SATH BOOTEAH RAJAHS OF KOOREAHPARAH DOOAH, IN DURRUNG.
Having given a brief outline of the Booteahs of Banska Dooar in Kamroop, we propose now to detail a few authenticated facts and incidents connected with the remaining tribes noted above; who are located in the northern mountains between the Bur Nuddee west and the Kochoojan east, bordering on the Luckimpore district, north of the Burrampooter river.
And first commencing from the Bur Nuddee west, we find the Kalling and Booree Goorma Dooars belonged, for eight months in the year, to the Booteahs subject to the Tongso Pilo, under the Deba and Dhurma Rajahs of Bootan; during which time they levied upon the people contributions, or black mail, in the shape of rice, Erea cloths, and cattle. During the remaining portion of the year, from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, the people of the Dooars reverted to the jurisdiction of the British Government; and for the protection granted to them they paid an annual revenue, at a certain rate per plough. A hearth tax was likewise realized. But this double rule was attended with the most disastrous results. No man under the tyrannical Booteah Government dared evince signs of affluence, or even of comfort: the people were compelled, for their self-preservation, to dress in the miserable garb of the lowest Hindoo peasantry; for the mere suspicion of a person being possessed of any wealth, entailed on him the strictest espionage, and not unfrequently the seizure of the whole of his property. Not satisfied with this, if the slightest idea were entertained that there was money or other valuable property concealed (for it is the custom of the Assamese to bury their wealth underground), torture was resorted to without the slightest compunction, until the unfortunate sufferer confessed to having a hoard, and surrendered the little savings of a whole life to his merciless persecutors.
Such was the condition of the inhabitants of the Dooars till 1838: hundreds annually retreated to the Pergunnahs (districts) of Assam under British rule, to enjoy the fruit of their labours in peace and safety. The beautiful, fertile Dooars were then rapidly reverting to a barren wilderness: fearful exactions and cruel oppressions rendering the existence of the few remaining communities precarious and unendurable; until an unlooked for incident occurred to deliver the people from the thraldom of their demi-savage rulers. Gumbhur Wuzeer having long been suspected by the Booteahs of disaffection towards them, and of possessing great wealth, the Tongso Pilo of Bootan, through the Soobah Rajah, gave orders for his destruction; and in December, 1838, he was barbarously murdered. The whole of his property, amounting to 50,000 rupees, was confiscated, and his wives, children, and adherents, in all twelve persons, were carried away into the hills.
This outrage justly aroused the British Government to redress the grievances of a long oppressed people. The Dooar was immediately attached to Assam; and the Booteahs have never, to this day, sought pecuniary compensation for the loss of their territory. The son of the late Gumbheer Wuzeer was permitted to return to Assam in 1844, and resume the fiscal charge of his father’s villages; and ere long, probably, the Booteahs of this tract will see the folly of their past conduct, and be glad to accept such compensation as the Government may be disposed to make them for the privation of their power to levy black mail from the people. The annual tribute realized from Kalling Dooar previous to its annexation, amounted to 390 rupees, and was collected in the following articles:—
| Rupees. | |
| 5 ponies valued at 60 rupees each | 300 |
| 5 tolas weight of gold, at 12 rupees per tola | 60 |
| 4 pods of musk, at 3 rupees each | 12 |
| 4 cows’ tails, at 1 rupee | 4 |
| 4 blankets at 3 rupees each | 12 |
| 4 daggers, at 8 annas each | 2 |
| Total rs. | 390 |
From Booree Gooma Dooar the tribute of 232 rs. 10 ans. 8 pice was also paid in kind, viz:—
| Rupees. | |
| 3 ponies, at 6 rupees each | 180 |
| 3 tolas of gold | 36 |
| 2 pods of musk | 6 |
| 2 cows’ tails | 2 |
| 2 blankets | 6 |
| 2 daggers | 1 |
| Bags | 1 |
At the present day the net revenue of Kalling Dooar amounts to 2080 rs. 0 ans. 4 pice, with a population of 1634 persons. Booree Gooma Dooar is estimated to contain 7785 souls, with a net revenue of 5348 rs. 5 ans. 3 pice.
Proceeding eastwards from Booree Gooma Dooar, the next Dooar, called Kooreahparah, is under the Sath Booteah Rajahs of Naregooma, subject to the Towung Rajah, who is a tributary of the Deba and Dhurma Rajahs of Lassah.
| CHERINGTANJING. | GELAE. |
| Booteah Rajah. | Booteah Rajah. |
London: Smith, Elder & Co. 65, Cornhill.
