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This is the complete text of Yoga Vasishta Sara (THE ESSENCE OF YOGA VASISHTA) Translated from the Sanskrit into English by Swami Sureshananda And first published serially in The Mountain Path c. 1969-71. It was published online by Sage Ramana.org. Y S. RAMANAN President, Board of Trustees, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai-606 603. 1999

Mizoram, 1872:

This article is an extract from THE LUSHAI EXPEDITION 1871-1872 BY R.G. WOODTHORPE. LIEUT. ROYAL ENGINEERS. LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1873. Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

Manipur, 1873

This article is an extract FROM THE Records of the Government of India, FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. No. CIX. ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE MUNNIPOOR AGENCY, For the year ending 30th June 1873. Published by Authority. CALCUTTA : PRINTED AT THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT PRESS. 1874. Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE MEITHEIS By T. C. HODSON Late Assistant Political Agent in Manipur and Superintendent of the State Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute With An Introduction By SIR CHARLES J. LYALL K.C.S.I., C.I.E., LL.D., M.A. Published under the orders of the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam LONDON DAVID NUTT 57, 59, Long Acre 1908 Printed By William Clowes and Sons, Limited London and Beccles Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE KUKI-LUSHAI TRIBES ON THE NORTH-EAST FRONTIER (In the districts of Cachar, Sylhet, Naga Hills, etc., and the North Cachar Hills), BY C. A. SOPPITT, ASSISTANT-COMMISSIONER, BURMA, LATE SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER, NORTH CACHAR HILLS, ASSAM. SHILLONG: PRINTED AT THE ASSAM SECRETARIAT PRESS. 1887. Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from AN OUTLINE GRAMMAR OF THE RANGKHOL- LUSHAI LANGUAGE AND A Comparison of Lushai with other Dialects. BY C. A. SOPPITT, ASSISTANT-COMMISSIONER, BURMA, LATE SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER, NORTH CACHAR HILLS, ASSAM. SHILLONG: PRINTED AT THE ASSAM SECRETARIAT PRESS. 1887. Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE ANGAMI NAGAS With Some Notes on Neighbouring Tribes J F U. HUTTON, C.I.E., M.A. (Indian Civil Service) WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Published by direction of the Assam Administration MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON 1921 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE MEITHEIS T. C. HODSON Late Assistant Political Agent In Manipur And Superintendent Of The State Fellow Of The Royal Anthropological Institute With An Introduction By SIR CHARLES J. LYALL K.C.S.I., C.I.E., LL.D., M.A. Published under the orders of the Government of Gastern Bengal and Assam Illustrated LONDON David Nutt 57, 59, Long Acre 1908 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the correcled vcrsion/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE MEITHEIS T. C. HODSON Late Assistant Political Agent In Manipur And Superintendent Of The State Fellow Of The Royal Anthropological Institute With An Introduction BY SIR CHARLES J.LYALL K.C.S.I., C.I.E., LL.D., M.A. Published under the orders of the Government of Gastern Bengal and Assam Illustrated LONDON David Nutt 57, 59, Long Acre 1908 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the corrected vcrsion/ add1t1onal information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE MEITHEIS T. C. HODSON LATE ASSISTANT POLITICAL AGENT IN MANIPUR AND SUPERINTENDENT OF THE STATE FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR CHARLES J.LYALL K.C.S.I., C.I.E., LL.D., M.A. Published under the orders of the Government of Gastern Bengal and Assam ILLUSTRATED LONDON DAVID NUTT 57, 59, LONG ACRE 1908 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned frcm a bcck. You can hclp by send!ng the corrected vcrsion/ add1t1onal information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from CENSUS OF INDIA, 1931 Report by J. H. HUTTON, C.I.E., D.Sc., F.A.S.B., Corresponding Member of the Anthropologische Gesselschaft of Vienna. Delhi: Manager of Publications 1933 (Hutton was the Census Commissioner for India) Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by sending the corrected version/ additional information to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from ETHNOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT INDIA BY ROBERT SHAFER With 2 maps 1954 OTTO HARRAS SOWITZ . WIESBADEN Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by sending the corrected version/ additional information to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS BY SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. BOMBAY THE TlMES PRESS 1920 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by sending the corrected version/ additional information to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

This article is an extract from PANJAB CASTES SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I. Being a reprint of the chapter on The Races, Castes and Tribes of the People in the Report on the Census of the Panjab published in 1883 by the late Sir Denzil Ibbetson, KCSI Lahore: Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab, 1916. Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by sending the corrected version to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

[edit] Jats: Western Plains

First of all then let us purge our tables of that nondescript class known as Jats on the Indus,and, to a less extent, in the lower valleys of the Satluj, C'hanab, and Jahlam, and in the Salt-range Tract. Mr. 0',Brien writes as follows of the Jats of Muzaffar garh : —

In the alI district the word Jat lncludes that congeries of Muhanimadan tribes which are not Saiyads, Bilochcs,Pathans or Quroshis. According to this definition .Jats would include Rajput. This 1 beheve is correct. The .Jats; have always been rocnutcd from theRajputs. There is not a Jat in the district who has any knowledge, real or fancied, of his ancestors that would uot say that he was; once a Rajput. Certain Jat tribes have nances and traditions which seem to connect thorn more closely with Hindustan. Some bear the Rajput title of llai, and others, though Muhammadans, associate a Brahmin with the Mulla at marriage ceremonies, while Punwars, Parihars, Bhattis, .Toyas, and others bear the names of well-known tribes of Rajutana. The fact is that it is impossible to define between Jats and Musalman Rajputs. And the diffculty is rendered greater by the word .Jat also meaning an agriculturist irrespective of his race, and Jataki agriculture. In conversation about agriculture I have been referredto a Saiyad Zaildar with the remark— Ask Anwar Shah ; he is a better Jat than we are.

The Jat tribes are exceedingly numerous. There are 165 in the Sananwan tahsil alone. They have no large divisions embracing several small divisions. Nor do they trace their origin to common stock. No tribe is pre-eminent in birth or caste. Geucrally .Jats marry into their own tribe, but they have no hesitation in marrying into other tribes. They give their daughters freely to Bilochcs in marriage. But the Biloches say that they do not give their daughters to Jats. This is, howcver, a Biloch story ; many instances of Jats married to Bilochcs could be named.

