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Patna State, 1908

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.

Feudatory State of Bengal, lying between 20 9' and 21 4' N. and 82 41' and 83 40' E., with an area of 2,399 square miles. Up to 1905 the State was included in the Central Provinces. It lies in the valley of the MahanadI, bounded on the north by Sambalpur, on the west by Raipur District, on the south by the Kalahandl State, and on the east by the Baud State. The head-quar- ters are at Bolangir, a village with 3,706 inhabitants (1901), 75 miles from Sambalpur by road. The State consists of an undulating plain, broken by numerous isolated peaks or small ranges, while a more continuous chain of hills runs along the north-western border. The northern and southern portions are open and well cultivated, and are divided by a belt of hilly country covered with dense forest which traverses the centre. The Tel river divides Patna frm Kalahandi on the south, and the Ong from Sambalpur and Sonpur on the north. The Suktei and Barabhailat traverse the centre of the State.

The Maharajas of Patna formerly dominated a large extent of territory to the east of the Ratanpur kingdom, and were the head of a cluster of States known as the Athara Garhjat or ' eighteen forts.' The present rulers are Chauhan Rajputs, and claim for their family an antiquity of 600 years in Patna, with a pedigree of twenty-eight genera- tions. According to their traditions, their ancestor was a Rajput prince who lived near Mainpurl and was expelled from his territories by the Muhammadans. He came with his family to Patna, where he was killed in battle ; but his wife, who was pregnant, was sheltered by a Binjhal, in whose hut she brought forth a son. At this time Patna was divided among eight chiefs called the Ath Malik, who took it in turn to reign for one day each over the whole territory. The Rajput boy Ramai Deo, on growing up, killed all the chiefs and constituted himself sole ruler. In succeeding reigns the family extended their in- fluence over surrounding territories, including the greater part of what is now Sambalpur District and the adjoining States, the chiefs of this area being made tributary. Chandarpur was conquered from the rulers of Ratanpur. The twelfth Raja, Narsingh Deo, ceded to his brother Balram Deo such portions of his territories as lay north of the river Ong. The latter founded a new State (Sambalpur), which very soon afterwards by acquisition of territory in every direction became the most powerful of all the Garhjat cluster, while from the same time the importance of Patna commenced to decline. In the eighteenth century, when the Marathas conquered Sambalpur, Patna had become a depen- dency of that State, and was also made tributary ; and its subsequent history is that of Sambalpur. It was made a Feudatory State in 1865. In 1869 the tyranny of Maharaja Sur Pratap Deo and of his brother Lai Bishnath Singh caused a rising among the Khonds of Patna.

They were speedily reduced, but not until Lai Bishnath Singh and his followers had committed many atrocities in cold blood. An inquiry into the causes of the outbreak led to the deposition of the chief, and the assumption of the management of the State by the British Govern- ment in 1871. The Maharaja died in 1878, and was succeeded by his nephew Ramchandra Singh, who was born in 1872 and educated at the Rajkumar College, then located at Jubbulpore. He was in- stalled in 1894, but had already then begun to show some signs of derangement of intellect, and in 1895 he shot his wife and himself in the palace, both dying instantaneously. As he left no male issue, his uncle Lai Dalganjan Singh was recognized as chief, on his undertaking that he would conduct his administration with the assistance of a Diwan appointed by Government. In 1900, in consequence of the unsatis- factory condition of the State and an outbreak of organized dacoity, the chief was called on to invest his Diwan with large judicial powers and control over the police. A Political Agent in subordination to the Commissioner of Orissa, as Superintendent of the Tributary Mahals, controls the relations of the State with the Bengal Governme

The population in 1901 was 277,748, having decreased by 16 per cent, during the preceding decade. The decrease is mainly to be attributed to the famine which visited the State in 1900. The number of in- habited villages is 1,850, and the density of population 116 persons per square mile. Nearly the whole population are Oriyas, and speak Oriya. Gahras or Ahirs, Gandas, Khonds, Gonds, and Savaras are the most numerous castes.

The soil is generally light and sandy, but some black soil is found in the north. About a third of the whole State is comprised in zamindari or other estates held on special tenures, of which no survey or measurement has been made. Of the remaining portion, 426 square miles were cultivated in 1904. The staple crops are rice, covering 243 square miles, til 86, pulses 41, and cotton n. The surveyed area contains 1,139 wells and 1,581 tanks, from which 48 square miles can be irrigated. The exact area under forest is not known, but it has been estimated at 1,400 square miles. The principal timber tree is sal (Shorea robusta), with which are associated saj (Terminalia tomen- tosa), bijasi (Ptcrocarpus Marsupium) and other common species. There is a very little teak in the extreme south. Owing to the distance of the State from a railway, the exports of forest produce are not important. The sale of the hides of animals forms, however, a not inconsiderable item of revenue. Iron ore is found, and is smelted by indigenous methods and made up into agricultural implements. The State contains 45 miles of gravelled and 58 of embanked roads. The principal routes are those leading from Sambalpur by Bargarh to Bolangir and on to Bhawani Patna, the Bolangir-Sonpur road, and the road leading from Raipur to Vizianagram, which passes for 13 miles through Patna. Exports of produce are sent principally to Sambalpur.

The total revenue in 1904 was Rs. 2,00,000, of which Rs. 77,000 was derived from land, Rs. 25,000 from forests, and Rs. 20,000 from excise. The land revenue is obtained by settlement with the headmen of villages, who are allowed a percentage of the assets.' In the area called the Kondhan, inhabited by the forest Khonds, the revenue is paid through the tribal chiefs, who receive remuneration in cash. The three tracts of Angar, Soranda, and Patnagarh are regularly surveyed and assessed on the ' soil-unit ' system of the Central Provinces, and the remaining area is summarily assessed. The total expenditure in 1904 was Rs. 1,70,000: the principal heads being the tribute, Rs. 8,500; expenses of the ruling family, Rs. 39,000 ; general administration, Rs. 14,000 ; police, Rs. 22,000 ; and public works, Rs. 33,000. The tribute is liable to revision. The public works of the State were managed by the Chhattisgarh States division from 1893 to 1904, and during this time Rs. 2,33,000 was expended. Besides the roads already mentioned, a palace for the Maharaja, a courthouse, and a dispensary have been constructed, in addition to minor works. The educational institutions comprise one English and one vernacular middle school, a girls' school, and 37 primary schools with a total of 3,819 pupils, including 672 girls. The expenditure on education in 1904 was Rs. 9,200. At the Census of 1901 only 5,142 persons were returned as literate, 1.9 per cent. (3.6 males and o-i females) being able to read and write. A dispensary has been established at Bolangir, at which 25,000 patients were treated in 1904.