To what extent the British policies in colonial India transformed the agrarian structure of the time

Agrarian system in India has always been in accordance with land system.

During ancient time land used to be collectively owned and was not a commodity taxes were levied.
Eg.
 Under mauryans -- dashmulibhaga- protecting crops from 10 types of destruction,
hulivakara- tax on plaushare.
 Under guptas -- land grant system led to rise of feudalism.
Medieval
 Kankuth - system of crop estimation by Allauddin
 Ghalla bakshi/ batai - crop sharing
 Zabti - revenue based in land productivity. By Sher Shah Suri and later adopted by Akbar.
 Britishers had colonised India with the sole purpose of making profit.
Impact of British policies on Indian agrarian system
Overcrowding of agriculture
Due to deliberate de-industrialisation of India under colonial rule, dependence on agriculture
increased. Population dependent on agriculture increased from 63% in 1901 to 70% in 1941 (census
data)
Ruin of old zamindars
Due to sunset clause in permanent settlement and ruthlessly high land rent caused old zamindars
who had some tradition of showing some consideration to their tenants to lose their zamindari to
new absentee land lords.
Emergence of new zamindari class and jotedars
 War efforts, trade and administrative cost ==> revenue collected from farmers
 With introduction of permanent settlement system in bihar and bengal in 1973 land became
property of zamindars-- responsible for collecting revenue from the farmer and pain fixed
amount to the British
 1833 - mahalwari system was introduced in north west Punjab, Ganga valley and parts of
central India.
 Village or groups of village as a unit of revenue assessment number of muscles were responsible
for went to the British
 1820 - ryotwari system Bengal and Madhya Pradesh revenue directly collected from farmers
 Peasants were recognised as owner.
 Many owner-cultivators and occupancy tenants, having a permanent right to hold land, found it more convenient to lease out land to land-hungry tenants at exorbitant rent than to cultivate it themselves.
 In time, landlordism became the main feature of agrarian relations not only in the zamindari areas but also in the Ryotwari ones.

All the land revenue system introduced by Britishers were highly exploitative.
Growth of subinfeudation or intermediaries:
Since the cultivating tenants were generally unprotected and the overcrowding of land led the
tenants to compete with one another to acquire land, the rent of land went on increasing. The
zamindars and the new landlords found it convenient to sublet their right to collect rent to other
eager persons on profitable terms. But as rents increased, sub-leasers of land in their turn sublet
their rights in land. Thus by a chain-process a large number of rent-receiving intermediaries between
the actual cultivator and the government sprang up.
Commercialisation of agriculture

 Crops like tea coffee indigo opium cotton jute and sugarcane started being cultivated for profit
motive
 Indian opium wars to balance the trade of chinese tea in favour of Britishers
 Post production of indigo undertaker undertaker under 3 kathiya system lead to land in fertility
 System of advances and government system first farmers to cultivate commercial crops at the
whims and fancies of Britishers
 Under "garmatiya majdoor"- those who had signed agreement, were transporter to plantation
fields of tea and coffee in Srilanka, Malaysia.

Rise of money lending class-

 Due to ever increasing hardship of farmers and their inability to pay the revenue led to the rise
of money lenders.

 The gradually usurp the land ownership of vulnerable pigeons using unfair means like false
accounting and forged signature.

 Absence of industries also caused money lenders to divert all their capitals in acquiring
land/zamindari and become land lord.

Conclusion :
Though a few measures like introduction of tea and bringing railway lines by Britishers still benefit India but the village has lost their 'self-sufficient' status because of British policies