Shariah and the evolution of property rights: special reference to South Asia

Outlines the evolution of the idea of private property in the West and in early Islamic states; and its practical translation into property rights in land in the UK, Islamic territories and South Asia. Provides a glossary of terms which may be unfamiliar to Western readers and argues that the East India Company’s Permanent Settlement Regulation in South Asia recognized existing rights and did not create new ones. Believes that understanding this is important for any evolutionary theory of the South Asian economy.