When and why was the revenue police system implemented in Uttarakhand?
The High Court has recently ordered that the revenue police system in the state should be abolished and regular police system should be implemented in the state within a year. The High Court has also asked the state government to submit the report within a year. After which the Revenue Police system is in discussions whether this system exists and when was it implemented in Uttarakhand?
Revenue police system was implemented in Uttarakhand in 1819
The British had control over Kumaon and Garhwal in the year 1815. During this time he declared British Kumaon as a non-regulating district. Now new rules and regulations were made for this non-regulating district which were different from the rest of the country. For example, the Kumaon Commissioner was given the same power as a High Court judge in civil matters and he was also the appellate authority.
Besides this, no law was implemented here. Instead, a system based on compassion was implemented in the state. That is why Kumaon Commissioner W A Trail announced the implementation of the Patwari system in the year 1818. After this announcement, revenue police system was started in the state in the year 1819.
This is how the Patwari system started
This system came into existence within no time and was also successful. There were many reasons behind its success. Firstly, the Patwari was working as a respected member of the village along with his post. In many places the Patwari maintained proper harmony with the families of his village. Even in rural places, advice was taken from the Patwari like an elder for marriage.
Now in the year 1821, Kumaon Commissioner appointed five Patwaris in the state. The government was so happy with this arrangement that in the year 1825, when the Kumaon Commissioner demanded three Patwaris, the government provided eight Patwaris to the Commissioner. By doing this, there were a total of 63 Patwaris in Kumaon. Let us tell you that during this period the Patwari used to get a salary of five rupees every month.
These were the duties of the Patwari
The job of Patwari was to collect land revenue and measure the village land. Historian Prof. According to Ajay Rawat, Patwari was also given the authority of Deputy in the revenue police system. The system was quite successful in the mountains. After which it was still valid in most areas even after the year 1947. Let us tell you that Uttarakhand is the only state in the country where Revenue Police i.e. Patwari system is in force.
