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 THE 
 
 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ.
 
 I'KINTF.D RV KALI.ANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
 EDINDt'RGH AND LONDON
 
 "^m
 
 THE 
 
 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ 
 
 ITS HISTORY AND STATISTICS 
 
 H. lBEVERIDGE, B.C.S. 
 
 MAGISTRATK AND COLLECTOR OF BAKAROANJ 
 
 LONDON 
 TKUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL 
 
 1876 
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 THE INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT 
 
 WHICH IT ATTEMPTS 
 
 TO DESCRIBE. 
 
 357104 
 
 i
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 This work is the result of nearly five years' experience 
 in Bakarganj, and of subsequent researches in the India 
 Office and the Library of the British Museum. My pri- 
 mary object has been to write a book which would be 
 useful and interesting to the officers of Government and 
 the inhabitants of the district, and therefore there is 
 much in it which can have no attraction for the oreneral 
 reader. It is pleasing to think that so many district- 
 histories are now in print, and that we are beginning to 
 have for Bengal some such statistical account as the 
 industry and patriotism of Sir John Sinclair caused to 
 be prepared for Scotland. 
 
 Among older works we have the accounts of Kangpiir, 
 Dinagepiir, and Purneah, by Francis Buchanan ; that of 
 Cuttack, by Mr Stirling ; and the excellent description 
 of Dacca, by Dr Taylor.^ Among the more recent we 
 
 ^ This work was published by Government in 1839, and is now out of 
 print. It is much to be desired that Government would correct and 
 reprint it.
 
 i 
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 have the reports on the districts of the Dacca Division, 
 Mr Brown's report on Tipperah, Colonel Gastrell's re- 
 ports on Jcssore, Faridpiir, and Bakarganj ; W^: Hunter's 
 description of Birbhum in his " Eural Annals," and the 
 same author and JMr Toynbees books on Orissa, Mr 
 Glazier s account of Rangpiir, and, above all, Mr West- 
 land's admirable report on Jessore. The reports on the 
 Dacca districts owe their origin, I believe, to the fore- 
 thought and public spirit of Mr Buckland, but more 
 than three-fourths of the work was executed by com- 
 petition-civilians ; and I am proud to think that four 
 of the other books I have mentioned have been written 
 by members of the same class. In other parts of India 
 this new class of civilians has not been idle, and I have 
 been told on good authority that one of the best district- 
 histories is the account of Ghazipur, by Mr Oldham, 
 B.C.S. 
 
 It will perhaps be thought that I have written too 
 much about such an obscure district as Bakarganj, but 
 my own consciousness is that I ought to have written a 
 great deal more, and that I have often been very meagre 
 in my treatment of important subjects. The truth is, 
 no one man can write an exhaustive district-history, 
 and still less can a foreigner adequately depict a district 
 of Bengal. AVhat I have chiefly laboured have been 
 the descriptions of the parganas and the official his- 
 tory of the district. I did this not because they were 
 the most important, but because they were less likely to
 
 PRE FA CE. IX 
 
 be done by others. My idea always has been that the 
 proper person to write the history of a district is one 
 who is a native of it, who has lived all liia life in it, and 
 who has abundance of leisure to collect information. It 
 is only a Bengali who can treat satisfactorily of the pro- 
 ductions of his country, or of its social condition — its 
 castes, leading families, peculiarities of language, cus- 
 toms, &c. I have not attempted to go minutely into 
 these matters, but my hope is that I have done enough 
 to stimulate discussion, and that I may serve to ring 
 the fuller writer in. I have said very little about the 
 mode of cultivatinor rice or other a2;ricultural methods, 
 both because I do not think that there are any which 
 are peculiar to the district, and the ordinary practices 
 have been repeatedly described already, and because 
 I have observed that such parts of a book are always 
 the first to become out of date. 
 
 In the chapter entitled " General Eemarks " I have 
 indulged in the luxury of making some observations of 
 wider scope than were admissible in the earlier part of 
 the book. Perhaps some may think that these observa- 
 tions are out of place in a district-history, but I hope 
 they have some connection with it, since they presented 
 themselves to me while writing this book. I do not 
 think that there is anything singular or novel in the 
 observations. Indeed, I should be the first to allow that 
 they had no value whatever if I thought that they 
 expressed nobody's opinions but my own. The only
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 value, or at least the only practical value of opinions 
 about India, or perhaps about any subject, is that they 
 are shared by numbers of people, and are such as natur- 
 ally suggest themselves to fair and reasonable persons 
 who are conversant with the subject-matter. With 
 regard to the question of the gradual abandonment of 
 India, which is mooted by me in a note to the General 
 Remarks, I am glad to be able to fortify myself with the 
 following remarks by my late father at the conclusion 
 of his " History of India : " — 
 
 "To the attempts made to christianise India, it has 
 been objected that the inevitable result of their success 
 would be to destroy the British rule. The inhabitants 
 made aware of their natural rights, and become capable 
 of self-government, would throw off our yoke and declare 
 their independence. Unquestionably they would. But 
 what then ? Is it meant that, for the purpose of per- 
 petuating our empire in the East, we must endeavour to 
 keep our subjects there in a state of semi-barbarism, and 
 discountenance all endeavours to raise them to our level 
 in respect of intelligence, religion, and general civilisation? 
 The time has been when such selfish and heartless policy 
 would have been looked upon with favour, but a better 
 spirit now prevails; and the determination, as announced 
 in the Queen's proclamation, and cordially acquiesced in 
 by all classes of society, is to do justice to India, and 
 more than compensate her for all the wealth she has 
 bestowed upon us by furnishing her with the means of
 
 PREFACE. xi 
 
 rising above lier present degraded state, and attaining to 
 the highest form of European civilisation. Should the 
 eifect be to enable her to dispense with our tutelage, we 
 shall have the satisfaction of feelinc^ that we ourselves 
 have been the willing instruments of her emancipation, 
 while she, even in severing the political ties by which 
 she is now bound to us, will not forget how much she 
 shall then owe to us for the enlightened and generous 
 policy which gradually prepared her for freedom. Should 
 the day ever come that India, in consequence of the 
 development of her resources by British capital, and the 
 enlightenment of her people by British philanthropy, 
 shall asjain take rank amons; the nations as an inde- 
 pendent state, then it will not be too much to say that 
 the extinction of our Indian Empire by such peaceful 
 means sheds more lustre on the British name than all 
 the other events recorded in its history." 
 
 In the above passage my father speaks of christianising 
 India.^ I should have preferred the word " civilise," 
 unless, indeed, the term christianise be used in a 
 different sense than it is at present. I have not the 
 slightest expectation that the inhabitants of India will 
 ever become Christians in the ordinary sense of that 
 
 ^ Much of my father's history was written against time and in failing 
 health, but the vigour of his mind becomes apparent whenever a suitable 
 subject for discussion presents itself. Few pieces of writing, for example, 
 can be more vigorous than his reflections on the administration and trial of 
 Warren Hastings. See also his remarks on the Permanent Settlement and, 
 the annexation of Oude.
 
 xii PREFACE. 
 
 word, uor do I suppose that any well-informed person 
 believes that missionary efforts are making progress in 
 India. 
 
 The plan of my book is first to give an account of the 
 land. Thus I begin with the physical features, and then 
 go on to a description of the j)arganas, the Sundarbans, 
 and the Government estates. After that I notice the 
 various kinds of tenures, and I have endeavoured to 
 give some information about the numerous under-tenures 
 of the district. 
 
 The chapter on antiquities and early history has been 
 placed third in the book, in order to lead up to the 
 constitution of the parganas and the financial history of 
 the district. 
 
 In Part II. I have described the people and the natural 
 productions, &c. ; and in Part III. I have given a his- 
 tory of the administration, and. chapters on detached 
 points, such as the town of Barisal, the jail, &c. 
 
 The question of the correct spelling of the proper 
 names is one I have taken some trouble with, but I am 
 aware that I have omitted the accents in many places, 
 and tliat also the spelling is often wrong. It is not in 
 every case easy to know the etymology of a proper 
 name, and in the absence of this knowledge we are very 
 apt to make mistakes in spelling. 
 
 A considerable part of the book is taken up with 
 the Appendices, and I trust that whatever judgment 
 be passed on the rest of the work, it will be found
 
 PREFACE. xiii 
 
 that the Appendices contain something of value. I 
 regret that T have been obliged to print the letters of 
 Messrs Douglas and Massie from the imperfect copies 
 in the Barisal office, and that there are therefore some 
 passages in them which are probably incorrect. The 
 reports of the Collectors at the time of making the 
 Permanent Settlement are the most important docu- 
 ments in the history of each of the districts of Bengal, 
 but it appears that very few of them have yet been 
 printed. They are fast mouldering away in our record- 
 rooms, and I hope that before it is too late Government 
 will publish a volume containing all the correspondence 
 about the Permanent Settlement of each district. 
 
 Since writing the note about early travellers in Bengal 
 (Appendix, p. 444) I have seen the first volume of 
 Eamusio's "Collection of Travels" (Venice, 1550), and 
 I am almost convinced that the lost city of Bengala is 
 neither more nor less than the famous city of Gour, 
 in the Maldaha district. One of the most valuable 
 accounts of early India appears to be the narrative of 
 Edward Barbessa or Barbosa, who was a native of 
 Lisbon, and finished his book in 1516. He afterwards 
 sailed with Magellan on his voyage round the world, 
 and was killed at the island of Zebu in 1521 (Biogra- 
 phic Universelle). Barbessa gives a description of the 
 city of Bengala (p. 330), and it appears from it that it 
 was a Mahomedan town — at least the kin 2: of it was a 
 Mahomedan, and he appears to have resided in it. The
 
 xiv PREFACE. 
 
 narratives of Varthema, and of the anonymous author 
 of the " Summary of the People of the East," &e., 
 appended to Barbessa's account, also describe the king 
 as being a Mahomedan, and this fact appears to me to 
 render it almost certain that Bengala is Gour, as the 
 latter was the only great Mahomedan city in Bengal. 
 If Bengala had been a Hindu city, and governed by a 
 Hindu king, we could understand its disappearance ; but 
 if there had been any large Mahomedan city in Bengal 
 except Gour, it would certainly have been mentioned 
 by the Mahomedan historians. The anonymous author 
 above referred to says that the king of Tripura was tri- 
 butary to the king of Bengala, and that Bengala was a 
 port two days' journey from the mouth of the Ganges. 
 This was written in the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, when Gour must have been much nearer the sea 
 than it now is. What the origin of the name Gour is I 
 do not know, but I believe that, like Bengala, it was a 
 name given to the country as well as to the town. We 
 find it in other places than in Maldaha ; for example, 
 some years ago there was a village called Gournadi — 
 i.e., the river of Gour — iu the northern part of Bdkar- 
 ganj.' 
 
 ^ Dr Wise has referred me to a passage in Ortelius which says that 
 Appian considered Bengala to be the emporium of Barakoura mentioned 
 by Ptolemy, and that Gastaldi thought Barakoura was Bacala. (See the 
 " Thesaurus Geographicus," under " Baracura.") Perhaps this name Bara- 
 koura is the origin of Le Blanc's remark about Batacouta. Appian is properly 
 Apianus, and this again is the Latin appellation of Peter Bienewitz (both 
 a-pis and hitne, signifying a bee), who was professor of mathematics at Ingol- 
 Btadt in 1520, and published a cosmography. If Gour be thought too far
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 There is a,n interesting remark made by Barbessa 
 which bears on the question of the conversion of the 
 Hindus of Eastern Bensfal to Mahomedanism discussed 
 
 o 
 
 by me at p. 247. He says that the king of Bengahi 
 being a Mahomedan, many of his Hindu subjects are 
 every day becoming Mahomedans in order to get favour 
 with the king and his governors. The anonymous 
 author of the summary tells us that the kings of Ben- 
 gala had been Mahomedans for three hundred years, 
 and this statement nearly corresponds with the date of 
 Bakhtyar Khilji's conquest of Bengal (1203). The 
 statement in my Appendix that Varthema was the jBrst 
 traveller in Bengal is incorrect, as Nicolo de Conti pre- 
 ceded him by nearly a hundred years. Conti was a 
 Venetian, and his travels are printed in the first volume 
 of Eamusio. 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to say that the Indian Govern- 
 ment is in no way responsible for any of the opinions 
 expressed in my book, and that these must not be 
 regarded as having any official value whatever. I trust, 
 however, that I have not said anything rashly, or which 
 is other than a fair expression of opinion, and I do not 
 think that I have said anything which could give just 
 cause of offence to any one. 
 
 inland for Bengala, then Ilugli, whicli was early a Mahomedan town, may- 
 be the place meant. (See the dictionary of Bruzen de La ]\Iartiniere (1730), 
 under the word " Bengale.") This writer says, " Dans le grand nombre 
 de voyages de I'Indoustan que j'ai lus je n'en ai jamais trouvtj oti il soit 
 parle de Bengale comme d'une ville dont on ait dit quelques particularites 
 capables d'en certifier la position ni meme I'existence.
 
 xvi PRE FA CE. 
 
 I liave to express my obligations to the report on 
 Bdkarganj by Mr Sutherland, to Mr "Westland's Jessore, 
 to Colonel Gastrell's report, and to the disquisition of 
 Professor Blochmann on the geography and history of 
 Bengal. I have also been assisted by the Bengali 
 account of Bdkarganj by Naba Kanth Chattanji, which 
 is a very good little manual, though I am sorry that 
 the author has not acknowledged how much he has bor- 
 rowed from Mr Sutherland. Finally, I have to declare 
 how much assistance I have derived from the native 
 officials of Bdkarganj, and especially from the CoUec- 
 torate Peshkar, Babu Koilas Chandra Ganguli. 
 
 The map prefixed to the work is a reduction from the 
 Ke venue Survey map, and I have made some alterations 
 in it in order to brins; it more into accordance with the 
 existing state of the country, and also to exhibit the 
 names mentioned in the book. I am indebted to the 
 Indian Government for permission to make use of the 
 Revenue Survey map. 
 
 H. BEVERIDGE. 
 
 London, 23d March 18/0.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 
 
 PACK 
 
 NTRODUCTION ...... 
 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 
 'hysical Features — 
 
 
 1. General Description .... 
 
 3 
 
 2. Climate ...... 
 
 10 
 
 3. Cyclones . . . . . • . 
 
 14 
 
 4. Tides ... . . 
 
 15 
 
 5. Rivers . . ... 
 
 15 
 
 6. Lukes and Swamps .... 
 
 23 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 Antiquities and Early History 
 
 26 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Financial History and Description of the Parganas — 
 
 1. Historical Sketch of the Land Settlements 
 
 2. Territorial Divisions of the District and their History 
 
 50 
 65 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SUNDARBANS — 
 
 1. General Description, the Mugs, &c. 
 
 2. Were the Suudarbaus Inliabited in Ancient Times ? 
 
 IGO 
 169
 
 xviu 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Government Estates, etc. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 181 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 Land Tenures — 
 
 1. Teimres-iu-Cliief . 
 
 2. Under-Tenures 
 
 3. Lakliiraj, or Eent-free Tenures 
 
 190 
 192 
 209 
 
 PART 11. 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 The People of BAkarganj — 
 
 
 1. General Remarks ..... 
 
 211 
 
 2. Mahomedans ..... 
 
 246 
 
 3. Hindus ...... 
 
 257 
 
 4, Buddhists ...... 
 
 259 
 
 5. Christians ...... 
 
 260 
 
 6. Others ...... 
 
 268 
 
 7. Results of the Census .... 
 
 268 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Productions 
 
 278 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Manufactures and Prices 
 
 297 
 
 PART III. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 English Administration 
 
 302
 
 CONTENTS. xix 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Kevenur Administration ..... 312 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Progress of the Criminal Administration and General 
 
 History ....... 323 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Police System ....... 345. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Jail ........ 351 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Education ....... 358 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Roads and Communications ..... 3G2 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 BarisIl ........ 367 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 General Remarks ... . . 372 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 I. Four Settlement Reports from the Collector of the 
 Dacca District, dated Cth April, 5th and 2Gth May 1790, 
 and 31st July 1792 ...... 397 
 
 II, Letter from Mr Massie, 24th March 1801 . . 421 
 
 III. BXkarganj in 1801, being a Letter from Mr AVintle, dated 
 
 7th January 1802 . . . . . . 424
 
 XX CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Extract from Mr Pellew's Article on the Physical Char- 
 acteristics OF BXkarganj ..... 432 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 I. Prices ...... 
 
 II. India Office Eecords . . . . 
 
 III. Famines of 1770 and 1787 
 
 IV. Establishment of Civil Courts at BIkarganj 
 V. Character of the People 
 
 VI. Dacoits ...... 
 
 VII. Early Travellers in Bengal 
 VIII. Francis Fernandez .... 
 
 435 
 436 
 
 441 
 442 
 443 
 444 
 444 
 446 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 Two BAkarganj Cases ...... 447 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 The Language of the District .... 450 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 Note to page 75 . . . . . . . 451 
 
 Note to page 142 . . . . . .451 
 
 Index .453
 
 THE 
 
 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTR OD UCTION. 
 
 The district of Bdkarganj is situated in Eastern Bengal, 
 and is one of the four collectorates wliicli compose the 
 Division or Commissionership of Dacca. It lies in the 
 lower portion of the delta Avhich has been formed by 
 deposits from the united waters of the Ganges or Padma, 
 the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, and falls within 
 latitudes 21° to 23° N., and longitudes 89° to 91° E. 
 The boundaries of the district of Bdkarganj are given 
 in detail in the " Calcutta Gazette " of 1 6th September 
 1874. Briefly it may be described as bounded on the 
 north by Faridpur, on the west by Faridpiir and the 
 Baleshwar river (which separates it from Jessore), on the 
 south by the Bay of Bengal, and on the east by the 
 Meghna and its estuary. Its length from north to south 
 is about 85 miles, and its breadth, including the island 
 of Dakhin Shahbazpiir, is about 60 miles. Its area is 
 about 4300 square miles. It is thus more than half the 
 size of Wales, the area o-f which is 7397 square miles.
 
 2 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 and it is sliglitly larger than the two counties of Somer- 
 set and Devon, the united area of which amounts to 
 4225 square miles (1G36 + 2589). The area of York- 
 shire, to wliich also it may be compared, is 5983 square 
 miles.^ It must, however, be confessed that the area of 
 Bakarganj is not quite accurately known. The figures 
 which I have given are derived from the Topographical 
 Survey, but that survey was made in the years 1860 to 
 1863, and considerable changes must have taken place 
 since then in an alluviatiug district such as Bdkarganj. 
 Also, I do not know the precise alteration of area Avhich 
 has been made by the transfer of the greater part of the 
 JMddarijDur subdivision to Faridpur. 
 
 The population of Bdkarganj, according to the census 
 of 1872, and after exclusion of the transferred portion 
 of the Mddaripur subdivision, is 1,878,144, of whom 
 about two-thirds (1,254,429) are Mahomedans. The 
 remaining third is composed of Hindus, with the 
 exception of a few thousand Buddhists and Christians. 
 
 Bdkarganj was made a zihi or district for magisterial 
 purposes in 1797 by Regulation 7 of that year, but 
 it did not become a Collectorate till 1817. Barisd.1 is 
 the chief town, and the seat of the courts. It is about 
 180 miles east of Calcutta. The number of villages or 
 townships in the district appears to be 3312. The land 
 revenue is about thirteen lacs and seventy thousand 
 rupees (,€137,000), and the total revenue from all sources 
 may be stated as sixteen lacs.^ The cost of the local 
 administration is under three lacs. 
 
 ^ The area of 4935 square miles -which is assigned to Bakarganj in the 
 Bengal Administration Report for 1872-73, includes the subdivision of 
 Lladaripilr, which is now part of Faridpur. 
 
 ^ In the Bengal Administration Eeport for 1873-74, p. ir. of the Statis- 
 tical Returns, the land revenue of Bakarganj is given at Rs.1,511,278, and 
 the gross revenue at Rs. 1,905,464, but this includes Madaripiir.
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 
 I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 The whole district of Bakarganj is an alluvial formation, 
 and the most general observation which can be made 
 concerning it is that the ground is everywhere flat. 
 There is not a hill in any part of it. The general slope 
 is from north to south, but it is very slight. From the 
 Ganges to the Bay of Bengal (this description includes 
 Faridpur) the difference in level is only about 22 feet over 
 the whole distance of 1 50 miles, or an average slope of 1'8 
 inch per mile. There is also a general depression towards 
 the centre of the district (vicZe Colonel Gastrell's Report). 
 The western part of the district and the central and 
 southern portions down to the Sundarbans might almost 
 be described as forming one vast rice-field, sprinkled 
 with trees and villages, and intersected by numerous 
 watercourses. The northern and eastern portions are 
 higher, and produce large quantities of cocoa and betel 
 nuts, sugar-cane, 'pdn, and some jute and cotton. 
 
 The district consists partly of mainland, and partly of 
 islands in the estuary of the Meghna. The islands are 
 quite flat, but are for the most part well raised above 
 the level of the sea ; and as there are no rivers in them, 
 they are generally less swampy than Bdkarganj Proper. 
 Commonly they present the appearance of a low table-
 
 4 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 laud, of a rich soil, and yield many kinds of crops. 
 Two or three arc, however, uninhabited and unculti- 
 vated, and are for the most part covered with tree 
 jungle. The largest island is Dakhin Shahbdzpiir, which 
 is the seat of a subdivision, and has an area of about 
 800 square miles, and a population of about 220,000 
 persons. The other principal islands are Kali, also 
 called Panchkhdli, Kazal, Bara Baisdia, Chota Baisdia, 
 and its adjuncts Koralia and Kangabali, Kalmi, Chopa, 
 Kukri ]\Iiikri, and Manpura. The last of these has a 
 population of about 4500. 
 
 The proper Bengali word for an island is uixidwip, 
 and in legal j^bi'^seology the Persian word jazira is 
 employed, but the word in common use is char. This 
 name is applied indifferently to large islands, and to 
 mere shoals and sandbanks, even though the latter fringe 
 the mainland. Many chars are submerged at every 
 tide ; hence the aspect of the rivers varies much during 
 each day. At flood, the estuary of the Meghna presents 
 the appearance of a vast expanse of water, temjDting one 
 to think that it might be a highway for all the ships of 
 the world. But the ebb shows the deceptiveness of this 
 waste of waters, for then long lines of sand gradually 
 emerge even in mid-channeL The navigation is so 
 uncertain that the native boatmen, sailing in flat- 
 bottomed country boats which draw only one or two 
 feet of water, do not like to set out much after slack - 
 water, lest they should ground as the ebb advances, and 
 so expose themselves to being caught by the bore ; if 
 they- have a fair wind, a man called the (joliija or bow- 
 man is continually thrusting a bamboo into the water 
 ahead of the boat to ascertain the depth. English-built 
 ships have, I believe, never ascended the JMeghna, but 
 sloops from Chittagong sail up it in the cold weather to
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 5 
 
 Narainganj, and also cross over to Dakhiii Slialibflzpiir, 
 ladeu with eartli-oil, and bringing away in exchange 
 cocoa and betel nuts. 
 
 I have said that the district is an alluvial formation. 
 In fact, it may be looked npon as a conqnest won by the 
 Canges and the Meghna from the Bay of Bengal. With 
 its central depression, and its deeply-indented southern 
 l)oundary, it has somewhat the appearance of the out- 
 stretched palm of the hand. Thus a fanciful eye might 
 regard it as a glove flung down by the Ganges to the 
 ocean, in gage of battle, and as an augury of future 
 victories. 
 
 As might be expected from its flatness, the scenery of 
 Bakarganj is somewhat monotonous and uninteresting. 
 As most of the district is of comparatively recent origin, 
 it has not many fine trees, nor are there any ancient 
 buildings to give picturesqueness to the landscape. In 
 fact, there is something peculiarly unromantic and pro- 
 saic about the first impressions of Bakarganj. It strikes 
 one as being a sort of agricultural Manchester, producing 
 bread-stuffs instead of cotton cloth, but without the art 
 culture for which Manchester is so justly famous. There 
 is no ancient history of Bdkarganj : no battles have been 
 fought in it, or at least no traces of them now remain ; 
 there are hardly any resident aristocracy ; and there are 
 no art products of any kind. Other districts have their 
 workers in ivory and silver, their shawlmakcrs, &c., 
 1 )ut Bakarganj has none of these. Committees for Inter- 
 national Exhibitions can get nothing from it to show in 
 Europe as trophies of Indian skill or taste. It must be 
 confessed, too, that there is something depressing in the 
 air of Bakarganj, and in the continual prospect of swamps 
 and muddy rivers. One longs for a dry tract of coun- 
 try, dotted with mango topes and tamarind-trees.
 
 6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 across wliicli one coiikl ride or walk without being 
 l)ronglit to a stand every three or four hundred yards 
 by the slimy bank of a }Hidl. Boats are all very well, 
 and one acknowledges that there is no other mode of 
 conveyance which is so economical, or so effectual for the 
 transport of heavy or fragile goods, but one wishes that 
 it could be dispensed with occasionally. It is fatiguing 
 to find that you cannot reach a place only ten miles off 
 on the map in less than eight or nine hours, and that if 
 wind and tide be against you, you may not reach it in 
 less than a day and a half. 
 
 Yet, in spite of all these disadvantages, the district is 
 not without its interest and its beauty. A writer in the 
 "Calcutta Review" endeavours to coujure up a feeling of 
 admiration for a B4karganj river, by suggesting that its 
 muddy waters have come down from the magnificent 
 valleys of the Himalayas ; but I am afraid that this is 
 an idea which will not readily come home to men's 
 bosoms, at least except of that small minority which has 
 seen Gangotri, &c. I would rest the claims of Bdkar- 
 ganj to the possession of some beauty and interest on 
 more tangible and more human grounds, and would 
 especially insist on the greenness and freshness which 
 characterise its scenery. There is at least nothing arid 
 or barren about the Bakarganj landscape ; and one who 
 has seen the weary plains of Cawnpore or Delhi must, I 
 think, turn with delight and refreshment to the waving 
 palm-trees, the wide sheets of green rice spreading with- 
 out let or hindrance of hedge or wall almost as far as the 
 horizon, and the full and flowing rivers, which meet the 
 eye in Eastern Bengal. The Mahomedans called Bengal 
 the Paradise of countries ; the Englishman, panting in 
 the heat, and longing for a sight of something more 
 inspiriting than a uniform plain, is inclined to question
 
 PHYSICAL FEATtlRES. 7 
 
 the justice of tlie epitliet. But tliere is a sense in wliicli 
 it is justifiable, and tliat too one wliicli is perliaps higher 
 than any mere sentimental feeling for fine scenery can 
 he. As Macaulay teaches us, the love of rocks and moun- 
 tains is a product of civilisation ; so that we may utter 
 the paradox, that the love of nature is an artificial taste. 
 But no aj)prenticeship, and no study of poets and 
 painters, are required for the admiration of a field of 
 standing corn, or of a wide plain of rice. Such things 
 appeal to our sympathies as men, and are lovely, as the 
 face of a friend may he dear to us, not because of its 
 mere beauty, but because of its associations. If we look 
 at the homesteads of the Bakarganj peasantry, standing 
 like "moated granges" embowered in bamboos, jdh 
 fruit and plantain trees, tamarinds and palms, and sur- 
 rounded by luxuriant rice-fields, we cannot help feeling 
 that the inhabitants enjoy a considerable amount of 
 physical wellbeing, and that they are just objects of 
 envy to the residents of other countries. The general 
 character of Bakarganj scenery is that of open plains, 
 called hholas (opens), of various sizes, separated from 
 each other by ribands of fruit-trees, and traversed by 
 numerous watercourses. The ribands represent the vil- 
 lages, the houses being always scattered and shrouded 
 in trees. There are hardly any towns in Bakarganj, and 
 every house in it has the appearance of a detached villa, 
 and is, with its orchard, a sort of rus in iirhe. The 
 houses are literally "moated granges," for every ryot's 
 house in Bakarganj is surrounded by a trench, the earth 
 from which is used for raising the foundation of the 
 homestead and the garden-ground. With the same 
 object, it is common to dig a tank wheiiever a home- 
 stead is made. The lines of villages are like living 
 walls, the bricks and lime being replaced by tree-stems
 
 8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ, 
 
 and green leaves ; and when the sunliglit falls on tliem, 
 or tliey are seen in the calm moonliglit, the effect is very 
 beautiful. 
 
 Kivcrs are always objects of interest in a landscape, 
 and though those of Bakarganj are wanting in the pic- 
 turesqueness of mountain streams, yet some of them are 
 noble bodies of water, and their banks are often well- 
 wooded and pleasant to the eye. There is, perhaps, not 
 a more graceful sight in nature than a group of areca 
 palms standing on the bank of a river. The spreading 
 banyan, the sacred fig with its wealth of acuminated 
 leaves, the gdh, conspicuous by its somewhat dome- 
 shaj^ed habit, and its massive, dark-green foliage, and 
 the clumps of feathery bamboos, have all their at- 
 traction ; but perhaps the most beautiful tree is the 
 tamarind, which often attains a large size, and has a 
 peculiarly elegant appearance, from its pinnated leaves 
 and its air of ease and freedom. The branches are 
 long and drooping, and fall about the stem with the 
 luxuriant and unstudied grace of a woman's hair escaped 
 from a fillet. The banks of some of the smaller rivers 
 are exceedingly pretty. For example, the khdl at 
 Eahamatpur, commonly ealled the Rajah's Moat (from 
 a tradition that it was dug as an entrenchment for 
 the palace at Madhabpasha), is very picturesque, both 
 banks being richly clothed with fruit-trees, flowering 
 creepers, &c. 
 
 The rivers frequently present an animated appearance 
 from the number of boats which traverse them, and 
 there is something cheering and inspiriting in the sight 
 of a fleet of white-sailed boats trooping through a long 
 reach of one of the larger rivers. Such a sight is 
 often seen to great advantage in the cold weather at 
 Barisal, when boats of many shapes and districts come
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 9 
 
 sailing down under tlic north wind, and sweep past 
 the town on their way to Bakarganj and other rice- 
 marts. The traffic on the rivers is no doubt very 
 large, but their tidal nature may sometimes make it 
 appear greater than it really is. Boatmen are very 
 gregarious in their habits, and like to keep near other 
 boats as much as possible. This is partly from a desire 
 for companionship, and partly is a reminiscence of the 
 times when it was not safe to travel alone in Bilkarganj 
 on account of the dacoits ; but independently of this, 
 it is easy to see that if rivers are tidal, and boatmen 
 have to trust chiefly to their oars and towing-ropes, 
 the boats must keep a good deal together. Cargo-boats 
 never row against the tide, and though they will tow 
 against it, the river-banks are not always, or even 
 generally, provided with towing-paths ; so that unless 
 there is a particular reason for hurry, they come to a 
 halt with the turn of the tide. It is not always the 
 same tide which is required throughout a single journey. 
 Boat-travelling is very circuitous, and the tides run up 
 and down the rivers and khals in a very perplexing 
 manner. Thus the journey from Barisal to Calcutta 
 is far from being an ebb journey throughout. It is ebl) 
 as far as Jhalukatti, then flood, then ebb again ; and 
 there are one or two changes before the Baleshwar is 
 reached and ascended with the flood. A boat arriving 
 at a place where a change of tide is required, before 
 the tide which has brought it has run out, moors or 
 casts anchor, and thus gives time to other boats to come 
 up. Hence the sight so frequently seen of a crowd of 
 boats anchored at some turn of the stream. As soon 
 as the required tide commences they set ofl" together, 
 and the river appears to be covered with boats ; but if 
 we were to return to the place in another hour, we
 
 lo DISTRICT OF BAkARGANJ. 
 
 might perhaps not see a single boat. The river now 
 appears deserted, and will remain so till a tiu-n of the 
 tide bring a fleet of boats from the opposite direction. 
 
 II. CLIMATE. 
 
 The climate of Barisal, the headquarters of Bakar- 
 ganj, and of most of the cultivated tracts, may be said 
 to be good. The temperature is decidedly lower than 
 that of most places in Bengal. In a report for 1871, 
 the Civil Surgeon (Dr Bensley) writes as follows : 
 "The climate of Barisdl, though cool, is very relaxing, 
 and recovery from any severe disease is extremely 
 tedious, often necessitating a change. The past year 
 (1871) has been remarkably cool; the average tem- 
 perature during the three seasons was 67"835° in the 
 cold season, 75'932° in the hot season, and 78*895° in 
 the rainy season. The rainfall, as measured by the 
 S-andard gauge, was 89*41, being 15*41 in excess of 
 the previous year. The prevailing winds are south- 
 west and north-west — the former about eight months 
 of the year; it is generally cool and refreshing.-^ 
 Barisal, being about fifty miles from the bay, and 
 having a large river, the wind is thereby further 
 cooled and purified before reaching the town. Our 
 north - west is not similarly protected, and during 
 the prevailing winds from that quarter, the town 
 sufi'ers considerably from malarious diseases." The 
 months of ^larch, April, and May, which are usually 
 so hot in Calcutta and in AVestern Bengal, are com- 
 paratively cool in this district. The rains com- 
 monly set in about the middle of June, and continue 
 
 ^ It is observable that the breeze generally comes in with, the tide, and 
 dies away with the ebb.
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. ii 
 
 into October. Tlie ^YO^st time of the 3"ear, and also the 
 hottest, is the period between the rains and the setting 
 in of the cokl weather. The snn is exceedingly power- 
 ful in the month of October, and even up to the middle 
 of November. Perhaps the most disagreeable period of 
 the whole year is that from the 15th of October to the 
 1 5th of November. This is the time of sudden changes 
 of temperature — sardi garmi (cold and hot), as the 
 natives call it — and the result is a large amount of fever. 
 The dampness and steaminess of the climate also malcc 
 themselves felt most at this time. An officer (Mr Wintle) 
 describing to Government, in 1801, the climate of the 
 station of Bakarganj, writes, " The atmosphere de- 
 presses the spirits in such a manner as to cause a sensa- 
 tion as if a person was only half alive." The cold 
 weather is pleasant, but it is not so bracing as that of 
 the more northern districts, and does not last more than 
 four months. It is said that the proximity of Bakar- 
 ganj to the sea prevents its climate from ever being very 
 cold. The general complaint against it is of its damp- 
 ness. This depresses vitality, and is also most injurious 
 to furniture, books, &c. It is impossible to keep a 
 house dry unless it is built on arches. ]\Iany of the 
 native government officials and professional men, and 
 even many of the traders, belong to other districts, 
 especially to Dacca. They complain of the salt air (Jona 
 hoiva) of Bdkarganj, and say that it gives them fever 
 and indigestion. The healthiest place in the district 
 used to be Mddaripl^n-, and police constables and others 
 used to be transferred there when in bad health. Md- 
 daripiir is now in Faridpur, and probably the most 
 healthy parts of the present district are the portions of 
 Gournadi thana which face the Arial Khan, and the 
 islands in the estuary of the Meghna. Dakhin Shah-
 
 12 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 bazpiir and its chief town, Daulat Klian, seem to be 
 liealtliy, except when, as happened in May 1869, a 
 cyclone passes over the isLand and destroys the tanks. 
 Cholera is endemic in the district, usually occurring in 
 the beginning of November, and again in April and 
 May ; for several years, however, it has not been very 
 severe. Fever and dysentery aj)pear to be the most 
 deadly diseases. Dyspepsia, spleen, and rheumatism 
 are common. As a remedy for rheumatism many of 
 the inhabitants are in the habit of keeping an open 
 issue (seton) in the arm or leg. Dyspepsia often 
 assumes the form called pUslml. Dysentery and diar- 
 rhoea prevail throughout the year, the mortality being 
 greatest at the termination of the rains, and during the 
 cold season. During September and October a slight 
 scorbutic tendency is often observed, owing to the 
 absence of sufficient fresh vegetables, the country being 
 at the time more or less under water [vide Beusley's 
 Report for 1871). Cutaneous diseases — ringworm, itch, 
 &c. — are very common. The first is seen especially 
 among boatmen and others who work in water, the 
 soles of their feet beinq; often drilled with holes like a 
 sponge. 
 
 In 1860 there was a great mortality from fever in 
 the islands of Kali, Kdzal, &c., and in 1869 there was 
 a similar but more widely-spread epidemic of fever in 
 Dakhin Shahbazpur. It is noteworthy that the Barisal 
 jail has always been unhealthy. The same was true of 
 the old jail at Bakarganj, and Mr Wintle writes (7tli 
 September 1801) that 242 prisoners had died within 
 the past twelve months. 
 
 The only meteorological observations made in the 
 district are those of the rainfall. There are four rain- 
 gauges — viz., one at Barisal, and one at each of the three
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 
 
 13 
 
 siibdivisional stations. The fullowino; table shows the 
 raiufuU for three years : — 
 
 Jan. 1 
 
 to 
 Dec. 31. 
 
 Barisiil. 
 
 Teroz- 
 pur. 
 
 Danlat 
 Khan. 
 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 1871 
 
 93-04 
 
 92-45 
 
 113-26 
 
 1872 
 
 82-14 
 
 62-53 
 
 81-49 
 
 1873 
 
 Gl-71 
 
 57-18 
 
 101-08 
 
 I'atuyalihali. 
 
 Inches. 
 No observation. 
 
 90-73 1 
 
 91-73 
 
 In connection with the subject of climate it is neces- 
 sary to notice the curious phenomenon called the Barisal 
 guns. This is a sound, resembling the discharge of 
 cannon, which is heard in Bilkarganj and part of Dacca, 
 Faridpur, and Jessore at the beginning of the rains — 
 tliat is, in May and June. At Barisal the sound comes 
 from the south and south-west, and is generally heard 
 in a south wind and before rain. It is sometimes heard 
 only for a minute or two ; sometimes it continues for 
 one or two hours, at intervals of two or three minutes 
 between each discharge. It seems to be heard usually 
 in the evening and at night, but perhaps this is only 
 because the attention is more drawn to it when there 
 are fewer other noises. It has been su]3posed by some 
 that the sounds are merely those of guns fired at mar- 
 riages ; by others, that they are caused by the falling 
 in of the river-banks. But they are heard away to the 
 south, among the Sundarbans, where there are no mar- 
 riages, and where there are no high river-banks to fall 
 in. They are heard down at Kiikri Mukri, the most 
 southerly island in the district, and tlie Mugs there 
 assured me that they are distinct from the noise of 
 the breakers or of the tide coming in. The natives 
 
 1 From Uie 13lh of Mav 1872.
 
 14 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 poetically account for the sound by saying that it is 
 caused by the opening and shutting of Ravan's gates 
 in the island of Lanka (Ceylon). This fiction is valu- 
 able, in so far as it shows that the sound generally comes 
 from the south. The Mahomedans say that it is caused 
 by the firing of cannon to announce the approach of 
 their Imam. It is not altogether impossible that it 
 originates in that curious submarine depression in front 
 of Jessore and Bakarganj, which is known by the name 
 of the Swatch of No Ground.^ 
 
 III. CYCLONES. 
 
 The most destructive hurricane which has ever occurred 
 in the district of Bdkarganj was that which began on 
 the 6th of June 1822, and lasted till the 9th idem. (For 
 an account of its ravages see Chapter XIII.) On the 
 1st of November 1867 there was a cyclone which in- 
 jured the crops in the eastern part of the district, 
 especially in the island of Dakhin Shahb^zpur, then 
 under Noakhdli. The next cyclone occurred on the 16tli 
 of May 1869. It did much damage to the roads and 
 villages generally, and carried away the station road on 
 the east side of Barisdl. Many cattle were drowned, 
 and the owsh crop was injured. The cyclone was fol- 
 lowed on the 8th, 9th, and lOtli of the next month by 
 an inundation, which did great damage in Dakhin 
 Shahbdzpiir, as it destroyed most of the fresh-water 
 tanks. In consequence, probably, of the scarcity of 
 
 ^ Vol. liii. of the Philosopliical Transactions for 1763 contains two inter- 
 esting accounts of the Chittagong eartliquake of 2d April 1762. In that 
 given by Mr Gulston is mentioned the curious circumstance that " at the 
 time of the first shake great explosions were heard like the noise of cannons, 
 of which Mr Plaisted and others counted fifteen."
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 15 
 
 good drinking water, an epidemic of fever broke out 
 ill the iskxnd, whicli is said to have decinfiated the 
 population. 
 
 IV. TIDES. 
 
 The subject of the tides in the Meghnais very interest- 
 ing, but I am not competent to discuss it, and can only 
 state a few facts concerning it. There are two tides in 
 its estuary, which are known by the names of the 
 Chittagong and the Daula tides. The Chittagong tide 
 passes up between Sandwip and the Chittagong coast, 
 turns west, round the north of Sandwip, and then flows 
 south along the east coast of Dakhin Shahbdzpur. It 
 meets the Daula tide about half-way down the latter 
 island, overpowers it, and drives it back. The Daula 
 tide flows up between Dakhin Shahbdzpiir and Hattia, 
 coming in about three-quarters of an hour before the 
 Chittagong tide. Its waters are comparatively fresh, 
 so that inundations by it are much less dreaded by the 
 peasantry than those of the Chittagong tide. The bore 
 occurs at new and full moon. It is only felt in shallow 
 water, where it rushes up in a white wall, said to be 
 twenty or thirty feet in height. Boatmen do not like 
 to put out on the days of the bore, and especially object 
 to setting out with the ebb, lest they should ground on 
 a char, and there be overtaken by it. It is called the 
 hdn, also the s/iar, both words, in Bengali, signifying 
 arrow. 
 
 V. mVEES. 
 
 The rivers of Bdkarganj are very numerous, but all 
 draw their waters, directly or indirectly, from the Ganges 
 or the Meghna. Three great rivers flow through or past
 
 1 6 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 the district in a southerly direction — viz., the Meghna, 
 the Arial Khan, and the Baleshwar. 
 
 1. The Meghna flows down the east side of Bdkarganj, 
 and opens out into an estuary at the head of the island 
 of Dakhin Shahbdzpilr. At the north-east boundary of 
 the district, the Meghna many years ago broke through 
 to the west^vard by an opening called the Naya 
 Bhangni or New Opening. Tradition says that the 
 new channel was formed in a sinMe nioht. It is not 
 knowm in what year this took j^lace, but it must have 
 been less than a century ago, for the passage is not 
 marked in Kennel's map. In a report by Babu Dinu 
 Bandhu Maulik, a Deputy-Collector, it is stated that the 
 channel was formed in b.s. 1200 (a.d. 1793). It is 
 also called the Harinathpiir river, and is the channel 
 south of Haturia.^ In successive parts of its course the 
 Meghna is called the Satbaria, the Ilsa (i.e., Hilsa), and 
 the Tltulia.' 
 
 2. The Arial Khan is a branch of the Ganges or Padma. 
 It enters the district east of Palardi (the site of the 
 Gournacli police station), and pursues a south-easterly 
 course till it joins the estuary of the Meghna, by the 
 Mdskdtta and Kalinga channels. In the lower part of 
 its course it is called the Dakaitia and the Jahapiir 
 river. An offshoot from the Arial Khan flows past 
 Barisdl, and is therefore called the Barisdl river. 
 
 1 The name Naj^a Bhangni is not given to the Muladi river, although it 
 is marked as such in the survey map. 
 
 2 Wilford, Asiatic Researches, vol. xiv., says that the Meghna is the 
 Magone of Megasthenes as cited by Arrian, and mentioned as one of the 
 rivers which fell into the Ganges. It is the Meghandd or Meghabahana of 
 Sanskrit writers, and derives its name from megha, a cloxid, in allusion to 
 the obscurity of its origin. This is in contradistinction to the Brahma- 
 putra, whose existence of course is accounted for by his being the son 
 of Brdhma.
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 17 
 
 3. The Balesliwar is formed l)y the junction of the 
 Madhamati and the Saldaha. It flows past the west 
 side of Bakarganj, is joined, at some distance below 
 Perozpiir, by the Kacha, and enters the sea under the 
 name of the Harini^hatta. 
 
 There is considerable difficulty in enumerating the 
 Bakarganj rivers, on account of their frequent change 
 of name. At every ten miles of its course, or at an even 
 less interval, the name of a river is generally changed. 
 The names, too, are commonly insignificant, and are 
 merely those of the principal bazilrs or villages on the 
 bank. Thus we have the Barisdl river, the Nalchiti 
 river, and the Bdkarganj river. This frequent change of 
 name is common enough throughout East Bengal, but 
 it is especially marbed in Bakarganj, probably because 
 there are more rivers in it than in any other district, 
 and because its rivers have less a2:)pearance of con- 
 tinuity — are, in short, less like rivers than those of 
 districts farther from the sea. In many places the so- 
 called rivers are rather marine creeks or arms of the 
 sea. All of them are tidal, and it is only in the height 
 of the rains that their waters do not turn with the tide. 
 In March and April the waters of most of the rivers 
 south of Barisal are salt, or at least brackish. 
 
 After the three already mentioned, the following are 
 the principal rivers of Bdkarganj : — 
 
 4. The Baristd river flows west by Nalchiti and 
 Jhalukatti. Part of its waters then go down by the 
 Dhansiddhi into the Kaukhali and Kacha rivers. An- 
 other part flows into the Bishkhali. About three miles 
 below Barisal a branch of the Barisdl river flows south- 
 ward by Eanihat and Bakarganj, under the name of the 
 Kliairabad river. 
 
 5. The Pandab, in the east of Bakarganj thana.
 
 1 8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 6. The Kdrkhami, in Bakarganj and Baufal. 
 
 7. The Dhulia, in the north of Baufal thana. 
 
 8. The Khairabdd. (See No. 4.) 
 
 9. The Nohalia, in Bdkarganj and the Patuyakhdli 
 subdivision. In the lower part of its course it is com- 
 monly called the Galachipa, on account of its flowing 
 past the Galachipa bazar and thana. 
 
 10. The Bishkhdli is a very large river, flowing past 
 Niamati and Kala Megha, east of and parallel to the 
 Baleshwar and Harino-hdttd,. 
 
 O 
 
 11. The Bighai is in Mirzaganj and Giilsakhali, and 
 is probably the widest river in the district. 
 
 12. The Andarmanick, a large and wide river in the 
 Giilsakhdli thana. 
 
 13. The Barishar, which may be considered a con- 
 tinuation of the Bighai. 
 
 14. The Kacha is formed partly by the Kaukhdli river 
 and partly by the Kdliganga, Avliich issues from the 
 swamps of the Kotwalipara and Sarupkdtti thanas. It 
 is a very deep river, and joins the Baleshwar below 
 Perozpur. 
 
 15. The Sdpleza (snake's tail), in Matbdria thana, the 
 Agunmiikha, the Kazal, between the island of Kazal 
 and the mainland, the Darchira (destroyer of oars), be- 
 tween Big and Little Baisdia, and several others, are 
 rather arms of the sea than rivers. 
 
 Nearly all the above-named rivers have a southerly 
 course. The cross-rivers which connect them, and which 
 generally flow in an easterly or westerly direction, are 
 commonly called dones. The word doii is applied 
 rather loosely, but it generally means a channel which 
 is larger than a khal, but not sufliciently wide or long to 
 deserve the name of river. It is also distinguished from 
 a khdl or river by the fact of its having no source, pro-
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 19 
 
 pcrly so called. It generally lias two mouths, one at 
 
 each end of its course, and both may be equally large. 
 
 Perhaps this characteristic may be the origin of the 
 
 name don, which seems to have its root in the Bengali 
 
 word for two. 
 The following are the principal doncs : — • 
 a. The Bishkhdli, which connects the Bishkhdli river 
 
 (at Niamati) and the Khairdbdd river (near Kotarhat). 
 h. The Amua don, in Matbilria thana, connects the 
 
 Bishkhilli and the Baleshwar rivers. 
 
 c. The Muradia don begins at Kadamtolli Hflt, in the 
 Bdkarganj thana, and joins the Nohalia, north-east of 
 Patuyakhdli. It is the chord to a loop of the Nohalia, 
 
 d. The Damuda connects the Kacha and the Balesh- 
 war, and is on the steamer route from Calcutta to 
 Barisdl. 
 
 e. The Patuyakhdli, between the Nohalia and the 
 Bighai. 
 
 f. The Aila, and its continuation, the Khak don, are 
 deep and wide, and connect the Bighai and the Bish- 
 khdli rivers. 
 
 g. The Bagi, between the Andarmanick and the Aila 
 rivers. 
 
 h. The Gajalia, between the Bishkhdli and the Kauk- 
 hdli. It is the usual steamer route, being preferred now 
 to the Dhansiddhi. 
 
 i. The Kalijiri is sometimes called a river. In the 
 upper part of its course it is called the Sugandha, or the 
 Fragrant, in allusion to the tradition that when the god- 
 dess Kali was cut in pieces her nose fell into it. 
 
 It would be an endless task to enumerate all the khdls 
 of Bdkarganj. Many of them exist only during the 
 rains, when every village has its khdl, and often two or 
 three. The following are the most important, not
 
 2 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 on account of their size or length, but for their use- 
 fulness : — 
 
 (l.) The Jobkhali khal, on the Barisdl river. 
 
 (2.) The Jhalukdtti khal, on the same river. These 
 two khdls are important on account of their shortening 
 the distance to Calcutta. The Jhalukdtti was widened 
 and deepened by the Public Works Department some 
 years ago, at a cost of 11,000 or 12,000 rupees. 
 
 (3.) The Lakutia khdl flows through the town of 
 Barisdl, where it is generally called the Jail khal. It is 
 about six miles long, and shortens the journey to Dacca 
 and the north of the district. It was originally made in 
 a great measure by the liberality of the Lakutia zamin- 
 dar, Babu Eaj Chandra Kai. The Eoad Committee has 
 since spent several thousand rupees in deepening it. 
 
 (4.) The Agarpur khdl. | ,^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ .^ ^^^^ 
 
 (5.) The Shikai^mr khdl. V ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^.^^^.^^^ 
 
 (6.) The Turki khal. J 
 
 (7.) The Srimantapur khdl, also called the Sibpiir 
 khal, flows past Bdkarganj and Sibpur. 
 
 (8.) The Eajar Ber, at Rahamat23ur, so called because 
 of a tradition that the Rajah of Chandradwip had it cut 
 as a moat to his palace at Madhabpd,sha. 
 
 (9.) The Bhola khal, in Dakhin Shahbdzpur, extends 
 across the island, and has been widened and deepened 
 at a considerable expense. 
 
 Many of the khdls and dones have a double tide — 
 that is, the tide flows in from each end and meets in 
 the centre. This makes them apt to silt up. All the 
 rivers and khdls wear away their banks, and often do 
 much damage to the adjacent lands ; but the most 
 destructive in this respect are the Arial Khan and the 
 Meghna. They often change their course, and carry 
 away great tracts of country. It is true that they
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 21 
 
 restore the land farther down ; but this sehlom com- 
 pensates the proprietor, especially as the new formations 
 remain for many years as barren sandbanks. At the 
 present time the Ilsa — i.e., the Meglnia — is cutting 
 away its west bank very rapidly in thana Mendiganj, 
 and the estuary of the Meghna is doing the same with 
 the east side of Dakhin Shahliazpur. The Arial Khan 
 has for many years been diluviating its east bank, and 
 throwing up large chars at Kalkini and Gournadi. The 
 old village of Gournadi, which was the seat of a police 
 station, has been altogether washed away, and the 
 station is now at Palardi. New chars have, however, 
 now formed on part of the old site of Gournadi village 
 and east of Palardi. Close to the Palardi police 
 station there is a curious mark of the changes which 
 have taken place. This is the abutment of an old 
 bridge, which must have been made at a time when 
 there was much country to. the east of the police station. 
 The river came and swept away the country to the 
 eastward and the bridge which at that time spanned 
 a narrow khdl. Palardi char has now formed opposite 
 to the remains of the bridge, and the passage has 
 become a khal once more. Three or four years ago 
 the Arial Khan cut across the long neck of land at 
 Kewaria, east of Palardi, and the appearance of the 
 country is now in consequence very different from that 
 represented in the survey map. There is something 
 very desolate in the appearance of the country near 
 these large rivers, when the force of the stream begins 
 to be directed against any particular tract. The 
 peasants make haste to remove their houses, and to 
 cut down their groves of betel and cocoa nut trees ; as 
 the diluviation advances, nothing is to be seen near 
 the bank but stumps of trees, the earthen foundations
 
 2 2 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 of bouses, and the broken walls of tanks. The irrup- 
 tion of the Meglina into the tanks is perhaps the most 
 melancholy of such sights ; for Dakhin Shahbd,zp\ir and 
 Hattia have many large tanks, which must have been 
 constructed at much expense and labour. They are 
 surrounded by high walls of earth in order to keep out 
 the salt water, and when a breach is made in them 
 they become useless, and whole villages suffer in con- 
 sequence. AVhen the peasants are thus driven away 
 by the rivers, they sometimes merely move farther 
 inland ; but when they cannot get fresh land there, 
 they are obliged to go to new chars, or to distant parts 
 of the country. They are sometimes expressively called 
 nadi-hlianga 16k — i.e., river-broken people. 
 
 Generally it may be remarked of Bdkarganj rivers, 
 that they are deep on one side and shallow on the 
 other. It also seldom occurs that they have high 
 banks on both sides. The most common case is that 
 one bank is high and wooded, and the opposite bank 
 low and sandy. The high bank is always the one 
 which the river is cutting away, but it does not always 
 remain on the same side of the river. On the con- 
 trary, the general appearance is a high bank on, say, 
 the right side, and a char on the left ; then in the reach 
 lower down a high bank on the left side, and a char 
 on the right. The high bank of a river is commonly 
 higher than the country farther inland, hence these 
 river-banks are often useful as roads and towing-^^aths. 
 They are also frequently the sites of villages, and are 
 used for the cultivation of crops which require high 
 land, such as sugar-cane, pan, betel-nut, &c. The 
 volume of water brought down by the Ganges and 
 Meghna must be very great ; perhaps nothing can give
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 23 
 
 a clearer idea of this than the fact that in October, 
 and even, I believe, up to December, the water sur- 
 rounding Kiikri Miikri is perfectly fresh. A reference 
 to the map will show that this island is almost in the 
 Bay of Bengal.^ 
 
 VI. LAKES AND SWAMPS. 
 
 During the rains most of the country is a swamp, and 
 tlie rice-fields do not dry up till January or February. 
 There are also extensive depressions, in which the water 
 remains all the year round, and which are generally 
 known by the name of hils. Of these, the principal are 
 the Jhanjhaniabil, in Gournadi and Sarupkdtti ; Rampiir 
 Chechari bil, in Matbdria ; and Dharandi, Adampiir, and 
 Kala Rajah bils, in tliana Baufal. The Kotwalipara bils 
 have for the most part been transferred to Faridpiir. The 
 large bils yield fish in considerable quantity, and there is 
 some export trade in this article from the Sarupkdtti and 
 Kotwalipara bils to Calcutta. They are also valuable for 
 the large quantities of reeds they produce, which are 
 extensively used in making mats, and are also exported. 
 The Kala Rajah bil is supposed to derive its name from 
 one of the Chandradwip Rajahs. 
 
 Small bils are common all over the district, there 
 being one in almost every large village. They are valu- 
 
 ^ In speaking of the amount of soil brought clown by the Ganges, Lyell 
 remarks that " it is scarcely possible to present any picture to the mind 
 which will convey an adequate conception of the mighty scale of this 
 operation, so tranquilly and almost insensibly carried on by the Ganges. 
 It may, however, be stated that if a fleet of about 2000 ships, each freighted 
 with 1400 tons of mud, were to sail down the river every hour of every 
 day and night for four months continuously, they would only transport to 
 the sea a mass of solid matter equal to that borne down by the Ganges in 
 the four months of the flood season." — Principles of Geology, p. 282.
 
 24 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 able from tlieir yielding reeds and cattle-grass, and also 
 because they afford convenient ground for tlie herding 
 of buffaloes. Shells abound in the bils, and in many 
 places are collected and converted into lime. 
 
 The name Sundarbunds, or more correctly, Sundar- 
 ban, is said to derive its origin from the sundari-tree 
 [Heritiera minor), and this again is said to be called 
 sundari, or the beautiful, on account of the red colour of 
 its wood. Probably this etymology of the word " Sun- 
 darban " is correct ; but it is a singular fact that the sun- 
 dari-tree is by no means common in many parts of the 
 Bd-karganj Sundarbans. Thus, in the island of Kukri 
 Mukri, which is covered with tree-jungle, there is appar- 
 ently not a single tree of sundari ; and in the neighbouring 
 island of Chopa I was able to find two or three trees only, 
 and these very young. ^ The prevailing tree in these and 
 other chars is that called the kerua. In the neis^hbour- 
 hood of Chapli, also, the sundari is not so common as the 
 goma and other trees. The Mugs, however, who live 
 there, account for its comparative scarcity by the greater 
 demand for it in the market. The area now covered 
 by the Sundarbans is much less than it was in former 
 years, and cultivation is still advancing. Many tracts — 
 such as Kamna-Bamna, Aila, and Tushkhdli — have been 
 reclaimed, and now bear luxuriant crops of rice. Even 
 now, however, there are extensive forests along the 
 southern face of the BdJiarganj mainland. The aspect 
 of these forest-tracts is by no means cheerful. The 
 woods are dark and silent ; the trees are seldom tall 
 
 ^ The name may possibly be connected witb Sundavkul, which was the 
 old name of a tract of country in Bakarganj. It may thiis mean " the forest 
 of the river Sunda ; " or the word may, after all, be Sundarbund, and mean 
 " the embankment of the Sunda."
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 25 
 
 cnoiigli to 1)0 licandsome ; aud tlic rivers and crocks arc 
 sullen and muddy, and suggestive of fevers and alli- 
 gators/ 
 
 1 An interesting article on the physical characteristics of Btikarganj was 
 piiblislied by Mr Pellew in the " Calcutta lleview," and I have taken the 
 liberty of transferring a long extract from it to my Appendix. This extract 
 refers to the drainage system of Bakarganj. I do not feel competent to 
 discnss the suViject, but I am sure that M'hether Mr Pellew's views are 
 correct or not, his remarks are worth reading.
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES AND EARLY HISTORY. 
 
 There is not much to be said about tlic antiquities or 
 the early history of Bakarganj. It has always lain 
 remote from the stream of Indian history, and has been 
 happy in having no annals. 
 
 According to one tradition, much of the present dis- 
 trict was formerly the bed of a large river, called the 
 Sugandha or Fragrant. This river threw uj) chars or 
 alluvial formations on either side, the lands on the east 
 receiving the names of Bakla and Bdkla-Chandradwip, 
 and those on the west the name of Selimjlbad. The 
 name Sugandha is still preserved under the shortened 
 form of Sunda, in the name Sundarkul — i.e., bank of 
 the Sunda — which is applied to a village in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Nalchiti. 
 
 It is certain that the general name for much of the 
 present district was Bdkla, and that the territory was 
 ruled over by a Hindu family. This family was one of 
 the twelve Ijliuyas or rulers of Bengal, who were also 
 poetically known as the twelve suns of Bengal. Its 
 members are generally known by the name of Eajahs of 
 Chandradwip, and their history has been given by me 
 under that ^jargana. 
 
 Bdkla is mentioned by the traveller Kalj)h Fitch, who 
 visited it in 1586. He says, " From Chatigam, in Ben- 
 gala, I came to Bacola, the king whereof is a Gentile
 
 ANTIQUITIES AND EARL V IIISTOR Y. 27 
 
 [i.e., Hiudu], a man very well disposed, aud duliglitcth 
 much to shoot in a gun. His country is very groat and 
 fruitful, and hath store of rice, much cotton cloth, and 
 cloth of silk. The houses be very fair and high builded, 
 the streets large, the people naked except a little cloth 
 about their waist. The women wear great store of silver 
 hoops about their necks and arms, and their legs are 
 ringed about with silver and copper, and rings made of 
 elephants' teeth." — Quoted hy Blochmann. 
 
 This Bacola has entirely disaj^peared, and it is only 
 a conjecture which identifies it with Kachua, the 
 ancient seat of the Chandradwip Eajahs. Fitch docs 
 not mention how he came to it from Chatigam — z.c, 
 Chittagong — nor is there any local tradition of there 
 ever havinsj been a town called Bacola or Bilkla. If a 
 town so large and flourishing as that described by Fitch 
 ever existed in Bdkarganj, it must have been washed 
 away by the Meghna very many years ago. Bdkla 
 was famous amongst the Hindus as the seat of a school 
 of pandits, who it is said ranked higher than those of 
 Nuddea. Mr Taylor, in his history of Dacca, speaks of 
 an astrological almanac which used to be drawn up by 
 the Bdkla pandits. There are still several pandits at 
 Nalchira, in Gouruadi. 
 
 In the " Ain i Akbari" (Gladwin's translation) there 
 is the following notice of Bakla : " Sarkar Bakla is upon 
 the banks of the sea ; the fort is situated among trees. 
 On the first day of the moon the water begins to rise, 
 and continues increasing till the 14th, from which time 
 to the end of the month it decreases gradually every 
 day. In the twenty-ninth year of the present reign, 
 one afternoon at three o'clock, there was a terrible in- 
 undation which deluged the whole sarkar. The Eajah 
 was at an entertainment, from which he embarked in
 
 28 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 a boat; liis son, Pannanand Roy, witli many people 
 climbed to tlie top of a Hindoo temple, and the mer- 
 chants betook themselves to the highlands. It blew a 
 hurricane, with thunder and lightning, for five hours, 
 during which time the sea was greatly agitated. The 
 houses and boats were swallowed up, nothing remaining 
 but the Hindoo temple on the height. Near 200,000 
 living creatures perished in this calamity." 
 
 This inundation appears to have taken place in 1583 
 or 1584, and it is a very extraordinary circumstance, 
 that Fitch, who visited the place two or three years 
 afterwards, says nothing about it.^ 
 
 AVe should have expected that such a catastrophe 
 would have left, for many years, conspicuous marks of 
 its occurrence, and that the country would not after so 
 short an interval have worn an aspect of richness and 
 prosperity. 
 
 The next reference to Bdkla occurs in the letters of 
 Nicholas Pimenta, who was a Jesuit priest stationed at 
 Goa, at the close of the nineteenth century. These 
 letters are referred to in *' Purchas's Pilgrimage " (Lon- 
 don, 1625), book V. p. 513, and the name Bacola occurs 
 there ; but for fuller information it is necessary to con- 
 sult the original work. Pimenta's letters were written 
 from Goa in the year IGOO, to Claude Aquaviva, who 
 was then general of the Jesuit Order. There is, properly 
 speaking, only one letter, but it is a comprehensive one, 
 describing the success of the mission, and containing 
 
 ^ Professor Bloclimann (Asiatic Society's Journal for December 1868) 
 gives a somewhat different translation of tliis passage. He says the 
 merchants got upon a taXar (not highlands), and explains that a tdlar is 
 a wooden house built on four pillars, and used by musicians as an orchestra 
 — a navh at-khana, in fact. He gives 1585 as the date of the inundation — 
 i.e., only one year before Fitch's visit. I have recurred to this subject in the 
 chapter on the Sundarbans.
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARL V HISTOR Y. 2 9 
 
 extracts from the letters of tlie missionaries. In fact, it 
 is a missionary report. The letter was originally piilj- 
 lished in Italian at Venice, and was reprinted at Con- 
 stance in 1603. It was then translated into Latin, and 
 published at Mayence. The title of this edition is as 
 follows: "De felici statu et progressu rei Christianse 
 in India Oriental! Epistola R. P. Nicolai Pimentse Socie- 
 tatis Jesu ibidem visitatoris ad admodum R,. P. Clau- 
 dium Aquavivam ejusdem Societatis Jesu Prsepositum 
 Generalem, Calendis Decembri anno mdc. data." 
 
 Pimenta commences by giving a short sketch of the 
 history of Bengal, and states that the government of it 
 was at that time in the hands of twelve princes who had 
 formed a secret league among themselves, and had got the 
 better of the Moghals. He adds that the most powerful 
 of the twelve were the lords of Sripur and Chandecan, 
 but above all the Maafaddin or Masanddin (?). Perhaps 
 this is isd Khan Masnad i Ali of Kliizrpiir, described by Dr 
 Wise as the most celebrated of the twelve bhuyas. Nine 
 of the twelve, says Pimenta, are Mahomedans, and this 
 circumstance very much retards the work of conversion.^ 
 He then goes on to describe the success attained by the 
 missionaries who were sent into Bengal in 1598 and 1599. 
 
 These missionaries were Francis Fernandez, Dominic 
 da Sosa, Melchior da Fonseca, and Andrew Bowes. The 
 first two left Cochin for Bengal on 3d May 1598, and 
 the other two in the following year. Fernandez appears 
 to have been the chief of the four, and he wrote to Pim- 
 enta from Sripur on the 22d December 1599,^ giving 
 an account of the proceedings of himself and his com- 
 rades. They appear to have sailed first from Cochin to 
 
 ^ According to Du Jarric, the three Hindu princes were those of Sripur, 
 Chandecan, and Bacalu. 
 
 * There is also a letter from him, dated Sriptlr, 16th February 1599.
 
 30 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Cliittagong, or Porto Grande, as the Portuguese called it, 
 and then to have gone on to Diano-a. Fernandez writes 
 as follows : " Shortly after our arrival at Dianga, Mel- 
 chior de Fonseca departed for Ciandcea, in accordance 
 with the instructions of your Reverence, and while he 
 was travelling through Bacola, the Portuguese who lived 
 there, and also the other Christians, being inflamed with 
 a desire to obtain a priest from whom they might receive 
 the sacrament (for whole years pass away without ever 
 one priest coming), took care that he should be brought 
 before the King. The latter received the father gladly, 
 and honourably entreated him, and even gave him a 
 letter of authority {JitercB ixitentes), which I here sub- 
 join. 
 
 " ' Ego Rex Bacolse potestatem facio Societatis Jesu 
 patribus hactenus in regna BengalsB admissis et aliis 
 quotquot veniant ecclesias erigendi in ditione mea uni- 
 versa et annunciandi veri Dei legem omnesque ad 
 Christum quotquot potuerint trahendi citra fortunarum, 
 officiorum, vel dignitatum quas gerunt detrimentum. 
 Immo omnem honorem, favorem, et benevolentiam 
 deferem illis tanquam subditis, mandaboque omnibus 
 Prasfectis et Dominis ut cum omnibus novellis Chris- 
 tianis idem faciant ; et si quando ex patribus cognovero 
 quempiam huic meo mandato non obsecundasse severe 
 sciat se mulctandum.' " 
 
 On 20th January 1600, Melchior Fonseca wrote him- 
 self from Ciandeca, and gave an account of his success. 
 He says that he left Chittagong in the month of October, 
 and that he passed through the kingdom of Bacola at 
 the request of the Commander (II Capitano) and the 
 other Portuguese, who for two years had been without 
 any administration of the holy sacraments : '' And it 
 appeared to be by the disposition of our Lord that
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARLY IIISTOR V. 3 1 
 
 when I was about to go to Arracan in the place of 
 Fernandez, who was ill with fever, I too should fall 
 ill, and should be transferred to Ciandeca ; so that in 
 this journey the Company gained a residency in the 
 kingdom of Baeola. I had scarcely arrived there, when 
 the King (who is not more than eight years old, Ijut 
 whose discretion surpasses his age) sent for me, and 
 wished the Portuguese to come with me. On entering 
 the hall, where he was waiting for me, all the nobles 
 and captains rose up, and I, a poor priest, was made 
 by the King to sit down in a rich seat opposite to him. 
 After compliments, he asked me where I was going, and 
 I replied that I was going to the King of Ciandeca, who 
 is ' the future father-in-law of your Highness ; ' but that 
 as it had pleased the Lord that I should pass tlirougli 
 his kingdom, it had appeared right to me to come and 
 visit him and offer him the services of the fathers of the 
 Company, trusting that his Highness would give permis- 
 sion to the erection of churches and the making of 
 Christians. The King said, ' I desire this myself, be- 
 cause I have heard so much of your good qualities,' and 
 so he gave me a letter of authority, and also assigned 
 a maintenance sufficient for two of us." 
 
 Fonseca then told the Portuguese that Fernandez 
 would soon come to receive their confessions, and that 
 in the month of May fathers would be sent to com- 
 mence a residence. Fonseca goes on to give a descrip- 
 tion of the route from Baeola to Ciandeca, which I give 
 in the oriorinal Italian : " H viapo-io di Bacolct sin a 
 
 o 00 
 
 Ciandecan ^ il piii fresco, delitioso cli' io mai vedessi, per 
 i varii fiumi con alberi alle rive ch' irrigano il paese, c 
 per vedersi da una parte correre numerose schiave di 
 cervi, per 1' altra pascere moltitudine di vacchi ; lascio 
 le campagni spntiose di liso, e li molti canneti de caimc
 
 32 DISTRICT OF BAkARGANJ. 
 
 mele, gli sciami d' api per gli alberi, e li simi andar 
 saltando da luio albero al' altro e altri particolarita di 
 grande ricreationi a viandanti. Non mancono per5 tigri 
 e crocodili clie si pascono di cariie liiimana per trans- 
 curagine e peri peccati d' alciini. Sono aiicora per 
 quelle silve rinoceroti nia io non ne lio visto verruno." 
 
 This description of Bakarganj and the Sundarbans is 
 interesting:, both on account of its liveliness and because 
 it makes it not so improbable after all that the word 
 " Sundarban " may really mean beautiful wood, and may 
 have been applied in this sense to the forests by the 
 Brahmans. For if a poor Roman Catholic priest could 
 see the beauty of these woods in spite of the tigers and 
 crocodiles, why might not a Brahman priest do so also ? 
 
 Fonseca arrived at Ciandeca on the 20th November 
 1599, and was there received by Father Sosa and others. 
 Sosa's being there is explained by Fernandez, who sa3's 
 that after he returned to Sripiir (from a visit w^hicli he 
 seems to have paid to Ciandeca) he found that the 
 regulus in Ciandeca, called Rajah, was displeased be- 
 cause they did not return to him, and so to pacify him it 
 was necessary to send Dominic Sosa to him. A passage 
 descriptive of Fernandez' proceedings at Sripiir may be 
 here quoted : "I held discourses with the people every 
 Sunday, and also on festival days, after the manner of 
 the Goa College, and this thing being new in Bengal, 
 wonderfully attracted everybody. Little, however, was 
 done towards conversion, from the fault of the people, 
 and also from my ignorance of the language." 
 
 Fernandez, in describing Fonseca's success at Bacola, 
 adds that he had wished to visit Bacola before the 
 departure of the Indian fleet, and to obtain more 
 accurate and personal information which he might send 
 to Pimenta, He had, however, been prevented by his
 
 ANTIQUITIES AND EARL V HIS TOR V. 33 
 
 liaviiig Lad to wait for a reply from the King of Arracan. 
 He then says that he had now heard of Fonseca's arrival 
 at Ciandeca, and that he had been received with much 
 honour and kindness by the King and people, and that 
 he had a church in which mass could be celebrated. 
 This was the first church of the Company in Bengal, 
 and was on that account called by the holy name of 
 Jesus. " It now remains that the necessary workmen 
 be obtained, and that so noble a vineyard may be 
 fervently commended to the Lord." 
 
 From the work of Pierre du Jarric,^ wdio was also 
 a Jesuit, and who wrote a book entitled " Histoire 
 des Choses plus memorables advenues tant aux Indes 
 Orientales que autres Pays de la Decouverte des Por- 
 tugais" (Bordeaux, 1608), we learn that Ciandeca was 
 the first church in Bengal, Chittagong the second, and 
 Bandel the third. He adds that the latter was built by 
 Diesfo Muones de Villalobos, and that it was finer than 
 that of Chittao-ono-. 
 
 The favourable hopes entertained by Fernandez and 
 his companions were doomed to be speedily disap- 
 pointed, and the mission came to a melancholy end. 
 AVar broke out, as Du Jarric tells us, between the Por- 
 tuguese and the King of Arracan about the possession 
 of Sandwip ; and a tumult arose at Chittagong, where 
 Fernandez then was. The immediate cause of this out- 
 break was a dispute about port dues. Tlie Arracauese 
 apparently took advantage of this tumult to try and 
 carry off into slavery some children whom Fernandez 
 
 1 Pierre du Jarric was born at Toulouse in 1565, and was for fifteen 
 years professor of theology in that town. He died in 1616. His infor- 
 mation was partly derived from a Spanish work written by one Felix da 
 (Jiiznian, and published at Alcala in 1601. Du Jarric's book, however, is 
 the more valuable of the two, and contains nearly everything that is to be 
 found in Pimeuta, &c. It has been translated into Latin. 
 
 C
 
 34 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 had under liis instruction. Fernandez interfered on 
 belialf of tlie children, and was severely beaten and 
 blinded in one eye. He was then put in prison, and 
 on the 14th November 1602 the poor old priest, says 
 Du Jarric, " changed the miserable prison of this earth 
 for a celestial mansion." Andrew Bowes buried him 
 in the church, which was now in ruins. Bowes was 
 in prison too, with chains on his legs and neck ; and 
 though his jailers took the chains ofi' his legs, they 
 retained that on his neck when they allowed him to 
 bury Fernandez. What grieved Bowes most of all 
 was to see the holy chalice in the possession of the 
 Arracanese chief, and used by him as a spittoon. After 
 Fernandez' death, the priests left Chittagong and took 
 refuge in Sandwip ; but they soon afterwards left that 
 island, and with the other Christians dispersed them- 
 selves over Sripiir, Bacola, and Ciandeca. At Cian- 
 deca, Carvalho, the commander of the Portuguese, 
 was treacherously murdered by the Eajah, who hoped 
 thereby to make his peace with the King of Arra- 
 can. This was the end of the Bengal Mission ; for 
 of the four fathers who remained, two were ordered 
 off by their Superior to Pegu, and two returned to 
 Cochin. 
 
 Du Jarric also tells us the fate of the boy-king of 
 Bacola who had entertained Fonseca, and gives what 
 is probably the true account of the downfall of the 
 Chandradwip family. His words are : " The King of 
 Arracan was proud of having taken the island of Sand- 
 wip from the Portuguese ; and desiring now to pursue 
 his design of conquering all the kingdoms of Bengal, he 
 suddenly threw himself upon that of Bacola, of which 
 he possessed himself without difficulty, as the King of 
 it was absent and still young." I may add here, that,
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARL V IIISTOR Y. 3 5 
 
 according to AVilford, " the King of ArraCcin assumed 
 the title of lord of the twelve hhuniyas, hhatties, or 
 principalities of Bengal. The kings of Arracau and 
 of Commillah," he says, "were constantly striving for 
 the mastery, and the former even conquered the great- 
 est part of Bengal. Hence to this day they assume 
 the title of lord of the twelve hhuniyas, hhatties, or 
 principalities of Bengal." — Wilford, Ancient Geography 
 of India, vol. xiv. of Asiatic Researches. 
 
 Although the island of Sandwip does not belong to 
 Bd-karganj, yet its history is in some measure mixed up 
 with that of Bakla, and I shall therefore state some 
 facts about it which I have collected from Du Jarric and 
 others. Sandwip is evidently a very old island, and 
 seems to have been of more importance three hundred 
 years ago than it is now, because it Avas one of the chief 
 sources from which Bengal was supplied with salt. The 
 first notice of it apparently is that given by Caesar 
 Frederick, a Venetian merchant, who stayed in it for 
 more than a month. He commenced his travels in 
 1563, and after travelling in many parts of the East, 
 left Pegu on his homeward journey in 1569. He went 
 from Pegu to Chittagong, as small ships sailed thence for 
 Cochin. On the' way to Chittagong, in August 1569, 
 his ship was caught in a typhoon. After haA^ing been 
 tossed about for some days, an island was discovered at 
 no great distance, on which they landed to see Avliat 
 land it was. " We found it a place inhabited, and, to 
 my judgment, the fcrtilest island in all the Avorld ; the 
 which is divided into two parts by a channel which 
 passeth between it. With great trouble Ave brought our 
 ship into the same channel, AA^hich parteth the island at 
 floAving Avater." I haA^e quoted this sentence on account 
 of its giving some description of the configuration of the
 
 36 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 island. Caesar Frederick's description of the fertility 
 of tlie island, &c., may be seen in Bloclimann, p. 22. 
 Du Jarric devotes a chapter (cap. 32 of book vi.) to 
 a description of Sandwip. He tells us that it is oppo- 
 site Sripur, and that it supplies all Bengal with salt. 
 The island belonged of i-ight to Kedar Rai of Sripur, 
 but for several years he had not had possession of it, 
 because the Mogores (MoghaLs) had taken it from him. 
 However, in 1602, Carvalho, a Portuguese, and a native 
 of Montargil, who was in the service of Kedar Rai, took 
 possession of it. As, however, he was not strong enough 
 to keep it, Emmanuel de Mattos came from Chittagong 
 to help him, and then he and Carvalho divided the 
 island between them. Afterwards Philippe de Brito 
 built a fort on it. The King of Arracan was offended 
 at these proceedings, consequently the Portuguese either 
 left it, or Avere driven out by him. 
 
 Afterwards, however, Sebastian Gonzales, a Portu- 
 guese adventurer, landed on the island in 1018 h., or 
 A.D. 1609, and took possession , of it. 
 
 " This Sebastian Gonzales," says Stewart in his " His- 
 tory of Bengal," ^' became absolute sovereign of the 
 island of Sandwip, and was obeyed by the natives and 
 Portuguese as an independent prince. In the course of 
 a short time his forces consisted of 1000 Portuo^uese, 
 2000 Indian soldiers, 200 cavalry, and 80 sail of vessels 
 of various sizes, and well mounted with cannon ; and as 
 his government was conducted with equity, many mer- 
 chants resorted to the island, and by their commerce 
 contributed much to increase his revenue. The neigh- 
 bouring chiefs, astonished at the prodigious success of 
 Gonzales, sought his friendship, and deprecated his 
 wrath ; but as he was of a violent and covetous disposi- 
 tion, he listened not to their friendly overtures; and
 
 Ai\TIQ UITIES AND EARL V HISTOR Y. 3 7 
 
 altlioiigli lie was under great oLligatioiis to tlie Eajah of 
 Batecala [a mistake for Bakla], who had first given refuge 
 to the Portuguese in their distress, he ungratefully seized 
 ujDon the lands of Sliahbilzpiir and Patelbanga [?], which 
 belonged to that chief, by which means his territories 
 became as extensive as those of some independent prince, 
 and consisting entirely of islands, was secure from the 
 attacks of any enemies so long as the Portuguese were 
 masters of the sea." 
 
 Stewart derived his infomiation chiefly from the work 
 of Manuel de Faria y Sousa, called "Asia Portuguesa," and 
 published at Lisbon in 16GG. An English translation 
 of this work was published in 1695 by Captain John 
 Stevens, and appropriately dedicated to the Dowager 
 Queen of England, Catharine of Braganza. I have 
 gathered the following additional particulars from Faria 
 y Sousa's work. " Sebastian Gonzales Tibao was," he 
 says, "a man of obscure extraction, as born in the vil- 
 lage of St Antony del Torzal, near Lisbon, a place 
 which never yet produced any worth note either for 
 parentage or worthy action. In the year 1605 he em- 
 barked for India, went on to Bengal, enlisted himself as 
 a soldier, and then fell to dealing in salt, which is a 
 great merchandise in these j)arts. Thus by this trade he 
 soon got as mucli as purchased a /a/zVt — that is, a sort of 
 small vessel. In this vessel he went to Dianga, a great 
 port of the kingdom of Arracan. ... Tibao stipulated 
 with the King of Bacola that he would give him half the 
 revenue of the island of Sandwip if he assisted him to 
 conquer it. The King sent some shij^s and 200 horse. 
 Afterwards, however, instead of giving the King of Bacola 
 half the revenue of the island, he made war upon him." 
 Faria y Sousa adds that Emmanuel de Mattos, com- 
 mander of Bandel, had been lord of Sandwij), and that 
 
 357104
 
 38 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Fatteh Khan had held it for him, but that on Mattos's 
 death Fatteh Khan had kept the isknd for himself. 
 
 In the end Gonzales was ruined, for after the unfortu- 
 nate issue of a battle in 1 6 1 5, "the King of Arracan fell on 
 him in his island, took it, and reduced him to his former 
 miserable condition. So his sovereignty passed like a 
 shadow, his pride was humbled and his vileness punished." 
 Such are the unsympathising remarks of the Portuguese 
 historian about a man who at least possessed vigour and 
 ability, and who owed his fall in great measure to the 
 impetuosity of the Portuguese officer who was sent from 
 Goa to assist him, but who was too proud or too rash to 
 co-operate fully with him. The Viceroy was also to 
 blame, for he directed his officer not to wait for Gon- 
 zales. AVe cannot but think that if Gonzales had been 
 an Englishman, and his historian of the same nationality, 
 we would have heard a o-reat deal about Anolo- Saxon 
 energy, the Berserker-spirit, and the Vikings. 
 
 Sandwip was finally taken by the Mahomedans from 
 the Arracanesein 1G66. I may here note that according 
 to some the proper name of the island is Soma-dwipa — i.e., 
 island of the moon. Much information about the history 
 of Sandwip will be found in the article on the Feringhies 
 of Chittagong, "Calcutta Eeview," vol. liii. for 1871. See 
 also article " Mofussil Records," in vol. liv. for 1872, of 
 same Review, p. 216, for reference to an important 
 petition by zamindars of Sandwip dated 1789. 
 
 In the Asiatic Society's Proceedings for January 1838 
 an account is given of a copper^^late inscription found 
 in the pargana of Idilpiir. The inscription records that 
 three villages were given to a Brdhman in the third 
 year of Keshab Sein — i. e., 1 1 36 a.d. These three villages 
 cannot now be identified, and though it is possible 
 enough that they have been long ago washed away by
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARL V JIISTOR Y. 39 
 
 the Meglina, Avhicli flows past Klilpur pargaiiii, it may 
 also be that they never belonged to the district of 
 Biikarganj. The fact of the inscription having been 
 found in a Bakarganj pargana does not necessarily imply 
 that the villages belonged to that neighbourhood, and 
 there does not appear to be anything in the inscription 
 to connect it with Idilpiir. Another copperplate in- 
 scription {sdsanam) was found about three years ago 
 near INIadarijiur, and has been presented to the Asiatic 
 Society, but it has not at present been deciphered. 
 
 The only clear memorial of the ancient times of Bdkar- 
 ganj is a mosque in the KSundarbans, which bore an 
 inscribed slab (now" removed to the Asiatic Society's 
 Museum) purporting that the building had been erected 
 in 1465. This mosque is built of brick, .and is situated 
 in a place called Masjidbari, near a tributary of the 
 Bighai, and a few miles west-north-west of Gulsakhd^li 
 police station. It thus lies in the Patuyakh^li sub- 
 division, and in the southern part of the district. It was 
 discovered at the time of the Sundarban Resumptions, 
 and was, when found, surrounded by jungle. Mr Reilly, 
 who was the Commissioner of the Sundarbans, wrote ^ 
 an account of the mosque, and a translation of the 
 inscription was furnished by Colonel Lees. The tran- 
 slation is : " The Prophet of God (on whom be peace, 
 &c.) said, ' Whoso buildeth a mosque. Cod shall build 
 for him seventy palaces.' This mosque was built in the 
 reign of the Sultan, the mighty pillar of the Church and 
 State, Aboo-al-Mozaflar Barbek Shah, son of the Sultan 
 Mahmood Shah, by Khan Moazzam Ozyal Khan, year 
 of Hijira 870" (= a.d. 1465). 
 
 I visited this mosque in 1874, and found it in good 
 preservation. It is, however, quite devoid of architec- 
 
 1 A. S. J., vol. iv. of 1860, p. 406.
 
 40 ^ DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 tural interest or beauty. The woods which once sur- 
 rounded it have been cleared away, and it now lies 
 in the midst of rice-fields. A faqir has assumed the 
 charge of it, and is supported by the gifts of occasional 
 visitors. 
 
 There is another old mosque in Sialghuni village, 
 thana Bakarganj, which is said to have been built by 
 one Nasrat Ghazi. It appears to have been at one 
 time richly ornamented, and still has some carved 
 flowers and arabesques. The inhabitants told me that 
 there had once been an inscription, but that it had 
 fallen down and disappeared. Near it there is a village 
 called the Filkhana or elej^hant stables, which would 
 seem to indicate that elephants had once been kept 
 in it. There is, however, no tradition to this eftect. 
 There are, as far as I am aware, only two other old 
 mosques in the district, one is iu' the village of Bibi 
 Chini, near the Niamati outpost, and is said to have 
 been built by a lady named Bibi Cliinij sister to the 
 Niamat who founded the villag^e of Niamati. The other 
 is in the village of Eamsiddhi, thana Gournadi, and is 
 said to have been built by Sabhi Khan* It is a much 
 handsomer building than that in Bibi Ghini, and has 
 four stone pillars. Two of the pillars are slender, and 
 are said to have been worn away by devotees clasping 
 them, in the hope of thereby obtaining fulfilment of 
 their wishes. 
 
 SujABAD. — About five miles south-west of Barisd,!, 
 and on the north bank of the Nalchiti river, there is 
 a small village called Sujdbdd, which derives its name 
 from Shah Suja, the ill-fated brother of Arangzeb. In 
 it there are the remains of a fort, wliicli appears to 
 have been erected by Shah Suja when he was Viceroy
 
 A NTJQ UITJES A ND EA RL V IIIS TORY. 41 
 
 of Bengal, and liad to defend tlie country against tlie 
 incursions of tlie Mugs or Burmese. The fort wns 
 rectangular and surrounded by an eartlien wall, with 
 a mound at each corner. Inside were four small tanks 
 separated by roads, and in the centre of the inner space, 
 where the four roads met, was the prince's dwelling- 
 house. A great part of the wall has fallen into the 
 river, the tanks inside are nearly choked uji and 
 most of the space is covered with jungle. The whole 
 village contains only 11 acres, and there is an interest- 
 ino- document in the Collectorate record-room show- 
 
 O 
 
 ing that it was given rent free by Shah Suja to the 
 families of some Afolians who had fallen in battle 
 iioainst the Muo-s. It is further said that the ficfht 
 lasted two days, and that Shah Suja's force was victori- 
 ous. It is said that four forts were built, and this pro- 
 bably refers to the fortifications at each corner of the 
 rectangular space. In 1845 it was proposed to resume 
 the grant, and an cmwn went out to make a map of the 
 locality, from which it appears that there was then more 
 of the earthen wall standing than is now visible. The 
 land was then in possession of the descendants of the 
 Afghans, who succeeded in obtaining its release though 
 they had lost the original grant or sanad, which they 
 stated had been destroyed in the great inundation of 
 1822. None of them now reside on it, and their rights 
 have passed by purchase into other hands. There is a 
 tragical story told of Asman Singh, one of the last 
 Afghan residents in Sujabad, which has been made the 
 subject of a popular ballad. He had a wife "svho was 
 unfaithful to him. News was brought to him, while 
 away at Nalchiti, that his wife's paramour (a Mahome- 
 dan) was in his house. He armed himself with a 
 sword, and rushed home to avenge himself. On pretext
 
 42 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 of illness his wife delayed to open the door, and 
 thereby gave her lover time to escape. At last Asman 
 Singh burst open the door and aimed a blow at his wife, 
 but she had her child in her arms, on whom the stroke 
 fell, and who was killed. Asman Singh was tried for the 
 murder, and having been found guilty, was hanged in 
 chains on the river-bank, near the scene of his crime. 
 The ballad adds that his brother in Calcutta succeeded in 
 obtaining a pardon for him, and hurried with it to Bari- 
 sal, but that he arrived just too late to stay the execu- 
 tion. 
 
 There are the remains of two forts in the Jhalu- 
 kdtti thana — viz., one at Kupashia, near Jhalukdtti, and 
 another at Indrapasha, near Rajapiir outpost. Nothing 
 appears to be known of their history. 
 
 In Major Kennel's map,^ made from surveys in 1764 
 and 1772, two mud forts are shown in the southern 
 part of the district. They had been built to repel the 
 Mugs. No trace of them now exists, but there is a 
 village called S6ndrk6t, near Adampur, in the Baufal 
 thana, which stands near the site of one of them, and 
 seems by its name to indicate that it was once a fort 
 (the word hot often meaning a fort). There is also a 
 place near it which still goes by the name of the Kil- 
 laghd,tta, or landing-place of the fort. 
 
 The map above referred to, which has been repro- 
 duced by Colonel Gastrell in his statistical report, is an 
 interesting record of the former state of the district.^ 
 
 ^ Thougli tlie map generally bears the name of Kennel, it appears from 
 ]\Iarkham (Indian Surveys) that the credit of the Sundarban and sea-coast 
 portion is chiefly due to Caj^tain Ritchie, who was hydrographical surveyor 
 from about 1770 to 1785. Ritchie's work is still in MS. in the India Office. 
 The glory of making the first correct map of India seems due to the French, 
 whose great geographer D'Auville preceded Rennel. 
 
 2 Professor Blochmann has given a reduced copy of De Blaev's map.
 
 ANTIQUITIES AND EARLY HISTORY. 43 
 
 All inspection of it shows that Barisdl, the present heacl- 
 (piarters, was ah-eatly a place of note, and that a great 
 part of the Sundarbans had been depopuLited by the 
 Mugs. At that time Bakarganj was the head(]iiarters 
 of the district, and a road led from it to Kotarhat and 
 thence to Sitaluri, which is near the modern Jhalukiltti. 
 From Sitaluri it proceeded to Madhabpdsha, and thence 
 by Idrakpiir, in Gournadi, across the swamps to Max- 
 adpur. The tract of country called Sundarkui is 
 represented in this map. 
 
 The history of the Chandradwip Rajahs, and notices 
 of the old buildings at Kachua and at Raikatti, will be 
 given in the accounts of the Chandradwip and Selima- 
 bad parganas. 
 
 Aga Bakar.^ — The district of Bakarganj derives its 
 name from one Aga Bilkar, who was a servant of the 
 Nawab of Murshidabdd, and was proprietor of pargaua 
 Buzurgumedpur, and of 11^ anas of Selinitlbad. He 
 apparently founded the mart of Bilkarganj, which was 
 situated in his zamindari of Buzurgumedpur, and was 
 formerly the headquarters of the district. He is said 
 to have taken possession by force of the 11^ anas of 
 Selimabdd, and to have retained them until his death in 
 1160 B.S., when he was executed for rebellion (Thomp- 
 
 There is a very interesting old map Ijy Van den Broucke in the fifth volume 
 of Frangois A^alentyn's work (ed. 1724-26) -which ought to be reprinted. 
 Bacola is marked on it, but only as an island. There is a place 
 marked as the " Hoek " or Cape of Sancraan, and from its position I think 
 this must be Saugrdm, which was an old Moghal fort in the Mendiganj 
 thana (see Wintle's account in Appendix). Van den Broucke marks the 
 whole of the Sundarbau coast as unknown, and states that the " Ter Schel- 
 ling " was wrecked in this neighbourhood. Sangram Fort is referred to in 
 the Alamgirnama, quoted in article on the Feringhies of Chittagong, 
 " Calcutta Review," vol. liii. p. 73. It was fortified in 16C5. 
 
 ^ Bdkar is an Arabic word, and the correct transliteration of it is 
 Baquir ; hence some write Bd(iirganj.
 
 44 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 son to Board, 28tli December 1793). (See account of 
 Selimilbad.) 
 
 Dr Taylor, in liis " Topograpliy of Dacca" (p. 83), 
 has the followiijor notice of Aoa Bdkar and his son : 
 
 o o 
 
 " Shamat Jung Nowazish JMahomed Khan, the nephew 
 and son-in-law of Aliverdi Khan, was next invested 
 with the government in succession to Sarferaz Khan. 
 Like his predecessor, he resided at Murshidabdd, and 
 acted in the twofold capacity of Imperial Dewan and 
 Deputy Nazim, appointments wliich he held for many 
 years prior to the British conquest of the country. He 
 employed as his deputy at Dacca, Hosein Addeen Khan, 
 the nephew of Hosein Kuli Khan, his minister at Mur- 
 sliidabad. When Aliverdi Khan declared in favour of 
 his adopted son Seraja Daulah as his successor to the 
 Masnad, feuds arose between the heir-apparent and 
 Shamat Jung, which ended in the assassination of 
 Hosein Addeen Khan at Dacca, and that of his uncle 
 at MurshJdabad. Aga Sadoc, the son of a wealthy 
 zamindar in the Bdkarganj district, was employed by 
 Seraja Daulah to carry his plans into effect at this 
 place. This person, who had proceeded to Murshid^bad 
 to appeal against a decision of Hosein Addeen, instead 
 of obtaining the redress he expected, was detained a 
 jDrisoner there by Hosein Kuli Khan. He was soon 
 induced, therefore, to listen to the proposals of Seraja 
 Daulah. Effecting his escape from MurshidabM, he 
 returned to Dacca, where his father Maliomed Bakar 
 was now residing, and prevailing on him to join in the 
 conspiracy on the promise of being made Nawab, the 
 party contrived to get admission into the palace at 
 dead of night, and murdered Hosein Addeen. When 
 the assassination became known the following morning, 
 the inhabitants of the town rose in a body and attacked
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARL Y HISTOR V. 45 
 
 Mahomed Bakar and his son. The former, on being 
 required to produce the sanad for his appointment to 
 the Neabat, pointed to his sword, and \Yas immediately 
 killed, but Aga Sadoc, though severely wounded, con- 
 trived to escape." 
 
 The accounts of this affair in Mr Scrafton's " Reflec- 
 tions," and in the " Siyar al Mutakhereen," may also be 
 inserted, as they contain one or two additional particu- 
 lars. It will be seen that, according to Mr Scraftou, 
 Aga Bakar held the office of governor of Chittagong : 
 " The conduct of this aflair was left to Surajah Doulah, 
 Avho chose for his instrument one Aga Sadoc, whose 
 father was governor of Chittagong, but resided at Dacca. 
 The son, an extravagant, debauched youth, was then 
 under confinement at Nowazis Mahomed Khan's palace, 
 being left there as hostage till he paid a Jarge sum due 
 for the revenues of his government. Surajah Doulah 
 assisted him to escape. He landed at Dacca the 1st of 
 December 1755, and engaged his father in the enter- 
 prise, deluded probably by the promise of Surajah 
 Doulah to make him governor of Dacca. The father 
 and son, with twelve of their dependants, surprised the 
 governor in the dead of night, and after some little 
 resistance, in which the father was wounded, they cut 
 off his head and proclaimed it to be done by the order 
 of Surajah Doulah. But the next day an order arriving 
 from Nowazis Mahomed Khan to seize Aga Sadoc, the 
 great men of the city immediately assembled their forces 
 and attacked him. The son, with some of his desperate 
 followers, cut their way through their opponents and 
 made their escape, but the father and the rest of their 
 party were killed. This news reaching the capital, the 
 different parties Avere immediately in arms ; but the old 
 Soubali assuring his nephew that Aga Sadoc had made
 
 46 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 this attempt entirely in revenge for liis confinement, 
 the weak, timid Nowazis was appeased, and tlie con- 
 sequence was that Snrajali Doiilah, a few days after- 
 wards, murdered Hosein Kidi Khan in the street of 
 Muxadahad." — Scrafton's Rrjiections on the Government 
 of Hindustan, p. 49, London, 17G3 ; reprinted 1770. 
 
 See also "Siyar al Mutakhereen," vol. ii. p. 646, 
 Calcutta, 4tli edition, 1789 : "To ensure success to his 
 [Surajah Daulali's] design he made use of some art to 
 gain the heart of a young man, who, having had dis- 
 putes with the officers of Hosein Kuli Khan, deputy- 
 governor of the province of Dacca, had found means 
 to lay his case before Nowazis Mohamed Khan, who 
 concerned himself on his behalf. His name was Aga 
 Sadoc, and his title Sadakut Mohamed Khan, son of 
 Aga Bakar, a considerable zamindar of these parts. 
 Surajah Daulah engaged him to return to Dacca in 
 order to kill Hosein Addeen Khan, the nephew of Hosein 
 Kuli Khan, and the latter's deputy at Dacca, a young 
 man who for some reasons had fallen into a melancholy 
 that had disordered his senses. The man did exactly 
 as he was bid. Such a murder committed so openly 
 struck terror and consternation into the minds of all 
 the inhabitants of that great city, who concluded that 
 an action of that high nature would never have been 
 perpetrated had not some person of the first rank 
 afforded it countenance, so that every one remained 
 silent and thoughtful until it became known that the 
 perpetrator had no order and no evidence in his hand. 
 He was therefore set upon by the inhabitants and by 
 the friends of Hosein Kuli Khan, who missed the mur- 
 derer, but by mistake killed his father, Aga Bakar. The 
 son having escaped so great a danger, fled to Murshida-
 
 ANTIQ UITIES AND EARL V IIISTOR Y. 47 
 
 Ldd, and by such a step [the assassination ?] tlircw away 
 both his peace of mind and safety of his person." 
 
 There is a curious reference to an Aga Bdkir in 
 Paton's " Arracan," vol. xvi. of " Asiatic Researches." 
 He says that in 1113 of the Mug era (1751 or thereby), 
 Aga Bdkir, the Dacca Nawab, having been worsted in a 
 contest near Dacca by a chief named Umed, applied to 
 the Kino; of Arracan for assistance. He sent a Sardar 
 named Laya Murari with one thousand war-boats to the 
 assistance of the Nawab, and enabled him to gain the 
 victory. 
 
 I do not know if this be our Aga Bdkar or not, but 
 if he is, there is some mistake in describing him as 
 Nawab of Dacca. Our Aga Bdkar was Governor of 
 ChittaiTjono:, which of course renders his connection with 
 the King of Arracan probable enough. 
 
 Besides Edkarganj bazdr there is a small village, 
 called Bakarkdtti or the clearing of Bdkar, near Kotarhdt, 
 which probably also owes its name to Aga Bdkar. 
 
 It will be observed that most of the parganas bear 
 ]\[ahomedan names, showing that the country was not 
 portioned out till the Mahomedan dynasty. The names 
 are probably derived from the first grantees. Thus we 
 have Sultandbdd, Shaistdbad, Selimdbdd, Shahbdzpiir, &c. 
 The Selimdbdd pargana is the largest and most im- 
 jiortant of these, and extends over a great portion of 
 the Perozpur subdivision, and also westwards into Bag- 
 liahdt in Jessore. 
 
 Probably Bdkarganj and its neighbourhood were the 
 first places where the Mahomedans settled, for it is here- 
 abouts that we find most traces of them. Thus there is 
 a large tank near Bdkarganj called Boran Klian's Tank, 
 and Niamati and Bibi Chiui are not far off. In the latter
 
 48 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 there is the old mosque ah-eady noticed, which is chiefly 
 remarkable for the height of the mound on which it is 
 built. 
 
 There is also a mosque at Mendiganj, near Bakarganj, 
 which bears an inscription purporting that it was built 
 by one Mahomed Shuffee in 1161 B.s. (a.d. 1753.) 
 
 In the northern part of the district the most con- 
 spicuous name is Sabhi Khan, who has immortalised 
 himself by the roads and bridges which he constructed. 
 According to one account, he was a Kotwal, and Kotwali- 
 para is said to derive its name from him. The following- 
 story is told to account for his beneficence. He was, it 
 is said, the son of a wealthy merchant, but was stolen 
 from his home during his infancy, and brought u]3 in 
 the forests. In course of time he grew up to man's 
 estate and became a hunter. Meanwhile his father's 
 house was attacked by enemies, who killed his father 
 and drove his mother out into the jungles. There 
 Sabhi Khan found her one day while he was hunting, 
 and, in ignorance of their relationship, he took her as his 
 wife. They lived together for awhile, but one morning 
 the mother observed a spot on the sole of Sabhi Khan's 
 foot, and knew thereby that he w^as her son. She told 
 him the miserable discovery she had made, so Sabhi 
 Khan went to a holy man, and asked him how he 
 should expiate the terrible sin he had involuntarily 
 committed. The answer was, that he should atone for 
 it by doing works for the public good, and hence he set 
 about making roads and building mosques. His roads 
 traverse parts of the Gournadi and Kotwalipara thanas, 
 and are still in use. They are known by the name 
 of Sabhi Khan's jangdls. They have been obliterated 
 in many places, but where they exist they are broad
 
 ANTIQUITIES AND EARL V IIISTOR Y. 49 
 
 and remarkably well raised. There is also a village 
 called Sablii Khan's Par/ which owes its name to him. 
 The word jidr refers to the village being situated on 
 the side of an old tank which is said to have been ex- 
 cavated by Sablii Khan. 
 
 ^ It is commonly spelt Cliobikapdr.
 
 ( 5° ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FINANCIAL HISTOR Y AND DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 FA RG ANAS. 
 
 I. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE LAND SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 The materials for the early financial history of Bdkar- 
 ganj are very scanty. The following facts have been 
 gleaned from Mr Grant's " Analysis of the Finances of 
 Bengal," printed in Appendix No. 4 to the Fifth Report 
 of the Committee of the House of Commons, 1812, and 
 from Professor Blochmann's monograph.. As has been 
 already stated, the name Bilkarganj is of comparatively 
 recent origin, and it does not occur in Mr Grant's work. 
 At the time of Rajah Todar Mai's Settlement in 1582, 
 the greater part of the present district appears to have 
 been included in the ancient zamindari or pargana of 
 Chandradwip, which belonged to sarkilr Bakla, also 
 called Ismailpur. Bakla w^as one of the nineteen sarkdrs 
 into which the Khalsa or Exchequer lands of Bengal 
 Proper were divided by Todar Mai, who was Finance 
 Minister to the Emperor Akbar. Sarkd,r Bdkla con- 
 tained only four mahals or parganas, the names of which 
 are given by Professor Blochmann as Ismdilpur or Bdkla, 
 Srirampiir, Shahzddpilr, and Adilpiir. The three last 
 still exist, and I suppose that Btikla was identical with 
 Chandradwip. This pargana is still occasionally called 
 Bdkla-Chandradwip. The following account of Bjikla is 
 taken from Mr Grant's work : " Bdkla or Ismailpiir, east-
 
 J] I STORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 51 
 
 ward of Khalifutdbdcl, cliiefly on the western bank of 
 the Padma or o^reat Gano-cs, and extend in sj to its mouth 
 near the ishind of Kabnjlbild, which forms tlie south-east 
 angle of the Bengal delta, as also the further extremity 
 of the lowlands of Bhatty, commencing on the west from 
 Hidjili, Two years subsequent to tlic date of this 
 account (15B2), fixed for convenience at the com- 
 mencement of Todar Mai's financial operations, though 
 not completed before his death in 1589, the whole 
 sarktir now described was overwhelmed and laid waste 
 by an inundation, and from the succeeding ravages 
 of the Mugs continues to this day in great part depo- 
 pulated." 
 
