08 Chapter 2
08 Chapter 2
08 Chapter 2
BRITISH RULE
AND
IMPOVERISHMENT OF THE PEASANTRY
tenants was a part of the agrarian system. The study of agrarian structure
would lead to the study of agrarian or the peasant class. Tenant was the actual
tiller, who had so many parties t o satisfy besides the state. The tenant had t o
bear the full cost of the cultivation and the landlords were generally confined
t o extract rent regularly. Land tenure refers t o the condition under which
various classes and institutions held landcl).
pre-British period and the British Land Revenue administration. Land being
or as gift or on lease etc. determined in the past the forms of control and
utilisation of land. More over the policies and methods adopted by the rulers
the peasants among whom the possessed land was alienated from their
top and insecure tenants and labourers at the bottom of the structure of the
land relations.
developed landed property(3)even prior to the 12th century A.D. There ex-
isted military tenure, some what similar to the feudal system of Europe. The
castes such Bunts were considered as the martial castes did not pay any land
tax and instead they fought for the kings on the war fields. The Brahmins
were exemptedc4)from payment of any land tax as they looked after the
1. K S.Shivanna, 7BeAgranbnSjcZemof~maiab,
17361761, (Unive@OMysare, 1983)~.
21.
on LBMinaffinnadaa n d m u , Mangabre Unive~&Dacennial Volum, (ed),
2. t??~sp=m%e
(ManwB angog7; 1991Jp. 145:
3. C D. Mxlean, Manual MAdminWation, M r a s Presidency, Vol. 4 (Madm, lm)p.
,114.
4. IbiG p.114.
temples were known as 'Devadaya' and those to Brahmins as 'Brahmadaya'.
Further, rulers donated(') the land to the monasteries, Jain Basadis, to some
They extracted rent and free services without any investment. The cultivat-
ing peasants in such inam lands were suddenly converted in to tenants. The
tural classes and gradually the peasant cultivators were reduced to serfdom.
from land, instead of money, military, social, economic and religious servcies
This culminated in the feudal exploitation of land and in this process of feu-.
During the early historical period there existed slavery(4)in Canara and
the greater part of the labourers were slaves. Thus land became gradually the
subject of distinct properties, the labourer was the personal slave of the
occupier of the soil. The slave was liable to be sold and mortgaged indepen-
In South Canara District the Brahmins and Bunts claimed for themselves
1. K K Ramesh, A History of South ffinara, (hrnataka Univetsib Dharwa~1970), p. 100.
2. R. S. Sharma, Early Indan Feudalism, Kunwar MuhammedAshrac (Memmarial Volume),
Host Krugner (ed), (New Delhi, 1969), p. 3943.
3. K S.Shivanna, 7ikAgraIMnSj&m cfk2?maiaka,17361761,(Unhsr&MMme 196U)p. 21.
4. C D. Maclean, ManualofAdministration, Madras Presidenw Vol. I, (Madras, 1884), p, 112.
5 Francis Buchanan, Journey From Madras Through The Countries OfMysoe, Canaraand
Malaba~1801, Vol. 2, p. 225.
the right on property in soil(l). They subjugated the native population who
enjoyed the right on land by reclaiming in to bondage first and serfdom later.
They declared themselves as the "lords of the soil". Thus the humble cultiva-
tors were eventually reduced to the status of tenants. The actual cultivators
had to pay rent in kind and were forced to perform unpaid labour for the
intermediaries.
ture on the history of Kerala and Karnataka land tenure. They are the caste
based, Brahmin centered and the upper caste dominated land system existed
Let us examine the nature of the land tenure system during the pre-
British period.
The inscription^(^) of the medieval and later Alupas furnish more infor-
mation on the economic conditions which prevailed during their times. Land
revenue was the main source of income for the state. It was during this
erty. Land was owned by the ruler as well as the citizens. Land was measured
generally in terms of seeds required to sow the field. It was popularly known
liquids. Though coinage did exist, the government received tax in kind.
Land owners and cultivators paid part of their products in to the royal
available records.
subsistence level. All over South Canara the royal revenue was collected
the peasants, the glorious or luxurious life could not be possible for the
upper class.
held by temples) Mathapura Tenure (lands held by Matts) and Servcie Tenure
(lands granted in return for military sem'ce, village officers and for improv-
ing and extending agriculture) were the major tenures which existedc3)during
the Vijayanagara period. Lands of Brahmins, Temples and Matt's, were lightly
the output to be 1:12 of the seed sown. Early traditions assign the one
1252 A.D. After this the local prince added about ten per cent. Revenue was
of the officers of the state, in which the assessment of the land and the
The assessment took the Sastra ratec3)of the one sixth of the gross production
as the government share. The landlord received one fourth, the cultivator
received one half and the rest had gone to the temple and to the Brahmins.
Leasing out land was a common system during this period. The system
period under review. They were grouped in to two i.e, hired labourers and
serfs. The custom of hiring labourers for agricultural operations was very old
The South Canara serfs were known ad5)muladalu or bought men or slaves
sisted of two stages - assessment and actual collection. The first principle of
1. J. Sturrock,Madras DistrictManual, South Canam. Vol. I (Madlas, 1894), pp.82.
2. Ibid,p. 95, Seea/soL e mRe/ating To TheEar/y RevenueAdministntion Manam, Letter
From 5ir ThomasMunro To M Petrie, Letter No 1846,Dated 31stMay, 1800, pan. 1,8.
