Kathiawar
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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Kathiawar
(or Surashtra). — The peninsula or western portion of the province of Gujarat, Bombay, lying between 20 41' and 23 8' N. and 68° 56' and 72 20' E. The extreme length of the peninsula is about 220 miles, its greatest breadth about 165 miles, its area about 23,445 square miles, and its population (1901) '2,645,805. Of these totals, about 1,245 square miles, with 173,436 persons, belong to the Gaikwar; about 1,298 square miles, with 128,559 persons, belong to Ahmadabad District ; about 20 square miles, with 14,614 persons, belong to the Portuguese possession of Diu ; while the remainder (area 20,882 square miles and population 2,329,196) is the territory form- ing the Political Agency subordinate to the Government of Bombay, established in 1822, having under its control 193 separate States, great and small, whose chiefs divide among themselves the greater portion of the peninsula of Kathiawar.
The Kathiawar Agency is divided for administrative purposes into fourpra/its or divisions — Jhalawar, Halar, Sorath, and Gohelwar — and the States have since 1863 been arranged in seven classes. The first-class States number 8, second-class 6, third-class 8, fourth-class 9, fifth-class 16, sixth-class 30, seventh-class 5, and the remaining in are combined into thana circles. General Statistics for each State and in Kathiawak
- This is the actual area of thepraat. No details are available for small States.
t The total number of villages and population according to the Census of 1901 are respectively 4,242 and 2,329,196: of the former, 11 (three civil stations and ihe rest villages of insignificant talukaars who do not pay tribute) with an aggregate population of 26,736, have been omitted from the prant totals. They are : Rasnal, Pipalva (Vithalgadh) (i,8ii), Ranparda (459), Hathasni (939), and Noghanvadar (113), in Gohilwar ; Raj kot Civil Station (8,992), and Hadala (468), in Halar; Wadhwan Civil Station (11,255), in Jhalawar ; and Jetalsar Civil Station (463), Dhasa (1,473), and Shapur (763), in Sorath praut.
\ Separate figures for s under ihana circles are not available. The areas of the whole than* circles, in square miles, are —
1 The total amount of tribute of all kinds is Rs. 10,79,371, according to Aitchison's Treaties. To this sum Rs. 1,225 on account of Unamamuli paid by Dedan has been added ; while Rs. 9,114, the amount of tribute and zorlalbi paid by the Amreli mahal of the Gaikwar, has been omitted. Formerly Kathiawar was divided into ten prdnts : namely, Jhalawar in the north ; Machhukantha, west of Jhalawar ; Halar, in the north- west ; Okhamandal, in the extreme west, belonging to Baroda ; Barda or Jethwar, along the south-west coast ; Sorath, in the south ; Babriawar, a hilly tract in the south-east ; Kathiawar, a large district near the middle ; Undsarviya, situated along the Shetrunji river ; and Gohelwar in the east, along the shore of the Gulf of Cambay, so named from the Gohel Rajputs who are the ruling race in it. In this last-named division is situated the Gogha mahal of Ahmadabad District.
Pysical aspects
A square peninsula, standing boldly out into the Arabian Sea be- tween the smaller projection of Cutch and the straight line of the Gujarat coast, its physical features suggest that it may once as ts have been an island or a group of islands of volcanic origin. Along its northern border stretch the shallow waters or the salt-encrusted surface of the Rann. On the east, between Kathiawar and the mainland, a belt of salt lands and the long lagoon of the Nal mark the line of the depression, which, unless the evidence of travellers is unusually at fault, formed until recent times during the rains a connecting link between the Gulf of Cambay and the Little Rann.
Three travellers of authority, all of whom visited Cambay, speak of Kathiawar as an island. The first of these, Varthema, 1503-8 (Badger's edition, p. 105), says that the city of Cambay lies 3 miles inland close to the mouth of the Indus. Baldaeus, 1672 (ChurchilVs Voyages, vol. iii, p. 566), states that Cambay stands on one of the largest channels of the Indus; Alexander Hamilton, 1690-1721 (New Account, vol. i, p. 131), states that one of the largest branches of the Indus running into the sea at Cambay makes Gujarat an island. Still more difficult to consider a mistake is Captain MacMurdo's statement in 181 3 (Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i, p. 41), that a tract similar to the Rann and known partially by the same name connects the Gulf of Cutch and Cambay, forming an island off the peninsula of Gujarat for six months in the year. From the coast Kathiawar rises to a central table-land where all the rivers of the peninsula take their rise. The silt of the old eastern branch of the Indus and of the rivers Luni, Banas, Saraswati, and Rupen, gradually filling the sea-bed, with some help possibly from the great upheaval of 1820, has joined north-east Kathiawar with the main- land of Gujarat.
Kathiawar was known to the Greeks and Romans under the name of "S,avpu(TTpi)vij ; the Muhammadans called it by the prakritized name of Sorath, and to this day a large division in the south-west, 100 miles in length, retains that title. Another tract, quite as large, to the east of the centre, however, has long been known as Kathiawar, from having been overrun by the Kathis, who entered the peninsula from Cutch in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In the fifteenth century the whole tribe was driven out of Cutch, and in that and the following century conquered a considerable territory. The Marathas who came into contact with them in their forays, and were sometimes successfully repelled by them, extended the name of Kathiawar to the whole pro- vince, and from them has been borrowed the appellation in its wider sense; but by Brahmans and the natives generally it is still spoken of as Surashtra.
