Hardoi District, 1908
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.
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Hardoi District
Physical aspects
Western District of the Lucknow Division, United Provinces, lying between 26° 53' and 27^ 47' N. and 79° 41' and 80° 49' E., with an area of 2,331 scjuare miles. It is bounded on the north by Shahjahanpur and KherT ; on the east by the (iumti river, which separates it from Sitapur ; on the south by Lucknow and Unao ; and on the west b}- Cawnpore and Farrukhabad, the Ganges forming part of the boundary. Hardoi is a level plain, with Physical unimportant elevations and depressions. Along the asoects Ganges in the south-west is found a strip of damp alluvial ground, while the rest <jf the District lies in the uplands, which contain sandy hillocks and ridges both on the east and west, and sink a little towards the centre. The chief tributary of the Ganges is the Ramganga, a large river with a very variable channel, which traverses the west of the District and is joined near its confluence with the Cianges by the Garra. Through the central depression flows the Sai, while the Gumti forms the eastern boundary, its banks being marked by rolling hills and undulating plains of .sandy composition, and by small ravines. In the central depression are found manyy/zJA-
- r swamps, the largest of which is the Dahar Lake near SandT ; and
the same tract contains broad stretches of barren nsar land.
The District exposes nothing but alluvium, in which kankar or calcareous limestone is found. The usar or l)arren land is often covered with saline efflorescences. Hardoi still contains a large area of jungle and uncultivated land : but the former is chiefly composed of dhdk {Buiea frondoso), and the only vegetation on the .sandhills is a tall grass, whose large waving white i)lumes form a graceful feature in the landscape. Fig-trees, especially the banyan, and bamboos are numerous : but groves of mangoes are not so common as in the neighbouring Districts, though their area is increasing.
Wolves are found near the Gumti, and >u/i!;ai haunt a few jungles. The antclo|)e is still conmion in most parts. Jackals ajid hares are very abundant. The District is rich in wild-fowl, and fish are caught in all the larger rivers and tanks.
The District is generally healthy, and its climate is cooler and drier than the greater part of the rest of Oudh. The average mean monthly tcinpLTaturc ranges frcjm about 50 in January tu 95' in June, while the niaxinium seldom rises above 105^' in the shade.
Rain is equally distributed in all parts, the average annual fall being about 32 inches. Large variations from year to year arc, however, common. Thus, in 1867 the rainfall amounted to 67 inches, and in 1896 to only 17 inches.
History
The early traditions of this District are connected both with the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. During the Buddhist and early Hindu period its history is a blank. According to popular legend, the Rajputs and early Muhammadan settlers found the District inhabited by Thatheras. It is, however, probable that these were not the brass and copper workers who are now called by this name, but that the word has been altered by a false etymology. A general in the army of Mahmud of Ghazni is said to have raided the District in 1019, after the fall of Kanauj, and many traditions are current about the passage of Saiyid Salar a few years later. Muhammadan rule did not, however, commence till the reign of Altamsh, when the whole District was acquired. In the fifteenth century Hardoi passed under the new kingdom of Jaunpur ; and owing to its situation near the fords leading to the great city of Kanauj it formed the scene of many sanguinary battles during the next 150 years. It was here that the Sharki kings of Jaunpur mustered their forces and bade defiance to the Lodi sovereigns of Delhi. After their defeat at Panlpat in 1526 the Afghan nobles still held Kanauj and the country north-east of the (langes. Babar and his son and successor, Humayun, drove out the Afghans for a time ; but when Humayiln had suffered defeat at Chausa in 1539, his own brother turned against him and seized Bilgram. In the following year Sher Shah marched through the District and encamped opposite Kanauj, which was occupied by Humayun. The emperor crossed the river, but his defeat entailed the downfall of Mughal rule for the time. The Afghans were finally subdued early in the reign of Akbar, who included the District in the sarkars of Khairabad and Lucknow, and litde is known of it till the break-up of the Mughal empire. Hardoi formed part of the territory of the Nawabs of Oudh, and from its position was the border-land between Shuja-ud-daula and the Rohillas. From 1773 a brigade of British troops was stationed close to Bilgram for a few years, till its transfer to Cawnpore. In later times Hardoi was one of the most lawless tracts in the whole of Oudh, and Sleenum described the talukddrs in 1849 as openly defiant of the king's officers. At annexation in 1856 a District was formed with headquarters at Mallanwan.
