Qanungo
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The qanungo was a local revenue official in Mughal India. He worked at the level of the pargana, a small district made up of many villages. The post usually passed from father to son. He kept the records of land, crops, local revenue rates and past payments. The state used these records to check what collectors reported, so collectors could not easily cheat the state or the peasants.
Example
Under Akbar, the land surveys linked to Todar Mal needed reliable local figures on yields and past revenue. Pargana qanungos held exactly this kind of record and helped officials check it.
Don't confuse with
- Patwari: a village accountant who kept the accounts of a single village with the headman. The qanungo kept records for a whole pargana.
- Amil-guzar: the official who assessed and collected the revenue. The qanungo kept the records but did not collect.
Related concepts
- Mughal land revenue system
- Jama
- Hasil
- Amalguzar
- Kankut
- Batai
- Khet-batai
- Lang batai
- Classification of lands under Akbar
- Polaj