Besides this, the word Jat, spelt Avith a soft instead of a hard t, denotes a eamel grazier or camel driver. The camel cannot lift its load ; the camel man (Jat) bites its tail.The fact seems to be that the Bilochcs who came into the districts of the lower frontier as a dominant race, contemptuoulsy included all cultivating tribes who were not Biloch, or of some race such as Saiyad or Pathan Whom they had been accustomed to look upon as their equals, under the generic name of Jat, until the people themselves have lost the very memory of their origim It is possible that our own officers may have emphasized the confusion by adopting too readily the simple classification of the population as the Biloch or peculiar people on the one hand and the Jat or Gentile on the other, and that the so-called Jat is not so ignorant of his real origin as is commonly suppOsed. But the fact that in this part of the Pan jab tribe quite over-shadows and indeed almost supersedes caste, greatly increases the difficulty. As Mr. Roe remarks — If you ask a Jat his caste he will generally name some sub-division or clan quite unknown to fame. However caused, the result is that in the Derajat, Muzaffargarh, and much of Multan, if not indeed still further east and north, the word Jat means little more than the heading others or unspecified under which Census officers are so sorely tempted to class those about whom they know little or nothing.

A curious instance of the manner in which the word is used in these joarts is afforded by the result of some inquiri as I made about the Machhi or fisherman caste of Derail Ghazi Khan. The reply sent me was that there were two castes, Machhis or fishermen, and Jat Machhis who had taken to agriculture. It is probable that not long hence these latter will drop the Machhi, perhaps forget their Machhi origin, and become Jats pure and simple ; though they may not improbably retain as their elan name the old Machhi clan to which are 106-they belonged, or even the word Machhi itself. I give on the next page list of castes which, on a rough examination of the clan tables of the Jats of the Multan and Derajat divisions and Bahawalpur, I detected among the organised Biloch tribes of the frontier, however, Biloch girls are not given to Jats.sub-divisions of theJatsof those parts. Jat being essentially a word used for agnculturists only, it is more probable that a man who returns himself as Jat by caste and Bhatyara by tribe or clan should be a Bhatyara who has taken to agriculture, than that he should be a Jat who has taken to keeping a cook-shop ; and the men shown below would probably have been more pro perly returned under the rcspective castes opposite which their numbers are given, than as Jats. A more careful examination of the figures would probably have increased the numbers ; and the detailed clan tables will give us much information on the subject.

Futher to the north and east, away from the Biloch territory, the difficulty is of a somewhat different nature. There, as already explained, the tribes are commonly known by their tribal names rather than by the name of the caste to which they belong or belonged ; and the result is that claims to Rajput, or now-a-days not unseldom to Arab or Mughal origin, are generally set up. The tribes who claim to be Arab or Mughal will be discussed either under their proper head or under Shekhs and Mughals. But the line between Jats and Rajputs is a difficult one to draw, and I have been obliged to decide the question in a rough and arbitrary manner. Thus the Sial are admittedly of pure Rajput origin, and I have classed them as Rajputs as they are conr monly recognized as such by their neighbours. The Sumra are probably of no less pure Rajput extraction, but they are commonly known as Jats, and I have discussed them under that head. But in either case I shall show the Sial or Sumra who have returned themselves as Jats side by side with those who have returned themselves as Rajputs, so that the figures may be as com plete as possible. As a fact these people are generally known as Sial and Sumra rather than as Jats or Rajputs ; and the inclusion of them under either of the latter headings is a classification based upon generally reputed origin or standing, rather than upon any current and usual designation. Mr. Purser thus expresses the matter as he found it in Montgomery : —

There is a wonderful uniformity about the traditions of the different tribes. The ancestor of each tribe was, as a rule, a Rajput of the Solar or Lunar race, and resided at Hastinapur or Dara nagar. He scornfully rejected t,hc proposals of the Dehli Emperor for a matrimonial alliance between the two famihes, and had then to fly to Sirsa or Bhather, or some other plate in that neighbourhood. Next he came to the Ravi and was converted to Islam by Makhddm Baha-ul Haqq, or Baba Farid. Then, being a stout-hearted man, he joined the Kharrals in their maraud ing expeditions, and so his descendants became Jats. In Kamar Singh's time they took to agricul ture and abandoned robbery a little; and now under the English Government they have quite given up their evil ways, and are honest and well disposed.

Mr. Steed man writing from J hang says : — There are in this district a lot of tribes engaged in agriculture or cattle-grazing who have no very clear idea of their origin but are certainly converted Hindus. Many are recognized Jats, and more belong to an enormous variety of tribes, but are called by the one comprehensive term Jat. Ethnologically I am not sure of my ground ; but for practical convenience in this part of the world, 1 would class as Jats all Muhammadans whose ancestors were converted from Hiudusim and who are now engaged in, or derive their maiTitenuuce from, the cultivation of land or the pasturing of cattle.

The last words of this sentence convey an important distinction. The Jat of the Indus and Lower Chauab is essentially a husbandman. But in the great central grazing grounds of the Western Plains he is often pastoral rather than agricultural, looking upon cultivation as an inferior occupation which ne leaves to Arains, Mahtams, and such like people.

On the Upper Indus the word Jat, or Hindki which is perhaps more often used, is apphed in scareely a less iudefinite sense than in the Desajat ;

while in the Salt-range Tract the meaning is but little more precise. Beyond the Indus, Jat or Hindki includes both Rajputs and Awans, and indeed all who talk Panjabi rather than Pashto. In the Salt-range Tract, however, the higher Rajput tripes, such as Janjua, are carefully excluded ; and Jat means any Mahoniedan cultivator of Hindu origin who is not an Awan, Gakkhar, Pathan, Saiyad, Qureshi, or Rajput. Even there, however, most of the Jat clans are returned as Rajputs also, and the figures for them will be found further on when I discuss the Jats of the sub-montane tracts. Major Wace writes : —

The real Jat clans of the Rawalpindi division have a prejudice against the name Jat, because it is usually apphed to camel-drivers, and to the graziers of the bar whom they look down upon as low fellows. Rut there is, I think, no douht that the principal agricultural tribes whom we cannot class as Rajputs are really of the same race as the Jats of the Lower Panjab.

