Sirpur Tandur
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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Sirpur Tandur
Physical aspects
Formerly a sub-district in the Bidar Division of Hyderabad State, lying between 19° 0' and 19° 56' N. and 77° 53' and 80° 0' E., with an area of 5,029 square miles, of which 4,842 square miles are khalsa, the rest being jagir. It is bounded on the north and east by the Yeotmal District of Berar and the Chanda District of the Central Provinces ; on the south by the Karimnagar and Nizamabad Districts of Hyderabad ; and on the west by the Nander District of Hyderabad and the Yeotmal District of Berar. The river Penganga separates it from Berar on the north, and the Wardha and Pranhita divide it from Chanda on the east.The Sahyadriparvat or Satmala range traverses the sub-district from the north-west to the south-east for about 175 miles. Other hills in the east are of minor importance.
The Penganga is the most important river. It runs along the western and northern borders of the sub-district, until it falls into the Wardha, north of the Rajura taluk. The Wardha passes along the eastern border of the Rajura taluk. The other streams are the Pedda- vagu, an affluent of the Wardha, 100 miles long, and the Kapnavarli and Amlun, tributaries of the Penganga, the latter rising in the Sahyadriparvat range.
The geological formations are the Archaean gneiss ; the Cuddapah, Sullavai, and Gondwana series, the latter including Talcher, Barakar, Kamptee, Kota-Maleri, and Chikiala beds; and the Deccan trap.
The sub-district is clothed with scrubby jungle and brushwood, besides having a very large extent of forests, which contain teak, ebony, sandal-wood, rosewood, dhaurd (Anogeissus latifolia) bilgu (Chloro- xylon Swietenia), tamarind, mango, nim, and kuchla (Nux vomica).
The hills abound in wild animals, such as tigers, leopards, bears, hyenas, wolves, wild dogs, nilgai, and spotted deer. Wild duck, partridges, jungle-fowl, and peafowl are to be found everywhere.
[1 The sub-district no longer exists ; see paragraph on Population below, and article on Adilabad District, which has taken the place of Sirpur Tandur. ] 2W. King, Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, vol. xviii, pt. iii. ]
The climate is most unhealthy, Init the taluk of Edlabad is not so malarious as Rajura and Sirpur, and the villages on the plain are healthier than those situated in the hilly portions of the sub-district. The temperature ranges from 60° in December to 105° in May. The annual rainfall for the twenty-one years ending 1901 averaged 41 inches. In September, 1891, the Penganga rose in high flood, and devastated most of the villages situated on its banks. The flood con- tinued for three days, and people had to take refuge in trees and on high grounds. A large number of cattle were drowned. In 1903 a slight shock of earthquake was felt.
History
Very little is known of the history of the sub-district prior to its becoming part of Hyderabad State. It is said that at one period the taluk of Rajura belonged to a Gond Raja, and subsequently passed to the Bhonslas.
An old fort on a hill near Mahur in the Edlabad taluk contains a masonry palace, a mosque, and two large domed buildings. At the foot of a hill, west of Mahur, is the Pando Lena, a cave consisting of two halls, one of which contains a temple. An old temple on the Mahur hill, 180 feet square and 54 feet high, gives shelter to 400 gosains and their maha?it. Jdgirs have been granted for the expenses of this temple. The Manikgarh fort is said to have been built by a Gond Raja.
Population
The number of towns and villages in the sub-district is 984. Its population at each Census was: (1881) 214,674, (1891) 231,754, and (1901) 272,815. It is divided into the three taluks of Edlabad, Rajura, and Sirpur, which are all very sparsely populated. Adilabad (Edlabad) is the only town. More than 76 per cent, of the population are Hindus, 18 per cent. Animists (Gonds), and only 5 per cent. Musalmans. About 44 per cent, of the people speak Telugu and 28 per cent. Marathl. The following table shows the distribution of population in 1901 : —
In 1905 the sub-district was constituted an independent District, under the name of Adilabad. It gained two taluks, Nirmal and Narsapur, from Nizamabad (Indur) District, and two, Chinnur and Lakhsetipet, from Karlmnagar (Elgandal). The northern portions of Nirmal and Narsapur, with part of Edlabad, have been formed into a new taluk, Kinwat, the remaining portion of Narsapur being merged in Nirmal. A new taluk, Jangaon, has been formed midway between Sirpur and Lakhsetipet, consisting of villages from these two.
