Question

What three reasons would you advocate to the Governor General of Bengal for not extending the permanent settlement system in your presidency as the governor of the madras presidency in the 18th century?

Answer 1

The first reason not to extend the permanent settlement system would be that the landlords were oppressive to the people who worked the land for them, collecting revenue without administration and hurting the economy of Bengal. Second, the land assessments did not take the variations in terrain into account, so the government was getting disproportionately low revenue for bad soil by assessing it the same as good soil. Third, the social hierarchy that the system created was causing resentment, lawlessness, and social breakdown in the groups that landlords considered inferior.