BOOK II.

THE LAND-REVENUE
SYSTEM OF BENGAL.
CHAPTER IV. THE RELATION OF LANDLORD
AND TENANT.
SECTION I. THE LOCAL VARIETIES OF
TENANTS' HOLDINGS.
THE preceding chapter has dealt with landlord estates or those
involving proprietary right, and also with 'tenures,' technically so
called, which form a sort of secondary class, intermediate between
the frst grade of interest and the lowest which is that of the raiyat.
Properly speaking, no fresh start is necessary before proceeding to
describe rayat rights ! an account of the varieties of these, as they
are found in di"erent districts, is as much a part of our study of
#engal land$tenures, as is the description of the %amnd&r or the
haw&lad&r. 't is only the magnitude of the sub(ect and the necessity
for subdivision into sections, that makes me begin a new 'chapter'
for tenants and their rights. 'n reality, a large number of the persons
who have become legally tenants, but are still called by the old
name of raiyat, were the original soil$owners of, at any rate, their
individual holdings. Their present position is due partly to their own
decay, partly to the gradual overlaying of their rights by the growth
of the '%amindars' ! it is therefore necessary to bear in mind that in
#engal, as in other parts of 'ndia, we must not be surprised to fnd
'tenants' many of whom owe their position to no kind of contract
with any landlord whatsoever. That is a main point to be borne in
mind. )e may now proceed *+. ,--. to notice some of the local
forms of rayat tenure, and then proceed to the history of the
relations of landlord and tenant, and to the provisions of law actually
in force. /nd frst of certain very common terms describing tenants
generally.
1. Main Cla! "# T!nan$.
'n the ordinary revenue language, but hardly in the common speech
of the people, tenants in the Permanently +ettled districts were
spoken of in two classes 'khudk&sht' and 'p&hi$k&sht.' 0hudk&sht
properly means a man who cultivates his own land ! and, in reality, it
points back to a time before the %amnd&rs' time, when the village
cultivator was either a member of a body which had cleared the
waste and established the village, or had become, by con1uest or
grant at some remote date, the virtual owner of it. )here such
persons were of a cultivating caste and worked their own holdings
personally or with the aid of their servants, they were said to be
'khudk&sht,' or cultivating their own. #ut there were always others in
the village who, though not on the same footing, were nevertheless
resident and privileged cultivators, (ust as we see in Pan(&b villages
at the present day. )hen the proprietary right of the village
cultivators became lost or obscured by the turmoils of the times and
the in2uence of overlords, both the original village owners and their
resident helpmates became practically undistinguished, and were
called raiyats under the %amnd&r ! but as both were by custom
privileged, and were not liable to eviction, both came to be e1ually
called 'khudk&sht' with a slight change of meaning, for the word now
implied tenants 'cultivating in their own village.' The 'th&ni' 3or
sth&ni4 cultivator is only a Hindi name for e5actly the same thing !
and 'chapparband,' the man who has his 'roof' or house 'f5ed' in the
village, is also the same. Pahi$ or p&i$k&sht meant a man who came
from abroad and took up land to cultivate without belonging to the
village permanently. He retained *+. 677. the appellation of origin,
even though he in fact continued to till the land year after year.
/s the modern tenant$law has given privileges, after a lapse of
years, to the 'p&hi' cultivators as well as to the hudk&sht, the
distinction found in the 8egulations and in the older reports has
ceased to be of practical import, and has given place to the legal
distinction of 'occupancy' and 'non$occupancy' raiyat.
%. L"&al Na'! #"( T!nan$.
The common local names for tenants are various. '9ot' is a term
commonly used for any tenancy
:
, especially in the #ih&r districts,
where it has not the special meaning e5plained 3in ;hap. '''. +ec. <'.
;, p. ,=64. 'Pra(&' is a common word for tenant, and also 'karsh&'
3+ansk. krish&n4.
:
8. and >. Ten. /ct, p. ??.
