Purnea District, 1908/ Division
Contents |
Purnea District (Bengal) 1908
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.
District in the Bhagalpur Division of Bengal, lying between 25° 15' and 26° 35' N. and 87° o' and 88° 32' E., with an area of 4,994 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the State of Nepal and Darjeeling District; on the east by Jalpaigurl, Dinajpur, and Malda; on the west by the District of Bhagalpur; and on the south by the Ganges, which separates it from the Santal Parganas and from South Bhagalpur. The District lies therefore at the eastern extremity of the submontane tract known as North Bihar, which is wedged in between the Ganges and Nepal. Purnea originally belonged to Bengal, the river Kosi forming the eastern boundary of trie sub-province of Bihar ; but, in common with the rest of the Bhagalpur Division, the District now forms part of Bihar.
physical aspects
Lying towards the eastern limit of the Gangetic plaln, Purnea presents an almost dead level, with the exception of a few tracts of undulating country in the north, bordering on Nepal, . and a small hill of nodular limestone (kankar) near Manihari in the south, an outlying spur of the Ckota Nagpur plateau. The east of the District is intersected by rivers and natural drainage channels, which give access to all parts of this tract during the rainy season; and the rice swamps are never completely dry. The west, on the other hand, is a sandy grass country seamed by old channels of the Kosi river, which is constantly changing its bed and is now steadily trending westwards. Wherever it goes, the Kosi covers its banks with a thick deposit of sand during its annual inundations ; and the consequence is that this part of the District is comparatively little cultivated, though it affords pasturage for vast herds of cattle.
The rivers are all tributary to the GANGES, the largest being the Kosi, the MAHANANDA, and the Panar, The Panar is formed by the confluence of several hill streams from Nepal, and roughly marks the boundary line between the arable land in the east and the pasture land in the west. It receives several tributaries on its left bank, and sends off the Monain and Bhishna frojn its right bank, eventually joining the Ganges in the south-east corner of the District. Of the other rivers, the most important are the Saura, which, rising in the north-west of the District, flows past the Purnea town and joins the Ganges near Manihari; and the Kankai, the principal tributary of the Mahananda.
The District is covered by alluvial deposits, consisting in the east of a rich loam, while in the west the country is deeply overlald with sand deposited by the Kosi.
In the east, where the ground is not occupied by the usual crops of North Bengal, it is covered by an abundant natural vegetation* Old river-beds, ponds, and marshes, and streams with a sluggish current have a copious vegetation of Vallisneria and other plants. Land subject to inundation has usually a covering of Tamarix and reedy grasses ; and in some parts, where the ground is more or less marshy, Rosa involucrata is plentiful. Few trees occur on these inundated Lands; the most plentiful and the largest is Barringtonia acutangula. Though the District contains no forests, this part of it is well timbered, but the sandy wesstern prairies are nearly treeless. Mango groves are a common feature, and several species of Ficus are also numerous. The villages are generally embedded in thickets or shrubberies of semi-spontaneous and more or less useful trees. Wild hog and hog deer abound ; there are also a few leopards arid wild buffaloes, and tigers are occasionally met with.
There are no extremes of temperature ; the mean is 62 in January, rising to 75 in Mareh and reaching 84, its highest point, in May. The lowest mean minimum is 48 in January and the highest mean maximum 95 in April. Rainfall commences early and is heavy, the annual fall being 71 inches, of which 13*1 inches fall in June, 17.7 in July, 15.8 in August, and 12.9 in September. Destructive floods, due to the overflow of the Ganges, Kosi, and Mahananda, occur almost annually in the south and east of the District. The earthquake of 1897 was severely felt and caused great damage to masonry houses.
