Ballia District, 1908
Contents |
Ballia District
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
(Baliya). — Eastern District of the Benares Division, United Provinces, lying between 25 t,^ and 26 n' N. and 83 38' and 84 39' E., with an area of 1,245 square miles. It consists of a wedge-shaped tract of country forming the eastern extremity of the Ganges-Gogra Doab. It is bounded on the north-east by the Gogra, which separates it from Gorakhpur and from the Saran District of Bengal ; on the south by the Ganges, which divides it from the Shahabad.
Physical aspects
District of Bengal ; and on the west by Azamgarh And Ghazlpur. Ballia may be divided into two almost equal areas : the modern alluvial formation which lies along the banks of the Ganges and Gogra, especially the former ; and the uplands in the centre and west, which consist of alluvium deposited in past ages. The meeting of these two areas takes place by a gentle slope, and there is no prominent ridge. Every part of the District is highly cultivated and thickly populated. The Ganges and Gogra are the chief rivers, and every year carry on a continual process of destruction and renewal. At each bend the concave bank is being eroded, while the opposite shore receives a new alluvial deposit to fill up the void left by the receding river. After a period of years the process is reversed, or the river suddenly cuts a new bed for itself.
Besides the Ganges and Gogra, the only river of importance is the Chhoti or Lesser Sarju, a branch from the Gogra, which leaves that river in Azamgarh, and joins the Ganges a little to the west of Ballia town. It forms approximately the boundary between this District and Ghazlpur in the upper part of its course. The Suraha Tal, the largest perennial lake, is connected with the Ganges by a narrow deep channel, the Katihar Nadi, which admits the Ganges floods in the rainy season and drains the lake when the river falls again. The whole District contains no rock formation ; but the older alluvium is distinguished from the new by the prevalence of kankar or nodular limestone.
The flora of the District presents no peculiarity. The upland area is well wooded, and mango groves abound in great profusion. In the alluvial soil liable to be inundated the babul {Acacia arabica) is the principal tree. The toddy palm (Borassus flabellifer) is very common in the west of the District. There is very little jungle ; but where waste exists the dhdk (Bi/tea frondosd) is found, while on the banks of the rivers tall grasses and tamarisk form a refuge for wild hog. The wild animals of Ballia are not important, owing to the density of population. Nilgai and wild hog are, however, found in the grass jungles near the rivers. Wild-fowl of numerous kinds frequent the lakes. Fish are plentiful in the rivers and ponds, and are much used for food. The fishing rights in the lower reaches of the Chhoti Sarju belong to Government.
Ballia resembles the border Districts of Ghazlpur and Azamgarh in climate. Extremes of heat and cold are less than in the more western Districts, but to European constitutions and also to the natives of drier tracts the climate is relaxing. The annual rainfall averages 42 inches, equally distributed in all parts. The rainy season commences early, and as a rule lasts longer than in the Districts farther west.
History
There is no material for a history of the District, which only became a separate entity in 1879. Many ancient mounds and ruined forts exist, which are generally assigned by the people to the Bhars and Cherus, who are said to have held the tract before the Musalman conquest. Some of them probably contain Buddhist remains, and attempts have been made to identify sites visited by the Chinese pilgrims. Ballia was no doubt included in the early Hindu kingdom of Magadha, and a thousand years later in the Musalman kingdom of Jaunpur. Under Akbar it belonged to the Subahs of Allahabad and Bihar. In the eighteenth century it became included in the territory subject to the Raja of Benares.
The Doaba pargana was ceded to the British as part of Bihar in 1765, and the rest of the District in 1775. Up to 1879 Ballia was included first in Benares, and then in Ghazipur District. In 1893, when a wave of fanaticism spread over the east of the United Provinces, and riots took place about the slaughter of kine by Musalmans, the Hindus of this District took a prominent part in the movement.
Population
Ballia contains 13 towns and 1,784 villages. Its population increased between 1872 and 1891, but decreased in the next decade. The num- bers at the last four enumerations were as follows : (1872) 726,791, (1881) 975, 6 73, ( l8 90 995 5 3 2 7, and (1901) 987,768. The Census of 1872 probably understated the population, while in 1894 a serious outbreak of fever took place. The District supplies large numbers of emigrants to Eastern Bengal and Assam. There are three tahs'ils — Ballia, Rasra, and Bansdih — each named from its head-quarters. The municipality of Ballia, the District head-quarters, is the principal town.
