Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh Vol-2 -- H. to M.

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Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh Vol-2 -- H. to M. (1877)
by William Charles Benett
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3479131Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh Vol-2 -- H. to M.1877William Charles Benett
​

GAZETTEER


OF THE


PROVINCE OF OUDH.



VOL. II.--H. TO M.


Published by Authorship.



LUCKNOW:

PRINTED AT THE OUDE GOVERNMENT PRESS.

1877.

​A GAZETTEER

OF THE PROVINCE OF OUDH. H. TO M. HAIDARABAD Pargana Tahsil NIGHSAN—District KHERI.—This pargana has been recently separated from Kukra Mailáni ; it lies between the Kathna on the west, dividing it from Magdapur and Atwa Piparia, and the dried-up course of an old river which once flowed east of Gola Gokarannáth. Haidarabad is a part of the old pargana Bhúrwára, belong, ing to the Ahbans and Pásis; it was afterwards seized by the Sayyads, and then probably occupied by the Gaurs. A zamindari settlement was made with them at the expulsion of the Sayyads about 1,200 Fasli. Various branches of the old Ahban family have recovered possession since 1,200 Fasli; the rest of the zamindars are retainers or followers of the Sayyads and the chakladars, and none boast more than four generations of proprietary pos- session except the qánúngos. It may be mentioned that the pargana owes its prosperity to Mansa Rám, chakladar, who settled Kurmis all over the pargana, bestowing on them a proprietary right which many of them have preserved, and their struggles with the restored Ahbans form the prominent feature of the settlement. The surface along the Kathna lies very low, and is covered at a little distance from the river with mixed jungle containing a good proportion of sál. It slowly rises, and the border of cultivation commences at about two miles from the bank on the average. This jungle has not been broken up, partly because the grantees expect more profit from growing, sál timber, partly because the zamindars defer making any increase to their cultivated area till assessment shall be over; where they were more eager for immediate profit, as in Paraili, the land has turned out most pro- ductive. Where cultivation commences the soil is a rather light dumat, becoming at the south-west comer even bhúr; it rapidly improves, and about half a mile from the edge of the cultivation is of the very highest quality, yielding every crop and very high rents. It is nearly level. Where there is a slight depression the matiár yields fine crops of rice, and the dumat magnificent sugarcane, but the centre is swampy in places. From some unexplained reason, the belt of villages which lies along the centre of the pargana—Bilwa, Chitaunia, Dheráwán, Gurthemia--most of which are the property of Government, yield a sugar of so great purity that it requires hardly any refining to make the clearest candy, and it bears a considerably higher price than any other in the Shahjahanpur market. As a result of this the rent of sugarcane land in these villages was formerly Rs. 2-8-0 per local bígha, or Rs. 15 per acre. Beyond these villages the level rises, the soil becomes lighter as the eastern boundary is approached, and along the old course of the now van- 1 ​2 HAI ished river Ganga sandy hillocks are found. On the very highest of these mud wells are made freely, but only used with earthed pots. The pargana is covered with singularly fine groves; towards the east the great sál forest of the tarái ciowns the high bluft which borders the ancient river's channel, in which a succession of small lakes appear, where the current has worn the deepest. This river is considered sacred; its old banks therefore are crowned with the fanes and shrines of many sects, some lately erected, many in all stages of decay. At the great fair of Gola Gokarannáth soine 200,000 people assemble in April each year to bathe in the sacred tank of Mabádco. The stranger ascending one of the hills behind the town will see to the north, as far as the eye can reach, nothiug but a sea of tree-tops waving densely as the corn in the harvest field; this is the vanguard of the great forest of the Himalayan Tarái. To the south he will see a high plateau stretching far away to the horizon, following the course of the river, generally covered with sál forest, but here and there rising into bare mounds of dun sand crowned with hoary ruins. To the east and west he will see a champaign country, sparkling with lakes em- bosomed in many groves, and during the continuance of the fair the prospect is made up mainly by vast numbers of pilgrims, their tents, shops, horses, and elephants all glistening with bright colours, the crowd gathering thicker and thicker round the sacred tank. This last is lined with masonry, and is surrounded with temples, and the yet more nu me- rous tombs of the Gosháins, high priests, cach of whom is honoured with a separate mausoleum. The object of worship is a large stone which bears the mark of a heavy blow with an iron mace. Tradition reports that the Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the stone to be pulled up, but that the effort of many elephants was of no avail, and when the emperor approached the spot to discover the obstacle, flames burst forth from the ground, and the dismayed monarch retreating, made a grant to the shrine of the offended deity. The present pargana of Haidarabad covers an area of 98 square miles, of which 41 are cultivated; it has a population of 35,708, at the rate of 317 to the square mile, but a portion of the area is reserved forest.; of them 4,711 are Musalmans. The above area includes the little pargana of Sikandrabad at the south-east corner. The population consists largely of Kurmis. The landlords are nearly all resident; the estates compact and znanageable: the principal are Kotwára, Gola, Sikandrabad, all owned by converted Ahbans (see Kheri article). To the south, near the Kathna, are the ruins of the jungle fort of Muham- dabad; another is found at Ahmadnagar. Both attest the former greatness of the Sayyads of Pibáni by whom they were erected. Their time- worn walls are now overgrown with dense jungle. Everywhere through- out the pargana are found the curious fluted cupolas which mark the burial places of the Gosháíns. There are all the elements of prosperity in Haidar- abad if the usurers do not acquire the mastery. HAIDARABAD Town--Pargana Asywan-Tahsil MOHA'N-District UNAO—This town lies 12 miles west of the tahsil station Mohan, and 19 miles north of the sadr station Unao. Two miles west of Asíwan there is an unmetalled road to Unao. This town was founded by one Haidar ​HAI 3 Total, 766 ne s. 397 60 81 195 137 222 1,96 26° 55' north, 80° 17' cast. Khan, by order of the king of Delhi about 180 years ago, and called Hajdarabad after his name. It was formerly called Gandhwára Haidar- abad, but now the two places have been separately demarcated. There are two markets weekly, and onc fair in the month of May, at which about 1,000 people assemblo. The average sales amount to about Rs. 24,000 a year. There are 788 mud-built houses, and one temple dedicated to Debi. The population is as follows:-- Hindus, Musalmas. Brahmane 8,809 Chhattris Káyaths Pasis Ahirs Baniống, Other tribes 3,043 Latitude Longitude HAIDARGARH Pargana-Tahsil HAIDARGARH - District BARA. BANKI. -This pargana derives its name from the principal town which was found- ed in 1194 Fasli by Haidar Beg Khan, názim, afterwards primo minister of Asif-ud-daula. Like other neighbouring parganas, it was in the possession of the Bhars, but they were deprived of it by Sayyad Miran, and afterwards entirely cxtirpated by Sultan Ibráhím of Jaunpur. This pargana formerly belonged to the ilaqa of Nagrám (a town founded by a Bhar pamed Nal) in the district of Lucknow, and was once under the rule of the Amcthia rájas. The origin of the term Amethia is thus narrated: About five hundred and fifty years ago one Ráe Bál Singh, the son of Rája Pirthí Chand, by order of the reigning emperor, conquered the insurgent ta.luqdar of Amethi, who had neglected or refused to pay his revenue. In Teward for this the emperor conferred upon him the title of “ Anethia Rája." During the reign of Akbar it was called Nagrám, as belonging to that estate. Haider Beg Khan, the názim of the place, transferred the head- quarters of the pargana to Fatehgarh, and founded a katra or mart close to Fatehgarh, which latter place so flourished that thenceforward the name of Haidargarh pargava became common to both and in oficial use. This pargana comprises 118 villages, its area is 103 square miles, the breadth from porth to south is 10 miles, and length from east to west 13 miles. It is bounded on the north by pargana Siddhaur, on the south by pargana Bachhráwán of the Puae Bareli district, on the west by the Lucknow district, and on the east by pargana Subeha. The propriotary body of this pargana chicfly belongs to the Amethia clan of Rajputs. The proprietary system is as follows: Villages. Taluqdari Zawindari 293 Pattidari Bhayyachára ver 615 S. . ter .41 26 L 43 co 10 118 ​4 HAI The area is 66,017 acres, and the Government revenue is Rs. 1,88,194-8-0, the rate per acre being Rs. 2-13-6. The population consists of almost all classes of Hindus and Muhammadans; the former belong for the most part to the Shaivi, and the latter to the Sunni sects. Ametbia Chhattris are the principal high caste Hindus in the pargana. The law of primogeniture prevails with them. The population amounts to 65,765,* of which there are 61,573 Hindus and 4,192 Muhammadang. The river Gumti waters the western part of this pargana and flows east- ward into the Sultanpur district. The villages through which this river passes are Jaurás, Bhilwal, Dhaurabra, Ehaseri, Jaskápur, and Robi. This river is of no service to the pargana, but on the contrary docs much damage to the crops when it overflows its banks during the rainy season. There are four rivulets, viz., Loni, Siunam, Kori, and Kalenda Pachbim- pur. The last three join the first, and fall into the Gumti at a spot near village Akhiápur. The climate is tolerably healthy. The soil is generally of two kinds, loam and clay; sandy soil is found in a smaller proportion in the villages of this pargana than in those adjoining the banks of the river Gumti, The irrigation is mostly carried on from tanks, and the principal products are -- Kharif (autumn)-rice, cotton, hemp, millet, vetch, moth, makra, and másh; maize, bájra, and kákun are not much seen, excepting in villages which lie immediately near the river. The rabi (spring) crops are, wheat, barley, gram, linseed, peas, sugar, tobacco, and poppy. The pargana pro- duces the best kind of paddy. Grain grown in this pargana is exported to Lucknow, Sultanpur, Daryabad, and Cawnpore; it amounts in all to about 27,550 maunds annually. The principal articles imported into this pargana from the Cawnpore district are cotton and salt. There are seven markets, viz., Haidargarh, Nára, Tirbedíganj, Mahona, Bhilwal, Kara Aswanpur, and Láhi. Of these the market of Haidargarh is the principal one, in which the largest sales are effected; corn, cloth, and salt are the chief articles of sale. In the market of Láhi cattle are also sold. But one fair is held ; in the village of Robi, on the bank of the Gumti, in bonour of Ausáneswar Mahúdeo; it takes place every Monday, but the most noted occasion is on the day of Shiurátri, in the month of Phágun (February March), when the gathering of people amounts to 10,000. It lasts only for onc day. In eight villages of this pargana on the border of the river Gumti are quarries of kankar, which is used in constructing and repairing the imperial roads. In the time of the kings salt was manufactured in eleven villages to the value of Rs. 600, but since annexation this has been pro- hibited. Saltpetre is manufactured in four villages to the amount of

  • 71,858 according to census of 1869. ​HAI-HAJ

about 35,000 maunds; it is purchased on the spot by dealers at the rate of from Rs. 3-8-0 to Rs. 4-8-0 per maund. There are two Hindu temples in honour of Shiva, and one Muhamma- dan tomb, that of Shah Hamid Abdál. There are two saráes, one in Haidargarh Khás, and the other on the road leading to Kithu and Sultan- pur, in the village Allahdádpur. In this village is also a bridge over the Loni, constructed in the time of Amjad Ali Shah, at a cost of Rs. 15,000, by Rája Jwála Parshád, a Káyath noble of Lucknow, and a member of the king's council. HAIDARGARH Town--Pargana HAIDARGARH—Tahsil HAIDARGARH District BARA BANKI.---This town lies 25 miles east of Nawabganj, Bara Banki. It was founded in 1194 Fasli by Amír-ud-daula Haidar Beg Khan, the then chakladar, afterwards prime minister of Nawab Asif-ud-daula, who made it the headquarters of pargana. now the soat of th tahsil, but is a place of no great importance. A bazar is held for supply of necessary articles. The pargana has been long known as a seat of the Amethia Rajputs, and particularly in connexion with Saliajrám Bakhsh of Pukhra Ansári, who used to resist the chakladars of the nawabi, and was a terror to the country round. HAJIPUR Town--Pargana MANGALSI-Tahsil FYZABAD-District FYZA- BAD.—The foundation of this town is lost in obscurity; it is situated on the metalled road from Fyzabad to Lucknow, 18 miles from the former station. The population consists of 3,083 Hindus and 89 Musalmans. A fight occurred here between the Chauhan zamindars, in which some lives were lost. The river Gogra runs two miles to the north. ​6 HAR HARDOI DISTRICT ARTICLE, ABSTRACT OF CHAPTERS. I.-NATURAL FEATURES. II.--AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE. III.--THE PEOPLE. IV.-ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES, V.-HISTORY, CHAPTER I. NATURAL FEATURES, General description, levels, elevation-Soil and subterranean formations-Lakes-Foresle -Rivera Fauna-Climate-Rainfall--Temperature-Medical aspects. General description.--Tho district of Hardoi, in many respects one of the most important in Oudh, is bounded along its whole eastern frontier by the Gumti. At the extreme north-west the little river Sendha separates it from the district of Shahjahanpur down to its junction with the Rám- ganga. The boundary then crosses the latter river and proceeds direct south, till at the ferry of Sangrámpur it strikes the Ganges, which forms the rest of its western limit. Artificial lines of demarcation separate it on the north from Kheri, on the south from the Lucknow and Unao districts. The district forms an irregular parallelogram running between the Gunsti and the Ganges. Its greatest length from north-west to south-east is 78 miles, its average breadth is 46. It lies between 26° 54' and 27° 47' north latitude, and between 79° 4.2 and 80° 53' east longitude; its population is 931,517, being at the rate of 406 to the square mile. The entire area of the district is 2,292 square miles, somewhat less than Perthshire; the area in acres is 1,457,114, of which 844,560 are cultivated. Exclusive of grants- 59 per cent. is under crop. in groves, is barten, is covered with water in the shape of rirere, lakes, and ponds, is arable waste, consists of roads or sites of villages. The above have been altered from the official figures by a distribution among all the headings of the 2.9 percentage of rent-free lands. It is to be feared, however, that the barren lands are considerably more. extensive than is here set forth. One feature of Hardoi is the series of great úsar or saline plains which run through the middle of the district on each side of the railway from Sandila to Shahabad : they are almost wholly uncul- turable. Hardoi is a level district; there are no mountains; the highest point is north of Pibáni, near the Gumti, and is 490 feet above the level of the sea. The country continues high along the Gumti, with a breadth of frona 3 to 8 miles, the soil sandy, water at a distance of from 25 to 40 feet; this elevated belt then sinks eastward into the central plain, which is from 10 to 20 miles broad. Down its centre runs the river Sai, which rises in Piháni, the elevation of which stream 3 > 31 31 5 25 3 97 19 ​HAR 7 varies from 437 feet at Hardoi to 420 feet when it crosses the railway between Sandíla and Hardoi. Beyond this plain the country again rises, forming the watershed between the Sai and Garra with other tributaries of the Ganges; proceeding west the elevation reaches 480 feet between Hardoi and Sandi, and sinks to about 470 between Mádhoganj and Mallánwán. The main portion of the district is then the valley of the Sai river: a valley, however, whose slopes are almost imperceptible in places, For instance, Hardoi the headquarters, two miles from the Sai, is only two feet above it. Beyond the river Garra the valley of the Ganges is met; the elevation is low, the Ganges itself being only 396 feet above the sea opposite Sándi. The drainage follows the levels above indicated. The rivers Garra and Rámganga were probably much larger formerly than they are now, a portion of the waters of the Ganges having probably iu former times passed down their channels. As remarked concerning the Chauka, the general tendency of the Himalayan rivers has bee to abandon lateral channels and concentrate their volume in the central and most depressed one. Many think that the main channel of the Ganges was formerly that of the present Garra, but this is, I think, impossible, there having been no recent changes of vote in the river-bed. The general aspect of the country, except towards the Ganges, is hardly so pleasing as in the rest of Oudh. There are fewer groves, and more hard grey plains. Towards the Ganges, near Sándi and Bilgram, the land is more uneven, and often rises into hillocks of sand cultivated at the basis, but the summits of pure white silica rippled all over with every eddy of wind. These elevations are often obscured with whirling drifts of sand-like clouds on the tops, while the atmosphere below is quite clear. Generally these bills are covered with the lofty múnj grass, whose stalks are twelve feet high, and topped with huge plumes of Hossy filaments; in some places this grass forms hedges for the fields in wbich scanty crops of barley are raised, but on the sand hills above Gopamau and Sándi the arid soil raises nothing else. The gigantic tufts of reed-like grass are a most graceful feature in the landscape; they cover with their swaying plumes the numerous sandy knolls which some great river or lake has left behind, and if any one, mounted on an elephant, surveys the scene from the highest point, it is one of strange and weird beauty as far as the eye can reach. When they are very thick they resist the wind, which only dimples the serried mass; at other places the reeds bend their silky glories to the earth in great swathes, and toss them about in every gust till they present the appearance of waves in a chopping sea. These sand hills and their grassy brakes aze the haunt of herds of deer, besides sand grouse and pigeons. Soil and subterranean formations.—The soil of Hardoi is lighter than that of perhaps any other district, twenty-seven per cent. being sand, fifty- six per cent. loam, and seventeen per cent. clay. So much for the surface soil. As for the subterranean formations, a section* along the railway cat- ting for sixty-five miles through this district has been obtained in the pro- cess of sinking wells. It reveals most interesting facts. Everywhere grey, Furnished by VI. A H. Harington, C.8., Assistant Commissioner, ​8 HAR white, or yellow sand wholly unmixed with clay is met with at a depth of from twelve to thirty-five feet. For the first twenty miles from the border of the Lucknow district, proceeding north, the sand is met at an average distance of twenty feet, the extremes being seventeen feet, and for about two miles on each side the river Baita thirty feet. Above the sand is first a stratum of black clay from two to ten feet thick, above that again sandy clay averaging about six feet, and above that the surface soil, a red clay averaging about eight feet thick. Throughout this tract, the wells can generally be dug without masonry linings. From Kachhona to Hardoi, about twenty miles further, forming the basin of the Sai, the sand comes nearer the surface, averaging about fifteen feet beneath the upper soil, which consists of sandy clay with a thin topping of yellow clay, while for aboutthree miles on each side of the Sai the floods have deposited a surface-dressing of pure sand. Throughout this area wells cannot last without a masonry lining, unless they merely collect the surface percola- tions. Beyond Hardoi the bottom sand sinks somewhat, and when the series of jhíls round Pipri, half-way between Hardoi and Shahabad, is reached, the sand gives place to a blue sandy clay; this break was apparently caused by the channel of some ancient river. The sand again approaches the surface for the last six miles before reaching Shahabad. Throughout half of this section these wells should stand with- out a masonry lining Lakes. There are a number of large jhíls or lakes in the district; those of Sándi, Rodaman, and several near Kachhopa and Báwan are the most remarkable. That of Sándi is three miles long and one to two broad, the land on either side rising high above the water ; one or two large groves add their sombre shades to the light tints of the spring crops, and the emerald gloss of the lotus leaves covers large expanses of the lake. In the inner recess of the valley the waters are still and of a deep-blue, but where the surrounding eminences widen out, the wind moves the surface into sheets of grey rippling wavelets, and often in the centre of the lake sudden gusts drive the water before it in green billows and bursts of white foam. None of the other lakes are so large or deep. That at Rodamau is a fine sheet of water, specially interesting because from its waters rise the ruined walls of an old mud fort, the scene of one of the most mourn- ful tragedies of the Indian struggle in 1857, and in a little grove near at hand rest the remains of Brigadier-General Adrian Hope and his brave companions in armg. The jhíls are largely used for purposes of irrigation, no less than 126,000 acres being watered from them. Nearly all produce the singhára or waternut in abundance. The Hardoi wild-fowl shootings are famous. Forests. There are a number of great jungles still in existence. All along the Sai, past Tandiaon and Pihani, dense jungle is still found, coming down from pargana Kasta, through which it joins the woods which skirt the river Kathna, and along its banks blends with the great forest of the tarái. Down these promontories of the primeval woods, stretching far intc the cultivated lands, came down robber bands, the Bachhils of Atwa, Piparia, the Pásis of the Bangar, Mitauli, and Abrori in Gopamau, tae ​HAR 9 Katabria of Palia, the Chamar Gaurs of Sara. By day they marched secretly through the forests, stopping at noon beneath some vast pípal or banian to cook the midday meal and offer an oblation of meal and flowers to their patron goddess Bhawani, who is partial to these umbrageous shrines. At night they would come forth from the jungle, move swiftly and silently on some village in which dwelt a village banker, a wealthy grain merchant, some Government civil or military officer retired with his savings to his native village; before daylight they would dive back into the forests, leaving mangled and tortured bodies over the holes whence their treasures had been rifled. Even now in the Bangar the Pásis pride themselves on taking some evidence of their prowess, a per- knife, a handkerchief from the tents of the English officers who visit their jungles for sport, and with whom they are generally on the best of terms. There are other forests between Sandíla and Mádhoganj, between Hardoi and Bawan; but the main jungle tract is that which extends along both banks of the Sai almost continuously for about fifteen miles from its source, while on either side detached patches of jungle are scattered here and there, gradually getting more and more sparse further east and west from that river. These jungles were formerly inhabited; in one patch of about three thousand acres, granted as a reward for loyalty to Munshi Fazl Rasul, the owner's ploughs have already revealed fifteen ancient wells in perfect order, covered with a light coating of loam from the decay of fallen leaves during many centuries. There is hardly any sál forest, dhák is the most commod; and nowhere is the glorious bloom of that tree a more striking feature of the March and April landscape than in Hardoi. Karaunda is common, but the banian tree is more abundant in Hardoi than in any other part of Oudh. Rivers.—The rivers of Hardoi are, commencing from the west, the Ganges, Rámganga, Garra, Sukheta, Sai, Baita, and Gumti, most of which are noticed separately; their aggregate cold weather discharge is nearly 4,000 feet per second. Few of them are of any use for purposes of irrigation. The Garra is perhaps most largely applied to that object. The Gumti during the winter and summer is here a gentíc stream whose dry weather discharge is not more than 300 cubic feet; it has high sandy banks on each side, is easily fordable at all places, and at certain spots is not more than two feet deep. It is nowhere bridged in this district. The Sai, which during the rains has an enormous torrent of water, is here an insignificant river, with a channel hardly sunk below the general surface till it gets beyond the latitude of Hardoi opposite Sandíla. There it has cut a chan- nei some twenty-five feet below the surrounding country ; its dry weather discharge is only thirty feet at Partabgarh ; it is a mere rivulet in Hardoi. The Ganges, the Rámganga, and the Garra are navigable by boats of 500 maunds; the banks of all are sandy, the bottoms never rocky, though ridges of kankar occur. The fords are mentioned in the accompanying table. 2 ​10 HAR List of ghuts or fords under Government management in the Elardoi district. Hardai. Name of village in which the ghát is situate. Name of hát. Name of Tiver. Remarks 1 Guruti Bhatpur, pargada Bhatpur- and tabsil Sandila gất. 2 Beniganj, pargana Sandila Rájgbát. Gamti 3 Kathingra and Hattiaghát Gumti Kalyámmal, tabsil Sandila 4 Mahuakola, tahsil Mabdewa- Gumti Sandila gbát. 5 Bhainsari, pargapa Dudhuamau. Ganti Gopama, tabsil phát, Hardoi This road goes from Bareli to Lucknow via Bhatpur, Carts of grain re taken from Sitapur and Lakhimpur (northerly districts), and sometimes carts go to Cawppore vid Sandila, Aurás, and Rasúlabad. 'This ghát lies on the road going from Khairigarh via Nimkhár and Sandila to Luckuow, and another from Sandila via Kachhona and Mádhoganj goes to Mehndi. gbát, and the third goes straight via Gbaus- ganj te Mehndighat. On theae roads, too, grain, &c., abuudantly exported. Genc- sally grain is sold at Madhoganj. The Hattia Haran mela concours goes through this ghát. The passage of carts daily amounts to 650 doring the fair. This ghát is near Nímkhár, This ghát is on the road to Fatehgarh Nánpára, and as it is on the Sitapur road travellers are passing daily jo great nuin- bers. This road goes to Muhamdi vid Pihani. This gbát lies on the road from Shahabad do Pali, This road goes to Fatehgarh, Farukhabad. Merchandise, cloubs, copper, &c., come from there, This chát lies on the road to Fatehgarh ? Náupára, a minor ghát. 6 Gumti .. Kolbahar, taheit Shahabad Pali, tahsil Sbaha- bad Kolbahar- chất, Rájgbát. 7 Garra .. Rájghát. Garra. 8 . 9 Sandila, tahsil Bil. grám Deoripur, përgana Kalári, tahsil Bil- grám Deogighát, G = 1 - bhiri. - In the rains of 1872 the river Sai presented a considerable volume of water, 168 feet broad, 14:6 feet deep, with a velocity of 3-52 miles per hour, and with a discharge of 6,294 cubic feet per second. In ordinary monsoons the highest discharge is about a quarter less than this. The river is crossed by the railway with a girder bridge with 3 openings, each of 56 feet. The flood discharges of the only other river, the Sukheta, of which the information has been obtained are given below. The Ganges, which borders the district, is elsewhere noticed :- 7 River, Waterway. linear fect. Height, Mean Felocity. Flood discharge per second in cubic feet. Sukheta. 120 183 5.32 11,856 There is no tiraber traffic on the rivers, except on the Garra. There are no river-side towns of any kind ; Sandíla, Shahabad, Bilgrám, Mallánwán, Pibáni, Hardoi are all far from any river, Sándi is the only ​HAR 11 place of any importance which is near a river (the Garra), but its population is not engaged in cither trading or fishing. In fact no water traffic or fisheries worthy of note are met with in the district. Fine robu are to be had in the Garra and Rámganga. None of the rivers or marshes have been enbanked. Hardoi is worse off for wood than any other district; its jungles cannot be called woods, and less than two per cent. of its area has been planted with groves, which is perhaps the reason its rainfall is so much below the provincial average. Fauna.-There is nothing peculiar in the fauna of Hardoi; its features are similar to those of Partabgarh and Lucknow. No tigers have been seen for twenty years, but leopards are still found in the jungles near Piháni. Black buck are very numerous in Gopamau, and everywhere along the sandy banks of the Gumti herds of fifty are found. On the Ganges, pear Mallánwán, they are not so common, but have much longer horns-24 inches are not infrequent. Níl-gáe are found in herds of forty in the jháu jungle around Dharmpur between the Ganges and Rámganga, also near Piháni and Tandiaou in the jungles around the Sai. Spotted deer are found in the bamboo brakes near the villages in Gopamau and near Atwa, the residence of Thákur Bharath Singh, half-way between Sandíla and Hardoi. The four-horned deer has recently disappeared. The writer shot one in 1865. Hares have become unaccountably scarce since 1868; the floods are supposed to be the cause. The mallard, teal, grey duck, and common goose are more abundant in Hardoi than in any other district of Oudh. The range of jhíls which dot the lower levels of the Sai valley abound in all kinds of water-fowl. Climate and sanitary conditions. The following account of the climate and sanitary conditions of Hardoi has been communicated by Dr. McReddie, the late civil surgcon, The climate of Hardoi does not differ materially from that of Oudh generally. Hailstorms and tornadoes are perhaps more common and dc- ructive; one in March 1868 destroyed crops to the value of Rs. 2,00,000. The average rainfall is said to have been 28 inches from 1862 to 1865, 28 inches in 1866, 55 inches in 1867, 14 in 1868, and this report gives the rainfall for years 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872 at 27, 47, 40, and 51 inches. The total rainfall will then average for the last ten years about 32 inches, that of the province being about 42. There is no doubt that Hardoi is perhaps the driest district in Oudh, even althouglı the returns for the years before 1866 may not be strictly accurate. The average for the last five years in the adjoining district Sitapur is 34 inches. In the revenue report for 1872 the average rainfall for the last five years is given at 39 inches, as follows:- 4 1867 1868 1869 67-3 24.2 28.1 1870 1871 1872 464 44.8 33.2 In 1873 the rainfall was only 21 inches, being considerably the lowest in Oudh, and again in 1874 the recorded rainfall in Bilgrám has been oply 31 inches, the lowest in Oudh. ​12 HAR The following statement gives the result of thermometric observations and rainfall of the Hardoi district as recorded in the sadr station. The statement is compiled from the records of the three years 1869, 1870, and 1871, Previous observations are not reliable. The second table gives the thermometrical observations for 1871 somewhat more in detail = Mean daily range. Approximate Dean of month. Rainfall. . . 400 . . be 264 .

ce 14 Degrees, 15? 16 16 20 19 12} 82 9 13 281 23 14 Degrees. 59 664 75 75 92 94) 87 863 823 77 January February March April May June July August September October November December 166 400 • 1871 403 15 - .

. 1 be .. BE Dab

  • 96

Ne . 69 11. A. . PP PE 194 D. I. 61 Change abstract of meteorological register for 1871. STANDARD THERMOMETER IN SILAD, Montbs. Mean. Highest and dates. Lowest, and dates. 4.4 411 re March ... 1 000 IPS 90 . . be

1st 158h Jandary 672 77-4. 56.9. 13th and 14th 16th February 752 80.4, 66'4. 30th 3rd and 4th 85.2 794. 72.4. 12th 23rd April 980 102-4. 814. 20th 22nd May 941 105.4. 85.4. 2nd and 3rd 29th June 91.3 1046. 82 4. 2nd 22nd July 85'3 984. 794. 7th and 14th 24th and 3160 August 85-9 92.4. 80-4. 22nd 17th September 85.7 93.4. 77.4. 4th 31st October 88-7 92.4. 84-4. 1st 19th and 20th November 26th and 27th 79'4 86.4. 74-2. 5th 27th and 29th December 69.1 87-4. 59.4. Hardoi is more subject to drought, hailstorms, and destructive tornadoes than other districts. In Kachhandan and Silgrám the lowlands are often flooded. No embankments or drainage schemes have been carried 44. 1 16 BRE 34 ves ​HAR 13 out. A plan has been submitted for draining the station. Locusts have occasionally been destructive over small areas. None of the rivers flood their banks to a serious extent, but the jhíls in Báwan and Sandila sometimes cover a large extent of ground with their overflow. Another table is appended showing the rainfalls of previous years, which are given for what they are worth ; they were taken at the Hardoi dispeu- sary :- Average fall of rain in Hardoi district, accorabad, a the revenue report taken at Hardoi, Bilgrám, Shahding tond Sandila. Years, Inches, Remarks. 1865 1866 1867 1869 1869 1870 1871 1872 3873 1874 1875 80.0 29-0 6703 24.2 28.1 46.4 448 33'2 210 41.6 28.6 A Ferage for ?1 years, 35.7 The accompanying table exhibits the rainfall for the last two years of drought, 1868 and 1873, each of which was followed in 1869 and 1874 respectively by considerable scarcity. It will be noted that the entire rainfall was scanty, the distribution capricious and unusual, and there was no rain during individual months in which it is much needed for agricul- tural purposes. There are four rainfalls, each of which must be propitious to secure a good harvest. 1st.—The June rains, the former rains as they may be called. In 1873 they came only to one-third of an inch, quite insuficient to moisten the carth for the plough and to water the early rice. 2nd.-The main monsoon, which commences in July and ends at the commencement of October. This was barely sufficient in either year, but the fall in September, 1868, was only 1.8 inches, and it ceased too soon, viz., on September 20th. 3rd.-The latter or October rains, which are required to water the late rice and moisten the land for the winter ploughings. These were wholly deficient in both years. 4th.— The January-February rains, which were wholly wanting in 1869, and in 1874 were only one-third of an inch, ​14 HAR Speaking broadly then, the rains commenced well in 1868, badly in 1873. They ended with slight showers in 1868, and too soon; in 1873 they were scanty for the last month, and ended still earlier—in September. So far 1873 was about equally bad with 1868; there was absolutely no rain in either year from October till January, but in February there was no rain in 1869, and a-third of an inch in 1874. Total rainfall. 1868. 1873. From June 1st to October let 11:20 18.3 PE DP Ifrom October Ist to December 31st 000 ... 0 0 In June I. 2.3 E> 0:3 » September 1.8 . October 00 00 June 17th. AP 04 June 16th. Date of rain commencing of rain ending Rajn in January, February of ensuing year 73 ae September 20th. September 15th. 0.0 .. 0.3 Two severe storms passed over the district in the hot seasons of 1865 and 1868. They did considerable damage to houses, trees, &c. The wind blew from the west, and travelled with considerable velocity. Slight shocks of earthquake have been occasionally felt, but they were not phenomena demanding special mention. Medical aspects.* -Statistics of births have been discontinued from July, 1870. The records of deaths are given in the accompanying tabular statements for the years 1870 and 1871. Deaths are recorded by the agency of village chaukidárs. The totals are probably correct, or at least an approximation to truth, but the causes of deaths given are quite un- reliable. Malarian fevers are the only prevailing endemic diseases of the district, and they are to be attributed to the extensive marshes which abound. These diseases prevail to a small extent in the dry weather of the year, but subsequent to the close of every rainy season, i.e., from October to December (for about 2 months), the deaths from these causes are very large. No attempt has been made at drainage of swamps, but increased cultivation and the clearing of jungles have no doubt lessened sickness and mortality due to disease of malarious origin. No statistics, however, exist to institute a comparison between the mortality now and that sixteen years ago, at least none worthy of confidence. Sanitary efforts are very limited, and have not in the least tended to reduce the death-rate in any part of the district.

  • By the Civil Surgeon. ​HAR

13 Cholera bas never had a wide epidemicity in this district; the waves of epidemics which have passed over have caused small mortality, and the disease has quickly disappeared. It has presented no specific charac- ter, and its ravages did not appear confined to any particular classes of the population. It has generally prevailed in the rainy season. The mortality may be estimated at fifty per cent of those attacked. Small-poo prevails annually in the district, generally in the cold season, and it is to be feared causes a considerable number of deaths amongst the infant population. Few adults die of the disease, as they have all been protected by having had the eruption in early life. It is im- possible to calculate the proportion of deaths to the number attacked. The return of deaths from this cause given in the statement includes those from measles and any other disease in which an eruption on the skin happens to be present; hence the figures barely give an approximation to the actual fact. Small-pox is not cqually fatal every year. In 1867 it caused a very large mortality. Probably it would not be far from the truth to say that 80 per cent of the young children died from this cause during the cold season of 1867-68. No other epidemics prevail in the district. Cattle disease has unfortunately prevailed largely for several years; the two descriptions of discase which call for notice are those fully described in Dr. K. McLeod's communication, and denominated respectively " parchino." or “barrie" and " kura" (Digest of Chief Commissioner's Circulars, page 50, &c.) The former is a constitutional disease, thelatter primarily local, but which destroys cattle by its effects ; they are induced by neglect, filth, &c. The prominent symptoms in parchina are fever, looseness of the bowels, sore-throat, ulceration of the mouth and fances, no eruption on the skin ; in kura, ulceration and swelling of the foot. The natives make no attempt at treatment. It is impossible to state the approximate rate of mortality amongst the cattle attacked, probably 50 per cent. in parchina and 10 or 15 per cent. in kura. I hardly think that the extension of cultivation has anything to do with the prevalence of cattle disease. Pasture lands seem to be abundant. The following drugs are known to be indigenous to the district :- Mineral. 1. Nitre or saltpetre (sbora). 2. Sal Ammonia (nausadar). Vegetable. 8. Opium, Castor oil. Ginger. 6. Madár, Asclepiadaceae, Calotropis Hamiltonii. 7. Bael, Egle Marmeloe. 8. Gumg, substitutes for gam Acacia. 9. Liqnorice, Glycerrhiza glabra. 10. Squill or Kundra, Urginea indica. Animal, 11. Tilini fly, Mylabris-Cichorii. 6. ​141 Total 16 CLAS3. 2 2,419 13,450 No. of group. 1 Christians. Muhammadans. Hindus, Othor Classes Male. 10 Christiana. 1 Cholera 19 Female. 609 Male. Mithammadans, pox, 489 Female. 2 Small Fevers. CLASS. 11,309 9,110 2,131 Hindus. 6,820 Nale. 1,309 9,110 2,131 33 4,973 Female. Other classea, 196 Male. Plaints. Bowel 153 Female. 33 Cholera, 33 Male, Register of deaths for Hardoi district for the year 1871. 87 Female. Register of deaths for Ilardoi district for the year 1870. Small pox. Suicide. Wounds. Acci: 67 Male. HAR CAUSE OF DIATE. Injuries. 534 9,939 20 Female. 584 9,999 480 Fever, 47 Malc. Bowel complaints, 480 49 Female. CAUSE OF DEATA, CA 33 Male. Wounds. Female. 31 47 beagt Snake. bite er A11 SAGAD Y other Causcs 181 Male. Aceident. 151 Female. 31 399 1,135 12,551 7,923 Male, All other canses, 6,937 399 1,155 12,561 Female in group. Total deaths 1 Total deals. 13,859 Total, ​HAR 17 id 1 1. . . ALE ... 3. I. 522 11 400 CHAPTER II. AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE. Crops- Agricultural statistics--Prices-Droughts-Failstorms-Food of the people-Fish --Manufacture-Trade-Commerce-Railway traffic-Fairs-Roads and cominunica- tions-Weights and measures-Inicrest. In all points connected with the condition of the people, the size of farms, the houses, clothing, agricultural implements, wages of labourers, of coolies, of artizans, crops, times of sowing and scaping, rent, &e, the Lucknow and Kheri district accounts may be consulted. The official retums of crop areas are apparently incorrect; they are as follows in the revenue report for 1872 Staple. Acreage. Wheat 814,182 Rica 74,630 Other edible grains 898,650 Oileceds 17,560 Sugar 23,30G Cotton 13,040 Opium Indigo 1,422 Fibrea 6,480 Tobacco 15,260 Vegetables 24,762 1,329,764 The total area under crop in the year of survey was 844,560 acres, nor is it likely that much land has been brought under the plough in recent years. If so, even allowing for dufasli crops, the arca in the above table must be exaggerated. Further, the table exhibits Hardoi as the greatest wheat-producing district in Oudh, although, according to the soil returns already quoted, it has a very large proportion of sandy soil which is un- fitted for growing whcat. Hardoi produces very little rice, and that only of the common kinds, transplantation is not applied, and fine ricc lands are often allowed to lic fallow. This is probably owing to the excep- tional dryness of the district. In Bilgrám, Mallanwán, and Saudíla cul. tivation has attained a high pitch, and the rents paid by the Kachhis for the potato and yam land near the towns reach Rs. 50 per acre. The latest official returns of rents are not trustworthy ; they mention sugarcane and cotton lands as renting at Rs. 6-8-0 and 5-2-0 per acre, which is under the truth. The ordinary crops and trees of Kheri as described under that district are found in Hardoi ; the large gardon grounds of the latter district, 24,762 acres, are sown largely with pepper ; the groves consist of excellent mango and jámun trees; ajwain is grown near the Ganges, and kusum or safflower is sown on the borders of the cereal crops. Descriptions of the above and of their uses are subjoinea. Capsicum annuum (Mirch).- This is a native of South America. There are several varieties of it, distinguished by the shape of the fruit . Cayenne pepper is the produce of many of the smaller species of capsicum, the fruits being dried and pounded small, and mixed with salt. When gathered and eaten fresh, they are excellent promoters of digestion and are 3 « ​18 HAR made into pickles, and otherwise used for seasoning food. There are two distinct principles in the pods, one of which is an ethereal oil, and which constitutes the real stimulating principle. The bruised capsules are employed as powerful rubefacients, being reckoned preferable to sinapisms in sore throats. They are also given, with the best results, as a gargle. Mixed with Peruvian bark, they are given internally in typhus and in- termittent fevers, and dropsy. Chillies are a principal ingredient in all curries in India. By pouring hot vinegar upon the fruits, all the essential qualities are preserved, which cannot be effected by drying them, owing to their oleaginous properties. This chillie vinegar is an excellent stomachic, imparting a fine favour to fish and meats. A great quantity is exported to England, especially from the West Indies, the price of chillies in London being from 158. to 258. the cwt."- Drury's Useful Plants of India, page 3. " The Cayenne pepper is prepared in the following manner in the West Indies: the ripe fruits are dried in the sun, and then in an oven, after bread is baked, in an earthen or stone pot, with flour between the strata of pods. When quite dry they are cleaned from the flour and beaten or ground to fine powder. To every ounce of this a pound of wheat-flour is added, and it is made into small cakes with leaven. These are baked again that they may be as dry and hard as biscuit, and then are beaten into powder and sifted. It is then fit for use as pepper, or for being packed in a compressed state, and so as to exclude air, for exportation." -Drury's Useful Plants of India, page 112. “Carthamus tinctorius (Kusum Barre).- Description : annual, 1-2 feet; stem erect, cylindrical, branching near the summit; leaves oval, sessile, much animated, somewhat spiny; heads of flowers enclosed in a roundish spiny involucre; flowers large, deep orange. Flowers in November, Decem- ber.--(Roxb. Fl. Ind., iii. 409. Peninsula, cultivated). " Economic uses.--The dried flowers, which are very like saffron in ар- pearance, have been employed to adulterate that drug. They contain a colouring principle called carthamitic acid, used by dyers, and constituting the basis of rouge. The flowers are used by the Chinese to give rose, scarlet, purple, and violet colours to their silks. They are thrown into an infusion of alkali and left to macerate. The colours are afterwards drawn out by the addition of lemon juice in various proportions, or of any other vegetable acid. "The flowers are imported to England from many parts of Europe and from Egypt for dyeing and painting. They are also used for cakes and toys; but if used too much they have purgative qualities. Poultry fatten on the seeds. An oil of a light-yellow colour is procured from the seeds. It is used for lamps and for culinary purposes. The seeds contain about 28 per cent. of oil. The dried florets yield a beautiful colouring matter which attaches itself without a mordant. It is chiefly used for colouring cotton, and produces various shades of pink, rose, crimson, scarlet, &c. In Bangalore silk is dyed with it; but the dye is fugitive, and will not bear washing An alkaline extract precipitated by an acid will give a ​HAR 19 fine rose colour to silks or cotton. The flower is gathered and rubbed down into powder, and sold in this state. When used for dyeing it is put into a cloth and washed in cold water for a long time, to remove a yellow colouring matter. It is then boiled, and yields the pink dyeing liquid. The Chinese safflower is considered superior to the Indian one. In Assam, Dacca, and Rájpútána it is cultivated for exportation. About 300 tons are annually shipped from Calcutta, valued in England from £6 to £7-10 per cwt. That from Bombay is least esteemed. “ The mode of collecting the flowers and preparing the dye, as practised in Europe, where the plant is much cultivated, is as follows:—The moment the florets which form the compound flowers begin to open, they are gathered in succession without waiting for the whole to expand, since, when allowed to remain till fully blown, the beauty of the colour is very much faded. As the flowers are collected they are dried in the shade. This work must be carefully performed, for if gathered in wet weather, or badly dried, the colour will be much deteriorated. These flowers contain two kinds of colouring matter—the one yellow, which is soluble in water ; the other red, which, being of a resinous nature, is insoluble in water, but soluble in alkaline carbonates. The first is never converted to any use, as it dyes only dull shades of colour; the other is a beautiful rose-red, capable of dyeing every shade, from the palest rose to a cherry-red. It is therefore requisite, before these flowers can be made available, to sepa- rate the valueless from the valuable colour; and since the former only is soluble in water, this operation is matter of little difficulty. “ The flowers are tied in a sack and laid in a trough, through which a slender stream of water is constantly flowing; while, still further to pro- mote the solution of the yellow colouring matter, a man in the trough treads the sack, and subjects every part to the action of the water. When this flows without receiving any yellow tinge in its passage, the washing is discontinued, and the, safilower, if not wanted for immediate use, is made into cakes, which are known in commer under the ame of strip- ped safflower. " It is principally used for dyeing silk, producing poppy-red, bright orange, cherry, rose, or flesh colour, according to the alterative employed in combination. These are alum, potash, tartaric acid, or sulphuric acid. The fixed oil which the plant yields is used by the native practitioners in rheumatic and paralytic complaints. The seeds are reckoned laxative, and have been employed in dropsy, and the dried flowers in Jamaica are given in jaundice. — Vegetable Substances, Jury Rept., Simmonds,"w. Drury's Useful Plants of India, pages 116-17.. "Ptychotis ajowan (Ajuxin). Medical'uses. The seeds have an aromatic smell and a warm pungent taste ; they are much used by the natives for medicinal and culinary purposes. They are small plants of the umbelli. ferous order, and are to be met with in every market of India. (Roxb.) "The virtues of the seeds reside in a volatile oil. They are stimulant, carminative, and antispasmodic, andare of much value in atonic dyspepsia ​20 HAR and diarrhoea. The preparation known as ordura-water is a valuable car- minative, useful in disguising the taste of nauseous drugs, and obviating their tendency to cause griping. The fruits of the Ptychotis Roxburghia- num are valued by the natives as a stomachic and carmanative. They partake of the properties of the former, but in aroma are ondoubtedly in- kerior.-(Pharm. of Indian.) The wild plant is said to be poisonous. It probably contains apiol, an oily liquid used as a substitute for quinine.--- Powell's Punj. Prod."-Drugs Useful Plants of India, page 360, "Syzygium jambolanum (Jamun). Economic use8.—The timber is fine, hard, and close-grained. The bark dyes excellent durable browns of various shades according to the mordant employed, or the strength of the decoction (Roxb. Wright). The tree attains its full size in forty years. The wood is dark-red, slightly liable to warp, but not subject to worms. It is used for agricultural implements (Balfour). It does not rot in water, and hence is used everywhere to line wells (Fleming). A communication was made to the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Bengal, (Janu- ary 1874), stating that with the fruit called jámun the writer had made in Rắmpur Bauleah a wine that, for its qualities and taste, was almost similar to the winc made from the grape. The wine was very cheap, as from two maunds of the fruit oollected about one maund of wine was made, which cost altogether three rupees." — Drury's Useful Plants of Indiare, page 410. Agricultural statistics.--A plough with two oxen will cultivate six acres of loam or clay soil, but eight acres of sand. The capital required to cultivate a plough of land will be Rs. 30 for a pair bullocks, Rs. 15 for the nocessary implements, including a sugar-milī, Rs. 12 for the pur- chase of seed com, Rs. 18 for the family maintenance for three and a half months till the first of the kharif crops comes in September: total Rs. 75, A plough costs about Re, 1-8-0, including the share, the harrow, a log of wood, eight annas. The capital is a trifle; the profits of cultivation are just enough to cover the wage of labour. Prices.-I attach a list of the grain prices since 1835 at the prin. cipal mart in the district Mádhoganj. The average price of wheat and Bájra in the last three decennial periods has been as follows in sers per rupee : Bájra. 1841-1850 1851-1860 1861-1870 The average prices for the last ten years 1866--1870 are in sers per rupec : Wheat Bájra Barley Gram Black paddy These returns also show the remarkable fact commented on in the Kheri report, that bájra and the millet series are often sold to the poor by the Wheat $24 350 26.9 34.9 35.8 26-4 40 400 269 26.4 326 90.8 43-6 4. ​HAR 21 grain dealers at prices actually exceeding the rates at which the wealthy purchase wheat. A similar return quoted in the Etáwah Settlement Report is as follows, the prices being in sers per rupee:- 1840 -50, 1850-60. 1860-70. Wheat 315 28 24 Gram U. 9 .. 444 39 21 Bájra Op. 60 26 Gur 123 13 100 I am not disposed to place implicit confidence in this return. There is always a danger that in one year the prices are those of harvest, in another those of seed time. It can hardly be, for instance, that in 1863 wheat was one maund per rupee, and bájra thirty sers--one quarter dearer. But the broad fact remains borne out by this return that the food of the poor is increasing in price with greater rapidity than the food of the rich. The average harvest prices during the last two years arc in sers per rupee :- Wheat. Barley. Rice. Gram May, 1872. 23.9 36'5 9.3 30° 1873 .. 16.6 212 12 2 242 >> Und According to this return the prices of wheat, &c., in the years of scarcity were in sers per rupee : Wheat, Bájra Gram. 1837 + 15 16 1861 20 38 100 23 1865 25 22 25 1869 17 22 NE . 20 But this matter is referred to elsewhere in detail. Bájra was certainly Oudh Administration not to be had at 38 sers the rupee during any consi- Report for 1869, p. 124. derable portion of the year 1868, and in September, 1869, bájra was at 9 sers for the rupee; but it is strange how this could be if arhar and Indian-corn were at 22 sers. ​2. IN HOOGBO White Cotton Gur, marks Be- осоо Láhi, Sinanipis dichotomac Rozl 22 HAR Price current of the Mádhoganj Bazar from the year 1835 A.D. to the year 1870 A. O., district Hardoi. | 7 8 10 11 12 Year. Wheat. Barley. Grata. Bájra. Linsed Arhar. Black dhán.

M. 6. c. M. a. c. M. CM, M.HCM. A., M. &. C.M.A.C.M.B.M.S. 0 38 82 g 92 DO 39 00 28 of 1 1 01 000 35 00 1 100 200 Statement showing details of produce and prices in the Hardoi district for the following years. Description of produce. Paddy... 27.1 Common rice (husked) Rest rice (hueked) Wheat... Barley... Bájra ... 20-9 Juár. Gram ... Arhar, Cytisus cajan Urd or asb, Phaseolus maximus 24291 251 21 167 212 28 14 16 207 Mothi, Phaseolus aconitifolius 269 848 284 208 219 213 21" 254 174 16 25.1 Múng, Phaseolus mango 2011 2011 18 20 Masúr, Eryum lens Ahsa or Matra, Pisum sativum 195 223 14 294 22 Ghuirán, Arumi colocasia Sarson. nigra Raw sugar 41 ODOCOOOOOOO OPCO oaeaeoer RRAHARA ou 600 on 500 Boacoeo-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WOOCOOOOOOOOO OMOCOCOOOOOOOOOOO009 OOOOOOOOOOOOO OU DOOCOOOOOOOoConcoOOS OD ONOOOO CoocooooooCo-OOO-ProGeoeooooo COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO POWOH OOOOOOOOOO Docesas occaceOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ఇname.2000 బంతులు oaeaeacco EcoOcecoCOOCOOOOOOOOOOOO NDOGO SA GOCCIA COLA GOSSONO COSA Oto Otola OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOceacocaec OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 25 oli 19 01 හිස oooe 1861, Average. 1862, average. 1863, average 1864, average. 1865, average 1866, average. 1867, Average. 1868, average 1869, average. 1870, average. Average of ten years. Q 100 Ni 6 ง6

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147 # 58 the ​HAR 23 STATEMENT OF PRICES. Retail sale, quantity per rupee. Articles, July, 1669. August, Septem- October, Novem- Jaudary, Febru- 1869, ber, 1869. 1869. ber, 1869. 1870. ary, 1870. M. B. CM. R. c. M. & c. M. s. c. M. a. c. M. s. c. M. &. c. 0 11 14 0 10 12 0 1 0 0 9 81 0 9 120 10 40 10 9 Wheat, Ist quality. Ditto, and quality ... Gram, ditto 012 2011 011 3 09 110 10 4 0 10 12 0 10 14 .. 0 12 10 0 10 14 0 10 12 09 609 4 0 10 O O 10 4 Bájra 3. 0 16 12 0 17 44. sa 0 0 17 12 0 18 3 Juár 027 0 0 20 0 Did ... ol o 18 40 16 8 Arhar 018 . 8 0 11 12 11 10 26 0 0 10 0 0 11 12 Urd 010 60 9 100 9 4 0 Il O 10 8 0 16 O 16 0 Magúr 441 13 8 0 12 8 0 12 24 7 0 0 4 4 0 10 4 14. Múng 0 ee. 7 12 07 40 8 7 90 . 9 5 O 17 BO 17 ) olo ! 30 Rice, 2nd quality .. 0 8 4 0 7 31 0 7 8 II O 9 121 0 10 12 0 11 4 Food.—The food of the people is much the same as in the rest of Oudh. They take two meals a day, one at noon, the second at sun-down. The food grains are mainly maize, kodo, bájra, juár made into bread, barley, and gram parched and eaten dry, pottage of peas, moth and urd. Fish ought to be abundant, owing to the number of rivers and lakes, but on account of the dearness of salt they are, as appears from the following extracts, used as manure at one time of the year, while there is a scarcity during the remain- ing months :- The Collector of Hardoi reports—"Breeding and very young fish are des- troyed without discrimination and to a great extent. They are caught in nets and baskets in jhíls, tanks,and rivers at all seasons, but in greater quan- tity during the rainy season, and especially at its close. The smallest size of the mesh of nets employed is one-sixth of an inch. Traps are also used to collect fish of the smallest size, and are made of reeds. Were it politic, there would be no difficulty in regulating the size of the mesh of nets, but as he does not consider such a time has arrived, he refrains from suggesting what size of meshes be should consider advisable in his district. When fish are scarce in hilly districts, and as well elsewhere, there appears to be no objection against probibiting their capture for a limited period when they are breeding." The settlement officer of Hardoi in 1868 complained “that there is no close season for fish here; they are caught every day of the year. Further, the meshes of the nets are made of any size, and occasion- ally fish are intoxicated or half-poisoned by a jungle fruit termed mainphal ; but this can only be done in still water ponds and the like. Some land​24 HAR owners preserve fish and guard them, but the bulk of the proprietary bodies certainly do destroy fish wantonly. They take every fish they can catch at all seasons, whether the females are breeding or not, and whether the males are what is called spent fish or are in full condition.”—Francis Day's Fresh-Water Fish and Fisheries of India and Burma, para. 284. "The tahsildar of Hardoi gives the fishermen at 2,000, all of whom are said to also follow other occupations; their castes are Kahárs and Baurias, especially the latter. The local markets are insufficiently supplied with fish; more, it is observed, could be sold. The large sorts realize from one to one and a half anna 1, ser, the small from six to nine pies a ser, and mutton two annas for the same quantity. Two-thirds of the population are stated to be fish consumers. The supply is asserted to have increased ; very small ones are taken in large pumbers, in nets and baskets of various sorts, whilst the minimum size of the mesh of the nets will not allow a grain of gram to pass. Fish are also trapped in inundated fields during the rains. The nets employed arc tapa, dhundhi, katia, and khanchas." “The tahsildar of Bilgrám reports that fish are often used as manure; the other tahsildars that the nets will not allow grains of wheat or barley to pass. All state that the market is insufficiently supplied.”—Francie Day's Fresh-Water l'ish and Fisheries of India and Burma, para. 302. Cultivation in Hardoi is backward compared to the adjoining district of Fatehgarh. Opium culture is a fair test of this. The districts do not differ materially in size, but iu 1873-74 opium cultivation in Hardoi averaged 7,383 acres; in Fatehgarb 16,012 acres ; the outturn in Hardoi averaged 7-2 sers; in Farukhabad 8°4 sers; the imperial income from opium in the one district vastly exceeded that of the other. In these two years the Farukh- ahad opium amounted to 6,803 maunds 29 sers, that of Hardoi to 2,652 maunds 22 sers. As the average weight of each opium chest is one maund 28 sers, and the pet profit to Government Rs. 834 per chest, it will appear that the imperial revenue in Farukhabad was Rs. 33,37,668, and in Hardoi Rs. 13,01,040; but, indeed, this condition of things is general throughout the province. It appears from tables supplied by the opium agent, Gházipur, that in the twelve districts of Oudh the acreage and outturn of opium were as follows: Acreage. Outtura in maunds, 1873. IB74, 1873 1874. 64,408 63,026 8,614 11,623 Serg (1873 ... 5.34 A rerage produce per acre 1874 ... 731 Average acreage per district, 5,859. In the four bordering districts of the North-Western Provinces--Azam- garh, Jaunpur, Fatehpur, Farukhabad—the results are as follows:- Acreage. Ostturn in m&unds. 1879. 1874. 1873 1874. 39,315 33,016 5,902 7,259. Serg Sers. Average produce per acre 1873 ... 7-08 mean 7.93 Average acreage per district, 8,291. Sere. mean 6-32. . ​HAR It would appear then that in similar and adjoining districts the acreage under opium is 40 per cent. larger in the North-Western Provinces than in Oudh, and the produce per acre 25 per cent. better Trade,commerce, and manufactures.--Mahmúdi, a muslin, is still produc- ed at Shahabad, but there are no other manufactures of any note in Hardoi; even such local industries as the weaving of Tánda, Nawabganj, and Baiswára, the cotton printing of Kheri do not fourish in Hardoi. Swords of good temper were formerly made at Pibáni, also turbans; the latter craft is declining, the former has expired. It has a considerable transit trade in importing English fabrics from Fatehgarh, and exporting grain and sugar. There are no European establishments, except an indigo manufactory which was started in 1873. The fairs are given in the following table, they all are for religious pur- poses; none of any importance as commercial centres :- 1 2 3 4 5 7 Late of fair. Name of fair. Place wherebeld Object of fair. Number of days it lasts. Estimated uumber of people who attend it from first to last. Extreme distance from which numbers people cozne to it. Miles. Dasabra Bilgram Rámlila 30 40,000 30 Kátki 3 7,000 50 De. Kuár Sndi, Das- mí, 18th Sep- tember Kártik Púran- máshi Sudi, 15th October Do. do., do... Do. do., do... Ditto POS 27,000 3j 5,000 40 20 Ditto O. Neornghát, par- Bathing in the gaca Bilgrám. Ganges. Majhuriagbát... Ditto Biriághát, par- Ditto gana Kach- handan. Asabli, pargaba Visiting the Bangar. tomb of a saint (Pir). Charso Jeth, 10th May, 10 1! 1,500 Bábáji Kardoi 4 2,000 10 ... 9th and 10tb of the moon ip September 9th and 10th of the moon in March, Aghan Badi Worship of Har- đeo Baba. Dhazuk Jagg, Bandan 31 2,000 12 4. Celebration of Rám's mar- riage. Offering made 24,000 10 . 7th and 8th of Debiji muud in Sep. tember, Bahur, pargana Gopaman. to Debi. ​26 HAR 2 3 5 6 Date of fair. Name of fair. Place where bela. Object of fair. Number of days it lasts. Estimated number of people who attend it from first to last. Extreme distance from which numbers of people come to it, ... 1 8 June, Oy .41 2 3,000 06 . .. 3 1 15,000 16 . B. Asbtmi, May Mahadeo Nir, Durgana Offering made 1,0001 and Gopamau. to Maládeo. 14th May. 10th Jeth, May Lál Pír Gopamau Offering made 2 4,000 8 and June, sith at the tomb May. of Ghazi-nd- dín, a saint 6th November... Tirath Debi, Ditto Visitors bathe 20 in a sacred pond or tank Kuár Sudi Dasmi Dasahra Umráoli, par- Rámlíla s! 3,000 10 gana Sara .. Kártik Sudi Leothan Eká- Sacred tank at Bathing at the 2 10,000 24 Ekadashi dashi Narbada, par- sacred tauk. gada Shaha- bad. Jeth or Acorb Chari Narbada, par- Offering made 2,000 2 gana Shaba- to Debi. bad. 29th November Pramhang-ki- Bateúya, par Do, to Samid. 10 samadh gana Sbaba- bad. 7th April Ditto Ditto Ditto ditto... 320,000 40 Bbádon, August Hattia II aran... Lattia Hario, Bathing in the More or 1"0,000 40 and Septem- parganas Gun- holy tank at less ber. dwa and San- doring dfia. the whole month, N.B.—The above fairs, with the exception of Dasabra and Hattia, are of no great importance. The religious significance of the fairs is sufficiently indicated by their names. The gatherings at all except the last two are small, None are of any commercial importance, and none have either given rise to, or favour- ed the attacks of, epidemic disease. They are all those at Bilgrám and Neoraghát excepted, strictly local gatherings. In 1872 the imports from the adjoining districts of Cawnpore, Sháb- jahánpur, Fatehgarh came to Rs. 7,21,000, the exports to Rs. 3,19,000. The principal imports were Maunde, Cotton Rs, 6,462 Salt 1,17,602 22,854 Country cloth ... 1,28,367 1,55,728 English piece-goods 1,65,726 1,68,683 the spot. +90 1 .. ​HAR 27 14,550 NET I 40 The principal exports were-- Maunds, Rs. Gar (coarse sugar) 46,898 Tobacco 5,743 28,256 Edible grains... 81,606 60,820 Horned cattle (No.) 5,937 1,16,592 Hides 20,149 Tobacco is much undervalued in the above table. The railway has given a great impetus to trade; it passes through the district for 62 miles. In 1873 the outward traffic amounted to 7,399 tons, nearly all grain, the inward to 1,324 tons. None of this has been noted in the official report given above. In 1874, as the accompanying table will show, there was a still greater advance of the grain traffic, and the little station of Hardoi, whose population is 6,415, has as much grain traffic as great cities of Bareli and Shahjahanpur combined, whose population amounts to 180,000. This is shown in the annexed table :-- Statement showing the weight of grain trafic in maunds during the undermentioned months. MONTHS, Statious. December, January, February, Total 1873. 1874. 1876. 3,610 100 PG OP Bareli Паrdоi Sitepur road Sandila Cawnpore... Shábjaháapar 4,248 4,369 1,567 7,463 5,336 1,994 12,704 1,997 9,012 8,226 9,724 12,089 8,093 2,993 5,738 17211 16 19,897 25,166 6,567 22,208 30,773 5,794 Total . 144 1,10,335 This is in great measure due to the emancipation of buyers and sellers from the system of local cesses imposed the landed proprietors. The railway company has wisely established a free market beside the station, in which dealings are conducted, and no charge made. In 1873 the traffic at the various stations on the railway within the boundaries of the Hardoi district was as follows - OUTWARD. INWARD. Stations, Passen- Total Merchan- Total ger. amount. dise. apiount, Paesen- Total Merchan- Total. ger. amount, dise. amoant. £ 159 Sandila Bálamau Sitapur Road .. Hardoi Chándpur Aji No. 23,241 6,115 5,219 51,795 2,318 11,322 £ 857 226 179 1,515 100 584 Tong, 1,175 136 842 4,867 51 308 € 832 84 118 1,555 16 200 No. 22,803 6,329 4,751 32,678 $ 894 223 158 1,604 82 361 Tons. 510 67 188 514 77 284 3,978 DOR 10,784 45 22 Total ... 79,945 3,290 7,899 2,265 81,918 3,262 1,324 866 ​28 HAR Roads and communications. There are no metalled roads in the dis- trict. The railway runs through from Lucknow to Shahjahánpur, trains stopping at six stations in the district in a length of sixty-two miles; it was opened at different times in 1871-72. There are also 329 miles of roads raised and bridged. The principal are:- From Lucknow to Shábjahávpur. Hardoi to Sitapur. to Fatehgarh (only partially bridged). to Bilgram, thence to Mehndighét. Sandila to Mádbogaoj, Bilgrám, and Sándi. Hardoi to Piháui. None of these are imperial roads. None of the stations in the line of railway have as yet become centres of traffic. Sandíla, the centre of a fertile grain-producing tract, and a town with a population of 15,500, otily contri- buted about Rs. 1,600 in fares and traffic receipts to the railway in 1871. But in 1874 Hardoi and andila have loped a very large trade in supplying Lucknow with bread-stuffs ; the former sends 500 tons a month of grain alone. Sheds have been erected by the company, and as many roads convorge on Hardoi, a fine traffic may reasonably be expected. The passengers arriving at and leaving Hardoi in the first half-year of 1873 were 30,340, at Sandíla 24,376_-vide table under heading “Commerce and Manufactures." The minor district roads are : 1. From Hardoi viá Bargadiaghất to Sitapur. This is twenty-two miles long within this district. The stages are—ītauli, six miles from Hardoi ; Bharail, five miles further; Kinau, five miles, and Nímsár, six miles. The only river is the Gunti. 2. Sitapur and Mehndighát road, i.e., from Bargadiaghát in this dis- trict to the border of the district (banks of the Ganges). Total length of this road is thirty-three miles. The stages are--Besia, six miles from Nímsár; Lodhia, seven miles from Besia; Mádhoganj, eight miles ; Matia- mau, six miles; and the bank of the Ganges, six miles. The rivers are the Gumti and the Kalyáni. 3. Gopámau to Pibáni. The stages are only Gopamau and Piháni at the distance of eight miles from each other. 4. Piháni to Kulábharghát on the Gumti. The length of this road is ten miles. The stages are Balheri and Kulábharghát, the latter at the dis- tance of six miles from the former. Local weights and measures.—The tahsildars of Hardoi and Shahabad report as follows:-A local kachcha bigha is twenty qadams long by twenty broad, the qadam being fifty-two arguls or finger's breadth. The angul is three-quarters of an inch, therefore the qadam is thirty-nine inches; the bigha will then be a square of sixty-five feet, or an Prinsep's usefal area of 469 square yards. But the bigha in general tables, page 127. use is much larger than this. In Bangar, Shahabad, Pachhoha, Pali, and Gopamau three local bíghas go to the regulation bigha of 3,025 square yards; in Pindarwa, Piháni, Mansurnagar two and a half; ​HAR 29 > >> six yards. in Bawan, Sara three bígha fifteen biswa local bighas are included in the regulation bigha. The subject is treated in detail in Kheri. The table of linear distance is as follows 8 barleyeorng1 angul 22 1 dánd 1000 =l kos. Prinsep's useful The kos will then equal one mile and a half and twenty- tables, page 130. There is a local pakka ser in use, or rather in reputed use, weighing Rs. 96; these of course were the Lucknow Machhlisháhi rupees of 172 grains, the sers now iu use being eighty tolas of 180 grains. The two sers then weigh respectively. Rs. 16,512 and Rs. 14,400. There is also a small local ser and maund in general use, as everywhere, throughout Oudh. Their weight differs in different markets; on the average the local maund equals eighteen regulation sers. The theory is that the local ser should weigh Rs. 32, or exactly one-third of the larger or pakka ser. But, as we have seen with reference to the land measure, theory and practice differ widely. Interest.--Ordinary interest is 15 per cent. on security of landed pro- perty, or 24 per cent. on small transactions, but money can be got at 12 per cent. in very large sums; if jewellery is pledged, interest at Re. 1-8-0 to Rs. 2 per month is charged; if the lien is on clothes or other perishable article, interest reaches Rs. 3-8-0. Advances made to tenants for subsist- ence by the grain dealers are repaid at market prices, sometimes with the addition of two annas in the rupee. In this way the money-lender, on transactions covering a brief space of time, often gets 80 per cent for his money. The special custom called up is described elsewhere. ​30 HAR CHAPTER III. POPULATION. The people-Population--Castes-Towns with their population - Distribution of landed property among the rájas and clang-Distribntion in Akbar's time--Rája Hardeo Bakbah- The small proprietors-Reasons why there are few rájag— The origin of clan property-- Development of feudal power-The yeomen proprietors-Their diffi- culties–Difficulty attending any effort to improve their condition-Land transfers. Populations.--The following table shows the administrative divisions, population, and numbers professing each religion :- Areu in Bri- tisl square Population, statute miles. Pargana. Number of mauzas or townships, Number of persons to each square mile. Muhammadans, Cultivated. Tahsil, Bindus. Males. Females. Total, Sa Total. Hardoi. Bangar Gopamau Sara, south Bawan Barwan 96) 240 42 67 69 143 85! 62,337 2,157 30,467 24,027 54,494 328 172 103,338 8,662 80,470! $1,530 112,006 45 24 15,688 798 9,626 7,960 17,486 69 46 25,173 864 14 708 11,929 26,037 53 33 18,739 467) 10,762 8,454 19,206 638 359 216,275 12,954 125,399 103,900 229,229 381 341 385 377 382 Total 604 358 1,504 Shahabad. Shahabad Alamoggar Pihági Mansurnagar Sara, north Saromannager Pali Pachboha --- 143 43 B1 26 43 42! 92 80 13: 69 80 26 46 35 73 90 81 66,177 11,469 85,894 31,762 67,646 19 13,718 8,398 6,823 15,221 43 26,442 7,586 18,22815,800 34,048 9 5,965 821 8,437 2,849 6,286 25 16,687 799 9,526 7,960 17,486 21 16,331 299 8,651 6 973 16,624 46 25,579 2,508 15,249 12,844 28,087 66 27,227 684 15,761 12,160 27,911 516 285 426 242 3R5 446 886 310 3 Total 549 589 393 114 Bilgram. Bilgrán Sándi Katiári Mallanwia Kachbaadau 09 117 168 901 1361 47 80 123 34 810 187,121 25,16A 115,138 97,161 212,289 71 49,163 7,081 29,900 26.94466,244 107 64,262 5,499 37,731 32,017) 69,751 61 34,616 6419,544 15,620 95,104 84 71,408 6,273 49,411 37,270 77,681 28 19,120 2,339 11,226 9,233 20,459 851 237,459 21,840 198,815 120,484 259,99 487 415 391 571 435 Pad Total 492 1.6 038 466 . Sandila. Sandíla Kalyanmal Balaman Gundwa va 213 329 170 117,351 19,904 72,176 65,080 137,255 417 72 63) 41 23,115 1,760 13,277 11,898) 21,875 395 14 25 181 10,329 870 5,899 5,300 11,199! 446 !17 140 88 53,643 3,328 29,989 26,982 66,971 406 416 557 317 204,438 25,862 121,340 108,960 230,300 418 1,961 2,292 2,337 846 293 85,824 600,622 430,495 931.117 406 Total District total 0. 44 ... .. 1.4 .. 14 6 . 1 44. . so 25 8 344 Europeana Earaulana Prisoners, &c. Grand total 89 9 352 149 1. 134 15. 1,961 2,292 1,337 845,293 85,824 600,694 430,529) 831,617 406 ​HAR 31 Jága 4. 101 470 Hardoi.- The population of Hardoi is 931,517, which is 406 to the square mile; it is thus the most thinly peopled district in Oudh, except Kheri and Bahraich. Muhammadans number 85,824, Hindus 845,293. The principal castes and sects of both are given in the following table. There is nothing particularly worthy of note in it, except the great number of the Chamárs, who form 15 per cent of the whole. It is also worthy of remark that the Chamar Gaurs, said to be connected with the Chamárs, have their principal settlement in this district, where they have no less than 217 villages. Of the Hindus in Hardoi 54-1 per cent, are males and 45-9 are females. Of the Musalmans 51 per cent are males and 49 per cent. are females. There is no immigration or emigration to any extent. During the first year after annexation there was a considerable reflux wave of persons who had fled to avoid the oppression of the Nawabi; that has ceased, and there are indications that in time emigration will commence, but it has not assumed any dimensions, Caste Statement of Hardoi district. MUSALYANS. HINDU8,- (concluded) Mewati 129 Teli Iraqi 21,579 155 Thatbara... Sayyad 1,651 5,350 152 Shekla 11,926 Chamár Pathán 141,208 15,594 Cbhípi 361 Mughal ... 809 llalwái Bhatiára .. 1,953 509 Dbobi Julába 14,877 11,144 Dharkár Gbogi 9,747 Bansphor Kuujra 9,701 1,510 Dhánnk Qasai 2,127 Dhunia 9,456 Bhand 23+ Down 250 Dhari 343 Dasándh ... 167 Mujá wir 124 Darzi 6,141 Paturia 1,310 Ráj 645 Saggs 175 Sunár 3,560 Dafáli 197 Kumhár 8,516 Ranki Kurmi Rangrez 19,975 351 Kahár 26.6:3 Saiqalgar... 130 Kalwar Other Musalmang 7,638 9,645 Kanjar 149 HINDUS, Kori 8,294 Gareria Brahman ..) 30,815 112,101 Gujar 372 Chhattri ... 76.708 Kisen 14,096 25,631 Gandhi 164 Kayath 9,479 Lodha 12,876 902 Lonia Sikh 2,097 139 Lobár 9,671 Khattri 2,812 Murso Arak 49,440 15,006 Mánjbi Abír 65,214 Mallah 1,151 Bhunjwa ... 12,491 Máli Bhát 3,834 Mochi 676 Banjára 244 Manibár Babelía 2,966 605 Náo 15,306 Bári 667 Nat Bathi 1,612 12,574 Gosháín ... 1,036 Beldar Other Faqirs 6,625 Bhaddri ... 795 | Jogi Bhangi 4,291 Bairági 477 Pási 62,367 Sádhu Patwa 953 Persons whose caste is not known 11,196 Tamoli 6,862 Travellers 1,249 4P SP . or 640 Vaishya ... D S. Ját 9 BIO PA 2,919 per 460 12 . . 10 888 VE .. EOS

  1. t

591 + OV 14 IO ​32 HAR The Musalmans reside principally in the large towns, such as Bilgrán, Sandíla, Shahabad, and Sándi, but even in these they form the minority. As in the Bara Banki district, they have in some places inhibited the build- ing of temples, and recently, when they protested against a temple being erected by a Hindu rája on his own land in the town of Sandíla, it appear- ed on inquiry that no temples ever had been built in the town by the Hindus, owing to the bigotry of their Musalman neighbours. But such instances are not common in Oudh. On the other hand, the Musalmans often join in the Rámlíla and other celebrations of the Hindus ; their love of pomp and ceremony induces them to adopt occasions for their display, even from the ritual of the idolater, while pride rather than bigotry induces them to keep out of sight the temples of a rival faith. Kanjars, a predatory tribe, are very numerous in this district; they appa- rently were absent when the census was taken; their habits are nomad. The other tribes of the district call for no notice. I need only mention here the principal clan of the Chhattris in order according to their nun- bers Clans. Number Number of villages owned, Gaur .. BE 11,000 232 Panwar . 66 Chauhan 106 10,000 9,000 8,000 SO Sombansi 178 Bais . 44. 6,000 94 Chandel 9,000 51 Janwar ... + 3,000 82 Sakarwar - 2,000 79 Belwár 2,000 5 Katiár .. 1,600 112 Bhadguria 14 .. 1,500 1 Ratbor ... 1,500 S In all there are forty-four clans of Chhattris numbering 75,078. They and the Brahmans are mostly cultivators or ycomen proprietors. There are no hill tribes or distinctively aboriginal castes in the district, although there is little doubt that the Pasis and Dhánuks, with the Lodhs, probably belong to a layer of population anterior to the Aryan colonization, Towns. There are no less than five towns in Hardoi with a population above 10,000, there being only 18 such in the entire province. It is not easy to say what is the reason of this. None of them are places of any trade; not one of them, except Sándi, is even situated on a navigable river. The railroad has not succeeded in attracting quch trade to or from the ​HAR 38 11 4 . 15,511 40 15. 14 . Sándi ... Pihani... . IP I. BET +01 three towns which it passes-Hardoi, Sandíla, and Shahabad. The princi- pal towns and their population are :- Shahabad 18,254 Sandila Bilgram 11,534 Mallányán 11,670 11,123 7,882 Hardoi 6,415 Gopalgau 5,949 Pali 5,122 Of these the first seven have been subjected to local taxation for the maintenance of police, but in Hardoi alone has a municipal committee been appointed under Act XV. of 1867; its revenue from taxation in 1871 was Rs. 15,675, almost entirely from octroi ; its expenditure was Rs. 16,657. The following are the Chhattri clans which possess most property iv the district Name of clan. Number of villages. Parganas in which situated. Sambansi Nikumbh Katiár Gaur 178 214 212 282 ve PL .. Bais Sa karwar Panmar Chandel Gahilwar Ahban Janvác Chauhan Raikwár Kachhwáka Ráthor Bapteli Ragbubapsi Gautam Ratebria Bách hiu Bhadwaria Babaphar 94 73 66 51 46 39 38 30 28 13 Rawan 68, Sándi 17, Pali 52, Saromannagar 20. Sandita 6, Ảlamng 22, Pihapi 19, Malla ayan 14. Sándi 35, Katiari 61. Sara 63, Barwan 42, Shahabad 14, Gopamou 28, Saroman- nagar 15, Bangar 36. Gundwa 81, Kalyánmal 68. Mallán wáal 64. Gopamau 26, Kachhandad 16. Gopamau 24, Baugar 19. Gopamau 33. Sandila 13. Gopamau 11. Mallan wan 18, Gálamai 8. I. 14 7 7 9} . 1 24 No other district in Oudh can present such a distribution of property twenty-four clans instead of the five or six which are found in Rae Bareli or Partabgarh. This is to be accounted for partly by the proximity of the district to Kanauj, the king of which place would naturally settle his re- tainers indiscriminately over the country, and would not allow any clan to acquire exclusive authority over a large tract; partly it was due to the fact that Hardoi was a sort of border land between the Ahbans to the north-east, the Gaurs to the south-west, the Bais to the south and east, the Sombansi to the west, 5 ​34 HAR No less than thirteen of the twenty-four clans have large landed inter- ests The Raikwárs lost 64 villages in Bálamau after the mutiny through the confiscation of the property of their leader Narpat Singh. There is a great Katiár colony in the extreme north-west of the district; passing east we find an ancient Sombansi settlement; south of it a Raikwár and Chandel colony; still further east we find the Gaurs holding the centre of the district; the greater part of several parganas to the south forms the settlement of Sakarwárs, Nikumbhs, and Bais; to the east Gopamau, formerly belonging to the Abban kingdom (vide Kheri article), now broken up among a number of clans; while to the north the Panwars hold most of Pachhoha. The tribes in some cases acquired such exclusive possession of the land that the parganas were made coterminous with their boundary, or nearly Vide following table :- SO. Name of pargana. No, of villages. Leading clan. No. of villages hela by it. Guada .. 117 Bais & L Kályánmal 72 Sakarvár + 63 Sara ... 85 Q Grur 63 Katíari • 80 Katiár 6 1. Alamnagar . 43 Nikumbh 224 Páli .. 92 Sombangi . 62 Barwan E. ON 69 Ditto 68 In other cases parganas were formed from the lands surrounding or within easy reach of some Musalman town, like Shahabad, Bilgrám, Sandila, Mansurnagar; in other cases again, as in that of Gopamau, the pargana represents, not the possessions of a clan, but the ancient dominion of a chief. In Hardoi, unlike Partabgarh, no ono clan acquired predominance over such an extensive tract of country that it now constitutes a tahsil. The point will bo dwelt on in connexion with the comparative absence of the feudal or rája element in Hardoi society. Division of landed property.—The landed property in this district is more ovenly divided under the different tenures than is usual in Oudh. The distribution is as follows: Taluqdari 395) Zamindari 795) Pattidari The following is the distribution among the different clans and castes - Chhattri 2,157 Musalman 4083 Brahman Káyath 157) Gosbáíu Ahir Kumi 763 se 1603 4 6 16 140 ! ​HAR 35 an . Kalwar Baqqal Lodd Phát • Mali £uropean Native Christian Mixed ownership Government 2 9 3 45 423 Total 1,961 16 Distribution of property in Albar's time 1590 A.D.-The following list of the proprietors, as given in the Aín-i-Akbari, may be of interest. The district was then divided between the two Sarkars of Khairabad and Lucknow:- Khairabad Sarkar. Name of pargana. Proprietors. Páli. Bawan. Sándi, Sara. Gopaman. Bilgrádi. Sandíla Kachhandar. Gundwa. Malláuwán. . Hardoi. Piháni. Asas or Ahírs. Ditto. Som bansis. Cbauháps. Rajputs, Kuuwar in other MSS. Bisen-Kunwar. Lucknow Şarkás. Sayyads. Bais. Gahlot, Bachhil in other Mss, Chandel. Chandels. Brahmans. Baig, Brahmany, now Gaur Chhattris. Rajputs. Twelve parganas have now, it appears, been split up into twenty-two. Allowing for errors in the manuscri the stability of property among Hindus is very remarkable. The parganas of Gopamau, Sándi, Bilgrám, Kachhandan are held now, as they were held in Akbar's time, by the same Chhattri clans. The Chavháns, Bais, and Bachbils have apparently lost ground, also the Brahmans, while the Gaurs, Raikwárs, Nikumbhs, who are really Kachhwáhas, have established themselves since Akbar's time. On the whole the Rajputs have held their ground, one tribe giving place to another. The change which has been mainly effected is the aggrandize- ment of the Musalmans and the decline of the Brahmans. Musalmang now hold great part of Sandíla and Piháni and Shahabad ; they are only mentioned in Akbar's time as the part owners of Bilgrám. The Kunwars who are recorded as owners of Gopamau are the Ahbans, still the largest proprietors. The word is either a clerical error for Cháwars, the original name of the Abbans, or it is applied to them as a younger branch. It is only in Hardoi that Brahman zamindars still have any considerable num- ber of villages; in other districts which boast a considerable Brahman own- ership the proprietors are all taluqdars. The larger proprietors in the district are mentioned in the following table: ​36 HAR Return illustrating the ownership and rental of taluqas in the Hardoi district. Name of taluga. Name of taluqdar. Number of villages, Area in acres. o Government demand. Profits of sub- proprietors. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. Pab KAKRÁLI .. Farmed Chandbri Bhaslat Hugen Copyhold ... Ancestral .., 4.4 33,763 14,569 7,036 30,993 17,926 5,610 10,167 2,099 + Total 69 65,862 63,830 12,250 Arwa

  1. 44

Thákur Bharath Singh Farged Copybold.. Aucestral ... 36,250 5,024 893 35, 302 8,974 1,020 4,698 480) Total 18 43 42,168 43,387 43,397 6,129 LOHRÁSAT PUB, Thakuráin Dalet Kun- war, widow of Thakur Chandika Bakhsh, 1 Farmed Copyhold... 18,073 872 15,008 | 1,242 734 . Total 13 19,645 16,261 734 PO SARWAN BA-Rája Wazír Chand RAGAON. Farmed Copyhold Ancestral... Total 6,808 14,482 702 .. 7,381 16,681 678 12,879 222 27: Pet 21,993 24,640 13,101 Do, HO. POT Kunwar Durga Parshád Tarmed 100 Copyhold ... 9,378 9,302 7,825 11,664 7,784 Total . 203 16,680 19,890 7,784 100 BXARÁWAN Rája Randhir Singh ... Farmed Copybold... Ancestral... 19,145 967 4,801 22,184 1,317 5,017 1,200 2,814 Total 32 24,913 28,516 4,015 JALALPUR ... Modebi Tazt Rasul PU Farted Copyhold DO 4,065 8,830 3,618 4,292 . 1,968 Total 11 7,395 7,911 1,968 KEAJORARRA Thákar Lálta Bakhgh,.. Farned Copybola ed 13,898 8,214 15,038 8,136 P OD 6934 Total 19 23,174 6,994 BLAGETATOR Sayyad Wasl Haidar. Farmed Copybola 21,618 16,559 6,760 114 bad 13,839 6,145 3,306 Total 199 29 22,319) 19,985 3,30R ​HAR 37 Return illustrating the ownership, &c.--concluded.) Name of taluga. Name of taluqdar. No. of vil lages. Area in acres Government demand. Profits of sub- proprietars, 1. 2. 4, 5. 6. 1.. A SIFPOR, ... BAGHIÁRI Mohammad Ashraf, Mu- hammad Hádi, Mut | Farmed bammad Zaki, Mu- Copyhold ... hammad Fizil, and Ancestral .. Dildar Husen 21,261 510 73€ 20,8901 528 746 981 482 Total 30 22,165 863 KATIÁRI 14. 44,480 244 Rája Hardeo Bakush, Farmed CSI, Copyhold ... Tutal 43,756 685 163 46 40,725 1. 163 ya BÁBITXAGAR .. Begam Anánat Fátima (Farmed Ancestral... 15,054 7,229 13,308 5,932 . 2,850 Total 19,240 22,283 2,850 SAWAJPUR ... Rája Díp Singh Farmed Copyhold 16,927 951 d. 12,088 1,440 . 1,300 Total 23 7,878 13,528 1,300 PAWAYÁN. wa FO Thákur Sarabjít Singh Farmed Copyhold 3,163 30 3,851 66 14 30 Total 6 3,194 8,918 80 PURWA Dec- Rája Muhammad Shun- BIS. sher Bahadur Farmed 6 6,271 3,936) 1 440 4,372 2,398) . KARYMNA- GAR JALALPUR. Mirza Ahmad Ali Beg Farmed ** Copyhold ... 62 67

60 Total 10 414 4,4351 2,465 60 ANJI Mabant Har Charati Dás. Copyhold ... 2 1,6091 1,666 812 140 Raja Mangúr Ali Khán... Farmed 3 2,348 1,589 MANBURNA- GAR. GRAND TOTAL ... 410 367,696 8,53,089 61,303 ​38 HAR The following list is more recent, dating from 1874 : List of taluqdars of the Hardni district. Name of teluqdar. Name of talaga. Number of villages. Remarka. Government demand. Area in acres. 21,792 8,959 7,428 8 892 19,338 18,922 13,166 23 172 Chhattri, Bais. 8,546 Musalman, Shekh, 6,510 Kayah, Sri Båstab. 7,627 Shekh, 21,644 Ditto. 13,203 44,063 Katiár. 14. > Lálta Baksh Khajurahra & Aliápur, 24 Imtiaz Fátima Bibt# Kasmandl 9 Amar Náth Thamaria 18 Muhammad Amír .. Gonda bás to Auánat Fátima Basitnagar 29 Rája Díp Singh Sawájpur 23 Rája Hardeo Bakhsh, Katiári 47 Sayyad Wasi Haidar, Bhagetapur and Fa- riapur 22 Muhammad Ashraf, Asifpur 32 Bharat Singh Atwa and Nasirpur .. 45 Sayyad Fazi Rasul... Jalálpur and Daud- 21 Raja Wazír Chand... Sarwan Barágáon .. 30 Rája Durga Parshad, Ditto ditto 22 Dalel Konwer Bir a 14 Ihaslat Husen Kakráli and Arwi Rabmanpur 67 Rája Randhír Singh, Bharawan 53 Láig Singh Mandauli 4. 22,119 23,616 42,754 19,464 Sayyad. 21,429 Ditto. 44,654 Baig. por 7,478 21,020 18,876 18,430 7,906 24 039 18,918 16,852 Sayyad. Káyath Sri Bastah, Ditto, Bais. PP 63,867 23,169 81,163 26,708 5,468 Shekla. Bais. pea 5,710 Total . 482 364,925 360,351 Most of them acquired their estates by becoming security for revenue, by more or less forced sales, and the other wrongful means so often referred to elsewhere in these pages. Díp Singh of Sawájpur and possibly Rája Hardeo Bakhsh of Katiảri are the only acknowledged chiefs of clans, the only men whose taluqdari title does represent and enabody a real feudal power and influence over their subjects. One or two of the smaller es- tates, however, are very old and real allodial properties. The Sayyads of Bilgram acquired their estates by purchase about two hundred years ago for the most part, Colonel Sleeman mentions the Sandíla landlords in the following terms:- " The baronial proprietors in the Sundeela district are Murdan Sing, of Dhurawun, with a rent-roll of Rs. 38,000; Gunga Buksh, of Atwa, with ​HAR 39 one of Rs. 25,000 ; Chundeeka Buksh, of Birwa, with one of Rs. 25,000; and Somere Singh, of Rodamow, with one of Rs. 34,000. This is the rent-roll declared and entered in the accounts, but it is much below the real one. The Government officers are afraid to measure their lands, or to make any inquiries on the estates into their valne, lest they should turn rob- bers and plunder the country, as they are always prepared to do. They have always a num ber of armed and brave retainers, ready to support them in any ente rprise, and can always add to their number on emer- gency. There is never any want of loose characters ready to fight for the sake of plunder alone. A tallookdar, however, when opposed to his government, does not venture to attack another tallookdar or his tenants, stands too much in need of his aid, or at least of his neutrality and for- bearance." It is rather curious that the large proprietors of Sandíla as it at present stands-Chaudhri Hashmat Ali, Fatehchand, Dhanpat Ráe—are not even mentioned. Theirs were chakladári estates, and apparently it was not con- sidered that their farms represented property, at all , Otherwise it seems difficult to account for Colonel Sleeman's omission to mention men actu- ally in his camp. The history of tłe Hardoi taluqdars will be referred to further 011. Here it is only necessary to state that they are above the average in intelligence and enterprise. The present owners of Sandila and Bilgram are men of considerable ability. Rája Hardeo Bakhsh of Katiári is as fine-a specimen of' a feudal chief as Oudh can present. A just and kind landlord, an upright and truthful man, a soldier of approved courage, an adept in all manly exercises, he has also shown himself to be within his small range a statesman of prescience and broad views. He temporised with the rebels during the first months of the mutiny of 1857: he pretended submission to the usurper at Lucknow, knowing that if a sudden attack were made upon him in May or June he could not protect either himself or Messrs. Edwards and Probyn who had taken shelter with him. With the first fall of the rains, when his dominion became an island in the middle of pathless fens and girt by swift deep rivers, he threw off the mask and bade defiance to the rebels. He has been rewarded as he deserved for his unswerving loyalty. The good service which he rendered in war he coutinues in more peaceful times. His advice is always sound and unselfish, and no one's aid and society are more welcome in Hardoi, whether to those who follow the chase of the boar or to those who administer justice in the courts. His stalwart form and frank face are well known throughout. Unlike most of his class, his active habits induce him to be constantly on horseback. Noblemen of such ligh character are really a most important and beneficial power in the state. They are loved by their dependants with that fond fidelity which sterling goodness attracts, and which this primitive society is ready to tender. A wise good Hindu chief who belongs to the soldier caste, who was trained in a harsh school, whose religion still guides him to justice and benevolence, but not to bigotry, deserves to have his portrait drawn in these pages. He and his estate are to a certain extent self-made. He is not the hereditary chief of his clan, being descended from a younger son, and had many struggles with the former sovereigns of Oudh to preserve his property and liberty ​40 HAR The small proprietors. The principal feature of the Hardoi proprietary body is the enormous number of small owners. There are in Hardoi 1,569 villages not belonging to taluqdars; these cover 1,105,000 acres, and are owned by 21,758 proprietors, giving an average of fifty acres to each pro- prietor, of which two-thirds will he arable. Many of these proprietors, however, have brothers and cousins whose separate shares are not recorded. There are 823 zamindari villages, 728 pattidari, and 18 bhayachára. It is very strange why the ráj or the feudal chiefship system should not have gained ground in Hardoi. It almost seems as if it was owing to the climate that a bolder and more independent spirit animated the inhabit- ants of Unao, Hardoi, Lucknow, and southern Kheri than in eastera and Northern Oudh, the Tarai, and the trans-Gogra districts. Such large estates as do exist in Hardoi are purely the result of re- venue arrangements, even when the owners belong to powerful clans. A youoger scion of the Nikumbhs accumulated the estate of Atwa, another of the Chamar Gaurs that of Khajurahra, another of the Katiárs that of Dharmpur, another the Raikwár estate of Ruia; none of these men were rájas or considered their property as indivisible. The paucity of feudal lordships in Hardoi accounted for.—The rea- sons of this are obscure, It only removes the inquiry a stage further back to urge that the Chhattri clans were too numerous and too much in- termingled in Hardoi to admit of continuous domination by any one ment- ber of a single clan, It is quite true that in some cases the present pro- prietary bodies represent the Chhattri retainers who were settled indiscri- minately over the territory by the Moslem lords of Bilgrám, Shahabad, and Pibáni. When a mixed body of Brahman and Chhattri retainers has been scattered sporadically over a territory it is impossible to establish a ráj which shall have in itself any of the elements of cohesion or permanence; such are only the attributes of a feudal chiefship, which is coterminous with the allodial property of a numerous and powerfûl clan. Blood relation- sbip to the chief supplies the place of military discipline and preserves the principality from external foes and internal dissensions. Another solveut of feudal estates was the presence of large Musalman towns, such as Bilgram, Sandíla, Shahabad, and Sándi ; the existence of these Moslem military stations with their republican policy, fanaticism, and soldierly in- stincts was incompatible with the neighbourhood of a great Hindu ráj like that of Partabgarh, Gonda, Mitauli, or Morármau. Moslems, as soldiers of fortune, and as possessors of a faith which made all men equal, were bound to attack all whose wealth, Hindu faith, and noble station gave them a fatal prominence. Just as the Sayyads of Bilgram overturned the Som- bansi rája of that ilk, those of Sandíla the Pási chiefs, so did the Malihabad Pathans drive the Bais from their borders. Further, Hardoi was on the great highway from Delhi to Jaunpur and Bengal. Tall poppies do not grow by the roadside. These things account for large principalities never having flourished in Hardoi; they do not account for large clans like the Nikumbhs, Chamar Gaurs, Sakarwars, Panwárs never having elected a rája. They show that even when a clan had mastered a compact estate, the rája was regarded as an ornamental appendage which might or might not be added, ​HAR in war. The great mistake made by those who assume that in Western Oudh a ráj or a taluqa was the natural form which landed property assumed, the first crystallization from chaos, so to speak, is an historical one. They assume that a Rajput clan headed by its chief invaded Oudh from Mangi Pátan or some other Patan in Wostern India; that this chief conquered a principality for himself, and that he maintained in peace the same abso- lute power over the persons and property of his clan which was necessary Now the traditions of no clan, not even the Bais, the Ahban, the Kanhpuria, the Sombansi, the Bachgoti, which number hundreds of thou- sands of members, point to any such wholesale immigration and conquest. What took place was as follows :—A single individual, or three brothers at most settle in the country and prosper ; they commence in all cases by dividing the property equally among all the sons, showing that the idea of a ráj, one and indivisible, bad not entered their minds; they succeed by some process of natural selection or freak of fortune; other families give place to them; they multiply and continue subdividing their property. If it happens that any call is made on the military prowess of the The development of family now become a clan, if they have constantly, to feudal power, fight for their property, or are successful in seizing that of others, it is not unlikely that their natural leader, the head of the elder branch, may either be nominated a rája by his clan, or be granted the title by the supreme authority. Once granted or admitted, there is no doubt that the title, and the power which accrues to it, are apt to be per- manent. Custom and hereditary names are all-powerful in Oudh; but the writer's point is that ráj is not the natural form which property takes in Western Oudh at all. Ráj has hardly anything to do with landed property; it represents sovereignty, military control, and will only develop into allodial property as a military usurpation in troublous times for the good of the commonwealth. The rája will call in war time for a war contribu- tion from all the subjects of the state ; he does that, not for his personal gain, but as the head of the commonwealth and for its weal. Nor does it by any means follow that a clan will see the necessity of having a rája even for military matters; there are clans in Hardoi who have their un- titled chiefs whom in all times of turmoil their obedience is absolute. On the banks of the Ganges in Kachbandan there lived a Chandel, a yeoman chief of this kind; he was the master of only one village, but his power and influence over the whole clan was unbounded. When Rája Hardeo Bakhsh of Katiári had no power to protect the Fatehpur fugitives, he secured the good offices of this old man, who pledged his word for the Englishmen's safety; he embarked in their boat, and his answer to the hoarse challenges from the river bank was always received and obeyed as a command not to use hostile measures; for many a mile down the Ganges his presence secured absolute safety. Very probably, if the Oudh anarchy had continued a few generations, this man's grandson might have become a rája, got the whole property of the clan into his clutches, and antedated his ráj, as having come in with the conquerors. It is very true that when a ráj was once established, the power of the clan under its new head would be directed to conquest from other clans, and the new acquisitions so made would very probably be regarded mainly as the allodial property of the 6 ​

HAK

42 rSja alone, with which he

might reward

his retainers

but here again the

the result of wal- and military aggression. We have instances (see articles Sikandarpur and Kheri district)' of the establishment or re-establishment of a r^j by the voluntary election of the people in order to further the common interests or protect them from the common enemy, the T&j arose as

supreme government.

The raja's titles are generally most modem inventions there was no raja of the Bisens before Hanwant Singh none of the Janwars till two generations ago, none of the Ahbans,theoldest clanin Oudh, till RajaLone Singh's time they never had a r^ja in Hardoi; there is none of the Kalhans, of the Chamar Gaurs,ofthe B^hman Gaurs; there was none of the Jangres till Jodha Singh conquered Dhaurahra. In point of fact, in times of ordinary tranquillity, even of such tranquillity as was common in Oudh, there was no necessity for a raja, and no Indian Government, unless in the last stage of decay, would have tolerated the existence of any raja within its dominions whom it could possibly or safely reduce to subjection.

No doubt, at the break up of each empire, a number of able men started into local greatness when the Jaunpur kingdom was broken up, the Bais, the Kanhpuria, the Soinbansi, the Bachgoti clans found it convenient to have rajas with the establishment of settled order and the Mughal empire, the unity of the raj vanished, and property Was divided according Again, when the Mughal empire broke up, to the ordinary Hindu law.

were established the Muhamdi, Kaimahra, Kala Kdnkar, the Dhaurahra, the Katiari, the Dera principalities. Again, when the Oudh kings had lost all real power and devoted themselves to sensuality, there arose the great principalities of Oel, Shahganj, Jahangirabad, Mahmudabad, Maurdnwan, Sissaindi. On what did these principalities rise ? Not oh the ruins of others; if so,' there would be numerous traces left. The Bilkharia raja, for instance, was dispossessed six hundred years ago, but he has maintained his title and honours on a petty principality of eight vilBut I have met with no lages, compared to which Monaco is an empire. other banished princes in fact the rdj rose on the wrecks of village proprietary communities, and no other opinion can be formed by those who take care to extend their inquiries beyond the mere family trees of the

rajas.

That

rajas

were not congenial to the

soil

of Hardoi, that the people

resisted the outward pressure of the Lucknow Government, and the temptation to raise a strong barrier against foreign oppression, goes to show

that rajas, far from being the natural outcome of rural life, the natural political result of the Hindu economy, were a lien, if not distasteful to the people, only accepted as a means of escape from greater evils, from more distant and harsher tyrants. At any rate there were no rajas in Hardoi, in the sense of hereditary chiefs of great clans, and lords of their lands. Dip Singh* of Siwajpur is possibly an exception, and it is expressly re• He is believed with truth to be a descendant of the gar, now Bilgratn, was captured by the Moslems iu or Elliot's History of India, vol. I'V., pp. 37-38.

Raja Sri, whose town of Srina^ about 803 N., 1400 A. V.— Vide ​HAR

43

corded about him that as fast as younger branches of the family came into existence they were provided for independently. The mode in which

Raja Randhfr Singh acquired his

title is related in

pargana Malihabad.

I have elsewhere pointed out (Kheri) that when the community was a mingled one, where any one Chhattri clan acquired ascendancy over a large body of aliens, either of other Chhattris or of lower castes, their position was that of a military colony among a hostile subject race there was always risk of a revolt discipline and prompt action were a necessity of their position, so they yielded ready obedience to a single chief who became their raja. When, on the other hand, a clan was really numerous and occupied a compact territory, so that it had little to fear from internal risings, it found no necessity for a raja ; the whole body fought together for the common interest ; each component village was known and entitled to the assistance of all if attacked. It was customary to divide the estate into particular numbers of villages, either chaurdsi; 84 or baydlis, 42, or 52, bdwan ; a solidity and unity were thus given to the aggregation of atoms which was useful as a rallying cry in stirring up patriotism, and in impressing the extent of the clan's rights and interests upon strangers.

In fine, the original internal polity was always republican, unless where any one small clan had acquired a political supreniacy or military dominion over numerous subjects. If there arose dangers of oppression from without, or invasion by Moslem aliens, the frequent habit of military obedience became in time permanent feudal dependence, and the raja became the natural and chosen protector of the people; when again th« Musalman soldier tax-gatherer was warlike and near at hand in some waUed city, the raja was often killed, the taluqa broken up, and very oppressive exactions and imposts taken from the people.

Those rijas who survived compromised with the Government, paid and became mere tax-gatherers. In time also the Oudh Government found that it would be more convenient to have resident middlemen who could collect their dues everywhere, and the policy of introducing such was largely carried out during the last twenty years prior to annexation. In Hardoi there were never any r^jas except one, of Sewajpur but many large taluqas were either formed for the first time or aggrandized from mere zamindaris during the thirty years preceding annexation. tribute,

There is a very considerable difference between the two kinds of taluqa. In the one case the raja is either the descendant of some ancient independent chieftain who ruled the people prior to the advent of Musalman authority, or he is a chief chosen by the people as a protector and a lord, when internal dissensions or external dangers demonstrated their need of a wise head and a single hand at the helm. In the other case the false taluqdar was not chosen by the people as a ruler, but was imposed upon them by the Government, not to perform the functions of a ruler or judge, but simply those of a tax-gatherer. In India the tax-gatherer under native rulers has always been the most powerful element in the state where there were no courts or police, he was the only authority ; and if localized, his existence determined the political and, in a great measure, the social system.

​HAR

The yeonen proprietors ; their difficulties. — The body of yeomen pro- prietors in Hardoi is sensibly diminishing; the rains are more precarious there than in most parts of Oudh; what was only scarcity in the province became famine in Hardoi in 1865 and 1869; the proprietors find it difficult to collect rents and pay the land tax. Under any circumstances, it is almost impossible for a body of small proprietors whose lands are intermingled to abstain from quarrelling, and when once litigation commences it is almost certain that whoever is worsted will mortgage and ultimately sell his few ancestral acres. In fact it is almost impossible that the majority of these communities of proprietors will survive ; they could resist the storms of oppression from without, but internal dissensions and discord commence at once when they have received from the justice and moderation of the Bri- tish Government a fixed and definite property. One-nineteenth of the entire property in Hardoi was transferred from the hands of the yeomen proprietors during the year 1871, and was mostly purchased by bankers and baniáns, sugar-boilers, usurers, distillers, and skin-dealers—men of little political power or value to the state. The difficulty which attends any effort to improve the circumstances of the Oudh military class is a com- plex one. On the one hands it is considered undesirable in a military sense to increase the high caste element at present in the army, lest it return to the state of things which preceded and brought on the mutiny of 1857. It is no longer an object of ambition to place Brahmans and Chhattris side by side in a regiment of tall and stately Pándes, from which all low castes are to be excluded. Further, it would be an advantage gra- dually to wean the fighting yeomanry from their ancient pursuits, and in- duce them to beat their swords into ploughshares ; their caste pride now forbids them to plough with their own hands, and it would only encourage such folly if military service were kept before them as an employment, to which all or many of them could aspire. On the other hand, if they are granted any favours, not personal, anything in the shape of a low assess- ment upon their lands, it is difficult to hinder them from selling the lands, and nothing is gained by transferring the favour to others for whom it is not intended. Distinctions of this kind are also regarded as invidious and unfair by other classes, who urge that there is no reason why they should be taxed more heavily because they are industrious and willing to labour with their hands. This is very true, and yet something apparently must be done. There are 21,000 recorded proprietors of land, nearly all high caste Brahmans and Chhattris, in Hardoi alone; there are 14,000 in Lucknow; altogether there are at least 100,000 adult male proprietors of patches of land varying in size from 10 acres to 200. The vast majority of these have less than 50 acres each, the average* is about 22 acres. It is not desirable to withdraw men of this class from their field and make soldiers of them, it is very difficult to lower the Government demand upon their lands; yet, unless something is done, many out of this enormous body of pauper yeomen will lose the one bond which unites them to the state, will see their ancestral acres pass into the hands of men whose birth and profession they scorn, See article Rae Bareli, ​HAR

45

they will become a body of needy desperadoes, natural enemies to peace and social order, the elements'of agrarian anarchy, aui a serious weakness politically.

The transfers of landed and immoveable property, complete or inchoate, amounted to 5,361 during the years 1873-74; the amount to Rs. 15,05,818! .

Now the revenue of the great estates which practically have not been mort^ gaged amounts to Rs. 3,53,089, that of the numerous smaller proprietors to Rs. 11,00,341 in two years then they involved themselves and their properties to the extent of much more than a year's income. The value of their properties at twelve times the Government revenue a fair valuation will be only Rs. 1,32,00,092 ; at this rate they should allbe sold out in 8f years. But many of these mortgages are not the first

—

—

sums entered include making every allowance the prospect

transaction, the

loans of previous years alarming.

still,

after

is

Statement showing the aggregate value of property transferred by documents registered in 1873 and 1874. Description ot deeds.

Deeds of sale of Rs. 100 and upwards Do. less than Ks. loo Do. of mortgage of Rs. 00 and upwards, Do. do less than Ks. 100 Do. of gift ... 1

Total

Number

of deeds. ​46 HAR CHAPTER IV. ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES. Administrative divisions-Thádas-Administration-Police-Income-tax-Revenue-Ex- penditure - Local taxation-Crime and criminal classes - Education-Post-office, Administrative divisions, Hardoi is divided into four tabsils and twenty-one parganas, (see preliminary table). The tahsils are Hardoi, Shahabad, Bilgrám and Sandila. These were slightly altered from the previous arrangement in 1869, but the changes are of no importance. The pargana Sara as divided between two tahsils. The police arrange ments of Hardoi are similar to other districts. There are a number of town police maintained by the different municipalities. Police statistics are shown in the following tables :- Statement showing the area of thánas of district Hardoi. No. Name of tháus. Arca in square miles. No. of villages. Population. Shahabad 299 335 ► 0. . 132,425 2 Naktabra 272 263 104,839 Hardoi u OP 207 163 76,970 4 Piháni 90 227 IDE 195 79,330 5 Tandinon 1. 162 129 52,397 Beniganj 2. Det 161 125 56,987 7 Sandits 320 261 130,848 8 Kachhous 192 108 80,018 9 Bilgrim POL 268 235 119,967 10 Mallkonan 179 167 97,811 Total 2,287 1,961 929,992 Administration.—There are three paid European magistrates and six paid native magistrates, besides six unpaid native honorary magistrates; all these officers have also civil and revenue powers. Two of the paid native civil judges can decide cases in which the property litigated does not exceed the value of Rs. 5,000. The general police number 458, and the town police 90; their annual cost amounted to Rs. 62,261 in 1871. There is one policeman to every four square miles, and to every 1,700 of the inhabitants. The total cost of administration, including police, was Rs. 1,49,736 in 1873, but the table given further on from the Accountant-General's returns is perhaps more trustworthy. ​HAR 47 Statistics of the police of the district of Hardni. Total CORT. No, nt European ana Eurasian officers.) Native oficers. No. of constablcs, Aggregate strength of all ranks. oportion of police per square mile of ares. Proportion of police Picbead of popula. 66.103 2 74 370 1 to 8:15 1 to 32.79 Regular police Village watch Municipal police ras PO 2,625 19 140 72,600 6,856 8 . 77 Total 1,46,469 2 87 9,072 3,156 . Revenue.-- The revenue of the district is exhibited in the following table. It will be observed that the imperial expenditure is only 12 per cent. of the income, even excluding from the latter the receipts from salt and opium which enter the imperial exchequer. The land revenue constitutes 90 per cent of the income; it has been increased 42 per cent. at the recent settlement. The assessment commenced in 1864 and terminated in 1868, The incidence of the Government demand is : . Per acre of cultivation ... Per arable acre Rs. ss. p. 111 t 1 3 1 The revenue derived from the income-tax is given in the table, but it is not now exacted. It will appear that the landowners contributed Rs. 6,804 out of Rs. 7,607, or 85 per cent of the whole; yet, undoubtedly, much of the wealth of the country is in the hands of the banking and trading classes. Revenue. 1871. 1672. Remarks Rs. Rs. 1,452,139 1,453,480 E. 1. Recent settlement revenue col- lections 2. Rents of Government villages and lands There was a balance of Rs. 64,000. 30,000 43 31,222 PUO 3, Income-tsx D. 18,991 32,007 31,188 .. 4, Tax on spirits 5. Tax on opium and drugs 10,369 12,900 . 62,262 66,199 6. Stamp duty 7. Law and jnstice 100 9,169 1,686,761 1,623,099 ​48 HAR Expenditure, 1871-72. Amount. Remarka. 4. . . 1. --- Her Rs. 1,728 2,472 54,902 12,811 3,051 452 1,169 2,858 37,821 Revenue refund, and drawbacks Miscellaneous refunds Land revenue Deputy commissioners and establishment Settlement Excise or Abkári Algeased taxes Stamps Service of process ... Lay and justice Criminal court Ecclesiastical Bertical l'olice .. . .. . -0. PA PP . 4P4 40 ... 4,200 66,103 94 II. For 1875. Total 19 1,87,052 Annual return showing details of assessments made under Part V. of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1872, on different sources of income, 1872-73. CLASS I. CLAAS IL CLARS II1. CLASS IV. TOTAL. Sourco of Income or profits. number. , ΤΑΣ, Numbor. Tax. Number Tax. Number Tax. Number. TAL Rs. BS. P. Re, 29. p. Ra. ag. Rs. 85. D. Rs. &. p. TE 1 15 10 0 4 1 FE - 18 18 10 0 1. Professions (d) Law ... II. Dmployments-- Servants (donck tic) ... 1 14 10 0 94 1 1 14 10 0 II. Commerc8 90 28 41 804 11 1 40 . 2 21 12 0 + . 23 14 0 () Bankers and money dealers.. 84 437 13 0 7 166 13 a (c) 2 Piece goods 2 21 12 0 (d) Traders in 2. Spirits, druga, and tobacco... >> 23 14 0 (0) Manufacturers 2. In sogar 8 al 16 0 IV. Land (a) Proprietora and 76 1,126 7 0 68 2,650 9 8 18 3,237 1 10 sub-proprietors. VII. Miscellaneous m. 1 16 12 0 1 21 13 0 .. PPT

  1. na

.. 6 ai 16 8 TP. 164 6,804 26 40. 2 40 90 Total ...120 1,716 18 0 78 2,762 6 4 83) 3,127 I 10 . 208 7,807 4 10 ​HAR 49 Local taxation. This view, however, requires to be supplemented by a consideration of the local taxation and expenditure; as appears from the annexed tables, the expenditure on public works, dispensaries, and schools amounted to Rs. 1,10,881 in 1872; the local funds receipts were Rs. 1,10,602, of which, however, Rs. 24,646 which, were a grant out of provincial funds, are already shown in the district revenues, and do not represent additional taxation. The local fund receipts will then be Rs. 85,956. It appears there- fore that the imperial and local expenditure amounts to Rs. 1,87,052-4 1,10,881=2,97,933, and the taxation to Rs. 16,12,999+85,956=16,98,955. The district therefore is educated, governed, and improved, apart from the cost of external superintendence, for about Rs. 0-6-0 per head; and the ex- penditure is only 17 per cent of the revenue. The above revenue does not include that derived from opium, salt, or sea customs. Receipts. 191 49 One per cent. road cess Ditto school cos One-quarter per cent, district dâk 23 ditto local rates and margin cess Education fund Dispensary ditto Pound ditto Nazul ditto Rs. 14,558 14,605 3,724 41,394 1.789 2,948 6 498 1,500 14 Total Rs. Provincial allotment 85,956 24,646 Grand total Rs. 1,10,602 Charges. I. Education fund Hospital and dispensariea District dik cesa Pound fund Nazul ditto Ka. 29,159 7,926 3,900 1,052 . 12 Pullic Works. ud Companications Civil buildings, &c. Establishment, &c. 39,479 17,412 10,510 67,401 Total Re, ... 1,10,881 Crime and criminal classes.—There is nothing remarkable to note now in the crime and criminal classes of Hardoi. Cattic theft flourishes, but still there must be some reason for the comparative immunity of Hardoi from crime. In 1872 there were only 5,251 cases reported to the police and cognizable by them. Fyzabad, with the same population, bad 11,178, Par- tabgarh, with a much smaller population, had 6,307. Perhaps the fact that there are a great number of resident landholders in Hardoi to watch their tenantry and be responsible for them may account for this. Unao, which is sirailarly situated in this respect, had only 5,458 crimes reported. Kanjars and Pásis are the most criminal. Accidental deaths are shown in a separate table, but probably some of them are murders. 7 ​50 HAR Crime statistics for Hardoi district. Cases reported. Cases convicted, 1867. 1868. 1869, 1870. 1871. 1872. 1867. 1868

  • 6981

1870. 1871. 1872. SO Murders and attempts 16) 23 12 26 17 13 16 17 Culpable homicide 5 9 6 6 6 11 Discoity 1 1 6 1 Robbery 6 2 18 6 6 13 4 2 2 Rioting and unlawful assembly, 87 31 20 271 63 37 34 26 18 171 26 25 Theft by toune-breaking or 2108 30203482 2151 2360 2541 2171 240 464, 268 2521 250 borise-trespass. Theft, simple 654 10721115 848 834 1846 287 120 647 232 512 Theft of cattle 67 1771 82 86 146 178 68' 102 70 GI 851 106 Offences against coin and) 4 2 4 1 4 1 3 9 stamps. ver . bad Comparative memorandum of accidental deaths for the years 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, und 1872 in district Hardoi. Suicides. By drown- By snuke- bite. By wild quadru- peds. By fall of buildings. ing. By other Total. causes. Males. Fenoles, Males. Females. Males, Females, Vales. Females. Males. Temales. Males. Females. Male, Females. - 7 7 8 48 45 1867 1868 1862 1870 1871 1872 92 97 66 63 96 41 106 1113 48 92 93 47 136 1106 62 89 57 70 68 49 60 49 (201 65 70 14 9 10 4 19 126 29 10 10 14 17 16 24 20 2 4 14 1! 15 27 29 11 15 2 5 247 204 164 223 16+ 283 250 2471 269 274 221 60 65 48 2 3 27 Education. --Education has made very good progress in Hardoi. There are 4,762 children attending the schools, there are 13 female schools, and the central school at Hardoi has turned out some very creditable pupils. Education seems appreciated by the yeomen, who are aware of their own deficiencies; still the subscriptions in aid of education in 1871 were only Rs. 1,746. In the zila school at the central station the fees were Rs. 426, and the Government expenditure was Rs. 4,331. There are no news- papers, literary or educational societies in the district, nor are there any poor-houses, such as exist in Sitapur and Lucknow, nor charitable endow- ments, ​attending the HAR Statement showing where the different schools in Turdoi district are located. Names of schoola. Pargana. Kinds of schools. Number of pupils - Nomber. 1 2. 6 TAISIL HARDOX, 4. . 14 . ditto .. HO .. 400 404 . 46. a 100 P.

1 Hardoi 2 Gani 3 Thatheora 4 Mabolia Gopamgu 6 Bawad 7 Majhia 8 Kauddha 9 Bhainbri 10 Mánpur 11 Ahrori 12 Hariáon 18 Basoba 14 Turtipur 16 Sukra 16 Barwan 17 Ant 18 Aukádpur 19 Khajurahra 20 Tandiaon 21 Lonár 22 Sukra 23 Báwan 24 Majhia 25 Bakharia Hardoi Ditto Bívan Hardoi Gopamau Bawan Gapamau Biwan Tapdaion Bávan Gopamau Sara Ditto Bángar Barwan Ditto Sara Barwan Bangur Tandiaou Barvan Ditto Bawan Gopa mau Ditto Government zila school Branch to ditta Ditto ditto Ditto Aided ver. town school Ditta ditto ... Village school Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Branchto Harison school Village schuol Ditto Ditto Ditta Ditta Dicto Ditto Ditto Female school Ditto Ditto Ditto 160 44 25 20 74 95 64 40 43 58 46 50 27 37 $1 50 40 35 37 34 35 20 16 22 20 20. 16 . IB . . . - . PO . 4. 400 1. 44 ot Total 1,091 TAHSIL BILGRám. គនេះ គឺឪ៖ះ៖ – ដីន៖ះ៖៖៖៖៖៖ 249 TE 4. 154 194 102 40 30 35 0 .. 4. 1. . 44. 38 04 PO 1 Bilgram Mallán wan 3 Sándi Durgaganj 5 Sadrpur 6 Palia 7 Jarauli 8 Sultangani Atwa 10 Báosa 11 Kágbanpur 12 Arjunpur 18 Gauria 14 Ghaunsát 16 Bihta 16 Admápur Bilgram Mallányán Sándi Bilgram Ditto Sándi Bilgrúm Mallénwin Ditto Ditto Kachbandan Katiári Ditto Sándi Bilgram Katiári Aided ver. town school Aided school Ditto Village school Ditto Ditto Ditta Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto 116 1 B. Pe .. HDD VOI VO 49 35 38 38 88 39 34 86 28 . . .. . ve 16 ​HAR Names of schoole. Pargana. Kinds of schools. Number. the Number of pupils attending schools. 2. 3. $ 5. TAHNIL BILGRÁD (concluded.) .. + 17 Brijor 18 Babatmau 19 Sháhpur 20 Mádboganj 21 Khusaur 22 | Jarauli Katiári Mallánwan Ditto Ditto Katiári Bilgram Village school Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Femala school 45 80 28 80 87 pa IPP 10 20 Total BE 1,061 TAASIL SHAHABAD. pa > Shababad Pihádi Saromannagaz Ditto Ditto Pindar wa Ditto 275 112 51 92 28 50 31 PU. . dau 140 1 PE 10 II. 70 82 32 . IP6 44 Shahabad Ditto Pachboha Ditto Pali Ditto Ditto Alamuagar Ditto . 19 19. 04 14 60 32 30 33 82 P4 - PY 1 Shahabad 2 Pihani 3 Shálpur 4 Sarouansegar 5 Naiagaon & Raiagain 7 Bandura 8 Udhuranpur 9 Pariál 10 Lakhnaur 11 Bhurkhani 12 | Pali 13 Madnapur 14 Sarái 15 Eacéwan 16 Bijgaon I7 Fatebputgiánd 18 Sahjanpur 19 Dihlia 20 Básatnagar 21 Puraili 22 Bári 23 Miakpur 24 Barwara Amraali 26 Dhanwar 27 Sandutpur 28 Sakrauli 29 Saádatnagar, No. I 30 Ditto, No, II 31 Mansarnagar 32 isauli 33 Babúrgur Pindarwa 35 Lakhmápur 36 Pitáni, No. I 97 Ditto, No. II > A. V, town school Aided school Village school Ditto Branch to villege school Village school Branch to Kaiagaan sehool. Village school Branch to Udburadpur Village school Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditro Branch to Karawan school. Village school Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Branch to Puraili Village school Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto + Ditto Ditto Female school Ditto Pos 1 PI VI. ! PP. 36 48 56 43 36 26 40 87 54 85 31 36 56 33 . 25 6 . 1 Shahabad Pali Pihani Shahabad Ditto Ditto Pachhoba Ditto Sara Ditto Ditto Saromanager Pindata Sara Mansurnagar Saromannagar Pali Pindarya Pali Pihani Ditto 001 te F ed PE of BA re . et PL 361 sa .. 4.4 4 42 1.0 . .. BER 29 40 24 dat SI t. ​HAR

S3: ​HAR Hardoi post-office statistics for 1873-74. LETTERS PAPERS. РАОКЕТ8. PARCELS. No, re- No. given No. return No. given No, return- No. given No. return. No. gir- oat for ed undeli- out for ed undeli- out for delivery. vered. delivery. Yered. delivery. vered. Yery ed uodeli- en out for deli-turned on- delivered: 139,074 1,362 7,072 82 1,274 ... 364 ​HAR 57 CHAPTER. V. HISTORY Early history - The Moslera conquest-Battle of Bilgrán - Modern Hindu history, The Cbhattri castes—Turbulence of the district-The former governore. Traditions.—The early traditions of this district, though not so abundant as those of Unao, and perhaps Sitapur, will well repay an attentive research. The most remote concern themselves, not, as is usual, with the Rámáyana cycle, but with that of the Mahábhárata. Bala Ráma, the brother of Krishpa, in one of his visits to the shrine of Nímkhár, in Sitapur, received complaints from the Brabmans against Bil of Bilgrám, a local giant or chieftain who used to throw dirt at the worshippers at Nímkhár. The details are given under Bilgrám, and it need only be remarked here that a distinct conflict of several faiths is referred to. Bala Ráma came to Nímkhár with the Brahmans; then be found the Rishis, the holy men of tbe aboriginal faith; he struck off the head of one who would not rise to pay him respect with a blade of kusa grass; the Brahmans disapproved the action as unseemly, but evidently regarded it as a very menial offence compared with slaying a Brahman. Bil, or his son Illál, seems, however, to have been a very profane wretch who cared for no rites of any kind, so Bala Ráma slew him with a ploughshare. Bilgrám, at any rate, was an ancient aboriginal town situated on a bluff over the Ganges which then flowed beneath it* The next facts concerning Hardoi history are connected with the Musal- The Moslem conquest. man colonization. Báwas was occupied by Sayyad Salár in 1028. The Shekhs, declare that they con- quered Bilgrám in 1013, but the permanent Moslem occupation did not commence till 1217 A.D. Gopamau was occupied somewhere about the time of Sayyad Sálár; indeed it was the earliest conquest in Oudh effected by that prince. One of his captains, Sayyad Makhdúm Aziz-ud-dín, Shekh, commonly known as Lál Pír, was despatched across the Ganges from Kanauj; ho was slain at Gopamau, and was of course canonized; but Sayyad Sálár left two new candidates for martyrdom in that town, Nusrat Khan and Jáfar Khan, who survived, and whose descendants are still extant. The settlement of Pali by a Pánde Brahman, a Risal- dár, and a Shoklı, all of whom are represented at this day by men of property in the neighbourhood, is a curious instance of the stability of oriental families. Isauli, in Bangar, was also conquered by Sayyad Sálár, in 1030 A.D., and the tomb of a martyr there killed is still to be seen. Sándi and Sandíla were not occupied by the Moslems till long after the events above referred to. The latter was the capital of a Pási kingdom which seems to have spread over the country down both banks of the Gumti and the Sai, extending from its original seat at Dhayrabra and Mitauli. The Pásis, it may be remarked, are still very powerful in Hardoi. The histories of the Musalman colonization, when properly studied, may be expected to throw more light upon the aboriginal inhabi- tants; at present all is very dim and dubious; there is little to be See article Bilgrám, ​HAR

56

gathered from their descendants, and, except the mere names of P^si Thathera, there is no link apparent between the mand the races of present day.

and the

—

Modern. It were easy to write an elaborate chronicle of events which have happened on the soil of Hardoi, of armies which have passed over it, of kings who have fled through it, of great battles fought within its borders, but such chronicles would not constitute the history of Hardoi. Owing to its geographical situation, on the eastern side of the Ganges, and covering the fords near the great city of Kanauj, over which lay the road from Delhi and Kabul to Jaunpur, Patna, and Bengal, many great armies of the eastern and western empires were at different times marshalled against each other in Hardoi. There the Sharqi kings of Jaunpur mustered their forces and bid defiance to the Lodi lords of Delhi here again the Khilji for a brief space rallied his forces against the Mughals and placed the seat of his empire at Bilgram between Bilgr^m and Sandi again was fought the great battle between Humayun and Sher Shah, which drove the Mughals from India. In after times again, Hardoi was the border land between the Wazfr of Oudh and the Rohilla Afghans. Here the gallant Newal Rae perished, and Ahmad Khan Bangash forced his way into Oudh. It was this constant passage of successive armies which rendered the formation of any organized government in Hardoi impossible till after the accession of Akbar.

The whole of north Hardoi was a jungle in his time. In this forest Pihani, which means the place of concealment, was founded by Sadr Jahan. Prior to this Bilgram had been founded in the reign of Altamsh (1217 A.D.) by Shekh Muhammad Faqih. Sandila had been conquered from the Pasis in the reign of AUa-ud-din Khilji, but till Akbar's reign these settlements had been mere outposts military garrisons. With the Mughals, as I have elsewhere pointed out, cannon came into general use, and the fords of the Ganges lost their strategical importance because the crossing of troops could always be protected by the new engine of warfare. Hardoi then ceased to be the natural meeting place of east and west India, the jungles were cleared, new colonies were founded at Gopamau in the reign of Akbar, at Shahabad and at Sandi in the reign of Shah Jahan. It is not clear what were the precise relations of these Musalman lords to their Hindu neighbours. Those of Bilgram pretend to have had authority over parganas Bawan, Sandi, and Hardoi, yet we find that they purchased the few villages which constitute their present estate one by one at different times extending over a long period in fact their estate is not the conquest of an invader, but the slow accumulation of thrift and diplomacy exercised upon more simple and rustic neighbours. Similarly the Sandila Musalmans are not even mentioned by Sleeman as landlords, and the major part of their property was acquired at a very recent date. The country was probably thinly peopled by Hindus, mostly covered with jungles, dotted here and there by the ^d brick forts of the Musalmans in military occupation. The annals of Bigram are epitomized as follows. An account of the various battles of Bilgram, including the last great fight which took place on Hardoi soil, may also fitly be given here.

—

​HAR

57

From the Junaidia and Shajra-e-Saihab (family histories of the Bilgram Sayyads)! learn thatinthe same year(12l7A.D.)SayyadMuhammad,fourth in descent from Abdul Fazl, a Sayyad* of Wfcit in Iraq, whom political troubles had forced to leave his country and to flee into Hindustan, marched to Bilgram with a large force of Firshauri Shekhs, drove out the Hindus (Sri Ram and the Raikwars), and settled there. The services of the Sayyads were rewarded with a rent-free grant of one-tenth of the tract afterwards known as pargana Bilgram. For three hundred years, or till the accession of Babar (1526 A.D.), this grant is said to have been upheld; Then Babar, to punish the Sayyads for their opposition, here as elsewhere, to his conquest of India,|resumed their grant, but conferred on Sayyad Bhikhbharan the chaudhriship of the tract. It may, I think, be inferred that the special cause of the resumption of the jagir of the Bilgram Sayyads was their complicity in the rebellion of the eastern Afghan chiefs of Jaunpur and Oudh during the last two years of the reign of Ibrahim Lodi. " At this time (just after the battle of Panipat) the North of India still retained much of its original Hindu organization ; its system of village and district administration and government, its division into numerous little chieftainships or petty local governments, and in political revolutions the people looked much more to their own immediate rulers than to the prince who governed in the capital. Except at Delhi and Agra the inhabitants everywhere fortified their towns and prepared to resist. The invasion was regarded as a temporary inundation that would Every man in authority raised troops and put himspeedily pass off. Those who held delegated authority or j%irs, self in a condition to act.

being generally Afghans, were consequently hostile to the new state of They soon came to an undertanding among themselves and took measures for mutual co-operation." (Erskine, India under Babar and things.

Humayiin,

I.,

442.)

In the eastern provinces of Jaunpur and Oudh the opposition (to Babars's progress) presented even a more regular form. There the confederacy of Afghan chiefs who had been in open rebellion against Ibrahim (Lodi) for two years before his death still continued. The insurgents now possessed (in 1526) not only Behar but nearly the whole territories of the old Sharqi monarchy, especially the country on the left hank of the Ganges ; and had even crossed to the right bank of the river and taken possession of Kanauj, and advanced into the Duab. "

clear that the Afghanchiefs who till now had ruled with nearly both in Delhi and Behar must be ruined if Babar authority tmlimited But it was no sooner known that his invasion -settled in Hindustan. inroad like those of Mahmud of Ghazni and temporary was not to be a was to remain in the country and to govern he that but Taimur, great the fears and new hopes began to operate both on it on the spot, than new His affairs began to brighten; he was the natives and the Afghans. acknowleged by the Afghan army of Sultan Ibrdhim (Lodi), which under Shekh Bayazid Farmuli and Firoz Khan had been successfully employed " It

was

  • "From him are descended the most renowned Musulman families in Northern India,

Khyrabad, Kuttehppre, HasTB, and many other the Barhali and Bilgr^mi Syuds, and in found." (Chronicles of Oonao, page 93) places branches of the same stem are

8 ​"

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58

against Sultan Muhammad Shah, of Behar and the revolted chiefs of the east. Both Bayazid Farmuli and Firoz Khan now submitted to BSbar, who bestowed on them and the leading officers of their army large assignments, chiefly in Jaunpur and Ou^h, out of the revenue of the territories that were still in the hands oj the insurgents to whom they were opposed.

In 1527 A.D. the country beyond the Ganges being still disturbed by the Afghan, chief Baban who had occupied Lucknow and forced Sultan Muhammad, Babar's governor to abandon Kanauj, Babar " bestowed the government of these countries on Muhammad Sultan Mirza, a grandson of the great Siiltan Husen Mirza of Khorasan and one of the Emperor's favourite officers, and sent him with a strong army to recover the lost Baban no sooner heard that Muhammad Sultan had crossed territory. the Ganges than be deserted Lucknow and retired once more into the upper country" (477).

The Sharaif Usm^ni mentions a farmdn to

this

to the

of B^bar of this date, addressed Sultan, upholding a previous grant of mauza Auhadpur Qazi of Bilgrdm, Abdul Daim.

Muhammad Shekh

In 1528 A.D. Muhammad Sultan having been attacked and defeated by the Afghan insurgents " was forced to abandon Lucknow, to recross the Ganges, and fall back on Kanauj " (482), and at last to evacuate Kanauj and The revolt had been strengthened by the accession of retire on Raberi. Shekh Bayazid with his whole army. At Babar's approach the Afghans abandoned Kanauj " and retreating across the Ganges took up a position on its left bank opposite to that city, determined to dispute the passage of the river."

They must have crossed close to Bilgr£m. Babar bridged the Ganges lower down at Nanamau Ghat near Bdngarmau, re-occupied Lucknow, and pursued and routed the Afghans near Ajodhya. In 1534 A.D., in the reign of [Humaydn, Muhammad Sultan Mirza rebelled and raised an army of six thousand Afghans and Rajputs at Kanauj. In two years he had made himself master of the country from Kanauj to Jaunpur, and caused the khutba to be read in his own name. "He fixed the seat of his Government at Bilgrard, opposite to Kanauj, and had gained sufficient strength to send his son Ulugh Mirza with a large force to besiege Jaunpur, while Shah Mirza, another of his sons, reduced Karra-Manikpur. Kanauj too had fallen into his hands. (Erskine, II., 89.) The Emperor's brother, Hindal Mirza, headed a successful campaign against the insurgents and defeated them in the neighbourhood of Bilgram. " Hindal Mirza, whom the Emperor had left iu command at Agra, marched to quell this revolt, and soon retook Kanauj. As soon as Muhammad Sultan Mirza heard of his approach, he called in all his detachments and was joined by Shah Mirza, while Ulugh Mirza, wrote to say that he would hasten with all possible speed to meet him at the same time urging him not to hazard a battle till his arrival. Muham•

mad

Sultan Mirza and Shah Mirza encamping on the left (the Bilgram) cf the river, used every exertion to obstruct the passage of the imHindiil, however, eager to engage the enemy before perial army, Ulugh

bank ​—

;

HAR

59^

Mirza could join tLem, having discovered a ford ten miles above Kanauj left his camp standing and effected a passage unobserved with all his troops. The two armies soon met face to face, but when they were on the point of engaging, a strong nor-wester rising blew such clouds of dust right in the eyes of the insurgents that they could not keep their position. The imperial troops who had the wind on their backs availing themselves of their advantage, pressed hard upon the enemy, whose retreat was soon converted into a flight. Hindal, after taking possession of Bilgram and the surrounding country, pursued the remainder of their army as they marched to form a junction with Ulugh Mirza. He overtook them at And." (Erskine, II., page 90.) Here, two months later, another action was fought in which the rebels were finally dispersed this was in 1537 A.D.

But the country from Jaunpur to Kanauj was still in a very unset" All the materials of revolt and resistance were amply tled state. scattered over the eastern provinces. They had for many years been the theatre of war, the minds of the inhabitants were unsettled, had become familiarized to change, and were almost strangers to regular government. Though the old Sharqi and the more recent Lohani dynasty had disappeared, and though the attempts of Mahmiid Lodi and of Muhammad Sultan Mirza to revive the kingdom had failed, Sher Khan Sur, a new candidate for distinction and power, had started up, was extending and consolidating his influence in Behar, and on the side of Bengal

and by his valour in the field and the equity of his financial administration was gaining the admiration and the affection of his subjects. The Afghans in every part of India began to turn their eyes to him as the leader who at some future time might be destined to restore to them that proud ascendancy of their nation, the loss of which every man of them so deeply deplored. "

(Erskine, II. 109.)

Before marching against Sher Khan,Hum^ylin entrusted Kanauj and the adjoining country to Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza, who had married the Emperor's sister. During Humaylin's absence in Bengal (1538) this Meanwhile Sher officer joined prince Hindal in his rebellion at Agra. Khan had possessed himself of Behar and the country from thence to Kanauj. In 1539 the disaster of Chausar occurred. Sher Khan recovered Bengal. " He crossed the Ganges to renew the siege of Jaunpur, which, with the whole territory dependent on it, surrendered with little resistance. In like manner he overran the rest of the country east of the Ganges as far as Kanauj." (Erskine, II., 176.) "In 1 540 Hum^yun once more marched against Sher Shah, who by this time had recrossed the Gauges lying opposite Kanauj."

More

detailed accounts of the battles which then took place, and of that it almost on the same spot, have been extracted from the

which preceded

native chronicles, Erskine's Baber and other sources. of HamSytin writes as follows

life

The author

of the

" I must now revert to the insurrection which took place during his majesty's expedition to Gtrjerat. Muhammed Zeman Sultan (a descendant of Timur, and favourite of the late Emperor), taking advantage of his. ​

HAR

60

majesty's absence, gained possession of the countries situated on the northeast side of the Ganges, and fixed his own residence at Belgram, but despatched his son Aleg Myrza with a considerable force to seize on the provinces of Joanpur, Kurra, and Manikpur. As soon as this intelligence reached the prince Hindal, the king's youngest brother and representative at Agra, he collected an army and marched to Canouge ; iii consequence of this event Sultan Muhammed recalled his divisions and encamped with all his force on the northern bank of the Ganges to oppose the royal troops; in this situation the contending armies remained for some time. At length the emissaries of Hindal discovered a ford about ten miles above Canouge. The prince immediately took advantage of this circumstance, and having ordered that his camp should remain standing, marched quietly in the night, and without being perceived by the rebels crossed the river with all his troops.

As soon as the day broke the two armies drew up in order of battle; but just as the engagement was about to commence a very violent storm from the north-west arose, and raised such a dust that the sky was obscured, and blew with so much force in the faces of the rebels that they could not distinguish friend from foe, in consequence of which they took The pnnce Hindal having to flight, and proceeded towards Joanpur. thus gained possession of the district of Belgram followed the enemy, and again came up with them in the vicinity of Oudh but as the forces of the two armies were now nearly equal, a considerable time was lost in skirmishing, and endeavouring to gain the advantage of each other. At length Muhammed Sultan, having received information that the king had returned in health and safety to his capital, was afraid to contend any longer, and fled with all his family towards Couch Behar, which adjoins the territory of Bengal. The prince Hindal then proceeded to Joanpur and took possession of that district." (Pages 7-8 of Memoirs of Humd"

yun.) "

The

following day the king,* attended by the whole army, left the city plains of AUypur ; he then reviewed and mustered the troops, the number of which amounted to 90,000 cavalry, but as some of them were not properly equipped his majesty ordered them to be well supplied from the arsenal. He also conferred honorary dresses and other marks of distinction on all the principal officers, and omitted nothing to

and encamped on the

rouse the spirits and encourage the soldiers for the ensuing campaign; After a few days' march the army reached Canouge, which is situated On the western bank of the Ganges, and here learned that Shyr Khan was encamped on the other side of the river at this time an express arrived

from Eaja Perb^han of Aroul offering to join him with troops, provided the king would meet him atPute. His majesty, however, would not agree to this measure, but gave orders for the army to cross the river at Canouge." (Pages 20-21 of Memoirs of Humayun.)

The sisting

hattle of Bilgrdm.

—

Humayfin had raised an enormous army conof 100,000 men, with nearly 800 guns, including swivels. He

moved down

to

Mehndighat near Kanauj Humayun^

Sher Shah encamping opposite ​HAR

61

here Muhammad MirzSi and Ulugh Mirza, who had been received into favour again by Humdyfin, deserted. Whether the scene of their former defeat embittered rankling memories, or whether they thought that their opiumeating monarch had no chance against Sher Shah, we know not, but their ingratitude was black and fatal to the Mughal cause. On the other hand the chivalrous E,dja of Arol, Partab Singh,* wrote offering to join the Emperor with all his forces. Desertions occurred daily, and merely to stop them the Mughal force crossed the river and encamped with the Ganges, at its rear a fatal tactical error. The battle which occurred is one of the most remarkable in the history of the world, and has yet its lessons for Indian strategists.

—

It is perfectly clear that fourteen years in the Indian plains and unlimited indulgence in all the luxuries of the prostrate land had enervated the Mughal troops to a degree such as we can now hardly conceive.

There happened to be in the line a celebrated Chaghatai chief, Haidar MirzaDoghlat, a distant relative of Hum%un, who had recently come down from the hills of Farghana, had become Humdyun's brother after the fashion of the nation, accompanied him in the campaign, and novv witnessed with astonishment and disgust the effeminate and cowardly behaviour of his former companions in arms, the amirs who twelve years before had hurled back 50,000 of the bravest Chhattris of R^jplitina by their steady and disciplined valour; and 120 of whom had put to flight a whole army of those very Pathdns before whom they were trembling. Facts, which are only credible because they are confirmed by the concurrent testimony of several eye-witnesses, compel us to believe that the whole nature of the hardy Tartars had changed. Shortly before the battle of Chaunsa Humdytin found himself beset by the Path^ns. He actually appealed to his principal general, his cousin Askari Mirza, and promised to grant him any four boons he would ask, provided he would extricate him froin his difficulties by marching against the enemy. Askari Mirza summoned his officers and consulted them what he should ask for, saying his own affections were fixed, first oh money, second on the muslins and silks of Dacca, thirdly on handsome girls, fourthly on eunuchs ; his officers replied that the times were too risky for eunuchs and women, but that they would fight their bravest if the Emperor would raise each man a step in rank and give them a large sum of money in cash.

Imagine the brigade generals on the eve of a battle being invited by the commander-in-chief to state on what terms they would consent not to run away ; and answering that they loved women, but that gold and promotion were more preferable, because more portable on the march, and that he must pay down cash, as mere protnises were useless. Most df these mercenary and profligate chiefs had perished on the field of Chaunsa. Yet the same spirit survived.

In Samarqand Babar had maintained the sternest discipline, he had shot down soldiers who dared to pillage, he had caused to be restored every single article which had been plundered from a caravan passing • Jauber's

mumayun

21

See page

63, ​HAR

62

near his camp*. In a few short years the bravest and best disciplined army of the age had become a mob of cowardly and enervated debauchees. Not even the fearful lesson taught at Chaunsa had any effect. Haidar "In the rest of the Mirza, one of themselves, shall describe his brethren army were amirs only in name who enjoyed Government and rich jagirs without the slightest tincture of prudence, or knowledge, or_ energy, or emulation, or nobleness of mind, or generosity, qualities from which nobility draws its name. On the day of battle they were all mounted on cuirassed horses and clothed in mail; between me and the extreme left of the centre On the stood seven and twenty amirs, all having the horse-tail banner. day of battle, when Sher Khan marched out with his army in columns, of the seven and twenty horse-tail standards that were with these great lords, there was not one that was not hid, lest the enemy might see and bear down upon it. The soldiership and bravery of the amirs may be estimated from this trait of their courage. I reckoned Sher Khan's force at less than fifteen thousand, while I estimated the Chaghatai armyatfortythousand

—

heavy cavalry. When Sher Khan's army quitted their trenches two of the columns drew up before theditch,theotherthree advanced towards the army. On our side the centre was in motion to takethe ground I had marked out for it, but we were unable to reach it. In the Chaghatai army every man, amir, wazir, rich, and poor, has his camp followers (ghulams),; so that an amir of any note, if he has a hundred retainers, will for himself and them have perhaps five hundred camp followers, who in the day of battle do not attend their master, and are not masters of themselves, so that they wander at large and as when they have lost their master's control they are under no other, however much they may be beaten, back, oi face, or head, with mace or stick, they are totally unmanageable. In a word, by the pressure of the masses of these men the troops were quite unable to keep their ranks the camp followers crowding behind, bore them so down that they were thrown into disorder and the crowd continuing still to press on, some on one side, some on another, pushed the soldiers upon the chains of carriages. Even then the camp followers who were behind went on urging those before till in many instances the chains burst and every person who was stationed at the chain so broken, driven out beyond it, while the order, even of such as kept within, was totally broken and destroyed, and from the pressure and confusion not a man could act.

"

were matters more prosperous on approached, a cry of defeat was heard, and that instant a panic seized the men and before an arrow was shot from a bow they fled like chaff before the wind. The fugitives ran towards the centre. Here they found aU in disorder. The camp followers having pushed clear through the line, had disordered everything, and separated the Mir from the men, and the men from the Mir. But when to this confusion the rush of the terrified men flying from the right was added, the defeat was sure, and the day irretrievable. The Chaghatai army, which counted forty thousand men in armour, besides camp followers and artisans, "f- fled before ten thousand. It was not a fight, but a rout,

Such was the

the right.

state of the centre, nor

As Sher Khan's three columns

  • Erskine's Babar,

t ShagirdneEha.

I.,

188. ​HAR for

not a man, friend

or foe,

63

was even wounded.

Sher Khan gained a Not a cannon was

great victory the Chaghatais suffered a ruinous defeat. fired, not a gun the artillery was totally useless.

"

When

the Chaghatais took to flight the distance from the field of battle might be about a farsang. Before a man was wounded, the whole army, amirs, bah^durs, and common meiij fled, broken and dismayed, to the banks of the Ganges. The enemy's army followed and overtook them. The Chaghatais not having time to take off their horse armour, or their own cuirasses, plunged, accoutred as they were, into the stream. Its breadth might be about five bow shots. Many amirs to the banks of the river

of illustrious name perished, and all from want of concert and controlEvery one went, or came at his own will. When we emerged from the river on the other bank, a monarch, who at noon had seventeen thousand artisans in his establishments, was mounted upon a wretched spavined horse, with both hishead and feet bare. Permanence belongs to God alone, the King of Kings. The author had nearly a thousand persons, retainers and servants, of whom only sixty escaped out of the river, all the rest were

drowned.

From

this instance the general loss

may

be estimated.

When

he reached the Ganges he found an old elephant and mounted into the hauda, where he found a eunuch of his household named Kdfur. He ordered the driver to cross the river, but the man told him that the animal was quite unequal to it, and would be drowned. Kafur hinted to the Emperor that the man wished to carry over the elephant to the Afghans, and that it was better to put him to death that he would undertake to guide the animal. On this Humdydn drew his sword and struck the driver, who fell wounded into the water. The eunuch then stepped down on As they gained the banks, the elephant's neck and directed him across. which were very steep, the Emperor found it difficult to mount them, when a soldier who had just gained the shore, presenting his hand to the Emperor, drew him up. Humayun asked his deliverer's name, and was answered Shams-ud-din Muhammad of Ghazni, in the service of Mirza Kamran. The Emperor made him high promises. At this moment he was recognized by Makhdum Beg, one of the Kamran's nobles, who came forward and presented his own horse. Shams-ud-din afterwards became one of the most distinguished noblemen of the empire, was made Khan Azam, and was the atkeh or foster-father of Akbar, in those days a connection of no small

importance."

A more extraordinary battle never was fought. The mass of the Mughals had nothing to expect but victory or death the Ganges deep, rapid, and swarming with crocodiles, also now swollen by the melting snows lay behind them. No quarter was to be expected from their treacherous foes, The men who lost no flight was possible through a hostile country. Chaunsa were rash and vain-glorious, but those who lost Bilgram were such cowards and fools as the world has seldom seen. Men wearing heavy cuirasses expected to swim the Ganges in the end of May, to escape on foot from the Pathan cavalry, or to meet with mercy from Sher Shah. They had deserted from the line before the battle, not to join the enemy, for even policy could not overcome Sher Shah's hatred of the Turks, but simply to look after their estates, and hide them from the storm of wars.

—

— ​Where was the fieree courage of the Turks which was century afterwards to make the Kings of Europe and the Kaisar him- self tremble for their capitals ? Had it vanished with the snows on which it grew, or with the poverty which spurred it to conquest ? Humáyún declared that the dissensions of his brothers caused his defeat, but three brothers fought or rather fled side by side from the sand hills of Bilgrám. The native historian declared that women and gold were what wrecked the Mughals, but plenty of both has always in India been the lot of powers and success with the sword. tolerable harem if under its name he could introduce 1,200 palanquins, each credited with a fair passenger, into the fort of Rhotas. I trace the cause of the great Mughal disaster at Bilgrám to the fact that poor and uncultivated men were brought down from their native hills, were placed in a hot country with a most relaxing climate, in a position of great wealth and perfect leisure, and their valour oozed out beneath the weight of profligacy, avarice, gluttony, and slecp, which make the lives of wealthy Indians. now and for a Sher Shah must have had a very Modern Hindu History.-The history of the later Hindu inhabitants is of no interest; other districts have sometimes during the many centuries produced individuals like Tilok Chand, Lone Singh of Mitauli, Jodh Singh of Dhaurahra, Partáb Singh of Partabgarh, Balbhadar Singh of Tiloi, who really left their marks on the annals of the district. Hardoi cannot boast of one great name. The Ahbans, really Cháwar Chhattris, ocupied Gopa- mau about l00 A.D., if we are to believe themselves, and never did any- thing worthy of mention up to date. The Sombansis came from Kumh- ráwan to Sándi about 1400 A.D. Their chief, Rája Sántan, was compelled to yield to the Musalmans; he retained Sántan Khera, now Sándi, for some time, and then abandoned it for Siwáijpur, where his deseendant still resides. Kanauj about 1180 A.D., having come from Shiurájpur. The Nikumbhs came, they say, from Alwar about 1450 A.D., the Katiárs from Fa- rukhabad about 1550 A.D., the Bais of Gundwa from Baiswára, but the head of this family, Randhír Singh of Bharáwan, represents that he is descended from Tilok the title of rája was conferred on his ancestor by the Emperor for bravery in the field. Now all the Baişwára dcscendants of Tilok Chand only re- ccrd e'ghteen generations from him to the present line, and the true origin of the Bharáwan Tilok Chand is then probably as fabulous as the details are inçorrect. None of the above families have any history worth relating, a few facts are given about each under the pargana headings. Another account represents the Nikumbhs as being a Kachhwáha or Súrajbans clan which left Aral or Arwal in Jaipur, and alternately served the Jun- war Rája of Delhi and the Ráthor of Kanauj in the neighbourhood of Farukhabad. They received the name of Nikumbh-" nekkám"-from Rája Sántan, whom they had by some means got released from imprison- ment at the court of his sovereign, Jai Chand of Kanauj. This derivation seems apocryphal, another is that the word means low caste or illegitimate. At any rate four brothers got different grants, one near Sonára, pargana Sandíla, another near Sándi, a third got one in Alamnagar, the fourth The Gaurs alicge that they were settled by Jai Chand of and, thirty-one generations removed, and that is related under Malihabad. The descent from ​HAR settled in Farukbabad Pípargion. The colony in Sándi afterwards emi- grated to Sandíla; they have now 119 villages. The Gaurs, who are the most powerful clan in the district and occupy its centre, drove out the Thathers from Báwan and Sara, it is alleged, during the time of the Kanauj sovereignty. This was probably a scat of aborigi- nal power, for it was attacked by Sayyad Sálár A.D. 1024, and inany ancient sites and large wells attest its former greatness. Further, there is in Báwan a Súrajkund or tank sacred to the Sun; formerly many thousands of people used annually to assemble here to worship, but within the last twenty years this cult has given place to modern Brahmanism, and the spot is now almost deserted. The tradition, as related at length in the Sara and Báwan articles, states that two young sons of the Gaur Kuber Sáh of Gurganjari were buried alive by the barbarian Thather chieftain. They were dug up by their father while still breathing: one who had lost an eye was called Kána, and survived to be the ancestor of the Kane Gaurs; from the other sprang the Ane. These two branches have now 104 villages, while two other Gaur clans, the Chaubes and Chaudhris, hold 50 and 24 respectively. In nearly all cases, that, for instance, of the Ahbans, sprung from Gopi* and Sopi, the Gaurs and Nikumbhs as just related, we find the tribo claim- ing a descent from two or more brother inmigrants from the west. The same story is told of the Raikwárs of Sailuk (see Bara Banki), of the Janwárs of Kheri, of the Jángres (see Kamp Dhaurahra), of the Sambansi of Partabgarh. In every case a rather monotonous tale is told. The high caste Chhattris from the west wandered on seeking employment. Two brothers were entertained by the Bhar or Thather sovereign. In a few years a quarrel arosc, the barbarous chieftain either buried the children of the too powerful subject, or endeavoured to get him killed, or wanted to marry his daughter ; in some way he justified reprisals and was killed. Now, before rejecting these traditions as false we must remenber that the supersession of a master by a scrvant is the common course of all Oriental Governments. Such changes frequently occurred ; at any given period the reigning line had probably ousted one to which it was in subjection a generation or two back. When the Aryan or Hindu system was introduced a Chhattrí origin was found for the then governing Irouse, the precedent dynasty was left in barbarism, but the change of rulers was represented as a conquest by a branch of the Aryan race over mlechas or barbarians whom the retrospective caste founders did not care to ennoble. Noble pedigrccs in fact were found for tlie - rich and powerful, just as in another hemisphicre ; but here they were endowed with the still higher distinction of having acted as pioneers and champions of civilization and Hinduism, and the caitiff who stabbed his master became a defender of the faith. Turbulence of the district.-Hardoi was the most violent aud turbulent of all the districts of Oudh; it was divided into the chaklas of Sandíla, Sándi, Páli, and Tandiaon ; the last in particular included the famous Bangar- the wild district east of and along the Sai—in which the Pásis, the ancestral

  • Sec article Khcri,

9 ​— HAR

66 lords of the soil,

had taken refuge and maintained a guerilla warfare with

Hindu or Moslem. Ahrori; in Gopamau, was their main resinumber of their Chhattrl neighbours, like the English lords of

all authority,

dence.

A

the Pale in Ireland, took part with them.

The following were the most celebrated n^zims and chakladars ruled any part of the district during the Nawabi

who

Fasli.

Nur

Khan Ambar All Khan All

Eaja

... ...

Sital Parshad,

a brave but

FatehAUKhan ... Ghulam Muhammad Khan

...

...

.. ferocious soldier ...

...

...

...

...

... ... Mehndi Ali Khan ... Eaja Gubatdhan Das Kayath ancestor of Rae Fateh Taluqdars ... Chand and Dhanpat Rae, ... Shekh Imam Bakhsh ... ... ... Amirt Lai Pathak ... ...

But

....

Ii85 1

'

'

1

•.

92 - 11 98 1199 1200

...

12J0-I227

...

...

... ... ...

1 1

1328-1229

1230—1233 1234—1236

—1235 Bakht Mai, a Kashmiri Brahman, was chakladar succeeded by Dila R^m from 1235 — 1251, save that

in 1230

Tandiaon.

of

He was

held 1240-1241, and Farid-ud-din Ahmad 1248-1249. From 1251 to 1254 Tahawwar Khan and Husen Ali Khan were chakladars then Shiu Nath, son of Dila Ram, succeeded, and with Kiddr Nath as his naib held till annexation in 1263 Fasli (1856).

AbduUa Beg

In Sandjla the consecutive chakladars were Cbaudhri Hashmat All ... ... .„ „. Murli Dhar,., ... ... ... ... Naqi Ali Khan, Nawab, with Kunwar Eaj Bahadur, naib in charge of division of the district ... ...

Khwaja Husen Bakhsh ... Chaudhri Hashmat Ali again

„.

,.,

,„

„.

„.

...

1249 Fasli. 1252 „ 1255 1259 126O

„ „ „ to annexation.

These four chakladars changed in fourteen years, but the most com-

mended administration was, it is alleged, that of Naqi Ali Khan, whose naib was a warlike Kdyath who gained success by storming the forts of Jarawa and Ruia in

fierce battles.

Colonel Sleeman writes as follows, referring to Tandiaon " January 22nd, 1849.— Tundeeawun eight miles west.

The

country

and something between doomutee and muteear, very good, and in parts well cultivated, particularly in the vicinity of villages but a large level,

portion of the surface is covered with jungle, useful only to robbers and refractory landholders, who abound in the purgunnah of Bangur. In this lespect it is reputed one of the worst districts in Oude. Within the last few years the king's troops have been frequently beaten and driven out

loss, even when conamanded by a European officer. The landholders and armed peasantry of the different villages unite their quotas of auxiliaries, and concentrate upon them on a concerted signal, when they are m pursuit of robbers and rebels. Almost every able-bodied man of every village Bangur is trained to the use of arms of one kind or another, and none of the king's troops, save those who are disciplined and commanded by European officers, will venture to move against a landholder of this district and when the local authorities cannot

with

m

obtain the ​—

— HAR

C7

aid of such troops, they are obliged to conciliate the most powerful and unscrupulous by redactions in the assessment of the lands or additions to their nankar." Vol. II., pages 14-15.

—

Another incident of life among the Hardoi Chhattris may be from the same author

also given

" I omitted to mention that at Busora, on the 27th, a Rajpoot landholder of the Sombunsie tribe came to my camp with a petition regarding a mortgage, and mentioned that he had a daughter, now two years of age j that when she was born he was out in his fields, and the females of the family put her into an earthen pot, buried her in the floor of the apartment, where the mother lay, and lit a fire over the grave that he made all haste home as soon as he heard of the birth of a daughter, removed the fire and earth from the pot, and took out his child. She was still living, but two of her fingers, which had not been sixfficiently covered, were a good deal burnt. He had all possible care taken of her, and she still lives; and both he and his wife are very fond of her. Finding that his tale interested me, he went home for the child, but his village was far off, and he has not been able to overtake me. He had given no orders to have her preserved, as his wife was confined sooner than he expected but the family took it for granted that she was to be destroyed, and in running home to preserve her he acted on the impulse of the moment. The practice of destroying female infants is so general among this tribe, that a family commonly destroys the daughter as soon as born, when the father is from home, and has given no special

orders about pages 59-60.

it,

taking

it to

be his wish as a matter of course."

—

—Vol.

II.,

—

Pargana Bangae Tahsil Hardoi District Hardoi.— Harthe headquarters of the Hardoi district, lieson the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, sixty-three miles from Lucknow and thirty-nine from Shahjah^nIt is thirty-six miles east from Farukhabad and thirty-seven westpur. After the re-occupation it was selected, appasouth-west from Sitapur. rently for no other consideration than the centrality of its position, as the sadr station of the district. It has a population of 7,156, of whom 2,027 are cultivating and 4,290 non-cultivating Hindus,, and 839 are Muhammadans. Cham^rs, Chamar Gaurs, and Gaurs preponderate among the

HARDOI.* doi,

Hindus.

Unlike the other towns of the district, there is very little of ancient or Tradition traces the name to Hardeo interest about the place. Baba, a devotee reputed to have lived here more than a thousand years An ancient tree is pointed out as marking the spot lyhere he lived, ago. and in October and March a small mela is held at it in his honour. Another tale derives.it from a Thathera chieftain named Raja Harnd,kas. The fact that the d^ris of a Thathera fort are still to be seen, in the shape of a high irregular khera covering about 16 acres, to the south-west of the present town, where the road from Sandi enters it, lends probability

modern

The town, itself is largely built of bricks dug to the latter derivation. and traces of their occupation are conremains, Thathera old the of out tinually cropping up here as elsewhere throughout this interesting district.

B/ Mr. A.

Harinyton, C.S, Assistant CommisBioner. ​FAR

G8

The present town appears to have been founded some seven hundred years or more ago by a body of Chamar Gaurs from Narkanjari, near Indore, who, under their leader Sale Singh, drove out the Thatheras, destroyed their fortress, and, as usual, settled themselves down close to its ruins.

place had no local importance before it was made a civil station. there are the usual civil buildings, cutcherry, police station, jail, school, dispensary, and sessions-house, as well as the subdivisional office of the tahslldar. The school is an Anglo-vernacular one averaging 109 bi-weekly market is pupils. There is a branch school with 44 boys. held on Sundays and Wednesdays in Hardeoganj.

The

Now

A

There are 19 masonry and 1,294 mud houses in the town. The climate healthy, and seems to be specially adapted to the production of fine fruit. Peaches, mangoes^ grapes, and oranges are exceptionally good. is

There

is

the usual municipal committee, and

its

income

is

raised by

an

octroi.

The railway journey from Lucknow pur two hours and a quarter.

HAEDOI little

Eae

four hours,

and from Shahjahan-

—

—

—

This Tahsil Digbijaiganj District Rae Baeeli. bounded on the west by Bachhrawan, and on the south by The little river Naiya flows to the north of it, and proceeds

Pargana

pargana

Bareli.

is

is

eastward to pargana Simrauta it is not used for irrigation. The area is 15,561 acres, the land tax Rs. 39,965, being at the rate of Rs. 2-9 per acre. The soil is very fertile, and the rent in consequence high. In one township Asni, celebrated for tobacco—the rents reach Rs. 48 per acre. The country is level, and its fertility is taken advantage of by the Kurrais, who form the chief cultivating caste. Water is met with at a depth of 30 feet, the soil is a fine loam, and the very best crops are raised. Saltpetre and salt were formerly manufactured in eight villages, but this has been stopped since annexation.

—

The population is 15,706, which is at the rate of 640 They reside in 23 villages, two having been transferred

to the square mile. Rae Bareli. Of

to

these 15 are taluqdari, and the rest belong to village communities.

There are two small markets, one at Belanganj, in Atehra, the second Phulganj, in Para Khurd. About 15,000 maunds of wheat, rice, and gram are annually exported md the Rae Bareli road to Lucknow, or vid, Pursva to Cawnpore. There is

on

is a nilned fort here which was built by Ibrahim Sharqi. There tomb here erected to one Agha, who accompanied Sayyad Masafid crescentade and was killed at this place. A strange superstition

also a

his

hallows

it. If, in the course of any dispute between two parties, a deed produced whose genuineness is denied, the propounder places it on the tomb whoever impugns it has to take it off the tomb and tear it. History, more or less authentic, relates that whoso thus treats a genuine document loses his thumb, which gives way instead of the parchment.

is

​—

HAR

ca

A

This pargana was formerly ^held by the Biiars. party of Sayyad Masalid's force met here with Xgha, an attendant of Taj -ud-din of Bachhrdwan ; the combined parties attacked the fort held by the Bhar chief; their forces were insufficient they were repulsed, and Agha left dead on the field. The Bhars continued to hold this place, just in the centre of Oudh and far from any seat of civilization, four hundred years longer, till 820 A.H., when they were attacked and annihilated by Ibrdhim Sharqi of Jaunpur, who left a follower of his own, Sayyad Jalal-ud-di'n, in Hardoi, granting him the property. His descendants still survive in the town. The Kanhpurias acquired a part of this pargana, as follows Babu Btiz Bahadur having quarrelled with his brother Raja Amhn Singh of Chandapur took up his residence in Hanswaria of pargana Simrauta, next to Hardoi. By the connivance of the chakladar he got possession of eight villages in the pargana which he called taluqa Atehra his son Bdbu, Raghunath afterwards succeeded by adoption to Chandapur estate, to which this one was now permanently united. This happened about eighty years ago. Four villages belonging to Amethias were also included in taluqa Thulendi the year after annexation, 1857. There is nothing else worthy of relation. The name of the town is said to be derived from Raja Hardeo, the Bhar chief who built it.

—

HARDOI

—

—

Tahsil Digbijaiganj District Rae Baeetown stands on the side of the road from Digbijaiganj to Bachhrawdn, and lies 12 miles north of the sadr station Rae Bareli and 4 miles east of the town of Thulendi. It was founded by Hardeo, a This Bhar, and named after him, and is now constituted a pargana. must have been more than 866 years ago, for it contains the tomb of Agha Shahid of Masaiid's army, but the exact date cannot be ascertained. A mud-built fort was built here by Ibrahim of Jaunpur which has fallen into ruins. Sayyad Jalal-ud-din, a follower of the king, took The total population amounts to 1,590, of which up his residence here. 94 are Sayyads of the Shia sect, 108 Brahmans, and 103 Kayaths, who Li.

—This

Pargana Hardoi

'

mostly belong to the Shaivi creed the rest, 1,285, consist of 89 Muhammadans and 1,196 Hindus, all of the lower castes. Here are one brickbuilt and 259 mud-built houses, two masonry mosques, one other religious building called an idgdh, and one shiwala.

Latitude

Longitude

HARGXM

—

..

..,

„

...

...

...

...

...

—

26' 28' nortb. 81° 15' east.

—

Pargana Tahsil Sitapue District Sitapue. Pargana Harcontains an area of 66 square miles, of which 43 are cultivated its greatest length and breadth being 12 miles and 9 miles It is bounded on the north by district Kheri, on the respectively. east by pargana Laharpur, on the south by pargana Khairabad, and on the west by pargana Sitapur, from which it is separated by the Sarayan

gdm

stream.

The

soil

depth

not.

is, as a rule, dumat, or light, throughout ; water exceeding 30 feet from the surface of the ground,

is

found at a ​HAR The acreage is as follows:- Acres. 27,803 6,986 .. ee 10 ten Cultivated. Culturable. Málguzári. 34,789 ter .. .. IPO ... 333 7,058 Rent-free, Barren. . 7,391 Unnsgessed. re te. PE Total acres 42,180 The population numbers 23,861, which gives an average of 361 to the square mile, and is thus distributed Hindus, agricultural 12,57 non-agricultural 7,500 .. PE 20.075 OP Musalmans, agricultural non-agricultural 1,420 2,366 . 3) 3,786 which shows that the Musalmans form one-sixth of the entire population- a high average. There are 4,083 houses in the pargana, each of which therefore contains an average of 5-8 individuals. The proportions of cultivated and of málguzári land per head of the agricultural population are 14 and 25 acres respectively. The pargana contains 96 haabasti villages, which are thus held—taluq- dari 28, zamindari 55, pattidari 10, bhayyachára 3. The proprietary body is almost altogether of the Gaur Chhattri caste, who own 80 out of these 96 villages, or five-sixths of the pargana, The incidence of the revised Government demand is as follows :- ... Re. 2. p. 1 67 per acrc. 1 1 4 0 14 8 》 PP 21 On cultivated lapi -> málguzári » » total area The communications are the bigh road to Kheri (vide town Hargám) and a cross-road from Hargám Khás to Láharpur. The Sarayan is navi- gable by small boats. The only fair in the pargana is held at the Súrajkund (or tank of Súraj, the Sun) in Hargám Khás, which takes place twice a year, in Kártik and Jeth, the former being the better attended of the two, as many as 40,000 persons attend and many commodities are sold at it. The bazárs aro ag follows :-Hargám Kbás on Tuesdays and Fridays, Kútíkalán on Wednes- days and Saturdays, Mumtázpur on Fridays and Sundays. No manufactures are carried on in the pargana, nor is there any article of commerce pecu liar to or specially thriving in it. The crops are of the ​HAR 71 ordinary description. There are no mines or quarries properly so called. Kankar is found, and from it lime is made to some extent. The pro- ductive powers of the soil are a fair average. The pargana was constituted as such by Todar Mal, and was included in the Khairabad chakla. On the site of the Government tahsildar's fort a school now stands. The pargana derives its name from the town, and the history of the latter is to a great extent the history of the former. In 1712 A.D. a body of Gaur Chhattris under one Singha invaded the district, took the town, and settled in the country round; their descendants, as already stated, still hold five-sixths of it. No remains of historical interest are to be met with, and for the legend connecting the Pandavas with the city of Bairát, Hargám, the reader is referred to the history of that town. To what is recorded there, it may be added that the people of Edun also, in dis- trict Ságar, believe that king Bairát ruled in their town (vide Cer tral Provinces Gazetteer, article "Ságar," where the writer speaks of king Bairát and a tribe called Pándus). HARGÁM Town-Pargana HARGAM—Tahsil SITAPUR— District SITA- PUR.—Hargám, though now in great decay, was apparently once a very extensive city. Its origin is lost in remote antiquity, but local tradition tells us how that it was founded by the mythological Harish Chandar of the Solar dynasty; how it fell away after his deatlı ; how many years after- wards it was renewed by a rája called Bairát; how it again decayed ; and how 19 centuries ago the great Bikramájít again rebuilt it. In 1712 A.D. a tribe of Gaur Chhattris coming from the west attacked and took it, since when it has gradually sunk to its present condition. It lies in 27° 45' north, and 80° 47' east longitude, and is half-way between Kheri and Sitapur on the highroad. A road also connects it with Láharpur, ten miles to the east. There is no water communication to or from it. The population numbers 2,832 in all, the Hindus being about three to every two Muhammadans. Among the former, Brahmans and Joshis (a lower order of Brahmans) abound, and the latter have among them many Jrláhas. There are two bazárs in which nothing but the most ordinary articles are sold, the annual value of the sales being but Rs. 23,212, in which is included the value (Rs. 15,940) of commodities sold at the great mêla in October. This is held at a tank called Surajkund, a structure of very ancient date, and is attended by 40,000 persons. The other sacred places are a mosque and four Hindu temples, none of which requires any notice. There are 419 mud and 138 masonry houses in the town, which also boasts of a school and a registry office. The scholars number 73 in da‘ly attendance. The camping ground is in an exceedingly picturesque spot between the town and the tank abovementioned. On one side near the town is a long jhíl, dear to wild fowl; on the other, overlooking the tank, is a very strik- ing ridge of earth covered with fine trees, under which, on the other side, is a long and narrow lake. The tank itself, with its Shiwála and ruined sbrines, shadowed by mighty trees, the abode of numerous monkeys; tho ​HAR holy men telling their beads on the brink; the palm tree and the cactus and the sacred pípal tree --all form a picture worthy the pencil of an artist. The inhabitants believe that the Pandavas spent the 13th year of their exile at the old city in the reign of king Bairát. If we turn to the Mahabharata we find that these heroes did spend the thirteenth year of their exile in the city of Rája Bairát. Unfortunately its name is not given in the cpic, and we are left to conjecture its locality. In confirmation of the belief entertained by the people of Hargám that the king's dominions embraced this part of India, we find an ancient dih close to Sitapur known as king Bairát's dib. But it may be noted that the people of Gujarat in the west of India, and of Dinagepore in the east, also claim each for themselves this famous king. HARHA Pargan? -Tahsil UNAO--District UNAO. This pargana, the largest in Unao, w of a triangular shape, with its apex pointing south- wards, and penetrating between the Ganges and pargana Ghátampur, for- mcrly in the Rae Bareli dis was formerly called "Rawatána. It is twenty-five miles long from east to west, and sixteen from north to south. It comprises 177 villages and an area of 145,557 acres, or 227 square miles, of which 109 are cultivated. The soil is good, and its sur- face is covered with groves of mango, which embrace 11,917 acres. These are the remains of a magnificent grove called the "lakh-perá," or the 100,000 trees, near Harha. Water is said to be very distant-seventy-five feet from the surfacc. Wheat and gram are the principal crops. The tenures are as follows:- Acres. Tuluqlari 55,127 Copyhold 7,610 Zamindari 48,245 Pattidari 34,578 The land revenue is Rs. 1,77,024, which falls at the rate of Re. 1-3-0 per acre. The population is 116,329, or 512 to the square mile. Two streams take their course through this pargana,—the Gurdáta, which is a mere lateral channel of the Ganges, and passes through it into Daundia Khera, and the Lon, which rises in Unao; both are freely used for irrigation, but are dry during the hot weather. Near the village of Gurwa Bishunpur there is a lake three miles in length which contains water all the year round, there is also abundance of fish, but water- fowl are unusually scarce. Herds of níl-gáe and black buck are found everywhere. There are fourteen bazars in which articles of country produce are sold. Three fairs are held during the year. The largest is at Kolhwágára on. the Ganges, and is attended by 120,000 persons, in November; at Bithar, and Magarwära assemblies are held in honour of Mahádeo in March and November It is said that in early times a large human bone three cubits in length was found at the spot where the town of Harha now stands. Jasa Singh, Lodb of Indrapur, who owned the land to the east, claimed the bone. Bhúre Ahir of Shekhúpur, a convert to the Musalman faith, who owned the land IP ​HAR 73 west of the spot, also claimed the bone. The two fought on their border, and the Lodh winning founded Harha, calling it after the bone. During the battle Sayyad Maqbúl-i-Alam, who was giving assistance to the convert, was killed. His tomb is still to be seen inside the old fort. Shortly afterwards an unusually warlike Káyath named Chaturbhuj Dás, an agent of Rája Jai Chand of Kanauj, drove out the trium- phant Lodh, acquired the estate, and founded seventy-five new villages. His family in turn has decayed, and Shiu Ráj Singh, qánúngo, is now his only descendant and the owner of two villages. The present chief of Mauránwán, Kanhaya Lál, acquired the town of Harha by mortgage from this Káyath family. The Ráwats of Harha are thus described by Elliot, “Chronicles of Oonao," pages 63-65:- “The Rawuts are another class, who are peculiar to the district of Oonao. There is inore than one account current respecting their origin, but the generally received tradition is that they are the fifth sons* of Raja Tilokchund, who at his death gave them for their inheritance the pergunnah of Hurha, which is called Rotana or Rawutana from them. At present, however, they only possess three out of twelve Tuppehs, into which the pergunnah is divided, four of the tribes mentioned above, Chundeles, Gehlotes, Gours, and Mahrors, having encroached on their in- heritance. This loss of power is attributed by them to an insurrection of the Sonars, the aboriginal possessors of the soil, in which the Rawuts were nearly extirpated. Only one man escaped, Rawut Bind Singh, who went to Delhi and entered the military service of the king. Having found means to secure favour at Court, he obtained the grant of a force to reinstate himself in his ancestral possessions. The Sonars had a strong fort at Behtur, in which on the 22nd day of the month Cheit they were keeping the festival of the Bhudr Kalie Debie. Biné Singh attacked them here at night, when they were all very drunk, and slaughtered the entire clan. He was too weak, however, to regain the whole of this large pergunnah, and could only occupy the neighbourhood of Behtur, which, like the Sonars, the Rawuts made their headquarters. Biné Singh lived about 250 years ago, though there are no accurate grounds for determining the exact date. After some generations he was succeeded, about 1700, by the man who occupies the chief place in Rawut estimation, Dulnaran Singh, who, though not converted, received from Delhi the Mahommedan title of Cheepie Khan. He recovered the Rawut sovereignty over all the Hurha pergunnah, and even extended it into pergunnah Oonao, wresting from the Syuds the large village of Murtizanugur, with its adjoining hamlets.

