Compare and contrast the main features of the Permanent Settlement and 20
the Mahalwari settlement. Were they able to fulfill their objectives? give answer 500 words.
Answers
In order to get a stable revenue income, most of the East India Company’s officials believed that investment in land had to be encouraged and agriculture had to be improved. Debates on how this was to be done led to the introduction of the Permanent Settlement in 1793.
Permanent Settlement:
1. The Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis.
2. It was aimed at ensuring stable revenue for the East India Company.
3. The rajas and taluqdars were in charge of collecting revenue.
4. The revenue amount was fixed and was never to be increased in the future.
Mahalwari Settlement:
1. The mahalwari system, devised by Holt Mackenzie, came into effect in 1822, in the North Western provinces of the Bengal Presidency.
2. It was devised as an alternative to the Permanent Settlement.
3. The village headmen were in charge of collecting revenue.
4. The revenue amount was not fixed, and was to be revised periodically. The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village or mahal had to pay.