The Jat in these parts of the country is naturally looked upon as of inferior race, and the position he occupies is very different from that which he holds in the centre and east of the Panjab. Mr. O'Brien gives at page 78 of his Multani Glossary a collection of the most pungent proverbs on the subject, of which I can only quote one or two : — Though the Jat grows refined, he will still use a mat for a pocket-handkerchief.An ordinary man's ribs would break at the laugh of a Jat.' When the Jat is pros perous he shuts up the path (by ploughing it up) : when the Kirar (money lender) is prosperous he shuts up the Jat.'A Jat like a wound is better when bound.Though a Jat be made of gold, still his hinder parts are of brass.The Jat is such a fool that only God can take care of him.

The Pathan proverbs are even less complimentary. If a Hindki cannot do you any harm, he will leave a bad smell as he passes you. Get round a Pathan by coaxing ; but heave a clod at a Hindki.Though a Hindki be your right arm, cut it off.Kill a black Jat rather than a black snake.The Jat of Derah Ghazi is described as lazy, dirty, and ignorant.

[edit] Jat tribes of the Western Plains

Abstract No. 73 on the next page* give.-, the principal

Jat tribes of the Western Plains ; that is to say west of Lahore, excluding the trans-Salt-range

and the sub-montane tracts. The tribes may be divided into three groups; the Tahrm Bhutta, Langah, Chhina, and Siimrahe chiefly westwards of the valley of the Jahlam-Chanab ; the Chhadhar and Sipra he to the east of that line ; while the Bhatti, Sial, Punwar, Joya, Dhiidhi, Khichi, and Wuttu are Rajputs rather than Jats, and will be discussed when I come to the Rajputs of the Western Plains. It must be remembered that these figures are very imperfect, as they merely give the numbers who have returned their tribe as one of those shown in the abstract, and do not include those who have returned only sub-sections of those tribes. The complete figures cannot be obtained till the detailed clan tables are ready. The double columns under Bhutta, Langah, Sumra, Chhadhar and Dhudhi show the numbers who have returned themselves as belonging to these tribes, but as being by caste Jat and Rajput respectively.

== The Tallim (No. 1) == The Tahim claim Arab origin, and to be descended from an Ansari Qui-esh called Tamim. They formerly held much property in the Chiniot tahsil of Jhang, and there were Talu'm Govrrnors of those parts under the Dehli Emperors. It is said that the Awaus have a Tahrm clan. The Tahim are not wholly agriculturists, and are Faid not unfrequently to work as butchers and cotton scutchers ; or it may be merely that the butchers and cotton scutchers have a Tahrm clan called after the tribe. They are, as far as our figures go, almost confined to Bahawalpur and the lower Indus and Chencab in Multan, Muzaffargarh, and Derah Ghazi Khan. The Multan Tahrm say that their more immediate ancestor Sambhal Shah came to that place some 700 years ago on a marauding expedition, and ruled at Multan for 40 years, after which he was killed and his followers scattered. In his invasion of India during the latter part of the 14th century, Taimur encountered his old foes the Geta; (Jats), who inhabited the plains « of Tahim,and pursued them into the desert ; and Tod mentions an extinct Rajput tribe which be calls Dahima,

== The Bhatta (No. 2)== The Bhutta are said by Mr: O'Brien to have traditions connecting them with Hindustan. and they chaim to le descended from Solar Rajputs. But since the rise to opulence and importance of Pirzadah Murad Bakhsh Bhutta, of Multan, many of them have taken to calling themselves pirzadahs. One account is that they are emigrants from Bhutan— a story I fear too ohvionsly suggested hy the name. They also often Practise other crafts, such as making pottery or weaving, instead of or in addition to agriculture. They are said to have held Uchh (in Bahawalpur) before the Saiyads came there. They are, according to our figures, chiefly found on the lower Indus, Chenah and Jahlam, in Shahpur, Jhang, MIultan, Muzaffargarh, and Derah Ghazi Khan. In Jhang most of them have returned themselves as Rajputs. The Bhutta shown scattered over the Eastern Plains are perhaps mcmhcrs of the small Bhutna or Bhutra clan of Malwa Jats. (See also Buttar, section 436, and Biita, section 438).

== The Langah (No. 3)== Mr. O'Brien thus describes the Langah : — A tribe of agriculturists in the Multan and :Muzaffargarh districts. They were originally an Afghan tribe who came to Multan from Sivi and Dhadhar for purposes of trade, and eventually settled at Rapri and the neighbourhood. In the confusion that followed the invasion of Tamerlane Multan became independent of the throne of Dehli, and the inhabitants chose Sheikh Yusaf, Kureshi, head of the shrine of Sheikh Bahauddin, as Governor. In 1445 A.D., Rai Sahra, Chief of the Langahs, whose daughter had been married to Sheikh Yusaf, iutrrduced an armed band of his tribesmen into the city by night, seized Sheikh Yusaf and sent him to Delhi, and proclaimed himself king

with the title Sultan Kutabuddin. The kings of Multan belonging to the Langah tribe are shown in the margin.

The dynasty terminated with the capture of Multan, after a siege of more than a year by Shah Hasan Arghnn, Governor of Sindh, in 1526. For ten days the city was given up to plunder and mas acre, and most of the Langahs were slain. Sultan Husain was made prisoner and died shortly after. The Langah dynasty ruled Multan for eighty years, during which time Biloches succeeded in establishing themselves along the Indus from Sitpur to Kot Karor. The •' Laugahi of Multan and Muzaffargarh are now very insignificant cultivators.

Farishtah is apparently the authority for their Afghan origin, which is doubtful to say the least. Pirzadah Murad Bakhsh Bhutta of Multan says that the Bhutta, Langah, Khnrral, Harral, and Lak are all Punwar Rajputs by origin. But the Lansah are described by Tod as a clan of the Chaluk or Solani tribe of Agnikula Rajputs, who inhabited Multan and Jaisalmer and were driven out of the latter by the Bhatti at least 700 years ago. According to our figures the Panjab Langah are almost confined to the lower Indus and Chanab. Unfoitunately we dasstd 2,550 Langah who had returned their caste as Langah, under Patlans. I have added the figures in Abstract No. 73.

