Question

Explain the course and features of the Mahalwari system.

Answer 1

1. Mahalwari system, was a modified version of the Zamindari settlement introduced in the Ganga valley, the North – West Province, parts of Central India, and Punjab in 1822.
2. Lord William Bentinck was to suggest radical changes in the Mahalwari system.
3. Assessment of revenue was to be made on the basis of the produce of a Mahal or village. All the proprietors of a Mahal were severally and jointly responsible for the payment of revenue. Initially, the state share was fixed two-thirds of the gross produce. Bentinck, therefore, reduced to fifty percent. The village as a whole, through its headman or Lambardar, was required to pay the revenue.
4. This system was first adopted in Agra and Awadh, and later extended to other parts of the United Provinces. The burden of all this heavy taxation finally fell on the cultivators.