Banswara State, 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.
Contents |
Banswara State
The southernmost State in Rajputana, lying between 23 3' and 23 55' N. and 73 58' and 74 47' E., with an area of 1,946 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Partabgarh and Mewar ; on the west by Dungarpur and Sunth ; on the south by Jhalod, Jhabua, and a portion of the Petlawad pargana of Indore ; and on the east by Sailana, Ratlam, and Partabgarh. It is said to take its name from a Bhll chieftain named Wasna, whose pal or village was on the site of the present town of Banswara, and who was defeated and slain about 1530 by Jagmal, the first chief of this State. Others say the word means the country of the bamboo (bans).
Physical aspects
The western portion of the State is comparatively open and well cultivated ; but the rest of the country, especially in the south and east, is covered with rugged hills, rocks, scrub jungle, and woodland. A line of hills runs all through the asDects • ' eastern part, attaining in places an altitude of from 1,700 to 1,900 feet. After heavy rains, the principal river, the Mahl, is impassable even by rafts, sometimes for days together. It is said to have overflowed its banks in 1858, inundating the neighbouring lands and causing much loss of life. Its chief tributary is the Anas, which enters the State in the south, and flows first in a northerly direction forming the boundary with Jhalod, and next west, the total course in or along the border of Banswara being about 50 miles. There are nume- rous minor rivers or streams, the more important being the Erau or Airav and the Chap. The country has been described as the most beautiful portion of Rajputana. It looks its best just after the rains, when the varied hues of the foliage, the luxuriant growth of the tall grasses, and the streams dashing down the hill-sides or purling through shady glens, between banks fringed with ferns and flowers, present a most pleasing picture.
In the western part of the State the rocks consist of gneiss, upon which rest unconformably a few outliers of the schists and quartzites of the Aravalli and Delhi systems respectively, while in the east these rocks are covered by Deccan trap.
Besides the ordinary small game, including jungle-fowl, a few tigers, leopards, bears, sambar (Cervus unicolor), and cJiital (C. axis) are to be found, and occasionally wild dogs and wolves. The climate is relaxing and generally unpleasant ; fevers of a malig- nant nature prevail during the two months succeeding the rains. The temperature at the capital varies from 5 8° in the winter to 108 in the summer, while the annual rainfall averages nearly 38 inches, ranging from over 65 inches in 1893 to about 14 inches in 1899. The fall in the south-east of the State is generally slightly heavier than at the capital.
History
From about the beginning of the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century the greater part of the country now styled Banswara was ruled by the chiefs of Dungarpur or Bagar, as the entire tract was, and is even now frequently, called; and it became a separate State about 1530. Two accounts are given of the manner in which this occurred. One story relates that Udai Singh, chief of Bagar, who was killed at the battle of Khanua in March, 1527, ordered that, on his death, his territory should be divided between his two sons, Prithwi Raj and Jagmal, and that this was done, the latter receiving the eastern portion as his share. The other account is that Jagmal was left for dead at Khanua, but recovered, and, on returning to his country, was disowned and treated as an impostor. He thereupon betook himself to the hills north of the present town of Banswara, and proceeded to harass his elder brother, Prithwi Raj.
Finding this continual border warfare intolerable, the two brothers agreed to accept a partition of their lands by the Raja of Dhar, and accordingly the river Mahi was fixed as the boundary between the two States of Banswara and Dungarpur. Whichever account be correct, and the latter is believed to be the more trustworthy, the chiefs of Banswara are a junior branch of the Dungarpur family, and conse- quently Sesodia Rajputs of the Ahariya sept. Of subsequent chiefs, two are worthy of mention : namely, Kushal Singh, who, towards the end of the seventeenth century, is said to have wrested from the Bhils the country in the south-east and called it Kushalgarh after himself; and Prithwi Singh (1747-86), who plundered the neigh- bouring State of Sunth and seized its district of Chilkari or Shergarh in the south-west of Banswara. These two tracts are now held respec- tively by the Raos of Kushalgarh and Garhi, two of the principal nobles. Towards the end of the eighteenth century Banswara became more or less subject to the Marathas, and paid tribute to the Raja of Dhar. In 181 2 the Maharawal offered to become tributary to the British Government on condition of the expulsion of the Marathas, but no definite relations were formed with him till the end of 1818. By the treaty then concluded he agreed to act in subordinate co-operation to, and settle his affairs in accordance with the advice of, the British Government, and to pay to it all arrears of tribute due to Dhar or any other State, besides whatever tribute Government might deem adequate, provided it did not exceed three-eighths of his revenue.