3 Alexander J. Arbuthnot, SelectonsFrom TheMinutes of Munro, (Madras, 18861, pp.60.
4. K S.Shivanm, TheAgrarin Sj6h-n of&mataka, 17361761, ( U n k w @Mysore, 1983)~.43.
any organised system of land revenue assessment demands that the sum pay-
able by the cultivator should be determined mainly by the class of soil and
. that the land reserve assessment during the Vijayanagara period was moderate.
vested in the land holders but levied land revenue from the subjects as rent
The revenue collected from the region of South Canara through out
. the Vijayanagara a rule remained unaltered till 1618. In that year the Keladi or
the ancient land rent except in Mangalore Hobli. Between 1618 and 1660 a
special assessment was also imposed on coconut and fruit trees. In the vast
stretch of land possessed by the poligars, the Bedinur additions were not so
heavy. The Keladi rulers made proper deductions(3)in the assessment owing to
unforeseen reasons and thus hindered them from paying full amount of the
demand. The rates of revenue were fixed in two ways, i.e. on the fertility of
land (sowing capacity or bijawari) and on the basis of the number of ploughs
The condition of the tenant was worsened and he was left merely with
25 per cent of the total produce. By 1678 more than one third of the present
districts of South Canara was held by local chieftains, but they were
subjected to pay only a portion of the enhanced revenue and the rent was
of land revenue, ie; one sixth of the gross produce as the share claimed by
imposed more tax on wet land than dry land, for raising more revenue to the
government.
raised the state collection from 3,20,827 pagodas to 5,33,202 pagodas. The
could realise more revenue for the state only by increasing land revenue.
Haider died in 1782, the extra assessment or shamil amounted to more than
Haider's son Tipu sultan came to power in A.D 1787. He continued the
excessive impositions of the land revenue which further worsened the situa-
tion. Tipu abolishedc2)inam land, inorder to raise additional land taxes and
ordered the ryots to cultivate the lands of those who deserted it. Besides,
The chieftains of this area, eg. Rajas of Nileshwar, Kumbala and Vittal
rebelled against the Mysore Sultans and supported the British because of this
excessive land revenue. The Mysore rulers did not follow a uniform policy of
colonies". In this region the land revenue extraction was too much. It ended
in the failure of the cultivators paying the revenue and outstanding balances
1. N. ShyamBhat, South ffinara, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 9Z
2. J. Sturrock,Madras DistrictManual,Sbuth Canara. Vol. I(Mad/as,1894), p. 132-133.
3. M. H. &pal, Tpu Sulthan3 Mysore, An Economic Study, (Bomba~1971), p. 29.
4. N. ShyamBhac South ffinara, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 37.
became frequent.
the survey of land and fixity of government share on the basis of actual
produce. Before the end of Tipu's reign, there was a total depression in
agriculture sector. This was mainly because of the excessive assessment and
numerous vast stretches of land were left unoccupied owing to the fight or
their enhancement in the land revenue. Thus the Mysore rulers ruined the
traditional land revenue system prevailed in Canara during the later half of
the 18thcentury.
The East India Company annexed South Canara to the Madras Presi-
After becoming the first Collector of Canara, Sir. Thomas Munro found
ation Munro accepted the existing institution as he found. Munro's policy was not
to supersede the existing system by a new one, but to restore and strengthen it.
RYOTWARI SYSTEM
In Canara almost all land was private property, acquired either as gift
were more title deeds and the validity of these deeds could not be estab-
lished without annihilating all the rights of the present landlords. Munro
land revenue, mainly on the ground that it would disturb the existing system
from that state to which it must again inevitably return. The land revenue
Ryotwari in character.
The system which was most prevalent on many parts of the Madras
Presidency from time immemorial was known ad3)'amani'. The word i s also
fies literally 'pasture' or a herd of a cattle and was introduced into India after
fixed rate for a term of years and the extraction of revenue from each occu-
pant according to the area of land thus assessed which he occupies. The
occupant holds under an annual lease from the government and enjoys all the
Under ryotwari system each occupant dealt directly with the govern-
ment and was responsible for his own revenue assessment only. A ryotwan
enjoying a tenant right, which could be inherited, sold or burdened for debt
ment of the revenue, that i s to say that rent due to the state.
assuming to be acting his own accounts. This individual was usually supposed
to be a very small holder but in practice this was not true. The large land
holders having thousands of acres of land were also included in the category.
The ryot who acquired the possession was permitted t o remain in the
1. 5 Sundamja Iyenga4 Land TenuresIn Madms Presidency, (Madras, 1961), p. 59.
, mM
2 C D. Macbsan, k b n m l a f A d m i n i ~M m W.I, (Mm,1884J p. la3-104.
3 Ibid, p. 104-105
4. 1bi4 p. 121.
possession as long as he pays the rent to the government. Even when he
becomes a defaulter, the government sells such portion of his land as i s suffi-
the peasants or tenants were called as ryots. But in practice, the land mo-
nopolists or zamindars who possessed thousands of acres of land was the ideal
ryot of Munro. The cultivating ryot or the real ryot did not come in to ac-
count. That means the term ryot certainly did not include(') agricultural
labourers.
A scholar, after studying the land ownership and agrarian system in the
Though scholars like R.C. Dutt had analysed Munro's ryotwari system as
proprietor in practice the ideal ryot of Munro was, nothing but a land
South Canara. The company mainly aimed to attain the support of the land
exploitation.
7. POLI; A CommermorativeValueFor Canara,(ed), PublishedBy Di3trict Commisione~
DK
DistrictI Mangalore/p. 53.
2. K K N. Kurup, Ryotwary and Land Monopoly System I n bsamgod Taluk,A CaseStudy of
LandOwing Famlfi (UnpubkhedResearchPaper)/p.l 01.
At the end of the eighteenth century the agrarian situation i n South
Canara was a curious blendcl)of peasant propriety system and a system of sub-
that in the 14thcentury at the time when the Rekhac2)or Bijnuggor standard
was paid, the whole of the lands in South Canara were parcelled out among
the large number of lands paying an annual rent or revenue in various grada-
tions from five to five thousand pagodas. The greatest estates, however,
Private property and hereditary proprietary right over the soil were
the characteristic features of land ownership in South Canara. Munro and his
successors were impressed with the system of property right that prevailed
in this region.
people called this land ad3)warg. In other districts such land was called a
'khata'. The warg and khata both mean the same thing, an entry i n village
accounts was called a khata and hence the term originated as warg.
