History Review of General Administrations before Garhwal King Ajaypal

History of Garhwal including Haridwar (1223- 1804 AD) –part -77     

                                            

 History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -322 

                       By: Bhishma Kukreti (A History Research Student)

             History Review of Taxation before Garhwal King Ajaypal

               The Devprayag inscription provides fascinating aspects of history of Garhwal before Ajaypal.

          There were various land taxes and levies. The Kingdom was the sole proprietor of land. The land owner was owner till land owner paid taxes. As soon as the land owner stopped paying tax, the owner was changed by the Kingdom officers or representatives.

 There were two types of taxes.

Kar- A definite portion of agriculture produces was paid to the Kingdom.

Akar- This tax was probably on other King services as Begar (free service to king, Kingdom officers or representatives, Village or Area Chieftain, Pundits, Temples etc).

 History Review of Land Ownership before Garhwal King Ajaypal

        The land ownership depended on paying land taxes.

         Many times King used to offer land or region for reward or as payment for a specific service to a person. The said person was authorized to collect tax from land owners living in the region.

 The King could take back land from those were awarded Jagir.

          King also used to donate land to temple or Pundits of any type (Sanskrit Karmkandi or Mantrik-Tantrik). However, King never took back such land from those Pundits.  Dhangu, Dabralsyun and Dhaundiyalsyun Pattis are examples of Jagir offering by Garhwal King to Brahmins. Dhangu, Dabralsyun and Dhaundiyalsyun were offered to Brahmins and never took back by Kings.

The Jagirdar was free to mortgage or award land to other people.

        Types of Landowners before Garhwal King Ajaypal

           The landownership was not changed till the landowner stops paying tax or the owner leaved the land by his choice. In the following conditions, the landownership was changed.

Gayali- Gayali means who has gone somewhere. If an owner leaved land the owner could offer the land to other and the new owner became owner by paying the tax.

Muyali- When a person die, the ownership ended. However, the heirs used to pay small amount of tribute to Kingdom/representative and automatically used to get ownership right.

Autali- Aut means no sons. When aperson die without sons, the Jagirdar or Thokdar or Kingdom used to became landowner. The relatives were not supposed to be owner. The unmarried daughters of deceased were supposed to be the consumable goods and Kingdom or Thokdar used to make those daughters as maid servants.

Natali- Natali means young or unmarried. If a person dies, the land ownership used to transfer to immediate kin. In the absence of any immediate kin, Kingdom or Thaokdar used to become land owner.

                             Language

 Garhwal King as Jagtipal promoted Garhwali Language as the court language and not Sanskrit. The inscription of Jagtipal is the oldest record of written Garhwali. The Garhwali language was quite mature on the time of Jagtipal. However, the Sanskrit was powerful language and used to influence Court.

   History Review of   Income from Pilgrims before Garhwal King Ajaypal

 The pilgrim tour in Haridwar and Garhwal was common. Pande and other priests used to take donations from their Jajman or pilgrim tourists. Perhaps the Kingdom used to collect apportion of donations from Pande or Priests.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India, bckukreti@gmail.com22/4//2014

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -323 

                                                              

                                      References

1-Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral, 1971, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag-4, Veer Gatha Press, Dogadda, Pauri Garhwal, India 

2-Harikrishna Raturi, Garhwal ka Itihas

3-Dr. Patiram, Garhwal Ancient and Modern

4-Rahul Sankrityayan, Garhwal

5- Oakley and Gairola, Himalayan Folklore

6- Bhakt Darshan, Garhwal ki Divangit Vibhutiyan

7-Foster, Early Travels in India William Finch

8-Upadhyaya, Shri Shankaracharya

9-Shering, Western Tibet and British

10-H.G. Walton, Gazetteer of British Garhwal

11-B.P.Kamboj, Early Wall Paintings of Garhwal

12-H.g Walton, Gazetteer of Dehradun

13- Vimal Chandra, Prachin Bharat ka Itihas

14-Meera Seth, Wall Paintings of Western Himalayas 

15-Furar, Monumental Antiquities

16-Haudiwala, Studies in Indo-Muslim History

17- Rahul Khari 2007, Jats and Gujjar Origin, History and Culture

18- Upendra Singh, 2006, Delhi: Ancient History, Barghahan Books

19- B.S. Dahiya, 1980, Jats the Ancient Rulers (A Clan Study) , Sterling Publications

20- Maithani, Bharat –Gotrapravardeepika

21 Prem Hari Har Lal, 1993, The Doon Valley Down the Ages

22-Dashrath Sharma, Early Chauhan Dynasties

23- Shailndra Nath Sen, Ancient History and Civilization

24-H.M Elliot, 1867, The History of India as told by its Own Historians

25- Jaswant Lal Mehta, 1979, Advance Study in Medieval India

26- Nau Nihal Singh, 2003, The Royal Gurjars: their contribution to India, Anmol Publications 

(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar write up is aimed for general readers)

History of Garhwal from 1223-1804 to be continued in next chapter          

Notes on South Asian Medieval History of Garhwal;  SouthAsian Medieval History of Pauri Garhwal;  Medieval History of Chamoli Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Rudraprayag Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Tehri Garhwal;  Medieval History of Uttarkashi Garhwal;  South Asian Medieval History of Dehradun, Garhwal;  Medieval History of Haridwar ;  South Asian Medieval History of Manglaur, Haridwar;  South Asian Medieval History of Rurkee Haridwar ;  South Asian Medieval History of Bahadarpur Haridwar ; South Asian History of Haridwar district to be continued

XX

History Review of General Administrations in Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Pauri Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Chamoli Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Rudraprayag Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Tehri Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Uttarkashi Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Dehradun Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal; History Review of General Administrations in Haridwar Garhwal before Garhwal King Ajaypal;