question_answer

What were the drawbacks of the Permanent Settlement?

Answer:

Permanent settlement turned out to be very harmful for the peasants and even some zamindars. It encouraged the exploitation of the peasants by the zamindars, as they tried to increase their profits. The peasants had to resort torn taking loans from the moneylenders to pay the rent to the zamindars. If they failed to pay the rent, they were evicted from their ancestral lands. The zamindars also became more powerful. There were no incentives for them to improve the land or to use better cultivation techniques. They had no interest in investing in the land. The Company followed a very rigid policy in acquiring land revenues. Also the tax collectors of the Company refused any concession during the time of famines, drought or any other natural calamity. Many of the zamindars were unable to pay the revenue demanded by the British on time and as a result lost their land since the initial revenue demand by the British was very high. These lands were then auctioned off. Also, later in the beginning of the 19th century, the situation changed. Agriculture improved and the zamindars income increased but the Company did not benefit as the revenue was permanently fixed.