Jubbulpore 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.
Contents |
Jubbulpore District
Physical aspects
District in the Jubbulpgre Division of the Central Provinces, lying between 22 degree 49' and 24 degree 8' N. and 79 degree 21' and 8o° 58' E., at the head of what may be called the Narbada Valley proper, with an area of 3,912 square miles. On the north and east it is bounded by the States of Maihar, Panna, and Rewah ; on the west by Damoh District ; and on the south by Narsinghpur, SeonI, and Mandla. The Narbada, entering the District from the Mandla high- lands on the south-east, winds circuitously through its southern portion, passing within 6 miles of the city of Jubbulpore, and finally leaves it on the south-western border.
To
the north of the Narbada extends an open plain,
bounded on the north-west by offshoots of the Vindhyan, and on
the south-west by those of the Satpura range. Farther to the north-
west the surface becomes more uneven, small tracts of level alternating
with broken and hilly country. The south-western plain, called the
Haveli, is one of the richest and most fertile areas in the Province. It
consists of a mass of embanked wheat-fields, and occupies the valley of
the Hiran and Narbada rivers, extending from the south-western border
of the District as far north as the town of Sihora, and from the Hiran
river flowing close beneath the Vindhyan Hills to the railway line,
including also a tract round Sarolf beyond the line.
On the western
bank of the Hiran, the Bhanrer range of the Vindhyan system forms
the boundary between Jubbulpore and Damoh. To the south-east of
the HavelT lies a large tract of poor and hilly country, forming the
northern foot-hills of the Satpura range. North of the Haveli the
Vindhyan and the Satpura systems approach each other more closely,
until they finally almost meet in the Murwara tahsil. The Kaimur
ridge of the Vindhyas commencing at Katangi runs through the west of
the Sihora tahsil) and approaches Murwara, leaving to the north-west
a stretch of hill country with one or two small plateaux. On the east,
the Satpuras run down to the railway between Sihora and Sleemanabad,
and from them a ridge extends northwards till it meets the Vindhyan
system at Bijeraghogarh in the extreme north of the District.
Between
these ranges lie stretches of comparatively open country, less fertile
than the Haveli. Lying at the junction of the Vindhyan and Satpura
ranges, Jubbulpore forms part of the great central watershed of India.
The southern part of the District is drained by the Narbada and its
tributaries, the Hiran and Gaur. In the north the Mahanadl, after
forming for some-distance the boundary between Jubbulpore and Rewah,
crosses the Murwara tahsil and passes on to join the Son, a tributary of
the Ganges. The Katnl river flowing by Katnl-Murwara is an affluent
of the Mahanadl. The Ken river rises in the Kaimur range on the
west, but flows for only a short distance within the District.
The valley of the Narbada from Jubbulpore to the western boundary
is an alluvial flat, chiefly composed of a stiff red or brown clay with
numerous intercalated bands of sand and gravel. Kankdr abounds
throughout the deposit, and pisolitic iron granules are of frequent
occurrence. The southern and eastern portions of the District are
generally covered by the Deccan trap. In the north is a continuous
exposure of sub-metamorphic strata, consisting of fine earthy slate,
quartzite, limestone, ribboned jasper passing locally into bluish quartzite,
micaceous hematite and other rocks. In these rocks or in associa-
tion with them the manganese, lead, and copper ores, and the richest
iron ores of the District occur. The rocks round Jubbulpore are
gneiss.
The plain country is well wooded with mango, tamarind, ber(Zizyphus Jujuba) guava, mahua (Bassta latifolia), and other fruit-bearing trees. Among the ornamental or quasi-religious trees are the banyan, papal, and kachnar (Bauhinia variegata). The hills are covered with forest, which formerly suffered great loss from the annual clearing of patches by the hill tribes and from grass fires. The principal timber trees are teak, saj (Terminalia tomentosa), haldu (Adina cordifolia) tendii or ebony (Diospyros tomentosa), and bamboos. Peaches and pineapples and excellent potatoes and other vegetables are also grown.