A year later the Mutiny broke out and the country was plunged into anarchy. A column of 400 sepoys, who had been dispatched from Lucknow, broke into rebellion early in June, when ihe Ganges was reached. The troops at Mallanwan also mutinied and seized the treasury, but the District officials escaped to Lucknow. All the taluk- dilrs, with the exception of the Raja of Katiyarl, and the people generally joined in the rebellion and sent levies to Lucknow. In April, 1858, after the fall of the capital, General Walpole marched through, fighting two engagements ; but it was not till near the close of the year that the rebels were finally reduced. The head-quarters of the District were then moved to Hardol.
Many ancient mounds, which are locally ascribed to the Thatheras, may contain relics of Buddhist and early Hindu periods, but they still await exploration. The chief Muhammadan remains are at Bilcram, Mallanwan, Pihani, and Sandi.
Population
The District contains 10 towns and 1,888 villages. Population increased between 1869 and 1891, but decreased slightly in the next decade. At the four enumerations the numbers were : (1869) 931,377, (1881) 987,630, (1891) 1,113,211, and (1901) 1,092,834. There are four tahsils — HardoT, SHAiiABAD, BiLGRAM, and SandIla — each named from its head-quarters. The principal towns are the municipalities of Shahabad, Sandii.a, and Hardoi, the District head-quarters, and the ' notified areas ' of Sanui and PiHANi. The following table gives the chief statistics of population in 1901 : —
About 89 percent, of the population are Hindus and nearly 1 1 per cent. Musalmans. The density of population is low for Oudh. 15etween 1891 and 1901 large areas in Hardoi suffered from floods and later from drought. Western Hindi is spoken by the entire population, the Kanaujia dialect being the commonest.
The most numerous Hindu castes are Chamars (tanners and cultivators), 171,000; Brahmans, 115,000; PasTs (toddy-drawers and cultivators), 89,000; Ahirs (graziers and cultivators), 80,000; Thakurs or Rajputs, 78,000; Kachhis (market gardeners), 45,000; and Gada- riiis (sliei)her(ls), 41,000. The .\rakhs, who arr akin to the I'asTs and nunibtr 24,000, are not found elsewhere in such large numbers. Among Muhammadans are Pathans, 19,000; Shaikhs, 15,000; and Julahas (weavers), 13,000. Agriculture supports 74 per cent, of the total p()i)ulation, and general labour nearly 6 per cent. Rajputs hold nearly two-thirds of the land.
In 1 901 there were 485 native Christians, of whom 437 were Methodists. The American Methodist Mission commenced work in 1869 and has six churches, thirty-three day-schools, a training school, and an orphanage.
Agriculture
Hardoi is liable t(j considerable fluctuations in i)rosperity, owing to poverty of soil in some parts, liability to floods in others, and a deficiency of irrigation. A tract of high sandy bhur lies along the eastern border near the ClumtT, in which cultivation is much scattered and the best crops can be grown only near village sites. The central tract is more fertile, but even this is interrupted by barren stretches of usar and by swamps, while bliur reappears along the Sai. ^Vest of the central area of loam and cla)- rises a considerable ridge of sandy soil, which broadens out into a wide tract near the north. Throughout the District the bhin- is precarious, as it suffers both from drought and from floods, and to produce good crops retjuires a particular distribution of the rainfall. The inferior character of much of the soil is clearly shown by the large area producing barley, bdjra, and gram. In the Ganges valley, and to a smaller extent in the valleys of the other rivers, an area of rich alluvial soil is found, which is, however, liable to floods.
The tenures of Hardoi are those common to Oudli. Talukdars own about 24 per cent, of the total area, about 5 per cent, being sub-settled. More than half is held on patilddri tenure. The main agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are shown below, in s(iuare miles: —
AN'heal is the crop most largely grown, covering 470 square miles or 3 1 per cent, of the total area. The remaining food-crops of importance are: barley (273), bi'ijra (230), gram (195), arhar (153), and pulses (114); while 7'^7£'Jr, rice, and maize are grown to a smaller extent. Poppy is the chief non-food crop (32 square miles). Sugar-cane and cotton are not much cultivated.