The surface of Kathiawar is for the most part undulating, with low ranges of hills running in very irregular directions. With the exception of the Thanga and Mandav hills, in the west of Jhalawar, and some unimportant hills in Halar, the northern portion of the country is flat ; but in the south, from the neighbourhood of Gogha, the Gir range runs nearly parallel with the coast, and at a distance of about 20 miles from it, along the north of Babriawar and Sorath to the neighbourhood of Girnar. Opposite this latter mountain is the solitary Osam hill, and still farther west is the Barda group, between Halar and Barda, run- ning about 20 miles north and south from Ghumli to Ranawao. The Girnar clump of mountains is an important granitic mass, the highest peak of which rises to 3,500 feet above the sea.
The principal river is the Bhadar, which rises in the Mandav hills and, flowing south-west, falls into the sea at Navibandar, in Barda, after a course of about no miles, everywhere marked by highly cultivated lands bordering its course. From the same hills rises another Bhadar, known as the Sukha Bhadar, flowing eastward into the Gulf of Cambay. Other rivers are the Aji, Machhu, Bhogava, and Shetrunji, the latter remarkable for wild and romantic scenery. Of salt-water creeks the most important are Hansthal, connecting the outer and inner Gulf of Cutch ; Bhaunagar, forming the channel between that town and the Gulf of Cambay ; the Sundrai, 8 miles north of Bhaunagar ; the Bavliali, 2 miles north of the Sundrai creek ; and the Dholera, leading from the Gulf of Cambay 10 miles inland to the town of Dholera.
Notwithstanding its extent of coast, Kathiawar has no really good harbour except Beyt, at the north-east corner of Okhamandal. The principal ports are Vavania, Jodiya, Bedi, and Salaya in the Gulf of Cutch ; Dholera, Bhaunagar, and Gogha in the Gulf of Cambay ; and Mahuva, Jafarabad, Diu, Veraval, Mangrol, Navibandar, and Porbandar on the south and west coasts. Of these, Vavania, Jodiya, Bedi, Salaya, Navibandar, Mahuva, Bhaunagar, and Dholera are on creeks, and communication with them depends on the tide ; while the rest are little better than open roadsteads.
The chief islands are Piram in the Gulf of Cambay ; Chanch, Shial, and Diu off the south coast ; Beyt in the west ; and the Chanka islets in the Gulf of Cutch. The peninsula contains few lakes larger than village reservoirs. The most remarkable are the Nal at the head of the Rann of Cambay, and the Gheds on the south-west coast near Madhavpur. With the help of the Nal, two ranns or salt wastes nearly encircle the east and north-east of Kathiawar, the little Cutch Rann and the Rann of Cambay stretching about 35 miles north from the mouth of the Sabarmati. From the head of the Gulf of Cutch, at the mouth of the Hansthal creek, the Little Rann, covering an area of about 1,600 square miles, stretches north-east for about 60 miles, varying from 5 to 30 miles in breadth, and connecting with the Great Rann. In the south-west corner are the Kharaghoda salt-works.
The Rann of Cambay, a long, shallow, rocky channel or dry estuary, extends north-west about 35 miles from near the mouth of the Sabarmati at the upper end of the Gulf of Cambay. The lower part is rich in marine silt, and joins the Nal during the south-west monsoon, forming a connected sheet of water which spreads over the neighbouring tracts of the Bhal and the Nalkantha, turning the villages into islands and cutting off communication with Ahmadabad. The upper end of the Rann is now crossed by the railway between Viramgam and Wadhwan.
Basalt beds belonging to the Deccan trap formation occupy the greater portion of the peninsula of Kathiawar. They lie almost hori- zontally, and have been deeply denuded, so that countless numbers of intrusive dikes, filling the fissures through which the molten material was injected, have become visible in every district. These dikes are remarkable for their columnar structure, consisting of huge hexagonal prisms loosely stacked upon one another and arranged horizontally. They exert a pronounced influence upon the underground drainage, a circumstance well-known to the agriculturists, who persistently sink their irrigation wells along the dikes, tracing out their course with great assiduity, and are almost invariably rewarded by the presence of water at a depth of 15 to 20 feet. In some instances apparently the joints and cracks in the dike rock communicate with some deep-seated water- bed ; in other cases the dikes seem to wall up and keep in on one side the water of the adjoining strata. The Girnar mountains, and probably the Barda hills north-east of Porbandar, appear to be great intrusive masses of the same age as the basalt flows and columnar dikes ; they may represent the inner cores of great volcanoes now denuded of the volcanic ejectamenta that formerly covered them. The rocks of Girnar contain the somewhat uncommon mineral alaeolite, and some of them belong to the exceptional class of rocks known as monchiquites. The basaltic formation has a very low dip from north to south, perhaps original, in consequence of which some of the older underlying rocks in the northern part of the peninsula, and some of the newer super- incumbent strata, are exposed. The older rocks in the northern part belong to two different series : the Umia beds, which arc of neocomian, that is, of the Lower Cretaceous age ; and the Lameta beds, which are Upper Cretaceous (cenomanian). The Umia beds (which take their name from a village in Cutch) are principally exposed about Dhran- gadhra and farther south-west. They consist chiefly of sandstone, open, imperfectly cemented, and unevenly stratified, with coarse and gritty, or even conglomeratic runs and layers. There are, however, some thick beds of fine texture among them, and a few subordinate bands of shale. The Lameta beds occur principally round Wadhwan, where they are locally known as the Wadhwan sandstones. Beds newer than the basalts and overlying them run along the southern seaboard of the peninsula from Dwarka on the west to Bhaunagar on the east. They include sandstones and pure limestones with marine fossils identical with those of the Gaj group in Sind, overlaid by sandstones and conglomerates of fluviatile origin corresponding in age with the Siwalik. These fluviatile beds contain an older series, sometimes with abundant remains of terrestrial animals, as for instance in the island of Piram, corresponding with the Lower or Middle Siwaliks; and a newer series known as the Dwarka beds, corresponding with the Upper Siwaliks. Laterite sometimes intervenes between the basalt and the overlying Tertiary beds.
