Raigarh 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.
Raigarh State
Feudatory State in the Central Provinces, lying between 21 42' and 22 33' N. and 82 57' and 83 48' E., with an area of 1,486 square miles. Bilaspur and Sambalpur Districts enclose it on the west and east, while the northern portion of the State projects into the territories of Chota Nagpur. Along the southern border flows the Mahanadi river. The head-quarters, Raigarh town, is a station on the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. The northern half of the State running up to the Chota Nagpur plateau consists mainly of forest-clad hills.
The Chauwardhal range runs from west to east across its centre, and south of this lie the open plains of Raigarh and Bargarh divided by the Mand, a tributary of the Mahanadi. The Kelo, another affluent, passes the town of Raigarh. The ruling family are Raj Gonds, who say they came originally from Wairagarh in Chanda, and obtained some villages and settled in this locality about the beginning of the eighteenth century. Jujhar Singh, the fifth Raja, concluded a sub- sidiary treaty of alliance with the East India Company about 1800, on the annexation by the Marathas of Sambalpur, to which Raigarh had hitherto been feudatory. In 1833 his son Deonath Singh crushed a rebellion raised by the Raja of Bargarh, and as a reward obtained that part of his territories which now constitutes the Bargarh pargana. He subsequently did good service in the Mutiny, and his son was made a Feudatory chief in 1867.
The present chief, Bhup Deo Singh, was born in 1869 and installed in 1894, without special restrictions as to the methods of his administration. He speaks English, and exercises a personal control over public business. The population of the State in 1901 was 174,929, having increased by 4 per cent, during the pre- vious decade. The State contains one town, RAIGARH (population, 6,764), and 721 inhabited villages. The density of population is 117 persons per square mile. Raigarh lies on the border-line dividing Chhattisgarh and the Onya country,, 80 per cent, of its residents speak- ing the ChhattisgarhJ dialect and 15 per cent. Oriya. Its population is mainly aboriginal, Kawars numbering 30,000 and Gondb 16,000. Next to these, Gandas and Rawats are the most numerous castes.
Black soil is found in small quantities towards the Bilaspur border, but the yellow rice land of Chhattlsgarh extends over most of the State, About 470 square miles, or 32 per cent, of the total area, were occupied for cultivation in 1904, of which 375 square miles were under crop. About 80 per cent, of the cultivated area is under rice, and next to this the most important crops are pulses (28,000 acres), /// (9,000), and kodon (8,000). The cropped area has increased by n per cent, since 1881. More than 1,800 tanks have been constructed for irrigation, which supply water to 7,000 acres under normal circum- stances. About 500 square miles, or a third of the whole area, are under forest. The principal timber trees are sal (Shorea robusta\ sdj (Terminaha tomentosd)^ and bydsal (Pterocarpus Marsufium). Iron ore and coal have been found in the State j the former is worked by native methods, and agricultural implements are exported to the neigh- bouring territories. Tasar silk cloth of a superior quality is made at Raigarh. Among the local products may be noted cucumber seeds, which are exported to a considerable extent. The main line of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway passes through the centre of the State, with stations at Raigarh, Naharpali, Khursia, and Jamgaon. Four miles of metalled and 212 miles of unmetalled roads have been constructed. The principal routes are those from Raigarh to Sarangarh, Padampur, and Lailanga, and from Khursia to Dhabra
The total revenue in 1904 was Rs 1,50,000, of which Rs. 68,000 was derived from land, Rs. 34,000 from forests, and Rs. 30,000 from excise. A cadastral survey has been carried out, and the system of land revenue assessment is based on that in force in British territory. The revenue is settled with the headmen of villages, who are allowed to retain a portion of the * assets,' but have no proprietary rights. The incidence of land revenue is less than 4 annas per occupied acre.
The total expenditure in 1904 was Rs. 1,31,000, the principal items being Government tribute (Rs. 4,000), expenses of the ruling family (Rs. 34,000), administration in all departments (Rs. 55,000), and public works (Rs. 31,000). The tribute is liable to periodical revision. The expenditure on public works since 1893, under the supervision of the Engineer of the Chhattlsgarh States division, has amounted to Rs 1,36,000, including the construction of the roads already men- tioned, a number of tanks, various buildings for public offices and schools, and a residence for the chief. The educational institutions comprise 24 schools with 1,786 pupils, including English and vernacu- lar middle schools and two girls 3 schools. The expenditure on education in 1904 was Rs. 7,800. In 1901 the number of persons returned as literate was 2,963, the proportion of males able to read and write being 3*3 per cent. A dispensary is maintained at Raigarh town, at which 37,000 persons were treated in 1904. A Political Agent under the supervision of the Commissioner, Chhattisgarh Division, controls the relations of the State with Government.
