Lunavada State, 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.
(or Lunawara). — State in the Political Agency of Rewa Kantha, Bombay, lying between 22° 50' and 23° 16' N. and 73° 21' and 73° 47' E., with an area of 388 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Rajputana State of Dungarpur ; on the east by Sunth and Kadana States of Rewa Kantha ; on the south by the Godhra Taluka of the District of the Panch Mahals ; and on the west by Idar State (Mahl Kantha) and Balasinor State (Rewa Kantha). Lunavada is irregular in shape, and has many outlying villages, the territory being much intermixed with that of Balasinor and with the British Panch Mahals. The extreme length from north to south is 34 miles, and the extreme breadth from east to west 25 miles. The Mahi flows through it. The climate is somewhat cooler than in the neighbouring parts of Gujarat.
The chief is descended from a Rajput dynasty that ruled at Anhil- vada Patan, and his ancestors are said to have established themselves at Virpur in 1225. In 1434 the family removed to Lunavada, having in all probability been driven across the Mahl by the increasing power of the Muhammadan kings of Gujarat. Lunavada was tributary both to the Gaikwar and to Sindhia ; the rights of the latter ruler, guaranteed by the British Government in 18 19, were transferred by him with the cession of the Panch Mahals in i86r. Until 1825 the State was under the Political Agency of Mahl Kantha. The chief (Maharana) is a Hindu of the Solanki Rajput caste, and is entitled to a salute of nine guns. The family hold a sanad authorizing adoption, and they follow the rule of primogeniture.
The population at the last four enumerations was: (1872) 74,813, (1881) 75,450, (1891) 90,147, and (1901) 63,967, showing a decrease during the last decade of 28 per cent., due to the famine of 1899- 1900. The State contains one town (Lunavada) and 318 villages. Hindus number 59,876 and Muhammadans 3,751 ; the density of population is 165 persons to the square mile. The chief castes are Brahman, Rajput, and Kunbl. About one-third of the area of the State has been alienated, some lands having been granted in free gift, and others on service or other tenures. About 231 square miles are occupied for cultivation, of which 159 were cultivated in 1903-4. The soil is generally stony. Cereals and timber are the chief pro- ducts. In 1903-4 exports, consisting chiefly of grain, oil, and ghl, amounted to 3 lakhs ; and imports, consisting of cloth, grain, and sugar, to about the same amount. Irrigation is chiefly from wells, though there are many reservoirs. A well-frequented route between Gujarat and Malwa passes through Lunavada.
The chief has power to try his own subjects for capital offences. He enjoys a revenue of about i-8 lakhs, chiefly derived from land (Rs. 1,25,000), and pays a tribute of Rs. 14,232 jointly to the British Government and the Gaikwar of Baroda. There is one municipality (Lunavada) with an income in 1903-4 of Rs. 2,776. The police force consists of 177 men, including a military body of 43, who are employed for police and revenue purposes. There is one jail. In 1903-4 the State contained 12 schools, with a daily average attendance of 747 boys and 555 girls. There are two dispensaries, one of which treated 9,000 patients in 1903-4, and the other, which prescribes native medicines only, treated an average of 30 patients a day. Nearly 1,800 persons were vaccinated in the same year.
