PANJÁB DISTRICTS AND DELHI

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Fig. 83. Skeleton District Map of Panjáb.

Districts and Divisions.—The Panjáb now consists of 28 districts grouped in five divisions. In descriptions of districts and states boundaries, railways, and roads, which appear on the face of the inset maps, are omitted. Details regarding cultivation and crops will be found in Tables II, III and IV, and information as to places of note in Chapter XXX. The revenue figures of Panjáb districts in this chapter relate to the year 1911-12.

Delhi Enclave.—On the transfer of the capital of India to Delhi part of the area of the old district of that name comprising 337 estates was removed from the jurisdiction of the Panjáb Government and brought under the immediate authority of the Government of India (Act No. XIII of 1912). The remainder of the district was divided between Rohtak and Gurgáon, and the headquarters of the Delhi division were transferred to Ambála.

The area of the new province is only 528 square miles, and the population including that of the City is estimated at 396,997. The cultivated area is 340 square miles, more than half of which is cultivated by the owners themselves. The principal agricultural tribe is the Hindu Játs, who are hard-working and thrifty peasant farmers. The land revenue is Rs. 4,00,203 (£26,680). The above figures only relate to the part of the enclave formerly included in the Panjáb[8]. The head of the administration has the title of Chief Commissioner.

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Fig. 84. Delhi Enclave.

Area, 14,832 sq. m. Cultd area, 10,650 sq. m. Pop. 3,704,608; 68 p.c. H.[9] Land Rev. Rs. 66,99,136 = £446,609.

The Ambála division—includes four of the five districts of the South-Eastern Plains, the submontane district of Ambála, and the hill district of Simla. It is with the exception of Lahore the smallest division, but it ranks first in cultivated area and third in population. It is twice the size of Wales and has twice its population. The Commissioner is in political charge of the hill state of Sirmúr and of five petty states in the plains.

Fig. 85. Hissár with portions of Phulkian States etc.

Area, 5213 sq. m. Cultd area, 4201 sq.m. Pop. 804,809; 67 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 9,76,749 = £67,117.

Hissár District.—Hissár is the south-western district of the division and has a long common boundary with Bikaner. It is divided into five tahsíls, Hissár, Hánsi, Bhiwání, Fatehábád, and Sirsa. There are four natural divisions, Nálí, Bágar, Rohí, and Hariána. The overflow of the Ghagar, which runs through the north of the district, has transformed the lands on either bank into hard intractable clay, which yields nothing to the husbandman without copious floods. This is the Nálí. The Bágar is a region of rolling sand stretching along the Bikaner border from Sirsa to Bhiwání. In Sirsa to the east of the Bágar is a plain of very light reddish loam known as the Rohí, partly watered by the Sirhind Canal. South of the Ghagar the loam in the east of the district is firmer, and well adapted to irrigation, which much of it obtains from branches of the Western Jamna Canal. This tract is known as Hariána, and has given its name to a famous breed of cattle. The Government cattle farm at Hissár covers an area of 65 square miles. North of the Fatehábád tahsíl and surrounded by villages belonging to the Phulkian States is an island of British territory called Budhláda. It belongs to the Jangal Des, and has the characteristic drought-resisting sandy loam and sand of that tract. Much of Budhláda is watered by the Sirhind Canal. Of the total area of the district only about 9 p.c. is irrigated. The water level is so far from the surface that well irrigation is usually impossible, and the source of irrigation is canals.

Hissár suffered severely from the disorders which followed on the collapse of the Moghal Empire and its ruin was consummated by the terrible famine of 1783. The starving people died or fled and for years the country lay desolate. It passed into the hands of the British 20 years later, but for another 20 years our hold on this outlying territory was loose and ineffective. In 1857 the troops at Hánsi, Hissár, and Sirsa rose and killed all the Europeans who fell into their hands. The Muhammadan tribes followed their example, and for a time British authority ceased to exist. The district was part of the Delhi territory transferred to the Panjáb in 1858.

The rainfall is scanty, averaging 15 inches, and extremely capricious. No other district suffers so much from famine as Hissár. The crops are extraordinarily insecure, with a large surplus in a good season and practically nothing when the rains fail badly. They consist mainly of the cheap pulses and millets. With such fluctuating harvests it is impossible to collect the revenues with any regularity, and large sums have to be suspended in bad seasons.

Such industries as exist are mostly in Hánsi and Bhiwání, where there are mills for ginning and pressing cotton. Cotton cloths tastefully embroidered with silk, known as phulkárís, are a well-known local product.

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Fig. 86. Delhi Enclave.

Area, 2248 sq. m. Cultd area, 1815 sq. m. Pop. 714,834. Land Rev. Rs. 16,66,364 = £111,091.

Rohtak—became a British possession in 1803, but it was not till after the Mutiny that it was brought wholly under direct British administration. The old district consisted of the three tahsíls of Rohtak, Gohána, and Jhajar, but on the breaking up of the Delhi district the Sonepat tahsíl was added.

Rohtak is practically a purely agricultural tract with large villages, but no towns of any importance. By far the most important agricultural tribe is the Hindu Játs. They are strong-bodied sturdy farmers, who keep fine oxen and splendid buffaloes, and live in large and well organized village communities. 37 p.c. of the cultivation is protected by canal and well irrigation, the former being by far the more important. The district consists mainly of a plain of good loam soil. There have been great canal extensions in this plain, which under irrigation is very fertile, yielding excellent wheat, cotton, and cane. There is a rich belt of well irrigation in the Jamna valley, and in the south of the district there are parts where wells can be profitably worked. Belts of uneven sandy land are found especially in the west and south. The dry cultivation is most precarious, for the rainfall is extremely variable. In the old district it averages 20 inches. But averages in a tract like Rohtak mean very little. The chief crops are the two millets and gram.

Area, 2264 sq.m. Cultd Area, 1701 sq. m. Pop. 729,167. Land Rev. Rs. 15,98,333 = £106,556.

Gurgáon contains six tahsíls, Rewárí, Gurgáon, Nuh, Firozpur, Palwal, and Ballabgarh. The southern part of the district projects into Rájputána, and in its physical and racial characteristics really belongs to that region.

Rewárí is the only town of any importance. It has a large trade with Rájputána. Apart from this the interests of the district are agricultural. In Gurgáon the Jamna valley is for the most part narrow and very poor. The plain above it in the Palwal tahsíl has a fertile loam soil and is irrigated by the Agra Canal. The Hindu Játs of this part of the district are good cultivators. The rest of Gurgáon consists mostly of sand and sandy loam and low bare hills. In Rewárí the skill and industry of the Hindu Ahírs have produced wonderful results considering that many of the wells are salt and much of the land very sandy. The lazy and thriftless Meos of the southern part of the district are a great contrast to the Ahírs. They are Muhammadans.

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Fig. 87.

About a quarter of the area is protected by irrigation from wells, the Agra Canal, and embankments or "bands," which catch and hold up the hill drainages. Owing to the depth and saltness of many of the wells the cultivation dependent on them is far from secure, and the "band" irrigation is most precarious. The large dry area is subject to extensive and complete crop failures. The average rainfall over a series of years is 24 inches, but its irregularities from year to year are extreme. The district is a poor one, and for its resources bears the heaviest assessment in the Panjáb. It requires the most careful revenue management. There are brine wells at Sultánpur, but the demand for the salt extracted is now very small.

Area, 3153 sq. m. Cultd area, 1744 sq. m. Pop. 799,787; 70 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 12,92,620 =£86,175.

Karnál is midway in size between Rohtak and Hissár. One-third of the cultivation is now protected by irrigation, two-fifths of the irrigation being from wells and three-fifths from the Western Jamna Canal. There are four tahsíls, Thanesar, Karnál, Kaithal, and Pánipat. The peasantry consists mostly of hardworking Hindu Játs, but there are also many Hindu and Muhammadan Rájput villages. The chief towns are Pánipat, Karnál, and Kaithal.

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Fig. 88.

The district falls broadly into two divisions, the boundary between them being the southern limit of the floods of the Sarustí in years of heavy rainfall. The marked features of the northern division is the effect which the floods of torrents of intermittent flow, the Sarustí, Márkanda, Umla, and Ghagar have on agriculture. Some tracts are included like the Andarwár and the outlying villages of the Powádh[10] in Kaithal which are fortunately unaffected by inundation, and have good well irrigation. The country between the Umla and Márkanda in Thanesar gets rich silt deposits and is generally fertile. The Kaithal Nailí is the tract affected by the overflow of the Sarustí, Umla, and Ghagar. It is a wretched fever-stricken region where a short lived race of weakly people reap precarious harvests. The southern division is on the whole a much better country. It includes the whole of Karnál and Pánipat, the south of Kaithal, and a small tract in the extreme east of the Thanesar tahsíl. North of Karnál the Jamna valley or Khádir is unhealthy and has in many parts a poor soil. South of Karnál it is much better in every respect. Above the Khádir is the Bángar, a plain of good loam. North of Karnál its cultivation is protected by wells and the people are in fair circumstances. South of that town it is watered by the Western Jamna Canal. Another slight rise brings one to the Nardak of the Karnál and Kaithal tahsíls. Till the excavation of the Sirsa branch of the Western Jamna Canal and of the Nardak Distributary much of the Nardak was covered with dhák jangal, and the cultivation was of the most precarious nature, for in this part of the district the rainfall is both scanty and capricious, and well cultivation is only possible in the north. The introduction of canal irrigation has effected an enormous change. Wheat and gram are the great crops.

