Question

Answer the following question with the help of the given point:

Write causes of the freedom struggle of 1857:

Economics causes

Answer 1

1. The British government introduced new land revenue systems, including the Permanent Settlement (Kayamdhara or Zamindari), Ryotwari, and Mahalwari.
2. The implementation of these systems demonstrated a lack of understanding or regard for India's traditional methods of revenue collection, its crop cycles, and the local climate.
3. As a result, farmers became impoverished while the British government and landlords grew wealthier. In the past, taxes could be paid through grain or goods, but the British demanded payment in cash, regardless of whether the harvest was good or bad. In times of famine, this policy pushed farmers into extreme hardship. Natural disasters, such as droughts and epidemics, added to their suffering.
4. The British remained indifferent to the farmers’ distress. Trapped between government demands and moneylenders, farmers had no relief. The British transformed the unsellable status of agricultural land into a marketable commodity.
5. The British forced many distressed farmers to sell parts of their land for cash. The British transformed the unsellable status of agricultural land into a marketable commodity. These labourers lived in misery while unemployment, hopelessness, and distrust spread across India, making life extremely difficult for the common people.