/s regards the term '(ot,' @r. ;otton remarks that it is used with the
most elastic application. 't has already been stated that in 9essore it
means a class of persons who are in fact substantial tenure$holders
with an acknowledged right to hold at f5ed rates! and so it is
e5plained in the district of 8angpur. 'n general the raiyat who holds
direct from the landlord is called '(otd&r,' and his holding is a '(ot,'
whatever its siAe, and which may, and does, vary from one paying a
rent of one rupee to one of which the rent is half a lakh
B
. 't will then
be remembered that '(ot' may be either a 'tenure' or a rayat
3tenant4 holding according to locality.
B
The term '(ot$(ama' merely implies that a lump rent is f5ed on the
whole holding, say, of fve to ten bigh&s, including the site of house
and garden and paddy$felds. The rent is 'be$miy&di,' without a f5ed
term, or 'miy&di,' for a term, or 'sar&sar,' f5ed from time to time,
and so on.
). H*l-+*ila.
'n the #h&galpur division a form of tenancy is spoken of as 'h&l$
h&sila' 3which means 'what has been realiAed for *+. 67:. the time
being, or actually '4. This almost e5plains that the tenant is only
bound to pay according to the crop which actually comes to
maturity. The tenant cultivates such lands in the holding as he
(udges best, so that the felds occupied and the rent, vary from year
to year ! but it is understood that the tenure is a continuing one.
;ertain rates for each crop, called 'bera,' are known ! and at the
close of the year, the account is made out by taking the area of
crops of di"erent kinds matured, and working out the rent by aid of
the 'bera' or rates
:
.
: There is a more e5tended account in the +tatistical /ccount
3Purneah, vol. 5v. p. ?B=, and @alda 3vol. vii. p. C:4. The 1uestions
there raised about an occupancy$right accruing, are all set at rest by
/ct <''' of :CC,, under which it is not needed that the very same
plots should have been continuously held.

+o much of the holding as is left fallow is either not paid for at all or
according to a 'fallow' rate, as may be agreed on ! but it will be
observed that, whether fallow or not, the entire area is at the
disposal of the tenant. The landlord has no power to hand over to
some other person such felds as the tenant has not elected to
plough up. 't is said that these tenures are held by the higher
castes, and that, in some cases, they are regarded as transferable,
having been sold in e5ecuting decrees.
/ modern form of this, only on a yearly agreement, is found on the
banks of the Danges and 0Esi rivers, by non$resident cultivators,
locally called ' dotw&r
:
.'
:
Fnless the name is 3as ' suspect4 a misprint for aotw&r or Gtw&r as
in the following note4.
,. O$-an.i "( /$-an.i
1
.
:
;ommonly written 'utbandi.' )ilson gives it as a @ar&thi word Hut,
a plough, from +anscrit &yudh, a weapon. #ut Platt, with much more
probability, spoils it 'oI,' which means a 'scotch' 3to f5 a thing down4
! and hence a f5ed rate for the use of a plough and pair of bullocks.
This is a new form of temporary contract tenancy, and only
resembles 'the h&l$h&sila,' which is a permanent tenancy, in this one
particular, that the rent depends on the area cultivated, and on the
actual crop raised ! nothing is paid for the fallow, if, as in some
cases, the Etbandi *+. 67B. raiyat holds for two or three years ! for it
is a local feature that the land 3owing to its infertility4 must be given
rest. This form of tenancy is commonest in Jadiya, but is found in
9essore, @urshid&b&d, and in Pabna under the name of 'Fthitpatit' or
'charcha (ot.' 't is said that '(ama'i' raiyats $$ i.e. tenants paying a
lump rental for their holding $$ pay at rates about half as high as
those which are paid by Etbandi raiyats on their actual cultivation.
