Administrative System of the Marathas c11.s2: 4. Principle of Assessment
Administrative System of the Marathas c11.s2
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4. Principle of Assessment
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Annaji Datto had fixed the rent at 33% p. c. of the gross produce, but Shivaji afterwards demanded a consolidated rent of 40% p. c.¹⁹ when all the taxes and extra cesses had been abolished.²⁰ Neither *tagai* nor the *istawa* principle was unknown in his time. "Cattle should be given to the new rayats that may come. Grain and money for (buying) seeds should be given. Grain and money should be given for their maintenance and the sum should be realised in two or four years according to the means of the debtor."²¹ In this way, says Sabhasad, new settlers were encouraged to come and settle in Shivaji's dominions. Rent-free land was granted for founding a market town by Shivaji's minister Moro Pingle.²² It is also certain that though extra cesses had been abolished, the customs duties were retained. No one could travel without a passport from a competent authority and Fryer mentions a customs officer stationed at Kalyan.²³
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¹⁹ This statement is based on Sabhasad Bakhar and Major Jervis's Konkan, but as I have already pointed out in a previous note, some of these dues continued to be levied till Shivaji's death and a few certainly survived him; but, as we do not know for certain whether they were state dues or perquisites of village officers or cesses levied by village communities, we cannot challenge the accuracy of this assertion without further investigation.
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²⁰ Jervis, p. 93.
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²¹ Sabhasad, p. 32. Sen, Sivachhatrapati, p. 37.
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²² Rajwade, M.I.S., Vol. XX, p. 98.
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²³ "Till on the right, within a mile or more of Gullean they yield possession to the neighbouring Seva Gi, at which City (the Key this way into that Rebel's Country) Wind and tide favouring we landed at about nine in the morning, and were civilly treated by the Customer in his Choultry; till the Havaldar could be acquainted of my arrival." Fryer, p. 123.
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We know, from many published documents, how much the peasant had to pay for each bigha he cultivated, during the Peshwa period. No such document of Shivaji's time has come down to us. Major Jervis has quoted exact figures in his work on the Konkan, but from what sources we do not know. It will not, however, be improper to quote these figures here, and the reader may accept them for what they are worth. Says Jervis, — "It is commonly believed indeed, that he (Shivaji) measured and classified all the lands, and then ascertained the amount of their produce from one or two villages in each Muhal of the Ouchitgurh, Rajpooree, Rygurh, Soowurndroog, Unjunvel, Rutnagiri and Veejydroog districts, for three successive years, from which data he established the rates, half in kind, half at a fixed commutation rate differing in each Talooka, to be paid by the beegah of each sort of land. The classification of the rice lands mule or dhemp, under 12 heads; the four first still retaining their former well known distinctions. *Uvul*, first and best sort; *Doom* or *Dooyoom* second sort; *Seem* third sort; *Charoom* or *Charseem* fourth sort. The first was assessed at 12½ muns; the second at 10, the third at 8, the fourth at 6¼ muns......... The remaining eight descriptions of land went by the following names, discriminating their respective qualities, and were assessed at the annexed rates. Ist, Raupal, on which small stunted brush wood grows; 2nd, Kharwut, lands in the neighbourhood of the sea or rivers, sometimes called salt bhatty lands; 3rd Bawul, rocky soil; 4th Khuree, stony soil; 5th Kuriyet or Toorwut, lands cultivated with pulse hemp, etc. 13 (sic) Manut, lands with the roots of large trees still uncleared, as near Indapur and Goregaon.
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| Raupal | ... | 8 maunds | per | beegah. |
| Kharwut | ... | 7½ | " | " |
| Bawul | ... | 6¼ | " | " |
| Khuree | ... | 6½ | " | " |
| Kureyat Irst sort | ... | 6¼ | " | " |
| Ruho | ... | 5 | " | " |
| Toorwut or } | ... | 5 | " | " |
| Katahnee } | | | | |
| Manut | ... | 5 | " | " |
c11.s2.9
Subsequently the wretched cultivators have planted small spots on the most rocky eminences, wherever a little water lodged, and the least portion of soil favoured the growth of rice; this is frequent about Unjunvel and Rutnagiri Talookas, and have been classed under two heads, both called *sirwut*, the former assessed at 3¾ maunds, the latter the half of that; the produce of the first kind, would be about 16 bushels per beegah.²⁴
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²⁴ For these figures see Jervis, pp. 94-97.
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Special rates were fixed for other harvests. Vajat jamin or uncultivable waste lands were generally excluded when a village was assessed.²⁵ But as cultivation spread, there was a greater demand for arable plots, and waste lands of all sorts were gradually brought under the plough. At first they were exempt from assessment, but ultimately these were also taxed at a moderate scale. Jervis says that these *warkus* or dongur lands were assessed by the hal, nangar or plough and not by the bigha. In some instances six or seven bighas of such lands were counted as one for revenue purposes. The rent of such lands varied not only with their fertility but also with the nature of the crops raised. Major Jervis gives us the following scale:
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²⁵ Rajwade, M. I. S., Vol. XX., p. 94.
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Nachni was assessed at 3¾ maunds per *nangar* in superior soil and 3 maunds in inferior soil.
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Wari at 3 maunds and 2½ maunds.
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Harik at 3 maunds.
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Other kinds of inferior produce at 1¼ maunds.
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Besides the principal harvest the peasants often raised a second crop on the first class lands. These second crops were also assessed at a special rate according to their nature and deteriorating effect on the land. Jervis gives the following figures:
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Turmeric—Five maunds per bigha, each bigha being ¾ actual measurement.
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Hemp—Five maunds per bigha, each bigha being ¾ actual measurement.
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Sugarcane cultivation assessed from 6¼ maunds to 3⅛ of raw sugar per bigha.²⁰
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²⁰ Jervis, pp. 94-97.
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Special consideration was made by the Peshwa government for such costly plantations as those of sugarcane, cocoanut and betelnut. The planter had to wait long for any profit and so did the government. This was the common practice in the Deccan during the Peshwa regime, and I believe the principle existed also in Shivaji's time.