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.