Agra Division

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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, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Agra Division

A Division in the United Provinces, lying between 26 degree 22' and 28 degree 2' N. and 77 degree 17' and 8o° 1' E., with an area of 10,078 square miles. It is situated in the west of the Provinces, and the greater portion forms the central part of the Doab or area between the Ganges and Jumna rivers. On the north lie Aligarh District in the Meerut Division, and the Punjab District of Gurgaon, while the Ganges forms most of the eastern boundary, dividing the Agra from the Bareilly Division and from Oudh. The southern border meets the Allahabad Division and the States of Gwalior and Dholpur, while the western frontier marches with Bharatpur State.

The head-quarters of the Commissioner are at Agra City. The population of the Division has fluctuated considerably, as shown by the figures of the last four enumerations: (1872) 5,039,247, (1881) 4,834,064, (1891) 4,767,375, and (1901) 5,249,542. In 1877-8 the Division suffered from famine, and between 1881 and 1891 from floods. During the last decade the eastern Districts recovered rapidly. The density is 521 persons per square mile, compared with 445 for the Provinces as a whole.

The Division is smaller than any other in the Provinces except Gorakhpur, but ranks seventh in population. In 1901 Hindus formed 90 per cent, of the total and Musalmans 9 per cent., while among the followers of other religions were Jains (28,205), Christians (10,875, of whom 9,847 were natives), and Aryas (10,736). The Division comprises six Districts, as shown in the table on the next page.

The Districts of Muttra, Agra, and Etawah lie on both sides of the Jumna, and a small portion of Farrukhabad extends east of the Ganges, while Etah and Mainpuri are situated entirely in the Doab. The Division contains 62 towns and 8,043 villages. The largest towns are Agra (population, 188,022 with cantonments), Farrukhabad (67,338 with Fatehgarh and cantonments), Muttra (60,042 with cantonments), Etawah (42,570), and Brindaban (22,717). The chief places of commercial importance are Agra, Farrukhabad, and Mainpuri. Muttra and Brindaban are important centres of Vaishnava religion, being con- nected with the life of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Kanauj was the chief town of several great dynasties in Northern India before the Muhammadan invasion.

Agra was the capital of the Mughal empire during the sixteenth and part of the seventeenth centuries, and successive emperors have left memorials of their rule in stone and marble which are unrivalled throughout India.