  • The common Rajpoot euphemisor for bastards. Another account is that the Ravuts

were cart-drivers, who is the battle with the Puthang rallied round Tilokchund in com- pany with the palki barers and carried bim off in safety. The origiu of the story is pro- bably that the name Rawut is supposed to belong especially to the Aheer tribe, which from earters are usually taken. The story of the Ravuts themselves is that they are legitimate Baises, an that in the muesacre by the cowars only one woman escaped, who was protected by an Aheer. She was pregnant at the time, and in gratitude for the protection called her Bon Rawut biné Singh, after the Aheer's title. It is more probable that the Rawuts are illegitimate descendants of Tilokchund by an Aheer woman. 10 ​HAK " This aggression brought down upon him the Foujdar of Baiswara, wliose letters record a victory over him. It is certain, however, that Cheepie Khan did not lose this acquisition during his lifetime, and after his death all the power he had acquired beyond the confines of the three Rawut Tuppehs fell from the hands of his disunited descendants. Cheepie Khan married twice, and had six sons by the first marriage and two by the second. He insisted on having his estate divided equally between the offspring of the two wives, half going to the six elder brothers and half to the younger two. This led to a bitter quarrel, and Kesrí, the eldest son, murdered him while engaged in devotion. This occurred about 1740. Abul Munsoor Khan, Suffdur Jung, the first Nawab of Oudh, took advantage of the confusion and disunion of the brothers to demand a great increase of re- venue from them. They refused to accede to this, and were besieged in Behtur by Mansoor for a long time, but without any success. At last Rao Murdan Singh, who was then in High Court favour, offered to mediate, and trusting the chivalrous generosity of a Rajpoot, entered the fort alone and unarmed. “ He induced the Rawuts to submit, on the understanding that no increase of taxation should be demanded, but the Nawab refused to ratify this agreement, and for forty years the Rawuts were out of possession of their estates, which were given to Achul Singh, Rao Murdan's son. On his death in 1780 they were restored, and since then their occupation has been undisturbed." It would perhaps be impossible under English rule to find an instance of a family, one of whose members had risen to high office, and which afterwards remained in utter obscurity for ten generations. Rája Harbans Káyath built, a very fine house, the walls of which are of limestone blocks to a height of about fifteen feet, then a brick turreted wall; over the gateway is an elaborate frieze of red stone in which appear alternately pairs of geese and pairs of elephants. A large hall of audience supported on carved pillars formerly stood here, but Asif-ud-daula took these away to help in building his Imámbára at Lucknow. One of the family was then an official in a small way at the Court of Ujjain ; he returned to remonstrate, but apparently without effect. This building is very picturesque and massive; from its strength of construction it would seem to defy the hand of time, which has only as yet chipped off the coigns and pinnacles, and here and there planted a pípal on the loftiest towers. Tour note.— In village Badarqa Harbans there exists a decayed family of Káyaths, which, however, counts ainong its ancestors during the last three hundred years only one man who attained a great or even a respect- able position in Government service. Rája Harbans was an official, not a Díwán, as alleged, at the Court of Shah Jahan in 1052 A,B. (1643 A.D.); 500 bighas were granted to him in pargana Harha, (the deed his descendant pow produces is evidently a later copy, not unlikely a fabrication; the seal bears the date 1025 A.H., when Shah Jahan was not on the throne.) This Raja Harbans was an adherent of Shah Murád's (vide documents in the keeping of the family), but Aurangzeb did not involve him in the ruin which overtook that prince, for his ​— — HAR—HAS

7§

son Narohtam Das appears from the muniments to have had three villages, Harbansnagar, now Badarqa Harbans, which had been founded on the 500 bighas, Rawal, and Jagjiwanpur, in 1077 A.H., (1667), Curious to relate, none of R^ja Harbans' descendants had the good fortune to attract Court favours.

—

HARHA

—

Pargana Harha— Ta/iSi? Unao District Unao. Was formerly the headquarters of one of the tahsils of Unao, and is distant about eight miles south-east from the sadr station. The road between Unao and Rae Bareli districts passes about two miles to the north. It is watered by the Gurdhoi flowing through, and the Ganges at a distance of about two miles south of it. No large town is near. It dates its foundation from 414 Hijri in the time <3f Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. Prior to this there was on the same spot a village called Shekhapur in the possession of the Ahir tribe. To the west the village Indrapur, about one mile and a half distant, belonging to the Lodhas. The zamindars of these villages fell out and the Indrapur zamindars were victorious. Shekhapur fell into their hands, and they made great improvements, had all the jungle cut away,

brought in new It

is

settlers,

and

called

it

Harha.

on a plain without any jungle in any of the neighbouring

villages.

The appearance

of the village is very picturesque, climate healthy, water for the most part sweet, though there are some brackish wells. Mdn Singh, an ancestor of Shiuraj Singh, the present qantingo, was a very respectable officer and a great jagir holder in the reign of Emperor Alamgir. Rde Dhan Singh, Rae Baij N^th, and Rae Shambhu Nath were officers of high note appointed by the Lucknow Government in the times of Asif-

ud-daula and Sa^dat Ali Khan.

These gentlemen were all inhabitants of this place and belonged to the Kayath caste. There is one monument of Maqbul-i-alam, the general 'of Mahmud of Ghazni, and a fort erected by him. There is now a school numbering 65 pupils. There was a thana and tahsil in the king's time, and also two bazars weekly. The annual sales amount to Rs. 950, Population.

Hindua Musalnians

^;9««] Total 6.446,

There are 1,896 mud-built and three masonry houses, twenty temples and six mosques, fifteen temples or shiw£las, two to Debi, fourteen to Mah^deo, one to Ganesh, and one to Vishnu, a thdkurdwiira as it is generally called.

—

Pafgaria Moha'N AvnXs— Tahsil Moha'n District Unao. a bazdr situated at the junction of the two roads from Mianganj and Raslilabad to Moh^n, and about four miles from the latter place. It was founded by Hasan Raza Khan, Naib of Asif-ud-daula, in the village of Mahadeopur Balamau, which that monarch granted to him on rent-free It is a place of some small trade, but chiefly samples are brought tenure. from dealers to test. It consists of one wide street lined with trees and

HASANGAN J

—Thi^

is ​—

—

HAS—HAW

76 shops on both sides,

the population is There

banians, and other dealers.

is

1,500, consisting of agriculturists,

a Government school attended by

30 boys.

HASANPUR— Par^a^a

SvLTASvvn—TahsU Sultanpuk- District SuLor Hasanpur Bandhua lies four miles west of Sultanpur, a little to'the north of the Lucknow road, in lat. 26°16' north, long. 82°3' east. It is the residence of the Hasanpur chiefs, by the most famous of whom, Hasan Khan, it was founded in the reign of Sher Shah. TANPUR.

—Hasanpur

It stands on the site of a former village, which probably derived its name from its proximity on the north to one of the deep ravines connected with the Gumti. The present town bears a poor and dilapidated appearance, but its prosperity is seemingly on the increase, for thirty years ago its population numbered only 600, whereas it now amounts to 4,.338. A Government school has been established in it within the last few years, and this is the only public building it contains.

Bandhua is the name of a village adjoining Hasanpur, notable for containing the tomb, and having been the seat, of Baba Sahaj Ram, a famous Nanak Shahi faqir. The Sangat or shrine is tended by a mahant, who has a large establishment of disciples living upon the revenue drawn from one The phul vessels, the manufacture of Bandhua, or two endowed villages. are much in request elsewhere.

HATHAURA*

Pargana

—(2,618 north-west from

SANDtLA

Taksil

—District

SandYla.

Har-

A

inhabitants). Chamar village of 511 mud houses, ten miles Sandila, in pargana Sandila, district Hardoi. Hathaura

DOI.

was founded a hundred years ago by the great-grandfather of Bharath Singh, the Bais Taluqdar of Atw^a.

The bazar contains between 50

or 60 petty shops. There is a daily market.

HAWELI OXJDHt Pargana— Tahsil Fyzabad—District

—

Fyzabad. Pargana Haweli Oudh, in the district of Fyzabad, takes its name from Oudh, the capital, and Haweli, the name generally used to indicate the

principal station of the chief revenue authorities of the Mughals. The pargana is bounded on the north and east by the river Gogra, on the

south by the river Madha and parganas Pachhimr^th and Amsin, and on the west by pargana Mangalsi. In former days the revenue collections of the pargana used to be made at the Qila-i-Mub£rak (blessed fort), which was situated at Lachhmanghat, where now stands the recently built temple of Jugla Saran. In the days of Mansfir Ali Khan (A.D 1739-54) they used to be made at Rath Haweli, and in the time of the Bahfi Begam at or near the Dilkusha, both of which latter places are in the city of Fyzabad.

The pargana differs from all others in the district, inasmuch as there never were any of the usual tappa subdivisions. It contained in the king's time 329 townships. These were reduced under summary settlement to 242 in number, and they have now been further cut down to 181 demarcated villages, under the re-distribution of the revised settlement. By Mr. A. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. tBy Mr. P. Carnegy, Commissioner. • ​HAW 77 İts area is 126 square miles ; 43,000 acres are cultivated, 5,280 acres under groves, 12,144 acres are barren, 5,836 acres are capable of cultivation. The population is 131,337, which amounts to 1,042 to the square mile. The Government revenue is Rs. 96,920, which is Re. 1-15-0, per acre of arable land, a very low rate. In aldition to the rivers Gogra and Madha already mentioned, a petty rivulet, the Telai or Tilang, which is of some traditional importance, has its rise in pargana Mangalsi, runs through this pargana, and falls into the Gogra at Ajodhya. Opposite Fyzabad the Gogra is five miles broad from bank to bank in the rains, and its hed at this point is subject to continual change, so that it can never be said till the waters subside whether the ferry will be over one or two or three streams. It is beyond question that the bridge of boats ought to be at Lacbhmanghát, where there is but one stream between high banks, and where it would, with little alte- ration of roads, carry the traffic of Basti and Gorakhpur as well as that of Gonda. The Madha, which has its rise in mauza Bisudhi, is subject to sudden rises in the rains, is not navigable in this part of the district, but is much used for irrigation purposes. Tradition, here as elsewhere in this district, attributes all rights in the soil to the Bhars, who were suppressed after the Muhammadan supremacy, and of whom traces are still pointed out in numerous villages. In more modern times (1) Bashisht Brahmans, (2) Súrajbansi Chhattris, (3) Gargbansi Chhattris, (4) Bais Chhattris, (5) Upáddhia Brahmans, (6) Bhadarsa Sayyads, (7) Maujadubanspur Kurmis, were the chief landel proprietors. Of these several families I now proceed to give some brief details. The Bashisht Brahmans.---Themembers of this family assert descent from Bashisht Muni, the spiritual adviser of the immortal Rám Chandar from whom that portion of the town which is still known as Bashisht Tola takes its name, and whose sacred memory is still kept fresh by the annual visits of his votaries to the Bashisht Kund or reservoir in the same quarter. After the vicissitudes of the Buddhist and atheist periods, when the Vedic faith was for the time, it is believed, locally suppressed, Ajodbya was Again traditionally restored and Brahmanically re-peopled through the exertions of Bikramájít of Ujjain ; and Kashí Rám and other members of the present Bashisht tribe, who now inhabit the ancient haunts of the family, aver that their ancestors were then recalled by the sovereign in question from Kashmir, and received from him large assignments of revenue-free land. It is the further averment of these persons that they retained their possessions during the supremacy of the non-Brahmanical Bhars, but it is almost needless to say that no proofs are extant either of their advent from Kashmir or their steadfastness of faith under the Bhars. In the Kín-i-Akbari, the oldest reliable historical record, Bashisht Brahmans are stated to be the prevailing caste of zamindars in this pargana. The ​HAW

78

proprietary status of this family waned before the modern Surajbansi clan, the annals of which will follow, and its members are now reduced to the possession of exproprietary petty holdings (sir) and dues (sayar) iu the Ramipali, Anjna, Narainpur, and Laclihmidaspur estates, which compri se thirty-two villages in all, in which also they cbiefly reside.

The Surajbansi

Chhcittris.

—

It is

the assertion

of the present local

members of this tribe that 350 years ago their common ancestor Lfilji Singh came from Kallu Kamayan (Kumaun) and settled in the suburb of Fyzabad which is now known as Sultanpur in rear of the Guldbb^ri.

He

and his three sons are said subsequently to have joined the service of Dandas Sah, a dealer of Puramarna, now more generally known as Jalalud-dlnnagar. This man had excavated a large tank in the neighbourhood of that place, to which he had given his own name. There dwelt hard by On one in the village of Bilahri, Shah Bhikha, a hermit of great repute. occasion the dealer found this hermit washing his teeth at the edge of his tank, and admonished him for so doing. This so enraged the hermit that he gave vent to his feelings and vowed that in future donkeys even should not drink at the tank, and in consequence water is but rarely to be found it. The curse of the heraiit seems to have extended to the dealer also, for adversity soon overtook him and he died childless, his landed property falling into the hands of Lalji Singh, the Surajbans servant, of whom we have already heard. This man improved his opportunities to such good effect that at his death he was the proprietor of 97 villages. The present members of the family are in the twelfth generation from the common ancestor Lalji Singh. They still possess rights in fifty-four villages. In 21 of these they are independent proprietors in 28 they are in subordination to the taluqdar of Maujadubanspur, and in the remaining five to the Maharaja Sir Man Singh. The ex-rdjas of Amorha and Maholi in the Basti district, the Raja of Mohason in that district, and the Raja of Haraha in Bara Banki were all chiefs of colonies that broke off at different times from the original Ptira stem.

m

—

The Gargbans Ohhattris of KusmaTia. The traditions of this clan allege a descent from Garg Muni or Raj, or Rikh, a devotee of old, who according to some was summoned by R^ja Dasrath, the father of Rama, from Kanauj to aid him in performing the sacrifice of the horse, and by others, by Raja Bikramajit from Kaikaides, on his restoration of Ajodhya. The proprietary possessions of the clan began in this pargana, where at a very early period they are said to have acquired the estates marginally named, consisting of ten townships, but large estates were also acquired by them elsewhere. This branch of the family held proprietary possession of the above four estates until A.D 1816, after which their lands were absorbed into the Mahdona taluqa, andnow the old proprietors are reduced to the possession of sir and sayar in their old villages.

—

The Bais Chhattris. There is a colony of this clan in the pargana the members of which aver that their ancestors Kanak B£e and Tir Singh came from Baisw^ra 500 years ago and displaced the Bhars in the possession ​HAW

79

of thirty-seven villages. Bat their rights in these have long been over ridden by others, eleven villages having passed, into taluqa Mahdona, 16 into taluqa Maujadubanspur, while others are in the hands of mu4fidars and other independent proprietors. The Bais are still, however, the recorded proprietors of niauza Ashrafpur, and they hold minor subordinate rights in others of their old villages. I have no faith whatever in the alleged advent from Baiswara. The Bais were few even there 500 years ago, and they do not readily own such offshoots as this. I have no doubt whatever that this colony was of local origin.

—

The Upciddhia Brahmans. One Paras E.4m Updddhia is said by his descendants to have come from over the Gogra 300 years ago, and to have married into the local Bashisht family. He acquired a proprietary title in eight villages in this pargana as his marriage portion, and to these he afterwards added four others. These villages all passed into the Mahdona taluqa about forty years ago, but Babu Eam and Jagmohan are still recorded sub-proprietors of the Usen muhal, which consists of two mauzas, and the family also hold petty tenures in some of their other villages as well.

—

The Sayyads of Bhadarsa. Three hundred years are said to have elapsed since one Sayyad Zain-ul-abidin, alias MIra Zaina, the ancestor of the present Bhadarsa Sayyad family, of which Husen Baksh and Muhammad Jafar are the heads, came from Naishapur in the retinue of one of the Oudli Subahdars, and settled in Deh Katawan near Bhadarsa, where, as usual, he is said to have displaced the Bhars in the possession of 19 villages. These 19 villages, which were formerly on the Government revenue lists, were, owing to the exercise of holy functions by the Sajryads, made revenue-free in 1836 A.D. by Nawab Saadat Khan, arid the assignment has been continued in perpetuity by the British Government.

The shrine of the sainted Mira Zaina at Bhadarsa is still visited by considerable crowds on the 26th and 27th of Rabi-ul-Awal, who make Thieves, it is said, are detected by sending susofferings of sweetmeats. On their pected persons to bring away flowers from within the tomb. exit they are asked how many graves or recesses they saw within, and the guilty invariably answer wrong.

—

The Kurmis of Maujadubanspur. Some seventy years ago, one Gharib Das Kurmi is said to have started from his home in Padampur, pargana

Lucknow, accompanied by his youthful son Tradition further affirms that for a time after their arrival the father and son obtained their livelihood by working as day The boy was labourers on certain fortifications then being constructed. of comely .countenance, and on this account is believed to have attracted the attention of the ruler of the day, Nawab Saddat Ali Khan, by whose order he was soon after enrolled in a regiment of youths kept up by that Nawib under the designation of the " Shaitan-ki«Paltan, " which may " the devil's own." The boy Darshan in time rose to fairly be rendered and at a later period, when he had arrived at man's be a jamadar, estate, he was selected by the same authority as one of the personal

Birhar of this

district, for

Darshan Kurmi. ​80 HAW orderlies, whose chief duty it was to guard his master's bed. By Gházi-ud-din Haidar, who succeeded Saadat Ali Khan, Darshan Singh was entrusted with the command of a regiment, and when that ruler was afterwards made king by us, one of the first persons whom he in turn ennobled was the Kurmi Darshån Singh, who was then created a rája. In the reign of the next sovereign, Nasír-ud-dín Haidar, the importance of the rája was still further advanced by his being permitted to sit in the royal presence, with the additional title of Ghálibjang (conqueror in battle). Darshan Singh continued to prosper throughout the reigns of Muhammad Ali Shah and Amjad Ali Shah, and he died in 1851, while the last king of Oudh still sat on his throne, at the great age of eighty. The career of this adventurer was not, however, without many vicissi- tudes, and they are all recorded in Sleeman's journal volume I., pages 154 to 162. One day a royal favourite with boundless influence, another the occupant of a cage with snakes and scorpions for his companions. In the year 1835 A.D., and again in 1843 A.D., we find that be incurred the royal displeasure, in consequence of which the fine estate that he had pre- viously created was broken up, and its component villages were restored to the former proprietors. The displeasure was, however, only of tem- porary duration, for at the annexation we found the son of Darshan Singh, Rája Jai Lál Singh, in possession of the Maujadubanspur taluqa, the only taluqa that had its headquarters in this pargana, and which on the death of his father be duly inherited. The taluqa was made up of the estates noted below, where also the year of incorporation is mentioned :- Manjadubinspur 8 villages in 1227 Faali. Palia Shali. Badi Janaura, &c. Ránúpálí Deokáli 1255 . 1229 9 23 21 ... 2.4 3 47 4 2 31 800 GE 1230 .. 9 11. 39 IP Total 64 . Rája Jai Lál, who played an important part against us in the mutiny, was committed by ine for trial, and hanged at Lucknow, in September 1859, on proof of the following charges :-" (1) Being a leader in rebellion; in organizing a rebel government; in having placed himself at the head of rebel sepoys and murderers ; in becoming the spokesman of the rebel officers to the Begam, and medium of communication between the rebel army and Birjisqadr; in holding high office; in having a jail for the con- finement of Christians, and in encouraging the arrest and extermination of Christians generally, and their followers. (2) Aiding and abetting in the murder of Mrs. Green, Miss Jackson, Mrs. Rodgers, Mr. Baptist Jones, Mr. Carew, Mr. J. Sullivan, Mrs. Feelow (insane), and other Christians, and Mahmúd Khan, Kotwal, in all 22 or 23 persons on the 24th September, 1857." His property, including Government paper, was confiscated, and his estate was conferred on Rája Rustam Sáh for conspicuous loyalty. Jai Lal's son Thákur Parshád is at present a student in the Canning College. The younger brothers of Jai Lál Singh, Raghubar Dayál and Beni Madho, who were also rebel leaders, are residents of the Azamgarh district, and are still in possession of Government paper to the extent of Rs. 2,18,000 ​— HAW— HIS

81

and Rs. 56,000, from which they have an annual income respectively of Es. 9,000 and Rs. 2,200, The former of these was sent to bring the Ndna in state to Lucknow, on his being driven over the Ganges by our troops in 1857.

The most numerous caste is that of the Brahmans, who number 13,162 ; the Ahirs come next with 12,138 there are above 14,000 Musalmans, and 3,215 of the mercantile class, the Vaishyas.

The pargana contains the remarkable towns of Ajodh3'a and Fyzabad, in •which articles further details of the pargana history are given.

—

HINDAUR

—

Pargana Partabgarh Tahsil Partabgarh District ParTABGARH. Hindaur rakshas (a demon) is stated according to tradition to have founded this village. It is near the road from Bela to Rae Bareli, fifteen miles from the former. Raja Bhim is said here to have fought Hindui, the child of Satan. This was a prosperous place formerly, but most of the inhabitants left it and went into Phiilpur in the Allahabad district. The population consists of Hindus 801, and Musalmans 308, total 1,109. The remains of the old fort and tanks are still to be seen. It was for some time the headquarters of the Sombansi raj of Partabgarh (g. v.)

—

HISXMPUR Pargana*— Tahsil

Kura'sar—Z»tsirzcf BAHRAICH.—This pargana, situated at the southernmost corner of the triangle which comprises the Bahraich district, is one of the oldest in it.

As at present defined, however, its boundaries differ considerably from those which limited it both in Akbar's time and during the Nawabi. large area had been stripped from its eastern border and included in what is now the Gonda district, while it has been recompensed for this loss by a ti'act on its north border which has been snatched from Fatehpur. The result of these mutilations is that the pargana has been left very unshapely in its appearance on the map, its greatest length from north to south being some thirty- two miles, while its greatest breadth is only fourteen miles. It is bounded on the north by the Fatehpur pargana, on the east by the Gonda district and the rivers Tirhi and Sarju, and on the west by the The whole pargana lies low, and its general appearance river Gogra. supports the tradition that in former ages it was subjected to fluvial action as the Gogra retreated westward and southward. The ground rises slightly towards the eastern boundary. The rivers are those mentioned above, the two first mentioned being feeders of the third, the junction being effected in the Gonda district.

A

The country is well wooded, there being 6,846 acres, or 3|- per cent, of the total area, grove land; of waste land there is less (33 per cent.) than in any other pargana in the district; of a total area of 300 square miles, 155 are under the plough, only 6 of which are irrigated. There is every reason to believe, however, that the irrigated area will soon be much extended. Water is met with at an average depth of 18 feet,

By

Mr. H,

S.

Boys, C.S., Assigtant CommisaioBer.

11 ​82 HIS The revised Government demand is distributed as follows: INCIDENCE OF GOVERNMENT DEMAND Class of village. Number Area in of square villagee. miles. Government demand, On culti, vation. On total assessable area, Do total area. Perpetual eettlement 30 years' ditto 331 216 58 167 R9. a. p.Rs. a. 5,91 00 0 8 4 1,03,874 92 1 10 10 Rs. 2. p. Rs. 2. p. 0 3 3 0 2 7 1 111 0 15 6 Total 2493 225 1,09,765 92 18 0 14 4 0 192

1053 70 39,822 61 1 217 1 1 2 0 14 8 Independent villages Revenue-free for life- time only 10 7 Grand total 365 302 1,49,584 16 3 1 8 10 15 020 12 8 The population is shown in the following form - 13 Hindus Agricultural Non-agricultorul 76,506 30,680 Hindus, Ligb er castes. Brabniane Chhattris Vaisbyas Kágaths 7,329 6.379 7,089 1,580 Total 107,486 - ... 1 15,053 2,845 2,24% 2,469 11,012 190 SP 44 vo Nuhammadans Agricultural Non-agricultural bat 14,000 8,108 12,218 Hindus, lower castes. Abir Bhujwa Pasi Teli Chamár Kurmi Kabár Kori Gareria Náo Lodh Lonia Mario Others Pa 7,817 4,649 2,885 2,764 6,448 2,750 OP Total 22,105 11,532 Tec 10. Total population Agricultural Non-agricultural Males Females 90,80G 38,785 67,928 61,663 .. 1 TO Musalmans and otbers. Sayyad Shekh Pathan Julába Others Miscellapeous 868 8,605 2,749 5,448 7,516 2,169 121 tei Grand total 199,591 Number of souls per square mile. 435 Total - 129,691 + PR Of the Brahmana- 31 per cent, are Sarwarias, 30 » Kaoaujiag. 26 » Sangaldipis. 7 Geur. Sanáddb, Of the Rajputs- 24 per cent. are Raikwára. 29 Bais, 18 Kalbane. 9 Cha tháng. Bigens. 27 Others (27 clena.) 33 3 4 2 13 » Others, ​HIS 83 The Railwars are those of the large coparcenary community which held the Harharpur estate. They are a branch of the Baundi house (see below). The Kalhans are members of the Chhedwara Thákur family, who have gradually obtained a footing in the pargana, displacing the Sayyads. The main roads that run through this pargana are one from Bahraich to Bahramghat thirty-five miles; a second from Bahraich to Colonelganj thirty-one miles; and a third from Bahramghat to Colonelganj fourteen miles. The first mentioned is an imperial line, and it is about to be metalled. All three lines are much used, the main traffic going by Colonelganj. The chief markets are at Jarwal and Khutgaghát, but at Colonel- ganj, in the Gonda district, is the market most resorted to for wholesale grain transactions. There are minor bazars at Sangana, Kurásar, Kotwa, and Patupur. At Gandhára, the headquarters of the Ambapur taluqdar, a cattle market, well frequented, is held every Thursday. Bahrámpur also has several cloth-merchants' shops, &c., though no open bazar is held here. Government village schools are maintained at:- Boys. Jarwal Bahrámpur Katsar Bhethaura Wairi Kurásar Gulraha Patupur Bahrauli

. 41 78 45 31 79 40 50 20 50 . Total 383 There are district post-offices at Kurásar and Jarwal. The police station is at Kurásar. There is a Government dispensary at Hisámpur, the average annual number of patients being 1,673, the annual cost Rs. 556. The pargana is one of the oldest in the district, and takes its name from the village which was founded by some Ansáris in honour of Hisám-ul- haq, who is said to have been one of the comrades of the crescentader Sayyad Sálár, and to have perished with him in battle. Like the rest of the district, this portion of it at the time of the invasion of Sayyad Sálár was held by the Bhars, who seem to have maintained their position of influence in the country for several centuries subsequent to that event. The Ansáris, an Arab tribe, appear to have been the first perinunent Mu- hammadan settlers in the district. The date of their arrival was probably 1226 A.D., when Nasír-ud-din Muhammad brought Oudh into subjection. They occupied Hisámpur, Pachambar, and Tawakkulpur, and increased their possessions until they had acquired and populated about 250 villages. The Bhars, however, still held their own, and in the reign of Muhammad Tughlaq, the ancestor of the Jarwal Sayyads found great difficulty in obtaining possession of the jágír that had been bestowed on him (see Jarwal town). The Sayyads came originally from Persia, having to flee before Jangez Khan to Khurásán, and ultimately, to Lahore, whence they found their way to Delhi and Bado Sarai in Bara Banki district. The ​HIS

84

into Ansaris passed away, and their possessions seem to have fallen are century, this of commencement the at Sayyads, who, the the hands of found possessed of 276 villages, of which 157 had heen acquired by purchase. In their turn, however, they had to give way before the Kalhans Rajputs villages of Chhedwara, who within the last fifty years have acquired 112 in this pargana.

The Raikw^r villages, fifty-two in number, lying to the north of the pargana, are held by the descendants of Harhardeo, fourth r^ja of Bamhnauti (Baundi), who being summoned to Delhi, returned to find his son on the gaddi. He therefore took a second wife, the daughter of a Brahman, the owner of these villages, and leaving his son in possession of his ancestral This half-hundred of villages* are estate founded the Harharpur ilaqa. communities in this district. coparcenary held by property almost the only number of the shares are now held in subordination to Mahant

A

Harcharan Das.

The ilaqa of Dubhapur is another ancestral estate which exists, now unimpaired. One Shekh Nizam-ud-din, descendant of a Q^zi of Oudh, married the only daughter and heiress of one Shekh Muhammad Roshan of Rehauda Rasulpur, and his descendant in the fifth degree married the only daughter of Shekh Ali Muhammad, the last of the Ansaris. By this marriage the two estates of Rehauda Rasulpur and GandhSra with Ambapur were united. Ali Muhammad's ancestor had been made qaniingo of the pargana, and the office as well as the property descended to his sonin-law, whose descendants Shekh Niwdzish Ali and Wazlr Ali still hold. The Nanpara taluqdar owns a few villages in the pargana, which he owes to the tact of one of his ancestors who showed Asif-ud-daula such good sport in the north of the district that the Nawab made over to him this estate in the south.

The Baundi raja also within the 40 years immediately preceding annexation managed to acquire a few of the khalsa villages. These are now held by the raja of Kapfirthala. With the exception of the Raikwari villages to the north of the pargana, the estates are much intermingled, a peculiarity accounted for by the general scramble for the Sayyads' villages which marked the history of this pargana during the last three decades of the Nawabi rule. In Akbar's time the pargana is recorded to have consisted of 107,400 bighas of cultivation, and to have been paying a revenue of Rs. 1,18,676.

In Shah Jahan's reign, however, there were included in the pargana 870 measuring 435,702 bighas total area, and paying a revenue of Rs. 1,47,848. Of these 870 villages 398 were transferred to other parganas prior to 1223 F., and 226 were similarly transferred between 1224 F. and annexation, leaving 245 villages and chaks in 1263. Under British rule 482 were re-transferred, raising the total to 727, which were demarcated in 447 circles of these 41 have been once again excluded from the pargana, which now consists of 46 villages, villages

•

Subsequently increased in number to 105. ​— IBR—IKA

IBRXHIMABAD—Par^awa Bara Banki.

—This

85

SATniKK—Tahsil

village lies

'N am ABGA.m—District

on the Gumti, and

is

chiefly inhabited

by Kurmis. During the Nawabi the proprietorship of the village changed hands several times. Originally it was in the possession of the ancestors of Chaudhri Nawab Ali. In 1253—59 Fasli, Safdar Ali, of Satrikh, held the village in qubtiliat; in 1260 64 Q^zi Sarfaraz Ali held it as lessee. In 1264 Fasli, as the taluqdari system was not introduced, Jamal Ashraf and Kunwar Bahadur were appointed lambardars of this village, the jama of which was fixed at Rs. 3,348. In 1266 Fasli half of the village was settled with Chaudhri Nawab Ali, and half with Qazi Sarfaraz Ali. The total jama is Rs. 4,100 it includes no dakhili villages.

—

one masonry well in this village. The distance at which water There are 15 tanks, both large and small. In fact the village is well 'supplied with means of irrigation. The market days are Sundays and^Thursdays. There is a good deal of trade in grain. is

There found

is

varies.

Population

Musalmans Latitude

...

...

417

...

26°60'

...

Hindus North Longitude

3,095 ... ...

2,673 81°15' East.

—

—

Pa/rgana Baryabad Tahsil Ra'm Sanehi Ghat District Bara Banki. ^A small Musalman town, 25 miles east-north-east of the Tradition relates that it was founded in 423 A.H., in the reign Sadr. It is said that there was formerly a village of the of Mahmud of Ghazni. same name founded by Ichauli, a Bhar chief, who was subdued by the Ghazni king, whose lieutenants, Saif-ud-din, Qd,zi Eabir-ud-din, and others, having been granted the village in j%ir, razed the Bhar fort to the ground, and founded a new town, but with the original name, colonizing it from their followers, the old inhabitants having disappeared with their Bhar The different muhallas, sncb as S^l^r and Qazi^na, were named chiefs. The descendants of these men after the abovementioned lieutenants. Water-supply is abundant from a good number of still own the village. tanks and wells, both of mud and masonry. Mahdraja Tikait Rae, finance minister of Xsif-ud-daula, was bom here, and built a fine masonry

ICHAULI

—

tank.

Population 4,570, of whom 2,509 are Hindus and 2,061 Latitude 26° 58' north, longitude 81° 37'.

Muhammadans,

IDB.A—Pargcma BmAs,— Tahsil Kv-sda—District Partabgarh.—This on the road from Bih^r to Partabgarh, five mUes from the forGanges flows ten mer and twenty-six from the latter place. The river annual sales amount to whose here bazar a is There south. the miles to village lies

Rs. 10,000.

TKAXJNA

The population Pa/rgcma,*

is 2,134.

—Tahsil

BAORAicn—District Bahraich.

—Ikauna

English Government, it having formerly been t)arffana is a creation of the of a most irregular shape, and forms the base is It Bahraich. mcluded in comprises the district, marchmg with the Gonda of the triangle which

By

Mr. H, S. Boys, C.S., Assistant' Commissioner.

12 ​— 86

IKA

on the south-east throughout its entire length of thirty-seven miles; breadth varies from two to twelve miles, and it has an area of 259 square miles, comprising 213 demarcated villages. It is bounded on the west by Bahraich pargana, on the north-west by Bhinga, and on the east and south by the Gonda district. The level is generally lower than that of the country to the west. Its rivers are the R^pti, the Singhia, (called higher up the stream the Bhakla), and the Kohani. These all have a southeast course, traversing, the two former the northern portion of the pargana, and the last mentioned the southern division. Between the Singhia and the Kohani runs, also in a south-east direction, a strip of tree jungle about twenty miles long, with an average breadth of three miles. The tract that lies between the Singhia and the R^pti is a portion of the duab described in Bhinga pargana ; while the Durgd,pur il^a, which is the trans-R^ti .portion of the pargana, is similar in all respects to the Tar^i portion of Bhinga (which see). The southern division of the pargana is divided from the northern by the Kohani stream, and lies somewhat higher than the neighbouring country. The soil throughout the pargana is excellent, mainly consisting of good clay, mixed in the most favourable proportions with sand, and in the northern part of the pargana of fine alluvial deposit. Of the whole area of the pargana 139 square miles are under the plough, of which about one-fourth is irrigated. The waste, including the strip of tree jungle, measures 92 square miles. Of grove land there are 4,550 acres, or 2f per The following table gives the revised assessment, cent, of the whole area. with its incidence and distribution district its

​IKA

87 of Kapurthala's school at Ikauna, there are in the pargana the following Government village schools: Gangwal Lachhmanpar bazar Katra District roads from Bahraich to Balrámpur, and from Bhinga to Piágpur, traverse the pargana, both passing through Ikauna itself, the main traffic following eastward. The population is as shown in the following table :- Boys. . 33 25 16 Hindua Brabmans 494 -Non-agricultural 28,885 Chhattis ead 7) 9) . 19 19 44 17 » Others, Vaishyas Total 75,800 Ahírs Pasis Muhanita- Agricultural 1,645 Chamács dans Non-agricultural 1,976 Kurmis Kahúrs Total 3,621 Koris Muráos Total popula- Agriculteral 50,5604 Others tion. Non-agricultural 28,861 Musalmans Miscellaneous, Males 41,813 Females 38,608 Total 13,98G or the Brabmans--- 1,505 1,512 81 per cent. are Sarvaria, 9,740 8 » Sangaldipi. 4,961| 7 » Kangujia. 6,030 4 7,676 2,931 Of the Rajputs- 6,173 2.772 35 per cent. are Bais. 18,776 20 , Janwar. 1,91815 91 . Chauhan. 1,708 8 71 $) 22 Others, 19 19 79,421 .4 ... 15 » Kallians. >> Total 79,421 Number of souls per square mile. 306 The Janwárs are mostly members of the great Ikauna family, and the Kalhans are probably of the same stock as the Chhedwára taluqdars. The Bais are a miscellaneous lot, who have probably as much or as little right to the tribal cognomen as most of their brethren. History.--The early history of the pargana is intimately connected with the rise of Buddhism, and there are in the neighbourhood of Sahet Mahet many Buddhist remains of great interest. The village of Tandwa, nine miles west of Sahet Mabet, is identified by General Cunningham as the Tu-wei of Fa Hian and Hwen Thsang, where Kasyana Buddha was born and lies buried; while a statue of the mother of Sakya Buddha is worship- ped now in the village as Síta. The place, like all these ancient remains in this district (see Charda), is said to have belonged to Rája Sohildeo of Asokh- pur, who was the chief opponent of Sayyad Sálár Masaúd. It is not till the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq that we get any further glimpses into the history of the pargana. Up to that period this part of the country is said to have been under the sway of a tribe of the carpenter caste, who, after holding for two hundred years, took to a lawless way of living, committing dacoity on their neighbours and on one another. Firoz Shah, soon after accession, in 1350 A.D., passed by way of Gorakhpur and Khurasa (Kho- rassur in Gonda) to the conquest of Bengal, and it was doubtless then, or at the later date, when he visited Bahraich itself in the year 1374 A.D., that Risáldár Bariár Sáh, Janwar, the first lord of Ikauna, obtained his grant, on condition of putting down these marauders and keeping the ​88 IKA ountry in order. Bariár Sáh was the youngest son of Narsinghdeo, who lived in Pawargarh in the fort of Bomgarh near Nímach, and had taken service with the Delhi emperor. Tradition says little about either the iláqa or the family until the time of Maha Singh, ninth in descent, in whose time (in the year 1635 A.D.) the title and pay of a risáldár were lost to the family, though Shah Jahán confirmed the then holder in his proprietary right in the ilaqa. At that time the estates were almost conterminous with the present pargana, though the Sultan's farmán entitled the grantee to a per- centage on the revenue of several other parganas. The trans-Rápti portion of the estate seems to have been acquired by the Ikauna taluqdar subse- quent to the reign of Bahlol Lodi; for, in the year 1483 A.D., pargana Dangdun, of which it was a portion, consisting of 192 villages, was held by a hill rája called Udatt Singh; whereas in 1667 A.D. the hill chiefs of Phálabáng and Júmli possessed only 78 villages in this part. The Ikauna house had previously, viz., about the year 1566 A.D., thrown off a branch, that of Balrámpur; and in Mahá Singh's time the Gújíganj and Jagannath- pur estates were occupied by cadets of this same family. Chain Singh, eleventh in descent from Bariár Sáh, obtained another farmán from Delhi to the same effect as that of Maha Singh in 1716 A.D., and it was in his time that his brother Partáb Singh set up for himself in the Gangwal iláqa, which marched with that of the Gonda rája, and was consequently difficult to hold. From this time until 1816 A.D., the whole estate was under quasi-direct management, a tahsildar residing on it to protect the Govern- ment interests. Two generations after Chain Singh came Abdhút Singh, in whose person the curse of madness first came upon the family; Bijai Singh, the sixteenth in descent, and his son, Lál Bahadur Singh, both being afflicted in this way. It was three years only prior to annexation that Káit Pargásh Singh succeeded to the estates, the whole of which he has lost for complicity in rebellion. The Gangwal ráj was founded by Partáb Singh, as related above. For two generations the contests with the Gonda rája for this border estate, called the Dobaha and Manikapur ilaqas, were conti- Partáb Singh was killed in one of these fights, but his son Jaswant managed to hold his own well up to 1769 A.D. Kishan Parshád, his grand- son, however, who succeeded, held only 12 or 15 villages, the remainder of the estates heing held khám by the názim up to 1816 A.D., in which year all the original estates held by Partáb Singh were restored to the taluqdar, who thereafter held undisturbed possession. Like all the great estates in this district, the iláqa grew greater still during the forty years immediately preceding annexation, but a Nemesis was coming in the shape of the tyrant Ragliubar Dayál, názim, who completely devastated the country side in 1846-47 A.D. A curse of childlessness is said to have descended on the family since Kishan Parshád Singh killed Himmat Singh, the first taluqdar of Piágpur. The present taluqdar is nephew of Kishan Parshád Singh, and has himself no son to succeed him. IKAUNA*--Pargana IKAUNA- Tahsil BAHRAICH-District BAHRAICH (latitude 27° 33' 11" north, longitude 81° 59' 38" east).- Is twenty-two miles almost due east of Bahraich, on the road from that place to Balrámpur. nuous.

  • By Mr. H. S. Boya, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​IKA— INH

89

is approached from the west through a tract of scrub jungle, a belt of which runs through this part of the district. The place has always been the headquarters of the Ikauna rdjas, whose ancestor Bari^r S^h, Janw^r, a ris^ldar in the service of Firoz Tughlaq in 1374 A.D., was one of the first pioneers of the Rajput colonization of Oudh. It was one of his descendants, Rd,m Sd,h, who built the angleless fort, which still exists, and which, according to the country folk, gave to the place the name of Ikauna (Akona). A much more likely and far more interesting derivation, however, is to be found in Arkhavana, the name of a place mentioned by Hwen Thsang as being situated slightly to the west of Sahet Mahet. Formerly the place was called Kh^npur Mah£da, after one Kh^nu, a Bhar, who, about 600 years ago, is said to have founded the village. The estate of Ikauna was confiscated in 1858 A.D. for the rebellion of its owner, and conferred partly on the rdja of Balrdmpur and partly on the r^ja of Kapurthala. The population consists of 1,852 inhabitants, of whom 350 are Musalmans. There are 443 houses, of which ten only are of brick. Two Hindu temples, three mosques, a school, and police station are the only quasipublic buildings. The English town school is supported partly by the Government and partly by the r^ja of Kapurthala. It has three masters with 50 boys. The police force consists of 12 constables with three officers. The r^ja of Kapiirthala has a tahsil in the fort. There is no trade of any importance beyond grain, which in times of dearth comes from the Nanpara direction and passes eastward towards BaMmpur. There are second class district roads hence to Bhinga and Pid.gpur. About five miles

It

distant lies the city of Sahet Mahet.

—

IKHTIYXRPXJE. Town Pargana Rae Bareli This large town lies close trict Rae Bareli.

—

— Tahsil Rae Bareli—Disto

Rae

Bareli, in latitude

26° 14' north, and longitude 81° 17' east. It was founded by Nawab Jahan Khan, Subahdar, who called the town, which he surrounded by a wall, Jah^nabad, and the cultivated land Ikhtiydrpur. By boundary arrangements Jah^nabad has been now included in Ikhtiylrpur. Formerly for this latter village there was no cultivated land Ikhtiyarpur has, independently of Rae Bareli, a population of over 5,000 souls,— Hindus 2,653 and Musalmans 2,349. There are 518 houses, masonry 82 and mud-built 496.

—

A palace, called the Rangmahal, and a mausoleum are the only noteworthy After the re-occupation of the province, Ganga Sahae built a masonry ganj and named it Capperganj, after the name of the deputy comRaja Digbijai Singh, taluqdar of Murarmau, built missioner, Mr. Capper. a masonry sarae, which is named after him " Sarae Digbijai Singh." Jahanabad is famous for garha cloth and bara (a kind of sweetmeat) the latter buildings.

is

a speciality of the place.

INHAUNA Pargana— Tahsil Digbijaiganj—District Rae

—

Bareli. This pargana is bounded on the north by parganas Haidargarh and Subeha of the Bara Banki district; on the east by Jagdispur of Sultanpur; on the west by Bachhraw^n; and on the south by Simrauta and Mohanganj of Rae Bareli. Its area is 100 square miles, and its population 67,519, being at the rate of 575 per square mile. ​Talukadari. ​— INH— ISA brick.

The only masonry building

91

in the place

is

a small temple built

about ten years ago. Population 3,974.

Latitude

se'sa' north

longitude Siosa' east.

ISXNAGAK—Pargana Firozabad— Tahsil NiaHi(sAN —A situated a distance about four miles large village

at

District Kheri. to the west

of

mango trees on all sides. The soil is but fertile. Is^nagar has a market in which articles of country consumption are sold. The average annual sale of cotton fabrics is estimated at Rs. 1,000. It is the headquarters of the Isdnagar estate, which belongs of the Kauriala, having groves of

light,

to Ranjit Singh, taluqdar. Fopulation 2,216.

«-^-

-{Z^ie

Muhammadans...}^f^t^j^

ISAULI Pargana

-

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—

ItD^^^^o.

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1

376.

—

—

Tahsil Musafirkhana District Sultanpur This pargana, which forms the north-eastern portion of the tahsil, is bounded on the north by pargaaas Pachhimrath and Khandansa of district Fyzabad; on the south by parganas Amethi and Sultanpur; on the east by pargana Sultanpur Baraunsa ; and on the west by pargana Jagdispur. Being situated on the north side of the Gumti, it was formerly included in the district of Fyzabad, but has lately been transferred to Sultanpur after material changes. It contains 94,235 acres, or 147 square miles of area, divided among 184 mauzas; the cultivated soil amounts to 49,609 acres, the arable to 10,215, the grove land to 11,133, the barren land to 23,278. Of the cultivated area the irrigated portion amounts to 29,324, and the unirrigated to 20,285. About a fourth of the land of this pargana is much cut up by ravines. The

known

—loam,

clay, and sandy. The average The Government demand amounts to Rs. 1,02,377-7-2, the incidence per acre is Re. 1-4-2. The population amounts to 96,126, Hindus being 83,518 and Musalmans 12,608. soil is of

the well

species

depth at which water is found

is

45 feet.

—

The Gumti passes along the southern border of this pargana, Ri/ver. flowing towards the east to the headquarters town of the district. Its length within the limits of this pargana is 12 miles. The villages near the bank are liable to damage by inundations. Traffic is carried on to a limited extent in grain, cloth, and other covmtry produce vid the Rae Bareli road, which passes through Amghdt and pargana Jagdfspur to Fyzabad. Some grain also passes down the river to the Jaunpur district. Schools have been established at Dorayya, Nara, Hali^pur, Isauli, Muhammadpur Qazi, Dadra, Bhinauli, Pidara, Dfh. The at Pinddra on the Shiufollowing are the fairs held within the pargana, at Dadra rattri ; at Kotwa in Kartik and Chait for bathing in the Gumti in Kudr on the day of the Ramlila. There is no town in the pargana the chief place (Isauli) is of little importance, having a population of only2,292.

—

History. of the

—The

Bhar

origin of the

tribe.

name

of Isauli is attributed to Rdja Is, ago Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji

About 550 years ​— ISL—JAG

92

commissioned certain Bais Chhattris to drive out the Bhars, and on their succeeding in their attempt, the king gave them the title of Bhale Sultan, which name they still retain. The only antiquity in Isauli is the ruins of an ancient Bhar fort.

ISLAMABAD

BUBAULl—PargaTM

Ba'ngarmau— rcsAsiZ

Safi-

District Unao.— This village lies in pargana Bdngarmau, tahsil Safipur, about 20 miles from the tahsil, and 27 from the sadr station (Unao), in a north-westerly direction. The Kalydni runs about one mile to the north of it. The date of its foundation cannot be exactly traced, Kot. but it was occupied about 800 years ago by Raja Sita of

PUR

Ram

Afterwards Islam Husen Khan, the general of the imperial troops at Delhi, took possession of it, and called it Islamabad Bijhauli. The soil is mostly clay. The village is situated on level ground, and has jungle one mile to the north. The climate is good and the water sweet. There is neither sarae, thana, nor tahsil here. school for Urdu and Persian has been established by Government. There is no bazar, but there are three fairs annually one in March in honour of Debi, one in October, and the third in September in honour of Krishna's birth. Each fair is attended by about 400 persons. Nothing but the usual village wares are manufactured here. There are 454 mud-built houses.

A

The population

is

2,495, of

—

whom

2,351 are Hindus and 144 Moslems.

ITAURA BUZURG—Pargana Sawn— Tahsil Salon—District Rae

—

Bareli. This village, which was founded by the Bhars, is seventeen miles from Rae Bareli south-east, and forty from Partabgarh. The road from Manikpur to Rae Bareli passes through it. There was a great fight here between the Raja of Tiloiand Rae Jagannath Bakhsh in 1245 Hijri. The latter won and retained possession of the village. There is a Government school here.

JAGDiSPUR Pargana— Tahsil

—This pargana

Mus^Cfirkhana

—District

Sultanpur

forms the north-western portion of the tahsil ; it has undergone various changes by the re-arrangement of parganas in 1869. Its area is 99,086 acres, or 155 square miles, divided among 166 mauzas. The cultivated land amounts to 50,948, the culturable to 19,163, the grove land to 8,848, and the barren to 20,127 acres. Of the cultivated area 33,595 acres are irrigated and 17,353 acres unirrigated. Three-fourths of the land of this pargana is level, and a fourth only consists of broken uneven ground. The average depth at which water is found is 45 feet. The Government demand amounts to Rs. 72,091-11-4, the incidence per acre being Re. 1-2-4. The population amounts to 102,183 souls, divided amon g79,956 Hindus and 22,227 Musalmans.

—

River. The river Gumti, flowing from the west past this pargana, takes an easterly course through pargana Isauli towards the chief town of the district. It often injures the villages on its banks when in flood.

There

some trade in grain, cloth, and other country produce, which is means of the Rae Bareli and Fyzabad road, but the some extent utilized. Schools have been established at eleven villages. The post-offices are at Nihdlgarh and bazar Sukul, A is

carried on chiefly by river route is also to

• ​——

—— JAG— JAH

93

registration oflS.ce is kept at Gulabganj. The only fair in this pargana that held in celebration of the Ramlfla at Nih%arh.

The

chief places in the pargana are

Nihalgarh, with a population of Sathan, ditto ditto Eishni, ditto ditto

They do not rank

The

as towns,

origin of the

is

...

„.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

though they are ancient

2,580 2,187 2,412

ones.

name Jagdispur is

attributed to one Jagdis, a Brahman zamindar during the Bhar supremacy. There were, it is alleged, two parganas, viz., Sathan and Kishni, existing under the Bhars but on their extirpation by the Bhale Sultans, Nihal Khan, a member of the latter race, amalgamated the parganas and transferred the headquarters to Jagdispur,

named after himself Nihalgarh, and driving out the who were in possession of Kishni. The pargana has then borne the name of Jagdispur. Of remains of antiquity there

building a fort there,

Mandrik

Chhattris,

since are the ruins of three forts one at Nihalgarh, built in the time of the kings, and two others at Kishni and Sdthan, which are attributed to the Bhars.

—

—

JAGD ISPXJR Pargana

JAGDrspuE Tahsil Musa'firkhana District SxJLTANPUE. Jagdispur, Chak Jangla, NiJidlgarli. The three names here given are now used synonymously; but Jagdispur is the original village, Chak Jangla is one of its component hamlets, and Nihalgarh a fort erected in Chak Jangla by Nihal Khan, a Bhale Sultan chief, in the year 1715. Nihdlgarh was besieged and taken in 1750 by Mirza Latif Beg, tahsildar, who took up his residence in it, and transferred to it the headquarters of the old Kishni and Sdthanpur pargana. small town as usual sprang up beneath it, which, though itself of little importance, has thrown into the shade the older village of Jagdispur. It is no longer the seat of a revenue oflScial, and the only public buildings in it are a school and a police station. Of its 562 houses there is one only of masonry, which belongs to the principal inhabitant, B^lmukand, a wealthy mahajan, and proprietor also of a small estate acquired very recently by purchase and mortgage. small bazar attracts the custom of the immediate neighbour-

A

A

hood. Population 2,593.

JAHXNGIRABAD —Pargana

Latitude 26°27'

f

longitude 81»40'.

—Tahsil Biswan—District

BiswJlN

Sita29 miles east from Sitapur, and 8 miTes east from Biswan, on the high road to Bahraich. No other road passes through or near it. It lies on the right bank of the Kewani river, which is navigable, though in some parts in the dry season it has only a few inches of The population numbers 2,640, who are of all castes, the Musalwater. mans being principally Julahas, or weavers of the coarse country cloth. There are no masonry houses in it, the mud-built ones are 448. There is one mosque only. In the Government school 35 boys are taught the ordinary elements of instruction. PUE.

—Jahangirabad

is

Twice a week a good bazar to Rs. 31,000.

grandfather

is

held, at

which the

sales usually

The present proprietor is the Mahmudabad

first

acquired

it

by mortgage, 13

it is

amounted

taluqdar,

whose

alleged, seventy years ago, ​94 JAHJAI from the then proprietors, who were Ahban Chhattris, and whose descendants are still in the enjoyment of considerable zamindari rights in subordination to him. It is a healthy place, the soil is good, and the camping ground is all that can be desired, well shaded, and overlooking a river. JÁIS ROKHA Pargana* -Tahsil SALON.—District RAE BARELI. This pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Mohanganj, on the east by Amethi, on the south by Parshádepur and Ateha, and on the west by Rae Bareli. The surface of the pargana is level; the soil on the south-west is very fertile ; on the east and north there are extensive úsar plains, with low- lying lands of much extent annually under water. The lands surrounding Jáis, which is itself a singular and picturesque eminence in the middle of a dreary and barren neighbourhood, are the richest in the whole district, and yield rents for opium and poppy reaching so high as Rs. 16 and 18 per bigha. No river runs through this pargana, but the Sai forms its southern boundary The area amounts to 154 square miles, and the population is 84,443, being at the rate of 548 per square mile. Of the soil 45,552 acres are cultivated, 13,531 are fit for cultivation, and 39,042 acres barren. The area of irri- gated land is 33,913 acres, and of unirrigated 12,320 acres; the depth of wells from 30 to 60 feet. The property of the soil belongs mostly to zamin- dars, there being 54 taluqdari and 56 zamindari villages. The Government revenue is Rs. 1,00,727, being at the rate of Re. 1-11-0 per arable acre. The chief taluqdars are-- Rani Harbans Kunwar of Tiloi. Bábu Sarabjít Singh of Tikári, Sukhmangal Singh of Shahmau. The tribal distribution of property is as follows: Kauhpuria 76 villages, 78,797 acres, and revenge Rs, 76,177 Masalman 16,189 Kayath 4,901 Brahman Other castes » 1,00,727 Total The main road is that from Rae Bareli to Sultanpur, which runs through the north of the pargana. Minor aligned roads are :Jáis to Mohanganj; Jáis to Salon vid Nasirabad; Jáis to Gokna Ghát via Mau; Fursatganj to Nasírabad vid Mau; Parshádepur to Ateha. There is a ferry during the rains at Parshádepur on the Sai. Cloth of very fine workmanship was formerly woven at Jáis, but has fallen to almost nothing. The imports are chiefly cotton and salt from Cawnpore, the exports grain. There is an Anglo-vernacular town school at Jáis itself, and the vernacular village schools are at the following places Nasirabad Ghitampur. Para Nainaksar Rokha, The registry office is only in Jáis, and the police station is at Mau.

  • By Mr. G. E. Maconocbie, Deputy Commissioner.

.. ... 19 27 > > 1

      • 10

13 99 3 16,280 6,011 2,884 895 2 3 2,896 34 33 4,099 >> 19 110 98,882 7) 39 T+ ​JAI 95 History. The pargana has practically no separate history. The lands were chiefly held by the Kanhpurias and Muhammadans of Jáis and Nasirabad. These latter, left in garrison at different times as the tide of Muhammadan invasion flowed over the country, gradually settled down and acquired some of the lands surrounding their headquarters. Many of the residents of these two places attained to wealth and power under the native rulers, and through them wealth flowed into their native towns; but since annexation they have fallen into decay, the service on which the resi- dents chiefly depended having been lost to them. As regards the Kanh- purias, the reader is referred to district article Rae Bareli. JAIS Town—Pargana ROKHA JAIS---Tahsil SALON—District RAE BARELI.—This old town stands on both sides of the Sultanpur and Rae Bareli road, and is 36 miles distant from Sultanpur; the tahsil town Salon, of the Rae Bareli district, lies 16 miles south-west, and Nasírabad four miles to the west. Formerly this town was called Udiánagar, and was in the possession of the Bhars. In the time of Mahmúd of Ghazni, when Sayyad Sálár, whose tomb stands in Bahraich, entered this country, he sent Sayyad Imád-ud-din Khilji to subjugate Udiánagar. He expelled the Bhars, and his followers took posses- sion of it, but he was killed with many other Moslems. Since that time the Muhammadans settled themselves in Udiánagar, and thenceforth it seems to have been called Jáis. There are three different stories about the origin of the name. The first is that "Jaish” means in Persian "camp," and as the Moslems encamped there, they called the place “Táis," as derived from "Jaish." The second is that as the Muhammadans lived in much comfort after their conquest of this place they called it "Já-e-aish” (place of happiness), which has been corrupted into "Jáis." The third is that when the Muhammadans visited this place, which was fertile and pleasant, they in Persian exclaimed “Jáest" " (this is a place !") The town is beautifully situated among mango groves. The neighbour- hood is remarkably pleasing and verdant, but the water in some wells is brackish. The rising ground on which the houses are built covers the remains of Bhar forts. This town was the station of a tahsildar during the Nawabi, and also till June, 1869, A.D., under the British Gover- ment. Among famous men of this town were Malik Muhammad "Jáisi," who compiled the Padmáwat, a Bhákha book, during the reign of Sher Shah. He was a disciple of Sayyad Mukhdúm Ashraf Jahángír. Khwajá Sultán of this town was the minister of Ibrahim Shalı of Jaunpur; and though his own immediate descendants are extinct, his nephew's descendant, Abdul Ghafúr, lambardar of Shekhána, is still here. Shekh Abdul Karim of this town was Subahdar of the Deccan, and his descendants, Abduland l'arrikh- fál, are still here. Sayyad Abdul Qadir and Azmat-ulla, descendants of Sayyad Najm-ud-din (who was appointed to attend Imám-ud-din Khilji in his expedition on Jáis), were very famous men of this town; the former was the tutor of Bahadur Shah, the son of Aurangzeb Alamgir, and the lat- ter the Sade-us-sadúr during the reign of Muhammad Shah. Maulyi Wásil ​96 JAI Ali Khan of this town was the Qúzi-ul-quzzát in Allahabad. His de- scendants now live near Mirzapur. Of old architectural remains there is a large mosque, the Jáma Masjid, crowning the hill. It is narrated that at this place there stood a Bhar ten- ple which, on their being expelled, was destroyed, and this mosque erected on its site. Some sepulchres are found in the town eight or nine yards in length; they are attributed to the followers of Imád-ud-din Khilji who were slain here. Amongst these tombs there is one of Qutb-ud-dín, called "Qutb-ud-dín Gházi,” nine yards in length. Below the town stands also the tomb of Imád-ud-dín Khilji. There is also the dargáh of Sayyad Mukhdúm Ashraf Jahángír, whose tomb stands in Kachhauchha. It is said that this Sayyad Mukhdúm Ashraf Jahangir was a king of Saimnán, who left his kingdom, turned dervish, and shut himself up in a cell for 40 days (chilla khincha thá) at this place. A fair is held here annually in February, to which men supposed to be possessed of demons or evil spirits are brought. According to the census of 1869 the population amounts to 11,317, of whom 5,258 are males; the females are 6,059. It is singular that no Chhattri is to be found in this place. Shekhs predominate. There are 508 brick-built houses and 2,471 mud-built huts. There is no Hindu temple. There is one temple of Párasnáth, erected by Jaskarandás of the Jain religion. There are two large mosques and one imámbára: one of these mosques was built in 1244 A.H. by Ghulam Raza at the cost of Rs. 15,000, and the other, the Jáma Masjid, was erected when the Muham- madans got possession of the place. The Imámbára was erected by Sadiq Ali Shah, Kumedán in 1211 A.H. at the cost of Rs. 12,500. This is a handsome building, ornamented with texts of the Koran, which are engraved all over the roof and walls in large letters. There is a Government school here in which English and Urdu are taught. Formerly salt was extracted here, and saltpetre is still manufactured. Two years ago a mud-built saráe was erected by Abdul Ghafúr, lambardar of Muhalla Shekhána. There are three markets here-one called the purána-bazar, the other built by Munshi Ghulám Hasan, sarishtadár of the Resident, in Lucknow in 1234, and the third erected by Abdul Ghafúr, lambardar of Shekhána. The principal articles offered for sale are corn, vegetables, gur, gárha cloth and muslin manufactured in Jáis, and also some English cloths. The only export from this town is the cloth woven in it. The annual sales in this town are as follows: Value. Rs. Corn Sugar and gur Salt Cotton English cloth Quantity. Mds. 80,000 200 400 600 Rate per nd, Rs. 2 Various Rs. 5 Rg. 20 60,000 1,463 2,000 10,000 7,000 eta 80,463 ​JAI-JAL 97 It is supposed that the muslin and other country cloths annually manufac- tured in this town are of the value of Rs. 12,000, of which one-third is sold in Jáis, aud the remaining two-thirds are taken by the Juláhas of Jáis to other districts. Latitude 26° 18' north ; longitude 18° 36' east. JAISAR--Pargana JHALOTAR AJGAIN—Tahsil MonÁN— District UNAO.- Is ten miles south of Mohan, and the same distanco north-cast from the sadr station Unao. It is crossed by an unmetalled road from Ajgain to Rastlabad on the north-east corner. About 500 years ago there was a village hore called Dakauli, which was the zamindari of the Khole Thákurs. Jai Singh, a Dikhit Thákur of Chamrauli, rose against tho Thákurs of Dakauli, all of whom he put to the sword, and laid waste the village. Afterwards he re-peopled it, and called it Jaisár after his own name, The soil is clay and sand mixed. The climate is healthy, and the water good. One Basáwan Singh, Káyath, who was a tahsildar, erected a Shiwala and a Th:íkurdwara, which both exist to the present time. Nothing remarkable is manufactured here. The population is as follows :- Hindus. Musalmans. Tatal. Brahmans 1,682 Thákurs 227 Other castes 1,358 279 I. 38 IP: 4.1 1.641 There arc 337 mud-built houses and 3 temples (two shiwalas and one thakurdwara). JÁJÁMAU–Pargana FATEHPUR-Tahsil SAFIPUR— District UNAO. Jájámau lies 22 miles north-west of Unao, and one mile north of the Ganges. It was founded in the reign of Alamgir hy Jáji Singh Chandel, ancestor of the present taluqdar. The soil is very sandy and the site elevated. A jungle yet remains to the south-west. Population 2,466, all of whom are Hindus. Latitude 26°56' ; longitude 80'34', JALALABAD.Pargana MALLÁNWÁN—Tahsil BILGRAM-District HAR- DOI.- Population 2,051 (mostly Kanaujia Brahmans). A small town of 363 mud houses, 6 miles south-east from Mallán wán, in district Hardoi. A market is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Sultanganj, a Pathán hamlet demarcated with Jalálabad. The proprietors are Kurmis, whose ancestor Zálim Singh gained it for good service many generations ago. JALALPUR DEHI–Pargana DALMAU---Tahsil LALGANJ--District RAE BARELI.---This village stands 8 miles east of Dalmau, 2 miles north of the Ganges, and 16 miles south of the sadr station, Rae Bareli. The history of its foundation is said to be as follows.A village (Dehi) was founded by one Rája Debi Sen prior to the invasion of the Moslems,

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, B.A., C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​98

JAL but it had fallen into ruins. Jalál-ud-dín Ansári founded the village of Jalálpur near the old town of Debi, which still exists, together with three vil- lages connected with it, and consequently both in one are called " Jalálpur Dehi.” The date of the foundation of Dehi is not known, but it appears from the tombs of Saidan Shah and Bhilaul, the martyrs of Masaúd's army, that the village has been existing for more than 800 years ago. Jalál-ud- dín obtained this village as a gift from Ibráhím Sharqi of Jaunpur, and baving founded Jalálpur fixed his abode there, The soil is chiefly loam, the surface is level, and the village abounds with groves. The climate is good, The total population amounts to 1,963, of which 744 are Musalmans of the Sunni sect, with the exception of one or two Shias and 1,219 Hindus. Of the higher castes there are 83 Brahmans, 83 Thákurs, and 101 Káyaths. There are tombs of the martyrs of Masaud's army, mosques, and ma- sonry wells in this village. There are 8 masonry-built houses and 354 mud-built ones. There is a Government school here in which boys are taught Urdu, Persian, and Nágri. The market of Fazlganj, founded by Shekh Fazl Ali, the attendant of the názim, Rája Darshan Singh, stands about a quarter of a mile from this village. The market is held here on Mondays and Thursdays. The total annual sale amounts to Rs. 290. Latitude 262 nortli ; longitude 81'62' east. JALALPUR NAHVI–Pargana SURHARPUR-Tahsil TANDA-District FYZABAD.—This town is pleasantly situated on the bank of the Tons, fifty- two miles from Fyzabad. The river here has a very winding channel between high and precipitous banks; there is jungle on the bluffs in the neighbourhood, and in places this comes down to the river's edge. Great numbers of palm trees shoot up above the underwood, and give an oriental picturesqueness to the little city. The population is 6,200, of whom 4,014 are Musalmans, all Sunnis, and the rest are Hindus. There are a great number of weavers in this town, who are called Julhas, and the trade is still flourishing. There are 1,530 houses, all with mud walls. There are three teniples, one mosque, and a flourishing Government school. Near this town is the Imámbára Pancháiti (or subscription church of the weavers), which was built nearly a century ago under the supervision of Yár Muhammad, weaver. Four thousand rupees were raised for this purpose by the fraternity, each man subscribing the fourth of a pice from the price of each piece of cloth he wore. When the king of Oudh heard of their liberality and piety he passed high encomi- unis upon both, and ordered them to continue the subscription, only the results were to be paid to himself as a perpetual tribute. JALALUDDINNAGAR-Pargana HAWELI OUDH–Tahsil FYZABAD-- District FYZABAD.—The village stands on the banks of the Gogra, on the road from Fyzabad to Akbarpur, also on the railway; its old name is Púra, and it received the above name from the Emperor Akbar. It is. ten miles from Fyzabad. ​JAL-JAR 90 The population is as follows:- Ir Musalman ye 10 Pea Wahabi Súfi Sbis Shaivi Shakti Vaishnavi Nánaksbábi 93 115 115 610 892 124 46 Hindus 00 1.995 There are five temples, a vernacular school, and a bazar every Sunday and Wednesday. On the 15th of Baisákh a bathing fair, called Malhar, on the river bank is attended by 5,000 persons. JAMWARI River--District KHERI.—A feeder of the Saráyan, a small rivulet. It rises in the village of Bhurwára, Pargana Paila, in latitude 27° 56', longitude 80° 38. After a tortuous course it enters the Sitapur district at about thirty miles from its source in latitude 27° 46', longitude 80° 46' Proceeding to the south-east for about eight miles it turns to the north-west and after a course of about 41 miles from its source unites with the Sarayan on the left side of the latter, in latitude 27° 32, longitude 80° 47'. JANAURA-Pargana HAWELI OUDH–Tahsil FYZABAD_District FYZA- BAD.—This town was founded by Rája Janakjí, who is alleged to have bought the land from Rája Bhárath and called it Jankura, now corrupted into Janaura after his name. The metalled road from Fyzabad to Sultanpur passes through it. It adjoins the town of Ajodhya. The population con- sists of 1,852 Hindus and 279 Musalmans, of whom 39 are Wahábis. There is one masonry temple to Mahadeo. Rája Bikramájít is said to have re- founded this village. An indigo factory formerly existed here, but it has been closed, JANI alias JÁNÁN–Pargana PACHHIMRATA-Tahsil BYKAPUR— Dis- trict FYZABAD. -This little village has a bazar built by one Ismail Khan. Its population consists of 156 Musalmans and 1,537 Hindus; of the Musal- mans 9 are Wahábis. There is a vernacular school here, also a mosque. JARWAL*—Pargana HISAMPUR-Tahsil KURASAR-District BAHRAICH. -(Latitude 27° 10' 09" north, longitude 81° 35' 33" east). Lies on the road from Bahraraghat to Bahraich, being distant five and a half miles from Bahrámpur on the Gogra, 29 miles from the sadr station, and Il miles from Kurásar, also on the road to Bahraich. Approached from the north through numerous mango groves, it lies hidden from sight, and, owing to the lowness of the situation, the town and adjacent country is unhealthy. In 1340 A.D. this place was held by one Chhatarsál, a Bhar rája, and was then called Jarauli; but this prince was overborne by Sayyad Zikria, son of Jamál-ud-din, who bad obtained from the Delhi sovereign, Ghayás-ud-din,a grant of 15,000 bighas in this part of the country, and who was the ancestor of the family of Sayyads who to the present day have their headquarters

  • By Mr. K. S. Boys, C,S., Assistant Commissioner, ​100

JAR-JHA in this village; owing to this circumstance the population, comprising 3,328 souls, has a large proportion of Musalmans,who number 1,928. Within, how- ever, the last fifty years the Sayyads' influence in the neighbourhood has much decreased, and a large portion of their property has fallen into the hands of their Rajput neighbours. There are 900 houses, of which six only are of brick. Two Hindu temples, four mosques, a mud saráe, and a school are the only quasi-public buildings. The Government village school boasts of 73 boys. Markets are held on Mondays and Fridays, at which grain, cloth, and brass vessels are the sole commodities exposed for sale. No impor- tant fairs are held near this place; but at Belnapára, about six miles distant, and at Katka Marota, about seven miles distant, weekly gatherings of the peasantry around take place. The course of traffic lies as far as Bahrám- pur by road, and thence a large quantity of grain goes down by boats to Simaria Ghát; skins, ghf, &c., cross the river and go by road into Lucknow and Cawnpore. Fireworks, dyes, saltpetre, scents, and felts constitute the manufactures of the place. The last mentioned article is a speciality of Bahraich and Jarwal. JHALOTAR AJGAIN Pargana,Tahsil MOHAN-District UNAO.-Jha- lotar Ajgain lies north of Harha pargana and south of Mohán Aurás. The town of Jhalotar is 13 miles north-east from Unao. Formerly the spot was covered with small dhák jungle and close to the present town was a lake which went by the name Kunda Samudr. It is said that a faqír, by name Mushtáq Shah, dwelt in this jungle, and near to him a Chamár having built himself a house, and having cleared some of the jungle, made a settlement of Chamárs. The original name was Jháli, which was con- verted into Jhalotar. Subsequently to this the Subahdar of Oudh built a fort and town where the Chamár settlement had stood. This pargana was first established as such in the reign of Akbar. In 1770 Beni Bahádur, Káyath, the minister of Shujá-ud-daula, got an estate in Jhalotar as jágír, which he made into a separate pargana and called Ajgain. There is now a railway station near Ajgain of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, Cawapore branch. It only received the double name under which it is now known at the last settlement. There is a temple to Durga Debi in Pachgáon, and another in Kusumbhi dedicated to Kusahri Debi. There are fairs at both of these places at the end of the latter half of the month of Chait (March) for two or three. days; some 60,000 persons congregate. Kusumbhi has at present a railway station, and hence great facility is rendered to the people travelling from Lucknow and Cawnpore. Cloth and brass vessels, Lucknow and Cawapore works are sold there, and every Monday a small local fair is held at these places. Formerly Lodhs and Bhars were to be found in this pargana, but since the conquest by the Muhammadans, Dikhit Thákurs and Brahmans are met with in the greatest number. There are some few Ahírs, Lodhs, and Káyaths. To the east, south, and west of the pargana the soil is chiefly loam and clay, and to the west chiefly sand. The pargana is 14 miles long by 12 ​JHA-JUG 101 . 12,096 . broad, with an area of 62,657 acres, and comprises 103 villages. Water is to be found at 16 to 24 feet from the surface. The division of land is as follows: Tulaqdari 3,910 Zamindari Pattidari imperfect 46,680 The land revenue amounts to Rs. 92,280, or Re. 1-7-6 per acre. There are 2,773 acres under groves. Fine blocks of kankar are to be found in different parts of this pargana, and particularly near Ajgain. The census returns give a dense population of 62,159, or 634 to the square mile. There are five bazars: JOGIKOT—Pargana BANGARMAU- Tahsil SAFIPUR—District UNAO.-- This is a village in pargana Bangarmau, twelve miles from the tahsil and 29 miles from the sadr station, Unao, in a north-westerly directiou. The date of its foundation is not known. It was peopled by Rája Sita, who also founded Rám Kot. In the time of Shah Alá-ud-din Ghori this village was peopled anew by the Musalmans and Jogis, who are still to be found here, and from this fact the village takes its name. There are 267 mud-built huts. The total population amounts to 1,232, of whom Hindus are 736 and Moslems 496. Latitude 260-58' north ; longitude 800920' east. JUGGAUR-Pargana LUCKNOW-Tahsil LUCKNOW-District LUCK- NOW.—Juggaur, a Musalman village containing some 2,693 inhabitants, is situated close to the eastern boundary of the Lucknow pargana, at about three miles to the south of the Lucknow and Fyzabad road; close to it also runs the main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, on which there is a pick-up station known by this name (Juggaur.) The village is well placed amongst some fine groves of trees, and con- tains a few good brick houses that belong to the Musalman proprietors. The total number of houses is 556. The population is chiefly agricul- tural, and the cultivation round the village is very fine. No trade is carried on. It is said to be very old, and to have been founded by one Jogi Jagdeo, but at the time it was taken by the Musalmans it was one of the headquarters of the Bhars. There are in the village three tombs of the men who fell in the fight against them, those of Ahmad Shahid, Qázi Kallan, Zain-ud-din Shabíd. The Musalmans belong to the family of Qidwái Shekhs, who trace their origin from Qázi Qidwat-ud-dín, brother of Núr-ud-din, sovereigu of Rúm; they profess to have come into Hindu- stan in 580 H-1184 A.D., and after settling at Delhi for a time to have ac- cepted the governorship of the province from Shaháb-ud-dín. They seem anyhow to have conquered and colonised 52 villages in this part of the country, and state that they were gran, d a farmán by the Sultana Razia Ján bestowing on them the proprietary right: Different members of this family seem to have been appointed to high posts in the service of the Emperor of Delhi, and one of the line was Shekh Zain-ul-abidin, the taluqdar of Gadia, a Musalman gentleman well and favourably known. Of the population the Musalmans are 546 and the Hindus 1,852. 14 ​102 JU-E-KAC JÚ-E-SHARQI–Pargana RAE BARELI–Tahsil RAE BARELI--District RAE BARELI.— The village lies nine miles from Bareli and two miles from the river Sai. The population is 3,496. It is surrounded with groves. There is a school at which 37 pupils are taught, KACHHANDAN Pargana*-Tahsil BILGRÁM--District HARDOI.-A lowlying tract of thirty-four villages thrown up by the gradual west- ward recession of the Ganges. It lies at the south-western extremity of the Bilgrám tahsil and of the Hardoi district. The Ganges flows along the whole of its western side, separating it from pargana Kanauj of Farukhabad. On the south it is bounded by pargana Bangarmau of district Unao, and on the north and east by pargana Mallánwán. Its greatest breadth is not quite eight, its greatest length nine and a half miles. Its area is 47 square miles, of which 28 are culti- vated, The whole pargana is tarái, and lies about thirty feet lower than the country to the east of it, beyond the sandy cliff that marks the eastern edge of the ancient bed of the Ganges. It is intersected by numerous small streams, of which the chief are the Kalyani, the Karua, the Bharka, the Gáha, and the Sota. This last, as its name shows, is a backwater of the Ganges. They rarely retain water long enough to be of much use for irrigation. Water is almost everywhere near the surface, in some villages only six and seven feet below it, while on the opposite side of the Ganges, the high bank, the wells are from fifty to sixty feet deep. The assistant settlement officer, Mr. C. W. McMinn, minutely examined this and the Bilgram pargana, and found that each of them divided naturally into three "chaks" or strips : (1) The villages lying along the bank of the Ganges. The common features of these are absence of clayey soil and of irrigation, accounted for by the fact that the soil consists of river washings, and that the water- level is so near the surface that percolation from beneath supplies the place of wells and jhíls. (2) At a distance of from two to five miles from the river bank there runs a sandy elevation, sometimes rising into bills, sometimes mere arenaceous slopes. The villages on this are sometimes all sandy, but more generally will have a corner of very good loam beside some old river channel. The common features of this chak are a large proportion of sandy soil, limited and costly irrigation from deep wells lined with reeds, absence of Káchhis, and valuable crops. (3) Beyond the above elevation the ground again sinks; jhíls make their appearance; there is much clay; rice is largely raised; water is met with at a distance of from ten to twenty feet; much of the land is irrigated, and all can be at a slight expense. By Mr. A. , Harington, C. S., Assistant Commissioner. The name is properly Kachhandau, ​KAC 103 The greater part of the pargana is liable to be flooded by the Ganges. After heavy rains the autumn (kharif) crop is ruined, but in such seasons, if the floods fall soon enough to allow of timely sowings, the spring harvest is exceptionally rich. The pargana is crossed by the unmetalled road from Mehndighát near Kanauj to Mallánwán, and by the new road from the same ghat to Sitapur via Múdhoganj. Cart-tracks lead up to the following ferries on the Ganges :- Ankinghất, near Sarãe Rustam Khan on the Grand Trunk Road, Biriághát opposite to Daipur, and Rájghát. The staple products are barley, occupying more than a third of the total crop area; wheat and millet, covering about a fourth ; and rice and bájra, a sixth. The remaining fourth consists mainly of gram, arhar, and sugarcane. The sugarcane is not of good quality. A very little poor indigo and cotton are raised. Tobacco and opium are scarcely planted at all. The climate is damp, and when the floods are subsiding fever is very prevalent. The Chandels, whom the pargana originally belonged, still hold six- teen villages. Of the other eighteen, Shekhs (converted Chandels) own eight, Brahmans five, Káyaths two, and Panwárs, Ahírs, and Chamárs each one. The imperfect pattidari tenure obtained in eighteen villages; fifteen are zamindari, one is taluqdari. Excluding cesses, the Government demand amounts to Rs. 33,782, and falls at Re. 1-15-5 per acre of cultivation, Re. 1-2-4 per acre of total area, Rs. 15-0-2 per plough, Rs. 2-5-4 per head of agricultural, and Re. 1-10-5 per head of total population. Kachhandan is sixth among the Hardoi parganas in density of population, Its total population of 20,459 gives 435 to the square mile. The Hindus are 18,120, to 2,339 Muhammadans. Of the Hindus a fourth are Chamárs and Ahírs, Chhattris are a sixth, Muráos and Kisáns make up nearly another sixth, a fact which implies that the agriculture of the tract is above the average. Males to females are 11,226 to 9,223, and agricul- turists to non-agriculturists 14,463 to 5,996. The only market is at Rághopur ; market day is Thursday. At Rághopur, too, is the only school in the pargana, a village one, averaging 38 pupils. At Biriághat on the Ganges a large bathing mela is held on the 30th of Kátik and the 25th of Jeth ; about 15,000 persons assemble. In Chait, on the 8th day after the Holi, a mela is held at Rághopur in honour of Ganesh; it is attended by some 4,000 persons. The pargana is part of the " kachl" or moist, low-lying country along the bank of the Ganges, as opposed to the hángar or dry upland tract away from the river; hence its name Kachhandan, It is said to have been made into a pargana by Sher Shah three hundred and thirty years ago. To coerce the Chandels into submission, he is said to bave posted a revenue collector at Rághopur, and to have put him in charge of fifty-two villages, taken out of parganas Bilgrám, Mallánwán, and Bangarmau. In the Xin Akbari it is mentioned as belonging to Sarkár Lucknow; as containing 22,066 bighas, and paying 4,30,596 dáms of land revenue and 4,460 dáms of cesses. The Chandels are recorded as the zamindars. A detachment of five hundred foot soldiers was posted in the pargana. Kachhandan was originally occupied by Thatheras. A body of Chandels migrated from Shiurájpur in the Cawnpore district to Kanauj in quest ​—

— KAC— KAK

104

The Kanauj reigned at Kanauj. Ganges and drive out the Thatheras. They engaged the Thatheras at Tirwa Keoli and routed them with slaughTo this day the braziers, Thatheras of Bhagwantnagar, speak of ter. The Chandels their lost possessions in Kachhandan and Mallinwdn. obtained by this conquest twenty-four villages, Tirwa Keoli being the chief. When Sher Shah marched from Jaunpur to Agra, circumcising and slaying all whom he met, the Chandels of Motiamau, Harpdra, and Baraich-man They marry apostatized and became Shekhs to preserve their rights. into the families of Ahbans, Kaikwars, and Gahilwars in Edngarmau who were converted at the same time.

of service while a raja deputed

Hindu king

them

still

to cross the

The above facts show that the Ganges must have shifted westward from its old bed at least eight hundred years ago. During the last two hundred years (if the qaniingo is to be believed) 18 of the 52 villages which in Sher Shah's time made up the pargana of Kachhandan have been washed away by the Ganges. Their names are said to be Aminpur, Ajitpur, Ausangpur, i[dampur, Bahadurpur, Bahandpur, Rampur, Rtippur, Sundarpur, Sarae Mansur, tsapur, Adilpur, Fatehpur, Ramu, Fazilabad, Mitarsenpur, Muhiuddmpur, Muhtashimpur, and Nekpur.

—Pargana Dhaueahra— Tahsil NighAsan— District Kheri.—

ELA-FXRA

A

village situated on the east of the river Dahawar, on the high bank of an ancient channel. The river rises near this place in a deep pond the soil is very fertile and drainage good.

Fopalation

...

...

[Fetie

Muhammadans {^^^^^.^

...

...

%] l}

,„

2,467

-

v^s

...

124

—

KAIMAHRA

—

Pargana Kheri Tahsil LAKHrMPUR District Kheri. Kaimahra, a large village in pargana Kheri, district Kheri, is situated on the road from Lakhimpur vid Muhamdi to Sh^hjahanpur, and is surrounded on all sides by groves of mango trees. It lies at a distance of about 1^ mile to the east of the Jamwdri. There is a large artificial tank to the east of Kaimahra, and there are four Hindu temples and ten mosques. It has four sugar manufactories, and a good market in which articles of country consumption are sold. The average annual price of the cotton fabrics is estimated at Rs. 1,000. estate,

wells,

It is the headquarters of the Kaimahra and belongs to Raja Narpat Siugh. There are twenty-four masonry but only one brick-built house. A vernacular school is stationed '

here.

KXKORI

—

—

Pargana* Tahsil TjucKSOVf—District Lucknow. Kakori is a small pargana with an area of sixty square miles, situated to the east of Lucknow. It is one of the three parganas of the Lucknow tahsil. On the north it is bounded by the pargana of Malihabad, on the east by Lucknow, on the south by Bijnaur, and on the west by Mohan Auras of Unao, '

By Mr,

Butts, Assistant Commissioner,

„ ​KAK 105 ditto 1944 58.6 ditto ditto from which it is separated by the Nagwa nadi, sometimes also called the Loni. It contains only one great town, that of Kákori, which has a popu- lation of 8,221. The only other large villages are Amethi-Salímpur, which has a population of 1,102, and Jaliámau-Salímpur, with 1,284. The population of the whole pargana is 31,729, or 530 to the square mile, but this is doubled for the cultivated area, on which it falls at the rate of 1,059. Of this population- 80-6 per cent. is Hiodu, is Muhammadan, is agricultural. is non-agricultural. In its proportion of Muhammadans it stands highest amongst the parga- nas of the district. Agriculturally, this pargana is very similar to Bijnaur. It is crossed by the same úsar plains, which stretch from the latter pargana through this, and extend into Mohán Aurás. Thirty-eight per cent of the pargana is thus rendered unculturable, and the amount of culturable is very low. The average area of cultivators' holdings is about the same as in Bijnaur, being not much more than three acres per family, and the rents vary from Rs. 5-5 to Rs. 3-14, the Brahmans and Chhattris, as usual, paying the least. But this account does not include the Káchhis, who in this pargana pay Rs. 7-14 per acre, or Rs. 2-0 more than in Bijnaur. The revenue falls at Rs. 2-4 per cultivated' acre, Re. 1-15 per málguzári, which includes culturable, and Re. 1-3 on the whole area. The amount of irrigation is fair, amounting to 44 per cent., half of which is from jhíls. There are no rivers or streams running through it, but the pargana is drained by the Baita, a Malihabad stream, which bounds it on the north side, and the Nagwa, which flows along its south- west boundary. The depth at which water can be met below the surface is twenty feet, and depth of water seven feet; in this also not differing from Bijnaur. The water of a large proportion of the wells also is brackish. The pargana was formerly of more importance. It was the thoroughfare for the traffic between Lucknow and Cawapore, which passed along the unmetalled road that at present leads to Mohán, and leaving this town a little to the north, crossed the Sai a few miles below Neotini, and taking a southerly direction, passed through Nawabganj in the district of Unao. This road from Lucknow was formerly embellished by spacious saráes, ganjes, and handsome bridges and wells , built by the wealthy Lucknow officials to perpetuate their names and memories. The bridges and many of the wells remain, but the ganjes, deserted by the traffic which now passes south of it by the straighter road to Cawnpore which goes by way of the Bani bridge, lie in ruins. The first of these ganjes on the road was Saadatganj, built by Nawab Saádat Ali Khan in A.D. 1800; then comes Fatehganj, built by Asif-ud-daula, the fourth Nawab of Oudh, to celebrate his victory over the Ruhelas. The place is still standing, but is not used as ​kab:

106

The fine bridge over the Nagwa, a river which crosses the road at about twelve miles from Lucknow, was built by Maharaja Tikait Rae, finance minister of ^sif-ud-daula; then came Tikaitganj, built by the same minister. It now lies in ruins. The bridge over the ravine leading into Maharajganj and the ganj itself were built by Maharaja Bal Kishan, and the ganj that succeeds by Maharaja Newal Rae, Naib of Safdar Jang, the Nawab Wazir. Many other tombs or mosques adorned the roadside, but are fast falling a bazar.

into ruins.

The country on either side is bare of trees, and the pargana generally not well wooded, except immediately round Kakori. This last is an important town, and with the main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway running within a mile of it will probably very much increase in prosperity. The only bazar of the pargana is held here, and the annual sale of goods in it is said to amount to Rs. 32,500. The town was of old a wealthy Musalman settlement, and the abode of many learned and well-known Musalmans and faqirs, and from which, as the headquarters Musalman town, the pargana was administered. This pargana has in all sixty-five townships, and sixty-five separate muhals. The average area of each township is five hundred and ninety-six acres. The history of the pargana is hard to trace. It was probably at first inhabited by the Bhars. Kakorgarh, in the midst of the present town of Kakori, is said to have been an old Bhar fort. The name is Bhar. In Nigohan Sissaindi, at the eastern end of the district, is another old site of a Bhar village, called the Kdkoha Dih. The Bhars were probably driven out by the Rajputs, for it was one of the parganas that was included in the Baiswara kingdom and the Bais Raja S^than, either with a view to farther conquest, or to keep secure this the latest of his possessions, fixed upon Kakorgarh as his fort and headquarters. The history of his fall is rateresting, though local, and bears a prominent part in the annals of the town. This part of the province was then under the Jaunpur dynasty, to which Government it had long belonged, and the raja carrying his depredations into the heart of Lucknow, a force was sent against him from Jaunpur, it is said, in the time of Muhammad, 844 Hijri (1440 A.D.), to which he succumbed, falling himself in the fight. From this time the Rajputs have disappeared from the pargana. Scattered clans hold some fifteen Kakori itself fell into the hands of the leaders of the conquering villages. expedition, and thirty-three out of the sixty-four villages of the pargana are in the hands of Musalmans. The chief Musalman families are the QazizMas and Shekhs of Kakori. The tenure is entirely zamindari.

There is no trace of the first formation of Kakori into a pargana It has been known as such since the time of Akbar, and probably comprised the extent of territory ruled over by the Bhar raja of K&orgarh. In the days of the Nawabi it was generally held as a muhal by itself, but from 1249 F. (A.D. 1843) it was included in the chakla of Sandlla in Hardoi.

KXkORI Town—Pargana KXkoei— TaMZ Lucknow—District now.

—The town of Kakori, the headquarters town of the pargana ofLuckthat

​KAK 107 name, lies airectly west of Lucknow, at a distance of about nine miles from the capital. It is situated in latitude 26° 72' and longitude 80° 67'. About a mile to the north of it runs the road to Malihabad, which here also crosses the main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway. The town is of con- siderable importance and one of the largest in the district. It contains a population of 8,220 souls, and many well-known Musalman families have long resided here, different members of which have served the British and Native Governments with distinction during the past century. Two bi- weekly bazars are held at the Katra and Koth-tale ganjes, and the annual sales are said to amount to Rs. 32,500. The long row of shops lining the bazars show, that it is a place of considerable prosperity. The weaving trade has, however, decayed. The town is probably of considerable antiquity. It is said to have been inhabited by Bħars, whose fort was known as the Kákorgarh. They were probably expelled by Bais, whose rája Sáthan, father of Rája Tilok Chand, fixed his headquarters at Kákori. The pargana was at the time under the Jaunpur sovereigns, and this chief extending his depredations into the city of Luckuow, a force was sent against him from Jaunpur by which he was defeated and slain. The leaders of the force were made qázis and chau- dhries, and the descendants of the latter still hold proprietary right of the village. The top of a house belonging to one of the latter, built on the site of the old fort, gives an extensive view of the surrounding country, which is finely wooded with large mango groves, and of the town itself, A little below the fort to the south may be seen three old tombs, one erected to Shah Bhikhan, a faqir of the Kabíria sect and belonging to the Makhdúmzádas of Kákori, and close by it the tombs of two of his disciples, Sultan Gulrat of the imperial family of Delhi, and his foster brother Shams- ud-dín. By the inscriptions on the tombs they seem to have been built in 988 H. and 1037 H. (1580 and 1627 A.D.) Further on to the outside of the town on the south-east are two other dargábs raised to Makhdúm Shah, Muhammad Kázim, and Makhdúm Shah Turáb, Kandharia faqirs, in whose memory the annual urs festivals are celebrated, and a great fair held, at which great numbers from Lucknow and the neighbouring villages attend. On the west is the mosque of Azinat-ulla, built in the reign of Shah Jahan, to whose daughter Azmat-ulla was tutor, and who, his descendants say, also gave instruction to Aurangzeb himself. Many of the vakils who are practising in the Lucknow courts belong to Musalman fatnilies of this place, and are beautifying the town with some well-built red brick houses and bárádaris. The total number of houses is 1,933, of which 126 are masonry. In one of the old bárádaris of the place is established the Government school, at which the attendance of pupils is 88. Of the population 3,636 are Musalmans and 4,831 Hindus. The early history of Kákori is as follows, as told by Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh Khan of this place:-Rája Sáthan Bais had two forts, one at Rae Bareli, the other Kákorgarh. His estates extended up to where the Akbari Darwaza was subsequently built. In the time of Sultan Husen Sharqi three Sayyads, Ahmad, Hamid, and Muhammad, on their return from Mecca ​-

KAK—KAL

108

sounded the azan on the Sai nadi near Mohan.

R£ja Sath^n's subjects, carrying out his orders that the azan should not be sounded in his domiOne escaped to Jaunpur. An nions, killed two of the three Sayyads. army was sent and took this raja's fort at Bareli. The raja escaped to K4korgarh, and the king's force was prevented from pursuing him, as it was called on to fight the nazim of Bengal. Shortly after a second complaint was urged at Jaunpur against Raja S^than. certain Sayyad w;ith his wife and child had with the connivance of the raja's diwdn settled secretly near Kakorgarh, on the high ground where the chaudhris' houses now stand. The Sayyad had got service among the Sihbandis of the raja, and while he was absent collecting rents in the month of S4wan (when the women chant the malar), the Sayyad's wife and daughter began to sing. On the raja enquiring who was singing the mal4r,. and learning that there were two Muhammadan women in the place, he seized them for base purposes. Smarting with disgrace, the ladies killed themselves with a dagger. The Sayyad on hearing his misfortunes complained at Jaunpur. second force was sent by Sultan Husen under his wazir Malik Asad-ud-din. The wazir gave out that he had quarrelled with the king, marched towards Delhi, and issued proclamations that he and his army were ready to enter the service of any native chief who would employ them. Raja Sathan was caught in the trap. He invited the wazir to his fort at Kakorgarh. Within the fort the wazir's forces turned upon the Hindus and cut off the raja's head.

A

A

The sultan was and

his ofiicers to

so pleased with the affair that he directed the wazir remove to Kd,korgarh, and assigned them lands for

their support. Wazir Malik Asad-ud-din had one son, Malik Maruf, and two daughters' sons, Malik Baha-ud-din Kaiqtibad, and Malik Nusratruddin. These two are the ancestors of the Malikzadas of Kakori.

KA[LXKA'NKAR MABMUBABAD—Pargana Bmiti— Tahsil Kunda— District 'Partahgas.s. — This place was founded by Muhammad Hayat; the origiaal name is Gularia, and it was called Kalakankar because slabs of bkck limestone were found here. Raja Hanwant Singh built a fort here in 835 A.D. This town is on the bank of the Ganges, four miles from Manikpur and forty-four from Bela. There is a canal from the Ganges leading water round the fort. Population.

Hindus Musalmans

172

...

Total

There are two temples to Mahadeo. to the

amount

villages.

is

1,417

a bazar at which goods

of Rs. 61,000 are sold annually.

KALYiCNMAL* pargana

There

,M

—Tahdl

Pargoma

SANDiLX—Biatrict Hardoi.—This

on the right bank of the Gumti and comprises seventy-two On the north the Gumti separates it from pargana Aurangabad

lies

By

Mr. A. H. Harington,

C.S., Assistant

Commissioner. ​KAL

m Sitapur

109

on the south and west it is bounded by pargana Sandila on the east by pargana Gundwa. Twelve miles long by seven broad at its longest and broadest, it covers 63 square miles, of which 41, or 63'96 per -cent., are cultivated. The culturable area is 20-33 per cent., and the barren area 13-92 of the whole. Only a fifth of the soil (20-25 per cent.) is rated as of the third class, that is, light and sandy (bhtir). fifth (24-98 per cent.) is watered, in the proportion of four parts (19-83), from 805 ponds and tanks, and one part (5'15) from 441 wells; 1"79 per cent, is under groves. The average area of cultivation to each plough is 7f acres.

A

Its natural features are in no way remarkable. Like all the country along the Gumti, its poorest side is towards the river, the land gradually improving towards the central level, and falling off again as the next river or ndla is approached. The Baita nala drains the south-western side of the pargana a cluster of jhils interspersed with dhak jungle lies in flie south-east. There are no made roads, but the unmetalled road from Sandila to Beniganj skirts the south-western border and runs for about a mile within it.

The staple products are wheat and barley, which occupied at survey more than two-fifths of the cultivated area gram and arhar covered nearly another fifth the rest was chiefly cropped with mfeh, moth, bajra, juar, linseed, and kodo. The areas returned as under sugarcane, cotton, poppy, indigo, and tobacco were respectively only 320, 195, 86, 78, and 44 acres.

Climate and productiveness are considered to be average.

Kankar

is

found near the village of Kalyanmal.

villages, 63 are owned by Sakarwar Chhattris, one by Bais, by Kayaths, one by Sukul Brahmans, two by Sayyads. Only six

Of the 72 three

zamindari, in 37 imperfect patcesses, is Rs. 46,169 a rise It falls at Re. 1-12-6 on the of cultivated area, Re. 1-2-3 per acre of total area, Rs. 13-1-10 per plough, Rs. 3-6-8 per head of agricultural, and Re. 1-13-8 per head of total popuvillages are taluqdari, in

29 the tenure

is

The Government demand, excluding 11 per cent, on the summary assessment.

tidari.

—

lation.

Population presses at the rate of 395 to the square mile, or a total of Hindus to Muhammadans are 23,116 to 1,760; males to females 13,277 to 11,598; agriculturists to non-agriculturists 13,511 to 11,364. Chamars are a fifth of the whole, Brahmans nearly a fifth, Pfeis a tenth, Chhattris are only 1,744.

24,875.

A village school has been

established at Kalyanmal.

On the first Sunday in Bhddon some fourteen thousand people assemble at the spot known as Hattia Haran, a mile to the south-west of Kalyanmal. The usual dhanuk jagg mela is held at Kalyanmal in Aghan, and is largely attended. The pargana is not mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari. It seems to have been included in Akbar's time in pargana Rahimabad of Lucknow, and aot 15 ​KAL

110

to have been made into a separate pargana till the reign of iClamgir, when a fort was built at Kalyanmal and an iCmil with a gun and some troops

quartered there. The traditional history, as far as I have been able to collect it, is meagre. The oldest event referred to by it is the return of Bam Chandar from Ceylon. Rathaulia, the ancient name of Kalydnmal, is traced to the staying of his chariot (rath) at this spot. Here he halted and visited the sacred pool of Hattia Haran, that he might wash away Another local tradition tells that the sin of slaying the demon Rawan. the sacred tank was called panchhatr, and that he bathed in it to get rid of a hair which had grown in the palm of his hand when he slew Rawan, and that ever since the pool has been called Hattia Haran, or the Hurtdispeller. According to Mr. Wheeler, the Ram who slew Rawan was not Ram Chandar of Ajodhya, but a later hero. Ram of the Dekhan. " This Ram of the Dekhan is represented to have carried on a great religious war against a raja named Rawan who was sovereign of the island of Ceylon. Rawan and his subjects are termed Rakshas or demons, but there is reason to believe that they represent the Buddhist, and if so, the war could not have been carried on during the Vedic period, but during the Brahmanical revival, which seems to have commenced between the sixth and eighth centuries of the Christian era, and to have continued until our own time." (History of India, III., page 51, note.) In this view Rdm's visit to Hattia

Haran must have taken place later than 700 A.D. It was a sacred spot before he visited it, or he would not have gone there. It seems to have been one of the ancient Brahmanical hermitages described in the Ram^yan, as old perhaps as Ajodhya itself

The next glimpse by local tradition is that of a Raja Kumar from Baisw&ra expelling the Thatheras and ruling over ninety-four villages from his fort at Rathauli, where now lies the deserted ruin called Wairi Dih. To him, nearly five hundred years ago, came from Fatehpur Sikri a Sakarwar Chhattri of the name of Nag Mai, and became the naib or deputy of Raja Kumar. Some say that Nag Mai with the help of a barber murdered his master and seized his domain; others that he succeeded peaceably to it on his master dying childless. To Nag Mai was bom Kakal Mai. To Kakal Mai his first wife bore Kalyan Sah and Gog Sah, and his second wife Hat Raj. Kalyan S^h and Gog Sah took as their share fifty-two villages and settled down at Rathauh, side by side, and founded the adjacent settlements of Kalyanmal and Goga Deo, while Hat Ruj took the remaining forty-two villages. Two hundred years ago the Sakarw^rs of Goga Deo drove out the Julahas from MahgFion in the south of the .

pargana.

The pargana seems in primitive times to have been the border land of the Thatheras and Xrakhs, for while Kalyanmal Khas was held by Thatheras till they were dislodged by Raja Kumar Bais, the Chandels of Bhaunti, only six miles to the south-east, tell how between five and six hundred years ago their ancestor Baldeo Singh marched thither from Siwaichpur and expelled its primitive occupants, the Xrakhs. ,

The antiquities of the pargana are the pool at Hattia Haran, Wairi Dih, the remains of Raja Kumar's fort, Kaimgarh Dih near Kalyanmal, site of an ancient shrine of Kdlka Debi ; Panchabgir Mahadeo, also at Kalyan​KAM-KAN 111 mal, "the ling" whereof is said to have been set up by Rája Judhistir, and the ruined'fort built for Alamgir's Amil. KAMLAPUR-Pargana BIJNAUR-Tahsil LUCKNOW - District LUCKNOW, --A village in pargana Bijnaur with about a thousand souls, chiefly Pá- sis, who assert that it was their ancestor who founded Bijuaur and some other neighbouring villages where this caste once held the supremacy. They further lay claim to being Rájpásis, as different in social position from the present Pásis or thieving caste, but there is no trace of their being of a distinct origin. The place is well wooded, the climate is said to be good, the water sweet, and the cultivation excellent. The nála near Kamlápur and Bijnaur has been bridged by Mudabbir-ud-daula Rája Jwala Parsháu Bahadur, a Káyath noble and member of the Lucknow Darbár, rendering great facility to traders during the rains. There is no masonry building except a shiwála built by the said Rája Jwala Parshád. KANDIKWAN-Pargana SALON-Tahsil SALON— District RAE BARELI. -This town is on the Ganges, and the road from Salon to Mustafabad passes by it. It is twenty-two miles from Rae Bareli and six from Mánik- pur. The population is 3,632, of whom 68 are Musalmans. There is one temple to Mahadeo and a school. KÁNTHA—Pargana PURWA-Tahsil PURWA-District UNAO.--A village nine miles from the tahsil and eighteen miles east from the sadr station. There are two unmetalled roads, one from Purwa through the village to Lucknow, the other from Nawabganj to Purwa, crossing it within the boundary of the village. One mile to the east there is a lake called Puren. About 900 years ago a Lodha named Kántha is said to have cleared off the jungle which surrounded this place and pcopled it. The name is derived from that of its founder. Numerous groves of mango and mahua trees surround it, and the dbák jungles of Sabráwán and Shahabad, two villages in the neighbourhood, are two miles distant. The water of some of the wells is brackish. There were two battles here, one about two hundred years ago between Angad Singh with the Bais of Manjhigáon and Kunwar Singh, ancestor of the present holders; the other about a hundred years ago between Chet Rám Bais of Manjhigảon and Dharma Singh, an ancestor of the present possessors. In the time of the kings there was a fortress in this place where the tahsildar held his court. There is a school here, also two temples and a mosque. There are two small fairs held here, one on the 1st Tuesday in Jeth (April-May) in honour of Makábír, at which about 5,000 pilgrims attend; the other the Rámlíla, or theatrical representations of the exploits of Ráma, in the light half of Kuár (September), and this brings together about two thousand people. Nothing is sold but confectionery. There are two small weekly markets. Hindag 9,524 Population Musalmans . 210 Annual sale at fairs and bazar amounts to Rs. 1,235. ​KAN—KAS

112

KANTI7R Town Pargana Bado SARAi—TahsU Fatehpur—District

— —Twenty-one miles north-east of

sadr, founded by Kintama, Bhar rSni, and was originally called Kuntapur. It is said that it was re-settled by Bikramajit. The principal inhabitants are Musalmans, holding small rent-free grants. The houses are mostly masonry, and the town healthy and well situated on an eminence. The total population is 3,450, of which 2,136 are Hindus and 1,314 Musalmans.

Baea Banki. or Kunta, a

KASMANDI KALXN— Par(/awaMALiHA?AD— T<x^st7 Malihabad—D^s-

—

LxJCKNOW. This village is chiefly worthy of notice as the seat of the raja Kans, and his conquest by Sayyad Masaiid Ghazi, the leader 1031 A.D. It is situated of the first invasion into Oudh in 449 Hijri directly east of Malihabad at a distance of about four miles, and one mile from the river Gumti, which flows on its east. The extent of Raja Kans's dominions is unknown, but it is said to have reached to Kasmandi Khurd on the north-west, and the village Kaithauli on the east. Raja Kans was slain, and the battle must have been flerce, for outside are numerous tombs of the fallen, and two especially are pointed out as the tombs of Sayyads Hashim and Qasim. At Kaithauli was another fight, and the village is said to owe its name to the fact. There is a small mound of fallen bricks that is to be seen there still, which is pointed out as the " ran-khambba," or the battle pillar. The village is Muhammadan, and the proprietor is said to be directly descended from the settlers left by Masaiid Ghazi, trict

Hindu

—

The population is 1,990, of which 818 are Musalmans and 1,172 Hindus. It has been the favourite residence of Muhammadans, some of whom have been distinguished for their learning and wealth, but these are not connected with the zamindars. There are one or two good houses, but none with any pret^ensions to grandeur. There is a government school established, with an attendance of 50 pupils, and a girls' school is afiiliated with 15 girls on its registers. One of the district post-offices has also been fixed here. It is no place of trade, but a small bazar is held here for the sale of country produce, at which the annual sales are said not to amount to more than Rs. 13,000.

KASTA

—

—

—

Pargana Tahsil Muhamdi District Khehi. The pargana contains a total malguzari area of 52,987 acres or 8279 square miles, with a population of 329 to the square mile. The detail of area is as follows :— Acres. Cultivation CuLturable

... ...

Uncultarable and unasaessed

,„ ...

.,.

(or 49 51 („ 47,466 6,521

...

62,987

23,236 24,230

...

Total

per cent.)

„

)

The

area, including forest grants, is 95 square miles, of which 39 are cultivated. In the unassessed area are included revenue-free holdings

608, and groves 1,317 acres. The number of adult agriculturists is 10,149 and of ploughs 3,514, being 2-89 adults to each plough and 6-61 acres of cultivation to each plough 31 per cent, of the cultivated area is irrigated

from soil

but chiefly from wells and tanks. Taken as a whole the of the pargana is loam ; a little clay is found in the lower levels all sources, ​— KAS— KAT

lis

near jhils, but there is scarcely any sand. South of the road which runs through the villages of Kasta and Mitauli the villages are generally well cultivated, and some highly farmed by Kurmis and others of the better classes of cultivators to the north of the roads much of the area is under dense jungle, and on the west side, along the banks of the Kathna, are four grants, and one in the centre (Ganeshpur). Many of the villages are surrounded by the jungle of the grants and of other villages, and are represented as being very unhealthy at certain seasons, the residents being generally Ahlrs, Gaddis, and other inferior classes of cultivators, who are induced to settle in them for the grazing of their cattle which these villages afford. The jungles along the Kathna harbour chltal, nil-g4e, hog-deer, parha, and other smaller animals which do much mischief to the crops at night, so that precarious crops are raised only by incessant watching. The pargana comprises 73 villages, regularly demarcated, of which live are jungle grants and the remaining sixty-eight held as follows

By „

„

taluqdars 62 independent proprietors 4 Oovernmeat 2 68

But separate assessments have been made in sixty-nine villages. Out of the four non-taluqdari villages three have been released as revenue-free grants. Kasta itself is an ordinary sized village, much decayed and It has only 219 houses and a population of deserted of late years. The road from La1,165 souls, and is a place of no resort or importance. khimpur to Mitauli passes through the village. It has still much jungle on the west side and four outlying hamlets. The Government revenue is Ks. 37,850.

ELA.THNA River. ,

—A small

which

rises from Moti-ka-Tal in the Shahlongitude 80° 21'. It flows in a southeasterly direction, and at about ten miles from its source it turns to the south, and for about two miles forms the boundary between the districts of Sh^hjahanpur and Kheri it then resumes its previous south-easterly direction and enters the latter district in latitude 28° 28,' longitude 83° 23'. Following the same course it flows through that district, having the parganas of Atwa Piparia, Magdapur, and Aurangabad on its right, and those of Haidarabad and Kasta on its left. Leaving Kheri it then enters the Sitapur district, and joins the Gumti on the left side of the latter in Its total length of course may be eslatitude 27° 20', longitude 80° 27'. timated at about 101 miles. It is not navigable, but might be made so for small boats. Its water is unwholesome owing to the vegetation on its sides, and it is little used for irrigation owing to the height of its banks.

jahanpur

river

district, latitude 28°20',

KATIXRI* Pargana— Tahsil BilgrJlM—District Haedoi. —^A riverine tract of eighty villages lying along the right bank of the Ramganga and left of the Ganges between Fatehgarh and Kanauj. It is enclosed between parganas Pali on the north, Barwan and Sandi on the east, Kh&hatmau and Paramnagar (Farukhabad) on thfe west, and on the south-west gud south Bhojpur and Taligr^m (Farukhabad) across the Ganges. Its greatest »

By Mr. A. H, Harington, CS.,

Assiataut Commissioner, ​— KAT

114

The area is 90 square miles, of is sixteen and breadth nine miles. 20-96 which 61 are cultivated, or 67-45 per cent. The culturable area is 8-04 is per cent, Only 10-91 whole. of the per cent., and the barren area

length

rated as third class. Not quite a sixth (15-94 per cent.) is artificially irriOf the irrigated area gated, owing to the extreme moisture of the soil. and rather less wells, from 1,117 watered is half (8-85) rather more than than half (17-09) frora 352 tanks and ponds. The grove area (-68 per cent.) is exceptionally low. The average area of cultivation to each plough, 12| acres, is exceptionally high.

The natural features of the pargana explain this. Mr. Elliott's description of the adjacent parganas of Khakhatmau and Paramnagar in Farukhabad may be quoted as equally applicable to Katiari

entirely tardi or lowlands. No part of it is the level of the river-floods. Much of it is covered with water for two or three days together, when the rains are heavy and the rivers high, and this water often leaves a deposit of sand behind. Some of the land is subject to constant erosion by the rivers, and the assessment of many villages is constantly varying with the varying area, as the rivers devour or cast up the culturable land." After mentioning the various channels which connect the Ganges and Ramganga, Mr. Elliott says: "Besides these channels there are several 'sotas,' i. e., backwaters or side channels which run nearly parallel to their own rivers for a short way, or curve round and run The Ganges, as becomes its great age, keeps sedately into them again. within its bed, and only rolls wearily from one side to another ; but the Kamganga is a gambolling vagabond and wanders at his own sweet will over many miles of country, carving out beds capriciously for himself, and leaving them as iUogically. The most important effect of this contiguity to a complicated river-system is that the water is everywhere close to the Irrigation by buckets worked by bullocks is unknown. The wells surface. are all of the kind called chiihas,' little pits in the ground, 8 or 10 feet deep, dug in one or two days the sides of the well axe strengthened by a bir,' or rope of cotton and jhao stalks bound together, and wound round the well for a depth of three or four feet, beginning from the place where water begins to trickle. The depth of water is never more than three it percolates slowly and is soon exhausted, and the well or four feet has constantly to be cleaned of the sand which oozes in with it. Irrigation is effected by an earthen pot worked with a weighted lener, and slow as the work of exhaustion is, there are few chuhas ' which can be worked "continuously the whole day, and the area irrigated is seldom more than two biswas. At this rate it takes about a month to irrigate an acre, and a cultivator can only water about two acres a year. These wells fall in every year and leave hardly any trace behind. They can be dug almost everywhere, but there are many tracts in which the soil is too loose to dig them without sloping the sides of the pit at a considerable angle, and very large tracts of land are so naturally moist that they haxdly need them at all, except for the higher class of crops like opium. From this set of causes two classes of effects arise. Where the land is in danger of dily,vion, and where it is swept over by water at high-flood times, the cultivator will not improve at all, because he is in constant danger of the land he works on "

The trans-Gangetic tract is

much above

—

—

'

'

"

' ​KAT 115 being carried away, or the top-dressing of manure he lays down being wash- ed off or covered with a coat of silt. Where the floods do not terrify him the land is highly improvable, and gives a large return to the class of men who carry out the fertile culture in its extremest development, and can busy themselves all day about a few square yards of land. Hence a large nun- ber of Kachhis have settled here, and they carry out their peculiar system, of cultivation with great success, occupy very small areas, manure and water them thoroughly, and turn out really wonderful crops of opium and market vegetables which they carry for sale to Farukhabad. The other principal class of cultivators, Rajputs and Brahmans, act on the opposite principle. Having no use to make of their bullocks in irrigation, they use them to plough a larger quantity of land (the theoretical plough area being eight acres here against five acres in the bángar or highland of the duab), ma- pure little, irrigate little, but make up for inferior style of cultivation by a larger area of occupancy. There is no land really unculturable in this tract except the river beds; there is no "oosar" or land so impregnated with salt as to produce no vegetation ; but there is much land extremely sandy and almost valueless, and a little in which there is saline effiorescence enough not to kill the crops and grass altogether, but to make the land very bare and poor, so that even under the stimulus of the present high prices (1870) it has remained uncultivated. Nothing is wanted for this land but water and manure." (Revenue Reporter, Vol., IV., No. II., p. 51.) Like these Farukhabad parganas Katiári is intersected by streams and channels which in food time connect the Ganges and Rámganga. Its fertility is due to the nearness of the water to the surface and to the deposit of rich loam ("seo') brought down by the rivers. The deposit of the Rámganga is the most fertilising. In heavy floods the deposit of “seo' is often eight fingers thick, sometimes as much as two foct. In such seasons a bumper rabi compensates for a ruined kharíf. Very little labour is required for preparing the 'seo' to receive the seed, one-fourth only the cultivators rockon, of the average to it expended elsewhere. The pargana abounds in a rich growth of grass of various kinds. The chaupatia” springs up freely in January and February, and is much es- teemed by the graziers for the quantity of milk yielded by kine pastured on it. The " patawar” abounds,—so valuable for thatching, rope-making, and cane furniture. But the baneful“ surai" is also very prevalent along the Rámganga and Ganges, a rank deep-rooted woed most difficult to extirpate. Mr. Elliott writes of it:-" It is greatly complained of, and is said to have in- creased much of late. In many places there is at least as much 'surai' as wheat in the wheat fields, and its roots are so deep that it is quite beyond the power of an ordinary cultivator to extirpate it; and if he did, the next flood of the Ganges would leave fresh seeds of it in the ground. If it does really increase, it will soon be as great an enemy to the agriculturists as the kans' of the trans-Jumna." The staple products are wheat, barley, bájra, and juár. At survey wheat and barley cropped nearly half the cultivated area, and bájra and juár nearly a third." The areas returned as under sugarcane, cotton, opium, ​KAT

116

aud tobacco were respectively only 282, 139, 29, 8, and 29 acresthere are 2,335 Muraos in the pargana, either these crop returns have been wrongly made up from the khasras, or, which is more probable, the growth of the richer crops was suppressed as the survey approached, or the amins (surveyors) were induced to record inferior crops instead of the kachindigo,

As

hiana ones.

The

climate

is

very damp, but not so unhealthy as might be expected.

There are no quarries, but kankar is found here and there. Of the eighty villages 58J are owned by Katiar Chhattris, 12 by Sombansis, 5 by Bachhils, 2^ by Bais, 1 by Gaurs, and 1 by Dube Brahmans; 19 belong to the taluqa of R^ja Sir Hardeo Bakhsh, K.C.S.I., a good man and true, of Arjunpurj in 4 the tenure is zamindari, in 57 imperfect pattidari.

The Government demand, excluding cesses, is Rs. 58,809, a rise of 62"44! per cent, on the summary assessment. It falls at the rate of Rs. 184 on the cultivated areaj Re. 1-0-5 per acre of total area; Rs. 18-14-6 per plough; Rs. 2-3-6 per head of agricultural, and Re. 1-10-9 per head of total population.

The

incidence of population, 35,164 souls, is 391 to the square mile. to Muhammadans are 34,616 to 648 males to females 19,544 to 15,620; agriculturists to non-agriculturists 26,499 to 8,655.

Hindus

Brahmans 6,310 and Chhattris 5,145 predominate next come Chamdra 4,450 and Kahars 2,912 then Ahirs 2,883 and Muraos 2,335.

Village schools have been established at 28, Berijon 45, and Khasaura 37.

Arjunpur

38,

Gauria 38,

Admapur

Small melas are held in Bhadon at Behsar in honour of an ancient Mahd-. and in Asdrh at the " Debi" at Dhanamau.

deo,

The pargana is not mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari, having been included in pargana Sdndi till about 55 years ago. few Pali villages were thrown into it when constituted a separate pargana.

A

—

Historical sketch. The traditional history of the pargana presents few features of interest. It shows in the background the usual Thathera occupation. The dihs or deserted sites of their forts and villages are to be seen at Shiampur, Baragaon, Maron, Nagraura, Saia, Tenduapur, Borau, and Bibiapur. Portions of the tract seem to have been held by Baihdr

Ahirs and Dhanuks contemporaneously with the wider occupation by The displacement of these early tribes was effected by conquest by Sombansis from Santankhera (Sandi) under Kdnh Randhir Singh, Bachhils from Barai Thana (in Shahjahanpur) tinder Udai and Tas, and Katiars from Sonoria near Gwalior under Rae Deo Datt, ancestor in the twelfth generation of the present head of the Katiar clan, Raia Hardeo Bakhsh, K.C.S.I. Thatheras.

The date of Rile Dec's conquest may be put at about three hundred years ago. His clan were then called Tiimars. Family feuds led him to migrate from Sonoria to Singhi Rampur (in Farukhabad) on the Ganges; thence he gradually fought his way eastward. At Khasaura he sided with the Baihar Ahirs and crushed their rivals the Dhanuks ; then turning ​KAT 117 on the Baihárs he smote and spared not till they excepted his dominion. After establishing himself in Khasaura he attacked the Thatheras, and drove them out of Shiámpur, Saia, Barágaon, Tenduapur, and Borau. A career of massacre earned for his clan the name of Katiárs (slaughterers). The domain thus acquired has been handed down from father to son to the present day. The late chief, Ranjit Singh, ninth in descent from his merciless ancestor, Ráe Deo, lived in a state of constant warfare with the ex-government. Sir W. Sleeman thus speaks of him :- "The estate of Kutearee, on the left-hand side of the road towards the Ramgunga and Ganges, is held by Runjeet Sing of the Kuteear Rajpoot.clan. His estate yields to him about one hundred and twenty thousand rupees a year, while he is assessed at only sixteen thousand. While Hakeem Mehndee was in banishment at Futtehgurh, about fifteen years ago, he be- came intimate with Rınjeet Sing of Kutéaree; and when he afterwards be- came minister, in 1837, he is said to have obtained for him the king's seal and signature to a perpetual lease at this rate, from which is deducted a nankar of four thousand, leaving an actual demand of only twelve thousand. Were such grants in perpetuity respected in Oude, the minister and their minions would soon selĩ the whole of his majesty's dominions, and leave him a beggar. He has not yet been made to pay a higher rate ; not, however, out of regard for the king's pledge, but solely out of that for Runjeet's fort of Dhurmpur, on the bank of the Ganges, his armed bands, and his seven pieces of cannon He has been diligently employing all his surplus rents in improving his defensive means; and besides his fort and guns, is said to have a large body of armed and disciplined men. He has seized upon a great many villages around belonging to weaker proprietors, and is every year adding to his estate in this way. In this the old Amil, Hafiz Abdool- lah, acquiesced, solely because he had not the means nor the energy to pre- vent it. He got his estate excluded from the jurisdiction of the local, au- thorities and placed in the Huzoor Tuhseel. "Like others of his class who reside on the border, he has a village in British territory to reside in unmolested, when charged by the Oude au- thorities with heavy crimes and balances. He had been attacked and driven across the Ganges in 1837 for contumacy and rebellion, deprived of his estate, and obliged to reside at Futtehgurh, where he first became acquainted with Hakeem Mehndee. The Oude Government has often re- monstrated against the protection which this contumacious and atrocious landholder receives from our subjects and authorities." It may be doubted whether the epithet atrocious was ever deserved. Al any rate the present generation of Oudh Governors is glad to forget the contumacy of Ranjit Singh, while gratefully remembering the unswerving loyalty of his honoured great-grandson, Rája Hardeo Bakhsh, C.S.I. In the dark days of 1857 this gallant gentleman was as true as steel to the English Government. To his generous help the chief civil officers of two districts in the north-west, the Collectors of Farukhabad and Budaon, owed their lives. The story has been well told in Mr. R. M. Edwards' Reminis. cences of a Bengal Civilian, The title of Rája, the Star of India, a jágír, 16 ​118 KAT- KAU and other favours mark the gratitude of the British Government for his loyal aid in the hour of need, KATRA MEDNI SINGH—Purgana PARTABGARH-Tahsil PARTABGARH -- District PARTABGARH. This village was founded by Medni Singh, the brother of the Rája of Partabgarh. Tlie river Sai is two miles off, and Bela station four. There is a great masonry tank here made by Ráni Suján Kunwar, wife of Rája Chħatardhári Singh. This is the largest tank in Oudh, but is useless, having fallen into bad repair :- Population : 1,917 845 Musalmans. Hindus. I. Total 2,762 d. There are seven temples to Mahadeo and two to Párasnátlı, also five places of Moslem worship. The grain cold in the bazár reaches the annual value of Rs. 14,000. There is a fair in the month of Kuár at which 12,000 people assemble. KAUNDHA *-Pargana BAWAN-Tahsil HANDOI-District HARDOI.-- Kaundha (population 2,186, chiefly Chamárs), an agricultural village of 282 mud houses, five miles north-west from Hardoi, on the Shahabad road, in par- gana Báwan, tahsil and district Hardoi. Market days Mondays and Fridays. A village school was established in 1867; average number of pupils 47. Kaundha is owned by Chamar Gaurs whose ancestors dispossessed the Thatheras in the latter days of the Kanauj. kingdom. The Gaurs of Kaundha are notorious for contumacy and evil livelihood. In the Nawabi they were always in trouble. In 1841 they killed the son of Maulvi Farid- nid-dín, Chakladar of Gopamau. In retaliation their village was burnt. They are a refractory, quarrelsome, ill-conditioned set, their one redeem- ing quality (owed probably to the fact that they are Rajputs in name rather than in reality), is that they do not murder their daughters. KAURIALA River.---This river (in Thornton's Gazetteer Kurnalli) rises in Thibet in latitude 30° 43', longitude 80° 47', flows through Naipál generally in a south-easterly direction for 213 miles till at the junction of the Mohán it enters the province of Oudh, dividing Kheri and Bahraich. It bursts through a deep gorge in the lower range of the Himalayas at Shisha Páni (the crystal waters), eighteen miles north of the Mohán; at this place it is about 300 yards broad, the water of great depth, and the current slow, about one mile an hour. Precipitous mountains rising about 2,500 feet shut it in closely, and the descent is so abrupt that there is no space even for a footpath; landslips on each side have scarped off the hills, so that few trees and little brushwood even is left. Gigantic rocks, which have either been torn away in avalanches, or have been carried down in glaciers at some remote period, cncumber the banks, the edges of the channels; one or two of them are regarded with some reverence by the natives, but there is no such veneration or superstitious concourse as attend many of the other rivers when they debouch from the Himalayas. A little beyond Shisha

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commissioner, ​KAU

119

Pani the channel widens, and the steeper descent and rocky bottom cause magnificent rapids nearly half a mile broad, the opening of the hills is broader, and dense forest clothes their slopes to the water's edge. There can be few fine spectacles than this half mile of turbid white water presents when lit up by moonlight, or when the forests on either side take fire then the long range of lofty height is soon flaming to the water's edge, the roar of the water is mingled with that of the conflagration, and with the crash of falling trees this often lasts for several days and nights, a huge pall of smoke gathers over the tumultuous scene, and is swept away about noon each day by a cold wind which comes down from the moun;

tain passes.

A

mile from Shisha Pani the river divides into two streams the western retains the name of Kauri ala, the eastern is called the Girwa ; the latter ten years ago was a mere stream, but its volume has gradually increased till now it is considerably larger than the Kauridla. They are rapid rivers, their beds covered with large pebbles often a foot in diameter, particularly at the fords, where they are broad and so shallow that elephants can pass generally without difficulty. They are about four hundred yards broad,

and from three to four feet deep they cannot be forded except at one two places where the graziers cross them holding on by buffaloes' tails.

or

The Girwa particularly is a most beautiful stream, its banks are covered with dense forests of dark sal, the mountains appear over the tree-tops. In many places the river has formed large openings in these high grounds, several miles broad, through which the water passes in several clear cut channels. The islands thus formed are generally covered with evergreen shisham trees and thickets of willow. Abandoned channels intersect the forest, and in them the reeds are twelve feet high. Diagonally across the stream extend ridges of kankar or rock, sometimes half a mile long, over which the water sweeps, and the lower part of the long slope foams white Navigation is thus impeded. Large boats ascend a mile beyond as snow. the Mohan to Dhanaura on the Girwa, and Bilasar on the Kauriala, carrying 500 maunds or nearly twenty tons boats carrying 1,200 maunds or about 46 tons ascend to Shitd,bi Ghdt in 28° 15' north latitude, but the principal seat of river traffic is at Katdi Ghat, where the Sarda joins, and the united streams become the Gogra. Grain is exported largely; timber, ginger, pepper, wax, ghi, catechu come from Naip^l. The principal mart is at Gola Ghdt, about five miles above the Mohan on the Kauriala ; the timber and grain alone are trusted to water carriage.

'

Gold is washed from the gravel and sand by a particular caste called the Sunahis. Besides the Mohan, celebrated for its mahsi'r fishing, the Suheli, flowing in the old channel of the S4rda, joins at Shitdbi Ghat from the west, then at Katai Ghat the Dah4war, Chauka, and S4rda join from Kheri, and the Sarju from Bahraich.

The minimum cold weather discharge of the Kauriala is said to be 11,000 feet per second at Ramnagar;* but this must have been taken at a time when the Girwa was a small stream, for the Girwa joins below Ramnagar at

  • Sarda Canal Report, page

4, ​Shitábi Ghat, when the Clauka adds above 6,000 cubic feet per second at Katá Ghát, yet at Bahramghat the united volume of water only amounts to 18,000[1] cubic feet. The Ganges at Cawnpore is 5,000, at Hardwar 8,000, the Jumna 3,500, the Sutlej nearly 5,000, the Sárda 63,901, but the facts concerning the Kauriala are not so well ascertained. Probably the Kauriála at Rámnagar does not now discharge above 4,000 cubic feet, if so much; it is not above two hundred yards broad, and, except in one narrow channel, not above four feet deep.

The principal fish in the Kauriála are the rohu, maksír, mullet, hili trout, and the bichwa.

The river has not changed its course materially except below Shitábi Ghát, where it has concentrated its waters in the eastern channel, abandoning much land in Matehra ; also further down it has trended eastwards at Mallih, north of the Daháwar, loaving bare large breadths of sand which in time have become covered with jháo (tamarix dioica).

If we are to believe Tieffenthaler[2], it once flowed only three miles east of the Khairigarh fort, from which it is now eight miles distant, but ho states that the river is there called Kenár or Kheuár; it is probable that there was a lateral channel of that name. The abandoned course of what was once a largo river runs under Singáhi in Khairigarh. The slope of the river is about two feet per mile from Shisha Páni to Rámnagar Ghát, which is 449 feet above the sea; thence to Mallápur, 375 feet above the sea, it is about one foot per mile. (See also articles Gogra and Sárda for a further account of this river in its lower course.) The affluents of the Kauriála are described in the Bahraich district article.

KEWANI River[3]—District Sitapur.—The Kewani issues from the Jumaita Tál near the village of Jumaita in pargana Kheri, district Kheri, four miles south-west of Kheri. It takes a south-south-easterly course, and at a distance of forty miles as the crow flies, falls into the Chauka at a village called Umrápur. For a little distance from its source the stream is narrow and shallow; it deepens as it roaches the Chauka. Breadth about 50 feet. Extreme depth Average In the rains,

The water begins to dry up in November near its source. Except for two months in the rains, when dongis are used, the stream is always fordable, Velocity cannot be ascertained till the rains. It is considerable, for I am told that men help each other in crossing to resist the current. It is not navigable. Sanda, where a large bazár is held twice a week, and Nabinagar are large villages on its banks. It produces the following fish:— parhin, gent, roha, girai, bhúr. The peoplo call the stream the Diwána nadi on account of its wild tortuousness.

KHAIRABAD Pargana—Tahsil Sitapur—District Sitapur.—Khairabad pargana is twenty miles long from north to south, and eleven in width from ​west to east; in shape it is irregular quadrilateral, and it is bounded on the west and south by the river Saráyan, on the east by the Gon, and on the north by pargana Hargám. These two rivers meet together at the southern extremity of the pargana which forms their duab. The Saráyan and the Gon are but inconsiderable streams, fordable in the dry weather, but giving a water communication during the rest of the year, country boats going down to Lucknow viâ the Gumti, into which river the Saráyan falls at Hindaura Ghát. The area of the pargana is 128 square miles, of which 75 are cultivated, and the detail in acres is as follows:—

Cultivated 47,815
Málguzári.
Culturable 17,455
Muáfi 1,099
unassesed.
Barren 15,268

giving a total of 81,637 acres.

The population numbers 63,728, and is thus distributed

Hindus,
Agricultural 23,255
Non-agricultural 25,678
Total 48,931
Muhammadans,
Agricultural 2,446
Non-agricultural 12,348
Total 14,794
Grand Total 63,728

The Musalmans form 23 per cent, of the entire population, a larger proportion than obtains in any other pargana. There are 498 souls to the square mile and 4½to each house, the houses numbering 13,793. The principal Hindu castes are as follows:— Brahmans 4,778 Rajputs 2,340; Káyaths 1,322; Ahírs 5,639; Pásis 4,319; Chamárs 5,786; Kahárs 2,504;Lodhs 6,788; Muráos; 2,010; Kurmis being conspicuous by their absence. The pargana consists of 153 demarcated villages, the proprietary title in which is distributed thus British cantonment 2 taluqa Kanwán Khera 16½ Nazúl 13 Káyaths; 52 Musalmans 24½; Brahmans 6; Rajputs 34 miscellaneous 5. It may be noted that Káyaths have more villages in this pargana than any other caste.

Its natural features resemble those of Sitapur ; there are no hills, lakes or forests, or large rivers to be met with. The soil is fertile, the country is well wooded, water is abundant, the maximum depth at which it is found being 28 feet. The climate is good. Numerous and good bazars are held throughout the pargana, and they may be tabulated thus:—

Names of places where bazars are held. Days on which held. Commodities supplied
Thompsonanganj Staurday and Wednesday Every kind of commodity.
Cantonment bazár Tuedsday and Friday Cloths, grain, salt.
Kharirabad Khas Every day Every Kind.
Uuasia Monday and Friday Cloths, grain, salt.
Gúrga Thursday and Sunday Cloths, grain salt.
Tájipur Tuesday and Saturday Cloths, grain salt.
​122

KHA 77 1 5) ditto, 92 The melas or fairs are as follows: Government mela held in January (vide town Klairabad.) Rámlila, in September October, attended by 15,000 souls. Dad Kindau, in August, attended by 2,000 Dewali, in October, ditto 3,000 Kátki, for bathing 3,000 Chari, in April, a women's festival, in honour of Debi. Besides which the two íds and the muharram are celebrated with con- siderablc éclat, and there is a Musalman gathering in June at the shrinc of Vásuf Khan, who slew an Abban king, as described under the heading of town Khairabad, to which the reader is referred for particulars con- cerning the foundation of the city. At these fairs commodities of all sorts are sold. A pretty brisk trade in grain is carried on with Lucknow, but, with the exception of the cloth made in Khairabad, there are no manufactures, nor are there any mines or quarries. The principal public buildings in the pargana are the court houses, barracks, hospitals, &c., in the civil lines and cantonments of Sita- pur. The camping grounds for troops are three, one at Sarayyan on the Biswán road, one at Thompsonganj, and one at Jalálpur on the road to Lucknow. In Khairabad are two saráes, one built by the philanthropic Ha- kim Mehndi, who built the bridge at Sitapur, and thie bridge and sarke at Maholi; the other built by Chaudhri Rám Naráin Káyath, taluqdar of Mubárakpur, who also bridged the Gon river at Dumoráli; and there is a third sarbe built by Government. The proportion of cultivated land to each head of the agricultural popu- lation is 19 acres, and of culturable land 2 acres. This corresponds almost exactly with the proportion obtaining in pargana Sitapur. The rents are almost entirely paid in kind. The incidence of the revised jama is as follows:- Rs, .-P. On cultivated land 9 per acre. On culturable 8 99 1 8 1 16 13 23 On total area 01 33 The history of the pargana is in part necessarily told under the history of the town Khairabad, and need not be given here. It was Todar Mal who constituted the pargana out of 10 tappas, one of which in 1131 Fasli was taken out of it. In Unasia, four miles south of Khairabad, are the re- mains of Rája Bhín Sen's fort, in the shape of an extensivc díh or mound (vide Pímagar), with a wide fosse extending like a horse-shoe round three sides of it. Besides this díh there are 20 others in the pargana, and these are all the remains of antiquity to be met with. The local couplet about Bhím Sen of Unasia's death runs thus:- Assi tál unisi kua tihka ráo piámá mua. There were 80 tanks and 79 wells, yet the lord of them died of thirst, The Baises and Káyaths are said to have succceded the Pasis in the government of this pargana. There was one Gobind Singh Káyath, who formed an alliance with the Bachhils of Nímkhár, and joined by the Bais ​— KHA

123

drove away thfe P&is. There is still one taluqdar, who is probably of the family of the original conqueror, viz., Chaudhri Rd,m N4rain of Mubarakpur in this pargana and the members of the K^yath caste, though of nontaluqdari families, are in possession of a good many villages. The most famous of the n^zims of Khairabad were Hakim Mehndi AH Khan, afterwards the prime minister of Oudh, Rae Kundan L41, Kdyath of Lucknow, Girdhara Singh, and Mirza Banda Ali Beg. It was Raja Har Parshad, the last nazim of the place, who accompanied the rebel queen to Naipdl. tahsildar also resided at Khairabad, and the regiments stationed there were under the control of native commandants and collectors. At annexation the town was made the head-quarters of the commissioner, but after the reoccupation the seat of local government was removed to Sitapur, and the town is now the head-quarters of a pargana. For further details see " Si;

A

tapur Division."

Totvn—Pargana Khairabad — Tahsil SrTAPUR District —Khairabad the chief town of the pargana of the same name,

KHAIRABAD* SiTAPUE.

and

is

distant south-eastward from Sitapur five miles by a metalled road. It is the fifth largest town in the whole province, haing a population of There 15,677, the Hindus and Musalmans being pretty equally divided. is

are about 15 of the former to 16 of the latter.

The town is said to have been founded by one Khaira, a Pasi, in the first year of the 11th century, and to have been subsequently taken possession In after years many rent-free grants of portions of by a Kayath family. of its site were made to Musalmans who came in great numbers in the reigns of Babar and Akbar, but these grants were all resumed by the Nawab of Oudh some 65 years ago. Before the abovementioned Khaira Pdsi's time the place was known as Masichait ^(Masi chitra), and was a place of pilgrimage so far back as the reign of the great Bikramajit. The name is still extant in the appellation of a tank, the waters of which are said to possess healing properties, and which is called "Maswasi Talao." There are 40 mosques and 30 Hindu temples, besides which there the very beautiful suite of holy buildings erected some 40 years ago by one Makka, by trade a tailor, and also a royal darogha. These consist of a Qadam Rasul, an Imdnibara, and mosques with intervening courtyards all surounded by a handsome wall. Attached to the dargah of Makdum is a muafi village, Lodupur, and the temple of Vishnu has assigned to it for its support the revenue of Mdsilmpur. There are in addition to the above four N^nak Shahi sangats. The th4kurdwdra of Rae Daulat Rae, Kayath, formerly a deputy minister of Oudh, is presided over by a mahant, and has a small estate attached to it for the support of the

is

,

faqirs.

The public buildings are a police

station, school, registry ofiice, post-

and saraes. There are four bazfc and markets held daily. In the month of January there is held a very large fair instituted by Government, and in which all sorts of commodities and cattle are sold. It lasts for ten days and draws together a very large concourse of people averaging 60,000 Kashmir shawl merchants and vendors of Birmingham jewellery, souls. horses from K^tidwar and elephants from Assam, circus riders from office,

By Mr, M.

L, JFerrar,

C,S., Assistant

Commissioner. ​KHA

124

Sidney and wrestlers from the Punjab, the missionary, the maulvi and Besides this, which is known as the all may be seen here. Khairatad mela, there is in the Dasahra a large gathering, the Ramlila, The annual value of the bazar attend. a"t which perhaps 15,000 souls sales, including those of the January fair, Rs. 1,55,654, is put down at Es. 3,40,769. There are no local manufactures.

the pandit,

Khairabad is 47 miles north-west of Lucknow, on the metalled road to Shahjahanpur, and lies in 27° 32' north and 80° 48.' east.

The Pasi Khaira who founded the town was a subject of the Ahban Bhim Sen, who owned the surrounding country in those days. He was killed by Basdeo, a Kayath, whose father he had slain.

R&ja

KHAIRIGARH

—

—

—

Pargana Tahdl Nighasan District Kheei. This pargana lies between the Mohan river on the north, and the Suheli or Sarju on the south ; on the east it is bounded by the Kauri^la, and on the west by the kingdom of Naipal. It is the largest pargana in the district, being forty-seven miles from east to west, and about twelve miles from north to south its area is 425 square miles, but more than half of this, viz., 263 square miles, is the property of Government, being covered with State forests. The general aspect of the country is much the same as in Kukra Mailani, the highlands covered with dense sal forest, and the hollows being either swamps or, when more elevated, rice-fields. The general slope is from the north-west corner, where the bluffs above the Mohan are 600 feet above the sea (the greatest plain elevation in Oudh), down to the junction of the Suheli and Kauriala, where the level is not more than 440 feet.

Besides the three abovenamed rivers on its borders, there is the Jaurawhich rises in a little tank about a mile south of the Mohdn, and is probably created by filtration from that stream. It takes a tortuous course of about 60 miles before effecting a junction with the Suheli. Its waters are sluggish, sometimes of great depth, and its quicksands render it impossible to cross it with elephants, even where not more than five yards broad. The stream is nearly everywhere overhung by the s&l forest, and is often black with the decaying leaves. It is nowhere bridged. The Kauriala and Mohan are the subjects of separate articles. ha,

The Suheli

is really the old channel of the Sarju, which once ran Khairigarh fort; the waters which now take this course belong to two former afiluents of the Sarju, which thread their way in a narrow current through the high grass and brushwood, covering what was formerly the channel of the great river. The banks of the Mohan are precipitous, and their height renders it impossible to use the water for irrigation. The ancient bank of the Chauka is also about thirty feet above the level of the Suheli. In fact the whole pargana consists of a lofty plateau between three rivers with a series of depressions in the middle, through which flows the Jauraha, and a large sunken plain at the eastern extremity. Drainage is everywhere good ; there is nothing which can be called a lake, and but a very few small morasses, which might all be drained, being far above the level of the rivers.

under

the ​— KHA

125

The climate

is reckoned much better than that of Kukra Mailani goitre almost unknown, but fever makes great ravages. In the interior of the forest the savannahs of rank grass which occur are tenanted almost exclusively by Tharus, who enjoy fairly good health by reason of their houses being raised on platforms. Kain is heavy, much above the district average, and it commences earlier than elsewhere, coming down the gorge where the Kauriala bursts through the lower ranges of the Himalayas.

is

Large herds of nil-gae occasionally do some damage to the crops, but all along the banks of the Kauriala, and in the forests south of the Mohan, tiger, spotted deer, porcupine, hog deer, sambur, and pig abound in profusion. Wild elephants used to be common, but have now almost entirely disappeared, and it is only occasionally that a stray one wanders across the Mohan during the rains. Black and grey partridge, hares, peafowl, and bustard are met with in great numbers in the large open savannahs above described. Large parties of sportsmen, mounted on elephants, annually spend April and May in these forests, which several Viceroys, and recently the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh^ have at different times during the century explored in pursuit of game.

The population is 33,046, in 60 inhabited villages, or 69 to the square mile, but the revenue paying land is only 143 square miles, and this alone can be peopled, as the forests are not allowed to be occupied. Taking the available area therefore, the population is actually about 231 to the square mile. Two-thirds of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and only 68 square miles are cultivated. There are not more than 2,100 Musalmans, less than six per cent, of the whole. Ahirs are the principal There are only caste, numbering 5,.500, or 16 per cent, of the population. 840 Brahmans, about 2^ per cent., these wild and waste districts not suiting them. There are 1,400 Chhattris, principally Bais and Pahdris Kurmis number 3,300, or 10 per cent. and Muraos 1,700, or 5 per cent. but the Tharus alone call for special notice, as this is the onlycis-Gogra pargana in which they are met with as permanent residents. They number 900, and an account of this caste by Captain Thurburn is appended

—

" The race is of the Hindu Aryan family, though the features of its members bear evidence of intermixture with Tartar blood. It is supposed that the race is descended from the same Kajput caste as the Rana of Chittaurgarh, and prior to its exile it was settled in the province of that name in Central India, but during the wars iri the reign of Ala-ud-din Ghori, in the year 1151 A.D., its members migrated to tlie wild jungles at the foot of the Himalayan mountains in the province of Oudh, and have ever since remained there. In every village the Mahamdi Tharus are said to appoint four office-bearers, one as chief or headman, one as accountant, one as arbitrator of disputes and distributor of resources, and another to attend on the chief and to the requirements of the community as well as share of the produce is assigned for the performance of of strangers. these duties. The Tharus are hardworking, and surpass other natives in this respect ; they are peaceful and united, and mutually help each other Rice is their staple crop, and from this they used in cultivating the soil. to distil an intoxicating liquor, to the consumption of which they were much addicted. They eat meat (which has died or been killed), fish,

A

17 ​KHA

126

unleavened bread, and vegetables. They cannot stand the sun, and therefore use umbrellas made of leaves. The women are chaste and hardy. The

Tharu believes

in -witchcraft,

and sorcery is commonly

practised.

Each mem-

ber of the tribe constructs a hollow mound opposite his door, and thereon This he considers sacred, and worships erects a stick like a phallus.' as an idol. These people observe the Holi festival with much ceremony. '

are divided into the Kana Batur and Malwaria and these do not intermarry. When one of the tribe dies, the body is painted with vermilion and saffron and placed before the mound already mentioned, and during the entire night an incantation is pronounced. This ceremony is supposed to be an aid to witchcraft, thus disand to prevent wild animals from eating the crops, pensing with the necessity of night watching. These people do not eonthey have no betrothals, and they marry suit Brahmans as to marriages during all the months of the year. Their houses are made of grass and mats raised above the ground and reached by ladders (from which fact those who dwell in malarious districts may well take a practical hint), and they all cultivate gardens. They are bold sportsmen, good marksmen, and expert game-snarers. They eat meat, but not the flesh of cows and buf"

The Muhamdi Thurus

stems,

faloes."

Opinions seem divided as to whether the Tharus are Hindus or not, but is very likely, owing to a difference of meaning, the one party applying the term Hindus to natives of Hindustan, the other to Aryans only. There seems little doubt that they belonged to the races which held Chittaur, but those were only very partially Aryans. The Tharus all retain the tradition that they were driven from Chittaur by Ala-ud-din Ghori ; they mean, of course, Ala-ud-din Khilji. It was usual in those times for Chhattris to change their names, in order to escape the sword of that emperor who had designed to destroy the whole fighting clan. The Tharus still relate with complacency how they fled, seeking in vain for shelter, till they reached the jungles of Khairigarh, where for the first time they rested, " thahre, " and hence their name. It is clear that their religion is not the Hindu faith ; they bury their dead, and have neither the fourfold division of caste nor any equivalent for it. Their village system is one prevalent among all the hill tribes, as is also their custom of eating The Tharus are very independent ; they retheir meals in the daytime. fuse all service, and never leave their forests. The Tharus of Gonda declare they came from Ajodhya. The Gorakhpur Tharus assert that they are descended from the Aut^r Chhattris who conquered Butwal under Batan Sen of Chittaur, and cohabited with women of easy virtue, as almost Mr. Carnegy remarks that " a number of tribes in all hill women are. these parts, besides the Tharus of the sub-Himalayan districts, for instance the Nats, Kanjars, the Brijbasis, the Sirmars," claim a Chhattri origin ; but most of them declare that they were formerly Rathors of Kanauj. this

There are no landed proprietors in the pargana except the Raja of Khairigarh, who owns 67 of the 70 villages, and Government which has the remainder. The Government revenue assessed at summary settlement was Rs. 17,386, and the present demand, which is liable to revision, is Rs. 49,633. ​KHA 127 There are no manufactures, but a considerable trade is carried on in export of grain and bullocks, and there is some transit trade with Gola. ghất, in Naipál, in woollens, hides, honey, skins; salt and cotton goods being thc principal articles returned to the Naipalese. There are no towns deserving the name. Singáhi and Khairigarh are described else- where. There is not a bridge in the pargana ; only three brick-built houses, two temples to Mahadeo, and one small school where Urdu and Hindi are taught. The crops are principally rice and barley. An average outturn of un- husked rice would be 4 cwt. to an acre, in land not artificially watered or manured ; and after making allowance for produce injured by floods or wild animals, barley would not yield more than 3 cwt. Irrigation is not practised at all. Rents, except in rare instances, range between Re. 1-4-0 and Rs. 2-8-0 per acre, and are almost entirely paid in cash. A fair is held about the 17th of March, at the shrine of Pir Saádat Ab, in the forest adjoining the fort of Khairigarh, and is attended by about 6,000 people. Another gathering in honour of Debi assembles in May round hertemple at the village of Soátha, and musters on an average 4,000 worshippers. One curious fcature of Khairigarh is that the value of landed property has apparently fallen immensely during the last three hundred years fact which is quite contrary to the progress made everywhere around; and as the pargana is unique in this respect, the matter may be referred to at length. The total area of the revenue-paying portion of the pargana is 146,592 bíghas, or 91,620 acres, of which 57,930 bighas are cultivated, and 88,662 are not. Now the actual rents paid in 1274 F., the year of village survey, were Rs. 53,741, exclusive of mesne profits--a mere trife—and the average assets of the last five years are only Rs. 50,352. Therefore the actual rental appears to average only Re. 0-13-6 per bigha. According to the Kín-i-Akbari the area of the pargana was 43,050 bíghas, and the revenue was Rs. 45,233, or Re. 1-0-9 per bígha. I give in tabular form the anount and rates of revenue paid in a number of parganas in Oudh r's time, as also what is now aid, and some very remarkable con- clusions may be deduced therefrom. It would be hardly credible that the rents given in the Atn-i-Akbari were correct, if the traditions of the par- gana, and other facts to be mentioned, did not quite agree with that work. in ACCORDING TO A IN-I-AERARI ACCORDING TO THE PRESENT SETTLEMENT. Pargada. Rate per Area in bígbas. Revenue detband. bigha. Area in bighas. Retente demand. Rate per bigha. Rs. 2. p. 1 9 0 0 0 5 4 146,692 531,791 Rg. 49,633 2,55,011 Rs. a. p. 06 4 078 OP Khairigarh Kheri Biswan Garb Qila Nawa Dhaurahira, Barwar Khairabad Láharpur 43,050 260,168 144,321 15,811 135,919 159,072 208,288 Rs. 45,258 81,504 48,732 12,246 88,634 54,031 75,512 0 12 5 097 225,801 645,600 1,35,607 3,71,669 10. 0 10 6 050 0 5 9 . 09 0 10 O JO 2 6 G 400 ​

KHA

128

It appears from the above that in Akbar's time this pargana was assessed at a higher rate than any one now in its neighbourhood, and that it is now assessed at a lower rate than any in its neighbourhood.

In 1801 Khairigarh aad Kanchanpur together were declared to yield annually Ks. 2,01,001 (see Aitchison's Treaties). Now Kanchanpur never yielded a quarter as much as Khairigarh, its assets before annexation having been only Rs. 4,000. Khairigarh must have been worth in 1801 Es, 1,50,000 at least, and its present rental is Rs. 50,000. Further, it is admitted by the r4ja's agents that, up to fifteen years ago, all the rice lands in the worst and most jungly part of the pargana used to be let for one rupee per local bigha, or Rs. 4-8-0 per acre. These lands are now let for six annas per bigha, 01 Re. 1-11-0 per acre. The rental of the villages now included within the boundaries of the Oudh forest approached Rs. 20,000 in the Nawabi Therefore the absolute and relative values it is now about Rs. 2,000. of land in the pargana were much greater formerly, both at remote and recent periods, than at the present time. There are several reasons for this. Formerly the country north of the Mohan belonged to the owner of the pargana, and there was then no competition for cultivators ; but the country north of the Mohan belongs at present to Naip^l, and its raja This obstacle to a rise bids against the raja of Khairigarh for cultivators. Again, these jungles formerly of rents still continues to a certain extent. afforded a secure hiding place, in the vicinity of the boundless tarai forest, for many persons whose crimes had rendered it impossible or unsafe for them to live in their own villages. This pargana under British rule is no longer closed to the officers of justice, and it has consequently lost the value derived from its security as a place of refuge.

—

History of the pargana. It is alleged that the name is derived from the Khair jungle, which existed here in great quantities. The pargana formerly extended on both sides of the river Kauriala, and included the following townships Haweli, south of the JurAwar, round Khairigarh itself; direct north of this, beyond the Jurawar river, was Konawat ; east of this lay Bardia, including most of the tract now covered with the Oudh forests; Manjhia lay east of Haweli, where Dudhwa Ghat is now found; while Dharmanpur and Bharthapur lay south and north across the Kauriala, which, there is more than one reason to suppose was then a much smaller stream. In the reign of Muhammad Shah, Emperor of Delhi, 1720-54, the townships of Bhartha, Kalkandan, Rajgh^t, and Dhoti were conjoined with Khairigarh Dharmanpur and BharthSpur were taken out of Khairigarh and entered in Dhaurahra in 1817. The early history of the pargana is lost in obscurity. It has been for many centuries, probably at all times, the same huge forest which it now appears. In the reign of Firoz Shah, 1351-88, five centuries ago, we are told that the emperor established a chain of forts along the north bank of the river Sarju to repel marauding expeditions on the part of the mountaineers of Dhoti and Garhw^l. Tradition states that the emperor with his son ascended the tallest tower of the great Khairigarh fort, one of the best in India, as is recorded in the Ain-i-Akbari. He cast his eyes over the boundless sea of trees, in which no house-roof, no temple-spire, no smoke, or any other sign of human habitation appeared, and was so appalled by the vast solitude,

​KHA

129

that he at once abandoned the place where he had spent two years building and hunting. He never returned to it, and the fort was abandoned, believed, for centuries. The first clear notice of the place is given in deeds granted to the qaniingo family, which held office" in both Khairigarh and Kheri. deed signed by Akbar, 1556-1605, recites that Ahbaran, an Ahir of Khairigarh, had usurped dominion, and was oppressing the people, and it directs the destruction of this potentate, who held his state in Kundanpur near Khairigarh. Ruhelas are stated to have then seized the country, but this attack is probably antedated. At any rate, in the Am-i-Akbari it is stated that Bachhils, Bisens, Bais, and Kurmis were the zamindars of the pargana, in which were six brick-built forts, some of the best in India. The Bachhils, of course, belonged to the tribe of that name which held K^mp Dhaurahra and Barwar (see Kheri district article, chap. Y.) The Rajpdsis under Raja Babari of Babargarh, now Babari near Dhaurahra, then held the country they were expelled by the Bisens of Dhaurahra. All this is obscurely told.

it is

A

The Lohani Banjaras now appear upon the- scene. It is alleged that when the imperial forces under Chhatardas Jangre besieged and took the fort of Kamp, certain Banjaras accompanied the commander as his they being Gaur Brahmans the probability is that they supplied the force with grain during the long siege. At any rate, when the Jangres seized Bhiir and Dhaurahra, the Banjaras got Khairigarh, it is alleged, from the Bisens. This must have been in the reign of Jahangfr. Rd,o Ram Singh was the Banjara chief at the commencement of the nineteenth century. He was a turbulent man and insisted upon imposing taxes on his own brethren, who were trading in grain and cattle, whenever they crossed the ghats in his dominions. The Banjaras under their leader Sangha Naik resisted and defeated the Rao in a pitched battle fought in 1800. In the following year Khairigarh came into the hands of the British, being part of the territories ceded by the Nawab Wazir. It remained in their possession till 1816, when it was handed over to Oudh in exchange for a part of Jaunpur, The English in 1809 sent a force to punish the raja for his cruelty and his exactions from the merchants at Mindia Ghat. He was taken prisoner and carried to Bareilly. Meanwhile, from 1810 to 1814, the lease of the whole pargana was taken by Captain Hearsey, who resided here prior to the breaking out of the Naipal war of 1812, in which he bore a distinguished part. The ruins of his bungalow and some of his furniture are still to be seen in Singahi. priests,

Another European, a merchant, Mr. Carbery, settled here about the same time, but his efforts to establish trade were unsuccessful, as he was murdered by the Raja of Dhaurahra.

Rao Rdm Singh died at Bareilly, and was succeeded by Naeks Madho Singh and Gandu Singh. The Banjaras had now, however, provoked an enemy in a dangerous quarter. The Pahari Chhattri raja, who now holds the pargana of Khairigarh, and who is a young man educated at the Canning College, claims descent from the sun. The family governed at Saraswati till the time of Raja Suthurot, whose son Marchanddeo moved with his subjects to Ajodhya, where they reigned for 102 generations, till ​130 КВА the time of Pitra Sen, who became king of Bhárath Khand.* There they reigned for eighteen generations, and then they moved to Kaphár, in Ku- maun, where forty-two more of them successively satupon the throne. The forty-second, Sárangdeo, emigrated to Kathaur; thence the thirty-ninth from Sárangdeo, Tirloki Pál, having married the daughter of the rája of Bhot, got twenty-two parganas as a dowry, moved to his new estate in the hills, and settled in Ajmer. This twentieth descendant was Arjun Mal, a contemporary of the emperor Akbar. They claim then to have governed in different parts of India for more than 220 generations prior to the sixteenth century. In spite of this long descent, it may be remarked that the family is hardly considered Chhattri at all; and even when they managed to marry their daughters to the Ahbans, Janwárs, or Raikwárs, they had to pay large sums as bribes. Further, none of these places or parganas appear on the map of Kumaun, and the whole story is most probably one of those fictions in which the bards of India are so fertile. Arjun Mal went to visit the Emperor Akbar at Delhi, and on his pass- ing through the bazar, all the metalt dishes exposed for sale on either side of the way burst into pieces. The emperor, hearing of this, invited the mountain chief to court, and took care that a phúl ntensil should be deposited in the room where the interview was to take place. As soon as Arjun Mal entered the vessel was shivered to pieces. Akbar inquired the reason, and was told that as Arjun Mal was a Súrajbans, a descendant of the sun, the rays of divine light which still emanated from his person were of sufficient power to crack so mcan a metal as phúl. The emperor gave him a jágír, the title of mahárája, and fixed his tribute at twenty- five gold mohurs, five ponies, eleven yaks' tails, and fifteen musk-deer. Díp Singh was a descendant of Arjun Mal; his daughter was asked in inarriage by the king of Naipál, Ran Bahadur Sáh; and a refusal was followed by war about 1790 A.D. This was probably true, as the Gurkhas, although also claiming to be children of the sun, are still known to be of low aboriginal origin. The war with Naipá), however, mainly arose from other and broader causes of differ- A general account of it and of the Surajbans chiefs who occupied Kumaun and Naipál need not be given here. There were four principali- ties in the latter country; Pátan, Khatmándu, Bancha, Bhatgáon, which were all successively conquered by the Gurkhas. The Khairigarh family had no connexion, as far as is now known, with any of the above; as already stated, they occupied an estate at Ajmer, Their best known and prin- cipal residence was Dhoti, fifty miles north of Khairigarh; so much is cer- tain, but all the other details, both of the family origin and of their posi- tion and rights in Naipál, are covered with doubt and obscurity. They claim to have always held Kanchanpur in sovereignty; but this was included in Khairigarh (at least Dhoti, Kalkandan, Bhartha, Rajhat were placed in Khairigarh) in the reign of Muhammad Shah, and the ence.

  • Pripsep's Tables, 332.

t Phúl. ​KHA

131

sovereignty doubtless passed at the time of the absorption into the pargana of Khairigarh.

The Siirajbans, on the other hand, represent that Kanchanpur belonged them but local report gives a third story, doubtless the true one, to the effect that a Brahman family had established its sovereignty there. At any rate, the Siirajbans family found a Brahman in possession, either as an independent chief or as an agent. They made war upon him, took him prisoner, and drowned him in the Chauka, near Marauncha Ghat, about 1830 A.D. He was known as Bhatji of Joraili. It must be added, however, that some of the most trustworthy members of the family do not to

confirm the magniloquent account above given, and content themselves with saying that the emperor conferred upon Arjun Mai, not the title of Mahdraja, but that of Sah, which they have ever since borne.

At any rate, from the time of the expulsion of the family from Dhoti in 1790 to that of their seizure of Kanchanpur in 1880, they wandered about, subsisting either on the charity of the Oudh nobles, or by fighting under the British Government.

When first driven down from Dhoti, they had tried to settle in Kanchanpur, which, as we have seen, had been included in Khairigarh by the Emperor Muhammad Shah. There occurred the first collision between them and the Khairigarh BanjAras. Rao Ram Singh attacked and plundered the refugees, according to their own account or, as is equally probable, repelled an invasion of his dominions by the hillmen, who, being robbed of their own territory, designed in turn to r6b their neighbour of his. The Siirajbans fled further south, and after a short stay in Rampur of Rohilkhand, and Shahabad, settled for a time in Bhiir pargana at Basantpur. They got that village from Rao Balwant Singh of Bhur, and Kalbaria of Khairigarh from their old enemy Ram Singh as a sort of maintenance, such as the nobles of India are always eager to provide for decayed members of their order.

About this time Dip Sah died, leaving two sons, Pirthip^l Sah and Raj Ganga S4h, who both aided the British in the war with the Gurkhas in 1812, and the former was rewarded with a perpetual pension of Rs, 2,400, which his descendants still enjoy. Raj Ganga Sah, as we have already seen, acquired Kanchanpur in 1821 A.D., and thence, with the aid of the Bhur raja, whose alliance he had secured by intermarriages, planned an attack upon the Banjdra estate, now held by Madho Singh and Gandu Singh. The Banjaras were defeated in 1830 ; Bardia, with most of the estate, was seized, but Gain Singh, the son of Madho Singh, still held out. Gain Singh was a man of prodigious personal strength ; he had only 25 men, but they defended the massive walls of the Khairigarh fort, which were then in fair preservation, till more than 300 of the enemy were killed. Gain Singh abandoned the fort, but returned in a few months with a large force which he had collected among his brethren in Pilibhit. The Siirajbans, who had seen something of real warfare under Ochterlony and Gillespie, lay in ambush for him in the primeval forest which lies in the north of the Suheli. Gain Singh's forces pushed through the forest in scattered order, occupied in guarding ​KHA

132

cattle which they had swept together on their way through the savannahs of Khairigarh. On a sudden they were attacked on both flanks by invisible foes, who poured on them a continuous matchlock fire, which they were unable to reply to ; they fled at once there was little slaughter and no pursuit. In 1841 the complaints of the dispossessed Banjara chief were listened to by the Oudh Government ; a force was coK Raj Ganga Sah fled to Kanchanpi^ lected and advanced through Bhira. and for a year or so the Banjai-as remained in possession ; but dysentery and fever breaking out among the chakladar's troops, he retired to Newalkhar, a fort on the bank of the old bed where the Chauka once flowed. There he hoped to remain and gather strength, but the epidemic became tenfold more severe. The rains having set in early, the former channel of the river became a huge swamp, through which it was impossible to drag the cannon, and from which poisonous exhalations steamed up like dense fogs. The chakladar himself died with almost his entire force the few survivors crawled back from the fatal jungles unmolested by the Sllrajbans, who thenceforth were undisturbed in Khairigarh. The Banjara family entirely disappeared from Oudh. One ancient woman, the widow of Gain Singh, came forward in 1870 to claim her husband's property but as the raja's right to the entire estate had been admitted, both in 1856, when Oudh was annexed, and in 1858, after the mutiny, nothing could be done for her.

huge herds of

This Siirajbans family, like their relatives of Kashipur, were noted, in the hills, for physical strength and proficiency in manly sports.; but they have fallen away immensely since their descent to the plains. To use the words of the Kashipur raja; " We have lost nearly a cubit in each generation; my grandfather was nearly five cubits, my father four, and I am the mannikin you see." Another noteworthy point is the good fortune which has raised the family to their present position. Two generations back they were suppliants to the neighbouring chief for a morsel of bread, and were without the smallest legal title or military strength. First they enlisted and fought under the British stand ard one got a perpetual pension of Rs. 2,400, which was followed by the grant of a large estate in pargana Palia to Pirthipdl Sah then Raj Ganga Sah occupied Kanchanpur, stretchiug for ninety miles north of the Mohan shortly afterwards Khairigarh, comprising 450 square miles, fdl almost without a struggle after a fight which, in America, would hardly be dignified by the name of a riot. In 1858 the r^ja, who had not the smallest expectation of receiving the estate from a British law court, and who had been actively deporting the tenantry to Kanchanpur, was admitted to be the rightful owner of Khairigarh and a r£ja of Oudh.

when

In 1859 Kanchanpur, which had belonged to Kaipal up till 1814, was again transferred to that state. The Raja of Khairigarh, whose title originated in the murder of the Brahman proprietor, was compensated by the grant of a forfeited estate in Dhaurahra, 78 square miles in extent, and now estimated to yield an annual rental of Rs. 82,000. It is a sufficient commentary on the supposed preference of Indians for native rule that, in this instance, all the Surajbans family, many of whom had no ties of property in Khairigarh, have settled in Khairigarh, ​——

— KHA

133

abandonding Kanchanpui-

This entirely, since it was included in Naip41. Sfirajbans family consists of about twenty gentlemen of very considerable ability and culture, good sportsmen, fair landlords, and all of active and energetic habits. They regret the loss of the Khairigarh forests, which in former times were common property, and which have now been appropriated by Government.

The owners of Khairigarh, however, seem to have exercised no exclusive rights over this forest ; the different r&jas of the neighbourhood constructed their khedds and captured elephants without asking the permission of the Khairigarh

them any share of the

spoil.

rajas, and without giving The Oudh Government used also to lease

the forest produce, and there are still extant many grants of concessions to cut wood here issued by the native rulers, so that the English Government has only taken what belonged to its predecessors.

KHAIRIGARH Kheri.

Pargana Khairigarh— Ta^iZ

—A town from which a pargana derives

Nighasan

—District

name, situated on the left side of the Suheli river, having groves to the north and east. It is distant 110 miles north of Lucknow, and lies in latitude 28° 26', longitude its

80° 41'. Teiffenthaler, describing to

be a

fortified place,

its condition about eighty years ago, states it worthy of note as well on account of its excellent

construction as of its size, being four or five miles in circuit. The defences are built of huge blocks of stone below, and above of bricks of unusual size, but it now lies waste and infested with tigers and other wild beasts. It was built by Ala-ud-din Tughlaq Shah on a site well chosen to check the mountaineers who might plunder Oudh from Kumaun or Naipal. The town is two miles north-east of the great fort, the intervening space being overgrown with trees and grassy jungle, the lair of beasts of prey. Khairigarh. belongs to Raja Indra Bikram Sah. The population

amounts

to 1,135.

'

KHAJURAHRA* Dor.

'

Pargana Bangar

— Khajurahra (population

— Tahiil

HarDoi

—District

Har-

3,305, chiefly Chamars).

The central village of the Khajurahra taluqa of Thdkur Lalta Bakhsh Chamar Gaur, 6 miles south from Hardoi, in pargana Bangar, tahsil and district Hardoi,

536

A petty market hamlet of Sathri.

is

mud

houses.

held on Mondays and Thursdays in the adjacent

Khajurahra has been held by the Chamar Gaurs ever since their ancestor Ganga Singh, surnamed K4na (one-eyed), drove out the Thatheras, See

Bawan

(pargana).

KHANDANSA

—

—

Pargana Tahsil BfKAPUR District Fyzabad. This pargana lies along the north bank of the. Gumti, bordered by Bara Banki It contains 128 villages covering 116 square miles, district on the west. Its population is 70,905, being at the rate of of which 65 are cultivated. 611 to the square mile. Of these 66,698 are Hindus, and only 4,207, or '

By Mr.

A. H. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commiasioner,

18 ​134

KHA

barely three per cent., Musalmans. The history of the formation of this pargana is complicated, and the official accoimt which follows is detailed. It will appear that Khandansa proper was in Eudauli up to annexation; it was then included as a separate pargana in Bara Banki, and in 1860 it was transferred to Fyzabad, the 26 villages of pargana Jagdispur, district Sultanpur, which lay north of the river Gumti, being added to it, and the whole called Khanddnsa.

Tradition says that about 600 years ago one Khande, a Bhar, while on a pilgrimage to Ajodhya with his brothers, happened to come to the neighbourhood of the present Khandansa, and finding it fertile and uninhabited took possession of it and founded four villages Khanddnsa, Urwah, Bhakauli, and Dehli Girdhar, calling them after his own and his brothers' names, Khande, Ori, Bhikhu, Girdhar. In the reign of Pirthi Rde, or R^e Pithaura, R^ja of Hastindpur or Delhi, this tract was entered in official records as Khandansa, and was divided into the four tappas named after This continued until the time of the four villages above referred to. Akbar, when Todar Mai abolished the " tappabandi " arrangement and Thenceforward it was called pargana constituted Khandansa a pargana. Khandansa, ilaqa Rudauli, until the introduction of British rule in February, 1856 A.D. Between that date and the out-break of the mutiny no administrative arrangements were completed, but on the restoration of tranquillity in 1858 A.D. a settlement was made, and Khandansa continued to be a separate pargana, consisting of 113 villages, with a revenue of Rs. 32,695, and was included in the Bara Banki district.

—

At annexation. Captain Orr, who had previously held a the Oudh Government, and been stationed at

mand under

military comSultanpur, was

appointed deputy commissioner of the district of that name, and directed make a summary settlement of it. Before pargana boundaries had been determined, an order was issued that the Gumti should form the boundary -between the Sultanpur and Fyzabad districts, all the lands to the north of the river being included in the latter. Accordingly 26 villages, forming three muhals, and paying a revenue of Rs. 6,440, were (together with 162 villages of pargana Isauli, with a revenue of Rs. 5,690-7-3, and all the villages of Sultanpur Baraunsa on the north of the Gumti) thrown into the Bharthapur tahsil in the Fyzabad district. to

At the adjustment of pargana boundaries about I860, 112 out of the 113 villages of pargana Khanddnsa, with a revenue of Rs. 32,515, together with nine villages of parganas Rudauli and Muhammadpur in tahsil Rudauli paying Rs. 4,310, were taken out of the Bara Banki district, and with the 26 above referred to formed into a new pargana, Jagdispur, which thus consisted of 147 villages (ultimately demarcated as 100) assessed at Es. 43,265. An interchange of a few villageswith adjacent parganas subsequently took place, which resulted in leaving Khandansa with 153 villages (demarcated as 118) and a revenue of Rs. 46,454. This lasted till the re-constitution of districts in 1869 A.D., when by certain changes it was made to consist of 128 (demarcated) villages with a revenue of Rs. 606^07. The pargana which had hitherto been in the Bharthapur tahsil, was now included in the newly formed one of Bfkapur. ​KHA Rivers.

—The

pargana

is

traversed

by two

135 rivers.

The Gumti, com-

ing from the direction of Lucknow on the west, after leaving the pargana, flows on eastward to Jaimpur. Ferries are established at various places in this part of its course. The Madha issues from a large jhil near Basorhi, in the Bara Banki district, and flowing thence through the Rudauli, Khandansa, and Pachhimrath parganas receives difl'erent names in different portions of its course. In this pargana it is called the Madha, in Akbarpur the Tons, and further east the Tamsa. In the Khandiinsa pargana, it has for a long time past been a rain stream only, and the water being used for irrigation after November its bed is dry all the rest of the year.

—

The Bisens. From an early period this pargana was a Bhar and it remained so until one Deo Rae, a Bisen of Manjhauli, who was in the service of the then government, happened to stop here on his way to bathe in the Ganges. During his stay a quarrel arose between him and the Bhars at Bakhauli, which ended in his putting them to the sword and taking possession of the Bakhauli ilaqa. Subsequently his descendants made themselves masters of tappas Urwa and Khandansa, with other adjacent villages in the Mangalsi and Muhammadpur parganas, History.

principality,

of which, after the lapse of thirty-five generations, they are

still

zamindars.

—

The Chauhdns. The Chauhdns in this pargana are a branch of the great family which held 565 villages in Pachhimrath, Isauli, Khandansa ; their histoiy is given under Pachhimrath. In this pargana they have not been so much reduced, as they formerly had thirty-two villages, and now have twenty-five in proprietary possession. The present is the 25th generation from the founder they too drove out Rajbhars and acquired their inheritance. Some Musahnan converts from the family are called KhAn;

zadas,

and occupy Sirseda.

—

The Bhdle Sultdns. Rao Mardan Singh, Bais of Daundia Khera, in Baiswara, was a horse-dealer by profession. He chanced to visit Gajanpur, in the Isauli pargana, in the Sultanpur district, where there was a fort of the Rajbhars, and stopped there for some time. quarrel and fight took place, in which he obtained the victory and became master of the Bhar domains. His son Rd,o Bardr entered the service of the king of Delhi, and as he was a good rider and a clever spearman he obtained the name Bh^le Sult'm. He had two wives by one he had issue Raja Jai Krishn, whose descendants are zamindars of Dadra, in pargana Isauli and by the other Kunwar, Dadhich, and Baram Deo. The eldest of these was called the raja, and as their descendants increased and multiplied, they overran five kos in the Isauli pargana and nine in that of Khanddnsa, or in all fourteen kos. Baram Deo, the youngest of the three, separating from his brothers, settled in a village which he founded in the jungle on the banks Ambitious of obtainof the Gumti, and called after himself Deogaon. ing the title of rdja he became kh^nazad of the king of Delhi, and Of Rao Bardr's since then his descendants have been called khdnzadas. descendants the heads of two branches continued to bear the title of raja until 1257 fasli, viz., Rdja Bhure Khan, brother of Xzam Ali Khan, now lambardar, and R^ja Ali Bakhsh, and besides these B^bu Muhammad Husen Khan and Babu Gulzar Khan also held taluqas but in that

A

​— KHA

136

year Raja Bhure Khan, in punishment for his ill-treatment of his tenantry, was transported beyond seas by the king and the resident, and his estate was made over to Babu Jamshed Ali Khan, son of Azam Ali Khan, and since then Raja Ali Bakhsh Khan only has borne the title of raja., the heads of the other three branches being known as babns.

The

estates they held

were as follows

Kaja Ali Bakhsh Khan Babu Muhammad Husen Gulzar Khao Madar Bakhsh „ „

Jamshed Ali

... ... ...

...

Mahnna. Kachhiaon. Ulha Rasulpur. DeogSon.

After the mutiny Babu Madar Bakhsh and Babu Gulzar Khan failed to put in an appearance before the Government officers, and their estates were in consequence confiscated and conferred on loyal grantees. Babu Xzam Ali Khan still holds the Deogdon estate, consisting of ten villages. Maharaja Man Sii;gh, Sangaldipi Brahman, acquired five villages in the pargana between 1235 and 1260 Fasli ; Chaudhri GhuUm Farid has obtained several villages fron> the zamindars by purchase, mortgage, and

other means.

Musalmans.

—Muhammadans have only recently possessed any property

in land in this pargana. Zaman, superintendent of

In the reign of Asif-ud-daula, Shah Ahmad Makhdiim Shah Abdul Haq's dargah, received

half the village of Saidkhanpur or Saidkha as a revenue-free grant for the The descendants of the defrayal of expenses connected with the dargah. grantee still hold, and the grant has been confirmed to them in perpetuity by Government. They also hold Zafarnagar, which they acquired by purchase from the Kayath proprietors.

—

Two fairs annually are held at Sirseth in honour of Astik Rikhj commemoration of the Rikh having saved a snake from the hands of Raja J&,imijai. One is held in Sawan (7th to 9th of the month), the other in Bhadon, for one day. In the latter 2,000 or 3,000 people congregate. Fairs.

in

—

Bdwan fair. On the north of this village there is a jhil and a mound. About 15 years ago Pandit Indra Datt, parohit (family priest) of the old zamindars, and an astrological and vedic scholar, pointed out that, according to the Ajodhya Mahatam, the village contained the cell, shiwala, and thakurdwara of Bandeo Rikh, and on excavation being made, traces of the two latter were discovered, with figures of Thdkur, Mahadeo, and Ganesh; and since then a religious fair has been held on the day of Rikh Eanchmi, About 4,000 people assemble. in the year in which a mouth is intercalated. The fair lasts aU day.

—

Deogdon. In early days this spot was all jungle, inhabited by a recluse, Niddhi Chand, a Nanak Shahi faqir. He was subsequently joined by one Sundar Shah, a Majzub,* who having wandered there by chance took up After his death a dargah was established, and his abode permanently. A fair is held here from the rent-free land was given for its maintenance. 7th to the 11th of the month of Pus which is attended by about 10,000 people.

A little trade is

done, chiefly in metal vessels;

^ " Majzub,

" R crazy

religious mendicant. ​— KHA

137

—

Bazars. There are ten bazars in the pargana, eight of which are always open, the others only on market days. Amaniganj, founded by Nawab Asif-ud-daula, who when a boy was called Mirza Amdni; principal market day Thursday. Rae Patti, on Wednesday and Saturday. P6ra Bhikhi, Sursampur, Baqarganj, Pura Sidhari, Nawan, Angrauli. The others are of no importance no details of the sales are given.

