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{{short description|Indian historical title}}
'''Deshmukh''' ([[IAST]]:Dēśamukh), is a historical title conferred to the rulers of a {{IAST|Dēśamukhi}}. It is used as a surname in certain regions of India, specifically in the states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]], [[Telangana]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]] whose family received it as a title.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Healer: Dr Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxFMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT578|page=578|author=Pranay Gupte|date = 15 December 2013|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn = 9789351185666|access-date=15 December 2013}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
In Sanskrit, ''Deśa'' means land, country and ''mukha'' means head or chief; thus, ''deshmukh'' means "the head" of a district.<ref>J. G. Duff, A history of Mahratta Vol 1, p. 39</ref>

== Deshmukh as a title ==
=== Local office ===
Deshmukh was a historical title given to a person who was granted a territory of land, in [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]], [[Telangana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://telanganatoday.com/liberation-of-hyderabad-telangana-movement/amp
|title=Liberation of Hyderabad state}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9_fCgAAQBAJ&q=deshmukh+patel+patwari+in+Nizam+administration&pg=PA15
|title=Hyderabad State Administration|isbn=9781136466717|last1=Kurian|first1=Alka|date=21 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Healer: Dr Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxFMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT578|page=578|author=Pranay Gupte|publisher=Penguin UK|date=15 December 2013|isbn = 9789351185666|quote=Deshmukh was a historical title given to a person who was granted a territory of land in certain regions of India, specifically Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.}}</ref> The granted territory was usually referred to as the '''Dēśamukhi'''. The Deshmukh was in effect the ruler of the territory, as he was entitled to a portion of the collected taxes. It was also his duty to maintain the basic services in the territory, such as police and judicial duties. It was typically a [[hereditary]] system. The title of Deshmukh provided the titled family with revenues from the area and the responsibilities to keep the orders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indian Village|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjFEDwAAQBAJ|page=contents|publisher=Routledge Publications|access-date=30 October 2017|author=S.C.Dube|date = 30 October 2017|isbn = 9781351209212}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

The Deshmukh system was abolished after the [[independence of India]] in 1947, when the government confiscated most of the land of the Deshmukhs. Some families, however, maintain their status as real estate [[baron]]s, most notably in Mumbai, with holdover properties that were not taken away.

It was similar in many respects to the [[Zamindar]] and [[Jagir]] systems in India, and can be considered as a [[feudal]] system. Typically taxes collected were to be distributed fairly, and occasionally Deshmukhs participated in Vedic rituals in which they redistributed all material possessions to the people. However, the title Deshmukh should not be associated to a particular religion or caste. Deshmukhis were granted by the [[Deccan sultanates]], [[Mughal emperors]], [[Nizam]]s of [[Hyderabad]] and other Muslim rulers and by [[Maratha emperors]] ([[Chhatrapati]]s) to [[Deshastha Brahmin]]s,<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Our Fellow Pilgrims|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IXYAAAAMAAJ&q=deshmukh+deshastha+brahmins|page=66|publisher=Gujarat Sahitya Prakash|author=Gregory Naik|year=2000|isbn=9788187886105}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Marathas 1600-1818, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C|publisher=Cambridge University Press|author=Stewart Gordon|page=27|year=1993|isbn=9780521268837}}</ref> [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu]]s, [[Chitpavan Brahmin]]s, [[Marathas]], [[Lingayat]]s, [[Reddy]]s, [[Jain]]s and [[Muslim]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Stewart |title=The Marathas 1600-1818, Volume 2 |date=February 2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521033169 |page=27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India's Communities, Volume 5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9MVAQAAMAAJ|year=1998|page=2082|publisher=Oxford University press|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|isbn = 9780195633542}}</ref>
<ref>Naqvi, S.M. Raza. “APPOINTMENT AND CONFIRMATION OF DESHMUKHS IN THE MUGHAL EMPIRE.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 33, 1971, pp. 223–226., www.jstor.org/stable/44145335. Accessed 28 July 2020.</ref>
*During the rule of [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb-shahis of Golkonda]] majority of Deshmukhs and Sir-Deshmukhs were [[Deshastha Brahmin]]s of [[Madhwas|Madhwa Section]]. But, later many of these Deshmukhs became [[Zamindar]]s and [[Jagirdar]]s during [[British rule]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Maratha History Seminar, May 28-31, 1970: papers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xFZXAAAAMAAJ|author=Appasaheb Ganapatrao Pawar|year = 1971|publisher=Shivaji University|access-date=1 February 2008|page=31}}</ref>
*In [[Andhra Pradesh]], especially in the [[Guntur district|Guntur]], [[Krishna district|Krishna]], [[Nellore district|Nellore]] and [[Kurnool district|Kurnool]] districts, the title "Deshmukh" was used by [[Deshastha Brahmin]] Zamindars.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indo-British Review, Volume 10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zp5RAQAAIAAJ|publisher=Indo-British Historical Society|year=1983|page=44|quote=Indeed, the official titles of the Zamindars of Guntur had been Desmukh ( Executive-Collector), Mannavar (Head of Police), and Despandi (Chief Accountant); moreover, two of the five zamindari families were Desastha.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5gzTp13AXQC&pg=PA116|page=116|author=Coenraad M. Brand|publisher=University of California Press|year=1973|isbn = 9780520024908}}</ref>
*In [[North Karnataka]] many [[parganas]] were granted to [[Deshastha Brahmin]]s and were made Deshmukhs by [[Adil Shahi dynasty|Sultanate of Bijapur]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Marathas 1600-1818, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C|publisher=Cambridge University Press|author=Stewart Gordon|pages=50–53|year=1993|isbn=9780521268837}}</ref>
*In [[Telangana]] many [[Jagirdar]]s of [[Deshastha Brahmin]], [[Velama]] and [[Reddy]] families were given the title ''"Deshmukh"'' by the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Telangana struggle: memoirs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xW9uAAAAMAAJ|author=Āruṭla Rāmacandrāreḍḍi|publisher=People's Publishing House|year=1984|page=vi|quote=The Deshmukh system of allocation of whole villages to some was introduced by the Nizam when Salarjung I was the prime minister on the advice of British after 1857}}</ref>

