Effects on the Shifting Cultivators


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Effects on the Shifting Cultivators

Effects on the Shifting Cultivators     

  • The adivasis had no concept of private ownership of land. Land was commonly owned by the members of a tribe, and the produce of the forests was there to use freely.
  • The British were uncomfortable with groups who moved about and did not have a fixed home. They wanted tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators.
  • Settle peasants were easier to control and administer than people who were always on the move. The British also wanted a regular revenue source for the state.
  •  The British introduced the concept of land that could be owned by individual. With the eye on the fertile tribal lands, the British imposed entirely new revenue system on the tribal people.
  • So they introduced land settlements- that is, they measured the land, defined the rights of each individual to that land, and fixed the revenue demand for the state. Some peasants were declared landowners, others tenants.
  • The tribal people had no written proof of ownership of land. Even if they were allowed to retain that land, they had to pay exorbitant rates of revenues.
  • Unable to pay the revenue, the adivasis often went to the newly arrived moneylender for a loan, usually they have high rate of interest. If they could not pay revenues or repay the loan, their land was taken away.  
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