The usual wild animals and birds are found in Jubbulpore, and there is a considerable variety of game. Tigers and leopards are the common carnivora ; and the deer and antelope tribe includes sdmbar, spotted deer, ‘ black buck’ and the chinkdra or Indian gazelle.
The annual rainfall averages 59 inches, and is usually copious, that of Murwara in the north being somewhat lighter and also apparently more variable. The climate is pleasant and salubrious. The average maximum temperature in May does not exceed 106 , and in the cold season light frosts are not infrequent.
History
The village of Tewar, lying a few miles from Jubbulpore, is the site of the old city of Tripura, or Karanbel, the capital of the Kalachuri dynasty. The information available about the Kala- churi or Chedi dynasty has been pieced together from a number of inscriptions found in Jubbulpore District, in Chhattfsgarh, and in Benares l . They belonged to the Haihaya Rajputs, and were a branch of the Ratanpur family who governed Chhattlsgarh.
Their
rise to power possibly dates from shortly after the commencement of
the Christian era, and they had an era of their own called the Chedi
Samvat, which commenced in a.d. 249. For the first five or six
centuries of their rule there remain only a few isolated facts ; but for
a period of three hundred years, from the ninth to the twelfth century,
a complete genealogy has been drawn up. We have the names of
eighteen kings, and occasional mention of their marriages or wars with
the surrounding principalities — the Rathors of Kanauj, the Chandels of
Mahoba, and the Paramftras of Malwa.
Their territory comprised the
upper valley of the Narbada. From the twelfth century nothing more
is known of them, and the dynasty probably came to an end, eclipsed
by the rising power of Rewah or Baghelkhand. At a subsequent
period, probably about the fifteenth century, Jubbulpore was included
in the territories of the Gond Garha-Mandla dynasty, and Garha was
for some time their capital. On the subversion of the Gonds by the
MarSthas in 1781, Jubbulpore formed part of the Saugor territories of
the Peshwa. It was transferred to the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur in
1798, and became British territory in 1818.
In 1857 Jubbulpore was garrisoned by the 52nd Native Infantry and was the head-quarters of Major Erskine, the Commissioner of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories, then attached to the North-Western Provinces. In June, 1857, the demeanour of the native troops became suspicious, and the Europeans in the station were collected in the Residency, which was made defensible. The sepoys, however, re- mained quiet; and in August a movable column of Madras troops arrived from Kamptee, and were sent forward to restore order in the interior of Jubbulpore and Damoh Districts, which were in a very disturbed condition and were being raided by mutineers from Saugor.
On September 18 the deposed Gond Raja of Garha-Mandla and his
son, who had been detected in a conspiracy against the British, were
blown away from guns, and on that night the whole of the 52nd
regiment quietly rose and left the station. The Madras troops who
were then at Damoh were recalled, and on arriving at KatangT found
the rebels on the farther bank of the Hiran river. The passage was
forced and the enemy put to flight, and no serious disturbance
occurred subsequently. The northern pargana of Bijeraghogarh was
formerly a Native State. The chief was deposed for participation in
the Mutiny, and his territory was incorporated in Jubbulpore District
in 1865.
The relics of the different races and religions which at one time or another have been dominant in Jubbulpore are fairly numerous, but are now for the most part in ruins. Remains of numerous old Hindu temples and fragments of carved stone are found in a group of villages on the banks of the Ken river, north-west of Murwara. These are Rithi, Chhotl-Deort, Simra, PurenI, and Nandchand. The ruins at Bargaon belong to the Jains. Bilehri, a little to the south, was once a place of some note ; but the only remains now existing are a great tank called Lachhman Sagar, a smaller tank, and two temples.
In the
centre of the District the villages of Bahuriband, Rupnath, and Tigwan
contain another group of remains. Bahuriband ('many embank-
ments ') is believed to have once been the site of a large city, con-
jecturally identified by Cunningham with the Tholobana of Ptolemy.
The only piece of antiquity now remaining is a large naked Jain statue,
with an inscription of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tewar. A small hill at
TigwSn, two miles from Bahurlband, is covered with bloclcs of cut
stone, the ruins of many temples which have been destroyed by the
railway contractors.
