GAZETTEER OF MORADABAD.

REFERENCES.

Historical Relation of the Rohilla Afgans in the Northern Provinces of Hinrlostan, hy Charles Hamilton : Loudon, 1787.

A Journey to Sreenugger, by Captain Hardwicke : London, 1797.

History of the Reign of Shah Aiilum, by Captain W. Franck- lin : London, 1798.

Journal from Bengal to England, by G. Forster : London, 1798.

Indian Recreations, by W. Tennant: London, 1799.

Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, by Bishop R. Hober : London, 1828.

Life of Hafiz Rchmut Khan, by C. Elliott: Calcutta, 1831.

Life of Ameer Khan, by J. T. Prinsep : Calcutta, 1882.

Bengal and Agra Annual Guide, by W. Rushton : Calcutta, 1842.

Diary of Travels in Upper India, by Colonel C. J. C. David- son: London, 1843. ,

Pen and Pencil Sketches in India, by General G, C. Mundy i London, 1858.

Mutiny Narratives, N.-W. P., Allahabad, 1859.

Reports on the Revenue Settlements of the North-Western Provinces under Regulation IX of 1833 : Benares, 1862.

History of the Marhattas, by C. Grant Duff : Bombay, 1863.

Final Report of the Settlement of the Moradabad Di irict, by E. B. Alexander ; Allahabad, 1881,

History of the Indian Mutiny, by Sir John Kaye and Colonel Malleson ; London, 1888,

Hastings and the Rohilla War, by Sir John Strachey : Oxford, 1892.

Seir Mutaqherin, by Ghulara Husain Khan : reprint, Calcutta, 1902.

Final Report on the Eleventh Settlement of the Moradabad District, by H. J. Boas : Allahabad, 1909,

ABBREVUTION8.

J. R, A. S.— Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

^J. A, S. B.— Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society,

C. R. A. S. — Cunnin^am’s Archaeological Survey Reports.

fn ]|-y^ 1-1 1 — i

CHAPTER 1.

General Features,

mm ■ ^ ^6 district of Moradabad, properly spelled Mnradabad, forms

^ine west central portion of the Rohilkhand division and is a largo j^ut fairly compact stretch of country lying between the parallels ^ ittf 28° 20' and 29° 16' north latitude and 78° 4' and 79°0' east ^Wnongitude. It is bounded on the north by the Bijnor and Naini If Tal districts, on the east by the Rampiir State, on the south by ■ Budaun and on the west by the river Ganges, which sopa- V^^os it from the districts of Bulandshahr and Meerut. In outline roughly rectangular, but in the north-east there is a la^rgo Ifeortherfy projection between the Bijnor and Naini Tal districts, ffand on the southern borders there is a similar protuberance into \|Kudaun. In the extivmo north-east the boundary is very irregu- and there are two detached blocks of considerable size surround- jf on Vail sides by Rampur territory. Thij area of the district is \ apt to 'vary from time to time owing to the action of the Ganges, »ng^^ which the deep-stream rule prevails. The total area at the i tent settlement in 1904-05, the last year for which retunis are ;.i ulalle, was 1,467,580 acres or 2,293*09 square miles.

I The average level of the district is about 670 feet above the sea H 1 there are no natural eminences of any importance, the surface M ig broken only by sand-hills and river banks or else by tho river eys and a few shallow depressions. The country has a marked ff )e from north to south, the level falling from 767 foet in the S •'cmo north to 581 feet in the south-east corner, which gives an m rag^ fall of about three feet per mile. There is also a considcr- » from west to east, the mean gradient on the Meerut, road it 1 \&v25 miles to tho west of Moradabad being about two feet to , nile. Principal stations of the great trigonometrical survey are found at Bhitauli in the Moradabad tahsil, at Akbarpur and in Amroha, at Ataura, Bansgopal and Mehtra in Sambhal, Kundarkhi and Chaudanpur in Hasan pur and at Barauli in 3ilari,

Bounda- ries and

MORADABAD.

A GAZETTEER,

Bixire

VOLUME XVI

Of CHI

DISTRICT GAZEHEERS OF THE UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH.

BT

H. R. NEVILL, LC.S., F.R.G.S., F.S.S., M.R A.S.,

ALIiAHABAPi

PEIBfBB BT W. C. ABBB, OfiB. SVBBBZirTBirBBXrT, OOTBBVMBBT PlBIf.

1911.

2

•V.

Moradabad District,

Topo-

graphy.

Ganges

iiadir.

In its general aspect the country presents a very remarkable diversity of physical features and falls naturally into seven well- , defined tracts, the characteristics of which are determined largely^ ' by the rivers. These tracts may be briefly described, but for .k fuller and more detailed account reference must be made to thfc ' separate articles on the six tahsils into which the district is dividc(f|l for administrative purposes. js

The westernmost of these tracts is the low kkadir of thwo Ganges, a narrow belt extending for some 40 miles along the west- ern border, with a breadth varying from two miles in the north t(4'» about eight in the south and a total approximate area of 269 milet^.

On the actual river bank is a strip of the most recent alluvium,^ j in places possessing a very fertile deposit of silt and elsewhere covered with a thick growth of tamarisk, which springs up with ^ great rapidity on the sand left behind by the annual floods. The follows the open Ichadir, intersected by numerous drainage chankielifis ' and backwaters of the river. The whole of it is subject to inundaV ■ tion from the river, with the result that saturation often occui! 's and the fertility of the soil is much impaired by the presence (| ' .f saline efflorescences. Like the whole of the lowlands, it is sparsely f populated, cultivation is scattered and exposed to the ravages o^ f countless herds of pig and antelope, much of the land is covered fp' with coarse grasses, and there is a large area under babul or Jcika\ V, trees, which possess, like the thatching grass, a ' cousiderablj Ve V economic value. Further east is a belt of higher land, separak ' Id into two detached portions by the Mahawa river. It has a hir'/d and dry soil of a very inferior description and is covered w't S extensive patches of dense dhak jungle and palm trees improves towards the south, where are several large and importortSt villages; but elsewhere the population is scanty and nomaililV depending more on pasturage than on cultivation or else deriving ' /U « meagre subsistence from the collection of the saline deposits kilH the manufacture of crude glass for bangles. East of this amain K an irregular chain of swamps lying at the foot of the upland ii] ‘ I throughout Its length from north to south. Sometimes 'L. swamps are connected so as to form rivers, but elsewhere theJ merely det^^ihed pools, occasionally broadening out into large » They are filled by the drainage from the uplands and also I A f

/4h5?

w

SL. AJO. 0 2:'^^

General Features.

3

overflow from the Ganges, which in wet years causes the whole of' the Ichadir to bo submerged. On this account the autumn crops ; are always precarious and deterioration of the soil is a constant danger ; but in a dry season a fine rahi harvest is secured in the new alluvium and the swampy belt, while a normal year gives a very fair spring harvest to th(i whole tract. The grazing grounds of the northern khadir are very valuable and the landholders derive a considerable revenue from the farm of grazing dues, as well as iVorn the sale of timber, fuel and grass.

Above the to the east lie the sandy lajdands known Tho^^tr. as the hhur tract, which comprises the rest of the Kasanpur tahsil, save for a small block of good loam soil in the north-cast corner, a minute portion of Amroha and the western part of Sambhal. This Ihiir extends the whole length of the district and is from eight to nine miles in width, the total area being about 424 square miles. 1'he tract is devoid of rivers and consists of a series of sandy ridges running fairly parallel to one another east and west with a few ill-defined transverse ridges from north to south. The soil becomes firmer and more fertile in the shallow troughs between the ridges, which form irregular drainage channels known gonerically as chlioiycis. These assume a definite shapi; as they approach the lowlands to the west, and in their valleys is the only good soil of the tract, except in the immediate vicinity of the village sites, where a few fields have been improved by constant cultivation. A characteristic of the bhuvt which in dry or normal seasons yields a fair return of inferior crops in both harvests, is its liability to serious injury from excessive moisture. The drainage lines are incapable of performing their functions in years of heavy rainfall and the light soil becomes saturated and is rendered useless for a long period, possibly be- cause effective percolation is prevented by an underlying stratum of indurated clay. Altogether the bhur is a very poor tract, thinly populated, singularly bare of trees save in the neigh- bourhood of the large villages in the centre of Hasanpur, and generally dreary in the extreme. During the hot weather life in these uplands must be almost intolerable. The sand driven by the scorching west winds stings the face like shot, while often the atmosphere is completely darkened, so that it is impossible

gazetteer of horadabao.

	CONTENTS.	/
Chapter I.				Faoi,
	Page,	Cultivating tenures ...	...	102
			Cultivators	...	103
Boundaries and area ...	...	1	Kents .o	...	104
Topography Soils	...	2 d	Condition of the people	...	109
Bivers ...	,,	7	Chaptbr IV.
Lakes and jhi Is		13
Waste land and jungles	...	13	District staff		111
Groves ...	...	16	Subdivisions		112
Minerals and building materials...	16	Fiscal history		112
Fauna	...	17	Cesses ...		124
Domestic animals ...	...	18	Police and crime		124
Climate and rainfall	...	20	Jails		128
Medical aspects	...	22	Excise		128
		Kegistration	• SI	181
Chapter 11.			Stamps		182
			Income tax	III	132
Cultivation	...	27	Post-office		133
Harvests and crops ...		30	Municipalities		134
Irrigation		84	District Board ...		186
Famines ...		88	Education		185
Wages and prices ...	...	47	Dispensaries		188
Weights and measures	...	48	Cattle-pounds	«•!	139
Interest and banks ...	...	48
Manufactures ...	...	60	Chapter V.
Trade and markets ...		65
Fairs ... ...	.M	66	History	SIS	141
Communications	...	67
Chapter 111.			Directory		176
Population ...		68
Towns and villages ...	...	66	— — —
Sex ... 1.1	•M	67 i
Religions and castes ..	• M	68	Appendix ... ...	i-iU.
Occupations	...	82
Language and literature	1*.	83
Proprietary tenures...	...	84	Index		i*-vi
Chief proprietors ...	M*	89	IV

Moradcthcid District

The udla tract.

The

katehr.

to see clearly for five yards and the belated peasant has to grope his way home from village to village by the winding and sometimes |

indistinguishable paths. Taken as a whole, the J)kur is some twelve to fifteen feet above the and the descent from

one to the other is usually abrupt, bub sometimes there is a gentle slope, the villages whieh lie partly in the bhur and partly in the lowlands being known locally as adheJe.

Adjoining th() hhitr on the cast and extending from the south-west corner of the Amroha tahsil to a point some few miles west of Sambhal is a very peculiar block of country, about 88 square mih'S in extent. It differs wholly from the bhur in appearance, having a hard and gritty soil, and is known as the udla^ a name which appears to bo derived from the fact that during a wet cycle the moisture oozes up from the ground on slight pressure. The watm’-levi l is remarkably high at all times, apparently because th(‘re is no escape for the drainage, which has consequently to be absorbed. The country is almost level, i

the slight south-easterly slope b(‘iog quite insufficient to carry off the floods, which are blocked by sandhills on the east and west, as well as by ridges of high ground to the south, in ' which there are two small and wholly inadequate outlets. In diy yi'ars the tract is not unfertile and the rahi crops can be m irrigated with ease, while the cultivators are for the most part , of a high class ; but web seasons are as much to be dreaded as '■<( in the bhur, and when once saturation occurs the tract take.s long to recover.

The next main tract occupies the eastern half of Sambhal and the whole of the Bilari tahsil, extending to the Rampur and Bndaun borders on the east and south. This is the Icatchr or uplands, a name which in old days was applied to practically the whole of the modern Rohilkhand. It embraces an 'area of ) 597 square miles and in its general appearance is a wide level plain of great fertility, rising here and there into ridges of lighter .(

and stindier soil. Its aspect affords a striking contrast to the hhitr on tlio west, for it is a well-wooded country, with ^ large and numerous villages, giving a fully justified impression ' of great prosperity. The prevailing soil is a rich friable loam, pioducing splendid crops of wheat, cotton, jiiar and sugarcane,

General Features^

while irrigation is usually plentiful and in certain tracts wells can be sunk to spring-level and obtain a permanent supply from a firm water-bearing stratum. The country is adequately drained by the Sot, the Ari and their affluents, both of these rivers having well-defined and fairly broad valleys, in which cultivation fluctuates by reason of their liability to saturation after a series of wet years. There are very few depressions in the katehr and the clay area is small. The whole tract is highly developed and only in abnormally dry seasons is there any material contraction of the area under tillage.

Towards the north the soil becomes lighter and less fertile, North^ till it passes into the north central block, which embraces almost the whole of the Amroha tahsil, the north-east corner of Hasanpur and the south-west of Moradabad, about 406 square miles in all. It is drained mainly by the Gangan and its tributaries, the Karula and Ban, and partly by the Sot, which rises in the western portion. The country is far from homogeneous and has several natural subdivisions. In the east is a high broad plateau between the Gangan and the Ramganga valley, in which the soil is generally poor and means of irrigation are very di*ficient.

Down the centre passes a large ridge of Wmr, running parallel to the course of the Ban as far as the Sambhal border ; and in the west is a block of undulating country which merges, into the bhiir of Hasanpur and Sambhal. The remainder consists mainly of a loam of mediocre quality, greatly inferior to the katehr, and in places, especially to the south-east, there are considerablo stretches of clay, in which rice is the chief staple.

The khadir of the Ramganga forms the next tract, and TheRam- this differs materially from the Ganges valley in that it possesses an invariably fertile soil, save where the river has deposited sand after the annual flood. There is no saturation in this khadir, for the autumn crops are liable to injury only in years of exceptional flood, and the rahi harvest is excellent at all times,

^ even in the driest season. The soil of the valley is a firm loam or else clay and some of the finest cultivation in the district is to be seen in the immediate ne ighbourhood of Moradabad,

The area under tillage, however, is relatively small, for the grazing grounds of the khadir are particularly valuable on

PREFACE.

The former Gazetteer of Moradabad was compiled by Mr. P. H. Fisher, mainly from the Settlement Report *of Mr. E. B. Alexander and notes supplied by Mr. L. M, Thornton. The recent completion of a new settlement by the late Mr. H. J. Boas and his assistant, Mr. W. « Gaskell, has provided me with a mass of fresh and valuable information, while I am much indebted to Mr. E. F. L. Winter, Mr. P. J. Cooke and Mr. B. S. Eisch for their ready assistance.

Naini Tal:

September 1909.

H. R. N.

Ocneval FeotiiTCS*

f nthor districts. At the recent settlement no fewer than 47 of soil were employed, but these merely consisted of gauhan

.» on., wh.. .04 . -.-»«.

»»«» ■- *»

J, k dac 10 the f,«t that the EO»'»Sy *'>» “

' rr^to m tvpo, e-poting nothiug h„t the ordmary Gangofe

00 «-- - ht.n.Ea„ga and the.

numerous afflaents, all of which heloag geographically to the mijm

rZ'tlc evttcui. Several of tho river., have their ongin m the hills,

hut the Ganges alone ea U^^^^^ of this district the <>«-.

a inorlriTa h id hed, .ithiu the Unlit, of which it eha.g» “Xnsl at Will, so that Urge «rs .»nntry aro — ,

altcr-iiitiiig ‘ K,ankather sWtion, and at this

river is bridged by the lailway

point tho chaiiiio is "

lower down rt, variation, »';• vc y 0^, be

of tho annual floods the man , . About thirtv-five

- T "■x^a“t;^^sX“^na

,e«„ .go the r.,^«i .

7r, ti 1 rXheeked hy tho raised bolt known as tho B.g»l ) ^ It then cut a deep channel into the Mahawa and another

‘n .“"gi:. -wL M.-ngrsrr.:r e!::xt

danger that the main stream of the Oanges m y ^

the^M„hawa,thns

Lower Ganges canal at Narora. E ^ t a. ™ithoub

to time to cheek tho easterly tendency of the Xrks some

much sneeoss; for though the erection of protective work, som

8

Moradahad District.

C

Ganges

ribu-

aries.

1

r.

years ago caused the river to adopt a more ‘westerly course from ■Biharipur southwards, the result has been to shift the dauger point further to the south, as at the present time the river takes an easterly bend near Sirsa and has already destroyed the greater part of that fine village.

The khadir is full of minor streams and watercourses, some of which represent mere backwaters of the Ganges, while others receive a large amount of drainage from the uplands. In the extreme north two small streams, the Krishni and Baia or Baha, enter the lowlands from Bijnor and unite in the large Dhab lagoon close to Azampur. Emerging from this swamp, the Baia, shown as the Matwali in the maps, takes a southerly course through tho khadir and at Gandaoli near Tigri falls into an old channel of the Ganges. At Deothi, some four miles south of Azampur, the swamp underneath the hliur cliff spreads out into a deep morass, from which the western Bagad issues, thence following the line of jhild as far as Basai Sainsauli near Sihali, and receiving at Chakikhera near Gajraula a chhoiya which rises close to Bachhraon. Tho river then loaves the swamp and turns to the south-west ; but shortly afterwards it resumes a southerly direction and near Hasan- pur it is joined by a second chhoiya called the Nilaji. To the south-west of that town the Bagad, afterwards known as the Mahawa, again leaves the hhiir cliff and passes down the centre of the khadir as far as tho Budaun border. At Jhundi, to the south of Hasaiipur, the swamp at the foot of the upland ridge widens out into the Samda which in swollen by the drainage from the Kalcla chhoiya^ and this is the source of the eastern Bagad or Tikta. The latter soon leaves tho swamp, passing to the west of the Jabda and Jharrawali j tills j with which it is connected by flood channels ; but in the extreme south of the Hasanpur tahsil it turns towards the hhur cliff’, and is there joined at Kharagrani by a long chhoiya which rises near Said Nagli, Both the Mahawa and the Tikta i-eceive numerous small affluents, which are generally name- less, and piirt of the Ganges overflow into the Mahawa is passed on to the Tikta and from the Tikta into the jhils to the east ; so that heavy inundations sweep right across the khadir and do much damage to the khar if crops in all parts save the highest ridges of the Bagad barigar.

General Features.

9

The drainage from the eastern hhur passes in a south-easterly Sot. direction into the Sot. This river, also known as the Yar-i-Wafadar or faithful friend, a name said to have been given it by Muhammad Shah in his expedition against Ali Muhamnuul and his Eohilhxs, takes its lise in a depre.ssion to the west of Amroha and thence flows in a southerly or south-i^astcrly direction through the Sambhal katehr, eventually traversing the cxtrime southern corner of Bilari before passing into the Budaun district. The river is a perennial stream and always carries a considerable volume of water, so that it might with advantage be utilised to siii.ply a small canal : and in fact a proposal was made long ago to taki^ such an irrigation dianuel from the Sot at Firozp.tir, close to the bridge on the road 'from Moradabad to Sambhal. 'riic river has a well-defined valley, in most pilaces of considerable depith, with a long slope fiom the uplands to the alluvial soil in the bed of the stream. In its lower reaches the descent becomes more abrupt and the gradual slojie is replaced by ravines. The hhacUr is ait to become satmated after a cycle of wet years, and in foimer days it was exceedingly unhealthy ; but the reclamation of the largo areas of dhak and scrub jungle which lined the valk y and the removal of the village sites to higher ground have greatly ameliorated the conditions, while in normal seasons the crops arc of a veiy fine desciiptioD.

The Sot receives no affluents of any importance in this district. It is joined on the right bank at Dhakia by a chhoiya which rises near Chandanpur in the south-west of Amroha, and a few mi es lower down it is fed by a small channel which carries off the drainage from the western side of the Amroha hhur ru ge. t Chandain an insignificant watercourse flowing south-eastwards from the town of Sambhal empties itself into the river, and another

flows southwards from Chandausi; while on the Budaun border it

is joined by an equally unimportant nala calkd the Kharra.

The Ari, known in Budaun and Bareilly as the Aril, takes its A . rise in the low tract of clay to the east of the Amroha bhur ridge in the south-east of that tahsil, but does not assume a defanite channel till it reaches Mainather on the Sambhal road. Thence it flows south-eastwards with a very tortuous course through the Bilari tahsil into Budaun, receiving at Bania Khera a sma tributary which rises at Gumthal and another at Atwa which has

10

Moradahad District,

Gangan,

Bam-

ganga.

its source at Deora. On the east of the latter village is a jhil from I which a watercourse issues, joiniug at Balkaraiipur a similar but I larger stream called the Chhoiya, which for some distance follows A the Rarnpur border and joins the Ari in Budaun. The channel of the Ari is at first shallow and confined, but it gradually increases in depth and width, and in the south of Bilari there is a considerable valley, inferior to that of the Sot, but containing a fair amount of | cultivation.

The Gangan is an important river which rises in the north of the Bijnor district and flows southwards till it enters the north of

the Amroha talisil. Alter a course of about twelve miles through this district it is joined on the left bank by the Karula, a small stream which has its origin in the south of Bijnor ; and further V down, at Sirsa Manhar, it receives on its right bank the Ban, another river of Bijnor, which traverses the centre of Amroha in a south-easterly direction. All these streams have well-marked valleys with a long slope, often scarred by ravines, especially to the east of the Karula. The upper Gangan valley is of a fertile description, but lower down it broadens out into a stretch of light sandy soil, which continues through the south-eastern portion of Moradabad. After its confiuenco with the Ban the river takes a south-easterly course and, after reaching the Bilari borders, forms the natural boundary between that tahsil and Moradabad till it enters Kampur, eventually discharging itself into the Ramganga.

In the Moradabad tahsil it is joined at Pandit Nagia by a second Karula, which rises to the north-west of the city, and below this point the valley becomes more shallow, so that in wet years the floods from the Ramganga sweep over the two or three miles of intervening country. Before the Rarnpur boundary is reached the khadir spreads out on either bank and is a fertile tract bearing tine rabi crops. The Gangan supplies a small system of canals in Bijnor, but is little used for irrigation purposes in this district.

