Page 47 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

holding fields within the boundary of the same township, residing in a part
of the same hamlet or paying either through a common or separate
representative, their portion of the revenue assessed upon the village. Still
these men, though maintaining their individuality, belong to, village
communities, and the latter are not un-frequently composed of the
descendents of a common ancestor, in such tenures the grazing land alone
is held in common”.
Superior and Inferior Properties
The tenures of the district were inseparably connected with the prior revenue
administration. The mutual relations of the classes living on the land had
been formed by the revenue system of the Sikhs and the British. The system
had not adopted itself to the existing state of things, but had distinctly and
abruptly interfered with them. At the head of the agricultural system was a
large body of what were called superior proprietors. Most of those were the
descendants of tribes who came here for grazing at a time when the country
was depopulated. With or without the leave of the Government of the time,
they occupied tracts, the boundaries of which were not very clearly defined.
Of this kind were the Thahims near Muzaffargarh, the Pirhars of Kot Addu,
the Khars of Thal, the Chhajaras and Dammars of Alipur, and other tribes
occupying distinct tracts of land. Other superior proprietors were the
descendants of jagirdars and former governors or officials who lost their
position in troubled times but were able to retain a right to a small grain fee
in the tract over which they once exercised power. Others were the
descendants of Makhdums and other holy men who formerly held land free
of revenue, but whose rights had been circumscribed by successive
governments. The superior proprietors above described were in the habit of
introducing settlers to till the lands, but the development of the settler class
could be attributed to Diwan Sawan Mal. When he took the assignment of
the revenues of the district from Ranjit Singh, he saw at once that cultivation
could not be restored or increased by the representatives of former governors,
holy men, broken-down jagirdars and loosely connected tribes whom he
found in normal possession of the lands. He therefore encouraged strangers
and Hindu capitalists to sink wells, dig canals and cultivate the lands of
nominal owners. At the same time, he secured to the latter, a share of the
produce, generally half a seer in each maund by weight, or one pai in each
path, where the crops were divided by measure. In some cases, the old
proprietors were strong enough to levy an institution fee when settlers were
located on their lands. In this way two distinct classes of proprietors were
formed:
(1) The old possessors, who were known as zamindars and muqaddams, and
in modern official language Malikan Ala and Talukdars.
(2) The settlers, formerly called riaya and chakdars, and now generally
Malikan Adna. The chakdar acquired his rights in the land by sinking a well.

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