DOCUMENT ·

Au~angzeh's Farman to Rasikdas

· on Problems of . ·
Revenue Administration, 1665
SHIREEN MOOSVI

The seventeenth century, as it advances, becomes rich in official.as

well as unofficial doc~ents; yet th~re is a peculiar handicap.
From Akbar's reign, in spite of the relative paucity of document_s,
we are nevertheless fortunate in having memoranda and reports on
revenue administration from Todar Mal and Fatbullah ShirazI, and
a general set of Imperial regulations (dastiir-ul 'amal). 1 Such
documents have not survived from subsequent reigns. Aurangzeb's
Jarman on general matters of revenue administration, issued to a
revenue official, Rasikdas, therefore assumes great importance,
being the first document of its kind coming to us after ? gap of
some seventy years.
The Jarman, issued in the 8th regnal year of Aurangzeb (1665),
sheds light on the agrarian situation at the time and gives us an
impression of agrarian distress which is consistent with the
evidence from Bernier. It also attempts remedies whose prescrip-
tion is ascribed to the Emperor. For this purpose it describes the
current practices of revenue administration, offering welcome light
on the deficiencies which it seeks to rectify.
The credit for bringing the f armiin to light goes to Sir Jadunath
Sarkar who published its text,2 as well as a translation into English.'

~ A_b?'I F~.~rnti""', III, ed. Ahmad Ali, Calcutta, 1873-87, pp. 381.-3; 457-9. for
original vers100 of Todar Mal's memorandum see Br. Lib. MS Add. 27247, ff. 31 b--32b.
: Journal of tht Asiatic Socitty of Bengal, June 1906, pp. 249-,5.
J. Sarkar, Mughal Administration, Calcutta, 1924, pp. 213-29.
 Medieval India 1
198
d 4 and then lrfan Ha? ib,' explain~d som e of its tech .
d
Morelan brought out its impo rtanc e for · analysing the agr nt~a}
ter:~ ~n during Aurangzeb's reign. ar1an
con ~~ons tely the text that Sark ar publ ishe d was not c ll
.Uruohrtuna ail~ble MSS .and. was base d on only 9ne MS obate
~th ot er av . . d
· · f h ·
h best of the survtvmg copies o t e docu men t M 0 ' Y n
means _t u~onal errors some of them serious, rema ined und~t
transcr1p ' . h l d • any
by Sarkar. In his translatio n, e was e_ into man y erro rs by the Ccted
defects of his text; ?ut there are ot~e r slips as well, espe ~~y in
the
de ring of technical terms. For instance, he rend ers sal-z kam . _
ren
muttasil, not as 'year of full realizatton . d h 1
an t \.: year previous (to ,tho
. current)' but as the 'past y~~ and the year preceding it'. The 'ama
l:
jan1' and kankul (two distinct m~thods of asse~sment of
land.
revenue based on measurement) 6 simply beco me actu al valua
tion
of crop'. Again, jins-i kiimil is trans lated as 'full crop ' and not
as
high grade or · cash ~rop. The terri:i dastur-ul 'a~a l thou gh
very
clearly used for cash revenue-rates, ts rend ered as revenue guide
'.
In clause 8 he misread Iar/-i sikka .(disc ount on mintage) 7 as #r/
sikka, sir/ takeri to mean 'only', and the who le sens e of the clause
is
lost. This list of Sark a(s errors; whic h is not exhaustive, sugg
ests
that a fresh translation is necessary to enab le one to unde rstan d
/armiin properly• . • the
,• '. ~ , ! ; 'I •

The translation that follows is base d on a text collated with. niiie

available copies of the /armiin: viz.', ·
I
A: 1.0. 1146 (Ethe' 2185) .
B: . 1.0. 1566 (Ethe' 2186)
C: . 1.0. 4014, ff, 8a-1 lb~ · .1
D: Br.Lib.Add. 19503, ,ff. 62a- 63b . .
E~ .-Br.Lib.Or. 1735, ff. 162b-64b, 129 a-32 h.
:F;_ · Bodleian Pers~ e-1 (I, 1385)
G~ ~r~ ~Y~. Library, Pertsch's Cat. 15(23), ff. 267a-72a. d
~- N,garnama-, Munshi (Nawal Kish or ed.) , pp. 123 -4 an
99~102. .
\

