Belgaum District
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, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Contents |
Belgaum District
Physical aspects
District in the Southern Division of the Bom- bay Presidency, lying between 15° 22' and 16° 58' N. and 74° 2' and 75° 25' E., with an area of 4,649 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the States of Miraj and Jath ; on the north-east by Bijapur District ; on the east by the States of Jamkhandi, Mudhol, Kolhapur, and Ramdurg ; on the south and south-west by the Districts of Dharwar and North Kanara, the State of Kolhapur, and the Portuguese territory of Goa ; and on the west by the States of Savantvadi and Kolhapur. The lands of the District are greatly interlaced with those of the neighbouring Native States, and within the District are large tracts of Native territory.
The country forms a large plain, studded with solitary peaks and broken here and there by low ranges of hills. Many of the peaks are crowned by small but well-built forts. The lower hills are generally covered with brushwood, but in some cases their sides are carefully cultivated almost to the very summits. The most elevated portion of the District lies to the west and south along the line of the Sahyadri Hills or Western Ghats. The surface of the plain slopes with an almost imperceptible fall eastwards to the borders of Bijapur. On the north and east the District is open and well cultivated, but to the south it is intersected by spurs of the Ghats, thickly covered in some places with forest. Except near the Western Ghats, and in other places where broken by lines of low hills, the country is almost a dead level ; but especially in the south, and along the banks of the large rivers, the surface is pleasantly varied by trees, solitary and in groups. From March to June the fields are bare ; and but for the presence of the mango, tamarind, jack, and other trees, reared for their fruit, the aspect of the country would be desolate in the extreme.
The principal rivers are the Kistna, here properly called the Krishna, flowing through the north, the Ghatprabha, flowing through the centre, and the Malprabha, through the south of the District. From their sources among the spurs of the Western Ghats, these rivers pass eastwards through the plain of Belgaum on their way to the Bay of Bengal. They are bordered by deeply cut banks, over which they seldom flow. None is serviceable for purposes of navigation. In the west the rivers and wells yield a sufficient supply of good water ; but towards the east the wells become brackish, and the water-bearing strata lie far below the surface. Except the Kistna, which at all times main- tains a considerable flow of water, the rivers sink into insignificant streams during the hot season, and the supply of water falls short of the wants of the people.
In the south of the District is a narrow strip of Archaean gneissic rock, including some hematite schists of the auriferous Dharwar series. In the centre quartzite and limestone of the Kaladgi (Cuddapah) group are found partly overlaid by two great bands of basalt belonging to the Deccan trap system, and in the north and west basalt and laterite occur. Several of the river valleys contain ancient alluvial deposits of upper pliocene or pleistocene age, consisting of clay with partings and thin beds of impure grits and sandstones. In the banks of a stream that flows into the Ghatprabha at Chikdauli, 3 miles north-east of Gokak, were found some remarkable fossil remains of mammalia, including an extinct form of rhinoceros 1
Of the typical trees of the District, mati (Terminalia tomentosa) jambul (Eugenia Jambolana), nana, harda, sisva, and hasan (Pterocarpus Marsupium) yield valuable timber ; karvi (Strobilanthus Grahamianus) and small bamboos are used for fencing and roofing, and kumba {Carey a arborea) is in demand for the manufacture of field tools. The harda and hela (Terminalia belerica) furnish myrabolams, and the shemba (Acacia concinna) supplies the ritha or soap-nut which is used in cleaning clothes. The chief fruit trees are the mango, jack, custard-apple, bullock's-heart, cashew-nut, Jambul, bael, wood-apple, pummelo, sweet lime, citron, lime, orange, kokam, avla, bor, turan, guti, agasti, horse- radish tree, guava, pomegranate, papai, karanda, fig, mulberry, plantain, and pineapple. Among creepers the most noticeable are several species of convolvulus ; and a large number of English flowers have been grown from seeds and cuttings.
