INTRODUCTORY NOTES xi the exchange value of the rupee to is. 44., and then introduce a gold standard (though not necessarily a gold currency) at the rate of Rs. 15 =fvI. This policy has been completely successful. From 1899 on- wards the value of the rupee has been maintained, with insignificant fluctuations, at the proposed rate of 15.4d.; and consequently since that date three rupees have been equivalent to two rupees before 1873- For the intermediate period, between 1873 and 1899, it is manifestly impossible to adopt any fixed sterling value for a constantly changing rupee. But since 1899, if it is desired to convert rupees into sterling, not only must the final cipher be struck off (as before 1873), but also one-third must be subtracted from the result. Thus Rs. 1,000 = £100- (about) £67. Another matter in connexion with the expression of money state- ments in terms of rupees requires to be explained. The method of numerical notation in India differs from that which prevails through- out Europe. Large numbers are not punctuated in hundreds of thou- sands and millions, but in lakhs and crores. A lakh is one hundred thousand (written out as 1,00,000), and a crore is one hundred lakhs or ten millions (written out as 1,00,00,000). Consequently, accord- ing to the exchange value of the rupee, a lakh of rupees (Rs. 1,00,000) may be read as the equivalent of £10,000 before 1873, and as the equivalent of (about) £6,667 after 1899; while a crore of rupees (Rs. 1,00,00,000) may similarly be read as the equivalent of £1,000,000 before 1873, and as the equivalent of (about) £666,667 after 1899 Finally, it should be mentioned that the rupee is divided into 16 annas, a fraction commonly used for many purposes by both natives and Europeans. The anna was formerly reckoned as 11 d.; it may now be considered as exactly corresponding to id. The anna is again subdivided into 12 pies. The various systems of weights used in India combine uniformity of scale with immense variations in the weight of units. The scale used generally throughout Northern India, and less commonly in Madras and Bombay, may be thus expressed: one maund = 40 seers; one seer F 16 chittaks or 80 tolas. The actual weight of a seer varies greatly from District to District, and even from village to village; but in the standard system the tola is 180 grains Troy (the exact weight of the rulee), and the seer thus weighs 2.057 ib., and the maund 82.28 lb. This standard is used in official reports and throughout the Gazetteer. For calculating retail prises, the universal custom in India is to express them in terms of seers to the rupee. Thus, when prices change, what varies is not the amount of money to be paid for the
