View source for Sirmur (or Nahan)

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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|S]]
[[Category:Places|S]]
''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. ''
=Sirmur (or Nahan)=

Hill State in the Punjab, under the political 
control of the Commissioner of the Delhi Division, lying amid the 
Himalayas, between 30° 20" and 31° 5' N. and 77° 5' and 77° 55' E., 
on the west bank of the Jumna and south of Simla. It has an area 
of 1,198 square miles; and its greatest length from east to west is 
50 miles, and its extreme width from north to south 43 miles. It is 
bounded on the north by the Jubbal and Balsan States ; on the east 
by the Dehra Dun District of the United Provinces ; on the south by 
Ambala District and the Kalsia State of the Punjab ; and on the west 
by territory of the Patiala State and Keonthal. 
==Physical aspects==

With the exception of the Kiarda Dun or valley which forms its 
south-eastern part, the whole State is hilly. Its southern border runs 
along the crest of the Outer Siwaliks. Parallel with 
these lies the Dharthi range ; and the intervening
valley is traversed by the Markanda river which 
flows west, and by the Bata which flows east. North-east of the 
Dharthi range lies the valley of the Jalal, a tributary of the Giri, which 
traverses the State in a winding course from north-west to south-east, 
dividing it into two natural divisions, the cis-Giri on the south-west 
and the trans-Giri on the north-east. In the centre of the northern 
border rises the Chaur peak (11,982 feet), from which radiate several 
spurs, those on the west and south filling the whole trans-Giri tract 
with their outliers. These extend far to the south-east, rising to 8,800 
feet at Haripur, 8,233 feet at Ciurwana, and 6,691 feet at Guma. on 
the north-east the Tons, a tributary of the Jumna, forms the boundary, 
separating Sirmur from Dehra Dun. Thus, the slope of the country 
is from north to south, the confluence of the Giri with the Jumna 
being only 1,500 feet above sea-level ; and the whole, with hardly 
an exception, drains into the latter river. 

The greater Part of the State lies On rocks of Tertiary age, with beds 
belonging to the Carbonaceous system (Krol and Blaini groups) on 
the north and north east. The Lower Tertiary rocks are particularly 
well developed ; and the Sirmur series, which includes the Sabathu, 
Dagshai, and Kasauli groups, takes its name from the State. The 
Upper Tertiary, or Siwalik series, is largely developed in the neighbour- 
hood of Nahan, where the lower beds consist of a great mass of sand- 
stones, the Nahan group ; these are overlain by sandstones and con- 
glomerates (Middle and Upper Siwnlik) containing a rich mammalian 
fauna of pliocene age. 1[1Medlicott, ' Geological Structure of the Southern portion of the Himalayas, and 
Memoirs, Geological  Survey of India, vol. iii, pt. ii. ]

The lower valleys of the Jumna, Tons, and Giri liavc a true Siwalik 
flora, corresponding to that of the Duns and tarai east of the Jumna, 
The Chaur mountain has a remarkably alpine vegetation at the higher 
levels — more so, for example, than the ranges intervening between it 
and the main ridge of the Inner Himalaya in Bashahr. 

Tigers are occasionally, and elephants rarely, met with in the Dun. 
Bears abound in the hills, and sambar chital, hog deer, and musk deer 
are jjlentiful, but wild dogs have much diminished the game in the 
Dun and low hills. The fishing in the Giri is famous. 

