Taluqdar
Encyclopedia
A taluqdar or talukdar (from Arabic
ta'al-luq, "district" + dor "holding"), is a term used for Indian
land holders in Mughal
and British times, responsible for collecting taxes from a district. It may convey somewhat different meanings in different parts of India
and Pakistan
:
(1) A land holder (minor royalty) with administrative power over a district of 84 villages in Punjab
, Rajasthan
and rest of North India
/United Provinces
.
(2) An official in Hyderabad State
during British era, equivalent to a magistrate and a collector.
(3) A landholder with peculiar tenures in various parts of British India.
According to the Punjab settlement report of 1862, great land holders were appointed Taluqdars over a number of villages during the Mughal era
. That Taluqa or district usually comprised over 84 villages and a central town. The Taluqdar was required to collect taxes, maintain law & order, and provide military supplies/manpower to the provincial government. In most cases the Talqdars were entitled to keep one tenth of the collected revenue. However, some privileged Taluqdars were entitled to one quarter and hence were called Chaudhry, which literally means owner of the fourth part.
In Rajastan and Bengal
, a taluqdar was next only to a Raja in extent of land control and social status; but in Punjab and U.P. taluqdars were much more powerful and were directly under the provincial governor. The late Mughal era saw the rise of powerful taluqdars in Oudh, northern India who seldom paid any collected revenue to the central government, and became virtual rulers of their districts. Similarly, in northern Punjab the taluqdars of Dhanni, Gheb and Kot Fateh Khan were extremely powerful.
Eighteenth century Bengal witnessed the rise of great territorial land holders at the expense of smaller landholders who were reduced to the status of dependent taluqdars, required to pay their revenue to the government through the intermediary of the great land lords called raja
s and maharaja
s. However many old taluqdars paid revenues to government directly and were as powerful as the Rajas.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
ta'al-luq, "district" + dor "holding"), is a term used for Indian
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
land holders in Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and British times, responsible for collecting taxes from a district. It may convey somewhat different meanings in different parts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
:
(1) A land holder (minor royalty) with administrative power over a district of 84 villages in Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and rest of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
/United Provinces
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
.
(2) An official in Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
during British era, equivalent to a magistrate and a collector.
(3) A landholder with peculiar tenures in various parts of British India.
According to the Punjab settlement report of 1862, great land holders were appointed Taluqdars over a number of villages during the Mughal era
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
. That Taluqa or district usually comprised over 84 villages and a central town. The Taluqdar was required to collect taxes, maintain law & order, and provide military supplies/manpower to the provincial government. In most cases the Talqdars were entitled to keep one tenth of the collected revenue. However, some privileged Taluqdars were entitled to one quarter and hence were called Chaudhry, which literally means owner of the fourth part.
In Rajastan and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, a taluqdar was next only to a Raja in extent of land control and social status; but in Punjab and U.P. taluqdars were much more powerful and were directly under the provincial governor. The late Mughal era saw the rise of powerful taluqdars in Oudh, northern India who seldom paid any collected revenue to the central government, and became virtual rulers of their districts. Similarly, in northern Punjab the taluqdars of Dhanni, Gheb and Kot Fateh Khan were extremely powerful.
Eighteenth century Bengal witnessed the rise of great territorial land holders at the expense of smaller landholders who were reduced to the status of dependent taluqdars, required to pay their revenue to the government through the intermediary of the great land lords called raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s and maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
s. However many old taluqdars paid revenues to government directly and were as powerful as the Rajas.
Famous Taluqdars
- Rai Rajeshwar Bali - 13th Taluqdar of Rampur-Daryabad Estate (Uttar Pradesh)