There are no indigo factories in the pargana, and the soil is less suited than that of HaWeli Oudh. Sugarcane is grown bj' all castes, except the Bhale Sultans in Deogaon. About 2,500 local bighas are occupied by this crop. These produce 25,000 local maunds of raw sugar Cgur^, which is sent to Rudauli, Fyzabad, and Sultanpur. Fine sugar (chini) is not made in the pargana. Cotton is grown to a very limited extent, and yields only 5 or 6 seers to a local bigha. Opium is little cultivated, about 400 bighas only, which yield about 8 seers a local bigha, are devoted to it, the cultivators being Muraos and Brahmans. There are no four-bullock carts in the pargana. Landowners have about 75 two-buUock ones, and these are employed for agricultural purposes only. Weavers are very few in number, and the total number of looms does not exceed one hundred. Country cloths only, such as garha, adhotar, are made, and

for the crop

these are taken for sale to neighbouring bazars.

The remains of Bhar

forts are to be found at Sirsend, Bakhauli, and This pargana was the haunt formerly of Jagannath chaprasi, described as follows by Sleeman

Jarajryan.

who

is

"Jugurnath chuprasee, a Bhala Soltan Rajpoot. This is one of the most formidable of the leaders of banditti in this and the adjoining district of Jugdeespore. He and his elder brother Surubdowun Sing were chuprasees on the establishment of Captain Paton when he was the First Assistant at Lucknow, and had charge of the post-ofEce, in addition to his other duties. A post-ofBce runner was one night robbed on the road, and Jugurnath was sent out to inquire into the circumstances. The amil of the district gave him a large bribe to misrepresent the case to his master and as he refused to share this bribe with his fellow-servants, the}' made known his manifold transgressions to Captain Paton, who forthwith dismissed him.

" Surubdowun Sing was soon after dismissed for some other offence, and they both retired to their estate of Oskamow, in the Jugdeespore district.

"This estate comprised fifteen villages. They obtained the leases of these by degrees, through the influence which their position at the Residency gave them. As soon as they got the lease of a village they proceeded to turn out all the old proprietors and cultivators, in order the better to secure possession in perpetuity and those among them of the military class fought to the death to retain or recover possession of their To defend what they had iniquitously acquired, Jugurnath and his rights. brothers collected together bands of the most desperate ruffians in the country and located them in the several villages, so as to be able to concentrate and support each other at a concerted signal, The ousted proprietors villages

'

' ​138 KHA attacked only those who presumed to reside in or cultivate the lands of which they had been robbed; but Jugurnath and his brethren were less scrupulous, and as they could afford to pay such bands in no other way, they gave them freo license to plunder all the villages around and all travellers on the highway. Their position and influence at the Residency enabled them to deter the local authorities from exposing their iniquities, and they went on till the villages became waste and converted into dens of robbers. "They were in all six brothers, and they found their new trade so pro- fitable and exciting that they all became leaders of banditti by profession long before the dismissal of the two brothers from the Residency, though no one, I believe, ventured to prefer charges against them to the Resident or the Durbar. Soon after their dismissal, however, Jugurnath one night attacked and murdered his eldest brother Suruhdowun Sing in order to get the whole estate to himself, and put his widow and daughter into prison, His other four brothers became alarmed, separated from him, and set up each his separate gang. But Jugurnath contrived soon after in a dark night to shoot the third brother, Himmut, dead with one ball through the chest. “Purmode Sing, the youngest brother, was soon after shot dead by some villagers whose cattle he was driving off in a night attack. Bhug- wunt Sing, the fourth, and Byjonath still survive, and have gangs of their own, afraid to trust themselves with Jugurnath, who has built two forts, Oskamow and Futtehpore, in the Jugdeespore district, and a third in two small villagers which he has lately scized upon and made waste in the Rodowlee district, in order that he may have a stronghold to fly to when pressed by the governors of other districts. "They pay no rent or revenue to Government for any of the villages they bold. The king's Officers are afraid to demand any from them. They have plundered a great many villages, and are every month plundering others. They have murdered a great many persons of both sexes and all ages, and tortured more into paying ransoms in proportion to their sup- posed means. Jugurnath is still the terror of the surrounding country, and à reward of five hundred rupees has been offered for his apprehension."* Sleeman's Tour in Oudh, vol. II., page8 259-262. KHASAURAT--Pargana KATIÁRI—Tahsil BILGRÁX-District HARDOI. --- Khasaura (2,648 inhabitants) a well-to-do Ahír village of 399 mud houses in pargana Katiári, tahsil Bilgrám, district Hardoi, lying on the left bank of the Rámganga, 12 miles north-west from Sándi on the road to Farukha- bad, market days Sundays and Wednesdays. Khasaura was formerly occupid by the Thatheras and Baihár Ahírs. On their destruction by the Katiár Rajputs it was allotted to Kfrat Sák, ancestor of the loyal Rája Sir Hardeo Bakhsh, K.C.S.I., to whose taluqa Khasa uxa gives its name.

  • See note to chapter VI., vol. II., on the capture of Mahaput Sing. A reward of one

thousand rupees has since been offerent for Jugurnath's arrest. See in chapter 17., vol. II.. an account of his desertion of his master, Captain Paton. He is still at large, and plundering. December 4th, 1851, | By Mr. A. Harington, C.S. ​KHA 139 In 1857 Mr. Edwards, Collector of Budaun, and Mr. Probyn, Collector of Fatehgarh, with his wife and four children were sheltered in a farm- yard in Khasaura belonging to Thákur Kesri Singh, an uncle of Rája Hardeo Bakhsh. Two of the little ones died and are buried there. The rest were hidden there and in the neighbouring village of Rámpura from the 14th June to the 1st September, when they escaped by boat to Cawnpore (vide “ Edwards's Reminiscences of a Bengal Civilian," page 197-292.) ​KHERI DISTRICT ARTICLE ABSTRACT OF CHAPTERS. III. I. -PAYSICAL FEATURES. II. AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. THE PEOPLE. IV.--ADMINISTRATION. V.--HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL FEATURES. General description.- Area-Rivers-Lakes-Inondations-Foresta, trees and plants-Climate -Meteorology-Health-Mortuary returne-Cattle diseases-Fauna, Tse district of Kheri, the largest in Oudh, lies at the extreme north- west of the province. It is bounded on the north by the river Mobán, separating it from Naipál, on the east by the Kauriala, on the south by the district of Sitapur, on the west by the river Sukheta, and an artificial boundary dividing it from Shahjahanpur. It lies beween 28°39' and 27°41' north latitude, and between 80°4' and 81°18' east longitude. It is ninety- one miles long from Mallápur to the western extremity of pargana Palia, and seventy-one miles broad along the western side, diminishing to a point at Mallápur. In fact, it is an irrregular triangle, two of whose sides are detailed above; the third, the southern, extends eighty-two miles along the north border of the Sitapur and Hardoi districts; the base is on the Shahjahanpur district, the terminal angle at Mallápur, where the Kauriala and Chauka rivers unite. Its total area is 2,987* square miles, of which 650 are covered with forest, 1,047 grassy savannahs or bush judgle, and only 1,290 cultivated. The population amounts to 746,350. The general slope is from north-west to south-east, the highest elevation being in the forest south of the Mohán, 600 feet above the sea, and the lowest on the Kauriála, opposite Mallápur, an altitude of only 375 feet. A useful list of elevations is given in tabular formn :- List of places with their elevation above the sea in the Kheri and neigh! bouring districts. Towns. Elevation. 1. 10. +6 Dudbu Ghát in Kheri Mailáni Gola Gokarannáth Mitaul Aurangabad Kaimahra Lakhimpur 585 555 503 487 485 494 483 10 + .

  • The Settlement Officer makes it 3,000, ​KHE

141 List of places with their elevation above the sea in the Kheri and neigh- bouring districts. Towas. Elevation, 40 21. Mau in Kheri Paila Bel Oel Gulrahapur op the Kathua Aliapur on the Gumti Gopalapur Machbrehta in Sitapur Khairabad ditto Padri in Kheri Bláwapur Saida puu Dhaurahra Bhíta Dhauralırs Isinagar Ojba Purwa Tambaur in Sitapur River Kauriála opposite Peánagar Mánjha on Kauriála Dear Mallápir Kauriála riper at Mallápor in Sitaptır 482 491 479 467 454 451 441 438 437 436 428 425 425 413 412 410 400 399 897 875 ... The character of the district varies much with the situation. It con- sists of a number of fairly elevated plateaus, separated by rivers flowing from the north-west, and each bordered by belts, more or less broad, of low alluvial land; there are no mountains or hills. Rivers.—The rivers are commencing from the east) the Kauriala, the Suheli, the Daháwar, the Chauka, the Ul, the Jamwári, the Kathna, the Gumti, and the Sukheta. North of the Ul the country is generally styled tarái and considered very unhealthy; but it would be a mistake to suppose that the whole is one vast expanse of low-lying ground covered with swamps and thickets. The fact is that the country is rather an elevated plateau, formerly probably the bottom of a lake, through which two huge rivers, the Kauriála and the Chauka, have for thousands of years been forcing their way. These two rivers change tlieir courses con- stantly, abandoning old channels and opening up now, consequently the whole surface is scamed with many abandoned river beds much below the level of the surrounding country. In these the vegetation is very dense, and the stagnant water breeds fevers all around; but they will in time be drained, as their level is much above that of the Kauriala. The people are forced to reside in the neighbourhood of these low grounds because the upper lands being covered with forest, would be more expensive to cultivate, and are less fertile. There are, for instance, in Kheri about 300 square miles of sál forest, which is never met with except on high ground. In the Dhaurahra, Srinagar, and Bhúr parganas also the rivers have occasionally eaten away north or south for years together, sweeping off the crumbling soil, and leaving behind them great expanses of alluvial bottom, gradually to be raised again by deposits; but, as a rule, it may be stated that north of the Ul, in Bhúr, Palia, Khairigarh, 19 ​142 KHE and Kukra Mailáni, the land is not low, though the people cluster together in the low spots, being too few and feeble to subdue the forests on the uplands. Cultivation is scanty; ploughed land, which is known to purify the atmosphere, is small in area compared with that covered by forest and jungle. There is nothing therefore in the level of the country to render the water stagnant and the air unhealthy; the causes of the great mortality in Kheri are more probably the forests, the heavy rain- fall, the wretched houses and food of the people. South of the Ul we find, indeed, that the great rivers have ceased to sweep off cultivation, and leave pestilent swamps behind; but here we meet another feature. Between each pair of rivers there is a plain, more or less broad, considerably less elevated than the so-called tarái to the north. There is very little slope in any of these plains for many miles, apd marshes are formed, from which emerge the head waters of various small secondary streams. Thus between the Ul and the Kathna rises the Kewani, the Jamwári, the Saráyan, the Pirai, which flow down the plateaus, and become not only dangerous torrents to cross in the rains, but devastating floods. Between the Kathna and Gumti the plateau slopes on each side, and the drainage is into those rivers; but beyond the Gumti appear the Chúcha and the Sukheta, the latter rising a few miles out of the district. Speaking broadly, there their is no watershed between the Chauka and the Rámganga in north-west Oudh. The country con- sists of a plateau sloping longitudinally, and drained by a number of small streams, most of which join the Ganges further down. The Ul, Gumti, and Chauka are practically useless for purposes of irrigation, except on the low levels of their alluvial banks, and the smaller streams are almost equally useless, because in the dry season their beds contain no water, while, owing to the porous nature of the subsoil, embank- ments in most places do not serve to retain the water, Lakes.—There are very few lakes north of the Ul, but in Paila, Haida- rabad, and Kheri numerous large sheets of water occur. The largest, which is at Simri in Paila, is about two miles in diameter either way; in Kheri pargana, at Gumchini and Muhammadabad, are fine sheets of wa- ter, and a large jhíl borders the village of Sikandarabad. The aver- age depth is about three feet, and a ll are navigable by small boats bol- lowed out of trunks of trees. There is no lake or marsh cultivation except that of the singhára or waternut. They are not used for irrigation. North of the Ul, at Ramia Bihar, in the Dhaurahra, beyond Tirkaulia in the Palia pargana, and at Matera there are in curves of the ancient channels of the Kauriála and Sárda fine sheets of water from ten to twenty feet deep, from three to four miles long, and in some places fringed with magnificent groves. These lakes are locally called 'bhaggħar. There are no river-side towns, nor do the villages adjoining contain any number of persons who live by fishing or river traffic. At the ferries on the Chauka and Kauriala, particularly Pachperi, merchants encamp during the cold weather and buy up grain, departing before the rains commence. Inundations. The Clauka overflows its banks for many miles, as elswehere statedl,* during the rains, the sheet of water thus formed extend- ► See article “Chauka," ​KHE 143 ing from Pacliperi Ghát to Matera, a distance of ten miles. Annually the lower lands are swept for hundreds of square miles by this destructive river. Srinagar, Dhaurahra, Firozabad, and part of Bhär are invaded (see the account of those parganas and of the Chauka). It needs embankment. The Kauriála does little harm, its current being slower and its banks higher, The Gumti and Ul have done some damage, but it appears probable that much of this is due to recent road-making and insufficient waterway left in the bridges. The Katuna, the Mohán, the Sukheta, and the Suheli do no injury. Kheri possesses enormous river power, which is not utiliz- ed in any way, except to a very trifling extent for irrigation. The Kauriála has a minimum dry-weather discharge of 13,700 cubic feet per second, the Sárda of 7,300 cubic feet, the Gumti of 300 cubic feet, and the Suheli of about 150 cubic feet. Forests.--The whole north of the district is covered with huge forests, which occupy the greater part of Khairigarh and Kukra Mailáni, and the western extremities of Palia and Bhúr. These woods are continued along the banks of the rivers, penetrating far into the districts of Hardoi and Sitapur. For instance, commencing at the junction of the Kathna with the Gumti in the Sitapur district, the traveller might follow the bank of the river towards the north through continuous forest for many days' march, and striking direct north through Kukra Mailáni would reach the Naipál mountains, a distance of 120 miles, without ever seeing cultivated land. Tlie eastern bank of the Gumti also exhibits patches of forest almost to Muhamdi, and the woods are unbroken along the Ul till within eight miles of Lakhimpur. The Kauriála and the Clauka flow generally between banks covered with jháo coppices scattered at intervals in vast prairies of lofty grass. The forests proper of Kheri cover 650 square miles, exclusive of the bushy prairies above referred to. Of this area 303 square miles (278 in Khairigarh and 25 in Bhúr) werc in 1861 taken possession of by Govern- ment and preserved as forest lands, to provide materials for public build- ings and arsenals. The remainder, 347 square miles, was divided into lots of 5,000 acres or less and given to men of supposed enterprisc, who were to hold it rent-free for twenty years, and then pay only half the Government revenue payable for similar land. The only conditions were that they had to cut down a quarter of the forest, and bring 3 quarter of the land under cultivation within twelve years. Some grants were sold outright at an upset price of Rs. 2-8-0 per acre. Hardly any of these forest lessees either brought the forest under cultivation under the first set of conditions, or paid up the due instalments of their purchase-money under the second, and consequently grants of forest covering more than 120 square miles were resumed by the State, whose forests now cover 423 square miles, while private individuals hold in all 227, little of which has been brought under the plough. Of the whole forest land about two-thirds are covered with sál (Shorea robusta). In the Khairigarh forest the trees are of large size, there being more than ten to each acre, with a girth of over four and a half feet. The forests north of the Mohán consist mainly of sál and asín (Termina- lia tormentosa). The banks of the Sulieli are fringed with glittering ​144 KHE green shisham trees (Dalbergia sissoo), above them masses of khair (Aca- cia catechu), with bare branches and stiff grey rugged trunks, and be- yond them again the sál forests --masses of tall slender straight stems, the young trees bursting out from the very root with little bunches of green leaves, the old trees shooting up for sixty or seventy feet without a branch or bend. In addition to the forest there are fifty-five square miles Where there is of groves very evenly distributed over the whiole district. no forest, as in Kheri, they are spacious and numerous, covering five per cent. of the area; where forest adjoins, as in Palia and Kbairigarh, the arti- ficial groves are not onc-half per cent of the total area. The groves consist generally of mango, and a few of shishain. Mahna is hardly grown at all, not being used in Kheri for the manufacture of spirit, but it is found wild in the forests, The fertility of the soil is so uniform that only thirty-seven square miles, or little more than one per cent. of the total area, are recorded as barren in the survey records. Much of this also is covered with bruslı- wood and babúl trees useful for fuel. The following is a list of the more common trees and plants found in the Kheri district :- Acacia arabica (Babui.) Dalbergia latifolia (Shislam ) Acacia catechu (Khair.) Enıblica officinalis (Aonla.) Egle murmelos (Bel.) Mangifera indica (Am, Mango.) Bassia latifolia (Mabua.) Nelubium speciosum (Kanwal, Kewal, Butea frondoga (Dhák, Palás.) Latus.) Calotropis Hamiltoni (Madár.) Salınalia malabarica (Semal, cotton-tree.) Catbartocarpus Roxburghii. Shorea robusta (Sakhu. Sál.) (Amaltás.) Tamarindus indica (Iuli, Tamarind.) Cedrelis taona (Tun) Terminalia tormcotosa (Asín.) Climate. The climate of Kheri is reckoned by the natives very mala- rious beyond the Ul, and salubrious south of that river. The heat is less than that of the surrounding districts. The mean annual temperature during the last five years has been 79:60; but the average beat at 2 P. M., the hottest period of the day in May 1870, the hottest month, was only 94 ; the average for the province being 104. In the sun's rays the tem- perature reaches 137. The following tables of temperature and account of the diseases common to Kheri have been furnished by an officer of the district, but in some respects they are not quite reliable-: Abstract of meteorological register for 1871, STANDARD THERMOMETER IN SHADE. MONT, Remarks. Mean. Highest and dates. Lowest and dates January 90 62.0 February 70-6 let and 31st 716 11th 770 29th and 30th 93 0 4th 490 19th 64.0 4th and 5th 66'0 March P 796 ​KHE 145 Abstract of meleorological register for 1871. STANDARD THERMOMETER IN SILADE. MONTUS, Remarks, Mean, Highest and dates. Lowest and dates. April . May June July 11 August September 89'3 11th and 12th 2501 1000 76.0 89.2 20th 22nd 1000 77.0 91.3 2nd and 3rd 29th 104.6 82-4 86-3 2nd 22nd 93-4 79+ 85.9 7th and 14th 24th and 31st 924 80.4 857 2900 17th 93-4 841 8r3, 5th and 6th 27th, 28tb & 31st 90-0 760 740 Ist 27th 850 65.0 63 & 1 st 13th 790 55.0 October 000 November December Table of thermometrical observations. IN SHADE. IN UN'S BAYS. Medium. Minimom. Minimum, E2° VO 14 110° 96° 899 48° 45° 820 65° 80° 820 89° 17 96° 80° 84-50 88.50 04:59 112.50 1 16° 04 November, 1866 December January, 1867 February March April May June July August September 15 October 77 . 78° 70° 67° 740 83° 94° 2009 100° 90° 90° 900 85° 65. 57-6° 57.5° 59.5° 71.5° 890 880 90° 85-5° 85-5° 81-50 77.5° 1200 180° 187° 120° 40 60° 70° 76° 80° 81° 81° 2) ... 101° 120° 14 170° 102° 100° 1020 109.50 95 820 840 90° 830 99° 121° 120° sor 70° The rainfall is above the average of the province. Cold winds fol- lowing the course of the rivers emerge from the Naipál plateaus through the mountain gorges, and meeting the already saturated atmosphere of the plains cool it, and precipitate moisture first on the lowlands at their base. The hot vapours from the plains are also cooled by the vast forests which clothe the uplands ; and being no longer able to marry so much water discharge it in rain. The extraordinary difference in the rainfall of suc- is unaccountable. In one year this district receives far above cessive years ​KHE the provincial average, which was to be expected ; but iu 1868 the average in Oudh was 38 inches, when Kleri, close to the forest and the Hima- layas, had only 30. The following table exhibits the rainfall for eleven successive years : Years. Ineles Years. Inches. e. 510 33.0 1866 1866 1867 1868 1 869 1870 1871 187! 1873 1874 1875 702 692 443 283 67.1 30-3 GSS 3004 428 A Terage for eleven years 473 44.

The accompanying table exhibits the rainfall for the last two years of drought, 1868 and 1873, each of which was followed, in 1869 and 1874 respectively by considerable scarcity. It will be noted that the entire rainfall was not scanty, but the distribution was capricious and unusual, and there was no rain during individual months in which it is much need- ed for agricultural purposes. There are four rainfalls, each of which must be propitious to secure a good harvest. First, the June rains, the former rains as they may be called. In 1873 there was only half an inch, not near enough to moisten the earth for the plough and to water the early rice. Second, the main monsoon, whiclı begins in July and ends at the commencement of October. This was sufficient in both years; but the fall in September, 1873, was only 3:1 inch, and it ceased too soon, viz., on Septem- ber 15th. Third, the latter or October rains, which are required to water the late rice and moisten the land for the winter ploughings. These were wholly deficient in both years. Fourth, the January-February rains, which were wholly wanting in 1869, and in 1874 were two inches. Speaking broadly, the rains commenced well in 1868, badly in 1873; they ended with a good fall in 1868, but too soon; in 1873; they were scanty for the last month, and ended still earlier in September. So far 1873 was much worse than 1868. Then there was absolutely no rain in either year from October till January, but in February there was no rain in 1869 and two inches in 1874. Rainfall 1868. 1873. 25.6 0-6 06 Rainfall from June 1st to October 1st Ditto from October Ist to December 31st, Ditto in June Ditto in September Ditto in October Date of raio commencing Ditto of raia endiog. Rain itt January February of ensuing year. 287 00 9.3 10.2 0.0 June 11th September 21st 001 0:0 June 13th September 15th 20 ​КІНЕ 1 +7 Health.—The residents of the uparhár* appear robust and energetic, and no sickness prevails there. There is notbing in the soil to produce sickuess, and it is believed that the same soil extends up through the forest to the hills. Sickness will, no doubt, prevail for soune years till the underwood and all the putrid leaves be removed. The water that stag- nates over them, and percolates through the soil into the wells from which the people drink, the exhalations which arise from them tainting the air, and confined by the dense mass of the forest trees, the underwood, and high grass are the chief causes of the diseases which prevail in the jungles. It is, however, remarkable that there are two unhealthy seasons in the forest, one at the latter end of the rains in August, September, and October, and the other before the rains begin to fall in the latter part of April, the whole of May, and part of June. Those diseases which occur after the rains are caused by bad air, and those which occur immediately before the rains are created by bad water. Petroleum or liquid bitumen is found floating on the spring waters in the hot season, when the most fatal diseases burst out in the jungles; but whether the poisonous quality of the water be imparted to it by impure bitumen from below, or by the putrid leaves of the forest trees from above, is uncertain. The people drink from the spring waters at this season as well as from stagnant pools in the beds of small rivers which have ceased to flow during part of the cold and the whole of the hot season. These pools become filled with the leaves of the forest trees which overhang theia. The bitumen arises from the coal mensur es pressed down by the overlying masses of sandstone strata of the Himalaya chain of mountains beyond the Tarái forest. The putrid waters may possibly act both directly and through the medium of the air. The disease most common in this district is intermitteut fever, which appears to be endemic in the neighbourhood of Gokarannáth, and is caused by malaria produced apparently by the spontaneous decomposition of vegetable matter after the cessation of the monsoons, and by imperfect drainage. European and native constitutions suffer alike from its attacks. Spring fever appears mostly among those whose agrarian pursuits expose them to the noonday sun. It assumes a remittent type, and is propor- tionately more fatal as summer advances. Next in the order of frequency are bowel complaints. As a rule, they increase at harvest time, and have a fatal tendency when succulent fruit and vegetables become abundant in the market. Cholera became epidemic in this district during the rains of 1867, and was most fatal and persistent in those villages where filth most abounded. In Lakhímpur the scourge was apparently introduced on bazar days, or only occurred sporadically. Pulmonic and rheumatic affec- tions increase in winter. Of cutaneous affections herpes deserves notice; it is very prevalent among the natives. It seems to be acquired from the practice of keeping on a dhoti while bathing, and replacing it by a clean one without drying the skin. The disease is seen chiefly about the hips and loins of those affected, and does not yield readily to the treatment gene- rally adopted: strong acetic acid externally is the best remedy. Leprosy is not an uncommon disease. Goitre is most common among the trans-Chauka

  • Highlands. ​148

KHE population. The quality of the water is supposed to be the cause of this disease. Its local distribution is unaccountably capricious, but, as a rule, the vast mass of the cases occur within two miles of the river bank, parti- cularly in Dhaurahra and Palia parganas. Venereal diseases are common, and frequently seen in their secondary and tertiary forms, a fact attribut- able to neglect or improper treatment of the primary symptoms. Among ophthalmic disorders those most prevalent here are ophthalmia and nyc- talopia; they occur principally in summer. Cataract among the aged is not uncommon. Dropsies of the skin and abdomen are often seen in subjects. who have long suffered from paludal fever, and enlarged spleens. Mortuary returns.—Mortuary returns have been prepared in this as in other districts. There is no establishment for the purpose, and little con- fidence can be placed in them, except in one point, that they never exaggerate the mortality. According to them the deaths in Kheri in 1870 were 16,272, or 22 in a thousand of the entire population; but as the whole mortality of Oudh was only 17, which is clearly underrated by perbaps 50 per cent, it is probable that the deaths in. Kheri likewise should be about 33 per cent. Even the 22 per cent. is the highest in the province. But, further, in all the other districts which exhibited a death-rate at all approaching this, as Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, epidemics either of cholera or small-pox were raging during the year in question. From these Kberi was free, and its high mortality was due entirely to the endemic fever which prevails for many months in each year. Fever carried off 14,638, or 20 per thousand of the entire popula- tion. Doubtless many of these would shortly have died from senile decay, but stilt the proportion of deaths from a disease which enfeebles for months fifty persons for one whom it kills, is most alarming in an economical point of view. In 1872 the deaths were 21,912, being at the rate of 29-36 per mille, the provincial average being 16-99; 19,968, or 90 per cent., were due to fever. There were 23 dispensaries in Oudh in 1871; in all of them only 61 persons died of fever in that year, and 28 of the deaths were in the single dispensary of Gola in Dhaurahra, the only one wbich, from its position, could be attended by the inhabitants of the most fever-stricken tracts. As these dispensaries are ouly used by the people in their immediate neigh- bourhood, they convey no idea of the total district mortality, but they give a correct indication of the comparative virulence and extent of the disease. It cannot be doubted that the mortality caused by fever in Kheri is, in great measure, due to the bad food and bad clothing of the people. We have seen that deaths in Kheri are more numerous proportionately than in any other district, and that fever has attained the dimensions- of a fearful plaguc. In the whole of Oudh cholera only carried off 16,032 in 1871, while fever took in Kheri alone 14,638, and almost 20,000 in 1872. The one kills 20 in the thousand annually, the other 11 per thousand. Such is the morbid state of the Kheri people as a whole; but on turning to a class of that people which we know is well lodged and fed-i. e., the criminals in the jail-we find that in 1871 they were actually the healthiest community of the kind in all Oudh. The deaths in Kheri jail were only 4:9 per thousand, while the provincial average ​KHE 149 was 24:6, and no jail, small or large, in Oudh approached the minimum of mortality presented by Kheri. During the ten years ending 1868 the average jail mortality of the province was 85 ju the thousand, but in Kheri jail only 45. The above figures prove conclusively that when men are treated with the care and solicitude which the Oudh administration bestows upon its criminals, then Kheri, or a great part of it, is tolerably healthy, but that even freedom will not compensate for the bad food and clothing which the peasants of backward districts can alone procure. Perhaps it may be urged that 22 per thousand is, after all, no great mortality, and it is only an assumption that 50 per cent. should be added to that proportion; but another proof of the extreme sickliness of Kheri may be brought forward, and this is, that 937 in the thousand of the policemen there stationed were admitted into hospital during the year. Of course a man is not allowed to enter the hospital unless wholly unfit for work, and we can gather how widespread and unfailing must be the maladies which disable annually, for a longer or shorter period, almost every man in the police force, composed of healthy able-bodied men, well paid and well clothed. The provincial average of admissions into police hospitals was only 387 in the thousand, and this is perhaps a fairer, because a more accurate, statement than any other of the comparative unhealthiness of the district. The health of the district will, no doubt, improve with the extension of culti- vation, the clearing of the rank undergrowth, and the drainage of the jhíls. It has been questioned whether the latter months are, after all, so pre- judicial to health, but the sanitary officers are unanimous in the affirmative. It may be remarked that in 1871, 7,033 out of the 14,638 deaths in Kheri, or almost half, occurred during the three months of October, No- vember, and December, when the waters of the marshes and shallow ponds were being drained off by evaporation, and these months are almost equally fatal throughout the remainder of Oudh. In 1872, simi- larly, 9,423 deaths out of 21,912 occurred during the same three months. True, the actual area recorded as under water in Khe only 137 square miles, little more than 4 per cent of the whole; but this represents a very small proportion indeed of what is actually inundated during the rains, and the greater part of the three months in question. It is not un- common in Kheri during the rains to travel in large boats for four- teen or fifteen miles over land which is entered in the Government re- cords as high and dry. These transient waters were, of course, not in- cluded in the measurement; in fact they could not be, for when the sur- vey operations commenced a number of men were despatched into the district north of the Ul in October and November : all were seized with fever, and a large proportion died. Subsequent measurements were there- fore conducted after January, and the rain inundations, not being seen, were not enteredd. Nearly all these jhíls could be drained, as the Ul and Kauriála rivers flow far below their level, and it is hoped that they will be when canals or embankments supply other means of irrigation. Cattle-disease.-Connected with the subjects of hcalth and marsh malaria is that of cattle-disease. Kheri had not suffered severely from this plague 20 ​150 KHE till 1870. English settlers in the district bear evidence to the fact that it was practically unknown during the first nine years after annexation, and old native inhabitants, while admitting that human mortality was sometimes very great under native rule, deny that anything approaching the murrains now to be referred to ever occurred. The following remarks are drawn from notes taken at the time by the editor :- The principal disease is a virưlent diarrhoea accompanied with swelling. of the dewlap; but chaundhiána, otherwise called chakkar or ghumni, has been very fatal over a limited area. Foot-and-mouth disease has not been virulent at all, and need not be feferred to. Chaundhiána seems to be something like "stomach staggers;" the animal refuses food, cannot void, turns round perpetually and dies in an interval varying from an hour to a day. The treatment consists in firing in parallel lines from the chest to the flank and round the eyes, and giving internal doses of the inspissated juice of three-year-old cowdung.--evidently merely a relig- ious charm added by the Brahmans to the real treatment. Firing I have seen effectual in causing recovery, but I need not waste time on technical subjects of which I know nothing. One thing is clear: that the great cause of both diseases and of the mortality is the bad food grown on the marshes; the natives showed me particular poisonous plants in the marshes which the cattle ate greedily, but the bad rank grass is quite enough of itself. I do not think the village site has much to do with it; fine dry villages with lofty sites like Siáthu, Ramuápur have suffered the most because the cattle grazed in the marshes beneath. * I append a list of villages observed by me in which the grazing was of this description, with the recorded mortality :- No. of deaths, Village. Surviving Remarks, 1870. 1871. 14 87 56 1 lad tot Ahmadnagar Haidarabad Alrori Munda Bisban Mamri Ramaápar Dhangaon Dharáván Bel Siátbut 163 263 80 70 300 230 83 3) 30 100 51 129 672 426 70 147 349 166 163 68 60 190 . 35 10 15 Total ... 1,260 398 2,300 The diseases, except kora, are quite different from those mentioned by Dr. McLeod in the report on murrain. The principal symptoms not

  • On this point see White's Veterinary Act, nineteenth edition, page 165.

“Before the moois were onclosed and drained staggers frequently happened ; since, hardly ever." The above refers to the borse, but cowpathology is fairly analogous I believe. Before I saw this I bad noticed that wherever there were marshes, as around the head-Wacers of the Sarayan, Jamwári, Kewani, in this district, cattle-disease was far more prevalent than elsewhere. ​KHE 151 mentioned by him are, great swelling of the dewlap, almost continuous and involuntary evacuations, as in the second stage of cholera, and the constant turning round while strength lasts. Further, the rains are the worst season instead of the best. Statistics of mortality--I have obtained from the police officers the re- turns of cattle deaths for the month of October, 1871, the first for whiclı regular record was kept. It appears that in five out of the seven thánas the deaths amounted to 2,321 in one month, the sick being far piore numerous of course. I have tested these returns, and am disposed to be- lieve them generally correct. Of one thing I am perfectly certain: that the mortality in 1870 was at least three times greater than in 1871. It is hard to say which is the most deadly month. From inquiries, I believe August, September, and October to be about on a par, and to represent collectively about half the mortality of the year. Going upon this calculation the deaths in these five thanas would be 7,000 for the three deadly months, 14,000 for the whole year 1871, and 42,000 for the year 1870, in these five thanas; that is to say, 56,000 in the five thánas and 78,000 for the entire district during 1871-74 ; but as returns were sent for only 364 villages out of 1,690, while disease prevailed in many places where it was not reported, we may fairly raise the 78,000 to 100,000 for the entire mortality. Another calculation may be made. One-third to one-fifth of the whole cattle stock of the district is the proportion of losses by deaths assert- ed by the most respectable proprietors. Let us take one-fourth. Now the whole number of cattle in the district was 517,600 in 1860; it is probable therefore that 120,000 cattle, worth Rs. 12,00,000, have died during these two years 1870-71. I have calculated bullocks at Rs. 14 and cows at Rs. 6. It is apparent therefore that the two estimates of the mortality, one from actual census of individual villages, the other from the proportionate mortality; fairly agree. Another census was made of the plough cattle which died; this excludes calves and cows. It con- firms the previous calculations, as it would appear that in Haidarabad and Magdapur parganas, in which the disease was 'most virulent, 44 per cent. of the catële died. The following table shows the number of cattle which died in parganas Muhamdi, Haidarabad, and Magdapur, district Kheri : No. of cattled died. Name of pargana. . No. of cattle re- maining Remarks No. of No. of cat- tle in the Total No. cattle in of cattle current died. year. last year: QUE Haidarabad Blagdapur Muhamdi 1,778 J56 289 700 212 974 2,418 368 663 2,911 542

  • 891

Total 2,163 1,286 9,449 4,344

  • This return must be incorrect with reference to the surviving cattle of

pargana Bulangi; this return appareytly includes only the plough cattle, ​152 KHE The police statistics are erroneous in so far that in some cases apparent- ly the whole mortality of the season, c.ex, the wet months, has been entered for October alone, but only in a few instances I think. A much more serious defect is that returns were given for only 364 villages out of 1,690. I know of enormous losses never reported. I have before me muy own notes taken in more than 50 villages, and they support the calculation that one-fourth of the cattle have perished. So far as they go they are quite reliable, as every cultivator and his individual losses were counted up and verified before me. Fizuna.-The wild animals are those common to north Oudh Black buck abound in Aurangabad, Magdapur, Atwa Piparia, everywhere between the Guiti and the Kathna, also across that river in Bhíra. They are met with, but in smaller number, on the west bank of the Gumti and near the Sukheta, also on the watershed between the Kauriála and the Chauka from Dhaurahra by Nighúsaur to Palia. Spotted deer are found along both banks of the Kathna, and everywhere in the jungles of Kukra Mailáni and Khairigarh. Níl-gáe abound along the banks of the Kauriála in Dhaurahra and Firozabad; on the Chauka near the villages Srinagar and Barágáon the berds are enormous, and do a great deal of damage. They are tolerably numerous everywhere throughout the dis- trict, being preserved by the popular veneration in jungles such as Kauria, on the Ul, in the midst of high cultivation and dense populatin. Hog- doer used to abound on the Uí, but have now disappeared. They are still metwith in great numbers in the ravincs and ancient watercourses now filled with lofty grass, which are found in Khairigarh and Kukra Múilani, also in the savannahs and marshes which lie on each side of the Chanka. Gond are found along the Chauka, specially near Kámp in Bhúr, and south of the Sukheta iu Dhaurahra. Tiger are to be met with every- where in the Khairigarh pargana, also near Kukra, and in the grassy morasses which lie along the Baraoncha before its junction with the UI. South of the Suheli also tigers are sometimes encountered. They abound at Newalkhár, on the old bank of the Chauka; and in the forests south of Aliganj some are found. Five years ago they were to be met wita in pargana Dhaurahra, at Matera, in one of the curves of the ancient channel where the Kauriála ran centuries ago; but either the increase of population or the greater dryness of the neighbourhood has driven them away. In Haidarabad also tigers, up to u recent date, came down the Kathna coppices from the tarái forest, and were killed south of Muhamải and Mitauli. Their numbers have now been much diminished even in the few strongholds which they yet retain. In 1860 it was not uncommon for a party to kill five tigers in a day; now five in a week is regarded a great Leopards are numerous in Atwa Piparia, Kukra Mailáni, and Khairigarh. During the rains they are killed in villages, even on the roofs of houses. The Pásis slaughter many annually for the sake of the sking. The following is a fairly complete list of all the animals indigenous to Kheri, but it is doubtful whether the elephant, the wild buffalo, and wild cattle are still found there, although they have been recently :- Indian elephant Elephas indicus, Samber 1. Rusa Aristotelis. Wild swine . Sus indicus. Spotted deer Asis maculatus Swamp deer Rucervus Duvaucelli. Hog decr Axis porcinus, Sliccess. ​KHE 153 . or I. . ... Barking deer Coivulus aureus. Short-tailed mole, Talpa micrura. Nil-gáe Portax picttis. Long-tailed mole... Talpa niacrura. Four-horned ante- Tetraceios quadri- Hedgehog, Erinaceus collaris. lope cornus, Scaly manis or pan- Manis pentadactyla. Common antelope, Antilope bezoartica. golin. Wild buffalo Bubulus arni. Ratel Indian Mcllivora indica. Common otter Lutra nair. badger Indian black bear, Crsus labiatus. Bengal mungoose, Herpestes malaccensis Tiger Felis tigris. Lesser civet-cat ... Viverra malacceusis. Icoparel Felis pardlus. Red lynx Felix caracal. Striped hyena Hyana striata. Common tree-cat, Paradoxyrus musanga. Wolf Capis pallipes. Himalayan mouse, Lagomys Roylei. Jackal Canis aureus. hare. Wild dog Cuon rutilans. Wil cattle Sciurus palmarum Fox Vulpes bengalensis. squirrel Porpoise Platanista gangetica. Coramon striped Zerboa rat Gerbillus inclicus, Magar crocodile, Crocodilis palustris. Porcupine Hystrix leucura (aliort-snout). Cominon hare Lepus ruficaudatus. Garial crocodile Gavialis gangeticus. Red monkey Inuus rliesus. (Iong-snout). Langtır Presbytis entellus. Go (two kinds) Varaunus flavescons Muskrat Sorex coerulescens. and dracona. Bandicoot Mus banclicota. Python Python molurus. Soft-fuired field-rat Golunda meltada. Cobra Naja tripucians. Bamboo rat Rhizoinys badius, Karait ... Bangarus coeluresceps, Fawn field-mouse, Nus cervicolor. Daboia Daboia Russellii. The domestic a imals are not remarkablo. In Dhaurahra and Nighá- san very large and stately bullocks are reared; but the broed found in Parohár* the tract between the Gumti and the Kathna, is noted for strength and endurance. Birds.---Tlie birds of Kheri are those common to North India. Flo- rican were abundant in Bhúr, but have almost disappeared, owing to their being shot during the breeding season. Black partridge are becom- ing scarce from the same cause, but are still found in all the forest parganas, also iu Dhaurabra and Srinagar. Thoy are found whorover hog-doer are met with, and, like them, disappear when pressed by advanc- ing population. The large bustard and the spotted partridge are found at Matera. Enormous flocks of geese and kulang appear on the Kauriála and Chauka; the sportsmen often use a rifle with success upon the dense flocks, and the smaller wild-fowls are numerous on the jhils and marshes, For the following account of the birds I am indebted to a well known naturalist, Major Cock. As this is not intended to be an ornithological work I shall not do more than catalogue five out of the six groat orders of birds. Of the sixth order, that of insessores, I will only give a passiog montion to the various families, as it would take up far too much space were I to attempt to mention each genus and species. In the orders grallatores and natatores there are, I trust, only a fow omissions, and a glance at the total number of species given in those orders will show how rich the avifauna of this province is. In the order natatores I suppose no single province in India equals this. Well watered, in comparative

  • So called from Pandulár, ​154

KHE proximity to the great breeding grounds accoss the Himalayas, a large portion of the migratory army of birds prolong their stay here on their arrival and departure from and to their breeding grounds. I have noticed many of the waders putting on their summer plumage and pairing before leaving the province, showing that they were not far from their homes. The province therefore offers equal attractions both to the ornithologist and the sportsman, and I trust those attractions may never lessen, which in some species they assuredly will, if game laws are not introduced for their protection ; quail, partridges, florican, jungle fowl, spotted-bill duck, and others being snared and shot by both natives and Europeans with a total disregard of season. I will exonerate the former on the plea of ignorance, and because the purchase of quail, &c. (which often lay their eggs in the baskets they are brought in) by Europeans, who should know better, is an encouragement to a practice that should be discountenanced. It will go on till no game remains in the province, and then, when too late, the legislature may step in. Any old sportsman will bear me out in this. The partridges, florican, and quail that used to be in certain district ten years ago, where now you won't find one, where are they? I believe that the great bustard is nearly extinct now, but very few remain. The migratory birds of course are safe, as their breeding grounds are away in places beyond the reach of biped foes, so there is no proba- bility of their number lessening; but I trust for all this that something be done throughout India for the protection of the game birds, I will now commence with the raptores or birds of prey : ORDER RAPTORES. Otogyps calvus Black vulture. Gyps bengalensis White-backed vulture. Neophron ginginianus White scavenger vulture. Falco peregrinus Peregrine falcon. » peregrinator Shahin falcon. » jugger Laggar falcon. babylonicus Recl-headed lanner. Rypotriorchis subbuteo Hobby. chicquera Turumti. Tinnunculus alaudarius Kestril, Erythropus vespertinus Red-leggedkestril. Micronisus badius Shikra Accipiter risus Basha. virgatus Besta. Aquila imperialis Imperial eagle. Spotted eagle. vindhiana Wokhab or tawny eagle. hastata Long-legged eagle. pennata Dwarf eagle. Nisactus Bonelli Crestless hawk eagle. Circaetus gallicus Serpent eagle. Spilornis cheela Crested serpent eagle. Pandion haliatus Osprey. Pokiocetus ichthyætus White-tailed eagle, Halictus leucorrhyphus Ring-tailed eagle. Buteo canescens Long-legged buzzard. Pokornus teesa White-eyed buzzard or teesa. Circus Swainsoni Pale harrier, cineracens Montague's harrier. 」 44 novia > 39 99 1. B. 4 .. > ​KHE 155 .. .. ► Circus melanoleucus ceruginosus Haliastur indus Milvus govinda Pernis cristuta Elanus melunopterus. Strix javanica candida Otus brachyotus Ascalephia bengalensis coromanda Ketupa ceylonensis Ephialtes pennatus Athene Brana radicta 22 . II 32 . 360 Pied-harrier. Marsh-harrier. Bralımily kite. Common kite. Honey buzzard. Black-winged kite. Indian acreech-owl. Grass owl. Short-eared owl. Rock-horned owl. Dusky-horned owl. Brown-fish owl. Scops owl. Spotted owlot. Jungle owlet. Raptorcs 44 spccies. ORDER INSESSORES. True swallow 4 species. Martins 2 do Swifts 3 do. Goat-suckers 2 do. Bee-eaters 2 do. Rollers 1 do, Kingfishers 4 do. Horubille 3 do. Parrakects 4 do, Woodpeckers 6 do. Barbets 3 do. Cuckoos 7 do. Coucals 2 do, Honey-suckers 2 do. Flower-peckers 2 do. Tree-creepers 3 do. Nuthatches 1 do. Hoopoes 1 do. Shrikes 5 do. Wood-shrikes 1 do. Cuckoo-shrikes 4 do. Drongo-shrikes 4. do, Fly-catchers 3 do. Ditto 6 do. Thrushes Tit-thruxlies 7 do. Balbuls 6 do. Orioles 2 do. Stonechats 7 d. Redstarts 3 clo. Reed-warblers 3 do. Wren-warblers 9 do, Tree-warblers 8 do. Grey warblers 1 do, Wagtails and pipits, 11 do. Flower-peckers 4 do. . 200 D. Himndinince Cotyling Cypselince Caprimulgince Meropidae Coraciado Halcyonidce Bucerotidae Palæornina Picince Megalaimide Cuculince Centropodince Nectarinince Diccince Certhince Sittince Upupidæ Laniance Malaconotince Campephaginc Dicrurince Myiagrince Muscicapine Merulince Timalince Pymonotince Oriolinde Saxicolince Ruticillince Calamoherpino Drymoicina Phylloscopine Sylviince Motacillina Leiotrichinc Parine Accentorince Corvince Garrulina Dendrocittina Fregilina 11 . ... ... ... . 10 Tits.

      • 3 do.

Accentors. Crows Jays. Magpies Choughs. 1. 1 do. ​136 KHE Mynas Hill mynas ute Sturning Lamprotornina Ploccinos Estreldince Passering Emberizince Fringilline Alaudina Bayas Munias Sparrows Buntings Finches Larks Say 184 species Insessores. 9 species. do. 3 do. 6 do. 2 do. 3 do. 2 do. 8 do. Crocopus phænicopterus .. Columba intermedia Turtur meena suratensis .. 7) > risoria humilis Chalcophaps indicus Pterocles fasciatus excustus Pavo cristatus 22 ORDER GEMITORES. Bengal green-pigeon ; very common ; fecd- ing on buds and leaves, chiefly of ficus religiosa and ficus indica ; breeds here. Blue rock-pigeon ; very common; breeds in buildings, old wells, cliffs. Rufous turtle-dove; common in cold wea. ther; does not breed here ; retires to the hills for that purpose. Spotted dove ; common ; remaine all the year round. Common ring-clove ; common. Red turtle dove; ditto. Bronze-winged dove ; common in well. wooded districts ; often seen when beat- ing up the jungles for large game. Cemitores 7 species. ORDER RASORES. Painted sand-grouse. Common sand-grouse. Peacock; very common ; semi-domesticated in many villagos. Red jungle-fowl ; common, Black partridge. Grey ditto. The khyalı partridge ; common near heavy jungle in swampy ground. Jungle busb-quail. Common quail ; breeds in Oudh occasion. ally. Rain-quail ; oommon. Blue-breasted quail. Black-breasted bustard quail ; very com- mon. Button-quail. Rasores 13 spccics. ORDER GRALLATORES. Indian bustard ; rare. Florican, Likh, or lesser florican. Indian courier-plover. Small swallow-plover, Golden plover. Indian ringed plover. Lesser ditto. Black-sided lapwing. Grey-hca lapwing Gallus ferrugineus Francolinus vulgaris Ortygornis ponticeriana gulavis Perdicula cambayensis Coturnix communis coromandelica Excalfactoria chinensis Turnix taigoor 11 sy kesit Eupodotis Edwardeži Sypheotides bengalensis auritus Cursorius coromandelicus Glareola lactea Charadrius longipes Egialitis Philippensis minutus Chettusia gregaria enornata 7? ​KHE 157 ... Lobivanellus goonsis Sarciophorus bilobus Hoplopterus ventralis Esacus recurvirostris Ædicemus crepitans Grus antigone cinerea Anthropoides wirgo Scolopax rusticola 1 Gallinago stenura scolopacinus gallinula Rhinchæo bengalensis Limosa egocephala Terekia cineren Numenius arquata phaeopus Philomachus pugnu.c Tringa minuta temminckii platyrhyncha Actitis glareola ochropus hypoleucos Totanus glottis stagnatilis fuscus calidris Himantopus candidus Metopidius indicus Hydrophasianus sinensis Porphyrio poliocephalus Fulica atra Gallinula chloropus phæniouro Porzana maruetta Rallus indicus striatus Leptoptilos argala javanica Mycteria australis Ciconia nigra olba leucocephala Ardea sumatrana cinerea 1 purpurea Herodias alba » eggrettoides garzetta Buphus coromandus Ardeola leucoptera Butorides javanica Ardetta cinnamomoa Botarus stellaris Nycticorux griseus Tantalus leucocephalus Platalea leucorodea Anastomus oscitans

Red-wattled lapwing. Yellow ditto. Spur-winged lapwing. Large stonc-plover. Stone-plover ; very common. Sarus ; very common; breeds in the rains in swampy ground. Common crane ; a cold weather visitant. Demoiselle crane. Woodcock ; an occasional cold weather visitant. Pin-tailed snipe. Common snipe. Jack snipe. Painted snipe.; breeds in Oudh. Small godwit. Avoset sandpiper. Curlew. Whimbrel. Ruff. Little stint. White-tailed stint. Broad-billed ditto. Spotted sandpiper. Green ditto. Common ditto. Grccnshanks. Little greenshanks, Spotted redshanks. Rodshanks. Stilt. Bronze-winged jacana. Pheasant-tailed ditto. Purple coot. Bald do. Water-hen. White-breasted water-hen. Spotted rail. Indian water-rajl. Bluc-breasted rail. Gigantic stork, Hair-crested do. Black-nocked do. Black do. White do. White-necked do. ; very common Dusky-grey heron. Blue do. Purple do Large egret, large white paddy-bird. Smaller egret, lcsser do. Little cgret, small do. Cattle egret, red-headed do. Pond-heron, common do. Little green heron. Chesnut bittern, Bittern, Night-heron. Pelican-ibis. Spoon-bili

ibis.

shel ibis. 21 3) ני 19 11 ​158 KHE Threskiornis melanocephalus Geronticus papillosus 7 12 Anser cinereus brachyrhynchus indicu: Sarkidisas melanotus Nettapus coromandelianus Dendrocygna awsurce Casarecce rutila Tadorna vulpanser Spatulo dypeata Anas boschas poecilorhyncha caryophyllacea Chaullelasmus strcperus Dafila acuta Mareca Penelope Querquedula crecca circia Branta rufina Aythya nyroca Mergellus albellus Podiceps cristatus philippensis Xena brunnicepluala Sylochelidon caspius Gelochdidon anglicus Hydrockclidon indica Seena aurantia Sterna javanica minuto Rhynchops albicollis Pelecanus phillippensis Graculus sinensis javanicus Plotus mclanogaster White ibis. Black do. Grallatores 71 species, ORDER NATATORES. Grey goose, Pink-footed goose, Barred-headed clo. Black-backed or comb do. Cotton tcal. Whistling do. Ruddy shcldrake or brahminy duck. Sheldrake. Shoveller. Mallard. Spotted-billed cluck. Pink-headed do. Cadwall, Fint Widgeon. Con mon toal. Blue-wingerl or garganey-teal. Red-crested pochard. White-eyed duck. Smey. Grebe. Little grebe. Brown-headed gull. ... Largest tern. Gull-billed do. Marsh do. ; very common; breeds in colo- nies in the rains, making floating nests Largo river tern. Black-bellied do. Little do. Indian skimmer or scissors-bill. Grey pelican. Lesser cormorant. Little do. Indian snake-bird, Natatores 34 species. A total of 353 spccies. ​CHAPTER II. AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. Towns-Cropa--Recent decrense of cultivation-List of cereals-Food grains-Oil aeedsam Harvests Poppy and tobacco-Agricultural operations-Irrigation of crops—Machinery for raisiug water-Rotation of crops-Profits of cultivation-Proper cost of suitable food-Rents, present and foriner-Prices - Famines—Blights-Droughits and floods— Food of the people-Condition of the agriculturists as regards clothing, manufacture, and trade-Minerals-Roads and communications-Weights and measures-Rate of interest. Towns.-Kheri is a rural district. There are only tlxee towns with a population above 5,000, 23 with a population above 2,000, and 148 with a population above 1,000. Towns with above 5,000 population. Nume. f'opulation, Oel with Dbakus 6,025 Muhandi 6.06 Kheri 7,Out Towns with above 2,000 population. Name, Population. Name. l'opulation. PO e. i vrapeabad Barwar Gola Palia Bijwa Parhwa Yarlari Kikihti Kthia Icúbi Dhanrabra Sinirbi 3,032 3,607 2,948 4,459 2,271 3,237 3,677 2,547 2,604 2,950 4,611 2,836 Kafára Matera Barágáan Kan!ár flera Harsinghpur Isinagar Lakhimpur Singáhi klán Singahi Khord 2,854 2,349 2,8173 2.152 2.201 2,601 2,163 3,672 2,696 ... ED .. 400 Crops.—The principal crop in Kheri rice, of which it has 166,811 acres, being only second to Gonda in the area under tliis cror; the others are as follows: Crops. Acres. Average crop per acre. .. 135,081 861,133 29,380 41,065 6,739 400 500 180 800 80 10 re Wheat Other grains Oilseeds Sugar Cotton Opium Indigo Fibres Tobacco Vegetables 49 + 300 419 6,265 6,644 600 .. Total 1,242,688 ​160 KHE Sugarcane is the only one of the above which calls for special notice. Kheri, although generally so backward, produces more sugarcane than any other district. The cause of this lies principally in its vicinity to Sháhjalánpur, a great sugar emporium, and the place where Messrs. Powell's factory distils the greater part of the rum used by soldiers and civilians in India. The cane grown about Haidarabad is also of very superior quality and in demand, at the top price, for making candy Rice is grown in Kheri in a very slovenly way; transplantation is almost entirely unknown, and the crop is consequently more un- certain than in other districts. A species called karmand rice, of the best quality, is grown in small quantities in Oel, Paila, and a few other villages. The soil suits it admirably. In every respect the Kheri rice is unsurpassed The principal kinds of rice are anjana and jarhan, beat the latter includes a great many species. The Partabgarh article gives details which are also appropriate for this district. Wild rice (pasábi) is common in all the jhils. No embankments have been made to protect from floods in any part of the district. It is doubtful if they could be made, but in many places channels for carrying off the flood waters might be dug to the great advantage of the rice crop. The latter dies if the tops are submerged more than a few days. Along the banks of the Chauka many thousands of acres of rice are ruined every year. Rice is grown on matiár or clayey land, which requires to be moistened by a shower before it can be ploughed; if therefore the June rains are late, the area sown is much diminished. Turmeric is much cultivated in Palia, Bhúr, and Khairigarh; the rent is four or five rupees per acre. If turmeric is not sown the rent is only two or three. It is planted in light, almost sandy, soil. The roots are dug up and boiled for two days in earthen pots over fires lighted in the fields. The culture was only introduced about twelve years ago. The price has been gradually falling; it was seventeen rupees per maund for the dry boiled root; it is now about ten. The raw root can be pur- chased at two maunds for the rupee. A good crop is 2,000 lbs. per acre. The ginger is a coarse stringy variety, and the Oudh druggists import from Jamaica whatever they require for essences, ayrups, and aerated waters. There are several kinds of ghuiyán (arum); one, which was introduced from Sháhjahán pur and is grown at Muhamdi, is a nourishing root, of which the produce is about forty maunds per acre. Great quantities of excellent tobacco are grown in Dhaurahra, Nighásan, and Firozabad, particularly Dear villages, or, better still, on the sites of those which have been abandoned. Rents for tobacco lands reach Rs. 18 A good crop will be 500 tbs. of dry leaf. The price of the best is about six lbs. for the rupee. No remark need be made about barley or wheat, except that the former is not eaten by black buck or nil-gáe, and is consequently exclusively sown per acre. ​KHE 161 The area near the jungles where those animals abound. When sown mixed to- gether the joint crop is called "gujai.” Linseed is sown in narrow borders round gram and other crops,, kusam (safflower) is similarly treated, zíra (cummin) saunf (aniseed), and dhania (coriander-seed) aro sparingly sown. Recent decrease of cultivation. Since the above was written the cir- cumstances of Kheri hare materially altered for the worse. under crop was reported for 1868 at 1,450,000 acres, and this is confirmed by the 1869 returns. The area of land measured in 1867 by the survey parties as actually under cultivation was only 795,000 acres; but my own inqairies and measurements as settlement officer led me to the conclusion that cultivation had increased 18 per cent. prior to 1870, which would be an augmentation of 143,000 acres, giving a total area under crop of 938,000 acres. In the year in question it is probable enough that 60 per cent of the land was cropped twice under the impetus of high prices or favourable Beasons in Kleri, and the fertility of the virgin soil. If so the tables are probably correct enough, The return for 1872 shows a great decrease; the entire area is 695,450, and allowing for an exaggeration in the previous return, the diminution in area under crop will be at least 100 per cent. That does not mean, however, that the land has actually fallen out of cultivation to that exteat, although such has been the case in parganas Atwa Piparia, part of Paila, and Kukra Mailáni, but that it has not as formerly been cropped twice. The land has become exhausted, and will no longer bear two crops, the cattle have died, and the fever-stricken population can no longer labour as they were wont. The decrease is most marked, however, in sugarcane, which has fallen from 41,000 to 15,000 acres. Sugarcane in Kheri is principally grown in Muhamdi, Haidara bad, the northern part of Paila, and Kheri parganas. In the last three defective drain- age and heavy rains often seriously injure the crop.. The edible sugarcane is not grown, except in the gardens of the wealthy. Rent of sugarcane land is eight to twelve rupees per acre in the southern, falling to four rupees in the northern parganas. In addition the landlord is entitled to one-twen- tieth (called biswi) of the green cane for his elephants, also to one earthen jar of the expressed juice from every field; from this vinegar is made. A heavier rent is generally charged for sugarcane land, that is to say, if wheat or other cereal is grown the landlord takes the usual rent, about six rupees for irrigable land, but if the tenant plants sugarcane the rent is raised to twelve. All castes plant sugarcane, turmeric, and opium, although potatoes, tobacco, ginger, ghuiyán (arum), shakarqand (sweet potatoes) are only grown, as a rule, by Kachhis and Muráos. "The sugar mills are always of wood. The ordinary succession is sugarcane, then wheat or gram, then barley. The produce is sold in the form of gur, or coarse brown sugar, to merchants from Shábjahánpur who make advances to the cultivators. An average crop is 1,100 lbs. per acre, and the price is about 30 tbs. for a rupee. The bye products, the crushed stalks, are in- valuable as food for cattle. ​162 KHE List of cereal food grains and oilseeds. Botinical dames. Local pames. English nymes. CUREL Food GRAINS. 4 pe Oats. Bamboo seed. OP Gram, Amaranthue quardhana Amet berley Avens sativa, Bambusa -spicate hevalier harley Cajaous indicus Cicer arietínum Dolichos sinensis Ervuta lete EleDayde corocaba Hordeum hexastychun Hordeuin distycliui Lathyrus sativus Pisum sativum Phaseolus aconitifolius Prepana scrobiculatum Panicum fratnentaceutu Panicom italicum Pennicilaria spicata Sorghum vulgare Iriticum sativuin Zea Mays Anárdána. Jau Walaíti. Jaí. Bans. Jau dusauti! 3rhar. Chana, Lobia. Masúr. Mindwe or makra, Gurhi jan. Jau. Kesari Matur. Urd. kodo. Sanwán. Kakoo. Bajra. Juár (var. rcd). Gehen. Makkai. Bhatyaas Barley, Peas. Wheat, Maize. OILSEEDS, ... Argemone mexicana Bassin latifolia Celastrus paniculatus Croton tigliam Carthamus tinctorius Lipum usitatissimum PHpava somniferuar Sisamum indicum Sinapis nigra Sinapis glauca Kurwa, Mahni. Mál Kangni. Jamilgota. Barre, Kusum. Alsi Posta. Til. Crater. inflower, Linseed. Poppy. Mustard. Sarson. Harvests_There are two harvests in Kheri, the kharif and the rabi. The former cousists of various grains, rice, &c., which are sown from the heginning, of June, or whenever the rains have set in, to the end of August. The crops ripen in from three to four months. The principal kharíf crops are kodo, kákun, juár, bájra, másh, mung, and rice. The first crop, kodo, is cut about the end of September; the last, the jarban rice, about the beginning of November. The rabi crops are barley, wheat, gram, peas, arhar; they commence cutting peas about the 5th March, and in low- lying backward places the latest (barley) will not be harvested till the 5th May, while the sánwán is being cut till the middle of June. For. the mode of cultivating sugarcane see “Sitapur.” In this district account I have given details touching the cultivation of poppy aud tobacco, for both of which the soil offers every facility, and whose productions rapidly. incrcase. ​KHE 163 " From July, or when the rains set in and the ground is moist, the lands should commence to be prepared by being ploughed up, so that by the iniddle of October, according to their requirements, a liberal supply of manure might be used on them. Ploughing should), however, be suspend- ed when the fields are covered with rain-water, as it impoverishes the soil. As the season for sowing advances, or about the month of November, tocks of goats or sheep, if procurable, might be penned with very great advantage on the fields for one or more nights, as the manure thus obtain- ed operates favourably on, and is peculiarly invigorating for, the soil. The poppy, unlike many other plants, the soil of which requires what is agri- culturally termed a rotation of crops' znay be sowo on the same ground year after year with unerring regularity, as the quantity of decayed vege- table and animal manure put into the soil imparts sufficient, nourislıment to the ground to sustain andual crops of poppy without in the least degree being deteriorated by these yearly sowings. 5 Wlien the lands are ready, or about the middle of November, the early sowings may commence, and the 2nd and 3rd be concluded in all Decem- ber. The seed should be of the previous year, free from damp; it should be moistened in water the evening previous to sowing, and the next morn- ing, after being removed out of the water, it shoukl be scattered over the fields mixed with fine eartlı, at the rate of 2 seers per beegah of the large bazar weight : should the ground be dry, it inight be irrigated with ad- vantage prior to sowing. Another way is adopted in soine districts of throwing broadcast the dry seed. After sowing the land should be irri- gated the next day (if not previously done), and then on the succeeding day ploughed and liarrowed. " After a weck the beds should be made from 3 to 4 cubits in length by 2 to 2 cubits in breadth. All the beds slould be placed in consecutive Tows according to the level of the ground, so that there may be no difficul- ty in irrigating the land. A drain or outlet should intervene between every two beds for the passage of water. Lands bordering on rivers and jheels, as they retain their moisture till December, the necessity of forming beds in them does not exist on that account, as they (the beds) are only useful to facilitate the watering of crops. Wells are essentially necessary for poppy fields, and every facility and encouragement should be given to construct them wherever they are wanted. Kucha wells may be dug at a very trifling cost, which would be more than threefold repaid by the productive retums of the crops. Well water is preferred to water obtained from any other sources, such as jheels and rivers; but the cultivators from necessity are frequently obliged from the want of wells, or their great distance from the fields, to avail themselves of jheel irrigation.

  • " When the plant attains to the size of two inches in height, the beds

after being well irrigated should be carefully weeded and thinned, and the plants to be retained should be kept from 3 to 4 inches apart from each other. Two weeks after the same operations are to be practised, all the sickly and superfluous plants, together with all foreign and noxious berbs, should be removed, leaving the vigorous poppy plants at distances of 7 or 8 inches from each other. Then the process of gently digging up the soil with a hoe or spud should diligently carried out, and the fields ​164 KHE must continue to be dug and irrigated every two weeks; the roots thug imbibe moisture and the plant springs up large and luxuriant. “In the process of irrigation care should be taken not to allow the water to exceed one inch in depth; or, in other words, the entire seedling should not be under water. It is very necessary that irrigation should be pur- sued at stated intervals of time until the collections begin. When the plants have been in bloom for some time the green capsules become lightly coated over with a fine transparent white-coloured surface, and the pods become less yielding to the touch when pressed. When this change presents itself the cultivators at once perceive that the plant has arrived to maturity and is fit for incision. Another means for recognising this is when juice exudes on breaking off the series of stigmata formed at the apex of the pod. "When the incisions commence the process should be carried on regular- ly every third day, and according to the time of collection, whether late or early in season, or the condition of the plant, whether sickly or healtby, from 2 to 7 incisions might be expected. It is to be noted that there is a wide difference between the produce of the earlier conpared with the later sowings; the former is of lower spissitude, but more abundant in bulk, whilst the latter is just the reverse, poor in quantity, but of higher and more superior consistence. "Gentle westerly winds are most favourable for our opium collections, as also for inspissating the drug when collected. Opium gathered in during the prevalence of easterly winds is scanty, because the juice does not exude freely from the incisions, and the opium collected is somewhat dark in colour from the atmospheric humidity with which it gets impregnated. The incisions should invariably be made in the afternoon, and the opera- tion of collection the next morning. " It will be necessary now to enumerate a few of the causes which con- tribute to the falling off of produce or tend to the entire destruction of the plant. Bhur bhar,' a prickly plant, is very destructive to the poppy, absorbing the nutritive qualities of the ground intended for the latter alone: these ought to be steadily rooted up ierever they make their appearance. Insects are apt very often to attack the crops. When this occurs among the early sowings the best plan is to persevere and re-sow; but when they begin their ravages after the plants have germinated and attained to some size, the following bait must be used with very great success, viz., to cut gourds or castor-oil leaves into pieces and strew them over the land. The next morning they will be covered over with the insects, as they readily forsake the poppy for the more palatable food offered to them; thus they can easily be removed and destroyed in a collective mass. The process of irrigation, too, offers a good opportunity for the insects to be destroyed by birds. There is a parasitic shrub call- ed by the natives 'tokra' which is very detrimental to the growth. of the poppy; it completely entwines itself round the root of the poppy, and gradually injures and chokes up the absorbing pores of the little poppy spongelets; being a much stronger plant, it easily overpowers the tender poppy, and so induces premature decay. The poppy plant is sub- ject, in common with other crops, to certain vegetable diseases, the two most common and most fatal are called 'purka, and khurka' in the ​KHE 165 village vernacular; the former shows itself among the early sowings, its ravages are marked by the plant becoming shrunk and stunted in growth, the leaves become gere and yellow, and the plant oventually decays away, affording, if it has lingered a while, very little (if any at all) of produce. The cultivators attribute this disease to a species of infusorial worms which corrode the tender roots, and not to any agency of the soil, for side by side may be commonly observed two beds, one teeming with luxuriant plant full of rich foliage, whilst the other may have only a few lank diminutive plants possessing not the slightest shadow of verdure. The khurka' occurs latc in season, and attacks the plant in its healthiest state this blight arises from excessive damp produced by a sudden change of atmosphere attended with rain and damp wind, specially affecting fields which have just before been already seasonably irrigated. There is do mistaking the effect of such transition; the bright green colour yields to a dark sombre tint which transfuses itself alike over the leaves, the stalk, and the capsule: a sensible decrease is at once observable in the produce, which before long ceases altogether, for the malady completely saps the vitality of the plant. The other causes which prove injurious to the plant and materially affect its productive powers are either natural visitations, such as a fall of hail, a severe frost, inopportune showers of rain, or excessively stroog winds during collection, or the causes may be, as in too many instances they truly are, from a defective system of tillage.”—Gen noe's " Notes on the Cultivation of Poppy, pages 49." Tobacco.-In Oudh tobacco is almost always grown on high dry lands; village sites are much liked, and the rough ground amidst ruins, where the soil is much mixed with mortar, lime, and brick rubbish, and saline constituents, is believed to be peculiariy suited to the growth of good tobacco. A piece of land of this description, or approaching to it, being selected, the ground is carefully worked up by repeated ploughing. It is manured with old dung, that of sheep and goats being preferred, and with saliferous eartht, where the soil happens to be naturally deficient in salt. The seed is sown broadcast about the middle of August in a nur- sery, and the seedlings are protected from excessive heat or rain by layers of straw or dry grass. About the end of September or beginning of Oc- tober the seedlings are planted out in rows, a space of about eighteen inches being left between each plant. Earth rich in salts is sometimes applied to the roots of the plants when they are set out. The plants are irrigated at intervals of a week or fortnight, according to the state of the weather, the water used being preferentially that of brackish wells. Sweet water is supposed by the cultivators to be injurious to the plants. When five or six leaves have formed on the stein the tops are pinched off, and all the shoots are thereafter carefully removed as they appear. places the crop is gathered by the removal of the leaves as they ripen, the stems being left to produce a second crop, when they are cut down, and a second crop is taken from the shoots which spring from the stool. This second crop, called dubbe, is of inferior quality and is consumed only by the poorer classes. The first crop is generally gathered about the end of February, the second in April and May. 22 In some ​166 KHE The curing is conducted in the usual rough, imperfect way. The leaves are spread on a plain--grassy if possible and exposed to the sun and dew for a period varying from four to ten days, being turned at intervals. When they have wilted they are stacked in heaps, roughly thatched, and allowed to ferment, the heaps being occasionally opened out to prevent excessive fermentation. They are thus kept for about a month, when the leaf is expected to acquire the desired colour. If this should still be wanting, it is imparted by the application of water in which the stems and refuse leaves of the plant have been steeped. This completes the curing, and the leaves, on arriving at this stage, are tied in bundles of four or five each. Experiments have been tried at various places, but not with much suc- Some of the American kinds grow very well, but the natives are said to prefer their own coarser and stronger kinds. The subjoined remarks by Dr. E. Bonavia on the hybridization of tobacco are worthy of atten- cess. tion: " In endeavouring to introduce any foreign agricultural plant into this country, the main difficulty in koeping it true, i.e., preventing it from what is commonly, though erroneously, called degenerating, is the igno- rance of natives in not knowing the power they possess to improve and modify plants by selection, and in their failing to take the precaution not to sow foreign seed, such as tobacco, in the vicinity of country plants. They have no idea that plants of the same species may be bybridized if close to each other during the flowering time, either by the agency of the wind or of insects. There is little doubt that in many parts of this pro- vince (Oudh) tobacco of good quality might be grown for exportation if sufficient care were taken, not only in the cultivation, but also in the dry- ing and packing of the plant." Agricultural operations.-The inhabitants of Kheri are employed prin- cipally in agricultural operations on their own account, 474,834, or 64 per cent of the entire population, being engaged in the cultivation of the soil as tenants. They employ in this labour 88,857 ploughs, 251,637 bullocks, and 15,297 buffaloes upop 825,630 acres of land, of which 35,249 acres are covered with mango groves. There are then 17 acres for each head of the agricultural population, or, including agricultural labourers, 1.5 acres. Cultivation is, however, very backward. North of the river Ul land is hardly ever manured and never irrigated, except the small gardens in which tobacco and vegetables are grown. South of the uſ a fair amuunt of labour is bestowed upon the crops, although less than what is usual in the rest of Oudh. Large herds of cattle and sheep are grazed in Srinagar, Kukra, Khairigarh : there are not twenty camels in the district. The agricultural implements are those described in article" Partabgarh." Irrigation of the crops. The spring crops are very generally left un- Weeded, and are rarely watered more than once. This partly arises from the difficulty and expense of getting water, there being not so many jhils as in the rest of Oudh. The soil is so friable that the wells are constantly falling in. Water is met with at from forty feet in Magdapur to ten feet in the river bottoms, the average being about 25 feet. The wicker baskets used it jhils will raise the water sixteen feet in five lifts; from the wells, as a ​KHE 167 rule, only small earthen pots can be used for conveying the water to the surface. In Muhamdi the under-soil is more tenacious, and large leather bags holding from ten to twelve gallons can be applied, but over a large part of the district these small wells are dug at a cost of two rupees each, They will water about two acres in a month, and then fall in. They require one man and a boy at a monthly expense of Rs. 5-10-0 to use them; hence it is apparent that well-irrigation throughout much of the district in Magdapur, Srinagar, Aurangabad, Atwa Piparia, part of Muhamdi, Haidarabad, Kheri, aud other places costs Rs. 3-13-0 per acre.* The expense of irrigation from tanks varies from Re. 1-12-0 to Rs. 3-0-0) per acre, according to the distance of the fields and their elevation above the water. If a second watering is required the cost will be doubled ; but rain generally falls in January. Very little land is therefore irrigated, only 91,134 acres, or 11 per cent of the cultivated area, being watered, 55,950 from wells, 25,850 from tanks, and 9,334 from streams. Such are the official returns, but the settlement officer thought that double that area can be, and is, irrigated from existing sources. The machinery for raising water.--Irrigation in Kheri is conducted in four different ways. From wells the water is drawn up either by dhenkhlis (earthen pots fastened to the long arm of a lever pivoted on an erect pole) or by gharas...-two earthen pots on a rope running in a groove over a wheel which are alternately pulled up, or by purs (leathern bags ) holding from ten to twenty gallons pulled up by men or, very rarely, by bullocks. From tanks or rivers the water is obtained by beris (quadrangular plaited straw baskets slung on ropes). The cheapest and surest supply of water is from wells which will bear the use of the largest bags. These are called in this district chaujania, because four men pull them up: they are found in parganas Muliamdi, Kasta, Pasgawan, Kheri, and part of Paila. Throughout inost of the district water is procured by ghara wells, a tedious and expensive process; for the friable soil in which these wells are sunk is always tumbling in, and has to be scooped out from the bottom several times a day. Perhaps a quarter of the irrigated land is watered at an average cost of Rs. 3 per acre, and the rest at Rs. 5, for two or three waterings such as are generally required for wheat. South of the Ul much of the land is very well manured, particularly by the Kurmis of northern Paila, Haidarabad, and the Muráos of Kheri and Mulamdi. It is misleading to give any actual weight of manure laid on the field, because the habits of the people largely add to the supply. Rotation of crops.—The usual rotation of crops on loam is sugarcane, wheat, and then gram or másh; on the sandy soils barley succeeds bájra or juár for many years continuously. In the rice lands (matiár or there is often no second crop, as the soil is too hard for winter ploughing: rice is grown year after year in the kharíf, and moth or linseed sometimes succeeds it. Manure is only given every third year, and hardly ever to barley clay)

  • One rupee cost of well, two rupees thirtecu agnas of labour, ​168

KHE or maize. When no manure is applied land is fallowed after eveiy five oi seven years generally for three harvests, that is, for a year and a half; then another turn of cultivation commences, but in Khairigarh, possibly owing to the abundance of the cattle, most of the land has been cropped without the artificial application of manure for many years. Profits of cultivation.—The Kuurmis and Kachhis are to a certain extent skilled labourers, and are generally tolerably well off; but the following calculation will show that the mass of the low caste cultivators are con- stantly living from hand to mouth, and living very badly too. There are to cach head of the agricultural population 1:5 acres, and this will give different results according to quality of land. In good land, such as will bear wheat, the rent of such a plot will be Rs. 7, in addition to the owner's labour; and at least a quarter of the population are too young or too old for any labour. About three rupees will be required to pay for carts, plough, bullocks, and other material. Rs. 10 then will be the cost of production to the tenant, and he will receive about Rs. 17 per acre* or Rs: 25-8-0 on each area of 1.5 acres, which is the portion of an agricultural inhabitant, lcaving a balance of Rs. 15-8-0 for his annual expenses. It appears then that the income of each member of an ordinary peasant family will be less than Rs. 16 per annum, from which he or she must defray the whole cost of food, shelter, clothing, and firewood. If the peasant is in debt, as is the case nine times out of ten, he will get be. tween Rs. 12 and 13, or Rs. 62 for a family of five, consisting of a grandfather or grandmother, father, mother, and two children. Such a family will consume five sers per day of coarse grainſ such as is above described; this will be 45 maunds in the year, and its cost at the village price at least Rs. 52. Ten rupees therefore will be left for salt and salt tax, for clothing, house-rent, and thc payment of village registrars, waich- men, &c.,--a sum evidently quite insufficient. Proper cost of suitable food.—If, however, we enquire, not what the Kheri peasant does eat, but what he should eat, then another calculation may be used. The actual cost of prisoners' food in all the Oudh jails was Rs. 17-13-7 on a four years' average, and their clothing came to Re. 1-9-0, or Rs. 19-6-7 in all. On this scale, therefore, the family of five would cost Rs. 97 per annum for food and clothing; but they only possess Rs. 62. Calculating that each child requires only half the sus- tenance of an able-bodied man, each adult will cost Rs. 18-8-0, and each minor Rs. 9-4-0 ; thus the aggregate expenses of the family of five will be Rs. 74 for food and Rs. 7-13-0 for clothing-Rs.81-13-0 in all. In other words, to defray the cost of good food and clothing, the peasant farmer of Kheri must exhaust all his means and incur a debt of twenty rupees each year.

  • 800 lbs. of wheat at 60 lbs. per rupee; this will amout to Rs. 16 per acre, and he may

be able sell Ec. 1 worth of chopped straw. t Such a family would require threc and a half sers of wheat according to jail allow- ancee; this would equal probably six sers of kodo, certainly four, in food value, ​KHE 169 If the tenant occupies second class land such as will only produce the inferior grains, kodo, millet, &c., his position is still worse, unless, as is usually the case, he has a niuch larger area of land under cultivatiou. True, the tenant will only pay about Rs. 2-8-0 per acre, or Rs. 3-12-0 for a tenure of average size; but it will only produce about 500 lbs. per acre, or 750 lbs. in all, and this will not be worth more than Rs. 10-10-0 at 70 lbs. per rupee. However, when the crop is not wheat, two crops are generally sown, and two harvests renped in the year, the second being always of smaller produce and worth about half the first, or Rs. 16-0-0 in all. From this sum must be deducted. rent Rs. 3-12-0, and cost of bullocks, &c., Rs. 2-0-0, in all Rs. 5-12-0; and the value of the crop remain- ing to the cultivator will be Rs. 10-4-1, little more than half the sum re- quired to provide him with food and clothing. In the above calculation care has been taken not to exaggerate; no second crop was allowed for in the wheat lands because in this district wheat is generally sown in fallow lands, and when a first or autumn crop has been taken, the wheat produce will be so much less than what is assumed, that the whole value of both crops will hardly exceed that of whcat alone. If the tenant gives a proportion of the crop to his landlord, it will be at least three-sevenths of the whole in good land. Now the crop will be 1,200 lbs. in the average holding of one and a half acre and the tenant will only keep four-sevenths of this, or 685 lbs., value Rs. 14. From this must be deducted Rs. 3, cost of bullocks, agricultural imple- ments, &c., and Rs. 11 will be the balance left for a year's maintenance. The above remarks refer generally to the district of Kheri which is one as a whole of backward cultivation and inferior crops ; but in the parganas of Haidarabad, Muhamdi, Pasgawan, Kasta, Kheri and others there are large communities of peasants who by high cultivation bave so improved the capacities of the soil that it is now equal to any in Oudh, The following remarks and quotations refer to similar superior farming and beavier crops. The subject is of such importance that it is desirable to present it in different aspects and with all natural varieties of circum- stance. The expenses of cultivation have been estimated very differently in- deed by various officers. Two of the very best authorities in India, Mr. Hume and Mr. Halsey, in a series of elaborate calculations have proved that cultivation is carried on at a loss." The fact remains," says Mr. Halsey,* " that after payment of the rent the margin left for the cultiva- tor's subsistence is less than the value of the labour he has expended on his land." This fact is perhaps true, but not to the same degree and for the exact reasons which Mr. Halsey assigns. I will take his estimate of the amount of bullock and human labour necessary for the various ope- rations, but place my own valuation on its cost. On this the whole ques- tion turns; for the price of seed is a minor item which can be exactly de- termined, and rent is tolerably well known. Mr. Halsey assumes that a bullock costs three annas per day and human labour one anna and a half.

  • Magistrate of Cawapore, a district aljoining Oudh. ​170

KHE Now the ordinary rate of bullock hire for a pair with a cart and driver is eight annas, and no doubt deducting two annas for the driver this leaves three annas for each bullock; but this is the Government rate of hire for officers who take bullocks with gentle violence from their ploughs, and it is straining the argument to say that because Government officers pay for one day at that rate, therefore the annual cost to a tenant is to be so estimated. In point of fact, if bullocks are hired by the month or year, they can be had for two-thirds of that sum. But in truth the cost of bullocks, or anything else, cannot be determined by the price till there is an open market and a sufficient number of both buyers and sellers to cause competition. I will therefore work out the calculation previously given in combination with Mr. Halsey's facts. The ordinary country bullock is very seldom in- deed offered for hire ; he can drag a plough, but it would not pay to use him in a cart. The only way to determine the value of bullock hire is to count what a yoke costs to buy and keep. Now average bullocks sufficient for ploughing purposes cost Rs. 30 a pair; they feed simply on straw and chaff enriched with the grain left behind by the wasteful country process of threshing and winnowing; they sometimes get oil-cake when they have been working hard. It is impossible to say what the cost of this bhúsa, as it is called, is, because there is no open market for it throughout the rural district, nearly every one producing as much as he wants; and what is sold in the large towns is no criterion, carriage being such an important item of the cost. It is easy simply to omit the value of straw from the land products and to disregard bullocks' food as an item in the cost of cultivation. Therefore the tenant will only have to pay interest on Rs. 30 at 12 per cent. per annum Rs. 3-8, and will have to keep up a sinking fund of about the same sum to replace the bullocks when their usual eight years of service terminate by death or decrepitude; and allowing five rupees for cordials and extra feeding after hard work, repair of plough, spade, &c., the annual cost of the pair of bullocks will be Rs. 12. Now a pair of bullocks will work five acres, so the cost of their labour per acre will be two rupees eight annas per acre, or including the value of straw, * under eight rupees per acre, instead of above thirteen as estimated by Mr. Halsey for wbeat. Similarly Mr. Halsey allows 92 days' human labour for an acre of wheat at Rs. 0-1-6, or 21 per day, and Rs. 0-3-0 for reapers. This is too high an estimate, for very much of the work can be done, and gene- rally is done, by women and boys, and he has no right to allow double wages at harvest time to peasants labouring in their own fields, because such men would demand that if reaping other men's crops. Reaping is not harder work than irrigating, and a fancy price exacted at a time of pressure for ordinary labour is no measure of its value as a whole. Follow- ing for a moment Mr. Halsey's mode of calculation, and allowing eighty days of adult male labour at Rs. 0-1-6, the cost will be Rs. 7-8-0, and the

  • Fodder valued at five rupees per acre on rough analogy from English valuation

McCullogh's Commercial Dictionary. ​KHE 171 entire cost of labour of cattle and men will be Rs. 10 per acre, not includ- ing that of the fodder consumed by the cattle, wbich is worth from four to five rupees per acre, and the seed which cost Rs. 2,—total Rs. 17 per acre. But another mode of calculation may be adopted. Supposing 92 days' adult male labour to be required for an acre, five acros will require 460 days, and allowing three hundred working days per annum, this will be just the labour of a man and a boy, exactly what an ordinary Hindu peasant family will be able to supply. Therefore five acres of wheat will cost the ordicary expenses of a Hindu fainily and a pair of bullocks. I have estimated the proper expenses of an average family of four persons at Rs. 55 per annum, and those of a pair of bullocks at Rs. 12, Therefore the whole labour cost of five acres of wheat will be Rs. 67, seed will be Rs. 10, and rent Rs. 30, total Rs. 107, or including price of fodder Rs. 132; and if Mr. Halsey's estimate of the crop is correct, the tenant will get Rs. 160 worth of wheat, leaving him a handsome profit. But 16 maunds of wheat is, as admitted by Mr. Halsey, much above the average crop, and 20 sers far above the average price paid to the tenant who must sell at harvest time to pay his rent taking the crop at 14 maunds and the price at 26 sers, the value of the five acres, excluding straw, will be Rs. 109, leaving the tenant a balance of Rs. 2, or 6 annas per acre, to cover the risk of bad seasons, sickness, murrain, and the other casualties to which Indian farming is exposed. This is evidently not enougb, and the balance must be made up by diminished expenditure on the part of the family: the only margiu they can draw on is their food, so they cat less grain and more wild roots and fruits. It is evident that Mr. Halsey's calculations, which assume a considerable profit on gram, and a consider- able loss on wheat, must be erroneous. If this were the case gram would be sown exclusively and wheat abandoned. If average prices, crops, and labour are given, as ought to be the case, there must be a fault somewbere. Mr. Hume and Mr. Halsey are right in showing that small farming in India does not pay as well as working on the public roads, but they have both, in my opinion, over-estimated alike the cost of production and the value of the produce. Having made these remarks, I now give Mr. Halsey's valuable table and remarks in full. It appears that every crop, according to him, brings a certain loss to the cultivator except gram, and certain cereals when irri- gated from canals. Mr. Hume's estimate is still more remarkable; he assumes a loss on every crop except bájra, which is almost unknown in parts of Oudh, and canal-irrigated wheat, which is entirely unknown. ​APPENDIX A.-Cost of cultivating the staples of the Cawnpore district. ACCORDING TO MR. ILALSEY. 172 Rate. Names of crops. Plough and ma- Profit. Threshing end cleaning, Bird-scaring. Total expenses. Watering, Weeding. . Атев. Value of pro- duce. Reaping. ing, 2 ure. Seed. Mr. Hube's esti- mate of profit or loss. Produce, Reut. A crei 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 12 Bájra. 4 01

Juár 0 2 0 9 12 0 3 0 0 DO Barley 1 2 0 0 7 2 0 1 14 0 9 0 0 144 100 profit, 6 14 0 OG 0 de KHE 2 10 01 400 ... 90 V Sugarcane 1 SO 012 2 0 3 0 0 41 Sre.per M, 9. c.rupee. 1088. profit. 1 5 4 0 601 2 0 3 0 0 9 13 46 0090 8 0 0 4 3 2 1 1096, loss.' 2 0 0 0 8 01 3 0 6 0 0 16 9 10 00 30 13 5 4 1 3 8 00 31 straw 2 0 0 loss. logs. 1 8 0 4 14 0 6 0 0 32 6 0 16 00 26 25 9 7 I 12 5 4 12 1 stravy 5 U 0 profit. 29 4 01 1 15 7 0 011 profit. profit. 26 0 4 9 11 112 11 loss, 2088. 18 6 20 0 0 100 12 0 33 001 17 77 10 4 28 1 8 64 4 6 loss, TORB. 87 94 9 15 0 24 14 6 profit. 1098, 65 8 6 12 26 8 61 1068 1 14 0 6 15 0 80 0 44 11 0.16 UO 20 32 0 0 7 11 017 9 2 stra 5 0 0 아 loss loss. 39 4 0 2 4 0 0 12 2 profit profit. 33 11 6 3 4 6 5 12 10 profit. 24 200 07 2 straw 4 U D 28 1 4 6 0 6 400 • loss. Wheat 1 2 0 0j10 8 0 1 14 018 8 1 - 1 2 8 6 dat c. Gram 1 2 O 8 12 0 .. 1 o 12 0 4 0 0 16 14 019 00 ​KHE 173

  • To enable those who are int erested in the subject to understand my

share in these figures, I add the following details : Bájra seed, two seers.—Ploughing once a day for four days, including sowing, two pairs of bullocks at 6 annas; weeding once, four men at i anna 6 pie ; bird-scaring, one man to three acres, for two months, at Rs. 2 per mensem (contract rate); cutting, four men at l anna 6 pie; thresh- ing, two pairs of bullocks at 6 annas, and two men at 1 anna 6 pie; winnowing at 1 anna 6 pie. "Juár seed, two scer!.—Ploughing three times, including sowing, six pairs of bullocks for one day at 6 six annas; manure, two carts at 8 annas, and four men at 2 annas for one day; weeding, twice, sixteen men at 1 anna 6 pie each time; bird-scaring, one man to two acres, at Rs. 2 pcr mensem for two months ; reaping, four men for one day at 2 annas, ordina- rily paid for by one share in seventeen; cleaning, two pairs of bullocks at 6 annas, and two men at 2 annas; winnowing, two men for one day at I anna 6 pie. “Barley seed, sixty seers.—Ploughing six times, two pairs of bullocks each day at 6 annas; manure, 4 carts at 8 annas, and twelve men at 1 anna 6 pie; weeding once, twenty men at 1 anna 6 pie; watering by well, one pair of bullocks will irrigate one acre in eight days at 6 annas', -requires two waterings; two men at 1 anna 6 pie, equal to sixteen (16) days work; by canal, two lifts, eight then will irrigate an acre in two days at 2 annas each, and one man to guide the water at 1 anna 6 pic, water-rate 1 rupee 8 annas; by canal flow, one man to guide water at 1 anna six pie, water-rate 2 rupees 4 annas; cutting, eight men at 3 annas, but the custom is one share in, twenty-one shares ; threshing, six pairs of bullocks at 4 annas for two days, and six men at l anna 6 pie for two days; winnowing, eight men at I anna 6 pie.. Sugarcane seed, 400 prieces. ---Plougbing eight days, two pairs of bul-. locks at 6 annas; manure, one cart of four bullocks for 4 days at 12 annas, and three men for four days at 1 anna 6 pie; sowing, eight men for two days at 2 annas; weeding, four men, eight times at I anna 6 pie; watering by well, eleven times; one pair of bullocks will water an acre in eight days at 6 anpas per diem, and two men at 1 anna 6 pie; by canal, double lifts, eight men will irrigate an acre in two days at 2 annas each, one man to guide water at 1 anna 6 pie; water-rate 3 rupees 5 annas 4 pie; by canal flow, water rate 5 rupees, one man for eleven days at 1 anna, 6 pie." I have accepted Mr. Hume's. estimate of the cost of cultivating the. cane and manufacturing the sugarcane, as I can get no accurate informa- tion as to the exact detailed cost. The leaves of the cane are never sold. I have given the cost of the most expensive cultivation of sugarcane, which necessitates the land being fallowed for a year previous to sowing; hence I have charged two years' rent. "Wheat seed, forty seers.....Ploughing eight times, two pairs of bullocks at 6 annas; manure, two carts of four bullocks for two days at 12 annas a 23 ​17 KHE cart, and six men for two days at 1 anna 6 pie; weeding once, twenty men; watering three times by well; one pair of hullocks irrigates an acre in eight days at 6 annas, two men at 1 anna 6 píe; by canal, double lifts, eight men will irrigate one acre in two days at 2 annas each, one man to. guide the water at 1 anna 6 pie, water-rate 1 rupee 8 annas ; hy canal flow, water-rate 2 rupees 4 annas, one man to guide the water at 1 anna 6 pie; reaping, two men at 3 amnas, usually paid for by one share in twenty-one; threshing, six bullocks for six days at 4 annas per pair, and three men ditto at i anna 6 pie: wionowing, eight men at 1 anna 6 pie. “Gram seed, one mound.—Ploughing eight times, including sowing, two pairs of bullocks at 6 annas; manure, one cart of four bullocks for two days at 1 rupee, and four men for two days at 1 anna 6 pie; reaping, one share in twenty, equal op an average to 1 rupee; threshing and cleari- ing two days, one pair of bullocks at 6 apnas, and two men at 1 anna 6 ple. It will be objected to the preceding calculations that the cost of produc- tion is so variously stated as to rob the figures of all confidence; one makes the cost of wheat cultivation to be Rs. 17 for labour of men and bullocks with seed, in addition to Rs. 5 for rent, total Rs. 22 ; and the average value of the produce is calculated at Rs. 18 for grain and Rs. 4 for cbaff in Kheri, total Rs. 22. In this case cost and value of produce exactly balance each other, leaving no margin for drought, murrain, or for the fact that if the tenant has borrowed money to buy his cattle he will have to pay interest at 24 or 30 per cent., and if he has borrowed money to pay for seed he will have to pay 50 to 60 per cent. The result is that the mass of the tenants are in debt, and only able to avoid sinking deeper and deeper in deht by diminishing needful expenditure, by curtailing food and cloth- ing. Mr. Halsey calculates the cost of the wheat crop where, as in Oudh, it is irrigated from wells at Rs. 44-11, and the value of the produce at Rs. 37. The difference between the two calculations is not so great as would appear. I consider that there are undoubtedly in Kheri and every other Oudh dis- trict many farms in which, after correcting the one absolute error, the valuation of rural plough-bullock labour at the rate which Government allows for cart cattle and the cart, the figures in this table do repre- sent real facts or approximate to them. Irrigation three times will cost very nearly Rs. 13-8 in Oudh (vide remarks on irrigation in Sitapur, Bara. Banki); the rent of such land as will produce sixteen or even fourteen maunds will be Rs. 8, for the crop is an exceptionally large one, and the rent therefore exceptiorally high. Again, the crop here calculated, 900lbs., is probably a little under-estimated; but then it is assumed that the tenant will plant all his five acres with wheat, and if he does so his culture with one pair of bullocks will be rather superficial. To work five acres properly will require additional labour especially at irrigation time if the crop be wheat. The broad fact is that with ordinary exertion a pair of bullocks and a Hindu family of good cultivating caste can, and do, generally produce from ​KAH 175 five acres of good land a crop equivalent to 900lbs. of wheat per acre, that is, in food value and inoney value. Perhaps one-quarter of the cultivating houschold will produce more, and one quarter will produce less, but 900lbs. per acre will be the average in soil suitable for wheat. The economical result is that the small farmer, who has no casualties in average years, gets just the price of his daily labour as an unskilled workman on the roads, and interest on his capital at the very lowest rate. It is also probable that if the tenant has to water his whcat threc times, as happens in years when the winter rains are deficient, he will cultivate at an actual loss-a loss which of course he cannot foresee. In most years two waterings are sufficient; but if he has to pay current interest, or if there is any drought, or murrain, or sickness in his own family during harvest or irrigation seasons, his farm will entail a loss. Rents, present and former.-Rents in Kheri are not as yet by any means high as a rule, but they are very uneven. The highest rents I have met with were Rs. 2-12-0 the kachcha bígba, or Rs. 16-8-0 per acre for tobacco land, Rs. 2-4-0 or Rs. 13-8-0 per acre for sugarcanein Haidarabad. Common rates for average land are six to eight rupees per acre for land near the village suitable for wheat. Sugarcane is generally charged a differential rate (nine rupees per acre is about the present average), but a pot of molasses and a lot of cane are also taken from every field; this last should be limited to one biswa in every bígha. The lowest rented lands are the outlying patches far from the sites of the villages in Palia, Kukra, and Bhúr; two annas a pakka bigha, or eight annas per acre, is met with, but one rupee an acre is quite common for such lands. Tepantry are allowed to settle at these rates, and when they have built houses and dug wells rents are raised as population increases. The nominal rents under the native rulers were much the same as they are now; sugarcane was even higher. Pargana rates are not known. A number of curious customs touching grain rents and other payments are given in the following extract from Mr. Williams' report on Bhúr and Srinagar : "Method of weighment of crop.--But even if error and fraud be not intended, and the jamábandi entries represent correctly the landlord's share as ascertained at the time of division of the crop, the extraordinary method of weighment pursued is sufficient to ensure the uselessness of any statement professing to record the produce. Regular standard weights are never employed in the khaliyán. A large smooth stone of conve- nient shape, and of every weight from two to four panseris, is thrown into one scale of the balance. A quantity of grain of equal weight is put in the other. This the landlord takes. The process is repeated again and again, landlord and tenant taking each in turn, If the tenant is holding at a one-third rent, he has two turns to the landlord's one. If he is hold- ing at one-fourth, he has three turns to the landlord's one. Very fre- quently to save time a large quantity of grain is thrown into the scale containing the stone. The tbrcshing-floor. ​176 КНЕ "The khaliyán and dulukh weighments. The people are not particular about the weight of the stone, and stones are used of different weights in different khaliyáns in the same village. If there haprens not to be a suf- ficient number of these weighing stones ready when needed, 20 difficulty is allowed to arise. A quantity of grain roughly estimated at so many panseris is used instead, and the weighment and division goes on as before ; when the landlord has gathered together all his grain into liis house he weighs it all over again for his own satisfaction. This process is called the " dulukh" or testing, and generally prevails all over this par- gana in batái villages ; there is always a considerable difference between the khaliyán weighment and the dulnkh ; on an average the latter is to the former in the proportion of three to two (one and a half to one)-deor. ha hisáb, or more rarely of five to four (one and one-fourth to one)---sawai hisáb. In kankút villages the difference is much less, down to oply four sers per maund Khaliyán weighments entered in jamábandis.-Of course the du- lukh weighments only show the total amount of produce got by the land- lord, and not the rents of particular fields. It is the khaliyán weighments that are entered in the jamábandis;* therefore, even if they are correctly entered, such entries only approximately show the real amounts of grain received. I am told patwáris were instructed to enter the dulukh weigh- ment for each field : this would be a most troublesome process, necessitat- ing the working out a rule of three sum if several crops grew in one field, and even then, if the patwari was not absolutely certain of the par- ticular ratio existing in any village between the two totals of the khali- yán and dulukh weighments, all his sums would be wrong; and in this matter he is entirely in the landlord's hands, for the dulukh weighments may be, and sometimes are, managed without the interven- tion of the patwári at all. This is specially the case where villages have been given in leases, the thekadars being anxious to conceal their profits frora both patwari and landlord in order to get a renewal of the lease on easy terms. “But this testing process, called the dulukh, is by no means universal. Many landlords or thekadars are too äpathetic to care to know the exact quantity of grain that they have realized in any harvest, and store their grain immediately it comes from the khaliyán without weighing it a second time. “ Mixed kankút and cash rents.—There is a tenure found in this par- gana (as well as in Srinagar and in Nigbásan) which is midway between cash payments and appraisements of crops. The crops are appraised as they stand, but the tenant is allowed to pay the landlord the price in cash of the landlord's share and to remove the crop from the field himself. In such a case the patwári enters the amount of grain appraised, and not the cash paid as the rent of the field. In reckoning the price to be paid for the grain the landlord does not take the ordinary rate current in the vil- lage bazár at the time of harvest. There are two wirkhs formed for the Rent-rolls. ​КНЕ 177 transaction. One is the bazár nirkh at time of harvest, the second is taken to be one panseri or two panseris 'dearer, and may be called the zamindar's nirkh, and this regulates the price the tenants must pay. "How appraisements are converted into cash. There is nothing harsh or unfair in tlie transaction, except that it has the rigidity that belongs to an old custom. If it was more elastic, and if the variation between the two rates was not arbitrarily restricted to one or two panseris, there should be no fairer way of fixing rent, and I have never heard it complained of. An example will illustrate the method. A barley crop is appraised at two maunds for the landlord's share, including village expenses. Barley is selling in the bazar at Re. 1 per maund. The landlord is entitled to Rs. 2, but he assumes the rate to be one panseri less, or 30 sers; and therefore receives Rs. 2-4-6 for his two maunds instead of Rs. 2 If the bazar rate is considered very low he deducts two panseris instead of ore, and in this case would get Rs. 2-10-8 instead of Rs. 2, for his share. There are two slight variations from this custom. In Hardeo Bakhsh's taluqa only the landlord's share of the crop is appraised, and he takes a lump sum of 3 annas per rupee additional for expenses. In Anrudh Singh's taluqa the grain is converted into cash at the rates prevailing when money rents are collected, and not at one paliseri below the market price at time of harvesting the crop. An additional sum of 1 or 2 annas per rupee is taken for expenses. " The tenure called thahrái.--The tenure called thahrái is another form of mixed tenure, half cash and half grain payments. No cash rent- rate is fixed, but when the crop is ready for cutting the landlord and tenant inspect it together; the landlord's share of the crop is valued on the spot at a lump sum, and the tenant on payment of this sum is allowed to remove all the crop himself. When the landlord is represented by a the- kadar, who is perhaps the muqaddam of the village, or for some other reason on friencūly terms with the tenants, this equitable and sensible method of adjusting the demands of the two parties is frequently re- sorted to." Another tenure of land in Kheri prevailing very extensively across the Chauka is nakshi: " Peculiar feature of nakshi.---The following are the five distinguish- ing features of nakshi—(1) rent is always paid in cash; (2) rents are paid not, for the whole year, but for each harvest; (3) the landlord can claim no rent if the crop has been swept away by floods or otherwise destroyed ; (4) the tenant, if he choose, can leave the land fallow and pay no rent; (5) a certain proportion of the cultivator's land is left absolutely free of rent. This is called "chbút," and varies from one-sixth to one-tenth of the whole land in his possession. The usual proportion is one-tenth, which is called dobiswi, being 2 biswas to the bigha, but I have found mahtias, very old cultivators, holding as much as one-sixth chhút. " Its suitability to the gúnjar country. The extreme suitability of nakshi to the gánjar country, with its large areas of dofasli lands, its liability to ​178 KHE floods, and the necessity for leaving lands fallow to recover their strength, is at once apparent. It is extremely favourable to the tenant. He leaves a field fallow for a year or two, paying no rept, and when in the first year in which it is again cultivated he gets a magnificent crop, he pays no more than for a poor one. "Want of elasticity in the custom.--But there is some want of elasticity in the custom : the total destruction of the crop always everywhere exempts the tenants from liahility for rents, but a difficulty often arises about the proportional deduction to be allowed for partial damage; when the tenant claims a proportional deduction he must have the lands, the crops of which have been injured, measured by the taluqdar's agent on the spot, and this the agent frequently refuses to do, alleging that the crops are really not damaged. I found several villages in which proportional de ductions from rents for partial damage to the kharif crops of last year had been allowed, and several others in which tenants complained of the hard- ship of deductions not being allowed, the thekadar having refused to measure the extent of the land for which deduction from rent was claimed. The patwáris call land of which rent is thus remitted bila lagáņi or nábác. "Omission of entry of the second crop:—Where the nakshi tenure pre- vails the landlord gets exactly double the rent from dofasli that he does from other lands. This shows the extreme necessity and importance of the correct ascertainment of the dofasli area. The most easy and obvious fraud found in a rent-roll is the mere omission from it of the entries for the second crop for a large portion of the dofasli area ; and this fraud is very difficult of detection, because the forma of jamábandi in ordinary lise is not adapted for those villages in which this peculiar tenure prevails. * "Great difficulty in assessment.--Under the head of village ex- penses a number of petty and vexatious demands are made upon the cultivators. The total amount of these demands is frequently so great as to amount to more than the difference between one-fourth and one-third, or between one-third and one-half of the whole crop. Variety of customs as to village expenses.-A tenant will frequently consent to pay half instead of one-third or one-fourth, on condition of pay- ing no expenses; and the compromise thus effected is generally in favour of the tenant at first, but eventually disadvantageous to him, as in process of time the reason why he is not paying his share of village expenses comes to be forgotten, and they are again demanded from him. “Mazdúri.--Of these items I will mention the principal. It is perhaps hardly fair to enumerate the item called mazdúri, as the landlord gives an equivalent for it. It is the landlord's charge for the wages of plough- men and labourers whose services he lends to the cultivator to enable him to cut his crop and get it to the khaliyán. It varies according to the taluqa, and is demanded in one of the four following ways—(1) 30 sers 44 In most parts of the country the spring or rabi crop pays lower rates than the rain or summer crop. ​KHE 179 per plough ; (2) 15 sers per each heap of grain ; (3) 3), sers per maund; (4) or 2, sers per kachha bágha. + Varions items added to rent.--But all the other charges are so many additions to the rent. The patwári's fee or ser is from 1 ser to 2 sers per maund; (2) the fees for weighing the grain, taulái, is a half ser per maund; (3) the zamindar's dhora is a half ser per maund. Dhora is a fee paid in acknowledgment of zamindari right, somewhat resembling nánkár; (4) pai or paipája is an allowance to any religious persons, such as Gosháíns or Pandits, payable from each asámi under the landlord's orders. He considers the gift charity, and no doubt the recipient also gives grati- tude and thanks to him, but the gift is virtually made by the asámis. This fee is often given to a Kahár or two employed in the heat of the day to supply water to the cultivators and labourers at the khaliyán, and may be from one to four chitaks for each maund, or a ser from each field; (5) pitya or shahnagi for the sepoy ernployed by the landlord to watch the crops in the thresbing-floor; (6) khaliyáni or the unclaimed grain and straw left in the threshing-floors after the operations of threshing or treading out and winnowing the corn are completed also belongs to the landlord: Sometimes khaliyáni is given up to the tenants ; sometimes it is divided between both parties. Out of the ser, taulái and pitya, the landlord has to pay wages to the patwari, weighman, and watchman; but the payments on these accounts are far below the receipts. Out of the dhora the land- lord has to supply the scales to weights; but the original reason why the fee is demanded has now almost ceased to be remembered. Paipúja is sometimes taken direct by a zamindar, who then sends a private servant, Brahman or kahár, to supply water at the khaliyán ; (7) lastly, khalu, the corn left in the ears after threshing, which at time of winnowing gets separated both from the grain and from the straw, generally falling between them, is sometimes all taken by the zamindar, sometimes divided between him and the tenant, and sometimes all made over to the tenants, " In the taluqas of Nikmat-ulla Khan's widow and of Hardeo Bakhsh the landlord takes the produce in ráb of one biswa of every field of sugarcane, or else he takes the price of the ráb at the market rates. In these two taluqas also, as well as in Naráin Singh's villages, all tenants whatever who hold at one-third batái give also one rupee per annum as bhent. In other taluqas bhent is only paid by Amnaiks and other favoured cultivators.

  • Various deductions from rent,.—On the other hand there are various

deductions made from the cultivator's rent for various reasons. « The remission of the two well known items called kur and cbarwa is universal among high caste cultivators, and very common, but not univer- sal, in the case of low castes. Kur is 14 panseri per maund in kankút vil- lages and 14 panseri in batái villages. Charwa varies from 2 to 5 sers per maund, but is generally 4, and kur and charwa are allowed whether the tenure be by kut or batái, and whether the cultivator ploughs with his own ​180 КНЕ hands or not. Properly they are the allowances to a high caste cultivator who is not allowed by his caste to plough with his own hands, and must therefore keep a ploughman. " Other similar deductions, -There are five other deductions from rent which are sometimes and to some cultivators allowed in batái villages, but where kankút prevails the landlord generally makes a deduction of one anna per rupee in lieu of the whole five. They are—(1) Agáwar, 14 ser per maund. Agawar (from age before) is so called from its being taken out of the heap of corn before division. It is sometimes given to the landlord and sometimes to the cultivator in the same way as khaliyáni and khalu. It is not allowed in lieu of any particular service. (2) Biswi. Sometimes the cul- tivator is allowed to take off the whole crop of one biswa of his entire bolding without dividing it. There seems to be no particular reason for this custom, but where it exists the patwari and the shahra get a small present from the cultivators, oue maund per plough. (3) Lahna (lahan) is the wages allowed to the labourers who bring the corn to the threshing-floor: If they are employed by the cultivator this item is always allowed to him as a remission from rent. (4) Anjuri, 2 to 10 sers per plough. Anjuri liter- ally means two handfuls, and is generally given only to the dihwái; a Brah-- man who predicts favourable times for sowing and ploughing, or to the “hom," the man, generally an Ahír, who performs the “bhumyára puja or worship to the tutelary village deity, which worship is universally practis-. ed all over Bhúr, Nighasan, and Srinagar. (5) Khaliyáni and khatri are the same as the landlord's “haqs," of the same name already mentioned, and are occasionally taken by the tenant.

"How rent is paid in Aliganj.-One naturally passes from this ques- tion to that of the stages through which rent passes. They are not here three, as in Srinagar, viz., a low cash rent, a grain rent, and a high cash rent. All over Aliganj pargana rent hardly ever changes from grain to cash or cash to grain. Waste is broken up by the cultivators at a grain rent of one-sixth and one-eighth of the crop, or sometimes one-twelfth, while in forest villages the landlord only gets one-sixteenth in the first year. In the second year the landlord's share passes from one-sixth to one-fourth, from one-eighth to two-eighths, and from one-twelfth to one-sixth, and from one-sixteenth to oue-eighth. In the third year the land begins to pay the full grain-rent of one-half or one-third, or sometimes only one fourth,

  • And how in Bhúr proper:-But in the thirty villages in the

southern parts of Bhúr proper land is generally held for the first two years after being brokep up at a low cash rent, just as in Srinagar. This rent doubles itself in the second year, and in the third year is changed into the full grainrent, one-third or one-half; but there is no village in the whole pargana of Bhúr where rents have yet passed from this second stage of grain-rents into the third stage, in which cash rents are taken over the whole lands of the village, as has already happened in many of the best villages of the Ul chak in pargana Srinagar. ce ​KHE 181 " Cash rents in nakshi villages.As has already been mentioned in the other 41 villages of Bhur proper where the nakshi tenure prevails, grain rents are at present entirely unknown. It is here that the greatest spread of cultivation has taken place. The cultivators havc hardly yet been able to find out much about the soil, and the consequence is that wo find that differences of soil have hardly begun yet to be recognized by them as circumstances affecting the rent they are to pay. Throughout these villages it is not the quality of the soil that determined the rent of the field, but the time that has elapsed since the land was broken up, In the first year land is called banjar, in the second chanchar, in the third polich; and there are different rates for banjar, chanchar, and polich ; these variations are wellknown to the cultivators and universally recognized, aud no other standard of rent is now known or remembered. Even facilities of irrigation are not recognizedat present asjustifying a higher rent in those villages; out of these 41 where irr tion is practised, viz., the 15 villages of the Kundwa Paraunch chak, no cultivatoris allowed to have allhis fieldsin one hár. Every one, high caste or low, takes a share both of the good and the bad land and pays the same rent, whether the land is irrigated or not. Mr. Bradley of Aliganj told me he could not get his asámis to consent to pay rent at different rates proportioned to quality of soil. They conscnted rather to pay a somewhat high rent, provided it was equally applied to all fields. The cultivator's idea is that a uniform rate makes future enhancement more difficult to the landlord, “What these rent-rates are. The rate on banjar is usually two annas per kachcha bígha, chanchar three annas, polich four annas, rapidly rising everywhere to five annas; expenses are two annas and two and a half annas per rupee. In some of the grants tenants have even been allowed to hold rent-free for the first year; and in villages near these grants onc and a half anna per kachcha bígha is the rent paid for banjar. “ Liberal offers necessary to tempt settlers.–Of course these are very favourable terms, and the consequence has been a large immigration into these parts of Bhúr, specially into those 15 villages (out of the 41 nakshi villages) which lie, not in the ganjar, but in the Kundwa Barauncha chak. It is here that cultivation has increased 300 per cent. The aversion of tenants from the upper country to settle in the gánjar is, however, over- come by the offer of land on these liberal terms. Thus I have found in- stances of khudkásht ryots cultivating at much lower rates than pahi- kásht, the landlord having induced them to settle in an unhealthy spot by allowing them to hold at two-thirds of the rept paid by ryots who culti- vated the same land, but lived in the next village. "But no expenditure necessary on landlord's part.--It need hardly be remarked that this immense spread of cultivation has been effected with- out the expenditure of a pice on the part of the zamindars who own the land. Year after year their profits incrcase without the slightest labour or expenditure on their part. No advance is necessary even for building a house, for houses are built in these parts of thatch grass, which the cultivator can cut in the waste lands himself, 24 ​182 KHE << "Sentimental reason for breaking up waste.--When once a culti- vator has newly settled in a village a sentimental reasou affords an inducement to him to continue this process of breaking up waste. It adds to his importance and repute in the village. The first asámi to break up a pičce of waste land gives his name to the field thus formed. Many large plots of waste are just broken up in small pieces here and there by one cultivator, his object being to make sure of the whole plot for himself and to prevent any one else from taking possession; the rest of the plot he will break up at his leisure according to his means and inclination. Ignorance of soil leads to sowing mixed crops.—I said that cultiva- tors hardly know yet in these parts of Bhúr what the soil is like. A curious result and proof of this ignorance is the practice of sowing mixed crops, which is exceedingly common. Rice and kodo are more frequently mixed perhaps than any other; the idea of course is that one of the two crops will be sure to grow, whatever be the nature of the yet untried soil, kodo requiring a dry, and rice a damp soil. Another motive no doubt is a desire to guard against the uncertainties of the season, Either rice or kodo will grow, whatever be the nature of the season, wet or dry. The former crop will be spoiled by a drought, the latter by two heavy rains ; an average wet season will give a good yield from both. “ Dhankudwa.--The two crops mixed are called dhankudwa. Some- times the grains are ground together, and the flour made into chapátis, and eaten thus. Sometimes the women of the house go through the se- vere labour of separating the grains of the two cereals before they are used. “ Bijıra.—Bijhra is sown for the rabi harvest for the same reasous which induce cultivators to sow dhankudwa for the kharif. Bijhra is the mixture of several rabi crops, such as poas, gram, barley, and wheat, or any two or any three of them, and is very commonly grown. It is not irrigat- ed, and is principally found in matiár soil. The different grains are not separated, and the flour made of this mixture produces excellent cha- pátis." Prices..-Prices are generally lower in Kheri than in the adjoining districts. The reason is that money is scarce; it is questionable if the surplus. for exportation is larger than in Hardoi or Shahjahanpur. In 1870-71 the following were the prices of the different staples per maund: Kheri. Provincial average. Rs. 2. P Rg. &. p 20 ce 9

Wheat Gram Coarse rice Coarse sugar (gur) Sámbhar salt 2 2 3 .7 10 5 . 30 30 1 8 & 2 2 3 4 8 9 12 6 ed 2 7 5 300 9 10 8 ​KHE 183 4. 441 38 30 26 28 25 40 The average price of wheat for the four years ending 1871 was 24 sers for the rupee. Sers, Barley Grani Juár Bajra Indian-corn (maká!) In 1869 wheat was 8), sers for the rupee, gram 9 sers, but the millets were a fair crop and remained at 22 sers from October, when the autunan erop was rcaped. The last returns give for August, 1873, in sers for the rupee August, 1873. August, 1872. Wheat Barley Bájra 8 Gram Coarse rice The high prices which have prevailed in Kheri during the last five years, except in 1871 and 1874, are inexplicable, except on the assumption of long-continued bad crops. The price of wheat in July—a fair month for placing the market value on that staple and other crops-was in sers per rupee) as follows: 1874. Wheat 203 Barley 16 25 p . e 30 16 93 13 20 12 14 21 13 . 1872, 17

    • 34

... 21 1873. 17 26 20 410 Gram 26 22 I now give the price lists for ten years. They must, however, be accepted with considerable reserve. These returns are the average prices at the three tahsil markets of Lakhimpur, Gola, and Muhamdi. These hardly represent the average of the district; they are all situated in the southern quarter, and some portions of the north-westerly parganas are so distant from the nearest tahsil station as to be quite inaccessible in the rains. In fact the price lists, in addition to the usual chances of error, are, in the case of Kheri, especially deceptive, because they represent the rates, not of an entire district, but of a mere comer. On the other hand, these par- ganas, inaccessible as far as regards the local markets, are intersected by the great navigable rivers, the Kauriála and Chauka, which convey their produce direct to Patna and Chupra; consequently, the prices do not vary much from those current in southern Kheri. The variations of price are of course much greater than appear from these averages; wheat has been in 1869 8. ser's per rupee; in 1871 gram, an almost cqually valuable grain for nutrition, was at 12 scrs per rupee in Kukra. The subject of prices and food values has been dwelt upon in the Fyza- bad and Bahraich articles. It may be remarked that there are here, as elsewhere in Oudh, three classes of food grains. The first includes wheat and rice, whose average price is about 20 sers the rupee during the last six years; the second includes gram, barley, maize, múng, urd, and the millets, whose average price is from 24 to 30 sers the rupee; lastly, the inferior grains, kodo, sánwán, which during the season should not range dearer than 35 sers for the rupee.

  • Settlement officer's report, ​184

KHE Statement showing details of produce and prices in Kheri district for the following years :- 1861.1862. 1963. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1669. 1870. Descriptiob of produce. Average of ten years, Aver-Aver-Aver-Aver-Ayer. A Fer-Aver-Aver-Aver-Aver- Age. age. age. age. age. gao. age. age. age. age. 34,5 175 - 224 34, es 309 31% 19} Paddy 324 48 431 25 293 32 34 414 30% 264 Common rice 153 21) 20 173 13 17 17 19 171 132 Best rice 9 8! 84 7 63 6 61 55 53 Wheat 213 294 231 183 183 16) 23) 923 17% 214 Barley 27 334 393 302 273 304 345 453 373 314 Bájra 384 404 40% 16% 184 214 29 87 251 86 Juár 30 38 20% 242 26% 873 89 33 25 Gram 21 802 269 18 18 2nd 24% 18: 173 Arhar (Cytisus ca- 26 48 39 223 | 18 193 204 26 18 jan.) Urd or Mish (Pha- 17 36 26 16 134 163 183 14 164 seolus maximus ) Mothí (Phaseolres 94 484 304151 18 191 19 25% 17% 18% Aconitifolius) Múog (Phaseolus 17 33 242 15419; 22 16:24) 133 Mungo.) Masúr Eroun lens.) 344 35 25 241 237 26 285 | 329 26 13 Ahsa or Matra 25 46 40 36 90 30 33 34 36 36 (Pisum sativum.) Gluyán (Arum co- 40 60 80 90 51 60 80 80 90 60 locasia.) Sargon (Sinapis 18 21 17 161 | 16% 173 164 17 16 163 dichotoma.) Lábi (Sınapis ni- 17 I8 181 18 18 171 178 18 178 18 Gra) Kaw sugar 9 9 4 31 $ 83 3) 91 26% 1843 283 203 2618 343 69 1718 17% 3 .. The rise of prices is really much greater than appears in this table, nor are the tables printed in the official Gazette perfectly correct. In the months of November - January, 1869-70, for instance, wheat and gram are recorded as varying from 10 to 12 sers for the rupee. At that time gram was 9 and wheat 87 sers for the rupee, to the writer's personal knowledge. Still it is sufficiently evident that there has been a great rise, particularly in maize and other cheap grains. Famine.-The subject of famine has been discussed at length in the Fyzabad and Bahraich articles, and it is also noted in that of Sitapur. It may here be remarked that there was severe famine in 1769, in 1783-84, and in 1837, while there has been scarcity in 1865, in 1869, and in 1874 : all these were caused by deficiency of water. Coarse grain reached 7 sers during these famine times, but whenever the cheapest wholesome grain in the market, whether it be kodo, maize, or barley, be priced for any length of time at a higher rate than 10 sers for the rupee, there will ​KHE 185 sers. undoubtedly bu famine. In January, 1874, the cheapest grain reached 18 As in other districts, the periods in which famine is most to be ap- prehended are the two months before the rabi harvest is cut, January and February, and the two months before the kharif harvest ripens, July and August. There is perhaps less danger of famine in Kheri than in the adjoining district, Bahraich, because the sugarcane crop ip January, which is an exceptionally large one, mitigates the former scarcity, and the carly half-ripe Indian-cora or makái in August is used by those who have nothing left from their rabi harvest. These famines have all been caused by droughts. The rainfall in parts of Kheri is far more capricious than the returns show, which all are made out from statistics furnished from the “ úpar- hár" or cis-Ul portion of the district, which is not more than half. In the upper or tarái half the rainfall is, although unregistered, still un- doubtedly much more irregular. In 1873, for instance, according to all accounts, there were no regular rains whatever in the trans-Ul portion of the district, and the rice crop was in most places a failure. In Kheri itself the rains, though inferior to the average, were still 29 inches, while they can hardly have exceeded 10 in the parganas of Khairigarh, Nighá- san, Dhaurahra, and Bbúr. The rice crop therefore in 1873 was a failure, as in the adjoining districts; that there was not extensive suffering as in Bahraich and Gonda seems due to several reasons. First, that the people in these parganas were better off, and particularly in Khairigarh, as elsewhere remarked, they had large stores of jewellery. Khairigarh and Dhaurabra had both been mainly under European management, either of the Court of Wards or of European taluqdars, owing to which for some years rents had been low, and savings accumulated. Second, the Oudh Forest Department and their contractors afforded work to large gangs of coolies. Third, the population was largely a grazing, and only partially an agricultural one. There can be no question about the scarcity of grain. I myself examine villages in which it was evident from the appearance of their fields, as from the cultivators' statements, that not one stalk of rice had been cut, and the rabi crop was almost equally a failure. Further, at the Chaukaghat, in April, the carts of the Bhár (trans-Ul) taluqdars were transporting wheat which their owners had bought in the Lakhimpur markets for the supply of their households, as their own crop had been a total failure. The rabi harvest, however, in the southern half of the district was good ; population in the northern was sparse,-under 200 to the square mile; it had savings, so the failure of the crops for one season was of no consequence. Remedies—irrigation, drainage, windmills.—They need not have failed at all if there had been any means of raising water from the numerous rivers, the Kauriala, the Chauka, the Daháwar, and the Suheli, Two- thirds of the land in which the rice crop failed were not twenty feet above the level of ample supplies of the water which would have saved them. The people are not accustomed to irrigate, and indeed they are so weak- ened by fever that hard labour at the wells would be impossible for many during the rains. Moreover excessive rain is more common than drought; the former may at any time succeed the latter, in which case land which had been irrigated mighi suffer more than what had been left ​186 KHE alone. In time it is to be hoped that the natives will do as the Dutch under very similar circumstances have done, viz., employ the wind to control the water, and turn the latter into a beneficial agent. Windmills alone can be employed to drain such large areas of superabundant water or to supply them with what is deficient; in fact, to restore the balance and plenty which alternate floods and drought destroy. The circumstances are exactly analogous, except that the more tenacious soil and compara- tively healthy climate of north Kheri would probably assure still greater success for such works than has attended them in the fens of Lincoln and Holland. “In draining one of these morasses, or inland seas, and rendering it fit for cultivation, the first operation consists in damming it in with a ran- part of earth sufficiently strong and high to prevent foreign water from flowing into it. Outside this rampart or dyke a ringsot or surrounding drain is made, of dimensions sufficient to be a navigable canal. Windmills are then erected on the edge of the dyke, each of which works a water- wheels Pumps are very seldom used in draining, as the water is usually highly charged with silt, and is not required to be raised a very great height. The instruments employed are, the scoop-wheel the screw of Archimedes, and the inclined scoop-wheel, or ckhardt wheel. When a great undertaking of drainage is going on houses are erected in a con- venient situation on the dyke, where the engineers and a committee of the proprietors constantly reside and carefully watch the progress which the windmills are making. "In most cases the undertakers are compelled by Government regula- tions to complete the drainage at a certain period of the year, for the very obrious reason that, if the ground were not cleared of the water until the beginning of the summer heat, the exhalations would materially increase the marsh fevers which generally prevail in the first years of an extensive drainage."— Murray's Hand-book of the Continent, page 12, Other staples.—The increased cultivation of turmeric, potatoes, yams, tobacco, sugarcane, for all which the soil of north Kheri is well adapted, will also furnish security that in future scarcity of food grains will not become real famine. The following table gives the price of the food grains during the scarcity of 1869-70 :- Retail sale quantity per rupee. July, Septen- August. Novem- January, Febru- Articlcs. 1869. ber. October. ber. 1870. агу. . M. 8 0 Dr. S. c. M. B. 0. M, s.o. M. S. c. Whcat, 1st quality, o 12 11 011 1 0 10 11 0 10 5 0 10 2 Bitto, 2nd ditto, 0 130 0 11 6 0 10 15 0 10 9 0 10 11 Gram, and ditto, 0 16 14 0 12 10 0110 10 14 0 10 13 Bájra ID 011 5 0 10 0 0 10 0 0 14 12 0 20 8 Juár 0 6 9 0 16 4 0 18 2 0 14 12 0 20 0 Arhar 0 17 9 0 16 0 0 14 8 0 19 4 0 11 12 Urd 12 5 0 11 20 11 4 09 15 0 10 13 Masar 0 16 5 0 15 10 18 8 0 10 40 69 Múng 0 7 6 07 0 6 6 06 0 0 7 12 Rice, and quality, 0 8 8 09 0 8 8 0 10 8 0 II 13 PU M. 9. c. M. 8. c. 061 4 0 10 11 0 11 8 0 10 16 0 12 0 0 12 12 0 18 0 0 18 O 0 27 0 0 26 12 0 3 0 0 19 8 0 1680 168 0 1300 15 0 0 10 2 10 14 0 0 13 00 18 4 . ​KHE 187 The famine of 1783-84.–Formerly, as in 1783-84, there were no such alleviating circumstances, and the following account by an eye-witness of that famine as it prevailed in the Nawab Wazir's territories is con- firmed by the local traditions of the great Béráhsadi, for so it is called, as having occurred in the year 1200 of the Moslem cra. After relating at length the schemes of the monopolists and forestal- lers, who having bought up corn refused to sell it to the starving, the riots which ensued, the bursting open of granaries and the pluncler of shops, the wilful destruction by burning of valuable grain by frenzied and famished crowds, who thought not at the moment even of supplying their own necessities, so bent were they on disappointing the execrated bariáns, the writer proceeds: “ All could not be relieved, consequently the station occasionally exhi- bited a scene of the most horrid licentiousness, which few, however neces- sary it might be, could harden their hearts sufficiently to repel. As to live-stock, little was left. Religious boundaries were annihilated, and all castes or sects were seen to devour what their tenets taught them either to respect or to abhor. Many devoured their own children, and thousands perished while attempting to force open pantries and other places con- taining victuals, insomuch that it was connon to find in the morning the out-offices of our houses half-filled with dying objects, who with their ghastly countenances seemed to express hope, while their tongues gave utterance to cuirses. The good intention of the donors was productive of a very serious cvil, which in the first instance was not, perhaps, sufficiently guarded against. The intelligence was rapidly spread throughout the country that the Europeans at the several military and civil stations had made pro- vision for supplying the poor with rice. This induced all to bend their course towards the nearest asylum. Thousands perished by the way from absolute hunger, while numbers fell an easy prey to the wolves, which being bercft of their usual means of subsistence by the general destruction of all eatable animals, were at first compelled, and afterwards found it convenient, to attack the wretched wanderers. The little resist- ance they experienced in their depredations on these unfortunate creatures emboldened them in an astonishing manner, and taught them to look with contempt and defiance towards a race of whose powers they were heretofore in awe. "Such numbers, however, succeeded in finding their way to the canton- ments that we were to all intents in a state of siege. The wolves followed, and were to be seen in all directions committing havoc among the dying crowd. They absolutely occupied many gardens and out-houses, and often in open day trotted about like so many dogs, proceeding from one ravine to another without seeming to entertain the least appre- hension, So familiar had they become with mankind, and so little did they seem disposed to remove from what to them was a scene of abundance ! I cannot give a stronger idea of our situation than by inform- ing the reader that not only the wolves but even the swine were to be seen in all directions attacking the poor wretches, whose feeble endeavours ​188 KHE to drive away their ravenous devourers were the only indications that the vital sparks were not quite extinct. “The demise of such numbers tainted the air, and caused a sickness among the troops. Many officers died of putrid fevers, and the most seri- ous consequences would inevitably have followed, but for the setting in of the rains, which both abated the extreme heat of the atmosphere and carried off immense quantities of offensive remains. It is not easy to assert how many died, but I heard it stated by some gentlemen of the committee for managing the subscription, money that at least two hun. dred thousand persons had flocked from the country, of whom not more than one in twenty could be maintained for the number of months which must elapse before the soil could render its aid. To calculate upon less than a regular supply until such should be the case would have been absurd, for there was not the smallest probability of the scourge being abated in the meanwhile. The lower provinces, as before remarked, could do little more than support themselves, and no periodical supply of the fruits, &c., usually produced in the rainy season could be expected in a country of which nearly two-thirds of the population was destroyed. “ This mournful scene, however, gradually drew to a close. The un- fortunate group had either died or had been restored to health, and were capable of returning to their occupations. The wolves now felt themselves bereft of their usual prey, but did not lose their habit of attacking men, many of whom, though in general provided with some means of defence which circumstances had rendered necessary, yet became victims to their depredations, till at length measures could be taken to check their rapacity, and they were obliged to have recourse to their former researches for food.”-Forbes' Oriental Memoir, vol. III, page 59. Blights, droughts, flools. The rains, as already remarked, are more copious in Kheri than in southern Oudh. Still rain fails in January and February frequently, and whatever crops cannot be irrigated suffer severely. Floods are very destructive in Dhaurahra, Srinagar, and Firozabad from the Chauka in Kheri, northern Paila, Haidarabad, from the local rainfall which causes the jbíls to overflow the neighbouring fields. Muhamdi, Magdapur, Palia, Khairigarh have good slopes generally and do not suffer from floods. Hailstorms seldom occur. The girwi or red rust is described in the account of Lucknow district; it does little harm gene- rally, but the weevil often ruins the gran crop. Locusts have never done much harm in this district, although Hardoi to the south has been greatly plagued by them. In fine, floods are the only natural calamity from which the country suffers, and till State works are taken in hand the Chauka will continue to devastate, as it does now, some three hundred square miles annually. Its effects are often good, as in some places the deposit is ferti- lizing, and it is doubtful if it would pay to embank a river whose bottom has a descent of one hundred and eighty feet in its course through the district of about 110 miles, and which consequently has a current in the rains of about four miles per hour. Food and condiments. The food of the people consists principally of juár, bájra, (called also lahra), kodo, sáowáu, ground and made into cakes; ​KHE 183 also of arhar, mothi, urd, masúr, boiled as pottage, and of rice. There is a certain rotation ; one day a man will eat juár cakes, a second day rice, a third day kodo cakes, a fourth day urd or mothi pottage; he will try to vary his diet as much as possible. The quantities he eats will vary with the food. A strong labouring man will eat it ser of kodo or sánwán, but 1ų ser juár, bájra, or urd, and only 1 ser of gram; a slight built man will consume one quarter less. The following is the stated daily consumption of a family consisting of five children, father, mother, and grandmother, children aged 3 to 15. The father ate 14 ser of bájra, wife and mother 2 sers, the five children 21 = 57. They also used one quarter kachcha ser per day of salt, but they would have preferred more if they could have afforded it. This is 1}rd chhaták per day per head, but the more liberal allowance in their case was 14 kachcha ser in four days, 114 kachcha sers or 51 pakka sers in the year. The bazar rate was 7 sers, so this head of a family (a chaukidar) had to pay Rs. 7-5-0 per annum for salt. His pay was nominally five bighas, or less than three acres of land. But let us be a little more exact. This chaukidar did not boast the possession of any coin of the realm, but he had five local sers of juár which he was going to exchange for itser of salt to last him four days ; so he paid it kachba ser of grain per day in exchange for salt, which will be in the year 205 pakka sers. At the time urd was selling at 23 sers for the rupee, so he was paying at the rate of Rs. 9 per annum for salt. This calculation confirms the other; as of course the purchaser by barter would have to give a double profit to the shop- keeper, and would thus purchase dearer. It is obvious that when juár gets dearer be will pay a smaller quantity, but the same money value for his quantum of salt. Further, this head of a family has to procure five and half sers for food per day, which will be 2,007 sers per annum, and for salt 205, or, allowing for the greater purchasing power of gram further on in the year, 150 sers. He will expand therefore 2,157 sers of coarsa grain in the year. Now the average price of such grain has been 33 sers per rupee during the last ten years. It is now 23 sers, so his average in- come must have been equivalent to Rs. 65, and must now be Rs. 94 per What were his earnings? They must have been under Rs. 30 for himself, and perhaps his eldest one might earn Rs. 10 more. He him- self declared that bis rent-free land and the bisár or field gleanings which he got as village watchman produced him 30 maunds kachcha, or 540 sers that year, worth about Rs. 30, as most of it would be wheat or gram ; but it was only a twelve-anna crop, and other years his share of the grain and his grain rents might be worth Rs. 40. His sons would be required to aid in looking after the crops, and the two calculations of his income about agree. It must be remembered that the 720 sers of mix- ed grain which he would get in an average year represent about 950 sers of the coarser grain which he consumes. At any rate it is impossible to see how this chaukidar, a Pási, could supply more than balf his actual consumption from honest and recognized sources, while it is certain that if this family required Rs. 7 worth of salt, very few families of the labouring classes can get as much as they require in Oudh. This family is now spending upon salt barter five kachcha sers of grain 25 annum, ​190 KHE in four days; it was consuming in the four days 441 kachcha sers of coarse grain, so 10 per cent of the expenditure in food is placed to the account of salt. When grain becomes dearer the proportion will rise to 7 per ccnt. The broad result is that salt, even if none is given to cattle, costs a family from 6 to 8 per cent. of its entire expenditure, fuel being pothing, and clothes a mere trifle. Of course in Kheri and Sitapur salt is dearer than in Unao and Lucknow, through which districts it comes. We have seen also that this family consumed 51 pakka sers; now allowing double as much to adults as to infants after the analogy of the food each child will get, that will allow 4'sers 94 chhatáks for each child, 9 sers 24 chhatáks for each adult. There are 6,700,000 adults, and 4,500,000 children under the age of 15 in Oudh; therefore adults will consume 1,534,000 maunds, and children 612,000 maunds--2,146,000 in all. The alleged im- ports into the province average 700,000 maunds. The rule about the consumption of salt is a fixed oue: one chhaták of salt should go to one ser of wheat, and 2 pice weight of salt or 14 pice go to the ordinary allowance of dál, which is one quarter ser (five pice go to a chhaták); therefore if a man eats only vegetables he will cousume eight sers at the 14 pice rate, or 9 sers 2 chhatáks at the 2 pice rate, and if he eats meat every day he will consume half a ser, and its allowance of salt, half a chhaták, will be 11 sers 6 chhatáks, in addition to the dál allowance. However, he will probably only eat meat, even if a Musalman, every second day, and his whole consumption of salt will be 8 sers on dál, and 5 sers 9 chhatáks on meat-in all 13 sers 9 chhataks. The calculation is confirmed by the actual account of a respectable Musalman family of eight adults with servants, whose monthly consumption was 10 sers of salt , or 15 sers per head annually ; this family consumed meat daily; on the other hand some of them were women, so the theoretical and the practical consumptions agree very fairly. We may therefore lay down the consumption as follows for adults; minors will consume half: respectable flesh-eating Musalmans or Hindus with family incomes of Rs. 30 per mensem and upwards, 15 sers per head; mainly vegetable eating Hindus or Musalmans with incomes of Rs. 6 to 30 per mensem, 101 sers; the first class will use Lahore salt at 5 sers for the rupee, the second well salt at 7 sers for the rupee. The small cottier farm- ers and the labourers will not eat salt regularly at all; for it is perfectly obvious that if an ordinary family consists of two adults and three chil- dren, and if the proper allowance of salt will then be 31 sers, costing Rs. 4-6 per annum, and if a labourer's pay is Rs.30, all which facts are proved, then a proper allowance of salt will come to 14 per cent. on his income, and he will not spend it. A small respectable native household of eight persons in Lucknow will spend Rs. 24 per annum on salt alone. In fact more than a month's entire income goes in salt for the year when families spend aceording to the rule which tative experience dictates. It would appear then that to the upper classes the present price is not prohibitive in any degree. The present system raises the natural price of an indigenous 11 ​KHE 191 commodity from one rupee to five rupees eight annas per maund, and the state thereby easily collects a large tax. It may be added here that the jail allowance is 5 sers 11 ohhatáks for all the prisoners, or one quarter chhaták per day. This is at the rate of about six sers for each. adult and three sers for each child; it is much below the rate sanctioned in some other provinces, and less than the amount which people will voluntarily consume (vide above statistics). The salt department declares that two sers per head are sufficient. It is probable that man would live in very tolerable health for years on this allowance; but as the experiment has admittedly never been tried, more exact statistics are awaited as to what longevity can be achieved on two sers of salt per annum, Condition of the agriculturists. The condition of the major portion of the agricultural peasantry is wretched in the extreme. Their clothing is insufficient, and their food, as we bave seen, consists either of kodo, and juár meal made into cakes, and eaten with dál, or of new rice, which is an unwholesome diet unless most carefully harvested. Very few of them ever touch wheaten bread, wbile condiments, such as ghi and spices, are used in quantities so minute as to fail of any material effect upon the vigour of the peasant. The rural population of Kheri are compelled in large numbers to watch their fields at night, in order to preserve them from the depredations of wild animals. They are perched upon platforms elevated eight feet above the ground, and thinly covered with brush-wood or thatch. During the winter months the cold in those cages is extreme. As a rule, the watcher's possess a blanket—often the only one in the family,—but not infrequently it is found that the whole household cannot, muster a single blanket to protect the field-wateher from the inclemency of the weather. Manufactures and trade. The district manufactures call for hardly any remarks. Weaving and cotton printing, both of the coarsest kind, are pursued by 3,155 and by 990 artificers respectively : Kheri pargana is the principal se of both, but there is no export of either product. Grain of all kinds is exported from the district, but it is impossible to give any exact statistics, because the returns only show what is sent out of the pro- vince. The other exports are turmeric, tobacco, timber of all kinds, sugar, syrup, hides, bullocks, and ghí. Catechu is made in large quantities throughout the northern parts of the district from the Acacia catechu, bere called Khair. The heart-wood is chopped out and boiled down by a caste called Khairis. Khas-khas (Andropogon muricatum), whose roots are used for making tattis, is exported in large quantities, being taken down the Gumti and the Gogra to Benares and Patna. The great fairs of Gola Gokarannáth are hopeful features in the district trade. There are two, ope in January, which is attended by almost 50,000 people, the other in February, which lasts about fifteen days, and at which 150,000 persons are said to assemble. The great fair is increasing rapidly in fame and number of attendants; goods worth about Rs. 150,000 being sold annually by traders from all parts of India, ​192 KHE The imports into Kheri from the North-Western Provinces in 1872. consisted of Maunds. Value. Rs. Cotton 28,200 3,81,000 Salt 74,464 4,28,229 Khári* 4,712 22,631 Country cloth ... 1,70,000 English piece-goods 19,101 1.

PO 000 Total 11,26,600 The exports Mannds. 29,900 84,000 Tobacco Edible grains Timber Country cloth Sugar Spicest Ra, 72,000

  • 2,81,000

32,000 21,000 28,000 38,683 bed 4,800 6,686 Total 3,69,366 It thus appears that imports are three times as valuable as exports. The only mistakes apparent in the above official return are the valua- tions of tobacco and sugar ; the former ought to be priced at about Rs. 7 per maund instead of three; the latter, which is a coarse article, might fairly be valued at Rs. 2-8-0 instead of Rs. 6-0-0. Still it is evident that the imports largely exceed in value the exports except as regards the oil-seed and grain trade, which passes mainly by the Chauka and Kauriála to Patna and Dinapore. Timber also goes down the Suheli; charcoal down the Gumti to Lucknow. None of these matters are credited to the district. The Kheri grain too, which is loaded on boats at the gháts of the Chauka and Kauriála rivers, is credited to Fyzabad : because in its passage down the Gogra it coasts that district, although it never even passes through it. This defect in the district returns renders them all deceptive. River trade.- The principal gháts or landing places on the Chauka in the Kheri district are Důlhámau and Pachperi on the Chauka and Sbitábi and Katái pháts on the Kauriála. From them grain is exported either to Bahramghat for the local Lucknow demand, or to Dinwan- ghát seven miles west of Fyzabad; from thence other traders take it by rail or river to Lucknow or Patna. Or lastly, grain goes to Simaria ghát fifteen miles west of Patna, near Chupra. The boats.--The traffic is carried on in flat-bottomed boats, of which the smallest are mere hollow sál trees, drawing two and a half to three feet, it is said, when loaded, but certainly floating when empty in twelve inches; they will carry 200 local maunds, or 3,600 sers, or about three tons and a quarter. The next largest size is about 500 maunds or 18,000 lbs, above eight tons: they draw four feet when loaded. The largest size is equal to the carriage of 1,200 local_maunds, or nearly twenty tons; they require four to five feet water. The smallest size costs about Rs. 80, the largest about Rs. 400. They belong to Kahárs called, when practising this • Salphate of Soda. 1 Turmeric. ​KHE 193 trade, Gorias. They are hired out to the grain merchants at a rate per hundred maunds of carriage. Cost of carriage. This varies every year, and is now* Rs. 9 from Shítábi- ghát and Rs. 5 from Chahlári ghát per hundred maunds to Dinwán, and from Shitábighat to Chupra Rs. 15. These rates are more than double those ordinarily current. The rate to Simariaghát from Chahlári was Rs. 5; it is now 12 and Rs. 10 from Bahramghat. Even at this rate the railway cannot compete with river. traffic. The same amount of grain at the low rate of {th of a pie per mile per maund will cost about Rs. 10 to take to Patna by rail, the distance being about 400 miles, although it will be reduced to 300 when the Oudh and Rohilkhand line is completed. It is true that the voyage will last fifteen days by water and only three by rail, but that is no advantage, rather a loss to the shipper, who has his grain stored for him in the vessel while the price is rising. The abovementioned rates also include the return voyage, anul although the boats are often empty, yet they sometimes bring Bengal rice and salt from Patna. This is English salt, which up to 1872 came as far as Bahramghat, and sold there at Rs. 5 per maund, but the opening of the railway to Fyzabad has reduced the price of Punjab salt, and driven the English out of the market. Still it is evident that in ordinary years river carriage, as far as the traffic between Oudh and Bengal is concerned, is one hundred per cent. cheaper than railway. The present high rates for boat bire also prevailed in 1867, and were caused doubtless by the scarcity in Bengal. The traffic continues all the year. During the rains the east wind may generally be depended on, and boats go up-stream at the rate of 40 miles in a day if circumstances are favourable. An aver- age voyage from Dinwán to Chablári and back—a distance of 130 miles- should be completed in twelve days. Of the boat hire abovementioned half is taken by the owner of the boat and half goes to the four men who pull or pole it along. Two men will manage a small boat. The grain- dealers are of all castes, but the boat-owners are all Kahárs or Gorias. Boats engaged in the Bengal trade go up the Kewáni to Sándi, six miles beyond Jahángirabad, but only in the rains; it might easily be made navigable all the year round. The traders complain of many shallows above Rájpur near Chahl'ri on the Chauka. In the Nawabi the trade was almost confined to Khargughát in Nánpára and Bahramghat; every landbolder who had a fortalice on the bank made the boats pay transit dues. At Mallápur, Baundi, Chahlárighát, Bhitauli, every ten or twelve miles in fact, the vessel had to bring to and pay dues, The grain carried to Bengal was generally maize and millets of sorts, gram, wheat, oil-seeds, but in 1873, for the first time in the merchants memory, kodo was exported and formed the main article of traffic. This probably indicated that there was no other grain in any abundance, and That the Oudh people was trenching on its food stores. Minerals.-There are no mineral productions, except a little petro- leum in Khairigarh. Kankar of good quality in large slabs is met with near Gola. Saltpetre is manufactured in quantity at Dhaurahra,

  • 1874. ​194

KHE Roads and communications. There are no metalled roads in the district except that from Sháhjahánpur to Sitapur, which passes for 21 miles through the south-west corner. One raised and bridged road runs froin Sitapur through Del to Lakhimpur,28 miles, thence to Gola, 20 miles, and thence to Muhamdi , 18 miles. The accompanying table shows the length and direction of each road, and also proves how inferior the communications are, as seven of the roads are useless for five months of the year. It is, no doubt, very costly to construct bridges in this district, not so much owing to the violence of the floods as to the alluvial nature of the soil, which affords no firm foundation, and which is liable every year to be pierced by new channels, which render the old bridges useless. Since the suppression of the mutinies many bridges have been built, including two over the Gumti; the cost of these works has in some instances been as high as Rs. 20,000. Kheri roads. Masonry bridges bridges. Number of Name of road. the sides Pile sarais on Number: REMARKS. El Length of road. Description of road. Large. Small. Large. Small. of road. Miles. 103 1 8 9 Unmetall- ed. Ditto 2 164 1 Lakhimpur to Sitapur. 2 Ditto to Mabewa, 3 Ditto to Kheri. + 3 Ditto tat 1.4 4 Ditto 1 11 Ore at Oel. Used through- out the year. Not much used. Practicablo through out the year. One at Si- Do.do. do. kandar 2- bed and the other at Muham- di. Do. do. do 4 Ditto via Mubamdi to Shahjaban - pur, 1 38 Ditto IO 1 440 5 Ditto ria Golg to Muhamdi. 6 Gola to Aliganj. 7 Do. to Kothár, 8 Lakhimpar to Babraich, 2 1 8 12 10 Ditto Ditto Ditto 06

PP . 21 Metalled.

Do. do. do. Do. do.. do. Not practica ble during the rains. One at Mai. Practicable kalganj. throughout the year; joins the road projected for railway Not practics- ble during the rains. Do, dodo 33 SPP Unmetall- ed.

16D 9) From the bound- ary of the Sitapur dis- trict to the Shahjahan pur bound- Ty. 10 Lakhimpur to Khairigarh. D Ditto via Ali gadj to Mai. láni. 121 Ditto to Ma- kalganj. 13 Gola to Bhúr... 14 Matera to Palia, 15 Lakhimpur to Siogábi. 36 Ditto 2 PP 1 ... 22 Ditto pe. 3 2 Do. do. do. 2 . Ditto Ditto Ditto . 36 171 49 2 ready. > Do. 2o. da. Do. do. ao. Do. do, de. 00 1 ​КНЕ 195 The following is an extract from official route book. The principal district roads are- (1.). From Sitapur to Lakhimpur. This passes for 28 miles within the boundaries of this district. The stages are Oel and Lakhimpur; the latter 8 miles from the former. There are 5 nálas on this road. (2.) From Sháhjahánpur to Lakbímpur. This road passes for 52 miles throughout this district. The stages are- Muhammadpur 9 miles from Sháhjahánpur, Muhamdi 10 miles further, Kumbhi 74 miles, Sikandarabad 84 miles, Kaimahra 9 miles, and Lakhím- pur 81 miles. The rivers are the Sukheta (not bridged), the Gumti (bridged), the Kathna (bridged), the Saráyan (bridged), and the Jamwári (bridged). There are 8 nálas on this road. (3.) From Sitapur to Shahjahanpur in the North-Western Provinces. This passes for 334 miles throughout this district. The stages are Maholia 14 miles from Sitapur, Maikalganj 9 miles further; and Udaipur 10 miles, The rivers are the Saráyan, the Perhi, the Kathna, and the Gumti--all of which are bridged. There are only 2 nálas. (4.) From Sitapur to Pilibhít in the North-Western Provinces. This passes for 45 miles throughout this district. The stages are :- Barwar 6 miles from the border of the Sitapur district, and Muhamdi 10 miles from the former. The rivers are the Saráyan, the Perhi, the Kathna, and the Gumti-all bridged except the last., Weights and measures.—The weights used in the principal bazars are the legal ser and maund, the ser being 2057 tbs., bat the local weights are very different. The local ser still used exclusively in rural life and con- jointly in all the principal bazars is a small one; five sers are roughly equal to two and a quarter Government sers, and the ordinary multiple used in transactions is five. The banián will buy the villager's grain at so many "paseris," or weight of five sers, equal to 4.9 lbs. per rupee. Tha local ser is almost equal to an English pound. The local maund is equal to eighteen Government sers. The paseri has increased in size since annex- ation; it was formerly 29 gandas of six rupees, it is now 30 gandas; it former- ly equalled 2 sers 31 chhatáks, now it equals 2 sers 4 chhatáks. The ordi- nary mode of reckoning is by takas; each taka equivalent to half a ganda. The paseri in general use is equivalent to 60 takas or 30 gandas; at least so it is said; but if the ganda consists of six chihradár rupees of 180 grains each, the paseri will weigh 32,400 grains; whereas the paseri does admit- tedly weigh 24 sers exactly which comes to 32,600 grains. There is some mistake in the shop-keeper's assertions on the subject. There are variations throughout the district. In Khairigarh the paseri is equal to 62 takas. In Muhamdi an indigenous pakka ser is current. This is equivalent to 96 machhlidár or Lucknow rupees of 172* grains. This is supposed to be one quarter larger than the Government ser, but really it is little more than a seventh larger. We have also the large maund used for dealings in tobac- co and gur, and equivalent to twenty-four paseris.

  • Prinsep's Tables, page 56, ​196

KHE Land measures.—The local unit of arca is the kachcha or small bigha. Its area varies in every pargana and in every village. On the average, south of the UI above five go to an acre, north of the Ul about three and a half; but there is no certainty, as the people say it depends on the length of the patwári's foot and that on the pleasure of the landlord. Sugarcane an i garden crops are always measured by a smaller bígha than other crops. Disputes between landlord and tenant on this head have occurred occasionally. It may be considered desirable to go into the details of the land mea- sures. The unit of all mensuration is the kasi or double pace which con- sists of 26 girahs, each girab being 24 anguls or finger-breadths; therefore the kasi consists of 65 finger-breadths. The standard yard of 36 inches consists of 19 girahs or 473 anguls; therefore the kasi is 497 inches, four feet one inch and a quarter. Now (20) twenty kasis square or four hun- dred square kasis make the kachcha bigha in common use; therefore the common bigha should be 82 feet 5 inches square, and the area should be almost 749 square yards. It must be remembered that the ordinary or tailor's yard is only 16 girahs. The above is called the "jamai kasi," or measure for land paying money rent. When land is on batái terms, that is to say, when a portion of the produce is taken, there is no motive on the landlord's part for diminishing the measure of length; then the kasi is extended to 72 anguls or about 29 girahs, equal to 1-52 of the standard yard, and the bigha to 9242 square yards. The standard bigha of the North-Western Provinces is 3,025 square yards, the acre is 4,840 square yards, so the local bigha is sometimes less than a sixth of an acre, sometimes a little less than one-fifth. The gaz and the jaríb, it will be observed, are not mentioned at all-vide Prinsep's useful Tables, pages 123—127. In fine the area of a field, and consequently the rent payable by the tenant, are determined by the length of the patwári's stride as he paces along its edge. In Oudh the patwari is the paid servant of the landlord. That the bigha is not a great deal smaller than it is may be due to the action of the former native Government, which retained in theory and often exercised in practice the right of taking direct possession of all lands except the taluqdar's nipkár or personal demesne. It was understood also that the landlord was to hand over all his collections from the tenants to Government, less certain authorized allowances. It was the landlord's interest to make the sum which he had to pay Government on bis rent-roll appear as small as possible. Now the rent per bígha could not be entered lower than was usual in the neighbourhood because the Government officer would at once order the rate to be raised. It was easier to use a larger bigha than the authorized one, because such a fraud could not be detected without measurements. Therefore the landlord used a large bigha at any rate for his or his relatives sír lands and for high caste men, often, indeed, for all his tenants. He made up for the diminution of his rent-roll so caused by taking numerous cesses of all kinds. Formerly, therefore, it was the joint interest of the landlord and tenant that the bigha should be a large one; now their wishes and interests are diverse and ​KHE 197 adverse on this point. Formerly both were united against the Government, the real landlord ; now Government has ceased practically to be a land- lord, and has handed over all its powers and opportunities to the taluqdar. One result in Kheri will be that the bigha will get smaller and smaller. Already there have been contests in the law courts: the landlords even went so far as to say that the sugarcane bigha was only 52 anguls, one-fifth less than the above mentioned "jamái kasi.” Then the bigha would be under 66 feet square, and the area, 484 square yards, would be just one- tenth of an acre. This last has been frequently imposed on sugarcane fields by the landlord; it is called the "bảwan kasi." There is nothing peculiar about the measures of length. Wages : rate of interest.-- There is no large class of either carpenters or smiths in the district. Work of this kind is done for the rich generally by permanent dependents of their own who receive grants of land for the poor by the regular village servants who are paid by a portion of the grain reaped at harvest. When this is not the case village carpenters and smiths get as low as 2) annas per day, superior workmen in the town 3 and 4 apuas: goldsmiths work in silver at half an anna for each rupee- weight made up; in gold at one anna for plain work. There has been no rise of wages. Ploughmen get 14 sers daily, and generally a blanket. Children are largely employed for frightening away birds and animals from the crops, they get two pice a day for the month before the crop is ripe Reaping is paid by a share of the erop, generally every twentieth heap. Digging is paid for by the piece ; when waste land is broken up two and a half to three bighas for the rupee are exacted. A labourer can earn Rs. 2-12-0 per month in this way. Apparently there are very small savings in the district, exeept in Palia, where the rents are low, probably because the pargana was till 1866 in Sháhjahánpur; in Khairigarh also the tenant class make a good deal of money in breeding cattle. In these parganas the women wear a great deal of jewellery, and the group round a well is sometimes bright with silver ornaments; but as a rule the poorer women wear very littlc, nothing but a nose-ring The following is a letter from the tahsildar of Muhamdi on this subject:- The needy husbandman has to borrow at seed time when grain is dearest, and has to repay at barvest time when grain is commonly cheap- est. The grain lent is generally valued at the price ruling at seed time, and is repaid at harvest in the amount of grain then purchasable for the same sum as well as for interest at 2 annas per rupee: For instance, if a cultivator borrows grain, the value of which according to the rate prevailing in the borrowing season is Rs. 2, he would have to give grain purchasable for Rs. 2-4-0 at the harvest. If, however, the grain is not repaid at the next harvest, but remains due, the tenant has to pay interest at 4 annas per rupee in kind in addition to the grain purchasable for the original value of grain. When the grain is not very dear at the seed time it is lent on interest at deorba (1), or sawaya () rate : for instance, if a tenant bor- rows 20 sers of grain he would deliver 30 or 25 sers at the barvest. 26 ​198 KHE occasionally loans of inferior grain are repaid in the same weight of supe- rior. Advances of grain for food and maintenance are also repaid at the above rates, with but one slight difference which is this; if the tenant borrows grain only for two months prior to the cutting of his harvest, he has generally to repay the loan in kind without interest at the rate ruling at the barvest. For instance, if a tenant borrows 15 sers of wheat valued Re. 1 in February at the rate ruling in that month, he will have to pay wheat of one rupee only at the rate prevailing at the harvest. "Cultivators of sugarcane are mostly in debt. The cultivation of sugarcane is ordinarily commenced and completed with the usurious aid of native bankers, and a single bad season places the cultivator in pecu- niary difficulties from which he finds it most difficult to extricate himself for years. Advances for sugarcane cultivation are generally made from August to January on terms of usury proportioned to the borrower's veed, and on the security of his anticipated crop, and the cultivator gener rally promises to supply saccharine produce to the lender. An agreement is almost always'exacted to pay loss of profits, at varying rates, but generally at Re. 1 per maund for as many maunds as the cultivator fails to deliver at the appointed time, and this is paid of course in addition to the unpaid loan. The account is generally closed in Bhadon (August) and a balance struck against the cultivator, and a contract to deliver ráb of that balance at the next season is implied, even if not expressed. The num- bers of the indebted cultivators of crops other than sugarcane are not increasing, on the contrary they are decreasing since the Nawabi. " The rents in this tahsil are to a great extent paid in money, and the high prices of produce ruling in the reign of British Government, joined with the apparent immunity they now enjoy from the exactious and oppressions of landlords, are favourable to them.

  • The following is the rate of wages paid to labourers :

In Muhamdi 1) anna. In villages 1 anna, 19 anna. . . .. UY 1 anna.” ​CIAPTER III. THE PEOPLE. Population of the district-Occupationa of the people--Religion --The Mandua festival The worship uf Mahadeo-Caster of Kheri - Meaning of custo.The Pasis-The Ahíre- The Kurmia- The Chhattris--Influence of the Chhattris-Causes of their ascendeucy- Tenure-List of taluqdars of the district --Tabular atatemeat showing the tribal distribu- tio of property-Village communities the first form of saciety-The non-agriculturists. Population of the district. — The census was taken in 1869, no regular enumeration having been previously made. The population of Kheri district is 737,732, or 232 to the squaremile of total area, but, deducting the Govern- ment forest from which cultivation is excluded, the population is 281 to the square mile. The adjoining district of Sháhjahánpur, one similar in al physical aspects, has a population of 437 to the square mile. There is nothing to account for this except the fact that the latter district has enjoyed for seventy years the benefits of English rule. Of this popula- tion 73,575 or ten per cent are Musalmans; but as this is the average pro- portion in the province, and indeed approximates that of the whole empire, it calls for 10 remarks. There are 399,275 males, and 338,457 females, or a percentage of 54 males to 46 females. The accompanying tablo gives a slightly different result. I cannot say which is more reliable :- District Kheri- Area and Population. Arena in square Bri- I opulation. tisk statute iniles. Tahsil. Pargana, Namber of mauzahs or townships. Cultivated. snpu! Total. Musalmans. square Females, Males. Total. los bofe persons to each I. LAKHTM PUR. Kheri Srinagar Bhút Pajla Kukra Mailáni, 192 146! 189 117 61 193 229 876 103 172 Total 706 1,078 .. 130 88,020 16,996 55,266 49,650 104,976 557 120 68.254 7.581 4,770 36,070 75,840 286 135 68.368 5 619 40,316 33,665 73,971 182 58 23,056 3,293 18,651 18,598 85,349 345 20 10,818 1,923 6,788 6,4481 12,236 239 463 267,906 34,406 181,781 110,531 302,312 304 104 62,988 4,659 30,491 27,000 57,497 355 152 64,877 5,920 38,093 92,704 70,797 258 119 55,320 2,622 91,635 26 207 67,842 212 681 90,983 2,063 18,866 14,680 33,046 78 37 18,576 1,794 11,653 8,877 20,370 146 480 222,696 16,868 180,138 109,414 239,652 182 NIGGASAN. Firozabad Dhaurabra Nighisan Khairigarh Palia 91 121 74 70 163 285 269 410 139 II Total . 406 1,26 ​200 KHE District Kheri- Area and Population-continued.) Area in aquare Brin Population. tisk statute miles. Faryana Number of mauzalis or town- ships. No. of persons to cach square mile. Tahsil. Total. Cultivated. Hindus." Musalmang. Males. Femalea. Total. 186 165 113 MOLANDI. Mubamdi Pasgawan Aurangabad Kasta Haidarabad Magdapur Alva Piparis Total 116 1211 116 96 98 56 64 66 42,471 68 34,586 681 27,086 99 29,556 41 30,997 30 8,571 23 7,819 6,646 26,538 22,478 49,016 492 5,862 22,264 18,284 40,448 30L 1,737) 15 891 12.912 28,823 249 1,733 17,241 J4,048 81,289 329 4,711 79,297| 18,411 35,708 317 1,878 5,411 4,539 9,949 178 977 4,976 3,820 8,796 137 ... 108 36 32 663 666 304 181 066 23,043 111,608 92,521 204,129 266 District Total... 1,774 2,000 1,247 671.686 74,397 403,627 842,466 745,998 245 66 10 European Eurasian Prisoners, &c, in jail. 12 8 271 73 18 261 144 234 4. GRAND TOTAL 1,774) 3,000 7,247 671, 686 74,307 403,827 342,5131 746,350 245 Note. In this table the figures are not exactly the same as those referred to in the letter press. The former represents the prpulation of the district compiled from the village Feturps of 1869, added up afresh in 1871; the latter gives the figures in the Oudh cen- sue report, the discrepancy cannot be acounted for except by clerical errors in the cen- sus report, Occupation of the people.--According to the census returns 33 per cent. of the Hindus and 54 per cent of the Muhanımadans are not engaged in agricultural pursuits, but it is doubtful whether this retum is correct, there being hardly any manufactures and little trade to employ such a large proportion of the people. There are 164,452 male adults engaged in agriculture, and they occupy on an average five acres of land each; but this includes fallows which, in this district owing to the want of manure, are of large extent. The number of landed proprietors is very small, (4,209), but thirty of them hold three quarters of the entire district. The occupations will be referred to again under trade and manufactures. Religion.—The Hindu religion of Kheri is that common to the rest of Oudh, except that the worship of Mabádeo or Shiva is more exclusively in the ascendant. The largest gatherings are at Gola in honour of this divinity, at Marwa in Dhaurahra pargana, in honour of a local hermit, Munna Dás by name, and at Kheri in honour of the Rámlía. The first is attended by about 150,000 people, the two latter by about 15,000 each. None of the temples are of any architectural interest, nor is it supposed ​KHE 201 that any are of mueh antiquity. The only image of any interest is one .called Dhanakdhári Náth at Majhgaon in Nighásan. It is of white marble, the head dress consists of a high cone rising from a circular cap, without any ornament. It is clearly of Tartar or Thibet origin, its owner is a Jángre Chhattri, and lias connexions withiu the Thibet inountains. The extreme plainness of the figure and the absence of all details render it useless to theorize about an image which is interesting and unique pro- bably in Oudh. Among sacred places may be mentioned the shrine of Deokáli in Kheri, Balmiár Barkhár in Muhamdi, and a number of shrines in Haidarabad. The Mandua festival. --The fair at Mandwa or Marwa in Dhaurahra is of recent origin. The pilgrims number 15,000, and assemble round the tomb of their spiritual leader a Sunár, Munna Dás, who died about sixty years ago. Among their customs are to salaam with both hands, to abstain from flesh meat, to worship an unlighted lamp. Recently the river Chauka diverged from its ancient course and cut a new one to the south. In its destroying progress it reached the temple and had cut away a brick or two when the prayers of the attendant priest are said to have averted further damage. The river certainly changed its channel, and the temple is now high and dry. A shrine in honour of Tulshi Dás, the author of the Bhắkha Rámáyana at Dhaurahra, is of more iaterest. He resided here for fifteen years, and is said to have cursed the Bisens; hence their loss of all power in the district. The worship of Mahadeo.-The worship of Maháden at Gola calls for more extended notice. I found it very difficult on tlie spot to get any exact details, the priests were unwilling to make any admission which would tell against the antiquity of their shrine. My own impression is that up till the time of Alamgir the shrine was simply a Buddhist ruin, venerated by the neighbours as the superstitious Hindu does venerate anything old and mysterious. There is a tradition that Alamgir endeavoured when visiting the place to drag out of the earth the great stone pillar which represents Mahadeo; that the elephants barnessed to chains could not move it, although excavations had been made all round, and when the emperor approached to discover the cause, tongues of flame darted from the bottom of the pillar towards him. The dismayed monarch is said to have retired, and endowed the shrine with extensive rent-free lands. It is pro- bable that some lieutenant of the emperor's was terrified into abandoning his design of digging for gold beneath the foundations of the pillar by some casily contrived stratagem as above related. It is not likely that any endowment was given; there is no trace of such in the records, and if there had been the buildings would have been more extensive and splen- did than they are. Further, the god's power was apparently limited to harm- less pyrotechnics ; for one of the circumcised, with his Jeddart axe, struck the top of the pillar, and sliced off a huge fragment, leaving the divinity a most unsightly and decayed looking object : we are not told that this sacrilege was punished in any way. The monastery was formerly in the hands of the Joshis, but is now, and has been for at any rate eleven generations, managed by the ​202 KHE Gosháins. They are celibates, theoretically at any rate, and adopt dis- ciples of all castes: they bury their dead in a sitting posture, and choose their mahant (high priest) by popular election. The present chief of the community is a Chliattri. There are only ten tombs of previous mahants, from which it is obvious that the society cannot have been above 200 years old; for even if a Musalman iconoclast had levelled the ancient tombs they would have been re-erected at once the disciples to whom they were familiar and venerable. There are a number of minor shrines, but the most sacred place is a Shiwála of ordinary construction about ten feet square; the god is simply the shaft of a round pillar, most likely one of them so common round Bnddhist stupas." The shrines and tombs are all of the same construction, a square pediment, generally an octagonal shaft and a circular roof; they are simply enlarged copies of the Buddhist relic basket, and Buddhist bas-reliefs stiil appearing in recesses of the walls sufficiently proves the origin of the wor- ship. In the neighbourhood several Buddbist images of the purest type have been dug up, they are of baked clay. The temple is supposed to be only the omphalos, or holy of holies, the central spot of a large area of sacred ground. There are four gates on the borders of this holy land, supposed to be at equal distances, twelve kos or eighteen miles from the centre. There are some in Shahjahánpur to the west on the Gumti, Gadai Náth in village Sháhpur, pargana Bhúr to the north, Deokali Náth near Kheri to the east, Barkhár in pargana Muhamdi to the south, or rather south-west. Through these four darwázas or wickets all wealthy persons are compelled to pass before approaching the shrine. They are not at opposite poiats of the compass, and it appears probable that the priests selected places already famous locally, and inaugurated a connexion between them and the temple of Mahadeo, conciliating local feelings, mutually exalting and supporting each other. Of course it would be a double attraction to the pious, a source of double profit to the priest, if one journey would carry the pilgrim to two sacred places, each of general and special sanctity, but both unitedly contributing to the welfare of the pilgrim's-body and soul, each levying contributions on his gratitude. It was the same system of reconciling Hinduism withi local superstitions, andadding to the instruments of drawing upon the coffers of sinners, which we find in the avatárs of Vishnu. There is also as at Benares and other shrines in India, Ireland, and other superstitious countries, a kind of sacra viana circuit round the shrine at a distance of two kos or three miles from it. This will be eighteen miles, and should be performed on foot by minor sinners, but by measuring successive lengths of the body, fair crowa-and-toe progress, if the crime is of great magnitude. Some say that this circuit is a relic of sun- worship, and in imitation of the apparent course of that luminary. This has also four shrines, like the satellites of the great central star, Badar Kund to the easti, Panáha to the north (a little shrine buried in the sal forest), Kirnagar to the south (also in the jungle), and Main Kund in Ahmadnagar to the west. Fergusayn's Architecture, Volume II., Ceylua, ​KHE 203 That this circuit is also a later novelty, due to absorption and assimila- tion of minor local cults, is proved by the fact that the image of Mahá- deo at this last mentioned place was only discovered about forty years ago by the zamindar to whom its presence beneath the earth was revealed in a dream. In other words the priest thought there were not enough toll- gates and erected another series, taking advantage of certain local sacella. The devices of this society have been crowned with success, the fame and sanctity of the temple of Gola Gokarannáth have spread far and wide, and 150,000 people are supposed to have assembled at the last festival. No doubt the cause of this may be traced to the fact that the place was always reckoned a sacred one, and the devotional feelings of the people had always turned to it. At first probably they worsbiped the sun here, then Gautama Buddha, now Mabadeo. Deokáli, the western gate, is still noted for its tauk where the sun-worshippers assemble even now. That the Gosháins, when they introduced the worship of Mahádeo, grafted it on Puddha worship is quite clear. Like the Buddhist monks they chose the edge of a great forest into which the anchorites might retire during the cold weather; they adopted the yellow garb, the celibacy, of the religious orders; they called their priests samads in imitation of the Buddbists; and here, adopting the vital principels of Buddhisin, they overturned the caste hierarchy, the levitical system which confined the priesthood to one tribe, and they allowed numbers of all castes to adopt the sacerdotal profession. The worsbip of Mahadeo in Kheri, far from being a repulsive and sensual phallic cult, is a graft from Buddhism, in which little has been changed except the symbol of adoration. The tendency to abandon the worship of Vishnu, and Bhawáni, Ganesh, and the skull-docked Shiva, for a simple pillar may be owing to a greater yearning after monotheism, may be derived from the Buddhist adoration of pillars, but is probably mainly a revulsion from the worship of deified human beings, and of more or less monstrous demons. At any rate it is a purer and more spiritual faith than any other now. prevalent in Oudh. Such will be the testimony of those who have been present at what are called its orgies, but which to the careful observer will appear to be nothing but the exuberance of devotion in an excitable people. Those who discover a necessary connexion between this cult and phallic worship are fond of pointing to the popular admission that it is a lingam which is adored. In the first place one may mix with the crowd of adorers for hours and days without ever hearing the word ling, while Mahadeo is on the lips of every pilgrim as he dips in the sacred tank or counts his beads. Further, the phallic meaning of ling is only a derivative one; the only proper Sanskrit meaning of ling is sacred place. In the Dekkan and in the east of India whore phallic worship is really a prevalent almost an exclusive cult, the general term has been applied to and appro- priated by the species, but there is nothing but mere assumption to show that this has taken place in Oudh. I have no exact statistics of the numbers of temples, these shrines are more the token of wealth than of religious feeling. The Musalmans arc ​204 KHE ous. nearly all Sunnis. Most of them are converted Hindus, they are not very enthusiastic for their new faith; except in the town of Kheri, there is not even a decent place of worship for them. The castes of Kheri.—There is nothing of special interest in the caste distribution. The Brahmans are 60,512, or 9 per cent. of the Hindus the Chhattris only 26,150, or less than 4 per cent.; the most numerous caste is that of the Chamárs, who number 83,984, and next to them are the Ahírs 69,383, Kurmis 67,113, Mursos 38,480, Kisáns 5,526. The only remarkable feature presented by the population tables is the comparative scarcity of the higlier castes--Brahmans, Chhattris, Kayaths, and Vaishyas. They number only 104,894, or 15 per cent of the Hindus; in the whole province they amount to 2,480,414, or almost 25 per cent. The reason of this is not far to seek. The low castes are the first, in all instances, to occupy the wilderness and redeem it from nature, and much of the Kheri district has but very recently been brought under cultivation. There was little to invite the Chhattri or Brahman. There are very few temples, and none of ancient repute, consequently the priestly class is uot numer- Wealth has not yet accumulated in the district, therefore no mili- tary class was wanted to defend it. Population was so thin that disputes about boundaries, that fertile source of internal warfare, were compara- tively rare, and but few professional soldiers were required. The district, too, was so distant from any seat of Government that there could be little interference with the great landbolders, who found it more profitable in many cases to have low caste industrious tenants than the prouder Arians. The proportion of Aborigines is large. Pásis, Ahírs, and Chan inárs have increased and multiplied for thousands of years; Chhattris and other Arians only entered the district in any numbers within a recent period, and increased slowly; because neither the food nor climate suited their more highly-strung organizations. All the towns now existing are of recent foundation. Kheri was founded in the 16th century, Muhamdi and Aurangabad in the 17th. Of their origin one common tale is told. The Musalman or Chhattri came through the woods and marshes (the country then lying much lower than now), and seized upon the slight hills or huumocks where some Pási or Ahír patriarch ruled over a few mud huts. The rightful owner fled deeper into the forest, and the intruder built a block house or a brick fort to guard against his vengeance. There are only 4,049 Shekhs and Sayyads in Kheri ; these Musalmans not caring to reside in the wilderness; there are 15,590 Patháns, 9,599 Juláhas or weavers, and 7,065 Ghosis. There are 4,031 Játs, of whom there are only 10,800 in the province. Kheri is also the headquarters of the Chhípis or cotton-printers—a caste largely found in parganas Kheri and Srinagar, there are 3,841 out of 8,354 in the entire province. There are 127 Brijbásis out of 319 in the province. This is a nomad caste which is found in Atwa Piparia and Muhamdi, living during the winter in mat tents. There are 4,943 Gosháíns. The industrial castes on the whole prevail in this district, and so far the elements of prosperity abound. The detailed list of the castes and there occupations is as follows ​KHE 205 Detail of castes with the numbers each admits of in Kheri district. Cagtes. Profession. Their number. Caetee. Profcssion, Their aunaber. L. re ve . 7,381 .. Conher. . ווינKu

90 2.001 Paei DP IGFER CASTES OF (LOWER CABTEH ON MUSALJEANS BINDOS--(cont.) Sayyad Lended Proprietor 1,250 Dhanuk, Banapbor, Basket-maker, work- 2,887 pensioner er in bamboo Shekh, MIIK, Kore- Cultivator 3,790 tt women mid- shi. wires. Pathan, Ruhels Ditto 15,693 Gareria Sheherd 10,738 Moghal Ditto 2,064 Halwat Cousfectioner 1,976 Kelvér Distiller LOWER CASTER OF Kisán Cultivator 5,528 MUSALMAN. Rhatik Fowler, pig-keeper, 2,6B Kabár Fisherman hoatman, 22,613 Dhunis Cotton.cleaner or 8,990 palki-bearer. Kumbar Potter 5,103 Darzi Tailor 9,250 Kori Weaver 11,888 Ghosi Milkman 7,015 Cultivator 87,113 Jollha, Réchband, Wearer. maker of 8,589 Lohár Blackanith 8,080 Kunchband. weaver brushes, Lodha Cultivator, labourer, 23,981 and 100m-maker. Lunis Saltpetre and it 10,782 Kunira Groengrocer 2,771 maker' cow labourer. Manihar Glass hangle-maker, 2,089 Muảo Gardener, cultivator, 88,482 Kasal Butelier NÃO Barber 13,181 Saiqa:ger Metal burnleher ox 1,860 Watchman, labourer, 50,947 sharpener. pig keoper, hunter, Other Mueamans ... 14,656 cultivator. Supár Jauhari, Goldsmith 2,44L BIGHER CABTES OF Tell Ollman 19,263 HINDUS, Tamboli Pán cultivator and 3,750 Beller, Brahman Pricipally cultive- 89,612 Thathera Tlaman 1,014 tor, Ját Ditto 4,081 ABQATGINAL CARTES Chhattri Cultivator servants, 28,160 and landed pro- Banjára Cultivator, grein- 5,883 prietora. Dicrchant Kayath Clerks and nccount. 7,918 Chafa Catecbuinaker anta Nét Juggler 1,300 Vaishya Tradeamen 11,670 Théra Hunter, cultivator, 1,010 LOWER CASTES OF BELIGIOUS MENDI- HINDUS. CANTE. Ahir Cowherd 69,383 Qoshkin 4,0-45 Bhunjwa Grain-parcher 6,221 Other Faire $,231 Bhát Bard 2,870 Barbat Carpenter 8.791 MITECELLAŠE009, Bhangt Sweeper 9,725 Chamar Tanner, shoemaker, 83,994 Persone whoBB cartoe labourer. are thoknown 10,189 Chhip Cloth stamper and 3,848 | Travellers 5,472 dyer, Dhobi Wachermen 11,559 Total population of the district. 14 les PRO dy 744 1 472 the 49 be . .. IR

Meaning of caste. Before making any remark on the above table, it would be well to remind the reader that ját' or caste bas two meaninga, and that a confusion of terms exists. Some of the játs are really separate races and nations, each of which had apparently a country and polity of its own prior to its entry into India, or its admission into the Hindu system, These have been conquered, and have gradually spread to a certain extent among the other states of India, diffusing themselves gradually, becoming as a rule of courso more and more sparse as they wandered farther from the original centre. Thus the Rajputs, who form 40 per cent of the popu. lation in parts of Rájputána, become fewer and fewer towards the east till in Dacca and Calcutta they are less numerous than the Europeans. Others of the játs are of one common blood and stock, which has become severed 27 ​206 KHE and divided by the exercise of separate trades, each of which, according to the Hindu system, must be followed exclusively by the children of those who from generation to generation have practised it. The tendency to make trades-unions into permanent family preserves with peculiar customs and rites always existed in the east, and has been regularly organized by Hinduism. On this latter class, however, we must remark that there are in several instances two or more castes following the same profession. The Kahár and the Manjhi are both fishermen. The Kurmi, the Kachhi, the Lodh, the Muráo, the Gújar, are all cultivators. But the complication generally arises from the action upon each other of the two caste factors, the ethnic or national and the trade-union. In Oudh several different kingdoms, which had existed separately for many hundred years during Buddhist times, were crushed together by the pres- sure of Moslem empire. In this the Hindu polity was more or less elabo- rate or wanting ; civilization, the division of labour and trades-unions, were in full force in one and absent in others. The Pásis, for instance, were a race who had no trades-unions; every man was a hunter, a shepherd, and a cultivator. When the Hindu system enveloped them in its folds, these three trades were already occupied by Kisáns, Gwálas, and Bahelias respectively. The Pási found that be could not compete with professionals, and he gradually retired betaking himself to cultivation, comblried with the task of protecting the crops from wild beasts and thieves. It was a system of union between different races, of severance between different trades, followed by natural selection of the fittest, through further combination or division, Thus the Ahirs and the Bhars, the seats of whose nationality were in or near Oudh, had attained it is probable bigher civilization, and a certain division of labour unknown among the Pasis. Each different kingdom had its cultivating class, its shepherd class; in the process of time each bad acquired a distinct name in its own dialect; foreign conquest and Hinduism crushed all together, so the Gararia of one nation, the Gwalbans of another, continued to exercise wherever they could their trade of herdsman. Similarly the Gújar, the Kişán, the Kurmi, the Lodh, the cultivating classes of different nations, all intermingled and pursued their comnion toil. It is remarkable that the professions which belong to a higher state of civilization, those of the jewellers, oil-pressers, grain-parchers, washerman, carpenters, blacksmiths, have not each a double or treble set of followers among modern Hindus, and this would show that they did not exist as separate trades in the little rude kingdoms, which were brought under the Hindu system, or else that the trade feeling in these more skilled and technical arts was so strong as to overcome national feeling and combine in one the followers of each trade. There is abundant evidence that in different nations of Hindustan, in which the Hindu system had been introduced, the different trades were called by different names derived from the vernaculars of the country. The distiller in the north is called Kalwár, in the south Kalál, although these may be modifications of the same words. The low caste Weaver is named Kori in Oudh, but Parls in the Central Proviaceo, Panka in ather places ; the curious double combination of pata quin bearing and fishing is followed by the Kabár in the north and the Dhimgar in the sortb. ​KHE 207 Tradition, geographical distribution, and internal divisions are the means of determining whether each ját is a separate ethnic unit or neroly a trade- union, an offshoot from the one parent stem. Tradition need not be dwelt upon; it has considerable value, as will appear in each instance. Geographical distribution is all important, and the Pási is perhaps the best instance, The Pásis.—This ráce is confined to the province of Oudh, the division of Benares and Allahabad, and the district of Shahjahanpur, Their own- traditions are to the effect that Sandíla, Dhaurabra, Mitauli, Rankots in the district of Kheri, Hardoi, and Unao were all seats of their kings and power. Further, they do yet follow all such occupations as are absolutely necessary for the existence of a pastoral and agricultural race in a low state of civilization, and they have no divisions among themselves. The same remark may be made of the Bhars. They are a distinct nation whose capitals were in eastern Oudh, Allahabad, and Mirzapur'; they are found there now ar nowhere else, * On the other hand, the trades- union castes are found in almost equal proportion over all Northern India; the barber, the carpenter, the blacksmith, and the distiller are found every- where, and in almost the same proportion everywhere. The Ahdrs.-Now to take a doubtful case that of the Ahírs: they are pretty evenly distributed over Oudh and the North-West Provinces ; but are almost entirely wanting in the Punjab, being about one in one hundred and fifty. Their traditions point to separate nationalities; they say that they ruled in Gujrát and in Bairát Khera in Oudh, but were turned out of the Chhattri brotherhood because they married their brothers' widows. The Ahírs, a shepherd race, are mentioned in the Mahabharata and by Ptolemy, as also their country Abhir. Krishna was an Ahir and one of the three divisions of the race; Nandbá tis, Yadubans, and Gwal- bans was no doubt called from Iris fathert Nand : these races do not intermarry. The so called Ahírs of Oudh, when questioned, always call themselves Gwála or Gwalbans, and it seems probable that they are the trade-union shepherds of the Arian kingdoms, and the other two classes áre the remains of the genuine Ahír nation. But this is only speculation. What is clear is that there is an Ahir race, most probably Scythian as evidenced by their name of Yadubans, by their pastoral habits, and their marriage customs. Sometimes they claim to be Chhattris, others allege they are Vaisyas or Sudras; in reality the fourfold division was becoming obsolete, if it ever existed before they mingled with the great Hindu family, and their place like that of the Káyaths, Játs, Gújars, Bhars, Khattris, and others was never determined. They are not found at all in Berar, and this, while it determines their separate national existence to have been further north, throws doubt upon the story that Asírgarh was their capital. If speculation were to take a bolder flight, it would simply identify the Ahirs with the Yadubařs race which ruled in Dwarka and the Concan,

  • A curious fact is that therever the Bhst is found the Gújar is wanting. Does this

denote'a aeparation of the old or Bhar Gajars? Meinoir in Bijnour Caste North-Western Provioces Census Report. Journal R. A, S., Vol. V., page 180. + ​208 KHE and with the shepherd kings of Naipál. In the first place it is clear that the Yadubans were not reckoned Chhattris. They style themselves of the race of Yadu simply; their primitive deity was Vishnu in the “Viraba" or bour avatar; they are admitted to have been Scythians, and they at one time ruled in Naipál, Kanauj, Dwarka, in fact over nearly all Northern In- dia. There are no Yadubans Chhattris now in existence. What has become of them? On the other hand, we find a Yadubans race who are called by their Sanskrit -speaking neighbours milkherds (Abírs) in allusion to their pastoral life, who allege that they too were Rajputs (not Chhattris), who were not admitted into the brotherhood of the Arian Chhattris, because they married their brothers' wives; in other words, I would infer they were Scythians. The race has spread over all Northern India. In the Punjab they have been converted to the Musalman faith, are called Rangars, and are alleged to be Musalman Rajputs ; in other words, descendants of the Yadubans kings. Kurmis.—The Kurmis are again a dubious race, are not found in the Punjab or in the Meerut Division; their centre is Behar and the Central Provinces, where they form with the Mális half of the Hindu population. They are very numerous in the Deccan ; they spread north, and in Oudh they are about a fifteenth; in the North-West Provinces they dwindle to a thirtieth. This points to their being a separate race. They worship Maroti Mahadeo, Bhawani, Khandoha, Vithoba. On the other band, their own tradition and all linguistic evidence point to their being the agricultural or servile class of the Hindu community as defined by Manu. They are the cultivators of India, "par excellence," although it certainly is not consistent with the above identification that the Kurmis should be most numerous in Berar and less so in the provinces of the Antar-bed, where the Hindu polity was first established and fourished. There are two great Kurmi colonies in Khori,—one in Haidarabad and Paila in which they settled they say many hundreds of years ago as colonists from Kanauj, the other in Dhaurahra, whither Raja Jodh Singh and Nawab Asif-ud-daula are said to have brought them from Tambaur in Sitapur. Thárus.-The Thárus, who number 1,010, may be referred to here. They are said to be Aborigines, but this is very doubtful; and they say themselves that they came from Chittor when it was sacked by Alš-ud-din Khilji* about 1305 A.D.+ They stayed south of Agra for some time, and then near Dholpur, where there exists an old city called Tbáru, whose stone ruins attest its magnificence. They are divided into two clans,—the Malwaria, so called from Malwára, a province in the Tarái lying east of Kanchanpur, and the Bána Batúr, but besides these there are several bastard branches. The Thárus eat meat, fish, and are very fond of spirits. They are of a very practical turn of mind, and utilize the spirits of their dead to keep the wild animals from their crops, thereby saving those still alive from night-watching. They marry within their own class, but there must be no known blood connexion between the parties. They have no betrotbals and no Brahmans; they will on no account take service as soldiers ; they

  • Priusep's Tables, page 256—810. Carney's Castes of Qudo, page ..

