Sibi District, 1908
Contents |
Sibi 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, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Siwi
District of Baluchistan, lying between 27 55' and 30 38' N. and 67 17' and 69 50' E. Its total area is 11,281 square miles; but this includes the MARRI-BUGTI country (7,129 square miles), which is only under political control, leaving 4,152 square miles of directly Administered territory. The Lahri niabat of the Kalat State in Kachhi (1,282 square miles) is also politically controlled from Sibi. The District is bounded on the north by Loralai District; on the south by the Upper Sind Frontier Dis- trict ; on the east by the Dera Ghazi Khan District of the Punjab ; and on the west by Kachhi, the Bolan Pass, and Quetta-Pishln. The portion under political control occupies the centre, east, and south of the District ; the areas under direct administration form protrusions in the north-western, north-eastern, and south-western corners.
Physical aspects
No area in Baluchistan presents such strongly marked variations, both physical and climatic, between its various parts as Sibi Dis- trict. Two portions of it, the Sibi and Naslrabad tahsils, consist of perfectly level plain, lying respec- aspects tively at the apex and base of Kachhi. The re- mainder of the District consists entirely of mountainous country, rising in a series of terraces from the lower hills of the SULAIMAN range. These hills include Zen (3,625 feet) in the Bugti country, and Bambor (4,890 feet) and Dungan with Butur (about 6,000 feet) in the Marri country. North-westward the mountains stretch to the watershed of the Central Brahui range in Zarghun and Khalifat, at an elevation of 11,700 feet With the exception of the eastern side of the Marri-Bugti country, the drainage of the whole of this area is carried off by the Nari, which in traversing the Marri country is known as the Beji. On the south it is joined by three considerable hill- torrents, the Chakar or Talli, the Lahri, and the Chhatr. All of these streams are subject to high floods, especially in July and August, when the fertile lands of Kachhi are irrigated from them.
The Upper, Middle, and Lower Siwaliks (upper and middle miocene) ; Spmtangi limestone and Ghazij group (middle eocene) ; volcanic agglo- merates and ash-beds of the Deccan trap ; the Dunghan group (Upper Cretaceous) ; belemnite beds (neocomian) ; and some massive lime- stone (Jurassic), as well as spreads of recent deposits, are exposed in the District.
The vegetation of the District is as varied as its physical aspects. On the south it is similar to that of Sind, the uncultivated land pro- ducing Prosopis spictgera, Capparis aphylla, Salvadora oleoides, Zizy- phus nummularia-) Tamarix indica^ Acacia arabica^ and Acacia modesta* In the lower highlands the dwarf-palm (Nannorhops Ritchieand) abounds, and the blue gum (Eucalyptus) has been found to grow well. In the higher hills are found the juniper, pistachio, ash, wild almond, and Caragana. Cumin seed grows in the Ziarat hills, which also produce many varieties of grass.
Mountain sheep and markhor are found in the higher * hills,' where leopards and black bears are also sometimes seen. ' Ravine deer ' or gazelle and hares occur in the plains. Large flocks of sand-grouse visit the District when there is a good mustard crop. Fair fishing is to be had in the Nari.
While the highlands possess a climate which is pleasantly cool in summer and very cold in winter, the plains suffer from the great heat common in Sind, Naslrabad has a mean temperature in July of 96, and is subject to the* effects of the simoom. For five months alone, during the cold season, are the climatic conditions tolerable to Europeans. The Marri-Bugti country and the Shahrig tahsil (2,300 to 4,000 feet) possess a climate intermediate between the extremes of the plains and the highlands. The annual rainfall varies with the altitude, from 3 inches in Naslrabad to 5 in Sibi and nearly 12 in Shahrig, where the vapour-bearing clouds strike Khalifat and empty their contents into the valley.
