In Hindu law. Landkeeper. An officer who under the Mohammedan government was charged with the financial superintendence of the lands of a district, the protection of the cultivators, and the realization of the government’s share of its produce, either in money or kind.
A feudal arrangement of landlords and sublandlords established in British India. Under that system, the appointed landlords were called “zamindars” who parceled out the land to lesser landlords, who in turn leased the land to others. The landlords collected rents and passed them up the ladder. The zamindars were at the top of the ladder and they made annual payments to the British.