Pungadi Kar or Farm/ Land Tax in Garhwal in Gurkha Period

Economical Administration of Garhwal, Kumaon in Gurkha Rule -2

History Discussion on Gurkha/Gorkha Administration in Garhwal - 51

History of Gorkha /Nepal Rule over Kumaun, Garhwal and Himachal (1790-1815) -114    

   History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar) -635

                          By: Bhishma Kukreti (A History Student)

  Gurkha needed money for campaign for winning Himachal and west India. Gurkha administration increased taxation up to that extent that many families migrated to plains of India. Gurkha needed minimum of Rs three lakhs for maintaining the administration. Gurkha were cruel in collecting taxes.

                            Pungadi Kar or Land Tax

  Pungadi means farm.  At initial stage only, Gurkha increased land tax very high that there was no scope for further increase.

  Bahadur Bhandari and Dashrath Khatri divided land according to fertility as-

Abal- Top class land

Dom- Second grade

Som – third grade land

Chahar – fourth grade

Sunkhbasi – infertile or dry land

 Gurkha decided tax as per fertility for each village. Kamin or Sayana used to collect tax from farmers or Jamindar (jimdar). Central Gurkha administration did not have exact details of fertility but Kamin or Sayana and farmers knew exact fertility.

 The regional head (Garkha) of Dhangu kept tax provision for Rs 703. 50 for Dabralsyun Patti (Thokdar Awtar Singh Rawat’s private collection shown to Dr Dabral). The tax provision for Two villages Kuntani and Gauli for year 1812 was as follows-

 Shri Ram : 1

Sanvat 1869 ka sal Dhangu Garshya Dabrasyun ki

                                      Asul Jama Rupya – 703.50

Galigaun 1 ghar rupya --------------------------------------Kuntani Gaun          1

Gangu Sayano Abal   - 3------------------------------------Heema Sayano Abal –2.50

Sheema Sem ----------00.75------------------------------- Budhi Sem ------00.75 (III)

 Sekar Sukvansi --- two anna -----------------------------Jatru Chahar ----- eight ana

Dhani Chahar ---------- eight ana --------------------------Banchu Auji Abal -----Eight ana

Nath ko Ghar abal------- one rupee and four ana ------Bhajda Sem – four ana

Chanu Chahar – four ana

Tulya Dom abal ---- four ana

              Rs 6  and fifteen ana ------------------------------------------Rs four and eight ana

 Most probably there was tax one rupee per Bee Nali (According to seed consumption pattern ). British kept same taxation till 1957.

** Most of references and details were taken from Dr Dabral

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti Mumbai, India, bckukreti@gmail.com14/5//2015

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -636

*** History of Gorkha/Gurkha /Nepal Rule over Kumaun, Garhwal and Himachal (1790-1815) to be continued in next chapter 

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

XX

                    Reference

Atkinson E.T., 1884, 1886 , Gazetteer of  Himalayan Districts …

Hamilton F.B. 1819, An Account of Kingdom of Nepal and the territories

Colnol Kirkpatrik 1811, An Account of Kingdom of Nepal

Dr S.P Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas part 5, Veer Gatha Press, Dogadda

Bandana Rai, 2009 Gorkhas,: The Warrior Race

Krishna Rai Aryal, 1975, Monarchy in Making Nepal, Shanti Sadan, Giridhara, Nepal

I.R.Aryan and T.P. Dhungyal, 1975, A New History of Nepal , Voice of Nepal

L.K Pradhan, Thapa Politics:

Gorkhavansavali, Kashi, Bikram Samvat 2021 

Derek J. Waller, The Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet and Central Asia page 172-173

B. D. Pande, Kumaon ka Itihas

Sharma , Nepal ko Aitihasik Rup Rekha

Chaudhari , Anglo  –Nepalese Relations

Pande, Vasudha , Compares Histriographical Traditions of Gorkha Rule in Nepal and Kumaon

Pradhan , Kumar, 1991, The Gorkha Conquests , Oxford University  Press

Minyan Govrdhan Singh , History of Himachal Pradesh

A.P Coleman, 1999, A Special Corps

Captain Thomas Smith, 1852,Narrative of a Five Years Residence at Nepal Vol.1

Maula Ram/Mola Ram  , Ranbahadurchandrika and Garhrajvanshkavya

J B Fraser , Asiatic Research

Shyam Ganguli, Doon Rediscovered

Minyan Prem Singh, Guldast Tabarikh Koh Tihri Garhwal

Patiram Garhwal , Ancient and Modern

Tara Datt Gairola, Parvtiy Sanskriti

XXX

History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Garhwal, Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Pauri Garhwal, Udham Singh Nagar Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Sirmour Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Chamoli Garhwal, Nainital Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Kangara Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Rudraprayag Garhwal, Almora Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Baghat Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Tehri Garhwal, Champawat Kumaon, Uttarakhand; Punar Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Uttarkashi Garhwal, Bageshwar Kumaon, Uttarakhand;  Nahan Himachal; History Gurkha /Gorkha Rule over Dehradun Garhwal, Pithoragarh Kumaon, Uttarakhand; History Himachal; 

Nepal Itihas, Garhwal Itihas, Kumaon Itihas, Himachal Itihas; Gurkha/Gorkha ka Kumaon par  Adhikar Itihas , Gurkha/Gorkha Garhwal par Shasan Itihas;  Gurkha/Gorkha Rule in Kumaon, Garhwal Uttarakhand; History Gurkha/Gorkha  Rule in Himachal,