History
Up to the end of the fifteenth century the District was always a dependency of Multan. It is known to have formed part of the Ghaznivid empire, and was ruled by a petty chief the time of ^asir-ud-din Kubacha. About 1500, it was taken by Shah Beg, Arghun, and thus passed under Kandahar ; but, under the Mughal empire, it again became subordinate to Multan. It was taken by the Kalhoras of Sind in 1714; but they had to retire before the power of the Durranis, by whom the local governors were generally selected from the Barozai clan of the Panni Afghans, which still retains much influence. During the last two years of the first Afghan War an Assistant Political Agent was posted to Sibi, and on its conclusion the District was handed over to Kalat, but again came under Barakzai rule in 1843. In the succeeding years the Harris acquired ground in the District ; and their depredations were not checked until Sibi, Shahrig, and Duki were assigned to the British, in 1879, by tne Treaty of Gandamak. The Marris and Bugtis had been controlled from the Dera Gbazi Khan District of the Punjab previous to the establishment of the Baluchistan Agency in 1877 ; and this charge now devolved on the Political Agent in Thal-Chotiali, the name first given to the District on its establishment in 1879. The Kuat-Mandai valley, which belongs to the Marri tribe, has been held since 1881 as security for the payment of a fine inflicted after the Marri expedition of 1880. Owing to disputes between the ZarkQn Afghans and the Marris, the Kohlu valley was brought under British protection in 1891. Naslrabad was a niabat of the Kalat State till 1903, when it was taken over on a perpetual lease for an annual payment of Rs. 1,15,000, increased by Rs. 2,500 in April, 1904. The name of the District was changed to Sibi in 1903, at which time the Sanjawi, Duki, and Barkhan takszls, which had hitherto formed part of the old Thal-Chotiali District, were transferred to the new Loralai District.
Population
Sibi District proper possesses one town and 304 villages, and its population in 1901 amounted to 73,893, or 18 persons per square Po ulation mile * The Marf i-Bugti country has 8 villages and a population of 38,919. The total population, including tribal areas, is therefore 112,812. But this does not include the Dombkis (12,400), Umranis (1,100), and Kaheris (7,100), who live in that portion of Kachhi which is controlled from Sibi Dis- trict. The following table gives statistics of the area, &c., of the Administered territory by tahslh in 1901 :
In the Administered area 90 per cent, of the population are Muham- madans of the Sunni sect and 9 per cent, are Hindus ; in the Marri- Bugti country the Muhammadans number 99 per cent. About 43 per cent, of the people speak Baluchi; the other languages spoken are Pashtu, Jatkl, and Sindl. A peculiar dialect, called Tarlno, is spoken in Shahrig. The Baloch number about 48,000 ; Afghans follow with 18,000. The Harris and Bugtis and the Dumars are large flock- owners ; the other inhabitants are cultivators.
The soil of the plains is alluvium, locally known as fat\ in the lower highlands it is sandy; in Kohlu it is much impregnated with salt. Clay and gravel occur at the higher elevations. The directly Administered area is well irrigated and fertile, but the Marri and Bugti hills afford small opportunity for agriculture. Of all the tahsih^ Kohlu alone has not been surveyed. The total cultivable area in the remaining tahsih is 878 square miles, of which about 234 square miles are cultivated annually. The principal harvest is the sanwanri or autumn crop; wheat and oilseeds compose the spring crop (arhari). The largest area is under jowar, after which come oilseeds and wheat. Rice, millets, and gram are also grown. Cultivation has extended everywhere with the advent of peace and security ; in Nasirabad it has risen from 76 square miles in 1880-1 to 165 square miles in 1902-3, and in Sibi from about 7 square miles in 1879-80 to about 59 square miles in 1904. Quantities of vegetables are raised in Sibi for the Quetta market, and the cultivation of tobacco, potatoes, and melons is increasing. Between 1897 and 1904 advances for agricultural improvements were given to the amount of nearly Rs. 50,000.
The class of cattle in the plains is excellent. The ponies of the Marri and Bugti hills are light in limb and body, but carry heavy weights unshod over the roughest ground. In the plains larger animals are kept. The number of branded mares is 164. Govern- ment stallions are stationed at Sibi in the winter. Camels are bred in the southern part of the District. A horse and cattle fair is held at Sibi in February.
The Nasirabad tahsil is irrigated by the Desert and Began branches of the Government canals in Sind. The water is brought to the land either by gravitation (moki) or by lift (charkhi). The area irrigated annually between 1893 and 1903 averaged 80,000 acres. In the Sibi tahsll a system of channels from the Nari river irrigates about 26,000 acres. Elsewhere, excluding Kohlu, about 13,700 acres are irrigated from springs and streams. Wells are used for irrigation in Naslrabad, but their number is limited. Most of the irrigated land is allowed to lie fallow for a year or two. The karez number 14.
Reserved ' juniper forests number seven, with an area of 69 square miles; and mixed forests, nine in number, cover about 41 square miles. The former are situated in Shahrig, and seven of the latter are in the Sibi tahsil. The juniper forests contain an undergrowth of wild almond (Primus eburned] and mdkhi (Caragana) ; and the mixed forests grow Prosopis spirigera, Capparis aphylla, tamarisk, and acacia.