 The revenue of the four parganas in it was lls.l78,2GG 
 (sicca). 
 
 The eastern portions of the district, including Noiih 
 and South Shahb^zpiir, belonged to sarkar Fathdbad. 
 Selimdbdd, in the west of the district, part of which 
 now belono-s to Jessore, was also included in this sarkar. 
 Buzurgumedpur, another large pargana in Bakarganj, 
 was probably formed at a later period. It was included 
 in sarkar Bazuha. 
 
 In 1658 another Settlement of Bengal was made by 
 Sultan Suja, one of the sons of Shah Jehan. In this 
 Settlenient the Sunclarbans were included under the name 
 of Muradkhana or Jeradkhana. Perhaps the village and 
 river of Muradia, in the northern part of the Patuya- 
 khali subdivision, are parts of this Muradkhana. 
 
 In 1722, or 1128 B.S., a third Settlement was made by 
 Nawab Jaffar Khan in the reign of Mahomed Shah. On 
 this occasion the old sarkars were included in chaklas, 
 and sarkar Bdkla, and portions of sarkars Fathdl^ad and 
 Bazuha Avere included in chakla Jehano^irnaaar — i.e., 
 Dacca. A few years before this — namely, in 1717 — the
 
 52 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 seat of Government had been removed from Dacca to 
 Mursliiddbdd. 
 
 JafJiir Khan's Settlement was improved and confirmed 
 by his successor Suja Khan in 1728, or 1135 B.s. He 
 divided the suha or province of Bengal into ihtimams 
 or zamindaries, and the greater part of Dacca, Faridpur, 
 and Bdkarganj appears to have been included in the 
 ihtimam of Jaldlpur. 
 
 A fourth Settlement was made by Mir Kasim in 1763.^ 
 
 The next Settlement of which we need take account is 
 the Decennial or Permanent Settlement of a.d. 1790, or 
 1197 B.s. With regard to this Settlement the Fifth 
 Eep)ort observes that " a medium of the actual produce 
 to Government in former years, drawn from the scanty 
 information which the collectors had the means of pro- 
 curing, was the basis on which the assessment on each 
 estate, whether large or small, was ultimately fixed." 
 
 The Permanent Settlement of the Bdkarganj district 
 was made during the coUectorship of Mr AVilliam 
 Douglas, who was then Collector of Dacca. At that 
 time the Dacca CoUectorate was called Dacca Jalalpiir.^ 
 
 ^ From Warren Hastings' letter of 23d November 1773, about Provincial 
 CWncils, &c., printed in Judicial Papers, 1774, India Oflfice Library, we 
 find that Dacca, wliicli then included Bakarganj and Faiidpur, was put 
 into the Fifth Division. This was composed of Dacca, Sylhet, Attia, Kag- 
 mari, and Barbazu. The first members of the Council were Barwell, Purling, 
 Thackeray, Sliakespeare, and Holland. Earwell was Chief, and drew 
 Rs.3000 a month, but, on tlie other hand, he was not allowed to trade, 
 wliile the other members were allowed this privilege. 
 
 2 There were formerly two jurisdictions — viz., Dacca Jaldlpur and tlie 
 city of Dacca. These were amalgamated by Eeg. 5 of 1833. Jaldlpur is 
 the name of a large pargana in Faridpur and Dacca, and Dacca Jaldlpur 
 district included Faridpur, There was a Diwani Addlat for Dacca Jaldlpur 
 and another for the city of Dacca. The jurisdiction of the latter extended 
 over the city and the j)laces adjacent (Reg. 3 of 1793, section 4). It 
 appears, however (section 3 of Reg. 7 of 1797), that the Court of Dacca 
 Jaldlpur was situated in the city of Dacca. It was removed to Farid- 
 pur apparently in 1812 (Bengal Administration Report for 1872-73, 
 p. 45).
 
 BIS TOR V OF THE PARC ANAS. S3 
 
 Tlie districts of Faridpiir and NoakLdli were iu)t llien 
 in existence, nor was Bilkai-gaiij, wliicli was included, 
 along witli Fandpi'ir and Dacca, in Dacca Jalal})iir. 
 The arranoements witli tlic zamindars were made at tlie 
 Eevenue Court of Dacca, and not in this district. 
 
 The first reference to tlie Decennial Settlement which 
 I have been able to find is contained in a letter, dated 
 Glh April 1790, from IMr Douglas to the Board of 
 Revenue. He mentions in it that he has received the 
 Board's letter of the 18th March, and its enclosed copy 
 of the resolutions of his Lordship in Council. I have 
 thought it advisable to print this letter in the Appendix. 
 It appears from it that the proposals for the Settlement 
 were supplied by Mr Douglas's predecessor, Mr Day, 
 in accordance with a circular which had been issued 
 on 10th August 1787. It appears from a letter of Mr 
 Day's, printed in an appendix to the Governor-General's 
 Minute of Sd February 1790 (Fifth Report), that he 
 was Chief of Dacca in 178G, and that he had resided 
 for fifteen years in various parts of the district. It 
 might therefore have been expected that Mr Day would 
 have been well qualified to assess the revenue on the 
 zamindars. It appears, however, from Mr Douglas's 
 reports, and also from subsequent occurrences, that 
 many of Mr Day's assessments were extravagantly high. 
 I may add here that the early correspondence appears 
 to show that Mr Douglas was a man of good sense and 
 humanity, and possessed of a Ijrcadth of view which has 
 never been very common among officials. Take, for 
 example, his remark in a letter of 29th March 1790, 
 about the administration of justice by the zamindars : 
 " The zamindars also had the privilege of administering 
 justice in their respective jurisdictions, acting something- 
 like justices of the peace in our own country, settling
 
 54 DIS2RICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 trifling disputes, and rendering easy and speedy redress 
 to the injured party, ayIucIi would have been rendered 
 very difficult indeed if a poor man liad to travel to the 
 Hazoor and prefer his complaint through a regiment 
 of corrupt matsadies [clerks], every one of whom must 
 have been bribed before he could obtain what a respect- 
 able zamindar could have granted him on the spot in 
 a day's attendance." 
 
 The making of the Settlement occupied a year or two, 
 and it was not until 31st July 1792 that Mr Douglas 
 sent up the papers " of the proposed Novennial Settle- 
 ment, commencing with the Bengal year 1198 (a.d. 
 1791) and ending with 1206." The Settlement was 
 called Novennial because, in consequence of the delay 
 in making it, it commenced one year later than the 
 Decennial Settlement. From a letter of Mr Massie, 
 dated 31st March 1801, it appears that the Board's 
 instructions on the subject of the Settlement were issued 
 on the 30th December 1790, and that the formal tender 
 of the Settlement to the landholders commenced on 20 th 
 May 1791. In the same report Mr Massie points out 
 that sufficient regard was not paid at the conclusion of 
 the Settlement to the ascertainment and record of the 
 names of the real owners of the land, and he goes on 
 to observe that a practice has prevailed in the district 
 (Dacca Jahllpur) from time immemorial, of conducting 
 all the affairs of an estate from generation to generation 
 in the name of the original proprietor, or of some ficti- 
 tious name formed by him. As the letter gives several 
 specimens of the manner in which the Settlement was 
 made, I have printed it in the Appendix. 
 
 In another report, dated 7th March 1801, Mr Massie 
 refers to certain abuses which were committed at the 
 time of the Permanent Settlement : " The first is the
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARGANAS. 55 
 
 frauds committed by zamindars at the time of the 
 sej^aration of the independent tcduqdars, in causing 
 taluqs that had never existed, or had been before con- 
 solidated, to be separated at a certain jama from their 
 estates. Tlie second is the frauds committed by zamin- 
 dars subsequently to the separation of the indejDendent 
 taluqdars, in causing the lands of separated taluqs, of 
 which they were the proprietors, to be clandestinely 
 annexed to their zaraindaries, leaving only small parcels 
 of waste or jungle lands as the separated taluqs. The 
 third is the frauds committed by the independent taluq- 
 dars, after their separation from the zamindars, in caus- 
 ing fictitious or unproductive taluqs to be sc2:)arated 
 from their taluqs, and inserted gradually in the accounts 
 of the ziladars. This last species of fraud, your Board 
 will observe, must have been committed with the con- 
 nivance of the ziladars, and though I fear it has been 
 carried to a great extent, it appears hitherto to have 
 escaped detection, owing to the immense number of 
 separated taluqs in this district, and the impossil^ility 
 of the Collector himself entering so minutely into the 
 details of the accounts of them." From the same letter 
 it appears that the district of Dacca Jalalpur was 
 divided into ten zilas or collecting circles, and that Mr 
 Massie proposed to increase their number to thirteen. 
 These ziladars were liable to imprisonment, and on 11th 
 January 1800, Mr Massie reports that he had put seven 
 of them into jail for not giving up their papers. He 
 adds that three of them immediately resigned. 
 
 The great number of separated taluqs is a peculiarity 
 in the land settlement of Bdkarganj and Dacca. In fact, 
 the larger portion of the land revenue of this district is 
 paid by taluqdars. There are 3232 estates — i.e., lands 
 — sul)ject to the payment of revenue, for which separate
 
 56 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 eno-ao-ements to Government have been executed (No. 8 
 of 1800, section 13), and no less than 2700 of these are 
 independent or separated taluqs. The total revenue paid 
 by zamindars is under four and a half lacs (444,107), 
 whilst that paid by the taluqdars is over five lacs 
 (507,714). N.B. — This does not represent the whole 
 of the revenue of the district, there being also farras and 
 also estates held under direct or lilias management. 
 
 The difference between a zamindar and an independent 
 taluqdar is nowadays merely nominal. The revenue 
 paid by both is equally fixed, and their other rights and 
 privileges are the same, and the difference of title is 
 only important as a matter of social consideration. The 
 nominal distinction even is not always observed, for 
 sometimes the same landholder is called indifierently a 
 taluqdar and a zamindar. The distinction, however, as 
 generally made is as follows. If a landholder owns a 
 pargana, or an aliquot portion thereof, he is called a 
 zamindar, and also generally receives by courtesy the 
 title of cliaudhari ; but if his estate bears no relation to 
 a pargana or its divisions, he is merely a taluqdar. The 
 districts of the British administration are a modern 
 arrangement. The old divisions appear to have been 
 into sarkdrs and parganas for revenue purposes, and into 
 thanas for purposes of police. The word zila is now 
 taken as equivalent to district, but the zilas at or about 
 the time of the Permanent Settlement were not districts 
 in the modern sense, and were, as we have seen, merely 
 collecting circles. Among the common people the word 
 zila is at the present day very frequently employed to sig- 
 nify the headquarters of a district. Parganas are divided 
 in the first instance into sixteen parts, corresponding to 
 the divisions of a rupee, and if a landholder holds one- 
 half or one-quarter of a pargana, he is described as the
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARGANAS. 57 
 
 liokler of eiglit anas, or four anas, as tlie case may be. 
 But the subdivision does not stop here, for each ana, or 
 even fraction of an ana, may be assumed as the unit and 
 again divided into sixteen parts, and so on. Thus it is 
 common to describe a person as the hokler of eight anas, 
 or one-half of a one-ana share of a pargana considered 
 as a sixteen-aua property, and such a person is, I believe, 
 always entitled to be called a zamindar. A taluqdar's 
 estate generally consists of one or more mozahs or vil- 
 lages, or of portions of them. These jDortions are also 
 divided into sixteen parts, and it may be mentioned 
 here that this mode of dividing property is universal in 
 Bengal. A man is never described as the holder of so 
 many highas or acres, but as the holder of two anas, or 
 one pie, or five gandas, or two cowries, and so on, of such 
 a taluq or hoivala, or other tenure. The taluqdars of the 
 Permanent Settlement are of two sorts, first, the inde- 
 pendent or hazuri taluqdars, who had already paid direct 
 to Government; and secondly, those who were then 
 separated for the first time from the zamindars. The 
 separation of the taluqs w^as not a part of the original 
 scheme of the Permanent Settlement, but it was a 
 favourite idea with Lord Cornwallis, and was eventually 
 carried out. In his minute of 3d February 1790 his 
 Lordship remarks, " The proprietors of the smaller 
 zamindaries and taluqs in general conduct their own 
 business, and I make no doubt Avould improve their 
 lands Avere tliey exempted from the authority of the 
 zamindars, and allowed to -pay their revenue imme- 
 diately to the public treasuries of the collectors." Li 
 another place he says, " When the demand of Govern- 
 ment upon the zamindars is fixed they can have no jDlea 
 for levying an increase upon the taluqdars, for I conceive 
 the taluqdars in general to have the same property in
 
 58 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 tlie soil as the zamindars, and tliat the former are to be 
 considered as proprietors of lesser portions of land, pay- 
 ino- their revenues to Government throne^h the medium 
 of a larger proprietor, instead of remitting them directly 
 to the public treasury. The pernicious consequences 
 which must result from ajQfording to one individual an 
 opportunity of raising the public revenues assessed upon 
 the lands of another at his own discretion, and for his 
 own advantao-e, are evident ; and on this account I was 
 desirous that all proprietors of land, whether zamindars, 
 taluqdars, or chaudharies, should pay their rents imme- 
 diately to the European Collector of the district or other 
 officer of Government, and be subject to the same gene- 
 ral laws. The number of names upon the rent-roll will 
 add little to the business of the Collector, provided that 
 the sum to be paid by each proj)rietor of land is fixed. 
 In support of this opinion I have annexed some extracts 
 from the proceedings of the Committee of Circuit, the 
 members of which must have been well acquainted with 
 the customs and practices of the Mogul Government." 
 
 " These extracts aftbrd convincing proofs of the pro- 
 prietary rights of the inferior zamindars and taluqdars, 
 and that their being made to pay their rent through the 
 superior zamindar of the district was solely for the con- 
 venience of the Government, which found it less difficult 
 to collect the rents from one principal zamindar than 
 from a number of petty pro23rietors." 
 
 The following remarks from the same minute may 
 be quoted as showing the materials with which the 
 Permanent Settlement was made, and the Governor- 
 General's views of their sufficiency : " Twenty years 
 have been employed in collecting information. In 1769 
 supervisors were appointed; in 1770 provincial councils 
 were established; in 1772 a Committee of Circuit was
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC AN AS. 59 
 
 deputed to make the Settlement, armed witli all the 
 powers of tlie Presidency; in 1776 ami'ns Averc appointed 
 to make a hastahud of tlie country; in 1781 the pro- 
 vincial councils of revenue were abolished, and collectors 
 were sent into the several districts, and tlie general 
 control and management of the revenues was lodged in 
 a Committee of Ivcvenue at Calcutta under the imme- 
 diate inspection of Government. Like our predecessors, 
 we set out with seeking for new information ; and we 
 have now been three years in collecting it. Voluminous 
 reports have been transmitted by the several collectors 
 on every point which was deemed of importance." 
 
 His Lordship goes on to say, " I must declare that I 
 am clearly of opinion that this Government will never 
 be better qualified, at any given period whatever, to 
 make an equitable settlement of the land revenue of 
 these provinces, and that if the want of further informa- 
 tion was to be admitted now, or at any other future 
 period, as a ground for delaying the declaration of the 
 permanency of the assessment, the commencement of the 
 happiness of the people and of the prosperity of the 
 country would be delayed for ever." 
 
 The data on which the assessments at the Permanent 
 Settlement were fixed are clearly stated in the Bengal 
 Special Orders, published at section 68 of Eegulation 8 
 of 1793. "The jama — i.e., revenue — of the preceding year, 
 compared with the account and information supplied by 
 the collectors, and the recommendations of the Board of 
 Eevenue founded thereon, is to be the standard." Cer- 
 tain qualifying sections follow, and it is exjjrcssly 
 ordered (section 70) that no abatement from the revenue 
 of the preceding year is to be allowed without the 
 special sanction of the Governor-General in Council. 
 Section 75 of the same Regulation observes that the
 
 6o DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 statemeut above referred to is inapplicable to the sepa- 
 rated taluqs, or to any instances where the actual pro- 
 duce may have been ascertained. In such cases the 
 assessment is to be regulated so as to leave the proprie- 
 tors a provision for themselves and families equal to 
 about ten per cent, on the amounts of their contributions 
 to Government. But taluqdars who had paid at a fixed 
 rent for the last twelve years were allowed to settle at 
 this revenue. 
 
 It has been often said that the Permanent Settlement 
 ruined those who accepted it. This statement is pro- 
 ]:)al3ly true of the larger zamindars, but it is not appli- 
 cable to the taluqdars, many of whom got their lands on 
 easy terms, and have handed them down to their de- 
 scendants to the present day. No doubt the rule, that 
 if they had j^aid a fixed rent for twelve years it was not 
 to be enhanced, proved the safety of many of them. 
 The smallness of their estates, and the great number of 
 them, must also have enabled them to escape, for the 
 collectors could not know, or even guess at the real 
 value of their properties, and were obliged to take what 
 they offered, or what they had been paying hitherto. It 
 may generally be said that the owners of the backward 
 and less known zamindaries fared better than those of 
 which the resources had been developed, and were sup- 
 posed, at least, to be accurately known. Thus, Rajna- 
 gar and Chandradwip were probably over-assessed, and 
 the owners were ruined, whereas Arangpiir and Selimd-- 
 bdd were somewhat lightly assessed, and are to this day 
 in the hands of descendants of the original proprietors. 
 This remark applies to more districts than Bakarganj, 
 and perhaps accounts for the light assessment and great 
 prosperity of the zamindars in such remote districts as 
 Mymensing and Eastern Bengal generally. It was not
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 6i 
 
 merely, or even cliiefly, that the eollectors knew lcs3 
 about tlie eastern districts tlian they did about Burd- 
 wan or Nuddea, but because cultivation was much more 
 backward in the former districts. Hence the burden on 
 the zamindars in these districts got lighter every year 
 as cultivation advanced and more ryots came in, whereas 
 in Burdwan or Nuddea the zamindars had not the same 
 margin for making profits. 
 
 On the other hand, the zamindars in Eastern Benfifal 
 were much more exposed to loss from diluviation, owing 
 to the great rivers which flow through or skirt their 
 estates, and many flourishing parganas have in this way 
 almost disappeared. For example, pargana Srirdmpur 
 in this district, which was one of the four original par- 
 ganas of sarkdr Bd-kla, has been nearly all washed away 
 by the Meglina, and the zamindars of it have long since 
 disappeared. Pargana Dakhin Shahbdzpiir has also suf- 
 fered much from the same cause. I do not know 
 whether it is to this cause, or to the abuse of the prac- 
 tice of subdivision, that the zamindars of Kotwalipara 
 owe their poverty, but the fact is certain that the Kot- 
 walipara zamindars (they now belong to the FaridjDur dis- 
 trict) are among the poorest and pettiest, if not the very 
 poorest zamindars in Bengal. As the rivers wash away 
 estates, so also do they form new ones, and it might 
 have been thought that the new formations would com- 
 pensate the zamindars for their losses, but this has been 
 far from the case. Not only do the new formations 
 remain unproductive for many years, so that the zamin- 
 dar may be ruined by the loss of his old lands and sold 
 up before he can get any benefit from the substitutes for 
 them, but also the chars, or new formations, are, or at least 
 were, in general resumed by Government and assessed 
 anew. The above is somewhat of a digression, but I
 
 62 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 have been led to enter upon it in order to counteract a 
 common impression that all zamindars are wealthy men. 
 In fact, there are more poor zamindars than there arc 
 rich ones — i.e., comparing them with other classes, such 
 as traders, and oven professional men — and there are 
 many taluqdars, both independent and dependent (Ma?*- 
 ?}*«, or hazuri, and shihami), who are richer than their 
 zamindar. 
 
 Mr Westland remarks that the zamindars, in accept- 
 ing the Settlements, set the seal to their own ruin. This 
 is true, but the fact is that they had not much option in 
 the matter. If they did not accept the Settlements, they 
 were ousted, their lands were managed by officers called 
 Kurah amins, oy Kurah sazaiuals, or were let in farm, 
 and though they were supposed to be allowed ten per 
 cent, on the net collections, it was practically very 
 difficult for them to get the allowance. A letter from 
 the Collector, dated 20tli February 1794, shows that no 
 proprietors of estates held khas — i.e., under direct man- 
 agement — had o^ot the mashahar a, ov allowance sanctioned 
 by the Eegulations, except the proprietors of the three 
 divisions of Selimabdd. In short, it may be said that 
 by not accepting the Settlements the zamindars were 
 ruined at once, and by accepting them they were ruined 
 after some interval. In some cases the acceptance of 
 the Settlement appears to have been even less voluntary 
 than the reluctant acquiescence in a hard bargain. One 
 zamindar — he was a descendant of the great Eajah 
 Raj Ballab — complained in 1797 that the Collector (Mr 
 Thompson) demanded agreements from him and his 
 partners, and that when he refused to give them he was 
 confined under a guard of sepoys, and jDrevented from 
 bathing, praying, or eating, and thereby driven to sign 
 an application for settlement. The technical word for
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 63 
 
 the zamindar's agreements is tahilt. J\[auy of them arc 
 preserved in the Collectorate, and are small, insignificant 
 pieces of brown country paper, containing little except 
 the obligor's name, the amount of the annual revenue, 
 and the instalments in which it is to be paid. The 
 agreements are in Persian, and are surmounted by the 
 Collector's signature or initial. 
 
 The troubles of the collectors did not end with the 
 general completion of the Permanent Settlement. The 
 arrangements about the separated taluqs took time, and 
 on 12th August 1793 the Collector reported that there 
 were nearly 4000 taluqs (this is in all Dacca Jaldlpiir) 
 which had been separated but of which no settlement 
 had been made. Some zamindars, as we have seen, 
 would not come to terms, and the collectors had to 
 manage their estates directly, or to grant temporary 
 leases of them ; and in other cases, although the zamin- 
 dars accepted the Settlement, they fell into arrears, and 
 their estates had to be sold, or the revenue of them 
 to be collected by special officers. 
 
 Sayer Duties. — Besides the revenue from land, the 
 Mogul Government was in the habit of levying taxes 
 upon professions, and each tax was called a malial, and 
 let out in farm, just as if it had been a landed property. 
 Thus there was a tax on washermen, which was called 
 the Gdzar-mahal, and yielded about Es.60 a year. 
 There were also the Dhilmclari-mahcd, which was col- 
 lected from bird-catchers, snake-charmers, &c., and 
 yielded about Es.l450; the Bajantri-mahcd, collected 
 from musicians, and yielding about Rs.310 ; the Maliai- 
 mahal, collected from the dealers in dried fish ; Char- 
 mohmdia, levied on sellers of vegetables ; Chappa-jam- 
 dannij, levied on weavers, &c. I do not find that there
 
 64 * DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 was any tax on the sale of spirits in tlie Dacca division, 
 and probably there was none, on account of the aversion 
 of the Mogul Government to derive any profit from this 
 source. 
 
 Mr Douglas, in his report of the 5th May 1790, 
 objected to the abolition of the above taxes on the broad 
 ground that professional men should contribute their 
 quota to the general income of the country. He writes : 
 " As far as I have been able to learn, they [the taxes] 
 are in general of the same nature as taxes on the same 
 articles in other countries, and I am inclined to think 
 they are not considered as oppressive even by the natives 
 themselves. ... I shall not, therefore, take on me 
 to recommend their discontinuance, whereby the Hon- 
 ourable Company must sustain considerable loss, while 
 at the same time the benefit arising to individuals would 
 scarcely be a compensation for giving up so much 
 revenue, which is necessarily appropriated to the general 
 defence of the State, and in the benefits of which every 
 individual participates. I therefore see no reason why 
 professional men, tradesmen, and artificers of every 
 kind should not contribute their quota to such a use- 
 ful and necessary purpose as well as the ryot or hus- 
 bandman, more especially in times of pressing exigencies." 
 It is perhaps to be regretted that these views did not 
 prevail, and that a tax to which the people had got 
 accustomed should have been allowed to fall into desue- 
 tude. However, the Government of the day took another 
 view, and abolished these miscellaneous taxes. They 
 also abolished the taxes levied at bazars and markets 
 from shopkeepers and market-vendors, and gave the 
 zamindars compensation for the loss of them in the 
 shape of a deductibn from the land revenue. In fact, 
 however, the zamindars did not cease to levy such taxes,
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC AN AS. 65 
 
 and probably it never was intended that zamindars 
 should be prevented from establishing such bazdrs and 
 markets and deriving revenue therefrom. Nearly all 
 the markets, and probably most of the bazars in Bengal, 
 have been established since the Permanent Settlement, 
 and on zamindars' land, and it seems legitimate that 
 the zamindars should get at least ground-rent from those 
 who make use of them. I have printed Mr Douglas's 
 letter about the bazilrs and markets in the Appendix. 
 
 II. TERKITORIAL DIVISIONS OF THE DISTRICT AND THEIR 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 The subordinate divisions under a sarkar or chakla are 
 variously called 'parganas, tappas, tarafs, giixls, and 
 jodrs. The pargana is the largest and most common of 
 them, and it is generally understood that the word 
 lappa prefixed to the name of a tract of country implies 
 that it has been formed out of part of a pargana. Thus, 
 tappa Nazirpiir and tappa Sultandbjld are supposed to 
 imply that they were formed out of pargana Chandra- 
 dwijj. The unit in the division of tracts of land is gen- 
 erally the mozah or village, though this is sometimes 
 divided into hismats or paras — i.e., hamlets. A pargana 
 consists of a number of mozahs, but their number and 
 size are quite uncertain, and hence parganas vary greatly 
 in size and importance. 
 
 The number of parganas, &c., in Bd-karganj is reckoned 
 at forty-seven. They are of very different ages and im- 
 portance, and in some cases the divisions appear to have 
 no better foundation than the notions of the Taujih- 
 navis — i.e., the officer of the Revenue Roll Depart- 
 ment. They are also far from being compact, and it has 
 been found quite impossible to make them the basis of
 
 66 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 administrative divisions. Still they are well known to tlie 
 natives, every ryot being aljle to tell to wliicli pargana 
 his villao^e belono-s, and there is little likelihood of the 
 names of the chief parganas becoming obsolete. Par- 
 gana rates of rent no longer exist, nor do even the same 
 weights and land-measures always prevail over a whole 
 pargana ; but still the word iKivgana is used by the public 
 as a rough means of classification, and the rate of rent 
 commonly, though not invariably, prevailing in a par- 
 gana is often appealed to as the standard. I have, there- 
 fore, resolved to take up the parganas one by one, and 
 give a short history of each, more especially as this 
 gives a convenient opportunity for noticing the principal 
 native families, as their history is for the most part 
 connected with that of their parganas. 
 
 In the following list I have arranged the parganas 
 chiefly according to their geographical position, though 
 I have deviated somewhat from this arransrement in 
 order that I might begin with the four great parganas of 
 Chandradwip, Buzurgumedpur, Selimdbd,d, and Idilpiir. 
 Some of the parganas also are so scattered — e.g.^ Bai- 
 kanthpiir — that it is difficult to find a place for them. 
 
 The number of parganas (forty-seven) on the list 
 appears large, but many of them really belong to other 
 districts, and are only represented in Bakarganj by a 
 few outlying taluqs. Thus Rajnagar and Kasimpur 
 Selapati substantially belong to Faridpiir, and Bikrani- 
 piir and Jalalpur to Dacca ; and by far the greater por- 
 tion of their revenues is paid in those districts. But at 
 the time of the Revenue Survey, and on other occasions, 
 it was found that some taluqs which had been separated 
 from the zamindaries were geographically situated within 
 this district, and therefore their revenues were made 
 payable at the Bdkarganj treasury. I have not thought
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARGANAS. 67 
 
 it necessary to give any account of these extraneous 
 parganas, and have relegated them to the end of th(3 
 list. The first thirty-seven names on the list comprise all 
 tlie parganas whicli are territorially important, and even 
 many of these are veiy small and insignificant. Speak- 
 ing generally, it may be said that the north of the district 
 belongs to Bangrora, llirmohan, Idrakpiir, and Chandra- 
 dwip; the eastern portion to North and South Shahbiiz- 
 piir, Idilpur, Sultauabad, Nazirpiir, and Ratandi Kalika- 
 piir ; tlie central portion to Chandradwip, Selimabad, 
 Buzurgumedpiir, and Arangpiir ; and the western portion 
 to Selimabad and Syedpiir. The south of the district 
 belongs for the most part to the Sundarbaus, and is not 
 included in any pargana. If we study the subject, we 
 find that the positions of the parganas are by no means 
 so arbitrary as they appear at first sight, and we can 
 recognise the fact that most of them were originally 
 tolerably compact. Indeed it is reasonable to suppose 
 that they were so, as the parganas were divisions of the 
 country made for revenue purposes, and each of them 
 was j)i'ot>i^bly originally in the hands of a single indi- 
 vidual or family. The most irregular are the parganas 
 which were composed chiefly of taluqs, such as Buzur- 
 gumedpiir. The absence of maps and the want of local 
 knowlede^e anion o; the officers of the distant courts of 
 Delhi and Dacca of course prevented the divisions from 
 being quite regular. J\Iuch of Bakarganj also was in old 
 times covered with jungle, and determinate boundaries 
 were therefore impossible. Thus the great pargana of 
 Buzurgumedpiir appears to have Ijeen very vaguely de- 
 fined towards the south, and was considered to comprise 
 many of the lands which are now classed as the Sundar- 
 baus. It has been said that Jeradkhana and Muradkhana 
 were the old names for the Sundarl)ans, but as regards
 
 68 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 tlie Bdkarganj Sunclarhans, it appears to mo that it would 
 be more correct to say that they were included in Buzur- 
 gumedpiir. Some of the present irregularities of the 
 pargauas are interesting as showing the physical changes 
 which have taken place in the district. Thus, when we 
 find the parganas of Uttar Shahb^zpiir, Eamnagar, 
 Nazirpiir, and Ratandi Kalikapiir on both sides of the 
 Titulia and Ilsa, some portions being in thanas Mendiganj 
 and Baufal on the mainland, and some on the island 
 of Dakhin Sbalibaz23ur, we are reminded of a time when 
 that island was only separated from the mainland by 
 a narrow channel. So also we have an illustration of 
 the action of the rivers in the parganas of Srirampur 
 and Idilpur, one of which has almost disappeared, while 
 the other is neither so large nor so fertile as in old times. 
 It should be noted that the land revenue shown in the 
 list of parganas does not represent the revenue of the 
 whole district. It only shows that of the parganas and 
 of the taluqs separated from them, and does not include 
 the revenue from the Sundarban grants, from Govern- 
 ment estates {klias mahals), from resumptions, or from 
 fisheries. The list only shows a revenue of about ten 
 lacs, but the total revenue of the district is upwards of 
 thirteen and a half lacs (Rs.l, 367,770).
 
 JJJSrORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 
 
 69 
 
 List of the Parganas, &c., in BXkarganj, showing- the ll(!venue of each, 
 and the Proportion in which that is paid by the Zaniindaries and 
 by the Taluqs. 
 
 G 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 H 
 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 27 
 28 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 32 
 33 
 34 
 35 
 36 
 37 
 38 
 39 
 40 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 43 
 
 44 
 45 
 46 
 
 47 
 
 Name of Pargaua, 
 
 Chandrae! wip 
 
 Gird-i-Biuular 
 
 Buzurguiuedi)ui' ... 
 
 Selimabad 
 
 ( Tappa JIavili ) 
 \ Selimabad .. J 
 
 Tappa Havili 
 
 Idilpur 
 
 Tappa Nazirpur. ... 
 J P. Rataiidi ) 
 1 Kalikapur... \ 
 Uttar Shahhazpur 
 ( Dakhin Shah- ) 
 
 ( bilzpur ) 
 
 Kistodebpur 
 
 Aliiiagar 
 
 llainnagar 
 
 Ram li ari char 
 
 Kalrai char 
 
 Sultaniibad 
 
 ( Kasimuagar ) 
 ( joar Daspara ) 
 j Khaiija IJaha- ) 
 ( dur Nagar... ) 
 
 Srirampur 
 
 Tappa Abduhipiir.. 
 Tappa Kadirabad.. 
 Taj-pa Azimpur .... 
 
 P. Jahapur 
 
 Idrakpur 
 
 liasulpur 
 
 Baiigroi-a 
 
 Biimoban 
 
 Tappa Birmohan... 
 
 Habibpur 
 
 Maizardj 
 
 Jalalpur 
 
 Shaistabad 
 
 Sliaistaiiagar 
 
 Shabzadpur 
 
 Tappa Bahadurpur 
 
 P. Arangpur 
 
 Syedp(ir 
 
 Balkan tb pur ^ 
 
 Tappa Lakshirdiya 
 
 llajnagar 
 
 J Tappa Saiiiiur ( 
 
 t Kala ] 
 
 Aminibad 
 
 Bikranipiir 
 
 Gopalpur 
 
 Durgapiir 
 
 Kasimpiir Selapati 
 
 Revenue 
 
 of 
 
 No. of 
 
 Zamiudaries. 
 
 Taluqs. 
 
 82,562 14 
 
 4i 
 
 73 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 34,546 8 lis 
 
 407 \ 
 
 98,227 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 11,055 11 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 644 8 10 
 
 5 
 
 65,904 4 
 
 11 
 
 119 
 
 28,783 1 
 
 4-^ 
 
 4 
 
 25,237 11 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 7,645 12 
 
 % 
 
 294 
 
 44,413 15 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 816 
 
 
 
 
 1,578 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 5,187 6 
 
 
 
 15 
 1 
 1 
 
 21,128 13 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 1,633 9 11 
 
 
 64 8 
 
 C| 
 
 59 
 
 441 4 
 
 li 
 
 84 
 
 3,551 11 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 962 15 lOi 
 
 1 
 
 2,749 6 
 
 8A 
 
 41 
 
 853 11 10 
 
 2 
 
 3,278 11 10 
 
 52 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 365 6 
 
 y* 
 
 939 
 69 
 
 13 5 
 
 4 
 
 27 
 
 878 14 \n 
 
 
 345 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 365 6 
 
 4f 
 
 1 
 
 1,040 14 
 
 Oi 
 
 5 
 
 1,537 1 
 
 6 
 
 161 
 
 6,897 3 
 
 3i 
 
 26 
 
 4,913 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 14,364 7 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 6,570 13 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 32 
 
 27 
 9 
 
 62 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 5 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 78,654 
 
 2 
 
 2700 i 
 
 Bevenue of 
 Taluqs. 
 
 58,104 10 8^ 
 
 53 5 4 
 
 205,894 14 5 
 
 4,798 4 l-i 
 
 3,323 
 
 480 \\ 
 8,637 5 9" 
 14,687 9 11 
 
 3,314 1 
 
 10,899 9 10^- 
 
 15,531 10 6^ 
 
 3,676 12 5 
 
 119 4 6 
 
 1,846 10 8 
 
 5,646 13 1 
 
 6,598 11 6 
 
 4,797 9 4| 
 798 
 698 9 3i 
 
 7,732 10 Oi 
 42 15 111 
 
 2,060 7 lOi 
 
 984 9? 
 
 20,724 2 9' 
 
 272 13 9^ 
 
 295 7 10 
 
 427" 6 lOi- 
 1,113 li 
 
 991 15 O'' 
 14,927 14 lOi 
 
 850 4 6.? 
 
 304 0' 
 
 9,604 12 9i 
 
 21,341 3 3" 
 
 7,216 10 11 
 
 1,251 3 6 
 
 471 1 10 
 
 877 1 n-i 
 
 336 
 34 3 8 
 4,675 
 4 14 Hi 
 731 12 8i 
 
 140,667 9 1 
 
 53 5 4 
 
 300,441 7 4S 
 
 103,025 4 2.L 
 
 507,714 6 Oi 
 
 Total Revenue. 
 
 14,378 
 
 1,124 
 
 74,541 
 43,470 
 
 28,551 
 
 18,545 
 
 59,945 
 
 816 
 
 1,578 
 
 8,864 
 
 119 
 
 1,846 
 
 26,775 
 
 1,633 
 
 11 11 
 
 8 Hi 
 10 8" 
 
 12 3i 
 
 12 10 
 6 8 
 
 
 
 
 5 5 
 2 Hi 
 4 6" 
 10 8 
 10 6 
 
 9 11 
 
 0,663 4 Oi 
 
 5,238 
 
 4,349 
 
 1,661 
 
 10,482 
 
 896 
 
 5,339 
 
 984 
 
 21,089 
 
 272 
 
 308 
 
 878 
 
 772 
 
 1,478 
 
 2,032 
 
 16,495 
 
 7,747 
 
 5,217 
 
 23,'.1G9 
 
 27,912 
 
 7,216 
 
 1,251 
 
 471 
 
 13 6 
 11 6 
 
 11 91 
 
 3 8i 
 9i 
 9 6.i 
 
 13 9S 
 
 13 2" 
 
 14 Hi 
 8 4i 
 
 6 6.1 
 13 Oi 
 
 4S 
 
 7 10"" 
 
 1 1 
 
 4 3i 
 
 O" 
 10 11 
 
 3 6 
 
 1 10 
 
 877 1 Hi 
 
 The Buz 
 urgumed- 
 pur zamiu- 
 dari con 
 sists of the 
 farm (No. 
 1406), the 
 Dari cbar 
 (No. 1447), 
 md the 
 Chakran 
 (No. 1437). 
 The frac- 
 tions are 
 chiefly the 
 result of 
 the con- 
 verision of 
 sicca into 
 
 Govern- 
 ment ru- 
 pees. 
 
 336 
 
 34 
 
 4,675 
 
 4 
 
 731 
 
 
 
 3 8 
 
 
 
 14 \\\ 
 
 12 Si 
 
 There is 
 jalso a par- 
 [gana called 
 Amrapdr, 
 but as it is 
 represent- 
 ed only by 
 akhas ma- 
 bal with a 
 revenue of 
 Rs.7-2, I 
 have not 
 included it 
 in the list. 
 
 986,368 6 2\ 
 
 ' Baikanthpur is remarkable for its lands being so much scattered. There is part of it in Dakhin 
 Shahbazpiir.
 
 70 DJSTJilCT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 I now proceed to describe eacli pargana separately, 
 and begin with Chandradwip, wliicli is at once the oldest 
 and the most interesting in the district. 
 
 1. Chandradwip. 
 (a.) Its History. 
 
 Chandradwip was one of the four mahals or parganas 
 into which sarkar Bdkla was divided at the time of 
 Todar Mai's settlement. At that time it seems to have 
 been known by the name of Ismdilpiir or Bakla, and it 
 appears from Professor Blochmann's work that Abul 
 Fazl nses the term Bakla as synonymous with Chan- 
 dradwij). The zamindar of Bakla, who had in 1583 a 
 son called Parmanand Eai, was evidently one of the 
 Chandradwip Rajahs, and probably was Eajah Krishna 
 Ballab. 
 
 It appears from traditions, and from official records, 
 that Chandradwip belonged from early times to a Hindu 
 family of the Kayast caste, and that they enjoyed the 
 title of Rajah. The name Chandradwip appears to mean 
 the island of Chandra, whether Chandra be taken as the 
 name of a man, or in its literal signification of the moon. 
 The name, therefore, appears to date back to a time when 
 a great part of the district Avas covered by the sea. 
 According to tradition, much of Bakarganj was formerly 
 the bed of a large river called the Sugandha or Sunda ; 
 and the name of Sugandha, or "the Fragrant," is, as 
 already stated, said to be derived from the fact that 
 when the goddess Bhagabati was cut in pieces, and the 
 fragments scattered over the earth, her nose fell into 
 this river. The name Sugandha is still applied, I believe, 
 to the upper part of the Kalijiri river, and the name is 
 perpetuated, under the abbreviated form of Sunda, in the 
 name Sundarkul, or bank of the Sunda, which is borne
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 71 
 
 by, I think, two villages, one near Pancliakaran, and 
 another near Nalchiti. 
 
 The following romantic story is told in connection with 
 the name Chandradwip : Tlierc was once a Brdhman in 
 Bikrampur pargana of the name of Chnndra, whose tute- 
 lary deity (Lshtodebta) was Bhagabati or Kali. He 
 married a young Brahman lady, but it was not until he 
 brouo'ht his bride home tiiat he knew what her name 
 was. He then found out that she bore the same name 
 as his patron goddess, and was greatly distressed by the 
 coincidence, "for," he said to himself, "how can I pray 
 to the goddess in my wife's name ? It will seem as if 
 I were worshipping my wife. Or again, how can I treat 
 as my wife one who bears the name of my goddess ? It 
 were better that I should kill myself than that I should 
 run the risk of committing acts of impiety." Under 
 these feelings of perplexity he got into a boat and re- 
 solved to sail on until he was lost. It was then all open 
 sea to the south of Bikrampur, and he sailed on for a day 
 and a night without meeting any one. Next morning, 
 liowcvcr, he was surprised to observe a little boat, rowed 
 by a solitary fisher-maiden. He addressed her, and 
 asked her how she had the courage to be there all alone. 
 " Oh," she said, " I am following my trade, and I have no 
 feaT ; but how do you, who are a Brahman and a lands- 
 man, come to be in such a place ? " Then he told her of 
 the perplexity which had befallen him. The girl gave 
 a scornful laugh, and said, "0 Brahman, how foolish 
 and ignorant you are ! Do you not know that the god- 
 dess Bhagabati dwells in every womai:, and that every 
 woman is a part of her ? Why, then, should you be 
 sttirtled to find that your bride bears her name % " The 
 Brahman was amazed to receive such a reproof from a 
 simple fisher-girl, and at once felt sure that she was 
 other than she seemed, and was a goddess in disguise.
 
 72 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Leaping iuto her boat, lie clasped her knees, and adjured 
 her to tell him who she really was. In vain she reminded 
 him of his caste, and bade him not sully it by contact 
 with a fisher-maiden. He refused to let her go, and she 
 was constrained to acknowledge that she was his goddess 
 Bhao^abati. The Brahman was not slow to take advan- 
 tage of the confession, and forthwith supplicated the 
 goddess to bestow a boon upon her worshipper. She 
 assented, and told him that the sea on which he then 
 was would one day become dry land, and that he would 
 possess it, and call it Chandradwip, after his own name. 
 
 Another story is, that there was a great ascetic, of the 
 name of Chandra Sekliar Chakrabarti, who used to travel 
 about accompanied by his disciple, Eam Nath Dlianaj 
 Mardan De. One night, when he was asleep in his boat, 
 the goddess Kali appeared to him in a dream, and told 
 him that there were some images lying under water near 
 his boat, and that he should secure them. Next morn- 
 ing he made his disciple dive twice into the water. Each 
 time a stone image was brought up. Unfortunately, the 
 disciple did not dive a third time, or he would have 
 brought up Ijakshmi, the goddess of Fortune. The 
 two images he found were Katayani and Madan Gopal. 
 They are sculptured in black stone, and are still wor- 
 shipped in Madhabpasha. Chandra Sekhar then pre- 
 dicted to his disciple that the sea at the place where they 
 were would one day be dry land, and that he would be 
 the Eajali of it. He also bade him call it Chandradwip, 
 after the name of his master. 
 
 The first seat of the family was at Kachua, a village 
 on the right or west bank of the Titulia river, and 
 in the Baufal thana of the PatuyakhiUi subdivision. 
 According to one tradition, the Eajalis were forced to 
 leave Kachua on account of the incursions of the Mugs 
 — /.e., the Burmese — and according to another story,
 
 HISTORY OF THE FA RG AN AS. 73 
 
 tliey left it on account of the encroaclimcntsof the river. 
 There is no doubt that much diluviation has taken pkce 
 near Kachua, and indeed it is still going on. The local 
 tradition is that the Titulia was once a very narrow 
 stream, and that the main course of the Meghna flowed 
 on the east side of the island of Dakhin Shahbazpiir. 
 This view is supported l)y the circumstance that the 
 same parganas are to he found on both sides of the 
 river — viz., Ratandi Kalikapur, Nazirpiir, and Uttar 
 Shahbazpiir. The traveller Ralph Fitch describes a 
 visit he paid to Bakla in 1586. There is no town or 
 villao^e of the name of Bakla now in existence, nor 
 have I ever heard any tradition of there having been 
 such a town. I presume, therefore, that Bakla must 
 be the same as Kachua, though if so it must have been 
 a much larger place in Fitch's time. Probably much 
 of the old town has been washed away. Fitch de- 
 scribes the country as being governed by a Hindu 
 prince who was of a good disposition and fond of 
 shooting. I visited Kachua in the end of 1874, and 
 found that the only remains of old building were a 
 lonely and deserted temple standing on a high mound 
 overlooking the river, and a series of vaulted chambers 
 of very strong masonry, which are said to have been 
 the rajhari or palace. The temple is conical in shape 
 and is double storied, which is, I believe, not commonly 
 the case in modern Hindu temples. It is evidently of 
 considerable age, for there is a large tree (a iklIcout) 
 growing on the top, which is so branching as almost to 
 conceal the temple underneath.^ The rajbari is a little 
 farther inland, and is surrounded with jungle. 
 
 ^ Perhaps this was the very temple in whicli the Rajah's son is said to 
 have taken refui^^e. It certainly was a natural place to run to in case of 
 an inundation.
 
 74 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 The genealogy of tlic Chandmdwip family is told by 
 tlieir descendants with one or two variations, but the 
 most correct account appears to be as follows : Earn 
 Nath Dhanaj Mardan De was, as we have seen, the 
 founder of the family. He lived at Kachua, and was 
 succeeded by his son Ram Ballab. Ram Ballab was 
 followed hj Sri Ballab, Hari Ballab, and finally by 
 Krishna Ballab, who had no sons, and with whom 
 therefore the direct male line became extinct. Krishna 
 Ballab, however, had a daughter named Kamala, who 
 has left her mark on the district, and deserves a passing 
 remembrance. I have said that Kachua is on the bank 
 of the Titulia ; the work for which Kamala is famous 
 is the excavation of a large tank at a place not far from 
 Kachua, and near the mouth of the Kalaia river. The 
 tank is now in ruins, but enough remains to show that 
 it was larger than any tank, not excepting Durga Sagur, 
 which has since been dug in the district. The tradition 
 is that after Kamala dug the tank the Avater Avould 
 not rise in it, and that the people reproached her family, 
 saying that on account of the Rajah's sins the water 
 would not come in. Thereafter Kamala, being warned 
 in a dream, w^ent and stood in the middle of the tank, 
 and the waters rose up and closed round her, and she 
 remained in their midst under the guise of a water- 
 lily. According to another tradition, she floated out 
 to the great river by a stream which still flows through 
 the tank. The tradition goes on to say that Kamala 
 had an infant child, and that when her husband saw 
 the waters closing round her, he called to her to come 
 out. She replied that she could not, as the waters 
 were drawing her down ; and then he asked her who 
 would nurse her child if she did not return. Under in- 
 structions from the goddess Ganga, Kamala answered
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 75 
 
 that if her cliild were phiccd every morning on tlic 
 steps of the (jliAt, or landing-phi ce, she would come and 
 nurse him, luit no one else must sec or touch her. 
 The child Avas accordingly set down on the ghat every 
 morning, and Kamala rose out of the water and nursed 
 him. But the Rajah, being disconsolate for her loss, 
 resolved to try and get her back ; so he hid himself 
 near the ghat, and attempted to seize Kamala as she 
 Avas giving milk to the child ; but she escaped from his 
 embrace, disappeared in the Avater, and never again 
 emerged. There is a Beno-ali sono- about these occur- 
 rences, which is still sung in the neighbourhood of the 
 tank. A fcAv verses of it have been recovered for me 
 by Babu Chandra Kumar Ghose, the police sub-inspector 
 of Baufal. The}^ are printed in the Appendix. Another 
 part of the tradition is, that Avlien Kamala set about 
 making the tank she resolved that it should extend as 
 far as she could Avalk without turning round. She 
 had Avalked about four clruns (three druns and thirteen 
 kanies), Avhen her servants, being alarmed lest she 
 should Avalk too far, induced her to turn round by 
 smearing her heel Avitli the blood of a pigeon, and 
 calling on her to stop as her foot Avas bleeding. 
 Labourers Avere brought from Dakliin Shahbdzpur to 
 dig the tank, and Kala Bhadranath and his twenty-seven 
 sons and thirteen grandsons made the Jcodals or spades 
 for them. The digging cost nine lacs of rupees. Ac- 
 cording to one account, Kamala Avas the Avife of Rajah 
 Jagadanand Bosu ; and according to another (unless the 
 two names refer to the same person), she Avas the Avife 
 of the Kala or Black Rajah, AA^hose name still survives 
 in the Kala Rajah bil, an extensive sAvamp in the Baufal 
 than a. 
 
 The tank is no longer full of Avater, but Kamala's good
 
 76 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 deed lias not been unfruitful, for its bed now yields 
 a rich harvest of rice, and its lofty walls or sides 
 support forty or fifty homesteads, luxuriant in tama- 
 rind-trees, gab -fruit trees, and l)amboos. It is plea- 
 sant to see these homesteads raised high above the sur- 
 rounding swamps, and to think that their inhabitants 
 owe their comforts to a forgotten Bengali princess. We 
 are reminded of the noble language used by Burke 
 when speaking of the tanks in the Carnatic : " These 
 are the monuments of real kings, who were the fathers 
 of their people ; testators to a posterity which they 
 embraced as their own. These are the grand sepulchres 
 built by ambition, but by the ambition of an insatiable 
 benevolence which, not contented with reigning in the 
 dispensation of haj^piness during the contracted tenure 
 of human life, had strained, with all the reachings and 
 grasp in gs of a vivacious mind, to extend the dominion 
 of their bounty beyond the limits of nature, and to per- 
 petuate themselves through generations of generations the 
 guardians, the protectors, the nourishers of mankind." 
 
 Krishna Ballab is said to have been succeeded by his 
 daughter's son, Sib Nand, alias Parmanand Eai. He 
 was the son of Balabhadra Bosu, and with him com- 
 menced the Bosu family. Parmanand was succeeded by 
 Jagadanand, who was drowned in the Ganges, and whose 
 son, Kandarpa Narain, removed on this account from 
 Kachua and settled at Madhabpasha, about seven miles 
 west-north-west of Barisdl. There is a tradition that 
 an astroloojer foretold to Ja2;adanand that he would 
 be drowned, and that to i-uard ao;ainst this he shut 
 himself up in his palace at Kachua. But at the 
 appointed time the river swelled and rose up to the 
 level of the balcony, and as the Rajah looked out upon 
 the flood the iroddess Ganoa rose out of the water and
 
 IJISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 77 
 
 stretclied out her arms and beckoned to him to come. 
 The Kajah, seeing that his fate was inevitable, yielded 
 to it, and sinking into the arms of the goddess, dis- 
 appeared into the river, which immediately afterwards 
 returned to its old bed. This tradition appears to be a 
 poetical reminiscence of the great storm which over- 
 whelmed sarkd,r Bdkla in 1583 or 1584. It appears 
 from Professor Blochmann's work that tlie son of the 
 zamindar of Bakla in 1583 was called Parmanand Rai, 
 and this may have been Jagadanand's father. 
 
 Rajah Kandarpa Narain was succeeded by Ram Chan- 
 dra Rai, who married a daughter of the famous Rajah 
 Pratapilditya. It is said that when Ram Chandra Rai 
 went to his father-in-law's house to bring away his 
 bride he was accompanied by a favourite jester called 
 Ramai Bhar. This man dressed himself up as a woman, 
 and so gained admission to Pratdpd,ditya's zenana and 
 conversed with his queen. This came to the ears of the 
 Rajah, and he resolved to revenge the insult by killing 
 his son-in-law. His queen told this to her daughter, 
 who communicated it to her husband, and he contrived 
 to escape from the palace in disguise. On coming to 
 his boat, however, a new difficulty presented itself, for 
 Pratapdclitya had felled trees and made a barricade in 
 front of the boats in order to prevent his son-in-law's 
 escape. But a famous athlete, named Ram Mohan Ma], 
 who was in the Rajah's company, surmounted the diffi- 
 culty. Though the boat was one of sixty-four oars. Ram 
 Mohan lifted it over the barricade and launched it into 
 the river. Afterwards Pratdpdditya relented, and sent 
 his daughter to Ram Chandra, and the place where 
 she landed, near Madhabpasha, is still called Bodhu 
 Mata Hdt, or the Bride's Market, as a market was 
 established there in her honour. It may be mentioned
 
 78 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 here that Earn Mohan Mai is said to liave been the 
 fouDcler of the okl family known by the name of the 
 Raies of Ujirpur, and it is a curious circumstance that 
 the present Rajah of Chandradwip is a scion of this 
 family, he being an adopted son. Thus Eam Mohan 
 Mai's descendants have attained the dignity which their 
 ancestor helped to preserve. Unfortunately, however, the 
 glory of the Chandradwip family has long since departed. 
 
 Ram Chandra Rai is mentioned in Harish Chandra 
 Tarkalankar's history of Rajah Pratapdditya, but the 
 story of his escape is told somewhat differently. 
 Ram Chandra, it- is there said, was Pratdpaditya's son- 
 in-law, and had left his country and fled to his father- 
 in-law's house. Pratdpaditya resolved to have him 
 assassinated, and to take possession of his kingdom.^ 
 Pratdpdditya's daughter heard of the plot, and warned 
 her husband, who called in the aid of Udai Aditya, his 
 brother-in-law. Udai Aditya said he was "going that 
 nio;ht to Jessore to a ndcli, and sui^o'ested that Ram 
 Chandra should disguise himself as a linkman and 
 accompany the palanquin. Ram Chandra did so, and 
 escaped ; and then Pratapaditya sent his general, Kamal 
 Khoja, to take Ram Chandra's country. 
 
 This Ram Chandra is in all probability the boy-king of 
 Bdkla whom the Jesuit Fonseca speaks of, and who was 
 son-in-law of the King of Chandecan. Du Jarric says he 
 was driven out of his country by the Arracanese, which 
 ao^rees with the statement above that he had fled to his 
 father-in-law's house (see below, in chapter on Sun- 
 darbans) . 
 
 Ram Chandra was succeeded by his son Kirti Narain, 
 who is reported to Lave been a great warrior, and who, 
 
 ^ Tarkalankar speaks of Ram Chandra as being only a zaniiiidar, but tliis 
 is a mistake (see the original life of Pratiipaditya by Ram Ram Bosu).
 
 HISTORY OF TJJJi PA RG AN AS. 79 
 
 accordiuo- to a tradition coiiimuii to several Hindu 
 families, lost his caste by smelling a Masalman's dinner. 
 He lost his rajahship from the same cause, and was suc- 
 ceeded first by his younger brother Bashodeb, and then 
 by his son Pratap Narain. Pratdp Narain was succeeded 
 by his son Preni Narain, with wdiom the Bosu dynasty 
 became extinct, and was replaced by the Mitra family. 
 Prem Narain was succeeded by his son-in-law, Gonri 
 Cliaran Mitra, wdio had two sons, Udai Narain and Paj 
 Narain. Udai Narain was expelled by two Mahomedans 
 of Chakar, called Mendi Mozamdar and Sarafaddin Mo- 
 zamdar, wdio had found favour with the ruling Naw^ab 
 by giving to him in marriage their sister, who was famed 
 for her beauty. Udai Narain went to plead his cause 
 with the Nawab, but was told that he must first exhibit 
 his prowess against a tiger. An arena was prepared. 
 Udai Narain killed the tiger in the presence of the 
 Nawab, and then craved a boon. The Nawab's beauti- 
 ful wife was present, and as she favoured her brothers, 
 and was vexed at Udai Narain 's victory, she flung him 
 the rind of a plantain fruit, and scornfully told him to 
 take that as a gift. The rind of a plantain is called 
 hdUa, which also, as w^e have seen, w^as another name 
 for Udai Narain's zamindari. So the ready-witted 
 Hindu quickly picked up the plantain skin, and grate- 
 fully thanked the Nawab and the lady for having given 
 him Bdkla. The Nawab was pleased with his wit, and 
 restored his zamindari to him. It may add some con- 
 firmation to this story to mention that it appears from a 
 report of Mr Massie's, dated 18th June 1801, that the 
 Chandradwip family had at one time possessed three 
 firmans or grants of the time of King Mahomed Shah, 
 bearincr the seal of Nawab Murshid Kali Khan — i.e., 
 Nawab Jaflar Khan — confirming Udai Nai-ain in the
 
 8o DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 zamindari, hissajat, and ndnhcr lands of Cliandradwip. 
 In these papers lie was described as having succeeded 
 Indra Narain, who had died without children, and as 
 being the grandson of Pratap Narain. 
 
 Udai Narain's brother, Raj Narain, did not get any 
 share in the zamindari, but he got a taluq called Raj- 
 mata, and established himself at Pratappiir, two or three 
 miles north of Madhabpisha. Udai Narain was suc- 
 ceeded by his son Sib Narain, who became insane, set 
 fire to his house, and destroyed many old jDapers (see 
 enclosures of Mr Massie's report of 18th June 1801). Sib 
 Narain was succeeded by his eldest son, Lakshmi Narain, 
 who died shortly before 1780 (see enclosures to above 
 report), and was succeeded by Jai Narain, also called 
 Durga Kuar Narain. During Jai Narain's infancy, his 
 servant, Sankhar Bakshi, got possession of the zamin- 
 dari, but Jai Narain's mother recovered it with the help 
 of the famous Ganga Govind Sing. Perhaps it was on 
 this occasion that the sanad of 24tli November 1780 
 was given, which bore the seal of the Provincial Council 
 of Dacca and the signature of Mr Holland, the Chief of 
 Dacca, and of which a translation is appended to Mr 
 Massie's report aforesaid. The getting of the sanad is 
 said to have cost the Rani a good deal of money, and 
 this, and the digging of a large tank near Madhabpasha, 
 which is called after her, Durga Sagur, are said to have 
 impoverished the estate. Probably it was tlic expense 
 of feeding the Brahmans, and of the other religious 
 ceremonies attending the construction of the tank, which 
 weighed more heavily on the estate than the mere cost 
 of the manual labour. Jai Narain, alias Durga Kuar, 
 was the last zamindar, as in his time the Chandradwip 
 pargana was sold by the Collector for arrears of revenue 
 in 1799. Jai Narain was succeeded by his son, Nar
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 8i 
 
 Sing Rai, who was famed for bis personal beauty. He 
 liad no son, but each of his two widows adopted a son, 
 and these are now the representatives of the family. 
 Their names are Bir Sin2: Narain Rai and Dabendra 
 Narain Rai, and they are popularly known as the Bara 
 and Chota Raja. They live at Madhabpdsha, but are in 
 poor circumstances, as they have nothing to support 
 them except the lands round about Madhabpjisha, which 
 are lakhiraj, or rent-free, and some dependent taluqs. 
 Most of the lakhiraj belongs to what is called the Jchana- 
 hari or homestead, locally called Srinagar. An attempt 
 was made to resume it, but it was finally released. The 
 khanabari is of considerable extent, and is bounded on 
 the west by a stream called Rajar Ber, or the Rajah's 
 Moat, whicli commences on the east of Rahamatpiir, and 
 which, is said to have been made by one of the rajahs as 
 a defence to his palace. Madhabpdsha is connected with 
 Barisdl by a road made many years ago by a Hindu lady 
 named Parvati Chaudharine. There are many ruins of 
 old buildings about Madhabpdsha, but none of them are 
 at all remarkable, and the finest thing about the place is 
 undoubtedly the large tank called the Durga Sagur. 
 There is a brass cannon lying near the bazjlr, and there 
 is a small old tank in the neis^hbourhood called Kaman- 
 tolla. Some have professed to read the name Kan- 
 darpa Narain on this cannon, and to connect it with 
 the Rajah of that name, but the inscription is, to say 
 the least, very indistinct, and it seems to me not im- 
 probable that the gun may have been brought by 
 Rajah Durga Kuar Narain from the Mahomedan fort of 
 Sujabdd. There is a petition among the records from 
 him asking leave to bring away some cannon from that 
 place. 
 
 F
 
 82 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 (h.) Financial History of Chandradivip. 
 
 In tlie Settlement of Todar Mai tlie revenue of sark^u 
 Bdkla is put down at Rs. 178,206, and tins is larger 
 than the revenue at that time of Khalifatabad — i.e., 
 Jessore. In 1135 B.s. the revenue of Cliandradwip par- 
 gana was only Rs.6608 (Grant, p. 365). This small 
 amount only represents the khalsa, or exchequer revenue, 
 and is evidently the result of the greater parts of the 
 pargana having been held as a jaghir, or fief, on the 
 condition of the zamindar's furnishino- boats and crews 
 to the Dacca flotilla. In 1105 (Grant, p. 367) the 
 revenue Avas Rs.68,509, of which only Rs.ll70 were 
 khalsa, and Rs.58,581 were jaghir, the remaining 
 E,s.8758 being apparently composed of ahiuahs or cesses. 
 At this time the pargana stood in the name of Adi 
 (Udai ?) Narain of the Ganges, and is described as con- 
 sisting of one zamindari and twenty-two mahals — i.e., 
 app)arently parganas. This circumstance, that the zam- 
 indari consisted of twenty-two subordinate mahals, is 
 very interesting, as it helps to explain a curious fact 
 in the topography of the district — i.e., that there is 
 one village in- the district the lands of which belong 
 to no less than twenty-two parganas. The village is 
 Nohalia — a large village in the Baufjil tliana of the 
 Patuyakhdli subdivision, and therefore not very far 
 from Kachua, the ancient seat of the Chandradvvip 
 rajahs. 
 
 The following parganas are to be found in this village: 
 
 1. Buzurgumedpiir. 5. Shaistanagar. 
 
 2. Bangrora. 6. Bahadurpur. 
 
 3. Khanjababadurnagar. 7. Fadainagar. 
 
 4. Arangptir. 8. Uttar Sbabbilzpur.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 83 
 
 9. Azimpur. IG. SliaistAbAd. 
 
 10. Ramuagar. 17. FarokhAbAcl. 
 
 11. Idrakpiir. 18. Tappa Birinoliai). 
 
 12. Khorda Sliafipiir. 19. Nazirpur. 
 
 13. Shahzddpur. 20. SultanAbAd. 
 
 14. Kasirapilr Selapati. 21. Shafipur Kala. 
 
 15. Rasulpiir. 22. Pargaiia Birmohan. 
 
 All the lands of these parganas are now traceable in 
 tlie village except those of Farokhabad, Kasimpur Sela- 
 pati, Khorda Shafipur, and Rasulpiir, which, however, 
 are said by the villagers to be still in existence, but to 
 be hidden in the jungle which covers the outskirts of 
 the village. On account of this grouping together 
 of twenty-two parganas, the place is popularly called 
 Gachani — i.e., the bundling or tying together. The word 
 is also used to mean the forcing a person to accept 
 something against his will, and hence in revenue par- 
 lance gachani means the compelling a proprietor or 
 farmer to take the settlement of several estates — i.e., 
 the ofood and the bad together. 
 
 Two thino-s are deservino- of note in this list. The 
 first is, that tlie name Chandradwip is conspicuous by 
 its absence ; and secondly, that the large pargana of 
 Ratandi Kalikapur is not mentioned. Now, it is known 
 that Ratandi Kalikapur was formed out of part of 
 Nazirpur and other parganas in 1149 b.s., and therefore 
 we may reasonably conclude that the gachani took place 
 before that period. This circumstance and the omission 
 of Chandradwip give countenance to the following- 
 tradition : Rajah Udai Narain's brother. Raj Narain, 
 did not take any share of the zamindari, but in order 
 to keep alive the memory of his rights, and also of the 
 fact that Chandradwip was composed of twenty-two 
 parganas, he made the village of Nohalia into a taluq, 
 and aggregated in it the names of all the parganas. It
 
 84 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 is a fact known from otlier sources that most of the 
 parganas in Bakarganj have been formed out of Chan- 
 dradwip ; in revenue parlance they are hharija, or 
 excluded from Chandradwip, and the above list is an 
 additional proof of this. 
 
 In 1169 B.S., as appears from a report by Mr Massie, 
 dated 25tli November 1800, the revenue of Chandra- 
 dwip was Es. 7 1,042; and in 1194 — i.e., 1787 — it was 
 Rs. 8 5,725. Mr Day, in his proposals for the Permanent 
 Settlement, recommended that this assessment should be 
 increased by lis. 15,000, in consideration of the Hissajat 
 or stipendiary lands held by the zamindar. The Board 
 of Revenue ajoproved of this proposal, but expressed a 
 hope that it would not cause distress to the zamindar or 
 his family, or to the ryots. On 6th A|)ril 1790 Mr 
 Douglas reported that Rs.3000 of the increase was 
 obtained in 1195, and Rs.lOOO more in the assessment 
 for the current year (1196). He added, "The proprie- 
 tor of the pargana is a youth of seventeen years of age, 
 but as no attention has been paid to his education, he 
 remains in total ignorance of the minutiae of the Mofussil 
 collections ; his time is wholly spent in the luxuries of a 
 zenana, and these his mother, wishing to continue in 
 the management of the pargana, supplies him with the 
 means of gratifying." On 29th April the Board replied 
 by directing the Collector to make the Decennial Settle- 
 ment of Chandradwip on the revenue of 1196 — viz., 
 Rs.89,725. On 4th October 1791 Mr Douglas reports 
 that he called on the zamindar to enter into engagements 
 on the terms proposed by Mr Day, and that he positively 
 declined to do so. Mr Douglas adds, that some of the 
 lands had suffered much from the inundation, but that 
 he thought the estate could bear the increase if it were 
 well managed, and if the Hissnjat lands were resumed.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC AN AS. 85 
 
 Eventually Mr Douglas proposed that the revenue for 
 the remaining years of the Decennial Settlement — viz., 
 from 1200 to 1206— should Le fixed at Rs.87,652-1-8, 
 and this was approved by the Board and the Governor- 
 General. It seems that a tahsildar, or native collector, 
 of Chandradwip had been appointed, owing to the 
 Rajah's having defaulted; and on 26th October 1791 
 Mr Douglas reports that the owsli or early rice crop had 
 been much injured by crabs, and that he had therefore 
 suspended the payment of an instalment of the revenue. 
 The zamindar did not agree to Mr Douglas's proposals, 
 and on 21st October 1795 the Collector (Mr Armstrong) 
 reports that the zamindar of Chandradwip is not under 
 eno-aoements to Government, and that he orives as a 
 reason for not being so, that some taluqs had been sepa- 
 rated from his zamindari in 1198 which were not entitled 
 to separation, and that others had been separated at a 
 much inferior rate of rent to that which he used from 
 time immemorial to receive from them. Mr Armstrong 
 considered that there was some truth in the latter asser- 
 tion ; but aj^parently Mr Armstrong was not a suffi- 
 ciently active Collector, for he was called upon by the 
 Governor-General in Council to explain why the revenue 
 in his time was invariably in arrear, whereas under a 
 former Collector it was realised with the greatest regu- 
 larity. In his defence he pleads that the low price of 
 grain, and the protracted suits which the zamindars had 
 to bring against their under-renters, prevented them 
 from paying the revenue (25tli July 1795). Meanwhile 
 the affairs of the Rajah of Chandradwip went from bad* 
 to worse, and on 11th November 1799 Mr Massie re- 
 ports that the whole of the Rajah's lands have been sold 
 by public auction, and that there was still a balance due 
 of upwards of Rs.35,000, and requests that he may be
 
 86 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 allowed to put the Rajali in the Dacca Civil Jail, if he 
 can succeed in apprehending him. " He has distin- 
 guished himself very much," writes Mr Massie, " by his 
 refractoriness, and the making an example of him 
 would, I am confident, be attended with very beneficial 
 efi"ects in this district." Tlie Board replied on the 22d 
 idem by approving of this proposal. The Rajali was 
 never actually imprisoned, but Mr Massie attempted to 
 carry out his proj^osa!, for there is a petition, from the 
 Rajah's mother (called by Mr Massie, the old Rani of 
 Chandradwip), dated January 1800, in which she says 
 that apiada has come to summon Rajah Jai Narain — i.e., 
 Durga Kuar. " How shall I describe to you how sick 
 the Rajah is ? The whole of the zamindari has been 
 sold. I am a widow, and the only son I have is on the 
 point of death." In a subsequent petition, dated March 
 1800, the Rani begs that the Collector will pass an order 
 for the recall of the piada deputed to summon the 
 Rajah. " The whole of the zamindari has been sold, 
 and the Rajah is sick, and therefore I am distressed 
 beyond measure ; you are master of the country, and 
 I am hopeful that, taking compassion on a poor widow, 
 you will remit the fine, and by whatever means I can 
 I will pay the money." It may be noted here, in ex- 
 planation of Mr Massie's apparently harsh proceedings, 
 that the preamble to Regulation 3 of 1794 states that 
 " from the earliest times the rulers of these provinces 
 have exercised a discretionary power of confining pro- 
 prietors of land who have failed in the discharge of the 
 'public revenue." The Regulation took away the power 
 in ordinary cases, but section 14 retained it for in- 
 stances in which the proceeds of the sale of the de- 
 faulter's land did not cover the arrears, as was the case 
 with the Rajah of Chandradwip.
 
 HISTORY OF THE TARGANAS. 87 
 
 Cliandradwip pargana was sold at Dacca iu 1206 b.s. 
 (1799), and was bought by two Greeks, Messrs George 
 and Alexander Panioty, by one Dal Sing of Dacca, and 
 by several others, of wliom the chief appears to have 
 been Ram ^lanik ]\Iudi. It appears to have been sold 
 in three shares, as follows : — 
 
 A. Gandaa. Krants. 
 
 Earn Manik Mudi and others . . 8 12| 2 
 
 Messrs Panioty 5 10 
 
 DalSini? 1 171 1 
 
 16 
 
 Soon after the purchase the pargana was attached 
 because the purchasers fell into arrears, and an amin was 
 sent to collect the rents. Another amin was also sent to 
 make a partition of the pargana, iu accordance with a 
 request of the purchasers. The difficulties of the Col- 
 lector and the purchasers lasted for some time, and in 
 one petition Messrs Panioty pathetically observe that 
 "what we intended as a purchase of lands has only been 
 the purchase of dis^Dutes in the Faujdari and Diwani 
 Adalats." On 15th Aioril 1800 Mr Massie writes, "It 
 is extremely unpleasant to me to be so very troublesome 
 to your Board with regaid to the affairs of pargana 
 Chandradwip, but really the parties concerned are so 
 clamorous and harass me so much with their petitions 
 and representations of one kind or another," &c. 
 
 Messrs Panioty represented that they were the only 
 real purchasers, and that Ram Manik Mudi was only a 
 henamidar (man of straw) for the Rajah. Unfortun- 
 ately for the Chandradwip family, this was not the case. ' 
 According to the story now current in Bakarganj, 
 Ram Manik was a mudi or petty shopkeeper in the 
 Madhabpd-sha bazar, but he was also the Rajah's agent 
 or gomasta, and he pretended to him that he was only
 
 88 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 buying the estate on liis behalf. Afterwards, how- 
 ever, he turned round and claimed to be the real pur- 
 chaser. Earn Manik's descendants are still in posses- 
 sion of the zamindari, and live at Madhabpasha side by 
 side with the representatives of the old rajahs. They 
 are still contemptuously spoken of as the Mudi Bansa 
 or family, and I am sorry to say that though some of 
 them are rich, they have done very little to wipe out 
 the discredit which rests on their ancestor's name. 
 
 The difficulties experienced by the purchasers in 
 getting possession arose partly from the claim of the 
 Rajah to hold certain lands rent free. These were called 
 Hissajat lands, and are thus defined by Mr Massie in a 
 statement submitted to the Board on 5th November 
 1798 : "It seems that in the time of the incursions 
 of the Mugs, the zamindars of this part of the country 
 held certain lands exempt from revenue on condition of 
 their furnishing boats and men to o^^pose those people. 
 And the lands so held were termed Nowara lands. 
 Some, if not all of the principal zamindars, exclusive of 
 furnishing boats, &c., engaged to go in person in these 
 expeditions against the Mugs, and in such cases they 
 were allowed to hold a still greater proj)ortion of land 
 exempt from revenue, in consideration of their own 
 personal services. And the lands, though included 
 under the general term Nowara, were distinguished by 
 the specific term Hissajat, of which latter description 
 are the lands alluded to." Durga Narain Kuar peti- 
 tioned about these lands, and Mr Massie submitted a 
 report thereon on 18tli June 1801. He states that 
 Durga Narain produced among other papers a pariuana 
 signed by Mr Holland, the Chief of Dacca, dated 24th 
 November 1780. The preamble to the parwana is worth 
 quoting. " To the matsaddies that are emj)loyed at
 
 I 11 ST OR V OF THE PARC AN AS. 89 
 
 present, or tluat may be employed hereafter, the cliaud- 
 liaries, zamindars, kanangoes, taluqdars, ryots, and all 
 otlier inhabitants of pargaua Chandradwip, &c., sarkdr 
 Bilkla, Mahal Nowara, &c., dependent on Chakla Jahan- 
 girnagar, in the sonba of Bengal, the paradise of king- 
 doms,- — be it known that the aforesaid pargana, &c,, is 
 a zamindari of forty-two cosas [a kind of boat], of thirty- 
 two mullahs [boatmen] each, and that Hissajat has been 
 allotted to Udai Narain, the zamindar." On 21st July 
 1801 the Board rejected Durga Narain's claim to the 
 Hissajat lands. 
 
 The partition papers of Chandradwip, which are in 
 the Collectorate, bear the date of 1210 b.s. (a.d. 1803-4), 
 but apparently the partition was not completed then, 
 for Mr Batty e, in a letter of 8th June 1807, speaks of 
 the extraordinary delay which has taken place in com- 
 pleting the partition, and mentions that at last the 
 zamindars had applied, under section 22 of Eegulation 
 25 of 1793, for permission to make the partition by 
 private arrangement. The Board had approved of this 
 proposal, and Mr Battye submitted the partition papers, 
 with the letter aforesaid. The Board confirmed the 
 partition on 21st July 1807. A portion of the Paniotys' 
 share is still held by their descendants, and another por- 
 tion has been bought by Babus Eajendra and Mohima, 
 of Chaudharassi, and a third portion belongs to the Kal- 
 lowas family. Dal Sing's share is still held by his 
 descendants. 
 
 In closing this account of Chandradwip, and of the 
 ancient family which once possessed it, it is impossible 
 to avoid the conclusion that the ruin of the rajahs w^as 
 inevitable. Mr Massie may have been somewhat harsh, 
 and our settlements and our sale laws somewhat rigid, 
 and Ram Manik may have behaved to the Eajah after
 
 90 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 the fasliion of Glossin iu his dealings with the Laird of 
 EUangowau, but, after all, what hope was there for a 
 youth like the Eajah, who had sj^ent all his life in the 
 zenana ? If none of the other adverse influences had 
 existed, he must still in time have gone to the ground 
 from sheer incapacity to manage his afiairs ; and if it 
 were j^ossible now to restore Chandradwip to the present 
 representatives of the family, they Avould be unable to 
 keep it. The elder or Bara Rajah is intelligent, and of 
 fair character, but he is devoid of energy, and the demon 
 of discord has taken possession of him and his brother, 
 so that cases between them, and these, too, of no very 
 reputable character, not unfrequently come before our 
 criminal courts. 
 
 It is a remark of Mr HeljDS in his life of Mr Brassey, 
 that families seem to be like certain plants which take 
 long to come to maturity, and then flower and die ; and 
 the remark is probably even more aj^plicable to Bengal 
 than to Europe. I could enumerate many native fami- 
 lies which, after being long obscure, have shot up during 
 a single generation, have exercised much power and 
 influence, and then have sunk back into insignificance 
 with the death of the one leading spirit. The great 
 Narail family of Jessore is a case in point, for it does not 
 appear to have produced a single man of mark before 
 or after Ram Ratan Rai. The Tagores of Idilpiir, the 
 Ghosals of Selimabdd, and the Biswases of Jolabari are 
 also instances ; and if we look at men who are now 
 flourishing — such as Khajah Abdul Ghani, C.S.I, of 
 Dacca ; Gholam Ali Chaudhari of Haturia ; Raj Ballab 
 Rai of Madhabpdsha ; or Boroda Kanth Rai, the present 
 energetic zamindar of Arangpur — we must feel it to be 
 very doubtful if they will leave successors who will be 
 able to walk in their footstejis. Apart from questions
 
 HISTORY OF THE PA KG ANAS. 91 
 
 of climate and race, I think there are two circumstances 
 Avhich make such declensions more common in Bengal 
 than in Europe. One is, that, as a general rule, a man 
 of rank in India gets no training worthy of the name. 
 If he becomes great, he docs so by the pure force of his 
 own abilities, and l)y breasting the blows of his sur- 
 rounding circumstances. But as genius is always rare, 
 it is not likely that it should show itself in two successive 
 generations ; and there is no external aid in the shape 
 of good teaching, &c., to supplement deficiencies, and to 
 enable a man of only average ability to fill a difficult 
 position. Another circumstance, I think, is that, owing 
 to the institution of caste, it is not so easy to get a new 
 strain into a family as it is in Europe. In Hindu fami- 
 lies the practice of adoption might be supposed to ha.ve 
 some influence in this respect ; but not only is the 
 liberty of choice in adoption restricted by the rules of 
 caste, but also, unfortunately, adojDtion must take place 
 at a very early age, and therefore before anything can 
 be known of the capacities of the adopted child. 
 
 The present revenue of the Chandradwip zamindari is 
 Ks.82,562-14-4j. There are also seventy-three sepa- 
 rated taluqs in it, the revenue of which is Es. 5 8,1 04- 
 10-8^; so that the total land revenue is Es. 140,667- 
 9-1. The Chakrabarties of Eahamatpiir, said to be 
 descended from the Eajah's dewan or minister, are 
 among the largest talucj^dars in the pargana. The par- 
 gana is situated chiefly in thanas Kotwali, Mendiganj, 
 and Baufal. In old records it is described as Chandra- 
 dwip, &c., and the &c. is said to refer to two obsolete 
 parganas, called Jaffirabdd and Eafianagar. The Sundar- 
 ban portion of Chandradwip belonged to these two 
 parganas. The lands of Chandradwip are in general 
 fertile and well cultivated. It is, along with Kotwali-
 
 92 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 para and one or two other parganas, remarkable for tlie 
 number of Bralmians who live in it. Many of them 
 hold rent-free lands, though the quantity in each case is 
 generally small. The town of Barisal is situated in this 
 pargana. The land measure in use is the hard. It is 
 divided into gandas, coAvries, and krants, there being 
 twenty gandas in a kani, four cowries in a ganda, and 
 three krants in a cowry. Sixteen kanies make one drun. 
 The kani is measured by a nal or rod eight cubits and 
 eight fingerbreadths in length. Twenty-four nals by 
 twenty make a kani, and as the eight fingerbreadths 
 are reckoned as equal to six inches, a nal is twelve and 
 a half feet long (the cubit being of eighteen inches) ; so 
 that twenty-four by twenty nals are equal to 300 
 by 250 feet, or 75,000 square feet. The standard bigha 
 used in the measurement of Government estates, &c., 
 is in area, 14,400 square feet, or 1600 square yards ; so 
 that the Chandradwip kani is equal to about five bighas, 
 four kathas, and two chittaks— i.e., to about five and one- 
 fifth bighas, or about one and three-fourths of a statute 
 acre. The same measurement is in use in parganas 
 Azimpur, Bangrora, Buzurgumedpiir, Gird-i-Bandar, 
 Idilpiir, and tappa Havili. There is, however, occa- 
 sionally some confusion about the size of the Chandra- 
 dwip kani, one being sometimes referred to in which the 
 nal is only eight cubits long, the fingerbreadths being 
 omitted. This is the kani referred to by Mr Hunter in 
 his letter to the Board of 9th December 1818, in which 
 he describes the Chandradwip kani as being 288 by 
 240 feet, or 69,120 square feet. It is thus equal to four 
 bighas and sixteen kathas, or upwards of one and a half 
 acre. I may mention here that it is almost impossible 
 to state all the land measures in use. There is an old 
 list in the Collectorate, and on this Mr Reilly, when
 
 HTSTOR V OF THE PARGANAS. 
 
 93 
 
 Deputy-Collector, constructed a table, which is referred 
 to in cases of doubt, but it does not appear to be ex- 
 haustive. 
 
 One of the principal families residing in Chandradwip, 
 though their property lies in pargana Azimpl!u', &c., is 
 the Eaies of Lakutia, about six miles from Barisd.1. They 
 are a Brd-hman family, and their ancestors are said to 
 have been originally the cooks of the Rajah of Chan- 
 dradwip. But, whatever their origin, they can boast of 
 at least one member who would have done honour to 
 any family. This was Raj Chandra Rai, the father of 
 the present owners. He was a pleader and an en- 
 lightened zamindar, and made one of the best roads and 
 canals in the district (the Lakutia road and khdl) en- 
 tirely at his own expense. The estate at present be- 
 longs to three brothers, who have become Brdhmos and 
 have thrown aside their sacred thread. 
 
 The following papers connected with Chandradwip 
 appear in a volume in the India Office Library, called 
 General Appendix to Judicial Papers, 1774 : — 
 
 To the Ilonourahle Warren Hastings, &c. 
 
 We beg leave to refer to your consideration a petition which has 
 been laid before us by the vakil of Kaghanandan Chaudhari, security 
 for the pargana of Chandradwip. We understand the two Euro- 
 peans there mentioned are officers of the Supreme Court of Judi- 
 cature ; and Ave transmit this petition to you as an instance of 
 the inconveniences which attend this jurisdiction's being exercised 
 on the persons employed on the collections. In the present case 
 we presume the zamindars are not amenable to the power of the 
 Supreme Court, not being servants of the Company or any European. 
 
 (Signed) KousE, Purling, kc. 
 Dacca, 30<A Oct. 1775. 
 
 The petition of Khosal Chasat, vakil of the security for the 
 
 parganas Chandradwip, JaffirAbdd, and Eafianagar. 
 Showing — That Odal San {]), the former Naib, having preferred 
 a complaint for debt against Sib Narain, zamindar, and Ram Sank-
 
 94 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 liar Baksliy, Naib of aforesaid parganas, in Calcutta, has brought 
 from thence two Europeans to the said zamindar's house, seized 
 and confined the Naib. . . . If the zamindar and Naib are 
 carried to Calcutta on account of an old debt, the business of the 
 collections cannot be carried on, &c. 
 
 2. Gird-i-Bandar. 
 
 Though called a pargana, this is merely a small por- 
 tion of Chandradwip, wliich has been excluded from it 
 in order to form the bazar of Barisdl. It consists of one 
 village (Barisdl), and this a very small one, and is 
 altogether comprised in one taluq, called Hari Radha 
 Nath Dass, of which the revenue is only Rs. 53-5-4. 
 The town of Baristil now includes much more than the 
 villao;e of that name. The civil courts and the col lee- 
 torate and the maoistrates' cutcherics are built on the 
 aforesaid taluq, the sites being held by Government 
 as an under-tenure. The taluq belongs to Babu Chandi 
 Charan Rai, and is a very profitable one. 
 
 3. BUZURGUMEDPUR. 
 
 This is an old pargana, and was formerly included in 
 sarkar Bazuha. It is said to derive its name from Buzurg 
 Umed Khan, son of Shaista Khan who governed 
 Bengal in the latter half of the seventeenth century. 
 Some account of him will be found in vol. liii. 
 of the *' Calcutta Review" for 1871, article '' Feringh- 
 ies of Chittagong." Buzurgumedpur belonged to Aga 
 Bdkar, and the mart of Bakarganj, which gave its name 
 to the district, is situated within it. On Aga Bd-kar's 
 death, Buzurgumedpur became the property of Rajah 
 Raj Ballab, the Naib of Shahamat Jung, nephew and 
 son-in-law of Aliverdi Khan. He was also the Peshkar 
 of the Nowara or Fleet lands. Grant refers to Buzurg-
 
 HISTORY OF THE PA KG ANAS. 95 
 
 umedpur as a petty zaminclari, which in the space of 
 five-and-thirty years anterior to 1170, improved in its 
 rental from Rs.6000 to two lacs, chiefly through new 
 acquisitions of soil, though doubtless partly from amelio- 
 ration of the uncultivated wastes of the Sundarbaus, in- 
 creased manufacture of salt, and growth of betel-nut. In 
 1135 the revenue of Buzurgumedpur is put down as only 
 Ks.4647. At present it is upwards of three lacs — that 
 is, including the revenues of the permanent taluqs and of 
 the tem^Dorarily settled estates. The zamindari cutchery 
 of Buzurgumedpur was at Golabari, near Bd-karganj. 
 There are still some ruins of buildings there, and the 
 remains of a road which connected it with Bakarganj. 
 The name Buzurgumedpur is older than that of Bdkar- 
 ganj, and it appears from an official order published in vol. 
 i. p. 185, of Seton-Karr's Selections, that Buzurgumed- 
 piir was at one time considered important enough to be 
 managed by a European Collector, and that Mr Henry 
 Lodge had charge of it previous to 1787. A petition 
 from the vakil or ao-ent of the zamindar of Buzurgu- 
 medpur (Rajah Eaj Ballab), dated 1764, is printed at 
 page 408 of Mr Long's Selections. It is full of com- 
 plaints against the English traders. " By reason of the 
 oppressions of the factories of the Company and many 
 other English traders, all the inhabitants are fled : the 
 people of the factories take from the merchants what 
 they please at half price ; cut down bamboos and trees 
 belonging to the inhabitants, and take them away by 
 force ; if any one complain, they punish him for it. 
 They press the inhabitants, and carry them in the woods 
 of Sundarban, paying them only half their wages. They 
 take possession of land in the Sundarban and make 
 tafalls of salt, for which they pay no rent. They seize 
 the salt of the tafalls of the pargana and of the inhabi-
 
 96 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 tants. Tlicy force the inhabitants to take tobacco, salt, 
 and other articles, and refuse to pay the legal duties on 
 the trade which they carry on. If \^q, demand a sight 
 of the Company's dustah, they beat us with bamboos. 
 Some of them pretend that they have been robbed and 
 insist on our making restitution, placing peons ujDon us, 
 and putting us to a good expense. They judge causes, 
 impose and exact fines. They send peons and seize the 
 Naib of the pargana, taking for talabana (peons' fees) one 
 rupee ever}^^ day. They grant guards to many of the 
 taluqdars and mahajuns in the country, by which means 
 we are prevented from collecting the King's revenues ; 
 and many inhabitants take shelter in the factories, and 
 thereby avoid paying the rents. There is little chunam 
 made within the distance of four days' journey from 
 hence, the whole quantity made within the pargana not 
 exceeding 2000 maunds. Notwithstanding, Mr Dob- 
 bins has established two factories within my pargana, 
 committing every species of injury and oppression, and 
 violating the women of the inhabitants, and erectino; 
 factories in places where none ever were before, drives 
 away the inhabitants, and, upon the information of many 
 people, he takes upon him to recover debts of five and 
 ten years' standing." 
 
 The early records are full of reports about the Buzurg- 
 umedpur pargana, and of petitions by its proprietors. 
 Kajali Kaj Ballab, who lived at Rajnagar, in the Mulfat- 
 ganj thana, and was the most conspicuous native in the 
 Dacca division in the middle of the last century, got 
 possession of the pargana on the death of Aga Bdkar. 
 He had it measured in 1167 B.s. (a.d. 1759), and an 
 assessment was made according to this measurement in 
 the following year. Raj Ballab's history rather belongs 
 to Dacca and Faridpiir than to Bdkarganj, but I may
 
 HISTORY OF rilE PARC ANAS. 97 
 
 mention here that lie liekl tlic ollicc of 'peiilikav of tlie 
 noivara or fleet, and that he was also, I believe, the 
 tie wan of the Naib of Dacca. He was a Baidya Ijy 
 caste, but was of humble origin,^ and only got into 
 good society by dint of his wealth. He is said to have 
 bought for the Baidyas the privilege of wearing the 
 sacred thread. The buildings erected by him at Raj- 
 nagar have all been washed away by the Padma, l)ut 
 the large tank which he dug there is still in existence. 
 He had seven sons. Kissen Dass, one of the seven, is 
 famous as having been the person who fled to Calcutta 
 in Surajah Daulah's time, and whom Governor Drake 
 refused to give up — a refusal which led to the war 
 between the Nawab and the English, and to the battle 
 of Plassy. Kissen Dass escaped on this occasion only to 
 die a violent death some years afterwards, for he and 
 his father were seized by Mir Kassim and drowned in 
 the Bhagireti at Monghyr.^ Eajali Gopal Kissen, 
 another son, thereon succeeded to the charge of the 
 property. He died 24th Ashar 1194 B.s. (6th July 
 1787), and his son Pitambar Sein, and Raj Ballab's 
 
 ^ I believe it is correct that Raj Ballab was not of good family, but the 
 evidence of the Serishtadar Mritanjai Mukti, when examined before Mr 
 Thompson in the proceedings about Rajnagar on 20th September 1791, 
 seems to show tliat Raj Ballab inherited some wealth, and was not alto- 
 gether a self-made man. The Serishtadar's words are, " I have served in 
 the zamindari from the age of fifteen or sixteen years, and am now sixty-two. 
 My father served before me, in the time of Raj Ballab's father, and we were 
 both einploj-ed as the head Serishtadars of the whole zamindari." 
 
 Raj Ballab is referred to by Orme, who saj's that he was the dewan of 
 Nowazis. Nowazis died in 1756, and Raj Ballab's influence continued 
 during the time of the widow, with wliom Raj Ballab was said to be im- 
 properly intimate (Orme, vol. ii. p. 49). 
 
 ^ In a petition of Pitambar Sein, dated June 1798, he says, " We are the 
 descendants of Maharajah Raj Ballab, who was a welhvisher of the Com- 
 pany, in consequence of which Kassim Ally Khan drowned him and his 
 son Kissen Dass Bahadur in the Ganges, and having dejDuted Aka Reza, 
 confiscated to the State his house and property." 
 
 G
 
 98 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 otlier gTandcliildren, inlierited tlie estate. They 
 quarrelled among themselves, and in 1790 Mr George 
 Thompson, assistant to the Collector of Dacca, was 
 deputed to make a partition of Eajnagar and Buz- 
 urgumedpur. It appears that the first application for 
 the partition was made to the Civil Court l3y Kali 
 Sankhar, one of the partners, that he got a decree 
 in 1189 B.s. (1782) in the Dacca Court, and that 
 this order was confirmed on appeal in Baisak 1194 
 B.s. (1787). Mr Day accordingly attached the par- 
 ganas of Buzurgumedpur, Eajnagar, and Kartikpiir 
 Sujdbad, but through the intrigues of Pitambar Sein, 
 no partition was made until afterwards. Mr Thompson 
 accomplished it. It was Gopal Kissen, the father of 
 Pitambar, who appealed against the decree of division 
 given by Mr Duncanson in the Dacca Court. 
 
 I have heard it said that Gopal Kissen had his cutch- 
 ery at Sutaluri, near Jhalukdtti. 
 
 It also appears that the munsiff, acting, I presume, 
 under Mr Thompson's superintendence, was the authority 
 who directly made the partition. The partition, how- 
 ever, generally goes by the name of Mr Thompson's 
 Batwara ; and he is stated in tlie official papers to have 
 completed the partition of Eajnagar, &c., Buzurgumed- 
 piir, &c., and Kartikpiir Sujabad on 2d May 1792. 
 The estate was divided into five shares, and the five 
 partners cast lots for their shares, the lots being drawn 
 by two boys of the Brdlimau caste, one of about ten 
 years and the other of eight years. The engagement 
 was made for eight years, ending 1799. As there was 
 much jungle in Buzurgumedpur, Mr Thompson did not 
 measure the pargana, but only made a division of the 
 revenue and rent of it. He also did not include the 
 Sundarban lands, much of whicli was considered to be
 
 HISTORY OF TJIE PA RG ANAS. 99 
 
 j)art of Buziirgiimcdpiir, in the assessment, and therefore 
 tlicy were afterwards resumed by Government on the 
 ground that they liad not Leen included in the Decen- 
 nial Settlement. In the original engagement the partners 
 said as follows: "The Sundarban forest-lands, as Avell 
 as the cane and reed jungie-huids appertaining to the 
 pargana Buzurgumedpiir, our zamindari, not being in- 
 cluded in the division now made between us, but con- 
 tinue as heretofore our joint property in equal shares, 
 we therefore Avrite and deposit this as our engagement 
 that the duties and revenue forthcoming therefrom, and 
 collections under the Mahal Bhashan Gorekatti, shall 
 be divided and received by us severally in equal shares, 
 and that the same mode of division shall be observed 
 between us with regard to all revenue or profits to be 
 derived from taluqdari grants made, or which may 
 hereafter be made, of the aforesaid jungle-lands." 
 
 It appears from the record that there were three 
 ranis or widows of Eaj Ballab living at the time, and 
 it was a stipulation of the partition that each of them 
 should receive Es.lOO sicca monthly. The revenue 
 payable by the zamindars, according to Mr Thompson's 
 partition of 1792, was sicca Es. 18 1,1 07, 5 anas, and that 
 payable to them from tlie taluqdars was hliari or arcot 
 Es.237,49G, 8 anas, 17 gandas, equal to Es.2,30436-14-3 
 sicca, Es.7059, 10-14 being deducted as batta. (The 
 bhari or Company's arcot rupee was coined at Calcutta, 
 and was in value 3^ per cent, less than the sicca rupee.) 
 
 Mr Thompson received the thanks of Government for 
 his work, but the zamindars complained that he had 
 over-assessed them, and they were certaiidy never able 
 to pay the revenue. Both Eajnagar and Buzurgumed- 
 piir had suffered severely from the inundations of 1787, 
 and it is probable that Mr Thompson did not make suffi-
 
 loo DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 cient allowance for tins circumstance. There was also 
 much controversy about the mj taluqs or private tenures 
 lield by each shareholder subordinate to the zamindari, 
 and as the partners were at bitter enmity Avith one 
 another, it is probable that their zidd aud envy led 
 to the over-assessment of each of them. Buzurgumed- 
 pur Avas a taluqdari mahal — i.e., most of the land was 
 held by taluqdars, and as the lands were not divided, 
 to each shareholder in the zamindari was assigned onc- 
 fiftli of the revenue of each taluq ; and on the same 
 principle each shareholder who held a taluq had to pay 
 four-fifths of its revenug^ to his co-sharers. 
 
 Mr Thompson consid"ered that he had discovered that 
 a great fraud had been committed by Eajah Gopal 
 Kissen when he was manager of the estate, in that he 
 had reduced the assessment on the estate by E,s. 17,500, 
 and had then concealed the deficiency by adding to the 
 paper assets of the estate Rs. 17,500 as the proceeds of 
 a sayer mahal which had formerly been abolished, and 
 therefore could not really yield anything. The sayer 
 mahal was called the Phanri Malwa, and seems to have 
 been a transit duty, as the word phanri means a station 
 or outpost, and is still in use to designate a police outpost. 
 The discovery has been endorsed by Mr Sutherland in 
 his description of Bdkarganj, but Mr Douglas's letter of 
 6th April 1791 shows that there was another side to the 
 question, and that probably Gopal Kissen had been 
 authorised by the Government to make the deduction 
 in the assessment. 
 
 In a petition from Pitambar Sein, the son of Gopal 
 Kissen, and one of the parties to the batwara, there 
 occurs the following significant allusion to Sir Elijah 
 Impey : "Mr Hastings having inspected these [certain 
 proceedings of the Sujoerintendent of the Khalsa], referred
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. loi 
 
 tlieni to tlic decision of Sir Elijah Impey, tlic Judge of 
 the Court of Appeal. The said Sir Elijah having received 
 from me a considerable sum on account of commission, 
 received my petition for the two parganas, and having 
 issued his summons and iKivwanas in the Mofussil, inves- 
 tigated for a length of time the cause, and leaving his 
 proceedings, departed for Europe without passing a 
 decision on it." 
 
 Buzurgumedpiir soon fell into arrears, and it was no 
 easy matter to recover them, although there was a tali- 
 sildar or native collector stationed at the golahari or 
 zamindari cutchery of Buzurgumedpur, near Bdkarganj, 
 for several years after the PernMient Settlement. This 
 officer used to clear his balance in part by paying the 
 salary of the Judge-Magistrate of Bakarganj, who in 
 this way was saved the trouble and expense of send- 
 ing to Dacca for money. In April 1801 the tahsildar 
 reported that the buildings at the golabari had been 
 destroyed by a storm, and in 1802 he reported that he 
 had engaged spearmen at the rate of Es.2-8 a month to 
 protect the treasure against dacoits. On 16th Novem- 
 ber 1796 Mr Armstrong, the Collector of Dacca, reported 
 that he had put up the pargana to sale by auction for 
 three successive days, and for two hours each day, and 
 that nobody had made a bid for it. This was in con- 
 sequence of its consisting almost entirely of dependent 
 taluqs. These taluqs were of the description called 
 Jangalhuri taluqs, and it appears from a letter of Govern- 
 ment to the Board of Eevenue (13th July 1821) that 
 the rules about Jangalburi taluqs, contained in section 8 
 of Eegulation 8 of 1793, had been framed with reference 
 to this very pargana of Buzurgumedpur. Jangalburi 
 talucjs— I. c. , j angal-cutting taluqs — were generally granted 
 on a rent-free tenure for a number of years, Avith a pro-
 
 102 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 vision that tliereaftcr the cultivation shoiihl he measured 
 and assessed at certain rates specified in the lease. They 
 were common in Buzurgumedpiir, because about three- 
 fourths of the pargana were formerly tSundarban jangal, 
 and could only be cleared by the granting of improv- 
 ing leases with a condition of permanency. Under the 
 Government orders of 10th October 1799, Mr Massie, 
 the successor of Mr Armstrong, bought in for Govern- 
 ment in November of that year the whole pargana of 
 Buzurgumedpiir (see his letter, 29th November 1799), 
 and Government has ever since been the zamindar of 
 the pargana. Government was, of course, the creditor 
 at whose instance the estate was brounht to the hammer, 
 and all that it paid for the acc[uisition was the nominal 
 price of one rupee. 
 
 The sale of the zamindari was followed in 1801 by 
 the sale of the dependent taluqs. There were then 594 
 of them (28th November 1801). There are now 407. 
 It had been held by Government (Resolution of Gover- 
 nor-General of 31st December 1790), and afterwards 
 declared by law (Regulation 8 of 1793), that Jangalburi 
 taluqs were not entitled to separation. When, however. 
 Government acquired the zamindari, it was found expe- 
 dient to allow the separation of the taluqs, as in that 
 way the expense of collecting the rents was saved, and 
 also the arrears were more speedil}^ and regularly col- 
 lected. In making the separations the Boafd adhered 
 to the rentals shown in Mr Thompson's Batwara papers ; 
 but a letter of Government, dated 13tli July 1821, and 
 \|i/ written by the famous Holt Mackenzie, shows that 
 Government by no means approved of this step, and 
 also that the Board had exceeded their powers in grant- 
 ing the separations at all, " It appears to have been 
 hitherto assumed," he writes, " that the rent demandable
 
 HISTORY OF TJII': PA RG AN AS. 103 
 
 by (joveriuiicnt, 011 converting the talu(|s iuto indepeu- 
 dent tenures, Wcas necessarily to Ije fixed at tlic rate speci- 
 fied in the Batwara jama adjusted by Mr Thompson ; 
 1)ut although that rate might justly betaken to show the 
 amount demandable by the zamindar, and consequently 
 by Government, until a fresh Jamahandi should be made, 
 yet, unless iii the case of taluqs holding under momirrcu'i 
 tenures, it is not apparent why it should be assumed as 
 constituting the ultimate limit of Government demand ; 
 and after the period fixed by Eegulation 1 of 1801 for 
 the separation of taluqs, no taluqdar could of course 
 claim to become liazuri as a matter of right. Under 
 these circumstances Government would be justified in 
 annulling the whole of the separations made by the 
 Board without reference to Government." He then 
 adds that the great length of time, &c., prevented 
 Government from taking this course. In 1799, the year 
 of the sale of the pargana, the arrears due to Govern- 
 ment were Es.l71, 346 ; and so little had the sale im- 
 proved matters, that the arrears had increased in 1801 
 to sicca Rs. 3 8 6, 5 7 4. It was then that the sale of the 
 taluqs was resolved on. The separation, however, of 
 the taluqs did not take place until several years after 
 their sale, and was only accomplished gradually. A 
 notification was issued on 27th January 1812, inviting 
 all the Buzurgumedpiir taluqdars to become hazuri — 
 i.e., independent. It was after the experiment of khas 
 management had been tried and had failed that separa- 
 tion was had resort to. There was great confusion in 
 the accounts of Buzurgumedpur when it was under khas 
 or direct management ; and indeed this might be antici- 
 pated, when we consider the extent of the collections, 
 the fact that there was no Collector of Bakargauj at the 
 time, and that the only control over the tahsildar was
 
 104 DISTRICT OF DAKARGANJ. 
 
 situated so far off as Dacca. Kali Prasad was about the 
 last Naib or talisildar. He was guilty of embezzlement, 
 and fled in December 1812 to his home in Birblmm, 
 where he shortly afterwards died. He was succeeded by 
 Eadha Nath, who remained in charge till Asar 1219 
 (1813), when, in place of the direct mode of manage- 
 ment, the taluqs were separated off, and the remainder 
 of the estate "\\^as farmed. There is a full report by Mr 
 Prinsep, the Legal Eemembrancer, on the embezzlement 
 and mismanagement in connection with Buzurgumedpur, 
 and in it he refers to the state of the Dacca Collectorate, 
 and observes that " the state of the amla of Dacca has 
 long been notorious" (24th March 1817). In 1822 the 
 revenue of Buzurgumedpiir was sicca Rs. 244,8 67 ; of 
 this, Rs.217,295 were collected from the separated 
 taluqs, and Rs.27,571 from the dependent tenures in- 
 cluded in Tilak Chandra Piai's farm. This farm appa- 
 rently consisted of such under-tenures, howalas, and the 
 like, as were not considered entitled to separation, or 
 the holders of which had not applied for it. It pro- 
 bably also contained any lands which had been the klias 
 or direct property of the former zamindars, or which had 
 been their nij or private taluqs. At present there are 
 407 separated talucjs, and their united revenue is 
 Rs.265,895. Each of these taluqs bears a separate num- 
 ber on the Revenue Roll, and the holders of them pay in 
 the revenue direct to Government. But besides these 
 separated taluqs there are three mahals, or estates, be- 
 longing to Buzurgumedpiir, and numbered respectively 
 on the Revenue Roll 1406, 1437, and 1447. No. 1406, 
 which goes by the name of the farm or izara, contains a 
 great many properties, and is apparently the portion of 
 the pargana of which Government acquired the direct 
 possession when it bought the pargana in 1799. There
 
 HJSTOR Y OF THE PAR GA NA S. 105 
 
 is, however, some obscurity about its history, and I am 
 not able to state positively that it is the property which 
 was known in 1822 as Tilak Chandra Eai's izara. There 
 is no doubt, however, that it corresponds to it in some 
 measure. 
 
