Muttra 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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Muttra District
Physical aspects
{Mathura). — North-western District of the Agra Division, United Provinces, lying between 27° 14 and 27° 58' N. and 77° 17' and 78° 13' E., with an area of 1,445 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Punjab District of Gurgaon and by Aligarh ; on the east by Allgarh and Etah ; on the south by Agra ; and on the west by the Bharatpur State. Muttra Hes on both sides of the Jumna, which is fringed with ravines.
In the centre of the western border the outlying spurs of the Aravallis penetrate the District, but do not rise more than 200 feet above Pnysical the plain. Muttra is remarkable for the absence of rivers. Besides the Jumna there are no channels, except the Karon or Karwan which flows across the east of the District, and the Patwai or Patwaha which joins the Jumna in the Mat tahsil. The Jumna has left a chain of swamps, representing an older channel, east of its present bed. One of these is called Xohjhil, a shallow marsh, which before it was drained sometimes attained a length of 6 miles in the rains. There is a curious depression in the west of the District, which extends from the Bharatpur and Alwar States, but there is no flow of water.
The greater part of the District is the ordinary alluvium of the Gangetic plain, but the western hills are chiefly composed of quartzite. Kankar or nodular limestone is common, especially in the Jumna ravines. While the water in many wells is brackish, saline efflorescences are less common than elsewhere in the Doab.
The flora of the western half of the District resembles that of Raj- putana. Early in the nineteenth century Bishop Heber was struck by the wildness of the country. There are still large stretches of waste land, especially in the Chhata tahsil, covered with jungle in which the ber [Zizyphus Jujuba) is the largest tree. Along the canal the babul {Acacia arabica) has been largely planted, and the nlin {Afelia Aza- dirachta) is fairly common, but other trees are scarce \ The total area of grove land is less than 9 square miles.
Leopards, wolves, hyenas, and nilgai are found chiefly in the hilly tracts near the Bharatpur border ; and wild cattle from Bharatpur State formerly did much damage, but are now kept out by a continuous fence and ditch, ^\'ild hog are plentiful in the Jumna ravines and k/iadar, and Muttra is celebrated for ' pig-sticking.' Antelope are very common, and the chinkdra or ' ravine deer ' is also found. In the cold season snipe and duck abound in the swamps and small tanks. Fish are found in the Jumna and in many tanks, but are not much used for food.
The climate is very dry and hot, owing to the proximity of sandy deserts to the west. Great extremes of temperature occur. In January the mean temperature falls to 60°, while in June it rises to over 93°. In winter ice is not uncommonly formed in shallow puddles in the early morning, while in April, May, and June hot winds blow with great force.
The annual rainfall during the last seventeen years has averaged 26 inches, which is evenly distributed, though the Jumna valley receives ' A list ol tiees is given in Mi. 1. S. Gruwst's Mathura (^p. 4^1;. slightly more than the portions of the District on either side. Varia- tions from year to year are large ; the fall has been less than i6 inches, and has reached nearly 36.
History
Muttra was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Surasena, and its importance as a religious centre is referred to by Ptolemy, who calls it Modoura of the gods.' Arrian and Pliny describe
it as Methora. The earliest facts relating to its history are derived from the coins found here, which indicate that Muttra was ruled by a series of Hindu Rajas in the second and first centuries B.C., followed by Saka Satraps, who gradually assume Hindu names. In the first and second centuries a.d., the inscriptions, found in considerable numbers, prove that the sway of the great Kushan kings was recognized here, and Muttra was a stronghold of the Jains. In the sixth century Hiuen Tsiang found a large city, containing 20 monasteries with 2,000 priests. Muttra was probably one of the places sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018-9, but the District plays little part in the early Muhammadan period, when it was largely held by Mewatls. While its political history is slight, Muttra is important in the religious history of modern Hinduism. The reformed Vaishnava creeds had their origin in Southern and Eastern India; but in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries several new sects were founded here, which still influence Hindu thought. The western side of the District is celebrated as the Braj Mandal or country of Krishna, and almost every grove, mound, and tank is associated with some episode in his life. Throughout the year, and especially in the rains, bands of pilgrims from all parts of India may be seen reverently visiting the holy shrines. The increased religious zeal of the Hindus attracted the notice of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, who took measures to repress it.