Coal occurs in the Shahrig tahsll, and petroleum at Khattan in the Marri country. An account of the methods of working them will be found in the article on BALUCHISTAN. The output of coal from Khost in 1903 amounted to 37,000 tons, but petroleum is no longer worked. An unsuccessful boring for oil was made in 1891 near SpTntangi. Earth- salt was manufactured in Naslrabad up to 1902.
Trade and Communication
Rough woollen fabrics, coarse carpets in the dan stitch, nose-bags, and saddle-bags are produced in many places. Felts 'and felt coats are made by the women of the highlands for domestic use - Mats ropes sacks baskets, camel- pads, and many other articles are woven from the dwarf-palm, which is one of the most useful plants of the District. Embroidery is made by the Bugti women, the stitch chiefly used being 'herring-bone, with the threads looping through each other. The design often consists of large circular buttons or medallions joined by rings of chain stitch.
The District produces jowar, wheat, ght, and wool, and in years of good rainfall medicinal drugs, especially cumin seed, in some quan- tities. The only centre of trade is Sibi, the total imports and exports of which town by rail have risen from n,8oo tons in 1898 to 13,700 tons in 1903. Trade is largely carried on by agents of firms from Shikarpur in Sind. The principal imports into Sibi are gram, pulse, rice, dried fruits, and piece-goods ; the exports are joivar^ bdjra, wheat, and oilseeds.
The Sind-Pishm section of the North-Western Railway, on the standard gauge, enters the District near Jhatpat and, after crossing the Kachhi plain, passes to Kach Kotal. Sibi town is the junction for the Mushkaf-Bolan branch. The centre and south of the District are ill provided with roads. Partially metalled roads extend to 125 and unmetalled tracks to 444 miles. They are maintained chiefly from Provincial revenues and partly from Local funds. The main routes consist of part of the Harnai-Fort Sandeman road, and a cart-road from Sibi to Kach and thence to Ziarat. A bridle-path, which will form an important artery, is in course of construction from Babar Kach station to Kohlu via Mawand.
Famine
The Nasirabad and Sharing tahslh are fairly well protected from famine, owing to their extensive irrigation. Parts of the Sibi and Kohlu tahslh and of the Marri-Bugti country, how- ever, depend almost entirely on rainfall, the failure of which frequently results in scarcity. Between 1897 and 1901 the rainfall was continuously deficient, and in 1897-8 about Rs. 3,400 was expended in the Sibi tahstl out of money allotted by the Indian Famine Relief Fund. In 1899-1900 a sum of Rs. 18,000 was supplied from Imperial revenues for grain doles to the Harris and Bugtis, and in the following year Rs. 7,000 from the same source was distributed among them for the purchase of bullocks and seed grain. A contribution of Rs. 6,459 from the Indian Famine Relief Fund was also spent on the same objects in Sibi, Shahrig, and Kohlu. Between 1899 and 1901 District relief works cost about Rs. 24,400.
Administration
The District consists of two portions : Sibi District, containing the Sibi and Shahrig tahslh^ which form part of British Baluchistan ; and the Kohlu and Railway District, consisting of mj . . the Kohlu and Nasirabad tahsils and the railway line lying in Kachhi and the Marri country, which form part of the Agency Territories. For purposes of administration the District is treated as a single unit, in charge of a Political Agent and Deputy Commissioner, with three subdivisions : NASIRABAD, SIBI, and SHAHRIG. Each of the first two is in charge of an Extra-Assistant Commissioner, and the latter of the Assistant Political Agent. The Political Agent exercises political control in the MARRI-BUGTI country, and over the Dombki and Kaheri tribes of the Lahri niabat in Kachhi through the Extra-Assistant Commissioner at Sibi. Each tahsll has a nail)- tahsildar^ except Kohlu, where a naib-tahslldar exercises the powers of a tahsildar. A Munsif is stationed at Sibi.
The Deputy-Commissioner and Political Agent is the District and Sessions Judge. The Assistant Political Agent and the Extra-Assistant Commissioners are magistrates of the first class, with power to try suits to the value of Rs. 10,000. Tahsildar s are magistrates of the second class, with civil powers up to Rs. 300. Naib-tahslldars are magistrates of the third class, with civil powers in suits of the value of Rs. 50. The Munsif at Sibi is also a magistrate of the second class. Appeals from the officers of the lower grades lie to the subdivisional officers. Many cases in which the people of the country are concerned are referred tojirgas for an award under the Frontier Crimes Regulation. The number of cognizable cases reported during 1903 was 134, con- victions being obtained in 73 instances. The total number of criminal cases was 304 and of civil suits 1,209. The cases referred to jtrgas numbered 645, including 17 cases of murder, 7 cases of robbery, 24 of adultery, and 15 cases of adultery accompanied by murder.
