Porahat
Porahat, 1908
Estate in the north-west of Singhbhum District, Bengal, lying between 22degree 15' and 22degree 54' N, and 85' 5' and 85 46' E., with a total area of 813 square miles, or 514 square miles if its dependencies be excluded. It is for the most part hilly and is largely covered with forest. A fairly open belt of country runs from the north-east to the south-west ; this has been opened up by the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, and is healthier and more extensively cultivated than the remainder of the estate.
In former times the whole of Singhbhum proper was ruled by a family of Rathor Rajputs, claiming descent from an officer of Raja Man Singh's army which was sent to Bengal at the time of "Daud Khan's rebellion. The States of Saraikela and Kharsawan were carved out of the original State for junior members of the Raja's family ; and the chief of Saraikela gradually extended his power and dominions until he became a serious rival to the head of the family, who was now known as the Raja of Porahat. The country was saved by its rocky boundaries and sterile soil from conquest by the Marathas, and was still independent when, in 1818, Raja Ghanasyam Singh Deo tendered his allegiance to the British Government. His chief objects were to secure a recognition of his supremacy over the Rajas of Saraikela and Kharsawan, and to obtain aid in reducing the refractory tribe of Larka Kols or Hos. The British Government disallowed his claim to supre- macy over his kinsmen of Saraikela and Kharsawan, but accepted merely a nominal tribute of Rs. 101, and refrained from interfering in any way with the internal administration of the State. An engage- ment embodying these conditions was taken from him in 1820.
It was intended that similar agreements should be entered into by the chiefs of Saraikela and Kharsawan; but the matter appears to have been overlooked, and those chiefs have never paid tribute, though they have frequently been called upon to furnish contingents of armed men to aid in suppressing disturbances. The Porahat family gradually sank into poverty; and in 1837 the Raja received a pension of Rs. 500 as a compassionate allowance, in compensation for any losses he might have sustained in consequence of our assumption of the direct man- agement of the Kolhan. In 1857 Arjun Singh, who was then Raja, after delivering up to Government the Chaibasa mutineers, rebelled himself. He was captured and deported to Benares, and his State was confiscated. Some portions of it were given to the chiefs of Sarai- kela and Kharsawan, and one or two other persons who had helped the Government during the Mutiny; and the rest, on Arjun Singh's death, was regranted in 1895 to his son Natpat Singh ‘4o be held by him and his lineal male heirs according to the custom of lineal primogeniture (the eldest male of the eldest branch being preferred) as an inalienable and impartible revenue-free zamindari; Anandpur and Kera were formerly khorposhs or maintenance grants made by the Raja of Porahat to junior members of the family, and their holders paid quit-rents to him ; these were remitted by Government after the Mutiny, and Narpat Singh has now no right to receive rents from or to interfere with them, but he has a reversionary right of succession in the event of extinction of male heirs. Bandgaon and Chainpur are under-tenures, the rent of which has been fixed in perpetuity. The forests of the Porahat estate are managed for the Raja's benefit by the Forest department.
The estate (excluding the dependencies) is divided into ten groups of villages or ptrs. Two of these, which lie in the more open part of the country, are known as the Sadant pirs, and the remainder as the Kolhan pirs. The estate has recently been resettled for fifteen years from 1903. In Porahat proper 159 square miles are cultivated, and 73 square miles are cultivable waste, 38 square miles are un- cultivable, and 244 square miles are under forest. The chief crop is rice, but some millets and pulses are also grown, especially in the more hilly Kolhan pirs. The rates for the best rice land vary from R. 0-12-7 per acre in the Kolhan to Rs. 1-9-2 in the Sadant pirs; and the total rental fixed at the settlement was Rs. 38,000, rising to Rs. 42,000 after five years.
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.