At RflpnSth there is a famous lingam of Siva,
which is placed in a cleft of the rock, where a stream pours over the
Kaimur range; but the place is more interesting as being the site
of one of the rock-inscriptions of Asoka. Separate mention is made of
Garha, now included in the city of Jubbulpore.
Population
The population of the District at the last three enumerations was as follows : (1881) 687,233, (1891) 748,146, and (1901) 680,585. The increase of 9 per cent, between 1881 and 1891 was smaller than that for the Province as a whole. During the last decade the loss of population has been 9 per cent., being least in the Murwara tahsil. The District contains three towns, Jubbulpore City, Sihora, and Murwara: and 2,298 inhabited villages. The principal statistics of population in 1901 are shown below : —
The figures for religion show that 87 ½ per cent, of the people are
Hindus, 5 ½ per cent Animists, and 5 ½ per cent. Muhammadans, while
there are 6,177 Jains. Nearly the whole population is returned as
speaking the Baghell dialect of Eastern Hindi ; this form of the
language closely resembles the dialects of Oudh and Chhattlsgarh, and
is found elsewhere in the Central Provinces only in Mandla. About
5,000 persons are returned as speaking Gondf.
The principal landholding castes are Brahmans (64,000), Banias (17,000), Gonds (79,000), Kurmls (35, 000 ), Rajputs (17,000), and Lodhls (41,000). The Brahmans hold no very important estates, but numerous small ones, not infrequently assigned to them partly or wholly revenue-free from the time of the Gond rulers. Brahmans form 9 per cent, of the total population, a fact which is partly to be attributed to the number of sacred places on the Narbada. Kurmls and Lodhls are the principal cultivating castes ; the Lodhls have several fine estates, frequently held on quit-rent tenure and locally called jaglrs.
The Gonds number nearly 79,000, or n£ per cent, of the population.
The Bharia Bhumias (22,000) are another primitive tribe. The Bhumia
proper is the village priest, charged with the worship of the local
deities, and generally receiving a free grant of land from the proprietor.
The Bharias, on the other hand, have strong thieving propensities, and
are sometimes spoken of as a criminal tribe. The identity of the two
is uncertain. The Kols, who number about 46,000, or nearly 7 per
cent, of the population, live more in the open country than the Gonds,
and are employed as farm-servants or on earth-work. Agriculture
supports about 62 per cent, of the population.
Christians number 3,688, of whom 2,044 are Europeans and Eura- sians. The Church Missionary Society and the Zanana Mission of the Church of England, and others belonging to the Wesleyan, American Methodist, and Roman Catholic Churches, are working in the District ; all of these have their head-quarters at Jubbulpore city.
Agriculture
The best soil of the District is the black alluvial clay (kdbar) or loam (mund) of the upper NarbadS valley. The former covers nearly 1 2 and the latter 26 per cent, of the cultivated area. Sandy rice land formed from crystalline rock covers about 10 per cent., and mixed black and sandy soil, which sometimes pro- duces wheat, nearly 12 per cent. Most of the remaining land is either very shallow blackish soil, or the red and stony land of the hills. About 25 per cent of the occupied area is generally uncultivated, long resting /allows being required for the shallow stony soil on which light rice and the minor millets are grown.
The distinctive feature of
agriculture in Jubbulpore is the practice of growing wheat in large
embanked fields, in which water is held up during the monsoon season,
and run off a fortnight or so before the grain is sown. The advantages
of this system are that there is little or no growth of weeds, most of
the labour of preparing the land for sowing is saved, and the culti-
vator is independent of the variable autumn rain, as the fields do not
dry up.