In Akbar's time Sibi was a mahal of the Bhakkar sarkar of the Multan Subah. It paid about Rs. 34,500, and furnished 500 cavalry and 1,500 infantry, The Panni tribe also supplied a separate con- tingent. Chhalgari, i. e. the Harnai valley, which depended on Kan- dahar, paid Rs. 240 in money, 415 kharwars of grain, and supplied 200 horse and 300 foot. Under the Durrani's the revenue of the Sibi tahsll was about Rs. 4,500. The present system of levying revenue varies in different parts of the District, and even in different areas within the same tahslL Fixed cash assessments, varying from Rs. 2 to Rs. 2-8 per acre on irrigated lands, are to be found side by side with the collection of an actual share of the produce (batai) at rates varying from one-fourth to one-twelfth. Details of each system are given in the separate articles on the tahslls of the District. The annual value of the revenue-free holdings and grants of grain is Rs. 19,300. The land revenue, including grazing tax but excluding water rate, amounted in 1903-4 to nearly 2 lakhs. This includes the revenue of Nasirabad for six months only. The water rate in Nasir- abad, amounting to 1-2 lakhs in 1903-4, is paid over to the Government of Bombay, as the Begari and Desert Canals, which irrigate it, belong to the Sind system. The total revenue of the District from all sources was 2-4 lakhs in the same year.
The Sibi bazar fund and the Ziarat improvement fund are referred to in the articles on SIBI TOWN and ZIARAT. Octroi and conservancy cess are levied in some bazars near the Sind-Pishln railway, and are credited to the Shahrig bazar fund, the money being spent on sanitary and other works under the direction of the Assistant Political Agent in charge of Shahrig. The income in 1903-4 was Rs. 6,800, and the expenditure Rs. 6,300.
A small detachment of native infantry is stationed at Sibi. The District Superintendent of police at Quetta is in charge of the regular police, which consisted, in 1904, of 199 constables and 23 mounted men, under a European inspector and Honorary Assistant District Superintendent, with 6 deputy-inspectors and 56 sergeants. It was distributed in twenty-four stations. The police employed on the rail- way line numbered 63. The total force of levies available amounts to 439 men, of whom 238 are mounted and 91 are employed on the railway. These figures do not include 225 men stationed in the Marri-Bugti country, and 26 in the Lahri niabat* Local funds main- tain 21 watchmen. There is a District jail at Sibi town and four subsidiary jails, with total accommodation for 100 male and 24 female prisoners. Prisoners whose terms exceed six months .are sent to the Shikarpur jail in Sind.
In 1904 the District had one middle and eight primary schools, including a school for native girls and another for European and Eurasian boys and girls. The number of pupils was 342, and the annual cost Rs. 6,511, of which Rs. 2,284 was P a ^ f roni Provincial revenues and Rs. 4,187 from Local funds. The number of boys and girls receiving elementary instruction in mosque and other private schools was 926. Education in the Marri-Bugti country is represented by a single school at Dera Bugti.
The District possesses one hospital and four civil and railway dis- pensaries, with accommodation for 74 patients. The average daily attendance of patients in 1903 was 21. Two of the institutions are maintained by the North-Western Railway, two are aided from Local funds, and the other is maintained from Provincial revenues. The expenditure from Local funds and Provincial revenues in 1903 was Rs. 9,000. A female dispensary has recently been established at Sibi. Shahrig has an evil reputation for malaria in summer, and syphilis is common in parts of the tahslL Malarial fever is the most prevalent disease throughout the District. Vaccination is optional and most of the people still resort to inoculation. The number of persons successfully vaccinated in 1903 was 3,363, or 46 per 1,000 on the total population of the Administered area.
[O. T. Duke, Report on the District of Thal-Chotidli and Harnai (Foreign Department Press, 1883); R. I. Bruce, History of the Marri Baloch Tribe and its Relations with the Bugti Tribe (Lahore, 1884) ; Bombay Records, No. XVII, New Series, containing, among other papers, a Diary kept by Captain Lewis Brown while besieged in Kalian; R. D. Oldham, * Geology of Thal-Chotiali and part of the Marri Country,' Records > Geological Survey of India^ vol. xxv, part i; C. L. Griesbach, 'Geology of the Country between the Chappar Rift and Harnai,' ib. vol. xxvi, part iv; Major A. McConaghey, District Gazetteer (1907).]
