ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the peasantry of northern Bengal in the late eighteenth century with special reference to the economic and political role of the wealthy raiyats (often called under a general designation of jotedars). They formed the core not only of agricultural production but also of village-level politics, and in this sense we may call them the small local leaders. Much has been said about them by such scholars as N.K. Sinha, B.B. Chaudhuri, Raj at and Ratnalekha Ray, and Rajat Datta. 2 Ratnalekha Ray's Change in Bengal Agrarian Society may be considered the most vigorous attempt at situating them in the total structure of Bengal agrarian society during early British rule. Ray doubtlessly offered a very attractive and far-reaching frame of reference, even if one does not fully accept her arguments. She identified seven major groups which comprised Bengal agrarian society. They were (1) sovereign power (the state), (2) zamindars and independent talukdars, (3) local officers of both the government and the zamindars, (4) local gentry (holders of privileged tenures such as brahmattar, aimadars, some of the haoladars, patnidars), (5) village heads (mandals, pramaniks, bosneahs) and other rich peasants (jotedars, gantidars and some of the haoladars), (6) agricultural stock (ordinary raiyats), and (7) landless labourers (krishans, mojurs). Socially speaking, group (1) consisted of the British colonialists and their Indian collaborators, groups (2), (3) and (4) consisted mostly of high-caste Hindus and high-ranking Muslims, groups (5) and (6) consisted of agricultural castes such as Sadgop, Kaivartta, Namasudra, Rajbangshi and low-ranking Muslim peasants, and group (7) consisted of untouchables and tribal peoples. Thus Ray saw close correspondence between economic and political stratification and the social or ritual hierarchy.