[[Inukonda Thirumali]] of [[Telangana]] describes the role of Deshmukhs:<ref>Thirumali, pp top47</ref>
<blockquote>
They were primarily revenue collectors; and when (magisterial and judicial) responsibilities were added to their function they became Deshmukhs, chiefs of the [[pargana]]s. Gradually, each of these assignments tended to become a [[Vatandar|watan]] i.e., hereditary lease. Despite changes in the political authority at the top, this institution survived, since no ruler from above wished to risk disturbing local administration, headed by village officials. This institution was deeply entrenched in the region with local support and structured in organized 'community' life. The Deshmukh presided over meetings of the pargana community known as {{sic|'got sahba'}}<sup>['got sabha']</sup> which decided and confirmed claims over inheritance, purchase, and transfer of waters. The Deshmukh by virtue of local sanction and consensus could not be easily displaced from above.
</blockquote>

Barry Pavier describes Deshmukhs:<ref>Pavier, pp1413</ref>
<blockquote>
These were, in the 1940s, the layer of the very large landowners in Telangana. They owned from 2,000-3,000 acres at the lower end to {{convert|160000|acre|km2}} at the upper scale. The reforms abandoned the previous practice, of auctioning off the revenue collection in the government-administered areas to farmers, in favour of direct revenue collection by the State. The 'revenue farmers' were given land in compensation. Most of them availed of the opportunity to seize as much of the best land as they could. They also received a pension. The Deshmukhs were thus given a dominant position in the rural economy which they proceeded resolutely to strengthen during the succeeding decades.
</blockquote>

Writing in the nineteenth century, Major W. H. Skyes, the statistical reporter to the Government of Bombay, described the Deshmukh:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vBITAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA5-PA1-IA8 Report of Land Tenures of the Dekkan], by Major W. H. Skyes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay, Chapter VII pg9, Parliamentary Papers, Great Britain Parliament, House of Commons, HMSO 1866</ref>
<blockquote>
The Desmukhs were, no doubt, originally appointed by Government, and they possessed all the above advantages, on the tenure of collecting and being responsible for the [[revenue]], for superintending the cultivation and police of their districts, and carrying into effect all orders of Government. They were, in fact, to a district what a Patil is to a village; in short, were charged with its whole Government.
</blockquote>