Tbt- Ag,.,,. S
. " YSlm, 01..1 Mosl~m lndu,,
4
fl D. • •
Cambridge, 1929, pp. 132-8.
,..,_ ::•~ ~ Sysl~m o/Mugh11/ Indi4, Bombay, 1963, pp. 222 and
n., etc,
, See lrfali&nifkancc,of these tcrm1 see ibid., pp. 193,200. ·. 11,,Ji4
,n.
· .: Habib, Currency System of the Mughal Empire', Med,e
, t ", 1961; p. va
 Aurangzeb's Farman to Rasikdas 199

Text as printed by Sarkar in Journal of the Asiatic Sodety of

I: Bengal, N.S., II, 1906, pp. 249-55.
f these, seven MSS are. apparen~ly copies of the Jarman as
. ~d to Rasikdis; in _D_ h1_s n~e ts_ repla~ed by ~at of Mir
155~ammad Mu•izz, ~twan-r khal11a su_ha_ Bihar. This_ le~ _Irfan

.M b'1b to suggest that tt was not a Jarman issued to an

1
10div1dual,
Ba ircular meant for all the diwans of the khalisa. In that case,
bu_t a ca general order for at least .the areas under the khali$a, it
l,ein~res much greater importance than it would have had if it was
acqu~y issued to an individual. However, clause 7, which deals with
%er;pecific case of an area that was in a particular pr~ce's jligir
·\er suggests that it was first issued in response to certain
ear bl:ms raised by Rasikdis; then, perhaps, in view of its general
~r~cance, it was circulated to others. The fact that it is preserved
~tgso many MS copies also indicates that the Jarman was deemed to
:ntain regulations of televance in general administration . _
In Sarkar's printed text, Rasikdas's name is followed by the
designation karon_ (revenue-collector); no other MS carries this
designation. Moreover, it is evident from the internal evidence in
the farmiin _itself that it was addressed to a higher official, of the
status of dfwlin. 9 • '

The date of the /dr.miin appears from the reference to the 8th
regnal year of Aurangieb in the Preamble, the year being styled as.__
that of the commencement of implementation of the regulations
contained in the Jarman. The year corresponded to 18 March
1665-6 (March 1666); but the/armiin was to come into effect from
the beginning of the kharif harvest within that year, and this
(meaning August) could only fall within AD 1665.
The translation is based on the text provided in version A.
Variations from other versions are noted only if they are of any
substance. Obvious spelling mistakes are not noted.
Th~ translation is followed by a glossary of the technical terms
u~~ in the /arm an. The terms are given in the translation in their
?rtgmal form. For well-known technical terms the meaning is giv~
m brackets in the translated text.

• •

, Agrt1rian Syiltm of Mugh11/ lnditJ, p. 222 and n.

