Sholapur District, 1908
Contents |
Sholapur District
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.
District in the Central Division of the Bombay Presidency, lying between 17 8' and 18 33' N. and 74 37' and 76 26' E., with an area of 4,541 square miles. Except the Barsi taluka, which is surrounded by the Nizam's territory, Sholapur is bounded on the north by Ahmadnagar District ; on the east by the Nizam's Dominions and the State of Akalkot ; on the south by Bija- pur District and the States of Jath and Miraj ; and on the west by Aundh State, Satara District, Phaltan State, and Poona and Ahmadnagar Districts. On the west, in some places Miraj villages are included, and isolated Sholapur villages lie beyond the District limits.
Physical aspects
Except north of Barsi, west of Madha, and south-west of Malsiras and of Karmala, where there is a good deal of hilly ground, the District is generally flat or undulating. Most of the surface rolls in long low uplands separated by hollows, with aspects an occasional level. The shallow soil of the uplands is suited for pasture, and the deep soil of the lowlands under care- ful tillage yields the richest crops. The uplands are gently rounded swellings of trap, overgrown with yellow stunted spear-grass. The District is somewhat bare of vegetation, and presents in many parts a bleak, treeless appearance. The chief rivers are the BHIMA and its tributaries the Man, the Nira, and the Sina, all flowing towards the south-east, with the exception of the Man, which runs north-east for 50 miles within the limits of the District. Besides these, there are several minor streams. Of the principal reservoirs, Ekruk and Siddh- eswar are near Sholapur city, one is at Ashti, one is at Koregaon, and one at Pandharpur, and there are also water-supply works at Barsi and Karmala. The Ekruk lake is one of the largest artificial pieces of water in the Presidency.
As in most of the Deccan, the geological formation is trap, covered in most places with a shallow layer of very light soil, and in parts with a good depth of rich loam suited for cotton.
The flora of Sholapur is of the purely Deccan type. Babul, mango, Nim, and pipal are the only timber trees found, Among flowering plants the most common are Cleome, Capparis, Cassia, Woodfordia, Vicoa, EchinopS) Celosia, and several species of Acacia.
The District is too well tilled to leave much cover for wild beasts. The jackal, grey fox, antelope, and hare are, however, common. The commonest game-birds are : kalam (Anthropoides virgo\ black and grey partridges, quail, and snipe. Bustard are scarce. The maral is noted among river fish.
The climate; except from March to May, is healthy and agreeable. In the hot season, March to June, the mean temperature is 83, very hot and oppressive in the day-time, but cool at night ; it falls to 52 in November and rises to 108 in May: annual mean 80. During the cold season, from November to February, the weather with keen easterly and north-easterly winds is clear and bracing The rainy season LS pleasant; the sky is more or less overcast, and the rain falls in heavy showers, alternating with intervals of sunshine. The annual rainfall averages 26 inches, being on the whole scanty and uncertain. Barsi, owing to the proximity of the Balaghat hills, is comparatively well off with an average fall of 28 inches, while Madha and Karmala receive 26 and 23 inches respectively, but so unevenly distributed that only one out of every four seasons can be adjudged really satisfactory. Malsiras has the lowest average, namely 22 inches.
History
Sholapur is one of the Districts which formed the early home of the Marathas, and is still a great centre of the Maratha population. In the early centuries of the Christian era (90 B.C.-A.D. 230)
it probably formed part Of the territories of the Sata- vahana or Andhra dynasty, whose capital was Paithan on the Godavari 3 about 150 miles north-west of Sholapur city. During the nine hundred years previous to the overthrow of the Deogiri Yadavas by the Muham- madans in the beginning of the fourteenth century, Sholapur, like the neighbouring Districts of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Poona, was held by the early Chalukyas from 550 to 750, by the Rashtrakutas to 973, by the revived or Western Chalukyas to 1156, and by the Deogiri Yadavas till the Muhammadan conquest of the Deccan.
