Zaildar


Zaildar was the position based title of the grand jagirdar 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" of the village. Zaildars were the revenue collecting officers and were also responsible for maintaining law&order in his zail. The Lambardar and safedposh assist the Zaildar in his functioning, Zaildar in turn assisted the Deputy Commissioner. The Zaildar was more influential than the Lambardar because a Zail included several villages in it. Sometimes Inamdars, also called Safedposh, 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 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 hereditary basis, for one life or a fixed tenure, who were equivalent to the Chaudharis 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.

Role and Remuneration of Zaildar

Zaildars were essentially revenue minister 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 and other duties corresponded with the responsibilities that fell under the Settlement officer .
Some of dignified zaildars were
* S.Hari Singh Zaildar of village Kardhan of Ambala
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 by CM P.S Kairon on the demand of his minister and MLAs because Police and Tehsil officers give more weight to their opinion so this created a awkward situation of undermining the elected MLAs over hereditary post of Zaildars.

In popular media

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