The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c22.71

v4.c22.71

In the north large farms, held for an indefinite term, emerged during the eighteenth century; and perhaps no other arrangement was possible, when the revenue administration had ceased to be effective, and assignments had lost their attractions. As was the case in Bengal, these farms tended to be transmitted by inheritance, and the annual payments tended to be repeated from year to year; but the peculiar feature of Bengal—fixed basic payments, supplemented by adjustable cesses—is not disclosed in the northern records, and the most probable view is that in this region both parties regarded the amount to be paid as variable, to be increased or reduced as circumstances might permit, while the farmer looked forward to a time when he might be strong enough to refuse payment altogether, and thereby establish himself as in fact an independent ruler.