Explain Mahalwari system.

The Mahalwari System was a British land-revenue arrangement in which the village (mahal) or a group of villages was treated as a single unit responsible for paying land revenue collectively to the Company government.

When, where, and by whom

• Introduced: Basis laid by Holt Mackenzie (1822); system consolidated in the 1830s.
• Regions: North-Western Provinces (U.P.), later Punjab, parts of Central India and Awadh.

How it worked 

1. Village survey & measurement: Officials measured fields, mapped villages, and recorded soils, crops, and past yields.
2. Assessment: They calculated a government share of the estimated produce/rent for the entire village (the mahal).
3. Fixing demand (not permanent): Revenue demand was periodic/revisable (e.g., every 20–30 years), not fixed forever.
4. Collective responsibility: The mahal—through its headman (lambardār) or council—collected dues from individual cultivators and paid the lump sum to the state.
5. Intermediaries & records: Village officials (patwari/qanungo) kept registers of holdings, payments, and arrears.

Key features (exam-ready points)

• Unit of assessment: Village/mahal, not individual peasant alone.
• Collector/Headman: Lambardār acted as the main revenue collector for the mahal.
• Revision: Revenue was revisable, linked to fresh surveys/estimates.
• Community tie-in: Claimed to rely on existing village institutions, but the demand remained high.

Why the British used it

• They believed village communities could self-organize collection, lowering administrative costs.
• Periodic revision let the state raise demand when prices or output rose.

Impact on peasants

• Heavy, uncertain burden: Because the demand could be revised upward, peasants faced uncertainty.
• Collective pressure: If some could not pay, the whole mahal felt pressure—often leading to debt and distress sales.
• Control without relief: Even with “local institutions,” assessments frequently favoured revenue maximization over peasant welfare.

Quick compare (for revision)

3 must-remember lines

• Mahalwari = Village unit + collective responsibility.
• Introduced in 1820s–30s (Holt Mackenzie) in North-Western Provinces; spread to Punjab/Awadh.
• Revenue not permanent; periodically revised → uncertainty and burdens for peasants.