The estates are known as wargs. The word warg was derived from
1. V@yffinwrThakuradnIW?&A&nwn (d),& 3 9 n 6In1nd.nH&& (am,1996), p. 380.
2. Fifh Report From TheSelect Committee, Vol. III, (Madras, 1813), p. 455-456.
3 Psrtl;The 7ojntReporfAnd CorrespondanceRelating To Thereto, p. 175.
Sanskrit(') 'varga' a leaf having originally been used for the leaf accounts kept
by the revenue authorities. The estates so framed went by the name 'warg'.
In the course of time it turned out to denote, the holding for which the
ent villages and sometimes even i n different districts. Though the theoretical
basis of assessment was a scheme of the produce i n each field, the assess-
ment was never fixed on particular fields or portions of a warg, but was a
capacity he some times represents the whole village or more, collecting and
holding and wargadar means a registered holder. The holder enjoys a propri-
and was not divested of the property except by sale of his land for default i n
acts of resignation or private gift, sale etc. He enjoys the liberty t o convert
dry land into wet, t o grow any crops he chooses and t o effect improvements
The warg or estates, were of two kinds. Muli warg and Geni warg or
Sirkar Geni - wargs. The 'Muli' tenure was the characteristic tenure of Canara
and the position of the mulawargadar was the proprietor of the ancestral
.
hereditary estate. The man i n whose name has stood(4)i n the village accounts
1. J. Sturra;C; Madras DistrictManual, South Canara. Vol. 1(Madras, 1894), p. 118.
2. S. Sundararaja1yengac Land Pnures I n Madras Presidency,(Madras, 1961), p. 32.
3 N. Shyarn Bhat,SouthKanara, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 85.
4. Partl; The 17ointReoport'And CorrespondanceRelating To Therete, pp.175.
from ancient times was called a 'muldar' or 'muli wargadar'. 'Mula' was derived
from the Sanskrit 'Mul' signifying literally a root and figuratively, inter alia,
the root of a tree or origin of a family. Private property had been known as
Apart from private property there was also land owned by government
these lands were cultivated by tenant or genigars, who were either by old
lands were occurred during the invasion of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan. How-
mula-wargdar.
former suggesting that they were formed before the commencement of the
company's govemment. Hosagame means newly reclaimed lands and the ten-
ure of hosagame wargadar was exactly the same as that of Kadim wargadar
except that the privileges and easements over jungle(2)and pasture land at-
tached to mulawarg had not been extended to hosagame wargs. The Tenure
Sometimes, even after the wargadar had sold away a portion of the
warg, the patta for the whole warg stands i n his name and the purchaser,
instead of paying his share of the revenue direct t o govemment pays it t o the
1. way Kumr ThakurandMAoushmn (ad), F&antsIn Indian H,* (&&a, 1996)/p. 384.
wargadar who there up on pays the full assessment to government and such
an owner was called(') walawargadar. When however, a sum was fixed on the
deed as the proportionate revenue on the portion sold and the purchaser
in South Canara was in exactly the same position as a pattadar or joint pattadar
in Malabar.
kumari and kumaki. Kumari was a method of cultivation by filling and burning
a patch of forest and raising on the ground, manured with ashes, a crop of
rice or dry grain mixed with cotton, caster oil, seeds etc. There were two
types of k~maris(~).
Warg kumari where assessment was collected in total and
kumari cultivators were dealt only with the wargadar and Sirkar kumari, where
the assessment was paid directly to the government and the cultivators were
and burning a patch of the forest and the ashes were used as manure. After
one or two crops are raised, the plot i s abandoned and a fresh patch i s
resorted to and treated in the same way for getting a more fertile area.
carried or even over the spots which had been actually cultivated.
The government had control over the unoccupied and waste lands.
The wasteland was of two kinds (a) those which had once been cultivated
1. 5 SundarmjaIyengaq Land Enures In Madrs Presidency, (Mad= 1961)/ p. 33.
2. 3. Slurrock, Madrs DiMct Manual, South Canara. Vol. I (Madras, 1894), p. 121.
3. @ayffinwr ThakurandAshokAmshnwn(a$,kasanbIn Indbn H- (Rdm, 1996), p. 386.
4. S. Sundararaja Iyenga~Land GnuresIn Madras President (Madras, 1961)/ p. 35.
but had fallen out of cultivation and (b) the land which had never been
cultivated. The first category(') of lands were owned by the wargadar and the
like temples and matts. They managed the cultivation and paid revenue t o
the government. The religious institutions have been one of the land control-
ling units in the village and very often we could notice their involvement i n the
land transactions.
enjoys a hereditary and transferable property i n the soil and cannot be ousted
of South Canara may be compared with Janmam tenure and Janmis of Malabar
respectively.
TYPES OF TENANCY
For the purpose of cultivation, lands held either by the private land-
conditions.
Two commonly found classes of tenants under the wargadan in the South
Canara District were the mulageni (or permanent tenants) and the chalageni (or
tenants-at-will). Apart from these leases, there were other forms of tenancies
nent lease. A mulagenidar could not be evicted except on non payment of rent
and that too, only after being fully compensated for the permanent improve-
ment made by him. The mulagenidar had all the liberties t o mortgage or lease
and the rent was fixed. The mulagar or landlord never had the right t o en-
hance the rent of his mulagenigar. Therefore rent was high i n ryotwari settle-
lands held by mulageni was increased, such increase was t o be paid by the
heirs. The system had provided protection to the tenants as long as they paid
often to so on holding their lands from father to son at a rent paid on kind or
money or both and determined by the custom of the country without any
tively weak position. The landlord had a right to raise the rent or evict the
tenant on the expiry of the term. They were entirely at the mercy of land-
lords. lndebtedness was common among these tenants. They had to supply
free labour to cultivate the landlord's farms. It was only when the rent recov-
mentary evidence. But in practice the landlords were not willing to issue the
receipt for the rent. When the Raitha Sanghas formed in the 1940's, their
important demand was the issue of the receipt for the rent.
tenants were seldom ousted unless they were piled up arrears. The condition
of the chalangeni tenants all over the district was getting from bad to worse
agricultural(5)labourers.
l. J. Sturrock,Madras District Manuad South Canam. Vol.I ( M a d . 18941, p. 131.