With the exception of 1,094 acres settled on the ryotwari system, all land is held on the ordinary malguzari tenure. The following table gives the principal statistics of cultivation in 1903-4, areas being in square miles: —
What waste land remains is situated mainly in the poor and hilly tracts, and does not offer much scope for further extension of cultiva- tion. In the open portion or Havell, every available acre of land has been taken up, and there are no proper grazing or even standing grounds for cattle. The gross cropped area is about 1,795 square miles, of which 156 square miles are double cropped. Wheat occupies 628 square miles, or 32 per cent, of the cropped area; rice, 193 square miles ; kodon and kutki, 316 square miles ; gram, 184 square miles ; and the oilseed til , 154 square miles. As in other Districts, there has been considerable deterioration in cropping, wheat, which twelve years ago overshadowed all other crops in importance, being supplanted by millets and oilseeds of inferior . value.
The area sown singly with
wheat is only about a third of what it was, while the practice of mixing
it with gram has greatly increased in favour. Little cotton is grown in
Jubbulpore, and that of a very coarse variety. Betel-vine gardens exist
in a number of places, among the principal being the neighbourhood
of Jubbulpore city and Bilehri. Fruits and vegetables are also grown
to supply the local demand.
Cultivation expanded very largely up to 1892 ; but the famines pro- duced a serious decline, and complete recovery had not been attained in 1903-4. The area sown with two crops has largely increased since 1864. San-hemp is a profitable minor crop which has lately come into favour. During the eleven years ending 1904, Rs. 22,000 was borrowed under the Land Improvement Act, mainly for the embankment of fields, and 4-65 lakhs under the Agriculturists' Loans Act, a third of which was distributed in the famine of 1897.
The cattle bred in the District are of no special quality. Many animals of the Gwalior and Saugor breeds are imported from outside, being purchased by the local agriculturists at Garhakoti fair. The price of cattle is said to have risen largely since the famines of 1897 and 1900, owing to the numbers killed for the export of hides and flesh. The returns show that about 13,000 are slaughtered annually, while in 1896-7 the number amounted to 41,000 out of a total of 490,000 shown in the District returns.
Grazing is very scarce in the open embanked wheat lands of the Havell, and most of the cattle are sent to the forests for grazing during the rains, when the fields do not require ploughing. Buffaloes are bred, and the cows are kept for the manufacture of gha y while the young bulls are either allowed to die from neglect or sold in Chhattfegarh. Good cow buffaloes are expen- sive, their price being calculated at Rs. 12 or Rs. 13 for each seer of milk that they give. Ponies are bred to a small extent, and were also formerly imported from Saugor, but very few are purchased there now. Those who can afford it keep a pony for riding, as carts cannot travel over many portions of the District. Ponies, bullocks, and buffaloes are also largely used for pack-carriage. Goats and sheep are kept for food and for the manufacture of ghi.
The maximum area irrigated is about 6,000 acres, of which 2,500 are under rice, and the remainder devoted to garden crops, sugar-cane, and a little wheat and barley. There are about 2,500 wells and 134 tanks. The embanked wheat-fields, which cover about 310 square miles, are, however, practically irrigated, and the crops grown in them are very seldom affected by deficiency of rainfall.
The total area of Government forests is 346 square miles, or 9 per cent, of the District area. The forests are scattered in small patches all over the hilly tract east of the railway along the length of the District, while to the west lies one important block in the Murwftra tahsil) and a few smaller ones. The sd/-tree (Shorea robustd) occupies a portion of the MurwSra forests. The remainder are of the type familiar on the dry hills of Central India — low scrub jungle, usually open and composed of a large variety of species, few of which, however, yield timber or attain large dimensions. Teak is found in places mixed with other species. Among the more important minor products may be mentioned the mahua flower, myrabolams, and honey. The forest revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 42,000.
Minerals
Iron ores, some of which are very rich, occur in several parts of the District, particularly in the Sihora tahsil. The iron is smelted in small furnaces by Agarias, and sold at Rs. 2-8 a maund. Owing to the imperfect methods of refining, however, 50 per cent, is lost in working it up. The iron is of excellent quality, as it is smelted with charcoal, but it is believed that the deposits are not sufficiently large to repay the expenditure of capital on ironworks. Steel is made with manganese by similar methods at Johll in Sihora, and used locally for agricultural implements. Manganese ores occur at Gosalpur, Sihora, Khitola, and other villages, and mining leases have been taken out.
