Cawnpore City, 1908 (Kanpur)
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.
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Cawnpore City
Description
Head-quarters of the District of the same name, United Provinces, situated in 26° 28' N. and 80° 21' E., on the right bank of the Ganges, 1 20 miles above its junction with . . the Jumna at Allahabad ; distance by rail to Howrah (Calcutta) 684 miles, and to Bombay 839 miles. The city is the third largest in the United Provinces and is increasing rapidly. The numbers at the four enumerations were as follows: (1872) 122,770, (1881) 151,444, (1891) 188,714, and (1901) 197,170, including cantonments (24,496). In the eighteenth century it was a mere village known as Kanhaiyapur or Kanhpur, of which the present name is a corrupted spelling. Following the British victories in 1764-5 at Buxar and Jajmau, a treaty was made at Fyzabad in 1773 with the Nawab Wazir of Oudh, Shuja-ud-daula, who allowed the British to occupy two stations in his territories with troops.
The places first selected were Fatehgarh and a site in Hardoi District ; but in 1778 the troops were moved from the latter place to Cawnpore, and in 1 801 the District with others was ceded by the Nawab. Like Calcutta, the city, which is now the most important trade centre in Upper India, owes everything to British influence. The population in 1901 included 144,123 Hindus, 46,949 Musalmans, and about 4,000 Christians, of whom nearly 3,000 were Europeans or Eurasians. The civil lines and cantonments stretch for several miles along the river bank, separating it from the native quarter. The latter is of mean appearance, and con- sists of a maze of narrow winding streets.
History
In 1857 Cawnpore was the scene of several of the most terrible episodes of the Mutiny. The native garrison included a company of artillery, a regiment of cavalry, and three regiments of infantry, while there were only 200 British troops. Inflammatory rumours had already spread before the outbreak at Meerut on May 9, and the news of that disturbance increased them. On May 20 General Wheeler telegraphed to Lucknow for reinforcements ; but Sir Henry Lawrence could spare only fifty men. The General then appealed to Dundu Pant, adopted son of the last Peshwa, who was living at Bithur, twelve miles away, and who had a grievance against the British Government, owing to their refusal to recognize his succession to the late Peshwa's pension and title. Dundu Pant, more familiarly known as the Nana Sahib, brought in 300 horse and foot with two guns. Before the end of May an entrenchment was prepared, consisting of a shallow trench and miserable parapet 4 or 5 feet high, surrounding two long single-storeyed barracks, the whole enclosure^ being but 200 yards square. On June 2 the fifty men who had come from Lucknow were sent back with fifty more of the Cawnpore garrison.
During the night of June 4 the out- break began with the departure of the cavalry regiment, followed by the I St Infantry, and the next day by the other two regiments. In no case were the European officers injured, and a few men from all the regiments, mostly native officers, joined the English in their entrench- ments. The sepoys, after plundering the treasury and houses in the civil station and opening the jail, had started for Delhi ; but on June 6 the Nana, who had thrown off his too successful pretence of friendship, persuaded them to return.
The European entrenchment contained be- tween 750 and 1,000 persons, of whom 400 were men able to bear arms. On June 7 the besiegers, who were subsequently reinforced and had as many as twelve guns, opened their attack in earnest ; but in spite of three general assaults on June 12, 18, and it^, failing stores, and difficulty in obtaining water, the defenders still held out. The Nana then decided to have recourse to stratagem. He promised that our forces should be allowed to march out with arms, that carriages should be provided for those who could not march and for the women and children, and that boats properly victualled should be ready at the Sati Chaura ghat to convey everybody to Allahabad. On the other hand, the entrenchments, treasure, and artillery were to be given up.
Early on June 26 the evacuation began. Though every detail of the coming massacre had been carefully prepared and the fatal ghat was surrounded by armed men and guns, the mutineers could not restrain themselves, and victims began to fall before they had entered the ambuscade. The majority were, however, allowed to embark, when a bugle sounded just as the boats were ready to start. For twenty minutes grape and bullets hailed on the boats, and only then did the enemy venture to come to close quarters.