2. Ibid, p. 131.
3. N. Shyam Bhat, South Kanara, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 88.
4. J. Sturrock, Madras Distn'ct Manual, South Canara. Vol.I (Madras, 1894), p. 131.
5 H. A. Stuart, Madras District Manual, South Canara. Vol. II(Madras, 1895), p. 221.
VAlDEGENl
Vaidegeni was a term lease that ceased automatically after the expiry
which renewal but then, in contrast to the chalageni which was year to year
lease, vaidegeni was usually(l)held for a longer duration often ranging from
This was especially common while leasing out the lands remarked for
the mortgagee should hold it as a tenant of the mortgage during the term, in
some cases the lands were only hypothecated. Mortgage with possession may
be for a fixed or for an indefinite period, the mortgage paying the govern-
money advance. When the produce of the land mortgaged was held in the
agreement to be more than sufficient for this, the surplus was either paid
The lessees never perform any agricultural work themselves. Their responsi-
bility was confined(') to the protection of crops and gave a fixed share to the
land lord as his rent, retaining the rest as their profit. The landlord was not
supposed even to enter the garden area during the crop season once the
fasalugeni contract was entered into. The rent was mutually decided be-
tween the landlord and the leases themselves. The lessees were entitled to
only the fruits of the plantation for a limited period in the year usually four
The main object of the company in the introduction of the new rev-
pany aimed at attaining the support of the landlord class for establishing an
Actually the basis of ryotwari system was the division of the whole
area into fields by survey, each field being valued at a fixed rate per acre and
the assessment was settled there upon. But on the western coast the ryotwari
settlement had been introduced even before conducting the settlement sur-
vey. In Canara, lands of different kinds of unknown extents and lying often in
different villages constitute a holding, termed a warg and the assessment was
fixed in lump sum there on. For making convenience(2)in the land-revenue
1. V@yffinwr7i?akurandMA&rnn (d)kasdnts
,. InIndanHiskqv (Rdnq, 1996'p. 3%
2. Ibid,.p. 38.
collection, Munro decided to make settlement not on fields but on holdings
was to investigate and report upon the state about Canara. He did not
Tipu Sultan than such as was absolutely necessary to ensure the collection of
the rest.
Munro stated that, the only reductionc3)that he made for the first
settlement (Fasli 1209) were by covering the land rent 2% per cent and the
export of customs on rice to two bahaudry pagodas per corge and abolishing
the island duties on grain, cattle, sheep etc. Even though the reduction was
made, there was an increase of about 3000 pagodas towards the land rent
the northern portion should be the Bedinur assessment, plus 25 per centc4)of
Haider's additions, while in the rest of the district it should be the Bedinur
revenue year) 1209 or A. D 1799-1800. The land revenue of the whole prov-
ince of Canara and Soonda for that year amounted to star pagodasc2)4,54,643
(or Rs. 9,47,075). Munro's settlement of the whole province of Canara and
Soonda was 20,434 (Rs. 71,519) less than that of Tipu, which amounted to star
reported that the information he obtained had induced him to think that a
doned his recommendationsof a hard and fast rule of fixing the assessment at
the Bedinur Shist, plus a certain percentage of the Mysore additions. He(4)
stated that many other points were entitled to as much attention to the Shist
which was probably extremely unequal originally and had been rendered more.
the revenue collection both from the land and other sources of revenue.
Broadly the settlement of Munro was divided into Shist, ie old standard
1. N. Shyam Bhat, South Karma, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 93.
2 Report On TheRevenueAmis MMalabar And Canara By William Thackew Dated F
Septembe~1807,(Caliccut, 1911), p. 35.
S. PrmeedingsM ;rheBxrd@Revenue, VoL No. 261, Dated2P Augus 1800, p r a 7480.
4. Munro's Letter To TheBaard MRevenue, Decembe~1800,para 9, See also, J. Sturrock,
Madras Districf Manual, South Canara. VoL I(Madms, 18941, p. 100.
5 P r d i n g s Of TheSoard OfRevenue, Vol. No. 291, Dated 2lPs Ju& 1801, pan 8387-90.
rent and Shamil, covering the extra taxes imposed by Bedinur and Mysore rules.
Munro believed that the rent of land, however productive it might be, should
never on any account be raised higher than it had been some earlier period.
was the want of detailed accounts of the land revenue. The old revenue
great part of them had been lost. Another important defect pointed out by
Munro was that the district was not surveyed(2)before the revenue settle-
ment. If it had been surveyed, the government would not have been in the
darkness, information upon every point connected with the revenue would
of Tipu Sultan beyond such as was absolutely necessary to ensure the collec-
tion of the rest of the revenue. One significant change that he introduced
was the collection of revenue only in cash which had made a drastic change
Munro left Canara in 1800, but the revenue system introduced by him
continued later also with minor changes. For about ten years the settlement
l. Letter From Munro To Ltl Petrie, Dated3IstMay, 1800,para 5:
2. Report On ThePmvinces OfMalatwrAnd Canara,Sulfivan, Dated 2 9 Janua/y,1841,
(Calicu&1916), para 41.
3 Prcxeedings UTheBoard OfRevenue, Vol. No. 1300,Dated 2P July, 1831, p. 9638, See
also,Alexander J. Arbuthnot, TheMinutes ofMunro, (Madras, 1886), p. 54/55 61.
4. POU, A Commemmtive Valuetbr Canara, (d.),
DistrictAdministration, D.K District,
(Mangalore, ZOOO), p. 53.
seemed to be realised without difficulty, but reports from AD 1810 to 1812
made references to a large number of demand for remissions from the agri-
culturists who had suffered excessive assessment. This fact was later stated
the settlement of 1808-09 and 1809-10. The ryots never came forward for
settlement and they refused to pay Kist (instalment of rent). The general state
prevalence of a diminished trade hit hard the interest of the people. In reply
his subordinate collectors regulatory for fasli 1210. Munro had desired that
caution might be observed in imposing any new assessment on lands that paid
the Bedinur rent and half of Haider's additions. No addition should be laid on
the ryots who paid the Bedinur and three-fourth of Haider's assessment.
did not bear with any degree of equality on the several estates. And he
l. Letters Relating To TheRevenueAdministration manam, (Bomby Education Sbciety
Pres, 18661,p. 146.
