INSTITUTE-UILS

DEPARTMENT OF LAW
B.A LLB
History-III (HIT213)

Features of the Dual System and the Permanent

Settlement of Bengal
DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER
 HISTORY
Course Outcome
CO Number Title Level
• Features of the Permanent
1 Students will know the  Understand Settlement of Bengal.
policies of the Britishers in
annexing India and their
impact on India
2 Students will understand the Understand
reasons of cultural synthesis in  
India
3 Students will be able to Understand
analyze the causes and events
of Revolt of 1857
4 Students will be able to Understand
understand about the various
Socio Religious reform
movements.

Will be covered in this

lecture
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 PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN BENGAL
• To keep powerful people happy and collect better revenue, Cornwallis introduced the Permanent
Settlement.

• As per permanent system, rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars, who were supposed
to collect the land revenue from the peasants.

• The Permanent Settlement, however, created problems.

• Company officials soon discovered that the zamindars were in fact not investing in the
improvement of land.

• The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the zamindars found it difficult to pay.
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The basic features of the settlement were
as follows:
• 1. The Zamindars were made hereditary owners of the land under
their possession. They and their successors exercised total control
over lands.
• 2. The Zamindars could sell and purchase lands.
• 3. The state had no direct contact with the peasants.
• 4. The company’s share in the revenue was fixed permanently with
the Zamindars.

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 Merits of Settlement:
• 1. The Government became free from the problem of fixation of
revenue every year. The state secured a stable and fixed income from
the people. In case the Zamindars did not pay the revenue, the loss
was made good by selling a portion of the land of the Zamindars.
• 2. The Zamindars took great interest to increase the production of
their lands. New areas of land were brought under cultivation and the
Zamindars also introduced new methods of cultivation like use of
manure, rotation of crops etc. The improvement of agriculture also
influenced the country’s trade and commerce a lot. Because of the all-
round development, the province of Bengal became the most wealthy
and prosperous state.
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• 3. It avoided the evils of periodical settlement which at long intervals
produced harassment of cultivator, evasion, concealment of wealth, a
tendency on the part of the peasants to leave the land uncultivated
etc.
• 4. By making the Zamindars the owners of the land, the settlement
created a class of loyal land lords who formed a stable element in the
state. The permanent settlement secured the political support of the
Zamindars of Bengal who stood loyal during the great mutiny of 1857.

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• 5. The permanent settlement saved the peasants from the oppression
of the Zamindars. In this settlement the revenue was fixed through
patta agreement which saved the cultivators from the oppression of
the landlords.

• 6. Lastly, the economic prosperity of Bengal helped the rise of art,

literature and education of Bengal.

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 Demerits of the Permanent Settlement
• The basic demerit of this system was that the efficiency depended
upon the nature of the Zamindars. If they were good, the interests of
the farmers and the land were looked after very well. They would
make improvements in the land which would be beneficial to
everyone concerned. But if the landlords were bad, they were
negligent of the plight of the farmers and the conditions of the land.
• This created a class of hereditary landlords forming the upper
aristocracy in society who generally led luxurious and extravagant
lifestyles.
• The Zamindars were generally favourable to the British administration
and supported the British even during the freedom struggle. There
were exceptions.
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• Land assessment was not done properly and land revenue was fixed
arbitrarily. This meant that both productive and unproductive land
was expected to furnish revenue at the same rates. This created a
burden on the farmers of unproductive land. Also, in the case of
productive land, it was a loss of revenue to the government.
• The revenue rates were so high that many Zamindars became
defaulters. In time, this system proved to have disastrous effects. In
1811, the British government warned against the imposition of
permanent settlement without a proper land survey.

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 Assessment Pattern
1. Define permanent settlement?

2. Evaluate the merits of permanent settlement ’?

3. Explain features of permanent settlement?

4. Differentiate between permanent settlement Mahalwari system

5. Critically analyse permanent settlement?

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 REFERENCES
• Reference Books:
• Sarkar Sumit, Modern India 1885-1947, Macmillan, New Delhi, 2001.
• Pandey Gynendra,Remembering Partition, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi, 2003
• Pal Bipin Chandra, India’s Struggle for Independence, Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2002
• Chandra Bipan, History of Modern India, Orient Blackswan, Hyderabad, 2009

• Reference Website:
• https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/152829/9/09_%20chapter%20ii.pdf

• Reference Journal for advance study

• Crimmigration and the prison: Comparing trends in prison policy and practice in England & Wales and Norway

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THANK YOU

For queries
Email: sneha.e9797@cumail.in