Nandgaon State, 1908
Nandgaon State, 1908
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.
Feudatory State in the Central Provinces, lying between 20° 50' and 21 degree 21' N. and 80° 26' and 81° 13' E., with an area of 871 square miles. The main area of the State, comprised in the Nandgaon and Dongargaon parganas, is situated between Chanda and Drug Districts to the south of Khairagarh ; but the three detached blocks of Pandadeh, Patta, and Mohgaon lie to the north of this, being separated from it by portions of the Khairagarh and Chhuikhadan States and by Drug District. The capital is situated at Raj-Nandgaon, a station on the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. The Patta and Pandadeh tracts contain high hills and dense forests, and Dongargaon to the south of them is composed mainly of broken ground with low peaks cowered with a growth of scrub jungle. Towards the east, however, the parganas of Nand- gaon and Mohgaon lie in an open black soil plain of very great fertility. The Seonath river flows through the southern portion of the State, and the Bagh skirts it on the west. The ruling family are Bairagis by caste : and as celibacy is one of the observances of this order, the succession devolved until lately on the chela or dis- ciple adopted by the mahant or devotee. The lirst mahant, who came from the Punjab, started a money-lending business in Ratan- pur towards the end of the eighteenth century with the countenance of the IMaratha governor Bimbaji Bhonsla. His successors acquired the parganas of Pandadeh and Nandgaon from the former Gond and Muhammadan landholders, in satisfaction of loans. Mohgaon was conferred on the fifth mahant by the Raja of Nagpur with the status of zaminddr; and Dongargaon was part of the territory of a zamlndar who rebelled against the lihonslas, and whose estate was divided between the chiefs of Nfuulgaon and Khairagarh as a reward for crushing the revolt. Nandgaon became a Feudatory State in 1865. Ghasi Das, the seventh mahant from the founder, was married and had a son, and in 1879 the Government of India informed him tlial his son would be allowed(.l to succeed. This son.
the late Raja Bahadur Mahant Balram Das, succeeded his father as a minor in 1883, and was installed in 1891, on the understand- ing that he would conduct the administration with the advice of a Diwan appointed by Government. He was distinguished by his munificent contributions to objects of public utility, among which may be mentioned the Raipur and Raj-Nandgaon water-works. He received the title of Raja Bahadur in 1893, and died in 1897, leaving an adopted son Rajendra Das, four years old, who has been recog- nized as the successor. During his minority the State is being man- aged by Government, its administration being controlled by a Political Agent under the supervision of the Commissioner, ChhattTsgarh Divi- sion. In 1901 the population was 126,365, showing a decrease of 31 per cent, in the previous decade, during which the State was very severely affected by famine. The State contains one town, Raj-Naxdgaon, and 5 1 5 inhabited villages ; and the density of population is 145 persons per square mile. Telis, Gonds, Ahirs or Rawats, and Chamars are the principal castes. The majority of the population belong to Chhattisgarh, and, except for a few thousand Marathas, the Chhattisgarhi dialect is the universal speech.
The greater part of the cultivated land consists of rich dark soil. In 1904 nearly 550 square miles, or 63 per cent, of the total area, were occupied for cultivation, of which 512 were under crop. The cropped area has decreased in recent years owing to the unfavour- able seasons. Rice covers 36 per cent, of the cultivated area, kodon 36^ per cent., wheat 13 per cent., and linseed 4 per cent. Nearly 500 tanks have been constructed for irrigation, which supply water to more than 3,000 acres of rice land, while 500 acres on which vegetables are grown are irrigated from wells. About 141 square miles, or a sixth of the total area, are forest. Valuable timber is scarce, the forests being mainly composed of inferior species. Hand [Ter- ininaUa Chebuld) grows in abundance, and there are large areas of bamboo forest in the I'atta tract. Limestone and iron ores exist, but are not worked at present. Brass vessels and ornaments are made at Raj-Nandgaon. This town also contains the Bengal-Nagpur Spinning and Weaving Mills, which were erected by Raja Balram Das and subsequently sold to a Calcutta firm. A new ginning factory is under construction. The Bengal-Nagpur Railway passes through the State, with stations at Raj-Nandgaon and Muripar. There are 148 miles of gravelled and 10 miles of embanked roads. The prin- cipal routes are the great eastern road from Nagpur to Raipur, the Raj-Nandgaon-Khairagarh, Raj-Nandgaon-Bijatola, and Raj-Nandgaon- Ghupsal roads. The bulk of the trade goes to Raj-Nandgaon station, which also receives the produce of the adjoining tracts of Raipur.
The total revenue in 1904 was Rs. 3,49,000, the principal heads of receipt being land revenue and cesses (Rs. 2,45,000), forests and excise (Rs. 20,000 each), and income tax (Rs. 18,000). The State has been cadastrally surveyed, and the system of land revenue assessment follows that prescribed for British Districts of the Cen- tral Provinces. A revised settlement was concluded in 1903, and the incidence of land revenue amounts to about 10 amias per acre. 'I'he village headmen have no proprietary rights, but receive a pro- portion of the ' assets ' of the village. The total expenditure in 1904 was Rs. 2,63,000. The ordinary tribute paid to Government is at present Rs. 70,000, but is liable to periodical revision. Other items of expenditure were — allowances to the ruling family (Rs. 12,000), general administration (Rs. 83,000), public works (Rs. 28,000), and loans and repayment of debt (Rs. 57,000). Since 1894 about 4-| lakhs has been expended on public works, under the superinten- dence of the Engineer of the Chhattisgarh States division. The State supports 30 schools, including one English middle, one ver- nacular middle, and one girls' school, with a total of 2,571 pupils. In 1904 the expenditure on education was Rs. 9,900. At the Census of 1 90 1 the number of persons returned as literate was 2,151, the proportion of males able to read and write being 3-4 per cent. A dispensary is maintained at Raj-Nandgaon, at which 17,000 patients were treated in 1904.
