Lalitpur 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.
Lalitpur Town
Head-quarters of the subdivision and tahsil of the same name in Jhansi District, United Provinces, situated in 24° 42' N. and 78° 28' E., on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and on the Cawnpore-Saugor road. Population (1901), 11,560. Tradition ascribes the founding of the town to Lalita, wife of a Raja Sumer Singh, who came from the Deccan. It was taken from the Gonds early in the sixteenth century by Govind Bundela and his son, Rudra Pratap. A hundred years later it was included in the Bundela State of Chanderi. About 1800 an indecisive battle was fought close by between the Bundelas and Marathas ; and in 181 2 it became the head-quarters of Colonel Baptiste, who was appointed b\- Sindhia to manage Chanderi.
On the formation of a British District of Chanderi in 1844, Lalitpur became the head-quarters, and it remained the capital of the District, to which it gave its name in 1 861, up to 1891, when Lalitpur and Jhansi Districts were united. The story of the Mutiny at Lalitpur has been narrated in the history of Jhansi District. The town contains a number of Hindu and Jain temples, some of which are very picturesque. A small building, open on three sides save for a balustrade, and supported on finely- carved columns, obviously derived from a Chandel building, bears an inscription of Firoz Shah Tughlak, dated 1358. Lalitpur is the head-quarters of a Joint-Magistrate and of a Deputy-Collector, and also contains a dispensary and a branch of the American Mission with an orphanage. It has been a municipality since 1870, but is one of the few towns in the United Provinces where none of the municipal com- missioners is elected. During the ten years ending 1901 the income and expenditure averaged Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 13,000 respectively. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 19,000, chiefly derived from octroi (Rs. 11,000) and from rents and fees (Rs. 6,000); and the expenditure was Rs. 21,000. Lalitpur has a large and increasing export of oilseeds, hides, and ghi, besides a considerable road traffic with the neighbouring Native States. Large quantities of dried beef are exported to Rangoon. There are four schools with 247 pupils, including 25 girls.