The first Muhammadan invasion of the Deccan took place In 1294, but the power of the Deogiri Yadavas was not crushed till 1318. From 1318 Maharashtra began to be ruled by governors appointed from Delhi and stationed at Deogiri, which name was changed in 1338 by Muham- mad bin Tughlak to Daulatabad, the 'abode of wealth.' In 1346 there was widespread disorder, and Delhi officers plundered and wasted the country. These cruelties led to the revolt of the Deccan nobles under the leadership of a soldier named Hasan Gangii, The nobles were successful and freed the Deccan from dependence on Northern India. Hasan founded a dynasty, which he called Bahnaani after the Persian from whom he claimed descent, and which held sway over the Deccan for nearly a hundred and fifty years. In 1489 Yusuf Adil Shah, governor of Bijapur, assumed independence, and overran all the country north of Bijapur as far as the Bhima. For nearly two hundred years Sholapur belonged either to the Bijapur or to the Ahmadnagar Sultans, as the one or the other succeeded in retaining it. In 1668, by the treaty concluded between Aurangzeb and All Adil Shah of Bijapur, the fort of Sholapur and territory yielding Rs. 6,30,000 of revenue was ceded to the Mughals as the price of peace. The general decay of the Mughal empire from 1700 to 1750 opened the way for Maratha supre- macy. In 1795 th e Marathas wrested from the Nizam his Sholapur possessions. The greater part of the District formed a portion of the Peshwa's dominions, On the overthrow of the Peshwa 430 villages passed to the British, the decisive actions being the battles of Pan- dhaipur and Ashta (1817-8) and the siege of Sholapur (1818). To the territory taken from the Marathas, 232 villages ceded by the Nizam were added in 1822, and 488 more villages which lapsed in 1848 on the death of the Raja of Satara brought the District to its present dimensions. It has been a Collectorate since 1838.
Population
Traces of Yadava rule are to be found in the Hemadpanti temples at Bavi, Mohol, MALSIRAS, Nateputa, Velapur, PANDHARPUR, Pulunj, Kandalgaon, Kasegaon, and Marde. There is a fine old well dating from this period at Marde. Musalman architecture is represented by the tomb of one of the daughters of Aurangzeb at the village of BEGAMPUR.
There are 7 towns and 712 villages in the District. The popula- tion is approximately the same as it was in 1872. At the last four enumerations it has been: (1872) 720,203, (1881) 583,411, (1891) 750,689, and (1901) 720,977. The P a n * decrease of 19 per cent, in 1881 was due to mortality or emigration in the famine of 1876-8; and the population decreased by 4 per cent, during the last decade owing to the famine years of 1896-1901. Part of this decrease has been made good by immigration since the famine. The distribution by talukas, according to the Census of 1901, was :
The chief towns are SHOLAPUR, PANDHARPUR, BARSI, and KAR- MALA. The predominant language is Marathi, which is spoken by 82 per cent, of the population, Kanarese is spoken in the south of the District on the Bijapur border. Of the total population, 91 per cent, are Hindus and 8 per cent. Musalmans.
Among Hindus, Brahmans number 29,000. The most important and the oldest settlers of this caste are Deshasths (24,000). The Vaishya Vanis are the last remnant of the Hindu traders of the District, who are now mainly Lingayats (51,000) and are known as Lingayat Vanis. Marathas (220,000) are the strongest caste numerically and are mostly agriculturists. Malls or gardeners (24,000), found throughout the Dis- trict, have two divisions, Khirsagur and Raut. Craftsmen include Salis, Koshtls, Devang and other weavers (23,000), and Chamars or shoe- makers (16,000), Dhangars or shepherds (74,000) have three divisions, Bargis, Hatgars, and Kutigars, which neither marry nor eat together. Kolis (10,000) are divided into Maratha Kolis and Panbhari Kolis. Mahars (66,000) and Mangs (28,000) are the watchmen and scavengers of the old village community. There are 37,000 Muhammadan converts from Hinduism, who describe themselves as Shaikhs. The population is supported mainly by agriculture (60 per cent.), industries and com- merce supporting 19 per cent, and one per cent, respectively.
