| 1. |
How did the land revenue lead to peasants losing their lands to the money lenders? What would the money lenders have done with the land? |
|
Answer» The peasants were forced to work on the zamindars’ fields and many peasants could not cultivate their own fields properly. They could not improve their fields. Their plight can be seen in a government report written in 1878. The report says that the peasants do not try to dig well on their lands or irrigate it, nor do they try to bund their fields or dig drains or use fertilisers. “They do nothing to improve their land because they fear they can be evicted from their land at any time. If they improve their farming, the zamindar immediately increases the share he takes from them. But the zamindars also prevent the peasants from improving their fields because they are afraid that the peasants would then start asserting their rights over the land.” |
|