.
BAH
184
but in few cases did any such scruples
more valuable
of the
This tenure jy„
.
,
,
is
act,
and
It
may be assumed
ttat feiV
privileges attaching to the grant survived the donor.
by no means peculiar to this district, but I believe that it is far more generally met with in the northern, and
particularly in the trans-Gogra parts of the province than elsewhere. The word in its primary sense means the deserted site of a village but in the mouths of claimants in the courts it universally means that portion of a village which was once covered with houses, but which now, either from decay or desertion of the buildings, has become once again open waste, or has been taken up for cultivation. Thus, the dih land in a village which has been founded for some years will be found lying in and aboiit the inhabited quarter, usually cultivated and always well-known and recognised by the community. Existing houses, with their small plots of cultivation adjoining (Bhara or Ghar-ke-pichhwdra), are not " dih," which is strictly confined to the sites of former buildings. It follows that no dih land can exist in a newly-founded village.
The land
so rendered vacant was always considered the special property of the owner of the village, and the right to hold possession of it, free of all demand whatever, was one
Dill the peculiar property of tte owner of the
which he generally managed to retain intact long he was stripped of all other signs of proprietaryship. So closely did an ex-proprietor cling to his dih land, that the mere fact of a man other than an ordinary farmer of the village holding possession of it rent-free raises a presumption in favour of his being an old proprietor, which it is generally safe to trust as a guide in an inquiry into his antecedents. ^^*S®-
after
In
deeds of sale the dih universally is specially mentioned, together with the groves, tanks, house-dues, and other permentioned deeds of sale. quisites which form the customary manorial rights in the village. all
Specially in
would often happen that a proprietor of a
village would mortgage it in the usual phraseology, but that the mortgagee would Only obtain possession of the rights above noted, the mortgagor being left to manage the village, to be responsible for loss, and to enjoy the profits as before. In fact, the dih, tanks, groves, &c., and It
Dih
in some peculiar cases of mortgage.
where it existed, the nankar, represented the extent of a proprietor's rights and when he parted from these he made known to the whole world that he had parted with all claim to the dominium. Nothing could more
clearly indicate the absence of all necessary connecbetween the ownership of a village and the right
- ^°"
Signifioance of this. to engage for it under native rule. Indeed, the right to engage was always such a questionable advantage, that it was not reckoned among the benefits appertaining to ownership. The enjoyment of the manorial rights, including the dih, was, however, a privilege having a definite value, and consequently could form the subject of transfer and hypothecation without any difSculty being experienced in estimating the amount of consideration. The mortgagee would, in most cases, probably be rather glad than otherwise to allow the mortgagor to retain the
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