After a prolonged debate amongst Company officials, the Permanent Settlement was made with the rajas and taluqdars of Bengal. They were now classified as zamindars, and they had to pay the revenue demand that was fixed in perpetuity. Zamindars had several (sometimes as many as 400) villages under them. In Company calculations the villages within one zamindari formed one revenue estate. The Company fixed the total demand over the entire estate whose revenue the zamindar contracted to pay. Company officials felt that a fixed revenue demand would give zamindars a sense of security and, assured of returns on their investment, encourage them to improve their estates.
The lines left out of the passage also say what happened in the early decades after the Permanent Settlement. What was it?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Zamindars regularly failed to pay what was due and unpaid balances accumulated.
Option (1) Zamindars paid the revenue regularly and the Company enjoyed a steady flow of revenue. — Incorrect. A steady flow of revenue was the Company's aim. Instead, payments fell behind and many estates were auctioned.
Option (2) Zamindars invested in their estates and agricultural output rose steadily. — Incorrect. This was what officials hoped for. In the early decades zamindars could hardly meet the demand, so investment did not follow.
Option (3) Zamindars regularly failed to pay what was due and unpaid balances accumulated. — Correct. In the early decades, zamindars regularly failed to pay the revenue demand and unpaid balances accumulated. The hope of security and investment did not come true at first.
Option (4) Zamindars cleared their old arrears and bought more estates at auctions. — Incorrect. Zamindars did not clear their arrears. Their unpaid balances grew, and their own estates were put up for auction.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.3 Why zamindars defaulted on payments |