Village accountant

The Village Accountant (variously known as Patwari, Talati, Patel, Karnam, Adhikari, Shanbogaru,"Patnaik" etc.) is an administrative government position found in rural parts of the Indian sub-continent. The office and the officeholder are called the patwari in Telangana, Bengal, North India and in Pakistan while in Sindh it is called tapedar. The position is known as the karnam in Andhra Pradesh, patnaik in Orissa or adhikari in Tamil Nadu, while it is commonly known as the talati in Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The position was known as the kulkarni in Northern Karnataka and Maharashtra. The position was known as the shanbogaru in South Karnataka.

Generally the Brahmins were appointed in these posts across India (especially in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa) with few exceptions where people from Kayasth community were also appointed (in Uttar Pradesh).

Until the 1980s this post was by default given to Niyogi Brahmins in Andhra Pradesh. Later the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N.T. Rama Rao abolished the system.

The Patwar system was first introduced during the short but eventful rule of Sher Shah Suri and the system was further enhanced by Emperor Akbar. The British colonial era made minor amendments but continued the system.

In 1814, legislation was enacted requiring all villages to maintain an accountant (talati) as an official agent of the government. The Kulkarni Watan was abolished in 1918 and paid talatis from all castes were appointed to the new office of the Talati. In some cases, the talatis were the oppressed castes and the abolishing of the Kulkarni Watan system was viewed as a progressive move.

The word is derived from the Sanskrit root tal which means to accomplish a vow, to establish or to fix.

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