Daftar means administrative unit, an office (Persian and Urdu Language) As in the case of todays systems of government, the administration of the Nizams also rested on a network of Dartars in the early Asaf Jahi period had its roots in the era of Mughal rule in the Deccan. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 Mughal empire declined. Nizam-ul- Mulk Asaf Jah became the viceroy of the Deccan for the third and last time in 1724A.D., and held the post till his death in 1748. During this period , the supremacy of the centre was at its lowest ebb, and provincial administrations had begun to detach themselves from what was left of the centralised administrative system. Even though central influence over the provinces was paling rapidly, the Mughal administrative systems based on the infrastructure of the Daftars continued in the Deccan. There were fourteen Daftars during the early Asaf Jahi period. The records of Daftars consist of administrative and executive orders, correspondence, files, compilations of official information, sanads (certificates) etc. The records of old daftars are mostly in Persian, some are in Urdu. These were in the custody of certain Jagirdar families in Hyderabad. These families received solid grants of Jagir ( the government revenues of a tract of land assigned with powers to administer), cash for the maintenance of records. The posts of Jagirdars were designated as Daftardars and were hereditary.
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