Sandur
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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Sandur
Physical aspects
The smallest and least populous of the five Native States in direct political relations with the Government of Madras. It is sur- rounded by the District of Bellary, the Collector of which is the Politi- cal Agent, and lies between 14 58' and 15 14' N. and 76 25' and 76 42' E. In shape it is like a torpedo, with its longer axis running from north-west to south-east, and it is 24 miles long and, at the broadest part, 13 wide. The State is 161 square miles in area, con- tains 20 villages, and has a population (1901) of 11,200, of whom between one-third and one-half live in Sandur town. It consists of a long, narrow valley, shut in by two nearly parallel ysica enclosing walls of hills covered with long grass and forest. These hills are formed of Dharwar rocks, which were deposited upon the older granites and then, as the earth's, surface cooled, were, with the granites, subjected to enormous lateral pressure, and so crumpled up into huge wrinkles. The Sandur valley is the hollow of one of these wrinkles, and the hills surrounding it are the sides of a huge trough into which the rocks have been squeezed. The strata in them stand on edge, curve gradually below the valley, and reappear, again on edge, on the other side.
The two enclosing lines of hill are smooth in outline, flat-topped, and very level along their summits, so that from outside the State they resemble long lines of wall shutting it in. Their highest point is at the south-east corner, above the Kumaraswami temple referred to later, where they run up to 3,400 feet. Ramanmalai, in the centre of the southern of the two lines, just above RAMANDRUG hill station, is 3,256 feet above the sea. At right angles to the longer axis of the valley, and through both the walls of hill which enclose it, runs the Narihalla, draining almost the whole of it. The beautiful little gorges in the two lines of hills, by which the stream first enters and then leaves the State, are among the most striking features of the country.
That on the western side, by which it enters, called the Obalagandi, lies about 2-| miles from Sandur town. At the bottom, where the river runs, it is only some 15 yards wide. On either hand the dark purple and deep red hematite rocks which form the sides of this natural gate rise precipitously to a height of 180 feet, gradually near- ing one another as they ascend. The bed of the stream is strewn with masses of rock which appear to have fallen from the sides of the gate, and their rich colours form a fine contrast to the green of the woods with which the sides of the hills are here clothed. The Bhimagandi, as the eastern gorge by which the Narihalla leaves the valley is called, is wider, but equally picturesque.
Among the game of the State may be mentioned occasional tigers, numerous wild hog, and not a few sambar. Peafowl are plentiful, but are held sacred to the god Kumaraswami.
The valley is cooler than the neighbouring District of Bellary and receives more rain than any part of it, the average fall approaching 30 inches annually. It is singularly free from malaria, considering its conformation.
History
Sandur has an interesting history. In 1728 it was seized by an ancestor of the present Raja, a Maratha named Siddojl Rao. He belonged to a family called the Ghorpades, which name was earned, according to tradition, by one of 1S ry *
them who scaled a precipitous fort by clinging to an iguana (ghorpad) which was crawling up it. Siddojl Rao's grandfather had been in the service of the Sultan of Bijapur, and his three sons joined in the Maratha revolt against that king and prospered in consequence. The second of them, SiddojT's father, earned the hereditary titles of Hindu Rao and Mamalikat (Mamlukat) Madar ('centre of the State J ) 3 which are still used by the Rajas of Sandur. Siddojfs eldest son was the famous Morari Rao of GOOTY, who followed his father as ruler of the State. In the campaign of 1775-6 Haidar AH, after getting possession of BELLARY, took Gooty from him, and sent him to Kabbaldurga hill in Mysore, where he died soon afterwards. Haidar annexed the whole territory, including Sandur, and began the fort of Krishnanagar which is still standing there. It was finished and garrisoned by his son Tipu.
Morari Rao had two sons, but they both died in childhood \ and he adopted a distant cousin named Siva Rao, who fell about 1785 in a vain attempt to turn Tipu's troops out of Sandur, and was succeeded by his son Siddojl, then two years old. Siddojl was put under the guardianship of his uncle Venkata Rao, who in 1790, on his ward's behalf, attacked and drove out Tipu's garrison, and gained possession of the place. After the peace with Tipu in 1792 the Ghorpades were allowed to retain Sandur as part of the ancient inheritance of the family, but none of them ventured to reside there as long as Tipu was alive. Siddojl died in 1796, aged thirteen, and his widow adopted a cousin called Siva Rao. On the death of Tipu at the fall of Seringapatam in 1799, Siva Rao went with Venkata Rao to Sandur, and he was jdglrdar there when Bellary District was ceded to the Company.
About this time the Peshwa, Baji Rao, granted the estate to one Jaswant Rao, a distinguished officer in Sindhia's army. No pro- minence was given to this grant, and Siva Rao continued to hold the estate. The Peshwa, however, regarded him as a rebellious vassal, and in 1815 endeavoured to gain possession of Sandur by marching thither with troops, under the pietence of a pilgrimage to the shrine of Kumaraswami. Siva Rao blocked the passes, and Baj! Rao was only allowed to go to the temple with a few attendants by the foot- paths over the hills.
