Inamdar was a feudal title prevalent before and during

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, including during the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

rule of

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

and other rulers of India. The title was bestowed upon to the person who received lands as ''Inam'' (grant or as gift), rewarding the extraordinary service rendered to the ruler or the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. In the colonial age, the British enacted several laws which defined rights and obligations of Inamdar in their territories, like the Madras Inams Act VIII of 1869. There was a separate post of Inam Commissioner to look after revenue and records of Inam lands. There were certain Inam lands which were known as ''Pargana Watan Inam'' Lands.

Abolition and heritage

After the independence of India, several acts were enacted in different regions to abolish rights of Inmadar and as such the Inam lands they received in grant, notably : The Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act (XLII of 1953), The Bombay Pargana and Kukarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950, The Karnataka (Religious & Charitable Institutions) Inams Abolition Act, 1955, The Karnataka (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1977, The Karnataka Certain Inams Abolition Act, 1977, The Hyderabad Abolition of Inams Act, 1955, Madras Inam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1963, etc. However, when the Inamdari system of holdings and Inam lands was abolished along with the feudal title of Inamdar.

Abolition and heritage

References

Further reading