The 1979’s blockbuster Punjabi film Dubai Chalo took the box office by storm not just because of its fantastic tragicomedy story but its songs also played a vital role in keeping the cinema houses packed with audiences. The greatest hit was ‘Dooro dooro akhiyan maray munda patwari da’ (patwari’s lad winks from a distance). Sung by none other than the undisputed Queen of Melody, Madam Noor Jahan, it was a testimony of the status enjoyed by the patwari’s lad in the pastoral life. When the patwari’s (the land registrar) son was the envy of the young men of the village, the social status of the patwari himself can well be imagined. It can be judged in the rendition of Surender Kaur, also known as ‘The Nightingale of Punjab’: ‘Nee munda aa gaya nawaa’n patwari, Jareeb naal kadh naapda/ Nee inhu pata naiho’n laggi kee bimari, Haaeye nee maira qad naapda’ (O a lad has come as new patwari who measures the wall with tape/ God knows what’s wrong with him as he measures my height).

A young patwari or a patwari’s son was not only the most-sought after face by the village damsels but a patwari was also considered the most powerful man by the farmers. The obstinate landlords had no option but to butter the patwari and the authoritative politicians seemed poised before him as after all it was only the patwari who could increase or decrease their land by tampering with the records.

The patwari was not just an individual; it was an institution whose origin dates back to the era of Sher Shah Suri. Suri, in his short but tumultuous reign (1540-1545), brought about reforms and restructured the government machinery in a way that even his successors could not discontinue them. The institution of patwari was improved by Emperor Akbar and further strengthened during the British Raj.

The 1882 Gazette of the Bombay Presidency described the duty of a patwari as that of a village accountant who was appointed to maintain the land records of eight to 10 villages; he received a meagre amount of Rs120 as annual salary which means Rs10 monthly. The office of the patwari was set up in the largest village falling in his jurisdiction.

The bureaucracy started making the best use of the patwari’s services in the British Era and he was given the additional task of visiting every village in his jurisdiction once a month to understand their needs and problems. This was a cause for concern for the Chaudhry (the village chief) as his influence started declining among the bureaucracy with the patwari becoming the most authentic representative of the villagers and government alike. The institution of patwari remained powerful, enjoying a fair amount of credibility, until it began to be exploited and manipulated by the bureaucracy.

After serving for four decades as patwari, Chaudhry Shah Nawaz, 76, offers stunning revelations of exploitation and manipulation. Leaning against pillows on the cot to support his weak back, in the sleepy village of Bikhari Kalaan some 14km to the west of Chakwal city, he frowned while recalling the hunting trips of Ayub Khan to the hills of Salt Range. “He came 13 times in six years to hunt for partridges,” says Shah Nawaz. “The DC [deputy commissioner] issued the order for not only arranging the best food but also for bringing it to the hills along with sofas and carpets in matching colours.” He recalled an incident when Ayub Khan came with Iran’s Raza Shah Pahlavi: “We were ordered to arrange a carpet but at that time there was no carpet in any village of Chakwal and we had to fetch the carpet from another city.”

To give credence to his slogan of eradicating corruption, Ayub Khan had constituted a team of military officials with foreign journalists as observers. The team used to hold open courts at the dak bungalows located in different areas. Once at such an open court some villagers complained about the corruption of patwari. The investigators turned their guns to Shah Nawaz. The officials were shocked by his daring reply: “Have you ever dared to ask your boss [President Ayub Khan] about the expenses of costly food and other arrangements during his hunting trips in the area?” Shah Nawaz further disclosed, “About 200kg floor and six goats are consumed in one day during the president’s hunting tour”.

Shah Nawaz had to face a severe backlash from the establishment due to his ‘insolence’. However, he could not be fired as such an action could make headlines in the foreign press as foreign reporters were part of the teams holding open courts.

Due to the unabated exploitation and manipulation of the patwari by the bureaucracy, the institution has sunk to the lowest ebb. The patwari is still a cat’s paw for the bureaucracy and remains under a cloud. At all public gatherings Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif assures the people that he would do whatever possible to root out corruption. In this regard the computerisation of land records has been started so that the people could get rid of the corrupt patwari. Has he ever thought or spoken about the person who arranges food, mineral water, chairs, tents, etc. for the public meetings in which he turns his guns on the patwari?

“Computerised land record would not help fix the problem unless special funds are allocated for the arrangements of public meetings of the rulers,” warns Shah Nawaz.

The plight of the offices of patwaris speaks volume for the government’s apathy towards the patwari. The offices which were established during the British era were never repaired since their construction. Most patwaris do not sit at their official offices whose crumbling walls pose a constant danger, and have to hire private buildings on rent for their offices. “We are not corrupt by nature; the system makes us corrupt. From running the kitchens of assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners to arranging fuel for the vehicles of chief minister’s convoy, all becomes our prime duty,” moans a serving patwari.

A patwari works from dawn to dusk to meet the deadlines set by the higher authorities of the revenue department. It is he who arranges the expenses of VVIPs’ tours and public meetings and it is he who runs the kitchens of officials, yet he remains at the receiving end of criticism for being corrupt.

The patwari that we find in songs of Surender Kaur and Noor Jahan is no more.