RAS question
The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by:
Correct answer: (B) Lord Cornwallis.
The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was introduced in 1793 under Lord Cornwallis, then Governor-General of Bengal.
Explanation
The Permanent Settlement was the Company's 1793 land-revenue arrangement in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under Lord Cornwallis. NCERT explains that, after debate on how to improve agriculture, the Company recognised rajas and taluqdars as zamindars, made them collect rent from peasants, and required them to pay a permanently fixed revenue to the Company. The logic was that a fixed demand would give the Company regular revenue and encourage zamindars to invest in land, because any rise in production would benefit them. In practice, the fixed demand was high, many zamindars failed to pay and lost their zamindaris through Company auctions. John Shore also helped Cornwallis draft the settlement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Lord Bentinck is associated with the abolition of Sati and English education, not with the 1793 Permanent Settlement.
- (C) Lord Wellesley is associated with the Subsidiary Alliance, whereas the Permanent Settlement belonged to Cornwallis's revenue policy.
- (D) Warren Hastings used an auction system, but the permanent fixation of land revenue in 1793 was introduced under Cornwallis.
Concept
British land-revenue systems in Modern Indian History include the distinction between Permanent Settlement and other colonial revenue arrangements. RAS often asks this theme because it connects administration, agrarian change and peasant impact.