Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire times and British Raj,[1] is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent. Each parganas may or may not be subdivided into pirs.[2] Those revenue units are used primarily, but not exclusively, by Muslim kingdoms. After Indian independence the parganas became equivalent to Block/ Tahsil and pirs became Grampanchayat.
Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate. As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which are the smallest revenue units, consisting of one or more villages and the surrounding countryside.
Under the reign of Sher Shah Suri, administration of parganas was strengthened by the addition of other officers, including a shiqdar (police chief), an amin or munsif (an arbitrator who assessed and collected revenue) and a karkun (record keeper).