Prelims 2012 · archive
EasyWith reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements:
- 1.The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.
- 2.The government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
- 3.The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3
All three statements are correct, so the answer is (c). The Ryotwari Settlement, developed by Alexander Read and Thomas Munro in south India, was made directly with the individual cultivator (ryot). Each ryot held his land from the Government under a patta, and his fields were surveyed before the revenue was assessed.
- ✓ 1. There was no zamindar or other intermediary. The settlement was made directly with the cultivators (ryots), so each ryot paid the land revenue straight to the Government.
- ✓ 2. Under Ryotwari the Government issued each ryot a patta. This was the document recording the land he held directly under the Government and the revenue he was liable to pay.
- ✓ 3. Under the Munro system, each ryot's fields had to be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue assessment was made.
Remember · Ryotwari (Read and Munro, Madras): direct settlement with each ryot, who held a patta; fields surveyed and assessed individually; revenue revised periodically, not fixed permanently.
Sources
- Supreme Court of India judgment, 24 March 2025 (Civil Appeal, 2014/41129), definition of 'Pattadar' ↗ ““Pattadar” includes every person who holds land directly under the Government under a patta whose name is registered in the land revenue accounts of the Government as pattadar”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·