A History of Agriculture in India v2.c65.s16: Land Revenue Assessment
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c65.s16
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Land Revenue Assessment
v2.c65.s16.1
‘The assessment varied according to the type of land under cultivation—whether wet, dry, or garden land. The revenue was taken either in cash or kind as it suited the ruler at the time, but the burden on the peasant was in any case crushingly heavy. Nuniz states that they ‘pay nine-tenths to their lord.’ Such a proportion of the gross produce seems improbable, but what is clear is that to the observer the demand seemed inordinately high. Evidence of village revolt against the burden and the observations of later travellers tend to confirm Nuniz. All agree that while the nobles lived in luxury, the mass of the people went all but naked and lived in hovels. The cultivators were not allowed to retain the fruits of their labour, and their lives were miserable. This was the inevitable result of maintenance of a large army which consumed most of the revenue.
v2.c65.s16.2
Wilks and later authorities also refer to the multitude of vexatious cesses levied upon peasant and merchant alike. Trade was hampered by heavy city dues and by the existence of numerous toll-stations upon the roads. ‘At the end of the century, too, the missionaries insist on the need for passports in this part of India in order to avoid infinite trouble regarding dues and taxes.’⁶
v2.c65.s16.3
⁶ Smith, V.A. *The Oxford History of India*, pp. 313-314