The Patil (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: पाटिल) (meaning "village headman") is an Indian last name and a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

or surname. The female variant of the title is ''Patlin'' or ''Patlinbai'', and is also used to describe the wife of a Patil. In ancient times, a Patil was the head of a village working under a

Deshmukh Deshmukh (IAST:Dēśamukh) is a historical title conferred to the rulers of a . It is used as a surname in certain regions of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana and also in Andhra Pradesh and northern parts of ...

who was head of the district. Under

Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

, and the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

, the Patil was the village headman and the most important Vatandar of the village. His main duties were to be the collector of revenue, as well as being the head of police and justice. In

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

, a Patil was called "Khot". Historian Ness writes that "what the Patil and Kulkarni were to a village, the

or Deshpande were to the district, or

Pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

". Patil settled villages and collected revenues from the villagers, thus a Patil family typically owned 80-90 percent of village land. Colonising multiple villages promoted a Patil to a Deshmukh. The Patil was entitled to several free services from village peasants and artisans. The Patil presided over all village festivals, such as Dasara,

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

and

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

. Patil watan was held by

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

, Dhangar- Hatkar,

Lingayat The Lingayats are a monotheistic religious denomination of Hinduism. Lingayats are also known as , , , . Lingayats are known for their unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga symbolizing a constant, intim ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

, Jain and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

communities of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. This watan was either purchased or granted by the king. The ancestors of some of the important personalities of the Maratha empire held hereditary Patilki rights for villages in Maharashtra.

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

's family had Patilki rights at Verul.Sardesai, G.S., 1946. New history of the Marathas. Vol. I: Shivaji and his line (1600-1701). Phoenix Publications, Bombay. Shivaji grandfather, Maloji bought Patilki rights to additional villages in present day Pune district. The ancestors of Shinde rulers of Gwalior held similar rights in the village of Kanherkhed in Satara district. Similarly Sardar Vithal Sadashiv Vinchurkar (Dani) held Patilki of Vinchur village in Chandwad pargana. The majority of Patils were illiterate, with exception of

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hinduism, Hindu Brahmin caste, subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Brahmins a ...

families such as the Vinchurkars (Dani), Purandares, Sambranis and Tulshibagwales. Hence the correspondence would be carried in the name of Patil and Kulkarni and they would jointly sign all government documents. The Patil would typically put his thumbprint or other marks on the document. The Kulkarni would sometimes take advantage of the illiteracy of the Patil and "use him as a tool". Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a social reformer, decided to end the dependency of the Patil on the Kulkarni. On 15 May 1912, he started a school called the "Patil School" to train future Patils in their duties as village officers. This school was in operation for seven years. The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics commented that in 1955, it was made mandatory for the Police Patil to be educated up to at least the 4th grade although he was not usually a literate person before.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patil, Paatil Indian feudalism Marathi people

See also

References