Ratlam 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.
Ratlam State
A mediatized State in the Mahva Agency of Central India. The territory, which lies between 23 6' and 23 33' N and 74 31' and 75 17' E., is inextricably intermingled with that of SAIL AN A, and boundaries aie in consequence not clearly definable Generally speaking, the State touches the territories of Jaora and Partabgarh (m Rajputana) on the north } Gwalioi on the east } Dhar and Kushalgarh (in Rajputana) and parts of Indore on the south ; and Kushalgarh and Banswaia (in Rajputana) on the west. It has an area of 902 square miles, of which 501 have been alienated m jdglrs and other grants, only 401 squaie miles, or 44 per cent , being khdha or directly held by the State. Besides this, 60 villages, with an approxi- mate area of 228 square miles, are held by the Rao of Kushalgarh in Rajputana, for which a tanka of Rs 600 is paid to the Ratlam Darbar.
The name is popularly said to be denved from that of Ratan Singh, the founder. This is, however, a mistake, as Ratlam was already in existence before Ratan Singh obtained it, and is mentioned by Abul Fazl in the Ain-i-Akban as one of the mahals m the Ujjam sarkdr of the Malwa Subak.
The State lies geologically in the Deccan trap area, and the soil is foimed chiefly of the constituents common to this formation, basalt predominating, together with the black soil which always accompanies it. An outcrop of Vindhyan sandstone occurs close to Ratlam town, and is quarried for building purposes.
The Rajas are Rathor Rajputs of the Jodhpur house, being descended from Raja Udai Singh (1584-95), one of whose great-grandsons, Ratan Singh, founded the house of Ratlam. The date of Ratan Singh's birth is uncertain, but occmred about 1618. The popular tiadition which accounts for the rise in favour of Ratan Singh with the emperor Shah Jahan tells how, when armed only with a katar (dagger), he encountered and slew an infuriated elephant which was causing havoc in the streets of Delhi. This deed was witnessed by the emperor, who, in reward, granted Ratan Singh &jaglr worth 53 lakhs. In sober fact, however, this jdgir appears to have been awarded for good seivice against the Usbegs at Kandahar and the Persians in Khorasan in 1651-2 Ratan Singh vas at the same time made a commander of 3,000, and granted the usual insignia of royalty and title of Maharaja.
About six years aftei assuming charge of ihejagir, he was called upon to join Raja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, who was marching to oppose Aurangzeb and Muiad In the battle fought at Dharmatpur close to Ujjam, in 1658, Ratan Singh was killed. Dharmatpui has since been known as Fatehabad, and is now a junction on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway. Ratan Singh's cenotaph stands near the village As a lesult of this action, the foi tunes of the family declined and they lost much territory. About the end of the reign of Raja Chhatarsal, one of the sons of Ratan Singh, the State became split up into three portions. Kesho Das, a nephew of Chhatarsal, obtained possession of SITAMAU, Chhatai sal's eldest son Kesri Singh succeeding to Ratlam, and Pratap Singh, a younger son of Chhatarsal, obtaining Raoti Dissensions arising later on, the empeior intervened and upheld the claim of Man Singh, Kesri Singh's son, to the State. Man Singh then conferied the jdgir of Raoti on his brother Jai Singh, who founded the SAILANA State. In the eighteenth century the country was overrun by the Maralhas, and Raja Padam Singh became tributary to Sindhia Fuithei incurious by Jaswant Rao Holkai made punctual payment of Smdma's tribute impossible, and Bapu Sindhia, who had been sent to enforce its payment, ravaged the State Raja Parvat Singh, driven to desperation, determined to resort to arms, and inflicted a severe defeat on Sindhia. Subsequent bloodshed was aveited by the inter- vention of Sir John Malcolm, who in 1819 mediated on behalf of the State, and guaranteed the payment of the tribute of Rs. 46,000 due to Sindhia, on which that chief agreed not to interfere in any way with the internal management of Ratlam. This tribute is now paid to the British Government under the treaty made with Sindhia in 1860. Raja
Balwant Singh was on the gaddi during the Mutiny, when he rendered conspicuous services, in recognition of which his successoi received a khilat and the thanks of Government, The late chief, Ranjlt Singh, succeeded in 1864 as a minor, the State lemammg undei superinten- dence till 1880. By careful management the 10 lakhs of debt with which the State had been burdened was paid off, and 6 lakhs in addition was spent m improvements. In 1864 an arrangement was made for the cession, free of compensation, of all land required by railways. In 1881 all transit dues on salt weie abolished by Raja Ranjlt Singh, compensation to the extent of Rs. 1,000 per annum being allowed; and in 1885 the chief abolished all lemaming transit dues, except those on opium. By an arrangement made in 1887 regarding the collection of customs in Sailana, the Ratlam Darbar, in considera- tion of the payment of a fixed sum yearly, waived its right to levy the dues in Sailana territory. Raja Ranjlt Singh was created a K.C.I.E. in 1887, and died in 1893, when his son, the present chief, Raja Sajjan Singh, succeeded. He was educated at the Daly College at Indore, and in 1903 joined the Imperial Cadet Corps. The State remained under management till 1898. The chief has the titles of His Highness and Raja, and receives a salute of n guns.
