Nander District, 1908
Contents |
Nander 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.
Physical aspects
District in the Aurangabad Division, in the north of the State of Hyderabad, lying between 18° 28' and 19° 31' N. and 77° 4' and 78° 6' E., with an area of 3,349 square miles ; It is separated from the Berar District of Basim by the Penganga, and is bounded on the east by Nizamabad, on the south by Bidar, and on the north and west by Parbhani. A range of hills, known as the Bhag or Thanavari, runs through the District from north-west to south-east between Parbhani and Nizamabad. There are minor ranges in the Nander, Kandahar, Osmannagar, and Bhaisa taluks.
The most important river is the Godavari, which enters from the west, and, flowing past Nander in the centre of the District in an easterly direction, passes out into Nizamabad. The Manjra, its largest tribu- tary, joins the Godavari on the right at Manjra Sangam (confluence),
' These limits relate to the area of the District before the changes made in lyoj ; see paragraph on Population. 5 miles east of Kondalwadi. The Penganga forms the northern boundary of the District, flowing in an easterly direction. Other rivers are the Ashna, a tributary of the Godavari, flowing east and falling into it on the left bank, about 2 miles from Nander town ; the Siddha in the Nander and Bhaisa taluks, also a tributary of the Godavari; the Txndi in Deglur, and the Manar in Deglur and Kandahar.
The geological formations are the Archaean gneiss and the r3eccan trap, occupying respectively the east and west of the District. The District contains teak, mahud {Bassia latifolia), khair (^Acacia Catechu), tamarind, mango, eJ'J'a {Hardwickia bhiata), nm, and various species of Ficus.
The only taluk in which any large game is regularly found is Hadgaon, where tigers, leopards, bears, wild dogs, hyenas, hog, wolves, sdtnbar, barking-deer, and spotted deer are met with ; also partridges, quail, peafowl, green pigeons, and duck. With the exception of the Biloli taluk, which is comparatively damp, the District is dry and healthy. In Nander and Kandahar the tem- perature in May rises to 112°, while Hadgaon, Osmannagar, and Deglur are cooler, the temperature being about 100° in May. In December it falls to 60°. The average rainfall for twenty-one years, 1881-1901, was 36 inches.
History
The District formed part of the Chalukyan and Yadava kingdoms, and Nander is supposed to be the old Nanagiri fort of the early Kakatiyas. In the beginning of the fourteenth century it was conquered by Ala-ud-dln Khilji. It formed part of the Bahmani and subsequently of the Kutb Shahi kingdom. The tract w^as annexed to the Mughal empire after the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangzeb, but was separated from it on the foundation of the Hyderabad State in the beginning of the eighteenth century.
There are several tombs of Musalman saints at Kandahar and Nan- der, and the fort at the latter place is old. Nander also contains the Gurudwara of the Deccan Sikhs, where Guru Govind is buried. Two old mosques at Nander were built, one by Malik Ambar and the other during the reign of the Kutb Shahis. The fort of Kandahar is popu- larly supposed to have been erected in the fourth century by Somadeva, a Raja of Kandahar; and it may perhaps be connected with Krishna III, the Rashtrakuta of Malkhed, who is styled lord of Kandharapura. It is surrounded by a ditch and a strong stone wall. Deglur contains an old temple of Ganda Maharaj, and Bhaisa another built after the Hemadpanti style.
Population
The number of towns and villages in the District is 1,174, including paigdh and Jdgirs. Its population at the last three enumerations was :
(1881) 636,023, (1891) 632,522, and (1901) 503,684. The famine of 1 899-1 900 accounts for the decrease of population in the last decade. The towns are Nander, Bhaisa, Deglur, and Muk- KHER. Nander is the head-quarters of the District. About 89 per cent, of the population are Hindus and 10 per cent. Musalmans. More than 70 per cent, speak Marathi and 14 per cent. Telugu. The following table shows the distribution of population in 1901 : —
In 1905 the Mudhol taluk , and a few villages from Banswada, were transferred from Nizamabad to this District, while Bhaisa was absorbed in Mudhol, and Osmannagar was divided between Biloli and Kan- dahar. The northern villages of the Nander taluks were made over to Kalamnuri in Parbhani District, and other portions were added to Hadgaon and Mudhol. The District in its present form thus com- prises six taluks — Hadgaon, Mudhol, Biloli, Deglur, Kandahar, and Nander — besides a liirgc paigah estate and jagir.
