Zaildar

Zaildar (Hindustani: ज़ैलदार, Punjabi: ذَیلدار) was the position based title of the grand jagirdar (landlord) of the area, who were in charge of a Zail which was an administrative unit of group of villages during the British Indian Empire. Settlement Officer, with the advice of Deputy Commissioner, was responsible for appointing Zaildar from amongst the leading men of the tribe or the area, thus reinforcing his preexisting social authority with the official sanction as the representative of the government. Each Zail was an administrative unit, extending between 40 to 100 villages. Each village was headed by the Lambardar who was assisted by the "Safedposh Zamindars" (influential landlords) of the village. Zaildars were the revenue collecting officers and were also responsible for maintaining law & order in his zail. The Lambardar and Safedposh assisted the Zaildar in his functioning , Zaildar in turn assisted the Deputy Commissioner. The Zaildar was more influential than the Lambardar (village head) because a Zail included several villages in it. Safedposh (white collar gentry), were also appointed to assist Zaildar.

Influence of Zaildari system

The position was quite important as it extended the influence of the colonial state right into the villages. It also reinforced the already dominant social status of the Zaildar with the official government sanction. The Zaildar exercised tremendous authority among the villagers, many of whom looked to him for patronage and assistance, and he alone possessed the power of threats and blandishment within his Zail.

Appointment criteria

Zails were established and demarcated by the District collector or (also called Deputy Commissioner) during the land revenue settlement exercise. Settlement officer, with advice from the District collector and by the final approval of the state's Financial Commissioner, appointed a Zaildar to each Zail on either (a) hereditary basis, (b) for one life or (c) a fixed tenure, who were equivalent to the Chaudharis (feudal zamindars) of earlier times and were hand-picked by the higher authorities, who based their decision on issues such as caste or tribe, local influence, extent of landholding, services rendered to the state by him or his family, and personal character and ability. A Zaildar when once appointed should only be removed from office for misconduct or neglect, removal on account of old age or disability caused by an accident is a harsh punishment, in such cases he can continue to operate through a representative.

"The introduction of the zaildari agency into any district must be approved by the local Government [Deputy Commissioner]. Any subsequent increase or decrease in the number of zaildars can be made under the orders of the Financial Commissioner, provided the percentage of the land revenue assigned for their emoluments is not exceeded ... No attempt should be made to fix the limits of zails, but the tribal organization and other important families of the tract should be explained in such detail as is necessary to enable Government to judge whether the agency should be introduced. Any proposals to appoint inamdars [also called safedposh] may be made in the same report. The opinions both of the Settlement Officer and of the Deputy Commissioner should be given. The report should be submitted to Government through the Commissioner and the Financial Commissioner, each of whom should record his views on the proposal made in it."

— Punjab Settlement Manual, 1930 (point 578, page 272).

Role and remuneration of Zaildar

Zaildars were essentially revenue ministers and representatives of the British Empire who enjoyed remuneration for their duties, life grants of either fixed amount or grant equal to one per cent of the revenue of their zails from the assessment of any single village that they chose. Some of the responsibilities of the Zaildar corresponded to the responsibilities that fell under the Deputy Commissioner [such as the revenue collection, mutations, local governance issues, related dispute resolution, etc] and other duties corresponded with the responsibilities that fell under the Settlement officer [such as the revenue settlement, reassessments, preparation of maps, etc]. Some of the notable zaildars were

• Chaudhary Sardar Khan Kahloon Zaildar was appointed as Zaildar of in Chak Jhumra Tehsil of Lyallpur(Present Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan). He was from village Daowala 146 Rakh Branch. He was very famous and loved because of his justice and helping the ones who were oppressed. During partition of 1947, he along with his allies (Chatha and Bal tribes) from various villages provided shelter to Sikhs migrants. In his village British government has a government owned bungalow to control Canal irrigation system which is still functional today. His son Ch Fateh Ali Kahloon Zaildar was appointed as Zaildar after him. His family is still in politics and his grandson had become Chairman several times known as Ch Shabir Ahmed Kahloon. Sardar Khan’s Great Grandson, Ch Shabir’s Nephew and Ch Munir Kahloon’s(Ex-Canal Irrigation Officer) son Ch Arslan Munir Kahloon is a practicing Advocate and a Notable member of Punjab Bar Council. He’s done his LLM from University of Essex London and currently practicing law in London.

• Chaudhary Fazaldad Warraich Zaildar was very renowned and loved Zaildar from Gujranwala. He was from Village Papnakha.

