Gantidar
Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Colonialism and the Countryside"
Meaning
Gantidar was a name used in some parts of Bengal for rich peasants. They were like the jotedars of North Bengal. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, after the Permanent Settlement of 1793, such men grew powerful in the villages. They controlled land, local trade and moneylending. Their rise slowly weakened the power of the zamindars.
Example
Jotedar, haoladar, gantidar and mandal were all local names for the same kind of rich peasant in Bengal. All of them lived in the village. They resisted rent increases and delayed payments to the zamindar. Some even bought land when zamindaris were auctioned.
Don't confuse with
- Zamindar: under the Permanent Settlement, he was the revenue collector for the state and often lived in a town. The gantidar was a rich peasant who lived in the village.
Related concepts
- Francis Buchanan
- Jotedar
- Bargadar
- Haoladar
- Mandal
- Under-ryot
- Patta and qabuliyat
- Kist
- Munsiff
- George Chinnery