A dam is made annually at Umri and in a few villages lower down water is sometimes lifted from the river for the adjacent lowlands. 7 The principal river of the district is the Ramganga, which rises in the upper mountains of Garhwal and after traversing that district and Almora passes through the east of Bijnor and enters the Thakurdwara tahsil in the north-west. Thence it flows south

Oen6ral Features*

11

along the western border and passes into Moradabad, skirting the city on the cast and then taking a south-easterly turn towards Rampur. It has a very irregular course and its total length through this district is about 53 miles, The valley of the river is broad and well defined, at any rate on the west; for along the eastern boundary of Amroha and through the Moradabad tahsil as far as the city the right bank rises up steeply into a rugged bank scored by innumerable ravines. A similar bank exists in Thakur- dwara on the left, but in Moradabad the hhadir widens out into a rich expanse of low undulating country ; while below the city the high bank on the right similarly disappears, and thenceforward tliere is a very gradual, and in places imperceptible, slope from the river to the uplands. In this tract the Ramganga shifts its course from time to time in a most capricious manner, and after the rams the channel may be, found fully three miles from that of the previous year. These fluctuations do much damage to the fertile lowlands, but as a rule the deposit is a good silt, though in places along the river nothing is to be seen beyond a dreary waste of sand and tamarisk bushes. The Ramganga is really nothing more than a large torrent ; for while in the hot weather it shrinks to very small dimensions and is fordable in most places, it swells with extraordinary rapidity in the rains, pouring down an immense volume of water at the rate of five miles an hour and more, so that for several months it becomes a most formidable obstacle to

The Ramganga receives a number of affluents m this district, all on the left bank, and those are usually Tarai streams flowing southwards or south-west wards. The first, however, is the Phika, a considerable river which rises in the hills and for some di3tan(,o forms the boundary between the Bijnor and Naiiii Tal districts. It passes along the northern borders of Thakurdwara and joins the Ramnagarnear Suijannagar. The north-west of Thakurdwara is drained by the Khalia, a Tarai stream which receives two small affluents in the Dara and Kawakhar and then becomes known as the RepiorRapi. Before joining the Ramganga at Daulatpur Tigri it is fed by the Jabdi, another Tarai stream with a deep channel. Of the same nature are the Kurka and Lapkana, which flow through the centre of the tahsil and unite near Rehta, shortly

Ramganga

tributa-

ries.

12

Moradahad District.

tc

h:

ii

O;

r

i'

I

]

Kosi,

r.

I

I

afterwards discharging their waters into the Kamganga. The next I tiibiilary is tlui Dliela, a coiisidorablo river which has its source I ill the hills of the Naiiii Tal district and after passing through the i Kashipur pargaiia loniis the boundaiy betweiui the Thakurdwara and I\Ioradabad tahsils, ultimately joining the Ramganga close to the city of i\loradaba(h On the district boundary it is fed by the Dhandi, which for some distance separates Thakurdwara from Kashi])ur; its only other tributary of any note being the Idimdama, which drains tlie jlnida rice tract in the south of Thakurdwara. The Dh la has a Acry shallow bed and its course is constantly changing ; Imt the. valley is narrow and the damage done by th ' river is comjiaratively insiguiii(‘ant. Further east is the Rnjhera, whii'h has its origin in the rice lands near Daulpuri station and flows southwards through the eastern half of the Moradabad tahsil to join the Ramganga n sir Dalpatijur. Its banks are chamctc'riscd by poor and broken soil, but th stream is largely utilised tor irrigation jiui’pesi's. The Kajhera is fed l)y several minor watcrcoursi's, the chief of which is the Kuchia, rising to the south of Pi])alsana.

The rmnaining rivers of the distri(!t are afflu nts of the Kosi, a Lugo and most I'rratic stream which rises in the Alinora distract and passes through Naini Tal, afterwards traversing the detached l)hjck of Moradabad territory in which the town of Darhial is situated. ^ Not long ago it llowc.d to the ea.t of the site, but its course is now some distance 1 111 ther west and the old dak-bungalow has been di stroked, ^\ bile the lest of the town apipteirs to bo in imminent dangei. Ihe Kosi thmi passes through Rampur for 18 miles before touching this district again at Kliabaria Rhur ; but it again turns off into Rampur and the junction with the Ramganga is now effeett'd some miles within the limits of that territory, whereas thirty years ago it took place on the borders of the Moradabad tahsil. At Khabaria Rhur the Kosi is joined by the Bahalla, a river of the arai whii^h skirts the district boundary on the cast.

It IS arg.‘ly utilised for irrigation iiurjioscs, both in Rampur and in

tins distir.t, dams being c()nstructe(l at Mundia and several other paces Aiiothci useful stream is the Nachna, which rises a few milesto the south of Kashipur and traverses the east of Morad- abad, flowing almost paivdlef to the Bahalla, which it joins at

General Features.

13

Khairkhata, near Sarkara, after receiving on its right bank a small tributciry called the Khabra.

With the exception of the long chain of swamps in the Ganges Lakes and Ichadir, to which refcrenee has been made on a previous page, • there arc hardly any jhils of importance in lli<! district. A few small depressions arc to bo found in the oast of tlm Moradaba.l talisil, such as the Chandi jhil near Sihal and the Narua jhd at Siraskhera, and also in the west about the source of the Karula; but thes(! are very shallow and dry up during the cold weather.

The same may be said of the scatt(a-ed;7tiis in the south-east of Amroha, that of Puranpur in the south .and that of Cluandpur and others in the wc'st in which the Sot rises; though there is a large and well known jhil near Kanth in the Ihnnganga khadir. In SaniWial there are a few in the north-east ne.ar Gumsani, Saindri, Sirsi and Rahtaul ; and in Pilari they are sonunvliat more numerous, though none of them contains any depth of water. Such are the irregular series of jhils to the east of Mahmud Muafi, those near Pipti on the eastern border, scver.al in the neighbourhood of Seon- d.ara and the l.argo (h^pression at Bania Khcra, to the south of Akrauli.

According to the returns of the recent settlement the barren area amounts to 115,277 acres or 7*78 per cent, of the entire district.

This is a very low proportion, and as the figure includes 47,952 acres covered with water and 18,000 acres occupied by village sites and the like, the actual amount of unciilturable land appears almost insignificant, being only 49,325 acres or 3*36 per cent, of the total. The ratio varies considerably in different parts of the district, being only 2*2 in Sambhal, 2*29 in Bilari and 2*9 in Amroha, while it rises to 3*15 in llasanpur, 4*52 in Thakurdwaia and 6-27 per cent, in the IMoradabad tahsil. This barren area consists either of useless sand and tamarisk jungle in the ii\er beds or else of sterile hillar and ground that is inlected with the saline efflorescences called reh, which make their apix^arance on the suriace as the result of saturation. The term barren, however, is applied in its straitest sense and embraces only such land as could under no circumstances be classed as arable. It leaves out of account a large area which at present is wholly unfit for tillage, being either covered with grass or tree jungle or else of so inferior

O&neral Featured 15

plain as a whole and among them tho most noticeable are the nim, imH or tamarind, shisham, her, semal, jnman, sims.the various hgs and the bamboo.

Of much greater extent and economic value are the grassy Grass wastes which abound in the river valleys and are to be seen occa- ' sionally in the uplands. There ‘is a large area ot such waste in llio JcIuuUr tracts of Thakurdwara and Moradabad, which is more protitably reserved for pasturage and the su]>ply of thatching crass than broken up for cull ivation ; the income from the waste hi the vicinity of the cities of Moradabad and Rampur being fully as great as that realised from arable land in thc' same locality.

In the uplands the only extensive tracts of grass lie in the west iof Amroha and Sambhal and in the adjacent bJnir of Hasanpur, *though there is a fair amount of useful grazing land in the Ari valley in Bilari. The uncultivated hhur soon becomes covered with coarse grass and with the scrubby weed called sitabani or sUa-uptan ; but tho valualde t’^atching grass is confined to the western edge of tho bhur. This grass is of the kind called sarpat and in tho adheJc villages of the blMr cliff affords a source of in- come to many who in years of drought would otherwise be reduced to the greatest straits. Usually the grass is leased to the ti Hants, but sometimes it is given on yearly contracts to outsiders.

' Besides being used for thatching purposes it yields tho rough 1,wine called ban, employed for stringing native bedsteads, for ropes and for munj matting, while from the .stalk are made sieves, winnowing baskets and tho screens known as sirkM. The Ichadir too is iull of thatching-grass and also possesses grazing grounds of th '. greatest value, tho most important being the tract m the oxtremo north, from Dalinda to the Bijnor border, in which large herds of cattle are maintained throughout tho year, while many more are sent there, from the uplands during the hot weather.

Many kinds of grass abound in the lowlands, including the gandar, the I’oots of which are well known as khas-khns , and all have i a marketable value. In a dry season the lessees reap a rich

I harvest, for hundreds of carts may be seen m October and November on their way to the khadir to buy grass for the lining of earthen wells. Along tho Ganges itself, and to a less extent m the valley of the Eamganga, are wide tracts covered with jhau or

16

Moradahad District.

Groves.

Minerals.

Building

materials.

tamarisk ; and this too is of considerable value when grown up, since it is largely used for fuel and also for the manufacture of baskets, th(! Aherias of this and the Jleerut district being particu- larly export in this handicraft.

The area under artificial groves is rolativeJy small, amounting ' at the reci'iit settloment to 18,GG'J a(a'(>s or 1'27 jier cent, of the whole district. A<'tiia!ly, howova-r, it is somewhat larger than this, for a considerable extimt of grove land is nominally cropped and has been iiiclmled in the cultivated area. There has been a distinct increase since 1875, when only 16,.350 acres were under grovt's, and every tahsil shows a markoil iniproveinont cxcej)t Thakurdwara. Thc^ proportion in that subdivision is but '81 jHa- cent., winch is much the same as the -73 per cent, in Hasan-^5??)< l-ur, a peculiaily tn-eless tract, .save in the Jlagad ba.rgar and tho\i babul-t'ovc.vcd areas in the khadlr. Moradabad with 1-19 per cent comes next .and then Amroha with 1-32, while in Sambhal the figure rises to 1-72, and in Eilari to 1-89 per cent., the hatehr being very miicli more thickly wooded than the rest of the district.

The groves consist as a rule of mango trees, but other species, .such as the jaman and her, are sometimes planted, while in llasanpur

many ot the groves are of bamboo, which flourishes greatly in llio lowlands.

Iho mineral products of the district are few and of little nnportauce The salrne deposits in the khadir are collected and"*“»' used for the manufacture of crude glass for bangles, and in foimer days thea-.Mvas a small trade in saltpetre, which is now lau y pioducod. Ihe nodular limestone known as kankar s

ound ,n many pl-cos, but it does not .seem to occur north of the

Kauig.anga or ni the 5/rnr tracts. The principal quarries are at Ma mather, Gurer and Gwalkhera in Eilari ; at Patai and Parauta

S. inbh.d Occasionally it is met with in the block form and such was employed in some of the old a- buildings at Sambhal and Amroha. This is the only stone of any practical use foi d '

on native an„ „» ^

North-

eastern

traict,

Boils.

0 Moradckbad District*

account of their proximity to the cities of Moradabad and Ram-

The remainder of the district, north of the Ramganga valley, j is a block of country some 350 miles ]n extent, mtersected bv a number of rivers and streams which flow southwards into tile Ramganga. It comprises the whole of Thakurdwara and the greater part of the Moradabad tahsils ; but while in general it represents a southerly continuation of the Naim Tal Tarai, the country is very diversified owing to the constant changes of level and the action of the numerous drainage channels. The centre and north of Thakurdwara stand high and have a light and poor soil, in which facilities for irrigation are deficient, much of the land being actually precarious. Elsewhere the . prevailing soil is a stiff loam, bearing good crops of rice in the autumn and wheat, gram and linseed in the spring. In the couth of Thakurdwara, however, and in several parts of Moradabad, there arc wide plains of clay, known as jliada, which bear little but rice and depend entirely on the rainfall. A dry year throughout the tract involves a poor autumn harvest, but th(5 rabi is almost always safe, since percolation wells can be constructed with great ease in all but a few villages.

Despite the great diversity of physical (diaracteristics, the soils throughout tho district are of very similar composition, ranging ^ from pure sand to stiff clay and including all possible combinations of the two. The former is known by the common name of bhur and the latter is called mfUiarj while tho mixture, whatever be tho proportions, is styled dumat or loam. These names are commonly recognised by the people, and in addition there are several subdivisions of the three classes. The word kallar is used specially to denote the bald leprous spots in fields, in which nothing germinates in a dry year ; but it has also a general application to all inferior soil, whether infected with reh or not. The poor clay called jhada has been mentioned already, while otherJkinds are known as Icari matti or hard clay and gili matti - or wet sticky clay. Alluvial soil is often termed kamp, as in northern Oudh, while the word tarai is applied to all soils liable to injury from flood. The highly manured fields adjoining village sites is known as gauhany a word analogous to the goind and bard

General Features.

17

small lalchauri and tho larg ‘r chauka brick manufactured at Moradabad ; both being slop- moulded and burnt in native kilns with cow-dung fuel. Lime for mortar is generally obtained from 5 kankar and costs from Rs. lo to Rs. 20 per hundred cubic feet ; but sometimes stone liin ‘ is imported from tho hills. Timber for building can usually bo purchased locally in the shape of mango, sliisham and jaman logs; but the superior kinds, such as sal and asaina, come from the forests of the north and cost from Rs. 3-8-0 to Rs 4 per cubic foot ; whil j the general rate is from Rs. 2 to Rs. 2-8-0 for shishartiy Re. 1-8-0 to Rs, 2 for jaman and Re. 1-4-0 for mango wood.

The number and variety of wild animals are less remarkable Fauna, ^than in tho adjacent district of Bijnor, but are nevertheless f greater than in tho south of Rohilkhand and tho adjacent parts of the Duab. In former days the wild elephant and the tiger used I to haunt tho khadir of the Ganges ; but the former has long since disappeared, while the appearance of the latter in the khadir is now unknown, though occasionally a rare visitor is reported from the bush jungles of Thakurdwara and eastern Aniroha. Tho leopard is more common in these tracts, especially during the rains.

Wolves are very numerous, and in 189G and 1897 became such a pest that the reward for their destruction was temporarily ^oubljd. In the jungle country tho parha or hog-deer, tho nilgai p and the Indian antelope are to bo found. Wild pig are abundant, particularly in the Ganges valley : and other animals include tho ' jackal, fox, monkey, porcupine and others. Snakes are numerous and a large number of deaths from snake-bite are reported annually. During the five years ending with 1880 the average mortality attributed to wild animals was 70 and from snake-bite 89 annually ; while tho corresponding figures twenty years later were 61 and 86, the famine years of 1878 and 1896-97 being characterised by an unusually large number of deatlis ascribed to wolves.

V The birds found in the district are of much the same species Birds.

fi| as those which occur throughout the Gaugetic plain. Tho list of W game-birds includes peafowl, the grey partridge, the black part- ridge, which is found in abundance in the khadir ^ the various species of quail, the lesser sand-grouse and the florican, the last

2

18

Mofcidcdcit^ District,

Fish.

Domestio

ftnixaals.

letog M.inly =».«ncd to .ho

.'“,rp:“r.LS .ho os™,

appear o , .g ^id<rcon, teal and many others.

’'“™SI’fi*crioLflh. ’<li...rct too ot co„»h»blo importonco for a?h oro toadil, oomumcl h, nearly alUho Mn.al.nan, and all the lower castes of Hindus. According to the last census report ^265 F-ons depended on lishiug for a livelihood ; but the uurnber oi those who betake themselves to fishing as a secondary occupation ia very much greater. They arc for the most part Hindus, such as KaLrs and Mallahs, and they generally employ sma l-meshec Is and wicker traps and baskets. The Ganges itself is not ,

much frequented by the local fishermen, but they

the backwaters and pools left by the annual floods. The Bam- eanga fisheries are of considerable value, while the smaller rivers

Ld thopermanenti/i ihs are fully exploited. The fish caught are

of the usual varieties. The mahseer migrates southwards to this district during the winter months, as the hill streams arc then too cold and too small to afford them sustenance ; while the rohu, qunch and many others are to bo found in the rivers and tanks throughout the year. The names vary from place to place and from district to district, but as usual the commonest species are

of the carp tribe.

The cattle bred in the district are of an ordinary type and there is no local breed worthy of the name. Animals of a bettor class are imported from the Punjab, the Meerut division and Bijnor, The bullocks of the country are small but compact and capable of considerable endurance. A plough bullock costs from Bs. 15 to Bs. 50, but much higher sums are paid for good draught animals, which are much in demand, A cow can be obtained at any price between Bs. 15 and Bs. 40, the rate varying with the yield of milk ; and a cow buffalo costs about twice as much. A regular census of the animals kept in the district was first taken In 1899. There were then 276,279 bulls and bullocks and 37,650 male buffaloes, giving an average of 2’44 animals per plough. This was a relatively high figure, even if full allowance be made for old and useless beasts and for hose re served for draught

ir.

M

”*'k

a:

General Features. 19

purposes only. A second census taken in 1904 showed a con- siderable increase, but owing to the larger number of ploughs the average had dropped to 2'38. The last census, taken in January 1909, gave a total of 279,175 bulls and bullocks and 27,666 male buffaloes. The recent decrease is somewhat remark- .al)le, tbongh it was common to almost every district. The average p. r plough was only 2-24, as compared with an average of 2-29 for the whole of the Kohilkhand division. There wore 129,939 cows and 87,945 cow buffaloes, the former showing a slight decrease and the latter a marked increase during the past ten years. Both figures are high and testily to the importance of the ghi trade, especially in the khadir country of the west. Young stock numbered 239,375, which shows an improvement, though tho figure, is lower than that of 1904.

In the beginning of 1909 tho district contained 49,831 sheep and 76,863 goats, the total in either instance being lower than in 1904. The number of sheep is unusually small, being exceeded in almost every other district, though Bareilly and Pilibhit show lower totals. They arc kept by Gadariyas for theii flesh and their wool, while their manure is much valued as a fertiliser. Goats are in great demand for their flc.sh and their milk, and the low figur(^ is somewhat remarkable for a district which contains V so large a Musalman population. There were 108 camels, but these animals are little used, tor carts constitute tho chief means of transport and are exceptionally numerous, no other district showing so large a total, though the figure is high throughout Rohil- khand, where the light two-wheelcd rahlu is so much in vogue. Horses and ponies numbered 12,002, a high figure which has remained fairly constant for the last ten years. The bulk of these consist of the small ponies employed for pack transport by the ‘Banjaras and others, but there is a very fair proportion of better animals. For many years attempts have been made to improve tho breed of horses and there are four horse and two pony stallions kept at Moradabad, Rajabpur in tahsil Amroha, Mahmud- pur in tahsil Bilari and Ujhari in Hasanpur. Tho ordinary epuntrybred pony can be obtained for Rs. 30, but animals bred from Government . stallions command high prices among the landowners. Efforts have also been made to encourage mule-breeding and three

Other

animalii

20

Moraddbad District.

Cattle

disease.

li

Climate.

•la

donkey’ stallions arc maintained by the district board. The experiment has been fairly successful, for tho number of mules was 1,237 in 1909 or double th.at of five years previously. Lastly there were 10,371 donkeys, but these are of the usual undersized ' description and arc kept principally as beasts of burden by Dhobis and Kumhars. No attempt was made to enumerate pigs, which are kept in large numbers by tho sweepers in almost every village.

Cattle disease is always prevalent and occasionally assumes an epidemic form, can-ying olF largo numbers of animals, especially in tho Jehadir and the lowlying tracts of the north, Tho most common but the least fatal complaint is foot and mouth disease. Rinderpest, known locally as bedan, is far more serious and from time to time does untold damage. Anthrax, though even more deadly, is comparatively rare ; bul. in the low country hacmorrhagii. septicaimia and blackquarter are always prevalent and together account for a large x^roportion of the annual mortality. The returns are valueless, for it is impossible to obtain accurate statistics of deaths. Since 1894 a veterinary assistant has been maintained by the district board, and recently the staff has been ncreased and a veterinary hospital has been started at Moradabad.

Inoculation for rinderpest has made some progrc.ss, but the people are as a rule cither too susxucious or too ax)athctic to avail them- selves of the preventive means at their disposal.

The climate of the district resembles that of Bareilly, the proximity of tho hills and the Tarai rendering it cool and damp in comparison with tho country to the south and west. There is a considotablo difference in this respect between tho Thakur- dwara tahsil in tho north-east, which has a climate closely resembling that of Kashipur in the Naini Tal district, and Hasan- X>ur in the south-west, which is relatively much hotter and drier. Moradabad itself does not experience the same extremes of heat as the country south of tho Ganges, and the maximum temperature in May or June seldom exceeds 105° in the shade. The few extant records show that the mean temperature for the

year is about <5°, being 65’5° from October to March, and 85*7°

from April to September. The hot weather does not commence till the end of April, and the air is frequently cooled by tho advent of hill Storms, the influence of which is felt over the greater part

General Features-

21

of this district. The hot west winds increase in intensity from the beginning of April till the middle of June, but they blow with much less intensity than in the southern districts and usually die away at sunset, while they are never prolonged through the night. The bursting of tlio monsoon brings about a marked fall in the temperature, but though the mornings in the rains are generally cool and fresh, the atmosphere becomes very oppressive in the evenings and the climate at this season is much less pleasant or healthy than in drier tracts, August and September being particularly trying months. The temperature falls steadily during October, and the arrival of the cool westerly breezes at the end of that month marks the beginning of the cold weather. From November to the end of March the climate is superb, clear and bright weather being varied only by occasional showers and infrequent hailstorms in the early months of the year, Frosts of considerable intensity are experienced in December and January, while sometimes a heavy mist or fog comes on during

the night, at times lasting till midday mid doing some damage to those crops which are susceptible to rust.