Historically Karnál is one of the most interesting districts. The Nardak is the scene of the great struggle celebrated in the Mahábhárata. The district contains the holy city of Thanesar, once the capital of a great Hindu kingdom. It has found climate a more potent instrument of ruin than the sword of Mahmúd of Ghazní, who sacked it in 1014. It still on the occasion of Eclipse fairs attracts enormous crowds of pilgrims. Pihowa is another very sacred place. Naráina, a few miles to the north-west of Karnál, was the scene of two famous fights[11], and three times, in 1526, 1556, and 1761, the fate of India was decided at Pánipat.

Area, 1851 sq. m. Cultd area, 1174 sq. m. Pop. 689,970. Land Rev. Rs. 11,47,688 = £76,513

Ambála is a submontane district of very irregular shape. It includes two small hill tracts, Morní and Kasaulí. There is little irrigation, for in most parts the rainfall is ample. Wheat is the chief crop. The population has been declining in the past 20 years.

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Fig. 89.

The only town of importance is Ambála. Jagádhrí is a busy little place now connected through private enterprise by a light railway with the N. W. Railway. The district consists of two parts almost severed from one another physically and wholly different as regards people, language, and agricultural prosperity. The Rúpar subdivision in the north-west beyond the Ghagar has a fertile soil, and, except in the Nálí, as the tract flooded by the Ghagar is called, a vigorous Ját peasantry, whose native tongue is Panjábí. The three south-eastern tahsíls, Ambála, Naráingarh, and Jagádhrí, are weaker in every respect. The loam is often quite good, but interspersed with it are tracts of stubborn clay largely put under precarious rice crops. The Játs are not nearly so good as those of Rúpar, and Rájputs, who are mostly Musulmáns, own a large number of estates.

Area, 101 sq. m. Cultd area, 15 sq. m. Pop. in Feb. 1911, 39,320. Land Rev. Rs. 17,484 = £1166.

Simla consists of three little tracts in the hills known as Bharaulí, Kotkhai, and Kotgarh, and of patches of territory forming the cantonments of Dagshai, Subáthu, Solon, and Jutogh, the site of the Lawrence Military School at Sanáwar, and the great hill station of Simla. Bharaulí lies south-west of Simla in the direction of Kasaulí. Kotkhai is in the valley of the Girí, a tributary of the Jamna. Kotgarh is on the Sutlej and borders on the Bashahr State. The Deputy Commissioner of Simla is also Superintendent or Political Officer of 28 hill states.

Area, 19,934 sq. m. Cultd area, 7762 sq. m. Pop. 3,967,724. Land Rev. Rs. 61,64,172 = £410,945.

Jalandhar Division.—More than half the area of the Jalandhar division is contributed by the huge district of Kángra, which stretches from the Plains to the lofty snowy ranges on the borders of Tibet. The other districts are Hoshyárpur in the submontane zone, Jalandhar and Ludhiána, which belong to the Central Plains, and Ferozepore, which is part of the South-Eastern Panjáb. Sikhs are more numerous than in any other division, but are outnumbered by both Hindus and Muhammadans. The Commissioner has political charge of the hill states of Mandí and Suket and of Kapúrthala in the Plains.

Area, 9878 sq. m. Cultd area, 918 sq. m. Pop. 770,386; 94 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 9,26,661 = £61,777.

Kángra is the largest district in the Panjáb. It includes three tracts of very different character:

(a)Spití and Lahul, area exceeding 4400 square miles, forming part of Tibet;
(b)Kulu and Saráj;
(c)Kángra proper, area 2939 square miles.

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Fig. 90.

Lahul, Spití, Kulu, and Saráj form a subdivision in charge of an Assistant Commissioner. The people of Kángra are Hindus. Islám never penetrated into these hills as a religion, though the Rájput Rájas of Kángra became loyal subjects of the Moghal Emperors. In its last days Ranjít Singh called in as an ally against the Gurkhas remained as a hated ruler. The country was ceded to the British Government in 1846. The Rájas were chagrined that we did not restore to them their royal authority, but only awarded them the status of jagírdárs. An outbreak, which was easily suppressed, occurred in 1848. Since then Kángra has enjoyed 65 years of peace. A Gurkha regiment is stationed at the district headquarters at Dharmsála. The cultivation ranges from the rich maize and rice fields of Kulu and Kángra to the poor buckwheat and kulath on mountain slopes. Rice is irrigated by means of kuhls, ingeniously constructed channels to lead the water of the torrents on to the fields.

Spití and Lahul.—Spití, or rather Pití, is a country of great rugged mountains, whose bare red and yellow rocks rise into crests of everlasting snow showing clear under a cloudless blue sky. There is no rain, but in winter the snowfall is heavy. The highest of the mountains exceeds 23,000 feet. Pití is drained by the river of the same name, which after passing through Bashahr falls I into the Sutlej at an elevation of 11,000 feet. Of the few villages several stand at a height of from 13,000 to 14,000 feet. The route to Pití from Kulu passes over the Hamtu Pass (14,200 feet) and the great Shigrí glacier. The people are Buddhists. They are governed by their hereditary ruler or Nono assisted by five elders, the Assistant Commissioner exercising a general supervision. Indian laws do not apply to the sparse population of this remote canton, which has a special regulation of its own. Lahul lies to the west of Pití, from which it is separated by a lofty range. It is entered from Kulu by the Rotang Pass (13,000 feet) and the road from it to Ladákh passes over the Baralácha (16,350 feet). The whole country is under snow from December to April, but there is very little rain. The two streams, the Chandra and Bhága, which unite to form the Chenáb, flow through Lahul and the few villages are situated at a height of 10,000 feet in their elevated valleys. The people are Buddhists. In summer the population is increased by "Gaddí" shepherds from Kángra, who drive lean flocks in the beginning of June over the Rotang and take them back from the Alpine pastures in the middle of September fat and well liking.

Fig. 91. Biás at Manálí.

Kulu and Saráj.—The Kulu Valley, set in a mountain frame and with the Biás, here a highland stream, running through the heart of it, is one of the fairest parts of the Panjáb Himálaya. Manálí, at the top of the Valley on the road to the Rotang, is a very beautiful spot. Kulu is connected with Kángra through Mandí by the Babbu and Dulchí passes. The latter is generally open the whole year round. The headquarters are at Sultánpur, but the Assistant Commissioner lives at Nagar. In Kulu the cultivation is often valuable and the people are well off. The climate is good and excellent apples and pears are grown by European settlers. Inner and outer Saráj are connected by the Jalaori Pass on the watershed of the Sutlej and Biás. Saráj is a much rougher and poorer country than Kulu. There are good deodár forests in the Kulu subdivision. In 1911 the population of Kulu, Saráj, Lahul, and Pití, numbered 124,803. The Kulu people are a simple folk in whose primitive religion local godlings of brass each with his little strip of territory take the place of the Brahmanic gods. It is a quaint sight to see their ministers carrying them on litters to the fair at Sultánpur, where they all pay their respects to a little silver god known as Raghunáthjí, who is in a way their suzerain.

Fig. 92. Religious Fair in Kulu.

Kángra proper is bounded on the north by the lofty wall of the Dhaula Dhár and separated from Kulu by the mountains of Bara Bangáhal. It consists of the five tahsíls of Kángra, Palampur, Nurpur, Dera, and Hamírpur. The first two occupy the rich and beautiful Kángra Valley. They are separated from the other three tahsíls by a medley of low hills with a general trend from N.W. to S.E. They are drained by the Biás, and are much more broken and poorer than the Kángra Valley. The tea industry, once important, is now dead so far as carried on by English planters. The low hills have extensive chír pine forests. They have to be managed mainly in the interests of the local population, and are so burdened with rights that conservation is a very difficult problem. In 1911 the population of the five tahsíls amounted to 645,583. The most important tribes are Brahmans, Rájputs, and hardworking Gírths. The hill Brahman is usually a farmer pure and simple.

93. Kulu Women.

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Fig. 94.

Area, 2247 sq. m. Cultd area, 1128 sq. m. Pop. 918,569; 54 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 14,22,527 = £494,835.

Hoshyárpur became a British possession in 1846 after the first Sikh War. It is a typically submontane district. A line of low bare hills known as the Solasinghí Range divides it from Kángra. Further west the Katár dhár, a part of the Siwáliks, runs through the heart of the district. Between these two ranges lies the fertile Jaswan Dun corresponding to the Una tahsíl. The other three tahsíls, Garhshankar, Hoshyárpur, and Dasúya, are to the west of the Katár dhár. Una is drained by the Soan, a tributary of the Sutlej. The western tahsíls have a light loam soil of great fertility, except where it has been overlaid by sand from the numerous chos or torrents which issue from the Siwáliks. The denudation of that range was allowed to go on for an inordinate time with disastrous results to the plains below. At last the Panjáb Land Preservation (Chos) Act II of 1890 gave the Government power to deal with the evil, but it will take many years to remedy the mischief wrought by past inaction. The rainfall averages about 32 inches and the crops are secure. The population has fallen off by 93,000 in 20 years, a striking instance of the ravages of plague. The chief tribes are Játs, Rájputs, and Gújars.