 There are in No. 1406 149 estates of Avliich the reve- 
 nues are permanently fixed, and there are 47 temporarily 
 settled estates, or altogether there are 196 estates in No. 
 1406, each one of which ought to bear a distinct num- 
 ber in the Eevenue Roll. Owing to this not having been 
 done as yet, the full number of the estates in Bdkarganj 
 is not shown in the books, and the true amount of the 
 work in the Taujih or Revenue Department is not 
 exhibited. Of the 47 temporarily settled estates, four 
 are ferries, so that they may be considered as relics 
 of the old sayer duties. They have been leased for 
 terms of years. They are the ferry on the Bishkhdli 
 (revenue, Rs.40) ; the Kumarkhdli ferry, on the Nalchiti 
 river {revenue, Rs.46) ; that between Bishkhdli and 
 Tulatuli (rcA^enue, Rs.9) ; and that on the Srimantapur. 
 The total revenue annually derived from them is Rs.ll5. 
 I once proposed to make them public ferries, and to 
 transfer them to the Road Committee, but the proposal 
 was negatived by the Commissioner. The 43 other 
 temporarily settled estates are let in farm to various 
 persons. No. 1437 is let to Mr Brown. It consists of 
 resumed cJiakran or service lands, and is scattered over 
 no less than 45 kismats or hamlets. It was bought at 
 a sale for arrears of revenue in 1840. No. 1447, also 
 called the Dari char, consists chiefly of resumptions. 
 There were 77 estates in it, but there now only remain 
 28 temporarily settled estates, and 4 permanently settled 
 estates. The rest have been sold. 
 
 The revenue of No. 1406 is Rs.29,413, and of this,
 
 io6 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 Rs.26jl96 Leloi]g to tlie permanently settled estates, 
 and Rs.32l7 to those temporarily settled. 
 
 The revenue of No. 1447 is Rs.3935-4, of which 
 Rs.3850 belong to the farm, and Rs.85-4 to the per- 
 manently settled estates. 
 
 It is reckoned that there are 431 estates in Buzur- 
 gumedpiir — viz., 407 separated, 11 klias mahals, and 
 2 zamindaries, Nos. 1406 and 1447. Altogether, and 
 with inclusion of the revenue of No. 1437 (I do not know 
 accurately its present rental), Buzurgumedpiir yields to 
 Government in round numbers Rs. 337,000 annually. It 
 thus yields by far the largest revenue of any of the 
 parganas. Large sums also were obtained when Govern- 
 ment sold the khasmahals or Government estates belong- 
 ing to it, and there still remain some to be sold. 
 
 Buzurgumedpiir is remarkable for the number and 
 value of its taluqs. The most interesting as regards its 
 origin is the taluq Padrian or Mission taluq of Sibpiir. 
 It is said that it was originally granted by Raj Ballab 
 Sein to some Christians from Bandel. The tradition 
 is that he wanted to coerce his tenantry, who were 
 inclined to be disobedient to him, and that he judged 
 that Christians would be well fitted for the purpose, as 
 mere contact with them would be sufficient to destroy 
 the ryots' caste, and that the latter would therefore 
 gladly come to terms in order to avoid the visits of the 
 Christian servants. He accordingly applied to the 
 Portuguese Mission at Bandel for some Christians, and 
 four were sent to him. They afterwards applied to him 
 for a priest, in order to perform their religious cere- 
 monies. He procured one from Bandel, and assigned 
 him four pieces of land or howalas for his maintenance. 
 The four Christians were put in charge of the 23roperty, 
 but in consequence of their dissensions the howalas
 
 IIISTOR V OF THE PA R GA NAS. i o 7 
 
 were formed into a taluq, uiul made over to tlic priest 
 ill trust for the mission. The first priest was called Fray 
 Raphael das Anjos, and the date of his "pcitta or lease 
 for the taluq was 9th Phalgun 1171 B.S., or A.D. 17G4. 
 In the decision of the Sadr Diwani Adalat, dated 18th 
 April 185G, it is said that the lease was granted by- 
 Rajah Pitambar Singh (Sein ?), zamindar of Arangdbcid, 
 but from the date it appears more probable that the 
 lease was granted, as is the tradition, by Pitambar s 
 grandfather, Rajah Raj Ballab. It was renewed by Mr 
 Thompson in 1790 or 1791, Avhen he was making the 
 partition of Raj Ballab's estates among Pitambar Sein 
 and the other heirs. The first church at Sibpiir is said 
 to have been built by one Pedro Gonsalves, but it has 
 been superseded by a larger edifice built with money 
 left by Domingo de Silva. The first priests were Augus- 
 tinian monks ; and they, acting in subordination to the 
 Prior of Bandel and to the Bishop of Meliapore, from the 
 year 17G4 down to the year 1836, were in nninterrupted 
 possession of the Sibpur taluq, and administered the 
 duties of priests of Sibpur. But in 1836 an attempt 
 was made to bring the exercise of the clerical office at 
 Sibpur and the management of the property thereto 
 attached under the immediate control of the Vicar 
 Apostolic, Dr St Leger, who, with a view to the organ- 
 isation of the Roman Catholic hierarchy for the first 
 time in Bengal, by the Pope's brief of 18th April 1834, 
 had been appointed to that office. Dr St Leger dis- 
 missed Fray Jos das Neves, and appointed in his room 
 Ignatius Xavier Mascarheuas to be the incumbent at 
 Sibprir, and this Mascarhenas managed to get himself 
 substituted for Fray Jos das Neves as decree-holder in a 
 rent suit, and so got possession of the taluf[, &c., by a 
 summary order of the Bakarganj Civil Court (S. D. A.
 
 io8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 decision). The real fact, I believe, Avas that the Roman 
 Catholic inhabitants of Sibpiir qnarrelled with their 
 pastor because he refused to perform the burial service 
 for a parishioner who had died without making con- 
 fession, and that, like true Bd>karganj ryots, they placed 
 themselves under the zimha or protection of Dr St 
 Leger. In consequence of the quarrel the Sibpur in- 
 cumbent left the place, and for several years there was 
 no service in the church. A protracted litigation fol- 
 lowed on the appointment of Mascarhenas. The Portu- 
 guese priests sued for recovery of possession of the 
 church and lands ; and as Mr Loughnan, who was the 
 Judge of Bdkarganj, was a Roman Catholic, the suit was 
 at his request transferred to the court of the judge of 
 the twenty-four parganas. The Augustinians were suc- 
 cessful both in that court and in the Sadr Diwani Adalat, 
 and the litigation ended in 1857 with their recovering 
 possession of the taluq, and with their getting a decree 
 for mesne profits, which, however, was not enforced. 
 The decision of Mr Robert Torrens, the judge of the 
 twenty-four parganas, dated 9th December 1847 (pub- 
 lished in the decisions of the Zila Judges for that year), 
 gives a full account of the suit. It states that the taluq 
 had been in possession of Fray Raphael das Anjos pre- 
 vious to 1171 B.s. (1764), and that in that year, on the 
 9 th Agrahan, the rent payable by him was reduced from 
 Rs.2234-3 byRs.533-3, making the yearly rent Rs.l701.^ 
 The patta was granted to Fray Raphael by Lakyi 
 Narain Rai,^ and after the death of the former, Pitambar 
 Sein, the zamindar, confirmed the grant by a written 
 
 1 The present rental is Rs.l76 1-8-10, being the equivalent in Govern- 
 ment rupees of Es. 1701 sicca. 
 
 ^ Lakyi Narain is a name of Vishnu, and was the name under which 
 Rajah Raj Ballab recorded his zamindari of Rajnagar and Buzurgumed- 
 piir.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 109 
 
 declamtioii on 25tli Plitilgau 1198 to Fray Eapliael's 
 successor. 
 
 It also a^^pears from Mr Torrens' decision that the first 
 church was built by Pedro Gonsalvcs, and that after- 
 Avards, in accordance with the will of Domingo de Silva,, 
 his son Manuel pulled down the old church and built 
 in 1823 the present enlarged edifice, which the De Silva 
 family have continued to repair (see also decision of 
 31st December 1853). Since the termination of the 
 litigation, the Sibptir incumbent has been appointed by 
 the Archbishop of Goa. The revenue of the taluq used 
 to be paid to the zamindar of Buzurgumedpur, but in 
 1808 it was separated, and made an independent taluq. 
 The agreement with the Collector, dated 1215 b.s., and 
 stipulating for payment of revenue in eight instal- 
 ments, is in the Collector's record-room. The taluq 
 yields a profit of about Rs.700 or Rs.800, which 
 are spent in supporting the mission. Tho priest also 
 receives the fees on marriages, funerals, &c. ; and these, 
 I believe, amount to a considerable sum. Sibpiir w^as 
 once a very flourishing place, and there are the remains 
 of many large houses in it. It is situated on the Sriman- 
 tapur khal, and is about five miles from Bd,karganj, 
 with which it is connected ]jy a road (now in dis- 
 repair), in which there are several masonry bridges. 
 Its prosperity was owing to the rice and betel-nut trade, 
 but now Bakarganj and Kaliganj have taken its place. 
 The most conspicuous resident of Sibp{ir was Domingo 
 de Silva, who made a large fortune in the rice trade. 
 He came to Sibpiir (I believe from Goa) at the end of 
 the last century, and died in 1821. By his will, dated 
 7th October 1821, he left money for the building of the 
 church, and also ordered that Rs.500 should be dis- 
 tributed in charity every year on the anniversary of his
 
 no DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 deatli (21st November 1821) to poor Cliristians and 
 needy and helpless orphans, " together with such poor, 
 be they Mahomedans or Hindoos, as may be present on 
 that day" (at Sil)piir). 
 
 The charity still exists, and the money is paid to the 
 priest by the Administrator-General of the High Court. 
 The existence of the charity is well known to the faqirs 
 and the rest of the begging population of Bdkarganj, 
 and they flock down to Sibpiir on the appointed day. 
 
 The Feringhies of Sibpiir, as they are called, are less 
 numerous and less prosperous than they were half a 
 century ago. They supjoort themselves chiefly by going 
 about to Mahomedan marriages and firing o'S. feux de 
 joie. They are also employed by the villagers to kill 
 pigs, and some hold appointments in the police. They 
 are indisposed to agriculture or other regular industry, 
 and they are about as ignorant and superstitious as 
 their Bengali neighbours. The only thing for which 
 I can heartily praise them is the great neatness and 
 cleanliness of their homesteads. Probably, however, 
 the want of cattle or agricultural implements has 
 something to do with this. They have adopted the 
 Eastern notions about the seclusion of v;omen, and do 
 not like to give their daughters any education. Their 
 numbers are about 800 — the census giving 785 Chris- 
 tians in Bdkarganj, and 43 in IMirzaganj. Sibpiir is 
 by far the largest settlement ; but there are a few 
 families at Kalada, also in the Bakarganj thana, and at 
 Maitbhanga in the Mirzaganj thana. 
 
 The largest taluq in Buzurgumedpiir is that called 
 jodr Ramna-Bamna, which is now in possession of the 
 Bamna Chaudries. The revenue is Rs.l9, 487-10-8. 
 It is situated on the west bank of the Bishkhali river, in 
 the subdivision of Perozpiir, contains forty-tliree villages,
 
 IIISTOR V OF THE PARC ANA S. 1 1 1 
 
 and is very j)i"ofitablc. It was originally entered in 
 the name of an Armenian named Kliajah Michael, and 
 is described in the old records as Mndafat Kliajah 
 Michael. One Mahomed Shuffee, the ancestor of the 
 present proprietors, got a settlement of the taluq from 
 the Board in 1809. The popular tradition is that he 
 was originally only a salt-piada, and this is supported 
 by the fact of his being styled in the official papers 
 Mahomed Shiiffee Jamadar. At the time of Mr 
 Thompson's Batwara the land was waste, and was entered 
 as Mudafat Khajah Michael. It seems to have been 
 originally included in pargana Shahzadpiir, six anas 
 of which were transferred to Buzurgumcdpur (see 
 Mr Battye's letter of 19th February 1807). The pro- 
 perty was at one time in the possession of one Sadasib 
 Mozamdar, who was Naib of the former zamindar of 
 Buzurgumcdpur. Sadasib's sons disputed Mahomed 
 ShufFee's claim to it, and said that he was only ausat 
 talucjdar, and that their father held a ■ patta for it, 
 given in 1188 by Rajah Lakyi Narain Rai. They, how- 
 ever, Jost their cause ; and Mahomed Shuffee got the 
 settlement on the ground of his former possession, 
 which, it appears, dated as far back as 1202 (1795). 
 The settlement made with him in 1809 was for seven 
 years, and the annual rent was Rs. 1165. 
 
 The leading taluqdars in Buzurgumcdpur are the 
 Rahamatpiir Chakrabarties, the Narainpur Chakrabarties, 
 Khajah Ahsanoolah, Rassik Chandra Newgi, Chandra 
 Kanth Mukharjya of Bara Mozamdar, the Messrs Brown, 
 who own a taluc] with the curious name of Bagdeshwar 
 (a mistake for Balthazar) Johannes, Prosunno Kumar 
 Sein, the Ghosal family, Thomas Gomez, the De Silvas, 
 Bhagabati Debya, the heirs of Dr Clement of Dacca, 
 the Banarjis of Koulipara.
 
 1 1 2 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GA NJ. 
 
 One Aiiiaddin Sikdar, who lived at Chamta, near 
 Niamati, and was a notorious dacoit, had taluqs in 
 Buzurgumedpiir. In 1789 he was banished, and his 
 property confiscated. Tliere is extant a vast amount 
 of correspondence about this man's property, and about 
 tliat of Mahomed Hay at, which was confiscated under 
 similar circumstances. It was found very difticult to 
 discover their properties, as the zamindars did their best 
 to conceal them ; but eventually some were found, and 
 were gradually disposed of by sale.^ 
 
 The most remarkable incident in the history of 
 Buzurgumedpur is perhaps that by which many thou- 
 sand acres of land in it were given away in perpetuity 
 for a quit-rent of Ks.372 a year. I refer to the famous 
 grant of the villages of Aila Tearkhali and Phuljhuri, 
 which led to a long litigation between Government 
 and the purchaser from the original grantee, and which 
 terminated adversely to Government on 26tli January 
 1870, by the Privy Council's upholdiug the decree of 
 the Hi2:h Court. 
 
 The first mention of the lease occurs in a letter dated 
 18th March 1805, sent by Mr J. Batty e, Collector of 
 Dacca, to the Board of Bevenue, and in which he for- 
 wards a copy and translation of a petition from one Ram 
 Dhan Chattarji aj^plying for a taluqdari lease of some 
 jungle-lands in Buzurgumedpur, Bam Dhan Chattarji 
 applied for a rent-free grant for seven years, and ofiered 
 to pay afterwards a fixed rent of Bs.349 sicca. He 
 described tJie villages as Aila Tearkhdli and Phuljhuri, 
 and gave a specification of their boundaries. Mr Battye, 
 in forwarding the applicatiou, said that the ofi"er was 
 
 1 For a full report about these taluqs, see Mr Massie's report, 19tli August 
 1800. A full report on Buzurgumedpur generally will be found iu a letter 
 of Mr Collector Phillips of 20th December 1822.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 113 
 
 the highest among those which he had received, and 
 that the Land had not been included in Mr Thompson's 
 partition of the pargana ; and that from the information 
 he had been able to gather through his officers, the land 
 did not appear to be able, when brought into a state of 
 cultivation, to bear a much higher assessment. Unfor- 
 tunately, Mr Battye dejDended for his information on the 
 Naib of Buzurgumedpur, who was, it seems, the real 
 applicant for the lease. Earn Dhan Chattarji being 
 merely a henamidar. The Board sanctioned the proposal 
 (with the authorisation of the Governor-General) on 
 9th April 1805, and on the 17th idem Kam Dhan 
 executed the necessary engagements and was put into 
 possession (Mr Bird's letter, 5th November 1807). 
 
 One Surjya Narain Bannarji, who had also applied for 
 the lease, petitioned Mr Battye and Mr Fortescue his 
 successor, alleging that the Naib of Buzurgumedpur had 
 himself obtained the pottah in Ram Dhan's name, and 
 that the Naib had accepted his (Surjya Narain's) petition, 
 and promised to report it to the Collector, but had 
 afterwards not done so. Mr Bird, the Collector, adds 
 that "repeated parwanahs were issued to the Naib in 
 consequence of Surjya Narain's petitions, but that the 
 Naib had denied every charge." Mr Bird trusted, 
 therefore, that the Board would deem Surjya Narain's 
 petition worthy of no further consideration ! It appears 
 from a report of Mr Hunter, dated 5th August 1818, 
 that two other persons — namely, Ram Rattan Bosu and 
 Chandra Sekhar — petitioned the Collector of Dacca, and 
 made the same allegations against the Naib. The 
 name of the Naib was Kali Prasad Mozamdar, and 
 it appears that there were certain sums which he had 
 not accounted for, and that the petitioners alleged that 
 Kali Prasad had spent the money in cultivating the 
 
 77
 
 114 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 jungle-lands, and offered to prove tliis by tlie evidence 
 of Domingo de Silva, Maliomed Sliaffi, and others. 
 However, says Mr Hunter, no final orders appear to 
 liave been passed on these petitions, nor was any in- 
 vesticfation made into the truth of the assertions. Earn 
 Dhan's lease was dated Gth Baisak 1212, and the agree- 
 ment was that he should begin to pay rent from 1219. 
 On 14th Chait 1213, however, he sold his rights to 
 Nand Kumar Eai Sarm alias Ganga Nand Eai Sarm, 
 alleg-ino- that he was unable to cultivate the land. Earn 
 Dhan's name was struck out in 1216 B.s. Nand Kumar 
 was the Naib's brother, and he purchnsed the property 
 from Earn Dhan in the name of Krishna Govind Charan 
 Eai, and the transfer in the Collector's books was made 
 in this name. ' The name Krishna Govind Charan Eai 
 was said by the petitioners to be a junction of two 
 names — namely, Krishna Kislior Eai, the son of Kali 
 Prasad, and Govind Charan, the son of his brother 
 Nand Kumar. Kali Prasad, as we have already seen, 
 took flight in order to escape arrest, and his brother, 
 Nand Kumar, afterwards sold Aila Phuljhuri to Hafiz- 
 oolah of Dacca, who, I believe, was the grand-uncle of 
 Khajah Abdul Ghani,for Es.21,000 on 27th Chait 1219, 
 or 8th Aj^ril 1812. Mr Hunter goes on to observe, " The 
 strongest presumption may be formed that Kali Prasad 
 [the Naib] was the real proprietor of the taluqs 
 until his death, as the transfer of it in 1216 to 
 Krishna Govind Charan Eai, the son and nephew, proves. 
 It must, in fact, have been only a decejDtion, he being 
 well aware that claims would be brought against 
 him for the balance of his unaudited accounts of 
 1214-15, and that it would be an easy matter to prove 
 at that time that the original jangalburi patta was 
 henami, although now, from the lapse of time and late
 
 IIISTOR V OF THE PARC ANAS. 1 1 5 
 
 transfer of records, as well as change of amla, I am 
 much puzzled to get at the real state of the case. This 
 is corroborated by Nand Kumar Rai, his brother's, sub- 
 sequent sale of the property without explaining in his 
 kaivcda (deed of sale) further than that the taluq is his 
 benami, Kissen Govind Charan Rai. I have not a doubt, 
 though I might find it difficult to prove in a court of 
 justice, that Hafizoolah was well aware of the impend- 
 ing cloud over the heirs of Kali Prashad at the time 
 he bought the taluq, as he is an inhabitant of Dacca, 
 and a landholder and mahajan in that zilla." 
 
 Mr Hunter's object in writing this report was to 
 make Hafizoolah, as owner of Aila Phuljhuri, responsible 
 for the amount which midit be decreed agjainst the 
 Naib's heirs in a suit which Government had brought 
 against them for embezzlement, and which was valued 
 at upwards of Rs.70,000. I do not know what steps 
 were taken on this letter, but it is curious that no 
 attempt aj^pears to have been made by Government 
 to impeach the original patta on the ground of fraud. 
 Hafizoolah afterwards granted three anas of the land 
 to Mir Gholam Imam of Shaistdbdd, and the estate 
 is now held by Khajah Ahsanoolah and the Mirs of 
 Shaistabad. It is a very large and valuable property, 
 and is said to yield Khajah Ahsanoolah a profit of about 
 one lac of rupees. The question in the suit between 
 Government and the proprietors turned on the construc- 
 tion of the boundaries stated in the patta of Ram Dhan 
 Chattarji. These consisted of rivers, and it was not easy 
 to say what was meant by the terms used. The litiga- 
 tion began as early as 1830. In the latter stages of the 
 proceedings the Government abandoned all claim to the 
 resumption of Phuljhuri, as the boundaries given of it 
 in the patta were precise and indisputable. The con-
 
 1 1 6 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 test tlius became confined to Aila Tearkhali, and tlie 
 great question about it was the determination of the 
 Avestern boundary. Khajah Abdul Ghani cLaimed under 
 his patta not only Phuljhuri and Aila Tearkhd,li, but 
 also three chiichs or plots called Dhallooa, Bargona, 
 and Naltonn, and Avhich lay to the south of Phuljhuri 
 and Aila. His contention was that his boundary went 
 down to the sea. He instituted a . suit for the recovery 
 of the possession of these three southern chucks in 1857. 
 Afterwards, in 1860, he was dispossessed from chucks 
 Aila and Phuljhuri by Mr Eeilly, the Commissioner of 
 the Sundarbans, who resumed them, and whose proceed- 
 ings were confirmed by the Commissioner of Nadiya in 
 the following year. After the resumption, Mr Eeilly 
 made a settlement with the rj^ots, and appointed the 
 Messrs Morrell tahsildars or collectors on a commission 
 of twenty-five per cent. Khajah Abdul Ghani then 
 instituted a suit for the recovery of possession of Aila 
 and Phuljhuri, and this suit and that instituted in 1857 
 were tried together, as both were based on Ram Dhan 
 Chattarji's patta. The suit for the three southern chucks 
 was dismissed by the High Court, and that for the Aila 
 and Phuljhuri chucks decreed, and these orders were 
 upheld on appeal to the Privy Council. Afterwards, 
 Khajah Abdul Ghani instituted a suit for recovery of 
 mesne profits, and this was compromised in May 1871 
 by Government's paying him the sum of Rs,272,348. 
 In addition to this I believe that Khajah Abdul Ghani 
 indirectly profited by his dispossession, owing to the 
 howaladars and other under- tenure holders on the estate 
 giving him an increase of rent on his recovering posses- 
 sion, and I Ijclieve that the increase was given in the 
 shape of an extra rupee of rent on each kani of land 
 held by them. This was given by them in acknow- 
 
 I
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 117 
 
 ledgment of Kliajali Abdul Gliani's services in fighting 
 their and his battle in the courts, for thirteen years, in 
 India and in England ; for when he ^yas dispossessed the 
 under-tennre holders were dispossessed also, the settle- 
 ment being made by the revenue authorities with the 
 karsadars or simple cultivators. When therefore 
 Khajali Abdul Ghani was restored to possession, the 
 under-tenure holders were restored also, and that with- 
 out their having borne the expense of the litigation. 
 
 Khajah Abdul Ghani, or rather his son, Ahsanoolah, 
 in whose name the property is now entered, has a 
 cutchery at Plmljhuri, which is a bazdr, and is also the 
 seat of a police outpost, subordinate to the station at 
 Giilsakhdli. Phuljhuri is a place of some trade, as sun- 
 dari wood is brought there for sale. It is reputed to be 
 the place where the first clearing in the Bakarganj Sun- 
 darbans was effected. There is no doubt that the grant 
 of the Aila Phuljhuri lease to Eam Dhan Chattarji was 
 most improvident, and deprived Government of a very 
 large revenue. It may be thought that it at least 
 had the good effect of encouraging cultivation, and 
 that the public have been in this way indemnified in 
 some degree for the loss of revenue. However, what- 
 ever has been the result in subsequent years, it aj)pears 
 that the grant did not for a long time give an impetus 
 to cultivation, but rather was a hindrance to it. The 
 very magnitude of the grant prevented cultivation, for 
 there was too much land to be managed by one lessee, 
 and the vagueness of the boundaries, &c., deterred other 
 cultivators from settlino- in the neio:hbourhood. It is 
 true Aila Phuljhuri is well cultivated now, but so also 
 is Ramna-Bamna, which pays a considerable revenue to 
 Government. On 16th December 1818 Mr Hunter 
 reports that '' the two mozahs, or, more properly, girds
 
 ii8 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 of Aila Tearkhdli and Phuljburi are almost entirely 
 jungle. A portion of Pliuljlinri is at present in a state 
 of cultivation, the produce of wliicli would, even now, 
 admit of an increase of revenue in a quadruple propor- 
 tion, and tlie cultivation is at present being extended. 
 Aila Tearkhali is so extensive that it occupied me more 
 than a tide to pass it on the east side ; if it were all 
 cultivated, which I have reason to suppose it capable of 
 being, the revenue derivable from it would be very con- 
 siderable ; but* at present no person will commence on 
 the cultivation while the pattadar holds it along with 
 Phuljhuri, from the fear of being dispossessed by him." 
 In a letter written one day previously, Mr Hunter had 
 said that he had visited Eamna-Bamna, and had found 
 only a very small portion of it under cultivation. On 
 20th December 1822 Mr Phillips writes, that if the 
 whole tract of Aila Phuljhuri were brought into culti- 
 vation it might yield Rs. 2.5,000. The revenue received 
 by Government for it is Rs. 372-4, this being the equi- 
 valent in Government rupees of the Rs.349 sicca. There 
 is a market at Aila, and endeavours have lately been 
 made to establish a mela or fair. 
 
 4. SELfMABAD. 
 
 This is a very large pargana. It comprises most of 
 the land in the west c*entral part of the district, and 
 even extends across the Baleshwar into the Bao;hahd,t 
 subdivision of the Jessore district. According to Pro- 
 fessor Blochmann, this pargana was originally called 
 Sulaimdnabdd, after Sulaiman Shah of Bengal, and he 
 suggests that the name may have been changed to 
 Selimjlbd,d in honour of Akbar's son. Prince Selim, 
 afterwards known as Emperor Jahd,ngir. I have, how-
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 119 
 
 ever, never seen it Jesignated by any other name tluui 
 Selimdbad. It belonged to sarktir Fathdbdd. 
 
 Its liistory is given by Mr Collector Thompson in a 
 report to the Board, dated 28th December 1793. He 
 states that the whole pargana "was taken possession of 
 by Aga Biikar at the time he was ivcidadar or farmer 
 of it. In 1156 B.s. the dispossessed proprietors com- 
 plained to the Subali, and were restored to 4-^ anas of 
 it. This 4^ anas were some time afterwards divided 
 into ten shares. Aga Bdkar remained in 'possession of 
 11^ anas till 11 GO b.s., when he was put to death for 
 rebellion, and Bajali Raj Ballab was appointed to attach 
 his property. Rajah Raj Ballab managed to retain 
 possession of the 11|- anas up to 11G4 b.s., when Sheo 
 Narain, a son of Jai Narain, one of the original proprie- 
 tors, recovered the estate in the time of Mr Verelst. 
 Sheo Narain was assisted by the influence of Gokal 
 Chandra Ghosal, Dewan of the Provincial Council of 
 Chittagong, to whom, as a reward for his services, Sheo 
 Narain gave half of the recovered property — i.e., 5 anas 
 15 gondas. This share was entered in the name of 
 Bhowani Charan, which is said to have been the esoteric 
 or astrological name of Gokal Ghosal (Massie, 12th April 
 A.D. 1798), and the 11^ anas were held by him and 
 Sheo Narain jointly till 1179 B.S., when at their request 
 a partition was made by Mr Barwell, who was then Chief 
 of Dacca, A copy of the partition pa|)ers, dated 1180 
 B.S., exists in the Bakarganj Collectorate. In Grant's 
 " Analysis," Selimdbjid is described as belonging to Jai 
 Narain, Bhovv^aui Charan, and others in 1170 B.s., and 
 as consisting of four zamindaries bearing a revenue of 
 Rs.40,190. On 14th January 1791 Mr Douglas refers 
 to the decline in the assets of the pargana, and states 
 that this was chiefly owing to the misconduct of Bhowani
 
 1 2 o DISTRICT OF bAKAR GANJ. 
 
 Charan, wlio used to live in Calcutta and let tlie office 
 of his agent or land-steward to the highest bidder. 
 Thus there had been as many as four goraastas or 
 agents in one year. Gokal Ghosal, as I find from an 
 elaborate report of Mr Money, dated 2d September 
 1847, died in 1779, or 1186 b.s., and ten years after- 
 wards — namely, on 6th July 1789 — his share was sold 
 for a private debt under a decree of court, and bought 
 by Kashi Nath Chaudhari for Ks.29,100. Kashi Nath, 
 however, was merely the ostensible purchaser, the real 
 buyers being the Ghosal family. A few years before 
 this, Sheo Narain had fallen into arrears, and one-half 
 of his share, or 2 anas 1 7-g gandas, was bought by Jai 
 Narain Ghosal in the name of his son, Kali Sankhar. 
 This was in 1189 b.s. In 1796 Kashi Nath's share was 
 sold by a decree of the Supreme Court to Eajah Kaj 
 Kissen, and ten years afterwards his son, Noba Kissen, 
 resold it to Kali Sankhar Ghosal. Thus the Ghosal 
 family became possessed of 8 anas 12 J gandas 2 krants 
 of the whole pargana — namely, 5 anas 1 5 gandas, and 
 2 anas 17 gandas 2 krants — and these shares they still 
 retain. They reside at Bhukoilas, near Calcutta, and 
 have enjoyed the title of Eajah from the time of Kali 
 Sankhar Ghosal, who was made a Rajah and a Bahadur 
 in 1825 (Government letter, 15th July 1825). The 
 Ghosal family were famous for many years for the excel- 
 lent way in which they kept their accounts, and for the 
 quietness with which they managed their zamindari. 
 They never were in the criminal court, and they col- 
 lected their rents chiefly through the Collector's office 
 (Act 10 of 1859). They are still reported to be easy 
 landlords, but dissensions have broken out among them, 
 and their affixirs are now in the hands of a receiver. One 
 of their ancestors, I believe, left a will, or made some
 
 HISTORY OF THE FARG ANAS. 121 
 
 other arrangement to prevent tliat subdivision of pro- 
 perty among heirs which has pulverised so many hirge 
 estates. Their head cutchery or office is at Jhalukdtti, 
 about twelve miles west of l^arisdl. Rajah Satya Charan 
 Ghosal built three houses there, laid out some gardens, 
 and made some roads througli and near the bazdr. It 
 was in consequence, I presume, of these improvements 
 that Jhalukdtti, which literally means the clearing of 
 the fisherman, received the more dignified appellation 
 of Maharajganj. Jhalukdtti is one of the largest 
 marts in the district, and is the seat of most of the 
 wood trade. 
 
 The descendants of Jai Narain live at Raikdtti, in 
 thana Perozpur, about four miles from the subdivisional 
 headquarters. The name Raikdtti means literally the 
 clearing of the Eaies, and points to a time when the 
 country was covered with jungle. According to tradi- 
 tion, one Satrujit Rai, an inhabitant of Deganga, near 
 Calcutta, was the founder of the family. The goddess 
 Sidheshwari is said to have appeared to him in a dream 
 and directed him to proceed to Sellmabdd and settle 
 there. The family is one of the oldest in the district, 
 and there is a Sanskrit inscription on a temj)le of Kali 
 at Raikdtti to the effect that the idol was set up by 
 Radu Narain Rai in 1050 b.s., that the temple for it was 
 erected in 1144 b.s., and that Jai Narain Rai inau- 
 gurated it on 30th Pans 1162 b.s. 
 
 Selimdbdd was at one time a chief seat of salt manu- 
 facture, and on this account much of it lay waste. In 
 the Ninth Report of the Committee of the House of 
 Commons, dated 25th June 1783, it is stated that an 
 Armenian merchant, named Khaja Kaworke, had the 
 salt farm of Selimdbdd in 1773. In 1774 Mr Barwell, 
 the Chief of Dacca, held the salt estates of Selimdbdd.
 
 1 2 2 DISTRICT OF BAkARGANJ. 
 
 He relet tliem to Khaja Kaworke iu consideration of a 
 present ; for this he was censured by the Court of 
 Directors. The collections of Selimabad gave the Gov- 
 ernment officers much trouble for many years. On 20th 
 June 1792 the Governor- General ordered the whole 
 zamindari to be held khas — i.e., to be managed directly 
 by Government officers. The arrears of land revenue 
 were borne on the books of the Dacca Collectorate for 
 a long time, and were even transferred to Bdkarganj 
 when it was made a district in 1817. Thirty years 
 afterwards Mr Money wrote a long report about them, 
 and suggested that they should be realised from the 
 Gliosal family. 
 
 The present revenue of Selimdbdd is Rs.98,227, of 
 which Rs.59, 982-2-6^ are paid by the Ghosal family. 
 The remainder is divided among fourteen sets of share- 
 holders, some of whom reside in Jessore. The Ghosals 
 are Brdhmans and the Raies of Raikdtti are Kayasts, and 
 among the most respectable of that caste. The most 
 prominent members of the Raikdtti family are Raj 
 Kumar Rai, and the two brothers Madhab Narain and 
 Nar Narain. Madhab Narain is a gentleman of con- 
 siderable ability, and is possessed of a good estate, though 
 I believe he does not hold a bio^ha of land in his own 
 name. Nar Narain has distinguished himself as an 
 author, and as the supporter of an Anglo-vernacular 
 school at Raikdtti. His wife also has published some 
 poems. Nowhere is the benami princi|)le carried out 
 further than at Raikdtti, nearly all of the shareholders 
 holdinsr their lands in the names of their servants 
 and relatives. This is owino* to most of them bein^ 
 in debt. Among the principal taluqdars in Selimd,- 
 bd-cl are Prosunno Kumar Sein of Kirttipdsha, near 
 Jhalukdtti, who is also a small shareholder in the par-
 
 HIS TOR V OF THE PAR GA NA S. 123 
 
 gana ; the MaliuUanavises of Basanda, where they have 
 a large school ; the Biswases of Jalabari, and the Datts 
 of Amrajhuri. Prosunno Kumar Sein's ancestor was the 
 Dewan or Naib of Satrujit Kai, and the Mahulla- 
 navises Avere formerly servants of his family. ]\Iost of 
 Selimdbad is now highly cultivated, and produces much 
 rice, supari, and pdn. It lies chiefly in thanas Jhalu- 
 kdtti, Surapktitti, and Perozpiir. One of the most 
 important places in it is BanarijDara, which, with the 
 neighbouring villages of Gabha, &c., is inhabited by num- 
 bers of Kulin Kayasts, such as the Thakurtas, the Guhas, 
 &c. The land measure in general use is the biglia. 
 The nal is small, being only five cubits, but these cubits 
 are more than eighteen inches long, for the nal is equal 
 to eight feet seven and a half inches. Twenty nals by 
 twenty make one bigha, which is equal to about two 
 bio-has and one katha of the standard bif»ha measure- 
 
 O O 
 
 ment. The same measurement appears to be in use in 
 Arangpiir, Kotwalipara, and Telihati. 
 
 5. TaPPA HaVILI SELfMABAD. 
 
 This is a small pargana, lying chiefly in thana Nal- 
 chiti, and has evidently been formed out of pargana 
 Selimabdd. The word havili implies that the tract was 
 the stipendiary or demesne land of the zamindar — that 
 is, it was the land appropriated to his own use. It thus 
 corresponds to the word nankar, which literally means 
 bread-making. It is a peculiarity of this pargana that 
 it consists of seven anas instead of sixteen. The other 
 nine anas have been included in Selimabild, as is shown 
 by the partition papers of 1180 B.S., already referred to. 
 Four anas out of the seven belong to Khajali Ahsanoolah, 
 and the remainder to the Panabalia Chaudharies and
 
 124 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 others. Panabalia is a little below Nalchiti, and was 
 formerly the headquarters of the zamindar of the par- 
 gana. The Sugaudha or Sunda river is said to have 
 flowed past it in old times, and hence a village in the 
 neighbourhood bears the name of Sundarkul or shore of;j 
 the Sunda. There is an ancient image of Siva at ShamrailJ 
 near Panabalia, and it is fabled that Bhagabati's fingei 
 fell here. The Panabalia Chaudharies belong to an olcj 
 Baidya family, but they are now in impoverished cir- 
 cumstances, and, moreover, the different members are at 
 enmity with one another. The pargana of Syedpilr is 
 said to have been formerly included in Havili Selim- 
 d,bdd, and to have been separated from it through! 
 the influence of Bhagirath Singh, who was a kanungcj 
 Gupta Chaudhari was the first zamindar. His son Ear 
 Bhadra Rai is said to have fought with the Mahrattas 
 or Bargis, and to have defeated them near Panabalia^ 
 Curiously enough there is an entry in Mr Long's Selec- 
 tions under date 1748, that the city of Dacca was mucl 
 alarmed on account of the approach of the Mahrattas^ 
 who were coming by the Sundarbans, and had advancec 
 as far as SundarkiU. 
 
 6. Tappa Havili. 
 
 This small pargana appears also to have been formed 
 out of Selimabdd. Its lands lie, I believe, in thanas 
 Nalchiti and Bdkarganj. It is divided into two shares, 
 a ten-ana and a six-ana. The ten-ana share is possessed 
 by Asmat Ali Khan and Fazal Ali Khan of Charamadi, 
 and by the Glioses of Bakai ; also by the Bosus of 
 Bamrail, The six-ana share belonofs to the Charamadi 
 family above noted, and to some Br^hmans of Pingla- 
 kdtti, in Gournadi tliana.
 
 HISTORY OF THE TARGANAS. 125 
 
 7. iDILPtJil. 
 
 Professor Bloclimjiim states that the real name of this 
 pargana is Adilpiir, from adil^ "just." It is one of the 
 four parganas originally included in sarkdr Bd-kla. In 
 Grant it is described as having belonged in 1170 B.s. 
 (1764) to one Ram Ballab, as situated at the confluence 
 of the Ganges and Meghna, and as consisting of three 
 zamindari^s and eight mahals. The revenue was 
 Rs. 10 6,2 70. Perhaps no pargana gave more trouble to 
 the early collectors than Idilpiii*. The Chaudharies of 
 Idilplir, as they were called, were Hindus of the Kayast 
 caste, and did not bear a good character, as they were 
 accused of harbouring dacoits. Doubtless the jungly 
 condition of the pargana encouraged bad characters to 
 resort to it. 
 
 On 23d June 1795, Mr Armstrong writes: "In the 
 Bengal year 1184, during the existence of the Provincial 
 Councils of Revenue, the settlement of Idilpiir was ad- 
 justed and jama fixed atRs.83,506. Some animosities, 
 however, taking place, the proprietors tendered up a 
 darhhast to the Council, requesting their estate might 
 be divided. An amin was accordingly deputed, the 
 estate divided, and they entered into separate engage- 
 ments for the payment of their revenue at the rate of 
 Rs. 8 1,1 15, on which terms they continued holding it 
 until the year 1188, when, declining it, it was given in 
 farm to Manik Bosu for seven years. In 1195 it was 
 held khas and fell in balance Rs.30,541. In 1196 the 
 assessment was reduced to Rs. 8 0,0 00, and the Chau- 
 dharies aoain undertook the manas^ement of it, but find- 
 ing it was not equal to the payment of such a high 
 revenue, relinquished it at the close of the year. In
 
 1 2 6 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 1197 it was accordingly held klias, when the col- 
 lections did not exceed Rs,G3,346, out of which the 
 sezawal's salary (R,s.2G40) and the zamindar's masha- 
 hara (Rs.5936) being deducted, the net collections 
 appear to be Rs. 54,769. In the year following the 
 taluqdars were separated at Rs. 13, 5 47-2- 13 (which the 
 zamindars assert was only half what they used to pay 
 before), which being deducted from what the estate 
 yielded the preceding year (Rs. 63,346), the remainder 
 is Rs. 49, 79 8-1 3." The Chaudharies did not accept the 
 terms offered to them at the Decennial Settlement, and 
 afterwards, when the estate was sold for arrears of 
 revenue, they made this a ground of appeal. The par- 
 gana was held klias at various times, but this did not 
 much mend matters. There is a long report on the 
 pargana by Mr Armstrong, dated 9th February 1797. 
 He ascribes the balances to encroachment of the river 
 (the pargana lies chiefly in the Mendiganj thana, on the 
 west bank of the Meghna), contumacy of the Chaud- 
 haries, and interference of the Civil Court. Another 
 reason, probably more powerful than any other, was 
 that many chars had formed in the Meghna, and 
 that the ryots had deserted the mainland for them. 
 " The land of the pargana is high, and as there are few 
 khdls in it, the soil is no longer fertile." I think it 
 proper to observe here that it is precisely the highest 
 and most valuable lands which sufier most from river 
 action in Bdkarganj. A 'priori it might be supposed 
 that the low lands would suffer most,, but this is not 
 so ; for the evil done by the rivers is not the mere 
 overflowing of the land, which in a rice country, and 
 where there are so many khals and other channels to 
 carry off the water, is not of so much consequence, but 
 the carrying away of the land bodily. A high bank
 
 HISTORY OF THE PA RG AN AS. 127 
 
 is always tlic sign of diluviation, for there tlic stream 
 runs deejDcst and strongest, and therefore cuts away the 
 land most, wJiile on the shallow side its force is broken 
 by tlie shoals. This is well known to native boatmen, 
 who, in towing or rowing up against the stream, always 
 prefer the side of the river Avhere the bank is low. 
 
 Mr Armstrong goes on to say, " The ryots of the 
 high land pay twelve rupees a kani (1645 square 
 yards), which seldom produces more than ten maunds 
 of grain, and the land takes much trouble to cultivate, 
 not only from its being a hard soil, but from the pre- 
 valence of underwood and jungle. The low land, on the 
 contrary, is easily cultivated. The first year the ryot 
 pays nothing, the second only one rupee, the third two 
 rupees, the fourth three rupees, and the fifth the full 
 jama, which only amounts to four rupees per kani, 
 which, after the third year's cultivation, always pro- 
 duces twenty maunds of jDaddy. The consequence of 
 which has been that, instead of the pargana's being in 
 the flourishing state of cultivation it was in in 1177 b.s. 
 (1770), when the sezawal realised in- it one lac and 
 sixteen thousand rupees, the lands have been neglected, 
 the ryots have deserted, and the jiargana has become 
 in many parts an impenetrable jungle, and its cultiva- 
 tion reduced to one-eighth. . . . 
 
 " The great j^lenty which has been felt in the pargana 
 these last three years, and particularly in the present, 
 has also affected the realisation of the revenue in a very 
 great degree. Paddy that used to sell for three maunds 
 the rupee, and then considered very cheap), now sells for 
 eight maunds the rupee, eighty-two sicca weight. Eed 
 pepper that used before to bring two and a half, and 
 sometimes three rupees per maund, now is so plentiful 
 as not to pay for the expense of bringing it in, and
 
 128 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 when sold never yields more tlian eight or ten anas a 
 niaimd. Molasses that formerly sold from four to seven 
 rupees per maund, is now sold for one rupee, and some- 
 times twelve anas." In a letter of 20tli December 1796, 
 the Collector says that if the river does not take a 
 turn, no part of Idilpur pargana will be left iu two 
 years, and also reports that there is a plague in the 
 pargana which carries off hundreds of the inhabitants 
 daily. 
 
 This plague is also referred to in the letter of 9tli 
 February above quoted. Mr Armstrong writes, "The 
 mortality has likewise been of infinite injury to the 
 welfare of the pargana. In the house of Sarbeshwar 
 Pal, in particular, a grain merchant, who by his trade 
 has supported many of the poor families, seventeen 
 lives were lost in the space of eleven days ; and I make 
 no doubt, from the account I have received, that 400 
 or 500 lives have already fallen a sacrifice to the plague, 
 which is not yet subsided." 
 
 I do not know if these explanations proved satisfac- 
 tory, but I am afraid that Mr Armstrong was not very 
 successful in such matters. In another letter he writes 
 that the sentiments expressed by the Govern or- General 
 concerning him have weighed heavy on his peace of 
 mind, and concludes a long letter by begging the Board 
 to have the goodness to make allowances for a mind not 
 at ease, from the idea of having risked the censure of 
 the Governor-General in Council as well as of the Board. 
 He appears to have been superseded by an officer of a 
 different stamp (Mr Massie). In 1198 b.s. — i.e., at the 
 time of the Novennial Settlement — Eam Ballab Kai, 
 Kista Ballab Bai, and Nar Sing Rai were among the 
 principal proprietors. In a report dated August 1797, 
 it is stated that the pargana is subdivided into nine
 
 II IS TOR V OF THE PA R GA NA S. 129 
 
 distinct shares, and tliat there are numerous partners 
 in each of them. 
 
 The Board instituted a suit ao-ainst the Chaudharies 
 for the arrears due by them, and gained a decree. 
 Afterwards, in July 1804, the Board 'ordered the Chau- 
 dharies to be put in possession of their estate, they 
 having agreed to \)^j up the arrears within ten years 
 from the beginning of 1214 B.s. Here we appear to 
 have an instance of the authorities trying to bolster 
 up the old families ; but the experiment failed, and in 
 1812 the zamindari was put up to sale, and bought by 
 Mohini Mohan Tagore, in whose family it still remains. 
 The revenue is Rs,65, 904-4-11, but there are also 119 
 independent taluqs, the revenue of which is Rs.8637. 
 The revenue of the zamindari is still paid into the 
 Bdkarganj treasury, but a considerable part of the 
 pargana has been transferred along with the Burirhat 
 outpost to Faridp^ir. Serious affrays took place in 
 1815 between the auction purchaser and the old pro- 
 prietors. Such contests are, or at least were, frequent 
 in Bdkarganj on the occasion of any large property's 
 changing hands ; and as a general rule, it is the mazul 
 or old proprietors who are in fault, as they try by 
 force or fraud to deprive the purchaser of his legal 
 rights. However, it would appear from Mr Sage, the 
 Magistrate's, letter of 23d September 1815, that in the 
 case of Idilpur the auction purchaser was to blame. The 
 Naib of Mohini Mohan Thakur found that some lands 
 claimed by the Nawab of Dacc-a as a jaghir had been 
 let to the taluqdars, and he tried to get hold of them. 
 An affray, in which a man was killed, took place on 
 8th September 1815. At that time the pargana was 
 under the district known by the name of the City of 
 Dacca ; and it was on account of such affrays, and of
 
 130 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 the difficulty of managing the pargana from a place so 
 distant, that it Tvas transferred to the Bdkarganj magis- 
 tracy. 
 
 The portion of Idilpiir which remains in Bdkarganj 
 lies chiefly, if not entirely, in the Mendiganj thana. 
 It is a well- wooded pargana, and the land is high and 
 w^ell adapted for riding over. It suffers from the want 
 of khd,ls, and there are as yet no made roads in it. The 
 whole pargana being in the hands of one zamindar, he, 
 or rather his agents (for he himself is an absentee) have 
 considerable power, and the ryots are not forward with 
 complaints. The thana is at present at Patarhdt, 
 although it has been proposed to remove it to Allyganj. 
 There are a rural re<?istrar's office and a bazdr in 
 Patarhat. The best /jos boats are made in thana 
 Mendiganj, near a place called Debaikhdli. There is 
 a large betel-nut cultivation in the pargana, and it 
 also produces a few oranges. It was in Idilptir that 
 the copperplate inscription elsewhere referred to was 
 discovered. There are some old villages in the pargana, 
 and indications of forts and battles. There are many 
 Brdhman families in Idilpiir. 
 
 8. Tappa Nazirpi^r. 
 
 This pargana Ls described in one document as a tappa 
 dependent on pargana Kasimnagar, sark^r Bazuha. Mr 
 Douglas, on 27th May 1790, reported that there were 
 thirteen claimants to this pargana — namely, the widow 
 and legitimate son of Imamuddin, the late proprietor, 
 and eleven illegitimate sons. It appears to have been 
 held khas for several years. 
 
 Tappa Nazirpur is somewhat scattered, part of ifc 
 being in Gournadi and part in the south and east of
 
 HISTORY 01' TIJE PARC ANAS. 131 
 
 the district. This pargana or tappa is a very old one, 
 and Professor Bloclimann thinks that it is marked on 
 the maps of Dc Barros and BLacv opposite the group of 
 ishands called the Don Manik Islands. I douLt, how- 
 ever, if this be the Bdkarganj Nazirpi'ir, as the map 
 seems to place it north of the city of Dacca. Char 
 Kalmi, one of these islands, was claimed by the zamin- 
 dars as part of Nazirpilr, and was afterwards settled by 
 one of the family. Portions of Dakhin Shahbdzpiir 
 belong to Nazirpur and to Ratandi Kalikapur, which 
 was formed out of it. There is a full report on the 
 early history of Nazirpur by Mr Massie, dated 6th 
 December 1797. It was sold for arrears of revenue, 
 and bought by the Tagore family in 1819. Fourteen- 
 sixteenths were purchased then, and the remaining two- 
 sixteenths were acquired by the Tagores by private 
 purchase from Mr Panioty and others in 1830. The 
 Tagore family are thus the largest zamindars in Bdkar- 
 ganj, as they hold two entire parganas (Idilpur and 
 Nazirpur). Some interesting facts regarding Nazir- 
 pur will be found in a Privy Council decision of 
 March 1865 (Gopal Lai Thakur, appellant, Moore's 
 Appeals, vol x.) In 1704 (1111 b.s.) Syed Sham- 
 suddin Mahomed was the zamindar ; Syed Imamuddin 
 Mahomed was his descendant, and died in 1785 (1192 
 B.s.) The family is now represented by Mir Mamta- 
 zuddin, who lives at Nalchira, where the old family 
 mansion was. He is very poor, and the family has 
 become degraded by misalliances contracted for the 
 sake of gain, but it still enjoys some respect on account 
 of its great antiquity. According to the family papers, 
 Alfat Ghuzi of Ghazipiir was the founder of the fiimily. 
 He was vizier of one of the Delhi emperors, and came 
 to Dacca in the time of Jahangir. Possibly the old 
 
 v'
 
 132 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 village of Uzirpiir (the city of the vizier) is named after 
 him. His son Syecl Jan obtained the zamindari and 
 settled at Tero char, and the grandson of Syed Jan 
 removed the family residence to Nalchira. His name 
 was Ainuddin, and he was succeeded by Shamsuddin, 
 who created a taluq in his own name, which was after- 
 words bought by Mr Gill, grandfather of Mr Brown of 
 Barisdb The zamindari was sold in the time of Sham- 
 suddin's son Hoseinuddin.^ 
 
 9. Ratandi Kalikapdk. 
 
 This pargana was formed in 1149 B.s. by a sanad 
 from Aliverdi Khan. The sanad, a copy of which has 
 been filed in a recent lawsuit, states that the pargana 
 is formed out of Nazirpiir tappa and other places, that 
 it is to be called Ratandi Kalikapiir, and that Krishna 
 
 1 The name of Imaniuddin figures in some complaints of the Provincial 
 Council of Dacca against the proceedings of an attorney named Peat, who 
 settled himself at Dacca, and used the processes of the Supreme Court 
 against the zamiudars. On 18th September 1777, Mr Rous and the other 
 members of the Provincial Council wrote to the Governor-General (Warren 
 Hastings) as follows : " For instance, the zamindar of Nazirpiir, which 
 pays an annual revenue of about Rs.40,000, is seized by a warrant, in order 
 to be carried away to Calcutta, at the instant he was proceeding to his 
 lands to take measures for discharging the revenues for which he has 
 bound himself. Thereby he may be absent for many months, the collec- 
 tions Avill be ill-conducted during the master's absence, the revenue of the 
 Government will fall short, and at last his pargana is sold to make good 
 the deficiency. It will be a poor compensation to the zamindar in the end 
 to be informed that he was unjustl}' arrested." 
 
 Lall Ilai, the zamindar of Uttar Shahbazpiir, had been arrested in like 
 manner. 
 
 See " Observations upon the Administration of Justice in Bengal, oc- 
 casioned by some late Proceedings at Dacca." 
 
 Imamuddin's petition is printed in an appendix to Judicial Papers 
 for 1774 (India Office Library). He says, "Char Tengra Colla, under 
 tappa Nazirpiir, formed by the inundation of the river, is in my posses- 
 sion, but is contested with me by Mahomed Eadak, taluqdar of pargana 
 Bangrora," &c.
 
 HISTORY OF TJIli PARC ANAS. 133 
 
 Earn, the son of Ratcaneshwar (wlio thus gave his iiaiiio 
 to the pargana), is to be the chaiulhari of it. It is 
 stipulated that the zamindar shall pay the reveiuic 
 (lis. 1777), treat the ryots well, assist in suppressing 
 evil-disposed persons, root out dacoits and thieves, en- 
 courage the cultivation of the land, keep the roads and 
 gluits in good order, so that the public may travel about 
 without impediment, prevent the drinking of intoxi- 
 cants, and at the end of each year file his papers 
 signed by himself and the kanungo. The kanungo also 
 entered into a covenant that he would be security for 
 the zamindar and cause his attendance when required, 
 and that if the latter absconded he would take posses- 
 sion of the estate and collect the revenue, &c. The 
 descendants of Krishna Ram reside at Uzirpur, in the 
 Gournadi thana, and still retain a share in the zamin- 
 dari. They are much reduced in circumstances, and 
 the greater part of the pargana has j^assed into the 
 hands of other persons — viz., Sarup Chandra Guha, 
 Brindaban Chakrabarti, Chandra Nath Sein (these three 
 have five and a half anas), Abhai C-liaran Nazir of the 
 Judge's Court, &c. As I have mentioned elsewhere, 
 the family is said to be descended from Eam Mohan 
 IMal, a servant of one of the Chandradwip Rajahs. It 
 is one of the four old Hindu families in the district, 
 the other three being the Chandradwip Rajahs, the Rai- 
 kdtti family, and the Arangpur and Shaistanagar zamin- 
 dars (Kalaskiitti). 
 
 10. Uttar ShaiibAzpijr. 
 
 This pargana has suffered much from diluviation, and 
 is now of small extent. It is situated chiefly in thana 
 Mendiganj, but there are portions of it in the island of 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpiir. It is said to derive its nnme from
 
 134 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 one Sliahbdz Khan, a Mogul general in old times. A 
 Sbalibaz Klian Kumboo is mentioned in Stewart's " His- 
 tory of Bengal " as a general of Akbar, and as liaving 
 been employed in the subjugation of Bengal ; but Pro- 
 fessor Blochmann informs me that the name Shalibdzpiir 
 is older than the date of this officer's expedition. The 
 pargana is held in ten shares. The j)i'023rietors are 
 chiefly Hindus, and Kali Nath Eai and Eashamani 
 Chaudharine are among the principal of them. Some of 
 the shareholders have held their lands for several gene- 
 rations, but most have acquired them by j^urchase in 
 recent times. It is curious to find the pargana extend- 
 ing down into the island of Dakhin Shalibazpur, and the 
 explanation commdnly given is that in old times the 
 channel separating the island from the mainland to the 
 north was much smaller than it now is. On lOtli July 
 1794 the Collector reports that the zamindars of this 
 pargana had not given tahut — i.e., had not agreed to the 
 settlement. 
 
 The zamindar of Uttar Shahbdzpur was one of those 
 who suffered from the aggressions of Mr Peat, an attor- 
 ney, who had l^een Mr Justice Hyde's clerk. Among 
 other things, he shot a native for trying, as he said, to 
 resist his authority. The unfortunate Provincial Coun- 
 cil of Dacca seem to have been driven to distraction by 
 Mr Peat and his English law, and so tried to turn the 
 tables on him by unearthing a statute of Henry V. 
 They remark, in a letter dated Dacca, 2 2d Septem- 
 ber 1777, "We take this occasion to notice a very 
 important circumstance in the present discussion, that 
 Mr Peat has been acting contrary to law during the 
 whole time of his residence at Dacca, by holding a very 
 active practice as attorney-at-law at Dacca, proved by 
 his original letters already sent you, and at the same
 
 HISTORY OF THE PA RG ANAS. 135 
 
 time acting as Deputy-SlierifF, contrary to a statute of 
 Henry V., which enacts * that an Under-ShcrifF can- 
 not execute that office and practise as an attorney at 
 tlie same time." . . . Mr Peat's threefold capacity — 
 Master in Chancery, attorney, and DejDuty-SheritF — in a 
 situation so far removed from the Supreme Court, gives 
 1dm an influence and advantage in the suits he engages 
 in, and leaves little chance of equality to the poor native 
 against whom he may be employed." 
 
 The following paper is published in the Proceedings : 
 " Translation of a petition from the vakil of Lall Ram, 
 zamindar of Uttar Shahb^zpiir. 
 
 " Your petitioner, Anand Pam, vakil of Lall Pam, the 
 Chaudhari of Uttar Shahbdzpur, represents that Bhan- 
 gesh Cliaudhari, partner of his constituent, having falsely 
 charged him with plunder and devastation in the cutch- 
 ery of the Supreme Court of Mr Peat, has had your 
 petitioner's constituent, together with his gomasta, 
 arrested and confined in the gaol. Your petitioner's 
 constituent has never been employed by the Company, 
 or in any English service. He is hopeful for justice." 
 
 11. Dakhin Shahbazpur. 
 
 This pargana belonged to sarkar Khalifatdbdd, which 
 was also called sarkar Fathabad. It Avas only annexed 
 to Bdkarganj in 1869, or rather it was reannexed in 
 that year, for it had belonged first to Dacca Jalalpiir 
 and then to Bd-karganj up to 1822, when it was trans- 
 ferred to the newly- established district of Noakhali. 
 It appears from a petition of Khajah Aratoon, forwarded 
 on 1st October 1795, that the pargana formerly be- 
 longed to Mirza Jan, and that in 1187 b.s. (1780), seven 
 anas of it were sold for arrears of revenue, and bought
 
 1 3 6 DISTRICl^ OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 by Khajali Michael, an Armenian merchant in Dacca, 
 and the father of Khajah Aratoon. In 1193 B.s. (1786), 
 the remaining nine anas were sold, and were also bought 
 by Khajah Michael; but in 1195 B.s. Mr Douglas re- 
 stored 3 anas 1^ gandas 1 krant to Mirza Jan, and this 
 share still belongs to his descendants — i.e., the Mirza 
 Sahibs of Dacca. It is separate from the 12 anas 18 
 gandas 1 cowrie 2 krants share. The latter is held by 
 many proprietors, some of whom are descendants of 
 Khajah Michael, and some of whom have obtained their 
 shares by purchase. Among them are the Stephenses of 
 Dacca, Mr Harney, Mr Lucas of Barisdl, Mr Bagram as 
 executor for the Caspar family, and the Baisakhs of 
 Dacca. All the zamindars of Dakhin Shahbd-zpur are 
 absentees, and there is hardly a ^^a/c/ja-house on the 
 island. According to tradition, the first zamindars of 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpiir were Aman Ula Sikdar, Bijai Narain 
 Mozamdar of Bhulua, and four other persons from 
 Dacca. The villages of Amani and Bijaipiir are called 
 after the two first-named individuals, and the zamindari 
 cutch erics of several of the shareholders are still at 
 Amani, which is a few miles from Daulat Khan. Before 
 this time the island seems to have been held by the 
 Arracanese, and by the famous Portuguese pirate 
 Gonzales, who had a fort on the neighbouring island of 
 Sandwip. Aman Ula and his party did not j^ay the 
 revenue, and so the pargana was made over to a faquir 
 named Abu Syed, who took it in the name of one of his 
 wives, Sartaz Bibi. 
 
 Aim Syed and his dewan Krishna Eam Chakrabarti, 
 who came from Srfrd,mpvir in Bdknrgaiij, succeeded in 
 cultivating the island by letting out j)ortions to howala- 
 dars and others on permanent tenures, as no one would 
 undertake the clearing of the jungle on other terms.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 
 
 137 
 
 Mirza Jan, or Mirza Ahmed Jan, was Sartaz Bibi's grand- 
 son, and it seems that it was the disputes between him 
 and his stepbrother, Khiida Baksh, which h'd to the 
 sale of the larger share of the property, and its purchase 
 by Khajah ]\Iichael. In Grant, Dakhin Shahbazpi\r is 
 entered as having belonged in 1165 (1759) to one 
 Bushan Ula, to whom also the old pargaua of Srirdm- 
 piir appears to have beloiiged. 
 
 The revenue of Dakhin Shahbazpiir is now upwards of 
 Rs. 44,000, but it was formerly greater, being Rs. 54,000 
 (sicca) at the time of the Permanent Settlement. A 
 deduction of Rs. 12,208 (sicca) was allowed as khalari 
 suspension — i.e., as compensation for land occupied by 
 the salt manufacture. In a statement of the Board of 
 Revenue, 8th May 1808,' this deduction is divided as 
 follows among the two shares in the pargana : — 
 
 a. g. k. Revenue. Khalari Suspension. 
 
 Khajah Aratoon's share 12 IS 1 Rs.43.487 4 15 E?.9858 10 10 
 Mirza Jan's share . 3 13 10,358 12 15 2349 5 10 
 
 There were then two salt agencies, one at Rai Mangal, 
 which appears to have been the same place as Jhalukiltti, 
 and another at Bhulua (Noakhdli). The Dakhin Shah- 
 bdzpiir manufacture belonged to the latter agency. 
 Khajah Michael and Khajah Kaworke were at one time 
 the lessees of the salt-farm, and we find a reference to 
 Dakhin Sliahbdzpiir in the Ninth Report of the Com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons. The place was then 
 known under the not infelicitous corruption of Savage- 
 pore ; and the notorious Mr Richard Barwell, the Chief of 
 Dacca, had the salt-farm in 1774, he having engaged 
 for it, as he said, " in the persuasion of its being a very 
 profitable farm." It seems that Mr Barwell held the 
 lease both of the Selimdbdd and the Shahbdzpiir salt- 
 farms, and that he relet them to two Armenian mer-
 
 138 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 chants, Michael and Kaworke, on condition of their 
 paying him Es. 125,000, exclusive of their engagement 
 to the Company. Mr BarwelPs engagement with them 
 was benami— z.e., it was in the names of Basant Rai and 
 Kissen Deb Sing, as it was not thonglit consistent \vith 
 the public regulations that the names of any Eurojieans 
 should appear. Khajah Kaworke complained that after 
 Mr Barwell had let him the farms, and taken a lac and 
 Rs.25,000 from him on this account, he dispossessed 
 him, and relet the farms to another person for another 
 lac of rupees. When Mr Barwell was first called upon 
 to explain his transactions with these Armenians, he 
 candidly confessed that the salt-farms of Selimdbdd and 
 Savagepore had been taken by him, and bursting into a 
 fine train of sentiment, he exclaims, " If I am mistaken 
 in my reasoning, and the wish to add to my fortune has 
 warped my judgment in a transaction that may appear 
 to the Board [of Directors] in a light different to what 
 I view it in, it is past ; I cannot recall it, and I rather 
 choose to admit an error than deny a fact." In another 
 letter he said, "To the honourable Court of Directors I 
 will submit all my rights in the salt contracts I engaged 
 in ; and if in their opinion those rights vest in the 
 Company, I will account to them for the last shilling I 
 have received from such contracts, my intentions being 
 upright ; and as I never did wish to profit myself to the 
 j)rejudice of my employers, by their judgment I will bo 
 implicitly directed," 
 
 Upon these expressions of Mr Barwell the Committee 
 caustically observe, that " the extraordinary caution, 
 and the intricate contrivances with which his share in 
 this transaction is wrapped up, form a sufficient j)roof 
 that he was not altogether misled in his judgment ; and 
 though there might be some merit in acknowledging an
 
 HISTORY OF THE FARGANAS. 139 
 
 error before it was discovered, there could be very little 
 iu a coufession produced by previous detection." The 
 Board of Directors ordered a prosecution, but it never 
 took place. Meanwhile, Mr Barwell withdrew from his 
 offer to abide by the judgment of the Directors, though 
 he still indulged in a fine flow of sentiment, but in a 
 new vein. His compliance (with the demands made on 
 him) would be urged as a confession of delinquency, and 
 as proceeding from conviction of his having usurped 
 on the rights of the Company. Bather than do this, 
 he resolved "to appeal to the laws of his country in 
 order to vindicate his fame." Like] draws to like, and 
 it seems that Sir Elijah Impey became the guardian 
 of Mr Barwell's children, and was the trustee for his 
 afi*airs. 
 
 AVhen the manufacture of salt in Dakhin Shahbd.zpiir 
 was discontinued, it Avas proposed that the Bs. 12,000 of 
 khalari suspensions should be readded to the revenue at 
 the zamindari, but the proposal was negatived at the 
 instance of Mr Bicketts, who was then Commissioner of 
 Chittagong, and who pointed out that the zamindars 
 had suffered much by diluviation. In fact, the pargana 
 is by no means very profitable to the zamindars. Much 
 of the land has been washed away by the Meghna, and 
 though there have been many re-formations, these w^ere 
 for the most part resumed by Government as island 
 chars. At that time the law of re-formation on the old 
 site, as since expounded by the Brivy Council, was not 
 understood. Some lands also aj^pear to have been re- 
 sumed by the Sundarban Commissioners in rather an 
 arbitrary manner. For instance, the island of Manpura 
 was taken possession of by them, though it is entered in 
 the papers of the partition of the pargana which was 
 made before the Bermanent Settlement. Only a small
 
 I40 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 part of the islaDcl of Dakliin Shahbdzpur now belongs to 
 the pargana of that name, and the south of the island 
 consists mostly of chars resumed by Government. The 
 most valuable interests in the land are held by the 
 howaladars and other middlemen, and the zamindars 
 have not been able generally to enhance their rents. 
 On the other hand, most, if not all, the shareholders in 
 the zamindari have also subordinate holdings in it, and 
 are their own and their co-sharers' taluqdars, howaladars, 
 &c., and probably these are among the most valuable 
 of their rights in the pargana. It seems that formerly 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpur pargana was bounded on the west 
 by a large river called the Betua ; tliat west of this 
 river were the lands of Ratandi Kalikapiir, Uttar Shah- 
 bdzpur, Shaistanagar, and BaikanthjDur, &c. ; and that 
 west of them was the Ilsa or Titulia, which was then a 
 small river. Now the Betua has been dried up, and 
 much of the land in the centre of the island is situated 
 in its old bed, and was resumed by Government, while 
 the Titulia has become a very large river. The river 
 between Hattia and Dakhin Shahbdzpiir was also small 
 in old times, and there is still a small portion of Dakhin 
 Shahbd,zpur pargana in Hattia. It is, I believe, a taluq, 
 and bears a Portuguese name (das Anjos ?), so that it 
 seems to be a reminiscence of the days when the Por- 
 tuguese of Chittagong had possessions in these parts. 
 There are no descendants of the Portuguese now in 
 Dakliin Shahbdzpiir, though there were a few till lately 
 in the island of Hattia. 
 
 The zamindar of Dakhin Shahbdzpiir, who then, I 
 presume, resided at Dacca, is mentioned by Mr Mill 
 as one of the victims of the usurj^ations of the old 
 Supreme Court, his house having been broken 023en, 
 and even the apartments of his women rudely vio-
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 141 
 
 latecl, ou pretence that lie had been arrested and after- 
 wards rescued. 
 
 The large or sliahi kaui is in use in this pargana. It 
 is four times the size of the ordinary kani, and is equal 
 to 19^ bighas. 
 
 Some copies of the partition effected in 1188 B.s. 
 (1781) are in the Collectorate record-room. They bear 
 the signature of Mr Day, who was formerly Collector of 
 Dacca. 
 
 The book in the India Library, already quoted, contains 
 some correspondence about Dakliin Shahbdzj^ur. One 
 case is that of Sarup Chand Khazanchi. He, it seems, 
 had been imprisoned by the Provincial Council for not 
 paying the revenue of the pargana, and had sued out his 
 Habeas Corpus in the Supreme Court. In a petition by 
 him, iijcludedin the Proceedings of the Dacca Provincial 
 Council, 18th August 1777, he says, "At the time of 
 the Committee's handohast, my father, Nitai Anand Dds 
 Khazanchi, was security for the pargana of Dakhin Shali- 
 bd,zpiir ; and I, to the year 1 1 82, borrowed money and 
 discharged the Government revenue," &c. In Chait 1183 
 Mr Purling demanded the balance to the end of the 
 year, and confined his gomasta. The zamindars ob- 
 jected, alleging " the plunder and oppression by the 
 invasion of the Mugs." Sarup Chand was released by 
 the Supreme Court. In his examination before the 
 Supreme Court he mentioned that several gentlemen of 
 the Provincial Council were privately indebted to him 
 in large sums. The case seems to have excited a good 
 deal of attention, and Mr Justice Le Maistre recorded a 
 long judgment on it. 
 
 A more important case, however, probably was that 
 mentioned above of the zamindar of Dakhin Shah- 
 bazpiir. The papers are in the volume above quoted.
 
 142 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 The zamindar was Mirza Jan, and he was sued by one 
 Elias Abraham. A bailiff of the Supreme Court came to 
 arrest him, and in trying to do so a tumult took place, 
 and a slave-girl was wounded with a sword. This 
 occurred on 1st February 1779. 
 
 I may note here that in the list of members of the 
 Provincial Council, given in General Appendix No. 30 
 of the above-mentioned volume, the name of W. M. 
 Thackeray^ (father of the novelist?) appears as third 
 member of the Dacca Council. His pay was Es.500 
 (sicca) a month, exclusive apparently of the allowances 
 accordintr to the rank he would have held in Calcutta 
 — viz., a senior or junior merchant, factor, or writer. 
 
 In Appendix No. 36 of the same volume a list of the 
 
 1 If this be tlie father of the novelist, then he is probably the person 
 who was the Company's Resident at Sylhet, and who was severely censured 
 by the Court of Directors. It seems that he had taken under a fictitious 
 name an elephant-farm in Sylhet, and that he had supplied elephants 
 which were in such bad condition that only sixteen out of sixty-six 
 arrived at their destination. Tlie elephants had previously been passed 
 by the Patna Council, and the Company applied to Mr Thackeray to 
 know how this had been done ; but he refused to tell, because, having 
 given his Avord and honour that he would not divulge particulars, " he 
 would be breaking his promise, forfeit the character of a man of prin- 
 ciple and honour, and suffer in the opinion of his friends." The Directors 
 observed that " these reasons appear to us very extraordinary when urged 
 by a man whose duplicity has just been manifested, who had, to use the 
 Governor-General's Avords, been convicted of having secretly obtained 
 the farm of Sylhet under fictitious titles, and punished for that offence ; 
 nor are we able to reconcile the Governor-General's tenderness for Mr 
 Thackeray's honour and delicacy with his own further declaration that 
 from the above transaction Mr Thackeray had been imanimously and 
 justly condemned." Mr Thackeray appears to have sued the Company 
 in connection Avith these transactions, and he got a decree in the Supreme 
 Court for R3.29,G00 and costs. Warren Hastings and Mr Barwell allowed 
 the case to be decreed ex parte, and General Clavering is quoted in the 
 Court of Directors' letter as having said that the cause was lost by " a 
 most shameless desertion" on the part of the defendants. See India 
 Papers, vol. i. 1787, and also vol. i. of Appendix to Parliamentary Pro- 
 ceedings against Warren Hastings, p. 175. The Court's letter is dated 
 28th November 1777.
 
 HISTORY OF THE FA RG ANAS. 143 
 
 zamindarics of the Dcacca division and tlieir revenues 
 for the year 1777-78, &c., is given. 
 
 12. TaPPA KiSTODEBPtJR. 
 
 This tappa is situated on the west side of the island 
 of Dakhin Shahbazpilr, about half way from its north 
 and south extremities. It is said to have been formed 
 out of Uttar Shahbdzpiir, and to be named after a 
 Brdhman called Kista Deb Bidyabagish, who got a 
 sanad for it through the influence of Eajali Ganga 
 Govind Sing, in whose house he was a pandit. The 
 revenue is only Rs.816, but the pargana has so increased 
 by alluviation that it now contains more than a lac of 
 high as. It is at present under partition, and has been 
 so for many years. Part of it has been sold to the 
 Shahs of Baliatti, and the Brahman descendants of the 
 original owner have made over the remainder in patni 
 to a Mymensing zamindar. The estate is highly culti- 
 vated, but it is full of under-tenures, so that the profit 
 to the zamindar is less than might be expected. 
 • 
 
 13. Tappa Alinagar. 
 
 This is another tappa of Uttar Shahbazp{n\ It is 
 situated in the northern part of the island of Dakhin 
 Shahbdzpiir, and belongs to Mr John Courjon. The 
 revenue is only Rs.l578, but the collections from the 
 ryots amount to about Rs. 14,000. 
 
 14. Pargana Ramnagae. 
 
 This was once the property of Rajah Raj Ballab. It 
 also was formed out of Uttar Shahbazpur. Balia aud 
 Gangapur belong to it, and it is now chiefly owned by
 
 144 DlSl^RICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 a Dacca family, the Koulipara zamindars. They have 
 twelve anas, and the Madhabpasha zamindars, who are 
 descended from Kam Manik Mudi, hold the other four 
 anas. 
 
 15. Taraf Eam Hari Char. 
 
 This consists of one taluq called Dordana Khanam. 
 It was created by Mr Henckell in 1785 under the same 
 conditions as char Kalmi, and was granted in favour of 
 Dordana Khanam, which was another name of Etimo- 
 nissa. The amount of land conveyed was 313 bighas ; 
 and the taluq was composed of chars Patti, Maya, and 
 Nangla, the last two of which, at all events, are a little 
 to the north of char Kalmi. The history of this taluq 
 is given in Mr Fortescue's report of 9 th May 1806. See 
 also the Board's reply of the 16th idem. 
 
 16. Kalmi Char and Taraf. 
 
 Char Kalmi is an island in the estuary of the Meghna. 
 It was originally let on a jangalburi tenure by Mr 
 Tilman Henckell in 1192 B.s. (1785) to Baidya Nath 
 Sein and others, who, it appears, were merely bSna- 
 midars for Serajuddin, the son of Syed Imamuddin, 
 zamindar of Nazirpiir. The conditions of the lease were 
 that no rent was to be paid for three years ; that the 
 rate was to be two anas a biglia for the fourth year, 
 four anas for the fifth, six anas for the sixth, and eight 
 anas for the seventh. This last rate was to be perpetual. 
 The agreement was for 245 bighas, and a deduction of 
 one-ninth, or of 200 bighas out of 1200, was allowed 
 for malikana, &c. There is an unauthenticated copy 
 of the original lease in the Collectorate. ]\Ir Henckell 
 granted this and other leases as Superintendent of the 
 Sundarbans. He was Collector of Jessore, and figures
 
 HISTORY OF THE P. I RG AN AS. 145 
 
 largely in Mr Westland's account of that district. Mr 
 AVestland has chronicled Mr Kenckell's disputes with 
 the Salt Department, and his endeavours to prevent 
 their oppression, and it is pleasant to quote in this 
 connection a newspaper extract of 24th April 1788, 
 published at page 253 of Seton-Karr's Selections, which 
 in all probability refers to Mr Henckell. ''It is a fact," 
 
 says the newspaper, "that the conduct of Mr H 
 
 in the Sundarbans has been so exemplary and mild 
 towards the poor molunghies or salt manufacturers, 
 that, to express their gratitude, they have made a re- 
 presentation of his figure or image, which they wor- 
 ship among themselves. A strong proof that the 
 natives of this country are sensible of kind treat- 
 ment, and easily governed without coercive measures." 
 Mr Hunter, the first Collector of B^ikarganj, visited char 
 Kalmi in 1818 or 1819. He found one Matioolah in 
 possession of the greater part of the island as aiisat 
 taluqdar under Etimonissa, who was the widow of Sera- 
 juddin. Under the Board's orders he made the settle- 
 ment with Etimonissa at a rent of Es. 173 1-4 (sicca), 
 beiiio^ at the rate of eio-ht anas a bi<:iha on the land theii 
 in cultivation, after deduction of 16^ per cent, (see Mr 
 Hunter's letters of 25th May and 31st July 1818, of 
 17th March and 12th June 1819, and the Board's letter 
 of 6th April 1819). This rent still holds good, the dif- 
 ference between it and the present amount (Rs. 1846) 
 being caused by the conversion of sicca into Govern- 
 ment rupees. The island is now held by Imdad Ali 
 Munshi, who resides on it, and a Gliose family resident 
 in the Twenty-four Parganas. The former holds seven 
 and the latter nine anas. I visited the island in the 
 end of 1874, and found it well cultivated, though 
 rice was almost the only product. The survey area is 
 
 \ ^
 
 146 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 about 3300 acres. Tliere arc about 635 inhabitants, 
 all of whom are Mahomedans except one or two Hindu 
 washermen and barbers. 
 
 Kalmi taraf is marked on the survey map as a distinct 
 char, but it seems now to have diluviated. The river 
 at Kalmi appears to bear the name of the Bura Gouranga. 
 Kalmi is said to have been first cultivated by one 
 Badan Ali Khan. 
 
 17. SultanabAd. 
 
 This pargana is chiefly situated in thana Baufal, but 
 there are j^ortions of it in thanas Barisal and Bakar- 
 ganj. In 1797, Kalab Ali, one of the zamindars of the 
 pargana, is described as being a lunatic. Khajah Ahsan- 
 oolali is the chief proprietor, as he holds 7 anas 10-^ 
 gandas \\ krants. The oldest proprietor seems to be 
 Syed Abdalla Chaudhari of Dacca, who is said to hold 
 G anas 3-|- gandas ; but this, again, is divided into six 
 shares, which are held in various names. Meharanissa 
 Khanam, a lady who lives in Barisal, holds 1 ana 1^^ 
 gandas 1\ krants. Ahsan Mir and Mir Tajammal Ali, 
 Deputy- Magistrate, have also shares. The pargana has 
 been undergoing partition for many years, and the 
 division is to be into ten shares. It is said to contain 
 a lac and thirty-six thousand bighas. A char named 
 Sanyasi has lately accreted to the pargana, and added 
 a new difliculty to its partition. The zamindari assets 
 are reckoned at half a lac, and as the Government 
 revenue is Rs.23,000, the pargana is not a very pro- 
 fitable one to the landholders. There are many under- 
 tenures in Sultand^bdd, and these are in numerous in- 
 stances held by the zamindars.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARGANAS, 147 
 
 18. Kasimnagar Jo All DAspAra. 
 
 This is a small estate situated at tlie ancient village 
 of Dilspdra, and near the Baufal police station. It is 
 reo-istered in the name of Hamidonissa Khatun. 
 
 19. Khanja Bahadur Nagar. 
 
 This is another small estate in Baufal thana. There 
 are lands belonging to it in the village of Govindpur. 
 Whether its name be connected with the famous Khanja 
 All I know not. IMaulavi Mahomed Fazil, formerly 
 police inspector, holds a share in this pargana. 
 
 20. Pargana SRfRAMPtJR. 
 
 This is an old pargana, and has been nearly all washed 
 aw\ay by the ]\Ieghna. It belongs to the Mirza Sahebs 
 of Dacca, the family who own a portion of Dakhin 
 Shahbazpiir, and who have held their lands for many 
 generations. A famous riot took place in this par- 
 gana in 1869. It is situated in the Mendiganj thana. 
 Government holds several chars which have been re- 
 sumed from this pargana. As a proof of its deteriora- 
 tion from diluviation and other causes, I may mention 
 that Government has acquired, by purchase at sales for 
 arrears of revenue, fifty- two estates in Srirdmpur, and 
 that their total revenue is only a little over Rs.200 
 (227-9). 
 
 21. Tappa Abdulapijr. 
 
 This appears to have been formed out of the four 
 and a half anas of Selimdbdd. Its lands chiefly lie in
 
 148 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 Mendiganj, but there are some in Jhalukdtti. It be- 
 longs to a Baidya family (Har Natli Kai and others) 
 who reside at Japsa in the Mulfatganj or Palang thana. 
 Their ancestor was one Gopi Raman Sein. 
 
 22. Tappa KadirAbad. 
 
 This small pargana belongs to a Brdhman family 
 who reside in the district of Dacca, and are known as 
 the Koulipara Banarjis. Its lands are situated in 
 Mendiganj. 
 
 23. Tappa AziMPtJR. 
 
 This is a scattered pargana, and appears to have 
 suffered from diluviation. It is situated in thanas 
 Gournadi, Barisdl, and Bdkarganj, and there is part of 
 it also in Bikrampiir in Dacca or Farfdpur. It be- 
 longs to the Piprakatti Shamadars, a Brjihman family, 
 who reside near Palardi, in the Gournadi thana ; to the 
 Jahapiir Datts, to Asmat Ali Khan of Charamadi, and 
 to the Lakutia Raies. The last-named shareholders 
 have acquired their share recently by purchase. The 
 Collectorate register of estates being arranged alpha- 
 betically, Azimpur is the first on the list. 
 
 24. Pargana Jahaptir. 
 
 This is an old pargana, and has been nearly all swept 
 away by the Arial Khan. It is situated in the Men- 
 diganj thana, on the east bank of the Daliaitia river — 
 i.e., the Arial Khan. Char Jahapiir has probably formed 
 on the old site of lands belonging to this pargana, and 
 it too has lately been much washed away. The pargana
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC ANAS. 149 
 
 belongs to an old but greatly reduced Hindu family 
 called the Jaliapur Datts. 
 
 25. PaRGANA iDRAKPtJR. 
 
 The land of this pargana appears to be ijmali or joint 
 with that of Easul^^ur, there being many holdings in it 
 of which eight anas or one-half of the rent is paid to 
 Idrakpur and the other half to Kasulpiir. It is situ- 
 ated, in the northern part of the district, on both sides 
 of the Arial Khan, in thanas Gournadi and Mendi- 
 ganj. Three anas have been purchased by a family of 
 traders called the Kundas of Lohajang, and the remainder 
 belongs to a Dacca family, of which the present repre- 
 sentatives appear to be Amiranissa Khatun, Abedanissa 
 Khatun, and Karimanissa, and who have long been fight- 
 ing in the civil and criminal courts. Their offices are 
 at Sarikal and Gachua. A part of the pargana has been 
 purchased by Nazimuddin Chaudhari of Kartikpur. 
 From a letter dated 10th July 1794 it appears that 
 the pargana was bought in 1190 by one Imamuddin 
 Chaudhari. 
 
 26. Pargana Rasulpi^r. 
 
 There is no zamindari belonging to this pargana in 
 Bd-karganj. It suffered a great deal from the inunda- 
 tions of 1787. It appears also in old times to have 
 suffered from mismanagement, for the Collector writes 
 of it as follows : " The general mode of realisino- the 
 revenues when the settlement was concluded with the 
 three proprietors, was for each to appoint a Mofussil 
 manager with equal powers. The consequences were 
 that the ryots were constantly harassed, and frequently 
 peons were placed on them at one time Ijy the three
 
 I50 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 managers for the same demand, thus it often happened 
 that three rupees were extorted from the ryots when the 
 original demand was only for one." 
 
 27. Bangrora. 
 
 This pargana is remarkable for the large number of 
 its separated taluqs, there being nearly a thousand 
 in it. Many of them are very small, and their lands 
 are greatly intermixed, so that frequent disputes 
 arise among the owners. The zamindari is registered 
 in the name of Hayatonissa Khatun. The principal 
 taluqdars are the Datts of Batajor, the Dasses of 
 Goila, and the Bakshies of Barthi. The large village of 
 Goila is situated in Bangrora, Avhich lies in Gournadi 
 thana in the northern part of the district. Most of the. 
 land is very fertile, but some of it is marshy. The land 
 revenue of the taluqs is Ks. 20, 724-2-9. 
 
 28, 29. Pargana Birmohan and Tappa Birmohan. 
 
 These are situated in thana Gournadi. In old times 
 Birmohan was infested with tigers, and the Collector 
 writes in July 1790, that he had endeavoured to in- 
 duce the tiger-killers to repair to it, but without 
 success. It appears that the tigers had increased 
 in consequence of the desertion of the pargana, and 
 its consequent relapse into jungle, after the inunda- 
 tions of 1787. It belongs to a Brahman family 
 known as the Birmohan Chaudharies, and to the 
 Narail family (Jessore). It is at present undergoing 
 partition, but the work is being carried on at Faridpiir, 
 as the pargana has been transferred to that Collec- 
 torate.
 
 HISTOR Y OF THE PAR GANAS. 1 5 1 
 
 30. HABIBPtTE. 
 
 This pcargaua is in the Gournadi and Sarupkdtti 
 thanas, and belongs to Lakya Kanth Bhuia and others 
 of Bikrampii]', and to a family of Ghoses (one of them 
 was formerly sub-inspector of Gournadi). There are 
 many dependent taluqdars in the pargana, and the 
 chief profit from it is received by them. 
 
 31. Maizardi. 
 
 This is a small pargana, situated in Mendiganj. It 
 belongs to the Mirza Sahebs of Dacca, the Srinagar 
 zamindars, and Dinu Bandhu Chakrabarti of Tunghi- 
 bari (Bikrampiir). Gholani Gafur was the original pro- 
 prietor, and he still holds a small share. Maizardi has 
 suffered much from diluviation, like all the parganas 
 in Mendiganj. Part of it was at one time bought by 
 Government at a sale for arrears of revenue, but most 
 of the purchase has been resold. In March 1793 the 
 Collector reported that Maizardi had to be held khas 
 on account of the zamindar's refusing to engage. 
 
 32. jALALPtJR. 
 
 This pargana chiefly belongs to Faridpur, but there 
 are portions of it in the north of Bdkarganj and in 
 Dacca. It is remarkable for the number of its taluqs. 
 Mr Thompson {5th February 1794) wrote that there were 
 about 2000 in the pargana, that many of the taluqdars 
 were in extreme distress, and that upwards of 100 of 
 them had fled, from inability to pay their revenue 
 dues. The pargana suffered much in the inundations of 
 1787.
 
 152 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 33. ShaistabAd. 
 
 This is a small pargana formed out of Cliandradwip. 
 Syed Hassad Ali states, in a petition forwarded in 
 February 1793, that he is the zamindar, and that the 
 property had formerly belonged to his maternal grand- 
 father, Mahomed Hanif Chaudhari. It once belonged to 
 JNIendi Mozamdar of Chakar, and the present Shaista- 
 bad family obtained it by marriage, their ancestor Mir 
 Salimuddin having married Mendi Mozamdar's grand- 
 daughter. Mir Salimuddin came from Mokimpiir in 
 the Dacca district. According to a paper given to 
 me by Syed Mozaffar Hoosein, one of the present pro- 
 prietors, Shaistabad derives its name from Shaista Khan, 
 who was Governor of Bengal in the reign of Arangzeb. 
 It belonged to sarkd^r Khalifatdbdd, and was included in 
 chakla Jessore. The lands of the pargana are a good 
 deal scattered. The zamindari residence is near Cha- 
 raman, in the village of Aicha, about eight miles 
 north-east of Barisdl. PhultoUa, Mirganj, and Ka- 
 rimganj are the chief trading-places. It is said that 
 one Eerach Khan, a soldier or servant of the Nawab, 
 obtained tlie pargana as a jagliir, and bequeathed it to 
 his daughter Omdatanissa, also called the Baliu Begam, 
 from her having married into the Nawab's family. She 
 leased the pargana on a fixed rent to Mahomed Hanif 
 Chaudhari by a sanad dated 25 th Safar, 5 th jalus (the 
 chronological year cannot be deciphered). On the death 
 of Mahomed Hanif, his widow, Amina Khatun, gave 
 her only daughter in marriage to Mir Salimuddin, 
 and made over the estate to their son, Mir Asad Ali, 
 by a deed of gift dated 21st Asar 1171. Asad Ali 
 left the estate to his three sons, Abbas Ali, Imdad 
 Ali, and Gholam Imam. Abbas Ali left no son, and
 
 HISTORY 02< THE FA RG ANAS. 153 
 
 Gholam Imam's two sons died without issue, hence 
 the property devolved on the four sons of Imdad 
 Ali — viz., ]\Iir Tajammal AH, Mir Abdul Majid, Mir 
 Moazzam- Hoosein, and Mir Abdullah. The family are 
 Syeds, as descended from the Prophet. The gentle- 
 man who has oblio^ed me with the above information 
 has given me his genealogical tree, which seems to me 
 to be interesting, and I therefore subjoin it (see p. 159). 
 The family is the most considerable Maliomedan one 
 in the district, and is remarkable for the number of 
 officers whom it has given to the public service. It 
 holds a share in Sultanabad, and three anas of the 
 very profitable Sundarban estate known as Aila Phulj- 
 liuri. 
 
 34. Shaistanagar. 
 
 This is a small pargana, situated chiefly in thana 
 Bd^karganj. It belongs to a Brdhman family knoAvn as 
 the Garuria Chaudharies, to the Narail family, and to 
 Babu Chandi Charan Kai of Barisd^l, and others. The 
 Garuria Chaudharies live near Kalaskdtti, and belong 
 to the same stock as the Arangpiir zamindars. They 
 are a very old family, but are much reduced in cir- 
 cumstances.^ 
 
 35. Shahzadpur. 
 
 This is a small pargana, situated chiefly in thana 
 Nalchiti. The principal owner is Durga Gati Eai of 
 Siddhakd,tti, though Har Nath Datt of Amrajuri and 
 others have also shares. Durga Gati belongs to a very 
 good family, and is what is called a Kulin Baidya. The 
 
 ' This Sliaistanagar is distinct from the Shaistanagar in Dakhin Shah- 
 bdzpur, the revenue of which is paid into the Noakhdli treasury.
 
 154 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 pargana is an old one, but the most important thing 
 about it at present is that the Nalchiti bazdr is situated 
 within it. In a petition of 12th May 1791, Pitambar 
 Sein of Eajnagar claims the merit of having established 
 the Nalchiti market. He says, " Receiving pottahs for 
 lands belonging to ShahzadjDur and other parganas, and 
 expending a large sum of money, I erected a hdt at 
 Nalchiti." In reply, Keval Ram and his other co-sharers 
 say, " In regard to the exclusive claim which Pitambar 
 Sein makes to the hat Nalchiti, we have to observe 
 that the land upon which it is erected was received by 
 him from the parganas of Shahzadpur and Shaistanagar 
 in exchange for others given by him to the proprietors 
 of those parganas from that of Buzurgumedpur, our 
 joint property and estate." It will be noticed that 
 the co-sharers hereby admit Pitambar 's claim to be 
 the founder of the market. Pitambar was the son 
 of Gopal Kissen, and grandson of R-aj Ballab, as has 
 been elsewhere stated. There is an old temple of the 
 goddess Tara at Nalchiti, which is said to have been 
 founded by Gopal Kissen. 
 
 36. Tappa Bahadurpur. 
 
 This is a valuable property, situated chiefly in thana 
 Bdkarganj. It belongs to the Messrs Pogose of Dacca, 
 who inherited it from their grandfather, Khajah Nikus. 
 
 37. Pargana Arangpur. 
 
 This pargana was formed out of Chandradwip. Pro- 
 fessor Blochmann supposes that it derives its name from 
 the emperor Arangzeb, but it se^ms unlikely that a 
 comparatively small and obscure pargana should have 
 been named after him.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARC AN AS. 155 
 
 The pargana, still belongs in part to tlie Brdliman 
 family who held it at the time of the Permanent Settle- 
 ment, though now there are many other shareholders. 
 The former reside at Kaloskdtti, near Bakarganj. 
 The Shaistanagar (Garuria) and Arangpur families were 
 originally one, and Gopal Eai is said to have been their 
 common founder. He obtained the zamiudari of Shais- 
 tanagar, and died, leaving several sons. Among them was 
 Janaki BallaK He, I suppose, was the youngest, and his 
 brothers would not give him any share of the zamindari. 
 Though he was only eight years of age, he went to 
 Dacca to the Nawab, and succeeded in getting pargana 
 Arangpur from him. It was comj)osed of three par- 
 ganas — viz., Arangpur, Eaghanathpur, and Itmadpiir, 
 the last being given to the boy by Itmad Khan, a ser- 
 vant of the Nawab. Up to a recent date the zamindari 
 continued to be entered in Janaki Ballab's name. A 
 large part of the -south of the district is included in 
 tlie pargana, and it extends down to the line of the 
 Sundarbans. The headquarters of the Patuyakhali 
 subdivision, and much of its jurisdiction, are in- 
 cluded in Arangpiir. The largest shareholder in the 
 zamindari is Boroda Kanth Eai, who is reputed 
 to be the wealthiest man in the district. According 
 to a story current in Bdkarganj, he owes part of his 
 wealth to the circumstance of his having been fined 
 Es.30,000. He had given recognisances in this 
 amount for the preservation of the peace, and on the 
 occurrence of a riot, in which he was considered to 
 Ije implicated, his recognisances were estreated, and 
 the Es.30,000 levied. Boroda paid the money, but 
 immediately lodged an appeal, and at the same time 
 recouped himself by taking Es.30,000 from his r3^ots. 
 On appeal the fine was remitted, and so Boroda got
 
 / 
 
 1 5 6 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 back liis money, but lie did not return to the ryots 
 what lie had levied from them. A story somewhat 
 similar to this is told of one of the Bamiia chaudharies. 
 He subscribed Es. 10,000 to the patriotic fund which 
 was raised at the close of the Crimean Avar, and received 
 the thanks of Government for so doing. Afterwards 
 it came to light that he had not paid the money from 
 his own cofi'ers, but had screwed it out of the ryots. 
 The Governor-General indignantly ordered that the 
 money should be returned to him, but as he did not 
 make restitution to the ryots, he made a profit of 
 Rs. 10,000. Although I narrate these stories, I must say 
 that I think they are rather apocryphal. The second 
 is of very dubious authenticity, for I do not think 
 Government would be so foolish as to give back money 
 which, according to the hypothesis, had never belonged 
 to the ostensible donor ; and as for the first, though I 
 believe there is a foundation of truth in it, yet the fact 
 of Boroda's having been put on Rs. 30,000 recognisances 
 implies that he was already a Avealthy man. Boroda 
 Kanth is a type of the conservative Hindu, being very 
 strict in his religious observances, seldom or never 
 wearing anything which has been sewn, and very chary 
 of visiting the ofiicials, or of subscribing to schools or 
 dispensaries. He is remarkable as a benamidar — i.e., he 
 holds a great deal of property in other peoj)le's names. 
 Thus all his zamindari is held in the name of his wife, 
 Muktakeshi Debya, but this is so openly admitted by 
 him and his agents that I can hardly think it has been 
 done for the sake of fraud or concealment. Probably 
 there was some notion of luck involved in it. He 
 also holds numerous howalas and other under-tenures 
 in Arangpiir under fictitious names. Arangpur is 
 divided into two shares, called the nine-ana and the
 
 niSTOR V OF THE PA RGANAS. 1 5 7 
 
 seven-ana. This division was made by private arrange- 
 ment in 1197 B.s. (1790), and the ryots of the two 
 shares are still separate. Each of these shares is, how- 
 ever, now subdivided among many people, and a batwara 
 or partition of them has long been going on. This 
 partition is one of the opprobria of the Bd,karganj ad- 
 ministration, it having been commenced more than fifty 
 years ago, not long after the passing of the Batwara 
 Law of 1814, and not yet being finished. Owing to 
 disputes among the proprietors the seven-ana share of 
 Arangpiir was attached by the Civil Court many years 
 ago, and is now managed by Mr Scott, the Sarbarakar or 
 Manager of Attached Estates. Khajah Alisanoolali has a 
 share of Arangpur, and so also have the heirs of certain 
 Banarjis. The seven anas were once sold for arrears 
 of revenue. Durga Prosunno Eai had a share in the 
 zamindari, but he has now given it in patni to Boroda 
 Kantli Eai, and I understaijd that Khajah Ahsanoolah 
 has done the same tliinof with his share. 
 
 38. PaRGANA SVEDPtJE. 
 
 This pargana is in the south-west of the district. Ten 
 anas of it belong to Lalla Mitrajit Singh of Dacca, and 
 six anas to the heirs of Briju Ratan Das. It w\as the 
 disturbances between them which led to the famous 
 Singhkhdli cases some twenty years ago. Bhagirath 
 Singh, who is said to have been a kanungo, was the 
 founder of the Singh family. The Permanent Settle- 
 ment was made with one Lalla Jeyt Singh. There is 
 a report by the Collector on the pargana, dated 27th 
 December 1809. Syedpiir was to a large extent a 
 Sundarban pargana, and the Government estate of 
 Tushkhdli was resumed from it, and is described as
 
 158 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 lakt, or adjacent to Syedpur. The Tdki Babus, as 
 they are called, a family of Kayasts residing at Tdki, 
 in the Twenty-four Parganas, have a large abdd or 
 tract of country called the Debnathpiir abdd in this 
 pargaua. It is held on a permanent lease, and con- 
 tains about thirty thousand bighas. They had a law- 
 suit with Government (when Tushkhali was measured 
 and settled), and succeeded in recovering possession of 
 some nineteen thousand bighas. The family is descended 
 from Kachu^ Eai, whose father was killed by Pratd- 
 pd,ditya. 
 
 ^ The name is said to be derived from the circumstance of his having, 
 when a child, been hidden by his nurse in some kachu or arum jungle 
 in order to save him from his father's fate. See the " Kshitisha Bansa- 
 vali Charitam" or "Chronicle of Krishnagur," Berlin, 1852. There is an 
 analysis of this work in the Calcutta Eeview for December 1855.
 
 HISTORY OF THE PARGANAS. 
 
 159 
 
 MOHUMMUD, THE Prophet. 
 
 FATIMA (daughter). 
 
 I 
 
 1. Hosein (son). Hasan (son). 
 
 2. Syed Zainolabideen (son). 
 
 3. Syed Blohummud Baker (son). 
 
 4. Syed IMohumud Emam Jafer Sady (son). 
 
 5. Syed Sha Ahmud Bulakhy (son). 
 
 6. Syed Abulunam (son). 
 
 7. Syed Anwarol Huq Bulkhi (son). 
 
 8. Syed Addlul Huq Bulkhi (son), buried in Samarkand. 
 
 9. -Syed Sha Alum Bulkhee, who afterwards died at Samarkand. 
 
 10. Syed Sha Abdul Khalaque Bulkhee, lying buried there. 
 
 I 
 
 11. Syed Abdul Razzak (son), of Samarkand. 
 
 12. Syed Abdul Quader (son), of Samarkand. 
 
 13. Syed Godool Huq (son). 
 
 14. Syed Shah Sullan (son). 
 IS- Salar Samarkandi (son). 
 
 16. Quorer Samarkandi (son). . 
 
 17. Shah Bukhsee (son). 
 
 18. Shah Amanuth (son). 
 
 19. Shah Zukuriah (son). 
 
 20. Shumsuddeen (son). 
 
 21. Shah Mohummed Wallee (son). 
 
 22. Shah Adam (son), Walee Scindh. 
 
 23. Mortaza (son). 
 
 24. Hasamuddeen (son), came from Scindh. 
 
 25. Shamsoddeen (son). 
 
 26. Salimuddeen Chowdhri (son). 
 
 27. Assad Ali Chowdhry (son). 
 
 Syed Abbas Ali, died 
 without issue. 
 
 28. Mir Emdad Ali. 
 
 Meer Gholam Imam 
 
 (left two sons, who died 
 
 sub-equenlly). 
 
 Meer Tiijummol Ali. Meer Abdul Mujeed 
 
 Meer Moazzum 
 Hosein. 
 
 Meer Abdullah. Three daughters. 
 
 Meer Tufuzzul 
 Ahmed (son). 
 
 Meer Abdul 
 Hameed (son). 
 
 Abdul Waheed 
 (son.) 
 
 Meer Mohumed 
 Israil (son). 
 
