Before the permanent settlement the peasants enjoyed :

Before the permanent settlement the peasants enjoyed :

customary occupancy rights.
only tenancy rights.
high rent demands.
revenue collecting rights.
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2010
Before the formalization of land rights under systems like the Permanent Settlement, peasants often held customary rights, including occupancy rights (sometimes referred to as ryoti rights), which allowed them to cultivate the land as long as they paid their share of revenue/rent. These rights were based on tradition and long-standing practice, though they varied regionally and could be precarious depending on the ruling authority. The Permanent Settlement often undermined or abolished these traditional customary rights by vesting full ownership in the zamindars.
Pre-colonial agrarian systems often recognized the cultivator’s right to the land they tilled, contingent upon payment of revenue. The state claimed a share of the produce (revenue), but the cultivator usually retained hereditary occupancy rights.
The Permanent Settlement, by making zamindars owners and elevating their status, often reduced the peasants to mere tenants-at-will, losing their traditional security of tenure and customary rights enjoyed prior to the formalization of the zamindari system under the British.
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