A belt of recent alluvium follows the southern coast, and there are large alluvial areas in the eastern part of the peninsula near the Gulf of Cambay and in its northern part where the alluvium merges into the silt of the Little Rann. Raised beaches occur at some places along the sea-coast. The somewhat low rainfall allows to a certain extent the accumulation of wind-borne deposits ; the finer particles of the sand on the sea-beach, consisting principally of the minute shells of foraminifera, are blown all over the land, where they accumulate to form the curious calcareous rock known as miliolite. In the immediate neighbourhood of the coast this wind-formed miliolite merges into the raised beaches. The well-known ' Porbandar stone,' which is largely quarried and shipped to Bombay, is a variety of miliolite 1 .
Except in the Glr forest, Kathiawar is thinly wooded ; and even there the timber is of little value. The mangrove abounds along the shores of the peninsula and is largely used as fuel. The coco-nut grows rapidly and bears steadily all along the south coast, and the wild date is met with in most parts of the peninsula. Excellent mangoes are grown in Mahuva from Bombay grafts.
1 F. Fedden, Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, vol. xxi, pt. ii ; J. W. Evans, Quarterly Journal, Geological Society of London, vol. lvi (1900), pp. 559-83, and vol. lvii (1900), pp. 38-54. Descriptions of the fossil bones from the Island of Perim (Piram) have been published by H. Falconer in vol. i (1854) of the Quarterly Journal, Geological Society of London, and by R. Lydekker in Series X of the Lalaeonlolcgia hi die a. The principal wild animals include the lion (found in the Glr range), leopard, hunting cheetah, antelope, hog, hyena, wolf, jackal, wild cat, fox, porcupine, and smaller vermin. Of reptiles, the Indian python, the cobra, the whip-snake, and others abound, and the crocodile and land tortoise are common.
The lion was formerly common all over the Kathiawar peninsula, extending into Gujarat and Central India. It is now found only in the Glr forest, and rarely on the Girnar mountain. Its mane is shorter and its colour lighter than that of the African lion. Approximating in size to the tiger, it is somewhat heavier in bulk and stronger. It seeks the loneliest spot for its midday sleep, and when disturbed does not try to conceal its escape like the tiger, but walks boldly away. It used to avoid man more than either the tiger or leopard, and never lived near a village or hamlet ; but since the last famine these habits have changed. Of a gregarious disposition, it moves in family parties, comprising occasionally three generations. Careful preservation of these lions has resulted in an appreciable increase of their number, which at present must be from 60 to 70. Since the last famine they have done considerable damage to cattle, and cases of attack upon men have also been reported from outlying villages.
The climate of Kathiawar is in general pleasant and healthy. January, February, and March are marked by heavy dews and thick fogs. The hot season, which is the healthiest period of the year, begins in April and lasts until the rain falls in June. The hot wind is most felt in the south. From September to the first part of November the climate is unhealthy for both Europeans and natives. A violent bilious attack, lasting for four or five days and followed by ague and fever, is the only special Kathiawar disease.
The heaviest rainfall in the peninsula occurs at Junagarh (42 inches), in the Sorath prant ; at Rajkot, in the Halar prant, the average yearly fall is 30 inches ; at Wadhwan, in Jhalawar, 21 inches. The monsoon begins in June and ends in October, the wettest months of the year being July to September.
During the last century Kathiawar suffered several times from earth- quakes. On April 29, 1864, a shock occurred in many parts of the peninsula a little after n a.m. It was preceded by a low rumbling noise followed by a vibration for six seconds, causing widespread panic and excitement. On Nov. 27, 1881, at midnight a shock of earth- quake was felt at Rajkot. In September and October, 1898, shocks of earthquake were felt in the northern districts, and in other years lesser shocks ; but none of them caused any damage.
History
At a very early period Surashtra was doubtless brought under the influence of Brahmanical civilization, and, from its position on the coast, was most accessible to influences from the west. The edicts of Asoka (265-231 B.C.) were inscribed by that monarch on a huge granite boulder between Junagarh and Girnar. The Saraostos of Strabo is not improbably identical with Surashtra ; and it so, the peninsula was included in the con- quests of the Indo-Scythian kings (circa 190-144 B.C.). Its shores were well-known to the Alexandrian merchants of the first and second centuries, but there is considerable difficulty in identifying the places mentioned by them.
