Sironj 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.
Sironj District
One of the Central India parganas of the State of Tonk, Rajputana. It is for certain purposes included in the charge of the Political Agent, Bhopal. It has an area of 879 square miles, and lies between 23° 52' and 24° 21' N. and 77° 17' and 77° 57' E., being bounded on the north, west, and east by Gwalior, on the south by Bhopal and Gwalior, and in the south-east corner by an outlying portion of Kurwai. A ridge of the Vindhyas traverses the district from north to south, dividing it into two distinct tracts ; that to the east is known as taleti (' lowland ') and that to the west as iipreti ('highland '). There are no large rivers ; the Sind rises here, but does not attain to any size till it has entered the Gwalior State on the north. The population in 1901 was 68,539, compared with 93,856 in 1891. There are 436 villages and one town, Sironj (population, 10,417). The principal castes are Chamars, Kachhis, Brahmans, Rajputs, and Ahirs, forming respectively about 14, 8, 6, 6, and 11/2 per cent, of the total. The district is said to have been occupied in the eleventh century by Sengar Rajputs, who came to Malwa with Jai Singh Siddh-raj of Anhilvada Patan. In the sixteenth century their descendants opposed the advance of Sher Shah, who consequently devastated the country, having his head-quarters at the principal town, which was called after him Sherganj, now corrupted to Sironj. In Akbar's time, the district was one of the mahals of the Chanderi sarkar in the Subah of Malwa, and was granted in jagir by the emperor to Gharib Das. Khichi Chauhan of Raghugarh, as a reward for services. from 1750 lo 1754 it was held by Baji Rao Peshwa, and Then passed into tlie possession of Holkar. In 1798 it was made over by Jaswant Rao Holkar to Amir Khan, and the grant was confirmed by the British Government in the treaty of 1817. Sironj is the largest, and in many respects the most naturally favoured, district of the Tonk State. Of the total area, more than 729 square miles, or 83 per cent., are khdisa, paying revenue direct to the Tonk Darbar ; and the khalsa area available for cultivation is about 603 square miles. Of the latter, about 128 square miles, or 21 per cent., were cultivated in 1903-4, the irrigated area being 2 square miles. Of the cropped area, wheat occupied nearly 29 per cent.., jowar 28, gram 19, maize 8, and cotton 4 per cent. The revenue from all sources is about 1.6 lakhs, of which two-thirds is derived from the land.