 Meer Obcidullah 
 (son). 
 
 Meer Mozuffer 
 Hosein (son). 
 
 Meer Abdur Rub 
 (son.) 
 
 Meer Mohumed 
 Hosein (son). 
 
 Mir Mohmood 
 Hosein. 
 
 Mir Mothalin 
 Hosein.
 
 ( i6o ) 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SUNDARBANS. 
 I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 The different explanations of the origin of the name 
 Sundarbans have already been given. The lands known 
 under this name were not included in the Permanent 
 Settlement. It was directed by Regulation 9 of 1816 
 that a special ofiicer should be appointed to the charge 
 of the Sundarbans, who should be styled Commissioner 
 in the Sundarbans. Regulation 23 of 1817 (repealed 
 by Regulation 2 of 1819) in its preamble describes the 
 Sundarbans, and refei-s to B^karganj and Jaldlpiir. 
 
 The Sundarbans were surveyed by Lieutenant Hodges 
 in 1830. Those belonging to Bakarganj are small in 
 comparison with those of Jessore, or of tlie Twenty-four 
 Parganas, but are much more cultivated, owing to their 
 higher level and to the large quantity of fresh water 
 brought in by the Meghna and Brd-hmaputra. The 
 Commissioner has his headquarters at Alipur, near 
 Calcutta. Most of the estates in the Sundarbans are 
 managed by him either directly or through farmers, 
 and the Collector of Bdkarganj has no connection with 
 them further than that their revenues are paid into 
 his treasury. There are, however, some estates — such 
 as Ramna-Bamna, Halta, Sonakhdli, Aila Phuljhuri — 
 which have been permanently settled, and are no longer
 
 SUNDARBANS. i6i 
 
 under tlic control of the Commissioner. These estates 
 are, I believe, seventy-one in nnmber, and are arranged 
 in the Collectorate papers according to the parganas to 
 wliich they are lakt or contiguous. Their united revenue 
 is Ks. 134,098. (The seventy-one include eleven in Buz- 
 urgumedpiir and Nos. 1437 and 1447.) The estates of 
 Ramna-Bamna and Aila Phuljhuri have been described 
 in the account of pargana Buzurgumcdpiir. Halta and 
 Sonakhali belonix to Messrs Morrell. At SchillerG;uno;e, 
 on tlie banks of the Sapleza, Mr Casperz has a pro- 
 perty of about 12,000 acres, which he has called 
 Caspenibdd, and which is for the most part rent free. 
 Dhallooa, Bargona, and Naltona lie to the south of 
 Aila Pliuljhuri. They were claimed by Khajah Ab- 
 dul Gliaiii, but his claim was rejected by the Privy 
 C^ouncil, and they are now under khas management. 
 Kolai'an Cbandipur is a Sundarban taluq situated in 
 the Perozpur subdivision, but the revenue is paid into 
 the Jessore treasury. Its history is given by j\Ir 
 Rocke in a letter to the Collector of Dacca, dated 
 21st August 1790. He says that in 1192 b.s. one 
 Kanye Ghosal applied for seven chucks as a taluq. 
 Three of them — viz., Kolaran, Cliandipur, and Balesh- 
 war — were granted to him, and he then sold them by 
 patta to Bijai Ram Sha (the ancestor of the Shas of 
 Dattapara). The amount of land stated in the patta 
 is 500 bighas. JMr Rocke mentions that Bijai Sha com- 
 plained that the zamindar of Selimdbdd had imprisoned 
 his son for rent. 
 
 The boundary line of the Suridarbans is irregular; 
 and we find estates, such as Baisdia, Rangabali, Kazal, 
 &c., which are the property of private individuals, and 
 were so at the time of the Permanent Settlement, in 
 the middle of the Government Sundarbans. This is 
 
 L
 
 i62 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 especially llic case in the sontli-east of Edkarganj, where 
 the kharija or separated taliiqs of Chaudradwip extend 
 to the seaboard. It is curious that the islands of Kukri 
 Miikri, or, more properly, Kukuria Mekuria — i.e., Dog- 
 and-Cat Islands — belong to the Sundarbans, while the 
 neighbouring island of Chopa does not. 
 
 The Sundarbans proper chiefly occur in the Gulsakhdli 
 and Perozpur thanas. Their general aspect is that of 
 lonely forests traversed by sullen streams. The trees are 
 seldom allowed to grow to any great height, as they 
 are cut down by the woodcutters, or hawalis, as they 
 are called. These people go down in the cold weather 
 to cut wood, and in spite of their taking faquirs to 
 charm them away, are often carried off by tigers. There 
 were formerly two sayer holdings in the Sundarbans, 
 called Gore Katta and Takta mahals, consisting of tolls 
 levied from the woodcutters. They were abolished by 
 the Board's orders, 8th May 1818. The chief wood- 
 marts are AmtoUi, Gulsakhali, Jhalukdtti, Phuljhuri, 
 Bdkarganj, and Nalchiti. Charcoal is made in the 
 Sundarbans, but in a rude way without pits. The chief 
 sujoply for Europeans is brought from Moidapiir, near 
 Nalchiti, where the Mahomedans manufacture large 
 jars, and afterwards sell the charcoal which remains in 
 the kilns. The Sundarbans are much used for the 
 pasturing of buffaloes, which are swum across to Kukri 
 Miikri, Chopa, &c. At Dhula char, near Chapli, the 
 wind has heaped the sand into low dunes or sand-heaps. 
 Boats cannot track in the Sundarbans, and have to 
 depend entirely on the tides. According to Mr Gomess, 
 about one-half of the Bd-karganj Sundarbans has been 
 cleared. It appears from a statement of the same gen- 
 tleman in the Census Eeport, that 276,804 square miles 
 (177,152 acres) were cleared between 1830 and 1872.
 
 SUNDARBANS. 163 
 
 In early times the Mugs used to commit depredations 
 in the Sundarbans, and in Kennel's map a large tract 
 is marked as depopulated l)y tUem. They have been 
 in the habit of trading in betel-nut from an early date, 
 and there is a letter of Mr Battye, dated 31st December 
 1812, about some Mugs ^vho had come over from 
 Ramu, and whom he had arrested under the idea that 
 they were adherents of one Kiobering. They were 
 afterwards released, and Rs.326 were paid by Govern- 
 ment for their keep (see letters of 17th January and 
 11th March 1812).' 
 
 The Mugs at the present time occupy many parts 
 of the Sundarbans, but there is no reason to suppose 
 that they have been there since the time of their early 
 depredations, and probably none of their settlements are 
 more than seventy years old. On 24th March 1824, 
 Thungari Mug petitioned the Board of Revenue, saying 
 that he had brought 230 families of settlers at a great 
 expense from Chittagong and Ramu, and that he had 
 been dispossessed by Domingo de Silva. He added that 
 he was a native of Arracan, and that he had abandoned 
 his country when its monarch was dethroned, and had 
 availed himself of the asylum offered by the British 
 Government. He had brought over the settlers, he 
 said, on the faith of an encouraging letter which he had 
 received from the Collector of Dacca, dated 31st July 
 
 ^ Mr Sutherland remarks that he could not say who this Kiobering 
 ■was. I have found a description of him in Mr Paton's account of Arracan, 
 vol. xvi, of " Asiatic Researches/' p. 368, where the name is given as Khyng- 
 lierring. It seems that he attempted a rebellion in the Mug era, 1173 
 (1811 ?). Along with other Sardars, he formed a resolution to expel the Bur- 
 mese ; and having collected 500 men, invaded Arracan in twenty-five boats. 
 He was defeated by the King of Arracan, and after making various other in- 
 effectual raids, he died in exile. According to Sir Arthur Phayre, A. S. J., 
 vol. X. for 1841, the correct name is Khyeng-byan, literally Khyeng- return; 
 and he was so called because he was the first-born after his father returned 
 from the Khyeng Hills. A son of Khyeng-byan died at Akyab in 1840.
 
 1 64 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 181G.^ Tlic Mugs now in the district state tliat tliey 
 were driven from their country Ly war. It appears that 
 they came from Arracan, which was annexed to Burmah 
 in 1787. In 1798 30,000 Arracanese took refuge in 
 Chittagong, and it is probable that some of them came 
 to Chapli. The principal seat of the Mugs is at Khap- 
 rabhanga, near Chapli, in thana Gulsakhilli. They are 
 also numerously settled at Chapli, Nishanbari, and 
 Maudhobi. Khaprabhanga is a little further inland 
 than the jDlace usually visited by Europeans. When 
 I visited it in October 1874, I found a priest and a 
 small haioung or monastic school. The Mugs are all 
 Buddhists. They are very good clearers of jungle for 
 a time, but seem wanting in persistent energy. During 
 the five years I was in the district, they had made no 
 noticeable extension of cultivation. Many, indeed, seem 
 to have returned to Arracan, and the number and energy 
 of those who remain are not suflicient to make much 
 impression on the vast jungles by which they are sur- 
 rounded. The number of Mugs in the district, accord- 
 ing to the census, is 4049, of whom 2140 are men and 
 1909 women. 
 
 The Mugs are well spoken of l)y Bengalis for their 
 truthfulness. As a general rule, they are inoffensive, 
 though I am sorry to say that they have Ijeen losing 
 their good reputation, and that some dacoities and other 
 crimes have lately been committed by them. I cannot say 
 that I have been favourably impressed by them. They 
 are a dirty people, and have not the art of making their 
 houses look pretty or comfortable. They only know 
 how to clear jungle and to plant rice, and for their 
 
 ^ Tlie Mugs at Chapli informed me that Thiingari was not the first 
 settler, and that Anju Cliaudhari was the first to come. One Mirasat 
 Cliaudhari told me that Anju Cliaudhari and Amparit Chaudhari were 
 the first settlers, and that Boro Baisdia was the first settlement.
 
 SUNDARBANS. 165 
 
 dhulat — i.e., cold -weather crops — they rely upon their 
 Mahomedaii tenants and neighbours. Some Mugs 
 settled in Kukri Miikri, but their rice crops suffered 
 extremely from the Sundarban rats, which are there 
 large and numerous. The Mugs speak and write their 
 own language, but have also picked up a colloquial 
 knowledge of Bengali. They are generally addressed 
 by Bengalis by the title of Chaudhari — a title which 
 seems to have orio-inated with Chila Chaudhari, a Mue* 
 who made a good deal of money, and was well known 
 to the Government officers. 
 
 The Mugs live in houses raised on piles, and thatched 
 with the golpati. They make ropes of the hanpdt, a 
 species of hibiscus, and the women weave cloth. They 
 are addicted to the use of opium. They have a great 
 objection to the payment of rent, and often desert their 
 clearings when it is demanded. They are quite omni- 
 vorous, and regard as a great delicacy the turtles' eggs, 
 which they collect on the chars. 
 
 As Kukri Miikri is seldom visited by Europeans, I 
 append here an account of a visit which I made to it in 
 October 1874 :— 
 
 "Next morning we left Kalmi, and sailed down to 
 KiikriMukri. In doing so we left the ^maij — i.e., middle 
 char — and the wooded island of Chopa on our left, and 
 the reedy and swampy island of Nalua on our right. 
 This island of Nalua is not marked on the maps, as it 
 formed only about four years ago. At Kukri Mukri we 
 moored in a khal near the sheds of some buffalo-herds- 
 men. The island is large, andu covered with dark tree 
 jungle. It lies athwart the stream, and at a distance it 
 looks like a huo-e black allio-ator stretched out on the 
 water. The buffalo-herdsmen, who were Mahomedans, 
 told us that they came from Kalmi char, that they kept
 
 i66 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 their buffaloes at Kukri Miikri up to December an3 
 
 January, and that they then removed them, as the 
 
 water got salt, and the herbage became unfit for food. 
 
 To my surprise the water both on the south and east 
 
 side of Kiikri Miikri was perfectly fresh ou the occasion 
 
 of our visit, and I believe it remains so till December, or 
 
 even later. Such a fact as this, I think, gives a very 
 
 strong impression of the immense volume of water which 
 
 must be brought down by the rivers, for a reference to 
 
 the map will show that Kiikri Miikri is almost in the 
 
 Bay of Bengal. We learned from the herdsmen that 
 
 the only permanent inhabitants of the island were a 
 
 few Musts or Burmese, who lived on the banks of a 
 
 creek to the eastward. We went off to visit them, 
 
 and in doing so passed through the don or channel — ■ 
 
 called the Daiar don — which divides Kukri from Miikri, 
 
 or rather Kukuria from Mekuria. The sides of the don 
 
 were thickly clothed with wood, and the creepers, with 
 
 which the trees were often festooned, had a, very pretty 
 
 appearance. There was no sound, however, in the wood, 
 
 except the occasional short whistle of a bird, and almost 
 
 the only life to be seen was a kingfisher flitting with his 
 
 brilliant plumage over the muddy water. It seemed 
 
 almost a profanation that so beautiful a bird should have 
 
 his home by a sullen creek fit only for alligators and 
 
 their like, instead of dwelling by the crystal waters of a 
 
 mountain stream. But such is nature; and we need 
 
 perhaps not wonder to find a kingfisher and mud 
 
 together, when we reflect that the most brilliant dyes 
 
 are extracted from a substance so nasty as coal tar. We 
 
 found the Mug settlement to consist of seven households. 
 
 They had been on the island for four years, and had tried 
 
 to grow rice, but had failed on account of the great 
 
 number of bandicoot rats. \ am afraid that Mugs do
 
 SUNDARBANS. 167 
 
 not ill the long-run make good settlers. Tliej are very 
 energetic for a year or two, and clear a lot of jungle, but 
 they seem to relapse into lazy habits after a time. Khela, 
 the principal Mug, spoke favourably of the island. He 
 said the climate was cool and healthy, the soil rich, and 
 that there were no tigers. If the rats could only be kept 
 down — and surely this might be done with the help of 
 poison — the island might become highly cultivated. I 
 suppose it has an area of about seven thousand acres. 
 There is another island to the east of it called Phul 
 Kachia, and to the east of it again there is a small island 
 with trees on it, and which is not marked on the map). 
 I did not go to it, but Khela informed me that the Mugs 
 occasionally visit it in quest of turtles' eggs. The trees 
 at Kiikri Miikri grow to the height of fifty or sixty feet. 
 The chief tree is called the kerua. I did not see any 
 sundari-trees on the island, and the Mugs told me that 
 there are none. The sundari is rarely met with on the 
 chars, and is indeed by no means so common in the 
 Sundarbans as one would ex^ject. In Chopa, which is a 
 little to the north of Kiikri Mukri, I saw only two or 
 tliree young trees of sundari. The kerua was the 
 prevailing tree. Another tree which is very common on 
 the chars is the holye. This tree does not seem to be 
 so well known as it deserves. Its inner bark yields a 
 strong fibre, which the herdsmen twist into tethering 
 ropes for their buffaloes, and which is also largely used 
 instead of rattan or string in the roofing of houses. The 
 tree is bushy, with large leaves, and seems to affect espe- 
 cially the sides of khdls. It grows so abundantly that 
 possibly the bark might have a commercial value. AVhen 
 burnt it yields an ash which is used by the washermen 
 as a substitute for soap, I questioned Khela Mug about 
 the curious phenomenon known by the name of the
 
 1 68 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Barisd,! guns. He said that be lieard them often in the 
 months of Jaist and Ashar — /.e.,in the beginning of the 
 rains. He described the sound as being exactly that of 
 the discharge of a cannon, and said it appeared to have 
 no connection with the tide, and tliat the noise was 
 quite different from that of the bore or of the coming 
 in of the breakers. The noises appeared to come from 
 the nortli, south, and south-west. This statement, that 
 they are sometimes heard from the north, is important, 
 for hitherto we have supposed that no one ever got to 
 the south of them. It is because tliey are always heard 
 from the south that natives poetically represent them as 
 caused by the shutting and opening of Ravan's gate in 
 £he island of Lanka (Ceylon). Khela's statement seems 
 conclusive against three hypotheses for the origin of the 
 sounds. These are — 1st, that they are nothing but the 
 guns fired at marriage processions ; 2d, that they are 
 caused by the falling in of the river-banks ; 3d, that 
 they are the sound of the breakers. But there are no 
 marriage processions and no high river-banks north of, 
 or anywhere near. Kukri Mukri ; and as the breakers 
 come in on the south side of Kukri Miikri with great 
 force in the stormy season, Khela must be well ac- 
 quainted with the sound they make. When, therefore, 
 both he and the Mugs at Cliapli say that the Barisd-l guns 
 are not the sound of the breakers, I do not see how we 
 can refuse to believe them. The conclusion, therefore, 
 which I come to is that the sounds are atmospheric, and 
 in some way connected with electricity. In conclusion, 
 I should mention that there are no deer on Kukri Miikri 
 or the neighbouring island of Chopa, but there are 
 wild buffaloes and wild pigs. On Kukri Mukri there 
 are also wild cattle, which are said by some to have been 
 carried there by an inundation, and by others to be
 
 SUNDARBANS. 169 
 
 the remains of some cattle employed Ly former culti- 
 vators." — Bengal Times, November 7, 1874. 
 
 II. WERE THE SUNDARBANS INHABITED IN ANCIENT TIMES ? 
 
 This is a questiou whicli lias excited a great deal of 
 attention. The Bengali mind, as being prone to the 
 marvellous, and to the exaltation of the past at the 
 expense of the present, has answered the question in 
 the affirmative, and maintains that there were formerly 
 large cities in the Sundarbans. Some persons also 
 have suggested that the present desolate condition of 
 the Sundarbans may be due to a subsidence of the land, 
 and that this may have been contemporaneous with the 
 formation of the submarine hollow known as the " Swatch 
 of No Ground." It seems to me, however, to be very 
 doubtful indeed that the Sundarbans were ever largely 
 peopled, and still more so that their inhabitants lived in 
 cities or were otherwise civilised. As regards the eastern 
 half of the Sundarbans — namely, that which lies in the 
 districts of Bakarganj and Noakhali, and includes Sand- 
 wip and the other islands in the estuary of the Meghna — 
 it seems to me that the fact of so much salt having been 
 manufactured there in old times militates against the 
 view of an extensive cultivation, for the salt could not 
 have been made without a great expenditure of fuel, 
 and this of course implies the existence of large tracts 
 of jungle. Du Jarric speaks of Sandwip as being able 
 to supply the whole of Bengal with salt, and it seems 
 evident that in old times salt was reckoned as the most 
 valuable production of this part of the country. How 
 inimical this must have been to a widespread cultiva- 
 tion of the neighbouring tracts may be judged of from 
 the fact that in modern times the Government salt
 
 lyo ■ DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 mauufacture Avas a great obstacle to the clearing and 
 colonising of the chars and islands in Bdkarganj and 
 Noakhali. The Government officers used to insist npon 
 the jungle being maintained for the supply of the 
 tafals, and the disputes between them and the lessees 
 of waste lands and other settlers led to much corre- 
 spondence. The tendency of the salt manufacture to 
 keej) land out of cultivation is shown by the circum- 
 stance, elsewhere mentioned by me, that the zamindars 
 of Dakliin Shahbdz|)ur annually obtained a large reduc- 
 tion of their land revenue on account of some of their 
 lands being taken up for the salt manufacture. 
 
 Sandwip was, it is true, cultivated in Csesar Frede- 
 rick's time (1569), but so it is now, and there is no 
 reason to suppose that its civilisation was greater then 
 than it is at present. It may have had at that time, as 
 it certainly had some thirty or forty years later, one or 
 more forts, but these were marks of insecurity rather than 
 of prosperity, and they do not now exist simply because 
 there is peace in the land, and the Arracanese and the 
 Portuguese pirates are no longer formidable. 
 
 Ealph Fitch visited Bdkla in 1586, and describes the 
 country as being very great and fruitful. He does not 
 expressly say that Bdkla was a city, and it is possible 
 that he found the people of the country living, as they 
 do now, in detached houses, and not crowded together 
 in large towns. But even if we take the words, " the 
 houses be very fair and high builded, the streets large," 
 to mean that there was a city of Bdkla, and give full 
 credence to Fitch's statements, the next clause of his 
 description — viz., " the people naked, except a little 
 cloth about their waist " — does not suggest the existence 
 of much civilisation or refinement. Moreover, it appears 
 to me that Fitch was not a very observant or satisfac-
 
 SUNDARBAArs. 171 
 
 toiy trcaveller. His descriptions of.jDlaces arc meagre, 
 and his itinerary not distinct. I think, too, that if he 
 had kept his eyes and ears open he must have been able 
 to tell us something about the great storm which had 
 devastated Bakla only a twelvemonth or so before his 
 arrival. It is hardly possible that a storm which is 
 said to have drowned 200,000 people could have left no 
 physical marks behind it which Fitch might have seen, 
 and, at all events, its moral effects must have been still 
 existent, and Fitch could hardly have had any inter- 
 course with the inhabitants without hearing of it. I 
 think, therefore, that we must not press his statements 
 too far. It is not likely that he stayed long at the 
 place. 
 
 However, the question of Fitch's credibility and intelli- 
 gence is not very material, for there is nothing to show 
 that Bdkla was situated in the Sundarbans. It probably 
 was the same as Kachua, which, according to tradition, 
 was the old seat of the Cbandradwip rajahs. But 
 Kachua is in thana Baufal, which is at this day one of 
 the most fertile and best cultivated parts of Bakarganj, 
 and is the only thana in the south of the district which 
 contains a large Hindu population. No doubt there has 
 been a great amount of diluviation near Kachua, and the 
 river between the mainland and Dakhin Shahbdzpiir has 
 become much wider than it v/as in old times. In this 
 way the old city of Bdkla and much of its territory 
 may have disappeared, and to this extent there pro- 
 bably has been a decay of civilisation. I have no doubt 
 also that many settlers in the south of the district, 
 especially the Hindu portion of them, left their homes 
 when the Ohandradwip rajahs removed to Madhab- 
 pdsha, and when the Mug inroads became troublesome, 
 but I do not believe that these settlers were very
 
 172 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 numerous, or tliat tliey were civilised and dwelt in 
 cities, &c. 
 
 Another thing which indisposes me to believe in the 
 early colonisation of the eastern Sundarbans is the ter- 
 rible hardships which the crew and passengers of the ship 
 "Ter Schellino" suffered on this coast in 1661. The 
 "Ter Schelling" was a Dutch ship which sailed from 
 Batavia for Angueli (Hijli), in Bengala, on the 3d Sep- 
 tember 1661, and which was wrecked off the coast of 
 Benp-al on the 8th of the following month. The narrative 
 of the shipwreck, and of the sufferings and adventures 
 of the crew and passengers, was written by one of the 
 latter named Glauius. He was, I presume, a Dutchman, 
 and his account was first published at Amsterdam, and 
 after Avards, in 1682, at London, under the title of "A 
 Eelation of an Unfortunate Voyage to the Kingdom of 
 Bengala." The shi|) wrecked men seem to have landed 
 on an island near Sandwip, and their sufferings from 
 hunger were most terrible. They were compelled to 
 live on most disgusting objects, such as a putrid buffalo, 
 a dead tortoise, a small quadruped called by the 
 natives a legane, and which the sailors found eating the 
 buffalo, serpents, snails, &c. A chief part of their sus- 
 tenance was derived from eating the leaves of the jungle 
 trees, and they even tried eating grass, but this they 
 could not manage. Their only drink was salt water. 
 They saw very few inhabitants, and those whom they 
 did come across were in almost as wretched a plight as 
 they themselves, and a^^jDcared to have been driven out 
 from more civilised regions. They were several times on 
 the eve of resorting to cannibalism, but eventually they 
 got to Sandwip, where they were kindly treated by the 
 Governor and sent on to Balwa (Bhalloah). The Prince 
 of Balwa was also kind to them, and sent them on to
 
 SUNDARBANS. ' 173 
 
 Decka (Dacca), where tlicy were impressed, and made 
 to serve under Mir Jamla in the war against Assam. 
 Eventually they got their release and made their wny 
 to Hijll, but Glanius did not return to Europe for 
 several years. Unfortunately, he does not clearly men- 
 tion the site of his shipwreck, hut it was apparently 
 somewhere on the sea-coast of the Sundarbans. The 
 people whom he met, or at least some of them, were 
 Mahomedans, for they used the expression salami 
 
 I do not wish, however, to lay too much stress on 
 Glanius's description, for his shipwreck took place in 
 1661, and it may be that " the depopulation by Mugs " 
 noted in Kennel's map occurred at an earlier date. 
 Indeed, we know from Du Jarric that the King of 
 Arracan conquered Bdkla in the beginning of the seven- 
 teenth century, and it may be that the desolation of the 
 country dates from this time. 
 
 I may also notice here that the copperplate inscription 
 found at Idilpur in B^karganj, and described by Babu 
 Pratd,p Chandra Ghose in the Asiatic Society's Journal 
 (1838), seems to indicate that the inhabitants of that 
 part of the country belonged to a degraded tribe called 
 the Chandabhandas," a fact which is not favourable to 
 the supposition of the Sundarbans having been at an 
 early period inhabited by a high-caste ^Dopulation. 
 
 By far the most interesting account of the Sundarbans 
 is contained in the letters of the Jesuit priests who 
 visited Biikarganj and Jessorein 1599 and 1600. They 
 were addressed to Nicholas Pimenta, a visitor of the 
 order stationed at Goa, and were forwarded by him, 
 
 ^ In Professor Blochmann's " Contributions to the Geography, &c., of 
 Bengal," p. 18, reference is made to Van den Broucke's map in Valentyn's 
 work, as showing the phice where the " Ter Schelling " was wrecked. 
 
 2 Babu P. C. Ghose compares the Cliandabhandas to the Molunghies.
 
 174 * DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 along with some remarks of his own, to Claude 
 
 Aquaviva, who Avas then general of the order. The 
 
 letters seem to have been originally written in Italian, 
 
 and were first published at Venice in 1602 or 1603, 
 
 and w^ere afterwards translated into Latin and French. 
 
 I was indebted for my introduction to them to my 
 
 friend Dr Wise, who told me that they were quoted in 
 
 "Purchas's Pilorimao'e." Extracts from the letters and 
 
 the subsequent history of the mission will be found in 
 
 Pierre du Jarric's " Histoire cles Glioses plus memorables 
 
 advenues aux Indes Orientales," &c., Bordeaux, 1608-14. 
 
 It appears from Pimenta's account that he sent the 
 
 priests Fernandez and Sosa to Bengal in 1598, and 
 
 two others — namely, Melchior da Fonseca and Andrew 
 
 Bowes — in the following year. Fernandez and Sosa 
 
 sailed from Cochin on 3d May 1598, and arrived in 
 
 eighteen days at the Little Port (Porto Pecpiino), From 
 
 thence they sailed up the river to Gullo or Goli, where 
 
 they arrived in eight days after leaving Porto Pequino. 
 
 From here they seem to have gone on to Chittagong. 
 
 While at Gullo they received an invitation from the 
 
 King of a place called Chandecan (in Italian, Ciandecan) 
 
 to pay him a visit. They did not go then, but as 
 
 Fernandez afterwards heard that the King was angry 
 
 at their not coming to him, he sent Sosa to Chandecan 
 
 sometime in 1599, and he met Avith a very favourable 
 
 reception. Afterwards Fernandez himself went to 
 
 Chandecan in October 1599, and got letters-patent from 
 
 the King authorising him to carry on the mission,' In 
 
 December 1599 Fernandez was at Sripiir, and on the 
 
 22d of that month he wrote a letter to Pimenta giving 
 
 an account of the mission; and on 20th January 1600 
 
 Fonseca Avrote a similar letter from Chandecan. Fonseca's 
 
 letter is most interesting, and has been c[uoted at p. 31.
 
 SUNDAKBANS. 175 
 
 For my present purpose it is only necessary that I quote 
 the foUowing passage: "The King [of Bdkhi], after 
 compliments, asked me where I was bound for, and I 
 replied, * I am going to the King of Ciandecan, who is 
 to be your Highness 's father-in-law.'" These words are 
 extremely important, because they help ns to identify 
 both the King of Bakla and the King of Chandecan. 
 Chandecan, as I hereafter will show, is identical with 
 Dhumghdt or Jessore, and the boy-king of Bilkla (Fonseca 
 says he was oidy eight years old) can be no other than 
 Eam Chandra Rai, who, we know, married a daughter of 
 the famous Pratipdditya. Before, however, going into 
 this matter, I wish to draw attention to Fonseca's de- 
 scription of the journey from Bakla to Chandecan (sec 
 p. 31). Now, though the good father evidently had an 
 eye for natural scenery, and was delighted with the 
 woods and rivers, it is evident that what he admired 
 so much must have appeared to many to be '^ horrid 
 jungle," and indeed was very like what the Sundar- 
 bans now arc. In fact, Fonseca's description of the 
 route from Bdkla to Chandecan mioht almost be used 
 at the present day to describe the route from Barisd-l 
 to Kaliganj, near which Pratdpdditya's capital w^as 
 situated. The chief difference is that the ]Di'ogress of 
 civilisation has driven away the herds of deer and the 
 monkeys from the ordinary routes, 'though they are still 
 to be found in the woods, and the herds of deer have 
 given their name to one of the largest rivers in the 
 Sundarbans (Haringhattii). The faithfulness of Fonseca's 
 description seems indicated by his modestly admitting 
 that he had never seen a rhinoceros, while stating (quite 
 truly) that there were such animals in the woods. Had 
 Fonseca come upon any town on his journey, it is 
 reasonable to suppose that he would have mentioned
 
 1 7 6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 it ; and my point is, tluat liis description shows that the 
 Sundarbans were in mnch the same condition in 1599 
 as they are in now. 
 
 I may add that the missionaries speak of dacoits as 
 infesting the rivers, which certainly was a marked 
 feature of the Sundarbans up to the last fifty or sixty 
 years. Fonseca arrived at Chandecan on the 20th 
 November 1599, and there he found Fernandez' com- 
 panion, Dominic de Sosa, The King received Fonseca 
 with great kindness, so much so that he says a Christian 
 prince could not have behaved better to liim. A church 
 was built at Chandecan, and was formally opened on 
 1st January 1600. It was the first church in Bengal, 
 and was on this account dedicated to Jesus Christ. 
 Chittasono' was the second, and Bandel the third. 
 The last was built about this time by a Portuguese 
 named Villalobos. 
 
 In reply to the questions, Where was Chandecan, and 
 who was its King ? I answer, that as I believe Chandecan 
 to have been identical with Dhumghdt, or at least in 
 the same neighbourhood, it must have lain in the 
 Twenty-four Parganas, and near the modern bazd,r of 
 Kaliganj, and that its king was no other than Part^p- 
 dditya. 
 
 My reasons for this view are, firstly, that Chandecan^ 
 or Ciandecan is evidently the same as Chand Khan, 
 which, as we know from the life of Rajah Pratd^^dditya, 
 by Ram Ram Bosu (modernised by Haris Chandra 
 Tarkalankar), was the name of the former proprietor of 
 the estate in the Sundarbans which Pratdpdditya's father 
 
 ^ Chandecan does not appear to be marked on any of the old maps, and 
 as far as I am aware Bernouilli is the only other person besides the priests 
 ■who refers to it. In the article on the Feringhies of Chittagong, in " Cal- 
 cutta Review," Bernouilli is quoted as speaking of Kandccan, an old name 
 for the province of Satigam, which included Hughli, <fcc.
 
 SUNBARBAA^S. ly'y 
 
 Bikramaditya got from King Dnond. Cliaiid Khan 
 Masaudari liad died, we arc told, witliout leaving any 
 heirs, and consequently liis territory, which was near 
 the sea, had relapsed into jungle. Bikramaditya saw 
 that King Daoiid would be ruined, as he had taken upon 
 himself to resist the Emperor of Delhi, and therefore 
 Bikramaditya, who was his minister, took the precaution 
 of establishing a retreat for himself in the jungles. 
 King Daoud was killed in 1576, and Bikramaditya, 
 though he had prepared a city beforehand, seems to 
 have gone to it in person about this time. His dynasty 
 had been only about twenty-four or twenty-five years 
 in the country when the Jesuits visited it, and it 
 would have been quite natural if the name of the old 
 proprietor (Chand Khan) had still clung to it. More- 
 over, we know that Pratapaditya did not live always, 
 at least, at his father's city of Jessore. He rebelled 
 against him, and established a rival city at Dhumghat. 
 In so doing he may have selected the site of Chand 
 Khan's capital, and this may have retained the name of 
 Chand Khan for tAvo or three years after Pratapaditya 
 had removed to it. Nor is there anything in this opposed 
 to the fact that one Klianja Ali formerly owned Jessore ; 
 Khanja Ali died in 1458, or about 120 years before Bik- 
 ramaditya appeared on the scene, so that Chand Khan 
 may very well have been the name of one of Khanja 
 All's descendants. 
 
 But there is still more evidence of the identity of 
 Cliandecan with Dhumohat, 
 
 The fair prospects of the mission, as described by Fer- 
 nandez and Fonseca, were soon overclouded. Fernandez 
 died, on 14th November 1G02, in prison in Chittagong, in 
 consequence of injuries which he had received in a tumult 
 there, and the other priests took refuge in Sandwip. In
 
 178 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 consequence, liowever, of a war with the King of Arracan. 
 they soon left the isLand and took refuge in Chandecau. 
 But the King of Chandecan was cruel and treacherous 
 (traits which agree with the description of Pratdpadit3^a), 
 and was desirous of making his peace with the King of 
 Arracan, who was then very powerful, and had, as Du 
 Jarric informs us, taken possession of the kingdom of 
 Bakla. Carvalho, the gallant captain of the Portuguese, 
 was at Chandecan, and the King of Chandecan, who was 
 then at "Jasor,"^ sent for Carvalho, and had him 
 murdered in order to ingratiate himself with the King 
 of Arracan. Du Jarric adds that the news of Carvalho's 
 murder at Jasor reached Chandecan on the following 
 midnight, which may give us some idea of the distance 
 between the two places. 
 
 This ended the Bengal Mission, for the King of Chan- 
 decan destroyed the church and ordered the priests out 
 of the country. We are glad to think that this king, 
 if he was, as we believe, Pratd,pdditya, shortly after- 
 wards expiated his crimes and died in an iron cage at 
 Benares. That Pratdpaditya was a cruel monster, and 
 quite capable of directing the assassination of a brave 
 man like Carvalho, we have proof enough in the work of 
 his admiring biographer, who tells us that Pratdpdditya 
 cut off the breasts of a female slave who had offended 
 him. 
 
 There are two other slight pieces of evidence in sup- 
 port of the identity between Pratapaditya and the King 
 of Chandecan. One is that Du Jarric tells us that the 
 
 ^ Ja&r means "bridge" in Arabic, and General Cunningliani derives the 
 name Jessore from this word, and observes that the appellation indicates 
 the nature of the country. He also states that the old name of the Ganges 
 delta was Samotata. Murali was an old name for Jessore ; quer}'', was 
 this connected witli Muradkhana, which we know to have been an old 
 name for the Sundarbans ?
 
 S UN DA RBANS. 1 7 9 
 
 young King of Bakla was absent when tbe King of 
 Arraean overran his territory, and we know that Ram 
 Chandra Rai Avas for awhile a prisoner in the city of his 
 fixther-in-law, who wished to assassinate him. Another 
 is that when Fernandez ^ame to Chandecan in October 
 1599, and got the King's signature to the letters-patent, 
 he took the precaution of having them also signed (with 
 the King's permission) by the King's son, who Avas 
 then about twelve years old. This may have been 
 Pratdpdditya's son Udai Aditya, whom wo know to have 
 been a great friend of his brother-in-law Ram Chandra 
 Rai, and to have succeeded in savino; his life. The two 
 young princes must, from the accounts of Fonseca and 
 Fernandez, have been of nearly the same age, and this 
 makes the story of their friendship all the more 
 probable. , 
 
 I must not omit to point out that the fact that 
 Bikramaditya chose Jessore as a safe retreat is the 
 strongest jDOSsible evidence of the jungly nature of the 
 surrounding country. It is true it had been cultivated 
 in the pre^dous century by Khanja Ali, but the experi- 
 ment had proved a failure, and the land had in the 
 time of his successor, (?) Chand Khan, relapsed into 
 jungle. 
 
 To sum up, it seems to me that the Sundarbans have 
 never been in a more flourishing condition than they are 
 in at present. 1 believe that large parts of Bdkarganj 
 and Jessore were at one time cultivated, that they 
 relapsed into jungle, and that they have now been 
 cleared again ; and I have also no doubt that the Court 
 of the Kings of Bd,kla and of Chandecan imparted some 
 degree of splendour to the surrounding country ; but I 
 do not believe that the gloomy Sundarbans, or the sea
 
 i8o DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 face of Jessore and Bd-karganj, were ever well-peopled 
 or tlie sites of cities.^ 
 
 ^ The following interesting description of the Sundarbans, as they appeared 
 in 1712-13, is given by Pere Barbier iu vol. xiii. of "Lettres edifiantes 
 et curieuses," ed. 1781. Pere Barbier accompanied Bishop Laynez when 
 the latter made a visitation to the Bengal portion of his diocese, and this is 
 what they saw on the journey from Chandarnagore to Chittagong : "Pour 
 nous y (Chittagong) rendre nous eumes a tenir une route affreuse. Huit 
 jours en tiers, quoicju'on ramat dix-huit heures chaque jour et que le courant 
 et souvent la mar^e fussent favorables, suffirent a j^eine pour nous faire 
 trouver une habitation ; jusques la nous ne vimes que des bois epais, des bras 
 de rivieres par oil le Gauge se degorge, tantot d'une etendue prodigieuse, 
 tant6t si etroits qu'on ne le pouvoit ramer que d'un cote. Les bords garnis 
 de grandes arbres dont les branches s'avancent fort avant dans I'eau et par- 
 dessus tout I'apprehension continuelle oil I'on est des tigres dont on voit des 
 vestiges de temps en temps par des pieux plantds aux endroits oii il y a 
 des personnes devorees ^ terre ou bien enlevees jusque dans leurs bateaux. 
 Dans I'eau se trouvent des crocodiles longs de vingt et trente pieds qui 
 engloutissent hommes entiers. Enfin on y est souvent a la merci des 
 voleurs qui rodent incessament dans ces parages montes sur des panceaux 
 (pans ways) qui vont comme un trait." From Chittagong they went to 
 Bhulu (Noakhdli), where there was then a Christian settlement, and 
 from thence to Dacca and Rangamatti, passing on the way Hooseinpur in 
 Mymensing. 
 
 The literature of the Sundarbans is very scanty. Ritter has collected 
 the principal authorities in his " Erdkunde." Williamson, in his " East 
 India Vade Mecum," gives some account of the state of the molunghies or 
 salt-makers in the Sundarbans. See also Forbes's " Oriental Memoirs." 
 Other authorities are Gastrell's Report, Westland's J^^J^gSQre," Hooker's 
 " Himalayan Journal," vol. ii., Pogson's " Tour to Chittagong." (S£i-i«H|*uiv- 
 1831), " Calcutta Review," March 1859, article '' Gaugetic Delta." A map 
 of the Sundarban grants has been madeb}^ Mr Gomess, and I believe he 
 has also written a memorandum on the Sundarbans. Lloyd's memoir, on 
 his survey of the coast from Calcutta to Chittagong, is still in MS. (see 
 Markham, Indian Surveys). 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor considers that the reclamation of the Sundar- 
 bans has been carried sufficiently far for the present, and that there is a 
 danger of the woods being too much cut down. No more clearing grants 
 are to be made, and the tract has been placed under the management of 
 the Forest Conservancy (B. A. Report for 1873-74, p. 36).
 
 ( iSi ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GO VERNMENT EST A TES, ETC. 
 
 The number of Government estates in Bakarganj was at 
 one time very large, and though many of them have 
 been sold, a considerable number still remain. There 
 is probably no other district in Bengal Proper where 
 Government has so many and such valuable estates, and 
 therefore we may say that there is no other district in 
 which Government has so large and direct an interest. 
 
 We have seen that Government is the zamindar of 
 Buzurgumedpiir pargana, but besides this, it owns a 
 great many islands and chars. This is a natural con- 
 sequence of the fact that the district is an alluvial 
 formation. The rivers continually throw up islands and 
 chars, and under the resumption laws these were taken 
 possession of by Government. Of late years, however, 
 resumption proceedings have nearly ceased, and Govern- 
 ment now only takes possession of islands in navigable 
 rivers. The existence of these is brought to light by 
 Government officers in tlieir tours, or more commonly 
 l)y some one reporting that a sandbank has formed in 
 such and such a river, and asking for a settlement of it 
 These petitions are generally referred to a deputy-col- 
 lector for inquiry, and if the formation is found to be 
 really an island- — i.e., if the Avater between it and the 
 shore is not fordable at any time of the year (Regulation 
 11 of 1825, sec. 4, cl. 3) — he takes possession of it by
 
 iS2 DISTR1C7' OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 sticking up a bamboo on it. Such inquiries are more 
 protracted than they were in former days, for now 
 private individuals are more alive to their rights and 
 better skilled in maintaining them, and the decision of 
 the Privy Council in the famous Lopez case has enabled 
 many persons to raise with success the plea of reforma- 
 tion on an old site. The apparently simple question of 
 fordability is not always easy of determination, for the 
 rivers vary much in depth, according to the season and 
 the state of the tide. According to the rule now in 
 force, the question of fordability is decided when the 
 rivers are at their lowest — i.e., in or about the month of 
 February. The number of islands in Bakarganj which 
 are now the property of Government apj)ears to be 133. 
 Many of them belong to the Dakhin Shahbazpur sub- 
 division, and were transferred along with it to Bakarganj 
 in 1869, from the district of Noakhali. The most in- 
 teresting of the island-estates, or jaziras, as they are 
 called, is Manpiira, an island situated to the south- 
 south-east of Dakhin Shahbazpiir. It was resumed by 
 the Commissioner of the Sundarbans in 1833, though it 
 seems doubtful if the resumption was justifiable, for the 
 island is an old formation, and was included in the parti- 
 tion of the Dakhin Shahbazpur zamindari, which took 
 place in 1188 B.s. (a.d. 1781) — that is, nine years before 
 the Decennial Settlement. It is said to owe its name 
 to one Man Ghazi, who oot a lease from the Dakhin 
 Shahljdzpur zamindars, and was the first to break up 
 the soil. At the time of the resumption the island was 
 in the hands of the zamiiidars, and there were 536 acres 
 under cultivation. According to the papers of the parti- 
 tion already referred to, the amount of cultivation in 
 1781 was thirteen kanies — that is, about 250 biglias or 
 160 acres, as the kani in use in Manpiira is the large or
 
 GOVERNMENT ESTATES, ETC. 183 
 
 shahi kaui, wliicli is four times the size of tlie ordinary 
 one. ]\Ianpiira is diluviating at the north-east, and 
 alluviatino- at the south and west, where a lame char 
 called Kista Prasad has formed. The area of Manpiira 
 is about fourteen scjuare miles, and its population 4500. 
 Three- fourths of the inliabitants arc Hindus, so that 
 the island is an exception to the general rule that the 
 inhabitants of the islands and chars in Bdkarganj are 
 Mahomedans, The Hindus are all low- caste men, and 
 are called Dasses or Halia Dasses — i.e., Dasses who hold 
 the plough, as distinguished from the Dasses who follow 
 clerical pursuits, or who are fishermen. The Dasses are 
 a quiet and well-behaved set of men, and are very hard- 
 working. It is a Bengali saying that the Dass and the 
 hhaisli — i.e., the buffalo — are equally strong and laborious. 
 They have two customs which are looked upon with 
 abhorrence by the stricter Hindus — they eat pigs, 
 and they marry widows. The remaining fourth of the 
 inliabitants are Mahomedans, and they too are quiet 
 and inoffensive, and do not seem to be tinctured with 
 any Ferazi notions. There are a schoolmaster, a post- 
 master, a pound-keeper, and nine chaukidars on the 
 island, but there is no magistrate nor any regular police. 
 The island is well raised, and is very fertile, though rice 
 is nearly the only product. There is no jungle on it 
 except a belt which surrounds it, and which is preserved 
 by the inliabitants because it breaks the force of the 
 waves and keeps out the salt water from their cultiva- 
 tion. A few deer and a good many .pigs live in this 
 jungle, but there are no tigers or leopards. For every- 
 thing except rice, milk, and firewood, the inhabitants 
 have to depend on the markets in the adjacent island 
 of Dakhin Shahbazpiir. During the cold weather boats 
 come from Dacca, and from the bazar of Bakarganj, &c.,
 
 iS4 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 and export rice from tlie island. During the rains the 
 ishmd is not easily accessible, and is seldom visited by 
 boats from a distance, though a ferry-boat regularly 
 plies between it and Tazamuddin in Dakhin Shahbdz- 
 piir. I have referred in the chapter on- under-tenures 
 to the curious fact that four different classes of pro- 
 prietors have sprung up in the island. The late settle- 
 ments have been made with the ahddkdrs, but the rate 
 of rent payable to them by the howaladars has been 
 fixed at eleven anas three pies a bigha. The old rate 
 prevalent in the island was Ils.2-8 the small or karslia 
 kani, or eight anas four pies a bigha. No expenses of 
 collection were allowed to the abadkdrs or howaladars 
 in former times ; but, on the other hand, they were 
 allow^ed a deduction on account of ails — i.e., the limits 
 or ridges separating the fields — and for matan, as it is 
 called — i.e., a deduction allowed to a tenant as his profit 
 on condition of his bringing the adjacent lands into 
 cultivation. The rate of rent actually paid in former 
 times was, after deduction of matan and for ails, seven 
 anas three pies a bigha. The above rate of Rs.2-8 a 
 kani was the general one in all the Noakhali chars, and 
 was adopted by Mr Ricketts in his settlements. Man- 
 pura is divided into eight estates, the net revenue from 
 which to Government is about Rs.8500. In 1844 the 
 revenue was only Rs.1311. The first settlement was 
 made in 1837, when Mr Ricketts was Commissioner of 
 Chittagoug. The holdings of the ryots under the howa- 
 ladars and nim howaladars are called jotes. These in- 
 ferior ryots are divided into two classes — viz., hhudkast 
 and ijcdkast, the khudkast being those who cultivate 
 lands on the estate on which they reside, and the paikast 
 those who cultivate lands on other estates. The same 
 person -may be both a khudkast and a paikast ryot —
 
 GO VERNMENT ESTA 7ES, ETC. 185 
 
 i.e., kliudkast with regard to the hind he cultivates near 
 his homestead, and paikast with regard to that which 
 he cultivates at a distance. There arc 226 khudkast 
 ryots, and 179 of them have rights of occupancy. 
 Sixty-six paikast ryots have similar rights. The total 
 number of ryots is 566 ; so that if we reckon five to 
 a family, the ryots number 2830, or more than half the 
 population of the island. The other inhabitants are 
 howaladars and nim howaladars, but they for the most 
 part cultivate their own lands. The ryots pay Rs.l6 
 to Rs.24^ per shahi kani, according to the nature of 
 their lands. They have also to work two days in the 
 year on the lands of their titular superiors, or to pay 
 eight anas in lieu of this service. The island originally 
 contained only one estate, which was divided into blocks 
 under orders of Mr Ricketts in order to facilitate culti- 
 vation. When Mr Garrett, the Deputy-Collector of 
 Noakhc^li, reported on the island in 1841, there were 
 only two classes of residents — namely, howaladars and 
 jotedars. Six out of the eight estates have been settled 
 up to 1907 B.s. 
 
 The incidents in the history of Manpiira are not 
 numerous. In 1218 b.s. (1811) the manufacture of salt 
 was introduced, and caused so much oppression that 
 350 homesteads had been deserted by 1225 B.s. (1818). 
 In 1229 B.s. (1822) a cyclone swept over the island and 
 drowned most of the inhabitants, and another inunda- 
 tion took place in 1850, and led to a remission of 
 one-fourth of the revenue. Four or five years ago a 
 whale was stranded on the island,, and some of its bones 
 were afterwards brought to Barisal and placed in the 
 public library. I have said there are no tigers or 
 leopards ; there are not even any jackals ; but there are 
 snakes, and cases of death from snake-bite occasionally
 
 iS6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 occur. I liiive referred to Mr Ricketts in connection 
 with Manpiira, and I may take this opportunity of 
 noticing that this ofhcer (now Sir Henry Ricketts) is 
 famous all over Dakhin Shahbazpiir and Noakhali, and, 
 I believe, throughout the whole Chittagong division, for 
 his settlements, and tliat there is no name more fre- 
 quently or more honourably mentioned either by ryots 
 or by old native servants of Government. His letter 
 of 22d May 1841 is the most imj^ortant one in the 
 history of the settlements of Manpiira, and is that in 
 which the title taluqdar is applied to the abd,dkars. 
 
 There is a very full and excellent report about Man- 
 piira by Babu Anand Chandra Sein, Deputy-Collector, 
 dated 3d December 1873, and to this reference should 
 be made by all who wish to know more about Manpiira 
 and its settlements. The Babu made the settlements, 
 A\'hich have lately been confirmed by the Board and by 
 Government. 
 
 It would take up too much space if I were to describe 
 the other islands belonging to Government, and I am 
 not aware that there is anything specially interesting- 
 connected with them. Many of them have ceased to be 
 islands, owing to the silting up of the intervening chan- 
 nels ; and it is probable that at no distant date Manpiira 
 will also cease to be an island, and be joined on to the 
 Dakhin Sliahl)azpiir mainland. Many of the islands 
 sliow by their names the periods at which they were 
 formed, or at least at which they were taken possession 
 of by Government. Thus we have Lord Hardinge char 
 and Lawrence char (spelt Lallon on the map, and situ- 
 ated in Noakhdli), which point to the period of the Sikh 
 war ; wliile Falcon char, Alexander char, Drummond 
 char, Price cliar, Hankey char. Brown char, Ram Kanye 
 char, Henderson char, &c., point to the time when the
 
 GOVERNMENT ESTATES, ETC. 187 
 
 officers wliose names they Ix'ur M'erc collectors of 
 Noakhali, or otherwise employed in that district. 
 
 Besides the islands, there are ninety-four or ninety- 
 five Government estates included in parganas, which 
 have chiefly been acquired by purchase at sales for 
 arrears of revenue. Such estates are not generally of 
 much value, for it is ahnost always owing to their 
 deterioration that Government has to j^ut them up to 
 sale for arrears of revenue, or that Government is 
 enabled to j^^^ii'chase them at the upset price of Rs. 1. 
 Fifty-t\^'0 of them belong to the pargana of Srirampiir, 
 forming ])art of an old estate called Gokul Mukarjya 
 (see p. 147). 
 
 AVith the addition of Nos. 1406, 1437, and 1447 
 (described under pargana Buzurgumedpur), the khas 
 mahals — i.e., Government estates (exclusive of the 
 islands) — may be reckoned as numbering ninety-seven 
 estates, and as bearing a revenue of about Rs.l 15,000. 
 
 There are also resumed or hazyafti estates. These are 
 the property of individuals, but are managed by Govern- 
 ment, either directly or through farmers, owing to the 
 owners not accejDting the terms of settlement offered by 
 Government. Such resumptions were made under 
 Regulation 2 of 1819 and 9 of 1825, and are to be dis- 
 tinguished from resumptions under Regulation 11 of 
 1825, whereby islands become the exclusive property of 
 Government. There are 111 bazyafti mahals, and the 
 Government revenue from them is about Rs. 8 4,000. 
 The owners receive mcdikana or proprietary allow-ance. 
 Some bazyafti mahals not included in the 111 have been 
 permanently settled with their owners. The bazyafti 
 mahals are chiefly taujirs — i.e., lands which have accreted 
 since the Permanent Settlement, and which were not 
 included in it. They are numerous in Dakhin Shah-
 
 i88 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 bazpiir, where the collections from resumptions amount 
 to about Es. 50,000. The largest is Jainagar, which is 
 managed directly by the Collector through a tahsildar, 
 and which yields about Es. 15,000 a year. It belongs to 
 the heirs of the notorious Sibkissen Banarji. The bazyafti 
 mahals were let b}' Government to abadkdrs or improving 
 tenants, and now that the lands have been cleared the 
 owners are coming forward and claiming them. 
 
 The. large estate of Tushkhali in the Perozp{ir sub- 
 division is the exclusive property of Government, and 
 should have been mentioned among the khas mahals. 
 The rental is about Es, 78,000, and the estate is at 
 jDresent undergoing settlement with a view to enhance- 
 ment. The rate of rent hitherto prevailing was Es.1-4 
 a bigha. It was farmed to the Morrells for twenty 
 years, but their lease has been cancelled, and it is now 
 under direct management. Tushkhdli was resumed from 
 pargana Syedpfn^, and was first cleared by the De Silva 
 family. It was once sold to the Ghosal family, but the 
 sale was cancelled in consequence of the lawsuit referred 
 to at p. 158. 
 
 Fisheries. — It might be supposed that there would 
 be many fisheries in Bdkarganj belonging to Govern- 
 ment. There are, however, only four, and the total 
 revenue derived from them is very little more than 
 one thousand rupees (1029), They are the Jahapiir 
 Fishery, the Meghna Jhap Fishery, the Bishkhali Fish- 
 ery, called Surjya Narain Chakrabarti or the Buzurgum- 
 edpur Bishandi Jal, and the Bhashan Titulia. The first 
 of these is a resumption, the second is a jiart of the 
 Gokul Mukarjya taluq already referred to as lying in 
 Srirdmpdr pargana, and the third and fourth belong to 
 pargana Buzurgumcdpur, There was a lawsuit about
 
 GOVERNMENT ESTATES, ETC. 189 
 
 tlie Bliasliau Titulia Fishery in 1858, and there is a full 
 account of it in a letter of Mr Collector Dalrymplc .to 
 the judge, dated lltli December 1858. It appears that 
 hhashan, or floating, means the right to collect rent from 
 fishmongers who within certain limits in the Titulia 
 buy fish from the fishermen. Bhashan Titulia was 
 originally an under-tenure of Buzurgumedpur, and was 
 separated at the application of its owner in 1803, and 
 registered as bearing a revenue of Rs. 9 7-7- 15. It was 
 held that the right to such an estate was not affected 
 by Regulation 27 of 1793. The taluq is now in the 
 hands of the Chakrabarties of RupatoUi, who have given 
 an ausat taluq of it to certain nikaries or fishmongers. 
 
 It appears that altogether there are 3232 estates on 
 the Bdkarganj revenue roll, but fifteen of these do not 
 bear any revenue. 
 
 COURT OF WARDS AND ATTACHED ESTATES. 
 
 The number of these is very small, and none of them 
 possesses much interest or importance. The largest is 
 the seven anas of Arangpur pargana, which was attached 
 by order of the Civil Court, and is under the charge of 
 Mr Scott, the Sarbarakar or Manager-General. The 
 most important ward's estate is that of the lunatic 
 Jao-at Narain Chakrabarti, who is a small shareholder 
 in the Selimabad pargana, and resides at Raikatti, The 
 estate is managed by his son.
 
 ( IQO ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIT. 
 
 LAND TENURES. 
 I. TENUEES-m-CHIEF. 
 
 The tenures- iii-cliief of Biikarganj have been described 
 iji the chapter on financial history, and in the account 
 of the different parganas, but before proceeding to de- 
 scribe the under-tenures it seems desirable to say a few 
 words more about the zamindars. 
 
 The number of zamindaries in the district is reckoned 
 to be 101,^ but the number of zamindars is at least four 
 or five times this number.^ No notice is taken in the 
 official reo^isters of subdivisions of estates which have not 
 been announced by the owners to the Collector, and 
 there are many estates entered in one name, but wliich 
 really belong to several families. \\\ looking over the 
 list of proprietors of zamindaries and independent taluqs, 
 we find that most of them are Hindus of the Brdhman 
 caste, and that there are comparatively few Mahomedans. 
 The pi'incipal Brdhman family resident in the district is 
 
 ^ According to a return in tlie Bengal Administration Eeport for 1872-73, 
 p. 74, there were forty-six large estates in Bakarganj, 664 of moderate size, 
 and 4618 under 500 acres apiece. This includes the estates of the Mddaripur 
 suljdivision, and I think exaggerates tlie number of large estates. At least 
 it must not be supposed that each of these forty-six estates is in the hands 
 of one man, or even familj^, for nearly every one of them is divided among 
 several families. N.B. — The word "estate" includes all lands paying 
 rent direct to Government, Avhether they be zamindaries,^ taluqs, or 
 farms. 
 
 2 According to census, there are 1963 zamindars (males only).
 
 LAND TENURES. 191 
 
 that of the Arangpur zamindar, for the Tagore and Ghosal 
 families are absentees. Some country-l)orn Greeks, Ar- 
 menians, and Eurasians have properties in the district, 
 but no one of European Lirth and parentage holds land i 
 in Bilkarganj. 
 
 The dearth of old Mahomedan families in a district 
 which is so full of IMahomedans, and where so many 
 of the parganas and villages have names of Mahomedan 
 origin, is not a little remarkable. Khajah Ahsanoolah 
 of Dacca is a stranger to the district, and his possessions 
 in it have all been acquired by purchase in comparatively 
 recent times. Even the Shaistdbad family, though com- 
 monly considered the best in the district, has not been 
 long settled in it, the present family having accjuired 
 the estate by marriage, and having originally belonged 
 to Faridpur. The Mahomedan families of Charamudi, 
 Bamna, and Gyanpara are of no great standing, and do 
 not enjoy much respect. The family which is really the 
 oldest, is, I believe, that of the INIozamdars of Chdkdr ; 
 but they, as well as the old family Avho once held 
 Nazirpiir pargana, have long ceased to be zamindars. 
 It appears certain that Mahomedan families are less 
 able to keep up with the age than Hindus, and that 
 they decline more rapidly. Even those which still keep 
 a footing in the district are for the most j^art in insolvent 
 circumstances. It would be difficult and invidious to 
 discuss minutely the causes of this difference between 
 Mahomedans and Hindus, but I think somethino- must 
 be attributed to the practice of polygamy among the 
 former. At least this seems to have led to the ruin 
 of the Nazirpur family, the last zamindar before the 
 Permanent Settlement having left twelve sons by dif- 
 ferent mothers to dispute his succession. It is also 
 a fact admitted l)y Mahomedans themselves that the
 
 1 9 2 DISTRICT OF BAKAR GANJ. 
 
 wealthy professors of their creed are more prone to idle- 
 ness and dissipation than are Hindus. 
 
 II. UNDER-TENURES. 
 
 Bdkaro'anj is famous for the number of its under- 
 tenures. It has been supposed that this is due to the 
 litioious and intris^uino- character of the inhabitants, 
 and no doubt this cause has not been without effect ; 
 but even the j)eople most prone to litigation and in- 
 trioiie seldom act from the mere love of these things, 
 and we must, I think, search deeper for the efficient 
 cause of so much sub-infeudation. 
 
 Undoubtedly the first cause is the jjhysical charac- 
 teristics of the district. This has acted in two ways : 
 firstly, it has made the principal landholders absentees, 
 and has thrown the direct management of the soil into 
 the hands of the under-tenants ; and secondly, it has 
 made the latter insist upon permanency of tenure. 
 
 Bclkarganj has never been a favourite residence of the 
 wealthier classes. Its remoteness from Calcutta, its 
 larffe rivers and the banditti who infested or were 
 supposed to infest them, and above all, the jungle and 
 tlie salt air, have made the upper classes shy of living 
 in it. The great zamindaries of the district are held by 
 absentees, and by absentees of the most pronounced 
 type, for I believe that the present holders of the 
 three largest properties in Bdkarganj — viz., Khajah 
 Ahsanoolah and the representatives of the Ghosal and 
 Tagore families — have never even set foot in the district. 
 
 The zamindars who do live in Bdkarganj are generally 
 too poor to have much influence, and besides, even they 
 live a long way off from portions of their estates, and 
 owing to diflicultics of communication, &c., seldom visit
 
 LAND TENURES. 193 
 
 them. In the cold season, when the aman harvest has 
 been gathered in and the ryots arc flush of money, tlie 
 zamindars and taluqdars are in the habit of making 
 progresses through their estates, and of collecting rents 
 and presents. But for nine months in the year the 
 under-tenantry are left to themselves and the land- 
 stewards. Even the latter are not always present, for 
 as they are generally Hindus, they do not like to live in 
 the midst of a Mahomedan population. They go to 
 their homes at the time of the durga puja, and do not 
 return for two or three months. As, therefore, the 
 zamindars cannot, or do not, live on their estates, they 
 are forced, in Burke's phrase, to govern with a loose rein, 
 and to allow the under-tenantry to create or acquire 
 transferable rights. But apart from this, it is plain that 
 when a country is covered with jungle, people will not 
 settle in it, or undertake the cultivation of it, unless they 
 get permanency of tenure. Therefore, as in old times, 
 much of Bilkarganj was covered with Sundarban jungle, 
 and as also much of it consisted of newly-formed land, 
 which could not be made productive until several years 
 after occupation, the Government and the zamindars 
 found it necessary to grant improving leases carrying 
 permanent rights. Hence arose the system of jangal- 
 buri taluqs, ahdas, &c. The pargana of Buzurgumedpiir 
 was entirely composed of such taluqs, and it is chiefly 
 by the instrumentality of the holders of them that the 
 revenue of the pargana has been raised from a few 
 thousand rupees to upwards of two lacs. It is a common 
 stipulation in improving leases that no rent is to be paid 
 for the first two or three years, and that there is to ho, a 
 progressive rate, or rasad, as it is called, until the full 
 rate [pur a dastur) has been attained. The technical 
 name for a reclaimer of jungle in Bdkarganj is cd)ddkdr
 
 194 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 — i.e., clearer or cultivator — and liis tenure is called aiidd- 
 hdri or ahddi. But the freedom from rent for several 
 years is such a general incident of the tenure that the 
 word ahda, which seems to Ije a corruption of abadi, 
 has come to mean rent free. Thus, to hold land abda, 
 means in Bakarganj to hold it rent free, though the 
 term is only applied to lands held temporarily rent 
 free for purposes of cultivation. 
 
 As a j^roof that the system of under-tenures is the 
 growth of circumstances, and is not to be ascribed to 
 the chicanery of the Bdkarganj ryots, I may refer to 
 the island of Manpiira, which is a Government property, 
 and which, up to the last five years, belonged to the 
 district of Noakhali. Government acquired possession 
 of this island about forty years ago, under a decree of 
 the Eesumption Commissioner. It was then nearly all 
 covered with jungle, and the few cultivators who in- 
 habited it appear to have been all of one class, and to 
 have borne the name of jotedars. At present there are 
 about 4500 inhabitants on the island, and there are four 
 classes of persons possessing distinct rights in the soil. 
 There are first the abddkars or taluqdars, who pay the 
 Government revenue ; secondly, the hovvaladars; thirdly, 
 the nim howaladars ; and fourthly, the karshadars or 
 simple cultivators. 
 
 "It is a natural consequence of hereditary benefices," 
 says Hallam, " that those who possess them carve out 
 portions to be held of themselves by a similar tenure." 
 This result, wliich appeared in the feudal system in 
 Europe, has not failed to show itself in India, for human 
 nature is the same everywhere. The existence of a right 
 generally leads to the exercise of it, and persons who 
 acquire permanent and transferable interests in land 
 soon begin to alienate them in whole or in part.
 
 LAND TENURES. 195 
 
 Another cause of sub-infeudation is that tracts of 
 iiucultivated land are often let out to several persons 
 Avho club together to clear them. Thus the lease of a 
 howala is often in the names of ten or twelve persons. 
 At first they all cultivate the land together, and gene- 
 rally one of their number has a certain representative 
 capacity, and is the man to whom the landlord looks for 
 rent. But as cultivation advances, the lands become 
 marked off into aliquot parts, two anas, four anas, &c., 
 or portions of them are granted to inferior tenants, as 
 nim howalas, karshas, &c. A ryot cannot cultivate 
 more than a certain amount of land — say forty or fifty 
 bighas at the outside — and if, therefore, he get a grant 
 of jungle which is double or quadruple that size, he is 
 obliged in time to let out a portion to some one. It 
 is a mistake to suppose that the cultivation of jungle 
 in Bakarganj has been accomplished by squatters. Mugs 
 squat in the Sundarbans, and occasionally a Bengali 
 may take possession of an uncultivated bit of land, but 
 such instances are rare. Neither has the reclamation 
 been accomplished by the zamindars or other large pro- 
 prietors of land. As a rule, these men are absentees or 
 indolent, and the main stress of the work of cultivation 
 has fallen on the under-tenure holders or middlemen. 
 It is the howaladar and the nim howaladar who have 
 brought the Sundarbans and the chars of Dakhin Shah- 
 bdzpiir into cultivation. 
 
 In consequence of under-tenures, we often find three 
 or four persons holding different rights in the same piece 
 of ground. It has been said that the number some- 
 times amounts to eight or nine, Ijut I have never come 
 across an instance of so many. It is c[uite common, 
 however, to find three or four ; and it is this complica- 
 tion which makes the taking up of land for public
 
 1 96 DISTRICT OF BAKAR GANJ. 
 
 purposes such a thorny piece of business in Bakarganj. 
 At the top we have the zamindar or independent 
 taluqdar, who pays the revenue to Government, and 
 who is thus the tenant in cafite of feudal haw. After 
 him come the ausat taluqdar, the howaladar, the nim 
 howaladar, and the karshadar or tiller of the soil. The 
 karshadar is the lowest in the scale, unless we add the 
 borohadar ; but there is more than one description of 
 karsha-tenure. There is the mircis karslia, or miras 
 malguzari, as it is also called, which is a hereditary and 
 transferable tenure, and is often underlaid by the miadi 
 or temporary karsha. The incidents of a karsha are 
 different also in different parts of the district. Thus 
 in Dakhin Shahbazpiir a karsha is by local custom 
 transferable by sale, and is sold in execution of decrees 
 accordingly, whereas in Bakarganj Proper karshas are 
 generally looked upon as not saleable. All over the 
 district, however, ryots are in the habit of selling their 
 holdings, especially their homesteads, and in practice 
 these transfers are generally recognised by the superior 
 landlord. The rent is commonly paid to a gomasta or 
 tahsildar, and he is glad enough to get it, for often he 
 has contracted to pay a certain sum to his master, 
 whatever his collections may amount to ; and if the 
 transferee pays him the rent, and also gives him a 
 nazzar or present, he seldom objects to the change of 
 name. 
 
 It must not be supposed that because there are a 
 great number of under-tenures in Bakarganj, there must 
 be at least an equal number of distinct persons who hold 
 these separate rights. It often ha^^pens that one and 
 the same person holds three or four classes of rights in 
 the same piece of ground ; and thus, though it is com- 
 mon enough to find four or five gradations of rights in
 
 LAND TENURES. 197 
 
 one field, it is not so common to iind tluat cacli of 
 these riglits is lield by a distinct person. Tims the 
 same person is often both ausat talnqdar and howaladar ; 
 and nearly all zamindars and taluqdars possess subordi- 
 nate riglits in their estates, and are their own ausat 
 taluqda.rs, howaladars, and even karshadars. The exist- 
 ence of each of these riglits is carefully kept up in 
 the zamindari accounts, and leads to a very intricate 
 system of debit and credit, or jama kharach, as it is 
 called. Thus a zamindar will be found crediting him- 
 self with rent payable to him as zamindar by himself 
 as howaladar, and again debiting himself as howaladar 
 w^itli the rent due to himself as zamindar. Nor is the 
 system so superfluous or irrational as it at first sight 
 appears. It arises in a great measure from the sub- 
 division of property, and from the fact of many estates 
 being held jointly — i.e., ijmdli. Thus a person may 
 have a two or threc-aud-a-half ana share in a zamindari, 
 and under this there is a taluq or liowala, the rent of 
 which is payable to all the shareholders in the zamin- 
 dari — that is, in the case under illustration, the person 
 gets two or two and a half anas rent of the taluq or 
 howala ; but if this taluq or how^ala is sold by decree 
 of court or otherwise, and the shareholder in the zamin- 
 dari buy it, he acquires a new right, and one which 
 may be very valuable to him. If the whole right in 
 the taluq or howala — i.e., the sixteen-ana right, as it 
 is called — is sold, he becomes full proprietor of the lands 
 comprised in it, and pays fourteen or thirteen and a half 
 anas of the rent of it to his co-sharers in the zamindari, 
 and pays the remainder to himself. It does not follow 
 that because he has bought the taluq or howala, he gets 
 khas or direct possession of the land ; for there may be 
 a nim howala or a karslia below the right he has pur-
 
 198 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 cliased, and if he wishes direct possession, he may have 
 to go on purchasing the other rights in the land. It is 
 the contests between shareholders in zamindaries about 
 the buying or otherwise getting possession of under- 
 tenures in their joint estates Avhicli lead to so much 
 fio-htino- amongst tlicm in and out of the courts. Though 
 we may deplore the circumstance, we can hardly say 
 that it is absurd or unnatural. It is also this system 
 which makes it so very difficult to carry through a bat- 
 wara or partition in Bakarganj, or indeed anywliere in 
 Bengal. At first sight it seems simple enough to divide 
 a zamindari into three or four shares, but when we find 
 that the zamindari share is by no means the only, or 
 even the most valuable rioht which each shareholder 
 possesses, the problem becomes much more complicated. 
 The shareholders in a zamindari often make a rough 
 kind of division of their shares, or a Mofussil batwara, 
 as they call it — that is, their zamindari lands are 
 often distinct, and their ryots are distinct also. There 
 are often ryots who pay the whole, or the sixteen anas, 
 of their rent to one shareholder, and who have nothing 
 whatever to do with any of the other shareholders, and 
 this although no legal partition of the estate may have 
 taken place ; but the relation of ryot and zamindar is 
 never the only one which exists in a joint estate. Each 
 si) are is dovetailed into the others by an intricate series 
 of under-tenures, and it is the separation and con- 
 solidation of these subsidiary rights possessed by the 
 shareholders which constitutes the difficulty of making 
 a partition. The outside public cannot be. expected to 
 know much of such matters, and may therefore be 
 excused when they denounce the delay in making 23arti- 
 tions, and ascribe it to the trickery of the amins and 
 insouciance of collectors. But I have known a Com-
 
 LAND TENURES. 
 
 199 
 
 missioner who ^Yatt no better informed, and who gravely 
 observed that all wliich was required for the partition 
 of an estate containing some thirty thousand acres was 
 to make a map of it, and tlien to divide it off into 
 three or four blocks, according to the number and extent 
 of the shares. Truly this seemed simple enough ; but 
 suppose that one block had consisted of under-tenures 
 paying a low and unenhanceable rent, and that another 
 had consisted of ryotwari land paying the full pargana 
 rate, and the tenants of which could be evicted, where 
 would be the equality in value of the two blocks ? 
 
 Although the system of undcr-tenures has mainly 
 arisen out of the physical characteristics of Bdkarganj, 
 I do not mean to say that their number has not 
 often been multiplied unnecessarily by the subtlety 
 or tenacity of the Bengali. One use frequently made 
 of the large number of under-tenures is to enable a 
 man to retain his hold on a property after one or more 
 of his rights has been sold. Thus we may say that 
 the sale-law is one cause of sub-infeudation. Suppose, 
 for instance, that a zamindar's rigbt and title in his 
 zamindari are sold for arrears of revenue, or in satisfac- 
 tion of a decree, it might be imagined that this would 
 terminate his connection with the estate ; but, as a 
 general rule, this would Ijc far from the case. The 
 mazul — i.e., quondam zamindar — does not surrender 
 his hold on the land so readily. If he cannot in any 
 way impeach the sale by showing that he did not get 
 notice of it, that the estate was sold below its value, 
 that the decree was fraudulent, &c., or that the pro- 
 perty did not belong to him, but was his wife's or his 
 brother-in-law's, he proceeds to another battle-field, and 
 claims to hold a nij taluq — i.e., a taluq belonging to the 
 zamindar — or a howala, or other under-tenure. Indeed,
 
 200 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 the Bengali, and especially the Bdkarganj Bengali, holds 
 on to his land with a persistence which reminds one of 
 the Athenian soldier who grasped the Persian ship with 
 his ricrht hand, and who, when that was cut off, seized 
 it with his left, and when that too was lopped away, 
 cluno- to it with his teeth. The last fight of all made 
 by a dispossessed proprietor is generally that for the 
 hhanahari or paternal homestead, and is literally a fight 
 pro ard etfoco. The most serious riots in the district 
 have their origin in disputes between the auction pur- 
 chaser and the old proprietor, and the casus belli is then 
 generally a dispute about an under-tenure. Such a 
 riot occurred in the early part of this century, when 
 the Tagores took possession of Idilpiir, and also when 
 All Khan, the grandfather of Khajah Ahsanoolah, took 
 possession of his share of Selimdbad, &c. 
 
 ZiMBA. — A practice which gives rise to much sub- 
 infeudation, and to many breaches of the peace, is that 
 called zioiiha, and which seems, in name at least, pecu- 
 liar to Bdkarganj. Zimba literally means charge or pro- 
 tection, and the system of zimba, as it is understood in 
 B^karganj, means a practice by which a ryot, or other 
 subordinate holder of land, transfers his allegiance from 
 his proper landlord to a third party. This third party 
 is called his zimhadai\ Thus A. B. is a ryot having a 
 right of occupancy in his land. He is oppressed by his 
 landlord or is discontented with him, and so he goes to 
 another proprietor and offers to come under his zimba. 
 If this oft'er be accepted, he generally transfers his hold- 
 ing to his protector by deed of sale, and receives it back 
 again by another deed. Thus the possession of the land 
 does not actually pass, the ryot continues to hold his 
 house and land as before, but pays his rent to his zimba-
 
 LAND TENURES. 201 
 
 dar, who in turn pays it to the real landlord. Should 
 the latter refuse to receive it, it is deposited in court, 
 or simply withheld till a suit is brought and a decree 
 obtained. In the deed by which the ryot gets back his 
 land he is generally described as getting the tenure next 
 below that which he sold. Thus if he be a howaladar, 
 he sells the howala and becomes the nim howaladar; if he 
 is a miras karshadar, he becomes an ordinary karshadar. 
 If in reality he have no transferable right, and be merely 
 an occupancy-ryot, or even a ryot without the right of 
 occupancy, he will still describe himself as an under- 
 tenure holder of some kind — i.e., a nim howaladar — and 
 so get over the difficulty of his position. The system of 
 zimba is especially common in ijmali or joint estates, 
 and the reason for this is intelligible enough. When a 
 ryot has several masters he is often oppressed or har- 
 assed by them. He therefore finds it his best plan to 
 come under the zimba of the most j^owerful or the most 
 troublesome among them, as thenceforth he has only 
 one man to conciliate. The system is a bad one, and 
 nothing gives rise to more disputes, I am sorry to say, 
 too, that it appears to have received a fresh imjjetus 
 from the passing of the Eegistration law, and that many 
 deeds which are pointed to as proofs of the increase of 
 sub-infeudation are in reality merely paper transfers, and 
 do not express any substantive change in the tenancy 
 of the land. I may note here that the purposes of the 
 Eegistration law are often perverted by persons who 
 want to take possession of laud which docs not be- 
 long to them. The Bengali cannot get rid of the idea 
 that a registered hahuliyat is evidence against third 
 parties ; so when two parties are fighting about, say, 
 the possession of a newly-formed char, each of them 
 takes a troop of his dependents to the register office,
 
 202 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 and makes tliem register kabiiliyats or leases for land 
 wliicli they have not possession of. It is Ly no means 
 easy to punish such proceedings, for as between the 
 parties there is no fraud or deception, and if no action 
 is taken after the registration, it is difficult to prove 
 that a third party has been injured. There is, I think, 
 a defect in the Eegistration law on this point. 
 
 When a ryot gives his land in zimba lie generally 
 oives a present or salarai to the zimbadar, and, I believe, 
 he defrays all the conveyancing expenses — i.e., the 
 stamps, registration fees, &c. The proper landlord of 
 the ryot, of course, opposes the zimbadari process as 
 much as possible, for not only does he lose prestige by 
 his ryot being no longer " his man," so to speak, but 
 he loses certain incidents of homage. In fact, he hence- 
 forth gets merely the bare rent of the land, and loses 
 the cesses paid by the ryot, such as marriage presents, 
 fines for cattle trespass, &c., as all these are paid to the 
 zimbadar. In Hallam's " Middle Ages " mention is 
 made of the system of commendation, which he de- 
 scribes as a personal relation between lord and vassal, 
 resembling that of patron and client in the Roman Re- 
 public. I think that this system must have closely 
 resembled the Bdkarganj zimba, and I would suggest 
 that the word " zimba " mis^ht be translated " com- 
 mendation." , 
 
 Perhaps the description of one or two actual cases of 
 zimba will put the matter in a much clearer light. I 
 shall take the first illustration from the subdivision of 
 Perozpiir, which, by the wa}^, is the most troublesome 
 part of the district, and is to the other subdivisions of 
 it what Bdkarganj is to the rest of Bengal. There is a 
 village called Kal Megha in the Matbdria tliana, in the 
 Sundarban estate of Gyanparo., and away down at the
 
 LA^'I) TENURES. 203 
 
 mouth of the Bishkhali river. The land had lono- re- 
 
 o 
 
 mained as a Sundarban forest, but some years ago the 
 wealthy Hindu family of the Seins or Mahallana\-ises of 
 Basinda acquired certain rights in the place, and set 
 about reclaiming the jungle. For this purpose they 
 brought in ryots from other vdlages and settled them at 
 a considerable expense. Here I must make a digression 
 in order to explain the process by which jungle is re- 
 claimed, when done not by the middlemen or under- 
 tenure holders acting independently, but by a zamindar 
 or moneyed man. It then becomes a regular case of 
 colonisation. The zamindar does not, as might be sup- 
 posed, hire a number of labourers to clear the ground, 
 but he acts somewhat as the Xew Zealand Government 
 acts with emigrants. He induces ryots to come and 
 settle by making them advances for the removal of their 
 houses and cattle, by giving them rice, by establishing a 
 convenient market for them, &c. In many cases he has 
 to purchase cattle for them, and to build their houses. 
 Further, he takes no rent from them for three or four 
 years, and he promises them permanency of tenure at 
 a moderate rent. AVhen a ryot accepts such terms and 
 comes down to the jungle, he generally leaves his wife 
 and family behind him for a year or two, and puts up 
 a small house where he and one or two of his brothers 
 or friends can sleep. In this doala homestead — i.e., 
 subsidiarv or second home — he lives during the workino" 
 season, and only occasionally revisits his home. If he 
 find the place unhealthy, or too much infested with 
 rigers, or otherwise unsuitable, he aljaudons it ; but if 
 he think that it will suit him, and elect to remain, he 
 gradually plants fruit-trees, &c., and eventually brings 
 away his old house (roof and aU being carried on boats), 
 and settles in the new place with his family. In mak-
 
 204 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 ing siicli arrangements regular leases or pattas are not 
 given at first. This would be too expensive, on account 
 of the registration and stamp fees ; and besides, neither 
 party can precisely say what the land is worth until 
 after two or three years' trial. The practice, therefore, 
 is that either no documents are given at all, or only a 
 preliminary one on unstamped paper, and not hard and 
 fast in its terms. This is given to the ryot, and is called 
 an amilnama. 
 
 This 25ractice was followed by the Seins in Kal Megha, 
 but after the ryots had been settled for some years, and 
 had cleared a good deal of land, the Seins delayed or 
 refused to give them permanent leases. The excuse 
 given by them for not giving them was that the ryots 
 were threatening to be rebellious, and that they w^ere 
 afraid lest, by giving them permanent, and therefore 
 transferable rights, they should be putting weapons into 
 their hands, which might be used against themselves by 
 the transference of their rights to a zimbadar. Disputes 
 arose between the Seins and the ryots about this, and as 
 the quarrel was fomented by one Sidam Mia, a Maho- 
 medan taluqdar of the neighbourhood, a number of the 
 newly-settled ryots went over to him and under his 
 zimba, saying that they were nim howalas and not 
 simple ryots. 
 
 The Seins seeing this, and fearing lest they should be 
 suddenly dispossessed and deprived of the fruits of their 
 labours and expenditure, hired clubmen, and endeavoured 
 to bring the ryots back to their allegiance, and to keep 
 Sidam Mia out of the village. The result was several 
 affrays, in which firearms were used and one or two 
 persons killed. 
 
 It might be thought that this was a dispute which 
 could have been easily settled by the authorities, as Sidam
 
 LAND TENURES. 205 
 
 Mia was manifestly a usurper, and was trying to reap 
 what lie had not sown. But in fact the matter was not 
 so simple. It is true that neither he nor the ryots could 
 say that he had spent any money in improving the pro- 
 perty, or could deny that the ryots had been brought in 
 by the Seins, but Sidam Mia had, nevertheless, rights 
 in Gyanpara. He Avas the superior landlord and paid 
 revenue to Government, and he could and did say that 
 the subordinate or under-tenure rights claimed by the 
 Seins did not exist or were exaggerated, and that the 
 clearings were part of his khas land — i.e., were included 
 in the land of which he had direct possession. For these 
 reasons an attempt made by the magistrate to quiet 
 the dispute by j)i'ohibiting Sidam Mia or his people 
 from entering the village, failed before the Sessions 
 judge, and the contest continued for several months. 
 
 At length Sidam Mia died, and though his claims 
 were maintained by his family, they had eventually to 
 yield to the longer purse of their opponents. Sidam 
 Mia's share in Gyanpara Avas put up for sale in execution 
 of a decree, and was bought by the Seins and others for 
 some Rs.40,000, so that they have now both the superior 
 and the subordinate rights in the estate. 
 
 An instance of zimba was nearly occurring the other 
 day in the large Government estate of Tushkhali, which 
 is also in the Perozpur subdivision. This estate, which 
 yields upwards of R. 78,000 a year, was let in farm for 
 twenty years to the Messrs Morrell. The ryots became 
 discontented with the farmers because the latter wanted 
 to raise their rent, and indeed had taken the farm at an 
 advance of Rs. 15,000 on the old rental, on the condition 
 that they were to be allowed to enhance the ryots' rents. 
 The ryots objected, urging that their dols or leases 
 were permanent, and refused to break them, as they
 
 2o6 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 phrased it, by giving any higher rate. When, there- 
 fore, the farmers issued notices on them, and took other 
 steps to raise their rent, the ryots went to various 
 zamindarsin the district — i.e., to the Raikd,tti zamindars, 
 to Khajah Ahsanoolah, and to Har Chandra Chakrabarti 
 of Kajlakdtti — and offered to make over their dols to 
 them and to come under their zimba. As an inducement 
 to the acceptance of this offer they were willing to pay 
 salami, &c. Had their offers been accepted, a serious 
 disturbance might have occurred, but the zamindars 
 were afraid and held aloof. 
 
 It is a melancholy fact that the more energetic and 
 able a zamindar is, the more is he disposed to create 
 disturbances with his neighbours and to thwart the 
 authorities. Such a person is always thrusting himself 
 into the affairs of other estates, and is a centre of mis- 
 rule and disaffection. Doubtless this is in a great 
 measure the result of the exclusion of such men from 
 legitimate careers ; and it must be said, too, that his 
 interference is not always unneeded, and not always quite 
 spontaneous on his part. If a zamindar has a reputation 
 for ability and courage, the ryots of other estates come 
 to him and beg him to assist them against their oppres- 
 sors. If interference of this kind was pardonable or 
 commendable on the part of the ancient Romans, who 
 built up their empire in this way, we cannot severely 
 blame a Bengali zamindar for acting in a similar manner. 
 I do not mean to defend the zimba system, but I believe 
 that it often serves to protect the weak against the 
 strong, and that it will last as long as the administration 
 of justice is weak, uncertain, and dilatory. The know- 
 ledge that his ryots will, if driven to extremities, accept 
 tlie protection of a zimbadar, will often prevent a tyran- 
 nical landlord from oppressing them too much. In other
 
 LAND TENURES. 207 
 
 districts ryots run away when too much trampled upon ; 
 in Bdkarganj they go to a zimbadar. If elsewhere 
 zamindari management may often be described as op- 
 pression tempered by the fear of desertion, it may be 
 described as being in Bakarganj oppression tempered 
 by the fear of zimbadari. Oppression from their 
 zamindar is not the only kind under which ryots have 
 to suffer. They are often still more grievously oppressed 
 by their fellow-villagers, and have resort to the zimba- 
 dari system to protect themselves against this form of 
 oppression also. The following is an instance of oppres- 
 sion by fellow- villagers. 
 
 In the village of Phalaghar, near the Bd,karganj thana, 
 there was in 1871 a Hindu ryot who had a quarrel 
 with his neighbours about a road. He was a boat- 
 builder as well as a cultivator, and required access to 
 the khdl, which flowed within a few yards of his 
 homestead. When he and his neighbour were on good 
 terms, the latter allowed him a right of way across 
 his homestead, but when for some reason or other 
 they quarrelled, his neighbour would not allow him 
 to use the road any longer, at least not for his cattle ; 
 it became, therefore, necessary that the boatbuilder 
 should find a new road. I have seen the place myself, 
 and can therefore say that the road was a necessity 
 for Kamal and Golab, the two owners of the more 
 remote homestead. When their neighbour Chandra 
 Dali inhibited them from crossing his homestead, they 
 tried to make a new road, a little to one side of the 
 old one. Unfortunately there was a small bit of waste 
 land in the new line of road, which belonged to Chandra 
 Dali, and which, though it was of no use to him, he 
 would not let them have. Here I should explain that 
 the homesteads both of Chandra Dali and of Golab
 
 2o8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 and Kamal were included in a taluq belonging to a 
 member of tlie De Silva family of Sibpiir. Kamal and 
 Golab's homestead, however, w\as a nim howala, and 
 included in the first instance in a howala belonging 
 to one Raj Narain Bannerji, which again w^as included 
 in the De Silva taluq. Chandra Dali was also con- 
 nected with Raj Narain Bauarji, as he was his kar- 
 shadar; but I believe this was for lands other than 
 his homestead. Kamal and Golab first tried to get the 
 little bit of waste land from Raj Narain, but though 
 they got a right in it, they could not dispossess 
 Chandra Dali, who to make his position stronger, 
 suddenly put up a small hut on the land and placed 
 an old female relative in it to act as watchwoman. 
 By the way, it is rather a favourite trick with Bakar- 
 ganj people to make use of their poor relations as 
 chaukidars and as signs of possession. They run up 
 a hut in a night, put an old man or woman into it, 
 add a few pots and j^ans, and then when the police 
 come they are ready to swear that the hut has been 
 on the spot and in occuj^ation for several years. Kamal 
 and Golab being unable to get their road amicably, 
 went ofl!" some fifteen miles to a powerful zamindar at 
 Madhabpdsha, who had long been anxious to get a 
 footing in the village of Phalaghar, and who was on 
 bad terms with the De Silvas, and offered to come 
 under his zimba. He agreed ; a deed was executed, 
 whereby the zamindar bought in the name of his 
 brother-in-law, for Rs.25, a portion of Kamal and 
 Golab's nim howala ; and shortly afterwards the 
 real consideration was paid by the zamindar's de- 
 spatching a body of clubmen to the village. They 
 arrived in the night, and early next morning (it was 
 Christmas Day) they and a party of ryots proceeded
 
 LAND TENURES. 209 
 
 to make a road across the waste land ; Init, inifor- 
 tuuately for tlicmselves, Chandra Dali and his reLatives 
 heard the noise of the workers, and rushed out to 
 oppose them. A fight ensued, in which, as might l)e 
 supposed, the professional clubmen were victorious, and 
 in which two of Chandra Dali's party were killed and 
 one severely wounded. This case is an illustration of 
 the anarchy which often prevails in a Bdkarganj village. 
 Had De Silva or the Madhabpasha zamindar been good 
 landlords, they might have arbitrated in the matter, 
 and have satisfied both parties ; but they preferred to 
 indulge their natural animosities, and the above was 
 the result. 
 
 It might be expected that I should give statistics of 
 the number of under-tenures in Bakarganj, but, in fact, 
 no trustworthy figures are procurable. The inquiries in 
 connection with the road cess will doubtless give some 
 information on the subject, though I doubt if even they 
 will elicit complete information. 
 
 III. LAKHIRAJ, OR RENT-FREE TENURES. 
 
 The number of officially-recorded rent-free tenures is 
 only twenty-three, and of these several are of recent 
 origin, having been created by the rule, which was for 
 some time in force, of selling rent free the properties 
 which yielded less than a rupee of revenue to Govern- 
 ment. There are, however, 1143 lakhiraj sanads or 
 grants in the Collectorate record-room, and these are 
 prol^ably valid, though their authenticity has never been 
 formally recognised, and it is not known even whether 
 the lands referred to in them are in existence or not. 
 The number of rent-free holdings in Bdkarganj is in 
 reality very considerable, though in most cases the
 
 2IO DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 quantity of land is so small that the Government officials 
 did not inquire into the validity of the grant. Many 
 of these rent-free lands are Brdhmuttar — i.e., they are 
 lands granted to Brd,hmans. They are especially com- 
 mon in pargana Cliandradwip, and are said to owe their 
 origin chiefly to the liberality of Rajah Sheo Narain, who 
 was a oreat patron of Brdhmans, and who ended by 
 becoming insane and setting fire to his palace. In his 
 liberality to priests he resembled that Scotch king who 
 was described by one of his successors as a sore saint 
 for the crown. 
 
 None of the lakhiraj tenures seems to be of any interest 
 excejDt the Srinagar holding of the Chandradwip Rajahs, 
 and that at Sujdbdd, formerly possessed by some Afghan 
 soldiers. Both of these have been described elsewhere.
 
 ( 211 ) 
 
 PART II. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 
 I. GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 The population of Bdkarganj, according to the census of 
 1872, and after deductions on account of tlie transfer of 
 the Mddaripur subdivision, is 1,878,144; of whom 
 1,254,429 are Mahomedans, 615,269 Hindus, 4049 Bud- 
 dhists, and 3264 Christians/ It thus appears that two- 
 thirds of the inhabitants are Mahomedans. The Hindus 
 are in a minority in almost every part of the district, 
 but are especially outnumbered in the south and in 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpur, where nearly the whole population 
 is Mahomedan. The Hindus are most numerous in the 
 northern and western thanas of Gournadi, Jhalukdtti, 
 and Sarupkdtti. 
 
 Before proceeding to describe the inhabitants of 
 Bdkarganj according to the divisions made by their 
 different creeds, it seems right to say something of their 
 general characteristics, apart from the colouring which 
 particular religions may have given to portions of them. 
 
 Carlyle says that the most important thing about a 
 man is his religion ; but he afterwards so qualifies this 
 remark, so flattens out its point, so to speak, that it 
 
 1 See note at p. 247.
 
 212 
 
 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 becomes the mere truism, that tlie most important thing 
 about a man is his character, or even the tautological 
 statement, that the most important thing about a man 
 
 is what is most important about him. It seems to me 
 
 that it would be truer to say that the most important 
 thino- about an individual man is the character of his 
 parents, and about a people the race to which it belongs. 
 Certainly I do not think, in looking at the Btikarganj 
 people, that it would be correct to say that the most 
 important thing about the majority of them is whether 
 they are Hindus or Mahomedans. They were Bengalis 
 before they were Hindus or Mahomedans : as regards the 
 world in general, the most important fact about them is 
 that they belong to the Bengali race ; and as regards 
 Bengal, that they are natives of Bakarganj. It is true 
 that Bdkarganj is not a natural division of country, and 
 that it is not even an old artificial one. Still it is a 
 large and tolerably compact tract of territory, containing 
 nearly two millions of inhabitants, who must, from con- 
 tiguity of place and other similarity of circumstances, 
 have some characteristics in common. We find, accord- 
 ingly, that by general consent of foreigners, whether 
 Englishmen or inhabitants of other parts of Bengal, the 
 people of Bdkarganj have certain peculiarities which 
 mark them out from the rest of their countrymen. These 
 peculiarities are not, I am sorry to say, of an amiable 
 description, and consist in tlie possession of superior 
 craftiness and greater turbulence of spirit. Hence the 
 frequency of remarks such as that every man in Bdkar- 
 ganj is a lawyer, nothing is impossible in Bcikarganj, &c. 
 It would be idle to attempt to deny altogether the truth 
 of such remarks. Foreigners seldom or never abuse the 
 people of any country altogether without cause ; and it 
 is better for the latter to accept external criticisms as
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 213 
 
 partially true, and endeavour to profit by tliem, than to 
 get angry, and regard tliem as entirely false. AVhat 
 especially strikes foreigners is the litigiousness of the 
 Bilkarganj people, and no doubt this is a marked fea- 
 ture in their character. Cases, both civil and criminal, 
 are more numerous and more intricate in Bdkarganj than 
 in other districts. Bakarganj ryots, too, are a byword 
 for turbulence, and for the readiness \Yith which they 
 combine to oppose their landlords. Forgery and perjury 
 are of frequent occurrence ; and such is the insecurity of 
 the relation of landlord and tenant, that a practice has 
 arisen which is, I believe, almost peculiar to Bdkarganj. 
 I refer to the practice of zamindars, and other receivers 
 of rent, taking chaldns from their ryots on the payment 
 of rent ; so that there are always two documents drawn 
 up on such occasions, one being the receipt given to the 
 payer, and the other the chalAn given to the payee. The 
 origin of this custom is the anxiety to preserve a record 
 of title, chaldns being always filed in suits about land to 
 prove* possession by receipt of rent. 
 
 There is a famous description of the Bengali character 
 by Macaulay, in which he says that what the Italian is 
 to the Englishman, what the Hindu is to the Italian, 
 the Bengali is to other Hindus. Looking at the char- 
 acteristics of the people of Biikarganj as described by 
 foreigners, we might carry on Macaulay 's illustration, 
 and say that what Bengalis are to other nations, that 
 are the inhabitants of Bakarganj to other Bengalis. I 
 may add that a Deputy-Magistrate, who had been long 
 in the district, once localised the climax still further by 
 saying that what Bdkarganj is to Bengal generally, 
 that the subdivision of Perozpur is to the rest of Bakar- 
 ganj. 
 
 As far as the degrees of comparison go, I think the
 
 2 1 4 DISTRICT OF BAKAR GANJ. 
 
 illustration a good one. If Macaulay's estimate of the 
 Bengali character be correct, the Bdkarganj people may 
 be said to be BeDgalis of the Bengalis, for they excel 
 the rest of their countrymen in the points noticed by 
 the essayist. But Macaulay's description is much too 
 neat and c^^igrammatic to be true, and there are a great 
 many lights and shades of Bengali character which he 
 has not noticed. A-ssuming, however, his estimate to 
 be correct, I think we may say that the people of B^kar- 
 ganj are typical Bengalis, and may proceed to inquire 
 how they come to be so. I am inclined to think that 
 the answer is to be found in part in the facts that 
 Bdkargauj has been chiefly peopled by emigrants from 
 the rest of Bengal, and that emigrants are generally 
 people of marked character. It is the listless and 
 sluggish who remain at home, preferring to bear the 
 ills they have than to fly to those they know not of, 
 while the active and enterprising endeavour to better 
 themselves elsewhere. Just, then, as w^e find the Ameri- 
 cans exhibiting certain of the qualities of the English in 
 an exaggerated degree, so we may expect to find the 
 B^karganj people exhibiting certain Bengali charac- 
 teristics with peculiar prominence. Again, we find that 
 the jDcople of Bdkarganj have been less controlled and 
 less subjected to extraneous influences than Bengalis 
 generally ; hence their characters have developed more 
 fully and completely. The district has always been 
 somewhat neglected and despised, and has lain apart 
 from the stream of events. The people have been left 
 to themselves amongst their jungles and swamps, and 
 have practically enjoyed much freedom. If we ask 
 Bengali gentlemen why Bdkarganj people difier from 
 the inhabitants of Nadiya or other more civilised dis- 
 tricts, they commonly reply that it is because there are
 
 THE PEOFLE OF bAkARGANJ. 215 
 
 so few of the upper classes in the district. No doubt 
 this is a vera causa, Bakargauj landlords are nearly- 
 all absentees, and the j)i'ofcssional, and even the trading 
 and shopkeeping classes, are largely composed of 
 foreigners. There is not a single resident in the dis- 
 trict who has an income of £10,000 per annum, and 
 I believe there are not ten who have an income equal 
 to that of the district judge. Nothing shows more 
 clearly the absence of the upper classes from Bakarganj 
 than the smallness of the returns from the income-tax. 
 Thus we find that when all persons who had less than 
 Es.750 a year were exemj^t, there were only 1567 
 assessable persons in the whole district ; and that when 
 the minimum was raised to Es.lOOO, there were only 
 847. We find also that the scarcity of rich people was 
 most marked in the south of the district, and that in the 
 large subdivision of Patuyakhdli, with a population of 
 upwards of 400,000, there were only eighty-four asses- 
 sees when the minimum was Rs.750, and thirty-four 
 when the minimum was Rs. 1000. In other words, out 
 of 400,000 people there are only about thirty who are 
 worth £100 a year. At the same time, there is pro- 
 bably less actual want and poverty in Bd,karganj than 
 in the rest of Bengal. The soil is fertile, and Bdkarganj 
 ryots are notoriously comfortable. They have plenty of 
 rice, can catch fish in every ditch and water-hole, and 
 have cocoa-nuts, betel-nuts, plantains, &c., in their 
 orchards. There is little they need buy except salt, 
 clothes, and tobacco. We may therefore apply Long- 
 fellow's description of Grand Pre to B^ikarganj, and say, 
 " There the richest is poor, and the poorest lives in 
 abundance." This plenty, comlnned with the feeling of 
 ownership and independence produced by the system of 
 peasant properties, gives vigour and energy to the char-
 
 2i6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 acter. The effect of the inaccessibility of Bdkarganj on 
 the disposition of the people has already been touched 
 upon, but the subject calls for further elucidation. 
 Bakarganj is difficult of access from Calcutta, for though 
 it is only 180 miles distant, there is no land route, and 
 boats take six or even ten days on the journey. The 
 route, too, is through the dreaded and inhospitable Sun- 
 darbans, which, in the minds of the timorous Bengalis, 
 are still haunted by dacoits and wild beasts. Hence 
 we find that Bakarganj has been little visited by the 
 great of the earth. Besides this external inaccessibility, 
 Biikarganj has very few roads, and it is consequently 
 exceedingly difiicult to travel rapidly or with comfort. 
 The islands of the district are surrounded by large rivers 
 which are really formidable during the rains, and they 
 are seldom visited by strangers, except in the cold 
 weather. The south of the district especially is inter- 
 sected by rivers and creeks, and as its climate during 
 and immediately after the rains is considered unhealthy, 
 it is generally abandoned for the greater part of the 
 year by every one who can get away from it. It is in 
 this part of the district, where the people have been 
 much left to themselves, that w^e find their peculiarities 
 most strongly developed. Not only are they separated 
 from the outer world, but they are also isolated from 
 one another, so that each person's individuality gets full 
 scope. Villages in Bdkarganj, and especially in the 
 south, are verv different from villaoes in Behar or the 
 north-west, or even in Bengal generally. The houses 
 are much more scattered, and there is little of collective 
 village life. Each house stands by itself on its mound, 
 surrounded by a thicket of fruit- trees, and there is often 
 no other house in sight or nearer than several hundred 
 yards. The intervening space, too, is generally a swamp
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 217 
 
 across which it is toilsome and difficult to walk. In such 
 villages the system of village police is almost non- 
 existent. Mr Eeilly, in an interesting passage of his 
 report on the Bd-karganj police, has touched upon this 
 peculiarity of life in the south of the district, and assigns 
 to it the frequency of serious crime. 
 
 I have said that Macaulay's estimate of the Bengali 
 character is not a correct or complete one. I may here 
 briefly state how it errs, in my opinion. It does not do 
 justice to some virtues possessed by Bengalis — namely, 
 temperance, frugality, and patience. Neither is it quite 
 just in the matter of courage, for though the Bengali is 
 cowardly in some respects, he is not altogether timid. 
 For example, he is probably more courageous with regard 
 to wild beasts than most Europeans. The inhabitants 
 of Bd,karganj are hardy boatmen, and often cross rivers 
 in rouoh and dano;erous weather. The most serious 
 charge of all brought against Bengalis is that they are 
 liars. On this head I may cjuote from a lecture which I 
 delivered in Scotland some years ago : "As regards the 
 charge of the Bengalis being liars, people who abuse 
 them of course make a great deal of what Lord Macau- 
 lay has said on the subject in his essays on Clive and 
 Warren Hastings. Now Lord Macaulay Avas, as all the 
 world acknowledges, a very brilliant writer, but his 
 eloc[uence and love of paradox were apt to lift him off 
 his feet. He was a Scotchman by origin, and therefore 
 he had to a certain extent the Scottish intellect, which, 
 like the French, is deductive and generalising, and apt 
 to draw large conclusions from a scanty induction of 
 facts. ... At the same time, I am not here to-night to 
 defend the Bengalis, but to tell the truth about them as 
 far as I know it, and therefore I must admit that they 
 are rather addicted to falsehood. I think that the ex-
 
 2i8 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 tent of their lying propensities has been exaggerated, 
 and that a great deal of what we are apt to consider 
 deliberate falsehood on their part proceeds from nervous- 
 ness, from a want of precision in thought and expres- 
 sion, and from our ignorance and impatience. Still it 
 
 I '' is not to be denied that lying is the great vice of the 
 Oriental character, just as harshness and want of feel- 
 ing are probably the most distinctive vices of Western 
 nations ; and it is possible that in both cases many 
 centuries will elapse before such characteristics be 
 
 1 obliterated." 
 
 The following remarks may also be quoted : " The 
 charge of 'ingratitude brought against Bengalis hardly 
 deserves a serious answer. In the first place, it is not 
 true that they are destitute of a word expressive of 
 gratitude ; and in the second place, even if the dic- 
 tionary did not give such a word, every one who knows 
 the natives knows that they have the sentiment in their 
 hearts, and that they show it in their actions. 
 