0. G(ain-$!nan$.
#efore closing the notice of varieties of tenant, ' must mention the
'bh&oli' or grain$paying system of #ih&r. The process of division is
much the same as it is in the Pan(&b, or any other place where it
survives, or had survived till of late years. /s usual, the grain
division is e"ected either by weighing out the grain at the threshing$
2oor 3agor$b&t&i4, or by appraising the standing crop 3d&n&bandi4, in
which case the tenant makes over as many maunds of the grain as
it was estimated would be the share in the feld as it stood. 't is
surprising how accurate an appraisement of this sort can be when
made by persons accustomed to the work.
'n D&y&, it is said, four$ffths of the land is held on grain$paying
tenures. ' have found a report on these tenures written by #abu
#hEb$+en +ingh, of D&y&, which graphically describes them
:
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8eport on the 8ent #ill in :CC=. The account is also curious as it is
written from a strongly landlord point of view. )hen it is recollected
that a large proportion of the bh&oli tenants are what was once, in
byegone days, the village proprietary body, and that the 'gorait'
whom the '%amnd&r maintains,' is one of the regular servants of the
village community, and that the %amnd&r was always bound to
keep the embankments, the author certainly does not underrate the
landlord's e1uitable interest in the cultivation.
''t is the distinctive feature of the grain$rents that the payment
consists not in any f5ed 1uantity but in a f5ed proportion of the
actual out$turn of the crops grown. The rent, paid or payable
accordingly varies from year to year. The land is tilled and the seed
sown is supplied by the raiyat or at *+. 67?. his cost the cost of
hoeing and transplanting, of weeding and clearing, being also borne
by him. #ut the water is supplied by the landlord at his own cost.
The cost of giland&Ai 3throwing up of earth4, division of lands into
plots, by al and ail 3ridges4 according to their levels, for the storage
of the necessary 1uantity of water, and of erecting embankments on
the banks of rivers for the protection of the villages from being over$
2ooded, are e5clusively paid by him. 'n dry years, when water
cannot be supplied from rivers and village reservoirs and artifcial
water$courses, he pays the raiyat the cost of sinking wells. 't is not
only that the landlord supplies water for irrigation, but as the rise or
fall in his income depends upon the increase or decrease in the
produce of the lands, he naturally shows as much an5iety and takes
as much care in the proper and timely ploughing thereof, as he
would have done had he been a cultivator himself ! and his servants
are always found to be busy in superintending the tilling of the soil,
the sowing of the seed, the transplanting of the rice, and so forth,
according as the case may be.
''f the raiyat' s bullock happens to die in the ploughing season, and
the raiyat is unable to procure one in its stead, the %amnd&r would
come forward and help him with one, even at the risk of running into
debt, if he is poor. +eed is also supplied by him in the same way. >or
similar reasons, the landlord is interested in seeing that the best
crops are grown upon the land it is capable of producing. Jo raiyat
has the right to sow any crop inferior to what the land is capable of
producing, nor can he be allowed, without the e5press consent of his
landlord, to grow crops for which, by the custom of the country, a
cash rent is paid, or which are incapable of being appraised or
stored in the threshing$2oor or barn for division. >rom the time the
crops are sown to the time they are appraised and stored, the
landlord watches the crops with keen interest and protects them
from being wasted or otherwise in(ured by men or cattle. >or this
purpose he has to maintain an establishment of #arahils and
Doraits, the former of whom receive their salary from, the %amnd&r,
.... while the latter are remunerated by the %amnd&r with rent$free
land' *and some grain$payment which is e5acted from the tenants..
'This kind of tenure, it may be remarked en passant, is a peculiar
one and has not its like anywhere else either in *+. 67=. /sia or
Europe K and it would be a mistake to compare it with the European
metayer system and to condemn it as having all the evils of that
system without any of its advantages
:
. . . .
:
' should have thought that the author's own description fully
(ustifed the condemnation in italics, which, if ' recollect rightly, is Lr.