A noteworthy feathro of the climate is tho unusually largo Rainfall, amount of rain which falls outside the regular rainy season. This is derived from hill storms, whereas the bulk of the precipitation between June and October is obtained from tho south-easterly monsoon, though the Bombay current is not without its effect in tho later stages. Records of the rainfall have been kept at Moradabad for a very long period, at least from 1845 ; but returns from the various tahsil headquarters, giving a fair general average for the district, arc not available prior to 1864. The mean annual fall for 44 years is 39*27 inches, and while tho averages for Araroha and Bilari, amounting respectively to 39*2 and 39*24, correspond very closely with this figure, the other parts of the district exhibit considerable variations. As is but natural, the fall is heaviest in Thakurdwara, which shows an average of 44*62; and next comes Moradabad with 41*93. At the other end of the scale are Sambhal with 36*73 and Hasanpur with only 33*91 inches. The shortage in the hhw country is attributable in part to the absence of trees and also to the fact of its westerly position, for the adjoining district of Meerut marks almost the farthest

* 22

^ Of^ctdcLhcicL Di8t'y*^ctt

Beftltk,

efifoctivo limit of tho south -castorly monsoon current. Excessive fluctuations are not common, for during the period in question an excess of 33 per cent, above the normal has been recorded only on four and a corresponding delect on live occasions. The first of these abnormally wet years was 1874, the culminating point of a cycle of wet seasons. The average for the four preceding years had been 47*5 inches, while in 1874 the recorded total was 57*2, Bilari on that occasion registering 70*8. Then came 1879, the wettest year on record, with a total of 65*25, when Moradabad received 78*8 and Sambhal 78*7 inches. From 1884 to 1892 the average was well above the normal, and then followed 1893 with 55*91, and 1894 with 67*53 inches, the fall on the latter occasion averaging 64*18 inches in the three northern tahsils. Among the peculiarly dry years 1868 comes first with a total of 22*93 inches, which resulted in considerable scarcity, though 1864 had been little better. In 1876 the average was only 24*95, and when this was followed by 26*9 inches in the ensuing year, famine was inevitable. All parts of the district suffered alike, though the shortage was comparatively small at Moradabad itself. In 1883 the total was 24*28, Hasanpur recording no more than 16*8 ; but the fall was well distributed and the results were not serious. In 1896 a total of 26*47 inches was registered, but the district fared much better than many others and only the Bilari and Sambhal tahsils showed a heavy defect, while again in 1899 the rainfall was very short in the western tahsils, the general average being 26*56. The driest year ever was

1905, when the mean was only 21*1 inches and the damage done by drought was aggravated by high prices prevailing elsewhere. The following year was well above the average, but in 1907 the late arrival and premature cessation of the rains gave a total of _ only 24*83, Hasanpur obtaining no more than 15*3 inches, the lowest amount ever registered in any tahsil during the course of twelve months.

The district may generally be considered healthy save in parts of the Thakurdwara tahsil which are influenced by the Tarai, along the valleys of the Sot and Gangan, where the drinking water is bad and fever is very prevalent, and in those portions of the Ganges

khadir where the flood water of the river collects in lagoons and

Oenerciil Features •

23

hollowa rendering the climate noxious for some months

hollows renci statistics the district

Inymsembles Bareilly, but compares unfavourably with thudshahr, Meerut and even Bijnor. Mortuary returns have boon compiled since 1865, but in early days ^ho

was very imperfect and the hgures are consequently of little value oLit improvements were introduced in 1871, but it was not till 1- ■ iF 1877-78 that the necessary amount of supervision

‘ TXot. f Fo, *h« Uu-eo year, eudinR ,.i.h 1880 the

was foithcomug. millo, which is probably a very

death., *0 w- 42 ■ Daring the «n y.«.

“'T ? w°th“’l89Q the annual average was 48-06 pet mille, the ‘ rate beine much heightened by the abnormal mortality *»■“ f Xh eJminated a O-'—/ Z

”'^^,t1”,,fVI;Tte 44T0 Lust for each year from ehnilarly loll from 48 12 to M , J ^

r ztt; ^:""s;:c„ ^ rLtrr.

“^trtrtaqrstl due largely m the prsvalent, especially at t

.«ume.anepideuueeharacwr_S,mh«sthe^

of 1818, when more mortality from

t T°^' sTdSs l lMO per cent, ofthe total, representing a rtte

^ fever was 39,488 or < o lo i aouftro in 1884 and the

of 34-1 per millo. g a'afewet than 62,590 deaths were

S two tollowing years, and in 1886 jj

ascribed W fever

or 85-95 pM cent, of to tot A g, g ^

and on this occasion again t g Latterly the

but for to very severe e.tbreak of feyer_m 1894. UM y

I tipiaadl-,

24

Moradahad District.

rate has remained fairly constant, the average number of deaths for the last seven years being 38,914, representing a mortality of 32*7 per mille from this cause.

Cholera. Epidemics of cholera frequently visit the district, but the disease

hardly appears to be endemic, being as a rule introduced by pilgrims returning from the Hardwar fairs. In ordinary years the mortality from this cause is relatively small, but once it has obtained a footing, large numbers of people are carried off. A notable out- break occurred in 1819 and others in ] 836 and 1856, Again in 1867 as many as 4,300 deaths were reported and the actual loss must have been far greater. The average of 1,238 deaths from 1881 to 1890 was due mainly to the great epidemics of the last two years, in which over 10,000 persons perishc^d ; but the disease vanished rapidly, though in the following decade there were four bad out- breaks, the worst being that of 1896, while the annual average was 897 deaths^ Of late years the district has been relatively free from cholera, save for the widespread epidemic of 1906, which took its rise in the eastern districts and swept through the United Provinces, establishing centres of contagion all over the country.

Small-pox. Small-pox is never absent from the district, although of late years its ravages have been greatly mitigated owing to the spread of vaccination. In former days it was a terrible scourge throughout Eohilkhand, and this fact probably accounted for the popularity of inoculation, at all events with the Musalman community. In 1876 and the two following years the recorded mortality from small-pox was 9,910, while another outbreak in 1882 and 1883 carried off 6,395 persons. Since that time there have been no such visitations, although there were bad epidemics in 1897 and 1903. During the last few years the disease has been fairly prevalent, the average annual mortality from 1901 to 1907 being 513, as compared with 422 in the preceding decade. Vaccination was first ofiered to the public in 1865, although prior to that date anyone who wished could have the operation performed at the Government dispensaries. At first progress was slow, but the epidemic of 1877 gave an immense impetus to the movement, while since that time there has been a steady advance. The aveiage number of primary vaccinations performed during the ten years ending with 1890 was 23,027 'annually, and this rose to 33,009 in the foUowing decade, whUe

Jungles.

H ’ Moradabctd District,

a quality that it could never repay the expense of reclamation and cultivation.

This so-called culturable waste will be dealt with in the following chapter in discussing the prospects of further extensions of the cultivated are.a. There are no figures to show the actual extent of jungle land in the di'^trict, but it is still very considciable, although a very marked reduction has been effected during the past thirty years. While the disti’ict is as a whole well wooded, save in the hlmr and the khadir tracts, the amount of tree jungle is very small. There was once a thick belt of dhcik and i-criib along the Sot in the Sambhal tahsil, but this has almost entirely vanished and the jungle in the uplands is now confined to a few areas ^ of poor soil still covered with the thorny scrub called kair or karily Jt'l which is absolutely valueless and merely affords cover to wild | animals[^that prey upon the crops in the neighbouring fields. There is still a largo area of hair in the north of Thakurdwara, which harbours largi' herds of antelope, but rc(*lamation has been carried on apace during the last twenty years. In Amrcha the cultivators have been still more energetic and have cleared an extensive tract of such jungle. At one time it covered all the plateau between the Ramganga and the Oangan, as well as much of the southern Gangan valley and the south-easbun clay tract, known as the Turkan from the fact that Turks form the bulk of the population. Half a century ago tigers were iie)t unknown here, while leopards, spotted deer, hog deer, wild pig and nilgai were numerous. At the present time there is very little kair left and the wild animals have disappeared, except on the Ramganga slope, and even there its area is relatively small. The only tree jungle of importance lies in the Ganges khadir and there on the raised strip known as the Bagad hangar are still to bo seen dense patches of dhak, in places so wide and so well protected by the thick undergrowth of thorny bushes that the villagers often prefer making a circuit of two or three miles to groping through its labyrinths. The same tract is covered in places with palm trees, but in the south much of the dhak has been cleared. In the open khadir to the west babul or kikar trees abound, and these are cut by contractors at inter- vals of fifteen years or thereabouts. The scattered trees found throughout the district comprise the species common to the Qangetic

** .<

Oeneral Features.

25

during the seven years from 1901 to 1907 inclusive the yearly figure was 40,545. Vaccination is compulsory only in the municipalities, but elsewhere the people readily come forward and there is little active opposition. During the last seven years about 24 per cent, of the inhabitants have been protected by vaccination and the proportion rendered partially immune to small-pox is veiy much larger, the rate being much th ■ same as that of the Rohilkhand division as a whole. Operations arc conducted under the general superintendence of the civil surgeon by a staff of 18 vaccinators and an assisstant superintendent. The amnial cost is about Rs. ..>,100, and this is met from local, municipal and town binds.

Of other diseases the most common are bowel complaints, especially dysentery, which arc ordinarily thi rc.sultants of m.alarial fever, while pulmonary ailments and afflictions of the cyc,particul.ai’ly ophthalmia, arc very prevalent. Plague first mad i its aripoaraiice in the shape of two imported cases in the end of 1 90:!. A small outbreak occurred in the following year, but in 1905 the disease

spread with alarming rapidity all over the district, causing a very heavy mortality. It abated somewhat in 1906„but the next year its rav.ages were terrible, no fewer than 1:3,629 deaths being reported. Tho°peoplo displayed the usual opposition to preventive measures, due to fear and ignorance, but of late they have learned the value of segregration and evacuation, while the educated classes have come to appreciate the benefits of inoculation. Considerable success has been achieved in this direction, and confitlenco has been to some extent restored by the recent disappearance of the scourge.

Statistics of infirmities have been compiled at each successive censm from 1812 emvardo. By far tho m.»t common m blindnora, with which 2,654 ,»=rs«n. wem afflicto.1 in 1901. Thongh there haa

been a marked decrease during the past thirty years, duo m the

main to the diminished ravages of small-pox, the total is still relatively high, and must be attributed to the prevalence of ophthalmia and affections of the eye caused either by the dust-laden atmosphere or else by the ill-ventilated houses of the people, which are tilled with pungent smoke while cooking o^rations are m progress. There were 170 insane persons and 454 deaf-mutes, both somewhat high figures. Insanity, is commonly ascriM among other causes to excessive indulgence m *emp drugs, while

Other disease .

Infirmi-

ties.

26

Moradabad District.

doaf-mutism is iavariably most common in those districts in which goitre is most prevalent. Lastly there wore 309 lopcis, a total which is exceeded in few districts, though the hgure shows a very

marked decrease as compared with that of 1872. As yet so little

is known of the etiology of leprosy that no safe conjecture can be made as to the reason of its prevalence in Moraclabad ; but the conditions of the district do not contradict either of two recent theories that this scourge results either from a fish diet or from the consumption of mouldy rice. There is a small leper asylum at Moradabad, maintained partly from local subscriptions, partly from a municipal grant and partly by a contribution from the Edinburgh Mission.

r

i

I

CHAPTER 11.

Agriculture and Commerce.

The earliest r>3Cords of cultivation arc those compiled at the Cultivated survey of 1833-34. At that time the area under tillage was 573,182 acres or 39-6 per cent, of the whole district its then measured ; but this loft out of account the large extent of revenue-free land, which amounted at that time to 284,924 acres, the greater being cultivated. In 1850, it was found that there had been a mpid extension of tillage since the survey, and m that year the cultivated area aggregated 773,977 acaes or 62-9 per cent., revenue- fx-ee land to the extent of 254,872 acres l.eing omitted as belorc.

At the survey of 1870 prceeding the tenth settlement a further increase was observed, the area under the plough being 793,991 acres, excluding 155,365 acres of revenue-free land undci actual cultivation, the total area of tillage being 64-4 per cent, of the whole. The increase during the currency of the preceding settle- ment was about 55 per cent, in the Sambhal and Bilan tahsils.

43 in Moradabad, 30 in Hasanpur, 25 in Amroha and less than lo per cent, in Thakurdwara, the history of which had been peculiarly unfortunate : but it was calculated that the actual increase, after making allowance for errors and cultivation concealed at the hist

survey, was some 25 per cent, for the whole drstnet. Since 1870 the area has fluctuated from year to year, but on the whole there has been a general expansion. During the ten years endmg wi 1892-93 the average cultivated area was 1,003, acies per cent, of the whole, the highest amount being 1,017,297 acres in the last year. Then a marked decline ensued owing to successive bad seasons and two years of abnormal drought, the figure drop- ping to 940,936 acres in 1896-97 ; but subsequently the recove^

L oompletc, tor U.e average fer the deeade tenreeaturg 1902-03 Kita 1,018,008 wires or 71-4 fcr the roaximum

rising to 1,084,226 acres in the last year. A break then ran the Ktnms owing to the distnrhanoe of statistical work oansod

28

Moradahad District.

Double - cropping.

I

by settlement operations. The assessment was based on the figures of 1903-04 and 1901-05 in different tahsils, and these gave a total of 1,081,380 acres.* This shows a very remarkable standard of development for a tract which contains so a large an (‘xtent of sandy and precarious land. The piopoition is naturally lowest in the Hasanpur tahsil, where it amounts to 00T9 per cent., and next come Thakurdwara with 09*47 and Moradabad with 70*05, both being below the general average ; but in Amroha the figure rises to 82*53, in Uilari to 84*53 and in Sambhal no less than 85*05 per cent, of the eJitire tahsil was under tillagOc At the same time it must be remembered that this ratio, extraordinari- ly high as it is, can only be maintained under favourable condi- tions. The influence of drought is still very great, and this truth was amply illustrated in 1907-08^ when the (niltivated area shrank to 918,000 acres owing to the temporary abandoment of much of the unirrigated land.

The extension of cultivation, however, is coMsjderably greater than would appear from the returns, owing to the prevalence of double-cro])ping. The area which bore a double crop at the time ot the penultimate settlement was 73,152 acres, and subsequent years showed a marki d increase owing in part to the conversion of grain rents into cash. Tin? average for the ten years ending with 1893-94 was 127,831 acres or 12*74 per cent, of the cultivation, while for the following decade it was 142,740 acres or 14*92 per cent. Ihe annual fluctuations are great, since the area depends much on the natiini of the season, the lowest amount in the ten years being 87,500 acres in 1899-1900 and the highest 199,089 acres, or nearly 20 per cent, of the cultivation, in 1894-95. In the year of . settlement conditions wore not favourable, and the total double- cropped area was 138,897 acres or 12*84 per cent.; hut even then the increase during the past thirty years was very noticeable. Tho p*oportion dififors greatly in the various tahsils, being only

7*08 in Hasanpur, 7 37 in Amroha and 8*07 per cent, in Sambhal

but in Bilaii it approximates to the general average, and in Thakurdwara it rises to 19*74 and in Moradabad no less than

31 93 pel cent, of the land under tillage bears two crops in tho year.

• Appendix, Table V.

Agriculture and Commerce.

29

' The precarious nature of the hhur, the khadir and a largo part of tlie Thakurdvvara tahsil renders inevitable the existence of a considerable extent of inferior land which might under favour- able circumstances be cultivated. Leaving out of account the 31,131 acres of current fallow, there were at the time of settlement 114,332 acres of so-called oulturable waste and 71,788 acres of old fallow. Of the former 07,284 acres lay in Hasaupur, mainly in the khadir, whore the extensive areas of grass and tree jungle aro thus described ; while the bulk of the reimaiiider belonged to Thakurdwara, though Moradabad and Amroha contained a fair proportion of waste. The old fallow was more evenly distributed, but was again most extensive in Hasaupur. The distinction is rather conventional than real, for, although much of the old fallow might conceivably be brought under tillage with the general introduction of cash rents and favourable climatic conditions, a large proportion of it may bo described .as useless or .at any rate too poor to repay the cost of cultivation. On the other h.and there is touch unbroken waste, at all events in the khadir tiacts, which could without doubt be cultivat :d at a profit, but which is bettor employed as pasture land. In the upland tracts, such as the katehr, in which cultivation is stable, the amount of waste is quite insigni- ficant and grazing ground is altogether unobtainable ; so that the district requires a large reserve in those portions where agriculture is precarious and the geographical conditions arc unsuitable. The increasing pressure of the population on the land will doubtless bring about a small extension of cultivation in certain tracts, but under existing circumstances little of the waste and abandoned fallow is likely to be reclaimed at .a profit.

In its broader aspects the .system of cultivation presents no peculiar features ; the agricultural implements, the methods of pre- paring and tilling the soil, the rotation of crops and the modes of irrigation being pjractically identical with those prevailing in almost all other parts of the United Provinces. On the other hand the style of cultivation varies enormously with the nature of the country and the caste of the cultivator. In the khadir and the hhur tracts cultivation is notoriously unstable, and in the grain- rented villages the tenant will expend on his fields no more labour than ia sufficient to provide him with the barest means of subsistence.

Cultiva-

tion.

30

Mor(idahad District.

t'

Harvests.

Th0 greatest possible contrast exists between the careless tillage of the bhur and the skilful and intensive husbandry of the katehr, that of the Baghbans in the suburbs of Sambhal being a conspicuous example. The caste of tho cultivator is (][uite as > important as the quality of the soil ; for often adjacent villages of similar type exhibit a marked difTerence in the style of their agricul- ture : while tho Baghbans by persistent industry have in many cases succeeded in working up even himv land into soil of considerable fertility.

At the present time tho kharif or autumn harvest invariably covers a larger area than that sown with spring crops, the averages for the five years ending with 1903-04 being 631,369 and 534,025 acres respectively. The rabi harvest is subject to extraordinary y fluctuations over a considerable portion of the district, so much I depending on tho character and duration of the rainfall in tho pro- j carious tracts. During the period in question tho area ranged from only 423,308 ac^res in 1899-1900, when tho monsoon ceased prematurely, to no less than 611,672 acres, oralmoi t as much as the kharif y in 1903-04, wh n good rain fell in October and continued at intervals throughout tho winter, every available acre being then brought under tillage. At the preceding settlement the figures were compiled for tho various tahsils in different years from 1872- 73 to 1877-78 ; and in the last of these, a quite abnormal season, ^ tho returns wore ju'eparcd for Hasanpur, the most precarious and unstable part of tho district. The combined figures show a total of 515,791 acivs for rabi and only 462,211 for kharif crops: and the general predominance of tho former at that period is proved by the fact that they averaged 481,832 acres during the three years ending with 1880-81 as compared with 479,013 sown for the kharif. The subsequent change is duo mainly to the reclamation of fresh land and to the growing popularity of maize, sathi rice and other staples which early attain maturity, enabling fields which hitherto had been reserved for wheat to bear a previous /c/mri/ crop in tho same year. The expansion of the rabi area arises principally from the same cause, since the extend- ed practice of double-cropping permits a larger area to be sown after the autumn harvest. The relative positions of the kharif and rabi is practically the same throughout tho district, save

72;

Moradabad District.

Malk and Murao3.

Bahmans.

Aliars*

thence spread northwards into this district from Bareilly. The Bais, of whom 712 were onurn crated, came from the same quarter, and the Rathors, G14, advanced through the south of Shahjahan- pur up the Ranigauga valley. Many other clans are represented, but in no case does the total exceed 300 persons nor are their land- ed possessions of any extent.

Malis numbered 45,054 persons at the last census or 5*92 par cent, of the Hindu population. They are far more numerous hero than in any other district, but, as already mentioned, the Mali is for all practical purpos(!S the same as the Kachhi or the Murao of other parts. Ho is generally known by the name of Baghban or Baghwan in this district. These were 14/174 Muraos enumerated, of whom no fewer than 10,359 were residents of the Bilari tahsil. There were also 1,111 Kachhis, mainly in Sainbhal, and these added to the former two give a total of GO, 639 persons or about 8 per cent. The hugest number is to be found in Bilari : but otherwise they are very evenly distributed, save in Amroha, where the figure does not exceed 5,000. There are many subcastes of both Malis and Miuaos, but none is of special importance in this district# They are cultivators of a very high order, devoting them selves to the more valuable crops and adopting a much more intensive stylo than theJats. Their holdings usually comprise the richest fields in the vicinity of the village site, and they monopolise the production of garden crops.

The numbei of Brahmans is relatively sm ill , aggregating 43,537 persons in 1901, or 5*72 per cent, of the Hindu total. Half of them loside in the Sambhal and Bilari tahsils, and they are very scarce in Thakurdwara and Amroha. The majority are Gaurs, as IS the case in all the neighbouring districts, and the bulk of the remainder are either Saraswatis or Sanadhs, the latter being a subdivision of the Kanaujias. By occupation they .are priests, landholders and cultivators, but their agricultural ability is small and they generally employ hired labour for the heavy work in the fields. There are several important families of Brahmans at Moradabad, but those of Sambhal and Thakurdwara have lost practically the whole of their estates.

The Ahaw numbered 36,695 persons or 4-82 per cent, of the Hindus, the total being exceeded only in Budaun and Bareilly.

The People:

73

They are found chiefly in the Sambhal and Bilari tahsils, adjoining the tract known us Aharab in Budaun. There arc innumerable subdivisions oj the caste, but all Ahars claim desoeiiG from Jadon Rajputs and state that they came from Hausi and Hissar. Their traditional occupation is that of cattle-breeding, but they are good and hardworking cultivators, while as landlords they prove cap- able if exacting managers. On the other hand they havi; an uncnviabl(! re{)Utation ior lawlessness and es[)ecially for cattle- lifting. They gave much trouble in the early days of British rule, and during the Mutiny they gave full play to tlnnr predatory instincts, although they stoutly ivisisted the imposition of Muham- madan rule.

The Ahars must not bo confoundetl with the Ahirs, who are Ahirs, a distinct caste, though they likewise assert their Jadon origin and are a pastoral race who have betaken themselves to agriculture within comparatively recent times. Both Ahars an<l Ahirs claim to be of superior descent, the latter alleging that they spiing liom Krishna himself, whereas the 'Ahars are only the descendants of the cowherds in his service. The last census showed a total of 20 987 Ahirs in this district, principally in the Hasanpur, Bilari and Amroha tahsils, the bulk of them residing in the /c/tatfir of the Ganges and the lowlands of the Ramganga. Their subdivi- sions are as numerous as those of the Ahars, but most of them affect the style of Jadubansi.

The Kahars are found in strength everywhere except in Kahuts, Thakurdwara, especially in the Bilari and Moradabad tahsils.

They numbered 31,739 persons or 4-17 per cent, of the Hindus, and are engaged as cultivators, domestic servants, general labourers and fishermen. Most of the Kahars in this district belong to the Turai subdivision, which appears to be mainly confined to Morad- abad and Budaun.

Tho Banias form a large and important section of the Banias. Hindu community, aggregating 31,479 persons or 4-] 4 per cent.

They include most of the traders and money-lenders of the district and they have acquired a large area of laud, especially during the last fifty years. The largest numbers are to be found in the great business centre of Chandausi : but they are well distributed over the district and their influence is felt

74

Moradabad District.