History
The Mahananda river traditionally marks the farthest eastern limit of the extension of Aryan influence, and the early history of this District is confused by the struggles which ensued between the wesstern invaders and the aboriginal inhabitants. It is probable that the north of the District was overrun by the Nepalese and other hillmen, until it was finally conquered by Saif Khan in the seventeenth century. According to the Mahabharata, the Mahananda formed the boundary between the kingdom of Anga on the west and Pundra or Paundravardhana, the country of the Pods, whose capital was at Mahasthan in Bogra District. During the ninth century the Pal dynasty rose to power in the country formerly known as Puridra and Anga, and the, monolith near Darara factory, in the west of the District, probably dates from this period. In the beginning of the thirteenth century the south of the District is said to have constituted part of the kingdom of Lakshman Sen, whose capital was at Nadia, and to have been conquered by Muhammad-i-Bakhtyar Khilji. In the early days of Mughal rule Purnea was an outlying military province of the Mughal empire, and its revenues were almost consumed in protecting its borders against the incursions of the wild tribes from the north and east. Early in the seventeenth century a faujddr was appointed with the title of Nawab, who united with the command of the frontier army the fiscal duties of dinil or superintendent of the revenues. At this time the northern frontier was at Jalalgarh, a frontier fort only a few miles north of Purnea town. In 1722 the post of faujddr was held by Saif Khan, the greatest of the governors of Purnea, who extended the frontier on all sides, driving the NepSlese 30 miles northward to the present frontier and taking possession of the Dharampur pargana, which then lay west pf the Kosi and was included in the sarkdr of Monghyr. One of his successors, Shaukat Jang, declared war against Siraj-ud-daula, the Nawab of Bengal; and the latter, flushed with his recent capture of Calcutta, marehed in 1757 to Purnea and gained a great victory at Nawabganj. s The District came into the possession of the British in 1765, along with the rest of Bengal ; but it reMained in a state of anarehy until 1770, when an English official was appointed with the title of Super* intendent. Its present area has been arrived at gradually after the transfer of large portions to create the District of Malda, and more recently to consolidate Bhagalpur upon the wesstern frontier. During the Mutiny two parties of mutineers entered Purnea, but were forced out into Nepal by the energetic action of the Commissioner, Mr. George Yule, before they could do any mischief. There are ruins of old forts at Benugarh, Asurgarh, t)arara, Sikligarh, Jalalgarh and elsewhere.
Population
The population of the present area increased from 1,714,995 in 1872 to 1,849,073 in 1881, and to 1,944,658 in 1891, but fell to 1,874,794 in 1901. The decrease of 3-6 per cent, during the last decade is attributable to the general unhealthiness of the District, and especially to the two great cholera epidemics of 1891 and 1900, the latter of which accounted for over 46,000 deaths, or 24 per 1,000 of the population; while the total recorded death-rate in the same year reached the appalling figure of 56 per 1,000. During the years 1892-1900 the reported deaths exceeded the births by more than 38,000. Fever is the chief cause of the mortality; a peculiar form known as kdtadukha, whose characteristic symptom is pigmentation of the skin, is apparently of malarial origin and is extremely malevolent. Goitre and deaf-mutism are prevalent along the course of the Kamla river. The table below gives particulars of population for each subdivision in 1901 :
The three towns are PURNEA, the head-quarters, KISHANGANJ, and the important railway junction of KATIHAR. The density is less than in any other Bihar District. The only thdna which showed an in- crease during the decade fnding 1901 was Saifganj, which owes its development of 28-6 per cent, to the growing importance of Katihar.
With this exception, the decline is greatest in the thanas in the east, especially in Balarampur, which is studded with marshes unfit for cultivation and is already the most sparsely populated thdna in the District. Numerous graziers from the Bihar Districts, particularly from Bhagalpur, feed their cattle during the cold-season months on the splendid pasture-lands to be found on the left bank of the Kosi river. The Mahananda river forms a linguistic boundary between Hindi on the west and Bengali on the east ; and the Census figures, which" return 94-6 per cent, of the population as Hindi-speaking and only 5 per cent, as Bengali-speaking, are not reliable. Dr. Grierson estimates that a third of the inhabitants speak Bengali, and this is probably correct. The Mahananda is also a religious boundary, as Musalmans number two-thirds of the inhabitants east of this river, but west of it less than one-third. Of the total population, Hindus (1,080,091) constitute 57.6 per cent, and Muhammadans (793,672) 42.3 per cent. In 1901 the number of native Christians was 134.
The majority of the Muhammadans are returned as Shaikhs (671,000) ; and these, together with the Jolaha and Dhunia functional castes, are doubtless the descendants of converts from the aboriginal Rajbansis or Kochs '(103,000) of North Bengal, who are still very numerous east of the Mahananda. Ahlrs and Goalas number 125,000, and most of the other great Bengal and Bihar castes are largely represented. The Kishanganj subdivision is the home of the Gangai or Ganesh (42,000), who are especially numerous along the course of the Kankai river. Of the population, 71 per cent, are supported by agriculture, 12 per cent, by industries, 0-5 per cent, by commerce, and o6 per cent by the professions.