The tribute proper has varied from time to time, but for a good many years it was Salim shahi Rs. 35,000. Since 1904 it has been fixed at Rs. 17,500, British coin. In addition to tribute proper, the State has paid annually, since 1889, a sum of Rs. 5,000 towards the cost of additional political supervision rendered necessary by the disorders of its administration. The late Maharawal, Lachhman Singh, died in 1905, after a rule of sixty-one years, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Shambhu Singh, who was born in October, 1868. The chief of this State bears the title of Maharawal, and receives a salute of 15 guns.
There is not much of archaeological interest in Banswara, apart from the ruins of a fine Jain temple at Kalinjara and the remains of about a dozen Hindu and Jain temples at the village of Arthuna in the south-west. An inscription dated 1080, found in the Mandanesh or Mandlesar temple at Arthuna, shows that the latter place was once an extensive city (Uchhunak Nagar or Patau), the capital of the Paramara chiefs of Bagar.
Population
The number of towns and villages in the State is 1,287, ar >d the population at the three enumerations was : (1881) 152,045, (1891) 211,641, and (1901) 165,350. The last Census was the first regular one ever taken; for, in 1881, the population of the Kushalgarh estate and many of the Bhils in the rest of the territory were not actually counted, their numbers being roughly guessed, while in 1891 a similar procedure was followed as regards the Bhils of Kushalgarh. The decline in 1901 was due in part to more accurate enumeration at that Census, and in part to excessive mortality during, and immediately after, the famine of 1 899-1 900.
The State, which in 1901 was split up into an unnecessarily large number of districts or thanas, now consists of two divisions, the northern and the southern, more or less equal in area and population. The head- quarters of the former are at Bhongra, and of the latter at Kalinjara. More than 63 per cent, of the people are Animists and 30 per cent. Hindus. The language mainly spoken is Bhill or Vagdi. By far the most numerous tribe is that of the BhIls, who, in 1901, numbered 104,329, or 63 per cent, of the total ; they are to be found throughout the State, and are especially troublesome in the south. Next come the Kunbls (11,000), the Brahmans (9,600), the Mahajans (7,000), and the Rajputs (5,000). About 67 per cent, of the popula- tion are dependent on the land.
Agriculture
Agriculture does not flourish as well as might be expected in a country so favoured by nature as Banswara. The soil is, for the most part, excellent. The black cotton variety in the west, especially near the Mahl river, is said to be sufficiently fertile to yield two full crops annually without artificial irrigation, while in the north a rich red loam is found. But almost all of the agriculturists are BhIls, who, besides being unskilled, are lazy ; they cultivate chiefly in the rains, and are conservative or shy, con- fining their operations to small patches round their huts. The Brah- mans and Patels, found mostly in the west, are industrious cultivators, but few in number ; without much trouble or expense they gather fine crops of maize and rice in the autumn, and wheat, barley, gram, and sugar-cane in the spring ; but the BhIls prefer the walar or walra system of cultivation, so injurious to the forests. It consists of cutting down trees and shrubs and strewing them over the ground, where they are left to dry till the end of the hot season, when they are burnt. After the first fall of rain the land is ploughed once, and sown generally with maize or inferior millets known locally as kuri and kodra.
Irrigation is mainly from wells and tanks, but only a small area is supplied. Large stretches. of fertile land, in which water could easily be obtained, do not possess a single well, while tanks are few and far between, though something has been done in this direction during recent years.
More than half of the State is covered with jungle, the forests being most dense in the north-east. The best trees are teak, black-wood, ebony, p'ipal {Fiats religiosa), haldu (Adina cordifo/ia), sdlar (Boswellia serrata), dhak(Butea frondosii), and kadainb (Anthocephalus Cadamba); but they are in no way preserved and are "of little benefit to the Darbar. The fruit trees include the mango and the mahua (Bassia latifolid) ; the wild date-palm is to be found in all low-lying ground, and the bamboo on the hills. The Bhil, however, spares none but sacred groves and fruit trees, and the forests are being gradually ruined.
The mineral products are unimportant, the old iron mines at Khamera and Loharia have long been abandoned, and the quarries at Talwara and Chhinch are only occasionally worked, yielding a hard white stone fairly suitable for building.
Trade and communication
Manufactures arc primitive, consisting of the production of coarse cotton cloth, a little silver jewellery, lac bangles, and wooden toys . The trade is with the neighbouring tracts, the chief exports in good years being grain, wood, honey, and makua flowers, and the chief imports piece-goods, salt, and tobacco. There is no railway in the State, the nearest stations being Namli and Ratlam on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway to the east, and Bhairongarh on the Godhra-Ratlam line to the south. The roads are all un metalled, but are generally practicable for carts during the greater part of the year. There are four British post offices (at Banswara town, Chhlnch, Garhi, and Kushalgarh) and one telegraph office (at Banswara).