Of the early history of the country we have but scanty notice. Mauryas, Greeks, and Kshatrapas probably held it in succession, and were followed for a brief space by the Guptas of Kanauj, who apparently governed by se/iafiatis. The later se/iapafis became kings of Surashtra, who placed their lieutenants at Vallabhi-nagar (identified with the buried city at Yala, 18 miles north-west of Bhaunagar). When the Gupta empire fell to pieces, the Vallabhi kings, whose dynasty was founded by Bhattaraka, a Gupta commander, extended their sway over Cutch and defeated the Mers, who appear to have gained considerable authority in Kathiawar between 470 and 520. It was in the reign of Dhurvasena II (632-40) that the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang visited Va-la-pi (Vallabhi ?) and Su-la-ch'a (Surashtra), the inhabitants of which, he says, are indifferent and not given to learning, but profit by the proximity of the sea, and engage much in trade and barter. The people he described as numerous and wealthy, and he remarked many convents established for the benefit of recluses engaged in the contemplative piety of Buddhism.
How Vallabhi fell is not known, but possibly it was subverted by Muhammadan invaders from Sind. The seat of government was then moved farther north beyond the borders of Kathiawar, and remained at Anhilvada from 746 to 1298, during which time various petty king- doms arose, and the Jethwas became a powerful tribe in the west of Surashtra. Anhilvada was sacked by the Muhammadans in 1194, and finally conquered in 1298. The Jhalas are said to have been settled in Northern Kathiawar by the Anhilvada kings. The Gohels (now in Eastern Kathiawar) came from the north in the thirteenth century, retreating before the tide of Muhammadan conquest, and were enabled by the decadence of Anhilvada to conquer new seats for themselves. The Jadejas and the Kathis came from the west, through Cutch. The sack of Somnath, in Southern Kathiawar, by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026, and the capture of Anhilvada in 1194, were the prelude to occasional Muhammadan invasions of Kathiawar. In 1324 /afar Khan destroyed the temple of Somnath. lie was the first of the Muham- madan kings of Gujarat, who reigned in prosperity from 1396 to 1535, and in decadence to the close of 1572, when Gujarat was conquered by Akbar. The Ahmadabad kings, who held the tributary chiefs of Kathiawar in subjection, carefully fostered commerce, and developed the ports of Mangrol, Veraval, Diu, Gogha, and Cam bay.
About 1509 the coast was threatened by the Portuguese. Bahadur, defeated by Babar's son Humayun, sought safety in Diu, and afterwards permitted the Portuguese adventurers to build a factory, which they turned into a fort, after having treacherously killed Bahadur (1537). The island and fort of Diu are still a Portuguese possession. Gujarat, after its conquest by Akbar in 1572, was ruled by viceroys from the court of Delhi, until the Marathas supplanted the imperial power. In 1705 the Marathas entered Gujarat, and by 1760 had firmly established their rule ; but the following half-century was a time of little ease for the tributaries in Kathiawar, and petty wars were frequent. During the latter part of the eighteenth century, according to Musalman and Maratha custom, the Gaikwar, partly for himself and partly for his overlord the Peshwa, sent yearly a revenue-collecting army [rnulk-giri) to collect contributions from the chiefs of Western and Northern Gujarat. As this armed expedition caused much waste and confusion, the British Government agreed to associate itself with the Gaikwar in recovering the Maratha tribute from the Kathiawar States.
In 1803 some of the weaker tdlukdars applied to the British Resident at Baroda for protection, offering to cede their territory to the Com- pany. They were then independent of the Peshwa and the Gaikwar, with the exception of being bound to furnish contributions. In 1807 the forces of the Company and the Gaikwar advanced into Kathiawar, and the chiefs entered into engagements to pay a fixed tribute to their over- lords, to keep the peace towards each other, and to maintain order within their own limits. In return, they were secured from the visita- tions of the mulk-giri force, which used to appear at harvest-time and in default of payment ravaged the crops and fired the villages. Internal warfare and resistance to the supreme authority were ended in 1807-8 by the settlement effected by Colonel Walker, one great feature of which was that the tributes were fixed, and the work of collection was undertaken by the British Government, which also acquired the Peshwa's rights in Kathiawar after the Satara proclamation in 181 8. In 1820 the Gaikwar agreed to have his share collected and paid by the British Government.
Under the ruling houses there are numerous petty Rajput lairds and yeomen, representatives of old houses long ruined and supplanted, or of the younger brothers of chiefs who have received their girds or portions from the estate. Kathiawar has many notable antiquities, which have been fully described by Dr. James Burgess 1 . Besides the famous inscription of Asoka already referred to, there are a number of rock-cut Buddhist 1 Archaeological Survey of Western India, vols, ii and viii. caves and temples at Junagarh, mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang in the seventh century, and some fine Jain temples on Mount Girnar and the Shetrunja hills at Palitana. At Ghumli, a former capital of the Jethwas, there are extensive ruins.
Population
The Political Agency of Kathiawar has (1 90 r )a population of 2,329,196. The population in 1872, 1881, and 1891 was 2,318,642, 2,343,899, and 2,752,404. During the last decade there was a decrease of 423,208, due to the famine of 1899-1901.
