Identify the correct statements which led to the introduction of the 'Permanent Settlement' in Bengal:
(A) British officials felt that agriculture, trade and the revenue of the state could all be developed by encouraging investment in agriculture.
(B) Encouraging investment in agriculture could be done by securing rights of property and permanently fixing the rates of revenue demand.
(C) If the revenue demand of the state was permanently fixed, then the English East India Company could look forward to a regular flow of revenue.
(D) By the 1770s, the rural economy of Bengal was prospering with high yields, and the East India Company wanted a share in this increasing agricultural output.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (B) and (C) only
(A) British officials felt that agriculture, trade and the revenue of the state could all be developed by encouraging investment in agriculture. Correct. Officials hoped that investment in agriculture would develop agriculture, trade and the revenue resources of the state.
(B) Encouraging investment in agriculture could be done by securing rights of property and permanently fixing the rates of revenue demand. Correct. Secure property rights and a fixed revenue demand were the means they chose.
(C) If the revenue demand of the state was permanently fixed, then the English East India Company could look forward to a regular flow of revenue. Correct. A fixed demand promised the Company a regular flow of revenue, while entrepreneurs could be sure of a profit on their investment.
(D) By the 1770s, the rural economy of Bengal was prospering with high yields, and the East India Company wanted a share in this increasing agricultural output. Incorrect. By the 1770s the rural economy in Bengal was in crisis, with recurrent famines and declining agricultural output. The Permanent Settlement was meant to resolve this crisis, not to share in a boom.
NCERT (2025-26): “1.2 The problem of unpaid revenue … In introducing the Permanent Settlement, British officials hoped to resolve the problems they had been facing since the conquest of Bengal. By the 1770s, the rural economy in Bengal was in crisis, with recurrent famines and declining agricultural output. Officials felt that agriculture, trade and the revenue resources of the state could all be developed by encouraging investment in agriculture. This could be done by securing rights of property and permanently fixing the rates of revenue demand. If the revenue demand of the state was permanently fixed, then the Company could look forward to a regular flow of revenue, while entrepreneurs could feel sure of earning a profit from their investment, since the state would not siphon it off by increasing its claim.…” |