Definition of "malik" [malik]

• The head man of a village in parts of India and central Asia. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "When talking of the relationships linking Dalits to Kurmis, he deployed words such as malik/mazdoor (landowner/worker), bandua (bonded labourer), and harwahi (ploughman)."
• "The name "malik" is akin to mayor, or village leader, elected by a village council."
• "The Ali Sher Khel also complain the provincial governor and power broker, Gul Agha Shirzai, is biased against them, and his advisers have had to quell Ali Sher Khel rumors that he married the daughter of a Sepai malik."