How was the Zamindari system of land settlement responsible for the stagnation of Indian agriculture?
The Zamindars were recognised as the permanent owners of land and were required to pay a fixed sum of money to the government on a specified day in lieu of this right. If they defaulted on making payment, then this right was taken away from them.
Because of this, the zamindars charged huge rent amounts from the tillers and even forced them to pay in case of crop failures. In spite of charging a huge rent, they did nothing to improve the condition of agriculture.
Also, after paying a huge amount of produce as rent, the farmers were in no position to buy fertilisers and pesticides to increase the productivity of the land. All this led to the stagnation of Indian agriculture.