Permanency of Dominion

The Origins and Motivations Behind the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793

Abstract

The governor general of the East India Company, Lord Cornwallis introduced the permanent settlement act in 1793 in Eastern India. This law expanded to South India later on after the 1800s. The law gave superior landholding rights to a group called Zamindars, a diverse group that can be broadly categorized as rural elites. These land holding rights included a plot with tangible boundaries and tax collection power on behalf of the government. This deed operated on the basis of heritable ownership and would be saleable and mortgageable. However, if a Zamindar failed to pay the revenue before sunset of the due date, the government seized the land and sold it to the highest bidder. This act had both short- and long-term socio-political impacts on its operations. This research looks into the origins of the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 in a more holistic manner. Most research focuses on either intellectual or political motivations behind the introduction of the Act. This research will try to synthesize the factors and consider the ways they both influenced each other. It will also look into its initial operations and reactions towards it.  This will also further explain the Act’s origins by understanding what changed in the first place, why and how so.