BIHAR

Bihar is well-known to everyone, and for multiple reasons. It is known to be the epicentre of ancient civilisations, the cradle of knowledge and wisdom in olden days, the grain capital during colonial era and the most underdeveloped state of modern India. There are multiple faces of Bihar that are now forgotten and only the deprivation of people, corruption of bureaucracy and humiliating conditions of the junta living is in deep focus. But this post shall highlight the start of all this plight and how history is connected to the social conditioning of Bihar, so that maybe it could lead to some light in the dark. 

By the 19th century, the British East India Company had divided Bihar (spelt as Bahar) into the following districts: 

1. Bettiah
2. Sarun (Saran)
3. Tyroot (Tirhut)
4. Hajypour (Hajipur)
5. Bahar (Bihar Sharif)
6. Shawabad (Shahabad)
7. Rotas (Rohtas)
8. Palamow (Palamau)
9. Monghir (Munger)
10. Toree (Tori, Latehar district, Jharkhand)
11. Chuta Nagpore (Chota Nagpur, Jharkhand)
12. Ramgur (Ramgarh, Jharkhand)

Before we try to get into the historical detailing of the structure of Bihar's economic system in British times, there are certain terminologies one need to familiarise for simplicity. 

• Permanent Settlement Act स्थायी बंदोबस्त अथवा इस्तमरारी बंदोबस्त: The Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 fixed land revenue collection in Bengal Presidency with zamindars, aiming for stable income for the British but creating a system with drawbacks.
• Zamindar ज़मींदार : A landlord or landholder in the Mughal and British era Indian subcontinent.
• Ryot रैयत : A peasant cultivator or tenant farmer in India.
• Begah बीघा : A traditional unit of land measurement in India, approximately equal to 0.33 acres.
• Mukadam मुक़ादम : A village headman in India, responsible for collecting taxes and maintaining order.
• Kanungo कानूंगों : A hereditary village accountant in India, responsible for maintaining land records.
• Talukdar तालुक़दार : A landholder or zamindar in Awadh, a historical region in northern India.
• Patwari पटवारी : A village accountant in India, responsible for maintaining land records and collecting taxes.
• Mal Adalat माल अदालत : A revenue court in India, responsible for adjudicating disputes between zamindars and tenants.

The Indian History Congress' research papers states that the Permanent Settlement Act, that's one of the chief reasons for the depreciation of Bihar's economy, started in 1793, was implemented in a great hurry buy the then Governor-General Lord Cornwallis. There was no investigation or research or survey done of the peasants before implementing such a heinous act. There was absolutely no safeguarding of peasants' rights before throwing away all the rights to the Zamindars or the landlords - the primary players of corruption during British Raj. The peasants did had rights that every begah  of land possessed by the ryots, was initially agreed mutually by some settlement between the two parties. But since there was no regulation on the taxes, unreasonable figures were charged by the zamindars, something that could never be questioned. 

During the Mughal times, the accounts of every village was kept and a Mukadam or Kanungo was elected by the ryots, whose duty was to settle the accounts with the Patwarees or the officers of the government. While the Zamindars were still there to collect monies and revenues, the post of Kanungo was abolished by the British. Hence, the Zamindars got total freedom to levy government taxes, bend and misuse in whichever way they can, to fill British pockets. Interestingly, by law that was passed in 1793, it was forbidden for any Zamindar or a Talukdaar to cess any taxes on the peasants. But the British failed to safeguard these laws, and thus, started the exploitation. There was no court of law where the peasants could appeal the whims and fancies of these zamindars, and with time, even the post of Patwarees was also toyed very much by the Zamindars. 

One of other worse situations was in the district of Tirhut or Tyroot, where the zamindars complained that they were helpless in paying revenues to the British government unless they were given enough powers to counter the unruly and indisciplined peasants. This was 1799, the year when the EIC was facing heavy conflicts in Mysore by Tipu Sultan and thus, the English treasury needed revenues at any cost to carry on the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Thus, Lord Wellesley, passed another order where it declared that the government would not accept any delay and the rents has to be submitted punctually. This order was an indirect way of giving the zamindars an unprecedented power to oppress and dissuade peasant grievances and extract taxes under any circumstance. Moreover, the judges and magistrates were discouraged by the government to hear any grievances applied by the peasants. 