+ See also Berar Gazetteer page 16). ​KHE 209 are a cowardly race, and it is a standing reproaclı to them that they will not attempt to revenge or to resent insults or even criminal force offered to their women, who are remarkable for industry, cleanliness, and chastity. Their features are generally Arian, but individuals have a marked Mongo- lian type. They worship pieces of wood erected in little mounds opposite their doors. They paint their dead with vermilion and saffron, and then bury the corpse with its glaring red and yellow. The Chhattris, many different nations of Asia, beyond the Hindu Kush, undoubtedly contributed to form the Chhattricaste. Different races, all pro- fessing arms, united into one “jatº; caste being in this instance a mere trade- union organized by Manu, hallowed by religion, and solidified by the lapse of ages. They retaiued however traces of their origin. It is clear that the Sombansi, Surajbansi, Drighansi, for instance, are of the Arian race, both from their traditions, their names, and their language. Hastinapur, Bil- grám, Kanauj, Srinagar, Sravasti, are town names derived from Arian roots; Bareli, Lahore, Peshawar, Chanderi, Chittor, Indor, Nagor, Alor, Alwar, Kákori, Sandila, Oel, on the other hand, are ancient towns in Oudh or elsewhere, whose names are taken from Turanian languages. This is evident from the termination;* wóra is the ordinary word for a village among the Aboriginal races of Southera India, whose Turanian origin is admitted. The Mongols east of the Oxus still call a village Aul or Oram.t Further, a large number of the towns in Hungary, south of the Carpathian mountains, which were founded by a Magyar or Turanian race, still end in the same termination Ori or Oui. I The same urban names are found in Oudh. In Kheri, for instance, the oldest towns of note are Bhurwara and Kotwára, the early seats of the Ahban Chhattris, who are alleged to have settled there two centuries before our era, and their great antiquity is proved by the ancient coins picked up on their sites. The other ancient towns and villages in Kheri, whose origiu is lost in obscurity, are Mitauli, Dbaurahra, Ajhera, Barwar, Tíkur Basára, Mámri, Pareli, Kafára, Matera, Tirkauli, Kaimahra, Oel, Nardol, Indarwara. We learn from Hunter's Non- Arian Dictionary that the synonyms for village are as follows:- Bafk erri, frri, ari Tamil, ur, equal to wár. Turkiah, aoghl. Telugtt, aku. Magyar. talu. Toda, ar. The connexion between these roots and the terminations abovementioned is clear. It would appear that branches of all these different races now exist, or have formerly established themselves Oudh, passing into or through it from Upper Asia; the names of their towns, the only striking object in a country void of lakes and mountains, survive as evidence of their origin. Rivers might be re-named by a new.coming race because they are objects of adoration, but conquerors in the position of the early Arians would take shelter contentedly in the towns; they would re-name any which they had to rebuild, but in other cases they would learn and adopt the names from the survivors of the defeated races; so it comes that now in Oudh Arian Sombansis and Brahmans dwell in Turanian villages, and names ending Vamhery's Travela, page 119. Vide Suciety's Atlas. See the South Indian synonyms for villages.- Bowring's Eastern Experiences, page 266 ​210 KHE in shahr' and ábád,' sparsely sprinkled over the map, show the traces left by the Moslem invasion of Sayyads and Koreshis in a still later age. It has been asserted by an authority, whose philological attainments command the highest respect that these terminations in Indian town-Dames are ordinary mutations of the Sanskrit pouri.* I cannot pretend to com- pete in philological attainments with Mr. Growse, but surely my derivation direct from the Turanian roots-aul, oram, wara, ur, uri-is more pro- bable than the forced and far-fetched Sanskrit derivation from one single root supported only by the theory of a grammarian, which may or may not have been put in practice in an unlettered age. Further, if these towns do not represent the various Turanian equivalents for the Sanscrit nagar or pur, the Persian shahr or abad, the English ton—where are they to be found? What traces of their nomenclature survive? The Turanians it is not denied colonized India; they were the great builders of antiquity; they held Oudh before the Arian invasion; they must have built cities; the towns whose names end as abovementioned are in every case so ancient that their origin is lost in obscurity; their antiquity corresponds with the Turanian age; no other urban traces of that age are found; they bear the district traces of Turänian origin; in fact history, tradition, and etymology are in harmony. If, again, these terminations are Sanskrit corruptions of pour; if it is possible, in the lapse of time, to elide the p and change the v into e why have not the oldest towns like Hastinapur, built two thousand years before this grammarian flourished, yielded to its séductions; and why, in the case of more modern towns, do not we find the change half effected, and a place sometimes called Mádhopuri sometime Maholi ? Why do not we find some trace of the change--some middle place in the transition stage? If, again, the termination is Sanskrit, how does it occur in Tanjore, Travancore, Cuddalore, Cannanore, in districts where Sanskrit never has conquered, never perhaps invaded the domain of Telugu and other Turanian tongues. The very variety of the termitations leads fur- ther to the inference that they are derived from different synonyms used by branches of the great Turanian family of nations which border Hindus- tan from the Brahmaputra to the Sutlej. It is not consistent with the inflexible and highly developed Sanskrit that pur should metamorphose itself into a dozen Protean shapes, commencing with wära and ending with ori and oli. Mr. Growse, in a communication with which he has favoured me, main- tains the theory that these terminations are corruptions of prer. He remarks that Hastinapur might have been preserved from the change by its being .Yet an application of the rules of the ancient Prakrit granamarian Vararu- chi, will in many cases, without any wonderful exercise of iogenuity, mufflce to discovet the original Sanskrit form and explain ite corruption. Thua Maholi is for Mádhopuri; Parsoli for Paragu-ráma-purt (Parsa being the ordi- nary colloquial abbreviation for Parasurama), Dhano-Sinha for Dbarta Sioha, Bati, for Bahula-rati, and Kbaice for Khadira. It would seem that the true explanation of these common endlogs-oli, auli, auri, awar, has never before been clearly stated. They are merely corruptions of puri or pura, combined with the prior member of the compound, as explained by Vararachi in Sutra 1, 2, which directs the elision of certain COQBOURDEA, including the letter 1. where they are simple and non-ioitial , the term " tron-initial" being expressly extended to the first letter of the latter beinber of A compound," Growze's Mathava, page 6, ​KHE 211 stereotyped in literature. This argument would not apply to Shiurájpur, the ancient seat of the Gaurs, to Sitapur, Gadaipur, Bhojpur, and many other towns over which ages have passed, and the termination remains unchanged. There is yet another interesting phase of the question. If the term in- ation is Sanskrit, the first portion of the name would surely also often recall some well known feature of the social life or religious belief of Sans- krit-speaking races. Certainly nine-tenths of the urban names, which donow end in unchanged pur, pagar, kot, are derived from gods of the Arian Pan- theon, as for instance Durgápur, Shiupur, Bishnpur, Krishnagarh, Brahma- pur, Bhawanipur, Sitapur, Ganeshpur: Hundreds of other names similarly compounded are found in Kheri and all Oudh districts, but these Sanskrit nameş never preface the eri and oli terminations referred to; therefore we must suppose that in the age wlien all these towns were founded, not only was language so liquid and unstable as to allow such remarkable changes, but at that time the Sanskrit-speaking races knew nothing of its great triad, or else it would have applied them in its urban nomenclature. However late a development of the Arian theogony, it is at any rate generally supposed that Bishn and Shiu were its chief gods centuries be- fore the colonists were in a position to build cities in the remotest corners of Hindustan. Nor, indeed, are the earlier dieties of the Rig Veda, Agni, Vaya, Surya, Mitra, ever associated with these terminations. Rudra and Mitra are the only now recognizable possible components of these old for- mations, and even if Rudauli and Mitauli indicate the culture of those gods by their founders, it is by no means certain that these were Arian godst at all. The fact is that the Sanskrit language has prevailed over and been adopted by many Turanian races, who now use fashionable terminations in the nomenclature. The great Chhattri tribes of Rajputana in every case have a city or province exhibiting these or similar terminations from evidently allied roots. The three chief tribes no doubt now come from Udaipur, Jaipur, and Jodhpur, but those provinces or towns formerly bore the name of Mewar, Amber, or Dhundhar, and Márwár or Mandore. In fine, we can come to no other conclusion than that towns whose names exhibit these terminations are Turanian foundations in nearly every case, otherwise we are forced to several impossible theories --one that none of the Turanians, the great builders of antiquity, and to this date the majority of the Indian people built any towns, or that if they did, their names have been entirely lost ; another, that the Sanskrit termination per has exhibited the wildest vagaries changing into oli, eri, wari, intro- ducing unlimited novelties and always eliminating the p; another, that for some reason in former times the Arians, never built towns in honour of eponymous deities as they have universally done as far as history extends. From these and many other difficulties we escape by holding that these terminations are identical in origin as they are in form with the at, ul, ur, wára, uli, which we find to this day in common usei among Turanian races, meaning a town, village, dwelling place. Similarly, Mr. Lyall in the Berar Gazetteer points out that the original name of

  • Muir'a Sansorit Texte, Vol. IV., page 832.

See Muir's Sapecrit Texts, Vol. IV, pages 57, 71, ​212 KHE Dawalgaon was Dewal wári, from wári, a hamlet, and that of Dewalghit, Deodi. All over India the same terminology is found, and the same etymo- logy asserted. Bangalore is Bengaluru, the city of beans, from bengalu, a beant "But," says the writer referred to, "if this wordur or uri was nevercurrent in the ordinary speech of Upper India, the founder of the villages quoted above cannot possibly have known of it." But castra was “never current in the ordinary spech" of England, yet the founders of Lancaster, Chester, and a hundred others well knew its meaning. There is other evidence besides that previously adduced showing that these terminations are not Sanskrit. In Upper India, in the very birth-place of Hinduism, we find them, and we know that they cannot bave been derived from earlier Sanskrit names end- ing in pur, because we know the Sanskrit names, and they did not end in pur. Of the twelve oldest towns in the sacred land round Thanesur or the bank of the Saraswati which was the cradle of Hinduism, six have these terminations. One is Khairár, also called Ajainagar, another Pinjor called Adnitanagar, in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata. Here it is evident that there can have been no elision of medial p or other metamorphosis, and the termination must have the independent Turanian origin suggested. I It is true the word uri or wára is not now generally used in Northern India except perhaps in its compound gauri, a grazing or cattle village; but that only shows that the race has either disappeared or adopted another language, just as the Celts now talk English and have abandoned the pre- fix Bally in their urban nomenclature. The question is of no importance because it is admitted that many of the races still existent in Upper. India are of Turanian origin, and unquestionably used this Turanian word for town, which is uri or wára. The only position which admits of argument is that their towns and names bave disappeared, and other towns founded and named by Arians have taken their place. The Bhars were not Hindus (vide the anecdote under article Bareli Antiquities), and almost all their towns, including their capi- tals, Bareli, Rudauli, whose foundation is fairly ascertained, exhibit these Turanian affixes. The Pasis' towns give similar results; their old capitals are Sandíla, Mitauli, Dhaurahra, sufficiently evidencing their Dravidian or Turanian connexion, which is also affirmed by tradition: Nothing can be clearer than that, to use Mr. Bowring's words :-—"On removing the thick crest of the Sanskrit element which adheres to the common vernaculars of Northern India, the substratum beara an affinity to the languages of the south-an affinity not very close, indeed, and greatly warped by the action of centuries, but still pointing to an early connexion between them." The history of the Agnikul or fire-born Chhattri clans, as the Chau- hán, the Cháwar, points to a non-Arian colonization, and if not. Arian - Page 165, 167, 185.

  1. Bowring's Eastern Heminisconces, pege 5.

| Buwring's Eastern Experiences, page 282, ​KHE 213 then Turanian, The Cháwars colonized Kheri under the name of Alban ; their chief towns were Maholi, Bhúrwára, and Kotwára, not a pur amongst their foundations. Similarly a Chauhan colony, the Jángres, established tle towns of Bhíra and Dhaurahra, another Chauhan branch, the Jan- wárs, founded the towns of Oel, Kaimahra.* In the pamphlet above referred to there occur a few points which may be cursorily referred to, Mr. Growse declares that the terminations oli, auli, auri, aura, aula,“ were in earlier times as common a local affix as puri in modern times," and must represent some term of equally general and equally familiar signification. He derives them all from pur. But he says notlıing about eli, cri, elo, era, which are, judging from the maps I possess, just as common in Mathura; while very many of the old towns in Oudh so end ; Sandíla, Bareli, Dhaurahra, Kheri are in. stances. Nor can it be alleged that this is the final ra of the genitive transmitted in various ways, for we find the affix itself separate, both in Mathura and Oudh, airo as the name for old villages, whose origin is unknown, and from which many others have been settled. If these terminations cannot be derived from the Sanskrit, and if Tura- nian tribes, which must have passed through Northern India from Upper Asia to the Dekkan, do use the precise word for town, which is found as an affix in innumerable Oudh towns, surely the conclusion is irresistible that the affix was thenco derived. And if we find the Turanian foundation of those ending eri admitted, then the argument is strengthened, if it requires any strengthening, for the Turavian origin of those ending in wará, ui, &c., which are equally common, and belong to the same age; these terminations being the equivalents for town among other and neighbouring Turanian races which have it is known colonized India. If we admit that one Turanian race founded towns and applied its own nomenclature, why should not others who had similar opportunities not have left simi- lar traces. The obvious conclusion from all the facts as known is that the Arian race in India formed originally but a small portion of the population. It was a nation of warriors not of town builders. For many generations their progress was slow, during which time the Turanians occupied all the best sites and built all the old towns, worshipping Vithoba, Bhawáni, and the other Aboriginal deities, naming their towns from their own language. None of the sacred towns in India end in the Sanskrit affixes not Gya, or Benares, Ajodhya, Prág, Cuttack, Hardwar, Bithur, Gola, Ellora: none of the great capitals of former times Chittore, Ajmere, Dewal, Alors, Kanauj, Mahoba, Anhalwára, Amber, Gradually the Sanskrit language, the caste system, Hinduism in fact extended their influence and were adopted by all; then Chittore gare place to Udaipur, Amber to Jaipur, Márwár to Jodhpur. It is not that names ending in pur have gradually by eliding all the consonants and changing all the vowels come to eri, eli, and of but towns bearing these names always bore them and when there has been any change, it is just

  • Vide Ferguson's History of Architecture, Vol. II., Tudia Rajasthan, Vol. I., the l'reface,

28 ​214 KHE race. the reverse; new towns with the new favourite and fashionable Sanskrit terminations of pur and nagar have been founded, or the names have been altered. There are innumerable villages in Oudh in which the old aboriginal name ending in eri bas survived to this day, with & rival Šanskrit, one ending in nagar or pur. The most noted one perhaps is Rámnagar, the seat of one of the great religious fairs, whose original name is Dbameri. True, there are even fewer old towns with Sanskrit terminations thani one would expect from the known strength of the Arian race, but they were pot builders; they came as conquerors, occupying the towns which had been founded by the great builders, the Turanians. Even now comparatively few towns are founded by Arians, and the spread of Sanskrit terminology is due to the adoption of the Sanskrit language by the Turanians. Even now the foundations of villages in the forest are laid by Tharús, Lodhs, Pásis, Ahírs, and others of non-Arian origin, or at least of dubious derivation. Chhattris and Brab- mans become fewer and fewer as we approach the wilderness; if we enter the forest they disappear entirely. They, in fact, now as formerly leave the foundations of villages to Turanians. When large clearings bave been effected they step in and take possession just as a thousand years. ago. they ousted the Bhars and Thathers. Surely the evidence, confirmed as it is by tradition and history, will suffice to prove the interesting fact that the Chhattris are a compound The social forces then which in Hindustan have thus amalgamated races so widely apart are not to be impeached as baving done nothing but divide the human race and suppress human sympathies in some doubt- In one instance at any rate, different races united into one caste, extending the bounds of fraternity at a time when other castes with diverse professions, and often opposing interests, were being formed out of one nation. One race was analgamated with others, another was split up into several new divisions ; ethnical distinctions were in fact being superseded by the new associations which growing civilization produced to supply its multiplying wants and luxuries. Several races united to form the Chhattris, and the profession of arms with its absorbing passions welded them into one race. Sometimes, however, the national feeling was stronger than the professional, particularly this was the case in grazing and agricultural communities, when the occupation was not one requiring skill, or devotion or above all, association. The influence of the Chhattris.--Here as elsewhere in Oudl. this is tlıc most important, although far from the most numerous caste; it possesses inore than half the villages as may be seen to the following list :- Musalman Ahir... • Brabman Kurini Chbeitri Kalvár, Mistri, Lohár Káyatla Vaishyas, Banián Kachhi, Pási, Muráo, Lodh, Kisán, Gighbio Ját, Chamár, Kori... Nánakaliábi Europeaps Bairagi Government 84 ful cases. 100 941 88 851 17 .. 13 29 8 7 . Khattri 7 14 3 13 111 et I. Total 2 1,689 ​KHE 215 Further, about half of those held by Musalmans belong to Chhattris who have been converted to that faith. The estates of Kotwára--Raipur, Gola, Bánsi, Agar Buzurg, Muhamdi, Kukra, Bhürwára—are of this nature; of the rest the greater portion only came into the hands of Musaliaans during the last twenty years-Atwa Piparia in 1855, Kastą about 1864. The two great rájas of Mitauli and Dhaurahra, an Ahban and a Jangre Chhattri, holding above 500 villages, lost their estates for rebellion and complicity in murder. These have been given largely to Europeans; the estates of Kasta and Kukra Mailáni were thus granted to Europeans who have since, however, sold them or lost them in litigation. The Brahman landed proprietors are generally grantees of copyholds from the rájas of Muhamdi or Mitauli. It will thus appear that shortly before annexation nearly the whole of Kheri-about four-fifths-was held by Chhattris, and about threo-fifths by large feudal proprietors. The nature of this latter tenure will be described hereafter, at present the point is the ascendancy of the Chhattri, This I have elsewhere discussed and may quote the passage. Cause of their ascendancy.—It seems hardly to be the case that the Chhattris more than any other caste deferred to a common head, and therefore by union among themselves secured pre-eminence. Rather it should be considered that the feeling of all the inhabitants in each dis- trict was to yield feudal service to, and in return to receive protection from the natural lord, the leader of society in the neighbourhood ; and lie, according to the Hindu system, must be a Chhattri, in old India every king was necessarily a soldier, and every soldier was, according to the Vedic cosmogony, a Chhattri ; such a thing as a Brahman or Ahír king was an anomaly under Hindu law, and if by chance or by force any low caste rose to power, a fabulous Chhattri origin was devised for him, and his descendants admitted into the soldier brotherhood. The Chhattri ascendancy in Oudh might be simply described as the re-establishment of local Hindu government under the native chief. There was no elaborate design or settled plan. One village had been founded in a jungle, its inhabitants wore harassed by plunderers from the neighbouring estate, they thought it better to become also fcoffees. Another village paid its revenue direct to the Musalman government, the collector was oppressive to the weak units, it was received by the nearest rája into the collection of villages for which he paid revenue. As estates grew by a gradual process of accretion, the motive was the anarchy and oppression of the native government, the guiding principle the ancient idea that a rája must be a Chhattri, a man of the military caste, because all rule was then based on the sword. In time among his own people, the rural baron assumed the title of rája, but never was this title bestowed by the people of Oudh except upon a Chhattri, The rája once established could treat as rebels and dispossess any of his subjects who showed signs of treachery or disloyalty to the little state he ruled. He had many wives and many sons, bastard and legitimate; all the waste lands were his; all lapsed or forfeited villages likewise became his. With such lands he provided for the scions of his house, and in this waymuch of the actual ownership of the land passed into the hands of his clan. ​216 KHE No doubt there were other ways in which taluqas were founded; these will be treated of further on. At present is only necessary to remark that the landed predominence of the Chhattri does not seem due to the greater valour of the clan—for Brahmans were as brave and more numerous, por to the natural inclination of the clan to put themselves under able and skilled guidance, for hardly* an instance is on record of a clan uniting to elect a chief for the first time on those grounds or any other; but the phenomenon is due to the inclination of the whole people for local governvient, and to their willingness when pressed by an alien ruler to risk the loss of a nominal independence. The Chhattris were the mesne lords in 87 out of 223 Oudh counties or muháls in the reign of Akbar. Afterwards they lost ground; they were depressed in the reign of Alamgir ; they were crushed by Asif-ud- daula and Saádat Ali. They rose again elastic and unbroken, and they now possess much about the same property and divided among the same clans as they held under Akbar. The history of words bears strong evidence to the above facts. Rajpuits, Thákurs, and Chhattris have become in common Oudh parlanco synonyms. The first means the son of a king, the second the lord, the master. The idea had taken root in the people's mind that every chief's son, and therefore every chief either is or becomes, by virtue of his position, a Chhattri, and that this racc alone is or should be the ruling one. The means of working out this in practice are at hand. Their sacred books in one place pronounce that rájas are of (personally) no caste, are above the rules of caste : nowhere could there be a better proof of the wonderful elasticity of Hinduism, of its being a living faith, tied down to no ancient formula from which it could not escape by a construction). Within the last three years several Indian rájas, who had no legitimate children, have brought into the Chhattri ranks sons by Musalman concut- bines, and, indeed, there arc very few of the Chhattri nobles whose position is not due to a similar application of this artful provision. It is apparent that where, under the ancient law and practice, every local chief and lord of the soil becamc ipso facto a Chhattri-Chhattris must soon have absorbed the entire property of the soil. In later times caste ceased to be flexible ; Káyaths and Kurmis romained so even when they acquired estates, but the bent of the people towards local government by Chhattris remained as strong as ever. Any peculiarly able and well born Chhattri was seen in the course of those turbulent times to become a rája by a kind of popular election. Certain to accumulate an estate, village after village was offered to him, with the more or less willing consent of the pro- prietors. By a kind of common law his estate was in his criminal and civil jurisdiction as far as Hindus were concerned; it ceased to be called direct Government property (khálsa); it became a principality; and the several villages became integral parts of one property. In a very few years they became welded together, the common subjection of the proprie- tors of the land to the rája became confused and then identical with his proprietorship of the whole land.

  • There are two. ​KHE

217 Chhattri fiefs formed under foreign oppression.—The history of Kheri furnishes several striking instances of the composition, so to speak, of great Chhattri fiefs by the voluntary action of the people who were oppressed by the Government officers or others. Thus the zamindars of Kasta placed their villages in the Mitauli estate ; thus the muqaddams of Dhaurahra* invited Rája Jodha Singht to assume authority over them. The consequence was that although Pásis, Ahírs, Kurmis, Bralimans, and Lodhs, had held numerous coparcenary properties at the commencement of this century; they have gradually lapsed into the hands of the Chhattris, who thus became proprietorg of nearly all Kheri a few years before annexation ; the cause being the oppressive nature of the Oudh administration deal- ings: Territoridl division of the Chhattis . --The principal subcastes of Chhat- tris in this district are as follows: Cominencing at the south, the Janwárs rule in Kheri, Srinagar, Paila, their possessions marching with those of the Gaurs in the adjoining district of Sitapur, and their boundary being that of the districts. The Janwárs hold now a large tract of land covering about 350 square miles between the Chauka and the Jamwari in almost exclu- sive possession, but they have spread beyond the latter into Paila, which they hold in partnership with the Akbans. We must here bear in mind that Kheri is divided by its rivers into belts of territory running north- west and south-east. The Janwárs occupy two of these belts, the one between the Chauka and the Ul, and that lying west of it between the UI and the Jamwári. Beyond the Jamwári commences the Ahban territory, which once covered nearly 4,000 square miles in the three districts of Hardoi, Sitapur, and Kheri; in this district it was powerful between the Jamwári and the Kathna, and spreading up crossed the Jamwári and the Ul, overlapping the Janwárs to the north-west, holding Aliganj, Kukra, Paila Sikandarabad, Kasta, Haidarabad, in this district. Beyond the Kathna commences another belt likewise running north-west and south- east between the Kathna and the Gumti; this, and again a second between the Gumti and the Sukheta, constitute the principality of the Muhamdi ráj, a fief formed first by Sadr Jahán, t the Sadr Sudúr of the Emperor Akbar. His dominion during the eighteenth century spread over the whole of Kheri, and in greatly diminished splendour now belongs to a converted Sombansi, whose ancestor was an agent of the. rightful owner. I have thus sketched the clans and families which occupy sections of the southern half of the district. There was no wave of invasion from the west, no immigration of large clans; the Sayyad, Ahban, and Jan wár fami- lies, for they are not numerous enough to be called clans, are descended. from single individuals, who settled sporadically in the country, and either acquired large grants by court favour, or formed estates in the progress of years by careful management, usury, and sometimes by fraud. We must now take another cross section of the country lying north of those above described. The great fief of the Jángres commences east of the Ul, being See article Bahraich Steeman's Tour in Oudh. + See Dhaurabra. Sce Barwar ​218 KHE separated by that river from the northern corner of the Ahbar territory ; it trends to the south-east still marching with the Abhan lordship; then crossing the Chauka, that river forming the boundary between the Jángres and the Janwárs, it extends to the Kauriúla and even crosses it into Bahraich, but is met in the south-east by the Raikwárs, a corner of whose dominions comes in between the Janwars and the Jángres, forming a pro- mentory stretching from the great Raikwár dominion of Baundi Rám- nagar. Beyond the Suheli, the ancient channel of the Sárda, the Palári Súrajbans Chhattris have, within the last thirty years, taken Khairigarh from the Banjáras; this they now hold up to the Molán, the northern boundary of Ondh. Annals of the Chhuttri clans fabulous. None of these clans or families have any trustworthy annals; the Albans and Surajbaus claim a very long pedigree, the former of 107 generations, the latter of about 90, but none of them rank high in the scale; the Janwárs and Jángres both claim to be Chauhans who have adopted local names. The Ahbans are said to be Cháwar Chhattris who once ruled in Gujarat. Gopi and Sopi, two brothers, are said to have come from that province shortly after the commencement of the Clristian era. The former acquired the pargana of Gopamau, a descendant of the latter, who first settled in Bhúrwára, took possession of Pataunja, three miles west of Misrikh in pargana Nimkhár. This is the reputed residence of the Dryad Abbhàwan, who is alleged to bave given supernatural assistance to her favourite, the Cháwar Chief, who henceforth took the name of Ahhan. At any rate, Pataunja became a local centre of secular and religious power. A tribe of Kurmis and a gotr of Tiwari Brahmans have called themselves after Pataunja--a fact which tends to indicate that, although now a mere village, it was formerly the capital of a state possessing some independence. The after history of the Ahbans is related in Chapter V. They rose to great prosperity, how great it is impossible to state, for of all Chhattri clans they are the most men- dacions, and many plans for the advancement of individuals have been foiled by this defect of theirs. Their Rája, Man Singh, thought that he could oppose the British army in its successful march across Oudh after the battle of Buxar in 1764. He was defeated and killed: bayoneted through the flowing pyjamas which this degenerate Chhattri thought was a suit- able panoply for the battle field. They rose again and again; their chief Lone Singh took up the losing cause in 1857. He seized some British officers and ladies who claimed his protection. He was foolish enough to chain them in the market-place of his fort at Mitauli; he delivered them to the Lucknow authorities, who shot the officers and imprisoned the ladies. Lone Singh was himself transported for life for complicity in murder, and his estate forfeited in 1859. Some cadet branches of the family still survive and have considerable estates; most of them are converts to the Musalman faith. The other Chhattri clans need not be referred to in detail here. The Janwárs settled in Kheri pargana in the sixteenth century, having come from Rajputana. The Jángres about the same time drove out the Bachhil Chhípi Khán from Fort Kámp, whose ruins are still to be seen on the bank of the Chauka. The Palaria Súrajbans entered the district as late as 1838 from Dhoti and Kanchanpur in Naipal. The Báchhils, who still ​KHE 219 hold a few villages in Mubamdi tahsil, are of unknown antiquity. The Raikwárs, whose head, tbe Ráo of Mallúpur, has a large estate in Firozabad, came from Banndi in Babraich about the commencement of the seven- teenth century. The Bisens formerly held all Dhaurahra and Srinagar, which last they only lost in 1824, they have not now a square yard of land in either pargana. The aboriginal Janwárs, that is, the earlier clan as distinguished from the later settlement of Chauháns which also appro- priated the name, have lost all their villages. A few families of Panwárs and Sombansis possess one or two clusters of villages in Muhamdi. Of late years these castes have been extending the range of tlieir matri- monial alliances. The Pahári Surajbans used to give their daughters to the Jángre and Abban, now they are sent with large dowries to hill chiefs in the Punjab. The Janwár girls, if rich, are now married to the Ráthor's and Kachhváhas of Rajputana, formerly they sought local alliances. Numbers of the clans.- None of these clans of Chhattris are remarkable by reason of their numbers ; the Jángres, Raikwárs, Surajbans combined do not number above 50 adult males, although they own four parganas; the Ahbans do not reckon above the same number, while three or four Janwárs, Sikhs, Khánzádas, and Englishmen divide lalf the district between them. All these Chhattris refuse to guide the plough with their own hands, but they will take a liand at irrigation or spade labour, or any other farm handiwork. Their military tastes are not pronounced; few of them were formerly in the military service of the Company; and since the death of Jodha Singh* not a single gallant or martial deed is related of any of their body. The Ahbans la bour under a superstitious aversion to build lionses of bricks or line wells with them. Tenures.—I append tables showing the propriotary right exercised by the different castes and religious sects in Kheri, also one showing the pro- perty held by the large landowners. There are it appears four estates, cach measuring above 100,000 acres in the district, but Rájas Amír Hasan Khan, Ranjit Singh, Muneshwar Bakhsh, the Rája of Kapárthala, Wazír Chand have all large estates in other districts. There are in fact nine landowners in Kheri whose estates in that or other districts average about 220 square miles each. There are twelve proprietors holding more than 20,000 acres each; their estates average 77,000 acres or 120 square miles in Kheri alone; they hold 1,435 square miles or more than half the district, and they control a population of about 400,000 in this district, and of at least a million in Oudh. The rest of the villages (656) are owned by zamindars, many of whom have two or three villages : there are 780 of thege men. There are also a number of subordinate tenures, of which 873 have been decrced in the courts. The tenantry have no fixity of tenure. Sce Dhaurahra. ​220 KHE List of Taluqdars. Names of owners. Name of eatates, Number of Villages. Ares In acres. Governt Government 18m. Caste. REMARKS, 1 4 2 قه 6 8 6 7 64 45,807 Raja Musher Bahadurnagar, raf Ali Khan, 20,201 som hansi Revised demand not yet (Mugimen). sanctioned. He has some estates in Hardoi district a1bo. 12,474 Seyyad Beviaed demand tot yet

  • auctioned.

32 80,285 ... 14 6,7011 Iitto, . 6,319 Abbau (MUBAL- man). 2 Captain Fida Atwa Piparis, Husen Khan. 3 Nuhammad Raipur Sher Khan 1 RS) Mitáp Singh. Raj Guran Singh Bhírs NAJ Gobar dhan Singh. Ná) Dalipat Bingh. 5 Widow of Ni- Agar Lozurg, amat-1118 Khan. 130 228,448 89,656 Jángre Revised demand sanctioni. ed. 6 Nusa inmat) Kotwara Chand Bibi. 7 RÁJS Aprudl Oel Singh. .. 04 B I Thakur Bal. Mahew bhaddar Singh. 9 Reja Narpat Kaimabra Slogh. 10 Raja Ranjit Isanggar Singh. 18 16,740 11,400 Ahlea (Muest-Fer estate situated in two man). pargaans, of whloh the leviged demand of Bhår pergana onty bou heen sanctioned. 26 10,699 9,415 Ditto Regiead demand not yet gsactioned. 164 134,610 108,482 Janwar His estate situated in als pergangs, of which the revised demand of three parganga bas been DC tioned. He Vas some egtatea in Sitapur district Bigo. 126 101,329 77,565 Ditto His cetate situated in seveti Parganas, of which the re. vised demand of three par- gadas has been sanction- ed. He has some estates in Sitapur district alga. 38 27,165 26,828 Ditto Revised demand sanction- ed. 38 78,020 46,019 Jángre Under revision. He has some estates in Bahraich and Sitapur digtrict also, 56 59,613| 47,074 Baikwar Ditto. 107 179,786! B7,181 Surajhanai (P. Hls estate situated in four bári). Parganas, of wbích the revisad demgtd of 8r- DAGAT pargana has only been sanctioned; the twa parganas are tonder re- vision, and one already revised, but not yet Banc. tioned 18,298 30,861 Kurml Als eatete situated in four parganas, of which the T'sviged demand of Brt. nagar pargaba bas been Naoctioned. 56 47,850 34,735 Khanzada He heg some estates in. Lacknow, Sitepur, and Bara Banki districts aiao 859 $77,255 693,623 due 11 PP Rád Munceh. Mallapur war Bakheh. Ráje Indre Khoirigarh... Píkram Sah 12 13) Báo Rando, | Pail 15 114 14 Raja Amir Hasan Khan. Kaeta Pathra. and Carried over ... ​KHE 221 List of Taluqdars—concluded.) Xames of Gwners. Names of estates. Number of Villagee. Arca in atrc jama. Castc. REMARKS. 1 2 3 6 7 8 Brought for ward . 808 977,266 693,623 39 21,863 14,876 European 15 Mrs. Rose ... Aira Revised den and not yet sanctioned. Ditto. 35 47,293 29,365 Sikli 16 B:Ja-e.rajagán Matera of Kapur- thals. 17 Mr. Hearsey, Diámri 18 Mitnehl Fazl Mahmudpur', Rasul, 93 14,718) 11,699 European 4,195 1,875. Sayyad 6 Ditto Revised demand not yet sanctioned. He has some catetea in Hardoi and Sitapur dlstricts also. Ilis estate situated in two Parganas, of which the revised demand of Sri- nagar pargana beg beeri 88nctioned. He has aome catates in other districts 20 10.426 10,560 Kiyatla 19 Kunwar Dur: Salewa 88 Parshad 20 Ráj 8 Amir Chand, also. + 25 6,402 20 Balant War- Guirál chara Das. .. 11 1,032 21 Rája shlu Khánípur Bakbeh Singh. 22 RAIS Ajit Bingh . 8,723 7,375 Nának sháhi Revised ueroand not yet Faqir. sanctioned. He lag sotne Cetatea in orber districts also. 1,040 Gaur Chhattri Ditto. 5,478 Sot Danei Ria estate situated in seven Ohbattri. Pargangs, of which the revised demand of Bhúr pargans has bcen 68.nc- tioned. He hag soma estatca in other districta also. 7,048 Ahban(usal-Revised demand annction- man). ed, 17 9,422 18 16,998 9,922 Abban EPP Diito. 23 | Khalil ulla Chauratia Khan. 24 Sukhna ndan Bánsi Singh. 26 Widose of Ha- Agar Khurd... zari Lal . 26 Sardar Jwala Eambuzurt ... Singh, 13 8,933 5,230 Kayath Ditto. 10 8,468 - 3,600 Sikh His eatate situated in two Parganas, of which the revised demend of Sri. nagar pargana has been ashotioned. 5,160 sbban (Musal Revised demand not yet man). auctioned, 27 Abdul Abad Kukra Khal. I. 17 17,850 10! 28 Iláni Bakhan Gola Khan. 8,678 5,925 Ditto ... Ditto. 29 Abdul Samad Magrabna ... 61 4,176 Ditto. 6,850 Sombanai (M11- Balman). 2,130 Sayyad 6 30 Mir Danin Sahjana ΑΙΑ, 2,035 Ditto, Total . 3,118 1,177,777 714,730) 29 ​KHE Statement showing the tribal distribution of property in district Kheri. Parganas. Bralunan, Musalman. Kágath. | Bhét. Kurni. Gosháín. Blacksmith. Carpenter and Gaddi. | Lodh. Pasi. Balvär. BaPiáu. pe Aurangabad, 314 10 Atwa Piparia, 26 Pasgawan ... 163 85 Kasta 54 Muhamdi ** 21 491 Magdapur 29 Sikandarabad, 26 Haidarabad ... 3 99 Kheri 3 2 Srinagar Paila 3 Karanpur 29 Kukra Mailáni, ... 19 Bhúc 90 Dhadraht ... 6 Khairigarh ... Firozabad Niglaaan Palia . European Thákur. LO: NORMA Governwert. 4 205 27 161 68 136 91 81 7 193 145 69 58 10 164 17 70 91 3 50 93 83 3058 ..... ... ......to 25/11 8 61 25... 31 21 3 7 21 -... *** 61... 16' 26 21 6 12 315 *** 1 2....

  • ......***

1 2 4 9 5 ........................... 17 .. 9 1663........ 6 188 411 1. 20 7 ....... 11 ................. 15 11 2 + 13 15 4 1099 .................... 18 45 2 42 2 ....... 10 "1" 2 88 ++*.. ... 110 63

      • "**

33 1...3 14. To:111:4w: - .. .. . . . . 9 . Tatal 188 363363983348503115 124; 288 888 2,651 11 9 14 2 1,490 Villoge communities or talujas, the first form of society. It is a mat- ter of considerable historical interest in each district of Oudh to deter- mine whether village communities or taluqas are the original form of pro- perty and of society; it is the oriental form of the dispute between monarchy and democracy. I will exhibit the result derived from long experience of Kheri society and study of its history. As usual in such cases both sides can point to many undoubted instances in which one or other system prevailed from the very commence- ment of tradition. If we examine aboriginal tribes now scattered over the country like the Nágas, Sontháls, and Thárus of Kheri, we find dis- tinct republics, property or quasi-property in land evenly divided, juris- diction confined to the assembly of the elders, not necessarily of the caste: On the other hand, we know from the Pvámáyan and Mabábhárata that monarchial forms of government existed from the very earliest period of Arian ascendancy three thousand years ago ; and Hwen Thsang, in the 7th century A.D, only found one republic among about 160 little princi- palities in India. It is not enough to say that circurostances in each case will determine what form of Government will be assumed; we want to know what are the circumstances which have induced the Hindu society of Unao, for

  • A Faqir hesa shere in these typu villages. ​KHE

223 instance, to form a sot of republics, and tbat of Kheri a set of little mon- archies. The answer seems to be the same if a similar question be asked touching the Anglo-Saxon race in England and in Anerica. The first layer of a fairly civilized people over a primeval country or over one merely sprinkled with savages is sooner or later democratic; if a second layer supervene by conquest, or if subject races are introduced wherever there is no amalgamation, there must be submission, and that submission will generally end in the autocracy of one. The reason is clear. When a tribe of equally well born individuals has abundance of land and po natural evenirs, internal disputes are rare, external enemies there are none and there is no reason why it should abandon any portion of, its liberty. Thus in Hardoi, Unao, and Sitapur the Clliattris came in very early; the popula- tion of other castes was very sparse; there was no barbarous foe which could presume to oppose them; they divided the land. So with the Tháru communities in the Tarái forests; they were homogeneous residents in the depths of a lonely wilderness; the form of society adopted by them was republican. In eastern Oudh, on the other hand, the Kankpurias, the Tilok Chandi Bais, the Sombansis, the Bisens, found not only organized Bhar kingdoms, with whom a doubtful war had to be waged, but a great Musalmuan kingdom, that of Jaunpur, which would look with jealousy on ilie rise of Hindu self-government. The clans had to part with a por- tion of their liberty in order to secure the promptness and energy neces- sary in times of war, and vot consistent with republican institutions. So the Saxons of the Heptarchy had to select kings in order to lead them against the Britons, but the English colonists in the American wastes adopted and retained republican institutions. The village community not a republic-But here the fact must be borne in mind, that ever since the advance of the Arians into India there never has really been republic in the greater part of Northern India in the European sense of the word. The soldier clan, that of the Chhattris, including that of the Játs, Bhars, Gújars, &c., &c., numbers in the Punjab about one-fifth, in Rajputána about one-fourth, in the North-Western Provinces about one-fourteenth, and in Oudh less than one-twentietla of the population ; yet, except where Musalmans have intruded and dis- turbed the natural order of things, these Chhattris, or rather a section of them, have retained in their hands practically all the landed property, and with it the authority belonging to the society: in Kheri, for instance, before annexation they had four-fifths of the country. When therefore we speak of republics, or of independent village communities, we speak of such among the Chhattris, leaving the great mass of the people entirely out of consideration ; these communes are really military oligarchies, fairly answering to that of Rome in the first four centuries after the overthrow. of the monarchy. Caste tempered the odministration by an oligarchy.—But again it must be remembered that these societies were composed of a series of castes, each of which had authority over its own members for offences committed within that caste. The province, and consequently the power of Government was then limited in the extreme; the mutual relations of the castes were regulated by custom, and infringements of these regula ​224 KHE ţions were punished by the decrees of jaries composed from several castes; execution of these decrees was enforced if necessary by banishment from society. In fact, Government had only to determine the foreign relations of the community, and to direct its military forces, to collect its revenue, and to parcel out its lands among the cultivators. This last was done in Kheri as in Northern India generally, not by the villagers in council met: not by the elders of the village, not by elected heads of the village, but by a particular class or individual in each village called the lord or lords, the Thákurs, and that class in almost all cases consisted of Chbattris. A Rája required by the Chhattri comnunities which had overborne numerous lower costes. When the subject classes the Sudras, or even the conquered twice-born men of other castes were numerous, there was constant danger of a rebellion ; the Lodhs, Bhars, and Pasis repeatedly rose against and overwhelmed the Chhattri communities in Oudh ; the interests of the property were also so complex and troublesome that they required the und ed attention of one able and experienced man; conse- quently in process of time property ceased to be divided among all the sons, and was given only to the ablest or the eldest. Just as the Israelites elected a king when they became the lords of numerous conquered people; so did the Chbattris of Oudh. Similarly Sher Shab in Sasseran, when asked by his brethren to divide the land, replied :"We are not now in our native Kohistán where each man gets his share ; we are feudal lords here, and I alone, am the master." To paraphrase his language, when a homogeneous race inhabits a territory, it divides the land equally and forms a republic, when mixed but unamalgamated races or castes inliabit a country, one of them will generally rule, and of that one an individual member will generally assert his supremacy; and this is not so much because the interest of the society requires the tyranny of the many to be exchanged for that of the few, for the caste system materially modifies this principle of European politics, but because according to the theory of tlie Hindu system, and its practice in early stages, the Hindu monarchy, the ráj in fact, is infinitely cheaper, more effective, and more conservative of just interests than a republic. The military situation probably in most cases determined the change of the republic into the raj when sucht occurred. The unfortunate thing is that a ráj looks well at first, but always deteriorates, and does not fulfi the promises of its prime, while a republic is rugged and turbulent at first, but improves with age. So far we have been speaking of the Hindu system as it existed in Oudh and elsewhere, at a time when the Musalman supremacy was confined to an occasional receipt of tribute, when in fact there was a Hindu auto- pomy, the inilitary class being the master of the land, forming a ruling militia subject to its own hereditary chiefs, society being a mixture of the clan, the fcudal, and the monarchical elements. For the Chhattris the system was that of a clan, for the mass of the people a monarchy, for the rája a feudal relation existed towards the emperor. Through the whole mass, two ruling principles, that of caste and that of custom, pervaded all the relations of life, rendering the Government a very ​KHE 225 mild and moderate constitutional monarchy. The great limitation of the rája's power is shown by the fact that in some The limitation of the rája's power. states there was a bereditary diwán, a civil manager, and a hereditary military leader. Such are still found in Tra- vancore and Napál, and the germs of the system are met with in eastern Ondh, but there is nothing of the kind in Kheri. The rája in ordinary life was in no way distinguished from his subjects. He dined with his clans- men at every public celebration, and the frequent pipe passed round to all the brotherhood was the symbol of their kindred. His military force con- sisted solely of his brotherhood, and of those to whom he was related by marriage ; for one of the distinguishing features of the Chhattris and Brahmans as opposed to all or most other castes was that they could not marry in their own subdivision of the clan, but must marry into another. A guarantee was thus given not only that the mischievous marriages of relations should be hindered, but that the ramification of kindred should extend over a very large and ever increasing section of the Chhattri race, thus uniting all theclan from therája to the peasantinone community of blood and of interest. It was consequently impossible for the rája wrongfully to deprive one of his clansmen of the allowances or grants of land which were made to each of them whithout offending all; and he could not afford to despise the sentiments of his whole army. Outside his clan his power was less unlimited. Brahmans were protected by custom and religion, culti- Fators by the abundance of land, and the possibility of fight if oppressed; tradesmen and artizans were carefully guarded ; low castes like Chamárs were no doubt harshly treated, if population pressed on the means of subsistence, or if their masters were capricious. In judicial matters the rája rarely interfered; if one of his ryots was murdered he cxacted a small fine from the offender, Rs. 50 or so, as compensation to himself for the loss of a tenant. Here and there even in Oudh we can find a Hindu ráj which circum- stances have combined to maintain in a condition something similar to the above. I would point to that of Khairigarh iv Kheri. It is an ancient ráj, although the present occupants, themselves of a noble family, have only succeeded to principality within the last forty years. Here all the elements of the archaic Hindu system are to be found, a small body of Chhattri kinsinen exercising great influence and possessing large fiefs, Brahmans holding religious grants, the mass of the population paying moderate rents in great ineasure determined by custom, and leaving them sufficient for a most comfortable subsistence. A cluster of village maidens at a well in Khairigarh glisten with silver ornaments, and the whole village tinkles like a sheepfold as the white stranger passes through on his elephant. The rája occupies a small unpretending house, and amuses himself with his tenants in hunting and fishing. Here the Nusal- man has had little influence for several hundreds of years. The last time one of the king's generals attempted to penetrate to Khairigarh, he, with a large portion of his force, died of fever in the morasses. The rajas overthrown by the Moslems.-- As a rule, however, Musalmans whenever they became more near, intrusive, and authoritative overthrew the råja, or endeavoured to do so. In the first place he was a rival in ​226 KHE authority of whom they were jealous, in the second his wealth aroused their cupidity. In Oudh, for instance, during the last thirty years of the eighteenth century, nearly every one of the principalities in Oudh were ovoriurned, and in their place, not the village communities, but the rája's kinsnien and retainers generally divided among them what small lauded property or interests were admitted to exist by the new government. Just as sone of the taluqas in Oudh have been formed by the aggregation of small communes, and the eviction of their proprietors, so others have been overturned and many small properties and village fiefs formed out of their débris. In Kheri, Oel. Mahewa, Mitauli are instances of the former, Muhamdli of the latter. After all there was but little difference except in the mere mode in which external relations with the Supreme Govern- ment were conducted. Society remained much the same whether the vil- lage heads were guided by some natural leader in a republic, or whether they merely aided with their advice and weighty counse's a vereditary chief. The danger has always been that a foreign power in acquiring the suzerainty, discovering the rája to be the sole medium of the tribe's com- munication with itself, should come to regard him as the sole arbiter of the destinies of the community, as despotic over its customs, whereas he was merely the guardian of one and the spokesman of the other. The main point which I have studied to make clear in the above is that the prin- cipal factor, which deterinined whether the goverment of any given locality should be a republic or a monarchy, was the homogeneity of the popula- tion or the reverse. The non-agricultural classes. -So far little has been said of the non- agricultural classes who aniount to 263,794, or 35-7 per cent of the entire population according to the census returns; but there is no doubt that these are erroneous, fur it is impossible that such a large proportion of the popu- lation can find subsistence in Khori from trade. By closely analyzing the census return No. V. an amended estimate has been prepared. There are, it appears, 265,75+ adult males in the district ; of these 212,877 or 78 per cent. are either agriculturists or agricultural labourers, and there are 30,90% of the latter. The following is the return of the different trades and occupations as recorded in the census. Those trades have been omitted which number less than a hundred members. It may be here noted that there are no mines and no European industries in this district. Village watchmen 3,893 Cultivators i 74,546 Government servants 231 Gardenors and agricultural labourers 112 Soldiers 5,163 Herdsmen 2,456 Priests or teaebers of the Hinda religion658 Shepherds Sweepers Carpenters and furders 1,443 Jon-keepers Neoklace-makers Barbers 1,836 Weavers 3,155 1,432 Cotton-cleaners Personal attendante Carpet, drugget, aod blanket makers 11% Bankera Dyers Merchants 797 Ebroiderers of gold and silver thread, Agents 226 laco-makers, Wadering grain-dealers 4,847 Thread spinners and sellers Coachmen, livery stable.keepers Taitors Pack carriers on bullocks Winc-sellers 728 Palki bearers Milk sellers 797 Proprietors of land 1,209 1 Grain sellers 1,863 549 706 186 245 Wasliermen 990 648 400 158 169 919 384 286 501 650 ​KHE 227 642 340 856 Potters 200 420 469 208 860 119 162 120 185 171 Corn-grinders 198 Goldsmiths TOBACCO-sellera Saltpetre-qekere Panleaf-sellers Confcotioners, aweetmeat-sellers Blacksmiths 1,170 Butchers Glass bangle-bakers 405 Greengrocerg Labourer's 30,906 Fishmongers Beggars 3,077 Grain.parcbere 1,018 Prostitutes Lesther-sellers or workers 1,279 Fortune-tellers Oll-makers and sellera 1,632 Travellers, &c. 1,859 Banibco-workers 246 Professione unknown Leafplate-maker's Side by side with the Kheri trade list'I place that of Shahjahánpur which borders it to the west, and is a similar district with a similar popu- lation originally; the broadest contrasts exist. In Kheri there are only 400 bankers, and nearly all of these carry on a very petty village business. In Shahjahanpur there are 3,040 bankers of various kinds, whiile 130 per- fumers, 587 makers of hookah snakes, 326 lawyers, 172 firework-makers, 3,017 goldsmiths, bear evidence in other ways to the great prosperity of the country. Shábjahanpur has not tlie same natural advantages as Kheri, which possesses a more fertile soil, intersected or bordered by three great navigable rivers. Kheri likewise has been, in very early times, a seat of Hindu civilization, and was twice colonized Musulman emperors, who selected it as the best place for a prosperous settlement. But Sháhja- hánpur enjoyed several artificial advantages --one that of English govern- ment for three quarters of a century, another a resident proprietary body of yeomen, with small estates, upon which most of them are not ashamed to labour. Lastly, there has always been a large expenditure on roads, buildings, and the support of troops, European and Native. In all these matters Kheri exhibits a broad contrast. Kheri, Shahjahanpur. bad Cultivators Labourers Servants Bankers Goldsmitha Grain-aellera Weavera Peper-cakera Oopper-workers Oil-manufacturera Cutlets Prieste Glass bangle-makers Necklace-makers Dyers 174,545 50,906 6,871 400 542 1,863 3,185 None. 745.246 70,259 86,643 3,040 8,615 11,463 26,178 106 1,110 8,360 698 634 2,282 712 961 1,682 None. 668 406 245 168 N.B.-The numbers entered for Kheri are those of adult males only ; those of Sháh- jahanpur include their familica, For coin parison the former should be multiplied by 3). ​228 KHE CHAPTER IV. ADMINISTRATIVE. Administrative divisiong-The Police-The Jail--Crimes_Accidental deaths-Income Tax-The land revenue --Schools-Post-uffice statistics. Administrative divisions and organization.-For administrative pur- poses the district of Kheri is divided into three tahsils_Lakhímpur, Muhamdi, and Nighásan--which include seventeen parganas, as per tabular form already given. There are seven thảnas or police stations--Muhamdi, Gola, Bhira, Lakhímpur, Dhaurahra, Singáhi, Mitauli. Statement showing the population of the thuna jurisdictions. Name of thána, Population. . 14 Lakhimpur Gola Mitauli Dhira Mubandi Dbaurahra Singáhi 196,860 89, 190 19,109 60,694 1118,831 121.698 90,968 PP. 44 140 H. Total 739,288 Law courts.—Omitting the temporary settlement courts, there are six paid and two unpaid magistrates, the latter being landed proprietors in the district. The number of these would be larger, but from the general want of intelligence of the class, it is difficult to discover any one fitted for the exercise of authority. In this respect, the district is exceptionally unfor- tunate. All the above officers have also civil and revenue* powers. There are 391 rural and 15 town police, maintained at a cost of Rs. 46,061; two members of this force are Europeans, the rest are natives. The most dia- tant village is 59 miles from the nearest paid court, but this is perhaps unavoidable. Statistics of the Police of the District of Kheri in 1873. HALA .40 5.4 + 1,200 IP 14. Re Ragular police, ... 58,526 68316 1 to 9.761 to 2364 13364714 1903 1416 487 Village watch, ... 91,936 40 2486 Municlpal police, 22 Total 1,51,061 2110 2824 2936 1236 4714 1903 1416 487 + Oudh Ciril List, rages 48, 60. . 4. es

      • ​KHE

229 There is one jail in the district, a mud walled erection, built to accommo- date 149 prisoners; the average number of inmates in 1875 was 202. The total number imprisoned during the year was 783 males and 75 females. The average cost of rations during the five years ending 1875 was Rs. 15-3-3 per head, that of hospital charges 61 annas, that of clothing Re. 1-9-6; the total cost, including establishment, was Rs. 47-7-0. The average earnings per head of prisoners sentenced to labour were Rs. 7 in 1875, the actual cash earnings also Rs. 7. The manufactures are coarse cotton cloth, towels, paper, oil-pressing, and rug-weaving. The official returns of the occupa- tions and ages of the prisoners in the jails of this province are too untrust- worthy to bo quoted. For instance, in Hardoi 144 prisoners are repre- sented as men of property :* in Kheri, an adjoining and similar district, not one; in Gonda there are stated to be 37 prisoners; above 60 in Bahraich; and Bara Banki not one. There is nothing noteworthy about the district crime except that is increasing rapidly. See table. It is doubtful, however, if all the crime is reported Crime statistics for Kheri district. Cases reported. Cases investigated. Cases convicted. 1887 1868 1869 1970 1871 1872 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1887 1888 1889 1870 1871 1872 13 9 75 7 20 181 13 916 720 6 10 6 14 4 4 11 Murders and at 13 tempta. Culpable homi 3 cide. 31 4 31 5 8 31 4 81 5. 4 4 1 2 HUI Dacoity 1 2 2.1 1 +46 13 18 Robbery 5 身 $ 3 7 3 2 6 3) 7 31 2 3) 1 a 21 8 Rioting and un- 10 144 18! 13! 14 10 10 14 16 13 14 10 9 10 1211 lawful assembly. Theft by house- 922 1,001 1,697 1,510 1,221 1,311 376 477 443 693 413 443 142 132 158 133 137 20 breaking or hopise-trespass. Theft, simple .743 942) 1,517 1,425 1,125 1,600 366 737 688 491 819 186 249 347 229 173 38 Theft of cattle... 90 80 83 90 107 146 62 66 73 78 107 145 27 16 40 29 281 84 4 3 41 2 10 4 31 4 2 9 1 . 4 Offences against 10 coin and stampe. The following is a table of accidental deaths for the years 1867 to 1872 inclusive. Snake bites are particularly fatal to women it appears; but this is accounted for by the women largely engaging in weeding, gleaning, and also to their habit of early walking in the dusk before sunrise. The wild animals are bears, tigers, and wolves--all of them very scarce in the dis- trict, at least in the populous portions of it. In 1871. 30 ​230 KHE Comparative statement of accidental deaths for the years 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, in Kheri district. By By Suicides, drourt-snake- ing. bite. By wild By fall quod- lof buua- By other rupeds. in. CAU868 Total. Male. Female. Female. Female. Male. Versic. Female.

          • Male.

- Male. 1867 1868 1889 1870 1471 1872 BUO Maie. PS Male. “Glenam」班招让四% uw we . ដីដីនេះ | Male. ISO 187 219 Total 1,265 1,943 Income tax.—The elementary nature of Kheri trade and manufactures will be apparent from the subjoined income tax return, which is more interesting under this section than from a fiscal point of view. It will appear that there are only 92 persons in the district whose revenues are supposed to exceed Rs. 1,000 per annum. Of these 69 are landowners or cultivators who pay between them Rs. 5,543 out of Rs. 5,984. The entire tax on the trade and manufactures of the district amounts therefore to only Rs. 441, although, in addition to the ordinary trade and manufactures, the district furnishes in its forest, waste lands, and proximity to Naipál extra- ordinary resources which are not taxed by the State through its land reve- There are numerous timber merchants in Kheri ; apparently they made no profits in the years in question, which indeed is quite possible. Annual return showing details of cussessments made under Part V. of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1872, on different sources of income during the year ending 31st March, 1873. nie. Class I. Class II. Ctass ir Cluss IV. Total. Source of incomo or profits. Number. Тах, , Number. Tax. , Tax. Tax. Nomber. Number. Number Tax. R&, 4. D. B... 1. p. 72 14 21 68 158 Re, SP 79 14 2 68 168

  • 14

50 00 dad 440 6 90 100 20 13 10 D

225 7 8 7. PROYESSIONS - Rs. 2. p. a Religiorat D, Law 11. EMPLOYMENTS- u, Clerks, bailiffs, 8 40 10 0 2 shop (ula Tlod), 111, COMMERCE- b. Bankers #1 10+ 9 10 1 money-dealers. (3 juer 1 chants. g6. Murufructur- 32 1 411 els Of Stlar. IV. LAN- a. Proprietors and 16 296 1 6 21 sub-propricco's b. Tenante 17 215 6 10 4 Total 464 10 6 32 lä 10 0. 141 1 15 10 0 2008, . PO 6 78 20 958 14 8 11 3,958 13 0 -- 48 5,151 00 17356 . + 21 389 0 4 $1,36L 4 4 4 11 3,958 13 0 92 6,984 11 10 ​KHE 231 The land revenue assessed at annexation was Rs. 49,000. When recently revised and fixed for thirty years, it was raised to Rs. 1,131,000 ;* but of this sum about Rs. 250,000 will not be demanded for periods of from five to fifteen years in order to allow time for the acciimulation of capital, and the spread of cultivation. The administration is conducted by a deputy commissioner, with one or more assistant commissioners, and the usual staff. The cost in 1871 was Rs. 175,914 ; but that included the expenses of the settlement depart- ment, whose operations are drawing to a conclusion, Cost of administration. In 1875, the annual expense of administra- tion was about Rs. 1,20,000, and perhaps, 3,000 square miles of country, with a population of three quarters of a million, on the border of a foreign state, were never governed so cheaply before. In order, however, to make the comparison a strictly fair one, Rs. 40,000, the estimated payments to the village policemen, should be added. The expenditure for 1870 was as follows:- 397 64. pot 4. .. Land revenue Excise Stamps Law and justice Medical Police Ra. 38,891 2,160 1,554 27,616 3,747 46,061 eve HIP . . Tatal 1,20,029 Revenues. --The revenues received by Government from the district were in 1871 Rs. Land Revevue 6,24,714 Excise 53,212 A 9aegsed Taxes 11,978 Stamps 39,816 Law and Juetice 11,608 FP Total PI 7,41,328 It appears, then, that the land tax forms six-sevenths of the total State income (this tax is treble what it was in the time of the Emperor Akbar); further, that Kheri, as tested by the proceeds of the income tax and the sale of stamps, is the poorest district in Oudh. The land tax is rising every year. Statement showing the area, the revenue demand, dc., of parganas in Kheri district, according to " Aín-i-Akbari. Pargadas. Area in bigba.. Revende de- Rate per bígba. RE MARKS. mand, Rs. 8. P 4 Khairigarh Kheri Bharwars Garh Qila Nawa Dhaurahra Barwar Big. Bis. 48,050 7 260,168 0 21,7400 15,811 16 135,319 0 Rs. 45,283 81,504 6,152 12,246 88,634 1 + 9 5 0 4 6 0125 0 10 6 d. . Total 76,089 8 238,769 09 1015

  • Alterations have since been inade in these proposals involving a decrease of 16 per cent. ​232

KHE In 1872 it was as follows:-- Da + . 11 .. . 94 va Total. Actually collected 783,061 Belauce... 126,710 909,772 Stamps 42,868 Excise 29,985 Law and Justice 7,223 Salt 223,000 Opium 145,000 1,367,849 Adding customs duties at Calcutta and Bombay, it will appear that the State receives from the district about £140,000 ; and if in addition the cost of carriage of salt from the Punjab to Kheri be added about Rs. 2-6-0 per maund, or Rs. 172,000,* the entire fiscal burthen upon the people will reach the sum of Rs. 1,572,000, a sum vastly larger than the dis- trict paid at any previous historical period. Government has recently made some reductions in the land tax lest its pressure should be unduly felt. It cannot be determined whether this taxation is heavy or not till we have a more exact estimate of the district resources. As already seen the wealth of the district is purely agricultural, the cultivation is 792,000 acres, and the average crop is worth about Rs. 12 per acre. The anaual agricultural income then would be Rs. 9,404,000, of which Government takes Rs. 1,572,000, or almost exactly one-sixth-a just proportion, taking into consideration that it is the landlord as well as the ruler. The follow- ing tables show the revenue and expenditure for the year ending 31st March, 1872, the preceding are for the provincial revenue year ending with 30th September, 1871 : Receipts. Re. Recent settlement revenue collections 661,880 Rents of Goverment villages and lands Income tax 9,296 Tax uo apirits and drugs 41,361 Stamp duty 47.615 Law aud quatice 7,225 Totai 767.276 Expenditure. Ra. Rerenue refunds and drawbacks 3,121 Miscellaneous refunds 3,769 Land revenue, deputy coinmissioners, and esta. blishment 10.731 Settlement 47,280 Excise or abkiri 4,921 Assessed taxes 317 Stamps 870 Service of process Law od justice Criminal courta... 2,105 25,930 Ecclesiastical 0 Medical 5,129 Total 134,173 14. PIE 40 The galt tax is three rupees per maand ; the salt import, eee " Trade," 74,464 maunda in 18:2, ​KHE 233 The following tables give details of district local funds, their receipts, and disbursements Receipts. Rs, . 8,561 3> .. 11 One per cent road cess school cess. district dak lucal and margin Education fund Diepensary » Pound Nazúl 57 10. 8,689 2,242 24,661 2,871 1,603 4,264 ke 39 2,166 Total Provincial allotment 54,817 29,166 Grand TOTAL 84,003 Charges. Education Hospital and dispensaries District dak Poand Núi Public Works- Communications Civil Bqildings, &c. Establishment, &c. Rs, 18,997 8,248 2,365 590 1,312 33,096 10,960 8,014 .. 52,070 Total 89,677 Schools.-- There are three Anglo-vernacular schools:-- Neme of school. Number of papile. Number learning English. 6. Lakhimpur Gola Mubamdi 158 89 120 ... 88 47 77 There are also twelve vernacular schools with 467 pupils. In respect of education it is the most backward district in Oudh. There is one female school at Mubamdi with 17 pupils. In the adjoining district of Hardoi there are 72 schools with 3,244 pupils The cause of this differ- ence is partly the existence of large towns in the latter district; but mainly the fact that property is more distributed, there being numerous small landowners who can afford to send their children to school. In Lakhímpur school for instance, the pupils are all sons of Government servants or of shop-keepers, there being not a single landowner's son in attendance, although it is the only school in the district where a really good education can be acquired. This divorce between education and property is much to be regretted. There are no educational or literary societies, but a small book club has been recently established. The extent of the post-offices, and the degree to which the people avail themselves of them, is shown by the following tables :​234 KHE Post-office statistics for 1876-77. Letters. Papers. Pachets. Parcels. Numrer Number Number Number Nomber Number Number Number given ont returned given out returned given ont returned given out returned for deli- undeliver for deli- undeliver- for deli- undeliver tor delt. undeli- very. ed. Fery, ed. very, ed. very. vered, 15,706 1,967 864 65 94 2 78 9 10 41 Statement showing the working of the district dák in 1876-77. Number of miles of dak linc 82 Number of runners 29 2,214 Number of covera delivered 14,708 returned undelivered 2,038 Total number of letters sont to district post-office .. 16,741 00 Postage realized 858 14 0 Cost ... . sas ​KHE 235 CHAPTER V. HISTORY General-In 1856 ---In Akbar's time--Ancient events-The l'andu brothers-Kheri 49 Raja Bairút's residence--The Bachhilg--The Sayyads-'The Ahbans-The Jan wárs- The Jángres—The Pabári Súrajbans-Buildings and antiquities. History. The present district of Kheri has as such a very brief history. It has only existed as an administrative unit since 1858. Under the Dative sovereigns of Oudh it was partly in the Chakla of Muhamdi and - partly in that of Khairabad. In 1856, when Oudh was annexed, two dis- tricts, those of Muhamdi and Mallápur, divided between them the whole of Kheri in addition to several of the bordering Parganas now included in Hardoi, Sitapur, and Bahraich. Their headquarters were Mubamdi and Mallápur, one to the extreme west of the present district, the other at the sonth-eastern corner, but in Sitapur. Why such a location of the administration was made cannot now be ascertained; both places were much out of the way. When the mutiny broke out the officers were unable to escape; those of Muhamdi were captured by the Shahjahanpur inutineers or by the Rája of Mitauli and massacred; those at Mallápur fled Dorth into the jungles of Naipál, being cut off from a retreat to the south, and perished of fever and ague. After annexation Lakhimpur was selec- ted for the lieadquarters. It is 28 miles due north and within easy reach of Sitapur; but it cannot be considered central or very accessible, some villages being about sixty miles distant. When Oudh was under a native govemnent, as was the case till 1855, we find that the administrative divisions into which it was divided varied. Under the emperors it formed a part of the sarkár or division of Khairabad, 'and was divided into the parganas or counties of Barwar, Bhúrwára, Kkeri, Khairigarh, and Garh Qila Nawa. Of these Barwar is now represented by tahsil Muhamdi, Kheri, and Bhúrwára by talisil Lakhímpur, Khairigarh, and Garh Qila Nawa, comprised the territory now in tahsil Nighásan. The above administrative detail is of little importance; real interest attaches to the chronicles and vicissitudes of the clans who owned the soil and fought for it In Akbar's time the country was divided entirely among zamindari bodies. The Rája of Muhamdi, who afterwards acquired nearly the whole district by fraud, then held, under a royal grant, ouly 3,000 bígħas and five small villages. The great ráj of the Janwars which under its three heads Kaimabra, Oel, and Mahewa, now embraces 330 villages did not then exist. Similarly the Jángres' estate of Bhúr Dhaurahra, which covered 800 square miles, did not exist even in the germ. The Ahban's estate of Bhúrwára existed no doubt in Akbar's time, but was much smaller and more divided, while the great Sárajbans ráj of Khairigarh is a creation of 1838. In later times there were four great families, who held the lands now comprised in this district--namely, the Sayyads of Barwar, the Ahbans of Mitauli and Bhúrwára, the Janwárs of Kheri, the Jángres of Dhaurahra. The histories of the two latter families are given under the names of those places, and will be abstracted here; their annals cover the periud between 1,500 and 1855 A.D. ​236 KHE Going further back into legendary history, the Kheri district can boast that one of its villages was the site of a wealthy and populous king- dom 3,500 years ago, and that one of the most dramatic episodes in the Mabábhárata, the Iliad of the East, occurred within its boundaries. I shall consider this incident, as it not only contains the principal legend of the district, but also introduces us to a powerful clan, the Bachhils. The village of Balmiár Barkhár, in pargana Muhamdi, is said to have been the residence of Rája Bairát, with whom the Pándus stayed during the thir. teenth year of their exile, and all the details of their sojourn, with the precise locality in which each incident occurred, are pointed out by the residents on the spot. There, they say, was the palace of the king's wicked brother-in-law Kichaka. To this hill went Draupadi, the wife of the five Pándus, to meet him. Here is still the hollow in the ground where, as in a huge mortar, Kichaka was pounded by the mighty Bhím; also the small mound where Kichaka's dead body was burnt. The story may be epitomized here. The five Pándus, who had gambled away their entire estate and even their liberty, had bound themselves by an oath to remain concealed for the thirteen years of their banishment from Hastinapur. They came to Bairátkhera in disguise, and all were taken into service. The eldest, Judhistthir, undertook to teach the king gam- bling, having learned too late the trick by which he had been cheated of his kingdom. Bhím the giant became cook; Arjun, dressed as a eunuch, was admitted as teacher of dancing and singing into the zanána; Nakul becare chief coachman; and Sáhdeo master of the cattle. Among other adventures, Bhím overcame Jimuta, a mighty wrestler ; but the principal incident of the sojourn is the passion conceived for Draupadi by Kichaka, the brother-in-law of the king. Kichaka asked his sister, the queen, who had engaged the beautiful Draupadi's services, to send her to his house. The queen consented, and gave Draupadi a goblet of wine to carry to Kichaka. Weeping and trembling she presented herself before the queen's brother who treated her rudely, and when she ran away to seek redress in the king's council, Kichaka followed, seized her by the hair, and kicked her before all. The rája, when appealed to, said he did not know what had taken place between them, and could not therefore interfere. Draupadi appealed to Bhím, the mightiest of her five husbands, aad by his advice agreed to meet Kiehaka at night in the music hall of the palace. Bhím repaired in her stead to the place of assignation ; and when Kichaka, deceived by the darkness, went up to the giant thinking it was Draupadi, Bhím seized him by his hair which, being well oiled, slipped through his fingers. A long fight cnsued, but Bhím at last whirled"Kichaka round striking his head against the wall. He then ground and broke in his chest with his knee. Afterwards smashing all the bones, he pounded the body into pieces and kneaded it into a ball , so that the people might think that some Gandharva, or evil demon, had done the deed. Kichaka's brothers caught Draupadi and tied her to Kichaka's funeral pile, but Bhím, with his long hair tangled round his face and a club on his shoulders, rescued her. The rest of the Pándus' adventures are of a more prosaic description, but their life in Bairátkhera, as told in the Mahabharata; constitutes the most detailed picture of Hindu court and domestic life, which has ​KHE 237 been handed down to us, being far more minute than the biblical account of the Pharoahs in Egypt, contemporaries of this Raja Bairát, who reigned in Barkhår, In later times Barkhár formed part of the estate granted to Mahárája Newal Ráe, the díwán of Safdar Jang, Wazir of Oudh. Newal Ráe gave it to certain Brahmans who still hold the estate. It is now a small vil- lage with a population of 419. Its peasants when guiding their ploughs over the ancient site, repeatedly find the earth give way beneath them, and disclose some well or tunnel testifying to the presence of the old city, where Draupadi rejected the addresses of the queen's brother about the very time when Joseph was flying from an Egyptian lady. General Cunningham questions the truth of the tradition in the account of bis archæological tour: " Barikhár* is the naine of a village on the top of an extensive old mound called Vairátkbera, which is situated on the high road between Nírsár and Pilibhít, at 42 miles from the former, and 68 miles from the latter place, Barikhár is said to be a corruption of Barigakhera or Vairátkhera, and its foundation is attributed to Vairát Řája in the time of the Pándus. The ruined mound is 1,000 feet in length at top from east to west, by 600 feet in breadth, and from 16 to 20 feet in height. But the dimensions at the base are much more, as the slope is very gentle being 200 feet in length on the north side where I measured it. This would make the base of the mound about 1,400 feet, which agrees with the size of 50 bíghas, or 1,400,000 square feet, which is popularly attributed to it by the villagers themselves. But the fields are strewn with broken bricks for upwards of 1,000 feet to the northward, and for 500 or 600 feet to the eastward, where there are the remains of several temples. “The area actually covered by ruins is not less than 2,000 feet square, or upwards of lf miles in circuit, which słows that Barikhár must once have been a good-sized town ; but I strongly doubt the story of the Brab- mans which attributes the foundation to Vairát Rája. The name is written by the people themselves Badishár, although it is pronounced Barikhár, and I believe that similarity of sound alone has led to the identification of Barikhár with Barigakhera and Vairát Rija." It may be remarked with reference to the above, that it is true several places lay claim to having been the residence of Rája Vairát and the scene of this exploit, yet there are reasons why this neighbourliood has pre-eminent claims. In the first place it is almost impossible that the Pándus, five young exiles wander- ing with difficulty about the country, could get so far as either Dholka in Gujarát, Dinagepurin Bengal, or Bjaipur in Satára, when the event has been localized by others. Wheeler writes as follows: “ In turning to the mythical details which connect the tradition of the amour of Kichaka with the history of the Pandavas, it will be necessary in the first instance to inquire into the geographical position of the ráj of Virata. Here, at the very outset, a dificulty presents itself of no ordi nary magnitude.

  • Vol. I., p. 351.

31 ​238 KHE " The local traditions of two widely distant countries present almost equal claims to the country of Virata-namely, the peninsula of Gujarat on the western side of India, and the valley of the Brahmaputra on its eastern quarter. In the Mahabhárata, the ráj of Virata is called Matsya, or the country of the fish, and the city is indifferently termed Matsya or Virata. "The local traditions of Gujarat declare that the site of Matsya-nuggur or Viratapur is occupied by the modern town of Dholka, which is situated on the southern coast of the neck of the peninsula. "The local traditions of eastern Bengal are more explicit. The district of Dinagepur is still called Matsya; and the remains of ancient forts, said to be those of Virata and Kichaka, are pointed out to this day as proofs of the truth of the traditions.

  • The whole of this region, however, would appear to have been the land

of fable. Here it was that Bhíma fought against the Asuras ; and it was in this same country that the sage Vyasa was supernaturally born of Matsya, the fish-girl. Whether, however, the ráj of Virata is to be placed in the peninsula of Guzerat or in the region of eastern Bengal, it is in either case far too distant from the neighbourhood of Hastinapur to admit of such campaigns as those of Duryodhana and Susarman." Now none of the difficulties which attend the identification of Raja Bairát's capital with any of these distant towns are met with, if we accept this little Oudh village as the real scene of Bhíma's exploit, a feat, which however overlaid with fable, probably possesses a greater substratum of truth than most heroic myths. In the first place this whole district, west of the Kathna, has been called from time immemorial Páruhár or Pandu- hars, as being the place where the Pándus wandered during their exile from the court of Delhi. Further, Kanauj is in the immediate vicinity of Balmiar Barkhár, and in A.D. 1030, Biruni, the Arabian geographer, wrote that Kanauj was as celebrated for the descendants of the Pándus as Muttra was for Krishna.* In other words, that Kanauj and its neighbourhood were the scenes of the Pándus' exploits as Muttra was of Krishna's. Nor is the tradition, which represents Barkhár as the capital of Bairát, an isolated one. It extends over all Oudh. The boundaries of the kingdom are still pointed out, and Hargám, a village 35 miles to the east, is admitted by its inhabitants to have been a mere postal or frontier town belonging to Rája Bairát who reigned at Barkhár. It is quite easy to understand that when the Brahmanical faith was introduced among the aboriginal tribes of the south and far east, its missionaries may have endeavoured to conciliate the people by announcing that the great Arian heroes had actually visited and sanctified the country in which they were now labouring. The fable would be safe from detection, but it is otherwise with Oudh. In a country lying near Delhi, and which has been at all times held and peopled by the descen- dants of the Pándus, it would be impossible to forge a claim for any place

  • Elliots'a llistorians, Yol I., 54, ​KHE

239 to be the scene of an exploit so famous and so well known as that which occurred at Bairátklera. Granting that some such event occurred, assuming also that it must have happened as Mr. Wheeler argues somewhere not very far from Delhi, this village being also the only place so situated for which any claim is advanced, that claim being supported by other and converging traditions, and by an alliance of names which could hardly have been imposed for the purpose of bolstering up the title of one place to be the scene of a single event, it is hard to see why that claim should be disallowed. It is absurd to argue that the story was localized here, because a pre-existing name suited it; for there are inuumerable places of the same name in Oudh and Northern India; there being another only five miles from Balmiar Barkhár. If it were the object of unscrupulous priests to forge such traditions, the motive would have applied elsewhere, and dozens of Barkhárs would have claimed to be considered the Pándus' city of refuge ; but no other has done so. It is probable that whatever of real fact under- lies this tale actually occurred at Barkhár, as also that Arjun really married the daughter of Gandrak, and fought with his son Babhruvahan at Manwan in the Sitapur district.* There seems also some reason to suppose that the Bachhil Chhattris are the descendants of this Rája Bairát or of his subjects. General Cun- ninghamt believes that similarity of sound alone has led to the identifi- cation of Barkhår with Bariakhera and Vaírát Rája ; but in his account of Dewal we find the Báchhil Rajputs claim descent from Rája Vena, whose son was Virát, the reputed founder of Baribhár or Virátkhera, and whom I believe to be the same as Vira Varmma of the inscription." The Báchhil Cbhattris are theu a possible link from the hoariest tra- ditions of Indian antiquity to a middle age period, which has been fairly chronicled, and lastly to the complete annals of modern times. I have been enabled to present to the reader one rather dim outlined picture of life in 1800 B.C.; another follows in 900 A.D., a third about 1640 A.D., a fourth in 1850 A.D., and a fifth in 1870 A.D., all drawn from the annals of one tribe and family still resident in the ancestral fief. It is the more desirable to follow out the annals of this clan,-first, because it is one of the very few in Oudh which does seem rightfully to claim an antiquity equal to that of English noble families which came in with the conqueror, and second, because its surviving members though respectable are too poor to purchase false genealogies, and so humble in the social scale as to render a fictitious pedigree of no value. Consequently they now relate ouly the real traditions of their ancestors. Doubtless in the days of their prosperity their own vanity and the venal flattery of dependents invented many an incident of heraldry and chivalry to their credit, but these bave been long forgotten, and only what is true in great measure remains. We left Rája Bairát at Barkhår, six miles south of Muhamdi, his sub- jects perhaps the ancestors of the present Báchbils; they moved to

  • Wheeler's India, Vol. 1., page 410,

+ Cunningham's Reports of Archæological Survey, Journal A.S., No. cxxx., page 270 ​240 KHE the northwards, and in 992A.D., we find that a local chief named Lalla governed at Garh Gajana or Iláhábas near Dewal. This place is sixteen miles south-east of Pílíbhít on the bank of the Katni náliv, and thirty-five roiles north-west of Barkhár. In fact all the capitals of the Bachhil clan- Barkhár, Nigohi, Garh Gajana, Kamp on the Sárda—are within a few niles of each other, two in Shahjaháopur west of the Gumti, two in Kheri east of the old river. We know nothing about Lalla or his race except from the inscription which he caused to be cut, and the coins which are still to be found. From them we learn that the people were Hindus, as might have been surmised from the Buddhist pilgrims not having visited or referred to any shrines in the neighbourhood when passing to and from Kanauj. There we find a canal twenty miles long connecting transversely two affluents of the river Garra, the Khanaut, and the Mála. This canal was probably mainly intended for defensive purposes; for at Dewal it is made to take almost a complete circuit round a high mound on which the ruins of the Bachbil pital are still to be seen, covered with the jungle of many centuries. There are the remains of several temples, a figure of the Varáha or boar avtar of Vishnu, so abundant on coins all over Kheri; also several arghas or bases for lingams, probably demolished by the Moslems, kankar images of Shiva and Debi, and lastly an inscription dated Sambat 1049 or 992 A.D.* There we get our second glimpse at the Bachhils. This little king- dom was one of the numerous small sovereignties which were formed in the east of the Ganges after the decline of Buddhism, and which were all absorbed in Kanauj on the rise of the Ráthor sovereignty. about 1072 A.D. The inscription is in the Katila character, so called from every letter having a bottom stroke or tail bent to the right. It recites that Rája Lalla gave villages to the Brahmans, that he had cut a canal from the Nirmala (pellucid) river, now contracted to Mála; that the villages were shaded by pleasant trees, and watered by this beautiful" and holy." Katha nadi "or It is now called Katni. The inscription proves what is apparent enough from the appearance of the channel that it is artificial. This Katni flows about twelve miles west of the Gumti; about twelve miles east of that river is another Kathna, upon whose banks stands Atwa ano- ther later capital of the Bachhils; it is more than probable that this river too has an artificial channel. The Báchbils were then an enterprizing race in those days; they were Hindus in faith; they worshipped Vishňu under the boar avtár; they had a coinage both in silver and gold, many specimens of which have been found near their old capitals on the Kathna. It seems, too, that their dynasty was of sufficient intelligence and energy to construct no less than two canals about a hundred miles in length: one of them is still navi- gable, the other has somewhat silted up. They did more apparently for the material improvement of the country in the tenth century of the

  • Cunningham's Arcbæolo gical Report, Volume I., Page 352. Journal Asiatic Society,

Volume XIX., 1856, page 189, 1973, page 777. Priprep's Tabler, page 258 eanal." ​KHE 241 Christian era than any of their successors in the government during the ensuing nine. Some further particulars about the Bách hils I take from General Cunningham.* The inscription goes on to say that Rája Lalla and his wife Lakshmi made many groves, gardens, lakes, and tennples." Prinsep has given the last as " inany other extensive works," but the term in the original is devalayatanesbucha, "and temples," deválaya being one of the common. est names for a temple of any kind. In the 27th verse the great temple to which the inscription was attached is said to have been dedicated to Shiva by the rája, while the queen built another fane to Párbati. In the next verse they are described as "two divine temples" (sura-griha); and in the 32nd verse it is stated that the god and goddess were worshipped together under the title of devapalli. This then must be the origin of the name of dewal, and the great temple mound to the south of Garh Gdjana must be the remains of the two temples dedicated to devapalli. In the inscription Rája Lalla calls himself the nephew of Måns Chandra Pratapa, and the grandson of Vira Varmma, who is said to be of the race of Chhindu, and descended from the great Rishi Chyavana. This holy sage is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana as having married Sukanya, the daughter of Saryâti, the son of Manu. He is also noticed in the Bhag. avata and Padma Puranas as appropriating a share of the marriage offerings to the Aswini Kumåras, which entailed the quarrel with Indra ; that is alluded to in verse four of the inscription. The family therefore was reputed to be of ancient descent; but if Vira Varmma, the grand- father of Lalla, was the first rája. The establishment of the dynasty can- not be dated earlier than A.D. 900. Now the Bachhil Rajputs claim descent from Raja Vena, whose son was Virát, the reputed founder of Barikbár or Virát chera, and who I believe to be the same as Vira Varmma of the inscription. To Rája Vend, or Ben, is attributed the erection of the great forts of Garhakhera and Sáhgarh ; and to his queen, Ketaki Ráni, is assigned the excavation of the Ráni Tal at the old town of Kabar Garh Gojana, and the temples of Dewal were built by Rája Lalla. The town and fort of Mardori are attributed to Moradhwaj and Barkhere to Harmal Rája; but neith of these names appears in very imperfect and scanty list of their family which the Bachhils now possess. "It is admitted by every one that the Katehriyas succeeded the Bachhils, but the Katehriyas themselves state that they did not settle in Katehar until Sambat 1231, or A.D. 1174. Up to this date, therefore, the Bachhil iájas may be supposed to have possessed the dominant power in eastern Rohilkhand beyond the Rámganga, while western Rohilkhand was held by the Bhidar, Gwdia, and other tribes, from whom the Kateh- riyas profess to have wrested it. Gradually the Báchhil: must have retired before the Katehriyas, until they had lost all their territory to the west of the Deoha or Pilíbhít river. Here they made a successful stand, and though frequently afterwards harried by the Muhammadans, they still managed to hold their small territory between the Deoha river and the + Archaeological Tour, Volume I., pago 356. ​242 KHE primeval forests of Pilibhit. When hard pressed they escaped to the jun- gle, which still skirts their ancient possessions of Garh Gajana and Garha Khera. But their resistance was not always successful, as their descend- ants confess that about 300 or 400 years ago, when their capital Nigohi was taken by the king of Delhi, the twelve sons of Rája Udarana, or Aorana, were all put to death. The twelve cenotaphs of these princes are still shown at Nigohi. Shortly after this catastrophe Chhavi Rand, the grandson of one of the murdered princes, fled to the Lalchi jungle, where he supported himself by plundering; but when orders were given to exter- minate bis band, he presented himself before the king of Delhi and obtained the district of Nigohi as a Jágtr. This place his descendant Tarsan Singh still holds, but the Jágír is reduced to the town of Nigohi with a few of the surrounding villages. “The Gotracharya of the Bachhil Rajputs declares them to be Chan- dravansis , and their high social position is attested by their daughters being taken in mar by Chat nis, Ráthors, and Kachhwáhag. Accord- ing to Sir H. Elliot, Bichhil zamindars are found in the districts of Aligarh and Mathura, as well as in Budaon and Shahjahánpur of Robil- kband. But the race is even more widely spread than the Gangetic Bachhils are aware of, as Abul Fazl records that the part of Aramraj (in the Peninsula of Gujarát) is a very strong place inhabited by the tribe of Báchhil.' Of the origin of the name nothing is known, but it is probably connected with bachhna, to select or choose. The title of Chhindu, which is given in the inscription, is also utterly unknown to the people, and I can only guess that it may be the name of one of the early ancestors of the race." The history of the Bachhils is a comparative blank till the seventeenth century. We can only conjecture that they reigned at Nigohi over the country now included in parganas Muhamdi, Paggawan, Atwa Piparia, Bhúr in Oudh, with Barágáon and Shahjahanpur in that district of the North-Western Provinces. On the east they had for neighbours the Abbans who will be afterwards referred to; on the west the Katehriyas whose capital in this neighbourhood was Pawáin. No Musalmans had as yet made any permanent settlements in the place; all their establishments are of later foundation. Tughlaq Shah had passed through on his way to Khairigarh in 1379. Firoz Shah laid waste the whole country to revenge the massacre of the Governor of Budaun by the Katehriyas, and it was doubtless on this occa- sion that Nigohi was captured. They still relate themselves the fearful effects of the emperor's raid when 365 of their forts were levelled, and as the Musalman historians state that 23,000 of the inhabitants were carried into slavery, the fact is not improbable. The country became a wilder- ness over which the Bachhils, now barbarous moss-troopers, exercised a precarious sovereignty. Bilgrám in Hardoi was probably the nearest town boasting any appearance of civilization. The sites of Shahabad, Muhamdi, Aurangabad were then covered with forest. In 1556 the Sayyads of Barwar obtained the grant of the latter place, so called from being hid in the forest. Another indication of the wild nature of the country is ​КНЕ 243 derived from the affix to Barwar, this pargana is known in the Mughal revenue records as Barwar Anjána, the unknown Barwar. The history of the Barwar Sayyads, who displaced the Báchhils from the pre-eminence in Western Kheri, will be deferred for the present. We must follow the for- tunes of the Bachhils. In Shah Jahán's reign a Bachhil chief held possession of Barwar par- gana and also of Kamp Dhaurahra, which lies along both banks of the Chauka, and includes the present parganas of Dhaurahra, Nighásan, and Bhár. The emperor Shah Jahán sent the Báchhil leader to reduce some rebels in Karra Mánikpur. He defeated them, and returning rapidly to Delhi entered the presence with the blood stains of battle yet upon his clothes. The courtiers were shocked, but Shah Jahan addressed him with the title "Beta Chhípi Khan," which means "my son, you gore-besprinkled chief." The Bachhil retained his authority for some time, but his dominions, how- ever extensive, must have been mostly a wilderness. His fort at Kámp in pargana Bhúr, whose brick walls still remain on a bluff overlooking the Chauka, was not much larger than the houses of many a village owner. The site was well chosen, the ground is high: it is defended in front by the river, across which extended the forests of Khairigarh to the base of the hills. Behind it still spreads a vast forest from the Chauka to the Kathna. This would protect Chhipi Khan from the assaults of the Governor of Khairabad in which province Barwar, the unknown, was supposed to be situated ; but the whole geography of the locality was but dimly defined. This forest is still one of the most dense, lonely, and malarious in India; for many miles the traveller on an elephant pursues a narrow path through thick sál coppice and timber; here and there an open glade is met with ; but the first large bare plain is met with under the walls of Kámp. Here a few aged mango trees crown the high bank of the river, several old wells, the ruins of a temple, lastly the fort itself, buried in dense under- growth and over-shaded by lofty pípal trees, occupy the space under the forest. The high ground then sinks precipitously beneath; the reaches bordering the river are covered with tamarisk for a breadth of several miles; but in tbe rains the Chauka's swollen current fills the whole channel up to the foot of the works, with a volume of water three miles broad. Beyond are the forests of Khairigarh, and above them the four ranges of the Himalayas, the last, covered with perpetual snow, rise tier above tier to the north. It is not exactly clear what Chhípi Khan's domain included, because the Sayyads of Piháni, who will presently be again referred to, must almost certainly have come in collision with him and probably driven him to Kamp. Here he was besieged by the Chauhán Cnief Chitrgupt, who had come from Rájputána, and under the Emperor Alamgir's orders attacked Chbípi Khán, who had become turbulent. The royal forces took ground between the fort and the river, and blockaded not only the fort but also a redoubt a mile to the west, which was defended with masculine resolution by a dancing girl, Chhípi Khán's mistress. She collected stores, enabled her lover to hold out by secretly sending in supplies for the garrison main- taining her own possession and aiding him. At last after eighteen months' blockade, the imperial general managed to run a mine from the low ​244 KHE grounds into the interior of the fort, the troops broke in from this at night time, and put the sleeping garrison to the sword, killing Chhípi Khan. The usual supplies were that night being forwarded, but the porters who carried them found the fort in the enemy's possession. They fled back with the news, and this heroine of the forest hearing of her lover's death thrust a dagger into her heart. Chhípi Khan had eleven Hindu brothers; their descendants have degenerated to a set of bold and turbulent robbers, one of whom, Bhagwant Singh, distinguished himself much in later Oudh history, and his career is the last sketch from the Bíchhil annals which has survived. During the eighteenth century the Bachhils had lost all their former prestige. The Jángre Chauhans had taken possession of Bhúr to the north, the Rájas of Muhamdi succeeding to the Sayyads of Barwar, had driven them from the cis-Gumti parganas; while Sítal Parshád, the terrible chakladar of Asif-ud-daula, was prepared to crush the chief of any old Chhattri clan who attempted to assert his claims to the leadership of the people.* After the death of Saádat Ali Khan, Bhagwant Singh long crouched in a little fort on the western edge of the same great jungle on whose east- ern border his ancestor Chhípi Khan had built Kámp. This was Atwa, about a mile from the Kathna, another of his ancestor's canal, and in Páruhár, where a third ancestor, as he believed, entertained the Pándu heroes 3,600 years previously. When the great Muhamdi and Mitauli principalities had been broken up, and the reins of administration were relaxed, during the reigns of Nasír-ud-din Haidar and Muhammad Ali Shah, there was nothing to hinder Bhagwant Singh against asserting his claims as a chief. He did it in the time-honoured Indian way by harrying the country and plundering all who would not recognize his ancient lordship of the soil and pay tribute. One belt of land between the Kathna and the Gumti contained many good villages, all bordered by the strip of forest which extends down the banks of the former river: under its shelter the freebooter used to travel with his followers, and emerging from the thickets when he came opposite the residence of some wealthy banker would rob and torture him, pro- bably carrying off the village cattle and the headman himself for ransom. At last he ventured down along the Kathna till its junction with the Gumti, and then crossing the latter river into the jungles of Gopamau and the lauv - less Bangar would carry his raids as far as Sandíla, retreating to the friendly forest in case of pursuit by a powerful force. In 1841 Colonel Low issued special orders for the arrest of this dacoit as he was called, or descendant of a line of kings as he called himself. The chief, during the rainy season, thinking that the Goverment forces would not move out of cantonments, had taken up his quarters at Ahrori, then and now noted for the large numbers of Pásis, skilled in robbery of all kinds, who reside in the sur- rounding jungles. Captain Hollings marched from Nímkhár on the 3rd

  • Şítal Parshad used to cut off the breasts of captive Chhattri wonen lest they should

Buckle young rebels. ​КНЕ 245 July with three Companies of Infantry, reached the rebels' position at mid- night, surprised and stormed their camp with trifling loss. The band fled, and the sepoys dispersed to collect the plunder. Unfortunately there was throughout this pargana, and every part of the Bangar, a confederacy for robbery which embraced all the able-bodied inhabitants of each village. This militia of banditti was prepared to help any member assailed, and to turn out on hearing a shot fired. It was called the gohár. The contin- gents from several villages rapidly assembled on hearing the firing; they were accompanied by the Pási bowmen, and assailed the dispersed sepoys from every side, firing upon them from behind the trees. They began to retire in disorder. The assailants were joined by a new band from every village they passed; all through the night they pressed upon the troops, and would have annihilated them had not a body of the special police of the Thuggee and Dacoitee Department, which was engaged on duty in the neighbourhood, heard the firing and came to the rescue. The assailants then drew off having inflicted a loss of fifteer killed and wounded, A few months afterwards the owner of this very village Ahrori, who bad bravely defended Bhagwant Singh on this occasion, invited him to his house, treacherously cut off his head, and sent it to the Governor Farid-ud- din with an apology, for having by mistake attacked Captain Hollings' detachment. The widow of Bhagwant Singh-he left no children-now lives in a little hut under the ruins of her husband's fort. She has been decreed by the English courts a right to the adjoining hamlet of Atwa, with about 100 acres of cultivated land; and this is the humble ending of the lofty line which asserts for itself a royal genealogy above 100 generations old; and that its first famous ancestor entertained the five Pándus at the dawn of oriental civilization, nearly 2,000 years before our era. The Sayyads—The great Sayyad family must now be treated of, although: in point of time their connexion with the pargana of Barwar and this dis- trict commenced long before the events last narrated. Alím-ud-dín, the eleventh son of Sayyad Kamál of Kaithal in Saharan- pur, is alleged to have settled in Kanauj in the reign of Alá-ud-din Ghori, More probably in the reign of Firoz Shah Khilji, or Muhammad Tughlaq. Shah, many of whose achievements have been popularly ascribed to Ala- ud-dín Ghori. See Khairigarh article. At any rate as only eight generations elapsed between Alím-ud-din and his descendant Abdul Ghaffár, a con- temporary of Humáyun's (1531-1554 A.D.), it is clear that the former could not have lived in Alå-ud-din Ghori's time, 1242-1246 A.D. We are told also that Alá-ud-din conquered Kanaaj. It is probable, therefore, that he accompanied the tyrant, Muhammad Tughlaq when he sacked Kanauj, 1342 A.D., a date with which the family-tree would correspond. For eight generations the Sayyad family held the post of qázi in Kanauj, and at the date of the battle of Bilgrám, near Kanauj, 1540A.D. Abdul Ghaffar was qazi. He had a younger brother Abdul Muqtad. After Humáyún was expelled by Sher Shah, and took refuge with Shai. Tuhmásp of Persia it is alleged that the latter called on Sher Shah to 32 ​246 KHE state wlay he usurped the throne which belonged properly to the Mughal. Sher Shah in return collected various statements from nobles of India proving that Humáyún was not a true believer, Abdul Ghaffar was required to send a similar statement. He refused to do so, and to escape Sher Shah's vengeance he left Kanauj, and concealed himself in the jungles on the opposite side of the Ganges, where Piháni , now stands. In 1555. Humáyún returned, and Abdul Ghaffár from his hiding place seat a letter of congratulation. Humáyún gave him five villages rent-free in parganas Pasgawan and Pindarwa,* also 5,000 bíghas of the jungle in which he bad found shelter. This spot was therefore called Piháni - Pinhani meaning concealment,—and a town founded in the forest clearing, Ghafúr Álam was the son of Abdnl Muqtadi. He was sent to the Qázi- ul-Quzzát of Delhi as a pupil. He made great progress, and was brought before the Emperor Akbar, who niade him tutor to Jahángír, and was so pleased with the latter's success in his studies, that he entitled his pre- cepter Nawab Jahán, and made him sadr or chief mufti of the empire. It is possible, however, that this promotion was due to Sadr Jahán's conversion to the new religion of which Akbar was the high priest, and into which Sadr Jahán led bis two sons. Of him Budaoni says :- “During the Muharram of 1004 A, H., Sadr Jahan, mufti of the empire, who bad been promoted to a commandership of one thousand, joined the divine faith, as did also his two over-ambitious sons, and having taken the Shait of the new religion, he ran into the net like a fish, and got his bazári- ship He even asked his majesty what he was to do with his bread, when he was told to let it be." The Sadr was the fourth officer in the empire. He was the highest law officer. He was administrator-general and inquisitor into religious opinion. Sadr Jahán continued to serve under Jahangir—a proof, if any was needed, that the latter emperor shared the free-thinking views of his father, or he would never have allowed the official guardianship of the purity of the faith to be held by a pervert: Sadr Jahán is stated by Jaħángîr in his memoirs to have prayed beside the bedside of the dying Akbar; but this is probably a fancy sketch drawn by tilial piety; it possibly has its origin in fact, and may be given bere, introducing as it does a great Oudh noble. "On his arrival I placed Sadr Jahán on both knees by my father's side, and he commenced reciting the creed of the faithful. At this crisis my father desiring me to draw near threw his arms about my neck, and addressed me in the following terms :- My dear boy (bába), take this my last farewell, for here we never meet again. Beware that thou dost not withdraw thy protecting regards from the secluded in my harem; that thou continue the same allowance for subsistence as was allotted by myself. Although my departure must cast a heavy burden upon thy mind, let not the words that are past be at once forgotten. Many a vow and many a covenant have been exchanged

  • Mastipur in Pasgawan Barkherwa and Narukbera io Pindarwa, Basara ia Alamnagar.

Blochman's Aia-i-kbari, pages 208, 209, ​KHE 247 between us; break uot the pledge which thou hast given me; forget it not. Beware! Many are the claims which I have upon thy soul Be they great or be they sınall, do not thou forget them. Call to thy remem- prance my deeds of martial glory. Forget not the exertions of that bounty which distributed so many a jewel to my servants and dependants. When I am gone, do not thou forget me, nor the afflicted in the hour of need. Ponder word for word on all that I have said ; do thou bear all in mind, and again, forget me not.' “ After expressing himself as above, be directed Sadr Jaban once more to repeat the Kelmah, and he recited the solemn text himself with a voice equally loud and distinct. Ile then desired the Sadr to continue repeating by his pillow the sourah neish, and another chapter of the Koran, together with the adeilah prayer, in order that he might be enabled to render up his soul with as little struggle as possible. Accordingly Sadr Jahan had finished the sourch neish, and had the last words of the prayer on his lips, when with no other symptom than a tear drop in the corner of his eye, my noble father resigned his soul into the hands of bis Creator." Sadr Jahán's tomb is in Piliáni: it was completed in 1651 A.D. His descendants held high office under the Mughal emperors. Like his masters, Akbar and Jahángír, he had married Hindu wives, by one of whom, Párbati, a Brahmani, he had Murtaza Khan and Irtiza Xhan. Murtaza Khan was faujdar of Gopaman,* and Irtiza Khan held the more important charge of the Rantambhaur fort. Badr Jahíín, another son, held both Barwar and Kheri in rent-free tenure. Of this fact there can be no doubt. Not only do the family, archives confirm it, but it is admitted by the present owners of Kheri, who have risen on the ruins of this great principality stretching from the Ganges to the Gogra. The estate must have been broken up before 1707 A.D., the date of a túmár or rent-roll of pargana Kheri, when it had been brought on to the revenue-paying register. After the death of Chhippi Khan, already mentioned, the management of Barwar was entrusted to Muqtadi Khan, grandson of Murtazá Khan. He proceeded to Barwar, and built a large quadrangular fort there on the ruins of a Bhar or Báchhil stronghold of older date. He greatly enlarged the estate during the reign of Alamgir. He kept the Ahban Řája of Mi- tauli, a Hindu, in prison for twelve years, pressing him to sign a deed of sale of estate in his favour. Báz Khan, Ahban of Bhúrwára, who belonged to the Musalman branch of the family, was summoned to Delhi by the Emperor Aurangzeb to give security for the revenue due on his estate. The Ahban, a rural magnate, unfamiliar with the ways of courts, applied to his more polished neighbour, the Sayyad of Barwar, for advice. The latter promised himself to be security, and the pair travelled together to Delhi. Arrived there, the crafty Sayyad made excuses for not immediately furnish- ing the security. The imperial officials threatened the Ahban with im- prisonment, the Sayyad insidiously advised him to abscond for a short time till he could complete arrangements which would satisfy the revenue • Shah Jahan's farman, 2050 A. H. ​248 KHE authorities. The lord of Bhúrwåra fled from Delhi, and his friend applied for and received the estate which had belonged to the absentee. The usurper beld it for generations. He was an able and active man. He co- vered the estate with forts at Ahmadnagar, Kheri, Bel, Muhamdi, Siáthu, Muhammadabad, Barkbár, and other places. He died about 1683 A.D., and was succeeded by Sayyad Khurram, who removed the family residence to Aurangabad, a more central position, as the estate pow included Bhúr- wára and Kheri, lying far east of Barwar. He died in 1709, and on his decease this overgrown barony was reduced by the severance of Kheri, which was restored to the original zamindars. And now occurs a romantic event in the annals of this house which resulted in the downfall of the family, and the elevation upon its ruins of a member of that very Ahban lineage which it had so treacherously and tyrannously robbed. Dán Sáh was the Abban chief of Badiagaon in Gopamau of the Hardoi district. He had married his daughter to a Sombansi, and her to sons, Badar Singh and Bahadur Singh, were staying with their maternal grand- father in A.D. 1700. In that year Sayyad Khurram, who had bought up some claim upon a grove in Badiagaon on purpose to embroil himself with his weaker neighbour, attacked the village and murded every one he found except the two boys whom he carried prisoners to Aurangabad. Bahadur was released, but Badar Singh became a convert to Islám, was named Ibádulla, married to a natural daughter of his patron, and being an able man was made general manager and leader of his troops. Muhammad Ali, the eldest son, succeeded Sayyad Khurram in 1709 A.D. He was the son of one wife. Another younger one was a Hindu mahájan's daughter, whose affections Sayyad Khurram bad secretly won, and who abandoned her religion and her father's house to marry her lover. The father complained, and Khurram had to purchase his consent with a lac of rupees--a proof that Aurangzeb's bigotry did not interfere with the fair administration of justice. Her son, Imám-ud-din Khan, claimed a share in the estate, instigated by his mother and by Ibádulla Khan, who being also a Hindu by blood made common cause with her. The estate was at once filled with tumult and disorder, the brothers at open war, and each barrying whatever villages took part with or paid revenue to his opponent. No revenue could be collected, and Muhammad Ali, thinking that the old dowager, who had instigated the rebellion, and who was the mistress of great hoards which she had accumulated, should contribute to its expenses, coufined her in a small hotroom till she should pay up, meanwhile dismiss- ing her ally Ibádulla. The latter came at night, dug through the wall of the lady's prison, released her, and the two, along with her son, fled to Delhi (1726 A. D.) They applied to the Emperor Mubammad Shah, and with the aid of the Subahdar of Oudh, Saádat Khan,* the estate was given to Imám-ud-din Khan, after two years' solicitation and heavy expenditure. While the old lady lived, Ibádulla, seemingly influenced by their common nationality, was faithful to her interests, but she died in 1729 A.D. Then Ibad-

  • " Brigg's Sair-ul-Muta-akhirín." ​KHE

249 ułla secured the favour of Raja Newal Ráe, the Oudh díwán, by assent- ing to the latter's getting Barkhár in Muhamdi pargana as jágír; and Newal Ráe aided him to gain possession of the entire estate, ousting the sons of Sayyad Khurram, who se descendant, Nashigar Ali, now holds six villages in Aurangabad and Pasgawan. Ibádulla did not wish to remain in Aurangabad, the scene of his treachery. He removed to Muhamdi, where he enlarged and strengthened the fort so that it was able to offer a show of resistance to a British army.* He had obtained from Delhi the title of Rája and of Khan. Ibádulla Khan died in 1737 A.D.; his son and successor Mahbub Ali Khan in 1742; the latter's brother in 1752, and a son of Mahbúb Ali Khan, Ghulam Muhammad, succeeded. Daring this time the great estate, still including Muhamdi, Aurangabad, Magdapur, Barwar, Pasgawan, Aliganj, Haidarabad, Kukra Mailáni, Karanpur, Alamnagar, was undi- vided. Ali Akbar Khan, the third and last surviving son of Badar Singh, was enraged that his nephew, a mere boy, should be preferred to him. It was the custom of the Chhattri brotherhood, to which his father origi- nally belonged, that the brother should succeed if an adult and able in mind and body to the headship of the family, rather than the minor son, who would be incompetent for the charge. The uncle now complained to the Sombansi kinsmen, who had been settled by successive rájas in the pargana of Muhamdi. Some of these men, who lived in Waini Rájapur, a large village three miles north of Muhamdi, listened to the crafty uncle's appeals to their zeal for ancient Hindu custom. They came at night and murdered the nephew in the fort at Muhamdi (1757 A. D). Again did a widow appear in the dark scene, the mother of the murdered prince; but instead of flying to Lucknow, she collected forces and defeated Ali Akbar Khan in the field. The Hindu party and the Musal- man purists now came to terms, and arranged a peaceful line of succession- namely, that Ali Akbar Khan should manage the estate during his life, and that Ghulam Nabi Khan should succeed. Extraordinary to relate, in 1772, Ali Akbar Khan, of his own accord, abandoned the chiefship and power, which he had held for fifteen years, and, according to promise, transferred the property to Ghulam Nabi Khan. The uncle survived for five years after his abdication. During his tenure of the ráj foreign invasion had almost put an end to the existence of the family. The Gaurs of Katesar and Chandra, a bold and turbulent clan (see Láharpur and Dhaurahra), had overthrown the great ráj of Mitauli, and caused its occupants to skulk for fifteen years in the jungle at Paasár on the Kauriála; they had fought and beaten the Názim of Khairabad, had driven out the Chauhans from Saádatnagar, and had gradually spread since their first arrival in Oudh (1653 A. D.), tili they now pressed upon the great Muhardí ráj, all along its southern border in Pasgawan and Alamnagar. About 1180 A. H. (A. D. 1766), they rushed to the attack, rightly judging that the Rája of Muhamdi , sup- ported by hired levies alone, would be no match for the fierce bands of • Ball's History of Mutinies, II., page 838. ​250 KHE Chhattris united at once by common interest and a common origin, by one blood and one faith--

  • One past of old renown.”

Ali Akbar Khan was defeated in the first battle. He appealed to the Nawab of Fatehgarh, Ahmad Khan Bangash, who had left a great pame as a warrior throughout the middle half of the eighteenth century. Aid was sent, and Ali Akbar, coming from Fatehgarh with his allies, again fought the Gauts near Maikalganj on the road from Sitapur to Sháhja- hanpur. The gathering of the north Oudh clans in this great struggle of Musalman against Hindu was such that the ground was covered thick with elephants' ordure, and on the space so fertilized a village rose, still existing, which from the circumstance was named Lidiána. Again the Gaurs won. Raja and Nawab had no chance against the free men of the Chhattri commonwealth. Ali Akbar fled northwards towards Pilibhít where he begged aid from the Rohillas of the Dubb. This race was then in the height of their prosperity. Five years previously they had fought on the victorious side with Ahmad Shah, Daurâni, at Panipat, and crushed the great Hindu revival of the Mahrattas south of the Ganges. They were not likely to look on quietly while a Chhattri clan mastered all north Oudh, soon to carry the war doubtless into the borders of Rohil- khand. They joined the Rája of Muhamdi, and fought the Gaurs at the town of Mailáni, in one of those open clearings surrounded on every side by many miles of the densest forest which are common in this part of Oudh, The Gaurs were defeated, but they withdrew at once into the woods which covered their rear, and rendered pursuit impossible without the aid of artillery. The Rohillas replaced Ali Akbar Khan in the ráj of Muhamdi, and seized for themselves Khairigarh and Dhaurahra, which they soon abandoned. This raid of theirs, however, was long remembered in Oudh, as they mutilated every image and defiled every temple they met on the march. Ali Akbar Khan is said to have oppressed the legiti- mate Sayyad descendants of Khurram, but the only instance of oppres- sion related is, that in one of his raids having captured an exquisitely beautiful Káchhi girl belonging to the Sudra tribe, he gave her in mar- riage to Najábat Ali, a Sayyad of pure blood, at the latter's earnest request. He thereby contaminated the spotless blood which as yet had only mixed with Brahmans and Chhattris. Ali Akbar Khan had ten gons by many wives, but most of them died childless. Ghulam Nabi Khan who succeeded in 1189 A.H. (A.D. 1775), was a revenue defaulter—that is to say, that he paid a great deal less money than the Government of Lucknow would like to have received. True, his ancestors had done just the same, and had paid a merely nominal tribute; but things had now changed. The Nawab of Oudh had allied himself with the British, had just beaten the Rohillas, and was now, with the aid of Eng- lish troops, crushing all opposition from among the ancient nobles of the country, Rája Sital Parshád and Ismail Beg, moved out against Ghulam Nabi Khan. The latter could make no resistance, was taken prisoner to Luck​ΙΚΗ Ε 251 now, and died in 1206 A.H. (1792 A.D.). In 1193 A.H. (A. D. 1779), Mansa Rám, the chakladar, arrived at Muhamdi to make the first settlement, The family and relatives of the rája were provided for with small grants of money or land throughout the estate ; they got in all sixteen villages out of more than 900 which had been included in the raj. The rest of it was settled with the muqaddams and military retainers of the Sayyad family. In Atwa Piparia and Magdapur many villages, including ultimately the whole of the former pargana, were given to the Báchhils, the old zamindars. In Bhúrwára, including Haidarabad, Aliganj, Karanpur, Kukra Mailáni, engagements were taken from the Abban proprietors, from the gánúngos of Aliganj, and from Kurmi fraternities, who had been settled in Mámri and adjacent villages a century before by the Sayyads, or who were invited in by Mansa Rárn himself; the latter for much the larger portion. Some Brahmans of Islámabad in Muhamdi, and of Basthauli in Magdapur, claim an earlier and independent descent, but on the whole there is little doubt that this great estate was a true taluqa in the proper sense of the word,—that is to say, that the country was seized by a great noble; that its inhabitants were either killed or reduced to pure villenage, without any rights in the soil, that no such rights grew up by the division of the estate or by sub-infeudations to military retainers. The result of this state of things was political weakness, nay absolute prostration, chronic tumult, avd devastation of the country. There was an absence of all independence, of all relations save those of master and slave, degrading and enervating both. The ráj had uo internal strength, no principle of cohesion; the people as long as they were well governed had doubtless some considerable pride in the greatness and grandeur of their master; they delighted to tell of the number of his elephants, of his cannon, and of his troops; how many thousand guests had been entertained. at his wedding. But this source of loyalty was a feeble one, and further, could only arise where the rája was in the habit of making public pro- gresses through his territory, and exhibiting to his subjects the glitter and pomp which was all they got for their money. The Mubamdi rájas performed no such popular duties; they were not bigoted Musalmans; they mingled too largely with their Hindu brethren and with Hindu women of all castes to retain much fervour for the faith of Islám. Only one small mosque throughout their immense dominions was erected by any of the family in which for many generations were deposited all the wealth and power of a territory equal in size to the country of York. Several rivers intersect their broad lands, but not a bridge was ever built by them. All along the Gumti are high sandy plateaus covered with drifting sands, which only require water to grow green with barley or maize, but no tank or well was constructed for any such humane purpose by the lords of Muhamdi. They built nothing but brick forts, girt with deep ditches and towering turrets, to protect themselves and their servants against an oppressed people. They left no signs on earth save such as signified war with their kind. Twelve years elapsed after the Muhamdi ráj had been overturned before anyone showed any wish for its restoration', then Záhid Ali Khan ​252 KHE and Wahid Ali, sons of Ghulam Nabi Khan, raised a small revolt, but the chakladar, without troubling himself in the matter, simply directed the old zamindars now restored to reduce them. Abdulla Khan, Ahban of Jalálpur, attacked them in the village of Paridih, pargana Kasta, and all the chiefs on both sides were killed. Five villages were awarded as a rent-free tenure to the Jalálpur family as a reward for the bravery shown by its head. Two more sons of Ghulam Nabi now raised another disturbance, but they were seized by Hakim Mehodi, chakladar of Muhamdi, from 1804 (1219 A.H.), and sent in chains to Lucknow.* Again a widow came upon the stage. The mother of the prisoners proceeded towards Lucknow to intercede for her sons. Hakim Mehndi sent for her and arranged for the release of one son, Amán Ali Khan, who swore on the Koran that he would raise no disturbance, and was then grauted a small estate. When Hakim Mehndi was deprived of the chakladarship in 1820 (1236 A.H.), he signed a certificate that Amán Ali Khan had always got two rupees from each village in the old dominions of the family as tribute, and the new chakladar Param Dhan admitted the claim. Amán Ali Khan died in 1837 (1253 A.H.), his son Ashraf Ali Khan succeeded. In 1850, or seven years before annexation, he held only the six villages which had been originally granted by Hakim Mehndi, and if the English had then occupied the country, there would have been no trace except dim tradition of the great Muhamdi ráj ; but in 1851 the weakness of the Lucknow revenue system caused a number of villages to be handed over to taluqdars, and Ashraf Ali Khan engaged as a mere farmer for fifty-five. These he held for five years longer till annexation, and a perpetual sanad from the British Government has now secured him in their absolute possession. The converted Sombansi family acquired the estate by a simple act of fraud and usurpation, in 1734 (1147 A.H.). It held it till 1776 (1190 A.H.), just forty-three years; it was then dispossessed by the Oudh Government. for rebellion. For 78 years (till 1851) it had no concern with the estate in which many other persons acquired in the interval rights recognized by the law. Many jungles were brought under the plough by laborious Kurmis and Pásis; many industrious tenants were settled at great expense by enterprising Brahmans and Baniáns. Again, the rája held for five years ; and fortunately for him in that brief space the country became British territory, and he was made, to his utter astonishment, the proprietor of a large estate. As an evidence of what value this rája placed upon his own rights, it may be mentioned that just before annexation Fida Husen khan, the chakladar's brother, probably having secret intelligence that the days of the Oudh Government were numbered, wished to obtain some titular claim as a proprietor over the estate which he already held as a collector of Government revenue, he applied to the Rája of Mubamdi, who executed a deed transferring all his rights in the pargana of Atwa Piparia contain- • Sleepian's Oudh, IL, page 74. ​KHE 253 ing 64 square miles, and which had yielded Rs. 25,000, for a silver-belted sword*. This occurred in 1855, two years before annexation; Fida Husen Khan did not hold as a proprietor at all, nevertheless he got his name recorded as the owner, and it is now his inalienable property. Ashraf Ali Khan died in 1867, and was succeeded by his son Musharraf Ali Khan, who being heavily embarrassed has placed his estate under the Court of Wards to be relieved from its incumbrances, The Ahbans.-So far I have only given the annals of the old pargana (Barwar), corrresponding now to the tahsil of Muhamdi, and forming the western portion of Kheri. A settlement almost as old as that of the Bachhils was established by the Ahbans of Bhúrwára and Nímkhár, which old parganas are now broken up into Haidarabad, Kukra Mailáni, Paila, Bhúr, Paggawan, besides Misrikh, Maboli, and others in Sitapur. This tract, which occupies the very centre of the district of Kheri, lies south of the river Ul between the Kathna on the west and the Jamwári on the east, and on the south is bounded by an artificial line separat- ing it from parganas Kasta and Kheri. It is a fertile but rather marshy tract through which several sluggish streams take their course. Towards the north Xukra Mailání is yet covered largely with forest which also comes down in strips along the banks of the Kathna throughout the whole extent of this ancient Pargana. It is said to have been originally peopled by Pásis whiuse leader (Bhúrwa) showed the Emperor Alá-ud-din good sport, and was granted the territory with permission to call it Bhúrwára after his own name. They gave place to the Abhan Chhattris who claim a long descent in Oudh, such as no other clan can rival or approach. Their first ancestors in Oudh are stated to have been Gopi and Sopi, two brothers of the Cháwar race, which ruled in Anhalwara Pátan in Gujarát. This tribet is described by Tod as follows:-- “ Chawura or Charra. This tribe was once renowned in the history of India, though its name is now scarcely known or only in the chronicles of the bard. Of its origin we are in ignorance. It belongs neither to the Solar nor Lunar race, and consequently we may presume it to be of Scythic origin. The name is unknown in Hindustan, and is confined, with many others originating from beyond the Indus, to the Peninsula of Saurashtră. If foreign to India proper, its establishment must have been at a remote period, as we find individuals of it intermarrying with the Sooryavansa ancestry of the present princes of Mewar, when this family were the lords of Balabhi. “The capital of the Chawuras was the insular Deobunder on the coast of of Saurashtra, and the celebrated temple of Somnath, with many others on this coast, dedicated to Balnath, or the sun, is attributed to this tribe

  • Sleeman's Tour in Oudh, II., page 79,

t" Rajasthan," Vol J., page 101. 33 ​254 KHE of the Sauras, or worshippers of the sun, most probably the generic name of the tribe as well as of the peninsula. " By a natural catastrophe, or as the Hindu superstitious chroniclers will have it as a punishment for the piracies of the prince of Deo, the element whose privilege he abused rose and overwhelmed his capital. “At all events, the prince of Deo laid the foundation of Anbalwara Patan in Samvat 802 (A.D. 746), which henceforth became the capital city of this portion of India in lieu of Balabhipoora, which gave the title of Balicaraes to its princes, the Balbara of the earlier Arabian travellers, and following them, the geographers of Europe. "This ancient connexion between the Sooryavansi chiefs and the Chawuras or Sauras, of Saurashtra, is still maintained after a lapse of more than one thousand years; for although an alliance with the Rana's family is deemed the highest that Hindu prince can obtain, as being the first in rank in Rajasthan, yet is the humble Chawura sought out, even at the foot of fortune's ladder, whence to carry on the blood of Rama. The present beir apparent of a line of one hundred kings, the prince Javana Singh, is the off- spring of a Chawura mother, the daughter of a petty chieftain of Guzzerat." Local tradition declares that the inroads of the Musalmans compelled these brothers to leave their country and seek a refuge further east. The dates do not correspond with this. Muhammad Qasim, the leader of the first great Musalman invasion, captured Alor, 712 A.D. (93 A.H.); from thence he spread his forces nortlu and south. Deo or Deobuzder was then the capital of the Cháwars; they very probably abandoned it shortly after Qasim's idroad, as they established the great Šáh dynasty of Anhal- wára Patan in Saurashtra, which lasted from 746 to 931 A.D. Now between Sopi and the members of the family now living seventy-six gencra- tions intervenc, according to the more reliable genealogical tree furnished by the Musalman branch of the family, the Hindu branch entering 94 as the number of generations. This discrepancy, of course, throws doubt upon both, but even seventy-six generations, allowing 22 years to each, would carry us back 1670 years or to 200 A.D. At this date the city of Anhal- wára Patan did not exist, or at any rate the Cháwars had notbing to say to it. But as already remarked, tradition is very apt to confuse the events which occurred in different ages to the same family. Even if the exiles had abandoned the country of their forefathers before the nation settled in Anhalwára Patan, still an occasional intercourse with those who remained behind would serve to familiarize them with the new residence of their kindred, while they would naturally be fond and proud of claiming a connexion with the great Balhara race, the supreme monarchs of India, which reigned from Cambay to China. I am disposed to believe confi- dently in the general accuracy of the statement that the Albans are Cháwars and did come from Saurashtra; very possibly there were two emigrations--one in early times from Deobander, another from Anhalwára. After the overturn of the Cháwar dynasty (932 A.D.*) successive waves Tod's Western India. ​KHE 255 of conquest and slaughter swept over the city from its foundation in 1746 to 1298, when Alá-ud-dín, last and blocdiest of its destroyers, levelled every building with the ground. What more natural than that those who fled from each convulsion should follow the path traced out for them by the earlier emigrants, and seek a quiet home among their kindred in the far forests of Oudh. Natural pride would lead them to dwell fondly on the great capital of India fifteen miles in circuit, with its eighty-four squares and eighty-four bazáis,* yielding Rs. 5,000 daily in excise duties, co the world famous temple of Somnáth and all the glories of the Balhara kings; they would then easily forget that the earliest emigration was not from Anhalwára, but from a more obscure place. It is worth while to contrast what the Cháwar race are alleged to have done during the two hundred years they held Aphalwára and the fifteen hundred years during which they held a large portion of Oudh. The following are extracts from Tod's Western India "Anhalpoor was twelve coss (or fifteen miles) in circuit, within which were many temples and colleges; eighty-four chaoks, or squares ; eighty-. four bazaars or market-places, with mints for gold and silver coins. Each class had its separate mohilla or quarter, as had each description of merchandise... , hati-dant, cr elephants' teeth, silks, purples, diamonds, pearls, &c. &c., each laad its separate chaok. There was one bazaar for shrafs, or money-changers; one for perfumes and unguents; one for physi- cians; one for artizans; cne for goldsmiths, and another for silversmiths; there were distinct mchillas for navigators, for bards, and for genealogists. The eighteen burrun or castes iphabited the city. All were liappy together. The place groaned with a multitude of separate buildings for the armoury, for elephants, horses, and chariots, for the public accountants and officers of state. Each kind of goods had its separate mandavie cr mart, where the duties of expert, import, and sale were collected : as for spices, fruits, drugs, campher, metals, and everything costly of home or foreign growth. It was a place of universal commerce. The daily amounts of duties was one lac of takhas. If you ask for water, they give you milk, There are many Jain temples, and on the banks of a lake is a shrine to Seheslinga Mahadeo.

  • This Balhara is the most illustrious prince in all the Indies, and all the

other kings there, theugh each is master and independent in his kingdon, acknowledge in him this prerogative and pre-eminence. When he sends ambassadors to them, they received them with extraordinary honours, because of the respect they bear him. This king makes magnificent pre- sents, after the manner of the Arabs, and has horses and elephants in very great numbers and great treasures in money. He has of those pieces of silver, Tartarian drachmas, which wcigh half a drachm more than the Arabesque drachm. They are coined with the die of the prince, and bear the year of his reign from the last of his predecessor. They compute not their years from the era of Mahomed, as do the Arabs, but only by the years of their kings. Most of these princes have lived a long time, and many of them have reigned above fifty ycars; and those of the country

  • Tod's Western India, 166. ​256

KHE believe that the length of their lives and of their reigns is granted them in recompense for their kindness to the Arabs. In truth, there are no princes more heartily affectionate to the Arabs, and their subjects profess the same friendship for us. “Before we abandon the arch of Anhalwara to time and the Guicowar we may ask,--how has this escaped the general ruin? We can find no motive but its intrinsic beauty to account for its solitary towers, with the pure Hindu kankras and embattled parapets being untouched by Hindu and Toork. I have already said that there remain only the skeleton ribs from the spring to the apex, without a particle of loading; the pilasters supporting these ribs have lost nothing of their perpendicularity, and they are as firmly rivetted to the masonry which supports them as on the day of erection. They are chaste and well proportioned to the arch, and the capitals are purely Hindu, being ornamented with chain festoons, having the vira-gantha war-bell, the most ancient and ge Tal decoration of the columnar architecture of the Jairs (of which faith were the Bal.' haras), suspended by a chain between each festoon, like the columns at Barolli. On each side and about half way up the segment of the arch is the lotus. “We proceed to the other object of interest, the pothi-bindur or library, the existence of which was totally unknown until my visit to it. It is contained in subterranean apartments in that quarter of the new town which has appropriately received the name of Anbalwara. Its position screened it from the lynx-eyed scrutiny of Alla, when he destroyed all that was destructible in this ancient abode." We learn that this race was then distinguished for its maritime enter- prise, for its architecture, for the extent of its conquests, for its humanity; that it was the patron of learned men; that commerce found protection and encouragement from its excellent organization in matters of trade, coinage, and police ; further, that its instincts were peaceful; it sought the welfare of its old subjects rather than the conquest of new lands; and to crown the glories which still glow through the past round Anhalwára and its kings, a great library was founded, and such care was taken for its preservation, with such religious devotion was it regarded by the caste to whom its peculiar care was wisely committed, that even now after the lapse of a thousand years, its treasures are found safely stored in caves beneath the earth ; they have survived alike the march of time and the attacks of the fierce barbarian Alá-ud-din Khilji, who ploughed over the prostrate city-site with asses. What are the Cháwars now? For one thousand years not a single man from their body has risen to distinction except one Rája Lone Singh, who was finally transported for life. The peasant points to no bridge or temple as proof that any single man in their many generations ever cared for the people or the country where he ruled. In fact, they pretend that an ancient sage pronounced a curse upon any of their number who should ever place two bricks together in any building or well. They are illiterate in the extreme; even family pride has not kept alive any interest in the past; not ​KHE 257 one of them can state correctly even his three or four immediate predeces- sors; annually a bard comes from the ancient city of their kings in Sau- rashtra, makes his rounds among them, and recites to dull or sleeping audi- ences annals which should thrill them with pride. The Ahbans are in fine now more bigoted, more deeply plunged in debt, more superstitious, void of enterprise, and uneducated, than the average Hindu peasant in similar circumstances. They are noteworthy for their willingness to deceive, and the ease with which they are deceived themselves is equally notorious; and their history presents too many instances of cunning and treachery combined with Boeotian sluggishness and stolidity. Their ill- luck has become proverbial, and it seems to arise from the fact that they always hesitated about taking sides in civil wars till the contest was almost decided and then took the wrong one. Rája Mán Singh, after the battle of Buxar, having delayed to join his sovereigu till it was too late, presumed to oppose the march of the victorious English with his raw levies, The rája appeared at the head of his warriors swathcd in the huge paijámas or sleeping drawers which are worn in the zanána. At the first charge his troops fled headed by the rája; the latter tumbled from his horse. He was unable to rise being entangled in the cumbrous folds of his dress, and a British soldier transfixed him with a bayonet as he lay on his stomach. The chief of Kukra, Ali Bakhsh Khan, who had built himself a castle in a dismal swamp six miles north of Gola, did not wish to pay land tax to Government, and endeavoured to secure that object by murdering in their beds a number of Government surveyors whom he had received with pre- tended hospitality. But for treachery, cruelty, and suicidal folly combined, Rája Lone Singh claims the pre-eminence. His treatment of the English refugees from Shahjahánpur was in some respects the blackest instance of wickedness and ingratitude which the mutiny presents. But the few events in the obscure annals of this family must now be detailed. It was thought instructive to collocate before the reader accounts of the past and present state of this race. Gopi is alleged to have founded the town of Gopamau, to have held the pargana of that name, to have marr the daughter of some rája of Kanauj, and to bave received forty- two villages as her dowry. His descendants still hold considerable Pro- perty in Bhainsari and neighbouring villages. Sopi, the second brother, settled first in the village of Bhúrwára which lies two miles north-east of Gola Gokarannáth, He conquered the country subduing the Rájpásis, whose dominions then extended from Sandíla to Dhaurahra, and preferred claims to be lords of the soil even in Humáyún's time, one of whose sanads is still extant declaring that they had not proved their title. Rája Nirajdeo, eighth in descent from Sopi, settled in the town of Pataunja, three miles west of Misrikh, in the Sitapur district. It is reported that he was aided in all his affairs by a supernatural being called Aħbáwan. He and the clan ever since bore the name of Ahban. For twenty-six generations the family lived in Pataunja ; then two bro- thers represented it, Alam Sáh and Kunwar Sáh. The latter left the old family castle and settled in Kunwar Danda in Khairabad, which town was founded by a Pási Khaira, the servant of Bhím Sen, the Ahban rája of that ​258 KHE day After eighteen generations Rája Kalián Sáb is mentioned. He had two sons, Narsinghdeo and Janni Bhán. They quarrelled and divided the estate, the former keeping pargana Nímkhár and residing at Mitauli, the latter retiring to Kotwára, two miles south of Gola, close to Bhurwára, the old residence of his ancestors, and exercising authority over Bhúrwára.. Múl Sáh was the son by a second wife of Khan Jahán, fifth in descent. from Jamni Bháit. He was converted to Muhammadanism, and his des- cendants, it is alleged, acquired and retained possession of the whole par- gana of Bhúrwára containing 989 villages. Kala Pahar, nephew of Balilol Lodi, was the missionary of Islám to whose persuasions Múl Sáh. succumbed: in A.D. 1488. Khan Jahan bad an elder son by his first wife. He was ousted as above related; but thirteen generations afterwards his des- cendants, Kesri Singh and others, were allowed to take leases of the Báosi. and other estates which they still hold in pargana Bhúr (Aliganj). Some dubious or contradictory points must now be cleared up. Accord- ing to the above account then, when Akbar ascended the throne of Delhi, there were four families of Ahbans holding estates that descended from Gopi in Gopamau ; second, the offspring of Kunwar Sáh, holding Kunwar Danda in Machhrehta ; third, the main branch of the family, tracing from Narsinghdeo and lords of pargana Nimkhár, containing the six muháls of Sikandarabad, Maholi, Kasta Abgáon, Nímkhár, Misrikh ; 'fourth, the Muhammadan branch residing at Kotwara and holding Aliganj, Haidarabad, Kukra Mailáni. The second may be dismissed with a short notice. Rája Kesri Singh in the early part of Akbar's reign in a fit of passion killed his diwán and was deprived of his estate, when the murdered man's sons appealed to the emperor. As for the third its present representatives pro- duce sanads from Akbar, Shah Jahản, Jahangir, reciting that they were the zamindars and rájas of three parganas, Gopamau, Nímkhár, and Bhúrwára. These sanads, however, are almost certainly forgeries; the pre- sent members of the family admit that Bhúrwára was never their property since the separation and conversion to the Musalman faith of the younger branch. Now this conversion was certainly effected long before Akbar's time. Not only do tradition and history combine to affirm that Kala Pahár converted these Ahbans seventy years before Akbar's time; but the number of gene- rations, seventeen, which have passed away since the change of religion and name, prove that the first convert must have lived in Bahlol Lodi's time or before it. Seventeen generations, allowing twenty-two years to each, will cover 374 years, and that period would carry us back to 1498, only ten years later than the recorded date of the conversion. Further, there were two great chiefs among the Albans. The Mitauli rája when pressed by the Pásis of Maholi (see history of that pargana), who wanted his daughter in marriage applied for aid to his relation, the Abban lord of Pataunja, and the two combined murdered the Pásis when drunk after a feast. Gopaman was held also by the Shekh Chaudhris from Humáyun's time. Therefore the Mitauli rája could not have been actually the master of these parganas; and if he fraudulently obtained a deed recoguizing his mere leadship over the clans, why was not Machhrehta entered, at any rate in the first, as it belonged also to the Ahbans. Fur​KHE 239 ther, the several parganas which were formed out of Bhúrwára and Ním- khár by Todar Mal in Akbar's reign, would doubtless have been entered in any sanads granted by his successors, but they are not evcu named in the documents referred to. Their wording is also most suspicious, and on the whole there is no reason to question the fact previously stated, that Nar- singhdeo's line beld only Nímkhár and not Bhúrwára or Misrikh. The conclusive proof, however, that the Abban ráj did not as represented in the sanads extend over these parganas is derived from the Ain-i-Akbari, a contemporary record. There we find that "various tribes" were the zamindars of Bhúrwára ; that Paila was held by Bachhils, Gopamau by Cliáwars (Ahban) and Bachhils, Nímkhár by Ahírs. Now the Ain-i. Akbari is a record of the state of things as it existed in 993 A. H. (1586 4. D.); it shows no trace of Ahban proprietorship in three out of the four parganas; yet, according to these sanads, Ahbans were the exclusive lords of the soil during the three reigns of Akbar and his successors, who ruled from 1556 to 1658. It is apparent that the Ahbans really held at this time various demesnes scattered over the untry in Gopamau and Bhúrwára. The liistory of the Hindu branch of Mitauli is involved in many uncer- tainties, partly owing to the great stupidity of the family; but still some traditions are sufficiently clear to prove that the state of things recorded in these sanads could not have existed. On the one hand we are told that in 1670, Alamgir sent against the rája a Mughal, Mirza Bahúdur Beg, who coinpelled him to abandon Maholi, and reduced him to a few villages round Mitauli. On the other hand, one tradition states that Mán Singh held the pargana of Misrikh lying south of and beyond Maholi till his death, which took place, as is related above, after the battle of Buxar in 1764. It is probable that the estate was then broken up, or at least that the rája ceased to exercise semi-regal power over the parganas Kasta, Abgáon, Maholi, Nimkhár, and Misrikh, if he ever did do so. But it is more pro- bable that the fall of the Ahban ráj was due to the rise of the Gaurs. Mán Singh's death, fighting against the British, would rather have rendered the Oudh authorities friendly to the family; but four years afterwards in 1768, Gaurs pargana, who under Chandar Sen had entered Oudh in 1707, attacked the Ahbans and drove them from Maholiand Mitauli. Dal Singh was then the head of the family, he having survived Man Singh. The Ahbans fled north, and at last took refuge in the village of Paisár, about four miles east of Dhaurahra on the river Kauriala, where they lay hid in the dense forests and wildernesses of lofty prairie grass, which still skirt the banks of this river. They stayed ten years, till the Gaurs, who had been defeated by the Sayyads in 1773, had to contract their operations and abandon Kheri, Maboli and Kasta Abgáon. Then the Ahbans returned and the property was equally divided as related by Sleeman. In 1821 (1237 A.H.) Param Dhan was chakladar, and Ráe Singh the chief of the Ahbans, but possessing a very small portion of the landed property. Param Dhan had leased the chakla of Mubamdi from the Lucknow Government, bidding three lacs more than Hakim Mehndi. He was of course oppressing the zamindars, and extorting rack-rents from them in order to recoup himself, They had been kindly treated by Hakim Mehndi, the previous chakladar, ​260 KHE who had brought many of them into the country. They looked round for some one to protect them from the graspiug Government, and the ancient lord of the soil seemed the most fitting person. The chakladar was then encamped at Marauncha Ghát on the Chauka. The zamindars laid their views before Khanjan Singh, Ráe Singh's eldest son. He stood up to his knees in the river, and swore on its sacred waters to the zamindars assembled on its banks that he would preserve their rights intact, and never extort from or oppress them. The zamindars then went before the chakladar and declined to take the leases which he offered. Khanjan Singh was given the lease for the three parganas Maholi, Kasta, and Abgaon at a reduced rate, and this advantage he shared proportion- ately among the zamindars, giving them sub-leases on more favourable terms than the chakladar had been offering. The growing power of this Abban lord now rendered him formidable to all his neighbours. To the east his estates were bordered by pargana Paila which is alleged to have formerly been a portion of Bharwara, but at any rate had been separate from it since Akbar's time. It consisted of two estates, Paila proper, of 116 villages, held since 1838 by Thákur Umráo Singh of Mahewa, and Atwa Shankarpur, held since same date by Umráo Singh of Oel, two Jan- wár landowners and cousins of the Rája of Kaimahra (see account of pargana Kheri). The former was acquired by Rája Lone Singh in 1842, and the latter in 1851. The dispossessed Janwárs gathered their forces and defeated Lone Singh in the first battle, capturing two of his cannons, but they were unable to recover the territory lost. Lone Singh acquired the estate of Kukra Mailáni in 1851 from an old widow lady who was then confined in his castle. Similarly he abont the same time acquired many villages in Haidarabad, Karanpur, Aliganj par- ganas. Pareli for instance was a large village paying Rs. 2,000 revenue; the Government collector demanded Rs. 3,000, the owners could not pay this snm; all their bullocks and stock were sold, and the lands became waste, Lone Singh then offered Rs. 1,000 and got the village put into his estate. Similarly he acquired Mámri in Haidarabad, and even severalvillages in Mag- dapur on the bank of the Gumti. Sleeman now writes of him as follows: “Lone Singh, who visited me yesterday afternoon, with a respectable train, has in this, and other ways less creditable, increased his estate of Mithouli from a rent-roll of forty to one of one hundred and fifty thousand rupees a year, out of which he pays fifty thousand to Government, and he is considered one of its best subjects. He is, as above stated, of the Abban Rajpoot clan, and a shrewd and energetic man, The estate was divided into six shares. It had formed one under Rajah Davey Singh, whose only brother, Bhujun Singh, lived united with him, and took what he chose to give him for his own subsistence and that of his family. Davey Singh died without issue, leaving the whole estate to his brother, Bhujun Singh, who had two sons, Dul Singh and Mán Singh, among whom he divided the estate. Dul Singh had six sons but Man Singh had none. He, how- ever, adopted Bhowani Singh, to whom he left his portion of the estate. Dul Singh's share became subdivided among his six sons; but Khunjun Sing, the son of his eldest son, when he became head of the family, got together a large force, with some guns, and made use of it in the usual way ​KHE 261 by seizing upon the lands of his weaker neighbours. He attacked his nephew, Bhowani Singh, and took all his lands, and got, on one pretence or another, the greater part of those of his other relatives. "He died without issue, leaving his possession and military force to. Lone Singh, his brother, who continued to pursue the same course, In 1847, he, with one thousand armed men and five guns, attacked his cousin, Monno Singh of Mohlee, the head of the family of the fourth son of Dul Singh, killed four and wounded two persons, and in collusion with the local governor seized upon all his estate. Redress was sought for in vain.* At annexation Bhúrwára, with all Lone Singh's property, was included in the Muhamdi district, and although the rája's claim to most of this. estate was absolutely nothing beyond a usurpation dating from a very few years back, his position was hardly at all disturbed. Of his fifteen hundred villages and hamlets about seventy were restored to the original owners, the rest were granted to the rája. Notwithstandiug the lenity, or rather the partiality with which he was treated, Lonc Singh took an active partagainst Government in the mutinies, and for a sum of Rs. 8,000, actually sold the fugitives from Shahjahanpur to the Lucknow rebel authorities, having kept them in chains previously ncar his fort. He was seized, condemned to transportation for life, and, the entire estate forfeited. His fort though strong offered no resistances and flight to the Kukra jungles was his only resource. The estate war made over to loyalist grantees, and they still hold or have transferred thei, rights to others. Captain Hcarsey, Mrs. Orr, the Raja of Mahmudabad Mirza Abbás Beg, the Rája of Kapurthala, are the present possessors, not one of whom resides upon the estate, and the people are apt still to regret the overthrow of the great rája with his hundred elephants, who kept such state in Bhúrwára and Nimkhár. The pedigrees of both branches are abstracted in the accompanying family tree. It will appear that Lone Singh claimed ninety-five generations of ancestors between himself and the first colonist, Sopi. It is very probablo that much of this gencalogy, just like the title deeds, was manufactured to gratify the pride or aid the intrigues of the lord of Mitauli. The Hindu linc, it will appear then, has now been almost utterly pros- trated. I now revert to the history of the converts. In Alamgir's reign the Musalman branch of the family received very bad treatment. Báz Khan, who seems to have been even more simple than most of his line, was its head. His neighbour of Muhamdi, Sayyad Muqtadi, deprived him of the Bhúrwára estate as has been related above (sec account of the Sayyads of Barwar). The Sayyad and his successors, the Rájas of Muhamdi, held the pargana of Bhúrwára till 1200 A.H. (1785 A.D.), when the Muhamdi ráj was over- thrown, but the estates were not returned to their owners. Báz Khan and his brother Fateh Khan had left numerous descendants. The former had twelve sons, of whom eight left no issue. From one of the other four des cended Muhammad Husen Khan, who was the head of the family when

  • Siceman's Tour, Vol II., Dagce 97-99.

34 ​262 KHE General Sleeman passed on his tour through Oudh, and his account of the clan may be given here. “The estate through which we have been passing is called Bharwara, and contains the sites of nine hundred and eighty-nine villages, about one- tenth of which are now occupied. The landbolders are all of the Ahbun Rajpoot tribe; but a great part of them have become Musulmans. They live together, however, though of different creeds, in tolerable harmony; and eat together on occasions of ceremony, though not from the game dishes. No member of the tribe ever forfeited his inheritance by changing his creed. Nor did any one of them, I believe, ever change his creed, except to retain his inheritance, liberty, or life, threatened by despotic and un- scrupulous rulers. They dine on the same floor, but there is a line marked off to separate those of the party who are Hindoos from those who are Musulmans. The Musulmans have Mahommedan names, and the Hindoos Hindoo names, but both still go by the common patronymic name of Ahbuns. The Musulmans marry into Musulman families, and the Hindoos into Hindoo families of the highest castes-Chouhans, Rathores, Rykwars, Janwars, &c. Of course all the children are of the same religion and caste as their parents. They tell me that the conversion of their ancestors was effected by force under a prince or chief called Kala Pahar. This must have been Mahomed Firmally alias Kala Pahar, to whom his uncle Bheilole, king of Delhi, left the district of Bahraetch as a separate inheri- tance a short time before bis death, which took place A.D. 1488. This conversion seems to have had the effect of doing away with the murder of female infants in the Ahbun families who are still Hindoos; for they could not get the Musulman portion of the tribe to associate with them if they continued it, " The estate of Bharwara is divided into four parts-Hydrabad, Hurun- poor, Aleegunge, and Sekunderabad. Each division is subdivided into parts, each held by a separate branch of the family; and the subdivision of these parts is still going on as the heads of the several branches of the family dic and leave more than one son. The present head of the Abbun family is Mahomed Hussan Khan, a Musulman, who resides in his fort in the village of Julalpoor, near the road over which we passed. The small fort is concealed within, and protected by a nice bamboo-fence that grows round it. He holds twelve villages rent-free as nankar, and pays revenue for. all the rest that compose his share of the great estate. The heads of families who hold the other shares enjoy in the same manner one or more villages rent-free as nankar. These are all well cultivated, and contain a great many cultivators of the best classes such as Koormees, Lodhies, and Kachies." Muhammad Hasan Khan's sons held at annexation forty-two villages comprised in the estate of Jalálpur, Bhúrwára, Bargadia. Another son of Tarbiat Khan's left many descendants, but one of them held two villages and the others none at all, From a third son was descended Madár Bakhsh, who left an estate of some twenty villages with his headquarters at the old family residence of Kotwára. But the family tree showing a few of the more prominent members is given at the end of this account, + Sleeman's Tour, Vol II., pages 97—99. ​KHE 263 and the broad facts of the tenures will be apparent from it. It has several points of interest. One is that none of these estates were given to the present proprietors as owners; if so, there would have been some principle of division, either equal shares, or the elder son would have got a large propor- tion. But the largest estate, that of Kotwára, belongs to the scion of a younger branch, and nany of the family have no landed possessions at all. AII over the pargana different members of the family had their residences, and it seems to bave been an understood thing among them that each should get as many villages as possible in his own neighbourhood under his control, and that the others should not interfere. So Fateh Khan's des- cendants settled in the north of the Haidarabad pargana at Gola and Kukra, and they acquired between 1821 and 1832 more than three quarters of their estates, all lying near Gola. Bahadur Khan's descendants all settled in the little pargana of Sikan- darabad (now included in Haidarabad), and they have no villages beyond its borders; they acquired the whole estate between 1821 and 1832, 23 did the descendants of Sangi Khan, the owners of Jalalpur, Bhúrwára, aud Kotwára; the two former in Aliganj and the latter in the south of Hai- darabad, but their villages also clustered round their residences. The reason of this restoration of the family was not that their just ancestral claims were recognized, but the establishment of the estates was due to the general disorder which ensued when Hakim Mebadi in 1820 lost the chakladarship, the lord lieutenancy in fact of Muhandi, Khairabad, and Babraich, and was succeeded by the Lucknow Kayath Param Dhan. This man did not reside in the district, he was not of the military profession, and he found it absolutely necessary to acquiesce in the occupation or usurpation by the resident gentry of any villages wbich suited thein. But the Abbans, although they seized upon these villages wholly, without title or right, when once a generation had passed in possession were eager to assert a proprietary tenure, and to divide the estate among the children after the strictest rules of ancestral property as is apparent from passages already quoted from Colonel Sleeman. As will appear further the Hindu branch of the family likewise divided the property according to ancestral shares among the entire fraternity in the eighteenth century; and since annexation the only large proprietor among the Hindus, the chief of Bánsi, has recognized the title of his uncles and cousins in a similar way. There is no doubt that the results have been unfortunate. The owners of Bhúrwára, Kukra, of Siáthu, of Bánsi, Saukhia Sansárpur, all mortgaged or sold, the greater part of their estates in the ten years preceding annexation, and for very inadequate sums--all of these transfers were effected under pressure, some under mere personal restraint, others as Siáthu only, when the owner had been subjected to violence and threatened with death, One great taluqdar, the Rája of Oel, swallowed up Bhúrwára, Chaurethia, Sikthu , another, Lone Singh of Mitauli , seized upon Kukra and Mailáni; another, the Thákur of Mahewa, obtained possession of Saukhia Sansárpur and Bánsi. Thus in ten years the Abban family lost sereuty-two villages, of which they have recovered less than one-half through redemption of the mortgages effected by widows and old men who were willing to sign ​264 KHE anything in order to escape from the fetters, the stripes and dishonour to which they were subjected. If the estate of Bhúrwára had remained undivided up till annexation, it would have escaped the ruin which ensued in the brief period between Sleeman's visit and annexation; and there is no doubt that it was the dread of divisions and destruction in detail which caused the great Hindu families to adhere to primogeniture for many generations together during times of anarchy and confusion. When there was no law and order maintained by the state, the rája was the sole source of government and protection which existed; in the nature of things that power was indivisi- ble, and in his estates naturally the same unity was maintained ; for no native government was ever strong enough to support itself apart from the strength which belongs to the possession of land. But whenever the function of government was taken up by other hands, and the rája what- ever his title became a mere landed proprietor, then the indivisibility of the estate ceased with the loss of the kiögship with which it was united, The practice of the Ahbans, the oldest clan in Oudh, affords the strongest proof that primogeniture as a rule for the division of landed property was an exotic custom, forced upon the Hindus and Musalmans alike by the absence of an organized government. Sopi. Gopi. Descendants still live in Kuwau Dánda, zila 35 generations intervene. Sitapur. His descendants still in Gopamau, district Kunwar Sáli, Alan Sah Hardoi. | 18 generations intervene. Narsingh Deo. Jeuni Bbán, 42 generations intervene. 7 6 generations intervene. Rája Lone Singh, rebel taluqdar of Mitauli. Kirpál Sáh. Rája Mộl Sáh. 14 generations intervene. 19 generalions intervene, Hardeo Bakhsh of Bársi is now alive. Báz Khan. Rahma Khan. Fateh Khan. 7 generations intervene. Iláhi Bakhsh Khan, now living on Gola estale. Abdul Wahid, talaqdar of Kukra. Sangi Khan. Kishwar Khan, Tarbiat Khao. Baládur Khan, Roshan Khan. Madár Bakhsh Habib-ullah Khan, of Niámat-olla of Bhúrwåra, Kotwira. of Jalálpur, 19 villagea. 18 villages. Lál Khan of Ráepur talaqa, is villages. Salyar Khan, Ghursi estate, 6 villages. Rahim Khan, Amethi estate, 3 villages. ​KHE

265

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The Janivdrs. ^Regarding the Janwars of Kheri, the fourth of the great families above referred to, little need be said. Their annals are to be found in detail in the Kheri pargana article. They take their origin from one Jamni Bhan, who in 1553 obtained the post of chaudhri in Kheri with the right to levy two pice on all the lands in that pargana. His descendants in 1730, then styled " rae," possessed some villages. In 1780 the chakladar gave them many villages, and in 1823 they obtained the pargana of Srinagar consisting of 299 villages. In 1839 their possessions were still further extended, and they obtained 30 villages in pargana Karanpur or northern Paila. At present they are the owners of 330 villages comprising the large taluqas of Oel, Mahewa, and Kaimahra, with a small share in the Lakhrawan estate.

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The Jdngres. The clan claims descent from Chaturbhuj, who is said have come from Jalaun in Alamglr's time and established himself in Dhaurahra; but nothing is known of him or his descendaats prior to Jodh Singh, who, in the seventh generation from Chaturbhuj, held the country now occupied by parganas Dhauraha, Nigh^san, Bhiir, and half of FirozaHe was a proud and defiant man, confident in the strength of his bad. country with deep rivers in front, and the huge forest of the tarai behind, The nazim. Raja Sital Parin which he could at any time take refuge. shad, in 1192 Fasli (1782 A.D.), thought that the time had come when the semi-independent chiefs of north-west Oudh might be reduced the Rohillas, their constant allies, who had several times established a protectorate over this quarter had been crushed, and the opportunity was favourThe threatened rajas combined for mutual defence they were the able. a Jdngre, an Ahban, and a lords of Dhaurahra, Mitauli, and Laharpur, Gaur. They joined their forces and awaited the attack; but thinking that they might gain by advancing, they marched to Tandiaon in Hardoi, lay in ambush there, and completely routed the raja's lieutenant with the loss of to

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nineteen guns.

This enraged the

raja,

who moved

against the rebels with

an immense army ; they made a stand outside Dhaurahra, but were outflanked and commenced a retreat through the town streets, the royal troops The way lay under the walls of Raja pressing on them, but not very fiercely. Jodh Singh's fort. Stung by the thought that his home and hearth would be desecrated by the polluting touch of the Turk, he disengaged himself from the rear of his army, and rushing forward in front of the advancing enemy cried out, " Is there anyone of great birth among you who will cross swords with me." A Sayyad, a valiant warrior, stepped forward. The two closed between the armies ^he Sayyad almost severed Jodh Singh's head from his body, but the dying Chhattri had strength enough to drive his dagger into his foe's heart, and the two fell mortally wounded side by side. They are buried within a stone's throw of each other, and the people still tell with pride of the only heroic deed which they ever heard of.