>ield's '
'The Mbh&oliM crops are by custom and the circumstances under
which they are grown, regarded by the parties concerned as their
(oint property.' *N. . . . 'The whole of the straw and the cha", which
are not without value, goes to the raiyats. 't is only out of the grain$
produce that the %amnd&r gets a share which, though everywhere
more than half, is di"erent in di"erent parganas, and almost in
di"erent villages, and which again varies with the di"erent classes
of raiyats, whether 8a'iy&n or +hurf&
:
, the former delivering a higher
and the latter a lower share K and we shall be very near the true
fgure when we state that the %amnd&r's share, with the customary
abw&bs or cesses, is -O:6 of the grain$produce. #ut, if the value of
the straw and the cha", which are, in these days, as much valuable
commodities as grain, be taken into consideration, the highest share
which the %amnd&r gets in lieu of rent, would be much less than
even half of the total gross produce. The value of the straw and
cha" may fairly be assumed to be one$third of the grain$produce. ....
:
8a'iy&n are ordinary 'sub(ects.' +hurf& are the higher castes 3from
sharifPnoble4, very often e5$proprietors.
'/s soon as the crops are ripe for harvesting, the %amnd&r deputes
an amn 3assessor4 and a s&lis 3arbitrator4 to make an estimate of
the grain$produce. 'n the presence of these oQcers, the raiyats, the
village gom&sta, the patw&r, and the (eth 3headman of raiyats4, who
generally knows how to read and write, representing and watching
the interests of the raiyats ! the village chainman, called kath&d&r
3holder of the rod or bamboo4, measures the feld with the village
bamboo, which in this district is nowhere less than C feet ? inches or
more than - feet in length. The s&lis then goes round the feld, and
from his e5perience guesses out the probable 1uantity of the grain
in the felds, holds a consultation with the amn and the village
oQcers, and when the 1uantity is unanimously agreed upon, it is
made known to the raiyat. 'f he accepts the estimate so arrived at,
the 1uantity is entered by the patw&ri *+. 67,. in the khasra or feld$
book. 'f he ob(ects, other raiyats are called in to act as mediators,
and if they fail to convince either party, a part&l or test takes place.
Rn behalf of the landlord, a portion of the best part of the crops is
reaped, and an e1ual portion of the worst part is reaped on behalf of
the raiyat. The two portions so reaped are threshed and the grain
weighed. Rn the 1uantity thus ascertained, the whole produce of the
feld is calculated and entered in the khasra. >rom the time the
estimate is made, the %amnd&r withdraws his supervision from the
crops, which are then left in the e5clusive charge and possession of
the tenant.' . . .
'/fter the appraisement of the feld, the raiyat is allowed the full
liberty of reaping the crops and taking them home at any time that
may suit his convenience. Rut of the estimated 1uantity, a
deduction at the rate of two seers per maund is allowed to the
raiyat, which is called chhuthi 3let o"4. ' have not been able to
ascertain the e5act reason for which this allowance is made. #ut, as
in the agorbat&i, the reapers who also thresh out the grain are paid
from the (oint crop, ' presume this is allowed to the raiyat to meet
the cost of reaping, gathering, and threshing. The landlord's share is
then calculated on the 1uantity left after the chhuthi has been
deducted,'
The writer, however, goes on to describe how the landlord e5acts
several cesses 3here called 'hubEb'4, which include the dah$ha1,
which is an e5tra 'tenth' 3= seers in the maund4, besides pau$sera 3S
seer4, 'nocha,' and others. )ith these he says 'the %amnd&r's total
shark would come to, in some cases, a little less, and in others a
little more, than -O:6.
1. S2--$!nan$.
)hen the tenant's holding is of considerable siAe and importance, it
is not surprising that sub$letting should be usual. The commonest
name for a tenant's tenant, or under$raiyat, is, perhaps, 'kErpha'
3often written 'koorfa,' Tc.4
:
. / sub$tenant paying grain is called
barg&it or *+. 676. &dhiyad&r. The term 'shikm ' is used for under$
tenants, but not in D&y&, where it means a kind of money$paying
tenant who is permanent, and probably refers to the class of tenant
who was not on e1ual terms with the descendants of original village
settlers, though privileged as long resident and settled.
