Sentence:  When the hardships of a <WSD>Madrassi</WSD> are complained of, we are told that a Panjabi is well off: that the taxation “on an average” is only so-and-so, Northern India being more lightly taxed than Southern. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  ("by extension") A native of South India; a person of South Indian extraction ("exonym; often considered offensive").