== The Chhina (No. 4)== These I take to be distinct from the Chima Jats of Sialkot and Guj ranwala, though the two have certainly been confused in our tables. That there are Chhna in Sialkot appears from the fact that the town of Jamki in that district was founded by a Chhina Jat who came from Sindh and retained the title of Jam, the Sindhi equivalent for Chaudhri. Yet if the Chhina spread up the Chanab into Sialkot and the neighbouring districts in such large numbers as are shown for Chima in those districts, it is curious that they should not be fouAd in the intermediate districts through which they must have passed. It is probable that the Chhina here shown for Gurdaspur, and perhaps those for Firozpur also, should go with the Chima who are described in section 432 among the .Jat tribes of the sub-montane tract. These latter seem to trace their origin from Dehli. The Chhina of Derail Ismail Khan are chiefly found in the cis-Iudus portion of the district.

[edit] Jat tribes of the Western Plains continued

== The Sumra(No. 5)== — Mr. O'Brien describes the Siimra as originally Rajputs : — In A. D. 750 they expelled the first Arab invaders from Sindh and Multan, and furnished the country with a dynasty wliich ruled in Mult.-in from 1445 to 1526 A.D., when it was expelled by the Sanima, anoHier Rajput tribe;and Tod describes them as ene of the two great clans Umra and Sumira of the Soda tribe of Punwar Rajputs, who in remote limes held all the Rajputana deserts, and gave their names to Umrkot and Umra sumra or the Bhakkar country on the Indus. He identifies the Soda with Alexander's Sogdi, the princes of Dhat. Here again the Sumra seem to have spread, according to our figurs, far up the Satluj and Chanab into the central districts of the Province. Tl e figures for Derah Ismal Khan are probably understated, as there They hold a great portion of the Leiahah that between the Jhang border and the Indus. Some 2,000 of the Sumra have retm-ued themselves as Rajputs, chiefly in Patiala

== The Chhadhar (No. 6)== — The Chhadhar are found along the whole length of the Chanab and Ravi valleys, but are far most numerous in Jhang, where they have for the most part returned themselves as Rajputs. They claim to be descended from RajaTur, Tunwar. They say that they left their home in Rajputana in the time of Muhammad Ghori and settled in Baliawalpur, whero tbey were converted by Sher Sliali or Uchh. Thence they came to Jhang, where they founded an important colony and spread in smaller nnmbers up the Chanab and Ravi. Mr. Steedman doscrihcs them as good agriculturists, and less given to cattle-theft than their neighbours.

== The Sipra (No. 7)== appear to be a sub-division of the Gil tribe of jats, which gives its name to the famous battle-field of Sabraon. They too are found chiefly on the Jahlam and lower Chanab and are most numnerous in Jhang . They are not an important tribe.

== The Bhatti, Sial, Punwar, Joya, Dhudhl, Khichi, and Wattu == will be described under Rajputs.

== The Langrial == are not separately shown ;)! the abstract. They are however curious as being a nomad pastoral tribe who form almost the sole inhabitants of the Multan steppes. They appear to be found also in Rawalpindi and Sialkot, and there to claim Solar Rajput origin. But in Multan the Langriul say that their ancestor was a Hraliman Charan from Rikaner who was converted by Sultan Samran. They originally settled in Rawalpindi ; thence they moved to Jhang, took some country from the Sial, and settled at Kot Kamalia in Montgomery, whence they spread over the Multan lar. They derive their name from lanr/nr a kitchen,because their ancestor used to keep open house to all the beggars and faqirs of the neighbourhood.

== The Nol and Bhangu == These appear to be among the earhest inhabitants of the Jhang district, and to be perhaps aboriginal. The Bhangu do not even claim Rajput origin ! The Nol held the country about Jhang and the Bhangu that about Shorkot when the Sial came to the district, but they eventually fell before the rising power of the new comers. The Sialkot Bhangu say they came from Nepal.

== The Kharral, Harral, and Marral == The Kharral will be discussed separately with the smaller agricultural tribes. The Harral claim to be descended from the same ancestor, Rai Bhupa, as the Kharral, But by another son ; and to be Punwar Rajputs who came from Jaisalmer to Uchh, and thence to Kamalia in the Montgomery district. Mr. Steedman says that in Jhang, where onlv thev are found on the left bank of the Upper Chanab, tradition makes them a branch of the Ahirs, and that they are almost the worst thieves in the district, owning large flocks and herds which they pasture in the central steppes, and being bad cultivators. The Marral seem to have been once of far greater importance than now in the Jhang district, which is their home. They claim to be Chauhan Rajputs by origin, and to have come to the Upper Chanab in the time of Akbar. They are a fine bold-looking set of men, but with a bad reputation for cattle-lifting, and are poor cultivators.

== The Hans, Khagga, Jhandir, &C == These tribes will be found described under Sheks, as they claim Qureshi origit, though often classed as Jats.

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=Baheri=

Northern tahsil of Bareilly District, United Provinces, <o:p></o:p>

comprising the fiarganas of Sirsawan, Kabar, Chaumahla, and Richha, <o:p></o:p>

and lying between 28 35' and 28 54' N. and 79 16' and 79 41/ E., <o:p></o:p>

with an area of 345 square miles. Population fell from 207,063 in <o:p></o:p>

1 89 1 to 193,412 in 1 90 1. There are 410 villages and two small towns, <o:p></o:p>

neither of which has a population of 5,000. The demand for land <o:p></o:p>

revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 3,64,000, and for cesses Rs. 61,000. The <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