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The rebel force dismayed by the fall of their champion broke and fled. All day the pursuit continued, till they reached the banks of the Sarda, opposite the fort of Khairigarh. the ferry boats were usekss, and the flying rebels turned desperately at bay; they were driven into the river, and the heads of the chiefs of Laharpur and Mitauli cut off as they struggled in the water. The whole of Dhaurahra and Bhur were never again re-united ​266 KHE under one head. Both apparently were held by the Goverument which made its own arrangement with the cultivators. Several matters of interest may be noted in connexion with the fore- going. It is alleged that the Jángre, Jodh Singh, was invited by the copyholders and tenants to assume the government, because they found the Bisen chiefs tyrannical and exacting. Again, it appears that the rája's authority over the Pargana did not cease when Government assumed the direct management. After Jodh Singh's death his widow, an able woman, a native of Sitapur, was granted three or four villages rent-free as a propi- sion. Bairisál Singh and his son Qalandar Singh, the Bisen rajas, had in vain attempted to recover the estate. Rám Náth Singh, the son of the last Bisen, made a third attempt thinking that there would be no one to resist him, but the ráni collected her forces, met the invader at Nawapur, her- self marshalling her troops on the field, and defeated this last effort made by the Bisens. She gradually recovered a large portion of the pargana, and died in 1833, having acquired also part of Dharmánpur in Bahraich. In 1848 ber successor, Arjun Singh, got the entire pargana, and the estate was forfeited after the mutiny.* The Bbúr estate, which was re-con- stituted after the death of Rája Jodh Singh was nominally subject to the head of the Dhaurabra family; its owners paying them as suzerains an annual bhent or subsidy, about six shillings for each village. The Jángre family has for centuries been noted for the incapacity of its pales. Rája Jodň Singh was not a Jángre; he was adopted by the pre- vious owner who was childless from a Sombansi family in the village of Manda in Firozabad pargana. We have seen that it was his ráni, also not of Jángre blood, who restored the fallen fortunes of the family, and similarly it was the ráni of Ganga Singh who consolidated the Bhúr estate, The present lords of the soil are the four heirs of Ráj Ganga Singh, whose widow, aided by her brother, stoutly contested the re-establishinent of British authority after the mutinies. The Pahori Súrajbans of Khairigarh.- One family still mains to be noticed, the Pahári Surajbans of Khairigarh, which, up to the year 1830 A.D., possessed not a village in British India, and are now the owners of the whole pargana of Khairigarh with the exception of the Government forests. This clan had been driven from their ancient seat in the hills by the Gurkhas about the end of the last century, and after wandering about subsisting on the charity of their fellow Chhattris, or fighting ander the British Government, settled at Basantpar in Bhúr, and at Kalbaria in Khairigarh, which villages had been given them for maintenance, In 1830 they attacked the Banjáras who at that time owned Khairi- garh, and drove them out. These laid their complaint before the Ondh Government. A force was despatched ander the command of the chakladar, and they were for a few years reinstated. Disease, however, broke out among the troops, the chakladar and nearly the entire force perished, and

  • See Dhaurabra. ​KHE

267 the survivors made their escape unmolested by the Súrajbans, who thence- forth held undisturbed possession, of Khairigarh. Buildings.—There are no ancient buildings of much note. The forts of Barwar, Khairigarlı, Mitauli, Muhamdi, Kamp, Balmiár Barkhár, are interesting from their historical associations, but not from their structural features, extent, or military strength. They are more or less in ruins. There are three or four small temples in each pargana, mostly dedicated to Mahadeo, but none of them rank architecturally above petty shrines. They are all a few feet square, and thirty to fifty feet high, built of brick, and covered with plaster effigies. There are no houses, save of the hum- blest kind. The wealthy owners of tracts covering 500 square miles, like the lords of Bhúr, live in wretched mud-walled enclosures, surrounded by their cattle. There are no brickbuilt houses in Mubamdi, there being a popular prejudice against them; a similar prejudice against the use of bricks, either for houses or well-building-exists anong the Albans, who own a large principality here. There are only 129 masonry houses in the whole district. There are several masonry tanks,-one at Dhaurahra uear Kaimabra, built by the grandfather of the Kaimahra rája, but this is in a ruinous condition, and owing to defective construction, never contains any water, There are many (2,634) brick wells; but excluding these, a tank in Kheri is the only permanent work of private or public utility which has been handed down through all the thousands of years preceding the annexa- tion of the province in 1856. Not a bridge, not a road, except a few cart tracts; not a single work for the collection or distribution of water; no markets for the accommo- dation of trade; no schools ; no dispensaries or hospitals; man had simply done nothing for his fellow man through all those centuries except build wells. Labour was abundant, for the inhabitants constructed innumerable brick wells. Some are of enormous size, built by the Sayyad family of Muhamdi, who appear to have been the first civilizers of the district; but the greater part are from twenty to thirty feet deep, about four feet in diameter, and cost about Rs. 400 to construct. Hardly any of them are used for irrigation ; the foundations are being too yielding to admit of the strain caused by drawing up large buckets of water. There are some remarkable ruins at Fateh Kara on the tenth mile north-west of Lakhímpur. They consist of numerous mounds, covered with jungle and blocks of carved stone on the bank of the UL. The principal mound seems to have covered a temple of the sun, a huge repre- sentation of which in four quarters, similar to what Colonel Tod des- cribes as the ornament to the throne room at Udepur, is lying half buried. The capitals of pillars, also of a Chalukia or Rajput type but much defaced by exposure, are also to be seen. A large frieze, about six feet long and twenty inches high, with three sitting and eight standing figures, is in an adjoining village. A head of Buddha with an apsara upon it has somehow escaped attention, and shows considerable expression and free- dom of execution : the whole composition was a very graceful one origi​268 KHE nally. A very peculiar image of the Ardhanári type, but exhibiting a com- bination of symbols unprecedented in my reading or observation, was also discovered. The figure carries the couch shell; the quoit, tho trident, and Nandi is at its feet. These mounds have not been touched : nor indeed have any of the much larger mounds in this district. At Barkhár, in Muhamdi pargana, for instance, some of them are certainly stupas, and it is very probable that a few excavations would be rewarded. Buddhists always buried more or less valuable matter in these buildings, and it might reasonably the expected that Oudh would be as fruitful as other places. Gold coins of the Gupta series have repeatedly been picked up in Bhúrwára and Kot- wára near this place. KHERI Pargana-Tahsil LABHYMPUR— District KHERI.—Pargana Kheri lies between the Ul on the east and the Geographical features. Jamwári on the south-west; artificial boundaries separate it from pargana Paila on the north-west and the district of Sitapur on the south. Its area is 192.69 square miles; its population is 104,916 in 193 villages; its extreme length is 24 and breadth 15 miles. The pargana is roughly divided into two parts. One is an upper plateau which is largely irrigated from jhíls and wells; its level is about 480 feet above the sea ; it contains three quarters of the pargana, nearly all high class loam soil. To the north-cast of this plateau, along its whole length, lies a slope, one or two miles in breadth, of lighter soil, which suddenly sinks into the tarái of the Ul. Further, to the south-east of this plateau the Kewani river has formed a very extensive tarái of first-class land, sepa- rated from the Ul tarái, as far as the borders of this district, by a pro- montory of high land running south-east from the main plateau. This tarái is at a level nearly sixty feet beneath the upper ground; Lakhimpur station being 483 feet above thc sea, and the UI 425 feet. Down the centre of the pargana runs a series of marshy lakes, which collect the water of the plateau which is slightly saucer-shaped. The southern edge is formed by the high bank of the Jamwári, as the northern is by the bank of the Ul. The lakes, commencing with that at Gumchaini, communicate in the rains, and generally there is a slight uniting stream running by Samitha, Atwa, Dharsa, Mahmudabad, Sarain, Samonia, Keshopur to Muhammad- pur, where the channel becomes a perennial stream and joins the Kewa- ni. Unfortunately, however, the outlet is not sufficient, and the overflow from these lakes spreads over a great area, as the lowest point of this plateau is only eleven feet lower than the highest. A part of the water also from these great jhils in heavy rain seeks an outlet through the Lakhim- pur station to the U1, and five persons were drowned or killed by the Hoorls and falling houses in 1870. This series of lakes offers a good situa- tion for small irrigation channels, which will be more required every year. Kheri is well supplied with groves. Water is obtained with difficulty at a depth of 30 feet along the border ridge of the plateau, but easily at a depth of about sixteen feet elsewhere on the plateau, and at eight feet in the tarái. The old pargana of Basára now joined Kheri lies on the west- of the Jam wari. ​KHE 269 Populatiou. The principal castes are as follows:-- Shekhs, Sayyads. Other Musal- mans. Brahwang. Chhattria Banians, Káyaths, 3,278 11,440 10,987 9,158 3,818 factures. Of the above 55 per cent. are agriculturists and 45 per cent. are non- agriculturists. Hindus are 88,920, Musulmans 15,996. Kurmis are the most numerous caste of cultivators, forming 21 per cent of the whole popu- lation ; Brahmans, Chamárs, Pásis, come next. There are 3,158 Chhattris, mostly Janwárs of mixed blood; but the ownership of the soil rests priu- cipally with the pure bred Chhattris, about twenty of whom hold 138 villages out of 161 in Kheri proper, and two, the chiefs of Oel and Mahewa, hold 130 out of the 193 in the joint pargana. There is a small local traffic in grain and a considerable settlement Roads, trade, manu- of cotton printers in the town of Del, and of weavers round Amirtaganj. There is one road from Lakhím- pur to Sitapur, another to Gola, and thence to Mu- hamdi, a third to Sikandarabad, and thence to Muhamdi; all three are raised and bridged. The road to Bahraich is not, and none of them are metalled. Antiquities.—There are some curious old wells built of stone, octagonal in shape : one in Salempur close to Lakhimpur. Sayyad Khurd's tomb in Kheri, and the bouses of bis descendants, have evidently been built of materials taken from older buildings; blocks, of kankar, the large bricks 12sed by Buddhists and Bhars, and the common smali bricks being inter. mixed everywhere. There are numerous sites of ancient villages such as Gúm, Ujár, Cumchaini, Salempur. Kheri was the centre of a Pási kingdom; they were not builders like the Bhars, probably not a tank or well now existing was built by them. It is alleged that a large city formerly extended along the bank of the UI to Rangilenagar from Rámpur Gokul. I see no evidence of anything of the kind. There should be some traces of civic subdivisions still surviv- ing in name at &ny rate, such as muhalla or patti, but there are nonc. There have been numerous villages and country-houres here on the high bank of the Ul, formerly a much larger river. The Sayyads held the country from Kheri to Piháni, Barwar and Aliganj, rent-free. They resided here partly, and no doubt spent here a great portion of the revenue which is now drained off annually to Lucknow. History.—History gives us no notice of Kheri prior to the Aín-i-Akbari, but we gather from local tradition that was visited by Rája Janimijai, grandson of the Pándu Arjun, who killed a snake here, or overcame a Scythian chief, as rationalists would interpret the legend. The place is called Surajkund; it is near Deokáli, five miles west from Kheri, and is get the scene of animal worship as it was in Akbar's time and for centuries previously, The name of Kheri is variously derived from Khem Karan, 35 ​270 KHE alleged to have been a companion of Janimijai, or from the abundance of rice and milk (khír), which was produced in this then pastoral country. It contained originally 1,059 villages, of which 299 were taken out and formed into pargana Srinagar, 243 used to make up pargana Dhaurahra, and 527 left; at demarcation these were thrown into 211. Of these 50 more; lying between the Chauka and the Ul, have been since added to Srina- gar leaving 161, and the pargana of Basára containing 32 has been included in Kheri which has now 193 villages. Bisens appear to have been the earliest zamindars, probably belonging to the great Manjhauli family which held Dhauralıra during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and, indeed, seems to have spread right across Oudh north of Sitapur; Játs and Banjáras also held partial proprietary rights. The whole pargava, however, became a part of the great estate formed by the Sayyads of Barwar (see Kheri district article, chapter V.). The position held by the Barwar Sayyads in Kheri during the 18th century is surrounded with much. obscurity. From the pargaba Túmár',* dated 1116 fasli, it appears that one Nawab Mustatab Mualla Alqáb held the whole, contain- ing 1,059 villages as jágír. There can be no doubt from the consensus of tradition that this Nawab, whether rightly or wrongly so called, was Sayyad Karim, who died in 1719 A. D. This document further informs us that of these 1,059 villages 61 were granted rent-free to Sayyads and 40 to old zamindar qanungos. Parbal Singh, Chaudhri, the ancestor of the rájas of Oel and Kaimabra had three villages--Kaimahra, Khogi, and Ocl. Jagraj, his grandson, accord- ing to the family tree, had Dhukwa, in which his descendants now remain. Rae Than Singh, who appears to have been the head of the family, had nine villages, and his two sons, Bhagwant and Mandháta, had two each. A brick fort in Bel near Kaimahra is alleged to have belonged to this family, but the workmanship and architecture of the ruin so exactly resemble those of neighbouring old Sayyad forts in Siáthu and Ahmadna- gar, that I have no hesitation in ascribing it to the Piháni nobles. In all the Janwárs had therefore eighteen villages; one Sayyad Abdul Ghafur had seven villages ; Kurmis and qánúngos had the others. The Bais had one village. The contrast between the then ownership of the pargana and that exist. ing at annexation is interesting. The great estate of Mahewa did not even exist; those of Oel and Kaimahra appear one hundred and fifty years ago as a tiny freehold of four hainlets; while the descendants of the great Sadr-us-sudúr, who then held the whole country from the Gogra to the Ganges, between Sitapur and the hills, now barely exist in penury and obscurity. The power of the Sayyads in Kheri appears to have been first shaken by the Láharpur Gaurs, probably after the death of Sayyad Khur- ram, and the dissensions which then arose. The Janwars relate that in Rája Mán's time they had to fly from the Gaurs: this would be about 1740. The Ahbans also of Mitauli for fifteen years in Parsa of Dhaurahra Pargana concealed themselves from the same fierce foe, who also expelled

  • Támár or Band-i-Túmár is a rolled manuscript or weroll often used for chronicles. ​KHE

271 the bastard successor of the Piháni Sayyad, Ali Akbar Khan, from his whole estate. The latter with aid from the Rohillas drove back the Gaurs, beat- ing them at Mailáni in Kukra Mailáni, but it is not clear that the Piháni chief, now called the Rája of Muhamdi, ever recovered his former footing in Kheri. Under the Sayyad in 1709 A.D., the revenuc of tlie Kheri pargana was it seems Rs. 44,970, of which the kharíf was Rs. 25,359, and the rabi Rs. 19,611 ; only 200 of the 1,059 villages were uninhabited. The rabi crop is now threa times as valuable as the tharíf. The Sayyads seem to have settled the pargana rapidly and well. There are very numcrous remains of this family still in existence. Prior to their occupation another Sayyad, a recent immigrant from Arabia pamed Khurd, had colonized the country. Sanads granted by Humáyün prove that his efforts to dispossess the Pasi zamindais were resisted by the latter, who claimed their right unsuccess- fully at Delhi. Sayyad Khurd held twenty-two villages in jágír, and died in 971 Hijri (1563 A.D.) at a very great age. His tomb is in Kheri, with twenty litics of Persian poetry, cach composing the date. Abdulla, his son, was the Emperor Shah Jahán's tutor, and received 49 villages inore from his pupil. Four generations later the direct male line. failed, but the two collateral Sayyad families had intermarried, and Abd-ur- Rahmán, great-grandson of Nawab Badar Jahán of Pihani, was to have inherited through his mother, the only representative of the Kheri Sayyads being her father Ali Asgbar. But Abd-ur-Ralımán, who was sent to coerce the refractory and insolvent Ját zainindars of Jamkohna, who had 127 villages, returning triumphant to Kheri, the young warrior's standard bearers sang his praises,.--"Great are the Sayyads of Piháni.” The grand- father heard it, and fancying that the glory of the Kheri Sayyads would die out, he forth with married again. He left a son and daughter to whom Aurangzeb decreed the inheritance, leaving only three villages to Abd-ur- Rahmản. Constant subdivisions of the property and the forfeiture of the muafis reduced this family, and none of them now hold any villages although they have subordinate right in several. Nowhere las the gradual encroachment of careful and saving Hindus upon extravagant Musalmans been so marked as in Kheri. The Janyárs of Kheri were originally Chauhán Chhattris who were in the Sayyads' service, but must early have attained distinction : because in 970 Hijri (A.D. 1562), the year before Sayyad Khurd expired, Jamni Bhán, the ancestor of the Jan- wárs, was granted two pice per bigha as chaudhri on all the lands in Kheri so late as 1713 A.D. The head of the family was called Ráe and had only nine villages ; his residence was at Bel. From this humble beginning the Jan várs have become very extensive landlords. In 1870 the chakladar gave them a number of villages. In 1823 they got the whole pargana of Srinagar, consisting of 299 villages, and in 1833 their possessions were still more extended.' About 1843 they got 30 villages in the Paila pargana ; they have now in all about 330 villages. Their own account of their origin may now be given. The Janwars assert that another old family formerly held all these parganas-Kheri, ​272 KHE 2 17 68 4 20 2 13 12 19 11 31 Basára, and Srinagar. The head of this fainily lived at Karanpur in Kheri pargana, and was named Chaudhri Mihmán Sáh: he had a daughter. Hulsa and Maldeo, younger song of Baisinghdeo, Chauhán rája of Múran in Jaipur, after their father's death (in 1537), entered the service of Nawab Badar Jahán, and were sent to reduce the rofractory zamindars of Kheri, which had beon given as jágír to the Sayyads. Hulsa married the only daughter of Mihmán Sáh, and his son succeoded Mibmán Sáh in the proporty whatever it was. The Chauhans took the name of his father-in- law, and based their claim upon the connoction. This story is evidently fictitious, as the Sayyads were not granted Kheri till the 17th century. The elder branch of the family is represented by the rája of Kaimahra, Narpat Singh, thirtoon generations in descent from Hulsa. Rája Ajab Singh, his father's cousin, was the first of the family ennobled, but the title was conferred by the tribes only about forty years ago; the present is the second rája. In 1849 Anrudh Singh of Del was made a rája by the king of Oudh; he is really the head of the clan owing to his great wealth and ability. His property consists of 168 villages as follows:- 75 in pargana Kheri. Srinagar. Paila. Bhúr. Dhaurabra His Government revenue under the new assessmont is Rs. 117,114. The Thákur of Mahewa has a large estate in the same pargana; he holds 113 villages and pays Rs. 77,910. The Rája of Kaimahra, Narpat Singh, has not augmented the original possessions of the family, and has only 31 villages paying revenue Rs. 25,000. He is the son of Rája Jodh Singh mentioned in Sleeman's Tour, Volume II., page 3. In the whole par- gana of Kheri proper there are 161 villages owned by Janwars. Kayaths .. Musalmans Bralimang Gobháín Englieh In Basára there are 32 villages owned entirely by Janwars. The Janwar family never was of any political importance; but its his- tory is valuable as showing how a respectable chaudhri, with a dozen vil- lages, added estate to estate, and the family has now become the owner of vast property. Their influence is only derived from wealth, and con- nexion with Government; there are not more than fifty or six Janwárs of the Chauhan stock alive. A much larger number of the original Jan- wars still exist, but most of them have been converted to Muhammadanism, and have been badly troated by their more powerful brethren. The Kayaths in the pargana produce a sanad from Akbar granting them seventy-four villagos; but it is a forgery of the coarsest description. They are numerous and influential however, and have no doubt lived . LE 138 138 16 2 2 1 2 ​КНЕУ - КНІ 273 names, many generations in the pargava ; they possess eleven villages and numer- ous small rent-free holdings. There were four qánúngos in Kheri-all of one family, but one was originally of Barhai or carpenter caste, hav- ing been adopted by the head of the family nine generations ago. One branch was deprived of their rent-free tenures for false evidence in a court of law when the succession to the Mahewa estate was disputed. KHERI -Pargana KHERI—Tahsil LAKBIMPUR--District KHERI.—A large town from which tlie pargana and the district of Kheri derive their Latitude 27°54', longitude 80°51. There are 14 Hindu temples, 12 mosques, and three imámbáras. Kheri has a daily market in which articles of country consumption are sold. The Rámlíla festival is celebrated in the month of September; abont 8,000 persons assemble. There are 7+ masonry houses, more than one-half of the whole number in the district ; there are also 58 masonry wells. Altogether it is the only place in the diſtrict bearing the appearance of a town. It is difficult to see what caused its prosperity in former times. It is not the residence of any large land- owner, Thoguh in former times the Sayyads of Sayyadwára, one of its muhallas, were wealthy and influential. The tomb of Sayyad Khurd, who died in 971 H. or 1563 A.D., is com- posed of huge kankar blocks and is worth seeing. The Emperor Alamgir built a mosque here which is yet unimpaired. The population, according to settlement papers, amounts to 5,037, of which 2,002 are Hindus and 3,035 Muhammadans, KHIRON Pargana-Tahsil LALGANJ—District RAE BARELI,— This like other neighbouring Parganas was in the possession of the Bhars, and the existence of the tomb of Fateh Shahíd leads to the supposition that it was invaded by Sálár Masaúd. A period of 737 years has clapsed since Rája Abhai Chand, of the Bais clan, drove away the Bhars and brought the pargaba into his dominions. Rája Satna, cighth from Abhai Chand, found- ed a village and called it after his own name Sátanpur. He built a fort there, calling the whole pargana Sátanpur, from the principal town. This arrangement remained till the time of Nawab Asif-ud-daula when Rája Niwaz Singh's brother, the tahsildar of the pargana, built a fort in Khíron, and fixed upon it as the seat of the tahsil. The pargana was then and since called Khíron. The pargana comprises 123 villages; its area is 102 square miles; its breadth from east to west is nine miles, and length from north to south twelve. It is bounded on the east by parganas Dalamau and Rae Bareli; on the west by Parganas Panhan, Bhagwantnagar, Bihár, and Patan, of Unao; on the south by pargana Sareni; and on the north by Maurånwán of the Unao district. There are two villages in this pargana, one Saimbansi and the other Naihesta, which are said to have been founded by Khem Karan and Karan Ráe, sons of Harhar Deo respectively. The descendants of Khem Karan, therefore, are called Bais Saimbansi, and of Karan Ráe Bais Nai- besta. Shiupal Kunwar, widow of Jagan Náth Bakhsh, of Simri, taluqdar, belongs to this latter family. ​274 KHI The proprietary body are for the most part the Bais Chhattris, but a Janwar Chhattri, Claudhri Balbhaddar Singh, Taluqdar of Bharauli, deserves mention. Narmad Sáh, his ancestor, was a native of Ikauna in the Bahraich district, and in the service of the Emperors of Delhi, whence he got the chaudhriship and zamindari in this pargana. He gave the name of Khiron to a chak, then known as Kheri Hár. He settled himself there, and by and by his descendants took possession of some villages in this pargana, and established themselves as taluqdars. The proprietary system is as follows :- Taluqdari 86 villages. + Grant Zamindari Pattidari 8 19 10 5) II des Total 123 » The area is 65,096 acres, and the revenue paid to Government is Rs. 101,389, the rate per acre being on an average, Re. 1-8-11. The popula- tion of the pargana amounts to Rs. 57,102, of which 54,311 are Hindus and 2,761 Muhammadans. Barley, hirra, and musk-melon are the chief articles which are sown or planted. The soil is of three kinds---dumat (loam), clay, and sand. Three quarters of the pargana are irrigated by tanks and wells. The depth at which water is found is on an average 28 fcet. There are fire markets in this pargana--viz.,Drigpàlganj, Anandíganj, Mali- ráníganj, Páhu, and Raghunáthganj. Of these Raghunáthganj and Mahráni. ganjare the best. The former was founded by Chaudhri Raghunath Singh. Taluqdar, and the latter by Mahráni, duughter of Dínápat, the ancestor of the Simri family. There are two important fairs--oue in honour of Fateh Shahid, of Masaúd's army, is held in Khíron on a Thursday in Pús (or December-January); the other, in honour of Debi Anandi, in Bethar- gkon on a Monday in Jeth (May). Two villages, Khasai and Khíron, produce kankar which is used in constructing roads. In the days of the kings salt was manufactured in 14 villages of this pargana, and the annual outturn was 85,649 maunds, of which the value was Rs. 67,775; saltpetre was also made in 30 villages to the amount of 50,648 maunds, of which the value was Rs. 101,296, but the manufac- ture of these articles lias been forbidden by the Government. Mahua trees are more abundant in this pargana than in any other of the same tahsil. Other trees do not need any remark. There was a mud- built fort in Khíron and a masonry fort in Sátanpur, but both these have fallen into decay. Simri was the scene of two battles fought between Rána Beni Mádho Bakhsh and the British army during the mutiny. The following account f the Bais settlement, which differs somewhat from that gived under Rae Bareli, is not out of place here. Abhai Chand's eighth successor, Rája Satna, with a view to change his capital, selected a spot io pargada Khiron where Sátanpur and Ránípur now stand, and which was then covered with jungle. Having cleared the jungle he laid the ​KHI 275 foundation of a town and designated it Sátanpur after his own name. He built a fort, and a temple of Mahúdeo, and placed the image of the deity which he also called Saitúni, after his own nane. Here lic fixed his residence, and to commemorate his queen, lic founded another town in the vicinity and called it Ránípur. These towns were founded in the reign of Bábar Shalı in 1526 A.D., corresponding with 933 fasli. He reigned there for a period of 30 years, and maintained peace and security throughout his dominions. He had a son the famous Rája Tilok Chand. There was then a subahdar (or Governor) of Allahabad, his panis is not known, but he was an inhabitant of Kákori, a town near Lucknow. The territory of Raja Satna extended to the very gate of Lucknow, still called Gol Darwáza. The province bordlering Luckoow was governed by a faujdar, who resided at Jalálábad. He was a nominea of the rája. A quarrel arose between him and the subahdar of Allahabad, who was then at Kakori, and a fight took place between them at Jalálá- bad, in which a brother of the subahdar was killed. This was during the reign of Humígún Shah, in 1530 A.D., corresponding to 937 fasli, The subah dar solicited the emperor for assistance in taking revenge for the murder of his brother. The emperor issued a mandate to the 13 subahdars, including the Subahdar of Allahabad, directing them to kill the rája and his faujdar. All the subahdars then combined their forces and led an expedition against Baiswára. The rája heard of this formidable league against him, and having collected all his forces took refuge in the fort, prepared for the attack, and awaited the approach of the chemy. Rája Tilok Chand was then an infant, and Rája Satpa, in order to act freely, had the prudence to send his wife and child to Naipál, so that they might not fall into the hand of the enemy. The united forces of the thirteen subahdars entered the territory of Sátanpur, and, in the year 1532 A.D., corresponding to 939 fasli , commenced the siege which lasted one month and eleven days. At last an officer of the garri- son, who had the command of the entire forces of the rája, opened a negotiativa with the subahdars, and offered to betray the rája and deli- ver up the fort to them provided they granted him revenue-frce the whole of the pargana of Harha. Súrat Singh was the name of the traitor. The subahdars agreed to the proposal, and Surat Singh opened the gates of the fort to the besieger, who entered the fort, and Rája Satna fell fight- ing in his attempt to oppose the Mubammadan victors. The whole of his territory was then placed under the government of the Subahdar of Oudh, who held it for 10 years. When Rája Tilok Chand attained the age of maturity, he made an appeal to Sultan Sher Shah, the then reigning sover- eign of India, and in the year 1542 A.D., corresponding to 949 fasli he, obtained a royal farmán for restoration to him of his ancestral estate and his peaceable maintenance in possession thereof. He then re-settled Satan- pur, and took possession of his entire estate. He was treated with the same dignity as the Mahárájas of Jaipur and Jodhpur, At the decline of his life he took up his residence as an act of piety in the sacred city of Káshi (Benares). He had two sons, Harhar Deo and Prithi Chand; the former went on & pilgrimage to Hardwar, and the latter ​276 KHI KUR remained to attend on his father when the rája fell ill and discovered the symptoms of death approaching. He called for his elder son, but finding hini absent, and impatient to make a settlement of his territory on bis sons during his own lifetime, he chose his younger son to be his successor, and gave his elder and absent son the titlc of rána. He bestowed on Prithi Chand the estate of Murárman and on Harhar Deo the capital of Sátanpur and the neighbouring territory. Subsequently, owing to anarchy and con- stant wars with the Muhamınadan sovereigns and governors, the country was gradually devastated, and the town of Sátanpur deserted by its inhabitants, and many old remains of grandeur disappeared in the lapse of time by dilapidation and the effect of constant warfare. The younger son, Prithi Chand, thus became the rája, and though Harhar Deo returned from the pilgrimage before the rája had breathed his last, yet the latter did not think it advisable to disturb his previous arrangement. Thus the elder branch began to be styled rána though in possession of the capital, and recognized to be the successor of Rája Tilok Chand, and the younger branch was styled rája, KEYRON--Pargana KHTRON--Tahsil LALGANJ—District RAE BARELI- This town is situated on the road from Rae Bareli to Cawnpore. The ground is level; to the east there is a large tank, which with the groves forms a pleas- ing landscape. The place is noted as having been the residence of Ráe Sahib Ráe, Káyath, a chakladar of the king's reign. It is still the residence of a taluqdar. There are some notable old families of the Káyath gánúngos. There are 682 Sunni Musalmans; the rest of the population of 3,480 are Hindus. The Brabmans and Baniáns are generally the followers of Vishnu, Chhattris and Káyaths of Shiva. There is a vernacular school in which 75 pupils are taught, and a weekly market, where the average sales arc Rs. 180. For history of the place, see pargana article, KISHNI–Pargana JAGDISPUR-Tahsil MUSÁFIRKHANA-District SULTAN- PUR.--Kishni is situated on the right bank of the river Gumti and occupies a high plateau, surrounded by ravines, which open on the river about 46 miles north-west of Sultanpur. It was founded about fourhundred yearsago by Rája Kishan Chand, ancestor of the Mandarik Chh ris, whose capital it remained until they lost their independence. Until 1750 it was the head. quarters of the old Kisbni pargana. It contains 532 houses, of which three only are of masonry, with a population of 2,297. The only building worthy of notice is a mosque built by Qázi Abd-us-Sattár, in the reign of Alamgir. Latitude 26°35' ; longitude 81°41' KORÁRI KALAN—Pargana ASIWAK RASÚLABAD-Tahsil MOHÁN- District UNAO. I$ 16 miles south-west of Mohán, and 10 north-west of Unao. Rasúlabad lies 4 miles south-west from it. A small stream called the Motái flows east of this place. It was peopled originally by one Kunwar of the Bhar tribe about 1100 years ago. About six hundred years after that it passed into the posses- sion of Ishwari Singh and Bisrám Singh, Chaulián Thákurs of Mainpuri, who exterminated the Bhars, and whose descendants still possess it. ​KUCKUK 277 The climate is healthy; the water good, with few exceptions. The soil is principally loam, with some clay. Nothing is manufactured here except the usual earthenware. Population is as follows : Hindus 2,148, Musalmans 50, total 2,198. There are 528 mud-built houses, and oue temple dedicated to Mahadeo. Annual sales in the bazaar amount to Rs. 2,400. Latitude 26°27' north; longitude 80°33' east. KUCHLA BIJNA*- Pargana SANDI—Tahsil BILGRÁM ---District HAR- DOI.--Kuchla Bijna (population 2,104, chiefly Raikyárs of the Basil gotr). An agricultural village of 350 mud houses lying on the right bank of the Rámganga, four miles above its confluence with the Ganges. Raikwárs from Kusainkhor in Farukhabad obtained this village by conquest from the Thatheras before the fall of Kanauj, and have retained it ever since. KUKRA MAILÄNI Pargana–Tahsil LAKHTMPUR--District KHERI. This pargana lies between the Kathna on the west and the Ul on the east. Its area, inclusive of grants, is 177 square miles, of which 51 pay Government revenue. Its length is 22 miles from north to south, its breadth 13. It is bounded on the south by an artificial line separating it from pargana Haidarabad. On the north and cast it stretches to the river Ul, which separates it from Bhúr. It is in fact a triangle with its apex to the north; it is mostly covered with jungle in which there are two large clearings--one to the south, Saukhia Sansărpur, belonging to the Thákur of Mahewa; one to the north-east, Kukra; and a smaller one to the extreme north-west (Mailáni). Most of the forest amounting to 126 square miles was originally made over to grantees under the lease rules, but they have all failed to comply with the conditions of the grants, and nearly all have been resumed and transferred to the Oudh Forest Department. Consequently these grants are no longer available for cultivation, and the population rate, which if applied to the whole area, would be 65 to the square mile, is really 223 to the assessed area. The soil of this pargana is very uniform-a rather heavy loam; sand is less than a quarter per cent. Both these openings in the forest appear really to be the beds of ancient lakes bordered by higher ground now covered with sál forest. The Kukra lake drained away into the Barauncha river a branch of the Ul, and the Saukhia Sansárpur lake gives rise to the head-waters of the Sarayan. The level is still falling, the land becoming drier, and the cli- mate more healthy. The very heavy rains of 1870-1871 caused a great deal of fever, but the oldest inhabitants admit that things were still worse in their youth. Formerly rice and other summer crops were almost exclusively grown, but now the proportion of spring crops is about 40 per cent. Kukra is perhaps more injured by the depredations of forest ani- mals—by enormous herds of black buck, spotted deer, and níl gáe—than any other part of the district. Saukhia Sansárpur, on the other hand, is

  • By Mr. Arthur Harington, B.A., C.S., A saistant Commissioner,

36 ​278 KUK singularly free from such visitors; some damage is done by peacocks ; but there is nothing else. The population is 12,236 inhabiting 49 villages; of these 2,005 are Musalmans, principally Pathans. None of the other resident eastes call for any notice. The proprietary body was formerly Abban, but many of them have lost all their possessions. There are forty townships, of which Ahban Musalmans hold 19, Chhat- tris 13, Government 4. The Thákur of Mahewa has a large estate acquired about five years before annexation. The estates of Kukra, Ro- shannagar, Sauklıia, Sansárpur, besides others--in all thirty-six out of the forty in this pargana—have changed hands since annexation, having been transferred to the rightful owners after long and costly litigation, covering from three to ten years in each case. In consequence of this the present inhabitants are poverty-stricken, and further transfers are imminent, as those who succeeded in the law courts have been so much impoverished that they cannot manage their estates. There is a road from Gola Gokaran tráth, partially bridged but not metalled, leading to Bhira and Marauncha Ghát; also another from Mailiui to Kukra. These are both impassable in the rains, as the Ul and Barauncha are not bridged; a third road from Aliganj to Khatái is not metalled either. Traffic is quite impossible during the rains, and the prices of grain are consequently much lower here--sometimes 100 per cent. less than at Lakhimpur, twenty-five miles off. Rice is still the principal crop, but barley and gram have been of late years sown largely. There would be a large trade in timber if there were any means of carriage. History. This forest-covered tract has been certainly for centuries the favourite refuge of dacoits and rebels from both Oudh and Rohilkhand. The Katebria chiefs of Khatái used to take refuge in these impenetra- ble woods, and thence commit the atrocities which resulted in the forfeiture of that estate in 1840 (see pargana Palia). Hither the Albans filed when hard pressed by the Government. The Kukra woods are fairly healthy, being all in high ground; in fact, the area of the forest grants, 126 square miles, also defines the extent of the upper lanıls, and the revenue paying land, 51 square miles, consists mainly of the basins of three or four ancient lakes into which the high lands drained. The aspect of these mere pits in the huge surface of the forest is very peculiar. The largest (Kukra) may be taken as a type of all; a flat plain about seven miles long and four broad, covered with rice fields and prairies of long coarse grass through which breast-high the foot-passenger moves with difficulty in pursuit of the game which lies concealed in herds. A few mango groves adjoin the mud-walled villages ; here and there a slight depression allows the rain water to gather in stagnant marshes; all round the horizon the traveller sees the high bluffs--once the shores of this in- land sea-rising crowned with a ring of lofty and dense sál forest. This wall of verdure is only broken at places where it has been levelled to ​KHE 279 make room for the roads which pass through the plain, piercing the forest towards Gola and Bhira. Nothing can be more beautiful than the woodland glades which are met with in traversing these jungles. Wherever the high lands are level, and much elevated, the sál abounds to the exclusion of all other trees; but on the slopes and hollows pípal, dhák, karaunda, with an infinite variety of creepers and undergrowth, render it impossible even for an elephant to force its way. Even the sál forest although monotonous has a verdure and slender grace all its own. The young trees rise dense and straight and evenly sowu over the surface, each bursting out with little branches of leaves from its roots to the topmost boughs. The intense greeu, which prevails during the greater part of the year, yields in March to a brassy and then a copper tint. Then the ground begins to be strewed with dead leaves, while the ripening fruit and the yellow foliage of the fall appears intermingled with the young buds of the ing spring. This part of Kukra Mailáni is not unhealthy, except when the rotting vegetable matter infects the water in April. As grazing grounds the openings in the forest are very valuable for agricultural purposes ; but hardly any of the numerous grantees, to whom Government presented or sold 350 square miles in this neighbourhood, have succeeded in bringing their woods under cultivation. In Mailáni was the great fight between the Sayyads of Barwar and the Gaurs of Chandra, described in the Kheri district article. In Kukra, Ali Bakhsh Khan, the lord of the manor, built himself a small brick castle. At the gate of the family burying ground there is a flat toinb, that of Ali Bakhsh Khan's father, who killed his brother in order to obtain the estate, and whose body after death was placed at the gate, so that all true Musalmans on entering might show their horror by trampling on his dust. Undeterred by the fate of the fratricide his son committed a worse crime. The lands of Kukra had never been measured. Ali Bakhsh Khan was holding at a very moderate rent, and the chakladar wished to survey the estate and determine its capabilities. The surveyors, four in number, arrived at Kukra, and were hospitably entertained by Ali Bakhsh Khan. At dead of night the villagers, who lived near the castle, were aroused by the fire of musketry and shouts of már már (kill kill). All the wretched men were murdered in their sleep, and when morning dawned not a living being was seen in the villages; all fled to the forest dreading the vengeance of Government for the murder of a revenue official, Ali Bakhsh Khan had committed the crime in a spirit of mad passion against the servants of Government who were only doing their duty. He had no idea of profiting by or concealing the murder; in fact, he knew it would be his ruin and that of his family. His estate was seized; he never again saw his family, but wandered as an outlaw in the forests till in his turn he was stabbed at Muhamdi by the son of one of those whom he had cut off. This man had incessantly tracked his father's murderer for fifteen years. The estate was mortgaged to Rája Lone Singh, who built a fort at Kukra, and is alleged to have buried his treasures-threeelephantloads of gold muhars—inits neigh- bourhood after the fort of Mitauli was taken in the mutiny of 1857. It is said that he killed the elephant drivers in the forest in order to secure their silence. Similarly Roshannagar was the scene of a dark tragedy. Its owner, ​280 KUM a Musalman, bought the estate from a Káyath, and was admitted as proprie- tor by the courts in 1856. There were Ahbar Chhattris who possessed an ancient claim; they attacked the Musalman's house in the first days of the rautiny and killed him, his son, and several of his servants as they lay in their beds. This has always been the conduct of the Ahban clan--indolence and extravagance- till their estates had passed away, and then barbarous violence iu useless attempts to recover them. There is an ancient mound from which Buddhist remains have been dug at Unchágáon in this pargana, but nothing else worthy of note. There are two small temples to Mahadeo and one mosque. There are no fairs or markets of importance. Kukra Mailáni is a part of the old pargana Bhúrwára, and an account of the Ahban lords of the soil has been given under the historical part of the district article; it formed a part of Haidarabad Pargana till the recent re-arrangement. KUMARAWAN Pargana,Tahsil DIGBIJAIGANS-District RAE BARELI. - This pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Haidargarh of district Bara Banki, on the south by pargana Hardoi of the Rae Bareli district, on the east by tahsil Mohanlalganj, of Lucknow, and on the west by pargana Rokha Jáis. The area of the pargana is 70 square miles; its breadth from north to south 8 miles, and its length from east to west 11 miles. This parganla was formerly included in that of Haidargarh, but owing to disturbances arising between the ancestors of Jagmohan Singh, of Kumhráwán, and of Umrao Singh of Ansári, Almas Ali Khan, the názim, separated the pargana containing 120 villages, and gave it the paine of Kumhráwán after the principal town. By the summary settlement of 1866, the number of villages in this pargana was reduced to 101, and further, by the last regular settlement, to only 58 villages. The chief proprietary body are the Amethia Chhattris, of whom Rája Jagmohan Singh, the descendant of Rája Dingar Singh of Balári, is the present head, The villages are thus held- Taluqdari Grants Zamindari Pattidari Bhayyachára... POI . PE 82 3 17 4 2 ad | 2 | NAK 68 The area in acres amounts to 44,619, and the revenue paid to Govern- ment to Rs. 116,904, the rate per acre on an average being Rs. 2-9-11. The population consists chiefly of Amethia Chhattris and Kurmis. The total population amounts to 14,954, of which 13,941 are Hindus. ​KUM 281 The river Naiya traverses the northern part of this pargana, and then flows into the pargana Simrauta. The soil of this pargana is for the most part clay. There are six markets—viz., Arárúganj, Sahjan Pachhim. gáon, Bani, Sambharganj, Gogra, Lálganj. In these markets the principal articles of daily use are sold. Bani only has a cattle market. Salt was manufactured before annexation to tlie value of Rs. 160 annually, and saltpetre is still manufactured in some villages. There is no noteworthy fair or temple in the pargana. The history of the Amethia Clihattris, the principal proprietors in this pargana, is thus related by Mr. Benett :- " The Amethias, afterwards destined to be the most important family in the neighbourhood, were already hovering on the confines of Haidar- garh. "This tribe of Chhattris arc a branch of the Chamar Gaurs, and are said to be the descendants of a pregnant Gaur widow, who, at the extirpation of the Chhattris by the Brahnians, found an asylum in a Chamár's hut. The memory of this humble refuge is kept alive among them by the wor- ship of the rápi or the cobbler's cutting tool. Great numbers of the Chamar Gaurs pow hold villages in the Hardoi district, and it is probable that the Amethias were an offshoot of the same immigration. Tradition discovers them first at Shiupuri and afterwards at the celebrated fortress of Kálinjar. Somewhere about the time of Tamerlane's invasion of Hin- dustan, Raipal Singh left Kálinjar and settled at Amethi in the Lucknow district.

  • His descendants say that he was sent by the Delhi emperor to sup-

press a rebellion in Oudh, and that he defeated and slew Balbhadra Sen Bisen, with sixteen thousand of his host. The figures are slightly impro- bable, and my enquiries have failed to bring to light a Bisen rája of that name. Raipál was wounded in the sboulder by a musket shot, and recom- pensed by a kbilat and the title of Rája of Amethi.

  • Three or four generations after this, three brothers—Dingur Sáh, Rám

Singh, and Lohang-led their clan from *Amethi to Jagdispur, and came into contact with the Musalmans left at Bhilwal by Ibráhím Shah. The engagement resulted in the defeat of the Shekhs, and the occupation of their villages by the invaders. "There is every reason to suppose that this occurred towards the ond of the fifteenth century, and was part of the general re-assertion of Hindu supremacy in Oudh, consequent on the downfall of the Jaunpur dynasty- a reaction whose central event was the establishment of the Bais king- dom. If the family tradition that Raipál Singh came to Amethi in

  • Note.-They were probably expelled from Amethi by the ancestors of the present

taluqdar of Salempur Ibráhímabad, and I am ioclined to belicse that some short tituc elapsed before they ventured to attack the Sliek hs of Bhilwal. There is a tradition which represents that they passed some years in the villages of a Ráe Khire Singh, one of the Sehen Bais with whom they were connected by a arriage. ​282 KUM Tamerlane's time is true (and it is confirmed by the numbers of genera- tions recorded between him and the present date), the three brothers, at a distance of three or four generations, must have lived about a hundred years after that date-i.e., shortly before the close of the fifteenth cen- tury." « The history of the Amethias is confined to the aggressions of the Pukhra Ansári house. Ráo Kalián Sáh saluted a celebrated faqír with the respectful address of Bandagi Mián, and the touched and grateful saint responded with a blessing on the rája. The title was eagerly caught up, and has since been retained by that branch, who are known as the Bandagi Mián Amethias. He signalized his promotion in the Hindu hierarchy by attacking and despoiling his relations, the descendants of Lohang Ráe, who had been for some generations peacefully established at Akhiápur. " The Amethias were never of sufficient importance to have a very interesting history. This period was marked for them by the separation of the branches of Osa from the Kumhráwán, 'and Rámnagar from the Pukhra Ansari stem. The zamindars or ránas of Akhiápur successfully retaliated on the latter houses for the injuries they had received from Kalián Sáh, and accomplished the death of Rája Jai Singh, whose son (Shiuam- bar) was, after a short dispossession, reinstated in his own villages by the Government officials, and was soon engaged in prosecuting the old feud with the Shekhs of Bhilwal.

  • Of the Amethias the only two houses which require mention are

those of Kumhráwán and Pukhra Arsári. Of these the latter, though the younger, always seems to have been the most important. The defeat of Shuja-ud-daula by the English encouraged Amar Singh to assert his independence by driving out the local officials, but his success was very transient, and the return of the Persian was followed by his reduction and death. Mádho Singh was brought up in his mother's house at Mankapur, and only recovered Làhi and one other village at the intercession of the resident. Having once regained his footing he found no difficulty in put- ting together a taluqa after the usual fashion of the time. On his death, without children, the estate fell into great disorder, and after having been held successively by a number of his relations, was finally acquired by Rája Sahajrám Bakhsh, who, when he also died childless, was succeeded, under an order of the Chief Commissioner, by his father Rája Umráo Singh. Sahajrám Bakhsh was particularly troublesome to the royal offi- cials, but it would be tedious to relate his petty battles and temporary dis- possessions. Rája Rajan Singh of Kumhráwán died childless, and his death was followed by the usual disputes which were ended by the succession of Rája Aráru Singh, with the title of adopted son." ​KUN 283 KUNDHNAN KHURD-Pargana MANGALSI –Tahsil FYZABAD-Dis- trict FYZABAD. - This was founded and called after Khunder Sen Bisen, five hundred years ago. It is on the river Madha, fourteen miles from Fyzabad. The population consists of 2,278 Hindus and 177 Musalmans- all Sunnis. There is a vernacular school. KUNDRI NORTH* Pargana-- Tahsil BISWÁN—District SITAPUR.- North Kundri is separated from parganas Biswán and Sadrpur on the west by the Chauka, from zila Kheri on the north by the Daháwar, and from zila Bahraich on the east by the Gogra; all three rivers being navigable at all seasons of the year. The pargana, indeed, with South-Kundri forms the duáb of the Chauka and Gogra. In the vernacular tongue the word Kundar means duáb, and a Greek translator might render the term by Mesopotamia," Like the neighbouring Tambaur, and the eastern villages of Biswán, North-Kundri is a perfect network of small streams, which annually dur- ing the rains overflow their banks, and inundate the entire country, to a depth from six inches to three feet, often causing considerable loss to the peasantry, whose houses fall in, and cattle perish. The soil is as a rule clay, which in some places stiffens into clods so hard that the ordinary implements of agriculture have no effect upon them; they do not crumble even under an elephant's foot. In many parts, however, we meet with good loam, and in the neighbourhood of the Chauka with sandy soil. In the neighbourhood of this river also there are extensive patches of reh, a white salt which rises in efflorescence on the surface of the soil, and which is generally considered to be hostile to and destruc- tive of all vegetation. But this is an erroneous belief, for it is by no means an uncommon thing to see in this pargana, very fair crops of mindwa springing out of this reh, and babúl trees flourish well in it. Such being the character of the soil and of the pargana, it will be gathered that it is below the average in agricultural wealth. Rents are almost universally paid in kind, the zamindars generally getting a smaller share of the produce than in other parganas. The large rivers abovemen- tioned are very eccentric in their movements, often cutting away consi- derable quantities of land, often silting up and adding to the village area. The only road in the pargana is that which connects Sitapur and Bah- raich, but which is unbridged throughout. Water communication is am- ple; indeed, during the rains the only means of communication is afforded hy boats, for the high road abovementioned is under water for miles. The area of the pargana is 165 square miles, of which 108 are culti- vated. The acreage is thus given : Cultivated area, acres 69,047 Culturable 16,650 Barren 20,304 105,901 SE . .. 449 57 Total 19. 30

  • By Mr, Ferrar, Assistant Commissioner. ​284

KUN det The population at the census of 1869 was as follows:- Hindu, agricultural non-agricultural Musalmans, agricultural non-agricultural II 40,020 23.795 3,643 2,126 > . Total .. EID 69,584 Rs. 1 OT O 13 5 010 7 ) and these live in 12,279 houses There are thus 422 souls to the square mile, and 56 to each house." The Musalmans are 83 per cent. of the entire population. To each head of the agricultural population there are 1-6 acres of cultivated land against 2 acres of the assessed area. The incidence of the revised jama is- On cultivation » málguzári total area The history of the pargana is given in a great measure under the heading of" Soutli-Kundri.” To the facts there recorded may be added that the greater part of the lands which constitute the present North-Kundri were included in that "Gur ka ilaqa" described under pargana Tambaur, and mentioned in the town histories of Seota and Mallápur. This explains why there are no masonry houses to be met with, and accounts for the non-cultivation of the sugarcane. There is not a single house of any pretension in the pargana. With the exception of the fair at Seota pone are celebrated throughout the pargana ; there are bazars held bi-weekly in that town, and at Malla- pur, Khánpur, Bainhaniáwán, Kundri, an insignificant place, and Thána. l'he pargana boasts of no architectural remains interesting either for the historian or the antiquary. The demarcated mauzas are 129, of which 66 are held on a taluqdari, and 63 on a zamindari tenure. The taluq dars are Ráo Muneshwar Bakhsh of Mallápur, Rája Amír Hasan Kħan of Mahmudabad, and Thákar Gumán Singh of Rámpur Mathura. An account of each of the two last mentioned is to be found under their respective parganas, Mahmudabad and South-Kundri. Ráo Muneshwar Bakhsh is a Raikwár like Gumán Singh, and his estate is an offshoot of the Baundi ráj in Bahraich, in which district as also in Kheri the rája has part of his pro- perty. His pedigree table is given as extending back for 11 generations to Ratan Singh. Of the 63 zamindari villages the principal estate is that of Bamhania- wán. This and Sikri Sipauli in Tambaur are the only Ragbubansi zamin. daris in the whole district, and the sole relics of the great Raghubansi raj which existed here prior to the Raikwár invasion. The present holders of Bamhaniáwán are 15th in descent from Birbal, who divided his estates between his two sons, Indar Ráe, the elder, taking this, and Khem Karan, the younger, taking Sikri Sipauli. ​KUN 287 Among the zamindari villages are now reckoned those which consti- tuted the taluqa of the Raja of Chahlári, a Raikwár, who rose in arms against the State in 1857, and was slain in the affair of Nawabganj in that year. His estate was confiscated, and the greater part of it bestowed on grantees among them are the relatives of Beni Mádho, the Bais chieftain of Jagatpur Tánghan in Baiswara, whose estates there were confiscated for complicity in the mutiny. Some members of the Chahlári family have received compassionate allowances in their ancestral villages, the policy of Great Britain like that of ancient Rome, having for its motto-- parcere devictis ac debellare superbos. The whole 129 villages are distributed thus :- 92 Rajput. 1 Kasathi. 26 Musalman, 1 Dhúsar Banika. i Brahusu. 1 Bhát or Bard. 7 Goveroment. KUNDRI SOUTH Pargana,Tahsil BARI~District SITAPUR. Under the present government there are two parganas of this name, to wit, North-Kundri and South-Kundri. It is with the statistics and features of the latter that we deal in the present article, but as the history of both is one and the same, it will be given here. South-Kundri contains 66 square miles, of which 40 are cultivated. In shape like an hour-glass, it is twelve miles in length, and three at its narrowest breadth, in the centre. On the west it is bounded by the Chauka, and on the east by the Gogra, which separates it from Bahraich. On the south it is over-lapped by that district and by Bara Banki, and on the north it is bounded by North-Kundri . Between and parallel to the two rivers abovementioned flow the smaller streams Ghagbar and Jasui, navigable during certain seasons of the year. Situated thus, the pargana is liable to frequent inundations, which often cause great injury to the crops as well as to the houses and cattle of the inhabitants, and on this account tlie revenue demand has been fixed at a rate which, lower than that in the rest of the talsil, is yet perhaps no more than the land can pay one year with another. It contains 39 demarcated villages, of which 27 belong to the Raikwár Taluqdar, Thákur Gumán Singh, of Rámpur Mathura, and eight, once be- longing to the rebel Rája of Chahlári, have been recently conferred on Rána Raghuráj Singh, son of Beni Mádho, the Baiswára chieftain, whose estatęs were confiscated for complicity in the mutiny. The remaining four villages belong to petty zemindars. The acreage of the pargana is as follows: acres. Coltivated Cultorable Moáti Barren 25,226 8,082 52 9,150 11 400 Total PUU 42,510 37 ​G.SE 286 12 KUN 400 de 0 0 sed and the revenue demand as recentiy assessed falls thus :- On cultivated us On assegged On whole area ... which on account of the character of the pargana and the nature of the soil, as above described, is less than in the other parganas of this tahsil, The census of 1869 shows the population to be as follows:- Rs. 0 14 21 011 2 08 DOO 8 Rs. 31 JP Hindus, agricultural non-agricultural Musalmans, agricultural ... non-agricatturat 16,397 10,985 743 1,269 . 97 19 95 Total 29,193 These figures inform us that the Musalmans are only 7 per cent. of the entire population -- a very low average indeed. There are 445 souls to the square mile, which also is something below the provincial average of 476. There are 5$ souls to each house. To each head of the agricultu- ral population thcre are acres 1-5 of cultivation, and acres 109 of assessed land, which shows that there is room for improvement. The pargana does not boast of a single road, but it has excellent water communication in the rivers described above. The only town of importance is Rámpur (q. V.), the residence of the taluqdar, the population of which is 2,217. Some five miles to the north of it is mauza Mathura, containing the remains of what was once a considerable fort. There are in this pargana no melas or fairs, or any bazar at which any- thing but the ordinary necessaries of life is sold. There are no public build- ings. The only public institution is the school at Rámpur, and the pargana is uninteresting to a degree. It, with North-Kundri, constituted pargana Kundri as formed by Saádat Khan, the Subahdar of Oudh, in 1739 A.D. It was made up of the following villages from the neighbouring parganas :- From pargana Basára 209 fillages. Sadrpur Tambaur and thus contained 535 villages. The new pargana was conferred in jágir upon one Mirza Ismail Beg alias Shekhzáda Wálájáh; but it was resumed soon after, and the original zamindars were not again interfered with. The name Kundri is derived from "kundar," which means land lying between two streams, whether those streams are part of the same river or belong to two distinct rivers. In the beginning the inhabitants were Bhars, Kurmis, and Paghubansis, and the local tradition has it that 680 years ago two brothers, Bál and Sál (or Syál), came from their native town Řaika in the Jummoo territory and drove out the Bhars, who, under their leaders Kapur Dhar and Sárang Dhar, were ravaging the country. Bál and Sál, his brother, took possession of the district, and they divided it, Bál taking the northern parts and Sál the southern. The descendants of both are extant ged 39 Sailuk 149 > 1 T 39 . 168 ​KUN-KUR 287 to the present day; those of Sál in pargana Rámnagar, district Bara Banki, and those of Bál in pargana Kundri, and across the Gogra in Bahraich. In Kundri the representatives were the Rája of Chahlári, who was slain in the mutiny fighting against us at Nawabganj, the Ráo of Mallápur and the Thákur of Rámpur abovementioned. In Bahraich the Rája of Baundi was head of the family. His estates were like those of Chahlari confis. cated for rebellion. Pargana Sailuk mentioned above is said to take its name from Sal. This hero, with his brothers, was a connection of the Ráthor king of Kanauj, Jai Chand, and it was under his auspices that the Raikwár brothers invaded the country. Sál was, it is said, so mighty a hero, that his power was felt from Sialkot, or Sal's fort in the Punjab, to Sailuk, in what is now known as district Bara Banki. KUNSA Town-Porgana RAE BARELI–Tahsil RAE BARELI -District RAE BARELI - This village, which ranks as a town on account of possessing a large population, is of little importance in other respects. The number of of Hindus is 5,352, and that of Musalmans 129. These reside in 870 houses, all mud-built. This village has 24 hamlets. Bralimans predominate. The name of the founder is lost in obscurity. There are no bazars, noteworthy buildings, or manufactures of any kind.

  • KURAUNA Parguna,Tahsil MISRIKH ---District SITAPUR.--Kurauna

is a small pargana Iying to the immediate east of Aurangabad and in the centre of the tahsil. It contains 51 demarcated villages, which include four grants, and is 46 square miles in area, which is thus distributed :- Cultivated area 6,697 Must 2,469 Barren 17,314 Culturable il crea, 39 15 12 3 2,844 Total 29,324 Rs, Incidence of jana on cultivated or málguzari on total area 33 PP 53 1 9 11 1 2 4 1 0 2 ee . 29 The population at Census 1869 was as follows: Hindus, agricultura 8,983 don-agricultural Musalmans, agricultural 5,501 100-agricultural.. 276 48 Total 14,807 and these 14,807 live in 2,836 houses. These figures give the percentage of 322 souls to the square mile—a low ratio. Two souls to each house, 2:2 Musalmans out of every hundred of the entire population—a very low percentage indeed ; 1:9 acres of cultivation and 2:6 of målguzári land to each head of the agricultural population, which shows that there is very considerable room for development. By Mr. Ferrar, Assistant Commissioner, ​288 KUR The soil of Kurauna is good, much better on the whole than that of any other pargana in the tahsil, with the exception of Machbrehta, and the per- centage of first class crops is large. The irrigation is almost entirely from wells, as the jhíls are very few in number, and no streams intersect the pargana, which might be utilized for the purpose. There is only one road, that which connects Nímkhár with Machhrehta. There is no water com- munication, the stream Baita which separates it from Machhrehta being unnavigable. There are two bazars held bi-weekly at Kurauna and Nagwa Jairám, but nothing save the ordinary necessaries of life are sold at either. The pargana boasts of one fair held annually in March at Jargavan, one of the places visited by the Nímkhár pilgrims on their "Paikarma” (vide town Misrikh). There are no mines or quarries in the pargana: nor are there any notable manufactures carried on, nor does it produce anything out of the common. The pargana is called Kurkhila in the Aín-i-Akbari, and was known ander native rule as "Kurkhila alias Kurauna," both words being the names of two distinct towns, five miles from each other. Kurauna being eigh- teen miles south from Sitapur and five miles east of Kurkhila. The name in either case has for root the Sanskrit word "kar" meaning a hand, from which also is named the "karjúra" or "hand-joining" tank at Jargawán,- i.e.," the village of the joining;" and tradition tells us that very many cen- turies ago one of the kings of the Solar dynasty having had the misfortune to lose both his hands, had them restored by bathing in the waters of this tank, which ever since has been known by the name it now bears. The old zamindars were, it is said, Pásis; and here again, as in the case of Khairabad and Láharpur, we find that the members of that tribe were once of a station in life very different to that which they now enjoy. Some 400 years ago they were driven out by an invasion of Janwar Rajputs, wbose descendants, represented by Deo Singh and Mádho Singh, still own the greater part of the pargana, including Kurauna and Jargawán. The 51 villages of the pargana are thus distributed,—32 Janwár, 10 Mos- lem, 3 Káyath, 2 Gosháin, 4 newly-formed grants. The 10 villages marked Moslem, known as “ Iláqa Kullí," are held by Muhammad Husen Khan, who acquired them in 1855 A.D. in mortgage from the original Janwar prop This gentleman is a taluqdar, and owns also Ilıqa Rájápára in the neighbouring pargana of Machhrehta. He is a Sayyad from zila Budaun, and was a chakladar of Khairabad prior to annexation. The history of Deo Singh and Madho Singh's family has been lost, and nothing is known about them save that their ancestors came into the country four centuries ago from Janakpur in Tirhoot. They themselves are the sons of Raghunath Singh, who died full of years in 1286 faşli (1850 A.D.), after having enjoyed his estate for 72 years. His father before him, Makhan Singh, was in possession for even a longer period, for he held the property for 75 years. Such an instance of longevity, a father and son holding their estate for a century and a half, is without parallel in this part of Oudh, and would probably be difficult to match elsewhere Even Raghunath Singh did not die in his bed, for he was alain with his eldest son, Dulár Singh, when defending his house against the attack of the Khairabad chakladar's troops. His other two sons escaped, and recovered ​KUR 289 the estate in the following year (1851 A.D). Kurauna itself contains 1,125 inhabitants, but has no remains of antiquity to show. Indeed, the tank of Kárjúra above mentioned is the only thing extant which goes to prove the ancient existence of any human beings in the pargana. KURHA KESHUPUR OR DARSHANNAGAR-Pargana HAWELI, OUDH -Tahsil FYZABAD-- District FYZABAD.—This place was founded by one Kodmal Chhattri; it lies on the road from Fyzabad to Akbarpur, and the railway passes through it. It is four miles from Fyzabad. The popu- lation consists of 2,372 Hindus, and 358 Musalmans, of whom 180 are Shias. It is a place of sun worship, there being a tank and temple sacred to that luminary. There are also one temple to Mahadeo and one to Debi. A mosque and a vernacular school also exist. It is called Darshannagar, because re-settled by Darshan Singh, the father of Maháraja Man Singh. KURSAT_Pargana SAFIPUR—Taksit SAFIPUR—District UNAO-Is ten miles north of Safipur and twenty-eight miles north-west of Unao. The Sai waters it, running one mile to the north. The town of Asíwan is distant about four miles towards the south-east. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but it is certain it was founded by Quds-ud-dín, the great ancestor of the present zamindar Karim Bakhsh. Being founded by Quds-ud-din, it was originaily called Qudsat pow changed to Kursat. Formerly there stood a village here called Khajuriya in the possession of a tribe called the Shahíds, who were a very turbulent race, and addicted to pillage and robbery. Quds-ud-din was sent here as subahdar to suppress and disperse them by Bábar, king of Delhi, the grandfather of the great Akbar. The town was laid siege to, reduced, and the country all laid waste. The subahdar then reclaimed the village, calling it Kursat after his own naine. Daud Khan and Said. ulla Khan, Afgháns, and some other Shekh Musalmans, who had accompa- nied the arıny and had assisted in the expulsion of the abovementioned tribe, divided the conquered land with Quds-ud-din ; half fell to the share of the general and the other half was equally divided between the Shekhs and Afgbáns, who each bad one-fourth of the whole land. This division has been much disputed ever since. The descendants of the conquerors still hold their shares. The soil mostly consists of loam and clay, and a small proportion of sand. The scenery is pleasant, the land level, the climate bealthy, and the water mostly good; there is a little jungle towards the west, In addition to the fight noted above, there was in 1840 A.D. a war between Shekh Karim Bakbsh and Lala Badrinath, chakladar of the Oudh government. The remains of a fort still exist belonging formerly to the Shahid tribe. There is now a school numbering 30 scholars Hindus and 27 Musalmans. There is a market here held weekly. Latitude 26° 50' north longitude 80° 25' east. Population : 3,719 Musalman Hindt P 1 -ed cad .. 1,664 - Totat 5,373 One mosque and 1,091 mud-built houses ; market sales annually Rs 2,233. ​KURSAT KALA′N[4]—Pargana Mallánwa′n—Tahsil Bilgrám—District Hardoi.—Population 2,689, chiefly Kangujia Brahmans; a fine village; is owned by Kurmis; and lies near the right bank of the Sai, nine miles north-east from Mállánwan; it contains 524 mud houses. A market is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the adjoining hamlet of Mirzaganj.

The Thatheras held Kursat Kalán till about the middle of the twelfth century, when a body of Kurmis from Ghúrka and Bárha, under the leadership of Bhím and Barsu, drove them out, and themselves settled here.


KURSELI[5] Pargana South Sara—Tahsil Hardoi—District Hardoi.—Population 2,898, mostly Pásis; an agricultural village of 428 mud houses, a little off the Piháni road; eleven miles north from Hardoi.

It is said to have been founded about four hundred years ago by Diwán Singh and Jagat Singh, Chamar Gaurs, descendants of Kuber Sáh, the conqueror of the Thathoras. (Soe Báwan pargana.)

KURSI[4]—Pargana—Tahsil Fatehpur—District Bara Banki.—The pagana of Kursi lies to the east of Mahona, and was, before its transfer to the district of Bara Banki in 1869, the centre one of three parganas which were administered from Kursi, its headquarters town. It is of very irregular shape, the bulk of it lying to the north, and cut almost in two at its centre by a corner of the Mahona pargana that projects into it on its western side; reducing its brcadth across, at this point, to no more than two miles, while its length from extreme north to south is not less than seventeen or eighteen miles. The town of Kursi is situated, at its narrowest part, on the road from Mahona to Dewa in latitude 27°8′, longitude 81°9′ On the north it is bounded by the Sitapur district, on the east by parganas Fatehpur and Dewa, on the whole of its west by Mahona pargana. Rivers it has none, but its north is well studded with jhíls, and a line of them commencing at its north-west corner culminate in the Kalyáni nadi, which, crossing the pargana in an easterly direction, shortly takes a bend to the south-east, and becomes the boundary line of the pargana as far as Dewa.

The traffic of the pargana passes through Kursi by two good roads, which run one south from Mahmudabad on the north to Lucknow, where it crosses into the city by the iron bridge, and the other cast from the Lucknow and Sitapur road, through Mabona and Kursi, to Dewa, and onwards to Bara Banki.

The population of Kursi is 3,650. It was formerly the headquarters of the pargana; but since its transfer to the district of Bara Banki the Government offices have been removed, and there remains only the police station, a post-office, and a school.

The next place of importance is Mausar, but chiefly for the market-place of Tikaitganj which was built on its lands. This bazar is situated two ​KUR 291 miles to the north of Kursi on the Mahmudabad road. The largest market in the neighbourhood is held here, and the yearly sales are said to amount to Rs. 66,000. The population of the village and ganj amounts to 4,240. Besides there are only three villages_Khingna, Bharauli, Arauri—that contain a population of over 1,000. The area of the pargana is eighty- nine square miles, and it contains ninety-one villages, averaging in area six hundred and twenty-five acres. The soil of the pargana is very good and fertile. The following figures will show how the cultivated land is made up = 78 per cent. is let class or lagm; 21 per cent. is 2nd class or clay. The culturable is thirty-five per cent., and lies chiefly to the north of the pargana whene population is very sparse. It is all of it good land, and will, when cultivators are brought up, quickly fall under the plough. Only 11:6 per cent. of its area is unculturable, and two-thirds of this is taken up by roads, village sites, and jhils. Irrigation is very fair; it amounts to sixty per cent., but so much as ninety- three per cent. of this is from jhils. Jhils lie thick through the northern parts of the pargana, and a great deal of irrigation is carried on from the Kalyáni river. But it is unlikely that only seven per cent of the irrigated lands is watered from wells. Water lies only seventeen feet from the surface, and nine feet of water lie in the wells. To the south of Kursi the pargana is very thickly peopled, and in great part by Muhammadans. With its clayey soil, and want of cultivators, the cultivation to thenorth of the pargana is poor, but to the south it is very fine. All the cercals are grown, and sugarcane and the Kachhi crops lie thick round the village, and very little of the ground is left uncultivated. Rents range from Rs. 4-14-0 to Rs. 5-8-0 per acre. Brahmans, Chhattris, and Ahírs, ail from Rs. 5 to Rs. 6-8, and Kachhis, who are fairly numerous, pay Rs. 9-10, Musalmans pay Rs. 5-5. The assessment fixed at summary settlement was Rs. 42,700. The revised demand is Rs. 74,650. ID The revenge rate falle at Rs. 27 on cultivated. Ditto ditto +7 1.5 on cultivated and culturable. Ditto ditto 31 1.5 tbroughout. The population is 37,459, sparse towards the north, as already observed, but dense in the south. It is thus divided :- Misalmans 17.8 per cent. of the whole. Hindus 82-7 Agriculturists 687 Non-agriculturists 41.3 The proportion of Musalmans in this pargana is high. They are in greatest strength on the south, where all the village communities are Mu- salman, but the Musalman element is strong throughout the pargana. is due to its history, which will be noticed. va ... ​292 KUR The earliest inhabitants of the pargana are said to have been the Bliars. Tradition assigns to them the founding of Mausar, Ukhri, Chakia, and Chulhia, which they named from four common articles of domestic use- from músal, a pestle, ukhli, a mortar, chakia, a mill, chulha, an oven. But the village of Chúlhia has disappeared. Mausar or Mahsand is built on a very high díh. These Bhars seem to have been contemporaneous with, or to have succeeded to, the Janwárs of Saindur-a village to the north of the pargana on the left bank of the Kalyani. Somehow they seem to have helped in the resistance to Sayyad Masaud's invasion in A.D. 1030. Yet the Musalmans say that they were opposed by no one but Bhars, and different parts of the country, colonized long after this time, seem to have been held only by Bhars. Janwars or Bhars, it is curtain that they are of very old standing in the pargana, and long preceded any of the other Rajput colonies of this district. The Janwárs themselves claim to be of very ancient descent, being content with no less an ancestor than Rája Juját, of the Satya-yug who built Jájmau on the banks of the Ganges. They say that their kingdom extended east to the bills, south to Benares, and west to the Ganges. And that Rájas Básdeo and Suphaldeo, of their linc, fought Sayyad Masaud Gházi at Bahraich, and that Udebhán, at a later date, opposed another of the Delhi emperors. Their possessions extend to this day into the adjoining pargana of Dewa, and their village of Saindúr must at one time have been of great extent. The site of it lies high, overlooking a deep jhíl, from the excavation of which it must have been formed, and is now overgrown with dense jungle, which they look upon as too sacred to be touched. The tribe of Sainduria Rajputs, who have colonized a large tract of country in Sitapur, assert that they are sprung and derive their name from the Rajputs of Saindúr. But at an early date they seem to have been confined to the left bank of the Kalyani; for previous to the first Musalman invasion came the Pari- hárs, who colonized sixty-two villages to the south of the Kalyáni, reach- ing down to Kursi and Mahágáon, in the present Mahona pargana. The Panwárs of the latter place hold some of their villages, but the Parihárs have not forgotten them. The Parihárs fixed their headquarters at Ghugtír, where they built a large fort, and brick-covered dihs of great extent may be seen there still, which mark its site. They gave way, however, before the Musalmans of Kursi—wickedly assisted, as they say, by the Mahona Panwárs, -and were pushed up north to Ahmámau, which they have kept to this day. Then came the Musalman settlement of Salemabad, at whose hands they suffered a further loss. This colony also has disappeared, and it is hard to trace its history. It may perhaps be placed at the commencement of the thirteenth century, for it is said they got a grant of twenty villages from Qutb-ud-din Ibak. The estate was long known as the tappa of Salemabad. Their leader was Sayyad Qásim Hamza of Naishápur. Later on in the line, Sayyad Farid, son of Nizam-ud-dín, married a daughter of Shekh. ​KUR 293 Muhammad, son of Shekh Mustafa, Abbási or Kaiqubadi Shekh of Kursi, who held the office of chaudhri of the pargana. Shekh Muhammad had no other child, and the Sayyad secured the office of chaudhri, and the royal farmán, which had been issued by the Emperor Akbar in name of Shekh Mustafa, was made over to him, and is still held by his descendants. Sayyad Bhikha, of the same line, got another farmán from Muhammad Shah in 1138 A.H. (A.D. 1726), but shortly after this the decay of the Sayyads began, and they gave place to an energetic family of Rajputs of the Khenchi tribe, who, it is said, began life by taking service with the Sayyads, but in the end succeeded in ousting them from their villages. They had previously also lost the chaudhriship which had again reverted to the Shekhs of Kursi, There is a mystery hanging over this last-named family. They do not seem to belong to the original Kaiqubádi colonists, and some say they are converted Hindus; but another more probable account is that they are illegitimately descended from the daughters of a Bais family of Boloiya in Sitapur, for whom they had stood security, and who, failing to meet their engagements, were attacked by the Sayyads, who harried and burned their villages, and carried off one of the daughters of their house, from whom the present family is descended. It is currently believed now that there are occasions on which they present offerings to a Hindu god in Boloiya. To Muhammad Mustafa, already mentioned, is given this place in their history, and from that time their kinsmen, the Kaiqubádis, would have nothing to do with them. They flourished potwithstanding. They held Ghugtír, the old headquarters of Parihárs and other villages, and Nindura, which belonged to the Janwárs of Daráwán, another branch of the Saindúr Janwárs, and they built a village called Din- panáh, “the defence of the faith." Another branch of the family, at present represented by Chaudhri Abd-ur-Razzáq, held Chilgaon, the nucleus of forty villages. And Chaudhri Musahib Ali and Abd-ur-Rahim, Taluqdars of Dinpanáh, are their direct descendants. The Musalmans have altogether proved strong in this pargana. Another Musalman colony of note, that of Mausar, came into the par-. gana at probably the beginning of the fourteenth century, and on the south of the pargana are various scattered Musalman communities, who date their history from the time of Sayyad Masaúd's invasion of A.D. 1030. It is not probable that they are of so early a date, though not unlikely that they were thrown out at different times from Satrikh, which for a long time seems to have sent out colonies to various places in the neighbourhood. The cause for the unusual predominance of the Musalman element has thus been shown. They hold forty out of the ninety-one villages of the pargana ; the rest are held chiefly by Rajputs. The only two taluqdars are Musahib Ali and Abd-ur-Rahím of Din- panáh, who hold jointly an estate of some six villages. When or why Kursi was first constituted as a pargana is unknown. It is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari, and the town of Kursi is said to have a brick fort. In the Nawabi it formed part of a chakla consisting of Kursi, Dewa, Jahángirabad, Satrikh, and Nawabganj. 38 ​294 KUR Pargana families--Chaudhri Musáhib Ali and Karim Baklısh, joint taluqdars of Dinpanáh belong to the qasba of Kursi. They are descended from Muhammad Mustafa, who, in the tinie of Akbar, was made chaudhri of the pargana. They now hold six villages assessed at Rs. 7,848-8-0. They are half of Kursi, Bhadasia, Khágipur, Dinpanáh, Kharsára, Ghug- tir, Bachgalini. The pedigree is : Muhammad Muhsin. Farid Muhamınd Salih. Razi. Khoandan. Mulammad Mustafa. Qulb-ud-din. Shekl Iuhammad Ilzuud. Fazl Rasul. Munín Zámin. K Mabammad. Asadulla furás. Abu 'Turás. A kbar, Muhammad Niwíz Jáfar Ali. Dogt Altzhammad. Saajat Ali, Gliylím Murtaza. Ilasan Ali. Susahib Ali. Karíın Baklısh, Qúsini Ali, Karim Bakhsh. Bakhsh Nabi akhsh. Abd-ur-Rahim. And-ul lakin. Razzie Bakhsh. Mehndi Husen. Hádi Jlusen. The Khenchis of Dhaurahra (Gotr Buch).-—This is a family of Rajputs holding an estate of seventeeu villages, or 81 by recent demarcation, to the north of the pargana. They came under Rája Singh, some seven generations ago Rája Singh is said to have taken service with the Sayyads of Salemabad. These Sayyads had colonized a tract of twenty-two villages, which was known as the tappa of Salemabad. One by one the Khenchis got posses- sion of them. Rája Singh took an old deserted Bhar dih, called Dhau- rabra ; it appears he got it on mortgage. There he built him a house and founded a hamlet. This was all that was done for a time; but by the third generation their family had acquired several more of the Sayyad villages by similar transfers. Mir Ahmad Hasan, otlierwise Mir Bänke, of the Sayyad house, then attacked the Khenchis, and killed seven of hem, But three boys escaped, and went to their unclo Kenwal Singlı, ​KUR 295 who had taken service with the Oel Raja of Kheri. By his help they re- covered Dhaurabra and their other villages. They re-established themselves, and being thrifty and making money, they lent to the Sayyads who were prodigal and spent it, and so the mortgaging went on. Koeli Singh got two or three more, and Zálim Singh, the present holder, succeeded in get- ting the whole estate but three villages. The Sayyads had tried force, and they now tried law. They brought the matter before the Lucknow courts and got a decree in 1251 fasli (A.D. 1844.) declaring that all the deeds were forged. Zálim Singh would not produce them. Perhaps he thought they were safer in his own hands. But he had to bolt, and the Sayyads, with the help of Rája Bisrán Singh of Mahágáon, got possession and barried the villages for three months; but Zalim Singh barried too, seizing his tenants, ploughs and beasts, and threatening all who consented to cultivate under the Šayyads. Finally the place was deserted, and the minister, Munawwar-ud-daula, sent pán leaves to Zálim, and asked him to return to his estate. So he came back ; but the Sayyads tried law a second time, and for the second time, three years before the annexation, got an order granting their possession. This time Zalim Singh staved off the blow, and he holds his estate assessed at Rs. 7,750 still. KURSI-Pargana KURSI–Tahsil FATEHPUR--District BARA BANKI. Kursi is the headquarter town of the Kursi pargand, sixteen miles from Lucknow, and eighteen from its district town of Bara Banki. It is crossed by two roads, one running north from Lucknow which passes on to Mahmu- dabad and Biswán in the Sitapur district, and the other west from Bara Banki, which joins the imperial road from Lucknow to Sitapur. Its population, is 3,650, and it contains a police station, Government school, registration, and post offices. The population is more than half Musalman; and the weaving and cotton cleaning trades fourish, but no bazar is held here; samples of agricultural produce only are brought to what market there is. The town has long belonged to Musalman proprietors, but it is said to have been built by two Bhars, Khushal and Mitħán, one of whom gave his name to Kursi, and the other to the village of Mithán, some four miles east of it. But another legend refers the foundation of the town to Kesri Dait, one of the servants of Banísur Dait, who lived at Rukhára near Mahona; and the old fort, the site of which can still be seen, is said to have been called the Kesrigarh. Kesri drove down a beam of sákhu wood into a tank called Songar, and offered to wrestle any one that could pull it out, but it has remained there unmoved to this day, and no one who has dug for it can reach its foundation. Still another tradition refers the foundation of the town to Lav and Kus, sons of Sri Ram Chandra, who built it in the Treta- yug, and the town was for some time called Kuslavi. These traditions are probably only due to the fanciful ideas of the natives who are addicted to such speculations. The origin is probably Bhar; for the same people are believed to have inhabited the Dewa Pargana which adjoins this to the east, and to have been overrun hy Rajput leaders acting under the authority of the Kanauj king. ​296 LAH Of the population 1,753 are Muhammadans, and 1,560 are Hindus. The bazar sales amount to Rs. 24,443, The place was formerly in the possession of Kaiqubádi Moslems, but since the time of Akbar Shah, the ancestors of the present holder have held the place. LÄHARPUR Pargana* -Tahsil SUTAPOR— District SITAPUR.--Pargana Láharpur is 22 miles in length and 14 at its greatest breadth ; its superficial area is 191 square miles, of which 133 are cultivated, and it contains 165 demarcated villages. It is bounded on the north by zila Kheri, on the east and south by parganas Biswan and Tambaur, and on the west by parganas Hargám and Khairabad, from which latter the little stream known as the Gon divides it. The soil for the most part is a fine dumat in the southern half of the pargana, which is separated from the northern half by a ridge of land from 10 to 30 feet in height, and running from the north-west to the south- east. The lands north of this are known as tarái lands, and are of that stiff soil called matiár, which in some parts is excessively wet and greasy, and in others dries into rock-like clods, upon which none of the ordinary implements of cultivation are able to make much effect, and which do not crumble even under the foot of an elephant. This tarái land does not require irrigation, for water is found at 4 or 5 feet from the surface. In other parts it is not found often until 32 feet in depth have been dug, The area of the pargana in acres is 122,730, which are thus classified :- .. . Cultivated Cult2cable Acres, 85,179 19,438 104 617 málguzari. Mukt Barron 976 17,137 18,013 unasgessed. 140 4 4. PO. and the revenue deinand falls thus : Rs. 8. p. On cultivated land t 6 9 On málguzari 1 1 10 On total area 0 15 2 The population appears from the census of 1869 to be. Hindus, agricultural 97,929 non-agricultural 27,615 07 . Muselmans, agricultural non-agricultaral 65,544 Total Hindus. 3,649 15,587 » 19,186 Totai Musalmans. Grand Total 84,730 living in 15,978 houses, By Mr, ML, Forras, B.A., C., Assistant Comnissioner, ​LAH 297 Thiese figures show that there are 444 souls to each square mile, and 5:3 to each house ; that the Musalmans are 23 per cent of the entire population which is more than double that of the provincial average, and that to each head of agricultural population there are 2 acres of cultivated and 2 of málguzári land. They also show the extraordinary fact that more than half the population is non-agricultural, which is scarcely credible. There are three rivers in the pargana-namely, the Gon, the Kewáni, and the Ghaghar. The first-mentioned separates the pargana from Khaira- bad, is and bridged in two places—first, at Kasraila on the high road from Láharpur to Khairabad, and secondly, at Dhamaura on a cross road. The former bridge was built 45 years ago by Makka Darzi, and the latter in 1860 by. Chaudhri Rám Naráin, the taluqdar of Mubarakpur. It is a very insignificant stream, drying up in many places during the hot weather, The second river, the Kewani, is larger than the Gon. In many parts it has the appearance of a good navigable river, in others, towards the source, it dries up in the hot weather. The last-mentioned or Ghaghar has more water in it than either of the other two; in some parts it can be crossed only by boats even in the dry season. The principal mart of the pargana is at Kesriganj, two miles west from the chief town of the pargana. Merchants come from the North-Western Provinces, and there are some Moradabad tradesmen settled in the ganj. There are also daily bazars held in Láharpur itself. The pargana is crossed from west to east by the road from Hargám, and from south to north by the road from Khairabad. The former runs on through Láharpur Khas to Biswán. The pargana was formed by Rája Todar Mal, the Díwán or agent of Akbar's celebrated Wazir, Shah Mansúr, out of the lands of 13 tappas, con. taining 765 villages. Two tappas were transferred to Biswán in 1175 fasli, or 104 years ago. There are now 165 demarcated villages or 176 muháls, which are held under the following tenures :- Taluqdari 104, zamindari 72; and out of the 165 townships 115 are held by five men as follows:-Rája Shiu Bakhsh Singh. 50, Nawab Amjad Ali Khan 23, Thákur Fazl Ali 20, Thákur Beni Singh 12, Thákur Pahalwan Singh 10, of whom the first three are taluqdars. The principal castes among the landed proprietors are Gaur and Janwar Chhattris, the former holding 105 villages, and the latter 13, These latter are known as Saindurias, from Saindúr in pargana Kursi, and they came into Lábarpur before the Gaurs invaded it in 1707(10 A.D.). In addition to the 13 villages which they hold direct from the state, they possess several villages in sub-settlement under Nawab Amjad Ali Khan. The Gaurs are descendants from that Rája Chandar Sen who invaded Sitapur during the anarchy which ensued on the Emperor Alamgir’s death in 1707 A.D. Mahábali, the ancestor of Thákur Fazl Ali abovementioned, was a Gaur, but was converted to Islám in the time of Nawab Shujá-ud. daula. He was great great-grand-father to the present taluqdar. ​298 LAH The history of the pargana is intimately connected with that of the town itself. Where it stands, the Emperor Firoz Taghlaq is said to have founded a town in 1370 A D., when on his way to the shrine of the Sayyad Sálár at Bahraich. Thirty years subsequently one Láhari, a Pási, took possession of it and changed the name to Láharpur. He did not continue long to enjoy his power, for in 1418 one Shekh Táhir Gházi slew him in battie and exterminated the Pásis. He and his descendants remained in possession down to the invasion of the Gaurs above mentioned. If this account is correct, it goes to show, as in the case of pargana Khairabad, that four hundred years ago the Pásis boasted a very different status to that which they now enjoy. In addition to the festivals and fairs of Láharpur, Khás (q. v.) are the following:- In Daryapur.---'Chhota Bahraich-ka-mela," held in Jeth in memory of Sayyad Salár. In Rajapur. -At the tank of Todar Mal. In Albarpur.-At the tank of the sun, (Súrajkund), in Kártik and Jeth. In Tahirpur.–At "Mahadeo Jangli Náth." Lachhmannagar.--At" Math Sítla Debi.” In Kesriganj.--A bathing at the tank. In Tálgion.--In Bhadon in memory of a famous wrestler Pír Zaid-ul- Abidín. At the last-mentioned as many as 10 or 12 thousand people assemble ; at none of the others more than half that number, There are no special manufactures carried on in this pargana, nor are there any mines or quarries. In Pursia and Kishunpur kankar is dug up in considerable quantities, and lime manufactured therefrom. The productive powers of the soil are a good average. No crop peculiar to the pargana is produced. Pargana Láharpur is included in the list of muháls constituting in the Ain-i-Akbari the Sarkár of Khairabad. Rája Todar Mal mentioned above is believed by the people of Láharpur to have been a native of that town, and his memory is still preserved in the name of the village (Rájapur) called after him. Mr. Blochmann (in his translation of the Ain-i-Akbari, Volume I, page 351) states, on apparently good authority, that he was born at Labore, the capital of the Punjáb. The similarity in the names of the two towns is no doubt the cause of the confusion, but local tradition is precise that the father of Todar Mal was a Puajábi Khattri, who married into a Chopri Khattri family in Láharpur, where the boy was born. Chopri Tola still exists in the town, LÄHARPUR Town,* Pargana LÁHARPUR-Tahsił SITAPUR---District SITAPUR—27° 43' north, 80°57' east-is 17 miles north of Sita- pur on a good unmetalled road, which goes on to Mallápur on the Gogra. • By Mr. M. L. Ferrar, B.A., C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​LAK 999 It is also connected by unmetalled roads with Hargám on the west and Biswan on the south, and about 14 miles to the east the Kewani river runs down to the south, fordable in the dry weather, but navigable during the rest of the year. The name of the town is said to be derived from Lohári, a Pási, who changed the former name of Tughlaqpur to Láharpur. This was some 500 years ago The town was originally founded by Firoz Tughlaq, who reigned from 1351 to 1388 A.D., and who settled in it certain Káyaths and Musalmans, but they were expelled thirty years afterwards by the Pási abovementioned. The descendants of the latter were exterminated 400 years ago by an army of Moslems headed by Tábir Gházi, who came from Kanauj. Subsequently, in 1707 A.D., the Gaur Chhattris conquered the Moslems, since which time the town has to some extent decreased in size and importance. It is still, however, of considerable extent, and boasts of a population of 10,890 souls, almost equally divided between Hindus and Musalmans of all castes and sects. The masonry houses are 104, and under the fostering care of the British Government the number is steadily increasing, the banker caste being the principal builders. The mud houses number 1,590. The public buildings consist of the usual police post, and registry offices, with the school building where 224 scholars attend, and a saráe. Besides 13 mosques and 4 ordinary Hindu temples there are two Nápakshahi sangats, and fourlarge Dargâhs. At one of which on 13th Rabi-ul-awal, the birthday of the Prophet, there is a large concourse of the faithful . There are good daily bazars in the town, the annual value of the sales being Rs. 40,000. There is one fair held in the town in Rabi-us-Sáni, and the Muharram is celebrated with great splendour. Lábarpur is surrounded and interspersed with fine groves: the river Kewani adds to its natural attrac- tions, and the earth is fresh and green. There are no manufactures. Todar Mal, Peshkár to king Akbar's Wazír, Shah Mansur, first saw light bere, though an authority, quoted in Elphinstone's History of India, puts him down as having been a native of the Punjab. LAKHIMPUR Town- Pargana KAERI—Tahsil LAKHYMPUR-District KHERI -Is situated at a distance of about one mile to the south of the Ul river. It is the headquarters of the Kheri district, and belongs to Balbhadr Singh, taluqdar of Mahewa. There is a bazar known by the name of Thurburnganj, built in 1859-60 at the instance of Major Thurburn, late Deputy Commissioner of the district. The money applied to its con- struction was raised by subscription. There is a daily market; and also a special one which is held twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. The annual average sale of European and native fabrics is estimated at Rs. 5,000. There is a mud-built saráe, which was built by order of the Government in 1859 A.D. Lakhimpur is picturesquely situated forty feet above the Ul, and at an elevation of 483 feet above the level of the sea. The soil is fertile, and the immediate neighbourhood is healthyFine groves crown the elevations on each side of the river. There are the usual offices for public business. A new masonry court-house has been erected. The jail is a mud-walled ​300 LAL-LIW 200 Hipdus d. 4. 671 657 d 200 vo I. 1.1 building. Water is abundant at a depth of 40 feet. Masonry houses are being built and trade rapidly increasing, l'opulation 1,654. Male Female 1,328. Musalmang- Malc 2 Female 154 ) LALGANJ Town-Pargana DALMAU--Tahsil LALGANS-District Rae BARELI.—This is a flourishing market town, six miles south-west of Dalmau, on the road from Bareli to Bhitari Ghát, district Fatebpur. There was an old díh or ancient village site bere; Shiu Singh of Samarpha found- ed a village called Datauli; his descendant, Lál Singh, founded another, and their joint labours were called Datauli Lalganj. The climate is healthy, and the place is prosperous. The population is 2,602, of whom 617 are Baniáns—all alleged to be followers of Vishnu. A thána and tahsil have been recently established here. There is a fine Thákurdwara erected by the Thakuráin of Samarpha. The maxket is held twice a week, and is a great mart for all kinds of country produce. The articles daily sold on the average are given as follows:- Name of Article, Quantity. Price. Maunds, Sers. Rs. as. p. Grains Grocery... . I. Salt Braas metal Cotton ... Quadrupeds Native cloths Europeon cloths Miscellancaug 581 10 1.453 4 0 10 12 165 0 15 5 78 2 } 8 60 0 0 104 7 1,666 120 100 0 417 picces 673 6 0 83 498 w 0 0 21 0 0 4 . 44. 09 . Total

4,715 8 a LIWANA-Pargana MÂNIKPUR-Tahsil KUNDA-District PARTABGARA. - This village is on the road from Salon to Mánikpur, ten miles from the latter. It was the property of the Brahmans and Bais. One of the Bais, Bhawani Singh, was a servant of Asif-ud-daula. He got the title of rája, became Názim of Sultanpur, and built several buildings here. 1,660 1,863 2133 Population... Musaimads There is a Government school and a temple to Mahadeo; also one to Vishnu. A bazar called Bhawaniganj adjoins; the annual sales amount to Rs. 6,000. ​LON-LUC 301 LONÁRA*_Pargana SANDILA-Tahsil SANDILA-District HARDOI.--Po- pulation 2,947.--A Nikumbh village of 520 mud houses, ten miles north- west of Sandíla; noticeable only as being the first seat of the Nikumbus, when 300 years ago they moved southwards from Muhamdi under Jhagrú Sáh, and drove out the Kamangars. (See pargana Sandíla.) LOWA-Pargana MAURÁNWAN-Tahsil PURWA-District UNAO.--Lies in latitude ž6°29' north, and longitude 81°1' east. On the north-east sixteen miles from the tahsil and thirty-six from the sadr station of Unao. The Sai runs close to the village, and no metalled road or large town is in the vicinity. It is said to be a very old village--date of foundation unknown. The soil is sandy with some clay. Surface of the ground level-climate good, and water fresh. Population Hindus 3,292 Masalmana 8,318 26 ) There are 594 mud-built houses. LUCKNOW DIVISION.Lucknow, a division of British territory in Oudh comprising three districts, whose names, areas, and population are given in the accompanying table. Area and population. DO 900 day 11 Area in Sta. tute British aquare miles District Division. Lucknow 956) 9661 517 503,851 189,362 4,222 780 421,069 387,126 778,185 905-5 med Unao Lucknow. 1,754 1,7461 300 893,930 61,906 2015 483,481 461,312 914,793 541-1 Op Bara Banki 2,098 1,768 1,109 982,976 253,067 67 6307 9 579,879 542,289(1,115,118) po Total 4,808 4,480 2,520 2,450,866 383,325 4,809 784 1,467,4291,870,877 2,838,106 618

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S, Assistant Commissioner,

39 ​

LUCKNOW DISTRICT ARTICLE.

ABSTRACT OF CHAPTERS.

I.—GENERAL ASPECT, NATURAL FEATURES. II.—AGRICULTURE, TRADE, AND COMMERCE. III.—THE PEOPLE. IV.—ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES. V.—HISTORY.

CHAPTER I.

NATURAL FEATURES.

Position of district, boundaries, Parganas, taksils, transfer of parganas—Aspect of district—Land levels, drainage—Water-shed—Character of rivers—Nature of the soil—Distribution of cultivated, culturable, and barren lands—Climate—Rainfall—Temperature—Wind—Storms—Sanitary and medical aspects.

The district is somewhat irregular in shape, but nearly approaches an oblong pitched obliquely in a direction porth-west by south-east across the 81st meridian, which passes through Lucknow, the capital of the province, at about its centre. It lies between 27° 12' and 26° 30' parallels of north latitude, and 80° 36' and 81° 18' east longitude. Its average length is about forty-five, miles and breadth twenty-five, and it contains an area of 955 square miles. The population amounts to 789,465.

It is bounded on the north-west by Hardoi and Sitapur, which are separated by the river Gumti up to its entrance into the district; on the north-east and east by tbe Bara Banki up to the easternmost point at which the Gumti leaves the district; and thence the border line bending slightly to the south-west by Rae Bareli; the entire length of its south-western flank is bounded by the district of Unao.

The parganas into which the district is divided form the units of its composition. These seldom appear to depend on any natural features, though the rivers Gumti and Sai may have determined the limits of two or three of the parganas which they bound and divide.

The district at the commencement of the settlement contained ten such parganas, distributed between the four tahsils of Lucknow, Kursi, Mohanlalganj, and Malihabad. They were distributed thus,—to Lucknow three parganas; the Lucknow pargana lying round the city, Bijnaur and Kákori lying to the south and west of it; to Kursi three parganas, Mahona lying on the left bank of the river Gumti, Kursi and Dewa to the east of it; to Mohanlalganj two parganas, Mohanlalganj and Nigohán Sissaindi, that take up the south-east end of the district; and to Malihabad, the two parganas of Malihabad lying on the right bank of the Gumti and Mohán Aurás, the most westerly pargana of the district. After the commencement of the settlement, its two most easterly parganas of Kursi and Dewa were transferred to Bara Banki, and Moháu Aurás of Malihabad to Unao; and on the re-arrangement of the district thus necessitated Malihabad and Mahona were put up together and made one tahsil, ​administered from Malihabad, and the remaining tahsils of Lucknow and MohanIalganj remained the same.

It need not be said that this district administration is the creation of the British Government, which accepting the old and well known division of the country into Parganas, and taking the old towns which had always formed the headquarters of the parganas, made them the centres of the fiscal and judicial administrations of its tahsil subdivisions. The pargana was under the native government strictly a revenue unit, and whatever may have been its origin was used solely for revenue purposes, being administered from the headquarters of revenue circles known as chaklas, which, in the instance of Lucknow, were in almost every case without the boundaries of the present district, the exception being in the case of the parganas immediately round the city, which paid into the Government treasury direct, and were said to belong to the Huzur tahsil. The tahsils to which cach of the parganas belong are given in the 3rd chapter of this article.

Aspect of district—The aspect of the country is open champaign, well studded with villages, finely wooded, in places most fertile, and in parts very highly cultivated. But the scene changes when a river or water course is approached, or one of the large sterile tracts of usar plain, which stretching sometimes for miles present no sign of vegetable growth, and yield no product but the reh, "sulphate of soda," which springs up in a saline efflorescence after the rains, and which is scraped together by the dhobi (washerman,) and used as a substitute for soap, or here and there a kankar pit, from which, to the depth of two or three feet, the quarryman digs out kankar for the roads. The level throughout is unbroken, and it is only on nearing a river, whose casual floods and deep running streams have broken and carried away the land on either side, that any expanse of country can be seen.

Land levels.—The slope of the country is north-west to south-east. but its uniformity of level may be partly predicted from the tortuous course of the rivers and streams, which seem with difficulty to force their way through the country. The following levels will show the height of the district above sea level at different points. At its extreme north near Mahona it is 415 feet; at Alambagh, about the centre, near Lucknow, it is 394 ; at Nagram on the southeast it is 372; showing, from north to south, a slope of no more than 43 feet or less than a foot per mile. There are no mountains.

Drainage.—The drainage of the country is carried on by the Gumti and Sai rivers, which in their turn receive small tributary streams. The chief of these is the Bạita, a small perennial stream, which, rising in the Hardoi district, passes through the Malihabad pargana in a south-easterly direction, and falls into the Gumti at a point on its right bank near Kánkrábad. "The Loni, another stream having its source in the Mohanlalganj pargana, passes through it, and joins the river near Salempur on its right bank. Its tributaries on the left are small and unimportant. The Sai bounds the district on its south-west side, and runs almost parallel to the Gumti. It receives the Nagwa and Bánk nadis. The former, a small ​stream which has its source a few miles to north of Mohán, and the latter the outcome of a series of jhíls lying in the hollow parts of pargana Bijnaur.

The watershed.—The watershed of the country to the south of the Gumti will then lie between the two rivers the Gumti and Sai, and must be picked out from between their tributary streams.

Character of the rivers and streams.—It may probably be supposed that the numerous streams and water-courses affording facilities for irrigation would add greatly to the potential agricultural wealth of the district, but it is not so. Whether they may raise the general spring level or not, which is often doubtful from the depth of the river beds, river water in general is most inaccessable. At Lucknow, the water level of the Gumti is 341 feet or 53 feet below the land level, which, as has been already said, is 394 at about the same point, and the difference is not less throughout its course. This is a great height from which to draw water, and the best lands are always long way from the river bed; for the rivers are accompanied in turn by wide tracts of undulating sand or high banks of rugged ground from which the super-soil has been washed and cut away by the rains forcing their way down to the river. Sometimes, where the river takes a sharp bend followed by a reach, the country is low and fertile, but the consequence is usually then too great a moisture and a rank marshy soil. These are the aspects of the river's banks; and it can only be said that nature has given a supply of water which artificial means of a higher character can only help us to secure.

In the rains of 1872, the river Gumti presented a vast volume of water 588 feet broad, 417 feet deep, with a velocity of 3.57 miles per hour, and with a discharge of 34,369 cubic feet per second. In ordinary monsoons the highest discharge is about a quarter less than this. The river is crossed by the railway with a girder bridge consisting of six spans of 56 feet each, and two land spans (brick arches) of 15 feet each. The flood discharges of the other rivers of the district were as follows when they are crossed by the railway:—

Rivere, Waterway, lineal feet. Height. Mean velocity Flood discharge per second cubic feet.
Thakravara ... 90 18.2 3.24 3,802
Nurhi jhil ... 27 6.7 11.36 1,978
Keth nala ... 150 22.0 5.47 15,586
Sai ... 220 47.0 3.26 11,751
Canal of Gházi-ud-dín, Haidar. 44 18.0 3.94 2,429
Baita, 1st crossing ... 224 25.7 1.99 5,806
Do. 2nd 3 "" ... 90 23.0 2.47 4,190


Nature of the soil.—Of the geological formation of the district I cannot say much, cxcept that it seems due to an alluvial deposit. The soil cultivated ​LUC 305 and culturable, where it is best is known as dumat, which etymologically implies a mixture of two earths, heavy and light; the heavy is the clay known as matiár, and the light has a large admixture of sand ; where it is entirely sand it is known as bhúr. The land is generally good, and with manure and water would be all productive. Bhúr or sandy soil ranges along the high banks of rivers. It is met with in the largest proportions in the Lucknow pargana, through the centre of which the Gumti passes; and in Nigohán Sissaindi, a long narrow pargana, washed by the Sai. In Kakori, which is washed by no river, and crossed by insignificant streanis, the bhur shows lowest. But the unculturable is generally of a most intractable kind. The úsar plain has becn already mentioned. It is the same as the usar land that prevails in the Unao district, and of which Mr. Maconochie has given a description and analysis in his report. It is, as far as is known, abso- lutely irreclaimable, and worse, if not scdulously watched and carefully checked by cultivation ; it seems insidiously to creep into the cultivated fields bordering on its margin, amongst the green crops, of which small white patches may be seen, hardly covered by a stunted growth. These plaios present a most sterile aspect, and the only vegetable growth that can be seen on them is a stunted grass which lasts only so long as the rains are still fresh upon the soil. They are of considerable extent, commencing from the centre of the eastern boundary of the Mohanlalganj pargana. They stretch through the district in a westerly direction through Bij- naur, Kákori, and finally disappear into the Unao district. Their effect on many villages is very fatal. Sometimes but a small residue of cultivation out of the whole area is left; but they have also had the effect of materi- ally incrcasing the size of the villages, which average in Bijnaur, the par- gana most fatally affected, 929 acres, being an area almost twice as great as and two-thirds greater than the area of villages in Mahona and Malihabad, the parganas least affected by them. In the Bijnaur pargana the bar- ren land amounts to so much as forty-three per cent of the whole area. Distribution of cultivated, culturable, and barren soil. The following figures will show the amount of cultivated, culturable, and barren land in the whole district. They are-cultivated 54:0, culturable 237, barren 22.3. And the annexed table will show the variations for each par- gana - Name of pargne. Culti. Cultura - Barren. vated, ble. d. Lucknow Bijnaur Kakori Mohanlalganj Nigohán Sigsaindi Mahona Malibabad 57.38 45 25 50-49 6180 31.1 56.14 59 64 19.7 18.29 12.2 26.81 34.19 26-62 26.62 23-55 4346 37.49 81.61 13.80 19.17 18.92 aa 104 DEO ​306 LUC And of the cultivated area some 73 per cent. belongs to the 1st class of dumat soil already mentioned, while 16 per cent. is clayey or matiár, and 11 per cent. light sandy soil. But the barren land is not all due to úsar; 8:39 per cent. for village sites, 23.29 for ponds and jhíls, 5-38 for roads may be deducted, leaving a balance of 62-94 per cent of the noininally barren area that is absolutely chargeable to unculturable úsar. Climate.--The climate of Lucknow presents no features differing from those of Northern India generally ; its salient points may be indicated. Rainfall.-During the last eleven years 1864-1874, the rainfall has been as follows at Lucknow itself : Year. 1. ve NE Ineles, 24 84 28 pes 0. .. 3.. +44 4 . € 53 27 3864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1969 187) 1871 1872 1873 1874 . 10. 491 42 64 65 41 34 47 4. e. iv I IB 407 9r I. tv . 4+ Average 414 19. It is possible, however, that Lucknow owing to its proximity to a river gets. more rain than other parts of the district. The mean of the three tahsils- Malihabad, Lucknow, and Mohanlalganj—is given in the ensuing table; the average of eleven years is 37:6 inches. It will be noted that in five of these eleven years there was moderate rain not far from the average, in three there was drought, and in three excessive rain - Average fall of rain in Lucknow district, Years. Inches. .. .. 4. a. 20 up P. er . ... b! 4 . 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1878 1874 1875 27.0 28.0 54.0 21% 347 56-6 57-1 328 30.1 41.6 39 2 9. tot & . 4. 40 E . . B06 410 .

F. 1.1 .. . Average for eleven years 37.6 IL OPP VI In 1873-74 the rainfall was scanty and ended prematurely. The mon- soon commenced on June 20th, 1873, and throughout that month the fall amounted to 0:52 inches; the rain ended on 16th September, in the whole of which month the fall amounted only to 10-84. During the next four months ​LUC 307 09 OP only 0-2 inches fell, and the first heavy shower was in February, on the õth, when a fall of 0:3 inches was registered. The important matter both for health and agriculture is not so much the amount as the distribution of the rain. The regular rains commenced and ended as follows: June, 26th September, 23rd June, 9th September, 8th June, 20th September, 16th June, 6th September, 26th The rains thongb sufficient in quantity were untimely in 1869, for there were no rains till July; in 1870 because the rain commenced so late, delay- ing agricultural operations; in 1873 because they commenced late and ceased early, drying up the late rice. The important months for husbandry are June, September, and December-January. The following are the rain- falls of those months September. December-January 1870 1872 1873 1874 ho 11 hot . BU 1368 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 June. 8.3 1.9 9-8 I17 13.1 17.1 170 1.8 10.8 8.0 1.7 14 1 2 3.2 02 02 0:1 10 0.5 87 Of these years 1873 was perhaps the worst; in two of the critical portions of the year the rain was very scanty; on the 3rd September rain was abundant enough, but it ceased on the 16th. Now, 1874, the rains have apparently ceased, but there is little danger of a bad crop as in 1873, because the previous rains were early, the rice is well grown and can stand drought better, and the tanks are overflowing from a copious and steady rainfall . There is only one month in which apparently there is never any rain, that is November. In the last half of October and first half of December there has been no heavy rain since 1867; during these eight weeks the wheat generally has to be watered twice, so artificial irrigation to a large extent is necessary every year. Temperature.—The mean temperature of Lucknow observatory for the years 1868-73 in the shade is 78-8, the extremes being 80-3 and 78:2. The mean maximum on the grass has been 62, having been 59.7 in 1873. The minimumon the grass in December, 1871, was 287, and 26:7 on 8th January, 1874. On this latter occasion many trees and plants were killed or severely injured by the frost to a height of eight feet from the ground. On June 4th, 1873, the maximum temperature in the sun's rays was 171. The mean temperatures of the hottest months (May and June) are as fol. lows 16 1872.

      • 93

.: 92 1873. 9) 97 6 DO May Jube Iu 1873, the average of the six months (April to September) was 88-8, of those from October to March 67-5. The range of thermometer in one year from 171 to 26 degrees is enormous and doubtless very trying. ​308 LUC Wind.--The prevalent wind during the hot months is westerly. There are on the average 27,000 miles of wind every year; this would give an average of nearly 74 miles per day. March, April, and May are the most windy months. Hailstorms have not done serious damage since 1868. The wind generally is quite strong enough for a wind-mill, which might apparently be tried on a large scale in Lucknow for irrigation purposes, A wind-mill, with sails of 40 feet radius, is equivalent to 65,000 feet pounds per minute, Storms. There are four or five storms nearly every year, mostly in the months of April and May. Since 1868 there have been registered three storms, with a pressure of 40lbs. per square foot. In 1873-74 there was no storm with a greater pressure than 104lbs., but this is probably incorrect, as the registered velocity indicates a much higher pressure. In all the preceding years the registered pressure has reached 25-30 or 40lbs. In 1869 only 201bs. were reached. Sanitary and medical aspects.-The mortuary returns and statistics are so incorrect that no reliance can be placed upon them. The reported deaths in 1872 in Lucknow were 148 per mille of the population ; in 1870 they were 10:36 in the rural district, and 25:82 in the city; in 1871, the rate was 19 8 in the city, and 12-5 in the district; fever is credited with about half the mortality.+ Small-pox is very prevalent in Lucknow, but it is of a mild type. Only about one per cent of the deaths are credited to it, although the large majority of the people have suffered from it, and some from repeat- ed attacks. Cholera has not of late been very destructive; but in 1872, 2:11 per mille are recorded to have fallen victims to it. The ci vil sur- geon states that the native drugs are worthless, and the Yunani system of treatment mere charlatanry. The following memorandum on the ne- dical aspects of the Lucknow district is supplied by Bábu Chandi Charan Ghose, assistant to civil surgeon :- "No trustworthy statistics exist as to the annual birth rate in the district of Lucknow; and even the registration of deaths in the city of Lucknow and the seven rural circles is not as perfect as is to be desired. The population of the district-according to the latest publication in the Oudh Government Gazette of 21st November, 1874-is 778,195, and the number of deaths registered in the district during 1873 is 10,288, giving the ratio of 13-22 of deaths per thousand of the population. The mean ratio of deaths per thousand during the previous three years was 16-28. All this information has been collected from the inortuary returns, but as doubts have been expressed about the correctness of these returns, the figures given above must be taken with a certain degree of allowance. The prevailing endemic diseases in the district are fevers, skin diseases, and bowel complaints. Fevers are met throughout the year ; but their prevalence during three months—September, October, and November • Chambers' Encyclopædia, Article Wind-mills, Fairbairn's Mills, Vol. 1, pagca 6, 282,295; Murray's band-book to the Contioent, pagca 12, 18, quoted in Kheri district article. t The Civil Surgeon aaya that lie cannot give any trustworthy faets bearing on the medical aspects of the Lucknow city and district, ​LUC 309 is marked. In 1873 the largest number of deaths (960) occurred in November and the smallest (367) in July. The deaths registered from fevers during 1873 in the district were 7,233, giving a ratio of 9:30 per thousand of population. During the same year no less than 2,531 cases of fever were treated in the king's hospital, civil dispensary, and Balrámpur hos- pital, in the city of Lucknow. The most common kind is intermittent fever of the quotidian type in the proportion of 10 quotidian to 1 tertian. The quartan type is comparatively rare. Rcmittent fever is not uncom- mon. It exists in the district in the proportion of 1 to 50 of intermittent fever. Fevers in this district are comparatively speaking of a mild type. The causes are the same everywhere. Sub-soil drainage is a thing unknown in the district. Rank vegetation during the rains seems to be one of the chief causes. Unwholesome food is another. The poorer classes cannot afford to eat wheat, bájra or gram; during the greater part of the year kodo and makái of the worst kind are their common The numerous pools of stagnant water are the favourite seats of fever in the district. What with privation and exposure to the extremes of cold, and heat and rain, it is not to be wondered at, that fever is so prevalent in the district of Lucknow. Cholera is seldom absent from the district. There is no year in which a considerable number of deaths is not ascribed to this disease. Botlı forms of cholera (sporadic and epidemic) are met with. The discase appears at the setting in of the rains, and is generally prevalent during the months of July, August, September, October, and November. In 1873, the largest number of deaths (91) occurred in the month of November. The statistics of deaths from cholera during the last five years in this dis- trict are as follows; but as registration is very imperfect, these figures are only approximately correct. 831 deaths. 1869 1870 1871 1872 1973 99 19 P. 12 858 1,216 169 ta. 1) + >> 19 There does not seem to be any doubt now; that every year there is a focus of cholera in one of the districts, from which it is scattered about by pilgriins visiting the different fairs, shrines, and bathing places, or by traders travelling from one infected place to another. No class of people seem to be exempt from an attack of cholera. Especially, however, the lower classes of the people who are not particular about their food, and whose habits of life are far from cleanly, fall victims to this disease. In 1873, the ratio of deaths per thousand of population was 20. The causes of the disease are yet enveloped in mystery. Small-pox generally makes its appearance in the month of March, and attains its maximum intensity in the months of April, May, and Juve. It begins to decline during the rains, and almost disappears by the mid- dle of the cold weather. Small-pox rages with virulence in all ranks of society, and in absence of general vaccination or inoculation, numbers are carried off every year. Infection is the only cause of the disease, The people of this district seem to be averse to vaccination, and so long as 40 ​810 LUC In tot .. >> P. 1 13 39 ce 740 830 648 975 73 to. > 7) Jenner's method is not universally followed, there is no hope of the disease being eradicated. Medical aid during prevalence of the disease is totally unavailing. The ratio of deaths during 1873 was 1-23 per thousand of population. Deaths registered from this disease during the last five years were as follows - 1869 ... 2,566 deaths. 1870 1871 1872 1873 The remarks regarding registration of deaths froin cholera apply with equal force to that from small-pox. Bowel complaints. The return of deaths during the last five years under these diseases is given below :- ID 2869 859 deaths. 1870 942 1871 ... 1,005 1872 962 1873 520 The ratio of deaths from bowel complaints during 1873 per thousand of population was 79. In the king's hospital, civil dispensary, and Balrampur hospital, 812 cases of dysentery and 923 cases of diarrhea were treated during the same year. The deaths were 10 from the former, and 38 from the latter in these hospitals. Skin diseases. These do not call for any special remarks. The most common forms are scabies and ringworm, both of which are owing to the unclean habits of the people. Cattle disease.—Murrain carried off during the last four years many head of cattle in the province. To remedy this evil, the Chief Commis- sioner engaged the services of a veterinary surgeon. A veterinary school has been established to teach sálotris how to treat disease when it breaks out in the districts. No reliable information can be obtained of the number of cattle attacked by this discase in Lucknow, nor how many have died from its effects. I am not aware whether they have suffered from the diminution of pasture lands. List of some indigenous medicines found in the district of Lucknow. 1. Opium The inspissated juice from the incised ugripe capsules of Sapaver Pomniferum, 2. Mustard The seeds of Sinapis Nigra. 3, Bel The half ripe fruit of Aegle Marmelos. 4, Amiltás Cassia pulp. The pulp of the pods of Cassia Fistula. 5. Imli Tamarind. The pulp of the fruit of Tamarindus indica 6. Goud Gum acacia. A gumny exudation from the stems of Ac&- cis Gummifera. 7. Pomegranate root bark The bark of the root of Ponicca Granatum. 8. Colosynth The pulp of the fruit of Citrulus Colocynthis. 9. Madar The root of Calatropis Hamiltouii. 10. Kuchlá Nux-vomics. The secds of Strychnos bux-Vomica. 11. Kaládána Pbarbitis nil. 12. Kath Karurjá The seeds of Casalpinia Bonducella. 13, Makoc The leaves and root of Solapum Nigrum. 14, Dhatúra The fruit and leavce of Stramonium. 15. Japál Gotá Croton secd, The secde of Croton Tiglium, ​LUC 31) Two different native systems of practising medicine are in vogue in the city and the district of Lucknow-viz., that of the baids, and the hakims. The baids are generally medical practitioners who profess to follow the system of Suscruta. Many of these practitioners, however are entirely ignorant of the principles laid down by the great Hindu physician, and are merely quacks who treat at random. They generally use mineral medicines, without apparently being aware of the injurious effects produced by them upon the system of the patient. I have known cases in which injury done by these quack medicines has been incalculable. There is a Hindu proverb that the skill of no physician is to be trusted unless at least one thousand patients meet death at his hands. Though these men do not possess the necessary qualifications of physicians, the people have such a blind faith in them that they would rather die than take medical aid from qualified practitioners practising any other system. The remarks I have inade above with regard to the baids apply equally, well to the hakims. Hippocratus is their great teacher. They profess respect for the teaching of the great Greek physician, but I very much doubt whether many of them have any knowledge of the truths discovered by Hippoc ratus. The hakíms generally use vegetable medicines, and believe that they produce a cooling effect upon the system, but their belief often turns out to be fallacious in the extreme. It is true that their vege-

table medicines are not so injurious as the mineral medicines of the baids. ​

CHAPTER II.

AGRICULTURE, TRADE, AND COMMERCE.

Towns and villages—Grove Area of townships—Origin of villages—Area under crops —Irrigated land—Culturable land—Uncultivated lands—Goind lands—Rents—Additional cesaes—Indebtedness of cultivator and his social position—Harvests, the rebi, kherif, and henwat crops—Outturn—Irrigation—Government advance for irrigation improvements—Prices—Scarcities and famines—Food—Fish—Wages—Weights and measures Principal bazars—Markets—Manufactures—Trades—Communications—Roads—Railways Carriage.

Towns and villages.—Exclusive of the city of Lucknow there are no great towns. The only others with a population of more than 5,000 are Amethi, Kákori, and Malihabad: Bijnaur, Kasmandi, Mahona, and Mariáon are qasbas, but wanting only in population. The qasbas are almost universally the headquarters of parganas, and from then the pargana used to be administered under the native rule. Here is an account of the origin, and a description of a qasba town,"A Musalman settlement in a defensible military position, generally on the site of ancient Hindu headquarters, town, or fort, where, for mutual protection, the Musalmans, who had overrun and seized the proprietary of the surrounding villages, resided; where the faujdár and his troops, the pargana qanungo and chaudhri, the mufti, qázi, and other high dignitaries lived; and, as must be the case where the wealth and power of the Moslem sect was collected in one spot, a large settlement of Sayyads' mosques, dargáhs, &c., sprang up As a rule there was little land attached, and that was chiefly planted with fruit groves, and held free of rent, whilst each man really had a free hold of the yard of his house and the land occupied by his servants and followers." (From Mr. Capper's judgment in the Amethi case.) The larger towns are generally the resort of the Musalman gentry, as well as the lower caste members of the creed, who follow the mechanical professions. With the exception of such towns the district is chiefly rural.

Including Lucknow, the urban population amounts to 32-5 per cent. of the whole, nevertheless there are numerous large villages containing a population of from 1,000 to 2,000 and from 2,000 to 5,000 inhabitants; the population of the city is understood to be slowly declining. The following figures will show the entire number of towns and villages in the district classified:—

There are—

4 with a populatiou of over ... ... 5,000
31 with a population of from ... 2,000 to 5,000
101 " " " ... 1,000 to 2,000
292 " " " ... 500 to 1,000
689 " " " ... 200 to 500
404 " " of less then ... 200

And there is moreover no large village without its dependent hamlets. Their entire number is 988 (in the old district), but they do not belong to the smaller villages, and not so much to the pargana towns as to the large villages. Eliminating the former and the city of Lucknow, eleven in all, and taking only half of the villages with a population of over 200, the ​LUC 313 average number of hamlets is two and a half to a village. The single isolated houses are not many, and what there are, are the abodes of faqirs and religious enthusiasts, who have abandoned the toils and pleasures of the world. Grores and trees. It has been said the groves amount to 40,230 acres, or five per cent of the whole area of the district. But this very inadequately represents the trees. It shows the mango orchards that are grown on uncultivated ground; but it does not show the fruit trees, the orange, pomegranate, guava, and custard apples that grow round Lucknow, and the numerous towns scattered through the district : nor does it show the avenues and single trees, the tamarind, bargad, or banyan (ficus indica), semal or cotton tree (bombax heptaphyllum), gúlar (ficus glomerata), the bel cegle marmelos, the bakáin or willow, ním (melia azidirachta), and palm tree that are spread through the country. Noticea- ble among them is the single mango tree of fine growth and comely shape. It is the survivor of some old grove, which the owner, through straightened circumstances, has reluctantly cut down. He called it Jåk or Sakhiya, from Sakhi, the witness of the place where the old grove stood. The etymology of Ják is uncertain. These mango groves are not planted or reared without considerable trouble and outlay. For the first two or three years of their growth they are made over to the village mali (gardner), who, for his trouble, has the cultivation and crops of the ground so long as he tepds it. But it is only round the towns that a selection of grafts and fruit is thought of. Malihabad is noted for the fineness of its mangoes and its ber (zyziphus jujuba), grown in orchards called beriána. There are no forests in Lucknow. Area of townships.—The average area of the townships is some- thing under a square mile each, but it varies from 929 acres in Bijnaur to 483 acres in Mahona. It does not seem to depend on the density of the population or extent of cultivation, and its true cause must be sought for in the varying histories of the owners of the soil, and the original conquest and colonization of the country. Origin of villages.—Some of the villages are very old and date from pre-historic times; but some are modern, in so far that their histories can be definitely traced. The native imagination delights in finding derivations more curious than trustworthy for names, and it would be unsafe to build much history on their accounts of the foundation of some of their villages; but from very ancient times the founder seems gene- rally to have given his name to the village. Natural objects are not varied or striking enough to have given much help, though they are readily seized when present—as a tree, or an unusual feature in the soil, or a natural produce. Instances are Khajúrgáon, the village of the date trees; Ber-Karaundi, of the ber and karaunda "bushes”; Pán-Bári, the village of the pán gardens; Tikaria or Tekri, the village with the hillock; Kánkrabad, the kankar village. But it is characteristic of all villages built since the time of the second Rajput colonization and Musal- man invasion, dating from perhaps the end of the 12th century, that they should terminate in púr or nagar or khera, or in the Musalman ​314 LUC ábád. Other names than these are difficult to trace, and seem to belong to another order of things, probably they point to an aboriginal origin. Area and cultivation.—The following statement shows the number of townships, area, and cultivation in the district of Lucknow:- Parganas. Luckno. Name of tahsil, Lucknow Bijnaur Kákori 180 102 56,139 42,889 19,261 18,663 10,695 • 4,586 2,488 12,873 1,388 32,357 751 10,489 5,631 6,370 2,592 2,14697,820 1,123 94,772 472 88,750 Total.. 346 118,279 33,939 4,577 58,719 14,493 3,741 12,31,342 Mohanialganj. Mohanlalganj, 171 Nigohan Sis- 57 saindi, 66,132 23,860 84.519 15.688 2,614 16,762 782 3,168 7,300 2,006 1,190 128,417 424 46,878 Total ... 228 89,992 50,207 3,246 19,930 9,306 1,614 174,295 .. Mahona Malihabad ... Malibabad. 194 188 .52,979 71,097 23,209 31,834 1,362 9,926 9,729 2,185 4,957 3,543 1,326 94,259 1,185 119,573 Total .... 383 124,076 66,043 4,047, 19,656 8,500 2,511 213,832 Grand Total.... 966 332,347 139,189 11,870 96,304 32,299 7,866 619,469 Arece under cultivation.--The area of land under cultivation amounted to 480,274 acresin the old district from which parganas Mohán, Aurás, Kursi, and Dewa have been removed. The present area is 488 square miles or 312,320 acres; but the survey was in 1867-68, and there are now probably 350,000 acres under the plough. The above area does not agree exactly with others given elsewhere, nor with the annual report* which gives the area of cultivation at 533 square miles. The difficulty probably arises in connexion with the 23 villages of the Lucknow district, which in 1869 were included in pargana Dewa and transferred to Bara Banki, It is not worth while now adjusting exactly the proportion of cultivation which existed eight years ago, because it has now largely increased. In the old district 43) , per cent of the cultivation was irrigated. • Statistical Returp la. ​LUC 315 Irrigated land.—The irrigated land consists of two kinds-irrigated from wells and irrigated from jhils, tanks, and rivers. The last does not amount to much. The irrigation from jhíls and tanks, or what may be called natural means, amounted in the old district to 72.5 per cent of the whole, and was most in Bijnaur and Mahona. This is a very large pro- portion, and seeing how dependent and precarious such irrigation is, the existing necessity for encouraging and aiding the cultivators to dig wells can never be too fully recognized. The land watered from wells is always the best land. The operations of irrigation are described at length in the Partabgarh district article. Culturable land.—The culturable land is of very varying qualities in the different parganas, and in most cases little can be done with it with present means and appliances. If it were good it would be cultivated. Land is wanted. This may be illustrated by the facts disclosed in the parganas of Lucknow, Bijnaur, and Kákori, which are shown in theac- companying table. While the population in these parganas presses the heaviest, and the holding of the cultivators are the smallest, the amount of culturable land left is the least. Taking all the parganas, it would seem that the extent cultivated was in inverse ratio to the density of the popu- lation, which would hardly be the case if there was much land left that could be used. In the best parganas, which are undoubtedly Mahona and Malihabad, the amount of cultivation increases with the sparseness of the population. In Malihabad, which has 786 to the cultivated mile, the average holding per caltivator is from 4 to 41 acres ; while in Lucknow, which has 1,229 to the square mile, the holding per cultivator is as low as three acres. The following table will show the variation in holdings for all the different parganas :- square Districts, A. R. P. POL > Lucknow *** Bijnaar Kókori Mohanlalganj Nigobén Sissaindi Malibabad Mahona ... 146 148 60 201 72 187 147 55,800 42,855 19,181 65,543 20,860 70,973 62,743 7,925 8,283 3,007 80,093 12,973 28,240 20,542 666 454 530 568 517 413 486 1,229 1,005 1,059 1,103 1,005 786 872 18,490 73,664 5,948 19,830 6,415 15,127 10,615 3 0 0 3 0 25 3 0 38 3 1 13 3 3 94 4 2 91 3 0 22 BOR 403 000 Total . 10 327,955 .. 100 The culturable land is said to amount to 210,208 acres, or 237 per cent. of the whole area; but the account is illusory, for of this 27,731 acres or 13-2 per cent. are groves, and there is still the question whether, in the interest of what stock there is, the remainder had not better be left untouched. But this might pass; the beasts are of so poor a quality now, and pick up so scanty a pasture, that if, by agricultural means, the quan​316 LUC tity of fodder could be increased; they would undoubtedly be much better off. Goind land. The only high class cultivation really so is to be found in the goind lands round the villages and hamlets, and it depends generally on the density of the population, and what they can lay out in manure and irrigation, as to whether the goind can be extended or not. As manure and water can be applied to the farthest corners of the village, so will the productive powers of the soil be increased, and a possibility of raising the finer crops exist. But manure is scarce, and such scanty supply as there is, is more often used for cooking, and for fuel for brick-making, than for re-invigorating the soil. Stock is at a minimum; the cultivated land is 480,274 acres; the number of beasts, all told, is 262,032, not much more than one to every two acres; none of the manure is saved in farm-yards, but the beasts are allowed to stray out in the jungles ; 240,847 are of the cow tribe, and, for eight months in the year, the women of the lower castes are engaged in making cow-dung cakes to stack in front of their houses for fuel for household purposes, or to sell for kilns, in order to add some small mite to their daily earnings. Rente. -The rents on the different kinds of soils in all the parganas are given in the annexed table. They were those used for the assessment of the district. They have been deduced only from the lands held by tenants- at-will, and paying a money rent. Applied throughout to the zamindar's sír, to the Brahman's mudfi, and the batái lands of the village, assets would have amounted to Rs. 25,57,756; but the assumed assets for assessment have been taken only at Rs. 23,77,236, Goind. Dumat. Matiár. Bhúr. Parganas. Irrigated. Unirrigated. Irrigated. Unirrigated. Irrigated. Unirrigated. Irrigated. Unirrigated. Rs. a. ks. a. Rs. a. Rs. a. Rg. a. Rs. a. Rs. &. RA. B. Lucknow 4 7 10 8 6 het 4 10 6 1 3 2 Bijbaar 20 8 15 6 8 5 10 3 15 2 14 3 3 Kakori 7 15 8 145 150 8 4 10 2 13 IH 6 8 6 14 4 6 Mohanlalganj Nigohán Signaindi Mallhabad 8 8 5 11 6 64 0 6 8 4 1 1 7 5 5 6 5 $ 8 13 60 4 0 3 9 28 Mahoga

  1. 6

8 2 63 $ 13 4 10 Rents are everywhere rising, and payments in kind, which existed only in any force in the eastern parganas, are being steadily commuted for ​LUC 317 broken up 9 money rents. Sometimes the former are still taken for land being newly The rent begins low but is raised by fixed yearly increments till it reaches one-half of the produce. The system is called "hissai (by shares). It may commence at a tenth called "dasami," whence it advances by regular steps to one-eighth, one-fifth, one-fourth, and one- half“ athaiyyán," panchayyán," "chauthayyán," "batái.” But if the land is not bad, and requires less labour and capital, it begins at one-fourth, or if money be agreed on, it commences at one anna per bigha, and next year advances to two annas, and thence by yearly increments of two annas till it reaches one rupee, when it becomes subject to competition or agree- ment; or the rent may commence at four annas. Additional cesses.--- It may be interesting to mention some of the old customs that existed with reference to batai or division before they altoge- ther dic out. The zamindar exacted, in addition to his half, various cesses which he called the siwie and gaon-kharch. The first was the "arhaiya” or 21 sers kachicha, equal to one ser pakka, per maund for his village ex- penses proper, and was to recompense the zamindar for his trouble and expense of the chaukidar and patwári, and for the benefit of his protection. It amounted sometimes to so much as a panseri, five sers kachcha or two sers pakka. Next came the seri, or one ser per maund, half of which was for the patwari and lialf for the shahna or bailiff, who looked after the crop on behalf of the zamindar. The menri or mendi, or so much per field, usually an arhaiya or 21 sers, equal to one ser pakka, for the weighing man, but the zamindar took half of this. The cesses seem to late been originally levied on the principle that the landlord must have a full net half of the produce of the soil. Under these circumstances, it was impos- sible that cultivation on batái lands should be of a high quality, and in fact it never was. The commutation into money rents has worked so much good for the cultivator that he will get all the excess that his labour can procure. These cesses have fallen with the payment in kind, and are in- cluded in the rent. The cesses were never taken from the Brahman or Chhattri, the " bhala. mánus," the respectable man. And this has always been borne in mind in the fixation of his rent in money, which is always less than that of the common cultivator, though it will vary with the varying histories of. and the moral influence and status of, the Brahmans in the different parganas. In addition to this, the cultivator, and, indeed, all classes alike, had and still have another drain in the handful, the " anjuri," that is taken for the offerings. It is a double handful of grain taken out of each man's beap; they usually amounted to five-one for the parohit Bra hman, one for the faqir, one for the Bhát, one for the Máli, and one for the chaukidar. The whole amount is computed to amount to a panseri, or two sers pakka. But the anjuris varied; five would be the least. Tlicy can mount up to nine, which were given to the parohit, the faqir, the Bhát, the Máli, the Pási (chaukidar), the Malláh (boatman), a Gosháín, a Ganga- putr, to Bishundás, a Brahman of Lucknow, which was a special case. ​318 LUC The expenses of barvesting vary. The luunhár reaper (lahna, a sheaf) gets one out of every twenty-four or thirty (tisauri) sheaves in the high- class crops, and every thirteenth sheaf (bárabwán, terahwán) in pulses. But for the latter the payment is sometimes one in every thirteen panse- ris of the thrashed grain. And for corn, if grain be taken, it is not more than oue ser per maund, or one in forty instead of one in thirty maunds, taking the lowest rate of payment in shcaves. Indebtedness of the cultivator.--The cultivator is generally in a poor way, though in some estatcs he is better off than in others. His indebted- ness is almost universal, and he gets little help from liis landlord. The latter will advance him money for the purchase of seed or plant, but he will not fail to take interest for it. The high prices of the last years, however, have done much for his benefit, and it is said his indebtedness is diminishing. But though much could be done for his improvement and much for his land by extending irrigation and applying more capital, his prospects do not seem very hopeful. His rent is high and still rises, his holding is small, and, as the population increases, will still get smaller. The cultivators, the asámis, are the villeins of the middle ages, and the lord of the manor reckons them amongst his goods and chattels; they are adscripti glebo. In a transfer of his domain he includes them. It is an unneighbourly and unfriendly action to entice them away; and if one of them leaves he is said to abscond, to fly. There is in this a trace of the colonization and conquest of the country by the ancestors of the zamin- dar. He found the cultivator of the soil on bis domain, or he brought him into his village and settled him, and gave him land to cultivate, and built him a house to live in. The houses are all his property, and go with the land. So long as the occupant cultivates his land and pays him rent, he demands no other bire. But from the non-agriculturist classes the parja, his subjects—he takes parjávat. If they are manufacturers, who take their wares to other inarkets, he takes money. If they are village artizans, who work for the remaining inbabitants of the villages, he takes in kind. As from the Julábas and Bihnas, the weavers and cotton corders, a small sum of money (kargáha); but from Chainárs a pair of shoes a year, and his cattle-gear made and repaired. From the village carpen- ters (barhai), a plough in the year, and his implements mended for nothing. From the garariya or herdsman a blanket. But the trades are now at a very low ebb, and the taking of this cess has been discouraged ; it has been looked upon as a kind of tax imposed upon industry. Rents in Lucknow seem to be tolerably stationary just at present. From 1870 to 1874 there was a great number of ejectments and rent- raisings, but things seem to have settled down somewhat, though needy landlords are constantly on the watch to raise rents, or eject the tenants. Under the law they cannot do so without paying the tenant for improve- ments in theshape of wellsand tanks made during the thirty years preceding the attempt to evict. The tenants cannot claim compensation for their dwelling-houses, which become useless if they are evicted from their fields. They are still therefore much at their landlord's mercy, and they have submitted to rather extortionate rent-raising. ​LUC 319 For lands of fair quality Rs. 3 the local bigha if irrigated, and Rs. 2 if unirrigated, seem the prevailing rates, these come to Rs. 12 and Rs. 8 tho acre; near towns thc rents are much higher. area. The tenants have adopted an ingenious device for checking rack-rent- ing. They take lands if possible in adjoining villages under different landlords, they have a house in one, and can throw up the land in either if rack-rented, still keeping their house and out-offices in fair proximity to their fields. They say themselves"if persecuted in one village they flee to another;" a combination of landlords is generally prevented by local jealousies, and many tenants thus save themselves by playing off one landlord against another. Tbis course is not possible in large. estates. The tenants often object to taking the compensation decreed them by the courts; they say they or their ancestors did not make the wells to seli. They have other sentimental objections which need not be detailed here. The harvest. --The harvests are the rabi when the spring crops are cut, the wet-weather crops or the kharíf, and the henwat or autumn crops. The heawat is the fifth season amongst the Hindus. Curiously enough, the two former terms are borrowed from the Arabic. The Hindus do not usually go to foreigners for their agricultural terms. For the rabi the chief crops are wheat, barley, gram, peas, gujai-a mixture of wheat and barley ; birra—a mixture of barley and gram, gram predominating, The land under these crops amounts to 244,408 acres, and wheat heads tho list taking up 105,418 acres, or more than one-fifth of the whole cultivated For the kbaríf the crops are rice, the millets, sáwán, mindwa, kákun, and Indian-com or maize. For the henwat the crops are more millets-juár and bájra, and the leguminous grains,—másh, múng, moth, masúr, and lobia. The whole cover 202,800 acres, and all but múng and lobia take up a large space. In addition there are the valuable tobacco and opium, and kachhiána or vegetable crops amounting to 20,262 acres of which Tobacco takes ap Opium Cotton and the spices as zíra (cummin seed), saunf (ariseed), dhaniya (corian- der seed), taking up 623 acres. These are the unmixed crops. For arhar, in which kodo and small millet, juár, and patwa are mixed, and for oil seed (sarson, rape), which is sown in wheat, and for linseed, which is sown in strips amongst and round other crops, mostly gram,—it is hard to assign separate and specific areas. Outturn.—The outturn is still a moot-point, and nothing but a series of experiments will probably set the question at rest. It is not only what can be, but what is, the average yield. It is difficult to learn by enquiry, and facts are assiduously concealed from the inquirer. The farmers and cultivators will not, or fear to make a disclosure. Taking a ten years' average price, the value of the whole outturn is said to be pot t. 1,460 3cres. 1,907 2,070 3] ​320 LUO Rs. 55,80,000. But this must be rejected at once. A glance will show what errors there are in the return. To take the first and most glaring instance, the outturn of irrigated wheat is less than that of unirrigated. To correct the returns for three or four of the most prominent crops, the very least that can be put down for wheat is 12 maunds, or 16 bushels per acre of irrigated, and about half of that for unirrigated land. The result is 1,181,140 maunds, and value Rs. 25,90,000. The sanie for barley, and the result is 362,100 maunds, value Rs. 5,00,000. The outturn of sugar is put down as 4 maunds per acre. A yield of 10 maunds per bigha, or 16 per acre, is a very low average, and calling the result ráb, and pricing it at 20 sers the rupee, tbe value of the total out- turn will be Rs. 6,30,400. Again, pricing the vegetables no higher than the sugar, their value will be Rs. 4,04,000. Thus, on these four articles alone, we have Rs. 41,24,600, in place of Rs. 21,98,050, or a difference of nearly a hundred per cent. The outturn of crops in Lucknow is perhaps about the average of the province. On a recent occasion, taking a straight line across the country an estimate of the produce in seventy-four fields was made. The average outturn was five and a quarter niaunds per bígha, or 688 pounds per acre. An estimate for the entire province, prepared froin. elaborate data, gave a.provincial average of 650 pounds; and as labour and manure are rather more plentiful in Lucknow than in other districts, these calculations seem to confirm each other. This outturn is undoubtedly less than that of most districts in the North-Western Province. A similar estimate of eighty-eight fields in Aligarh and Bulandshahr gave an average of six and three-quarter maunds per bigha, or 883 pounds per acre; and this, it is believed, fairly agrees with the settlement estimates.* Irrigation.-- Near the city in parganas Lucknow and Bijnaur irriga- tion facilities may be said to be of the second class; lakes and ponds are tolerably numerous, but they are very shallow, and dry up in the cold weather. The wells are generally unlined, and last one or two years; the soil strata are sufficiently cohesive to admit of the use of leathern buckets holding about twelve gallons without injury to the side. The following is the cost of irrigation gathered from several statements. From wells like these about five biswas can be watered in the day by two pair of bullocks when the water is at 35 feet distance. As a rule, only one pair of bullocks is employed from dawn till poon; one man drives them, one stands at the well to empty the bucket, and a third guides the water in the field ; 2} biswas a day can thus be watered at a cost of about Re. 0-8-6--viz., four annas for the pair of bullocks, and one anna and a half for each of the men. This will be Rs. 4-4-0 per bigha, or • It may he remarked here that the traveller along a high raad will probably form higher cstimate of crop outture than the general average would justify. The reasons of this is that owing to the facilities for carriage afforded by the ligh ruad, the felds ad juiging it are generally better manured than those at a distance. ​LUC 321 Rs. 6-12-0 per acre for one watering. Such appliances are, however, only used when the bullocks would otherwise be idle; human labour is much more effective. Eight men instead of two bullocks will work all day, with an interval of an hour at noon, and will water a bígha when the water is about 16 feet distant. There are also three additional labourers-two in the field, and one at the top of the well to empty the bucket; they will get two annas a day or grain to that amount, which will come to Re. 1-6-0 for a bigha, or Rs. 2-3-0 per acre. The above discrepancy between human and cattle labour only exists to such an extent in wells when the water is within sixteen feet from the surface, and when the wells are not stable enough to bear a large bucket. Such circumstances do exist in southern Lucknow throughout the district, except in a belt about four miles broad extending west and south from the Gumti. When the water is near, the bullocks, which pull up the buckets, have to descend a very short distance and then turn; this they do awk- wardly, and they come up the slope more slowly than men; their employ- ment then is exceptional, and as very small animals suffice for the small bucket, it might be fairer to value their services at 2 annas the pair, in which case the cost of irrigation would be Rs. 3-4-0 per bigha or Rs. 5-3-0 per acre. The important point is that, with the cheapest labour, three waterings cannot be given under Rs. 6-9-0 per acre throughout three quarters of southern Lucknow. The tenants, as might be expected, cannot afford this, and give the wheat only one watering or two, preferring to spend their spare time looking out for hired labour, Nearer the Gumti water is at 25 feet throughout the belt above referred to, the springs being at about 33 feet distance on the average. Buckets holding 20 gallons are used, and bullock power becomes more effective. South-east of Lucknow in Mohanlalganj, in the plain running south-east between the Gumti and the Sai, water is tolerably near the surface; the average distance at which it lies on the morning before any water has been drawn being about fifteen feet. The springs are at about 30 feet on the average except in the low lands near the Gumti, and in the high lands edging the plain. In calculating the depth of these wells for irriga- tion purposes, the average distance of the water from the surface throughout the day should be estimated. At dawn when the bucket is first let down the distance will be fifteen feet, but by evening the water will be exhausted—all but two or three feet, and the distance will be twenty-seven feet; the average will then be about 21 feet. Under such circumstances, the pair of bullocks and three men will water half a local bigha in half a day, the work being such that the inferior cattle employed cannot do more. This comes to an acre in eight days, or at one rupee for the cattle and two rupees four annas for the human labour, three rupees four annas for one watering. Here again the tenant complains that he cannot afford to water his wheat more than once; the owners of land who got labour a little cheaper often irrigate twice, but the vast majority of the tenants' wheat, I calculate 70 per cent., gets only one watering or none at all. ​322 LUC It may be remarked that the systems of relief known in Bara Banki and Sitapur are not commonly used here; meu work all day instead of half or three quarters, and get higher pay.* North of the Gumti circumstances differ slightly, and bullocks are hardly employed at all. Six men pull up the leather bucket, three are changed every hour for a spare three; thus, each batch of three works two hours and rests the third throughout the day. The gang consists of nine med, and three attending to the well and field as before. The water is about twenty feet distant, and the twelve will water about a bígha a day. Each man gets two sers of grain, maize, or peas, worth during the water- ing season about 26 sers the rupee. A bigha will then cost Re. 0-15-0 for one irrigation, Re. 1-8-0 per acre, but a serious addition to the cost north of the Gumti is the cost of digging the well. The springs are forty feet from the surface, and often, after thirty feet or more, have been dug. A stratum of wet sand intervenes, the sides of the well fall in, and the work has to be commenced over again in another place. It would appear that the actual irrigation from wells is much less than what is recorded in the settlement returns. The ruins of wells which had fallen in before water was reached, have been regarded as sources of irri- gation which had been abandoned, and which might be worked again. The cost of digging a well is about four rupees, and to this two rupees must be added for the labour bestowed upon those which have tumbled in. Each well then will cost six rupees, and will water about fifteen acres once in the season, therefore each irrigation will cost three rupees, distri. buted over fifteen acres for well-digging, or three annas per acre, in addi- tion to the Re. 1-8-0 already calculated. Now, no wheat crop should get less than three waterings in an ordinary season; these would cost then Rs. 5-1-0 per acre, and the tenants naturally protest that they cannot afford to give more than one or two waterings from wells. From tanks they often water the lands bordering on them three or four times. In Lucknow every crop is watered if the labour is available ; gram and barley are watered just as wheat and peas. Sugarcane gets four to six waterings; opium six. In fine, the elements of expense in irrigation are three the depth at which springs are met, the character of the soil through which the shaft is sunk, and third the copiousness of the springs. If the water is 20 feet from the surface, if the soil strata are sufficiently firm to admit

  • The expenses of well-irrigation have been variously estimated, Mr. Ricketts, in the

Revenue Reporter, calculates that the cattle travel up and down the well slope at the rate of two miles an hour; that in this way they will, with a leather bag holding twenty gallong, allowing balf for wastage, water an acre in five and a half days. There ia uo allowance made in this calculation for the time the cattle opend in turning, nor for the time spent in shaking the rope to make the bag sink beneath ihe water. I tined ordinary well cattle to spend fifteen seconde going down a slope of thirty-four feet, and right seconds in com. ing up, sixty-eight feet in twenty-three seconds. This will be two miles and ninety feet per hour, but they only effected ope lift in each minute and a half, 67 seconds, nearly three times the time actually employed in the work of ascent and descent being wasted in pre- liminaries. In this instance the well pay bave been bad ope, but at any rate it is erj. dent that an important element of the calculation has been overlooked. Persian whøcl, have a graater advantage over the leathe bag and pulley inhis matter. ​LUC 323 of a twenty gallon bag or bucket, and if the spring will supply a demand of that amount all day, then a bigha will be irrigated by eleven mea, or by four bullocks and five men in a day. The cost of this labour will be about Rs. 2-4-0 per acre—that is, when well water is to be had under the most favourable circumstances. Such circumstances are however rare; they imply first class wells, good subsoil and springs, also an industrious popu- lation, which will work all day without relief, and be content with two annas a head. If any of these be wanting, as is the case throughout pro- bably five-sixths of the district, irrigation will cost from Rs. 2-8-0 to Rs.4-0-0 for one watering. The consequence of this is that crops which require two or three waterings for an abundant outturn only get one, and the crop is consequently a scanty one. It may seem strange that human is cheaper than cattle labour, but such is undoubtedly the case. The maiu cause lies in the superior alert- ness of the men ; the bucket when water is at 23 feet will be filled three times in a minute, while once a minute is common enough with cattle. The general use of cattle for irrigation is evidence that the cooly class are so well off that they decline to do bullocks' work. Their occasional use is only evidence that the owner bas plough cattle which would be otherwise unemployed. The majority of the coolies employed at the Lucknow wells are hired men. There are comparatively few pakka or brick; lined wells used for irrigation in the Lucknow district. Their advantage consists in the greater abundance with which the water from the springs percolates in. The best service I have met with from a pakka well was 1 bíghas per day with thirteen men ; the cost was Rs. 2-3-0 per acre for one irrigation. The great majority of the wells in Lucknow and, indeed, in Oudh are worked by human hired labour, although in many cases small farmers aid each other being then called jittas. Cattle can be more profitably em- ployed in carriage along roads than in raising water. There its plenty of employment for the labour which would be displaced if canals were substi- tuted for wells. V great advantage would result here as everywhere else from the embankment of the jhils. About 54 per cent of the total area of the district is covered with water in the shape of shallow ponds or swamps, often not more than three feet deep in the centre. Of the 54 square miles so lost to cultivation at least 30 might be reclaimed; the area of the jhíls would be circumscribed, the water proportionally height- ened and deepened, the effect of evaporation lessened, so that the fertiliz- ing effects of the water would be rendered more available and at a cheaper cost, while the unhealthy stagnation of shallow swamp water would bc lessened, No explanation can possibly account for the universal neglect to adopt such an obvious improvement, particularly when there are thousands of such old works scattered over the country whose age is lost in antiquity, but which are still in working order, and attest how certain and weighty are the advantages to be expected. It is strange that the agricultural improvement, which is most effectual in increasing food supplies, and which ​32+ LUC requires the investment of most capital, was often carried out in the dark ages, but has since been utterly neglected. I have not seen one such embankment or irrigation tank in the district which has been made in the present century. It may be observed here that tank-irrigation is the same as canal-irri- gation as regards the cost of the human labour employed; a lift from one costs just as much as a lift from the other. I have here calculated the cost of tank-irrigation at eleven annas for one lift for one watering of an Mr. Buck caleulates that eight men working with two baskets irri- gate an acre in the day. This would come at one anna and a half per bead to 12 annas ;* but it is strange if practically the same results are attained with two baskets as with one basket. The explanation lies, it is believed, in the differing size of the basket used. When the system of double reliefs exists as in Lucknow, the basket is heavier, as the men have only to work half the day. In Mr. Buek's case the Deorha relief is in use—that is to say, half the gang is relieved every hour, and each man works eight hours ; they use therefore a lighter basket, and the result is about the acre. same. Irrigation is also carried on by the dhenkli,, a long lever whose short arm is weighted with a mass of clay, and is pulled down while the long arm raises a clay jar of water. Under favourable circumstances--viz., a good supply of water close at hand-two and a half biswas a day can be watered by two men working all day; their pay will be three annas, and the cost of irrigation Re. 1-8-0 per bigha, or Rs. 2-6-0 per acre for one watering Sometimes the earthen pot is pulled up by three men; five men will then water ten biswas a day if the water is within fifteen feet, and the cost is reduced to ten annas a bigha or one rupee an acre for one watering, but in this case the same five men being themselves the owners of the crop work all day without a relief, therefore I allow two annas a day for the labour. Water is very rarely so close to the surface. In the case of irrigation from jhíls and tanks it is very cheap, indeed, the land is near the water or within a low elevation. The work is very hard, and there are always double reliefs. Practically there are never less than two lifts, and on the average four lifts are used. There are two men at each ; the latter number of lifts then will require sixteen men to swing the wicker basket, and two men to guide the water in the field. They get one and a half anna per day, and half a local or small ser of parched gram at midday each ; they will water one bigha and a half per day. The cost of this labour will thus be one rupee eleven annas and nine local sers of gram, equal to about three annas; this will make the cost of irrigating an acre once exactly two rupees if the water has to be raised four lifts, one rupee two annas for two lifts, and three rupees twelve anpas for eight lifts. Strange as it may seem they do sometimes use up to nine lifts. At the ordinary distance from the pond the cost of giving sugarcane five

  • In a number of instances I found that only ten or eleven acres were irrigated, and the

people will only allow that area to be passible, ​LUO 325 waterings will then be ten rupees per acre. One result of this great expenditure is that when the rains have been deficient during the season, the ponds are nearly or quite empty, and the sugarcane cultivation round them is abandoned, the ground being kept for other purposes. Sugarcane is not planted till April , and consequently the area of each year's crop depends on the preceding rains. Government advances for irrigation under the Land Improvement Act.-Government makes most liberal advances to landowners who are willing to spend them in making wells and tanks for the storage of water. The terms have been recently rendered most tempting; repay- ment of the principal is not required till the expiry of six or twelve years. Meanwhile only six per cent interest is required, and this is a strong temptation to the needy landlord who can only get money at eighteen or twenty-four per cento prime cost. These masonry wells are fairly numerous in the sandy tracts near the Sai where unlined wells will not stand. In these wells water is met with at about 23 feet from the surface, but the springs are not reached till 45 feet or 30 háths (cubit). A well nine feet broad, sufficient for two leather bags to be worked simultaneously, cost Rs. 10 a cubic foot, or Rs. 300 ; from this four inferior bullocks and three men will raise in a day's work only enough water for six or seven biswas. I have verified this from numerous inquiries. Valuing the bullocks' labour at one anna and the men at two annas each, the cost is Re. 1-14-0 per bigha, or Rs. 3 per acre, or 4 days' labour for one watering; this will be nine and a half days or six rupees per acre for the two irrigations necessary in this thirsty soil during most years. It remains to be seen what interest must be added per acre on the For this purpose we must inquire how many bíghas are irrigable from one well. There are four months in the year during which irrigation of the cereals, rabi crops, and sánwán (a crop sown in March) can be carried on—viz., from the 15th November to 15th March, 120 days; one watering costs then five days from oue bucket, and 48 acres can be watered once from a well like this in the season. Interest at eighteen rupees per cent., the ordinary rate, would be Rs. 54 or above one Re. an acre, in which case the entire cost of one irrigation would be four rupces an acre, including three rupees for labour. But instead of one watering in the sandy soil where these wells are made wbeat must have two, and is the better for three; opium must have four or five; sảnwán three. Further, if two buckets are used the well gets dangerously empty in the afternoon, and it must be allowed to fill again, lest the hydrostatic pressure of the wet sand should force in the brick shell. Instead of 45 acres not more than 15 acres* can be watered from each of these wells, and the cost of irrigating an acte of wheat twice will be six rupees for labour and three rupees eight annas for interest, or nine rupees eight annas. • Reveuue Reporter, Vol. V., No. 1V., P. 314. 42 ​326 LUC I have met with instances in which the well was used solely to water the tenants' fields, and their rents were either not raised at all, or to such a trifling extent that the capital expended was money thrown away as far as the lambardar was concerned. In fact making brick wells for irriga- tion purposes seems a hopeless speculation wherever the springs are above twenty-two feet from the surface, and then only when there is high cultiva- tion and a succession of crops--wheat, peas, sugarcane, sánwán, jethi dhán, tobacco—which together require water for at least six months in the year. If the wells are idle more than half the year they will not pay under any circumstances. It would appear that most men who take these advances in Lucknow do so with no enlightened views of self, interest. Some wish to please Government, not a few, it is to be hoped, desire to benefit their tenantry; the majority, as far as I have enquired, are deeply embarrassed men, who wish for a temporary advance to stave off the userer's demands for a year or two longer. Of course the load of debt is all the heavier in the long run. The system does then add to the wealth of the community, but too often it only accelerates and ensures the ruin of the landowners. Prices.—Prices have risen very much in Lucknow. It will appear from the accompanying table that in the fifteen years before annexation wheat averaged 24 sers per rupee, but during the śfteen since annexation only 19. The real rise of prices is, however, much higher than what appears from these figures. Grain is supplied now by railway from a larger area, the city of Lucknow has fallen off in population, and money is very scarce; all these causes should have cheapened food grains, but the intrinsic value of wheat compared to money has risen much more than the 20 per cent, which would appear from these tables. Statement showing the price of grain at Lucknow from the 1835 to 1870. year Year, Arhar, Barley. Peas. Wheat. Remarks. Sers. Sers. 30 265 22 291 26] 251 265 821 34 24 315 283 Sers. 263 221 29 235 22 255 23 291 400 Sers, 97 235 25$ 25 2+1 27 241 32 30 264 264 271 25] 284 31 88 27 1835 1886 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1647 1848 1849 1850 1851 a 25 185 173 17 19 201 21 254 23 20 215 215 26 225 245 265 27 . 1.. 900 98 84 a43 273 23 245 24 291 25: 305 37} 34) act Et ad ​LUC 327 Statement showing the price of grain at Lucknow from the year 1835 to 1870. Year. Arhar. Barley. Peas, Whent Remarks. Serg. Sers, Sers. Sers. bra 59 823 46 48 19 441 473 41 34 293 29) 213 271 21 27 28 204 161 PP 21% 960 1852 1853 1854 1885 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1888 1869 1870 423 35 30 291 241 293 29 421 281 491 34) 29 181 164 24 411 26 175 28 27 263 293 40 29 48) 37 293 41. ec E na 171 214 28 211 82 21 20 13 133 21 203 121 144 28) 47 331 294 16 19} 31 45! 241 14 20 30 401 25 36} . > 40 Average for 10 years from 1841 to 1860 28 333 28 231 Average for 18 years from 1851 to 1860 33,4 36% 328 Average for 10 years from 1967 to 1870 28 298 2818 1920 Average for 15 years from 1841 to 1855 ... 361

  1. 11

24 25 Average for 151 ycars from 1856 to 1878 ... 293 40 Scarcities and Famines.-On this subject little can be added to the information contained under the district articles of Bahraich and Fyzabad. The famines of 1769, 1784-86, 1837, and the scarcities of 1861, 1865-66, 1869, and 1873, were all felt in Lucknow. They were all caused by drought; prices rose to 9_sers for wheat in 1869, to 12 sers in 1866, while maize and gram in July-August were at 12 and 13 sers for the rupee during both years. of some kind were always to be had at 16 to 18 sers. In November-December, 1873, cheaper grains The subject of famine prices is surrounded with great obscurity, and annual average price rates are of no use. If the monthly rates are given for each grain, and those are only used for striking averages which be- long to a recent harvest and the same one, the rise of prices may be traced with tolerable correctness. The following account of Lucknow famines is taken from official sources, and particularly with reference to that of 1784, it rather under-estimates the real extent of the calamity ​328 LUC "The scarcity of 1784-85, alluded to, seems to correspond with that known as Bárahsadi, corresponding with 1198-99 Hijri. There does not appear to have been any serious failure of the crop in Oudh, but, owing to a great in- flux of starving people from the North-Western Provinces, prices rose, and the poor suffered heavily. Many slaves were then purchased. The selling price of wheat was fixed by Government at 9 and 10 sers for the rupee, but in the Unao district, which more nearly adjoined the famine district, 5 and 6 sers is said to have been all that was procurable. Nawab Asif-ud-daula, with his Wazár, Raza Hasan Khan, and his Diwán, Rája Tikait Ráe, established charitable institutions which relieved thou- sands. The Rúni Darwaza and great Imámbára, with Tikaitganj and several large bridges, were begun that year in order to afford work to the poor, and there is a general tradition that the work was carried on by torchlight, in order that respectable men might earn food who would be ashamed to be seen working by day. In 1837 A.D. the price of grain was not lower than 8 sers for the rupee; there was drought, but not failure of crops. The causes of distress were immigration of people and exportation of grain. The price of grain was nominally fixed by Government, and exportation was prohibited; all chungi on grain was remitted; exporters were punished. Importers were reward. ed with dresses of honour, and the sale to one person, at one time, of more than one rupee's worth was prohibited. In 1860-61 the crop was good, but enormous quantities were exported by land and water to the North-Western Provinces. This caused a rise in price, and consequent distress. It does not seem that the rupee in this division purchased less than 14 sers." The following price lists, extracted from the Government Gazette, are given. They are of value as showing the effects upon prices of past bad harvests and of prospective bad harvests. They contain all the important food grains except barley and kodo. The value of these several grains can better be estimated from the list of crops and estimate of their areas, given above in the agricultural section:- Statement of retail prices in sers per rupee for 1866. Articles January February. July. September. October. November. Mag, 9. c. Mdg. 9, c. Mdg. s. c. Mas. s. c. Mds. 9, c. Mds. 5. c. .RU .. Wheat, white Ditto, common Cran Bájra Juár Arhar Ura 0 12 31 011 16 0 150 0 25 4 0 25 14 0 10 7 0 16 14 O 13 6 9 5 031 12 0 12 6 0 150 0 21 12 0 212 0 10 12 0 14 15 0 14 0 090 0 14 1 0 la 10 0 14 12 0 16 0 0 14 0 O 13 0 0 130 0 14 0 080 ... 0 12 91 0 12 4 0 13 5 14 10 0 0 0 0115 0 12 3 0 13 0 08 0 0 13 1 0 12 0 0 15 01 0 18 8 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 13 12 0 138 090 0 14 8 0 14 3 0 16 2 0 19 8 0 220 0 130 0 16 0 0 14 0 0 8 0 Múng Bice 6. ​LUC 329 Statement of retail prices current for the months of July, August, Sep- tember, October, November, 1869, and January, February, 1870, in ser's per mupee. Articles, July, 1869. August, Septem- ter, 1869. 1869. Novcm- October, ber, January, 1869. 1889. 1870. Febru. ary, 1870. Mds. s.c. Mds. s.c. Mds, a.c. Mds. s. e. Mda, s. c Mds, s.c. Mds...C 384 Whent, Ist quality Ditto, 2nd ditto Gram, 2nd ditto Bájra Juár Arbar Urd Masúr Múng Rice, and quality 0 12 3 0 11 13 0 11 10 9 4 OIO 4 0 10 6 0 10 6 0 12 7 0 12 1 0 11 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 18 3 0 18 7 0 12 4 0 10 3 0 10 2 0 10 10 10 9 0 10 10 1 2 0 10 9 0 15 5 0 14 12 0 18 2 0 18 11 0 12 12 0 12 11 0 14 9 0 13 14 0 16 6 0 18 0 0 18 6 0 14 14 O 13 14 0 12 12 0 0 8 0 9 14 11 0 0 12 8 0 11 10 1 2 0 10 0 7 14 0 81 0 16 12 0 14 14 0 13 14 0 12 0 0 1 0 0 819 0 9 14 0 to 0 0 10 0 0 9 0 9 6 0 9 0 0 7 10 0 13 0 0 15 0 0 14 0 09 14 0 9 12 0 9 10 0 11 90 il 4 0 12 8 0 13 2 I. ..4 In connexion with the condition of the people, some remarks on their food, its price, their wages, and their means to purchase it are required. Food. The food of the people is the same as that detailed in Kheri, except that pulses—urd, moth, arhar—are perhaps more largely used, and rice less. There is a crop nearly every month in the year. In January the sugarcane is cut, in February the tobacco, in the first half of March the peas come in, then the gran. Wheat and barley are cut in the second half of March. In May melons come in, and are largely consumed. In June jethi dhán is cut. There is nothing in July or the first half of August except unripe maize cobs and sánwán a minor crop. With the 20th August come in the Indian-corn or bari juár and mendwa. About the 10th September kodo ripens. In October chhoti juár and rice; in November bájra, múng, moth, urd, and jarhan or transplanted rice; in December sugarcane. From September to March inclusive the principal food of the masses consists of maize kodo, and rice; the last two generally as pottage, with the addition of some lentiles, such as lobia or urd, either to the rice or bread, From April to August it is gram, barley, peas, arhar, &c. In Lucknow, however, the food of the people does not correspond so strictly with the proximate previous harvest as in other districts. There are greater stocks of grain in store, as there is more capital in this district. People eat twice a day. A ser of maize, fourteen chhatáks of peas, or thirteen chhatáks of rice are considered enough for a day's food for an ordinary labouring man, under-sized as they are. Fish is eaten by the majority of the people. The following extracts must be received with caution: the supply of fish may be equal to the demand at the price asked, but the supply during the greater part of the year very limited indeed is ​330 LIC anna. The Collector of Lucknow reports -The tanks and rivers are netted without restriction throughout the year, and necessarily fish, breeding or not breeding, big or small, are taken as they come to the net. The greatest destruction takes place just before the end of the cold season, when the tanks are drying up. There is no restriction as to the size of the mesh of the nets; the smallest size employed is about a quarter of an inch, but regulating it in any locality would be objectionable until there existed a well ascertained want for the passing of such a measure, as all unneces- sary interference with the people is to be deprecated. Still," he continues, "one-inch regulation between knot and knot of the meshes of the nets seems to be really necessary. The objections advanced against prohibiting the sale of the fry of fish in the bazar are ignorance of the ordinary policemen, who, being allowed to interfere with the fish-hawkers, would find in such a law a means of extortion, besides being unable to discriminate between fry and adult fisb." “The Tahsildar of Lucknow can give no approximate number of the fishermen, for this occupation is not pursued by many as their sole business, but principally by boatmen, Pásis, Musalman, labourers out of employ, and Kahárs in their spare time. The fishermen castes are Kaħárs, Malláhs, Koris, Kanjars, Jhabihalias, and Patháns. The supply of fish equals the demand ; large ones realize two annas a ser, and small fish one The small fish are eaten by all classes, the supply of which by all accounts has remained stationary. Large numbers of very small fish are taken by children in shallow pools and lesser streams. The smallest nets have about a half-inch mesh. Fish are not trapped in the irrigated fields during the rains. Fishing is carried on by rod and line, casting nets, drag and hand-nets. The local names are sukhani, pailni, chinta, pandi, khara jhansti, and halka, the various dames referring to the same nets only differing in size one from another."* Wages.--Wages in Lucknow present somewhat different aspects in the urban and the rural portions of the district. They have been about station- ary, or even advanced in the latter; but they have fallen immensely in the former , owing to the departure of the Oudh Court and to the diminished wealth and population of the city. Wages of ordinary agricultural labourers are now, as detailed in Bara Banki, five pice or six pice, according as they offer their services or are sought; or they get grain. Handicraft-men are of course better paid, carpenters get three annas in their villages, four if they leave them, smiths the same. Local weights and measures. I have referred to this subject at great length in the Kheri and Bahraich articles. The local weights and measures have given place to those adopted by the English Government to a greater extent than in other districts, but the local paseri or unit of five kachcha sers is still used for rural transactions. It consists of 28 gandas (vide Babraich and Fyzabad), being smaller than that used in most other Oudh districts. The ganda should consist of four maddu sábit pice- copper

  • Para. 280, Francis Day's Fresh-water Fish and Fisheries of India and Burma

| Prinsep's Indian Tables, page 63. ​LUC 331 coin formerly extensively current in the neighbourhood, and weighing 270 grains troy; the paseri then should be 112 times that weight, or 30,240 grains, equal to two modern sers and eight tolas. The baniáns, however, seeing their opportunity when the change of weight occurred, announced that the paseri was exactly equal to two sers; they therefore substituted two modern sers for the old paseri weight, still the unit of account, and for a considerable time, till price adjusted itself, they made a modest biit certain gain. The present Government bígha was largely used in Lucknow prior to annexation, and is now nearly exclusively adopted. The reckoniug adopted was --five cubits (báth) and a band breadth (mutthi)* make one láth; eight feet, twenty of these, or 160 feet, the side of a square bígha. As a matter of fact, tho bigha is a square of 165 feet, so when any fresh measurements are made in this primitive fashion the tenant gets a little less than he bargained for. Local markets, manufactures, trade.—There are weekly, or more often bi-weekly, bazars in nearly all the large villages, at which the population of the neighbourhood attend with their agricultural produce. Sometimes they are only khandsár-bhandsár, bángi bazárs, or wholesale bazars, to which samples are only brought, and the business done on the sample. The larger bazars are called the khandsár or wholesale bazars, where sugar and large stores are sold (khánd, sugar; bhánd, large earthen pot for storing grain). The chief bazars in the district are Mirzaganj in Malibabad, and Gosháínganj in Mohanlalganj pargana, and the Lucknow city markets. I have not thought it advisable to print the detailed price lists or bazar sales in this district; they are obviously full of errors. Edible grains are valued all round at Rs. 2-8-0 per maund, a rate which wheat only will reach. Again, more obscure errors are met with : in Gosháínganj the sales of English and country cloths are recorded at Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 14,000 respectively. This would be an important statistic if true, but it is ren- dered improbable by the statement in the text that English cloths are used almost exclusively; and on inspecting figures of Mohanlalganj, a simi- larly situated bazar, English and country cloth sales are recorded respec- tively at Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 400. In Nagrám, a corn market, the grain sales are recorded at only 12,000 maunds. This quantity would not feed the population of the town itself, which is 4,900; and at the very short allowance of 10 chhatáks of flour per head, or, say, five and a half maunds per annum, would require nearly 30,000 maunds of grain for its own consumption, without leaving any balance for exportation. Manufactures.- Manufactures are at very low ebb. and, save in the city of Lucknow, scarcely exist. It can hardly be otherwise, where the wants of a people are limited to their barc necessities. The arts and mechanics are represented by the village carpenter and blacksmith, the potter and chamár. In the larger towns are the weavers, dyers, bangle-makers, brass-workers, and all the various dealers in food. The weavers, no doubt, The mutthi is a popular equivalent for half an Engiish foot; it is measured by closing the four fingers and extending the thumb. A mutthi is the distance from the kauckle of the little finger to the extremity of the thumb. ​332 LUC at one time were largely employed in manufactures, but it is said that they have now but small work for their looms. The number of looms appear to be 1,474, the number of pieces turned out 89,169, and the total value is Rs. 1,53,470, or each loom turns out 60 pieces and brings ini Rs. 100. If these figures be correct, there are more than two workmen to each loom, and individual earnings are very small, It is probable that they are no greater. European cotton goods are almost universally worn. They do not wear for so long a time, but they cost less money, Whether they are more economical in the end is uncertain, but they suit a people who have never at any time any superfluous ready money; and, moreover, the stuff is finer and more pleasing to the eyes. Most of the stuffs are used for dhotis and chádars, shawls and kamarbands, and the coloured garments for petticoats. Amongst the weavers must be reckoned the Hindu Koris. They seem all alike, equally poor, and it is probable that their looms are not working. for more than half of the year. It is said that in some places the trade has come to a stand-still. At harvest time the Koris are employed as reapers, The manufactures of the district are dealt with at some length in the Lucknow city article, as they are its specialties. Cotton-weaving of all kinds, from the coarsest cloths up to the finest muslins, takes the first place. TradeThe trade of Lucknow is of no particular importance. It im- ports bread stuffs for the maintenance of its large urban population, also piece-goods of all kinds, arms, hardware, glass, crockery, and salt. It exports muslins or malmals, cotton prints, and brass vessels, besides em- broidery, lace, tobacco. The following return shows the railway passenger and traffic receipts for 1873. The export trade only amounts to 4,391 tons, although there are three railways branching from Lucknow, and the whole district is close to steam communication, In 1873 the traffic at the various stations on tie railway within the boundaries of the Lucknow district was as follows:- OUTWARD. INTTARD, Stations, . 4,606 Mølhaur Luckpov Harsuni Alemdager Kakori Malihabad Rabimabad Na $ Tons. £ £ Tong. $ 116) 11 6 4,574 90 8 ... 253,112. 13,833 4,186 1,640 269,60: 13,899 19,469) 5,315 13,634 1981 19 18 19,478 999 86 18 18,769 404 99 14 12,920 $11 642 150 9,702 212 8 5 8,601 174 39 14 14,199 295 22 13,428 266) 32 12 3,626 82 51 17 3,077 35 2 1 812,648 4,391 315,679 20,407 14 Total Pad . ​LUC 333 Communications. The country has been well opened out by communi- cations. There are imperial and local roads, and a line of railway com, pleted. The imperial roads are three, branching out south, east, and north to Cawnpore, to Fyzabad, and to Sitapur, metalled and bridged throughout, and comprising, exclusive of the roads in the Lucknow city and cantonments, a length of some 500 miles. The principal local roads are seven ; they are unmetalled, and connect all the principal pargana towns of this and neighbouring districts with Lucknow and with each other. They are from Lucknow, (1) to Kursi, (2) to Dewa, (3) to Sultanpur, the sadr town of a neighbouring district, passing through Goshainganj and Amethi in this, (4) to Rae Bareli, the sadr town of another district, passing through Mohanlalganj, (5) to Mohán, which, crossing the Sai there by a fine old native-built bridge, passes on to Rasúlabad, in the Unao district, (6) to Malibabad, which runs on to Sandíla, a large town in Hardoi. These roads connect the capital with the pargana towns, and the latter are joined by others running (i) from Mahona through Kursi to Dewa, whence is passes on to the district of Bara Banki, (2) from Goshainganj through Mo- hanlalganj to meet the imperial Cawnpore road at Janábganj near Bani bridge, and (3) by a road from Bani bridge through Mohán to Aurás,.. which is there crossed (4) by a road which, passing over the Sai by a sub- stantial bridge, runs through the upper end of the Moháu Aurás pargana and joins the Malihabad and Sandíla road at Rahimabad. There is another road of some seven miles long leading from Lucknow to Bijnaur. The whole system thus comprising a length of not less than two hundred and thirty miles. They are well bridged throughout, and though heavy dur- ing the rains, are well suited for the traffic of the heavy broad-wheeled carts of the country and the soft-footed bullocks that pull them. Further roads are in contemplation, and are actually in the course of construction, for the connection of the various bazars in every pargana, but as they are strictly local they will find a more fitting place in the statistics of the par- gana to which they belong. River communication.-River communication is not much used. The river Gumti flows south-east through part of the district for a length of ninety-five miles of its course. But its course is tortuous, and passage slow, and it is not much used, except for the conveyance of wood and straw, which is carried down in barges, freighted sometimes with so much as forty or fifty tons. On the whole it may be said to bar rather than further communication, but Government ferry boats are attached to various ghats, over which, by the payment of a small sum of one, two, and six pice for a man, pack bullock, and cart respectively, travellers and traders can be carried. Railways.-The line of railway is comprised in the Oudh and Rohil- khand Railway system. It branches out in three directions, east, south- west, and north-east. The former passes through the thickly populated pargana of Lucknow to Bara Banki, and sending a branch to Bahramghat on the Glogra, passes on through Fyzabad towards Benares. The next con- nects Lucknow with Cawnpore, a line of forty-eight miles, and of which some sixteen miles run through this district. The last communicates 43 ​33+ LUC with Shábjahánpur, and passing the large and important towns of Kákori and Malihabad, traverses the Malihabad Pargana on its way through Hardoi to Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, and Moradabad. The entire length of railway communication is 52 miles. Carriage.-Traffic is carried on chiefly by means of country cartsa There are six hundred and thirteen of these carts belonging, generally to Brahmans, Baniáns, and zamındars, who take their own grain to the mar- ket. They are two-wheeled and about thirteen and a half feet long, with a bed which narrows to a point that passes between the two-wheeler bullocks, and is fastened to the yoke, broader at the top than at the bottom, and with low sides, which slope outward, and are formed of rope tightly bound up and down from the beam at the bottom to the rail at the top. They may be pulled by four bullocks or two, and if the bullocks be good, will carry from twenty to forty maunds, or sixteen to twenty-nine hundred- weight, according as they are drawn by two or four bullocks. The cost of these carts varies from forty to one hundred rupees, Theother means of conveyance are buffaloes, bullocks, and tattoos, or small ponies. The first will carry four and a half maunds, or three and a half bundredweights; bullocks from two to three maunds, if well kept; and the tattus from two and a half maunds to three maunds. These last are wretched beasts. These animals are mostly owned by Baqqáls, who trudge alongside weighted almost as heavily as their beasts, for they carry a maund on their backs, which they fasten by a band which passes round the bottom of the load and over the head. Cost of carriage.-A four-bullock cart will carry 38 or 40 maunds of grain on a metalled road, and 32 on an unmetalled track. With this load they will not travel much above twelve miles a day. For a journey of at least four or five days the rate will be about one rupee a day. One hundred maunds will then be carried one hundred miles for Rs. 20, which amounts to almost four pie per ten maunds per mile. The ordinary rate on the railway for grain is one-quarter of a pie per maund per mile, reduced in famine seasons to one-eighth. Railway carriage in ordinary seasons will be seven pie per ton for grain per mile, which is about 40 per cent. cheaper than road carriage. A buffalo will carry four or five maunds, an ass a maund, an average man 30 sers, but headloads for, short distances will reach 45 sers. There is still a very large traffic which has not been picked up by the railway. Gur and grain are exported, cotton and salt.

imported in great quantities, and still mainly by the road. ​

CHAPTER III.

THE PEOPLE

Population—Musalmans—Hindus—Agriculturists and non-agriculturist—Castes, with their numerical proportion—Professions—Condition of the agricultural classes—Tenures—Taluqdari families—Under—proprietors.—Sir land—Chak—Sub-settlements—The mortgage Act XIII. of 1866.—List of taluqdare—Transfers of landed property.

Population.—By the census of 1869 the population of the district, as then constituted, was returned at 970,625, or 696 to the square mile. This did not include the European officials or British or native soldiery. Of this number 783,036 were Hindus and 187,589 Musalmans, showing a proportion of 80-7 to 19-3 per cent. In its proportion of Musalmans to Hindus the district heads the list; but a good deal of this is due to the city, where the Musalmads number 111,347.

The population of the district, as it now stands, is shown in the sub-joined table:—

District Lucknow. Area and population.

Area in British statute miles Population Parganas. Number of mauzas or town- ships. Nuinber of persuns to each Taheils. Musalman, equare mile. Malee. Females. Total, w LUCK NOY. Lucknow Bijnaar Kákori 180 151 87 247,674 121,303 194,999 173,978 367,712 2,120 102 148 67 62,887 4,486 35,877 91,476 67,358 455 64 60 so 26,627 6,162 16,133 13,656 31,789 530 I Total 369 369 181 336,188 131,931 247,009 221,110 456,864 1,285 1 MALIHA BAD. Mahona Malihabad 1941 147 82 64,606 6,912 37,501 188 187 111 72,739 14,677 45,514 34,017 41,802 71,618 486 87,316 413 .. 11111 El Cultivated. Total 382 394 193 137,845 21,489 83,016 75,819 158,884 475 MOHAN LALGANJ, Mobanlalgenj. Nigobáa Sissaindi, 171 200 108 102,552 11,107 58.308 571 72 37 35,493 1,707) 19,214 05,351 118,659 568 17,986 37,200 517 Total und 228 272 140 138,045 12,814 77,522 73,337) 150,869 555 District Total ... 956 965 517 611,578 166,234 407,546 370,266 766,647| 774 + 2,6981 960 18 45 . Military European Eurasian Prisoneta and em- ployés in jail. 134 2,959 3,322 355 2,778 3,648 4,222 760 689 900 406 245 B. ... P. . 3,023 0 Grand Total al 966 965 517 614,276 167,184 416,96 372,505 778,200 9709 ​336 LUC Are 37 31 11 Proportion of agriculturists.* The rural population is mostly Hindu, and it is the latter people that absorb nearly all the agricultural pursuits. Not more than twenty-five per cent. of the whole Muhammadan popula- tion aro employed in the tillage of land. Of this rural population of 697,499— 621,307 Hindus. 76,192 Muhammadang, 392,632 agricultural. 304,867 11on-agricultural. The last two classes slow a proportion of 56:3 to 437. The proportion of Hindus to Muhammadans, and agriculturists to non-agriculturists, varies throughout the seven parganas of the district. The proportion of agriculturists does not seem to depend much upon the amount of cultivated land. It ranges very high in Bijnaur, which has least percentage of all of cultivation, and it is lowest in Malihabad, which has most; nevertheless it is high in Mahona, which is very finely cultivated, and the conflicting results observable in Bijnaur and Malihabad are pro- bably due to the facts that, while the population in the former pargana is very agricultural, in the latter it is altogether sparse, and the soil is occupied by numerous village communities who affect to be above the labour of tilling the soil with their own hands. The great cry is want of land, not scarcity of hands, and, except in the parganas of Malibabad and Mahona, there is not much land awaiting the cultivator, though, with improved cultivation, infinitely more could be got from the soil. Castes.--At present it seems that the owuers of the soil have but little affinity with the majority of its inhabitants. The census taken by the khasra survey was designed to slow the number of members in each caste; but though much trouble was taken, and probably the results for cultivators are very approximately correct, the difference on the whole population is very considerable. While the census of 1869 shows 697,499, that taken by the settlement establishment shows only 594,642, or a difference of more than 14 per cent. But for the cultivating classes this is much less. The regular census shows 133,976, while the settlement census shows 127,621, or a difference of only four per cent. If this error be distributed throughout the different castes it becomes very small. In any case the error will not be very great. The following list will show predominating Hindu castes and the percentage that each bears to the whole Hindu population : Chhattri Brahman Káyath Ahir Gararia Dhobi Pási Lodh Νάο Kori Kalwar Kumbar 0 400 8:41 1.82

  • 11.12

2:13 1:58 1.4 • ace , 10:55 11 .. 6.17 1.96 2019 1:14 14 1. 14 e.

  • Thig and the remainder of the chapter are taken from the Lucknow Scttlement

Report, and the figures do not always correspond with later calculations. ​LUC 337 PO et .be 410 2:53 1.6 1.79 158 1 79 1.. 11.24 OP Banián Tamboli Darzi Bhurji Teli Chamár Kabár Sáchhi Barhai Kurni Thathera Gumel to . 2.80 4:59 1.68 6.43 1 90 1.86 2. Total 14. 94.68 There are in all 71 Hindu castes, leaving 47 to make up the remaining 5:32 per cent. Thus the predominating Hindu castes are Thákur, Brahman, Ahir, Pási, Lodh, Chamár, and the two valuable cultivating classes of Kachhis and Kurmis. This is very similar to some of the results noticed by Mr. Williams in his census report, but the list given above would show the Thákurs, Ahírs, Pásis, and Chamárs are iu more than average numbers in this district. In Lucknow they amount to 772, 11•12, 10:55, 11:24 respectively, but throughout the province they are 5-9, 10-4, 6:1, 11•5 per cent. of the whole population (paras. 282 to 307, 299, 319, Census Re- port). Opinions seem divided, or as yet unformed, as to whether these low castes—Ahírs, Pásis, and Chamárs--are aboriginal tribes or not, and till we know more of their customs and religious practices, it will, perhaps, bo impossible to say. From what I have observed I should say they were, and that Kurmis and Kách his are not. The Musalmans number 56 castes or trades, as they would be more properly called. It would be labour ill-spent to analyse the castes of the Musalman culti- vators, for they amount to but 25 per cent. of the whole population. But of the Hindus, who compose the bulk of the population, 24 castes, amounting to 94:68 per cent. of the whole, supply the majority of the ivators, leaving the remaining 5.32 per cent to be divided between 47 castes, the most numerous among which are the Lunias, Bháts, Mális, Báris, Gosháins, Darzis, Lohárs, Khattris, Bhangis, and Malláhs, all of which, except the Báris and Lohárs, are, nearly 5l per cent. of them, agriculturists, but the Darzis and Khattris are not more than one-third so engaged. The following 15 castes of those mentioned in the list given above will give the great bulk of cultivators. They are thus divided : 1 Tbákur 9 Baqqal 2 Brahman 3 Káyath 11 Kahár 4 Abir 12 Káchbi 6 Garuria 13 Kurai 14 Gumel 16 Barhai W. 10 Chamár 26 1041 1 65 13:46 9042 1.26 14.62 2:37 11'1 7.72 1.11 140 6.10 I 201 6 7 8 Pági Lodh Nia 9-49 1 68 1:13 P. Total 940 940 ​338 LUC Thus Thákurs, Brahmans, Aliírs, Lodha, Pásis, Chamárs, Kurmis, and Kách his form the chief part of the cultivators. From these working classes also it is that the troop of day labourers and coolies is chiefly recruited, excluding the first three and such as are obviously artizan and trading. Mr. Williams, in table No. V. of his Cen- sus Report, puts down the labourers of this district at 25,000. In com- paring the non-agriculturists with persons engaged in professions in the table V. quoted, it is noticeable that the Thatheras (braziers), Bhurjis (grain-parchers), and the high class agriculturists, Kachhis and Kurmis, afford great numbers of labourers. The Lunias, of which there are some 1,200, are, wlien not agriculturists, everywhere the labouring class, and probably come under that head. The statement does not show any caste or profession that cannot be included in one of the several professions contained in the table quoted; but boatmen seen to be lost somewhere. They are entered as 15 only, while there are in the district 2,226, of whom 505 are agriculturists, and 440 non-agriculturists. With the river Gumti flowing through the district it is not to be supposed that these boatmen do not pursue their calling; and, moreover, the number of boats in the district amounts to 49. The part of the table that shows the professions most nearly connected with agriculture, and is most interesting as a portion of rural statistics, gives the following order :- Professions. 1.-Chaukidats (goraits) II.-Barbers (nás) 111.-Washermen (dhobis) VI.-Money-lenders (mahájens) VIII.-Zamindara Cultivators 1,33,976 IX.-Engaged about animals. A bírs (herdepen) Gararias (ahepherds) Pásis (pig-keepere) X-&rtizans-- Barhais (carpenters) 2,536 XI.- Engaged in textile fabrice- Julában and Koris (weavera) 3,851 Dhuniyas (cotton cleaners) 1,667 XII.-The village dcalcre- Milk sellers 2,669 Badiáns, Baqgála (shopkeepers) 3,838 Tambolis (pán-leaf sellers) Halwáis (confectioners) Bhurjis (grain-percbers) 1,995 Telis (oil-makers) 2,387 Kasgers (pottere) 1,994 Lohárs (blackemiths) Mapibars (bracelet makers) 2,126 979 It is to these classes principally that the non-agriculturists in every village belong, where they are not Brabmans, or Gosháíns, or faqirs, or decayed Musalman gentry living on their capital without any specified means of employment. The chaukidars are 3,119. They are universally of the Pási caste, and by the village municipal system were entrusted with the protection of the CIAgg 11 1. 3,119 2,752 1,948 797 1,662 97 ) 32 POP 33 1,930 1,899 2,21)2 .. 33 . 33 1. 93 2 984 914 P. 000 . 80 ​LUC 339 life and property of the inhabitants; but only some 2,000 of these are so occupied and officially recognized. Their pay usually consists in an assignment of from two to three acres of land, called a jágir, and held rent-free; but they receive also small perquisites of grain, called basauni bisár, from the cultivators (basauni, from basna, to inhabit; bisár, from biswa, one-twentieth part). Sometimes it is a bandful of grain, some- times a small patch of corn left standing in the corner of the field. Originally the Gorait had the care of the crops and the fields, and the bisár was meant for him. But some say that these fees are the remains of the Pasis' old proprietary right in the soil . It is calculated that there is about one chaukidar for every forty-five houses. The table shows 797 mahájans. These deserve a word. There is more than one professional money-lender to every two villages. The general interest charged is from two to three per cent. per mensem, A very com- mon interest upon seed-grain or money borrowed for the purchase of seed is deorha, one-half as much again as to seed borrowed, on repayment at harvest, and a panseri, or five sers kachcha (equal to 24 sers pakka), on every rupee per mensem. This latter interest is called up. In some cases the interest is one anna and half an anna per rupee per mensem, equal to 75 and 37 per cent. The latter is common, the former is rare, though it was a well known rate during the Nawabi. It is said that of late years interest is getting everywhere reduced. But the gains of mahájans must be very great, and a license to lend would be a fair tax on them. The Ahírs number 1,930. These are probably for the most part em- ployed in grazing and tending the zamindars' cows and stock. They get three sers for a cow and six sers for a buffalo at the kharif and rabi harvests. Sometimes they are capitalists, and have their own cows, These herdsmen do not seem to be well off in the world, and their cattle seem worse. There are said to be 79,537 cows and 29,287 she buffaloes in the district: they are all in miserable condition. There are no actual grazing at all. The best time for the cattle is after the rains, when vegetation is thick ; and sometimes at the bájra and juár harvests they get the stalks of these crops cut up; but for the rest they are driven out into jungles to eat dry dhấk leaves, when there are any, or anything else they can find where there are no leaves. The milk of a cow is poor and thin, that of a buffalo is better. The farmers reckon that the cow yields half a ser a day, and the buffalo from one to one and a half ser; and while it takes from twenty to thirty sers of cow's milk to make one ser of ghi, it only takes twenty sers of buffalo's milk; but if fed they would yield from six to ten sers. What the cows might be may be judged from some of the draught cattle; but the farmer is satisfied if his bare wants are supplied : and his wants are small. The draught, oxen are well tended and well fed, and attain to a great size. They get from a ser to four sers of gram, according to their work, a day, and sáni, a mixture of chaff and oilcakes, as much as they can eat. ​340 LUC The Gararias (shepherds) number 1,899, or nearly equal to the Ahirs (herdsmen). The number of sheep and goats is said to be 34,970,* but little stock of any kind is to be seen in the district. The sheep ale principally reared for their wool, which is made into blankets. They are usually sbeared twice in the year—in Chait or March and Kuár or Sep- tember. The wool obtained at both cuttings will not exceed balf a ser; a blanket will not be made from less than a ser, and is sold for a rupee. The above number of sheep then represent 17,485 blankets and the same number of rupees. The Pásis tend pigs, and of these animals there appear to be in the district 13,674. They do not ever strike one as particularly numerous, and if this calculation is correct there are not ten pigs to a village. Swine's flesh is an abomination to all but the Pásis, by whom only it is consumed. The Juláhas also include the Koris. It has been shown above tbat their trade has been almost driven out of the market. Probably the Mu- hammadans will cling to it longest. They are pure labourers in their trade, but the Koris eke out their liviog by reaping and barvesting the crops at harvest time. All the Baniáns and Baqqáls are not shopkeepers. A good deal of the trafficking and carrying is in their hands, and they may be seen in small bands wending their way to the nearest market, each with a well loaded country tat or bullock, and not meanly burdened himself. The Tambolis or growers of páu leaves are a most industrious class. They have to prepare artificially the bed which the plant is grown, and are occupied in incessantly watering and tending the plant. These beds are laid on the top of artificially formed banks. They are made of a fine dumat soil, which is dug from the bottom of tanks and spread out on the beds to the depth of two or three inches. The plant is grown from cut- tings or buds, and is sown in Chait (March), and comes to maturity in about four months The plant, which is a creeper, climbs up a pole of some four feet high, and the leaves when ready are stripped from the bottom. It is planted in rows, called mends, across the convex top of the bed, and the whole is walled in by low screens of fencing made from patáwar grass, and a roofing of the same is spread over the tops of the bed. They are generally from sixteen to ten yards long and six to eight broad. The rents are paid on the mend, eight annas per mend for the first year, twelve annas for the next, one rupee for the third, and so on. The Bhurjis or grain-parchers are a class largely occupied in the pre- paration of food. Chabena is a favourite article of food with the natives, and in a bazar every other shop seenıs to belong to the Bhurji. They used to be formerly, and are now where the custom of payments in kind is pre- served, employed in the weighment of grain, and they usually get half a ser of grain on every field of grain they weigh.

