A History of Assam c21.45

c21.45

The introduction of peace and settled Government soon led to a marked improvement in the condition of the cultivating classes, which was described a few years later as one "of great comfort both as regards living and clothing." That of the aristocracy, on the other hand, had seriously deteriorated. Their slaves had been emancipated, and they had lost the services of their liksus, or the pāiks formerly assigned to them; and, being no longer able to cultivate their estates, they had either thrown them up, or allowed them to be sold for arrears of revenue, or for debt. Some members of the late ruling family were in receipt of pensions from the British Government, and some other persons, e.g., members of the Darrang Raja's family, held land, granted to them by former rulers, either rent-free or at half rates. But, with these exceptions, the quondam nobles found themselves deprived of their old sources of livelihood, and had either to content themselves with small appointments under the British Government or to sink to the level of ordinary cultivators.