BAHRAICH DISTRICT 205 <o:p></o:p>

density of population, 561 persons per square mile, is considerably <o:p></o:p>

below the District average. This tahsil was the only one which <o:p></o:p>

decreased in population between 1891 and 1901. It is a level plain, <o:p></o:p>

intersected by numerous small rivers which have nearly all been <o:p></o:p>

dammed to supply an extensive system of canals. It is damp and <o:p></o:p>

malarious, especially towards the north, and population is liable to <o:p></o:p>

fluctuate considerably with the variations in rainfall. This is the chief <o:p></o:p>

rice tract in the District, and sugar-cane is less grown than in the areas <o:p></o:p>

farther south. The latter crop is also inferior, and its place is taken by <o:p></o:p>

maize in the higher lands. In 1903-4 the area under cultivation was <o:p></o:p>

258 square miles, of which 44 were irrigated, almost entirely from <o:p></o:p>

canals. <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

=Bahlolpur=

=Bkilolfiitr= <o:p></o:p>

Village in the Samrala tahsil, Ludhiana <o:p></o:p>

District, Punjab, situated in 30 55' N. and 76 22' E. Population <o:p></o:p>

(1901), 2,194. It was founded in the reign of the emperor Akbar by <o:p></o:p>

two Afghans, Bahlol Khan and Bahadur Khan, whose descendants still <o:p></o:p>

live here. It is now of no importance. Three tombs, said to date <o:p></o:p>

from the time of Akbar, stand on the west side of the village. <o:p></o:p>

=Bahraich District=<o:p></o:p>

=Physical aspects=<o:p></o:p>

North-western District of the Fyzabad Divi- <o:p></o:p>

sion, United Provinces, lying between 27 4' and 2 8° 24' N. and 8i° 3' <o:p></o:p>

and 82 13 E., with an area of 2,647 square miles. The shape of the <o:p></o:p>

District is that of an isosceles triangle, with its apex pointing north-west, <o:p></o:p>

and its base running from south-west to north-east. It is bounded on <o:p></o:p>

the west by the Kauriala or Gogra, which separates it from the Districts <o:p></o:p>

of Kherl, Sltapur, and Bara Bank! ; on the north-east by Nepal territory ; <o:p></o:p>

and on the south-east by Gonda. The physical features are well <o:p></o:p>

marked by the courses of the Gogra and Raptl. A belt of compara- <o:p></o:p>

tively high land of a uniform breadth of 12 or 13 <o:p></o:p>

miles, and a total area of about 670 square miles, Physical <o:p></o:p>

runs through the District in a south-easterly direction, <o:p></o:p>

dividing the basins of the two rivers. The great plain of the Gogra <o:p></o:p>

stretches away from the western edge of this strip of upland to the river <o:p></o:p>

itself. Tradition asserts, and the appearance of the country supports <o:p></o:p>

the theory, that in past ages the Gogra flowed immediately under this <o:p></o:p>

high bank. The plain is scored with numerous channels having <o:p></o:p>

a course generally parallel to that of the great river. The Gogra, or <o:p></o:p>

Kauriala as it is called in its upper reaches, enters Bahraich from Nepal <o:p></o:p>

on its extreme north-west corner. After a course of a few miles it is <o:p></o:p>

joined by the Girwa, which itself is merely a branch of the Kauriala, <o:p></o:p>

leaving the parent stream in Nepal. The only other tributary of <o:p></o:p>

importance is the Sarju, a river also rising in Nepal, which joins the <o:p></o:p>

Kauriala at Katai Ghat. An old channel, likewise called the Sarju or <o:p></o:p>

Suhell, passes below the edge of the upland into Gonda. It is said <o:p></o:p>

that this formerly carried the main stream, but a European timber <o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

merchant diverted it to secure a more expeditious route for floating <o:p></o:p>

timber. The Rapt! crosses the north-east corner of the District, its <o:p></o:p>

principal tributary being known at first as the Bhakla, and later as the <o:p></o:p>

Singhia. A small stream, named the Tirhl, rises a short distance from <o:p></o:p>

Bahraich town and flows into Gonda. There are numerous lakes and <o:p></o:p>

jhl/s, the largest being the Baghel Tal near Payagpur. Many of them <o:p></o:p>

have been formed by the old beds of rivers. <o:p></o:p>

The whole District is composed of alluvium, and even kankar or <o:p></o:p>

calcareous limestone is rare. <o:p></o:p>

The flora is that of the sub-Himalayan area. At annexation most of <o:p></o:p>

the District, excluding the river valleys, was jungle, and considerable <o:p></o:p>

areas are still occupied by low forest growths. Along the Nepal border <o:p></o:p>

lie large stretches of ' reserved ' forests, which will be described later. <o:p></o:p>

The rest of the District is also well wooded, groves of mangoes and <o:p></o:p>

mahua (Bassia latifolid) having been planted largely, and shasham <o:p></o:p>

Dalbergia Sissoo) to a smaller extent. <o:p></o:p>

Owing to the large area of forests and jungle, the District presents <o:p></o:p>

a varied fauna. Tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, hyenas, wild hog, <o:p></o:p>

sambar, spotted deer, swamp deer, hog deer, barking-deer, antelope, and <o:p></o:p>

nilgai are all found. In some places cattle have run wild and do much <o:p></o:p>

damage to the crops. Game-birds of the usual kinds are common, <o:p></o:p>

and fish abound in the rivers and tanks. <o:p></o:p>

The climate is moist, and cooler than that of the Districts south of <o:p></o:p>

the Gogra ; the cold season lasts long and the prevailing winds are <o:p></o:p>

easterly. The District is, however, malarious, especially after the close <o:p></o:p>

of the rains. <o:p></o:p>

==History==<o:p></o:p>

The annual rainfall averages 45 inches, the north receiving a <o:p></o:p>

slightly larger amount than the south. Variations are large: in 1870 <o:p></o:p>

the fall was 79 inches, and in 1864 only 24 inches. <o:p></o:p>

Legend connects the name of the District with Brahma, who is said <o:p></o:p>

to have chosen this area as his own special kingdom. Other traditions <o:p></o:p>

include it in the realm of Raja Kama, who is referred <o:p></o:p>

to in the Mahabharata. At the dawn of history the <o:p></o:p>

tract formed part of the kingdom of Northern KoSALA, with its capital <o:p></o:p>

at Sravastl. The identification of the site of this great city, at which <o:p></o:p>

Gautama Buddha spent several years of his life, is still a disputed <o:p></o:p>

question. Some writers place it at Set Mahet on the borders of <o:p></o:p>

Bahraich and Gonda, while others believe that it lies on the RaptI in <o:p></o:p>