RaJj

in almost every village. Among the Banias th ore are many cultivat- ing communities as in Budaun, and those have long been established in possession of tho land. Of the various subdivisions the chief is the Agarwala, wilh 12,262 roprosentatives, and those take the lead in every tahsil. The Barasenis with 4,555 are found mainly in Bilari, Sambhal and Amroha : like the Agarvvalas and Agraharis they claim to have come from Agroha in the Punjab. The Baranwals, 1,350, are found almost exclusively in Simbhil and Bilari, and derive their name from Baran, tho ancient name of Bulandshahr. Most of the Galiois, 2,51(S, belong to Amroha and Sambhal : they ar(; unusually numerous in this district, higher tigiiros being ob- taiiu‘(l only in Bnndelkhand, which appears to have been their original homo. The Uastogis, 1,627, reside for the most part in the Moradabad and Sambhal talisils and are said to have come from Amefchi in the L ioknow district. Others are the Chausenis, said t(e be a s[)urioiis branch of the Barasenis ; the Mahurs, who are found throughout the western districts ; and the Rohtakis, who obviously come from the Punjab. Akin to tho Banias are the Dhusar Bhargavas, of whom 288 were enumerated, all in tho Moradabad tahsil. They are strict Vaishnavas and many of them are Jains, and their cliiot settlement is at ilewari in the Punjab. The Bishnois too can hardly rank as a separate caste. They num- bered 1,694 p ‘rsons, three-fourths of them belonging to the Amroha tahsil : they have been settled in this district for several centuries, at Amroha itself, Mughalpur, Kanth, Moradabad and Thakurdwara. Ihey derive their name from the worship of Vishnu, and are a sect rather than a caste. Tho founder, Jhambaji, was born in 1451 and lived mainly in Bikaner, wlierc he was regarded as an in- carnation of Vishnu. His followers are drawn from all the higher castes, but in this district the Bishnois are almost all of Bania extiaction. ihey are traders by calling and many of them have amassed considerable wealth.

Kliagis. Khagis, who numbered o0,/53 persons, are found here in

greater strength than in any other district. The majority belong to the Sambhal and Hasanpur tahsils, but state that their earliest set- tlement was at Sahaswan in Budaun. The tribal legend relates that they were originally Chauhau Rajputs who lost status by permitting the lemarriago of widows. Very possibly they are connected with

Tilt People.

76

tli3 C!i I bat not with tha Rijputs of that narao, for they are

an a^n•i ailtiiral caste aad att;ii ii a high standard of husbandry. Tlicy are sui)posod to be practically the saiuo as the Lodhs, oi' whom 12,034 were found in 1!)01, cliielly in tlie Moradabad and Bilari lahsils, and also as the Kisans, 1,07» ; for Kliagi is recognised as a subdivision of each of tlniso castes, while tlieir ginieral charac- teristics and their tribal customs are identical.

Little need Iw said of the Gitdariyas, .shi^plicrds and goatherds Oadanyas. by occupation. They numbered 23,3.52 ])ersons and are distributed all over the district. Their main subdivisions arc Nikhar and Dliingar, but there arc also many Sahlas in this di, strict. Tlicy arc; immigrants from the west and arc probably connected with the Ahirs, the distinction being imu-cly occupational. Kumhars or Kumbars, potters numbered 22,015 and are common everywlierc, particu- larly in H.asanpur. Most of tlicm go by the name of ( lola, which is obviously derived from their employment of th»' wheel. Jlhangis or sweepers are unusually numerous in all i)arts of the district, the total being 21,770. It would appear to have .leclincd during the past thirty years, and tiro drop may be attributed to the activity of missionaries among this section o1 the community.

The Tagas, numbering 13,810 persons, are almost wholly con- Tagas, fined to the Amroha, llasanpur and Bilari tahsils. The total is exceeded only in Meerut and Saharaiipur, but tlnu'c are many members of the caste in the adjacent district of Bijnor. They claim a Brahman origin, but are rather analogous to the Bhuiu- hars of the eastern districts, though thero can be little doubt that the Tagas are immigrants from the west. They ditfer from Brah- mans in that they work with their own hands in the fields and arc both industrious and capable cidtivators. Tlreir only important subdivision is that into Dasas and Bhsas, the latter being less strict in their social rules and permitting widow marriage.

The Gujars are another immigrant caste who settled in the Gujars. district at a very early date. They numbered 12,849 souls at tho last census and occur in strength only in Hasanpur and Amroha.

They are very closely connected with the Gujars of Bulaudshahr and long ago seized on the grazing grounds of tho Ganges kkadir, which at tho same time afforded them a secure retreat. They have

taken to agriculture but are indifferent cultivators, and they have

76

Moradabad District,

, iayasths.

Raft

Other

castes.

Musal-

mans.

Kb

always borne a bad reputation for cattle theft and other crimes, their turbulence during the early days of British rule and during the Mutiny rendering thorn the object of many punitive expeditions.

Among \ho castes with less than 10,000 members the Kayasths take the foremost place with a total of 9,702. More than one- third belong to the Moradabad tahsil , but they are found throughout the district and hold a fair amount of land in every- tahsil. Their chief family is that of Kundarkhi : but thei*e are several others of some note, generally descended from the old pargana officials. Most of the Kayasths belong to the Saksena and Bhatnagar sub- divisions, the latter having more representatives here than in any other district of the United Provinces.

Next in order come Najs, Faqirs of various denominations, Dhobis, Pasis, Koris, Barhais, Sonars and Bharbhunjas, the total number in each case exceeding 5,000 persons. Kutas, 4,186, are confined to Bilari and Sambhal. They occur in few districts and arc far more numerous here than elsewhere. By occupation they are huskers of rice and are probably akin to the Banjaras, for in Muzatiarnagar one of the subdivisions of the latter caste is known as Dhankuta. The Kadheras, 3,742, are much the same as^Mallahs, but have betaken themselves to agriculture ; and then some Darzis, Chhipis or eotton-])rintors, Khattris and Lohars with over 2,000 members apiece. The Khattris arc unusually numerous : most of them belong to Moradabad and among them are many persons of wealth and position, such as Kaja Kishan Kumar of Sahaspur. The minor castes are quite unimportant. They include many of the wandering and criminal tribes such as Nais, Kanjars, Haburas, Aherias and Barwars, of whom the last numbered 647 persons, all in the Moradabad tahsil, though possibly the name is wrongly entered in place of Barwals, a labouring caste akin to Beldars.

The returns of the last census show that of the whole Muhammadan population 96*53 per cent, were Sunnis and 3 08 per cent. Shias, the small remainder being either followers of some saint or else Lalbegis, who are Musalmans only in name and belong without exception to the sweeper class. Despite the small propor- tion, Shias are more numerous than in any other district except Muzafiarnagai’, and their numbers fail to give an adequate idea of their relative influence. In the matter of castes and tribes the •

The People.

‘1*1

Musalmans present as great a diversity as that provided by the Hindus, for ac the census representatives of no fewer than 03 different castes were found and, owing to the unusually large Musaltnan population, it is but natural that many castes should occur in numbers exceeding those recorded in any other part of the United Provinces. On the other hand many of these castes have very few representatives and many are purely occupational, pnsscnt- incr no point of ethnographic interest. Many again have their Hindu counterparts, for probably in no other district has conversion from Hinduism occurred to such an extent. Proselytism is stil in some degree an active force, judging by the number of Nau-Mus- lims of whom no fewer than 12,070 were recorded, irrespecti ve of the many who either retained their old caste name or else adopted a recocmised Muhammadan style such as Sheikh or Pathan.

The latter practice has at all times been followed in the case of the Sheikhs. In former .lays it was the usual custom for the convert to adopt not only the tribe but even the elan and “7 the qnzi or mufti, generally a Sheikh himself, at whose, ham^s he had been received into Islam, At the last census Sheikhs num xne 152 707 persons or 36-39 per cent, of the Musalman popiilaUon, i^dLil figure far exceeds tlv, total in any other distnet ' hey ;re most numerous in the Moradabad Amroha ‘-^"d Sambhal tahsilsibut everywhere Sheikhs form the

community. The majority of them in every tahsil belong to the great Siddiqi subdivision, of which no fewer than 89,709 membei. were enumerated. They are far more common her., than ^ district, as also are the Qurreshis, 26, T89, who belong pi . cipafiy to Sambhal, Amroha and Morailabad ;

are wholly confined to the same tahsils ; and the Bam Israil, 1,243, of whom almost all reside in Bilari. Other important sub- divisions are Ansaris, 4,620, found everywhere but mainly in Bilan and Thakurdwara ; Abbasis, 1,126, in the latter tahsil and Hasanpur ; and Usmanis, who occur in all tahsils except Thakurdwara. There remains a very large proportion of the caste which belongs to no definite or weU recognised subdivision, ^”d these are p y

Musalmans of low caste who stylo themselves Sheikh for the pur-

pose of respectability. They are in all cases of Hindu extraction and generaUy o7low origin, for the high-castc convert either retains his

Shoikhfl,

i

78

Moradahad District,

Julahas,

Rarhais.

Pathans.

Ki

' Saiyids.

■4

old name or elso adopts some more distinguished appellation. Among the Sheikhs are several families of repute and many land- owners, but most of them arc agriculturists or traders in humble circumstances.

Next come the Julahas with 33,216 representatives or 7-89 per cent, of the Musalinan population. They are strongest in the Moraclabad and Bilari tahsils, but are found everywhere, employed either in their traditional occupation of weaving or else as tillers of the soil. Closely akin to them are the Behnas or cotton-carders, 8,841 in number, who are evenly distributed over the district. Next to the Julahas come Barhais, aggregating 23,150 or 5’5 per cent, of the total, mainly in Sambhal, Amroha and Moradabad. These are unusually numerous in this district, as also are other ;■ industrial castes of converted Hindus, such as Telis, 15,622, and Lohars, 12,604.

The Fathans include a few descendants of converted Rajputs, but for the most part represent the Afghan settlers who flocked into the district during the Rohilla period. At the last census they numbered 23,026 persons or 5*47 per cent, of the Musa] mans, and were found in greatest strength in the Sambhal and Bilari tahsils. They retain a large share in the land and with the Saiyids form the most influential section of the community, among their chief families being those of Hasanpur and Bachhraon. The Pathans arc drawn from a great variety of clans, but none of those are peculiar to the district. There wore 5,851 Yusufzais, 4,043 Ghoris and 2,289 Lodis; while next came the Dilazaks of Sambhal, Bilari and Hasanpur with 1,036 and the Muhammadzais of the two former tahsils and Thakurdwara with 1,029 members. Others worthy of mention are the Bangash, the Khataks, the Ghilzais of Sambhal, the Farzand-khel, the Bunerwals, the Barech and the Tarins of Bilari and Amroha. A number of the Pathans are dc^scribed as Rohillas : but this is a generic term and not applicable to any particular clan.

The number of Saiyids is greater than in any other district except Lucknow, amounting in 1901 to 15,971 persons or 3*8 per cent, of the Musalman total. Their chief seat is Amroha, where they have been settled for many centuries. Indeed nearly half the Saiyid community is to be found in the Amroha tahsil and they still hold

The People.

T9

a predominant interest in the land. Their chief subdivisions are the Husaini, 6,841, and the Naqwi, 3,382, tho majority in cither case belonging to Amroha and Sambhal. The Zaidis and Kizwis arc found mainly in Bilari and Moradabad, while of the many others the best represented are the Bukhari, Jafri, Abdi, Baqari and Jalali Saiyids.

Little need bo said of the various kinds of Musalman Faqirs, save Faqirs. that they occur in strength throughout the ilistrict and had a total of 14,669 persons at the last census.

Of mucli more importance are thii Muhammadan Rajputs, Rajputs, sometimes known as Rangars. They number'd 13,849 persons and reside mainly in Hasan pur, Amroha and Bilari. They included 1,905 Chauhans, who in all probability arc not Rajputs at all, but many of the well-known Chhatri clans are represented. The Gaurs, 2,303, are practically confined to Hasan pur and the Rathors, 1,388, to the Thakurdwara and Bilari tahsils. Others arc the Bargujars of Sambhal and Amroha, the Katehrias of Hasanpur and Moradabad, the Bhattis and Tomars of Hasanpur and Amroha, and the Sombansis in various parts of the district. There are also considerable numbers of Khokars, who are said to have come from the Bulandshahr district and to have settled near Sambhal in the days of Babar ; but tlK'. origin of the name is unknown, though in the Musalman his- torians the word Khokar is frequently a variant of Ghakkar, a warlike tribe of the north-western Punjab.

Mughals are more numerous than in any other district of the United Provinces, aggregating 13,776 persons, of whom the majority were found in the Moradabad, Bilari and Sambhal tahsils. Of these 442 were described as Chaghtais and 5,358 as lurkrnans , but the majority belong to no specified race, and it is very doubtful whether the name is not wrongly applied. In addition to the Turkman Mughals there were 1 ,708 Turks, who arc not Mughals at all but are a cultivating tribe found in large numbers in the Rampur state and the Tarai, They claim a Mughal origin and state that they came to the district at a very early date ; but in all probability they are merely converted Banjaras who assumed the name for the sake of distinction.

The transition from Turk to Turkman would be easy and the theory is supported by the fact that the Turks and Turkmans are found in the same parts of the district.

i'ht People.

fli

exception of 6Q Anglicans and seven Roman Catholics, the whole of the native Christian community belonged to the American Episcopal Methodist Church, which till recently was the solo evangelistic agency in the district. Work was started in 1859 by the Revd. J.

Parsens and the Revd. J. W. Judd, and since that date progress has been well maintained. Out-stations have been established at Kun- darkhi, Chandausi, Ainroha, Sambhal, Thakurdwaraand Babukhera, each being in charge of a resident {lastor, American or Indian. Mtich attention is paid to eduoiitional work and there arc 31 vernacular schools in the out-stations, as wcdl as a l.argo number of Sunday schools; but the principal institution connected with the mission in the Bishop Parker Mcunorial high school at Morad.abad. The Angliciin community at the district htiadquarters is now served by a resident missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who undertakes the duties of chaplain in addition to his missionary work. There is a church, dc<licatcd to St. Paul, which was opened in I81i9 though not consecrated till its enlargement and completion twenty years after, and was built by private subscription at an original cost of Rs. 4,822.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the, founder of the Arya Sam.aj, Arya came to Moradabad in 1876 and there gained several disciples, including some members of the Kothiwala family and Indarman, a well-known Arabic .scholar. A branch was forthwith established, but it had a very brief existence. A .second visit proved more successful, and in 1879 a new Samaj was oixiiied under distinguished local patronage, one of the principal supporters of the movement being Raja Jai Kishan Das. Subsequently branches wore estab- lished at Sambhal in 1885, at Chandau.si in 18.88 and at Amroha, Hasanpur, Aghwanpur, Said Nagli, Sarkara, Matlabpur, Bachhraon, Surjannagar, and Darhial. In 1891 the number of professed adherents was 1,305, while ten years later the total had risen to 2,834, exclusive ef many sympathisers who have not openly declared themselves members of the Samaj. The Aryas are with few exceptions educated persons, and their influence is out of all pro- portion to their actual numbers. The institutions maintained by the Aryas include a Sanskrit school opened in 1891 and a school for girls at Moradabad ; a girls’ school, a school for the depressed classes and an asylum for Sadhus at Sambhal ; and a girls’ school

6

Moradahad l)i8lricti

OfcW

religions*

Occupa-

tion*

of recent origin at Amroha. Propagandist work is carried on vigorously among both Hindus and Musalmans on lines similar to those adopted by Christian missionaries.

The other religions represented at the last census are of little importance save as regards the Jains, of whom 693 were enumer- ated. They are practically confined to the towns of Moradabad, Sambhal and Chandausi and most of them are Saraogi traders, including among their number many of the wealthiest merchants. The rest were Sikhs, 331 persons in all, of whom more than two- thirds belonged to the Amroha tahsil, and Parsis with a total of 30 souls. The former are either in Government service or else are immigrants from the Punjab, while the latter are shopkeepers in the civil station of Moradabad.

In spite of the relatively large urban population the district is essentially agricultural in character. Of the eight great classes into which the population was divided at the 1901 census pasture and agriculture accounted for 62*79 per cent, of the whole and the actual figure is really higher, inasmuch as this class excludes .the very considerable number of persons who are partly agricul- turists and combine some other form of employment with the tillage of the land. Unskilled labour other than agricultural makes up 4*94, personal and domestic service 6*51, public service, whether Government, local or municipal, 1*28, and means of subsistence independent of any occupation 1*36 per cent. The last is a com- prehensive class including prisoners and pensioners as well as wealthy persons of independent means ; and the same remark applies to the professional class, 1*5 per cent., which ranges from legal and medical practitioners to tumblers and dancing girls. Under the head of commerce, transpoit and storage 2*43 per cent, of the population is included, but the actual commercial element, owing mainly to the presence of a large railway community, is only •9 per cent. Even this, however, is above the average and the relatively high figure is due to the large trade of Moradabad and Chandausi. There remains the industrial class, comprising all those engaged in the preparation and supply of material substances. This is larger than usual, amounting to 19*19 per cent. Of the whole number of persons coming under this category 29*94 per cent, are employed in the provision of food and drink and 38*62 per cent, in

The Peofle.

83

that of clothing and textile fabrics. The other main heads include wood, cane and the like, 9T7, metals, 8’6, glass and earthenware,

5-6, and leather, 3‘6 per cent. These figures illustrate the chief industries of the district, though necessarily most of the persons coming under the various heads are merely employed in meeting the modest requirements of a rural population.

The language of the people is a form of western Hindi, the Language, common dialect being that known as Hindustani or Urdu, which is spoken oven by the villagers, though it merges by imperceptible gradations into the Braj of the Tarai, Budaun and Bulandshahr.

A noteworthy feature is the large admixture of Persian and Arabic words, which gives the speech of Moradabad a very close .reiomblanco to the Urdu of the text-books. The census of 1901 showed that more than 99-6 per cent, of the inhabitants spoke some form of western Hindi as their mother-tongue, and though several other languages were represented, only Punjabi and English wore returned by an appreciable nuni))er of persons.

The oldest known literary work produced in the district is tho Literature, Sambhal Mahatmya, a Sanskrit treatise Sixid to form part of tho Skanda Pur ana, which deals with the sacred sites of the town of Sambhal. In Muhammadan times Amroha produced many authors and jwets, but tho only one of any note was Mir Saadat Ali, better known as Saadat, a pupil of Shah Wilayat- nllah, who flourished during tho first half of tho eighteenth century.

More recently niimerous authors of Amroha and Moradabad have appeared, but none of their works are of sufficient merit to dcsorvo detailed mention. The literary output of Moradabad at the present day is confined mainly to newspapers and periodicals, which are produced in surprising numbers. They are for the most IKvrt of an ephemeral character. The Naiyar-i-Azam, however, dates from 1876 ; it is an Urdu weekly, dealing with general news.

The Najm-ul-Hind, of almost equally old standing, has been incorporated with the Urdu weekly publication called the Rahbur, a somewhat extreme organ which attacks the Government and Musalmans alike. Another old weekly newspaper was tho iSi(ara-i-£rind, the publication of which was recently TOspended.

Other weeklies are the Najtn-i-Bazigh, the MukhhiT-i-Alum, the Nizani-ul-Mulk, a strongly Muhammadan paper, and the

Agrioulture and Commerce,

81

that in Thakurdwara the predominance of the former is unusually marked, while in Hasanpur the areas aro approximately equal for the reason that in the khadir the prospects of the kharif are always doubtful on account of floods.

The distribution of the crops varies widely in the different Kharif

crops

tahsils, owing to the gi'eat variations in the character and agricul- tural capacity of the several tracts. The local peculiarities will be noticed in the tahsil articles, while tables given in the appendix show the areas under the principal staples in each tahsil for a series of years, affording a ready means of comparison.* Taking the district as a whole the chief kharif product is rice, whicji on an average covers 1 53,282 acres or 24*28 per cent, of the entire , area. This crop is grown far more extensively than was formerly the case, but the area fluctuates greatly. It is far larger in the Moradabad, Thakurdwara and Amroha tahsils than elsewhere ; but though the amount of rice in Hasanpur is small, the crops raised in the jhil tract below the edge of the uplands are very valuable. These rices are known as jhabdi and anjna,thc former growing in deep and the latter in shallow water. Elsewhere as a rule the rice is of the early variety, ordinarily of the kind called sat hi : but a certain amount of the superior transplanted or late rice is grown in the north and north-east, wherever irrigation is available. Next comes hajra^ sown either alone or in combi- nation with arhar, with an average of 141,038 acres or 22*34 per cent, of the harvest. This crop, which also shows a decided ing;ease, is the great staple of the light-soiled tracts and also of the upland Jeatehr, bjing most extensively grown in the Sambhal,

Bilari and Hasanpur tahsils, whereas in Thakurdwara the area is almost insignificant. The more valuable juar, which requires a richer soil and, like bajra, is generally mixed with arhar, covers 102,337 acres or 16*29 per cent, of the total area, this figure being more than double that of thirty years ago. It is rare in the north and in the hhur tracts, but is a favourite crop in Bilari,

( Sambhal and the better parts of Amroha and Hasanpur. Next as regards area come the autumn pulses, moth, urd and mung, the first preponderating. They average 76,062 acres or 12*05 percent, of the Aj/iari/, but almost tho whole of this lies in the

* Appendii, Tabto YI.

84

iiorttdabad DistHot,

Rafiq French, a. comic illustrated publication with a somewhat irregular issue. Mention may be made also of a monthly theologi- cal journal called tho Zia-ul-Islam, Baranwal Sahayak,^ Hindi-Urdu monthly dealing with, educational, religious and social matters, tho Banatan Dkaram Pataka, which supports tho DharamSabha in opposition to tho AryaSamaj, and a small adTertising fortnightly called tho Anjan Alchhar, In Moradabad there is mori! than a score of printing presses and others are maintained at Sambhal, Bilari and Amroha. There are no literary institutions of any importance, the Arya Samaj, the Dharm Sabhas at Moradabad, Bilari, Sambhal and Thakurdwara, the Anjumaii Islamia at Sambhal and the Mad rasa Islamia at Moradabad being mainly of a religious and semi-political characti'r.