As the Mughal empire fell to pieces, the history of the District merges in that of the Jats of Bharatpur, and only acquires a separate individuality with the rise of Suraj Mai. In 171 2 Badan Singh, father of the famous adventurer, proclaimed himself leader of the Jats, and took up his residence at Sahar, where he built a handsome palace. In his old age he distributed his possessions among his sons, giving the south-western portion of Bharatpur to his youngest, Pratap Singh, and the remainder of his dominions, including Muttra, to his eldest, Suraj Mai. On Badan Singh's death, Suraj Mai moved to Bharatpur and assumed the title of Raja. In 1748 the Mughal emperor, Ahmad Shah, invited the Jat leader to join with Holkar under the command of Nawab Safdar Jang in suppressing the Rohilla rebellion. When Safdar Jang revolted {see Oudh), Suraj Mai and his Jats threw in their lot with him, while Ghazi-ud-din, the Wazir, obtained the help of the Marathas.
Safdar Jang retreated to Oudh, whereupon Ghazi-ud-din laid siege to Bharatpur, but, mistrusting his Maratha allies, shortly returned to Delhi, deposed Ahmad Shah, and raised Alamgir II to the throne. When Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India in 1757, Sardar Jahan Khan endeavoured to levy tribute from Muttra ; but finding that the people withdrew into their forts, he fell back upon the city, plundered its wealth, and massacred the inhabitants. Two years later the new emperor was murdered, and the Afghan invader once more advanced upon Delhi. Ghazi-ud-din fled to Muttra and Bharatpur, and joined the Hindu confederacy of Marathas and Jats which shattered itself in vain against the forces of Ahmad Shah at Panlpat in January, 1761. Suraj Mai, however, withdrew his forces before the decisive battle, marched on Agra, ejected the Marathas, and made himself master also of Muttra.
Ahmad Shah having returned to Afghanistan, Suraj Mai thought it a favourable opportunity to attack the Rohilla chief, Najib-ud-daula. Marching to Shahdara, 6 miles from Delhi, he was, however, surprised, captured, and put to death in 1763 by a small party of the imperialists. Two of his sons, who succeeded to his command, were successively murdered, and the third, Nawal Singh, after losing Agra during Zabita Khan's rebellion, died in 1776. The fourth son, Ranjit Singh (not to be confounded with the more famous Sikh Maharaja), inherited Bharatpur with only an insignificant strip of territory.
During the contest between Sindhia and the Rajput princes in 1788, the former obtained the aid of the Jats in raising the siege of Agra, then held by Sindhia's forces, and besieged by Ghulam Kadir. In 1803 RanjTt Singh of Bharatpur joined Lord Lake in his campaign against Sindhia, with a force of 5,000 Jat horsemen ; and upon the defeat of the Marathas he received as a reward the south-western portion of Muttra, with Kishangarh and Rewari. But in the following year he gave shelter to Holkar, when a fugitive after the battle of Dig. This led to the first siege of Bharatpur by Lord Lake, and, although his capital was not taken, RanjTt Singh lost the territory granted to him in 1803.
Thenceforward Muttra remained free from historical incidents till the Mutiny of 1857. News of the Meerut outbreak reached Muttra on May 14 in that year. Two days later, some Bharatpur troops arrived, and marched for Delhi under British officers. The force halted at Hodal on the 26th ; and on the 30th the sepoys sent to escort the treasure from Muttra to Agra proved mutinous, so that the officials were compelled to fly and join the troops at Hodal. Shortly afterwards the Bharatpur force likewise mutinied, and the Europeans fled for their lives. The Magistrate returned to Muttra, and after vainly visiting Agra in search of aid, remained with the friendly Seths (native bankers) till June 14. After the mutiny of the Gwalior Contingent at Aligarh on July 2, the Nimach insurgents, marching on Muttra, drove all the Europeans into Agra. The whole eastern portion of the District then rose in rebeUion, till October 5, when the Magistrate made an expedi- tion from Agra, and captured the rebel leader, Deokaran. Colonel Cotton's column shortly afterwards proceeded through the District to KosI, punishing the insurgent villages ; and after its return to Agra through Muttra no further disturbances took place. In the nine- teenth century the religious teaching of Muttra affected Dayanand, founder of the Arya Samaj, who studied here for a time.
The city of Muttra and its neighbourhood are rich in archaeological remains, and the exploration of the Jain stupa in the Kankali tila or mound has yielded valuable dated inscriptions of the Kushan kings ^ The finest Hindu temples at Muttra were demolished or converted into mosques by the Muhammadans, but some have survived at Brindabak and Mahaban. There are also fine specimens of the Jat architecture of the eighteenth century at Gobardhan.