Nepal. In the fifth and seventh centuries the country round Sravastl <o:p></o:p>

was found by the Chinese pilgrims to be waste and desolate. Later <o:p></o:p>

traditions state that Bahraich was held by the Bhars, whose name it <o:p></o:p>

bears. The half-mythical raid of Salar Masud, the Muhammadan <o:p></o:p>

warrior saint, ended in battle with the chiefs of the neighbourhood <o:p></o:p>

near Bahraich town in 1033. It was not, however, till the thirteenth <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

century that a regular Muhammadan government was established in <o:p></o:p>

the trans-Gogra region. One of the earliest governors was Nasir-ud-dln <o:p></o:p>

Mahmud, son of Altanish, who ruled here rigorously until he succeeded <o:p></o:p>

to the throne of Delhi in 1246. For the best part of a century the <o:p></o:p>

records of Bahraich contain nothing of note. The Ansaris, the descen- <o:p></o:p>

dants of the early Musalrnan settlers and invaders, gradually extended <o:p></o:p>

their hold over the south of the District; but the Bhars were not <o:p></o:p>

crushed till later. In 1340 Muhammad bin Tughlak visited the tomb <o:p></o:p>

of Saiyid Salar, and made the first of a series of grants, from which <o:p></o:p>

sprang several of the great talukddri estates. This grant was in favour <o:p></o:p>

of the Saiyids, who expelled the Bhars and acquired a large estate. <o:p></o:p>

Firoz Shah Tughlak passed through the District and left a young <o:p></o:p>

Janwar Rajput, named Bariar Sah, to clear the country of banditti. <o:p></o:p>

Bariar Sah resided at Ikauna, and his clan has provided owners for <o:p></o:p>

several estates in both Bahraich and Gonda. About forty years later <o:p></o:p>

the Raikwars established themselves in the west. Under Akbar the <o:p></o:p>

District, together with parts of Gonda and Kheri, formed the Bahraich <o:p></o:p>

sarkar. The Muhammadan rule was, however, never thoroughly effec- <o:p></o:p>

tive till the appointment of Saadat Khan to the governorship of Oudh. <o:p></o:p>

The great Rajas fought with each other or with the governor of Bah- <o:p></o:p>

raich, and paid as little revenue as they could. All, however, had to <o:p></o:p>

yield to the new power, and for many years they were kept in check. <o:p></o:p>

Saadat All Khan, the sixth Nawab, first introduced a system of farming <o:p></o:p>

the revenue, under which the local governors paid a fixed amount, and <o:p></o:p>

appropriated surplus collections. The system worked well as long as it <o:p></o:p>

was adequately supervised, and the nazims or governors of Bahraich <o:p></o:p>

were at first able and considerate. Deterioration then set in, and <o:p></o:p>

oppression rose to its height under Raghubar Dayal, who held the <o:p></o:p>

contract for 1846-7. The state of desolation to which the country was <o:p></o:p>

reduced is graphically described by Sir W. Sleeman, who passed through <o:p></o:p>

the District in 1849. The annexation of Oudh in 1856 put an end to <o:p></o:p>

this misrule and misery, though the work of organization was delayed <o:p></o:p>

by the Mutiny. The troops at Bahraich rebelled ; and the officers, after <o:p></o:p>

an attempt to reach the hills, made for Lucknow, but were murdered <o:p></o:p>

on the Gogra. The talukdars had lost little by the land policy adopted <o:p></o:p>

at annexation, compared with those of other Districts

but on the out- <o</dt>: p></o:p></dd>

break of the Mutiny, the majority joined the mutineers. Troops <o:p></o:p>

were not sent into the District till December, 1858, when the rebels <o:p></o:p>

fled to Nepal after a short campaign. Large estates were confiscated, <o:p></o:p>

and part of the District was restored to Nepal, from which it had been <o:p></o:p>

taken in 18 16. <o:p></o:p>

A number of ancient sites still await exploration ; relics of the <o:p></o:p>

Buddhist period have been discovered in places. The celebrated <o:p></o:p>

shrine of Saiyid Salar is situated about two miles north of Bahraich <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Town. An old town, called Dogaon, was an important centre of trade <o:p></o:p>

in the Mughal period .<o:p></o:p>

==Population==<o:p></o:p>

The District contains 3 towns and 1,881 villages. Population is in- <o:p></o:p>

creasing. The numbers at the last four enumerations were as follows : <o:p></o:p>

(1869) 775,915, (1881) 878,048, (1891) 1,000,432, <o:p></o:p>

and (1901) 1,051,347. There are three tahsils — <o:p></o:p>

Bahraich, Kaisarganj, and Nanpara — each named from its head- <o:p></o:p>

quarters. The principal towns are the municipalities of Bahraich, the <o:p></o:p>

District capital, and Nanpara, and the 'notified area' of Bhinga. <o:p></o:p>

The following table gives the chief statistics of population in 1901: — <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

[[File: gazters1.png||frame|500px]] <o:p></o:p>

Hindus form more than 81 per cent, of the total, and Musalmans <o:p></o:p>

more than 1 8 per cent. The density of population is much below the <o:p></o:p>

average for Oudh, but the increase during the last decade was con- <o:p></o:p>

siderable. Almost the whole population speaks the Awadhi dialect of <o:p></o:p>

Eastern Hindi. <o:p></o:p>

The most numerous Hindu caste is that of Ahlrs (graziers and culti- <o:p></o:p>

vators), who number 125,000. Other castes largely represented are <o:p></o:p>

Kurmls (agriculturists), 95,000; Brahmans, 92,000; Chamars (tanners <o:p></o:p>

and cultivators), 76,000; Koris (weavers), 51,000 ; Pasls (toddy-drawers <o:p></o:p>

and cultivators), 48,000 ; Lodhas (cultivators), 43,000 ; Muraos (market- <o:p></o:p>

gardeners), 26,000 ; and Rajputs, 25,000. Tharus, a tribe confined to <o:p></o:p>

the submontane swamps, are found in small numbers in the north of <o:p></o:p>

the District. The Muhammadans are chiefly Pathans, 33,000 ; Julahas <o:p></o:p>

(weavers), 21,000; Behnas (cotton-carders), 14,000; and Nais (barbers), <o:p></o:p>

