Village accountant
Encyclopedia
The village accountant is an administrative government position found in rural parts of the Indian sub-continent. The office and the officeholder are called the patwari in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, North India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. The position is known as the karnam or adhikari in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, while it is commonly known as the talati in Gujarat and 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...

. The position was known as the kulkarni
Kulkarni
Kulkarni Marathi- Kannada- is a common family name in the Maharashtra and Karnataka states of India.The name Kulkarni is believed to be a combination of two words . Kula means the root of the family, and Karanika means one who maintains records or accounts...

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...

, but the office of the kulkarni was abolished in 1918 and replaced with that of the talati.

Talati

Talati is a word in the Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 and Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 languages of India. It is used to denote the office of the Talati in rural parts of the Indian states of Gujarat, 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...

 and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. The office and its holder are both called Talatis. Bearers of the office have adapted this as their family last name. The duties of a Talati include maintaining crop and land records (record of rights) of the village, collection of tax revenue, collection of irrigation dues. The post of the Talati replaced that of the Kulkarni
Kulkarni
Kulkarni Marathi- Kannada- is a common family name in the Maharashtra and Karnataka states of India.The name Kulkarni is believed to be a combination of two words . Kula means the root of the family, and Karanika means one who maintains records or accounts...

 which no longer exists in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The duties of a talati are performed in other states of India under a different title, for example the talati is called a Patwari in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

. Originally a land holding clerk, the talati is now a government appointed paid official. A Patil
Patil
Patil is an Indian title or lastname. "Patil" is predominantly used by Inhabitants of Deccan Maratha people . The native language of most Patils is predominantly either Kannada or Marathi...

 (Patel
Patel
Patel is a surname of Indian origin, originally meaning "headman" or"village chief". Patels are socially, economically and politically the most dominant caste in Gujarat Patels are basically Kurmis or Kunbis and are found in various geographical locations. The Kunbi are an Indian subcaste...

 in the state of Gujarat) is from outside the village and assists the Talati in collecting revenue. It has been alleged that the records maintained by the talati do not reflect the actual position on the ground because the talati did not take in to account the tribal custom of using the name of the adult male member of the family for land possession.

Amongst the administration, the talati has the closet connection with the village people. The talati is generally in charge of a group of villages called a saza and they are required to reside in that saza unless they get approval from the Collector to reside outside of the saza. However the majority of the talatis were found to be in violation of this rule. The talati belongs to the Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 caste in most cases and is generally looked up to in the villages because of being a representative of the government.

Etymology and history

The word talati is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 root tal which means to accomplish a vow, to establish or to fix. In 1814, legislation was enacted requiring all villages to maintain an accountant (talati) as an official agent of the government. The Kulkarni Watan was abolished in 1918 and paid talatis from all castes were appointed to the new office of the Talati. In some cases, the talatis were the oppressed castes and the abolishing of the Kulkarni Watan system was viewed as a progressive move.

Duties of the talati

In 1814, duties of the talati included preserving village records, monitoring daily activities, and gathering information about individuals, including mukhis and village elites.

In 1882, the Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency records the duty of the talati as that of a village accountant with a charge of about 8-10 villages. The talati's pay scale for this was £12 - £18 (Rs. 120 - Rs. 180) per year. The talati was supposed to live anywhere within these villages and was supposed to visit each village every moth to understand people's needs. The talati then reported these needs to to the sub-divisional manager in the sub-divisional office. Additionally, the Talati was also required to give each landholder an account showing the landholders dues. In August 1891 the pay of the talati is recorded as being poor.

In 1884, Elphinstone says that the duties of the talati are excellent in promoting the advantage of the government but they have a tendency to extinguish the authority of the Patel and recommends that care should be taken to bring talati's power within its natural bounds to remove interference from the duties of the Patel. The appointment of the talati was viewed negatively by village chiefs who felt he assumed the characteristic of a representative of the government, receiving complaints. The talati was appointed when the Kulkarni or Watandar, the hereditary accountant is absent from the village or district scene. The talati is also involved in collecting data related to census. This is an annual activity occurring after the Mrig
Mrigashirsha
Sanskrit mr̥gáśiras the 5th nakshatra or lunar mansion as used in Hindu astronomy and astrology is the constellation Orion. Its position is described in the Surya Siddhanta....

each year.