Natives of Kathiawar are largely represented in Bombay city, where 45,000 immigrants were enumerated at the recent Census. A similar number were found in Ahmadabad city. The more adventurous Musalman traders in the coast towns travel in considerable numbers to South Africa and Natal, and the seafaring population, once notorious for piracy, now furnishes numerous lascars to ocean-going steamers. The last detected case of piracy from Kathiawar occurred as recently as 1903. The distribution of the population among the numerous States of the Agency has been given above (pp. 165-9). They contain 52 towns and 4, 163 1 villages, with an average density of 112 persons per square mile. The principal towns are Bhaunagar, Navanagar, Junagarh, Rajkot, Dhoraji, Porbandar, Gondal, Morvi, Mahuva, Veraval, and Wadhwan. Hindus form 81 per cent, of the total, Musalmans 14 per cent., and Jains 5 per cent.
The most interesting caste is the Rajput, numbering 113,000, and including the ruling families of the majority of the States. The Kathis, from whom the peninsula derives its name, number 21,700. Among castes of 100,000 and over are Kunbis (358,000), Kolis (249,000), Brahmans (158,000), traders, including 4 Vams and Lohanas (135,000), and Dhers (116,000). Of the Brahmans, more than half are of the Audich sub-caste (90,000). Modhs, Nagars, and Srimalis are other subdivisions of this caste of local importance. The traders are mainly Lohanas (64,000). Ahirs, an immigrant caste of shepherds who entered the peninsula at an early date and also spread southward to Khandesh, number 74,000. Among Musalmans, the most numerous sections are the Memons (68,000), who are traders ; Khojas (29,000), also traders ; and Ghanchis, or oil-men (24,000). Of the total population, 41-6 per cent, depend on agriculture; com- merce supports 5-6 per cent., industry 27-6 per cent., and various employments 25-2 per cent.
Agriculture
Kathiawar has the essential features of a prosperous agricultural country. The climate is, on the whole, temperate, . ,, the rainfall moderate, streams abound, ponds and wells are fairly numerous, and there is much variety in the texture,
1 Besides these there are 27 villages, which, being unpopulated at the time of the Ceusus, were not returned. quality, and depth of soil. On the other hand, the peninsula is thinly peopled ; cultivators take up more land than they can till, and the style of farming is slovenly. The soil is of two main classes, black or red, the red being considered the less valuable. Of the first class is the deep black soil known as kdmpal, suitable for the growth of cotton, while the better kinds of red soil favour the production of irrigated wheat and barley. A saltish earth, impregnated with clay and impervious to water, is not uncommon.
Some of the richest tracts lie along the course of the Bhadar river, and at Mahuva and Lilia, where excellent fruits and vegetables are grown. Sugar-cane is grown with success in the same locality. In Sorath, Chorwad is noted for its betel-vines. Gondal cotton is famous. In the northern and eastern districts of Jhalawar much cotton is grown. Halar in the west yields excellent jozvar, bajra, wheat, and other grains, and Sorath in the south is rich both in cotton and in grain. In Limbdi, and on the eastern coast of Kathiawar bordering the Gulf of Cambay, wheat, cotton, and grain are produced from a rich silt which requires no manure. Turmeric and mug are common products.
The chief cultivating classes are : among Hindus, Kunbls, Sathvaras, Rajputs, Ahirs, Mers, and Kolis ; and among Musalmans, Memons, Ghanchis, Bohras, Sindls, Jats, and Mianas. Of these the most expert are the Kunbls.
During recent years considerable progress has been made in irriga- tion, by the construction of storage tanks wherever the natural features of the country render them possible. At least ten of these tanks with a systematic control of the water-supply have been constructed during the last ten years. Prominent among these are the Lalpuri tank at Rajkot, Alansager at Jasadan, Paneli in Gondal, and Champa and Moldi tanks in the Chotila Thana circle. The successive bad years have also been the cause of an increase in the number of wells for irrigation purposes.
The total cultivated area in 1903-4 was 8,074 square miles, dis- tributed as follows : cotton (2,446), millet (2,00%), jozvdr (1,866), wheat (406), gram (178), mug (16), udid (16), and 'others' (1,138).
The numerous petty courts and their people form a large body of rich resident landholders, spending their rents on their estates ; and the ministers, officials, and landholders, of various stations and wealth, contribute to impart a brisk vitality to the progress and general well- being of the country. A large proportion of the public business of Kathiawar is conducted by, and at the cost of, native Darbars. Bhaunagar has taken the lead in the material development of her resources, and was the first State in the Bombay Presidency to construct a railway at her own expense and risk. Horses, formerly of excellent repute, are bred in large quantities.
The peninsula is suitable for the raising of stock, the central portion
being famous as a breeding-ground. Most of the States maintain stud
farms. In 1903-4 nine of the States maintained 56 stallions, which
covered 791 mares. Milch cows and buffaloes are reared in the Gir,
camels in the Rann, and asses in Hilar and Jhalawar. The buffaloes of
the Gir, as also the cows, are famed as good milkers and are sold to
dairymen in various parts of the Presidency, particularly in Bombay
city. A good buffalo yields about 32 quarts of milk daily, and
a good cow 1 2 quarts. Sheep are plentiful in some parts ; their
wool forming, together with cotton and grain, the chief article of
export.
Forests
Besides the Gir with its 1,500 square miles of forest, there are important wooded tracts in Kathiawar. In Vankaner and the Panchal lands have been set aside for the growth of timber, and in Bhaunagar, Morvi, Gondal, and Manavadar babul plantations have been formed. Palms, mangoes, and casuarina have been specially planted and cared for in Bhaunagar ; trunk and feeder roads are being gradually planted with trees along their entire length ; and several minor estates and villages are paying attention to forest conservancy.