2 N. ShyamBhal; SbuthKanaa, (New Delhi, 1998), p. 103.
3. Letters Relating To TheRevenueAdminist/ation Of Canara, (Bomby Education Sbciety
Press, 1866), p. 143.
4. Letter FmmAlexander Read F3 me Bcrard OfRevenue, Dated l* Janua/vl814, p. 136465.
5 Letters Relating To TheRevenueAdministration Ofcanam, (Bombay Education Sbciew
Press, 1866), p. 146.
explained that he had been guided in making the settlement by his estimate
of the actual productive powers of each estate. But that his demand, had not
been limited to the standard of the Shist and three-fourth of the Shamil as
Munro had not himself adhered to it in his first settlement. Many estates
assessed by him above that standard had continued ever since to pay the
higher assessment.
Harris was of the opinion(') that the deplorable condition of the ryots
of the district was not solely caused by over assessment. To him, it was also
due to the stagnation of trade in general and the role of the money lenders in
the society in particular. How ever he admitted the fact that while making
revenue settlement, the market prices of the products were not taken in to
consideration.
tion. A collection realised from each estate since the province had been
under the British Government and directed that the settlement for Fasli 1227
should be formed on this basis. This principle was the basis of the 'Tharao'
The low prices made it further difficult to release the demand of the
l. Pmeedings Qf TheBoard OfRevenue, Vol. No. 952,Dat-edZPJune, 1823,p. 5094.
2. J. Sturmk-, Madras District Manual,9 u t h Canar. Vol. I (Madrs, 1894), p. 102.
3. Letters Relating To TheRevenueAdministmtion Of Canam, (Bombay Eduotion Skxiety
Press, 1866), p. 148,151.
tharao standard. There appeared organised reaction i n the form of Koots i n
the year 1830-31 with 'no tax campaign' i n which(') the ryots met together
the Head shiristadar and other Brahmins against collection and the employ-
ment of Christian officers, but ultimately agreed that the fall i n prices was
in the settlement.
ciples of taking one third of the gross produce and subsequently fixed at the
labour and profit for capital employed and that remissions are unnecessary on
conductedc5)the settlement for the year Fasli 1243 (1833-34) by dividing all
1. Bharti or those holders who were able t o pay full tharao assessment
and 2. Kambharti or those who were not able t o pay full tharao assessment.
1. TheSemement Ofbnd Revenue Of Canam, Fasli 1229,para 16.
2. Repoft M M n Stokes On Revision #&~smentAnd TheDistubancesKm&, (Mangaloz,
1885), p. 120,121.
3 J. Slurrock,Madras DistrictManual, South Canam. VoL I(Madras, 1894), p. 106.
4. Report MM/: WveashOn TheJumabunday Of Canam/ Fasli, 1242and 1243, (Mangalore/
1888), p. 5.
The Board of Revenue considered the agreement likely to be benefi-
cial to both the properties and the government. The revision of the revenue
ment and arrived at the conclusion that the latest revision of the assessment
had not been more successful than the proceeding's attempts directed to the
same end.
then Collector of the District submitted his report on the 20th September
1848. He put forward his opinion that a survey would be a measure of the
Agreeing with the Board, Blane also pointed out thatc3)a survey founded
in the measuring of all the land in the district would solve the revenue prob-
lems. But the Board never took much interest in appointing more officials to
the revenue assessment in the 18503, in which the revenue realised by the
government on 8th May 1851 by the Board of Revenue. However the usual
that date was about Rs. 3-6-0 an acrecl) and that was undoubtedly higher than
between the ryotwari tenure of South Canara and that obtaining in other
known extents and lying often in different places and even in different vil-
lages, constitutes a holding, termed 'warg' and the assessment was fixed in
that the settlement of Canara was based on a fixed maximum demand which
had been obtained in the majority of cases. The government agreed with the
Board of Revenue and the collector. But there was nothing to show that they
were in any way pledged to maintain the present assessment unaltered. The
GeneralSurvey
The revenue survey started their work in 1889 and completed the last
1. H. A. Stuarf, Madras Didrict Manual, Soutfi Canam Vol. III, (Madras, 1895), p. 225.
2. Ibid, p. 224.
3 J. Stur&, Madras District Manual, Buth Canara. Vol. I (Madras, 1894), p. 114.
taluk in 1896. The settlement operation began in October 1894 and at once
brought to light the fact that the existing survey could not be made as the
Bailu : These were the low lying lands of good quality with an abundant
Majalu : This land was capable of producing two paddy crops a year and
Bettu : These lands were capable of producing just a single crop of paddy
annually.
Bagayat : Such lands were specially suitable for arecanat plantation and co-
conut cultivation.
Each of these land was again sub divided into two categories and was
Wet lands : Wet land was defined as land levelled and bunded and adapted
1. /&matakaState G a z e t t ~
South GnaraDisbict, ((Bangalore, 1973), p. 430,432.
2. K N. klishnaSwamyAyyer and/. E Hall, Madras Disfrict Gazetteers, StatisticalAppendix,
9 u t h Canara, (Madras, 1938), p. 28.
to the cultivation of paddy.
Gardens : It was decided to class all bagayats under seven sorts, the
The settlement was introduced into the taluks i n the following order :
Mangalore - Fasli 1312, Kasaragod, Udipi and Coondapoor - Fasli 1313 and
Uppinangadi - 1314.
The area of the district(') was 25,71,923 acres of which only 7,37,142
acre was occupied. Deducting the Kumari area, which is occupied only for
fugitive cultivation the actual occupied area was 5,96,265 acres. Reserved
forests accounts for an area of 5,62,895 acres. The large unoccupied dry area
was lower than the old minimum darkhast rate Rs. 9-7 as against - 1 an acre.
