Hassan District, 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, 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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Hassan District
Physical aspects
District in the west of the State of Mysore, lying between 12'^ 31' and 13° t,t,' X. and 75"^ 23' and 76' 38' l-^., with an area of 2,647 ^^uare miles. It is bounded on the north by Kadur District ; on the east by Tumkur and Mysore Districts ; on the south by Coorg ; and on the west by the South Kanara District of Madras.
The main body of the District consists of the Hemavati river basin. The only exceptions are the west of Manjarabad, whicli drains to the Netravati in South Kanara ; and the Arsikere taluk, whose waters riui north io the vedavati in Chitaldroog District. The Cauvery flows through a small portion of the south,. The course of the Hemavati is I'lrst south in Manjarabad, then east from the Coorg border to beyond Hole-Narsipur, where it turns south and runs into the Cauvery in My.sore District. Its chief tributary is the Vagachi from the Belur fdli/k, which joins it near Gorur in the Hassan taluk. the Manjarabad side of the District, resting on the brow of the Western (ihats, forms part of the Male-slme or Malnad, the 'hill country,' the remainder being Maidan or Bayal-slnie, the ' i)Iain (-(nin- try,' also called Miidu-sime or ' east country.'
The mountains forming the western limit extend from Jenkalbetta in the north to the Bisale i;/idf in the south, including in the panorama the superb lenkal- betta (4,558 feet), Murkangudda (4,265 feet\ Devarbetta (4,206 feet), and the towering height of Subrahmanya or Pushpagiri (5,626 feet). Low ranges of granitic hills run along the north, through the Belur, Hassan, and Arsikere taluks, marking the watershed which separates the Kistna and Ouvery river systems. Indrabetta (3,309 feet) at Sravana Iklgola is noted for the colossal Jain statue on its summit. Some low hills pass through the Hole-Narsipur taluk towards Has.san and Channarayapatna. The Mahiad or highland region occupies the whole of Manjarabad and the west of Belur. It has been thus graphically described : —
' The country is generally uiululating till on a[>i)roaching the (ihats, when it becomes [)recipit(jus. Berhaps there is no scenery in India more beautiful than the southern part of this tract, adjoining the north- west of Coorg. It for the most part resembles the richest park scenery in England. Hills covered with the finest grass or eciually verdant crops of grain, adorned and crowned with clumps of noble forest trees, in some instances apparently planted most carefully, and certainly with perfect taste. The highest and the most beautiful knolls have been generally selected as the spots on which to build the small maths and other places of worship with which the country abounds ; and the groves that surround or are in the vicinity of these are tended with the greatest care, and the trees composing them replaced as they die off or are blown down. The southern differs iVom the more northerly and westerly parts in the absence of those dense jungles which obscure the view, and in the soft character of the hills, which are in most instances quite free from the stunted date, and smooth as the lawn of a villa on the Thames. But the whole fdhik is beautiful, and less wooded than Coorg or Nagar, though greatly partaking of the features of both.'
The Maidan or lowland tract, forming the largest and most populous portion of the District, consists of an undulating plain country, generally cultivated, but having extensive kdvah or grazing lands. Patches covered with the wild date are common, and in some parts are limited tracts of stunted jungle growing upon a gravelly, gritty soil. The high-lying lands, particularly in the Hassan, Channarayapatna, and Hole-Narsipur taluks^ have a singularly bare and bleak appearance, and are frequently so stony that they are unfit for cultivation. They form, however, good catchment basins for tanks, and the valleys below are rich and well wooded.
Throughout the District, kaolin, felspar, quartz, and other materials suitable for the manufacture of earthenware are abundant. Kankar, a tufaceous nodular limestone, is found in many parts, and is the only form of limestone known. It occurs in alluvial valleys and on the banks of some streams, under or mixed with coloured clay. Potstone, from which the images at Halebid are carved, is found at places in the Hassan and Belur tdlitks. Hematite iron ore is obtained from the Bagadi hills in the Arsikere taluk, associated with granitic rocks, broken by trap protrusions. Gold-mining was commenced a few years ago at Harnhalli and Kempinkote, but has been abandoned on account of the poor results obtained.
The vegetation found in this District is generally the same as in Kadur District and in Coorg. The portion occupying the Western Ghats (eastern face) possesses a splendid arborescent flora perhaps unrivalled in any other part of India.
