CHAPTER – 09 (Colonialism and the Countryside)
1.INTRODUCTION
1.Colonial Rule in the Countryside:
. Introduction to colonial rule's impact
on rural areas.
. Focus on Bengal zamindars, Rajmahal
hills (Paharias and Santhals), and the
Deccan region.
5.Resistance to Colonial Laws:
. People's defiance of unjust laws.
. Influence of local perceptions of
justice on legal resistance.
1.Revenue Default by the Raja of
Burdwan:
. Causes for the Raja's failure to pay
the fixed revenue.
. Economic and political factors
contributing to the accumulation of
arrears.
5. Rural Realities in Eastern India:
. Insights into the socio-economic
conditions prevailing in rural areas of
eastern India during the late 18th
century.
.Understanding power dynamics
between zamindars, peasants, and
colonial authorities in rural contexts.
1.Objective of the Permanent
Settlement:
. Addressing the economic crisis in
Bengal during the 1770s.
. Encouraging investment in
agriculture to stimulate economic
growth.
. Establishing a stable revenue system
to benefit both the state and
entrepreneurs.
5.Consequences of Revenue Default:
. Risk of estate auctioning for
zamindars failing to pay the fixed
revenue.
. Implications for the stability of
zamindari control and landownership.
1|Page
2. Establishment of English
East India Company's Rule:
. How the E.I.C. imposed its
authority in rural areas.
. Implementation of revenue
policies.
6.People's Influence on Law
Operation:
. Shaping the outcomes of legal
systems through resistance.
. Modification of legal
consequences through
community action.
2. Bengal and the Zamindars
2.1 An auction in Burdwan
2.Purchasers at the Auction:
. Identification of the individuals
participating in the auction.
. Roles of servants and agents of
the Raja in purchasing the
estates.
6.Effects of the Permanent
Settlement:
. Evaluation of the impact of the
Permanent Settlement on zamindari
revenue obligations and
landownership dynamics.
. Discussion on the consequences
of revenue default and the
subsequent auction process on local
power structures.
2.2 The problem of unpaid revenue
2.Implementation of the
Permanent Settlement:
. Process of permanently fixing
the revenue demand by the
British officials.
. Classifying rajas and taluqdars
as zamindars under the
settlement.
6.Formation of a Class of
Landowners:
. Hopes for the emergence of
yeomen farmers and wealthy
landowners.
. Expectation of loyalty to the
British Company from this class.
3.Impact of Revenue Policies:
. Effects on different social
groups.
. Changes in everyday lives:
wealth distribution, land
ownership, and peasant
livelihoods.
7.Historical Sources and
Interpretation Challenges:
. Overview of available historical
sources.
. Problems faced by historians in
interpreting these sources.
3.Fictitious Nature of the
Auction:
. Unveiling the revelation that
over 95% of the auction sales
were fictitious.
. Implications of this discovery
on the transfer of ownership and
control of the estates .
3.Role of Zamindars under the
Permanent Settlement:
. Definition of zamindars as
revenue collectors for the state,
not landowners.
. Management of multiple
villages under a zamindari.
7.Challenges and Criticisms of
the Permanent Settlement:
. Identification difficulties in
selecting individuals capable of
improving agriculture and
meeting revenue demands.
. Debate among Company
officials regarding the
effectiveness and fairness of the
settlement.
4.Consequences of State Laws:
. Determining factors for wealth
accumulation and impoverishment.
. Shifts in land ownership and peasant
financial strategies.
8.Historical Documentation:
. Examination of revenue records,
surveys, and journals.
. Analysis of accounts left by surveyors,
travelers, and enquiry commissions'
reports.
4.Control Retention by the Raja:
. Examination of how despite the
auction, the Raja retained control of his
zamindari.
. Analysis of the mechanisms employed
by the Raja to maintain power despite
apparent loss of land.
4. Revenue Collection and Estate
Management:
. Responsibilities of zamindars in
collecting rent from villages.
. Payment of fixed revenue to the
Company and retention of surplus as
income.