Copper ores and argentiferous galena with traces
of gold occur at Sleemanabad, and a mining lease has been obtained
by a barrister of Jubbulpore. The limestone deposits of Murwira are
worked by a number of capitalists, European and native. The aggre-
gate sales of lime in 1904 were 50,000 tons, valued at nearly 5 lakhs.
About 2,500 labourers are employed, principally Kols and Gonds.
The largest manufacturers of lime also own a fuller's earth quarry, the
produce of which is sold to paper-mills. Agate pebbles are abundant
in the detritus formed by the Deccan trap, and are worked up into
various articles of ornament by the local lapidaries. The true or Sulai-
mani onyx is said to be sent to Cambay from Jubbulpore. There are
a number of sandstone quarries in or near Murwara, from which
excellent stone is obtained and exported in the shape of posts and
slabs. Chips of limestone marble are exported for the facing of walls.
Trade and communication
Cotton hand-weaving was formerly an important industry, but has been reduced by the competition of the mills. The principal centres are Garha. and Majholi. The coloured saris generally worn by women are still woven by hand. The best cloths and carpets are dyed after being woven, dl or Indian madder being used for these heavy cloths, as the foreign dyes change colour and are partly fugitive. Bijeraghogarh in Murwara and Ramkhiria and Indrana in Sihora are the principal dyeing centres. Brass and copper vessels are made at Jubbulpore, by both hammering and casting, and cups and ornaments at Panagar. Glass bangles and the round glass flasks in which Ganges water is carried are produced at Katangi. At Tewar near the Marble Rocks various kinds of vessels of white sandstone, marble images, agate studs, and other small ornaments are made by the caste of Larhias or stone-cutters.
The Gokuldas Spinning and Weaving Mills, with 288 looms and 15,264 spindles, produced 10,200 cwt. of yarn and 4,798 cwt. of cloth in 1904. The mills are being enlarged by the addition of 300 looms. Only the coarser counts of yarn are woven, and the produce is sold locally. Large pottery works, started in 1892, turn out roofing and flooring tiles, bricks, and stoneware pipes, which are sold in the local market and also exported. The raw material is obtained from the large deposits of white clay formed from the limestone rocks, and the value of the produce in 1904 was 2 lakhs.
A brewery, which was opened
in 1897, sends beer to all parts of India. In connexion with the
brewery, there is an ice factory which supplies the local demand. All
these factories and also a gun-carriage factory and an oil- and flour-mill
are situated at Jubbulpore. In Murwara eight small flour-mills have
been started, being worked by water power and owned by natives ; and
there are also paint- and oil-mills, worked by water power, in which
chocolate-coloured paint is produced from yellow ochre and red oxide
of iron. There are six printing presses in the city of Jubbulpore.
Wheat and oilseeds are the principal exports. Hemp (san) is sent to both Calcutta and Bombay for export to England. Considerable quantities of ghi and forest produce are dispatched from Jubbulpore, but most of this comes from Seonl and Mandlft. Hides and horns, bones, and dried beef are also largely exported. Other exports are the manufactured and mineral products already mentioned. Salt comes principally from the Sambhar Lake and also from Bombay and Gujarat, sugar from the Mauritius, and gur (unrefined sugar) from Bihar. Kero- sene oil is now universally used for lighting, vegetable oil being quite unable to compete with it.
Cotton cloth is imported from Ahmadabad and also from the Berar and Nagpur mills, as the local mills cannot weave cloth of any fineness. There is a considerable trade in aniline dyes, and synthetic indigo has begun to find a market within the last few years. Transparent glass bangles are now brought in large numbers from Germany. A European firm, dealing in oilseeds, wheat, and myrabolams, has most of the export trade. The rest of the traffic is managed by Bhatias from Bombay and CutchI Muhammadans. Mar- waris act only as local brokers, and do not export grain by rail. The leading weekly markets are at Panagar, Barela, ShahpurS, Patan, KatangI, Bilherl, Silondl, and Umaria. Numerous religious fairs are held at the different sacred places on the Narbada and elsewhere, but trade is important only at those of Bheraghat and Kumbhi.