Antelope are found in the north and east. Sambar, deer, wild hog, and hyenas are not uncommon in the waste and forest lands. Of the larger beasts of prey, leopards are pretty generally distributed, but tigers are met with only in the south and south-west. Of game-birds there are peafowl, partridge, quail, duck, snipe, teal, kalam, and occasionally bustard.
1 R. B. Foote, Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, vol. xii, pt. i ; and Palaeontologia Indica, Series X, vol. i, pt. i.
The moderate heat, the early and fresh sea-breeze, and its altitude above the sea, make Belgaum pleasant and healthy. The lowest tem- perature recorded is 53° in January, while in May it rises to 100°. The most agreeable climate is found in a tract parallel with the crest of the Western Ghats between the western forests and the treeless east. The cold and dry season lasts from mid-October to mid-February, the hot and dry season from mid-February to early June, and the wet season from early June to mid-October. The heat of April and May causes occasional heavy showers, attended with easterly winds, thunder, light- ning, and sometimes hail. Even in May the nights are cool, almost chilly. Near the Ghats the south-west monsoon is very constant and heavy. Farther east it is fitful, falling in showers separated by breaks of fair weather. The rainfall at the District head-quarters averages about 50 inches. In the east it is as low as 24, while in Chandgad in the extreme west 107 inches are registered. From March to September the prevailing winds are from the west and south, and from October to February from the east and north.
History
The oldest place in Belgaum is Halsi, which, according to seven copperplates found in its vicinity, was the capital of a dynasty of nine Kadamba kings. In all probability the Early (550- . 610) and Western (610-760) Chalukyas held Belgaum in succession, yielding place about 760 to the Rashtrakutas, a trace of whose power survived till about 1250 in the Ratta Mahamandaleshwars (875-1250), whose capital was first Saundatti and subsequently (1210) Venugrama, the modern Belgaum. Inscriptions discovered in various parts of the District show that during the twelfth and early years of the thirteenth centuries the Kadambas of Goa (980-1250) held part of the District known as the Halsi ' twelve thousand,' and the Venugrama or Belgaum seventy.' The third Hoysala king, Vishnuvardhana or Bitti Deva (i 104-41), held the Halsi division for a time as the spoil of battle ; but the territory of the Goa Kadambas as a whole had by 1208 been entirely absorbed by the Rattas. The last of the Rattas, Lakshmideo II, was overthrown about 1250 by Vichana, the minister and general of the Deogiri Yadava, Singhana II ; and from that date up to their final defeat by the Delhi emperor in 1320, the Yadavas seem to have been masters of Belgaum and surrounding tracts. During the brief overlord- ship of the Delhi emperors Belgaum was administered by two Musalman nobles, posted at Hukeri and at Raybag. About the middle of the fourteenth century, the District was partitioned between the Hindu Rajas of Vijayanagar, who held the portion south of the Ghatprabha, and the king of Delhi, who held that to the north. On the foundation of the Bahmani dynasty in 1347 the territories contained in the latter half fell under the sway of that dynasty, which subsequently, in 1473, took the town of Belgaum and conquered the southern division also. During the next hunared years the Vijayanagar Rajas made numerous efforts to recover their territories, in which they were assisted by the Portuguese ; but they failed to make any lasting conquests, and were completely overthrown in the battle of Talikota (1565). For the next hunared and twenty years Belgaum may be said to have remained part of the territories of the Bijapur Sultans. On the overthrow of Bijapur at the hands of Aurangzeb in 1686, the District passed to the Mughals and was granted as a jdg'ir to the Nawab of Savanur, who subsequently had to relinquish a share to the Nizam. Some part of it, however, appears to have been in the hands of the Marathas. About 1776 the whole country was overrun by Haidar All, but was subse- quently retaken by the Maratha Peshwa with the assistance of the British. In 181 8, after a period of great disorder, during which the country was alternately harried by the troops belonging to Sindhia, Kolhapur, Nipani, and other chiefs, the country passed to the British and became part of the District of Dharwar ; but in 1836 it was con- sidered advisable to divide the unwieldy jurisdiction into two parts. The southern portion therefore continued to be known as Dharwar, while the tract to the north was constituted a separate charge.