But it wasn't that there weren't any measures taken by the British to curb such a practice. In 1811, under the times of Lord Minto (in office between 1807 to 1813) passed an inquiry under the Board of Revenue to look into the matter and there were even few changes brought to the Act, but it proved little beneficial as the grassroots level problems still remained unchanged. Another measure was undertaken in 1815 by Lord Hastings (Governor General of India between 1813 to 1823) who revived the post of Kanungo, reforming the Patwari system and to have a Mal Adalat or a junior level court to judge trials of revenue between the Zamindars and ryots. However, these efforts failed because the government lost interest and the new positions were not independent enough from the landowners. The government lost control over the patwaris who remained loyal to the zamindars, and their own focus on increasing revenue overshadowed the initial goal of protecting the ryots.

Throughout the 19th century, there were further attempts to reform the Permanent Settlement Act, including granting ryots occupancy rights (protection from eviction) and regulating rents. However, implementation was often weak, and exploitation by zamindars persisted. The Permanent Settlement Act's flaws likely contributed to the historical struggles with poverty and underdevelopment in Bihar. The British prioritized collecting fixed revenue over investing in agriculture, infrastructure, and education, hindering long-term growth and poverty reduction. The zamindari system itself had issues. Zamindars often focused on maximizing rents over agricultural improvements, potentially leading to exploitation of ryots through high rents and unfair practices, keeping them in debt and poverty. Additionally, with little incentive to invest in land improvements or new technologies, agricultural development stagnated. Finally, even with later reforms, the zamindari system's concentration of land ownership limited opportunities for poor farmers.

But did the peasants revolt against this atrocious system? There were several clashes and conflicts, but one highlighted one was in 1857, during the Sepoy Rebellion, that at least 3,500 peasants led by Shah Mal from Baraut (Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh) rebelled against the Company, resulting in a hand-to-hand combat leading to his death. But clashing the British in the territories of Bihar and former United Provinces lead to another aspect of Indian history - the saga of the dacoits. Constant rejections, atrocities and inhuman treatments under the clutches of the zamindars and failed British attempts to resolve the mess they started in the first place, lead to dacoity giving hundreds of tales that talked about the plight of poor peasants. 

Another major landmark rebellion by the peasants was the infamous and less talked Santhal Rebellion that occurred shortly before the Sepoy Mutiny, in 1855, the Santhals, a tribal community residing in present-day Jharkhand and West Bengal, erupted in rebellion against the British East India Company and the oppressive zamindari system. Years of exploitation by landlords, moneylenders, and the British government, coupled with land loss due to colonial policies, fueled their discontent. Led by the Murmu brothers (Sido Murmu and Kanhu Murmu), the Santhals fought for their land rights and freedom from exploitation. Though ultimately suppressed by the British, the rebellion highlighted tribal resistance against colonial rule and led to the creation of the Santhal Parganas district in 1855 (from the former Damin-i-Koh region comprising the Rajmahal Hills in today's Jharkhand), offering some protection to the Santhal people.

In the 20th century, the Provincial Kisan Conference was formed in 1935 and opted for the anti-zamindari slogan that developed a rift within the Indian National Congress party. It was pioneered by Sahajanand Saraswati who, although born in Ghazipur, UP, dedicated his life for the reform movements in Bihar. He organised a 'Bakasht' or 'self-cultivated' movement between 1937-38; a struggle against the eviction of tenants from lands held by zamindars that led to passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and Bakasht Land Tax.

The movement had some success, but the issue of Bakasht land ownership remains a complex one in Bihar even today.

The zamindari system was banned gradually starting from 1951 when the abolishment groundwork was laid. It took several years for the entire country to get rid of this practice, but often hiccups such as disobedience of government orders caused delaying its full implementation. Alongwith the anti-zamindari movement, there existed a lot of administrative reorganisation in Bihar with its neighbouring states that resulted in reshaping its geography. In 1912, Bihar was carved out as a separate province from Bengal, while in 1936 Orissa was made from the former province of Bihar & Orissa. In 1956, the district of Purnea was rearranged and parts of it was transferred to West Bengal. Prior to this, the boundaries of Bihar touched East Pakistan, leading to migration and there exists a small village by the name of 'Pakistan' in the district. But in 1939 itself, a new movement for the creation of a separate entity of Jharkhand was started and soona after independence, in 1950 the Jharkhand Party (JP) was formed. Post independence, Bihar was marred with the remains of zamindari system, the rising dacoity in various villages and the fallout of a separate statehood that eventually reached its completion in 2000, with the creation of Jharkhand state. All this was enough to crippled down the already devastated economy of Bihar.