A History of Agriculture in India v2.c74.s1: Todar Mal's Land Revenue Regulations
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c74.s1
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Todar Mal's Land Revenue Regulations
v2.c74.s1.1
Abu-l-Fazl provides the following details about Todar Mal's revenue regulations.
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'At the beginning of this year (37th year of the reign), His Majesty directed his attention to an improvement of the administration of his territories, and passed new laws for the management of civil and revenue business. Raja Todar Mal had, previous to this, been named wazir; but the dangers and difficulties of the post, and the opposition to be encountered, made him unwilling to accept the office. But this unambitious man, who was acquainted with all the mysteries of administration, was now elevated to the office of diwan, and in reality to the wakalat. His clear judgement soon set matters to right. Civil and revenue matters received his especial attention. He devoted his skill and powerful mind to simplify the laws of the State, and he allowed no grasping and intriguing men to obtain any inflence over him. He now proposed several new laws calculated to give vigour and glory to the government.
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'That the collectors of the khalisa lands and the jagirdars should realize the mal and jihat (cesses) according to the dasturu-l 'amal; and if by fraud or oppression anything beyond the settled amount should be received from the cultivators, they were to account it in excess of the proper payment, and were to levy a fine upon those who had exacted it, and enter the amount in the monthly accounts.. At every harvest they were to carefully guard the rights of the lower classes.
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'The 'amils of the khalisa had two subordinates, a karkun (manager), and a khass-navis (accountant). These officers had been oppressors, and, leaguing with the rich, they had been a great source of evil to the poor. If, instead of these two infamous officials, one worthy and honest man should be appointed, the country would prosper, and the people would be contented.
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'It had been discovered that in the khalisa districts the cultivated lands decreased year by year; but if the lands capable of cultivation were once measured, they would increase year by year in proportion to the powers of the raiyats; and engagements should be made for them according to rule.
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'For lands which had lain waste four years, they were to receive a deduction of one-half for the first year, for the second year one-quarter, and for the third year they were to pay according to established rule. For lands which had lain untilled for two years they were to receive a deduction of one-fourth for the first year. For uncultivated lands, they were to receive a small allowance of grain, so as to make the lands capable of yielding revenue. When advances were made for the assistance of poor cultivators, engagements were to be taken from men of respectability, and part was to be repaid at the spring harvest, part at the autumnal harvest. By these arrangements, the country would in a short period become cultivated, the raiyats would be contented, and the treasury flourishing.
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'When a portion of cultivated land was fixed upon, some surveyors, in proportion to its extent, were to be appointed. They were first to measure the land, and were then to acquaint themselves with its quality and produce.
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The collectors were to select a central spot for their residence. They were to carry out their duties everywhere diligently, and to inquire into the state of affairs. In seasons when a sufficient quantity of rain fell, and the lands received adequate irrigation, two and a half *biswas* in the *bigha* were to be left unassessed; in jungles and sandy lands, three *biswas* were to be left. Weekly accounts of sequestrations, and daily accounts of the collections, were to be sent monthly to the Imperial Exchequer. An Imperial order was issued that when lands suffered under any visitation of Providence, a description of them was to be drawn up, and a copy of it sent to Court, so that the Emperor might give directions appropriate to the case.
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'Whatever was levied from the *raiyats* was to be paid over to the treasurers, and they were to give receipts to the *raiyats*. The collectors were to remit the payments four times a month, and at the end of this time no balance was to be left unrealized from the *raiyats*. The *raiyats* were to be so treated that they should be willing to make their payments to the treasury voluntarily.
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'A descriptive account was to be drawn up of the assessment of each individual, according to his cultivation and labour, and the dates were not to be either postponed or anticipated. The *patwari* (accountant) of each village was to apportion the village, name by name, among the various subordinate agents, and the collectors were to send the cash under the seal of the *patwari* to the treasurer.
v2.c74.s1.11
'Instead of the former expenses (*kharch*), the amount having been settled at one *dam* for each *bigha* of cultivated land, it was hoped that, upon this principle, 24 *dams* might be the estimated sum to be allowed for each cultivator.'¹
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¹ Abu-l-Fazl, *Akbar-nama*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. VI, pp. 61-65
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Akbar's revenue system, though so celebrated for the benefits it conferred on India, presented no new invention. It only carried the previous system of Sher Shah into effect with greater precision and correctness.