Prior t o settlement the land revenue demand was Rs. 14,19,586. The
settlement assessment was Rs. 23,41,260. Before the settlement the average
assessment per unoccupied acre was Rs. 2-5-11 and after the settlement it
The average wet rate for the whole district was Rs. 4-7-11. The total
area of warg Kumari was 1,40,877 acres and the average rate per acre was Rs.
2-1. The old assessment on this area was only seven per an acre.
ordered(') to be assessed at the rate of 4 annas for an acre. The total extent of
the mulapatta wargs as the result of the survey was 9,934 acres and the
remission granted for the whole district amounts to Rs. 33,84,537. According
to the return made by the Collector t o the Boardc2)the fasli 1310, there were
only 48533 pattadars i n the district, of which l 0 were only joint pattas. The
1) that rough pattas should be issued on the basis of the land registers
stopped.
Kasaragod in October 1925 and rough pattas was issued on the basis of the
resurvey, land registers for all the resurveyed villages exempting 17 Kumari
able encroachments and land held under effective sivaji jama occupation^(^).
The inspections required for these purpose was to be carried out before the
staff together with the inspections of purambokes and sivaji janma lands
1. GO.No. 1711Revenue, dated 4.11.1925
2. G0.No. 2188, Revenue, dated2.11.192Z
3 G0.No. 610,Revenue, dated19.3.193Z
4. G.O.No.182) Revenuedated 1.2.1927.
5 GO. No.428.MS, Revenue, dated24.2.1928
before rough patta objections hearing. Thus rough patta objection hearing
ing kumari villages) while other taluks, the miscellanies accounts inspections
was completed(l).
The government decided that the kumaki land should be deemed have
possession, but that land around which walls were built merely for the pur-
pose of facilitations the exercise of the normal kumaki privileges should not
district in which resettlement was due before that faslic3).This was resumed
in 1933, the work was started on the old lines in the villages of Puttur and
Madras Presidency, including the South Canara District, which was due for the
Puttur and 2 in each of Coondapour and Udipi taluks). In the rest of the
lished and three months time was allowed for making representations from
report for the settlement was published in South Canara District Gazette on
20thApril 1934. But the request of the South Canara Land Holders Associa-
were laid on the table of the legislative council on 19thJuly 1934. Altogether
converted in t o wet or garden, on the ground that such conversion of the dry
l. G.O.No.2237. MS, Revenue, dated 26.9.1928. see also GO. No. 1853. MS, Revenue,
ofthe Board of RevenueNo. 3289, MS, 4.10.1928,
dated 11.8.1928, see a/soPr~eedings
2. G 0.No,1368. Revenue, dated 9.8.1911.
3 G 0.No.610,Revenue, dated 19.3.1937.
4. SouthKanara Disb-ictGazette, on 20.4.1934
I GO.No.1513, Revenue, dated 31.7.1934
6 Prmeedings of the Board of RevenueNo. 3,l Januaty 1935,p. l .
lands was affected at ryots expense and that the proposal to the government
to levy higher rates of assessment on such lands will involve the taxing of the
verted into garden, each revenue should be considered as a whole for the
A separate patta was issued for each Mulageni lease hold showing the
assessment by the attachment of the land i n cases i n which the terms of the
lease did not provide for an enhancement of the land i n case i n which the
terms of the lease did not provide for an enhancement of the rent conse-
to pay the enhanced assessment if he could not make some satisfactory ar-
should be altered to one of four equal installment from February t o May. The
Government directed that throughout the entire direst the annual kist should
first time and included within village limits while 22,592 acres i n Kasaragod
and Puttur which really formed as part of reserved forests were excluded
previously existing rates of assessment on wet and garden lands by 12% per-
cent while the rate of assessment on dry lands were left unchanged.
average prices of these grains in the ryots' selling months during the 20 non-
famine years ending (1932-33) after making a deduction of 25 per cent for
wet lands and 20 per cent for garden and dry lands on account of cartage and
merchant's profits.
Commutation Rates
The rate for paddy was Rs. 133 per grace at the last settlement. It had
increase of 64 per cent and of ragi from 175 to 390 or an increase of 123 per
in the rates of assessment was only 12% percent for wet and garden lands
while in the case of dry lands the rates were left unchanged.
The revised ratesc4)for first class wet lands were Rs. 7-14-0, Rs. 6-12-0,
Rs. 5-10-0, Rs 4-8-0, Rs. 3-6-0, Rs. 2-4-0, Rs. 1-11-0, Rs. 1-2-0 and 14 annas for
second class lands from Rs. 6-12-0 to 14 annas and for third class lands from
As regards to garden lands the rates werecl) for the first eight classes
Rs. 9, Rs. 7-14-0, Rs. 6-12-0, Rs. 5-10-0, Rs. 4-8-0, Rs.3-6-0, Rs.2-4-0 and
Rs. 1-2-0. In the special coast group villages the wet rates for each taram
which had been raised Rs. 1 for single crop a t the last settlement was raised
t o Rs. 1-2-0at the resettlement. In the case of garden lands a new 8thtaram
of Rs. 1-2-0 was created in order t o give relief t o new non-cocoa and non-
areca garden.
original soil classification was altered. 'Purambokes' and unassessed lands trans-
were divided into three groups for purpose of wet and dry assessment at the
last settlement i n all the taluks except the old Uppinangadi (present Puttur)
taluk, where a fourth group was added owing t o the climate and other
wet were classified as wet I, I1(single crop or double crop) and Ill according
dry, wet or garden and the productivity was taken as the chief factor for
grouping. The previous Kumari rates of annas 3, 2 and 1 per acre of the first,
1. K N. Krisbna Swamy Ayyerand J. E Hall, Madras District Gazetteers,, StatisticalAppendix,
9 u t h Canara, (Madras, 1938), p. 185.