Population
Muttra contains 14 towns and 837 villages. Population has hardly yet recovered from the effects of the famine of 1877-8. The number at the four enumerations was: (1872) 782,460, (1881) 671,690, (1891) 713,421, and {1901) 763,099. The District is divided into five tahsils — Muttra, Chhata, Mat, Mahaban, and Sadabad — the head-quarters of each being at a place of the same name. The principal towns are the municipalities of Muttra, Brindaban, and Kosi.
The following table gives the chief statistics of population in 1901 : —
Of the total, 89 per cent, are Hindus and 10 per cent. Musalmans. The density of population is higher than the Provincial average, but lower than in the other Doab Districts. Between 1891 and 1901 the rate of increase was higher than in the Provinces as a whole. About 99 per cent, of the people speak Western Hindi, the prevailing dialect being Braj.
The most numerous Hindu caste is that of Chamars (leather-workers and labourers), 120,000. Brahmans number 115,000; Jats, 102,000; Epigraphia Indica, vols, i and ii ; \ . A. Smith, The Jain Stilpa at Mat hard. and Rajputs, 67,000. The numbers then decrease, and the largest castes are: Koris (weavers), 17,000; Gadarias (shepherds), 16,000: and Giijars, 14,000. The Jats, Gujars, and Aherias (14,000) belong to the western Districts : and the Ahivasis, who claim to be Brahmans and number 1,400, are hardly found outside this District. Among Muhammadans, Shaikhs number 13,000 : Rajputs, 9,000 : and Pathans, 7,000. The agricultural population forms 53 per cent, of the total, while general labourers form 10 per cent., and those supported by personal services 8 per cent.
There were 2,031 native Christians in 1901. The earliest mission was that of the Baptists, who commenced work early in the nineteenth century. It was followed in i860 by the Church Missionary Society, and in 1887 by the American Methodist Church. The last of these has been most successful, and 1,887 of the native Christians in 1901 were Methodists.
Agriculture
A considerable difference is to be noted between the tracts east and west of the Jumna. The latter is less fertile, and irrigation was difificult before the construction of the Agra Canal, as the subsoil water is often brackish. Hamlets, apart from the main village site, are almost unknown : and this custom, which had its origin in the troubled times when the cultivator ploughed with sword and shield lying in a corner of his field, affects cultivation, as manure is applied only to the home land near the village. On the other hand, Jats, who are the best cultivators, are chiefly found west of the Jumna, and the eastern tahsils are plagued by a weed called baisurl {Pluchea lanceolata). Besides the barren land bordering on the Jumna ravine, there is a strip of sandy soil along the foot of the hills on the western border.
The tenures are those commonly found in the Provinces. In 1883, out of 1,375 'itiihdls 478 were za/nindari, 492 patiiddn and imperfect pattlddri, and 505 bhaiyachara west of the Jumna some villages belong to talukddri estates, chiefly to Mursax. The main agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are given below, in square miles : —
The chief food-crops 2cct jowar diwdi barley, which occupied 268 and 205 square miles respectively, or 22, and 18 per cent, of the net area cropped. Gram (193), wheat (153), and bajra (93) are also important, while cotton covered an area of 131 square miles. The small area under specially valuable crops — sugar-cane, tobacco, and vegetables — is striking.
There have been no improvements of recent years either in methods or in the introduction of new seed. The principal change has been the substitution of wheat for cotton, largely owing to the extension of canals. A small but steady demand exists for loans under the Land Improvement and Agriculturists' Loans Acts, which amounted to Rs. 96,000 and Rs. 1,16,000 during the ten years ending 1900; but advances in the famine year 1896-7 account for Rs. 48,000 and Rs. 39,000 respectively. In 1903-4 the loans were only Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,065. ^^^ith the extension of canal-irrigation, drainage has also been improved, especially in the Chhata tahsil, and the Patwai or Patwaha in Mat has been deepened. Private enterprise has drained the lake known as Nohjhil, while a few miles south of Muttra a dam has been built by the zamindaris near Koela to keep out the Jumna.
The Jumna ravines and the khddar provide ample grazing ground, but there is no indigenous breed of cattle. Kosi is a great cattle mart, at which animals are sold which have been imported from the Punjab or Bharatpur State. Horse- and mule-breeding are becoming popular, and three horse and two donkey stallions have been provided by Government. The sheep are of the ordinary type.