Area, 1431 sq. m. Cultd area, 1069 sq. m. Pop. 801,920; 45 p.c. M. 33 p.c. H. 22 p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 14,77,661 = £98,511.

Jalandhar District.—Modern though the town of Jalandhar looks it was the capital of a large Hindu kingdom, which included also Hoshyárpur, Mandí, Suket, and Chamba, and in the ninth century was a rival of Kashmír (page [160]). The present district is with the exception of Simla the smallest, and for its size the richest, in the province. It contains four tahsíls, Nawashahr, Phillaur, Jalandhar, and Nakodar. About 45 p.c. of the cultivation is protected by 28,000 wells. Behind the long river frontage on the Sutlej is the Bet, divided by a high bank from the more fertile uplands. The soil of the latter is generally an excellent loam, but there is a good deal of sand in the west of the district. The rainfall averages about 26 inches and the climate is healthy. The well cultivation is the best in the Panjáb. Between 1901 and 1911 the population declined by 13 p.c. Játs and Arains, both excellent cultivators, are the predominant tribes. British rule dates from 1846.

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Fig. 95.

Area, 1452 sq. m. Cultd area, 1143 sq. m. Pop. 517,192; 40 p.c. S. 35 p.c. M 25 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 11,57,399 = £77,160.

Ludhiána on the opposite bank of the Sutlej is also a very small district. It consists of a river Bet and Uplands with generally speaking a good loam soil. But there are very sandy outlying estates in the Jangal Des surrounded by Patiála and Jínd villages. There are three tahsíls, Samrála, Ludhiána, and Jagráon. Of the cultivated area 26 p.c. is irrigated, from wells (19) and from the Sirhind Canal (7). Wheat and gram are the principal crops. Between 1901 and 1911 the population fell from 673,097 to 517,192, the chief cause of decline being plague.

Sturdy hard-working Játs are the backbone of the peasantry. They furnish many recruits to the Army. Ludhiána is a thriving town and an important station on the N.W. Railway. Our connection with Ludhiána began in 1809, and the district assumed practically its present shape in 1846 after the first Sikh War.

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Fig. 96.

Area, 4286 sq. m. Cultd area, 3504 sq. m. Pop. 959,657; 44 p.c. M. 29 p.c. H. 27 p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 11,79,924 = £78,661.

Ferozepore is a very large district. The Farídkot State nearly cuts it in two. The northern division includes the tahsíls of Ferozepore, Zíra, and Moga, the last with an outlying tract known as Mahráj, which forms an island surrounded by the territory of several native states. The southern division contains the tahsíls of Muktsar and Fázilka. Our connection with Ferozepore began in 1809, and, when the widow of the last Sikh chief of Ferozepore died in 1835, we assumed direct responsibility for the administration of a considerable part of the district. Two of the great battles of the first Sikh War, Mudkí and Ferozesháh or more properly Pherushahr, were fought within its borders. Mamdot with an area of about 400 square miles ceased to be independent in 1855, but the descendant of the last ruler still holds it in jagír. Fázilka was added in 1864 when the Sirsa district was broken up. Of the cultivated area 47½ p.c. is irrigated by the Sirhind Canal, the Grey Inundation Canals, and wells. For the most part the district is divided into three tracts, the riverain, Hithár or Bet, with a poor clay soil and a weak population, the Utár, representing river deposits of an older date when the Sutlej ran far west of its present bed, and the Rohí, an upland plain of good sandy loam, now largely irrigated by the Sirhind Canal. The Grey Canals furnish a far less satisfactory source of irrigation to villages in the Bet and Utár. In different parts of this huge district the rainfall varies from 10 to 22 inches. The chief crops are gram and wheat. The Játs are the chief tribe. In the Uplands they are a fine sturdy race, but unfortunately they are addicted to strong drink, and violent crime is rife. Ferozepore has a large cantonment and arsenal and a big trade in grain. It is an important railway junction.

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Fig. 97.

Area, 12,387 sq. m. Cultd area, 7924 sq. m. Pop 4,656,629; 57 p.c. M. 24 p.c. H. 16 p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 70,53,856 = £470,257.

Lahore Division.—Lahore is the smallest division, but the first in population. Its political importance is great as the home of the Sikhs of the Mánjha, and because the capital of the province and the sacred city of the Khálsa are both within its limits. It contains the five districts of Gurdáspur, Siálkot, Gujránwála, Lahore, and Amritsar. The Commissioner is in political charge of the Chamba State.

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Fig. 98.

Area, 1809 sq. m. Cultd area, 1281 sq. m. Pop. 836,771; 49 p.c. M. 34 p.c. H. 14½ p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 17,68,412 = £117,894.

Gurdáspur is a submontane district with a good rainfall and a large amount of irrigation. The crops are secure except in part of the Shakargarh tahsíl. 27 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated, 16 by wells and 11 by the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal. Irrigation is only allowed from the Canal for the Autumn harvest. The chief crop is wheat and the area under cane is unusually large. Of late years plague has been very fatal and the population fell from 940,334 in 1901 to 836,771 in 1911. Játs, Rájputs, Arains, Gújars, and Brahmans, are the chief agricultural tribes, the first being by far the most important element. There are four tahsíls, Batála, Gurdáspur, and Pathánkot in the Bárí Doáb, and Shakargarh to the west of the Ráví. Batála is one of the most fertile and prosperous tracts in the Panjáb and Gurdáspur is also thriving. Pathánkot is damp, fever stricken, and unprosperous. It lies mostly in the plains but contains a considerable area in the low hills and higher up two enclaves, Bakloh and Dalhousie, surrounded by Chamba villages. Shakargarh is much more healthy, and is better off than Pathánkot. There is good duck and snipe shooting to be got in some parts of the district, as the drainage from the hills collects in swamps and jhíls.

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Fig. 99.

Area, 1991 sq. m. Cultd area, 1427 sq. m. Pop. 979,553; 62 p.c. M. 25 p.c. H. 8 p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 14,79,390 = £98,626.

Siálkot is another secure and fully cultivated submontane district. It lies wholly in the Rechna Doáb and includes a small well-watered hilly tract, Bajwát, on the borders of Jammu. The Ráví divides Siálkot from Amritsar an the Chenáb separates it from Gujrát. The Degh and some smaller torrents run through the district. In the south there is much hard sour clay, part hitherto unculturable. But irrigation from the Upper Chenáb Canal will give a new value to it. There are five tahsíls, Zafarwál, Siálkot, Daska, Pasrúr, and Raya. The chief crop is wheat which is largely grown on the wells, numbering 22,000. The pressure of the population on the soil was considerable, but since 1891 the total has fallen from 1,119,847 to 979,553 as the result of plague and emigration to the new canal colonies. Christianity has obtained a considerable number of converts in Siálkot. The Játs form the backbone of the peasantry. Rájputs and Arains are also important tribes, but together they are not half as numerous as the Játs.

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Fig. 100.

Area, 4802 sq. m. Cultd area, 2166 sq. m. Pop. 923,419. Land Rev. Rs. 15,43,440 = £102,896.

Gujránwála is a very large district in the Rechna Doáb, with five tahsíls, Wazírábád, Gujránwála, Sharakpur, Háfizábád, and Khángáh Dográn. The rainfall varies from 20 inches on the Siálkot border to ten or eleven in the extreme south-west corner of the district. Gujránwála is naturally divided into three tracts: the Riverain of the Ráví and Chenáb, the Bángar or well tract, and the Bár once very partially cultivated, but now commanded by the Lower and Upper Chenáb Canals. Enormous development has taken place in the Háfizábád and Khángáh Dográn tahsíls in the 20 years since the Lower Chenáb Canal was opened. Of late years the rest of the district has suffered from plague and emigration, and has not prospered. But a great change will be effected by irrigation from the Upper Chenáb Canal, which is just beginning. In the east of the district much sour clay will become culturable land, and the Bár will be transformed as in the two tahsíls watered by the older canal. Of the cultivated area 73½ p.c. is irrigated, 36½ from wells and 37 from canals. The chief crops are wheat and gram. There is, as is usual in the Western Panjáb, a great preponderance of Spring crops. The Játs are far and away the strongest element in the population.

Area, 1601 sq. m. Cultd area, 1184 sq. m. Pop. 880,728; 46 p.c. M. 29 p.c. S. 24 p.c. H. Land Rev. Rs. 12,70,799 = £84,720.

