Which of the following was the function of a Zamindar in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as per the Permanent Settlement Act?

A- The zamindar collected rent from the different villages.
B- The zamindar paid the revenue to the Company.
C- The zamindar was expected to pay the Company regularly, failing which his estate could be auctioned.
D- The zamindar was expected to supply soldiers and female slaves to the British army regularly.

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

A, B and C

The correct answer is Option 2 - A, B and C

Given statements:

A- The zamindar collected rent from the different villages. (Correct)
B- The zamindar paid the revenue to the Company. (Correct)
C- The zamindar was expected to pay the Company regularly, failing which his estate could be auctioned. (Correct)
D- The zamindar was expected to supply soldiers and female slaves to the British army regularly. (Incorrect)

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. 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. The zamindar collected rent from the different villages, paid the revenue to the Company, and retained the difference as his income. He was expected to pay the Company regularly, failing which his estate could be auctioned.