Minerals
Kathiawar abounds in minerals and is particularly rich in building stone. The principal metal is iron, which in former days was worked in Barda and Khambhaliya districts. Near Porbandar a valuable description of building stone is extracted from the hills and sent to Bombay in large quantities. Pearls of good quality, but inferior in lustre to those of the Persian Gulf, are found in the Gulf of Cutch within Navanagar limits. A few are also found in Junagarh and Bhaunagar near Bherai and Chanch. White coral of no market value is common. Red coral is sometimes found in small quantities at Mangrol and Sil. Bloodstone and agate are common near Tankara in Morvi.
Trade and communication
The Kathiawar region is a wealthy one. The land, though not of extraordinary richness, is generally of fair quality and is amply watered. The cotton exported supplies one-sixth of the total amount of cotton shipped from Bombay to foreign commun i ca tions. countries, and a large import of bullion and grain is yearly received by Kathiawar as part of the price. Cotton cloth, sugar, and molasses are largely imported. The total value of the sea-borne trade in 1903-4 was 378 ½ lakhs : exports 197 lakhs, and imports 181 ½ lakhs. The exports of cotton alone were more than 126 lakhs in value, and of wool 5§ lakhs. The imports of grain vary according to the season. Railways have absorbed a great portion of the export trade from the smaller ports on the coast-line, and concentrated it at Wadhwan in the north-east and Bhaunagar in the south-east, while the import trade on the contrary is drawn towards the minor ports. Private enterprise has established three cotton-weaving mills and steam cotton-press factories, and there is a prosperous trade in timber. The chief handicrafts are gold and silver thread-making, weaving of silk and brocades, the making of red powders, of fragrant oils, of perfumed sticks and powder, of rose and other essences, inlaying ivory, and carving sandal-wood.
In the matter of roads, great progress has been made of late years. Where there was not a single mile of road in 1865, there are now more than 600 miles, for the most part bridged and metalled. Two great lines of trunk roads intersect the peninsula, one proceeding from Wadhwan to Junagarh and Veraval, and the other from Bhaunagar to Jodiya, crossing at Rajkot, the head-quarters of the Agency. The Junagarh line has a branch bifurcating at Jetpur towards Porbandar, while the Jodiya line has a similar branch going towards Navanagar. These main lines have various feeders to connect the capitals and other important towns of the numerous States.
Since 1880 communication has been improved by the introduction of railways, principally at the cost of Native States. The first entry of the railway into Kathiawar took place in 1872, under the auspices of the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway Company. The terminus was at Wadhwan, and the length of the line within Kathiawar limits 39^ miles. A line constructed at a cost of 96 lakhs, shared by Bhaunagar and Gondal in the proportion of two-thirds and one-third, was opened in 1880. The total length of this line was 192 miles. In 1886 Junagarh constructed at a cost of 37 lakhs a line 69 miles long, passing from Jetalsar through the capital to the port of Veraval. The Wadhwan-Morvi Railway was opened in 1887 an d the extension to Rajkot completed in 1889. The Jetalsar- Rajkot Railway was opened in 1893.
The total length of railways in Kathiawar in 1904 was 577-09 miles, of different gauges, namely : —
The conversion to the metre gauge from the standard gauge of the section between Viramgam to Wadhwan since December, 1902, has given the Rajputana Malwa Railway access to Wadhwan junction, and Kathiawar thus possesses through connexion with the whole of Upper
India. The gross earnings of the (i) Bhavnagar-Gondal-Junagarh Porbandar, (2) Jetalsar-Rajkot, (3) Jamnagar, and (4) Dhran- gadhra railways in 1904 amounted to 22-3 lakhs, and the working expenses to 10-5 lakhs. The gross earnings of the Morvi Railway amounted to nearly 3-5 lakhs, and the working expenses to i-6 lakhs, representing a return of 7-71 per cent, on the capital cost.
Besides 248 British post offices, private internal postal arrange- ments are made by the State of Junagarh. People from villages where there is no British post office or postal box send their letters through the State post, and are required to affix stamps issued by the State.
Famine
The first famine of which records are available occurred in 1559. Since then the most notable famines have occurred in 1632, in 17 19, in 1732, in 1747, and in 1791. The famine of Famine> 1877-9 was severe and widespread. In 1899-1902 the peninsula again suffered severely from famine. Relief measures were commenced in October, 1899, and closed in October, 1902. The highest number in receipt of relief exceeded 300,000 in May, 1900. More than 15 lakhs were spent on relief. The States con- tracted loans, partly from Government (65 lakhs) and partly in the open market (41 lakhs), amounting to 106 lakhs to meet the cost of this famine. Of this sum 36 lakhs was borrowed by Bhaunagar, 16 lakhs by Navanagar, and 7^ lakhs by Dhrangadhra. The mortality was heavy, the Agency losing 15-37 per cent, of its population from this and other causes.
The year 1 814-5 was called the 'rat year,' from the famine produced by the ravages of these animals. Captain Le Grand Jacob remarked of this pest : — ■
'They appear suddenly in dense masses past all counting, as it springing from the earth, about the harvest season. Nothing can stop them . . . fires, ditches, have been tried in vain ; they move along, a mighty host, eating up all that comes in their way. All at once they vanish as if by magic, and for years not one is to be seen ; they are about double the size of a common rat, and are of a reddish sandy colour.'