 CHAPTER – 09 (Colonialism and the Countryside)

2.3 Why zamindars defaulted on payments

1.High Initial Revenue Demands;
. Company's rationale for setting high
fixed revenue demands to prevent loss
of potential future income.
. Impact of high demands on the
financial burden of zamindars,
particularly during periods of
economic depression.
5.Role of Company Officials:
. Actions taken by Company officials
to assert control over zamindars,
including disbanding troops and
regulating courts.
. Instances of dispatching officials to
suppress the authority and influence of
defaulting zamindars.
1.Emergence of Rich Peasants:
. Formation of a wealthy peasant class
known as jotedars.
. Consolidation of their position in
rural villages during the late 18th and
early 19th centuries.
5.Resistance against Zamindari
Authority:
. Opposition to attempts by zamindars
to increase village revenue demands
(jama).
. Prevention of zamindari officials from
executing duties and mobilization of
dependent ryots.
1.Survival Strategies of Zamindars:
. Adaptation to exorbitant revenue
demands and estate auction threats.
. Development of new strategies in
response to changing circumstances.
2.Challenges in Agricultural
Economy:
. Difficulties faced by zamindars
in revenue collection due to
depressed agricultural produce
prices.
. Inability of ryots (peasant
tenants) to pay dues to the
zamindar, affecting revenue flow
to the Company.
6.Challenges in Rent
Collection:
. Perennial difficulties faced by
zamindars in rent collection from
ryots.
. Delays in payment due to
factors such as bad harvests, low
prices, and deliberate
procrastination by ryots.
2.4 The rise of the jotedars
2.Description of Jotedars:
. Insights from Francis
Buchanan's survey of the
Dinajpur district highlighting the
characteristics of jotedars.
. Acquisition of vast
landholdings and control over
local trade and money lending.
6.Involvement in Estate
Auctions:
. Participation of jotedars as
purchasers in auctions of
zamindari estates due to
revenue payment failures.
2.5 The zamindars resist
2.Fictitious Sale Tactics:
. Description of fictitious sale
maneuver employed by
zamindars.
. Manipulation of auctions and
accumulation of unpaid balances
to reclaim estates at low prices.
3.Rigid Revenue Collection
Policies:
. Imposition of invariable
revenue demands regardless of
harvest conditions.
. Enforcement of punctual
payment deadlines under the
Sunset Law, with estate
auctioning as penalty for non-
payment.
7.Legal Proceedings and
Litigation:
. Zamindars' recourse to legal
action against defaulting ryots.
. Proliferation of pending suits
for arrears of rent payment,
exemplified by the situation in
Burdwan with over 30,000
pending suits in 1798.
3.Control and Influence:
. Exercise of immense power
over poorer cultivators in the
region.
. Utilization of sharecroppers for
cultivation and extraction of
produce shares.
7.Regional Influence and
Variations:
. Concentration of jotedar power
in North Bengal.
. Emergence of similar
commanding figures in other
parts of Bengal with various local
titles such as haoladars,
gantidars, or mandals.
3.Scale of Fictitious
Transactions:
. Extent of fictitious purchases
by zamindars between 1793 and
1801.
. Impact on revenue recovery
and auction proceedings.
4.Restrictions on Zamindari Power:
. Initial limitations on zamindar authority
to collect rent and manage their estates.
. Company's efforts to control and
regulate zamindars, diminishing their
autonomy and authority.
4.Local Power Dynamics:
. Comparison between the power of
jotedars and zamindars within villages.
. Direct control and presence of jotedars
in rural areas as opposed to the often
urban-dwelling zamindars.
8.Impact on Zamindari Authority:
. Weakening of zamindari authority due
to the rise of jotedars and similar
affluent peasant classes.
. Transformation of power dynamics in
rural Bengal with jotedars playing a
significant role.
4.Other Methods of Avoiding
Displacement:
. Resistance against external buyers of
estates at auctions.
. Instances of attacks on agents or
resistance by ryots loyal to their
zamindar.