== Notables ==

*[[Nanaji Deshmukh]], social activist, founder of [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]] Party, MP of [[BJP]]; [[Bharat Ratna]].
*[[Gopal Hari Deshmukh]], writer and [[social reformer]] best known for his ''Lokhitwadinchi Shatapatre''.
*[[C.D. Deshmukh]], economist, former governor of [[Reserve Bank of India]] and former Finance Minister in the [[Union Cabinet]].
*[[Durgabai Deshmukh]], wife of C.D. Deshmukh and founder of Andhra Mahila Sabha.
*[[Gopalrao Khedkar]] (Deshmukh). 1900- 1970 was the first President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.
*[[Ramrao Deshmukh|Ramrao Madhavrao Deshmukh]] (Marathi: रामराव माधवराव देश्मुख) (1892–1981) was a prominent political and academic personality from Amravati, Maharashtra. He was one of the very few Barristers from the region at that time.
*[[Panjabrao Deshmukh]], social and political leader, founder of [[Shivaji education Society]], Amravati, the agricultural minister in [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] cabinet.
*[[B.G.Deshmukh]] (1929–2011), former cabinet secretary and principal secretary to three prime (Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, and Chandrashekhar), a 1951 batch IAS and the first person to get into the IAS through competitive examinations.
*[[B. N. Deshmukh]], Politician and Justice of [[Bombay High Court]]
*[[Sheshrao Deshmukh]] [[Parbhani]]
*[[Vilasrao Deshmukh]], former [[Chief Minister]] of [[Maharashtra]].
*[[Shivajirao Shankarrao Deshmukh]], politician and Member of Parliament of [[Parbhani]]
*[[Diliprao Deshmukh]] (born 1950), is an Indian politician and former minister in state Government of Maharashtra
*[[Vijay Deshmukh]], Maharashtra state Minister From [[solapur]].
*[[Amit Deshmukh]] (born 1976), is an Indian politician based in [[Latur Taluka|Latur]] and Minister in Government of Maharashtra
*[[Ritesh Deshmukh]], [[Hindi film]] actor; son of [[Vilasrao Deshmukh]].
*[[Shivajirao Deshmukh]], former Chairman of [[Maharashtra Legislative Council]]
*[[Dhiraj Deshmukh]] (born 1980), an Indian politician from [[Marathwada]] region and member of [[Maharashtra Legislative Assembly]]
*[[Anil Deshmukh]], [[Home Minister]] of [[Maharashtra]] from [[Nationalist Congress Party|NCP]]
*[[Subhash Sureshchandra Deshmukh]] former [[Cabinet Minister]] of [[Maharashtra]]
*[[Sandhya Shantaram]] (nee Vijaya Deshmukh<ref>{{cite book|title=Gender, Culture, and Performance: Marathi Theatre and Cinema before Independence|author=Meera Kosambi|date=5 July 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ey8rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA341|page=341|isbn=9781351565905}}</ref>), Actress
*[[Ranjana Deshmukh]], Marathi Actress
*[[Sunil Deshmukh]], politician and [[Member of Legislative Assembly|MLA]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Dora and Gadi: Manifestation of Landlord Domination in Telangana, I. Thirumali, [[Economic and Political Weekly]], Vol. 27, No. 9 (Feb. 29, 1992), pp. 477–482
* Telangana Movement Revisited, K. Balagopal, [[Economic and Political Weekly]], Vol. 18, No. 18 (Apr. 30, 1983), pp. 709–712
* The Imperial Crisis in the Deccan, J. F. Richards, The [[Journal of Asian Studies]], Vol. 35, No. 2 (Feb., 1976), pp. 237–256
* The Telangana Armed Struggle, Barry Pavier, [[Economic and Political Weekly]], Vol. 9, No. 32/34, Special Number (Aug., 1974), pp. 1413+1417-1420
* Anatomy of Rebellion, Claude Emerson Welch, SUNY Press, 1980 {{ISBN|0-87395-441-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87395-441-9}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vBITAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA5-PA1-IA8 Report of Land Tenures of the Dekkan], by Major W. H. Skyes, Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay, Chapter VII pg9, Parliamentary Papers, Great Britain Parliament, House of Commons, HMSO 1866
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=X5H6n5iKGaYC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA45 Indian Village], S. C. Dube, Morris Edward Opler, Routledge, 2003, pp. 45
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=2u88AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA119 The Landed Gentry of the Telangana, Andhra Pradesh], Hugh Gray in Elites in South Asia, eds Edmund Leach and S.N. Mukherjee, Cambridge University Press, 1970
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=TPjIh1G0TmcC Telangana People's Struggle and Its Lessons], P. Sundarayya, Foundation Books, 2006

[[Category:Indian feudalism]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]
[[Category:Indian words and phrases]]
[[Category:Indian landlords| Deshm]]
[[Category:Marathi-language surnames]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]

Deshmukh - Revision history

UpdateBot at 19:30, 10 June 2022