Amritsar is a small district lying in the Bárí Doáb between Gurdáspur and Lahore. 62 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated, half from 12,000 wells and half from the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal. Unfortunately much waterlogging exists, due to excessive use of canal water and defective drainage. Measures are now being taken to deal with this great evil, which has made the town of Amritsar and other parts of the district liable to serious outbreaks of fever. There are two small riverain tracts on the Biás and Ráví and a poor piece of country in Ajnála flooded by the Sakkí. The main part of the district is a monotonous plain of fertile loam. The two western tahsíls, Amritsar and Tarn Táran, are prosperous, Ajnála is depressed. The rainfall is moderate averaging 21 or 22 inches, and the large amount of irrigation makes the harvests secure. The chief crops are wheat and gram.

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Fig. 101.

The Sikh Játs of the Mánjha to the south of the Grand Trunk Road form by far the most important element in the population. Between 1901 and 1911 there was a falling off from 1,023,828 to 880,728. Besides its religious importance the town of Amritsar is a great trade centre.

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Fig. 102.

Area, 2824 sq. m. Cultd area, 1866 sq. m. Pop. 1,036,158. Land Rev. Rs. 991,815 = £66,121.

Lahore lies in the Bárí Doáb to the south-west of Amritsar. It is a much larger district, though, like Amritsar, it has only three tahsíls, Lahore, Kasúr, and Chúnian. 76 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated, 23 from wells and 53 from canals. There has been an enormous extension of irrigation from the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal in the past 30 years. Accordingly, though the rainfall is somewhat scanty, the crops are generally secure. The principal are wheat and gram. The district consists of the Riverain on the Biás and Ráví, the latter extending to both sides of the river, and the plain of the Mánjha, largely held by strong and energetic Sikh Játs. In the Ráví valley industrious Arains predominate. Railway communications are excellent. Trade activity is not confined to the city of Lahore. Kasúr, Chúnian, and Raiwind are important local centres.

Area, 21,361 sq. m. Cultd area, 8099 sq.m. Pop. 3,353,052; 87 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 50,43,587 = £336,239.

The Ráwalpindí Division occupies the N.W. of the Panjáb. It is in area the second largest division, but in population the smallest. Five-sixths of the people profess the faith of Islam. It includes six districts, Gujrát, Jhelam, Ráwalpindi, Attock, Mianwálí, and Sháhpur. This is the division from which the Panjáb Musalmáns, who form so valuable an element in our army, are drawn.

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Fig. 103.

Area, 2357 sq. m. Cultd area, 1369 sq. m. Pop. 784,011. Land Rev. Ra. 887,220 = £59,148.

Gujrát lies in the Jech Doáb. The two northern tahsíls, Gujrát and Kharián, have many of the features of a submontane tract. In the former the Pabbí, a small range of low bare hills, runs parallel to the Jhelam, and the outliers of the Himálaya in Kashmír are not far from the northern border of the district. The uplands of these two tahsíls slope pretty rapidly from N.E. to S.W., and contain much light soil. They are traversed by sandy torrents, dry in winter, but sometimes very destructive in the rains. Phália on the other hand is a typical plain's tahsíl. It has on the Chenáb a wide riverain, which also separates the uplands of the Gujrát tahsíl from that river. The Jhelam valley is much narrower. Above the present Chenáb alluvial tract there is in Phália a well tract known as the Hithár whose soil consists of older river deposits, and at a higher level a Bár, which will now receive irrigation from the Upper Jhelam Canal and become a rich agricultural tract. 26 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated from wells. Játs and Gújars are the great agricultural tribes, the former predominating. The climate is mild and the rainfall sufficient. The chief crops are wheat and bájra.

Area, 2813 sq. m. Cultd area, 1162 sq. m. Pop. 511,575; 88 p.c. M. Land Rev. Ra. 752,758 = £50,183.

The Jhelam district lies to the north of the river of the same name. The district is divided into three tahsíls, Jhelam, Chakwál, Pind Dádan Khán. The river frontage is long, extending for about 80 miles, and the river valley is about eight miles wide. The district contains part of the Salt Range, from the eastern end of which the Nílí and Tilla spurs strike northwards, enclosing very broken ravine country called the Khuddar. The Pabbí tract, embracing the Chakwál tahsíl and the north of the Jhelam tahsíl, is much less broken, though it too is scored by deep ravines and traversed by torrents, mostly flowing north-west into the Sohán river. Two large torrents, the Kahá and the Bunhár, drain into the Jhelam. There are some fertile valleys enclosed in the bare hills of the Salt Range. The average rainfall is about 20 inches and the climate is good. It is hot in summer, but the cold weather is long, and sometimes for short periods severe. There is little irrigation and the harvests are by no means secure. The chief crops are wheat and bájra. The country breeds fine horses, fine cattle, and fine men. Numerically Játs, Rájputs, and Awáns are the principal tribes, but the Janjuas and Gakkhars, though fewer in number, are an interesting element in the population, having great traditions behind them. Awáns, Janjuas, and Gakkhars supply valuable recruits to the army. Most of the villages are far from any railway.

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Fig. 104.

Area, 2010 sq. m. Cultd area, 937 sq. m. Pop. 547,827; 83 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 674,650 = £44,977.

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Fig. 105.

Ráwalpindí is the smallest district in the division. Along the whole eastern border the Jhelam, which runs in a deep gorge, divides it from Kashmír. There are four tahsíls, Murree, Kahúta, Ráwalpindí, and Gújar Khán. The first is a small wedge of mountainous country between Kashmír and Hazára. The hills are continued southwards at a lower level in the Kahúta tahsíl parallel with the Jhelam. The greater part of the district consists of a high plateau of good light loam, in parts much eaten into by ravines. Where, as often happens, it is not flat the fields have to be carefully banked up. The plateau is drained by the Sohán and the Kánshí. The latter starting in the south of Kahúta runs through the south-east of the Gújar Khán tahsíl, and for some miles forms the boundary of the Ráwalpindí and Jhelam districts. The district is very fully cultivated except in the hills. In the plains the rainfall is sufficient and the soil very cool and clean, except in the extreme west, where it is sometimes gritty, and, while requiring more, gets less, rain. The chief crops are wheat, the Kharíf pulses and bájra. The climate is good. The cold weather is long, and, except in January and February, when the winds from the snows are very trying, it is pleasant. In the plains the chief tribes are Rájputs and Awáns. Gakkhars are of some importance in Kahúta. In the Murree the leading tribes are the Dhúnds and the Sattís, the latter a fine race, keen on military service.

Fig. 106. Shop in Murree Bazár.

Ráwalpindí is the largest cantonment in Northern India. From it the favourite hill station of Murree is easily reached, and soon after leaving Murree the traveller crosses the Jhelam by the Kohála bridge and enters the territory of the Mahárája of Kashmír.

Area, 4025 sq. m. Cultd area, 1678 sq. m. Pop. 519,273; 91 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 672,851 =£44,857.

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Fig. 107.

Attock district.—Though Attock is twice the size of Ráwalpindí it has a smaller population. Nature has decreed that it should be sparsely peopled. The district stretches from the Salt Range on the south to the Hazára border on the north. It contains itself the fine Kálachitta range in the north, the small and barren Khairí Múrat range in the centre, and a line of bare hills running parallel with the Indus in the west. That river forms the western boundary for 120 miles, dividing Attock from Pesháwar and Kohát. It receives in the Attock district two tributaries, the Haro and the Soán. There are four tahsíls, Attock, Fatehjang, Pindigheb, and Talagang. The northern tahsíl of Attock is most favoured by nature. It contains the Chach plain, part of which has a rich soil and valuable well irrigation, also on the Hazára border a small group of estates watered by cuts from the Haro. The south of the tahsíl is partly sandy and partly has a dry gritty or stony soil. Here the crops are very insecure. The rest of the district is a plateau. The northern part consists of the tahsíls of Fatehjang and Pindigheb drained by the Soán and its tributary the Sil. The southern is occupied by tahsíl Talagang, a rough plateau with deep ravines and torrents draining northwards into the Soán. In the valleys of the Sil and Soán some good crops are raised. The soil of the plateau is very shallow, and the rainfall being scanty the harvest is often dried up. The chief crops are wheat and bájra. Awáns form the bulk of the agricultural population.

Area, 5395 sq. m. Cultd area, 1020 sq. m. Pop. 341,377; 88 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 359,836 = £23,989.

