Awa Estate, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Awa Estate
A large estate situated in the Districts of Etah, All- garh, Mainpurl, Agra, and Muttra, United Provinces, with an area of 265 square miles. The land revenue payable to Government in 1903-4 was 3-3 lakhs, and cesses amounted to Rs. 51,000 ; the rent-roll was 7-3 lakhs. A small area in Muttra is revenue-free. The family annals commence in the early part of the eighteenth century when Chaturbhuj, a Jadon Rajput, migrated from Chhata in Muttra District to Jalesar, and was employed as physician by the local governor. His son, Bijai Singh, obtained a small military command ; and the family gained local influ- ence by assisting the zamindars of adjacent villages, who were involved in pecuniary difficulties. Bakht Singh, son of Bijai Singh, was for a time in the service of Jawahir Singh, Raja of Bharatpur, and obtained a num- ber of villages, the profits from which enabled him to enlist a troop of marauding Mewatis. The Marathas allowed him to build a fort at Awa. During the Maratha Wars the head of the family aided Lord Lake, and in 1803 was confirmed in the estate beheld. When the Mutiny broke out in 1857 the District officer made over the pargana of Jalesar to the Raja, and requested him to show his loyalty by maintaining Government authority. The confidence was well repaid ; the Raja raised troops, attacked the insurgent villages, collected the revenue, and remitted it to Agra. The present Raja, Balwant Singh, CLE., who was for some time a member of the Legislative Council of the United Provinces, takes a keen interest in the management of his estate. Jalesar is the principal town in the estate, and a cotton gin and press, with the latest machinery, have recently been opened there. The Raja's residence is at Awa, a small place in Etah District, 14 miles from Etah town, on a metalled road, with a population (1901) of 2,823. The fort, situated close to the town, is a formidable stronghold, built of mud and brick, and surrounded by a deep moat nearly a mile in circumference. Awa is administered under Act XX of 1856, with an income of about Rs. 900. The town contains a dispensary maintained by the Raja, and a saltpetre refinery is situated close by. The primary school has about 100 pupils.