Moreland, Agr11rilln Sysltm, p. 13) and n.
 Medieval India 1
200
TRAN SLATI ON 1

Copy of the farman o/ the ~mper or Aurang;eb•o ·

Let the kzfiyat-sha'ir11 (skilled in financi al pruden ce) M
,- (obedient to Isiahi) Rasikd as, 12 be hopefu l of Imperi al fuJr,u/
Is,am
w that wherea s t he enttre. e levatcd
attenti on and d av0
. ur,
an d kno , d h . . h es1res 0f
th e Emper or are devote . .
to t e increas e 1n t e popula ti
cultivation of the Empire d. h 1£
an t e we are o f t h e wholeonri'ay- . and
(peasantry) and the entirecpeople , ~ho l
are the wonde rful er . a
. h
of the Creator; now, ~here1ore, an exp anau_o • eat1on
n aving been desired
of the actualities of a":a/ (revenu e-coll~ cuon) of_ pargan as of the
Malisa and tuy~/da~," tt has bee~ submit ted to Hts Majest y by the.
Imperial funct1onar1es, that.. during the curren t year, the uinana'.
(pl. of amin, assessment officers) of the pargan as of the Imperial
dominions assess the jam_a' (reven ue deman d) of most of the
-·villages of the parga_nas at the beginn ing of the year, keepin g in
view the bi_#/ (revenue-realiz~tion) of the siil-i kiimil (year of
maximum revenue-collection) ~nd . of. t~e previo us year and the
cultivable area an~ the conditi ~n (?f_t_h e peasan try's capabil ity and
other peculiarities. And if the P,easants of certain villages are not
agreea~1e Io this ~-o~e of collection, they assess the Jama' at the
harvest time by the method of jarib or kankiit. And in some of th~
villages, where they kn~w the peasan ts ~nd cultiva tors to be in
distressed c(r.fumstances ~nd with. i~~deq uate· resourc es, they
practise _ghalia·-l,afmshi (crop-sh~ring) .~t the rate of a half or one-
third or two-fiftEs (of the produc e) or more or less. At the close of
the year the /awamir (regi~ters) of jama'- i naqdf (jama' stated in
cash), (drawn up) in conformity ,vith the regulat ions and actual
practice, with his (the Diwan' s) own ta1diq (confir matory endorse-
m~nt) and the qubul (acceptance) of the karoris and the dastEf2aJ-
(5ignatures) of the chaudhris and qanung os are sent to the Imperial
Off
. tee. But the Imperia · l Office does· not receive
' the· record
· of t he

.': ~ reads 'Copy .of the Jarmin of Emperor Aurangz eb 'Ala~ir issued to Mir
M~ 1•mmad Mu'izz diwii
"Alamgi ~h- _, , n-r· _a
kb -l11a
· 1u-1,,. a· • •
Bihar by way · ·
of a dasliir.-111 f B dds
'ama ; a .
11 ~ "ll.!.! 8
Z 1 after Emperor
Aurangze b •. ·
• ..1_:~tud~ commonly used for officers of the revenue ministrv by the Mutzhal
~~n~
,, D ~.L I("_
.
•·
• ~ -,.'lddt Mi'iib ( ·· . ial
ara1u1) Ki/1,at Dtlst• -h -(receptacle of bliss), Wiziiral Panah (officer of mu· 11st
·
er
,· E omits luyiilda~.
•" master o( fmancta
· I i,rud
cncc) Mir Mubamm ad Mu ,azz • •·
 Aurangzeb's Farman to Rasikdis 201