The temperature of Hassan is slightly lower than that of Bangalore, the mean reading of the thermometer being 73°, and the daily range about 20°. The maximum has reached 98° in April, while the minimum has touched 43° in January. The heat during the months of March and April is much modified by the sea-breeze from the western coast, and by light fogs in the mornings and evenings. The temperature of the Malnad is some degrees lower, but this scarcely compen.sates for the malaria which is prevalent. European settlers generally suffer from fever after the early rains ; but they soon grow acclimatized, and are ultimately better able to withstand it than the natives themselves, numbers of whom succumb each year to its attacks. The annual rainfall at Hassan averages 33 inches ; but the country bordering on the Western Ghats h;is a much heaviL-r fall, the annual average at Sakleshpur being 84 inches, and at Aigur as high as 100. Even this is exceeded at some of the western coffee estates, the average at Byakarvalli estate being 1 ro inches, and at Hulhalli estate 1 20. During the south-west monsoon, May to August, the rainfall is continuous, with a few slight breaks. The sone or drizzling rain extends as far as Grama, 8 miles east of Hassan, and the condition of the surrounding vegetation distinctly shows the lines of demarcation which separate the Malnad from the Maidan country. The north-east monsoon also reaches the District, and the heavy rain in October is of great value in filling the tanks in the Maidan.
History
The earliest event supported by any evidence was a migration of Jains from Ujjain under the leadership of Bhadrabahu, in order to escape a dreadful famine of twelve years' duration which he History, had predicted. He was accompanied by Chandra Gupta, said to be the great Maurya emperor. While the emigrants were on their way to Punnata (south Mysore), Bhadrabahu died at Sravana Belgola, attended in his last moments by Chandra Gupta, who remained there till his own death twelve years later. These occurrences are recorded in ancient rock inscriptions at Sravana Belgola. They invested the place with a sanctity which led to the well-known Jain settlement there. The country is said to have been prosperous and well populated, but to whom it belonged is not stated. The Kadambas, whose capital was at Banavasi, were ruling in the west of the District in the fourth and fifth centuries, and also again in some part of the eleventh. But the greater portion of the country was under the Gangas, whose inscriptions occur in all parts. Their general and minister, Chamunda Raya, erected the colossal Jain image of Gomata on the highest hill at Sravana Belgola about 983. The Cholas overthrew the Ganga power in 1004, and the
Changalvas in the south-west and the Kongalvas in Arkalgud became subject to them. But the rise of the Hoysalas stopped their progress farther north. These sprang from a line of chiefs in the Western Ghats to the north of Manjarabad, and made Dorasamudra (now Halebid in the Belur taluk) their capital. Vishnuvardhana of this line, about 1 1 16, drove the Cholas out of Mysore. Ballala H (11 73-1 209) carried the Hoysala dominions up to the river Kistna, making Lakkundi in Dharwar his residence for some time. The king Somesvara (1233-54) extended the kingdom southwards over the ('hola country, where he took up his al)()de at Kannanur near Trichinopoly.
The Hoysala power was brought to an eiid in the fourteenth century by Muhammadan invasions from Delhi. But in 1336 was founded the Vijayanagar empire, under which the Manjarabad country and Belur were given to a line of chiefs who continued in power with intervals till the nineteenth century. Meanwhile most of the District had been conquered by the Mysore Rajas in the seventeenth century. The Channarayapatna fort was built in 1648 by treaty with Bijapur, no doubt to mark the limits of the two territories. Sivappa Naik, the Keladi chief of Bediiiir. opposed the Mysore con- quests, and not only held Manjarabad but Ijestowed Belur and other parts on the fugitive Vijayanagar king, who had taken refuge with him, even invading Seringapatam in 1646 on his behalf. Peace was eventually concluded between the two powers in 1694, by which six nads of Man- jarabad were restored to the old chiefs, and the rest divided between the contending parties. ^Vhen Haidar subdued Bednur in 1763, Man- jarabad was allowed to remain in the hands of the chiefs on paying tribute. After the fall of Seringapatam it was absorbed into Mysore.
