, p. 16.
215
portion thereof in excess of the first 10 rupees. Provision was made in the Act for
compounding the tax for a fixed sum as well as payment of a fixed percentage of
the gross proceeds, when the proprietors applied for such lump sum payments.
Provision was also made for exempting entertainments the proceeds of which were
which were of an educational, cultural and scientific character. In 1945, the rates of
tax on payments for admission above 2 annas were increased by 50 per cent. 73
Rate of Tax
tax was calculated at the above rates after excluding from such payments the
amount of the tax. In addition to the above tax, a show tax calculated at different
rates for Madras City, big municipalities, etc., was also levied in1949. The rate of
73
G.O. 20, Revenue, dated 6th January 1947, p. 3.
216
Where the payment inclusive of the amount of tax is-
Rate of Tax
All dramatic performances other than dance-dreams and all music and
dance performances and variety entertainments comprising dance and music and
associations were exempted from entertainments tax. In 1948-1949, the tax yielded
The only other important source of revenue in the District is the income-tax
and this is collected by the Government of India. Income-tax was first imposed in
India in 1860 in order to meet the financial dislocation caused by the Mutiny. It
was levied at the rate of 4 per cent on all incomes of Rs. 500 and upwards. 75 Many
changes have been made in the system from time to time. According to the
schedule in force in 1954-55, the first Rs.4,200 are exempted. In the case of
incomes exceeding this amount, the tax is levied as follows: on the first Rs. 1,500,
nil; on the next Rs. 3,500 at 9 pies in the rupee; on the next Rs. 5,000 at 1 anna and
9 pies in the rupee; and on the balance at 4 annas in the rupee; a surcharge of one-
twentieth of the basic tax is also levied. On high incomes, i.e., over Rs. 25,000, a
super tax ranging from 3 annas to 8½ annas in the rupee with a surcharge of one-
74
G.O. 2356, Revenue, dated 7th September 1949, p. 18.
75
G.T. Bodg, The Madras Presidency, Madras,1931-1933, p. 58.
217
twentieth of the super tax is levied. Originally, the administration of the
department was vested in the State government and was carried on by the Board of
Revenue and the Collectors of the Districts, assisted first by the ordinary revenue
staff and later by Special Deputy Collectors, Tahsildars, Assistant Tahsildars and
Officers called surveyors came to be appointed. Madurai was then placed under the
Reforms, the administration of the department was taken over by the Government
of India and their own officers. The District is now divided into two income-tax
Circles, the Dindigul Circle and the Madurai Circle. The Dindigul Circle comprises
the Madurai Circle comprises the revenue Taluks of Madurai, Melur and
assesses in the District, in 1945-55, was 5,141 and the amount of demand was Rs.
1,33,24,7221. The trades, industries and other sources which contribute the tax in
the Dindigul Circle are the trade in grain, hill produce, hides and skins,
manufacture of tobacco products, motor transport business, textile mills, oil mills,
ginning factories and match factories. The main business which contribute tax in
Since 1953, the estate duty has been introduced in the District. In 1954-55,
the Income-Tax Department collected this duty from the estates of 24 deceased
218