Important Questions Test: Ruling the Countryside - UPSC MCQ

The Permanent Settlement was introduced first in Bengal and Bihar, and then in the south district of Madras and Varanasi. The system eventually spread all over northern India by a series of regulations dated 1 May 1793

Company officials introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793 to encourage investment in land and improve agriculture. This means they wanted people to make the land better so that everyone could benefit from it.

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.

The meaning of Indikon is From India.
Its origin is "English".

As the planters were not having their own lands they were given a particular land by the zamidaries to produce the crop.

The landlords were collectively responsible for the tax payment to the East Indian company.
In Mahalwari system a particular region was divided into several mahals and a head was chosen for all the mahals which collected tax from each landlord and give it to East India company.

• Ryot was a general economic term used throughout India for peasant cultivators but with variations in different provinces.
• While zamindars were landlords, raiyats were tenants and cultivators, and served as hired labour.

A is the correct answer because under the Permanent Settlement system there was an agreement between the company and the Zamindars to fix the land revenue.
Since the settlement was of a permanent nature, the Zamindars had an interest in the improvement of the land thereby improving the revenue.

• The statement is True. Thomas Munro, along with Captain Alexander Read, devised the ryotwar system in the British territories in South India. They believed that the British should directly settle with the cultivators (ryots) who worked on the land for generations.

• Thomas Munro thought of the British as protective figures for the ryots, caring for them like father figures. The ryotwar system aimed to have a direct settlement with the cultivators instead of traditional zamindars.

• The system introduced by Captain Alexander Read and developed by Thomas Munro was called the Ryotwar (or Ryotwari) system.
• This system involved making settlements directly with the cultivators who worked on the land.
• It aimed to protect the farmers and ensure fair revenue assessment.

Mahalwari system was one of the main revenue systems of the British in India. Holt Mackenzie and Robert Merttins Bird started this system in 1822 as a substitute of the permanent settlement system. In this system, the land revenue was collected by the village headmen, and it was not fixed.

Mahal means village or estate. The land tax was fixed for the entire Mahal. The local Zamindar was responsible for the tax collection of all the farmers in that Mahal. This system was implemented in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Madhya pradesh and Punjab in 1822.

Planters found it difficult to expand nij cultivation because fertile land was already densely populated, making it hard to acquire large areas for plantation. This led to conflicts and difficulties in obtaining the necessary land and resources.

• The statement is False.
• The British East India Company in Bengal introduced the Permanent Settlement of 1793.
• Its primary aim was to ensure a stable revenue for the Company by fixing the land revenue that zamindars had to pay.
• While it was hoped that this would lead zamindars to invest in their land to increase productivity, many did not improve the land but focused on collecting rents.

• The Mughal emperor appointed the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal on 12 August 1765.
• This meant the Company became responsible for managing the finances in that region.
• The Company had to think about how to collect money and goods and also make sure it could buy what it needed and sell what it wanted.
• This was an important event in history because it changed how Bengal was governed and how the Company operated there.

The primary reason for the collapse of artisanal production and agricultural cultivation in Bengal by the late 18th century was:

2. Forced sale of goods to the Company at low prices

During the late 18th century, under British rule, the East India Company imposed policies that severely affected local artisans and agriculture in Bengal. The forced sale of goods at low prices to the Company, combined with oppressive taxation and a lack of market access, devastated local industries and agriculture. This economic exploitation led to the decline of traditional crafts and agricultural productivity.

• The East India Company was appointed as the Diwan of Bengal on 12 August 1765.
• This means they became the chief financial administrator of the territory and had to manage revenue and resources. They needed to collect money from the land to pay for things they needed and wanted to buy. So, the statement is True.