In 1903-4 the area irrigated was 389 square miles, out of a cultivated area of 1,145 square miles. Canals supplied 201 square miles, and wells 188. The western division of the District is amply served by the Agra Canal and its distributaries. Up to 1903 the eastern portion had no canal-irrigation except in a few villages of the Mat tahsil; but the ]Mat branch of the Upper Ganges Canal now supplies every part, irrigating 25,000 acres in the spring of 1904 and more than 20,000 in the autumn. Tanks and rivers are not used at all for irrigation, and the use of the former is forbidden by the religious sanctity attaching to most of them.
Trade and Communication
Sandstone is obtainable from the low hills in the Chhata tahs'il, but most of the stone used in the District is brought from Agra or Bharat- pur. The Giri Raj, which is of sandstone, is considered so holy that to quarry it would be sacrilege. Kanhar or nodular limestone is found in all parts, and occurs in block form in the Sadabad tahsil.
The manufactures of the District are not very important. Calico printing is carried on at Brindaban, and old flannel is skilfully repaired. The masons and stone-carvers of Muttra are justly celebrated, and many houses and temples are adorned with the graceful reticulated patterns which they produce. A special paper used for native account-books is made here, and the District is noted for the quaint silver models of animals produced at Gokul. In 1903 there were 10 cotton-gins and presses, employing about 970 hands. A few small indigo factories are still worked, but the industry is not thriving.
Grain and cotton are the chief exports, and the imports include sugar, metals, oilseeds, and piece-goods, most of the trade being with Hathras. Muttra city is an important depot for through traffic. Thus cotton and oilseeds from Bharatpur State pass through here to Hathras, while sugar, salt, and metals are returned. KosT, in the north of the District, is a great cattle market, where the peasants of the Upper Doab purchase the plough-animals brought from Rajputana or the Punjab.
The East Indian Railway runs for 7 miles across the east of the District, with one station. The narrow-gauge Cawnpore-Achhnera line enters the District at the centre of the eastern boundary, crosses the Jumna, and then turns south. It provides communication with Hathras on the east and Agra on the south, and from JMuttra city a short branch serves the pilgrim traffic to Brindaban. An extension of the Midland section of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway from Agra to Delhi, passing through INIuttra, was opened in 1905.
The District is well supplied with roads. Out of 500 miles, 171 are metalled and 329 unmetalled. Excluding 57 miles of metalled roads, all of these are maintained at the cost of Local funds. Avenues of trees are kept up on 31 miles. The main route is that from Agra to Delhi, a famous road under native rule, which traverses the western half of the District from south to north. Other roads pass from Muttra west to Dig and Bharatpur, east through Hathras to the Ganges, and south-east to Jalesar and Etah. The Agra Canal was used for navigation, but has been closed for this purpose since 1904.
Famine
Though precise records do not exist, famine must have been frequent before British rule began, and the awful disaster of 1783-4 was especially severe in this tract. In 181^ the north of „ the district was a centre of great distress. Many persons perished of hunger, or sold their wives and children for a few rupees or a single meal. In 1825-6 a terrible drought affecting the neighbouring country was especially felt in the Mahaban tahsil. In 1837-8 there was scarcity in all parts of the District, but it was not so severe as in the Central Doab; and in 1860-1 and 1868-9 Muttra again suffered less than other Districts, though distress was felt. The famine of 1877-8 struck this tract more heavily than any other District in the Division, and mortality rose to 71-56 per 1,000. The monsoon fall in 1877 was only 4-3 inches, and the deficiency chiefly affected the main food-crops which are raised on unirrigated land. As usual, distress was aggravated by an influx of starving people from Rajputana. In 1896-7 famine was again felt, especially in the Mahaban and Sadabad tahsils, which had no canal-irrigation. In June, 1897, the number on reUef works amounted to 23,000, About Rs. 86,000 was advanced for the construction of temporary wells, chiefly east of the Jumna, and i-8 lakhs of revenue was remitted or suspended. There was scarcity in 1 899-1900, and advances were freely made, but relief works were not found necessary. The canal extensions of 1903 have probably secured the District against serious famine in the future.
Administration
The ordinary staff of the District includes a member of the Indian Civil Service and three Deputy-Collectors recruited in India. A tahsil- resides at the head-quarters of each of the five tahsils. 1 wo Executive r.ngmeers ot the Canal department are stationed at Muttra city.