Mianwálí is one of the largest districts, but has the smallest population of any except Simla. The Indus has a course of about 180 miles in Mianwálí. In the north it forms the boundary between the Mianwálí tahsíl and the small Isakhel tahsíl on the right bank. In the south it divides the huge Bhakkar tahsíl, which is bigger than an average district, from the Dera Ismail Khán district of the N.W.F. Province. It is joined from the west by the Kurram, which has a short course in the south of the Isakhel tahsíl. The Salt Range extends into the district, throwing off from its western extremity a spur which runs north to the Indus opposite Kálabágh. Four tracts may be distinguished, two large and two small. North and east of the Salt Range is the Khuddar or ravine country, a little bit of the Awánkárí or Awán's land, which occupies a large space in Attock. West of the Indus in the north the wild and desolate Bhangí-Khel glen with its very scanty and scattered cultivation runs north to the Kohát Hills. The rest of the district consists of the wide and flat valley of the Indus and the Thal or Uplands. In the north the latter includes an area of strong thirsty loam, but south of the railway it is a huge expanse of sand rising frequently into hillocks and ridges with some fertile bottoms of better soil. Except in the north the Thal people used to make their living almost entirely as shepherds and camel owners. There were scattered little plots of better soil where wells were sunk, and the laborious and careful cultivation was and is Dutch in its neatness. Some millets were grown in the autumn and the sandhills yielded melons. The people have now learned that it is worth while to gamble with a spring crop of gram, and this has led to an enormous extension of the cultivated area. But even now in Mianwálí this is a comparatively small fraction of the total area. There is a small amount of irrigation from wells and in the neighbourhood of Isakhel from canal cuts from the Kurram. Owing to the extreme scantiness of the rainfall the riverain depends almost entirely on the Indus floods, to assist the spread of which a number of embankments are maintained. Everywhere in Mianwálí the areas both of crops sown and of crops that ripen fluctuate enormously, and much of the revenue has accordingly been put on a fluctuating basis. The chief crops are wheat, bájra, and gram. Jats[12] are in a great majority Cis-Indus, but Patháns are important in Isakhel.

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Fig. 108.

Area, 4791 sq. m. Cultd area, 1933 sq. m. Pop. 648,989. Land Rev. Rs. 16,96,272 = £113,085.

Sháhpur is also a very large district with the three tahsíls of Bhera, Sháhpur, and Sargodha in the Jech Doáb, and on the west of the Jhelam the huge Khusháb tahsíl, which in size exceeds the other three put together. The principal tribes are Jats Cis-Jhelam, Awáns in the Salt Range, and Jats and Tiwánas in Khusháb. The Tiwána Maliks have large estates on both sides of the river and much local influence. East of the Jhelam the colonization of the Bár after the opening of the Lower Jhelam Canal has led to a great increase of population and a vast extension of the cultivated area, 71 p.c. of which is irrigated. The part of the district in the Jech Doáb consists of the river valleys of the Chenáb and Jhelam, the Utár, and the Bár. The Chenáb riverain is poor, the Jhelam very fertile with good well irrigation. In the north of the district the Utár, a tract of older alluvium, lies between the present valley of the Jhelam and the Bár. It has hitherto been largely irrigated by public and private inundation canals, but this form of irrigation may be superseded by the excavation of a new distributary from the Lower Jhelam Canal. Till the opening of that canal the Bár was a vast grazing area with a little cultivation on scattered wells and in natural hollows. North of the Kirána Hill the soil is excellent and the country is now a sheet of cultivation. In the south of the Bár much of the land is too poor to be worth tillage. The Khusháb tahsíl consists of the Jhelam riverain, the Salt Range with some fertile valleys hidden amid barren hills, the Mohár below the hills with a thirsty soil dependent on extremely precarious torrent floods, and the Thal, similar to that described on page [260]. The rainfall of the district is scanty averaging eleven or twelve inches. The chief crops are wheat, bájra and jowár, charí and cotton.

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Fig. 109.

Area, 28,652 sq. m. Cultd area, 9160 sq. m. Pop. 3,772,728; 78 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 81,48,103 = £542,872.

The Multán division consists of the six districts of the S.W. Panjáb, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multán, Muzaffargarh, and Dera Ghází Khán. Muhammadans are in an overwhelming majority. Wheat and cotton are the chief crops.

Area, 4649 sq. m. Cultd area, 1080 sq. m. Pop. 535,299; 75 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 434,563 = £28,971.

The Montgomery district takes its name from Sir Robert Montgomery (page [192]). It lies in the Bárí Doáb between the Sutlej and the Ráví. It consists of the two Ráví tahsíls of Gugera and Montgomery, and the two Sutlej tahsíls of Dipálpur and Pákpattan. The trans-Ráví area of the Montgomery district was transferred to Lyallpur in April, 1913. It is included in the figures for area and population given in the margin.

The backbone of the district is a high and dry tract known as the Ganjí or Bald Bár. The advent of the Lower Bárí Doáb Canal will entirely change the character of this desert. Its south-eastern boundary is a high bank marking the course of the old bed of the Biás. Below this is the wide Sutlej valley. The part beyond the influence of river floods depends largely on the Khánwáh and Sohág Pára inundation Canals. The Ráví valley to the north-west of the Bár is naturally fertile and has good well irrigation. But it has suffered much by the failure of the Ráví floods.

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Fig. 110.

The peasantry belongs largely to various tribes described vaguely as Játs. The most important are Káthias, Wattús, and Kharrals. The last gave trouble in 1857 and were severely punished. The Dipálpur Kambohs are much more hard-working than these semi-pastoral Játs. There is already a small canal colony on the Sohág Pára Canals and arrangements for the colonization of the Ganjí Bár are now in progress.

Area, 3156 sq. m. Cultd area, 2224 sq. m. Pop. 857,711; 61 p.c. M. 18 p.c. H. 17 p.c. S. 4 p.c. Ch.[13] Land Rev. Rs. 37,55,139 = £237,009.

The Lyallpur district occupies most of the Sándal Bár, which a quarter of a century ago was a desert producing scrub jungle and, if rains were favourable, excellent grass. It was the home of a few nomad graziers. The area of the district, which was formed in 1904 and added to from time to time, has been taken out of the Crown Waste of the Jhang and Montgomery districts on its colonization after the opening of the Lower Chenáb Canal. Some old villages near the present borders of these two districts have been included. The colonization of the Sándal Bár has been noticed on pages 139-140. The figures for area and population given in the margin are for the district as it was before the addition of the trans-Ráví area of Montgomery.

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Fig. 111.

Lyallpur is divided into the four tahsíls of Lyallpur, Járanwala, Samundrí, and Toba Tek Singh. It consists almost entirely of a flat plain of fertile loam with fringes of poor land on the eastern, western, and southern edges. The cultivated area is practically all canal irrigated. The rainfall of 10 inches does not encourage dry cultivation. The chief crops are wheat, the oil seed called toria, cotton, and gram. The area of the first much exceeds that of the other three put together. There is an enormous export of wheat and oil seeds to Karáchí.

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Fig. 112.

Area, 3363 sq. m. Cultd area, 1214 sq. m. Pop. 515,526; 82 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 11,67,965 = £77,864.

Jhang now consists of a wedge of country lying between Lyallpur on the east and Sháhpur, Mianwálí, and Muzaffargarh on the west. It contains the valleys of the Chenáb and Jhelam rivers, which unite to the south-west of the district headquarters and flow as a single stream to the southern boundary. The valley of the Jhelam is pretty and fertile, that of the Chenáb exactly the reverse. In the west of the district part of the Thal is included in the boundary. The high land between the river valleys is much of it poor. Irrigation from the Lower Jhelam Canal is now available. There is a fringe of high land on the east of the Chenáb valley, partly commanded by the Lower Chenáb Canal. Jhang is divided into the three large tahsíls of Jhang, Chiniot, and Shorkot. The rainfall is about ten inches and the summer long and very hot. The chief crops are wheat, jowár, and charí. The Siáls are few in number, but are the tribe that stands highest in rank as representing the former rulers.

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Fig. 113.

Area, 6107 sq. m. Cultd area, 1756 sq. m. Pop. 814,871; 82 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 13,74,472 = £91,631.

Multán occupies the south of the Bárí Doáb. The Ráví flows from east to west across the north of the district and falls into the Chenáb within its boundary. The Sutlej meets the combined stream of the Jhelam, Chenáb, and Ráví at the south-west corner of the district.

A part of the Kabírwála tahsíl lies beyond the Ráví. The other four tahsíls are Multán, Shujábád, Lodhran, and Mailsí. In a very hot district with an average rainfall of six inches cultivation must depend on irrigation or river floods. The present sources of irrigation are inundation canals from the Chenáb and Sutlej supplemented by well irrigation, and the Sidhnai Canal from the Ráví. The district consists of the river valleys, older alluvial tracts slightly higher than these valleys, but which can be reached by inundation canals[14], and the high central Bár, which is a continuation of the Ganjí Bár in Montgomery. Part of this will be served by the new Lower Bárí Doáb Canal. The population consists mainly of miscellaneous tribes grouped together under the name of Jats, the ethnological significance of which in the Western Panjáb is very slight. They are Muhammadans. The district is well served by railways.

Area, 6052 sq. m. Cultd area, 1163 sq. m. Pop. 569,461; 87 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 873,491 = £58,233.

Muzaffargarh is with the exception of Kángra the biggest Panjáb district. It forms a large triangle with its apex in the south at the junction of the Indus and Panjnad. On the west the Indus forms the boundary for 180 miles. On the east Muzaffargarh has a river boundary with Baháwalpur and Multán, but, where it marches with Jhang, is separated from it by the area which that district possesses in the Sind Ságar Doáb. There are four tahsíls, Leia, Sinánwan, Muzaffargarh, and Alipur, the first being equal in area to a moderately sized district. The greater part of Leia and Sinánwan is occupied by the Thal. The southern tongue of the Thal extends into the Muzaffargarh tahsíl. The rest of that district is a heavily inundated or irrigated tract, the part above flood level being easily reached by inundation canals. Dry cultivation is impossible with a yearly rainfall of about six inches. The chief crop is wheat. In the south of the district the people live in frail grass huts, and when the floods are out transfer themselves and their scanty belongings to wooden platforms.

