Taluqdar

The Talukdars or Talukders (Assamese: তালুকদাৰ, Bengali: তালুকদার, Hindi: तालुक़दार, Urdu: تعلقدار‎) (from Arabicta’alluq, “attachment ” + dar “owner”), were aristocrats who formed the ruling class during the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Mughal Empire and British times. They were owners of a vast amount of lands, consistently hereditary, and were responsible for collecting taxes. The Taluqdars played helpful roles in the progression of Indian architecture and Indian economy during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, particularly in Bengal Subah, the most economically developed province in South Asia.

Being powerful peers, similar to those of Europe in the Middle Ages, after the decline of the Mughal state the Taluqdaris were to withstand the revenue collectors of the Colonial Powers while also bringing given number of villages under their dominion, and thus, according to many historians, the rapid development and enhancing power and wealth of the Taluqdaris during the early 19th century caused tremendous difficulties and concerns to the British East India Company. The majority of the Taluqdaris constructed themselves enormous mud fortified towers throughout tropical forests and maintained immense bodies of armed affinities.

The historical equivalent in Britain is similar to a member of the landed aristocracy, or perhaps a Lord of the Manor. In contemporary usage, the term is often regarded as a noble tribe and clan, although it may convey some diverse meanings in different parts of the Indian subcontinent.