In 1901, 1,555 native Christians were enumerated, most of whom are converts of the American Maratha Mission, which commenced work in the District in 1862. There are churches at Sholapur, Dhotre, Vatvat, and a few other places. The American Protestant Congregational Mission is at work in Karmala, and an inter-denominational village mission has a branch at Pandharpur.
Agriculture
The soil of Sholapur is of three kinds : black, coarse grey, or reddish. Except in the Barsi taluka, where black soil is the rule and coarse grey is rare, most of the District is either grey or red. The black soil is chiefly confined to the banks of the rivers 2rlc ture " and large streams. On garden land manure is always used, and also on ' dry-crop ' land when available. The usual mode of manuring a field is by turning into it a flock of sheep and goats, for whose services their owner is paid according to the length of their stay. Scarcity of manure is the main reason why so little land is watered, compared with the area commanded by the Ekruk lake and other water-works. An industrious farmer ploughs his land several times before he sows it, and weeds it several times while the crop is growing. An irregular rotation of crops is observed, and about a fifth or sixth part of the holding is often left fallow. As a rule, the poorer landholders neither weed nor manure their land. They run a light plough over it, sow the seed broadcast, and leave it to itself. They expect to get from it at best merely a bare food-supply for the year ; and while the crop is ripening, they supplement their field profits by the wages of labour. Much of the best land is in the hands of money-lenders, who have either bought it or taken it on mortgage. The tendency seems to be for the petty land- holders to diminish, and the land to fall into the hands of men of capital who employ the old holders as their tenants or labourers. It may be accepted that only about 10 per cent, of the agricultural classes are free from debt, and that the remaining 90 per cent, are involved, and require advances from time to time. The Dekkhan Agriculturists' Relief Act, by protecting their property from attachment and sale for debt, has rendered this necessity less urgent.
The District is almost entirely ryotwari, only about 7 per cent, being held as mam oijagir land. The chief statistics of cultivation in 1903-4 are shown below, in square miles :
The staple food-grain of the District is late jowar (1,521 square miles). In Malsiras and Sangola bajra (521 square miles) is equally important. Wheat (82 square miles) is chiefly an irrigated crop, and is of inferior quality. Of pulses, tur (155 square miles) and gram (104) are important; math and kulitk occupy 64 and 37 square miles respectively. Oilseeds (292 square miles) are grown in rows among the jowar. Of other crops, chillies (9 square miles), cotton (72 square miles), and jfl#-henip (45 square miles) are the most important. There has been a gradual tendency of late years to discard old forms of field- implements in favour of more modern appliances ; and especially is this the case with iron sugar-cane presses and iron ploughs. The latter were exhibited in Bombay in 1904, and have been ordered by several culti- vators. Iron lifts for wells have also taken the place of leathern bags in many places. The opening of cotton-mills in Sholapur city has led the people to pay more attention to seed-selection and staple ; while the better kinds of manure are now largely employed for sugar-cane cultivation.
During the ten years ending 1904, 18-3 lakhs was advanced to agriculturists under the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts. Of this sum 5 lakhs was advanced in 1896-73 and 9 lakhs during the three years ending 1901-2.
The chief breeds of cattle are the khilari> raised by Dhangars ; the desi, bred by Lamanis, and breeds from Malwa, Gujarat, and Gokak in Belgaum. The khildri breed is the best, and the desi is the commonest. Buffaloes are classed as gaulis or ' milkmen's,' and desi or ' local/ The famine of 1876 and the Afghan War of 1879 combined to deprive Sholapur of its reputation as a pony-breeding District. The Civil Veterinary department, however, maintains 3 pony stallions at Sholapur, Sangola, and Karmala. The dry plains of the southern talukas are specially suited for rearing sheep and goats. The Dhangars breed flocks of sheep, and the poorer classes keep goats. Donkeys are bred by Beldars or quarrymen, and pigs are reared by Vaddars or earth-workers.
The chief irrigation works in Sholapur District are the Koregaon, Ashti, Ekruk, and Mhasvad lakes. The first named is a pre-British work improved, and the three last are new works. Large projects have been undertaken at Patri, Budhihal, Bhamburda, Wadshivne, Hotgi, and Mangi. The total area under irrigation from various sources in 1903-4 was 127 square miles. Government works supplied 12 square miles, private canals one square mile, wells in square miles, tanks one square mile, and other sources 2 square miles. Koregaon lake, 13 miles north-east of Barsi, is formed by throwing two earthen dams across two separate valleys. The lake has now a capacity of 81,000,000 cubic feet and supplies 282 acres of land, the estimated irrigable area being nearly 2 square miles. The Ashti lake lies in the Madha tahtka^ 12 miles north-east of Pandharpur. The lake when full holds r, 41 9,000,000 cubic feet of water. It is estimated to irrigate 19 square miles, and actually supplies about 2 square miles. The Ekruk lake, the largest artificial lake in the Bombay Presidency, lies 5 miles north-east of Sholapur city. The lake is 60 feet deep when full, and holds 3,310,000,000 cubic feet of water. It supplies 4 and commands 26 square miles. The Mhasvad tank in Satara District, recently constructed by throwing a dam across the Man river, supplies 7 square miles of land with water, and could irrigate 38 square miles. The capital outlay on these tanks has been (1903-4): Mhasvad 21 lakhs, Ekruk 13, Koregaon -f, and Ashti 8 lakhs. There are 24,629 wells in the District, with an average depth of 15 to 40 feet, of which 20,865 are used for irrigation.
Forests
The dry, shallow soil of the uplands of Sholapur is ill-suited for trees. The District now possesses 219 square miles of 'reserved' land under the Forest department. The fodder reserves and pasture land in charge of the Revenue department amount to 58 square miles. There are no 'protected' forests. The forest area is much scattered. It may be roughly divided into two tracts : on the hills between Barsi and the Nizam's territories in the extreme north-east, and on the hills to the south of Malsiras and Sangola in the extreme south-west, Before December, 1871, when forest conservancy was introduced, Sholapur was extremely bare of trees and brushwood. In the whole of the forest area, no timber- cutting rights are admitted to exist. The forest lands are of two classes : scrub forest and babul meadows. The scrub forest is found on the hills, and babul meadows occur all over the District.
Forest receipts are comparatively small, being only Rs. 18,000 in 1903-4. About nineteen-twentieths of the Reserves are yearly leased for grazing ; the remainder are leased yearly for grass-cutting, and in these tree plantations are formed. The timber of the babul and the nlm are used for fuel, and also for making beams, posts, doors, carts, ploughs, and other implements. The bark of the babul and of the tarvad (Cassia auriculatd) is used for tanning, and the pods as well as the flowers of the palas (Butea frondosa) for dyeing. The bark of the apta is made into ropes. The forests are in charge of an Extra- Assistant Conservator.
Except trap or basalt used as building stone and for road-metal, and nodular limestone used in cement, Sholapur has no mineral products.
Trade and Communications
The chief industries are spinning, weaving, and dyeing. Silks and the finer sorts of cotton cloth, such as dhotis and women's sans, prepared in Sholapur, bear a good name. Blankets are also woven in large numbers. Besides hand- loom weaving, 3 cotton-mills, with 144,520 spindles and 528 looms, have been established, which give employment to 5,239 hands, and turn out 14,000,000 pounds of yam and 2,000,000 pounds of cloth. The mill of the Sholapur Spinning and Weaving Company began working at Sholapur city in 1877 with a nominal capital of 8 lakhs. In addition to the cotton-mills, there are 2 ginning factories, employing about 174 operatives. Oil-presses of the native type are worked by Tells in many places, and saltpetre is manufactured to some extent by Mahars and Mangs.
Since the opening of the railway, trade has greatly increased. Next to cotton, a large proportion of which comes from other Districts, the chief exports are oil, oilseeds, ghi^ turmeric, and cotton cloth. The imports are salt, piece-goods, yarn, gunny-bags, and iron-ware. Trade is carried on at the towns and in markets, fairs, village shops, and also by travelling carriers. The largest centres of internal trade are Sholapur city, Barsi, and Pandharpur ; and next to these Vairag, Madha, Mohol, Karmala, Akluj, Nateputa, and Sangola. The traders are chiefly Lingayats, Bhatias, Hindu Yarns, and Marwaris.
The south-east line of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which connects with the Madras Railway at Raichur, passes through the District with a length of 115 miles. From Hotgi near Sholapur city, the eastern branch of the Southern Mahratta Railway runs south towards Bijapur, for a distance of about 8 miles within the District. At Barsi Road a pioneer enterprise in light railways connects Barsi town with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. This line, which is on a 2 foot 6 inch gauge, was opened in 1897. Extensions of the Barsi Light Railway to Tadwalla, 27 miles from Barsi town, and to Pandharpur, were opened in 1906. There are (1904) 567 miles of roads in the District, of which 140 miles are metalled. Of these the Poona-Hyderabad trunk road is the most important, traversing the District in a south-easterly direction for 78 miles. Except 341 miles of unmetalled roads in charge of the local authorities, all these roads are maintained by the Public Works department, The Barsi Light Railway Company maintains and repairs 2 1 miles of metalled road.
Famine
The earliest recorded famine is the great Durga-devi famine, which began about 1396 and is said to have lasted nearly twelve years. Next came the famine of 1460. About 1520 a great famine is said to have been caused by military hordes destroying and plundering the crops. The famine of 1791 was very severe, especially in the Carnatic, where the crops entirely failed. In the Deccan the yield was one-fourth to one-half the usual out-turn ; and as thousands flocked from the Carnatic to the Deccan for food, the distress became very severe. During this famine grain sold at 3 seers a rupee. In 1802 the plunder and destruction of crops by Holkar and the Pindaris caused a serious scarcity, which the failure of the rains in October and November, 1803, turned into a famine of terrible severity. In 1818, owing partly to the ravages of the Peshwa's armies, and partly to the failure of crops, the District again suffered from famine, accompanied by cholera, which destroyed thousands. Other famines or scarcities occurred in 1824, 1832-3, 1845, 1854, 1862, 1876-7, 1896-7, and 1899-1900, owing to scanty rainfall.
In the famine of 1876-7 the District suffered very severely. At the height of distress the largest number on works was 95,617 in January, 1877. A considerable number of people left the District and went to Berar and the Nizam's Dominions, and many cattle died. During the cold season of 1879, from January to March, swarms of rats and mice appeared and about seven-eighths of the crops were wholly destroyed. The scanty rainfall of 1896 caused a failure of the crops throughout the whole of the District, thus necessitating relief measures. The largest number on works was 124,800 in April. The maximum number on gratuitous relief was 15,600 in September. The distress continued till the end of November. The last scarcity, which extended over two consecutive years, was in 1899-1901. In October, 1899, relief works were opened which continued till October, 1902. The maximum on relief was reached in April, 1900, when nearly 156,000 persons were on works and 13,000 in receipt of gratuitous relief. By August, 1900, the number on gratuitous relief had reached 25,000. The excess of mortality over the normal in 1899-1900 was 18,800, and it is calculated that 70,000 cattle died. Including advances to agriculturists and weavers, and remissions of land revenue, the famine in this District alone cost the state 84 lakhs. More than loj lakhs was advanced under the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts.
Administration
The District consists of seven talukas, in two subdivisions under an Assistant Collector and a Deputy-Collector. The . . talukas are SHOLAPUR, MADHA, KARMALA, BARSI, PANDHARPUR, SANGOLA, and MALSIRAS. The Collector is Political Agent of the State of Akalkot.
The District and Sessions Judge at Sholapur is assisted for civil business by six Subordinate Judges. There are twenty-eight officers to administer criminal justice in the District. The proximity of the Nizam's Dominions facilitates dacoities by small bands of bad characters, who take refuge across the frontier. The commonest forms of crime are theft and hurt.
Sholapur is mainly ryohvari. The revenue history of the District differs little from that of Ahmadnagar and Poona, of which many of the villages once formed a part. Like those Districts, Sholapur, after a few years of rapid advance after British annexation, suffered from 1825 onwards from low prices, and large remissions had in consequence to be granted. In 1830 the old rates were replaced by Mr. Pringle's settlement ; but the new rates again proved excessive, mainly owing to the bad seasons which followed their introduction, and in consequence temporary rates were granted between 1836 and 1839 on more favour- able terms. In 1 840 a regular revenue survey settlement was commenced by Captain Wingate, and was gradually introduced into the whole of the District. The revision survey of the Madha tdluka led to revised rates being introduced in that tdluka in 1869-70 and extended to the whole of the District by 1874. In October, 1874, in consequence of the marked fall in produce prices during the three previous years, Govern- ment decided that it was advisable to limit, and in some cases to reduce, the amount of the enhancements made at the revised survey settlement. The reductions made were from 74 to 38 per cent, in Madha, from 77 to 44 per cent in Sholapur, from 76 to 46 per cent. in Pandharpur, and from 62 to 42 per cent, in Barsi. The revision survey of 1874-94 found an increase in the cultivated area of 0-4 per cent., and the settlement enhanced the total revenue by 27 per cent, in the three talukas for which details are available. The average rates per acre fixed by this survey are : ' dry ' land, 8 annas \ garden land, 15 annas; and rice land, Rs. 1-6.
There are five municipalities SHOLAPUR, BARSI, KARMALA, SAN- GOLA, and PANDHARPUR with a total income averaging 2-8 lakhs. Among special sources of municipal income are a pilgrim tax at Pan- dharpur and a water rate at Sholapur. The District board and seven tdluka boards had an income of 1-5 lakhs in 1903-4, the principal source being the land cess. The expenditure amounted to 1-2 lakhs, including Rs. 45,000 devoted to the maintenance and construction of roads and buildings.
The District Superintendent of police is aided by two Assistants and one inspector. There are 1 2 police stations in the District. The total strength of the police force is 579 : namely, 9 chief constables, 109 head constables, and 461 constables, The mounted police number 7, under one daffadar. There are 8 subsidiary jails in the District, with accommodation for 197 prisoners. The daily average number of prisoners in 1904 was 70, of whom 5 were females.
Sholapur stands fifteenth as regards literacy among the twenty-four Districts of the Presidency. In 1901 only 4-7 per cent, of the popula- lion (8-9 males and 0-4 females) could read and write. In 1881 were 174 schools with 7,060 pupils. The number of pupils increa?! to 14,711 in 1891 and to 14,984 in 1901. In 1903-4 the number of educational institutions was 297, comprising 2 high schools, 7 middle, and 258 primary schools, one training school, 2 industrial schools, and one commercial school; and the number of pupils was 6,162, including 547 girls. Of the 271 schools classed as public, one is managed by Government, 176 by local boards, 36 by munici- palities, 57 are aided, and 2 are unaided. The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 was ij lakhs, of which Provincial revenues con- tributed Rs. 47,000, Local funds Rs. 27,000, and fees Rs. 16,000. Of the total, 70 per cent, was devoted to primary schools.
The District contains two hospitals, including one for females, 8 dispensaries, one leper asylum, and 3 other medical institutions, with accommodation for 83 in-patients. Tn 1904 the number of patients treated was 151,682, of whom 1,118 were in-patients, and 3,802 operations were performed. The total expenditure on the civil hospital and 8 dispensaries and the leper asylum was Rs. 24,667, of which Rs. 15,229 was met from Local and municipal funds.
The number of people successfully vaccinated in 1903-4 was 18,000, representing 25 per 1,000 of population, which is slightly higher than the average of the Presidency.
[Sir J. M. Campbell, Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xx (1884) ; W. W. Loch, Historical Account of the Poona^ Safdra, and Sholdpur Districts (1877).]