Every man caught was killed, and the women and children were taken to the Savada Kothi, where their number were shortly increased by the inmates of a boat which had got away, but was subsequently captured. In the meantime, Havelock had been advancing up the grand trunk road, and he defeated the Nana's brother and entered Cawnpore District on July 15. The same night five men armed with swords entered the Blbighar, to which the women and children had been removed, and hacked and slashed till all were left for dead. Next morning the bodies of the dead and a few children who had survived were thrown into a well in the com- pound. The well is now surrounded by a stone screen, and over it is a pedestal on which stands a marble figure of an angel by Marochetti. A large area round it was enclosed at the expense of the town, and ' A Memorial Church now stands near the site of the entrenchment. is called the Memorial Garden. Cawnpore was occupied by Havelock on July 17, and was held till the end of November, when the mutineers of the Gwalior Contingent got possession of it for ten days. It was recovered on December 6 by Sir Colin Campbell on his return from Lucknow.
Since the Mutiny the most serious event has been the riot of April, 1900. Two or three cases of plague had occurred, and several patients had been segregated. A mob of the lowest classes, led by ringleaders in better circumstances, attacked the plague huts and murdered six policemen and a tahsil chaprds'i. There is reason to believe that some of these were thrown alive into the burning thatch. The rioters then proceeded to the parade-ground, and were dispersed by troops who fired on them. Seven of the ringleaders were hanged, and a punitive force of police was quartered in the city for a year.
Administration
Cawnpore has been a municipality since 1861. During the ten years ending 1901 the income averaged 5-6 lakhs, and the expenditure lakhs ; but the income includes loans from Government, amountmg to 14^ lakhs m the decade.
Owing to its position as a trading centre, octroi was not levied here for many years, the chief receipts being derived from a licence tax on trades and professions, and from the rents of escheated lands within the muni- cipality, which are under the management of the municipal board. In 1892 octroi was introduced, but two years later it was replaced by a terminal tax on both imports and exports, which now produces about half the total receipts. In 1903-4, out of a total income of 5-3 lakhs (excluding a loan of 10 lakhs), the principal receipts were : terminal tax (1-9 lakhs), tax on professions and trades (Rs. 60,000), house tax (Rs. 59,000), and rents (Rs. 35,000). The expenditure of 11-3 lakhs included general administration (Rs. 19,000), collection of taxes (Rs. 22,000), public works (Rs. 91,000), conservancy (1-4 lakhs), re- payment of loans with interest (3-9 lakhs), besides capital expenditure (2-3 lakhs), and plague charges (Rs. 17,000).
A system of water-works was completed in 1894 at a cost of 14^ lakhs, and the annual charges for maintenance amount to about Rs. 68,000, while the income from sale of water is Rs. 27,000. The works supply the whole city with drinking-water drawn from the Ganges and filtered before distribution ; standposts are situated in all parts for public use, and the daily supply amounts to about 10 gallons per head, about one- seventh being taken by a few of the large mills. A drainage scheme, which was much needed, is now being carried out, and the house tax was specially imposed to meet the extra charges that will be necessary. The main sewers are complete, and the branches are nearly finished. The initial cost of the scheme was met from a loan raised in the open market, for the first time in the United Provinces. Refuse is removed from the city by a steam tramway, the only one of its kind in the Provinces, and incinerators have been erected to consume it. An electric tramway has been sanctioned to run for about four miles through the city. The receipts of the cantonment fund during the ten years ending 190J averaged Rs. 50,000, and the expenditure Rs. 48,000. In 1903-4 the income and expenditure were Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 68,000 respectively. The ordinary garrison in the cantonment consists of British infantry and artillery, and Native infantry and cavalry.
Commerce
While Cawnpore first became of importance as a military cantonment, its subsequent growth has been the result of alterations in trade routes dating from its connexion by rail with Calcutta in 1863. When the demand for cotton arose during the American Civil War, it was easiest to send it from Bundelkhand to the railway at Cawnpore. The strain on Cawnpore was difficult to meet. Lands covered with the mud huts of camp-followers were hastily taken up by the authorities. Commissariat elephants were brought out to push down the frail erections in order to clear space for the storage of the bales of cotton, which, piled up level with the roofs, had been blocking every lane in the city. At the same time the ordinary country produce of the Doab and of Oudh began to pour in here instead of passing by along the river. The trade which thus had its origin in the alignment of a railway has been immensely increased by the later development of the railway system of Upper India. In addition to the East Indian Railway, the Oudh and Rohilkhand and the Indian Midland broad-gauge systems pass through Cawnpore, providing through communication with the northern part of the Provinces and with Bombay, while the narrow-gauge lines traversing Rajputana and Central India on the west, and the Districts north of the Gogra and Bihar and Bengal on the east, meet here. A network of sidings also connects these lines with the chief factories in the place. In the last ten years imports have increased by about 2,000,000 maunds, and exports by 3,000,000 maunds, or by 30 to 40 per cent, in each case.