The Treaty of Bassein, however, bound the Company to assist the Peshwa in reducing refractory vassals, and Baji Rao accordingly asked that the British would take Sandur from Siva Rao. Munro was therefore detached from Dharwar with a force to demand the sui- render of the valley. Siva Rao resigned possession without opposi- tion and in a dignified manner, and obtained in exchange an estate in Bellary District. Almost immediately afterwards, however, the Peshwa thiew off the mask of friendship to the British he had been wearing, and provoked the war which ended in i8rS in the downfall of his power. Munro then recommended that Sandur should be restored to Siva Rao, and Government agreed to the proposal. In 1826 a formal sanad (title-deed) for the State was granted to Siva Rao by the Madras Government. He died in 1840, and was followed by his nephew Venkata Rao, whom he had adopted, The latter died in 1 86 1, and was succeeded by his son Sivashanmukha Rao. In 1876 he received the title of Raja as an hereditary distinction. At his death two years later his brother Ramachandra VitLhala Rao succeeded, who was made a C.I.E. in July, 1892, but died in the same year. Rama- chandra's son, the present Raja, is a minor and is being educated at Bellary.
The chief buildings of antiquarian interest in the State are the fort of Krishnanagar already mentioned, the ancient fortress at RAMANDRUG referred to in the account of that place, and the temple of Kumara- swami, which is picturesquely situated in a natural amphitheatre of wooded slopes near the top of the hills 7 miles south of Sandur town; Kumaraswami, the Mars of the Hindu pantheon, was the child of Siva and Parvatl. The legend runs that a ferocious demon named Tarak- asura, who dwelt in this part of the Sandur hills, so harassed the Devas that they entreated Siva to send his warrior son to rid them of the monster, Kumaraswami came and slew him and cut off his head. The foundation of the temple commemorates the happy event. In- scriptions in the building show that it was in existence as long ago as A.D. 950, but architecturally it is disappointing.
Population
The population of Sandur in 1871 was 14,996. The famine of 1876-8 was severely felt, and in 1881 the inhabitants numbered only 1 t JOjSS 2 - In 1891 the total was 11,388, and in 1901, 11,200. More than 2,000 of the people are Musalmans, a high proportion. Of the Hindus, the most numerous communities are the sect of the Lingayats and the Bedars, the old fighting-caste of this part of the country, both of whom are over 2,000 strong. Next come the Marathas, who number 1,000; then the agricul- turist Sadars and Madigas and the shepherd Kurubas ; and after them the Brahmans, who are more than usually numerous and hold consider- able grants of land. Kanarese is the prevalent vernacular.
Agriculture
The soil of the State is a rich heavy loam, which compares favourably with that of the adjoining areas. There is practically no black cotton soil, and consequently no late crops, such as cotton are grown. By far the most important staple is
cholam (Sorghum vulgare\ which is followed by korra (Setaria italica) and sajja (Pennisetum typhoideum). Pulses, oilseeds, betel-leaf, and tobacco are also grown. The two last and a few other garden crops are irrigated from wells, there being at present no irrigation by direct flow from either tanks or channels anywhere m Sandur. About 150 of these wells are worked, most being temporary affairs without proper lining ; and the area supplied is 400 acres, on most of which two crops are raised annually. Sugar-cane used to be a profitable crop, but it is now rarely grown, as it cannot compete with that cultivated under the TUNGABHADRA channels. Dry crops ' are sown from the early part of June to the middle of July and reaped in October. If the rains are late and sowing cannot be earned out until the end of July, the out-turn is invariably inferior. Only one crop is usually obtained from 'dry' land, though if good rain falls in November or December a second crop of Bengal gram is sometimes raised. The systems of cultivation are similar to those followed in Bellary District, though perhaps manuring is more common. The agricultural implements employed are also the same. Cattle are chiefly bought, as in that District, from drovers from Nellore on the instalment system.
Forests
The forests of Sandur are 87,000 acres, or about 136 square miles, in extent. Of this area, 40,000 acres have been leased to the Madras Government for twenty-five years from 1882 at an annual rental of Rs. 10,000, and are administered by the Forest department of Bellary District. These leased forests, as they are usually called, comprise the growth on the whole of the two ranges which run along each side of the valley and also some part of that on the plateaux south of Sandur town. They contain no really heavy growth, but the supply of Hardwickia will eventually be considerable, and there is some teak and sandal-wood. The thick grass is, however, of great value to cattle in times of scarcity. The chief difficulty in reproducing the growth is the constant occur- rence of fires.
Minerals
The minerals of the State possess unusual interest. The hematites found in it are probably the richest ore in India. An outcrop near the southern boundary close by the village of Kummataravu forms the crest of a ridge 150 feet in height, which apparently consists entirely of pure steel-grey crystalline hematite (specu- intense hardness. Some of the softer ores used to be smelted by the natives, but the industry has been killed by the cheaper English iron. Manganese deposits have also been found in three places, the ore from one of them showing on analysis 43 per cent, of manganese dioxide. There are also traces of an old gold-mine. Jasper rocks of great beauty and a wide range of colours, and many different tints of ochreous mineral pigments, are also found in large quantities. The pigments are excavated and used for colour- washing houses, and might probably be exploited to commercial advantage.