d area) of each pargana, specifying the cultivated

irl.i (ineasureils of the rabi' and M_ari/ crops, showing (1) 'how
land ,nd 1~ta as (under) the jins-i kiimil (high-grade crops) and
rnuch (~9~ ('10ferior crops) .during the previous year, and whether
Jir1s-i naqtib 0 any change, i.e. an increase or a fall during the
. d h
there has eecompared to the previous year, an (2) t e number of
curJ:~~ Y;:iuvators) classified as mustii.firs (revenue-farmers), ri'ijii
,,,,aan s ) etc:, whereby the condition of each ma'7al and the
(pc:asa~::~e of the' mutaiaddfs (officials) of that place, who, upon
cornpecurrence of a short-fall in the '7iisil (revenue-collt:l~ion) of
theoc h f h . ' d .
that mabal, after t ~ asse~sment o t e ;ama '. ~rant a_ re uctton
&orn the total jama , making a pretex~ o_f def1c1en~ rams, or the
}amity of frost or the cheapness of gram or somethmg else, might
~:come known, in. conformity with the reality. If, informing
themselves of the actual condition of the cultivators and cultivation
in each village, they (the officials) proceed to (assess and) collect
revenue ('amal-numiiyand) on the basis ·of (such) detailed knowl-
edge, and endeavour to get the cultivable land cultivated and to
enlarge the cultivation of jins-i kiimil ~high-grade crops), the
(villages of) parganas will be inhabited and cultivated, the peasantry
will be well-off and there will be an increase in the mahsul
(revenue, produce). And in this situation if any (natural) calamity
occurs, no great loss will .take place in the biifi/ (revenue collec-
tion), owing to the abundance of cultivation.
· (Accordingly) the World-subduing, Universe-governing order is
(hereby) issued to the ·effect that he should inform himself of the
actualities of each village of the parganas attached to his diwiini and
amfnf (office of diwiin and amin), namely, how much is the (area
of) cultivable iiriiI,i (land) within it (his jurisdiction), how much out
of it is cultivated, how much uncultivated, the extent of land under
;i'ns-i kiimil each year, and the cause of the said iira;.f remaining
uncultivated. He. should ,further find out what were the dastiirs
(rates) of the levy of ma/Jsiil (revenue) in the blessed reign of l:lfJlarat
'Arsh Ashiyiini (Akbar) duri~g th_e diwanf of Rija To~ar Mal; and
whether the sa'ir taxes are accordmg to the old regulations, or have
been fixed ~ta higher (rate) since the_ year ?f the beginning of this
au~st reign; how,. many villages are !nhab1ted_ and how many are
desolate and what.is the cause of thctt desola!'on. After obtaining
. t f-LftA< ""'R . LM e mitten, he should .:.stnve for progressively
tn1oraa,...,... v ~ , .J .it.....n ..L- . cu)• b
popai'aei"9~,seH•,wwllage.t lbga.e-•I wa: t1va le land
 Medieval India 1
202
• t nual (pledged revenue-rate) appr
. d .th a 1us '7 • • 1. . ' opt'
culuvate , wa t) and increasing (the cu uvat1on of) the ._late
qarir (agreemen 'here is a well that is out of repair, he h1' 111·i
di'g new ones. He shouId mak e assessrns 0111..t
• •t Wherever t
leam, • lol'Q
• · nd a1so ent f
repair at a h anner that the who1e peasantry receives it do
. ' .n sue/ . a m
1a111a 1
I d ).
.:. ..b (authorised an -revenue 1s realized i... . e
. s u
h mi -1 wa11 . . 111 tun
and t e . le peasant is subJected to oppression. He shou1~'
and not a smgpare records containing the number of cultivators f,
~ery year' pre
·n d the ara1, - 1- ( area ), cu Iuvate
. d an d uncultivat d o
each v1 age an
. . ed b lls and dependent on ram . 1 d k- e
on y; an amil and ,, , 1.'
1rr1gat Ywe · · h ' I· "'1 1
the extent of success m getting t e cu ttvable land
crops, and . h ( d ) k - .1
.
cuIuvate , d and increasmg t e area
d . I er r. amt crops and
un
populating the villages that have ?een eso at~ ror years. He should
then submit (to the Imperial Office),·the b
details of enhancement if
between that which has (now) · een f'1xed and the previous '
any, · . h h b
dastur-ul 'amal, together with the amount t at as een collected in
the whole year. · ., · · · · '· · ·
. This regulation and rule of procedure is to ?e d~emed to be in
effect from the beginning of the khari/ of the Ilan 11, the 8th year
from His Majesty•s accession, and he should act in conformity
.
thereto' and also instruct the 'iiinils of mabals andjiigirdirs to work
in the manner here prescribed: · _ .
1. That he is not to allow the chaudhrfs and 'iimils to see him in
private and-should direct-. that they be in attendance at the dfwini
(office); he should (on the other hand) ·admit the reza-ri'iiyii (small
peasants) and the poor; who come for making submissions as to
their condition, into private as well as public audience and make
them familiar with himself so that they might not need any other
person's mediation in representing their needs.
2: ~at he ·should!direct the 'iimtls that they should at the
begmn~g of the year find out the (number of) c4ltivators with the
number of ploughs and extent of iirii1,i (area) village by village. If
the
· ~ants are we11 off, they should arrange ' that all of them,