  • Oudh Administration Report for 1869-70, page cxzti. ​LUC

341 The Telis are employed in their legitimate vocation of expressing the oil from oilseeds and as carriers of grain, for which they keep buffaloes. Their gains in the former occupation are great. They usually get the weight in oilseeds of the oil expressed, and the husks of the old seed for kchali or oilcake, from which the sáni already mentioned is made. The payment is called perauni. The zamindars or landholders are said to number only 1,662, but if all the members of the land holding families be included that have been recorded as possessing a share in the estate either in joint or several tenure, they will amount to 14,756. The mass of landholders are Rajputs and Musalmans. Of the 1,416 villages in the district, 546 are held by the former, 555 by the latter. The Brahmans hold 132. The character of the Rajput is the most admirable of the three. He is manly and frank, proud of his birth and lineage, and of his old profession of aighting. His face is generally handsome and his physique good. He will eat meat when he can get it, and sometimes it is a boast of such a one that he never eats without meat (bina qalia). His dress is a dhoti and mirzái, or light thin jacket, and a light cap and gold earrings will complete his costume. Thus clad, and armed with a bamboo staff, which has been rubbed to a polish, he will talk to you and beat up game for you for hours. Condition of the agricultural classes. The condition of the agricul- tural classes varies. The Kurmi is industrious, cleanly, and intelligent, more independent and better off than his fellow workmen. But the Lodh, Ahír, and Pási seem often ill-fed and very slenderly clad. They seldom eat meat, or, indeed, the finer sorts of grain. Their food is the millets and pulses. Their hopes rest in the finer crops of the rabi for their rents. Tenures.—Lucknow is a district mainly the property of small land- owners; out of 1,498 villages in the old district 374 belonged to taluqdars, 37 in number. The other villages are either bhayyachára or zamindari. In the former a community of small proprietors hold a village with its demesne in coparcenary tenure, each shareholder enjoying a portion of the land. and also receiving a share of the rents paid by non-proprietary cultivators. It is a complex tenure. In zamindari villages there is no such mixture of rights. Several men are joint proprietors of the village, but they divide the rents only; no one has any permanent or other than permissive interest in any portion of the land. The two following tables are of great value; they refer to the old district of Lucknow:​NO. VI. Statement of tenures, do, i.e., talugdari and sub-settlements, and str of proprietors. 342 Average acres. Tenures and number of villages and mahals of each kind, Talaqdari. Independent. Sub-settlement. Number of proprietors and sub-proprietors. Proprietors. Of land per Of air per Name of pargana. 20w. Name of tahsil. Luck- Bhyyachára. Total. | Sub-proprietors. | Rewarks. 2 3 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 LUC .. 1 1 0 2 12 1 2 16 Mali- habad. 8 12 7 Lucknoy Bijnagr Kákori Total Malihabad Mabona Mobán-Auría Total Kurai Dewa Total Mohanlalganj Nigohán Total 27 26 29 103 53 0 1 14 54 49 0 1 2 46) 17) 0 28 45 203 1111 0 30 52 65 661 02 82 46 7811 12 39 103 80 1 94 173 214 219 11 18 19 49 27) 38 52 441 64 3 511 70 90 91 3 28 46 87 $0 0 21 40 9 13 3 49 86 08 63 19 181 20 61 2 7 9 15 12 154 183 12 971 111 3 63 66 2 314 869 18 1501 192 6 190 202 6 184 223 5 444 617 118 73 94 3 111 180 13 184 274 15 337 183 25 66 3 102 248 10 . wowwo--DOO 1,861 245 249 3 30 8 0 3 2 2 24 4 18 1,560 216 362 2 I 30 9 2 12 2 0 16 3 3 0 409 84 116 2 3 12 2 1 3 2 3 6 II 13 3,820 845 726 3 3 9 2 3 25 2 2 8 4 0 23 1613 431 198) 5 3 34 2 3 11 I 1 14 10 1 13 1327| 247 84 4 1 351 13 21 6 2 2016 O all 3419 443) 221 3 3 37 2 3 29 3 0 34 7 3 27 7359 1121 603) 4 3 4 2 2 28 3 0 2610 03 710 111 14 6 0 2 2 3 8 4 1 78 0 13802621 27 4 2 112 16 3 3 31 7 1 31 2060 378 41 5 0 10 2 2 24 4 0 10 7 2 21 1231 269 286 3 1 86 3 361 3 0 24 5 1 1 88 160 4 3 3 3 2 4 1 3 5 5 0 16 1837) 346 420 3 7 3 I 9 3 1 10 5 081 ܘܬ ܩܘ ܩܘ |a| ܗ ܗ ܗ|ܫ| ܚ ܤ |ܪ|ܟ ܩ :le & lalgabj. Kursi, Mohan- 7 3 7 10 286/ 271 Grand Total 51 1021 222 (110414981 374 603 484 17 1104 1498) 37 1476623841696 3 3 33 2 3 3 3 0 23 0 0 38 ​Addendum No. I. to Statement No. IV. showing other tenures. Average Nam eof tahsil. Name of pargana. Number Number Number Amount of Amount of of lof chak- of sír land held by land beld by villages. dars. holders. chakdars. Bir bolders. Jama of chakdars. Jama of Average sír holders, per chak- dar. per sir holder, to Remark. 1 2 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 A. I. p. A, F. P. Rs. RP Rs. 8. P A. r. P. A, I, P. ED Luck now. Luoknow Bijnaer Ķákori 183 111 65 741 280 845 249 362 115 2,136 0 0 1,066 0 0 7,393 3 10 2,988 13 3 348 0 0 1,359 00 966 8 6 4,743 1 6 567 001 684 0 0 1,149 8 0 1,977 5 0 2 3 21 1 0 39 0 2 28 4 15 3 3 0 6 0 13 10 Total 359 1,866 726 2,051 O 3,008 0 9,499 4 4 9,659 3 9 1 3 13 4 0 23 Mali- habad. { Mohán-Aurás Malihabad Mahona 223 192 202 352 164 191 221 198 84 1,093 00 1,6400 0 0 618 0 0 2,045 0 0 364 0 0 1,856 0 0 135 7 4,474 13 0 889 8 67,547 100 774 1 3 8,282 12 0 3 0 17 0 20 1 3 25 7 3 27 10 1 13 16 0 21 LUC Total 617 707 503 1 970 0 5,040 0 0 1,799 0 9 16,305 3 3 2 3 5 10 0 3 Mohan- Mobanlalganj Nigohán Sissaindi 183 66 73 46 266 160 423 0 26 1,898 0 6 1,003 14 9 3,883 63 127 2 10 824 3 801 77 2 03,929 9 0 6 12 2 3 4 5 1 1 5 0 15 Total 248 194 426 10 620 2 36 2,213 3 36 1,081 0 97,612 15 31 5 01 5 0 31 Kursi Deya Kursi. 94 180 16 20 14 27 17 00 66 0 9 112 00 201 0 1 O 10 240 10 0 5000 759 12 81 8 0 0 7 1 81 . Total .. 274 36 41 83 0 0 219 0 240 10 0 809 12 8 2 1 9 7 2 21 Grand Total

1,498 2,733 1,696 5,724 2 35 10,573 3 35 12,619 15 20 98.597 2 111 2015 6 03 343 ​344 LUC The number of bhayyachára villages is 501, the area is 329,855 acres, and the number of proprietors is 11,674. The area to each proprietor will then be no more than 28} acres; or, to put the difference still more forcibly, while there are in 603 zamindari maháls only 2,832 sharers, or a little more than four to a mahál, there are in the remaining 501 no less than 23 proprietors to each mahal. It is to these villages chiefly that the cultivating communities belong, and the tendency to divide seems to be greatly on the increase. Zamindari villages--that is, villages held in common--are rapidly be- coming divided. Though all were legally equal, practically, in the Nawabi, one man would be often found who would put himself by consent at the head of the community, in order that the whole might be better enabled to resist the oppression of an official or the greed of a neighhour. He be- came the head zamindar, and was summoned to the chakladar's court to accept the revenue engagement. The machinery of Government was not fitted in these days to cope with all the owners of an estate. The Govern- ment revenue was the great matter, and while one or two looked after that, the rest had their sír, for which they rated themselves at something less than cultivator's rents. Division of profits there was none, for all the collections were revenue, and a zainindar's real position in the village could only be surmised by his joint contribution to a matter that concern- ed the whole family, or common participation in any troubles that befel it. Moreover the pressure in the Nawabi was greater, and there was an out- let for many members of the family either in service with one of the powerful and turbulent nobles, or at the court and capital. This is now over: a head is no longer required, and the coparceners are all confined to their villages ; for, to use an expression of their own, their only trade is zamindari. Yet the proprietor in severalty is little richer than the ordinary cultivator, whilst he has generally the position and lia- bilities of the richer zamindar. If he belongs to a clan which has settled in the surrounding villages, a death in his own family will compel him to call all the brotherhood together, and together they will swell the expenses depending on a marriage; then comes a loan or mortgage, and the pattidar finds it difficult to escape from the toils of the money-lender. There is not much difference in the kind of property implied by a patti- dari and a bhayyachára village. In the latter, perhaps, the separation of sharers is the more complete. It derives its name from the unit of land on which the whole community has agreed to base the division, and which is known as the bhayyachára hígha or the bigha of the brotherhood. Taluqdars. The table which follows gives the names of the principal landowners, with the area and revenue of their respective estates - Name of owner. Name of estate. 20. of Area, Government jarga. Remarks, Mirza Jafar Ali Khan ... Rehta Raja Chandar Sekhar ... Sissaindi Lala Kanhaiya LAZ Jahyaula A. 8.877 35 34,610 23 16,941 Re, 2, a 108,420 0 0 0 97,003 0 O Estates in Unao and Rae Barell 1 30 13,77 0 ol Ditto in Unao. ​LUC 345 Name of owacr. Name of estate. No. of villages. Area. Covornment jama. Remarka. p. Rs. a. p 0 5,300 0 0 Esates in Rac Bareli. 1 5189,770 0 Ditto in Bara Banki, 20 36,985 0 2 27 12,619 0 0 0 22 19,099 6 8 . Th&kur Bhagwan niya Bakhsh. Raja Nawab Ali Khan ... Salempur Baja Jagmohan Singh..ataunja Bábu Pirthipal Singh Mangkon Muhammad Ahmad K&ema na 1 Khan. khurd. Muhamad Nasim Khan Sahlámau Darogha Wajid All Almamau Kanwar Girdhiri Singh, Bhalsora Musammát Syad-on-Nisa. Ghazipur Mahant Harcharan Dås, Sarke Pemrá). Man áráni Subhad Bahrauli Kanwar. Thakur Baldeo Bakhsh... Parsesi Raja Amir Hasan Khan, Busha Rája Farzand Ali Khan ... Malaisir Mau, Ahmad Husori Raja Randhir Singh ..Basantpur Raja Makrand Singh ... Kaithutia Chaudhri Khasiat Hu-Chaina sen- Masaramat Saams-un- Saráe Shekh ... Nisa Mussamunat Qutub-no. Gaurla Kalan, Nisa. Abi Mubammad Khan... Dhagrabra Sarabit Singh Bahraunia A. 7 4,445 242 19,491 61 23,099 231 10,574 173 13,130 16% 20,973 10% 4,607 6 2,079 8 2,842 4 1,689 2 1,803 6 4,881 3 1,124 3 2,289 1 1,918 5 8,026 8 3,294 1 138 - 0 38) 16,15& 2 0 1 0 6,977 0 10 Ditto ditto, O Sol 2,660 0 10 Ditto ditto. 1 0 3.800 0 0 Ditto ditto. 1 51 2,400 0 O 2 20 8 a 30 0 0 Ditto in Gonda and FF 1. bad. 2 10 4,140 0 Ditto in Rue Bureli. 1 25 1,588 0 Ditto in Bara Banki and Sitapur. 0 25 1,960 0 Oi Ditto in Bara Baukt, 0 0 3,750 0 Ditto 2 80 2,775 0 ol Ditto in Hardoi. 1 70 4,077 1 7 Ditto in una 2 5 250 0 0 Ditto in ardoi 3 30 1,400 0 0 The revenue of these ta- 53,270 0 olluqdars docs not exceed Re. 5,000, but ag they have 1 204,336 0 obtainel sanada they are 0 i 25 2,400 0 entered here.

  • Goela

ditto. 2 694 2,456 8,808 7 2,034 Among all these, almost the only true and good specimens of old here- ditary landlords are Rája Jagmohan Singh of Raepur (Itaunja) and Bábu Pirthípál Singh, a member of the same clan of Mahgáon. All the rest, with few exceptions, perhaps are taluqdars, who from small beginnings have acquired their estates by transfer or simple farm. By such means Rája Nawab Ali amassed the greater portion of his estate; and three out of the four chief taluqdars, Ríja Chandar Sekhur, and the two Pathán taluqdars, Ahmad Khan and Nasím Khan of Malihabad, are en- tirely of recent origin, and owe their estates to what the dispossessed zamindars consider but hard measures dealt out to them. There are 268 villages in the district as now constituted, owned by taluqdars. Whether these taluqdars recognize their duties to the com- monwealth and their tenants may be almost doubted. They would seem to spend but little in improving their estates, little in promoting the comfort or happiness of the numerous classes of labourers who till their lands. If a mud well is to be dug, it is the tenant that finds the capital. If seed grain is to be purchased, it is the landlord perhaps will who aupply the money, but at a rate of interest of 25 or 36 per cent. to be afterwards repaid with the capital. This is the chief intercourse of the landlord with his tenant, and in valuing his lands and collecting his rents lie his only acknowledged functions. Sub-settlements. Out of the taluqdari villages some fifty-one and frac- tional parts are held in sub-settlement, that is, are held under taluqdars, who are the medium of payment of the Government revenue which they receive from the subordinate holders, the real proprietors, together with a fixed proportion of the profits. Under-proprietors. There are in the district very few old hereditary under-proprietors, that is, those who hold on a feudal tenure under a ​346 LUC superior lord of the soil. Some few there are who for convenience, or self- protection, placed themselves under the sheltering wing of a taluqdar, and thus escaped too burdensome a revenue or the raid of an enemy. These merely paid their revenue through the taluqdar, and the tenure which was secured to the latter under the conditions of the settlement of bis estate with him, on the recovery of the province in A.D. 1858, bas been maintained. But the greater number of villages that have been decreed on sub-settlement are those which were merely held on farm by the taluqdar, to which he could pretend no title, and from which the owners had not been dispossessed. These are those that appear in the estates of Jabrauli, Kasmandi Khurd, Sissaindi, Bayárigáon, and Rámpur Bichauli. The remaining class are those in the estates of Rája Amír Hasan Khan, Rája Jagmohan Singh, and Bábu Pirthípál Singh, and are merely assign- ments of villages to near relations. Str land.-The sir of the ex-proprietor is the land that he held in his own cultivation whilst he was proprietor of the village, and which he has never lost, or which has been specially granted him as sír. It depends on the circumstances under which he has lost the village and the nature of bis subsequent positiou in it, as to whether the right in it that he has secured be transferable and heritable, or heritable only. There are 1,696 of such holders in the district who hold an area of 10,573 acres, or an extent of land averaging more than six acres each. They pay a rent not much higher than that at which the zamindar rates himself, and which is based on his payment in the Nawabi. This rate, viz., that of the zamindars, is usually said to be one-fifth less than that of the ordinary cultivator, Chak.--The holders of chaks are 2,733, and hold 5,724 acres, or an aver age of more than two acres each. These have been variously acquired. The greater number of these are round qasbas or towns. They were often sold by the original zamindars for groves or granted for endowments of mosques and Hindu religious bodies. They were near the residence of the Government official, and were rarely assessed ; and where assessed now, have been charged with their shares of the revenue laid on the whole village. This they pay through the lam bardar with a percentage, which the latter has for his responsibility and trouble in collecting. In case any such property should lapse without an heir, it would naturally revert to the proprietary body as lords of the manor, As a rule, it may be said that not many changes have been made on the summary settlement of villages of AD. 1858-59. Of the 1,416 vil- lages then settled subject to a future revision, save for the taluqdars, by the regular settlement, 1,218 have been maintained in the possession of the parties settled with. The number of decrees passed for the proprietary title is no test of change, for, by orders subsequently issued, even parties in possession were made to claim against Government to show their own good title. The taluqdars had 354 villages, of which 347 bave been main- tained. Some three or four of them were held on mortgage titles which have been redeemed. Some three or four were not held under their sanad as former part of their taluqa at all. Some forty villages they have received ​LUC 347 after enquiry, partly by purchase, and partly by grant on their being declared Government property. Claims for shares have been very numerous, and many have beeu decreed; but it is more probable that dispossessed members who had been left out of the khewat have thereby come in, than that the share has actually changed hands by the decree. Sometimes the khewats have been very difficult to make up, as, where the zamindars have recovered a lost village, and no khewat existed during limitation, or where claimants have come forward alleging that the portion of sír they may have held in the Nawabi represented their share, though they did not exercise their right in the management, and it is difficult to say that this is not the case. On the other hand, it has often bappened that a lambardar will come forward to upset a khewat that he himself agreed to at the summary settlement, on the ground that his co-sharers did not hold actual shares with him within the period of limitation. It is needless to observe that this has not been sanctioned. The courts have not disturbed possession where right or a title secured by adverse possession has not been shown. Act XXVI. of 1866 has not operated very heavily in the district, yet some twelve sub-settlements that had been decreed were cancelled under its provisions. Act XIII. of 1866 has been harder. It has been called a blot upon our statute books, and many mortgages have been cruelly fore- closed that the zamindars hoped, in all justice, they would have been allowed to redeem. It has been worse where in some cases they had recovered possession under the summary settlement, but had to restore on the titles secured by their unredeemed deeds. There have been in all 27,139 cases instituted in the settlement courts to determine rights in land. The following table is borrowed from the Registration Report as showing the transfers of landed property in the districts :- Description of deeds. Number of deeds. Amount. Remarks. 1873, 1974, Total. 1878. 1874. Total, Rs. Rs. Rs. 617 547 1,164 6,03,597 5,01,960 11,05,647 Deeds of sale Rs, 100 and up- wards. Ditto of sale less than Rs. 100, Ditto of mortgage of Rs. 100 and upwards. Ditto of mortgage less than Rs. 100. Ditto of gift 1,107 1,017 2,124 44,344 41,162 85,606 2,402 878 3,280 8,92,441 9,15,123 18,07,564 1,137 1,137 58,445 58,446 19) 38 9,650 3,846 12,996 ORD 03 GOD Total 4,145 3,617 7,762 15,50,032 10,20,026 30,60,068 ​348 LUC CHAPTER IV. ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES. Administration -Police-Thágas-Crimes-Accidental deaths--Revenue and expenditure Education Post-office. Administration.-The local administration is in the hands of a deputy commissioner aided by one magistrate in speciol charge of the city, another of cantonments, by one or two assistant commissioners, three extra assistant commissioners, three tahsildars, and four honorary magistrates. Besides, there are a civil judge and a small cause court judge, who have no criminal or revenue powers. There are thus seventeen courts of original jurisdiction; but of these two have no civil jurisdiction, two have no criminal, and four have no revenue. The police of Lucknow is divided into three portions, first, the special city police numbering in 1873, 890, excluding guards on quasi-military duty. The area of the city strict is 36 square miles, and the population is 284,406 ; second, the cantonment police numbering 61; third, the district police numbering 505 on civil duty, and 778 in all. The entire number of police is 1,729 to an area of 966 square miles. The following table exhibits the statistics of the Lucknow district police and the population of the different thánas. Statistics of the police of the district of Lucknow in 1873. Total cost in ropees. 100 7001 to 2.731 to 9.70 1488 3364 2959 2053 306 neo 0 1.1 . end Regular 1,72,152 police. Village 88,3231 watch, Municipal 1,12,173 police. 5 132 851 be 0 PP PO Total an 2,86,657 9 232 89633204 9 1488/3364 2959 2053 306 Statement showing the population of thánas. Name of thána. Population. Malihabad 99,147 Banthra 62, 476 Lucknow 105,041 Goshainganj 69,165 Mohanlalganj 89,872 Itaunja 57,576 Total 489,277 The crime of Lucknow appears in the accompanying table. It must be remembered in making comparisons, that the boundaries of the district were altered in 1869, and its area diminished from 1,415 squarc miles to be TO BO ​LUC 343 966. Bearing this in mind there is nothing worthy of note in the crime. As in other zamindari districts like Sitapur and Unao, the offences against property seem below the average of the province :- Crime statistics. Cases reported. Cases convicted. 1867. 1868. 1867. 1868. 1869. 1870. -no 1869. 12 00 4 2 VO 09 1.0 . bed IO seo 1870. Love 1871. 11 8 8 6 9 10 19 6 7 7 13

3 4 6 6 4 5 6 Morders and attempts 10 Culpable homicide 1 Dakaiti 1 Robbery Rioting and unlawful aseem- bly. Theft by house-breaking or 1668 1581 2022 1463 1293 1405 166 119 162 128 98 115 house-trespade. Theft (simple) .. 1001 171297 7601062 1427 226 271 979 220 291 483 Theft of cattle 7 57 70 42 82 50 20 20 131323 18 Offences against coin and 4 4 112 9 8 7 3 6 2 3 5 stamps. The accidental deaths are recorded in tables furnished by the police department and include suicides. The following is an abstract - City. District. 1867 95 286 1868 43 254 1869 08 263 1870 184 214 1871 121 318 1872 62 200 The great majority in 1871 was due to the very heavy rainfall of that year; 105 persons in this district were killed by falls of houses. Comparative meno. of accidental deaths for the years 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, in district Lucknow. Ву Suicides. By snake- By wild drowning. bite. quadrupeds. By fall of buildings. By other causes Total. Male. Female Male. Female. Female. Male. Female. 5 1867 21 13 2 6 pad 61 81 65 64 52 69 26 15 9 3 18 18 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 21 36 20 9 18 15 NO Male, 18 4 6 17 49 6 13 18 35 9 NNY 32 16 72 19 22 23 7 16 56 5 168 106 150 128 163 109 118 148 135 116 150 97 16 25 23 12 1 6 57 a 6 Revenise and expenditure.—The revenue and expenditure of the dis- trict in 1871-72 are given in the accompanying tables. The main item is the land revenue 705,806; the income tax only gave Rs. 59,953. Although the main wealth of the province centres in Lucknow, and although the pen- sioners and retainers of generations of Oudh kings still survive in the 45 ​350 LUC ADO

  • •

05 .be od &T 40 . des ... 40 100 PI s. .. 20 . 4.D 14 •P PER DAD PD 00 0 . . ad DUO S! BI! PE . . OG 21 CID city. The only sources of income which yielded any appreciable return were the land, banking, and the law. As to the expenditure it must be reniarked that this table does not include above a mere fraction of what is paid from the Lucknow treasury S Imperial Receipts, 1871-1872. 1. Recent settlement revenue collections Rs. 7,06,806 2. Rents of Government villages and lande - 3. Income tax 69,963 4. Tax on spirits and drngs 1,90,649 5. Stamp duty .. 1,80,495 6. Law and justice 11,842 Total

  • 11,48,645

Imperial Expenditure, 1871-1872, Revenue refunds and drawbacks 5,976 Miscellaneous refunds 6,371 Land reveanc Deputy Commissioners and establishment 61,789 Settlement 6,707 Excise or abkári 33,688 Assessed taxes 827 Stamps 3,235 Law and justice Service of process 6,072 Criminal courts !! 70,115 Ecclesiastical 16,771 Mcdical 13,17 Total

      • 2,24,656

The following tables give the details of local receipts and expenditure:- Receipts. One per cent, Toad cess 8,621 school cess 8,560 One-fourth per cent. diatrict dák 8,163 Three per cent, local and margin cesses 31,086 Ferry fund Police fund Education fund 19,819 Dispensary fund 1,317 Pound fund 1,983 Nazil fund 61,584 Road fund Provincial allotment 3,51,586 Total *** 4,80,619 Charges. Education Hospitals and dispensaries 1,20,150 12,676 District dák 2,901 Pound 905 Nazíl 1,04,094 Pablic works Communications 49,887 Civil Buildings, &c. 62,276 Establishment, &c. 1,27,960 2,40,123 EDO 19 1 100 41. B 4 16 U. 14 2 PO PE OD . 166 DO 10. 30 DEU D 40 19 010 CE PU out 100 pe eve 104 116 d. 09 PO . 40 vet Det . 00

.40 But OR 00 O +90 10 10. •• ad see 80 Total 16 4,80,689 Includes Rs. 7,849 for vaccinatione ​LUC 361 State of education of the lower classes. The mass of the lower classes is ignorant, superstitious, and unambitious. The low caste man rarely travels beyond the limits of his pargana, and the pilgrim who has just returned from his wanderings to the Ganges will supply him with all his knowledge of the world. But class holds no communication with class, so that the diffusion of knowledge even by these means is limited. Government schools.But every hope may be placed on the schools that are being now spread through the country. The following schools have been established in the Lucknow district excluding the city :-An Anglo-vernacular middle class school at Kákori ;—this is intermediate in rank between the primary or village schools and the high schools in which students are prepared for the matriculation examination. Five vernacular middle elass schools at Malihabad, Mahona, Amethi (Díngur), Mohanlal- ganj, and Aliganj respectively. In these the curriculum of the lower five classes is that of the village schools, but is more extended in the upper two classes. 67 primary village schools and 4 primary town schools in which the education given is of an elementary character. The curriculum in these last includes reading and writing in Urdu and Hindi, arithmetic, and in the higher classcs mensuration, geography, and history. The following return exhibits the working of the district dák during 1876-77 .. 1.4 140 8 14 Number of miles of dak line 35 of runners Cost for the year 4. Re. 2,000 9 ] Number of covers delivered of covers returned undelivered Total nunber of lettera gent to district post-office + 1.4

      • 19,199

end . 1,779 20,969 Statement showing the number of articles given for delivery and those returned undelivered during the year 1876-77. Letters. Papers. Packets. Parcele, 19,842 575 69 483 Giren out for delivery... Returned undelivered .. 1,752 14 3 10

  • One runner has worked for a part of the year, ​

CHAPTER V.

HISTORY.

Rajput conquest—The Musalman conquest—Earlier tribes of Bhars, Arakhs, and Pásis, and ancient state of the country.

Only a few particulars will be given here as the bulk of the facts will be found related under each pargana.

Some few of the Rajput colonies, as the Panwárs of Itaunja (Mahona) and the Chaubáns of Amosi, conducted their invasions under the auspices of, or it will be enough to say, with the sanction of the Delhi emperors; for at that time the Muhammadan rule in this province was little more than nominal, and all that the Rajputs effected seems to have been due to their own strength and exertions. The Rajputs, after the tide of their immigration had once set in, made themselves 'masters of the whole country.

Rajput conquest.—Amethias and Gautams possessed themselves of Mohanlalganj and Nigohán. Subsequently there came to the former pargana a colony of Janwárs from Ikauna in Bahraich, but they settled peaceably under the Shekhs who had invaded and driven out the Amethias from the north of the pargana, then known as Amethi, in the middle of the 16th century. The Bais to the south and Chauhans through the centre of the pargana held Bijnaur, The Bais invaded and possessed themselves of Kákori. Nikumbus, Gharwárs, Gautams, and Janwars spread through Malihabad; Panwars and Chauhans invaded Mahona.

Musalman conquests.—Then came the Musalman conquest. Little seems to have been effected by the first invasion of Sayyad Masaud in A.D. 1030. Traces of it may have remained in some of the old pargana towns, which they made their encamped settlements as in Nagram and Amethi of pargana Mohanlalganj, through which he is said to have passed; where muhallas are still existing containing, as it is said, the descendants of his old followers who founded them. But for a long time they did not dare venture far from any of these, or from the headquarters which he had fixed for them at Satrikh,

The next invasion was that of Muhammad Bakhtiyár Khilji, during the time of Shaháb-ud-dín in A.D. 1202. But he, too, seems to have left but little trace behind him. He may have founded the village of Bakhtiyárnagar near Malihabad, and may have left some Patháns in the town itself, but though they may have resisted any attack made upon themselves, as in the case of the Bais under the Bait Rája Sathna of Kákori; they never ventured out into the surrounding country to colonize it.

The earliest Musalman colonies do not probably date from much before the middle of the 13th century. Amongst the first to come were the Shekhs of Kasmandi in the Malihabad pargana. Then came the Shekhs of Qidwára in the Lucknow pargana in the direction of Satrikh. Many scattered Musalman communities also are spread through Kursi and Dewa, but the native accounts themselves favour the belief that they ​originated from Satrikh. The Musalmans frequently made short incursions from this place. One of the first places they attacked was the town of Dewa, where they seem to have established themselves under Shah Wesh, a captain of Sayyad Masaud's; and they penetrated in the direction of Lucknow as far as the town of Mariáon, where they met with a repulse, and their leader fell. In a village is still a tomb of portentous length, in which a nau gaza pir, so called from his height, is said to have been buried.

By far the greater part of the Musalman proprietorship of villages in the district dates from the time when a Musalman government was firmly established within the limits of the province. They were naturally attracted towards the settlements of their own countrymen, and Musalman villages stretch through the south of parganas Dewa, Kursi, and Lucknow up to Kakori,

Out of the one thousand four hundred and sixteen villages of the old district, five hundred and fifty-five are held by Musalmans, eight hundred and thirty-four by Hindus, and of the latter five hundred and forty-six belong to Chhattris, and one hundred and thirty-two to Brahmans, leaving one hundred and fifty-six to be divided amongst other castes, the chief holders amongst whom are the Káyaths with forty-one, and Ahírs and Kurmis with thirty-eight villages. Thus Musalmans, Thákurs, and Brahmans are the chief holders; and being but twenty-seven per cent. of the whole population hold nine-tenths of the soil, and even the proprietorship of the remaining castes in one-tenth is due to adventitious causes, and not their original ownership of the land.

Earlier tribes of Bhars, Arakhs, and Pásis, and ancient state of the country.—Next comes the question of the ownership of the soil previous to the colonization of these early Rajput and Musalman settlers. Their traditions everywhere state that they expelled certain low caste tribes of Bhars, Árakhs, and Pásis. Who the Bhars were is a question that still remains unanswered. Mr. Elliot says that they overran the country after the loss of Ajodhya by the Surajbansi tribes. The country had then apparently relapsed into primeval wilderness. The native's only conception of it is that of a vast uninhabited jungle, in which none but saints and anchorites lived, who passed their time in prayer and meditation. Rája Janimijai, son of Parikshit, grandson of Rája Judhishtir, of mythical times, granted them the land in jágír.

The foundation of many of the towns is attributed to devotees, as Mariaon to Mandal Rikh, Mohán to Mohan Gir Gosháín, Juggaur to Jagdeo Jogi, and they may belong to these times.

The Bhars then found the country open to them, and in this district they were certainly a dominant clan that ruled the country, so far south as the Sai, up to the end of the twelfth century. Their total extermination does not favour the belief that they could have belonged to the mass of the people, but as a proprietary body their disappearance, with the loss of their land, seems intelligible, and as a fact is common enough. They seem to be of aboriginal origin, and some say belong to the forest ​tribes of Kols, Bhils, Kiráts, Hais, Pardhans, and Thárus, and originally came from the Tarái. Bhar díhs (mounds) cover the face of the country. They seem to have built in brick, which is more than their successors (the Hindus) do. The Kanauj dynasty before its fall made great efforts to wrest the country from them.

Alha and Údal, Banáphar Rajputs, were sent by Raja Jai Chand, and first attacked Nathánwán near Bijnaur, which is said to have been held by a Pási Rája, Bigli; they then advanced to Sarsánwán near Amethi, and afterwards to Dewa, but seem to have got no further. Oudh must have been a hot place for them. North from Bijnaur through Sarsánwán, already mentioned, lies the plain of Ganjaria which was then known as the loh gánjar plain, or plain of iron; so called from the warlike demeanour of the natives, and it seems to have given the name of Ganjaria to the whole of Oudh.

In describing the settlements of the Pásis and Bhars, &c., Pásis and Arakhs seem to have been in strength in Malihabad, and to have stretched south to Kakori and Bijnaur, and along the left bank of the Sai to Sissaindi, All to the east of them were Bhars. Then comes the question as to whether they were themselves low caste, and whether any other low caste tribes belong to them. Mr. Benett says in his history of the tribes of the Rae Bareli district, that the Ahír women mourned for their Bhar kings, and gave up the practice of wearing anklets. It is said that none of the low caste tribes may touch gold, indeed, they cannot worship a god save through the medium of a Brahman.

The Pásis must have been an aboriginal tribe; they are disowned by every one else, and their habits would favour it. Their fondness for drink was notorious. There is not a story told of the conquest of any fort, but that it was effected by plying the occupants with wine. This is told of Bhars and Pásis alike. The natives connect them with Arakhs; they have an account of a Bhar dynasty founded about A.D. 918, by Tilok Chand, the head of the tribe. This chief fixed upon Bahraich as the seat of his empire, and led a powerful army against Rája Bikrampál of Delhi, whom he defeated and dispossessed of his kingdom. It is then said that he held all the country up to Delhi, and all Oudh up to the mountains. His dynasty lasted for nine generations or one hundred and fifteen years up to A.D. 1093. It ended with Ráni Bhem Devi, wife of Gobind Chand, who died without an heir, and bequeathed the kingdom to her priestly confessor (Guru), Har Gobind, whose dynasty lasted for fourteen generations.

Tilok Chand is said to have been a worshipper of the sun. Near Bahraich is a temple in his honour called Balaark—ark is the Sanskrit for sun, and he wished in imitation of the Súrajbans to give a new and better name to his tribe. He accordingly called them the Arkbans, and to his own immediate family he gave the title of Ark-rajbansi. Later on when they lost all power they became known as the Arakhs and Rájbansis, which latter word in the usual process of decay of language, and the loss of its earliest meaning, became changed to Rájpasia—aut ex re nomen, aut ex vocabula fabula. Native tales mostly depend upon the name, and his ingenuity seems here to surpass itself; bans has become ​påsi—not possible by any etymological law of change,—and he has lost sight of his Bhar dynasty in order to invent an origin for the word Rájpasia. And here, as another illustration, it may be as well to state an account which the Rájpasias elsewhere give of themselves. They say that they are no more than a branch of the great Pási family which came from Gujarát in the west. That after a time they fell out and fought; that in the battle some took to their beds (khatiyas), and were thenceforth known as Khatiks, others took to the trees (bághs), and were ever afterwards called Báchals; that they the remaining and victorious section, received the title of the Rajpasias or 'conquering Pásis.' More native ingenuity; but the derivation Rájpasias is here likely enough, and has its counterpart in the Ráj-Bhars, which are sometimes met with in eastern Oudh, and who must surely derive their name from some former times of conflict, when they rose victorious over their fellow-tribesmen. But whether there was such a dynasty of Bhars or not, or whether or not he Rájpasias are descended from them, the Pásis and Arakhs always claim to be of kin to the Bhars.

LUCKNOW Pargana[6]—Tahsil Lucknow—District Lucknow.—The pargana of Lucknow lies round the city, which, with cantonments, is situated towards the south-west in latitude 26° 70' and longitude 30° 85. It is very irregular in shape. While the boundaries of parganas Malihabad on the west and Mahona on the north approach to within eight or nine miles of the capital; it throws up a spur to the north-west between these two parganas, which penetrates into the heart of the pargana of Malihabad to a point about eight miles to the north of the town of Malihabad itself. To the east the pargana is bounded by Dewa, and to the south, and west by Mohanlalganj and Bijnaur. The total area is one hundred and sixty-five square miles, of which ninety six-square miles are cultivated, and thirty square miles or 18,653 acres are said to be culturable, but practically the cultivation in the pargana has reached its limits, some 5,000 acres of the so-called culturable area is under groves, and a great deal of the rest is comprehended within cantonments, which cover an area of 7,265 acres.

The river Gumti flows directly through the pargana, which it enters at about ten miles to the north, and passing under the old fort of the city, which lies on its right bank, takes a bend to the east and leaves the pargana about eight miles off, to become the boundary line of that of Mohanlalganj. The course of this river is tortuous, and its bed lies low. At Alambágh, close to the city, the height above sea level is 403, and the water level at the same point is 341, showing a difference of 62 feet. Its current is generally slow, though rapid during the rains, and it is fordable at but few places, Its average breadth is fifty yards. The river, together with two small streams on its right bank, and the Kukráel on its left, which rises on the north of the village of Asti in Mahona and falls into the river below Bíbípur, drain the pargana.

The land on either side of the Gumti for some distance from its banks is of a poor quality; it is either broken into deep ravines or divided ​into broad sandy tracts, or the banks recede, leaving low moist khádir, lands which are flooded during the rains. The last is suitable for rice cultivation, and the soil on the higher lands, which is light and poor, where not entirely sandy, grows light crops of willet, bájra (holeus sorghum), and moth (phaseolus aconitifolius). Now and then, as to the north of the city and the south of cantonments, there are some barren úsar plains, but with these exceptions, the pargana is fertile and well cultivated. By the survey some 20-5 per cent is said to be barren, but a great deal of this is due to the city and cantonments, and not more than half of the technically barren is due to unculturable úsar. The irrigation in the pargana is low, jhils are not very numerous, and water lies at an average depth from the surface of thirty feet. The proportion irrigated amounts only to thirty-five per cent, and about three-fifths of this is from jhíls. The crops consist of all the cereals and pulses, but the cultivation round the city and large villages, consisting of the higher class crops of poppy, tobacco, culinary vegetables, and a kind of sugarcane called paunda, of which the stick is eaten, is unexceptionally fine. The Kachhis, to whom this cultivation belongs, are almost twice as numerous in this as any other pargana of the district. Round the city, too, are numerous rose gardens from the roses of which rose-water is made by the perfumers of Lucknow.

The population is most dense; within the city it amounts to 3,68,977 or 2,102 to the square mile, but without the city it is 9,5,851 or 656; but it even then falls on the cultivated area, at the rate of 1,229 per square mile. The proportion of Muhammadans is high, amounting to 25 per cent. of the whole, and that of agriculturists to non-agriculturists is low, being only 29-4 per cent. But all this is due to the city. A part from this, Muhammadans are 103 per cent., and agriculturists reach the fair average of 55-8. But the pressure of cultivators is far greater than in any other pargana. The average holding of the chhaparhand is not two acres; and including the fields he holds in other villages, it will not, for the greater proportion of cultivators who are of the Lodh, Chamár, and Pási caste, amount to more than three acres.

The rents as a rule are high, though as usual the Chhattris do not pay much. Their average rent is no more than Rs. 8-14-0 per acre, while that of the Lodhs is Rs. 6-4-0, and the Kachhis pay an average of Rs. 13-10-0, while in individual instances in all villages round the city itself these rents amount to as much as Rs. 25 and 30 per bigha or £4 and £5 per acre. The pargana was assessed at summary settlement at Rs. 1,40,531, but the assessment now is Rs. 1,56,033. The revenue falls at a rate of—

Rs. 2-10-6 on cultivated.
"" 1-15-8 on cultivated plus culturable.
and "" 1-9-0 throughout.

But in villages round the city it falls at a rate of Rs. 6-9-0 per acre.

The city contains a population of 273,126, of which the Muhammadan element amounts to 41 per cent. There are in addition five other villages with a population of between two and three thousand. They are —Ujariấon and Juggaur lying on the north side of the Gumti between that river and ​LUC 357 the Lucknow and Fyzabad road; Chinhat, at a distance of eight miles from the city on the road to Fyzabad, where a large bazár is held, and near which is one of the encamping grounds for the troops ; Muhibullapur, about four miles from Lucknow on the right of the road to Sitapur, a place of quondam importance, which it owed to the old cantoment of Mariáon, where the troops were stationed previous to the outbreak of 1857; and Tháwar, to the north of the pargana on the right bank of the Gumti . There are also 16 other towns with a population of more than one thousand but less than two thousand. They are Umráe, Bhadruk, Baráwan Kalán, Pára, Takroi, Jihta, Sarsawa, Dibaria, Alamnagar, Kánkrabad, Kanausi, Gahla Goprámau, Muhamdinagar, Harchandpur, Kanaura, and Ismáilganj, and the villages throughout are closely packed. They are 180 in all, and average 540 acres each. Government schools are established in Ujariáon, Juggaur, Chinhat, Kánkrabad, Rahimnagar, and Máhnagar, and others in the city of Luck- now itself. The capital communicates with every part of the province. There are metalled roads to Sitapur, which from there communicates with Shahja- "hánpur to Fyzabad, which at Bara Banki sends out a branch to Bahram- ghat on the Gogra, and to Cawnpore. The great stream of traffic passes sonth from Bahramghat and Fyzabad through Lucknow to Cawnpore. The road from the former place taps the Trans-Gogra districts, which export large quantities of grain and timber, and conveys in turn raw cotton and iron and manufactured goods, Agricultural produce is rarely seen advancing northwards to Lucknow, as may be judged from the fact that the market of Saádatganj, the most southerly of the three great markets of Lucknow city, where grain from Malihabad and Bijnaur and the country to the south used to set down, has almost ceased to exist. The different lines of railway have given a great impetus to trade. These lines which take the same directions as the roads branch out to Bahramgbat, Fyzabad, Cawnpore, and Shahjahanpur, by way of Hardoi. The traffic itself pouring into Lucknow is very considerable. Goods for the year 1869-70 were taxed to the amount of seventy-three and three quarter lakhs of rupees. The chief interest of the pargana centres in the city Lucknow, the seat of Government and capital of the province. It covers an area of thirty-six square miles. Its population has been given, and by it, it stands fourth amongst Indian capitals. Its greatness as a city dates only from the time of Asif-ud-daula, 4th Nawab of Oudh, who commenced his rule in A.D. 1798. It was probably at an early period one of the most important places in Oudh, and the chief seat of Government after the time of the emperor Akbar. It is described in the Aín-i-Akbari as “ a large city, pleasantly situated upon the banks of the Gumti , and the suburbs of which are very delightful (Gladwin's translation).' The greater part of the city is situated on the right bank of this river; it has in recent times been extended to the left or north side. But its history under its old Shekh rulers, and its rise 47 ​358 LUC under the Nawabs of Oudh, with the changes it has subsequently seen, will receive a separate and fuller notice. To the south-east of the city, separated from it by the old canal, lie the cantonnents, which extend to a distance of six miles from the iron bridge, and take up an area of from eleven to twelve square miles. They were marked out and occupied on the re-annexation of the province after the great rebellion of A.D. 1857. LUCKNOW CITY—General Description. The capital of Oudh lies mainly on the west bank of the Gumti in latitude 26°52', longitude 81°. It is 104 miles from Shahjahanpur, 80 from Fyzabad, 42 from Cawnpore, 199 from Benares, 610 from Calcutta, with all which place it is connected by railway. It covers 36 square milea, and has a population of 273,126, of whom ths are Hindus, the rest Musalmans and Christians. It is the capital of Oudh, and the largest city in the Indian empire, except the three Presidency towns--Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. It is healthily situated, 403 feet above the level of the sea ; and although not the seat of a flourishing commerce or manufacture, it is still a place of considera- ble wealth.' 1111 1877, when the Oudh administration was amalgamated with that of the North-Western Provinces, it contained the central offices, and the principal administrators of an extensive province resided here. Many pensioners of the British Government and former Oudh kings still dwell in the city; it is the centre of modern Indian life, the queen of Indian fashion, and the best existing school of Indian music, grammar, and Moslema theology, at least for the Shias. Lucknow, viewed from a distance, and not too closely scrutinized, is one of the most beautiful and picturesque large cities of the world. There are two noble mosques, one imámbára of imperial dimensions, four tombs of regal splendour—those of Saádat Ali Khan, of Mushid Zádi, of Muham- mad Ali Shah, and Gházi-ud-dín Haidar ; there are two great palaces, or rather collections of palaces, the Chhatar Manzil and the Qaisar Bágh, besides a host of garden houses, pavilions, town mansions, temples, mosques --all erected during the last one hundred years by a number of wealthy, prodigal kings, and their equally lavish courtiera. The interior of the city does not correspond to its brilliant appearance from without. It has broader and finer streets than most oriental towns: this is due to the destruction of very many houses for military purposes after the mutiny. A glacis half a mile broad was cleared for the fort, and three military roads radiating from it were driven right through the heart of the city, often at an elevation of some thirty feet above the level of the neighbouring streets. Three other roads also branch out-one over the bridge, and two laterally along the banks of the Gumti. The picturesque eminence which is crowned by the residency is perhaps the greatest ornament of the city-an old mosque, a magnificent banyan tree, the lofty tower, and the stately walls of the residency, covered with moon creeper's and dense cloaks of dark foliage, rise grandly above the numerous zuins interspersed with shrubbery, and bright with roses and oleanders. Near at hand is an artificial mound, whose sides are gay with parterres of flowers, and behind, half hidden by groups of gigantic bamboos, their lofty beads ​LUC 359 feathering down almost to the ground, lies the graveyard, and there, among many cypresses, are the graves or cenotaphs of some 2,000 English- men and women who perished in the muting and sepoy wars of 1857-1858. Architecture.--Nowhere can we see more markedly the influence of an oriental court and its politics upon social life and art than in Lucknow. During the last half of the eighteenth century the sovereigns of Oudh were the chiefs of a great state, including Rohilkhand, Allahabad, Cawn- pore, and Ghazipur, they had great armies, and though singly they were no match for British forces, their pretensions on this head having been for ever set at rest at Buxar in 1764, their alliance was all important to British arms; they were necessary to each other to stand the rising flood of the Marahtas. The dynasty of Oudh was then also a young one; its founder, Saídat Kban, a Persian merchant from Naishápur, was the greatest warrior of his time except Ahmad Khan, Even in old age the prowess of his arm equalled his military skill; his Hindu foes recorded with awe how he slew in single combat Bhagwant Singh Khíchi, and how his troops when almost beaten rushed again to the combat where the long white beard of the old chief was seen in the thick of the battle. His successor, Safdar- jang, was a great statesman; Shujá-ud-daula, a valiant though rash soldier. Still his people tell with pride how he had almost won Buxar when his treacherous general of artillery loaded with hay cartridges, and the battle was lost, but not the honour of the kingdom. During the reigns of these sovereigns nothing was built except forts and wells. All three themselves. took the field against English, Marahtas, Rohillas, or against the great nobles, whose feudal power bad reduced the central authority to a mere name, With Asif-ud-daula a new political situation was developed; he was the contented nay the servile ally of the British ; they had given him Robil- khand ; they were able to give him Benares, and he wanted them to give him over his own step-mother, the Bahu Begam and her hoards. Still the partially sinister influence of a foreign protectorate was not yet visible to any extent; he did not feel himself altogether independent. of his people. His prodigality was not exercised upon personal objects; he built bridges and mosques and the imámbára, the architectural glory of Oudh. It can- not, it is true, compare with the pure examples of Mughal architecture which adorn Delhi and Agra; but taken along with the adjoining mosque, the Husenabad Imámbára, and the Rúmi Darwaza, it forms a group of build- ings whose dimensions and picturesque splendour render it one of the most imposing in the world. Nor was there any admixture of European systems, tawdry in style and bald in design as the details occasionally are, they are never during this period bastard. There are no Corinthian pilasters beneath Moslem domes, no false venetian blinds, no imitation marbles, no pea-green mermaids sprawling over a blue sky above a yellow entabla- ture, none of the mongrel vulgarities which were applied in Vauxhall, Rosherville, and the Surrey gardens, and when expelled from thence took refuge in the Qaisar Bágh and Chhatar Manzil. The plans of Asif-ud- daula's bridge, fort, mosques, and towers arc simple and grand. The ​360 LUC arches are the finest features; constructively they leave little to be desired, except a better material. The Rúmi Darwáza is a raagnificent gateway standing almost alone, yet the abutments are so contrived as to remove all appearance of heaviness; it is almost.sixty feet high to the appex of the arch, which, indeed, is rather an alcove than an arch; the gateway is but the half of a huge dome, cut down perpendicularly, and the passage is a comparatively small square doorway in the base. A sensible change took place when Saádat Ali Khan ascended the throne. He gave up half his dominions to the English, who unjustly, according to Sir Henry Lawrence, placed him on the throne in preference to the late king's son. Thenceforth Oudh was protected by foreign troops quartered in its citadels; the sovereign was à rere puppet as regards foreign relations; he was protected from rebellion or popular outbreaks by an armed force which could not partake of pational discontent, or shake his throne. Henceforth the architecture was not national, because there was no nation: nor was it pure because a double Government and constant interference insensibly forced the architects into an awkward mimicry of the models then followed in England, nor was it devoted to popular needs; thenceforth the royal funds were not spent upon mosques, wells, forts, or bridges; palace after palace was erected, each more ungraceful and extravagant than the last. One modest mansion rented from a private family had satisfied the soldier chief, Saádat Khan, who was generally in the field; and this was thought enough during the first three reigns. One palace only sufficed the prodigal Asif- ad-daula who spent a million on the imámbára alone, and millions more on the chauk, bazárs, market places, and bridges which he built to encourage commerce. Saadat Ali Khan although economical built several small palaces; but with Nasír-ud-dín Haidar commenced an era of extra- vagant expenditure on purely personal objects. In the Chhatar Manzil lived the king's wives, in the Qaisar Pasand and other buildings his concubines, in the Shah Manzil his wild beasts. He himself lived in the Farhat Bakhsh, the Huzur Bágh, at Bibiápur, Chinhat, Nawabganj, and numerous other palaces. Wájid Ali Shah bad 360 concubines, each with a separate range of apartments. The style was now avowedly and openly copied from European models. The Chhatar Manzil, if it were not for the gilt umbrella on the top, is an exaggerated copy of such a building as a retired hosier might erect and call Rose Villa. There is little to rernark_further on this subject. The most debased examples of architecture in India are to be found in Lucknow. There are portions of the Qaisar Bágh compared to which the willow pattern or the pagodas on a tea caddy are works of art. In Lucknow alone has the oriental falsified Fergusson's maxim and become vulgar. Withal there are very many buildings whose sky line and general plan are commenda- ble. Seen from a distance, too, the fantastic domes and pinnacles of the Martiniere, Chhatar Manzil, and Qaisar Bágh are very picturesque, while the more ancient tombs and minarets rise proudly and rebukingly above them, often dark grey with moss, or green with grass, while the others are blazing with gold, ​LUC 361 Not less remarkable is the contrast in stability which the ancient and modern buildings present. Not a brick has fallen from the vast vault of the imámbára now almost one hundred years old, and used as an arsenal. Huge 13-inch mortars, and 8-inch guns are dragged about its sacred floors, but the building stands firm. Of the residency also, built about 1780, hardly a brick has fallen; it was exposed to a five months' cannonade from heavy artillery at three hundred yards during the mutiny of 1857, yet the walls are quite firm, and whatever roofs were not torn down by the mutineers are yet almost perfect. In the Qaisar Bágh, on the other hand, although not thirty years old, decay has made great progress; one entire side of the main quadrangle has been removed, and the others are more or less ruinous. It was given to the taluqdars by Lord Canning on condition that they should keep it in repair. This palace is believed to have cost £800,000. One feature of this fantastic architecture may be mentioned. On the top of any square building four flying buttresses are sent from each corner, not however to support any Gothic pinnacle, but simply to meet each other ; no modern building seems complete without some of these, looking like a pair of shears, or the charred rib of some mighty ship. Gilt domes, made of copper covered with gold, gilt umbrellas, and balustrades of burnt clay, with gilt spikes, are among the tawdry ornaments which stil Irender a Lucknow view so bright and sparkling. As usual in Indian cities few buildings except mosques or tombs were built by the nobles of the court or the merchants. It was dangerous for any except the king's nearest relatives to build a fine mansion. Since annexation a number of town houses have been built or greatly enlarged by the nobility of Oudh. One feature generally present is an imposing gateway, consisting of arch within arch, rising from the same base, and covered with arabesque details, gaudily coloured. The masonry is so bad that houses built only a few years ago are already in a state of ruin and decay, and such are often represented to be old mansions whose owners since annexation are no longer able keep their ancestral halls in repair. It is the Lucknow plaster, as remarked by Lord Valentia, which keeps up its credit; the finest kind is made from the shells left in ancient lakes now dried up. When well done this chunam is really brighter and purer looking than marble, and its effects when lighted up with thousands of lamps is exquisitely beautiful. The following is a quotation from “ Forester's Journey" touching the state of the city during the nawabi :- " Lucknow is a large and populous city, but wholly inelegant and irre- gular. The streets are narrow, uneven, and almost choked up with every species of filth. The Gumty, running on the north side of the town, is navigable for boats of a common size at all seasons of the year, and falls into the Ganges between Benares and Ghazepour. A line of boats, extended across the river, forms a convenient communication with a large suburb."*

  • Page 95," A Jourvey by George Forester," Vol. I. ​362

LUC The splendour of the Lucknow court during the reign of Asif-ud-daula far exceeded anything known then before or since. The province was then at its utmost magnitude. Unlike his father, 'who was an ambitious soldier, this Nawab devoted all the wealth of the state to gratify his per- sonal taste, and to the accumulation of all the materials of oriental pomp. No court in India or Europe could rival him at that time; his only ambition apparently was to discover how many elephants the Nizam or Tippoo of Seringapatam possessed, how valuable were their diamonds, and to surpass them At the marriage of his reputed son, Wazir Ali Khan, the furious youth who four years afterwards murdered Mr. Cherry, and died in Chunár prison, he surpassed all previous efforts. Twelve bundred elephants* formed the marriage procession, the young prince wore jewels estimated to be worth Rs. 20,00,000, and these formed only a fourth of his father's stock of gems. The splendid buildings which now adorn 'Lucknow had not then been built. Two tents were prepared for the occasion, covered with the most costly English broadcloth in stripes of various colours ; each tent was 120 feet long, 60 feet broad, 60 feet high, and cost £50,000. This vast accumulation of wealth was effected by the most crushing taxation upon the people. Four years afterwards Tennant, a keen observer, traversed the whole of Oudh, and found almost everywhere a plundered and desolate country. He speaks of the Nawab's territories, which,“ in defiance of the bounty of nature, display a uniform sterility:"I In Rohilkhand, he says, not "the hundredth part of an acre is under cultivation,"I the "solitude and gloom of the province" were only relieved by a little prosperity where the eunuch, Mián Almás, administered a few districts with comparative wisdom and moderation. S Tennant's account of Lucknow at this time is appended :- "I yesterday went to view this capital, which is said to contain half million of souls. Happening to enter the town at the west end, and which contains the poor mechanics and labourers of every sort, I never witnessed 90 many varied forms of wretchedness, filth, and vice.

  • The street which leads to the palace is upwards of five miles long, more

than one-half of which you wade through mire and filth. During the lapse of time the streets sink from clearing or by the blow- ing away of dust while dry, so that they are fallen in the middle to the depth of ten or twelve feet, and are so narrow that two hackeries cannot pass, nor, indeed, any carriage however small. "My palankeen was frequently stopped by the small asses which were passing along loaded with bricks. This animal is here so slender that a stout porter could have no difficulty in literally carrying both the beast and its burden. Solomon must have employed an immense number in a 36 << Forbea" Oriental Memoire, Vol. III., page 282. + Tendent'a " India Recreations," Vol II., Page 175. | Tennant's "Indian Recreations," page 381. Tenpant's Indian Recreations," Vol. II, page 405. ​LUC 363 carrying the materials of the temple, if his asses were not of a superior breed to these of Lucknow.* “The concourse of a great number of people perhaps does not anywhers improve their morals; vice and poverty are the only qualities that this people uniformly display. Some saunter, others lie down in a kind of dubious state between existence and annihilation ; others still are intoxi- cating themselves with the hookah ; a few only labour at their professions. The show of rich shops and merchandize is remarkably small, though it supplies the luxury of the court, or rather the palace for here there is little affluence beyond the narrow circle of the prince's family." Various other notices of Lucknow by European travellers have been consulted, but they were apparently so dazzled by the splendours of Luck- now that they have forgotton to note the condition of the country. I Prince Soltikoff, who visited Lucknow in 1841, declared that the sur- rounding country was a " desert sablonneux tout a fait sauvage et sans route;" but he was delighted to perceive that“ le respect qu'on porte ici aux Européens est vraiment unique." Mr. Fergusson writes as follows of Lucknow architecture :- “In an exhaustive attempt to describe all the saracenic styles of India, a chapter ought properly to follow here describing the buildings of these three cities.ll though it is questionable whether the style adopted in them does not rather belong to the volume which is devoted to those styles, designated in Europe as if in mockery • The Renaissance. What- ever may be the case in the west, in India there is no mistake about its being a decadence,' pure and simple ; and no caricatures of architec- ture are so ludicrous or so bad as those in which Italian details are introduced, more specially at Lucknow, but also in the two other capitals. Still the tomb of Haidar Ali has, in spite of its details, a strong smack of the old solema sepulchres of a better age; and in Lucknow there are some mosques and portals whose outline is still grand, though their details are detestable, and one building specially, the Imámbára, which when pot too closely looked into is not unfit to be spoken of in the same chapter as the earlier buildings. “As seen by the plan of the Imámbára, the principal apartment is 162 feet long by 53 feet 6 inches wide. On the two sides are verandahs respectively 26 feet 6 inches and 27 feet 3 inches wide, and at each end an octagonal apartment, 53 feet in diameter; the whole interior dimen- sions being thus 263 feet by 145.**

  • Tennant's " Indian Recreatious," Vol. II, page 404.

Page No. 405, Vol. II, of Tennant's " Indian Recreations." See Hodge's Travels in India, 1793, page 107; Archer's Tour in Upper India, 1827, Mondy's Sketches of India, Vol. I, page 23, 1896. $ Soltikoff's Voyage dans l'Inde, Vol. 1., page 188. i Haidarabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Plan of Imambára at Lucknow from measurements by the author-icele 100 feet to 1 inch, ​364 LUC “This immense building is covered with vaults of very simple form and still simpler construction, being of a rubble or coarse concrete several feet in thickness, which is laid on a rude mould or centering of bricks and mud, and allowed to stand a year or two to dry and set. The centering is then removed, and the vault, being in one piece, stands with- out abutment or thrust, apparently a better and more durable form of roof than our most scientific Gothic vaulting; certainly far cheaper and far more easily made, since it is literally cast on a mud form, which may be moulded into any shape the fancy of the architect may dictate." The following details of the foundation of the city, and of the various remarkable buildings in it are drawn from the settlement report from a local account of Lucknow, and other authorities. History. The earliest inhabitants seem to have been Brahmans and Kágaths, and they dwelt round the Lachhman Tila, or Lachhman's hill, which is now the high ground situated within the Machchhi Bhawan fort. Here, it is said, that Lachhman, brother of Rám Chandar, Rája of Ajodhya, who had been granted a large tract of country up to the Gogra in jágír, founded the village of Lachlmanpur, the origin of the future city. He was probably drawn to it by the reputed sanctity of the spot; for on the summit of the hillock was an orifice in the ground into which Hindus threw flowers and water, for they said it led down to the Sesnág, or thou-. sand headed snake, who supports the world on his head. A mosque now stands over the place, built by that stern religionist, the Emperor Aurang- zeb, who had just returned from performing a like act at some sacred spot in Ajodhya. The village of Lachhmanpur was standing within the memory of man. The next comers were the Shekhs, known in after times as the Shekh- zádas of Lucknow, and, later on, a colony of Pathans, who became known as the Patháns of Rámnagar. The latter claimed the zamindari up to the spot subsequently marked by the Gol Darwáza gate. To the east of this ruled the Shekhs, called the Ninbahra Shekhs from the nim trees that surrounded their muhallas. Their muhallas (quarters) extended up to the residency grounds, and covered all the land lying between that and the Machchhi Bhawan fort, but came under the demolitions ordered after the rebellion of 1857, and the land set free has since become cultivated and converted into rich market gardens, This family of Shekhs had obtained a good deal of influence in the country, and subsequently supplied more than one member to the list of Subahdars. One of their first proceedings was to build a fort, which soon became renowned for its strength. It occupied the site of the present Machchhi Bhawan fort, and is said to have been planned by an Ahír named Likhna, and to have been called after him the Qila Likhna. As the Shekhs prospered and increased, a small town grew up round them, which from the two names of Lachhmanpur and Likhna got the name of Lucknow. It is impossible to give the exact date of the imposition of this new name, but it certainly was current previous to the reign of Akbar. To give an example of the prosperity of this town, tlie Shekhs have ​a story, that when in 1540 A.D., the Emperor Humáyún went down to Jaunpur to fight Sher Shah, then king of Jaunpur, and subsequently Emperor of Delhi, he retreated after his defeat viâ Sultanpur, Lucknow, and Plíbhít to Kashmir, and on his way stopped four hours in Lucknow, and that beaten and dispirited as his force was, and therefore probably little able to compel obedience, they collected for him in that short time Rs. 10,000 in cash and fifty horses. That such a story should prevail, however much exaggerated, is in itself a proof that Lucknow was then a wealthy and flourishing town.

We hear mention made of the title of Súbahdar of Oudh as early as 1280 A.D., but the title could not properly be given till in 1590 A.D., when Akbar divided the empire of Hindustan into twelve subabs, of which Oudh was one. The boundaries of the súbah differed from those of the present province of Oudh, chiefly in the fact that they included part of the Gorakhpur district, but excluded Partabgarh, and a large part of what is now the Fyzabad district, of this súbah it is impossible to say that any one place was the capital. The súbahdars seem to have been constantly changed, seldom keeping the dignity more than three or four years. Most of them were Delhi favourites, who remained at court the greater part of the year, and then came down to Oudh to collect revenue, marched about the districts without halting, and when they had got all they could went back again. When any inhabitant of Lucknow was made subahdar, he would naturally make Lucknow his headquarters, and in the same way with other places.

The growth of the city.—Not much was added to the city till up to the middle of the sixteenth century, and its subsequent extension seems to belong to three periods. First that of the Emperor Akbar, who seems to have taken a great liking to the place, when muhallas were built to the south along the line of the chauk. Secondly that of Asif-ud-daula, under whom the greatest extensions in the city were made. In his time all the central parts of the city were built, and fifty-two villages are said to have been taken up. And lastly, that of the fifth Nawab, Saádat Ali Khan, brother and successor Asif-ud-daula, who built all the city which stretched towards the east. The present oldest inhabited parts are the old Hindu wards—the Bájpei,[7] Katári, Sondhi, Banjári, and Ahíri- tolas, which are situated round and to the west of the chauk.

In the time of the Emperor Akbar one of the principal sections of the inhabitants was still the Brahmans, and the free-thinking monarch, wishing to do them an honour, caused the Bájpeí sacrifice to be performed, and gave them a lakh of rupees; from which time they became known as the Bájpeí Brahmans of Lucknow.

Mirza Salím Shah,[8] the son of the Emperor, founded Mirza Mandi, part of which lies to the west of the enceinte of the present fort. Jawahir Khan was subahdar at the end of Akbar's reign, and Qázi Mahmud of ​366 LUC Bilgrám, his Neib, built Mahmúdnagar and Shahganj to the right and left of the chauk, and the Akbari Darwaza at the southern end. During the reign of Jahangir, Lact called Lucknow a magnum emporium."* The next subahdar that is mentioned is Sultan Ali Shah Quli Khan, of the time of Shih Jahan, who had two sons, Mirza Fázil and Mansur, who built Fázilnagar and Mansurnagar in the same line as the chauk further south. Ashraf Ali Khan, a Risáldár, of the same time, built Ashrafabad on the east side of the chauk, and his brother built Musbar- rafabad or Naubasta, a continuation of it to the south. Pír Khán, another Risáldár, built Garhi Pír Khan, which lies to the west of the city in the Daulatganj thána. The muhalla of Ráni Katra, on the east of Daulatganj thána, was built by the wife of Girdbá Nága, Subahdar in the time of Emperor Muham- mad Shah. This Risáldár was the nephew of Chhabíle Rám, Governor of Allababad, who, on his uncle's death, raised a rebellion and attempted to hold for himself the province of which his uncle had been governor, but he submitted in time, and was appointed to the governorship of Oudh (Sair-ul-Mutaák hirin). The present Machchhi Bhawan fort includes a much larger space than the old fort of that naine, which consisted only of the building on the south of the road, noticeable for its round earthen bastions. This was the old fort of Lucknow, and was famous for its strength fully two centuries ago. According to an old proverb, he who holds Machchhi Bhawan holds Lucknow. The high ground across the road, within the defences of the fort surmounted by a small mosque, is Lachhman Tila, the site of the original Lachhmanpur. Behind the Macbchhi Bbawan itself, in a south- west direction, an open space occupied by ordnance stores marks the sites of the Mubarak Mahlâ and Pach Mahla, the oldest houses in Luck- now, built by the family of Shekhs, who formerly owned territory bere. When Saádat Khan, the first member of the late reigning family, came here as Subahdar in 1732 A.D., he hired these bouses from the owners at a monthly rent of Rs. 565. The money was paid at first, but, by a natural transition of sentiment, his successors got into the habit of looking on the houses as their own, and after Safdarjang and Shujá-ud-danla had respec- tively written agreements to pay rent, but had never done it, Asif-ud- daula gave up that farce altogether, and confiscated the bouses outright. It is well known how, on the 1st of July, 1857, the garrison which held this fort evacuated it and joined the Residency, and how skilfully and successfully it was blown up by the retreating party. Saádat Khan was made Governor in A.D. 1732, but found his authority contested by the Shekhs of Lucknow. They had now for a long time been celebrated, and their power may be attested by the fact that their family supplied more than one of the Governors of Oudh. It is said they opposed his entry at the Akbari Darwaza, and he had to pitch outside ; but he took the gate by the time-bonoured stratagem of a banquet, at which he left the Shekhs carousing and entered the city. This was the Lact's India, Ver, Ed., 1631, page 70. ​LUC 367 last of the Shekhs. They had a drawn sword pendent in their gateway, the Shekhan Darwáza, to which they made all newcomers bow as token of their supremacy, and this was pulled down by the new governor, and bowed to no more. Saádat Khan built the Katras of Sayyad Husen Khan, Abú-Turáb Khan, Bágh Maha Narain in the chauk; those of Khudáyár Khan, Bizan Beg Khan, in the Saádatganj thána; of Muham- mad Ali Khan, and Saráe Máli Khan in Daulatganj; and of Ismáilganj, since demolished, to the east of the fort. Abul-Mansur Khan, his son-in-law and nephew, (A.D. 1743), the Nawab Wazír lived at Delhi, but he built the fort of Jalálabad, some three miles to the south of the city, for the intimidation of the Bais of Baiswara, and took from the Shekhs their Panch Mahla or five-storied house, giving them in exchange seven hundred acres of land in Dugawwán and re-building for himself their old stronghold, which was thenceforth called the Machchhi Bhawan fort from the Machchlii, the fish, which formed the crest of the Sábahdar. And Newal Rée, his Náib, sank the wells of the stone bridge that leads over the river by the Machchhi Bhawan fort, but he did not live to complete it. He was soon afterwards killed in the fight with Ahmad Khan Bangash, Nawab of Farukhabad, and it was not finished till the time of Asif-ud-daula. The bridge was for a long time the only one across the river, and the principal line of traffic to Sitapur, Fyzabad, and the Trans-Gumti districts. Abul-Mansár Khan also built a thatched house, a'bangla,' at Fyzabad, which became, under Shuja- ud-daula, the capital of the province, and is still often known by the name of bangla.' After the battle of Buxar, Shujá-ud-daula (A.D. 1753), son of Safdar- jang, dwelt at Fyzabad, and the city received no additions during his rule.. But Asif-ud-daula (A.D. 1775), son of Shujá-ud-darila, after bis quarrel with his mother, returned to Lucknow, and the greatness of the city dates from his time. He built the Daulatkhána along the banks of the river to the west of the fort, the Rúmi Darwáza, the fine old gateway that still leads out of the Machchhi Bhawan fort, and the great imámbára where he lies buried. This edifice was built in the year of the great famine in A. D. 1784, to give some relief to the famine-stricken people. It is said. that many of the respectable inhabitants of the city were compelled by want to place themselves amongst the workmen, and that to save their honour and keep them unknown, their names were told over, and their wages always paid at night. This building may be said to consist of one large hall of immense size and magnificence. Its dimensions are 167 feet long by 52 broad, and is said to have cost a million of money in building. The magnificent ornaments and gaudy decorations with which, as is wont with imámbáras, its walls were covered in those days are now gone; and being within the walls of the fort, it is used as an arsenal for the stores of the garrison. The architects were invited to submit their plans to a competition; Asif-ud-daula only stipulating that the building should be no copy of any other work, and that it should surpass anything of the kind ever built in beauty and magnificence. Kifayat-ulla was the name of the successful competitor, and it would be hard to say that his concep. ​368 LUC tion, as it stands before us in the present day, falls at all short of the large and liberal stipulations of the mouarch. The building is as solid as it is graceful, built from very deep foundations, and no wood-work is used throughout. Asif-ud-daula, at his death, was buried in it. The Residency, standing on a considerable elevation about three hundred yards from the bank of the Gumti, was another of the works completed by this sovereign. The Residency is far too famous a place, and too generally known to require a very detailed description. When Asif-ud-daula resided in his palace, the Daulatkhána, the Resident was accommodated in one of the buildings attached to it; but when Saádat Ali made the Farhat Bakhsh his own dwelling place, he built the Residency close to it. At first no military guard was attached to the Resident, but when Colonel Bailey held this office, a guard of honour was appointed, and a house built for it by Saádat Ali close to the gate of the Presidency enclosure, which thus obtained its world-famous name of the Bailey-guard gate. The plans and descriptions given in Mr. Gubbins' and other books are very full and complete. Outside the city and across the river is to be found the palace of Bibiápur ; it was built by Nawab Asif-ud-daula as a country residence, in which to enjoy hunting and other sports. When a change of residents took place, the new resident on his first arrival used to take up his abode kere. The next day the Nawab Wazír came to meet him with a proces- sion, and conducted him to the Residency, riding with him on one elephant. When it was decided to depose Wazír Ali Khan, the adopted son of Asif- ud-daula, in favour of Saáďat Ali Khan, it was in this place, according to native report, that the Governor-General Lord Teignmouth held a great darbár of all the Lucknow court, and informed Wazír Ali of the order for his deposition, and from thence he sent hits off to Benares, which was tlie place fixed on as his residence. The country houses at Chinhat, also the garden pavilions at Aish Bágh and Chár Bágh (the latter now occupied by the railway station), were built by Asif-ud-daula, as were also the Yahiáganj and stables annexed. The Wazirganj that gives its name to the present police thána, which he founded in the name of his adopted son Wazír Ali Khan Amániganj, Fatehganj, Rakabganj, the Nakhkhás, Daulatganj, Begam. ganj, and Nawabganj, these are ali situated in the Wazirganj and chauk thánas. Other Ganjes founded in his time were- The Aháta Khánsámán, built by the king's chamberlain, who on its com- pletion invited the Nawab to an entertainment in it. The Takaitganj and the Bazár Takait Ráe, which are both in the chauk, built by the king's prime minister Mahárája Tikait Ráe. The T'irmaniganj. The Tikri. The Chhaoni Hasan-ud-dín Khan. The Hasanganj Báoli. The Bhawaniganj, ​The Bálakganj and the Kashmiri Muhalla, which are in the Saádatganj thána.

The Aháta Súrat Singh.

The Niwázganj.

The Tahsinganj.

The Khudáganj of Nagaria, which was founded by the mother of Asif- ud-daula in the same day on which she laid the first stone of Aliganj, on the north side of the river,

The Ambarganj.

The Mahbubganj.

The Top Darwaza, in the Daulatganj thána.

The Khayáliganj.

The bazár Jhaúlál, in Wazirganj, founded by Mahárája Jháulál, Káyath; finance minister.

Hasanganj was also founded by Hasan Raza Khan on the north side of the river.

The people are never tired of talking of the liberality of Asif-ud-daula and his munificence. His name is first on the lips of the Banián, and as he takes his seat in his shop in the morning, he is wont to repeat a distich, somewhat profane, in his honour—

Jis ko na de Maula,
Tis ko de Asif-ud-daula.

To whom the Lord does not give,
Asif-ud-daula will'.

The following building though constructed by a private individual deserves mention. The Martiniere, also known by the name of Constantia, was built by General Claude Martin. He designed the plan and elevation of it, and showed them to Asif-ud-daula who expressed a desire to buy it, and offered to give a million sterling for it. His death, however, broke off the bargain, and General Martin himself died before it was finished, and directed that it should be completed out of the funds he left to endow a school there. He ordered his body to be buried in it as a precaution to prevent any future ruler from confiscating it. During the rebellion the mutineers dug up his tomb and scattered his bones, some of which however have since been restored to their original resting place. This building now contains a school at which 120 boys are clothed and educated.

Saádat Ali Kban, half brother to Asif-ud-daula (1798), took to building palaces and embellishing the city. He bought the Farhat Bakhsh, which is opposite the river next to the Chhatar Manzil, from General Martin for Rs. 50,000, and built the Terhi Kothi under the Residency, and the Lál Bárahdari, and the Dilárám opposite to the Chhatar Manzil, and the Dilkusha palace, which stands on some high land outside the city to the north of the present cantonments, and from which a fine view of the city, the river, and the surrounding plain may be had; and the Hayát Bakhsh (Banks' bungalow), occupied before the mutiny by Major Banks, and now the residence of the Chief Commissioner, the Núr Bakhsh, the ​370 LUC Khurshaid Manzil, the Chaupar Stables, and Sikandar Bagh, within the walls of which such signal retribution befell the 2,000 of the rebel troops at the hands of Sir Colin Campbell's force in November of 1857, and on west side of the city, the Saádatganj, which he ordered should be the only market-place of the city. The Farhat Bakhsh (or giver of delight) was the royal palace from the time of Saádat Ali Khan till Wajid Ali built the Qaisar Bágh. That part of it which overlooks the river was built by General Martin, and sold by him to the Nawab Wazír. The rest of the building, and the great throne-room itself, was built by Saadat Ali Khan. This throne- room, known by the names of the Qasr-us-Sultán, or the Lál Bárah- dari, was set apart for royal darbárs ; and at the accession of a new king it was the custom for the resident to seat him on the throne, and then to present a nazar to him, in token that the British authority confirmed his assumption of the government. It was in this room that the attempt on the throne by the Badshah Begam and Munna Ján took place, which is recorded by Sir W. Sleeman in the second volume of his journey through Oudh, and it was in pursuance of this custom that the insurgents attempted to force the Resident, Colonel Low, to present an offering to Munna Ján as he sat on the throne, thinking thus to confirm the usurper's authority. The other Ganjs built in his time were Rakabganj, Jangliganj, and Maqbúlganj in Ganeshganj to the west of the city; Goláganj and Molvi. ganj in the Wazírganj thána, and the Rastogi Muhalla in the chauk. Gházi-ud-din Haidar, son of Saádat Ali Khan (A.D. 1814), the first king, built the Moti Mahal palace, the Chini Bazar, the Shah Najaf on the banks of the river, in which he ordered his remains to be laid, the Chhatar Manzil Kalád, which faces the river and the Chhatar Manzil Khurd (the lesser), which lies behind it. Round the latter also he built the Darshanbilás and Chaulakkhí houses, the present Civil Court and Chief Engineer's Office. Between the great quadrangle of the Qaisar Bágh and the Chíni Bazar stand the two tombs of Saídat Ali Khan (called after his death Jannat Arámgah) and of his wife Murshidzádi. Both these tombs were built after their death by their son Gházi-ud-din Haidar, who thereby displayed a very uncommon amount of filial affection. The spot on which Šaádat Ali's tonib now stands was formerly occupied by a house in which Gházi- ud-dín Haidar lived during his father's reign ; and it is reported that when he came to the throne and occupied Sasulat Ali's palace, fully appreciating the change in their respective situations, he remarked that as he had now taken his father's house, it was but fair that he should give up his own to his father. Accordingly he gave orders to destroy his former abode, and raise on the site a tomb to Saadat Ali Khan, The pile of buildings known by the name of Moti Mahal includes three separately named and distinct buildings. The Moti Mahal, properly so called, was built by Saádat Ali Khan, and forms the northern part of the enclosure. It owes its name to the fancied resemblance of a dome in it ​LUC 371 (now destroyed) to the curve of a pearl. Along the river face Cházi-ud- díu Haidar built the Mubárak Manzil and the Shah Manzil, the latter being close to the former bridge of boats, the former east of it. The Shah Mauzil was the scene of the celebrated wild beast fights. The smaller animals were put to fight inside the enclosure of the Shah Manzil, and the combats between tigers, &c., also took place there; strong cages and a safe arena having been provided. But the fights between elephants and rhino- ceroses, which required to be viewed at a safe distance, took place across the Gumti on the level ground in front of the Hazári Bágh, the king and the court watching them from the verandah of the Shah Manzil. This king also laid out the Valáeti Bágh in honour of a foreign wife. The Qadam Rasúl, or prophet's foot print, is a Muhammadan place of worship, built by Gházi-ud-din Haidar on a mound artificially raised. It contained a stone bearing the impress of the foot of the prophet brought from Arabia bý a pilgrim. During the rebellion the holy stone was car- ried off, but the author of the sacrilege is not known. Bádshábganj, on the north-side of the river, opposite the Machchhi Bha- wan, was founded by him on his attaining to the dignity of sovereign, con- ferred on him by the British Government, and he dug the canal which skirts the east and south of the city. The canal then leaves the city for the district: it was originally intended for irrigation but has failed. The following muhallas were also built in his reign :--Mehndiganj in the Saadatganj thána, the Deorhi Agha Mír in Wazirganj (founded by his favourite minister Agha Mír). Agha Mír or Motamad-ud-daula built the handsome saráe known as Agha Mír's, to the south of the Chauk thána on tlle east side of the Victoria road, and the Karbala near the Wingfield Park. Nasír-ud-dín Haidar, son of the last monarch (A.D. 1827), built the great karbala in Irádatnagar, in which he lies buried, and founded Ganesh- ganj and Chándganj on the north side of the river. The Táráwáli Kothi, or Observatory, was built by Nasír-ud-dín Haidar under the superintendence of Colonel Wilcox, the Astronomer Royal, and was provided with very excellent instruments. The Colonel died in 1847, and Wajid Ali Shah dismissed the establishment. The astronomical instruments were carefully put by, but disappeared in the rebellion, and were probably broken up by the rebels. "The Fyzabad Moulvi, Ahmad ulla Shah (known as Danka Shah, from his always having a drum beaten before him when he went out) made it his headquarters during the rebellion, and the rebel parliament used frequently to hold its meet- The space in front of the Tárawáli Kothi, between it and the Qaisar Bágh, is fraught with melancholy and solemn recollections. In this spot two separate parties of Europeans, one consisting of those sent in by the Dhaurahra Rája (Miss Jackson, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Rogers, Mr. Carew, Mr. J. Sulivan, on the 24th September, 1857), with the addition of some persons captured in the town, deserters from the Bailey-guard, and the ings here. ​372 LUC other of the victims of the Mitauli Rája's gratitude and hospitality (Sir M. Jackson, Captain Orr, Lieutenant Burns, Sergeant Morton, on the 16th November, 1858,) completed the tale of sickness, imprisonment, indignity, and despair, by suffering a cruel martyrdom. A memorial has been put up to commemorate these massacres, almost on the spot where they occurred. Both of them were chiefly owing to the fury of the defeated sepoys when they could no louger resist the advance of General Havelock and of the Commander-in-Chief, but both were also instigated and encour- aged by the leaders of the rebellion, and the nobles of Oudh. One of these leaders, Rája Jai Lál Singh, a man of large territorial possessions, and of great influence with the mutineers, followed the first party of prisoners to the fatal scene, and mounted one of the gates of the Qaisar Bágh, since destroyed, in order better to feast his eyes on their dying agonies, and to applaud the prowess of his sepoys. Two years bad elapsed since that time, he had been received into favour; his rebellion had been condoned under the amnesty, and haply he persuaded himself that the memory of that deed had faded away, that even he might hope to die the common death of all men, and be visited by the visitation of all men. But justice, though slowly, was following surely in the criminal's track. Like the storied cranes of Ibycus, it came on hina when he least expected it, from the quarter where he thought himself safest. His own confiden- tial servants tumed against him, link after link, a wonderful chain of circumstantial evidence developed itself, and heaped the guilt with deadly certainty on his head. On the 1st day of October, 1859, on the very spot where his crime was committed, he paid the extremest penalty of the law. And this was followed, on the 12th of October, by the execution of Bandeh Kusen and Fateh Ali, who had hunted down and brought into Lucknow some of the poor captives massacred here. The Roshan-ud-daula Kothi, the present district Kachehri, was built by Nasír-ud-din Haidar's minister, whose name it bears. Muhammad Ali Shah, uncle of Nasír-ud-dín Haidar (A.D. 1837), built the splendid Husenabad Imámbára as a burial place for himself; it consists of two large enclosures, one of which is at right angles to the other. Leaving the fort by the great Rúmi Darwáza, a broad road near the Gumti, about a quarter of a mile long, conducts to the gate of the outer quadrangle. The visitor standing a little west of the road can take in at one view the great Imámbára and Rúmi Darwaza to the right, with the Husenabad and the Jáma Masjid to the left. The whole forms, as Bishop Heber remarks, one of the finest architectural views in the world. This king also laid out the road that leads to it from the Chhatar Manzil through the fort along the banks of the river. Along with the Husenabad Imambara Muhammad Ali Shah built a magnificent tank, which stands by the side of the road, and began a mosque at a short distance from the imámbára which was intended to surpass the Jáma Masjid (at Delhi) in size, but which he never lived to complete. It stands still unfinished, with the scaffolding gradually rotting away, untouched since the day he died. He also began a watch tower, a " Sat ​LUC 373 Khanda," or seven-storied tower, from the top of which he might look down on his finished work," the great Babylon that he had built," and enjoy its beauty and splendour, but the work was never finished, and the tower only reached its fourth story. The great tomb of Hakim Mehndi Ali Khan, situated to the east of Goláganj, and near Mina Shah-ki-Dargáb, was erected by his nephew, Munawar-ud-daula, during this reign. Amjad Ali Shah, son of the last king, (A.D. 1941), built Hazratganj, made the metalled Road to Cawnpore, laid the iron bridge over the Gumti, and built his own Mausoleum in Hazratganj. Amín-ud-daula, his minister, founded the Amínabad Bazar, one of the great thoroughfares of the city which leads into the Cawnpore road. The iron bridge was brought out from England by the order of Gházi- ud-din Haidar, but he died before it arrived. His son, Nasír-ud-dín Haidar, directed it to be put up in front of the Residency, just where a small temple and ghát now stand on the opposite side of the river. He gave the contract for erecting it to his own engineer, a Mr. Sinclair, who commenced sinking wells (which are still visible) on which to found the piers, but failed before any great progress had been made. The bridge was thus again delayed till Amjad Ali Shah, the 4th king, took up the project and completed it. The Qaisar Bágh, the great work of Wajid Ali Shah, the ex-king's reign, was commenced in 1848, and finished in 1850 A.D., at a cost, including furniture and decorations, of eighty lakhs. Qaisar is the same word as Cæsar, a title adopted by the kings of Oudh, and used by them on the royal seal. To describe this palace, it will be best to suppose the visitor to enter at the north-east gateway, which faces the open space in front of the Tára- wali Kothi. We pass up the open court in front of the gate called the Jilaukhána, or place where the royal processions used to form up and prepare to start from, and turning to the right through 2 gateway covered by a screen, we cross the Chini Bagh (so called from the lange China vessels with which it was decorated), and going under a gate flanked by green mermaids we come to the Hazrat Bagh. On the right hand we have the Chándiwali Bárádari which used to be paved with silver, and the Khás Muqar and Badshah Manzil, which used to be the special residence of the king. The Badshah Manzil has been before alluded to as having been built by Saádat Ali Khan, and included by Wajid Ali Shah in the plan of his new palace. His Wazir, Nawab Ali Naqi Khan, used to reside above the mermaid's gate- way we have just passed under, in order that he might be close to the king, and obtain instant information of all he was doing. On the left we have the large confused pile of buildings called the Chaulakkhi, built by Azím-ulla Khan, the royal barber, and sold by him to the king for four lakhs. It formed the residence of the chief nahals and of the queen. The 48 ​374 LUC rebel begam held her court here, and it was in one of the stables near this that our captives were kept for weeks. Proceeding along the roadway, we pass close by a tree paved round the roots with marble, under which Wajid Ali Shah used to sit in the days, when the great fair was held, dressed in the yellowish clothes of a faqir. Moving onwards we pass under the great Lakkhi gate (so called from having cost a lakh in building), and come into the magnificent open square of the“Qaisar Bágh proper, the buildings round which were occupied chiefly by ladies of the Harem. In the mouth of August a great fair used to be held here, to which the whole town was admitted. Proceeding past the stone Bárahdari, now fitted up as a theatre, and under the western Lakkhi gate, which corresponds to the eastern one just described, we have on our left the building known as the Qaisar Pasand, surmounted by a gilt semicircle and hemisphere. It was built by Roshan-ud-daula, the minister of Nasir-ud-din Haidar, and confiscated by Wajid Ali Shab, and given by him as a residence to a favourite mahal (concubine) Máshúq-us-Sultán. In the under-stories of this building the Dhaurahra party of captives were confined, and from it they were taken to be killed. On the right is another Jilaukhána corres- ponding to the eastern one, by which we entered the palace, and turning down it we find ourselves outside the Qaisar Bágh, and opposite the Sher Darwáza, or Neil gateway, under which General Neil was killed by a dis- charge of grape shot from a gun posted at the gate of the Qaisar Bágh which we have just left. So much was done for the city during native times Dispensaries, schools, and other public buildings have been established since: nor should mention be omitted of the magnificent hospital which is due to the munificence of Mahárája Drighijai Singh, of Balrampur. It is situated in the high lands adjoining the Residency grounds, and faces the Bailey-guard road; it can make up one hundred beds. The people, their religion, and condition.--The city population consists for the most part of Musalmans, Kúyaths, Brahmans, Chhattris, Baniáns, Rastogis, Jauharis, Khattries, and Kashmiri Brahmans. It is worth noticing that the num of Káyaths, Moslems, and Baniáns is unusually large, the others come next. Brahmans.—The Brahmans are chiefly of the Kanaujia and Gaur tribes; they are rarely in service, and consequently are of little importance ; they depend mainly upon the charity of other Hindus. Few of them are well off. Chhattria.—The number of this class is very limited, and it also is very insignificant. Kúyaths.—Different opinions have hitherto been held as to the position of this caste. Some English author places them at the head of the Sudras, others between Chhattria and Vaishyas. The Hindu Shastris were until lately not unanimous, some pronounced them as Sudras, others placed them in the Chhattri order, while a follower of the Padum Puráns des- cribed them as the descendants of Chitr Gupt, and the offspring of the ​LUC 375 grand-daughters of Barmha and Súraj : the name (Káyath) ze derived from Kaya (body) as sprung from the whole body of Bramba, and invested witki the profession of scribe. This last view has been lately upheld by certain Benares, Kashmír, Bengal, and Bombay Pandits; on a question having been referred to then by the Maharaja of Benares at the instance of a respectable man of the caste. They have now, therefore, been classed by these Pandits as Chhattris bearing the name of Káyaths, and with the pen substituted for the sword, from a similarity of habits and customs, and on some religious authority. There are generally two subdivisions of this caste in the city-viz.,the Sri- Bástab, and the Sak Sena,—there are also a few families of the Mathur, Ashtána, Gaur, and Bhatnágar subdivisions. This caste furnishes a great many of its members to the local offices ; none will engage in trade. It boasts of its dependence upon the profession of writing. Mr. Carnégy gives the names of sixteen members of this caste who honoured with the title of rája by the Oudh Government, but there were others bearing dif- ferent titles-such as Kunwar, Munshi-ul-mulúk, Ráj-ad-dhiráj, Rae, Bakh- shi-ul-mulk, with position almost equal to that of a “rája.". Many were also created "daulas" as Mashir-ud-daula and Mudabbir-ud-daula; several were názims, collectors, or captains. And under the present government about one-fourth of the extra assistant commissioners, munsarims, and tah- sildars are of this caste. There are some legal practitioners also belong- ing to this caste; Káyaths also serve largely and almost exclusively as qanungos as díwáns of the native nobles, while an inferior class of them carries on the business of village accountants or patwaris. Vaishyas.---This the third great caste of Hindus; includes Baniáns, Khattris (of disputed position) and Rastogis. Under Baniáns again are comprised a great many sub-castes—as Agarwala, Paliwala, Kasan- dhan, &c. All these castes ply various trades, and are but rarely met with in service. They lend money at interest, are cloth sellers, money changers, and follow various other respectable trades, but only Baniáns deal in grain, which the other subdivisions consider beneath them. Very few of the Baniáns are in Government service. During the Nawabi there were two or three high officials of this caste. The Khattris assert that they are the same as Chhattris,* and account for their having taken up to trade, a contemp- tible profession in a Chhattri's eye, by relating that during the time of Paras Rám, and the general annihilation of the Chhattri race, some wonen had taken shelter with a Brahman, who when asked by Paras Rám to hand them over, declined saying they were Brahmanis, and to prove it partook of food cooked by them. Another account says that they were employed as soldiers in the Deccan campaign of Aurangzeb, but an enormous number of them having been killed, the emperor was moved at the condition of their beautiful widows, and ordered them never again to enter into military ser- vice. Lucknow Khattris are all traders; very few of them were and are in Government service. Kashmiri Brahmans.- It cannot be said that this tribe is indigenous to Oudh or to Lucknow, for there were very few families of them inhabiting Lucknow during the Nawabi. They were comparatively rarely in public Oudh Census Report, pages 92-93, ​service, the name of only one of them, Ráe Dila Rám, is familiar as Chakladar of Tandiaon. This tribe has migrated from Kashmir, and spread throughout Northern India owing to the prosecution of the Moslem conquerors of their native country. They are generally reckoned among the lower caste Brahmans. Many of them are among the subordinate judicial officers, and other public servants. Though far more numerous at Lucknow now than the former days, they still dont number more than other high castes. Kashmiris like Káyaths consider shop-keeping beneath them.

Lower caste Hindus.—They are the same which are common throughout the province-Náos, Báris, Dhobis, Kahárs, Kumhárs, Lohárs, Ahirs, Bansphors, Bhangis, and Chamárs—all inhabit the city, their several callings will be given afterwards; Sunárs or goldsmiths are also included in the lower castes in the Oudh census report; but they dispute it.

The number of houses given the census at 58,712.

The following table is borrowed from the census; it exhibits the population of the city generally:— ​

Census Table No. 1.—Population of the city.

Name of thána.
HINDU MEUHAMMADANS. Total.
Male Female Male Female
Adulte. Children. Adulte. Children. Adulte. Children. Adulte. Children. Adulte. Adulte males. Adulte females. Children. Boyes. Girls. Males. Females. Grand Total.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Chauk
Hasanganj
Daulatganj
Saádatgaj
Ganeshganj
Wazirganj
Dilkusha and Cantonment
Total
Military (native)
Europeans
Eurasians
Prisoners and employés in jails
Grand Total

... 14,1464,840 12,689 2,997 9,967 3,636 11,939 9,104 47,934 24,103 23,831 15,416 3,3767,041 32,978 10,87% 83,350 8,606 2,800 7,439 2,332 3,203 1,211 3,197 1,062 22,444 11,800 10,638 7,406 4,011 3,364 15,819 14,020 29,019 ... 11,001 3,267 10,020 3,019 0,707 2,940 10,667 2,437 40,605 18,798 20,707 11,716 9,216) 5,501 26,013 26,208 9,447 3,577 8,754 2,961 4,171 1,815 4,057 1,695 28,428) 13,818 14,811 10,079 5,39 4,680 19,010 19,497 38,607) 20,191 3,5227,825 3,0856,027 2,1966,646 1,864 28,678 16,208 13,370 10,637 4,688 4,900 21,896 18,270 40,175 6,918 2,4176,667 1,920 6,037 2,268 6,467 1,83826,869 12,965 12,424 0,372 4,715 3,656 17,670 19,070 33,740 5,332 2,933) 1,697 1,153 2,294 797 718 362 10,089 7,626 3,413 6,248 3,730 2,615 11,358 3,028 16,284 . Total ... 65,720 23,386 $4,291) 18,332 40,398 14,740 43,881 12,360) 204,200 106,118 88,182 68,819 38,128 30,092 144,242 128,884 278,128 2,114 142 345

638 97 85 173 74 207) 2,762 6161 978 172 689 2,969 3,648 100 BE 8,270 3,418 2,901 517 804 481! 383 3,322 900 4,222

et

+ 462 237 2161 908) 116 180

9351 406 760 el 500 19 000 I 1! 000 2,956! 2,7101 246 68 ) GB1 2,778 245 3,023 4. 67.838/23,62864,688|10,428 42,034 14800! *4,06812,634| 211,991 112.718$2,877| 10,978| 38,640|32,436 153,688| 131,128) 284,778 ​The following is a list of all Hindu castes found in Lucknow, with their trades:—

Brahmana ... Priests, family astrologers.
Chhattris ... Engaged as public or private servanta.
Káyathis ... In Government or private service of Nawabs legal practitioners.
Baolans ... Grain-dealers and bankers
Khattris ... Ditto ditto.
Kashmiri Brahmana ... In Government service or legal practitioners.
Bhate ... Family bards.
Ahirs ... Herdsman.
Muraos ... Cultivators.
Mochis ... Shoe-makers.
Lodha ... Laboures.
Chirimars ... Fowlers.
Dhaonk Bansphore ... Bamboo splitters; women as midwives.
Melis ... Gardenere.
Kahárs ... pálki bearers, or as Personal servants, also as fishermen.
Sunars ... Gold and silversmiths.
Nais ... As barbere, as servants.
Tambolis ... As pan-sellers
Dhobia ... Washerman.
Halwais ... Confectioners.
Bhunjwas ... Grain-parchers.
Telia ... Oilman
Barhsis ... Carpenters, engravers, wood-cutters.
Kharadis ... An offshoot of above.
Kumhárs ... Potters.
Chamárs ... As shoe-makers, labourers
Bhangis ... Sweepers.
Kalwars ... Distillers.
Khatiks ... Greengrocers.
Baris ... Leaf-plate makers.

Religion.—The religion of the Hindus of Lucknow does not materially differ from that prevalent in the rest of the province; the high-caste Brahmans, Khattris, Banians, and Rastogis are worshippers of Shiva or of Vishnu, and very rarely of Debi; the total abstinence of the worshippers of these tribes keeps them aloof from professing the worship of a goddess whose chief food is flesh and whose drink is wine. The Káyaths, on the other hand, are mostly worshippers of Debi, The Kashmíri Brahmans are generally devotees Shiva, and not of Vishnu or Debi, The low-caste Hindus mostly worship Debi; but Pásis and Chamárs are said by those who object to their practices to profess no religion. There are a good many professors of the Nanakshahi Creed.

Musalmans.—The Moslems who live in Lucknow are divided into the following classes:—

Sayyad ... All professions, arts, &c., except trading.
Pathan ... Few in number employed as sipahis or private servants.
Mughal ... Independent gentlemen, Nawabe, &c., but very rarely Government servants.
Shekh ... This is the division in which all the lower classes are included.
Atashbáz ... Fire-work maker.
Bhatiára ... Inn-keeper.
Bhánd ... Mugician, singer.
Bhishti ... Water-carrier.
Bisáti ... Pedlar.
Dafálf ... Tamborine player,
Dhunia ... Cotton cleaner.
Darzi ... Tailor.
Dhári, Dom ... Musician.
Julahá ... Weaver,
Kunjra ... Greengrocer.
Bakar Qasáb ... Mattoo seller.
Qasai ... Butcher.
Patarias ... Dancing girls and prostitutes.

​LUC

379 Muhammadans belong to two different sects, the Sunnis and the Shias. Their chief difference is that the former believe in all the Caliphs as suc- cessors to the prophet, but the latter only believe in Ali and his successors. The Lucknow Moslems are chiefly Shias, the court religion. All the Nawabs, the Begams, and the Muhammadan pobles of Oudh belong to the Shia creed. Very few of the courtiers were of the Sunni sect, and those few were subject to a good deal of persecution. Thoroughfares, markets, &c.—The chief thoroughfares of the city are, three, that run south and south-west from the river converging on the old canal, and crossing a bridge there become united with the imperial road to Cawnpore. They are the Outram roads, which lead up to Hazratganj, and crossing it is continued by the Abbot road; a vast quantity of traffic from the north, from Fyzabad, and Bahramghat passes along this road; the Ami- nabad road, which passes through the most crowded parts of the city to the south of the Qaisar Bágh palace, and the Canning road which runs south- west from the open ground round the Machchhi Bhawan fort. Three roads from the iron bridge, whence the traffic from Sitapur is conveyed, from the old stone bridge, and from the pargana town of Malihabad, lead up to the fort, and, at their point of conjunction, the Victoria road runs directly south, and crossing the canal joins the aforementioned Cawnpore road lower down. The city communicates with Cantonments by the Strand, which runs along the river side from the Machchhi Bhawan fort, and continued by the Hazratganj road passes by the Civil Lines Church, and crosses the old canal a little to the east of Goverument house by Bank's road, which passing at the back of the Qaisar Bagh and Government house, leads into the road just mentioned, and by the Cantonment road which starts from the Aminabad road, commencing at the same point at the back of Qaisar Bágh as Bank's road last mentioned, and crossing the Abbot road leads into the Sadr Bazár of Cantonments. Cantonments lie to the east of the Canal and extend over an area of from eleven to twelve square miles. The principal markets are the grain markets of Fatehganj and Digbijai- ganj lying to the west of Aminabad, of Rakabganj lying at the south end of the Canning road, of Saádatganj in the west of the city, and of Shánganj near the Victoria road. Most of the imported cotton and salt is set down at Saádatganj. Gur (molasses) is sold chiefly in the Nakh- khás market, which is to the west of the Victoria road. And the great leather market is the Chikmandi in the Wazirganj thána. The valne of goods imported into the city during 1869-70 was Rs. seventy-four and three quarter lakhs. The chief articles on which a muni- cipal tax is levied are wheat and the other grains, ghi, gur, sugar spices, oil-seeds, and tobacco. The following are the food grains and the approximate dates when they ripen, 90 far that considerable parcels are sent into the market. ​380 LUC Native name, Botanical name, Date of harvest. 1 Oriza sativa Zea maya Jethi dháa Makai or bari juár Sánwán Miodwa Kákua Kodo Kuári ahán Moth Lobia 40 94 40 1. Mang 46 Panicum italicum Cynosurus coraca10.9 Paspalum scrobiculatum Oriza sativa Phaseolus aconitifolias Dolichos sinensia Phaseolus mungo Pbageolys radiatus Penicillaria spicata Sorghum vulgare Oriza gativa Saccharum officinarum Pisum sativum Cicer arietinum Hordeum vulgare Triticum Sativam Cajadus indicus Másh or urd Bájra Chhoti juár Jarban dhán Sugarcane Peas Gram Barley Wheat Arhar June 20th. August 20th (Bhádon). Angust 20th (do), Septr. 10th (Kuár). Do. (do). Septr. 30th (do). Do. (do). October 26th (Kártik). Do, (do) Do. (do). Do. (do). November 5th (do). November 16th (Aglian). Do, (do), December January, March 16t. March 20tli, Do March 20th. Do IP 114 4 yu Şers per rupee, 479 Kodo Sapwán... Rice 29 34 82 22 SRG Gram Pesa 24 92 2. 20 25 27 The above list differs materially from others given in works of supposed authority, but it has been compiled from personal inspection of the markets. The important grains are the following with the breadths sown in Lucknow according to the settlement report. The average prices of 1861-1870 are given from the same authority - Acres, Bari juár (walze) 4,200 41,062 7,710 66,510 Bája. 36,720 Chhoti juár 36,770 Másh or urd 33,070 Moth 20,605 45,840 211,066 Arher ... 44,919 It must be remembered, however, that the masses do not and could not pay the above prices; each grain is cheap for a month or so after the har- vest when the producer is forcing the sale in order to procure the means wherewith to pay rent. One period of scarcity is January-February, when there has been no fresh kharif harvest for the space of a month-viz., since the jarhan rice was reaped ; another is July August, when the rahi crop has been cut more than two months, and before the Indian-corn comes in. The lower classes, except during these two periods, consume grain all the year round at prices which average perhaps 10 per cent, cheaper than those given in the preceding, table. On the other hand, the cheapest grains kodo, mindwa, and sánwán are really not available in Lucknow as food supplies. Official statements quote them at 35 and 40 sers for the rupee from Sep- tember to November 7th, 1874, but I could not find them except in ​LUC 381 small parcols, and at the latter date there was none whatever in the market, although a little mindwa was to be had in the shops at 26 sers the rupee. 000 41 37 37 32 1.4 29 39 .. 99 23 17 28 27 23 32 35 23 26 26 22 194 99

17 07 97 11 1 " > 37 91 3. aro dcar. In 1874 the kharíf was very good; there was little export and prices were moderate; but immediately after the poor man's harvest (the henwat), there was no grain in the market available as a food supply cheaper than 25 sors for the rupee (retail rate). At this time could bo got Indian-corn and bájra. The wholesale rates are as follows: Indian-corn or maize gers per rupee. Bájra Kodc four Coerse husked rice Do, unhusked Maeúr, moth and urd Mindwa Barley Seeond quality gram Wheat Theso prices usually advance 30 per cent, within the next two months. Another point must be borne in mind, that some grains though nomi- nally cheap are only so in the unhusked state ; when fit for eating they The husk or bhúsa in native parlance is sometimes deorha sometimes ádha, in other words sometimes one-third sometimes, one-half is lost. Sánwán loses nearly one-half; so sánwán which sells at 35 sers unhusked is really only 22 sers when it comes to be cooked. Kodo and rice lose one-third each; so kodo at 36 sers becomes 24 sérs, rice at 34 becomes 22. Other grains lose less; barley about one-fifth, 26 sera becoming 20. It is true kodo can be used as pottage without being husked, but it is dangerous, often causing paralysis. Yet another feature of the food-grains must be considered before valuing them that is, their comparative effect in satisfying not the palate but the appetite. The native's aim is not to gratify bis taste, nor even to nourish his strength, but simply to feel fairly full and free from the pangs of hunger. The following is the scale sanctioned by public opinion with this object :-- Miodwa 12 chlatáks. Rice Moth or peas Bájra Kodo Barley Theat 33 37 12 12 14 36 16 16 72 1) Mindwa is in particular favour, for its consumption promotes thirst; water can be had gratis, and repletion is thus cheaply attained. The above aro the rates for an ordinary slim cooly not doing hard work; if steadily employed, or above the ordinary height, one quarter more will be required. Jūst at present then a poor man will live on moth at 22 sersthe rupce, rice at 20 sers, and juár at 25 retail prices, so that the staple of his diet 49 ​382 LUC will not cost more than one rupee to 1-4 per mensem. Salt, fuel, and a little ghi or oil will cost ten annas more. In consulting official rates for grains it must be remembered that very low prices are ruling nominally for harvest grains because they are wet with dew; it is not grain but water in fact which is being sold. This accounts for prices falling to 50 and 60 sers for the rupee, when in neigh- bouring markets the ascertained price is not above 302 The supply of fish in Lucknow is by no means plentiful. There are two fish markets one at Hasanganj, the other in Amínabad; from this latter the entire European quarter and much of the native portion are supplied. It will not on an average contain more than a maund and a half of fish in the morning when the sales are held. Large fish are sold at 2 annas a ser except rohu, which sometimes fetches 3 annas. Small fish are 14 annas per ser, and the smallest of all one anna. Municipality.—Lucknow has a municipality the revenue and expendi- ture of which, and the quantities of each article which pass the octroi barriers annually for consumption in the city, are shown in the following. tables : Quantities of each description of articles taxed by Octroi in Irucknow city Municipality, from 1st April, 1870, to 31st March, 1871.* Name of article. Total quantities taxed Jess amount on which refunds have been allowed. , Number: Popula- tion, Deduced aver- age consump- tion per head. B, C, Mas. 8. c. . 1 . 200 2 31 0 0 26 0 2 2 0 13 12 009 0 31 0 12 3 .. 10. 03 15 1 Wheat Grains Rice Other grains Bhúss Hill potatoes Ghi Gur, shird, and treacle Sugarcandy and qand Cattle Tallow and was .. Fuel (charcoal) ... Fuel (wond) Timber in loge sisco Rod sakbu Bállis (beams) Bamboos and canes Lac of all kinds Muak, zsfaran Betel puts Pán Spices, drugs, and gums Tobacco Oil cake of sorts ... Oil 2 查 4 0 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 18 16 16 18 17 18 39 20 91 22 790,404 D 0 184,9790 0 583,689 0 0 88",816 0 0 3,974 0 0 21,8000 0 86,604 0 0 28,068 0 0 164,741 OD 922 0 0 52,321 00 518,988 0 0 710 00 21,263 0 0 1,872 0 0 672,276 0 0 401 0 195 0 0 6,495 00 8,113 200 72,028 00 10,666 0 0 70,449 0 0 6,535 20 0 2,84,779 .. ... 0 0 0 0 0 2 076 1 82 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 1 2 0 10 3 0 1 8 09 14 0 0 16 sa. O poe A. OS APO

vo. .

  1. By Captain D, G. Pitcher, ​LUC

383 The following tables exhibit total receipts and disbursements of the Muni- cipality. RECEIPTS, No, Reade of Receipts, 1866-87. 1861-68 1868-69. 1869-70. 1870-71, Rs. 1 2 3 Bs. 1,67,181 *2,67,768 2,238 8,795 6,084 5,810 580 706 NB. 2,31,825 6,715 Re. 1,64,166 6,254 Rs. 1,62,909 5,803 Octroi Sale of fith City muafis Fines Fees from prostitutes Assessed taxes AP 5 6 834 2,893 2,708 2,918 27,687 2,810 28,487 Totel 1,68,133 2,7 8,078 2,40,967 2,02,731 2,00,183 DISBURSEMENTS. No. Heads of Disbursements, 1866-67. 1867-68. 1868-69. 1869-70, 1870-71, Rs. bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 Octroi collection Police Conservancy ... Public Works Public Gardens Municipal office establish- ment. Lock hospital Assossed taxes 63,290 23,073 1,25,008 11,868 1,485 Rs. 21,717 71,834 29,954 1,01,505 9,282 1,918 Rs. 27,918 72,912 48,009 2,03,845 18,891 2,343 Rs. 21,083 72,883 62,294 98,965 9.533 2,918 Rs. 20,840 73.527 60,411 61,603 7,665 2,952 I. -7 8 2,400 5,661 2,997 616 3,599 19,13 . Total .ee 224,709 288,110 279,964 261,138 Before the recent amalgamation of Oudh with the North-Western Pro- vinces Lucknow was the residence of the Chief Commissioner and his ataff; it is still the headquarters of officers whose authority extends over the province. The Judicial Commissioner, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, the Inspector of Education, the Examiner of Public Works Accounts, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, the Chief Inspector of Post-offices, the Agent and the Consulting Engineer of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Rail- -way, the Conservator of Forests, the Superintendent of Telegraphs, have their offices at Lucknow. There are special judicial officers, a civil Judge, a City Magistrate, and a Judge of the Small Cause Court for the adminis- tration of justice within the limits of the city. Police. The police of the city forms a distinct body, which was still recently under the management of a European Assistant Superintendent; it consists of 773 policemen, exclusive of chaukidars and jamadars, of whom there are 72. For police purpose the city is divided into two circles, the eastern and western, each under the charge of an Inspector, with some Deputy Inspectors, Chief and Head-constables. The following are the thádas or police divisions of the city with their population :-

  • 2,34,798

32,974 last year's arrears. 2,67,787 ​384 LUC CAP 18 1

. . +6 37 met 40 14 > 10. Thána Chauk ... 63,350 Hasanganj 29,849 Daulatganj 52,221 Saádatgani 88,507 Ganeshganj 40,175 Wazirganj 83,740 Ganeshganj, Wazirganj, and Hasanganj thánas (the latter of which lies on the left bank of the river) are in the eastern circle, and Chauk, Saádat- ganj, and Daulatganj are in the western. The following tables exhibit the crime and accidental deaths in the city of Lucknow for the year 1867-72 (inclusive):- Crime statistics for Lucknow city, Cases reported. Cases convicted, 1867. 1868. 1889. 1870. 1871. 1870. 1871. 1872 1867. - 1872. 1869.

!-- 1868.

JU .. 194 190 .40 2 . ded PPT . 94 . .6 .. 400 Murders and attempts S 6 8 6 2 1 2 2 4 Culpable homicide 1 1 1 1 1 1 Dakaiti Robbery 1 7 7 8 4 2 2 6 5 3 Rioting and unlawful assem- 1 9 2 13 5 1 3 1 E2 9 bly. Theft by house-breaking or 501 475 415 596 556 938 99 79 97 85 71 9 house-trespass. Theft simple 563 674 1945 802 672 852 148 199 246 161 204 273 19 of cattle 41 9 9 16 16 6 39 1 3 8 11 3 16 Offences against coin and 2 2 3 2 8 1 1 3 1 2 atamps, + . . . Comparative memo. of accidental deaths for the years 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, in the city of Lucknow. By Suicides. drown- ing. By snake bite. By wild By fall quadru. of build. By other peds. causes, inge. Total, Years. Male. Temale. Male. Female. Male, Female. 26 IR. 144 1867 1868 ... 1869 ++ 1 2 149 10 5 1 3 100 1 13 6 13 36 39 10 28 21 10 12 18 30 17 10 17 18 3 45 2 24 27 2 76 4 66 4 38 50 19 31 56 55 94 6 40 1870 1871 1872 10 33 32 4 4 1 3 ds 1 2 10 8 R. tes 1 1 2 .. > . Hospitals.-Besides the Balrampur hospital there are two other chari. table institutions of the kind,--the king's hospital situated in the Haidar- ganj muhalla, and a dispensary on the Cawnpore road near Hazratganj, ​LUC 385 There is also a lunatic asylum for the wliole province on the eastern bank of the river close to the wooden bridge on the Fyzabad road, Education.- Lucknow has the following educational institutions : For boys, Canning College, Martiniere College, seven American Mission schools, five Church Mission schools, and elever other schools supported from Provincial, Municipal, and private funds. The institutions for girls are,—the Martiniere Girls' School, the Loretto Convent, eight American Mission Schools, seven Church Mission schools and ten others, supported entirely form Provincial funds. Canning College.-This College, supported by taluqdars, assisted by a grant-in-aid from Government, was established in 1864. It is managed by a committee under the presidentship of the Commissioner of the Division, and is divided into five departments. The number of pupils and the receipts and costs in each department are as follows: Receipts. Cost of educating each pupil. Departments. fupils. From Goveroment From other sources. Cost to Tolal cost. Government. College . 56 School IR 11 317 Oriental 123 Rs. 18,146 £1,314 Rs, 8,536 £:54 Rs. 2,978 £297 Rs. 2,259 £226 Rg. 1,078 €108 Rs. 19,967 £1,997 Rs. 10,956 £1,095 Rg. 9,960 £396 Rs. 5,042 £501 Rs. 3,246 £326 Rs. 578 £67 Rs. 6a € nearly 6 Rs. 39 £ nearly 4 Rs. 24 £2 Bs. 125 £13 Rs. 286 £28 Rs. 29 £ nearly 3 Rs. 18 £ nearly 2 Rs. 10 €1 Rs. 87 £ early 4 Preparatory 226 Law 46 SE4 Total ... Rs. Rs. 27,992 €9,799 Rs. 43,171 £4,317 80 £8 Ra. 33 £ nearly 4 ... . .. . 17 .. 77 The professions of the parents and guardians of the pupils are in the following proportions :- Private servants 256 or 86 per cent. Government servants 186 26 Professionals, Pandits, Hakims, writers, &c. Traders, Bankers, &c. Taluqdars Other landholders 24 Cultiva lors 14 Artizans and manufacturers 6 Others 03 Of the 123 pupils of the oriental department 70 are Muhammadans. Of these students, 51 learn Arabic and 31 Sanskrit. Since the opening of the 86 61 14 33 + 1) 49 10 8 33 3 2 1 9 19 37 > we 19 . 14. 21 ​386 LUC institution in 1864, 2,110 students have left it, either having completed their course or having acquired, with few exceptions, sufficient knowledge to fit them for employment Three scholars have taken M.A. degrees, and twelve havetaken their B.A. degrees; forty seven have passed the first examination in arts, and 126 the matriculation examination of the Calcutta university Of these students one obtained honours and carried off the silver medal. Some few of the most influential taluqdars have been educated here. Cost of a graduate. The cost to the province of each student for his education is :- R8, 1,140 Graduate

  1. 114

College department, Rs. 670 Under ditto £67 School department matriculated student aboming his stay to be three years Rs. 80 $8 The cost in a Government high school is about Rs. 160 (£16). Income of the college. --The sources of income of the institution are as follows :- Grant-in-aid from provincial revenue Rs. 25,000 £2,500 Contribution froni taluqdars Rs. 82,570 £3,257 Rs. 4,060 £406 The following statement exhibits the number of Canning College students who have obtained degrees and have passed University Examina- tions - .. 10 Fees .. 410 ur With bonours. M.A. Total. 1 SP 2 M.A. B.L. 3 . Jst Grade. 2nd Grade. 3rd Grade. Total. Total. 4 6 2 19 9 24 19 25 12 Z 47 126 1 1 B.A. L. L. F.A. Entrance Sanskrit Shastri Visaiod or middle Pragya or lower Arabic, middle, or Molvi Alim ... Lower or Molvi 1.7 000 bea . 000 2 2 . Total 4. 000 202 Wards institution.--This institution, connected with the Canning Col- lege is for minors whose states are under the Court of Wards and for the ​LUC 387 sons of taluqdars. There were at the close of March, 1871, 18 Hindus and 8 Muhammadans, in all 26 boarders, of whom 14 were wards. The total cost was Rs. 10,550 and the average for each boarder was Rs. 402. This institution is under the direction of the Commissioner of the Division and is managed by a Governor. Aided schools under the Anglican Church Mission.—The Church Mis- sion maintains five schools in the city with an aggregate of 641 boys and an average attendance of 498. The fees amount to Rs. 265, and the Government grant to Rs. 3,470. The total cost Rs. 6,940. The largest of these institutions, the main school, has 300 boys, and the smallest, in Hazratganj, 41. The American Episonpalian Methodist Mission Anglo-Vernacular Schools.—There are seven of these ; the attendance averages 483; Rs. 392 are collected as fees, and the Government grant is 3,605. The total cost amounts to Rs. 7,479. Girls' schools.--The eight American Mission'girls' schools and seven Church Mission schools have an aggregate average attendance of 223 and 173 girls respectively, and the ten girls' schools supported from provincial funds have an attendance of 182 girls out of a total of 245 borne on the rolls. Manufactures, trades, arts.--The different castes or trades-unions who follow each occupation in Lueknow have been already detailed. It remains to give some account of the nature of their industries, progress, and skill. The principal arts and manufactures of Lucknow are cotton cloth, gold and silver wire, gold and silver lace, enamelling, stoue setting, and jewel- ler's work of all kinds, glass vessels, dyes, clay figures, shawl weaving, cotton printing, lithography, Cotton.---The muslins of Lucknow are sold at from six to fourteen annas per yard. Others of finer texture are manufactured, costing Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 per piece of eight yards. The very best English muslins are sold at eight annas per yard; the native fabric of course cannot compete in the general market with the imported one. Native muslins are not suitable for ladies' dresses as they do not stand washing properly, but for some purposes, as handkerchiefs, their greater softness qualifies them. A native weaver will make 11 yard of muslin in a day, and earn 21 annas or 31d.; in coarser work, such as gárha, he will get through three yards per day, earning 14 anna. Cotton printing.–Cotton printing is a successful business at Lucknow. There are now some 30 small establishments, and their annual outturn is valued at Rs. 25,000 ; their chintz and printed nankin, if the colours are fast, cannot be sold under 10 annas per yard, when a similar English fabric can be sold at six annas. The patterns of the Lucknow article are more appreciated, and the snowy whiteness of the material upon which they are worked cannot, it is said, be equalled in England. The Kukráel ​388 LUC river near Lucknow is famous for the purity of tiut which its waters convcy. Shawl weaving.—The shawl weaving of Lucknow is an entirely new trade. It is conducted almost entirely by Kashmir weavers who have emigrated froin thence during the periods of famine or misrule which have been its frequent portion. There are, it is believed, some 40 small establishments having from two to five looms each ; each loom will turn out a shawl which will be sold at from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 in nine months. The wool is brought from the Spiti valley and from Kashmír; it is a coarse quality of the noted pashmina which the looms of Srinagar have made so famous. There was no manufacture of the kind till annexation. Local economists account for this by stating that there is no capital now in Lucknow, and no money to purchase Kashmir shawls, the import of which has declined. This latter fact is true, but the reason is to be sought in the inferior quality of the article now made in Kashmir, as well as in the departure of the Oudh king and court. In point of fact, the Lucknow capitalists have sought a vent in a new trade for their spare funds ; 20 tax is imposed by the State upon the manufacture ; labour is cheap; for fifty years Luck- now has been noted for the attraction it possesses for Kashmiri residents; one muhalla is called after and largely inhabited by them. Further the waters of some streams near Lucknow, the Baita and the Kukráel, are noted for their value in bleaching and dyeing. All these advantages are sufficient to localize the new trade in Lucknow. The sale of the shawls is principally confined to Calcutta, buť mapy men are employed in darning ancient and decayed shawls. It is not unusual for a Kashsmíri fabric to be constantly used with little injury for three generations. The entire annual sale does not exceed Rs. 12,000. Shoe manufacture.—The shoe manufacture in Lucknow was formerly a very flourishing trade, but Delhi has now supplanted the Oudh capital. The shoe trade depends, not on the leather, but on the brocade which is used to cover the uppers. This is made from copper wire silvered or gilt in Delhi, and a handsome pair of shoes so brocaded can be purchased for two rupees. But work of this kind was not practised in Lucknow for- merly, the goldsmiths and brocade workers were compelled, it is said, to enter into bonds for Rs. 2,000 not to sell or manufacture such things; it was the desire of the Native Government to create a reputation for Luck- now work as being, what is professed, of pure silver or gold. The artisans were not accustomed to work in the cheaper and coarser filigree, but after annexation all restrictions were removed, and the market flooded with Delhi brocades. The Lucknow manufacture has been almost driven out of the market, and the sale of Delhi shoes as compared with the Lucknow article is as four to one. Gold and silver brocade. The most important Lucknow manufacture is that of silver brocade and laces, used, as these articles are, for caps, shoes, belts, shawls, and the innumerable other requirements of Indian pomp. The basis of all these is wire drawn to an extreme tėnuity, plain or gilt, and either worked up as wire, or flattened out into minute bands or into small round spangles. All three forms are employed in the embroi- dery for which Lucknow is so justly famous even among Indian cities. ​LUC 389 The division of labour in the work rivals that in home manufactures ; the wire passes through the hands of five different craftsmen till the mas- sive ingot becomes sparkling thread from which the gossamer-like blossoms of the pattern are composed. These different artists combine their labour to produce the spangle, and numerous others attend on each further stage. The principal products are lachká, kalábatú, and lais or lace. Lachká. -Lachká is a warp of silver gilt bands worked with a woof of silk thread; it varios in breadth from half an inch to an inch; of this mate- rial one másha will be silk, the rest will be silvered wire, if gilt “sawa ratti" of gold willbc expended in a tola of silver, and as there are eight rattis in a másha, and twelve máshas in a tola, one seventy-seventh of the gilt wire will be gold. This material is therefore very rich ; it is sold at the rate of Re. 1-6 and Re. 1-9 per tola. The price has fallen with the demand ; similar qualities prior to annexation used to sell at Re. 1-12. It is like a broad tape of sheet gold, and to enhance its lustre, patterns are stamped upon it in repoussé work of high relief. Having been thus crimped up, it is used as an edging for turbans, for state costumes, and for the dresses worn by dancing girls. It is exported for this purpose to every large city throughout India except to Delhi; which is a rival in the trade, but the Delhi work cannot compare with that of Lucknow either in purity of metal or in delicacy of workmanship. The wages earned are not more than two or three annas per day, and the result of this, as already stated, is that onc rupee of solid silver will be gilt, turned into wire and worked up into a material of exquisite lustre and beauty for six anpas, or 37 per cent. on the bullion, while the most ordinary silversmith's work in England, a simple spoon, will cost as much or more. Kalábatú.- Another material is kalábatíí; this consists of a narrow silver gilt riband twisted spirally round a silk thread. It is then worked up into a tape differing little in appearance from lachká; two yards of this material will weigh a tola ; the labour is similarly slightly remuncrated. Out of Re. 1-8, the price of two yards, only three annas or one-eighth will go to the weaver. Lucknow cannot rival Barhámpur in this particular manufacture. Gold lace.—Lace is a third of the simple forms into which the gilt wire This differs from lachká in that the woof is of wire, not of ribands, and it is double, so that the silk thread of the warp does not appear at all, producing a very gorgeous effect. This lace is very durable, and stands exposure to wet much better than the English manufacturo; it is about half the price, as English gold lace of a quality costing 15 shillings per ounce can be bought in Lucknow at seven and six pence. Lace of various qualities, plain, with conventional or rich flowered pattern can be had at from Re. 1-8 to Rs. 2 the tola, i.e., about four rupees per yard. English lace costs 138, 6d. the yard, and is made on an entirely different method; it is made like kalábatú, already described, and of course is not nearly so durable. Embroidery.--The embroidery is upon velvet and cotton; it imitates flowers and fruits with correctness of outline and gorgeous brilliancy 50 is worked up ​390 LUC of colour. A beautiful effect is caused by bringing golden fruit out of silver foliage. The petals are formed by working delicate spirals of golden thread; the glossy silk on which the latter is worked cannot be seen by the eye, but gives a gleam of rich colour like yellow hoarfrost to the blossom. The stamens and pistils are represented by innumerable little circular spangles raised in pyramids, worked into chains and circles, all of extreme brilliancy, The value of the embroidery is entirely dependent on the quality of the gold thread employed. If the silk thread is richly and well covered with gold the weight is greater, and the work presents a rich appearance ; if the silk thread is only lightly and sparsely covered with gold and showing silk between, the work looks poor. The Lucknow embroidery is superior to that of Delhi; the patterns are much more free and flowing, and the material is less cumbered with heavy work; more taste is shown in afford- ing the eye relief from masses of bullion, a closer imitation of nature is sought, and the delicacy of its handiwork in petal and stamen is copied with success. The aim of the Delhi artist apparently is to overlay as much metal as possible upon cloth ; very little of the Lucknow work is gaudy, and some of the cloaks or obughas made of purple or slate coloured šilk, worked round the edges with gold embroidery, exhibit designs of exquisite grace and purity of conception. General position of the embroidery art.-Using the word brocade in its most general sense as embracing, embroidery, lace, lachká, and the other varieties, the present position of the trade cannot be viewed with complacency. There were originally, it is said, about 5,000 workmen en- gaged in these manufactures; that number has now fallen to 2,500, and the trade is not sufficient to maintain them. It is very doubtful whether any extensive demand for these fabrics could arise in Europe; fancy dresses of oriental patterns might come into request, ball dresses of muslin sprigged with gold, children's robes, and furniture brocades have been adorned with Lucknow embroidery, but it is doubtful whether there will be any permanent demand except for military laces. There seems no reason why every bussar's jacket, each shoulder-knot and sword-belt in the British army might not be embroidered or worked in Lucknow. It is only in India that patience, dexterity of manipulation, grace in de- signing, trustworthiness in handling gold and precious stones, and the skill which is the result of many years, application, can all be bought for three pence a day. Less advance has been made in wire-drawing by English science than in any other art; the process already described is identical with that used in Europe ; the only difference is that the European work- man is supplied with motive powers from a perpetual band worked by a steam engine, and the native workman utilizes his marvellously flexible toes for the same purpose. The needlework embroidery of Lucknow is the most thriving manu- facture which it boasts. It is of recent introduction, and is a graft from the chicken-work of Bengal, to which, however, it is far superior. Coloured silks have lately been introduced to give variety, and the Lucknow artista ​LUC 391 men. boast that this very effective device is one of their own, borrowed neither from Bengal nor from England. The work is similar to that used in shirt fronts and cuffs in Europe; it is sold at low rates, from annas 12 to Rs. 2-8-0 per yard, according to the breadth of the lace border. Articles of clothing of cambric or calico so embroidered are becoming very popular among native grandees. It is impossible to state what number of people are employed at this work, but its flourishing condition is attested by the high wages earned, showing that there is a competition for skilled work- The existence of this art was, I found, wholly unknown to the Lucknow shopkeepers, who are importing the coarsest kind of Irish em- broidery at 1 rupee per yard, when much superior can be made in Luck- now at 4. annas. The jewellery of Lucknow was formerly very celebrated, but has declined with the departure of the court. There are no diamond catters proper, although there are still artisans who can prepare the table and rose diamond popular in India. The leading jewellers declare that the demand for their productions is still large, but that they lost all their capital during the mutipies. The wages paid are very low; they are estimated at so many annas in the rupee for silver work, or so much for working up a tola of gold, which is worth about £1-10. The very finest and most elaborate workmanship only costs one rupee a tola, or about 6 per cent, on the raw material, while commoner and simpler work costs four or eight annas. Gold chains, which, even when machine-made, are sold in London at 50 per cent. in addition to the cost of the bullion, are made in Lucknow far 5 per cent. or less. The artist of the highest pretensions cannot earn by hand labour more than one rupee per day, and four annas is considered fair pay for a good workman. Glass. The glass work is confined to Lucknow, and to some extent to Dalmau. Lamp glasses are made at a very low price, six annas for an article which, if of English manufacture, costs two rupees. There are only two craftsmen, who brought their art from Mooltan, nor are they acquaint- ed with the process of making glass from sand and alkali; they can only melt down broken glass and remould it. The proposed school of art in Lucknow might direct its attention to the natural facilities for glass mak. ing which the Oudh soil furnishes. The manufacture of clay figures and mouldings is one of the specialities of Lucknow. The thick tenacious soil from the bottoms of tanks is mould- ed into most faithful and characteristic statuettes representing the differ- ent races of the country; the peculiarities of feature are hit off with great correctness on a very small scale; they are in fact portrait statues of a qua- lity highly creditable to the taste and skill of the artists, and are sold at the rate of two rupees per dozen. Wall-brackets, vases, clock-cases, and other articles are manufactured of the same material, conventional tracery and foliated patterns are worked out with boldness and delicacy, and a very large demand exists among the European residents. Every purpose in fact to which terra-cotta can be applied, can be equally well served by the baked clay of Lucknow. Vinegar, acetate of copper, swoetmeats, ena- melling, seal cutting are the only other manufactures of importance. Modelling, sculpture, and painting.---The above arts may be said not to exist in Lucknow even in their elementary forms, such as wood or stone ​392 LUC carving, and coloured frescoes. The Oudh Nawabs employed Italian sculp- tors who generally worked in Ajmer marble, which by no means equals Carrara ; many of their works are scattered over the public gardens of Lucknow, specially in the Wingfield Park, and others are in the houses of the princesses and nobles, specially of Malka Jahán and Chhoti Sháhzádi. As a rule, these works are mainly intended for decorative purposes, and do not even aim at correct or graceful modelling. A statue of Actæon at- tacked by his dogs is of a higher class, it bears the following inscription :- " The first premium in London to N. Read by the Society of Políte Arts, one hundred guineas, A.D. 1761." The alabaster medallions and frescoes which are found in the Martiniere are elaborate specimens of an art which has practically died out, its followers having betaken themselves to model- ling in clay with more success than could be anticipated, considering that they receive no instruction and have no models beyond engravings in art journals. European industries and trade. - In addition to the mercantile firms there is only one enterprise conducted by Europeans. This is an ice-mak- ing machine which supplies the community with clear ice at the rate of two annas a ser. The railway workshops employ many hundreds of work- men, including not less than 32 pupils of the Martiniere school, besides other Europeans and Eurasians. There are several steam engines in Lucknow, but there is no water-power, windmills might perhaps be introduced. At Cawnpore one was erected some years ago at a cost of Rs. 85; it worked up to about four horse-power, the area of the sails being only 15 square yards. No repairs hardly were required and no storms injured it; it was ultimately superseded by steam- pover. It was mainly made of wood; it might be used with excellent effect for irrigation or drainage. The price of all materials varies much in Lucknow, and the facts are rather strange. The Railway Company, for instance, found it cheaper to import red gum sleepers from Australia at Rs. 8-6 each delivered, than to use the sál wood from the Government forests which cost Rs. 3-4-0 per foot. Mahua or mango firewood can be had for Rs. 16 the bundred cubic feet, dhák for Rs. 10; pit coal is imported from Rániganj. It is difficult to understand these things. Means of communication and carriage are generally very good; it appears probable that the system of purchasing in the cheapest local market has not yet been perfected, and that part of the prices paid is interrupted. Wages.-Wages in Lucknow of course differ somewhat from the rates prevailing in the rural districts. Jewellers get from 2 annas to 8 annas per day; but, as a rule, however, they are paid by a rate on the gold or silver they work up, from anna to 2 annas in the rupee for silver work, and from 8 annas a tola to Rs. 2 per tola for gold. Weavers are very badly paid; they rarely eam above 2 arinas a day; even the skilled artists who effect the intricate patterns of the Kashmir shawls do not receive more, but often less. These artisans are always in debt to their employers, and their position differs little from that of slaves, save that they are safe from personal ​LUC 393 violence. Master-masons capable of building a house or temple get only 5 annas per day on the average, ordinary masons 3 annas, hodmen 13 anpas, women 1apnas. Wages have fallen, and the price of materials too, with the general decay of Lucknow. Native pattern bricks for instance are now to be had at Rs. 75 per lakh, or 12 annas per thousand, delivered within a moderate distance; the Nawabi price was Rs. 123. This of course is due to the fact that so many old buildings in the depopulated city are being demolished and the materials sold. Wages in all other occupations have similarly declined. Embroiderers, lace workers, and leather workers similarly have to content themselves with reduced wages, in the face of increased dearness of provisions; the remuneration of skilled labour seems, indeed, to oscillate about 2 annas per day, sometimes less, sometimes more, according to temporary demand. The exception to this rule is in the case of arts still patronized by the State or supported by English capital, such as masonry, printing, lithography, arů metal work on the railway. A good mason gets 4 annas, a printer 8 to 12 annas, a lithogra- pher 6 annas to 1 rupee, a smith, brazier or platelayer 8 annas to 1 rupee 8 aonas. The point of interest is that a worker in iron will get four times the pay of a worker in gold, because the latter can only supply as a rule purely native needs, and is not patronized by the State. Working jewellers are generally paid by a percentage on the gold or silver bullion they work up, in no case exceeding four annas in the rupee for silver, and one rupee a tola for gold. If the work is of a povel or peculiar kind, men are paid by the day at 4 to 6 annas; the most noted artists not getting more than 12 annas a day. Weaving is job work; those employed seldom earning more than 2 annas per day, except on the finest muslins. Women are so numerous in Luck- now that all kinds of embroidery and sewing are under-paid. The com- petition for wages is so much greater than the competition for the pro- ducts of their toil that hard work at embroidery or chicken work does not fetch more than 1 rupee a month ; such is the statement of the seam- stresses. By contract work, on the public works, a powerful cooly can earn 5 annas per day even at earth-work. Mechanics and plate-layers on the railway get from Rs. 10 to 30 per month. Amusements. - The principal amusements of Lucknow are wrestling, cock-fighting, kite-flying, quail-fighting, gambling, dancing, 'singing, and theatrical displays. Gambling, dancing, and singing, alone are practised throughout the entire year. Wrestling is only followed during the rains; it is not clear why this is so, because in other parts of Oudh this amusement is parsued during the whole year. There is an annual tournament at which from 100 to 120 pairs of champions conterd; generally about one-third of these come from Muttra, and are Chaube Brahmans of Brindaban who never eat meat; one third are Punjabis (generally Musalmans) from Umballa, Lahore, Amritsar, Siálkot, the rest come from Baroda, Alwar, Cawapore, and a very few infe- rior wrestlers from Lucknow itself. The Mirzapur wrestling has died out. The rules do not differ very much from those of Cornish wrestling, but no ​394 LIC one is defeated till he is laid so flat on his back that both shoulder blades touch the earth. The sport is becoming more popular in Oudh generally for obvious reasons. Formerly every man carried arms, and skill in the use of sword, shield, spear, and matchlock was not only useful, but its dis- play was lawful, and rewarded with applause and more substantial gifts. Now the country is disarmed, and the use of arms in any crowded assem. bly is placed under almost prohibitive restrictions. The people consequently have no other means of displaying or witnessing adroitness in manly exer- cises except wrestling. In Lucknow itself, although popular as a spectacle, it is not much followed as an exercise. The notorious effiminacy and luxury of its inhabitants disincline them from the hard work of training and from the efforts and, indeed, dangers of the arena. Some of the wrestlers are sinewy and powerful men, but their success depends more upon perfect condi- tion, quickness, and thorough knowledge of all the stratagems than upon physical strength. The most powerful man at the 1874 tournament only measured 404 inches round the chest, but his arm was 17 inches in circum- ference over the biceps. In his case, however, no one could be found to face him, and he, according to custom, received a mere pittance as charity, while minor champions received large prizes. English professionals have occasionally tried their skill, but have always been defeated by the natives. There are two seasons for quail-fighting--the one from March to June before the rains, the other after the rains from October to January. Very large sums are wagered on these fights. An untrained quail may be bought for one anna; if one turns out a good fighter Rs. 500 will be refused for it. It is the general amusement of the poorer classes. Cock-fighting is carried on with some secrecy; the season is April and May, the cocks being trained for the sport throughout the cold weather, and being summered during the rains. The spurs are covered with seven folds of cotton cloth, consequently severe wounds are not given. The contests are prolonged for many hours to the inconvenience of the owners, who, if strict Musalmans, at the proper seasons spread their carpets an with faces turned towards Mecca, murmur their prayers interpolated with words of encouragement to the combatants. The sport is sometimes cruel, because the birds are not allowed to sleep during a fight, which sometimes lasts 40 hours; pauses are allowed, but during these the bird is made to walk up and down lest its bruises should stiffen its limbs. The season for kite-flying is more particularly in Kártik at the Diwali festival, but it lasts all the year except during the rains. The object of the players is to cut each others strings ; for this purpose they are glued and dipped in mica, so that by sawing the cord up and down in one spot the rival string is cut in two. There are professional kite-flyers, who show great skill in so working their reels that a steady friction is kept up at a height of many hundred yards upon a small portion of the enemy's string. The wealthier classes used to be devoted to dancing and singing or rather to watching and listening to them, but the taste is largely dying out. The causes of this are somewhat obscure. Lucknow is still a ​LUC 395 wealthy and voluptuous city; there are plenty of citizens who formerly daily witnessed such performances who have now abandoned them. One reason seems to be that these persons, like the petairac of early Greece, are supposed to be servants of the community or the State ; they attend at public festivals, civil and religious ; they receive a share of the national land; they are not so much attendants upon private wealth as attached to power and to official station; they regard themselves as belonging to the community and to its head, the ruler. Power is now in the hands of Englishmen who have little taste for these amusements; dance and song no longer form a part of State spectacles, of coronations, royal birthdays, and marriages; the profession has consequently lost much of the respect- ability and semi-official status which it had. Rich men in the privacy of their apartments with a few friends still enjoy the music; but the other accompaniments, regal state, troops, cannon, courtly ceremony, are absent, and the spectacle is spiritless. Patriotic songs and praises of the warrior or governor who patronizes performers were formerly a main element of the entertainment, and they were rewarded by princely largesses. A present of Rs. 2,000 to the leader of a small troop of dancers for an even- ing entertainment was quite common; such excitements are now absent. It would be too ludicrous to compare a Lucknow citizen to Alha or to Údal, to Rustam, or to Nausherwán. On the other hand, money is earned with greater difficulty now, and there is more certainty of keeping it. The bold trooper who plundered a province one day, and perhaps a year afterwards would be compelled to disgorge under torture, lightly parted with a portion in the meantime, Those who celebrated his achievements by their verses, and graced by their presence his investiture with titles and cordons, would be generously rewarded. National life, military achievement, the excitement of great gains and losses, the ceremonies of a court, and incessant creation of nobility in the province, were the causes which kept Lucknow in a condi- tion of feverish festivity during the Nawabi. There are symptoms that national music is reviving in another form, songs now heard are nearly all of domestic life, and descriptive of the feel- ings and events which take place in a family; the language is often Urdu.. Some of them have a very national tone, the nation which is adopted is. that of Hindustán as apart from the Punjab, Bengal, and England; the defeat of the English at Bhartpur is described in spirited verses which are very popular. The dancing girls are generally called paturias ; they are nearly all Muhammadans, although it is most probable that they were originally lowes caste Hindus. The men of the caste marry, and their wives are very sel- dom unchaste. The women generally form a temporary connexion called mutda, which has no religious or civil validity, with some person or they go through a ceremony called missi, or the first blackening of the teeth, with some one, either Hindu or Moslem. These engagements can be broken by either party at pleasure, but they serve the purpose of tempo-- rary unions. The kings and nobles of Oudh used to enter into literally thousands of the former engagements, the mutáa It merely meant fidelity ​on one side and maintenance on the other, and the dancing girl, who left a trooper, perhaps did mutáa with a prime minister immediately afterwards. Mutáa is recognized by the Shia religion as a legitimate connexion while it lasts; the Sunnis do not so regard it; it is a civil contract whose breach on either side absolves the other party from his engagement, but entails no penalties. Missi is still more curious; it seems to have Japanese analogies, but the contract seems to be more summary than the mutáa. Dancing girls often carry on the profession of prostitutes. They are not allowed to bear children, but girls are purchased from other castes as wives for their brothers; they will not marry with Juláhas. There is one subordinate caste of paturias, the Dom or Mírási; they used to perform only before women, but they have lately abandoned this custom.

The instruments used are the sarangi or fiddle, the manjira or cymbals, the tabla or drum. A band consists of these three instruments and a dancing girl; an evening entertainment cost, from Rs. 3 to Rs. 250. The ordinary fee for the best singer in Lucknow is Rs. 15 but if she goes to a marriage or birth, she will get Rs. 200 or Rs. 300. The band is paid at 5 annas in the rupee. They will attend Hindu festivals such as the Holi, but some of the first-class ones object to being sprinkled with red powder or ráng. The jewels and lace of an average festival dress of a first-class dancing girl will cost Rs. 1,000 to 10,000. At the dances everything is conducted with decorum; the singer is attended to, and from the entertainment by her mother or guardian (naeka) and bandsmen.

As Lucknow, notwithstanding its decay, is still the admitted capital of Hindustani music, song, and poetry, these details are not without interest.

Lucknow theatricals.—The change of rulers has apparently benefited these performances; the opportunity of ridiculing the governing class under a safe guise is too good to be lost, while the strange and in some points abhorrent features of English life furnish ample material for witty mimics. The court of justice, the police officer, the Englishmen at home, with all their defects, their ignorance of the language, their dependence upon their court officers, their lassitude and neglect of duty, their cheroots and brandy, are mercilessly exposed, yet so much verisimilitude is preserved that they are never represented as themselves cruel or corrupt. The practices of thieves, the oppressions of landlords, of native officials, are also favourite subjects of the Lucknow dramatist.

Luknow garrison.—Lucknow is the headquarters of the Oudh Division, The Cantonment is healthy and well situated, about three miles to the east of the city, and the garrison consists of three batteries of artillery, one regiment of British cavalry, two of British infantry, one of native cavalry, and two of native infantry. A battery of artillery and a detachment of native infantry at present occupy fort Machchhi Bhawan which commands the city, but it is the intention of Government to give up this fort and build another on a fresh site which has yet to be fixed.

MACHHLIGAON[9]—Pargana Manikapur—Tahsil Utraula—District Gonda.—A village of 1,781 inhabitants, chiefly Hindus. Is the chief bazar ​MAC 397 of the Manikapur pargana, but the trade is entirely local, and of no impe- rial importance. Villagers living within a radius of four or five miles come here for the brass pots, cotton clothes, and tobacco of daily use. Close to the village is the fame of Karlıuanáth Mahádeo, which is fre- quented by a small crowd of worshippers on the thirteenth day of the dark half of every month, and is the scene of a considerable fair, attended by fire or six thousand Hindus from the neighbourhood at the Shiurátri fes- tival. The small contributions of grain and inoney are taken by a Gosbáín of the Gir division, who is in charge of the place. The lingam itself was discovered during the mutiny by a Gosháín, and is situated on a small mound of bricks which marks the locality of an ancient temple. Further excavations have discovered an old well and a few small images, which were not to be seen wben I visitcd the spot. From its appearance I should say that the stone and there are no traces of a proper argha) is nothing but the broken shaft of a pillar, but I was of course unable to dig in the sacred court and test the truth of my suspicions. It is in the open air, surrounded by a low. wall, which encloses a court of some 25 feet square, shaded by fine trees. MACHHREHTA Pargana*-Tahsil MISRIKH—District SITAPUP..--Pargana Machihrehta is bounded on the north by Rámkot, on the east by the river Sarayan, on the south by Gundlamau, and on the cast by Kurauna and Mis- riksb. It contains 126 villages, and in area is 108 square milos, of which 68 are cultivated. These 108 square miles are thus classified :- Cultivated seres Culturable 16,682 43,292 > Muafi Barren 3 552 1,473 97 . B 2 3. L Total 69,999 acres. The incidence of the revenue deinand per acre is as follows: Rs, a. p. On cnitivated land III On assessed do. 13 On total The population is thus given in the report of 1869 census :- Hindus, agricultura 21,110 nun-agricultural 13,812 Musalwans, agricultural 571 non-agrieultural 2,185 Total 37,677 And they live in so many as 12,120 houses, which gives the average of one house to every 3.1 persons. The population has, tlıerefore, much greater house accommodation than the population of any pargana in the district. From the foregoing figures we see that there are 345 souls to the square mile, and that to each head of the agricultural population there are 2 acres of cultivated and 28 acres of assessed land. There is thus ample room

  • By Mr. Ferrar, C.9, Assistant Commissioner,

31 ​398 MAC for the further development of agriculture and population, which is 10 per cent. lower than the provincial average. The only road in the pargana is that which runs from Khairabad through Machhrehta to Nimkhár (q. v.), And the only water communication is that afforded to the eastern fron- tier villages by the river Saráyan. The pargana is crossed from west to east by a smaller and unnavigable river the Ketha. Both streams are bridged where the road crosses them. On the whole this is a good pargana for agriculture; the percentage of first-class crops is as much as 39, the largest in the tahsil. There are no marked features in the landscape, no lakes, or even large jhíls; no forest, hills, or valleys. In some parts water is found within 8 feet of the surface; in others not until a depth of 50 feet has been dug. Bazars are held in 6 villages-namely, Machhrehta, Bihat, Baniámau, Haluapur, Mirzapur, and Dingra. Nothing is sold at these beyond the common necessaries of life. The pargana boasts of no manufa res or productions peculiar to it. There are no mines or quarries. Two fairs are held in Machhrehta, the names and particulars of which are described in the history of that town, to which also the reader is referred for the origin of the name Machhrehta.' The pargana was constituted by Todar Mal, in whose time the lands were owned by an Ahban Rája, Kesri Singh by name. He was deposed by Akbar, and his estates conferred on two Kayaths, Bál Chand and Bir Chand, whose father (Parasrám) had been díwáp to the Abban chieftain, and had been put to death by him. On their death, the family lost it, and variouspetty zamin- dars possessed themselves of the constituent villages. Subsequently, or in 1767 A.D., the grandfather of the late well known Nawab Ali Naqi Khan, Minister to the King of Oudh, got the pargana in Jágír, and so held it for 42 years. Thc zamindaris are at present distributed thus :- 18 villages Janwar. 16 do. 94 do. 15 do. 12 do, 2 do, 1 do. 1 do. Báchi. Kachhwsha, Bais. Ráthor, Sombansi, Chauhan. Garr. Total 99, belonging to Rajputs. The remainder are held—10 by Káyaths, 64 by Brahmans, 2 by a Bairági, 74, iláqa Rajpura, by Mír Muhammad Husen Khan, Taluqdar, who is the only taluqdar in the pargana. He owns also iláqa Kuli in the neighbouring pargana of Kurauna; both estates he acquired by mortgage in 1262 fasli, during which year he was a collector under the native Government. There is not much known of his family. He and his brothers came from Budaun where they have some small land- ed property. One of them was slain in the mutiny, another is known as Captain Fida Husen, and is a Taluqdar in the Kheri district. The Kachhwába colony has its headquarters at Bihat (not the Bihat of pargana Misrikh), called Bihat Biram after the founder's name, Biram Singh, who settled here in 1459 A.D.; having come over from Jaipur. The history of the family is not known; but the present zamindars trace back ​MAC-MAG 399 through 11 generations their descent from Bíram. They are the only Kachhwába Chhattris in this district, and are of the Rajwár subdivision of that tribe ; the head of the Rajwars being the Mahárájă of Jaipur. The Bais zamindars are members of the Bais colony settled in the adjoining pargana of Pírnagar. The Janwars of Baniámau claim a much more ancient date for the acqui- sition of their estate than do their fellow-clansmen in this district; in fact, their family-tree extends back for 33 generations and 1149 years. But no particulars of their history are known, save that they came from Gujarát. Debi Singh is the present head of the family. The story about the Káyath succeeding the Ahbans above related is very similar to that told respecting Khairabad (q. v.); and as it has been given by a Káyath it must be accepted cum grano salis. MACHHREHTA Town* -Pargana MACHEREHTA— Tahsil MISRIKH-Dis- trict SITAPUR.—Machbrehta (27° 25' north, and 80° 41'east) is about sixteen miles sonth of Sitapur, lying on the good unmetalled road which runs from Khairabad to Nímkhár on the Gumti. It was founded at the time the Pargana was demarcated by Akbar's revenue officials, 325 years ago, and is Called after Muchhandar Náth, a holy man, who abode here in those days; the place beirg known as the Tap-bhumni, or land of the hermits. The population is 4,578, of whom 2,808 are Hindus. There are no old ruins or places of historical interest in it. It does not possess a single masonry house ; the mud houses are 738, the Hindu temples are 9 in number ; one of them being on the brink of a large excavated tank called “ Hardwár Tirath," which is holy in the eyes of the people, and which is guarded by anancient Bairagi. Here, in the month of Phágun, congregate two or three thousand devotees, who go down into the lake to wash off their sins. In a neigh- bouring grove of pakaria trees the Ramlila is celebrated in Kuár. The mosques are 4 in number, besides which there is an imámbára built by a dancing girl in modern times. There is an old saráe, the remains of a Government fort, a school house, and a post-office. There is a daily bazar. The only manufactures are coarse cloth and sugar. There is no water or rail communication from anywhere, and the only road to it besides the one abovementioned is from Misrikl, which is six miles westwards. MAGDAPUR Parganat-Tahsil MUHAMDI.—District KHERI.---The Mag- dapur pargana, traversed by the unmetalled road from Lakhimpur to Muhamdi, lies to the south of pargana Atwa Piparia, betweeu the rivers Kathna on the east and Gumti on the west. The right bank of the former river is bordered by low swampy ground, succeeded by a belt of sál forest, two or three miles wide, through which the surface gradually rises until, when cultivation is reached, the soil is high dry foam. In the middle of the pargana is a depression where water in the wells is found at a depth of only nine or ten feet; but as the Gumti is approached, the level rises again, and in the extreme south-west sand-hills have been formed. Generally the soil is of inferior fertility.

  • By Mr, Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.

† By Mr, T. R. Redfcro, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​400 MAG The total area, 56 square miles, supports a scanty and often sickly popu lation of 9,949, of which 22 per cent are Abírs. The rate to the square mile is 178, or, cxcluding the forest tracts, 203. The inhabitants find a livelihood in agricultural or pastoral pursuits; there are no manufactures of importance and 10 noteworthy markets or fairs. The prevailing unhealthiness is attributed to poison engendered in air and water by the jungle of the Kathna valley. The history of Magdapur is involved in that of Barwar, of which paryana it formed part until the most recent settlement. The earliest proprietors, who have been clearly identified, wore the Bachhil Chhattris--a clan which became troublesome not long after the death of the Emperor Shah Jahan, and was reduced by the Sayyads of Piháni. The sway of the latter fainily endured till 1147 Hijri (A. D. 1730), when a converted Hindu client, Baldco Singh, alius Ibídulla, ousted his patrons and seized the whole estate. His grandson, Ghulam Nabi, failing to meet the revenue deinand of a now stro Government, was arrested iu 1190 fasli (A.D. 1783), and died in Lucknow. Mansa flám, Chakladar, who arrived in 1193 fasli (A.D. 1786), restored the descendants of the old Bachhil proprietors, and during seventy years there was no taluqdar in Magdapur. In 1851 A.])., however, Rája Aslıraf Ali, the representative of Ibádulla, accepted a farm. ing lease of most of the villages--a truly fortunate engagement, for, at annexation under the operation of British policy, he was recognized as sole proprietor. Subsequently his son's estate became encumbered, and is now under the management of the Deputy Commissioner of the district. Magdapur comprises 34 demarcated villages- viz., 26} taluqdari and 7} the property of smaller owners, yielding at present (1875-76) a revenue of Rs. 12,483. The jungle along the bank of the Kathna was granted in allotments by the British Government to private individuals, whose capital, however, proved inadequate to the difficulties presented by mala- ria and scarcity of labour. The grants have in great part been resumed under the waste land rules, and converted to reserved forest tracts. MAGRAYAR Pargana—Tuhsil PURWA_District UNAO. --This pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Purwa, on the east by Panhan and Pátan, on the south by Ghátampur, and on the west by Harha. In shape it is triangular, eight miles in length from east to west, and seven in breadth from north to south. The area is 31 sqnare miles or 19,484 acres. The soil is in the proportion of six-sevenths loam to about one-seventh clay, sand being scarcely anywhere found. The proportion of irrigated to unirrigated land is as š to l. The river Lon from the neighbour- hood of Unao passes through this pargana. It does, however, no good as the depth of its channel cut in the sandy ground renders the water unavailable for irrigation ; no water remains in it during the spring harvest time. Water is found on an average at the depth of 22 feet, A road from Rae Bareli to Cawnpore passes through this pargana. There are 4 markets—Miánganj, Magráyar, Bigahpur Kalán, and Lalganj, The first is beld on Sundays and Wednesdays, the second on Mondays and .. Thursdays, the third on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the fourth on Wed​MAG--MAH 401 nesdays. The Government revenue is Rs. 21,864, and the rate per acre on an average is Re. 1-2-0. The tenure as follows: Villages. Acres. Taloqlari 12 4,418 Zimindari 8,543 lablari 6,523 8 31 19,484 The population consists chiefly of Brahmans, and it amounts to 16,188. This pirgana derires its name froin the principal village Magráyar, but the origin of the word cannot be ascertained. It was established as a pargana in the time of Akbar, and prior to annexation a tahsildar resided at Magráyar, and had charge of the whole pargana. The proprietary body are chiefly Káyaths and Brahmans. Of the architectural works there is but a temple in honour of Sri Mahadeo, built of stone by a banker, at a cost of nearly Rs. 50,000. This temple is in Bigalpur Kalán. MAGRÁYAR Pargana--MAGRÁYAR-Tahsil PurwA, District UNAO.- This town lies six nuiles south of the tahsil headquarters and cighteen miles cast of Unao. The soil is principally clay and loam, water fresh, site level. There is a school here for teaching Urdu and Nágri. The annual amount of sales at the bazar are about Rs. 3,000. The total population amounts to 1,190, of which 1,084 are Hindus and 106 Musal- mans. There are 139 mud-built houses and five of masonry; one mosque and five temples—four to Debi and one to Mahadeo. MAHADEWA Pargana--Tahsil BEGAMGANJ-District GONDA--This pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Gonda, on the south by the parganas of Nawabganj and Digsai, on the west by Gonda and Digsar, and on the east by qurgana Nawabganj. At settlement three villages were transfered to Nawabganj, and one village from paryana Guwárich, and eight from pargana Digsar were added, thus enlarging its area from 50,192 to 58,154 acres, or 89 square miles divided into 104 mauzas or town- ships. The land of this pargana which lies north of the Fyzabad and Gonda imperial road is high and called uparhár, and that to the south of the same road is low, and is known by the name of tarhár. The area of the pargana is thus divided :- Unculturable waste 4,248 acres or 8 per cent. Culturable ditto 21,290 Cultivated 29,810 1,416 13 yi or 38 or 52 Or 17 Groves 1) Total 100 56,764 Of the cultivated area 25 per cent. is Ist class or goind soil, 51 per cent. 2nd class or majhár, and 24 per cent. 3rd class or sand. The irrigated land is 11,265 acres or 40 per cent., and the unirrigated 18,545 acres or 60 per cent of the actual cultivation. The jungle grants cover 2,220 acres. The only river that traverses this pargana is the Tírhi. It takes its rise in the Chittor tank lying four miles south-east of Bahraich town, and after a tortuous course passes the villages of Khánpur in Guwárich pargana and Ránipur of pargana Mahadewa, and ultimately falls into thc Gogra at ​மாவட்பாக்கம் 402 MAH Mohna Chát opposite Biráhempur of pargaua Nawabganj. It skirts 15 villages of this pargana, and is to some extent serviceable for irrigation purposes. It is not utilized for navigation, Water is met with at from 12 to 18 feet. The Government revenue demand amounts to Rs. 49,206-6-0, land revenue Rs. 47,965, and cesses Rs. 1,241-6-0. The pargana belongs to the lords of Balrampur and Singha Chanda, the taluqdars of Paska, Manjhigáon, and Manikapur. But the landlord of Manjhigáon only has his headquarters within its limits. The varieties of tenure are as follows: Taluqdari 87 Zamindari Pattidari Bhayyachára Jungle grant > . 39 16 . P! . 14 .. 18 26 . .. 311 Of these Villages number Coparcenary estates 104 44 05 . . 207 311 . pe T The following is the tribal distribution of property :- Chhattri 216 Brahman 56 Kayath 15 Musalman 12 Bairagi 4 Bhét Banján 2 Gosháin Europeans 2 Total 311 villages and coparcenary estates. ..t -- . 2 . . . . we . . . 14 The population of the pargana amounts to 48,166 souls, who live in 8,208 houses, of which only 22 are masonry. The numbers of prevailing castes are as follows: Brahman 10,026 Kori 5,815 Chbattri 4,501 Ahir 3.913 Kabár 2,700 Kurui Muráo 1,966 Náó (Hindu) 1,119 Teli (Hindu) 1,046 Lunia 979 147 . 4. . 2,209 2.

. ec

4. de ​MAH 403 > 30 52 50 . 19. 25 Fyzabad to Gonda. All the traffic of this pargana is carried on by these roads, Schools have been established at the following villages :- Kaherba 65 pupils. Chaubepur Payágpur Ráwpur 30 The post, police, and registry offices are all at Wazirganj. History.—(See Nawabganj pargana, district Gonda.) A few facts may however be added. At the time Sayyad Sálár fell in battle at Bahraich, Hatila, lieutenant of his, made an attack on Asokpur, where there was a police post of Subel Deo, and was killed. His shrine still stands there. The Chhattri ascendancy in this pargana dates from the time of the massacre of the Doms by Ráe Jagat Singh, Káyath, Súbahdar. Salaj Singh, Kalhans, an officer of the Ráe's army, conquered the fort of Dumrú Náth, and was granted by the Ráe this part of the country. The Kalhans ruled for seven generations, till in the 8th Achal Naráin Singh came to the throne, and gave the country under his sway the name of Khurása. Rája Achal Naráin Singh granted this iláqa of Bondia Gháta to Sahang Ráe and Malang Ráo, Gorha Bisens, for their bravery in conquering the fort of, and arresting Mahábal Singh, the Rája of Ikauna. Since then the Gorha Bisens have got a footing in the country. Towards the end of the 15th century Achal Naráin Singh and his family were destroyed by the Gogra. (See district article, Gonda; also “Carnegy's Races of Oudh.") There are still some traces of the former inundation of the Gogra in this part in the shape of jhils. For some time the country remained without a head, till Sarabjít Singh, a deputy of Achal Naráin, seated on the gaddi one Partáb Singh of the Gorakhpur family and a relative of his. The headquarters then lay at Kobáui, a village in pargana Digsar, but Rája Mán Singh removed them to Gonda. Pargana families.-Rája Randhir Singh of Paraspur is descended from Mahraj Singh (the posthumous son of Achal Naráin Singh of Khurása), who was born at his maternal grandfather's house. He holds twenty-seven villages, and pays an annual jama of Rs. 29,064-9-9. Thakuráin Iklás Kunwar of Paska also belongs to the same family ; her property consists of twenty villages, and gives Rs. 16,944. Bhayya Harratan Singh of Manjhigdon.—This taluqdar is descended from Sahang Ráe, or Malang Ráe who was granted the iláqa of Bodia Gháta by Achal Naráin. Harratan Singh behaved well during the mutiny, and was granted the estate of Aunrádih in tahsil Utraula as a reward. He now holds twenty-one villages, and pays an annual revenue of Rs, 4,418. Antiquities.-Of the antiquities of the pargana the following may be mentioned. The garden and apartment at Wazirganj, was built by Nawab Shujá-ud-daula, the remnants of the fort of Suhel Deo, in the shape of a mound by the side of the Fyzabad-Gonda road, and the dih in mauza Dumrú ​404 MAH Náth on the side of the above road, which was the site of the fort of the Dom Raja Ugarsen. There are nine shiwalas and five other Hindu religious buildings. Musalman mosques number four. The only religious fairs of note are those of Bálesur Náth Mahadeo at Bhat Peinri, and of Hatila Pie in Asokpur. The first is a Hindu one, and is beld on the Shiuráttri ip Phágun, and the second is a Musalman one held in hononr of Hatila, the licutenant of Masaúd, mentioned above, on the saine day when there is one held at Bahraich in honour of the latter, In the first the gather- ing amounts to 40,000, and in the second to only 2,000. Neither of theni is commercial MAHADEWA-Pargana MAHADEWA-Tahsil BEGAMGANJ-District GONDA.- This place is of little importance, though it gives its name to the pargana. Its population is 578; it is fourteen miles east of Gonda, twenty- six miles from Bahrámgbat, and seventy-four from the hills. Water is inct with at 12 feet from the surface. There is a juíl (kundar) on the soutlı side of the village, from which irrigation is chicfly carried oni. The land on which the village now stands was formerly covered with a large jungle, within which there was a shiwála of Gauri Har Náth Mahadeo, which is still extant. Gorkhi Gir, Gosháía, ancestor of the present pro- prietors, was granted 250 bighas of land surrounding the temple by the Rája of Khurása, and the former cleared the jungle and settled himself there under the protection of the deity, from whose name he called the village "Mahadewa” Besides this ancient shrine there is another shiwala of recent date built by a certain Subaldar. There is no Muhammadan place of worship MAHGAWAN—* Pargana KALYANHIL--Talsil SANDILA-District HAR- DOI.—A Sakarwár village of 394 mud houses, population 2,941, nipe miles north of Sandíla in the heart of pargana Kalyanmal. Its inhabitants have a local reputation for honesty in conducting arbitrations. Market «lays Mondays and Thursdays. MAHMUDABADt Pargana-Talusil BARI--District SITAPUR.Pargana Mahmudabad, in shape like a shoulder of mutton with the leg pointing northwards, is bounded on the north by pargana Biswán, on the east by pargana Sadrpur, on the south by the Bara Banki district, and on the west by pargana Bári; its area is 130 square miles, of which 92 are cultivated. Along the north-east boundary flows the petty stream Sumbe, which in the hot season is almost dry, and in the wet season is a wide flood. In the south-west corner of the pargana is another small strcam as unim- portant as the Sumbe. Also to the north-east is a low lying strip of tarái land, once apparently the bed of the river Chauka, which now flows eight miles further to the east, and bordered by a high ridge of land, a continua- tion of that which runs through pargana Láharpur (q. v.). With the exception of these streams and this ridge of land with its tarái, the par- gana presents the same appearance as that of this part of Oudh a uniform level, well-wooded, and thick with fine crops. Irrigation is abundant, specially in the western villages, which constitute the best part of the

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.

† By Mr. M. L. Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner, ​MAH 405 pargaua. The tarái above mentioned does not require irrigation at all as it is green throughout the year, the water lying close to the surface, Elsewhere the greatest depth at which water is found is thirty feet. The acreage is thus divided- Cultivated Culturable 4.4 711

  1. 60

Acreg. 69,285 10,939 Total 70,224 assessed ve I. 11 $ Muáfi 146 Barren 12,727 12,873 unassessed. Total 83,097 The revised assessment is Rs. 1,13,468, which gives the following incidence Rs. ..+ 18 On cultivation >> assessed area » total aroa bok 1 IB 4 1 9 10 t 5 10 23 > . The population of the census of 1869 was as follows:- Aindus, agricultural non-agricultural Musalmans, agricultural non-agricultural 10 13 ees eee I pe 21 88,312 23,069 6,340 6,047 ... 444 27 090 Total 73,768 and these live in 15,043 houses. There are 567 souls to the square mile, the highest pargana average in Sitapur, and, with the exception of pargana Bilgram in Hardoi, the highest in the Sitapur Division. The Musalmans are seventeen per cent of the entire population. Each house has 49 occupants, for each bead of the agricultural population there are about one and one-third acres of cultiva- tion, and one and two-thirds acres of assessed land. The pargana is of a date subsequent to Todar Mal's famous land settle- ment, not having been constituted as such until the reign of Jahángír, who is said to have formed it out of 250 villages of pargana. Fatehpur. In course of time the taluqdars increased their estate by 78 villages, which, with 100 belonging to petty zamindars, made up the number to 4:28. At survey operations 252 of these 428 were transferred to neigh- bouring parganas, and 93 villages of other parganas were included in this, thus leaving 269, the present number. These 269 villages have been demarcated into 197 townships, of which the Mahmudabad taluqdar owns 125. It may be noted that these Shekh taluqdars are known as Khánzádas, and that the Rája of Mahmudabad represents the younger branch of the family. His father got the title of rája in 1850 A.D., and Government 52 ​406 MAH has recognized it in the person of the present taluqdar. The title has not been recognized in the case of the Paintepur taluqdar, who respresents the elder branch. The pargana is uot celebrated iu any way. To the description of the towns of Mahmudabad and Paintepur the reader is referred for particulars regarding the roads, bazars, and schools. MAHMUDABAD Town*—Pargan MAHMUDABAD-Tahsil BARI—Dis- trict SITAPUR.---Mahmudabad, in the pargana of the samename, was founded about 200 years ago by Mahmud Khan, ancestor of the present taluqdar. It lies in 27° 17' north latitude, and 80° 40' east longitude, and is on the high road from Sitapur to Bahramghat, being 38 miles from the former place and 28 from the latter. It is also connected by road with Bári on the Shahjahánpur trunk road and with Bara Banki. It is not near any railway or river. The town contains 6,312 souls, the Hindus and Musalmans being about equal in number. With the exception of the taluqdar's residence, a new aud lofty mansion, three stories high, and the sacred edifices, there are no masonry buildings in the place. †he mud houses number 1,594. The bazars are good. Rs. 1,14,804 are returned as the value of last year's sales. Brass vessels are manufactured on the spot. The mosques and temples are very few in number-seven of one and four of the other, and are un- deserving of notice. The public buildings are police, post, and registry offices, a school in which there are 130 boys on the books, and a saráe. The encamping ground is in a very large grove called Lakhpera, or the grove of a hundred thousand trees, but the trees are stunted and the shade is not good. The town is not famous in any way. MAHOLI* Pargana--Tahsil MISRIKA— District SITABUR.—Pargana Ma- boli is bounded on the north by the Klieri district, on the east by pargana Sitapur, on the south by par Misrikh, and on the west by the Kathna river which divides it from pargana Chandra. In area it is 79 square miles, of which 45 are cultivated. These 79 square miles represent 51,075 acres which are thus classified: Caltivated acres 28,627 Culturable 8,279 Muáti (rent-free) 92 8,283 Berren 5,897 and the incidence of the Government demaud on this is as follows: On cultivated area Rs. 1 8 9 per acre. > assessed area 1 2 10 4 total 1 03 The population amounted in 1869 to 33,678, living in 6,757 houses, or 423 to the square mile, and 49 to each house. They are distributed in this manner.

  • By Mr. M. L. Ferrer, C.S., Assistant Commissioner,

O 33 4.

