Before discussing Permanent Settlement it is necessary to discuss how and under what circumstances Permanent Settlement was passed

or enacted. Earlier, Zamindars of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa had officials for collecting revenue on behalf of the Mughal emperor and his representative or Diwan in Bengal. Latter, on 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey occurred between Siraj-ud-Daulah and Mir Jafar which had an important effect on the history of Bangla. Mir Jafar won the battle as he took help from British to defeat Siraj -ud-Daulah. After the battle British took charge of Hindustan and the period of British East India Company begun. On the 12th August, 1765, Shah Alam, the titular Emperor of Delhi made a perpetual grant to the East Indian Company of the Dewani (revenue administration) of Bengal, Behar and Orissa.1 After, the Dewani was it became necessary for the servants of the company to take on the administration of land revenue but they failed to do so as they had been lacking of experience of revenue administration as well as written rules and plain principles in the country. For this reason, the Zamindars and Landlords had to deposit the revenue to the corrupted officials of the East India Company. As an effect the revenue had no certain amount. That is why, there was continuous burden to exceed the amount as well as the revenue was never used for the social welfare. In that time, the land revenue system was as follows:

Firstly, on the time the Double Governments was practiced in Bengal. The Double Government was practically no government. Under this system the company had power but no responsibility, and the nawab had responsibility, but no power.2

Secondly, Warren Hastings had introduced the Five-Year Settlement (Quinquennial Settlement) according to which the right of realization of tax was given to the highest bidder for five years on a contract basis.

1 2

Kabir, Lutful. Land Laws In East Pakistan,Vol.1.Dacca:Law House,1969,p.14 BRAC University Savar Campus. Bangladesh Studies Course (Dev -101), Part 1, lecture 5 (Colonial Bengal)

Thirdly, in 1777, the Quinquennial Settlement was expired and the era of an annual system on a contract basis started, but this alternative made the situation more complex as the new contractors had no experience of regarding tax. Due to Zamindarss complained as they ousted, in 1784 British Prime Minister Pitt the Younger tried to alter the Calcutta Administration with Pitts India Act, which ordered an enquiry regarding complains of the dispossessed Zamindars and later the provision order to make a permanent settlement of land revenue with the Zamindars under terms and conditions advantageous to both the parties (Government and Zamindars).

Subsequently, in 1786, the British Parliament appointed Lord Cornwallis who was a general in the lost American War as governor general to implement the permanent settlement in Bengal. He pioneered the Permanent Settlement which proclaimed on 22 March, 1793, which enacted into regulation 1 of 1793 and which also known as Decennial Settlement of 1790 -91to provide security of the Zamindars and besides for the sake of the East India Company.

Due to Permanent Settlement the zamindars acquired the following rights: They were considered to be the owners of the land. In other words, they were made the hereditary proprietors of the land. The revenue, was to be paid by the zamindars, was collected from farmers, and was fixed once for all. There was no possibility of making a change in it unless the court provides order regarding enhancement or reduction. As their interest in their estates being heritable, they acquired the right to alienate their lands wholly or partly by gift, sale, mortgage or any other legal process which was not inconsistent to existing law. They can rent their lands and also can exploit the mines and fisheries within their Estates. They were entitled to lease their lands to the subsidiary holders on any term they chose, subject to some restrictions.

Virtues of the Permanent Settlement: Mr. Marshman has written, "It was a bold, brave and wise measure."3 Actually, this settlement proved effective due to following reasons. After Permanent Settlement the condition of the peasants improved a lot and their fields set out to give rise crops. The improvement in agriculture not only influenced the trade and commerce of the company but also helped the rise of art and literature in Bengal. In this way the education and culture developed in Bengal. Thus, the province of Bengal became the most prosperous one. Permanent Settlement gave lots of benefit to the Government of the Company. Moreover, political advantages of the English made this settlement all the more substantial. Due to ownership of the land, all the landlords became felt obliged towards the English Government and supporters them at the time of revolt. With the tide of time the rich landowners began to invest their capital to trade and commerce. Even though permanent settlement prohibited Government to increase the revenue in future, yet due to flourishing trade the English impose some fresh taxes on the traders and therefore they earned a lot wealth through new tax imposed on these landlords. It ended the English governments struggle regarding the problem of fixation of revenue every years. Furthermore, the income of the government was fixed once for all and if any zamindar failed to provide revenue, the loss was fulfilled by selling a part of his land. The implementation of permanent settlement also benefited the peasants. Prior, they were forced to pay as much as the landlords demand, but now their revenue also fixed through a patty agreement deed which saved them from the harassment from the landlords. It not only increased the agricultural produce but also enhanced the area under cultivation.

Calicut University P.O. Malappuram, Kerala, India 673635. Modern Indian History, Course: 1, P.21Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.universityofcalicut.info/syl/MODERNINDIANHISTORY18571992.pdf

As the implementation of permanent settlement reduce the necessity of employees in the revenue administration of the company, they devote their services to the other department of the company.

Faults of the Permanent Settlement: Holmes Writes, The permanent settlement was a sad blunder.4 Set aside from its positive effect this settlement demonstrated defective because of the below argues. Lack of proper measurement of the fixed revenue affected the income of the company. The power of alienation also approved by the permanent settlement on the zamindars proved to be another cause of ruin. Moreover, the code of 1793 provides creditors and mortgagees extraordinary facilities for recovering debts from the zamindars which also ruin many zamindars. As this provision deals with the government and the zamindars, the condition of the farmers could not be improved as much as expected. Yet, the poor farmers continued to be victims of the harassments of the landlords who abused them for their own selfish motives. The British government expected that after the implementation of permanent settlement the income of the company will increase massively but their expectation was not fulfilled. The landlords who failed to deposit the required revenue in the treasury in time (before the sunset of particular day) lost their land. Hence, with in ten years after permanent settlement various changes occurred in the constitution and ownership of the estates. Due to fixed revenue system landlords became indolent and they did not pay proper attention to their lands and also left it to the hand of employees who was also not concerned about the improvement of agricultural produce.

Calicut University P.O. Malappuram, Kerala, India 673635. Modern Indian History, Course: 1,p.21 Retrieved February 4, 2013, from http://www.universityofcalicut.info/syl/MODERNINDIANHISTORY18571992.pdf

The Permanent Settlement has restricted the financial resources of future Government by declaring that the deposit is fixed. The independent Talukdars got the proprietary right but the dependent talukdars who used to pay through a zamindar were reduced to the position of tenants. The landlords collected maximum revenue from the peasants but deposited only the minimum in the treasury of the company. This system created some special class of zamindars in the country who always worship the English and did not support the people during the war of independence. It was really a great mistake on the part of Cornwallis that he deprived the majority of the cultivators of the right of ownership of land and made the landlords owners of the land. However, The State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 2001established relation between Government and last person (farmer) and also the majority of the cultivators got the right of the ownership besides zamindars.

Bibliography
1. Kabir, Lutful. Land Laws in East Pakistan, Vol.1.Dacca: Law House, 1969. 2. BRAC University Savar Campus. Bangladesh Studies Course (Dev-101), Part 1 3. Calicut University P.O. Malappuram, Kerala, India 673635. Modern Indian History. Course: 1 4. http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/P_0147.HTM