Madhusudan_Das

192 Madhusudan Das:
his income by insisting upon the raiyat. a high rate of mutation fees.
More so. there remained a distant possibility that a zamindar in order to
utilize the power under this clause, might force the raiyat to transfer his
occupancy right to zamindar's kith and kin at a throwaway price. In his
view, the Orissa Tenancy Bill was intended primarily to give a legal
sanction to this highly illegal practice and thus, sought to lend its seal of
tacit approval on the heinous process of exploitation of the peasant class
in Orissa.
More than this, the Bill in clause-14. provided for registration by
the landlord of certain transfers of tenures on payment of mutation fees,
which varied from rupees two in the minimum to rupees twenty-five in
the maximum. Apart from this, the bill had proposed to impose many
other disputable provisions on the peasantry, hitherto relatively unknown
to the entire agrarian structure prevailing in Orissa. As it seemed to many,
the Bill based itself on the relatively obsolete Bengal Tenancy Act of
1885. which had only then been found unsuitable and impracticable by
the Colonial State itself.
In this nexus. Madhusudan by collecting all his energy and will
power soon, engaged his scribe in writing a bold yet appealing letter
couched with strong criticisms in the Editorial columns of the leading
nationalist daily. The Statesman. In his open letter to the editor of this
English daily, he brilliantly analysed the fiscal and agrarian history of
Bengal and Orissa and pointed out the inherent contradictions, which
distinguished Orissa from Bengal proper. He expressed his grief that even
when the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885 had been found unsuitable of any
further implementation by the British Government, the settlement
operations (revenue) was being conducted by the norms of that nearly
obsolete act. In this context, he was afraid of the new tenancy bill of
1911, which resembled the Act of 1885 more or less as it might disturb
the agrarian relations in Orissa by throwing everything out of joint, that
is why he named this proposed bill of 1911 (Orissa Tenancy Bill) as a
validation bill giving legal sanction to an improper and illegal action,
continued and in use, so far.
In all probability, reeling under the vehement attack and strong
opposition which this Bill of 1911 encountered during its long
proceedings in the Bengal Legislative Council, it was sent to a Select
Committee on 17th January 1912. to make amendments wherever
necessary. But as this Committee was packed to the full by members of