Junagarh State, 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.
Junagarh State
Native State in the Kathiawar Political Agency, Bombay, lying between 20 degree 44' and 21 degree 53' N. and 70 and 72 E., with an area of 3,284 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Barda and Haiar, on the east by Goheiwar, and on the west and south by the Arabian Sea. The only elevation rising above the general level of the plains is the Girnar group of hills, the highest peak of which, Gorakhnath, is about 3,666 feet above sea-level. All the hills are volcanic and consist of trap and basalt, but the summit of the Gimar is composed of syenite. The principal rivers are the Bhadar and the Saraswati. The Bhadar is the largest river in the State, and much irrigation is carried on along its banks and those of its tributaries. The Saraswati, or sacred river of Prabhas Patan, is famous in the sacred annals of the Hindus. There is also a densely wooded tract called the Gir, hilly in some parts, but in others so low as to be liable to floods during the rainy season. The climate is fairly healthy ; but, except on the Girnar hill, the heat is excessive from the beginning of April to the middle of July. The annual rainfall averages 40 to 50 inches.
Until 1472, when it was conquered by Sultan Mahmud Begara of Ahmadabad, Junagarh was a Rajput State, ruled by chiefs of the Chudasama tribe. During the reign of the emperor Akbar it became a dependency of Delhi, under the immediate authority of the Mughal viceroy of Gujarat. About 1735, when the representative of the Mughals had lost his authority in Gujarat, Sher Khan Babi, a soldier of fortune, expelled the Mughal governor, and established his own rule. Sher Khan's son Salabat Khan appointed his heir chief of Junagarh, assigning to his younger sons the lands of Bantwa. The ruler of Junagarh first entered into engagements with the British Government in 1807. The chief bears the title of Nawab, and is entitled to a salute of 1 1 guns. The present chief is tenth in succes- sion from Sher Khan Babi, the founder of the family. He holds a sanad guaranteeing any succession according to Muhammadan law, and the succession follows the rule of primogeniture. He was created a K.C.S.I. in 1899.
The population at the last four enumerations was: (1872) 380,921, (1881) 387,499, (1891) 484,190, and (1701) 395,428, dwelling in 7 towns and 811 villages. The decrease in the last decade (19 per cent.) was due to the famine of 1899- 1900. Distributed according to religion, the population includes 301,773 Hindus, 85,684 Muham- madans, and 7,842 Jains. The capital is Junagarh Town. Places of interest include the sacred mountain of Girnar, crowned with Jain temples ; the port of Veraval ; and the ruined temple of Somnath.
The soil is generally black, with scattered tracts of the lighter kind. Irrigation is mainly from wells worked with the Persian wheel and the leathern bag. In 1903—4 the area of cultivated land was 859 square miles, of which 108 square miles were irrigated. Four stallions are maintained for horse breeding. Agricultural products comprise cotton, shipped in considerable quantities from the port of Veraval to Bombay, wheat, the ordinary varieties of pulse and millet, oilseeds, and sugar- cane, of both the indigenous and Mauritius varieties. The Gir district contains about 1,200 square miles of good forest. The principal trees are teak, black-wood, jambu y and babul, all of which are used for building purposes locally and are a source of revenue to the State. The forest, however, is not able to meet all the demands for building timber of the whole peninsula, as large quantities are imported by sea from the Malabar coast. Stone of good quality is obtainable for building.
The coast-line is well supplied with fair-weather harbours, suited for native craft, the chief being Veraval, NawSbandar, Sutrapara, and Mangrol. These ports supply grain, timber, and other necessaries to the greater part of Sorath. The State has its own postal arrange- ments. The Bhavnagar-Gondal-Junagarh-Porbandar Railway passes through the territory. The main roads are from Junagarh town towards Jetpur and Dhoraji, and from Junagarh to Veraval. The ordinary country tracks serve in the fair season for the passage of carts, pack-bullocks, and horses. Oil and coarse cotton cloth are the principal manufactures.
Junagarh ranks as a first-class State in Kathiawar. The chief has power of life and death over his own people, the trial of British subjects for capital offences requiring the previous permission of the Agent to the Governor. Though himself paying a tribute of Rs. 65,604 to the Gaikwir of Baroda and to the British Government, the Nawab of Junagarh receives contributions called zortalbi, amounting to Rs. 92,421, from a large number of chiefs in Kathiawar. This levy, which is collected and paid to. the Nawab by British officers of the Kathiawar Agency, is a relic of the days of Muhammadan supremacy. The gross revenue in 1903-4 was about 26J lakhs, chiefly derived from land (19 lakhs). Junagarh has a mint issuing coin which is current only in the State. The British rupee is also current. Revenue survey operations are in progress in the State, the total area surveyed up to 1904 being 2,612 square miles. The chief has entered into engage- ments to prohibit sati, and to exempt from duty vessels entering his ports through stress of weather. Of the eighteen municipalities, the largest is Junagarh, with an income of about Rs. 18,000. The State maintains a military force of 161 men ; of these 99 are Imperial Service Lancers, and the remaining 62 are also mounted men. The total strength of the police is 1,760 men, of whom 144 are mounted. There are 9 jails, with a daily average of 51 prisoners in 1903-4. Besides one Arts College attended by 181 students, the State contains one high school, and 124 other schools, with 8,800 pupils. The State maintains 21 medical institutions, including one hospital, which afforded relief to 121,000 persons in 1903-4. There is also a leper asylum con- taining 61 inmates. In the same year nearly 10,000 persons were vaccinated.
