ABSTRACT
Malegaon is large both in area and population, especially since the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Factory was established there in 1957. The Tawares had settled in Malegaon long before the Jagirdar's family and were the largest lineage, owning the largest share of village lands. Political competition worked with migration to alter the composition of the villages. Most villages in Maharashtra had a collection of village servants and artisans known as the bare balutedar, or "twelve holders of baluta rights." The image of the Village Community has reappeared in recent scholarly work on 18th-century Maharashtra. The village has been described as a "miniature world, self-sufficient in itself". The headman, usually a Maratha, enjoyed a variety of perquisites, including a share of revenue collections, various gifts and services, sometimes tax-free land, and the right of precedence during village festivals. A variety of office-holders were engaged in credit and patronage transactions with all kinds of villagers.
