Having chanced upon a finding by a researcher on the pattern of utilisation of land grant for cultivators during the Chola era, Inam land holders are planning petition the Centre to modify rules governing the land utilisation based on the research paper.
In his research, Hemanth Thiru of Great Lakes Institute of Management said the Tamil inscriptions on the Anaimangalam Copper Plates, widely known as the Leiden Copper Plates and formerly preserved at Lieden University, throws valuable insights into the pattern of land utilisation.
The inscription, documenting a land grant issued by Rajaraja Chola I to Chulamani Vihara at Nagapattinam, a Buddhist institution associated with the rulers of the Srivijaya Kingdom, contains significant evidence relating to agrarian economy.
The research article states that Anaimangalam grant reveals a sophisticated fiscal mechanism involving revenue reassignment, official verification, treasury registration and long-term economic commitment.
The article, according to the functionary of a farmer association who wished to be anonymous, would pave the way for restricting the HR and CE Department and the Wakf Board from denying Inam land holders their long-term rights, through zero-value fixation for the land by the Registration Department.
According to Inam Nila Iyakkam, an umbrella organisation representing the affected farmers, lessees and tenants, the rights of 30 lakh families on 13 lakh acres across Tamil Nadu have been questioned by the HR and CE Department and the Wakf Board.
Unlike in the neighbouring States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where the rules have been modified in the interests of inamdars, the premise of the government authorities in Tamil Nadu has been that the farmers enjoying the land under the Ryotwari System were encroachers, which was unacceptable, the organisation said.
Published – June 06, 2026 06:17 pm IST