Trade
Except that the shepherd caste of the Kurubas weave coarse woollen blankets from the fleeces of the sheep of the country, there are no manufactures in the State, Nor is any considerable trade carried on in or through it.
Administration
The administration is conducted by a Diwan, subject to the general authority of the Collector of Bellary, who is ex-offirio Political Agent for the State. The Diwan has the powers of a divisional officer, first-class magistrate, Additional
Sessions Judge, and District Munsif, while the original, appellate, and revisional powers of a Collector, District Magistrate, and District and Sessions Judge vest, in matters relating to the State, in the Political Agent. No legislation is undertaken in Sandur. Such of the Acts of the Legislative Councils of the Governments of India and Madras as appear to the administration to be suited to the State are brought into force by the simple process of publicly notifying that they have been adopted. Many of the executive powers exercised have no other basis than old custom held to have the force of law.
The gross income of the State averages rather more than Rs. 50,000, of which about Rs. 20,000 is derived from land revenue and the mohtarfa (an old-established tax levied according to no very fixed principles on professions, trades, and, in some cases, on houses) ; Rs. 14,000 from contracts for excise, minor forest produce, &c. \ and Rs. 10,000 from the forests leased to the Madras Government. On the expenditure side the chief items are the Raja's civil list, Rs. 14,000; the charges of administration, Rs. 13,000; and a sum of Rs. 7,576 which since 1885-6 has been set aside yearly for the repayment of the principal and interest of the debts incurred by former Rajas.
Of the 160 square miles of which the State consists, only about 19 square miles, or 12,500 acres, are cultivable, the rest being forest or unfit for tillage. About 15- square miles (9,500 acres) are cropped at present, the remainder, often owing to its distance from the villages, being waste. A field survey under the direction of the Madras Survey department is in progress. When it has been completed, a settlement on the general principles followed in British territory will be canied out. Formerly the accounts showed the fields by their names and their dimensions in huggas or ' ropes,' but the length of the ' rope ' was nowhere laid down. Between 1865 and 1871 a rough survey was carried out with the aid of the village accountants, and the records so obtained are the existing guides. They do not, however, show particulars of assessment.
Until very recently the assessment payable was fixed on a rack- renting system, each field being put up to auction and leased for five (or sometimes ten) years to the highest bidder. At the end of this lease the field was again put up to auction, and its former tenant was thus often ousted. The uncertainty which this system involved checked any effort to improve the land permanently by fencing it, constructing wells, planting trees, and so on ; and consequently it is in contempla- tion, as soon as the survey and settlement have been completed and the rates of assessment in accordance with them have been prescribed, to give the ryots the same occupancy rights as in British territory. Meanwhile they are allowed to go on holding their fields at the rates fixed by the last auction held, and are not disturbed in their occupation by fresh auctions.
The State contains no natural salt or salt-earth, and therefore no complications arise with the Salt department in British territory. It grows no opium, and the little ganja which is raised is cultivated and harvested under official supervision. The system for the supply of liquor is simple. The exclusive right of manufacturing and selling both spirits and toddy (palm liquor) is sold to the same person. He distils spirit in Sandur from imported jaggery (coarse sugar), and imports from elsewhere such toddy as is required, there being hardly any palm-trees in the State.
Both short- and long-term prisoners are confined in the jail. The , average number of convicts is about 15, and is thus too small to allow of the organization of jail manufactures ; so the prisoners are usually employed in repairing the roads. The police force consists of an inspector, 4 head constables, and 25 constables ; and there are 4 police stations. Under the terms on which the State is held, sentences of death cannot be passed without the sanction of the Government of Madras. Special rules regarding criminal jurisdiction are in force in the sanitarium of Ramandrug. Extradition from the State is arranged through the Political Agent, and is usually sanctioned only when the offence is of a minor description. In the case of more serious crimes triable only by a Court of Session, the Political Agent proceeds against the offender as though the offence had been committed in British India.
Sandur possesses a lower secondary school, seven primary schools, and a girls' school. The first of these was opened at the end of 1882, but the present building was erected in 1887-8, and the institution is consequently known as the Jubilee School. Neither the Muham- madans nor the Lingayats of Sandur place much value on education, and progress is slow. At the Census of 1901 only 109 males and 5 females in every 1,000 could read and write. The girls' school was started by the London Mission in 1898-9, and is still managed by that body.
The Sandur dispensary was opened in 1881 and is very popular, many patients coming to it from adjoining villages in British territory.
[Further particulars regarding Sandur will be found in the Bettary District Gazetteer (1904), and its geology and minerals are referred to at length in Mr. Bruce Foote's account of the geology of that District in Memoirs^ Geological Survey, vol. xxv.]