Agriculture
Owing to the extensive pasturage, the proportion of arable land is far below the average of the neighbouring Districts. The agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are shown below, areas being in square miles :
Rice is the principal crop, and is grown on 1,910 square miles, or 65 per cent, of the net area cropped, winter rice covering 40 per cent, and autumn rice 25 per cent. Pulses and oilseeds, principally mustard, "Of which the District is one of the largest producers, are extensively grown, each crop covering 9 per cent, of tfie net cultivated area, while indigo and tobacco occupy 23,000 and 31,000 acres respectively. -The cultivation of indigo, which is grown Mainly in the south and west, is on the decline, but tobacco and jute are gaining ground. Jute covers 3 per cent, of the net cropped area, being grown principally in thg north and east.
Cultivation is gradually increasing, and within the last thirty years a large amount of waste land has been brought under the plough. The cultivators are on the whole well-to-do, and Government loans are rarely needed; Rs. 9,000, however, was advanced in 1892-3 in con- sequence of a partial failure of the crops.
The local cattle are small and feeble ; but good cart-bullocks are imported from Chapra and Tirhut, the principal markets being the Khagra, Shahpara, Islanjpur, and Madanpur fairs in this District, and the Alawakhawa fair in Dinajpuri There are also large cattle markets at IchamatT, Phulbaria (near Kasba), Phulbaria (near Blblganj), and Gandharbdanga. In the vast grass prairies on the banks of the Kosi and Ganges, fine buffaloes are bred in large numbers, the arens or long-horned variety, which is said to contain a strain of the wild buffalo, being more common in the south and the bhangris or short- horns in the north.
Trade and communications
Rough coloured cloths, known as photas cart-wheels, mats, and gunny-bags are manufactured in the Kishanganj subdivision, the last being of superior quality and largely exported ; rough but durable blankets are woven by a colony of Gareris at Katihar. The art-ware known as bidri is manufactured, in the shape of hukka stands, bottles, and plates, from an alloy of brass inlald with silver ; but the industry is declining, being now confined to a few families in the neighbourhood of Purnea and iCasba. Indigo is still the most important manufacture, and there are about twenty-five factories in the District ; but the area under cultiva- tion has much contracted in recent years, and the out-turn in 1903-4 amounted to only 256 tons. Five jute presses, two of which are worked by steam, give employment to about 200 operatives.
The chief exports are rice and food-grains, jute, oilseeds (especially mustard seed), and tobacco ; and the chief imports are rice and paddy from Dinajpur, food-grains, sugar, salt, European piece-goods, kerosene oil, and gunny-bags from Calcutta, sugar and country-made cloths from the United Provinces (chiefly Mirzapur, Azamgarh, and Ghazlpur), and coal. The chief centres of trade are FORBESGANJ, Raniganj, KASBA, PURNEA, KATIHAR, BARSOI, KISHANGANJ, and Kharkhari, all except Raniganj and Kharkhari being situated on the railway, which conveys the bulk of the traffic. The trans-frontier trade with Nepal is carried by carts, coolies, and pack-animals, the principal imports from Nepal being rice^and paddy, jute, guni^-bags, mustard seed, and timber, and the chief exports salt, sugar, kerosene oil, cotton twist, and piece-goods.
The Bihar section of the Eastern Bengal State Railway (metre gauge) traverses the District from Kachna on the border of Dinajpur to Mani- harl on the Ganges, connecting with the Bengal and North-Wesstern Railway at Katihar. A branch line runs from Barsoi to Kishanganj, and a second branch from Katihar via Purnea and Forbesganj to the Kosi at Anchra Ghat. The chief road is the Ganges-Darjeeling road from the Ganges at Karagola to Titalya in Jalpaigurl, which is metalled throughout its length of 105 miles. This is a Provincial road but is Maintained by the District board, which keeps up in all 2,234 miles of roads, of which 120 miles are metalled and 424 are village tracks. The most important of these are the road from Jankinagar to Abadpur, pass- ing through Purnea, Kadba, and Barsoi, and that from Pathardewa to Manihari through Forbesganj, Araria, Purnea, and Katihar. The steamers of the Ganges service of the India General Steam Naviga- tion Company touch at Manihari in the south of the District, and connect at Sakrigali with the East Indian Railway.
The District is not especially liable to famine, but in the great Bengal famine of 1770 more than a third of the inhabitants are said to have perished. There was scareity in 1874, when relief was afforded on a lavish scale.
Administration
For adininistrative purposes the District is divided into three sub- divisions, with head-quarters at PURNEA, KISHANGANJ, and BASANTPUR. The District Magistrate-Collector is assisted by a staff of five Deputy-Magistrate-Collectors. The subdivi- sional officers at Basantpur and Kishanganj are usually Deputy-Magis- trates, though the latter, who is assisted by a Sub-Deputy-Magistrate, is occasionally a Civilian.