:
/s the term is supposed to be of Hind or #engal origin, of course
the letter 'f,' which does not occur
in these languages, must be wrong! but ' believe it is not settled
what the real derivation of the term is.
3. L"&al $!(' #"( T!nan$.
)here there are special terms for 'tenures,' or for rayat holdings,
there are also special terms for tenants or subtenants ! as, for
instance, the chuk&nid&r under the (otd&r in 8angpur and other
districts, and the kol$karsh&d&r in #&kirgan(. >or a variety of terms
which ' do not think it would be interesting to reproduce, as merely
indicating kinds of contract, it will be suQcient to refer to the note at
p. ?, of >inucane and 8ampini's Tenancy /ct.
4. T!nan&i! in 5a$!-lan. &l!a(in6.
;hittagong presents to us certain peculiarities in the system of
tenancy which deserve to be noticed, because they throw light on
the diQculties of a tenant law, and how provisions which may be
e"ective in one place, and under one set of circumstances, fail to
apply in another. The account that has been given both of land$
tenures and of the method of land$revenue +ettlement adopted in
this district, will have made the sub(ect so far familiar that what
follows will be intelligible. )e have, in fact, a country where land is
e5tremely abundant in proportion to tenants, and where there is
indeed never likely to be much pressure, because the neighbouring
district of /rakan is still a virgin wilderness to a great e5tent, and,
like so much of #urma generally, only awaits the over2ow of
population to turn it into a source of wealth to the agriculturist. Jot
only is land abundant, but it is held in small patches which are still
distinguished by the names of origin. The talu1 is the individual
holding, whether *+. 67U. old$settled revenue$free, assessed 3i.e.
resumed4 revenue$free, or nau&b&d. The result is 3:4 that every one
ekes out his subsistence by taking, as a tenant, some patch of land
belonging to another ! 3B4 that every one desires to have some land
of which he is owner, or at least permanent tenure$holder 31&imi4,
because that gives him the power of letting it out. / mere
occupancy$right is not valued ! for it does not enable a man to get
land on any better terms than circumstances always secure for him
as a casual tenant ! while of itself it is not a right which enables him
to let the plot and get money by it.
/ considerable portion of the cultivation is in the hands of tenants$
at$will, called 3as usual4 '(otd&r' or 'ch&s&,' or sometimes 'karshai$
raiyat' 3karsh&Vplough4. /nd of course a man may be a 'ch&s&'
tenant on one plot, while he is owner 3or talu1dar4 of another.
'+ettlements with the cultivators' 3writes @r. Wowis, the
;ommissioner
:
4 'are made in @arch or /pril, when each (otd&r
settles what rent is to be paid for the land he proposes to cultivate,
the rate being governed by the state of the rice market and the
demand for the land. . . . +ometimes written engagements are
taken, but as often as not the arrangement is verbal. 't is not
absolutely necessary that a fresh engagement should be entered
into every year. )hen a ch&s& has held the same land for several
years, he is allowed to hold on at the old rate without attending at
the cutcherry to settle afresh. ... 't is always assumed, however, by
both parties that, on the occasion of a marked rise or fall in the price
of rice, there shall be a corresponding change in the rent, after
mutual discussion.'
:
;ommissioner of ;hittagoug to #oard of 8evenue, Jo. UB ;.T.,
dated Cth Lecember, :CCB.
/ trusted ch&s&
'will be allowed to hold on for some years without a fresh
agreement, while a new man will be re1uired to attend at the
beginning of each season to settle his rent.'
'n many cases rents are settled only for one year, and at the end of
it either party is at liberty to dissolve the connection. *+. 67C. +uch a
system, @r. Wowis remarks, would, on a large estate, result in rack$
renting ! but it does not here, as the tenant is independent, owing to
the small siAe of the holdings ! and if he cannot get one bit on terms
that suits him, it is no 1uestion of breaking up his home and going to
a distant village he is sure to fnd another, or half a doAen other
plots, within a stone's throw, the owners of which are only too
an5ious to secure him. / man is not absolutely bound to get land or
starve ! he is pretty sure to have some of his own, by which he can
live ! and if he does not get e5tra land on a tenancy as it pleases
him, he can a"ord to let it alone.