The climate in the Dun is malarious in the rainy season and autumn, 
but otherwise the country is healthy and the hills enjoy a temperate 
climate. In the trans-Giri tract snow falls every winter, but it is rarely 
seen elsewhere. After December it is highly beneficial to the crops, The 
annual rainfall varies from 59 inches at Paonta to 65 inches at Pachhad, 
but generally more rain falls trans-Giri than in the west and south. 
==History==
The early history of Sirmur is almost a blank. Tradition says that 
its ancient capital was Sirmur, now a mere hamlet surrounded by 
extensive ruins, in the Kiarda Dun, whose king was
of Surajbansi or Solar race. Once, the legend runs, 
a woman boasted to the Raja of her acrobatic skill, and he challenged 
her to cross and recross the Giri river on a rope, promising her half 
his kingdom if she succeeded. The woman crossed in safety ; but as 
she was returning, a courtier, to save the kingdom from dismember- 
ment, cut the rope, and the woman perished in the stream. For this 
act of treachery a flood swept away Sirmur, and the Raja perished with 
all his kin, leaving the realm without a ruler. But by chance a prince 
of Jaisalmer shortly after visited Hardwar as a pilgrim, and was there 
invited by one of the minstrels of the kingdom to assume its sovereignty. 
lie accordingly sent a force under his son, the Rawal or prince Sobha, 
who put down the disorders which had arisen in the State, and became 
the first Raja of Sirmur, under tin; title of Subhans Parkash, a title 
which the Rajas have ever since retained. Rajban became the capital 
of the new king in 1095. The eighth Raja concjuered Ratesh, now 
a part of the Keonthal State, about 1150 ; and his successor subdued 
Jubbal, Balsan, Kumharsain, Ghond, Kot, and Theog, thus extending 
his dominions almost to the Sutlej. For many years these territories 
remained feudatories of the State ; but its capital was at Kalsi, in 
Dehra Dun, and the Rajas' hold over their northern fiefs appears to 
have been weak until in the fourteenth century Bir Parkash fortified 
Hath-Koti, on the confines of Jubbal, Rilwain, and Sahri, the last 
of which became the capital of the State for a time. Eventually in 
1621 Karm Parkash founded Nahan, the modern capital. His 
successor, Mandhata, was called upon to aid Khalil-ullah, the general 
of the emperor Shah Jahan, in his invasion of Garhwal, and his 
successor, Sobhag Parkash, received a grant of Kotaha in reward for 
this service. Under Aurangzeb this Raja again joined in operations 
against Garhwal. His administration was marked by a great develop- 
ment of the agricultural resources of the Slate, and the tract of Kola- 
garh was also entrusted to him by the emperor. Budh Parkash, the 
next ruler, recovered Pinjaur for Aurangzeb's foster-brother. Raja 
Mit Parkash gave an asylum to the Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, per- 
mitting him to fortify Paonta in the Kiarda 13un ; and it was at 
Bhangani in the Dun that the Guru defeated the Rajas of Kahlur and 
Garhwal in 1688. But in 1750 Kirat Parkash, after defeating the 
Raja of Garhwal, captured Naraingarh, Morni, Pinjaur, and other 
territories from the Siklis, and concluded an alliance with Amar Singh, 
Raja of patiala, whom he aided in suppressing his rebellious wazir ; 
and he also fought in alliance with the Raja of Kahlur when Ghulam 
Kadir Khan, Rohilla, invaded that State. Pie supported the Raja 
of Garhwal in his resistance to the Gurkha invasion, and, though 
deserted by his ally, was able to compel the Gurkhas to agree to the 
Ganges as the boundary of their dominions. His son, Dharm Parkash, 
repulsed the encroachments of the chief of Nalagarh and an invasion 
by the Raja of Garhwal, only to fall fighting in single combat with 
Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra, who had invaded Kahlur, in 1793. 
He was succeeded by his brother, Karm Parkash, a weak ruler, whose 
misconduct caused a serious revolt. To suppress this he rashly invoked 
the aid of the (iurkhas, who promi)tly seized their opportunity and 
invaded Sirmur, expelled Rain Parkash, whom the rebels had placed 
on the throne, and then refused to restore Karm Parkash. Fortunately 
his queen, a princess of Goler and a lady of courage and resource, took 
matters into her own hands and invoked British aid. Her appeal 
coincided with the declaration of war against Nepal, and a force was 
sent to expel the Gurkhas from Sirmur. On the conclusion of the 
Gurkha War the British Government placed Fateh Parkash, the minor 
son of Karm Parkash, on the throne, annexing all the territories east 
of the Jumna with Kotaha and the Kiarda Dun. The Dun was, 
however, restored to the State in 1833 on payment of Rs. 50,000. 
During the first Afghan war the Raja aided Government with a loan, 
and in the first Sikh War a Sirmur contingent fought at Hari-ka-pattan. 
Under Raja Sir Shamsher Parkash, G.C.S.I. (1856-98), the State 
progressed rapidly. Begar (forced labour) was abolished, roads were 
made, revenue and forest settlements carried out, a foundry, dis- 
pensaries, post and telegraph offices established. In 1857 the Raja 
rendered valuable services, and in 1880 during the second Afghan 
War he sent a contingent to the north-west frontier. The Sirmur 
Sappers and Miners under his second son. Major Bir Bikram Singh, 
C.I.E., accompanied the Tirah expedition in 1897. The present Raja 
(Sir Surindar Bikram Parkash, K.C.S.I.) has remodelled the courts of 
the State. He has been a Member of the Legislative Council of the Gov- 
ernor-General. The Raja of Sirmur is entitled to a salute of 11 guns. 
==Population==
The only town is Nahan, the capital. There are 973 villages, or 
groups of hamlets, and the population of the State at the three enu- 
merations was : (1881) 112,371,(1891) 124,134, and 
(1901) 135,626. It rose by 9-3 per cent, during the 
last decade, the rate of increase being greatest in the Paonta tahs'il. 
Anciently divided into bhojs which were grouped into twelve waziris, 
it is now divided into four tahsils : Nahan, Rainka, Paonta, and 
Pachhad. More than 95 per cent, of the people are Hindus. By far 
the most numerous caste is that of the agricultural Kanets, who form 
more than 30 per cent, of the total. Western Paharl is the language 
of 78 per cent, of the population. 

