View source for Muttra City

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>	

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|M]]
[[Category:Places|M]]
''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. ''
 

=Muttra City=
Head-quarters of the District of the same name, 
with cantonments, in the United Provinces, situated in 27° 30' N. and 
77° 41' E., on the right bank of the Jumna, on the main road from 
Agra to Delhi, and on the Cawnpore-Achhnera Railway, 886 miles 
from Calcutta and 914 from Bombay. A new broad-gauge line from 
Agra to Delhi, passing through Muttra, has recently been completed, 
and another towards Bombay is under construction. Population has 
fluctuated in the last thirty years: (1872) 59,281, (1881) 57,724, (1891) 
61,195, ^"d (1901) 60,042. In 1901 Hindus numbered 46,523, and 
Musalmans 12,598. 

The city of Muttra is one of the great centres of Hindu religious 
life, being famous as the birthplace of Krishna, who is now reverenced 
as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. Its early history has been narrated 
in that of Muttra District. Inscriptions and other relics prove that 
early in the Christian era it was a centre of Buddhism and Jainism, 
and in the seventh century the Chinese pilgrim still found Buddhist 
priests and monasteries, Muhammadan historians chiefly refer to 
it as a town to be plundered, or as a seat of idolatry with buildings 
to be destroyed. A town called Maharat-ul-Hind, identified as Muttra, 
was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018-9, About 1500 Sultan 
Sikandar LodT utterly destroyed all the shrines, temples, and images. 
During Akbar's reign religious tolerance led to the building of new- 
temples ; but in 1636 Shah Jahan appointed a governor to 'stamp out 
idolatry' in Muttra. In 1669-70 Aurangzeb visited the city, changed 
its name to Islamabad, and destroyed many temples and shrines, 
building mosques on two of the finest sites. Muttra was again 
plundered by the Afghan cavalry of Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1757, 
when a crowd of defenceless pilgrims were slaughtered. The city fell 
into British hands in 1803 and was at once occupied as a cantonment, 
but did not become the civil head-quarters of the District till 1832. 
Archaeological remains of the greatest value have been discovered in 
and near Muttra'. 

The native city lies along the Jumna, presenting a highly picturesque 
appearance from the railway bridge or the opposite bank. From the 
water's edge rises a continuous line of stone ghats, thronged in the early 
morning by crowds of bathers. Fine stone houses and temples line 
the narrow road which passes along the g/idts ; and above these are 
seen, tier upon tier, the flat-roofed houses of the city, which stand on 
ground rising up from the river bank. At the north end is the old 
ruined fort where was situated one of the observatories erected by Raja 
Man Singh of Jaipur, which has now disappeared. In the centre the 
white minarets of the Jama Masjid, built in 1662, crown the picture. 

The main streets are wider and straighter than is usual in an Indian 
city, and they are paved continuously with stone flags, raised in the 
centre to secure good drainage. The numerous temples for which 
the city is noted are usually quadrangles, the walls and entrances of 
which are adorned with handsome stone carving and reticulated 
screens. The existing buildings are chiefly modern, and new temples 
and dharuisdias or shelters for pilgrims are still being added by wealthy 
bankers and the rulers of Native States. West of the city stands the 
mosque of Aurangzeb, built about 1669, on the lofty site of the temple 
of Kesava Deva, which was formerly the finest temple in Muttra and 
was celebrated throughout India. On the ghats towers the Sat! Burj or 
pillar commemorating the sati of a Rani of Jaipur, built about 1570. 

The Hardinge Gate at the principal entrance to the city, which is 
a fine specimen of stone carving, was erected by public subscription in 
memory of a former Collector. South of the city and a little distance 
from the river lie the cantonments and civil station. Muttra is the 
head-quarters of the ordinary District staff and also of an Executive 
Engineer of the Agra Canal. Close to the District offices stands 
Epigraphia Tndica, vols, i and ii ; ^^ A. Smith, The Jain Stfipa at Mat/iitrd. a museum faced with stone, carved in the usual manner, which contains 
a number of sculptures and other objects found in the District. Muttra 
is the chief station of the Baptists, of the Church Missionary Society, 
and of the Methodist Episcopal Mission in the District. 

Muttra was constituted a municipality in 1866. During the ten 
years ending 1901 the income and expenditure averaged Rs. 61,000. 
In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 89,000, chiefly derived from octroi 
(Rs. 64,000) ; and the expenditure was Rs. 8i,ooc. The sewage of the 
city is collected in tanks and carried by carts to a distance. Solid 
matter is trenched on the grass farm in cantonments. 

While the prosperity of the city chiefly depends on its religious 
attractions, its commercial importance is increasing. Throughout 
the nineteenth century it was the head-quarters of the great banking 
firm of the Seths, Mani Ram and Lakshm! Chand, one of the most 
celebrated in India, which has now collapsed. Four cotton-gins and 
presses employed 392 hands in 1903, and there is a considerable export 
of cotton and grain, while sugar, piece-goods, and metals are imported. 
The city is noted for the production of paper for native account-books, 
and also for the manufacture of brass idols and other small articles 
sold to pilgrims. It contains a large number of schools, including 
a high school with 170 pupils, a tahs'iU school with 150, the American 
Methodist school with 140, besides seven schools for boys and eleven 
for girls, aided by the District or municipal boards, and twenty private 
schools ax\dpathsd/as. 

The population of the cantonments in 1901 was 2,928, and the 
ordinary garrison consists of a regiment of British cavalry. In 1903-4 
the income and expenditure of cantonment funds were both about 
Rs. 7,000.