The Warrant conferring (or authorising the hereditary succession to) a title was called a Sanad - sometimes spelt "sunnud". It was signed, on behalf of Her Majesty the Empress, by His Excellency the Viceroy; and beared the Official Seal of the Empire.

It was usual for the local representative of Her Majesty, on the occasion of the installation or succession of a Chief or Noble, to present him with a khillut, and receive from him a nazar in return. "Khillut" literally means "a Dress of Honour". It usually consisted of pieces of cloth not made up; but sometimes it consisted of arms, jewels, or other valuables, without any article of attire. Although in most cases a turban and shawl formed part of the gift. A complete khillut included arms, or a horse, or an elephant, or all of these together. The nazar (sometimes spelt nuzzur)had to be of corresponding value of the khillut.

In the case of a Mahárájá Bahádur, or other nobles of that rank, the khillut and sanad were presented in full Durbár, by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or other Chief Civil Officer of the Province; or if they were unable to be present, then by the Commissioner of the Division at the sadar-station (or capital).

The Ceremony

All the civil and military officers available, also all the Indian notables and gentry of the neighbourhood, were invited to the Durbar. The chair of the Presiding Officer was placed in the middle, and that of the nobleman to be installed on his right. The brother, son, and any of the relatives of the nobleman who may be present, occupied places, according to their station, in the right-hand line. The chairs for all the public functionaries were placed, according to their rank, on the left hand of the Presiding Officer's chair. The local notables and gentry occupied chairs, also according to their rank, on the right hand side of the Presiding Officer. A company of soldiers were drawn up in front of the stairs, as a Guard of Honour. On the arrival of the noble near the stairs, the Sarishtadar or Munshi of the Presiding Officer used to lead him to the audience. All functionaries and Darbaris were to assemble and take their seat before the Chiefs arrival.

After a short address by the Presiding officer, his Munshi used to take the Chief to an adjoining room, where he was robed with the different parchas of the khillut. After this, he was again brought into the Durbar room, and placed in front of the Presiding Officer. The latter, rising from his seat with all the functionaries present, then tied a pearl necklace round the neck of the Chief, while the Munshi used to read out the sanad. During the reading of the sanad the Presiding Officer and the functionaries resumed to their seats, while the Chief and the local notables and gentry used to stand. The Chief used to present the usual nazarána of gold mohurs, and then all resumed to their seat. Then upon the order of the Presiding Officer, attār (aroma) and paán (betel leaf) were served first to the newly-installed Chief, and then to all the Indian notables and gentry present. They all then took their leave, and the ceremony was ended.

References :

• The golden book of India - By Sir Roper Lethbridge (1840-1919)

The lessening of The East India Company profits that resulted from corruption, as well as a need to recoup debts generated by military efforts, produced a need for higher revenues. Peasant landowners, required to pay their taxes in cash, increasingly had to turn to moneylenders who seized much of this land for nonpayment of loans. This, coupled with land speculation, resulted in large-scale land ownership and a significant decrease in small holdings.

Increased dislocation along with a collapsing of the subsistence economy produced a period of social unrest. Beginning in the early 19^th century, rebellions occurred in various areas of the subcontinent, culminating in the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. "no single event more powerfully affected the mind of that generation than the 'Indian Mutiny' in 1857." How best to reduce if not entirely eliminate the chances of its recurrence became the dominant official concern. 1857 was not an empty threat. From Lord Lytton in the 1870s through General Dyer in 1918 to Tottenham in 1942 the spectre of the Revolt of 1857 haunted the administrators whenever they were called upon to deal with a mass upsurge. The causes of the revolt are numerous. Hindu troops objected to the addition of Gurkha, Sikh, and lower-caste soldiers to their ranks. In addition, the economic policy of the Raj had a debilitating effect on the families at homes causing further unrest among the Sepoy troops. But, the final catalyst for the revolt centered around the use of animal grease on the cartridges utilized by the newly issued Enfield rifles. In order to load the new rifles, soldiers had to bite off the end of the cartridges. For both Islamic and Hindu soldiers, this practice violated religious ritual taboo.

What Happened in 1857

The earliest signs of disquiet among the sepoys were evident in Dum Dum in January. Dum Dum had earlier been the headquarters of Bengal Artillery. When this headquarters was shifted to Meerut, Dum Dum had to be satisfied with a School of Musketry designed to impart training of the Enfield Rifle. In January, the cantonment at Dum Dum was agog with all sorts of rumours about the nefarious designs of the government. From Dum Dum, rumours reached Barrackpore, the headquarters of the Presidency division of the army. In late January Major General John Hearsay, who was in charge of the Division, noticed a growing "ill-feeling" in the minds of the sepoys of the regiments at Barrackpore. There were reports of animated discussion among the sepoys, generally held at night. In February 1857 General Hearsay felt that the English at Barrackpore had been "dwelling upon a mine ready for explosion."

What was still a suspicion at Barrackpore, turned into a belief at Berhampore. The first rumble of the Mutiny occured on 26^th February 1857, when the 19^th Native Infantry at Berhampore, whose suspicions had been allayed by the explanation of their commandant, took alarm on hearing from detachments of the 34^th, which had been foolishly allowed to march thither from Barrackpore, that the sepoy had told the truth, and refused to receive their percussion caps for the next day's parade. Colonel Mitchell, who was in charge of Berhampore, instead of explaining the unreasonableness of their fears, threatened them with condign punishment, but, having no means of enforcing his threat, was obliged to forgo the parade. The men continued to perform their ordinary duties; but their disobedience could not be ignored, and, as it was impossible to punish it without British troops, the governor-general sent for the 84^th Regiment from Rangoon. Early in 1857, three regiments were disbanded because they refused to participate in this practice. After eighty-five Sepoys, stationed at Meerut, were imprisoned for disobeying orders to load their rifles, the remainder of the regiments mutinied on May 10, 1857. This contingent, then, marched to Delhi and announced the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, as the ruler of India.

By June, nearly 90,000, or 70 percent of the Bengal Army's Sepoy force had joined the mutiny. During the early stages of the revolt, the British were unable to respond effectively to the widespread uprising, and suffered heavy casualties. After major losses at the Kanpur garrison and Lucknow, the British Army, along with loyal Sikh and Gurkha forces, were able to regroup and put down the rebellion. Despite the extent of the rebellion, Indian forces were unable to generate a coordinated nationalist effort which significantly contributed to the failure of the rebellion.

The name of Subah originated from the time of Emperor Akbar, who designated the fiscal areas as follows from the time of the ten-years settlement : A Subah was an aggregate of Sarkars, a Sarkar or Division was an aggregate of Dasturs, a Dastur (abbreviation of Dasturu-i-Aml, corresponding to a district under a Sarkar) was an aggregate of Parganas or Mahals, and a Pargana or Mahal meant a fiscal division, the fiscal unit, coinciding with the dominions of a native chief under the Mughal dynasty. The words used before Akbar's time to denote fiscal divisions or tracts of country larger than the Pargana, were Shaq, Khattah, Arsah, Diyar, Vilayet, Iqta, Bilad and Mamlakat.