What is "tehsildar"

n. An administrative officer in Pakistan and India who gathers taxes from a tehsil.

In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, a tehsildar is a tax inspector. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil. The term is assumed to be of Mughal origin, and is perhaps a combination of the words "tehsil" and "dar" ("tehsil", presumably an Islamic word derived from Arabic meaning "revenue collection" and "dar", apparently a Persian word meaning "holder of a position").

The immediate subordinate of a tehsildar is known as a naib tehsildar.