BharatNotes Ryotwari
adjective; also nounUsage in a UPSC answer
Whereas the Permanent Settlement entrenched a parasitic landlord class, the ryotwari system introduced in the Madras and Bombay presidencies sought to forge a direct fiscal bond between the colonial state and the peasant, though in practice its high and inflexible revenue demand often drove the very cultivators it recognised into chronic indebtedness.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ryot (n), raiyat (n alt. spelling), raiyatwari (n alt. spelling)
Root
Arabic raʿīyah = subjects/cultivators; Urdu/Persian raʿīyat = peasant; wārī = relating to a system (Persian suffix)
Etymology
Urdu and Persian raʿīyatwārī, from raʿīyat ("peasant, cultivator," from Arabic raʿīyah, "subjects") + wārī ("relating to a system"); first recorded use in English c. 1807.
Memory Hook
"Ryot" = the peasant; "-wari" = the way of dealing. So Ryotwari is "the peasant's way" — the state collecting revenue straight from the ryot, with no zamindar standing in between.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2024 — Modern India
- Prelims 2017 — Modern India
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Ryotwari” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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