Administration
A similar swarm took place after the recent famine.
Since 1822 political authority in Kathiawar has been vested in the Political Agent subordinate to the Government of Bombay. In 1903 the designations of the Political Agent and AdministratioIlt his Assistants were changed to those of Agent to the Governor and Political Agents of the prants.
Before 1863, except for the criminal court of the Agent to the Governor, established in 1831, to aid the Darbars of the several States in the trial of heinous crimes, interference with the judicial administration of the territories was diplomatic, not magisterial ; and the criminal jurisdiction of the first and second-class chiefs alone was defined. In 1863, however, the country underwent an important change. The jurisdiction of all the chiefs was classified and defined : that of chiefs of the first and second classes was made plenary ; that of lesser chiefs was graded in a diminishing scale. Four Political Agents of the prdnts, resident in the four divisions of Kathiawar, now exer- cise residuary jurisdiction with large civil and criminal powers. Each Political Agent of a prant has a deputy who resides at the head- quarters of the prant or division, and exercises subordinate civil and criminal powers. Serious criminal cases are committed by the deputies to the court of the Agent to the Governor, to whom also civil and criminal appeals lie. The Agent to the Governor is aided in this work by an officer known as the Political Agent and Judicial Assistant, who is usually a member of the Indian Civil Service. Appeals from his decisions lie direct to the Governor of Bombay in Council in his executive capacity. An officer styled the Superintendent of Managed Estates, who is ex officio an Assistant Political Agent, and two Deputy-Assistants also help the Agent.
In each division are several subdivisional thanadars, holding petty magisterial powers over a circle of villages contiguous to their stations or thanas. These thanadars administer 146 talukas out of the 193 territorial divisions of Kathiawar : they possess certain powers of general administration as well as judicial authority. But as the larger prin- cipalities occupy more than 15,000 square miles of the total area of 20,882 square miles, the Agency through its Assistants, Deputy- Assistants, and thanadars cannot be called upon to administer more than one-fourth of the entire area. There are 1 2 thanas in the penin- sula. The tdlukdars are poor, ignorant, and in debt, and have only the semblance of authority, lntex-tdlukddr relations are characterized by petty squabbles, small jealousies, and endless subdivision of estates.
The law administered by the darbari tribunals of the State is the customary law : namely, the Hindu and Muhammadan religious law as modified by local or tribal usage. The larger States have procedure and penal codes based on those in use in British India. To meet a particular class of land disputes, however, a special court was estab- lished in 1873. This was the Rajasthanik Court, constituted with the assent and at the cost of the chiefs. It decided, under the presidency of a British officer, all disputes as to girds or hereditary estates, between the chiefs and the bhdydds and mu/girdsias, who are for the most part the kinsmen of the chiefs or the descendants of earlier holders who have been deprived of their estates. It surveyed and mapped out the girdsids estate, fixed his miscellaneous dues, and defined his relation to his chief by laying down the extent of his obligations. The court was originally established for three years; but it was continued for a succession of short periods, and was eventually abolished on April 1, 1899. Since its establishment the peace of Kathiawar has seldom been broken by the more unruly members of the chiefs' families ; but a real or fancied grievance may still produce a body of outlaws ; and as recently as 1892 a band of these bahdrwattias was not captured until they had caused the death of the British officer in charge of the pur- suing troops. At the present time disputes between the first four classes of chiefs are usually referred to the State courts, and are dealt with by the Agent to the Governor in appeal. Similar disputes between the talukaars of other classes are decided by the Judicial Assistant, subject to the control of the Agent to the Governor, according to rules published in 1898.
As each tribe of Rajputs invaded the peninsula, its chiefs bestowed on their relations portions of the land they had won. This share was named kapdl girds, and passed to the descendants of the original grantees. The more enterprising girasias continued to acquire fresh lands from their neighbours, until they found themselves sufficiently strong to set up as independent rulers. Others, less enterprising, surrendered the greater portion of the land to a neighbouring chief in return for pro- tection, and fell into the position of mulgirdsias or ' original sharers.' When a girds/a succeeded in gaining his independence he became a tdlukddr, and assumed the title of Thakur, Raval, Rana, or Raja. As he rose in the social scale, the landed proprietor became anxious to leave his possessions intact to his eldest son ; at the same time the custom of the country compelled him to set aside a portion of his estates for each of his younger sons, and these in turn became girasias owing submission to the head of the family, but otherwise independent. Thus in Kathiawar landed property has been minutely subdivided, and the process still continues, so that some estates not larger than a single village have upwards of a hundred shareholders. As a rule, the revenue control of these estates has been left to the shareholders, except during minority, &c. In addition to the landed estates held by talukaars and girasias, many villages or portions of villages are held hereditarily as religious and service grants. Another large class of proprietors are jivaiddrs, or holders of estates as maintenance or on service tenure. They have not the position or privileges of girasias, and possess neither civil nor criminal jurisdiction. Some of them are life tenants. Common forms of service tenure are lands held by village headmen, watchmen, or scavengers, or by tribes such as the Mers who pay a hearth-tax and a plough-tax for cultivation, though in some cases holding rent free. The talukaars of Kathiawar have absolute power over property in their private or khalsa land. The landlord's rent or raj bhdg is a fixed share of the produce. In practice this share is supplemented by numerous petty cesses, some of which are taken by the proprietor, while others are devoted to village expenses.
