Kalpi 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.
Kalpi Town
Head-quarters of the tahsil of the same name in Jalaun District, United Provinces, situated in 26 degree 8' N. and 79 degree 45' E., on the Jumna, on the road from Cawnpore and Saugor, and on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Population (1901), 10,139.
According to tradition Kalpi was founded in the fourth century by one Basdeo. It fell into the hands of Kutb-ud-dln in 1196, and at once became an important fortress of the Musalmans. In the fifteenth century Ibrahim Shah of Jaunpur made two unsuccessful attempts to seize KalpI, and in 1435 Hoshang Shah of Maiwa captured the place. A few years later Ibrahim's successor, Mahmud, was allowed to occupy the town on the plea of chastising the governor. He plundered it, and then refused to restore it to the king of Malwa, but afterwards came to terms. In the struggle between the Jaunpur kingdom and the rulers of Delhi, which ended with the extinction of the former, a great battle took place near Kalpi in 1477, and Husain Shah of Jaunpur fled to Kanauj, where he was again defeated. When the victory at Panlpat in 1526 laid open the plains of Hindustan to Babar, the Rana of Chitor and the Afghans combined to stop his advance, and occupied KalpI, but were met near the site of Fatehpur Slkri, as they marched on Agra, and defeated. KalpI was taken in 1527 by Humayun after his conquest of Jaunpur and Bihar, and held till 1540, when the Mughals were defeated by Sher Shah at Kanauj. It was again the scene of fierce contests in the struggles which sapped the Afghan strength before the return to power of the Mughals. Under Akbar Kalpi became the head-quarters of a sarkdr, which included the adjacent parts of the present Districts of Etawah, Cawnpore, and Hamlrpur, besides Jalaun and portions of the State of Gwalior. When the Marathas acquired part of Bundelkhand early in the eighteenth century, Kalpi became the head-quarters of their governor. In 1798 the town was captured by the British, but was subsequently abandoned. It again fell into their power, after a few hours' resistance, in 1803, and was granted to Himmat Bahadur. He died in the following year and the grant lapsed, when the town was made over to Gobind Rao of Jalaun, who exchanged it in 1806. After the large District of Bundel- khand was divided into two portions, KalpI was for a time the head- quarters of the northern division, afterwards called HamIrpur District. During the Mutiny a great victory was won near here, in May, 1858, by Sir Hugh Rose over a force of 12,000 rebels under the Rani of Jhansi, the Rao Sahib, and the Nawab of Banda, which did much to quell the rebellion in Bundelkhand.
The town is situated among the ravines of the Jumna, and after a long period of decay is again reviving in importance. The western outskirt contains a number of old tombs, notably that called the Chaurasi Gumbaz (or ' eighty-four domes ') ; but ravines now separate these relics of the past from the dwellings of the living. Old Kalpi stands near the river on an elevated site, and is a good specimen of the older type of North Indian town, with darkened plaster walls and flat roofs interspersed with trees, and here and there a temple spire or a Muhammadan dome. The newer portion of the town stretches southeast, and is lower and farther from the river. On the most prominent edge of the steep bank stand the ruins of a fort, but only a single building has survived. This is a masonry room with walls 9 feet thick, said to have been the treasury of the Maratha governor. A fine flight of steps leads from the fort to a bathing ghat on the river. A few years ago a lofty tower was built by a local pleader, which is adorned with representations of the battles of the Ramayana. It is noteworthy that less prominence is given to Rama than to Ravana his adversary, who is represented as a gigantic many-armed figure, of dignified aspect, about 80 feet in height. The chief public buildings are the tahsili and dispensary.
Kalpi has been a municipality since 1868. During the ten years
ending 1901 the income and expenditure averaged Rs. 11,000. In
1903-4 the income was Rs. 14,000, chiefly derived from octroi
(Rs. 9,000) ; and the expenditure was Rs. 14,000. For many years
Kalpi was a great trade centre. Cotton and grain were brought from
the south, and sent away to Cawnpore or down the Jumna to Mirzapur
and Calcutta, while the manufactures of sugar-candy and paper were
celebrated. The buildings of the East India Company's cotton factory,
which was one of the principal stations for providing the annual
investment, are still standing. As railways spread and trade routes
altered, Kalpi declined, but its commerce is now again increasing.
Grain is sent to Southern and Western India, ghi to Bengal, and cotton
to Cawnpore or Bombay. Two small cotton-gins have recently been
opened, and the Forest department is starting plantations of babul
for the supply of bark to the Cawnpore tanneries. The tahsil school
has in pupils, and there are three municipal schools with 170, and
a girls' school with 19.