The following table gives the chief statistics of population in 1901 : —
About 93 per cent, of the population are Hindus and nearly 7 per cent. Musalmans. The decrease in population between 1891 and 1901 was much less than in the adjoining Districts, while the density is higher than in any District in the Provinces except Benares. More than 99 per cent, of the population speak Bihar!, the prevailing dialect being Bhojpuri.
The most numerous Hindu castes are : Rajputs or Chhattns, 129,000 ; Brahmans, 117,000; Ahirs (graziers and cultivators), 111,000 ; Chamars (leather-workers and labourers), 90,000; Koiris (cultivators), 64,000; Bhars (cultivators), 50,000; Banias, 42,000; and Bhuinhars (agricul- turists), 31,000. The Bhars are an aboriginal race chiefly found in the Benares Division. The Dusadhs, 17,000, are noteworthy as supplying large numbers of village policemen and also of professional criminals. Among Musalmans are Julahas (weavers), 33,000; and Shaikhs, 8,000. About two-thirds of the total area is held by Rajputs or Chhattns, who also cultivate a very large proportion. The District is essentially rural, 67 per cent, of the population being supported by agriculture, and nearly 7 per cent, by general labour.
There were no missions in the District up to 1903, and only four native Christians were enumerated in 190 1. A mission has now been opened by a society called the Christian Church Workers of Canada.
Agriculture
The upland and lowland areas present strikingly different features. In the former rice is the most important crop, covering about half the area sown with autumn crops. The spring crop area varies considerably from year to year, being greatest when there has been heavy rain early in October. In the lowlands, however, the spring crops are more important than the autumn crops. Wheat, gram, peas, and barley are grown here. There is little rice in this tract, maize and small millets being the principal autumn crops, and they can often be harvested before the flood sets in. The annual deposits of the Ganges are usually very productive ; but those of the Gogra are sandy, and sometimes quite infertile. In wet or cloudy winters the spring crops are very liable to rust.
The ordinary tenures existing in the permanently settled Districts of the United Provinces are found in Ballia. A tenure called ganwadh is peculiar to this District. It consists in the grant by a zamindar of a village or part of a village at a fixed rent in perpetuity, the grant being generally for some consideration. These grants were originally made to Brahmans only. Complex mahdls extending to parts of a number of villages are very common, and the possession of a con- siderable tract of country by a clan of Rajputs was a prominent feature in the early history of British rule. The main agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are shown below, in square miles: —
Kodon and other small millets covered 146 square miles, barley 193, rice 143, peas 147, and gram 121. Other food-crops of importance are maize, arhar, and wheat. Sugar-cane is a most valuable crop, covering 58 square miles, and poppy is grown on 6 square miles. Before the permanent settlement, a good deal of Ballia was waste ; but improved administration soon led to extended cultivation, and at the first preparation of records in 1840 it was found that the Dis- trict had become fully cultivated. There has been little extension since that date. Agricultural methods show no change. Very small advances are made in ordinary years under the Agriculturists 1 Loans Act, and still smaller under the Land Improvement Loans Act. Out of a total of Rs. 46,000 advanced during the ten years ending 1900, the advances in two years amounted to Rs. 35,000. In the next four years only Rs. 520 was lent.
The cattle of the District are of a poor type, and the best animals are all imported or purchased at the large fair held near Ballia town. Horse-breeding operations under the Government Stud department were formerly carried on in and near the District at Korantadih, Buxar, and Ghazlpur, and at that time the Government stallions were used by the zamindars. Since the abolition of the stud, about 1873, there has been a decline, but small ponies are still bred for sale in the neigh- bourhood. The sheep and goats are generally inferior.
Out of 306 square miles irrigated in 1903-4, 232 were irrigated from wells, 44 from tanks and j/il/s, and 30 from other sources. Irrigation is required chiefly in the upland area, and wells are by far the most important source of supply. Rice land, however, is largely kept moist by small field embankments which hold up rain water. Artificial tanks are very numerous, but all are small excavations. Ponds and jhlh or swamps are made use of as long as water remains in them. The only stream used to an appreciable extent is the Katihar Nadl, which is dammed at several places, and admits Ganges water to the Suraha Tal during the rains. In the uplands water is raised from wells in leathern buckets drawn by bullocks. Where the spring-level is higher, the lever (dhenkli) is used, and the swing-basket is the usual means of lifting water from ponds and streams.
