93. Kulu Women.

[View larger image]
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.