Permanent Settlement

The Permanent Settlement, is also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire British Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside. It was concluded in 1793 by the Company administration headed by Charles, Earl Cornwallis, also known as Lord Cornwallis. It formed one part of a larger body of legislation enacted, known as the Cornwallis Code. The Cornwallis Code of 1793 divided the East India Company's service personnel into three branches: revenue, judicial, and commercial. Revenues were collected by zamindars, native Indians who were treated as the landowners. This division created an Indian landed class that supported British authority. The Permanent Settlement was introduced first in Bengal and Bihar, and then in the south district of Madras and Varanasi. The system eventually spread all over northern India by a series of regulations dated 1 May 1793. These regulations remained in place until the Charter Act of 1833. The other two systems prevalent in India were The Ryotwari System and The Mahalwari System.