In 1895 the American Presbyterian Mission of Ludhiana sent 
evangelists to commence mission work in the State, ordained mission- 
aries being also posted to Nahan from time to time. In 1902 mission 
work was, with the Raja's assent, made over to the Scandinavian 
Alliance Mission Society, which now has two missionaries posted at 
Nahan. The only Christians in the State are immigrants. 
==Agriculture==
The Kiarda Dun differs greatly from the rest of the State in its 
agricultural conditions. Formerly a wilderness of swamp and forest, 
constituting a bulwark against aggression from the 
plains, it was colonized by the late Raja with culti- 
vators from the submontane districts, and is now one of the richest 
tracts in the State. It is a fertile alluvial plain, naturally well watered 
by numerous streams, and receiving a regular and sufificient rainfall. 
Its principal products are wheat and gram in the spring, and rice, 
maize, sugar-cane, ginger, and turmeric in the autumn. The hill 
tracts generally are less rich agriculturally, though poppy, ginger, 
tobacco, and turmeric are grown extensively. The forest products are 
also a source of considerable wealth to the people. The prevalent 
form of tenure may be described as ryohvdri, village communities like 
those of the plains being unknown, but the ancient bhoj still exists in 
name. The area for which particulars are on record is 1,108 square 
miles; of which 388 square miles, or 35 per cent., are forest, 10 per 
cent, are not available for cultivation, 42 per cent, are cultivable waste 
other than fallows, and 4 per cent, are current fallows. The net area 
cropped in 1904 was 130 square miles. The staple food-grains of the 
State are wheat, rice, gram, maize, chidai, and mandua. The State 
is absolutely secure against famine. 

As already noted, the main feature in the agricultural development 
has been the colonization of the Kiarda Dun in the Paonta tahsil, the 
cultivated area of which rose from 11,253 acres in 1878 to 27,505 
acres in 1904. Sugar-cane cultivation was introduced into the Dun 
by the late Raja, and he also established the well-known Nahan 
iron foundry. 

The cattle, as elsewhere in the hills, are small but hardy. The 
trans-Giri cows are by far the best. Buffaloes have been imported 
of recent years, but are only kept by the well-to-do and by the Gujar 
immigrants from Jammu, who form a separate community and often 
own large herds. Goats are kept both for food and their hair, which 
is exported, and sheep for the sake of their wool and for sale, those 
of the khadu kind being the best and fetching high prices. Ponies 
are bred only in the Dun, and the State keeps a pony and a donkey 
stallion at Paonta. 

