ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARGANA

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARGANA (subdivision) Following officers were appointed at the pargana level.
(i) Shiqdar Shiqdar was responsible for maintaining law and order at the pargana level and informing the state government about the same. He helped the amil in revenue collection. He was also entitled to punish criminals.
(ii) Ami! Also known as munsif, amil determined rev­enue at the pargana level. He established direct contact with the peasants for collecting revenue.
(iii) Kanungo He was responsible for surveying land
in pargana.
(iv) Qazi Qazis were appointed at the pargana level to perform judictal function. They were under the provincial qazi.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE VILLAGE Each village had a pradhan, who was also known as muqqudam, khat, choudhury, etc. The pradhan was assisted by a patwari. His main works included maintaining law and order at the village level and assisting amalgujars in collection of revenue from the peas­ants.

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION The Mughal judicial system was based on the principle of the Arab jurispru­dence. Defending upon their nature, the cases were heard at different levels. The qazi-ul-quzat, the chief judicial officer, was assisted by mufti, who would be a scholar of the Arab jurisprudence. In the Mughalperiod, judicial cases were classified into the following four categories: (i) religious cases, (ii) diwani cases, (iii) fauzdari, and (iv) goods-related cases. Religious cases were dealt with by the office of the qazi and were related with the interpretation of Shariat.

Diwani cases were also heard by the qazi. Criminal cases were dealt with by the subahdar, fauzdar and shiqdar. These officials had their own courts. Cases related to goods were heard in the courts of ami!. It is clear that the qazi heard only diwani and religious cases.