The talati's peers are called the patwari in Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Northern India, and karnam in Tamil Nadu.

Patwari

Patwari is term used in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and 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...

 for a land record officer at sub-division or Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

 level. As the lowest state functionary in the Revenue Collection system, his job encompasses visiting agricultural lands and maintaining record of ownership and tilling (girdawari). Due to their primary base in rural areas, where literacy and wealth is low, they yield a larger-than-life influence in the local community and are notorious for demanding bribe and changing land records at will. With recent computerization of land records, their ability to manipulate records has been limited. The Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 has developed a software system called Patwari Information System (PATIS) which was deployed in at least two districts as of 2005 with deployment at the Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

 level underway. Patwari reports to Tehsildar
Tehsildar
A tehsildar is a revenue administrative officer in Pakistan and India in charge of obtaining taxation from a tehsil. The term is of imperial Mughal origin made of "tahsil", an Islamic administrative derived from Arabic, meaning "revenue generating; collection" and "dar", Persian for "holder of a...

 or a chief clerk of Tehsils land records.. The Government of Punjab (Pakistan) as well delevlope a Land Software with the name of Land Revenue Management Information System (LRMIS). The Patwar system was first introduced during the short but eventful rule of Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...

 and the system was further enhanced by Emperor Akbar. The British colonial era
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...

 made minor amendments to the system but continued the system. The Patwari can yield significant power and influence with even feudal lords seeking his favour. There have been cases of corrupt Patwaris escaping punishment due to their position and political connections. The Patwaris are equivalent to Karnams in Telugu Brahmin sect.

Many holders of the title now use Patwari as their family last name in Karnataka and a few other parts of South India. Most of these belong to the Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 caste. The peer of a patwari 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...

 and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 is the talati.

Official duties

A patwari has three chief duties
  1. The maintenance of record of the crop grown at every harvest.
  2. The keeping of the record of rights up to date by the punctual record of mutations.
  3. The account of preparation of statistical returns embodying the information derived from the harvest inspections, register of mutation and record of rights.

Documents Related to Patwar

The Patwari system has very unique and old terminologies and nomenclature for its documents. Following are some main documents related to Patwaris:
  1. Fard: A document showing details of ownership about a piece of land as per in the books of patwari.---- It should be noted that Fard which is kept with the patwari is the record of the revenue-- which keeps details of the person who is paying revenue to the government for that land-- It is not the final evidence for establishing the ownership of a property-- At best the Fard can be additional piece of evidence which along with other proofs can establish the title of a person upon a property. Fard is just like entries in municipal records in the urban areas-- As house tax can be given to the government for a piece of land in urban area even by a tenant-- but that does not means that by paying house tax and entering as the payer of the house tax in the municipal records the tenant can ever become the owner of the property as in that case the tenant is only securing his own interest [possession]in the land -- but that does not gives him ownership of the land.-- Same is the thing with the Fard where the person whose name is mentioned in the Fard may be or may not be the owner of property. -- But still the person whose name is mentioned in the Fard is bound to have some interest in the land which can be in the form of owner or tenant or mortgagee or something like that -- which depends upon the facts and circumstances of the each case. --- It was held in the case of Lokesh Sanyal Vs. State of M.P.- Judgment given by the Madhya Pardesh High Court- in the year- 2007-- and published in the Law Journal-- Recent Civil Reports-- 2007 Vol. No.5 RCR [Civil] 636 [M.P.] [Gwalior Bench]-- Relevancy of record of Municipal Corporation-- Municipal Corporation cannot decide the question of Title-- Its records containing entries is maintained for fiscal purpose like Property Tax/House Tax Etc.
  2. Pertt Patwar: A copy of record showing the detail of transfer record. (You can pronounce Pertt as Per-ath )
  3. Pertt Sarkar: When a Partt Patwar is attested it is called Pertt Sarkar.
  4. Girdawari
  5. Jamabandi : Also called B1 / khatouni kishtwar. It consist the record of land holders and Land revenue as per every Khata private as well as Govt. Land . It is prepaired by using Khasra .

