Fard-e-Partal Register: Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars should rise to the occasion 

By: Mohammad Amin Mir

The intricate machinery of land administration in India, particularly in regions like Jammu and Kashmir, has historically rested upon a complex set of records and registers. Among these, the Fard-e-Partal register held a distinguished position. Often described as the “chronicle of instructions,” this document served not merely as a ledger but as a living guide — recording the administrative wisdom, field observations, clarifications, and standing orders issued from time to time by the officers of the Revenue Department. However, in the current wave of digitization, the Fard-e-Partal has been relegated to obscurity. Unless immediate corrective steps are taken, this essential document risks becoming a forgotten relic of history.

Origins and Evolution of the Fard-e-Partal Register

The term Fard-e-Partal derives from Persian, reflecting the deep Persian influence on India’s administrative lexicon, especially in land revenue matters. “Fard” translates to a record or document, and “Partal” signifies verification or inspection. Thus, Fard-e-Partal essentially meant a record of inspections and verifications.

The origins of maintaining such a register can be traced back to the post-Mughal revenue administration reforms during the early British period. In Jammu and Kashmir, especially during the Dogra rule (1846–1947), the Revenue Department was modeled meticulously, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and meticulous record-keeping. Fard-e-Partal was introduced as an official register maintained at the tehsil and village levels, in which inspecting officers — whether they were Tehsildars, Naib-Tehsildars, Girdawars, or even higher officials like Assistant Commissioners — would record:

• Their field observations

• Orders regarding boundary disputes

• Changes in possession

• Instructions on mutation entries

• Observations regarding irregularities in land records

• Directions for corrections, updates, or special attentions in revenue registers

Thus, Fard-e-Partal emerged not merely as a passive record but as an active instrument of governance.

Purpose and Utility of the Fard-e-Partal

The Fard-e-Partal served several critical functions in revenue administration:

1. Continuity of Instructions:
   Revenue officers would come and go, but the standing instructions regarding particular parcels of land, khasras, or disputes were preserved in this register, ensuring administrative continuity.

2. Transparency and Accountability:
   When a superior officer issued an instruction after an inspection, it was documented officially. Subordinate officials, such as Patwaris and Girdawars, were bound to act upon these directions, ensuring accountability.

3. Training and Guidance:
   For newly posted officers, especially Tehsildars or Naib-Tehsildars, the Fard-e-Partal acted as a ready manual of ground realities and administrative nuances of the area.

4. Evidence in Disputes:
   In land disputes, courts and quasi-judicial authorities often sought entries from the Fard-e-Partal to establish historical administrative observations and decisions.

5. Monitoring of Field Staff:
   Through the Fard-e-Partal, senior officers could monitor whether Patwaris and Girdawars were properly maintaining revenue records and adhering to official orders.

6. Recording of Mutations and Boundary Corrections:
   Minor alterations in boundaries or possession, if immediately recorded in Fard-e-Partal, provided an official interim record even before formal mutation entries were completed.

Nature of Orders and Instructions Recorded

Over the decades, the types of orders and directions recorded in the Fard-e-Partal included:

• Boundary Verification Orders: Directions to rectify errors found during demarcation inspections.

• Mutation-Related Instructions: Special notes about pending mutations requiring urgent attention.

• Possession Clarifications: Orders specifying the person in possession of a land parcel after physical verification.

• Correction in Jamabandis and Girdawaris: Instructions to correct misentries in ownership or cultivation records.

• Disciplinary Directions: Notes censuring Patwaris or Girdawars for lapses observed during inspections.

• Special Entries: Observations regarding communal lands, encroachments on state land, or disputes affecting revenue collections.

Each of these entries was often counter-signed by senior officers, giving the Fard-e-Partal a semi-judicial value in revenue matters.

Current Status: Lost in the Digital Maze

With the digitalization drive undertaken to modernize land records, especially after initiatives like Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP), focus shifted towards Jamabandis, Girdawaris, and mutation registers. In Jammu and Kashmir, massive efforts were launched post-2019 to digitize revenue records under programs like Apki Zameen Apki Nigrani.

While the digitization of Jamabandies and Girdawaris brought greater accessibility and transparency, an unfortunate casualty of this process has been the neglect of the Fard-e-Partal.

Currently:

• No Provision Exists: There is no digital equivalent or designated space in modern databases for entries from the Fard-e-Partal.

• Loss of Valuable Historical Data: Instructions and administrative wisdom that could have guided future revenue officers are not available online.

• Discontinuity in Orders: Officers today have no official ready reference for past administrative instructions in a tehsil or village.

• Risk of Extinction: Physical registers, kept in poor conditions in tehsil offices, are deteriorating, with many already damaged beyond repair.

The neglect is not merely administrative indifference — it represents a critical loss of institutional memory.

Consequences of Ignoring the Fard-e-Partal

The implications of sidelining the Fard-e-Partal are grave:

1. Legal Complications:
   Courts often seek administrative inspection notes to decide land disputes. The absence of Fard-e-Partal entries weakens the state’s ability to defend its position.

2. Administrative Inefficiency:
   Without historical orders, officers make decisions in isolation, often repeating mistakes or ignoring crucial historical nuances.

3. Loss of Transparency:
   In absence of an updated Fard-e-Partal, accountability in land management diminishes, allowing greater scope for manipulation and irregularities.

4. Cultural and Historical Loss:
   The register provides a window into past land relations, societal structures, and local governance — an invaluable historical resource now at risk.

Role of Tehsildars and Revenue Officers: The Need for Immediate Attention

Tehsildars, as custodians of revenue records at the tehsil level, bear primary responsibility for maintaining and preserving the Fard-e-Partal. It is imperative that:

• Fresh Instructions Are Issued:
  The Revenue Department should issue standing orders making the maintenance and digitalization of Fard-e-Partal mandatory.

• Dedicated Digital Module:
  Alongside Jamabandis and Girdawaris, a separate field should be created in revenue software systems for scanned entries of Fard-e-Partal.

• Physical Restoration Drives:
  Existing registers should be preserved through lamination, restoration, and digitization.

• Regular Inspections:
  District Collectors and Deputy Commissioners should review the condition of Fard-e-Partal registers during inspections.

• Training Programs:
  Revenue officers should be trained regarding the importance of maintaining Fard-e-Partal entries meticulously, emphasizing its value in both day-to-day governance and long-term legal defense.

A Call for Legislative Backing

Given the vital role the Fard-e-Partal plays, the Jammu and Kashmir Revenue Department should contemplate:

• Introducing legislative or regulatory provisions mandating the maintenance of a Fard-e-Partal.

• Making entries from the Fard-e-Partal admissible as prima facie evidence in land-related judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings.

• Requiring every field inspection report to be compulsorily recorded in a digitized Fard-e-Partal module, linked to the corresponding khasra numbers.

Conclusion: Preserving a Living Legacy

The Fard-e-Partal is not merely an old register gathering dust in tehsil offices. It embodies the continuity of administration, the wisdom of successive revenue officers, and the evolving story of land management in our society. As we march ahead towards a digitized future, we must not discard the very foundations that sustained land administration for over a century.

Revenue officers, particularly Tehsildars, must rise to the occasion. Preserving, digitizing, and reintegrating the Fard-e-Partal into the mainstream revenue record system is not just an administrative necessity — it is a moral duty towards history, legality and governance.

If neglected further, the Fard-e-Partal will become yet another chapter of administrative amnesia — a silent witness to a legacy lost in institutional memory.