Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 25, 2026

Sarkar (administrative division)

Sarkar was a historical administrative division, used mostly in the Mughal Empire. It was a division of a Subah or province. A sarkar was further divided into Mahallas or Parganas.

Last revised
Jun 25, 2026
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Sarkar (Hindi: सरकार, Urdu: سركار, Punjabi: ਸਰਕਾਰ, Bengali: সরকার also spelt Circar)1 was a historical administrative division,2 used mostly in the Mughal Empire. It was a division of a Subah2 or province. A sarkar was further divided into Mahallas or Parganas.2

The Sarkar system was replaced in the early 18th century by the Chakla system.3

Examples

  • Northern Circars, the five individual districts making up a former division of British India's Madras Presidency
  • Rajamundry Sarkar, one among the Northern Circars
  • Pakhli, an ancient sarkar now part of Hazara, Pakistan
  • Pakhal Sarkar, an area of Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
See also

See also

References

References

  1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Circar" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 380.
  2. Akhter, Nasrin (2012). "Sarkar". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. Akhtar, Shirin (2012). "Chakla System". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.