11,000. Agriculture supports 70 per cent, of the total population, and <o:p></o:p>

general labour 5 per cent. Kurmls occupy more than one-sixth of the <o:p></o:p>

area held by tenants, and Brahmans, Rajputs, and Ahlrs also cultivate <o:p></o:p>

large areas. <o:p></o:p>

Of the 173 native Christians enumerated in 1901, 148 were Metho- <o:p></o:p>

dists. The American Methodist Mission began work here in 1865, and <o:p></o:p>

has several branches in the District. <o:p></o:p>

==Agriculture==<o:p></o:p>

The soil of Bahraich is chiefly loam and clay. North of the RaptI, <o:p></o:p>

and at one or two other places near the Nepal frontier, a moist tarai <o:p></o:p>

1 W. Vost, Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. lxiv, p. 69. <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

tract occurs, which is especially favourable for the valuable late rice, <o:p></o:p>

but produces little else. The central plateau yields excellent wheat. <o:p></o:p>

The inferior early rice, followed by wheat or other <o:p></o:p>

spring crops, is grown in this tract, while late rice is A £ ncu ture. <o:p></o:p>

grown in small depressions. The basins of the Rapti and Gogra are <o:p></o:p>

more distinctly alluvial, and are very fertile except where the layer of <o:p></o:p>

rich silt above the sandy subsoil is thin. The larger rivers constantly <o:p></o:p>

flood their banks, but the Sarju and Rapti generally deposit good silt, <o:p></o:p>

while the Gogra causes damage by bringing down sand. <o:p></o:p>

The tenures are those usually found in Oudh. About 78 per cent, <o:p></o:p>

of the total area, excluding the forests, is held by talukdars, and more <o:p></o:p>

than half is included in four large estates. A very small proportion <o:p></o:p>

is occupied by sub-settlement holders and under-proprietors. The <o:p></o:p>

main agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are given below, in square <o:p></o:p>

miles : — <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

[[File: gazters2.png||frame|500px]] <o:p></o:p>

Wheat, maize, and rice are the crops most largely grown, and in <o:p></o:p>

1903-4 covered 459, 447, and 422 square miles respectively, or from 29 <o:p></o:p>

to 27 per cent, of the net area cultivated. Gram (273 square miles), <o:p></o:p>

barley (156), and peas and masur (59) are the remaining food-crops of <o:p></o:p>

importance. Poppy covered 15 square miles and oilseeds 189. <o:p></o:p>

There has been a very large increase in the cultivated area since the <o:p></o:p>

first regular settlement, amounting to 25 per cent. This is due both to <o:p></o:p>

the recovery of the District from the effects of misgovernment, and also <o:p></o:p>

to the clearing of jungle. No conspicuous changes in methods have <o:p></o:p>

taken place ; but double cropping is more extensively practised, and <o:p></o:p>

the area under rice, wheat, and poppy is increasing rapidly. Population <o:p></o:p>

is still comparatively thin, and a large area is held by Brahmans and <o:p></o:p>

Rajputs, who are inferior cultivators. Very few advances are taken <o:p></o:p>

under the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts. Out of <o:p></o:p>

a total of Rs. 11,600 lent during the ten years ending 1900, the single <o:p></o:p>

year 1896-7 accounted for Rs. 9,000. In four years since 1900 the <o:p></o:p>

loans averaged less than Rs. 2,000. <o:p></o:p>

In the south of the District the cattle are of the ordinary inferior type, <o:p></o:p>

but towards the north they improve, and two good breeds are locally <o:p></o:p>

recognized, known as the Nanpara and the Risia. Though small, these <o:p></o:p>

cattle are active and hardy, and well fitted for agricultural work. The <o:p></o:p>

VOL. VI. p <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

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<a href="https://archive.org/details/imperialgazettee015643mbp" rel="nofollow">The Imperial Gazetteer Of India Vol XXI</a>"

THE

IMPERIAL GAZETTEER

OF INDIA

VOL. XXI

PUSHKAR TO SALWEEN

NEW EDITION

PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S

_S*RE.TARY OP STATE FOR INDIA IN COUNCIL

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1908

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OP OXFORD

LONDON, EDINBURGH

NEW YORK AND TORONTO

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION

Vowel-Sounds

a has the sound of a in ' woman/

a has the sound of a in ' father '

e has the vowel-sound in c grey.'

i has the sound of i m ' pin '

I has the sound of / in ' police.'

o has the sound of o in ' bone,'

u has the sound of n in * bull.'

u has the sound of u in ' flute,'

ai has the vowel-sound in ' mine.'

au has the vowel-sound m ' house/

It should be stated that no attempt has been made to distinguish

between the long and short sounds of e and o in the Dravidian

languages, which possess the vowel-sounds in ' bet ' and ' hot ' in

addition to those giveti^bove Nor has it been thought necessary

to mark vowels as long m cases where mistakes in pronunciation

were not likely to be made,

Consonants

Most Indian languages have different Forms for a number of con-

sonants, such as d) t, r>&c., marked m scientific works by the use

of dots or italics. As the European ear distinguishes these with

difficulty in oidinary pronunciation, it has been considered undesir-

able to embarrass the reader with them ; and only two notes are

required. In the first place, the Arabic k, a strong guttural, has

been represented by k instead of ^, which is often used. Secondly,

it should be remarked that aspirated consonants are common ; and,

m particular, dh and th (except in Burma) never have the sound of

th in 'this' or 'thin,' but should be pronounced as ia ' woodhouse'

and 'boathook 5

A 2

iv INTRODUCTORY NOTES

Burmese Words

Burmese and some of the languages on the frontier of China have

the following special sounds :

aw has the vowel-sound in ' law.'

o and u are pronounced as in German.

gy is pronounced almost like/ in * jewel '

ky is pronounced almost like ch in ' church. 7

th is pronounced in some cases as in l this,' in some cases as in

i thin.'