The State contains no irrigation wells or canals, but a scheme for 
taking a small canal out of the Giri river to irrigate the Dun is in con- 
templation. Springs and torrents, however, afford ample means of 
irrigation, especially in the Rainka and Pachhad tahsiis, in which over 
one-third of the area is irrigated. The streams are diverted into kuhls 
or watercourses. 
==Forests==
The State forests are valuable. Along the western face of the Chaur 
range runs a compact belt of forest 20 miles long by 1 to 5 wide, mostly 
of oak, but also stocked in parts with fir, spruce, 
birch, and yew. Deodar occurs pure in 12 blocks, 
and occasionally blue pine. Below this belt oak and pine (P.longi- 
folia) occur in places. Another narrow belt of oak, 23 miles long, 
covers the slopes of the Chandpur, Marolani, and Haripur ranges 
below 7,000 feet. The ridges between the Giri river and the Dharthi 
range are covered with scrub jungle, interspersed with pine, and, on 
the lower slopes, are sub-tropical in character. The lower hills, 
including the Kiarda Dun and the northern face of the Outer Siwaliks, 
have an area of 176 square miles, of which 104 square miles are 
stocked with sal, pure or mixed, 67 with tropical species, and 3 with 
pine. The Forest department is controlled by a Conservator, under 
whom is a considerable staff of officials, mostly trained foresters. The 
State is divided into two forest divisions, the Rajgarh or upper and 
the Nahan or lower, each with five ranges. In the former division 
the forests are classed as protected, in the latter as ' reserved,' many 
of those in the Dun being absolutely closed. Nearly all have been 
demarcated. The forest revenue in 1904 was Rs. 80,000. 
==Trade and communications==
Iron is found in several places, but none of the mines is worked, 
and iron for the foundry is imported. Lead, copper, alum, and ochre 
are also known to exist, but only the last is mined at two places. Gold 
is found in minute quantities in the Run, Bata, and other streams. 
Slate quarries are worked in the Pachhad and Rainka tahsils. 

The only important industry is the foundry at Nahan, which belongs 
to the State. Started in 1867, magnetic iron, obtained from the 
Chheta mine in the Rainka tahsll, was at first 
smelted ; but the wrought iron produced could not 
compete with English mild steel, and the foundry 
was accordingly utilized for the manufacture of sugar-cane crushing 
mills, which found a ready market throughout the Punjab and United 
Provinces. The foundry employs 600 men, and its capacity is 75 tons 
per week. Much modern machinery has been erected. Persian 
carpets, floorcloths, and mats are made in the State jail. The only 
other industries are the making of wooden vessels, churns, blankets, 
and c, in the hills, and of coarse cotton cloth. Some cane furniture 
is also made. 

There is a considerable export of agricultural and forest produce. 
'Wheat, maize, and gram are sent from the Kiarda Dun to Dehra Dun 
and Ambala, the hill produce going mostly to Simla and the neigh- 
bouring cantonments. Timber is also exported via the Jumna. Cloth, 
utensils, sugar, suit, drugs, and articles of European and Indian manu- 
facture are imported. In bad years the Nahan tahsil has to import 
grain from the plains. 

A good road leads from Barara on the North-Western Railway to 
Nahan, the capital of the State, which is also connected with the 
Rampur ferry on the Jumna by a good road. There are 82 miles of 
cart-roads in the State and, lor a hilly country, communications are 
good. 
==Administration==
The administration is closely modelled on that of the Punjab, the 
Raja personally exercising administrative control over the departments, 
divided into administrative, judicial, military, police, accounts, public 
works, medical, forests (including tea and other 
estates), jail, and foundry. Most of the principles of 
British law are observed, and almost all the Indian Acts applicable to 
the Punjab have been adopted. 