During the last thirty years considerable improvements have been introduced into the revenue system. Previously whole subdivisions were farmed to the highest bidders, who in turn sublet villages or shares of villages. The farming system has now been almost com- pletely abandoned, and a scientific revenue survey has been introduced in nearly all parts of the peninsula.
In Kathiawar the organization of the village community has still considerable vitality. The prevalence of a system of revenue collection in kind imposes a special demand on the watchfulness of the headman and his subordinates. Even the smallest villages have their patel, havilddr, and pagi, who, like the priest, carpenter, tailor, and scavenger, are remunerated for their services by payment in kind. Under recent arrangements, the village police under the Agency thana circles are paid in cash and not in kind.
The table given on pages 165-9 shows that in 1903-4 the total revenue of the Agency was estimated at 194 lakhs, while the tribute amounted to nearly 1 1 lakhs, about 7 lakhs payable to the British, 2-9 lakhs to the Gaikwar, and Rs. 92,400 to Junagarh, compared with 165^ lakhs and 11 lakhs respectively in 1880. Of the 193 States, 12 pay no tribute, 105 are tributary to the British Government, and 79 to the Gaikwar of Baroda, while 134 pay tribute also to the Nawab of Junagarh. As the financial accounts of the States, except those temporarily under management, are never submitted to the Agency, the revenue entered in the table above referred to must be considered only approximately correct. A large share of the revenue is never brought to book in the State accounts, being credited to the private income of the chief or of the members of his family. Villages are assigned in maintenance or alienated, and taxes are farmed and their proceeds carried to some private account. The greater part of the revenue in every State is derived from the land, the general rule being to take a fixed share of the crops, supplemented by cash cesses, the total averaging from one-third to one-half of the crops. The States which possess a seaboard levy an export duty on all field produce leaving the State limits by any land route, in order to turn trade to their own ports. The maritime States not only levy import and export duties, but have also a monopoly of the manufacture of salt, a branch of revenue of increasing importance. All jurisdictional States also retain the monopoly of the sale of opium, and are entitled to two-thirds of the value of all smuggled opium seized within their territories. Other items of revenue are house taxes levied on artisans and shop- keepers, and taxes on labourers, shepherds, &c. Stamp duties and fees are levied on various judicial processes. Under the authority of Government, an improvement cess of two annas per acre has been imposed on subordinate landholders for the last thirty years. There is no regular classification of land. Assessment is levied chiefly in kind, but it works out at about Rs. 2 to Rs. 2-8 per acre for 'dry crops' and Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 for irrigated crops.
The British rupee is current throughout the peninsula. There is a local mint at Junagarh, of which the coins are current in that State alone. The silver coins are koris and hdli-koris, the copper coins being known as dhinglas, dokdas, and trambia. The Bhaunagar mint was closed in 1840 under an arrangement with the Bombay Government.
Municipal taxes are levied in many of the large towns. Since 1879 a certain amount has been contributed by each State and landed proprietor in Kathiawar, and credited to a general Local fund adminis- tered by the Agent to the Governor. All expenses connected with .the improvements of the Agency are met from this fund, which has an income of i-8 lakhs, with a balance in 1904 of 5 lakhs.
Imperial service troops are maintained at Bhaunagar, Junagarh, and Jamnagar, which each equip a small force of cavalry. The British troops at Rajkot consisted in 1905 of a regiment of Native infantry.
There is no general police force in Kathiawar. The chiefs are bound by stipulation to preserve order and indemnify losses through crime committed in their territory. In 1903-4 the Agency police, which is employed at a cost of 2-4 lakhs in thanas and civil stations, numbered 998 men ; while, so far as information can be obtained, the several States maintained a stipendiary police force aggregating 5,378 men, at a cost of 7-7 lakhs. In that year 6,114 offences were reported and 7,479 persons were arrested, of whom 4,218 were convicted and 2,820 acquitted. Conviction is generally sought through the agency of an informer. The daily average of prisoners in the Rajkot jail was 103. At the present time life and property are as safe in Kathiawar as in the Districts of British India. Of the total population, 9-7 per cent. (17-7 males and 1-3 females) could read and write in 1901. Education has made rapid strides of late years. In 1858 there were 59 schools and 1,909 pupils, increasing in 1881 to 599 schools with 33,000 pupils; in 1891 the numbers further rose to 939 schools and 59,804 pupils. In 1903-4 the number of institutions, including 224 private schools, was 1,200, attended by 80,041 pupils, of whom 10,108 were girls. These include 2 Arts colleges, 11 high schools (including the Rajkumar College and the Gondal Girasia School), 42 middle schools (including the Talukaari Girasia School), and 2 training schools. At the Rajkumar College and the Girasia Schools the advantages of a liberal education are enjoyed by many of the chiefs during their minority. The total amount spent on education in 1903-4, including the amount spent on the Rajkumar College (Rs. 45,000) and Girasia Schools (Rs. 33,000), was 8-3 lakhs, of which Provincial funds contributed 0-4 per cent., the revenue of the States 78-7 per cent., and other sources 2-7 per cent., while 1 8-6 per cent, was recovered as fees.
There are 124 hospitals and dispensaries in Kathiawar. The patients treated at these institutions in 1903-4 numbered 739,000, of whom 15,813 were in-patients. Nearly 54,000 persons were vac- cinated in the same year.
