Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 13 (2nd edition).pdf/135

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SURAT.
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Sayyids, 1759; Sindis, 114 and others,' 30,642. According to sect, the Muhammadans were returned-Sunnís, 51,073; Shiás, 4436; and others,' 38

Of the 621 Christians, 156 were returned as belonging to the Church of England, 296 as Roman Catholics, 144 as Presbyterians, and 25 as others.' Divided according to another classification, therewere Europeans, 196; Eurasians, 30; and Native converts, 395

As regards occupation, the Census divided the male population into the following six main groups-(1) Professional class, including State officials of every kind and members of the learned professions, 12,388; (2) domestic servants, inn and lodging keepers, 5582 (3) commercial class, including all bankers, merchants, and carriers, 9477; (4) agricultural and pastoral class, including gardeners, i13,648; (5) industrial class, including all manufactures and artisans, 40,323; and (6) indefinite and non-productive class, comprising general labourers, male children, and persons of unspecified occupation, 124.597

Of the 782 towns and villages in Surat District in 1881, 151 contained less than two hundred inhabitants; 298 from two to five hundred; 202 from five hundred to one thousand; 99 from one to two thousand; r6 from two to three thousand; 13 from three to five thousand; I between five and ten thousand; 1 hetween ten and fifteen thousand; and I upwards of fifty thousand

The mass of the population, except in the large towns of Surat, Bulsár, and Ránder, live in villages scattercd over the alluvial lowlands. The District contained only 3 towns in 1881 with a population exceeding 5000 souls, namely-SURAT (1o9,844), the head-quarters and chief commercial centre; BEISAR (13,229), a seaport on the Auranga river; and RANDER (9416), a considerable municipality with a cotton, on the Tápti, 2 miles above Surat. Bodhan is the chief place of Hindu pilgrimage, with a a dismantled fort, long one of the strongest places in the District; Suwáli, the seaport of Surat, is a village outside the mouth of the Tápti. An important fair takes place yearly language in ordinary use is Gujarátí

Agriculture-Surat, in spite of the commercial importance of its chief town, still remains an essentially rural District. Of an area of 1649 square miles, 1 155 square miles are cultivated, of which 45 square miles are non-revenue-paying; the remainder, 111o squarc miles, together with 61 square miles, the area cultivable but unoccupied, are assessed for revenue, that is, a total of I171 square miles; the area uncultivable being 433 square miles. Total amount of Government assessment, including local rates and cesses on land, £252,207; average incidence of assessment, including local rates and cesses, 6s. 1od. per acre Average area of cultivable and uncultivated land per agri large trade in large temple; Párnera, near Bulsár, has at the hamlet of Unái The