Ghatwali was a feudal tenure/''

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

'' for quasi-military services, only found in the district of

Santhal Parganas Santhal Pargana division constitutes one of the five district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Origin of name Santhal Pargana derives its name from two words: "Santhal", a major tribe of India a ...

and some parts of

Munger Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern In ...

. The ruling chiefs of these ''jagir'' were known as Ghatwals. They were responsible for maintaining safety, security, and law enforcement in their estate using a force of archers and Berkandazes. The Deoghar subdivision consisted of 53 Ghatwalis among which the largest were Rohini, Pathrol, Baman-ganwa, Kukraha, Garsara, Teor and Burhe. The Deoghar ghatwali were formed under the Birbhum Raj in the 18th century to defend against the invasion of

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

and neighbouring rulers. Kharna estate was another prominent ghatwali in

Kharagpur Raj Kharagpur Raj was a prominent chieftaincy, founded in the early 16th century in Bihar situated mainly in modern-day Munger district. They were notable for being one of the few chieftaincies in Bihar to convert to Islam and many of the rulers became ...

. The Kharagdiha gadis were earlier on ghatwali tenure, but when Captain Cammec found these Malik of the ''gadis'' prominent in their country, these gadis were permanently settled slowly after 1793. The ghatwals of Kharagdiha became the

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

s and

Ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

s of their respective estates. Some of the prominent Khargdiha gadis were Gadi Palganj, Koderma, Goranjee, Gadi Ledo and Gadi Sirsia. Mulraiyati was another feudal tenure for revenue collection found in the district of Santhal Parganas. A Mulraiyat is a settlement holder whose rights are transferable and attachable. The tenure in its special form arose in 1877. It is peculiar to the Deoghar subdivision alone in the

. The name "''mul raiyat''" was a term invented in 1877, during the Ashley Eden's government (later K.C.S.I).{{cite book , last1=Herbert H. Heard. , first1=J.P , title=Ghatwali and Mulraiyati Tenure , date=1900 , page=15 The ''mulraiyats'' have been used interchangeably with ''pradhans'' and ''mustajirs'' as they collected rent from ordinary ''raiyats'' as intermediaries, but the ''mulraiyats'' enjoyed superior rights and privileges on their estates. Both Ghatwali and Mulraiyati estates historically passed from father to firstborn son (

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

). Along with

s, these tenure holders formed the

Aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. Ghatwali tenure was abolished in 1952 along with

References

Mughal Empire Titles in India Indian feudalism Zamindari estates Jagirs

See also

References