      • ​MAH

407 Rindus, agricultural non-agricultural 20,688 13,205 31,893 Musalmaus, agricultural Don-agricultural 540 1,245 1,785 The Muhammadans are thus only 5 per cent of the entire population. To each head of the agricultural population there are 13 acres of cultivated and 1% acres of assessed land. There is thus comparatively little room for the extension of cultivation or the increase of the popula- tion. The pargana is a plain of great fertility; the soil is generally good loan, the exception being the sandy and raviny tracts in the neighbourhood of the Káthna river. The country like every other pargana in the district is well wooded. There is a good deal of higla cultivation owing to the pre- sence of several colonies of those industrious peasants, the Kurmis, and much sugarcane is grown. The irrigation is chiefly from mud wells, and from jbíls and other natural water-boles; little use seems to be made of the Káthna, which, if properly dammed, would prove a source of considera- ble irrigation to the lands in its vicinity. A petty stream, called the Pirai, touches the pargana for a short distance on the north, and is there made use of for this purpose by the peasants of the villages by which it passes. Two made roads pass through the pargana-namely, the old and the new road to Sháhjahanpur. The former inade by the celebrated. Názim Hakim Mehndi, the other by the British Government. In some parts these roads run very close to each other, and the average distance between them is only 1} miles. The chief bazars are held bi-weekly at Maholi Baragaon, and Kuseli, the Kurmi colony. At these all the ordinary necessaries of life may be purchased, besides sugаr of various qualities. There is no article of com- merce or manufacture peculiar to the pargana, nor does it contain any mines or quarries, properly so called ; kankar is dug up for only local use in metalling the high road abovementioned. The name of the pargana is derived from that of the town, the history of which may be found in another place. Suffice it to say here, that on its site there stood formerly an older town, which had fallen into decay, but was rebuilt 500 years ago by one Mahipal, Kurmi, after whom it was called Maholi.* Tradition informs us that the district was once held by the Pasis, who formerly, as we see in the case of Khairabad and Láharpur, were possessed of great power in this part of the province. Iu those days Maholi was not known as a distinct pargana, but was amongst the sixteen tappas which made up pargana " Ninkbár." This pargana, as arranged by Todar Mal, comprised six muháls---nanıcly, Maholi, Misrikh, Nimkhár, Kasta, Abgáon, and Sikandarabad, of which the last three are now in

  • See Jourual B.A.S., No. 284, PP. 6 and 13, ​408

MAH Kheri. The Pásis who held sway in Maholi were so powerful that one of their chief men, Hunsa by name, desired of his neighbour, the Mitauli taluqdar, the hand of his daughter in marriage. The Mitauli man openly assented to the proposition, but secretly sent off messengers to the powerful Ahban Rája of Pataunja, praying him to come to his assist- ance, and save a brother Rajput from the indignity which the low born Pási would thrust upon him. So the Ahban troops came up, as if to take part in the marriage ceremony, and there was great rejoicing among the Pâsis for the marriage of their chief (Hunsa). But the Xhbans set before them a feast of pig's flesh and strong liquor. And the Pasis feasted thereon, and became gorged with the food and drunk with the wine, and the Ahbans fell upon them and slew many and drove the rest out. So the Albans were victorious and became rulers of Mitauli and the surrounding district, and they held it for 200 years, having their head- quarters still at Pataunja. But in 1670 A.D., the Delhi monarch sent against them a Mughal chief, Mirza Bahadur Beg by name, to reduce their power, for they refused to pay tribute, and then the Ahban Rája abandoned his capital and went north to Mitauli, and his power dwindled away by degrees until it was confined to a small circle of villages round that town. Meanwhile an invasion of Gaurs took place, and that tribe got a footing in Maholi, which they held from 1174 to 1188 fasli. In 1189 (corresponding to 1781 A.D.), Kunwar Newal Singh, son of the last Ahban Rája, was restored, and his Gaur rival dispossessed, but he held his recovered patrimony for only one year. A man of no capacity or character, be was again dispossessed, and his estates were let out to farmers, who managed the property down to 1227 fasli or 1820 A.D. In the following year the sympathies of this pargana and the neighbour- ing one were aroused for the old Abban family, and the zamindars refused to come in and take up their engagements unless the Ahban Rája was restored. The chakladar (revenue-collector), a Káyath by caste, and more at home with his pen than with a sword, got frightened, and gave into the vox populi. So the Ahban was restored to so much of his ances- tral estates as were comprised in Maholi, Kasta, and Abgáon. The Sikan- darabad taluqa had passed to a member of the family who me a Musalman. The restored rája was Khanjan Singh, and in 1242 fasli (1834 A.D.), he engaged for the whole pargana. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the rebel Lone Singh, whose estates were confiscated for complicity in the mutiny of 1857. The pedigree table is thus given by General Sleeman :- Mitauli ráj. Bhajan Singh. Rája Debi Singh died without heirs. 8 aonas. 8 8188. Dat Singh. aix R003. Man Singh Bhawani Din (adopted son). 1 Khapjan Singh, Lone Singh 1 and 4 others. ​MAH 409 Khanjan was the ablest man of the whole seven, and by force of charac- ter, and backed up by those "gros bataillons," which providence so often favours, got possession of all the shares, the “8 annas" of his cousin and the "69 annas" of his five brothers. The confiscated estates in Maholi have been bestowed by Government upon certaia loyal grantees, one of whom is Mirza Abbas Beg, late an extra assistant commissioner in Oudh. Maholi itself was conferred on Nawab Amjad Ali Khan in lieu of certain lands taken up by Government for the Sitepur cantonment. MAHOLI*-Pargana MAHOLI–Tahsil MISRIKH—District SrTAPUR Maholi, which contains 1,676 inhabitants, residing in 340 mud houses, lies on the high road from Sitapur to Shahjahanpur, being fifteen miles dis- tant from the former, and 38 from the latter place. It is said to derive its name from one Mahipál, a Kurmi, who lived 500 years ago, and who gave his name to a new town built on the site of an older one which had fallen into decay. Through it runs the river Káthna, which is spanned by two bridges, one built 65 years ago by the philanthropic Názim Hakim Mehndi; the other a construction of the present Government. The same Názim built a saráe now in decay, and founded a bazar. There are also the remains of the old Government fort built in the time of Shuja-ad-daula. The public buildings are a police station, a school at which 53 boys attend, and a saráe. The principal sacred buildings are two-namely, a shiwala built 70 years ago by a Bájpei, and the dargáh of a sainted man named Hatila Pír. The place is not historically famous, nor are there any fairs held at it beyond the weekly bazars. The situation of the town is good. The annual value of the bazar sales is Rs. 5,000. MAHOLI–Pargana MANGALSI--Tahsil FYZABAD- District FYZABAD.--- This little village was founded by Mahorám Sáh, Chauhan, who called it after his own name; it was given him by Mangal Sen, Gautam (see account of pargana Mangalsi). It is 20 miles from Hyzabad on the banks of the Gogra. Bazar Muhammadpur was established here by Muhammad Shah; the market days are Sundays and Wednesdays. The population consists of 1,811 Hindus, and 161 Musalmans. There is a temple to Bisheshwar Náth Mabadeo, a Nánaksháhi place of worship, and one Government school. There are also three mud-built saráes. The fair of Rám's mar. riage is celebrated here on Aghan Sudi 5th (December), and is attended by 1,000 people. MAHONA Parganat-Tahsil MALIHABAD-District LUCKNOW.—The par- gana of Mahona lies along the left bank of the Gumti river. It is bounded on the south by pargana Lucknow, on the west by Malihabad, on the north by Sitapur, and on the east by the Bara Banki district. In shape it is irregular, but longer than it is broad; its length varies from twelve to six- teen miles whilst its breadth is from seven to ten. Its centre may be fixed at about Rukhára where the 27° 5' par. of latitude and 80° 95' of longitude would cross each other. Its area is one hundred and forty-seven square miles, and it contains one hundred and ninety-five villages, each averaging an area of four hundred and eighty-three acres. Its population is 71,518, or 486 to the square mile, but on the cultivated area it falls at the rate of 872.

  • By Mr, M. L. Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.

| By Mr. H. H. Butts, Assistant Commissioner. ​410 MAH . Hindu, Of this population 9.7 per cent, is Musalman. 90'3 649 - Agricultural. 45.2 Non-agricultural. The proportion of agriculturists is low, seeing that there is still left a great deal of culturable land, and of a very fair quality, awaiting the plough. Of the total area of 52,979 acres-- 56-21 is cultivated, 24.62 ie colturable, and 19'17 is unculturable. Nearly all the unculturable land is to be found at the south end of the pargana, which is crossed by large barren plains. The country is fertile and well cultivated, but along the banks of the Gumti, and stretching for a considerable distance inland, it is undulating and varied, crossed one while by sandy tracts, and intersected at another by marshes, that are fed from springs which rise from the higher lands. Nevertheless, the low land produces abundant thatching grass which is car- ried down the river to Lucknow in large boats, and towards the north of the tract the land becomes tarái and level, and though subject to inunda- tions, and sometimes overmoist with water, only a few feet from the surface may be eropped with fine wheat. In the centre of the pargana is a large tract of jungle which only awaits the cultivator. But probably it will be broken up'ere long, and would have been before, but that it belongs mostly to taluqdars who can afford to wait, and whose object is to see the new revenue fixed before they take it in hand. The chief crops flourish-poppy and vegetables--round the homesteads, and sugar, wheat, and pulses to the furthest corners of the townships. Mud wells can be dug freely, and water can be met at twenty-five feet froin the surface, while the wells hold eleven feet of water. Irrigation extends to forty-eight per cent a more than ordinary average, but of this eighty-one per cent., is due to jhíls and ponds. On the whole, it is one of the best parganas in the district. And the average holdings of the cultivators are very fair, and larger than in most of the Cis-Gumti parganas. Rent ranges from Rs. 5 to Rs. 5-8, but Kurmis- of whom, however, there are not very many--pay Rs. 7-7 and Kachhis Rs. 9-14. The revenue assessed by the summary settlement was Rs. 104,490. The revised demand is Rs. 1,35,486. The rates fall at Rs. 2-8 on cultiva- ted, Re. 1-13 on cultivated and culturable, and Re. 1-6 throughout. The largest towns arc- Mahona, with a population of 3,894 Itarnja 2,254 Add Maricon 3,124 It has only six other villages, with a population of between 1,000 and 2,000 They are-Usirna, Banoga, Bhauli, Kath wára, and Nabi-kot-Nandna. Government schools have been established in the three large towns abovementioned, and in Usirna, Amaniganj, Kathwara, Pahárnagar, Bakh- shi-ka-taláb, Banoga, and Nabi-kot-Nandra. The district post-office has been placed at Itaunja, and outside the village, facing the road, is the police station, where a chief constable and fifteen others of subordinate grade are posted. At Bakhshi-ka-táláb is an outpost, where a staff of six policemen ►PE I . It ed DO ​MAH 411 has been placed. The whole of the pargana, a small portion of the south end excepted, is within the jurisdiction of these two stations. The area is one hundred and thirty-five square miles. At Bakhshi-ka-tálúb is one of the encamping grounds for troops, There is a large tank here which in fact gives its name to the place, the Bakhshi's tank, built by Bakhshi Tipur Chand, the paymaster of Nasír-ud- dín Haidar, the 2nd king of Oudh. It is a handsome tank, with flights of steps leading down to the water on its four sides, and flanked by four towers at its corners. On the far side, facing the road, was a temple raised to the god Thákur Bánke Bihári, and alongside the founder built a hand- some house, and walled in a garden for himself. But the Bakhshi fell into disgrace, and the whole is falling into ruins. Road communication in the pargana is good. It is traversed through- out by the imperial road leading from Lucknow to Sitapur, and different country roads from Biswán in Sitapus through Amániganj, and from Kursi through Mahona lead into it. There is plenty of outlet for its produce, and the Lucknow market affords the best means of disposing of it. Hence bazars are at a minimum, and the only considerable ones are at Itaunja and, Amániganj . This latter was a market-place founded by the pious king Asif-ud-daula, who, on his way to Rehar, to fight the Ruhelas, founded the Amániganj in Malihabad, and on his return founded its name- sake in Mahona. In the Nawabi it was a place of more importance, being the highway of the traffic from Khairabad and Biswán in Sitapur to Luck- now and Fyzabad. But the traffic now passes along the new road. Mahona is a place of no importance; it was formerly the headquarters of the pargana, where was placed a staff of Government officials for the assessment and collection of the revenue of the pargana, and where a fort was built for their protection. But the homestead of the village of Gobind- pur bordered it, and the story goes, that on one occasion the Brahman pro- prietors of the latter village dug through the walls of the fort, and recovered a child that had been placed there as hostage for some revenue. After this the ámil took the fort to the more open village of Bahadurganj. Hence Mahona has for a long time ceased to have any importance as a pargana town. Mariáon was at one time a place of importance ; it formed the headquar- ters of a pargana of its own. The pargana of Mandigaon is mentioned in the Ain-1-Akbari. It was here, too, that Nawab Saádat Ali Khan, the fifth Nawab of Oudh, fixed the old cantonments, where three regiments of Company's troops were quartered during the Nawabi. Itaunja is chiefly known as the seat of the Panwar Rája, Jagmohan Singh, son of Rája Ratan Singh, who holds one of the largest taluqas in the district, The tenure in this pargana is in great part taluqdari, the two chief taluqdars being Rája Jagmohan Singh and Bábu Pirthipál Singh of the Panwar tribe of Rajputs, and near of kin. These are the only two taluq- dars indigenous to the pargana, The remaining chief families are the ​412 MAH Chauháns of Bhauli and of Magat, consisting of eight and twelve villages respectively, and the Chauhans of Kathwára of thirty-two villages. These and the Panwar estates made up during the Nawabi the whole pargana which was then exclusively Rajput. The Panwárs held what was popularly called eight tappas, but the formation of these tæppas belongs to their family history. The traditions regarding the early history of the pargana say that the Panwárs and the Chauhans entered the pargana almost simul- taneously at about the end of the 14th century. By their family history it would seem that they came under the cognizance and sanction of the Delhi government. The land was then owned and held by Kurmis, whose chiefs, Rae Dámar, dwelt at Ráeput, a little to the west of Itaunja, and Rae Dhandu at Kathwára. There was a third, Ráe Mohan, a Muráo, who lived at Mahona, and gave his name to the town. All these had strong forts, whose sites are marked by the brick mounds called díhs that still exist. But tradition adds that these forts were originally built by the Bhars whom the Kur- mis succeeded. The Kurmis are said to have shown a mutinous spirit and kept back their revenue, and their chastisement was made over to these Panwars and Chauhán tribes, who attacked and drove them out of the country These Kurmis do not seem to have been a low-caste tribe. They wor- shipped Mabádeo. In the village of Gadia, at the north of the pargana, he is still worshipped under the name of the Kurmiáni Náth, and of late years a small shiwála has been built over his image. And in the village of Tika, to the south of Mabona, is a tank at which it is said the Kurmi widows used to perform their suttees. The memory of these sacrifices does not very easily fade away. The place is hallowed, even though no monument marks the spot. A mound remains, and the native knows what is there. He will take off his shoes reverently, and will scrape away the earth and produce some ashes, which, after showing them to the curious inquirer, he will again carefully replace. The pargana contains traces of mythical history which centre round Rukhára. Rúkha was the daughter of Bánásur, who lived in Mámpur Baná. It was she who fell in love with and abducted Anrudh, grandson of Srikrishn. Kubhán, of Kumhráwán, was one of his ministers, and it was his daughter, Chetori Lekha, who drew the likeness of the hero that Rúkha had seen in her dreams. Kesri Dait was another of his lieute- nants, who founded Kesurmau close to Mahona. Srikrishn, aided by Arjun, one of the Pandu brothers, came with an army to recover his grand- son, and the many-handed Búnásur was vanquished and sent to worship Mahadeo on the lonely banks of the Nerbudda. As for Rukha and Anrudh they married and went to live at Muttra Brindában. In Kumhráwán there is an image of Mahádeo called Kursen, which it is said was the object of Kubhán's worship. Arjun founded the village of Arjunpur. There are in Arjunpur and Rukhára old mounds of considerable extent, with the usual broken bricks ​MAH 413 scattered about, and in the latter village is a shrine to Mahadeo, which has always been extensively worshipped ; and of late years another temple, and a large Dharmsála and a well, have been built by Mathura Dás, the Diwán of Sharf-ud-daula, the converted Hindu, or, as some say, by the pervert himself, to avert some of the judgment he dreaded for his apostacy. Sharf-ud-daula was the great banker Jagannath, who farmed the market dues of the province in the time of Muhammad Ali, and defaulting saved his life by changing his religion. As already stated the pargana was almost entirely Rajput. At the present day, out of its one hundred and ninety-five villages, one hundred and thirty-two are held by these clans. The Panwar taluqdars mention- ed hold seventy-six. Some are held by a Káyath family who seem to have entered the pargana along with the Pan wárs. Before the late addi- tion to it of part of Mariáon, the pargana was only composed of the eight Panwar tappas. They were I. The four Itagoja tapp&s of-(1) Itaunja; (2) K&sráwán ; (3) Bhindura ; (4) Sonyán. II. The Mahoma tappas of-(5) Mahons; (6) Mábgion. III. The two Rowan tappas of-(1) Rewán; (8) Bahirgaon, Of these, the latter two are broken up. They became subdivided and are at present included in the district of Sitapur, still held by Panwárs, who have extended their possessions northwards and hold considerable estates in that district. Some of the Bahírgáon villages were acquired by the owners of the four Itaunja tappas. The pargana was one of those of Akbar's time. At annexation the old pargana of Mariáon was broken up, and part of it put into Lucknow and part into Mahona; the latter then became one of the three parganas that formed the Kursi tahsíl. But on the transfer of the Kursi pargana to the district of Bara Banki, it was joined to the pargana of Malihabad, lying on the right bank of the river, and is now administered from the tahsil station of Malihabad. This is to the disadvantage of the people, who, during the rains, have to go round by Lucknow to get to Malihabad, but there are three gháts stationed along the river on the Malihabad side, at which the Government ferry boats ply. Pargana families; Rája Jagmohan Singh of Ráeper; Itarınja-Pan- war. The ancestors of Rája Jagmohan Singh are said to have come into this pargana some nineteen generations ago under Ráo Deo Ridh Ráe, the eighth son of Rája Rudráh of Dháránagar or Deogarh, The Khuldsa Tawarikh—a history compiled by Suján Ráe, Káyath, by the orders of Alamgir—says that this was the site of Daulatabad which was founded by Muhammad Tugblaq in 758 Hijri (A. D. 1337), and it is probable that the Panwars were at this time driven out of their native seats. Deo Ridh Ráe took service with the king of Delhi, and obtained under him import- ant commands. It is said that amongst other exploits he reduced the fort of Ding. At this time the pargana was held by Kurmis and Markos, the former of whom were ruled by Ráe Dámar from his fort in Raepur,- 53 ​414 MAH the site of which may be still seen in the village, and the latter by Rae Mohan, who lived in what is now known as the town of Mahona. They may have been rebellious, or backward in paying their revenue. Deo Ridh Ráe was sent to drive them out. This he seems to have effected partly by fraud, for his brother, Rám Singh, had preceded him and had taken service with the Kurmis, and in the subsequent attack he opened a gateway which admitted Deo Ridh Ráe into the fort. The Kurmis were driven out and their country taken. Sone few villages fell to Rám Singh, and his descendants are known as the Thánapati Panwárs. The Panwars, however, do not seem to have come straight to the country they now hold. There is a tradition that the small tappa of Rahímabad, in the west of Malihabad, was once held by them, and there are the remains of a fort there which it is said was built by them. The tappa is now held by. Salanki Rajputs and Shekhs, who seem also to have come from Málwa, the Panwárs' country. The Shekhs say that they drove the Panwárs out, but the more general belief is that the estate was conferred on them by the latter tribe. Deo Ridh Ráe had three sons, Díngar Deo--perhaps so called from his father's exploits in the capture of Ding;-Sahlan Deo, and Karan Deo. These three divided their father's possessions. The pargana is said to have been managed by Tilok Chand, qanungo, who had come with the invading force. The conquered tract was divided into eight tappas, four of which, called the Itaunja tappas, fell to Dingar Deo, two, the Haweli tappas, to Sahlan Deo, and two, the Rewan and Bahírgáon, to Karan Deo. Rae Dingar Deo is ancestor of the present taluqdar, and was then made the rája of his house, which title has descended unbroken to the present time. Six generations after this, while Mádho Singh, the rája of the time, and the eldest son of Suraj Sen, was at Delhi, Asúkh Mal, the second son, assumed the title and took the estate. Mádho Singh was content with this arrangement, and only reserved for himself six villages, which his descendants still hold. Three generations later came Raja Níri, who was a great hunter and athlete, and let his affairs fall into disorder. His brother, Bahadur Singh, professed to look after the estate, but his revenue fell into arrears, and the Subahdar Diler Khan came against him, and in the fight that ensued both Níri and Bahadur were killed. There are two or three stories current about this. Some say that the rája had a bitter quarrel with Rúpnaráin, another of the sons of Asúkhmal, the rája's grandfather, and that it was only on his misrepresentations that the nawab came with a force against the rája. Another story loves to recall the rája’s far-famed strength and brate behaviour. It states that once on a visit to the emperor he came across the Nawab Diler Khan, who was a man of great stature and strength. Thrice he looked up and turned pale when he saw him, and thrice when he looked down and saw his own trusty sword he recovered himself and turned red. The emperor, who was observing him, noted this change of colour, and asked the rája what it meant, and the raja replied that when he saw the nawab he feared, but when he looked on his own sword he recovered his courage, and felt ready to fight him. The emperor consis ​MAH 415 dered this a bold speech to make, and bade him go to his own country if he wanted to fight, and Diler would meet him there. So when the nawab came in the fight that has been mentioned, he called out from his elephant in a loud voice for the râja to come out and meet him in single combat. The raja was only mounted on a small horse, but he came up and struck at the nawab with a sword which shivered on his armour, and himself fell at one blow by a thrust from his adversary's spear. It is then said that one of Rup Naráin's family admitted the nawab into the fort by a private door. This piece of treachery earned for himself and his descendants the sobriquet of the Khirkihas or the men of the wicket,' by which they are distinguished to the present day. Events repeat themselves, and the Panwárs may have thought of a former passage in the annals of their house, whereby in a similar way their forefathers obtained an entrance into the Kurmi's fort. Madári Singh, son of Rája Niri, however, attended at the emperor's court and was decked with a khilat (dress of honour), and recovered his father's estate. But he is said to have been a man of lawless habits and most inordi- nate pride. He was too good even to associate with his own kith and kin, and when the members of the Haweli and Rewán branches came as usual to offer him their congratulations at the Holi festival, he refused to see them. Thereupon they took counsel and said that since they had no longer any natural head to look to, they must make one for themselves, and they went to Ráe Súrat, of the second or Haweli branch, and elected him as rája. There is nothing else very eventful that happened to this family. In the time of Rája Shiu Singh in 1225 fasli (1818 A. D.), the whole taluqa was under direct management, and he was only left with ten muháls, which he held however in rent-free tenure as nánkár. The whole estate now consists of the original villages that the rája's family held. The family, with its branches, has always been very powerful. They were strong in themselves, and for the most part kept in good favour with the Delhi Court. They even adopt some of the Musalman practices such as fastening their coats to the left, and paying reverence to tázias. And they have before their residence a large square stone which they hold in almost sacred reverence, They say that they brought it from Delhi, and that it is their symbol of right to their estates, which were granted to them by the Delhi emperor, who told them to take it as the foundation for their future settlement. Whenever a new rája succeeds he places on it a nazar (offering) of flowers and sweetmeats, and a few rupees. There are a great many more villages belonging to the Panwars than the rája holds, which have been removed from the ilaqa by different cadet members of the family. But the rája's estate itself consists of fifty-one villages as they have been demarcated by the recent survey, and has been assessed at 36,679. Babu Pirthipal Singh of Mángdon. --Bábu Pirthípál Singh, Taluqdar. of Mángáon, is of the same family as the Rája of Itaunja, and received his two tappas of Haweli, at the time of the partition of the estate by the sons of Deo Ridh Ráe. His immediate ancestor was Pahlan Deo, the second ​416 MAH now son of Deo Ridh Ráe. Nine generations later came Súrat, son of Ráe Dalpat, when a great schism took place in the family, springing from the pride and over bearing behaviour of Rája Madári Singh of itaunja of the elder branch. The circumstances have been mentioned in the history of that family. Up to this time the Haweli and Rewán families bad always acknowledged the leadership of this branch of the house, but they resolved to elect a chief of their own. Accordingly they went to Ráe Súrat, the head of the second branch, and with the sanction of the authorities they made him rája. Rája Súrat Singh made it the occasion for extending his dominions. He said he could not be ráją without a ráj to rule over, and be received from the Musalman chaudhri of Kursi, who was glad enough to see some check likely to be put upon the power of the Raja of Itaunja, the four villages-Hálupur and Rewámau, Bidhánpur, and Sánipur,-the two latter of which were renamed Raepur and Rájapur, perhaps to commemorate the transition from ráe to rája. - Naráin, the son of Rája Súrat, had five sons. Kesri, the eldest, inherited his title and estates, which descended for three generations till his line ended with Bhawani and Mándháta, his two grandsons, who died without heirs. Then came a dispute for the succession. Four of the sons of Rája Naráin had been by one wife, and the fifth, Bolsáh, by another. Mardan Singh, descended from the fifth son, contended that one of the branches of the family had had their chance of the ráj, and that now it was the turn of the other The two candidates were Bisrám, fourth in descent from Khushál, the fourth son of Naráin, and Mardan, fourth in descent from Bolsáh, the fifth son of Naráin, by his second wife. But it happened that when they were all met in full assembly to have the case decided, and Balwant Singh, the brother of Raja Shiu Singh, of the elder branch, who had been sent to fix thc tilak (a mark made on the forehead) on the successful claimant, called on the candidates to come down froni the flat roof of the house where they were standing; that Bisrám Singh effected the manceuvre by jumping straight off the roof into the midst of them and got there first. Mardan came down by the ladder. Balwant and all present declared for the man who showed the promptness, and he was made the rája. Yet Mardan's family have always shown great chergy and perseverance in amassing villages, and have got together an iláqa of 121 villages of their own; nor, when the settlement was made in the district, had they forgotten their old claim, and they made a bid for the whole taluqam. Rája Bisrám was a determined and somewhat unscrupulous man. He managed to acquire several villages by standing security and taking them in default. On one occasion he refused to pay up his revenue, and was attacked in his fort of Umaria by the Amil Páthak Kundan Lal, and driven out and forced to kcep in hiding for a year. He was succeeded by his son Drigbijai, whose career has been an evil He took a leading part in the rebellion of 1856-57, and, though not actually concerned in, connived at the murder of Europeans, and after escaping for some years, was finally taken and sentenced to pass the rest of his days in the penal settlements across the seas, But his estate, much one. ​MAH 417 reduced by the settlement of 1264 fasli (1856 A.D.), had "been settled with his brother Bábu Prithípál, who had judiciously come in, and his pos- session was not disturbed. He is now recognised as taluqdar, and holds twenty-three villages, which have been assessed at Rs. 15,981-4-0. But the resources of the estate as yet remain undeveloped; it contains a good deal of culturable jungle land that requires only to be broken up, and the bábu hias much cause to thank the leniency of the British Government that left him in possession of so five a property. The Chauháns of Kathwira.—The Chauhans of Kathwára possess a small estate of eight villages situated on the banks of the Guinti at the south-west extremity of the pargana, and are said to have left their native town of Mainpuri under the leadership of Achhraj and Bachhráj, some thirteen generations ago. They appear to have entered the pargana at the "same time as Panwárs of Itaunja. This part of the country was also under Kurmi rule, and the Kurmi leader here was Ráe Dhándu. The Chauhans have a similar story to the Panwárs, that they effected their conquest by first sending a member of their family to take service with the native chief. Ráe Dhándu was driven out, and Achhráj settled in Kathwára taking eight villages, Bachhráj in Magat receiving twelve. Old traditions surround the village of Kathwára. At the end of the Dwápar age, it is said to have been under the rule of a Dait Hansan Dhuj, who had seized the horse that Arjun had let loose during his horse sacrifice. The Dait was then attacked by Arjun and Pardumn, son of Srikrishn, and Birk Khet, son of Rája Karan, and the place where their. armies met has been called Katakwára (Katak, an army) or Kathwára ever since. Hansan Dhuj is said to have had a large caldron which he kept filled with boiling oil , and he vowed he would throw into it any one of his army that lingered. But the youngest of his sons Sadanand yield- ing to the entreaties of his wife stayed behind one more day. Thereupon the pitiless rája, placing his royal oath above the instincts of paternal love, consigned him to the boiling oil; guiltless, however, as he was of any wish to shirk the common peril, the oil turned cold, and he came out unharmed. Near Chandanpur, a bamlet of the village, on the east side of it is the place where this caldron was fixed, and to this day charcoal and ashes are dug upon the spot. Close to it is a small shrine dedicated to Debi Chandikam The Bhars are said to have succeeded to this race of demons, and the Kurmis to the Bhars. These Chauhans were a turbulent set of men, and were never quiet in the Nawabi. On one occasion they carried their depredations into the very city of Lucknow, and a large body of men were sent against them; but they kept out of the way till the matter had blown over, and then returned to their village. On another occasion, so late as 1258 fasli (1851 A. D.), they refused to pay in their revenue, and had to be compelled by Khán Ali Khan, the Chakladar, with a body of the king's troops. They still hold their old villages. The Chauhans of Magat.—The history of this family of Chauhans of Magat is contained in that of Kathwára. After the expulsion of the Kurmis Bachhráj received twelve villages, with Magat for his headquar- ters as his share of the conquest. It does not seem that his portion was ​418 MAH the greater, for the twelve villages do not cover a larger area. His des- cendants still hold eight of the villages. Some eighty years ago they lost Dinkarpur-Jhalawwa, which they had to give to the qanungos of Maribon as compensation for the murder by them of one of the family in office, who had recommended an increase of the revenue. Two other villages they sold or mortgaged, and one Jhurukpur they lost to a farmer. Chauhans of Bhauli.— The Chauhans of Bhauli, lying to the east of Kathwára, colonized thirty-two villages in the south-west of the pargana some eighteen generations ago. They entered the pargana under Kesri Singh, à Mainpuri Chauhán of Kusam bhar, probably at about the same time as the Kathwára Chauhans and the Panwárs of Itaunja. They still hold all the villages they then colonized. It is said that on their arriving they found them all laid waste and deserted. The names of many of the villages certainly show that they were founded by the descendants of Kesri. Bhauli, as the story goes, was a deserted site from which the inhabitants had fled owing to the presence of a Brahman's spirit. Kesri had to lay this ghost, and ask permission to re-people the village. Hence the clan gets its name of Rákulas. Another legend says that Kesri was visited by a Brahman woman's spirit (churail), and that his descen- dants are all sprung from her. The story may be interpreted that Bhauli was some Brahman village, and that the Chauhéps, attacked by some cala- mity when they seized it, attributed their misfortunes to the Brahman spirit, whose anger they bad aroused by their unlicensed trespass on his domains. He at all events inspired sufficient dread to make them pay him honours which are observed up to the present time. In Pulaira, one of the villages, is a chabútra (platform) raised to a Baram Rákas, on which offerings are made on the last day of the month of Aghan, and the offer- ings are taken by the Brahmans of the place. MAKONA—-Pargana MAHONA–Tahsil MALIHABAD-District LUCK- NOW.-Mahona is situated two miles to the east of the Lucknow and Sitapur road, and is distant about fifteen miles from Lucknow. It was formerly the headquarters town of the pargana and the residence of the government officials, but the homestead of the village of Gobindpur adjoined it, and it is said that on one occasion the Brahman proprietors of the latter village broke into the Government fort and recovered a child that they had placed in hostage for some revenue. The ámil thereupon moved his fort to Bahádurganj, a short distance off. The place has for a long time in consequence ceased to be of any importance. The population is 3,594 ; but this includes the two villages of Gobindpur and Kesrámau Kalán which have been built on to it. No Musalman families of any consequence have ever lived here. It belongs to a Panwar taluqdar, Bábu Prithipal Singh, and it was conquered by his ancestors from Ráe Mohan Muráo, the reputed founder. There is a Government school here at which the attendance is from seventy to eighty. The amount of annual sales in the bazar is not large, amounting to Rs. 8,400, and neither manufactures nor trades flourish in any way. MAHARAJNAGAR*-Pargana BISWAN—Tahsil BISWAN-District SITAPUR,—Maharájnagar is 16 miles east of Sitapur, vid Biswán, the road

  • B. Mr. M. L Ferrar, C.S., A.esistant Commissioner, ​MAH-MAI

419 from which place to Láharpur and Kheri passes through it. It has no other communications. It was founded by Musalmans, the exact date of their settling in it being unknown, and they called it Islámnagar. Five generations ago, Rája Tej Singh, a Gaur Chhattri, and Naib Chakladar, seized it, and changed the name to Maharájnagar, and it is still held by the Gaurs. The population numbers 2,003, who reside in 364 mud and 8 masonry houses; they are principally Hindus. It has an old mosque, a shiwála, a thákurdwara, and a masonry tank, built by a former banker, at which the festival of the Rám Lila is celebrated. The Government school affords instruction to 72 boys. At the bi-weekly bazar, besides the commodities usually sold at such places, good sugar may be bought; and cotton rope is also manufactured and sold here. The annual value of the bazar sales is put down at Rs. 5,000. MAIKALGANJ-Pargana AURANGABAD-Tahsil MUHAMDI— District KHERI.--A large village in pargana Aurangabad, district of Kheri, is situated on the right side of the road from Sitapur to Sháhjahánpur, having a large tank to the east and a good encamping ground to the west. There is a mud-walled sarae and fifteen masonry wells. It was built by Ghulam Ali Khan, Darogha, in 1852. There is also a market containing 15 shops, built by Hakim Mehndi Ali Khan during his chakladarship, which lasted from A.D. 1799-1820. Maikalganj has a daily market, and a special one twice a week—on Sundays and Thursdays. The annual average sale of European and native cotton fabrics and of salt in these markets is estimated at Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 2,500 respectively. It has eight sugar manufactories, which export annually sugar to the value of Rs. 12,000. This place is not remarkable for any fair. It now belongs to an Ahír commonly residing therein. Hindus Males Population 981.- Muhammadans "Fenales MAILA ALAM SAH–Pargana BANGARMAU--Tahsil SAFIPUR--Dis- trict UNAO.---A village 38 miles from the sadar. station, Unao, lying in latitude 26°56' north, and longitude 80°15' east : the Ganges flows one mile south-west of it. The origin of the name of the village is ascribed to the brother of one Jagat Singh, a Gaur immigrant from Sitapur, who settled in this place about the time of Babar, and on his death his property was divided between his two sons, Alam Sah and Ram Kunwar, and hence the original village (Maila) has one part of it bearing the name of Maila Alam Sáh, and the other Maila Ram Kunwar. Tlie soil is principally clay with some sand. It is built on a level plain, and has a good appearance. The climate healthy, and water good. No saráe, thána, or tabsil here: nor is there any bazar in this village. There are two religious gatherings annually for bathing--one in May (Jeth) and the other in October (Kátik). The gathering in both of these fairs amounts to 1,000. The sales in these fairs amount to about Rs. 482. The number of mud houses is 172. 882 .. -{ Females Malee 461 421 50 49 99

  • By Mr. Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​420

MAJ Population- Hitidus Musaluang 10+ 1,201 6 6 Total 1,207 . Mustafabad 2 3 4 re . 89 128 64 70 re MAJHAURA* Pargana--Tahril AKBARPUR-District FYZABAD.-It is affirmed that the majority of the lands at present included in the area of this pargana were formerly divided into Number of four tappas as marginally noted. No. Name villages. It is said that during the Bhar period there were two brothers of that race Asgawan named Bandhaupál and Rachhpál, who, it is believed, acknowledged and paid Sikandarpar tribute to the Emperors of Delhi. The Haweli former of these brothers ruled over-a territory which he named after himself pargana Bandhangarh. When the supremacy of the Bhars in these parts began to languish, some 500 years ago in the days-according to local belief- of Ala-ud-din Ghori, A.D. 1156, which must be nonsense), an offi- cer of the Delhi Court named Sayyad Manjhe was deputed to the charge of this part of the country. After completely suppressing the Bhars, and establishing his authority, he founded the town of Majhaura, to which he gave his own name, changing the name of the pargana to that also. This pargana, for some generations before our rule, was known to con- tain 351 villages, of which 125 were asli (original), and 226 dákhili (subur- ban). In the last summary settlement these villages were recorded as 303 in number, and under the present settlement and demarcation opera- tions they have been finally arranged as 164 villages. The area is 74 square miles, of which 43 are cultivated. The pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Amsin, on the south by Sultanpur and Aldemau of the Sultanpur district, on the east by parganas Akbarpur and Aldemau, and on the west by Pachhimrath of this district. It is mentioned in the Afn--Akbari as one of those included in Subah Allahabad, but which, with the rest of our southern parganas, was transferred to Subah Oudh. The pargana is intersected by the small unnavigable rivers Madha and Biswi, which having their rise to the westward beyond its limits, and run- ning eastwards unite at the village of Baizpur, which stands on the bor- ders of this pargana and Akbarpur. The river thus formed at this spot, called Dohte or place of confluence, where it is always fordable except in the rains, thenceforward takes the name of Tonsa or Tons, on which stands the station of Azamgarh--a river which is hallowed by associations in con- nection with Rámchandar; while of the spot Dohte we shall have more to note when treating of that shrine anon. Traces of the Bhar race, who have long been almost extinct in the par- gana, are still to be seen in the following villages where mounds and masonry debris are all that are left to mark their former strongholds—vis.,

  • By Mr P. Carnegy, Commissioner. ​MAJ

421 Asganwán, Rachhpal, Parnanandpati-urf-Dahwa, Kawariserpal, Sagaicha, Naghiáwán, Idhona, Majhaura proper, Chandápur, Kádipur Gaura, Tolá- pati-urf-Jaitpur. After the disappearance of the Bhars, the lands of the pargana appear to have been divided between two influential families of (1) Tewari Brah- mans, and (2) Rautár Rajputs, who are said to trace back their ancestors to the Bhar period. The possessions of the Brahman family were restrict- ed to tappas Sikandarpur and Haweli; and for this reason these tappas were commonly known by the name of “Taraf Banbhnauti,** while the other two tappas, from being in the hands of the Rautárs, were known as " Taraf Rautar." The traditions of these two families, as related by them- selves, are as follows: The Teraris... Rudau Tewari is said to have been a native of the Gorakhpur district (Sarwár), who, about 600 years ago, was proceeding on a bathing pilgrimage to Allahabad. During his journey ho rested at the village of Chandápur, where then resided Báwan Pándé, an influential agent of the Bhars, of whom mention has been mado in the report of par- gana Aldemau. The traveller was reported to be an accomplished astro- loger, and he was therefore employed to tell the fortune of the Pánde, which in effect was that he would be struck down by lightning, unless he avoided this fate by undergoing a course of severe religious exercises. Tests having been successfully applied to the astrologer's veracity, his advice was followed by the happiest results; and for this good service in hav- ing turned the tide of the Pando's destiny, lands were assigned to the Tewari in rent-free tenure, and he then founded and lived in the village of Rudaupur, giving to it his own name, which it to this day bears. Sub- sequent to these proceedings, when the Bhars began to decline, Rudau and his descendants adopted the then rising cause of the Muhammadans, and by their favour made considerable acquisitions in territory. He had six sons...(1) Sewal, (2) Dharam, (3) Karan, (4) Dei, (5) Jaisaran, and (6) Maki. The two last of these died without issue, but of the other four there are offsprings to this day. According to the oldest records now exist- ing, which are for the year (1197 fasli) A.D. 1790, the family held in that year eight estatos (muháls) consisting of 60% villages, paying Rs. 7,350 as revenue to Government yearly. These Brahmans have, however, gradually lost power since about (1216 fasli) A.D. 1809, when their possessions began to be absorbed by other more powerful clans. In (1261 fasli) A.D. 1854, they had but one property of 3} villages, paying Rs. 500 per annum as revenue left, and this also became absorbed into the Meopur-Dabarua taluqa in the following year; so that these Brahmans had lost all proprie- tary status ere the province was annexed. They still, however, exercise sub-proprietary rights in 267 villages, paying annual revenue to the amount of Rs. 3,700. The Raztárs. There is a bar sinister on the escutcheon of this family. The name of the common ancestor, a Brahman, who is said to have come

  • The term "Barbhnauti," I may state, is a generic ono, applied to these Tewaries

alone, and not to the other families of Brahmans inhabiting this pargana. 54 ​422 MAJ from Gorakhpur (Sarwár) 600 years ago, and settled in the village of Maláon-Sarayyán, pargana Sultanpur, it is pretended is not known ; and it is affirmed that a descendant of this person, whose name is also unknown, settled in the village of Jánán in pargana Pachhimráth, which soon expand. ed into a property of 15 villages. This individual is said to have encoun- tered on the road the procession of an Ahir who was conveying home his bride, and to have forcibly appropriated to himself the latter, by whoni he had a son, to whom was given the name of Deopál Singh; and whercas influential Ahirs are not unusually honoured with the distinctive title of Ráwat, therefore the offspring of this Brahman father and Ahir mother took to themselves the name of Rantár* Rajputs, and they are now so far admitted into the orthodox Chhattri families that their daughters are accepted in marriage by the sons of the latter. Deopál Singh had two sons--Ist, Jairaj Ráe, and 2nd, Ubar Ráe,-and these from living in the village of Janan, close to the pargana border, gra- dually established a footing in it about the time of the decline of the Bhars. The offspring of these brothers spread largely, extending their possessions to other parganas besides this one, and we find fromexisting official records taat in the year A. D. 1792 (1199 fasli), they then held 16 estates (muháls), consisting of 207 villages, paying an annual revenue to Government of Rs. 31,450. Their power, however, has somewhat declined since about A. D. 1802 (1209 fasli), when some of their possessions were first absorbed by men of greater influence; they still, however, have 13 properties con- sisting of 714 villages, and paying annually Rs. 9,015 to Government, while they further have sub-proprietary rights in 50% villages, the Govern- ment demand on which amounts to Rs. 10,150 per annum. It will thus be seen that rights in the soil were possessed to a great extent by the two families described above, but there are other parties who are known to have exercised proprietary functions in the pargana for the last three or four centuries, and the details of their holdings at dif- ferent periods are shown in the following table :- Caste. Villages in proprietary possession in the year. Villages now in aub- proprietary posses- 1199 fasti 1266 fasli sion, (A.D. 1792). (A.D. 1859). 201 1. Brahmans other than the offspring of Kudau Tewari Ubaria Chhattris 3. Kayaths 4. Musalmids 27 o 12 12, 1 0 1 Of the 164 villages comprised within this pargana, 1071 have been absorbed into different taluqas as below detailed; the remaining 56% villages are held by petty zamindars :-

  • These must not be confused with the Ráthor's of Kanouj. ​MAJ

423 No. Name of taluqdar and of his estate, No. of villages in this parguna in his ganad. Remarks 1 311 2 . Established in the parguna 150 years, Acquired since 1209 F. Ditto ditto 1234 K. 161 24 7 4 5 Bábu Jei Datt Singh of Bhíti Do. Abhai Datt Singh of Khajurábat Mír Baqar Husen of Pírpur Bábu Umresh Singh of Barágáon Bábus Udresh and Chaudrceh Siugh of Daharwa Sitia Bakhsh of Náramau Rája Shankar Bakhsh of Dera Rája Mádho Partáb Siugh of Kurvár Bába Rámeerúp of Kaprádih NB.-Petty zamindara 263 12 2 6 7 8 9 Ditto ditto 123 F. Ditto ditto 1244 F. Ditto ditto 1247 F. Ditto ditto 1226 F. Ditto ditto 1247 F. 2 66 164 Of these taluqdars only the first-named has his residence in the par- gana, and it will therefore be necessary to give the history of his family alone in this place. The house of Bhiti.--The taluqdar of this place, Bábu Jai Datt Singh, is of the Bachgoti tribe, a younger branch of the Kurwar family, which in common with the Rájkumárs is descended froin Rája Bariár Singh, Chauhan, who is said to have settled in these parts about the year 1248 A.D., and of whoin further details are given under the Rajkumar tribe mentioned in the Aldemau article. The first of the present family was Bábu Bariár Singh to whose share Bhíti fell. His father, Shankar Singh, had a fifth son, Jabar Singh, to whom was allotted Samarthpur, and he was the father of the late taluq- dar of that place, Bábu Maheshur Parshád Singh, whose widow, Thaku- ráin Hardás Kunwar, now holds that taluqa. Bábu Bariár Singh of Bhíti was in high favour with the famous Názim, Raja Darshan Singh, and he lost no opportunity of increasing his power and possessions through that official's consideration and influence. We read in Sleeman's Journal of his being sent by the Nazím to attack the then rising Garg bansi clan under their notorious chief Nihal Singh, and in the fight that followed the latter was slain. Bariár Singh was, however, frequently called to account for not paying his revenue, and between the years 1212 and 1259 fasli (A.D. 1805-1852) his stronghold was on five different occasions besieged by the authorities, and resisted for periods ranging from seven to twenty-two days. Terms were always even- tually made. Besides the occasion to which I have alluded, when Nihal Singh was killed, the retainers of the Bábu love to dwell on the prowess exkibited by his gathering, when, with the aid of Bábu Udresh Singh, of Meopur Daharua, they fought and vanquished Rája Rustam Sáh of Dera for the proprietorship of the village of Hechúpur and others. There is a peculiarity of tenure in this family under which the principal property, the Kurwár Ráj, descends undivided to the next həir, according to the law of primogeniture, while the lands of the junior ​424 MAJ branches are subject to subdivision amongst the heirs. Under this rule, when Bábu Bariar Singh of Bhíti died, his property was divided between his two sons, the elder of whom is now the taluqdar, while the younger, Bábu Abhaidatt Singh, is taluqdar of Khajuráhat. I have a high opinion of both these brothers, Bábu Jai Datt Singh is much esteemed by his countrymen for his justice and uprightness ; and he is readily accepted by them as a referee for the settlement of disputes. He is one of the few men of his class who lives within his income, and pays his revenue with punctuality. He is much appreciated as a landlord, and he has more idea of spending his money usefully than men of his class generally have. For instance, he has made an excellent raised and metalled road to connect his residence with the Government road, two miles off, and, in the course of this work, he has built a masonry drain-bridge and a large rough pile-bridge over the Mujwi, which last is really a considerable work to have been undertaken by him. It is the only bridge over this river within a space of 30 miles, and, as it is of public utility, it might, with advantage, be taken over and kept up by Government. I was surprised to find in his gården a walnut and a fir tree brought from Baddrináth by him ten years ago, when he went on a pilgrimage to that boly shrine ; besides many good fruit trees brought from Benares, Lucknow, and other distant places. It is so rare to see these gentlemen taking an interest in 30 rational an amusenient as gardening, that my visit to Bhíti really afforded me much pleasure. The population is 45,202, beiug at the rate of 611 to the square mile. The population is nearly entirely agricultural, and its condition is equal to about the average of people of this class. About 60 per cent. of the houses are tiled, and there are no masonry buildings. The only mahájao or banker is Ghirau Sáh of Ráeganj, whose annual transactions in the neighbourhood do not exceed from two to three thousand rupees. There are only three paltry bazars-viz., Sátinpur, Dharamganj, and Ahrauli,none of which are inhabited by more than 200 persons. The trade of the pargana consists of about Rs. 9,000 worth of cotton, piece-goods, thread, and spices imported from Fyzabad and other surrounding, towns, and about Rs. 7,000 worth of country-made cloth, grain, and gur exported to Fyzabad and Jaunpur, Indigo and cotton are not grown, but over 800 acres are under sugarcane, from which 8,000 maunds of gur (molasses) are annually made, which would be equal to 2,000 maunds of soft sugar, but that sugar is not manufactured here. There is nearly 100 acres of land under poppy, which yields an average of 6 sers of opium per acre. The outturn of wool is estimated at 15 maands only, and of patua (hemp) fibre for rope at 100 maunds. The prevailing soils are as in pargana Aldemau--viz., 1st class, duras (loatin), 2nd, matiyar olay), 3rd, balva (sand). The rabi is the superior harvest in the proportion of 10 to 6. Shrines and fairs.- Mahadeo Parudewa.-On the 13th of every Phágun, which day is known as the Shiuráttri, or anniversary of Mahadeo's marriage, a fair is here beld, to which the villagers, to the number of 2,000, inhabit- ing the country within 16 miles, annually resort for the day. No mer- chaùdize is exposed for sale. A smaller gathering is also held on the 13th ​MAJ 425 of each month. This particular representation of Mabadeo takes its name from the village in which it is placed. Dohte.--Allusion has already been made to this shrine in describing the junction of the rivers Madha and Biswi. On the 30th of Aghan a fair is annually held, which is attended by five or six thousand persons inhabiting the country within 12 miles. Here stands a small earthen mound in the water, which is sanctified as being the spot, according to local tradition, where Sarwan, the revered, the blind hermit's son, immor- talized in the Ramayan, offered up his prayers, not long before be acci. dentally met his death in a neighbouring pargana at the hands of king Dasrath, father of Rama. It is part of the ceremony gone through while bathing at the conflu- ence of these rivers to place a handful of mud on the abovementioned chabútra or mound, and in this way it is kept up, or rather annually restored, for it is submerged during the rains. Tálab Amoghe.—This lake is in the neighbourhood of the Bálá-Paikduli jungle, and it is affirmed that a century and a quarter ago, Rámparshád, a well reputed Bairági of Ajodhya, of whom mention has been made in the Aldemau report, visited this spot, and pointed out that it was here that Nasket, son of Událuk-mun, a great divine, used to offer up his prayers; and ever since this discovery was made, a bathing fair has been held twice a year, on the same days as the Ajodhya fairs (the last day of Kártik, and the 24th of Chait). Three or four thousand persons of the neighbourhood assemble for the day, but no trade is carried on. The Bhiti Thákurdwárd.—The village of Bhíti, where resides the taluqdar of that ilk, is situated on the banks of the Biswi, and here the Bábu built this thákurdwara some 15 years ago, at which a fair is held twice a year, in Chait and Kuwár, which is visited for the day only by 2,000 persons of the immediate vicinity. Cloth and brags vessels are brought for sale. Sankhbir.-It is affirmed that about 500 years ago a (Bambnauti) Brahman of this pargapa was in prison, under the orders of the emperor of Delhi. The demon of the place appeared to the prisoner in a dream, and promised him his release if he would take the said demon with him, and establish him in his own country. The release was effected on these terms, and the evil spirit, in the shape of an idol of mud, was duly conveyed to the Brahman's house. Then the latter had a second dream in the course of which the demon desired to be placed in the village of Sakhona, and that his name might be Sankhbír. "His wishes were obeyed, and fairs are still held to his immortal fame on every Tuesday in the months of Asárh and Sáwan, which are attended by a thousand persons of the neighbourhood. There is also a smaller gathering every Tuesday throughout the year. The Government revenue is Rs. 57,301, being at the rate of Re, 1-8-7 per arable acre. ​426 MAK-MAL MAKHI--Pargana ASIWAN RASÚLABAD-Tahsil MOHÁN--District UNAO.—Lies 14 miles south-west of tahsil headquarters, and 8 miles north of the sadr station; two unmetailed roads form the line of inter- course between this village and Unao. It was founded about 1,000 years ago by one Mákhi, a Lodh, who named it after himself. The soil is loain; the surface is not level; there are groves of mango trees. Scenery only middling; water in some places fresh, at others brackish. Some 400 years ago one Rája Isri Singh came here from Mainpuri and took posses- sion of the place after the Lodhs had been extirpated; his descendants still own the place. In the month of September-October (Kuár), there is the fair of Ramlila; it lasts only one day, and one or two thousand people assemble on the occasion. There are two markets weekly at which cloths, vegetables, &c., are sold. The usual carthenware and some silver ornaments are made here. The population amounts to 4,513--Musalmans being only 134. Chhattris Dumber 911 and Brahmans 891. There are 1,023 mud-built houses, and two temples--one dedicated to Debi and one to Mabadeo. Sales at bazars and the fair amount to Rs. 2,720. MALAKA RAZZÁQPUR-Pargana Bihár-Tahsil KUNDA--District PAR- TABGARH.--In 1039 A.D., two Musalman colonists, Malik Atá and Abdur Razzaq founded this village; their descendants are still found in it. The road from Bihár to the Ganges (which is two miles off), and to the rail- way station at Bharwari pass by this village. In 1802 Ghulám Husen was appointed Master of the Horse (Darogha Astabal) to Nawab Saádat Ali Khan, and he was steward of the household of Gházi-ud-dín Haidar. He amassed great property, and built many fine buildings in this his native place besides Husenganj, Kátganj, Khayálíganj, Farangi Muhalla, in Lucknow, On the accession of Nasír-ud-din Haidar in 1237 all his property was seized. He himself fled to Allahadad; his descendant now resides in a hut near his ancestor's palace, which has been taken possossion of by the Bisen taluqdar of Kundrajít. He also built two masonry bridges, one over the Sai near Bahadurpur, the other over the Dorka. The popu- lation is 420 Hindus; 132 Musalmans; total 552. MALAUNA-Pargana PANHAN—Tahsil PURWA-District URAO.--Is about 9 miles south of the tahsil and 24 east of the sadr station of Unao. An unmetalled road leading to Purwa from Bihár passes through this village, and the Lon waters it running one mile to the north. Some 700 years ago one Malik Singh, Thákur, founded this village, and gave it the name of Malauna. It is on level ground, climate healthy, and water good, but some wells are brackish. Few groves and no jungle. Excepting carpentry there is scarcely any handicraft. There are 225 mud-built houses. The total population amounts to 1,251. Hindus number 1,245, and Muham- madans only 6. MALIHABAD Pargana*-Tahsil MALIHABAD-District LUCKNOW.—The Malihabad pargana lies at the north-west corner of the district. On its

  • By Mr. F. H. Butts, Assistant Commissioner, ​MAL

427 east it is separated from Mabona, its fellow pargana of the tahsil of Mali- habad, by the Gumti and by the pargana of Lucknow, which runs a long spur straight into its centre. On its south and cast it is bounded by the parganas of Kákori and Mohán Aurás (of Unao), and on its north by the district of Hardoi. But for the insertion of the corner from pargana Luck- pow, it would be nearly square, averaging 10 miles in length and breadth, but narrower at the south end than the north. It is enclosed between 26°74' and 27°16' latitude and 80°85' and 80°45' longitude. Its area is 187 square miles, and it contains 188 villages, with an average area of 336 acres. Its population is 873,136 or 413 to the square mile. Of this 16-7 per cent. is Musalman, 83-3 per cent. Hindu, 52:0 per cent. agricultural, and 480 per cent. non-agricultural. In communications it has a road running from Sandila south-east through Malihabad to Lucknow, and another running south from the north end of the pargana through Malihabad to Mohán of the Unao district, and so on past the railway station of Harauni to Bani Bridge on the Cawnpore road. For communication with Mahona, its sister pargana, it has the road leading to the north of the pargana which branches off at Mál in a north-easterly direction, and crosses the river at Bisárighát, a couple of miles north of the large village of Kathwára on the Mahona side of the river. A Government ferry boat plies here. Its largest towns are Malihabad and Kasmandi- kalán. The latter, a place of considerable importance, was in ancient times the chief town in the country, and the seat of a Rája Kans, who, tradition says, was driven out by the first Muhammadan invasion under Sayyad Masaúd. It seems certain, as will be afterwards seen, that it was early occupied by the Muhammadans, but it is doubtful if it lay in the track of Sayyad Masaud Gházi. Malihabad, however, one of the largest towns in the neighbourhood, has for a long time been the headquarters of the pargana, and the centre of Muhammadan colonization. It seems to have fallen into Musalman hands at a later date than Kasmandi-kalán, and was pro- bably colonized by Patháns. It is said to have been the chief seat of the Arakhs or Pásis, and to have been founded by Malia Pási, whose brother Salia founded Sandila in Hardoi. Even under the rule of this tribe it must have been a place of considerable importance. The Pási had power and independence enough to have a mint here, and to this day coin of his time is said to be occasionally dug up, giving it thereby the name in native traditions of the Khonta Shahar, " the city of the bad money." The population of Malihabad is 8,026. Attached to Malihabad is Mir- záganj, which was founded by Mirza Hasan Beg, a native of the neighbour- hood. The largest bazar in the neighbourhood is held here. The other bazars are held at Amáníganj on the road to Pípalgaon, and at Rahimabad on the road to Sandíla, situated at the junction of this road, with a road from Aurás, a village of the neighbouring pargana of Mohán-Aurás lying south-west in the Unao district. Besides Malihabad there are no towns with a population of more than 2,000, though there are sixteen other large villages with a population of between 1,000 and 2,000. They are Bakhtiar- nagar, Khálispur, Garbi-Sanjar-Khan, Rusena, Saspán, Gahdeo, Mawáin kalán, Gonda, Kharánwán, Kasmandi-kalan, and Kasmandi-khurd, Tharri, Nabipanáh, Mál, Badarián, and Antgarhi. ​428 MAL Government schools are held at the largest of these at Malihabad, Mir- záganj, Kenwalbár, Khálispur, Rahímabad, and Mál. At Malihabad are fixed the tahsil, post, and registration offices, and the police station, where is stationed a force of one inspector and twenty-four subordinates. The area in their charge is not quite conterminous with the pargana, for it includes also the corner of Lacknow that penetrates into the pargana, and part of Kakori. It amounts to two hundred and twenty square miles. The pargana is well wooded and generally very well cultivated. But it is crossed by large waste and unculturable tracts that follow the course of the Baita and two other small streams, called the Jhandi and Akrahdi, which take a south-easterly direction through the pargana and fall into the river Gumti. But little irrigation is carried on from them. The irriga- tion in the pargana is hardly up to average. It amounts to only thirty-four per cent. and nearly forty per cent. of this is from wells. But water is generally procurable if wells be dug. It can be found at an average depth of eighteen feet from the surface of the soil, and a depth of twelve feet of water can be secured. In general fertility it is perhaps one of the best parganas of the district, and while its percentage of cultivation is higher than in any other pargana its density in population is least. It has also very little uocultura ble land, It amounts only to 13:92 per cent., balf of which is taken up by homesteads, roads, and tanks. The culturable land amounts to 265 per cent., and some of it is of a very good quality. The population falls on the cultivated area at the rate of 786 per square mile, showing a vast difference between this and the Lucknow and Mohanlal- ganj parganas, where it falls at a rate of 1,229 and 1,003 per square mile. The holdings of cultivators in the pargana are in consequence much larger. For the Brahmans, Chhattris, and Ahirs, who furnish the greater part of the cultivators, they vary from four and three-quarters to five and three- quarters of an acre, and for the Chamars they are from three and a half to three and three-quarters of an acre. The rents are very low and uni- form; they range from Rs. 3-11 to 4-1, the latter being paid by Chamárs. Káchhis pay Rs. 6-1, not half of what they pay in Lucknow and Mohan- lalganj. The assessment of the pargana was by the summary settlement Rs. 1,18,644. By the revised demand it is Rs. 1,52,595, revenue rate falls at Rs. 2-2 on cultivated, Re. 1-8 on cultivated and culturable, and Re. 1-4 throughout. The early history of the Pargana bas been indicated. It is said to have been inhabited by Pásis and Arakhs. Two Pási brothers, Malia and Salia, are said to have founded Malihabad and Sandila in Hardoi. Local tradi- tion says that Malia was not driven out till the time of Akbar, but this must be a mistake. Munshi Fazl Rasul, taluqdar of Jalálpur in Hardoi, asserts that his ancestors drove out a tribe of Arakbs from Sandila in 602 Hijri (A.D. 1205), and pursued them through Kákori to Lucknow. Pathans have long been celebrated as very powerful in Malihabad, and outside Malihabad is the old village of Bakhtiárnagar, still beld by a colony of Patháns-though of another and more recent date—which very probably ​MAL 429 owed its foundation to Muhammad Bakhtiar Khilji, who, we know, invaded Oudh in 599 Hijri (A.D. 1202). Muhammad Bakhtiár Khilji was, as his name would indicate, a Pathan, and from his time must date the Muham- madan settlement in Malihabad. It is not impossible, however, but that there was some earlier Musal- man invasion. It is said that at one time very many of the inhabitants and owners of the soil became converted to Muhammadanism, and this tradition is believed by the present population, who make no difficulty in declaring that the numerous mounds scattered over the face of the pargana belonged to a Jhojha sect. These village sites do not differ from the Bhar dihs that exist in other parganas; they rise conspicuously above the surrounding level, and consist of masses of broken bricks. They are dow quite deserted. The natives say they were forts; they are chiefly to be found in Antgarbi, Mál, Pára, Siswára, and Dilawainagar, but they can everywhere be seen, If these Jhojhas were converted Pásis or Bhars they were afterwards cruelly abandoned by their fierce proselytizers, for the pargana was subse- quently overrun by the Rajput tribes of Gahilwars, Bamhan-Gaurs, Nikumbbs, Gautams, and Janwars; but, on the other hand, the traditions of these new invaders of the soil assert that the country was inhabited by Arakh tribes, whom they attacked and drove out. The pargana seems after this to have been entirely held by Rajputs, their settlements date probably from the thirteenth century, or about the time of their dispossession on the Muhammadan conquest of their ancient king- doms and consequent search for new homes. They held the tappas of Gaiwara, Dakláwal, Siswara, Katauli-Ráo, Khariwon and Rahimabad They all exist to the present day, but have suffered in their turn by three or four different colonies of Pathans, who came into the country at about the middle of the seventeenth century, and secured estates of from ten to twelve villages each round Malihabad, These Patháns are of Afridi, Bázad Khail and Qandhári clans. They have but little connection with each other, or with the original Pathán families of the old encamped settlement, though doubtless it was tidings of them that attracted the later adventurers. Of the Afridi Pathans are the taluqdars Ahmad Khan and Nasím Khan of Kasmandi Khurd, Sahlamau; and different members of the Amnázai family rose to great distinction both under the Delhi empire and the dynasty of Oudh. All traces of the original invasion, however, have not disappeared. Kasmandi kalan and the group of villages round are held by Shekhs, who assert that they are descended from the leaders of the expedition; though it is said of them, on the other hand, that they are no more than converted Hindus. The census will show how great an element of truth must lie in the tradition of an early Hindu conversion. Though, as related, it was at one time colonised entirely by Rajput tribes, excepting only the group of villages round Kasmandi kalán, yet the percentage of Musalmans on the whole population is 167—a percentage only exceeded or approached in the parganas of Kákori and Mahona, where like influences. seem to have prevailed. 55 ​430 MAL The Rajput clans will find hereafter a fuller mention in the histories of the pargana families. Many of their villages have fallen into the hands of the Pathán taluqdars, Ahmad and Nasím Khan; but they still hold seventy- six. Taluqdars hold fifty-three, of which thirty-six belong to the taluq. dars already mentioned. The rest are held chiefly by Maghal and Pathan communities, and a few still remain with some Brahman families and some of the lower Hindu castes. There are one hundred and eighty-eight villages in all. The taluqdars are-Nasím Khan (Pathán), of Sahlámau, Ahmad Khan (Patbán), of Kasmandi-Khurd; Makrand Singh (Panwar), of Kai- turia ; Thakur Sripál (Bais), of Baraura ; but the latter properly belongs to Hardoi; Rája Randhír Singh (Bais), who holds only three villages in tappa Dakláwal, and also belongs to Hardoi; and Chaudhri Hashmat Ali, of Sandila, who only holds one village by mortgage. The only two taluq- dars who belong to the pargana are Nasim Khan and Abmad Khan, who hold large estates assessed at Rs. 16,000 and 13,000, which they have how- ever acquired by transfer in recent times. The pargana was of old made up of the tappas already mentioned; it was one of those mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari, and was during the Nawabi included in the Chakla of Sandila. Pargana families. -- Ahmad Khan and Nasím Khan, Taluqdárs of Kasmandi-Khurd and Sahlamau, are two brothers, sons of Faqir Muham- mad Khan, an Afrídi Pathán of Rohilkhand. The latter came to Maliha- bad in the time of the Nawab Shujá-ud-daula, and was granted a piece of land for a house and grove in Kenwal-hár of the Qasba, by Makárim Khan, Amnazai Pathán of Bakhtiarnagar. He then took service in the Qand- hári horse, a regiment of the Nawab's that was commanded by Abd-ur- Rahmán Khan, Pathan, of Khálispur. He shortly threw this up and joined the Pindári leader, Amir Khan. In his service he l'ose, and when the Pindári wanted an envoy to send to the Oudh Nawab, Saádat Ali Khan, he fixed upon Faqir Muhammad Khan, and gave him an elephant and Rs. 6,000 for his road expenses. On reach- ing Cawnpore he heard of the death of the Nawab, and changed his route for his old home in Malihabad. He then got an introduction to Aghá Mír, Minister of Gházi-ud-din Haidar, and got a place about the Court on the pay of Rs. 150 a month; and eleven sáwárs were put under him. This became the nucleus of a regiment which he recruited from his countrymen in Malibabad. In 1235-36 fasli (1827 A.D.) be was granted the lease of the Malihabad pargana by the Amils, Gobardhan Dís and Param Dhan, And he held the pargana on different occasions from them till 1250 fasli (1843 A. D.), picking up several villages whose owners had defaulted. He got a lien on others, and in this way founded an estate which became known as that of Tharri Fatehnagar. In 1257 fasli (A.D. 1850) he died, and the two sons succeeded to the estate, which they divided. Ahmad Khan's was called Kasmandi-Khurd, and is assessed at Rs, 16,371 ; Nasím Khan's was Sahlmau, and is assessed at Rs. 16,017. The Amnázai Patháns of Garhi Sanjar Khan and Bakhtiarnagar---two villages close to Malihabad-were amongst the first of the Pathán families, who, subsequent to the Pathán settlement of earlier times, again entered ​MAL 431 the district. Under the Delhi emperors they rose to a pitch of great wealth and prosperity, and they love to talk over and chronicle the deeds of the former members of their family. They settled here under the aus- pices of Diler Khan in 1076 Hijri (A. D. 1656) in the reign of Shah Jahan. He seems to have been one of the Sábadars of Oudb. The family talks of him as such, and outside the towns is a dome-shaped tomb, said to be that of the Nawab Diler Khan. He was the son of that Daria Khan who was the companion of Khan Jahán, Lodi, in his rebellion of the first days of Shah Jahán's reign. Touching their share in this rebellion, the Pathans have a tragic story to relate. Daria Khan could not see without bitter sorrow the ruin that had fallen on himself and family, and thinking only to save his name and stock from perishing, he addressed his two sons, and bidding them take his head after his death to the emperor and save themselves. He placed his seal within his mouth and slew himself. His sons executed his commands, but as they were bearing the head before the emperor, one of the hungry adventurers about the court claimed the merit of having slain the Pathán rebel. Thereupon they pointed to the seal still within the dead man's mouth, and their mendacious opponent was silenced. The sons were after this received into favour. Bahadur Klian was appointed to Kábul, and Diler Khan, otherwise Jalal Khan, received Oudh. But previously to separating, the brothers founded Shahjahánpúr in Rohil- khand, and Diler Khan moving on to his province first founded Shaliabad in Hardoi, and finally fixed his headquarters at Malihabad, attracted to this place, perhaps, by his Pathán fellow-countrymen already living there. Some more incidents relating to his life will be found in the account of the Panwár family of Itaunja Mahona, All this time he had been followed by Kamál Khan and Bahádur Khan, the ancestors of the present family, whose father, Díwán Muhammad Khan, had been invited to Hindustan from Banair near Peshawar by the Daria Khan already mentioned. They first settled in Hasanpur-bári in 1016 Hijri (1615 A.D.). But they can still point to houses and groves which they owned during their short stay with Diler Khan in Shahabad. In 1076 Hijri (1656 A.D.) they reached Malihabad and settled in Ahma, a village of Bulaqinagar. In 1105 Hijri (1693 A.D.), Sarmast Khan, son of Bahadur Khan, sepa- rated, and removed to Bakhtiárnagar, a short distance to the south of Mali. habad. Sanjar Khan, the son of Kamal Khan, remained in Bulaqinagar, and changed its name to that of Garhi Sarjar Khan. But Diláwar Khan, the son of Sarmast Khan, is the hero of the family, and raised it to its greatest prosperity. He took service under the emperor, was made a Marsabdar by Farrukh-siar, and, signalizing himself by many acts of bravery, was rewarded with the title of Nawab Shamsher Khan. An instance of his bravery is cherished. It is said that as he was march- ing with the Sayyads of Báraha to raise Farrukh-siar to the throne, the future emperor remarked,—-" It is all very well when I conquer, but is there any one now that dare use my land measure and money?" Dilawar Khan stepped forward, and said that he dared, and he went into Oudh and used ​432 MAL Farrukh-siar's land measure, and money coined in his name. He annexed an estate amounting to upwards of a hundred villages, and the same sovereign conferred on him a jágir of three lakhs of rupees, which he shared with another general (Nasím Khan). But in the time of Safdar Jang, this family fell into disgrace. Whilst the Nawab Wazir was in Delhi, Ahmad Khan Bangash, of Farukhabad, made an attack upon his dominions, and was encamped on the Cawnpore side of the Ganges. The Nawab's lieutenant went to meet him, and Makarim Khan, a son of Shamsher Khan, dutifully attended with his con- tingent, but his nephew Diláwar Khan had quarrelled with him, and had crossed the river to the enemy. The Nawab's troops finally fell back and retreated to Fyzabad, but for some reason, or other-probably from dis- trust of his Pathán contingent-left Makárim Khan on the banks of the Ganges to watch the troops of the Bangash. Makarim Khan seeing that he was likely to come to no good between these two parties fled to Rohil- khand, and his jágír was confiscated. A few village were afterwards restored to him through the intervention of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, the Ru- hela Chief, who at that time lived on terms of great amity with Shujá-ud- daula. Amongst them was Bakhtiarpagar, which he received in jágír for the pay of his regiment of Pathán horse, that he was sent to com- mand at Gorakhpur. This he holds free to the present day. It was at about this time also that the family granted a bit of land of the Qasba called Kenwal-hár to Faqir Muhammad Khan, an Afridi Pathan, father of the future Taluqdars, Ahmad Khan and Nasim Khan. Iradat Ali Khan and Ibráhim Ali Kban, grandsons of Abdul Makarim Khan, did good service in the mutiny, and were rewarded by a grant of the village of Kursat in Hardoi, but they have since sold it. Besides Bakhtiárnagar they now only possess three other villages-Basrela, Jamlápur, and Bhatau. The Garhi Sanjar branch hold that village on muáfi (rent-free) tenure, and some five others. The next Patháns that came were the Bazad Khails of Bari-Garhi, who hold eight villages close to Malihabad on the west. They also came from Hasanpur-Bari, some seven generations ago, led by their ancestors, Shekh Ibrahim, who is said to have been a Mansabdar in the Dehli emperor's service. The first settled in the Ahma village of Habibpur Nasiamau, and are said to have bought their remaining villages from their Shekh proprietorg of Kasmandi-kalán and Sahlamau. The settlement of the family of Qandhári Pathans in the pargana isrecent. Yusaf Khan, the father of Abd-ur-Rahman Khan, came in the province as an adventurer in the time of the Nawab Shuja-ud-daula (1753 A.D.), and settled in Khairabad. Subsequently his son performed good service in a contingent supplied by the Nawab for the use of the English Govern- ment, and was granted twelve villages in jágír, the chief of which was Khálispur. This and twenty-five other villages had belonged to the Pírzáda Shab Madan Pír, and had been granted to him in muáfi tenure by the ​MAL 433 Emperor of Delhi, but were angrily confiscated by Shujá-ud-daula on witnessing the saint's grief at the sight of the head of the Ruhela chief, Hafiz Rahmat Khan. The latter had been a disciple of the pir's, and when, after his defeat and fall, his head was brought before the Nawab, and no one recognized it, some one suggested that the pír would know, and he was called. The pír on beholding it at once recognized the head, and burst- ing into tears shared the ruin that had befallen his friend. The tribe of Gahilwárs of Mál (Gotr Bach) inhabit fifty-five villages towards the north-east of the pargana, and are said to have migrated here under Ráe Paitawan Singh from Manda-Bijepur, near Benares. The ráe was the brother of the rája of that country, whose seat of power was originally Benares, but giving this city in shankalp (a religious gift) to the Brahmans he retired to Manda-Bijepur. Ráe Paitawan went on a pilgrimage to Nímkhár Misrikh to bathe, and rested in the village now known as Paitauna. Striking his tents and pursuing his journey his attendants forgot to pull up a peg of one of his tents. But it happened that the ráe returned from his pilgrimage by the same way; and halting at the same place bis eye fell upon the peg, and he saw that it had sprouted. He looked upon this as an omen of good for- tune, and an invitation to settle in the country. He continued his journey, but soon returned and took service with the Thozha tribe, who were then masters of the country. They are said to have been old Musalman con- verts from the Hindu faith, and the part of the country they lived in was called the tappa Ratau. They had two large forts—one in Mál and the other in Ant. In the latter there is an enormous well at which four pairs of bullocks can work at a time called a chaupura well, which is said to have been built by them, and there is an old wall reaching from Mál to Amlauli, the foundations of which still crop out of the ground here and there, which is attributed to them. It seerns probable that this Jhojha tribe were once the aboriginal Blars who, with no leaders of their own, after the invasion and defeat of their Raja Kans, of Kansmandi, by Sayyad Sálár, yielded to the threats of the Musalmans, and embraced their faith. This is the only way of accounting for them. They are the last people that remain in tradition, and no other Musalman invasion taking the form of a crescentade is known. Any way the Gahil wárs made themselves masters of their country, and became very powerful and well-to-do. On one occasion, in the time of Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab Wazir, they fought. with Abdun Nabi Khan, the Pathán of Garhi Sanjar Khan, who had come to the borders of their territories to hunt. : They got worsted, and the Pathán took from them some land in which he founded Nabipanáh, and planted a grove which he called the Ranjit Bagh or 'Grove of Victory. But Abdun Nabi subsequently fell into disgrace, and they recovered the village, and hold it to this day. They separated into several branches, with headquar- ters respectively at Mál, their parent village, and Atári, Sálinagar, Amlauli, Masíra, Hamirpur, and Nabipanáh. They tried on one occasion to extend their borders into the Dakhlával tappa, lying on the east of their own towards the Gumti; but the fight between them and the Baises was so ​434 MAL doubtful that both agreed to abide by their ancient landmark, the Akrahdi stream. These Rajputs practice female infanticide, and are too proud to hold their own ploughs, and too dignified to run. They hold almost all their old villages, but some five have come into the possession of the taluq- dars-Ahmad Khan and Nasím Khan. The Nikumbhs of Siswara (Bharad-dwaj Gotr) hold an estate of some twenty-four villages in the centre of the pargana. They are said to have invaded the pargana under two brothers, Kánb and Kbarak, and to have acted in concert with the Gahilwár, Ráe Paitawan Singh, wbo colonized a large tract of the same pargana to their east. Their native country is said to have been Narwar in the west. With the Gahilwars they drove out the original Jhojha inhabitants and seized their villages. The remains of forts and deserted sites of villages, specially in Tharri, Pára, Siswára, Diláwarnagar, show that these Jhojhas inhabited the country in considerable strength. Their villages are all said to be very ancient. The time of their foundation and origin of their names are unknown. These Rajputs have no history beyond their own villages ; they partitioned out their villages amongst themselves at various times; and the Diláwarnagar family to better their position became Muhammadans. The Bais of Tappa Dakláwal (Bhárad-dwaj Gotr). This was a tappa consisting of fifty-two villages which belonged to Rája Tej Singh of the Bamhan-Gaur tribe. The greater part of this tappa is now included in- the Hardoi distriet, but twenty-two villages lie in this pargana at the extreme north-east. The story goes that Rám Chandar, a Bais of the Tilok-Chandi clan, who had married into the Panwar's family of Itaunja, had taken service with the Rája Tej Singh, and having fallen out with him about his pay returned to his native country of Baiswara. Thence he returned with a large force, and drove out the Bamhan-Gaur rája, who fled to some more of their kith and kin on the banks of the Gogra in Khairabád. In Dukbáwal still stands a Pípal tree, and there is a small monument--a memorial of the place where the Bamhan-Gaur widows used to rm their suttees- to which the Bamban-Gaurs to this day bring their offerings for the old Parohits of their tribe on the occasion of a marriage or any other solemn ceremony in their house. Rám Chandar had three sons,--Alsukh Ráe, Lákim Ráe, and Kans-- who settled in Bangálpur, Pípargaon, and Bhithri, and their descendants are now known as the Bangáli, Piparhár, and Bhitharia Bais. It is not known when or how they divided their villages, but by superior energy and address the latter family became possessed of forty-two villages, while the two former got respectively five only. But the fortunes of the family changed in these latter days, and Thákur Srípál Singh, a descendant of the Bangáli branch, has become the taluqdar of Mansurgarh, and now possesses a large estate in Hardoi. He holds only a few villages in this pargana, and his history more properly belongs to the Hardoi district. Agaiu, Rája Randhir Singh of the same family, has reached the dignity of a taluqdar, and holds a still larger estate in the same district, Am ​MAL 435 amusing story is told of the exaltation of the latter to the dignity of rája. His father was on a certain occasion attending the Court of the Chakladar, Rája Mibinlál at Sandílk, and the latter addressing him pleasantly with the words come up Rája Sáhib. From that day he has borne the title thus conferred on him, which is otherwise so venerated by the Hindus that the sanction of some religious ceremony is required to render it valid. The tappa Kathauli Ráo was colonized by Janwárs (Bach Gotr) under Ráa Sukh. But their villages have, most of them, fallen a prey to the Pathfin families of Malihabad. Alamgir, the emperor, gave to one of them, Aláwal Khan, a Bazad KhailPathan, eighty bíghas muáfi in Badaura, one of the Kathauli Ráo villages, and he built a fort here. Sub- sequently this Pathán family had a great fight with Abd-un-Nabi Khán, the Amnázai Pathin, and the latter beat them with the aid of the old Janwar proprietors of the tappa. Ever since then the Janwars and Amnázai Patháns have been great friends, but this did not prevent the latter from taking most of the Janwárs' villages, and they hold now only the small village of Shabzádpur, On the south of the pargana, on the right bank of the Baita close to Malibabad, a tribe of Gautams (Gautam Gotr) from Argal held twelve villages, the parent village of which was Datli.' They are reputed to have come some four hundred years ago under Deo Ráe and Naya Rána from Argal and dispossessed a tribe of Arakhs. They have suffered depredations from the Patháns of Malihabad, and now only hold five muháls. They are Datli, Pabárpur, Dhendemau-Rámpur, Basti, and Kheota. The Lobnjár Janwárs of Khárawán (Sándal Gotr) hold twelve villages, situated to the south-west of the pargana, a short distance from Malihabad. This part of the country was then held by a tribe of Arakhs, probably akin to the Pásis, who ruled from Malihabad. After Sayyad Sálár's inva- sion, they are said to bave embraced the Muhammadan faith, and to have kept undisturbed possession of their villages. But in the village of Kharáwán there lived a Brahman family, amongst whom was a daughter famed for her beauty, and she was sought in marriage by one of the song of the pervert Musalmans. The Brahmans in their extremity sought the aid of some Janwars, who were passing the country on a pilgrimage to Gya. The Janwárs told them to hold out till they, the Janwárs, could give them some help, and continued their journey, and on their retum they attacked the Musalmans, and drove them out of their villages. This is said to have given them their title of Lohnjárs, or the men of iron. But the tappa is now broken up, and a greater part of it is held by the two Pathán Taluqdars, Nasím Khan and Ahmad Khan, and other Shekha and Patháns of Malibabad. The old tappa of Jindaur consisted of twelve villages, six of which were beld by Shekhs and six by Salanki Rajputs. The estate is said to have been conferred on them by the Panwár Rája Deo Ridh Ráe, who seems to have occupied it before his final settlement in Itaunja. There are in the village the remains of a fort still to be seen which is attributed to the Panwars. The Panwars came from Dháránagar in Málwa, and the ​436 MAL Salanki Rajputs and Sheklis are accordingly said to have come from near the same place. Tonk was the native country of the Salankis. But there are two stories about the Pan wár settlement here, while they themselves say they conferred the tappa on the present holders, the latter affirm that tbey drove the Panwárs out. The former story is however probably the correct one. The Panwárs were a formidable and strong body of men, and colonized a much larger and richer tract in the pargana (subsequently known as theirs) of Mahona. And viewing this with the fact that they all originally came from the same country, it is much more likely that they gave it up than that they were driven out. The leader of the Shekhs was Salábat Ali. From their equestrian excellencies they became afterwards distinguishedi as the 'Ghor-charhás.' They proved loyal in the mutinies, and, under Baqar Ali and Himayat Ali, gave much assistance to Mr. Kavanagh, of the Oudh Commission, in his fight against Lakkar Shah, the Faqir, who moved about the place trying to keep alive the rebellion. Jindaur itself is a village of a considerable size, where there is a large bazar held, and a Government school has been established. The Salanki villages have, most of them, come into the possession of the Thákur Makrand Singh, but four of them are held in sub-settlement. MALIHABAD Town*--Pargana MALIHABAD—Tahsil MALIHABAD-Dis- trict LUCKNOW.--This town lies in latitude 26° 55' porth, longitude 80° 45' east, and is situated on the road to Sandíla at the fifteenth milestone froin Lucknow, with which it is connected by the railway and a good metalled road. It is the headquarters of the pargana of Malihabad, aad contains a police station, tahsil, post, and registration offices and Government schools. The principal residents of the town are musalmans, and the Patháns of Malibabad have long been celebrated, though probably but few of the ori- ginal colonizers and founders of the different muhallas or wards are now left. But they pointed the way to subsequent adventurers, and were suc- ceeded by the Afrídi Patháns of Kenwallár, which is part of the town, and the Amnázai Pathans of Garhi Sanjar Khan and Bakhtiámnagar close by: The taluqdars-Nasim Khan and Ahmad Khan, are of the Afridi Pathans of Kenwalhár, and they built several handsome houses on the north side of the town, and bought and improved Mirzáganj. This ganj rose at first to be a large centre of trade, but it declined rapidly after the estab- lisbment of a market-place at Kánkrabad by Saadat Ali Khan, and the foundation of Newabganj near Mohán, district Unao. The usual trades only flourish now in a small way, and nothing worthy of uate is made save perhaps a species of tin-foil (tabaq) with which cheap bracelets and the Musalman fázias are overlaid, The inhabitants number 8,026, amongst whom there are 85 families of Pathans. The times are much altered for the worse for them, for their trade of soldiery is gone. It was chiefly from their ranks that Faqir Muhammad Kuan, the ancestor of Muhammad Naşim Khan, recruited his regiment of 1,700 sawárs. One of their chief means of subsistence depends on the numerous groves which surround the • By Mr. IL, H, Batts, Absistant Commissioner, ​MAL 437 town. The mangoes here are celebrated, and the ber fruit which are giown in orchards of ber trees called Beriána. During the Nawabi there was properly no proprietor of the township: The town or qasba was one of the old Musalman encamped settlements of which a description has thus been given. “A qasba is a Musalman settle- ment in a defensible military position generally on the site of an ancient Hindu headquarters, town, or fort, wbere for mutual protection a Musal- man who had overrun and seized the proprietary of the surrounding villages resided, where the faujdár and his troops, tbe pargana qánúngo and chaudhri, the mufti, qázi, and other dignitaries lived, and as must be the case where the wealth and power of the Moslem sect was collected in one spot a large settlement of Sayyad's mosques, dargáhs, &c., sprang up. . As a rule, there was little land attached, and that was chiefly planted with fruit groves and held free of rent; whilst each man really had a free hold of the yard of his house and the land occupied by his servants and followers. And to crown the description there are 194 separate plots and pieces of land in the villages. The whole has been assessed at Rs. 1,325. Though the earliest Musalman invader, Sayyad Sálár, is said to have paid this place a visit from Kasmandi Kalán, which was the more immediate object of his attacks, it does not seem to have been regularly occupied by Musalmans till the time of the Emperor Akbar. It is said then to have been inhabited by a tribe of Pásis whose head, Malia Pási, founded the village, though it seems doubtful if its origin cannot be traced much further back. Pasis and Arakhs are said to have held sway over this and the surrounding villages from the earliest times. The Pásis were succeeded by Thatheras, and the latter by the Bhars, who were driven out by the first Musalman invasion, But all this is wrapped in uncertainty, and nothing more can be said than there are vague traditions of a Pási and Bhar ráj, of which Malihabad was the centre. It is said that the Bhas had a mint here, and that silver coin of a bad quality has sometimes been found. From this the town is sometimes called Khontá Shahar, the town of the bad níoney. The earliest governors of Oudlı seem to have often encamped or settled here. Nawab Shahím Khan, was one. And just outside the village, on an elevated spot of ground is a tomb erected to his wife ; it is called a Zachcha-bachcha tomb, in which she was buried with her child. The only buildings of note in the town are the large houses of the taluqdars, Nasim Klian and Ahmad Khan, and a few small mosques and tombs. But the town is picturesquely built on broken ground on the left bank of the Sai, and extends over a considerable area. No particular religious sect flourishes here. There is one Nánakshábi faqir, and a tribe of Upáddhia Brahmans, who were said to have been the Parohit (priest) of the original Pási inhabitants, and to have thence spread through the whole pargana in which none þut members of this family are allowed to officiate, 56 ​438 MAL In an archway of the wall of the old fort is a shrine dedicated to Jurai Mámá, at which the new ámil on his coming used to sacrifice a buffalo, and at the same place is a small temple in which is a deity called Gangdeo, to whom he also offered up a cock. The schools here (two in number) are very well attended by nearly 200 boys, and there are two girls' schools, with 80 pupils on the registers, The saráe was built in 1860, and the bazár is held in Mirzaganj. MALLANPUR*_Parganc KUNDRI (NORTH)—Tahsil BISWAN-District SITAPUR. This place is 41 miles to the north-east of Sitapur, with which it is connected by a high road running through Tambaur and Lábarpur. It is five miles east from Tambaur, and is washed on the north and cast by the navigable river Daháwar at its confluence with the Gogra. It is also on the Kheri and Bahraich road. It takes its name from one Mallán, a Kurmi, who founded the town 400 years ago. Subsequently the Raik- wár Rajputs took it, and they still hold it. The population amounts to 4,045, residing altogether in mud houses ; the only masonry one being that occupied by the taluqdar (Rája Munesh- war Bakhsh). The town was never like Seota, in the Gurka Tlaqa, and bence there is no restriction put upon the building of masonry houses or upon the growing of sugarcane. There is a good bi-weekly bazar held in the town, the annual value of the sales being Rs. 7,000. The school affords instruction to 50 boys. MALLANWÄN*-Pargana-Tahsil. BILGRÁM--District HARDOI.—This pargana consists of 123 yillages. It is bounded by pargana Bangar on the north, pargana Bilgram on the north-west, pargana Kachhandan on the south-west, and pargana Bangarmau (Unao) on the south, while the Sai separates it from Parganas Sandíla and Bálamau on the east. Its greatest length and breadth are 16 and 153 miles, and it has an area of 136 square miles. Three-fifths (60-79 per cent.) is cultivated ; a sixth (16-21 per cent.) is culturable. About a fifth (18-11 per cent.) is returned as barren. A fourth of the area is rated as third-class—that is, sandy and light. Two- fifths of the cultivated area is irrigated, rather more than half the irrigata ed area being watered from wells, and the rest from tanks and ponds, The area under groves, 4.89 per cent of the whole, is the highest in the district. The average area of cultivation to each plough is 6 acres. Crossing the pargana from west to east the natural features which pre- sent themselves are these. On the west towards the Ganges is a strip of low tarái or kachh' land, which, like the adjacent pargana of Kachhandan, has been scooped by the Ganges out of the high land or bangar, and level- led and enriched with alluvial deposits during the river's gradual west- Ward recession to its present bed at the western edge of Kachhandan. Here percolation from below supplies the want of jħils and wells, and

  • By Mr, M. L. Ferrer, C.S., Assistant Comtoissioner,

By Mr. A. H. Harington, B.A., C. S., Assistant Commissioner. ​MAL 439 fall in. unless there are unusually long breaks in the rains irrigation is not wanted. The autumn crop is rarely good. Floods from the Ganges may be looked for every second year, and antil recently inundations were also to be feared from Gházi-ud-din Haidar's canal which runs along the whole western side of the pargana, just underneath the old bank of the Ganges. The spring crops are good if the autumn floods have drained off in time, but good agriculturists, such as the Kurmis, will not settle in these villages. The insecurity from floods deter them. Moreover, the cattle often die after grazing on poisonous grasses that spring up rank and noxious after a Ganges flood. Rats and field-mice make havoc in a dry season. In many places the soil is impregnated with saltpetre, and everywhere weeds spring up luxuriantly. Leaving the kachh' and crossing the canal you presently ascend the uneven sandy ridge that marks the farthest point eastwards up to which the Ganges has worn its way into the Bangar. The villages along thiş ridge are sandy uneven and bad. Wells are made with difficulty and soon The unevenness of the surface creates a constant scour' during the rains whereby the surface soil is washed away, and ravines eat deeply into the heart of the country. Beyond this line the land sinks gradu- ally into a rich flat loamy plateau, dotted with occasional jhíls which come more frequent as you cross it to the east. Here the water is fairly near the surface; the sub-soil is firm and mud wells are made easily and last well. Kurmis and Kachhis abound, a sure sign of the excellence of the soil; the cultivation is magnificent, and the rents high. Further to the east after the watershed has been crossed, and the ground begins to fall towards the basin of the Sai, the quality of the soil again falls off. Sand re-appears, the surface becomes uneven, and irrigation difficult. The villages along the Sai, suffer somewhat from floods, but the injury is partly made up for by irrigation from it, which however is difficult, and not largely availed of. The pargana is well furnished with roads. The new route from Sitapur to Miranghát below Kạnauj via Misrikh, Nímkhár, and Rodamau runs right through it from north-east to south-west, and it is traversed besides by unmetalled roads from Míranghát to Malláņwán and Sandíla, from Bilgrana to Mallánwán and Unao, and from Bilgram and Madhoganj to Balamau, and the nearest railway station of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway at Kachhona. The other important villages are Bhagwantnagar, Bansa, Kursat, and Jalalpur. The main products are barley and bájra which at survey covered half the cultivated area; wheat which occupied a sixth, and juár and gram which cropped another sixth. Paddy, arhar, sugarcane, and cotton made up most of the remaining sixth. The acreage under cotton, cane, indigo, tobacco, and poppy, was estimated at respectively 1,370 1,231, 218, 42, and 7. The climate is considered pretty good, kankar is found in patches in most villages, but there are no extensive beds of it. ​MAL The Government demand, excluding cesses, is Rs. 102, 292-a rise of 47 per cent on the summary assessment. It falls at 1-14-10 on the cul- tivated acrc, 1-2-9 per acre of total area, 12-9-4 per plough, 2-4-11 per head of agricultural, and 1-5-1 per head of total population. The detail of ownership is as follows: Muhammadaus hold 29 villages ; Chhattris 48 ; Brahmans 21 ; Káyaths 7; Baniáns and Kalwars 4 ; Christians 1; Government 2. The tenure is mainly zamindari. Population is extremely dense, 571 to the square mile, the highest rate in the district. The total qumber is 77,681, Hindus to Muhammadans are 71,408 to 6,273, males to females 40,411 to 37,270, agriculturists to non-agriculturists 44,457 to 33,224. The number of Kurmis is excep- tional. They are 14,566 or two-elevenths of the whole. Brahmans are a seventh, chamárs a ninth, Ahírs, Chhattris 3,449, Pásis and Muráòs (2,696) make up the greater part of the rest. There is an aided school at Mallanwán (134), and village schools at Sultanganj (49), Atwa (35), Bansa (38), Babatmau (30), Shahpur (23), and Mådhoganj (30). The Ain-i-Akbari gives the cultivated area as 83,022 bíghas; revenue (mál) 35,96,913 dáms; Siwae, 2,22,038 dáms; zamindars, Bais; garrison 30 sowárs and 2,000 (probably a misprint for 200) foot soldiers. There are no religious gatherings of importance. Sonási Náth, two miles south of Mallánwán, attracts pilgrims in Kartik on their way home from bathing in the Ganges. In Chait and Kuár there is an eight days gathering of perhaps 2,000 a day at the shrine of Man Deo in Mallán wán, The Rámlíla draws 10,000 or a 12,000 in Kuár to Bhagwantnagar. On the 1st of Rajjab Muhammadans hold an 'urs' in honour of the Saint, Makh- dúm Shah, at his tomb to the north of Mallánwán. Here, as elsewhere in the Hardoi district, the dawn of history shows a Thathera occupation and their expulsion by Chhattri immigrants at some anknown time before the Muhammadan conquest of Kanauj. The proxi- mity of Mallánwán to Kanauj. There is only fourteen miles between them as the crow flies ; makes it certain that its political condition must always have resembled that of Kanauj. When Kanauj was. Buddhist, Mallánwin will have been Buddhist also; and when Brahmanism revived and displaced Buddhism throughout the kingdom of Kanauj it was with the sword of Chhattri chieftains devoted to its service that Buddhist people such as Thatheras, Bhars, and Arakhs were displaced from the territories across the Ganges which they had for centuries held and ruled. The Thatheras of Mallán wán were driven out by Chandels from Shiurájpur in Cawnpore serving under a Kanauj Monarch. Tirwa Keoli in Kachhandan, opposite Kanauj, is the ssot where in Char- del tradition the Thatheras were routed with a great slaughter. To this day the braziers (Thatheras) of Bhagwantnagar affect to mourn over their ​MAL 441 lost possessions in Malláuwán and Kachhandan. Further to the east they were forced out of their settlements at Kursat kalin, near the Sai, and Bánsa by Kurmis from Gharka and Barba headed by Bhim and Bársú. There are no distinct traces of Buddhism in the antiquities of the pargana. Perhaps a tradition which attributes to Indra, king of the Deotas, an emblem of Mahadeo said to have been set up hy him before Mallanwán was founded, and still to be seen in a shrine on the mound of Sonási Náth, two miles south of Mallánwán, may have a Buddhistic signi- ficance. For Indra, the god of the sky, who marshalled the wind as his armies had battled against the clouds for the release of the welcome rains was always regarded as an enemy by the Brahmans, and ancient centres of his worship have been strongholds of Buddhism. " Indra is still a great favourite with the Buddhist population of Burmah, who regard him as king of the gods” (Wheeler's History of India, chapter III, pages 21 and 330). And the Ara Debi at Mallanwán Khás has a seven-headed Naga hood which may be presumed to be of Buddhist origin. The next historical event, of which any trace is to be found, is the inva- sion of Sayyad Sálár in A.D. 1033. The tomb of one of his companions in arms is shown in Muballa Úncha Tila of Mallánwán, and the Shekhs of the place claim to have sprung from an early Muhammadan settlement made during the invasion. Tradition next connects Mallánwán with Jai Chand of Kanauj, and his alliance with and subsequent conquest by Muham. mad Ghori. Jai Chand is said to have quartered his wrestlers here. Mál is the country name for a wrestler, and to their origin the qanungos trace the name Mallánwán. The favourite account, however, is that when the Ghori invader marched through on his way fronı Kanauj to the east, certain humble Ahírs conciliated him with an offering of cream (malái), which pleased him so much that he forth with ordered a settlement to be made, and called Mallanwan in memory of the event. The early Shekh settlement mentioned above is said to bave been discovered in 1415 A.D., by a wandering saint named Makhdúm Shah, Misbah-ul-Ashiqin, who found a few Shekhs living here, without know- ledge of their religion. His pupil Misbáh-ul-Islám, generally called Qázi Bhikhari, was appointed qázi of the pargana by one of the Lodi emperors (about 1470 A.D.). A book written in 1529 A.D., by Molvi Wali-ud- dín, and sent me by the qazi's descendant Amánat-ul-la Shah, recounts the saint's adventures. It tells how on his way from Jaunpur towards Kanauj he met one Wajha-ud-dín, a Sayyad, who pressed the saint to visit his home at Chandwara On his way thither the holy man halted at a mud fort which then stood in Mállánwán, and received presents from certain Shekhs who lived in the neighbourhood. At this period there were only a few Brahman and Káyath cultivators at Mallán- wán, and a few houses of people who called themselves “Gobáns," and professed to be connected with Abu Bakr Siddiq. But their usages and appearance did not enable the saint to recognize them as Musalmans. The loveliness of the place pleased his fancy and he decided to live the life of an ascetic there. ​442 MAL Here he performed sundry notable miracles. A fellow who mocked him was presently arrested for theft and died miserably in prison. One very hot summer a little company of the faithful had met together to pray. Thirst fell on them, but there was not a pitcher full of water in the well wherewith to bathe or slake their drought. Then the saint smote his hand upon the ground, and rubbed his face, and called upon the Holy One who had stopped the spring, though the faithful who fiad met to honour him were perishing of thirst. And while he yet prayed behold one cried out that the water had risen in the well to a man's beight. And they all bathed and drunk, and thirteen of the worshippers present accepted him as their spiritual guide. One of these was Shekh Bhíkhári, servant of a Government oficial at Kanauj. The fame of the holy man's miracles at last reached Delhi, and the Sultan Sikandar Lodi despatched his officer Fateh Khan to bring the saint before him. The mission was unsuccessful. A second time Fateh Khan was sent to ask that if he could not come himself he would send some of his disciples. Then Misbáh-ul-Ashiqin sent two of his followers. And when they told the Sultan that it would be a good deed to settle some Muhammadans at Mallánwán, he promised rent-free grants to such Muhammadans as would settle there, and appointed Shekh Bhikhári to be qázi. And at last the saint himself went to Delbi. And the Sultan honoured him greatly and offered him rich gifts ; but these he would not take. Then he returned to Mallánwán, and built himself a solitary cell, and spent four months in it in fasting and prayer, and died in 939 Hijri (1532 A.D.). An interesting record of the time of Sher Shah was shown me in the shape of a rent-free grant issued by him in 1544 A.D., in Persian, Bengáli , and Nágri. It confers on Shekh Abdul Quddús, Shekh Abdul Razzáq Muhammad Makan, and Qutb Ibráhím Muakin a rent-free grant of two hundred bíghas in mauza Mohiuddínpur, pargana Malawi, near fort Nahargarh alias Kanauj on condition of peopling the land and residing on it, and reciting prayers five times a day in the mosque, and shooting ten arrows daily, after the reading of afternoon prayers. And it announces the grant to Munsif Khwaje Raju, Persian and Hindi Reader, and to the tahsildars and kárguzárs of the pargana. The descendants of Ganga Rám, founder of Ganga Rámpur, allege that Akbar made him chaudhri of the pargana, and gave him land on which he founded the village. The qanungos hold an order bearing the seal of the unfortunate prince Dára Shikoh, and issued by him in 1653 A.D., when he was admitted by Shah Jahán to a considerable share of the government, It is addressed to his trusty Shah Beg, and mentions a complaint by Pánde Dalíp Singh, thathe had long held the qánúngoship of Mallánwán (the towa, not the pargana); that Shyam Lál, grain-dealer, had forced him to lease it at a rupee a day, but failed to pay it. Orders enquiry to be made and redress given. The iconoclast Aurangzeb (1658-1707) is said to have ordered the stone lingam at Sonási Náth, mentioned above to be sawn asunder. The wicked work was begun as the teeth marks shown to you attest; ​MAL 15 but blood spurted out, a swarm of hornets attacked the godless host, and saved shrine and emblem from destruction, In 1226 Shitáb Ráe Káyath was chakladar. He had been díwán of Bahadur Shah. The judicial records of Mustafabad and Atwa tell how he found an unfailing means of acquiring land in his practice of bury. ing the owners alive and then inviting their heirs to execute deeds of sale. « The bones of the lambardars whom he buried are even now occa- sionally turned up by the plough in his old compound. During Shujá-ud-daula's campaign against the Nawab of Rámpur Mallánwáa was occupied by Ruhelias. Gházi-ud-dín Haidar (1814-1827) excavated the canal already men- tioned from the Ganges near Kanauj to the Gumti at Lucknow. “ The original idea says Mr. Maconochie, in his Unao report, was to join the Ganges and Gumti, but the levels were so infamously taken, and the money granted so misappropriated, that after spending lacs of treasure, and injuring more or less every village through which the canal was driven, the king found himself as far off as ever from the object be desired. It has never done aught but harm. Its bed shelters wild beasts and bad characters in the dry weather, and drains off all the water from the adjacent villages in the rains; thus not merely depriving the land of the water which would otherwise fertilize it, but causing a continual cutting and ravining away of all the neighbouring fields." The Raik wárs of Rodamau and Ruia deserve passing but unfavourable notice. Their connection with the pargana is not that of conquerors. They got their footing in it by the humbler method of clearing waste and by persistent fawning on and playing into the hands of the Nawabi officials. They acquired in recent times many villages. They were the first to rise in 1857. It was this clan which burned the Maliánwán (court-house), and which, headed by Nárpat Singh, defended the fort of Ruia so stubbornly against Brigadier Sir Robert Walpole, the lamented Adrian Hope, and the Black Watch. The obliteration of ancient proprietary title in this pargana was frequently noticed by the Judicial Courts at settlement. In illustra- tion I quote some passages of interest from the judicial record. Mauza Deomanpur.-" The Kurmis are the zamindars and are excellent landlords; they should not be disturbed. In this pargana the chaudhris and qánúngoes steadily ignored the rights of all Kurmis; but in times of difficulty the king's officers always came upon the resident communites." Marza Mustafabad." The title deeds in this pargana are of little value." Mariza Manawwar.--"The Shekhs never succeeded in trampling out the proprietary body on the spot. Panwar Rajputs, who held occasionally up to 1264 fasli (annexation); but, like all the proprietors in the pargana, could not keep their own against the mass of chaudhris and qánúngos of the town ​444 MAL of Mallánwán, who appear to have apportioned the villages of this par- gana amongst themselves just as they pleased." Mauza Berhwal.--"Whenever there was any transfer of rights, real or pretended, in this pargana, the papers always changed hands, whatever may have become of the village. I do not remember an instance to the contrary. Papers were often sold and mortgaged alone, but the village was never sold without the papers if there were any. In this pargana there was often a fresh qubúliatdar for each year. No one's proprietary rights here were very clear." Mariza Dakhile Kassic.-" In this pargana the white-coated chaudhris and qánúngoes ignore all Kurmis and residents of villages except when they are powerful thákurs. They used to divide the pargana between themselves." Marza Dúádpur.--" This village was the ancestral property of plaintiff No. 1, They very likely sold it and mortgaged it four or five times, but these transactions and the deeds which record them are to my mind not worthy of consideration at all. These transfers in Mallánwán pargana were merely intended to give a plausible colour to other transactions in Luck- now. In Mallánwan Government recognized no property in the soil whatever; it was the Nawabi sir, in which Government was entitled to the full balances after the expenses of cultivation, and the cultivator's sustenance had been provided for. No one thought he was selling when be signed one of these purchase deeds, and the vendee never thought he was acquiring a title. These deeds were a means among others of gaining a temporary footing in the village, and that was all they were intended for," At annexation Mallánwán was chosen as the civil head-quarters of the Mallánwán now Hardoi district. MALLÁNWAN-Pargana MALLÁNWAN—Tahsil BILGRAM-District HARDOT Latitude 27°3' North, longitude 80" 11' east.) is in popula- tion fourteenth in the list of Oudh towns, and third among the towns of the Hardoi district. It gives its name to the Mallániwán pargana. Its population (11,670) is lodged in 180 brick and 1,538 mud houses, and distributed in six wards or muhallas named Bhagwantnagar, Gurdasganj, Pathán Tola, Uacha Tola, Nusratnagar,and Qázi Tola. It lies on the old route from Cawapore to Sitapur being 38 miles north of the former and 44 miles south of the latter. From Bilgram it is ten miles nearly south, and from Hardoi 21 miles south. Tieffenthaler (A.D. 1765) found it. "A small town mostly built of brick, thickly peopled, surrounded by trees. fort built partly of mud, partly of bricks, and having towers." Tennant, in the beginning of the present century, describes it as "a very. large village ; in length fully two miles. The inhabitants are numerous, but the town is mean and irregular, consisting almost entirely of small mud huts." It has a • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commissioner, ​MAL As noted in the pargana article tradition derives the name from Mál, the country name for a wrestler, and asserts that Rája Jai Chand of Kanauj cantoned his wrestlers here. An early Ahir settlement called Gházipura is also said to have been here at the time of the Ghorian conquest; while the Chishti Shekhs claim that a remnant of the followers of Sayyad Sáfár Gházi survived the campaign, the only visible memorial of which that they can point out is a tomb in Uncha Tola of one of the martyr host. The preservation of such tombs, rather numerous in Oudh, is a strong corroboration of the tradition that Muhammadans of the invading army remained in Oudh, and preserved the relics of the brilliant but unsuccessful crescentade of the Prince of Martyrs. The pargana article mentions the circumstances under which Sikandar Lodi (1488-1516) encouraged Muhammadans to settle here, and appointed a qázi. The qánungos and chaudhris of the pargana were also located here, and in later times the Chakladar of Mallanwán and Sandſla used fre- quently to reside here. To its official importance alone must its size be attributed; for it has little commercial activity, The grain trade of the neighbourhood is carried on at Mádhoganj five miles off. A deserted indigo factory, started but abandoned by Mr. Churcher, occupies the site of the old Nawabi fort. A manufacture of saltpetre has recently been begun. The town contains four mosques, a dargáh of Makhdúm Shah (Misbah- ul-Ashiqío), two imámbáras, fifteen shiwálas, twenty-four masonry wells, and a mud sarãe built by Hakim Mehndi in 1808. As at Bilgram many of the brick buildings are faced with large hewn blocks of kankar to a height of about three feet from the ground. The dargáh of Makhdům Shah, and the mosque of his pupil Qázi Bhíkbári, are thus faced through out, the kankar slabs being relieved here and there with rod sandstone. Their style resembles that of Sadr Jahán's Mausoleum at Piháni. There is a fine well of the same period, also lined with blocks of the same mate- rial. The blocks thus used in one of the mosques have evidently been taken from some other building, but apparently at the restoration of the mosque, not at its original construction. I am inclined to believe that these kankar blocks have been taken from ancient Hindu and Buddhist shrides, of which the only relics now to be found are such fragments, built into Muhammadan structures, and the broken sculptures that one sees so frequently grouped under some venerable pípal tree. In the only ancient stone Hindu temple which I have yet seon in Oudh (at Sakar Daba ia Partabgarh), the basement of the shrine consisted of several layers of precisely similar blocks of hewa kankar, built up upon a solid square tope of bricks of great size. The Asa Debi in Mallánwán is a relic of some such shrine, Its seven-headed Nága hood sheltering a female figure points to a Buddhist origin. There is a bi-weekly market on Mondays and Thursdays in Gurdásganju Bhagwantnagar contains a good many braziers' (Thatheras') shops. The town has a local reputation for its combs. 57 ​446 MAN MANDIRON_Pargana LUCKNOW-Tahsil LUCKNOW-District LUCKNOW. -Mandiáon or Mariáon is situated on the Lucknow and Sitapur road, about 4 miles from the iron bridge, It was the site of the old canton- ments previous to the outbreaks of 1856-57. These were built by Saádat Ali Khan, sixth Nawab of Oudh, who kept stationed here three regiments of the Company's troops. The town is said to derive its name from Mandal Rikh, who here in the centre of a large forest performed his solitary devotions to Mahádea. It was after this occupied by the Bhars who were eventually driven out by Malik Adam one of Masaud's lieutenants, who led an expedition against it from Satrikh, Malik Adam was killed in battle, and was buried in what is now the Suhbatia Muhalla of Lucknow; an urs (festival) is held yearly in his honour, whence the name of the muhalla (suhbat). There is another tomb in the village raised to the memory of the Nau-gazá Pír, so called from his immense height. He was one of Malik Adam's com- panions, and fell in the same battle. A colony of Sayyads, the relics of this invasion, is said to have lived here, and to have held the village for 150 years, when they were killed to a man by an invasion led by Raja Singh, one of the Raksela Chauhans of Bhauli. This leader conferred the village half on Kayaths and half on Brahmans, servants of his own. These Brah. mans and Káyaths were subsequently made chaudhris and qanúngos of the pargana of Mandiáon, and hold shares in the village till the present day. The town then became the headquarters of the pargana of Mariáon: In the Ain-i-Akbari the pargana is called Mandigaon. It is now a place of no importance. It consists of 754 houses which are mostly of mud. The old cantonments have disappeared, with the exception of a gateway or two, and the gable end of the church which stands out amongst the crops. The population is 3,155, of which 731 are Musalmans, and the rest Hin- dus. There is a Government school attended by 41 pupils. MANGALSI Pargana* -Tahsil FYZABAD.-District FYZABAD.---The pargana of Mangalsi occupies the north-west corner of the district. Its northern boundary is the river Gogra, its southern is for the most part the Madha. On the west its boundary is the district boundary, in part there is a chain of marshes, in part a ravine, at the bottom of which in the rains runs a considerable stream. On the east the boundary line runs down from the cantonments of Fyzabad in a south-westerly direction to the Madha. It is perhaps the most fertile jand the best cultivated pargana of the district. It is further wellwooded, and the scenery though as a rule monotonous and tame, is often pretty. In shape it is long and narrow. Near its western ond a broad belt of sandy soil runs nearly across the pargana. This is as might be expected broadest towards the river, and the country there breaks intogreat swelling downs, which are an agreeable change in the prospect. Near the eastern end a ravine, which debouches on the Gogra, cuts far back into the pargana, and its sides are for a considerable distance sandy and bleak. With these exceptions the soil is generally admirable. By Mr. J. Woodburp, C.S., Assistent Commissioner, ​MAN bed 41 SP PRO Red .. jeg 67 madzas. 37 93 S 39 .. ... Marshes are common, tanks abundant, and in the wells water is nowhere far from the surface, The pargana, as it stands, has received considerable accessions from the parganas of Pachhimráth and Rudauli, district Bara Banki. It now con- sists of 126 villages, with an area of 125 square miles, and a population of 98,452 ; being at the rate of 813 to the square mile. Varieties of the tenure are as follows: Taluqdari Mufrad Rent-free The revenue demand of the pargana amounts to Rs. 1,00,471. Its remoter history is difficult to trace. But the advance into its present state of fine cultivation seems to have been comparatively recent. Even a century ago, so it appears, the middle of it, the most fertile portion, was a lakh pera—a forest. It is said that Mangalsi takes its name from Mangal Sen, a Gautam Chieftain, whose clan had extensive possessions on this side of the Gogra. The Gautams have long been driven across the river, but they have recently put in a suit for a plot of alluvial land below the village of Mangalsi , as the site of a former village of theirs. The Gautams of Trans-Gogra, whom I bave seen, have the very dimmest traditions about Mangal Sen, though they claim him as their ancestor, and they have disappointed me by unfulfilled promises of an enquiry from the pandits regarding the ancient history of their property. It is not a little remarkable, bowever, that the great Bais families, who bold or held all the lands round Mangalsi, and whose tradition concerning themselves is of an immigration from the west two or three centuries ago, do not represent that they conquered the Gautams. It was Bhars, whom, according to the village stories, they found owners of the country. The subjugation of Gautam Rajputs would have been a more honourable feat than the expulsion of Bhars, and the name would surely have been retained in the family chronicles. It is true the Chauhans of Maholi, who are said to have arrived in the pargana about the same time as the Bais, allege they obtained their village in dowry on the marriage of their chief to a Gautam maiden of Mangalsi. But on the other hand the Shekhs, who now hold Mangalsi, have a story that Man- gal Sen was only a Bhar who had a fort close by. These Shekhs are the men of the oldest family in the pargana, and they can verify traditions of a greater age than 300 years. They showed me a remarkable deed, and in the Naskh character, dated 760 Hijri (1359 A.D.), bearing the seal of Firoz Tughlaq, and appointing Muhammad Ahmad Khatib in Mangalsi. They showed me another with the same seal of 761. H. conferring the office of qázi on Imám Fakhr-ud-din. I was shown another of 989 H. (1581 A.D.) granting Shekh Yusuf“ 100 bíghas of land in pargana Man- galsi , Sarkár Oudh," bearing the seal of the great Akbar, and they have three farmáns of Shah Jahán of the years 1043-1050 H. giving revenue- free grants to members of the Shekh family. These are followed up by deeds under the seal of the Nawab of Oudh, and as they were not produced for the purpose of any litigation, I have every faith in their authenticity. ​448 MAN I am inclined therefore to believe, that if Manga] Sen was a Gautam chief and not a Bhar, his possessions were confined to a few riparian villages, and that the village to which he gave his name gave its name to the pargana, formed by the Muhammadan emperors from the importance rather of its Muhammadan proprietors than of its Hindu founder. These traditions are not without interest in connection with Mr. Car- negy's views as to the relation between the Rajputs of eastern Oudlı and the Bhars, These Shekhs of Mangalsi are the only people I have met with in the Pargana, who have documentary evidence of any great antiquity of family. The Muhammadan colonies are very few, and the Hindus, always more illiterate, have preserved no record of the remote past. Two hundred years ago, however, it seems the pargana was held almost exclusively by the great tribes of the Bais and Bisen Rajputs. The Bais divide themselves into tivo grand families, the eastern and the western, who, though they eat together, recognize no relationships, and retain the memory of bitter border warfare with each other. The western Bais say that thirteen generations ago Bikái Sáh immi- grated into the pargana from some place in Baiswára on the banks of the Ganges, and founded a village which he named after his son (Dallan Sáb) Dilwa Bhári: Dallan Sáb acquired a great tract of the surrounding country, and on his death his sons-Paune, Bhart, and Maichan-divided equally amongst themselves the thirty-six villages of his estate. Hence the western Bais are familiarly known as the Bais of the "chhattis." Bhart's descendants are the Bais of Bilkháwán, Maichán's those of Saran- gápur, Paune's those of Chakwára. But when the families had been sepa- rate for a generation or two they began to quarrel, and the Sarangápur men, the inhabitants of a vast jungle, and notorious robbers, gradually usurped the whole of Paune's share, except the one miserable little village of Chakwára-all that now remains to Paune's sons. Bhart's family held their own, and are now in thriving circumstances. None of these Bais ever attained to distinction. Mán Sáh, the fifth in descent from Maichán, took service at Delhi, and became a favourite of the emperor ; but it does not appear that he was ever advanced to particular rank, and lie made no attempt to use his influence to the advantage of his kinsmen. Sádi Sáh, another of Maichián's branch, constructed a fort of considerable size at Deora Kot, but I heard no special tradition of his valour in the clan feuds (vide Appendix A), The eastern Bais are of several families. The most important is that of Ráepur Jalalpur. The head of this line was Singh Ráe, the son of Rám Råe, of Ráepur in Baiswára. He and Banbír Rắe, who was probably a relation, are said to have settled in the east of the pargana, nearly at the same time that Bikái Sáh settled himself in the west. The two chiefs took possession of twenty-six villages each, the one making his head- quarters at Singhpur, the other at Banbirpur, and these Bais are conse​MAN 449 quently known as those of the " Báwan." Singla and Banbír were on the most friendly terms, and Singh engaged alone with the Government for the entire estate. For five generations the fifty-two villages were held as one tenure, and Singh Ráe's house grew to such greatness that its head was called a rája. The last of the chiefs was Man Singh (a name which in this part of Oudh seems to have carried with it infallible success). He was the eldest of four brothers, On his death one of these made himself independent, but for five generations more the three remaining shares on Singh Ráe's side continued united. In the time of Bandú Ráe these two split up, and the estate was then beld in five separate blocks till Rája Dar- shan Singh became chakladar. In 1828-29 the rája absorbed the whole of the villages one after the other into his taluqa, and there they remain to this day. At Man Singh's death the Banbírpur muhál was first separately engaged for. Banbír Řáe had two sons-Ráe Basáik and Udit Ráe--the former became Muhammadan and took the name of Bhikhan Khan. These Bais say, quite frankly, that it was the custom at that time for each taluqdar to have a son måde Muhammadan in the hope that in the most disastrous case a bigoted emperor might not wholly deprive the family of their lands, and that in more ordinary times they might have a near and certain friend privileged with the entrée of the Musalman courts. Many taluqdars, it is said, showed similar caution at a more modern date by sending one relative to the British force and another to the rebels, to make siccar" of safety, much as the highlanders did in forty-five, whichever side might win. These Khánzádas, the Bais Muhammadans, were apportioned a number of villages, and these they still retain. The fears of Banbír Ráe were per- haps notunjustified, but the services of the Khánzádas were never required to enable their Hindu brethren to hold their own. On the contrary, the only use the Khánzádas ever made of any influence they possessed was to usurp their kinsmen's lands. On this occasion there came to the rescue of the Hindu Bais a Káyath of Delhi, who had received an appointment as Diwán to the chakladar. In gratitude for this service, the Bais pre- sented him with the village of Gopálpur, and Gopálpur is still the property of the díwán's descendants. The villages of the Banbírpur muhál followed those of Singhpur into the taluqa of Rája Darshan Singh. Those of the Khánzádas alone escaped. Several of them had been given in 1193 H. (1779 A.D.) by Asif-ud-daula, the Nawab of Oudh, to Xlam Ali for the support of the imámbárą at Fyzabad. Between the estates of these two great clans of Bais lie those of two smaller ones. These are the Bais of Sirhir and those of Arthar. The former had twelve villages, the latter had twenty-seven. I have said they had villages. They are families of a more recent date than those of their great eastern and western fellow-clausmen. They never produced a man of any dis- tinction, and their possessions rapidly waned. On every side they lost ground. To the west of these lay the estate of the Bisen. The greater part of this was in pargana Pachhinaráth; but they must be noticed here, for Kundarka ​450 MAN of Mangalsi was the birthplace of a Bisen, who attained the greatest dis- tinction of any native of this pargana. Hindu Singh entered the service of Nawab Shujá-ud-daula as a private soldier. He rose rapidly to the rank of Subadar. His regiment was one of several sent to reduce Birjaulia, a strong fortress near Bangarmau. The seige lasted many days, and the Nawab wrote impatient letters, angry at the delay. But still Ajab Singh, commandant of the expedition, would not permit an assault. Then Hindu Singh, with an insubordination justified by the result, bimself led his regi- ment to the attack. He carried the fort at the point of the sword, and, as the Bisens say," a great many zamindars were killed." Hindu Singh himself was wounded. The Nawab on hearing of this brilliant feat cashiered Ajab Singh, made Hindu Singh " captain " in his room, and gave him the com- mand of seven regiments, and the rank of a jarnail (general). His brother, Barjai Singh, was promoted to the command of his own old regiment, and from that time forth he was present with the Nawab's forces in almost every action in which they were engaged. He fought alongside English troops in the Rohilla war of 1774. His descendants proudly declare that the English General admitted the entire credit of the victory (at Babul Nála ?) to rest with him, although the fact is the native troops were not advanced till the close of the battle, and Colonel Champion complained, "we have the honour of the day, and these banditti the profit." The services of Hindu Singh, however, were bandsomely rewarded, and the Nawab gave him the revenue-free tenure of Kapási and Lakhauri, two of the richest villages in the Pargana. Asif-ud-daula held him in as high esteem as bis father. There is a story that Asif-ud-daula was shooting near Butwal in Naipál. A tiger came out of the forest straight in front of the Nawab's elephant. Hindu Singh, who was near by, drew off the tiger by making his elephant lie down, and as the tiger attacked him, sliced it in two with one sweep of his scimitar. The astonished and delighted Nawab presented the valorous general with his own elephant. Hindu Singh in the excitement did not lose his self-pos- session, and promptly suggested that a grant of land would be useful for the support of so huge a beast. And the Nawab directed that he should hold thenceforth free of revenue his village of Uchitpur. Under Wazír Ali Khan and Saádat Ali Khan, Hindu Singh remained in the possession of his honours and dignities, but he seems to have with- drawn from active life. His brother, Bariár Singh, commanded at the siege of Mundrasan and took the fort. Soon after Hindu Singh died and was succeeded by his son, Rája Madho Singh, who seems to have led a simple country life, and is familiarly remembered as the “Siwáe Saheb." He and his family held two Subahdaris. Their estate was in Huzúr Tahsil. In 1843 it was finally absorbed in the great taluqa of Rája Bakhtawar Singh.* Kapási and Uchitpur were held by Sir Mán Singħ revenue-free till the revised settlement, and Lakhauri revenue-free for life. • Rája Bakhtáwar Singh, Brahman, and Rája Darshan Singh, Kurmi, were also instances in this district of successful soldiers of forture. The former began life as a trooper in the old 8th Light Cavalry, the latter as a common day-labourer. Both attracted the notice of Nawab Saidat Ali Khan, an admirer of fine physique, and after his enthronement by u9, Ghazi-ud-din Haider put bis newly acquired royal powers into force by creating them and to others tájag of the realm, ​MAN 451 On the north-west of the pargana are the possessions of two Chau- hán families, Mahoti, Dhaurahra, Barai Kalán, and Rámnagar. Both families assert that they come from a place called Bhuinganj or Bhuin- pagar in Mainpuri, and they consider themselves of much purer and higher family than the Chauhans of the great southern family of this district of 565 villages. They marry their sons in the east among the Bais of Kot Saráwan, the Bais of the Chaurási of Salehpur Sarayyan near Shahganj, and also the Gautams of trans-Gogra. Their daughters they marry in the west to Panwárs, the Chamar Gaurs of Amethia, Súrajbans, and Raikwárs. The men of Dhaurahra give themselves much the most ancient lineage. Their ancestor, Nág Mal or Nág Chand, is said to have got the villages which his family now hold on his marriage with a Kalhans maiden, but I can find no other tradition of Kalhans' possessions in the pargana. Nág Mal settled at Dhaurahra, and on his death the vil- lages were divided among his grandsons, Dhaurahra falling to Mahma Sáh, Barai to Rám Dás, and Rámnagar to Naráin Dás. The acestor of the Maholi man again is said to have acquired his property here by marriage into the Gautam family of Mangalsi. His descendants have, besides Maholi, two neighbouring villages in the Bara Banki district, Firozpur and Misri. These Rajput tribes formed the chief proprietary of the pargana. Several isolated settlements were made by Muhammadans and others, but the Rajputs were so predominant that it will be sufficient to mention them in the notes I have to give on the villages of the pargana. The tribes retained their possessions, one as against the other, with singularly little change. On the west they are still independent proprietors. On the east 68 villages have been absorbed into the vast estate of Sir Mán Singh, and the clansmen have been reduced for the most part to the position of cultivators holding at a privileged rate. Notes on the villages of the pargang.-On the extreme west of the par- gana is Sihbár, a Muhammadan town, founded some 300 years ago by one Sih Alam, an immigrant from the western colonies of Nawabganj. He had two sons, Sayyad Alam and Sayyad Mahrúm, whose houses still stand, but in the decay which has befallen the fortunes of a family now too nu- merous to be comfortably supported by their slender property. The town is mean and dirty, standing on the miry slope that trends into the Gogra alluvium. To the south-west, however, is the interesting little village of Begamganj. It was founded by the Bahú Begam at the entrance to her fief domains. A bridge in excellent repair, built by Tikait Ráe (the famous Díwán, whose Tikaitnagar with its broad avenues and lofty walls is still the most striking town in the Bara Banki district), spans & pic- turesque stream, the boundary of the two districts. The queen-mother built in the hamlet a mosque and well, which are now overshadowed by a noble banyan tree; near it she laid out a garden, with light gateways at its main entrances. Withering shishamn trées still mark the ancient walls, but coarse arhar and rank weeds have usurped the place of marigolds and roses, and the summer-house in the middle has lost its roof, and the fruit- cellars are blackened by the fires of the field watchmen, ​452 MAN It is here that the old Lucknow road enters the Fyzabad distriet. Flanked by ruins at almost every turn, it is interesting throughout its whole course, and the shade of its many avenues brings it to this day to be more frequented by native travellers than the adjoining British high- way. There are bazars at every second or third mile, and the traffic along it in former days must have been more considerable than one is at first disposed to believe. The number of wells that dot its side is astonish- ing. They seem to have been all constructed by private liberality. After leaving Begamganj the old road enters the village of Dhaurahra in which there is a large bazar called Muhammadpur. On the outside of the town embowered in woods is a gateway of handsome proportions, said to have been built by Asif-ud-daula, who was struck by the beauty of the place when on his way to shoot at the Bakra jhíl. 11 the other side is a very ancient Hindu shrine, shaded by a magnificent grove of tamarind trees. The tradition is that there was a well there from time immemorial. There was jungle round the well. It was twelve kos from Ajodhya—a mystic, stage and Mahádeo lived there. Certain faqirs on their journey to Ajodhya conceived the design of removing Mahádeo and exhibiting him for gain, like the relic-sellers of the middle ages. So by night they began to dig him out (his body was in the earth), but as they dug his head retreated into the ground, and in horror they fled. In the morning the neighbours came to worship, and beheld the wonder. Chitải Sáh, a devout merchant of Mubárakganj, built a dome over the sacred spot, and not to be outdone, Girdhári Sáh, another merchant, but of Rámnagar, surrounded the dome with a masonry platform and lofty walls. It is sadly in ruins, and the neighbours are not now sufficiently pious to put it in repair. Beyond this is the village of Hájipur. In the middle of it the road reaches a hamlet known both as Begamganj and as Umarpur. The Begam Sábib hoped to establish a bazar there, and she furnished it with a gateway at each entrance. But the gateways seem to have never been completed. The domes that crowned it were plastered, and the work stopped. The arches have fallen in, and the structures have hastened to a premature decay. The hamlet is still ruinous. The most pretentious of the houses belonged to one Dál Singh, who made a great fortune in the Meerut distillery, and removed his family there, leaving the paternal mansion to the care of an old woman, A number of eunuchs live in this place; they built a mosque seventy years ago, which they keep in excellent repair. On the west of the village is a very old mosque in complete ruin, It is known as that of Pir Khwaja Hasan, whose grave adjoins it. The faqir in charge declares the pir belonged to Sayyad Sálár's army, but the well beside the mosque, which is still in good order, is said to be of the same date. A faujdar, whose name has passed from the memory of the living: lies buried near by. Between this and Ronahi there are two small bazárs, Mubárakganj and Aliganj, but in these there is nothing of note. Near Sunába are numerous tombs, declared by the Muhammadans to be the graves of soldiers of Sayyad Sálár, the invader of Oudh in 1030 A.D. The Musalmans of ​MAN 453 Oudh are, however, apt to associate with Sayyad Sálár every object or tradition of antiquity, to which they can ascribe no certain origin. This road abounds with alleged mementoes of the prince's march. As it passes out of the sandy kuolls which mark the country in the environs of Ronáhi, it comes upon an old mosque shrouded in thorns, and the tombs of two "martyrs" — Aulia Shahíd and Makan Shahid-reposing under the shade of a far-spreading banyan. The men of Ronahi will not pass this way after night falf. They say that by night the road is thronged with troops of headless horsement, the dead of the army of Prince Sayyad Sálár. The vast array moves on with a noiseless tread. The ghostly horses make no sound, and no words of command are shouted to the headless host. But when the last of the dead spirits has passed by, the Jins, who frequent the gloomy mosque, rush to the close of the procession with unearthly shrieks, and the townsmen, awe-struck as they listen, cower in terror at their hearths. Ronahi is and has for some time been the principal town of the pargana. It is twelve miles from Fyzabad, and there is an encamp. ing ground to the south. It seems to have been originally colonized by settlers from Sihbár, but it is now owned by a strange mixture of families. The principal owners are relations of the Shekhs of Mangalsi whom I have already mentioned, but it is not very clear how they acquired their rights. The Káyaths, the family of the pargana qanungos who own a third, are in the 14th generation from Khwaja Már Sáh, who purchased his share from the Sayyad colonists. A family of Khattris, the only one I have met in the pargana, has had a small share for eleven generations; the Patháns of Sálehpur usurped it is said another; and Mir Ahmad Ali, a complete stranger to the town, has recently acquired another. There are fönr muáfi tenures in Ronahi, all of old standing, but small extent, granted to faqirs or servants of the Nawabs, while Fyzabad was the capital. Under the kings an ámil was stationed at Ronáhi, and part of his official residence is now made use of as a police post. Far out on the west of the town an idgah still stands, which was built by one of the ámils of Asif-ud-daula's time, and in Sukháwan there is a "purwa" (hamlet) which bears the name of another, but these officers were so frequently changed that even the names of few of them aro recollected, and still less their personal characters. A couple of miles east is Mangalsi. On the ancient traditions regard- ing this place I have already commented. Its Shekh proprietors are not in very flourishing circumstances, and the town has now for many years lost its position as the chief place in the pargana. It has an idgáh of the last century, and an imámbára, to the support of which a considerable tract of land has been released by the Government in rent-free tenure, The town overlooks the river from a cliff, and the vicinity is seamed with ravines. The old road keeps well to the south. It crosses one of the nálas by a bridge, built by Turáb Ali, Díwán of the Bahá Begam, one end of which, however, lately fell partially in. Passing through the villages of Ibrahimpur and Firozpur, which belong to cadets of the Mangalsi family of Shekhs, the road comes up close to 58 ​454 MAN the new metalled highway near Jalálabad. Between the two roads stand the ruins of a mosque known as Pírnagar. It is said that twelve gene- rations ago Ali Khan, a Risáldár at the court of Delhi, taking some umbrage made off with his troops to this part of the country, which was then in the kingdom of Jaunpur. A detachment of the imperial army Fas sent in pursuit of him, and he took refuge with his men in a jungle at the foot of the hills near Utraula in the Gonda district. He was there surrounded and killed. A thousand of his men, they say, shared his fate, but his son got the zamindari of the pargana of Utraula by sycopbancy to the Pádsháh. His descendants are still powerful proprietors there. His Dafadár, Jalál Khan, founded Jalálabad. A pírzáda officer of his corps built the mosque of Pírnagar, and another mosque was built at Kot Sará- wan close by in honour of five brothers, Risáldars in his force, who were killed there in a battle. In the village of Jalálabad there is a crumbling tomb of unusual size, said to have been erected to the memory of the wife of Sayyad Nauroz Ali; but no descendants of the Sayyad, or of any of a band of settlers, which must have been numerous, now survive in the neighbourhood. A short distance beyond Pimagar, and on the very border of the high road, is the mosque of the “ Panj-bhayya," which has just been mentioned. It is in excellent preservation. Inside the enclosure are the graves of the five brothers, and an upright diagonal monolith of coarsc stone, said to be in honour of their mother a most uncommon form of tombstone in this part of the country. On the western side are the remains of a large masonry platform, flanked by heavy pillars, which is called a " Ganj-i. Shahidán," the burial-place of Musalman martyrs. The villagers state, curiously enough, that the battle in which these men fell was a battle with the Bhars. As the village took its name of " Kot-Saráwan," from its being the headquarters of the Bais estate or tappa of 52 villages, it would seem to follow that the immigration of the Muhammadan soldiers, who fought the battle and built the mosque, was prior to that of the Bais. And yet the Bais detail sixtcen generations from their arrival, while the Muhammadans reckon only twelve. It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the defeated "Bhars" were Bais. Still it is unaccountable that the victors, who entombed their dead and maintained their mosque, permitted the territorial supremacy of the vanquished Bais. At the next milestone is the village of Mumtáznagar. There is an old mosque there also built by Mumtáz Khán, a Pathán of the west country. None of his descendants are alive, and no one knows anything about him, but even the Hindus of the place regard the building with reverence. They put their foreheads to the stones on entering it, and a Bhát, who has recently cone to the village, religiously lights it on feast-nights. An inscription in stone over the postal bears the date "1025" [1616 A.D., time of Jahangir]. The mosque is dilapidated, but like most of these ancient buildings had been very strongly constructed of kankar blocks. Over the trees one sees from this on the south the dome of Tájpur Maqbara (mausoleum). The Patháns of Tájpur are a very small and poor family, but they trace their descent to one Jamál Khan, who, they say, ​MAN 455 men. Sichir. Bilkhác. came to Oudh some 450 years ago, and was given a subah of a great many villages. These hace been absorbed in other estates one by one, and the only village now left to the family is that of Tájpur. The Maqbara con- tains the tombs of the father and immediate relatives of Jamál Klian, and is in very good preservation under the care of a faqir, but the graves of Jamál Khan himself and his wife stand apart open and ruinous. The Pathans have a muáfi sanad for 200 bíghas in favour of "Musammat Aziz Khátún, descendant of Jamál Khan," of the date 1084 fasli (1687 A.D.). It is of the time of Aurangzeb, but the seals are illegible. Řapúr Singh of Ráepur built a fort in Tájpur, and the Patháns, though so long indepen- dent proprietors, still pay the feudal tribute of " bhent to the Bais head- At Mumtáznagar, near the remains of a gateway, the old road and the new join. Tombs and bazars still mark the line of the old thoroughfare. At Abú Sarae it passes into the cantonments of Fyzabad. Bhar forts, as they are called, are common in tlie pargana. A list is annexed of the villages in which they occur. They are Rkepur. in general simply rounded mounds, more or less lofty, Sukháwan. strewn with broken brick. The mounds appear to be Sarwári. in the main artificial, and their area is never large. Ibrábímpur Kandái. If the dwellings of the Bhars were confined to the Deora Kot. mound, the population of that day must have been Kajáparpur. very scanty. This is hardly consistent with the reve- Thareru, Kutib. nue returns of Akbar's reign for the neighbourhood, Maholi. and yet, according to the corroborative accounts of the Rajput tribes, the Bhars were dominant till Akbar's time. Impressed, however, with that idea, and finding it hard to believe, that a small population living on an exuberant soil could have lived in a state of constant strife, I conceived that the mounds were possibly constructed as a sanitary precaution against the malaria of a region of marshes and forests. The theory is scarcely justified by the position of some of the mounds with which I became acquainted; but however this may be, there can be no doubt a great change has taken place in the habits of the people since the days of the mound makers. Brick strongholds have been succeeded by clay huts, and, as in the case of Kaláparpur, the people have formed the notion that evil and misfortune haunt the dwelling- places of their forerunners. It is strange how the name of the Bhars should have adhered to places that now know them no more. It is the universal assertion of the people that the Bliars have entirely disappeared out of the land. The story of the Bhars is singular because it is so inexplicable, and interesting because so singular. Where are they? Who are they? Their works remain, but these give little light. Their mounds are not like those of Assyria, which wrap entire cities in their sheltering sand: nor even like the barrows of the Celts, where the dead were entomb- ed, equipped with the implements of the living for the happy hunting ground of the second earth. Sarjúpur is a tiny village, which was given rent-free by Shujá-ud-daula to Mund Ráro, Gosháín, Káyath of Ronahi. It is supposed to be a holy spot as the junction of the Sarju and Gogra rivers, and a fair is held there ​456 MAN at the full moon of Pús. This is the only fair iu the pargana, and is not very largely attended. In Dholi Askaran there are interesting ruins of an enormous fort. Bastions of commanding height, crowned by banyan trees of great size and age, overlook a deep moat. The people point out the old parade-ground and the stables, aud the women's apartments, but further than that it was built 200 years ago by a Káyath Chakladar, Máta Gur Bakhsh, they cannot tell. How long the fort was held, what became of his family, whether his successors lived there, no one seems to know. In Bháwannagar, too, there is said to have been a fort. The line of the ditch is shown, and the people say that there were a dih and a well there within the memory of man, but not a brick remains, This fort belonged to a family of Pathans, who appear to have acquired a small estate of five villages* from the Bisens in the last century. Allahpur is the only village still in their hands. They have papers showing they held these lands in fief a hundred years ago. Mustafabad is a thriving town with a large population of weavers. On the south, separated from the town by a marsh, and standing in lonely bleakness, is an ancient mosque said to have been built by a Sayyad Bári, the founder of the town. (The town is sometimes called Barágáon.) Twice a year, on the two Ids, the Sayyads go to their ancient mosque to pray; but their customary resort is a mosque of new fashion, which, with an imám- bára and handsome house, Sayyad Dídár Jahán built here towards the close of native rule. Another mosque of a century's standing is being put in repair by the weavers. The most noted native of the place was Baqar Ali, who was Darogha of the Princes' palace in Lucknow in 1830-40. He retired with a fortune, and became the head of the Muhammadans of the pargana. He obtained the engagement of several of their villages, and was revenue surety for others in the Huzur Tahsil, The weavers of Mustafabad are almost the only manufacturers in the pargana. They find a sale for their cloth at Rudauli and in this pargana, in the bazar of Muhammadpur, in which there is a muhalla of dyers. The markets are numerous but chiefly of agricultural produce; they are- Ronahi Saturday and Tuesday. Begamganj in Mawayya Saturday and Wednesday. Suchaitganj in Khirauni Monday and Thursday. Deora in Kundarka Tuesday and Friday. Bilkháwán (built this year) Sunday and Wednesday. Deorz Kot (recent) Saturday and Tuesday, Mubammadpur in Dhanrahra Sunday And Wednesday. MANIKAPUR Pargana--Tahsil UTRAULA- District GONDA. This para gana is bounded on the north by parganas Gonda and Sadullahnagar, on the south by parganas Nawabganj and Mahadewa, on the west by Gonda, and on the east by Parganas Babhnipáir and Sadullahnagar, Formerly the pargana contained 195 villages, with an area of 80,006 acres, but one more village having been lately added, it now covers an area of 80,038 acres, or 125 square miles. The unculturable land amounts to 2,994 acres, • Allabpar, Bháyyappagar, Birábempar, Umsa'pur, Mau. Dee 14 po ​MAN 457 the culturable waste to 4,057 acres, and cultivated to 34,839 acres. Groves cover 2,148 acres. Thus the cultivated land is 43 per cent, the culturable waste 49 per cent., groves 3 per cent., and unculturable 5 per cent. Of the cultivated land 25 per cent is 1st class soil, 33 per cent. 2nd class, and 42 per cent. 3rd class." The irrigated area covers 17,399 acres, and the unirrigated 17,440 acres; 10,407 acres are watered from wells. The following streamas traverse this pargana from west to east :- The Bisúhi, the Chainwai, and the Manwar. These are neither used for navigation nor for irrigation ; they do not do any mischief to the crops by overflowing their banks. There are 9 villages bordering on the Bisúhi, and 11 villages lie on the bank of the Chainwai. The Manwar skirts 19. villages. Water is met with at a depth of 14 to 19 feet from the surface. Except in villages situated in the vicinity of jungles, the climate of the pargana is on the whole good. The Government revenue amounts to Rs. 52,959-14-0, the land revenue being Rs. 51,475, and the cesses Rs. 1,484-14-0. Ráni Saltanat Kunwar of Maníkapur is the principal landholder of the pargana ; she lives in Ashrafpur. The villages are thus held :- Taluqdari Zamindari Pattidari 171 20 5 204 TOE Total 196 mau249, H The tribal distribution of property is as follows Chhattri Brahman Musalman Europeana Káyatha Вопійо Othera 00 161 OD 143 23 12 3 2 1 13 010 Pod PRO PO Total 196 wauzas. But ht

06 Náo Teli PP 725 ... The population of the pargana amounts to Rs. 41,656, The prevailing cases are Brahman 9.547 Barwar 1,033 Ahír 4,411 Barbi... 949 Kormi 4,943 Kiyath 857 Kori 4,136 751 Chhattri 9,024 Champár 1,186 Lonia 612 Kahár Pási ... 603 Marko 8,134 Kumhár 600 The number of houses is 1787. The pargana has, singularly to say, no masonry house. The grain purchased at Tulsipur is taken to Nawabganj market by the road from Utraula to the town of Nawabganj, which passes through this pargana. There are no other channel communication, 1,150 ond de OM ​458 MAN 400 600 46 50 57 40 66 20 3 There are seven village schools in the pargana. Their names are as follows Khota 32 pupils. Dhuswa 47 pupils. Bhitaura Biddianagar Machhligaon .. Dankarpur Beripur 35 There is no registry, tahsil, or police office. History.—At a time of which the exact date is uncertain, this ilaqa was in the possession of Thárus, but the Bhars succeeded in displacing them, and a chief of the latter, called Makka, cut the jungle which then covered a great part of the pargana, and founded the village of Manika- pur calling it after himself. At this place he fixed his headquarters. Makka Bhar and his descendants ruled here for six generations. They were in turn subdued by Newal Sáh, a Chandrabansi or Bandhalgoti Chhattri (see pargana Nawabganj, district Gonda), who reigned at Mak- sara, a village of this pargana. This Chhattri clan ruled at Manikapur for 12 generations, and the last of the line was Partáb Singh, who left no issue at his death. His wife became a suttee with her busband, and her suttee chabútra stands in mauza Bhitaura in this pargana. Ráni Bhágmáni, the mother of Partáb Singh, then adopted Azmat Singh, a son of Datt Singh, the Bisen Rája of Gonda, who was her sister's husband, Thus the Manikapur ráj was acquired by the Bisen family. Five rájas have passed since. Řáni Šaltanat Kunwar, the widow of Rája Pirthípál, is the present head of the family. The estate in her possession contains 159 villages, and gives a land revenue of 28,547-14-0. The Biddiánagar estates, consisting of 30 villages, and the Garhi estate of as many villages, have passed to Rája Kishandatt Rám of Singha Chanda, and nine villages are in the possession of the heirs of Mahúrája Man Singh, The only fair in the pargana is that held in honour of Karohan Náth Mahadeo at Karohan village on the day of the Shuiráttri. MANIKAPUR-Pargana MANIKAPUR--Tahsil UTRAULA-District GON- DA.- A little village of 547 inhabitants, which gives its name to the pargana, It was founded by Makka Bhar, who had displaced the Thárus from this part of the country. The site was formerly covered with a dense jungle. It is 20 miles from Gonda, 58 from Bahramghat, and 52 south of the hills. The Manwar stream flows to the north of the village. Water is met with at 164 feet. The only fair is held on the Kartiki Púranmáshi for bathing in the Man war. There is a Thákurdwara, but no place of Moslem worship. Mahisa is the staple product of the place. MÁNIKPUR Pargana—Tahsil KUNDA— District PARTABGARH.---This, small but celebrated pargana lies along the bank of the Ganges, between Bihár and Salon. It was formerly much larger, but the Kanhpurias and the Bisens seizing some of the villages managed, for greater security, to include them in their parganas. Its area only 36 square miles, or 22,796 acres, of which 10,300 are cultivated, and 8,152 barren. The population ​MAN 459 is 50,849, being at the rate of 1,412 per square mile, or five per cultivated acre; except the Lucknow pargana, its population is the densest in Oudh. It contains the finest scenery in the district. The banks of the Ganges are high, the town of Mánikpur is picturesquely situated among numerous groves, and every garden contains some graceful ruin-a mosque or tomb- in all stages of decay. The proprietary rights are as follows :- Talugdari. Mufrad. Total. 48 Risen Raikwór Brahman Káyatlı Sayyad Shekh Pathán 1 2 5 25 10 93 TI .. or Total or 48 120 The 48 taluqdari villages belong to the Rámpur estate of Rája Han- want Singh. The remainder of the pargana almost entirely belongs to Musalmans. Mánikpur is said to have been founded by Mán Deo, a younger son of Rája Bál Deo of Kanauj; it was then called Manpur. It is not the least likely that it continued under the dominion of Kanauj for any length of time. When the Buddhist pilgrim, Hwen Thsang, visited Oudh in the seventh century, Mánikpur must have been in the kingdom of Aya Mukhi; at any rate it was not under Kanguj. The account given in the Partabgarh settlement report must be correct- ed in several particulars. In the first place, Mánik Chand cannot bave been a step-brother of Jai Chand, for the former was a Gahilwar, the latter a Rấthor; nor did the Gabilwárs fly to Argal as stated by Mr. Car- negy; that place was and is the seat of the Gautams; Mánik Chand's rela- tives fled to Mirzapur where they still are; there are 2,400 Gahilwars in Mirzapur.* Sir Henry Elliot considers that the Gahilwars preceded the five Ráthor rájas of Kanauj on the throne of that empire. The following is the trans- lation of an Urdu passage from the " Tawáríkh-i-Partabgarh," compiled by the Extra Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Ismail for Gazetteer pur- poses. About 50 years after the death of Rája Bhoj, successor of Bikramajít, says the “ Táríkh-i-Farishta," there was a king of Kanauj named Bás Deo. It occurred during his reign that Bahrám Gor, a king of Persia, disguised "Sberring's Findu Tribes." ​460 MAN himself and came to Kanauj to study the state of the Indian government. There he found that an elephant had broken loose, and in the attempt to capture it, it had killed some men. The king of Irán then shot the animal, and by this act of heroism was discovered by the king of Kanauj, who cordially welcomed him, seated him on his own throne, bestowed on him the hand of his daughter, and immense wealth, and bade them adieu with all possible marks of honour and affection. Rája Bás Deo on his death left two sons, who both of them fought for the succession, acd lost their lives. Rám Deo, the general of the late rája's army, who had through his influence secured the confidence of the army, usurped the throne of Kanauj, bestowing on his brother, Mán Deo, the estate of Mánpar, which was in after days called Manikpur by Raja Mánik Chand. ates from many Mán Deo was a very powerful rája, who obtained tri other chiefs, and his descendants retained the sovereignty for some time. In 409 A.H., 1018 A.D., says " Farishta," the throne of Kanauj was filled up by Rája Kora, but the name in "Elphinstone" and other autho- rities appears to be Kunwar Ráe. This rája was very subservient to Mah- múd of Ghazni, and became at last a convert to Islámism. All the neigha- bouring chiefs entertained ill-will towards him on that account, and the Kálinjar chief marching to fight him, and the Kanauj rája failing to receive the Moslem aid in time, fell desperately in battle. Rája Jai Chand was a member of Rám Deo's family, and his ancestor succeeded at the close of the Kunwar Ráe's line. Rája Jai Chand, on his accession to the ráj, granted the following ilaqas to his step-brother Rája Mánik Chand :- 1. Pargada Máapur or Mánikpur. 2. Arwar or Partabgarh. 3. Bhalwál (known 48. Kalál), situated on the Sultanpur and Luckyow road, 4. Thulendi, in Rae Bareli. 5. Bilkhar or Patti Dalippur. 6. Játs. 7. Dalmau. 8. Rae Bareli. 9. Salon. 10. Bajhat or Parkerámpur, taluqa of Dariápur, pergang tti, 11. Kot (not identified), 12, Chaubári. 13. Mirzapur Chaubari. 14. Ráepur. Sayyad Qutb-ud-din fought a battle with Rája Jai Chand and conquered Kansuj ; the latter sought refuge in the fort of Karra, and his brother Mánik Chand in that of Mánikpur. The Moslems pursuing them divided their forces into two detachments, and sent one under Qiám-ud-din, the son of Qutb-ud-din, to subdue Mánikpur, while Qutb-ud-dín hinaself remained at Karra. Two months' war swept away thousands both of the besiegers and of the besieged, but at last the rájas of both of the places took their families with them, left their forts, and retreated towards the south into some mountainous region. The “Tazkirat-us-Sádát" says, that Qutb-ud-din Íbák, the Governor of Oudh, also came to assist the Moslems: in the conquest of these forts. ​MAN 461 The following is drawn from the settlement report :- Before commencing a really reliable history of Manikpur, which I have been enabled at last to compile with the aid of various materials, I will transcribe my predecessor's notes on the Muhammadan settlement of the pargana. "Muhammadan settlements. The settlement of the Sayyads, Sheklis, and Pathans in the country is connected with the semi-mythic stories of Rája Jai Chand and Rája Mánik Chand, two sovereigns of Kanauj, when they came eastward to avoid the dominion of the Musalmans, who were then pushing their way into that part of Hindustan. I will not detail the stories of the loves of the daughter of Jai Chand and King Pithora, Suffice it to say, that tradition asks us to believe that Jai Chand migrated to Karra, and built there the fort still visible on the Ganges in the Alla- habad district. Mánik Chand, his brother, went across the river and built his fort at Mánikpur within sight of the paternal castle." "Sayyad Shaháb-ud-din and Rája Mánik Chand.-In these days a Sayyad, Shaháb-ud-dín of Gardez in Persia, came to Delhi. He found employment in the not uncommon duty of being commissioned to kill somebody. This somebody was Mánik Chand. It is time to believe the account, which says that he met aud killed his enemy in battle, and we should prefer the story that in his first attempt he failed miserably, and returned to Delhi to accomplish by fraud what could not be done by force. He caused 2,000 large camel trunks to be made to hold two men each. He sought allies among some Patháns of Dámghán, a city in his country. In the guise of a merchant he wandered to Mánikpur, and begged to slow his wares to the raja. The result may be guessed. Out leaped the 4,000 concealed heroes, like the Greeks from Trojan (why not Grecian horse), and rivers of blood flowed in the rája's castle, till the rája himself was slain and his force overpowered. Shahab-ud-dín rcigned in his stead, and a place near Mánikpur, called Sháhábad, testifiek to his former existence." “ Dámgháni Pathan.—The Dámgbánis and the Sayyads (having cemented their alliance in the blood of Hindus) were firm friends, and their chief instituted a vast mess or rotatory system of mutual entertain- ments, at which (saith the chronicler) 989 palanquins might be seen col- lected at the door of the entertainer, At one of these festivals given by a Dámgháni,* a Darvesh Makhdúm, the world-wide wanderer (Jabánián Jahángasht), came and asked for food. They jeeringly bade him wait till the occupants of the 989 palanquins had been served. Some Sayyads treated him better, and the blessing of the darvesh was poured on his hospitable entertainers, and after oriental fashion, dating from the days of Isaac, father of Esau and Jacob, he prophesied all good of his hosts. He is said to have originated the title of rája, which is still borne by the chief Sayyads of Mánikpur, Rája Ashúr Ali and Rája Taashshuq Husen, From this date the Dámghánis decreased, and of the former none are to be found in Mánikpur, where it is said no one of the family can go with- out suffering from a headache (!). Two families of this tribe are still living in Latifpur of pargana Rámpur, but they are not zamindars."

  • This saint's dargáh or maqbara (I do not know which) is said to be at Kachouch

in Fyzabad, enå in Aghan it is a place of resort to pilgrims. 59 . ​462 MAN "Shekhs. — These are said to have come with Sayyad Sálár, of Bahraich notoriety and sanctity, a nephew of Mahmúd of Ghazni, who came into India to kill or convert, or both, the followers of Hinduism. These Shekhs are to be found in Nidúra and Bachiodámau, Gújwar, and Barái. I will not pursue their annals further, Those concerned with the land tenures of the tahsil can follow the clue which will show their present possession." “Pathans.--These live mainly at Gutni and its neighbourhood. They are comparatively recent arrivals of some 165 years back; Shahab Khan, a Kábul horse-dcaler, having been their progenitor. Their zamindari tenure is said to have been acquired by purchase from the Gardezi owners of Mánikpur." “Religious endowment.-There is a well known religious endowment at Manikpur held by Shekhs. Their progenitor is said to have been Muhammad Ismail Darvesh, who came in with Shahab Qutb-ud-dín 661 years ago. Pleased with the site of Mánikpur, he got a grant of 60 bí. ghas of land known as the Aháta-i- Khánqáh or religious brothers' college. His successors still inhabit this place. The Emperor Humáyún, who reigned in 1530 A.D., conferred five villages—Sultanpur, Bázípur, Rána- patí, Karimnagar Kalán, and Karíninagar Khurd-on the brotherhood. Other grants were subsequently acquired, and they hold a village in Salon called Rajapur. Their revenues may be put at Rs. 2,500 per annum at least; they are probably nearer Rs. 3,000.” A few particulars may be added to the above sketch drawn fron Cap- tain Forbes' settlement report. Attack on Mánikpur by Mahmúd's Generals.—To resume the thread of actual history. In the Mira-at-i-Masaúdi it is recorded that during the reign of Sultán Mahmúd Ghaznavi, Mánikpur was attacked by a detach- ment of the army sent by Mahmúd under his brother-in-law Šálár Sába, and his nephew (son of Šálár Sáhú) Masaud, also called Sayyad Sálár, to invade Oudh. The event was brought about in the following manner :- At the time the invading force was encamped at Satrikh, a place about sixteen miles east of Lucknow, the ráes influential residents) of Mánik- pur despatched a barber to the force with instructions to obtain an intro- duction to Sayyad Sálár Masaúd, and to offer his services. In the event of these preliminaries being successful, he was to wound the commander in the finger with a poisoned nail-trimmer, with the object of causing his death. Arrived at Satrikh, the barber lost no time in carrying out his instructions, but although he succeeded in inflicting a wound in Sayyad Sálár's finger, the result was not what had been fondly and charitably anticipated. The puncture eventually healed up, but for a time it caused intense pain; so much so that the barber being suspected was seized, and made to confess the whole plot. Whereupan Sayyad Sálár at once des- patched two sardárs, Malik Qutub Haidar and Malik Imám-ud-din, with a force to avenge the deed. An engagement took place in which Malik Qutub Haidarlost his life, and in which, though attended with heavy losses on both sides, victory did not declare plainly for either party. To a great extent, however, the Muhammadan inay be said to have sustained ​MAN 463 a reverse, as they were obliged to retire without having fully accomplished their object, and with one of their Generals Left dead on the field. This action probably took place on the land (formerly a part of Mánikpur, but) now known as mauza Chaukápárpur, and the tomb of Malik Qutúb Hai- dar is still pointed out. Flight of Jui Chand and Mánik Chand. From the archives of the Mánda family, it appears that Jai Chand and Mánik Chand fled to Kantíth, * a tract of country lying under the Vindya range to the north-east of the Rewa State. We have thus arrived at the period when Mánikpur ceased to belong to the Hindus, and when it first became a Musalman province. This period was about the end of the year 590 Hijri (1194 A.D.). Mánik- pur may be stated to be one of the carliest, if not the earliest, Muhani- madan settlement in Oudh. The Dámghánis.- Accompanying the forces of Qutb-ud-din İbák were a sect called Dámghánis. They were Shekhs, and originally came from Dám- ghán, a town in the Ghor country. These Dámghánis were a martial race, and to a great extent furnished the picked troops of the reigning sovereign, After the capture of Karra and Manikpur, Qutb-ud-din íbák måde over the government of the former to his 'Pír,' Sayyad Qutb-ud-dín ;ånd for the better security of the latter against any subsequent attempts on the part of the Hindus to re-take it, he determined to leave it in the hands of his Dámghánis. To secure their due support and maintenance, he made over to them the whole of the Mánikpur estates in jágír (revenue free), After Qutb-ud-din Íbák's death these Dámghánis greatly degenerated, aban- doping themselves to every species of excess and luxury; from being an active and military race they soon became indolent and effeminate. The jágír also was about this time resumed, but they continued in possession of their estates as málguzárs (revenue papers). Many were the houses erected by the Dámghánis, and rapidly did they multiply. The portion of Mánikpur formerly occupied by them is now known as Chaukapárpur, and has been constituted into a separate mauza (township). The old site of the Dámgháni shows the extensive area which was at one time their possession. There are still numerous ruins of handsome masoury buildings and spacious tombs. At the same time much has been cleared away, and the ground brought under the plough. It was at the close of the reign of Muhaminad Tughlaq (A.D. 1348-49) that the power of the Dámghánis was at its summit. After this period it rapidly waned, as will be described hereafter, following the due course of events. State of affairs at the close the 12th century.-"At the close of the twelfth century, the Ganges," writes Elphinstone," " had long ceased to be an obstacle to the ambitious designs of Shaháb-ud-dín. At this very period Qutb-ud-din was waited on by Mubammad Bakhtiár Khilji, who had already conquered part of Oudh and north Behár."

  • Pargana Kantith, in the Mirzapur district. Iláca Kantith formerly included the

estates of Mánda, Barankhar, Deya] [Saktisgarh, Bijaipur] and [Kera Mongrox] Allahabad. Mirzapur. Benares ​464 MAN It was of the first importance to take proper measures to protect the two strongholds of Karra and Mánikpur, whick, situated as they were on opposite sides of the river, entirely commanded its passage ; and we find in the subsequent narrative that the matter was regarded in this light, and that the government was nearly always conferred on a prince of the blood, or on some other eminent personage. The tract of country com- prised within the Karra Mánikpur command, about this time, appears to have possessed much the same limits which it did previously when under the rule of the Gharwár Chieftain, Mánik Chand, a few of the component muháls only having changed their names. Arsalún Khan and Kháli Khan, Governors of Karra Mánikpur in A.D. 1253.-We now come to the next important scene in our historical drama, The event is briefly alluded to by Elphinstone as the expedition under- taken during the reign of the literary Slave-King Nasir-ud-din against the revolted Governor of Karra Mánikpur. This event took place in the year 656 Hijri (A.D. 1253). Farishta mentions that Arsalán Khan and Khálij Khan were in command at Karra Manikpur when they raised the standard of revolt. King Násir-ud-din came down in person and called upon them to surrender. The rebels sent word in reply that if the king pledged his word that they should not be punished they would attend his presence. The king furnished the requisite pledge, and forthwith the delinquents appeared before him. Arsalán Khan was then deputed to the rulership of Lakhnauti,* and Khalij Khan to Koh Paya in the Sawalik range. It is not stated, however, who these two worthies were, or whether they exercised a joint or independent command. I am inclined to the latter view and to the opinion that Khalij Khan as probable ruler of Mánikpur was a Dámgháni. His removal was no doubt prompted by cogent political reasons, as the sect was fast becoming a powerful and influential one. Who succeeded him and his ally at Karra we are not informed, Revolt of Malik Jháju, Governor of Karra Manikpur.- From this time, however, it appears that the two commands were united in one, and having regard to the position of Malik Jhaju and Alá-ud-dín, both nephews sovereigns, it is clear that the new command was not only one of great political and strategic importance, but was held in high estimation, and a coveted post. Early in the reign of the septuagenarian king, Jalál-ud-dín, Malik Jháju, nephew of the despicable Ghayás-ud-dín Balban, was Gover- nor of Karra. At this period Amir Ali, also styled Hátim Khan, and who had previously held the post of " Mír Jámdár," or controller of the royal household, was Governor of Oudh, Supported by the latter, Malik Jháju ordered coins to be struck in bis own name, styling himself Moghís-ud-din, and assumed the emblems of Royalty. Soon after, being "joined by all the adherents of the house of Balban," he commenced his march towards Delhi. Hearing of these proceedings, the king despatched his second son, Araq Ali Khau, to oppose him. A pitched battle took place, which resulted in Malik Jháju and his principal officers being all made prisoners. “Dis- playing his usual clemency, in the words of Elphinstone, the king imme-

  • Now known as Tanda in the Fyzabad district. ​MAN

465 diately released them all, and sent Malik Jhaju to Mooltan, where he allow- ed him a liberal establishment for the rest of his days." These events occurred about 689-90 Hijri (A.D., 1290-91). Jalál-ud-dín then appointed his own nephew (Alá-ud-din) to the vacant Governorship of Karra, and shortly afterwards bestowed on him in addi- tion the government of Oudh. Alb-ud-dín, however continued to reside in Karra, and to make it his headquarters, so that for a time at least the Oudh Government may be said to have been administered from Mánik- pur. The murder of Jalál-ud-dín (A.D., 1295), one of the most affecting inci- dents in the history of India, need not be related here: it took place at Mánikpur, and added a dark tragedy to the romantic annals of the spot. The Gardezis. Before proceeding further, it is necessary to introduce on the scene a sect famous for their religious tenets, and whose mission was the world wide dissenination of these tenets, I refer to the Gardezis. Their progenitors in India were two brothers, Shaháb-ud-din and Shams- ud-dín, men of high family, who came from Gardez in the reign of Shams- ud-din Altamsh-ie., between 607 and 633 Hijri (A.D. 1211 and 1236). The elder brother, Shams-ud-dín, settled in Rewa; while the younger, pro- ceeding further south, took up his abode in Mánikpur in obedience to the divine direction vouchsafed to him in a vision. Maulana Ismáll Qureshi.—During the same reign there also came to Mánikpur from Yaman a certain individual named Maulana Ismail Qureshi; said to have been a direct descendant of Ibrahhím-bin-Adam, king of Balkh and Bokhára, who again is said to be directly descended from the second Khalífa Umar, surnamed Farrukh. The present Musalman inhabitants of Mánikpur and the vicinity all trace their origin to the early settlers of the three sects of Dámghánis, Gardezis, and Makhdum-zádas. There are a few Pathán families, but these are comparatively recent settlers. With a very small cxception all are of the Sunni persuasion, and have always been so. Makhdum Jahánián Jahángasht and the Dámghánis.- There is nothing now to chronicle until we reach the year 795 Hijri (A.D. 1393). In which year during the reign of Násir-ud-din Tughlaq, son of Firoz (also styled Muhammad Shah), there arrived at Mánikpur a personage named Sayyad Jalál-ud-din, who is better known as Makhdum Jahánián Jahángasht.* This individual is reported to have been a saint of the first water, and had been sent for from Aöch near Lahore, to soothe the last moments of the dying Alá-ud-din of Bengal, and to perform his funeral obsequies. Having discharged these duties, the holy man went to the court of Khwaja Jahán, king of Jaunpur, where he received as his disciple the famous Ibráhím Sharqi, brother of Mubárak Shah, the adopted son of Khwaja Jahán. From Jaunpur Makhdúm Jahánian travelled up to Mánikpur, and arrived in the Dámghánis' muhalla or quarter on the great Id-ul-fitr. Proceeding to the mosque for the purpose of

  • Or" world-wide traveller,

prayer, he ​466 MAN waited in vain for the performance of the religious services of the day Astonished, and not well pleased at such a state of things, he enquired why prayers were delayed. He was informed in reply that there were a great number of Dámghánis resident in the muhalla, and that until all were assembled prayers could not take place; in other words that the Dámghánis were not going to trouble themselves in the matter. Upon this the saint remarked that it was clear that malak-ul-mart, or the angel of death, had visited the town, which was tantamount to the utterance of a curse from the lips of so holy a man. From that day, it is said, that numbers of Dámghầnis were seized with a mortal sickness, the most dis- tressing symptom of which was excruciating pains in the head, which, accompanied by fever, carried off thousands. Panic-stricken the survivors fled from Manikpur, and neither they nor their successors have since resided in the place. Makhdúm Jahánión Jahángasht and the Gardezis. After leaving the Dámgháni quarter of the town, Makhdúm Jahánián Jahángasht went to the muhalla of the Gardezis. Here he was hospitably received by Sayyad Aziz-ud-din and Sayyad Sharf-ud-dín, descendants of Shahab-ud- dín Gardezi. Perceiving that his hosts wore the dress of the religious brotherhood, while their kinsmen and others were clad as soldiers and carried arms, the saint asked why the latter were thus dressed in place of the quieter garments of sanctity. The reply was that, harassed by the attacks of neighbouring rájas, they were forced in self-defence to organize a system of military defence. Thereupon the saint turned to Aziz-ud-dín and said:—" From this day forth you are invested with the title of rája of of this country," and turning to Sharf-ud-din, he said :-"And you will bear the rank of qázi.” To both of them he added that so long as they and their descendants walked uprightly, their respective dignities should be transmitted from generation to generation. It is commonly reported, but there is no documentary evidence to corroborate the assertion, that on leaving Manikpur, Makhdúm Jahánián was accompanied by the recently dubbed rája and qázi as far as Partabgarh nála. On taking leave of them at this place, the saint informed them that their respective government and jurisdiction should extend so far. From this time. the Gardezis increased in power and influence. It was in this year 802 Hijri (A.D. 1400), during the time of Tamerlane, that the provinces of Oudh, Kanauj, and Karra Mánikpur were attached to the kingdom of Jaunpur under Khwája Jahan. In 1480, the empire of Jaunpur was overturned by Bahlol Lodi, and Mánikpur passed under the sovereignty of Delhi. In this contest between the two kingdoms, the Hindus of Oudh, disgusted with the persecution to which they had been subjected by the priest-ridden kings of the east, yielded valuable assistance to Bahlol Lodi. Tilok Chand, the Bais Chief, pro- bably laid the foundation of his greatness when he aided Bahlol Lodi by pointing out the fords over the Jumna at Kálpi. Bahlol Lodi died about 1488, having prior to his death divided his dominions-Jaunpur to his eldest son Báibak, Bahraich to his nephew Kála Pahár, and Delhi to his younger son Sikandar Lodi. The latter claimed ​MAN 467 the suzerainty, the coinage, and the khutba. * After a furious battle between Sikandar Lodi on one side, Kála Pahár and Baibák on the other, which seems to have been won by the emperor's politeness and politic clemency to the saintly Kála Pahár, Jaunpur again passed under the dominion of Delhi, although Baibák kept that province as governor, and one son, Sher Khan, was in charge of Manikpur, another, Mubarak Kban, of Dalmaa. The taluqdars who had formerly joined the Delhi kings against the Sharqi of Jaunpur now were willing to change sides. They rose in one body, and were aided by Rae Bhed of Betia in Bundelkhund." The brunt of the attack fell upon Manikpur, whence Sher Khan was said to have exer- cised great oppression. He was captured and killed; his brother Mubárak captured but spared. After several other risings and battles, diversified by the marriage of the emperor to (Sher Khan) bis nephew's widow, by the dethronement of Bai- bák, by the hunting excursions of Sikandar in Oudh or Ajodhya, and by the refusal of the Raja of Betia to give his daughter in marriage to the emperor, the rebellion was finally crushed. Not yet, however, were the evil results of Bablol Lodi's division of his dominions to cease. The emperor had bequeathe:1 a part of his dominions (Kálpi) to Khan Jahán, a relative. His son, Azam Humáyún, had yielded to Sikandar Lodi, and been made Governor of Karra Mánikpur, when Ibiá- hím, a jealous and cruel monarchi, ascended the throne. Azam Humáyúr had favoured the rival candidate, Jalál-ud-din ; he had again deserted him and been received with open arms, but it was not forgotten that he had bimself once reigned as a king, and his loyalty as a subject was questioned, A'zam Humáyún Sherwani, Governor of Karra Muinikpur. In the year 932 Hijri (A.D. 1526), during the reign of Sikandar Lodi's son and successor, Ibráhim Lodi, Azam Humáyún Sherwáni (to whom reference has already been made above), Amír-ul-Umra, or Generalissimo of the forces, was stationed at Karra Mánikpur. At this time he received the king's command to reduce the fortress of Gwalior, and to take prisoner the Raja Man Singh. Accordingly he set out from Karra Manikpur with 30,000 troops and 300 elephants. The king at the same time despatched to Gwalior another large force, under eight generals, to support him. The combined forces, having taken up their position under the walls of the fortress, commenced the assault. At this juncture the rája died, but his son; Bikramájít, took his place and continued to defend the town with the utmost energy. Failing in his endeavours to get in by assault, Azam Humáyún laid a train of gunpowder, and opened a breach in the wall. Just as victory was about to declare itself for the besiegers, the king listening to the tales of treachery poured into his ear by Azam Humáyun's enemies, was persuaded to suddenly recal him. The commander, with his son Fateh Khan, presented themselves before the king at Agra, when both were at once cast into prison. Before leaving, however, Azam Humáyún had appointed his younger son, Islám Khan, to take his place and rule in Karra Manikpur. Hearing of this, the king sent Ahmad Khan, one of + Prayer for the ruler of the country. ​468 MAN his generals, with an army to depose Islám Khan. But the latter, now openly rebelling, prepared to assert his independence. An engagement ensued, in which the king's forces were routed, and Ahmad ķhau put to flight. Meanwhile the hitherto impregnable fortress of Gwalior had at last been reduced, and now the king was at liberty to draw off bis troops and proceed with sufficient forces to punish the rebellious Islám Khan at Karra Manikpur. A'zam Humáyrún Lodi and Said Khan Lodi.—With the army before Gwalior were Azam Humáyún Lodi and Saíd Khan Lodi, younger sons of Prince Mubárak Lodi, former governor of Karra Mánikpur, and no sooner were these young nobles made aware of the king's intentions, then fear- ing his caprice, and alarmed lest they too, like Azam Humáyún Sherwani; should incur bis suspicions, they left the army and proceeded to Luck- now, where they were possessed of certain jágírs. Thence they sent word to Islám Khan at Karra Mánikpur to be of good courage, for that they intended to support him. Meanwhile Ibráhím Lodi despatched Ahmad Khan with a new army and a numerous staff for the coercion of the rebel Istám. Arrived at Báugarmau, a place in the Unao district, about 108 miles from Mánikpur, the force was suddenly attacked in the dead of night by Iqbál Khan, a slave of Azam Humáyún Lodi, who, with 5,000 horse, foil upon the camp, and, after considerable havoc, killing and wound- ing in every direction, made off safely under cover of the darkness and confusion, Hearing of this second disaster, the king was infuriated, and despatching a further reinforcement of 40,000 horse, he sent word to. his generals that if they did not now very speedily conquer Islám Khan, he would regard them as traitors themselves, for it was evident that they were not fighting with a will. At last the rival forces encountered each other, and a battle was inmi- pent. At this moment, a Pírzáda, named Shekh Rajjú Bokhári, of the line of the famous Sayyad Jalál-ud-dín, or Makhdúm Jahánián Jabangasht, placed himself betwcen the two armies, and entreated them to avoid blood- shed, and listening to the dictates of humanity, to settle their differences amicably. Thereupon Islám Khan proclaimed aloud that if the king would only release his father, Azam Humáyún Sherwáui, he was ready to withdraw from the field. An armistice being agreca upon, Islám Khan's proposal was transmitted to the king. True to his tyrannical character, however, the king refused compliance with the conditions: offered by Islám, and at the same time sent word to Dayá Khan Loháni, Governor of Behár, Nasir Khan Loháni, and others, to effect by any means the submission of Islám Khan. A battle ensued, and the rebels (if they may be so called) were defcated; Karra Mánikpur being re-annexed to the empire. This contest was really one between the emperor and his cousins, who claimed their share in the inheritance. Mánikpur was now at the height of its prosperity. During the whole government of the Lodi it was governed by a prince of the blood, and was some time the residence of the Amír-ul-Umra or prime-minister. Sultán Janed Birlas, the patron of Sher Khan, was the Governor of Karra Mánikpur during the first year of the Mughal Dynasty, and then the ​MÀN 469 fierce Pathán hatched another of those rebellions with which the history of Mánikpur is rife. We pass over the rebellion of the Afghán chiefs, the defeat of Humáyún, and other matters which belong to the history of India. Marriage of the king's daughter with Shah Qúsim of Mánikpur..--The next year, 937 Hijri (A. D. 1540), Sher Shah was informed that Khizr Khan Sherwani, his deputy in the government of Bengal, had contracted a marriage with the daughter of his old enemy, Mahmud Shah, and late king of Bengal, and, besides other signs of disaffection, that he had openly commenced to assert his independence. Sher Shah determined at once to get out for Bengal, and on his way thither he encamped at Karra, where he married his daughter, the Princess Bíbi Saleha, to Shah Qásim, a descendant of the celebrated Hisám-ud-dín, and, at the same time, desired his son-in-law to accompany him on his expedition to Bengal. Shah Qasim, liowever, excused himself the scor of his religious but he recommended to the king's favourable notice a person of unblameable life and one like-minded with himself, Qázi Fazl. Accordingly Sher Shah, accompanied by Qázi Faz], set out for Gaur. The rebellious Khizr Khan was seized and imprisoned, and the terrritory of Bengal being split-up into several small governorships, Qázi Fazl was appointed by the king to act as governor-general. Tomb of the Princess.—The Princess Bíbi Saleha, alias Sulaiman Khátúa, died at Mánikpur, where her tomb, and that of her busband, are to be seen carefully preserved in the “ Abáta-i-Khanqáh." In 1563, under Akbar, Karra Mánikpur was given to Kamál Khan, to guard it as a frontier post against the rebellious chief of Jaun- pur. In 1564 he was removed, and the famous Asaf Khan was appointed lord of Mánikpur. In 1865 he moved to the south to Garra just as Jalál- ud-din had marched from Mánikpur to the conquest of the Dekkan, and Azam Humayun to Gwalior, and just as success and vast plunder had inspired those chiefs with the idea of rebellion, so did the conquest of Garra near Jubbalpore, with its heroic queen and 1,500 elephants, tempt Asaf Khan to treason. He joined with Zamán Khan, Bahadur Khan, and others in a rebellion which lasted for seven years, and which was the last serious attempt to revive the ancient sovereignty of Jaunpur. The close of the struggle occured at Mánikpur. The emperor was at Agra when he heard that the rebels were besieging Mánikpur. He marched at once, crossed at Kanauj, and continued to advance rapidly and reached Rae Bareli. Alarmed at such promptitude, as well as by the rumours of the vast force accompanying Akbar, the rebels raised the siege, and crossing the river encamped on the opposite shore. When Akbar arrived at Mánikpur it was night; not a boat was to be had; and being the rainy season the river was fearfully swollen. Nothing daunted, and mounted on his famous elephant, Sundar (the beautiful) he 60 ​470 MAN plunged into the Ganges accompanied by only a squadron of horse. А rumour was soon afloat in the enemy's canıp that Akbar had crossed the river and was on them. Khan Zamán and his chieftains, who were in the midst of their revels, and probably more than half in their cups, ridiculed the idea, and refused to entertain the notion for a moment. This enabled Akbar to lie perdu till daybreak, when, having been reinforced by bia advance guard, and by the respective troops of Majnun Kákshal and Asaf Khan," he fell upon the hostile camp. The rebels, quite unprepared for so vigorous an onslaught, were utterly routed and dispersed. Khan Zamán was killed in action by an elephant, who dashed him to the ground with his trunk and trampled him to death, while his brother, Bahadur Khan, was taken prisoner. Brought before Akbar, there is every reason to believe that his life would yet have been spared, but so infuriated were the bystanders, that before Akbar could interpose, Bahadur Khan lay a corpse at his feet. Thus terminated, we may say at Manikpur, this famous seven years' rebellion of the Uzbak chiefs. Division of the empire into subahs.—Before the close of the glorious reign of Akbar the empire was divided into fifteen subahs or provinces viz., Allahabad, Agra, Oudh, Ajmere, Gujarát, Behár, Bengal, Delhi, Kábul, Lahore, Mooltan, Málwa, Berár, Kándeish, and Ahmadnagar. This arrange- ment diminished the importance of Mánikpur, which was thenceforward included in subah Allahabad, as one of its component sarkárs. Mr. King has been at the pains of furnishing an extract from the Aín-i-Akbari, which in a somewhat more detailed form, together with his accompanying remarks, I shall make no apology for introducing here, as they fitly pertain to a history of so celebrated a place as Mánikpur, which was formerly the most important town of the district, if not of the province. Extract from Mr. King's report.--A reference to Elliott's glossary, under the word 'dastúr,' will show that so recently as Akbar's time many parganas existed which cannot be traced now; and that many now exist which are not named in the various sarkárs into which that emperor divid- ed his dominions.

