The Permanent Settlement of 1793 introduced

The Permanent Settlement of 1793, introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, fundamentally transformed the land revenue system by converting traditional tax collectors into hereditary landlords [3]. Under this system, zamindars were recognized as the absolute owners of the land, effectively introducing bourgeois property rights where land became a transferable and saleable commodity [3]. This reform aimed to secure a fixed revenue for the East India Company while encouraging investment in agriculture through the security of private property [2]. However, this empowerment of the zamindars came at a significant cost to the peasantry; the settlement largely ignored or destroyed the customary rights of tenant cultivators, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and eviction by the newly created landlord class [2]. The arrangement established a rigid legal and judicial infrastructure to protect these new property titles, marking a radical departure from pre-colonial land tenure systems [1].

Sources

1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 17: Effects of British Rule > 17.2 Land Tenures: Permanent Settlement and Ryotwari Settlement > p. 266
2. [3] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 5: The Structure of the Government and the Economic Policies of the British Empire in India, 1757—1857 > Land Revenue Policy > p. 102
3. [2] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 10: Land Reforms in India > 1. Zamindari System (Permanent Settlement) > p. 337