Benami transaction
Also called: Benami · Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Colonialism and the Countryside"
Meaning
Benami literally means "anonymous" or "nameless". A benami deal is made in the name of a fictitious person or an unimportant person, while the real owner stays hidden. After the Permanent Settlement of 1793, Bengal zamindars used benami deals to save their estates from auction. One trick was to transfer property to women of the family, because the Company had decreed that women's property would not be taken over. Another was to buy back their own estates through agents.
Example
Between 1793 and 1801, four big Bengal zamindaris, including Burdwan, made benami purchases worth about Rs 30 lakh.
Don't confuse with
- Fictitious sale: a fictitious sale was an auction trick in which the zamindar's agents outbid others and then refused to pay. Benami refers more broadly to any deal made in someone else's name.