A high-ranking official or minister in charge of records, documents, or administrative affairs in historical Indian and Persian governance systems.
From Persian 'daftar' (office/desk) plus '-dar' (holder or keeper), literally meaning 'keeper of the office.' This term was used in Mughal and Ottoman administrative hierarchies. It entered English through colonial Indian administrative contexts.
The 'dufterdar' was like a medieval records keeper and chief administrator combined—they literally held the keys to government. The Persian suffix '-dar' appears in dozens of English words borrowed from that region: 'hazardar,' 'naubatdar'—showing how one suffix can generate an entire administrative vocabulary.
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