=~g •
•~rd•ng to their condition, try to ,increase ·(the area under)
nd .!0 , in comparison with last year, bring about an

s:-:~
;:~_gCJnent 10 the area cultivated and while shifting from the
1111Ct10r cro U"1111 1· d . grade ' (jins-i a'li) not leave
ps . • a ni) to high
cult~lc land, so ·far as they Can. If an; one frOIII
the cultivators ·(ltirindas) has fled, they ('imi/s) should
reason thereof and try hard in the matter of his return
 Aurangzeb's Fannin to Rasiltdis 203

. native place. Similarly, they should use praisewonhyendea-

co his h ffi th.
gather
vour and ~uc Uc ~drt at soodd. m~ and conciliation, to
vable
culti\'ators iro~ a s1 es .an trect1ons. As for banjar (culti
) on it
,ste) land, they should impose such dastiirs (revenue-rates
ws to enable it to be brou ght under culti vation. ·
. · _
3
J. ·That he shoul~ direct the amms of the parganas that they
every year discover the actual .conditions (mau tJ'iidit) f
Id ill vill . o
shou b
age,_ pe~ sant -~se (~sim_iwar), -and , after
cultivation, v_ age y
cial
minute scrutlQY, assess the Jama, keepmg m view the finan
of the
interest (kt/iyat) of_ the governm~nt and the weHare
erial
peasantry, and submit the dau/ (register) of jama' to the 'Imp
office without ~clay. , . ·.· , . .
4. That, after the assessme
nt of Jama', he should so settle that,
ts (for
in conformity · with the settled procedure, the , instalmen
d in
payment) of mil-i ~ijib (land-revenue) t~at!~ . are establishe
('amils)
each pargana. In this respect, he should direct that they
demand
should start the realization of ma~ful in time, they should
himseH
(.the payment) according to ·the fixed time; and he should
t that
take weekly reports (of the ·collection) .. He , should direc
lment.
nothing should be left (uncollected) out of the settled insta
ed, it
In case some part of the _first . instalment is , left uncollect
third
should be realized with the second instalment, and by the
.
instalment the full payment, without any arrears, be made:
5. That he should fix suitable _instalments for the baqi (arre
ars)
bility of
of the (previous) years, ~ccording to the condition and capa
lments) ·
the peasants. He should instruct the karorfs·that (these insta
keep
should be realized according to agreement, and he should
.' There
himself informed t?f the progress of the revenue colle'ction
· and
should not be any delay due to the fraudulent practices
negligence of the 'imt1s.
on
6. That, whenever he himself goes out to obtain informati
h he _)
about the true condition of the parganas, in each village whic
n, rat"
passes through, he should obseive the state of cultivatio
of the
~crop yields)," the capacity of the cultivators and the amount
Jama'. If (he fmds that) in the distribution of theja
ma' fairness and
idual
proper calculation has been followed in respect of each indiv ' i ' '
"

l4So in ~ text; bu~ d,e word !ti (that) should be ~mitted . .

issal): these are
D, G, and H rad •nJ," (one-founh) and the rar •,4/6'' . (dism
1
'.
.
ol,y._ lllisreadinp {w .,..,, (m,p.yi,:lda). . ;. . , . .
204 Medieval India 1

payer, well and good; but if the chaudhrf, or muqadda .