2 G0. No.610,Revenue, dated 19.3.1932
second and third groups as revised were retained. The experimental resurvey
carried out at first in 2 Kumari villages of Kasaragod taluk showed that the
frame work of survey was unworkable for the purpose of revenue records and
During the final cheque of the resurvey records the settlement staff attended
also in the reclassification of the warg Kumari's that were permanently con-
creased form Rs. 25,12,100 to Rs. 28,53,257. Increment remissions both ordi-
nary and special were granted from the years of introduction of resettlement.
rent lands in the district, the existing rate of assumed agriculture assessment
of Rs. 6-4-0 an acre should be raised by 80 percent so that the existing rates
of Rs 6 and Rs 6-4-0 were raised to Rs. 11-4-0 and all other higher rates were
derived from land tax. The settlement officer takec4) the average of the
prices that obtained during the 20 normal years preceding the period of
settlement for determining the land tax and calculating the rise in prices they
the agn'culturists. The number of agriculturists who had raised loans and the
amount borrowed by them had increased. The settlement officer had how-
ever recommended that the tax of wet and garden lands may be enhanced by
12% per cent. There was doubt that, if the assessment was enhanced accord-
The land revenue in South Canara was collected in five kistscl), begin-
ning in January and ending in May. The Kist were levied by the village offic-
village was called as Potail and the curnums, of whom there was one for each
the important crops had been harvested and most of the changes likely to be
four or five in each taluk which were previously notified. The village officers
the revenue division. It was the duty of the Tahsildarcl) to see that all the
village accounts were ready before the date fixed for the Jummabundy and
this was usually carried out by causing the curnumes to come to the taluk
Cutcherry two or three weeks in advance and there they finish whatever
The lands were divided into estates or warg lands which were regis-
tered and numbered for each village. A separate Jummabundy chitta (rev-
enue account) was kept, in the Huzoor (Collector) and taluk officers for every
estate. This account showed the name of the owner of an estate, the particu-
lars of i t s assessment, net produce of the land at the village rates and annual
settlements.
ment more and more people were willing to lease-inand even sub-lease-inon
higher and higher rental rates, in the hope of eking-out a living. In the first
half of the 20thcentury the problem of tenancy and alienation of land through
years during and after the economic depression (1929-30) followed by the
1. C D. Maclean, Manua/ofAdmin~iitmtion,Madms Presidency, VoL I, (Madras, 1884),p. 131.
second world war. The newly enacted Madras Debt Conciliation Act 1936 and
the Madras Agriculturalist Relief Act 1938 had served to reinforce the domi-
after 1943 witnessed a drastic fall in land transactions in South Canara due to
the fear of fall in the land values during the post war period.
among the peasantry. A study of the land revenue administration reveals that
generally the government share was much higher than normal as recognized
British in South Canara District and had become one of the major reason's for
tion of land for a century. It i s believed that ancient assessment even after
merous additions which were made to the ancient land rent by Haidar A l i and
Tipu existed in ancient times, Canara would long ago have been converted
into a desert. But actually the British continued the same extraction of land
or in Kind. The British enforced the payment of Land rent through money. The
commutation system of the grain i n t o market price and its fluctuations also
collected i n subsequent years. If a particular ryot failed to pay the arrears for
four or five years, his property was auctioned by the government t o realize
the amount due from this. This was a common feature existed i n the whole
British period.
sions t o the ryots. As remissions were not generally allowed t o the ten-
remissions t o the landlords though they used t o lease out land for actual
farming cultivation.
did not bring any relief t o the cultivators. In fact, many of the revenue
assessments were high and unequal, resulting the pattern of mounting rev-
enue arrears, auction of the property and its transfer from the poor t o the
from various other source like salt, tobacco monopoly, village taxes, courts
and stamps customs and so on added to the burden of the peasants. It re-
fact the peasant unrest of 1810-11 and peasant uprising of 1830-31were the
some of them.
policy of revenue assessment and collection had always been fair. Sturrock(l),
Tipu's, by writing that the country was growing in prosperity and the demand
was moderate. Stuart points out that both demand and collection of revenue
increased and that the revenue had been released without any great pressure
on the ryots.
Canara. This resulted in arbitrary assessment of land leading to the same kind
ment the government should take 30 percent of the gross produce. Same way
district - was not only solely caused by over assessment - but also stagnation
also had the opinion that while making the revenue settlement, the market
quired about the disturbances of Koots in 1830-31 found that the Koots had
tions put forward by the proceedings of the Board of Revenue, Blane submit-
But the revenue survey for settlement was begun in 1889, and com-
pleted in 1896, at the same time the revision survey ended in 1903. The
settlement of land revenue as a part of the survey had caused great burden
upon the people. It paved for great increase in land revenue. Prior to settle-
ment the land revenue demandc5)was Rs. 14,19,586 and the settlement assess-
The immediate result was that the revenue assessment of district was
considerably enhanced. The burden of revenue payment finally fell upon the
cultivating ryots of the region. The rent payable to the landlords was
1920. The state permitted the landholders to release more rent either in cash
increased from Rs. 25,12,100 to Rs. 28,53,257. This shows that there was a
constant increase of the land revenue assessment during the British period.
and the demand of taxes in cash were new burdens on land owners who safely
Kerala state.
