Religion and Pilgrim Tax Under the Company Raj

Many of us have heard in our history classes about the religion and pilgrimage taxation policies with respect to the administrations under the Delhi Sultans and Mughal despots. But, with the arrival of English East India Company and the subsequent take-over of most parts of mainland India, they formulated, promulgated and modified civil and criminal laws, including the issue of taxation policies in pilgrimage areas and other religious aspects.

This book shows the ideas and experiences by the Company Raj with respect to the subject of religious and pilgrimage taxes, which was prominent in parts of eastern India, particularly in the sacred cities of Puri, Gaya, Allahabad (modern-day Prayagraj), and in parts of south and central India. This title particularly focusses upon the taxation system followed by the Jagannath Puri temple trustees, as these taxation systems, before the British's advent, were managed by the pre-colonial governments for maintenance and other religious purposes. It is a study conducted from the Christian missionary records, Company archives and other documents written in Maratha dominated region, Bengal, United Provinces and other south Indian provinces, and lastly, from the Jagannath temple records.