In 1797 in Bardwan (today’s Bardaman in Bengal) there was an auction. It was a big public event. The Raja of Bardwan had a lot of estates and he sold them in auction. According to the permanent settlement, the zamindars were to give a fixed amount to the East India Company as land tax. The condition was that if the zamindars failed to pay the tax in time, their lands would be confiscated and sold in auction. The Raja of Bardwan had not paid the land taxes for his properties and there were huge unpaid amounts. It was in this condition that his estates were auctioned.
Many people took part in the auction. The estates were sold to the highest bidders. Soon the collector discovered a foul play in the auction. Most of the people who acquired the estates in the auction were agents or servants of the Raja. They got these estates as his binamis. 95% of the sales in the action proved to be part of this foul play. Although the Raja sold his estates in public auction, he got back their control using his agents.
