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Zaildar (ज़ैलदार )(ذیلدار) a grand jagirdar (landlord) of the area, in charge of a group of villages formed into an administrative unit called Zail in the colonial rural administration of Punjab in British India, was usually appointed by Deputy Commissioner from amongst the leading men of the tribe or the area, thus reinforcing his preexisting social authority with the official sanction as the representative of the government.^[1] Each Zail was an administrative unit, extending between 20 to 150 villages.^[2]^{: p xxv} Each village was headed by the Lambardar who was assisted by the "Safedposh Zamindars" (influential landlords) of the village.^[1] The Lambardar in turn assisted the Zaildar above them, Zaildar in turn assisted Tehsildar who reported to Deputy Commissioner.^[1] The Zaildar was more influential than the Lambardar (village head) because a Zail included several villages in it.^[3] for exp. ch Sohrab Khan was Zaildar at mewat singariya pal

Influence of Zaildari System

The position was quite important as it extended the influence of the colonial state right into the villages.^[4] It also reinforced the already dominant social status of the Zaildar with the official government sanction.^[1] The Zaildar exercised tremendous authority among the villagers, many of whom looked to him for patronage and assistance, and he alone possessed the power of threats and blandishment within his Zail.^[1]

Appointment criteria

Zails were established and demarcated by the District collector or (also called Deputy Commissioner) during the land revenue settlement exercise. District collector also appointed a Zaildar for-life to each Zail, who were equivalent to the Chaudharis (feudal zamindars) of earlier times and were hand-picked by the deputy-commissioner, who based his 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.^[4]^: 97–98^[1]^[5] A Zaildar when once appointed should only be removed from office for misconduct or neglect, removal on account of old age or disability caused by an accident is a harsh punishment, in such cases he can continue to operate through a representative.^[6]

Role and Remuneration of Zaildar

Zaildars were essentially revenue minister and representatives of the British Empire who enjoyed remuneration for their duties, life grants of either fixed amount^[7] or grant equal to one per cent of the revenue of their zails from the assessment of any single village that they chose.^[8]

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.^[8] If, however, there was no fit member of the same family, the grant could be awarded to some deserving Zamindar of the same tribe, who was not already in the enjoyment of such a grant.^{[citation needed]}

Abolishment

Post Indian independence in 1947, the system of Zails, Zaildars and Safedposh continued to exist till 1948 but were finally abolished in 1952 by the Government of India.^[9]

In popular media

Zaildar, a book was written by the Kapur Singh Ghuman in 1972.^[10] Punjabi movies with Zialdar title include Zaildar (1972), Nikka Zaildar (2016), "Nikka Zaildar 2" (2017)^[11] Popular Punjabi singer Geeta Zaildar uses it as his surname.

References

^ ^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.
^ The Indian Making of mewat, Ismail khan, Permanent Black
^ Rajit K. Mazumder, 2003, "The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab.", Permanent Black, page 97, ISBN 8178240599.
^ ^a ^b The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab, Rajit K. Mazumder, Permanent Black
^ Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 155.
^ Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 140.
^ Revised Settlement of Hisar District, p37-40
^ ^a ^b Final Report of Revised Settlement, Hoshiarpur District, 1879-84 By J. A. L. Montgomery
^ Haryana Gazetteers Organization (1987). "Gazetteer of India: Haryana, Hisar, pp.168" (PDF). Chandigarh: Controller of Printing and Stationery.
^ Kapur Singh Ghuman, 1972, "Zaildar".
^ [http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=zaildar&s=all IMDB Zaildar"

[zailbook1-1] ^ ^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.

[Ismail_khan-2] The Indian Making of mewat, Ismail khan, Permanent Black

[zailbook5-3] Rajit K. Mazumder, 2003, "The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab.", Permanent Black, page 97, ISBN 8178240599.

[Rajit_Zaildar-4] The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab, Rajit K. Mazumder, Permanent Black

[zailbook4-5] Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 155.

[zailbook3-6] Om Prakash Aggarawala, 1936, "The Punjab Land Revenue Act: Act XVII of 1887 : with a Commentary", Lahore Law Depot, page 140.

[HisarRevSet-7] Revised Settlement of Hisar District, p37-40

[Montgomery-8] Final Report of Revised Settlement, Hoshiarpur District, 1879-84 By J. A. L. Montgomery

[gaz1-9] Haryana Gazetteers Organization (1987). "Gazetteer of India: Haryana, Hisar, pp.168" (PDF). Chandigarh: Controller of Printing and Stationery.

[zailbook2-10] Kapur Singh Ghuman, 1972, "Zaildar".

[imdb1-11] [http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=zaildar&s=all IMDB Zaildar"

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 '''Zaildar''' ('''ज़ैलदार ''')('''ذیلدار''')   a grand [[jagir|jagirdar]] (landlord) of the area, in charge of a group of villages formed into an administrative unit called [[Zail, British Indian|Zail]] in the colonial rural administration of [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] in [[British India]], was usually appointed by [[Deputy_commissioner#India_and_Pakistan|Deputy Commissioner]] from amongst the leading men of the tribe or the area, thus reinforcing his preexisting social authority with the official sanction as the representative of the government.<ref name=zailbook1>[[Tan Tai Yong]], 2005, [https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=d5ZiMV7rqWUC&pg=PA1919-IA1&dq=zaildar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3mpvs6KrXAhVKvY8KHcBPB4EQ6AEIUTAI#v=onepage&q=zaildar&f=false "The Garrison State: The military, government and society in Colonial Punjab, 1849 - 1947."], [[SAGE Publications]], page 118-119, {{ISBN|0761933360}}.</ref> Each ''Zail'' was an administrative unit, extending between 20 to 150 villages.<ref name="Ismail khan">The Indian Making of mewat, Ismail khan, Permanent Black</ref>{{rp|at=p xxv}} Each village was headed by the ''[[Lambardar]]'' who was assisted by the ''"[[Zamindar|Safedposh Zamindar]]s"'' (influential landlords) of the village.<ref name=zailbook1/> The ''Lambardar'' in turn assisted the ''Zaildar'' above them, ''Zaildar'' in turn assisted ''[[Tehsildar]]'' who reported to Deputy Commissioner.<ref name=zailbook1/> The ''Zaildar'' was more influential than the ''Lambardar'' (village head) because a ''Zail'' included several villages in it.<ref name=zailbook5>Rajit K. Mazumder, 2003, [https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=O4Wop9vwS9sC&pg=PA97&dq=zaildar&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv0fvw-qrXAhUMpY8KHcgVD5I4FBDoAQgtMAI#v=onepage&q=zaildar&f=false "The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab."], Permanent Black, page 97, {{ISBN|8178240599}}.</ref>
+for exp. ch Sohrab Khan was Zaildar at mewat singariya pal
 ==Influence of Zaildari System==