The ‘permanent settlement’ came into effect when and how in India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 1793, with its first implementation in Bengal
The Permanent Settlement came into operation in 1793 in Bengal, when Charles Cornwallis was the Governor General. Under it the East India Company fixed, for ever, the revenue that each zamindar had to pay. The Company hoped this would give it a regular flow of revenue and encourage zamindars to invest in improving their land.
The other years in the options belong to other events of the same story: 1773 is the Regulating Act, which regulated the activities of the Company; around 1800 the Santhals moved into the Rajmahal hills; and 1818 was the first revenue settlement in the Bombay Deccan.
NCERT (2025-26): “1.1 An auction in Burdwan … In 1797 there was an auction in Burdwan (present-day Bardhaman). It was a big public event. A number of mahals (estates) held by the Raja of Burdwan were being sold. The Permanent Settlement had come into operation in 1793. The East India Company had fixed the revenue that each zamindar had to pay. The estates of those who failed to pay were to be auctioned to recover the revenue.… …Fig. 9.3 Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805), painted by Thomas Gainsborough, 1785 He was the commander of the British forces during the American War of Independence and the Governor General of Bengal when the Permanent Settlement was introduced there in 1793.” |