Muttra City
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, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Muttra City
Head-quarters of the District of the same name, with cantonments, in the United Provinces, situated in 27° 30' N. and 77° 41' E., on the right bank of the Jumna, on the main road from Agra to Delhi, and on the Cawnpore-Achhnera Railway, 886 miles from Calcutta and 914 from Bombay. A new broad-gauge line from Agra to Delhi, passing through Muttra, has recently been completed, and another towards Bombay is under construction. Population has fluctuated in the last thirty years: (1872) 59,281, (1881) 57,724, (1891) 61,195, ^"d (1901) 60,042. In 1901 Hindus numbered 46,523, and Musalmans 12,598.
The city of Muttra is one of the great centres of Hindu religious life, being famous as the birthplace of Krishna, who is now reverenced as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Its early history has been narrated in that of Muttra District. Inscriptions and other relics prove that early in the Christian era it was a centre of Buddhism and Jainism, and in the seventh century the Chinese pilgrim still found Buddhist priests and monasteries, Muhammadan historians chiefly refer to it as a town to be plundered, or as a seat of idolatry with buildings to be destroyed. A town called Maharat-ul-Hind, identified as Muttra, was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018-9, About 1500 Sultan Sikandar LodT utterly destroyed all the shrines, temples, and images. During Akbar's reign religious tolerance led to the building of new- temples ; but in 1636 Shah Jahan appointed a governor to 'stamp out idolatry' in Muttra. In 1669-70 Aurangzeb visited the city, changed its name to Islamabad, and destroyed many temples and shrines, building mosques on two of the finest sites. Muttra was again plundered by the Afghan cavalry of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1757, when a crowd of defenceless pilgrims were slaughtered. The city fell into British hands in 1803 and was at once occupied as a cantonment, but did not become the civil head-quarters of the District till 1832. Archaeological remains of the greatest value have been discovered in and near Muttra'.
The native city lies along the Jumna, presenting a highly picturesque appearance from the railway bridge or the opposite bank. From the water's edge rises a continuous line of stone ghats, thronged in the early morning by crowds of bathers. Fine stone houses and temples line the narrow road which passes along the g/idts ; and above these are seen, tier upon tier, the flat-roofed houses of the city, which stand on ground rising up from the river bank. At the north end is the old ruined fort where was situated one of the observatories erected by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur, which has now disappeared. In the centre the white minarets of the Jama Masjid, built in 1662, crown the picture.
The main streets are wider and straighter than is usual in an Indian city, and they are paved continuously with stone flags, raised in the centre to secure good drainage. The numerous temples for which the city is noted are usually quadrangles, the walls and entrances of which are adorned with handsome stone carving and reticulated screens. The existing buildings are chiefly modern, and new temples and dharuisdias or shelters for pilgrims are still being added by wealthy bankers and the rulers of Native States. West of the city stands the mosque of Aurangzeb, built about 1669, on the lofty site of the temple of Kesava Deva, which was formerly the finest temple in Muttra and was celebrated throughout India. On the ghats towers the Sat! Burj or pillar commemorating the sati of a Rani of Jaipur, built about 1570.
The Hardinge Gate at the principal entrance to the city, which is a fine specimen of stone carving, was erected by public subscription in memory of a former Collector. South of the city and a little distance from the river lie the cantonments and civil station. Muttra is the head-quarters of the ordinary District staff and also of an Executive Engineer of the Agra Canal. Close to the District offices stands Epigraphia Tndica, vols, i and ii ; ^^ A. Smith, The Jain Stfipa at Mat/iitrd. a museum faced with stone, carved in the usual manner, which contains a number of sculptures and other objects found in the District. Muttra is the chief station of the Baptists, of the Church Missionary Society, and of the Methodist Episcopal Mission in the District.
Muttra was constituted a municipality in 1866. During the ten years ending 1901 the income and expenditure averaged Rs. 61,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 89,000, chiefly derived from octroi (Rs. 64,000) ; and the expenditure was Rs. 8i,ooc. The sewage of the city is collected in tanks and carried by carts to a distance. Solid matter is trenched on the grass farm in cantonments.
While the prosperity of the city chiefly depends on its religious attractions, its commercial importance is increasing. Throughout the nineteenth century it was the head-quarters of the great banking firm of the Seths, Mani Ram and Lakshm! Chand, one of the most celebrated in India, which has now collapsed. Four cotton-gins and presses employed 392 hands in 1903, and there is a considerable export of cotton and grain, while sugar, piece-goods, and metals are imported. The city is noted for the production of paper for native account-books, and also for the manufacture of brass idols and other small articles sold to pilgrims. It contains a large number of schools, including a high school with 170 pupils, a tahs'iU school with 150, the American Methodist school with 140, besides seven schools for boys and eleven for girls, aided by the District or municipal boards, and twenty private schools ax\dpathsd/as.
The population of the cantonments in 1901 was 2,928, and the ordinary garrison consists of a regiment of British cavalry. In 1903-4 the income and expenditure of cantonment funds were both about Rs. 7,000.