^V^ithin this District are included some of the most remarkable arch- aeological monuments in India. Of the colossal Jain image of ( iomata at Sravana Belgola, Fergusson says — ' Nothing grander or more imposing exists anywhere out of Egypt.' It is a monolith, 57 feet high, in the human form, nude, with no support above the thighs, and stands on the summit of a granite hill 400 feet high. It was erected by Chamunda Raya, as inscribed at its foot in the Marathi, Kanarese, and Tamil languages, in Nagari, Hala-Kannada, and Grantha and Vatteluttu char- acters respectively. Its date is about 983, and it belongs to the Ganga period. Among architectural monuments, the Chenna Kesava temple at Belur and the Hoysalesvara at Halebid take the first rank.
They are in the Chalukyan style, and were erected under the Hoysalas in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Fergusson praises the great temple at Halebid, as one of the buildings on which the advocate of Hindu archi- tecture would desire to take his stand ; and he says that the minute elaboration of the carving in both may probably be considered as one of the most marvellous exhibitions of human labour to be found even in the patient East. The artistic combination of horizontal with vertical lines, and the play of outline and of light and shade, far surpass anything in Gothic art. The effects are just what mediaeval architects were often aiming at, but which they never attained so perfectly as was done at Halebid. The ruined Kedaresvara at Halebid, which is now being restored, he pronounced to be one of the most exquisite specimens of Chalukyan architecture in existence, and one of the most typical. There are also striking examples of the same style in ruined temples at Arsikere, Harnhalli, Koramangala, Hire-Kadlur, and other places in the District. The inscriptions of the District have been translated and published.
Population
The population at each Census in the last thirty years was: (1871) 518,987, (1881) 428,344, (1891) 5ii,975> and (190O 568,919. The decrease in 1881 was due to the famine of 1876-8. By religion, in 1901 there were 541,531 Hindus, 16,668 Musalmans, 5,035 Animists. 3,795 Christians, 1,874 Jains, and 16 'others.' The density of population was 215 persons per square mile, that for the State being 185. The number of towns is 14, and of villages 2,546. The head-quarters are at Hassan Town (population, 8,241).
The following table gives the principal statistics of population in 1901 : —
The Wokkaligas or cultivators number 173,000 ; the outcaste Holeyas
and Madigas, 93,000 and 12,000 ; Lingayats, 83,000 ; Kurubas or shep-
herds, 45,000. Of Brahmans there are 19,000. The nomad Lambanis
are 3,000 strong, and Koramas half that number. Of Musalmans the
most numerous are Shaikhs, 11,000. By occupation, 8r per cent, are
engaged in agriculture and pasture ; 6 per cent, in the preparation and
supply of material substances ; 5-5 per cent, in unskilled labour not
agricultural ; and 2-5 per cent, in the State service.
The number of Christians is 3,795, of whom 3,554 are natives. At Grama there was a Roman Catholic chapel in the eighteenth century, which was protected by a Muhammadan officer and thus escaped destruction at the hands of Tipu Sultan. Sathalli is the centre of an agricultural community established by the Abbe Dubois early in the nineteenth century. The W'esleyan Mission has a station at Hassan town. Church of England chaplains at Bangalore visit Arsikere for the railway staff there.
Agriculture
The soil of the Malnad is a rich red sedimentary deposit, with forest loam in the jungles, and a red laterite soil on the grass-covered hills. The hills are of primitive formation, chiefly granitic, with a little iron ore. The products of this part are rice in the valleys, and coffee and cardamoms on the forest slopes. The soils in the plains surrounding the hills are generally of a rich sedimentary character, easily worked and yielding fine crops of cereals or garden produce. On the tops of the rising ground the soil is generally thinner and more sandy or gravelly than in the valleys, where it tends rather to be clayey and dark in colour. There are also other extensive tracts with a gravelly sandy soil, resulting from the disintegration iti situ of the primitive schists superimposed upon the granite. Black soil occurs, but only to a small extent and in patches, chiefly in the Arkalgud, Channarayapatna, and Arsikere taluks. The following table gives statistics of cultivation for 1903-4 : — Area, in square miles, shown in the revenue accounts.
