Question

What is meant by the word “Mahal” in the British revenue records?

Answer 1

The word Mahalwari is derived from the word Mahal which means house, district, neighbourhood or quarter.[1]This system consisted of landlords orLambardars claiming to represent entire villages or even groups of villages. Along with the village communities, the landlords were jointly responsible for the payment of the revenues. But, individual responsibility was always there. The land included under this system consisted of all land of the villages, even the forestland, pastures etc.

This system was prevalent in the parts ofUttar Pradesh, the North Western province, parts of Central India and Punjab[2]

Answer 2

Give a brief description of the ‘ryotwari system’.