Muttra is included in the Civil and Sessions Judgeship of Agra. There are two Munsifs, one at Muttra and one at Mahaban. Owing to its situation near a Native State, serious dacoities are not infrequent, and cattle-theft is common. Jats, and in some places Gujars, are the chief cattle-lifters ; and langiirl is regularly practised, a system by Avhich the owner recovers his stolen property on payment of a certain proportion of its value. The Mallahs (boatmen and fishermen) of the north of the District are noted pickpockets and railway-thieves, frequenting all the large fairs of the United Provinces, and even visiting Bengal.
Most of the District came under British administration at the end of 1803, and was then distributed between the surrounding Districts of P'arrukhabad, Etawah, and Agra. In 1804 the parganas included in Farrukhabad and Etawah were made over to Aligarh j but in 1823 the nucleus of the eastern part of the District was formed with head- quarters at Sadabad, and in 1832 Muttra, which had always been a cantonment, became the civil capital. There are still enclaves belonging to Bharatpur State, the Raja of which held part of the present District up to 1826. The early settlements were made under the ordinary rules for short periods of one, three, or five years, and were based on estimates. In the western part of the District the farming and tahikddri system was maintained for some time as in Allgarh, and was even extended, as talukdari rights were sometimes granted in lieu of farms. In the eastern portion farmers and talukddrs were set aside from the first.
The first regular settlement under Regulation VII of 1822 was made on different principles. West of the river an attempt was made to ascertain the rental 'assets,' while in the east the value of the crops was estimated. The former settlement was not completed when Regulation IX of 1833 was passed, and the latter broke down from the excessive demand imposed. The revenue of the whole District (excluding 84 villages transferred from Agra in 1878) was therefore revised under Regulation IX of 1833, and an assessment of 13-6 lakhs fixed. The next settlement was made between 1872 and 1S79. The method adopted was to assess on what were considered fair rents, arrived at by selection from actual rents paid. These were applied to the different classes of soil into which each village was divided. The revenue sanctioned amounted to 15-3 lakhs, to which must be added i lakh, the revenue of villages transferred from Agra in 1878. The incidence of revenue fell at Rs. 1-13 per acre, varying from Rs. 1-4 to Rs. 2-14. The bad years following the famine of 1877-8 and the fever of 1879 led to a decline in cultivation ; and revisions of settlement were made between 1887 and 189T, which reduced the demand by a lakh. The settlement has now been extended for a further period of ten years. Collections on account of land revenue and revenue from all sources are shown below, in thousands of rupees : —
Outside the three municipalities— Muttra, Brindaban, and Kosi — and eleven towns administered under Act XX of 1856, local affairs are managed by the District board, which has a total income and expendi- ture of about 1-3 lakhs, chiefly derived from rates. About half the expenditure is incurred on the maintenance of roads and buildings.
There are 24 police stations, and the District Superintendent of police is assisted by 4 inspectors. In 1904 the force consisted of 91 subordinate officers and 392 constables, besides 320 municipal and town police, and 1,640 rural and road police. The District jail has accommodation for 318 prisoners.
Muttra takes a fairly high place in the Provinces in regard to literacy, 4-3 per cent, of the population (7-8 males and 0-3 females) being able to read and write in 1901. This is largely owing to its importance as a religious centre. The number of public schools fell from 165 in 1 880-1 to 132 in 1 900-1, but the number of pupils increased from 5,505 to 6,511. In 1903-4 there were 197 public schools with 8,981 pupils, including 478 girls, besides 82 private institutions with 1,781 pupils. All of these schools were primary, except nine of the public and two of the private schools. The expenditure on education in 1903-4 was Rs. 43,000, of which Rs. 31,000 was provided from Local and municipal funds and Rs. 8,300 by fees. Most of the schools are managed by the District and municipal boards.
There are eight hospitals and dispensaries, which contain accommo- dation for 77 in-patients. In 1903 the number of cases treated was 58,000, of whom 995 w^ere in-patients, and 3,600 operations were performed. The total expenditure was Rs. 16,000, chiefly from Local funds.
In 1903-4 the number of persons vaccinated was 24,000, representing 31 per 1,000 of population. Vaccination is compulsory only in the municipalities and the cantonment.
[R. S. ^Vhiteway, Settlement Report (1879); F. S. Growse, Mathurd (Allahabad, 1883); District Gazetteer (1884, under revision); V. A. Smith, The Jain Stupa at Mathura.
