Q3
“Jotedars inevitably weakened zamindars in Bengal, by the end of the 18th century.” Give arguments to support the statement.
Solution
In the early nineteenth century, Jotedars were a class of rich peasants. They acquired vast areas of land and controlled local trade as well as money lending. Thus exercising immense power over the poorer cultivators of the region. A large part of their land was cultivated through sharecroppers who brought their own plows, laborers in the field and handed over half the produce to Jotedars after the harvest.
More effective than that of Zamindars :
Within the villages, the power of Jotedars was more effective than that of zamindars. The zamindars often lived in urban areas whereas the Jotedars were located in the villages and exercised direct control over a considerable section of poor villagers. They forcefully resisted efforts by zamindars to increase the jama of the village, prevented zamindars officials from executing their duties, mobilized ryots, who were dependent on them, and deliberately delayed payments of revenue to zamindar. When the estates of the zamindars were auctioned for failure to make revenue payment, Jotedars were often the purchasers.
So, the rise of Jotedars inevitably weakened zamindari authority.
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