Haoladar
Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Colonialism and the Countryside"
Meaning
Haoladar 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, these men held large areas of land. They also controlled local trade and moneylending. Because they lived in the village, they had more real power there than the zamindar, who often lived in a town.
Example
In early 19th-century Bengal, rich peasants called jotedars, haoladars, gantidars or mandals refused to accept increases in the village jama (the total rent owed by the village). They also delayed paying the zamindar. Sometimes they bought land when zamindaris were auctioned.
Don't confuse with
- Taluqdar: means "holder of a taluq", a unit of land. Under the Permanent Settlement, taluqdars were reclassified as zamindars. A haoladar was a rich peasant below the zamindar.
Related concepts
- Francis Buchanan
- Jotedar
- Bargadar
- Gantidar
- Mandal
- Under-ryot
- Patta and qabuliyat
- Kist
- Munsiff
- George Chinnery