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Fig. 114.

Area, 5325 sq. m. Cultd area, 1723 sq. m. Pop. 499,860; 88 p.c. M. Land Rev. Rs. 542,473 = £36,165.

Dera Ghází Khán district.—When the N. W. Frontier Province was separated from the Panjáb, the older province retained all the trans-Indus country in which Biluches were the predominant tribe. The Panjáb therefore kept Dera Ghází Khán. It has a river frontage on the Indus about 230 miles in length and on the west is bounded by the Sulimán Range, part of which is included within the district. The Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ghází Khán and the Commissioner of Multán spend part of the hot weather at Fort Munro. The wide Indus valley is known as the Sindh. The tract between it and the Hills is the Pachádh. It is seamed by hill torrents, three of which, the Vehoa, the Sangarh, and the Kahá, have a thread of water even in the cold season. The heat in summer is extreme, and the luh, a moving current of hot air, claims its human victims from time to time. The cultivation in the Sindh depends on the river floods and inundation canals, helped by wells. In the Pachádh dams are built to divert the water of the torrents into embanked fields. The cultivated area is recorded as 1723 square miles, but this is enormously in excess of the cropped areas, for a very large part of the embanked area is often unsown. The encroachments of the Indus have enforced the transfer of the district headquarters from Dera Ghází Khán to a new town at Choratta. Biluches are the dominant tribe both in numbers and political importance. They with few exceptions belong to one or other of the eight organized clans or tumans, Kasránis, Sorí Lunds, Khosas, Laghárís, Tibbí Lunds, Gurchánís, Drishaks, and Mazárís. The most important clans are Mazárís, Laghárís, and Gurchánís. Care has been taken to uphold the authority of the chiefs. The Deputy Commissioner is political officer for such of the independent Biluch tribes across the administrative frontier as are not included in the Biluchistán Agency. Regular troops have all been removed from the district. The peace of the borderland is maintained by a tribal militia under the command of a British officer.

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Fig. 115.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE PANJÁB NATIVE STATES

1. The Phulkian States

Area, 7599 sq. m. Pop. 1,928,724. Rev. Rs. 118,00,000 = £786,666.

Phulkian States.—The three Phulkian States of Patiála, Jínd, and Nábha form a political agency under the Panjáb Government. They occupy, with Baháwalpur and Hissár, the bulk of that great wedge of light loam and sand which Rájputána, physically considered, pushes northwards almost to the Sutlej. In the Phulkian States this consists of two tracts, the Powádh and the Jangal Des. The former, which occupies the north and north-east of their territory, possesses a light fertile loam soil and a very moderate natural water level, so that well irrigation is easy. The Jangal Des is a great tract of sandy loam and sand in the south-west. Water lies too deep for the profitable working of wells, but the harvests are far less insecure than one would suppose looking to the scantiness of the rainfall. The soil is wonderfully cool and drought-resisting. The dry cultivation consists of millets in the Autumn, and of gram and mixed crops of wheat or barley and gram in the Spring, harvest. The three states have rather more than a one-third share in the Sirhind Canal, their shares inter se being Patiála 83·6, Nábha 8·8, and Jínd 7·6. Portions of the Powádh and Jangal Des are irrigated. In the case of the Powádh there has been in some places over irrigation considering how near the surface the water table is. The Nirwána tahsíl in Patiála and the part of Jínd which lies between Karnál and Rohtak is a bit of the Bángar tract of the south-eastern Panjáb, with a strong loam soil and a naturally deep water level. The former receives irrigation from the Sirsa, and the latter from the Hánsi, branch of the Western Jamna Canal. The outlying tracts to the south of Rohtak and Gurgáon, acquired after the Mutiny, are part of the dry sandy Rájputána desert, in which the Kharíf is the chief harvest, and the millets and gram the principal crops. In addition Patiála has an area of 294 square miles of territory immediately below and in the Simla Hills. The territory of the Phulkian States is scattered and intermixed, and they have islands in British districts and vice versa, a natural result of their historic origin and development.

Fig. 116. Mahárája of Patiála.

Phul was the sixth in descent from Baryám, a Sidhu Ját, to whom Bábar gave the Chaudhráyat of the wild territory to the south-west of Delhi, making him in effect a Lord of the Marches.

Tree showing relationship of the three Houses.

The century and more which elapsed between the grant and Phul's death in 1652 were filled with continual fighting with the Bhattís. Phul's second son Ráma obtained from the Governor of Sírhind the Chaudhráyat of the Jangal Des. When Ahmad Sháh defeated the Sikhs near Barnála in 1762, Ráma's son, Ála Singh, was one of his prisoners. He was a chief of such importance that his conqueror gave him the title of Rája and the right to coin money. But Ála Singh found it prudent to join next year in the capture of Sirhind. From the division of territory which followed the separate existence of the Phulkian States begins. The manner in which they came in 1809 under British protection has already been related. The Rája of Patiála was our ally in the Gurkha War in 1814, and received the Pinjaur tahsíl. The active loyalty displayed in 1857 was suitably rewarded by accessions of territory. The right of adoption was conferred, and special arrangements made to prevent lapse, if nevertheless the line in any state failed.

Area, 5412 sq. m. Cultd area, 4515 sq. m. Pop. 1,407,659; 40 p.c. H. 38 p.c. S. 22 p.c. M. Rev. Rs. 82,00,000 =£546,666.

Patiála occupies five-sevenths of the Phulkian inheritance The predominant agricultural tribe is the Játs, over three-fourths of whom are Sikhs. The cultivated area is four-fifths of the total area. Over one-fourth of the former is irrigated, 27 p.c. from wells, and the rest from the two canals. In an area extending with breaks from Simla to the Rájputána desert the variations of agriculture are of course extreme. The state is excellently served by railways.

Nizámats.—There are five nizámats or districts, Pinjaur, Amargarh, Karmgarh, Anáhadgarh, and Mohindargarh. Their united area is equivalent to that of two ordinary British districts. The Pinjaur nizámat with headquarters at Rájpura covers only 825 square miles. Of its four tahsíls Pinjaur contains the submontane and hill tract, part of the latter being quite close to Simla. The other three tahsíls Rájpura, Bannur, and Ghanaur are in the Powádh. The Amargarh nizámat with an area of 855 square miles comprises the three tahsíls of Fatehgarh, Sáhibgarh, and Amargarh. The first two are rich and fertile well tracts. Amargarh is in the Jangal Des to the south-west of Sáhibgarh. It receives irrigation from the Kotla branch of the Sirhind Canal. The Karmgarh nizámat with an area of 1835 square miles contains the four tahsíls of Patiála, Bhawánigarh, Sunám, and Nirwána. The headquarters are at Bhawánigarh. The first three are partly in the Powádh, and partly in the Jangal Des. Nirwána is in the Bángar. There is much irrigation from the Sirhind and Western Jamna Canals. The Anáhadgarh nizámat lies wholly in the Jangal Des. It has an area of 1836 square miles, and is divided into three tahsíls, Anáhadgarh, Bhikhi, and Govindgarh. The headquarters are at Barnála or Anáhadgarh. The Mohindarpur nizámat lies far away to the south on the borders of Jaipur and Alwar (see map on page [226]). Its area is only 576 miles and it has two tahsíls, Mohindargarh or Kánaud and Narnaul. Kánaud is the headquarters.

The history down to 1763 has already been related. Rája Ála Singh died in 1765 and was succeeded by his grandson Amar Singh (1765-1781), who was occupied in continual warfare with his brother and his neighbours, as became a Sikh chieftain of those days. His son, Sáhib Singh (1781-1813), came under British protection in 1809. Karm Singh (1813-1845), his successor, was our ally in the Gurkha War. Mahárája Narindar Singh, K.C.S.I. (1845-1862), was a wise and brave man, who gave manful and most important help in 1857. His son, Mahárája Mohindar Singh (1862-1876), succeeded at the age of ten and died 14 years later. His eldest son, Mahárája Rajindar Singh (1876-1900), was only four when he succeeded and died at the age of 28. Another long minority, that of the present Mahárája Bhupindar Singh, only came to an end a few years ago. In the last fifty years Patiála has in consequence of three minorities been governed, and as a rule successfully governed, for long periods by Councils of Regency. The State in 1879 sent a contingent of 1100 men to the Afghán War. It maintains an Imperial Service Force consisting of two fine regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. Mahárája Rajindar Singh went with one of these regiments to the Tirah Expedition.

Area, 1259 sq. m. Cultd area, 1172 sq. m. Pop. 248,887; 78 p.c. H. and J.[15] 14 p.c. M.
8 " S.
Rev. Rs. 19,00,000 = £126,666.

