In India, land ownership is normally confirmed through a formal sale deed signed by purchasers and sellers during land transactions. In India, land records comprise many types of information, such as property maps, which are kept by government entities at the district and village levels.
India's land record system was predominantly organised during the Mughal era. Although much has changed in terms of land and revenue record keeping in India since then, the vocabulary has remained mostly unchanged, with many names originating in Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.
We look at some of the phrases used in India's land and revenue record system to see what they signify in plain English.
Property rights such as the Register of Lands (RoL), Record of Rights (RoR), and Mutation are all part of a land record. It also includes geological information on the property parcel, such as its size, soil type, and irrigation and crop information. Land records in India are referred to by different names in different states. Bhulekh, Khata, Khasra, Khatauni, Jamabandi, Satbara (7/12), Patta, and Pahani are some of the most commonly used land record words.
Commonly used land record terms
• Khata - Refers to revenue document which has the size, location and build-up area of a property. It also includes the identification of the person liable for the payment of property tax.
• Khasra - It is a unique number given to a land parcel in a village and is also called the DAG number. In urban areas, it is the assigned survey number.
• Khewat - This refers to the number assigned to landowners who jointly own a parcel of land. It is like the account number granted to various owners.
• Khatauni - The account book that specifies all the detaills of the landowners and about the landholdings.
• Patta - The document that records the rights and has the name of the legal owner of the land property.
• Jamabandi - It is the Records of Rights (RoR) that describes the land ownership and other detail about its owners and cultivators.
• Nakal - Has all the information about the land, ownership patterns, revenues, etc.
• Khudkasht - This document keep the record that that land is being cultivated by its owners, not cultivators.
• Mauza - Refers to a village.
• Bainama - The sale deed.
Popular land and revenue record terms
• Bahissa barabar - Equal division of land
• Batai - A division system denoting the arrangement between the owner and the cultivator to grow and share crops on certain terms
• Chak tashkhish - Land type
• Dakhil Kharij - Property mutation
• Fard Badr - Making changes in the land records
• Jamaan - Land tax
• Jamabandhi - Record of rights
• Kism Zameen - Type of land
• Kankoot - Harvest produce
• Kashtkar - Cultivator
• Lagaan - Revenue or tax collected from the tenant cultivator
• Lal Kitab - Village Notebook that includes all the information regarding crops, land use, transfers in land etc.
• Medh - Field boundary
• Mukhtiarnama - Warrant
• Mustari - Land buyer
• Malguzari - Levy on land
• Paimaish - Land measurement
• Rahin - Mortgage Deed
• Shajra - Village map
• Tatima - Showing separation of plots
