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Q57 (IAS/2024) History & Culture › Modern India (Pre-1857) › Land revenue settlements Official Key

With reference to revenue collection by Cornwallis, consider the following statements : 1. Under the Ryotwari Settlement of revenue collection, the peasants were exempted from revenue payment in case of bad harvests or natural calamities. 2. Under the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, if the Zamindar failed to pay his revenues to the state, on or before the fixed date, he would be removed from his Zamindari. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is option B because only statement 2 is correct.

**Statement 1 is incorrect:** The Ryotwari Settlement was not introduced by Cornwallis but later by Thomas Munro in Madras and other regions. Cornwallis implemented the Permanent Settlement in Bengal (1793). Moreover, under revenue systems including later ryotwari arrangements, peasants were generally not exempted from payment during bad harvests.

**Statement 2 is correct:** Under the Sunset Law in the Permanent Settlement, if payment did not come in by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be[1] auctioned. The zamindar had to pay his revenue rigidly on the due date even if the crop had failed for some reason; otherwise his lands were to be sold.[2] This meant the zamindar would be removed from his zamindari for non-payment by the fixed date.

Therefore, only statement 2 is correct, making option B the right answer.

Sources
  1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 9: COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE > 1.3 Why zamindars defaulted on payments > p. 230
  2. [2] 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. 103
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. With reference to revenue collection by Cornwallis, consider the following statements : 1. Under the Ryotwari Settlement of revenue coll…
At a glance
Origin: Mixed / unclear origin Fairness: Moderate fairness Books / CA: 5/10 · 0/10
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This question is a classic 'Nature of Colonial Rule' test. Statement 2 is a direct lift from NCERT (The Sunset Law), while Statement 1 tests your understanding of British fiscal rigidity. The British revenue systems were designed for maximum extraction, not welfare; assuming 'exemptions' existed without specific proof is a trap. Trust the 'Colonial Greed' logic over benevolent assumptions.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
In revenue collection by Cornwallis, under the Ryotwari Settlement were peasants (ryots) exempted from revenue payment in years of bad harvests or natural calamities?
Origin: Weak / unclear Fairness: Borderline / guessy
Indirect textbook clues
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 9: COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE > 1.3 Why zamindars defaulted on payments > p. 230
Strength: 5/5
“Ryot is the way the term raiyat, used to designate peasants (Chapter 8), was spelt in British records. Ryots in Bengal did not always cultivate the land directly, but leased it out to under-ryots. demand high, arguing that the burden on zamindars would gradually decline as agricultural production expanded and prices rose. Second: this high demand was imposed in the 1790s, a time when the prices of agricultural produce were depressed, making it difficult for the ryots to pay their dues to the zamindar. If the zamindar could not collect the rent, how could he pay the Company? Third: the revenue was invariable, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid punctually.”
Why relevant

States that the revenue was invariable, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid punctually — a general rule about revenue demand.

How to extend

A student could combine this with basic logic that an invariable demand implies little scope for automatic exemption in bad years, so investigate whether relief clauses existed.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 9: COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE > 3.3 Revenue demand and peasant debt > p. 248
Strength: 5/5
“The first revenue settlement in the Bombay Deccan was made in the 1820s. The revenue that was demanded was so high that in many places peasants deserted their villages and migrated to new regions. In areas of poor soil and fluctuating rainfall the problem was particularly acute. When rains failed and harvests were poor, peasants found it impossible to pay the revenue. However, the collectors in charge of revenue collection were keen on demonstrating their efficiency and pleasing their superiors. So they went about extracting payment with utmost severity. When someone failed to pay, his crops were seized and a fine was imposed on the whole village.”
Why relevant

Describes that when rains failed and harvests were poor, peasants could not pay and collectors still extracted payment severely (seizing crops, fines).

How to extend

Use this example to infer that on-the-ground practice may have allowed little leniency, prompting enquiry into formal exemption rules under different settlements.

Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 5: Land Reforms > Lord Cornwallis, Governor General of Bengal (1786 – 1793) and the Permanent Settlement of Revenue Administration: > p. 190
Strength: 4/5
“Since the earlier system introduced by Hastings proved defective for the peasants and the Company both, Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in 1793 which continued in India till India achieved its freedom. Its chief aim was to impart stability to the revenue system. He did exhaustive survey of the past records and on the basis of past 10 years, he fixed how much revenue can be collected from the entire land and fixed the amount to be collected for future years.”
Why relevant

Explains Cornwallis's Permanent Settlement fixed revenue for future years based on past records (past 10 years) — a pattern of fixing demand.

How to extend

If revenue was fixed in perpetuity, a student could reason that fixed demands are less likely to include periodic exemptions for bad harvests and should check distinctions between Permanent and Ryotwari systems.

Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 10: Land Reforms in India > II. Ryotwari System > p. 337
Strength: 4/5
“• In 1820, Sir Thomas Munro and Captain Alexander Reed introduced the Ryotwari System.• Scientific Rent theory of Ricardo was the fundamental basis of Ryotwari System.• This system had many features of the revenue system of Mughals in which the revenue ô was directly collected by the British from the peasants (also called Raiyats).• Under the Ryotwari System, rate of revenue imposed was 50 per cent for dry lands and 60 per cent for irrigated lands”
Why relevant

Defines the Ryotwari System as direct collection from peasants with high specified rates (50–60%), showing the burden was placed on individual cultivators.

How to extend

Knowing ryots were direct taxpayers, a student could test whether direct taxation systems provided formal relief mechanisms in calamity years compared with intermediary-based systems.

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
Strength: 3/5
“In districts where mirasi rights existed, the mirasdar was made responsible for the rent collections. In districts where the mirasi rights did not exist, an arrangement was made with the village headman. This system failed due to various reasons such as bad monsoons, low price of grains and the short period of lease. By 1814 the Court of Directors had decided to introduce the ryotwari system. This was a system formulated by Governor Thomas Munro. Under this system the ryot, an Anglicization by the British in India of the Arabic word ra'iyah, meaning a peasant or cultivator, was the proprietor and tax payer of the land.”
Why relevant

States the ryot was made proprietor and tax payer under the Ryotwari system — clarifies who bore the legal liability for revenue.

How to extend

Combine this with the idea of fixed demands to hypothesize that proprietorship plus fixed liability might reduce the likelihood of statutory exemption in famine years; then seek primary rules or examples.

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

IAS · 2012 · Q62 Relevance score: 3.79

With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements: 1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government 2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots 3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

NDA-II · 2013 · Q40 Relevance score: 1.35

Which of the following statements about Ryotwari system is/are correct ? 1. The govememnt collected the revenue directly from the individual cultivators 2. The cultivators were not recognized in law as the owners of the land Select the correct answer using the code given below:

CDS-I · 2021 · Q16 Relevance score: 1.04

Which one of the following statements with regard to ryotwari settlement is not correct ?

IAS · 2019 · Q12 Relevance score: 0.55

Consider the following statements : 1. In the revenue administration of Delhi Sultanate, the in-charge of revenue collection was known as 'Amil'. 2. The Iqta system of Sultans of Delhi was an ancient indigenous institution. 3. The office of 'Mir Bakshi' came into existence during the reign of Khalji Sultans of Delhi. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

NDA-II · 2014 · Q99 Relevance score: 0.37

Which of the following statements is/are correct about the working of the Permanent Settlement in Bengal? 1. The traditional Zamindars lost their lands. 2. The reason for the Zamindars’ inability to pay up land revenues was that the Ryots defaulted on payment of revenue. 3. A new group of farmers—the Jotedars—became influential. 4. The Collector replaced the Zamindars as the alternative focus of authority. Select the correct answer using the code given below.