The revenue settlement in which the company official made a settlement with Zamindars:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Permanent Settlement
Option (1) Mahalwari Settlement — Incorrect. Under the Mahalwari system the revenue was settled with the village community (the mahal, a village or a group of villages) as a whole, not with a zamindar. It was used in the North-Western Provinces.
Option (2) Ryotwari Settlement — Incorrect. Under the ryotwari settlement of the Bombay Deccan, unlike the Bengal system, the revenue was settled directly with the ryot, the peasant.
Option (3) Permanent Settlement — Correct. After a long debate among Company officials, the Permanent Settlement was made with the rajas and taluqdars of Bengal. They were now classified as zamindars and had to pay a revenue demand fixed in perpetuity.
Option (4) Summary Settlement — Incorrect. The Summary Settlement of 1856 in Awadh treated the taluqdars as interlopers with no permanent stake in the land and removed them wherever possible.
Note: The Mahalwari Settlement is not in the NCERT book (2026-27); it is explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 The problem of unpaid revenue … The problem, however, lay in identifying individuals who could both improve agriculture and contract to pay the fixed revenue to the state. 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. In terms of this definition, the zamindar was not a landowner in the village, but a revenue Collector of the state.… 3.2 A new revenue system … The revenue system that was introduced in the Bombay Deccan came to be known as the ryotwari settlement. Unlike the Bengal system, the revenue was directly settled with the ryot.… 2.3 Firangi raj and the end of a world … After annexation, the first British revenue settlement, known as the Summary Settlement of 1856, was based on the assumption that the taluqdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in land: they had established their hold over land through force and fraud.…” |