Famine
No records exist of any severe famine save that of 1 899-1900 ; but 1836, 1 86 1, 1865, and 1877-8 were years of scarcity and high prices. In 1899-1900 the rainfall was only about 14 inches, and the harvest was more or less a failure. Little or nothing was at first done for the Bhils, who suffered severely and took to crime. Subsequent relief measures did a good deal to allay the distress, but the mortality among human beings was higher than it should have been and from 30 to 50 per cent, of the cattle perished. The expenditure, including advances to agriculturists and land revenue remitted and suspended, was about 3 lakhs. The distress in 1 901-2 was not so acute, and was due as much to a plague of rats as to short rainfall. The expenditure on this occasion approached a lakh.
Administration
The State is ordinarily governed by the chief with the assistance of a Kamdar or minister and a thanadar, possessing very limited powers, in each of the districts. In consequence of the advanced age of the late chief, the indebtedness of the State, and misgovernment generally, it was found necessary in 1904 to place the administration in the hands of a council under the direct control of a Political officer ; and this arrangement continued till 1906, when Maharawal Shambhu Singh was invested with powers. The territory is divided into two districts, each of which is under a tahsildar.
The judicial machinery was formerly of the rudest kind. The thanaddrs imposed fines for petty offences, but their main duty was to arrest accused persons, hold a preliminary inquiry, and forward the cases to the capital. The powers of the Faujdar at the capital were similar ; and in this way all criminal cases were decided by the Kamdar, subject, at uncertain periods, to the approval or otherwise of the chief. Most of the civil suits were decided by panchdyat, a tribunal well adapted to the feelings of the people, as the decisions generally gave satisfaction. Under the system recently introduced, the tahsildar s are third-class magistrates, the Faujdar is a first-class magistrate, and the council, presided over by the Maharawal, is a Sessions Court, and also the final court of appeal. Sentences of death for the present require the confirmation of the Governor-General's Agent in Rajputana. On the civil side, the Faujdar tries suits not decided by panchayats, provided their value does not exceed Rs. 10,000, while the council deals with suits beyond his powers.
The normal revenue of the State, excluding the income of the nobles, is about 1-75 lakhs, of which Rs. 85,000 is derived from land, Rs. 40,000 from customs, and Rs. 15,000 as tribute from jaglrdars. The normal expenditure is about 1-35 lakhs, the main items being cost of administration (Rs. 32,000), privy purse and palace (Rs. 27,000), army and police (Rs. 25,000), and tribute to Government, including cost of additional political supervision (Rs. 22,500). The State owes a little less than 2 lakhs to the Government of India. The coins most commonly used are the Sdlim sha/ii, minted across the border in Partabgarh. In 1904 an attempt was made to introduce the British currency; but as the exchange rate fixed by Government was below the actual market rate during the period of conversion operations, only 202 Sdlim shahi rupees were tendered by the public for exchange.
The land revenue system is primitive, and there is no fixed method of assessment or collection. In some cases the demand is fixed and levied in cash ; in other cases the amount to be paid is determined after an inspection of the crops either before or after they have been cut, and is levied in cash or in kind, or both. Again, whole villages may be given in contract for a fixed sum, or the land may be leased to, and the revenue collected from, individual cultivators. The holders of jdglr lands pay tribute (tanka) ; they have to perform service, and can be dispossessed for misconduct. Khairdt villages, or religious and charitable allotments, are held rent-free and the holders pay no tribute. These villages are inalienable and may be said to have been granted practically in perpetuity. The first cadastral survey was started in 1904, and was followed by a rough settlement to be finished by the end of 1906.
Police duties used to be performed by a so-called army of 19 cavalry and 46 1 infantry, all irregulars ; but this army has been abolished, and an efficient police force of 180 of all ranks, including 15 mounted men, has recently been substituted. The State jail at the capital is perhaps the most unhealthy prison in Rajputana, and a new one is to be built when funds are available. Lock-ups are maintained in the districts and at Kushalgarh.
In 190 1 about 2 per cent, of the population were returned as literate (4 per cent, males and o-i per cent, females). There were four primary schools, in which Hindi was taught to about 250 boys. In 1903 an Anglo-vernacular school was started at the capital, and three Hindi schools were opened at other places. The State now contains fourteen schools, including one in the Garhi estate and one in Kushalgarh, and they are attended by 440 boys.
There are two hospitals, one of which has accommodation for 4 in- patients. In 1905 the number of cases treated was 18,664, °f whom 29 were in-patients, and 328 operations were performed. The cost of these institutions was about Rs. 1,920. Vaccination is nowhere compulsory, and, though apparently popular in Kushalgarh, is very backward in Banswara proper. Two vaccinators are employed, and in 1904-5 they vaccinated 938 persons, or nearly 6 per 1,000 of the population. In Banswara proper about 2 per 1,000 of the population were successfully vaccinated, and in Kushalgarh nearly 35 per 1,000.
[Rajput ana Gazetteer, vol. i (1879, under revision).]
