Paron
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.
Paron
(or Narwar). Mediatized chiefship in the Central India Agency, under the Resident at Gwalior. It is a minor State, about 60 square miles in area, surrounding the village of Paron. Though the holder is of very ancient family, being descended from the Kachwaha clan, of which the Maharaja of Jaipur is now the principal representative, the present holding has only existed since 1818, the chiefs ancestor having been driven from Narwar in the beginning of the nineteenth century by Daulat Rao Sindhia.
In 1818, through the mediation of the Resident at Gwalior, the present estate of Paron was granted to Madho Singh under the British guar- antee, on the condition that he disbanded his army and ceased from plundering. When the Mutiny broke out in 1857, Man Singh, nephew and successor of Madho Singh, joined the rebels. His fort was as- saulted and he was forced to fly. Seeing the turn events were taking, he surrendered in 1859, and was reinstated in his possessions. Later on he undertook to secure the rebel Tantia Topi, the Nana Sahib's agent, who was then wandering in these districts. After handing over Tantia TopT, an annuity of Rs. 1,000 was granted to him and his heirs in perpetuity.
On his death on December 31, 1882, the Gwalior Darbar contended that the guarantee should lapse, owing to the chiefs defection in 1857, a view which the Government of India declined to accept, and the succession was continued to his son, Gajendra Singh. The present holder is Raja Mahendra Singh, who was born in 1892, and succeeded in 1899, the State being administered by a Kamdar under the direct supervision of the Resident at Gwalior. The chief bears the title of Raja. The population has been : (1881) 7,328, (1891) 7,984, and (1901) 5,557. Hindus number 4,562, or 82 per cent. ; and Animists, 891, chiefly Saharias and Mlnas. Of the total population, only i per cent, are literate. There are thirty-one villages, of which Munderl (population, 1,165) is the largest, though not that from which the State takes its name. The head-quarters of the present administration are situated in this place, and a school and a dispensary have been opened there.
Of the total area, 16 square miles are under cultivation, of which one square mile is irrigated ; of the uncultivated area, 24 square miles are capable of cultivation. Good crops of all ordinary grains and poppy are grown. The total revenue is Rs. 25,000, of which Rs. 18,500 is derived from the land.
