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Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.[1] The surname can be also found in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins,[2][3][4] Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB)[5] and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus (CKP).[6]

Etymology

The name Deshpande is believed to be a combination of two words (Desh and Pande). Desh means a country or a territory or a group of villages. Pande means one who maintains records or accounts. So deshpande means one who maintains accounts or records at a territory level or district level.[7][8]

Deshpande as a title for district revenue records

Deshpande was a historical title given to a person who was appointed as accountant to a territory of land. The title dates back to medieval Deccan sultanates and Maratha Empire era. It was a title conferred on officers responsible for record keeping at Pargana level. The administrative chief of the pargana was called Deshmukh.[9] Their equivalent at village level were Kulkarni (accountant) and Patil (Village chief).[10][11] The Deshkpande, in collaboration with the Deshmukh, was responsible for collecting revenue and sitting in the judicial assembly, and to write and keep various records at the district level. As literacy was an essential qualification for the work, the office was generally occupied by literate classes such as brahmins.[12] The deshmukhs and Deshpandes had hereditary lands liable to low rates of land revenues. For deshpande's apart from the collection of land revenue, there was a little outside control over the affairs of the village, which were largely managed by panch or council of leading villagers, including the patil, the kulkarni or village accountant, other village officials and leading land holders.[13]

According to Maharashtra State Gazetteers,[14]

The Deshpande was next to the Deshmukh of the district and hence used to keep the entire accounts of the pargana revenue.They used to maintain a register of lands of pargana showing the owner's of the land and the revenue to be paid by them.Sometimes a Deshpande was also called as Deshkulkarni. It is possible that this term preceded the Deshpande so commonly found in the Berar. The important permanent officers in the village were the Patil or the Mokaddam and the Kulkarni. Sometimes despande's duties were similar to those of the Deshmukh in the paragana i.e., collecting land revenue of the village, maintaining law and order, settling petty disputes etc.

Abolition of Deshpande Watans

The Vatandar system was abolished after the independence of India in 1947, when the government confiscated most of the land of the Deshmukhs, Deshpandes, and Patils. In Maharashtra,[15]

All Patil, Kulkarni, Deshmukh and Deshpande Watans and all inferior village Watans were abolished under the Maharashtra revenue patels (abolition of office) Act 1962, Bombay pargana and Kulkarni Watans Abolition Act 1950 and the Bombay inferior village watans abolition act 1958.

Notable people

References

  1. How well do you know about the origins of some Indian Occupational Surnames?. TheBizdom(22 February 2020). Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  2. Proceedings of the Session, Volume 52{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Superintendent Government Printing, death India(1988)
  3. Home, Family and Kinship in Maharashtra{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(1999). ISBN 9780195646351
  4. Collected Plays of Mahesh Elkunchwar: Garbo, Desire in the Rocks, Old Stone Mansion, Reflection, Sonata, An Actor Exits, Volume 2{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2009). ISBN 978-0-19-569797-1
  5. Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 14({Template:Year).
  6. Nineteenth Century History of Maharashtra: 1818–1857{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1988)
  7. Proceedings of the Session, Volume 29, Part 2{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Superintendent Government Printing(1953)
  8. Subalterns and Raj: South Asia since 1600{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge Publications(2003). ISBN 9781134513826
  9. The Marathas 1600–1818{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge University(1993). ISBN 978-0521268837
  10. The State and Society in Medieval India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2005). ISBN 978-0195667202
  11. Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, and Culture – Google Books{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Yoda Press, 2005(2005). ISBN 9788190227254
  12. Fukazawa, Hiroshi. “A STUDY OF THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF ĀDILSHĀHĪ SULTANATE (A.D. 1489—1686).” Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics 3, no. 2 (1963): 37–67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43295419.
  13. The Cambridge Economic History of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Orient Blackswan(2005). ISBN 9788125027317
  14. Maharashtra State Gazetteers, Volume 14{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State(1974)
  15. Report of the Committee for Abolition of Customary and Hereditary Rights in Maharashtra{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Social Welfare, Cultural Affairs, Sports, and Tourism Department(1980)

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