 " The general character of the Bengali is amiable. 
 He has no large sympathies and little vigour of mind, 
 but he is gentle and affectionate, and very charitable to 
 the poor. He is particularly fond of children, and a 
 Bengali servant makes a capital nurse for his master's 
 children ; he is so patient with them, and so willing 
 and delighted to sit with them and amuse them all day 
 long. Bengalis, indeed, are said to s]3oil their children 
 by over-indulgence, and certainly they seem to indulge 
 their whims to almost any extent. I remember to have 
 seen a common Bengali peasant ploughing his field, 
 which happened to be at the time under two or three 
 inches of water, w^hile his little child was perched on 
 his shoulder. On my asking why he had the child 
 with him, I was told that it cried at being left behind
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 219 
 
 when liis father went out to ploiigli. So the father had 
 taken him out with him, though he would have to bear 
 his weight the whole forenoon in order to keep him out 
 of the water. 
 
 "One of the charges most frequently brought against 
 the Bengali is his fondness for litigation. A wealthy 
 native, it is said, plumes himself on having two or three 
 heavy law pleas on hand, much as a wealthy English- 
 man plumes himself on the possession of a yacht or a 
 picture gallery. Nor is the poorer native backward in 
 his liking for the same kind of sport ; notliing se;ems to 
 delight a Bengali peasant so much as the having an 
 opportunity of stating his claim in a court of justice. 
 The great subjects of the lawsuits are disputes about 
 land ; for, as a rule, the commercial classes keep out of 
 the courts, and, moreover, the Bengalis are much more 
 an agricultural than a trading people. Land in India 
 is not the property of a few, as it is in this country, for 
 the system of peasant ^proprietorship is in vogue, and, 
 except in the case of the inhabitants of great towns, 
 almost every householder has his small j^iece of land. 
 Sometimes he holds the land rent free, but generally 
 pays rent for it, either to the British Government or 
 more commonly to some superior landholder, or zamin- 
 dar as he is called. The amount of rent depends a good 
 deal upon the custom of the district, and cannot be 
 increased at the mere will and pleasure of the zamindar. 
 Neither can the tenant, or ryot as he is called, be evicted 
 from his holding as long as he pays the customary rent, 
 unless the zamindar can prove that certain changes have 
 taken place in the value of the produce, &c., which 
 make the old rent too low to be fair and equitable. 
 Such proof is rather difficult, and leads to tedious and 
 expensive litigation, and so ryot and zamindar gene-
 
 2 20 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 rally settle the matter amicably. For example, if land 
 Lecomes much more valuable on account of a large bazdr 
 having sprung np in its neighbourhood, or of a rail- 
 way passing through the district, the ryot will consent 
 to an increase of rent ; and, on the other hand, if the 
 land becomes impoverished from overcropping, or from 
 drought, the landholder will make a corresponding de- 
 duction from the rent. 
 
 " The system of agriculture undoubtedly appears very 
 rude, but it seems to answer well, for the Bengalis get 
 cajDital. crops from their lands. They plough with 
 bullocks, or occasionally buffaloes. The plough is a 
 very light and ramshackle - looking affair, Avhich the 
 ploughman carries over his shoulders when going to 
 and from his work. It is made of wood and bamboo, 
 with a little iron at the point, and does not go more 
 than a couple of inches into the ground. Some Euro- 
 pean indigo -planters have tried deep ploughing with 
 steam-ploughs, but the result has not answered their 
 expectations, the crops being no better than those pro- 
 duced by the surface-ploughing, while the expense is 
 much greater. In fact, much of Bengal is so fertile 
 that we may apply to it the saying of some one about 
 rich land in other countries, ' Tickle it with a hoe, and 
 it smiles a harvest.' The great crop is rice; but besides 
 this the Bengali ryot cultivates sugar-cane, tobacco, 
 jute, &c. All these latter are much more valuable 
 crops than rice, and require more trouble and ex- 
 pense for their cultivation. The rice is cut with a 
 short knife or sickle, and is threshed by being trodden 
 by cattle. The threshing-floor is a circular space in 
 the field, made bare and hardened by beating down. 
 The cattle employed are never muzzled. 
 
 " I have no wish to enter into the merits of the
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 221 
 
 vexed question of tlic comparative merits of large and 
 small systems of agTiculture, or, in other words, of tlie 
 system of large farms and tliat of small holdings. I 
 can only say that the latter seems to ^York well in Ben- 
 gal, and that I should be very sorry to see the Bengali 
 ryot or cottier sinking into the condition of a hired 
 labourer. There is no doubt that the feeling of being 
 to a certain extent his own master is a great satisfac- 
 tion to the Bengali peasant-proprietor, and fosters in 
 him an honourable spirit of independence — makes a 
 man of him, in short, and keeps him from many bad 
 habits. As a general ride, the Bengali peasant is a 
 sober, well-conducted, frugal man, fond of his home 
 and his family, and contented with his lot. Indeed, the 
 great fault that many people find with him is that he 
 is too easily pleased, and they would like better to see 
 him have more wants, so that he might be stimulated 
 to greater exertion in order to satisfy them. The great 
 majority are very poor, and their houses are dark, 
 comfortless - looking places, with bare floors and no 
 furniture, except perhaps a wooden bedstead and a 
 stool or two. Their houses are, in fact, little more 
 than sheds for sleeping and cooking ; for they are out 
 of doors nearly all day, and when they come home in 
 the evening they are not long in retiring to rest. 
 Instead of one house containing two or three rooms, 
 as in this country, the Bengali peasant's house consists 
 of one room only, so that he has generally two or three 
 houses in his homestead — viz., a sleeping -house, a 
 kitchen, and a cowhouse. The well-to-do ryots often 
 have a fourth house, which they use as a parlour in 
 which to sit o.nd talk with their friends, or as a sort 
 of chapel for worship. All these houses are constructed''' 
 of bamboos, with a few wooden posts to support the
 
 2 2 2 DISTRICT OF bAKAR GANJ. 
 
 thatched roof^, and are movable, the peasant always 
 carrying away at least the roof of his house when he 
 makes a flitting. Of course, the comfortless appear- 
 ance of the Bengali's house is in part explained by 
 the simplicity of his habits and the warmth of the 
 climate. . . . 
 
 " Such money as the ryot has he expends in buying 
 ornaments for his wife and children, or \\\ marrying 
 his sons and daughters. These ceremonies are the 
 only times when he becomes thoroughly improvident 
 and extravagant. Undoubtedly the thoughtless expen- 
 diture of money on such occasions is very foolish, 
 but it has always been an Oriental custom to spend 
 largely at marriages ; and it appears to me that the 
 Bengali who spends his savings upon his son's mar- 
 riao-e is not much worse than the man who ruins him- 
 
 o 
 
 self by horse-racing or a contested election. 
 
 " Although the peasantry of Bengal are generally 
 poor, yet, except in the case of a famine, there is 
 hardly anything like actual destitution among them. 
 The small piece of land which each holds supplies suf- 
 ficient rice to keep his family from starvation, and the 
 climate does the rest, for warm clothing and substantial 
 dwelling-houses are not required. Hence it is in great 
 measure that the country manages to get on without 
 anything in the shape of a poor-law or organised relief, 
 and that there are not many perpetual beggars except 
 those who are either too idle to work or who are led by 
 religious motives to subsist on alms. The above are in 
 great measure the causes of the absence of destitution, 
 but there is another cause, and that is the charitableness 
 of Hindus. It is not the habit of the Oriental to devote 
 large sums to the founding of hospitals, or to other great 
 schemes of charity, but he is very open-handed in the
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 223 
 
 distribution of food and clothing, and many rich men 
 spend hirge sums yearly in relieving the poor at their 
 gates. No doubt a great deal of this cliarity is indis- 
 criminate, and must do harm ; still it does some good, 
 and often saves the lives of those who have become 
 temporarily destitute from the failure of their crops or 
 from other causes. 
 
 " In spite, or perhaps in some measure in consequence 
 of the distinctions of caste, there is a considerable 
 amount of symj^athy between the rich and poor in 
 India, and a mutual understanding of their respective 
 trials and difficulties. I have said that this sympathy 
 may in some measure be a consequence of caste, and 
 though the statement seems paradoxical, it contains 
 a truth ; for it is plain that the very fact of the fixity 
 of caste, the kno^jdedge that a difierence of caste can 
 never be eftaced, and that the Sudra can never marry 
 the daughter of the Brdhman, or sit down at meat with 
 him, must extinguish jealousy and make the high- 
 caste man feel perfectly safe in being kind to those 
 below him. The high-caste man in India has none of 
 those fears which are said to haunt some of the great in 
 this country ; the fear, namely, lest the distinctions of 
 rank and station become obliterated,^ and all persons be 
 reduced to one common level. Moreover, there is no 
 necessary connection between high caste and riches, and 
 it often happens that a man of high caste is poor, while 
 the low-caste Sudra is rich. 
 
 "Apart from all these causes there is also the fact 
 that a feeling of sympathy and compassion for poverty 
 and old age has always been a characteristic of the 
 Oriental mind." 
 
 I may also quote from the same lecture some remarks 
 on Beugali women : —
 
 224 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 " Perhaps the most Avidely-known fact in this coimtiy 
 about women in India is that of widows being obliged 
 to burn themselves along with the bodies of their hus- 
 bands. This horrid practice of sail, as it is called, 
 Avas at one time prevalent all over Bengal, and there are 
 still Europeans living in India who have witnessed the 
 spectacle of a widow-burning, even in the neighbourhood 
 of Calcutta. The custom is now strictly forbidden in 
 British territory, and has become as obsolete as the 
 practice of duelling among ourselves. The abolition of 
 sati is one of the benefits which Hindus owe to Lord 
 William Bentinck, and on the pedestal of the statue 
 erected to that nobleman in Calcutta there is a bronze 
 representing a Brahman leading a young Hindu widow 
 to the funeral pyre, but prevented from effecting his 
 purpose by an officer of the British Government, while 
 the mother of the dead man holds up her grandchild to 
 her' daughter-in-law and invites her to live for its sake. 
 
 '' Nowadays Hindu widows are not only not burnt, 
 but they are even allowed to marry again, and in- 
 stances of widow-marriages are by no means uncom- 
 mon. It is to be hoped that this reform will spread 
 rapidly, for the lot of a Hindu widow is commonly 
 a hard one. Often she is a mere child, for early 
 marriages continue to be the rule, and a parent is 
 thought to fail in his duty to his daughter if he does 
 not get her married by the time she is eight or nine 
 years of age. Soon after her husband may die, but she 
 is bound by the laws of society to remain single, and to 
 spend her days in perpetual widowhood for a husband 
 whom she may never have seen. She must relinquish all 
 her jewels and finery, eat only once a day, fast every new 
 moon, and absent herself from every scene of festivity 
 and social enjoyment. It is probable enough that many
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 225 
 
 a young and cliildless Hindu widow, finding herself 
 stranded almost before she has entered on the current 
 of life, may curse the humanity which has preserved 
 her, and wish in the bitterness of her heart that the 
 sharp but short pain of fire might relieve her of the 
 burden of existence. 
 
 " Widows, however, are not the only women in India 
 who are unfortunate in their lot. All women are con- 
 sidered as inferior to men, and therefore as subject to 
 their control. As one of the Hindu law-books expresses 
 it, ' In every stage of her life woman is created to obey. 
 At first she yields obedience to her father and mother. 
 When married, she submits to her husband and to her 
 father- and mother-in-law. In old age she must be ruled 
 by her children. During her life she never can be under 
 her own control.' 
 
 " The wife never eats with the husband, but waits 
 
 until he has done, or, as the same law-book puts it, 
 
 ' What woman would eat till her husband has first had 
 
 his fill ? ' Speaking of other duties, the same authority 
 
 says, ' When her husband sings, she must be in ecstasy ; 
 
 when he dances, she views him with delight : if he 
 
 speaks of science, she is filled with admiration ; when in 
 
 his presence, she must be always gay.' So the poor 
 
 woman must have occasionally a hard time of it ; and 
 
 one wonders what Mrs Caudle would have said to some 
 
 of these regulations. Fortunately, the Bengali husband 
 
 is not much given to joviality; and if he ever dance, he 
 
 does not do so with young ladies ; and if he ever sing, he 
 
 is not likely to indulge in such strains as ' we won't go 
 
 home till morning,' a ditty which it would be too much to 
 
 expect any daughter of Eve to listen to with equanimity, 
 
 far less ecstasy. As a curious instance of the reserve 
 
 which a wife maintains with reo-ard to her husband, I 
 
 p
 
 2 26 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 nicay mention that slic is most unwilling to utter Lis 
 name, and that when she is a witness in court, she 
 generally fences with the magistrate a long time before 
 she acknowledges whose wife she is. The Bengali hus- 
 band has a similar delicacy in referring to his wife, and 
 if he has occasion to mention her, generally describes 
 her by some such circumlocution as 'the mother of 
 my children.' 
 
 '''One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.' 
 The Bengali matron resembles her British sister in her 
 unwillingness to answer another question which the 
 magistrate is sometimes obliged to put to her. She ob- 
 jects stoutly to mentioning her age, and generally takes 
 refuge in the plea of ignorance. When addressing her 
 husband in private, she calls him ndtli — i.e., lord. 
 
 " The seclusion of women is a practice which does 
 not appear to have been in force in early Hindu times, 
 and which the Hindus are supposed to have learned 
 from their Mahomedan conquerors. It is, however, 
 almost universal now, and few Bengali women of re- 
 spectability will consent to appear before strangers. 
 The part of the house she inhabits is that farthest away 
 from publicity, and is called emphatically the ' inner 
 place.' In Scotch phrase, she spends all her time in the 
 hen, and never appears in the hut. AVhen she is obliged 
 to give evidence or to hold any communication with a 
 stranger, she does so from behind a curtain or from 
 within a covered palanquin. Some aft'ect to be still 
 more particular, and will not hold direct communication 
 with any man, even though a curtain be hung between 
 them. Such ladies insist upon the conversation being 
 carried on through the intervention of a third party, 
 generally a female servant, who carries the questions 
 and answers from one to the other. The pomp and
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 227 
 
 circumstance of an interview conducted witli these 
 formalities sometimes contrast ludicrously with the 
 silliness of the questions. 
 
 " When a native lady has occasion to travel, she does 
 so in a covered palanquin or litter, or in a boat. Some- 
 times she travels on an elephant, the howdah being 
 carefully covered over. Many now make use of the 
 railway, and I have heard bitter complaints from Ben- 
 gali boatmen of the loss of custom sustained from this 
 cause. ' Formerly,' they said, ' a gentleman taking his 
 family to Benares or Allahabad, or other place of pil- 
 grimage, would hire a boat, and would be weeks or 
 even months on the journey; but now he engages a 
 carriage in the train, and the whole distance is per- 
 formed in one day.' Of course no native lady ever thinks 
 of ridiuG^ on horseback, and next to their daucino- with 
 other men than their husbands, nothing in the conduct 
 of our countrywomen seems to surprise them so much 
 as their riding. 
 
 " The only time when a native lady has a chance of 
 seeing the world is when she goes on jDilgrimage, and 
 doubtless this is one reason why pilgrimages are so 
 popular. It is by no means entirely or even chiefly 
 from religious motives that women crowd to Hurdwar 
 or to Piiri, &c., and I think our missionaries are wrong 
 when they refuse to see anything in pilgrimages but 
 the degrading superstition of the Hindu religion. It 
 is, of course, foolish and pitiable that Hindu women 
 should suppose that bathing in the Ganges or Brahma- 
 putra will cleanse them from their sins, but the change 
 of scene and the novelty must do some good. I am 
 persuaded that many rich old women go to the Ganges 
 or to Kdmrup for much the same reason that rich 
 women in England go to Brighton or Homburg. When
 
 228 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 a Hiudu widow lias become advanced in years, and lias 
 either no cliildren or tliej are settled in life, it is con- 
 sidered the projoer thing for her to retire to the holy city 
 of Benares, and to remain there till her death. Many 
 old men do the same, and the good results of living and 
 dying in Benares are said liy some to be so great that 
 even a Christian dying there has a chance of getting to 
 heaven ! 
 
 " Women in the poorer classes are of course unable 
 to maintain the state of rigid seclusion I have described. 
 They must go to the tank or the well to draw water, and 
 they have to go on foot if they want to visit a temple 
 or witness a religious ceremony. In all ranks, how- 
 ever, the marketing is done by men ; the only women 
 who are ever seen in the markets being poor widows 
 who have no one to look after them or bring them home 
 their food." 
 
 The following remarks on the subject of food I extract 
 from the same lecture : — 
 
 " Speaking generally, the Bengali is one of the most 
 temperate of men, and the large class of temptations to 
 vice produced by strong drink have little hold over him. 
 His chief drink is cold water, about the quality of which 
 he is most fastidious ; hence it is that the digging of 
 wells and tanks is considered such a meritorious act. 
 At the same time, the Bengali forms no exception to the 
 general observation that every nation has some kind 
 of stimulant, and he supplies the place of wine and 
 spirits by tobacco and pdn. Pan is a compound of 
 lime, the leaf of the pd,n plant, and the nut of the betel 
 or supari tree, with occasionally other ingredients in the 
 form of spices. Both tobacco and pdn are universally 
 used by men, and all women chew pdn, and not a few of 
 them smoke also. These practices even enter into their
 
 THE PEOPLE OF dAkARGANJ. 229 
 
 religious worsliiji ; for with the daily food of rice, &c., 
 with which they sn2:)p]y tlieir gods, they offer also pan, 
 and in some cases tobacco and a pipe in which to smoke 
 it. A Hindu seldom cats flesh except what has been 
 offered in sacrifice, and therefore when he wishes to 
 treat himself to a meat dinner, the ortliodox way of 
 doing so is to offer a goat or a buffalo to the goddess 
 Kali, a goddess who delights in bloody sacrifices. The 
 animal is killed at her shrine by beheading, some ex- 
 ecutioners being so expert that they can sever the neck 
 of a buffalo at a single blow.^ Most Hindus eat fish 
 without scruple, though some Brdhmans are so parti- 
 cular as to reject even this kind of animal food. Fish 
 are abundant in the rivers and tanks of Bengal, and are 
 caught either by nets or with the rod. Some scrupulous 
 peo2Dlc draw a distinction between these two modes of 
 capture, and will catch fish in nets but will not bait 
 lines for them. The reason they give for the distinction 
 
 1 There is, however, some trickery in the way this is done. Not only 
 is the buffalo selected for sacrifice generally only a calf, but it is not 
 standing loose or only tethered when it is decapitated. The unfortunate 
 animal's neck is placed in an upright wooden fork, and there secured by a 
 bolt. Several persons then pull the hind legs and others the head until 
 the latter is almost torn from the body, and the neck becomes tight and 
 drawn, and almost as thin as a knife-edge. It is after these preparations 
 that the beheading takes place. They take some time, and meanwhile the 
 poor beast bellows with fear and pain, and is almost dead before the final 
 blow is given. I have never witnessed the sight myself, but it has been 
 described to me as being a most horrid one, and as calling for the 
 interposition of the Legislature. No doubt some fixing of the head is 
 necessary, and such a mode of executing a bull as is shoAvn in Eaphael's 
 cartoon is probably an impossibility. At all events, the real circumstances 
 of a sacrifice in ancient times were probably much less graceful tlian the 
 painter has represented them to be. Still, if buft'aloes and goats must 
 loe sacrificed, some less painful mode of killing them might be adopted. 
 If this were done, there would be comparatively little evil in the j^ractice, 
 for the victims are generally eaten, so that a sacrifice is only a roundabout 
 way of procuring animal food.
 
 230 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 is that rod-fisliing implies deceit and trcaclieiy, the fish 
 being deluded into being caught by the fisherman's put- 
 ting on the mask of kindness and pretending to ofter 
 them food. Fowls are an abomination to the Hindu; 
 so wlien a Mahomedan and a Hindu are next-door 
 neighbours, it is a frequent complaint of the latter that 
 the Mahomedan's fowls have flown into his courtyard 
 or kitchen and defiled it. Fowls' eggs are also regarded 
 as unclean, though, strangely enough, many Hindus will 
 eat duck and goose eggs without scruple. The main 
 food of the Bengali consists of rice, which is generally 
 prepared by boiling. He cooks only once a day, dining 
 about midday ; and if he takes a second meal, it is eaten 
 cold, and consists of the remains of his midday meal. 
 The Bengali eats with his fingers, using the right hand 
 only, and considering it improper to touch his food with 
 the left. As rice is not a nutritious food it is necessary 
 to eat it in large quantities in order to obtain the 
 requisite amount of sustenance. The constant use of 
 one kind of food cannot be wholesome, and Bengalis 
 are in consequence often dyspeptic. In some parts of 
 Bengal, where the evils arising from want of change 
 of food are aggravated by the badness of the water, 
 the pangs of indigestion occasionally become so great as 
 to drive the sufi'erers to commit suicide. There were 
 several instances of suicide from this cause in the dis- 
 trict (Mymensing) to which I was first appointed, 
 and in every case a 'post mortem examination showed 
 a quantity of undigested rice in the stomach. Very 
 few natives use tea or cofi"ee except in illness, when 
 they are very fond of a cup of tea, and in the case of 
 fever consider it a good remedy. Corpulence is con- 
 sidered by Bengalis a sign of health, and of a man's 
 being at ease in his possessions. They say that when
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGAN/. 23 1 
 
 a man is poor lie is fretful and envious of the prosperity 
 of others, and that these feelings keep him lean, hut 
 that when he aets on in the world his mind becomes 
 tranquil and he grows fat. Certainly, whether from 
 this cause or from want of exercise, wealthy Hindus 
 are generally fat, and they take care to keep themselves 
 so by consuming large quantities of melted butter, sugar, 
 and sweetmeats." 
 
 The above remarks were written w^itli reference to 
 Bengalis in general, but they apply very well to the 
 districts in Eastern Bengal, in which my experience has 
 been almost exclusively gained. I shall supplement 
 them with some further observations. 
 
 It is often said that drinking has become prevalent 
 among the upper classes in Bengal, but I believe there 
 is a good deal of exaggeration on this point. A desire 
 to imitate the English has led some wealthy and indo- 
 lent Babus to take to champagne and brandy, and the 
 harder work, and change of hours for meals, &c., occa- 
 sioned by attendance at our courts or by Government 
 service, have led some lawyers and public servants to 
 habituate themselves to the use of stimulants ; but as a 
 general rule, the educated classes are too poor to drink 
 to any great extent, even if they felt inclined to do so. 
 Those who do drink to excess generally confine their 
 orgies to Saturday night, and they have then the whole 
 of Sunday in which to recover from their debauch. 
 
 The Bengali professional men residing in Barisal have, 
 I am sorry to say, rather a bad reputation for drinkino-. 
 Formerly they drank rum, but several rum-drinkers 
 having died suddenly, the topers have now taken to 
 country spirit, which they consider more wholesome. 
 This spirit is manufactured in the Public Distillery at 
 Barisdl, and there is also a distillery in each of the sub-
 
 232 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 divisions. It is made from guv— i.e., native sugar— and 
 is, I believe, a tolerably pure spirit, and is generally sold 
 very weak. I believe some natives of Bdkarganj excuse 
 themselves for drinking on tlie ground that the salt air 
 requires the use of stimulants ; and all natives remark 
 that Englishmen thrive better at places on the coast 
 — such as Diamond Harbour, Chittagong, &c. — than 
 natives. It is not improbable that a vegetarian diet is 
 less suitable for the sea-coast than a meat diet. Women, 
 I believe, never drink, except the prostitute class, which 
 is a very large one in towns. 
 
 The excise system of the English Government un- 
 doubtedly tends to familiarise Bengalis with the subject 
 of drinking, and to throw temptation in their way. In 
 this respect our Government contrasts unfavourably with 
 that of the Moguls, who seem never to have derived 
 profit from an excise on liquor. The central distillery 
 system is, no doubt, an improvement in many respects 
 on the old out-still system, but it certainly mixes Go- 
 vernment up more with the trade ; and as natives are 
 apt to believe that it is the duty of Government to teach 
 morality, they may be led to think that Government 
 approves of drinking, and this may have a prejudicial 
 efiect on their ideas. There is one way in which the 
 central distillery system works badly, which has not, I 
 think, been sufficiently noticed ; this is the corrupting 
 influence it exercised on the Government servants em- 
 ployed in it. The inferior excise officers are of neces- 
 sity natives, and they are, I believe, always Hindus, for 
 Mahomedans will have nothing to do with the liquor 
 traffic. They are not very well paid, and have no pro- 
 spect of rising to any lucrative or important employ- 
 ment. They are also looked down upon by their 
 countrymen on account of their occupation. The natu-
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 233 
 
 ral consequences follow, tliat the excise department is 
 officered by men of inferior aLility and standing, who 
 are less capable of withstanding temptations which 
 are of a j^cculiarly seductive kind. They have to deal 
 with a rather low class of men — namely, the vintners 
 and (7«?ya-sellers — and they have much opportunity 
 for fraud. They have also the temptation to drink 
 offered by its being possible to get liquor at little or no 
 cost, and I fear that to many this temj^tation is too 
 strong to be resisted. My experience has shown me 
 that there is more drinking among excise officers than 
 in any other class of Government servants.^ 
 
 Ganja is consumed in considerable quantities by boat- 
 men and others, and not unfrequently leads to the com- 
 mission of crime and to insanity. It is imjDorted into the 
 district from Eajshye. The stricter sects of Mahome- 
 dans, such as the Ferazis, use little or no ganja, and 
 as far as my experience extends, it is the Dacca boat- 
 men who are most prone to the vice. 
 
 Oj^ium is used medicinally and also as a stimulant by 
 the Hindus, especially after they have passed middle age. 
 They think that it is a preservative against rheumatism, 
 and also that it is nourishing. It is sold at the Treasury 
 in two-pound cakes at a cost of about £1, 3s. per pound; 
 it is also sold in . similar quantities at the central dis- 
 tilleries. It is of course only dealers who buy 023ium in 
 cakes. They retail it in tolas (rupee-weights), or still 
 
 ^ The revenue in 1873-74 from country spirits in Bakargaiij was 
 Rs.l7,910, against E,s.l7,228 in the previous j^ear. This is more than in 
 Mj'mensing, another district of the Dacca division with which Bakar- 
 ganj ha3 several points of resemblance. On the other hand, ganja yielded 
 in Bakarganj only Rs.28,457, against Rs.97,846 in Mymensing ; spirits, 
 Ils.18,364, against Rs.37,658 in Mymensing. The entire net revenue 
 from excise in Bakarganj in 1873-74 was Rs.62,249, against Rs. 154,095 in 
 Mymensing for the same period.
 
 2 34 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 smaller quantities, charging of course somewhat more 
 than the wholesale price. Hence it is easy to see that 
 opium is consumed only by the comparatively wealthy. 
 I have already spoken of the almost univei'sal use of 
 tobacco by the male portion of the population. It 
 is mixed with giir, and smoked in the water-pipe 
 or hookah, familiarly known amongst Europeans as 
 the hubble-bubble. There is not much chewing of to- 
 bacco, nor is snuff largely taken, though pleaders and 
 others who cannot always find an opportunity of smok- 
 iug, occasionally carry snuff-boxes. Hardly any tobacco 
 is grown in the district, and the wants of the people 
 are almost entirely supplied from Kuch Behar and 
 Eangpur. Nalchiti is the principal mart of the trade. 
 Tobacco is not allowed in the jail, and no provision 
 in the jail code is more difficult to enforce than this. 
 The prisoners have endless devices for procuring the 
 drug, and it is probable that even in the best regulated 
 jails they arc occasionally successful. Even in jails in 
 which discipline is most lax, the prisoners cannot how- 
 ever get their smoke regularly, and this is no doubt felt 
 as one of the greatest hardships they experience in jail ; 
 it might therefore be a useful means of rewarding good 
 conduct to grant permission to smoke. I may mention 
 that 1 once knew the case of a native who had given up 
 smoking altogether, because he lost the habit during a 
 six months' imprisonment. Besides pdn and tobacco, 
 another form of stimulant is obtained from highly- 
 spiced curries. Boatmen and others who are much 
 exposed to the weather are notorious for the use of large 
 quantities of red pepper in their curries. 
 
 There is in Barisdl a large number of professional pro- 
 stitutes, and there are some also in every bazdr. They 
 are chiefly Hindus. The destitute condition of many
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 235 
 
 Hindu widows no doubt often drives them to prostitu- 
 tion as a means of living, and when a Hindu woman 
 has thus fallen there is no way open for her return to 
 her home. On the other hand, among Mahomedans it 
 is by no means uncommon for a man of respectable 
 position to marry a prostitute, or, as the phrase is, to 
 take his wife out of the bazar. Such an action is re- 
 garded as laudable rather than otherwise, as it restores 
 a woman to virtue, and it is said that such women not 
 uncommonly make very good wives. It is a singular 
 illustration of native feeling that one of the most common 
 words used to denote a prostitute is 'peshagar, which 
 literally means a professional person, as if a woman's 
 profession or trade must necessarily be an immoral one. 
 
 Amusements. — The peasantry of Bdkarganj have not 
 many pastimes. As a rule, the Bengali is a sedate and 
 somewhat melancholy personage, and even Bengali 
 children seldom let their high spirits run away with 
 them. The cares of a family, which so early fall on a 
 Bengali, undoubtedly tend to steady and even some- 
 times to depress him, and his low diet and the relaxing 
 nature of the climate keejD him from boisterousness or 
 horse-play. At the same time, he is easily pleased, 
 and has a childish delight in fireworks, tamashas, 
 or shows of every kind, and in kite-flying, which is 
 practised with great assiduity at one period of the year. 
 All, whether Hindus or Mahomedans, take more or less 
 part in the durga puja processions, and in the navanna, 
 or harvest-home. The durga puja, indeed, is quite the 
 Bengali Christmas. Every one who can afford to do so, 
 and even very many who have to borrow money for the 
 purpose, go to their homes at this time and entertain 
 their friends. There is very little drinking or other
 
 236 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 dissq^atiou, but there is a vast amount of talking and 
 eating and smoking, and very late liours ara kept. A 
 Bengali's power of sitting up at night on such occasions 
 is wonderful, and he will listen with invincible patience 
 to hours of monotonous singing. Jdtras, theatrical per- 
 formances, ndtches, are common at this season. Bengali 
 women especially look forward to the coming of the 
 durga puja, for the annual sup23ly of clothes is bought 
 at this time, and it is a pleasant sight to go into the 
 villages and see men, women, and children in their 
 new attire. 
 
 Boat-races take place at the durga puja and at the 
 Bengali new^ year, and even the native Christians can- 
 not resist the pleasure of joining in them. Curiously 
 enough, horse or rather pony races are a favourite 
 pastime in Bdkarganj, especially among the Mahomedans 
 of the south of the district. The ponies are ridden by 
 boys across the wide oj^en space left after the rice crops 
 have been cut. I do not think that there is any betting 
 on such occasions. Marriages take place chiefly in the 
 cold season, and, except among the Ferazies, are cele- 
 brated with considerable pomp, firing of guns, beating 
 of drums, &c. 
 
 At one time a gambling mania took possession of the 
 people of Barisjil, and this ancient and, so to speak, 
 classic vice of Hindustan is still a good deal practised 
 in the villages. 
 
 Professional men and Government servants generally 
 make a holiday of the English Sunday, but the 
 peasantry of course do not observe it. Neither, I 
 think, do the Mahomedans particularly observe Friday, 
 except perhaps that they say their prayers oftener 
 and more publicly on that day. For Mahomedans, the 
 great holiday is the Maharam, though the Sunies among
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 237 
 
 tliem do not mucli regard it. The Maharam is a mov- 
 able feast; a circumstance wliicli often causes a good 
 deal of inconvenience. The durga puja is also a mov- 
 able feast, and sometimes comes too early in the season 
 to be enjoyable, at least by Europeans. The Alaho- 
 medans are strict enough in observing the fast of the 
 Ramzdn, and as it too is movable, their sufferings are 
 often very great ; for example, it is no light thing for a 
 Mahomedan boatman to work, as he often will, from 
 sunrise to sunset in an exhausting July day without 
 eating or drinking, or even smoking. On the other 
 hand, the fast is over as soon as the sun sets, and before 
 it has risen again the Mahomedan has made two and 
 sometimes three meals — that is, he eats a little as soon 
 as the sun goes down, makes an ample dinner at 
 about midnight, and gets up again at' three or four 
 in the mornino;' and has his food and his darlinof smoke 
 before the labours of the day begin. 
 
 It is not without pleasure that one sees how human 
 nature asserts itself during the Ramzdn, and proves too 
 strong for the curbing influence of superstition. The 
 fast was undoubtedly intended as a means of mortify- 
 ing the flesh, but many turn it into an occasion for 
 feasting, and it is notorious that all the best dinners 
 are given at this season. It is at this time too that 
 the sweetmeat-sellers make their greatest profits, and 
 as soon as the sun has set the Mahomedans make 
 haste to gorge themselves with all the delicacies they 
 can procure. 
 
 Riots. — Bdkarganj used to be famous for its riots. 
 The lathials, or clubmen, however, who fought in them 
 were in many cases inhabitants of other districts, espe- 
 cially of Faridpiir, which was formerly as much noted
 
 238 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 for its lathials as Bikrampur was and is for its clerks 
 and maliarirs. In many cases tlie riots were fomented 
 by the zamindars and taluqdars, but many were also 
 got up by the villagers themselves. This last circum- 
 stance has often prevented magistrates from nipping 
 breaches of the peace in the bud, and thus helped 
 to give Bd,karganj its bad name. Before zamindars 
 fio-ht with one another, there are lawsuits and simmer- 
 ino^s of various kinds before the actual outbreak, so 
 that the authorities have time to be Avarned and to 
 take preventive measures ; but villagers break out into 
 quarrels suddenly and unexpectedly. It is to the credit 
 of the ryots that they are so independent and so pre- 
 pared to assert their rights without seeking the aid of 
 the zamindars, but tlic circumstance certainly damages 
 the criminal returns. 
 
 It may be added that the definition of a riot in 
 the penal code is so general that many comparatively 
 trifling ofiences can be brought under it. Bengalis are 
 gregarious in their mode of action ; and their custom 
 of two or three brothers, with their families, living in 
 one homestead increases the number of persons inte- 
 rested in any quarrel. It takes only five persons to 
 make a riot, and this number of men can be furnished 
 from nearly every house in which two or three brothers 
 live. The greatest and most notorious dispute in the 
 district is that which culminated in the Singhkh41i 
 case, and as its history throws a considerable light on 
 the genesis and development of riots, and on the state 
 of Bdkarganj some twenty 3^ears ago, I subjoin an 
 account of it taken from official records. 
 
 Extract from the remarks of Mr Steer, Judge of 
 Bd,karganj, on the trial of Gogan Mia and others, 14th 
 September 1854, and 5th January 1855 : —
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 239 
 
 " The cliief person who figures iii this case is Gour- 
 hunoodin, commonly and extensively known as Gogan 
 Mia. He is charged with being concerned in eight 
 distinct cases, chiefly of plunder, riot, and arson. The 
 rest of the prisoners appear in distinct calendars, some 
 in some and some in others. It will be advisable to 
 give a brief history of past events which led to these 
 crimes. 
 
 " Pargana Syedpiir belongs in portions of ten anas 
 and six anas to Lalla Mitrajit Singh and Babu Birja 
 Rattan. The pargana has, as is usual in this district, 
 several valuable dependent taluqs in it. The desire of 
 each of the two sharers seems to have been to wiX, 
 
 o 
 
 exclusive possession of as many of these valuable pro- 
 perties as they could each manage. Summary suits 
 were brought unknown- to and against the taluqdars, 
 and all the tenures purchased in for a song. In some 
 cases the old proprietors fought the purchasers, in others 
 the purchase by one of the zamindars led to disputes 
 with his co-sharer, and thus things continued to go on. 
 At length the ten-ana j^roprietor seems to have resolved 
 on taking vigorous measures to put down opposition, 
 come from what quarter it might. For this j^^^'P^^® 
 he secured the goodwill of two brothers, indubitably 
 the most notorious turbulent characters to be found in 
 this notoriously lawless district. These brothers were 
 Gogan Mir and Mohan Mir (since not inaptly named 
 the Gog and Magog of these parts). The means em- 
 ployed to gain them over to the ten-ana interest was a 
 lease on easy terms of certain desirable properties ; but 
 this compact was destined to be of short duration, from 
 the bad faith of the ten-ana proprietor, who, after receiv- 
 ing a great part of the purchase-money of one of the taluqs 
 transferred to the Mias, refused to complete the sale by
 
 240 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 tlie acceptance of the remainder of the purchase-money 
 and the delivery of the deed of sale. The alliance before 
 existing was thus cut asunder, and these parties became 
 Mitrajit Singh's worst enemies. Innumerable were the 
 foujdari (criminal) cases which these parties brought 
 ao-ainst each other ; but the long purse of the Babu 
 soon exhausted the small means of the Mias in this 
 expensive and profitless warfare, and then the Mias 
 changed their tactics. Leaving the Babu to the courts, 
 the Mias gave him real cause to resort to them. They 
 plundered the zamindar s cutchery, they robbed and 
 oppressed all who professed to be favourable to him ; 
 and this course of life proved so tempting, from the 
 plunder obtained, that the Mias were able, without any 
 money of their own, to collect and keep together a force 
 which Mitrajit's hired bands were not strong enough to 
 cope with. Seeing that the Mias were such a match 
 for his old opponent, Birja Kattan, the six-ana proprie- 
 tor, moved by past wrongs, and hopeful tliat the utter 
 ruin of his adversary would secure him from the like in 
 future, joined hands with the Mias, who thereby felt so 
 strong that they defied not only Mitrajit but the police. 
 A fortified house was built, from which the rabble of 
 that part of the country issued to plunder the inhabi- 
 tants. Not a day passed that a report of some adven- 
 ture did not reach the station ; and at length the police, 
 who made several ineffectual attempts to apprehend the 
 Mias, reported that they were powerless, and entreated 
 the Magistrate to take the field in person. And indeed 
 it was time he should do so, for the district was in a 
 state bordering on insurrection. The Magistrate, how- 
 ever, did not go in person, but he ordered three darogahs 
 and the entire police of three thanas, with all their 
 chaukidars, to attack the Mias' stronghold, and to cap-
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGAAJ. 241 
 
 ture tliem. The attempt made to do so hardly merits 
 to be called an attempt. The cowardly police, so strong 
 in numbers, hardly dared show their faces within sight 
 of the Mias' stockade, and all fled on the first show of 
 resistance. On the report of this discomfiture reaching 
 the Magistrate, he determined to proceed in person to 
 the sj)ot. He did so, and found the fort deserted by its 
 old defenders. Everything about the place gave evi- 
 dence of the great concourse of men who had lately been 
 assembled there. Weapons of various sorts, and gun- 
 powder, and materials for making it, with remnants of 
 plundered property, were found in j^lenty in and about 
 the premises. 
 
 " The Magistrate having left the place, Gogan and Mo- 
 han of course soon returned, and the proprietors having in 
 the meantime been induced to compromise their differ- 
 ences, the Mias no longer confined their depredations 
 against the adherents of the ten-ana shares, but robbed 
 and plundered every one without discrimination. A new 
 species of toll, or rather black-mail, then first began to 
 be heard of. This toll was called hica or torch salami ; 
 and if money commensurate with the demand was not 
 paid by the owner, the torch was applied, and his house 
 burnt down before his eyes. At length a high reward 
 led to the capture of Gogan, one of the two Mias, and 
 he has been made over in eight distinct cases, some of 
 which occurred prior to the Magistrate's ap2>earanco 
 before his house, and some subsequently to that event." 
 
 On this case coming before the judges of the Nizamat 
 Adalat, they severely remarked that the sobriquets of 
 Gog and Magog, given to the two 2:)risoners in the 
 Sessions Judge's letter of reference, were quite out of 
 place, and evinced a levity which was too indiscreet to 
 be passed over without some notice. Mr Alexander', 
 
 Q
 
 242 - DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 the Magistrate, was resisted in an attempt to capture 
 Mohan and to destroy his fortification. His letter of 
 19th December 1854 thus describes the circumstances : 
 " We had to walk, I should say, upwards of two miles 
 before we 'reached a khdl at the end of a long avenue 
 that leads direct to Mohan Mia's house. Having crossed 
 the khiil without meeting with any resistance or even 
 seeing any oj^ponent, we marched on towards the house 
 through an avenue some five hundred yards long and 
 not more than twelve or thirteen feet broad, lined on 
 both sides with tall cocoa-nut and other trees, thick 
 jungle, and a deep ditch. As up to this time I had 
 not seen the darogah return, I imagined he had hitherto 
 met with no opposition, and must have arrived at 
 Mohan Mia's house. My astonishment, therefore, was 
 great when, without any previous intimation of an 
 attack, from sixty to eighty sidjiivaUalis, or spearmen, 
 each armed with a spear of about twelve feet in length, 
 and defended by a shield, gun-shot and sulfi-proof, 
 capable of covering the whole body in a stooping pos- 
 ture, according to their mode of attack, came rushing 
 down the avenue to oppose our farther progress. They 
 were evidently well-trained and determined men, for 
 they came down without flinching, even when they saw 
 us three Europeans in front of our party with guns in 
 our hands. Four abreast they advanced in an orderly 
 and compact body. As soon as we saw them we called 
 out to them to retreat and disperse, but not to attack 
 us. Instead of retreating they came on the faster, 
 each man advancing in a stooping posture, with the 
 whole of his body covered by the shield in the left 
 hand, and brandishing the spear in the right hand. 
 We again urged them to retreat, l)ut they were bent on 
 an attack. Being most desirous of avoiding bloodshed,
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 243 
 
 I desired our party to retreat gradually, with our faces 
 towards the enemy and our guns levelled. In this 
 manner we retreated about ten paces, when the assail- 
 ants approached still nearer. A third warning proved 
 equally ineffectual ; they persisted in coming on, and 
 there was not the least doubt that they intended to kill 
 us. They approached to within ten yards of us, and in 
 another second their spears would have been into us, 
 when, seeing no ho^^e of keeping them off by any other 
 means, we each of us fired our double-barrelled guns, 
 which was loaded with shot, at the sulfiwallah directly 
 in front of us. About six of them rolled over on the 
 ground, but as they were mostly only hit about the left 
 leg, they managed to get up and limp off. Those in 
 the rear, however, were not checked by this discharge, 
 but rushed on as before. We were therefore compelled 
 to make use of our second guns, which were loaded with 
 ball. In this second volley some five men must have 
 been killed. Upon this the whole body of spearmen 
 retired in confusion, but stoj^ped and took up their 
 stand at Mohan Mia's house, some thirty or forty yards 
 in front of us, where there was a reserve force of spear- 
 men and gunmen. Thinking at first they had fled for 
 good, we followed them ujd for about twenty yards, 
 within which distance I mj^self saw three men lying 
 dead. I ordered their bodies to be carried off by my 
 police, but the confusion was such that my order was 
 not executed." 
 
 Mr Alexander was on this occasion accompanied by 
 two of the Messrs Morrell from Morrellganj, and the 
 tradition is that Mohan Mia's people did not know that 
 the Magistrate was present, and mistook him and his 
 companions for Sibpiir Feringhies, whom they thought 
 the zamindars had hired to attack them. Mr Alexander
 
 244 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 retreated witliout securing any prisoners, and he men- 
 tions that some one in Mohan Mia's house had the 
 audacity to fire a gun after them. Mohan Mia shortly 
 afterwards surrendered himself to the autliorities, and 
 as he and his brother were each sentenced to fourteen 
 years' imprisonment, the combination of rioters came to 
 an end. 
 
 The visit to the house referred to in Mr Steer's judg- 
 ment, was, I believe, one made by Mr Harrison, and 
 took place before Mr Alexander's visit. Mr Harrison's 
 letter contains an interesting descrijjtion of the way in 
 which the house was fortified. It is dated, I think, 28th 
 February 1854, 
 
 Fairs. — There are several fairs held in the district, 
 but none of them is of great importance. I do not think 
 that any of them is attended by the inhabitants of other 
 districts, and there is certainly none of them which can 
 at all compare in importance with the Kartik Barani 
 fair in the neighbouring district of Dacca. Nearly all 
 the fairs are held in the cold weather, and the result of 
 this sensible arrangement is that there is very little 
 sickness at any of them. The Perozpiir fair, which is 
 held on the occasion of the Dol Jatra (March), is the 
 only one which takes place far on in the season. By 
 far the oldest of all the fairs is that colled the Kalisuri 
 Mela. It is held at Kalisuri, a small village on the 
 borders of the Baufal thana (Patuyakhdli subdivision), 
 in the month of Agrahan (December). It is said to 
 have been established some two hundred years ago by a 
 Mahomedan saint named Syed Al Arfan, and his tomb 
 is still shown at Kalisuri, It lies at the foot of a very 
 old banyan-tree, and is visited by great numbers of 
 believers, some of whom sacrifice oxen on the spot.
 
 THE rEOFLE OE bAkaRGANJ. 245 
 
 I am told, however, that the number of worshippers lias 
 diminished of late years owing to the spread of Ferazi 
 tenets. 
 
 The tradition is that Syed Al Arfan was a holy man 
 who had the power of working miracles, and that one 
 day, as he was floating down the river on his magical 
 carpet, he saw a Hindu girl come down to the bank 
 to wash rice. He asked her to cook some food for 
 him, and when she said that she could not cook for a 
 Mahomedan, he bade her look into the vessel in which 
 she had been washino- the rice. On her doing- so, she 
 saw that the rice was already cooked — a miracle which 
 made her at once become a convert to the Syed's 
 religion. She besought him to grant her a boon, and 
 in reply he promised that the place Avhere she was 
 standing should become the site of a great annual 
 gathering, and that it should be called after her name. 
 As the girl's name was Kali, and she belonged to the 
 Suri caste, the village and fair received the name of 
 Kalisuri. 
 
 Kalisuri fair is by no means a gay or animated 
 gathering. There is a grave air of business about it, 
 and it is very useful to the country-peoplCj as they buy 
 their winter clothing, &c., at it ; but as a spectacle it is 
 nothing, and the impression produced on the casual 
 visitor is one of very great dulness. The booths are 
 chiefly occupied by Barisd/1 shopkeepers, and the goods 
 exposed are for the most part the same as those sold in 
 any ordinary bazdr. The only frivolities allowed are a 
 merry-go-round, aud perhaps an exhibition of a han- 
 maniish (ourang - outang) or a leopard. One most 
 commendable feature in the management of this fair is 
 that no prostitutes are allowed to practise their trade in 
 it, nor do they visit it. In this respect Kalisuri ofi"ers
 
 246 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 a most edifyiDg contrast to the other fairs in the dis- 
 trict, where prostitutes abound, and immorality assumes 
 its grossest and most disgusting form. No doubt the 
 semi-religious character of the Kalisuri fair keeps away 
 the prostitutes. I do not think that any drinking goes 
 on at Kalisuri, and there is not much at the other fairs, 
 although a good deal of ganja is sold at them. 
 
 The other principal fairs are those of Kalaskdtti, 
 Jhalukiitti, Banaripara, and Lakutia. 
 
 II. MAHOMEDANS. 
 
 I have already said that the majority of the in- 
 habitants are Mahomedans. This preponderance of 
 Mahomedans is a feature which is common to all the 
 districts of Eastern Bengal, and which becomes most 
 marked as we approach the seaboard. A 'priori we 
 might have expected that the proportion of Mahomedans 
 would have been laro-est in the neio;hbourhood of the 
 Mahomedan seats of Government, but Mr Beverley has 
 pointed out in his report on the census that the facts 
 of the case are otherwise. " In Dacca, which for a long 
 time contained the seat of Government, Mahomedans 
 are very slightly in excess of Hindus. In Maldah, 
 which contained the city of Gour, the Mahomedans form 
 only 46 per cent, of the population. In Murshid^bdd 
 they are scarcely 45 per cent. In Patna they only 
 form 12 per cent, of the inhabitants of the district. 
 On the other hand, in Btlkarganj, Tipperah, Rangj^iir, 
 and Mymensing they constitute two - thirds of the 
 population; and in Dinajpiir, Nadiya, Jessore, and 
 Farldpur more than half. This circumstance seems to 
 point to tlie conclusion that the existence of Mahome- 
 dans in Bengal is not due so much to the introduction
 
 THE PEOPLE OE BAKARGANJ. 247 
 
 of Moglial blood into the country as to the conversion 
 of the former inliahitants, for whom a rigid system of 
 caste discipline rendered Hinduism intolerable." 
 
 The causes of the preponderance of Mahomedans have 
 been ably discussed by Mr Beverley, and he has pointed 
 out that though the dislike of the Hindus to the sea 
 may account for their being in a minority in some of 
 the eastern districts, yet another explanation must be 
 found for their numerical inferiority in such inland 
 districts as Rajsh3"e and Bograh. In Kajshye the 
 Mahomedans are 11 per cent, of the population, and 
 in Bograh they are proportionally more numerous than 
 in any other district of Bengal, not even excepting 
 Chittagong or Noakhdli, and are upwards of 80 per cent, 
 of the population. 
 
 Mr Beverley thinks that the preponderance of Maho- 
 medans is chiefly due to conversion from the lower 
 castes of Hindus, and that though in some cases per- 
 secution may have been employed, yet probably the 
 low - caste Hindus were generally glad to change 
 a religion of degradation for one which gave them 
 independence and self-respect. In support of this 
 view he refers to the fact that the Hindus who live 
 in Bdkarganj and other ]\Iahomedan districts are chiefly 
 of the lower castes, and observes with truth that these 
 men are even now especially open to proselytising in- 
 fluences. It is among the Chandals of Faridpur and 
 Bd-karganj that the Baptist missionaries have made 
 nearly all their converts ; and there are at this moment, 
 I believe, more native Christians in Bdkarganj than in 
 any other district of Bengal, except Nadiya and the 
 Twenty-four Pargauas.^ I may add also that the sup- 
 
 1 It is probable also that many of the Christians in these two district 
 liave European blood in their veins.
 
 2 48 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 position tliat tlie Hindus were forcibly converted to 
 Mahomedanism appears to be negatived by the re- 
 marks already quoted about the paucity of Maho- 
 medans in districts which contained the seats of 
 Mahomedan Government, and more especially by the 
 fact that the relative number of Mahomedans is less 
 in Mahomedan cities than in Mahomedan districts. 
 Thus in the Mahomedan cities of Murshidd-bdd and 
 Berhampiir we find that there are twice as many 
 Hindus as Mahomedans; and in Dacca, wdiich we 
 habitually speak of as a Mahomedan town, and which 
 appears to have been founded by the Mahomedans less 
 than three hundred years ago, the Hindus slightly 
 outnumber the Mahomedans (34,433 against 34,275 
 Mahomedans), although in the district as a whole 
 there are more than a million of Mahomedans against 
 less than 800,000 Hindus. Now, if persecution had 
 been the agency employed in converting the Hindus, we 
 should naturally expect that the result would have been 
 greatest where the Mahomedan power and influence 
 were most in the ascendant — namely, at the seats of 
 Government. 
 
 One thing \vhich we should not lose sight of in 
 discussing this and other questions of a similar nature, 
 is that our districts are for the most part artificial 
 divisions of the country, and in many cases are of very 
 recent origin. I am afraid that officials are apt to 
 forget this, and that they endeavour to account for 
 certain phenomena in a district as if it was an entity 
 which had been separated off" for as long a time as an 
 English shire or parish. Bengal districts are subject to 
 continual change, partly from diluviation and alluvia- 
 tion, but still more from the idiosyncrasies of their rulers. 
 Thus within the last few years the proportion of Maho-
 
 THE PEOPLE OE BAKARGANJ. 249 
 
 medaiis in Bakargaiij was increased by tlic transfer of 
 the intensely Maliomedan tliana of JNIulfatganj from 
 Dacca to Bdkarganj, and then it was again increased in 
 1873 by the transfer of the Madaripiir subdivision to 
 Faridpiir.^ Simihar changes have occurred in other dis- 
 tricts, and perhaps the abnormal number of Maho- 
 medaus in Bograh, for instance, may be accounted for 
 by some disturbing cause of this kind.^ 
 
 But in addition to the agencies of conversion and of 
 the Hindu dislike of the sea, there is another potent 
 cause of the Mahomedanism of Bdkarganj — namely, 
 that many parts of it were not inhabited until the 
 Hindu religion and polity had fallen into decay. Much 
 of the district is of recent formation, and even the 
 older parts of it were probably covered with jungle 
 till a comparatively recent period. The northern part 
 is the oldest, as being the farthest from the sea ; 
 and here we meet with some ancient names, such, for 
 example, as that of Gournadi.^ Chandradwip, however, 
 which was the name formerly given to much of the 
 district, im^^lies that it Avas in or near the sea ; and 
 Selimdbad, the name given to the western part of the 
 district, seems to imply that the country was not re- 
 deemed from the jungle till the time of Prince Selim, 
 the son of Akbar, who was afterwards Emperor Jehaugir. 
 
 1 Mulfatganj was included in the transfer to Faridpur, Ijut still the 
 effect was to increase the proportion of Mahomedans in Bakarganj, for 
 Kotwalipara is essentially a Hindu thana, and the proportion of Hindus is 
 also very large in Madaripiir. 
 
 2 Speaking of Jessore, Mr Westland remark.^, " The district is now of 
 course far from conterminous with Rajah Pratripiiditya's territories ; but that 
 is only because since 1786, the date of its establishment, it has been made 
 to suffer changes of boundary so violent that only half of what then was 
 Jessore is within the limits of the district as it now stands." 
 
 ^ Although the name still exists, Gournadi village has long since been 
 carried away by the Arial Khan,
 
 250 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 The recent origin of much of the district is shown 
 by the fact that salt was manufactured some fifty 
 or sixty years ago at places which are now far inland, 
 and Tvhere the water is now sweet for the greater part 
 of the year. Thus we find tafals or places for making 
 salt at Sibpi\r, Niaraati, &c. The former nature of the 
 country is also indicated by the word 'kdtti — i.e., cutting 
 or clearing- — which we find affixed to the names of so 
 many villages. Thus we have Eaikdtti, or the clearing 
 of the Raies ; Jhalukiltti, or the clearing of the fishermen ; 
 Sarupkdtti, or the clearing of Sarup ; Kdnudasskdtti, or 
 the clearing of Kanu Dass, &c. 
 
 It is probable tliat when the stream of Hindu civili- 
 sation came in from the north, it spread itself chiefly 
 over "Western and Central Bengal, and only slightly 
 sprinkled the eastern tracts, which thus became Maho- 
 medan by right of civilisation and conquest : by civilisa- 
 tion, namely, by the driving out of the wild beasts and 
 by clearing the jungle ; and by conquest, in north-east 
 Bengal from the aboriginal tribes of the Koches and the 
 Assamese, and in the south-east from the Burmese and 
 Portuguese. 
 
 It is true that Ralph Fitch describes Bdkla as being 
 a large Hindu city in 1586 ; and Sripiir, Chandecan, and 
 probably also the lost city of Bengala, were in the 
 possession of Hindu princes. But on the other hand, 
 though the island of Sandwip was not concj^uered by the 
 Moghals till 1666, it appears to have had a Mahomedan 
 population a hundred years before this; for Csesar 
 Frederick describes the people as being Moors — i.e., 
 ]\Iahomedans — in 1569. The Jesuit priests, also, who 
 visited Bengal in 1599, state that nine out of the 
 twelve bhuyas of Bengal were Mahomedans. However, 
 even if we suppose that most of the inhabitants as well
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 251 
 
 as the Rajahs of Sripdr and Balda were Ilindu.s, and 
 that also the Simdarbans had a much hirger popuhitioii 
 formerly than they now have, it is clear that the 
 original inhabitants eventually died out or left the 
 country, Avliich thereon relapsed into jungle, and was 
 not cleared again till a comparatively recent period. 
 Indeed, "whatever was the condition of the Sundarbans 
 some three hundred years ago, it seems certain that 
 their present colonists have not been settled for more 
 than fifty or sixty years. No doubt the great storm 
 of 1584, in which we are told that 200,000 persons 
 perished, did much to depopulate the country ; and 
 Grant, in a passage already quoted, ascribes the desolate 
 condition of Bakla to this cause, and also to the subse- 
 cjuent ravages of the Mugs. Probably this last cause was 
 more potent even than the inundation. The tradition 
 is that it was the Mugs who compelled the Chandra- 
 dwip Rajahs to forsake their ancient seat of Kacliua, and 
 we have already seen that Du Jarric describes the King 
 of Arracan as having taken possession of Bdkla in the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century. Rennel's map 
 also represents a large tract in the south of Bdkarganj 
 as depopulated by the Mugs. 
 
 It was only when a strong Mahomedan power was 
 established at Dacca, and a fleet raised for the express 
 purpose of combating the Mugs, that their inroads re- 
 ceived a check. The Mugs were hardy and experienced 
 sailors, and the Hindu princes were totally unable to 
 contend with them. It is doubtful if they ever pos- 
 sessed any ships, and their notions about the impurity 
 of boat-life, &c., were sufficient to deter them from the 
 sea. Du Jarric says that the island of Sandwip belonged 
 of right to Kedar Rai of Sripiir ; but even if this were 
 true, it is evident that he could not make good his right
 
 252 DISTRICT OF BAKAKGANJ. 
 
 to it without the caid of Carvalho and the Portuguese 
 sailors, and neither he nor the Rajah of Bdkla were able 
 to resist Gonzales when the latter chose to carve out 
 for himself an independent principality. I may note 
 also that Kedar Rai's right to Sandwip could not 
 have been of very long standing, for it was in the 
 hands of a Mahomedan king when Csesar Frederick 
 visited it. 
 
 AVlien the Mugs began to give trouble, the more re- 
 spectable — i.e., the more inert and unwarlike — Hindus 
 appear to have left the country^ and Mr Westland (p. 
 220) describes Khalia in the Narail subdivision of 
 Jessore as having been established by men of the upper 
 castes who had left their homes in the south on account 
 of the incursions of the Burmese, Most of the Hindus 
 who remained in Bakarganj probably became voluntary 
 converts to Mahomedanism, and there is little doubt 
 that the process was hastened by the fact that the mere 
 circumstance of their living side by side with Mugs, 
 Portuguese, and Mahomedans was sufficient to tarnish 
 their caste in the ej^es of Hindus of other districts, and 
 so to deprive them of the social advantages of Hinduism. 
 It is not improbable that some mixture of races took 
 place, and local traditions seem to countenance the sup- 
 position. Thus the Dasses of Ramzanpiir char in the 
 Arial Khan say that they lost their caste owing to a 
 Mu2- having touched one of their women with the 
 
 o o 
 
 humane intention of saving her from drowning. He 
 was passing along the river-bank while she was bathing, 
 and she seeing a stranger dived under water in order to 
 elude his gaze. The Mug thought she was drowning, 
 and jumped in and brought her to land, the result 
 being that she and all her tribe lost their status, and 
 were no longer regarded as respectable Sudras.
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 253 
 
 We find also that to tliis day the Hindus of Western 
 and Central Bengal look down on the inhabitants of 
 Eastern Bengal, and call them Bangals. This word, 
 though etymologically it only means an inhabitant of 
 Banga — {.<?., Eastern Bengal — has acquired an oppro- 
 brious signification, and is used to mean a rough or 
 bungling person. It thus resembles in its use the adjec- 
 tive " Hieland " — i.e,^ Highland — which, in spite of fine 
 theories about the civilisation and superiority of the 
 Highlanders, is still used by the common people in the 
 neighbourhood of Glasgow as a synonym for anything 
 stupid or awkward.^ 
 
 The existence of such sentiments would, of course, 
 , predispose the Hindus of Bdkarganj to embrace Maho- 
 medanism. Still I have no doubt that the excessive 
 preponderance of Mahomedans in the southern part of 
 Bdkarganj is not so much due to conversion as to colo- 
 nisation. In the Patu3'akhdli subdivision the Mahome- 
 dans are 80 "8 of the whole po^^ulation, and in the 
 Gulsakhdli thana of it they are as much as 8 6 '4 per 
 cent., wliereas in the Sadr or Barisdl subdivision they 
 are only 64 '8 per cent. It is the pressure of population 
 in other districts, and also the protection against rob- 
 bers afi'orded by the British Government, which have led 
 to the colonisation of Southern Bilkarganj ; and when 
 the process began, the Mahomedans easily outstripped 
 the Hindus in the race for taking possession of the new 
 country. 
 
 ^ A curious illustration of the opprobrious use of the word "Baugal" 
 Avas given a few years ago bj' a lathial, or clubman, when he was dying 
 from the effects of a spear-wound inflicted in a Btikarganj riot. Profes- 
 sional lathials have certain rules among themselves, and do not take unfair 
 advantage of one anotliei-, or inflict deadly wounds on each other if they can 
 help it. But a clodhopper had disregarded this rule, and had, like Nicole 
 in '• Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme," given a thrust not authorised by science, 
 and 30 the lathial died regretting that a Bangui had killed him.
 
 2 54 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 Maliomeclans are not nearly such "stay-at-homes" as 
 Hindus. They have fewer local superstitions, and no 
 local gods, while the principle of the family is less 
 strong among them. The joint-family system is un- 
 known to them, and the practice of polygamy is un- 
 favourable to fixity of residence. There is also no doubt 
 that ]\Iahomedans are more enterprising than Hindus ; 
 and that their more generous diet fits them better 
 to endure an unhealthy climate, and especially the 
 salt air of the eastern districts. Hence we find that 
 the chars and islands are almost exclusively peopled 
 by Mahomedans. Where, as in Manpura, there is a 
 Hindu settlement, it is of people of inferior caste, 
 who eat meat, and have otherwise broken with Hindu 
 practices. 
 
 The Mahomedans of Bdkarganj are nearly all Sunis, 
 and do not particularly observe the Maharam. They 
 are altogether stricter in their religious notions than the 
 Shias of the Dacca district. They do not drink spirits, 
 and iudulgc sparingly in ganja and opium, as is shown 
 by the comparatively small excise revenue of the district. 
 Very many are Ferazis-*— {.e,, observers of the law or 
 Ferz — and are thus followers of Dudha Mia. Dudlia 
 Mia was born in thana ]\Iulfatganj (now transferred to 
 Farldpur), and his sect is particularly strong in that 
 neighbourhood. It originated with his father, Shariyat 
 Oolah. The Ferazis have often been identified with 
 the Wahabis, and there is undoubtedly a resemblance 
 between their creeds. Both appear to aim at a sort of 
 primitive Church movement, or return to the doctrines of 
 Mahomed, and to attempt to abandon the superstitious 
 practices which have gathered round the earlier creed by 
 lapse of time and by contact with Hindus and other 
 infidels. It does not appear, however, that the Ferazis
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAkARGANJ. 255 
 
 share the dangerous political views of tlie Walialjis, or 
 that their revolutionary views extend beyond dieput- 
 ing their landlords' claims for rent. Hindu zamindars 
 and alarmists generally are fond of representing the 
 Ferazis as politically dangerous, but, I think, without 
 sufficient reason. No doubt they are more vigorous 
 and less tractable than ordinary Mahomedans, but 
 this need not be a disadvantage in their character. 
 They have no music at their marriages, they do not 
 reverence saints, and they are distinguished somewhat 
 from other Mahomedans by the arrangement of their 
 dhiiti, as they do not allow the end to fall down behind, 
 but tuck it carefully up. They also, I believe, hold 
 that it is not right to have mosques or places of public 
 prayer in a country governed by infidels. 
 
 Many Mahomedans of Bdkarganj call themselves 
 followers of the late Karamat Ali of Juaupiir, but as far 
 as I know, he had no distinctive theological tenets, 
 being chiefly a preacher of morality. 
 
 The Mahomedans have adopted a number of Hindu 
 customs from their neighbours. Thus they not only 
 observe the dusserah puja, but keep the novanna, and 
 are fond of talking of their caste. ■^ There are several 
 subdivisions among them. One class is called the chd- 
 kars, or servants. They are the palki-bearers and pun- 
 kah-pullers, and are in considerable number near Bari- 
 
 ^ Dr Taylor says in his "Topography of Dacca" that the boatmeu 
 worship a river-god named Budder. Budder or Badr is, I am told, a 
 Mahomedan saint who is buried at Chittagong. The Bakarganj boatmen 
 often chant the following Bengali verse ; — 
 
 " Amra achhi pala p{ia, 
 UUa hoilo nigahbjjn. 
 Gangar sire panch pfr. 
 
 Budder, Budder." 
 
 The meaning being, " We are children, God is our guardian. There are 
 five saints (sitting) on the head of the Ganges. Budder, Budder."
 
 2 5 6 DISTRICT O F bAkARGANJ. 
 
 sal. Tliey are somewhat looked down upon by otLer 
 Maliomedans, who will not intermarry with them. 
 The nikdris, or fishmongers, are another class by them- 
 selves. The largest class is that of the hehajias, or so- 
 called gipsies. They live in boats or houses raised on 
 piles, and subsist by selling fish-hooks, &c. They do 
 not cultivate land, but keep ducks and poultry. Their 
 largest settlements are at Amtolli and Bdkarganj, but 
 they are also to be met with at Jhaluk^tti, Kalaskdtti, 
 Sarikal, Dakhin Shahbdzpiir, &c. They do not appear 
 to be thieves. 
 
 Converts are occasionally made from Hinduism to 
 Mahomedanism, but a love affair is commonly involved 
 in the conversion. A Hindu widow perhaps, tired of 
 her loneliness and poverty, adopts a neighbour's creed 
 and espouses him ; or a Hindu man falls in love with a 
 Mahomedan woman, and changes his religion for her 
 sake. 
 
 It has been said elsewhere that almost all the Malio- 
 medans of Bdkarganj belong to the lower classes. There 
 are few families of distinction in the district. The 
 great bulk of the Maliomedans are employed in the 
 cultivation of the soil. Comparatively few are in the 
 service of Government or belong to the professional 
 classes. The pleaders, native physicians, traders, shop- 
 keepers, barbers, carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, fisher- 
 men, and washermen are nearly all Hindus. The only 
 cjuasi - literary occupation which Mahomedans much 
 affect is that of the muJchtar, or attorney. 
 
 A strikino: feature in the character of the Mahome- 
 dan population is the frequency of cases of elopement 
 amongst the women. The subject has attracted a good 
 deal of attention, but, as might be expected, no legisla- 
 tive remedy has been adequate to cure the evil. It must
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 257 
 
 be admitted that tlie sexual morality of Bdkarganj Ma- 
 liomcdans is low. Many of tlicm arc boatmen/ lead- 
 ing wandering and solitary lives. Like most sailors, 
 they arc an immoral class ; and their wives, from 
 being left to themselves so much, often fall into in- 
 trigues. 
 
 The Mahomedans of Bdkarganj are, generally speak- 
 ing, very ignorant, and have an aversion to Govern- 
 ment schools. They are especially averse to the edu- 
 cation of their daughters in schools, and rarely send 
 them. On the other hand, it must be said that girls 
 belonging to the uj^jDcr classes are generally taught 
 at home, and that a knowledge of reading and writing 
 is more common among them than among Hindu girls 
 of similar position. 
 
 The Bakarganj ]\Iahomedans have been described by 
 Mr Sutherland and others as peculiarly bad specimens 
 of their class. I have had experience in Dacca and 
 Noakhd,li, and did not find the Mahomedans of those 
 districts superior to those of Bakarganj. If there is 
 any difference perceptible between them, it may be due 
 to the fact that the latter, being of more independent 
 character, show their good and bad qualities with less 
 restraint. 
 
 III. HINDUS. 
 
 There is not, in my opinion, much which is peculiar 
 or interesting about the Bakarganj Hindus. Most of 
 them belong to the Nama Sudra or Chandal caste, 
 wliicli is especially prevalent in the northern and western 
 parts of the district which border on Faridpur. They 
 are a strong and hard-working class, and are sought 
 
 ^ According to the census, there were 27,GG2 boatmen (males only). 
 
 R
 
 258 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 after as roadmakers and diggers of tanks. Tliey are" 
 ignorant and rather stupid, and are in general peace- 
 able enongli, but occasionally form combinations to 
 resist their landlords. They practise widow-marriage, 
 or at least often live in adulterous intercourse with 
 widows. 
 
 There are comparatively few Brahmans in Bdkar- 
 ganj ; they are most numerous in Idilpilr and Kotwali- 
 para, and the latter is noted for the number of its 
 pandits. There are great numbers of Kayasts/ and 
 this is partly due, no doubt, to the fact that the Chan- 
 dradwip Eajahs were of this caste. To the same cause 
 is also due the circumstance that many of the Kayasts 
 are of very good family. There are what are called 
 Kulin Kayasts; and the Kayasts of Banaripara and 
 Gabha, &c. — viz., the Thakurtas, the Glioses, and the 
 Guhas — rank high in Hindu society -both in Bdkarganj 
 and other districts. There are large numbers of the 
 Baidya or doctor caste ; hence the number and cele- 
 brity of the kabirajes, or native doctors, in the dis- 
 trict. No doubt the large number of Baidyas is in 
 some measure due to the prominence in the last cen- 
 tury of Rajah Raj Ballab Sein.^ 
 
 The distinctions of caste have become a good deal 
 obliterated, but there are two points on which they 
 are still immovable — marriage, and eating and drink- 
 ing. It is still impossible for a Brd/hman to marry 
 a woman of any other caste, or to eat with a member 
 of a different caste. Even within the same caste 
 there are distinctions in this matter, some families 
 
 ^ According to the census, there are 27,395 Kayasts. 
 
 2 I find there was another Rajah Raj Ballab, who held the office of Ray 
 Royan, and was the son of Dulabram. Sir Elijah Impey refers to him in 
 a letter of 20th January 1776, and says that he had always understood the 
 Company was much indebted to Dulabram.
 
 THE PEOPLE OE bAkARGANJ. 259 
 
 refusing to associate with otlicrs, tlioiigli all may 
 belong nominally to the same caste. Hence arise 
 frequent squabbles, Avliich occasionally come into court, 
 men having been known to bring actions against 
 their neighbours because they would not come to dine 
 with them. The ground of action in such a case 
 was that by the refusal the neighbours implied that 
 the hosts were not of a good caste, and thereby 
 libelled them. It is usual to speak of caste as an 
 unmixed evil, but it has its advantages. If it 
 represses originality and invention by compelling a 
 man to adopt his father's trade, even although his 
 natural aptitudes may lie in another direction ; yet, on 
 the other hand, it fosters hereditary capabilities, and 
 checks undue competition. It may also be said to 
 supply the place of national pride or patriotism. Un- 
 doubtedly, too, it chimes in with the natural temper 
 and disposition of the Bengalis, and indeed if it did 
 not, it would not stand a day. The Bengali, like every 
 Oriental, likes to do everything just as his father and 
 grandfather did it Defore him, and does not like new- 
 fangled ways. 
 
 The Brahma Samdj was established in Barisjil some 
 fifteen years ago.'' It has a church, but does not 
 flourish as it did formerly. Many educated Hindus 
 hold the opinions professed by the Samaj, but do not 
 avow them or contribute to its funds* 
 
 IV. BUDDHISTS. 
 
 The Buddhists of Bdkarganj all belong to the Mug 
 race, and reside in the Sundarbans. An account of 
 them has been given in chapter v. 
 
 1 Ashar 10, 1268, or 1783 Sak - 1861 a.d.
 
 2 6o DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 V. CHRISTIANS. 
 
 The number of Christians in B^karganj is stated in 
 the Census Report to be 4852. The number, however, 
 must be considerably less now, as the Christians were 
 most numerous in the northern part of the district, and 
 especially in thanas Gournadi and Kotwalipara. Nearly 
 the whole of Kotwalij^ara and much of Gournadi have 
 now been transferred to Faridptir, and several Christian 
 villages have been transferred with them. It is probable, 
 therefore, that the Christian population of Bdkarganj is 
 now under 3000 persons. The number, however, is still 
 very large for a rural district in Bengal, and shows that 
 missionaries have been exceptionally successful in Bdkar- 
 ganj. About 800 of the number are accounted for by 
 the existence of the Portuguese colony at Sibpilr. These 
 Christians belong to the Roman Catholic faith, and have 
 been described at p. 110. 
 
 The remaining 2200 or so reside almost entirely in 
 the north and north-west parts of the district, and were 
 originally, almost without exception, Chandals, or low- 
 caste Hindus. I believe that there has not been a single 
 instance of the conversion of a Mahomedan inhabitant 
 of Bdkarganj, so that the Masalman religion is as great 
 an obstacle to Christian missionaries now as Fernandez 
 and Fonseca found it nearly 280 years ago. Some have 
 ascribed the success of the missionaries in the north of 
 Bdkarganj to the j^revious existence of a deistical sect 
 known by the name of the Karta Bhojds, or worshippers 
 of the Lord. I believe, however, that it was the oppres- 
 sions of the landholders and their agents which gave the 
 chief impetus to the movement, and that Christianity 
 recommended itself to the Chandals by its socialistic and
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 261 
 
 iiisuiTcctionary doctrines, and by the fact that tlie Padre 
 Saheb or missionary presented himself in some measure 
 as a bulwark between them and their masters. It is at 
 least certain that the landholders showed at one time 
 great hostility to the movement ; and as one of the most 
 active among them was himself a Christian, it is not 
 likely that religious bigotry had much to do with their 
 conduct. This hostility reached its culminating-point 
 in the abduction and subsequent confinement of some 
 native Christian families about twenty years ago. This 
 led to a trial, known as the Baropakhya case, which 
 excited a large amount of attention in the district and 
 in Calcutta, and also, I believe, in England. It was, I 
 believe, true in the main, and I regret to say that the 
 accused were acquitted by the appellate court. 
 
 The first preaching of Christianity in the district took 
 place about 1830, in the time of Mr Garrett, who was 
 Magistrate, and afterwards Judge, and who became a 
 Baptist and was publicly dipped in a tank at Baris^l. His 
 •Nazir or Sheriff, Mr Parry, was an active preacher for 
 some time, and was afterwards a missionary in Jessore. 
 He was succeeded, I believe, by a Mr Smith ; and after 
 Mr Smith came a Mr Sylvester Bareiro, who, I under- 
 stand, originally came from Chittagong, and was school- 
 master in Barisdl for some time. Mr Bareiro was greatly 
 befriended by Mr Sturt (the Collector, who was after- 
 wards degraded on account of defalcations in the trea- 
 sury), and was made by him Superintendent of Stamps. 
 He was a Baptist missionary for many years, but was 
 at last removed on a charge of immorality. He then 
 joined the Church of England, and set up an oppo- 
 sition mission, which still exists, and has a consider- 
 able number of adherents. It has been acknowledged 
 and subsidised by the Bishop of Calcutta, although,
 
 262 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 according to the Baptists, most of ]Mr Bareiro's ad- 
 lierents are persons wlio have deserted from or been 
 turned out of their Church. Mr Page was a Baptist 
 missionary who long resided in Bakarganj and made 
 many converts. The late Mr Sale also resided in the 
 district for many years, and was greatly esteemed by 
 every one who knew him. 
 
 The principal mission stations of the Baptists are at 
 Ashkar and Dhanshar in the Gournadi thana. Mr 
 Bareiro's church is at Dhandhoba. There are not many 
 cases of conversion nowadays, and I do not think that 
 the missions can be regarded as being in a flourishing 
 state. The impulse which once led many to become 
 Christians has died away, and the missionaries scarcely 
 attempt to do more than keep together the converts 
 they have already made. They have been unable 
 to do even this, for many have relapsed into Hindu- 
 ism. These men are known by the name oi pherti or 
 turn-aways, and I have met several in the bils. One of 
 them told me that he had abandoned Christianity be-- 
 cause the ten commandments were too hard for him. 
 I believe, however, that in most cases persons have 
 apostatised in order to get back into society, and 
 i especially in order to have their daughters married. Ac- 
 cording to law, native Christian girls cannot marry until 
 they are thirteen years of age, and as this is later 
 than the ordinary age for marriage among the Hindus, 
 parents complain much of the restriction. 
 
 There are very few Christians near Barisdl, and 
 none at all in the southern thanas. The movement, 
 in fact, has been from first to last exceedingly 
 local in its character, and has been confined to the 
 swamps of Faridpur and north-east Bdkarganj. 
 
 I do not think that the native Christians are at all
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 263 
 
 superior to Hindus and Maliomcdans of a similar class, 
 but native gentlemen have told mc that tliey arc more 
 trutliful.^ "i'liey are generally very ignorant, and have 
 still a hankering after Hindu customs and amusements, 
 such as boat-racing, &c. They are cultivators and fisher- 
 men, and in the cold weather they migrate to various 
 parts of the district and work at road-making and the 
 digging of tanks. 
 
 Since writing this account of the Christians, I have 
 found in the India Office Library a volume of the 
 "Calcutta Christian Observer" for 1856, which con- 
 tains a full account of the Bdropakhya case. It is 
 in the form of a review of a pamphlet by Mr 
 Underhill, who was Secretary to the Baptist body, 
 and who afterwards took a leading part in the de- 
 nunciation of Governor Eyre. The precise date of the 
 outrage was 1st July 1855 (C. C. 0., vol. xxv. p. 397, 
 1856). 
 
 The same volume contains (p. 408 e^ aeq^ a very in- 
 teresting account of the sects of the Karta Bhojds and 
 of the Satya Gurus, apparently from the pen of Dr 
 Wenger, and as it incidentally describes the origin of 
 Christianity in Bakarganj, I have taken the liberty of 
 making the following extract : — 
 
 " The next sect is that of the Kartil Bhojds or ' wor- 
 shippers of the Lord.' Many of its members were 
 originally Mahomedans. All of them profess to re- 
 pudiate idolatry and caste ; but their moral princijDles 
 are not so pure as was at flrst supposed. It was among 
 adherents of this sect that the movement in Krishna- 
 
 ^ The Hon. F. B. Kemp was the judge who heard llie appeal iu 
 the Baropakhya case. On l)eing censured for releasing the accused he 
 wrote a defence of his conduct, in which he gave some damaging particulars 
 about the morals of the native Christians.
 
 264 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 glmr iu favour of Christianity originally commenced; and 
 Krishna Pdl, the first convert of the Baptist Mission, 
 is believed to have belonged to this or a similar sect 
 before he began to listen to the gospel. An opinion 
 has repeatedly been expressed to the effect that the 
 Kartd, Bhojd, sect owes its origin mainly to the diffusion 
 of certain frasfments of Christian truth. It would be 
 difficult to produce any historical evidence in support 
 of this idea, whilst on the other hand there is much in 
 it that is probable. Is it not possible that some Chris- 
 tian ceremonies (such as might be noticed by any 
 humble native observer) may have been blended with 
 some elements of Mahomedanism and some Shdktya 
 rites by the founder or founders of the sect ? 
 
 "The following account of its origin is from the pen of 
 an anonymous native correspondent of the ' Upadeshak,' 
 and appears in that periodical in the number for Novem- 
 ber 1847. The writer says that it is based upon in- 
 formation derived from frequent personal intercourse 
 with Kartd, Bhojds and others. ' In the village of UM, 
 on the western bank of the Ganges (Bhagirathi or 
 Hooghly ?), there lived a man named Mahadeb, a cul- 
 tivator of pdn (usually called the betel-leaf plant). He 
 was childless ; but one day on going into his plantation 
 of pdn, he found a weeping infant, and looking ujDon 
 it as a gift of God, determined to adopt the child for 
 his own, a resolution to which his wife gladly assented. 
 The boy grew up, but being somewhat silly, the neigh- 
 bours called him Oula. * For some years he assisted his 
 father in cultivating and selling pdn ; but after a time 
 he ran away, dressed only in the tattered garment of 
 a devotee. He reapj^eared on the eastern bank of the 
 river, gave himself out to be a mahdpurush (or ''great 
 man " who has completely subdued the senses), or at
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 265 
 
 least a guru (spiritual teaclicr), and succeeded in gather- 
 ing a company of twenty-two disciples.' (The names 
 are all recorded, but need not be repeated here.) ' The 
 mantra which he gave them w\as, " Satya bala, guru 
 dhara, sange chala ; " i.e., " Speak the truth, cleave to 
 the teacher, and come along with us." After this, he 
 took them Avitli him to the marshy district, near the 
 Sunderbuns, where he set up as a worker of miracles, 
 and succeeded in deluding many people. 
 
 " ' After his death, some of his twenty-two disciples, 
 imitating his example, began business on their own 
 account. They would train some man to pretend deaf- 
 ness, until any sick person came to be healed, when, on 
 receiving a blow, he was suddenly to speak. They would 
 then strike the sick man also, and tell him, " You see 
 this deaf man has been cured, but you have not yet 
 sufficient faith, therefore you cannot be cured now. Eat 
 some earth from under this tree, come every year to the 
 master's house, and believe, then you will undoubtedly 
 recover." In this way they have succeeded in deluding 
 thousands.' 
 
 "At the close of this historical account the customary 
 prayer of the Kart^ Bhojas is given. As it is very 
 interesting, and infinitely better than the preceding 
 narrative would lead one to expect, we subjoin it here. 
 After a brief invocation of ' the true one of Shiva and 
 Eamballabh,' it goes on as follows : ' It is unreason- 
 able to suppose that by studying any shdstra a true 
 knowledge of Thee can be obtained, for in the difiierent 
 shdstras difierent relifi^ions are tauo-ht. Amongf this 
 diversity of religions how can certainty be obtained ? 
 Lord, we are ignorant and stupid ; have mercy on us, 
 and cause us to understand the truth, that we may be 
 comforted. Further, great Lord, keep us from evil, and
 
 266 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 grant iis willingness, courage, and ability to do good. 
 If sucli be Thy pleasure, let it be accomplished.' 
 
 " A similar sect, though small, and confined to Eastern 
 Bengal, is that of the Satya Gurus. It originated about 
 the year 1804 with a native who read the gospel narra- 
 tive, and even had some personal intercourse with the 
 Serampore missionaries, but who was animated with the 
 spirit of Simon Magus. Giving himself out to be a 
 modern incarnation of the true teacher, Jesus Christ, 
 and able to work miracles, he succeeded in obtaining a 
 number of followers, and when he died transmitted his 
 dignity to one of his chief disciples, who still carries on 
 the work of delusion. In this case the origin of the 
 sect can be clearly traced back to the indirect influ- 
 ence of Christianity. 
 
 " In other parts of the country, men rise up every now 
 and then, who, professing to have discovered the true 
 way, or to have been instructed by the true teacher, 
 succeed in drawing a number of disciples after them. 
 It is impossible to tell how much or how little floating 
 rumours regarding the gospel of Christ may have to do 
 with the origin of these sects. They are generally 
 characterised by a repudiation of idols, of the ministra- 
 tions of Brdhmans, and of certain restrictions of caste, 
 and thereby in some measure pave the way for the 
 reception of the gospel. The origin of the native Chris- 
 tian community in the Backergunje district supplies an 
 illustration of this remark. Kangd-li, the leader of the 
 first band who openly embraced Christianity there, had 
 for several years been such a mahant or spiritual guide 
 of numerous disciples, who professed to obey the Satya 
 Guru or true teacher. But he was evidently not 
 satisfied with his own discoveries. The account which 
 he himself gave afterwards of the way in which he was
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ, 267 
 
 first led to Christianity, certainly shows a morbid state 
 of the nervous system — probably the result of certain 
 habits frequently found among Hindu ascetics — but 
 it is nevertheless instructive. According to the impres- 
 sion left on his own mind, he once, whilst laid up with 
 a dangerous illness, was favoured with a vision or visit 
 from a resplendent person, who told him that ho should 
 recover if he called on the name of " Eesoo.' Accord- 
 ingly he did j)ray to the unknown being whose name 
 was thus communicated to him, and recovered. Not 
 only so, but the same result followed from such prayer 
 in the case of a few other ^^ersons. Some time after- 
 wards he met with a man who was returnino; from a 
 market with a book in his hand. On inquiriug after 
 the contents of the book, he was told that it was only 
 a book about ' Eesoo Christ,' and that he was welcome 
 to it if he wished to have it. The coincidence of the 
 name led him eagerly to accept the proferred tract, with 
 the contents of which he made himself acquainted — as 
 far as he could comprehend them — by means of one of 
 his disciples who was able to read. The perusal of this 
 tract proved to be the first dawn of Christian truth 
 breaking in upon his dark mind. He succeeded from 
 time to time in obtaining some fresh tracts, and at 
 last felt a strong desire to seek out some one who could 
 tell him more about the religion of Eesoo. In all 
 these endeavours a number of his disciples sympathised 
 with him. Their first impulse wtis to apply to the 
 nearest European Government officials for instruction, 
 but their courage failed them, and at length they were 
 accidentally — or rather providentially — heard of and 
 afterwards met with by itinerant native preachers from 
 Barisal. Even after this long preparatory process liearly 
 two years elapsed before they could make up their
 
 268 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 minds to embrace Christianity openly. Such is the 
 statement made by Kdngdli nearly ten years ago. Since 
 then many of those who were first have become last, and 
 the last first." ^ 
 
 VI. OTHERS. 
 
 There are a few Koches in the Perozpiir subdivision. 
 They appear to have come from the Madhupiir jungle in 
 Dacca, and are said to have been brought in by the 
 zamindars to act as fighting men. Their weapons used 
 to be bows and arrows. 
 
 Near Barisill there is a small colony of Bunas. They 
 support themselves by agriculture, and by selling fire- 
 wood. According to one account, they were brought in 
 by the indigo-planters in old times ; and according to 
 another, they came when the new police system was 
 introduced. 
 
 There are a few men from Hill Tipperah, in the 
 jungles of Idilpur (217, according to census). 
 
 At Barisdl there are a few Greek and Armenian and 
 other Eurasian families, and there is a Jewish shop- 
 keeper. The Portuguese or Feringhies of Sibpiir have 
 been described elsewhere. 
 
 VII. RESULTS OF THE CENSUS. 
 
 Unfortunately, the figures given in the Census Report 
 cannot be fully made use of, because the area of the dis- 
 trict and the arransfement of the thanas have been 
 altered since 1872. The enumerators' books are now at 
 
 ^ " Bengal as a Field of Missions," by Mr Macleod Wylie, Calcutta, 1854, 
 contains at p. 100 an interesting description of Bdkarganj and the mission, 
 written by Mr Page. Mr Page there states that Mr J. Smith was the first 
 missionary, and that Mr Bareiro was sent four years afterwards from Seram- 
 pore to succeed him in the management of the school. Mr Page joined 
 the district in 1848. The movement seems to have begun in Ramsiddhi, 
 which was Kangali's village.
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 269 
 
 Barisdl, and they arc, I believe, being collated and l:lieir 
 details broiiolit into accordance with the new bound- 
 
 o 
 
 aries. When this has been done we shall know many 
 interesting particulars regarding the relative numbers of 
 the various Hindu castes, the occupations of the people, 
 &c. Meanwhile I proceed to note a few general facts. 
 
 The most striking results of the Bengal census may 
 be said to be, three in number. The first is the dis- 
 covery of the great populousness of Bengal as compared 
 with former estimates.^ The second is the discovery of 
 the laro-e extent of the Mahomedan element.^ The third 
 is the discovery of the almost total absence of large 
 towns. Perhaps to these we might add a fourth — 
 namely, the discovery of the c[uietness and ease with 
 which a census can be taken. 
 
 With regard to the third of these results, I have 
 pointed out in the chapter on Baris^l that even the few 
 towns which exist have a very sparse population, and 
 are made up more or less of scattered villages.^ The 
 average number of j^ersons per square mile in Bdkar- 
 ganj was 482, and I do not think that this has been 
 
 ^ The total population of Bengal in 1872 was 66,856,859, and average 
 per square mile 269, or more than double the average rate (110 per square 
 mile) for Scotland (Census Report). In Bengal Proper the average is 389 
 per square mile. 
 
 * " Total number of Mahomedans, 20,664,775." The vast majority of 
 these — namely, 1 7i millions— are found in Lower Bengal ; in Behar they 
 hardly number more than 2^ out of a total population of nearly 20 millions. 
 In Assam, Cliota Nagptir, and particularly in Orissa, they are very sparse. 
 In Assam, indeed, they are perhaps more numerous than might have been 
 expected, owing chiefly to the inclusion in that province of the district of 
 Goalpara, which ibrmerly formed part of Rangpiir. Rangamati, in this 
 district, was for some years a frontier station of the Moghals, and large 
 numbers of the Koches and other aboriginal tribes seem to have been con- 
 verted by them to Isldm (Census Report). 
 
 3 It appears from Thucydides that the population in ancient Greece was 
 at one time scattered over villages as it now is in Bengal, and that Lacedoc- 
 mon adhered to this custom after the Greeks in other parts had gathered 
 themselves into cities : /card Ku'fxas 0^ rf TraXattp r-^s 'EXXaoof TpoTTU) oiKLaOelaa.
 
 2 7 o n /STRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 materially lessened by tlie trausfer of Mdclaripiir. The 
 density of tlie population is greatest in tlie northern and 
 central thanas, and least in the south of the district. 
 The most thinly-peopled thana is Khalsakhdli, which 
 contains a large extent of Sundarban forest. In it the 
 average per square mile is only 122. In the Patuya- 
 khd,li subdivision (to which Khalsakhdli belongs) the 
 average is 287, in Perozpur it is 581, and in the Sadr 
 subdivision (Barisdl) it is as high as 738. The lowest 
 subdivision al average is in Dakhin Shalibdzp{ir, where 
 it is 270. This at first excites surprise, for the 
 greater part of the island is richly cultivated, and 
 seems in the northern and central divisions to be one 
 continuous garden of cocoa-nut and supari trees, and 
 studded with homesteads. Tlie explanation, however, 
 is simple enough. Much of the south of the island is 
 composed of newly-formed chars and of extensive plains 
 where buffaloes are grazed, and which are almost 
 uninhabited. If we could have a separate census of 
 the northern half, I am persuaded that the population 
 would be found to be as dense as that of almost any 
 other part of the district. Here I should note that when 
 the census was taken, Dakhin Shahbdzpur was divided 
 into two thanas — viz., Daulat Khan and Dhaniya Maniya 
 — and that their boundaries ran from north to south, the 
 east side of the island beloni^insf to Daulat Khan and 
 the west to Dhaniya Maniya. Hence each had about an 
 equal share of the cultivated and uncultivated tracts, 
 and therefore we find that their populations were very 
 nearly equal, Daulat Khan having a population of 
 114,262,^ and Dhaniya Maniya one of 106,775, 
 
 * Even this slight excess may be accounted for by the fact thai it includes 
 the population of the to^vn of Daulat Khan and that of the island of Man- 
 piira.
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 271 
 
 the total population of the subdivision being 221,037. 
 The island, however, has since been divided from east 
 to west, Daulat Khan thana containing the northern 
 and Barhanuddin Hdt the southern half; and if the 
 areas are made nearly equal, there can be no doubt 
 that Daulat Khan will have much the largest share of 
 the population. 
 
 Throughout the district the males arc slightly in 
 excess, the ratio being 507 to 49 '3. In thanas 
 Gournadi, Kewari, and Jhalukdtti the women are 
 in excess, but in all the other thanas which nov/ 
 belong to Bdkarganj they are in a minority, except 
 in thana Nalchiti, where the proportions of the sexes 
 are equal. The disproportion of males is greatest in 
 Patuyakhdli subdivision, where the ratio is 52*6 to 47*4. 
 In thana Khalsakhd^li, already mentioned, there are 56*2 
 men to 43 '8 women. I think that these facts are very 
 interesting, for tliey concur with what we should 
 expect from considering the nature of the country and 
 of native society, and therefore they tend to show that 
 the census was correctly taken. The proportion of 
 Mahomedans is largest in Dakhin Shahbdzpiir, where 
 there are 8 2 "8 Mahomedans to 17 '2 Hindus. In Patuya- 
 khdli subdivision the proportion is 80'8 to 18 '2 Hindus. 
 The remaining 1 per cent, consists of the Mugs, who are 
 Buddhists. The most Mahomedan thanas in the dis- 
 trict are Dhaniya Maniya and Gulsakhdli, where there are 
 86*4 Mahomedans to 13 "6 Hindus. We thus see that 
 the Mahomedans are most numerous in the south of 
 the district and in the islands. The Hindus are most 
 numerous in the north and west of the district. They 
 are especially numerous in the west, where there is 
 a large s(?ttlement of low-caste Hindus. This Hindu 
 element extends into Faridpiir, and apparently there
 
 2 7 2 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 is sometliiiig in tlic nature of the country, wliicli con- 
 sists for the most part of immense swamps, which has 
 been peculiarly suitable for a Hindu population. Per- 
 haps the large quantity of fish yielded by the swamps 
 has attracted them, for this is the chief animal 
 food of Hindus, and to this day most fishermen are 
 Hindus. I am inclined, however, to think that no one 
 would voluntarily occupy such a country. In the rains 
 the country is almost one immense lake, in which the 
 homesteads of the ryots appear as islands, and in April 
 and May it consists of large treeless plains. The 
 villages are never of very easy access ; but things are at 
 their worst at the beginning and at the end of the rains, 
 for then there is neither enough water for boats nor suffi- 
 cient dry land for foot-travelling. Add to this that 
 the country swarms with mosquitoes, that there are 
 numerous poisonous snakes, and that the ryots often 
 lose their crops from overflooding, and it will be ad- 
 mitted, I think, that the country is not a desirable 
 residence. It seems, therefore, probable that these low- 
 caste Hindus, or Chandals, as they arc called, were 
 driven out from some other country, or that they left 
 their homes in order to be free from oppression. The 
 following account is given by Mr Wells, formerly Magis- 
 trate of FarldpTir, in a letter published in the Census 
 Keport : "The dreary and unwholesome swamps of the 
 south are largely peo2:)led by a highly interesting Clian- 
 dal race. These Chandals were origiually a complete 
 Hindu community, consisting of persons of all castes 
 from the Brdhman downwards, who, on having the mis- 
 fortune to be cursed in a body by a vengeful Brdhman 
 of unutterable sanctity in Dacca, quitted their ancestral 
 homes and emigrated bodily to the southerif wastes of 
 Farldpur, Jessore, and Bdkarganj. There with great
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 273 
 
 perseverance and toil they raised in tlie centre of tlie 
 swamps large liillocks from twelve to twenty feet in lieiglit, 
 whereon they built their homesteads in the dry weather, 
 in order to preserve their cattle and goods during the 
 high inundations. In this place they are located to the 
 present day, cultivating the swamps with rice and jute, 
 and carrying on the occupations of fishing and bird- 
 catching, varied with mat and basket weaving, and the 
 cutting of grass for thatching roofs and for the consump- 
 tion of their cattle. In the dry weather they often 
 suffer considerably from scarcity of water^ and at 
 times almost die from thirst. As they do not preserve 
 water in tanks, they are often reduced to what little 
 they may have kept by them in their earthen 
 vessels, and not unfrequently drink it when it has 
 become quite thick and green. In the rains the whole 
 country becomes inundated ; the water rises over ten 
 feet, and leaves their artificial mounds like so many 
 islands in a huge lake. Locomotion then becomes im- ' 
 possible except by boat, while they have to collect all 
 their cattle and keep them in their homesteads, feeding 
 them on what fodder they may have stored up during 
 the dry season, and on a grass which, like the rice, 
 grows with the rise of the water, and in appearance 
 very much 'resembles paddy. These cattle have often 
 to remain for weeks standing up to their necks in water, 
 and as their food has to be stored up for them in the 
 homesteads, they are fed on the minimum amount 
 necessary to support existence. Consequently by the 
 end of the rainy season they are reduced to skeletons, 
 and very many die in the process. It is this that 
 renders it impossible to introduce a larger and less 
 hardy description of cattle. Notwithstanding all the
 
 274 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 difficulties this Cliaiidal community have to contend 
 against, however, they are strongly attached to the 
 home of their adoption, and resist all inducements to 
 abandon it. Efforts, for example, have been made to 
 transfer some of them to the Sunderbuns, but with no 
 measure of success. They prefer remaining in the i-egion 
 to which they have adapted themselves perseveringly 
 and laboriously, where they are not likely to be envied 
 their lot, and where they can dwell together a distinct 
 community with their own Brdhmans, their own priests, 
 castes, and traditions. Their occupations and their 
 enforced practice of going about in boats during a great 
 portion of the year have rendered the Chandals a hardy 
 and muscular race, while they present a favourable con- 
 trast to their uncursed and therefore contemptuous 
 neighbours in respect of ingenuousness and truthful- 
 ness." 
 
 The Hindu nature of the population of this part of 
 the country is shown by the figures for Kotwalipara, a 
 thana which has been nearly all transferred to Farldpiir. 
 In it there were 59,582 Hindus against 23,122 Maho- 
 medans. Kewari (now Sarupkdtti) is the only thana 
 in Bdkarganj where the Hindus are in excess of the 
 Mahomedans. In Jhalukdtti they are nearly half the 
 population. 
 
 In Patuyakhdli subdivision the largest proportion of 
 Hindus is found in thana Baufal, which was the site of 
 the old capital of the Eajahs of Chandradwip. 
 
 There were in 1872 only twenty-seven EurojDeans in 
 Bdkarganj, and there were 127 Eurasians. There are 
 other statements in the Census Report showing the 
 numbers of the aboriginal tribes, and of the various 
 castes, &c., but I do not think that the figures are cor-
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BAKARGANJ. 275 
 
 rcct, aud therefore shall not make use of tliem. For 
 example, I do not understand the entry of 2785 Nats. 
 Nor do I thmk it likely that there were only 8989^ 
 Brdhmans in Bilkarganj and 30,338 in Chittagong. 
 The classification according to occupations is ad- 
 mittedly imperfect. The number of persons (males) 
 engaged in agriculture or with animals is put down 
 at 498,690, and 475,477 of them are said to be culti- 
 vators. 
 
 Vital Statistics. — Attempts have been made for 
 some time to record the deaths all over the district, 
 but the machinery employed (the village chaukidars) is 
 altogether inefficient, and the results are totally untrust- 
 worthy. Although no official has ever pretended that 
 the returns were even approximately correct, yet some 
 have thought that the system should be kept up, as it 
 could do no harm, and might prepare the way for a more 
 perfect registration. This, however, seems an error. It 
 cannot be said that the collection and tabulating of 
 worthless statistics do no harm. Granted that nobody 
 is deceived by them, still their collection involves some 
 expense, were it only in postage, and a good deal of 
 trouble, and it tends to demoralise every one who has 
 to do with the work. Worst of all, however, it brings 
 statistics into contempt, and will induce people to dis- 
 believe our figures long after they have become trust- 
 worthy. Even now natives, as a general rule, do not 
 believe in the results of the census, less, I think, because 
 they know of inaccuracies in it, than because a long 
 
 1 Especially when we find the number of priests or imrohits in Bdkar- 
 ganj put down at 9450.
 
 276 
 
 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 series of untrust worthy returns lias made them regard 
 figured statements of all kinds with suspicion. It is to 
 be hoped, therefore, that Government will abandon the 
 attempt to collect vital statistics for whole districts, 
 more especially as the last Bengal Administration Re- 
 port states that Sir George Campbell had come to the 
 conclusion that the attempt was "hopeless at present" 
 (p. 199 of Report for 1873-74). 
 
 The returns for the selected areas are more trust- 
 worthy, though even they are not yet quite satisfactory. 
 There are four such areas in Bdkarganj — namely, two 
 town areas (Baris^l and Daulat Khan) and two rural 
 areas (Manpiira and Lakutia). The united population 
 of the first two is given at 14,224, and the deaths in 
 
 1873 at 327, or 22-98 per 1000. The population of 
 Barisdl has however been increased since 1st January 
 
 1874 by the inclusion of additional area. The popula- 
 tion of Manpura and Lakutia is given at 13,652, and 
 the deaths at 291 in 1873, or 21-31 per 1000. 
 
 NoU. — The statistics of population given at p. 211 were prepared for me 
 in the CoUectorate, but the details leave 1133 unaccounted for, whereas the 
 column " Others," in the Census Report, only gives 174. The fact is, I am 
 Borry to say, that owing to changes of boundaries made since the com- 
 pletion of the census I am not able to state with accuracy the population 
 of the district. The population of Bakarganj, according to Mr Beverley's 
 Census Report, is 2,377,433, which are divided as follows : — 
 
 Mahomedans, 
 Hindus, . 
 Christians, 
 
 1,540,965 
 827,393 
 
 4,852 
 
 Buddhists, 
 
 4,049 
 
 Others, . 
 
 174 
 
 2,377,433 
 Since then Mddaripilr subdivision has been transferred to Farldpur. Its
 
 THE PEOPLE OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 277 
 
 population, according to the census, is G63,043, which are divided as 
 follows : — 
 
 Mahomedans, 
 Hindus, 
 Christians, 
 Others, . 
 
 Total, 
 
 360,085 
 
 290,540 
 
 3,375 
 
 43 
 
 663.043 
 
 But this total cannot be deducted, as parts of thanas Gournadi and 
 Kotwalipara in the said subdivision were not included in the transfer. 
 Moreover, a corner of Farid])ur, lying east of the Baleshwar and near the 
 mouth of the Saldaha, was shortly afterwards included in Bakarganj. The 
 population of this tract was, I think, about 10,000. The figures in the 
 text professed to take account of these changes, but the above remarks 
 show that they are still not quite accurate.
 
 ( 278 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 PRODUCTIONS. 
 
