Kawardha
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.
Kawardha
Feudatory State in the Central Provinces, lying between 21 50' and 22 30' N. and 8o° 50' and 8i° 26' E., with an area of 798 square miles. It lies on the border of the eastern range of the Satpura. Hills, between the Districts of Balaghat, Drug, Bilaspur, and Mandla. The western half of the State consists of hill and forest country, while to the east is an open plain. Kawardha (population, 4,772), the head-quarters, is 54 miles from Tilda station on the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. The name is believed to be a corruption of Kabirdham or ' the seat of Kabir,' and Kawardha is the official head- quarters of the mahants of the KabTrpanthi sect. At the village of Chhapri, 1 1 miles to the west of Kawardha, is situated the fine old temple of Bhoram Deo. It is highly decorated, contains several in- scriptions; and is assigned to the eleventh century. The Kawardha family are Raj Gonds and are related to the zamindars of Pandaria in Bilaspur, the Kawardha branch being the junior. In the event of failure of heirs, a younger son of the Pandaria zamindar succeeds. The estate was conferred for military services by Raghuji Bhonsla. The present chief, Jadunath Singh, succeeded in 1891 at the age of six years. He is being educated at the Rajkumar College, Raipur, and during his minority the State is administered through the Political Agent for the Chhattlsgarh Feudatory States. The State contains 346 inhabited villages, and the population in 1901 was 57,474. It decreased by 37 per cent, in the preceding decade, during which Kawardha was severely affected by famine in several years. The density is 72 persons per square mile. Gonds, Chamars, Kurmis, and Telis are the principal castes, and the Chhattisgarhl dialect of Hindi is universally spoken.
In the open country there is a considerable quantity of good black soil. Included in Kawardha are the three subordinate zamlnddri estates of Boria, Bhonda, and Rengakhar, with an estimated total area of 405 square miles. These have not been surveyed, and no statistics for them are available. Of the remaining area, which has been cadastrally surveyed, 242 square miles are occupied for cultivation, of which 222 are under crop. The cropped area has considerably de- creased in recent years owing to the unfavourable seasons. The principal crops are kodon, which covers 100 square miles, wheat t,^, rice 35, and cotton 54. Only 165 acres are irrigated, from wells. About 452 square miles, or more than half the total area of the State, are forest. The forests consist mainly of inferior species, and sal (Shorea robusta) is the principal timber tree. The State contains 36 miles of gravelled and 74 miles of embanked roads, constructed under the supervision of the Engineer of the Chhattlsgarh States division. The principal routes are those from Dongargarh to Pandaria, and from Kawardha to Simga.
The revenue of the State in 1904 amounted to Rs. 1,10,000, of which Rs. 70,000 was derived from land, Rs. 13,000 from forests, and Rs. 1o,ooo from excise. The system of land revenue assessment is the same as in British territory, but the headmen of villages have no pro- prietary rights. Excluding the zamindari estates, which pay a revenue of Rs. 1,630, the incidence of land revenue is 8 annas 9 pies per culti- vated acre. The usual cesses are realized with the land revenue. The expenditure in 1904 amounted to Rs. 1,12,000, the principal items being Government tribute (Rs. 32,000), allowances to the ruling family (Rs. 13,500), public works (Rs. 9,000), general administration (Rs. 9,600), and police (Rs. 6,000).
The tribute is liable to periodical revision. Since 1893 the State has allotted Rs. 1,60,000 to public works, which has been mainly expended in the construction of the roads already mentioned and of buildings for the State offices. The expenditure on education in 1904 was Rs. 2,900, from which 12 schools with about 900 pupils are maintained. Only 879 persons were returned as literate in 1901, the proportion of the male population able to read and write being 3 per cent. A dispensary has been estab- lished at Kawardha, at which 15,000 persons were treated in 1904. The relations of the State with Government are in charge of a Political Agent, under the supervision of the Commissioner, Chhattis- garh Division.
