Jagirdar System
The Jagirdar system was a land revenue and administrative arrangement during the Mughal and colonial periods in India, where land was granted by the state to individuals (Jagirdars) in return for military or administrative services. This system deeply affected tribal communities and their traditional rights over land.
Under this system, tribal lands were often handed over to non-tribal Jagirdars who acted as feudal landlords. This led to the displacement of tribals, exploitation, and the erosion of communal land ownership systems. Jagirdars collected taxes and rents, often forcibly, which burdened tribal farmers and disrupted their self-sufficient economies.
The Jagirdar system also introduced alien legal and social structures, replacing the tribal governance systems based on consensus and communal resource sharing. As a result, many tribal communities lost their traditional connection with the land and fell into cycles of poverty and marginalization.
In essence, the Jagirdar system contributed to the systemic oppression of tribal societies and weakened their cultural and economic foundations.