February 16, 1952 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY claimant laying claim to the Abolition of Jagirdari land ". These notions of the clan system —A Landmark in the History of Rajasthan tell us, how strong are the seeds of Jagirs in Rajasthan. The Jagir­ H. C. Saxena dari system, as it has come down to us, has four main attributes: HE. constitution of States Rajput states were threatened by (1) There is, first of all, a recog­ T have undergone profound Marathas, and internal feuds nised distinction between ' property changes during the last three or broke out among themselves. Dis­ rights' and ' Chiefs rights' In four years. The rulers have parted integration and chaos was ended the former, division is made accord­ with their powers partly due to the by 1818, when Rajasthan, com­ ing to the Hindu law of inherit­ forces of time and partly to inte­ pletely disorganised, was taken ance. The latter rights are not gration with the Indian Union. over by British under their protec­ divisible and must be, regarded as Their individual identity has been tion and the internal structure of a survival of some form of sove­ dissolved, loyalty to small unit has the Rajput states was stabilised. reignty, tribal or any other; other­ been transferred to India as a But the old and archaic institu­ wise, succession is according to the whole. The age-old form of gov­ tion based on clan organisation was family customs and the successor ernment has disappeared. These, not affected. It survived the emer­ has to provide for the necessities changes haw' dealt a final blow to gence of a strong Central Govern­ of his collateral relatives. any surviving notions of feudalism ment. Thus, historically, the land Secondly, Jagir estates cannot be that may have still lingered. The tenure system in Rajasthan has alienated and though mortgages Jagirdars have surrendered their remained unchanged without any are not uncommon, they cannot various privileges and administra­ serious modification during a period be foreclosed. tive powers at the behest of a of nearly seven hundred years. Thirdly the rule of primogeniture popular government. When the British settled perma­ has invariable application and when Now the Rajasthan Govern­ nently in India, they introduced there is a failure of natural heir, ment has decided to resume the certain laws and regulations for adoption is permitted with the con­ Jagirs on payment of compensation successful administration. It was sent of the territorial chief. during this period that various sys­ equal to seven times of the net Fourthly, the assignment system tems of land revenue settlement income which they have fixed as did not confer a bundle of and tenure were evolved by the 35 per cent of the total gross in­ rights of property. By long pres­ early Britishers. The Jagir system come after calculating all big and cription and usage, it invested the as it evolved in Rajasthan has cha­ small Jagirdars on a flat rate.' assign with certain proprietary racteristics which differentiate it on The history of the system which rights. These rights, as indicated, the one hand from the. Jagir as an is now being finally abolished goes must be presumed to be distributed institution developed in Muslim back to the days when the invad­ between the Ruler, the assignee India, and on the other from the ing forces of Islam led to a large- and the actual cultivator. scale dispersion of from the later landlordism of the British The rights of the Jagirdars in fertile and open parts of the coun­ period. The fortunes of these the States of Rajasthan and Cen­ try to the sandy and inaccessible Chiefs and rulers of petty Jagirs, tral India have not been given any interior, where they spread them­ after the collapse of the Moghul statutory recognition. They can selves in the hills, wastes and the power, were not affected much on only be inferred and described but arid lands of Rajasthan which they the contrary, their position was not legally defined. The concep­ held as the second line of defence strengthened under the British, tion of landlordism is not quite against the foreign invaders. In who made political settlements with appropriate in their case. In the thirteenth century the domi­ the. princes and made them inde­ Northern India, at any rate, the nant clans of the Rajputs were pendent and supreme in their British did not come up against the settled in these areas in which they States. essentials of Jagir system leaving are found today. The kings of The clan system in Rajasthan was aside Inams, Maufis and charitable exercised little effective juris­ something much stronger than grants. In Punjab, on grounds of diction over the interior parts feudalism. Tod, the well known political expediency, Sir H. Law­ where the Rajputs remained inde­ historian of Rajasthan, cites an rence wanted to maintain the Jagir­ pendent. There was a brief but interesting case to illustrate the dars in full possession of their dazzling and brilliant revival of point. Once the subordinate Chiefs grants with their privileges secured Rajput strength under Rana Sanga of Jodhpur had been driven away but Lawrence brothers turned them of Mewar. Fortunes rose' and fell. from their land by the oppression into peasant proprietors. During Moghul rule, though the of their —-they wrote to Rajputs paid some tribute to the Tod in 1821 thus: " The system upon which the Emperors of Delhi as a nominal " The Maharaja and ourself land (Jagirs) is distributed among suzeran, yet they were independent are of one stock for generations. the branch families and other great in their internal administration and Our forefathers were their hereditary land holders, is the basis so the clan organisation was not- ministers and advisers. Wher­ of political constitution of a Rajput