Copperplate inscriptions have been discovered at Halsi. The Dis- trict contains some hill forts, the chief of which are Mahlpatgarh, Kalanidhgarh, and Pargarh. Scattered temples are ascribed to Jakha- nacharya but are really Chalukyan, a very fine one being found at Deganve. There is an interesting group of prehistoric burial dolmens at Konnur. Many temples dating from the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries are scattered over the District, of which nearly all were originally Jain but have been converted into lingarn shrines. The most noteworthy are a group in Belgaum fort ; those at Deganve, Vakkund, and Nesargi in Sampgaum ; groups at Huli, Manoli, and Yellamma in Parasgad ; those at Shankeshwar in Chikodi, and at Ramtirth and Nandgaon in Athni. The finest Musalman remains are the fort and Safa mosque at Belgaum, and the mosques and tombs at Hukeri and Sampgaon.
Population
According to the Census of 1872 the population of the District was 946,702. The next Census of 1881 returned 865,922, showing a decrease of over o per cent., due to the famine in 1876. In 1891 the population mcreased to 1,013,261, but again fell in 1901 to 993,976, owing to the bad years of 1892, 1896, 1899, and 1900. The table on the next page gives statistics according to the Census of 1901.
The Chikodi and Sampgaon talukas contain many large and rich villages and are well peopled. The chief towns are Belgaum, the head-quarters, Nipani, Athni, Gokak, and Saundatti-Yellamma. Classified according to religion, Hindus form 86 per cent, of the total population, Musalmans 8 per cent., Jains 5 per cent. Among Hindus the only special class are the Lingayats, a peculiar section of the wor- shippers of Siva, numbering over 300,000, of whom a description will be found under Dhakwar District. The languages in use are MarathI, mostly in the south and west, and Kanarese generally over the greater part of the District. The latter is spoken by 65 and the former by 25 per cent, of the total. Hindustani is used by 8 per cent.
The chief castes and their occupations are : Brahmans, or priests, numbering 32,000. They are for the most part Deshasths (23,000), and employed as writers, merchants, traders, money-lenders, and land- owners. Ayyas or Jangams (24,000) are Lingayat priests. Traders in- clude Banjigs (26,000) and Adi-banjigs (13,000). There are numerous Jain cultivators and labourers, indicating the former supremacy of the Jain religion in the Bombay Carnatic. Other cultivators are Marathas and IMaratha Kunbis (175,000), Chhatris (9,000), Hanbars (15,000), and Lingayat Panchamsalis (154,000). Craftsmen include Panchals (15,000) and Gaundis or Uppars, builders and stone-cutters (14,000). Lingayat Hongars or Malgars (11,000) are flower-sellers. Shepherds include two shepherd castes, Dhangars or Kurubas (73,000), and Gaulis who keep cows and buffaloes. The depressed classes are chiefly the Holiars or MAhars (48,000) and Mangs or Madigs (22,000), Along the banks of the Kistna, in the north of the District, are many Kaikadis, a tribe notorious for their skill as highway robbers ; while the south of the District was much troubled in recent times by Bedars or Berads, a thieving caste that assisted in the plundering of Vijayanagar after the battle of Talikota. The agricultural population forms 66 per cent, of the total. Industry supports 16 per cent, and commerce 1 per cent. Weavers engaged in the hand-loom industry number more than 13,000, with 11,000 dependents.
