Hi there.

The mahalwari system was one of three major revenue systems of land tenure in British India, the others being the zamindar and ryotwari systems. The revenue had to be settled village by village or estate (mahal) by estate with landlords or heads of families who claimed to be the landlords of the village or estate together.

The village system, a modified Mahalwari system, was adopted in Punjab. The land revenue was also reviewed on a regular basis in Mahalwari regions. The British invented a new type of private property in land that did not benefit the growers. Land was now made saleable, mortgageable, and alienable across the country.