The grain principally cultivated in the Malnad is rice, which, though
of an inferior quality, grows most luxuriantly in the long winding
valleys and in fields cut in terraces on their sides, and is almost
entirely dependent on the rainfall. The rice cultivated in the north-
west of the Hassan taluk., and that grown in the Maidan taluks on land
irrigated by channels from the rivers, is of a superior kind, and bears
comparison with the best table rice of .Southern India. In other
places in the Maidan country the crop is dependent on irrigation from
tanks. In a few places where irrigation is deficient, a coarse rice
called bhar-doddi is raised, chiefly in the Arkalgud, Hole-Narsipur, and
Channarayapatna taluks. The sugar-cane grown is generally of inferior
kinds. The rise in the price of rice, combined with years of drought,
has lessened the former popularity of coco-nut and areca-nut gardens.
The most valuable of these are in the Arkalgud taluk, where many of the Brahman proprietors work in the gardens themselves. The areca- nut is known as the woldgra, and is not held in such high repute as that of Nagar. The coco-nuts of the Arsikere taluk, which are allowed to remain on the tree till they drop, are much prized, and are largely exported in a dry state to Tiptur for the Bangalore and Bellary markets. Plantains of good quality are grown to a considerable extent, and formerly every ryot had a few trees at the back of his house ; but the cultivation has gradually yielded to that of coffee, which ranks as one of the most important products of the country. The rich red loam of the primaeval forests which cover the slopes of the Malnad hills is found to be well adapted for its growth. The cultivation of the berry, introduced first from Mecca by Baba Budan on the hill which bears his name in Kadur District, was gradually extended into Manjarabad, and when the British took over the administration of the country in 1 831 was beginning to attract some attention.
It did not, however, become general till the first European plantation was opened in 1843. Since then others have taken up jungle lands and invested capital largely in the enterprise. Every native in the Malnad has a few coffee-trees planted at the back of his house, and the pdtels and principal gmidas have extended this cultivation till it embraces in small plots the whole of the jungles amid which their villages are situated. This industry, not long ago so flourishing, is at the present time in a most depressed condition, owing to the great fall in prices due to the competition of South America. The cardamom plant is indigenous, growing wild in the densely wooded ravines on the verge of the Western Ghats. Its systematic cultivation has for some years been undertaken on a large scale. Though the soil in many parts is favourable, little attention has been paid to the cultivation of wheat and cotton. The former is grown in the Arsikere ta/itk, and the latter in that and the Arkalgiid tdli/k. Tobacco is grown to some extent on dry lands in parts of the Arsikere, Belur, and Arkalgud taluks. Arkalgud tobacco is much prized for snuff ; but that of Harnhalli and Belur is of inferior quality, and chiefly sold on the west coast for chewing. Of the cultivated area in 1903-4, rice occupied 162 square miles, rdgi 141, other food-grains 84, gram loi, coffee 69, oilseeds 54, garden produce 36, and sugar-cane 8.
During the twelve years ending 1904 Rs. 58,000 was advanced as agricultural loans for land improvement, and Rs. 14,000 for irrigation wells.
The area irrigated from canals is 19 square miles, from tanks and wells 128, from other sources 28. The length of channels drawn from rivers is 153 miles, and the number of tanks 5,944, of which 231 are classed as ' major.'
The area of State forests is 184 square miles, of 'reserved ' lands 37, and of plantations 2. The forest receipts in 1903-4 were Rs. 1,18,000, the chief item being sandal-wood.
The unsuccessful attempts at gold-mining at Harnhalli and Kempin- kote have already been referred to. A certain quantity of soapstone is quarried for use in making images and large water-vessels. Laterite is very generally employed in the Malnad for building purposes. A little iron ore is smelted at Bagadi in the Arsikere td/uk. It is used chiefly for agricultural implements.
Trade and Communication
Good cotton cloth is manufactured at Hole-Narsipur. In oTher parts only the coarsest kinds are made. The Musalmans at Channa- rayapatna and Hole-Narsipur make small articles of silk, such as purses, cords, and tassels. The woollen coiJmulTicTtfons. blankets worn by the peasantry are made by the Kuruba or she|)herd class in all td/uks except Manjarabful. 'l"he manufacture of brass and copper vessels is virtually a monopoly of the Jains at Sravana Belgola. Their pots are of excellent quality and meet with a ready sale at Mysore, and at the great annual festival at Subrah- manya in South Kanara. Oils (castor and gingelly) are mostly exported to Kanara, Coorg, and to Birilr in Kadur District. Gunny-bags are made in the Arkalgud, Hole-Narsipur, and Channarayapatna taluks, and bags for the export of grain are also made from the bark of a tree called gaja mara or ' elephant-tree.' The trunk is steeped in water, after which the bark is removed entire by thrashing it, in which state it is not unlike the leg of an elephant. There are reported to be 1,617 looms for cotton, 646 for wool, 16 for other fibres, 299 oil-mills^ and 291 mills for sugar and jaggery.