Ptoprio* Asa rule land tenures in this district arc of a simple dcscrip-

ten^M tion, compi'ising the various zamindavi and coparcenary forms which txro found iii ovci*y district mid hiivo been in oxisfconce since the admission of proprietary right by the British Government. These rights accrued by a gradual process of evolution, but as a general rule it may be stated that the earliest settlements were made with farmers and that subsequently the persons in actual possession were admitted to engage, such persons in many cases being represented by the village headmen, who in time acquired the status of actual proprietors. The word headman was usually adopted as the translation of padkan^ a term which now refers to twa distinct classes of person. Originally, it would seem, it denoted tho principal representative of the old occupier of the village, who was employed as a manager by the farmer to secure tenants, to promote cultivation, to collect rents and generally to act as agent in return for certain concessions, such as a low rent or tho grant of a rent-free plot. Tho office of padhan was almost invariably hereditary, though not of course divisible and padhan had sons of sufficient age one of them succeeded to the position and privileges. Unfor- tunately these hereditary padhan s have always been confused with a totally different class of persons, who without any ex-proprietary rights or hereditary claim have been created headmen and have obtained similar concessions in return for the performance of similar duties. Such appointments have not been regarded as hereditary, a fact which has often been the cause of much injustice to the real

32

Moradabad DistricU

hhuv tract, tho poorer soils yielding little else. In Hasanpiir motk occupies about 35,000 acres, but the area is subject to great fluctuations and shrinks to small dimensions when the bhur becom(!S saturated after a cycle of wet years. Then follows sugar- can the most important of all the kharif products. It averages 48,832 acres or 7*73 per cent, of the harvest, the proportion rising to'lOflSin Amroha and 11*53 in Thakurdwara, whereas it is but 4*15 p^‘r ce nt, in Sambhal. The area has increased every- where save in tho Jeatehr, where the decline has been very strik- ing, the reason being that the prices of wheat, cotton and other staple* have risen more rapidly than that of sugar, which is costly to grow and requires constant irrigation. vSeveral varieties of cane ai’c to be s(‘cn, but the most common is the thin hardy • chiriy which thrives under the most adverse conditions. The rich agraxd cane docs well in Bilari and in the Turkan tract of Amroha, while tho dhaul and bori arc also found in the same tahsils, Cotton has remained almost stationary and averages 43,391 acres or 6*87 per cent, of the kharif y though this includes a considerable amount of cotton in combination with arhar, a very promi nent crop in this district. Every tahsil shows a fair area under cotton, but the katehr tract is pre-eminent in this respect and there the crop has largely supx)lantcd sugarcane, possibly owing in part to the development of the ginning and pressing industry at Chandausi. One of the most remarkable features in tho history of agriculture in this district is the recently acquired jiopularity of maize, which at the former settlemaet covered but 3,707 acres ; the present average being 32,047 or 5*47 per cent, of the kharif. Its distribution is very uneven; for the area is relative ly unimportant in tho katehr and Amroha, whereas the proportion rises to 8*78 in Moradabad, 9*11 in Thakur- dwara and 9*33 per cent, in Ilasanpur. It docs extremely well in the lowlands of the and is the most profitable of all the unirrigated crops, being a particularly safe investment for the reason that it is unafibeted by an early cessation of the raids. These crops together make up 95 per cent, of the kharif and no others possess any importance. They comprise various kinds of garden produce and also the small millets, such as sanujan, kakun, kodon and mandua^ which are grown to some extent

The People,

85

padhansy who have suffered from the lack of Recognition of their ancestral rights as distinguished from the right conferred by a mere personal appointment. In early days the padhans frequently acquired actual proprietary rights, whenever there was no one to claim and prove zamindari status. This was notably the case in Thakurdwara; where previous to the cession the Rajputs of Farid-* nagar had held the entire pargana as a taluqa. Being deprived (rf this by the British Government they endeavoured to assert their claim to the proprietary right : but the suit was dismissed in the civil court and at the first regular settlement the padhans only were Admitted to engage. Elsewhere the old proprietors were occa- -'^lonally recognised, but in most cases the qmdhans became the zamindars. At the present day padhans are found in almost every village, but whether they are the descendants of the old hereditary headmen or persons subsequently appointed, they are usually tenants in the enjoyment of certain privileges with various duties and responsibilities.

A somewhat peculiar situation arose in this district owing to the extraordinarily large area held in revenue-free tenure by the Saiyids of Amroha and other places. Their rights first became the subject of enquiry in 1809, but the investigation lasted for nearly fifty years. While many baseless claims were rejected an enormous number were upheld, and even at the present time the revenue-free mahals have an area of 216,039 acres or nearly 16 per cent, of the entire district. In addition to this 18,095 acres consist of separate plots, usually of small extent, which are held free of revenue in revenue-paying villages. They usually go by the name of milk an^l for all practical purposes constitute separate mahals. Such milks^ even when resumed, are treated as distinct properties and their presence tends greatly to increase the difficulties of revenue administration. The history of the muafi grants is very obscure. The Saiyids of Amroha enjoyed a groat reputation throughout India long before the days of Akbar and in lineage they were considered superior even to the famous Barha Saiyids of the Muzaffarnagar district. They trace their descent to one Sharf-ud-din of Wasit in Iraq and state that his son, Abdul Aziz, married a daughter of Firoz Shah in 1311, This seems impossible, for Jalal-ud-din Firoz was an old man when he ^yas

Revenue-

free

estates.

AgTiculturt and Oommerce,

83

in the poorer soils, as well as a small amount of san hemp.

Indigo has never been of much consequence in this district and the crop has entirely vanished for some years.

The chief rahi products are wheat, barley and gram, sown -Eat* alone or in combination, and these together constitute more than 96 per cent, of the harvest. Moradabad is a great wheat-growing district and the recent prevalence of high prhjcs has brought about an immense increase in the wheat area, which averages

00 1,803 acn^s or 56'51 per cent, of the rabi. In the Sambhal and Bilari tahsils the proportion is about 05 per cent., while it ‘ is little less in Amroha. Even in llasaupiir nearly half the land sown with spring crops is under wheat ; but in Moradabad and ^hakurdwara the figure falls to 47*37 and 44*41 per cent, respec- tively. These amounts refer to wheat sown alone and do not include the 102,571 acres, or 19*21 per cent., under wheat mixed with gram or barley, a combination wliich is very common throughout the district. Barley by itself has declined in popularity Mild averages 45,704 acres or 8*57 per cent, of the total rahi area, more than half of this being raised in the bhur lands of ll isaupur and Sambhal, So long as wheat can be grown without irrigation it is obviously bad policy to sow any less profitable .crop, and when irrigation is required it can usually be obtained Without difficulty. The area under gram alone averages 48,407 and that under gram and barley together 22,391 acres, constitut- ing 7*07 and 4*98 per cent, of the harvest respectivvdy. The (brmer proportion varies directly in the different tahsils with the double-cropped area, being much higher in Moradabad and Thakur- dwara than elsewhere. Gram is sown broadcast on the rice-ficlds after harvest and is commonly mixed with linseed, a crop that is seldom sown by itself : just as mustard, another important oilse d, is commonly sown among the wheat, and castor > oil plants arc

1 seldom to be seen save as a hedge to fields containing other crop3,

The remaining rabi products comprise potatoes, peas, masur or lentils, garden crops and a small but rapidly increasing area of P^PPy» l^^st covering 1,501 acres in 1903-04 and averaging only 294 acn^s in the preceding five years.

The zaid or intermediate harvest is of little importance, Zaid though it has greatly increased in area of late. For the three years '

80

Morcidahad District,

Kazrana«

murdered in 1295, and it has been suggested that the monarch who extended his special favour to the Saiyids was Firoz Shah Tughlaq. In any ease they obtained large grants of land during either the Khilji or the Tughlaq periods and by the 16th century were regarded as leaders of the old aristocracy. At first they were mere assignees of the revenue, but in time they resolved to take absolute possession of the land, divesting the headmen of all autho- rity and assuming the direct management. But as they did not live on their properties, they found that they could not get on without the assistance of the old headmen, who were consequently allowed certain dues and privileges, such as house -rents, the produce of waste land, fishing rights and probably a tithe t such rights being apparently those enjoyed by the headmen of estates under sUite management. This was the origin of the so-callcd zamindari tenure in revenue-free villages, the headmen thus obtaining an inferior right in the land co-existent with that of the Saiyid mibajidars- Up to the recent settlement every muafi village had its zamindari body ; who enjoyed the same sort of income as that set apart for them at the original adjustment, the zamin- dari right entitling them to a percentage of the cash rents and to a certain number of sers per maund when rents were paid in kind. In many cases, however, the mnafidars have purchased the zamindari rights, and where this occurred, and the two classes of rights were united in the same persons, the holders were separately recorded as mxitafidars and as zamindars. This duality of property still exists in a large number of villages, but at the last settlement no separate zamindari Ichewat was prepared in cases where the proprietors had bought out the zamindara. The system is interesting as a relic of the past, but is very cumbrous and sometimes — in the past at any rate— was a source of great inconvenience and oppression to the tenantry. The muafidar may sell the whole or a portion’of the zamindari rights to a stranger, and quarrels between the two parties frequently arise. For a full discussion of the origin and nature of these reve- nue-free tenures a reference should be made to the reports of Messi-s. Smjaton and Alexander.

The revenuedree estates are either lakhiraj or free from payment, or else nazranadar. The latter far outnumber the

84

MoraAoibaA district

Irrigation.

endingf with 1880-81 the average was but 3,187 acres, while from 1898-99 to 1903-04 the annual area was 12,068 acres. Inmost tahsils the amount is very small, but it rises to nearly 5,000 acres in Moradabad and is also relatively large in Sambhal and Hasan- pur. The crops consist mainly of vegetables and tobacco which arc grown near the large towns, Sambhal being jiarticulaily noted for the latter, or else of melons, which are raised in large qiiantiticf^ during the hot weather on the sandy banks of the Ganges and Ramganga,

Owing to the geographical and climatic conditions of the district irrigation is but little practised. In a normal year the rainfall is ample and well-distribiitid, so that nothing require irrigation save sugarcane and garden crops. Ordinarily there ij no need of artificial watering in the lowlying tracts, and in ln( bhur wells are difficult to construct ; but in the uplands many thousands of earthen wells arc dug when the monsoon cur.’cnt ceases prematurely and the rabi crops cannot germinate without irrigation, or else later if the winter rains fail and the wheat is endangered. It is obvious therefore that the irrigated area must vary to an extraordinary extent and in most years differs widely from the area irrigable. For the gi’eator part of the district recourse is had to irrigation only in an emei’gency, and for this reason it is unnatural to expect any general increase in the area! watered. During the ton years ending with 1892-93 the average was only 82,461 acres or 8T per cent, of the cultivation, while in the following decade it was 83,463 acres or 8*2 per cent. : but whereas in 1894-95, a year of unusually heavy and long- continued rainfall, the total was but 43,925 acres or 4*47 per cent, m 1899-1900 it was 214,626 acres or nearly five times the former amount. Again in 1907-08 an area of 187 ,200 acres was irrigated while in 1904-06, when the settlement was in ja^ogress, the total was barely 40,000 acres. Consequently the actual extent irrigated, is of less moment than the area to which inigation can bo extended in time of need ; a question which may best be answered by^ considering the sources of supply in the various tracts. On ali' average 87 per cent, of the irrigation is derived from wells and the rest from the streams and the few available tanks, but the proportions vary considerably in the different tahsils.

. The People,

87

former and in them the proprietors pay a paouliar kind of due to Qoveriim3nt, amounting at present to Rs. 24,773 annually. This nazrana is an impost which sterns to have originated in the hospitality shown by the Saiyids to some influential offieial. The favour of the latter was worth buying, and consequently he was entertained and treated with every honour during his visits, each mwa^ciar subscribing for the purpose to the common fund. Not unnaturally the custom becama established and in the course of time, it would seem, some mercenary official who did not caive for show bethought himself of comma ting the charges so mcurred by the muafidars into a fixed annual payment, so 3^at the Amroha hospitality crystallzed into what was styled a yearly nazrana of a very substantial kind. At the cession in 1801 this payment amounted to Rs. 23,427, and thereafter it was credited to Government as revenue. The burden of the payments was found to be very unequally distributed, but Sir J. C. Wilson, when collector of the district, took the matter in hand and effected a just apportionment.

The district contains 2,960 villages and at the last settlement these were divided into 8,308 mahahy exclusive of milks. The number is very large and has rapidly increased of late, for at the former settlement it was 4,205 : and as early as 1881 the frequency of partitions attracted notice. Of the whole number 2,783 were held by single proprietors, 4,209 were joint zamindariy 29 were hhaiyachatay a form which occurs mainly in Sambhal, 524 were perfect pattidari and 763 were held in the imperfect variety of the same tenure. The zamindari mahals embraced 70 and the various coparcenary estates 21*13 per cent, of the total area. The remainder includes the many small revenue- free plots and the numerous milks or resumed muajis.

When the district first came into the hands of the Bntish the principal landholding classes were Katehria Rajputs and Rohillto in Thakurdwara ; Musalmans, chiefly Pathans and Sheikhs, in Moradabad; Bargujars and a few Ahars in Bilari; Sheikhs, Pathans, Saiyids, Banias, Jats and Bargujars in Sambhal ; Saiyids' and Bishnois in Amroha; and Saiyids, Pathans, Banias, Hindu and Musalman Tagas in Hasanpur. By 1872 a considerable change had ocourred. In Thakurdwara and the north of Moradabad

Present

BtatisticB,

Proprie-

tary

castes.

Agriculture and Commerce »

85

An area of some 1,250 acres is watered from canals, but this is confined to 13 villages adjoining the Kashipur pargana in thn north of the Moradabad tahsil to which irrigation was extended “ from the Tarai canals in 1888 or thoroabonts. Many schemes have been propounded from time to time with the object of providing canal irrigation for the rest of the district, but hitherto they have come to nought. The first project involved the construction of an eastern Ramganga canal, with a main line which closely followed the right bank of the Dhela nearly as far as Moradabad, sev(‘ral distributaries supplying water to almost the whole of Thakurdwara. This was drawn nj) in 1840 by Captain . Joi^cs, who did so much for irrigation in Bareilly ard the Tarai, but 'tfie scheme was rejected as too costly and unrenuinerativc in 1843. The next project was that of 1855, which embraced a western Ramganga canal designed to irrigate the districts of Bijiior, ]\[oradabad and Budaun. The main lino was to pass through the hitur of Hasanpur and Sambhal, entering Ihidaun near Bahjoi, while a branch was to take off close to the Bijnor border and thence to run past Amroha along the Duab between the Sot and the Ari. The scheme was shelved for a time, owing to the Mutiny, and was not resuscitated till 18G7. It was then, however, NDroposed to draw the main supply from the Ganges, utilising the Siamganga as a subsidiary source, and in 1868 the latter river \Yas omitted from the project altogether. The famine of 1868-6(} led to the actual commencement of the undertaking and in July 1869 work was started on a section of the canal, about Rs. 80,000 being expended on tho excavation of 18 miles of the •Sambhal branch from Rajabpur northwards. But as yet the project as a whole had not been matured and the difficulties connected with the head-works and the course of the canal generally led to protracted discussion, which continued till 1873. The local Government then submitted the last revised estimate, ^gether with a note by Colonel H. A. Brownlow, pointing out fce danger of taking so much water from the Ganges and the undesirability of carrying a canal through a tract in which the spring level was already so high. The Government of India there- upon called for further reports as to the probable financial results of fthe undertaking and the actual necessity of the Sambhal branch.

Canals.

88

Moradahad Districi,

the Katehrias, whoso proprietary right had never been recog* nised by the British Government, had given way to Jats, Banias, Kayasths, Khattri.s and various Musalmans ; a result due to the fanning system and tlio numerous sales for arrears of revenue. In Sainbfial and Bilari the Rajputs ha.d lost most of their villages, as also had the Ahars, the purchasers being mainly Brahmans, Banias and Khattris. In Amroha the Saiyids had fared badly and Banias, Sheikhs and IChattris had largely extended their possessions; whih; in llasanpur the Pathans had gained ground and the Tagas of both creeds had lost heavily, being supplanted by Sheikhs in the north and by Jats and Rajputs in the south, though throughout the tahsil Banias had acquired a hold on many villages. Taking the district as a whole Banias, Khattris and Kayasths, whoso property lay chiefly in Moradahad, Amroha and Bilari, had extended their possessions very rapidly, a result which must be attrilmted in the main to the early revenue policy. Since 1872 further changes have taken place and the area transferred has been very groat. Banias have gained greatly, while Khattris, Jats, Brahmans and Bishnois have

improved their positions and .almost eveiy other caste has lost more or less heavily, Saiyids and Rajputs being especially unfortunate. Of the whole area Sheikhs hold 17-73 per cent., taking the foremost place itr Moradahad and Ilasanpirr and the second in Airrroha and Sambhal, while they also own considerable estak s iit th other tahsils. Banias with 15'84 per cent, predominate rn Sambhal and come .second iit Thakurdwara, Bilari and Hasan- pur. Next come Saiyids with 11-14, pi-itrcipally in Amroha, thotrgh they owir a fair amoirrrt of land elsowhorc ; then Pathans with 9 86, rnairriy in IMorad.-ibarl and Hasanprrr ; Rajputs with • t-aking the lead iir Bilari and owiring a fair proportion

of Moradahad and Sambhal; aird Jats with 6-55, chiefly in •'n "•^•a, Sambh.il aird Amroha. After these follow Brahmatrs

wtth 4'8, Kayasths witir .3-56, Khattris with 3-49, mostly in ran agas wrth 312, Bishnois with 2-47, Ahars with 2-36, Chauhans with 2-2, almost wholly in Thakurdwara, where they

Thh Too in Hasanpur,

cent f t) castes together own nearly 94 per

ccrrt.of the drstrrct, while the rest is held by Turks, Mughals,

36

Moradahad District

An (inquiry folio w(^d and showed that the revenue officers of the districts concerned wore unanimous in their disapproval of the scheme ; ohjoctini^ that the bfmr alone, representing less than one-^ fourth of the area commanded, would bein'fit thereby ; that the^ river vail 'ys :ind lowlaiids would be saturated ; that the volume available was insufficient, and that the peoph' would dticline to usii the water of the canal (ixcept at wholly unremuncrativ^i I’atcs. Eventually the project was abandoned in 1877 after a net expenditure of Ks. 2,70,520 had been incui’nid. Tn 1870 the scheme of an eastern Ramgangji canal had been revived, but was almost immediately dropped, as also was tbo old project of a western canal from that river, rtiiiewed when the dcterminatimN- was reached to abandon the idea of tapping tin; Ganges. NothiiVg further was done till 1908, though in the mcantinui Mr. s, the siittlement officer, had rccommendiid the construction of a smaAl^ canal from the Sot to supply part oUhekatehr tract in the Samblial and Bilari tahsils. In that year an ambitious and comprehensive project was drawn up with the object of utilising the water of the Sarda to supplement the supply of the Ganges and Jumna, as well as to irrigate certain portions of this district and other parts of Kohilkhand. This scheme involves the construction of a great supply chanmd Uaiding through the Tarai and the north of Kampur, whence it is to traverse the northtum extj’omity of m* Moradahad tahsil and the south of Thakurdwara, crossing the ' Kamganga near Mughalpur and thence passing through the Moradahad and Bilari tahsils to roach the Gauges opposite Anupshahr. In this way the canal would irrigate the rice (!ountry of the north and the katehr of southern Moradahad and Bilari.

It would not, however, obviate the necessity for an eastern Ikmganga (‘anal, which is still desircul for the rice lands of- Thakurdwara and is under further consideration.. As yet the project is immature, but a detailed survey is in course of preparation.

WoUs. south-east of Sambhal a fail|

number „f masonry wolls have been built during recent yoara from advances made by tho Opium department ; but elsewhere, save in parts of Amroha, thoy are practically unknown and at tho recent settlement there were only 530 masonry wells available

The People.

SO

Musalman Rajputs, Qujars, Ahira, Khagis, Mewatis and .others. Altogether Mnsalmans arc in possession of 617,221 acres, or rather more than 42 per cent, of the cnlii’e area.

One of the largest landowners in the district is Raja Kishan Kumar of Sahaspur near Bilari, who, in addition to an estate of 73 villages, held in whole or in part, with a rovemio demand of some Rs. 35,000, owns property assessed at Rs. 44,000 in Bndaun as well as land in Bijnor and the Nami Tal district. Ho is a Khattri hy caste and his ancestors came from the Punjab. Some of them rose high in Government service and Rai Atma ^m, a near relative of Rai Pahar Singh, minister to Hafiz .P^hmat Khan, was chalcladar of Bijnor in the days of Muhammad Shah, from whom he received the hereditary title of Rai. His grandson, Parduman Kishan, was adopted by his maternal uncle, Lam Hayal, who was the grandson of one Dharm Cliand, a Khattn of Nurmahal near Julliirider, who had settled at Moradabad and acquired wealth as a contractor. His son was Har Sen, who also was a contractor and purchased 1C villages in Biidaun and several others in this district. Rai Parduman Kishan added to his estate, having acquired much wealth by money-lending. Ho bought many villages, including Sahaspur; and, for his s rvicos in smiding mom^y and information to the officers who had fled from Moradabad to Naini Tal during the Mutiny, he was rewarded with a grant of land assessed at Rs. 3,000. He was the father of Rai Kishan Kumar, who in 1881 was appointed an honorary magistrate and a year later obtained the personal title of Raja, an honour which was made hereditary in 190!). The property is managed by the Raja’s eldest son, Kiinwar Raj Kumar, while the natural brot.hor of the Raja, Kunwar Ganga Sahai, also holds

a considerable estate in his own name.

The so-called Raja of Majhaula is still r.icogniscd as the chief of the Bargujars ; but Sheoraj Singh, the present head ot the family, has lost the whole of his estates, the village of Majhaula being now held in the names of his two wives. The home of the Bargujars was originally in the Bulandshahr district, but it said that in the days of Prithvi Raj, a chieftain of that race named Partab Singh acquired a largo domain on this side of the Ganges and of his three sons Basant Pal became Raja of

Raja

Kishan

Kumar.

Rajput

land*

owners*

Agriculture and Commerce*

87

for irrigation in the district. In 1880 experiments wore made in the west and north-west, which showed that the 2)ermancnt spring level , was extremely dcoj), ranging from GO to 100 feet , and though much ? advantage would he derived from the construction of masonry wells the work should not be aotern^jted without expert advici) and the j)revious determiiiation oJ’ the mota or watcr-bc.'aring stratum, Such a mota exists at a moderate depth in certain clearly-defined portions of the kaichr and it is to these tracts that masonry wells are confined, while in the same localities good uu^irotected wells can be made and will last for years. Such wells are usually worked by bullocks and the largo b ather bucket called cltarsa, owing to thii depth of the water-level ; though sometimes the or (yirri, consisting of a pair of eartlam pots (connected by a ro2:)e 2)assing over a pulley, is employe<l. In the rest of the district the water level is usually much higher, that is to say for ordinary j)crcolation wells ; and in tlusse the charkhi is used or else, where the water is not more than 12 icet or thereabouts below the

surface, the dhenJdiov balanced h'ver, to whbdi a single earthen pot is attached. As a rule percolation wells are very short-lived and st.ldom last more than a single season, although 2)rotected by a lining of coiled a rAar stalks, jiuub or thatching-grass, the side |Collapsiug afti-r tluj first heavy rain. In a dry season immense MLinbers of earthen wells are dug at a veiy small cost in almost ^very part of the district. Even in the Lhur a scanty supjfiy of Avater can b(i obtained at 12 feet or little more below tho surface, while in the chkoiya dc2)ressions tho level is much higher. Wells are scarce in the eastern uplands of Amroha and ‘in the north of Thakurdwara, but the tracts in which irrigation is unobtainable when required are foAV and of small extent.

