Hansi 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.
Hansi Town
Head-quarters of the tahsil of the .same name in Hissar District, Punjab, situated in 29^ 7' N. and 75^ 58' E., on the Rewari-Bhatinda branch of the Rajputana-Mahva Railway, 15 miles from Hissar. Population (1901), 16,523. This is one of the most ancient towns in Northern India, and appears to have been a stronghold of the Kushans, though local tradition attributes its foundation to Anang Pal, the Tomar king of Delhi. According to the authorities quoted in Tod's Rajasthan, Asl or Hansi was assigned to the son of Bisaldeo Chauhan about A. ij. 1000. ]\Iasud, son of Mahmud of Ghazni, took it, after one failure, in 1036, but, according to Firishta, it was recovered by the Delhi Raja in 1043. Prithwl Raj made considerable additions to the fort at Hansi, converting it into an important military stronghold. It fell into the hands of Muhammad of Ghor in 1192, and was, until the foundation of Hissar, the administrative head-quarters of the neighbour- hood. Hansi was depopulated by the famine of 1783, and lay deserted until 1798, when the famous adventurer George Thomas, who had seized upon the greater part of Hariana, fixed his head-quarters here. Thenceforth the town began to re\ive, and on the establishment of British rule in 1803 it was made a cantonment, where a considerable force, consisting chiefiy of local levies, was staticjned. In 1857 the troops mutinied, murdered all Europeans upon whom they could lay hands, and combined with the wild Rajput tribes in plundering the country. On the restoration of order, the cantonment was given up. A high brick wall, with bastions and loopholes, surrounds the town, while the canal, which flows at its feet, contributes to its beauty by a fringe of handsome trees. Since the j\Iutiny, however, the houses have fallen into decay and the streets lie comparatively deserted, owing to the removal of the troops. The ruins of the fort overlook the town on the north. It contains two mosques and the tomb of Saiyid Niamat UUah, killed in resisting Muhammad of Ghor. The mosque and tombs of Kutb Jamal-ud-din and his successors are on the west of the town, with the tomb of Ali Mir Tijara. Near by is a mosque called the Shahid Ganj, situated probably on the scene of Masud's lirst unsuccess- ful attemi)t to take Hansi.
The municipality was created in 1867. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 18,500, and the expenditure Rs. 18,800. In 1903-4 the income and expenditure were Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively, the chief source of income being octroi. The town has 6 cotton-ginning factories, 2 cotton-presses, and 2 com- bined ginning and pressing factories, and is a local centre of the cotton trade. The number of factory hands in 1904 was 1,285. ^^ possesses a vernacular middle school and a dispensary.
