Hathras Town
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.
Hathras Town
Head-quarters of the tahsil of the same name in Allgarh District, United Provinces, situated in 27° 36' N. and 78° 4' E., on the roads from Muttra to the Ganges and from Agra to Allgarh, and on the Cawn[)ore-Achhnera Railway, and also connected with the East Indian Railway by a short branch ; distance by rail from Calcutta 857 miles, and from Bombay 890 miles. Population is increasing rapidly: (1872) 23,589, (i88r) 34,932, (1891) 39,181, and (1901) 42,578. In 190 r Hindus numbered 36,133 and Musalmans 5,482.
After the British annexation in 1803, the talukdiir, Daya Ram, a Jat of the same family as the Raja of Mur.s.\n, gave repeated proofs of an insubordinate spirit; and in 181 7 the Government was compelled to send an expedition against him under the command of Major-General Marshall. Hathras was then one of the strongest forts in Upper India, the works having been carefully modelled on the improvements made in the fort at AlToarh. After a short siege, terminated by a heavy cannonade, a magazine within the fort blew up and destroyed half the garrison. Daya Ram himself made his escape under cover of the night, and the remainder of the garrison surrendered at discretion. During the Mutiny the town was kept tranquil by Chaube Ghansham Das, a blind pensioned tahsildar, who was afterwards murdered by the rebels at Kasganj. The town is essentially a trading centre, and the site is crowded. A project for improved drainage is under consideration, and it is also proposed to bring a water-supply from the Mat branch canal. The chief public buildings are the municipal hall and male and female dispensaries. The Church Missionary Society and Metho- dist Episcopal Mission have branches here.
Hathras has been a municipality since 1865. The income and expenditure during the ten years ending 1901 averaged Rs. 34,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 66,000, chiefly from octroi (Rs. 53,000) ; and the expenditure was Rs. 54,000. The municipality had a closing balance of Rs. 26,000 and also Rs. 31,000 invested.
Hathras was a place of some importance even before British rule, and now it ranks second to Cawnpore among the trading centres of the Doab. There is a large export trade in both coarse and refined sugar. Grain of all sorts, oilseeds, cotton, and ghi form the other staples of outward trade ; while the return items comprise iron, metal vessels, European and native cloth, drugs and spices, and miscellaneous wares. The town is becoming a considerable centre for industrial enterprise. It contains six cotton-gins and five cotton-presses, besides a spinning mill. These factories employed 1,074 hands in 1903. There are two schools with 300 pupils.