The purely agricultural castes number 171,600, or about 34 per cent., the most important among them being Maratha Kunbis or Kapus (129,700) and Kolis (15,500). Next come the trading castes, num- bering 48,600, of whom 34,900 are Vanls and 11,600 Komatis. Lower castes include Dhangars or shepherds (45,000), Mahars or village menials (36,700), and Mangs or leather-workers (33,000). The last two castes work as field-labourers also. There are only 10,200 Brahmans in the District. More than 65 per cent, of the population are dependent on the land. The District contained only 9 Christians in 1 901, of whom one was a native.
with the exception of the soils of the Kandahar taluks, the entire District is composed of black cotton soil or regar. Portions of the Kandahar, Nander, and Bhaisa taluks are slightly- hilly, but other parts are fiat, with xcry gentle undula- tions. Rati crops are e.xtensively raised, consisting of. jowar, grain. peas, wheat, and oilseeds ; while the khar'if crops include yellow and Berar jowar, bajra, linseed, cotton, maize, and other food-grains.
The tenure is mainly ryotwdri. In 1901 khalsa lands measured 2,544 square miles, of which 1,967 were cultivated, 202 were occupied by cultivable waste and fallows, 310 by forests, and 65 were not avail- able for cultivation. The staple food-crop is Jozvdr, grown on 52 per cent, of the net area cropped. Next in importance is cotton (449 square miles) ; the other food-grains, such as bajra, tuar, and pulses, cover 190 square miles, (oilseeds 99, and wheat 82 square miles.
Although no special breed of cattle is found, those reared in the District are sturdy and well suited for ploughing the heavy regar. Sheep of the ordinary kind are bred. 7'he milch goats are of a good type, and fetch as much as Rs. 8 per head. Before the closing of the Malegaon horse and cattle fair in Bidar District, owing to plague (1896), pateis, pdtwdris, and well-to-do ryots used to rear numbers of ponies. The State has provided Arab stallions in all the taluks for the improve- ment of the breed of horses.
The principal source of irrigation is wells, which number 5,764. In addition, 169 tanks, large and small, and 163 other sources, such as anicuts and channels, are used. All these are in good working order, and irrigate 46 square miles. The forest area is very limited, only no square miles being 'reserved,' and 200 square miles unprotected. The forests contain teak (Tectoiia grandis), iiiahud {Bassia lafifolia), ebony {Diospyros meianoxylon), khair {Acacia Catechu), eppa [Hardwickia binata)and tamarind. Bhaisa, Hadgaon, and Nander are the only taluks in which any forest areas exist.
Good basalt and granite are found in the vicinity of Nander, and limestone in the Degliir, Bhaisa, and Kandahar taluks.
Trade and communications
Nander town is famous for its fine muslins, which compare with those of Dacca. The muslin, though produced in small quantities now, is exported. It is much prized at Hyderabad, fetching high Prices, especially the kind used for turbans, and the handkerchiefs and sar'is adorned with gold and silver thread like Benares work. Ordinary cotton cloth is also woven and is used by the poorer classes. In the Deglur and Bhaisa tdluks coarse cloth is printed for screens and table-cloths. There is a small factory at Nander for gold and silver thread. Coarse paper is made in Mujahidpet, and copper and brass vessels are turned out at Mukkher. There were three cotton-presses and three ginning factories in the District in 1901, employing 450 hands. An impetus has been given to this industry since the opening of the Hyderabad-Ciodavari Valley Rail- way in 1900, and four more factories are in course of construction.
The chief exports consist of cotton, linseed, oils, ghi, Jowdr, cloth and muslin, indigo, and food-grainrs. The principal imports are cotton and woollen goods, raw silk, silver and gold, rice, refined sugar, kerosene oil, opium, copper and brass sheets and vessels. The greater portion of the trade is with the adjoining Districts ; but cotton, linseed, and indigo are sent to Bombay, and ghi, oils, and grain to Hyderabad. Internal trade is mostly in the hands of the Vanls, Komatis, and Momins, but Bhatias and Kachchis from Bombay are engaged in export trade. The opening of the Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway in 1900 has diverted the chief channels of trade, which formerly passed through Hyderabad and Akola.
The Hyderabad-Godavari valley Railway traverses the District from east to west for 40 miles, with six stations. The District contains 141 miles of fair-weather roads. One starts from Nander, and passing through Osmannagar and Kandahar reaches Deglur (50 miles). The others are from Deglur to Bidar (12 miles)_, Nander to Hingoli (12 miles), to Malakoli (25 miles), to Deglur (12 miles), and to Nirmal (30 miles). On the Godavari and Manjra, large coracles and rafts are kept to transport people from one bank to the other.