is inv.olved in oppression he should, comforting the ~r Pat1'Ji,; ':i
him have his due; and take away the gunJayash (g ~ )t7iator, lct
dominant ones (m_uta11?-all~1Jan). He should.,__devotin~iJnro tn the
detailed, truthful mquuy mto the assessment of the p self to a
and the distribution of its maujiidat (assets), report ind r~nt Year
Imperial Office), so that the true state of
efficiency oft~ (to ~c
and the good management of that Wizirat Panah (i.e. incu e~,,,,,,s
office in revenue department; in this case, the addr~~t of
obseived. be
7. That he should maintain the nankar and in (rcvenu -fi am
grant) according to the revenue regulations of the khal,1a ad~~e
tration. He shou1d discover whatever the 'imt1s of the Prince h JS.
increased, so that, keeping in view such past matters as how muavh
is left in arrears and what deductions have been obtained i
account of scarcity (of. ra~) or calamity, by that set of P~pl:
(recipients of nankir , and - in'am) from the beginning of the
assignment (lankhwah) of thejagfr, he should recover (the excess·
paid in nankir and in'im). And for the future he should settle that
whenever they restore the parganas to their original state and the
fact is reported to the Imperial court, each would receive conces-
sions in accordance with the.·amount of services rendered by him.
8. That he should arrange·that in the /oJakhina (treasury) the ·
treasurers (/oJadars) should· (orily) accept the auspicious 'alamgiri ·
sikkas (newly-coined money of Aur;mgzeb). In the event of the
non-availability of this kind · of rupee, . they should accept the
Shahjahini chalni (current) coins16 that are current in the market
and collect the fee (abwab) of farf-i sikka (mintage). But they must
never accept for the Treasury under-weight rupees that are not
current in the market. However, if they find that by rejecting the
defective coins, revenue collection (tabsil) may be delayed, they
should, taking right and just discount from the peasantry, make the
exchange (of the defective coins into good) in the presence (of the
payers).
· 9. That, if, God forbid!, any natural calamity occurs in a
8t
locality (maqa/), he should strongly direct the amins and 'amils ~
they should watch over the maujiidit (assets) of the cultivation w•th
every care, and, finding out (the extent of loss) peasant-wise, they
. -

J)il. ff adds 'f!k,1:4110' (c:oins of the earlier reigns) aft~ 'd,o/11i'.

 das
Aurangzeb's Farman to Rasik 205

e an as se ss m en t ac co rd ing to the hast-o-biid by means

sh
ould m dak • In no c~se sh'ould they make a collective
of detail~ scrutiny. (i/ it-i sarbasta), whose distribu-
on ~c co un t of ca lam ity
deduction audhris, qaniingos, muqaddam
s
m th e ha nd s of th e ch
tion would be
an ts (reza ri'aya) 1 receiving th
eir
so th at th e sm all pe as
pafwir'fs, an d the dominant ones are
d:e, remain safe fro m in
em.
ju ry an d los
·
s,
. ..
t able to oppress th , 'im1ls, chaudh~s,
in ge nt ly di re ct the am ins
noIO. That he should str
er of extinction of ma/ha,
mu qa dd am s in th e m att
anungos and e in addition to the ma/. (land
ch ex pe ns es th at ar
"limination of su th at are the cause of the
pr oh ib ite d ce sst :s,
;evenue) an~ the that
th e pe as an try . H e sh ou ld take bonds from them,
distress of lge in)
se in the malhc1 ~ and (indu
1

ne ve r m ak e an y in cr ea
they would d remitted by the Imperial
e ce sse s fo rb id de n an
extraction of th lf in formed; if anyone still
alw ay s ke ep hi m se
~ourt. He should .and
su ch ac ts an d pe rsi sts in chem despite prohibition
commits rt the matter to the Imperia
l
e Di wa n) sh ou ld re po
censure, he (th
issed from service and som
e
he {th e cu lp rit ) be di sm
court, so that
place.
one else be appointed in his ,"' he
Th at, fo r tra ns lat in g th e Hindwi" papers into Persian
11. ge
disc ov er th e am ou nt s of qiichh,' bt'hrimal, ikhriijiil (villa
should t (asami).
an d ru su mi it (p er qu isi tes), paid by each peasan
expenses), the Treasury, everything th
at
gh t in to th e ac co un ts of
Having brou ac counts, he should record
pe as an t's ho us e, on all
comes out of the in, the 'iimil, the zammdiirs,
op ria te d by th e am
the balance, appr ble , he should collect and
So far as po ssi
etc., name by name. es of
e the ka f!? .az -i kh am (p a/w iiri's papers) of ail the villag
translat the pa/wiiii <ir for some othe
r
. If, du e to th e ah se nc c of
the pargana not obtained, he should, fo
r
rs ·fro m a few vil lag es are
reason; pape ge, struck on the basis'of the
in th e re gis ter th e av era
that part, enter lag es . After the preparation of
ra ma d) of all the vil
appropriation (ba t it. Jf it has been drawn
up in
wJ n sh ou ld in sp ec
the register, the Di sh ou ld ac·cept jt, and recover
ru les (d as tiir ) he
conformity with the 'am il, in accordance with {? )
the amount misappro pr iat ed ·~y th e
o, the
ula tio ns , an d (al so ) wh ate ver, the chaudhr{, the qiiniin.~
the reg propriated in excess of the
an d th e pa /w ar i ha ve ap
muqaddam .
est abJished perquisites (rusii
m). ,