interfered with. ever Mewar was concerned, state, and forms its characteristic In the one hundred years follow­ there our forefather were to be distinction. And this system is not, ing the death of , the found and with their lines pre­ speaking accurately, feudal. The served the land. . . . When our tenures of the great clans-man ' In the second draft bill, the amount services are acceptable, then, he involves military service and pay­ of compensation has been raised from is our lord; when not, we are 7 to 10 limes and the period from 14 ments of financial aids' but its to 15 equal instalments. again his brother and kindred source is to be found in the ori- 186 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY February 16,, 1952 ginal clan occupation of the lands, Zammdari (held by a body of State demand. in the privileges of kinship and of owners), Pattidari (held by shares, Similarly in the Khalsa villages purity of descent from the original ancestral or customary), or Bhai- of Bharatpur, the superior and final occupants or conquerors. The chara (held by possession without ownership is vested in the State, subordinate Chiefs really claim to reference to shares). The status of but. the subordinate proprietary be conquerors with rulers in their Zamindari has always admitted a right (Haq Malikana) they are right to dominions over the soil subordinate Biswedari right in the entitled to possess as long as they and the fruits of it" (Rajputana village community and its compo­ pay the State demand. In Dholpur Gazette, 1879, Vol. I, pp. 59, 60), nent members, where each member there is a modified Zamindari According to this revised view, or unit is entitled to occupy and tenure, on a contract basis with clan fraternity, which was the be protected in the occupation of the State and they enjoy proprie­ rementing element between the the land in his possession so long tary rights so long they observe Rulers and his Chieftain, was some' as he cultivates it and pays the those contracts. The Venkatachar thing much stronger than feudal ties. In more recent times, Jagirs have been given to non-Rajput families lor services rendered. There are. other tenures grouped under Jagirs such as Inams, Muafis, Bhum, Dharmacla, Sasan, ' etc. These tenures haw come into existence independent of the clan organisa­ tion, among them the Rajput Bhumia is famous—because he is famous as the undisputed lord of the soil, and holds the land for ever on conditions of peculiar ser­ vices for specified purposes. Table. T on page 188 gives de­ tailed classification of Jagirs accord­ ing to tenures; it relates only to whole villages. There are no sta­ tistics available of holdings or plots held under different tenures. Besides Jagirdari, Zamindari tenure is found in the non-Rajput States of Bharatpur, Dholpur, over a greater part of and the of Kotkasim and Kot- putli in Jaipur. The difference be­ tween the Zamindari and Jagirdari tenure is of the rights enjoyed. The former is dependent on the king while the latter is independ­ ent. The Jagirdari rights wvrc granted by the Rajput kings long time ago, but the Zamindari rights were conferred by Sir Michael O'Dwyer in 1909, when first regu­ lar settlement was carried out in both the Stales. And the only consideration in conferring these rights was the great land-holding tribes, viz., the Mewas and Jats who were cultivating the land for a long time. Consequently the land revenue system in Alwar is practically the same as in the South Punjab, the village community being, as a rule, strong: and cohesive bodies, gener­ ally cultivating most of the land themselves, bound together by the ties of common descent, commu­ nity or tribe, clan or clans and still retaining the principle of com­ munity interest and joint responsi- bility. The tenures are either pure 187 February 16, 1952 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY Committer report that there are a Besides, some of the fiscal powers Jagirs, the amount of tribute they number of States where the still enjoyed by the Jagirdars are pay to the State as land revenue, tenancy rights both in Khalsa and as follows: the village under Jagirs and the Jagir are the same. So we see Excise, opium and customs com­ various privileges and rights enjoy­ that the conditions in Rajasthan pensation. In almost all the divi­ ed by the Jagirdars in various capa­ are typical, peculiar and distinct. sions, principal Jagirdars are paid city and the extra income which Different tenures are found in dif­ excise, opium and customs compen­ they obtain from their Jagirs. ferent places, the rights enjoyed sations. Excise compensation is These rights and privileges are arc somewhat similar, but the paid in cash and in kind also. In being enjoyed by them for centu­ main tenure is Jagirdari. The Bikancr, some 38,800 bottles of ries. Though the rulers have ac«- conditions of survey settlement and liquor are given to the Jagirdars quired many of their rights, yet the records is not satisfactory. Few on concession rate, and in other clan organisation has successfully datas and records are available. units, payment is made in cash. (becked the king from acquiring all The beginning has been made for Figures for these compensation the rights of the Jagirdars. With survey and settlement and there is roughly come to Rs 3,04,227. the modernisation of State adminis­ still much left to be done. Salt compensation approximately tration, when the Ruler's authority Under these circumstances the comes to Rs 21,907; the figures for becomes more and more centralised, appointed a l.daipur and Jaipur Division are not it tended to curtail the powers of Committee to enquire "into details available. the Jagirdars. And we see that tor Rajasthan and Madhya Bharat Mines: Rs 2,877 is given as the Jagirs of