The population of the State was . (1881) 87,314, (1891) 89,160, and (1901) 83,773. It contains one town, RATLAM (population, 36,321), the capital, and 206 villages. Hindus numbei 52,288, or 62 per cent. , Ammists (chiefly Bolls), 14,002, or 16 per cent , Musalmans, 10,693, or 12 pei cent. , and Jams, 6,452. The total population has decreased by 6 per cent, during the last decade, while the rural population has decreased by 17-6 per cent, owing to the effects of famine. The density of population, excluding the town of Ratlam, is 54 persons pei square mile. The principal dialect is Malwl (or Rangrl), spoken by 70 per cent of the population About 40 pei cent, of the total are supported by agriculture and 12 per cent by general labour. The Canadian Presbyterian Mission has a station in the capital. The State was attacked by plague in 1902, 1,849 deaths occurring m the town between November of that year and Maich, 1903. In 1904 there were 2,000 deaths fiom the same cause.
The soil of the plateau portion of the State is mainly of the black cotton variety, and bears good crops. Of the total area, 182 square miles, or 20 per cent, are under cultivation, n square miles being irrigated ; 55 square miles, or 6 per cent., are under forest ; and 388 square miles, or 43 per cent., cultivable but lying fallow } the remainder is irreclaimable waste
Wheat occupies 54 square miles, or 24 per cent, of the total cropped axes. , jowdr, 46 square miles, or 21 per cent. , maize, 25 square miles, or ii per cent. ; gram, 23 square miles, or 10 per cent., cotton, 23 square miles, or 10 per cent. ; poppy, n square miles, or 5 per cent.
The chief trade routes are the Ratlam-Godhra branch of the Bom- bay, Baroda, and Central India Railway and the Rajputana-Malwa Railway. There are about 14 miles of metalled roads in and around Ratlam town. The other metalled roads in the State are 25 miles of the Mhow-Nimach road, and 8 miles of the Namli-Sailana road. British post offices are maintained at Ratlam town and railway station, and at Namli station, and a telegraph office at Ratlam, combined with the post office, as well as at all railway stations.
The State is, for administrative purposes, divided into two tahsils, Ratlam and Bajna, each under a tahsildar. It is administered directly by the chief, assisted by the dlwdn and the usual departmental officers The chief has full powers in all civil and general administrative matters In criminal cases his powers are those of a Sessions Court, subject to the proviso that all sentences involving death, transportation, or im- prisonment for life must be referred to the Agent to the Governor- General for confiimation.
The normal revenue amounts to 5 lakhs, of which 2-9 lakhs is derived from land; Rs, 67,000 from customs, Rs. 34,300 from tribute paid by feudatory thdkurs , and Rs. 1,000 from compensation paid by the British jpkfvernment for abolition of tiansit dues on salt. The income of alienated lands is 4-4 lakhs The chief heads of expenditure are : charges m lespect of land revenue, Rs. 42,500 , chief's establishment, Rs. 56,000 ', general administration, Rs. 65,600 ; police, Rs. 72,400, tribute to British Government, Rs. 42,700, public works, Rs 20,000.
Of the total area of the State, 456 square miles, or 51 pei cent, have been alienated in jdglr holdings, which comprise 124 square miles, or 68 per cent, of the total cultivated area, but contribute only Rs. 34,300 towards the revenue. The incidence of the land revenue demand is Rs. 4-11-3 per acre of cultivated area, and R. i on the total area Proprietary rights in land are not recognized. The system of farming villages previously in force throughout the State is now applied only to villages which cannot be managed directly owing to paucity of cultivators. An assessment by the plough (hdl) called hdlbandi is made in the hilly tract The revenue of khalsa lands is assessed according to the nature of the soil and its capability for being irrigated
The first settlement for revenue purposes was made in 1867 for ten years, the demand being 8-2 lakhs, and each village being regularly surveyed In 1877 a fresh survey was made, the average rates per acre were Rs 28 for irrigated and Rs. 3-13 foi 'dry' land, showing an increase in the demand of 31 per cent A third settlement was started in 1895, but was never completed The State has never had a silver coinage of its own, and before the introduction of the British rupee as legal tender, in 1897, carried on its transactions in various local currencies, the commonest being the Bahm shahi rupee coined in Partabgarh (Rajputana). Copper has long been coined, and is still issued.
The State army consists of a body of regular cavalry of 12 men, who form the chiefs personal guard, and of 100 regular infantry (itlangas\ who furnish guards for the palace and offices. About 100 irregular cavalry and 115 irregular infantry act as police Theie are 5 serviceable guns, manned by 12 gunners. The regular police force consists of 235 men under a superintendent for the town, and 197 con- stables for rural areas. The head-quarters jail is in Ratlam town, while a local jail is maintained at Bajna.
The first State school for boys was opened in 1864 In 1870 a girls' school was started, and in 1872 the Ratlam Central College. A hospital is kept up in Ratlam town and a dispensary at Bajna Vaccination is regularly carried out.