Industries
Cawnpore, however, is not only a collecting and distributing centre for raw products, such as cotton, food-grains, oilseeds, salt, saltpetre, sugar, and foreign manufactured goods ; it has also Industries become a great manufacturing town. In 1869 the Elgin Cotton-spinning and Weaving Mills were founded by a company and subsequently purchased by a private individual. Since then three other mills have been opened by companies : the Muir Mills in 1875, the Cotton Mills, Limited, in 1882, and the Victoria Mills in 1887. The total nominal capital in 1903-4 was 67 lakhs, excluding the Elgin Mills, and there were 3,215 looms and 242,616 spindlesat work, employ- ing 6,395 persons daily.
The next industry to be organized in factories was tanning, which has now become of even greater importance than cotton. In Upper India tanning is the traditional occupation of the Chamars, who are also day-labourers, and formed a large proportion of the early population of the town. A Government Harness and Saddlery Factory — opened on a small scale soon after the Elgin Mills commenced operations — now employs 2,000 to 2,500 hands, and turns out goods valued at 30 lakhs annually.
A still larger concern is the Army Boot and Equipment Factory, owned by a private firm, and employing over 3,000 persons. In 1903 the three large tanneries inspected under the Factory Act employed 4,915 persons ; and, including small native works, it was estimated that the capital exceeded 45 lakhs and that about to, 000 hands were employed. Military requirements have been supplied not only throughout India, but to troops sent from England to Egypt, China, and South Africa, while the boots and shoes manufactured here are also sold in the Straits Settlements and in South Africa. The chief tanning material is the bark of the babiii-ir&Q, which is found all over the Doab. A woollen mill was opened in 1876, which has developed from a small blanket manufactory into a large concern with a capital of 20 lakhs, employing 1,500 hands and using 300 looms and 13,100 spindles, while the out-turn consists of every class of woollen goods, valued at 1 7 lakhs. The other factories in Cawnpore include a sugar-mill where rum is also manufactured, a jute-mill, seven cotton gins and presses, a tent factory, two flour-mills, a brush and cabinet- making factory, two iron foundries, a tape factory, and chemical works.
There is a small but increasing native industry in cheap cutlery. The total capital sunk in manufacturing enterprise is estimated at one million sterling, and more than half the inhabitants of the city are directly dependent on it. It must be pointed out that the manufactures of cotton, wool, leather, flour, and sugar, referred to above, were all assisted materially in the first place by Government contracts for army purposes j but although their establishment without such aid might have been difficult, they could now, almost without exception, be maintained independently of the official market.
The Upper India Chamber of Commerce was founded at Cawnpore in 1889, and now represents practically every European commercial firm and manufacturing concern of consequence in the United Provinces and the Punjab. The association takes for its object the general welfare and interests of trade and commerce, and has supplied a want which would otherwise have been greatly felt. It has recently been decided to move the Allahabad Currency Office to Cawnpore.
The principal educational institution is Christ Church College, maintained by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Mission. It was founded as a high school in i860 and affiliated to the Calcutta University in 1866. It is now affiliated to Allahabad, and was raised to the first grade in 1896. In 1904 the number of students on the rolls was 106. The same mission also manages an industrial school, which includes a carpenter's shop and brass foundry. The municipality maintains ten schools and aids twelve others, with a total attendance of 1,046. An agricultural school at which kdnungos are trained, with a large experimental farm, situated in the old civil lines, north of the city, is now being converted into a college. There are twenty-four printing presses and three weekly and four monthly newspapers, none of which is of much importance.
[Valuable information on the trade of Cavvnpore has been obtained from a note by the late ^^^ B. Wishart, secretary to the Chamber of (V)mmerce.]
