How did the Zamindars collect revenue from the ryots? Why was the collection of revenue a problem for them?
For the purpose of revenue collection, a Zamindar had several villages under his control. He used to visit these villages with his ‘amlah’. However, it was a great problem to collect the revenue because of the following reasons: Sometimes the production of the crop was low. Sometimes the crops had to be sold at low prices. It made payment of dues difficult for the ryots. Sometimes the ryots deliberately delayed the payment. They created problems for the Zamindars. The Zamindars were unable to assert their power over ryots. No doubt they were empowered to prosecute the defaulters but it took a very long time in the judicial process. There were more than thirty thousand pending suits in Burdwan alone, all concerned with the arrears of rent payments