The area under the plough is increasing, but is hable to great Huctua- tions owing to vicissitudes of season. It amounted to 1,320 square miles in 1864, and rose to an average of 1,448 square miles during the good years 1886-90, but fell to 1,415 in 1894. By 1903-4 it had risen to 1,537 square miles. An enormous increase has taken place in the area bearing two crops in a year, which also varies considerably. The increase is attended by a distinct improvement in the staples, especiall\ since the famine of 1896-7. Thus the area under wheat, maize, sugar- cane, poppy, and garden produce is gaining at the expense of inferior crops. A special officer of the Irrigation department has recently been posted to Hardol, to inquire into the possibility of improving the drainage of the District. Large advances have been made under the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts, amounting during the ten years ending 1901 to a total of 5-5 lakhs, of which 2-3 lakhs was lent in the famine year, 1896-7. In the next four years the loans averaged only Rs. 2,400. A few small co-operative credit societies have been opened and two or three are flourishing.
The cattle are rather better than those of southern Oudh, l)Ut the area available for grazing is decreasing. The Bangar breed has some reputation for hardiness and activity. Ponies are unusually plentiful, but are of a poor stamp and are chiefly used as pack-animals. A stal- lion has been kei)t in the District since 1893, and another was tried for some years, but horse-breeding has not become popular. Sheep and goats are very largely reared, the former for wool and the latter for their flesh, milk, and manure.
Only 420 square miles were irrigated in 1903-4. Wells supplied 203 square miles, tanks ox J hi Is 191, and other sources 26.. The sandy /thilr is not suitable for the construction of wells, but they can be made elsewhere, and large numbers of temporary wells are dug annually. During the recent famine about 20,000 such wells were made in a few weeks with the help of loans advanced by Government. Water is usually raised from wells in a leathern bucket by bullocks, but the buckets are also worked h\ relays of men. Where the water is near the surface the dhenkU or lever is used, and irrigation from tanks or jhlls is effected by the swing-basket. The small streams are used for irrigation to a larger extent tlian elsewhere in Oudh, but the Sai is the only considerable river from which a supply is obtained. A scheme has frecjuently been discussed to construct a canal from the Sarda, l)ut the project has been abandoned. Part of the cutting made by the kings of Oudh early in the nineteenth century to connect the Changes and (Jumti is still visible in the south-west of the District, but has never been used for irrigation.
Kankar ox nodular limestone is found in most jjarts of the District, and is used for metalling roads and for making lime. Saltpetre is extracted from saline efflorescences at several places, the largest
factories being at Hardoi town.
Trade and Communication
The manufactures are not important, ('otton cloth is woven in a few towns and villages, but there is little demand for the finer products of the loom, which once had some rcpu- The curtains and tablecloths made at communications.
Sandila are, however, of artistic merit. Blankets, sacking, rope, string, and nets are also turned out. Vessels of brass and bell-metal are made at Mallanwan, and silver rings at Gopamau. Carpentry is of some importance at Hardoi town, and a little wood- carving is produced in several places.
The District exports grain, raw sugar, tobacco, hides, cattle, and salt- petre, and imports piece-goods, metals, salt, cotton, and refined sugar. Grain is exported to Calcutta and Bombay, and sugar to Central India. A good deal of sugar and even sugar-cane is sent from the north of the District to the Rosa factory near Shahjahanpur. Hardoi town is the chief mart, while Sandila, Madhoganj, and Sandi are increasing in importance. Several of the old trade centres have suffered from the changes made in trade routes by the alignment of the railway.
The main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway traverses the District from south-east to north-west. A branch from Balamau leads to Rudamau and Madhoganj, and the construction of other branches is contemplated. The improvement of roads was long delayed in Hardoi; but the District now contains 634 miles of road, of which 92 are metalled. The latter are maintained by the Public Works department, but the cost of all but 4 miles is charged to Local funds. Avenues of trees are maintained on 179 miles. The chief metalled roads are feeders to the railway. Shahabad, Sandl, and Mallanwan lie on the old road from Delhi to Benares north of the Ganges.
