3. Revenue and Administrative Systems, Changing Patterns

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   Tripartite Land System (त्रिस्तरीय भूमि व्यवस्था)

   • Jagir (जागीर) — assigned to nobles for military service
   • Khalisa (खालसा) — crown land under direct state management
   • Bhom (भोम) — hereditary village land held by Bhomia Rajputs
   • All three categories served distinct political and fiscal functions
2. 2

   Rekh and Hasil Revenue System (रेख-हासिल राजस्व व्यवस्था)

   • Rekh (रेख) was the standard revenue assessment unit in Marwar
   • Each village was assessed a fixed rekh value based on area, soil, and crops
   • Hasil (हासिल) was the actual revenue collected
   • The gap between rekh and hasil measured administrative efficiency
3. 3

   Mughal Revenue Influence (मुगल राजस्व प्रभाव)

   • Akbar's Dahsala (दहसाला) system (1580 CE) — 10-year average of yields
   • Adapted in Rajputana across states under Mughal suzerainty
   • Zabt (जब्त) crop measurement introduced in eastern Rajasthan (Amber/Jaipur)
   • Todar Mal implemented these in the Ajmer Subah
4. 4

   Begar — Feudal Exploitation (बेगार — सामंती शोषण)

   • Forced unpaid labour extracted from lower-caste cultivators and tribals
   • Extracted by jagirdars for agriculture, porterage, and domestic service
   • Most exploitative feature of Rajasthan's feudal revenue system
   • Direct cause of Bijolia (1897), Begun (1921), and Eki (1921) agitations
5. 5

   Administrative Hierarchy (प्रशासनिक पदानुक्रम)

   • Diwan (दीवान) — chief minister and revenue head
   • Faujdar (फौजदार) — district military-administrative chief
   • Hakim (हाकिम) — sub-district officer
   • Patwari (पटवारी) — village revenue recorder
   • Chaudhary (चौधरी) — village headman
6. 6

   Colonel James Tod's Documentation (कर्नल जेम्स टॉड का दस्तावेजीकरण)

   • Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (2 vols., 1829 and 1832)
   • First systematic documentation of Rajput revenue customs and jagirdari tenures
   • Tod served as Political Agent for Western Rajputana (1818–22)
   • Indispensable primary source for RPSC exams
7. 7

   British Settlement Operations (ब्रिटिश बंदोबस्त कार्य)

   • Formal Settlement Operations introduced from the 1870s onward
   • Replaced customary assessment with written surveys
   • Marwar's first regular settlement by A.P. Nicholson (1891–95)
   • Modelled on procedures from British India's North-Western Provinces
8. 8

   Kotwal — Urban Administrator (कोटवाल — नगर प्रशासक)

   • Urban administrative and law enforcement officer in Rajput-era capitals
   • Responsible for policing, weights-and-measures regulation
   • Collected tax on haat (market) transactions
   • Urban counterpart of the Faujdar
9. 9

   Post-Independence Land Reforms (स्वतंत्रता-पश्चात् भूमि सुधार)

   • Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 — abolished 16,000+ jagirs
   • Cultivators received occupancy rights (statutory tenants) directly under state
   • Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 created uniform framework across all areas
   • Marwar Revenue and Tenancy Act, 1949 was the precursor legislation
10. 10

    Nazrana and Bhent — Para-Fiscal Extractions (नजराना और भेंट)

    • Nazrana (नजराना) — lump sum gift paid by a new jagirdar to the ruling chief
    • Bhent (भेंट) — obligatory ceremonial gifts on festivals and special occasions
    • These were para-fiscal extractions beyond the formal revenue system
    • Distinguished Rajput revenue from pure Mughal-style revenue farming
11. 11

    Todar Mal's Land Classification (टोडरमल का भूमि वर्गीकरण)

    • Implemented zabti/dahsala system in the Subah of Ajmer
    • Classified land into four categories for revenue purposes
    • Polaj (annually cultivated), Parauti (periodically fallow)
    • Chachar (three-year fallow), Banjar (uncultivated waste)
12. 12

    Paik System in Mewar (मेवाड़ में पाइक व्यवस्था)

    • Paik (पाइक) — hereditary village guard and administrative duties
    • Assigned to lower-ranking community members in Mewar
    • Compensated with small land grants in exchange for service
    • A micro-level variant of the jagir principle at village level
13. 13

    2026 Historic Town Renamings (2026 ऐतिहासिक नगर नामांतरण)

    • Rajasthan government renamed two historic administrative towns in March 2026
    • Kaman (Bharatpur) renamed to Kamvan (कामवन)
    • Jahazpur (Bhilwara) renamed to Yagyapur (यज्ञपुर)
    • Restores medieval administrative toponyms validated by epigraphic evidence