The Kapus or Kunbis are the most numerous agricultural caste, numbering 46,400, or 17 per cent, of the total population. Other well-known agricultural castes are the Munnurs (5,300), Kolis (4,200), and Banjaras (3,700). The labouring castes are Dhangars or shepherds (15,300), Mahars or village menials (8,000), Mangs or leather-workers (8,000), Andhs or carriers (7,900), and Panchals or smiths (7,500). The last two are strongly represented in this District. Of the trading castes, there are 4,691 Komatis, 2,177 Vanis, and 1,213 Marwaris. Brahmans number only 3,300. The population engaged in agriculture is 156,200, or 57 per cent, of the total. There were only 3 native Christians in 1901.
Agriculture
The sub-district is situated partly in the trap and partly in the granitic region, the chief soils being regar or black cotton, and kharab or sandy. Rcgar predominates in the Rajura taluk, and sandy and reddish soils in Sirpur, the Edlabad taluk being midway between. Hence rice and kharlf crops are grown in Sirpur, the former being irrigated from tanks and wells, while in Rajura rabi crops predominate, and in the Edlabad taluk kharifaxxd rabi are almost equally balanced. The soils at the foot of the hills and on the borders of the rivers are very fertile, producing wheat, cotton, and gram.
The tenure of lands is mainly ryotwari. The khalsa lands covered 4,842 square miles in 1901, of which 552 were cultivated, 1,633 were occupied by cultivable waste and fallows, 2,213 by forests, and 444 were not available for cultivation. The staple food-crop is Jowar, grown on about half of the net area cropped. Rice and wheat occupy 4 and 3 square miles ; and oilseeds, fibres, and cotton are grown on 54, 29, and 25 square miles, respectively.
The sub-district has not been surveyed, and is very thinly populated, containing extensive tracts of protected and unprotected forests and scrubby jungle, and cultivation is in a very backward condition. No steps have been taken to improve agricultural methods, but the cultivated area has increased during the past twenty years by about 8 per cent.
The cattle bred locally are strong, and the buffaloes of the Mahur pargana in the Edlabad taluk are noted as first-class milkers. There is also a small-sized breed of bullocks, which are very fast trotters. Bullocks of superior quality fetch Rs. 200 a pair, and the ordinary cattle sell at from Rs. 75 to Rs. 100 a pair. Ponies, sheep, and goats are of the ordinary kind.
The irrigated area covers only 13/2 square miles, which is supplied by 223 tanks, large and small, 99 wells, and 17 channels, all in good repair. The largest area under ' wet ' cultivation is in the Sirpur taluk. Quite recently a dam and three large tanks have been constructed in the Edlabad taluk, at a total cost of nearly Rs. 50,000, securing a revenue of Rs. 7,500.
Forests
The sub-district has a very large extent of forests. The protected area covers 2,213 square miles, and the unprotected 2,000 square miles. It is proposed to utilize part of the cultivable waste for planting forests. The principal timber trees are teak, tunki or ebony (Biospyros melanoxylon), bilgu (Chloru- xylon Swietenia), Jittigi (Dalbergia latifolia), bijdsal (Pterocarpus Marsupium), dhaurd (Anogeissus latifolia), and rosewood. The income from the sale of timber in 1901 was Rs. 25,200.
Talc, limestone, and laminated limestone of a quality superior to the Shahabad stone, and chalpa, a red mineral, are found in the Edlabad taluk. On the Rajulgutta hill in the Sirpur taluk, soapstone and iron occur. Coal is found near Sasti and Poona villages in the Rajura taluk, and experimental excavations were made in 1874-5; but satis- factory results were not obtained, and the work was abandoned. There are three coal-mines near the Sasti village. Sulphur also exists, but is not worked.
