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Village accountant

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AVillage AccountantorKaranam(Andhra Pradesh),Patwari(Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal),Patowary(Assam),Talati(Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra),Lekhpal(Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) is a government role in rural areas of theIndian subcontinent.Introduced during the early 16th century, it was maintained by theBritish Raj.The official, as a representative of the state, is responsible for keeping land records, agricultural records and collecting taxes and acting as the revenue police in certain areas where they were given special jurisdiction.

History

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Mughal emperorAkbarimproved thepatwarisystem, which had been introduced in the Indian subcontinent under the leadership ofSher Shah Suri.The East India Company and subsequently British crown continued with the system with some administrative changes.[1]It denotes the office of thetalatiin ruralGujarat,MaharashtraandKarnataka.The office and its holder are known as Talatis, and holders of the office have adopted it as their family name. Thetalatireplaced thekulkarniin Gujarat and Maharashtra.[2]The duties of atalatiare performed under a different title in other Indian states; atalatiis known as apatwariinTelangana,Punjab and Haryana.[2]Originally a land-holding clerk, thetalatiis now a paid, government-appointed official.[3][4]Apatil(patelin Gujarat) is an outsider who assists thetalatiin collecting revenue. It has been alleged that records maintained by thetalatido not reflect actual positions, because thetalatidid not take into account the tribal custom of using the name of the adult male family member for land possession.[5]

In 1814, duties of theTalatiincluded preserving village records, monitoring daily activities, and gathering information about individuals (includingmukhisand other village elites).[6]The 1882Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidencyrecords theTalatias a village accountant, in charge of eight to ten villages, whose annual salary was £12-£18 (Rs. 120–180). TheTalatiwas expected to live in one of the villages and visit each village every month to learn villagers needs and report them to the sub-divisional manager at the sub-divisional office. TheTalatiwas also required to give each landholder an account with the landholder's dues.[7]In August 1891, atalati'ssalary was recorded as low.[8]

In 1884,Mountstuart Elphinstonewas reported as saying that thetalatipromoted the government but reduced the authority of thepatel;Elphinstone recommended minimising the interference.[9]The appointment of atalatiwas viewed negatively by village chiefs, who saw him as a government representative in the absence of akulkarniorwatandar.[10]Thetalatiwas also involved in collecting annual census data afterMrigashīrsha.[11]Talatisare known aspatwariin Bengal,karanamin Andhra Pradesh and North India, andkanakku pillaiin Tamil villages.[10]

Etymology

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Known aslekhpalinUttar Pradesh,the word is derived from theSanskritroottal(to accomplish a vow, to establish or to fix) and has the same meaning inMarathi.[12]

Duties

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The duties of atalatiinclude maintaining village crop and land records and collecting taxes and irrigation dues.[13][3][14]

Among the administration, thetalatihas the closest connection with the villagers.[7]Generally in charge of a group of villages known as asaza,they are required to reside in thesazaunless authorised by theCollector;however, mosttalatiswere found to be in violation of the rule.[15]Part of theBrahmincaste in most cases,[14]thetalatiis generally considered a representative of the government.[9]

As the lowest state functionary in the revenue-collection system, their job encompasses visiting agricultural lands and maintaining a record of ownership andtilth.Thegovernment of Indiahas developed a Patwary Information System (PATIS), software which was deployed in at least two districts by 2005; deployment at the tehsil level is underway.[16]A patwari reports to thetehsildar,a higher-level tax officer.[17]A patwari can wield significant power and influence,[18]and corrupt patwaris have escaped punishment due to their political connections.[19]They have three main duties:

  • Maintaining records of crops harvested
  • Recording land-rights changes
  • Accounting for the preparation of the above data[17]

In the hilly regions of Indian state of Uttarakhand, British administration had given additional law enforcement powers and functions topatwaris.Known as income police, these officials continue to have the primary jurisdiction of law and order in these areas.[20][21]

Terminology

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Thekhewatnumber (Urduکھیوٹ ) is assigned to village land, and changes when the land is sold. TheKhataminumber (Urduکھتونی نمبر ), an additional number assigned to village land after thekhewatnumber, also changes when the land is sold.Girdawary,the record of land cultivation (crops and ownership), is maintained by thepatwariinTelangana,by theTalatiinMaharashtra,GujaratandKarnataka,and similar officials in other Indian states.[16]If a non-owner cultivates the land for an extended period, they may claim possession of the land.[10]