Jínd.—A third of the population of Jínd consists of Hindu and Sikh Játs. There are two nizámats, Sangrúr and Jínd, the latter divided into the tahsíls of Jínd and Dádrí (map on page [226]). The Sangrúr villages are interspersed among those of the other Phulkian States, and form a part of the Jangal Des. Jínd is in the Bángar, and Dádrí, separated from Jínd by the Rohtak district, is partly in Hariána and partly in the sandy Rájputána desert. The rainfall varies from 17 inches at Sangrúr to ten inches at Dádrí. Sangrúr is irrigated by the Sirhind, and Jínd by the Western Jamna, Canal. Dádrí is a dry sandy tract, in which the Autumn millets are the chief crop. The revenue in 1911-12 was 19 lákhs (£126,700). For imperial service Jínd keeps up a fine battalion of infantry 600 strong. The real founder of the state was Gajpat Singh, who was a chief of great vigour. He conquered Jínd and in 1774 deprived his relative, the chief of Nábha, of Sangrúr. He died in 1789. His successor, Rája Bhág Singh, was a good ally of the British Government. He died after a long and successful career in 1819. His son, Fateh Singh, only survived him by three years. Sangat Singh succeeded to troublous times and died childless in 1834. His second cousin, Rája Sarúp Singh, was only allowed to inherit the territory acquired by Gajpat Singh, from whom he derived his claim. But the gallant and valuable services rendered by Rája Sarúp Singh in 1857 enabled him to enlarge his State by the grant of the Dádrí territory and of thirteen villages near Sangrúr. He died in 1864. His son Raghubír Singh (1864-1887) was a vigorous and successful ruler. He gave loyal help in the Kúka outbreak and in the Second Afghán War. His grandson, the present Mahárája Ranbir Singh, K.C.S.I., was only eight when he succeeded, and Jínd was managed by a Council of Regency for a number of years. Full powers were given to the chief in 1899.

Fig. 117. Mahárája of Jínd.

Area, 928 sq. m. Cultd area, 806 sq. m. Pop. 248,887; 51 p.c. H. and J. 31 p.c. S. 18 p.c. M. Rev. Rs. 17,00,000 = £113,300.

Nábha consists of twelve patches of territory in the north scattered among the possessions of Patiála, Jínd, and Farídkot, and two other patches in the extreme south on the border of Gurgáon. The northern section of the state is divided into the eastern nizámat of Amloh in the Powádh and the western nizámat of Phul in the Jangal Des. Both now receive irrigation from the Sirhind Canal. The Báwal nizámat is part of the arid Rájputána desert. Játs, who are mostly Sikhs, constitute 30 p.c. of the population.

The State is well served by railways, Nábha itself being on the Rájpura-Bhatinda line. The Mahárája maintains a battalion of infantry for imperial service. Hamír Singh, one of the chiefs who joined in the capture of Sirhind, may be considered the first Rája. He died in 1783 and was succeeded by his young son, Jaswant Singh. When he grew to manhood Jaswant Singh proved a very capable chief and succeeded in aggrandising his State, which he ruled for 57 years. His son, Deoindar Singh (1840—47), was deposed, as he was considered to have failed to support the British Government when the Khalsa army crossed the Sutlej in 1845. A fourth of the Nábha territory was confiscated. Bharpur Singh, who became chief in 1857, did excellent service at that critical time, and the Báwal nizámat was his reward. He was succeeded by his brother, Bhagwán Singh, in 1863. With Bhagwán Singh the line died out in 1871, but under the provisions of the sanad granted after the Mutiny a successor was selected from among the Badrúkhan chiefs in the person of the late Mahárája Sir Hira Singh. No choice could have been more happy. Hira Singh for 40 years ruled his State on old fashioned lines with much success. Those who had the privilege of his friendship will not soon forget the alert figure wasted latterly by disease, the gallant bearing, or the obstinate will of a Sikh chieftain of a type now departed. His son, Mahárája Ripudaman Singh, succeeded in 1911.

Fig. 118. Mahárája Sir Hira Singh.

2. Other Sikh States

Area, 630 sq. m. Cultd area, 424 sq. m. Pop. 268,163. Rev. Rs. 14,00,000 = £93,333, exclusive of Rs. 13,00,000 = £86,666 derived from the Oudh estates.

Kapúrthala.—The main part consists of a strip of territory mostly in the valley of the Biás, and interposed between that river and Jalandhar. This is divided into the four tahsíls of Bholath, Dhilwan, Kapúrthala, and Sultánpur. There is a small island of territory in Hoshyárpur, and a much larger one, the Phagwára tahsíl, projecting southwards from the border of that district into Jalandhar. Two-thirds of the area is cultivated and the proportion of high-class crops is large. The chief agricultural tribes are the Muhammadan Arains and the Játs, most of whom are Sikhs.

The real founder of the Kapúrthala house was Sardár Jassa Singh Ahluwália, who in 1763, when Sirhind fell, was the leading Sikh chief in the Panjáb. He captured Kapúrthala in 1771 and made it his headquarters, and died in 1783. A distant relative, Bágh Singh, succeeded. His successor, Fateh Singh, was a sworn brother of Ranjít Singh, with whom he exchanged turbans. But an alliance between the weak and the strong is not free from fears, and in 1826 Fateh Singh, who had large possessions south of the Sutlej, fled thither and asked the protection of the British Government. He returned however to Kapúrthala in 1827, and the Mahárája never pushed matters with Fateh Singh to extremities. The latter died in 1836. His successor, Nihál Singh, was a timid man, and his failure to support the British in 1845 led to the loss of his Cis-Sutlej estates. In 1849 he took the English side and was given the title of Rája. Randhír Singh succeeded in 1852. His conspicuous services in the Mutiny were rewarded with the grant of estates in Oudh. The present Mahárája, Sir Jagatjít Singh Bahádur, G.C.S.I., is a grandson of Randhír Singh. He was a young child when he succeeded in 1877. The State maintains a battalion of infantry for imperial service.

Fig. 119. Mahárája Sir Jagatjít Singh Bahádur, G.C.S.I.

Fig. 120. Rája Brijindar Singh.

Area, 642 sq. m. Pop. 130,925. Rev. Rs. 11,50,000 = £76,666.

Farídkot is a small wedge of territory which almost divides the Ferozepore district in two. The population is composed of Sikhs 42½, Hindus and Jains 29, and Musalmans 28½ p.c. Sikh Játs are the strongest tribe. The country is flat. In the west it is very sandy, but in the east the soil is firmer and is irrigated in part by the Sirhind Canal. The Chief, like the Phulkians, is a Sidhu Barár Ját, and, though not a descendant of Phul, unites his line with the Phulkians further back. The present Rája, Brijindar Singh, is 17 years of age, and the State is managed by a Council of Regency.

Area, 168 sq.m. Pop. 55,915. Rev. Rs. 221,000 = £14,733.

Kalsia consists of a number of patches of territory in Ambála and an enclave in Ferozepore known as Chirak. The founder of the State was one of the Játs from the Panjáb, who swept over Ambála after the capture of Sirhind in 1763, and carved out petty principalities, of which Kalsia is the only survivor (page [180]). The capital is Chachraulí, eight or nine miles north-west of Jagádhrí. The present Chief, Sardár Ráví Sher Singh, is a minor.

3. The Muhammadan States

Area, 15,917 sq. m. Cultd area, 1853 sq. m. Pop. 780,641; 84 p.c. M. Rev. Rs. 35,00,000 = £233,333.

Baháwalpur is by far the largest of the Panjáb States. But the greater part of it is at present desert, and the population, except in the river tract, is very sparse. Baháwalpur stretches from Ferozepore on the north to the Sindh border. It has a river frontage exceeding 300 miles on the Sutlej, Panjnad, and Indus. The cultivated area in 1903-4 was 1451 square miles, and of this 83 p.c. was irrigated and 10 p.c. flooded. The rainfall is only five inches and the climate is very hot. South and east of the rivers is a tract of low land known as the "Sindh," which widens out to the south. It is partly flooded and partly irrigated by inundation canals with the help of wells. Palm groves are a conspicuous feature in the Sindh. Behind it is a great stretch of strong loam or "pat," narrow in the south, but widening out in the north. It is bounded on the south-east by a wide depression known as the Hakra, probably at one time the bed of the Sutlej. At present little cultivation is possible in the pat, but there is some hope that a canal taking out on the right bank of the Sutlej in Ferozepore may bring the water of that river back to it. South of the Hakra is a huge tract of sand and sand dunes, known as the Rohí or Cholistán, which is part of the Rájputána desert. There are three nizámats, Minchinábád in the north, Baháwalpur in the middle, and Khánpur in the south. The capital, Baháwalpur, is close to the bridge at Adamwáhan by which the N.W. Railway crosses the Sutlej. The ruling family belongs to the Abbásí Dáudpotra clan, and came originally from Sindh. Sadik Muhammad Khán, who received the title of Nawáb from Nádir Sháh, when he invaded the Deraját in 1739, may be considered the real founder of the State. The Nawáb Muhummad Baháwal Khan III, threatened with invasion by Mahárája Ranjít Singh, made a treaty with the British Government in 1833. He was our faithful ally in the first Afghán War, and gave valuable help against Diwán Mulráj in 1848. The next three reigns extending from 1852 to 1866 were brief and troubled. Nawáb Sadik Muhummad Khán IV, who succeeded in 1866, was a young child, and for the next thirteen years the State was managed by Captain Minchin and Captain L. H. Grey as Superintendents. The young Nawáb was installed in 1879, and henceforth ruled with the help of a Council. In the Afghán War of 1879-1880 Baháwalpur did very useful service. The Nawáb died in 1899. A short minority followed during which Colonel L. H. Grey again became Superintendent. The young Nawáb, Muhammad Baháwal Khán V, had but a brief reign. He was succeeded by the present Chief, Nawáb Sadik Muhummad Khán V, a child of eight or nine years. The State is managed by a Council aided by the advice of the political Agent. From 1903 to 1913, the Agent for the Phulkian States was in charge, but a separate Agent has recently been appointed for Baháwalpur and Farídkot. An efficient camel corps is maintained for imperial service.

