Jagirdari

noun (also used attributively, as in "the jagirdari system")

/ˌdʒɑːɡɪrˈdɑːri/

The Mughal system of land revenue assignment whereby officials (jagirdars) were granted the right to collect agricultural revenue from specified territories (jagirs) in lieu of cash salaries.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The colonial state's incremental dismantling of the jagirdari and zamindari systems through post-Independence land-reform legislation sought to sever the nexus between intermediary rent-seeking and political power, thereby converting cultivators from rent-burdened tenants into owners with a direct stake in the land.

Synonyms

jagir systemfief tenurefeudal land-grant systemrevenue-assignment systemzamindari (cognate intermediary tenure)iqta system

Antonyms

ryotwari systempeasant proprietorshipallodial tenureland-to-the-tiller ownership

🌱 Word Family

jagir (n), jagirdar (n), mansabdari (n, related Mughal system)

🔡 Root

Persian jāgīr = land holding; jāh = place; gīr = seizing; -dār = holder; -ī = system suffix

📜 Etymology

From Persian jagir ("holding land"), itself from jah ("place") + gir ("seizing, holding"), combined with -dar ("holder") and -i (system suffix).

🧠 Memory Hook

Break it as JA (place) + GIR (grip/hold) + DAR (holder) + I (system): picture a noble who "grips a place" and holds its revenues — the jagirdari system.

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Mughal Empire — Babur to Akbar (1526–1...

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