The talu1d&rs have thus the complete control of the land, but
sub(ect to conditions which compel moderation ! the tenants prefer
to be free also.
'The talu1d&rs,' says the ;ollector regarding the 0utabdiya estates,
'argued that no terms whatever could pay them if the control of the
land were taken out of their hands and the cultivators under them
were recorded with f5ed rights. The reason of this is, that the
cultivators under them cannot be relied on for a f5ed rent year by
year. They prefer to pay heavily on a good crop and lightly in a year
when they have reaped less or got lower prices, or have left a larger
area uncultivated. @oreover, each talu1 has its own small
embankments, and the talu1d&rs must be entitled to demand the
labour of the cultivators to ensure these being kept up. 'n short, the
cultivators do not want f5ity of tenure, and it would be ruinous to
the talu1d&rs if it were given to them. '
7. All28ial T!nan&i! in N"a9+*l: .i$(i&$.
Joakh&l is another district where land is abundant, owing to the
constant formation of more or less rich silt islands or 'chars ' out of
the river$branches that intersect the district.
These 'chars,' of course, vary in their durability K some last but a
short time ! some remain for many years, or permanently. @ost of
the recent chars, and even much land *+. 67-. on the older ones, is
cultivated by '(otd&rs' on a purely annual tenancy. Tenants of this
class will come at the proper time to the oQce of the haw&lad&r or
other tenure$holder, and o"er to take a certain plot, at a rate which
varies, and depends on the 1uality of the land and its advantages.
The agreement being completed, the tenant passes a plough$furrow
across the land, as the sign of his taking possession.
The ;ommissioner writes as follows
:
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To #oard of 8evenue, Jo. ::6 ;.T., dated nth >ebruary, :CCB. /
similar state of things is described in Tipperah 3Tpra4.
'>or the frst ten or even twenty years of its e5istence, a char is thus
cultivated by (otd&rs pure and simple, non$resident, nomadic, and
unsettled. Dradually, however, some of them settle near their
cultivation, and come to be looked on as settled$raiyats, who hold at
some sort of f5ed rate of rent. There is a rate for settled$raiyats, and
this is not usually altered ! but even a settled$raiyat often sits loose
to his holding, and so a custom has become recogniAed that he
should be allowed some remission in a bad season, and should not
be e5pected to pay for land not cultivated.
'This rule is not invariable, but ' am led to believe that in a bad
season, after some haggling, a settled$raiyat does generally get
some remission, while in a good season he has to pay something
e5tra in one shape or another ! in either case the rate is not altered,
but the arrangements made are the result of mutual compromise.
'There is very little actual di"erence between a settled$raiyat and a
(otd&r. They neither of them hold under leases ! the usual rate for
both is about the same K only the (otd&r rent is admittedly variable !
that of the settled$raiyat is not variable, but $$ which comes to much
the same thing $$ he can generally get some remission when things
are bad.
'There has always been more land to be cultivated on the islands
than cultivators ! and land once cultivated so soon gets covered with
rank vegetation all the ranker for the earth having once been
opened up that cultivators are in demand, and have always been
able pretty well to dictate their own terms ! while the facilities for
obtaining fresh land rent$free, or at low rates, have induced
unsettled and nomadic habits, so *+. 6:7. that even where
cultivators have been for a considerable period apparently settled,
the haw&lad&r knows that they sit very loose to the holding, and, if
discontented, are apt to abandon them in order to ac1uire land
elsewhere.'
1;. C"'<a(i"n "# $+i &la "# T!nan&= >i$+ $+! $a$! "#
T!nan&i! 6!n!(all= a$ $+! P!('an!n$ S!$$l!'!n$.