 Rice is the staple of the district of Bdkarganj, and the 
 variety of it which is most cultivated is that called 
 aman. Aman rice is grown all over Bakarganj, wher- 
 ever there is low land. In the Perozpiir and Patuya- 
 khdli subdivisions very little of any other kind is grown. 
 The ploughing of the ground commences as early as the 
 latter part of February in the northern parts of the dis- 
 trict, and continues in the south as late as the beo-innino; 
 of September. These late ploughings, however, are of 
 land into which the rice is to be transplanted. The 
 chief ploughings take place in April and May. They 
 begin earlier in the northern parts of the district, as it 
 is the first to be flooded, owing to the lowness of much 
 of the Gournadi thana, and its proximity to the Arial 
 Khan. Cattle are generally used for ploughing, but in 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpiir and the south of the district bufialoes 
 are often employed. Aman is generally transplanted, 
 but in chars and other places it is sometimes soAvn broad- 
 cast. It is not un frequent, especially in the northern 
 parts of the district, to sow aman and owsh — i.e., early 
 rice — together. It is not usual to weed aman, and the 
 crop gives little trouble to the ryot after it has been 
 transplanted. The process of transplanting, however, is 
 a very laborious one, and the ryot often " homeward 
 plods his weary way" after his back has been almost
 
 PR OD UCTIONS. 2 7 9 
 
 broken from stooping for hours amidst mud and water, 
 and after having been drenched with rain two or three 
 times in the course of the day. 
 
 Irrigation is not reguLarly practised, and is seldom 
 needed ; but water - channels are frequently dammed 
 across in order to keep the water in the paddy-fields. 
 Also the water is often drained off when it is too plenti- 
 ful, and to effect this the ryots do not scruple to dig 
 trenches even across public highways. The putting 
 up and the removal of the dams, or hiincls, as they 
 are called, are frequent sources of dispute among the 
 villagers. 
 
 Rice is often damaged by insects, and loss from this 
 cause appears to be especially common in Dakhin Shah- 
 bd,zpiir. Cloudy weather just before harvest is especially 
 likely to breed insects, and is therefore regarded with 
 great alarm by the ryots. Rice-fields near rivers are 
 often injured by crabs and river-turtle, and brushwood 
 and branches of the date palm are put round the fields 
 at the water's edge to keep those animals out. In a 
 report of 8th August 1791 special mention is made of 
 the damage caused to the cultivated lands of pargana 
 Buzurgumedpiir by an immense quantity of crabs being 
 thrown upon them. Wild pigs do great mischief to 
 standing rice, and unfortunately this is one evil against 
 which the ryot is very helpless. He does not usually 
 possess a gun, and the professional palimns or shikar ies 
 (sportsmen) whom he sometimes employs find it difficult 
 to carry on their handicraft, owing to the interference of 
 the police and the stringent orders about licences for 
 carrying arms. It is a common practice all over the 
 district for the ryots to erect sheds, raised on a scaffold- 
 ing of bamboos, in their fields about the time of harvest, 
 and to spend their nights in them, in order to scare 
 
 /
 
 28o DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 away the pigs. These sheds are called Umgis, and 
 are a very marked feature in the Bdkarganj landscape, 
 especially where there is any jungle in the neighbour- 
 hood. The ryots also make gigantic rattles by splitting 
 a bamboo and attaching a roj)e to one of the limbs at 
 the top of the cleft. In Dakhin Shahbd-zpiir these 
 rattles may be heard at night and at the early dawn 
 going off with a noise like the discharge of firearms. 
 The noise is made by the ryots in the tungis pulling 
 the ropes and then letting them go again. Buffaloes, 
 wild and tame, often damage the crops, and cattle- 
 trespass is a perennial source of dispute among neigh- 
 bours. As there are no hedges or walls, and as no 
 land is reserved as pasturage for the cattle, it can easily 
 be understood how frequent cattle - trespass must be. 
 Broad khdls and dones are not sufiicient protection, for 
 the cattle all take to the water readily, and can swim 
 great distances. 
 
 Aman is generally reckoned as yielding twelve anas, 
 or three-fourths of all the rice grown in the district. 
 The other fourth is chiefly made up by owsh, which is 
 grown on the high lands, and especially in the northern 
 parts of the district. There is also a little horo grown 
 in the chars and bils in the north of the district. Gour- 
 nadi and Kotwalipara (now transferred to Farldpiir) are 
 the chief seats of this cultivation. Boro is sown at the 
 end of the rains, when the waters are beginning to 
 recede. It is sometimes sown broadcast, but is, I be- 
 lieve, as a general rule, transplanted like aman. The 
 sowings take place in October, the transplanting in 
 December and January, and the harvest in April. Boro 
 is a coarse red grain, and is only eaten by the poorer 
 classes. It is prized by them because it ripens earlier 
 in the year (the Bengali year) than any other kind of
 
 PR OD UCTIONS. 28 1 
 
 paddy, and thus gives them food at a time when rice is 
 scarce. Owsh is sown in Chait and Baisackh (March and 
 April), and is reaped in July and August. 
 
 The bulk of the aman harvest takes place in Agrdhan 
 and Pans — i.e., December and January — but there is 
 some which ripens as early as Ashin, and hence it is 
 called Ashini paddy. It is common to name rice ac- 
 cording to the month it ripens in, and thus we have 
 Ashini, Kartik, and Agrahani dhan, the last being by 
 far the largest in quantity. In Dakhin Shahbd,zpur and 
 some other parts a kind of aman is largely grown 
 which is called Lakhydigi, and ripens in October. It 
 is said to derive its name from its being ready by 
 the time of the Lakhy puja. On the occasion of the 
 aman harvest there is a great festival called the Navanna 
 or the new rice. It celebrates the first eating of the 
 new crop. It is a movable feast, but commonly takes 
 place in the month of Agrdhan. The festival is primarily 
 a Hindu one, but Mahomedans celebrate it also. It 
 answers to the harvest-home or vintage feasts of other 
 countries, and is a time when the scattered members of 
 families and distant friends meet together. It is not 
 peculiar to Bdkarganj. 
 
 The average produce of rice per bigha (about two- 
 thirds of an acre) is ten wians of paddy, representing 
 about six mans of rice. In the southern parts of Bd- 
 karganj the ryot does not always, or even generally, 
 cut his own rice. Bands of reapers come down from 
 Faridpiir and other northern districts, cut the paddy 
 and thresh it out for him. They are liberally jDaid, 
 for they receive one-sixth, and more commonly one-fifth 
 of the produce ; formerly they received one-fourth. In 
 the north of the district paddy is often threshed out 
 by beating it against a plank, but in the south this
 
 282 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 is usually done by cattle. The cattle which tread out 
 the corn arc almost always unmuzzled, which shows 
 that the practice of allowing the cattle to pull at the 
 straws occasionally as they go round is general in the 
 East, and that a divine precept was not necessary for 
 its observance. The ryots also tread the rice out w^itli 
 \ their feet sometimes. AVhen paddy is cut in the south 
 I of the district, the heads only of the grain are generally 
 cut. The straw is left on the ground and cut at a later 
 period. This is done because the load to be carried to 
 I the threshing-floor is hereby lightened, and because the 
 straw w^ould be damaged if trodd'en by the feet of the 
 cattle. The Faridpur reapers come down in Agr^han, 
 or December, and return in Magh, or February. Early 
 in December fleets of small boats may be seen sailing 
 down with the north wind to the southern parts of 
 Bdkarganj ; and two or three months after, they return 
 loaded with paddy. Rice is sold by the ryots by 
 measure, though in the bazdr it is commonly sold by 
 weight. When sold in the husk — i.e., as paddy— the 
 measure most commonly used in the south of the dis- 
 trict is the hudha. This consists of four kdthis, or 
 baskets of thirty-two sirs each. This is kachd weight, 
 and is equal to twenty-four sirs of j9aM weight. The 
 kdthi is a basket made of bent — i.e., cane. In the north 
 of the district rice is generally sold by the hatha, or 
 1 basket of twenty sirs. It thus appears that though 
 \ rice be generally sold by measure, yet the measure is 
 j one founded upon weight. There is a weight in much 
 i use in the district called the Sahebganj or Bdkarganj 
 weight. It is larger than even the paka ordinary weight, 
 as it contains ninety-six tolas to the sir. 
 
 Paddy is sold by the ryots chiefly to paikdrs or 
 middlemen, who come to their houses or to the local
 
 PR OD UCTIONS. 283 
 
 markets for it. Tlie paikd-rs arc of two sorts — larofc 
 and small. The former, who arc also called aratddrs 
 or brokers, have their offices at the princi23al bazdrs, 
 and ship the rice from thence to Calcutta. The smaller 
 paikdrs are called farias, and their business faridmi. 
 They go about to the villages and to the petty hdts 
 to buy paddy and rice, which they take to marts such 
 as Bdkarganj, Niamati, and Nalchiti. Thus these marts 
 are not fed directly from the threshing-floors ; all the 
 little hd,ts in the country are feeders to them, and the 
 marts are chiefly entrepots where the rice brought into 
 the village markets is collected and eventually shii^ped 
 ofi" to Calcutta. 
 
 A good deal of paddy is disposed of by barter, and 
 goes oE in this Avay to supply the wants of less grain- 
 producing districts. Thus in the cold weather boats 
 come from Dacca laden with earthen pots. These the 
 boatmen sell to the villagers for paddy, filling up their 
 boat with it as their trade progresses ; and eventually 
 after a cruise of a month or two, they return to their homes 
 with a cargo of paddy. The reason why this trade in 
 pots is so brisk is that the Bakarganj earth is in general 
 saltish and not suitable for pottery, and therefore the 
 inhabitants have to depend on other disti'icts for their 
 supply of pots for household purposes, and for the 
 making of molasses, &c. The price of a pot is ^qhq- \ 
 rally its contents in paddy. The husking of rice is \ 
 generally done by women, and is probably the most 
 laborious task they have to perform. Women in Bakar- 
 ganj do very little out-of-door w^ork, for the bulk of the 
 population is Mahomedan, and that too of a rather 
 strait and fanatical sort. Except Avidows, and others 
 who have no man to help them, no women, or at least 
 no Mahomedan women, are ever seen marketing or
 
 2 84 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 working in tlie fields. I liave scarcely ever seen women 
 employed as reapers, and no doubt this is one reason 
 why the Bd-karganj ryot is obliged to have so much of 
 his crop reaped for him. It is too much for him and 
 his sons to reap and thresh out by themselves, and they 
 will not allow their womankind to help them. 
 
 Rice Trade. — The rice export trade begins in No- 
 vember and continues till ]\Iarch. The principal marts 
 are Bdkarganj or Sahebganj, Nalchiti, Jhaluk^tti, and 
 Niamati. They present a most animated appearance 
 durinsf the rice season, for boats come to them from all 
 parts of Bengal. There is a great demand for silver 
 during the rice season, and the local treasury is soon 
 cleared by the presentation of currency notes and sup- 
 ply bills. 
 
 It is a curious fact that though Bdkarganj is a great 
 exporting district, it also imports paddy (during the 
 rains) from the districts of Tipperah, Mymcnsing, and 
 Sylhet. The chief seats of this import trade are Jhalu- 
 kdtti, Babuganj, and Mirganj. It is owsh paddy which 
 is thus imported, and it has a sale because it comes in 
 at a time when aman is nearly out of the market. The 
 Bd-karganj rice is of superior quality, and is therefore 
 exported to such an extent that a sufficient stock of 
 rice does not remain in the country for local consump- 
 tion, and owsh comes in from the eastern districts to 
 supply the deficiency. The communication, too, be- 
 tween Bdkarganj and Calcutta is so exceptionally easy, 
 owino^ to the number and laro-eness of the rivers, that 
 rice readily flows out of the district, whereas Tipperah 
 and other eastern districts are in some measure shut 
 out from the Calcutta market by their remoteness and 
 defective Avater communication.
 
 PRODUCTIONS. 285 
 
 The price of rice is of course much higher now than 
 it was in former times. On 9th February 1797 the 
 Collector writes to the Board that paddy used to sell 
 at 3 mans the rupee, but that in that year it was 
 selling in the Idilpiir pargana at 8 mans the rupee. 
 Paddy is generally reckoned nowadays as worth R3.I 
 per man. On 30th January 1875 rice was selling at 
 BarisiU at the rate of 17 sirs the rupee for best rice, 
 and 21 sirs the rupee for common rice. A man of 
 paddy, or 40 sirs, yields about 30 sirs of rice. 
 
 Betel-nut. — Next to rice, betel-nut is the most im- 
 portant staple of Bdkarganj. It is grown extensively 
 in Dakhin Shahbazpur, and the northern and eastern 
 parts of the district. Indeed nearly every homestead 
 in Bdkarganj has its few supari or betel-nut trees grow- 
 ing round it, and many a Brahman or Kayast who is 
 unwilling or unable to supj)ort himself by manual or 
 mental labour gets his living by the produce of his 
 betel-nut orchard. Betel-nuts are gathered in Octo- 
 ber, and the trade continues for a considerable part 
 of the cold weather. The chief seats of the trade 
 are Daulat Khan, Ld-lganj in Mendiganj, and Nal- 
 chiti. The Mugs and Burmese, and even a few China- 
 men, come to Nalchiti in the cold weather to purchase 
 betel-nuts for Arracan. There is a quarter of Nalchiti 
 called Mugpara or Mug hamlet, because it is chiefly 
 occupied by Mugs engaged in the betel-nut trade, and 
 in the cold weather there is always a number of balam 
 — ^.e., Mug — boats moored along the bank there. The 
 betel-nuts are sometimes conveyed direct from Nalchiti 
 to Chittagong and Arracan in balam boats, but more 
 frequently, I believe, they are transported to Calcutta 
 and shipped thence by steamer.
 
 286 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Betel-nuts are counted by tens or gds. One hundred 
 gis — i.e., a thousand nuts — sell for from three to four 
 rupees. A betel-nut tree yields about a hundred nuts a 
 year, and is reckoned as annually worth four anas. The 
 annual value of a cocoa-nut tree is reckoned at one 
 rupee. The wood of the betel -nut tree is used for 
 planking, and it is also used for bridges, for handrails, 
 and for posts. The gathering of betel-nuts is often a 
 trade, and boys and men of light weight make a liveli- 
 hood in this way. Many are so expert that they will 
 gather the fruit of a grove of trees without ever descend- 
 ing. This they do by swaying the tree on which they 
 are, and passing from it to the next one. The usual 
 payment for gathering the nuts is ten nuts a tree, and 
 for cocoa-nuts one nut a tree. If, however, the trees 
 are exceptionally high, the payment has to be increased. 
 The fruit of two hundred betel or of a hundred cocoa 
 nut trees can be gathered in one day. Betel-nuts are 
 prepared in three ways. 1st, The Mugari supari, so 
 called because it is intended for the Burmese market. 
 This is husked, steeped in water, washed, and dried. 
 2d, Tdtta siqocms. These are dried in the husk. 3d, 
 Maga suparis. These are steeped in the husk. The 
 freight for a cargo of suparis (betel-nuts) from Ldlganj 
 or Nalchiti to Calcutta is usually Rs.20 the hundred 
 mans. 
 
 Cocoa-nuts. — A large quantity of cocoa-nuts are j^ro- 
 duced in the island of Dakhin Shahbdzpur, and most 
 homesteads have two or three trees. The nuts are 
 largely consumed within the district, but a consider- 
 able quantity is exported, and there is a local manu- 
 facture of cocoa-nut oil. In the cold weather sloops 
 come over to Dakhin Shahbdzpiir from Chittagong
 
 rR OD UCTIONS. 2 8 7 
 
 laden with earth -oil, and take away cocoa-nuts in 
 exchane^e. 
 
 SuGAn-CANE. — Next to betel- nut, sugar-cane is, 1 
 think, the most important staple of Bdkarganj. It is 
 grown all over the district where there is high land. 
 Hence, as the banks of rivers are generally high, we 
 find that sugar-cane is largely cultivated on them. The 
 cultivation of the sugar-cane is laborious and expensive. 
 The ground requires to be prepared with great care ; 
 the plants have to be bought in the market, and it is 
 many months before the outlay can be reimbursed. The 
 landholders, too, generally claim an exceptionally high 
 rate of rent for land cultivated in sugar-cane. The mill 
 for expressing the juice and the labour for working it 
 are also expensive. Hence it is very common for sugar- 
 cane to be grown on the co-operative principle, several 
 ryots joining in the speculation. Bdkarganj sugar has 
 a high reputation in Bengal, and Jabar Amal sugar is 
 considered the best in the district. Jabar Amal, which 
 is the chief seat of the sugar trade, is a market and 
 village on the Kacha, in the Perozpiir subdivision. The , 
 raw fruit of the date-tree is eaten and the juice of the v 
 tree {tnri) is drunk ; it is also used as a sweetmeat when 
 inspissated into the form of a cake, but it is not much 
 used for making sugar. 
 
 Timber. — Next to rice, betel-nut, and sugar-cane, the 
 most important products of the district are probably 
 timber and firewood. These are chiefly obtained from 
 the Sundarban tracts in the south. The sundari is the V 
 most valuable tree, as it is universally used for making 
 boats. Even salwood boats have the parts which are 
 under water made of sundari, as it appears to be the ^
 
 2 88 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 only wood wliicli resists the saltness of the water. The 
 sundari, however, is by no means the most common tree 
 in the Sundarbans. The kerua is the prevailing tree, at 
 least on the chars and in the south-eastern part of the 
 district, and the goma and bolye are also common. The 
 kerua and goma are used for posts, &c., and the bolye 
 is especially valuable for its inner bark, which yields 
 a strong fibre. The bolye fibre is used by the ryots 
 instead of strinoj when makino; the roofs of their houses, 
 &c., and it is also twisted in tethering ropes for cattle 
 and bufialoes. The ashes of the bolye contain salt 
 and potash, and are used by washermen in place of 
 soap. 
 
 There are a large number of woodcutters in Bakar- 
 ganj, though they generally combine agriculture with 
 their trade. They are called haiilies, and their boats 
 6c/w7i-boats. These are strong open boats, and the 
 sundari logs are both packed into them and lashed 
 alongside. Unfortunately, the sundari is so heavy that 
 it will not float. It is unnecessary to describe the 
 woodcutter's trade, as it has been fully done by Mr 
 Westland. The chief seats of the timber trade are 
 Jhalukdtti alias Maharajganj, Gulsakhd-li, AmtoUi, and 
 Nalchiti. 
 
 Bent or cane is brought from the Sundarbans, and is 
 much used for making baskets, &c. The golpatta or 
 wild cocoa-nut is an important plant, as the Mugs and 
 the ryots generally in the south of the district thatch their 
 houses with it. It is also said to yield excellent toddy. 
 
 The bils and chars yield large quantities of reeds {nal, 
 hogia, &c.), which are much used for mat-making, for 
 the roofs of boats, &c., and are also largely exj)orted to 
 the surrounding districts. 
 
 A superior kind of mat, called the sitalpati, is made
 
 PRODUCTIONS. 289 
 
 from the outer covering of a reed called the parita. 
 This reed has a branching and somewhat shrubby habit, 
 and grows in damp places near homesteads. It does not 
 appear to be really wild, at all events it is regularly 
 cultivated by the ryots just as san or thatching grass 
 is. The chief workers in sltalj^ati live at Eangasri 
 and Helancha near Bdkarganj, and it is there that 
 the parita is most common. The workmen are called 
 paitiyas.^ 
 
 Pan. — Pd-n is a good deal cultivated in the Gournadi 
 and Baufal thanas, and in the Perozpiir subdivision. 
 The Dacca market is to some extent supplied from 
 Gournadi. Tarki, in that thana, is the chief mart. As 
 it is necessary that the pdn should arrive fresh at. Dacca, 
 pd,n-boatmen were long celebrated, and I believe are so 
 still, for their dexterity as oarsmen. They are, I believe, 
 all Hindus. Pd-n-gardens are only kept by Hindus — a 
 curious instance of conservatism, for Mahomedans are just 
 as fond of pdn as Hindus. But we find the same thing in 
 other trades, for most washermen, carpenters, and barbers 
 are Hindus. The pan-gardens belong to the Baroi caste. 
 
 There is no indigo grown in the district. Some fifty 
 years ago it was cultivated, and the remains of vats may 
 still be seen at Panchakaran and Khagasura. These 
 belonged to a Mr Nathaniel Monro, who was, I believe, 
 originally employed in the Salt Department. It is said 
 that the brackishness of the water prevented the success 
 of the manufacture. 
 
 Scarcely any tobacco is grown in Bakarganj, and the 
 requirements of the district are supplied from Kangpiir 
 and Kuch Behar. 
 
 ^ A list of the principal Sundarban trees will be found in Gastrell's 
 report.
 
 290 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 (Til sesamum) is largely cultivated, and the amount 
 of production appears to be increasing. It is grown for 
 the sake of the seeds, from which an oil is expressed, 
 which is used in cooking and also as a light. It is 
 often mixed with mustard oil. It is grown in the 
 northern parts of the district, and also in thana Mendi- 
 ganj. It is not much grown in the south, as it appears 
 to require high land, free from inundation. 
 / Now that Mddaripur has been transferred to Faridpiir, 
 
 V comparatively little jute is grown in the district. Some, 
 however, is grown in Gournadi, Mendiganj, and Dakhin 
 Shahbdzpiir. The amount of cotton grown is incon- 
 siderable, and is all consumed within the district. 
 Thana Mendiganj and Dakhin Shahbdzpiir are the prin- 
 cipal localities for its cultivation. 
 
 Cold-weather Crops. — The cold- weather crops, the 
 dhulat — i.e., dry or sandy earth crops, as they are called 
 — are not so important in Bdkarganj as they are in the 
 higher and drier districts of Western Bengal. Never- 
 theless, turmeric, melons, cucumbers, &c., are grown, 
 especially on the high lands and chars. Linseed is 
 grown to some extent in Dakhin Shahbdzpur. San, 
 for making hemp, is grown on the chars in the Arial- 
 Khan, &c. It is stronger than jute, and is used for 
 making nets. 
 
 Feuits, &c. — Abundance of plantains, tamarinds, jdk 
 fruit, &c., are produced, but the plantains are generally 
 of rather inferior qualit}^ The same must be said of 
 the mangoes, of which a great quantity are produced in 
 thana Gournadi. A few limes and oranges are grown in 
 Mendiganj. The maiijit or Indian madder {Rubia 
 cordifolia) is cultivated in Oozirpiir and Shikarpur in
 
 PR on UCTIONS. 2 9 1 
 
 the Gournadi thaiia, and the produce is exported to 
 Calcutta. It is said to be a very profitable crop, and 
 is locally known by the name of malancha. 
 
 GAb-tree. — The gdb-tree {Diosinjros emhryoiDteris 
 glutinifera) is very important, as the fruit of it yields 
 a juice which is used for caulking boats. It is a hand- 
 some tree, with dark green leaves, and a compact dome- 
 shaped habit. It does not, I believe, grow wild in the 
 Sundarbans, but is commonly seen on the banks of 
 rivers and in homesteads, both deserted and occupied. 
 The fruit is sold by the score or by the basket. Some- 
 times there is a scarcity, and then the price of the fruit 
 is eight anas, or even a rupee per basket ; generally the 
 price is from two to four anas a basket. Gdb is applied 
 to boats four times a year, except in the case of Balam 
 boats, on which it is not used at all. The caulkinof of 
 a kos boat with gcib costs from two to three rupees a 
 year. About 1000 gdb fruits are required for the 
 caulking of an ordinary-sized boat. Fishing-nets are 
 steeped in gdb juice, and this gives them their black 
 colour and also preserves them. The fruit, which is 
 round, and when ripe, brown, is pounded in a mortar 
 or dhenki, then water is added, and the mixture is 
 heated over a fire. It is then put into a jar, closed so 
 as to exclude the air and also the mosquitoes, which 
 are fond of eating it. If it is to be applied to boats, 
 the ashes of the golpatti or of any jungle are mixed 
 with it. It is customary to apply fire to the outside 
 of boats before the gdb juice is put on, in order to kill 
 the worms. 
 
 Mineral Products. — The only mineral product is 
 salt ; but the Government rules about salt, and the 
 
 J
 
 292 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 scarcity of fuel, do not admit of its manufacture. It is 
 obtained from the sea, and can also be extracted from 
 the earth. The soil of new formations in the district is 
 impregnated with salt, and in some of the chars — for 
 example, in parts of Dakhin Shahbazpur — the salt efflor- 
 escence is sufficient to make the surface of the soil quite 
 white, as if covered with hoarfrost. It has often been 
 supposed that the illicit manufacture of salt is common 
 in the district, and this has led to a stringent system of 
 salt-passes, &c. It is, however, impossible that the 
 manufacture can take place on a large scale, for, apart 
 from all other difficulties, the want of a sufficient 
 quantity of fuel must prevent this. It is on the chars 
 that the soil is most favourable for salt-making, but 
 these are now highly cultivated in most parts, and there 
 is comparatively little jungle. For example, there is 
 so little jungle now in the large island of Dakhin Shah- 
 bdzpiir that there are no tigers in it, and hardly any 
 leopards. In the days of the salt manufacture it was 
 the jungle on the chars which supplied the fuel, and it 
 was the necessity, imposed by the manufacture, of keep- 
 ing so much land in jungle which retarded the cultiva- 
 tion of the chars for so many years. No doubt salt 
 is illicitly manufactured for domestic consumption, but 
 such proceedings are on so small a scale as almost to 
 defy detection. A handful of earth from the chars will 
 yield enough salt for a meal. The ashes of the branches 
 of the cocoa-nut, of the plaintain, of the bamboo, &c., 
 yield salt, and it is often said that widows and other 
 poor people who live far inland get their salt from the 
 cocoa-nut trees in their homesteads. 
 
 It appears strange that a country naturally so rich 
 in salt as Bdkarganj should have to depend on Europe 
 for the supply of this necessary; and it is to be hoped
 
 PRODUCTIONS. 293 
 
 thcat some day it will be found possible to manufacture 
 it locally, or at least nearer home. 
 
 Fish. — Bdkarganj lias always been famous for tlie 
 number and excellence of its fish, and fish is the chief 
 form in which the bulk of the population obtain animal 
 food. Fish is exported to Calcutta from the Kotwalipara 
 bils (now mostly transferred to Faridpiir), and this 
 trade is the chief support of many of the inhabitants of 
 those swamps. The fish are conveyed in wells at the 
 bottom of the boats. They are small-sized fish, and be- 
 long chiefly to the species called the Izoi and the singJii. 
 The khcdtsa, the saiil, the gdzar, tlie fali, the magur, and 
 the cliang are also caught in the bils and exported to 
 Calcutta. The Deputy-Magistrate of MMaripiir once 
 estimated the annual value of the export at betw^een 
 Es. 15,000 and Es. 16,000. Upwards of fifty species of 
 fish are enumerated as beinof cauMit in the district 
 and used for food. The best known are the hilsa, the 
 hhethi or horal, the rul, the pangds, the hodl, the Mtal, 
 the silon, and the mango fish. This last is, however, 
 only caught in the rains, and is smaller than, and in 
 every respect inferior to, the mango fish of the Hughli. 
 The hilsa has given its name to one of the largest rivers 
 in the district (the Ilsa or Hilsa), between Dakhin 
 Shahbdzptir and the mainland; and the pangc4s has a 
 river named after it in the Gournadi thana. The hilsa 
 is sometimes salted, but generally it is either eaten fresh, 
 or dried in the sun without the use of any salt. The 
 drying of fish is an extensive trade in parts of the south 
 of the district, and boats come from Chittao-ono; and 
 Jessore every year and take away large quantities of 
 siHJcis, as they are called. In general, I believe, the
 
 294 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 drying and the exporting are done by the same people — 
 viz., the boats' crews. 
 
 There is a small delicate fish called the hdns'pata, or 
 bamboo leaf, from its resemblance to that leaf. The 'puti 
 and the young puti, called the titijuti, and the isa fish, 
 are largely caught in the paddy-fields and ditches. Fish- 
 fry or pona, which are chiefly the young of the said 
 and gdzar, are also largely caught by herd-boys and 
 others. Chingris or prawns are caught in abundance 
 during the cold weather. The koi-fish,^ already alluded 
 to, is especially prized by Hindus, and there are many 
 who do not care for any fish except the koi and the bil- 
 fish allied to it. It is made into soup, and is thought to 
 be very nourishing. The koi is sold by number, twenty 
 kois fetching from three to four anas. Fish, when sold 
 on the large scale, are sold by the man, and the price 
 in Dakhin Shahbtizpiir is about Rs.5 per man. The 
 potha deserves mention from the fact that it is a poison- 
 ous fish, and that several accidents have occurred from 
 eating it. It- is a thick and curiously-mottled fish, and 
 is common in the bazars, as it is prized by the poorer 
 classes for its oily richness. It has sometimes been pro- 
 posed to prohibit the sale of it, l)ut such a measure would 
 be of no avail, as it would not prevent people from catch- 
 ing it for their own use. The poison is contained, I 
 believe, near the ventral fin, and this part should be cut 
 out before the fish is cooked. 
 
 Fish Oil. — Many ryots make an oil for lighting their 
 houses from decomposed fish, but the oil is not an article 
 of trade. 
 
 Fish are caught by nets, by cages, and by hooks. 
 
 ' This fisli is able to propel itselt a considerable distance across country.
 
 PRODUCTIONS. 29s 
 
 According to the census, tlierc are 17,G07 fishermen 
 (males only) in Biikarganj. Most of them are Hindus, 
 and belong to the Jaliya or Kaibart castes. The fish- 
 mongers — i.e., those who buy fish from the fishermen 
 and retail it to the public — are generally Mahomedans, 
 and belong to a class called Nikaris and also Sikdars. 
 There are several families of them near Barisdl. They 
 are a class by themselves, and are looked down upon by 
 other Mahomedans, who will not intermarry with them. 
 There is no close season in Bdkarganj, and no precau- 
 tions are taken to preserve the fish in the rivers. It is 
 customary to stock tanks with fish, and the right of 
 fishing in them is jealously guarded. It is common to 
 see bamboos stuck here and there in a tank with the ob- 
 ject of preventing night-poaching, the stakes preventing 
 the throwing of nets. During the rains trenches are cut 
 between the tanks and rivers, so as to allow fresh water 
 and fish to enter the tanks. Tanks are often let for the 
 sake of the fishing, and yield a considerable sum. There 
 are several valuable tanks in Kewari than a, and the Ba- 
 risd,l municipality have lately derived a small revenue 
 from the letting of the rod-fishing in the public tanks. 
 Fishing is a very favourite amusement of the Bengalis, 
 and is dignified by them with the name of shihar. There 
 are only four fisheries belonging to Government, and 
 none of them is of much value. 
 
 Notwithstanding the apparently great abundance of 
 fish, natives are frequently heard to complain of their 
 scarcity and dearness. This is especially the case in the 
 south of the district, though from the number and large- 
 ness of the rivers there, one would have thought that 
 fish would have been most plentiful. This complaint is 
 partially explained by the circumstance that professional 
 fishermen, like other Hindus, are somewhat scarce in the
 
 296 DISTRICT OF BAkARGANJ. 
 
 south of the district. The best explanation, however, is 
 that by far the largest proportion of the fish caught in 
 the district is never brought to market, as it is taken by 
 peasants and other amateur fishermen for their own 
 consumption. Every ryot, young and old, is something 
 of an angler, and his inexhaustible patience, and abun- 
 dance of leisure at certain seasons, well fit him for the 
 occupation.
 
 ( 297 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MANUFACTURES AND PRICES. 
 I. MANUFACTURES. 
 
 Bakarganj is not at all a manufacturing district. 
 There are no mills or other large works, and the great 
 bulk of the people are engaged in agriculture. In old 
 times the district was a very important seat of the salt 
 manufacture ; many descendants of the salt molunghees 
 still reside in it, and the names Baipari, G61dar, Jama- 
 dar, have become patronymics in many families, especi- 
 ally in Dakhin Shahbdzpur, from their having been at 
 one time connected with the salt trade. The introduc- 
 tion of Liverpool salt, and the cultivation of the islands 
 and chars, have put an end to this industry. A few 
 Mahomedan families in the village of Bilgaon, near 
 Palardi police station, make a little country paper, but 
 it is very coarse, and the trade is dying out. Chalas 
 or ghani bags are made by the Kapali caste in Patihar 
 and other villages of the Gournadi thana, and these have 
 a good sale among the sugarmakers, &c. Opposite Nal- 
 chiti, at a place called Kalupara, or Oilman's hamlet, a 
 good deal of mustard oil is made, the seed being brought 
 from the north of the district. The production of sugar at 
 Jabar Amal, &c., has already been referred to. Sitalpati 
 mats are made at Chirapara, Rangasri, and Helancha ; 
 and hogla mats are made in great quantities all over 
 the district. Cocoa-nut oil is made at Daulat Khan, Nal-
 
 298 DISTRICT OF dAkARGANJ. 
 
 cLiti, &c. Lime is made from sliells at Chawalak^tti 
 and other places in the hils, for home consumption only. 
 Uzirpiir and its neighbourhood have a local reputation for 
 the making of ddos and other iron implements. Large 
 jars for holding rice, &c., are made at Madupur, near 
 Nalchiti, and pots and dishes are made by potters at 
 various places in the Kotwali thana, &c. Nets are made 
 at Ghanteshwar. Perhaps one of the most skilled crafts 
 in the district is boat-making. This is carried on at 
 Deljaikh^li and Shampiir in the Mendiganj thana, where 
 the best k6s boats are made ; at Ghanteshwar, near 
 AgarpTir, where the best fjansways are made ; and at 
 Barsald.tti in the Perozpiir thana. At this last place 
 very large cargo-boats are made. A few canoes are 
 hollowed out of kerua wood by the Mugs in the 
 Sundarbans, and dinghis of sundari wood are made 
 all over the district, but especially at Jhalukd,ttL Kali- 
 ganj, B^karganj, Phalagar, are also boat-building places. 
 There are weavers in the district, both Hindus and 
 Mahomedans, but their trade is not a profitable one. 
 The census gives the large number of 14,146 weavers 
 (males only). Brick-making is carried on to a consider- 
 able extent in the neighbourhood of Barisil. 
 
 The largest workshop in the district is the Barisd,! 
 Jail, but it does not produce anything worthy of much 
 notice. It may be remarked that dexterity with the 
 fingers is much more characteristic of the Hindu than 
 of the Mahomedan population, and that ai5 B^karganj 
 is pre-eminently a Mahornedan district, much artistic 
 skill is not to be looked for. I have no doubt that the 
 superior dexterity of the Hindu is in great measure to 
 be explained by the doctrine of hereditary aptitudes, 
 as the system of caste makes generation after generation 
 follow the same trade.
 
 MANUFACTURES AND PRICES. 299 
 
 II. PEICES, ETC. 
 
 The sul^jcct of prices is one about which it is difficult 
 to give precise information. It is sufficiently established 
 that there has been a considerable rise of prices within 
 the last eighty years, and probably this rise has been 
 most marked during the last decade, but I cannot 
 exhibit it step by step. All I shall attempt to do will 
 be to give a few facts, which I have collected from the 
 official records and other sources. 
 
 In 1790 the average earnings of a blacksmith were 
 reckoned to be Rs.3 a month, and in 1796 the manjhis 
 of the patrol-boats received Rs.4, and the rowers Ils.3 
 per month. (It must be remembered that the rupees 
 were sicca.) This was, I fancy, butter than the ordinary 
 pay of boatmen, and was given proljably on account of 
 the danger of the service. In the statement of the ddh 
 establishment, 30th August 1809, the pay of the manj- 
 his is reckoned at Rs.3, and that of the rowers and 
 the hire of the boat at Pt3.2-8 a month. In 1802 the 
 wages of spearmen (employed in the escort of treasure, 
 &c.) were Ils.2-8 a month. In old times the prisoners 
 in the jail did their own marketing, and received a 
 certain amount of cowries daily for this j)ur2:»ose. In 
 1805 the daily allowance to each prisoner was three 
 puns of cowries, equal to about three-fourths of an an;i. 
 Their monthly expenditure per head was reckoned at 
 about Rs.l-G, of which 1.5 anas went for the purchase of 
 rice. Of course this did not include the charges for 
 guarding, for lights, for medicine, or for blankets. 
 There is a letter from Mr Collector Armstrong, dated 
 9th February 1707, in which he says that in tlie ldil[>ur 
 pargana paddy used to sell at threat lu-'mnds Ibr (he rupee;,
 
 300 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 and was then considered cheap, but that at the time of 
 his writing it was selling at the rate of eight maunds 
 for the rupee. (The maund was of 82 sicca weight.) 
 In 1807 bamboos sold at Ks.3 the 100, and in 1820 they 
 sold at Rs.4 the 100. Lime was Rs.35the 100 maunds, 
 and iron was Rs.6 the maund. 
 
 On 19th March 1811 the Collector writes that "the 
 price of rice has risen to a very unusual height ; instead 
 of one man for a rupee, it is now twenty-five sirs." On 
 27th March 1824 the price of salt is said to be Rs.4-8 
 per man when bought in quantities larger than a man, 
 and Rs.5 a man for smaller quantities, so that the price 
 was then about the same as now. 
 
 In a letter of 29th August 1799 it is reported that, 
 there was not a sicca rupee in Bdkarganj. I presume 
 there were Arcot and other rupees. The copper coinage 
 was not introduced till 1814. 
 
 In 1861 paddy sold at one man and at 36 sirs 
 for the rupee, and rice at 26 sirs for the rupee. Sugar- 
 cane sold at 64 stems for the rupee, or about the same 
 as now. Raw sugar sold at 10 sirs for the rupee, and 
 milk at 12 sirs. In 1866 the price of rice rose on ac- 
 count of the Orissa famine, and was 15 sirs for the 
 rupee in January, and even, it is said, as high as 8|- sirs 
 in October. The average price for the year is given at 
 12 sirs for the rupee. On 30th January 1875 the price 
 of good rice in the Barisdl bazdr was 1 7 sirs the rupee, 
 and of inferior kinds 21 sirs for the rupee. At the 
 same time salt was selling at 2 anas a sir, and firewood 
 at 100 sirs a rupee. 
 
 Freights to Calcutta vary from Rs.20 to Rs.30 the 
 100 mans. Often goods are shipped on co-operative 
 principle, the mahajan or shipper and the boatmen 
 dividing the profit. When this is done, the mahajan
 
 MANUFACTURES AND PRICES. 301 
 
 generally gets 8 anas or onc-lialf of the profit, and 
 the other half is divided among the manjhi and his 
 boatmen, he getting 10 anas and the boatmen G anas. 
 When boatmen receive wages, they are also fed by the 
 maDJhi. It is very difficult to make any statement 
 regarding the rates of rent paid by cultivators. A fact 
 is always a difficult thing to lay hold of — it is so slip- 
 j)ery, and has so many sides to it ; but this is especially 
 difficult when the question is one of prices, or of 
 cognate matters, as so many theories and prejudices 
 and interests are intertwined with it. However, I may 
 state that the general rate of rent for rice-land seems to 
 be about a rupee a bigha. Homestead-land and sugar- 
 cane-land, or any land cultivated in a particular crop, 
 generally lets at a much higher rate of rent.
 
 ( 302 ) 
 
 PART IIL 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ENGLISH ADAIINISTRATION. 
 
 There is no doubt that Bdkarganj early attracted the 
 attention of the English on account of its facilities for 
 trade. It has always been productive of rice, and in 
 the old days of the salt monopoly it was perhaps even 
 more important in the eyes of the Government on ac- 
 count of the salt manufactured in it. Selimdbdd was 
 long a chief seat of this manufacture, and I have else- 
 where noticed Mr Barwell's (the Chief of Dacca) dealings 
 Avith the salt-farm of this pargana and of Dakhin Shah- 
 bdzpiir. There was also some exportation of lime from 
 the district before the Sylhet lime quarries were worked, 
 or at least before their produce was readily available 
 for the Calcutta market. The lime was shell-lime, and 
 was made by burning the shells found in the bils and 
 swamps. The rivers of the district were also then, as 
 now, th,e highway of communication between Calcutta 
 and Dacca and the other eastern districts. More than a 
 hundred years ago the bazdr of Bdkarganj was spoken of 
 as being a place of great trade; and as the letter in which 
 this is mentioned gives an interesting, though rather 
 painful, representation of the state of matters in the dis- 
 trict in those days, I shall here give it in its entirety.
 
 ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION. 303 
 
 The letter was written by one Sergeant Brcgo from 
 Bd/karganj, on 25tli May 1762, and was addressed to tlic 
 Governor (Mr Vansittart). It is printed at p. Ill of 
 vol. ii. of Vansittart's ''Narrative" (London, 1766). 
 
 " The situation of affairs at this place obliges me to 
 apply to your Honour for instructions for my further 
 proceedings. 
 
 " My instructions which I brought here were, that in 
 case any Europeans or their servants committed any 
 disorders, they were to be sent to Calcutta, notwithstand- 
 ing any pretences they shall make for so doing. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the rigour of these orders, I have 
 ever made it my business (when anything trifling hap- 
 pened) to endeavour by gentle means to persuade the 
 gentlemen's several gomastahs here to act in a peaceable 
 manner, which, although repeated several times, has had 
 no effect, but, on the contrary, has occasioned their writ- 
 ing complaints of me to their respective masters that I 
 obstructed them in their business and ill-used them ; 
 and in return I have received menacing letters from 
 several gentlemen, threatening, if I interfere with their 
 servants, to use such measures as I may repent ; nor" 
 have the gentlemen only done this, their very gomastahs 
 have made it public here, that in case I stop them in 
 any proceeding, they will use the same methods ; for the 
 truth of which I liave good proofs. 
 
 " Now, sir, I am to inform you what I have obstructed 
 them in. This place was of great trade formerly, but 
 now brought to nothing by the following practices. 
 A gentleman sends a gomastah here to buy or sell ; he 
 immediately looks upon himself as sufficient to force 
 every inhabitant either to buy his goods or sell him 
 theirs, and on refusal (in case of non- capacity) a flogging 
 or confinement immediately ensues. This is not suffi-
 
 304 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 cient even wlien willing, but a second force is made use 
 of, which is to engross the different branches of trade to 
 themselves and not to suffer any persons to buy or sell 
 the articles they trade in, and if the country-people do 
 it, then a repetition of their authority is put in practice ; 
 and agaiii, what things they purchase, they think the 
 least they can do is to take them for a considerable deal 
 less than another merchant, and oftentimes refuse paying 
 that, and my interfering causes an immediate complaint. 
 This and many other oppressions, more than can be 
 related, which are daily used by the Bengal gomastahs, 
 is the reason that this place is growing destitute of 
 inhabitants. Every day numbers leave the town to 
 seek a residence more safe, and the very markets, which 
 before afforded plenty, do hardly now produce any- 
 thing of use, their peons being allowed to force poor 
 people, and if the zamindar tries to prevent it, he is 
 threatened to be used in the same manner. 
 
 " Before, justice was given in the j^ublic cutchery, 
 but now every gomastah is become a judge, and every 
 one's house a cutchery ; they even pass sentences on the 
 zamindars themselves, and draw money from them by 
 pretended injuries, such as a quarrel with some of their 
 peons, or their having, as they assert, stole something, 
 which is more likely to have been taken by their own 
 people; but allowing they were robbed, I believe no 
 gomastah's authority extends so far as to take his own 
 satisfaction on the Government. 
 
 " Having thus far acquainted your Honour with the 
 behaviour of the gomastahs here, I am to request your 
 Honour's interest, that in case I am to put your orders 
 into execution, I may be borne harmless therein. Now 
 I beg leave to conclude, being, with all respect," &c. 
 
 An extract from this letter is given in a note to Mr
 
 ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION. 305 
 
 Mill's "History of India," vol. iii. p. 330 (ed. 1830) ; 
 but Mr Mill wrongly describes it as a letter written to 
 tbe Nawab by one of his officers. In fiict the letter was 
 written to Mr Vansittart by an officer whom he had sent 
 down with six sepoys to Bdkarganj at the request of the 
 Nawab, and in order to assist the zamindar of Edkarganj. 
 This circumstance raises the importance of the letter by 
 showing that its representations come from one holding 
 a presumably independent position, and not from one of 
 Mir Kassim's servants. The letter, however, not only 
 shows the distracted condition of the country, but also 
 the feebleness of the remedies applied. It almost pro- 
 vokes a smile to find Mr Vansittart unable to do any- 
 thing more vigorous than to send a common sergeant 
 (apparently, from his name, not even a European) with 
 six sepoys to a large mart like Bdkarganj, when such 
 oj)pressions were going on. The orders, too, which were 
 given to the poor sergeant — viz., to deport the Europeans 
 and their servants to Calcutta — seem ludicrously out of 
 kee]3ing with the means of coercion placed at his dis- 
 posal, and justify Macaulay's remark, that Vansittart> 
 with fair intentions, was a feeble and inefficient ruler. 
 
 The following extract from a letter of the Nawab (Mir 
 Kassim) to Mr Vansittart gives another picture of the 
 state of matters. It appears to have been written on 
 26tli December 1762, and is printed at p. 167 of the 
 2d volume of Vansittart 's " Narrative : " — 
 
 "As the Company's gomastahs make salt at Sundeep, 
 &c., I desire you wall write to them not to make any 
 more there, but, like other merchants, to purchase it 
 from the molunghies at the market price. 
 
 "In the parganas of Gopalpur and Dakhanbdrpur 
 
 [Dakhin Shahbazpiir], and other districts where salt is 
 
 made, the people of the Company's factory work the salt- 
 
 u
 
 3o6 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 paus; aud they take possession of all the salt whicli the 
 molungliies of other parganas have made, by which 
 means I suffer a very great loss. Moreover, they oblige 
 the ryots to receive money from them for purchasing rice, 
 and by force and violence they take more than the mar- 
 ket price affords, and the ryots all run away on account 
 of these oppressions. For many years it has been cus- 
 tomary for the Cashmere merchants to advance money 
 at Sunderbund, and provide molungliies to work the 
 salt-paus there : they paid the rents for the salt-pans at 
 the several parganas; and the duties on the salt, which 
 were paid at Burry-saul Chokey, belonging to the Shah- 
 bunder, amounted to near Es. 30,000. At present the 
 people of the factory have dispossessed the Cashmere 
 merchants, and have appropriated all the salt to them- 
 selves." 
 
 In Long's 'SSelections," p. 55, there is an extract 
 from the Government Consultations, dated 12th February 
 1755, stating that several boats loaded with rice had 
 been stopped at Bdkarganj by an order from Dacca 
 (apparently issued by Eajah Raj Ballab), and that the 
 stoppage had occasioned a great scarcity and dearness 
 of grain in Calcutta. In consequence of this stoppage 
 a Lieutenant Harding was sent with a small party of 
 troops to clear the boats and take them under his pro- 
 tection. When the great famine of 1770 took place, 
 help was sought for from Biikargauj,^ just as in the 
 
 ^ It is mentioned in a memorandum by Sir George Campbell that a 
 gentleman was despatched from Dacca to B4karganj in 1770 to purchase 
 grain. The fullest reference to the subject, however, is to be found in 
 Hunter's " Rural Annals," Appendix B, jj. 407, &c, Mr Sumner was the 
 gentleman deputed (p. 419, Consultation of 3d April 1770). 33,913 mans 
 had arrived from Bakarganj (p. 412). The rice from Barkerganje (sic), Mr 
 Becher observed, arrived at a most critical time ; and *' the Company- 
 has reaped a considerable benefit by the measure, ■which proved a general 
 relief to the immediate dependants on the English here [Murshiddbdd],
 
 ENGLISH A DMINISTRA TION. 3 o 7 
 
 famiue of 1873-74 it was regarded as tlie chief source 
 from wliicli the distressed districts were to be supplied. 
 
 Probably the Portuguese were the first Europeans or 
 quasi-Euroj^eaus who engaged in the Bdkarganj trade. 
 They came from Bandel and Goa, and settled at Siljpur, 
 about five miles from Bdkarganj, towards the middle of 
 the last century. As I have stated in another chapter, 
 the Portuo-uese had dealino-s with the district of a less 
 peaceful character — namely, in the beginning of the 
 seventeenth century, when Sebastian Gonzales and other 
 Portuguese pirates came from Chittagong and else- 
 where, and in conjunction with the Burmese or Mugs, 
 plundered the Sundarbans and the islands in the Meghna. 
 The first British settler in the district was apparently a 
 Scotchman, named William Eobinson, who established 
 himself at Madhupiir, in the neighbourhood of Baroikaran 
 and Nalchiti, in 1766, and lived there for about thirty 
 years. He described himself in 1794 as having em- 
 barked on board the ship "Falmouth" in 1765, and as 
 having been cast ashore east of Saugor Sands in June 
 1766, from whence he had come ujd to Madhupur by boat, 
 and had been engao-ed in trade there ever since. His 
 descendants still reside in the district, and his tomb is 
 still to be seen in Barisdl, in Mr Pereira's compound. 
 There was also a Mr Frazer, who described himself in 
 1794 as having been for ten years at Baroikaran in the 
 employment' of Mr Gill. 
 
 In these days Nalchiti, which is now so large a mart, 
 does not appear to have existed, or at least it was less 
 
 and tended to preserve order and regularity ; otherwise the greatest con- 
 fusion must have ensued." Rs. 60,000 were given to the Dacca Council for 
 the purchase of grain. If this were all the money spent at Bakarganj, the 
 arrangement must have been very successful, for on 1st February 1771 
 tlie committee report that the sale of the Bakarganj rice produced a profit 
 of Rs.67,593 (Appendix B, p. 419).
 
 3o8 DISTRICJ- OF BAkARGANJ. 
 
 important than its neighbour Baroikaran, which is now 
 almost deserted. Local tradition points to Baroikaran 
 as the old headquarters of the district, and this is sup- 
 ported by a reference in the decree for the resumption 
 of Baroikaran char to a piece of land therein which 
 had originally been Mr Christopher Keating's cutchery. 
 This is the Mr Keating of Hunter's " Annals," who, 
 before he went to Birbhiim, was Civil Judge of Bdkarganj 
 in 1785. The ancient imjDortance of Baroikaran is also 
 shown by the fact that it was the site of the police 
 station, whicli was not removed from it to Nalchiti until 
 1824. 
 
 Dacoits. — The great trade of Bdkarganj, and the 
 facilities for escape offered by its rivers and jungles, 
 rendered it a favourite haunt of dacoits or gang-robbers, 
 and the English Government was early obliged to take 
 notice of their depredations. As far back as 1764 we 
 find that an English gentleman named ]\Ir Rose was 
 murdered by dacoits nearBdkarganj, and that the Nawab 
 of Murshid{ibd,d was called upon to make the land- 
 holder refund the money and goods plundered, and to 
 take such vigorous measures that the parts might be 
 entirely cleared of robbers and murderers (Long's 
 "Selections," p. 361. See also pp. 382, 383, and 
 385). The letter about Mr Rose given at p. 361 of 
 Long's " Selections " is in answer to one from the Gover- 
 nor, dated 14th November 1764. The latter is inter- 
 esting as a recognition of the practice of impaling, the 
 Nawab being requested to order the Naib of Dacca to 
 impale the robbers. I therefore quote it in full: "I 
 have already by word of mouth represented to you, 
 that as Mr Rose, an English gentleman, was travelling 
 in a boat with some money and goods, the boat-people
 
 ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION. 309 
 
 murdered liim near Bakargauj and carried away the 
 money and goods, and took shelter in the zamindari of 
 Sitaram. In order to inquire into this affair, I sent an 
 Engli.slinian to tlie said zamindar, but he woukl not 
 regard liim, I have therefore enclosed for your obser- 
 vation an account of the money and goods that were 
 plundered, and request that you will write an order to 
 the Naib of Dacca to make the zamindar refund, and 
 inflict such punishment on him as may prevent all such 
 proceedings in future. The number of murderers and 
 robbers in the neighbourhood of Bdckerganje is daily 
 increasing, insomuch that trading people are now afraid 
 to pass backwards and forwards, wherefore I request 
 that you will give orders to the Naib of Dacca to send 
 some of the factory sepoys along with some of his 
 own people to apprehend the said murderers and impale 
 them, which will be very serviceable to traders." Mr 
 Eose is elsewhere called Captain John Rose and also 
 Mr Ross, and apparently it was his own boatmen 
 who murdered him. The whole of his property, in- 
 cluding Rs.5800 in cash, was estimated at Rs. 13,000. 
 Among his property were four slaves, who were reckoned 
 altogether as worth only Rs.240. Other instances of 
 the depredations of dacoits are given in Seton-Karr's 
 "Selections," p. 269 et seq. In 1788 they killed a Mr 
 Burgh between Kulpadi and Gournadi. 
 
 They also attacked Mr Willis, the Collector of Sylhet, 
 on his way through the district, and he had to run his 
 boat ashore in order to escape from them. In a private 
 letter printed at p. 273 of Seton-Karr's " Selections " 
 the writer says, " I am happy to tell you that most of 
 the dacoits who attacked Mr Willis in the Sundarbans 
 have been taken. It appears they have been rov- 
 ing about the Sundarban rivers for eighteen months
 
 3IO DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 without any settled habitation. They were chased by 
 some armed boats, fitted out by Mr Day for the ex- 
 press purpose, below the island Siindeep, almost out at 
 sea ; and duriug the chase the pursuers and pursued 
 were all nearly swallowed up by the high bore of the 
 Meofhna. There was skirmishincr from time to time for 
 a day and a half before the dacoits surrendered. They 
 have since been brought to Dacca, and it is to be hoped 
 that their fate will be an example and terror to others." 
 
 One Mahomed Hayat, a notorious dacoit, was sen- 
 tenced by the Naib Nazim to perpetual imprisonment 
 in 1790. The Governor-General ordered that he should 
 be transjDorted to the Prince of Wales Island. He re- 
 turned in 1806. 
 
 I have noticed these dacoities here, because it was 
 apparently in consequence of them that Government 
 first took active measures for the administration of the 
 district. An officer was appointed, called the Commis- 
 sioner of the Sundarbans, who had his headquarters at 
 Bakarganj. Unfortunately the Bdkarganj magisterial 
 records do not extend farther back than 1792, and I am 
 unable to say at what date the office of Commissioner 
 was established. Apparently Mr Lodge was the first 
 Commissioner ; he was succeeded in 1790 by j\Ir Hynd- 
 man (" Calcutta Gazette," 16th December 1790), and 
 the latter by Mr Middleton.^ At a still earlier date, 
 however, there was a civil judge, first at Baroikaran 
 and afterwards at Bdkarganj. The first judge was 
 
 ^ The " Calcutta Gazette" of Gth December 1792 contains tlie following 
 announcement : " The Governor-General in Council has been pleased to 
 appoint Mr Samuel Middleton Commissioner in the Sundarbans for sup- 
 pressing the depredations of dacoits, in the room of Mr William Ilynd- 
 man deceased." 
 
 The same paper contains the announcement of the death of Mr H^'nd- 
 man, " lately at Bdkarganj."
 
 ENGLISH A D MINIS TRA TION. 3 r i 
 
 apparently Mr AVrouglitoii. lie acted in 1782, and got 
 into trouble with Mr Holland, the Chief of Dacca, about 
 the execution of a process. The Governor (Warren 
 Hastings) ordered him to be brought to trial about this, 
 but I do not know what was the result. He was suc- 
 ceeded by Mr Keating, who was apparently succeeded 
 by Mr Lodge. These facts are taken from some papers 
 lent me by the Board of Revenue. Mr Lodge also held 
 the office of Collector of Buzurgumedpiir, which was a 
 zila or collectorate district long before Biikarganj. It 
 appears from a letter of Mr Lodge, dated 12th August 
 1786, which is preserved in the office of the Board of 
 Revenue, that the parganas of Chandradwip, Selimdbdd, 
 Jaffirdbdd, Syedpiir, Arangpiir, and Azimpiir were 
 attached to the zila of Buzurgumedpiir. Buzurgumed- 
 piir apparently remained a separate charge till 1787, 
 when it was annexed to the Collectorate of Dacca 
 (Seton-Karr's Selections, p. 185).
 
 ( 312 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 I HAVE said that the magisterial records of Bd,kargaiij 
 do not extend farther back than 1792. The CoUectorate 
 records are not much okler, the earliest being a letter 
 dated 6th January 1790, which recommends the making 
 of advances to the proprietors on account of the severe 
 famine of 1787. It should also be noticed that the early 
 CoUectorate records are merely copies, the originals being 
 at Dacca. The copies were obtained by Mr Hunter, the 
 first Collector of Bdkarganj, who came to Barisdl in 1817 
 (see his letter to Board, 24th March 1819). They are 
 not always perfect, and contain lacunae as well as errors ; 
 but, on the other hand, they are probably in better 
 preservation and more legible than the originals now 
 are. 
 
 Next to the formation of the Permanent Settlement, 
 the most important event in the history of Bd,karganj 
 during the last century was probably the famine of 
 1787. This appears to have caused a very great loss of 
 life, especially in the northern parts of the district. It 
 was the result of floods, not of drought ; and indeed it 
 may be said that the destruction of the crops by floods is 
 the only possible cause of an extensive famine in Bd,kar- 
 ganj. The country is so well watered that it is little 
 in need of irrigation, and should the rain fail, enough 
 water is brought into the southern parts of the districts
 
 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 313 
 
 by the tides in some measure to supply its place. I have 
 not been able to find any detailed descrijDtion of the famine, 
 but the following reference to it is made by Mr Douglas 
 in a letter to the Board of Eevenue, dated 6tli April 1790. 
 The occasion of Mr Douglas's writing was his having ^ 
 to report on the proposals for the Decennial Settlement 
 of the district. "However unwilling I am," he writes, 
 " to animadvert on Mr Day's proposed plan of a ten years' 
 settlement, yet a regard for my own character, and from 
 a perfect conviction that I cannot conclude the Settle- 
 ment with many of the mahals at the jama recom- 
 mended by him, impels me to deliver my sentiments 
 freely on the subject, relying on the Board's candour 
 for putting a favourable construction on the motives 
 by which I am actuated. It is necessary to observe 
 that Mr Day did not send down his proposed plan of 
 settlement for upwards of six months after this district 
 [Dacca Jaldlpiir, which included Faridpiir and Bakar- 
 ganj] had been visited by the most dreadful calamity 
 ever remembered by the oldest inhabitant of the dis- 
 trict, and which deprived it (by Mr Day's calcula- 
 tion) of upwards of GO, 000 of its inhabitants, who 
 either miserably perished, or were reduced to the 
 painful necessity of forsaking their habitations in 
 search of a precarious subsistence. Mr Day visited 
 some of the parganas when the famine raged 
 with the greatest violence, and had ocular proofs 
 of the extreme misery to which the wretched in- 
 habitants were reduced. He saw the parganas inun- 
 dated, whole crops destroyed, and cultivation totally 
 neglected. He had the mortification of beholding 
 hundreds of the poor wretched inhabitants daily dying 
 without the means of aflbrding them the smallest relief. 
 After a local investigation of the cruel efi'ects of the
 
 3t4 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 iiiimdation, after a full conviction of the very heavy 
 loss many of the principal parganas sustained both in 
 their inhabitants and crops, and the consequent decline of 
 cultivation, it is a matter of great surprise that Mr Day 
 should, in many of the parganas which had suffered 
 so materially by the inundation and loss of tenants, 
 recommend an increase to be taken in the ensuing year's 
 Settlement. That gentleman observes that his plan was 
 founded on the * Idea of a Ten Years' Bandobast.' Ad- 
 mitting of this, can it be supposed that districts which 
 had been deprived of one-half of their natural resources, 
 could in the short period of one year so far recover as to 
 yield the customary revenue, much less bear an increase 
 which would have added to the miseries they had 
 already suffered, and in all probability have obliged 
 the remaining ryots to desert their habitations and seek 
 refug-e in more favourable districts ? " 
 
 Elsewhere the Collector reports of the pargana Idilpur, 
 that he has been told from respectable authority that the 
 northern part of this zamindari lost three-fourths of its 
 inhabitants in the dreadful calamity of 1194 B.s. (1787). 
 It will be seen that Mr Douglas's words, " the most 
 dreadful calamity ever remembered by the oldest inha- 
 bitant of the district," imply that Bdkarganj did not 
 sufier from the celebrated famine of 1770, which deso- 
 lated so many districts in Bengal. 
 
 The famine of 1787 no doubt chiefly affected the 
 northern and eastern parts of the district, and the more 
 westerly and central portions probably escaped in great 
 measure, for then, as now, the northern and eastern parts 
 were especially exposed to being flooded. They are the 
 first to feel the effects of the risings of the rivers, and 
 they are full of low-lying lands and swamps. A great 
 part of Farldptir and of the Gournadi thana consists of
 
 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 315 
 
 swamps, and it is seldom that a year passes without 
 their suffering some loss from iloocls. 
 
 The early Collectorate records are chiefly occupied with 
 the preparations for the Permanent Settlement. I have 
 inserted in the Appendix the most important of them. 
 As a general rule, the correspondence is of an uninter- 
 esting character, and it is only rarely that one comes 
 upon anything worthy of being quoted. 
 
 It is evident enough that the system of collecting the 
 revenues before the Permanent Settlement was a very 
 hand-to-mouth one, and that everything depended on 
 the personal qualities of the Collector and his subordi- 
 nates. Estates were let in farm from year to year, and 
 if the farmers, as was often the case, fell into arrears, 
 they were imprisoned, or their farms were placed under 
 the management of a sazawal or other Government officer. 
 The following extract from a Collector's letter, dated 8 th 
 October 1790, gives some hint of the state of matters: 
 " The Board observing in almost all the accounts jama 
 hharacli, a charge made for diet to prisoners, desire to be 
 informed of what description they are, and upon what 
 grounds the charo-e is admitted into the sazawal's ac- 
 
 o o 
 
 count. This is an allowance for diet made to ryots and 
 others who, upon proving refractory or dilatory in pay- 
 ing their rents, are put under restraint or confined for a 
 time in the sazawal's [house ?]. They have no other means 
 of subsistence. It amounts in all the accounts to about 
 Es.lO or Es.l2 for the whole year." In another letter 
 (14th July 1790) the Collector writes, "I have confined 
 the farmer for the balance due on account of mahai [fish | 
 and hajantri [music] mahals, and trust to recover the 
 same in a few^days." A letter of 19th July 1790 notices 
 the depredations of wild elephants in Kassimpiir and 
 Bhowal, and reports that Birmohan is infested with tigers.
 
 3i6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 and that the Collector has in vain entleavoured to en- 
 courage the tiger-killers to repair to the pargana. On 
 9th August 1790 the Collector reports that he has, 
 agreeably to the Governor- General's orders, done away 
 with the gdzar duty — z.e., duty on washermen. It 
 yielded only Es.60 a year, which seems to show that 
 washermen were even more scarce in the district in 
 former times than they are now. 
 
 There were other malials belonging to the sayer, such 
 as the diimdari, which was collected from bird-catchers, 
 monkey and bear dancers, faqirs, snake-dancers, con- 
 jurors, &c. (9th August 1790). This farm yielded in one 
 year Rs. 1444, and the bajantri or music farm yielded as 
 much as Rs.3102. There was another farm, called 
 onushrat kotivali, which was composed of collections from 
 artificers — i.e., brickmakers, &c, Piinya charges, or the 
 charges for the ceremonial of the first receipt of rent for 
 the year, were disallowed by the Board, though the Col- 
 lector says they were invariably incurred and included 
 under the head of chakia expenses (12th' April 1792). 
 In another letter the Collector writes about the charge 
 for guarding treasure : " Your Board deem the sum of 
 Rs.550 on account harhandazes excessive, and expect I 
 will considerably reduce them. I trust you will deem 
 this sum indispensable, when you are informed that the 
 barkandazes are entertained as guards over the Mofussil 
 cutchery and treasure ; that they always escort the re- 
 venues to my treasury ; that for that jnu-pose it requires 
 a strong guard to prevent the boats conveying the trea- 
 sure from being plundered by the dacoits who infest the 
 Meghna river. Were not the barkandazes regularly kept 
 at the Mofussil treasury, it would be liable to be attacked 
 and robbed by the dacoits who inhabit the Sundarbans, 
 to which Selimdbdd pargana is adjoining, and indeed
 
 REVENUE ADMI NISTRATI ON. 317 
 
 forms part of the Sundarljans. The cstablislicd rate of 
 boat-liirc from Selimdbdd to Dacca is Es.9." 
 
 A letter of IGtli February 1792 records an attempted 
 insurrection of one Bolaki Shall, a faqir, who had col- S 
 lected an armed force, and proclaimed to his followers 
 that the reign of the Feringhies or Europeans was at 
 an end. He was said to have erected a fort at Suban- 
 dia; and a revenue peon who was seized by him re- 
 ported that he saw at his place seven cannon, twelve 
 ginjals, and five or six muskets, two spears, and two 
 men employed in making gunpowder. A Naib and 
 forty-eight sepoys were sent to apprehend him. I have 
 been told that it was this faqir who removed the old 
 cannon wliich used to lie in Sujdbdd Fort. 
 
 It was part of the arrangements of the Permanent 
 Settlement that the zamindars should give their ryots 
 pattas or leases, and Mr Douglas was called on to 
 report what progress had been made in this matter. 
 On 6th December 1792 he reports as follows : — 
 
 " Some zamindars object to giving pottahs. The zamin- 
 dar of Nurallapiir says that, by the ancient custom of the 
 country, pottahs are not granted to the old-established 
 ryots, that they paid according to the rates fixed on 
 their respective villages, or by a measurement. That 
 any new ryots delivering in proposals for cultivating 
 jungle-lands, to such ryots pottahs are granted, and 
 they paid according to the quantity of land they 
 annually cultivated. Others, again, do not take out pot- 
 tahs for cultivating the jungle-lands, the demands from 
 them are regulated according to the rates paid by other 
 ryots who cultivate jungle-lands. That ever since the 
 commencement of the current year he has been busily 
 engaged in drawing out pottahs, framing accounts in 
 conformity to the regulations ; but his lands are much
 
 3i8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 scattered. He finds it extremely difficult to carry into 
 immediate effect the orders of Government. Besides, 
 tlie old-established ryots obstinately oppose the receipt 
 of pottahs, and threaten to leave their lands. 
 
 "The zamindars of Easulpiir, Baikanthpiir, Sultand,- 
 bad, Ratandi Kalikapur, have delivered in similar re- 
 presentations with the above. As it appeared to me 
 very extraordinary that any ryot should object to the 
 receipt of pottahs which would secure him from any 
 arljitrary demands, I called several of them before me 
 to state their grounds of objection, which they did as 
 follows : That they enjoyed the same lands possessed 
 by their forefathers ; that they cultivate the same, and 
 pay the same revenue ; that their ancestors never 
 received pottahs ; that their acceptance of them would 
 be disgraceful, as it would betray a mutual want of 
 confidence on their and the zamindar's part ; that they 
 should lose the honorary title of being called old-estab- 
 lished ryots, and thereby become degraded by being- 
 styled new ryots. When I consider the prejudices of 
 this people — how bigoted they are to old-established 
 customs, and how extremely averse they are to any 
 innovation which militates against former usage — I am 
 the less surprised at the objection started by the ryots 
 for receiving pottahs; but being convinced it will 
 ultimately redound to their ease, comfort, and benefit, 
 by carrying into effect the regulation, I have again 
 issued peremptory orders to the landholders for grant- 
 ing pottahs to every description of ryots, and directed 
 those who have not yet delivered to me forms of pot- 
 tahs, to do so immediately. Many of the landholders 
 have granted pottahs to their ryots, according to the 
 forms approved by me." 
 
 There are a few letters among the records about the
 
 REVENUE ADMINISI^RATION. 319 
 
 A^eavcrs and tlie salt manufacture. One forwards a peti- 
 tion from some ryots in Rajnagar complaining that the 
 Commercial Tiesident at Lakliypiir forces advances on 
 them as weavers, although, in fiict, they never had 
 woven anything. Another letter, dated 2d October 
 1790, states that the ryots are seized by the agents of 
 the Salt Department to act as smiths, and that not only 
 were they seized, but they were made to pay piadgan, 
 or the fees of the piada who seized them ! This piad- 
 gan is a well-known zamindari charge in the present 
 day, and is one which must strike even the apathetic 
 Bengali with a sense of injustice. It seems so iniquit- 
 ous first to drag a man away from his home, and then 
 to make him pay for the outrage which has been com- 
 mitted on him. 
 
 Bdkarganj was, as I have said, a great seat of the 
 salt manufacture. The establishments on the islands of 
 Hattia and Dakhin Shahbd-zpiir were managed from 
 Noakhali, or Bhulua, as it is also called ; but that in 
 Selimdbad, &c., was managed from Jhalukdtti, which 
 appears to be identical with Rai Mongal, and also with 
 Jainagar. The last-mentioned place was situated near 
 the Ghosal Rajah's seat at Gurudham. The name of Mr / 
 
 Ewart, who figures in Mr Westland's " Jessore," is still v 
 remembered at Jhalukdtti. He had a lar^e house there, 
 and is said to have been so magnificent as to have had 
 a European baker and a European barber. 
 
 As appears to have l)een the case everywhere, the salt 
 manufacture in Bdkarganj led to oppressions and law- 
 lessness, and to consequent disputes between the salt 
 officers and the Magistrates. In 1826 the Magistrate of 
 Bdkarganj was called upon by the Board of Customs, 
 salt and opium, to state the result of the suits brouglit 
 by and against the salt officers, and replied as follows : 
 
 / / V,
 
 3 2 BIS TRICT OF bAKA R GA NJ. 
 
 " I beg leave to state tliat the issue of the suits siuce 
 my taking charge of this district has been generally 
 proved against the salt oflQ.cers for atrocities and oppres- 
 sion of every description, and I do not hesitate in giving 
 my ojDinion tliat the greatest coercion is had recourse to 
 in order to force advances on the moluughies by the 
 haiparies or salt contractors, many of whom have been 
 found guilty and punished, and nine have been lately 
 committed for trial before the Judge of Circuit, con- 
 victed, and sentenced to seven and six years' imprison- 
 ment, besides many who have been punished both by 
 the former Magistrates and also by the Court of Circuit " 
 (12th June 1826). 
 
 The remissions made to the zamindars of Dakhin 
 Shahbdzpur and Selimdbdd and other places, on account 
 of lands used for the salt manufacture, were a fruitful 
 source of correspondence at various times (see an ela- 
 borate report by Mr Collector Sutherland, 13 th June 
 1866). 
 
 The first Collector of Bdkarganj was Mr Day. He 
 was succeeded by Mr Douglas, who made the Permanent 
 Settlement, and then followed Messrs Thompson, Arm- 
 strong, and Massie. All these, however, and their 
 successors up to 1817, resided at Dacca, and scarcely 
 ever visited Bdkarganj. Mr Hunter, the first indepen- 
 dent Collector of Bdkarganj, received charge of his office 
 on 8th December 1817. The CoUectorate was established 
 partly from an idea that the cultivation of the Sundar- 
 bans would thereby be facilitated, and a23parently Mr 
 Hunter was chosen on account of his supposed aptitude 
 for such duty. (He was one of those who afterwards 
 set about reclaiming Saugor Island.) 
 
 Bdkarganj was not, however, entirely without resident 
 revenue officers before Mr Hunter's arrival. In 1814
 
 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 321 
 
 there was an Assistant-Collector at BaristU who had 
 charge of tlio treasury, and who, I believe, also tried 
 summary suits for rent. He was subordinate to the 
 Collector of Daccn, but (dso corresponded directly with 
 Calcutta. There was a similar officer at Faridpur. 
 The first officer appears to have been Mr E. Bagge. Ho 
 was succeeded by ]\Ir E. Lee Warner, and he in his turn 
 was succeeded by Mr Pigou and by Mr Frazer. It was 
 Mr Frazer who g'ave over charoe to Mr Hunter. These 
 Assistant-Collectors were also assistants to the Mai^is- 
 trate. 
 
 On 18 th April 1818 Mr Hunter sent a list of the 
 establishment proposed by him for the collectorship, 
 and this was corrected by a subsequent letter dated 
 27tli May. His pay was Es.l500, and the cost of the 
 proposed establishment Avas, including this, Es.2458 a 
 month. 
 
 Mr Hunter remained in charge of the Collectorate till 
 Gtli November 1819, when he made over charge to ]\Ir 
 Barlow, who was succeeded on 5th April 1820 by Mr 
 Lara. Mr Hunter, however, took charge again on 
 30th October 1820, but finally made over charge to Mr 
 Maxwell on 22d January 1821. 
 
 Ml Hunter was engaged actively in collecting informa- 
 tion about the chars or alluvial formations which had been 
 formed since the time of the Permanent Settlement, 
 for this was the time of resumptions. He visited the 
 remote parts of the district, including the island of 
 Kukri Mukri, and he employed a Mr Jackson to make 
 a sort of survey of the Sundarbans. 
 
 After the Permanent Settlement was fairly completed, 
 the Avork of the Collectorate became tolerably easy, and 
 consisted chiefly in the trial of rent suits. After the pass- 
 ing of Regulation 11 of 1819, the work of resumption
 
 3 2 2 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 became considerable, and tlie number of islands and 
 chars resumed in the district was very large. These 
 resumptions also led to numerous Government suits, 
 which the Collector had to look after. Notwithstanding 
 this, it is probable that a Collector's work continued to 
 be tolerably light until the passing of Act 10 of 1859, 
 and the subsequent combination of the offices of Collec- 
 tor and Magistrate. 

 
 ( 323 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Fli OGRESS OF THE CRLMINAL ADMINISTRATION 
 AND GENERAL HISTORY. 
 
 The Civil Judges of Bdkarganj Iiad, I believe, magiste- 
 rial powers also. I do not know tlie exact nature of tlie 
 office of Commissioner of Bdkarganj, but I believe he 
 had at first only preventive powers, and did not acquire 
 judicial powers until 1794. These seem to have been 
 conferred by the repealed Eegulatiou 9 of 1793, the pre- 
 amble to which gives a resume of the various judicial 
 systems. The same Regulation (sect. 40) makes Bdkar- 
 ganj one of the stations of the Dacca Court of Circuit. 
 The office of Commissioner was abolished by Regulation 
 7 of 1797, which divided Dacca Jaldlpur into two divi- 
 sions — "the northern to be denominated the zila of 
 Dacca Jaldlpur [now Faridpiir], and the southern divi- 
 sion the zila of Bdkarganj." Section 1 states that one 
 object of the Regulation is "to provide for the more 
 effectual administration of justice in the Sundarbanstind 
 the district adjacent, heretofore included in the juris- 
 diction of the Commissioner of Bilkarganj, who was in- 
 vested with the powers of a Magistrate, but was not 
 authorised to exercise any civil jurisdiction." 
 
 Mr Middleton is said to have removed the offices 
 from Baroikaran to Bakarganj. Probably this was 
 in 1792, when he was appointed Commissioner. Mr 
 Middleton remained at Bdkarganj till 1800, when he
 
 324 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 was succeeded by ]\Ir Spedding, wlio agaiu was suc- 
 ceeded by Mr "Wiiitle who removed (1801) the offices to 
 Barisdl. Mr Middle tou does not appear to have been a 
 very efficient officer, and more than once incurred the 
 censure of Government. Indeed, if he had been a good 
 officer, it is not likely that he would have been sent to so 
 disagreeable a place as Bd,karganj, or kept there so long as 
 eight years. One of Mr Middleton's most extraordinary 
 proceedings was his sending one Alliar Khan, a notori- 
 ous f/oi«c/a or informer, to the island of Dakhin Shahbaz- 
 piir with a general warrant to arrest dacoits and suspicious 
 characters. I believe this was done in consequence of a 
 Mr Paliologus, the servant of a Mr Demetrius, a Greek 
 salt merchant, having been speared and killed by dacoits 
 while in the island. Alliar Khan brouf^ht in no less than 
 314 persons to Bdkarganj (see letter of 2 2d January 
 1801), and Mr Middleton's successor was a good deal 
 puzzled to know what to do with them. However, this 
 happened near the end of i\Ir Middleton's tenure of office, 
 and Ave must not be too hard on a man who had breathed 
 for eight years an atmosphere which makes one feel as if 
 only " half-alive " (letter of Mr Wintle). The Govern- 
 ment of the day took a lenient view of the case, and 
 ascribed Mr Middleton's action entirely to liis zeal for 
 the public service (5th March 1801). 
 
 In these early days ships came up to Bdkarganj and 
 traded there in rice. Mention is made in the records of 
 the " Eliza," which was at Bakarganj in August 1794, and 
 of the brig " Maria," which was there on 26th November 
 1808. The Civil Surgeon, Mr Harper, appears to have 
 been in partnership with Mr Gill as a boatbuilder, and to 
 have employed (in 1794) a Frenchman named AutoinPiaji. 
 In consequence probably of the famine of 1787, Govern- 
 ment took to storing rice at Bdkargauj, and had fifty-
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 325 
 
 two golalis or granaries there. It may be noted that in 
 former times Government had no scruple whatever in 
 carrying out a policy which was considered by many 
 so monstrous in 1873-74, and that there arc several 
 instances in the official records, and in Seton-Karr's 
 "Selections," of Governments stopping the exportation 
 of grain. 
 
 Formerly it was the custom to execute criminals at 
 the scene of their crime, and such an execution took 
 place at Earn Prasad Hdt on 7th July 1794. It seems 
 also to have been the idea to make executions as 
 public as possible, instead of, as now, hiding them from 
 the public eye. I find an instance of a hanging which 
 took place at Bdkarganj at one o'clock in the day. 
 
 There is nothing in the records to shoAV the kind of life 
 led by the officers at Bdkarganj. The society was very 
 small — apparently Messrs Middleton and Harper were the 
 only English officers of their day ; and the only fact of 
 interest that I have been able to discover is that Mr 
 Middleton's wife resided with him at Bdkarganj. On 
 8th April 1795 the Nizamat Adalat sent Mr Middleton a 
 cat-o'-nine -tails, and informed him that he would be fur- 
 nished with a new cat whenever the one now sent to him 
 became unserviceable. 
 
 The town of Bdkarganj stands on a small river called 
 the Srimantapiir kh^l. The situation can never have 
 been very healthy or pleasant, and it became worse in 
 consequence of the formation of a char in front of the 
 cutcheries. Its advantages were that it Avas central, 
 that it had a large market, and that it was near the 
 Golabari, where tlie tahsildar of Buzurgumedpur had 
 his cutchery, and the Portuguese settlement of Sibpiir. 
 Very few remains of the old buildings now exist. The 
 cutcheries appear to have been situated where the thana
 
 326 DISTRIOT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 now is, and there is still a brick terrace there. The jail 
 was higher up the khiil, and on the bank of a small 
 stream which is still called the Jailkhana khd-l. There 
 was a good deal of correspondence about the change 
 of site. Mr Middleton recommended Mohanganj, but 
 eventually Barisal was fixed upon. A letter of the 
 Nizamat Adalat, dated 1st May 1801, directs the 
 Magistrate to remove to BarisiU, which was the place 
 recommended by the Dacca Court of Circuit. See also 
 letter of 29th April 1801 to the Governor-General. It 
 must, I think, be admitted that the new site was well 
 chosen, and that it has stood the test of time very well, 
 as Barisdl is about the healthiest and most conveniently 
 situated town in the district. 
 
 There are two orders of Circuit Judges preserved 
 among the records, which are worth quoting for their 
 singularity. One is an order of Mr Bayard, dated 26tli 
 December 1800, directing that three men should be 
 imprisoned for fifteen days for " declining to come to 
 my assistance in an embarrassing situation when re- 
 quired, and refusing me those attentions which as a 
 Judge of Circuit I have a right to command from all de- 
 scriptions of persons in travelling through this district." 
 Another is a similar order of Mr Crisp, dated 27th 
 July 1800, directing that some palki-bearers be im- 
 prisoned for fifteen days for contempt of court, in re- 
 fusing to associate with other bearers who had carried 
 him to the jail. 
 
 The great point looked to in the commencement of 
 the Bdkarganj criminal jurisdiction was the suppression 
 of dacoities. There were fourteen stations and fourteen 
 boats, and the river patrol was the subject of much 
 correspondence. It is certain that the Magistrates had 
 very daring dacoits to deal with. Two of them — viz.,
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 327 
 
 Mahomed Hayat and Ainudccu Sikdar — were men of 
 property, and were ringleaders or sardar dacoits. They 
 Avere transported and then* hinds confiscated — a measure 
 which led to almost endless correspondence on the 
 Collectorate side, as the zamindars and the dacoits' 
 families concealed the ownership of the lands, so that 
 it was exceedingly difficult to identify them. 
 
 1 can find nothing remarkable in the early official 
 history of Bakarganj. None of the Magistrates appear 
 to have been above the average in point of ability. I am 
 afraid, indeed, that Bdkarganj has been from the earliest 
 times what a friend of mine once called it, " the dust- 
 bin of Bengal," and that no officer was sent to it except 
 as a punishment, or because he was not thought good 
 enough for a better district. Mr Garrett, writing to the 
 Secretary to Government in 1827, says, "I scarcely 
 think there is any need of expatiating to you on the 
 circumstances of this district, its situation, the litigious 
 character of the inhabitants, and the general dislike 
 evinced by the gentlemen of the service to accept the 
 situation of Judge and Magistrate of Bakarganj. The 
 last confirmed Judge who joined this station was Mr A. 
 Mackenzie. This gentleman quitted it in 1817, since 
 which period there has been a succession of officiating 
 Magistrates. Though no less than four gentlemen were 
 fully appointed, none of them ever joined. The pre- 
 judice agaiust this place is not without foundation; the A 
 duties are certainly laborious, and the climate bad." M 
 There is a report by Mr Gardner on the police system, 
 dated 19tli February 1805, from v/liich it appears that 
 the total annual cost of the police was Rs.33,3G0. At 
 that time Gournadi was not under Bdkarganj, it having 
 been transferred in 1806, nor was Idilpur pargana a 
 part of the district. On the other hand, Kacliua (now
 
 328 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 ill Jessore) belonged to Bdkarganj, and also Hattia and 
 Dakliin Shalibdzpur. The latter islands belonged to 
 Bd,karganj up to 1822, wlien they were transferred to 
 the newly-established district of Noakhdli. Dakhin 
 Shahbazpiir was retransferred to Bakarganj in 1869. 
 In course of time various changes were made in police 
 arrangements. Thus tlianas Kotwalipara and Mirza- 
 ganj were established in 1812, the Kotwali or Barisal 
 thana was established in 1820 (it had hitherto been 
 part of Bakainagar thana), and the Baroikaran thana 
 was removed in 1824 to Nalchiti. 
 
 In February 1812 there was a serious outbreak in the 
 jail during the magistracy of Mr Battye, and twelve pri- 
 soners were shot before it was suppressed. Mr Battye 
 was attacked on this occasion, and was only saved by 
 the bravery and self-devotion of one of the sej^oy guard. 
 In September 1817 the Magistrate reports the occur- 
 rence of an epidemic (cholera ?), and on 28 th February 
 1818 the cholera morbus is reported to have reappeared.^ 
 On IGth April 1820 the Magistrate asks for cholera 
 medicines, and says that the disease is very prevalent in 
 every part of the district. On 6th May 1822 cholera is 
 reported to l)e prevalent. It again broke out in August 
 1825, and this was its most deadly manifestation ; 
 24,960 persons are said to have died of it in the district, 
 besides 90 wlio died in jail — total, 25,050. All these 
 deaths are said to have occurred between 22d August 
 and 10th September, within which short time twenty 
 women performed sati. On 19th August 1820 the 
 Magistrate forwards Rs.268, collected as a contribu- 
 
 1 In the "Lettres edifiautes " there is a letter from a Pere Papiii, dated 
 Bengal, 18th December 1709, in which he refers to the mordechin (?) or 
 cholera morbus as being common in the country. He says the native treat- 
 ment for it was to keep the patient from drinking water and to burn the 
 soles of the feet.
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 329 
 
 tion towcards a monumcnfc of Warren Hastings, late 
 Governor-General of India. 
 
 The great event in tlie history of the district in this 
 century \Yas the inundation of the 6th June 1822, which 
 is still well remembered hy the people as the hanya or 
 flood of 1229 B.s. It was this inundation which s^Yept 
 over the island of Hattia, in the Noakhdli district, and 
 destroyed nearly every inhabitant. ]\Ir Cardew was Col- 
 lector of Bd,karganj at the time, and on 9th June 1822 
 he reported as follows : " It is my painful duty to re- 
 port, for the information of the Board, the dreadful state 
 to which this district has been reduced by a most violent 
 hurricane and inundation, which has exteijded its rav- 
 ages through the whole district. This office was many 
 feet under water, and I am sorry to say that a great part 
 of the records have been swept away, including the 
 whole of the kanungo's papers, the Bliulua papers, and 
 the greatest part of the stamps. In fact, the mischief 
 has been so great that as yet I am unable to state what 
 has actually taken place. On the 6th I held a sale for 
 arrears of revenue, which I was unable to complete." 
 Mr Cardew adds that as the whole of the amlahs' pro- 
 perty had been destroyed, he had advanced them two 
 months' pay as liawalat. A ruhahari or vernacular pro- 
 ceeding was drawn up about the affair. It recorded that 
 " on the 6th June a sale of estates was fixed, and some 
 mahals were disposed of. In the evening of that day it 
 began to blow violently, and soon after the waters rose 
 to a dreadful height, so that to escape with life became 
 difficult. The destruction was terrible, &c. 
 
 "On the 9th June the hurricane became less violent, 
 and the river subsided. A little after this time the ser- 
 ishtadar, &c., came into the Presence and stated what 
 had happened in their offices. It was then impossible
 
 330 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 to hold cutclieiy ; but tlie acting Collector proceeded 
 witli the above-named officers to the office, when he found 
 that about four feet of water had risen in the cutchery, 
 and that many bags of papers had been carried out of 
 the office, while others were scattered about wet and 
 covered with mud, and that some almiralis had been 
 driven from their places." A rubakari, drawn up on the 
 18th July 1822, gave lengthy details of the papers which 
 had been lost. Unfortunately, neither of the above ruba- 
 karis has been preserved, and I have only seen a con- 
 densed abstract of the first of them. 39,940 persons— 
 namely, 20,125 males and 19,815 females — are said to 
 have lost their lives in the inundation. In Khalsakhd,li 
 tliana alone 22,422 lives are said to have been lost, and 
 10,984 in Baufal ; and according to my notes, the deaths 
 in these thanas are not included in the total of 39,940. 
 Also 98,834 cattle are said to have been lost, and 
 Rs. 1,3 26, 69 1-1 1-8 of projDerty are said to have been 
 destroyed; but Mr Collector Phillips very reasonably 
 objects to a list which professes to give even anas and 
 gandas. A letter dated 9th July 1822 gives transla- 
 tions of the reports of the darogahs. The Baufal daro- 
 gah's report was as follows: "At midday on the 6th 
 June 1822 a storm commenced, and increased by degrees. 
 After nine o'clock at night it was so violent that men, 
 cattle, and property were washed away. Many persons 
 were drowned, and some having got on choppers [roofs 
 of houses], were driven from one village to another. 
 Others ascended large trees and remained there all 
 night. Next morning it decreased, but the storm con- 
 tinued for seven or eight days. Sir, having made in- 
 quiries in this thana, I have ascertained that there are 
 sixty-three villages ; in those situated in the eastern part, 
 on the other side of the large river, many men, cattle,
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 331 
 
 aud property were destroyed. In the western side of 
 the thaua the inundation was less. It is difficult to find 
 out the names in a short time, hut 1)y inquiries it has 
 come to my knowledge that in the villages within this 
 thana 4932 men and 6052 women — in all, 10,984 per- 
 sons — and 9700 bullocks were drowned; besides which, 
 the property of the population has been destroyed to an 
 amount that is impossible to guess." 
 
 The notice that the storm began at Baufal at midday 
 is interesting, as it shows how long the storm took to 
 travel from Baufal to Barisdl, where the storm com- 
 menced in the evening. Baufal is south-south-east of 
 Barisdl, and from the fact that it and Khalsakhdli thana 
 and the islands in the Meghna suffered most, it appears 
 that the storm came from the south-east. '* I am happy 
 to say that the effects of the late inundation have not been 
 so severely felt by the district in general as I had at first 
 supposed. To the west and north-west there was very 
 little water. The thanas of Tagra [now Perozpur], 
 Kachua [now in Jessore], Baroikaran, and Burirh^t have 
 suffered only from the violence of the wind. The chief 
 brunt of the inundation appears to have ftillen on the 
 thanas Chandia [Dakhin Shahbazpur,] Khalsakhd,li, Bau- 
 fal, Bakainagar [in which Barisd,l was situated], and 
 Mendiganj " (21st June 1822). The Collector also adds 
 that he has great pleasure in being able to inform the 
 Government that rice, which was a few days ago selling 
 in the bazar at the enormous rate of ten sirs of sixty 
 sicca weight per rupee, has been reduced to very nearly 
 its former price, and that this has been occasioned by 
 4he meritorious and active exertions of Mr Dawes, the 
 acting Magistrate of the city of Dacca, in inducing the 
 merchants of the district to forward supplies. Govern- 
 ment took notice of the catastrophe, and sent in rice
 
 3 3 2 DISTRICT OF bAkAR GANJ. 
 
 tlirougli tlie great house of Palmer & Co. A committee 
 ^vas also formed in Calcutta, which despatched a Major 
 Stewart to distribute relief. Rice was also received from 
 Jessore, from the assistant to the salt agent. On 9tli 
 July the Collector reports that constant suj^plies of grain 
 arrive from Dacca and elsewhere, and that the station 
 and the neighbourhood continue healthy. On lltli 
 August he reports that rice and other necessaries are 
 procurable in Barisdl and the neighbourhood at lower 
 rates than those stated in the invoice from Messrs Pal- 
 mer & Co. No details appear to have been ever given 
 of the loss of life in Manpura and the other islands, but 
 the Collector writes that most of the inhabitants of Man- 
 pura and the other islands had been swept into eternity. 
 With regard to the jail, the Magistrate writes on 25th 
 June 1822 that he had great difficulty in procuring food 
 for the prisoners until the arrival of the very opportune 
 supplies from Dacca and Narainganj, and that he had been 
 obliged to feed the prisoners upon damaged rice. How- 
 ever, no evil effects had followed, and the jail had never 
 been healthier, there being only one man in hospital.'^ 
 
 The following notice of the inundation appears in 
 the "Asiatic Journal" for 1822, p. 620: "A most 
 violent storm burst over Calcutta on the night of 
 Friday last [7th June], which must have disturbed the 
 sleep of the soundest. The furious peals of crashing 
 thunder reverberating immediately overhead were truly 
 appalling, and in the pauses between each peal of the^ 
 ' artillery of heaven ' the mind naturally reverted to the 
 thousands who were exposed to the utmost terrors of 
 the tempest on the great deep. Accounts from Dina- 
 
 ^ The Barisdl gale is marked on Piddington's chart, vol. xvi. A. S. J., 1847; 
 see also liis "Sailor's Horn-Book," pp. 57, 59. The storm was too far at 
 the head of the Bay to come in the track of ships.
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 333 
 
 piir mentiou tliat boats without number liave been lost 
 in the Ganges, and that the Patna .'^hores were covered 
 with wrecks. Several lives must have been lost, thoufdi 
 no particulars have yet reached us. In the lower pro- 
 vinces the hopes of the indigo-planters have been bitterly 
 disappointed. These, however, are but trivial effects 
 of the late storm in comparison with the tremendous 
 detail of devastation and misery which it is our pain- 
 ful duty to notice. What are w^e to expect from the 
 next shipping accounts, when we arc told that in one 
 place on the land 100,000 lives have been lost ? It is 
 truly dreadful to think of such a terrible misfortune. 
 The source of our intelligence upon this melancholy 
 occasion is from the following extract of a letter from 
 Jessore : ' Ten days ago my indigo prospects were pro- 
 mising beyond anything I could have calculated upon ; 
 since that period the most violent hurricane ever remem- 
 bered in this quarter, accompanied with a deluge of 
 rain, has destroyed full one- half of our plants, and 
 rendered the recovery of a great part of the remainder 
 precarious. The storm lasted forty-eight hours, and 
 swept houses and everything before it. Many trees 
 were torn up by the roots and carried to a distance of 
 several feet. I never witnessed such a scene of devasta- 
 tion as this place presented. The rain continued almost 
 without intermission for four days after the storm had 
 ceased, so that the whole country is under water, I 
 have just seen a letter from the acting Magistrate of 
 Barisdl, about 120 miles to the eastward of this station, 
 detailino' the effects of the late storm, which commenced 
 there on the afternoon of the 7th. I scarcely ever per- 
 used a more melancholy account. Baris^l is situated 
 on the banks of the j\Ieghna, which river, from the fury 
 of the winds, broke over its boundaries in every direc-
 
 334 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 tioD, and inundated the whole country to an alarming 
 depth. Tlie river rose so rapidly that on the 8th, at 
 night, they had upwards of five feet of w^ater in their 
 houses, and the current was so strong that the doors 
 and windows were burst open, and a regular rush of 
 water set in through the houses. This gentleman 
 says he contrived to get two palanquins to the top of 
 his house, and retreated thither with his wdfe and 
 children as a last resort. The registrar and doctor's 
 houses were carried away, or at least fell in from the 
 violence of the storm. Nearly the whole property of 
 the residents of the station was destroyed. Had this 
 been the extent of the damage, however, it would have 
 been of little consequence, comparatively speaking; but 
 alas 1 the sufferings of the native inhabitants are not to 
 be described. No fewer than one lac of lives are said 
 to have been lost on this occasion, together with the 
 whole of the cattle and grain of every description, both 
 in store and what was on the ground. The dead bodies 
 were floating in every direction, and carried witli the 
 current through the houses. The writer states that no 
 rice was to be procured even for the prisoners, and that 
 lie felt he would be obliged to release them from jail, 
 otherwise they must starve. From what information he 
 could obtain, he believed that the district could not supply 
 food for ten days' consumption to the inhabitants who 
 had escaped this dreadful visitation. I should think the 
 writer meant to include in the lac the lives of the cattle 
 lost, although I should certainly infer from the letter 
 that 100,000 human beings perished. I have not heard 
 whether the storm reached beyond this district to the 
 northward and westward.' " 
 
 A meeting for the relief of the distress in Bdkarganj 
 was held in the Calcutta Town Hall on tlie 19th of
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 335 
 
 June, and another on tlie 2 2d idem, A suljseription was 
 opened, and eventually upwards of Rs. 18,000 were col- 
 lected. (According to the latest reports of the com- 
 mittee, Rs. 18,433 sicca.) Major Stewart volunteered his 
 services, and was sent to Bakarganj to distribute relief 
 The " Calcutta Monthly Journal," speaking of his having 
 finished the good work upon which he had entered with 
 such ^philanthropic alacrity, says that the zeal and judg- 
 ment displayed by him in its performance reflected on 
 him the highest honour. 
 
 In the "Calcutta Journal" for 1822 (p. 192) the 
 followinor curious incident is mentioned : " One of our 
 correspondents mentions that at Ratandi he saw a child, 
 who being only a few weeks old, his curiosity was 
 excited to know how it had been preserved during the 
 tempest and inundation. In reply to his inquiries, he 
 was told that it was born in a tree when the whole 
 surface of the country was covered with water ; and its 
 mother was thcji questioned, and corroborated this tale. 
 The surprise of the inquirer was still further increased, 
 however, when he came to learn that so far from this 
 being a singular event, there were from thirty to forty 
 females, some of whom having reached the period of 
 natural delivery, but many more having the birth acce- 
 lerated by terror and alarm, who gave birth to their 
 infants in this dreadful situation, and yet so providen- 
 tially is the wind tempered to the shorn lamb, that most 
 of these individuals with their offspring lived, present- 
 ing a picture of misery and distress unprecedented, we 
 believe, even in the imagination of the painter or the 
 poet, and certainly without a parallel, as far as we re- 
 member, either in ftible or in history. 
 
 "The serv^ant of a gentleman in Calcutta, whose family 
 live at Hattia, says that out of four brothers and their
 
 336 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 families only one of tlie brothers Wcas found after the 
 storm and inundation, and he was blown across the river 
 to the northward upon the top of a chopper" (roof). 
 
 The following appears in Sandeman's " Selections," 
 dated Thursday, June 20, 1822: "On Sunday last w^e 
 received an account of the awful calamity with which 
 the civil station of Burrisol has been afflicted. It is 
 brief, but the facts are of the most melancholy descrip- 
 tion, and require not detail to awaken feelings of the 
 liveliest pity and commiseration. The sufferings of 
 thousands — men, women, and children — during the ter- 
 rible night of the storm must have been truly dreadful. 
 
 " The storm commenced on the evening of the 6th, 
 and before midnight the body of water had overtopped 
 the Bund, which runs along the margin of the river, and 
 w\as approaching the gentlemen's houses rapidly. Mr 
 Cardew, the Registrar,^ had just sufficient time to send 
 a palanquin with some food in it to the top of the house 
 for his wife. Immediately after, his dining-room was 
 three feet deep in water, the current carrying everything 
 before it with irresistible violence. In another house there 
 was five feet water in the dining-room, and dead bodies, 
 washed from the native huts, floating about the room, 
 in which only a few hours before dinner had been served. 
 One thousand lives were lost in the bazdr alone, and the 
 loss throuo-hout the district is not to be calculated. A 
 famine was apprehended as inevitable. No provisions 
 were procurable for the prisoners, in consequence of 
 which they were released on the second day."^ 
 
 It was probably the inundation which induced Govern- 
 ment to build new cutcheries at Barisdl. Formerly the 
 Magistrate held cutchery in his own house, and received 
 
 1 lie was acting Collector and Magistrate. 
 
 " The criminal prisoners, at all events, were not released.
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 337 
 
 an allowance on this account. This arrangement con- 
 tinued to 1829. (See letters of May 25, June 20, 
 1826, &c.) 
 
 Mr Garrett appears to have been the first Magistrate 
 who did much for the improvement of Barisdl. He was 
 Magistrate from 1827 to 1830, when he asked to be re- 
 lieved, saying that he had been three and a half years at 
 Barisal, and that he could not work so hard as formerly. 
 He appears to have been the first ofiicer who established 
 a school (31st March 1828), and he also dug tanks and 
 made other improvements. Government assigned to 
 him Rs. 1500, and Rs.925 were subscribed in the district 
 for improvements at Barisdl. In his time there were 
 only three roads in the district — one of four miles, and 
 two of two miles in length (5th June 1830). On 15th 
 March 1828 he recommended the removal of the Gour- 
 nadi police station to its present position at Palardi. 
 Mr Garrett, I believe, left the district for a time, but ho 
 did not finally quit it till May 1832 ; so that he must 
 have spent about five years in it. He acted as Judge as 
 well as Magistrate. What partly led to his departure 
 was, I believe, that he became a Baptist, and insisted 
 upon being baptized in a tank in the station. Plis nazir, 
 Mr Parry (he was dewani or judge's nazir), was one of 
 the first to preach Christianity to the natives. Mr 
 Parry afterwards became a regular missionary and went 
 to Jessore. The practice of sati was abolished in Mr 
 Garrett's time, and on 1st March 1830 he writes, "I 
 am heartily thankful that the horrible practice of suttee 
 has been put a stop to. It has been attended with no 
 trouble, I am happy to say, in this jurisdiction. It must 
 be a great ease of mind to all magistrates." In a pre- 
 vious letter, dated 17th August 1829, he writes, "The 
 business is often harassing, but the subject most painful
 
 338 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 to me is the frequency of suttee. The number that have 
 taken place this year up to the end of July amount to 
 sixteen. I was induced the other day, thinking it my 
 duty, to be present at one not very far from here, con- 
 ceiving I might possibly do some good, but I regret 
 to say it was not in my power, the poor creature 
 appearing perfectly determined." For several years 
 previous to the abolition of sati. Government had 
 been endeavouring to check its occurrence ; and on 14tli 
 December 1818, Mr Harrington, the Magistrate, reports 
 that satis have diminished since the Government orders 
 of 4th October 1814. It w\as the practice to have re- 
 ports from the police of the number of satis in their 
 jurisdictions. In 1825, the year of the cholera, there 
 were as many as sixty- three ; in 1824 there were twenty- 
 three satis; in 1826, forty-five; and in 1827, twenty- 
 nine. 
 
 Among the East India papers in the Indian Library 
 there is a volume on the subject of Hindu widows, and 
 it gives some curious statistics about satis. The details 
 of the Bdkarganj cases for 1824 and 1825 are given in it. 
 Of the sixty-three cases in 1825, it is recorded that in 
 twenty- three cases the husbands were rich, and that in the 
 others they were poor. One case was what was called anu- 
 maran — i.e., the husband died away from the wife, who 
 burnt herself along with two strings of beads which had 
 belonged to him. On an average, the widows in the 
 sixty- three cases were middle-aged ; one was over ninety, 
 and only one was under twenty years of age. Satis were 
 singularly few in Dacca. In Dacca city and Dacca JaUl- 
 piir districts the numbers were as follows : Dacca city, 
 1823, fourteen; 1824, seven; 1825, eighteen; 1826, 
 twelve. Dacca Jalalpur, 1823, two; 1824, two; 1825, 
 two; 1826, three.
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 339 
 
 Tlio explanation seems to be that Mr Cracroft, the 
 Judge of the Dacca Circuit, ruled that persons of the v 
 Baidya caste were not entitled to the privilege of sati. 
 The relations of a Baidya wido^Y appealed to the Nizamat 
 Addlat ao-ainst this rulinor, and the court ordered that the 
 widow should be allowed to burn herself. (It was a case 
 of anu7naran.) However, I am glad to say that the 
 delay had a good effect, and that the Magistrate (Mr 
 Morrison) was able to report that the widow had changed 
 her mind. The volume contains some curious corre- 
 spondence between Mr Cracroft and the Judges of the 
 Nizamat. ! 
 
 In 1845 there was a notable case of embezzlement in 
 the treasury. Mr Sturt was then Collector ; he appears 
 to have been a careless and indolent officer, and to have 
 left everything to his subordinates. The result was that 
 in August 1845 he had to report that some Rs. 50,000 
 were missing from the treasury, and that the treasurer 
 had absconded. A lengthened investigation took place, 
 first by the Commissioner, and afterwards by Messrs 
 Ricketts & Samuells, of which the upshot Avas that Mr 
 Sturt was degraded, and the treasurer brought to trial 
 and sentenced to, I believe, seven years' imprisonment. 
 A portion of the money embezzled was realised from the 
 treasurer's securities, who were entirely ruined. I be- 
 lieve Mr Sturt was originally in the navy. He married 
 a native lady, and used to give great entertainments, 
 and even to have the swinging festival — i.e., the charah 
 puja — celebrated in front of his house. 
 
