''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the elite families in the history of Mughal and post-Mughal India and held high posts within the government.

Etymology

The word is Persian in origin and was loaned into Arabic. The original meaning was "bundle (of written sheets)", hence "book", especially "book of accounts," and hence "office of accounts," "custom house," "council chamber". The meaning of the word, ''Divan (furniture), divan'' "long, cushioned seat" is due to such seats having been found along the walls in Middle Eastern council chambers. It is a common surname among Sikhs in Punjab.

Council

The word first appears under the Caliphate of Omar, Omar I (A.D. 634–644). As the Caliphate state became more complicated, the term was extended over all the government bureaus. The ''divan of the Sublime Porte'' was the council or Cabinet (government), Cabinet of the state. In the Ottoman Empire, it consisted of the usually (except in the Sultan's presence) presiding Grand Vizier and other viziers, and occasionally the Janissary Ağa. In 19th-century Romania, the Ad hoc Divan was a body which played a role in the country's development towards independence from Ottoman rule. In Javanese language, Javanese and related languages (such as Malay language, Malay and Indonesian language, Indonesian), the cognate "dewan" is the standard word for council, as in the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (or Indonesia's Council of People's Representatives) and Dewan Undangan Negeri (State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, State Legislative Assembly of Malaysia), Dewan Rakyat (Dewan Rakyat, House of Representatives of Malaysia), and Dewan Negara (Senate of Malaysia).

Indian subcontinent

Mughal Empire

During the effective rule of Mughal Empire, Mughal India, the ''Dewan'' served as the chief revenue officer of a province. Later, when most vassal states gained various degrees of self-determination, the finance — and/or chief minister and leader of many princely states (especially Muslim, but also many Hindu, including Baroda, Hyderabad state, Hyderabad, Mysore, Kochi (India), Kochi, Travancore — referred to as ''Dalawa'' until 1811) became known as a ''dewan''. Exceptionally, a ruler was himself titled Dewan or a loftier variation, notably: * in Beri State, Beri-Bundelkhand * in Dhurwai State, Dhurwai * in Jaso State, Jaso (Jassu) and in Bandhora (which was split from the former c. 1750) * in Khilchipur until 1873, then Rai Bahadur * in Junagadh, where Shah Nawaz Bhutto was the prime minister of the former princely state. * ''Diwan Sahib'' or ''Diwan Bahadur'' in Garrauli State

Maratha period

As a title used in various Early Modern Indian states, ''Diwan'' denoted the highest officials in the court after the king; the suffix -ji is added as a mark of respect in India. In the major List of Maratha dynasties and states, Maratha states of Baroda (ruled by the Gaekwad), Gwalior (ruled by Scindias or Shinde), Indore (ruled by Holkar), and Nagpur (Bhonsles of Nagpur, ruled by Bhonsle, but not from the Chhatrapati Shivaji family), the highest officer after the king was called the Diwan. One of the examples – Shrimant Diwan/Rao Bahadur Atmaram Kulkarni, was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of Maratha Jamkhandi State. In the 19th century, the British Parliament established in British India a supreme court for revenue matters (non-criminal matters) named the "Sudder Dewanny Adawlut", which applied Hindu law.Definition per James Mill (1826): "Dewan, Duan: place of assembly. Native minister of the revenue department; and chief justice, in civil causes, within his jurisdiction; receiver-general of a province. The term is also used, to designate the principal revenue servant under a European collector, and even of a Zemindar. By this title, the East India Company are receivers-general of the revenues of Bengal, under a grant from the Great Mogul"..."Dewanny, Duannee: the office, or jurisdiction of a Dewan" (Mill, James, The History of British India, Vol. 1 (of 6), 3rd Edition, London, 1826, Glossar

Among Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab and Bengal

Dewan, Diwan, Divan, or Deo was the hereditary title borne by the Chief Minister of the Hindu Cooch Behar State, Cooch State in the Bengal region. Diwan also became a surname of high-caste Hindus or Sikhs in the Punjab region.

Chhattisgarhi Rajput-Brahmins

There is also a community with the surname ''Diwan'' found in Chhattisgarh, near the Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur and Janjgir–Champa district, Janjgir-Champa regions. This is a Brahmin-Rajput community descendant from Deo Brahmin-Rajputs who migrated from Purvanchal in Uttar Pradesh. The males in this community take the title Dhar (e.g., Mohan Dhar Diwan, a high-ranked member of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Vishwa Hindu Parishad). They had a fight with the royal family of Ratanpur, defeated the king, and started ruling the Ratanpur estate.

Diwani in British India

After the Battle of Buxar, when Bengal was annexed by the East India Company in 1764, the Mughal Emperor granted the Company the ''Diwani'' (the right to collect revenue) in Bengal and Bihar in 1765. "Chapter 5: Early Modern India II: Company Raj", "Chapter 3: The East India Company Raj, 1772-1850," "Chapter 7: Company Raj and Indian Society 1757 to 1857, Reinvention and Reform of Tradition." The term ''Diwani'' thus referred to British (fiscal) suzerainty over parts of India during the early British Raj.

Diwani in French India

In French India, one of its constituent colonies, Yanam, French India, Yanaon, had Zamindar and Diwan Bahadur, Diwan. They were active in its local and municipal administration during French rule. The Zamindar of Yanam was given a 4-gun salute by French counterparts. * Zamindar — Manion Canacaya * Diwan Bahadur, Diwan — Bouloussou Soubramaniam Sastroulou * Sovereignty — French Colonial Empire

Nepal

The document dated Bikram Samvat 1833 Bhadra (Nepali calendar), Bhadra Vadi 3 Roj 6 (i.e. Friday 2 August 1776), shows that Vamsharaj Pande and Swaroop Singh Karki had carried the title of Dewan (equivalent to Prime Minister) of the Kingdom of Nepal.

References

Books

* {{Citation, last=Regmi , first=D.R. , title= Modern Nepal, volume= 1, publisher=Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay , year=1975 , isbn= 0883864916, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idJBAAAAYAAJ Titles in India Executive ministers Indian dewans Titles in Pakistan Titles of national or ethnic leadership Bengali words and phrases Titles in Bangladesh