Madhya Bharat have under the Chairmanship of the ex- compensation for mines. bevn gradually assimilated in many Chief Minister Mr C. S. Venkata- Mapa, or sales tax, is" still levied respects to the Khalsa during the ehar. The Committee suggested in Bikaner, Jaipur and Jodhpur last lew decades, but as conservat­ and recommended all possible steps and Jodhpur Division. ism was given a somewhat freer to be taken in abolishing Jagirdari. Cattle, Pound and Kodi compen­ reign in the States of Rajasthan, But most of the important recom­ sation comes to Rs 21,10/2; the Jagirdars there have been mendations are pending and the Rs 15,358 arc being paid in Bikaner resisting uptil now the integration new ministry has introduced the only. of their Jagirs with the rest of the Jagirdari Abolition Bill. According Hawala, general and forest com­ State-. to the Venkatachar Committee pensation comes to Rs 7,280 and Since Jagirdari was an appendage Report, the distribution of the total Rs 4,494 and Rs 2,142 respectively of the institution of kingship which area and the village's in Rajasthan in Jodhpur Division only. is dead and gone, no reasonable per­ between (a) Khalsa and (b) Jagir Patta foe, Nazrana and Mohrana son can possibly object to its disso­ and the tribute paid by Jagirdars are being charged by Jagirdars. lution. The Jagirdars would con­ are given in Table It. We have seen the. area under cede themselves, and there is no re­ luctance on their part to do so, that there can be no difference in the- rights enjoyed by the cultivators in Khalsa or Jagir villages. The inte­ gration between these two has to he brought about for there cannot be two sets of rights for cultivators liv­ ing in the same States. Neither can there be an intermediary between the State and the cultivator in some parts of the States while in others the State deals directly with the cul­ tivator. Hence there is little chance of or justification for continuing the Jagirdari system any further. What remains now to be discussed is the proper method to be adopted by the Rajasthan Government to abolish this system and its repercussions on the economy of the State. The terms of compensation pro­ vided for in the draft bill do not make any difference, between small and big Jagirs. This is against the recommendations of the Venkata­ char Committee who felt that in de­ vising a formula fixing the share of the amount which a Jagirdar should receive from the State, considera­ tions of social justice required that the small and the poorer Jagirdars should be dealt with somewhat more liberally than the richer and bigger Jagirdars. In various other State' 188 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY February 16, 1952 also, e.g. Assam, Bihar and Hydera­ people even more precarious. In above are duly provided for and the bad, the system of compensation the absence of such provision, the bill is modified accordingly, then adopted is either at a graded rate resumption of Jagirs would mean the Jagirdars should not hesitate from 3 to 50 times or on a sliding only a transference of power from to support it because such an amend­ scale from 3 to 20 times, the net the small estatedars to a big land­ ed measure will benefit the economy annual income varying inversely with lord in the shape of the State. of Rajasthan and within a decade, the size of holding. Worse still, no definite principles the Jagirdars will sec their estates Secondly, the suggested manner have been adopted for dealing with richer and self-sufficient, and per­ of payment in 14 annual instalments the minimum and maximum hold­ haps having a surplus to provide (15 in the second draft bill) does ings. The question of forming eco­ the others. It requires a broader not appear to be based on any sound nomic holdings is not even consider­ outlook on their part—for the bet­ principles as it will not help the dis­ ed. This is a matter of the utmost terment of the country. They should possessed Jagirdars in rehabilitating importance in the backward econo­ look to the future and not to the themselves in some other occupation my of Rajasthan. It is a deficit area, pa$. There is nothing about the or profession. The instalments will where production should be maxi­ p/,t of which the best among them be meagre and is more likely to be mised by adopting all possible means, need be ashamed. What need con­ dissipated in meeting current ex­ old or new. cern them in the future is not so penses than invested as capital, so much their own rights or privileges that at the end of 14 or 15 years, Finally, priority must be, given to but the manner in which they should this class of people will be reduced areas where the agrarian situation adjust themselves to the fast chang­ to penury and unemployment. has deteriorated owing to acute ten­ ing social and political environment. Apart from the future of the dis­ sion between Jagirdars and tenants. The necessary changes can be effect­ possessed Jagirdars, it is necessary The backward areas should be tackl­ ed very smoothly upon their willing­ to ensure that the former Jagirs are ed next and made fertile, after due ness to give up their privileges in managed more efficiently than the survey and settlement. The religi­ the larger interest of the country Jagirdars had done; otherwise, agri­ ous endowments and Khudkasht and in a spirit of patriotism as the cultural production as well as re­ lands should also be considered ac­ Samurais did in Japan, .with the venue will suffer, thereby compli­ cording to the situation that may assistance which the Government cating the food situation and mak­ be found in different areas. may give them in bringing about the ing the economic condition of the If all the measures discussed readjustments.

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