 A remarkable crime was committed in Bakarganj in 
 1847. Kali Prasad Kanjhi Lall, the gomasta or servant 
 of an indigo-planter named Dunlop, whose factories were 
 situated in the Mulfatganj thana, was attacked by the 
 ryots and carried off in a boat to the south of tlie dis-
 
 340 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 trict, and finally murdered at Maudobi, in tlie south of 
 Khalsaklidli tliana. It is said that the body was cut in 
 pieces and thrown into the sea ; hence the proverbial 
 expression of making a Kanjhi Lall of one's enemy. 
 (See Magistrate's letters of 20th February and 20th July 
 1847.) The reasons for Kanjhi Lall's being carried off 
 were that Dudhu Mia, the head of the Ferazis, whose 
 residence was at Sibchar, in the Mulfatganj thana, had 
 disputes with Mr Dunlop, and that the ryots considered 
 that Kanjhi Lall oppressed them. Mr Dunlop's factory 
 at Panchchur was burnt at this time. Although Bjikar- 
 ganj was the scene of the murder, neither Kanjhi Lall 
 nor his murderers were connected with the district. The 
 circumstances of the attack on Mr Dunlop's factory, 
 which occurred on 5th December 1846, are fully detailed 
 iu the printed report of the trial of the rioters. Dudhu 
 Mia was tried before Mr Swetenham, Judge of Faridpiir, 
 and convicted, but was acquitted by the Nizamat Ad^- 
 lat. (See also Mr Latour's evidence before the Indigo 
 Commission.) 
 
 The Indian mutiny had little oi- no effect on the dis- 
 trict, and, as far as I am aware, the inhabitants showed 
 no signs of sympathy with it. 
 
 As there are no indigo-factories in the district, there 
 was no agitation at the time when the ryots of Nadiya 
 and Jessore threw off the cultivation of indigo. 
 
 In 1865 cattle disease broke out very severely in Bak- 
 arganj, and some 40,000 cattle are said to have j)erished. 
 The disease entered from Jessore, and was most severe 
 in the Perozpur subdivision. It is said that 13,199 
 cattle died in Tagra thana (Perozjjur) alone. (See Mr 
 Sutherland's letter of 14th September 1865 ; also see 
 Selections from Government Records (Bengal), No. 43, 
 1869.)
 
 GENERAL HISTORY. 341 
 
 lu 1869 an income-tax assessor was beaten in Dakhin 
 Sliahb^zpur, but I believe the attack was caused by his 
 own misconduct. 
 
 Of late years the rent question has excited a good 
 deal of attention, and there has been a considerable 
 degree of bad feeling between the ryots and zamindars, 
 but without any important outbreak. 
 
 The census of 1872 was taken without the least 
 attempt at disturbance. It was commenced on the 15th 
 of January, and nearly completed in twenty -four hours. 
 
 During the present century the district has undergone 
 many changes in its administration and in its boundaries. 
 In 1815 or 1816 its area was enlarged on the north b}^ the 
 addition of the Idilpiir pargana, which was then trans- 
 ferred to it from the jurisdiction of the city of Dacca. 
 Lately this arrangement has been reversed, by the trans- 
 fer of the pargana, together with the Mddaripur sub- 
 division, to Faridpiir. 
 
 In 1822 the islands of Hattia and Dakhin Shahbd,zpur 
 were transferred from Bdkarganj and included in the 
 newly-created district of Noakh^li. In 1869 Dakhin 
 Shahbdzpiir was retransferred to Bdkarganj, ^^artly be- 
 cause the Titulia is a less formidable river than the 
 Meghna, but chiefly because the civil and criminal 
 jurisdictions were thereby made conterminous, for the 
 Munsif of Dakhin Shahbazpur had always been sub- 
 ordinate to the Judge of Bc4karganj. For many years, 
 indeed, the munsif held his court on the mainland, in 
 thana Mendiganj ; and it is only for about twenty years 
 that his court has been held at Daulat Khan. 
 
 In 1863, or thereabouts, Kachua police station and 
 that portion of Bakarganj which lay east of the Balesh- 
 war were transferred to Jessore, and annexed to the 
 newly- created subdivision of Baghahdt.
 
 342 
 
 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 In 1873 the area of the district was greatly circum- 
 scribed by the transfer to Faridpiir of the whole of the 
 Mddaripiir subdivision, with the exception of thana 
 Gournadi. On the other hand, a small portion of 
 Faridpiir was transferred to Bakarganj, and included in 
 Perozpiir. Unfortunately these changes were made 
 after the completion of the census, and have thrown 
 considerable confusion into its results. 
 
 At present the district of Bjlkarganj is divided into 
 four subdivisions, as follows : — 
 
 Subdivisions. 
 
 1. Barisalor Sadr 
 
 2. Dakhin Shalibazpur 
 
 3. Perozpiir . . . 
 
 4. Patuyakhali . . 
 
 Thanas. 
 
 'Barisal, 
 
 Gournadi, 
 
 Nalchiti, 
 
 Jhalukatti, 
 
 Mendigaiij, 
 
 Pakarganj, 
 
 Daulat Khan, 
 
 Barhanuddin Howaladar 
 Hat, 
 
 Perozjjiir, 
 
 Sarupkatti, 
 
 Matbaria, 
 
 Mirzaganj, 
 I Gdlsakbali, 
 I Kbalsakhali or 
 
 Galacbipa, 
 
 Population of 
 Subdivi&ious. 
 
 711,180 (?) 
 
 221,037 
 
 363,426 (?) 
 
 • 418,747 
 
 The boundaries of the subdivisions are detailed in the 
 " Calcutta Gazette." 
 
 Dakhin Shahb^zptir is the oldest of the four sub- 
 divisions, and indeed is one of the oldest in Bengal, 
 having been established in 1845. It owes this distinc- 
 tion to its insular position, and to its importance in 
 connection with the salt manufacture. 
 
 The Perozpiir subdivision was established in 1859. 
 Its headquarters are somewhat unfortunately situated, 
 as they are now on the extreme verge of the jurisdic- 
 tion. Their position was more central before the transfer 
 of Kachua and Morrellganj to Jessore.
 
 GENERAL HISTORY, 343 
 
 Patuyaklidli was established in July 1871. It iu- 
 cludes the greater part of the south of the district. 
 
 STATISTICS OF CIVIL JUSTICE. 
 
 In 1873, 12,149 suits were instituted in the regular 
 courts, and 12,746 were disposed of; 1185 were in- 
 stituted in the Small Cause Courts, and 1201 disposed of. 
 Value of suits instituted in 1873, Es.l, 152,451. The 
 number of rent suits instituted was 7680, and of the 
 Small Cause Court class of cases, 3675. Altogether 
 there were 13,334 institutions, and 13,947 disposals in 
 1873. There were 49 suits for the enforcement of 
 matrimonial rights. Of the 13,947 institutions, 3396 
 were withdrawn, compromised, &c. ; 7401 were disposed 
 of exparte, and 3150 were contested. 3540 decrees 
 were wholly, and 8525 were partially, executed; and 
 the total amount realised was Es. 4 2 7, 2 3 3. 427 de- 
 crees were satisfied without execution, and Es. 25,1 13 
 realised. 
 
 There is a Civil and Sessions Judge at Barisal, and 
 an additional judge visits it occasionally. In 1873 
 there were eleven munsifs employed in the district. 
 The total cost of the Civil Courts for the year was esti- 
 mated at Es.l 28, 525, and the realisations from stamps 
 and court fees were 157,476, so that there was a surplus 
 of Es.29,000 (nearly). It must be remembered that 
 Mddaripiir is included in all these statistics. There are 
 generally two subordinate judges at Baristil. One or 
 more munsifs are stationed at each of the subdivisions, 
 and two or more at Barisdl. 
 
 The average duration of contested cases before the 
 munsifs is said to be three and a half months. (See 
 High Court's Eeport on Civil Courts for 1873.)
 
 344 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 STATISTICS OF REGISTEA.TION. 
 
 The number of deeds registered in Bdkarganj is in- 
 ordinately large, and in order to cope with it a number 
 of rural registrars have been appointed. In 1873 there 
 were altogether thirteen registration offices, and 25,200 
 deeds were registered affecting immovable joroperty ; 
 17,693 were deeds in which registration was compulsory, 
 and 7517 in which it was approved. The total value of 
 property transferred was twenty-three lacs, and the total 
 amount of fees realised Rs. 15,449. Of the compulsory 
 deeds no less than 10,658 were perpetual leases, and 
 5123 were temporary leases. In the same year 2140 
 deeds affecting movable property were registered. The 
 total receipts of the department were Rs.30,758, and 
 the expenditure was Rs. 19,625. 
 
 The above information has been taken from the Bengal 
 Administration Report for 1873-74, and the tables there 
 given show, moreover, that the receipts in Bd^karganj 
 were larger than in any other district, that the number 
 of registration offices was greater than in any district 
 except the Twenty-four Parganas, and that the number- 
 of compulsory registrations was greater than in any 
 district except Chittagong. I must again remind my 
 readers, however, that the figures include Mddariplir. 
 
 SURVEYS. 
 
 The district has been trigonometrically surveyed, and 
 there are now two towers in it — viz., one at Gangaptir 
 in the Mendiganj thana, and another at Bhattra in 
 Gournadi. There was a third at Khalishpur, but it 
 has been carried away by the river. 
 
 The revenue and topographical survey of the district 
 was completed in 1863.
 
 ( 345 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 POLICE SYSTEM. 
 
 This has already been touclied upon in the chapter on the 
 criminal administration. Bdkarganj has been from the 
 earliest times a troublesome district for the police ; and 
 the Magistrates' records are full of reports of crimes, and 
 of the inefficiency of the efforts to stop them. It has 
 been said in one account of the district that dacoity was 
 put down in Bd-karganj in 18 14 ;^ but this statement seems 
 to have been j)remature, for later on a magistrate rej)orts 
 that there were at least thirty-one dacoities in the dis- 
 trict in 1816. It is probable that our Hindu and 
 Mahomedan predecessors had also trouble in putting 
 down crime in Bdkarganj, and indeed there are allu- 
 sions to the prevalence of river-dacoity in the letters of 
 the Jesuit priests who visited the country in 1599 and 
 1600. Two causes contributed to the existence and 
 
 ^ On 29tli November 1814 tlie Goverumeut of India wrote as follows to 
 the Court of Directors : — 
 
 " The Sunderbuns having been ordinarily regarded as the natural harbour 
 of dacoits, it will be particularly satisfactory to your Honourable Court to 
 observe the progress made in the suppression of gang-robbery in that part 
 of the country. We cannot deny ourselves the gratification of transcribing 
 the following passage from the letter of the Judge of Circuit on that 
 subject : ' It does not occur to me as necessary to offer any further obser- 
 vations on the state of the Buckergunge district. It appears to be in that 
 state of security from violent depredation which a few years back it 
 would, perhaps, have been considered a vain hope that it could ever arrive 
 at ; and with respect to offences of other descriptions, they do not appear 
 materially to prevail.'" — Judicial Letter from Bengal, India Office Library.
 
 346 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 continuance of dacoity and other serious ciimes in the 
 district. In the first place, the district was in old times 
 chiefly composed of jungle tracts such as the Sundarbans, 
 &c., and it was therefore such an unpopular place of resi- 
 dence that almost no one resorted to it except criminals 
 and men of bad character or desperate fortunes. Hence 
 the district had to a certain extent a criminal po- 
 pulation to start with ; and these people continued 
 and flourished in it, because the configuration of the 
 country was eminently favourable to the commission 
 of crime with impunity, and because it was at the same 
 time the highway of communication between the eastern 
 districts and Calcutta. In old times a strong force of 
 patrol-boats was kept up in order to guard the rivers ; 
 and the records are full of suggestions from the Magis- 
 trates, the Courts of Circuit, and the Nizamat Ad^lat 
 about the best way of employing these boats, &c. In 
 1818 there were fourteen patrol-boats, with fourteen 
 manjhis and 168 rowers — i.e., there were one manjhi 
 and twelve rowers to each boat. The manjhis got 
 Es.4 a month, and the rowers Es.3, so that the monthly 
 cost was Es.560. 
 
 In 1812 there were eleven thanas or police stations. 
 The Magistrate's letter of 8 th February 1812 refers to 
 the establishment of a twelfth thana — viz., Mirzaganj — 
 which shows that cultivation and population had been 
 increasing in the south of the district. The same letter 
 mentions that Gournadi was transferred to the Bdkar- 
 ganj district in 1807, and recommends that Nalchira — 
 i.e., I presume, the present Agarpur outpost — be trans- 
 ferred to Mendiganj. In Mr Sutherland's account of 
 the district an extract is given from a magistrate's 
 letter, dated 20th February 1811, showing the names 
 and positions at that time of the eleven thanas. The
 
 POLICE SYSTEM. 347 
 
 list there given singularly illustrates the changes which 
 have taken place in the administration, for the sites 
 of six of the thanas have been changed since then, 
 and a seventh — viz., Kachua — has been transferred to 
 Jessore and reduced to an out^DOst. 
 
 The old police stations were all placed on the banks 
 of the large rivers, as the chief object had in view was 
 the suppression of river-dacoities. Inland places were 
 thought to be less in need of protection, and were left 
 to shift for themselves. I do not wish to pass the least 
 censure on this arrangement, which was undoubtedly 
 the best possible, and was also recommended by the fact 
 that it was necessary that the police stations should be 
 on the banks of rivers, as these were then the only 
 means of internal communication. I would only observe, 
 that as there were then no subdivisions, and not even 
 any village chaukidars,^ the zamindars and ryots must 
 have been left very much to themselves, and that it is 
 to their credit that they seem to have managed to get 
 on pretty well together. 
 
 At present there are fifteen thanas and ten (?) out- 
 posts in the district. In the Barisdl or Sadr subdivision 
 there are six thanas — viz., Gournadi, Barisdl or the Kot- 
 wali, Nalchiti, Jhalukdtti, Mendiganj, and Bdkarganj. 
 Gournadi has been lately transferred to the Sadr subdivi- 
 sion from Mddaripiir. Its outpost of Agarpur had been 
 some time previously placed under the Barisd-l thana. 
 Nalchiti and Jhalukdtti are too near one another, but it is 
 difficult and expensive to make alterations of sites. Men- 
 diganj has under it the outpost of Srird-mpur. The station 
 of Mendiganj is now at Pd,tarh^t, but it has been j)roposed 
 to remove it to AUiganj. Bdkarganj, which is by the 
 
 ^ Mr M'Neil tells us iu his report that there were no village chaukidars 
 in Bakargaiij iu 1818.
 
 348 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 country-people often Ccalled Angaria/ from the circum- 
 stance of the station's formerly having been there, has 
 an outpost called Niamati. 
 
 Perozpur subdivision contains the three thanas of 
 Perozpiir (formerly Tagra), Sarupkatti, and Matbdria. 
 Perozpur has subordinate to it the outposts of Nazirpur 
 and Bhandaria. Sarupkdtti is a new thana, and is in 
 part composed of the old thana Kewaria. 
 
 Patuyakhali contains the thanas of Mirzaganj, Griilsa- 
 klidli, Khalsakhd,li or Galachipa, and Baufal. Gulsa- 
 kh^li contains the outpost of Phuljhuri, and Khalsakhdli 
 contains that of Chalitabunia. 
 
 Dakhin Shahl^dzpur contains two thanas — viz., Daulat 
 Khan and Barhanuddin's Hat — and the three outposts 
 of Ghazipiir, Tamizuddin, and Taltali. The first two 
 outposts belong to Daulat Khan and the last to Bar- 
 hanuddin. These statements must, however, be taken 
 with reservation, for the thana arrangements of the dis- 
 trict have long been in a confused state, and I do not 
 know if they have yet received their final adjustment. 
 The Daulat Khan thana was formerly at Chandia, and 
 hence the thana is often called by that name. 
 
 In 1873 there were 626 policemen of all grades in the 
 district, and the total cost of the police administration 
 was Rs. 119,438. The force consisted of 1 district 
 superintendent, 1 assistant-superintendent, 6 inspectors, 
 24 sub-inspectors, I'o head constables, and 518 con- 
 stables. Two of the force were Europeans, 3 Eurasians, 
 and 621 were natives of India. Divided according to 
 religion, there were 16 Christians, 170 Mahomedans, 
 and 440 Hindus. The above cost of the police is much 
 greater than it was in old times ; for instance, in 1805, 
 
 ' Angaria seems an old name, and appears to be marked on De Blaev's 
 map.
 
 POLICE SYS 7 EM. 349 
 
 when Mr Gardner conld report that the total cost of 
 the police was Ks.33,361. But in those days there were 
 no district and assistant superintendents, and no inspec- 
 tors, scarcely any travelling expenses, and no officer, I 
 believe, receiving more than Es.l5 or Es.20 a month. 
 The figures for 1873 also include the jail and treasury 
 guards and their pay, and are for the district before the 
 transfer of Mddaripur. 
 
 In-old times the constables, or harkandazes, as they were 
 called, got only Es.3 a month, now they get Es.6 and 
 Es.7 and upwards, and the superior officers receive sala- 
 ries ranging from Es. 10 to Es.200 a month. Still it is 
 true, I regret to say, that it is almost impossible for a 
 policeman to live on his pay. The expenses of living 
 and travelling have greatly increased, and at the same 
 time so much more is expected of the police. 
 
 Undoubtedly the police system is the opprobrium of 
 our administration, and I fear that it will continue to be 
 so. A larger expenditure of money would do much to im- 
 prove matters, especially in the direction of supplying 
 the inferior police with adequate means of locomotion ; 
 but even this would not do everything. The number 
 of village chaukidars in Bdkarganj in 1873 is said to 
 have been 5172, and their emoluments to have been 
 Es. 186,192. There are municipal police in Barisdl, 
 Nalchiti, Jhalukd-tti, Perozpiir, Baufal, Bakarganj, and 
 Daulat Khan. 
 
 In 1873 there were 5793 cases cognisable by the 
 police reported. 2952 were declared false, and only in 
 596 were convictions obtained. In the same year there 
 were 8031 non-cognisable cases: processes were issued 
 against 6077 persons; 3220 appeared, and 1910 were 
 convicted. The proportion of convicted to the popula- 
 tion was about 1 to 1244.
 
 350 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 The number of arrests by the police in 1873 was 1504, 
 and by orders of the Magistrate 1405. 1426 persons 
 were convicted by the Magistrate, and 100 by the Court 
 of Sessions. 1202 were acquitted by the Magistrate, and 
 108 by the Court of Sessions. Percentage of acquittals 
 was about 46. In the same year Es.28,765 worth of 
 property was stolen, and Es.6002 recovered. 
 
 There were twenty cases of murder. 
 
 The return of unnatural and accidental deaths in 1873 
 is as follows : Suicides, 61; drownings, 622;^ snake- 
 bite, 217; tigers, leopards, &c., 52; alligators, 48; 
 other causes, ^"J -."^ total, 1042. 
 
 1 The greatest number of cases of drowning are of children, and take 
 place in the moats which surround the homesteads. Cases of drowning 
 and also of snake-bite are most common in the rains. 
 
 2 Of " other causes," 10 were lightning, and SS'Talls from trees. 
 
 There were also during the year 64 cases of homicide, and five persons 
 were hanged.
 
 ( 351 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE JAIL. 
 
 The jail Avas origiually at Bd-karganj, the old head- 
 quarters of the district, and for some time was under 
 the Naib Nazim, who managed it through n,fcmjdar. The 
 oldest letter in the Magistrate's office (27th October 
 1792) refers to the prisoners confined by the Naib 
 Nazim, and the next oldest, dated 23d November idem, 
 enjoins that the prisoners should be supplied with 
 blankets. The jail was situated on the banks of the 
 Srimantapur or Bakargauj creek, a little higher up than 
 the cutcheries, and a small stream which flows into the 
 creek here is still known by the name of the Jailkhana 
 khal. It appears from a petition of one Panchanand 
 Datt of Rangasri, forwarded by the Board of Revenue on 
 17th April 1802, that Mr Lodge, the Judge, had built a 
 jail on his taluq of Bista Narain Datt in 1193 b.s. 
 (1786), but I presume this was only a civil jail. On 3d 
 April 1793 Mr Middleton, the Magistrate, was called upon 
 for a list of prisoners suitable to be sent to the Anda- 
 mans. By this time the Magistrate had charge of the 
 jail under the control of the Nizamat Ada! at. From a 
 letter of the Nizamat Adalat, dated 15th October 1795, 
 it appears that the prisoners had been deprived of the 
 use of tobacco, but that as the want of it had proved in- 
 jurious, they were to be allowed to have it again. The 
 jail at Bdkarganj proved very unhealthy, and Mr Wintle
 
 3 5 2 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 mentions in a letter of 7tli September 1801 that 242 pri- 
 soners liad died in it in the last twelve months. He does 
 not mention what proportion this bore to the number who 
 were confined during the year, but it must have been 
 about one-third, as he states that the number of the pri- 
 soners at the time he was writing was 750. The jail 
 was a thatched one, and was of course insecure. There 
 are two letters from the Nizamat Adalat, dated 23d 
 April and 15th May 1795, about the tattooing of pri- 
 soners, and directing that this sliould be done on the 
 forehead. Only the life-prisoners were tattooed, and the 
 object was to facilitate recapture in the event of their 
 escape. The jail was removed to Barisd^l in 1801. A 
 kacha-paha jail — i.e., a jail with a thatched roof 
 and brick walls — was erected there by the Magistrate, 
 Mr Gardner, in 1804. It was flued, was surrounded 
 by an outer wall, had a bomb-proof dungeon, and was 
 calculated to hold 800 prisoners, and yet only cost 
 Es.2302-5-9. The amount sanctioned for its construction 
 was Es. 368 1-3-7. The lime with which it was constructed 
 was brought from Sylhet. The following description of 
 the jail is given in the estimate : "Account of expenses 
 attending the erection of a foujdari jail at Barisdl zila, 
 Bdkarganj, consisting of apartments for 800 prisoners, 
 packa-walled, well raised and flued, an infirmary very 
 highly raised, completely packa, beamed and terraced, 
 a bomb-proof dungeon, and two guard-rooms, the whole 
 enclosed with a surrounding packa wall twelve feet in 
 height, and four packa sentry-boxes at the corners 
 thereof." This jail, however, did not last long, or at 
 least was found insufficient, for in 1812 the prisoners 
 broke out and burnt the roof, and in 1817 the jail was 
 replaced in whole or in part by a masonry building, 
 erected under the superintendence of Mr Gardner, the
 
 THE JAIL. 353 
 
 Civil Surgeon. The amount sanctioned for its construc- 
 tion was Ks.35,119. It was reported to be completed on 
 20tli September 1817, and the surrounding wall was 
 finished in the following year. In a report of Mr Lee 
 Warner (the Magistrate), dated 18th April 1818, it is 
 stated that the criminal jail was built in 1816, the sur- 
 rounding wall in 1818, the hospital in 1811, and the 
 magazine in 1802. The prisoners seem always to have 
 been more numerous in the early days of our adminis- 
 tration than they now are. Probably this was owing to 
 the greater number of dacoities in those days, and to the 
 more ready seizure of suspected persons. Something also 
 was due to the delay in the jail-deliveries, owing to the 
 Judges coming on circuit only once a quarter. In 1806 
 Mr Oswald whites that there are seldom few^er than 
 from 800 to 900 prisoners in confinement. This was 
 on 1st February, and on 12th July of the same year 
 the Magistrate writes that the jail is not capable of con- 
 taining more than 700 prisoners, and there are above 
 750. In the same letter he sj^eaks of an additional jail 
 which is to be built, and which, like the present, will 
 have the walls of brick and mortar, and the roof thatched. 
 The number of persons imprisoned for debt was much 
 greater formerly than now, when indeed the civil jail is 
 often altogether empty. In 1806 the Magistrate writes 
 that there are seldom more than sixty or eighty persons 
 in the debtors' jail. On 7th May 1807 an estimate is 
 given for repairing the jail. Bundles of straw are esti- 
 mated at Es.4 a thousand, and bamboos at Ks.3 a hun- 
 dred. On 15th May 1819 there were as many as 982 
 prisoners in the jail, and the Magistrate considered that 
 it was capable of holdiug 2000. In 1873 the average 
 strength of the jail, including the lockups, was only 
 520, of whom only 6^ were females. It must be remem-
 
 354 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 bered, however, that the number of prisoners in the 
 Bdkarganj jail is now systematically kept down by trans- 
 fers, and that no life-prisoners are allowed to remain in it. 
 Prisoners were occasionally transferred in old times, and 
 I find that in February 1809 two hundred were sent to 
 Dacca, but there were no rules on the subject, and pro- 
 bably they were only sent away when there was an 
 unusual pressure. The prisons also were for a long time 
 burdened with the life and long-term prisoners who had 
 been sentenced by the Nawab Nazim, and as late as 25tli 
 June 1819 a list had to be made out of such prisoners. 
 
 The jDrisoners used to do their own marketing, and for 
 this purpose they were paid in cowries, which were dis- 
 tributed by a foddar monthly, and for which he was 
 reimbursed at the current rate of exchange (31st Decem- 
 ber 1811). He got a daily list of the prisoners before he 
 distributed the diet-money. On 26tli Aj)ril 1820 the 
 poddar is described as getting two puns of cowries per 
 rupee as his remuneration. In 1805 the allowance to 
 each prisoner was three puns of cowries, or about three- 
 fourths of an ana, each day. Some remarks appear to 
 have been made about the allowances to the prisoners 
 being excessive, and on 15th August 1805 Mr Oswald 
 writes as follows : "The observations of the third Judge 
 of the Murshiddbdd Court of Circuit, regarding the 
 cheapness of living and the low w\ages of labour in that 
 division, do not appear to me applicable to this station, 
 where the ordinary or average price of rice is fourteen 
 anas a maund, of sixty sicca weight to the seer, and where 
 the wages of the most common labour are in general six 
 puns, and never less than five puns of cowries per diem. 
 Allowing each convict one and a half seers of rice a day, 
 of the above-mentioned weight, or forty-five seers a month, 
 it will be found that his expenditure in the article of
 
 THE JAIL. 355 
 
 rice aloue amounts to fifteen anas a mouth — ratlier more 
 than two-tliirds of liis wliole allowance. Witli the 
 remaining third he has to purchase fuel and cooking- 
 utensils to dress his victuals, a little salt to season 
 them, and to provide himself with clothing." ^ In the 
 year 1811 the total cost for the prisoners' food was 
 Rs.9253-15-4 (sicca). 
 
 From a letter written in 1809 in appears that pre- 
 vious to that date there was no separate accommodation 
 for females. 
 
 Apparently the prisoners were chiefly employed in 
 road-making, and in a letter written in 1815 it is said 
 that prisoners were not formerly exempted from labour 
 on the Sundays. 
 
 On 16th February 1812, at 11 "15 a.m., there was an 
 outbreak in the jail, in which Mr Batty e, the Magistrate, 
 nearly lost his life, and Avas only saved by the devotion 
 of his subadar. (At that time both the. jail and the 
 treasury were guarded by a detachment of the Provin- 
 cial Battalion.) The prisoners set fire to the thatched 
 roof of the jail and attacked Mr Batty e. The subadar 
 flung himself in between the Magistrate and his assail- 
 ant, and was cut desperately over the head. The suba- 
 dar, the havildar, five sepoys, and one barkandaz were 
 wounded, and twelve prisoners were shot before the 
 riot could be cpielled. In the newspaper account of the 
 great cyclone of 1822, j)ublished in Mr Sandeman's 
 " Selections," it is said that the prisoners were released 
 on the second day afterwards for want of food. From 
 the official reports, however, it appears that this state- 
 ment is incorrect. 
 
 * In 1803 it is reported that 4000 kalmns of cowries were required each 
 month for the prisoners, and that they had to be collected from all parts 
 of the district.
 
 356 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 The land originally taken up for the jail and for the 
 Provincial Battalion, and which is still in the possession 
 of Government, lies in the middle of the Barisd-1 town, 
 and amounts to about nine kanis, or between forty and 
 fifty bighas. It is held on a permanent lease from the 
 Rahamatpiir Chakrabarties, and the rate of rent is only 
 Rs.5 a kani, though the land is worth very much more 
 at the present day. The Rs.5 are sicca, and the old 
 rent in sicca rupees was Rs.45-5. It is now Rs.48-5-4. 
 The j)olice lines are situated on this land, and another 
 portion islet out to householders, and yields about Rs.96 
 a year. Another small portion in a corner of the jail 
 garden has been let to a shopkeeper as a woodyard for 
 Rs.48-5-4, so that in reality the jail site may be con- 
 sidered as rent-free. 
 
 The Barisdl jail has always been damp and unhealthy. 
 This is partly owing to its position, and partly to defects 
 in its construction. It is nearly surrounded by a tidal 
 khd,l, and the water is close to the surface throughout 
 the jail compound. The amount of garden-ground is 
 also very limited. It is a curious fact that the proper 
 mode of building a jail for Bdkarganj seems to have 
 been best understood when the first one was built, and 
 to have been lost sight of afterwards. At least the 
 hospital, which was built in 1811, if not earlier, is by 
 far the driest building in the jail, a circumstance which 
 is due to its being raised on arches, through which the 
 air can freely circulate. Of late a good deal has been 
 done to improve the jail, and the erection of double- 
 storied wards and of arched floors has been commenced. 
 Some solitary cells have also been built. The jail has 
 three lockups attached to it — viz., those at Perozpur, 
 Patuyakhdli, and Daulat Khan, though the prisoners 
 from the last have l^ecn temporarily sent to Noakhdli.
 
 THE JAIL. 35 7 
 
 Tile prisoners arc employed in Ijrick-niaking, in weav- 
 ing, and in making mats and chairs, but there is nothing 
 special in the industries of the jail. The great majority 
 of the prisoners are Mahomedans. 
 
 In 1873 the average daily number of prisoners was 
 520. This, however, includes those in the subdivisional 
 lockups. The average mortality for the ten years end- 
 ing 1873 was 12'22 per cent., which of course is very 
 high.
 
 ( 358 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 I CANNOT pretend to treat of this important subject as 
 it deserves, and must refer the reader to the educational 
 reports, &c., for fuller information. The first attempt, I 
 believe, to introduce English education into the district 
 was made by the Magistrate, Mr Garrett, about 1830. 
 Mr Sherring, however, in his "History of Protestant 
 Missions," says that a school was established at Barisd-l 
 by the Serdmpur missionaries in 1829. The lease for 
 the present site of the Barisd.1 school was obtained by 
 Mr Sturt in 1842, and the school was made a Govern- 
 ment institution a few years later. The school is what 
 is called a higher English school, and is a very good 
 one of its class. It has an average daily attendance of 
 278 boys. There is a vernacular school adjoining it. 
 There is also a so-called higher class school at Basanda, 
 but it does not really pre^^are boys for the entrance ex- 
 amination. Basanda is a small village about two miles 
 from Jhalukdtti ; and it would be better if the school 
 were removed to Jhalukatti, and the latter made the 
 seat of a deputy-magistracy and of a munsif's court. 
 There is a middle-class English school at the headquarters 
 of each subdivision, but I do not think that any of these 
 can be said to be in a very efficient condition. The 
 best of them (and the remark is also applicable to the 
 Barisjll sclioo]) is still more or less of an exotic, for it is 
 
 1
 
 EDUCATION. 359 
 
 mainly attended by the cliildreu of professional men, 
 who are only temporary residents in the neighbourhood. 
 Altogether, there were in the year ending 31st March 
 1874, 365 schools nndcr inspection in the district, and 
 12,110 pupils, so that about 7 per 1000 of the population 
 were at school. The number of Hindus was, however, 
 disproportionately larger, for though they only form about 
 a third of the population, there were (in round numbers) 
 7500 Hindus at school, against 4600 Mahomedans. 
 This, of course, is in great measure explained by the 
 fact that the Mahomedans chiefly belong to the poorer 
 classes, and are least numerous in the towns and bazd^rs. 
 Something, however, is due to Mahomedan pride and 
 apathy, and to their preference for a home education and 
 Arabic studies. 
 
 Female Education. — This has made very little pro- 
 gress as yet. There is a pretty good girls' school at 
 Barisdl, and there are one or two in other parts of the 
 district, but they have not yet taken firm root. In 
 some of the primary schools girls and boys are taught 
 together. Hinduism, Mahomedanism, and early mar- 
 riage are commonly said to be the great obstacles to 
 female education, and I have no wish to deny their 
 influence. I am sorry, however, to say that the Feringhi 
 Christians of Sibpur are almost as unwilling to send their 
 daughters to school as any Hindus are. No doubt the 
 difficulty of getting about, especially in the rains, is a 
 great drawback to the success of schools, and, physically 
 speaking, the children are perhaps better at home. Of 
 late years a great stir has been made about primary 
 education, and many new 'patsalas or primary schools 
 have been established, and many old ones have been 
 subsidised. No doubt good has been done, and the very
 
 J 
 
 360 DISTRICT" OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 agitation of tlie subject has had a quickening effect on 
 the bucolic mind ; but in the south of the district, where 
 80 per cent, of the inhabitants are Mahomedans, the 
 experiment has been a failure. The peasants do not 
 care for education ; and besides, they need their chil- 
 dren to gather their betel-nuts, to row their boats, and 
 above all to herd their cattle. 
 
 The worst of the change which has been effected is 
 that in very many cases the villagers have given up 
 payiug fees to the village teacher, as he now gets paid 
 by Government. In fact, therefore, the teacher's posi- 
 tion has not been improved, there having been only a 
 change of paymasters. The fact is, I believe, as I have 
 stated it, and I confess that it is one for which it is not 
 easy to see a remedy. 
 
 The accompanying table, which is taken from the 
 inspector's report, gives many particulars of the state of 
 education in the district in 1873-74. In the same year 
 the receipts, including grants from provincial revenues 
 and Rs.9872 of subscrij^tions, were Rs.44,941, and the 
 expenditure was Rs.44,280.^ 
 
 ^ The early state of Bakarganj in regard to education is described in Mr 
 Adam's Report on Education in Bengal, 1835.
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 361 
 
 H 
 
 HI 
 
 < 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 •BJatnO 1 i : 1 i " « : : 1 1 
 
 ■suBpBuitnBijnui 1 ' • ^"Sl? • • 
 
 a. 
 
 10 « 00 CO = 
 
 ■snptrtjj '-' 1 5J5Sm *" : 
 
 o> 
 
 ■suBHSUtlO 1 • : to 1 : 00 : : 
 
 2: 
 
 ?sig atn no s^uapnqg jo ib^ox puBaf) 
 
 N »~ •* I- 
 CM CO m CO 00 
 
 t ^ CO l^ >0 ; 
 
 
 
 ■8no!?Tii!jsui jo ib;ox pnB.t£) 
 
 1-1 . CI 00 •i* -^t to . 
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 CO 
 
 « 
 z; 
 
 2 a 
 
 H 
 
 eg 
 
 < 
 
 Religion of 
 
 Students as 
 
 on 31st 
 
 March. 
 
 •s.iaqio 1 : : : :co 1 : • | co 
 
 ■snBpBniniBqni\[ j : :""g : : 1" 
 
 1 CC CO t- 10 1 00 
 
 •snpnijj : : : S S '^ • 15 
 
 •euBnsuqo .1 : : ■ : • • • • I : 
 
 Number of 
 
 Students 
 
 on the 
 
 31st March 
 
 learning — 
 
 •^tno jE[nDBn.i9A : : i S ii » ** : 
 
 s 
 
 01 
 
 aSBnSuB'UBOisst^JOV 1 : i i : : io : : 
 
 
 
 ■qsiiSna 1 • : '•%'•'• •' : 1 2 
 
 ■aDUBpuaiiv A»!a s^B.iaAV : : :S — S " : 1^ 
 
 HOJBK 5SIS aqjtio 1 . . -SSS S -lo 
 snoa at(} no s?napn5s JO .laqmuN | • • .(n-oo . | co 
 
 •snoiininsni JO .iaqmn>j | ■ • :"*'*§ " IIS 
 
 to 
 
 !S 
 
 
 H 
 
 b 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 •< 
 
 Religion of 
 
 Students as 
 
 on 31st 
 
 March. 
 
 ■S-13'nO i : : : : :" i • | co 
 
 1 to t-'* . t^ 
 
 ■suBpisramBqiin | ! •'"33S : : S 
 
 1 CO 1 CO 
 
 to U2 05 CO .0 1 00 
 
 •snpm.n i ; ^%B% " -Is 
 
 •suB!5S!.iqo 1 i :" : : :» : : | » 
 
 Number of 
 
 Students 
 
 on the 
 
 31st March 
 
 learnings 
 
 •jfino jBinoBuja;^ -1 : 5 S ^ S : 1 S 
 
 1 i-l to 1 go 
 
 •aSBnguBiiBOissBiov : i S S '"' 2 : : " 
 
 •qsiiSna 1 : : ^ S ^ = • = | § 
 
 CO C 00 to it! 
 i-l TJ« 1 CO 
 
 •qo.n!W ?si8 am no 1 .. gS^S S:|S 
 siioH sqj no s?n.5pn5g jo .laqmnN | • • 2 - § ' 1 SJ 
 
 •snonrnnsui JO jaqmn^j ; j .'" — J^^ '^ : S 
 
 
 H 
 H 
 
 X 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 Religion of 
 
 Students as 
 
 on 31st 
 
 March. 
 
 •B.ia'HO i : ; i • i : 1 i 1 : | 
 
 ■snBpBniraT!qni\[ 
 
 '^ ; ^ l^ \ : :\° 
 
 •snpuiH 1 "^ = i i^ : : • 1^ 
 
 •sniiijsuqg | i i to : : : : : 1 'o 
 
 Number of 
 
 Students 
 
 on the 
 
 31st March 
 
 learning — 
 
 •Xino jBiuoBnaaA 1 ?< : : i " : : : 2 
 
 a3un3nBiiB0!SST![0v 1 : : So : : : : : 1 
 
 s 
 
 •qsnSaa : ; M 1 I : • •' 
 
 i 
 
 "aouBpna^iv ^U'^d 82B.iaAV ^ : " : " : • • 
 
 CO 
 
 •f-iSI na-iKK isigain uo 1 fi . S :2 : : : |S 
 SIPH 8'H "0 s^uapmg JO .laqtanfj I ' co ■— • • • | «3 
 
 snotiniiisui JO .laqran^j | <-< ': i-" -co | : : I >» 
 
 Si 
 
 tn t< 
 
 -( a 
 
 X 
 
 Normal Schools— 
 
 For Masters 
 
 For Mistresses ... 
 
 Schools op Art. 
 
 Other Technical 
 Schools. 
 
 Schools for Roys— 
 
 Higher English ... 
 Middle English ... 
 Middle Vernacular 
 Lower Vernacular 
 
 Schools for irls— 
 
 For Natives 
 
 For Europeans and 
 other foreign races 
 
 Total ...
 
 ( 362 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 ROADS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 
 
 Sabhi Khan (see p. 48) was probably the first road- 
 maker in tlie district. His roads, or jangjils, as they 
 are called, are to be found in the northern and north- 
 western parts of the district, especially in thanas Gour- 
 nadi and Kotwalipara (now transferred to Faridpur). 
 Thoy were very broad and high, and though now broken 
 and even obliterated in many places, they are still used 
 by the country-people. A section of one of these may 
 be seen near the Palardi police station, and it has been 
 made part of the modern road from Barisd^l to Gournadi. 
 Sabhi Khan was in all probability a man of energy 
 and public spirit, and I have no wish to depreciate 
 unduly his merit, or that of the other Mahomedans of 
 like stamp who made roads in Bengal in the old days 
 of the Moglial empire. I am not sure, however, that 
 the decay of his roads is not a proof of the compara- 
 tive uselessness of merely individual effort, and of the 
 evanescent character of improvement for which the time 
 is not ripe. I suspect that Sabhi Khan's jangdls would 
 never have fallen into decay if they had been really 
 wanted. At least it is difficult to see how they could 
 become covered with jungle if people were daily in the 
 habit of traversing them. Probably many of the old 
 Mahomedan roads were made for military purposes, and 
 their usefulness ceased when these purposes had been
 
 ROADS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 363 
 
 accomplislicd.^ It is but fair to notice tliat Sablii Khan, 
 on making liis roads, appears to have made provision 
 for the physical and spiritual wants of wayfarers, for he 
 dug tanks by the roadside at Sabhi Khan's Pdr and 
 elsewhere, and he erected a handsome mosque at Ram- 
 siddhi. Of course I cannot positively say that the tanks 
 and mosque were made by him, for natives have a habit 
 of ascribing every improvement to one distinguished man. 
 Major Rennel in his " Memoir on Roads in Bengal " 
 has given a list of routes in Bdkarganj, and his map 
 (republished by Colonel Gastrell) shows a road passing 
 from Bdkarganj to Kotarhdt, Sutaluri, Gournadi, and 
 then across the swamps to Khulna and Maxadpiir. No 
 doubt this route is in part composed of Sabhi Khan's 
 jaugdl, but I suspect that much of it was merely a track 
 across country, and only open in the cold season, or 
 rather just before the rains ; for thanas Gournadi and 
 Kotwalipara, and indeed B^karganj generally, are most 
 traversable in the months of April and May. K6tarhd,t 
 is now a deserted place, but the name seems to imply 
 that it was once a place of importance, and there are 
 remains of an old road (now repaired) which led from it 
 to Bd,karganj in the days when the latter was the head- 
 quarters of the district. In old times there was a 
 munsif's court at Kotarhdt. Sutaluri, as the name 
 implies, was an old seat, I believe, of the weaving or 
 of the thread trade. It is situated on the road from 
 Barisdl to Jhalukdtti, and is near Gurudham. It still 
 contains some ornamented ruins, and there is a mat 
 or funeral monument in it, which, though the top has 
 
 1 One great cause of the destruction of the Maboiuedan roads was the 
 absence of sufficient water-way. Lime and skilled labour were scarce, and 
 hence, though large bridges were put up here and there at important places, 
 there were few or no culverts, and tlie height of the earth-way was the 
 chief thing relied on for resistance to the floods.
 
 364 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 fallen off, is still, I believe, tlie loftiest structure in the 
 district. 
 
 Tlie oldest roads made during the English adminis- 
 tration were probably those leading from Bdkarganj to 
 Sibpiir, and to the Golabari and K6tarhdt. The Sibpur 
 road is about five miles lonor, and still is in tolerable 
 rej^air, and has several bridges. The headquarters of 
 the district were removed to Barisdl in 1801, and the 
 oldest road in that neighbourhood, I believe, is one 
 which led from Barisdl to a market (now deserted) 
 known as the Khazanchi's (treasurer) Hdt. It is about 
 four miles long, and has been repaired, and is now 
 known as the Daj^dapia road. It is part of the road 
 to Bdkarganj. The road from Barisdl to Madliabpd,sha 
 (about seven miles) is also an old one, and is due to the 
 liberality of a Hindu lady (Parbati Chaudharine). 
 
 The following remarks on roads, &c., in Bdkarganj 
 appear in a volume entitled " East India Affairs," and 
 printed by order of the House of Commons, 1819 : 
 "The nullahs and ditches which intersect the town 
 of Barisd;! require deepening to admit the tide and carry 
 off the stagnaut water. The only road about the station 
 has been lately repaired, and the prisoners are now 
 engaged in making bricks to lay on it. A road is 
 intended to be made near the station, by which much 
 jungle will be cleared. A road from Barisjll to Gour- 
 nadi, which is on the route to Dacca, w^ould be very 
 advantageous, merchants being at present 2^1'evented 
 from resorting to Barisal from apprehensions of the risk 
 attendant on navio-atina; the larore rivers between it and 
 Dacca." ^ 
 
 The road which J\Ir Sage desiderated so long ago has 
 
 1 Mr Sage, in Appendix E to Superintendent of Police's Reports, IStli 
 May 1816, p. 239. 
 
 I
 
 ROADS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 365 
 
 ouly recently been made. It is very useful for foot- 
 passengers, but is not adapted for carriages. None of 
 the district roads, indeed, are readily traversable by carts, 
 and it is not necessary that they should. The rivers 
 will always furnish the readiest mode of transporting 
 heavy goods. There are perhaps some forty or fifty 
 carts in or about Barisdl, and there are a considerable 
 number in Dakliin Shahbd.zp\ir (where the ryots use 
 them to bring home their grain from the fields), but, 
 speaking generally, there are no carts in Bdkarganj. 
 The numerous rivers and klidls in the district, and con- 
 sequently the great number of ferries or expensive 
 bridges required in order to make the roads suitable 
 for carriage traffic, are a most insuperable obstacle to 
 the making of carriage-roads. 
 
 The road to Gournadi goes vid Lakutia, and consists 
 so far of a very good road, made by Ram Chandra Rai, 
 zamindar of Lakutia. This same gentleman also made a 
 very good khal for boats alongside of the road. The 
 other principal roads are Barisdl to Jhalukdtti, Barisdl to 
 Nalchiti, Barisd^l to Bdkarganj, and Barisdl to Tdltolli. 
 
 Of subdivisions, Dakhin Shahbdzpiir is the one which 
 4S best supplied with roads. There are a road and canal 
 across the island from Bliola to Daulat Khan, and there 
 are footpaths to Ghazipiir, Dhaniya Maniya police sta- 
 tion. In Perozpur subdivision there is a towing-path, 
 and a road from Kumarkhdli to Raierkiltti. In Patuya- 
 khdli there are no roads, except a footpath for a few 
 miles along the bank of the Patuyakhdli don. 
 
 It has often been said that every man in Bdkarganj 
 has his boat, and that roads are not required. This, 
 however, is a mistake. It is very far from being the 
 case that every ryot has his boat, and even those who 
 have, often find it much quicker and easier to walk than
 
 366 niSTRICl' OF bAkARGANJ, 
 
 to row ao-aiust the tide, &c. Women and children also 
 often travel, and they neither have boats nor can they 
 afford to hire them. The amount of walking which is 
 done in the district is in fact very great, especially in 
 the dry season. In some large tracts of the district — the 
 island of Dakliin Shalibazpur, for instance — there are no 
 rivers, and consequently hardly any boats, and nearly 
 everybody walks. Eoads, then, are wanted in the dis- 
 trict, but they should be merely raised footpaths, and, 
 above all, the khdls which intersect them should be 
 bridged. For this purpose wooden bridges, and even 
 bamboo bridges, are quite sufficient. The number of 
 bamboo bridges, or didrs, as they are called in the dis- 
 trict, is very great. Every village has two or three, 
 and in some parts every homestead has one. 
 
 Towing-paths also are much required, especially on 
 the highway from Barisal to Calcutta, and I am glad to 
 say that these have been in part supplied. There are no 
 towing-paths in the Sundarbans, and navigation there is 
 almost entirely dependent on the tides. 
 
 Not much has yet been done towards the canalisation 
 of the district. However, channels have- been made 
 from Bhola to Daulat Khan, and from Barisdl to La- 
 kutia. The Jhalukdtti khal has been deepened, &c. 
 
 Now that the road cess has been introduced in the 
 district, we may expect that many canals and roads will 
 be made. 
 
 The Government ferries are Kahamatpur, Dwarika, 
 and Shikarp^ir, on the road to Gournadi ; Jagua, on the 
 road to Nalchiti ; and Kalijiri, on the road to Jhalukdtti. 
 There are also ferries at Perozpiir station, and between 
 Daulat Khan and Hattia, and Tamizudin and Maiipiira. 
 The Barisal town ferry belongs to the town committee. 
 There are numerous private ferries. 
 
 I
 
 ( 3^7 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 barisAl. 
 
 BarisAl, the largest town in the district, and the seat of 
 the principal courts, is situated on the right or west 
 bank of the Barisdl river,^ and is 183 miles nearly due 
 east from Calcutta, and about 75 miles south of Dacca. 
 It is, however, only accessible by water from either of 
 these places, and the voyage from Barisdl to Calcutta 
 occupies from four to seven days, and from Barisdl to 
 Dacca about three days. Barisd,! did not become the 
 seat of the courts till 1801, but Kennel's map shows that 
 it was a place of some consequence many years before 
 that time. I have also quoted in another chapter a re- 
 mark of Mir Kassim, which shows that Barisdl was an 
 important salt cliauki, or place where the salt tax was 
 paid,' in the middle of the last century. In Kennel's 
 time the town seems to have been conhned to the south 
 side of the Jailkhana khdl. The town is composed of 
 the five villages of Barisal, Bogura, Amanatganj, Ali- 
 kandi, and Kaunia. The village of Barisd>l is a very 
 small one, and lies in a pargana of its own called the 
 Gird-i-Bandar, which appears to have been formed out of 
 pargana Chaudradwip as a site for the baz^r. The 
 English church and the principal public offices are situ- 
 
 ^ I believe the proper name of the river is the Kirttankhola, thougli I 
 never heard it called so.
 
 368 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 ated in Barisdl proper. These offices consist of tlie civil 
 and criminal courts, tlie Collectorate, the registration 
 office, &c. 
 
 The present dimensions of the town are of recent 
 origin, it having been enlarged with the view of mak- 
 ing it a more suitable basis for the registration of vital 
 statistics, and also in order to increase the collections 
 from the taxes. Formerly only portions of some of the 
 five villages I have named were included in the town, 
 but now they have been entirely incorporated. This 
 has given a survey boundary for an arbitrary one, and 
 has enabled us to know the area of the town with some 
 exactitude. From the survey papers it appears that the 
 area is nearly six square miles (5 square miles, 588 
 acres). The population within these limits appears to 
 be 13,332, including 1124 of a boat population. The 
 population therefore is very sparse for a town, being only 
 about 2000 to the square mile, or about four times the 
 prevalent rate (482 to the square mile) in the district. 
 The fact is that great part of the so-called town consists 
 of scattered villages, interspersed with trees and gardens, 
 and even rice-fields. In truth it may be said that, 
 w^ith the exception of the bazdr, every house in Barisdl 
 is more or less a rus in urhe. I believe that the towns 
 in other Bengal districts are similarly constituted. 
 When, therefore, it is justly stated in the Bengal Ad- 
 ministration Eeport for 1872-73 that "the absence of 
 large towns is one of the most remarkable statistical fea- 
 tures in Bengal," and reference is made to " Rangpiir, 
 the capital of the great district of Rangpiir, containing 
 only 6100 souls, and to Jessore 8152, each of these dis- 
 tricts having a population of over two millions," these 
 facts, extraordinary as they are, do not bring out the 
 whole singularity of the case. For even these petty
 
 BARISAl. 369 
 
 towns have their populations distributed over wide areas, 
 and are " half town and half country." 
 
 More than half of the inhabitants of Barisdl arc 
 Mahomedans, and the other half are Hindus, with the 
 exception of about 150 Christians. The place has no 
 manufactures and no trade, except that it is to some 
 extent an entrepot for cloth from Calcutta, which is dis- 
 tributed from Barisdl over the district. There are one 
 bazd,r and two markets, one for fish and one for general 
 produce. The latter is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 
 Barisdl is a calling-place for steamers, and its river is 
 navigable by them all the year round. It contains an 
 English church (built in 1845), a Baptist chapel, a 
 Brahma Samaj meeting-house, three akras — namely, 
 two of Madan Mohan and one of Jagannath — five 'kali- 
 haris, and five manashas, though only one of the latter 
 is in a separate building. The Maliomedans have one 
 mosque and three or four places of prayer. There are 
 a charitable dispensary, estaljlished in 1847; a public 
 library, founded by Mr Kemp (now a Judge of the High 
 Court) in 1855 ; a large civil and criminal jail, &c. There 
 are a very good English school,' a vernacular school, a 
 normal school, a girls' school, and one or two pdtsdlas. 
 There are two printing-presses — viz., the Purna Chan- 
 drodai and the Satya Prakcish. Four newspapers are 
 published at it — viz., the " Barisdl Bartabaha," the " Hit- 
 sadini," the "Bala Pvaujika," and the " Satya Prakdsh." 
 There are a burial-ground for Christians, one for Malio- 
 medans, and a burning ghat for Hindus. 
 
 The town is largely occupied by the professional 
 classes, such as pleaders and attorneys, and their servants. 
 
 ^ The present sclioolliouse 
 was formerly inhabited by 
 July 1836. 
 
 4 
 
 ise is, I believe, an escheat to Government. It / 
 
 Dr Spencer, who cununitteJ suicide in it on 2Uth / 
 
 2 A
 
 370 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 They are only temporary residents, and hence at times, 
 when the courts are closed — such, for example, as the 
 Durga puja holidays — the town is almost deserted. As 
 the pleaders and shopkeepers do not make the town 
 their home, there are comj)arativcly very few women in 
 it, and even of these a large proportion are professional 
 prostitutes. This puts the climax to the facts above 
 mentioned about the paucity of towns in Bengal, and 
 shows how the genius of the people is opposed to agglo- 
 meration in great centres ; for not only are the towns 
 few in number and small in point of population, and 
 that too not closely packed together, but there is hardly 
 any home-life in those parts of the towns, such as the 
 bazdr, &c., where houses are contiguous enough to form 
 streets. 
 
 The affairs of the town are managed by a town 
 committee appointed under Act 6 of 1868 (Bengal 
 Code). There are 3042 holdings, and these, for taxa- 
 tion and other purj^oses, are arranged in ten wards. 
 The income of the committee is about Bs.7000 a 
 year, Rs.6000 of which are derived from the tax on 
 houses (at the rate of three anas a month), Rs.600 
 from the town ferry, and the remainder from the 
 cattle-pounds, proceeds of fishing licences in the tanks, 
 &c. The committee also generally receive a grant from 
 the road fund. In 1814, 522 houses were assessed 
 to the chaukidari tax, the monthly collections were 
 Es.65, and there were 17 chaukidars. In 1819 there 
 were only 378 houses assessed, and the monthly collec- 
 tions were only Rs.46 (M. 28, 5, 19). There were then 
 / 13 chaukidars at Rs.3 a month, and a dafadar at Es.6. 
 
 V j In 1820 there were 1316 houses in the to^vn (M. 4, 7, 
 V^srMT' 20). In 1826, 564 houses were assessed. The Magis- 
 trate's cutchery was not finished till 1830, and p>revious 
 
 i
 
 barisAl. 
 
 371 
 
 to that time the Maoistrate held his court in his own 
 house, and got an allowance of Ks.40 a month on this 
 account (M. letter, 1826). In 1827, Es.l500 were given 
 by Government and Es.925 subscribed for improve- 
 ments in the town, and some tanks were dug in con- 
 sequence, &c. I do not know when the present Barisdl 
 band was made, but it is mentioned incidentally by Mr 
 Chapman, in a letter dated 2 2d May 1819, that he had 
 left court at about 5 p.m., and that on returninir from his 
 ride he was walking on the bank of the river with three 
 other gentlemen. The letter I have quoted describes a 
 mutiny which had arisen among the sepoys of the Pro- 
 vincial Battalion owing to one of their number having 
 been put in irons. 
 
 On 25th February 1833 the Magistrate refers to the 
 bad repute of Barisdl for unhealthiness, and says that a 
 fire which occurred in the town showed by removing the 
 houses the bad state of the sanatation. The town now 
 has tolerably wide and straight streets, and clearly it 
 owes them to English influences, for natives, when left 
 to themselves, have no idea of keeping highways clear of 
 houses. 
 
 Barisal has for a considerable time been diluviating, 
 and it appears that within the last twenty years about a 
 third of the bazar portion has been washed away. There 
 is a report of 6th December 1854 on the subject, and 
 there is a map, made in 1857, and now in the possession 
 of the town committee, which shows, by comparison with 
 the present state of the town, the amount of land which 
 has been carried away.
 
 ( 37^ 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 On reviewing tlie liistory of Bdkarganj for the last 
 eighty years, it seems impossible to deny tliat some im- 
 provements liave been effected. Gang-robbery lias been 
 in a great measure suppressed, and the cases wliicli still 
 occur seldom exhibit the circumstances of atrocious 
 cruelty which used to characterise the crime. Widow- 
 burnings have ceased, affrays have become less frecjuent 
 and less bloody, and the wrongful confinement of the 
 peasantry and other acts of high-handed oj)pression 
 have become comparatively rare. The rights of land- 
 lords and tenants have been defined, extensive tracts of 
 country have been brought into cultivation, and trade 
 and population have largely increased. School educa- 
 tion has been introduced, and has made some progress ; 
 and there has been, I think, some change even in the 
 character of the people, who no longer deserve the sweeping- 
 terms of reprobation employed by Mr Wintle in 1802. 
 
 As regards the cause of these improvements, I think 
 that every unprejudiced person must acknowledge that 
 they are mainly due to the introduction of the English 
 Government. That this has been the chief cause seems 
 evident from the fact that it is the only important 
 change which has taken place in the country during the 
 last two hundred years. If, then, the English Govern- 
 ment has not been the cause of the improvements which
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 373 
 
 we see, why ditl they not occur at an earlier period ? 
 If other things were the same then, and tlie form of 
 government was not worse, why was it that much of 
 the country was a jungle, that the rivers and creeks 
 were full of piratical boats, and that life and property 
 were e very w^h ere insecure ? 
 
 It is natural that enthusiastic Bengalis should regret 
 the days of their native kings, when Bdkarganj was 
 ruled by a Rajah of Chandrae! vvip, and Jessore had a 
 prince who was powerful or audacious enough to dis- 
 pute the supremacy of the Emperor of Delhi. But, in 
 sober truth, there seems little reason to regret the ex- 
 tinction of any of the Hindu dynasties. Taken at their 
 best, they seem to have been chiefly beneficial to idle 
 Brdhmans, and other unproductive classes. There is 
 no evidence that any one of the Chandradwip Rajahs 
 was a man of superior ability or virtue ; and we know 
 that one of them was. insane, and that the last lineal 
 representative of the family w^as an ignorant voluptuar)^ 
 Pratdpdditya, the King of Chandecan or Jessore, and 
 the most famous and powerful of the so-called " twelve 
 suns of Bengal," seems, from his biography, to have 
 been a brutal tyrant who fell into his proper place w^hen 
 his conquerors shut him up in an iron cage. 
 
 We may also remind our Hindu friends that nine out 
 of the twelve above-mentioned luminaries are described 
 by the Jesuit priests as being Mahomedans. Until 
 lately we had a good illustration of the working of a 
 petty Hindu kingdom in the native state of Kuch 
 Behar. The Rajah of this little country was not, it is 
 true, independent after the treaty with the British 
 Government in 1773, l)ut he enjoyed considerable free- 
 dom of action, and we may judge from the way in 
 which he used it how he would have acted if he had
 
 374 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 been totally uncontrolled. Now it was my fortune 
 some years ago to be stationed at Kueli Behar for many 
 months, so tliat I bad an opportunity of studying its 
 history in the old records, &e., and I can confidently 
 state that the condition of the worst-administered dis- 
 trict in Bengal is better than that of Kuch Behar under 
 its native Eajahs. The most famous of the ancestors 
 (Harendra Narain) of the present Rajah, and the one 
 who, I am sorry to say, seemed to be most highly 
 thought of by the native amlah, was a debauchee and 
 a murderer, who only escaped punishment from the un- 
 willino-ness of the Governor- General of the day to inter- 
 fere in the internal afi'airs of the country. Not many 
 years ago there was a native Eajah of Jyntia in Syl- 
 liet, and he lost his territories (in 1835) partly from 
 long misgovernment, and partly because he was believed 
 to have connived at the kidnapping of four British sub- 
 jects for the purposes of a human sacrifice. Another 
 Rajah with whom I was acquainted, and who, though 
 not really independent, claimed certain privileges and 
 the possession of a quasi-sovereignty over the neighbour- 
 ing hill-tribes — I refer to the Rajah of Susang in Mymen- 
 sino- — made use of the latter in his quarrels with other 
 zamindars, and tried to screen them when they had 
 committed a diabolical outrage on a Bengali house- 
 hold, and had murdered a whole family — man, woman, 
 and child — of fifteen or sixteen persons. 
 
 One of the best-known instances of a modern Hindu 
 kingdom in Bengal is the territory which used to be 
 known as Independent Tipperah, but which is now 
 ofiicially designated Hill Tipperah. There is now a 
 political agent at Agartolla, the capital of the state, and 
 things have perhaps improved, but some years ago 
 Ti^^perah was the resort of all the fugitives from justice
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 375 
 
 belonging to the neigiibouring districts. I remember 
 also that wlien, some fifteen or sixteen years ago, a 
 boundary dispute was decided against the Eajah, and 
 a tract of country which he claimed was declared to 
 belong to the district of Sylhet, he revenged himself 
 by burning the villages in question, and l)y carry ing 
 off the inhabitants into his own dominions. Another 
 instance of a Hindu, or at least a semi-Hindu state, is 
 to be found in the country of Manipur, and I can testify 
 from personal observation that things are not in a very 
 flourishing or progressive state in that territory. 
 
 AVith more reason the Mahomedan part of the popu- 
 lation, and even the inhabitants generally of Eastern 
 Bengal, may regret the days of the Nawabs and their 
 deputies, for there was a vigour and a power of organisa- 
 tion- among the Mahomedan rulers which were wanting 
 among the Hindu princelings. We see the difference 
 between them in the way in which they treated 
 the Arracanese invasion. The Hindus were unequal 
 to the contest, and fled under the pretext of avoiding 
 contamination ; the Mohamedans, on the other hand, 
 took the more manly course of grasping their nettle, 
 established themselves at Dacca, Avhere tlie danger was 
 greatest, raised and maintained a fleet, and swept the 
 rivers and their estuaries clear of the Arracanese and 
 the Portuguese pirates. Bengalis, indeed, and esj^ecially 
 those of Eastern Bengal, have much reason to be thank- 
 ful to the Maliomedans, for it is to them that they owe 
 in great measure their preservation from the Burmese. 
 But for the concjuest by the Mahomedans of Sandwip 
 and Chittagong, it is probable that much of what is now 
 known as Eastern Bengal would have been a portion, 
 and a deserted and despised portion, of tlie kingdom of 
 Arracan or Burmah.
 
 376 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 It must be admitted, also, that Eastern Bengal (though 
 not that part of it which forms the district of Bakarganj) 
 has declined in importance, if not in prosperity, since the 
 English conquest. Dacca is no longer the seat of a great 
 trade, and j^resents the melancholy appearance of a de- 
 cayed city. Various reasons may be assigned for this, 
 but the principal one of course is the destruction of the 
 weaving interests by the importation of Manchester 
 goods. English power also was not always as beneficent 
 as it now is, and there was a time when our English 
 laws, and still more our English desire to make rapid 
 fortunes, wrought sad havoc in Eastern Bengal. This 
 was the time of the outrages and tyrannies at the Bakar- 
 ganj bazdr referred to in a former chapter, and which 
 exhibited what Lord Macaulay has called " that most 
 frightful of all spectacles, the strength of civilisation 
 without its mercy." This probably was the most un- 
 happy period in the modern history of Bengal. There 
 Avere abuses under the Hindu i^ulers, and also under the 
 Mahomedan governors, but we suspect that the thirty 
 years before the Permanent Settlement were more acute 
 in their misery than any which had gone before. It says 
 much for the vigour of our Government that we have 
 been able not only to heal the wounds inflicted in that 
 terrible time, but also to raise the body politic to a 
 higher stage of health and wellbeing.^ Perhaps some 
 
 ^ " It must give pain to an Englishman to have reason to think that since 
 the accession of the Company to tlie Dewanny, the condition of the people 
 of this country has been worse than it was before ; and yet I am afraid that 
 the fact is undoubted, and I believe has proceeded from the following 
 causes : The mode of providing the Company's investment ; the exporta- 
 tion of specie, instead of importing a large sum annually ; the strictness 
 that has been observed in the collections ; the endeavours of all concerned 
 to gain credit by an increase of revenue during the time of their being in 
 situations, without sufficiently attending to what future consequences might 
 be expected from such a measure ; the errors that subsist in the manner 
 
 I
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 377 
 
 will say that I am attributing too mucli importance to 
 administrative action, and tliey may be disposed to re- 
 mind me of the dictum of Mr Buckle, that governments 
 can do but little towards the advancement of a country. 
 But, in the first place, if the fact really be that Bengal 
 owes much of its progress to the English administration, 
 it cannot be set aside in favour of the notion of any 
 individual writer, however eminent ; aiid secondly, I think 
 I can show that there is no contradiction in the matter. 
 Mr Buckle, in saying that governments have not done 
 much for civilisation, is not referring to governments 
 composed of foreigners. He begins his arguments by 
 the following remark : "In the first place, we have the 
 obvious consideration, that the rulers of a country have, 
 under ordinary circumstances, always been the inhabi- 
 tants of that country, nurtured by its literature, bred to 
 its traditions, and imbibing its prejudices. Such men 
 are at best only the creatures of the age, never its cre- 
 ators. Their measures are the icsult of social progress, 
 not the cause of it" (vol. i. p. 250). 
 
 It is plain, therefore, that his argument does not ap- 
 ply to the case of our Indian Government. He would 
 not, I think, have denied that it might exercise great 
 influence over the civilisation of Bengal, any more than 
 he would have denied that the Roman or the Norman 
 government of England had powerfully afiected the con- 
 dition of that country. 
 
 of making the collections, particularly by the employment of amils- 
 These appear to me the principal causes -why this fine country, -which 
 flourished under the most despotic and arbitrary government, is verging 
 towards its ruin, wliile the English have really so large a share in the ad- 
 ministration." (Extract of letter of Mr Becher to the President, dated 
 24th May 1769, quoted by Sir Philip Francis in a paper printed at p. 
 931 of the Ninth Eeport of the House of Commons. See note about famine 
 of 1770 in Appendix for a notice of Mr Becher.)
 
 378 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 Two circumstances in the ^Drogress wliicli BdkargaDJ 
 lias made under Englisli rule appear to me to Ije deserv- 
 ing of attention. The first is that the non-official Eng- 
 lishman, or interloper, as he used to be called, has had 
 very little to do with it. I do iiot mean to say that the 
 district has not been largely influenced by Calcutta 
 merchants, nor that English literature has not produced 
 a perceptible effect on its educated classes. I only wish 
 to point out that hardly any non- official Englishmen 
 have resided in the district as indigo-planters or traders, 
 as has been the case in the neighbouring districts of 
 Faridpur and Jessore. Opinions will difier about the 
 effect of the absence of these classes, and some will think 
 it has been a great loss to the district. Still it cannot 
 be denied that the peasantry of Bakarganj, or, in other 
 words, four-fifths of the population, are at least as com- 
 fortable as those of Jessore or Nadiya, and that they 
 have therefore done very well without indigo. For my 
 own part, I consider that Bdkarganj is to be cougratu- 
 lated on its escape from a class of residents who were 
 not subject to the same laws as the rest of the com- 
 munity.'^ Almost the only non-official English resi- 
 dents whom the district has had have been the Baptist 
 missionaries, and they did not enter it till 1830. 
 Their influence has been almost entirely confined to its 
 north-west corner, but there it has, I think, l^een very 
 beneficial. At least I am sure that the presence in the 
 district for many years of a man so simple and gentle- 
 hearted as the late Mr Sale must have done good, and I 
 know that he was esteemed by all the natives who knew 
 
 1 At the time of the Indigo Commission (1860) Morrellgaiij was included 
 in Bakarganj, and Mr Monell's evidence (answer 2390, p. 234) gives a 
 curious picture of the al)horrence which liis ryots had for the cultivation 
 of indigo. The same evidence gives some interesting details ahout the 
 cultivation of the Sundarbans.
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 379 
 
 him. His predecessor, Mr Page, was a man of much 
 vigour and energy, and exercised great inliuence over 
 his flock. 
 
 The second circumstance is that few if any of the 
 Bdkarganj officials appear to have been men of great 
 ability, and that none of them has left any deep impres- 
 sion of himself on the district. Mr Douglas, who made 
 the Permanent Settlement, was a man of exceptional 
 breadth of view and humanity, and Mr Massie seems to 
 have been energetic and able ; but they lived at Dacca, 
 and were thus too far away to exercise much influence. 
 None of the other early Magistrates or Collectors appears 
 to have risen much above mediocrity, and there is at 
 least no one who stands out in the manner in which Mr 
 Westland has made Messrs Henckell and Eocke to stand 
 out in the early history of Jessore ; though, indeed, 
 even with regard to Mr Henckell, one has a suspicion 
 that he was more energetic than prudent, and that his 
 schemes for the reformation of the salt administration, 
 &c., ended in failure. Certainly his plan for cultivating 
 the Sundarbans appears to have brought loss to Govern- 
 ment, and to have embroiled him with the zamindars. 
 
 The names of the older officers have quite gone out 
 of the memories of the Bdkarganj people. The name 
 of Mr Batty e, who was Magistrate in 1811, survives 
 officially from his having built a bridge, and from aii 
 outbreak in the jail having occurred in his time. It 
 appears also from a letter of the Court of Directors that 
 he was very successful in putting down dacoity. Mr 
 Chapman, who was Magistrate in 1819, is remembered 
 from his connection with the burial - ground, which 
 appears to have been formed by him, and from his name 
 having been given to a tank which is said to yield 
 the best drinking - water in Barisal. Mr Garrett was
 
 38o DISTRIC2' OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 au active and public-spirited officer, and is remembered 
 for the improvements lie made in the town, and for his 
 liaving assisted in the formation of the first English 
 school. The name of Mr Shawe, who was Magistrate in 
 1845, and who at a later period became Judge of Sylhet, 
 is remembered on account of his activity in road- making, 
 and of his having ])uilt the English church ; wliile his 
 contemporary, Mr Sturt, is remembered for the extrava- 
 gance of his entertainments, the defalcations which 
 occurred in his treasury, and above all, ^^erhaps, for the 
 great eclat with which on one occasion he had the Kali 
 puja celebrated in the l^azdr as a means of averting the 
 cholera. 
 
 Another officer (Mr Morris Beaufort) is remembered 
 on account of his having sentenced a notoriously oppres- 
 sive zamindar to a term of imprisonment, and then 
 compelled him to work at the road leading from the 
 Magistrate's house to the cutchery. The path is to this 
 day known by the name of Nil Kanth Eai's road. 
 
 Perhaps the names which linger longest in the memo- 
 ries of the people are those of the Settlement officers, for 
 they are intertwined with their dearest interests. I 
 have referred in another chapter to the great fame in 
 the eastern districts of Sir Henry Pdcketts. Similarly 
 Mr Dampier's name will long remain in the island 
 of Sandwip on account of his settlement of it, while 
 that of his assistant, Sir Frederick Halliday, is remem- 
 bered in Noaklidli for his settlement of the island of 
 Hattia, &c. 
 
 In Bdkarganj one of the most noted names among 
 those of Settlement officers is that of Mr James Eeilly, 
 who settled the large Government estate of Tushkhd-li, 
 and who was in fact Collector of the district during the 
 incumbency of Mr Reid.
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 381 
 
 Of late years I do uofc know that auy name has been 
 more widely known among the people than that of one 
 who was never anything higher than an unco ven anted 
 Deputy-Collector and Deputy-Magistrate. I refer to the 
 late Babu Dinu Bandhu Maulik, who lield office in the 
 district for several years, and acquired a great influence 
 over the peoj^le. He left the impress of himself on 
 nearly every department of the administration, but was 
 especially famed as a good police-magistrate. So useful 
 was he that he never could get leave of absence, and I 
 think it is not too much to say that his premature death, 
 when only about thirty -four years of age, was in a 
 great measure owing to overwork. Curiously enough ^ 
 this man, who was so popular with the natives, and 
 Avho also did so much good service, was far from being 
 esteemed by some of the higher authorities, and more 
 than once narrowly escaped dismissal. '^ 
 
 In the above review I am, of course, only speaking of 
 officials. If I were to mention non-officials, there are at 
 least two who have exercised more influence than any 
 judge or magistrate. I refer to the Mahomedan preach- 
 ers named Keramat Ali and Dudliu Mia. The name of the 
 latter is widely known, and he and his father, Shariyat- 
 oolah, may be called the founders of the sect of Ferazis. 
 Dudhu Mia's character, however, was stained with vices, 
 and I am not prepared to say that his influence has been 
 beneficial. On the other hand, from all that I have 
 heard, Keramat Ali, who was a native of Juanptir, was 
 a man of a very pure and disinterested character, and 
 did much good by preaching sound morality. He has 
 certainly exercised much more influence over the com- 
 mon people than Kesliab Chandra Sein, and I should 
 think that he was the truer and more modest man of 
 the two.
 
 382 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 Religion. — The mention of tliese two men brings me 
 to tlie consideration of religion, and of the possibility of 
 the country's ever becoming Christianised. At present, 
 as we have seen, two-thirds of the population are Maho- 
 medans, and I cannot say that there seems any likeli- 
 hood of their soon throwino- off the shackles of their faith. 
 Some might even say that there is an appearance of 
 their wishino- to draw them tio;hter, for Feraziism is 
 undoubtedly a puritanical movement, and an endeavour 
 to return to the supposed greater strictness of the primi- 
 tive Church. But such movements may indicate fear 
 rather than strength, and may testify to a dying out of 
 Mahomedan faith, just as the spread of Ultramontanism 
 is significant of the vogue of infidelity. However, the 
 great body of the peasantry seem to be still sincerely 
 attached to their religion, which after all does not inter- 
 fere much with their life, nor call upon them for any 
 important sacrifices, except in the month of fasting. 
 Singularly enough, the educated Mahomedans do not ex- 
 hibit any signs of scepticism, and appear to reverence their 
 Koran almost as much as their more ignorant brethren. 
 If the fact be so, it is not a little strange, for the Koran 
 is, at least in Sale's translation, such an unintelligible 
 and wearisome book, that it is difficult to imagine how 
 any intellectual person can believe it to contain a divine 
 message. The number of educated Mahomedans, how- 
 ever, is very small, and I have had little opj^ortunity of 
 judging of their real sentiments. It may be, therefore, 
 that free-thought has made more progress among them 
 than I am aware of. 
 
 Among the Hindus the prevailing worships are those 
 of Kali, or Durga, and Vishnu. The worship of Siva is 
 comparatively rare. The common peojDle are consider- 
 ably addicted to idolatry, and are fond, especially the
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 383 
 
 womankind of tlicm, of worsliipping sacred trees, &c. 
 I have seen a tree near Sarupkiltti almost covered with 
 hair, which had been hnng np by parents in fulfilment 
 of vows that if their child recovered they would cut off 
 his hair, and make a votive offering of it to the tree, or 
 rather, I suppose, to the goddess who was believed to 
 reside there. The educated Hindus have for the most 
 part lost all faith in their religion, and are deists or 
 atheists. Many of them reject the doctrine of a future 
 life. The organisation of the Brahma Samaj, however, 
 is not making much progress, and many Hindus seem 
 inclined now to draw back and to return to the customs 
 of their country, even where they are tinged with idola- 
 trous associations. Christianity is not making any pro- 
 gress in the district, and I do not see the least likelihood 
 of its ever becoming the prevalent religion. Although 
 there is an English church at Barisdl, there is no resident 
 clergyman, and the spiritual wants of the members of 
 the church are attended to by the Dacca chaplain, who 
 visits the place once a cparter. It is to be hoped that in 
 time the principle of disestablishment will be at least 
 partially carried out in Bengal, and that people who arc 
 so very " churchy " that they cannot enter a Baptist 
 chapel will not be indulged at the public expense in their 
 exclusivism. 
 
 Considerable as has been the progress of the Bengal 
 districts under English rule, it would doubtless have 
 been much greater under more favourable circumstances. 
 Probably the frequent changes of officers have been the 
 greatest obstacle to improvement. A gentleman who 
 has resided in Barisal for about five-and- twenty years 
 tells me that during that time he successively served 
 under twenty-four Collectors of the district and nine 
 Commissioners of the division. Biikarganj has been
 
 ^384 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 worse off in this respect than otlier districts, for it has 
 generally been disliked as a residence, and therefore most 
 officers who have been appointed to it have tried to get 
 away as soon as possible. Other districts, however, 
 have not beeii-much more fortunate. Dr Taylor, in his 
 " Topography of Dacca," tells us that " from the year 
 1781 to 1839 fifty-nine civil servants have filled the 
 office of magistrate, but of this number thirty have only 
 been in temporary charge ; the average duration, there- 
 fore, of each Magistrate's appointment has been two 
 years, the longest period four years and twenty-seven 
 days. The number of Collectors for the same time was 
 tliirty;seven ; twenty of this number have been acting 
 Collectors : the longest period for which a permanent 
 Collector has held office is six years and forty-five days." 
 Nor is it only the Collectors and Magistrates who have 
 been frequently changed. Transfers have been quite as rife 
 among the subdivisional officers, the dej)uty-magistrates 
 and deputy- collectors, the police officers, &c. At one 
 time the Board of Eevenue went so far as to pass an 
 order that no native ministerial officer should remain 
 in the same district more than three years. The result 
 of this notable order (which was passed with the idea of 
 diminishing corruption) was that poorly - paid natives 
 were driven from their homes, and subjected to much 
 expense and inconvenience, and that hardly any one 
 remained in a district office who had local experience, or 
 who could help his newly-arrived Collector out of a dif- 
 ficulty. At length, after much heart-burning and dis- 
 tress had been occasioned, and after the efficiency of 
 many offices had been crippled, the Board were pleased 
 to place the order in abeyance, though I am not aware 
 that it has been formally cancelled. Attempts have been 
 made of late years to diminish the frequency of transfers.
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 385 
 
 Lilt tliey have not been very successful, and in fact the 
 inherent difficulties of the matter are too great to admit 
 of the hope that they will ever be overcome so long as 
 the administration is in the hands of foreiirners. 
 
 In the report on the administration -j^f Bengal for 
 1872-73, Sir George Campbell writes as follows : "It 
 must be admitted that in the inferior grades of the ser- 
 vice, covenanted and uncovenanted, permanency has not 
 yet been attained. The present leave and service rules 
 are so favourable to change, the varieties of climate and 
 of amenities or disamenities in Bennjal stations afford 
 such temptations to seek change, the habit of going fre- 
 quently to Europe has so much grown among the European 
 servants of Government, and so many of the native ser- 
 vants so persistently strive by every device to avoid and 
 get rid of out-of-the-way and disagreeable stations, that 
 it is very hard indeed for those who administer so great 
 a government with such a mass of Government servants 
 to hold its own against so many who, for one reason or 
 other, seek change. So many interests are set in 
 motion, that it is a matter of extreme difficulty to avoid 
 the necessity of making several changes when a vacancy 
 occurs before things settle down. It is, in fact, a sort 
 of game of chess, as it were, in which the Government 
 is very unequally pitted against a great many players, 
 and it is hardly possible to give to each move the atten- 
 tion and the calculation of contingencies which is neces- 
 sary to avoid being taken at a disadvantage by one or 
 other of them. The Lieutenant-Governor has been, he 
 may say, shocked to find how many changes have oc- 
 curred during the year among the subdivisional and 
 other subordinate officials of some districts, in spite of 
 all his stru2fo;les to avoid chano^e." 
 
 In the above extract the Lieutenant-Governor deals 
 
 2b
 
 386 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 only witli changes among the subordinate officers. But 
 the changes among the heads of great departments 
 are nearly quite as frequent, and are more injuri- 
 ous to the public service. The Governors-General, 
 the Lieutenant - Governors, the Judges of the High 
 Court and of the District Courts, and the Commis- 
 sioners follow one another in rapid succession, and 
 hence there is great want of stability in our adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 One effect of such frequent changes is to give an air 
 of grandeur and solidity to everything in the country 
 which is permanent. Victor Hugo somewhere remarks, 
 that whatever was the real character of Louis XIV., 
 he acquired a semblance of greatness from the mere 
 length of his reign, and from his thus presenting an 
 appearance of immobility amidst the revolutions and 
 chanojes of the kino-doms around him. Li like man- 
 ner, amidst the incessant flux of our administration, 
 the inert Bengali landowner, living from youth to 
 agje in his ancestral home, and distributino^ a rude and 
 unequal justice among his tenantry, or the village 
 watchman going the rounds of his native hamlet year 
 after year, forms a not unimposing picture of steadiness 
 and uniformity. 
 
 The moral which these facts teach seems to be, that 
 we should endeavour to place the internal administra- 
 tion of the country as much as possible in the hands of 
 natives. And in doing so, we should, I think, not only 
 appoint Bengalis to ap^Dointments in Bengal, but should, 
 other things being equal, give the preference to inhabi- 
 tants of the district, and even of the subdivision, in 
 whicfr the vacancy occurs. Bengal cannot afford to be 
 administered by foreigners, and the inhabitants of one 
 part of India are often almost as much foreigners in
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 387 
 
 another part of it as Europeans are. A Bengali of 
 Nadiya or Huglili will not serve in Eastern Bengal for 
 less than Rs.200 a mouth, but the same man would 
 gladly take office near his home for one-half of this 
 amount. Already we have made a commencement 
 towards localising the administration by choosing our 
 rural registrars from among the inhabitants of the 
 registration circle, and it only remains to give them 
 magisterial powers. Of course this can only be done 
 gradually, and on proof of the fitness of each ofiicer to 
 discharge judicial duties. The system of appointing 
 honorary magistrates, and of thus making zamindars 
 and others discharge the duties of country justices of 
 the peace, has been lately revived in Bengal, and has 
 had some good effect. I think, however, that it will 
 not become really successful until more confidence is 
 placed in the gentleniien selected for the duties, and 
 they be not absolutely deljarred from trying cases 
 occurring in their own estates. At present the more 
 property a zamindar has, the less useful is he as an 
 honorary magistrate, because the fewer are the cases in 
 his neighbourhood which he is supposed competent to 
 try. 
 
 Interesting attempts have of late been made to de- 
 velop municipal institutions, and to form what have 
 been called village communes. And there is no doubt 
 that this is eventually the direction which reform in 
 Bengal will assume. The days of individualism ?lnd 
 personal government seem, to be over in that country. 
 We have got beyond the days of the strong man of 
 Carlyle and the Panjib, who is to put everything to 
 rights by a glance of his eye. Personal governiT3i;ent of 
 this kind may do very well among the hill tribes and in 
 some other parts of India, but it is quite out of date in
 
 388 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 Bengal.^ A late Lieutenant-Governor, wlio was endowed 
 with rare energy and quickness, but who came to Bengal 
 with notions derived from less-advanced parts of India, 
 made a vigorous attempt to establish personal govern- 
 ment ; but though his intensity, and still more the 
 strength of his position, enabled him to make himself 
 felt in the remotest villages of his government, yet no 
 permanent effect was produced. Many of his measures 
 have been silently abandoned or changed by his suc- 
 cessor ; and it seems to me that, great as Sir George 
 Campbell's abilities undoubtedly were, the chief good 
 effected by his administration was the demonstration 
 it afforded of the hopelessness of any merely individual 
 attcmjDt to counteract a national will. 
 
 No doubt it seems melancholy to some that the days 
 of hero-worship are over. They have trusted that some 
 great man would deliver them and their country from 
 the evils under which they laboured,, and have been 
 disappointed that he has not come. Tennyson has 
 expressed this sentiment of sadness at the growing great- 
 ness of the world in the passage where he speaks of the 
 
 ^ " While I admit tliat tlie abridgment of discretion by written laws is to 
 some extent an evil — tliougli, under the actual circumstances of India, an 
 inevitable evil — I do not admit the proposition which is sometimes 
 advanced, that the natives of India dislike the abridgment of official 
 discretion. This assertion seems to me not only unsupported by any 
 evidence, but to be contrary to all the probabilities. It may be allowed 
 that in some cases discretionary government is absolutely necessary ; but 
 why should a people, which measures religious zeal and personal rank and 
 respectability by rigid adherence to usage and custom, have a fancy for 
 rapid changes in the actions of its governors, and prefer a regimen of 
 discretion, sometimes close upon caprice, to a regimen of law ? I do not 
 profess to know the natives of this country as well as others, but if they 
 are to be judged by their writings, they have no such preference. The 
 educated youth of India certainly affect a dislike of many things which 
 they do not care about, and pretend to many tastes which they do not really 
 share ; but the repugnance which they invariably profess for discretionary 
 government has always seemed to me genuinely hearty and sincere." — 
 3f time's Village Comnmnities, Appendix I. p. 215.
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 389 
 
 iudivicliial witliering and of the world becoming more and 
 more/ But, in fact, the complaint is a somewJiat idle and 
 querulous one, and need not seriously disturb us. True 
 it is, that as the world advances, its dependence upon 
 any individual man becomes less and less ; but when wo 
 consider the shortness and uncertainty of human life, 
 this is a motive for rejoicing rather than for sorrow. 
 It is better that nowadays, if a great man die, he leaves 
 five hundred as good as he, than that, as when Charle- 
 magne or Akbar died, there should be no one to fill the 
 void. Nor need we fear that the individual must ivither, 
 for the world is made up of units ; and no assemblage 
 of withered individuals, however great, will ever make 
 a prosperous world. If, then, the Avorld is to wax greater 
 and greater, as apparently it will, individuals must rise 
 higher and higher, though at the same time the absolute 
 importance of any one of them must diminish. 
 
 Although we feel assured that some reform in which 
 the whole country takes a share must be the ultimate 
 remedy for Bengal, and that comparatively little can 
 be done by individuals, yet it is not easy to predict the 
 form which the change will take. Some have thought 
 of reviving the village system ; but, in fact, this is a 
 system which never had a vigorous existence in Lower 
 Bengal, and is now altogether decayed. The village 
 system, of which we hear so much, may work well in 
 Madras and the North- Western Provinces, but in Bengal 
 it seems to be an anachronism. Besides, it is a Hindu 
 institution, and therefore we cannot expect it to flourish 
 
 1 " Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, and I linger by the shore, 
 And the individual withers, and the world is more and more. 
 Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, and he bears a laden breast 
 Full of sad experience, moving toward the stillness of his rest." 
 
 The words are those of a man who has been soured by disappoiiilmcnt 
 and treachery, and are quite appropriate in his mouth. We need not take 
 them to be expressive of the poet's own sentiments.
 
 390 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 in Mahomedau districts such as Bakarganj and the other 
 districts of Eastern Bengal. Villages in Bdkarganj are 
 very different from villages in the North-West, or even in 
 Western Bengal. The houses in them are not grouped 
 together, and there is little feeling of companionship 
 among the different householders. The old village boun- 
 daries have also been obliterated in many cases by the 
 formation of chars or by diluviation. There is certainly 
 nothing in them which corresponds to the organisation 
 which we read of in Elphinstone. There is no village 
 accountant or village barber, nor even was there origin- 
 ally any village watchman, for the last is the introduc- 
 tion of the English Government, and was unknown till 
 the last fifty or sixty years. And the village watchman, 
 or chaukidar, as he is called, bears traces of his being a 
 new institution ; for we often find that he does not even 
 live in the village he is supposed to guard, and it is 
 with great difficulty that he ever gets his pay from the 
 villagers. 
 
 " In Backergunge the villages are more scattered and 
 less defined than in Jessore and Faridpur ; indeed in 
 many parts are not defined at all, each villager having 
 ordinarily selected as the site for his house the spot 
 which appeared to him to be most eligible in relation to 
 his agricultural pursuits, and wholly without reference 
 to any future village community. This want of defini- 
 tion became a source of great difficulty when compiling 
 the map of the district in the Surveyor-General's office. 
 It was often impossible to say whereabouts to fix the 
 dot or other conventional mark to designate the village." 
 — GastrelVs Report. 
 
 Nor is there any feeling of local patriotism or of 
 fellowship among the inhabitants of the same village. 
 The village is in most instances of too recent origin, the
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 391 
 
 houses are too scattered, and ryots migrate too readily 
 from one village to another to admit of the growth of 
 such feelings. Brjihmans and other non-agricultural 
 classes live for generations on the same homesteads ; but, 
 as a general rule, the tenancy of cultivators is of short 
 duration, and I think that if the ryots of a village were 
 interrogated, it would be found that most of them had 
 been settled in it for less than twelve years. Some 
 villages are chiefly inhabited by one caste or profession. 
 Thus Kalasgram is full of Brdhmans, Banaripara is full 
 of Kayasts, and Baukd,tti has for generations been cele- 
 brated for the number of its thieves. But, as a general 
 rule, the inhabitants of a village are a heterogeneous 
 assemblage, and have few ties with one another. At 
 least one-half of them are generally Mahomedans, and 
 the remainder is composed of Hindus, who again arc 
 subdivided into castes and dais wdiich do not inter- 
 mingle. The land of a village does not belong to the 
 village community, nor are there any waste or pasturage 
 lands in which all the villas-ers and no others can share. 
 The occupancy right in each plot generally belongs to a 
 ryot, but the rights of receiving rent, &c., are generally 
 held by some taluqdar or zamiudar who often lives a 
 great way off. 
 
 These last rights are not always or even generally 
 vested in one man, so that the inhabitants of a village 
 have frequently different landlords and different rates 
 of rent. In fact it may be said that they have often 
 nothing in common except contiguity of residence, and 
 even this does not always exist, for the houses in a 
 village are often an hour's journey apart from one 
 another. 
 
 Within certain limits the people of Bdkarganj are 
 great travellers, and at all events they cannot be
 
 392 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 described as never losing sigiit of their native village. 
 The absence of railways or steamboats prevents them 
 from undertaking distant journeys, but they frequently 
 visit the headquarters of their district to look after their 
 lawsuits, to consult their landlord's agent, &c. 
 
 Their relatives and friends are widely scattered, and 
 the facilities for locomotion afforded by the numerous 
 rivers and the general possession of boats are so great, 
 especially during the rains, that they spend much time 
 in paying visits either with or without their wives and 
 families. Thus a man w^ill have his home in one par- 
 gana, his father-in-law's in a second, his son-in-law's in 
 a third, and almost innumerable uncles and cousins — 
 dharam-'pitas and dliaram-ioutras — scattered over the 
 country. Every now and then one of his friends or 
 relatives gives a feast, and as the Bengali ryot is gene- 
 rally only accountable to himself for the employment of 
 his time, and is not a labourer paid by the day, there is 
 nothing to hinder him from accepting the invitation, or 
 from spending two or three days in a jaunt with his 
 wife and children. Owing to the scarcity of land in the 
 more populous parts of the district, and to the posses- 
 sion of herds of buffaloes, &c., it is no uncommon thing 
 for a ryot to have two homesteads. In one he lives 
 with his wife and family, and the other, called his 
 do-alia hdri, he visits during the cultivating season, 
 and often inhabits for two or three months at a time. 
 
 For all these reasons I think it will be impossible to 
 make the village the unit of administration, and that it 
 •will be necessary to take something wider, such as the 
 thana or the regis,tration circle. 
 
 Destruction of Wild Animals. — There is one im- 
 provement which I think might be accomplished without
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 393 
 
 great difficulty, and which would be of great benefit to 
 the people. I refer to the destruction of tigers, leopards, 
 crocodiles, and other wild animals. I have often won- 
 dered that the British India Association, or the People's 
 Association, or some other of the societies which Young 
 Bengal delights to form, has not taken in hand a work 
 so simple and so clearly useful. A very moderate 
 amount of organisation and of expense might suffice to 
 stamp out the plague of noxious animals in most dis- 
 tricts of Bengal. In Bdkarganj the greatest number of 
 deaths by carnivorous animals is caused by crocodiles, 
 and yet, strange to say, no reward is ordinarily allo^ved 
 by Government for their destruction. There is said to 
 be a tril)e of men in the Dacca Division whose peculiar 
 business it is to harpoon crocodiles, and as .Government 
 has not thought fit to undertake the task of extirpation, 
 I think that the wealthy zamindars of the division 
 could not do better than employ this tribe to do so.^ 
 Tigers and leopards are numerous in Bdkarganj, but it 
 is somewhat surprising to find how few human beings 
 are killed by them. They are principally destructive to 
 cattle and goats. Yet it would be a great mistake to 
 suppose that because tigers and leopards only kill a few 
 men in the year, their ravages are not very injurious to 
 the community. We cannot measure the harm they do 
 by the number of human beings whom they kill or 
 wound. The distress and panic which they cause, and 
 the obstruction which they ofi'er to the performance of 
 
 1 The chief sufferers from alligators are women and children, who are 
 struck down by them (the alligator is said to knock them down with his 
 tail) when bathing or Avhen fetching water, and who have not the strength 
 or the presence of mind to recover themselves. 'It is very rarely that 
 Europeans are carried off by them. Colonel Wilford, however, mentions 
 ("Asiatic Kesearches," voL xiv.) that Mr B. Plaistcd, one of our early sur- 
 veyors, was carried off in the Sundarbans by an alligator, which he mistook 
 for the rotten trunk of a tree.
 
 394 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 work, are evils of much more general consequence. 
 Thus a tiger may j)6rliaps kill only one man in a vil- 
 lage, but the terror which he produces will spread over 
 a whole pargana, and prevent people from travelling at 
 night, delay postal communications, &c. So the fact of 
 a crocodile's being seen in a reach of the river, or of his 
 having carried off, or attempted to carry off, any one 
 from a ghat, will produce uneasiness among thousands 
 of bathers, and of women who have to come daily to 
 the river to draw Avater. In matters of this kind it is 
 the indirect effects which are most serious. The direct 
 injury inflicted by a dacoity may not be very great, but 
 the indirect effect may be to paralyse the trade of a 
 large bazdr. 
 
 We may a|)ply this consideration when reflecting on 
 the benefit which the British Government conferred on 
 the country by the abolition of sati. When we look at 
 the returns of widow - burnings from the various dis- 
 tricts, the surprising thing, perhaps, is not that there 
 were so many cases, but that there were so few. In 
 Bdkarganj, in the year of the cholera (1825), when 
 upwards of 25,000 persons died in a few months, the 
 total amount of satis was only sixty-three. It is evi- 
 dent, therefore, that the great majority of the Hindu 
 widows abstained from the rite. But this must not 
 make us conclude that its abolition was of small conse- 
 quence. The real evil of it, perhaps, was the sickening 
 dread which every Hindu wife, and all who loved her, 
 must have felt whenever her husband was ill, or even 
 when she was given in marriage. And, perhaps, worse 
 than even this must have been the loss of self-respect 
 felt by every Hindu widow who could not bring herself 
 to submit to being burnt. 
 
 Wild pigs are extremely destructive to the crops, and
 
 GENERAL REMAKES. 395 
 
 I am sorry to say that some Englislimen have been selfish 
 enough to try to prevent the peasantry from kilUug them. 
 Of late years the sport of pig-sticking has been revived 
 in the district of Dacca, and I have been creditably in- 
 formed that the Commissioner and the Ma«:istrate de- 
 prived many of the native shikaris or sportsmen of their 
 guns, on the pretext, indeed, that there was danger of 
 their being used in affrays, but really lest the pigs should 
 be killed, and the sport of the gentlemen thereby inter- 
 fered with/ 
 
 Much loss of life is caused by snake -bite, and as no 
 remedy against the poison has yet been discovered, it is 
 probable that the only thing to be done is to endeavour 
 to extirpate snakes. This, however, is obviously a more 
 difficult and expensive work than the extirpation of tigers 
 and crocodiles. Government already has moved in the 
 matter, and a small reward is given in certain places for 
 the killing of the cobra de capello. 
 
 Note to General Remarks. 
 
 As I have said that Bengal cannot afford to be admini- 
 stered by foreigners, it may perhaps be supposed that I 
 am one of those who advocate the immediate abandon- 
 ment of India by Great Britain. Such, however, is not 
 the case. I have a great respect for Dr Congreve, and I 
 
 1 A correspondent of the " Times " gravely objected a year or two ago to the 
 destruction of tigers, on the ground that it interfered with sport ! This re- 
 minds us of Gibbon's note about Commodus and the African lions : " The 
 African lions, when pressed by hunger, infested the open villages and culti- 
 vated country ; and they infested them with impunity. The royal beast 
 was reserved for the pleasures of the emperor and the capital ; and tlie 
 unfortunate peasant who killed one of them, though in his own defence, 
 incurred a very heavy penalty. This extraordinary game law was mitigated 
 by Honorius, and finally repealed by Justinian." Bad as this was, it was 
 less exclusive in its selfishness than tlie behaviour of some of our modern 
 sportsmen, for the lion-fights gave pleasure to a whole capital.
 
 396 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 presume every one must admire a mau Avho has made 
 such sacrifices as he for his convictions, but I think that 
 the time has not yet come for the step he recommends. 
 Granted that we wrongfully got possession of India, still 
 to abandon her now would be to act like a man-stealer 
 who should kidnap a child, and then in a fit of repent- 
 ance abandon him in a tiger-jungle. I think that we 
 should look forward to the time when India can be left 
 to herself, and that we should hasten its coming by put- 
 ting: the internal administration more and more into the 
 hands of natives. For example, probably nearly all the 
 judicial ofiices in Bengal might be held by natives. They 
 will work for less pay than Europeans, and their know- 
 ledge of the language and customs of the people, and 
 their not requiring long furloughs to Europe in order to 
 recruit their strength, give them an immense advantage 
 over foreigners. I do not overlook the advantages pos- 
 sessed by Europeans, but I think that none of them 
 counterbalances the superiority of the Bengalis in the 
 above-mentioned points.^ 
 
 I would suggest also that no more appointments 
 should be made to the India Civil Service as at pre- 
 sent constituted, or at least that the number should be 
 greatly restricted. Those who are already in the service 
 must be provided for in some way or other, but I think 
 that the Government is only making additional embar- 
 rassments for itself by bringing more young men into 
 the service. Already some of those admitted complain 
 that they have been enticed by false pretences. 
 
 by employing natives, Government can get the services of men of mature 
 age. It does not seem fitting that extensive judicial powers should be ex- 
 ercised by persons under twenty-five or thirty years of age.
 
 ( 397 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 I.— Four Settlement Reports from the Collector of the 
 Dacca District, dated Gth April, 5th and 2Gtii May 
 1790, AND 31ST July 1792. 
 
 To the Honouraltle Charles Stuaut, President, 
 aud Members of the Board of Reveuue, 
 
 Fort William. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have the honour of j^our letter of the 18th 
 ultimo, transmitting for my information and guidance a copy of the 
 Eesolution of liis Lordshi^i in Council respecting the future settle- 
 ment for Bengal for the period of ten years, and directing that I 
 proceed Avith all practicable despatch to make the settlement of the 
 district under my charge in the manner and agreeable to the prin- 
 ciples therein laid down. 
 
 You also enclose for my information extract from your letter to 
 his Lordship in Council, alluded to in the 7th article of the Eesohi- 
 tions, and containing your opinion relative to the amount of the 
 jamma realisable ' from my district, founded on the information 
 with which you Avere supplied by my predecessor, Mr Day, in 
 answer to your circular letter of the 10th August 1787, directing me 
 to refer thereto in the formation of the ensuing settlement as far as 
 the suggestion therein contained conform with the Resolution of his 
 Lordship in Council now communicated to me. 
 
 You further enclose me copies of your Resolutions, and those of 
 his Lordship in Council, to the Collectors of Bazhai regarding the 
 ganjes, bazdrs, and hauts held within them, to which you desire my 
 particular attention, as well as my answer to the several queries 
 therein stated. 
 
 You also desire I will notify to the landholders, by publishing the 
 same at the several cutcherries of my district, that the ensuing 
 settlement for ten years, if approved by the Court of Directors, will
 
 398 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 become permanent, and no alteration take place at the expiration of 
 that period. 
 
 I shall, in obedience to your orders, commence on the Ten Years' 
 Settlement with the least possible delay. 
 
 As Government's motives for concluding a Makarrar jumma dus 
 salali is to secure to the Honourable Company a certain fixed 
 revenue on fair and equitable rates, and to afford ease and give 
 confidence to the landholders, their under-renters, and ryots, I 
 think it a duty I owe my employers, myself, and the proprietors of 
 the lands, and those under themselves, early to lay before the Board 
 my sentiments on the orders transmitted me. 
 
 By the extract of your letter to his Lordship in Council, dated 
 the 14th October 1788, to which the seven articles of his Lordship's 
 Resolution alluded, it should seem that in forming the ensuing settle- 
 ment I am to be guided in fixing the jumma of each mahal by Mr 
 Day's plan of settlement of 1195, which accompanied his letter of 
 the 17th January 1788. 
 
 However unwilling I am to animadvert on Mr Day's proposed 
 plan of a Ten Years' Settlement, yet a regard for my own character, 
 and from a perfect conviction that I cannot conclude the settlement 
 with many of the mahals at the jumma recommended by him, 
 impels me to deliver my sentiments freely on the subject, relying 
 on the Board's candour for putting a favourable construction on the 
 motives by which I am actuated. 
 
 It is necessary to observe that Mr Day did not send down his 
 proposed plan of settlement for upwards of six months after this 
 district had been visited by the most dreadful calamity ever remem- 
 bered by the oldest inhabitant of the district, and which deprived it 
 (by Mr Day's calculation) of upwards of 60,000 of its inhabitants, Avho 
 either miserably perished, or were reduced to the painful necessity 
 of forsaking their habitations in search of a precarious subsistence. 
 Mr Day visited some of the pargannahs where the famine raged with 
 the greatest violence, and had ocular proofs of the extreme misery 
 to which the Avretched inhabitants were reduced. He saw the 
 pargannahs inundated, whole crops destroyed, and cultivation totally 
 neglected. He had the mortification of beholding hundreds of the 
 poor wretched inhabitants daily dying without the means of aff'ord- 
 ing them the smallest relief. After a local investigation of the cruel 
 effects of the inundation, after a full conviction of the very heavy 
 loss many of the principal pargannahs sustained both in its inhabi- 
 tants and crops, and the consecpient decline of cultivation, it is a 
 matter of great surprise that Mr Day should, in many of the par- 
 gannahs which had suffered so materially by the inundation and 
 loss of tenants, recommend an increase to be taken in the ensuing 
 year's settlement. That gentleman observes that his plan -w'as 
 founded on the idea of a Ten Years' Bandobast ; admitting of this, 
 can it be supposed that districts which had been deprived of one-half 
 of their natural resources, could in the short period of one year so 
 far recover as to yield the customary revenue, much less bear an
 
 APPENDIX. 399 
 
 increase, Avliicli would have added to the miseries they liad already- 
 suffered, and in all probability have obliged the remaining ryots to 
 desert their habitations and seek refuge in more favourable districts 1 
 I shall now proceed to point out to the Board those pargannahs 
 which I am well satisfied cannot bear the jumma of 1194, but where 
 even an abatement on the present year's assessment will be abso- 
 lutely necessary in some of them. 
 