5. Ryot Loyalty and Identity: 6.Consolidation of Zamindar 7.Decline of Zamindari

. Perceived loyalty of ryots to their
zamindar as a figure of authority.
. Resistance to the sale of zamindari
due to disturbance of identity and
pride.
Power: Authority:
. Strengthening of zamindar . Reference to the collapse of
authority over villages by the zamindar authority during the
beginning of the 19th century. Great Depression of the 1930s.
. Flexibility in revenue payment . Ascendancy of jotedars and
rules contributing to zamindar consolidation of their power in
power consolidation. the countryside.
2.6 The Fifth Report

2|Page
 CHAPTER – 09 (Colonialism and the Countryside)
1.Background of the Fifth Report:
. Submission to the British Parliament
in 1813.
. Details and contents of the report,
including appendices.
5.Critical Evaluation of the Fifth
Report:
. Recent research highlighting the
need for careful reading of official
reports.
. Recognition of biases and
exaggerations in the Fifth Report,
particularly regarding the collapse of
traditional zamindari power.
1.Impenetrable Rajmahal Hills:
. Buchanan's observations of the
Rajmahal hills as inaccessible and
dangerous.
. Hostility and apprehension of the
local hill folk towards outsiders.
5.Role of Forest Environment:
. Importance of undergrowth and
grassy patches for pasture for cattle.
. Integration of forest resources into
the Paharia livelihood strategy
9.Tribute Payments and Traders'
Toll:
. Practice of zamindars paying tribute
to hill chiefs for peace.
. Traders' payment of toll to hill folk
for passage through controlled passes.
13.Paharia Raids and Colonial
Response:
. Increasing raids by Paharias on
settled villages, leading to colonial
attempts at control.
. Challenges faced by colonial officials
in controlling and subduing the
Paharias.
3|Page
2.Debates and Opposition in
Britain:
. Criticism of the East India
Company's monopoly over trade
with India and China.
. Calls for revocation of the
Royal Charter and opening of
Indian markets to private traders
and British industrialists.
6.Contrast with Recent Research:
. Utilization of archival and local
records to provide a nuanced
understanding of colonial rule in
rural Bengal.
. Identification of exaggerations in
the Fifth Report regarding the loss
of zamindari land and displacement
of zamindars.
3. The Hoe and the Plough
3.1 In the hills of Rajmahal
2.Identity of the Hill Folk -
Paharias:
. Identification of the hill
dwellers as Paharias based on
late-eighteenth-century revenue
records.
. Residence in the vicinity of the
Rajmahal hills.
6.Paharia Lifestyle and
Connection to the Forest:
. Roles as hunters, shifting
cultivators, food gatherers,
charcoal producers, and
silkworm rearers.
. Settlement in hutments within
tamarind groves and reliance on
forest resources for survival.
10.Negotiated Peace and
Fragility:
. Fragility of negotiated peace,
especially during aggressive
extension of settled agriculture
in the late 18th century.
. British encouragement of
forest clearance and extension of
settled agriculture.
14.Brutal Policies and
Pacification Attempts:
. British adoption of brutal
policies of extermination in the
1770s.
. Introduction of pacification
policy by Augustus Cleveland in
the 1780s.
. Offering of annual allowances
to Paharia chiefs in exchange for
3.Regulation of Company
Rule:
. Enactment of Acts by the
British Parliament to regulate
and control Company activities
in India.
. Establishment of committees to
inquire into Company affairs.
3.Subsistence Practices:
. Dependence on forest
resources and shifting cultivation
for sustenance.
. Clearing patches of forest for
cultivation and allowing fallow
periods for land fertility recovery.
7.Territorial Identity and
Resistance to Outsiders:
. View of the entire region as
their land, integral to their
identity and survival.
. Resistance to intrusion from
outsiders and maintenance of
unity by tribal chiefs.
11.British Perceptions of
Forests and Forest People:
. View of forests as wild and
uncultivated, needing clearance
for agricultural development.
