What were the socio-economic impacts of the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793 on Indian society at that time?

The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Zamindari System, was introduced by the East India Company in 1793 under the stewardship of Lord Cornwallis. It was an agreement between the British and landholders in Bengal, which legally recognized the zamindars as the proprietors of the land. In return, they were to collect the land taxes from the peasants and pay a fixed sum to the colonial government.

Socio-economically, this system had both immediate and long-lasting impacts:

• Economic Hardship for Peasants: Zamindars often charged high taxes, leading to debt and destitution among the peasant class.
• Commercialization of Agriculture: The need for cash to pay taxes led to a shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture, changing traditional farming practices.
• Decline of Traditional Zamindars: Those who could not meet the revenue demands eventually lost their lands to new classes of landowners or to the British.
• Rural Depopulation and Urban Migration: As the rural agrarian distress increased, there was a trend of migration to urban centers in search of work.

For further details, you may refer to historical texts such as 'The Agrarian System of Mughal India' by Irfan Habib or explore resources at the British Library archives.