The lakes and jliils are utilised as far as possible, but they suffer from the disadvantage of failing just when their services are most in demand. Of far greater importance are the rivers

end streams, in which the water is stored by means of earthen ams and is thence conducted to the fields by small channels. It is raised as a rule by tho beri or swing basket ; though in some cases water is obtained direct from the stream by the dfienJcil, In the khadir of the Ganges the Baia, the Mahawa and the Tikta are regularly employed in this manner. The Eot supplies only a small

Other

sourcei.

90

Morcid(^ha(l District,

Majhaula, Hathi Sah obtained Narauli and Badhau Deo received Jadwar and other property in the Sambhal tahsil. In the days of Akbar the whole of pargana Majhaula was given to Raja Dip Chand by a /arman, dated in 1588, and similar deeds issued by Aurangzeb, Asaf-ud-daula and other rulers are in the possession of the family. The house of Narauli has been more fortunate, for the head of this branch, Chaudhri Gajendra Singh, who obtained the titl j of Rai Sahib in 1902, has an estate assessed at some Rs. 30,000 in this district and Budaun. He has been an honorary magistrate on the Chandaiisi bench since 1839. In Narauli also resides Sardar Singh, who was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Baldeo Singh, a cousin of Thakur Gajendra Singh. • ‘

His father owns a considerable estate in Mainpuri, while he himself pays a revenue of nearly Rs. 10,000 in this district. Another Bargujar is Chaudhri Kalyan Singh of Chandaura in the Bilari tahsil, who holds an estate assessed at about Rs. 6,000 and was appointed to the Chandausi bench in 1889. He is descended from the founder of the Narauli house, his ancestor being one Ganpat Rai, who settled at Jargaon, seven generations after Hathi Sah. In the early days of British rule the estate consisted of 62 villages, but by 1840 the number had been reduced to 42 and now the Bargujars of Jargaon have but 18 or 20 villages divided among a large number of sharers ; the heirs of Tika Singh, " ' a prominent member of the family thirty years ago, paying Rs!

5,5 <0 as land revenue. The title of Chaudhri borne by the head of the family was bestowed by Aurangzeb, the original grant being still extant. Among the other Rajput landowners mention may be made of a Janwar family living at Katghar in Moradabad. The present representative is Thakur Durga Singh, whose grandfather was Risaldar Jawahir Singh, Sardar Bahadur, a member of the Order of Britiish India. The latter acquired an estate, now held by Durga Singh, who pays a revenue of Rs. 2,700. A cousin, Thakur Jagannath Singh, a deputy collector, has a larger estate assessed at Rs. 12,000 consistinprincipally of eight villages bestowed on his ather Risaldai Major Biikhtawar Singh, for his loyal services ren- dered during the Mutiny. Another noted resident of Katghar was

IS uncle, Risaldar Major Dhaukal Singh, Sardar Bahadur, of the

leth Cavalry. He was admitted to the Order of British India in

Moradabad DistTict,

Faminos.

1803-04.

$8

aroamitsv.illoy;biibth3Gingaiiis made to serve a large area by meatis of a dim at Uiiifi, connncctcd with an extensive and intricate system of irrigation clianncls. In the Moradabad tahsil the llajhera, the Nachna, the Bahalla and other streams arc of great value ; and in Thakurdwara a large amount of water is tak(m from thii Kurka and Lapkaua. The Dhela is dammed at Kalyanpur with groat success, the embankment being annually constructed and maintained by tlui landholders, who usually levy a w.ater i-ale. ranging Irom three to six annas per acre.

From the numerous relerences made by the Musalman histori- ans we learn that ]\Ioradabad was from time to time visited by famines of great intensity, Init we know nothing of the nature^ or the subsetpient ('fleets of these calamities. This district canimt havt! (iscaped the terrible dearth of 1298, when famine raged over all Hindustan up to the loot ol the Himalayas ; nor the still more awful visitation of 1845, wln'ii the whole ol Katehr was laid waste and cultivation vanished for several years. The great famines of lOdl and 160 1 were less acutely felt in the trac^ts north of the Ganges than elsewln'rc, but in 1701 the whole of Koliilkhand was severely alfected, with the result that tliousmids died of actual starvation and many emigrated to more fortunately situated parts, The history of Moradabad under British l uk^ pro\es abundantly that the c/i a iiset famine of 1783-84, so-called iron i its occurreno^ in 1840 Sambat, must have weighed heavily on this district. Nothing seems to have been attem|ilcd to alleviate the disiress by the corrupt and apathetic government of the Nawab Wazir ; but as a matter of fact nothing could bc' done when grain was unpro- curable at any price. So great and widespread was the suffering that the calamity became kuowm as a historical landmark till the Mutiny.

Shortly {iftor the cession of the district another great famine occurred, and the failure of the rains in 1803 was aggravated by the (‘xcessive revenue demand at that time in force and also^ by the dc'pressed condition of a piasantry just freed from th(J notorious tyranny and oppression of the Oudh officials. As early as the 5tli of July Mr. Leycester, the collector, reported that the cotton and sugarcane crops were suffering from drought and that fears were enteitained for the entire kharij\ while corn was being

91

The People.

1869 and hid nndired valuabh service diiriag the Mutiny. His son, Jhabba Singh, also rose to the rank of Risal lar Mxjir and was adopted by Thakur Balgobind Singh, who holds an estate of two whole villages and shares in two others. 0th 5r Rajput landowners worthy of mention are the Katohrias of Mundha in tahsil Moradabad, the Kirars of Dilari and other villages in Thakurdwara, and the Gaurs of Itauri Itaura and about a dozen other villag.^s in the north-east of Sambhal. The Chiuhans of Chandupnra Sikampur, in the Moradabad tahsil, are not true Rajputs. They hold a con- siderable estate, largely consisting of land in Pipli ■ Naik and Elarhial, which was bestowed on Thakori fhakur foi his loyalty d'^iug the Mutiny.

The principal landholder among the Ahars arc Chaudhii Sundar Singh and his brothers of Scondara in the Bilari tahsil. He springs of a family which migrated, it is said, from Kathiawar to Hariana and thence came to this district. Under the Nawab

Wazir his ancestors owned 52 villages, but most of this was lost and the present estate was acquired mainly by Chaudhii Nihal Singh, grandfather of the present owners. A property with a revenue demand oi Rs. 4,183 was bestowed in recog- nition of his good services during the Mutiny on Chheda Singh, the grandfather of Cliaudhri Sundar Singh’s mother, and is still held by his descendants. Sundar Singh’s own estate is assessed at Rs. 9,216 and lies partly in the Bilari tashil and partly m the Budaun district.

The chief Jat estate is that held by Kunwar Laltu Singh of Moradabad. It is said that one Nain Sukh, a Pachhada Jat of

the Araroha tahsil, was in poor circumstances, but that his son, Narpat Singh, acquired a considerable fortune and built a maikct in Moradabad. The latter’s son was Gur Sahai, who was iiazir of the collector’s court and invested his money in land. His not-

Jats of Morad- abad.

able services during th 3 Mutiny will be mentioned later in chapter V, and in reward h3 obtained the title of Raja and the grant of 17 J villages in Buland-ihahr. He died about 1874 and his widow, Rani Kishori, administered an estatJ paying some Rs. 60,000 as revenue till her death in 1907. The present owner’s grandfather, Puran Singh, was the brother of Our Sahai. At her death the property was divided between Baltu Singh, who owns land assessed at

,Agricultv>re and Commerce,

89

exported to tho west and prices were in consequence rising daily.

By the beginning of September it was evident that tho revenue could not be realised and that the rahi would be limited to k irrigated land. Tho collector proposed an immediate cessation of the demand and on his own account prepared schemes for damming till) Gangan and other streams. At the end of the year tho Board recommended the suspension of tho hkar if demand to the amount of Rs. 2,50,000, but this did little to alleviate tho widespread distrivss. In spite of the efforts made to encourage irrigation tho people had lost heart, and starvation had driven numbers to tnnigrate. Added to this the country was in a most unsettled state and there wa^i the constant dread of a Maratha invasion,

4luch of the land was lying fallow, especially in the hhnr tract, and the sanum/ars wei\) absconding in every direction. The rahi was the poorest known for many yciars, and scanty crops were ruthlessly phiiideiMd or elsii removed clandestinely by the cultivators.

The collector in despair applied for military aid in realising some portion of tho revenue, and at the same time made requisition for largo advances as tho only ineaiis of giving an impulse to the succeeding years’ (uiltivation. TIkj deplorable condition of affairs is ilhistratod by the fact that when the rains broke in July 1804 Moradabad showed a balance of Rs. 9,82,759, or more than any of ^le afflicted districts. Tho good kharlf yf\\\rh. followed in some degree reduced this amount, but eventually no less than Rs. 5,11,679 was altogether abandoned, while the return to prosperity was much retarded by the confusion ensuing on the raid of Amir Khan Pindari.

The drought of 1819 appears to have left Moradabad un- 1919 to scathed, and indeed the collector reported in December that he had ^838. never seen so fine a kharif, so that the cultivators actually derived much gain from the high prices then j)rovailing , large quantities of grain being exported by river to Cawnpore and Allahabad.

Parts of the district, however, seem to have been affected in some , degree, for the revenue records show that the sum of Rs. 3,479 was remitted, though there is no indication as to the grounds on which this step was taken. A severe drought in 1824 visited the Meerut division, but Moradabad appears to have escaped lightly, though probably this fact served to aggravate the distress resulting

Moradnhad District

02

Brahman

land-

owners.

Rs. 9,115 in the Moradabad tahsil and Rs. 30,000 in Hasanpur and elsewhere as well as one village in Meerut, and four in the Kashi- pur tahsil, and Karan Singh, her daughter’s son, who received the Bulandshahr property. Puran Singh’s own estate was all sold to Gur Sahai, so that Laltu Singh inherited nothing from his father or grandfather. Several other properties are hold by Jats, but none is of much importance. In the Bilaii tahsil the chief is that which was owned by the late Chaudhri Jhanda Singh of Gwarau, who was murdered in 1908. In Sambhal there are some Jat estates to the south of Sirsi and in the udla tract, the largest properties being those held by Roshan Singh of Lakhauri Jalalpur and Bhim Singh of Nokpur Mukhtarpur. In Amroha there is a largo colony of Pachhada Jats holding land in the south-west of the tahsil, while another group of Jats live in Kail Bakri in the north.

The largest property owned by Brahmans is that of Misra Sital Prasad, a banker of Sambhal, who, with other members of his

family, pays about Rs. 18,000 as land revenue in this district and Budaun. The family, who are the only Misras in the district, have been settled in Sambhal for several centuries, but their estates, lying in the Sambhal, Hasanpur and Bilari tahsils, and in the Gun- naur tahsil of Budaun, have boon purchased recently ; their wealth being acquired by money-lending. A well-known family of Moradabad is that of tho late Raja Jai Kishan Das, C.S.I. His father was Bindraban Das, a Chaube Brahman of Batosar, who was agent to a Lucknow firm of bankers and held land in the Etah and Agra districts. His sons were Ghansham Das and Jai Kishan Das, both of whom where tahsildars and rendered good service in the Ahgarh and Etah districts during the Mutiny, tho former being killed by tho rebds at Kasganj. Jai Kishan Das, who served for many years as a deputy collector, was eventually created a Raja.

e 0 taiued a large estate in this district and in the territory since ceded to Rampur, which ha<l been confiscated from Majju Khan,

Half the revenue was remitted for his hfe-time and one-fourth during the lives of his sons, Kunwar

anarsi Das Kunwar Parmanand, a subordinate judge, and umvar Jwala Prasad, a statutory civilian. The last was the ather of Kunwar Jagdish Prasad, now serving in this province in A, Ind»„ 0„u S«nioo. The

Moradahad District

1860-61.

40 :

from the deficient rainfall of 1825. At that time the settle- ment was on the point of expiring and the landholders had deliber- ately reduced the area under tillage in the hope of obtaining more lenient terms. The greater part of the kharif failed, but both cotton and sugarcane gave a good yield and had saved the zam in- dare from ruin. The rahi sowings werci greatly contracted and there was no double-crox)ping, while prices rcachc'd a high level and caused much scarcity, and, though there was no actual starva- tion, the reduced condition of the jDcojfie resulted in a high death- rate, especially in Thakurdwara and the north, which seem to have suffered much more than the rest of the district. At the same time the collector deprecated the grant of remissions anri success- fully endeavoui'cd to stimulate cultivation by advances, Rs. 70,000..^ being allotted for this purpose. The rahi outturn appears to have been fair, and at all events Moradabad did much better than the districts in the Duab. Its state was similar in the great famine of 1837-38. In consequence of the deficient rainfall the kharif was a general failure ; but large advances were made for the encouragement of irrigation and a normal rahi was obtained, to the great benefit of the cultivators, who reaped large gains by exportation beyond the Ganges. There was some difficulty in collecting the revciiuo for 1837-38 and the balanct s amounted to Rs. 1,52,268 in that and to Rs. 1,50,608 in the following year ; but the only measure of relief was the remission of^ Rs. 6,836.

The disturbance caused by the Mutiny combined with several unfavourable seasons to render the district i)eculiarly susceptible to the drought of 1860. Hardly any rain f 11 till the middle of July, and then only a few showers occurred, with the result that the kharif failed almost entirely and only a very small area could be sown tor the ensuing harvest. Distress soon became visible among the poorer classes, and though Moradabad was in a much better plight than many districts, Mr. John Strachey, the collector, found it necessary to organise measures lor their relief. Money was raised by local sub.scrij)tion, supjjlemented by grants from the central committee at Agra, and from these sources doles of food and blankets were distributed to the indigent. A poorhouse was established and the number of inmates rose rapidly as it became clear

^h6 People.

03

Ks. 22,000 as laud revenue, including Rs. 2,750 in Agra and Bs. 2,700 in the Rampur state.

Most of the Kayasth properties are those owned by the descend- ants of the hereditary qanungos, but in many instances, as that of the Kundarkhi family, much of the ancestral land has been sold. The present representatives of the Kundarkhi family. Sham LalandSalig Ram, who arc members of the Moradabad municipal board, pay a revenue of only Rs. 5,278 in the Bilari tahsil. The most prosperous Kayasths are those of Amroha, where they have been established for a very long period, though one branch of the family now resides in Dehli. The Mohkam Sarai in Amroha was built by Mohkam Singh, whose descendant, Jawahir Lai, held the office of gaMun^o at the b^inning of British rule. He was succeeded by his son Jai Gopal, '"the ffithor of Chheda Lai, a subordinate judge, and JagatNarayan, the last to serve as qanungo. These brothers are now represented by Sheo Narayan, vice-chairman of the Amroha municipal board, and Har Narayan, a member of the district board. They together hold an estate with a revenue demand of about Rs. 12,000, chiefly in the Amroha and Moradabad tahsils. Another Kayasth of note is Bisharnbhar Nath of Mortulabad, who owns the village of Hazrat- nagar Garhi in the Sambhal tahsil as well as other property in that subdivision and in Bilari.

The remarkable gains of the Banias among the proprietary castes have led to the formation of several largo estates. The chief is that which was at first acquired in Thakurdwara by the well known revenue farmer Sahu Baijnath, who managed to obtain possession of a very large area by means of farms, sales and mortgages, and at the first regular settlement obtained the pro- prietary right. His ancestors resided in Dehli, but were ruin d by the invasion of Nadir Shah, and then Dwarka Das, the grandfather of Baijnath, migrated to Bareilly. On moving to Moradabad Baij- nath started a banking firm which is still managed by his descend- ants. His eldest son was Sahu Mukand Ram, the father of Sahu Ram Ratan, who has been the Government treasurer since 1898, an honorary magistrate since 1905 and was given the title of Rai Sahib in 1906. Ho holds half the shares in the new spinning and weaving mills at Moradabad. His brother, Sahu Ram Gopal, died lately, and his sons, Sabus Murari Lai and Jagdis Saran, own tbQ

Eayastll

land-

owners.

Bania

land-

holders.

Agrimltur^ and ComintTce*

41

that the rahi was likely to prove indifferent. Moradabad, Bijnor and Budaun fared much worse in thisrosp:;ct than the eastern half of Rohilkhand, but for this very reason they were free from the groat influx of starving iinmigiants who streamed into Bareilly from beyond the Ganges. By the end of May there were 2,372 persons in the poorhouses and those were limployi'd in various simple occupations such as weaving, spinning, rope-making and grinding. The rahi outturn was extremely meagre, especially on the Budaun borders, but Moradabad suffered less than the latter district and very much less than the (;ountry beyond the Ganges. Altogether Rs. 51,530 were spent on relief during the famine ; the average daily number of recipients being 5,()32 and the" total number of persons 844,782. Apart from the poorhousc, tlu'y were employed chiefly on minor irrigation works, which were maintained till the rains of 1861; though the poorhousc was kept open till September. In spite of the distniss most of the revenue.

Wits collected, the balance for 1860-61 being Hs. 42,182, of which lis. 5,093 were ultimately remitted.

The drought of 1868 and the consequent high pric(‘s caused 1868-6C some distress in Moradabad, and this was enhanced by the de.ple- tiou of stocks and also by the influx of emigrants from Hajputana.

Hardly any rain fell between July and November, and, though the Ichadir lands produced a fair harvest, the dry sandy uplands of Hasanpur had no crop whatever, while in Thakurdwara the failure of the rice had been accompanied by a great contrac- tion of the rabi area. The prospects were equally gloomy in the north of Amroha and th(5 south of Bilari, but elsewhere, particularly in the Moradabad tahsil, conditions were fairly satis- factory and the cultivators displayed the greatest energy in irrigat- ing their fields, despite the fact that the construction of unprotect- ed wells is difficult in the tracts possessing a sandy subsoil.

Even in the hhur numerous wells were to bo seen, although they only supplied water for two hours at a time ; but the result of their exertions was that the cultivators wore enabled to sow much larger area than had been expected, and moderate showers in January and February 1869 afforded hopes of a very fair harvest. Local relief works were started by Mr. R, Manderson, the collector^ in January, and these were maintained till July,

Moradahad Districts

04

property jointly with their uncle, the total revenue demand being Rs. 41/127. A cousin, Sahu Ram Kumar of Thakurdwara, the son of Sahu Ram Sarup, has a separate estate assessed at Rs. 15,964, while Sahu Ram Ballabh Saran and other relatives have lost the < greater part of their inheritance. A second Agarwal family of Monadabad is that known as the Kothiwalas, now represented by Sahu Sabta Prasad, who is treasurer to the Rampur state, a post which ho and his father Bhukan Saran have held for more than fifty years. The family came from Panipat during the days of the Rohillas and in the last three generations have acquired much jjroperty. They pay land revenue to the total amount of Rs. 23,474, though the greater part lies in other districts, the demand fo^ the property situated in Moradabad being Rs. 7,716 on land lyin^^,^ chiefly in the Moradabad and Thakurdwara tahsils : but the estate has recently boon divided by a decree of the civil court, the other sharers being Brijpal Saran, Parsotam Saran and Dharm Kirti. They have a large amount of real property in Moradabad itself, including shops, houses and land to the value of Rs. 5,000, which were bestowed on the family after the Mutiny. One of the chief bankers and money-lenders is Sahu Brijpal Das, a Gujarati Bania, whose ancestor came from Ahinadabad and settled in Moradabad in the days of Rustam Khan. He pays a revenue of some Rs. 3,000 in this district and his money-lending operations extend to all parts of the Rohilkhand division. Several wealthy Banias reside at Chandausi, but few of thorn own much land. Sahu Battu Lai, an Agarwala whose forefathers came before the Mutiny from Rohtak to Rampur and thence to Chandausi, pays only Rs. 900 as land revenue, but owns an extensive banking business and deals in grain, sugar and cotton. At Sambhal the principal Banias are Gahois and are ropresentjd by Sahu Sham Sundar Lai and his cousin, Sahu Dwarka Prasad. The family has long attained distinction and in former days were noted for their immense wealth and influence, Sahu Mitra Sen is said to have been governor of Sambhal in 1700 and to have hold the title of Amanat Hukuinat Panah, In 1817 Sahu Balkishan was the chief assessor to tho mufti, and during the Mutiny Sahu Debi Das rendered good service by securing the apprehension of Nawab Majju Khan, His sou was Sahu Angan Lai, who was an honorary

42

Morudabad District,

1877-78.

They consisted in the excavation of tanks in Ilasanpui and cutting jungle in Thakurdwara, After July his successor, Mr. C. A. Daiiiell, carried on operations on the district roads. Up to that time the average daily attendance had been about 420, but the numbers rose rapidly in spite of the rainfall, avei aging 2,115 in August and 1,182 in September, for the reason that theie was little grain to be jjurcliased and ju’ices were at an extraordinary level. The works were closed in the end of September and up to that time a daily average of G57 t)er.sons had been employed for 27 J days at a cost of Ks. 10,854, of which Rs. 8,350 were contributed by Government and the rest debited to local funds. In addition 31,000 persons were employed by the municipalities of Moradabad, Chaiidausi and Dliaiiaura at a cost of Rs. 2,030 ; extensive building works and road-making were earri(id on by the cantonment autho- rities, whoemi)]oyed 2,092 persons daily from January to May ; and the Publk; Works departimmt gave employment to 1,030 persons daily on tlie Moradabad and Tigri road at a cost of Rs. 32,024 for the same period, to say nothing of the 4,985 engaged daily in exca- vating the Sambhal branch of the eastern Ganges canal for 18 miles from Rajabpur between the 20th of May and the 20th of October, the cost of this undertaking being Rs. 80,341. Poorhouses were not opened till the 28th of July 1809 and then nine such institu- tions were established. They wore maintained till the 2nd of October, the attendance rising steadily till the middle of September, when it suddenly decreased : the average for the 67 days being 3,081. Tlicir cost was Rs. 14,317, and this was derived mainly from subscriptions in this district and those collected by the Nawab of Rampur.

