Khairpur 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.
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Khairpur State
State in Sind, Bombay, lying between 2 6° 10' and 27 degree 46' N. and between 68° 20' and 70 degree 14" E., with an area of 6,050 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Sukkur District; on the east by Jaisalmer State in Rajputana ; on the south by Hyderabad and Thar and Parkar Districts ; and on the west by the river Indus. Its greatest length from east to west is about 1 20 miles, and its breadth from north to south about 70 miles.
Physical aspects
Like other parts of Sind, Khairpur consists of a great alluvial plain, the part bordering directly upon the Indus being very rich and fertile, though much of it is used as moharis or hunting- aspects, grounds. With the exception of the fertile strip watered by the Indus and its canals, and of a narrow strip irrigated by the Eastern Nara, the remainder or three- fourths of the whole area is a continuous series of sandhill ridges covered with a stunted brushwood, where cultivation is altogether impossible. The country generally is exceedingly arid, sterile, and desolate in aspect. In the northern portion of the State is a small ridge of limestone hills, being a continuation of the low range known as the Char, which runs southward from Rohri for a distance of about 40 miles. On a western outlying spur of this ridge is situated the fort of Diji.
The State of Khairpur is mostly occupied by Indus alluvium and desert formations. The Kirthar limestone (middle eocene) forms a range of hills in the north-eastern portion, between the Mir Wah and the Nara river. On the top of the range are found oyster, cockle, and numerous other kinds of marine shells.
The trees and shrubs are identical with those found in Sukkur District, and good timber is to be met with in different game preserves bordering on the Indus. The katidi-txee grows luxuriantly in the valleys, and the tali is largely grown by cultivators.
The wild animals found in Khairpur include the hyena, wolf, jackal, fox, wild hog, deer, gazelle, and antelope. The birds and water-fowl are those common to Sind generally, such as bustard, wild geese, snipe, partridges (both black and grey), and various kinds of wild duck (which arrive in the cold season). Snakes abound, as in other parts of Sind.
The climate of Khairpur is agreeable during four months of the year, when the minimum temperature falls to 40 , but is fiercely hot during the remaining eight, when the maximum rises to 113 . The rainfall is slight, but dust-storms are frequent and have the effect of cooling the atmosphere to some extent.
History
The present chief of Khairpur belongs to a Baloch family called Talpur ; and, previous to the accession of this family, on the fall of the Kalhora dynasty of Sind in 1783, the history of Khairpur belongs to the general history of Sind. In that year Mir Fateh All Khan Talpur established himself as Rais or ruler of Sind ; and subsequently his nephew, Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, founded the Khairpur branch of the Talpur family. The dominions of Mir Sohrab Khan were at first confined to the town of Khairpur and a small adjacent tract of country ; but by conquest and intrigue he managed to enlarge them, until they extended to Sabzalkot and Kashmor on the north, to the Jaisalmer desert on the east, and to the borders of Cutch d-anclava on the west. About the year 1813, during the troubles in Kabul incidental to the estab- lishment of the Barakzai dynasty, the Mirs were able to withhold the tribute which up to that date had been somewhat irregularly paid to the rulers of Afghanistan. Two years earlier, in 181 1, Mir Sohrab had abdicated in favour of his son Mir Rustam. But he appears to have endeavoured to modify this arrangement subsequently ; and ultimately the jealousy between the two brothers, Mir Rustam and All Murad, was one of the factors in the crisis that caused the inter- vention of the British power.
In 1832 the individuality of the Khairpur State, as separate from the
other Talpur Mlrs in Sind, was recognized by the British Government
in a treaty, under which the use of the river Indus and the roads of
Sind were secured to the British. When the first Kabul expedition
was decided on, the Sind Mlrs were required to assist the passage of
the British through their territories, and allow of the occupation of
Shikarpur. Most of the princes showed great disinclination to comply
with these demands. But in Khairpur, All Murad, who gradually
succeeded in establishing his hold on the raisat, or chiefship, cordially
supported the British policy ; and the result was that, after the battles
of Miani and Daba had put the whole of Sind at the disposal of
the British Government, Khairpur was the only State that was allowed
to retain its political existence under the protection of the paramount
power. In tS66 a sanad was granted to the Mir, under which the
British Government promised to recognize any succession to the chief-
ship that might be in accordance with Muhammadan law. Mir All
Murad died in 1894, and was succeeded by his son Mir Faiz
Muhammad Khan, who is entitled to a personal salute of 17 guns.
