Mysorean agriculture

Mysorean agricultural, ever since the time of Chikka Devaraja, dead now sadly for 20 years, has functioned upon different principles than that of the rest of India. It is highly centralized in form of taxation. In the rest of Southern India, there is an intermediary class of paleygards who collect taxes, standing as notables between the government and the peasants. The beloved Chikka Devaraja removed this and intermediary to instead collect taxes directly from the peasantry, helping to build up a much stronger and more centralized state. The land tax collectors are under the careful eye of the strong Mysorean central government, which keeps the system functional. Land tax is classified by the type of land, such as wet, dry, or garden, producing different tiers of payment by quality. Typically the peasant keeps around 1/2 of his produce, while the a majority of the remainder goes to the state and the amount left over, such as 15-20%, goes to the landlord.

A number of public works programs have been put into progress in Mysore, intended to increase increased revenue for the King, and to provide for a larger population which can thus better fill the King's armies. Typically smaller water tanks for irrigation are provided for by individuals and peasants themselves. However, larger tanks are dependent upon government construction, typically at the village grouping level, although sometimes at the district level as well. Peasants are however, responsible for providing labor for cleaning sluice gates Peasants are also responsible for the maintenance of the irrigation canals which bring the water to their fields. The irrigation plans can be divided into two general types: dams across rivers, which are the responsibility for the state, and large, medium, and small water tanks, which are generally accorded state responsibility, state-peasantry responsibility, and peasantry responsibility respectively.

A very skillful portrait shows a large dam near Mysore itself under construction, named after the former king Chikka Devaraja, intended to have a surface area well in excess of 120 square kilometers and provide for irrigation water.

The other part of the project is expanding the current amount of terrain which is currently under cultivation. The more land which is farmed, the higher the prosperity of the kingdom. In addition to the state planning to deploy corvée labor to prepare new fields, peasants themselves will be incentivized to do such work. Thus, for peasants taking new land into cultivation (such as that land which is judged as uncultivated by the Amils who are in charge of the village grouping level of administration), it is envisioned that this land will be untaxed for a period of at least 2 years. Furthermore the state will advance loans of 4 annas per plough, to help provide initial costs. Coconut production will also be encouraged through no taxes for 4 years of initial production, half taxes in the fifth year, and taxes only being fully applied in the 6th year. The same type of system will be applied for sugarcane, for betel, and sandalwood.

Another project for expanding the amount of territory under cultivation is to provide land to soldiers' families, in the interests of generating military colonies along the frontiers which can also provide for irregular troops in war time. The government will also establish that for those peasants or other figures who make substantial improvements to their agricultural productivity, certain quantities of land will be given to them as grants. For example a landlord who does so holds up to 1/4 of the terrain irrigated by this system.


It is envisioned that 350.000 pagodas will be expended on this project of expanding terrain under cultivation and irrigation, over a period of 2 years