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. 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. Company officials felt that a fixed revenue demand would give zamindars a sense of security and, assured of returns on their investment, encourage them to improve their estates.
Some lines have been left out of the passage. According to those lines, how did the Company's definition describe the zamindar?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → He was not a landowner in the village, but a Collector for the state.
Option (1) He was the owner of all the land in the village, like a landlord. — Incorrect. This is the reverse of the Company's definition. The zamindar was not treated as the owner of the village land.
Option (2) He was a salaried official of the Company posted to his district. — Incorrect. The zamindar was not paid a salary. He kept the difference between the rent he collected and the revenue he paid as his income.
Option (3) He was a hereditary chief who held the villages for military service. — Incorrect. The settlement asked zamindars for revenue alone. Their duty was to pay the fixed demand regularly.
Option (4) He was not a landowner in the village, but a Collector for the state. — Correct. By the Company's definition, the zamindar was not a landowner in the village, but a revenue Collector of the state. He collected rent from his villages and paid the fixed revenue to the Company.
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