East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950
Encyclopedia
The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 (also known as the East Pakistan Estate Acquisition Act 1950) was a law passed by the newly formed Democratic Government (Dominion of Pakistan
) for its eastern provinces (East Bengal
, present day Bangladesh
). The bill was drafted on 31 March 1948 during the after the fall of the British Monarchy
in India, and passed on 16 May 1951. Before passage of the legislature, landed revenue laws of Bengal consisted of the Permanent Settlement Regulations 1793 and the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885.
The 1793 legislature created a landed aristocracy (see: Zamindars of Bengal
) which was supposed to be loyal to the British Empire
. The Act of 1885 defined the rights and liabilities of the ryats
(Peasants) in relation to their superior lords (Zamindars). After the fall of the British Monarchy in 1948, the law abolished the Zamindari system
in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system
. India
adopted a similar law in 1953 in the Constitution of India
.
rent was called rajasva (the King's share). The king's men used to collect rajasva from his subjects according to law, and none could be evicted if rajasva was paid regularly. Later, the Hindu 'rajasva' became 'jama' during Muslim rule of the Mughal Empire
. However, the spirit of rajasva and jama remained the same. The cultivators had customary rights in land which the sovereign honoured, as long as they paid revenue to the rulers. These revenues were supplied to the zamindars, officials of the empire, who created the feudalistic nobility
. During the mughal era (specifically during the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb
), the mansabdari system
, the military nobility evolved into the aristocratic landed zamindari system.
During the British rule
, the zamindars became equivalents of the landed aristocracy
of Britain. in 1793, the zamindars were created absolute owners of the estates, and not just representatives of the sovereign rulers
Families like the Dhaka Nawab Family
, the Prithimpassa Family
, the Dighapatia Raj
Family, the Puthia Raj family
, Singranatore Family were legally abolished and relieved of centuries of duties, rights, titles etc. However, in Chittagong
region, the law was not to be applicable, which is why Raja Tridev Roy
and Raja Debashish Roy
still held on to royal titles of Raja (King
), Rani (Queen
) and Rajkumar(Prince
), while the former families lost theirs.
Dominion of Pakistan
The Dominion of Pakistan was an independent federal Commonwealth realm in South Asia that was established in 1947 on the partition of British India into two sovereign dominions . The Dominion of Pakistan, which included modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, was intended to be a homeland for the...
) for its eastern provinces (East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
, present day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
). The bill was drafted on 31 March 1948 during the after the fall of the British Monarchy
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in India, and passed on 16 May 1951. Before passage of the legislature, landed revenue laws of Bengal consisted of the Permanent Settlement Regulations 1793 and the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885.
The 1793 legislature created a landed aristocracy (see: Zamindars of Bengal
Zamindars of Bengal
The Zamindars of Bengal were influential in administration of territories in present day West Bengal and former East Bengal, contemporary Bangladesh. The Nawabs of Bengal ruled the area under the Mughal Empire from 1717 to 1880. Murshid Quli Jafar Khan governed the area, through his feudal chiefs,...
) which was supposed to be loyal to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The Act of 1885 defined the rights and liabilities of the ryats
Ryot
Ryot was a general economic term used throughout India for peasant cultivators but with variations in different provinces. While zamindars were landlords, raiyats were tenants and cultivators, and served as hired labour...
(Peasants) in relation to their superior lords (Zamindars). After the fall of the British Monarchy in 1948, the law abolished the Zamindari system
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system
Indian feudalism
Feudalism was a social system of medieval European origin, according to which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a...
. 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...
adopted a similar law in 1953 in the Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
.
History
During the times of the Middle kingdoms of IndiaMiddle kingdoms of India
Middle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 3rd century BC after the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC...
rent was called rajasva (the King's share). The king's men used to collect rajasva from his subjects according to law, and none could be evicted if rajasva was paid regularly. Later, the Hindu 'rajasva' became 'jama' during Muslim rule of the Mughal Empire
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...
. However, the spirit of rajasva and jama remained the same. The cultivators had customary rights in land which the sovereign honoured, as long as they paid revenue to the rulers. These revenues were supplied to the zamindars, officials of the empire, who created the feudalistic nobility
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
. During the mughal era (specifically during the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
), the mansabdari system
Mansabdar
Mansabdar was the generic term for the military -type grading of all imperial officials of the Mughal Empire. The mansabdars governed the empire and commanded its armies in the emperor's name...
, the military nobility evolved into the aristocratic landed zamindari system.
