RYOTS, in the policy of Hindustan, the name by which the renters of land are distinguished. They hold their possessions by a lease, which may be considered as perpetual, and at a rate fixed by ancient surveys and valuations. This arrangement has been so long established, and accords so well with the ideas of the natives concerning the dis-
tinction of castes, and the functions allotted to each, that it has been invariably maintained in all the provinces subject either to Mahomedans or Europeans; and to both it serves as the basis on which their whole system of finance is founded. Respecting the precise mode, however, in which the ryots held their possessions, there are many different opinions, for which we refer to Robertson's Historical Disquisition concerning India.