Question

Describe the main feature of permanent settlement

Answer 1

Hint: An arrangement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues was the Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal.

Lord Cornwallis introduced permanent settlement in 1793 and covered Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, parts of Northern Karnataka, etc. It was also known as the Zamindari scheme, as the owners of the land were recognised as zamindars.

Complete answer:
The Permanent Settlement was brought into practise in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General. This was essentially an arrangement to adjust the land income between the company and the Zamindars. First enacted in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, this was later followed in the presidency of northern Madras and in the Varanasi district. He imagined the development in India of a hereditary class of landlords. Often known as the Zamindari System, this system.

The key features of permanent settlement :
i) The owners of the land were known as landlords or Zamindars.
ii) Hereditary rights of succession of the lands under them were granted to them.
iii) The sum which the landlords had to pay was fixed.
iv) It was decided that in the future, this would not increase (permanent in nature).
v) For the government, the fixed sum was $10/11^{th}$ of the revenue and $1/10^{th}$ was for the Zamindar.
vi) The Zamindar had to give a patta to the tenant, explaining the area of the land he was granted and the rent he had to pay to the landlord.
vii) It was thought that Zamindars, being sons of the land, could enter the far corners of the area and also understand local customs very well.
viii) There was a sense of protection for everybody because of the system's permanent existence.
ix) The organisation knew the amount it would earn in sales. The landlord was told of the sum as well.

Note:
-Zamindar was not the lord of the land in the Mughal period, but only a tax collector.
-The Zamindars have become wealthier.
-In addition, Zamindars were not the same old hereditary landlords, but if he had good connections in the East India Company or any other hack, anyone could become a Zamindar.