Note 10 — CHAPTER 4
Reading edition
The term basai has been explained in Vol. I. p. 206. The Basai is a slave in the mildest sense; one who in distress sells his liberty. His master cuts the choti, or lock of hair, from the centre of the head, as a mark of bondage. They are transferable, like cattle. This custom prevails more in the desert States than in central Rajwara; there every great man has his Basai. Shyam Singh Champawat of Pokaran had two hundred when he fled to Jaipur, and they all fell with him fighting against the Mahrattas. All castes, Brahmans and Rajputs, become Basais; they can redeem their liberty by purchase.