The District has a considerable Christian population. Of the 5,366 native Christians in 1901 about 5,000 were Roman Catholics. The majority are Konkani or Goa Catholics, who are immigrants from Goa, and are under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of that place. The others include Madras Catholics and Protestants, who came from Madras about 181 7. The chief missions are an Anglican Tamil Mission and the American Methodist Mission, with out-stations at Kanbargi, Nesargi, and Bail Hongal. Roman Catholic priests are resident in Belgaum, Khanapur, and Godoli ; and there are two orphanages and a rescue home in the District, which are managed by independent trustees, but belong to the Methodist Episcopal Mission. A mission to soldiers, known as the Soldiers' Home, is situated in the cantonment.
Agriculture
The chief varieties of soil are black and red. The black, which is by far the most fertile, is of two kinds. One variety is very friable, but when impregnated with moisture forms a tough clay-like substance, almost mipervious to water, and therefore very valuable as a lining for tanks. The other kind is not so tenacious of moisture, and, unless it receives abundance of irrigation, either natural or artificial, not nearly so productive. In order to bring a waste of black soil under tillage, the field must receive three complete ploughings — one direct, one transverse, and one diagonal. It does not receive any further ploughing ; but annually before sowing the ground is cleared and the surface loosened with a small knife. The red and sandy soils are very apt to cake and harden after rain, so that the field must be ploughed every year — if possible, once lengthwise and a second time transversely. This is done by a smaller plough of the same con- struction as the large plough used for black fields, but lighter. Fields of pure black soil do not receive manure ; on the other hand, the out-turn from red and sandy lands seems to depend almost entirely on the amount of aressing they have received.
On 'dry' fields, most of the grain, pulses, oilseeds, and fibres are sown ; some are cultivated on red and sandy soils during the rainy months ; others are grown on black soil as a cold-season crop. Cotton is raised entirely on black soil as a cold-season crop.
The District is almost wholly ryotwari. Inam or jagir lands cover 983 square miles. The chief statistics of cultivation in 1903-4 are shown in the table on the next page, in square miles.
Jowar, the staple of the District, occupying 884 square miles, is grown in all parts, especially in Chikodi, Athni, Gokak, Parasgad, and Sampgaon. Bajra covered 297 square miles, chiefly in Athni, Gokak, and Chikodi. The south-western portion, being too wet for millets, produces rice (176 square miles) and the coarse hill grains. Wheat (157 square miles) is the prominent crop of Parasgad. Rale-kang or Italian millet occupied 118 scjuare miles. Pulses occupied 333 square miles ; of these, 92 square miles were under tur, 98 under kulith or horse-gram, and 62 square miles under gram. Oilseeds were grown on 98 square miles. Chikodi is famous for its sugar-cane and fruit and vegetable gardens. Tobacco (35 square miles) is an important crop in Chikodi in gardens or on favourable plots near villages or along rivers and streams. Cotton, covering 352 square miles, is the most valuable crop grown in the District. It is especially important in Athni, Paras- gad, and Gokak.
American cotton was introduced in 1845,and is planted to a small extent in Parasgad and Sampgaon. It has greatly degenerated in the course of years. The cultivators avail themselves freely of the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts. During the decade ending 1903-4 more than 17-4 lakhs was advanced, of which 4-2, 3-2, and 3 lakhs was lent in 1896—7, 1 899-1 900, and 1901 respectively.
Cattle of inferior quality are bred by Dhangars in the forest tracts of Khanapur and Belgaum, the majority of better breed being imported from Mysore and other places. Bullocks of eight breeds are found in all parts, the strongest and largest being imported from South Kathiawar, and the best-trotting oxen from Mysore. Of local breeds, the Nagdi are the most useful and hardy. Buffaloes do not thrive near the Western Ghats ; but the Gaulis, Hanbars, and Dhangars of Samp- gaon, Gokak, and the eastern tract rear buffaloes of a good type. The so-called Nagdi buffaloes are reputed the best. Ponies of a small and ugly type are bred locally, as also are donkeys and pigs by Vaddars and other low-caste Hindus. Sheep of two breeds, the Kenguri with a soft red wool and the Yelga with white or black, are reared by Dhangars, while goats of four varieties are ubiquitous. The best breed of the latter is known as Kuisheli.
