Bansda State
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.
Wansda
State in the Political Agency of Surat, Bombay, lying between 20 42' and 20 56' N. and 73 18' and 73 34' E., with an area of 215 square miles. It is bounded on the west by Surat District ; on the north by the State of Baroda ; on the east by the Dang States ; and on the south by the State of Dharampur. With the exception of a few villages bordering on Surat, almost the whole country is covered with forest, the surface in some places being level and in others rising into rocks and small hills. The annual rainfall averages about 80 inches. The climate is unhealthy, fevers and other diseases prevailing throughout the year. At Unai, on the border of Bansda and Baroda territory and 7 miles from Bansda, is a hot spring, the temperature of which is generally but little below boiling-point ; but once a year, at the time of the March full moon, the heat abates sufficiently to allow a company of pilgrims and devotees to bathe in it. d d 2 The fair at this period is attended by 6,000 or 7,000 people and lasts for six days.
The family of the chief are Hindus of Rajput extraction, claiming descent from the Solanki race. The ruins of the fortified enclosure near Bansda, and of several temples and works of irrigation, point to a former period of prosperity. At one time the chiefs probably had possessions extending to the sea-coast ; but by the advance of the Musal- mans they were gradually driven to seek refuge in the more thickly wooded part of their dominions. The Marathas seem to have been the first to bring the chiefs entirely into subjection and to impose a tribute upon them. The right of levying this tribute was transferred by the Peshwa to the British under the Treaty of Bassein (1802). The State now pays to the Government a tribute of Rs. 7,351 and a chauth of Rs. 1,500. The chief bears the title of Raja and is entitled to a salute of 9 guns. The family follows the rule of primogeniture and has received a sanad authorizing adoption.
According to the Census of 1901, the population numbered 40,382 : namely, 39,256 Hindus, 974 Musalmans, and 104 Parsls, distributed in one town (Bansda) and 86 villages. The population consists almost entirely of wild tribes, such as Koknas, Chodhras, Dhondias, and Gamtas, who speak a corrupt Gujaratl.
There are some tracts of black soil, but over the greater part of the State the soil is light-coloured. The total cultivable area is 109 square miles, of which 56^ square miles were cultivated in 1903-4, 50 remained waste, and the remainder had been alienated. The chief crops are rice, ndgli, kodra, and pulse. Cotton and wheat have recently been intro- duced and are progressing well. Seventy-five square miles of land are under forest, managed on the British system of conservancy. The chief manufactures are cotton tape, mats, fans, baskets, and coarse woollen carpets and cloths.
The Raja has power to try his own subjects for capital offences. He maintains no regular troops, but has a force consisting of 34 mounted men and t,^ Arabs who perform miscellaneous duties about the court. The number of police is 131. The State contains one jail, with a daily average of seven prisoners in 1903-4. Formerly the land revenue system consisted in leasing groups of villages to contractors (ijdraddrs) for terms of five years. But when in 1876 Bansda came under British administration on account of the minority of the chief, it was determined, as the leases fell in, to replace them by a settlement direct with the cultivators. Since the introduction of survey operations, which were completed in 1884, the lands have been systematically classed and assessed. The rates per acre now in force range from Rs. 2-5 to Rs. 1 1-4 for rice land, and from 2 annas to Rs. 4-6 for ' dry crops.'
The gross revenue and expenditure of the State in 1903-4 were about 3^ lakhs and 2\ lakhs, including one lakh spent as special charges. The principal items of revenue are land and excise, each over a lakh ; forests, Rs. 10,000 ; and a sum of about Rs. 3,400 paid by the Baroda State and the British Government. In 1873 the Raja agreed to abolish transit duties for an annual payment of Rs. 8,698 from the British Government. There are fourteen boys' schools and one girls' school in the State, maintained at a cost of Rs. 5,271, with an average daily attendance in 1903-4 of 416. Only 1,289 persons were returned as literate in 1901. The boys of the wild tribes are allowed free educa- tion in the State schools. Bansda contains a hospital and a travelling dispensary, which together treated 28,000 persons in 1903-4. The expenditure of the Bansda municipality is wholly borne by the State.