Nawáb Sadik Muhammad Khán.

Area, 167 sq. m. Pop. 71,144. Rev. Rs. 900,000 = £60,000.

Malerkotla consists of a strip of territory to the south of the Ludhiána district. The capital is connected with Ludhiána by railway. The Nawáb keeps up a company of Sappers and Miners for imperial service. He is an Afghán, and his ancestor held a position of trust under the Moghal Empire, and became independent on its decline. The independence of his successor was menaced by Mahárája Ranjít Singh when Malerkotla came under British protection in 1809.

Pataudí, Dujána, and Loháru.—The three little Muhammadan States of Loháru, Dujána, and Pataudí are relics of the policy which in the opening years of the nineteenth century sought rigorously to limit our responsibilities to the west of the Jamna. Together they have an area of 275 square miles, a population of 59,987 persons, and a revenue of Rs. 269,500 (£18,000). The Chief of Loháru, Nawáb Amír ud dín Ahmad Khán, K.C.I.E., is a man of distinction.

4. Hindu Hill States

Area, 1200 sq. m. pop. 181,110. Rev. Rs. 500,000 = £33,333.

Mandí is a tract of mountains and valleys drained by the Biás. With Suket, with which for many generations it formed one kingdom, it is a wedge thrust up from the Sutlej between Kángra and Kulu. Three-fifths of the area is made up of forests and grazing lands. The deodár and blue pine forests on the Kulu border are valuable. At Guma and Drang an impure salt, fit for cattle, is extracted from shallow cuttings. A considerable part of the revenue is derived from the price and duty. The chiefs are Chandarbánsí Rájputs. The direct line came to an end in 1912 with the death of Bhawání Sen, but to prevent lapse the British Government has chosen as successor a distant relative, Jogindar Singh, who is still a child.

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Fig. 122.

Area, 420 sq. m. Pop. 54,928. Rev. Rs. 200,000 = £13,333.

Suket lies between Mandí and the Sutlej. Its Rája, Ugar Sen, like his distant relative, the Rája of Mandí, came under British protection in 1846. His great-grandson, Rája Bhim Sen, is the present chief.

Area, 1198 sq. m. Pop. 138,520. Rev. Rs. 600,000 = £40,000.

Fig. 123. The late Rája Surindar Bikram Parkásh, K.C.S.I., of Sirmúr.

Sirmúr (Náhan) lies to the north of the Ambála district, and occupies the greater part of the catchment area of the Girí, a tributary of the Jamna. It is for the most part a mountain tract, the Chor to the north of the Girí rising to a height of 11,982 feet. The capital, Náhan (3207 feet), near the southern border is in the Siwálik range. In the south-east of the State is the rich valley known as the Kiárda Dún, reclaimed and colonized by Rája Shamshér Parkásh. There are valuable deodár and sál forests. A good road connects Náhan with Barára on the N.W. Railway. In 1815 the British Government having driven out the Gurkhas put Fateh Parkásh on the throne of his ancestors. His troops fought on the English side in the first Sikh War. His successors, Rája Sir Shamsher Parkásh, G.C.S.I. (1856-98), and Rája Sir Surindar Bikram Parkásh, K.C.S.I. (1898-1911), managed their State with conspicuous success. The present Rája, Amar Parkásh, is 25 years of age. In the second Afghán War in 1880, Sirmúr sent a contingent to the frontier, and the Sappers and Miners, which it keeps up for imperial service, accompanied the Tirah Expedition of 1897.

Area, 3216 sq. m. Pop. 135,989. Rev. 4 lákhs = £26,700.

Chamba lies to the N. of Kángra from which it is divided by the Dhauladhár (map, p. 284). The southern and northern parts of the State are occupied respectively by the basins of the Ráví and the Chandrabhágá or Chenáb. Chamba is a region of lofty mountains with some fertile valleys in the south and west. Only about one-nineteenth of the area is cultivated. The snowy range of the Mid-Himálaya separates the Ráví valley from that of the Chandrabhágá, and the great Zánskár chain with its outliers occupies the territory beyond the Chenáb, where the rainfall is extremely small and Tibetan conditions prevail. The State contains fine forests and excellent sport is to be got in its mountains. There are five wazárats or districts, Brahmaur or Barmaur, Chamba, Bhattoyat, Chaura, and Pángí.

The authentic history of this Súrajbansí Rajput principality goes back to the seventh century. It came into the British sphere in 1846. During part of the reign of Rája Shám Singh (1873-1904), the present Rája, Sir Bhure Singh, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., administered the State as Wazír, filling a difficult position with loyalty and honour. He is a Rájput gentleman of the best type. The Rája owns the land of the State, but the people have a permanent tenant right in cultivated land.

Fig. 124. Rája Sir Bhure Singh, K.C.S.I., C.I.E.

Simla Hill States.—The Deputy Commissioner of Simla is political officer with the title of Superintendent of nineteen, or, including the tributaries of Bashahr, Keonthal, and Jubbal, of 28 states with a total area of 6355 square miles, a population of 410,453, and revenues amounting to a little over ten lákhs (£66,000). The States vary in size from the patch of four square miles ruled by the Thákur of Bija to the 388r square miles included in Bashahr. Only four other States have areas exceeding 125 square miles, namely, Biláspur (448), Keonthal (359), Jubbal (320), and Hindúr or Nalagarh (256). Excluding feudatories the revenues vary from Rs. 900 (or a little over £1 a week) in Mangal to Rs. 190,000 (£12,666) in Biláspur. The chiefs are all Rájputs, who came under our protection at the close of the Gurkha War.

The watershed of the Sutlej and Jamna runs through the tract. The range which forms the watershed of the Sutlej and the Jamna starts from the Shinka Pass on the south border of Bashahr and passes over Hattu and Simla. In Bashahr it divides the catchment areas of the Rupín and Pábar rivers, tributaries of the Tons and therefore of the Jamna, from those of the Báspa and the Noglí, which are affluents of the Sutlej. West of Bashahr the chief tributary of the Jamna is the Girí and of the Sutlej the Gámbhar, which rises near Kasaulí. In the east Bashahr has a large area north of the Sutlej drained by its tributary the Spití and smaller streams. In the centre the Sutlej is the northern boundary of the Simla Hill States. In the west Biláspur extends across that river. The east of Bashahr is entirely in the Sutlej basin.

Area, 448 sq. m. Pop. 93,107. Rev. Rs. 190,000 = £12,666.

Biláspur.—This is true also of Biláspur or Kahlúr (map, p. 284), which has territory on both banks of the river. The capital, Biláspur, is on the left bank only 1455 feet above sea level. The present Rája Bije Chand, C.S.I., succeeded in 1889.

Area, 3881 sq. m. Pop. 93,203. Rev. Rs. 95,000 = £6233.

Bashahr.—The chain which forms the watershed of the Sutlej and Jamna rises from about 12,000 feet at Hattu in the west to nearly 20,000 feet on the Tibet border. Two peaks in the chain exceed 20,000 feet. Further north Raldang to the east of Chíní is 21,250 feet high, and in the north-east on the Tibet border there are two giants about 1000 feet higher. Generally speaking the Sutlej runs in a deep gorge but at Chíní and Saráhan the valley widens out. The main valley of the Pábar is not so narrow as that of the Sutlej, while the side valleys descend in easy slopes to the river beds. The Báspa has a course of 35 miles. In the last ten miles it falls 2000 feet and is hemmed in by steep mountains. Above this gorge the Báspa valley is four or five miles wide and consists of a succession of plateaux rising one above the other from the river's banks. Bashahr is divided into two parts, Bashahr proper and Kunáwar. The latter occupies the Sutlej valley in the north-east of the State. It covers an area of about 1730 square miles and is very sparsely peopled. In the north of Kunáwar the predominant racial type is Mongoloid and the religion is Buddhism. The capital of Bashahr, Rámpur, on the left bank of the Sutlej is at an elevation of 3300 feet. The Gurkhas never succeeded in conquering Kunáwar. They occupied Bashahr, but in 1815 the British Government restored the authority of the Rája. The present chief, Shamsher Singh, is an old man, who succeeded as long ago as 1850. He is incapable of managing the State and an English officer is at present in charge.

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Fig. 125. Bashahr.

CHAPTER XXVII