The Zaildar was, effectively, the headman of headmen. While a Lambardar (numberdar) looked after a single village, the Zaildar oversaw them all.
He was not an aristocrat by colonial decree; he was an aristocrat by local recognition. The British simply formalized the existing hierarchy. The criteria were brutal and pragmatic: land ownership, martial reputation, and loyalty. In a province obsessed with zat (caste) and biradari (brotherhood), the Zaildar was the Sardar of the common man.
: While first proposed in 1873, the system was implemented in 1880 as a means of political and administrative control.
However, in a society where history runs deep, titles do not die easily. Even today, families that held the position of Zaildar generations ago are often referred to by the title. The respect is hereditary. If you visit a village in central Punjab, the locals might still point to a particular family and say, "Yeh Zaildar gharana hai" (This is the Zaildar family), acknowledging their historical dominance and current social standing. zaildar
Enter the system.
The Zaildar was not a member of the nobility in the ancient sense; he was an appointed official. However, the criteria for selection turned this office into an institution of pseudo-aristocracy. The British looked for three things:
Architecturally, the old Zail Ghar stands as a testament to the past. Many have been converted into schools, hospitals, or government offices. Others lie in ruins, their collapsing roofs telling the story of a system that time forgot. The Zaildar was, effectively, the headman of headmen
The system worked because of mutual ego. The British got stability. For a cost of a few hundred rupees a year (plus a jagir of 50–100 acres), they outsourced the governance of five million peasants. The Zaildar got power. He was exempt from begar (forced labor). He rode a horse while the peasant walked. He was invited to the Lieutenant Governor’s darbar (court) and given a chair—a chair!—while others sat on the floor.
The decline of the Zaildar began with the winds of change that swept through the subcontinent. After the Partition of 1947, the new governments in Pakistan and India sought to modernize governance.
In India, the system lingered longer, rebranded as Lambardar (line-holder), but stripped of its judicial powers. The Green Revolution gave economic power to the middle peasant, not the tribal chief. The Zaildar, once the voice of the biradari , was drowned out by the tractor and the fertilizer factory. The British simply formalized the existing hierarchy
His powers were immense for a non-bureaucrat.
His powers were extensive and touched every aspect of rural life:
|
News | Jobs | Calculators | Menu |