Pirawa District, 1908
Pirawa District, 1908
One of the Central India parganas of the State of Tonk, Rajputana. It is for certain purposes included in the charge of the Political Agent, Malwa. It has an area of 248 square miles, and lies between 24degree 1' and 24degree 24' N. and 75degree 51' and 76degree n' E., being bounded on the north by Indore, on the west by Indore and Jhalawar, and on the south and east by Gwalior. A group of Indore villages almost divides the northern from the southern half. The country is undulating in character, the uplands being chiefly reserved for grass, while the rich black soil in the valleys yields fine crops. The population in 1901 was 25,286, compared with 40,806 in 1891. There are 126 villages and one town, the head-quarters of the district.
The principal castes are Sondhias, Minas, Dangis, and Chamars, forming respectively about 20, 14, 9, and 8 per cent, of the total. Nothing is known of the history of the district prior to the time of Akbar, when it formed part of the Kotrl-Pirawa sarkar of the Sub ah of Malwa. It was included in the territory bestowed on Ratan Singh of Ratlam by Shah Jahan, but when Maharajci Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur was Subahdar of Malwa it was transferred" to Baji Rao Peshwa. Subsequently, Holkar took possession; and in 1806 Jaswant Rao Holkar made it over to Amir Khan, the grant being conpirmed by the British Government under the treaty of 1817, Of the total area, 210 square miles, or 84 per cent., are khalsa, paying revenue direct to the Tonk Darbar, and the khaha area available for cultivation is about 1 66 square miles. Of the latter, about 59 square miles, or 35 per cent., were cultivated in 1903-4, the irrigated area being nearly 6 square miles. Of the area cropped, joivdr occupied 58 per cent., cotton 9, maize 8, and poppy 6 per cent. The revenue from all sources is about 1.4 lakhs, of which four-fifths is derived from the land. The town of Pirawa is situated in 24dehree 9' N. and 76degree 3' E., about 1 40. miles almost due south of Tonk city. Its population in 1901 was 4,771, Hindus forming nearly 50 per cent,, Musalmans 31, and Jains about 19 per cent. The town, which, from the inscriptions in its Jain temples, appears to date from the eleventh century, contains a picturesque fort of no great age, a post and telegraph office, a small jail, a vernacular school, and a dispensary for out-patients.
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.