Of the total area cultivated, 80 square miles, or 3 per cent., were irrigated in 1903-4. Government canals supplied 15 square miles, tanks 16, wells 46, and other sources 10 square miles. The water- supply is plentiful except in the east. Irrigation is largely employed for rice and vegetables in the best portions of the western half of the District. Of the recently improved reservoirs the chief is the Gadekeri lake about 15 miles south-east of Belgaum, in the Sampgaon taluka, which has an area of 129 acres and a maximum depth of 5 feet. The catchment basin measures 4-68 square miles, and the average rainfall is 29 inches. It supplied 337 acres in 1903-4. The most important water-work is the Gokak canal and storage reservoir. A masonry weir has been built across the Ghatprabha where its catchment area, in- cluding that of its chief tributaries the Tamraparni and the Harankashi, is about 1,100 square miles, of which a large extent lies in the Western Ghats. The storage work and the first section of the canal were com- pleted at a cost of 12-2 lakhs, the capital outlay to the end of 1903-4 being 12-9 lakhs. The Gokak canals command 28 square miles, and irrigate an average of 16 square miles. Wells used for irrigation are most common in Chikodi and Belgaum. In Khanapur no wells are used for this purpose. In 1993-4 wells and tanks used for irrigation numbered 12,660 and 1,161 respectively.
Forest
In the west of the District, among the spurs of the Western Ghats, is a considerable area of forest land. Formerly large tracts were yearly destroyed by indiscriminate cultivation of shifting patches of fire-cleared woodland. This form of tillage has now been limited to small areas, specially set apart for the purpose. The District possesses 665 square miles of ' reserved ' and 10 square miles of ' protected ' forest. Of this total, 51 square miles are in charge of the Revenue department. It is very unevenly distri- buted, the large talukas of Athni and Parasgad having little or no forest, while Khanapur has twice as much forest as tillage. The forest administration is under a divisional officer, assisted by a sub- divisional officer. The Belgaum forests may be roughly divided into ' moist ' and ' dry,' the ' dry ' lying east of the Poona-Harihar road and the ' moist ' lying west of the road. The latter includes the forests of Belgaum and Khanapur, about 500 square miles. The ' dry ' forest, about one-eighth of which is stocked with useful wood, is very poor and stony, yielding only firewood scrub with a few small poles fit for hut-building. The produce is chiefly cactus, four kinds of fig, dindal, and tarvar. The most important trees in the ' moist ' forest are teak, black-wood, honne (Pterocarpus Marsupium), hirda or myrabolam, and jack-wood. There are also a few babul Reserves. The forest supplies large quan- tities of firewood to the Southern Mahratta Railway. The total forest receipts in 1903-4 were 277 lakhs.
Diamonds are said to have been found in the sandstone towards Kolhapur and gold in the valley of the Malprabha. Iron was formerly smelted in Belgaum, Gokak, and Sampgaon, and near the Ram pass. The ore is generally peroxide of iron, with a mixture of clay, quartz, and lime. All the laterite of the District is charged with iron, though in too small a proportion to make it worth smelting. The manufacture of iron has now ceased, partly on account of the increased cost of fuel and partly because of the fall in the price of iron. Besides iron, the only metallic ore which occurs in any quantity is an earthy powdery form of peroxide of manganese, which is found among weathered dolomite at Bhimgarh.