The following table shows the condition of the tenants in South Canara
notice to the defaulters of revenue from the fasli year 1337 t o 1346 and a
rapid increase occurred during the fasli years 1345 and 1346. Same way the
number of notices of distraint and sale was also increased during the fasli
years 1345 and 1346. These two fasli years were after the resettlement pe-
riod. This reveals that the resettlement had paved for heavy enhancement of
land revenue up on the rural population and they were impoverished. The
On the other hand we can see a steady increase i n the land revenue
(W (Rs)
The major aim of the colonial economic policy in India was the extrac-
tion of the Indian wealth as much as possible. South Canara became one of
1. Report Of The Settlement OfLand Revenue, Fasli 1352, (Madras, 1948), p. 15.
2. TheRepod5 Of TheSi?ttlementsOfLandRevenue WConcem& Fasbis.
Distribution of land-holders by assessment paid(') by them i n South Canara
Table 1
Total
1 93596 1 21070 1 114666 1 100
The table states that 79,492 patta holders, out of 1,14,666 (82.59%)
were paying below Rs.30 per year as the land revenue assessment. There
were only 73 large land holders (0.06%) who were paying annual rent more
than Rs.1000. Out of Rs.24,72,326 as the land revenue assessment of the Fasli
1330, Rs.1 ,l5,906 was imposed upon t h e large land holders and
Table II
The number of patta holders who were paying the land revenue less
than Rs. 30 per year was increased from 79,492 (82.59%) during the Fasli 1330
the 19th and 20th centuries. The landlord had the right to raise the rent or
evict the chalageni tenants if they refused to pay enhanced rents. Though
holdings as these ranged from less than an acre or some times more. More-
over, land under some tenanted holdings was fertile and capable of yielding
two or even three crops while in most other holdings only one crop could be
had. Further, those tenants who lived in the vicinity of the landlord's
labour and other illegal extractions than those tenants who lived away
Generally the fertile lands, were retained by the landlords for self culti-
vation and the leased out lands were often in poor quality. The landlords used
to renew the lease at ieast orally, every year, thus the lease was so insecure.
the work in farms under the landlords' self cultivation and then attended to
their plots. Before the monsoon broke out, the tenants had to bring their own
pair of bullocks for ploughing the landlord's fields, for which the landlord
In the first half of the 20thcentury the problem of tenancy and alien-
ation of land through sale and mortgages continuedc3)as the dominant class of
In Malabar, the forest lands and waste lands were not brought under
assessment. But in South Canara the forest and waste lands in the holdings
were also assessed. Therefore the colonial exploitationcl) was more intensive
Even the legal provisions such as section 13 of the Rent Recovery Act
Vlll of 1865, did not give any reliefc2)t o the chalagenidars against the relent-
tions the land owners resorted t o large scale evictions of such temporary
In the last part of the 18thcentury and early half of the 19thcentury,
there broke out a number of local resistance movements against the British i n
South Canara District. Munro remarkedc3)that the most petty chiefs i n ancient
times existed i n Canara have long since been deprived of all authority
and confounded with the mass of the people. But there are s t i l l three,
who from their long connection with the Bombay Government, deserve
were destroyed by the colonial system. These political elements along with
the priestly class (Brahmins) controlled the political social and economic
affairs of the pre-British period. This dominant class enjoyed absolute control
in all fields in their jurisdiction. For a short period Tipu Sultan of Mysore had
completely suppressed all the old chiefs and disposed them all. When the last
Mysore war broke out in 1799 the Rajas of Kumbala, Vittal and Nileshwar tried
The British acquisition caused the loss of hereditary status (which the
native chiefs had enjoyed) and their reduction in to mere landlords and pen-
sioners. The ideology behind these revolts did not go beyond self preserva-
tion and their instinctual character agrees with their description as instances
These Rajas supported the British against the Mysore rulers. When
South Canara passed into the hands of the British after the defeat of Tipu
Sultan in 1799, the territories of these rajas were also included in this. For
them the British annexation was as frustrating as the f i r s t time and another
occasion to revolt.
movements(2).Their fear of the loss of identity made them resist against the
When the last Mysore war broke out in 1799, the Raja of Kumbala
returned from Tellichery, (the Raja took shelter at British at Tellichery during
the Tipu's invasion) and began his activities to regain his territory. The Raja
last year, to maintain himself in Kumbala; but was obliged to return to Malabar
by an order form General Hartley. He left his nephew, behind, when a body
of armed followers, for the purpose of keeping affairs in confusion, and pre-
that by that means the District would be given over to the Raja in his own
terms. He succeeded so far, that none of the inhabitants came near Munro for
nephew as a rebel and the commissioners of Malabar having stopped his own
pension till he should have delivered up the arms he had received from the
company's stores.
These measures of the British brought the rebel Raja to the knees of
Munro and he acknowledged the British suzerainty. Sir Thomas Munro agreed
to increase his pension(4)from 200 to 400 per month, on condition that nei-
ther he nor any member of his family should ever reside in Kumbala. The
his family.
The Raja of Vittal returned i n 1799 from Tellichery (he took refuge at
there during Tipu invasion) t o Vittal i n 1799, ignoring the summons from the
means he had since armed the inhabitants and taken upon himself the man-
The Hegade had collected and retained the revenue i n his own hands,
and with the idea of reviewing his fortunes, early i n 1800, he combined with
nel Heart, who was the Commanding Officer of the province, t o proceed
Jamalabad and it attacked the fort. The British stormed the fort and regained
feated the Vittal Hegade at Vittal and nine members of his family were im-
prisoned. With this event and the fall of Jamalabad, all disturbances came t o
of which the family was granted an yearly pension(')of Rs. 6019 and Anna one
The Raja of Nileshwar also resisted the British supremacy over South
lowers and had dissuaded the land holders from appearing before Munro for
But all his efforts went in vain when the British forced him to accept
their Supremacy. All territories except his private property was acquired by
the British and he was given an annual pension of 1000 Bahadry Pagodas or Rs. 4000.
The movements led by the three Rajas of South Canara were appar-
ently a failure. The driving force behind their resistance was the danger of
losing their relatives. It was very easy to the colonial government, to sup-
press all kinds of the early resistance movements of South Canara. In brief,
surplus had resulted in over assessment and inequalities in the land revenue
Thus the agrarian structure of the district was indulged in unrest and
the three Raja's of Nileshwar, Kumbala and Vittal started their resistance
movements. However, the British never revised their land revenue assess-
ment. In 1810-11 and 1830-31 the Koots rebellions spread i n South Canara
by the colonial administration. In the early part of the 20thcentury the condi-
tion of the peasantry became worse due t o the enhancement of land revenue
through the settlement of 1902-03 and the resettlement of 1934-35 and the
great depression of the 1930's. Thus the peasants were forced to rise against