# Batta

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{{Short description|Type of employee allowance}}
{{for|the medieval Somali city|Badda (Somalia)}}
In the [British Raj](/source/British_Raj), '''batta''' or '''bhatta''' or '''bat-ta''' was a banking term and a military term, meaning (i) an [agio](/source/agio) or disagio, (ii) a special allowance made to officers, soldiers, or other public servants in the field, and (iii) any additional or extra charge elsewhere.<ref name="Chhabra2005">{{cite book |author=G. S. Chhabra |title=Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-2: 1803-1920) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzZzFm4pLWQC&pg=PA57 |year=2005 |publisher=Lotus Press |isbn=978-81-89093-07-5 |pages=57–}}</ref> The term is probably derived from [Kannada](/source/Kannada_language) ''bhatta'' (rice in the husk).<ref>{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Batta|volume=3|page=529}}</ref>

Batta was originally introduced as a payment to military officers of the [East India Company](/source/East_India_Company), in addition to their ordinary salary, to provide them with money for field-equipment and other expenses when on the march.<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'' Vol II, (1847) London, Charles Knight, p.1003-4</ref> By November 1842, a distinction was made according to which part of the country they were based. A lieutenant-colonel in barracks in southern India, for instance would receive half batta, 304 rupees (£30) a month. All cavalry and infantry officers stationed in northern India received full batta.

Discontent over changes to the allowance was the cause of the [Monghyr Mutiny](/source/Monghyr_Mutiny).

In Hindi, the term ''bhatta'' ([Hindi](/source/Hindi) भत्ता) is now used to refer to [allowance](/source/allowance_(money)) made to military personnel or other public servants.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Henry Yule |author2=A. C. Burnell |title=Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lFoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |year=2013 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-164583-9 |pages=87 }}</ref>

In Pakistan the term ''bhatta'' ([Urdu](/source/Urdu) بھتہ ) is now used  specially in [Karachi](/source/Karachi) by [MQM](/source/Muttahida_Qaumi_Movement_%E2%80%93_London) to take [extortion](/source/extortion) money from common persons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1394315|title=MQM: Decline & fall|date=10 March 2018|access-date=10 September 2020|archive-date=1 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001023427/https://www.dawn.com/news/1394315|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nation.com.pk/06-Sep-2011/mqm-pioneered-bhatta-culture-in-karachi-asma|title=MQM pioneered 'bhatta' culture in Karachi: Asma|date=6 September 2011|access-date=10 September 2020|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930194308/https://nation.com.pk/06-Sep-2011/mqm-pioneered-bhatta-culture-in-karachi-asma|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/why-the-pakistani-state-cant-seem-to-figure-out-the-mqm-in-karachi/|title=Why the Pakistani State Can't Seem to Figure Out the MQM in Karachi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/2012-karachi-factory-fire-an-act-of-terrorism-with-mqm-involvement-report-says-1.72441816|title=2012 Karachi factory fire an act of terrorism, with MQM involvement, report says|date=6 July 2020|access-date=10 September 2020|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808175817/https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/2012-karachi-factory-fire-an-act-of-terrorism-with-mqm-involvement-report-says-1.72441816|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:British East India Company
Category:Indian words and phrases

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Batta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batta) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batta?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.