PSEB 12th Class History Notes Chapter 20 Civil and Military Administration of Ranjit Singh

This PSEB 12th Class History Notes Chapter 20 Civil and Military Administration of Ranjit Singh will help you in revision during exams.

Civil Administration of Maharaja Ranjit Singh:
The main features of the civil administration of Maharaja Ranjit Singh are as follows:

Central Administration:

The Maharaja was the head of the state.
He framed all internal and external policies of the state.
For the efficient performance of administrafiontheMaharaja organised a Council of Ministers.
The ministers were appointed by the Maharaja himself.
Next to the Maharaja in importance was the place of Prime Minister (Wazir).
The other ministers included Foreign Minister, Finance Minister, Commander-in-Chief, Deorhiwala, etc.
For administrative efficiency, he had tested the various departments or drafters.
There were 12 drafters in total.

Provincial Administration:

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had divided his kingdom into four provinces
The names of these provinces were
- Suba-i- Lahore
- Suba-i-Multan
- Suba-i-Kashmir
- Suba-i-Peshwar
Nazim was the highest authority of the Suba.
The Maharaja could change the Nazim whenever he wanted.

Local Administration:

Each Suba was further divided into many Parganas.
The chief official of the Pargana was called Kardar.
The smallest unit of administration was the village.
It was then called the Mauza.
The administration of the village was in the hands of the Panchayat.
The other important officials of the village administration were Chaudhary, Patwari, Muqaddam, and Chowkidar.

Financial Administration:

Land revenue constituted the most important source of Maharaja’s state.
The methods of assessment of land revenue were the Batai system, Kankut system, Zabat system, Bigha system, Plough system, Well system, Ijaradari system.
The land revenue was collected twice a year.
It varied from place to place according to the fertility of the soil.
The other main sources of income were custom duties, Nazrana, Zabti, income from the judiciary, etc.

Jagirdari Administration:

Service Jagirs were the most significant of all the Jagirs which were given during the times of Maharaja Ranjit Sing.
They could be enlarged, reduced, or confiscated depending upon how their guarantors discharged their assigned responsibilities.
These were divided into both military and civil jagirs.
The other jagirs were Inam Jagirs, Subsistence Jagirs, Watan Jagirs, Dharmarth Jagirs.

Judicial Administration:

The judicial system of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was very simple Judicial decisions were made in accordance with the customary conventions and religious beliefs.
In Maharaja’s Judicial system Panchayat was the smallest and the King’s court was the highest.
The people were at liberty to knock at the door of any court in the state.
Criminals were normally fined.
The death sentence was not awarded to any criminal.

Military Administration of Maharaja Ranjit Singh:

The military system of Ranjit Singh was a happy compromise between the old and the new ideas.
The military system of Maharaja Ranjit Singh may be termed as Franco-British system in the Indian setting Maharaja Ranjit Singh had divided his army into two wings Fauj-i-Ain (regular army) and Fauj-i-Be-Qawaid (irregular army).
The regular army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was called Fauj-i-Ain and it comprised all three arms infantry, cavalry, and artillery Fauj-i-Khas was the most important and strongest portion Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army.
It was trained under the command of General Ventura.
Fauj-i-Be-Qawaid means that army that did not observe any prescribed rules.
Historians hold that people from different sects were recruited in Maharaja’s army.
The soldiers in the army ranged between 75,000 and 1,00,000 in number.