The main line of railway from Bombay to Calcutta runs through the centre of the District with a length of 93 miles, and nine stations are situated within its limits, including the three towns of Jubbulpore, Sihora, and Murwara. At Jubbulpore the Great Indian Peninsula Railway meets the East Indian. From Katnl junction the Blna-Katnl connexion of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway branches off to Damoh and Saugor in the west, and a branch of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway leads east to Bilaspur. The SatpurS extension of the Bengal- Nagpur Railway, which connects Jubbulpore with Gondii station, situated about 80 miles from Nagpur towards Calcutta, has recently been completed.
From Jubbulpore a number of metalled roads lead to outlying Dis- tricts which, before the opening of the recently constructed railway lines, were important trade and military routes. These are the Jubbul- pore-Damoh (63 miles), the Jubbulpore-Seonl (86 miles), and the Jubbulpore-Mandla (58 miles) roads. Other roads lead from Jub- bulpore to Patan, Deori, and Dindorl in Mandla, of which the two latter are partly metalled, while the Patan road is unmetalled. From the south-west of the District trade goes to Shahpura station. The principal roads from Sihora are towards Patan and Majholl, and are unmetalled.
A considerable amount of trade comes to Katnl from
the Native States to the north, chiefly by roads from Bijeraghogarh,
from Rewah through Barhl, and from Damoh. The communications
in the south of the District are excellent, but those in the north are not
so advanced, apart from the railways. The total length of metalled
roads is 108 miles and of unmetalled roads 301 miles, and the expen-
diture on maintenance in 1903-4 was Rs. 67,000. More than 200 miles
of the more important roads are managed by the Public Works depart-
ment, and the remainder by the District council. There are avenues
of trees on 74 miles.
Famine
Failures of crops occurred in Jubbulpore District from excessive winter rain in 181 8-9 and from deficiency of rainfall in 1833-4, causing considerable distress. In 1868-9, the year of the Bun del k hand famine, the Murwara tah&l was severely affected, and a large decrease of population was shown at the following Census. The District then continued prosperous until 1893 when for three years in succession the spring crops were spoilt by excessive winter rain. The poorer classes were distressed in 1896, and some relief was necessary, while in the following year Jubbulpore was very severely affected.
Nearly 100,000 persons, or 13 per cent, of
the population, were in receipt of relief in March, 1897, and the total
expenditure was 19 lakhs. After two favourable seasons followed the
famine of 1 899-1 900. The failure of crops in this was, if anything,
more extensive than in 1897; but the people were in a better condition
to meet it, and owing to the generous administration of relief the effect
of the famine was far less marked. The numbers on relief reached
65,000, or nearly 9 per cent, of the population, in July, 1900, and the
total expenditure was 9 lakhs. A number of tanks were constructed or
repaired by Government agency and some field embankments were
made, besides various improvements in communications.
Administration
The Deputy-Commissioner is aided by four Assistant and Extra- Assistant Commissioners. For administrative purposes the District is divided into three tahsil, each of which has a tahsil- adr, with tahsildars at Sihora and MurwarS. Jubbulpore is the head-quarters of an Executive Engineer, who is in charge of Jubbulpore, Mandla, and SeonI Districts, of an Executive Engineer for irrigation, and of a Forest officer.
The civil judicial staff consists of a District and three Subordinate Judges, a Small Cause Court Judge for Jubbulpore city, and a Munsif for the Jubbulpore tahsil. The Divisional and Sessions Judge of the Jubbulpore Division has jurisdiction in the District. Crime is light, but the District is sometimes visited by professional coiners or dacoits from the neighbouring Native States.
Neither the Gond nor the Maratha government had any fixed prin- ciples for the realization of revenue, nor were any rights in land recognized. The policy of the Marathas was directed merely to the extortion of as much money as possible. Rents were commonly collected from the ryots direct, and when farming was practised short leases only were granted on very high rents, which sometimes amounted to more than the village ' assets.'
