Permanent Settlement System In Bengal

What Is Permanent Settlement?

The Permanent Settlement of Land Revenue, also known as the Zamindari system, was introduced in British India in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis. It was primarily implemented in the Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa regions, and later extended to Varanasi and Madras. The Permanent Settlement covered approximately 19% of British India. Under this system, a new class of landowners called Zamindars was created. This was an altogether new type of system and was never practiced by previous rulers e.g. Mughals, Marathas, Sikhs, Mysore or Awadh etc. As the British rule expanded in India two other types of revenue systems namely — Mahalwari System (Northern and Central India) and Ryotwari System (Western and Southern India) were also initiated.

These zamindars were responsible for collecting land revenue from farmers through intermediaries and paying a portion of it to the British East India Company which was 10/11th of the collection. In return, the zamindars were granted the right to collect the remaining portion of the revenue for their own use and for performing their duties as intermediaries. The Permanent Settlement was also known by the names Istamrari, Jagirdari, Malguzari, Bishvedari and Zamindari.

Permanent Settlement was designed to provide the British East India Company with a predictable and stable source of revenue from land taxes, while also establishing the rights of Bengali landlords over their land. Read More