'Zamindars of Varanasi': This family sold jewellery to pay workers, gave up ownership rights in 1952

Zamindars or land owners were once feared and despised in equal measure. Not only were they bestowed with titles such as raja, maharaja, and nawab, they also had the mandate to collect taxes on behalf of the rulers. Since its abolition, the zamindari system has been vilified for the financial atrocities it meted out to small landowners or farmers. But long gone are the zamindars and the zamindari system. Now, sharing a remnant of the bygone years on social media, a company has spoken about how they were the original zamindars of Varanasi.

Rajat Pathak, who helms the Rajat Synergy Group, shared pictures of the bonds they signed from the time when the zamindari rights were taken away from them. Pathak said that the year was 1952 and they happily gave away their zamindari rights to support the government of the newly-independent country.

The pictures shared by Pathak reads, “We were the authorised zamindars of Varanasi, and these bonds are of the time when the government took the zamindari rights from us and we happily accepted it.”

He said that the entire issue was about changing with the changing times and reality and not about establishing one’s supremacy. “That is why my family accepted this change and did what was in the interest of the country,” he said in a post in Hindi.

The Rajat Synergy Group also has a long history of 200 years. The company was established in 1865 with the name of Laxmi & Co. The Pathak family aimed to serve the community to help the villagers develop a self-sustainable revenue model by setting up a handloom weaving unit for silk sarees in the village of Mubarakpur, in Uttar Pradesh.

The website states that the family was much loved and hence the members were referred to as ‘maharaj’ instead of the family name.  

Pathak took to Twitter to share a different anecdote with his followers. He said that following the Independence, times were difficult for the business community. There was no money to restock inventory or to pay salaries. At such a time, the Pathak family gave salaries to employees of the erstwhile Laxmi & Co from their own savings. Pathak said that the women in the family sold off their gold to pay for the employees and their families. 

The group has since then expanded its operations in various sectors including textile, manufacturing, real estate, and finance and investments.

Also read: $7 billion away! Gautam Adani can soon replace Jeff Bezos as world's second richest person

Also read: Gold, silver prices today: Yellow metal rates continue to struggle at Rs 50,770, silver prices up to Rs 57,000