Famine
From the physical characteristics of its soil, the District is liable to suffer considerably from irregularities in the rainfall. Between 1868 . and 1874 alternate floods and droughts had so
affected the agricultural prosperity that the settle- ment was revised. The failure of the rains in 1877 caused general distress, especially among the labouring classes, and small relief works were opened in January, 1878. In 1893 and 1894 much damage was done by excessive rain, which threw large areas out of cultivation. The following year was marked by an uneven and scanty distribution of the monsoon, and there was acute distress as early as November, 1895. Test works were opened early in 1896, and famine conditions were established by June. The rains failed, and the District experienced the worst famine recorded. By May^ 1897, more than 113,000 persons were employed c)n relief works. The revenue demand was suspended to the extent of 8-7 lakhs, and 5-8 lakhs was subsc'iucntly remitted. Since the famioe the District has icco\ered rapidly, and in 1901 it was noted that unskilled labour was difficult to obtain.
Administration
The Deputy-Commissioner is usually assisted by a member of the Indian Civil Service (when available), and by four Deputy-Collectors recruited in India. Two officers *°"*
of the Opium department are stationed in the District, and a lahsilddr is in charge of each tahsil.
Civil work is disposed of by two Munsifs and a Subordinate ludge subordinate to the Judge of Hardoi, who is also Civil and Sessions Judge for Unao. Hardoi is not remarkable for any particular form of crime, though murders were formerly frequent. Dacoity of a [)ro- fessional ty[)e is prevalent at intervals. Wandering tribes, especially Haburas, are responsible for many offences against property ; and the District is the home of about 100 families of Barwars, who commit their depredations at a distance.
Under the Nawab's government the revenue demand of the District was 14-6 lakhs, and this was taken as the basis of the summary settle- ment made at annexation in 1856. After the Mutiny a second summary settlement was made, the demand amounting to 10-2 lakhs with cesses. A survey and regular settlement followed between i860 and 187 1, which involved the determination of a vast number of suits for rights in land. The assessment was based partly on estimates of the agricultural produce, and partly on assumed rent-rates derived from personal inquiries. The revenue so fixed amounted to 14-3 lakhs ; but before the settlement had been confirmed a series of bad years occurred, and a revision took place in 1874 by which the demand was reduced tc; 13-3 lakhs. The next settlement was made between 1892 and 1896, and was primarily based on the recorded rents. The pro- posed demand w-as i6-i lakhs; but owing to the succession of bad seasons during and after the assessment it was decided to make a com- plete revision, which accordingly took place between 1900 and 1902, and the demand was reduced by Rs. 48,000. The revenue in 1903-4 amounted to 15-8 lakhs, with an incidence of R. i per acre, varying from R. 0-7 t(; Rs. 1-5 in different /ar^(?««j-.
Collections on account of land rc\enue and revenue from all sources have been, in thousands of rupees : -
Three towns arc administered as municipalities and two as • notified
areas,' while four more are under the provisions (jf Act XX of 1856.
vol.. XI II. K
Local affairs beyond the limits of these are managed by the District
board, which in 1903-4 had an income of Rs. 90,000, chief]y derived
from rates. The expenditure in the same year amounted to 1-2 lakhs,
including Rs. 56,000 spent on roads and buildings.
The District Superintendent of police has under him a force of 3 inspectors, 95 sul)ordinate officers, and 336 constables, distributed in 13 police stations ; and there are also 183 municipal and town police, and 2,370 rural police. The District jail contained a daily average of 321 prisoners in 1903.
Few Districts in the United Provinces are so backward as Hardoi in regard to education. In 1901 only i-8 per cent, of the population {t^-t^ males and o-i females) could read and write. The number of public schools fell from 153 in t 880-1 to 138 in 1 900-1, but the number of pupils increased from 5,108 to 5,886. In 1903-4 there were 160 such schools with 7,376 pupils, of whom 253 were girls, besides 106 private schools with 1,551 pupils. Only 1,879 of the total number of scholars were above the primary stage. Four schools were under the management of Government and 159 under the District or municipal boards. Out of a total expenditure on education of Rs. 45,000, Local funds provided Rs. 36,000, and fees Rs. 7,000.
There are 7 hospitals and dispensaries, with accommodation for 84 in-patients. In 1903 the number of cases treated was 52,000, including 853 in-patients, and 2,297 operations were performed. The expenditure amounted to Rs. 10,000, chiefly met from Local funds.
About 51,000 persons were successfully vaccinated in 1903-4, representing the high proportion of 46 per 1,000 of population. Vaccination is compulsory only in the municipalities.
[H. R. Nevill, District Gazetteer, 1904-]