@r. 9. +. ;otton compares the present state of things in the alluvial
districts to the condition of the 'p&hi$k&sht,' or casual or non$
resident tenants generally, at the time of the Permanent
+ettlement ! and the e5istence of such conditions no doubt largely
contributed to the old belief that the relations of landlord and tenant
3generally4 would settle themselves $$ a belief which resulted in the
silence of the 8egulations as to any defnite terms of protection.
'The country was then three parts waste, still slowly recovering from
the e"ects of famine. The demand was on all sides for raiyats to
bring the land under cultivation ! the rates of rent were uniformly
low, since, as soon as the demand was raised above what the raiyat
chose to pay, he would migrate to the lands of a neighbouring
landlord
:
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:
/nd this to the 'p&hi$k&sht' was not what a removal would be to an
old resident of a village. There was no breaking up of an ancestral
homePeven though a humble oneP and severing lifelong ties and
associations ! the casual tenant soonXpacked up his lol& 3drinking$
pot4 and his bedding and few moveables! and as to his hut, a frame
of mud and bamboos and a thatch roof is easily renewed in one
place as well as another.
#ut as time passed, this state of things gradually ceased, and in the
end Dovernment was obliged to devise protective measures, which
it did in :C,-, and again in :CC,.
'#ut in ;hittagong, and throughout the new alluvial formations of
Joakh&l and Tipperah, population is still sparse, land still plentiful,
and the demand is still for raiyats to bring land under
cultivation.' . . .
'There is no rack$renting in ;hittagong, for there is always the
probability that if the rent is f5ed too high the land may not be
taken up ! and if not engaged for, the loss would, of course, fall on
the talu1d&r or haw&lad&r, as the case may be.
'The ;hittagong raiyats are, in short, entirely independent *+. 6::.
of the in2uence and interference of their landlords, and cultivate as
they please on a yearly tenure. 't is not surprising that under such
circumstances they do not attach much importance to the right of
occupancy as our law defnes it. They are naturally indisposed to
bind themselves defnitely to a particular plot of land for which they
will have to pay rent whether they cultivate it or not. Their real
ambition is to get a permanent lease *'tenure'. and then to let this to
other raiyats for cultivation ! but, if they cannot get this, they prefer
to make their own terms with their landlord for such lands as they
may themselves cultivate.
'/ similar state of things e5ists in the Lw&rs
:
of 9alp&igEr, where so
much land is available that an under$tenant who feels himself
aggrieved will at once desert his holding and take up other land.
:
;ommissioner to #oard, Jo. C6C, dated Bnd @arch, :CUC,
paragraph ::! and #oard to Dovernment, Jo. B:: /., dated B,th
@arch, :CUC, paragraph :B.
''t is the same in the estates belonging to the 9aipur Dovernment
:
in
the district of #ogra 3#agur&4. Rwing to the abundance of fallow and
waste land in this part of the country, the raiyats seldom occupy the
same holding for any lengthened period, and rights of occupancy
are almost entirely unknown. The %amnd&rs compete for raiyats,
and Mthe latter are almost masters of the situation.M The fgures
given by @r. @acpherson in paragraph C of his report show that
nearly :7 per cent, of the holdings on these estates had been
vacated during the three years, :CU-$C7 to :CC:$CB, and no less
than :,?B7 bgh&s, which were cultivated three years before, had
gone out of cultivation. The amount of new land taken under
cultivation had prevented the rental of the estates from being
reduced by more than 8. =C! but the results vary considerably in
di"erent villages, and from year to year.'
:
@r. @acpherson's report to the #oard, Jo. 6:, dated BB 9an. :CC?.
paragraph =, published on p. B7: of
the +elections from the correspondence on the preparation of Tables
of 8ent 8ate.
%u. C. %um #eispielK The people of 'ndia K a series of photographic
illustrations O 'ndia @useum, :C6C $ :CU, Y/usAugZ