Rajpipla, Rewa Kantha
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.
Rajpipla, Rewa Kantha
State in the Political Agency of Rewa Kantha, Bombay, lying between 21 23' and 21 59' N. and 73 5' and 74 E., with an area of 1,517-! square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Nar- bada river and the Mehwasi estates of Rewa Kantha ; on the east by the Mehwasi estates of the District of Khandesh ; on the south by the State of Baroda and Surat District ; and on the west by Broach District. Its extreme length from north to south is 42 miles, and its extreme breadth from east to west 60 miles.
Two-thirds of the State are occupied by a continuation of the Satpura range, known as the Rajpipla hills, nowhere exceeding 3,000 feet in height above the sea, which form the watershed between the Narbada and Tapti rivers. Towards the West the hills gradually subside into gentle undulations. The principal rivers of Rajpipla are the Narbada, skirting the territory north and west for nearly a hunared miles ; and the Karjan, which rises in the hills of the Ntochal/<wy00, and, flowing north into the Narbada, divides the State into two equal portions. The signs of disturbance in the lines of trap and the great number of dikes seem to show that Rajpipla was, during the time when trap rocks were poured out, a great centre of volcanic action. Except in the rich western lands, the whole of the State is covered with trees, the chief being teak, black-wood, and khair. The climate is exceedingly unhealthy, malarial fever being prevalent from September to February. The rainfall in 1903-4 was 46 inches
The family of the Rajpipla chief is said to derive its origm from one Chokarana, son of Saidawat, Raja of Ujjain, a Rajput of the Paramara tribe, who, having quarrelled with his father, left his own country and established himself in the village of Pipla, in the most inaccessible part of the hills to the west of the modem town of Nandod. The only daughter of Chokarana married Moker or Mokheraj, a Rajput of the Gohel tribe, who resided in the island of Premgar or Piram in the Gulf of Cambay. Mokheraj had by her two sons, Dungarji and Gemar- smghji. The former founded Bhaunagar and the latter succeeded Chokarana. Since that time (about 1470) the Gohel dynasty has ruled in Rajpipla. The Musalman kings of Ahmadabad had before this taken an agreement from the Raja to furnish 1,000 foot-soldiers and 300 horsemen ; and the agreement remained in force until Akbar took Gujarat in 1573, when he imposed a tribute of Rs. 35,550 on the country in lieu of the contingent, This was paid until the end of the reign of Aurangzeb (1707), when, the imperial authority declining, the payments became irregular, and, if opportunity favoured, were altogether evaded. Subsequent to the overthrow of the Muhammadan authority, DamajT Gaikwar, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, succeeded in securing a half-share of four of the most fertile sub- divisions of the territory.
These were afterwards released at the cost of an annual payment of Rs. 40,000 to the Gaikwar, and this sum later on was raised to Rs. 92,000. Such rapid and frequent encroachments on the State and internal quarrels led to the intervention of the British Government. About the close of 1821, of two disputants, the rightful claimant Verisalji was placed on the throne by the British. Under the settlement made in 1823 the State pays an annual tribute of Rs. 50,001 to the Gaikwar, on the understanding that a remission shall be granted in seasons of natural calamity. The State, owing to mismanagement, was placed in the year 1884 under the joint administration of an officer of the British Government and the Raja. From 1887 to 1897 the administration was entrusted solely to a British officer. The chief, who bears the title of Maharana, is entitled to a salute of n guns and holds a sanad authorizing adoption. The succession follows the rule of primogeniture.
The population at the last four enumerations was : (1872) 120,036, (1881) 114,756, (1891) 171,771, and (1901) 117,175, the decrease during the last decade being due to the great famine of 1899-1900. The population is distributed between one town, NANDOD, the capital of the State, and 651 villages, the density being 77 persons per square mile. Hindus number 94,865, Musalmans 5,636, and Animists 16,075. The latter are chiefly Bhils.
Of the total area 33 per cent, is cultivable, and 243 square miles were actually cultivated in 1903-4. Cotton is the most important crop, occupying 53 square miles ; while jowdr occupied 43, lajra 29, rice 25, and kodra 20 square miles. In the rich alluvial soil in the north and north-west and in the favoured patches in the west, tur^ castor-oil, millet, cotton, gram, and rice are grown. Experiments for introducing Egyptian cotton are in progress. Among the hills and forests, where Bhils are the only husbandmen, the chief crops are tur^ coarse rice, kodra^ banti, and bavta. The four last are the Bhils' chief diet, though, unless three or four times washed, the kodra is slightly poisonous, causing giddiness and faintness. Almost all hill crops are grown in scattered forest clearings. The tract covered by forests is about two-thirds of the whole area, including 409 square miles of ' reserved ' forest. In the south there are valuable teak forests.
Car- nelian mines are worked at the foot of a hill near Ratanpur, a village about 14 miles from the city of Broach, where the Marathas gained a victory over the Mughals in 1705. lion of good quality used to be manufactured in the same locality, and akik stones are exported to Cambay for the manufacture of agate work. A soTt stone found in a village in the Vadia tahika is fashioned into grindstones and mortars for export. The State contains two cotton-ginning factories. The Bhils and other forest tribes make bamboo matting and baskets for sale ; otherwise there are no industries of any description. The chief article of trade is teak from the forests. Mahud and sesamum are largely exported, and nearly all the cotton grown in the State is sent to Bombay. A railway, constructed at a cost of 13 lakhs, and opened in 1899, connects Nandod with Anklesvar. Its total length in 1903-4 was 235 miles, and it yielded a net profit of Rs. 11,641. In 1899-1902 the State suffered severely from famine, due to short rainfall and the ravages of rats. Nearly 9 lakhs was spent on famine relief on this occasion.
For administrative purposes the lands of the State are distributed in parganaS) each under a thanaddr^ with considerable revenue, police, and magisterial powers. The chief has power to try, for capital offences, without the permission of the Political Agent, any person except British subjects. The income of the State in 1903-4 was 8-7 lakhs, including receipts from land, forests, and excise.
More than Rs 70,000 is annually spent on public works. The forms of assess- ment levied are the hoe (kodali), or the billhook (ddtardt] cess (vary- ing from 8 annas to 2 rupees) ; a plough tax (halbandi\ levied on each plough (varying according to the status of the cultivator from Rs. 5 to Rs. 19) ; and bighotis, or acre rates (ranging from 4^ annas to Rs. 25). Of the total area, 437 square miles have been surveyed. There is a municipality at Nandod under State management. The chief main- tains a military force of in men, horse and foot, and 239 police. The State contained in 1903-4 one high school and 81 primary schools, of which 5 were for girls. The boys' schools were attended by 3,417 pupils and the girls' schools by 607. One hospital and five dispen- saries and the Nandod jail infirmary cost Rs. 16,000, and treated 38,100 patients in 1903-4. In the same year 3,280 persons were vaccinated. Nandod contains a veterinary hospital.
