Sehore
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.
Sehore
(Sihor). British military station and head-quarters of a State tahstl and of the Bhopal Agency, situated in the Nizamat-i-Maghrib or western district of Bhopal State, Central India, in 23 12' N. and 77 5' E., on the Ujjain-Bhopal Railway, 1,750 feet above sea-level. Population (1901), 16,864, of whom 5,109 inhabited the native town, and 11,755 the military station, the two portions forming one continu- ous site, near the junction of the Siwan and Lotia streams, which have been dammed to give an ample water-supply.
A mosque erected in 1332 shows that Sehore was even at that time a place of some importance. In 1814 it was the scene of the famous fight between Sindhia's generals, Jaswant Rao and Jean Baptiste Filose, which practically saved the city of Bhopal from capture, The real importance, however, of Sehore dates from 1818, when, after the treaty made with the Bhopal State, it was selected as the head-quarters of the Political officer and the newly raised local contingent. Up to 1842 the Political officer ranked as an Agent to the Governor-General, but then became a Political Agent. Sehore is also the head-quarters of the Agency Surgeon.
In 1818, after the treaty concluded with the Nawab in the previous year, the contingent force Avhich the Bhopal State had agreed to main- tain was quartered at Sehore. The Bhopal Contingent, as it was designated, was supplied from the Bhopal State army, deficiencies be- ing made good by drafting men from the State regiments. There were no British officers with the corps, which was directly under the orders of the Political officer. These State levies, however, objected to wearing uniform or undergoing proper discipline j and in 1824 the Contingent was reorganized and a British officer attached as commandant, the force then consisting of 20 gunners, 302 cavalry, and 674 infantry, the last being rearmed with muskets in place of matchlocks.
The troops were employed to police the district and furnish escorts. Several reorganiza- tions took place at different periods, the number of British officers being raised to 3 in 1847. In 1857 the force consisted of 72 gunners, 255 cavalry, and 712 infantry. Most of the men were then recruited in Northern India, Sikhs being enlisted in both the cavalry and in- fantry. The regiment showed symptoms of unrest at this period, but never mutinied in force, and assisted in protecting the Agent to the Governor-General at Indore, and also escorted the Political Agent and European residents of Sehore to Hoshangabad, to which place they retired at the request of the Begam. The artillery served as a complete unit under Sir Hugh Rose throughout the campaign. In 1859 the force was reconstituted as an infantry battalion and became the Bhopal Levy.
In 1865 it was again reconstituted as the Bhopal Battalion, and in 1878 was employed in the Afghan campaign on the lines of communication. In 1897 it was brought under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, and the station was included in the Nerbudda district instead of being, as hitherto, a political corps, directly under the Governor-General. In 1 903 it was reconstituted in four double companies of Sikhs, Muham- madans, Rajputs, and Brahmans, with 8 British officers and 896 rank and file, and delocalized, receiving the title of the 9th Bhopal Infantry ; and in the following year, for the first time since its creation, it was moved from Sehore on relief, being replaced by a regiment of the regular army. The Bhopal State contributes towards the upkeep of the force. The contribution, originally fixed at 1*3 lakhs, was finally raised in 1849 to z *6 lakhs.
The station is directly under the control of a Superintendent, acting under the Political officer. He exercises the powers of a first- class Magistrate and Small Cause Court judge. An income of about Rs. 60,000 is derived from taxes on houses and lands and other mis- cellaneous sources, which is spent on drainage, water-supply, lighting, education, and hospitals.
The station has increased considerably of late years, and is now an important trading centre, the yearly fair called the Hardaul Lala mela, held in the last week of December, being attended by merchants from Cawnpore, Agra, and Saugor. A high school, opened in 1839, and a girls' school, opened in 1865, both largely supported by the chiefs of the Agency, are maintained in the station, besides a charitable hospital, a leper asylum, a dfofc-bungalow for Europeans, two sarais for native travellers, a Protestant church, and a Government post and telegraph office. The native town contains a school, a State post office, and a saraL