The district again suffered to a considerable extent in the widespread famine of 1877-78. The rainfall of 1877, however, though v(jry inadequate for a tract in which rice is one of the principal staples, was much inorci favourable here than in other districts of the division. From June to tho end of August the Thakurdwara, Moradabad and Bilari tahsils received somewhat more than a third of the normal precipitation, but elsewhere the fall was ver}^ deficient, jjarticularly in Hasanpur and Sambhal, Towards the end of August it was considered that one-fourth of the khdrif was lost, but rain at the end of that month so improved

fke Pesjpiei

d5

magistrate, as also is his son, Sham Sundar Lai. Tradition relates that the family came originally from Murshidahad and were private servants to Akbar. Their estate was once very large, but 42 villages were mortgaged to the Nawab of Ram pur and were finally transferred to him at Mr. Money’s settlement, the present laud revenue demand being only Rs. 5,000 or thereabouts. Other Banias of Chandausi who own a considerable amount of land are Badri Prasad and Ram Kali, the heir of Durga Prasad ; these two proprietors paying Rs. 5,300 and Rs. 18,000 respectively in land revenue. In the Sambhal tahsil fair estates are held by the Bahjoi family and by that of Mahmudpur Muafi. The Banias ’■ave acquired much land in the Hasanpur tahsil during recent '‘^s, notably those of Hasanpur and Dhanaura : but there are '^o single estates of any great importance.

Besides Raja Kishan Kumar and his relatives the chief Khattri landowner is Sahu Prasadi Lai, a banker and honorary magistrate ofMoradabad. Ho belongs to a family which came from the Punjab about 150 years ago and started a money-lending business. His grandfather and father added largely to their wealth and invested much of it in land, the estate now paying a revenue of about Rs. 6,000. The Bishnois, who appear to be Banias by descent, own a considerable amount of land in the north of tho district. Tho Mughalpur family is descended from one Chaudhri ' Mahtab Rai, who was governor of Moradabad under the Nawab Wazir of Oudh and obtained an estate of 22 villages. Most of this was squandered by Sheoraj Singh, but the latter’s son, Chaudhri Maharaj Singh, saved money and recovered part of the

property which is now owned by his minor son, Chaudhri Hariraj

Singh, and is assessed at Rs. 3,714. Tho founder of this family lived at Kanth, where is an old settlement of Bishnois, who came from Bahadurgarh near Dehliat the end of the seventeenth centuiy. It is said that the first of the family to become a Bishnoi was a Tomar Rajput named Mahendra Singh, who was admitted into tho sect in 1488. Tho Kanth family first acquired land in the days of Chaudhri Bahadur Singh, who died m 1837. Additions were made by his grandson Ghansham Singh, who was given the proprietary right in 13 villages held on a farming 1^ and died in 1851 ; by the latter’s son, Jairaj Singh, whom 1871

Khattria

and

Biehnois*

AgriouUur^ and Com,\ierct.

43

pro3p33t5 that both tho Banks and tho landowners made fresh advances of grain and money to the cultivators and agricultural operations were resumed with vigour. The cotton and sugarcane crops were still safe, but tho rice was in a hopeless condition. Unfortunately th{3 ])re valence of high prieG>i elsewhere led to con- tinued exportation. Some classes, such as tho .Tats, had retained enough for their own needs, but the thriftless Rajputs had sold all their stocks and had spout tho money. Anxiety was felt chiefly about tho state of Hasan])ur and Samhhal, and as early as the 3()th of August potty relief works wore opened at Moradabad, followed by others in Hasanpur a few days later. In the latter t.ihsil efforts wore made to ciolhet labourers for the canal works at Narora, while in other parts of the district tho people were encour- aged to und rtako the construction of dams for irrigation. Meanwhile numbers of p ‘opl«.5 were daily pouring into Moradabad, nominally for work but really to beg, lor tho kanknr contractors were complaining of tho dearth of labour. The municipality started a relief work on a large tank with (lonsidtn’able success, but tho reports from other parts of the district were generally (dietning. The chi jf exception was Hasanpur, whore^ tho crops had wholly failed ou tho dry uplands and much distress was already visible. Works ivere at once started on tho lo ^.al roads and in a short time more than 1,000 m^ri were om})loyed in this manner. Several other works were undertaken by tho Public Works dupartmeut, and these remained open till rain fell in October. On the 19th of that month they were closed, except the municipal works near the city and railway station, which afforded moans of subsistence to large numbers of luon, women and children. As in other parts of Rohilkhand, it was found that the cultivators were too proud to attend the works and consequently the distress was often severe, though there was no actual famine. For persons in danger of starvation poorhouses were started in September at Hasanpur and Moradabad, the local officials being direct id to search for the destitute and to send them in, while provision was made for food and blankets. The increase of distress in February 1878 rendered it necessary to re-open the works, and the attendance gradually increas- ed till the middle of March, when it declined slowly till the beginning of April, when the works were almost deserted and were

Hfftadabad District.

Ooshaing.

Tagag.

received three villages in recognition of his loyalty dunng the |

Mutiny ; and by Chaudhri Dhyan Singh, Kai Bahadur, a nephew of 8

Jairaj Singh Dhyan Singh died in 1898 and the property passed ] to his widow Jarana Kunwar. Her co-wife’s daughter was married , 1 to Chaudhri Dharm Singh, who now manages the estate : but the ^ only child of this marriage is dead and the succession is uncertain. Jamna Kunwar has by will the power of adoption ; but among all the other dosccmdauts ot Bahadur Singh the only males are Chandraban Singh, a nephew of Ghansham Singh, and his son. The property lies in the Amroha and Thakurdwara tahsils of this district and also in Bijuor, and is assessed at about Rs, 81,000.

A fine estate of 26 villages and three viahals in the Hasanpu" •!

tahsil is held by the Goshain Mahant of Salempur Goshain. "ne J

gtuldi is of very ancient foundation, but the property consisted only of two villages till the days of Harraiban. The seventh successon of the latter was Birbhuban, who died in 1906, leaving a brother, Kirpalban, whose position as Mahant is disputed. Ho professes to be a posthumous chela of Mahant Fatehban and like his brother was born a Rajput. Ho married his brother’s two widows, who had held equal shares in the estate with Pirbhuban, but the younger has obtained a decree to a half-share in the property on the ground that the second marriage never took place and litigation is still proceeding. Another Goshain estate is that of Dogawar in the Sambhal tahsil, but this is much smaller and of relatively little importance.

A largo area in the Sambhal and Hasanpur t \hsil is held by Tagas. In the former they own many villages of the udla tract, the chief family being that of Satupura Arifpur. In Hasanpur they possess a considerable extent of laud in the southern and central portions, the most prominent members of the caste being those of Rehra and Tigri. The family of Tajpur in the Bijnor district arc also Tagas and holdiseven mahals in the Amroha tahsil and several in Hasanpur. There are in addition many families of Musalman Tagas, generally designated Chaudhri, Those of i< Dhaka, Dhabarsi, Ujhari and Chuchela hold fair properties ; but ( of more importance are the Chaudhris of Bachhraon, a large though now impoverished community. They claim descent from Bachhraj, the founder of the town, and maintain a hereditary

44

Moradahad District.

J96-97.

again closed on account of harvesting oj)crations. ^Ihe general excellence of the rail averted all fear of serious famine, but prices were still very high, and relief works were once again started in July. The moiisoon of that year was late in arriving, ‘and consider- able anxiety as to the future was felt by all classes : the attendance at the works was never very largi?, but rose till the middle of August. • The numbers became very small in September, but relief operations did not finally cease till the 23rd of November. The chief works undertaken w('re the improvement ol’ the roads from Moradabad to Naini 'i'al and Tigri, from Sambhal to ijahjoi and from Gaj- raula toDhanaura, as well as the construction of protective embank- ments along the Ibimganga and Kosi. There were many others of less importance, and the total attendanct) from first bo last was 50G,50G persons, counted by daily units, the expenditure being Ks. 4G,G77. Poorhouso relief lasted from September 1877 to July 1879, and during that period 359,609 persons received assistance at a cost of Ks. 22,833, contributed chiefiy from municipal and provin- cial funds. Considerable dilficulty was experienced in collecting the revenue, and at the end of 1877-78 the outstanding balances amoiinU'd to Ks. 3,05,474^ but though much of this was suspended, the whole was eventually realised. The worst feature of the famine was the high mortality from sickness. There were few cases of actual starvation, but the reduced state of the people, combined with the abnormal coldness of the winter months, rendered them peculiarly susceptible to fever and a severe epidemic of small-pox.

No further calamity befell the district till 1896, when drought and high prices had a serious efiect on a tract already suffering from the losses of several inditferent seasons. Both the harvests of 1895-9G were very deficient, the rahi being but one-half of a normal crop, and when the monsoon of 1896, though ample up to SeptemUr, came abrujitly to an end, the serious nature of the situation was at once recognised. The rice crop was a failure, the late varieties being altogether destroyed, while the absence of moisture rendered it impossible to prepare the land for the rabi sowings save with the aid of irrigation. Apart from the rice, how- ever, the autumn crop as a whole was by no means so poor as had been anticipated, except in the sandy and deteriorated tracts of the Hasonpur and fciambhal tahsils. The result was that, while the whole

the People.

97

feud with the Maulvis who have to a largo extent supplanted them. The story of tho Chaudhris is that tho descendants of Bachhraj held Bachhraon till the days of Ibrahim Lodi, an.l that ‘ in the reign of this monarch a Gaur Rajput named Bairusal came from Dehli and married a Taga girl. Subsequently he killed one of tho Tagas in a quarrel, and hearing that the relatives of the man were plotting to revenge the murder, ho gave a feast and treacherously murdered every male Taga in the place. Fearing jiunishment for the deed he became a Musalmau, won tho favour of the Lodi Sultan and obtained all the Tagas’ property. lie was afterwards known as Bairam Khan and from him are descended alV the Chaudhri.s. It is said that skulls of the murdered Tagas dug up to this diiy in making excavations for foundations of now buildings. Branches of thci Chaudhri family are to be found at Ujhari in tho Ilasanpur tahsil and at Bhojpur in Moradabad.

The principal Musalman landholders arc tho Saiyids of Amroha, of whom some account will be given in the article on that town. Most of their lands arc revenue-free, but as a body tluj Saiyids are very reduced circumstances, the result of constant subdivision

m

Saiyid land- owner p.

of estates in successive generations. Almost all oi them arc deeply involved in debt and many have barely a sufficient income to support existence, though clinging tenaciously to the style of rain ; while few appear to make any effort towards improvement, whether material or educational. The largc.st estates were those of Saiyid Ibn-i-Ali and of Saiyid Ali Kaqi Khan and other heirs of Ali Muntizam Khan, both consisting of ten revenue-free villages in Amroha and land in tho Sambhal and Moradabad tahsils and in the Bijnor district. Apart from Amroha there are several other Saiyid colonies, notably those of Naugaou Sadat and Sirsi. Both the latter have become impoverished owing to the increasing number of shares and much of their ancestral property had been sequestrated.

A considerable area is still held by Pathans, the representatives of the Rohilla chieftains, although in many instances powerful families -were stripped of their estates by tho Nawab Wazirs of Oudh, while those which survived suffered more than any other class from the punishments inflicted^ for rebellion in 1867. Many

of the Pathan landholder reside in Kampur, notably Hashmat Ali

7

Pathan

land-

holdorB*

Agrioviture and Commerce* 45

district felt the pinch of scarcity, tho cultivators suffered but little, and the distress was mainly confined to the labouring classes and tho respectable poor. Relief was afforded in many different ways.

For the helpless and infirm poorhouses were opened at Moradabad, Amroha, Sambhal and Chandausi between the 12th of October 1896 and the 10th of February 1807, and these remained open till the end of October, the total number of persons relieved being 151,762, at a cost of Rs. 13,055. Tho attendance was largest at Sambhal and tho liigliest figures were reached in February and July, as had been tho case on former occasions. In the beginning test relief works were opened by tho (dvil authorities on the Morad- abad and Sambhal road, and these afforded employment to 21,511 persons at a cost of Rs. 1,388 between November 1896 and tho following February. Their place was taken in January by regular works under professional agency on the roads from Amroha and Moradabad to Kanth and from Sambhal to Hasan][)ur, the first remaining open till tho end ol' March and the two others till the 22nd of July, having been re started in May after a brief interval on account of the rah I harvest. The attendance roacjhed its maxi- mum in February, but was never large, tho total number of persons relieved being 259,647, while tho cost was Rs. 25,000. In addition large numbers of ])arda-n(ishm women and respectable poor persons received cash doles distributed at their houses, tho monthly average from January to September being 443 ; and this was supplemented by a grant of Rs. 12,935 by the charitable relief fund. The latter institution also contributed Rs. 46,074 for distri- bution among cultivators for the purchase of cattle and seed-grain.

For the benotit of the landholders the revenue was suspended to the amount of Rs. 2,22,307, of which Rs. 42,445 were ultimately remitted. That tho famine was of no great severity is shown by the fact that the death-rate never rose to the abnormal figure which had been recorded on the previous occasion. Undoubtedly the bhur tract suffered to a considerable extent, but elsewhere the effects of the scarcity were slight and were wholly eradicated in the course of two or three years.

Materials for the history of prices are too incomplete to enable Prices, any exact comparison between present and past conditions to be established ; but they are sufficient to show that the experiences

§8

Morddahad DistridU

Khan, settlement officer in that state, and his family, who hold a large property in the Hasanpur tahsil acquired as a reward for loyal service during the Mutiny. Abdus Salam Khan, a retired subordi^ ^ nate judge, who owns the village of Gumthal in Bilari and others in the Moradabad tahsil with a total demand of Rs. 4,882, of which Ks, 843 represents the nominal assessment ofrevenue-lree pioperty , Hamid-uz-Zafar Khan, Khan Bahadur, O.I.E., who is the owner oi the large village ol Kaithal in Bilari j M uhammad bhah Khan, who pays Rs. 4,685 in the Moradabad tahsil on land held by himself and his wifej and Muhammad Abbas Khan, who has an estate assessed at Rs. 6,200 in various jjarts of the district. There are^^ many others whoso property lies mainly in the east of tah ^ Moradabad and in Thakurdwara. Sajjad Ahmad Khan^ a Kamal- fi:ai Pathan of Moradabad, is the son of a native of Rampur who entered the service of the King ol Oudh and served at Lucknow kotwaL After the Mutiny he was made a tahsildar and came to Moradabad, where he acquired a large sum of money as com- mission on the sale proceeds ol coniiscated property. On his death the estate, consisting of houses and shops in Moradabad and land in Bilari and Kashipur, was for a time managed by the Court of Wards, His son pays a revenue of about Rs. 3,000. beveral Pathan families reside at Hasanpur, but the original colonists of that town and the village of Sihali own little land in comparison * with the family known as the Nimwalas who came at a much later date. In the days of Shahjahan a ciiioan oftho Bazidkhel clan named Mukuiz Khan obtained a grant of eleven villages in the old parganas of Ujhari and Dhabarsi near Hasanpur, but could not gain possession. His son-in-law, Hasan Khan of the Morad- abad clan, however, drove out the old Pathan owners and his des- cendant was Bahadur Ali Khan, a risaldar. Of the latter's three sons Ghulam Ali Khan was a chakladar in Oudh, Ghulam Rasul Khan was a kotwal and Ghulam Qadir Khan ‘was a tahsildar. Their descendants arc numerous and influential, but the estate has . j been partitioned lately and none of the individual shares is of any great extent. The son of Ghulam Ali Khan was Ghulam Chishti Khan, whoso sons and grandsons hold land assessed at Rs. 13,071 in three separate shares. The grandsons of the kotwal pay Rs, 1,254 and the sons oi Ghulam Qadir Khan pay Rs, l,935t

46

Moradahad District

of Moradabad differ little from those of other districts. During the first half of the iiinetoeiibh century prices ;vero extraordinarily low in comparison with the rates at present prevailing : but owing to the difficulty of transport a year of scarcity caused extraordinary fluctuations such as are unknown now-a-days, wliilc the difference b(jt woon I.I10 I'iitos ol)bainiii_tr in the varioris parts of tho clistricb was very inarkoi]. Annual statistics arc availablo only from 18G1 onwards, but a lew scattc rial references sm'vc to ilbistrato tho con- dition of affairs beforo (be JIntiny. Fi'oiii 1845 to 1857 tho average pric. s at Moradahad were 8G sees of wheat, 55 of barley, 57 ot jun.r and 4() ol l/djrti to tho riipci', and these approximated closely to the rales at Chandansi during tho same period. At Amroha, a lai'go town stamling in much loss fertile country, in spite of its jiroximity to Moradahad, prices w'cro much higher, averaging 83 sera for wheat, 42 for barley, 33 for gram, 39 for juar tind 37 for betjra ; but in Thakurdwara, which was

very iuacossiblo and was consequently unaffected by external markets, the average rates from 1854 to 18C3, l>y which time prices had begun to rise elscwliero, were 54 ners of wheat, 80 of barley, 50 of gram, 77 of juar and 55 ol' lajra. Tho Mutiny marks a turning point, for thereafter prices rose sharply, owing to a series of famines, tho development of communications, accentu- ated by tho introduction of railways and the growth of trade. These same causes tmidod to obliterate tho difference between tho various markets .-ind to equalise rates throughout tho north of India. From ISGl to 1870 the iworages wore 23-89 «ej'.s of wheat 34-48 of barley, 23-1 of jwir, 20-G2 of bajra and 24 of gram.’ There were at least three yeai-s of scarcity dering tho dcciide, which in part account for the gem ral rise, hut at the same time only servo to emphasise the subsequent height of the rates. From 1871 to 1880 the district was normally prosperous, save for tho famine of 1877-78 and tho following year ; but this had not a lasting effoot and tho ii.so had Iw en vmy marked before timt calamity, the aver- ages for the ten years being 19-3 .sei-.s of wheat, 28-42 of b-irlev

23-83 of juar, 22-07 of lajra and 22-71 of gram. The next five years witne.s.sed a deeline, but this was of brief duration ; for in I880 a great rise took place cvciywhero. owing to various causes such as the growth of tho export trade, the depreciation of the i-upoc

Piopte.

99

The Bazidkhel descendants of Mubariz Khan are represented by Dost Muhammad Khan, but his property is very heavily encum- bered.

Mention has been made already of the Chaudhris of Bachhraon Maulviaof in dealing with the Tagas. Of more importance are the Maulvis of that town, who belong to two distinct families. One of them claims to be Arabs of the Qurreshi raoe, and to have come from Medina to Baghdad and thence to Dehli in the days of Akbar. There they fell into disgrace and in consequenco came to Azampur, which is said to have been founded by them. Soon after the advent of ”itish rule they moved with several other Azampur families to . ^.^hraon. The present representatives are two brothers, Maulvi Ahmad Ali and Maulvi Khalil-ur-Kahman, who j^ay a revenue of Rs. 2,200 and also hold some land free of revenue. They consider themselves of higher family than and will not intermarry with the other Maulvis of the town, who are Sheikhs, and also allege a des- cent from Arabs of the Hedjaz. Their ancestors came from Dehli to Salempur in the Bijnor district and thence migrated to Bachhraon about 250 years ago. Their ancestral property consisted of throe revenue-free villages, but the greater part of their estate was acquired by Munir Ali and his brothers, Asad Ali and Basit Ali. The first had been an official of the Oudh government, was sarishtadar to 'Mr. Leycester, and before his death in 1843 held successively the offices of Government pleader, munsif and deputy collector. All three brothers left their property to Maulvi Ibrahim Ali, the son of Munir Ali, in order to keep the estate undivided, and this man held a magnificent estate, much of it revenue-free, with a rent-roll of nearly five lakhs, including 42 whole villages in Hasanpur and 96 villages or mahals in Amroha, Sambhal and Bijnor, as well as one village in Meerut. The Maulvi was a learned man and much respected as an authority on religious matters ; but his estate was left to the care of agents and their mismanagement led to hopeless in- lebtedness. Before his death in 1908 Ibrahim Ali had divided his

property between his three sons, Khalil-ur-Rahman, Jamil-ur- Rah- man and Maqbul-ur-Kahman ; but the whole is still under single managementi though probably little will be left in a few yeare sav^ the share of the third brother, which is less heavily involved than the rest. The soil of Asad Ali was Amjad Ali, who was a

Agriculture and Commerce,

47

and the great fall in the value of securities which resulted from the scare of war with Russia. Consequently the averages for the ten years ending with 1800 were higher than ovc'r before, wheat averaging 18‘79, barley 27-2, juar 25‘0(), hajra 21*19 and gram 22*53 sers to the rupee. There was a groat difference between the beginning and the end of the decade and this became apparent in the next ten years, though much was due to the succession of bad seasons, whicdi included at least two years of great scarcity.

The averages from 1801 to 1003 were only 14*10 spj'fi of wheat^

20*29 of barley, 18*03 of Jita)*, 15*03 of bfcjra and 17*20 of gram.

The way in which the district recovered is clearly shown from tlu‘ returns of the following five years, in which wheat averaged 15 MO, barley 23* 19, juar 22'00, bajr(t 20 and gram 18*58 but thi'.se figures are on the whole much higher than tho.se of the five years preceding 1891, while .sineci 1905 prices have is'achod heights n ver before attained, liCaving this out of consideration, there* was an average rise of 41*7 per (J iit. in the price of the principal food- grains between 1801 and 1905, while in the ease of wlaait, the chief staple of the district, the rise is no less than 05 per c iit.

This fact is of immense importance from the point of view of \]\a agriculturist, and merit.s special attention in a district whii;h con- tains so largo an area still UM on grain rents. It is impossible to treat the; subject exhaustively within narrow limits, ()ut it is of interest to note that the rise in the price of guv has boon relatively much less than that of other agricultural products, owing to the importation of cheap sugar from Europe ; and this in largo mea- sure accounts for ilh' reduction in the area under sugarcane and the substitution of other crops which have increased more rapidly in value.

Unfortunately, owing to the absence of any reliable informa- Wages, tion, it is impossible to say whether wages have increased com- mensurately with the rise in prices. In former days wages were commonly paid either wholly or partly in grain, this system being generally adopted at harvest even at the present time. Cash wages in 1881 ranged from six to eight pice daily for ordinary unskilled labourers. The returns of earlier years show distinctly higher rates, but arc of very little value. No regular wage census was in fact taken till 1906, and from this it appears that labourers

Sheikh

landhold*

ers

ioo

Moradabad Di^tricti

pleader in the provincial court at Agra and acquired a considerable property of his own, held by Maulvi Abdul Hafiz and Maulvi Fazl Haq, a' retired tahsildar, lately deceased. It is a well managed , estate consisting of five revenue-free villages and other lands assessed at about Rs. 8,000.