The country of Towung being in Kumpa or Thibet, quite distinct from Bootan, south of the Sampoo river, it appears that a portion of the Thibet territory, or more properly the Chinese and British frontiers, are actually in immediate contact in the Kooreahparah Dooar, about twenty miles from the Burrampooter river. This Dooar, as we have said, was governed by these chiefs eight months in every year. During this period, the seven Rajahs paid periodical visits to the Dooar, and let loose many hundreds of their followers to range throughout the Dooars, and quarter themselves gratuitously upon the people: changing from house to house until they had consumed all the food the poor Ryots had to give them. The Sath Rajahs had usually a caravan of large herds of ponies, mules, &c., as far as Umerathal, one march from Oodalgorie. On their arrival there, the inhabitants of the Dooar were compelled to take care of the cattle, and be in constant attendance on the Rajahs, furnishing them with supplies of rice, cloths, spirits, pigs, &c.; and at the approach of the hot months, the ponies, mules, and donkeys were laden with the whole of the collections levied from the people of the Dooar, and the chiefs retreated to the mountains at Nareegooma.
Such was the annual visitation to which the people were subjected the moment the four months of British rule expired. A gradual decrease of the population of the Dooar was the natural result of this tyranny; but the grasping oppression of the Booteahs underwent no diminution. They made no remission on account of the decay of the population: the same amount of collections was still drawn from the remaining Ryots. The country became overgrown with jungle, and the malaria of these plains was so injurious to the constitutions of Bengalees or Europeans, that the tract could not be visited with impunity for above a few weeks in the year. The fevers were most fatal, and life was frequently extinguished in four or five days. Thieves, highway robbers, and murderers here sought and found a safe asylum under the shadow of Booteah rule, by administering to the rapacity of the chiefs. They surrendered a portion of their ill-gotten wealth in the shape of fines for the protection given them, in opposition to treaties and the laws of civilized nations.
Such was the state of affairs, when, to the unspeakable delight of the inhabitants, the Dooar was attached by the British Government in 1839. A police thannah was established at Oodalgorie, British law was enforced, marauders and disturbers of society were quickly suppressed, and at the present day a prosperous population has again sprung up; only too thankful that they can enjoy the produce of the land in peace and safety, under a powerful Government capable of protecting them from the aggressions and exactions of the wild mountaineers. The contributions taken in kind from each house by the Booteahs consisted of five pieces of Moonjah silk, sar cloth, one piece of Erea cloth, one gumcha or handkerchief, Moonjah thread, and metal bracelets, worth altogether about one rupee and a half. Such, at least, was the estimate made by the late Mr. David Scott, the Agent to the Governor-General. But there can be no doubt that the Booteahs were in the habit of exacting as much as possible from the most wealthy in the Dooar, though from the poorest peasant they might have collected their black mail upon some settled principle. In this manner the sum annually collected would vary; but we have reason to believe that 5,499 rs. 15 ans. was the average sum levied on the Ryots in the shape of contributions in kind, and 411 rs. 13 ans. in black mail or ready cash.
The Booteahs, it is affirmed, yearly brought down presents of various articles, such as salt, blankets, &c., which they gave to the Ryots. These presents were valued at 966 rs. 15 ans., which being deducted from the supposed amount of the value of the contributions above noticed, the Sath Rajahs, it would appear, received 4944 rs. 13 ans. Upon this data, in 1844, a permanent settlement was made with these chiefs. They agreed to resign all claim or title to collect black mail in the said Dooar for the future, on condition of receiving 5000 rs. from the British Government as compensation for the sacrifice they made. The tribute paid in kind from this Dooar, previous to its attachment in 1839, amounted to 397 rs. 8 ans., namely:—
| Rs. | Ans. | |
| 4 ponies at 60 rs. each | 240 | 0 |
| 5 pucka tolahs of gold | 60 | 0 |
| 4 kucha tolahs | 40 | 0 |
| 3 pods of musk | 9 | 0 |
| Cows’ tails | 3 | 0 |
| 9 blankets | 27 | 0 |
| Bags | 2 | 8 |
| 3 red striped Erea cloths | 3 | 0 |
| Honey | 3 | 12 |
| Contingencies for the care of the ponies | 7 | 8 |
The principal persons who subscribed to the treaty of February, 1844, at Tezpore, were Sanjiee, chief of the Sath Rajahs, Sering, Tangjing, Changdundoo, and two Bramee agents from the Towung Rajah. The latter had no credentials empowering them to execute any deed or to agree to any particular terms; but, as the Towung Rajah had never deigned to reply to the communications hitherto made to him, the apparent informality was deemed of no consequence; and, from the very liberal terms proposed, no difficulty was experienced in effecting so desirable a settlement.
The population of the Dooar is estimated to be 22,577 persons, and the net revenue 12,455 rs. 7 ans.