Zaildar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Liz (talk | contribs) at 16:36, 20 October 2022 (Removing link(s) / list item(s) Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Geeta Zaildar closed as delete (XFDcloser)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Zaildar was the title of the grand jagirdars (landlords) of the area, who were in charge of a Zail which was an administrative unit of group of villages during the British Indian Empire. The Settlement Officer, with the advice of the Deputy Commissioner, was responsible for appointing Zaildars from amongst the men of the tribe or the area, thus reinforcing his preexisting social authority with the official sanction as the representative of the government.[1][2] Each Zail was an administrative unit, extending between 40 to 100 villages.[3]: p xxv  Each village was headed by the Lambardar who was assisted by the Safedposh Zamindars (influential landlords or white collar gentry) of the village.[2][1] Zaildars were the revenue-collecting officers and were also responsible for maintaining law and order. The Lambardar and Safedposh assisted the Zaildar. The Zaildar in turn assisted the Deputy Commissioner.[2] The Zaildar was more influential than the Lambardar (village head) because a Zail included several villages.[4]

Influence of Zaildari system

The position was important as it extended the influence of the colonial state into the villages.[5] It also reinforced the already dominant social status of the Zaildar with official government sanction.[2] The Zaildar exercised authority and patronage over the villagers.[2]

Appointment criteria

Zails were established and demarcated by the District collector (also called Deputy Commissioner) during the land revenue settlement exercise. Settlement officers, with advice from the District collector and subject to the final approval of the state's Financial Commissioner,[1] appointed a Zaildar to each Zail either on a hereditary basis, for one person's life or for a fixed tenure.[1] The Zailars were equivalent to the Chaudharis (feudal zamindars) of earlier times and were hand-picked by the higher authorities, who based their decision on issues such as caste or tribe, local influence, extent of landholding, services rendered to the state by him or his family, and personal character and ability.[5]: 97–98 [2][6] A Zaildar once appointed could only be removed from office for misconduct or neglect; removal on account of old age or disability was a harsh punishment and in such cases he could continue to operate through a representative.[7]

"The introduction of the zaildari agency into any district must be approved by the local Government [Deputy Commissioner]. Any subsequent increase or decrease in the number of zaildars can be made under the orders of the Financial Commissioner, provided the percentage of the land revenue assigned for their emoluments is not exceeded ... No attempt should be made to fix the limits of zails, but the tribal organization and other important families of the tract should be explained in such detail as is necessary to enable Government to judge whether the agency should be introduced. Any proposals to appoint inamdars [also called safedposh] may be made in the same report. The opinions both of the Settlement Officer and of the Deputy Commissioner should be given. The report should be submitted to Government through the Commissioner and the Financial Commissioner, each of whom should record his views on the proposal made in it."

— Punjab Settlement Manual, 1930 (point 578, page 272).[1]

Role and remuneration of Zaildars

Zaildars were essentially revenue ministers and representatives of the British Empire who received remuneration for their duties, life grants of either a fixed amount[8] or a grant equal to one per cent of the revenue of their zails from the assessment of any single village that they chose.[9] Some of the responsibilities of the Zaildar corresponded to the responsibilities that fell under the Deputy Commissioner, such as revenue collection, mutations,[clarification needed] local governance issues, related dispute resolution, etc. Other duties corresponded with the responsibilities that fell under the Settlement officer, such as revenue settlement, reassessments, preparation of maps, etc.[1]

Some of the notable zaildars were:

