The system was abolished during land reforms in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1950,[3] India in 1951[4] and West Pakistan in 1959. [5] The same English prejudice that led a landowner in the zamindar to recognize only one tenant at will in the ryot. The total land area of Zamindari is about 26 million hectares, more than a quarter of the entire presidency. The zamindari system was largely abolished in independent India shortly after its establishment with the First Amendment to the Indian Constitution, which changed the right to property, as stated in Articles 19 and 31. [22] In Bangladesh, the East Bengal State Acquisition and Leasing Act of 1950 had a similar effect in ending the system. [23] In the other provinces, there are variants of the Zamindari and Ryotwari systems. Peasant-related issues have been an important part of the liberation movement since the first decade of the twentieth century. One of the themes on which the national movement focused after 1915 was the condition of the peasantry and its elevation. As a result, the abolition of intermediaries and thus of the zamindari system has gained importance. Here are some important events related to the reform of the land revenue system in the early twentieth century: The land tax systems of British India were a major focus of the freedom movement. In many cases, this immediately triggers various disorders, as described in the previous paragraphs. EEA applicants should study these systems and the current land revenue system in India. You should also study the impact of land acquisition systems on people.
This would improve preparation for UPSC`s 2021 history and economics programs. Zamindar is a term derived from Persian, usually translated as “landowner”. Zamin means “land” or “land”, while dar means “holder” or “occupier”. The role of the zamindar varied by region. In pre-colonial and colonial India, especially in areas of Muslim influence, zamindar often referred to an aristocrat who owned land that had control over peasants and the right to levy taxes. A zamindar (also known as Zomindar, Zomidar or Jomidar) on the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous ruler of a province originally known as Bhumipatis. They were Hindus by religion. They belonged only to the Brahmin or Vaishya or Kayastha or Kshatriya caste and were of royal lineage. They accepted the suzerainty of the emperor of Hindustan and were transformed into Zamindars by the Mughals, Rajputs, Marathas and later the British. The term means landowners in Persian. Typically hereditary, the Zamindars owned vast tracts of land and controlled their peasants, to whom they reserved the right to levy taxes on behalf of imperial courts or for military purposes.
The title Zamindar, since they owned a huge amount of land and ruled over the peasants. During the period of British colonial rule in India, many wealthy and influential Zamindars were given princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), Raja/Rai (King) and Nawab. The East India Company established itself in India initially becoming Zamindars of three villages in Calcutta, Sultani and Govindpur. They later acquired the 24-Parganas and took control of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765. [13] Later in 1857, the British Crown was established as a sovereign. During the Mughal period, the Zamindars were not owners. They fought wars and plundered neighboring kings. So they never cared about improvements in their country. The East India Company under Lord Cornwallis, recognizing this, made a permanent settlement with the Zamindars in 1793 and made them owners of their lands in exchange for a fixed annual rent, leaving them independent for the internal affairs of their lands.
[14] [best source needed] This permanent settlement created the new zamindari system as we know it today. After 1857, the army of the majority of the Zamindars was abolished except for a small number of police/Digwari/Kotwali forces in their respective lands. If the Zamindars were unable to pay the rent at sunset, part of their land was bought and sold at auction. This created a new class of zamindars in society. When the rest of India later came under the control of the East India Company (EIC), different ways were introduced in different provinces than in relation to the ruling authorities of the region to bring them to join the authority of the company. These are some of the important steps towards the abolition of the zamindari in the first phase of the liberation movement. When Babur conquered Hindustan, there were many autonomous and semi-autonomous rulers known locally as Rai, Raja, Rana, Rao, Rawat, etc., while in the various Persian chronicles they were called Zamindars and Marzabans. They were vassals who mostly ruled hereditarily over their respective territories.
They possessed not only a considerable part of the economic resources of the empire, but also military power. After the conquest of Hindustan, Babur informs us that one-sixth of his total income came from the territories of the chieftains. He writes: “The income from the lands I now own (1528 AD) from Bhira to Bihar amounts to fifty-two crore, as will be known in detail. Eight or nine crores of them come from the Parganas of Rais and the Rajas, who have submitted in the past (to the sultans of Delhi), receive an allowance and alimony. [6] The Zamindars have often played an important role in the regional history of the subcontinent. One of the most notable examples is the 16th century Confederation formed by twelve Zamindars in the Bhati (Baro-Bhuyans) region, which, according to the Jesuits and Ralph Fitch, gained a reputation for successively repelling Mughal invasions through naval battles. The confederation was led by a Muslim Rajput Zamindar, Isa Khan, and included both Muslims and Hindus such as Pratapaditya. The Zamindars were also patrons of the arts. The Tagore family produced India`s first Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore, in 1913, who often resided on his estate. The Zamindars also promoted neoclassical and Indo-Saracen architecture.
The zamindar itself is a creation of the Mahommedans, who were unknown to the early Hindu system. The British generally adopted the existing zamindari system of tax collection in the north of the country. They recognized the Zamindars as landowners and landowners as opposed to the Mughal government and demanded in return that they levy taxes. Although some zamindars were present in the south, they were not as numerous and British administrators used the ryotwari (herders) method of collection, in which some farmers were selected as landowners and asked to pay their taxes directly. [10] During the Mughal Empire, the Maratha Empire and the British Indian Empire, the Zamindars belonged to the nobility[1] and formed the ruling class. Emperor Akbar granted them Mansabs and their ancestral domains were treated as Jagirs. Some Zamindars who were Hindus and Brahmins by religion or Kayastha or Kshatriya by caste were forcibly converted into Muslims by the Mughals. [2] During the colonial period, the permanent settlement consolidated what became known as the Zamindari system. The British rewarded the zamindars of support by recognizing them as princes. Many princely states in the region were pre-colonial possessions of the Zamindar that were elevated to a broader protocol.
The British also reduced the land holdings of many princely states and pre-colonial rulers, degrading their status to a zamindar of previously higher noble ranks. Subscribe to America`s largest dictionary and get thousands of other definitions and an advanced search – ad-free! Lord Cornwallis introduced the Zamindari system into his Permanent Settlement Act. The three main components of the zamindari system were the British, the zamindar (landowners) and the peasants. Known as one of the most important land revenue systems, the zamindari system is important for preparing the IAS audit for modern history. Read on to learn more about the features of the Zamindari system and the important events associated with it. “Zamindar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zamindar. Retrieved 12 October 2022. If the Zamindar`s offer was not satisfactory, another contractor was replaced in its place. Unlike the autonomous or frontier chieftains, the hereditary status of the Zamindar class was limited by the Mughals, and the heir depended to some extent on the sovereign`s pleasure.
[16] Heirs were established by descent or sometimes even adopted by religious laws. [17] Under the British Empire, Zamindars were supposed to be subordinate to the crown and not act as hereditary lords, but sometimes family policy was central to the appointment of an heir. [18] Sometimes a cousin could be named heir if close relatives were present; [19] A legally married woman could inherit the zamindari if the ruling zamindar designated her as heiress. [20] [21] Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article on Zamindar According to Arif Qandhari, one of the contemporary historians of Akbar`s reign, there were about two to three hundred rajas or rais and zamindars who ruled their territory from strong fortresses under the emperor`s suzerainty. Each of these rajas and zamindars commanded his own army, usually composed of members of his clan, and the total number of their troops, as Abul Fazl tells us, amounted to forty-four lakhs with 384,558 cavalry, 4,277,057 infantry; 1863 elephants, 4260 cannons and 4500 boats. [7] During the Mughal period, there was no clear distinction between princely states and zamindari states.