, ,. •
is provided by D and H.
:: ~ correc t readintc 'ma /ha' any of the MSS.
e sup erfluo us wo rds arc added thaa are not supponed by
In H som
 • I

Medieval Indi4 1
206 f) L..:
•write (the name o everyon~ uuan ain'
12. That he ~ultoJ4dits," who has sc~ with uprial,;,.~
the amins, /u,rons an . acted in every matter m confornufy 11
~

and devotion and, h;"1glaid down here, has w<lrked laudal,1y\litli

the rules that have :n eward for his prudence and honCSfy so.
that he should::- : :ntr111Yfashion, he (the Diwi11) ~
anyone has act J:1 1 perial court, so that he may be dis~ ·
report t~e_fact tod ~sc'::arged from duty, and, being ·called t0
from service. an . hment for his improper conduct. ·
t recetve punis h . f h ;
.
accoun ' h h Id •· nsist upon t e receipt o t e register •n
13 · That e,. sI ouh re he has him• self taken res1'dence, he sho,,i.1
th
~
(daily account) of the collect1on
14 4 e · of .L
time. · At e "th " wnamcha . . lis uie
daily secure e roz ( -, . ) d th
land revenue (mi/) and the cesses Ja tr an e_ pnce t; and
•aanas , the roznamcha of, the collect10n of mil auu.1
11 ..

from other par6 • f th ·

mauJuaa·-J-=t every fortnight , and the arhsattli°
J-:: _ ., ,.__ (ta/;w,1
th o. ,e account _ ,
lit. money in custody of) th.e f o.!a':"'TS_• . e Jam~ w~st,- 0
4!1, every
month, and the register of Jama , mu1mil, and Jama bandt and the
income and expenditure (jama'-o-M,arch) ~ccount of the /oJadi,,
every harvest. He should inspect and call to account whomever has
appropriated anything in ex~ess of the due amount, and send the
repo~ to the Imperial Office.·He should not delay (the collection
of) the papers of. the khan/ till ·the rabr and of the rabr till the
lehan1, ' · : ' ·· <· ' ·
14. That he should strictly cake papers from the amin, the amil
or the /oJadir, who has been dismissed h'.om service~ and should
_settle his account. He should recover through audit the appropria-
tions recoverable (abwab-i bazya/ti) in conformity with the rules of
the diwanf. He should send the paper with the record of the .
. realization of the audited appropriations (abwab-i badarnawfsi) to
the Imperial leachehri (office), so that he (the dismissed official)
may obtain from that office (the certificate of) 'accounts cleared'
·(az mubisiba /ariil!_). · . .. .· ·
15 • 1:bat he should ·compile the papers of the .diwani each
harvest, m conformity with the established ru1es and send these to
the Imperial Office~ under his own seal and endorsement. ·

~ D rad, 'jigi,di,s' in place of '/oJ61Jl,a•, ..

H aada '•lhlMJ,•: I has.,._, and G 's/Jull.
 GLOSSARY

ption;
s), taxes, cesses; btir.yi/ti, resum a-
Abwib~i bazyi/ti :bwab (lit. u e to b e collected o r malappropri
gate
.en ce cesscs d ',_
ve r- 1 (Wilso , G WSSIJ,Y
e to b e re co ns
u o n s th at ar e d u ca I

