There was a change in the land policy of the Government. The tactless treatment of the zamindars of Awadh had, at on time, confronted the British with a whole province in revolt. It was noted that it was the dispossessed landlords in Bihar who turned the Mutiny into something like an agrarian revolt.
There was the authoritarian reaction in the land policy. The extension of the Permanent Settlement of Bengal was seriously considered. Short of this, their estates were safeguarded. They themselves were cherished with such devices as Honorary Magistrates.
The tendency to come between them and their tenants was checked. They were treated as important props to the administration. An attempt was made to revise the Punjab Settlement in favour of the dispossessed landlords.