The Last Zamindar

The Beginning

    In 1793 when Lord Cornwallis introduced the Zamindari system, a new system of tax collection began in India. Lands were distributed among the influential people of each place. The land of Sripur was given to Shivdas Roy. A huge area under which thousands of peasants worked and the burden of the tax was on these peasants. Shivdas Roy an oppressive zamindar was very brutal in collecting taxes he along with his three sons took brutality to a new level. The harvest in all the years was no the same but these people with their armed goons looted wealth from the poor peasants who were not even able to have meals two times in the years with less production. From the mid 19th century the brutality reached its peak and this continued for almost 60 years. The family over three generations that started from Mr. Shivdas Roy was simply brutal and lewd. The made money by power and force. The people who had young ladies in their homes were not able to breathe freely because of these people. Every day the sons of the Zamindars use to move out and harmed a lady badly. They did all the misdeeds that can be done to a woman. The law and order in the rural area were so distressful at that point of time that no one would have dared to raise their voice against the zamindars. The zamindars and their sons in the different generations used to roam around in the village like mad bulls, wherever they saw young girls and women they used to get indulge in dirty activities. The peasants, on the other hand, used to feel that they were unable to pay taxes so they are at fault and thus the masters have all rights to do whatever they want.

    This continued for some years until people started to raise their voices. But raising voices made things even worse. The people who raised their voices were brutally killed. On one such incident, one of the zamindars did some mischief with a girl, whose family were not able to clear their taxes. The zamindar's son went inside their hut and started to force a young girl out of her house, her brother and father protested against it. As a result, the Zamindar and his men severed the head of both father and son on the spot. The concerned lady cursed the scallywags by saying, "the gents of your dynasty are so scoundrel that there will be one day when your dynasty will have no male".