Sira Town
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.
Sira Town
Head-quarters of the taluk of the same name in Tumkur District, Mysore, situated in r3° 44' N. and 76° 54" E., 33 miles by road from Tumkur town. Population (1901), 4,059. It was founded by the chief of Ratnagiri, but before being completed was captured by the Sultan of Bijapur in 1638, and formed part of the jdg'ir o{ Shahjl, father of Sivaji. In 1687 it came under the Mughals, and was made the capital of their Carnatic province south of the Tungabhadra. In 1757 it was taken by the Marathas, l)ut in 1761 was captured by Haidar Ali. In 1766 his brother-in-law gave it up again to the Marathas, from whom it was recaptured by Tipu Sultan in 1774. It attained its greatest prosperity under Dilawar Khan, the Mughal governor from 1724 to 1756, when it is said to have contained 50,000 houses. The palace erected by him formed the model for Haidar's and Tipu's palaces at Bangalore and Seringapatam. The fine garden called the Khan Bagh was kept up by Haidar, and may have suggested the Lai Bagh at Bangalore. Tipu forcibly deported 12,000 families from Sira to populate his new town, Shahr Ganjam, on the island of Seringapatam. The fort (from which the Bangalore fort was evidently copied) is well built of stone, and still remains. This, with the Jama Masjid of hewn stone (1696), and the tomb of Malik Rihan (1651), are the principal survivals of its former greatness. There is a large tank for irrigation to the north, and the soil around is favourable for the growth of coco-nuts, the dried kernels of which are the staple article of export. The population are largely Kurubas, who make blankets from wool imported from Davangere and other parts, and export them to Wala- japet in the east and to Coorg and Mangalore in the west. Chintzes and sealing-wax used to be made, but have been superseded by articles of Engli.sh manufacture. The municipality dates from 1870. The receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1901 averaged Rs. 2,300. In 1903-4 they were Rs. 3,700 and Rs. 3,000.
