Under one revenue system, the British fixed the revenue demand on the zamindars for ever, so the state could not share their rising income. Beyond which region was it rarely extended?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Bengal
Option (1) Bombay Deccan — Incorrect. The Bombay Deccan got a different system, the ryotwari settlement, in which revenue was settled directly with the ryot.
Option (2) Bengal — Correct. The system is the Permanent Settlement. It was rarely extended to any region beyond Bengal, because the fixed demand gave the state no share of rising income.
Option (3) Awadh — Incorrect. Awadh was annexed in the nineteenth century, and such annexed territories got temporary revenue settlements.
Option (4) Madras — Incorrect. Madras lay outside Bengal, where new and temporary systems of revenue were imposed as British rule expanded.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 A new revenue system “Why was this so? One reason was that after 1810, agricultural prices rose, increasing the value of harvest produce, and enlarging the income of the Bengal zamindars. Since the revenue demand was fixed under the Permanent Settlement, the colonial state could not claim any share of this enhanced income. Keen on expanding its financial resources, the colonial government had to think of ways to maximise its land revenue. So in territories annexed in the nineteenth century, temporary revenue settlements were made.” |