The Permanent Settlement was rarely extended beyond Bengal, and temporary revenue settlements were made in territories annexed in the nineteenth century. Which was one reason for this?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Agricultural prices rose after 1810, but the fixed revenue demand gave the state no share of the zamindars' larger income.
Option (1) Agricultural prices fell sharply after 1810, reducing the revenue paid by the Bengal zamindars. — Incorrect. After 1810 agricultural prices rose, and the income of the Bengal zamindars grew.
Option (2) Agricultural prices rose after 1810, but the fixed revenue demand gave the state no share of the zamindars' larger income. — Correct. After 1810 rising prices raised the value of the harvest and the income of the Bengal zamindars. Since the demand was fixed, the state could claim no share of it. Keen to expand its revenue, it made temporary settlements in newly annexed lands.
Option (3) Peasants in Bengal deserted their villages because the fixed revenue demand there was too high. — Incorrect. The reason linked to Bengal is the state's loss of the extra income from rising prices. Peasants fleeing a high fixed demand is not the reason given for keeping the Permanent Settlement out of new regions.
Option (4) Ricardian ideas held that the landowner should keep the whole surplus above the average rent untaxed. — Incorrect. This reverses Ricardo's idea. He held that the surplus above the average rent should be taxed by the state, which also pushed officials towards a different system.
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.” |