In India and Pakistan,jamabandiare land records maintained for each village in a tehsil (township).[22][23]Ajamabandiincludes the name of the owners, the area of cultivation (or land), owner shares, and other rights. It is revised periodically. Ajamabandiis prepared by apatwari,and certified by the division revenue officer. Two copies are made: one for the government's record room, and the other for thepatwari.[citation needed]In a number of states, land records have been computerized and are available on the Internet.[citation needed]

Lal Dora,a term introduced by theBritish Rajin 1908, is a red line drawn on revenue maps that delineates the village population from nearby agricultural land. It enables villagers to build houses without the Change in Land Use (CLU) authorization which would otherwise be needed to convert agricultural land to commercial or residential use.[24]

see

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References

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  1. ^Butt, Waseem Ashraf (24 April 2021)."Punjab revives old patwari system by replacing ARCs".DAWN.COM.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2023.Retrieved3 August2021.
  2. ^abShukla, J. D (1976).State and district administration in India.pp. xii, 63.
  3. ^abIndia Office of the Registrar General (1962).Census of India, 1961, Volume 5, Part 6, Issue 6.Vol. 5.
  4. ^Ātre, Trimbaka Nārāyaṇa (2000).The village cart: translation of T.N. Atre's Gaav gada.Popular Prakashan. pp. 65, 78.ISBN978-81-7154-863-7.
  5. ^Trivedi, Harshad R.Tribal land systems: land reform measures and development of tribals.p. 154.
  6. ^Chaturvedi, Vinayak (2007).Peasant pasts: history and memory in western India.University of California Press. p. 40.ISBN978-0-520-25078-9.
  7. ^abGazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Thana.Vol. VIII. 1882. p. 573.
  8. ^Shelly, C. E. (1892).Transactions of the Seventh International Congress of Hygiene and Demography.Vol. 11. p. 116.
  9. ^abElphinstone, Mountstuart; Forrest, Sir G. W. (George William) (1884).Writings of Mountstuart Elphinstone.pp. 490, 479.
  10. ^abcBaden-Powell, Baden Henry (1896).The Indian village community: examined with reference to the physical, ethnographic, and historical condition of the provinces; chiefly on the basis of the revenue-settlement records and district manuals.pp. 598, 735–736.
  11. ^Baines, J. A. (1882).Imperial census of 1881: Operations and results in the Presidency of Bombay including Sind.Vol. I. p. 260.
  12. ^Monier-Williams, Sir Monier (1963).A Sanskrit-English dictionary.Motilal Banarasidas. p. 440.ISBN81-208-3105-5.
  13. ^Heredia, Susana (1972).A patriot for me: a biographical study of Sardar Patel.p. 239.
  14. ^abFukutake, Tadashi; Ōuchi, Tsutomu; Nakane, Chie (1964).The socio-economic structure of the Indian village: surveys of villages in Gujarat and West Bengal.Institute of Asian Economic Affairs. pp. 76–77.
  15. ^Dantwala, Mohanlal Lalloobhai; Shah, C. H. (1971).Evaluation of Land Reforms: General report.pp. 167, 179–180.
  16. ^abHabibullah, Wajahat; Ahuja, Manoj, eds. (2005).Land Reforms in India: Computerisation of Land Records.Vol. 10. Sage Publications India. pp. 42, 195, 197–198, 202.ISBN978-0-7619-3347-2.
  17. ^ab"District administration - Naib Tehsildar".Archivedfrom the original on 16 July 2011.Retrieved14 July2010.
  18. ^"Power of the patwary".Dawn. 14 January 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 28 October 2010.Retrieved14 July2010.
  19. ^"Corrupt Patwarys go scot-free: ACE helpless".Dawn. November 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2007.Retrieved14 July2010.
  20. ^"In limelight after Ankita Bhandari murder case, what is Uttarakhand's revenue police system".Indian Express. 16 October 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 4 November 2022.Retrieved5 April2023.
  21. ^"Revenue Police In Uttarakhand: History and Law"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 16 October 2022.Retrieved16 October2022.
  22. ^Jambandi HaryanaArchived18 April 2009 at theWayback Machine,Haryana Revenue Department.
  23. ^Belgaum JamabandiArchived7 April 2010 at theWayback Machine.
  24. ^What is Lal DoraArchived11 November 2020 at theWayback Machine,Daily Pioneer,11 June 2013.
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