Bareilly City (Bareli)
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.
Bareilly City (Bareli)
Administrative head-quarters of the Bareilly Division and District, United Provinces, with a cantonment, situated in 28° 22' N. and 79° 24' E., 812 miles by rail from Calcutta and 1,031 from Bombay. It lies at the junction of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway from Aligarh with the main line ; and these are met by the narrow-gauge railways from Lucknow through Sitapur, from Kathgodam at the foot of the hills, and from Soron through Budaun. Population has increased steadily. The numbers at the last four enumerations were as follows: (1872) 102,982, (1881) 113,417, (1891) 121,039, and (1901) 131,208. These figures include the inhabitants of the cantonment, who numbered 13,828 in 1901. There are 67,000 Hindus, 59,000 Musalmans, and 3,000 Christians.
Tradition relates that the old city was founded in 1537, and derived its name of Bans Barell from Bas, a Barhela by caste, or from Bas and Barel, Katehriya Rajputs. The prefix is now usually interpreted as being the word bans or ' bamboo,' and is still used by the inhabitants. About 1573 a subordinate post was established here, to check the turbulent Katehriyas of Rohilkhand, and a small town gradually grew up round the fort. By the close of Akbar's reign, in 1596, Bareilly had become the head-quarters of a mahdl or parga?ia. In 1657 it was made the capital of Katehr (see Rohilkhand), and a new city was founded by Makrand Rai, who was appointed governor. As the Mughal empire decayed in the eighteenth century, the Rohilla power was consolidated by Ali Muhammad, who established his capital at Aonla, and Bareilly was for a time of small importance. Hafiz Rahmat Khan, who virtually succeeded Ali Muhammad, though nominally guardian to his sons, lived alternately at Pilibhit and at Bareilly, which again rose into prominence. The place fell, with the sur- rounding country, into the possession of the Nawab of Oudh after the defeat of the Rohillas by the combined British and Oudh forces in 1774, and passed to the British by cession in 1801, when it became the head-quarters of a District and of a provincial court. In 1816 an insurrection took place in consequence of the imposition of a house tax, and in 1837 and 1842 serious religious disturbances occurred between Hindus and Musalmans.
During the Mutiny of 1857 Bareilly was an important centre of disaffection. The sepoys rebelled on May 31, and Khan Bahadur Khan, grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, was proclaimed governor. Most of the Europeans escaped to Naini Tal. The rebel ruler found government no easy task, and the annals of his brief term relate many dissensions and difficulties. As British troops recovered ground to the south and west, the Nawab of Farrukhabad, the Nana Sahib from Cawnpore, Firoz Shah from Lucknow, and other leading rebels took refuge here. On May 5, 1858, a British army arrived before the city, and two days later the rebels fled into Oudh, and the British occupied Bareilly. In 1871 the peace of the city was again dis- turbed by serious religious riots, and since then religious differences have occasionally threatened to develop into actual fighting.
Bareilly stands on a plateau slightly elevated above the basin of the Ramganga, a branch of which now runs under the city. The native quarter is traversed by a long, well-kept street, widening at intervals into markets. The houses are usually of brick coated with white plaster, which is sometimes adorned with tracery, but few have any pretensions to architectural beauty. The oldest building of any importance is the tomb of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, close to the city on the Aonla road, which is an elegant building of plastered brick with gilded finials. It was built by his son in 1775 and repaired by his daughter in 1839, and was again repaired in 189 1-2 at the cost of Government. The finest public buildings are the dispensary and Dufferin Hospitals, the tahsill and chief police station, and a triangular building con- taining the municipal hall, a literary institute, and the honorary magistrates' courthouse. The Central jail is situated north of the city on the Naini Tal road. South of the city lies the civil station, which contains the high school, the American Methodist Orphanage and Theological Seminary, the District offices and District jail, and several churches. The cantonment lies south of the civil station, and contains a small fort built after the disturbance of 18 16. The usual garrison consists of British artillery, British and Native infantry, and Native cavalry. Bareilly is the head-quarters of the Commis- sioner of the Division, and of the Executive Engineers of the Rohilkhand Canals and Rohilkhand division (Roads and Buildings).
A municipality was constituted in 1858, which in 1901 had a popula- tion of 117,380. During the ten years ending 1901 the income and expenditure averaged 1-2 lakhs. In 1903-4 the income was 2-1 lakhs, chiefly from octroi (1-5 lakhs). The expenditure of 2-2 lakhs included public works (Rs. 42,000), conservancy (Rs. 33,000), public safety (Rs. 31,000), and administration and collection (Rs. 19,000). An excellent water-supply is drawn from wells. In 1903-4 the income of the cantonment fund was Rs. 48,000, and the expenditure Rs. 49,000.
The chief industry of the city is sugar-refining, and about 20,000 tons of raw sugar are imported annually, while 10,000 tons of sugar are ex- ported by rail alone. Bareilly is also noted for its furniture, made both of bamboo and of the ordinary timbers in use for this purpose. Cloth is woven and brass vessels are made ; but these industries are not very important. The Rohilkhand and Kumaun Railway workshops employ about 80 hands, and there is a dairy farm in connexion with the lunatic asylum. The principal educational institution is the college, which contains 104 students. A new building for this institution will be erected shortly on a site in the civil station presented by the Nawab of Rampur. The District school has about 450 pupils and the tahsill school 370. The municipality maintains 21 schools and aids 3 others, with a total attendance in 1904 of 2,321. There are also three orphanages, maintained by the Arya Samaj, the American Methodist Mission, and a Muhammadan Association.