Trade and Communications
Next to agriculture, hand-loom weaving forms the chief industry of the District. The weavers are generally Lingayats or Musalmans, with a small sprinkling of Marathas.The finer sorts of cloth are manufactured only in two or three towns. With the exception of a small quantity of cloth sent to the neighbouring Districts, the produce of its hand-looms is almost entirely consumed in Belgaum. Simple dyeing and tanning are carried on over the whole District. Gokak town was once famous for its dyers, and is still noted for a coarse kind of paper made in large quantities. Gokak toys, made both from light kinds of wood and from a peculiar kind of earth, are also celebrated. They consist of models of men and gods, fruits and vegetables. A factory for spinning and weaving cotton yarn was established at Gokak, by an English company, in 1887, The mills are worked by water-power supplied from the falls of the Ghatprabha from a height of about 170 feet. The average daily number of labourers employed in the factory is 2,038, and the yearly out-turn amounts to 5,000,000 lb. The railway station for the mills is Dhupdhal.
The capitalists of the District are chiefly Marwaris and Brahmans, but in the town of Belgaum there are a few Musalmans who possess comfortable fortunes. There is a considerable trade in cloth and silk, the chief exports being rice, jaggery, tobacco, and cotton, and the chief imports cloth, silk, salt, and grain. In several villages throughout the District markets are held at fixed intervals, usually once a week. These markets supply the wants of the country round within a radius of about 6 miles, containing as a rule from twenty-five to thirty villages and hamlets.
The West Deccan section of the Southern Mahratta Railway, crossing the District from north to south, was opened in 1887. The line passes through the Khanapur, Belgaum, Chikodi, Gokak, and Athni talukas. A considerable traffic which used to pass along the Poona-Harihar road, or coastwards by the ghat passes, is now carried by the railway. At Londa, a station in the Khanapur tdhika, the West Deccan section connects with the Bangalore and the Marmagao lines, and in the spring a large amount of produce finds its way to the sea by the latter route. The total length of metalled roads is 498 miles, and of unmetalled roads 515 miles. Of these, 449 miles of metalled and 62 of unmetalled roads are maintained by the Public Works depart- ment. The chief roads are the Harihar road, the Belgaum-Amboli- Vengurla road, the Nipani-Mahalingpur road, the road from Sankeshwar to Dharwar via Hukeri, Gokak, and Saundatti, the road from Shedbal to Bijapur via Athni, and the Belgaum-Khanapur road to Londa and Kanara.
Famine
The District has suffered from constant scarcities owing to the uncertainty of its rainfall. The earliest recorded failure of rain led to the great Durga-devi famine. Subsequent famines occurred m 1419, 1472-3 (exceptional distress), 1790 (caused by the raids of the Marathas), 179 1-2 (failure of early rain), 1802-3 (caused by the depredation of the Pindaris), 1832-3, 1853, and 1876-7. The need of Government help began about the middle of September, 1876. At the height of the famine in May, 1877, there were 43,196 persons on relief works and 7,641 in receipt of gratuitous relief. After fifteen years the District again (1892) suffered from famine, which chiefly affected three of its talukas, Athni, Gokak, and Parasgad, and relief works were opened. In 1896 the rains were indifferent, and nearly one-third of the total area of the District was distressed, relief being again required. In 1899 the rains failed, bringing on intense scarcity in Athni, Gokak, Parasgad, and part of Chikodi. Relief works were opened in December, 1900, and continued till October, 1902. The highest number relieved in a day on works was 16,313 (excluding 5,672 dependents) in August, 1901, 5,876 being in receipt of gratuitous relief. It is calculated that the excess of mortality over the normal during the three years was 60,000, and that 100,000 cattle died. Exclusive of advances to the agriculturists and remissions, the famine in the District cost 5 lakhs. Remissions of land revenue and advances amounted to about 2 lakhs.
Administration
The District is divided into seven talukas : Athni, Chikodi, Bel- gaum, Gokak, Sampgaon, Khanapur, and Parasgad. The Collector
is usually assisted by two officers of the Indian Civil Service and one Deputy-Collector recruited in India. There are three petty subdivisions (pethas) • Murgod in Parasgad, Hukeri in Chikodi, and Chandgad in the Belgaum taluka.