  • Sardar Pir Baksh Khan Zaildar was appointed as Zaildar of Attock Tehsil Fateh Jhang. He held an administration of 94 villages in Barnala district. He belonged to a Saniswal Rajput family.
  • Chaudhary Sardar Khan Kahloon Zaildar was appointed as Zaildar of Chak Jhumra Tehsil of Lyallpur(Present Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan). He was from village Daowala 146 Rakh Branch. During the partition of 1947, he along with his allies (Chatha and Bal tribes) provided shelter to Sikhs migrants. In his village British government had a government-owned bungalow to control the canal irrigation system which is still functional today. His son Ch Fateh Ali Kahloon Zaildar was appointed as Zaildar after him.[citation needed]
  • Sardar Gurcharan Singh Zaildar of village Dangarh. He held an administration of 28 villages in Barnala district. He belonged to a Shergill family.[citation needed]
  • Chaudhary Harbans Singh was appointed as Zaildar of 65 villages in Delhi Tehsil.[citation needed]
  • Sardar Joginder Singh Zaildar of village Nahar Majra. He held the administration of 37 villages.[citation needed]
  • Choudhary Hansraj Gurjar Zaildar of 25 villages; his son is Krishan Pal Gurjar MoS (2020).
  • Choudhary Bir Narayan Singh Zaildar of village Khanpur.[citation needed]
  • Choudhary Tirkha Ram Gurjar Zaildar; his son was Chaudhary Narain Singh former DESU Chairman in Delhi Metropolitan Council. He was Zaildar for more than 25 villages in Delhi. He was from Madanpur Khadar Village.[citation needed]
  • Khan Sahib Ghulam Ahmed Khan Zaildar of Village Soita, Jalandhar. He was the son of Khan Bahadur Alam Khan (owner of 12,000 acres) and grandson of Khan Bahadur Ghulam Haider Khan (chief of Sherwani tribe).[citation needed]
  • Malik Amir Khan was Zaildar of Dholar zail, comprising nine villages of Talagang Distt Kamalpur.[citation needed]
  • Ali Muhammad Malik (influential landlord), Zaildar of the present-day village Muradabad in Muzaffargarh District.[citation needed]
  • Chaudhry Sultan Ahmed Zaildar of Zail 6-R Montgomery(Sahiwal) in the Punjab, Pakistan.[citation needed]
  • Mirza Muhammad Hayat Zaildar of Phularwan, Tehsil Bhalwal, District Sargodha.[citation needed]
  • Rana Rud Singh of Kalsana of Shahabad district, Kurukshetra. He held the administration of 24 villages.[citation needed]
  • Pt. Janki Parshad (Baawan Hazari) of Radaur held 36 villages in Karnal, now in Haryana.[citation needed]
  • Choudhary Ashfak was Zaildar of Sakras zail, comprising nine villages of Sakas Distt Nuh.[citation needed]
  • Harnaryan Singh Tyagi Zaildar was Zaildar of Hastsal village in West Delhi.[citation needed]

Safedposh

In addition to these life inams, or grants, there were some Safedposhi grants of a semi-hereditary nature enjoyed by some of the leading agricultural families. They were semi-hereditary because one of the conditions of the grant was that on the death of an incumbent, his successor should, if possible, be a member of the same family.[9]

Abolishment

Post Indian independence in 1947, the system of Zails, Zaildars and Safedposh continued to exist till 1962. Then they were abolished by CM Partap Singh Kairon following demands from his ministers and Members of the Legislative Assemblys, because of conflicts between the elected MLAs and the Zaildars. Police and Tehsil officers had been giving more weight to the opinions of Zailars and this had undermined the MLAs.[10]

In popular media

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 1930, Punjab Settlement Manual, Punjab Government publications, point 235 and 578-282 on page 115, 272-273.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Tan Tai Yong, 2005, "The Garrison State: The military, government and society in Colonial Punjab, 1849 - 1947.", SAGE Publications, page 118-119, ISBN 0761933360.
  3. ^ The Indian Making of mewat, Ismail khan, Permanent Black
  4. ^ Rajit K. Mazumder, 2003, "The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab.", Permanent Black, page 97, ISBN 8178240599.
  5. ^ a b The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab, Rajit K. Mazumder, Permanent Black
  6. ^ Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 155.
  7. ^ Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 140.
  8. ^ Revised Settlement of Hisar District, p. 37-40
  9. ^ a b Final Report of Revised Settlement, Hoshiarpur District, 1879–84 By J. A. L. Montgomery
  10. ^ Haryana Gazetteers Organization (1987). "Gazetteer of India: Haryana, Hisar, pp.168" (PDF). Chandigarh: Controller of Printing and Stationery.
  11. ^ Kapur Singh Ghuman, 1972, "Zaildar".
  12. ^ [https://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=zaildar&s=all "IMDB Zaildar"
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zaildar&oldid=1117234895"