The State is divided into four tahsils. These are Nahan, comprising 
the old Dharthi and Khol waziris ; Pachhad, the ' western ' tract, in 
which is the Sain range ; Rainka, comprising the hilly country to the 
east ; and Paonga, which contains the Kiarda Dun. Each tahsil is 
under a tahsildar. 

The highest court is that of the Council, which consists of the Raja 
as president, and five members nominated by him. The court of the 
Raja sitting alone is known as the Ijlds-i-Khas. This exercises full 
jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, and appeals from it lie to the 
Council, but sentences of death require the confirmation of the Com- 
missioner of Delhi. Below it are the courts of the district judge and 
district magistrate. Subordinate to the former are the Munsif at 
Nahan (exercising second-class criminal powers) and the tahsildars, 
who try petty cases up to Rs. 15 in value. The district magistrate is 
collector and registrar, and the tahsllddrs are subordinate to him 
in all but their civil judicial functions. There is also an honorary 
magistrate. Serious offences are rare. Cattle-lifting occurs in the 
tracts bordering on British territory, and matrimonial offences are 
common. 

The Imperial Service corps of Sirmur Sappers and Miners, 197 
strong, raised in 1889, served with distinction under Major Bir Bikram 
Singh, C.I.E., in the Tirah expedition, 1897. It was also employed in 
constructing the Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway in 1901-2. The 
State maintains cavalry (31 strong) and a regiment of infantry (235 
strong), and possesses two serviceable guns. 

Prior to 1813 the revenue was levied in both cash and kind. The 
area was not measured, but the amount of land which could be sown 
with a given quantity of seed formed a unit, and each unit paid a rupee 
in cash or two maunds (local weight) of grain. During the rule of 
Raja Fateh Parkash, a cash assessment was imposed on all but the 
fertile khol tracts of HarTpur and Nahan, which continued to pay in 
kind. The State share was deemed to be a sixth of the gross produce, 
with an additional cess on each unit. In 1845 the levy of revenue in 
kind was discontinued in these two tracts. Under Raja Sir Shamsher 
Parkash the State was regularly surveyed and settled in 1878, in spite 
of some opposition in the Rainka tahsil, where the people feared that 
the iron measuring chains would destroy the fertility of the soil. In 
1887 a second regular settlement was effected, but the whole area was 
not resurveyed. It resulted in an enhancement of 50 per cent, in the 
revenue, due to increased irrigation, the rise in prices, and the coloni- 
zation of the Dun. 

The gross revenue of the State is about Rs. 6,00,000, mainly derived 
from land revenue, forests, and tea estates. It receives Rs. 13,734 
a year from Government as compensation for the abolition of transit 
dues. 

The district board consists of 21 members, of whom 7 are nominated 
and 14 elected. It had in 1904 an income of Rs. 45,000, mainly 
derived from a local rate. The town of Nahan is administered by 
a municipal committee, consisting of 9 members, 6 elected and 3 
nominated, and a paid president. It had an income of Rs. 15,247 in 
1903, chiefly derived from octroi. 

The police, who number 129, are under an assistant district superin- 
tendent directly responsible to the Raja. The State contains 4 police 
stations, with 4 outposts. The jail at Nahan has accommodation for 
100 prisoners. 

Sirmur stands twenty-third among the Districts and States of the 
Punjab in regard to the literacy of its population, of whom 4.3 per 
cent. (6.1 males and 0.3 females) could read and write in 1901. 
Secondary education is confined to Nahan town. The number of 
pupils under instruction was 280 in 1890-1, 284 in 1900-1, and 381 in 
1903-4. In the last year there were one secondary and 4 primary 
public schools, and 5 elementary private schools, with 35 girl teachers 
in the public schools. 

The State possesses two hospitals at Nahan, and six dispensaries, 
besides the jail and military dispensaries. These contain accommoda- 
tion for 76 in-patients. In 1903-4 the number of cases treated was 
49,008, of whom 754 were in-patients, and 374 operations were per- 
formed. The expenditure was Rs. 22,823, the greater part of which 
was met from State funds. Vaccination in Sirmur is performed by 
Government vaccinators and by State officials in Nahan town. 

[State Gazetteer (in the press).]