  • The glossary omits detailed mention of all lands which were not British

territory at the time when the author wrote; and this will account for the absence of the Sarkár Mánikpur, which embraced all the land now in the Partabgarh district. “A manuscript copy of the Sín-i-Akbari has enabled me to give some details of the territorial division in Akbar's time :-- "Extract from the Aín-i-Akbari which relates to the revenue arrange- ments of the Partabgarh district, Sarkár Mánikpur, Subab Allahabad.

  • It is doubtful whether Asaf Khan was with Msjnín Kátshal within the walls of

Mánikpur wben it was besieged. It seeme more probable that he was at that time resident at Karra. | The heads of the two brothers were sent to the Punjab and Kábul, and the bodies to Jaunpur, in which city they were dragged through the streets tied to the legs of an elephant. ​MAN 471

  • The Subah of Allahabad contained nine sarkárs as under :-

1. Allahabad 2. Gházipur 3. Benarcs, 4, Jaunpur (Shimáli) 5. Mánikpur 6. Chunkr (Junübi) 7. Kálinjar B: Tarhar Kora 9. Karra 15 muháls. 19 $5 8 41 14 13 71 11 11 9 .60 12 +1 1 Total 142 21 muháls. “ The Subah of Oudh (or Ajodhya) included - 1. Sarkár Oudh 2. Gorakhpur 3. Bahraich Khairahad 5. Lucknow . 11 22 66 Total ... 193 Extract from copy of Aín-i-Akbari in possession of the Raja of Máuda (made in time of Shah Alam) regarding the Sarkár Mánikpur, Subah Alla- habad. Revenue Statement of the Portabgarh district, Sarkar Manikpur, Subah Allahabad. Name of pargana . Forta whe- Adonnt of thcr kach. land. one or pakka. Amount 6iwse by by "Dan." "Dem." Caute of proprietor. Cavalry. Infantry. Tolala of Oois. 4 and 6 lo tuppes 2 5 3 9 8 9 8. BB. 69,131 10 0 Brick builty 32,343 30 15,721 60 AP TH be Arwal 31 Bahlol Thulendi Jalalpur Bilkhar, Jáis Dalmau Rae Bareli Balon Qariet Gazárs Qariát Pálgah Mápikpar-ba-ha- well Naalra bad 76,617 8 0 Brick bullt, 25,325 o O Ditto 67,608 90 Ditto 86,751 17 ol Ditto 56,102 0 Ditto Rs. 48. P 29,57,0771 38,222 Nejput, 20 7,000 74,799 80 18,30,283 1,75,750 Rajput, Kayallı and! 10 5001 50, 105 120 Bereya.t 9,83,261 54,821 Rajput, Kayath and 100 300 10,851 40 Bareyait 99,13,017 1,40,326 Bachgoti and Brab- 250 5,000 1,01,386 12 0 rman. 14,24,737 2,77,368 Variona tribes, GC 700 42,462 76 36.26,087 30,14,130 Turkoman. 493,000 1,68,765.00 38,50,984 1,80,080 Rajput Kanhpuria, 180 2,000 83,876 10 0 27,17,381 3,94,774 Rajput Bisen Ga 208,900 79,804 20 mindal, &c. 24,61,077 1,15,777 Rajput Biscu, 20 700) 84.421. 60 11,17,820 11,17,926 Rajput Bisen, 20 490 58,886 40 5,11,909 5,14.900 Bachgati, 100 2,000 25,749: 80 45,00,312 67,37,729 Biaen Káyath &o., 500 6,000 2,80,950 OO 26,82,070 | Rajput Barega. 84,562 OO 1,08,148 Kayath, Bais 40 1,000 2,703 120 Kannt, 51,605 12 0 32,180 0 0 9,456 8 0 Brick built, 1,29,830 00 Ditto STT 55,599 4! 1.0 ON 11,12,677 96

  • Now known as P'Artabgarh.

1 " Bareya" or " Pureya," a tribe unknown: at all events thog ate pot known in this district 40 "Dame" were equivalent to one rupøc. ​472 MAN Severance of Karra and Mánikpur.--Hitherto it will have been observed that the gitaát of Karra and Mánikpur were one and the same, and that although divided by the river, these two towns formed in reality but one seat of government. Now, however, we find under Akbar's scheme of territorial distribution they are severed, and each becomes the capital of a distinct "Sarkár,"— Mánikpur containing fourteen muháls and Karra twelve. The government of a sarkár henceforward became entrusted to a faujdár, while the governor of a province or subah became known as sipáh sálór or viceroy, The last governor of Karra Mánikpur, under the oli regime, was Asaf Khan Harvi, who shortly after the final conquest of the Uzbaks, was removed by Akbar to the command of the fortress of Chittaur in Rajputána. Nawab Abdus Samad Khan Gardezi,...During the reign of Akbar, Nawab Abdus Samad Khan, Gardezi, of Manikpur, was appointed to the rank of mansabdar, and appears to have been an extremely wealthy and influential man. From documents bearing his seal and signature, it seems clear that his functions were important and his powers extensive. He built several palatial residencies in Mánikpur, and founded the village of Samadabad, now included within the limits of mauza Chaukápárpur, Some of the edifices which this personage erected were of such rare beauty, and the stones employed in the building of such magnificent carving, that Nawab Asif-ud-daula, nearly two centuries after, removed considerable portions of them to Lucknow, where they now grace the large imám- bára, The reign of the Emperor Jahangir.–We may pass over the entire reign of Jahangir, 1014 to 1037 Hijri (A.D. 1605 to 1627) as presenting no noticeable incidents in connection with the history of Manikpur. We may except the occasion of the pursuit by Shab Jabán of prince Parvez and Mahabat Khan in 1033 Hijri (A.D. 1624), when the latter, bearing of Shah Jahan's “ arrival and rapid progress in Bengal, put themselves in motion in the direction of Allahabad. Shah Jabán crossed the Ganges to meet them, but the people of the country, who were not inclined to enter on opposition to the emperor, refused to bring in supplies to his camp, or to assist in keeping up his communication by means of the boats on the Ganges. The discouragement and privations which were the consequence of this state of things, led to the desertion of the new levies which Shah Jahán had raised in Bengal; and when at last he came to an action with bis opponents, he was easily overpowered. His army dispersed, and himself constrained once more to seek refuge in the Deccan."* Shab Jahán on this occasion probably crossed from the Oudh bank not far from Mánikpur, at all events in the muhál. The subsequent reign of Shah Jahan also fur- nishes but little of interest. I find, however, from the "Badshdhndma," a chronicle of this reign, to the effect that four mansabdars were appointed in Manikpur by Shah Jabán- viz., Ráje Sayyad Abdul Qúdir Khan, also styled “Mir Adal," whose " mansab" was 2,000, and who entertained 2,000 sawars ; Diwán Sayyad Raza, whose mansab was 800, and who kept up 350 sawars; Sayyad Abdul Hamid Mánikpuri, mansab 500, entertained

  • Elphinstone's History of India, 5th Eda., page 666. ​MAN

473 500 sawars; Nawab Abdus Samad Khan, Manikpuri, mansab 300, enter- tained 300 sawars. Ráje Abdul Qadir Khan alias "Mér Adal."_Of these mansabdars, the first mentioned, Raje* Sayyad Abdul Qádir Khan alias " Mír Adal" was the most noteworthy. He founded the town of Shaháb-ud-din-abad, contiguous to Mánikpur, and so named it after his ancestor Shabáb-ud-dín Gardezi. As this happened also to be the emperor's name, it fuļnished Abdul Qadir with an appropriate opportunity of doing seeming honour to his sovereign. Within this town be built several splendid edifices, of which the Jáma Masjid, Sang Mahal (stone palace), Rangin Mabal (coloured palace, also of stone), and the Chihal Sitún (or palace of forty pillars), are the most noteworthy. The stone of which these buildings were constructed was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, where Abdul Qadir purchased the quarry, and the enormous size of some of the slabs is truly astonishing, considering the distance from which they came. The build- ings themselves, most of them, are now in a ruinous state, but neverthe- less bear distinct evidences of their former splendour. The Chihal Sitún.—The“ Chihal Sitún” in particular still retains many beautiful portions. . The stone carvings are remarkably deep and well defined. This edifice overhangs the bank of the river, and one apart- ment has been entirely swept away with the encroachment of the current. At the time the Chibal Sitấn was built, it was not permitted to subjects to build such residences. The emperor, Shah Jahấn, hearing that Abdul Qadir had built a Chihal Sitún at Mánikpur, after the pattern of the one which he himself had ereoted at Agra, was by no means well pleased, and sent at once to demand an explanation. Ráje Abdul Qadir was, however, prepared with his reply, for on the arrival of the emissary he took him to the palace, and with much dignity of manner pointed out the last resting. place of departed members of his family. The emissary needed no more, and departed perfectly satisfied, and so, on his arrival at Agra, was his royal master. It is hardly necessary to observe that the tombs were a sham, and that the emperor was duped. Diwan Sayyad Raje.-Díwán Sayyad Ráje, the next mansabdar, was also a descendant of Shaháb-ud-din Gardezi, and a man of note at the period in which he lived. He appears to have held office as díwán to the Bengal Government, and he built a fine saráe at Sasseram, and another at a place within the borders of the Benares district on the Karamnása river, which stream forms the common boundary of the districts of Bena- res and Arrah. This place is now a large town, and still known by the name Sarbe Sayyad Ráje. The diwán also added to his native town by the erection of several fine houses. The other two mansabdars of this reign also contributed lustre to the town of Mánikpur by sundry embellishments, and by a lavish expenditure of their wealth.

  1. The alteration of this title from Rája to Ráje is not quite intelligible. The reason

advanced is that the title baving been bestowed by a saint, and extending to each and every member of the family of the grantee, it was necessary to distinguish it from the title of Rájs, which was originally conferred by sovereigns and was conflaed to one hereditary male member oply. ​MAN Ráje Sayyad Abdul Wahid. Another contemporary, though not a mansabdar; Ráje Sayyad Abdul Wahid founded the villages of Abdul Wahidganj and Páhipur. Shah Abdul Karim and the religious endowments at Mánikpur.-Of the Makhdámzádas of this period, prominence must be given to Shab Abdul Karím, of the line of Shah Qasim, Hisåm-ud-dín, and Maulána Ismáít Farrukhi, worthies who have all been previously noticed. This indivi- dual passed so high in the public estimation, that a book called the Chár. Rina was written to commemorate the events of his life. He is the founder of the Salon religious brotherhood, the endowment of which is at the present time under the management of Shah Husen Atå. When Sher Shał married his daughter to Shah Qasim, he settled on her the Sasseram Jágir, before settingforth on his expedition to Bengal. This Jágir had been enjoyed by the descendants of Shah Qasim down to the time of the subject of our present notice, Shah Abdul Karim. This pain- fully pious and self-mortifying man threw up the jágir and tore up the title deed. His descendants in Mánikpur at the present day are Shah Muhammad Ashiq, the Sajjáda-nashin, Shah Muhammad Ismail, secretary and treasurer of the endowment, Shah Muhammad Mohim, Sayyad Muhammad Abdul Hasan, and Shah Abdul Qádir. This quintett forms the only members of the brotherhood. The endowment consists of 10 villages which are held by the brotherhood under a perpetual revenue-free grant from the British Government, the gross rental of which yields them an annual income of Rs. 4,000. The Rajput tribes.—The surrounding country was at this time mainly peopled by the Bisens, whose condition, with that of other Rajput tribes, may be generally described in Elphinstone's words. “The Rajputs, who at the time of Sultan Mahmud's invasion, were in possession of all the gov- ernments of India, sunk into the mass of the population as those govern, ments were overturned, and no longer appeared as rulers, except in places where the strength of the country afforded some protection against the Musalman arms. Those on the Jumna and Ganges, and in general in all the completely conquered tracts, became what they are now, and though they still retained their high spirit and military figure, had adopted their habits to agriculture, and no longer aspired to a share in the government of the country."* Aurangzeb's visit to Mánikpur.- This brings us to the reign of Aurangzeb or Alamgir. The long reign of this sovereignextended from 1068 Hijri to 1119 Hijri (A.D. 1658 to 1707). During this period he was con- stantly moving about in different portions of his empire. On one of these occasions, on his return from a tour through Oudh, necessitated by his bus- picions regarding his lieutenant at Fyzabad, who was a Káyath, and who, in the emperor's opinion, was far too tolerant of the Hindu religion and superstitions, Aurangzeb arrived at Mánikpur one evening just in time to witness the appearance of the new moon, and to celebrate the festival of the Id-ul-Fitr. His army ran up a mosque in the course of the night,

  • Elphinstone's History of India, 6th Edn, page 479. ​MAN

475 and in it the emperor performed his devotions the next morning, and con- tinued his march to Agre. This mosque may still be seen in the village of Shabáb-ud-din-abad adjoining Manikpur, though now beginning to fall into decay. It is called the Yak-shabi Masjid. The emperor returned vid Rae Bareli, which was up to the time of Nawab Shujá-ud-daula within the Sarkár of Mánikpur. Mahantgir Gosháin.—Nothing worthy of record in connection with Mánikpur presents itself during the succeeding reigns of Bahadur Shah Jabándar (alias Moizz-ud-dín) and Farruk Siar, and we thus come down to the time of the Emperor Muhammad Shah, who ascended the throne in 1131 Hijri (A.D. 1719), and who reigned till the year 1161 Hijri (A.D. 1748). In the year 1132 Hijri (A.D. 1720), a Hindu named Mahantgir Gosháin was deputy governor of the Subah of Allahabad, and held office under Abdulla Khan, who, being Qutb-ul-mulk (one of the cabinet ministers) could not permanently reside at the seat of his govern- ment.* The deputy governor, Mahantgír Gosháín, rebelled against the emperor's authority, who forthwith sent against him Rája Ratan Chand, Sayyad Shah Ali Khan, and Muhammad Khan Bangash, with a sufficient force to coerce bim. Arrived before the fort at Allahabad, the Mahant sent a somewhat cool message to the royal officers, to the effect that if he were granted the Oudh Subahdarship, he would vacate his post at Allaha- bad. Strange to say he obtained bis request, and Abdulla Khan appoint- ed Rája Ratan Chand and Sayyad Shah Ali Khan as deputy governors in his place. Insurrections of the Rajputs.—Early the next year Abdulla Khan was made prisoner in an encounter with the emperor's troops at Delhi, a few days after the assassination of his brother, Husen Ali, at Agra ;t and for a few months the government of the province was carried on by Sayyad Shah Ali Khan. At the beginning of 1134 Hijri (A.D. 1722), the sanad of subahdar was conferred on Muhammad Khan Bangash, who was unable per- sonally to carry on the administration owing to his presence being requir- ed in his other government of Malwa. His son, Akbar Ali Khan, was left in charge at Allahabad. At this time, the neighbouring Rajput Taluq- dars of the subah rose in rebellion, and then commenced a period of anar- chy and lawlessness which lasted for more than forty years, and was only terminated by the simultaneous overthrow of the Mahrattas in 1174 Hijri (A.D. 1761), the independence of the sovereignty of Oudh, and the rising power of the British arms in Bengal. Taluqdars of this and adjoining districts. The following chieftaing are conspicuous in their bold assertion of independence, and on account of the large forces of men and arms they each and all kept up-vis., Rája Bhagwant Singh Khíchar, of Asothar, in the district of Fatehpur, Rája Hindúput Singh, Sombansi of Partabgarh, Rája Balbhadi Singh, Kanh- puria of Tiloi, Ráe Bháo Singh, Bisen of Rámpur, with their clansmen and retainers in arms,--and entering into a kind of offensive and defensive alliance, these taluqdars became a source of considerable trouble and Abdulla Khan's brother, Hosen Ali Khan, was Amir-al-Umra or Commander-in-Chief. + Vide detailed account in Elphinstone's History of India, 5th Edn., pages 694, 695. ​476 MAN course. anxiety to the Government, whose demands they set at nought, and whose irksome restrictions they determined to submit to no longer, Taluqdars' forces defeated by Saadat Khan.--Over such men as these was Akbar Ali Khan, son of the governor Muhammad Khan Bangash, left to rule. A mere youth, without any capacity for administration, and addicted to pleasure, he left the affairs of his charge to take their own The result may be imagined. Disaffection, confusion, and oppression reigned rampant. At length in 1149 Hijri (A.D. 1736); Saádat Khan, Burhan-ul-mulk, viceroy of the adjoining province of Oudh, received the emperor's commands to proceed with a force and punish the insurgents. Saadat Khan encountered the Rajput forces under Rája Bhagwant Singh at Kora, gave them battle, and signally defeated them. He was unable, however, to follow up his success, as the complication of affairs in the Mahratta country demanded his presence in support of the imperial troops, "for Saádat Khan," says Elphinstone, " with a spirit very unlike his contemporaries, issued from his own province to defend that adjoining." Different governors of Subah Allahabad.Meantime Mubázir-ul-mulk had been appointed to the Allahabad command, and he appears to have been as inefficient and as unable to cope with the rebellion of the zamin- dars as his predecessor ; for the Rajputs were again in a state of open revolt, while Rúp Ráe, son of Rája Bhagwant Singh, had actually taken forcible possession of sarkár Karra, with its twelve parganas. While these events were passing in the province of Allahabad, the Mughal empire was receiving the severest blow it had yet sustained at the hands of the Per- sian conqueror, Nadir Shah, (A.D. 1751). After the departure of that prince, and the restoration of the throne to Muhammad Shah, Umdat-ul- Taulk, a favourite of the emperor, but who had unfortunately incurred the jealousy of the court, was deputed to the governorship of Allahabad. He remained in office from 1153 to 1156 Hijri (A.D. 1740 to 1743); and during this period he overcame the insurgent Rúp Ráe, and recovered the sarkár Karra. He also succeeded in effectually coercing the other rebellious taluqdars, and in restoring partial order throughout his jurisdic- tion. On his return to Delhi, he left Khan Alain Baqá-ulla Khan, his nephew, in charge of the province. The administration of this official ag governor lasted but one year; for on the death of his uncle in 1157 Hijri, the governmeat was bestowed on Salábat Ali Khan, commonly called Nána Bába, a relative of the emperor; but the newly appointed governor neither took up the reins of office himself, nor appointed a deputy. He adopted the somewhat novel course of farming out the province to Khan Alam. Narab Safdar Jang, Subahdar of Allahabad. Soon after this Safdar Jang, nephew of Saádat Khan, the late viceroy of Oudh, received on his appointment as wazír the governorship of the province of Ajmere, retain- ing at the same time his hereditary viceroyalty in Oudh: By a mutual arrangement he and Salábat Ali Khan exchanged provinces, and Safdar Jang became governor of Allahabad. He then divided the Subah of Allahabad into two portions. Over one portion, consistingof the sarkárs of. Mánikpur, Karta, Kora, Allahabad, and Kanauj, he appointed the ex-Mus​MAN 477 tájir, Khan Alam, and over the remaining sarkárs was placed Ali Quli Khan. At the same time Janesar Khan was appointed faujdar of Sarkfr Mánikpur. Charged with the general superintendence of the whole Subah was Safdar Jang's Díwán, Rája Newal Ráe. The Rohilla invasion. Next in the order of events comes the famous Rohilla invasion (occasioned by the illiberal conduct of Safdar Jang in dis- possessing the widow of the Jágírdar of Farukhabad, Qaem Khan Ban- gash, of her territory, which resulted in Ahmad Khan Bangash, the bro- ther, taking up arms in alliance with the Rohillas against the wrongdoer), in the course of which “the Wazír was himself wounded; the Rohillas proceeded to carry their arms into his country; and though beaten off from Lucknow and Bilgrám they penetrated to Allahabad, and set the power of the wazír and the emperor alike at defiance."* This took place in 1163 Hijri (A.D. 1750). The Díwán Newal Ráe lost his life in one of these engagements. The next year, 1164 Hijri, Safdar Jang came to Gutni, † and, with the aid of the Mahrattas and the Játs, defeated the Rohillas, and drove them into the lower branches of the Himalayas, which form their boundary on the north-east. The Rohillas, as has been previ- ously stated, were in possession of the city of Allahabad for forty-five days, and they sacked and plundered it. An attempt was made to eject Safdar Jang's faujdar, Janesar Khan, from Mánikpur, and to place Kále Khan's nephew, Usmán, in possession. This attempt, however, proved unsuccess- ful, for Tanesar Khan met the forces of Usmán Khan near Fatehpur, and effectually prevented any attack on Mánikpur. Usman Khan drew off his troops and joined his uncle Kale Khan before the walls of Allahabad. Revolt and death of Safdar Jang.-In 1161 Hijri (A.D. 1754), Alamgir II. succeeded the murdered Ahmad Shah. The self-appointed wazír and regicide Gházi-ud-dín at once took advantage of his position to annoy and humble his old enemy Safdar Jang. Accordingly he caused a sanad to be drawn up in favour of Khan Alám for the entire subah of Allahabad, and sent it to him. Khan Alam, on receiving it, forwarded it to Safdar Jang, who was at that time near Partabgarh. The latter wrote and congratulated his old lieutenant; at the same time he sent instructions to his nephew, Muhammad Quli Khan, in the fort of Allahabad to hold it against any attempt of Khan Alam, and simultaneously made overtures to the Mah- rattas inviting them to come and take possession of the strongholds of Karra and Kora. Thus were the emperor's commands set at defiance by this daring and unscrupulous prince, who however departed this life shortly after in the year 1170 Hijri (A.D. 1756). Events after the death of Safdar Jang.-After the death of Safdar Jang a dispute arose between his son Shujá-ud-daula, and his nephew, Muhammad Quli Khan, regarding the division of territory. It was at last

  • Elphinstone's History of India, 6th Edo., page 736.

+ Five miles from Mánikpur, on the Ganges, opposite Karta, op wbich occasion Rája Pir- thipat was murdered. Elphinstone puts the date of Safdar Jang's death at 1167 Hijri. I cannot but think this is a mistake. The " Makhzan-al Taxárišb” and other reliable published works unite in making it t170 Hijrt. 61 ​478 MAN settled that the latter should hold the subah of Allahabad, which had however become very much curtailed in its dimensions owing to the sarkárs of Karra, Kora, and Kálinjar having passed into the hands of the Mahrattas. Muhammad Quli Khan appointed Sayyad Fakhr-ud-dín as, his faujdar in Mánikpur, and in Patti Bilkhar and Partabgarh Nawab Najaf Khan. At this time Ismail Beg Risaldar was stationed in this sarkár, and Khan Alam Baqá-ulla Khan was driven by the Mahrattas to cross the Ganges and seek refuge in Oudh. The government of the subah became weaker and weaker every day, and Nawab Shujá-ud-daula secretly assisted the enemies of his cousin, Muhammad Quli Khan, by every means in his power. Meantime other events were in progress. No sooner was the news of the death of Safdar Jang conveyed to the Wazir Gházi-ud-dín, than, with the sanction of Alamgir, he determined on an attempt to confiscate his pos- sessions. For this purpose he set out from Delhi, accompanied by two princes of the blood and the emperor's son-in-law. Hearing of his advance, Shujá-ud-daula prepared to meet him, and sent word to his cousin, Muham- mad Quli Khan at Allahabad, to lose no time,in joining him with a suffi- cient force. Accordingly, although in no very amiable mood towards his cousin, Muhammad Quli Khan collected his forces and crossed the Ganges, into Oudh at Mánikpur. Here he was met by his Faujdar Fakhr-ud-dín, who poured into his ear such a tale of rebellion and contumacy on the part of the taluqdars within his jurisdiction, that Muhammad Quli Khan was in a measure forced to detach a portion of his forces under Najaf Khan for the punishment of these gentlemen. Defeat of the Rája of Tiloi.-Najaf Khan commenced operations against the Řája of Tiloi whom he defeated in action and whose followers he dis- persed. He was however unable to do more, as he was under the necessity. of hastening to rejoin the main force under the governor. In spite of the earnest solicitations of Fakhr-ud-din that he would remain and coerce the remaining rebels, Najaf Kban overtook Muhammad Quli Khan at Rae Bareli, Farjdar besieged at Manikpur.–No sooner was the coast clear than the taluqdars felt that they had the game in their own hands. Uniting their forces they came down on the luckless faujdar, and so closely besieged him in Mánikpur, that it was with the greatest difficulty that he managed to escape across the river, and find his way to Allahabad. Meanwhile Muhammad Quli Khan was on his way back from Sandi Pali (in the district of Bardoi) where matters had been amicably arranged. Strange to say, on his return he took little or no notice of the turbulent conduct of the taluqdars, who thus again escaped with impunity, to renew on the first opportunity, and in still greater force, their hostile attack on the Govern- ment officials. Treachery of Nawab Shujá-ud-darila.--Shortly afterwards in 1173 Hijri (A.D. 1759), Shah Alam, the heir apparent to the throne, who had left his father's court through fear of the vile Wazír Gházi-ud-din arrived at Allahabad, and proposed to Muhammad Quli Khan to accompany him in the ​MAN 479 capacity of Wazír in his expedition to Bengal. The governor of Allaha- bad readily consented, and at the same time wrote to his cousin Shujá- ud-daula, and invited him to co-operate. The latter, however, not placing much reliance in the ultimate success of the scheme, had recourse to an artifice, and under pretence of not possessing so secure a fortress as that of Allahabad, within which to leave his family and possessions during his absence, promised to accompany his cousin if he would temporarily give up to him the fort of Allahabad. The latter, unsuspicious of any trea- cherous designs, at once acceded to Shujá-ud-daula's proposal, and set off with Shah Alam for Bengal. No sooner was his back turned than Shujá- ad-daula, already master of the fort, lost no time in making himself master of the surrounding country, After a few months his cousin returned defeated and dispirited, and accompanied by only five or six horsemen. Shujá-ud-daula seized the opportunity, and sent him a prisoner to Oudh (Fyzabad).* Advance of the Mahrattas into Oudh. The next year, 1173 Hijri, Alamgir II. was assassinated, and Shah Alam, though absent, was now the rightful sovereign : Shujá-ud-daula had therefore to support his preten- sions against the latter. In 1174 Hijri, Najaf Khan and Ismail Beg Khan came into the Mánikpur Sarkár, in order to make terms with the Rajput chiefs. Matters were in train towards an amicable settlement, when Shu- já-ud-daula refused to actively support the Mahrattas, now suffering all the horrors of a protracted siege in Pánipat. In consequence of this refusal, Biswás Ráo, the Mabratta Grand Wazir, sent word to Gopál Pandit, faujdar of Fatehpur Haswa, and Kishná Nand Pandit, faujdar of Karra, to harry the territory of Shujá-ud-daula. These officers, however, were not possessed of sufficient power to carry out these orders, as the bulk of their forces had been drawn off to reinforce the Mahratta army. They found themselves speedily relieved from this difficulty, as, no sooner were the Rajput taluqdars made aware of the nature of Biswás Ráo's message, than they sent word to the two faujdars to cross the Ganges at once into Oudh, where troops to any extent would be placed at their disposal, and, at the same time, they signified their readiness to take part in the enterprise. Manikpur plundered.---Accordingly Gopál, favjdar, crossed at Dalmau in the Rae Bareli district, while his colleague crossed at Mánikpur, At both places they found large forces in readiness to receive them. At Dal- mau & general massacre of the inhabitants, who were chiefly Muham- madans, took place, bat at Mánikpur, owing it is asserted to the more humane disposition of Kishna Nand, no such horrors were enacted. Never- theless the place was gutted, and the property of many fugitives, who were attempting to escape, was plundered from the boats as they were going down the river. Then commenced a series of raids and petty engage- ments throughout this and the adjoining districts, in which Shujá-ud- daula's lieutenants had to hold their own against the combined forces of the taluqdars and the Mahratta agents.

  • For a full account of this usfortunate attempt against the Subahdar of Bengal, vide

Nolsn's History of the British Empire in India, Vol. II,, pp. 267-68. He writes The Nawab of Oudh bad proved treacherous, and had seized the capital of his ally, the Nawab of Allababad, who wilbdrey his forces from before Patna to reve his own territorien." ​480 MAN End of the Rajput rebellion.--Suddenly news arrived of the final over- throw of the Mahrattas, and, in consequence Gopal and Kishná Nand were obliged to effect a basty retreat. They were hotly pursued by Rae Súrat Singh and Rája Beni Bahadur, two of Shujá-ud-daula's officers, and by Najaf Khan and Ismáil Beg, and were finally driven out of the sarkárs of Karra and Kora, which thereupon came into the possession of the viceroy of Oudh. The Rája of Tiloi, Balbhaddar Singh, was driven into exile across the Gogra, and we have no further account of him. Raja Hindúpat of Partabgarh also became a fugitive, and, it is asserted, subsequently embraced the Musalman religion. He was brother to Pir- thipat, who was murdered at Gutni in 1164 Hijri, and this period under Hindupat supplies another link in the history of the Partabgarh family. Hindupat probably succeeded his nephew Duniápat, who was killed at Badwal in pargaba Sikandra in 1165-66 Hijri, and it is clear that he was sufficiently powerful to unite in the Rajput combination against the Government officials, and that he was in possession of the estate for another eight or nine yearsi. e., till 1174 Hijri , when he was driven into exile by Shujá-ud-daula's lieutenant. Ráe Kusal Singh, Taluqdar of Rámpur, alone of all the insurgent chiefs succeeded in making his peace with the Government. Sarkar Mánikpur included in Oudh... In 1175 Hijri (A.D. 1762), Shujá-ud-daula included the sarkár of Mánikpur within his dominions in Oudh, and since that time the component muháls have formed a part of this province. Karámat Khan of Gutni.—In the year 1176 Hijri (A.D. 1763), when Shah Alam having succeeded to the sovereignty of Delhi, cage to Allahabad on his return from his fruitless expedition to Bengal, and had conferred on Shujá-ud-daula the post of wazir. All the Hindu chieftains, with the exception of the Rájas of Aorchha, Datia, Jhansi, Chhatar- pur, Panna, and Ajegarh tendered their submission, and sent handsome presents The absence in darbár of the representatives of the chief- tains abovementioned was too conspicuous to be passed over without notice. Accordingly the emperor with his wazir sallied forth to chastise them. On this occasion he was materially assisted by one Karámat Khan, son-in-law of Sherzamán Khan, risáldár and resident of Gutni. This man was, it is said, so powerful that he could separate two fighting ele- phants, and he was very handsome withal. Possessed of such attractions, it is not difficult to understand that he commanded a large body of fol. lowers. These he placed at the disposal of his sovereign, and led them in person. In the engagement with the forces of Hindupat of Panna which ensued, our hero, after displaying prodigies of valour, unfortunately lost his life. His name is still remembered and proudly spoken of in Gutni and its neighbourhood. Gardezi settlements. --At this time the Gardezis, although their fortunes had much decayed, were still in possession of more than 300 villages. The chief settlement was as heretofore in Manikpur, but they had also established colonies in Mustafabad, Bázid pur, Rasulpur, and Uncha- gáon. ​MAN 481 The former extent of Manikpur. - What was formerly Mánikpur, and known as such in the days of its pristine glory, comprised the following areas which have since been demarcated as separate villages, while for some unaccountable and most extraordinary reason (best known to the boundary settlement officer), the very name of Mánikpur has been wiped off the collector's register, and has been replaced by the somewhat modest and unpretentious title of Purai An Naqt. The founder of the purwa was a comparatively obscure individual, without any claims to the remem- brance of posterity — Púrai Ali Nagi Aimmai Ráje Muhammad Hayat (urj Shahúb-ud-din-abad)... Chakchánda Jotdoman Chauképárpur Káchhipathi Rádapatti Sultanpur Rathai Bajha Bhit Mirgarwa Abatai Kbán Qah Bawanpur Purai Moizz-ud-dín Khemsira DD. 19 PO 17 LOU

B. DI 41 •10 259 acrcg. 506 91 11 286 39 776 31 90 ) 45 3) 187 97 356 40 301 11 92 31 239 8 749 •10 CO DOO 06 EDO duo Total .. 8,894 Ultimate position of Manikpur.-- From the time the sarkár Manikpur came into Oudh, it retained during the lifetime of Shujá-ud-daula-—.e., until 1187 Hijri (A. D. 1774)—its former dimensions entire, and was gov- ered by a chakladar. On the assumption of the sovereignty by Asif- ud-daula, the latter assigned to his mother, the widowed Queen, the par- ganas of Salon, Jáis, and Nasírabad (according to the distribution of the Kín-i-Akbari) in jágír ; while about the same time parganas Rae Bareli, Dalmau, Thulendi, and Kasút (now Khíron) were detached and placed under the Chakladar of Baiswára, and parganas Aror and Bablol (now Partabgarh) and Jalálpur Bilkhar (now Patti Dalippur) were attached to the Sultanpur Nízámat. The remainder was called “Chakla Mánikpur," and so continued until 1244 Hijri (A. D. 1829) when the chakla" was absorbed in the Salon Nízámat, An official was occasionally deputed by the Názim under the title of Chakladar of Ahládganj, whose jurisdiction extended to the limits of the present parganas of Mánikpur, Bíhår, and Dhingwas. Gutni.-Five miles to the south of Mánikpur and also on the Ganges is the village of Gutni. Its chief notoriety is in connection with the mur- der here of Raja Pirthipat Singh, of Partabgarh, by Nawab Mansur Ali Khan (Safdar Jang) in 1164 Hijri (A. D. 1751). It is currently believed that the village of Gutni was founded about four centuries ago by an influential and wealthy Ahír, who owned large flocks and herds. This Indian Laban discovered that the pasturage in this particular locality was sweet and good, and he accordingly determined to take up his abode here. A • A certain Murio, named Doman, it is alleged, increased his holding to such an extent that it became in course of time a separate village under the name " Jotdoman" ​482 MAN few houses were built and the place was named Gutni, which, it is alleged, is a combination of the Sanskrit words " gau" (cow) and "tarn" (grass), However this may have been, and there seems no reason why we should reject the story, it was not until some two centuries ago that Gutni rose to be a place of any importance. At that time one Shahab Khan Pathán, a Cabul merchant and horse-dealer, came to Hindustan. He settled first at Jahanabad in the district of Rae Bareli. He subsequently came to Mánikpur, and shortly after purchased Gutni from the Gardenis. He took up his residence in the place, and his descendants are the present proprietors of the village. One of his successors, Muhammad Hayat Khan, attained to great celebrity, and obtained the lofty title of Haft- Hazári. Gutoi was a prosperous place under the Pathán; about 25 years ago it, too, declined with the falling fortunes of Asad. Khan, an officer formerly high in the service of the Oudh Government. MANIKPUR Town-Pargana MÁNIKPUR--Tahsil KUNDA--District PAR- TABGARH.-This town lies in latitude 25°46' north and lougitude 81°26' east, at a distance of 36 miles from Partabgarh, 16 miles from Salon, 36 from Rae Bareli, and 36 from Allahabad. The inhabited portion is chiefly on the bank of the Ganges. The population is divided as follows :- Hindus Females 841 10 . Males 805 811 Musalmans 835 IPO ... Total 1,646 ... Total 1,646 > There are 180 masonry houses, twenty-two mosques, six temples to Mahádeo, one to Jwála Mukhi, and a private religious institution bearing the name of Kallu, a Dámghini, tombs of Ráje Sayyad Nur'and Shah Hisám-ud-din, one vernacular school called " Kála Madarsa" from the mildewed tower, and a police station. There are two fairs in honour of Jwala Mukhi-one in Chait, the second in Asádh, on the 8th of the dark halves of the months; they are attended by 30,000 people. The gathering does not last long. The commodities have no peculiarity worthy of mention. A third fair called "Bataunka or "Nataunka" is held in Aghan every Thursday, and has a concourse of 5,000 souls; a large portion being females. The roads that pass through the town are the following:- 1. From Bibár to Rae Bareli 2. To Gutoi. 3. To Sarátbúr bridge. 4. To Partabgarh via Dhárápur. 5. To Salon. It is a picturesque ruin of an ancient city where palm trees cluster round numerous mosques and minar in all stages of decay. The history of the place is given under that of the pargana. The derivation of the name and the history of the foundation are variously described :- 1. That Rája Mán Deo, son of Rája Bál Deo, of Kanauj, founded this town and named it after him, and his descendant, Mánik Chand, when he got the throne as his inheritance, changed the name to Mánikpur, ​MAN 483 2. The “Tazkirat-ul-aulia" recites that at a very ancient time there were two brothers, Mánik Ráj, and Súraj Ráj,. Súraj Ráj caught hold of a pious woman with an evil intention, and so his hand withered (" khushk ho gaya"). He resorted to medical aid but in vain. They then applied to a saintly darvesh, who directed them to go to a place near the bank of the Ganges (where Karra now stands), where they would find a stone, and the guilty man would have his hand restored by touching the marvellous stone. Both the brothers advanced to the spot, and found the direction true. Suraj Ráj touched the stone and his hand was restored. Suraj Ráj then constructed a fort at the spot, and founded a city there calling it Karra, originating the name from " kar," in Sanskrit meaning hand. The stone still preserved in the fort is styled "Qadam-i-Adam" (or the foot- print of Adam), and is an object of devotion. Mánik Ráj then founded another town on the opposite bank of the river calling it after himself. 3. To attribute the foundation of Mánikpur to Rája Mánik Chand Gharvár is quite a mistake, for underneath the bottom of the fort of Má- nikpur the remnants of the decayed masonry houses are visible, and attest to the town having been founded at a much anterior date than that of Mánik Chand. 4. A fourth story is that Rája Bál Deo, of Kanauj, had three sons-Rám Deo, Dál Deo, and Man Deo. Rám Deo succeeeded him at Kanauj, Dál Deo inherited the Rae Bareli éstate, and Mán Deo, an iláqa named by him Mánpur. Rája Mánik Oland on coming to the throne changed Mánpur to Mánikpur. MANJHGAON*--Pargana SANDILA-Tahsil SANDILA.—District HAR- DOLPopulation, 1,238.- A Bais village of 246 mud houses, fourteen miles north-east from Sandíla. This was the ancestral home and fort of the Bais taluqdars of Mánjhgaon, who resided here for centuries until, five generations ago, they killed Fateh Singh, the Bais Raja of Bhárawan, and removed thither. Thákur Bariár Singh and Koli Singh, the uncle and cousin of Raja Randhír Singh of Bharawan, live at Mánjhgaon. MANJHIA*- Pargana GOPAMAU—Tahsil HARDOI—District HARDOI. A prosperons little country-town of 749 mud houses, four miles to the south- east of Piháni on the road to Gopamau. Market days are Tuesdays and Saturdays. A mud school-house was built in 1865. Octroi is levied for the support of a small body of town police. Manjhia is mainly inhabited by Chamárs, but belongs to the Chauháns. The Chauháns acquired it about 1619 A.D. by gift to their ancestor Rúp Sáh of Mainpuri, who entered the service of Nawab Mehndi Quli Klan of Piháni, and received from bim this village in recognition of his services. In 1777 A.D., Man- jhia was attacked and laid waste by Raja Sital Parshád, the názim of Khairabad, of evil memory. It lay desolated and deserted for six years. In 1784 A.D., Mansa Rám, Chakladar of Gopamau, restored the Chau- hans.

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S., Assistant Commissioner, ​484

MAN MANKAPUR—Pargana BHAGWANTNAGAR--Tahsil PURWA--District UNAO.--This village lies thirteen miles south-west from tahsil and twenty. seven miles south-east from Unao; an unmetalled road passes through from Baksar. Bhagwantnagar is two miles south. It was founded by one Mán Kewal Bais, about 600 years ago, and his descendants still possess it. The founder of this village was of the same line as the ancestors of the late Bábu Rám Bakhsh, of Daundia Khera, but he left his brethren, and coming from Daundia Khera founded it. It is situated on a plain and has a tolerable appearance. The soil is clay and sand mixed; water good and climate healthy. Not many trees, and no jungle, no bazar or fair; no manufactures excepting goldsmiths' and carpenters' works. The total population amounts to 2,153, Hindus number 1,989, and Mos- lems 164, There are 507 mud-built houses and one temple to Debi. MANSURNAGAR Pargana*--Tahsil SHAHABAD-District HARDOI. A small and backward pargana of twenty-five villages lying in the south- eastern corner of the Shahabad tahsil. It is bounded on the north by parganas Alamnagar and Piháni, on the east by Gopamau, and on the south and west by north and south Sara. Its greatest length is six and breadth aeven miles, Its area is 26 square miles, only 9 of which are cultivated. The Bhainsta stream, called lower down in its course the Sai, flows through it, but is too shallow, and dries up too quickly to be used for irri- gation. The west of the pargana is watered from a large jhil called Gurru, which stretches for about three miles north and south of the little town of Mansurnagar. Occasionally it overflows and damages the adjacent lands. The main natural features of the pargana are the absence of sandy soil (bhúr), and the quantity of uncleared jungle. To 6,060 cultivated acres there are 7,740 acres of culturable waste. The pargana is crossed by the unmetalled roads from Hardoi to Pihani and from Piháni to Shahabad. It is a backward but very improveable tract. The soil is almost every- where good, though not so rich as in the adjacent Pargana of Sara. Cultivators are somewhat scarce. Níl-gáe, wild hogs, and here and there wild cattle infest the jungle and ravage the crops. The country is level. Rather more than two-fifths of the cultivated area is irrigated. Three- fourths of the area irrigated is watered from tanks and ponds, of which there are 190; mud wells are dug all over the pargana, but rarely last for more than three years. The cost of the large wells worked by bullocks varies from four to ten rupees. The hand-wells (dhenkli) are dug here from two to four rupees. The tillage is fair, especially in the Chauhan villages, whose proprietors are industrious and enterprizing. Wheat, barley, and millet are the great staples, and occupy more than three-fifths of the crop area. Gram, bájra, and mish cover rather more than another fifth. Indigo, tobacco, and

  • By Mr. A. H. Harington, C.S, Asaistaut Commissioner. ​MAN

485 The pargana opium are scarcely known, and sugarcane is very sparingly planted. Kan- kar is found at Mansurnagar. Fifteen of the villages are held in zamindari tenure; one is taluqdari and nine are imperfect pattidari. The Chauhéns hold four villages, the Chaudhri Gaurs six, the Gautams a half village, Sayyads four, Pathans three and a half, Brahmans four, and Káyaths two. One, a jungle, has been decreed to Government. The Government demand, excluding cesses, amounts to Rs. 11,128, and falls at Re. 1-13-5 per cultivated acre ; Re. 0-10-8 per acre of total area; Rs. 12-13-1 per plough; Rs. 2-6-5 per head of the agricultural, and Re. J-12-4 per head of the total population. is more sparsely populated than any in the district. It contains a population of only 6,286 or 242 to the square mile. Of these 5,965 are Hindus and 321 Mnhammadans. Pasis, Chamárs, and Ahírs in almost equal numbers make up nearly a half of the Hindu popula- tion. The Rajputs are only a sixteenth of the whole. Males to females are 3,437 to 2,849, and agriculturists to non-agriculturists 4,636 to 1,650. There are no markets or fairs. The only school is a village one, with an average of 43 pupils at Mansurnagar. The pargana is named from the little town of Mansurnagar. The ear- liest inhabitants, of whom tradition preserves the memory, were Thatheras, whose stronghold was at Simaurgarh, three miles north of Mansurnagar. At some uncertain period before the fall of Kanauj, the Gaurs, under the leadership of Kuber Sáh, expelled the Thatheras from Simaurgarh, and, it is said, from forty-one other strongholds, the most notable being Kalbaur in pargana Bawan. During the reign of Akbar, Rája Lakhmi Sen, Gaur, removed his headquarters from Kallaur to Simaurgarh, and built there on the ruins of the old Thathera castle) a large and lofty fort, the outer enclosure of which measured a mile each way. Towards the end of Akbar's reign the Gaurs of Simaurgarh became troublesome, and Nawab Sadr Jahan stormed their fort, and reduced them to obedience while the power of the Gaurs lasted. The present town of Mansurnagar was a little village called Nagar; Murid Khan, the grandson of Nawab Sadr Jahán, built a brick fort there. In 1702 A.D., Raja Ibádulla Khan, the converted Sombarisi, possessed himself of the whole jágir of the Píháni Sayyads, and rebuilt Muríd Khan's fort, and named the place Mansur- Dagar, after Nawab Mansur Ali Khan (Safdar Jang). In 1806 A.D., Rhe Mapsá Rám, Chakladar of Muhamdi, took some villages out of parganas Sara and Gopamau, and made them into pargana Mansurnagar. MANWAN Pargana*-Tahsil BÁRI— District SITAPUR.-- This pargana is bounded on the north by Bári, on the east and south by the district of Lucknow, and on the west by the rivers Gumti and Saráyan.

  • By Mr M. L. Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.

62 ​486 MAN Its area is 69 square miles, of which 46 are cultivated, and the acreage is thus distributed Acres. 040 Cultivated land ... Culturable land 29,028 6,074 1 I. Total 34,102 assessed. 2,476 497 . Rent-free Barren 44 .. Total . 9,978 Unessessed Total area 34 44,076 The incidence of the revised assessment is as follows :- DO 100 po On cultivation 88Bessed Ares 1) total area ce ... to 20 7 1 10 8 1 5 10 The population numbered 30,653 at the Census of 1868, and may be divided thus : Hindus, agricultural Ditto, non-agricultural ... 18,462 10,268 ap 194 Total 19. 28,720 0. II Musalmans, agricultural Ditto, non-agricultural 265 1,068 I. Total 900 1,888 The 30,563 live in 5,659 houses, There are 443 souls to the square mile and 5:3 to each house. The Musalmans are 6 per cent. only of the entire population, which is much below the average of the whole district. To each head of the agricultural population there are 1.5 acres of culti- vation and 19 acres of assessed land, the smallest average in the district. The pargana consists of 69 Hadbasti villages which are thus beld. taluqdari 39, zamindari 30. The Panwar Chhattris, whose chief men are Bhawanidín of Nílgáon, and Ganga Bakhsh of Saraura, sanad taluqdars, own 65 villages. Two are held by a Musalman family, and two, including Manwán Khas, by the qánúngoes. The Panwars are said to have come from Gwalior at the close of the 16th century in king Akbar's reign, under the chieftainship of three brothers --Malhan Deo, Phúl Deo, and Mal Deo. They invaded and seized Itaunją and Mahona in the Lucknow district, and Saraura Nílgáon, of Sitapur, and, with the exception of Mahona. which was confiscated for complicity in the rising of 1857, their descendants still hold these estates. Mál Deo's taluqa was divided by the two brothers-Binda Dás and Hari Das—in the third generation from him, the former taking Saraura, the lat. ter Nilgáon, ​MAN 487 The soil in this pargana varies from the bhúr (sandy) and kankar land in the vicinity of the Sarayan to the rich and productive dumat (loan) in the north-east. The irrigation is chiefly from tanks and jhíls, wells being scarce. The cultivators on the whole belong to the more industrious classes. Rents are paid generally in kind. The productive powers of the soil are good, but nothing remarkable is produced: nor are there any manufactures special to the district carried on. No mines or quarries are to be raet with. There are no mountains, valleys, or forests. The pargana as such was formed by Todar Mal, who called it after the town Manwán which already existed there, and the lands round which had been constituted into Tappa Manwan by king Vikramájít, 16 centuries prior to Todar Mal's time. Neither pargana nor town is historically famous for anything which has occurred in modern times. For the legend which identifies it with the Mánipur of the Mahabhárath, the reader is referred to the history of the town. Suffice it to say here, that the former name of the place was Mán- pur, and that to the present day the inbabitants point out the spot one mile from the town where Arjun was slain by his son, Babarbahan, in the village of Ranuápura, which is being interpreted" the place of the battle." The only remains of antiquity existing are the old fort ruins, near which are a dargáh and ídgáh, built about 200 years ago, all of which are at Manwán itself, and within two miles of the main road connecting Lucknow with Sitapur. No melás or fairs take place in the district. This pargana with that of Bári were included by the settlement depart- ment of the emperor Akbar in sarkár Lucknow. MANWAN*-Pargana MANWÁN--Tahsil Bári-District SITAPUR. Though possessing a population of only 1,069 souls, deserves notice on account of its great antiquity and its legendary connection with the Mahá- bhirath. It lies four miles south of Bari still on the Saráyan stream, and is one mile west of the Lucknow and Sitapur high road. The present town is a very wretched place, and altogether without interest for the trader or the artisan. It is said to have been founded 5,000 years ago by Rája Mándháta of the Ajodhya Solar race, but to have fallen away on his death and become waste. Subsequently, the exact date is not known, one man (an Ahír) took the eastern portion, and a Musalman, Mustafa Khan by name, the western. The old town was rebuilt, and was known by the double name Manpur Mustafabad. The remains of old king Mándháta's fort are still extant. It was apparently a massive structure, and was placed on high ground overlooking the river, covering an area of 90 bighas. The bricks are used by the villagers for building in the town which thus presents a curious appearance, being like neither a qasba, nor an ordinary Hindu village, but something between the two. The local legend runs thus:- Before the days when the Pandavas fought with the Kauravás, Rája Mándháta lived in great state in his castle at Manwa (or Manwán). But

  • By Mr. M. L. Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​488

MAT---MATT there came against him a Rákshas from the city of Muttra, by name Lon, who fought with the rája and prevailed against him, so the rája died. "This was 4,975 years ago, and Gandrak, who wasthe son of Lon, sat upon the throne in the rája's stead, and he waxed mighty. And he had a lovely daughter, whose gait was undulating like that of a young elephant, fair as the moon, and with the form of a Damayanti. And the princes of the earth sought her hand in marriage. But the great Arjun of the Pan- davás,--ho had performed the Ashwamed Jagg, and who was of exceedựng strength and manly comliness, found favour in her eyes and they were espoused, and she bore him a son whose name was called Babarbáhan; and it came to pass, many years afterwards, that Arjun and his son fought hard by Manwán, and Arjun was slain by his son; so he died, and the place of the battle was Ranuápurà, half a kos from Manwán, where a vil- lage of that name still exists. This nd agrees in all points with that related in the Mahabharath. But this Manipur of the Mahábhárath is generally considered to be the Mánipur in the east of Bengal, and not Mảnpur, now Manwán in Oudh, and yet the people in the latter place still point out the remains of Babarbahan's fort, close to the older one of Mándháta, There can be no doubt as to the ruins being of great antiquity. And on this account alone Manwan or Manwa deserves a place in the local Gazet- teer. MATHURA*- Pargana BALRAMPUR— Tahsil UTRAULA-District GONDA. -A small village of about 1,500 inhabitants, two miles north of the Rápti, which is crossed on the Ikauna road at Mathura, and in the Balrampur- direction at the Kondari gháts; the former town being six, and the latter fifteen miles from Mathura. This village is only remarkable as the chief seat of the retail trade of the neighbourhood. A bazar of rather over a hundred shops is held every day. A large double-storied brick house belonging to the Mahárája of Balrampur, in the courtyard of which some 30 boys gain the rudiments of Hindi and Urdu, and a lofty shiwala, are conspicuous from afar. Rather more than a mile to the north is a handsome Muhammadan dargáh consecrated to Mir Hanifa, and erected by Nawab Asif-ud-daula. A faqir of peculiar sanctity occupies, with bis followers, the surrounding, buildings, and at the Baqar rà collects the tribute of several thousand devotees. MAURÁNWAN Pargana-Tahsil PURWA-District UNAO.—This is the most easterly pargana in Unao, and is separated from the Rae Bareli dis- trict by the river Sai. The soil is good, and excellent rice crops are pro- duced. Water is found at a distance of 30 feet to the south, and at 22 feet near the Sai. The area of the pargana is 110,538 acres, which are held as follows: Taluqdari 69,363 Zarindari ... Partidari 25,820 19 15,355 10 hat

  • By Mr. W. C. Benett, C.S., Assistant Commissioner. ​MAU

489 The land revenue is Rs. 1,25,029, which falls at the rate of Re. 1-2-0 per acre. It is well wooded, having 7,899 acres of groves and orchards. The population is-90,464, being at the rate of 523 to the square mile. The town is said to have been founded by Múraj Dhuj, a Súrajbansi Chhattri; it afterwards passed into the hands of the Bais, one of whose chiefs, Chet Ráe, built a fort at Pachhimgaon,* The history of the great 'estate of Mauráuwán is thus told by Elliott :- "Oonao* has far fewer talookdars than any other district in Oudh, and its chronicles contain few stories of the way in which talookas were amassed. It will be well, however, to give the history of one great family of this class, Raja Gowrie Shunkura of Morawun. "In 1721 Sadut Khan, Burhan-ool-mulk, was made Governor of Agra, and after two years he was translated to the more important Soobah of Oudh. Just before he left Agra his private Munshi died, and he took into his service a Seth of the place, named Gourun Mul, and brought him with him to Oudh. This Goorun Mal was the ancestor of the present Raja. It is not clear whether he retained his post till Sadut Khan's death in 1739, or whether he lost it at an earlier period; but whenever it was, he was persuaded by Rao Murdan Singh, of Doondea Khera, to come and reside there under his protection, fetching his family from Agra, and to act as the family banker, and keep the accounts of the estate. In 1740 Rao Murdan divided his talooka among his three sons, giving Doondea Khera to his eldest son, Rugho Nath Singh, who bears a very had cha. racter in native tradition. "Murdan Singh retired from public life, but lived at Doondea Khera, and during his lifetime his son abstained from any of the graver crimes and weannesses which subsequently stained bis reputation. Goorun Mul lived peaceably at Doondea Khera, but soon after Murdan Singh's death, Gooruu Mul's son, Hirdéram, had a bitter quarrel with the Rao on the fertile subject of accounts. The custom is that the payment of the Government revenue when it falls due on the patron's estate is always effected by the family banker. If the talookdar cannot supply him with the necessary funds, the banker pays it from his own resources, and debits the advance against the estate, to be paid with interest as rents come in. “Rao Rugho Nath refused to pay more than 12 per cent. on such advances. The banker, Hirdéram, declared that he received 36 per cent. from all other customers, and that he was treating the Rao very hand- somely in charging him only 24 per cent., and in sport, he would not abate one jot of his claim. The dispute went so far, that Hirderam thought it safer to leave Doondea Khera secretly by night, and take refuge with Dyaram, Chukladar, who gave him leave to build on a little patch of maafee land close to Morawun, known as Dyaram's Kutra-a name which is quite forgotten now, Here Hirderan,t in addition to his banking and money-lending business, set up as a merchant of cotton, Mirzapore cloth, and spices. He also got the appointment of treasurer to the "Elliott's Chronicles of Oopko," page 73.

  1. Pages 638-137, "Elliott's Chronicles of Oonao.”

Ragho Nath soon after went, to Gya to perform the customary rights on his father's death, and as no one who is in debt can make this pilgrimage, he sent Hirdéram the full amount of his claim, ​490 MAU Nazim of Baiswara, which, under the old regime, was a very lucrative post. “The principal profits were these:The treasurer received two per cent commission on all revenue paid into his charge. When there was not money enough in the chest to meet the Government demand on quarter day, the treasurer was bound to advance it to the Nazim at 12 per cent. interest.* It was the custom to issue from the mint new rupees every year, coining them in the month of Mohurrum; and the way they were forced into circulation was by a declaration that those were the only coins which would be received at par; a discount of 1 rupee 9 annas per cent. being charged on rupees of every other year and mint. It was of course impossible for the rupees to get so rapidly into circulation in remote districts, and hence this discount came to be considered as a regular ces upon the zemindars, and was always included in their kuboolyuts. “The zemindars, therefore, paid their revenue with this additional per- centage in the rupees current in their locality, and as those rupees very often ranked as high in the market as the new current rupee of the year, the treasurer could change them withoyt any loss, and the discount of 1 rupee 9 annas per cent. became his perquisite. To these profits it is almost needless to add the influence which he obtained from his position as treasurer; and being always at hand to offer an advance at 36 per cent to any helpless defaulter who might fall into the hands of the Nazim, he was able to extend his operations very widely. “After this wise Hirderam increased and multiplied. His son, Lalmun, carried on his father's business, and educated his grandson, Chundun Lal, who took the management of the house at his grandfather's death. Chundun Lal bad two brothers; the second, Moona Lal, set up for him- self at Cawnpore, and there has never been a good feeling between the two branches of the family. The third son, Gunga Pershad, remained at Morawun as a partner of his eldest brother's house. «In 1810 A.D., when Fuzl Ali Khan was Nazim of Baiswara, Chundun Lal first appears as the owner of three villa in different parts the district. From this he went on gradually increasing his possessions till, in 1825 A.D., when Raja Durshun Singh was Nazim, his estate bad risen to two and a half lacs, and it continued to fluctuate between this amount and a minimum of one and a half lacs (with only one considerable exception to be mentioned afterwards) till 1850 A.D. In that year Hamid Al Khan, a Delhi Prince, was Nazim, and his agent and actual manager was Gholam Ali Khan. He thought Chundun Lal was a squeezable man, and required him to pay more by half a lac than he had done last year. Chundub Lal flatly refused, and declared the estate was not worth more. rate' said the Naib,' every one does not think that, for Rambux will give Rs. 30,000 more any day.' This was adding fuel to Chundun Lal's anget, to think that he should not only lose his estate, but also that his old enemy The Nazio bad to pay the total sum bid by him, to obtain the contract of the Nizamat, in four instalments, which fell due on Axed days. This discount was known by the name of " Bhutta Ghan.” Pages 139–143, " Elliott's Chronicles of Oonao." At any ​MAU 491 the Rao of Doondea Khera was to get it. He answered him angrily, and. went away without taking leave. Next day the Naib sent for him again, and he came to his tent, and sat down unattended. Presently Rao Ram- bux entered, followed by three armed men, and he also sat down. After a little time Gholam Ali called to a servant to fill his lota with water, saying—'I shall have to leave you for a few minutes. A servant of Chundun Lal was standing outside, and knew what the order meant, for the moment Gholam Ali's feet were off the carpet, Rambux's followers would murder Chundun Lal;* so he set off as hard as becould to his master's tent, a quar- ter of a mile off, where was his nephew, Sheopershad, with 200 men, headed by the redoubtable Jubba Singh. They instantly hurried to the durbar tent, throwing aside their guns, since the work before them, if it came to fighting, would be a mêlée in which they could trust to nothing but their own good swords. Fortunately they arrived in time, burst into the tent in spite of all the Naib Nazim's guards could do to stop them, and Jubba Singh, standing with his drawn sword over the Naib, swore he would cut him down if he attempted to stir. The camp was at Nugur, and Rana Rughonath Singh and Raja Drigbijie, who were with the Naib, soon heard of the disturbance. They both of them banked with Chundun Lal, and were hearty friends of his. Rao Rambux, on the other hand, was hated in the country, and they rejoiced in this opportunity of defeat- ing his murderous intentions. They came with their forces, and brought Chundun Lal safely off, and he instantly threw up his charge of the trea- sury, and went to his home. His estate was given to Rambux, but his followers resisted the order in every village, and successfully prevented the Raot from getting possession. In the meanwhile the banker sent to Lucknow, and got the king to order the Nazim to restore him his whole estate, which was accordingly done, he having only been out of possession of it for two and a half months. "In the year 1822 A.D., when Lalmun Tewaree was Chukladar, Chun- dun Lal had refused to serve as his treasurer, and had taken charge of the Huzoor Tabseel treasury at Lucknow, at the instance of Hakeem Mehndie Ali, the great Vizier. This had produced a quarrel between them, which became a feud, when a party of the followers of each side feught at Rai Bareilly, and some men were killed, In 1853, the grandson of this Lalmun, Kasheepershad Tewaree, of Sissendie, became Chukladar of Poorwa, and the old feud was again at work. Kasheepershad swore on the Ganges to forget it entirely, and to bear no malice, and his oath at first, lulled suspicion, But when he demanded an increase on the revenue, the fears of the family were soon awakened again. He sum- moned them to attend his court, but they did not think it safe to trust It was in this game year that Mahomed Husson, the Nazim of Bahraich, had mordered Rendut Pandé, the banker (who stood to him in much the game relation that Coundup Lal did to the Baiswara Nazim), in a very similar way, and this event had per hapa made Chundon Lal's people more watchful apd suspicious.

    • Many readers will recollect the name of Rao Rambux sg the leader of the mur-

derous attack on Captains Thomson and Delafosse, and other fugitives from the Cawapore massacre, at Buxar close to Doondea Kbers. Raja Drigbljie Singh, of Morarmsu, six miles lower down the Ganges, was the man who preserved their lives, and gent them in to General Havelock's.camp. Rao Rambux wap hanged over against the Buxar temple-a ft retribu- tion for bin cowardly treachery, . 3 H ​492 MAU themselves in his bands, and sent a wretched vakeel instead, who was instantly thrown into prison and ironed, as a gentle hint of what his masters might expect." About this time Chundun Lal's younger brother, Gungapershad, and his grandson, Balgobind, came from Cawnpore to Morawun, crossing the Ganges at Najjufgurh. Kasheepershad got intima- tion of this and sent his agent, Shunker Lal, a Hurha man, with a few hundred followers, to intercept them, Gunga pershad was shot dead with a ball through his chest, and Balgobind was knocked down by a shot which struck the handle of his sword. Thinking they had done their work, the assassins plundered their victims of a large sum of money they had with them (about. Rs. 25,000), and went off leaving Balgobind, who, with the rest of his followers, reached Morawun safely. Old Chundun Lal was not the man to sit down quietly under such an insult as that. He first applied for redress to the Vizier Nuwab Ali Nukee Khan, and being refused justice there went to Mr. Greathed, Magistrate of Ca He had a house and a good deal of landed property in the Cawnpore district, and could thus claim protection as a British subject, though residing in Oudh, Mr. Greathed wrote to the Resident, Colonel Sleeman, who at once took up the case and insisted on justice being done. The king at first was very much offended with Chundun Lal for appealing to the Company's authority to get him redress for an injury done in Oudh, and banished him from the country, but subsequently this order was denied when the Resident interfered, andit never was carried out. After a delay of about nine months, Kasheepershad was dismissed from his chukladarship, ordered to repay the Rs. 25,000 which he had plunder- ed from Gunga pershad, banished the kingdom for two years, and declared incapable of entering the Government service again. This was a very severe sentence, and nothing but the pressure steadily exerted by the Resident would have secured it. "Chundun Lal died in 1854 A.D. at the great age of 82. He retained his faculties to the last, but during the later years of his life the business was chiefly carried on by his favourite son, Gowrie Sbunker, the present Raja. Though Kasheepershad was punished, Gowrie Shunker did not recover the estate he had lost. After annexation a portion of it was settled with him, and in the talookdaree settlement which followed the rebellion be recovered all he had ever possessed. During the rebellion he behaved with the most unshaken loyalty ; both at Cawnpore, at Lucknow, and at the Alumbagh, his agents and relations were indefatigable in providing supplies and information, and no act of complicity with the rebel leaders has ever been brought home to him. As a reward for this, he was one of the six talook. dars whom Lord Canning's famous proclamation of March, 1858, exempted from the universal confiscation, and he has subsequently received the title of Raja." MAURÁNWAN—Pargana MAURÁNWÁN—Tahsil Purwa— District UNAO. --Lies in latitude 26°30' north, and longitude 80°58' east, and is six miles east of the tahsil, and twenty-six from the sadr station, The Basha lake

  • The Nrib, Shunker Lal, was also imprisoued for life in the Agra Jail, and escaped when

the putineers let the prisoners out. He was caught lately hiding near his home iu Hurba, but bribed his police guard aud escaped. ​MAW 493 is about two miles south-west. Two unmetalled roads run through the town one leads to the sadr station Unao, and the other to Rae Bareli, besides the cart-track joining the main road to Lucknow. Mauránwán is noted for its jewellery and carpentry ; rafters and door-frames of good workman- ship are to be met with here. Markets are held twice a week, at which about 2,000 people attend. The town is surrounded with mango groves and Mahua trees. The climate is good, and the water sweet. There is a police station, a sarác, and a school. This place was founded by Müraj Dhuj, a Surajbansi Chhattri. The Káyaths-Rúkha Rám, qánúngo, and Days Rám, chakladar, and Chandan Lal, Khattri-were persons of great influence and reputation here. The history of the last-named gentleman is fully given under the pargåna article. The population amounts to 7,997, of whom Hindus number 6,185 and Moslems 1812. There are two mosques and nine Hindu temples. The annual amount of sales at the fair of Chaudhriganj is Rs. 70,000. MAWAI-Pargana MAURÁNWÁN—Tahsil PURWA— District UNAO.—This place is of little importance : it was founded by Man Singh, a Dikhit Obhattri, an immigrant from Simauni, district Bánda, North-Western Provinces. This man was a servant of the Delhi king, and got the land as jágír when he succeeded in canqnering a Bhar fort that stood on the site of it. Man Singh razed the fort to the ground, and founded this village calling it after himsel£. Various kheras (hamlets) were founded on the adja- cent land by the descendants of Mán, and they for a long time held qubu- lịats of the village also. The Dikhit Chhattris made a gift of the village to the ancestors of Shekh Mansur, The permanent settlement was made with Bhúp Singh, Bais Sibasi. The annual assessment fixed is at Rs. 5,850. The Dikhits were made under-proprictors; population 3,995. Hindus Musalmans Number of bouges 847. There is no bazar or manufacture peculiar to the place. MAWAI–Pargana MAWAI MAHOLÁRA--Tahsil RÁM SANEHI GHAT-District BARA BANKI.--This village was founded by the Bhars many years ago. It was afterwards in the possession of Brahmans, but they were extirpated by Imám Zinda Khan, who came here as risáldár with Tátár Khan, the gover- nor of Oudh. The cause of the fight was that the Hindus had insulted one Sayyad Jalál, whose tomb is at Basorhi, during the Holi festival. The latter appealed to the risáldár, who iu fighting the Brahmans lost his brother, and to console him was granted the parganas of Mawai and Basorhi by Alá-ud-din Ghori. The village now pays a Governmcut revenue of Rs. 1,700, and is in the possession of the descendants of the conqueror. It is beld under the imperfect pattidari tenure. There are 27 wells and 24 ponds for irrigation purposes. A mud well fit to be worked with a pur (leathen bucket) can be made at a cost of Rs. 15 to 16, and a masonry well at Rs. 250. The river Kalyani is one of the boundaries of this village. The Government has charged the villagers with the cost of an ad di- tional police force, for a period of twelve months, on account of the tur- bulent character of the zamindars." 63 . 3,802 193 ​494 MAW_MIA MAWAI MAHOLARA Pargana--Tahsil RÁM SANEHI GAAT. District BARA BANKI.—This pargana is bounded on the north by parganas Rudauli and Basorbi, on the east by Khandánsa of the Fyzabad district, on the south by the Gumti, and on the west by the Kalyáni. It is 17 miles from east to west, and 16 from north to south. Its area is 71 square miles. or 45,039 acres, 23,897 acres are cultivated and 21,070 acres uncultivated, The irrigated portion amounts to 8,467 acres, and the unirrigated to 15,430. The river Kalyání flows through the pargana. The Gumti skirts it for a distance of 17 miles. The soil is for the most part dumat (loam). The average rainfall for the last three years amounted to 40 inches. Water is met with at 23 feet from the surface. Irrigation is chiefly carried on from wells, the irrigation from which gives an outturn of 15 maunds per bígha, that from ponds 10 maunds per bigha. The chief article of traffic is grain which is in times of scarcity exported to Kaithi Ghat, &c. Richh Ghát on the Gumti is 4 miles distant from Maholára, Kaithi and Sibor Gháts on the Gogra, 16 and 22 miles respective There are four schools in the pargana; at Sahondra there is a registry office, and at Mawai a police post. There is a temple in honour of Richh Mahadeo at Richh. Mawai has a market attended by 1,000 people. The Government revenue amount to Rs. 56,212. The tenure is as follows :- Taluqdari I villaga. Zamindari, BhayFachira Pattidari 100 ..! d. LEI 1. da 46 4 1 9 Total .00 61 $9 The population is 43,048 or 603 persons per square mile, who inhabit 8,923 houses. The higher caste Brahmans, Káyaths, Chhattris, Sayyads, and Pathans number as many as 17,639. There are five villages with a population of above 2,000. This pargana is believed to have been from early times in the posses- sion of Chhattris, and as they were defaulters of the Government revenue, Akbar stationed an officer to check the irregularity, at Maholára, which village owes its origin to a Bhar Chief. The pargana has since then been called Maholára. MAYA--Pargana MANGALSI— Tahail FYZABAD—District FYZABAD.—This village is seven miles from Fyzabad, the origin of the name is ascribed to Mal Singh Bais, who cleared the jungle and founded the village about 600 years ago. The Begamganj was founded, and a kotwáli (police office) established here by the Bahu Begam. The population consists of 1,480 Hindus and 180 Sunni Muhammadans, of whom 41 are Wahábis. There are 49 houses and a masonry temple. At Begamganj the bazar is held on Sundays and Wodnesdays. There is a police station in this village. MIANGANJ Town- Pargana AsYwán RASULABAD_-Tahsil MonẢN, District UNAO.--This town lies 12 miles west of tahsil Mohán, and 18 miles north-east of Unao, upon an unmetalled road from Lucknow to Safipur, here crossed by another from Sandila to Unao. It is. 77 miles south-east of Fatehgarh, 34 west of Lucknow; it was formerly called Bhopatpur, and it was built in 1185 A.H. (1771 A.D.) by Mian Almás Ali Khan, à eunuch, and finance minister under Asif-ud-daula and Saádat ​MIA 495 Ali Khan. Lord Valentia in 1803 found it prosperous, Heber in 1823 found " trees, towers, gates, and palaces sinking fast into rubbish and forgetfulness." A fine bridge was built here over the Sai by Mián Almás. The mutineers were defeated here in 1857. There are two masonry saráes for travellers. Population 3,555, of whom 2,451 are Hindus, 1,104 Musalmans. There are 4 temples and 13 mosques. Colonel Sleeman writes as follows (Tour in Oude, Vol. I, pages 320 to 322) " Meean Almas, after whom this place Meeangunge takes its name, was an eunuch. He had a brother, Rahnaut, after whom the town of Rahmut- ganj, which we passed some days ago, took its name. Meean Almas was the greatest and best man of any note that Oudh has produced. He held for about forty years this and other districts, yielding to the Oude Government an annual revenue of about eighty lacs of rupees. During all this time he kept the secure in life and property, and as happy as people in such a state of society can be, and the whole country under bis charge was during his lifetime a garden. He lived here in a style of great magnificence, and was often visited by his sovereign, who used occasionally to spend a month at a time with him at Meeangunge. A great portion of the lands held by him were among those made over to the British Government on the division of the Oude territory by the treaty of 1801, concluded between Saadut Allee Khan and the then Governor-General, Lord Wellesley. "The country was then divided into equal shares according to the rent- roll at the time. The half made over to the British Government has been ever since yielding more revenue to us, while that retained by the sovereign of Oude has been yielding less and less to him; and ours now yields in land-revenue, stamp-duty, and the tax on spirits, two crores and twelve lacs a year, while the reserved half now yields to Oude only about one crore, or one crore and ten lacs. When the cession took place, each half was estimated at one crore and thirty-three lacs. Unider good management the Oude share might in a few years be made equal to ours and perhaps better, for the greater part of the lands in our share have been a good deal impoverished by over-cropping, while those of the Oude sbare have been improved by long fallows. Lands of the same natural quality in Oude, under good tillage, now pay a much higher rate of rent than they do in our half of the estate. “ Almas Allee Khan, at the close of his life, was supposed to haveaccumu- lated immense wealth, but when he died he was found to have nothing, to the great mortification of his sovereign, who seized upon all. Large sums of money had been lent by him to the European merchants at Lucknow, as well as to native merchants all over the country. When he found his end approaching, he called for all their bonds and destroyed them. Mr Ousely and Mr. Paul were said to have at that time owed to bim more than three lacs of rupees each. His immense income he had expended in useful works, liberal hospitality, and charity. He systematically kept in check the talookdars, or great landholders, fostered the smaller, and encour- aged and protected the better classes of cultivators, such as Lodhies, Koor​496 MIR-MIS mies, and Kachies whom he called and considered his children. His reign over the large extent of country under his jurisdiction is considered to have been its golden age. Many of the districts which he held were among those transferred to the British Government by the treaty of 1801, and they were estimated at the revenue which he had paid for them to the Oude Government. This was much less than any other servant of the Oude Government would have been made to pay for them, and this accounts, in some measure, for the pow increased rate they yield to us. Others pledged themselves to pay rates which they never did or could pay; and the nominal rates in the accounts were always greater than the real rates. He never pledged himself to pay higher rates than he could and really did pay." MIRÁNPUR OR AKBARPUR--Pargana AKBARPUR-Tahsil AKBAR- PUR--District FYZABAD.---The history and description of this town are related under pargana Akbarpur; the fort and bridge over the Tons are objects of attraction. It is on the road and railroad from Fyzabad to Jaunpur 36 miles from the former ; there are also roads to Azamgarh and Gorakhpur. The population consists of 902 Hindus, and 807 Musalmans of whom 40 are Shias. There are 13 mosques and other religious edifices of the Musalmans, including one fine imámbára, and two Hindu temples. There are also tahsil and a police station, a post-office, and a school. There are two saráes. Market days are Mondays and Fridays. MÍRPUR KATHA—Pargana MANGALSITahsil FYZABAD--District FYZABAD.---This village is 12 miles from Fyzabad. Its population is 2,500, of whom 42 are Musalmans. There are 437 houses and one temple to Mahadeo. It is not on any line of road. MISRIKH Pargana*-Tahsil MISRIKH-District SITAPUR.--Pargana Misrikh is bounded on the north by pargania Maholi, on the east by parga- nas Sitapur, Rámkot, and Machhrehta, on the south by parganas Kurauna and Aurangabad, and on the west by the rivers Kathna and Gumti. In area it is 121 square miles, of which only 66 are cultivated. The acreage is given thus- Cultivated Culturable 95,042 Rent-frec 9,770 42,578 acres. ... . be 3,770 > Barren 4.5 Total AT 81,160 30 ! .. + 11 23 16 13 The incidence of the Government demand is as follows: On cultivated area

      • Rs, 1 g

7 On assessed 0 15 5 On total 0 13 5 The population is thus classified Hindus, agricultural 21,900 DOD-agriculturel Musalmans, agricultural 16,076 796 non-agricultural 3,547 Total 41,819

  • By Mr, M, L, Ferrar, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.

. 19 ... 29 14 ..4 ​MIS 497 And these live in 7,946 houses, to each of which there are thus 5-1 individuals. To every square mile there are 328 souls. Each head of the agricultural population has 1.8 acres of cultivated, against 3 acres of assessed area. From which facts it is seen that there is very considerable room for extension of cultivation. The Musalmans are 8 per cent. of the entire population. With the exception of a sandy tract to the east of, and adjoining the "Kathna and Gumti rivers, the soil of the pargana is on the whole good. It is like the rest of this district, well wooded. There are no lakes, mountains, or forests to be inet with, Two roads cross it, both from Sitapur. One passes on to Nimkhár, the other further north to Dúdhanmar on the Gumti, and there is a cross- country road joining Misrikh to Machbrehta. With these and the Gumti the pargana is well provided with means of communication. Bi-weekly bazars are held at Misrikh, which is the headquarters of a tahsil, at Qutubnagar, the residence of Taluqdar Mirza Ahmad Beg, at Aút, the residence of Rája Shamsher Babédur, and at Wazirnagar, the Sitapur residence of the Gaur Raja of Pawayan in Shahjahanpur. The pargana derives its name from that of the town. The original lords of the soil were Ahban Chhattris, whose dynasty expired 200 years ago on the death of Raja Mán Singh. The founder of the ráj was Sopi Chand, whose brother, Gopi Chand, founded Gopamau in the Hardoi district; Sopi made his headquarters at Pataunja, three miles west of Misrikh, now an inconsiderable village, but in his days a very extensive city. To the present day the site of one of its gates is pointed out three miles to the north-west in the village of Sultannagar, where there is an ancient temple marking the spot. The Ahbans were succeeded by Panwárs, Káyaths, Musalmans, and others, including Brahmans, whose descendants are still in possession of their forefathers' acquisitions. The pargana contains 139 demarcated villages, of which 108 are zamindari, and are thus distributed, -35 Panwar, 45 Gaur, 10 Kayath, 6 Brahmans (Dichhits), 3 Gosháíns, 8 Musalmans, 1 Ahban. The talugdaris (31) are held by Mirza Ahmad Beg of Qutubnagar and Rája Shamsher Bahadur of Aút; an account of the former has been given under the Aurangabad pargana. The Aút Rája is commonly styled a Mughal, but is in reality a Yusuf Zai Pathán; his ancestor having come to Delhi in 1739 A.D. with Nadir Shah's invading army. Subsequently the rája's great grandfather, Mirza Agha Muhammad Ali Beg, being sent in command of troops to Oudh, was rewarded for good service by the grant of a landed estate. The title of rája is inherited by the taluqdar from his father, Muhammad Akbar Beg, upon whom, Wajid Ali Shah, of Oudh, conferred it. Down to 1210 fasli, or 74 years ago, the pargana consisted of 1,009 villages. In that year 466 were put into Maholi, and 159 into Nimkhár. The remaining 384 were increased by 5 from Machhrehta ; and thus the number remained until we took the country, when 50 were put into the neighbouring parganas, and 2 were added from Gopamau, making up 341, ​498 MIS Under the description of the town of Misrikh will be found particulars of the sacred tank Saraset and Dadhich temple in that town, and of the fairs held there. These fairs are parts of the holy pilgrimages or parkarma which begins at Nímkhár, and after passing through 8 or 10 holy places ends at Misrikh. The chief community of the non-sanad holding zamindars is the Gaur brotherhood which owns the Bihat ilaqa. The rája of Pawayan who owns Wazírnagar is also a Gaur-Chhattri. The pargana is not famous in history, nor is it remarkable for any- thing in the present day. Any notoriety it may possess is acquired from the facts that it is the headquarters of a tahsildar, and that the town is a very holy one in the eyes of the people. MISRIKH*-Pargana MISRIKH-Tahsil MISRIKH-District SITAPUR.--- Misrikh is a very ancient town, indeed, and there are numerous legends connecting its foundation with the mythological Rája Dadhích. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit participle misrita, which means mixed; because in the large tank which is here the waters of all the holy places in India are supposed to have been mixed. The town contains a population of 2,113, of whom only 226 belong to the creed of Islám, the rest being chiefly Brahmans. It is 13 miles south from Sitapur, the Hardoi road running through it; and it is also comected by an unmetalled road six miles in length, with Machhrehta on the east. It lies in 27°26' north and 80°34' east. The tank abovementioned is apparently of very ancient construction. Local tradition asserts that it was built by Bikramáját 19 centuries ago, before which time the holy springs had not been surrounded by any masonry protection. In more nodern times, 125 years ago, it is said, a Mahratta princess, Abilya Bái by name, repaired the damages which time had occasioned in the gháts: and it is now a very fine specimen of the Hindus' sacred tank. On one brink of it is a very old temple sacred to Dadhich abovemen- tioned, who seems to have been not only a secular rája but also a spiri- tual leader--a great Rikh (Mahá-rishi). He was probably the Rishi, Rikh Dadhiánch of the Rig Veda. The town is but a poor one; it has 472 mud-built and only three masonry houses, two insignificant inosques, and no manufactures. It is the beadquarters however of a tahsildar, and has consequently a police station, a post-office, a registry office, distillery, and schools. There is no saráe, as the Brahmans entertain all strangers. The bazar is held twice a week, and requires no notice. But at the large fair held during the Holi, and at which 5,000 sinners flock to purify their bodies in the holy waters of the tank, a brisk trade is carried on the annual value of all the sales being put down at Rs. 39,428. There is a smaller fair held in the autumn. The schools desorve more than a passing notice, for there is not only the usual boys' school, with 69 scholars, but there are also torce separate schools for the instruction of girls, the aggregate attendance of

  • By Mr. M, L Ferrar, CS, Assistant Commissioner, ​MIS-MIT

499 whom is 98. This is a very remarkable feature of the place, which is a very hot-bed of Brahmanism, The tank above described has in its centre a well called Saraset, and it is here that the parkarma or “round of pilgrimages" ends. The pilgrims commence their journey at Nímkhár; the route being as follows Nímkhár Harayya, in Hardoi district, Sakin ditto. Dabi ditto. Qutubnagar and Dcogkon in Sitepur. Mirúra ditto. Kursun ditto. Surgawán ditto. Nimkhit (again). Barebci. and finally to Misrikh, where they halt six days and then go home. The camping ground at Misrikh is good, though the monkeys are annoying. "Misrik, a few miles from this, and one of the places thus consecrated, is celebrated as the residence of a very holy sage named Dudeej. In a great battle between the deotas and the giants the deotas were defeated. They went to implore the aid of the drowsy god Brimha, upon his snowy mountain top. He told them to go to Misrik and arm themselves with the bones of the old sage Dudeej. They found Dudeej alive, and in excellent health; but they thought it their duty to explain to him their orders. He told them that he should be very proud indeed to have his bones used as arms in so holy a cause ; but he had unfortunately vowed to bathe at all the sacred shrines in India before he died, and must per- form his vow. Grievously perplexed, the deotas all went and submitted their case to their leader, the god Indur. Indur consulted his chaplain, Brisput, who told him that there was really no difficulty whatever in the case; that the angels of all the holy shrines in India had been estab. lished at and around Neemsar by rimha himself, and deotas had only to take water from all the sacred places over which they presided dilemma. They did so, and the old sage, expressing himself satisfied, gave up his life. In what mode it was taken no one can tell me. The deotas armed themselves with his bones, attacked the giants forth with, and gained an easy and complete victory. The wisdom of the orders of drowsy old Brimha in this case is as little questioned by the Hindoos of the present day as that of the orders of drunken old Jupiter was in the case of Troy, by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Millions, wise in their generation, have spent their lives in the reverence of both."-Sleeman's Tour in Oudh, Volumn 2, pages 5-6. MITAULI–Pargana KASTA—Tahsil Muhamdi-District KHERI.—This village is situated on the left of the road from Lakhimpur to Maikalganj, and at a distance of about two miles to the east of the Kathna, being sur- rounded by large groves of mango trees and by cultivated land. There are ​500 MITMOH 2,006 Re 100 POD ... 147 two Hindu temples and the remains of a mud fort. It has a market in which articles of country consumption are sold and exchanged. Mitauli was the residence of the late Rája Lone Singh, for whose rebel- lion during the year 1857-58 it was confiscated under a judicial sentence. In reward for good services during that period, Government conferred the proprietary rights in this and other villages on Captain Orr, who sold them to Rája Amír Hasan Khan, taluqdar of Mahmudabad. The fort was a very strong one, but was abandoned without opposition by the rája on the approach of the English troops. Population Hindus ... 1,869 Musalmans The following is from Sleeman's Tour in Oudh;- "Lonec Sing's estate of Mitholee is in the Mahomdee district, and under the jurisdiction the Amil; and it is only the portion consist- ing of one hundred and four recently acquired villages which he holds in the Pyla estate, in the Khyrabad district, that has been made over to the Huzoor Tahsoel.* He offered an increased rate for these villages to the then Amil, Bhow-ood-Dowlah, in the year A. D. 1840. It was accept- ed, and he attacked, plundered, and murdered a good many of the old proprietors, and established such a dread among them, that he now manages them with little difficulty. Basdeo held fourteen of these villages under mortgage, and sixteen more under lcasc. He had his brother, maternal uncle, and a servant killed by Lonee Sing and is now reduced to beggary. Lonee Sing took the lease in March, 1840, and commenced bis attack in May."- Page 121, Volumn II., Sleeman's Tour through Oudh. MOHAN–Pargana MOHÁN AURKS--Tahsil MOHÁN-District UNAO.- This is a Muhammadan town of considerable size and importance, and was in the Nawabi on the highway between Lucknow and Cawnpore. It is twenty-four miles north-west from Unao. Its distance from Lucknow with which it is connected by a good though unmetalled road is eighteen miles. In addition to this it bas other roads running through it from Aurás and Malihabad to Baui Bridge on the Lucknow and Cawnpore road, crossing the Cawnpore railway at Harauni station, and others which pro- ceed west over the Sai into Unao. The town is picturesquely situated on the banks of the Sai, which is crossed a little below the town by a fine and massive bridge built by Mahárája Newal Ráe, Kayath, the minister of Safdar Jang. The town consists of 1,117 houses, and contains one or two good streets paved with brick. The inhabitants number 4,627, half of whom are Muhammadans, and many of them are of respectable families, who in the Nawabi found service in the city or at court, but now live on the produce of their groves. But for two professions tle town has always been celebrated its learned Muhammadan doctors of physic, and its mimics and actors of the Muhammadan class, who have returned here to live on the fortrines they have earned. • " Anrod Sing holds twenty-eight villages in the Pola estate, acquired in the same way as those bield by Lonee Sing." ​MOH 501 The town is said to derive its name from a pious Gosháin named Mohan Gir, who cut a passage for the Ganges, and gathering his desciples around him passed his time in prayer. But it probably possesses more history than this, or it would not have become Muhammadan, and the centre of admin- istration for the pargana. Near the bridge already mentioned is a high mound which seems to have been the site of a fort. It is not certainly natural, a well has been sunk through its centre, and at several places on its steep side may. be seen the remains of pipes in a good state of preserva- tion through which water was apparently drawn from a reservoir supplied from the river. The piping is the work of potters, the separate pipes are some twenty inches in diameter, four inches in depth, and curved to enable one to lap over the other. The workmanship is of no mean order, and they doubtless belong to a time when the dih (deserted site) was inhabited; but no one knows its history. On the summit is an old tomb raised to one Shah Modan, a reputed saint. The town is now of no importance for trade, and not even a market is held here, but it is the seat of the tahsil from which the parganas of Mohán Aurás, Asíwan Rasúlabad, Jhalotar Ajgain, Gorinda Parsandan, are administered. Of the population 1,766 are Musalmans and 3,054 are Hindus. MOHAN-District KHERI.-A river which separates the district of Kheri from Naipal. It is originally a rivulet flowing from swamps; its channel is much below the surface of the country; it receives, however, a number of tributaries, among which may be mentioned the Katni and Gandhra; the latter a mountain stream. The river's volume increases, and below Chan- dan Chauki it is a considerable stream; the minimum discharge is 140 cubic feet per second"; the depth in the centre about two feet on the average; the breadth about 90 feet; the banks are steep, and from 20 to 30 feet above the water. It joins the Kauriála immediately above Rámnagar, district Kheri. It is one of the few streams in Oudh in which good Mahsir fishing can be got. MOHXN AURAS Pargana-Tahsil MOHAN-District LUCKNOW.—This pargana is bounded on the north by the districts of Lucknow and Hardoi, on the east by Lucknow, on the south by the pargana of Jhalotar Ajgain, and on the west by the Asíwan Rasúlabad pargana of the Unao district. It lies north-west by south-east across the meridian. Its shape is oblong, its length from end to end being about 22 miles and breadth from 8 to 9; latitude 26°70' and longitude 80°45' would about cross at the centre of pargana. The area of the pargana is 196 square miles. The number of villages is 205, with an average of 611 acres to a village. The river Sai runs through the pargana from north-west to south-east passing under the town of Mohán. The bed of this river lies low, and the land on either side is generally poor, but in many parts of its course the country slopes gently down towards the stream, and more cultivation is carried on on its banks, and more irrigation is derived from it than is usual from rivers. The river itself is narrow, shallow during the dry months of the year, and never used for navigation, On the north side of the river the country is crossed by extensive usar (barren) plains, which are completely bare of trees and all vegetation,

  • Sarda Canal Report page 20. ​502

Моң. but to the south of the river the pargana is more cultivated and fertile. The total amount of barren is 26 per cent, which is high. The cultur- able is only 21 per cent., which is low, and 6,600 acres or 13 per cent of this is under groves. Except round large villages, the pargana is not generally well wooded. Irrigation is fair armounting to 48 per. cent., but three-fourths of this is from jhíls and rivers. Water lies no more than 13 feet from the surface. The Nagwa stream divides the pargana for a short distance from Kákori. It dries up during the hot weather ; its banks are high and precipitous, and the land on either side is uncul. turable. The cultivated land of the pargana is up to the usual average being 52-5 per cent., and the average holdings of the cultivators are from 3 to 4 acres. The pargana is well provided with roads; a road connects the two prin- cipal towns of Mohan and Aurás; and the latter is again connected with the large town of Miánganj by a road which crosses the Sai to the south of Aurás by a handsome bridge built by the British Government. Other roads lead from Mohan (1) to Malihabad to the north, (2) to Lucknow lying east, (3) to Bani bridge (built by Rae Daulat Ráe of Lucknow) on the Lacknow and Cawopore road, crossing the Cawn pore Railway at Harauni, and (4) to Rasúlabad and Nawabganj to the west in this district. The revenue rate falls at Rs. 2-1-0 on the cultivated area, Re. 1-8-0 on the cultivated and culturable, and Re. 1-1-0 throughout. The population is 96,525, and falls at the rate of 502 per square mile on the whole area, and 937 per square mile of cultivated area. The following figures will show how the population is divided :- Musalmans Hindus Agriculturists Non-Agriculturists The largest towns are—Mohan (4,627); Neotni (3,809) ; Ajgain (3,481); Mahrajganj cum Newalganj (3,728). All of these are separately noticed. The tahsil, post-office, and police station have been fixed at Mohán, and government schools have been established at Mohán and other large towns of the pargana. For a long time the pargana seems to have been inhabited by Hindus. The only Muhammadan centres were at Mohán and Neotni, and no extensive colonies took place. Originally only some 25 out of 205 villages belonged to Musalmans, though of late years the Muhammadan taluqdars bave acquired some 27. The remaining villages are held by independent zamin. dars, chiefly Chhattris and Brahmans. The former held 77} villages, the latter 34. These with 38 taluqdarı villages, and 26 belonging to Musal- mans almost divide the villages of the pargana. A tappa of 22 villages to the north of Mohan called Pachwára, sometimes Pachisi, was colonized by Janwárs, and another of 52 villages in the centre of the pargana was held by Raikwárs, Later the northern half of the pargana was formed into the new pargana of Aurás, and was ruled from Sandíla, while Mohán was in chakla Safipur, MOHANGANJ Pargana-Tahsil DIGBIJAIGANJ---- District RAE BARELI. This pargana is bounded on the north by pargana Simrauta of this dis- 9 7.2 per cent. 928 89.5 9 40 5 95 . 13 ​MOH 503 trict and Jagdispur of Sultanpur, on the east by Gaura Jámún of the district of Sultanpur, on the south by pargana Rokha Jáis of this district, and on the west by the Hardoi pargana. Its area is 80 square miles and its population 47,281, being at the rate of 591 per square mile. Of the soil 24,636 acres are cultivated, 5,925 fit for cultivation, and 20,334 are barren, The soil is more appropriated by taluqdars than by the zamindars; there being 40 villages owned by the former and 35 by the latter. The Govern- ment revenue is Rs. 54,165, being at the rate of Re. 1-12-4 per arable acre. The landed property is thus divided : T'aluqdari. Zamindari. Kanbpuria Other castes 40 0 27 8 ind 1. 40 35 Total The history of the Kanhpuria Chhattris may conveniently be given under this pargana which contains their earliest settlements. It is as follows by Mr. Millet, C.S.:- The only family which require any notice are the Kanhpuriae, whose ancestor, Parshád Singh, acquired possession of a large tract of country to the north-east of the district in Tilok Chand's time, These trace their descent from the celebrated Rishi Bharat Dwáj, and their blood is enriched by the piety of 83 generations of saints and ancho- rites. The birth of Kánk, their first Chhattri ancestor, is involved in much obscurity. The common tradition is shortly as follows :- Suchh, a saint of distinction, lived at Mánikpur in the reign of the great Mánik Chand. A fable of Brahmanical invention describes and accounts for his marriage with the daughter of that rája.* From this marriage two sons were born, one of whom turnod Brahman and the other Chhattri. The Chhattri was Kánh, the eponymous hero of his tribe, who married into at Bais family, abandoned Manikpur, where he had succeeded as his mother's heir to the throne of Manik Chand to his wife's relations, and founded the village of Kánhpur on the road from Salon to Partabgarh. The present tribe deity of the Kanhpurias is the Bhainsaha Rákshasa, (buffalo demon) to whom they offer one buffalo at every third Bijai Das mi, and another for every wedding or birth which has occurred in their chief's family since the last sacrifice. I regard this tradition as extremely important All the leading tribes of whose immigration there can be no doubt retain distinct legends of their former homes. Here it is admitted that the founder of the tribe in these parts was also the first of his people who was admitted into the Hindu caste system, as

  • This princeea, the only daughter of Mánik Chend, seems to have contracted several

alliances, and to have trademitted the ráj and the Gharwár blood by eacb. The rája of Tiloi says a Bigen of Madiboli, The moral is tho same, ​504 MOH his father the Rishi, and his ancestors, the 83 preceding anchorites, were of course of no caste at all. The connection with the Bais is more important than that with Mánik Chand, as the latter is introduced into legends of every date from Mahmúd Ghaznavi down to Busen Shah Sharqi. Kánh's sons, Sáhu and Ráhu, completed the conquest of the territory to the north-west of Kánhpur by inflicting a decisive defeat on the Bhars, whose kings, the brothers Tiloki and Biloki, were left dead on the battle field. Their names are preserved in the neighbouring villages of Tiloi and Biloi. I am averse to ignorant etymological speculations, but think that the following remarks may not be wholly valueless. The identity of the stories in all their leading features, as well as the similarity of the names, makes it probable that Tilokiand Biloki,of the Kanh- puria legend, are no other than the Dál and Bál of the nearly contempora- neous Bais and of the Muhammadans of the next century; and this conjec- ture is strengthened by the constant recurrence of the termination oi in places undeniably connected with the Bhar rule. The central village of the Hardoi district, which has the remains of a Bhar fort, the pargana of Hardoi in this district, close under a great Bhar centre, and the pargana of Bhadohi, in the Mirzapur district, mentioned by Mr. Carnegy in his report on the races of Oudh, all perhaps originally bore one name--Bhar- doi. It may be added that the local pronunciation of Bareli is Baroli; the introduction of a liquid between the two vowels is easily intelligible, and the original name may have been Baroi or Baloi, by which it is at once ety- mologically connected with its reputed founder Bál. Comparing these results with the Kanhpuria tradition, I venture most diffidently to conjecture that oi in the words Tiloi and Biloi is a mere affix, and that the roots are Til and Bil, which are identical with Dál and Bål, the roots of Dalmau and Bareli. The termination oki was probably a later inven- tion, founded on the old names of the two villages, and in Tiloki and Biloki we recognize the two chiefs who fell at Pakhrauli resisting the Jaunpur emperor. I refrain from pushing this train of conjecture further to what might be an unwarrantable conclusion. The line of the Kanh- purias was maintained through a series of five inglorious chieftains down to the times of Parshád Singh. While these events had been going on in Baiswíra, the Kanhpurias had not been ingloriously quiet. Jagat Singh, of Simrauta, acquired a name, though it is now difficult to say what for. His descendants state that the emperor of Delhi presented him with a robe of honour, a drum and a spear, for clearing the high road of Bhars. His cousin of Tiloi, Khánde Ráe, led his clansmen nominally on a pilgrimage to Dalmau, but actually on a raid for plunder and extended territory. He was resisted success- fully by the Patháns of Pahremau, whose leader, Muín Khan, a name which does not occur in any pedigree, wounded the Kanhpuria chieftain, but purchased his success with his lifo. ​MOH 505 Kbánde Ráe was succeeded on the throne of Tiloi by Údebhán, who verified the statements of the Tiloi Kanhpurias, that every other of their rajas was a fainéant. Under his weal Government the Kurmis, who occu- pied forty-two villages in Jagdíspur,* rose in arms. Their leader was a Dási Rám who embraced the Musalman faith, and procured assistance from his co-religionists on the banks of the Ganges. With a body of seven hundred Mughal cavalry he plundered and burnt the villages of the Chhattri zamindars whose rája could do nothing to pro- tect them. Fraud was successful where force failed, and a Gautam in the Kanb- puria's pay gained Dási Rám's confidence, and treacherously assassinated him out hunting. For this service he was granted the Kurmi's villages, some of which are still held by his descendant Mahipal Singh, taluqdar of Bára." The suppression of this Kurmi insurrection is with probability referred to the commencement of the vigorous reign of Surat Singh, who succeeded to the throne between 1670 and 1680 A.D. This prince though blind was distinguished for his ability and enter- prise, and uniting the scattered branches of his clan under one banner was the first of the powerful chiefs of Tiloi, who ruled with semi-regal autho- rity over a district which at one time comprised fourtcen entire parganas. A prince of Súrat Singh's energy was not likely to remain long at peace with his neighbours, and a friendly interview afforded him the desired pretext for invading the contiguous domains of the Sombansis.t Partáb Singh was lame, and, on asking after Súrat Singh's bealth, received the ordinary polite reply "dpke qadam dekhne se," to which angrily retorted with reference to Súrat Singh's blindness, I too am well " dpke chashm delchne se." The personal insult was eagerly welcomed, and Súrat Singh marched at the head of his clansmen against Partabgarh. He was met at Hindaur and an obstinate battle resulted in the defeat of the Kanhpurias. As their chieftain was being carried from the field he felt the wind strike on his sightless eyes and asked from which quara ter it came, and the answer, from the west, conveyed the first informa- tion of his defeat. His retreating forces were covered by a zamindar of Náin, who commanded the then unusual arm of a hundred matchlockmen, and who for this received the grant of thirteen villages in the Salon par- gana, which formed the root of the present large Náin taluqas. • Bealisas are perhaps exceptionally common in this neighbourhood; the tahsil of Faidargarh in Bars Banki alone has the three Amethis bealisas of Rámosgar, Sonakpur and Båre, the Pandes Bealial of Shindaur, tbe Kurmfe of Sehgaon, the Som banaia of Bainti, the Shekhs of Bhilwal, and the Dubés ot Kialiha, The torm seems to denote any small collection of villages held by one coparcenary body. † The present territories of the Kanhpurigs and Sombacsie are separated by the wide estates, of the Biseng, but it does not appear that at the time of Sarat Singh the leaders of that tribe had attained the dignity of independent sovereigns. A very large part of their present proporty was under the rule of the Musalmade of Mapikpur, and of their three principal hou1809 we find Raapur ranged with the Kanpuria and vera and Dhingwaa with the Sombansi. It is probable that thoy rcspectively owned the nominal supremacy of the chieftain in whose army they fought. ​506 MOH Sürat Singh was succeeded at Tiloi by Gopal Singh, who had two sons, Mohan and Newal. The latter, though the youngest, held the first place in his father's affec- tions, who formed the design of presenting him to the clap as their chief- tain instead of his elder brother, who was one-eyed. Mohan Singh was not the man to permit the quiet transfer of his own rights to another, and he disappointed his father by accelerating his death. The wliole force of the tribe was collected round Tiloi, and it was intend- ed that Newal Singh should be proclaimed publicly the heir to the ráj. Mohan Singh immediately took steps to prevent this occurrence. He first went to his mother, and compelled her to disclose the place where the treasure was buried; and then taking a faithful Bahelia, whose descendants are still in honourable employ at Tiloi, proceeded to his father's room. The servant took aim from the doorstep, and Gopál Singhi fell shot through the back. Mohan then rushed forward, cut the old man's head off, and stooping over the body made the royal tilak on his forehead in his father's hot blood. He then put on the ornaments of his new rank and went to the army. The news of the parricide had gone before him, and he found the soldiers on the verge of mutiny: nor was subordination restored till he assured there that the death of the old rája would not affect their pay or injure any one but the murderer himself, who took on his own head the wrath of the gods. He deemed it wise, however, to distract their attention from the horrid event, and inaugurated his rale by leading them against the rich Sayyads of the south, where the plunder of Musta- fabad confirmed the wavering in their allegiance. On his return to Tiloi he was beseiged by the Díwán of Hasanpur, who had collected a large force to punish the son who had murdered his father, and the feudatory who had affixed the royal mark with his own hands and without the consent of his suzerain. The fort was beleaguered for severt days, and on each day the Díwán created a new rája from the leading Kanhpurias, who'stood aloof from their chieftain. Finally Mohan Singh gave in, consented to recognize the Díwán as his liege lord, and received the tilak afresh at his hands. Inheriting the aggressive policy of his grandfather, and carrying it out with greater success, he next set the whole forces of his clan in motion against the Bais of Dalmau. Amar Singh, the rána, met him with nearly equal forces, and the boundaries of Baiswara and Kanhpuria land were fixed in the very centre of Rae Bareli, along the line of the Jahanabad muballa. The invader is still remembered at Rae Bareli as the founder of the Ráj-.. ghát on the river Sai. Turning northward, and reducing in succession the Musalman villages of Pahremau, Amáwan, Oiah, Kathwára; Ráhi, Rasehta, Bawan Buzurg, and Balla, he marched through the Jagdispur pargana. where he was met by the *Bhále Sultáns, whom he forced to recognize his supremacy, and completed his circle of conquest by marching through Inhauna and Subeha to Mánikpur, whence he returned to his home at Tiloi.

  • He appeara to have been called in by Rája Aibál Khan of Jagdíspur, who was on bed

terms with his lcading feudatories, ​MOH 507 The season of his repose was occupied by the celebration of bis marriages first into the family of the old allies of his house, the Bisens of Rámpur in Partabgarh, and secondly with a daughter of the Bahrelas of Surajpur in Bara Banki, After a short breathing time he started on a fresh expedition with extended views. Marching through the recently, conquered pargana of Hardoi he encountered the Naibsthas of Bachhráwán under the com- mand of the gallant, young bastard of Sidhauli, and his total discomfiture deterred him from ever again attacking the too powerful chieftains of Baiswara. He might find some consolation in the easy conquest of the eastern parts of Nawabganj and south of Fyzabad, and when he finally returned to Tiloi, he was the acknowledged master of 14 Parganas. When Saídat Khan came back from the reduction of hagwant Rae Khíchar, he marched against Tiloi. The Rtja was old and feeble, and, when a sally led by his younger brother Newal Singh, had failed, he submitted unconditionally, and the next year saw his death. With the commencement of the Nawabi the intricate task of fixing dates and synchronisms ceases, and there is no further difficulty in carry ing the history down to the present day. Pem Singh succeede his father Mohan Singh at Tiloi, and is only famous for having married a princess of the Gharwars of Bijaipur. The lady is represented to have fallen in love with him and compelled the match, but the brilliancy of this chief- tain's position dispenses with the necessity of so improbable an explana. tion. Power and wealth regulate Chhattri marriages almost as frequently as caste, and to take an instance from this very family, Tiloi alone of all the Kanhpurias refuses to give its daughters to the Bais. After a reign of five years Pem Singh was succeeded by Balbhaddar Singh, the last of the great chieftains of this house. A child at the time of this father's death (it is said of him, as of almost all distinguished Hindus, that he was posthumous) his whole life was spent in arms, When quite young he led his forces to the defence of his faith at Bevares and is said to Have chased back to Mirzapur, the Mughals who wished to profane a Hindu temple. His next exploit was the protection of the Rája of Bánsi against the Súrajbansis of Amorha and the Patháns of Sattási. On two distinct occasions he served in the armies of Dehli against the Rája of Bhartpur and the Mahrattas; and the exaggeration of his chro- nicler relates that unaided he captured the rája of Sattara, and brought him in an iron cage to the presence of his imperial master. For these services he was invested in succession with mansabs of four thousand and five thousand men, and was presented with a band of honour. It is said that in the intoxication of victory his drummer beat a roll in the emperor's Darbár. The grave impertinence was only punished by a ​508 MOH mild rebuke, and the descendants of the forward musician still beat the drum for the rájas of Tiloi. It is possible that the possession of Mohan Singh's fourteen parganas was confirmed at Dehli, but the grant if made was not long recognized at Lucknow. * The remainder of his life was spent in an unavailing struggle with the wazír, whose absence in Bengal enabled him to drive out the officials who bad been left in charge of Jagdispur and Parshádepur, and temporarily to attain something like the power of his predecessors. On the return of the Nawab he was hunted from place to place, and he was finally surprised at his devotions and cut down before an image of Mahảdeo in the Kándu-ka-nála in Jagdíspur. The Muhammadan trooper who brought his head to the king was rewarded for his valuable tribute by the grant of two villages free of revenue in Gonda. It was at this time that the Chob or Chuab Nadi was finally recognized as the boundary of Baiswara and Kanbpuria land. Balbhaddar was childless, and his death, which took place in the summer of 1784 A. D., was followed by a long interregaum. Of his two widowed ránis one was immolated, and from the pyre formally invested Chhatardhári Singh of Shahmau with the rája's cap. The adoption was not recognized by the whole tribe, and the living ráni adopted Shankar Singh, the ancestor of the present rája. For fifteen years a war of succes. sion was waged without any decisive result, and a compromise was even- tually effected, by which both competitors received the style of rája, and neither the throne of Tiloi. Shankar Singh took his title from Asni and Chhatardhári from Shahmau; and it was not till sometime afterwards that the former, a prudent and peaceful prince, recovered the centre of the traditions of his tribe. Tiloi has since descended quietly to the present owner, Rája Jagpál Singh, Chhatardhári's grandson. Dirgej Singh died without offspring, and was succeeded at Shahmau by his adopted son Rája Sukhmangal Singh. At the time of Saádat Khan's invasion Simrauta was held by Mándháta Singh. He was left in possession of his ancestral pargana and conciliat- ed by the honorary distinction of a drum and the titular mansab of seven thousand men. His great grandson was without children, and adopted his first cousin Raghu Náth Singh, the Bábu of Chandápur, who was suc- ceeded by his son Shiudarshan Singh, a fine specimen of the Rajput, celé-

  • The only documentary evidence wbich the preseat rája could produce on the subject

in a Wájib-ui-arz of several heada addressed by Balbbaddar Singh to Abul Madsúr Eban. One bead is as follows:- I am the old zamindar of fourteen parganas inherited from Mohan Singh (namely Jáis, Nasirabad, Salon, Rae Bareli, Minikpur, Hardoi, Inbauda, Subeba, Takia, Banorbi, Rudauli Şaidazpur, Biawan); this zamindari has been reduced ; let me again hold it on the payment of 22 lakhs revenue. This ia crosaed with the aniblguoue order " Badkatúr--qadim." Another curious bead is "Let me deduct the expenses of my army trom my revenue, or have them paid in full by Government." The order on this is" deduct from revenue." It is obvious that this proces very little but consciousness of power in the petitioner. ​MOH 509 brated all over the district for a rare combination of bodily and mental vigour, and to whom I am under considerable obligations for the intelli- gent and even learned assistance he afforded me in collecting materials for this report He has retired from the management of his estate, which is held by his grandson, Rája Jagmohan Singh. MOHANLALGANJ Pargana* -Tahsil MOHANLALGANJ-District LUCK- NOW.—The pargana of Mohanlalganj is one of the two into which the tahsil of this name is divided; it takes its name from a large ganj built by the Taluqdar, Rája Káshi Parshád. It is situated to the south-east of Lucknow, with which it is connected by two good unmetalled roads, The most northern of these runs east through the pargana to Sultanpur, the capital town of a neighbouring district. It passes through the bazar of Goshainganj and skirts the old pargana towns of Ametbi and Salem- pur. The point where it enters the pargana is about six miles from Luck- now. The other road runs south-east from Lucknow to Rae Bareli, hat has not much of its course in this pargana, for shortly after passirg through the tahsil station of Mohanlalganj, it reaches the pargana of Nigohán Sissaindi. There is also a third road which connects Gosháin- ganj with Mohanlalganj and continues south, joining the Lucknow and Cawnpore imperial road at Bani bridge on the river Sai. These roads are unmetalled, but are kept in good repair and bridged throughout In addition to this, a system of country roads has been projected which is to connect all the principal bazars with each other. The pargana is bounded on the west by the parganas of Bijnaur and Lucknow, on the north by the district of Bara Banki--from which it is separated by the river Gumti, on the east by the Rae Bareli district, and on the south by its fellow-pargana of Nigohán. It is compact and square-shaped, and contains an area of 200 square miles. Its greatest length from its northernmost corner on the Gumti to its'southernmost, where the boundary line between Nigohan and Mo- hanlalganj ends, is fifteen miles, and its average breadth is twelve miles. Its population is 1,13,659 or 568 to the square mile. Of this 9-8 per cent is Musalman and 90-2 per cent. Hindu. The proportion of barren land in the district is large, being so much as 31:6 per cent. This is due to úsar (barren) plains, which cross it from east to west, running through the centre of the pargana. The pargana is drained by a line of jhals that commences with the large Kurála jhíls in Hulás Khera, and takes a south-easterly direction towards Nagrắm and by the Loni stream, which rising in a jhil near Parahta flows, east and joins the Gumti near Salempur; all the northern parts are drained by the Gumti itself. The height at this point above mean sea level is 372 feet. The country along the Gumti is rough and broken, alternating with sandy tracts and wide ravines, and lowering as it approaches the bed of the river. But little irrigation is carried on from this river. In all other respects the country is fertile and well wooded. Its jhíls, with seasonable rains, afford an ample supply of water. Wells can everywhere

  • By Mr, H. E. Batte, Assistant Commissioner.

65 ​510 MOH be dug, water lying not more than twenty feet from the surface, with an average depth of ten feet of water, The percentage of irrigation is fair ; it amounts to forty-five per cent. of cultivated land, but a great deal of this is from jhila, being nearly three-fourths. All the principal cereals are grown with sugarcane and poppy, and the usual vegetables immedi- ately round the villages. The rice crops grown round the jhíls near Nagram are specially fine. The area still culturable is said to be 27 per cent, but of this 14:6 are groves, and the rest is not of a good quality, being largely mixed with úsar. The population presses on the cultivated area at an average density of 1,108 per square mile, which is greater than in any other pargana, save Lucknow, of the district. The average holdings are from three and a quarter to five and a half acres, and rents vary from Rs. 4-14 to Rs. 5-6; strange to say the latter rate is paid by the Brahmans, who are usually treated with leniency. They are in considerable numbers, but Ahírs, Kurmis , and Pásis—paying rents of Rs. 5 to Rs. 6-10, and Rs. 4-14 per acre,-furnish the great bulk of the cultivators. The two former castes hold from four to four and a balf acres, the latter hold on an average little more than three acres. The Kachhis, who however are not very numerous, pay the high rate of Rs. 13-14 per acre. The high rates paid by the Brahmans may be partly due to the proprietorship of so many villages by Musalmans. As will be seen in other parganas, Musalmans generally exact higher rents than Hindus. The former hold eighty villages while the latter hold pinety. The summary assessment of this pargana was Rs. 1,56,510, that now fixed is Rs 1,79,740. The revenue rate will fall - Rs: 2 12 on the cultivated. 14 on cultivated and culturable, >> 1 7 0 throughout 32 The proportion of non-agriculturists in this pargana is high. It amounts to 46.2 per cent., and is due to the large villages and towns which the pargana contains and where they chiefly reside. In addition to Amethi, the population of which is 7,128, there are six other towns and villages, with a population from two to five thousand. They are Goshainganj, whose inhabitants number Mohanlalganj, with Nagrát Miraknagar 2,210 Salempur Samesi 4,823 and seventeen villages with a population of one to two thousand. They are Naiya Khurkápur, Adampur, Naubasta, Utráwán, Bakás, Bharauli, .64 > TRE 3,691 3,674 4,978 30 19 ->> 1 99 1 17 3) 2,366 9) 97 ​MOH 511 Parahta, Parseni, Jokhundi, Saráe Gundauli, Qasimpur, Khujauli, and Karora, and large bazars are held in Amethi, Goshainganj, Molanlalganj, and Nagrám. All these four are separately noticed. Manufactures and mechanical arts are at a low ebb, the former comprise the weaver class and cotton spinners (Juláha and Dhuniya). The weavers are thickest in Amethi, at which place the trade formerly flourished, but native stuffs have given place to the piece-goods imported from Europe. The pargana was once known as the Amethi pargana, and was one of those into which the sarkár of Lucknow was divided (Ain-i-Akbari). It was colonized by the Amethi Rajputs of the Chamar-Gaur tribe, and under Rája Díngur, the most powerful of their leaders, became known as the pargana of Amethi Díngur. They were expelled at about the close of the fifteenth century by a family of Shekhs who became masters of the whole pargana. Salempur, to the north of the pargana was founded by this family, and the present Taluqdar, Chaudhri Nawab Ali, who holds the estate of Salempur, is descended from it. Of its early history it is hard to state anything with confidence. It is unanimously asserted to have been held by an aboriginal tribe of Bhars, and the country abounds in old Bhar dihs, which appear to be the sites of their old villages and forts. They are sometimes of great elevation and extent. They are quite deserted, and the only signs of the ancient habi- tations are the broken bricks which lie scattered over the mounds, and sometimes a hut on the summit devoted te some deified hero who is wor- shipped under the title of Bír. There are no less than twenty of these Bhar dlhs in the pargana. The Bhars are said to have ruled from Bah- raich, and Amethi was one of their outposts. Common tradition asserts that the Hindu monarch of Kauauj in vain tried to, wrest the country from them. He sent his two celebrated captains, Álha and Údal, who entrenched a camp first under Lachhman Tila, once the heart of the modern city of Lucknow, and dext in Pahárnagar Tikuria near which is a large well said to have been built by them. The high dih in the vil- lage is said to be the remains of their camp. This natural feature (Tekra or Pahár), a hill, seems to have given its name to the village. It lies on the borders of the Lucknow pargana, not far from Bakás, and it is from here that the plain of Lohganjar, the battle field, the field of blood, or of iron, is said to begin. This name was presently extended to the whole of the plain lying between this and the Gogra which became known as Gan- jarai. But Alha and Údal effected nothing. It was after this that the Amethias came into this pargana, which became named after them. Another of the Bhar centres seems to have been Nagram, which was held by Rája Nal. It was these strong posts that the Muhammadans attacked in their first crescentade of A.D. 1030, under Sayyad Sálár Masaúd, nephew of Mahmúd of Ghazni. They swept through Nagram and Amethi, leaving their shahids and tombs, and perhaps a few families who maintained their hold in the village till the arrival of more of their sect at a later date. There is a family of Maliks in Amethi to this day, ​512 MOH and of Sayyads in Nagrám, who assert that they are descended from Malik Yusuf and Sayyad Miran of the early invasion. But the Bhars closed ap again, and the Musalman wave swept on, and they do not seem to have been finally driven out till the invasion of the future Amethi Rajputs, who came under Ráepál Singh at the end of the fourteenth century. This family was itself expelled at the end of the fifteenth century, as has already been stated by Shekh Abul Husen, the founder of the Salempur family; but another branch of Amethias, who had established themselves at Nagrám, suffered later, for according to the accounts given by the Sayyads, and documents still in their posses- sion, their ancestor, Habibulla, who they assert dispossessed them, could not have come till about A.D. 1600. Other facts render this pro- bable. Nagram was till a late date known as a separate pargana, and it can only have been their separate proprietorship of it by this branch of Amethi that made it one. The Shekhs pretended to a right to the whole pargana, and it seems that it was more or less recognized. For at a later date came a family of Janwars from Ikauna in Bahraich, who settled at the west end of the pargana in Mau and Khujauli; and allow that they derive their title from the Shekhs. This family at one time produced a further division in the pargana, and a new pargana was formed in 1218 fasli (1811 A.D.) and called Khujauli. Khujauli was in the jurisdiction of the Baiswara Nayágáon chakla. Nagrám was ruled from Kumhráwán in Rae Bareli, and Amethi, the head: quarters of which were in A.D. 1757 transferred to Goshaínganj,--90 called from a Gosháín commander of some Nága troopers in the time of Shujá-ud-daula, who was granted the pargana of Amethi in jágír, and built a ganj here, which subsequently gave its name to the pargana---was made Huzur Tahsil. After the introduction of British rule, Mohanlalganj, road from Lucknow to Rae Bareli—at which place Rája Kásħi Parshád, one of the loyal taluqdars, had built a handsome ganj and temple --Was selected as the best place for the centre of administration of the tahsil, and the pargana became henceforth known by its own name. A good deal of the tenure in this pargana is taluqdari. There are in all 171 villages, and taluqdars hold some sixty. The rest are held by smaller separate communities. The taluqdars who are proper to this par- gana are ---Chaudhri Nawab Ali of Salempur, Musammát Qutb-un-nisa of Gauria, Shekh Abú Turáh Khan of Dhaurahra, and Thákur Baldeo Bakhsh of Parseni. The principal remaining zamindars are Shekha, Chhattris, and Kurmis; the presence of the two former has already been accounted for. The Chhattris are mostly of the Janwár tribe. The Kur- mis have always mustered strong in this pargana, and having risen to a state of great prosperity have become possessed of a spirit of very sturdy independence, which they showed both in the Nawabi and on the occasion of the mutiny in our own tirae, Pargana families.--Chaudhri Nawab Ali, Taluqdar of Salempur. The ancestors of Chaudhri Nawab Ali, Taluqdar of Salempur, on the female on the ​MOH 513 side, are said to have come from Madína, and to have entered the pargana fifteen generations ago about the year 1550, under Shekh Abul Hasan Ansári, who drove out the Amethi Rajputs from Amethi Dingur, and earned for himself the title of Shekh-ul-Islám. Some one or more generations after Shekh Abul Hasan came Abul- Hasan Sáni, who had two sons, Shekh Salem and Ali Gauhar, Shekh Salem founded Salempur; and ten generations later his descendant, Moizz ud-dín, had a daughter who married Hidayat Ali, a Sayyad of Kkkori. His two sons, Saadat Ali and Mansur Ali, lived in Salempur, and inherited their father's estate. Saádat Ali had three sons—Nizam Ali, who by marriage became taluqdar of Paintepur, Hisám Ali, father of the present taluqdar, Chaudhri Nawab Ali, and Samsám Ali. Samsám Ali managed the whole estate, having in addition acquired the share of Mansur Ali, the second son of Hidáyat Ali, and dying without heir bequeathed it to his nephew, Nawab Ali, This family pretend to bave a right to the whole pargana by title of con- quest, and they are said to hold two farmáns—one dated 1026 Hijri (1617 Å.D.) from Jahangir, in the name of Mohi-ud-dín, fifth in descent from Abul-Hasan Sáni, and another from Farrukh Siar in the 2nd year of his reign (1128 Hijri, 1715 A. D.), in the name of Muhammad Asaf, confirming them in the office of chaudhri and zamindar of the par- gana. However vague and uncertain this title may have been, they seem to be traditionally looked upon as the owners of the soil. Thus the Jan- wars of Mau, at the extreme south-west of the pargana, relate that they received their villages from the Shekhs of Amethi ; and the owners of Bakás at the extreme west, and the Bais of Karora in the centre assert the Shekhs to have been the original zamindars, and we find also Shekh Abul Husan's descendants founding villages at scattered intervals througbout the whole pargana. Shekh Salem himself founds Salempur on the lands of Kheoli in the north-east of the pargana, and Salem pur Ucháka on the other boundary directly south. Chaudhri Nawab Ali holds all the villages founded by his ancestors and others, of which he acquired possession from the original inhabitants. Many of the double names involved show a prior Hindu origin and tradi- tion still remembers the names of the original villages on the lands of which the Shekhs founded their own villages. The Trans-Gumti villages mentioned belonged to the pargaua of Ibráhímabad which was also held by the Amethias, and which they lost at the same time with Amethi. The Chaudhri taluqdar holds half the village of Ihráhímabad in his sanad with others of the pargana. This estate amounts to 36 villages, of which 29 are in this district, and are assessed at Rs. 44,293. Musammát Qutb-un-nisa, taluqdar of Gauria, is the widow of Jahắngir Bakhsh Siddiqi Shekh, old pargana qánúugo of Amethi. This family is said to have come from Madína, and to have settled in Delhi in the time of Bábar Shah. From thence they were probably called by the family of the Ansári Shekhs,-from whom the taluqdar, Chaudhri Nawab Ali, has ​514 MOH sprung:—who preceded them in the occupation of the pargana, and had also come from Madina. They date their settleinent from the time of their ancestor Shah Rafi-ud-dín, under whom they migrated from Delhi, and settled in Mohanlalganj to the north of the pargana near Amethi. Shah Rafi-ud-din had a son, Nizám, who founded Nizampur and married a daughter of the bouse of Malik Yusuf, one of the officers of Sayyad Masaúd's army of A. D., 1030, who had escaped the annihilation that befel the rest of the invading force, and had maintained his residence in the town of Amethi, which had fallen into the Musalmans' hands. Shekh Nizam had three sons:- (1.) Shekh Tahir, who founded Tahirpur, attained to wealth and the qinungoship of the pargana, and added Gauria and other villages to his ancestral property. The present representative, Musammát Qutub-unnisa, is descended from this branch of the family, and holds Gauria and four other villages. (2.) Shekh Ibráhím, whose descendants-Máshúq Ali and others-hold Mahmudabad, in which their ancestor, Shah Rahím-ud-din, first settled, and four other villages. (3.) From the third son, Shekh Husen, was descended Musahib Ali, who played too conspicuous and persistent a part in the rebellion of A.D., 1857, and lost his ancestral estate, the taluqa of Dhaurahra, of six villages lying on the banks of the Gumti, which was confiscated and conferred on Abdul Ali, who made a gift of it to the taluqdar Abú Turáb Khan, an account of whom will be presently given. Only one of the descendants of Shekh Husen, Tufail Ali, holds Fatehpur, which his ancestors founded. Musammát Qutub-un-nisa holds five villages assessed at Rs. 4,595. Mirza Abú Turáb Khan, Mughal, Taluqdar of Dhaurahra.-This taluqdar has no history that belongs to this pargana. He was a son-in-law of Munnawwar-ud-daula, and the estate of six villages that he holds belong. ed to Musáhib Ali, of the pargana qánúogo's family. This latter was a persistent rebel, and with a strong band of Kurmis and local bad charac- ters kept the rebellion alive on his own account, but he and the Kurmi leader Khushál Chand were slain in a fight at Salempur, and his villages confiscated. They were conferred nominally on Abdul Ali, a chela (slave) of Munnawwar-ud-daula, but this was an arrangement inade to suit the Nawab. Abdul Ali soon went on a pilgrimage to the Karbala, and the estate was transferred under a deed of hiba (gift) by Abdul Ali to. Mirza Abú Turáb Khan, the present taluqdar. His villages in this pargana are assessed at Rs. 4,091. Chaudhri Azam Ali of Nagram.-Chaudhri Azam Ali is said to have come from Khojid in Arabia, twelve generations ago, un der Shekh Habib ulla, and to have driven out the Amethias, who then held the pargana of Nagrám, under Jaipál Singh. This Musalman family was probably con​MOH 515 1 nected with the invading force which, under Shekh Abul Hasan, in the middle of the 16th century, took the Amethi pargana. But it was pro- bably a later arrival; for in the third and fourth generation after Habib- ulla, we find Aurangzeb granting a farmán dated 1096 Hijri (1675 A.D.) to Shekha Daúd and Salem confirming them in the zamindari of Nagram which their ancestors had held. They early acquired three or four villages, which they still hold in addition to a taraf (portion) of Nagrám. But the Amethias did not entirely acquiesce in their deposition, and there is good written evidence that about the year 1130 Hijri or A. D. 1791, they attacked and possessed themselves of the qasba. And it was not till about this time that the Musalmans were made chaudlıris of the pargana. These Amethias, who belong to Kumbráwán, never forgot their old rights, and when the rebellion of 1857-58 broke out, the Kurmis of Nagrám invited them to put themselves at their head. The Churha Junwárs of Mau (Gautam Kaunáik).—According to their family history, the Janwárs of Mau came twelve generations ago from Ikauna in Bahraich under two leaders, Deo Ráe and Sohan Ríe; they must have come at about the commencement of the 17th century, they settled in Mau and Khujauli, which they received from the Ametbi Shekhs. Sohan Ráe died without issue, but the descendants of Deo Ráe grew and multiplied and colonized in all 22 villages, which, with the exception of two--Mau being one-they hold to this day. i Deo Ráe had two sons--one of whom, Sení Sáh, was the founder of Parseni (Senipur), and the ancestor of Thákur Baldeo Bakhsh, taluqdar, whose estate takes its name from this village. His second son was Bánke Ráe, and four generations after him were born Hira and Jáchi. The des-- cendants of the former hold sixteen, and the latter three villages. But it is probable that at this time they did not hold more than their ances- tral villages of Mau and Khujauli: for three villages, held by Jáchi's des. cendants, were founded one and two and three generations after his death, and he does not, indeed, seem to have held a share in any village but Maui A great deal of the country they colonized must have been jungle-land, for they seem to have newly settled nearly all their villages. Híra's des- cendants founded Púranpur, Baldi Khera, Indarjit Khera, Dharmáwat Khera, and Dharmangat Khera, and Jáchi's descendants Hulás Khera, Atrauli and Rahbán Khera, which villages embrace a considerable tract of conntry lying on all sides of Mau but the west. But it seems not unlikely from its name that Atrauli must have been originally a Bhar village. In Hulás Khera itself there are unmistakable Bhar remains in the large fort that lies in the middle of the Karela jhíl, Nothing of the fort now remains but its old site, but it was of considerable strength to judge by the size of the old dih, and must have been formed from the excavations of the large jhíl which surrounds it on all sides in the form of a moat. On the dih is a small temple to Káleshuri Debi, attributed to the Bhars. The remaining fourteen villages held by these Janwárs are said to have been old townships, but there seems to be no trace of their original owners, except that Dáúdnagar is clearly Musalman. ​516 MOI Their history would show these Janwars to bave been an aggressive and enterprising family, and on one occasion they carried their natural proclivities so far as to attack and plunder some of the king's treasure that was being conveyed to Delhi, and to have earned by this their cogno- men of the chorahas or 'plunderers.' One of the family, Niwáz Sáh, grandson of Híra, rose in the latter days of the Delhi empire to command of a considerable body of troops, but their history is otherwise entirely local. Thákur Baldeo Bakah, Taluqdar of Parseni.This taluqdar is a Janwar of the Mau family, and descended from Seni Sáh, one of the two sons of Deo Ráe, the leader under whom the Jan wárs migrated from Ikauna, twelve generations ago. Seni Sáh seems to have separated from Mau, and to have founded Parseni or Senipur for himself. An offshoot of this branch are the Janwárs of Jabrauli in Nigohán Sissaindi, The family did not rise to any importance till time Rám Singh, five generations later. Rám Singh took to money-lending, and made himself useful to the Chakladars. But the family again declined till the time of Jhabba Singh, his grandson, who became agent and manager for Chandan Lal, the Khattri banker of Maurán wán, in the Unao district, During the mutinies he rendered valuable assistance to the British force stationed at Alambágh in forwarding supplies and information. He was rewarded with one of Hindpal Singh's confiscated estates of Akohri, Sidhauli in Unao, and a remission of ten per cent, on his land tax as one of the six loyal taluqdars. MOHANLALGANJ—Pargana MOHANLALGANJ—Tahsil MOHANLALGANJ - District LUCKNOW.—Mohanlalganj is situated at the 14th milestone from Lucknow on the road from Lucknow to Rae Bareli. Mau, or as it is generally called "Chorhan-ká-Mau," is the old village on the land of which Mohanlalganj has been built, and is noteworthy on that account rather than for any history of its own. Mau was founded and inhabited by a tribe of Choraha Janwárs, who colonized this and some of the neighbouring villages, and in the Nawabi held an undisturbed and undisput possession, But this did not always include engagement for the Government revenue, and the village was eventually conferred on the taluqdar, Rája Káshi Parshád, who in 1859 A.D. built a ganj, which he called after his bygone ancestor Mohanlal, and erected a temple of Mabadeo. The ganj is now a thriving centre of traffic. In addition to the Lucknow and Rae Bareli road which passes through it, it is crossed by the road from Goshainganj, which joins the imperial road to Cawnpore and Bani Bridge. The yearly bazar sales amounted to Rs. 45,200, consisting chiefly of grain and country cotton stuffs. The population consists of 3,674, and is almost entirely Hindu. proportion is agricultural. One of the three tahsil stations in the Lucknow district is situated here, and, since the founding of the Rája Kashi Parshád's bazar, it has given its name to the tahsil. Outside the ganj is the police station at which a police force is kept of one inspector, three subordinate officials, and eighteen constables, to guard an area amounting to 175 square miles, and a population of 568 to the square mile, Inside the ganj is a A great ​MOH MUH 517 kine sarse, and outside is an encamping ground for the troops. Two Government schools are established, one at the ganj and one in the village; and attendance of pupils is 90. The ganj bears a clear and prosperous appearance, and is approached on either side by two fine archways. Close to the entrance the rája has built an imposing shiwala to Mahadeo, and has had influence enough to establish the Jalbehár festival, which is held in the month of Bhadon. There are other small Hindu temples to Debi and Mahadeo in the village, and to a deified hero called Káre Bir (the black hero), worshipped by the Janwárs. MOHI—Pargana MAURÁNWÁN--Tahsil PURWA-District Unao-_-Lies fifteen miles south-east of its tahsil Purwa, and thirty-five from the sadr station (Unao) in the same direction. There is no large town or river near this village, por is there any road. About 500 years ago one Man Singh, Chhattri, came from the west and peopled this village. Kánh Singh, a descendant of Mán Singh's, was a noted man here. Hindus and Muham- madans live together peaceably. There is a school, with 21 pupils, lately established. The soil is loam. No jungle near; climate and water good. Population Hindus Muhammadsns 4,995 Temples two, both to Mahadeo. There are 946 mud-walled houses, 26260 north, Longitude MUHAMDI Pargana,Tahsil MUHAMDI--District KHERI--This përgana contains 136 villages, and covers 116 square miles. It has natural bound- daries on the west and south. The Gumti on the west separates it from Magdapur and Atwa Piparia, and a tributary of the same river on the south divides it from Pasgawan. Along the bank of the Gumti the land is high and sandy for about half a mile; it then rather suddenly sinks into a loamy flat of high fertility and fair cultivation. The wells in this part generally bear the use of the bucket without tumbling in ; water is from 12 to 20 feet from the surface. Fine crops of sugarcane and cereals are produced. The population is 49,016, which gives an average of 422 to the square mile; this mass is constituted as follows: 4,802 193 Total 30 Latitude . 1802' east, 1 13 Caste or sect. Musalman, Brahmaan, Chattri, Kấyath. Others, Perecntage 17.3 14 78.1 .. No cultivating caste existe in unusual numbers, 60 ​518 MHU Muhamdi is owned principally by small proprietors; the different castes hold as follows: Name of caste. Number of villages Name of caste. Number of villages. 304 493 10 Brahman Musalman Káyash... EuropeAge Chhattri Ahír 21 491 67 0 26 24 6 Kisán Khattri Ját Banión Nának Shahi faqir 40 1 1 9 15 1 M +99 FO Gaddi PAR Kurmi Government OP 16 History.--Muhandi was settled as a pargana centuries ago. The town which bears that name was not founded it is true in 1693 A.D.; only the country was inhabited, and fiscally organized by the Sayyads of Barwar long before that date. Their history is given in the Kheri district article. They held Muhamdi and seventeen other parganas in a position of some independence during the break up of the Mughal empire. They paid no regular Government revenue; numerous large and well-built forts enabled them to collect their own and the zamindari bodies of Muhamdi, and the other parganas were principally settled by them as their retainers. Some four or five generations back their representative was displaced by a Som- bansi Rajput of Hardoi, who had been captured and converted to the faith, and married to a slave girl of the Sayyad chief: he ousted his master's son from the engagement, estate, and title about 1743 A.D. This family retained possession of eighteen parganas until 1793 A.D., when the then representative was seized as a rebel and defaulter and the taluqa broken up. The capital of the taluqa was originally Barwar then Aurangabad, and lastly Muhamdi. The family held Parganas Muhamdi, Magdapur, and Atwa Piparia from about 1673 A.D., and Haidarabad and northern Paila from 1693 A.D. The old zamindars, if any, existed in Muhamdi and Magdapur disappeared, but the Bachhil in Atwa Piparia and the Ahbans in Haidarabad and northern Paila emerged about 1793 A.D. from under the pressure to which they had been subjected, aided in overturning the taluqdar, and founded a number of new taluqas, most of which exist to this day. Colonel Sleeman writes as follows of the governor of Muhandi on January 31, 1850:- “ The Amil of the Mahomdee district, Krishun Sahae, had come out 90 far as Para to meet me, and have my camp supplied. He had earned good reputation as a native collector of long standing in the Shajehaupore ​MUH 519 district under Mr. Buller ; but being ambitious to rise more rapidly than he could hope to do under our settled government, he came to Lucknow with a letter of introduction from Mr. Buller to the Resident, Colonel Richmond; paid his court to the Durbar, got appointed Amil of the Maho- mdee district under the amanee system, paid his nazuranas on his inves- titure in October last, and entered upon his charge. A few days ago it pleased the minister to appoint to his place Aboo Toorab Khan, the nephew and son-in-law of Moonowur-ood-dowla ; and orders were sent out immediately, by a camel-messenger, to the commandants of the corps on duty with Řrishup Sahae to seize and send him, his family, and all his relations and dependents, with all his property to be found upon them, to Lucknow. The wakeel, whom he kept at court for such occasions, heard of the order for the supersession and arrest, and forthwith sent off a note to his master by the fastest foot-messenger he could get. The camel- messenger found that the Amil had left Mahomdee, and gone out two stages to Para to meet the resident. He waited to deliver his message to the commandants and subordinate civil officers of the district, and see that they secured all the relatives, dependents, and property of the Amil that could be found. The foot-messenger, more wise, went on and delivered his letter to Krishun Sabae at Para on the evening of the Tuesday, the 29th. He ordered his elephant very quietly, and mounting told the driver to take him to a village on the road to Shajehanpore. "On reaching the village about midnight, the driver asked him whither he was going. I am flying from my enemies,' said Kriskun Sahae, 'and we must make all haste, or we shall be overtaken before we reach the boundary. But,' said the driver, 'my house and family are at Lucknow, and the one will be pulled to the ground, and the other put into gaol if I fly with you,' "Krishun Sahae drew out a pistol and threatened to shoot bim if he did not drive on as told. They were near a field of sugarcane, and the driver hedged away towards it, without the Amil's perceiving his intention. When they got near tbe field the elephant dashed in among the cane to have a feast, and the driver in his seeming effort to bring him out, fell off and disappeared under the high cane. The Amil did all he could to get out his elephant, but the animal felt that he was no longer in danger of severe treatment from above, and had a very comfortable meal before him in the fine ripe cane, and would not move. The poor Amil was obliged to descend, and make all possible haste on foot across the border, attended by one servant, who had accompanied him in his flight. The driver ran to the village and got the people to join him in the pursuit of his master, saying that he was making off with a good deal of the king's money. With an elephant load of the king's money in prospect, they made all the haste they could ; but the poor Amil got safely over the border into British territory. They found the elephant dining, very comfortably on the sugarcane. After abusing the drivers and all his female relations for deluding them with the hope of a rich booty, they permitted him to take the empty elephant to the new Amil at Mahomdee. News of all this reached my camp last. night."-Pages 57-59, Vol. II., Tour through Oudh. ​520 MUH The following is an administrative sketch from Colonel Sleeman's Torer through Oudh:

  • The late Hakeem Mehndee took the contract of the Mahomdee district,

as already stated, in the year A.D. 1804, when it was in its present bad state, at 3,11,000 rupees a year, and he lield it till the year 1819, or for sixteen years. He had been employed in the Azimgurh district under Boo Allee Hakeem, the contractor; and during the negotiations for the transfer of that district with the other territories to the British Government, which took place in 1801, he lost his place and returned to Lucknow, where he paid his court to the then Dewan or Chancellor of the Exchequer, who offered him the contract of the Mahomdee district at three lacs and eleven thousand rupees a year, on condition of his depositing in the treasury a security bond for thirty-two thousand rupees. There had been a liaison between him and a beautiful dancing girl named Peeajoo, who had saved a good deal of money. She advanced the money, and Hakeem Mehndee deposited the bond, and got the contract. The greater part of the district was then as now a waste, and did not yield more than enough to cover the Government demand, gratuities to courtiers, and cost of management. The Hakeem remained to support his influence at court, while his brother, Hadee Allee Khan, resided at Mahomdee, and managed the district. The Hakeem and his fair friend were married, and lived happily together till her death, which took place before that of her husband, while she was on a pilgrimage to Mecca. While she lived he married no other woman; but on her death he took to himself another who survived him; but he had no child by either. His vast property was left to Monowur- ood-dowlah, the only son of his brother, Aladee Allee Khan, and tohis widow and dependants. The district improved rapidly under the care of the two brothers, and in a few years yielded them about seven lacs of rupees a year. The Government demand increased with the rent-roll to the extent of four lacs of rupees a year. This left a large income for Hakeem Mehndee and his family, who had made the district a garden, and gained the universal respect and affection of the people. "In the year 1807, Hakeem Mehndee added to the contract of Mahomdee that of the adjoining district of Khyrabad at five lacs of rupees a year, making his contract nine lacs. In 1816, he added the contract for the Bahraetch district at seven lacs and seventy-five thousand; but he resigned. this in 1819, after having held it for two years, with no great credit to himself. In 1819 he lost the contract for Mahomdee and Khyrabad from the jealousy of the prime minister, Aga Meer. In April, 1818, the Gov. ernor-General, the Marquis of Hastings, passed through his district of Khyrabad, on his way to the Tarae forest on a sporting excursion after the Marhatta war. Hakeera Mehndee attended him during this excursion, and the Governor-General was so much pleased with his attentions, cour- teous manners, and sporting propensities, and treated him with so much consideration and kindness, that the minister took the alarm, and deter- mined to get rid of so formidable a rival. He in consequence made the most of the charge preferred against him of the murder of Amur Sing; and demanded an increase of five lacs of rupees a year, or fourteen lacs of rupees a year instead of nine, This Hakcem Mehndee would not consent ​MUH 521 to give ; and Shekh Imam Buksh was, in 1819, sent to supersede him as a temporary arrangement. " In 1820, Poorun Dhun and Govurdhun Dass, merchants of Lucknow, took the contract of the two districts at twelve lacs of rupees a year, or an increase of three lacs; and from that time, under a system of rack- renting, these districts have been falling off. Mahomdee is now in a worse state than Khyrabad, because it has had the bad luck to get a worse set of contractors. Hakeem Mehndee retired with his family first to Shaje- hanpore, and then to Futtehgurh on the Ganges, and resided there with his family till June, 1830, when he was invited back by Nusseer-ood-deen Hyder to assume the office of prime minister. He held the office till August, 1832, when he was removed by the intrigues of the Kumboos, Taj-ood-deen Hoseyn and Sobhan Allee Khan, who persuaded the king that he was trying to get him removed from the throne by reporting to the British Government the murder of some females, which had, it is said, actually taken place in the palace. Hakeem Mehndee was invited from his retirement by Mahomed Allee Shah, and again appointed minister in 1837; but he died three months after, on the 24th of December, 1837. "During the thirty years which have elapsed since Hakeem Mehndee lost the contract of Mahomdee, there have been no less than seventeen gover- nors, fifteen of whom have been contractors; and the district has gradually declined from wbat it was when he left it, to what it was when he took it—that is, froin a rent-roll of seven lacs of rupees a year, under which all the people were happy and prosperous to one of three, under which all the people are wretched. The manager, Krishun Sahae, who has been treated as already described, would, in a few years, have made it what it was when tbe Hakeem left it, had he been made to feel secure in bis tenure of office, and properly encouraged and supported. He had, in the three months he had charge, invited back from our bordering districts hundreds of the best classes of landholders and cultivators, who had been driven off by the rapacity of his predecessors, re-established them in their villages, and set them to work in good spirit, to restore the lands which had lain waste from the time they deserted them; and induced hundreds to convert to sugarcane cultivation the lands which they had destined for humbler crops, in the assurance of the security which they were to enjoy under his rule. The one class tells me they must suspend all labours upon the waste lands till they can learn the character of his successor ; and the other, that they must content themselves with the humbler crops till they can see whether the richer and more costly will be safe from his grasp, or that of the agents, whom he may employ to manage the district for him. No man is safe for a moment under such a government, either in his person, his character, bis office, or his possession; and with such a feeling of insecurity among all classes, it is impossible for a country to prosper. “I may here mention one among the numerous causes of the decline of the district. The contract for it was held for a year and ball, in A.D. 1847-48, by Ahmed Allee. l'eeling insecure in his tenure of office, he wanted to make as much as possible out of things as they were, and resumed Briehun Sabae las been restored, but does not feel secure iu his tenure of office. ​522 MUH It is on Gahooa, a small rent-free village, yielding four hundred rupees a year held by Bahadur Sing, the talookdar of Peepareea, who resides at Pursur, He had recourse to the usual mode of indiscriminate murder and plunder to reduce Ahmed Allee to terms. At the same time, he resumed the small village of Kombee, yielding three hundred rupees a year, held rent-free by Bhoder Singh, talookdar of Magdapoor, who resided in Kombee ; and, in consequence, he united his band of marauders to that of Bahadur Singh, and together they plundered and burnt to the ground some dozen villages, and laid waste the pargana of Peepareea, which had yielded to Government twenty-five thousand rupees a year, and contained the sites of one hundred and eight villages, of which, however, only twenty-five were occupied.”— Pages 74-79, Vol II., Sleeman's Tour in Oudh. MUHAMDI-Pargana MUHAMDI—Tahsil MUHAMDI—District KHERI— Lies on the road from Lakhimpur to Shahjahanpur, three miles west of the Gumti, in latitude 27°58' north, longitude 80°19' east. a level plain of fine soil, and has on every side groves and single trees of the best kind. There is an old brick-built fort, having two oblong court- yards. It is now in a decayed state. Within the town there is an injámbára, which after being repaired is occupied by the tahsil office. The main part of the fort was built in the beginning of the reign of Aurangzeb by the great-grandson of Nawab Sadr Jahản; and the outer works and the imámbára were built in the time of Sandat Khan, Gover- nor of Oudh, by the ancestor of Raja Musharraf Ali Khan. Hakim Mehndi Ali Kban, during his chakladarship of the Muhamdi district, which lasted from A. D. 1799 to 1820, lived here. He made a garden to the west of the town, and he built a saráe, a mosque, and a ganj within the town. He called the garden Mehndi Bagh and the ganj Saádatganj. after the name of Saádat Ali Khan, the then Governor of Oudh. The saráe could accommodate at one time about 200 travellers of ordinary des- cription; and the ganj has 60 shops. Saádat Ali Khan was fond of this place, and used to reside here for many months every year. In A.D. 1815, he made a garden about a mile to the east of the town on a fine open place of good soil, and planted an avenue all the way. The trees are now in perfection, but the garden has been neglected, and the bungalow in the centre in which he resided is entirely in ruins. He kept here a large establishment of men and cattle. Within this garden Government has built a bungalow for European travellers. There is a tank to the west of the town round which flights of brick-built stairs were made in A.D. 1863 by subscription. The town of Mubardi was established by Sayyad Muqtadi, and im-: proved and enlarged by Ali Akbar Khan, ancestor of Rája Musharraf Ali Khan. It has been Government property since A. D. 1784, and declared as such under a judicial decree dated 2nd September, 1868. For a detailed historical account see district article Kheri, historical chapter. Muhamdi is not remarkable for any fair at which trade is carried on. It has a daily market, and a special market twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays in which articles of country consumption are sold. The annual sales of European and native cotton fabrics in Muhamdi are ​MUH 523 . . . 1.895 POD 自在 Males Females 10 2.0 PO 112,215 estimated at about Rs. 12,000, and of silk at Rs. 4,000. There are 14 sugar manufactories and one Government manufactory of country liquor. Muhamdi was the sadr station of the district, now known by the name of Kheri, in 1855-56, and the said district was then and until lately called the Muhamdi district. There is now a tahsil station, a thána, an anglo- vernacular school, and a charitable dispensary here. There are no brick-built houses owing to a superstition of the inhabitants; the town therefore is meanly built, although the vicinity is healthy and picturesque. Population 4,729:- Hindus Males 1,919 9,814 Ferales Mosalmang... 1,103 MUHAMMADPUR Pargana—Tahsil FATEHPUR-District BARA BANKI. -This pargana is bounded on the east by the Chauka, on the west by pargana Fatehpur, and some villages of district Sitapur; on the south by Rámnagar, and the north by the Sitapur district. Its area is 62 square miles, or 39,568 acres divided into 83 villages. The cultivated land is 27,634, and the uncultivated 11,934 acres; only 4,092 acres of the former are irrigated. The soil is mostly loam. The river Chauka flows on the east, and there is a little stream (the Sinnli) near the centre; both these take a south ward course, and do great damage to the bordering villages which are about 13 in Pumber. The land revenue amounts to Rs. 40,702, the tenure is as follows:- Taluqdari 46 villages. 7amindari Pattidari 34 ene 200 8 ET 10 17 Total 83 The population is 32,629; the number of the higher castes is 7,000. There is a registry office at the chief town (Muhammadpur). During the Nawabi Muhammadpur formed the centre of a district of the same name, but now it merely gives its name to a pargana. The taluqdari villages are held as follows - Raja Sarabjit Singh 32 villages. Ditto of Kapurthala Thakur Gumán Singh Rája Farzand All Kbez Dán Bahadur Singh Rája Amír Hasan Khan ... Kázim Hyben Khan 0 PU 71 to 5 3 2 2 1 3+ PO 31 10 BO 13 O. .60 Total 46 11 MUHAMMADPUR-Pargana MUHAMMADPUR—Tahsil FATEHPUR-Dis. trict BARA BANKI-Lies 23 miles north of the sadr, and 14 miles south- west of Bahramghat. It was founded by one Madan Singh about 400 ​524 MUH-MUR years ago on the land of Chandaura, and naned after Muhammad Shah, a faqír. There is a bazár, a registry office, and a school. Water is met with at 27 feet. The number of houses is 302, and that of inhabitants 1,332; the higher castes number as many as 710. MUHAMMADPUR~-Pargana KAANDANSA—Tahsil BYKAPUR-District FYZABAD.—This place was founded by Shekh Muhammad who got the site from the Bhars; it is 24 miles west of Fyzabad. The road from the police station of Milkípur to Rudauli, in district Bara Banki, passes through it. The population consists of 2,507 Hindus and 108 Musalmans. Amániganj bazar was established here by Nawab Asif-ud-daula, whose army used to encamp here on the road to Fyzabad. There is a temple to Mahádeo and one thakurdwara. MURÁDABAD-Pargana BANGARMAU— Tahsil SAFIPUR— District UNAO. -This town is distant 19 miles north-west from the tahsil, and 36 miles in the same direction from the sadr station (Unao), the road from wbich to Hardoi passes through it. The date of its foundation is not known. It is said to have been peopled by Murád Sher Khan, about 300 years ago, in the reign of Alamgir, and takes its name from the founder. It is on tolerably level ground, the scenery is pleasant, and climate healthy. Water good. Kámta Parshád, Brahman, minister of Jaipur, was a noted resident here; there are no particular events to note. There is neither saráe, thána, or tahsil here. A vernacular school has been established by Government, and is attended by about 90 boys. A market is held twice week attended by 200 people; there is also a daily market. There are three fairs during the year-one in March in honour of Debi, one in Sep- tember-October, and the 3rd in June, in honour of the eighth incarna- tion of the deity. The population amounts to 4,901, of which Hindus are 3,534 and Musalmans 1,367. Among the Rindus Brabmans predominate. There are 930 mud-walled and 50 masonry houses, 12 mosques, and two temples. MURASSAPUR—Pargana MÁNIKPUR-Tahsil KUNDA--District PARTAB- GARÆ.—This is on the road from Mánikpur to Rae Bareli, four miles from the former, 46 miles from the sadr station (Bela). Nawab Asif-ud-daula built a fort here through an officer, Rája Bhawáni Singh. Population $4,333 Hindus, 1,124 Musalmans. 5,427 There are ten masonry houses, two temples to Maliádeo, two mosques, and a school; there is also a girls' school. The bazar of Nawabganj, Buwan Burji, adjoins this place; it is a flourishing grain mart; the annual sales amount to Rs. 44,000; there is a fair on the Dasahra, at which 30,000 people assemble, and another fair called Ganesh mela in Kártik. Cotton- printing is carried on here to a considerable extent. MUSTAFABAD-Pargana MANGALSI-Tahsil FYZABAD-District FYZA- BAD.-This village was founded by one Sayyad Mustafá in the middle of ​a forest; now the railway passes through it. It is 19 miles from Fyzabad. The population consists of 1,581 Hindus and 1,004 Musalmang, of whom 298 are Shias. There is one mosque and two temples to Mahádeo.

MUSTAFABAD—Pargana Salon—Tahsil Salon—District Rae Bareli.—This village was founded 300 years ago; it is on the road from Salon to Mánikpur; the Ganges flows three miles to the south; it is forty miles from Bela, and twenty from Rae Bareli. Abdul-Kháliq, who lived here 250 years ago, and Mir Moin-ud-dín, attained great reputation and power here. This was a flourishing village, and the above family left many fine buildings, tombs, imámbáras of stone, and a zanána mahalsáráe (palace). Rája Darshan Singh plundered the place, and since then it has declined. The population consists of 1,576 Hindus and 897 Musalmans—a total of. 2,473. There are fifty-four masonry houses, four Musalman religious buildings; also a school. Mazharganj market adjoins that town; the annual sales are Rs. 10,000. There is a fair in honour of Shah Nur attended by about 3,000 pilgrims.



END OF VOL. II.



PRINTED AT THE N.W.P. AND OUDH GOVERNMENT PRESS, ALLAHABAD.

67

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INDEX.

A.

  • Abdulla Beg, Chakladar, 66.
  • Abdul Qadir Khan, Ráje of Mánikpur, 478.
  • Abul Mansur Khan (sce Safdar Jang).
  • Accidental deaths of districts Hardni, 50, Kheri, 229—230, Lucknow, 349, and Lucknow city, 384.
  • Administration of districta Hardoi 46, Kheri, 228–229, Lucknow, 348, and Lucknow city, 383.
  • Agha, a Lieutenant of Sayyad Sálár, 68—69.
  • Agha Mír, buildings of, 371.
  • Agricultural operations, Kheri, 166 and Lucknow, 314—316.
  • Agriculture, Hardoi, 17—20, Kheri, 159–189, and Lucknow, 314—316.
  • Ahbao or Cháwar Chhattria of Kheri, 253-264, of Maholi 408.
  • Alá-ud-dín, Governor of Mánikpur, 465.
  • Alha and Údal, 354.
  • Ali Akbar Khan of Muhamdi, 249-250.
  • Ali Bakhsh of Kukra, 279.
  • Almás Ali Khan Mián, (see Mián Almás).
  • Amethia Chhattris, history of, 281—282.
  • Amjad Ali Shah, reign of, 373.
  • Amusements, Lucknow city, 393.
  • Animals, (see Fauna).
  • Agsáris in Hisámpur, 83,
  • Antiquities of Kheri, 267—268.
  • Arakhs of Kalyánmal, 110, of Lucknow, 353.
  • Architecture, Lucknow city, 359, 364, 363, 374.
  • Area of districts Hardoi, 6, 30, Kheri, 140, 199, 231, Lucknow division, 301, and Lucknow district, 301, 302, 314, 335.
  • Arjun of Pandu brothers, 412, 487.
  • Arjun Mal Súrajbans, 136.
  • Arsalán Khan, Governer of Manikpur, 464.
  • Asif-ud-daula, reign of, 367.
  • Aurangzeb visits Mánikpur, 474.
  • Azam Humáyún Lodi, 468.
  • Azam Kumáyúp Sherwani, 467.

B.

  • Bában, Afghán chief, 58.
  • Babar Bahan, son of Arjun, 487.
  • Bábar Shah, 57–58.
  • Bachhil Chhattris of Kheri, history of, 239, 245; of Magdapur, 400.
  • Badar Jahan Nawab, 272,
  • Badar Singh converted Sombansi (see Ibád-ulla Khan).
  • Badri Náth, Lála, Chakladar, 289.
  • Badr-ud-din, Qazi, at Inhauda, 30.
  • Bahlol Lodi, 466.
  • Baijnath Rae, Kayath, 75.
  • Bairát Rája, 72, 236.
  • Bais Chhattria of Hardoi, 64; of Haweli Oudh, 78.
  • Bakht Mal, Chakladar of Tandiaon, 66.
  • Bala Rama, Bil, slain by, 55.
  • Bána Sur of Rukhára, 412.
  • Bande Ali Beg, Mirza, Chakladar of Khairabad, 123
  • Banjáras of Khairigarh, 129,
  • Bariár Sáh Janwár, Risáldár, 87—88.
  • Básdoo, Rája of Mánikpur, 459—460.
  • Beni Bahadur, Minister of Shnjá-ud-daula, 100.
  • Beni Mádho Bakhsh, Råna of Baiswára, 274.
  • Bhale Sultán Chhattris of Isauli, 92—93; of Kbandánsa, 135—136.
  • Bhars of Lucknow, 853.
  • Bhíu, Son of Unasia, 122.
  • Bilgrám, battle of, 60 63,
  • Birds of Kheri, 153—158,
  • Bisen Chhattris of Kheri, 270.
  • Boats in Kheri, 192.
  • Boundaries of districts Hardoi, 6, Kheri, 140, and Lucknow, 302.
  • Brahmans Bashisht of Haweli Oudh, 77—78, Upáddhia of Haweli Oudh 79, original inhabitants of Lucknow, 364, Bájpei of Lucknow, origin of, 365, of Lucknow, 374, and Tiwári of Majhaura, 421.
  • Burhan-ul-Mulk (sep Saadat Khan).

C.

  • Canning College, 385—387.
  • Capperganj, 89.
  • Carriage of grain, cost of, Kheri, 195, and Lucknow, 334
  • Castes, Hardoi, 31, 32, Kheri, 201—209, Lucknow, 338-341 and Lucknow city 374-379.
  • Chahlári Rája, 285.
  • Chakladars, lists of Tandiaon, 66, and Sandila, 66.
  • Chandan Lál, Khattri, banker of Mauránwan, 489—492.
  • Chatur Bhuj Dás, Káyath in Harha, 73.
  • Chauhan Chhattris of Khandánsa, 136, Kathwára, 417, Magat, 417—418, and Bhauli,418.
  • Chaunsa, battle of, 61.
  • Chawar Chhattris (see Ahban).
  • Chhattris Hardoi, 32—35, Kheri, 209, 219, and Lucknow city, 374 (also see under each clan).
  • Chhíppi Khan, Báchhhil, 243. ​ii

INDEX Climate, Hardoi, 11-12, Kheri, 144, Luck- DOW, 306, And Lucknow city, 368. G. Cock-fighting, Lucknow city, 394. Commerce (sce trade). Communications, Hardoi, 28, Kheri, 194-195, Galilwar Chhattris of Malilabad, 438. Lucknow, 333, aud Lucknow city, 379. Gardezis, 465, 480. Condition of agriculturists, Kheri, 191, and Gargban si Chhattris of Hawell Oudh, 78. Lucknow, 341. Gaur Chhattris of Hardoi, 65, Hargam, 71, Courts (sec administration), fight of, with the Raja of Mubamdi, 249-- Crime statistics, Hardoi, 49–50, Kheri, 229, 250. Lucknow, 348, and Lucknow city, 384. Ghalib Jang or Darshan Kurni, 79-80, Crops, Hardoi, 17, Kheri, 159-162, and Luck- Ghátn, Hardoi, 10. Ghấzi-nu-díu Haidar, reign of, 370-37. HOW, 319. Cropa, method of weighing, Kheri, 175. Ghulam Nabi Khan of Muhamdi, 250. Cultivation, Bardoi, 24. Girdhara Singh, Raj4, K&yach, Nãzim of Khai- Cultivation, profits of, Kheri, 268, rahad, 123, Cultivation area of Lucknow, 314. Gopál, Faujar, plunders Mánikpur, 479, D. H. Dancing, Lucknow city, 991–396. Haidar Beg Khan, Nawab, Názim, afterwards Darshan, Kurmi (see Ghalib Jang). prime minister, 3. Daulat Ráe, Ráe, Káyath, Deputy Minister, Hakim Mehodi (Ali Khan), Názim of Khaira- Thákurdwara of, 123, bad, afterwards prime minister 123, 252, Dayá Rám, Chakladar, 489. 409, 419, 520-622, Deatha in districts Hardoi, 16, Kheri, 148- Havvant Singh, Ráje of Kálákánkar, 108. 151, and Lucknow, 308, Harbans, Rája, Káyath, buildiogs of in Karba, Deo Datt, Ráe (see Ráe Deo Datt). 74. Dhangháni Patháo9, 461, 463, 465. Hardeo Bakhsh, Kája, C.$.i., of Katiári, 39, Dighijai Singn, Raja of Morármau, 89. 116-117. Dila Rám, Ráe, chakladar, 66. Jarísh Chandra, Sárajbans, 71. Diacaees, Bardoi, 14--16, Kheri, 142–162, and Har Parahád, Rája, Kayath Názim (rebel) of Lucknow, 308-310, Khairabad, 123. Dispensaries of Kheri, 148. Harvests, Klieri, 162, and Lucknow, 319. Dudlich Rikh, 499. Hasan Khan, 76. Hahan Raza Khan, Náio of Asit-ud-daula, 75, E. Hashmat Ali, Obaudbri of Sandile, 39. Hattya Haran, uo. Education, Hardoi, 60-53, Khcri, 233, Luck- Health, Kheri, 147-152. now, 361, and Lucknow city, 385. Hindál Mirza, 58, 59, 60, Expenditure, Hardoi, 47–49, Kheri, 230-232, Hindú Singh of Mangalsi, 450. And Lucknow, 349—360, Tlinám-ul-haq, 83. Exports of districts Hardoi, 27, Kheri, 192, History of districts, Bardoi, 55–67, Kbcri, Lucknow, 332, 235-267, Lucknow district, 352-856, and Lucknow city 364-374. F Humáyún Shah, fight of, 56 59—64. Fairs, Hardoi, 25-26. Faminca (see prices and famines). I. Faqir Muhammad Khan, Chakladar, 436. Farid-ud-día, Chakladar of Gopamau, 118. Ibád-ulla Khen, the founder of the Muhandi Fateh Chand, Ráe of Sandíla, 39. family, 243-249. Fauna of districts Hardoi, 11, and Kheri, 162– Imports of Hardoi, 26, Kheri, 192, and Luck 163. now, 332. Fazal Rasul, Munshi, a loyal grantce, 9. Interest, Hardoi, 29, and Kheri 197—193. Ferries, Hardoi: 10. Inundations, Kheri, 142, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, 87, Irrigaion, Khcri, 166, and Lucknow, 820-326. Fish and fisheriea of districta Hardoi, 23–24, Ismáil Quraishi, Maulkna, 465. and Lucknow, 329. Floods droughts, &c., Kheri, 188. Flora of districta Hardoi, 9--20, and Kheri 144. J. Food of districts Hardoi, 23 ; Kheri 168–175, 188-191, and Lucknow, 329. Jagannath Chaprási, 131–138. Fords (see ferries). Jagat Singh, Rae, Káyath, Subabdar, 403, Forests, Hardoi, 8-9, and Kheri, 148-144. Jahan Khan, Nawab, 89. ​INDEX iii city, 397. Jai Chand, Rája of Kananj, 460. Jai Lál Singh, Rája, fate of, 80. Mangal Sen, Gautam, 447. Jalál-ud-din, death of, 468. Mâuik Chaud, Rája, 461, 463. Janed Birlás, Sultán, 468. Manna Rám, Cliakladar, 1, 483, 485. Jángre Chhattris of Kheri, 265. Mansur Ali Khan, Nawab, (see Safdar Jang), Mauufactures of districts Hardoi 20, Kleri, Janwar Chhattris of Ikauna, 87-8, of Kheri, 265, and of Mau, 515. 191, Lucknow 381, and Lucknow city 387- Jhabba Singh, 49). 389. Jodh Singh, Raja of Dhaurahra, 265. Marabtas (see Yabrattas). Marketa, district Lucknow, 381, and Lucknow Swála Parshád, kája, Kágath, 6, 11. Mathura Dás, Díwán of Sharf-ud-daula, 413. K. Measures (see weights and measures). Medical aspects of Hardoi, 14-16, Eheri Kalhan Chbattris of Mahadewa, 403. 147-151, and luckow 308-310. Kalián Sát, Bảo, Amethia, 282, Mián Almás, 496-496. Kamran, Mirza, 63. Minerals of Kheri, 193. Kanbpuria Chhattris, 503-509. Motamad-ud-daula, Nawab (see Agha Vír). Kans, Rája, alain, 112. Muhammad Ali Shah, reign of 372--373. Karámat Klar of Gutni, 480. Muhampadaos of Lucknow city, 378 - 379. Káshi Parsbád, Rája, 491–492. Muhammad Husep Khan of Bhürwára, 261- Kashipiri Brabinans of Lucknow, 375. 262. Káyaths of Khairabad, 122–123, of Kheri, Municipality, Lucknow city, 382---383. Muhammad Sultán Mirza, 58–59. 272-273 of Lucknow district, 364, and of Lucknow city, 374 -376. Musalmans (sce Muhammaduns). Kesri Dait, 412 Khálij Khan, Governor of Mánikpur, 464, N. Khattria of Lucknow city, 375. Kbíochis of Dhaurabre, 294. Nagi Ali Khan, Nawab Chakladar of Sandila, Khurd, Sayyad, 271--273. 66. Khurram, Sayyad, 248.249. Narpat Singh, Rája of Kaimabra, 104. Khwaja Sultan of Jáis, 96. Nasír-ud-díu Haidar, reign of, 371-372. Kichika, 236. Newal Ráe, Mabírája, Káyath, killed, 56, gauj Kidárpáth, Deputy Chakladar, 66. of, 106, 249 Kinga of Oudh (sce rulers of Oudb). Nihál Khan, Rája 93. Kite-fying, Lucknow city, 394. Nilurobh Chhattrir of Hardoi, 64. Brisbu Saháe, Ráe, Ráyath, Nazim of Mu- hamdi, 518-519, 0. Kuber Sah, Gaur, 65. Kumár, Rája in Kalyanmal, 110. Kunden Lam, Bác, Nazim of Khairabad, 123. Occupancy rights (see tegure), Kurmis of Mau Jadubanspur, 79, and of Kheri, Occupation of the people, Kheri, 200, 208. Octroi (sec municipality). Opiun, Hardoi, 24. L. Orr, Captain, aettlement of in Sultanpur, 134, Outturri of districts, Hardoi, 24, and Lucknow, 319. Lakes, Hardoi, 8, and Kheri, 142. P. Lil Man Tiwari, 491. Lál Pír, 55. Landowners (see talıqdars, lists of). Pahári Súrajans Chhattris of Khairigarh, Land transfers (see sales and transfers). 128---133, 266, Paitawan Singh, Ráe, 433. Lone Singh, Raja of Mitauli, 260-261, 279, Pápdús, 236--233. Panwar Chhattris of Itaunja Mahona, 362. Pargana lists of Hardoi, 80, Kheri, 199, and M. Luckoow, 335. Paribar Chhattrís, 292. Mabant Gir, Gosháín, 478. Pasis of Kheri, 907, and Lucknow, 363. Mahmud Khan, Kotwal, death of, 80, Pathans, Afrídi, 429, Ambazái of Garhi San- Mabrattas, 479. jar Khan, 430 432, Bázid Khails, 432, and Makbdúm Jabánián Jabángasht, 465, 466, Qandhári, 432. Makka, a tailor, buildings of, 123, People (sce population), Malik Jhájhú, revolt of, 464. People, condition of (sce condition of agri- Malik Muhammad, Jáisi, 95. culturists), Malikzadas of Kákori, 108. People, occupation of (see occupation of the Mándháta, Rája, 487, people). 500. ​iv INDEX Physical features of districts Hardoi, 6-8, Sales and transfers, Hardoi, 45, and Lucknow, Kheri, 141, and Lucknow, 303. 947. Plants and trees (sco flora). Saliha, Bíbi, 469. Police, Hardoi, 46--47, Kheri, 228, Lucknow, Sanitary condition (see cliniate and medical 348, aud Lucknow city, 382. aspects). Police stations (see thánas). Sátan, Rája, of Kákori, 106-107. Poppy, Kheri, 162–165. Satna, Rája in Khíron, 274--275. Population of districts, Bardoi, 30-31, Kheri, Sayyad Mubammad, arrives in India, 57. 199, Luckoow division, 301, and Lucknow Sayyad Sálár, 55 district, 301, 302, 312, 335. Sayyads of Bhadarua, 79, Higámpur, 83, Post-ofices, Hardoi, 53–54, Kheri, 234, and Jarwal, 99-100, and Barwur or Piháni, 245- Lucknow, 351. 253, Prices and famines, Hardoi, 20—23, Kheri, Schools (sec education). 182-188 Luckuow district 326-329, and Sbambú Náth, Ráe, Kasath, 75. Lucknow city, 380—382. Shakhs of. Lucknow, 364, 365, Mallén win, 441-442, and Mugalsi, 448. Shekhs, Ridwái of Juggaur (see Qidwái Shekhs). Sher Khan or Sher Shah, fight of, with Humá- Qasim Shah of Mánikpar, 469. yun, 56, 59-64. Qidwái Shekhs of Jugganr, 101. Quail-fighting, Lucknow city, 394. Shitáb Ráe, Olakladar, 443, Shujá-ud-daula, Navab of, Oudh, 367, 478. Qutb-ud-din at Mánikpur, 460, Simri, battle of, 274. Sital Parsbad, Rája, Názin. 250, 265. R. "Sleeman's Tour in Ondh," extracts from re. garding, Sandíla, 38-39, Taodiaon, 66–67, Rác Deo Datt Katiar, 116 Katiárl, 1t?, Jagan Náth chaprási, 197– Railwar Chhaitris, 84, 287. 138, Loue Singh, hája of Mitauli 260-261, Railway (see communications). 500, the Bhúrwára estate, 262, Mián Almás, Rainfall, Hardoi, 13--14, Kheri, 146, and Luck- 496-496, Miarikh, 499; Ráe Krialın Galác, now, 306 Náziun of Muhandí,518-519; the adminis. Ráj Bahadur Kunwar, Naib Chakladar, 66, ration of Muhamdi, 520-522. Rajputs (see Chhattris). Soils of districta Llardoi, 7, Kheri, aod Luck Ráca Bakbah, Bábu of Dauodia Khera, 484, 110W, 306. 490, 491. Soinbauai Chhattris of IIardoi, 64. Rám Naráiu Chandhri, Káyath, Teluqdar of Staples of districts Llardoi, 17; Kheri, 169– Mubarakpur 122, 297. Rám Singh Ráo, Bavjára, 129. Storms, Lucknow, 308, Rantár Chhattris of Majhaara, 421–422. Streams (see rivers). Káwat Chhattris of Harha, 73–74, Súrajbans Chhattria of Haweli Oudh, 78, Religion, Kheri, 200-204. Sürajbang Pahári of Khairigarh (aee Pahari Rents, Hardni, i7, Kheri, 175--182, Lucknow, Sárajbans.) 916-319. Revenue of districta Hardoi, 47-49, Kheri, T. 230, 233, and Lucknow 849—350. Revenue statistics (see revenuc). Rivers and streams, llardoi, 9, Kheri, 141, 192, Tahsils, lists of Hardoi, 30, Eheri, 199, 9nd Luckoow, 335. and Lucknow, 304. Roads (eee communications). Taluqa, histories of Khairigarh, 128-138, Rohillat, invasion of, 477. Muhamdi, 245—253, Kukra Mailáni, 278– 279, Kumhráwán, 281--282, Diopauáh, 294, Rulers of Oudh, 359, 374. Paraspur, 403, Itaunja, 413-416, Mángáon, 415—417, Bbíti, 423-424, kasmandi Khurd S. and Sablámau, 480 – $32, Mánikpur, 468, Maurán wán, 489–492, Tiloi and Chandapur, Saadat Ali Khan, Nawab of Oadh, 369-370. 503-509, Salempur, 512-513, and Pargeni, Saadat Khan, Nawah, Burhan-ul-Mulk, 366- 516. 367, 476, 489. Taluqdars, list of Hardoi, 36-38, Kheri, 220– Sadr Jahan, Nawab of Pihani, 246-247, 485. 221, Lucknow, 345. Safdar Jang, Nawab, 367, 476, 477. Taxation (see revenue). Sahaj Rám, Bába, Nának Sháhi faqír, 76. Temperature, Hardoi, 12, Kheri, 146, and Luck- Sahaj Rám Bakhsh, Rája, of Pukhra Ausári, now, 307. 5, 232 Tennres, Hardoi, 34–35, Kheri, 219, and Luck- Sahib kie, Ráe, Káyath, Chakladar, 276, now, 34) -397. Saindaria Chhattris, 292, 297. Thánas, Hardoi, 46, Kheri, 228, and Lucknow, 349. 162. ​

  • Thárus of Khairigarh, 125, Muhamdi, 126, and Kheri, 208—209.
  • Thatheras of Kachhandan, 103, Kalyanmal, 110, and Bhagwautuagar, 104, 440.
  • Theatricals, Lucknow city, 396.
  • Thurburn, Major, Ganj of, 299.
  • Tikait Ráe, Mahárája Káyath, birth-place of 85.
  • Tobacco, Kheri, 165—166.
  • Todar Mal, finance minister of Akbar, 71,
  • Towns of districts, Hardoi, 32—33, Kheri, 189, and Luckoow, 312,
  • Trade, Hardoi, 25—27; Kheri, 191; Lucknow district, 332; Lucknow city 387—397.
  • Traffic (see trade),

U.

  • Údal (see Alha and Údal).

V.

  • Valahyas of Lucknoy city, 375.
  • Villages, Lucknow, 313.

W.

  • Wages, Kheri 197,Lucknow, 330, and Lucknow city 392-393.
  • Wajid Ali Shah, 373, 874.
  • Wazír Ali Khan, Nawab of Oudb, marriage of, 362.
  • Weights and measures, Hardoi, 28—29, Kheri, 195—197, and Luckuow, 330—331.
  • Wild Animals (see fauna).
  • Wrestling, Luckaow city, 393—394.

  1. ↑ Said to be 25,000 in Saunder's Report on Oudh, page 7,
  2. ↑ Vol. 1. 286, Berlin Edition,
  3. ↑ By Jr. I, W. Gibson, Assistant Commissioner,
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 By Arthur Harington, C.S., Aseistant Commissioner.
  5. ↑ By Mr. H. H. Butts, C.S., Assistant Commissioner.
  6. ↑ By Mr. H. A. Butts, Assistant Commissioner,
  7. ↑ Since demolished.
  8. ↑ Afterwards known as Jahangir.
  9. ↑ By Mr. W. C. Bennett, C.S., Assistant Commissioner,
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