Zerat is a

land ownership In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...

system in early

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

. The zerat system was particularly common in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. It refers to the private land of the landlord, which would often be cultivated by peasants. Zerat was mainly responsible for a change in traditional forms of agricultural organization in some parts of India, replacing the

ryot Ryot (alternatives: raiyat, rait or ravat) was a general economic term used throughout India for peasant cultivators but with variations in different provinces. While zamindars were landlords, raiyats were tenants and cultivators, and served as hi ...

system. It produced a strain on the peasant economy, despite peasants being free to grow their own crops. In

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

cultivation practiced by planters in Bihar and Bengal, the ''rayat'' and ''zerat'' were common practices which represented two labour hiring processes. The ryot (or raiyat) ("peasant") was a small land holder who took financial support from the planter and in return had to come to a written understanding to turn over the produce from his land to the planter at a predetermined amount. ''Zerat'' cultivation, which is direct cultivation by the planter, however, was an exclusive practice of the planter in which he hired labour to work on his fields to grow crops of his choice. 'Zerat' literally means "the

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s private land,

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

", which had a direct impact on the peasants. The ploy of the planter in demesne was to encroach the land of the peasant and eventually claim it as his own and expand his control over the peasantry as a Zamindar. In the Magistrate of

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

's Administration Report for the year 1876–77, he reports that indigo cultivation in Bengal is divided into three methods that planters refer to as "tirhut". These are characterized as systems of tenure and conditions of indigo cultivation. The first of these, "zerat", is used if the land is in the planter's sole possession, and the ryot employed to work the land is a hired labourer. The term "assamiviar" is relevant when the land is in the rayat's possession and he is compelled (being the planter's tenant) to grow indigo on it at fixed rates. Lastly, the term "khooshgee" is appropriate when the rayat, under no compulsion, grows the plant as a remunerative crop. Sometimes referred to as "compulsory labour",

expropriated Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

peasants made up the largest group of the zerat labour force. The ryot option was preferred by the planter, as his involvement was limited only to finance the cultivation and not pay for any other costs of labour and other inputs required to raise the crop or even loss of crop, particularly in indigo cultivation. The risk was entirely that of the peasant, who at times of loss of crop suffered losses and was even unable to cover the loan taken from the planter. The basic difference in the Zerat system was the planter had not only to pay for the labour costs but also bear all risks involved with raising the crop, and as such he did not prefer this option.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Bengal Presidency Labour relations in India Land management in India Indigo dye production

See also

References