Famine
No reliable records exist of early famines. In 1819 a great scarcity is said to have occurred in this and the neighbouring districts, known as Gajarkdl. In 1897 there was scarcity, and people had not recovered from its effects when the great famine of 1899- 1900 occurred. All the wells and streams dried up, and there was not a drop of water in the Godavari. The rainfall in 1899 was only 15 inches, less than half the normal quantity. The kharif and rabi crops were one-fourth and one-sixteenth of the normal. Notwithstanding an expenditure exceeding 2 ¼ lakhs, thousands died, and the Census of 1901 showed a decrease of 128,845 persons, while about 22 per cent, of the cattle were lost.
Administration
The District is divided into three subdivisions, one comprising the taluks of Nander and Kandahar, the second Deglur and Biloli, and the third Mudhol and Hadgaon. Each of the last. two is under a Second lalukdar, while the first is under the Third Talukdar, the First Talukdar having a general super ision over the work of all his subordinates. Each taluk is under a tahsildilr, but the Nander taluk has a uaid (deputy) tahsilddr as well. The District civil court is presided over by a Civil Judge, styled the N'azim-i-Diwani three subordinate civil courts are under Munsifs. the First Talukdar is the chief magistrate, and the District Civil Judge is also a joint-magistrate, who exercises magisterial powers during the absence of the first Talukdar from head-quarters. The two Second Talukdars. as a special case, exercise first-class powers and the Third Talukdar second-class powers within their respective subdivisions, while the tahsildats have third-class powers. In ordinary times serious crime is not heavy, but adverse seasons cause an increase in dacoities and cattle-thefts.
Prior to the introduction of District administration assessments were made on holdings, and revenue was collected either in cash or kind. In 1866 payment in kind was commuted to cash payments, and the ryohvdri system was introduced. In 1880 a rough survey was made, and in 1889 the District was regularly settled for a period of fifteen years, the rates being similar to those of Aurangabad and Bhir Dis- tricts and in Berar. The settlement increased the revenue by 39-7 per cent., while the survey showed that the areas of holdings had been understated by 46 per cent. The average assessment on 'dry' land is Rs. 1-13-6 (maximum Rs, 3-0, minimum R. 0-3), and on 'wet' land Rs. 9 (maximum Rs. 10, minimum Rs. 6), In double-cropped lands the assessment for the second crop is half that for the first. The rates given above for ' wet ' lands are for the dbi crop, but for the tdbi crop the maximum is Rs. 20 and the minimum Rs. 15.
The land revenue and the total revenue for a series of years are shown below, in thousands of rupees : —
Owing to changes of area made in 1905, the land revenue demand now is about 15 lakhs. In 1899 a cess of one anna in the rupee was levied on the land revenue, and local boards were constituted. Of the total cess one- fourth, or Rs. 20,600, is set apart for municipal and local works. The First Talukdar is the president of the District board, and the tahsilddrs are the chairmen of the taluk boards, except where there is a Second Talukdar, who takes the chair at the head-quarters of his subdivision. There is a municipality at Nander, and each of the head-quarter> of the tdluks has a small conservancy establishment, the District and taluk boards managing the municipalities as well. The local board expendi- ture in 1901 was Rs. 16,000.
The First Talukdar is the head of the police, with the Superintendent {Mohtamitn) as his executive deputy. Under him are 8 inspectors, 74 subordinate officers, 483 constables, and 25 mounted police, distri- buted in 29 thdnas and 36 outposts. There is a District jail at Xander, and small lock-ups are maintained in the outlying tahsil offices. Short- term prisoners only are kept in the District jail, those whose sentences exceed six months being sent to the Central jail at Aurangabad.
In 1 90 1 the proportion of persons able to read and write was 1-2 per cent. (4-2 males and 0-03 females), so that the Disliicl takes a medium place in the State as regards the literacy of its population. The total number of pupils under instruction in 1881, 1S91, 1901, and 1903 was 665, 951, 2,346, and 2,905 respectively. In 1903 there were 68 primary and 3 middle schools, with 155 girls under instruction. The total amount spent on education in 1901 was Rs. 16,000, of which Rs. 10,300 was contributed by the State, and the remainder by the boards. The total receipts from fees amounted to Rs. 810.
The District contains two hospitals, with accommodation for 6 in- patients. The total number of out-patients treated during 1901 was 20, 1 60, and of in-patients 73, while 348 operations were performed. The total expenditure was Rs. 6,516, which was met by the State. The number of persons successfully vaccinated in 1901 was 860, or 1-71 per 1,000 of population.