The civil courts are those of five Munsifs, two stationed at Kisham ganj, and the others at Purnea, Basantpur, and Katihar ; and of a Sub- Judge subordinate to the District and Sessions Judge, who is ex officio a special judge under the Bengal Tenancy Act. For criminal work, apart from the Sessions court, there are normally five courts of magis- trates at Purnea, two at Kishanganj, and one at Basantpur. Dacoity and burglary are prevalent crimes.
In 1760, shortly before the British took over the administration of the District, the land revenue demand was fixed at 21 lakhs, of which 1.64 lakhs was allotted for collection, garrison, and other charges. In 1764 the demand was reduced to 18 lakhs, and on the Company's occupation it dropped to 15 lakhs, and in 1793 to 12 1/2 lakhs. With a few unimportant exceptions, the whole of the District is permanently settled. In 1903-4 the current demand was n79 lakhs, payable by 1,702 estates, the incidence being R. 0-8-9 Per cultivated acre, or 27 per cent, of the rental. Settlement proceedings under the Tenancy Act are in progress in Surjyapur pargana, which is nearly coterminous with the Kishanganj subdivision, and are being extended to the whole District Many of the proprietors are absentees ; and they frequently experience great difficulty in recovering their rents, as the cultivators arp independent, and prone to combine against their landlords. This has led to a great extension of the farming system, especially in the east of the District, where five-year leases are common. A peculiar tenure, known as the gdch, is prevalent in the Kishanganj subdivision. This tenure was originally a grant of an undefined area of jungle land at a low rental, to encourage reclamation ; but it tends to become hereditary. Rents vary widely in different parts of the District, the prevailing rates ranging between 7 annas and 14 annas per acre in the Kadba* pargana and between Rs. 2 and Rs. 6-4 in the Surjyapur pargana ; while for the best jute and tobacco lands as much as Rs. 30 per acre is sometimes paid.
The following table shows the collections of land revenue and of total revenue (principal heads only), in thousands of rupees :
Outside the municipalities of PURNEA and KISHANGANJ, local affairs are managed by a District board, to which local boards for the three subdivisions are subordinate. In 1903-4 its income was Rs. 2,22,000, of which Rs. 1,13,000 was derived from rates; and the expenditure was Rs. 2,35,000, including . Rs. 1,54,000 spent on public works.
An embankment constructed by the Gondwara indigo concern pro- tects the east bank of the Kosi, and a small Government embankment has been constructed at Belwa to restrain the Fanar from encroaching westwards. The Kosi is spanned near Kursela by a railway bridge which is an excellent piece of engineering work, and there is a fine railway bridge over the Mahananda near Barsoi.
The District contains 15 police stations and 26 outposts. The force under the District Superintendent in 1903 consisted of 4 inspectors, 52 sub-inspectors, 40 head constables, and 485 constables ; the rural police numbered 4,801 chauklddrs and 493 daffadars. The District jail at Purnea town has accommodation for 246 prisoners, and sub- jails at Kishanganj and Basantpur for 40.
Education is exceptionally backward, as only 3.0 per cent, of the population (5.7 males and o.1 females) could read and write in 1901. The number of pupils under instruction increased from 15,483 in 1892-3 to 18,967 in 1901-2. In 1903-4, 23,098 boys and 3,551 Girls. were at school, being respectively 16-0 and 2.5 per cent, of those of school-going age. The number of educational institutions, public and private, in that year was 1,084, including 16 secondary, 918 primary, and 150 special schools. The expenditure on education was Rs. 1,29,000, of which Rs, 9,000 was met from Provincial funds, Rs. 39,000 from District funds, Rs. 1,100 from municipal funds, and Rs. 49,000 from fees.
In 1903 the District contained 17 dispensaries, of which six had accommodation for 59 in-patients. The cases of 66,000 out-patients and 704 in-patients were treated during the year, and 1,851 operations were performed. The expenditure was Rs. 24,000 and the income Rs. 34,000, of which Rs. 3,000 was derived from Government contribu- tions, Rs. 7,000 from Local and Rs. 4,000 from municipal funds, and Rs. 14,000 from subscriptions.
Vaccination is compulsory only within the Purnea and Kishanganj municipalities. The number of successful operations in 1903-4 was 61,000, or 33*2 per 1,000 of the population. [M. Martin, Eastern India, vol.iii (1838) ; Sir W. W. Hunter, Statis- tical Account of Bengal, vol. xv (1877).]
