Bandobast

noun

/bʌndoˈbʌst/

A settlement or arrangement, particularly referring to Raja Todar Mal's systematic revenue settlement (Zabti/Dahsala) under Akbar, which standardised land measurement, crop assessment, and cash-based revenue demand across the Mughal heartland.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Ahead of the mass gathering, the district administration's painstaking bandobast — deploying paramilitary contingents, erecting medical camps, and coordinating crowd-control corridors — exemplified the kind of anticipatory governance that converts disaster-management doctrine from paper into practice.

Synonyms

arrangementorganisationprovisionpreparationlogisticsset-up

Antonyms

disarraychaosdisorganisationmismanagement

🌱 Word Family

bandobast (n), bandobasts (n pl); No standard English derivatives; used chiefly in Indian administrative English

🔡 Root

Persian band (tying, binding) + bast (arrangement) → Hindi-Urdu bandobast (a binding arrangement).

📜 Etymology

From Hindi-Urdu bandobast (बंदोबस्त / بندوبست), from Persian band-o-bast — band ("tying, binding") + bast ("arrangement"); literally "a binding arrangement" — reflecting the formal, contractual nature of the revenue settlement between the state and the peasant.

🧠 Memory Hook

Hear "BAND-o-bast" as a band being bound and fastened tight — every player arranged in place: a tightly tied-up arrangement where nothing is left loose.

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Medieval Administration & Revenue Syst...

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