Vatandar is an Indian term meaning "landholder". The title was given to landowners, particularly with the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 community in Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, who were a ruling caste in Ancient 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...

.

The vatandar generally owned a plot ofland worked by the local people, who were dependent on the vatandar for their subsistence. In some cases, vatan land and the title vatandar were awarded to an individual by a higher ruler as reward for meritorious service.

Sources

• The State and the Village Community in Medieval Maharashtra (Seventeenth-Eighteenth Century AD)/Mily Roy Anand. New Delhi, Rajat, 2005, vii, 119 p., ISBN 81-7880-156-6.
• http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Ahmadnagar/gen_admin_collector.html
• Medieval Indian History. Krishnaji Nageshrao Chitnis. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2003 ISBN 81-7156-062-8, 978-81-7156-062-2. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=xMcIu7kL42MC&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200&dq=Watans+of+maharashtra&source=web&ots=qJywxxsMhQ&sig=WvKvSiJpu1FQpHCVKHbin4TJzIE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result
• Administrative System of the Marathas. Surendra Nath Sen, Published by K. P. Bagchi, 1976 Pg. 18,21,141