Land Holding System during the British Period : The British government imposed systems such as the Zamindari system, jagirdari system, mahalwari system, etc. in the Indian agricultural sector due to which the intermediate class emerged. These intermediaries snatched most of the part of agricultural produce from the farmers in the form of land revenue. The ownership of land was granted to the intermediaries. They collected high rate of land revenue, due to which the farmers were left with food grains which were even not enough for their sustenance. Due to this, the farmers became financially and physically weak. 

Following were the land holding systems in India prevalent during the British period:

1. Zamindari System 

2. Mahalwari Settlement 

3. Ryotwari Settlement

1. Zamindari System or Permanent System : Zamindari system emerged during the British period. Earlier, there was ownership of farmers upon land. Governor General Cornwallis of the East India Company granted land ownership to the landlords, and handed them over the responsibility of collecting revenue in order to increase income.

2. Mahalwari Settlement : Mahalwari system was implemented by William Bentinck in Agra and Awadh regions and later it was implemented in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. In this system, the land was divided into Mahals. Each Mahal comprised one or more villages and the head of the village used to collect revenue from all the land holders of the village.

3. Ryotwari System : In this system, the Ryot or farmers were regarded as land owners and there was no intermediary between the farmers and the government. In this, the settlement was done on temporary basis. The rate of revenue was different for respective holdings owned by the farmers.