. Perception of forest people as
savage, unruly, and difficult to
govern
15.Response of Paharia Chiefs
and Community:
. Refusal of many Paharia chiefs
to accept allowances, leading to
loss of authority.
. Perception of chiefs accepting
allowances as subordinate to the
colonial government.
4.Significance of the Fifth Report:
. Influence on parliamentary debates
regarding the nature of Company rule in
India.
. Shaping of historical understanding of
rural Bengal in the late 18th century for
over a century and a half.
4.Utilization of Forest Resources:
. Collection of mahua, silk cocoons,
resin, and wood from the forests for
various purposes.
. Production of charcoal from wood
resources.
8.Raids on the Plains:
. Regular raids by the Paharias on
settled agriculturists in the plains.
. Purpose of raids for survival, power
assertion, and negotiation of political
relations with outsiders.
12.Expansion of Settled Agriculture
and Conflict:
. Reduction of forest and pasture areas
due to expansion of settled agriculture.
. Escalation of conflict between hill folk
and settled cultivators as a result.
16.Paharia Withdrawal and War with
Outsiders:
. Retreat of Paharias into the mountains
to insulate themselves from hostile
forces.
. Continuation of war with outsiders
despite pacification efforts.
 CHAPTER – 09 (Colonialism and the Countryside)
17.Suspicion of British Infiltration:
. Suspicion and distrust of British
individuals, including Buchanan, due to
memories of pacification campaigns
and repression.
. Perception of British infiltration as a
threat to Paharia way of life and
control over forests and lands.
1. Arrival in Bengal (1780s):
. Initial migration of Santhals into
Bengal.
5.Land Grant and Settlement (1832):
. Allocation of land in Rajmahal
foothills.
. Practice of plough agriculture
encouraged
9.Transition from Mobility to
Settlement:
. Santhal myths depict a history of
continuous travel until settling in
Damin-i-Koh.
. Settlement marked the end of their
nomadic lifestyle.
17.Creation of Santhal Pargana:
. Establishment of a new territory
covering 5,500 square miles.
. Carved out from Bhagalpur and
Birbhum districts.
4|Page
maintaining order among their
people
18.Emergence of New Threats:
. Arrival of Santhals in the area,
leading to further clearing of
forests and agricultural
expansion.
. Recession of Paharias deeper
into the Rajmahal hills in
response to Santhal settlement.
3.2 The Santhals: Pioneer settlers
2. Role of Zamindars and
British Officials:
. Zamindars hiring Santhals for
land reclamation and cultivation
expansion.
.Invitation by British officials to
settle in the Jangal Mahals.
6. Demarcation and Boundary:
. Surveyed, mapped, and
enclosed.
.Separation from plains
agriculturists and Paharias.
10.Impact on Paharias:
. Resistance to Santhal
settlement.
. Forced withdrawal deeper into
hills.
18.Colonial State's Response:
. Attempt to conciliate Santhals
through special laws.
. Effort to mitigate grievances
and pacify rebellion
19.Symbolism of Conflict:
. Symbolic representation of
Paharia life by the hoe used for
shifting cultivation.
. Contrast with the power
represented by settlers wielding
the plough, symbolizing the
battle between the two.
3.Comparison with Paharias: 4. Perception as Ideal Settlers:
. Paharias' resistance to forest . Santhals seen as suitable settlers due
clearance and agriculture. to their willingness to clear forests and
cultivate land.
7.Rapid Expansion of Santhal 8.Impact on Revenue and Economy:
Settlements: . Increased revenue due to expanded
. Growth from 40 villages in cultivation.
1838 to 1,473 by 1851.
. Population surge from 3,000 to
over 82,000.
11.Consequences of Paharias' 12.Shift in Livelihoods:
Displacement: . Transition to settled agriculture.
. Confined to less fertile, rocky .Cultivation of commercial crops.
areas. . Engagement with traders and
. Long-term impoverishment. moneylenders.
 CHAPTER – 09 (Colonialism and the Countryside)

5|Page