For some years after the cession
in 1 818 short-term settlements were made, the demand being fixed on
the first occasion at 4*18 lakhs, subsequently rising in 1825 to 6*41 lakhs.
This assessment proved, however, too heavy, and in 1835 a twenty
years' settlement was made and the revenue fixed at 4*76 lakhs. Under
it the District prospered greatly. Revision was postponed for some
years owing to the Mutiny ; but in 1863 a thirty years' settlement was
concluded, at which the revenue was raised to 5-69 lakhs, including
Rs. 60,000 assessed on the subsequently included estate of Bije-
raghogarh. During the currency of this settlement, which almost coin-
cided with the opening of the railway, Jubbulpore enjoyed a period of
great agricultural prosperity.
Cultivation increased by 35 per cent and
the price of wheat by 239 per cent., while that of other grains doubled.
The income of the landholders rose by 61 per cent., mainly owing to
large enhancements of the rental. The latest settlement, commenced
in 1888 and completed in 1894, raised the revenue to 10 lakhs, an
increase of 65 per cent. The new assessment was not excessive, and
would have been easily payable ; but the successive disastrous seasons,
of which mention has been made, necessitated substantial reductions
in the demand, and the revenue in 1903-4 had been reduced to
Rs. 8,77,000. The average rental incidence per cultivated acre at
settlement was Rs. 1-3-8 (maximum Rs. 3-12-1, minimum R. 0-3-1),
and the revenue incidence was R. 0-11-11 (maximum Rs. 1-15-3,
minimum R. 0-1-7).
The total receipts from land revenue and from all sources have been, in thousands of rupees : —
Local affairs outside municipal areas are entrusted to a District council, under which are three local boards, each having jurisdiction over one iahsiL The local boards have no independent income, but perform inspection duty and supervise minor improvements. The income of the District council in 1903-4 was Rs. 87,000. The expen- diture was Rs. 84,000, mainly on public works (Rs. 29,000) and educa- tion (Rs. 24,000). Jubbulpore City, Sihora, and Murwara arc municipalities.
The police force consists of 751 officers and men, including a special reserve of 55 men, 8 railway police, and 10 mounted constables, under a District Superintendent. There are 1,721 village watchmen for 2,298 inhabited villages. The District has a Central jail, with accom- modation for 1,463 prisoners, including 150 female prisoners. The daily average number of male prisoners in 1904 was 777, and of female prisoners 32. Cloth for pillow and mattress cases, net money-bags, wire netting, and Scotch and Kidderminster carpets are made in the Central jail.
In respect of education Jubbulpore stands second among the Districts of the Province, 5^3 per cent, of the population (10 males and o»6 females) being able to read and write. Statistics of the number of pupils under instruction are as follows: (1 880-1) 8,300, (1890-1) 9,805, (1900-1) 12,070, (1903-4) 14,141, including 1,811 girls. The educational institutions comprise an Arts college in
Jubbulpore city, which also contains law and engineering classes;
3 high schools ; 3 training schools for teachers ; 6 English and 15
vernacular middle schools ; 164 primary schools ; and 2 special schools.
The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 was Rs. 1,40,000, of
which Rs. 16,000 was realized from fees. The percentage of children
under instruction to those of school-going age is 14. Jubbulpore city
also contains a Reformatory, to which youthful offenders from the
whole Province are sent and taught different handicrafts. It had
125 inmates in 1904.
The District has 14 hospitals and dispensaries, with accommodation for 131 in-patients. In 1904 the number of cases treated was 106,386, of whom 1,585 were in-patients, and 3,422 operations were performed. The expenditure was Rs. 20,000, chiefly from Provincial funds; A lunatic asylum at Jubbulpore contains 178 patients.
Vaccination is compulsory in the municipalities of Jubbulpore city (including the cantonment), SihorS, and Murwara. The proportion of successful vaccinations in 1903-4 was 33 per 1,000 of the population.
[Khan Bahadur Aulad Husain, Settlement Report (1895). A District Gazetteer is being compiled.]