Girdawari

Under the 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...

n land record system, Girdawari is the record of land cultivation. It records the crop and ownership of the crop. The record is maintained by the Patwari in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, by the Talati 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...

, Gujarat and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 and other similar title holders in other states of India. The Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 has developed a software system called Patwari Information System (PATIS) that includes girdawari in its scope. PATIS was deployed in at least two districts as of 2005 with deployment at the Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

 level underway.

Local landlords must ensure that Girdawari stays in their name, otherwise; if someone else is shown as cultivating the land for an extended period of time, they can claim possession of the land, resulting in a dispute of land ownership.

Some terms of relevance are:
  1. Khasra
    Khasra
    A khasra is a legal agricultural document used in India and Pakistan that specifies land and crop details. It is often used in conjunction with a shajra , which is a reference map of the village that administers the land described by the khasra...

     number - a number assigned to a block of land.
  2. Murabba - a land block of 25 acres (101,171.5 m²).
  3. Patti - a composition of Khasra numbers.
  4. Intkaal - a notice required after registering a piece of land in ones name. One has to inform the Tehsil to update their records.
  5. Wakf board - a government institution in India to manage Muslim religious and community land.
  6. Haq shufa - preemption right- blood relative or tiller can claim right to repurchase property at sale price with in one year should it be sold to an outsider.
  7. Muzaira - a cultivator who does not own land.
  8. Vasiyat - a will
  9. Khatouni - revenue record
  10. Ntkaal - it used to be the responsibility of buyer but now with computerization this process has become automatic in India.


Several other terms are used. Some of them are listed here: Theka, Khevat, Kilabandi, Registry, Fard, Mushtarka, Chhijraa, Degree, Decree, Takseem, Halfia Bayaan, Mutation.

Jamabandi

A jamabandi is a term used in 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...

 meaning "rights of records" and refers to land records.

These records are documents which are maintained for each village within its Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

. It contains the name of the owners,area of cultivation/land,shares of owners and other Rights. It is revised after a certain period of time for e.g. in states like Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 it is revised after 5 years.
After it is prepared by Patwari (Govt. official who keeps and maintains Rights of Records) it is attested by Revenue Officer of that division. Two copies of jamabandi are made, one is kept in Government's Record room and other is kept with Patwari. All changes in title/interests of the revenue estate coming into the notice of Revenue Authorities are duly reflected in the Jamabandi according to set procedures.

In many states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

, Rajasthan, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, land records have been computerised. In these states, Jamabandi is prepared using software, and it is later checked by the patwari for errors. After it is corrected or approved by the patwari, a final printout is taken which is later attested by the Revenue officer. In these states Jamabandis are also made available on websites.

Jareeb

also called chain in English
In India Madhya Pradesh there are many types of chain / jareeb used to measure the Land Area
  1. Gwalior Jareeb = 75 feet long, 100 kari , each of kari is 9" long
  2. Indore jareeb = 66 feet long , 100 kari
  3. Metric jareeb = 20 meters long, 100 kari, 20 cm long

Units of measurement

Some of the key land measurement units used by the village accountant are given below:
  1. 8 Kanals = 1 acre
  2. Acre is also called quilla or ghumaon
  3. 20 marlas = 1 kanal
  4. 160 marls = 1 acre
  5. 1 marla = 9 square karams
  6. 1 karam = 5.5 feet
  7. 1 acre = 4 bigas+ 16 biswas (20th part)
  8. 1 acre = 4 and 4/5 bigas
  9. 1 acre = 96 biswas.
  10. 1 Biswa = 1125 sq. Feet
  11. 1 Beegha = 20 Biswa / 22500 sq. Feet
  12. 1 Beegha = 209 Are ( Gwalior Chain)

External links

  • Patwaris
  • 'Proposal to abolish 59 posts of Patwari' - News item- The Tribune
    The Tribune
    The Tribune is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from Chandigarh, New Delhi, Jalandhar, Dehradun and Bathinda. It was founded on 2 February 1881, in Lahore , by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as...

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