During the British rule
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, the zamindars became equivalents of the landed aristocracy
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Britain. in 1793, the zamindars were created absolute owners of the estates, and not just representatives of the sovereign rulers
Abolishing the system
The Act comprises 152 sections divided into five parts and 19 chapters. In consequence of introduction of the law, no intermediary interest were present between the Government and its people, the government has become the only lord and the cultivators were relieved of the baneful effect of subinfeudation. The zamindari families were partly reimbursed for their losses during the exchange of land ownership after a few battles in court. The rule of zamindars were substituted by a hierarchy of officials with the Board of Land Administration with Assistant commissioners, collectors and Deputy Commissioner etc. A collector or deputy commissioner is assisted by one additional deputy commissioner for revenue, one revenue deputy collector, and a number of other governmental officials.Families like the Dhaka Nawab Family
Dhaka Nawab family
Dhaka Nawab Family reigned in Dhaka from mid 19th century to mid 20th century, after the fall of the Naib Nazims. The hereditary title of Nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the Family by the British Raj as a recognition of their loyalty in the time of the Sepoy...
, the Prithimpassa Family
Prithimpassa Family
Prithimpassa Nawab Family is the aristocratic family of Prithimpassa, Kulaura Upazilla, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Descended from the Royal House of Bengal , the family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. Prithimpassa Nawab Bari is a place of tourist attraction...
, the Dighapatia Raj
Dighapatia Raj
Dighapatia Raj was a zamindari in present day Rajshahi, which was ruled by this dynasty of 7 generations of Rajas from late seventeenth century till the mid-twentieth century; when the democratic government took power after the end of the British Monarchy’s rule in India, in 1950, the East Pakistan...
Family, the Puthia Raj family
Puthia Raj family
Puthia Raj is currently an upazila in Rajshahi district. The Puthia Raj family was created by the Mughals in the early seventeenth century is one of the oldest feudal estates of Bengal....
, Singranatore Family were legally abolished and relieved of centuries of duties, rights, titles etc. However, in Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
region, the law was not to be applicable, which is why Raja Tridev Roy
Raja Tridev Roy
Raja Tridiv Roy is a former Raja of the Chakma tribe in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh who chose to remain a Pakistani when Bangladesh was created in 1971. He is also a writer, religious leader and politician in Pakistan....
and Raja Debashish Roy
Raja Debashish Roy
Raja Barrister Debashish Roy is the current titular King of the Chakma Circle, Bangladesh's largest indigenous community.Raja Debashish Roy became King after his father Raja Tridev Roy went into exile following the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971...
still held on to royal titles of Raja (King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
), Rani (Queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
) and Rajkumar(Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
), while the former families lost theirs.
See also
- ZamindarZamindarA Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
- RyotwariRyotwariThe ryotwari system, instituted in some parts of British India, was one of the two main systems used to collect revenues from the cultivators of agricultural land. These revenues included undifferentiated land taxes and rents, collected simultaneously...
- FeudalismFeudalismFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
- Princely States
- ManorialismManorialismManorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
- RajaRajaRaja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
- MaharajaMaharajaMahārāja 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...
- NawabNawabA Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
- Landed propertyLanded propertyLanded property or landed estates is a real estate term that usually refers to a property that generates income for the owner without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In Europe, agrarian landed property typically consisted of a manor, several tenant farms, and some privileged...
- MirzaMirzaMirza , is of Persian origin, denoting the rank of a high nobleman or Prince. It is usually translated into English as a royal or imperial Prince of the Blood...
- ManorialismManorialismManorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
- Medieval demographyMedieval demographyThis article discusses human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages, including population trends and movements. Demographic changes helped to shape and define the Middle Ages...
- Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
- Quia EmptoresQuia EmptoresQuia Emptores of 1290 was a statute passed by Edward I of England that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants wishing to alienate their land to do so by substitution...
- SerfdomSerfdomSerfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
- Statutes of MortmainStatutes of MortmainThe Statutes of Mortmain were two enactments, in 1279 and 1290, by King Edward I of England aimed at preserving the kingdom's revenues by preventing land from passing into the possession of the Church. In Medieval England, feudal estates generated taxes upon the inheritance or granting of the estate...
- VassalVassalA vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
- Feudalism in EnglandFeudalism in EnglandFeudalism as practiced in the Kingdom of England, in the traditional sense, is a state of human society which is formally structured and stratified on the basis of land tenure and the varieties thereof...
- ProtofeudalismProtofeudalismProtofeudalism is a concept in medieval history, most especially the history of Spain, according to which the direct precursors of feudalism can be found at the height of the Dark Ages...