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The objects of Akbar's revenue system were—Firstly to obtain a correct measurement of the land. Secondly, to ascertain the amount of the produce of each *bigha* of land, and to fix the proportion of that amount that the cultivator should pay to the government. Thirdly, to settle an equivalent for the proportion so fixed, in money.
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For the first purpose Akbar established a uniform standard to supersede the various measures formerly employed by public officers. The units of measurement were standardized. A yard, colled a *gaz*, was adopted consisting of forty-one digits. An area of sixty yards square was called a *bigha*. To bring greater uniformity the old practice of measuring lengths with a rope was given up, because it shrank in wet season; instead bamboo rods joined together with iron rings were used. The Emperor then deputed persons to make a complete measurement of all the lands capable of cultivation within the empire.
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The assessment was not so simple as the measurement. The land was divided into three classes, according to its fertility; the amount of each sort of produce that a *bigha* of each class would yield was ascertained; the average of the three was assumed as the produce of a *bigha*, and one-third of that produce formed the government demand. This assessment was designed to fix a maximum; for every cultivator who thought that the amount claimed was too high, he could insist on an actual measurement and division of the crop. Land which never required a fallow paid the full demand every harvest, called *polaj*. It was the best land which was cultivated every year. Land which required fallows only paid when under cultivation. It was called *parathi*. Land which had suffered from inundation, etc., or which had been three years out of cultivation, and required some expense to reclaim it, was called *chhakkar*. It paid only two-fifths for the first year, but went on increasing till the fifth year, when it paid the full demand. Land which had been for more than five years out of cultivation was called *banjar*. It enjoyed still more favourable terms for the first four years. The first two classes—*polaj* and *parathi*—were further classified into three categories—good, middling and bad. Then the law of averages was applied and the annual average for each category of land was worked out. This average was then standardized by taking the average for a period of ten years. One-third of the annual average, thus standardized, was fixed as the State demand for revenue.
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It is not explained in the *Ain-i-Akbari* how the comparative fertility of fields was ascertained. It is probable that the three classes were formed for each village, in consultation with the inhabitants, and the process was facilitated by another classification made by the villagers for their own use, which seems to have subsisted from time immemorial. By that distribution, all the land of every village is divided into a great many classes, according to its qualities, as black mould, red mould, gravelly, sandy, loam, and mixed loam, etc. Other circumstances were also considered, such as command of water, vicinity to the village, etc., and great pains were taken so to apportion the different descriptions among the cultivators as to give equal advantages to all.
v2.c74.s1.18
The quantity of produce due to the government being settled, it was next to be commuted for a money payment. For this purpose, statements of prices current for the nineteen years preceding the survey were called for from every town and village; and the produce was turned into money according to the average of the rates shown in those statements. The commutation was occasionally reconsidered, with reference to the actual market prices; and every husbandman was allowed to pay in kind if he thought the money rate was fixed too high.
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All these settlements were at first made annually; but their continual recurrence being found to be vexatious, the settlement was afterwards made for ten years, on an average of the payments of the preceding ten.
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The above measurements and classifications were all carefully recorded; the distribution of land, and increase or diminution of revenue, were all entered yearly into the village registers.
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At the same time when Akbar made these improvements respecting the land tax, he abolished a vast number of vexatious taxes and fees paid to the officers.
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Besides the regulation system described above, there were two other revenue systems, *galla baksh* (crop-sharing) and *nasq* (village assessment). The former was in use in far-off places where the measurement of land presented a difficult problem; whereas the latter assumed importance after Akbar's death, when the *zabti* system fell gradually into disuse.
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The result of these measures was that though the amount of the public demand was reduced considerably, the profit to the State remained nearly the same due to prevention of defalcations. Abu-l-Fazl asserts that the assessment was lighter than that of Sher Shah, who professed to take only one-fourth of the produce, while Akbar took one-third.
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Akbar's instructions to his revenue officers show his anxiety for the liberal administration of his system, and for the ease and comfort of his subjects. The collectors were enjoined, in their agreements and collections, to deal directly with individual cultivators, and not to depend implicitly on the headman and accountant of the village.