The village accountant (variously known as patwari, talatti, karnam, adhikari, etc.) 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, Karnataka, Bengal, North India and Pakistan. The position is known as the karnam or adhikari in Tamil Nadu, while it is commonly known as the talati in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The position was known as the kulkarni in Maharashtra, but the office of the kulkarni was abolished in 1918 and replaced with that of the talati.
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Talati is a word in the Gujarati and Marathi languages of India. It is used to denote the office of the Talati in rural parts of the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. 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.[1][2][3] The post of the Talati replaced that of the Kulkarni which no longer exists in Gujarat and Maharashtra.[4] 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.[4] Originally a land holding clerk, the talati is now a government appointed paid official.[2][5] A Patil (Patel 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.[6]
Amongst the administration, the talati has the closet connection with the village people.[7] 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.[8] The talati belongs to the Brahmin caste in most cases[3] and is generally looked up to in the villages because of being a representative of the government.[9]
The word is derived from the Sanskrit root tal which means to accomplish a vow, to establish or to fix.[10] In 1814, legislation was enacted requiring all villages to maintain an accountant (talati) as an official agent of the government.[11] 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.[12]
In 1814, duties of the talati included preserving village records, monitoring daily activities, and gathering information about individuals, including mukhis and village elites.[11]
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.[7] In August 1891 the pay of the talati is recorded as being poor.[13]
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.[9] 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.[14] The talati is also involved in collecting data related to census. This is an annual activity occurring after the Mrig each year.[15]
The talati's peers are called the patwari in Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Northern India, and karnam in Tamil Nadu.[4][14]
Patwari is term used in Pakistan and India for a land record officer at sub-division or Tehsil 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 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 level underway.[16] Patwari reports to Tehsildar or a chief clerk of Tehsils land records.[17]. 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 and the system was further enhanced by Emperor Akbar. The British colonial era 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.[18] There have been cases of corrupt Patwaris escaping punishment due to their position and political connections.[19] 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 caste. The peer of a patwari in Maharashtra and Karnataka is the talati.
A patwari has three chief duties
The Patwari system has very unique and old terminologies and nomenclature for its documents. Following are some main documents related to Patwaris:
Under the Indian 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, by the Talati in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka and other similar title holders in other states of India. The Government of India has developed a software system called Patwari Information System (PATIS) that includes girdawari in its scope.[16] PATIS was deployed in at least two districts as of 2005 with deployment at the Tehsil 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:[14]
Several other terms are used. Some of them are listed here: Theka, Khevat, Kilabandi, Registry, Fard, Mushtarka, Chhijraa, Degree, Decree, Takseem, Halfia Bayaan, Mutation.
A jamabandi is a term used in India meaning "rights of records" and refers to land records.
These records are documents which are maintained for each village within its Tehsil.[20][21] 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, Haryana, Rajasthan it is revised after 5 years. After it is prepared by Patwari (Govt. official who keeps and maintains Rights of Records[17]) 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, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, land records have been computerised.[22][23] 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.
also called chain in English In India Madhya Pradesh there are many types of chain / jareeb used to measure the Land Area
Some of the key land measurement units used by the village accountant are given below: