View source for Kalahasti Zamindari

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|k]]
[[Category:Places|k]]
''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. ''


=Kalahasti Zamindari=

One of the largest zamindari estates in 
Madras, situated partly in North Arcot District, partly in Nellore, and 
partly in Chingleput. Number of villages, 406 in North Arcot, 201 in 
Nellore, and 206 in Chingleput; area, 638 square miles in North 
Arcot, 576 in Nellore, and 250 in Chingleput ; total population (1901), 
223,327. The capital is Kalahasti Town, where the zamindar 
resides. The history of the family, which belongs to the Velama caste, 
is obscure. The original owner of the estate probably received it from 
a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty in the fifteenth century, on condition 
of maintaining order. The estate at one time spread as far as the site of 
Fort St. George, and the Company obtained the land on which Madras 
now stands from the proprietor in 1639. The settlement is tradition- 
ally said to have been named Chennappapatnam in honour of the 
zamindar’s father.


The estate came under British control in 1792, 
and a formal grant to the family was made in 1801. The zamindar 
afterwards received the hereditary title of Raja. The gross income 
amounts to over 5 lakhs. The peshkash (or permanent revenue paid 
to Government) for the whole of it is 1.7 lakhs, and the demand for 
land cess amounts to Rs. 35,000. Owing to the estate being heavily 
encumbered, it was recently taken under the management of the Court 
of Wards, but it has now been handed back to the proprietor. The 
estate is in a great measure covered by scrub jungle, especially the 
portion in North Arcot District. Much firewood is sent to Madras 
city from these forests ; and leopards, bears, and small game are fairly 
numerous in them. A large number of the jungle tribes of Irulas 
and Yanadis subsist by gathering honey, roots, and bark for sale in 
the neighbouring villages. The soil is not very rich, but about 
140,000 acres are under cultivation.