Question

describe two main features each of the Permanent settlement and Mahalwari settlement

Answer 1

n 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.

Answer 2

Two main features of each of the Parmanent Settlement and Mahalwari settlement .

Parmanent Settlement

• The zamindars of Bengal was recognised as the owners of the land as long as they paid the revenue to the East India Company regularly .
• The amount of revenue that the zamindars had to pay to the company was formerly fixed and would not be raised under any circumstances.

Mahalwari Settlement

• The basic unit of revenue settlement was the village of the Mahal .
• As the village lands belonged jointly to the village community, the responsibility of paying the revenue registered with the entire Mahal explorer or the village community.