Kankar or nodular limestone occurs in the upland area, and is used for making lime and metalling roads. Saline efflorescences (re/i) are found in the west of the District, and large quantities of saltpetre and carbonate of soda are manufactured.
Trade and communications
The most considerable industry is sugar-refining, after indigenous methods, and the raw material is sometimes imported a . a ° from Shahabad. Coarse cotton cloth is woven in many villages, chiefly for local use. A little indigo is made, but this industry is fast disappearing.
The principal article of trade is sugar, which is exported largely to Bengal, and also to Rajputana and Bombay. Oilseeds, gram, wheat, saltpetre, carbonate of soda, and a little coarse cloth are exported, chiefly to Bengal ; and the imports are rice, spices, piece-goods, salt, and metals. River traffic has survived in this District, especially on the Gogra and ChhotI Sarju, but it seems probable that the railway extensions recently made will capture a great deal of the trade. Ballia, Majhauwa, Maniar, Belthra, and a village near Rasra. are the chief ports. A great deal of trade, especially in cattle and ponies, is carried on at the annual fair held at Ballia, and many small towns and villages play an important part in the trade of the District.
A branch of the Bengal and North-Western Railway from Mau in Azamgarh passes through the District from west to east, where its terminus is situated near the hank of the Gogra ; another branch from jaunpur and Ghazlpur joins this at Phepna. The Benares- Gorakhpur branch of the same railway traverses the north-west, cross- ing the Gogra by a bridge at Turtlpar. There are 414 miles of roads, of which 52 are metalled. The latter are maintained by the Public Works department, but the cost of all but 9 miles is charged to Local funds. Avenues of trees have been planted along 88 miles. The chief routes are from Ballia town to Ghazlpur, with a branch from Phepna to Rasra, and from Ballia to Bansdlh ; the other metalled roads are chiefly short feeders to the railway.
Femine
Ballia has suffered very little from scarcities. The south and east of the District are able to produce excellent spring crops after being flooded by the Ganges, and water can always be obtained from temporary wells. In 1896-7 this tract was hardly affected, and even in the west of the District nothing worse than scarcity was felt. No relief works were required in any part.
Administration
The Collector is usually assisted by four Deputy-Collectors recruited in India. Besides the ordinary members of the District staff, an officer of the Opium department is stationed at Ballia. There is a tahsildar at the head-quarters of each tahsil.
Civil work is dealt with by two Munsifs, and the District lies within the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Judge of Ghazlpur. Ballia bears an unenviable reputation for the litigious and quarrelsome nature of its inhabitants. Affrays, and even murders, arising from disputes about the changes made by the rivers, are more common than in most Districts of the United Provinces. The more serious offences against property are, however, infrequent, though the Dusadhs have a bad reputation as thieves and burglars, and the District is the home of many pickpockets and river-thieves who ply their trade elsewhere.
Pargana Doaba was acquired in 1765 with Bihar, and the rest of the District in 1775 with the province of Benares. Doaba was adminis- tered as part of Shahabad District in Bengal till 181 8, when it was transferred to Benares District, which at that time included Ballia
Shortly afterwards Ghazipur District, including Ballia, was separated from Benares, and in 1832 and 1837 portions of the present Ballia District were added to Azamgarh. Three parganas formed a separate subdivision of Ghazlpur, administered by a member of the Indian Civil Service posted at Ballia. In 1879 a separate District was formed, and in 1894 a considerable area was added from Ghazlpur. The whole
District was thus permanently settled, in either Shahabad or Benares, before the close of the eighteenth century. A striking feature in the fiscal history of the District has been the tenacity with which the great landholding clans of Rajputs have maintained their hold on the land, in spite of nominal sales. This was facilitated by the fact that the permanent settlement was carried out without any attempt to record completely all interests in the land. The defect was remedied by a detailed survey, and a preparation of a record-of-rights at various times between 1837 and 1841.