Trade and communications
There are no important hand industries. The weavers make coarse cotton cloth, such as dhotis and sdns, for local use. The Rangaris or dyers print cloth for screens and quilts. Ordinary agricultural implements are made by blacksmiths. Leathern water-bottles (chhagals) are made in Sirpur.
The chief exports are cotton, linseed, gingelly, and some grain and cattle. The main imports consist of rice, salt, kerosene oil, opium, cloth, spices, gold, silver, brass, and copper. Komatis, Marwaris, and Kachchis are the principal traders.
Famine
No railway or metalled road has been made in the sub-district. The old Nagpur road between Mannur and Sangri, 38 miles long, is un- metalled. From Edlabad to Rajura and Sirpur there is only a cart track.
No information is available regarding famines in this area. During 1900, when famine was raging in the Aurangabad Division, the ryots here were well off; but the influx of people from the adjoining Hyderabad and British famine-stricken Districts caused some distress, and a poorhousc was opened at Edlabad for 800 destitute persons. It cost the State only Rs. 2,982.
Administration
The sub-district was divided into two subdivisions — one, consisting of the taluk of Edlabad, under the Amaldar, corre sponding to a First Talukdar, while the second com- prised the tdluks of Sirpur and Rajura, under a Third Talukdar. There is a tahsilddr in each of the taluks.
The Amaldar was the chief Magistrate as well as Civil Judge of the sub-district. The Third Talukdar and three tahsllddrs exercise magisterial powers of the second and third class. These officers also preside over the subdivisional and tahsil civil courts. The Amaldar heard appeals from all the courts subordinate to him. There is little serious crime.
Prior to the formation of Districts in 1866, the revenue of the taluks of Edlabad and Sirpur was farmed out, but in 1866 these taluks were included in Indur iJistrict. Rajura was a jdgir taluk granted for the payment of troops. In 1867 the first two taluks were transferred to Elgandal District, but were made over to Indur in 1869. In 1872 the jagir taluk of Rajura was resumed, and with the other two taluks was formed into an Amaldari or sub-district. The sub-district has not been surveyed. The average assessment on 'dry' land is Rs. 6-0 per acre (maximum Rs. 8-1, minimum R. 0-2), and on 'wet' land Rs. 15 (maximum Rs. 25, minimum Rs. 6).
The land revenue and the total revenue for a series of years are shown below, in thousands of rupees : —
Owing to the changes in area made in 1905, the revenue demand of Adilabad District is now about 6.5 lakhs.
There is no local board in the sub-district. The' income from the road cess and ferries is spent on works of public utility. A small con- servancy establishment is maintained at the head-quarters of the sub district and of the other two taluks. The total income is Rs. 3,663, of which Rs. 2,482 is obtained from road cess and Rs. 1,181 from ferries.
The Amaldar is the head of the police, with the Superintendent (Mohtamim) as his executive deputy. Under the latter are 4 inspectors, 43 subordinate officers, 155 constables, and 25 Sikh mounted police. These are distributed at 18 police stations. There is a jail at Edlabad, where prisoners are kept whose term does not exceed six months, those with longer terms being sent to the Central jail at Nizamabad. The jail has accommodation for 50 prisoners.
The sub-district takes a very inferior place as regards the literacy of its population, of whom less than one per cent. (1.6 males and 0-17 females) could read and write in 1901. The total number of pupils under instruction in the sub-district in 1891, 1901, and 1903 was 360, 342, and 394 respectively. In 1903 there were four primary schools. The whole of the cost, amounling to Ks. 2,290 [)cr annum, is borne by the Educational department. In 1901 fees brought in Rs. 218.
There are two dispensaries, at which the number of cases treated in 1901 was 5,785, and the number of operations performed was 167. The expenditure was Rs. 6,616. The number of persons vaccinated in the same year was 397, or 1.45 per 1,000 of population.
