Question

Discuss the merits and demerits of the Permanent settlement.

Answer 1

• Merits:

1. Under this system waste lands and forests became cultivatable lands.
2. The Zamindars became the owner of the land.
3. The zamindars were made free from the responsibility of providing justice.
4. They remained faithful to the British Government.
5. This made a fixed and stable income to the British.

• Demerits:

1. British had no direct contact with cultivators.
2. The rights of the cultivators were ignored and left at the mercy of zamindars.
3. The peasants were treated as serfs.
4. Zamindars became luxurious and lethargic.
5. Many conflicts arose between Zamindars and peasants in rural Bengal.