' •
$, V , )
ad),
s1 1rb1 1s1a (l it. d o se d at th e he
A/at, calamit y; count o f ·
Afat-i sarbasltJ ce lu m p su m de du ct io n o n ac
ag gr e~ at e; h en
calamity. · of
ec ti on o f re ve nue, also term
(Lit. pr ac ti ce ) coll t. · .
'Amal o r as si gn m en
of fi ce nce
ec .; ja n1 ', m ea suring rope; he
pr
F o r 'amal se e b y measuremen
t. Cf.
'Amal-i Jarib as se ss m en t o f
la nd -r ev en ue
H ab ib , A gr ar ia n System, p . 20 0.
Ir fa n ta , The
ve nu e ac co un ts. Cf. S. P. G up
A b st ra ct s o f re 86,
Arhsatta em o f E as tern R .ajasthan, Delhi, 19
Agrarian Syst M em oi rs on Sind, ed. R
H.
S ee al so
p p. .317-18.
T ho m as , 1855,
p . 7.30 (atsatha). t;
in di vi du al ), individual peasan
A sa m i (lit. · n am ed le nt o f English suffix
'-
Asami-wir ix eq ui va
war, P er si an suff ng _revenue on) each peasant
ssessi
w is e' ; h en ce (a
se pa ra te ly . enue;
o n ea ch sh ar e (b ahra); mil, land-rev
Behn~ le vy t, com-
BehriMal n t. d em an d ed from each peasan
u
h~ nc e a~ o
ab ov e, th e au thorised revenue
~nd
pr is in g~ o r ov er n, G lo ss ary, s.v. ; cf. H ab ib
,
(W il so
an d o th er cesses d n). ·
Agrarian System, p . 126 an
Balance, arrears. , revenue collecti
on.
B iiq i on , ru le ; 'a m al
-ul Dastiir, regulati rates.
Dastiir o r dastiir re ve nu e re gu lations, revenue-
H en ce e crop-
'amal u ce ; ba kh sh i, a portion; he nc
Gha/la, p ro d ·
@a/la balehshi ab ib , A gr ar ia n System, p. 197.
sharing. Cf. H
s.
(Lit. pr of it ) gain t b a s~ on
Gunjayash id , w as . A m et h o d o f assessmen ,
Hasl, is; bi f to ta l pr od uc e (Wilson
H111t-o -bud su m m ar y estim
at io n o d
f. J: Ia bib, A gr ar ia n System, p . 198 an
Glossary, s.v., C
11.) nue collection. C
f.
p ai d o u t o f re ve
Village expenses n.
IM,aiat-i deh em, p. 243 an d
Habib, Ag,11r1'an Syst
208 Glossary

]ama'-o-kharch Collection and expenditure. See also h.

ar, satt11
Jama' was,1 baqf A statement of total assessment of rev ·
amount realized (wii#/), and the balanc:°uc (ia,,,a'),
st
(biiqi) (Yasin's Glossary, Add. 660} ~~ banding_
8
' · • and
Wilson, Glossary, s.v.)
]ins-i kam,1, Jins-i a'la High grade crops, cash crop·s (Y-as1n - ,
s Gloasa
Patna, f.66a). · ry,
]in_s-i niqis, Jins-i adna Inferior crops, ibid.
Kankii/ Method of assessing revenue based on me
• asurctnern
of land and estimation of yield. Cf. Agrarian S
p. 175. . YSlt111,

~ above authorised revenu~, collected ostensibly

1
Malba
for village expenses. Cf. Habib, Agrarian System
pp. 126-7, 243 and n . '
Nanka, Allowance paid to zamindar out of the revenue
collection or ·by allotment of tax-exempt land for
services rendered in collecting land-revenue. Cf.
Agran'an System, p. 146 and n.
Reza n·'ayi Small peasants.
Sal-i Ka.mil Abbreviated form of sil-i '7ii#l-i kiimil, year when the
revenue realized was the maximum.
Sarfi Sikka Discount on account of mintage.
Sanshta-i wu5iil-i Sarishta, register; WU$iil, receipt; badarnawfsi, audit.
abwiib-i badarnawisf . - Hence ~u'dited register of collection of ~authorised
appropriations.
Tiyulda, T iyii/, area whose revenues were assigned ~y the
Emperor.. Hence holder of tiyii/ or jigfr, which are
synonyms.

' '.