A recent visit to an exhibition of stamped papers from various Indian Princely states led me down this rabbit hole. Colloquially known as Stamp Paper in India, in reality it should be called a Stamped Paper - a foolscap sheet that bears a pre-printed or embossed revenue stamp.
A British act of 1765 decreeing all colonies in the new world to use stamped papers printed in Great Britain seems to have caused the Americans to revolt against the empire. And yet, people oftentimes don't realize the power of a piece of blank paper. Adolph Koeppel's book on this topic sells for $150 now on Amazon, far far more expensive than what a stamped paper would have cost in those times, perhaps even more than the properties in question.
The stamped paper is used to collect the stamp duty - a tax collected on purchase of property or on official documents. Obviously, you need a revenue stamp to complete the loop - a deliciously bureaucratic process with origins in the Ottoman empire. It's not a surprise then that India is one of the most prolific users of Stamped papers - Indian Princely states issued them from 1797 as a way to pay court fees, 50 years before the first postal stamps were introduced.
An Indian Princely state was a vassal state of the British crown - at Independence, India had 565 Princely states that controlled 40% of the landmass and 23% of the population, with Hyderabad, Mysore, J&K and Baroda being the prominent ones. Stamp duty must have been a major source of revenue for those rulers at the time, as they controlled a significant chunk of territory and people.
For example, take a look at this land sale agreement between a Captain Frederick Hamilton Pearson and Mr. Robert Wood for a property on 40 Park Street in Calcutta. This is written on a real deer Skin in 1841.
Thanks to Google Maps, we can even take a gander as to where this place might be in modern Kolkata. The red pin marks what might be 40 Park Street. I can't find the exact location, but the pin next to it is 42 Park Street so we are close enough.
Another interesting document is this one written in Farsi from Bikaner state. If someone can read Farsi, perhaps they can share a translation, or a synopsis here.
[Update August 17, 2022] I asked a Persian friend who can read and write Farsi to translate. Here's what he says:
I can read this but I could not make any sense out of it. At the glance, I thought, it is a poem. Also, it could be a letter too. There is no dates. If you have any other information, I can try to make sense out of it. It is written in old Farsi way.
I have now given him better context and also sent the royal firman to him. Let's see if he can read and provide a Synopsis.
I was told that the following document announces annexation of a property or grant, but I am not so sure. However, since I cannot read Modi script, again if someone can translate, I am happy to share that here.
Update, August 22, 2022: This document is a sale deed for agricultural land executed on 9th September 1878 at Padal Gavan - it is not a record of annexation. I am going to assume that Padal Gavan is पडाळ village in Gujarat, 95 Km due East of Ahmedabad.
Update, August 23, 2022: This is actually Padali Gavan in Turbhe District, nothing to do with Gujarat. Now it is showing up as Gavhan (गव्हाण) near Uran on Google Maps.
Seller: Rustumji Framji Seth
Purchasers:
1. Bhikaji Ram Nahatra
2. Tukaji Ram Nahatra
3. Dhaleia Ram Nahatra
The following one is clearly a land record from Rajkot. Clearly, not much has changed to the modern day.
This one's interesting because it's from Bahawalpur, a state that merged with Pakistan.
These two are piqued my interst only because they are from Dewas. The price and other information is in Marathi. Notice that the second one says मोठी पाती, loosely translated as elder line. The rulers of the Dewas State have been frequently portrayed in Marathi literature as patrons of art. The noted Hindustani Classical singer Kumar Gandharv stayed there for many years in the later half of his life.
Now we come to the most fascinating document in this private collection. A royal Mughal firman announcing the coronation of a king. Written on a paper with embedded gold foil, I was told that this dates from the post Aurangzeb period, and is ~250 to 300 years old. Plenty of
Mughal emperors post Aurangzeb - I wonder if this was Muhammad Shah or Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Then again, someone that can read this will be able to throw much better light on it.
Update, August 26, 2022: I spend some time with my friend Zaryab Hamavand who can read and write Farsi. He was trying to translate this live for me on Google Meet. A few things emerged:
1. This is written in Farsi as well as Arabic, might be some Turkish thrown in somewhere
2. Zaryab doesn't understand the Arabic parts of it - he can read as the script is the same
3. The language is very flowery. It starts off by saying that all those who prey (or something like that) and then about a majlis of sharifs (possibly parliament of good people)
4. He could read no names, but there's an Ibn in a couple of places, which may add up to a name. There's no date - just says the Year of Shamsi at the end.
5. Has references to Saheb (either owner or boss). Has references to Kabul and also mentions Bursaab (a Britisher?)
And the kicker - he's 100% certain that this talks about someone ascending the throne of Calcutta!!!
Could this be Queen Victoria's proclamation as the Empress of India? I found a reference later on that Lord Lytton copied all Mughal ceremonies and procedures.
I am just speculating here, but someone that knows how to read old documents written in Farsi and Arabic can shed much light on this.
I will be totally remiss if I don't mention that this private collection has been an insanely painstaking effort by Ansar Patel of Kurundwad and Rajkumar Khurpe. They have spent over 30 years collecting this treasure trove of documents.
The exhibit was placed in the lobby you can see behind the fountain, in the magnificent main building of the University of Pune - a building built when the rulers and architects had vision.
The Indian tri-colour flutters up in the distance. Did you know that the base of the flag pole on that tower looks like a crown?
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