Ryotwari

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A taxation system in which individual farmers are obligated to pay revenues directly to governmental authorities for their cultivated land
2. A method of land taxation that mandates direct payments from farmers to the state for agricultural output and land usage
3. A system of taxing agricultural land where each farmer is required to make payments directly to the government for their cultivable property

Etymology: Ryotwari is a Hindi-Urdu-derived term, built from "raiyat" (or "ryot"), an Arabic-origin word meaning a subject or cultivator, and the suffix "-wari," a Persian-derived ending meaning "according to" or "in proportion to." Together they describe a system where the cultivator himself, rather than a landlord or intermediary, is the party assessed for land revenue. The term entered English through British administration in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when the East India Company was experimenting with how to tax agricultural land. The ryotwari system was introduced in parts of southern and western India, most notably in Madras Presidency, as an alternative to the zamindari system, in which revenue was collected through landholding intermediaries. Its supporters argued it gave cultivators direct security of tenure, though its assessments were often heavy and it was widely criticised by later observers.