Kolhan
Kolhan, 1908
Government estate in Singhbhum District, Bengal, lying between 21 degree 58' and 22degree 43' N. and 85 degree 21' and 86° 3' E., with an area of 1,955 square miles. The Kolhan is a low plateau, varying in elevation from 750 feet above sea-level in the neighbourhood of Chai- basa to upwards of 1,000 feet in the south. On the north, east, and south, the country is for the greater part open and gently undulating ; it is covered with prosperous villages and is well cultivated, the depres- sions between the ridges being invariably sown with rice and some portion of the uplands with cereals, pulses, or oilseeds. In the south- east the surface is very rocky and covered with jungle ; and in the west and south-west are mountainous tracts thickly covered with jungle and very sparsely inhabited. The villages here are mere hamlets scattered on the hill slopes, and an area of 529 square miles has been formed into forest Reserves.
The majority of the inhabitants are Hos, and British relations with them date from 1820. At that time the tract was a refuge for fugitive offenders from Chota Nagpur, and plundering excursions were fre- quently made by the Hos into the neighbouring territories. They thus became a thorn in the side of the Raja of Porahat and of the other chiefs in the north of Singhbhum. The British Government, wishing to put an end to the plundering excursions, formed relations with the Raja, of Porahat, and assisted him and the Saraikela and Kharsawan chiefs in bringing the Hos into submission. The chiefs, however, were unable to keep them in order, and in 1837 the British Government resolved to take their territory under its direct control. Colonel Richards entered the country with a strong force and secured their submission, after which 23 Ho pirs or parganas were detached from the control of the Singhbhum chiefs and 4 from Mayurbhanj and formed into the Kolhan Government estate. There was no further trouble until 1857, when the Hos joined the mutinous Raja of Porahat, and a long and troublesome campaign took place, which terminated with the surrender of the Raja in 1859.
The indigenous village-system of the Kols, based upon a federal union of villages under a single divisional headman, which is gradually dying out elsewhere in Chota. Nagpur, still survives in this tract. The whole estate is divided into groups of from 5 to 20 villages. Each village has its own munda or headman, all of whom are subject to the authority of the mdnki or divisional headman. Every munda is re- sponsible for the payment of the revenue, and for the detection and arrest of criminals in his village, to the mdnki, who is in his turn responsible to Government. For acting as revenue collectors, the mankis receive a commission of 10 per cent, and the mundas 16 per cent, of the revenue which passes through their hands. Besides these duties, the mankis and mundas, each in his degree, have certain informal powers to decide village disputes and questions of tribal usage. Per- sons other than Hos are not allowed to settle in the estate without the permission of the Deputy-Commissioner. The last settlement was effected in 1897, when the gross rental was fixed at Rs. 1,77,000, sub- ject to a deduction of Rs. 49,000 on account of commission to mankis, mundas, and tahsildars (as the village accountants are here called). A uniform rate of 12 annas per acre was charged for embanked rice culti- vation, and 2 annas for uplands. New dikkus or non-Hos were assessed at double these rates. Of the total area, 525 square miles were culti- vated, 450 square miles were cultivable, and 219 square miles unculti- vable waste; 212 square miles were ' protected ' forest, 529 square miles ' reserved ' forest, and 20 square miles lakhiraj or revenue free. Chai- basa, the head-quarters of Singhbhum District, which lies within the estate, is assessed under a separate settlement.
[J. A. Craven, Final Report on the Settlement of the Kolhan Govern- ment Estate (Calcutta, 1898).]
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.
