Navsari Prant
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.
A prant or district of the Baroda State. It is
the most southerly of the four prants into which the Gaikwar's territory
is divided, and is much intermingled with the British District of Surat.
It is bounded on the north by Broach and the Rewa Kantha Agency ;
on the south by Surat District, Bansda, and the Dangs ; on the east
by Khandesh ; and on the west by Surat and the Arabian Sea. Its
area is 1,952 square miles, and it is traversed by the Kim, Tapti,
Mindhola, Purna, and Ambika rivers. Two natural divisions may be
mentioned : the rdni or forest talukas, and the rasti or peaceful and
populous talukas. The climate of the former is at all times
malarious, though least so in the hot season, and the water is full of
organic matter ; but the rasti mahdls are considered to be healthy.
The rani talukas lie in the east, and contain ranges of hills varying
from 400 to 2,000 feet above sea-level, while the peak of Salher rises to
5,263 feet. Hot springs are found at Unhai in the Vyara taluka.
The land is largely under cultivation, especially on the lower ground. Where the general surface is fairly raised above the level of streams, there is a good deal of grass and a fair quantity of Cassia auriculata. The hedges round fields include various species of Capparideae, such as Maesua, Cadaba, and Capparis, with several Euphorbiaceae, such as Euphorbia antiguorufn and Jatropha Curcas, and species of Zizyphus and Grewia ; Streblus asper is also frequent. The climbers in these hedges include Leguminosae like Canavalia, Asclepiadaceae like Deamia, and various Convolvulaceae. Weeds in waste ground include Argemone mexicana, Tridax procumbens, Achyranthes aspera, Calotropis gigantea, and Tephrosia purpurea ; field-weeds include such species as Biophytutn sensitivum, Blumea eriantha, Launaea nudicau'is, Slemodia viscosa, Panicum prostratutn, and Dinebra arabica. In the neighbourhood of dwellings are many planted sub-spontaneous species, such as mango, tamarind, banyan, ptpal and other species of Ficus, Anona squamosa, and Artocarpus integrifolia.
The population was estimated in 1872 at 241,255. At later enumerations it was: (1881) 287,549, (1891) 319,443, and (1901) 300,441. In the last year Hindus numbered 126,624; Animists, 138,034 ; Musalmans, 25,451 ; and Parsis, 7,589. The prant is divided into eight talukas or mahals , and two pethas or sub – mahals , statistics regarding which in 1901 are shown below : —
The number of towns is 6 and of villages 772, the former being
Navsari, Vyara, Gandevi, Bilimora, Kathor, and Songarh.
About 75 per cent, of the population speak Gujarat!, and 21 per cent,
various Bhil dialects. The chief animistic tribes are the Gamits
(38,000), Dublas (28,000), Chodhras (23,000), Bhils (16,000), and
Dhodias (1,000).
The soils are classified as light sandy loam or gordt, and black soil, with an intermediate class known as besdr. Gordt produces all kinds of ' dry crops,' and when watered and manured is valuable. Rice and cotton are the chief products in the black soil. The principal crops grown are Jowdr, rice, wheat, bdjra, kodra, ndgli, bdvio, iuver, vdl, peas, gram, mag, math, udid, diveli, tal, cotton, hemp, tobacco, sugar-cane, plantain, bhoishtg, &c. The most valuable stock are the large powerful cattle known as hedia.
This prant is noted for its forests, the area of the Reserves being 547 square miles. These are now under a system of strict conservancy and yield a considerable income. The principal timber trees are teak, shtsham (Dalbergia Sissoo), khair (Acacia Catechu), bia {Pterocarpus Marsupium), haladvan (Adina cordifolia), temrru {Diospyros mela7i- oxylon), and sadad {Terminalia tomeniosd).
The chief industry is the weaving of cotton cloth. Embroidery to a small extent, the manufacture of gold ornaments, a little rough iron-work, brass- and copper-work, wood- and ivory-carving are also carried on. But though arts and manufactures are scanty, trade and commerce flourish fairly well. The agricultural and forest wealth is great; and there is a considerable export of toddy, plantains, sugar- cane, rice, Jowdr, molasses, sugar, teak, sadad, and other produce. The import trade too is good, the chief articles being European piece-goods, stationery, iron-ware, glass-ware, umbrellas, and brass and copper vessels. Trade is carried on partly by sea from Bilimora and Navsari, but chiefly by railway. In this latter respect ihe prdfit is well served, for the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway runs from north to south, and the Tapti Valley Railway crosses it from east to west. Roads lead from Sayan to Kathor, Bilimora to Gandevi, Kosamba to Velachha, Maroli to Navsari, and Vyara to the Unhai hot springs.
The land revenue increased from 19-5 lakhs in 1881 to 21-4 lakhs in 1 89 1, but fell to 19-3 lakhs in 190 1. In 1904-5 the demand was 16-4 lakhs, of which 15-7 lakhs was collected. Most of the prant was settled between 1896 and 1903, and the assessment of portions is now being revised. In a few villages in the Songarh tabika land was formerly assessed on the number of ploughs used in cultivation, but this method has been replaced by the ordinary system. The average assessment in different talukas varies from Rs. 1-4 to Rs, 3-2 per bigha (4/7 acre) for ‘ dry ' land, and from Rs. 3-9 to Rs. 5-12 for 'wet ' land.
The prant contains six municipalities, two of which — Navsari and Gandevi — have partly elective boards, with a total income of Rs. 12,000 from customs, excise, and tolls, besides a grant of Rs. 5,500, while the other four — Bilimora, Kathor, Vyara, and Son- garh — derive their income of Rs. 4,000 entirely from grants from the State. A District board and local boards were constituted in 1905.
The administration of the prdnt is carried on by the Subah, who has his head-quarters at Navsari. Here also are the court of the prdnt Judge and the head offices of other departments. Education is well provided for, as there are two high schools (at Navsari and Gandevi), three Anglo-vernacular schools, and 211 vernacular schools, the total number of pupils in 1904-5 being 13,133. At the civil hospital at Navsari town and seven dispensaries elsewhere, 41,266 patients were treated in 1904-5, of whom 74 were in-patients.
