UGC NET History Practice Question

From the free UGC NET History Mock Test 8 — Unit 8: Colonial Economy unit-wise mock test — real question, real answer, real explanation.

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The Permanent Settlement of land revenue was introduced in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1793 by:

Lord Cornwallis ✓

Warren Hastings

Lord Wellesley

Lord William Bentinck

Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793, fixing land revenue demands from Zamindars in perpetuity — a landmark, controversial policy intended to create a stable, English-gentry-style landlord class in Bengal, with lasting effects on the region's agrarian structure.

Under the Permanent Settlement, what proportion of the collected land revenue was to be remitted to the East India Company state?

10/11th (89%) ✓

1/11th (9%)

50%

2/3rd (66%)

Zamindars were required to remit a fixed 10/11ths (about 89%) of collected revenue to the Company state, keeping only 1/11th as their own share — an extremely demanding fixed obligation that, combined with the Sunset Law, made Zamindari estates highly vulnerable to forfeiture.

What was the Sunset Law associated with the Permanent Settlement system?

If the Zamindar failed to deposit the specified revenue by sunset of the stipulated date, his estate was auctioned ✓

Agricultural labor could not be forced after sunset

Custom duties ceased at sunset

Land measurement was conducted strictly before sunset

The Sunset Law enforced strict, unforgiving revenue deadlines — failure to pay by sunset on the due date meant automatic auction of the Zamindar's estate, a mechanism that led to massive turnover of Zamindari holdings in the early Permanent Settlement period.

The Ryotwari Settlement was initially developed and introduced in parts of the Madras Presidency by:

Alexander Read and Thomas Munro ✓

Holt Mackenzie

James Thomason

John Shore

Alexander Read and Thomas Munro developed and pioneered the Ryotwari system in Madras, establishing direct revenue settlement with individual cultivators (Ryots) rather than through Zamindar intermediaries — a structurally different model from Bengal's Permanent Settlement.

The Mahalwari Settlement was devised for the North-Western Provinces and Punjab primarily through the framework formulated by:

Holt Mackenzie and Robert Merttins Bird ✓

Thomas Munro

Lord Cornwallis

Charles Metcalfe

Holt Mackenzie and Robert Merttins Bird formulated the Mahalwari system's core framework for the North-Western Provinces — a third distinct revenue model, settling with the village/Mahal collectively rather than either Zamindars (Bengal) or individual Ryots (Madras/Bombay).

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More Free UGC NET History Practice

This question is part of our free Unit-Wise mock test series, drawn from the same real question bank used across every UGC NET History mock test on this site. For structured, chapter-by-chapter notes covering everything these questions test, see our UGC NET History Notes, or try the History Glossary Flashcard Quiz for daily term-by-term practice.