• Sardar Gurcharan Singh Zaildar of village Dangarh. He held an administration of 28 village in Barnala district. He belong to a Shergill family.
• Chaudhary Harbans Singh was appointed as Zaildar of 65 villages in Delhi Tehsil.
• Sardar Joginder Singh Zaildar of Village Nahar majra. He hold the administration of 37 Villages and one of most powerful of the Shahabad Block.
• Choudhary Hansraj Gurjar Zaildar of 25 villages; his son is Krishan Pal Gurjar MoS (2020).
• Choudhary Bir narayan singh zaildar village khanpur father of , Balbir singh tehsildar who was the only son of Bir narayan ji was zaildar of more than 50 villages in Delhi.
• Choudhary Tirkha Ram Gurjar Zaildar; his son was Chaudhary Narain Singh former DESU Chairman in Delhi Metropolitan Council. He was Zaildar for more Than 25 Villages in Delhi. He was from Madanpur Khadar Village.
• Khan Sahib Ghulam Ahmed Khan Zaildar of Village Soita, Jalandhar. He was son of Khan Bahadur Alam Khan (owner of 12,000 acres) and grandson of Khan Bahadur Ghulam Haider Khan (chief of Sherwani tribe)
• Malik Amir Khan was Zaildar of Dholar zail based on nine villages of Talagang Distt Kamalpur
• Ali Muhammad Malik (influential landlord), Zaildar of present-day village Muradabad, Muzaffargarh District
• Choudhary Arjan ram Sinwer  zaildar (चौधरी अर्जन राम सिवंर जेलदार) was from Sherpura village (शेरपुरा)  and ruled by the sinwer clan of Jats. It covered four villages in erstwhile Sherpura State in then Hisar district. These villages Narain Khera, Tazia Khera, Kushumbhi and Kukarthana in Sirsa district. The Zail and Zaildar systems were abolished in 1952,[1] and the Sinwer family now continues as Lambardar and sarpanch . Sinwar is the descendant of Teju ji. Sinwar Live in many areas of Punjab. Sinwar family lives in Hiranwali, lives in many villages of district Fazilka and Abohar

• Chaudhry Sultan Ahmed Zaildar (grand landlord), Was Zaildar of Zail 6-R Montgomery(Sahiwal),Punjab Pakistan.
• Mirza Muhammad Hayat Zaildar of Phularwan, Tehsil Bhalwal, District Sargodha.
• Rana Rud singh of Kalsana (his great grandson is advocate Lovedeep Singh Rana) of Shahabad district Kurukshetra. He hold the administration of 24 village was one of the powerful and great zaildar of the area.
• Pt. Janki parshad(baawan hazari) of radaur holds 36 villages administration of karnal(punjab) now in haryana..was 10000 acres land

• Khawaja Ghulam Hussain Rather was appointed as a zaildar of (2 zail's) in kashmir region.

• Choudhary Ashfak was Zaildar of Sakras zail based on nine villages of Sakas Distt Nuh

Harnaryan Singh Tyagi Zaildar was Zaildar of Hastsal village in West Delhi. The total no of villages under zaildari was 108.Hastsal was Hathikhana during Prithvi Raj Chauhan times, 1023 to 1947 the Tyagi family ruled the state of Hathikhana.

Safedposh

In addition to these life inams, or grants, there were some Safedposhi grants of a semi-hereditary nature enjoyed by some of the leading agricultural families. They were semi-hereditary because one of the conditions of the grant was that on the death of an incumbent, his successor should, if possible, be a member of the same family. If, however, there was no fit member of the same family, the grant could be awarded to some deserving Zamindar of the same tribe, who was not already in the enjoyment of such a grant.

Abolishment

Post Indian independence in 1947, the system of Zails, Zaildars and Safedposh continued to exist till 1962. It was abolished by then chief minister Partap Singh Kairon on the demand of one of his ministers and MLAs because Police and Tehsil officers gave more weight to opinion of Zaildars viz a viz members of the legislative assembly due to which the latter felt undermined.

In popular media

Zaildar, a book was written by the Kapur Singh Ghuman in 1972. Punjabi movies with Zialdar title include Zaildar (1972), Nikka Zaildar (2016), "Nikka Zaildar 2" (2017). Popular Punjabi singer Geeta Zaildar uses it as his surname.

See also

• List of Zaildars by Zail
• Indian feudalism
• Indian honorifics
• Maratha titles
• Jagirdar
• Mankari
• Lambardar
• Patwari
• Sarpanch
• Zamindar
• Princely state