The trade of the country is chiefly in the hands of outsiders, who frequent the different markets. There are therefore few merchants resident in the District of any wealth or importance. In addition to coffee, the articles exported are chiefly food-grains. The imports consist of iron, European cottons and woollens, ghi, areca-nuts and coco-nuts, and salt. The great rice market is at Alur in the Hassan tdiuk. It is attended by the ryots of the Malnad, who bring their rice in large quantities for sale, and by purchasers who come from great distances with carts and droves of bullocks for the conveyance of the rice purchased. Other important trading places are Yesalurpet, Kenchammana Hoskote, and Channarayapatna.
Famine
The Southern Mahratta Railway from Bangalore to Poona runs for 17 miles through the north-east of the District. The length of Pro- vincial roads is 173 miles, and of District fund roads 444 miles.
Since the general famine ending in 1878, the District, though some- times affected by high prices of food-grains, has not been exposed to scarcity amountmg to famine. The areca gardens suffered severely in the drought which prevailed in 1898.
Administration
The District is divided into seven Idiiiks : Arkalgud, Arsikere, Belur, Channarayapatna, Hassan, Hole-Narsipur, and Manjar- AP.AD, The following subdivisions were placed in Administration. 1903 under Assistant Commissioners: Hassan and Arkalgud ; Manjarabad and Belur, with head-quarters at Sakleshpur ; Channarayapatna, i\rsikere, and Hole-Narsipur, with head-quarters at Hassan town. The District court at Mysore has jurisdiction over the whole of Hassan District, and the Subordinate Judge's court at Mysore over a part. There is a Subordinate Judge's court at Hassan for the remainder, and a Munsifs court at Hole-Narsipur. Owing to its position on the border of other jurisdictions, serious crime, such as dacoity, is not uncommon. The land revenue and t<jlul rc\enue are shown below, in thousands of rupees :—
The revenue survey and settlement were introduced in the north
between 1877 and 1879, in the west in 1881 and 1882, in the south in
1883 and 1884, and in the east in 1885. The incidence of land
revenue per acre of cultivated area in 1903-4 was Rs. 1-12-5. The
average assessment per acre on 'dry' land is R. 0-13-7 (maximum
scale Rs. 2-8-0, minimum scale R. 0-2-0) ; on 'wet' land, Rs. 3-14-7
(maximum scale Rs. 10, minimum scale R. 0-2-0) ; and on garden
land, Rs. 4-4-1 1 (maximum scale Rs. 16, minimum scale Rs. 1-8-0).
In 1903-4 there were eight municipalities — Hassan, Aliir, Sakleshpur, Belur, Arsikere, Channarayapatna, Arkalgud, and Hole-Narsipur — with an income of Rs. 37,000 and an expenditure of Rs. 40,000. There were also six village Unions — Banavar, Harnhalli, Konanur, Grama, Sravana Belgola, and Basavapatna — whose income and expenditure were Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 11,000. 'l"he District and taluk boards, which deal with local affairs outside these areas, had an income of Rs. 71,000 and spent Rs. 79,000, including Rs. 16,000 on roads and buildings.
The police force in 1903-4 consisted of one superior officer, 73 sub- ordinate officers, and 392 constables. There were 8 lock-ups, containing a daily average of 26 prisoners.
The percentage of literate persons in 1901 was 4-1 (7-7 males and 0-4 females). The number of schools increased from 331 with 7,614 [)upils in 1890-1 to 442 with 10,167 pupils in 1900-1. In 1903-4 there were 442 schools (169 public and 273 private) with 9,117 pupils, of whom 1,165 were girls.
Besides the civil hospital at Hassan, there arc 14 dispensaries, at which 93,487 patients were treated in 1904, of whom 692 were in-patients. The total expenditure was Rs. 25,000.
There were 3,817 persons vaccinated in 1904, or 10 per 1,000 of the population.