w after a consonant has the force of uw. Thus, ywa and pwe

are disyllables, pronounced as if written yitwa and

It should also be noted that, whereas in Indian words the accent

or stress is distributed almost equally on each syllable, in Burmese

there is a tendency to throw special stress on the last syllable

General

The names of some places e.g. Calcutta, Bombay, Lucknow,

Cawnpore have obtained a popular fixity of spelling, while special

forms have been officially prescribed for others Names of persons

are often spelt and pronounced differently in different parts of India ;

but the variations have been made as few as possible by assimilating

forms almost alike, especially where a particular spelling has been

generally adopted in English books

NOTES ON MONEY, PRICES, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

As the currency of India is based upon the rupee, all statements

with regard to money throughout the Gazetteer have necessarily been

expressed in rupees, nor has it been found possible to add generally

a conversion into sterling. Down to about 1873 the gold value of

the rupee (containing 165 grains of pure silver) was approximately

equal to zs., or one-tenth of a , and for that period it is easy to

convert rupees into sterling by striking off the final cipher (Rs. 1,000

= 100). But after 1873, owing to the depreciation of silver as

compared with gold throughout the world, there came a serious and

progressive fall in the exchange, until at one time the gold value of

the rupee dropped as low as is In order to provide a remedy for

the heavy loss caused to the Government of India in respect of its

gold payments to be made in England, and also to relieve foreign

trade and finance from the inconvenience due to constant and

unforeseen fluctuations in exchange, it was resolved in 1893 to close

the mints to the free coinage of silver, and thus force up the value of

the rupee by restricting the circulation. The intention was to laise

INTR OD UCTOR Y NO TES v

the exchange value of the rupee to is 4^, and then introduce a gold

standard (though not necessanly a gold cuirency) at the rate of Rs. 15

= i. This policy has been completely successful. From 1899 on-

wards the value of the rupee has been maintained, with insignificant

fluctuations, at the proposed late of i,?. 4^. ; and consequently since

that date three rupees have been equivalent to two lupees befoie 1873

For the intermediate period, between 1873 and 1899, it is manifestly

impossible to adopt any fixed sterling value for a constantly changing

rupee. But since 1899, if it is desired to convert rupees into sterling,

not only must the final cipher be stiuck off (as befoie 1873), DI U

also one-third must be subtracted from the result. Thus Rs. 1,000

= 100 -J = (about) 67.

Another matter in connexion with the expression of money state-

ments in terms of rupees requires to be explained. The method of

numerical notation in India differs from that which pievails through-

out Europe. Large numbers are not punctuated in hundieds of thou-

sands and millions, but in lakhs and crores. A lakh is one hunared

thousand (written out as 1,00,000), and a crore is one hunared lakhs

or ten millions (written out as 1,00,00,000), Consequently, accord-

ing to the exchange value of the rupee, a lakh of rupees (Rs 1,00,000)

may be read as the equivalent of 10,000 before 1873, and as the

equivalent of (about) 6,667 after 1899 ; while a crore of rupees

(Rs. 1,00,00,000) may similarly be read as the equivalent of

1,000,000 before 1873, and as the equivalent of (about) 666,667

after 1899.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the rupee is divided into

1 6 annas, a fraction commonly used for many purposes by both

natives and Europeans. The anna was formerly reckoned as i^d. ;

it may now be considered as exactly corresponding to id The

anna is again subdivided into 12 pies.

The various systems of weights used in India combine uniformity

of scale with immense vanations in the weight of units. The scale

used generally throughout Northern India, and less commonly in

Madras and Bombay, may be thus expiessed : one maund = 40 seers ;

one seer = 16 chittaks or 80 tolas. The actual weight of a seer

varies gieatly from District to District, and even from village to

village., but in the standard system the tola is 180 grains Troy

(the exact weight of the rupee), and the seei thus weighs 2-057 lb.,

and the maund 82-28 lb. This standaid is used in official leports

and throughout the Gazetteer.

For calculating retail prices, the universal custom in India is to

express them in tenns of seers to the rupee. Thus, when prices

change, what varies is not the amount of money to be paid for the

VI

vi INTR OD UCTOR Y NO TES

same quantity, but the quantity to be obtained for the same amount

of money. In other words, prices in India are quantity prices, not

money prices, When the figure of quantity goes up, this of course

means that the price has gone down, which is at first sight perplexing

to an English reader. It may, however, be mentioned that quantity

prices are not altogether unknown in England, especially at small

shops, where pennyworths of many groceries can be bought. Eggs,

likewise, are commonly sold at a varying number for the shilling

If it'be desired to convert quantity prices from Indian into English

denominations without having recourse to money piices (which would

often be misleading), the following scale may be adopted based

upon the assumptions that a seer is exactly 2 Ib , and that the value

of the rupee remains constant at i s. 4^. . i seer per rupee = (about)

3 Ib. for 2s. ; 2 seers per rupee = (about) 6 Ib. for 2S ; and so on.

The name of the unit for square measurement in India generall}

is the bigha, which varies greatly m different parts of the country

But areas ha\e always been expressed throughout the Gazetteer either

in square miles or m acres.

MAP

RAJPUIANA to face p. 154

vi

IMPERIAL GAZETTEER

OF INDIA

VOLUME XXI

Pushkar. Town, lake, and place of pilgrimage in Ajmer District,

Rajputana, situated in 26 29' N and 74 33' E ; 2,389 feet above

sea-level. Population (1901), 3,831, neaily all Hindus, Pushkar is

said commonly (but erroneously) to be the only town in India that

contains a temple dedicated to Brahma, who here performed the sacri-

fice known as yaj net, \\hereby the lake of Pushkar became so holy that

the greatest sinner, by bathing in it, earns the delights of Paradise.

The town contains five principal temples, dedicated to Brahma, Savitri,

Badn Narayan, Varha, and Siva Atmateswara ; but they are of modern

construction, as the earlier buildings suffered severely under Aurangzeb,

Bathing ghats line the lake, and many of the princely families of Raj-

putana have houses round the margin, No living thing may be put to

death within the limits of the town, A great fair is held in October

and November, attended by about 100,000 pilgrims, who bathe in the

sacred lake. At this time there is a large tiade in horses, camels,

bullocks, and miscellaneous merchandise.

Pushpagiri. Village and hill on the Madras-Mysore boidei. See

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