The District and Sessions Judge at Belgaum is assisted by five Sub- ordinate Judges for civil business. There are altogether seventeen officers to administer criminal justice in the District. The commonest offences are burglary and theft.
On the acquisition of Belgaum in 1818 the Maratha assessment remained for a time unrevised, although Baji Rao's revenue-farming system, which had wrought great havoc in the District, was immediately suspended in favour of the personal or ryoltvdri, then known as the Madras system. A survey was attempted during the first ten years of British rule, but no revision of assessment was carried out. The principal features of the land-rent settlement between 1818 and 1848 were a very high nominal demand and the annual grant of large remissions after inspection of the crops. The assessment both by village and holding was very unequally distributed. The settlement of the District began in 1848-g. It was at first introduced into 108 villages of the Parasgad talnka, and by 1860-1 the whole District had been surveyed and its assessment fixed for thirty years. The villages were arranged in five or more classes, the rate of assessment per acre for each class being fixed in accordance with climatic conditions, pro- pinquity of markets, and other circumstances. The net result was the reduction of the total revenue from 6'4 to 5-5 lakhs. The revision survey settlement was introduced into the District in 1879 and was completed by 1897, The revision found an increase in the cultivated area of 2 per cent, and enhanced the total revenue from 8.5 to 10.9 lakhs. The average assessment per acre of 'dry' land is 13 annas, of rice land Rs. 3-8, and of garden land Rs. 2-7.
Collections on account of land revenue and revenue from all sources have been, in thousands of rupees : —
The District contains six municipalities : namely, Belgaum, Nipani, Athni, Gokak, Saundatti, and Yamkanmardi, the total annual income of which averages a lakh. Outside these, local affairs are managed by a District board and seven taluka boards, with an average income of 2-2 lakhs. The principal source of their income is the land cess. The expenditure in 1903-4 amounted to 2-3 lakhs, including one lakh spent on roads and buildings.
The District Superintendent of police is aided by two Assistants and two inspectors. There are fourteen police stations in the District. The police number 667, including 11 chief constables, 139 head constables, and 517 constables. The mounted police number 12, under 2 daffadars. There are 10 subsidiary jails in the District, with accommodation for 244 prisoners. The daily average number of prisoners in 1904 was 81, of whom 6 were females.
Belgaum stands eleventh among the twenty-four Districts of the Presidency in regard to the literacy of its population, of whom 5.1 (males 9.8 and females 0.3) could read and write in 1901. In 1881 the number of schools was 200, with 12,386 pupils. The latter number rose to 22,064 'ri 1891 ; and in 1901 there were 16,239 pupils, of whom 852 were in 47 private schools. In 1903-4 there were 352 schools, of which 37 were private institutions, attended by 12,927 pupils, including 1,867 girls. Of the public institutions, 2 are high schools, 6 middle, and 307 primary schools. Of the institutions classed as public, one is supported by Government, 220 are managed by local, 30 by municipal boards, and 64 are aided. The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 was 1.38 lakhs, of which Rs. 22,500 was derived from fees, and Rs. 34,000 was contributed by Local funds. Of the total, 75 per cent, was devoted to primary education.
Belgaum District contains one hospital, five dispensaries, and one railway medical institution, accommodating 86 in-patients. In these institutions 48,000 patients were treated in 1904, including 714 in- patients, and 1,386 operations were performed. The total expenditure, exclusive of the railway dispensary, was about Rs. 14,500, of which about Rs. 6,000 was met from municipal and Local funds.
The number of persons successfully vaccinated in 1903-4 was 20,758, representing a proportion of 21 per 1,000 of population, which is lower than the average for the Presidency.
[Sir J. M. Campbell, Gazetteer of the Bojnbay Presidency, vol. xxi (1884) ; J. F. Fleet, Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts (1896) ; E. Stack, Memorandum on Land Revenue Settlements (Calcutta, 1880).]