There are several Sheikh families of distinction who hold a considerable amount of land. Ashi(| Husain ofSambhal, commonly styled Nawab, is a Qurreshi and is descended from Nawab Amin- ud-daula, who rose to a high position in the days of Muhammad Shah and built the tort in Mian Sarai at Sambhal. Part of his was resumed by Asal-ud-daula and in its place the

family received a pension of Rs. 2,500 per annum, of which Askiq Husain still receives Rs. 612. He pays a revenue of Rs. 8,000 and""’ also holds some land free of revenue. The Qazis of Moradabad are Siddiqi Sheikhs and are descended from a Qazi of Peshawar who came to Moradabad in that capacity in 1698. They jiossess a large number of old santids, but most ol the estate was acquired recent- ly by Qazi Abbas, the son of a subordinate judge who died in 1850. The son of Qazi Abbas is Qazi Shauqat Husain, who pays a revenue of Rs. 7,100. His unclcj Qazi Imdad Husain, is descend- ed on the father’s side from a hxmily of muftis, which came to Moradabad from Bijnor in the reign of Aurangzeb. Ho has a far man bestowing on his ancestor ten villages in revenue-free tenure, all of which arc in his possession, though nine of them are now assessed. He is an honorary magistrate and pays a revenue of about Rs. 7,000, while some of his property is revenue-free, about half the estate lying in the Moradabad tahsil. Qazi Ibrar Ahmad, Khan Bahadur, who is also an honorary magistrate, having been appointed in 1883, is the representative of a family which settled in Moradabad when Asalat Khan was governor. He is the great-grandson of Muhammad Amin, who was made Qazi by the Nawab Wazir of Oudh. His father had a large estate but left a widow and five daughters, so that Ibrar Ahmad’s share was rela- , lively small ; it is assessed at Rs. 2,000, but this does ndt include a fair amount of revenue-free land. Sheikh Rahmat-ullah, an honorary magistrate of Moradabad, has a property assessed at over Rs. 7,000 in various tahsils of the district. A well known family is that represented by Shuja All Khan, who is commonly styled

Weights

and

uioasurcs.

Interest.

48

MovOLd(ih(^^ Distviett

receive from ten to eleven pice daily and occasionally as much , three annas : whil<^ payment in hind is altogether ohsolete. Plougl ,nc.n get .somewhat lc.ss than thi.s, hut their position is peculiar, a the post is oltc, hereditary and cnrrie,s with it many privilege and pciquisitcs. In tlu‘ towns rates are naturally higher, iinskillct labourers at Chandaiisi and Moiadabad obtaining from three t( four annas ; Init the differencA- is far moi'c marked in the case o: skilled labour, a rui'al blaeksmith or carpenter earning from tc G1 annas daily, while at Chandaiisi they obtain from Rs. 12 tc Rs. 20 per mensem and fitters arc paid considerably more than this. The ])ersonal element enters largely into the question, especially in the (.‘ase of particular handicrafts such as the brass- work of ^loradahad, a good woikinau being able to command a very high wag.-.

The local standards pi’eseiit no peculiar features. The Govern- ment aer of 80 folcib’ is vi.'iy gmierally used, though the old Rohil- khand .scr of 100 tolcffi still prevails at Sambhal and many other places. For wi'ighing sugarcane jiiicc a kachchet mauiid is em- ployed and a hundred of these go to the hardciy the former being a little more than half the standard mannd. Another scries, em-

ployed for the same ])urposc, consists of the mi a or 1| ser, of which eight make a hahniy while twelve halmi make a kundi of three maiiiids. Mi asures of length arc the same as usual, the kos being 11 mile, as is the case throughout Rohilkhand. Measures of area are more complicated ; but usually the Government higha of 3,025 square yards is employed. In Thakurdwara, however, the bigha of the survey was 2,232’56 .square yards in extent : but this is seldom adopted, the people generally using a kachcha b igha formed from the square of the local chain of 27*26 yards, of which roughly CJ go to the acre and throe to the i^akka bigha. Elsewhere the kachcha bigha is one-fourth of the standard area, exactly 6f going to the aero.

The groat mass of the cultivators require periodical loans for their bu.siness, and these are advanced at interest either by the landlords or by tht' professional moneylenders. The interest varies widely with the status and credit of the borrower, but, if the rate is often high, the risk is always considerable. The most common system is that whereby a loan of Rs. 10 is repaid in twelve

The People.

101

Nawaband poasoases a small amount of rovenue-frea land, the rem- nant of a once largo estato. He is a Faruqi Sheikh and a member of th3 celebrated Shoikhzada family of Lucknow. The first ro settle in Moradabad was Nawab Aenit nlUh Khan, who in th- reign of Aurangzob held oflfiie at Mend i bad, at Ujjaia and at Aurangabad. He was honoured with the title of Qhafran Panah and obtained a very large estate. He died in 1702 on hi^ return from the Deccan and was buried at Lucknow. His son, Hidayat- ullah Khan, was successively governor of Moradabad, Panipat and Karnal, while the latter’s brother was Azd-ud-daula Yamm-ul- Viulk, Azmat-ullah Khan, who was governor of all Katehr and is aaiw to have conquered Kumaun. He received a very large jagir nn\i3 and the neighbouring districts, but after his d.mth in 1733 much ofit was seized by the Rohillas. Of his sons M-ud-din Khan was twice governor of Katehr, but could effect nothing against the Rohillas, who deposed and killed his nephew, Q»‘b-ud.din

Several other members of the family held office und r the ISawab

Wazirs of Oudh, including Ali-ud-din Khan, the grandson of Farid- ud-din and the ancestor of Shuja Ali Khan. The bulk of the estate, however, was held by the descendants of Munir-ud-din Khan, another son of Azmat-ullah Klvui, and was largely mereased by Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan, who did good service in the Nepalese war and on other occasions under the British Government. Almost thj whole ofit was lost by the rebellion in 1857 of Majid-ud- din or Majju Khan, then the leading Musalraan landholder of the district, though the family still holds land in pargana Sarauli of the Bareilly district.

A few other Muhammadan landholders call for passing men- tion. The Kambohs are represented by Hakim Niaz Ah Khan of Amroha, an honorary magistrate and a Shia, and by Muharama Shauqat Hasan of Moradabad, who is a Sunni and the son of the late Mazhar Hasan Khan Sahib. The latter held an estate asses- sed at Rs. 12,000, chiefly in the Tarai and th3 north of Moradabad, "which was originally acquired on a farming lease by one Karim Bakhsh who had come to Moradabad from Dehli in the days of Asaf-ud-daula and was appointed chakladar. He was a t^ildar under the British Government and was succeeded by his brother, Fida Ali, a deputy collector who died in 1864, leaving his

Other

Musal-

mans.

Agriculture and Commerce,

49

monthly instalments of one rupee each, that is to say at 20 per cent, per annum ; and this is increased by the fact that a deduction is usually made at the time of jnyment, tli * principal advanced boino- s(!Moin more than Rs. 9-8-0. The .smaller Banias in the villages an^ more extortionate than the larger sa/iul;ars ; the interest chargi'.d being generally 3 per cent, per mon.sem, while in cases of emer- gency, when money is required for .such oc(;asions as births, marriage's and dojiths, they exact as much as one anna in the rupee monthly.

When the loan is of grain for seed or food the usual rate is that called deorha, whereby the interest amounts to 50 per cqnt. ; but frequ(!ntly higluir rates are impos('.d in order to make up for the difference between th 3 high price.s prevailing when the grain is borrowed and the low prices at harvest, when the principal is repaid. Occasionally, when the moneylender is the landlord and the culti- vator cannot repay his debt, th > latt er becomes littlo bettor than a slave. The creditor then takes over the whole of the cultivator’s grain or cane-juice and disposes of it to the best advantage, credit- ing the debtor with the proceeds, but at a price invariably lower than the ciirr(‘.nt market rate, and advancing him a sum sufficient fui’ a bare subsistence. Undm* such circumstances the debtor’s condition is hopeless, release being affordcid only by death or flight.

The rate of intcrc.st is of course much lower when security is oilered and ranges from 8 to 24 p r cent, per annum. When the security takc.s the form of landed property the interest is comparatively small, and mortgages of largo e.states for long terms sometimes carry interest as low as 4J per cent, per annum, though more com- monly the rate is from 6 to 8 per cent. Tho banks in Morad- abad have had a great effect on the rates of interest, since they ordinarily advance loans at 6 or 8 per cent. The sub-agency of tho Allahabad Bank, Limited, opened in March 1909, received over three lakhs in deposit at 4 J per cent, during the first six months, and the DLstrict Co-operative Bank, which gives 5 per cent, on ^ deposits, could get far more money than it is ready to accept.

Most of tho banking and moneylending business is in the Banks, hands of private firms, several of which are of considerable wealth and importance. By far the largest concern is th&t of Sahu Ram Ratan, Rai Sahib, and his relatives, who do a very extensive business in money-lending and grain-dealing. Next in order come

102

MoTCtdahad District,

Cultivate

ing

tenures.

property to Mazhar Hasan, who divided it among his children. The Khokars of Sambhal arc the descendants of Rajpnts who were converted at a very early date, probably in the days of Sikandar Lodi ;| for Chandhri Mahmud Khan possesses far mans of that monarch and Babar, as well as many others, granting the office of Chaudhri to the family. He pays a land revenue of some Rs.;'7,000 and the sum of Rs. 4,225 more is paid by Chaudhri Farzand Ali Khan and other relatives. He is connected by marriage with the Lalkhani houses of Aligarh and Bulandshahr. The Turks hold property in various parts of the district, but the only estates of any importance are those of Pipalsana and Bhojpur in the Moradabad tahsil.

At the time of the settlement the total area included in hold- ♦ - Jngs was 1,142,79G acres, and of this 9*48 per cent, was cultivated by proprietors as sir or khudkasht and *58 per cent, was rent-free, the remainder being in the hands of tenants, those with occu- pancy rights holding 52*14, tenants-at-will 36*77 and ex-proprietary tenants 1*03 per cent. The proprietary cultivation, slightly more than two-thirds of which is .str, exceeds 12 per cent, in Sambhal and Thakurdwara, but elsewhere the proportion is somewhat below the average, while in Amroha it drops to 6*18, the Saiyids seldom devoting their attention to farming. The rent-free area is small everywhere, though in Amroha" it rises to 1*59 and Moradabad to •9 per cent. Ex-proprietary tenants are most numerous in Bilari and Sambhal, where the cultivating communities have alienated much of their ancestral possessions. The occupancy area in 1872 amounted to 565,271 acres and at the last settlement it was 595,874 acres ; and though the latter figure includes 8,377 acres in revenue-free plots, which were left out of account in the former settlement, the increase may be consirlercd very satisfactory. The landlords as a body are naturally unwilling to allow fresh occupancy rights to accrue, owing to the great divergence between the rents paid by occupancy tenants and those of tenants-at-will, coupled with the extreme difficulty of obtaining enhancements of the former ; and this attitude would be much more accentuated were grain rents generally commuted to cash, since occupancy rights matter little when payment is in kind. At the present time the occupancy area amounts to 59*13 per cent, of the holdings in Bilari, to 65*01

60

Mofodabad DisiTict*

Manufao* tat«e.

the firm of Radha Kishan Ganga Sahai, represented by Sabta Prasad and others of the Kothiwala family, Sahu Prasadi Lai Khattri, Lala Jagjiwan Das Gnjrati, the firm of Silchand Lachhmi Narayan, Banias, who deal largely in cloth, and Sahu Brijpal Das Gujrati and another Gnjrati of Moradabad ; Narayan Das, Banarsi Das and Gokiil Chand of Chandausi, Sahns Tndraman and Bindraban of Bilari and Ram Kali, the widow of Sham Sundar of Chandausi in the Bilari tahsil ; the Misra Brahmans of Sami hal and the Banias of Sirsi in the Sambhal tahsil ; Sahu Nand Kishoi of Amroha ; the sons of Sohan Lai at Hasanpur and Chheda lal of Dhanaura in the Hasanpur tahsil ; and Sahu Ram Kumar in Thakurdwara. Many of these will he mentioned later in dealing with the chief landowners of the district and almost all have other sources of income besides money-lending, especially trade in grain, sugar and cloth. Four joint stock companies have agencies or branches at Moradabad, all of them having been established ree (iitly in that city. They are the Allahabad Bank, the Imperial Bank, the Multan Bank and the Bharat National Bank of Dehli, In addition there is the District Co-operative Bank, an institution which was started in 1906 and has already achieved considerable success. Affiliated to it is a large number of rural societies, which in 1906-0Y aggregated 260, mainly in the Moradabad, Amroha and Bilari tahsils ; the total rising to 299 and 320 in the two succeed- ^ ing years. The capital of the bank similarly rose from Rs. 1,40,000 ; toRs. 1,74,572 and to Rs. 2,36,809 in the same period, while the dividend paid to shareholders increased from 6 to 8 per cent. The bank is managed by an influential committee and advances money to the rural societies at 12 J per cent. The latter are steadily acquiring popularity and a few years’ practical experience has convinced the cultivators of the advantage s underlying the principles of joint and several liability. A certain proof of the success of the banks lies in the opposition of the sahukars ; though as yet the business has not made them feel the effects of competition, despite its rapid expansion.

The manufactures of the district are of considerable interest and importance, Moradabad and Ch.andausi are large industrial centres, while Amroha, Sambhal and a few other places deserve mention for their special handicrafts. Outside the towns, however,

The Teo'pU.

fa MoradaW, to 53-59 fa SamM, to 51-8 fa Amraka, to 49-78 fa

Thakurdwara and to only 44-72 per cent, in Hasanpur. The pro- portion is naturally lower in the more precarious tracts for m a year of stress many tenants abandon their holdings and their rights. Even in Bilari there had been a decrease since 1872, though at t 0 present time many of the landlords have adopted the system o seven-year leases, which may no doubt serve to secure' stability for

rack-rents, but will ultimately benefit the cultivator. In Amroha

the landlords have in some cases deliberately f extirpate occupancy rights by every possible device ; but on the whole the area has largely increased, although this mattera 1 aVact where grain rents generally prevail and the tenant is wholly " at the mercy of the zamindar. In Thakurdwara decrease h^ b:-en considerable, but this seems to be due in the mmn to natural causes and to be confined to the worst circles. _ In Hasanpur conditions resemble those of Amroha a and the increase

tant; but in Sambhal and Moradabad it is very noticeable and n

the latter at any rate it may be ascribed chiefly to the remarkable

strength of the tenantry as a body. ^ ^

The cultivating community is very varied m its compositio^ , but the predominance of agriculturists of the better classes is conspicuous. As already'noted in tho preceding chapter, however caste is of less account than locality and cultivators of eqtia ability show very different results in the poor gram-rented ^d’^ges the west to those achieved in the cash-rented Katehr. Statistics compiled at the settlement showed that of the total area in holdings Jats held 12-06, Sheikhs 10-05, Chamars 9-41 and Baghbans including Muraos and Malis, 6-53 per cent. The last are the , finest husbandmen in the district, though Jats and Chamars are cultivators of a very high order. Tho latter are found everywhere, while the Jats comprise the Deswalis of Bilari and Sambh-al, a sturdy and independent race of marked skill, and the Pachhadas 0 mro a and the hhur, who are of a much inferior type. Next come ' the Ahars of Sambhal with 6-13 ; the Chauhans of Thakurdwara and elsewhere, an excellent class of agriculturists, wu ,

Rajputs, mainly Bargujars in Sambhal and Hasanpur, in Bilari and Moradabad and Gaurs in the north-eaet of Samblwl, with 5-38 ; Brahmans with 4-3, in all parte of the district ; Turks,

Cultivat- ing oastes.

Agriculture and Commerce,

51

the manufactures are for the most part merely those which supply the modest needs of a rural population, the chief exceptions being sugar-refining, which is carried on by a large number of landholders and small capitalists throughout the district, and the basket-making and other industries of the Ganges khadivy to which reference has been made in the preceding chapter.

Moradabad is one of the chief centres of the brass and copper Brass- industry in the United Provinces. It is difficult to say whether it originated in the city or whether it was introduced from Persia or Kashmir; but it appears that the manufiicture of domestic utensils of brass has long been carried on at Moradabad and that the distinctive decoration of the ware, at any rate in its earlier forms, is at least a century old. To this day largo quantities of ordinary brass vessels are made, mainly of moulded brass obtained from old brass bought from pedlars and villagers by tho dealers, who sell it to tho headman of the actual factory. Tho latter is usually located in the headman’s house, but tho workmen, who are Musalmans of various castes, can hardly bo considered his employes, for the dealer pays piece-wages for the whole work and tho amount paid is distributed on a fixed scale to the workmen, After manu- facture the vessels are handed over to the dealer, who then passes them on to the finisher to be burnished. There is also a consider- able industry in the manufacture of similar vessels by Hindu Thatheras from imported sheet brass. The sheets are supplied by the dealers, and the Thatheras, who work at homo and have to provide their own fuel, fluxes and the like, are paid contract wages according to the nature of the finished product. Such sheet brass vessels are more expensive than those made of ro-meltcd brass and are considered more durable. The first stage in the evolution of the peculiar Moradabad ware was that of tinning the finished product. This is done by Qalaigars, whose processes are very primitive, the layer of tin being usually very thin. The next stage was that of engraving the tinned surface, the result of which was to produce an ornamented bi-coloured vessel, since the engrav- ing revealed the brass underneath, A further improvement was effected by filling up the depressions with melted lac, so as to leave a floral design in white metal on a black background. This form, locally known as bidri, was at first characterised by bold patterns ;

104

Montdabdd District.

Rental system ,

who are fine cultivators and are most numerous in Moradabad, central Sambhal and south-eastern Amroha, with 4*09 ; Khagis, who prevail chiefly in the Ganges khaiir, with 3*84; Gujars, also found mainly in the western tracts with 2*25 ; Tagas, in the south of Hasanpur and part of Sambhal, with 2*21 ; and Ahirs, in Bilari and elsewhere, with 1*86 per cent. Besides these, Gadariyas, Bar- hais, Banias, Pathans, Kahars and Saiyids cultivate more than 10,000 acres apiece, while many other castes are represented. The high-caste cultivators, including Sheikhs, many of whom are con- verted Tagas, altogether hold 26*5 per cent, of the area, and these, with the exception of the Tagas, are generally inferior to the rest. It is certain that caste has some influence on rent, but this is due to the fixet that the finest cultivators are usually members of the lower castes, while the apparent preference shown to Brahmans, Rajputs, Ahars and others arises from their relationship to the ^amincidra-, when not wholly attributable to the indifferent quality of their holdings. The av('rago area held by each tenant is 6*77 a^res, ra :igi ig from 4*77 in the Jloradabad tahsil to 6*36 in Bilari, (r44 in Samlihal, 6*67 in Thakurdwara, 8*3 in Amroha and 8*72 acres in Hasanpur.

R ‘Uts ar.i paid either in cash or in grain, or else partly in one and pa’tly in the other. It is probable that originally all rents W nv j)aid in kind by actual division, but that owing to the incon- venience arising from this system in the case of certain crops, such as cotton, a compromise was effected by which the cultivator paid a fixed quantity at the end of the season, and this was again con- verted into a fixed sum of money. This method was afterwards adopted for other crops like sugarcane, garden produce and the like, which required a more than ordinary amount of expenditure and attention on the part of the cultivator and therefore necessi- tated special allowances in estimating the share due to the producer. These crops arc known as zahti and the system is maintained to this day. The money rent was at first low, but gradually became enhanced to such an extent that they were no longer regarded with favour. In order to prevent loss the landlords thenuntro- ducod the /tai6andi system, whereby each tenant was bound to grow a certain proportion of ^dhti crops to each plough ; and this soon grew into the custom of levying a fixed cash rent on a certain

Textile

fabrics.

62 Moradahad District

but gradually it gave place to a irorc luinutc style called marorit while the most recent development is that known as ckarakwariy in which the pattern is in black or coloured lac and the back- ground is brass. In the last instance the tinning is omitted and the design is merely chased on the brass. Since 1870 the develop* ment of the trade has been extraordinary and now thousands of workmen are employed. Instead of the ordinary vessels all manner of articles are made in this ornamented brass, such as trays, bowls, picture-frames, candlesticks and boxes. Unfortunately the in- creased demand has led to delerioration in the work and an immense quantity of gaudy rubbish is produced, to the great detriment of the craft. Ordinary brass vessels are made also at Dhanaiira and several other places in the district. At Ainroha there was at one time a considerable manufacture of brass fittings for palanquins, carts, chairs and the like. The workmanship was of a high quality, and is still very fair, in spite of the reduced demand ; but probably the industry would revive if the workmen applied their skill to articles of funnturc and ornaments, which would he very effective if mounted in hi ass in the Amroha style.

In spite of the decline in the business due to the competition of European and factory-made cloth, Moradahad is still a very important centre of the hand-weaving industry and more than a thousand families of Julahas in the city derive a subsistence ^ therefrom. Much of the cotton is grown, ginned and spun locally, hut the use of imported yarn is steadily increasing. At Chandausi there are several ginning mills and cotton presses, but these only supply the export trade and do not affect the local industry. A spinning mill, however, has recently been erected at Moradahad and is likely to do well. Nearly all the Julahas in the city work independently and division of labour is almost unknown. The fabrics include the ordinaiy garha and gazi cloths, as well as checks and stripes of various kinds, such as gabrun, parti-coloured handkerchiefs and divei-se patterns of fabrics for women's garments. Towels, twills and dotais also are made in large quantities. A weaving school has re cently been established with the object of introducing improved appliances and patterns, so as to induce the Julahas to suit their products to the requirements of the market. The results so far have been encouraging and the school is likely

The People.

105

area per plough, whether ziUi crops were grown or not. The tenanV had the s^dection of the fi Ids and of course chose the best : a method which not unnaturally caused disputes with the result that in many cases cash rents were fixed for the entire holdings after a valuation of the diff irent field i Another cause for the dis- ann’aranw of the Im'Mndi system was the rise m the pneo of grain. At first, however, it would seem that cash rents were^ not regarded with favour by the tenants generally, since they suflfered much in a bad year, the effects of which would bo minimised under a system of division. Their objections led to a compromise, whereby they wore allowed to pay the equivalent of the valuation iW ffrain This plan, known as amaldavi, appears at first to have

Ln as it was ripe, store it and sell it a, ho pWd, whde ho landlord was relieved from the vexatious task of watohing the ornps, dividing them and carrying off hi, share. Unforlnnatcly » lent itself to grave abuse, espeeially on the p,art of tho agents, who in