Vatandar

Vatandar (or Watandar) is an Indian term meaning "landholder". The title was given to landowners, particularly with the Maratha community in Maharashtra, who were a ruling caste in Ancient India.

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. [1]
• Administrative System of the Marathas. Surendra Nath Sen, Published by K. P. Bagchi, 1976 Pg. 18,21,141