The ordinary salute is 15 guns.
Population
The State contains one town and 153 villages. The population was: (1872) 126,962, (1881) 125,919, (1891) 128,611, and (1901) I 99>3 1 3- The density is 33 persons per square mile. Distributed by religion, there are 36,000 Hindus and 163,000 Muhammadans. The Hindus are almost entirely Lohanas (33,000), traders and clerks. Among the Muhammadans of foreign extraction, Arabs number 12,000; Baluchls, chiefly of the Rind. Burdi, Chandia, Dombki, Jatoi, and Marri tribes, 24,000 ; Jats, 4,000 ; and the fishermen or Mohanos, 5,700. SindTs include 12,000 Siimras, 58,000 Sammas, and 41,000 returned as SindTs un- specified. Agriculture supports 69 per cent, of the total population. About 95 per cent, of the Muhammadan males and about one-fourth of the Hindus follow agricultural pursuits. The rest are engaged in trade and other callings. Sind!, Persian, Siraiki, and Baluchi are the languages chiefly spoken.
Agriculture
The soil of Khairpur, especially in the strip adjoining the Indus, is very productive. The tract lying between the Mir Wah Ganal and the Indus is the richest part of the State ; but cultivation even there is by no means so extensive as it might be, though of late years the area under tillage has greatly increased. The area of cultivable land in 1903-4 was 1,550 square miles, and fallow lands covered 1,226 square miles. The principal crops are jowar, bdjra, wheat, gram, various pulses, and cotton. Indigo is also cultivated, but the area is decreasing. The fruit trees are the mango, mulberry, apple, pomegranate, date, &c. Recently cultivation has hern greatly extended, owing to the con- struction of new canals and the improvement of old ones. Advances are made to agriculturists, free of interest.
The domestic animals comprise the camel, horse, buffalo, bullock, sheep, donkey, and mule. The State maintains both horse and donkey stallions for breeding purposes. Cultivation is dependent on irrigation from the Indus river by canals. The largest and most important of these is the Mir Wah, ex- cavated by Mir Sohrab, with its feeder the Sathio Wah. The latter, with the Abdul Wah, was excavated in the time of Mir All Murad. Under the rule of the present Mir a canal department has been formed and the following important branch canals excavated : Faiz Wah, Faiz Bakhsh, Faiz Ganj, Faiz Bahar, and Faiz Manj. The Sathio has been improved, so as to ensure a supply at all seasons. Forced labour in the clearance of canals is now entirely abolished. The Eastern Nara flows through the desert along an abandoned course of the river, and there is a small area of cultivation along it. The area irrigated by the State canals in 1903-4 was 246 square miles. About 20 square miles of land were supplied from wells and tanks in the same year.
The State possesses 331 square miles of forests, of which 200 square miles are reserved for game by the Mir. They are in charge of a Forest officer, appointed by the State, and a small staff. The forest trees are the tali, bahan, babul, and kandi. The bush jungle consists principally of tamarisk ; reed grasses are abundant. The game preserves bordering on the Indus supply good timber. The valleys produce fair kandi wood. In 1903-4 the revenue from forests amounted to Rs. 26,000.
In the desert portion of Khairpur are pits of natron — an impure sesquicarbonate of sodium, always containing sulphate and chloride of sodium. It is generally obtained by means of evaporation. The natron pits are a source of income to the Mir, yielding about Rs. 25,000.
Trade and communications
The manufactures comprise cotton fabrics, such as woven sheets and coloured cloth, silk fabrics, silver-ware of different kinds, lacquered woodwork, boots, shoes, horse-trappings, swords, matchlocks, and earthen pottery for local use. coJ^niStons. Gambat is noted for bed-sheets called khais, and Khairpur for cloth-dyeing. Khairpur town possesses one carpet factory, attached to an industrial school.
The trade of the State resembles that of the adjoining British towns and villages — the chief exports being cotton, wool, grain, indigo, hand-made cloth, hides, tobacco, &x. The only product which is peculiar to Khairpur and is not common to the surrounding British territory— the Thar and Parkar District excepted— is carbonate of soda, which is chiefly bought by Bombay merchants. The value of the articles annually exported from Khairpur to British Sind and the Native State of Jaisalmer has been approximately estimated at about 6 lakhs, and that of the imported articles at somewhat more than 6 lakhs. Of the annual fairs, that of Ranipur, 45 miles from Rohri, is the most important.
The railway from Hyderabad to Rohri runs through the whole length of the State. In addition to the main trunk road between the same towns, which passes through Khairpur at a distance of about 20 miles from the Indus, and another road connecting them by a somewhat more direct route, there are several roads connecting head-quar- ters with Khairpur town and Kot Diji. Ten post offices are maintained in the State. There are six ferries, chiefly on the Indus.
Administration
The rule of the Mir is patriarchal, but many changes have been made introducing greater regularity of procedure into the adminis- tration. The State is divided into five talukas, each under a mukhtiarkar. I hese are : Khairpur and Gambat (forming the Khairpur subdivision), Mir Wah, Faiz Ganj, and Naro (forming the Mir Wah subdivision). Each sub- division is under a naib-wazlr. The Wazir, an officer lent from British service, conducts the administration under the Mir. The Collector of Sukkur is ex-officio Political Agent for the State. The Mir himself exercises the powers of a High Court, but cannot try British subjects for capital offences without the Political Agent's permission. The Wazir is District Magistrate and District and Sessions Judge. The naib-wazlrs are subdi visional magistrates and first-class sub-judges, and criminal and civil powers are also exercised by the mukhtiarkars, as well as by two near relatives of the chief. The Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code have been adopted. There is also a Court of Elders on the lines of the British Frontier Tribes Act. Steps have recently been taken to remedy the indebtedness of the agriculturists by the introduction of a Relief Act. Civil cases are largely decided by arbitrators, but a more fixed procedure is being introduced. In t 903-4, 765 offences were reported to the police, mostly grievous hurt and thefts of cattle and property.
The revenue is collected almost entirely in kind according to the primitive batai system, the Mir receiving a third of the produce of the land, which yields on an average Rs. 58 per acre of cultivation. The gross revenue, which amounted in TS82-3 to 5-7 lakhs, had increased by 1902-3 to 13 lakhs. In 1903-4 the gross receipts amounted to only 8-3 lakhs, the decrease being due to large stocks of grain remaining unsold, untimely rain, and the presence of locusts. Of the total receipts, which average about 13 lakhs, about Rs. 1,85,000 represents the share of jagirdars and other alienees. The former are chiefly the Mir's sons and the ladies of his family. The gross receipts, in 1903-4 included land revenue 6 lakhs, excise about Rs. 90,000, miscellaneous taxes Rs. 58,000, and forests Rs. 26,000. The land revenue amounts on the average to 10 lakhs a year; but as it is chiefly paid in kind, considerable fluctuations occur in accordance with the character of the harvest. The total expenditure in 1903-4 was 11 -6 lakhs, of which more than 2 lakhs was spent on public works, such as canals, buildings, roads, bridges, wells, and tanks. Until the end of 1902 coins of local issue were current in the State, but they have now been replaced by the British silver currency. No tribute is payable by the Mir.
No salt is manufactured, the British Government supplying it at a reduced rate. Poppy is cultivated sufficient to meet the demand for local consumption. Liquor is manufactured, but may not be taken into British territory. The military force consists of 377 men, of whom 163 are mounted. The total strength of the police, including officers, in 1903-4 was 220, and a preventive service to check opium smuggling from Jaisalmer State has recently been organized. The Central jail is situated at Kot Diji, and a sub-jail at Khairpur. The daily jail population in 1903-4 averaged 214.
Though recent years have shown some progress, Khairpur is very backward in education. In 1881 there were 6 schools in the State, with an attendance of 2,387 pupils. In 1903-4 the number of schools was 95, attended by 4,586 pupils, of whom 387 were girls. Of the total number of pupils, 4,242 were in primary, 83 in secondary schools, and the remainder in an industrial school. Persian is taught by mullas, who receive one pice weekly from the parents of each child. At the industrial school, carpentry, smith-craft, embroidery, turnery, carpet- making, and tailoring are taught.
The State possesses 3 hospitals and 3 dispensaries. In 1903-4 the number of cases treated was 160,640, of whom 1,292 were in-patients ; and the expenditure was Rs. 19,678. About 6,200 persons were vacci- nated in the same year.
[A. M. Hughes, Si/id Gazetteer (1876); E. A. Langley, Xarrativc of a Residence at the Court of Mir All Murad, 2 vols, (i860) ; C. INI. Aitchison, Treaties, Engagements, and Sanads. |