The records of the portion of the District included in Azamgarh were revised at the resettlements made in that District. For the greater part, however, the record was not periodically corrected, and soon became obsolete. In 1867-9 ^ was partially revised. At the same time village papers were prepared for the Lakhnesar pargatia, for which no records of any sort existed. Shortly after the formation of a separate District a new revision was com- menced, which was completed in 1885, and records are now maintained as in the rest of the Provinces. The present revenue demand is 6-8 lakhs, or about R. 1 per acre, varying in different parganas from R. o-S to Rs. 1.5.
Collections on account of land revenue and total revenue have been, in thousands of rupees :—
The only municipality is Ballia Town, but eight towns are admin- istered under Act XX of 1856. Outside the limits of these, local affairs are managed by the District board, which had an income in 1903-4 of Rs. 86,000, of which Rs. 35,000 was derived from local rates and Rs. 25,000 from ferries. The expenditure was Rs. 96,000, including Rs. 51,000 spent on roads and buildings.
The District Superintendent of police has a force of 3 inspectors, 79 subordinate officers, and 274 constables, distributed in 12 police stations. There are also 119 municipal and town police, and 1,370 rural and road police. The District gaol contained on the average 50 inmates in 1903, but prisoners sentenced for long terms are trans- ferred to Ghazipur or to a Central jail.
Ballia stands fairly high as regards the literacy of its inhabitants, of whom 3-2 per cent. (6-6 males and o-i females) could read and write in 1901. The number of public schools increased from 74 with 2,801 pupils in 1 880-1 to 123 with 6,600 pupils in 1900-1, but part of this increase is due to additions to the District area. In 1903-4 there were 151 public schools with 7,423 pupils, all of whom were boys, besides 13 private schools with 400 pupils. Only 455 pupils in both classes of schools were beyond the primary stage. One school was managed by Government, and 106 by the District and municipal boards. Out of a total expenditure on education of Rs. 39,000, Local funds contributed Rs. 32,000 and fees Rs. 6,000. There are 5 hospitals and dispensaries, with accommodation for 32 in-patients. In 1903 the number of cases treated was 39,000, in- cluding 401 in-patients, and 3,256 operations were performed. The total cost was Rs. 7,600, chiefly met from Local funds.
About 43,000 persons were successfully vaccinated in 1903-4, representing the high proportion of 44 per 1,000 of population. Vaccination is compulsory only in the municipality of Ballia. {District Gazetteer (1884, under revision); D. T. Roberts, Report on Revision of Records, Ballia District (1886).]
Devasthaly Vidyapeeth
Untouched by the heat and dust of elections, a col lege in Ballia, founded by former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, has quietly taken on a `political' responsibility: To spread his ideals among children.
Almost 10 years after former PM Chandra Shekhar's death when netas have allowed his legacy to dwindle in his hometown Ballia, Devasthaly Vidyapeeth conducts a `Chandra Shekhar Excellency Exam', started four years ago. The annual exam is open for all Ballia students from class VI to XII.
The exam is in two parts.Those scoring above 85% win free education for an entire year, a certificate of excellence to boot. The syllabus is based on the former PM's biography , his ideals, speeches and socialist principles. The college's principal PC Shrivastava told TOI, “Isn't it sad children of Ballia don't know much about Chandra Shek harji, the son of Ballia who was India's eighth PM? He did so much for Ballia but none seems for Ballia but none seems to be nurturing his ideals.Our initiative is to make students aware of political history and PM Chandra Shek har's contribution.“
The exam is optional but has become a popular con test among students -the prospect of free English medium education in this reputed college has huge appeal. Eve ry year, around 1,2001,500 children enrol for the exam; around 500 win free education up to Class XII, the funds met by the college's management. Aman Srivastava, a Class X student said the exam is held in two parts. At the first level, students must score minimum 60% to go to the next level. This first paper is based on the socialist's life, principles and political career. “We have to get above 85% at the second level to get free education,“ says Aman.The college is affiliated to CBSE board. Every year, around 1,200-1,500 children enrol for the exam; around 500 win free education up to class XII, the funds met by the college's management. The college has plans to add a syllabus for teachers to apprise them as well on the life of Chandra Shekhar.Srivastava said, “We're also making a museum on Chandra Shekhar's involvement with this college and his passion to educate the children of Ballia. The museum will have his autographs, books, photos with the alumni members, his belongings etc.“