 1194. Pargannah Bajnagar. — Jurmna, i?s.97,194-15-17-3. 
 
 This pargannah Mr Day visited in person, and in his letter to 
 your Board under date the 20th December 1787, reporting on the 
 state of the district and the effects of the inundation, observes that 
 this pargannah presented such a scene of distress as he never before 
 beheld, the land being then totally inundated, the country not 
 showing the least appearance of cultivation, and the inhabitants in 
 general being on raised stages. He at the same time expresses his 
 apprehension that Government was likely to experience a very 
 heavy loss at the close of the year in consequence of the late 
 calamity. 
 
 Notwithstanding the wretched state in which Mr Day found this 
 pargannah, yet he recommends in his proposed plan that the settle- 
 ment be concluded for 1195 on the jumma of 1194. 
 
 The Board acquiesce in Mr Day's proposal, and direct him to 
 conclude the settlement accordingl}^ 
 
 The Collector in consequence called upon the proprietors to enter 
 into engagements on the proposed terms, Ixit they positively declined, 
 saying, " to engage at the rate of 1 194 for the pai'gannah of Raj n agar 
 and Kartikpoor would be subjecting themselves to a very consider- 
 able loss, from the absolute inability of the lands after the calamity 
 which attended them during the last year." 
 
 In consequence of the zemindars declining to lease their lands on 
 the terms of 1194, the Board direct the pargannah to be adver- 
 tised for farm, and the settlement of 1195 to be tendered to the 
 proprietors at the amount of the highest offer. 
 
 The pargannah was accordingly advertised for farm, but no offers 
 being tendered, the Collector on the 4th of September 1788 trans- 
 mitted the proposals of the zemindars for leasing it on an abate- 
 ment from the jumma of 1194 of Rs. 36,404. 
 
 The Board observe in their reply, under date the 23d of Sep- 
 tember, that " the offer of the proprietors of this mahal being ex- 
 tremely disadvantageous — being a deduction from the jumma of last 
 year of no less a sum than Rs.36,404 — we cannot accede to it. We 
 authorise you, however, to make an offer of it to the proprietors at 
 the remission Rs.8934 from the jumma of 1194, that in the event 
 of their not accepting of it, the mahal be held khass." 
 
 The proprietors having refused to enter into engagements on the 
 proffered terms, the mahal was held khass; and to show that it 
 was little capable of yielding the jumma of 1194, I must observe
 
 400 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 that Government sustained a loss of Rs.47,272. This balance even 
 exceeded that incurred in 1194, which amounted to sicca Rs.45,179. 
 
 It will probably be remarked that the settlement has not been con- 
 cluded this year on the jumma of 1194. This I acknowledge, but 
 I must beg leave to observe that an abatement of Rs.8934 was 
 allowed in Bozergomedpore, and a further sum of Rs. 13,791 in 
 Kartikpore, both mahals dependent on Rajnagar ; but the latter sum 
 cannot be considered as an abatement on the jumma of Rajnagar, 
 for supposing Kartikpore to have been the property of another 
 person, a similar deduction must have been granted in consideration 
 of the dreadful calamity it experienced in 1194. So that, in fact, the 
 abatement allowed last year on account of Rajnagar was the remis- 
 sion of the increase laid on Bozergomedpore in 1194, being, as before 
 stated, Rs.8934; and the late Commissioner's report will show that 
 this abatement was very inadequate to the heavy losses sustained 
 in the pargannah in the two preceding years both in its crops and 
 inhabitants, and nothing but the appreheusion which four of the 
 proprietors entertained lest the proposals made to your Board by 
 Kebal Ram, the remaining proprietor, Avould have been accepted, 
 could have induced them to have entered into engagements on such 
 high terms. They were fearful, in the event of Kebal Ram getting 
 possession of the land, that he would have continued in the entire 
 management and control of the zemindari in the same manner as 
 his brother Gopal Krishna had done, by which means they would 
 have been totally excluded from all participation or concern in the 
 lands. 
 
 I have every reason to apprehend that a balance will be incurred 
 at the close of this year of at least Rs.25,000. That the zemindars 
 have collected more than they have paid into the Government trea- 
 sury is beyond all doubt, but the amount appropriated hy them for 
 their maintenance does not amount to 5 per cent, on the jumma 
 of the zemindari. The profits of their private lands, from the best 
 information I have received, do not exceed Rs. 15,000, and this profit 
 enjoyed by two of the proprietors only to whom they appertain. 
 
 By his Lordship's instructions the zemindars are to enjoy a profit 
 of 10 per cent, from their lands. The proprietors of Rajnagar will 
 cheerfully relinquish their lands on these terms rather than engage 
 on the jumma of 1194. They are men of rank and family, and 
 have long been in the habit of living splendidly ; and should they 
 engage on the jumma of last year, the whole of the profits arising 
 from the niz taluks will not be sufficient to answer the dues of 
 Government ; and as the proprietors have no other resources than 
 their lands, they must, if deprived of a moderate profit from such 
 land, be reduced to extreme indigence, and would be under the dis- 
 graceful necessity of disposing of their lands for a subsistence. For 
 these reasons, and in order to secure a certain revenue to Govern- 
 ment, I would recommend that an abatement of Rs. 20,000 be allowed 
 in the jumma of Rajnagar for three years, and at the expiration of 
 which the same be resumed on a rusud jumma of three years.
 
 APPENDIX. 40 r 
 
 1194. ranjannah Kartikp'Ar. — JutiDiia, i(*6'.25,791. 
 
 This pargannah forms a part of the zcniindari of liajnagar. Mr 
 Da3% in his proposed plans of settlement, recommends tliat an 
 increase of Rs.4000 be laid on this pargannah, obs(!rving that ho 
 had no doubt of the ability of the lands to this addition M-ithout 
 subjecting the renters to any additional tax above what they have 
 paid for some years back to the zemindars. 
 
 Had my predecessor adverted to his letter under date the 20Lli 
 December 1787, Avritten about a month prior to the transmission of 
 his i^roposed plan of settlement for 1195, I humbly conceive he 
 would not have recommended the above increase, for in describing 
 the state of the pargannali he makes the following remarks : " This 
 mahal, I am sorrj'' to inform the Board, has suffered in an equal 
 degree with that of Rajnagar, toAvhich it is contiguous, and is under 
 charge of the same sazawal. The balance due from it to the end of 
 Kartik is lis. 11,200, in part of which I much fear very little will be 
 realised, as the only sources left in the pargannah for the liquida- 
 tion of this, as well as the remaining kists, are the boro crops and 
 the produce of betel-nut, which, from the proportion I am informed 
 they bear of the pargannah resources, will scarcely suffice to pay 
 either one or the other, and a consideriible balance is of course to be 
 expected from this mahal at the end of the year." 
 
 What Mr Day foretold actually happened, for at the close of the 
 year 1194 a balance of Rs.12,238 was incurred. 
 
 Again, Mr Day, in explanation of the balance exhibited in his 
 touzi account for Aghan, transmitted a few days i)revious to his 
 proposed plan, speaking of the arrears due from Kartikpur and 
 Rajnagar, expresses his apprehension of realising the same, owing 
 to the unfavourable state of the lands ; and that the general failure 
 of the crops, together with the loss the proprietors have experienced 
 by the death and desertion of many of their under-tenants, he much 
 fears will put it totally out of their power to make good their 
 engagements with Government for the current year, a circum- 
 stance which nothing but the late unfortunate calamity would have 
 prevented. 
 
 Surely after the deplorable state to which this jiargannah was 
 reduced by a total loss of its crops, and the depreciation of many of 
 its under-tenants by death and desertion, it could ill bear the 
 increase recommended by Mr Day. A loss of the harvest may be 
 only considered as a temporary evil, but that of the tillers of the 
 ground must be ever looked on as a most serious loss, and nothing 
 can recover a district labouring under such misfortunes but great 
 indulgence and much time. 
 
 The Board, in their answer to ]\Ir Day's recommendation, seem to 
 think that the pargannah is not equal to the increase, for they say, 
 " You will call upon the proprietors for the ii^rease you have pro- 
 posed, or for such as may appear reasonable and can be levied with- 
 
 2 C
 
 402 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 out distressing tliem, the ryots and under-renters, due consideration 
 liaving also been had to the hite calamities of the season." 
 
 The proprietors being called upon to enter into engagements in 
 1195, so far from consenting to give au increase, they demand a 
 deduction on the jumma of 1194 of Es.9791, alleging that it was 
 altogether out of their power to subscribe to any other engagement 
 Avithout risking the loss of their lands, a failure on their part being 
 inevitable from the positive want of resources. 
 
 Mr Day, in his letter of the 11th July 1788, appears to be con- 
 vinced that this raahal was not equal to the increase proposed, for, 
 remarking on the balance of 1194 due from Rajnagar and Kartik- 
 pur, he expresses his opinion as follows : '"I was an eyewitness of 
 the death of many when in the lands in the month of Xovember 
 last; and further, that many of the poor distressed wretches now 
 daily perishing in the streets of Dacca Avere in the beginning of the 
 year inhabitants of those mahals, but from the failure of their crops, 
 having no means of support in the country, came to the capital to 
 seek sustenance. Such, therefore, being the state of these lands, 
 nearly depopulated, and the cultivation decreased of course in pro- 
 portion, I cannot but consider the present heavy balance due from 
 them irrecoverable, but further apprehend a considerable deficiency 
 in the ensuing year's revenue to be unavoidable if an abatement 
 be not made on their respective jummas on renewing the settle- 
 ment." 
 
 Mr Day with great propriety might have added, considering the 
 wretched state of the pargannah and the miserable situation to 
 which the few remaining ryots were reduced, that unless an abate- 
 ment was allowed for a period of years he saw no prospect of this 
 mahal's recovering the heavy losses it had sustained by the inun- 
 dation. 
 
 Mr Day, on the 15th of the same month, transmits to the Board 
 the proposals of the zemindars of Rajnagar, Kartikpur, and Bozer- 
 gomedpur for farming their mahals in 1195. The former they 
 offered to take on a deduction on the jumma of 1194 of 36,404. On 
 Kartikpur they demand a deduction of Rs.9991, and on the latter 
 they agree to an increase of 8934. Mr Day, in his letter which 
 accompanied these proposals, begs to call the Board's attention to 
 them, and observes " that the immediate loss arising in the two 
 former is heavj', but, from the present state of the pargannah s, does 
 not think that more with certainty, or without endangering a greater 
 loss hereafter to Government, can be obtained from them than what 
 has been offered." 
 
 Time has shown that Government has experienced a greater 
 balance than the abatement required by the zemindars. 
 
 The Board in their orders to the Collector, under date 12th Sep- 
 tember 1788, speaking of Kartikpur, made the following remark: 
 " Considering the opinion expressed by you in your report of the 
 17th Janiuxry, of ability of the lands to bear an increase of Rs.4000 
 on the jumma of last year, and also your recommendation that this
 
 APPENDIX. 403 
 
 increase should be levied at the ensuing settlement, we arc altogether 
 at a loss to account for your having submitted to us witliout comment 
 proposals from the proprietors at an abatement from the jumma of 
 1194 of no less a sum than lls.9991, making in all a difference in 
 the jumma originally recommended by you of 13,791. AVhilst we 
 regret so disadvantageous a proposal, we deem it highly necessary, 
 on your part, that you should furnish us with the fullest explanation 
 of a result so widely different from Avhat might have been expected 
 from your own opinion and recommendation." 
 
 Mr Day, in answer to the Board's letter, says, "My letter of 
 the 17th July has already pointed out that these lands have suf- 
 fered afresh in the loss of tlie boro crop, which misfortune having 
 befallen them subsequent to my report of the 17th January, must 
 have added to the distress of the pargannah and its inhabitants. 
 This, together with the year being so far advanced, no doubt in- 
 fluenced the proprietors in making so low a tender from the original 
 jumma." 
 
 I have taken the liberty of submitting the above extracts to the 
 Board to show the impracticability of making the settlement of this 
 mahal upon the terms proposed by Mr Day, and the Commissioner's 
 report, under date 28th October last, will show tliat Government 
 sustained a loss in 1194 of Bs.12,238, and in 119.5 the enormous 
 sum of 16,205-2-12-2. 
 
 The Board being satisfied of the inability of this mahal, sanctioned 
 the conclusion of the settlement with the proprietors of the present 
 year on an abatement of the jumma of 1194 of Rs.13,791, and even 
 this exceeded the assets of the pargannah in 1195 ; and from what 
 I have said I cannot but recommend that the present jumma of 
 1196 be continued for three years, so that the lands may recover 
 themselves, and that after that period an increase of 5000 toe put on 
 this pargannah on a rusud jumma of three years. 
 
 1194. Jaldlpil)'.— Jumma, i?5.103,902-12-7-3. 
 
 On adverting to Mr Day's proposed plan of settlement for 1195, 
 he recommends that the jumma of this pargannah for 1194 be con- 
 tinued for two years, and that the deduction granted in 1192, 
 amounting to 16,358, be resumed the two following years, half 
 in each, by which the mahals at the expiration of four years will 
 stand rated and yield to Government the jumma of 1188. He 
 further recommends that " the mode of talukdari settlement be 
 continued, or that the mahal be let to farm." Mr Day seems to 
 have forgotten the loss and sufferings this pargannah and its depen- 
 dencies experienced, and the misery to which the under-tenants 
 were reduced, by the dreadful calamity of 1194, or he Avould not, I 
 humbly conceive, have recommended the above mode of assessment. 
 His letter of the 20th December 1787 evinces that many of the 
 principal pargannahs dependent on this zemindari were nearly 
 ruined by the inundation. In speaking of the pargannah of j\Ioha-
 
 404 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 butpur, Naroollapur, and two or three others, he observes, " This year 
 the owsh crop in these pargannahs appears to have been nearly 
 wholly destroyed, and that of the anian in a considerable degree 
 prevented. The loss, therefore, which those lands have sustained 
 by the late inundation may be estimated at nearly seven anas 
 proportion of its grain revenue. Notwithstanding this heavy loss, 
 the Arzamin has paid up his revenue in full to the end of Assin ; 
 but in doing this there is every reason to believe he is become much 
 in advance for the renters to liquidate his advances, if any such are 
 due, as well as the remainder of the revenue to the end of the year. 
 There is noAV only left the boro crops and the produce of the betel- 
 nut plantations. From the latter, for the reason assigned in my 
 report for Eajnagar, I fear little is expected." 
 
 The Board, relying on the accuracy of Mr Day's statement, 
 authorise the continuation of the assessment of 1194, and direct 
 that the same mode of settlement be adopted. A sazawal was in 
 consequence intrusted with the management for 1195; and the 
 Italance incurred that year being 25,999-14-17-3, will show how far 
 Mr Day was warranted in recommending a continuation of the 
 jumma of 1194. The causes of this arrear are fully stated in the 
 late Commissioner's report, transmitted under date the 28th Octo- 
 ber, to which I must beg leave to refer the Board. 
 
 The settlement concluded this year with the proprietors is an 
 abatement of 16,901-12-17-3 on the jumma of 1194, which has been 
 sanctioned by his Lordship in Council. By Mr Day's proposed 
 plan, this abatement must not only be resumed at the ensuing 
 settlement, but an increase of 8175 be added to the jumma. 
 
 The settlement of 1197 must therefore stand at 112,081-12-7-3, 
 being an increase upon this year's jumma of Its.25, 080-12-17-3. 
 
 To satisfy the Board of the total impracticability of this increase 
 being levied, I must beg to make the following remarks in addition 
 to Avhat I have stated in my report of the balance of 1194 and the 
 assets of 1195. 
 
 From 1191 to 1195 this pargannah was held khass, and suffered 
 very considerably in its resources by the loss of the crops and in 
 inhabitants in 1194. Notwithstanding every extortion and oppres- 
 sion of the sazawal, Government sees a balance at the close of the 
 year of 22,638-12-17-3, although it appeared on examining the 
 sazawal'g account that this arrear had been realised by him, and 
 Avhich has since been recovered ; yet my report will also show 
 that this collection did not arise from the produce of the lands 
 solely, but from a sale of the talukdar's houses, cattle, implements 
 of husbandry, and their private lands. Notwithstanding these 
 violent measures adopted by the sazawal realising the revenue, 
 there still appeared a deficiency at the close of the year of 
 Ks.9956-6-10. 
 
 The zemindars, in order to encourage cultivation, and to recover 
 the lands which had become Avaste by the death and desertion of 
 many of their under-tenants in 1194, were induced to let them out
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 4"5 
 
 to other talukdars at a reduced rate. Yet notwitlistanding the 
 efforts of the zemindars, and the abatement allowed this year by 
 Government, there is every reason to believe that the assets of this 
 district are not equal to the present dues of Government. The 
 Security is greatly in advance to the proprietors, and finding on a 
 scrutiny of the Moffossil resources that they fall sliort of the saddar 
 jumma, withholds any further assistance, and solicits an examination 
 of the Moffossil receijjts ; Ijut as he became respoiLsible of his own 
 accord for Government dues, I shall use every exertion to com})el 
 him to fulfd his engagements,, though I apprehend there will be a 
 balance at the close of the year of lis. 4000 or Rs.5000. 
 
 Sensible of the declining state of Jaldlpi'ir proper, Bangrolah, and 
 Mohabutpur, and confident that this zemindari is not equal to the 
 present jumma, I am induced to recommend that a deduction of 
 Rs.TOOO be granted on it at the concluding the settlement for the 
 ensuing year. That this abatement be resumed at the expiration 
 of three years, when the jumma of Rs.l200 will stand at the pre- 
 sent year's rate of assessment. This indulgence will not only prove 
 beneficial to Government in securing to them a certain and regular 
 payment of their dues, but will give confidence and encouragement 
 to the talukdars and ryots to exert themselves in the improvement 
 and cultivation of their lands ; but, on the other hand, should 
 Government be disinclined to allow of the above abatement, I 
 apprehend a further loss will be experienced, for the under-tenants 
 finding that the demands of Government are heavier than the 
 earnings of their labour will produce, will be compelled to forsake 
 their habitation and retire to some district where they may peaceably 
 enjoy the fruits of their industry. 
 
 1194. Edeeljmr.— Jumma, S. ^5.95,115. 
 
 In Mr Day's proposed plan of settlement for 1195 he observes 
 " that no cause can be traced why the different deductions have been 
 granted, and as Manek Bose has had it in farm and always paid 
 his revenues punctually, I should suppose he would have no objec- 
 tion to enter into engagements as heretofore on an increased jumma. 
 I would therefore recommend that at the ensuing settlement an 
 increase of 4885 be laid on, fixing the jumma at one lac of rupees." 
 
 The Board approve of the above-proposed increase, and on 
 account of the notorious bad characters of the zemindars, direct it 
 to be continued in farm. I humbly conceive that the increase pro- 
 posed by Mr Day was made without duo consideration of the loss 
 this pargannah sustained in its crops and. inhabitants by the dread- 
 ful calamity of 1194. This conjecture is confirmed by Manek 
 Bose's refusing to renew engagements in 1195, unless a considerable 
 abatement was allowed him on the jumma of 1194. In consequence 
 of this refusal the mahal was advertised for farm, but no one offer- 
 ing for the same, it was held khass. 
 
 The Board, in their letter of 23d of September 1788, make the
 
 4o6 DISIRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 following remark : " Your holding this m.ahal khass being in con- 
 formity to our orders, we necessarily approve of it, but cannot help 
 remarking on it as a circumstance somewhat extraordinary, that no 
 proposals should have been tendered for the farm of a pargannah at 
 the jumma of 1194, which you, in your report of the 17th January, 
 deemed capable of paying an increase on that jumma of Rs.4885." 
 
 At the close of the Bengal yeitr 1194 a balance was incurred in 
 this pargannah of 25,128-11-15. The farmer pleaded total in- 
 ability to discharge this, alleging that he sustained a loss equal to 
 that sum. However, on his houses and effects being attached, and 
 himself put under restraint, he, to avoid the disgrace of having his 
 property sold at public auction, discharged the balance by borrow- 
 ing, and mortgaging his houses ; and well knowing the loss the 
 pargannah sustained in its resources in 1194, he prudently refused to 
 renew engagements for 1195 on the terms of the preceding year. 
 The late Commissioner's report on the assets of 1195 will show 
 that the causes of his refusal were but too well founded. It 
 will further show that Government sustained a loss that year of 
 Es. 30,541-7-8. 
 
 The zemindars having for a period of years been deprived of the 
 management of their lands, and anxious once more to get possession 
 of them, entered into engagements this year at a jumma exceeding 
 the resources of the Moffossil ; security being taken from them 
 for the regular discharge of their dues is the reason that the 
 revenues have to this period been paid up with tolerable punctuality, 
 though the Security has declared to me that he is in advance to the 
 zemindars upwards of Rs. 10,000. The proprietors being sensible 
 of their inability to discharge the debt contracted with the Security, 
 and Avith a view to encourage him to a continuance of his assistance, 
 have given a writing purporting that, in the event of their not being 
 able to liquidate the amount advanced by him on their account, 
 they will sell a portion of their lands to pay the same. 
 
 By Mr Day's proposed plan of settlement the jumma of this 
 pargannah must stand rated at the commencement of 1197 at sicca 
 Ks. 100,000, which is an increase of the present year's jumma of 
 Es.19,999, and an excess on the amount paid into Government 
 treasury last year of Rs. 35, 426-7-4. 
 
 The late Commissioner's report will full}^ show that the par- 
 gannah now stands overrated, and consequently altogether unable 
 to bear the excess recommended. Government wish to secure a fair 
 and equitable jumma, and his Lordship in Council's instructions 
 evince equal anxiety to afford the landholders a reasonable profit 
 from the produce of their lands. 
 
 Although confident that the assets of the pargannah are not equal 
 to its present jumma, yet from a conviction that the lands are cap- 
 able of great improvement, I would recommend the present assess- 
 ment to be continued for the space of three years. 
 
 With whom to conclude the settlement is a matter that merits the 
 consideration of Government.
 
 APPENDIX. 407 
 
 With tlie proprietors — I iocar they will not engage on the jumma of 
 last year ; but, in the event of their agreeing, security must be taken 
 from them, or the regular discharge of their dues will be precarious. 
 They are many in number, and iu needy circumstances. They aro 
 reputed men of very bad character, and have long been under the 
 stigma of entertaining dacoits in their pay. One of them. Ram 
 Kantli, was confined fur near six yoars in the Phouzdari jail of Back- 
 ergunge, Dacca, and Moorshed/ibad, for abetting and participating iu 
 the robljery and plunder of the Company's factory at Soonargunge. 
 
 Should it be farmed, no person, I apprehend, will agree to the 
 terms of last year, and at the same time allow 10 per cent, for a 
 provision to the zemindars. 
 
 The present Security, who is Avell acquainted witli the pargannah, 
 a man of responsibility and fair character, having for a series of years 
 had the management of it, has otfered to farm it for the term of ten 
 years on the jumma of last year for the first three years, and then 
 off'ers an increase of Rs.4000 for the remaining seven years, provided 
 he be not obliged to pay the 10 per cent, to the proprietors ; that on 
 the event of his being necessitated to pay the 10 per cent., he re- 
 quests an abatement on the jumma of the current year equal to the 
 sum to be allowed the zemindars ; that at the expii-atiou of three 
 years he will give an increase of 4000. Considering the very ruinous 
 state of the pargannah, and the noted bad characters of the proprie- 
 tors, I cannot but give the i^reference to farming the mahal ; but 
 should his Lordship in Council not approve of tliis mode, I beg to 
 suggest the expediency of holding the pargannah khass, but in 
 doing this G-overnment must not expect to realise the jumma of the 
 present year, as I have before remarked that the resources of the 
 mahal are not equal to that assessment. 
 
 I have been told from respectable authority that the northern 
 parts of the zeraindari lost three-fourths of its inhabitants in the 
 dreadful calamity of 1194. Much time, great attention and indul- 
 gence, and regular advances of takAvi are absolute requisites to 
 restore this pargannah to any degree of cultivation. Tiie loss of 
 inhabitants must almost be considered as irretrievable, and the only 
 mode left of increasing cultivation is by granting pecuniary assistance 
 and giving every encouragement to the remaining husbandmen. 
 
 I trust what I have said on the subject of the state and capacity 
 of this mahal will enable your Board to determine on a mode for its 
 future management. 
 
 1194. Chandradeep. — Juvmia, ivs.85,725. 
 
 My predecessor, in his proposed plan of settlement for 1195, re- 
 commends an increase of sicca Es. 15,000 be laid on this mahal, on the 
 plea that the zemindar enjoys a net profit equal to that sum from the 
 hissajat lands, besides avowed advantages on the gross realisation 
 from the lands on which the present jumma is assessed. 
 
 The Board, at the same time they approve of the increase, express
 
 4o8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 tlieir hope that it will not be productive of distress to the zemindar 
 or his family, or to the under-renters or ryots, and in that confidence 
 they direct the Collector to call upon the zemindar to enter to 
 engagements accordingly. 
 
 Of the increase recommended, 3000 was secured in 1195, and the 
 additional sum of Es.lOOO laid on at the concluding of the settlement 
 for the current year. 
 
 The proprietor of this pargannah is a youth of seventeen years of 
 age, but as no attention has been paid to his education, he remains 
 m total ignorance of the minntise of the Moffossil collections. His 
 time is wholly spent in the luxuries of a zenanah, and his mother, 
 wishing to continue in the management of the pargannah, supplies 
 him with the means of gratifying his pleasures. The mother entrusts 
 the executive part of the business to her brother, Avho is in every 
 respect unfit for and unworthy of the office. 
 
 With care and good management an increase might be obtained 
 from this pargannah, and to effect tliis I Avould recommend that the, 
 present jumma be continued for one year, that the gomastas report 
 its state to me, and that according to such information the settle- 
 ment be concluded with the zemindar on a fair and equitable jumma 
 for the remaining nine years. 
 
 1194. Narullapur. — Jximma, i?a. 126,569. 
 
 Mr Day in his plan, speaking of this mahal, says, "The opportu- 
 nity I have lately had of ascertaining with some degree of accuracy 
 the gross amount of the sum annually realised from a part of this 
 pargannah (Hosseenpur and Hosseenshy) leads me to conclude that 
 the jumma of which the pargannah at large is now rated is by no 
 means equal to its ability, and that the balance remaining of the 
 deduction of 1187 should be resumed at the next settlement. This, 
 however, must depend on the truth and falsity of the pleas urged by 
 the zemindar's agents, who allege that the impoverished state of 
 Pautpossar and other parts of his district renders the excess of 
 jumma, which appears to have been and is now collected from the 
 other two above mentioned, al)solutely necessary to enable them to 
 perform their engagements with Government. I would, therefore, 
 recommend that this plea of the bad state of Pautpossar be inquired, 
 into previous to concluding any settlement with the zemindars, when, 
 should it appear to be false, the increase before proposed should, in 
 my opinion, be levied, and the pargannah will then stand rated at 
 the jumma of 1179, being Rs.l36,G87-9-3." 
 
 To the above proposal the Board make the following reply : " We 
 direct that you will call upon the zemindars to enter into engage- 
 ments for Hosseenpur and Hosseenshy, with the increase proposed by 
 you, and which you inform us you have ascertained their ability to 
 pay; and that you conclude the settlement of these pargannahs 
 accordingly. In respect to the assessment of Pautpossar, we await 
 your report on the result of the investigation now making into the
 
 APPEAWIX. 
 
 409 
 
 alleged losses in that pargannali, and in (jtlier parts of Narullapiir, 
 which we require you will transmit to us with the least possible 
 delay." 
 
 The zemindar's naibs being called upon to renew engagements for 
 the pargannahs Hosseenpur, Hosseenshy, with the increase proposed, 
 observe that they can have no objection to an increase on the above 
 pargannahs ; at the same time they hope tliat equal justice will be 
 done them on the assessment of Pautpossar, &c. &c., in which case 
 they are satisfied and ready to engage, under the consideration 
 that Government shall not insist on the licpiidation of the present 
 balance, in which case a renewal of engagements on their j^art 
 is altogether impossible without the consent of their principal, 
 to whom they shall immediately communicate the orders now re- 
 ceived. 
 
 The agents' answer being communicated to the Board, they ap- 
 prove of the settlement of Hosseenpur and Hosseenshy at the increase 
 agreed on, and direct that Pautpossar and the remaining lands be 
 published for farm, and that should the zemindar decline to engage 
 for the highest amount offered, the Collector conclude the settle- 
 ment with the farmer offei'ing the same, subject, however, in either 
 case to the approbation of the Governoi'-General in Council, should 
 any remission be necessary from the jumina of last year. 
 
 Pautpossar, &c., pargannahs were in consequence advertised for 
 farm ; that no tender being made, and the proprietors requiring the 
 enormous abatement on the jumma of 1194 of Rs.41, 393-14-15-1, 
 the Board directed, under date the 23d September 1788, these 
 mahals to be held khass. 
 
 The balance due to Government from the zemindari at the close 
 of the year 1194 stood at Rs.28,a20-10-12. Of this arrear the 
 Board recommend to his Lordship in Council a remission of 20,000, 
 from a conviction of the losses sustained in the pargannah. His 
 Lordship consents to a remission of half the balance, provided the 
 zemindar would agree to discharge the remainder in the course of 
 1195. This offer the proprietor declined. However, the amount 
 has since been recovered from him, as the Board remark in their 
 letter of the 15th May last that they shall stop the same from his 
 mosharah. 
 
 In 1195 Pautpossar, &c., being held khass, Government sustained 
 a balance of 35,782-15-7-2. 
 
 The late Commissioner's report will show that these pargannahs 
 suffered very considerably in their funds during the dreadful cala- 
 mity of 1194, and that the settlement con.cluded with the proprietor 
 for the current year exceeded the resources of the pargannah in 1195. 
 I cannot, therefore, but earnestly recommend that the present jumma, 
 being 113,001, be continued, and the settlement be concluded with 
 the proprietor for the term of three years, after the expiration of 
 which an increase of Es.5000 be paid on a rusud jumma of three 
 years.
 
 4IO DISTRICT OF BAK A RGANJ. 
 
 1194. Russoolpilr. — Jumma, 7i*s.26,749-G-5. 
 
 Mr Day, sensible of the inability of the mahal, recommended in 
 liis proposed plan of settlement for 1195 that the jumma be fixed at 
 lis. 22,000 ; but the Board disapproving of the abatement proposed, 
 and tlie zemindars refusing to renew engagements on the term of 
 1194, tlie Collector was directed to advertise the mahal to farm, but 
 no tenders being made, the pargannah was held khass. The balance 
 sustained in 1195 amounted to the enormous sum of 15,817-9-17-2, 
 and in 1194 the proprietors fell in arrears 16,365-5-13-2, the particu- 
 lars and causes of which are fully stated in the Commissioner's rejiort. 
 
 The settlement for the current year was concluded Avith the pro- 
 prietors at the jumma of Rs. 18,766, and the sole management given 
 to one of the partners with the sanction of the Board ; and I have 
 the pleasure to observe that, by the mode adopted, the revenues have 
 been paid with great punctuality. And if I might presume to recom- 
 mend, I should propose the management be continued Avith Zey 
 Odeen ; and I am urged to this recommendation from the incapacity 
 of one of the partners, and from the known refractory conduct of the 
 other, Avho is the proprietor of the five and three anas share of Edrok- 
 piir. The Board will see by my touzi account for Phangoon the heavy 
 balance due from these divisions, and the steps I was obliged to 
 adopt in consequence of the contumacious conduct of the zemindar. 
 Zq^Y Odeen is a mild capable man, and 1 have no doubt if the solo 
 management of this mahal be left with him for ten years, that culti- 
 vation will lie considerably extended, and Government revenues in- 
 creased in proportion. If the Board should approve of this mode, I 
 beg to recommend the present assessment be continued for three 
 years, at the expiration of which period an increase of 5000 be taken 
 on a rusud of two years, by which means Government jumma will 
 stand in 1201 at 23,766, which is an excess on Mr Day's assessment 
 of Rs. 1766. I think it my duty to observe that the other two pro- 
 prietors will strenuously oppose Zey Odeen's being vested with the 
 sole management, but whether their objections are to be admitted 
 and Government dues thereby endangered, must be determined by 
 the Board. I shall only add, that in the event of the sole manage- 
 ment devolving on Zey Odeen, he should enter into an obligation to 
 divide the jorofits equally between the other partners, or to allow 
 them their share of the 10 per cent, adjudged to the zemindars as 
 their proportion of the ]\Ioff'ossil funds. 
 
 I have now, gentlemen, as my duty required, laid before you the 
 state and ability of the princij^al mahals under my superintendence. 
 If for the reasons adduced you deem it necessary to conclude the 
 settlements on the terms proposed by me, I request to be furnished 
 with your speedy orders. 
 
 I shall do myself the honour of transmitting you my remarks in 
 the course of a few days on such of the petty mahals which in my
 
 APPENDIX. 411 
 
 judgment are not capable of bearing the assessment recommended by 
 Mr Day. 
 
 In respect to your queries regarding tlie hauts and gunges, I shall 
 reply to them with the least possible delay. — I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) W. DoUGLAS, Collector. 
 
 Dacca, Qth April 1790. 
 
 To the Houourable Charles Stuaut, President, 
 and Members of the Board of Revenue, 
 Fort William. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I am now to reply to that part of your letter of 18th 
 February which respects the hauts, bazaar, and gunges, and their 
 attachment and separation from the mahal revenue. 
 
 As the immediate attachment of the bazaars, &c., would have 
 greatly interrupted the collections of the land revenue, which must 
 have taken place by deputing persons into the Moffossil for that pur- 
 pose, and from the confusion which such a step would have occa- 
 sioned, I judged it a matter of expediency to postpone the attachment 
 till the close of the collections, lest the Honourable Comimny should 
 have sustained a loss in the collections therebj'', more especiallj'- as 
 the zemindars and renters of every denomination considered them- 
 selves as entitled to the profits arising from them, and a depreciation 
 of them would have been held forth as a plea for withholding 
 balances probably to a considerable amount. 
 
 I did not fail, however, to institute an inquiry into the several 
 articles of sayer collection, as directed by your Board, and from in- 
 quiry I perceive that the sayer collections general are constituted in 
 this district under the name of mahals ; for instance, the tax col- 
 lected from the washerman is called the Gazzer-mahal, that from 
 dried fish the Mehai-mahal ; and so of others, the mahal deriving its 
 name generally from the country name of the profession or article 
 each should happen to bear. 
 
 Here it is necessary to observe that most of the mahals comprising 
 the sayer are either included in the Shire Chundanah or Shaw- 
 bunder. 
 
 In respect to the advantages or disadvantages to be expected from 
 the continuance or discontinuance of them, I can only give my opi- 
 nion, and leave the result to you for determination. 
 
 As these taxes are all, exclusive of the bazaars, hauts, and gunges, 
 wholly separated and unconnected with the land revenue, the con- 
 tinuance or aboliti(jn of them cannot affect any other jDersons than 
 those immediately employed in their collection or from whom they 
 are levied ; and it will rest with Government to give up the profits 
 derived from them by their discontinuance ; but in order to form a 
 judgment of the expediency of such measure, a particular account of 
 the mode of collecting and the rate of taxation is necessary. 
 
 As far as I have been able to learn, they are in general of the 
 same nature as taxes on the same articles in other countries, and I
 
 4 1 2 DISTRICT OF bAkA K GANJ. 
 
 am inclined to tliink they arc not considered as oppressive even by 
 the natives themselves, excepting a few in this district, which I 
 shall have the pleasure of recommending to the Board to be abolished 
 in the course of making the present year's settlement. 
 
 I shall not therefore take on me to recommend their discontinu- 
 ance, whereby the Honourable Company must sustain considerable 
 loss ; while at the same time the benefits arising to individuals would 
 scarcely be a compensation for giving up so much revenue which is 
 necessarily appropriated to the general defence of the State, and of 
 the benefits of which every individual participates. I therefore see 
 no reason Avhy professional men, tradesmen, and artificers of every 
 kind should not contribute their quota to such a useful and neces- 
 sary purpose, as well as the ryot or husbandman, more specially in 
 times of pressing exigencies. 
 
 The mode of collection and rate of taxation is, I perceive, not 
 very well defined, and is in some measure even arbitrary. I should 
 therefore recommend that a moderate and fixed rate of taxation be 
 determined on by the Honourable Board, to become a general and 
 permanent rate, to be adhered to strictly in all instances, and every 
 deviation punished exeraplarily ; that this rate should be published 
 throughout the pargannahs, and the Collector directed to see it pro- 
 perly executed, which, Avitli a proper situation of the jDersons em- 
 ployed in the detailed parts, might have a very salutary effect, 
 overrule every objection to the nature of the taxes, and secure ease 
 to the subject, while at the same time it would afi"ord a source of 
 revenue to Government. 
 
 In respect to the bazaars, hauts, and gunges, I conceive them to be 
 on a very different footing from the sayer ; and here I beg leave to 
 acknowledge the receipt of the Board's letters of the 19th and 26th 
 ultimo. On this subject I have carried the Board's orders into 
 execution in attaching all bazaars, gunges, and hauts, whether 
 situated on rent-free lands of difi!erent descriptions or otherwise, and 
 as soon as I receive the Mofi"ossil accounts, I hope to be able to pro- 
 pose from these lights a plan for the future management of them; at 
 present I cannot venture to hazard a conjecture. I beg leave to sub- 
 mit my answers to the several cpieries put to the Behar Collections : — 
 
 Question 1. — Whether in admitting the rights of the zemindars to 
 a property in the soil, they do not consider the gunges and bazaars 
 as much a part of that property as any part of the lands in their 
 possession 1 
 
 Answer 1. — Admitting the right of the zemindars to a property 
 in the soil, I certainly consider the gunges and bazaars as much a 
 part of that property as any part of the lands in their possession, 
 
 Q. 2. — If they do not, to point out the ground of the distinction. 
 
 A. 2. — The former being admitted, all argument respecting the 
 second falls to the ground. 
 
 Q. 3. — To report whether the zemindars claim the gunges and 
 bazaars as their property, and whether they make any, and what 
 objection to the separation of them.
 
 APPENDIX. 413 
 
 A. 3. — The zemindars certainly claim the giingos and bazaars as 
 their property, unanimously o])ject to the separation of them, and 
 have delivered in a petition to that effect, Avhich goes enclosed, No. 1, 
 Avitli a translation stating their objections. 
 
 Q. 4. — To report if there are not gunges, bazaars, hauts, and sayer 
 in the lands held by the proprietors of altamghas and the tenants 
 of jageers, and whether persons of this description would object to 
 the separation of gunges, &c. &c., and the grounds of such objec- 
 tion. 
 
 A. 4. — No doubt but there are manj^ gunges, bazaars, and hauts in 
 the rent-free lands, and the proprietors have the same objection as 
 the zemindars to their separation ; they claim them as their right 
 held under certain grants. To show how extremely averse the pro- 
 prietors of charity lands are to the separation, I must beg to state 
 the remonstrance of a respectable old man who holds Narraingunge. 
 
 " I hold Narraingunge in virtue of a sanad granted by the Company 
 for the purpose of defra,ying the expenses of the takoor, for feeding 
 the poor, and for my own support. To this day the gentlemen 
 have not resumed Debouter, Bormouter, Lackarage, Aymah, Piraun, 
 and Fakiraun lands of ancient establishment, and the proprietors 
 have been suffered to enjoy them unmolested. I have been an old 
 and faithful servant of the Company, and have held Narraingunge 
 these thirty years ; and now that I am Avorn down with years and 
 infirmities, and have no other means of support, I learn that a 
 darogah is appointed to Narraingunge to attach the same. This 
 news have overwhelmed me with grief, and as I am too ill and too 
 Aveak to wait on you, I have sent my son to you to represent my 
 miserable situation. He Avill show you my sanad. Let me beseech 
 you to give a favourable ear to his representation ; but if you do 
 not, it Avere better that you take away my life, or expel me from a 
 district Avhere I can no longer remain Avithout incurring shame, 
 trouble, and infinite distress. Hundreds of beggars \A\o are daily 
 fed by me are clamorous for food, and you have not only deprived 
 me of the means of supplying their AA'ants, but shut the door against 
 my performing my religious rites by taking possession of the gunge." 
 
 If any partial deviation from a general rule could be departed 
 from, it ought to be done in the instance of this man. 
 
 He served the Company from eleven years of age, and held the 
 office of DeAvan to the Dacca Commercial Kesident for eleven years, 
 the duties of Avhich, I am told, he executed AA-ith zeal, integrity, and 
 credit until age and infirmities compelled him to relinquish the 
 station. 
 
 There are several petty bazaars in this district, the sole profits of 
 Avhich are employed in defraying the expenses of different musjeds 
 and takoors, and for the performance of religious ceremonies. The 
 proprietors of these have resorted to me in croAvds, and are become 
 very clamorous in consequence of the late orders, and declare that 
 attaching their bazaars is not only an infringement of their estab- 
 lished rights, but strikes at the fundamental principles of their reli-
 
 414 
 
 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 gion, as tliey are now deprived of the sole resource by which they 
 were enabled to defray the necessary establishment of officers kept 
 up for the performance of their religious ceremonies ; that their 
 houses of worship must noAV be shut up, and their priests dismissed. 
 They freely say that Government had better deprive them of their 
 existence than prevent the performance of their religious rites. 
 
 Your Board must decide how far these representations can be 
 [not legible], they are well founded. I am also satisfied that the 
 revenues to be derived from them will be absorbed in defraying the 
 establishment necessary to be entertained for collecting the same. 
 
 His Lordship must determine how far bazaars which come under 
 the above description can in justice or policy be resumed. It is 
 only for me humbly to observe, that by suffering them to continue 
 in the hands of the present proj^rietors, Government will afford ease, 
 comfort, and relief to many hundreds of the poor inhabitants who 
 are daily supported from the produce of them. 
 
 Q. 5. — As far as right of j^roperty is concerned, to discriminate 
 between the rights of zemindars and those of jageerdars and 
 altamgadars, in case objections on this ground should arise to the 
 separation of the gunges, &c., from the jurisdiction of the latter. 
 
 A. 5. — I conceive there is a wide distinction between the property 
 of the zemindars and altamgadars. 
 
 The former is liable to be deprived of his lands in the event of 
 his declining to renew engagements on the terms proposed by 
 Government, and for each deprivation he receives a certain stipend. 
 Whereas the altamgadars hold their lands rent-free, and in per- 
 petuity. The jageerdars, again, hold theirs on a different tenure, for 
 on the death of the proprietor the jageer escheats to Government. 
 Zemindars can have no claim to it, he having received an abate- 
 ment from his jumma at the time such jageer was granted. 
 
 Q. 6. — Whether the abuses now prevailing in the gunges are of 
 such a nature as not to be corrected by rules and limitations with- 
 out taking them under their own charge 1 
 
 A. 6. — I apprehend the abuses are of such a nature as cannot be 
 corrected but by taking them immediately in charge for Govern- 
 ment. It may then be practicable, by proper rules and limitations, 
 with diligent and active officers. 
 
 In recommending for adoption a new system, which is likely to 
 affect every renter in the country, I am aware that much caution, 
 diligent inquiry, and a thorough knowledge of existing evils are 
 necessary, and that great changes should not be hastily adopted ; 
 yet, from the nature of the abuses committed, the almost impossi- 
 bility of detection, particularly in the [not legible] of the country, 
 and the difficulty of obtaining redress and retribution, and from a 
 persuasion the intended change will be attended with very salu- 
 tary effects, every exertion shall be used on my part to carry his 
 Lordship's orders into immediate and effectual execution, and I shall 
 endeavour to fulfil the wishes of Government with unremitted zeal, 
 activity, and integrity.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 415 
 
 I beg to be favoured wiili your early orders respecting abatement 
 to be granted the zemindars in consideration of their being deprived 
 of the gunge, liaut, bazaar collections, as you will perceive by the 
 petition No. 1 that they have refused to renew engagement unless 
 some compensation be made them. 1 apprehend that any farther 
 delay in concluding settlement will be attended with a serious loss 
 in the present year's revenue, for although I have taken every pre- 
 caution to prevent anticipation of the revenues, yet the zemindars 
 will endeavour to exceed the same, and clandestinely collect. — I 
 have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) W. Douglas, Collector. 
 
 Dacca, 5//t Ma)j 17D0. 
 
 To the Honoumljle Charles Stuart, President, 
 
 aud Members of the Board of Keveuue, 
 
 Fort AVilliam. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your secretary's letter of the 14th instant, enclosing copy of the Reso- 
 lutions of the Governor-General in Council in the Revenue Depart- 
 ment, under date 12th May 1790, revoking the 16tli article of the 
 General Regulations for the Bengal Settlement passed in Council on 
 the 10th February last, as far as it regards who are actual proprietors 
 of the lands composing their talooks, with the exception of that part 
 of it which prescribes rules for fixing the amount of the assessment 
 to be imposed upon their talooks, and directing that all talookdars 
 who are proprietors of the soil and who now pay their rents through 
 the mediation of a zemindar be immediately separated from the 
 jurisdiction and authority of such zemindar, and the rents of the 
 latter be adjusted, exclusive of the talooks so separated, and order- 
 ing that the settlement be concluded with the talookdars themselves. 
 
 As the measure involves a cjuestion of considerable magnitude, as 
 far as it applies to the district in my charge, and the persons who 
 are the immediate objects of it, I conceive it becomes a point of duty 
 in me to take this early opportunity of stating to your Board the 
 advantages or disadvantages which are likely to arise from an adop- 
 tion of it in this district, as far as my local knowledge and the 
 incpiiries I have hitherto been able to make extend ; and in doing 
 this I rely on the candour of the Board to exempt me from any 
 intentional inclination of opposing measures which may be estab- 
 lished for the general benefit of the country. I trust the unremitting 
 zeal and attention I have shown in endeavouriiig to carry into 
 execution the late orders of Government Avill secure me from any 
 suspicion, while at the same time a simple statement of facts, though 
 they may operate in some measure against the intended Regulation, 
 becomes in me an indispensable piece of duty, as the ensuing year's 
 revenue may be afi"ected thereby. 
 
 The first question that occurs is, What is a talookdar, and what 
 the essentials that constitute him an actual proprietor of the soil ]
 
 41 6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 As I was not satisfactorily informed on this subject, I recurred to 
 tlie most authentic evidence, written or verbal, Avithin my reach, 
 and I find they are in this district of four kinds, besides a similar 
 description of renter called a howladar, as follows : — 
 
 1. Junglehoory. — Previous to the division of the country into par- 
 gannahs and tappahs, and fixed what is called the tuxeembandy, many 
 persons undertook to cultivate jungle and waste lands, and when the 
 tuxeembandy was made, these new-cultivated lands Avere constituted 
 talooks, and included in the zummabandy of the nearest zemindar 
 by the Government of that time ; and if any increase or remission 
 Avas granted the zemindar, a proj^ortional part fell to the talookdar. 
 If the zemindar withheld from the talookdar any part of this, he 
 Avas at liberty to complain to the GoA^ernment, Avho compelled the 
 zemindar to alloAV the talookdar his proportion of the remission. If 
 the talookdar died leaving heirs, they got possession of this land in the 
 same manner as their predecessor, and the zemindar had nothing 
 to do Avith them, but receive his malgujari agreeably to kistibandi; 
 but if there happened to be no heirs, the zemindar Avas the manager 
 for the behalf of Government. 
 
 2. Zur Khorid. — The talookdars under this denomination Avere at 
 liberty to sell their talooks by bill of sale, Avith or Avithout the per- 
 mission of the zemindar ; and on failure of heirs the zemindar could 
 take possession, and sell the lands, or keep them, as he might be 
 inclined. These talookdars Avere subject to increase or entitled to 
 remissions proportionately Avith the zemindar, agreeably to their 
 respective jumma. 
 
 3. Fattah TalooMar. — The zemindars and choAvdries could grant 
 hereditary talookdary pattahs to any person for lands belonging to 
 themselves, called their neez, Avhether cultiA^ated or uncultivated, in 
 Avhich pattah it Avas stipulated that the talookdar should have pos- 
 session of the Avhole lands agreed ujion, and that the management 
 should descend to his heirs for ever ; but this talookdar could neither 
 sell nor make over by deed of gift the lands of his talook, neither 
 could the zemindar dispose of it, but on failure of issue it reverted 
 to the zemindar. Pattah talookdars Avere subject to increase and 
 remission along Avith the zemindar. 
 
 4. Ausat TalooMar, or talookdar Avithin talookdar, is the same in 
 respect to a talookdar that a jer khareed talookdar is to a zemindar. 
 
 5. Hoivladar. — In the pargannah of Bickrampore a custom prevails 
 that if any talookdar sell any part of talook to another person, upon 
 receiving the purchase price he calls him a hoAvladar of so much 
 land, Avho pays his rents to the talookdar ; but if any dispute arises 
 betAveen the talookdar and hoAvladar, he can get his howallah sepa- 
 rated from this talookdar and included in some other talookdary 
 lands ; is subject to increase and decrease of revenue along with the 
 other renters, and the property is hereditarj^ and transferable. 
 
 The above is as accurate a definition of the different talookdars of 
 this district as I have been able to procure, and it remains Avith the 
 Board to decide Avhat description of them, or Avhether the Avhole are
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 417 
 
 to be considered as having an actual property in the soil, and to be 
 separated from the zemindars. 
 
 The number of talookdars in this district is computed to be up- 
 wards of 20,000. ]\Iany i)argannahs have already a talookdary 
 settlement, the zemindars standing between them and Government 
 in the light of tahsildars. 
 
 I am authorised by the Resolutions of the Governor-General in 
 Council to appoint tahsildars in those jiargannahs where the talooks 
 are too numerous to receive the revenues immediately from the 
 talookdars. This mode I must consequently adopt in many pargan- 
 nahs, but in doing this the zemindars will murmur, as long custom 
 and possession have given them a sort of hereditary claim to the 
 management, from which they derive pecuniary advantages, as well 
 as influence and consequence. The new tahsildars, it is true, can for 
 some time to come have no hereditary claim, though there is no doubt 
 but possession may at some future period give them a handle to set 
 up pleas of the same kind. Thus, then, a new set of men will be set 
 up who may claim property to which they have no title, at the ex- 
 pense of those who are already admitted to possess or supposed to 
 have a right in the soil. 
 
 In the mahal Katarabu the zemindars have not a foot of ground — 
 all talooliidary — yet thej^ claim a right to the lands, and are allowed 
 the usual russoom. May we not sujipose them to have been origi- 
 nally only talookdars, and from long possession have set up hereditary 
 claim ? And may we not also from thence infer that our talookdars 
 may have a sense of their own interests sufficient at least to attempt 
 a similar claim 1 
 
 I beg to subjoin a list of some of the principal zemindaries of this 
 district, showing the talookdary jumma, the neez jumma of the 
 zemindars, and the number of talookdars in each zemindary : — 
 
 
 Crown Lands. 
 
 Talookdars' 
 Jumma. 
 
 Total Jumma. 
 
 No. of Ta- 
 lookdiirs. 
 
 Pargannah Jalalpore 
 Pargannah Chandradeep 
 Pargannah Bickrampore 
 Pargannah Rajnagar, &c. 
 Tappeh Mysurdee . 
 Pargannah Essakabad . 
 Tappeh Hydrabad . 
 
 11,000 
 17,000 
 2,010 
 92,555 
 4,000 
 1,700 
 1,237 
 
 76,001 
 72,725 
 25,642 
 20,118 
 14,004 
 2,000 
 750 
 
 87,001 
 
 89,725 
 
 27,652 
 
 293,673 
 
 18,004 
 
 3,700 
 
 1,985 
 
 2148 
 400 
 268 
 400 
 5G1 
 200 
 200 
 
 From the above comparative view of the property of the talook- 
 dars and zemindars, it appears that the latter possess but little real 
 property of their own, and that a separation of the talookdars would 
 reduce many of them from affluent circumstances to a state of in- 
 digence, and the titles of Eajah and Zemindars, which they are 
 allowed to enjoy, will become a mere empty name. 
 
 To ascertain the rights and tenures of such a number of talookdars 
 as 20 000 must take up a great deal of time, and cannot be accom- 
 
 2 D
 
 4 1 8 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 plislied in less than two or three years; and sensible that the 
 revenues of the current year must sustain considerable loss by any 
 further delay in concluding the settlement, and anxious to prevent 
 anticipation of collections which unavoidably must happen by any 
 longer procrastination, notwithstanding every precaution has been 
 taken on my part to prevent it, I cannot but earnestly recommend 
 that engagements be entered into immediately with the zemindars 
 as heretofore, with a notification of their agreeing to the separation 
 of the talookdars whenever Government shall think proper to do so, 
 and that the separation from their authority be gradually effected. 
 
 There can be no inconvenience in adopting this mode, as the 
 zemindars are obliged to state the sudder jumma levied from every 
 talook, mouza, and village under their authority, and grant pattahs 
 to the talookdars, by which means illegal exactions will be pre- 
 vented, and the talOokdar will have it in his option to continue 
 under the authority of the zemindars, or pay his revenues directly 
 to the Collector. It is a matter of doubt with me Avhether, by 
 emancipating the talookdars from the present authority and juris- 
 diction of the zemindars, it wall free them from the exactions they 
 have hitherto been subjected to, as, considering the number of them, 
 the agency of tahsildars Avill be necessary, it being impossible for a 
 Collector to treat directly with 20,000 or 30,000 different renters, 
 more especially when his time is fully occupied in new and other im- 
 portant regulations, and I am not sure the management of a tahsildar 
 is preferable to that of a zemindar ; for my own part I should give 
 the latter the preference, because a zemindar may entertain hopes of 
 the management being continued to him from good behaviour, but a 
 tahsildar has no right to entertain any such idea, and he will, look- 
 ing to the present moment only, endeavour to enrich himself at the 
 expense of those who are placed under his authority, unless indeed 
 Government choose to confirm him in his office, for a space of time. 
 There is another inconvenience attending the collection of a tahsildar 
 in this district, which I believe does not exist in any other to so great 
 a degree — namely, the dispersed situation of the lands. The lands 
 of a talook are not one continued spot of ground, but extend through 
 many pargannahs and detached in small and, separate parts, and 
 nothing but an actual measurement of the whole district can ascer- 
 tain to whom the property belongs. 
 
 The zemindars, feeling their interests affected by the new regu- 
 lations, will endeavour to conceal, combine with, and connive at the 
 concealment of others ; hence a defalcation of revenues, endless dis- 
 putes, and consequent investigations attended with expense, will be 
 the consequence, and I am convinced nothing but an actual mea- 
 surement of the whole district can render the regulation of Govern- 
 ment so effective as they could wish. Experience proved the col- 
 lections of a native collector to be defective, and tliis induced the 
 sovereigns of this coimtry in former times to grant lands upon lease 
 to the inferior renters under the most respectable of that class of 
 people now denominated zemindars, for management and collection,
 
 APPEND J X. 419 
 
 finding the inferior landholders too numerous and too distant for 
 receiving their collections at the sudder, and the collections of a 
 tahsildar too defective to adopt the system universally. The zemin- 
 dars also had the privilege of administering justice in their respec- 
 tive jurisdictions, acting something like justices of the peace in our 
 own country, settling trifling disputes, and rendering easy and 
 speedy redress to the injured party, which Avould have been rendered 
 very difficult indeed if a poor man has a travel to the Huzzoor and 
 prefer his complaint through a regiment of corrupt mutsuddees, 
 every one of whom must have been bribed before he could obtain 
 what a respectable zemindar could have granted him on the spot in 
 a day's attendance. 
 
 The powers with which the zemindar was invested, I believe to 
 have given rise to the present claims of the zemindars to the right 
 of having the talookdars under their authority, and they are certainly 
 not entitled to complain, if upon proof of ill-treatment or exactions, 
 they should be separated from them ; but it is, I think, doubtful 
 whether the appointment of tahsildars is calculated to remedy the 
 evil, Avhile at the same time it aff"ords, as I mentioned before, a 
 handle to the zemindars to combine with one another, and with ta- 
 lookdars, to conceal lands and defraud Government of its just dues. 
 
 I shall conclude with observing that the talookdars whose distance 
 from the sudder cutchery is considerable, and whose revenues do 
 not exceed two, four, or six rupees per annum {and there are many 
 such in this district), will find much inconvenience and loss of time 
 in travelling to Dacca with their monthly instalments of two, four, 
 and six anas, and the possibility of entertaining vakeels is out of 
 the question from the amount. The jurisdiction of a tahsildar must 
 extend through several pargannahs, and include these distant petty 
 talookdars, and his authority over them must be very inefficient from 
 their separate and dispersed situation, and hence an opportunity 
 will be aflforded for collusion. 
 
 W. Douglas. 
 
 Dacca, tU 26th May 1790. 
 
 To William Cottper, Esq., President, aud 
 
 Members of the Bocard of Revenue, 
 
 Fort William. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have now the honour to transmit to you the pro- 
 posed Novennial Settlement of this district, commencing with the 
 Bengali year 1198 and ending with 120G, for your information and 
 orders. 
 
 As in my letter of the Sth August last I expressed my hopes 
 that the increase to be obtained by separating the talukdars would 
 equal the expense of the tahsildari establishment required for this 
 district, but as my expectations have not been realised it be- 
 comes necessary to explain to you the causes which have occurred 
 to frustrate my hopes at the time I addressed your Board, trans-
 
 420 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 mitting for approval my tahsildari establishment. I conceived that 
 the talukdars of the following mahals would be entitled to separa- 
 tion — viz., SelimAbad, Chandradeep, &c., Nazirpore, Sultanabdd, 
 and Aurangpore — but upon investigating into their right to that 
 indulgence, I find but few Avho are entitled to separation, the major 
 part of them holding their lands on similar tenures with the jungle- 
 boory talukdars of Bozergomedpur, who are considered as lease- 
 holders, and therefore continue subject to the authority of the zemin- 
 dars. Had the talukdars of the pargannahs above mentioned been 
 separated, I am confident that my expectations for increase would 
 have been secured. 
 
 Your Board will perceive in my account settlement that the lands 
 of sundry talukdars who have been separated from different par- 
 gannahs remain khas. This has arisen either from the non-attend- 
 ance of some, the death of others, or because their jama has not 
 been finally adjusted, owing to the difference between the jama 
 stated in the accounts delivered in by the zemindars and the account 
 declared by the talukdars to have been annually paid by them. 
 However, in my detailed account settlement, which I shall hereafter 
 have the honour of laying before you, I hope to show that all taluks 
 now held khas are either intrusted with their respective proprietors 
 or farmed out, and in settling their jama I trust to secure some 
 additional increase to Government. 
 
 The zemindary mahals which still continue khas I shall have the 
 honour to report upon in the course of a few days. 
 
 Your Board may probably observe that a small increase has been 
 obtained from the lands of the zemindars. To this I reply, that 
 could any excess have been obtained from them without endangering 
 the future prosperity of the district it should have been effected ; 
 but many of the pargannahs have not yet recovered the losses they 
 suffered in the direful era of 1194 by a deprivation of many thou- 
 sands of ryots, who either died or emigrated in that year. The 
 Rajnagar zemindary is a melancholy instance of the truth of 
 this assertion. This mahal was under the immediate superinten- 
 dence of Mr Thompson for two years, and notwithstanding every 
 attention was bestowed, and every encouragement given, yet he 
 found it impracticable to secure the former jama. In 1196 it was 
 found necessary to allow a deduction of 22,725, In 1198 a further 
 abatement of Rs. 20,000 was granted, and in concluding the eight 
 years' settlement the further sum of Rs. 6447-7-2-2 has been allowed, 
 notwithstanding the sum of Rs. 15,860 was added to the zemindary 
 by a resumption of the profits of Pitambar Sen's neez taluks. Con- 
 sequently if that sum had not been annexed to the jama of the 
 zemindary, a deduction equal to its amount must have been allowed. 
 It should therefore appear that in the sliort space of four years 
 this pargannah has declined in its assets in the enormous sum of 
 Rs. 65,032-7-2-2. 
 
 Great difficulty was experienced by the tahsildars in realising the 
 revenues fi'om the talukdars, owing to the scattered situation of the
 
 APPENDIX. 421 
 
 lands composing the pargannalis under my superintendence. To 
 remove this inconvenience, and to afford ease and relief to tlie 
 separated talukdars, I propose, with your sanction, to divide the 
 district into eight com])uct ziUahs, and to phxce the same under 
 eight tahsildars. Should your Board approve of this measure, I will 
 do myself the pleasure of suhmitting to you the estahlishment 
 necessary for carrying this plan into execution, the adojfting of 
 wliich will be affording great relief to petty talukdars, many of 
 whom have to travel two days' journey to pay montlily the trilling 
 sum of Rs.2 or 3, and Government revenues Avill be realised with 
 greater ease and punctuality. — I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) W. DOUGLAS, Collector. 
 Dacca, the Zlst July 1792. 
 
 II. — Letter of Mr Massie to the Board of Eevenue about the 
 Permanent Settlement, dated 24th March 1801. 
 
 Gentlemen, — It appearing to me, that in consecpience of the 
 Malguzai^i lands having been declared by the existing regulations 
 responsible for such arrears as might become due to Government 
 therefrom, sufficient regard was not paid in this district at the con- 
 clusion of the Decennial Settlement to the ascertaining and record- 
 ing the names of the actual proprietors of such lands for the time 
 being ; in consequence of which the Government not unfrequently 
 suffers losses in its revenues in cases where the proceeds of sales of 
 certain lands are not sufficient to answer the balances due from such 
 lands, as it cannot be ascertained Avhat other lands the defaulting 
 proprietors are possessed of; and individuals are often unable to 
 recover the amount of their just demands by a sale of lands after 
 decisions have been passed in their favour by the courts of justice ; 
 and it also appearing to me that if some easy and effectual mode of 
 ascertaining and recording the names of the actual proprietors of 
 lands could be adopted, it would be attended with the most bene- 
 ficial effects as well to Government as to individuals, I therefore 
 beg leave to trouble your Board with a few remarks on this subject 
 for your consideration. 
 
 2d. Your Board will be pleased to observe that a practice has pre- 
 vailed in this district from time immemorial, and still prevails, of 
 conducting all the affairs of an estate from generation to generation 
 in the name of the original proprietor of such estate or some fictitious 
 name formed by him, under which cloak the actual proprietors for 
 the time being are kept concealed, and what the consequences of 
 such concealment are I have stated above. But before I proceed 
 further, I deem it necessary to lay before your Board the following 
 extract from the proceedings held in this office at the time of the 
 conclusion of the Novennial Settlement, my remarks on which will, 
 I trust, satisfy your Board that what I have already advanced is 
 not incorrect, nor the evil complained of imaginary.
 
 42 2 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 Dacca Jalalpuk, Revenue Cutchert, t/te 20^/i May 1791. 
 This being the day fixed on for commencing the settlement for nine 
 years, in obedience to the orders of the Board under date the 29th 
 of December 1790, and several taluqdars and zamindars being in at- 
 tendance in consequence of tlfe advertisement published in 
 
 . The Collector commences the settlement accor- 
 dingly. 
 
 Taluq Hujuri, Mirza Jehan. — J. ^s. 630-8. 
 
 Eam Sankar, gomasta, being in attendance, gives in proposals for 
 the ensuing settlement. He is informed that as the settlement is to 
 be made for nine years, he must give an increase so as to make the 
 jtxma equal to Es.701. He acquiesces. Resolved the terms be 
 accepted. 
 
 Taluq Hujuri, Sib Ram Mullich. — J. i2s.23. 
 
 Dip Chand, proprietor, enters into engagements for this mahal 
 upon an increase of Rs.2, making the aggregate Rs.25, Accej^ted. 
 
 Taluq Hujuri, Sib Ram Kalsi. — /. Rs.Q. 
 
 The proprietor delivers in proposals with an increase of Rs.l, 
 making the jama 7. Accepted. 
 
 Taluq do. {i.e., Hujuri), Ram Sanhar Sein. — J. Rs.28. 
 
 Kowala Kanth, gomasta, being in attendance, delivers in proposals 
 with an increase of Rs.2, making the jama Rs.lOO. Accepted. 
 
 Taluq Putchlcoivl.—J. ^s. 107-6. 
 
 Ram Nar Singh, gomasta, being in attendance. This man declines 
 entering into engagements on the terms of last j^ear. The Board to 
 be addressed. Ordered the settlement be postponed for the present. 
 The zamindar having acceded to the terms of last year, it becomes 
 unnecessary to address the Board. 
 
 Tahiq Hujuri, Birju Sundar. — J. iZs. 294-9-4-3. 
 
 Ram Sankar, gomasta, being in attendance, gives in proposals with 
 an increase of Rs.3-6-15-1, making the jama Rs.298. The vakil re- 
 presents that his constituent holds a taluq under taluq Baidinath, 
 which he requests may be separated and annexed to his own. 
 
 Accepted for this taluq, and that the Board be addressed on the 
 subject of the latter requisition. 
 
 The proprietor of Baidinath being in attendance, is asked whether 
 he has any valid objections to make to the separation thereof He 
 replies that he has none ; but he observes, that as some of the taluqs 
 under him are ruined, that the profitable taluqs, among which is this 
 one, belonging to the taluqdar who wishes to be separated, used for- 
 merly to make good the loss he sustained upon the others, conse- 
 quently if he is separated, an adequate abatement must be allowed 
 him.
 
 APPEAWIX. 423 
 
 Tahiq^ Hajari, Ahul Moolah. — /. Rs.\'2b. 
 
 Kislien Mohan, gomasta, declines entering into engagements on the 
 terms of last year, though a deduction has been allowed tlieni last 
 year, alleging that his taluq is overrun with jungle and the lands 
 unfit for cultivation. 
 
 Ordered. The Board be advised. Unnecessary, the zamindar 
 having agreed to the terms of last year. 
 
 Talaq Sha KhaUL—J. BsAlS. 
 
 This taluq stands rated in 1194 at Es.l38. An increase Avas 
 obtained in 1195 of Es.40. On a reference to Mr Day's plan, the 
 jama of 1169 is recommended as the standard for the conclusion of 
 the settlement, which the Board approve of. It appears, therefore, 
 that the present jama is deficient in Es. 102-1-17-2. The A^akil 
 therefore is desired to enter into engagements with that increase. 
 He declines, there not being assets. (The zamindar's terms Avere 
 afterAvards acceded to.) 
 
 Taluq Chand Ram Pahaz. — /. RsA5-l-\0. 
 
 Byjunnath, gomasta, delivers in proposals, Avith an increase of 
 E3.4-8-IO, making the jama Es.50. Accepted. 
 
 3d. The foregoing extract, your Board Avill be pleased to observe, 
 contains one day's proceedings, in Avhich only the name of one j^ro- 
 prietor is mentioned as being in attendance, and even he in the pre- 
 A'ious counterpart proceedings is stated to be a gomasta. 
 
 Mr Massie then gives specimens of some of the tahuts, thus : " Mirza 
 Jehan, signed by Mirza Jan, by the pen of Eamraman Naib, gomasta. 
 Taluq Eam Sankar Sein, by the pen of Kamla Kanth Sarrna," &c. 
 &c., and adds, "From these signatures, any person unacquainted 
 Avith the practice that has hitherto prevailed in this district, Avould 
 of course suppose that all the persons named as the proprietors 
 thereby, Avere in existence at the time of the conclusion of the No- 
 vennial Settlement, and that the several gomastas named Avere 
 appointed by them to enter into engagements on their parts, but I 
 must observe that it Avould appear there Avere then no such persons 
 as Mirza Jan, Eam Sankar Sein, Abul Moolah, Sha Khalil." 
 
 He adds, "With regard to the settlement of the separated taluqs, 
 from the immensity of their nund.ier, the proceedings appear to have 
 been still more summary, and the difficulty of finding out the pro- 
 prietors consequently increased, as your Board Avill perceive from the 
 following extract." 
 
 He then gives an extract in Avhich fifteen taluqs are put doAvn 
 Avithout any proprietor being named, the note aj^pended being merely 
 that Eam Kanth, gomasta, enters into engagement on the ]\Ittfussil 
 jama.
 
 424 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 III. — BaKARGANJ in 1801, BEING A LETTER FROM Mr WiNTLE, 
 
 DATED 7th January 1802. 
 
 In obedience to the orders of Government of the 29th October 
 last, I have now the honour to forward my reply to the interroga- 
 tories therewith transmitted. I fear it may not be thought so full 
 and particular in some points as perhaps is expected, and I am 
 sensible that it does not contain all that might be said on several 
 questions ; but as an apology for its defects, I take the liberty to 
 state that I have had but little time since I was nominated to this 
 district to turn my mind to the framing of Eegulations, as my atten- 
 tion has been fully occupied by official (and in some measure 
 extra) business ever since my first arrival in the zillah. When I 
 took charge of the office, I found an immense accumulation of fouz- 
 darry business, occasioned by my predecessor's sending out a glrdwar 
 Avho apprehended upwards of 350 persons, Avhose examinations 
 occupied both the acting register's and my own time most fully for 
 several months. Before this was finished, an order was passed 
 for the removal of the sudder station to Burrishol, the carrying 
 Avhich into effect, by clearing away jungles, erecting jails, buildings, 
 &c., and laying out a new town, has taken uj) all the time and 
 attention I could spare from official avocations to this moment, so 
 that though I have had every inclination to take minutes and 
 propose amendments where I found the Regulations deficient, I 
 really have been unable to find time. ... I however hope that 
 the reply, though deficient in some points from being written 
 amongst sundry busy employments of surveyor, architect, &c., in 
 addition to my judicial avocations, may not be deemed totally 
 useless ; and that your Lordship will believe my greatest wish is to 
 give satisfaction to, and obtain the approbation of Government, by 
 a faithful and diligent discharge of my public duty. 
 
 (Signed) J. Wintle, Judge and Magistrate. 
 
 Zillah Backeugunge, Itli January 1802. 
 
 Question 1. 
 
 The number of causes depending on the 31st December 1801 was 
 as follows, viz. : — 
 
 Befote the Judge . . . . . .117 
 
 Before the Eegister . . . . .315 
 
 Before the Native Commissioners .... 1274 
 
 Total ...... 1706 
 
 Question 2. 
 
 The Civil Courts of this zillah were not established until April 
 1797. The number of causes depending at the end of each year
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 425 
 
 is inserted underneatli, wliich will show the proportion those now 
 depending bear to former years, viz. : — 
 
 Before the Judge , . 
 
 Before the Register . . 
 
 Before the Native Com- | 
 
 missioners , . 
 
 Total of each year . . 
 
 On the 31st 
 December. 
 
 1798. 
 On the 31st 
 December. 
 
 1799. 
 On the 31st 
 December. 
 
 1800. 1 ISOl. 
 On the 31st On the 31st 
 December. December. 
 
 276 
 260 
 
 133 
 
 269 
 290 
 
 160 
 
 220 
 121 
 
 759 
 
 384 
 40 
 
 2461 
 
 117 
 315 
 
 1274 
 
 669 
 
 719 
 
 1100 
 
 2885 
 
 1706 
 
 Question 3. 
 
 The number of causes decided in the past year (1801) is inserted 
 below, but they fall short of what may be decided when the Judge 
 holds regular courts. The Judge's Court w^as not opened till my 
 arrival on the 25th February, as I was not allowed to leave my 
 former station for some months after my appointment to this zillah. 
 From May to September inclusive four court days also in each 
 month Avere lost by my being obliged to come once a week to Bur- 
 rishol to look after the works carrying on at the new station. The 
 Judge's Court was, besides, shut during the months of November 
 and December, on account of the removal of the station, to enable 
 the omlahs, vakeels, and pleaders to erect habitations at the new Resi- 
 dence, and to give time for removing the prisoners, cutcheries, &c. 
 The number of causes decided was as follows ; in which statement 
 I have thought it proper, for the information of Government, to 
 insert causes disposed of by nonsuit, &c., and other business that is 
 not brought on the regular file, viz. : — 
 
 Tried hy the Judge. 
 
 In appeals from the decision of the Register . 
 In appeals from the decision of the Native Com- 
 missioners ..... 
 
 Decreed on trial .... 
 
 Dismissed on nonsuit .... 
 Adjusted by Razeenoraali 
 
 49 
 
 3 
 
 — 52 
 46 
 
 80 
 10 
 
 — 136 
 
 Total 
 
 188 
 
 B^ the Register. 
 
 Decreed on trial 
 Dismissed on nonsuit . 
 Adjusted by Razeenomah 
 
 Total 
 
 187 
 
 146 
 
 38 
 
 371
 
 42 6 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 By the Native Gommissioners. 
 
 Decreed on trial .... 63 
 
 Dismissed on nonsuit . . '. . 2467 
 
 Adjusted by Eazeenomali . . . 1204 
 
 Total . . . 3734 
 
 Remarlcs. — Besides the atove, 338 summary causes, according to 
 tlie 7tli Eegulationof 1799, 49th Regulation of 1795, and 6th Regu- 
 lation of 1800, were decided by the Judge. N.B. — The number of 
 Commissioners were not complete previous to my taking charge. 
 
 Question 4. 
 
 The number of causes that must necessarily be depending cannot 
 be stated with any certainty, because, though a pretty exact calcula- 
 tion may be made of the number that ought to be decided, the 
 question must in a great measure rest on the number of suits insti- 
 tuted annually, which may vary exceedingly. This court having 
 been estabHshed but a few years, the number of causes filed has 
 annually increased, particularly in the past year, and may still 
 increase. But as it is necessary to have some criterion to form an 
 opinion upon, I think the past year's file (or 1801) the properest to 
 go by. 'Agreeable to that, I conceive that, supposing the three 
 tribunals to be regular and attentive in the discharge of their duty, 
 there must yet necessarily be about the under-mentioned number of 
 causes always in arrear, or nearly six months' business — that is to 
 say, that a suitor may obtain a decision in six months from the 
 period of instituting his suit, viz. : — 
 
 Before tlie Judge ..... 60 
 
 Before the Register ..... 310 
 
 Before the Native Commissioners . . . 900 
 
 The various official business the Judge has to perform prevents 
 his giving his attention solely to the decision of regular suits. The 
 reason of the number of causes now depending not being reduced 
 so low as they might have been is principally to be ascrilDed to the 
 causes mentioned in the answer to the 3d question, which, how- 
 ever, were temporary, and not likely to operate hereafter. 
 
 Question 7. 
 
 Litigation has certainly been checked by the establishment of the 
 fees and stamp duties mentioned in this question, as far as respects 
 frivolous and unfounded suits, but not in regard to real causes of 
 action, which are as much sued for as ever. I do not think the 
 several charges attending the institution of lawsuits too considerable, 
 as far as relates to suits for large demands ; but they appear in many 
 instances to be too heavy on suits for small demands, as will appear 
 by the following statement on a demand for two rupees, which 
 would be much more were the suit for landed property. This the 
 plaintiff has to pay to Government alone, exclusive of the expense 
 of serving the processes before his cause comes to be tried, though,
 
 APPENDIX. 427- 
 
 it is true, that eventually the defendant Avill have to pay it in addi- 
 tion to his own expenses, viz. : — 
 
 Stamp paper for plaint . . . . 4 
 
 Fees for filing ditto . . . . 2 
 
 Stamp paper for security for vakeel's fees . 4 
 
 Fees for filing ditto . . . . 8 
 
 Stamp paper for security to make good expenses of suit 4 
 
 Fees for filing ditto . . . . 8 
 
 Fees for issuing a summons ' , . . 8 
 
 Stamp paper for a copy of defendant's answers . 4 
 
 Stamp paper for a copy of rejoinder . . 4 
 
 Stamp paper for vakalant namah . . 4 
 
 Fees for filing ditto . . . . 8 
 
 Stamp paper for petition for issuing subpoenas . 4 
 
 Fees for filing ditto . . . . 8 
 
 Fees for three witnesses . . . , 18 
 
 Issuing subpoena . . . . . 8 
 
 Two vouchers (only) . . . . 10 
 
 Total . . Sicca Rs.7 6 
 
 To suggest the means by which the expense might be lessened to 
 the individual, without subjecting Government to much loss of 
 revenue, requires some consideration and more time to arrange than 
 the various duties I have at present on my hands will allow. Here- 
 after, when I have more leisure, I shall offer such suggestions on this 
 point to Government as may ap2)ear to me deserving of its notice. 
 
 Question 10. 
 
 "The vakeels in general, I believe, discharge their duty to their 
 clients with as much honour and fidelity as a native usually pos- 
 sesses. I have never met with a native, high or low, who possessed 
 much of the first quality, and their portion of the latter is but small, 
 as far as seventeen years' intercourse with them enables me to judge. 
 
 Question 14. 
 
 There are several private schools in this zillah, Avhere the Hindu 
 law is taught, but no Mahomedan. The Brahmins, avIio are at the 
 head of them, either have rent-free lands, or subsist by the bounty 
 of their students. Some of them also receive presents for perform- 
 ing marriage and religious ceremonies. 
 
 Question 15. 
 
 The general moral character of the inhabitants of this district (if 
 I may be allowed to use the expression) is at the lowest pitch of in- 
 famy ; and very few exceptions, indeed, to this character are to be 
 found. There is no species of fraud or villany the higher classes will 
 not be guilty of, and to these crimes in the lower classes may be 
 added murder, robbery, theft, wounding, &c., on the slightest occa- 
 sion. In fact it is hardly going too far in asserting that the whole 
 of the inhabitants of this district are dacoits ; for the lower classes 
 in general must in a great measure support themselves in that man- 
 ner, as few of them really work at trades, or cultivate sufficient lands 
 for their maintenance ; and the zemindars and talookdars, with very 
 
 /
 
 42 8 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 few exceptions, undoubtedly entertain and protect dacoits secretly, 
 who are tlie i^rincipal actors in all affrays between the former re- 
 specting disputed lands, boundaries, &c. I fear the system of law 
 established by the British Government has not had much effect in 
 improving their moral character. Fear is the only passion that can 
 operate to any purpose with the natives of this part of the country ; 
 they may be restrained from committing crimes from the dread of 
 punishment, but I apprehend that no precept or example Avill ever 
 induce them to be in love with virtue or honesty, from their purity 
 only. Strict justice and rigorous laws can alone keep them in order. 
 
 Question 16. 
 
 The inhabitants undoubtedly consider their private rights and 
 property to be far better secured by the present constitution of the 
 country than ever they were under the Mogul Government, and that 
 they are not liable to infringement by the executive authority itself, 
 by the executive officers of Government, or by individuals. 
 
 Question 17. 
 
 The cultivation and population of this district are in a state of im- 
 l^rovemeut ; but from all I can learn from the natives, commerce has 
 declined, the principal articles of which formerly consisted of salt 
 and cloth ; but since the Honourable Company has monopolised the 
 first, and made advances for the second, many individuals have given 
 over their dealings. Religious buildings are less frequently erected ; 
 and for domestic purposes, little or no improvement seems to have 
 been made in those constructions. The natives are enemies to inno- 
 vation, even in the form of their houses, and are too indolent to imi- 
 tate neatness or taste. The grand cause of the decline of commerce 
 and religious buildings seems, however, to arise from what in other 
 countries forms not only the strength, but tends to the riches and 
 prosperity of the State — increase of population. In this, it only 
 operates to its impoverishment, if the opinions of the natives them- 
 selves have any force ; for they say that when the population Avas 
 less, their ancestors were rich, and had a capital which could be 
 spared for the purposes of commerce and the erection of religious 
 edifices ; but as their descendants have multiplied so much of late 
 years, such sums, divided and subdivided amongst them, gives to 
 each but a small pittance, and has destroyed all the great fortunes. 
 From my own observation and intercourse with the natives, I believe 
 there is some truth in this reasoning ; and unless a spirit of enter- 
 prise and honest activity can be infused into the natives at large, I 
 see no means of their becoming either richer or happier. The lower 
 classes of natives in this district are too indolent to try to better their 
 situations by labour and exertion, though there is no doubt that the 
 lot of the ryot, labourer, and mechanic has considerably improved 
 under the English Government. My opinion respecting the popula- 
 tion and cultivation of the district is founded upon inquiries from 
 the natives and my own observation. 
 
 Question 18. 
 
 1 believe the inhabitants of this district are perfectly satisfied with
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 429 
 
 tlie British Government, and that they are fully aware of the great 
 freedom they enjoy under it, iDeyond what they could ever taste under 
 either the Mogul or Hindu administrations. 
 
 Question 19. 
 
 The present system of police is in general well calculated to en- 
 sure the apprehension of oifenders, and only requires some additional 
 rules, Avhich are proposed in the answer to cpiestion 33. 
 
 Question 20. 
 
 The jDolice establishments of this district are not adequate to the 
 duties required of them, there not being a sufficient number of than- 
 nahs at present to admit of their being placed at ten coss from each 
 other, agreeable to the 4th section, 2d Kegulation of 1793, some of 
 them being a much greater distance asunder. They appear also to 
 have been in the first instance injudiciously i:)laced, and not so dis- 
 posed as to afford security to the district, equal to what the actual 
 number of stations should do. Three or four more thannahs will be 
 necessary, which I shall projiose to Government as soon as I have 
 leisure to prepare a new arrangement of the stations. 
 
 Question 21. 
 
 I am of opinion that the number of crimes committed annually 
 has diminished in the past year, in comparison to what I under- 
 stand were formerly committed ; but as there does not appear to 
 have been any regular account kept previous to my appointment to 
 this zillah of the crimes committed Avithin the jurisdiction of each 
 darogah, it is not an easy matter to assert positively Avhether they 
 have annually diminished since the year 1793 or not, the Adawlut 
 Calendar not being a sufficient criterion to judge by (particularly 
 the past years, Avhich includes many crimes committed in former 
 years), for many crimes were formerly, and are still sometimes com- 
 mitted, where the perpetrators escape being apprehended or dis- 
 covered. I hoAvever keep a regular account of all crimes that come to 
 my knoAvledge of the darogah's, whether the parties are taken or not. 
 An account of the number of trials in each year since 1797, agreeable 
 to the Calendai', is inserted beloAV. No calendars prior to that year 
 are to be found in the office. The second sessions of the last year 
 not being concluded, the first sessions only is inserted, viz. : — 
 
 Crimes. 
 
 1797. 
 
 1798. 
 
 1799. 
 
 isoo. 
 
 1801. 
 1st Sessions. 
 
 Murder ...... 
 
 Dacoity ...... 
 
 Dacoity and murder 
 
 Theft _ 
 
 Receiving stolen goods . 
 
 Bribery ...... 
 
 Perjury ...... 
 
 Forgery ...... 
 
 "Wounding ..... 
 
 Resistance to Court's authority 
 
 Total 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 15 
 
 7 
 13 
 
 22 
 17 
 
 9 
 S 
 1 
 
 "s 
 
 
 
 22 
 19 
 8 
 5 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 39 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 .•i 
 12 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 59 
 
 C7 
 
 57 1 95
 
 430 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 Question 22. 
 
 The crimes of enormity most prevalent in this district are murder ; 
 dacoity, with murder ; dacoity, with wounding with spears, &c. ; da- 
 coity simple ; dacoity, and burning with lighted masdls ; dacoity, with 
 putting bamboos to the back and chest of a person, and drawing 
 them close with twisted strings, in the manner of a vice, until he is 
 breathless, and sometimes the breastbone or ribs are broken ; dacoity, 
 with putting chilli powder (cayenne pepper) into the eyes, mouth, 
 nose, and ears, — all these for the purpose of extorting confessions 
 where the sufferers' effects are kept or hid, and Avhich are usually 
 inflicted by dacoits at the time of committing robberies ; violent 
 wounding with daos, &c. ; affrays and assaults. 
 
 The cause of the prevalence of the first is that the inhabitants of 
 this zillah in general are of the lowest class, and both the men and 
 women are extremely passionate in their dispositions, and loose and 
 profligate in their manners. Infidelity on the part of the women, 
 and jealousy on the side of the men, most frequently are the occasion 
 of murders, but sometimes a dispute about a kid or a hooJca is suffi- 
 cient for that purpose. Passion also often leads to the commission 
 of self-murder, which is more frequent in this zillah than in any part 
 of the country I have resided. 
 
 Dacoity (which often includes many crimes) arises from two 
 causes — viz., 1st, That dacoits consider themselves as much a distinct 
 caste or profession as any other caste ; and it is very common for 
 several generations to be dacoits. I have heard of an instance of a 
 dacoit recommending to his son at the foot of the gallows to continue 
 the profession, notwithstanding his own ill-fate. 2d, That the idle 
 and ill-disposed begin first with pilfering, &c., and gradually advance 
 from one enormity to another. . - . 
 
 Question 23. 
 
 The generality of the inhabitants of this district do not keep arms 
 in their houses. Such respectable persons as keep arms have these 
 for defence against dacoits. The latter have the largest quantity of 
 arms. They consist of talwars, spears, bows and arrows, raibdnses 
 (a long iron, somewhat like a spit, fixed at the end of a bamboo), 
 kliangauns (a long talwar), bludgeons. 
 
 Question 24. 
 
 There are the ruins of three old mud forts — two at Sujabdd, par- 
 gana Chandradwip, and one at SangrAm, pargana Uttar ShahbAzpur 
 — which were formerly built as a defence against the incursions of 
 the Mugs. Some old cannon, it is said, are there remaining, but I 
 have not had time to visit these places. 
 
 [Question 25 was about the population. Mr Wintle was not able 
 to answer it, but thought that the proportion of the Hindus to the 
 Mahomedans was 10 to 6.] 
 
 Question 26. 
 
 There is no person of rank except Rajah Jai Narain, alias Durga 
 Koer Narain Kai, late zamindar of Chandradwip. The names of the 
 most respectable persons are inserted underneath, but none of these
 
 APPENDIX. 43 r 
 
 have more than twenty-five or thirty followers. They never appear 
 to go abroad with more than three or four barkandazes, armed with 
 talwars and shields, and four or five peons. 
 
 1. Mir Hoosein Uddin Cliaudhari, zamindar of tappa Nazirpur. 
 
 2. Sib jSTarain Rai Chaudhari, zamindar of Selimdbad. 
 
 3. Mir Asad Ali Chaudhari, zamindar of Shaistdbdd. 
 
 Eam Dulab Chakrabarti, 1 j. i i m i i • 
 
 ■r,i • T> 1 /^i 1 1 i- J- taluqdars, Lhandradwip. 
 
 Bhow^ani Prasad Chakrabarti, J 
 
 Kirti Chandra liai, taluqdar, Eatandi Kalikaptir. 
 
 Sib Chandra Rai and Kirti Chandra Eai, taluqdars, pargana 
 Arangpur. 
 
 Khaja Mahomed Dyom and Khaja Chand, taluqdars, taluq Salk- 
 neenah. 
 
 Bhowani Prasad Rai, merchant at Sutaluri, 
 
 Question 29. 
 
 There are few or no roads besides those I am now making at 
 Bariscil, except an indifferent one at Bakarganj, about four miles 
 long. 
 
 Question 30. 
 
 The convicts are employed from sunrise to sunset (two hours at 
 noon for eating excepted) in making roads, clearing jungle, digging 
 tanks, and raising the ground about the new station. 
 
 [In reply to question 32, Mr Wintle says that he does not think 
 commissions should be issued to zamindars and others to act as jus- 
 tices of the peace, &c. ; and in reply to question 33 he makes many 
 suggestions about the appointment, &c., of village chaukidars.] 
 
 Question 34. 
 
 The tax on spirituous liquors has certainly rendered drunkenness 
 less prevalent. [Still Mr Wintle thinks drinking has become more 
 general within the last few years.] 
 
 Question 38. 
 
 [Mr Wintle thinks that dacoits and thieves have increased since 
 the abolition of the Mahomedan punishment of amputation.^] 
 
 ^ This report is in a printed volume in the India Office Library. IVfr Wintle 
 was probably a better magistrate than he was a writer. His report is full of 
 tautology ; but if he had anything to do with the choosing of Barisftl as a site, 
 and if, as appears, he laid out the town, he must have been a shrewd executive 
 officer. 
 
 The same volume contains reports from the Collectors, but Mr Massie's does 
 not contain anything of special interest. He states that in 1792 Mr Douglas 
 made an estimate of the population of the Dacca District (which then included 
 Bdkarganj and Faridpiir), and that it came to 938,712. 
 
 Mr Wintle does not state the population, but it appears from Mr Adam's Report 
 on Education in Bengal that it was afterwards furnished, for he states the popu- 
 lation of Bakarganj in 1801 to have been <J26,723, and that Hindus were to Ma- 
 homedans in the proportion of 5 to 3. 
 
 The fort of Sangram referred to in answer 24 has now disappeared, but the name 
 is still known in the Mendiganj thana (see note, p. 43). From answer No. 2 it 
 appears that Mr AVintle did not know of the Civil Court's having existed in 1782 
 (see p. 311).
 
 432 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 . (B.) 
 
 X ITRACT FROM Mr PeLLEW'S ARTICLE ON THE PHYSICAL 
 
 Characteristics of Bakarganj. 
 
 The district of Backergunge is situated wholly within the lower 
 Delta of the Ganges — that is to say, in that part of the Delta where 
 the beds of the watercourses are all below the level of the sea at 
 high tide. All of these are in consequence subject to tidal influence, 
 and although during the height of the rains the water does not 
 turn in the princijjal channels, but floAvs constantly towards the sea, 
 it rises and falls as considerably as in the dry season. Owing to 
 the incessant motion of the water at a considerable velocity, all the 
 channels (which are innumerable) are kept open and navigable for 
 boats proportioned to their size, and there is probably no part of 
 India where such jierfect access by water to every part of the district 
 can be obtained. The district is, in fact, covered with a network of 
 khdls most intricate in their windings and intercommunications, and 
 apparently Avithout any order or regularity. But although in a 
 district so essentially flat, an organised system of natural drainage 
 would scarcely be looked for, Ave find that in fact the Avhole district, 
 except Avhere the great Megna and Aryal Khan riA^er have obliterated 
 the old features of the country by recent deposits over its northern 
 and eastern portions, may be divided into distinct drainage districts, 
 each of them containing corresponding features. 
 
 In undulating tracts of country the drainage ordinarily radiates 
 from elevated centres toAvards the circumjacent coast-line. In 
 alluvial formations, on the contrary, OAving to the excess of deposit 
 on the edges, the Avater floAvs iuAvards from an elevated surrounding 
 and enclosing ridge to a central l)asin, from Avhence it is conducted 
 to the exterior along Avatercourses, piercing through this surround- 
 ing ridge. And this order is folloAved not merely in tidal districts 
 like Backergunge, but in all alluAaal formations, hoAvever elevated — 
 as, for example, in Sylhet [or in Behai'.] 
 
 Each of the drainage circles or districts of Backergunge, then, pos- 
 sesses its central basin or reservoir of sAvamp towards which the 
 surface slopes in every direction from the exterior. On the exterior 
 edge of the area, Avhere it abuts on the large tidal rivers (which 
 everyAvhere divide one drainage circle from another), the land is well 
 raised and covered AAdth villages. The intermediate space is covered 
 with rice cultivation, and the centre is a lake or hed, A^arying in size 
 and depth Avith the season of the year. 
 
 From points not very far from the centre of this beel, and quite 
 submerged in the rains, numerous little Avatercourses proceed in 
 every direction toAA'-ards the edge. These can only be recognised by 
 the fact that a current floAvs along them, and by the narroAV sub- 
 merged rims of deposited earth which enclose them on either side
 
 APPENDIX. 433 
 
 and partially separate them from the beel proper. Beginning almost 
 in nothing, many combine to form others, which, though still within 
 the beel and with banks submerged by its waters, present i^ore 
 defined features. At last, by the coalescence of many, a waterc arse 
 is formed, with banks which, though but a few feet wide and si ^ping 
 rapidly towards the beel-water, are yet in the dry season above the 
 water. After further convergence of such channels, we find ourselves 
 (supposing we are attempting to find our way out of the beel by water) 
 in a kliAl of moderate dimensions, Avith banks which are not sub- 
 merged except in the height of the rains ; we are still probably 
 many stages from the great rivers, whose banks are permanently 
 above the water, and which are some hundreds of yards in width. 
 But it is useless to particularise further. The numerous khdls 
 Avhich originate in the depths of the central reservoir terminate in 
 some two or three considerable channels which open into the cir- 
 cumposed main watercourse. Between this latter and the beel 
 there is no water communication except through these two or three 
 channels and their ramifications. Even if a short cut were artifi- 
 cially made direct into the beel, it would in a few rainy seasons, by 
 sucking in at the ebb tide the water from all directions, create for 
 itself a branched system of terminations under water, which in the 
 dry weather would be exposed to view. 
 
 The whole system depends on the principle that inundating 
 waters, if in a condition to lay down deposit, do so chiefly upon 
 their actual banks, and thus tend to shut themselves off from the 
 tract of submergeable country beyond. As the banks rise, the rush 
 of water over them at ebb and flood is intensified, and at length 
 bursts open channels of communication. These throw up enclosing 
 banks in their turn, which process gives birth to new connecting chan- 
 nels piercing these new banks, and the process is repeated till the 
 communicating channels become so small as scarcely to be noticed. 
 
 It is obvious that in this manner the drainage of flat surfaces is 
 performed in the most effectual manner. In undulating or moun- 
 tainous countries the drainage derives sufl[icient force from gravity 
 to maintain the channels open, but in alluvial flats the slow passage of 
 the water would scarcely suffice. If in a tidal district the drainage 
 channels merely flowed from the interior of each patch of land 
 towards the circumference, they would soon fill with sediment 
 brought in by the tide, which would ebb and flow in them with but 
 slight velocity ; but where these channels are the only means of 
 communication between two considerable bodies of water constantly 
 differing from each other in level, a high rate of speed is easily 
 maintained. 
 
 In the rainy season the drainage reservoirs are connected much 
 more directly with the exterior than during the remainder of the 
 year. The water, from various causes, stands at an average at least 
 six feet higher than in the dry season, and completely submerges all 
 the interior articulations of the system of relieving channels. Only 
 the larger and more external have their banks above thoAvater; 
 
 2 E
 
 434 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 the smaller feeders are supplied both from their extremities and 
 over their own banks. The greater volume of water which then 
 requires passage is thus amply provided for ; whilst in the dry 
 weather, when the drainage volume is weak, the water is unable on 
 account of the fall in its level to leave the reservoir except through 
 the extreme ends of very small channels. The banks of the different 
 classes or grades of channels, each in turn, begin to fulfil their pro- 
 per functions, as the level decreases, and in this manner the water- 
 way is always exactly proportioned to the volume to which it is 
 required to give passage. 
 
 In districts of alluvium raised above tidal influence the rise and 
 fall of the rivers during the rainy season produce similar effects. 
 The water on the swamps being only connected with these by 
 narroAv channels piercing the banks of the rivers, is always, unless 
 the river remains very long at exactly the same level, either above 
 or below that level, and the channels are incessantly occupied in 
 restoring tlie balance. 
 
 The swamps or drainage reservoirs are themselves an interesting 
 feature in the physical geography of Backergunge. They vary 
 greatly in size, in accordance with the area of the tract they drain, 
 and the amount of filling tip which they have undergone. In the 
 eastern portion of the district, the alluvium, from the Megna has 
 completely obliterated the whole drainage organisation, which 
 has become enveloped in one uniform mound sloping towards 
 the west, and forming the right bank of this immense watercourse. 
 In the western portion of the district where the system of drain- 
 age prevails which we have endeavoured to describe, the swamps 
 during the rainy season fill up the Avhole of each drainage tract, 
 except its extreme margin and the banks of the primary channels 
 which penetrate that margin. In the dry weather they become 
 reduced to the extent of the nucleus or central portion from which 
 the relieving channels take their rise. This nucleus is often of con- 
 siderable depth, and is generally covered by a floating surface of 
 matted grass and earth on which Nul, Hoogla, and Koonda reed 
 sometimes grow ; at other places it is covered with a short, coarse, 
 but very green grass, abounding in snipe. In parts Avhere the covering 
 is thick enough to support the cultivators, rice is sown in the dry 
 season. It is dangerous to tread on this shaking surface except 
 where the straw Iviras^ or small retaining embankments which mark 
 the fields, show that people have been before. Even through the 
 midst of this quaking bog the small ramifying watercourses are to 
 be found, and on their margins, though two or three feet deep under 
 water, a firm footing is generally obtainable. Their beds also are 
 ordinarily composed of a hard mixture of sand and clay, and it is 
 only in the interspaces that the floating surface exists. The smaller 
 beels are very useful as village boundaries. The inhabitants on 
 either side cultivate as far as they prudently can, and abandon the 
 centre to jungle and water-fowl. 
 
 From the beel on every side the country rises with considerable
 
 APrKNDIX. 
 
 435 
 
 slope, the first footing being generally found in the watercourses. 
 The drainage towards the beel is along successive ten'aces of rice- 
 fields, each a few inches lower than the next above it. The water 
 is retained in the higher ground for cultivation by means of the 
 little hiras or banks (here constructed of straw as well as earth) 
 common throughout Bengal. It may be repeated here that all tlie 
 surface drainage of the tract surrounding each beel flows towards it, 
 and never into the penetrating channels, whose banks are always 
 higher than the ground outside, and always slope away from the 
 channel. 
 
 The level of the sea at the head of the Bay of Bengal, and on the 
 tidal watercourses of the Delta, is subject to a considerable annual 
 alteration. It is a doubtful point whether this alteration is to be 
 attributed to the influx of fresh Avater in such immense quantities, 
 or to the banking up of the sea by the south-west monsoon. As the 
 increased elevation occurs during the rainy season, when both these 
 influences are at work, it is extremely difficult to decide the ques- 
 tion, and both are probably concerned in the result. The change 
 of level is not confined to the head of the bay, but is found some 
 distance down the east coast of India. In Backergunge the diff"erence 
 in mean level must be at least four feet. This is an important 
 point, for, as the whole district of Backergunge is nearly horizontal, 
 the water at high tide in the rainy season floods nearly the whole 
 of it, and the inhabitants are obliged to raise their houses on 
 mounds. It is owing to this alteration in the level of the tides, 
 ratlier than to the mere local rainfall, that the change in the level 
 of the beels takes place. 
 
 (0.) 
 
 I. — Prices. 
 
 The following interesting facts regarding prices are extracted from 
 a manuscript volume in the India Office : — 
 
 "Eice, which forty years ago was two and a half maunds per 
 arcoti rupee, is now "^[November 1800] one and a half maunds per 
 arcot rupee. Salt, which at the same period was one arcot rupee 
 per maund, is now four sicca rupees per maund. Oil, Avhich was 
 
 ^ The arcot rupee seems to have been worth about one per cent, more than the 
 Government rupee. As regards the price of salt in old times, see Sir Philip 
 Francis' letter of 22d January 1776, where he says that the Company had de- 
 clared in their letter of 20th November 1767 that they had rather that even the 
 duties should be reduced than that the price of salt to the consumer should ever 
 exceed Rs. 140 sicca per 100 maunds.
 
 436 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 two and a half arcot rupees per mauud, is now four arcot rupees 
 per maund. Other articles were also enhanced in price. Gappas 
 [cotton], which used to be at the rate of from four to five puns per 
 sir, was last year at six, and is this year at nine puns. Thread of 
 all kinds, excepting the finest, is much dearer now than formerly. 
 In 1787 and 1788 a great number of spinners died of famine; this 
 and the increased price of necessaries of life are considered as the 
 principal cause of the present dearness of thread. Labour is like- 
 wise raised ; the pay of a weaver forty years ago was from one to 
 one and a half arcot rupee, and of a journeyman from eight anas to 
 twelve anas per month. The pay of the foi'mer is now from two and 
 a half arcot rupees to three and a half arcot rupees, and of the latter 
 from one arcot rupee to two arcot rupees. Rent also is said to be 
 raised, and what formerly was eight anas ^Qvpahhi [a little less than 
 a bigha] is now twelve anas." 
 
 In the same letter reference is made to " the great diminution in 
 the demand for the fabrics of this province, which has j^revailed 
 since the commencement of the present war in Europe " (Letter 
 of Mr John Taylor, Commercial Resident at Dacca, dated 30th 
 November 1800, and forwarded to the Court of Directors by Com- 
 mercial Letter from Bengal dated 1st December 1801). Mr Taylor 
 gives interesting particulars of the cultivation of cotton and of the 
 weaving processes. In a postscript, dated November 1801, he 
 states that the population of the city of Dacca had been estimated 
 by the Magistrate to be 200,000. 
 
 Some interesting statistics about prices will be found in appendix 
 to a report of Board of Customs, Salt and Opium, 26th January 
 1832 (Calcutta, 1833). See especially p. 120. 
 
 II. — India Office Records. 
 
 The India Office in Westminster contains Revenue Consultations 
 of the Dacca Factory from 1736. Many papers appear to be Avant- 
 ing, and those which remain do not possess much interest, as they are 
 chiefly taken up with details of the weaving business and of the 
 Company's investment. Those were days when, as Lord Macaulay 
 has remarked, " the ablest servants of the Company were busied 
 only about invoices and bills of lading." How unprepared we were 
 for a larger conception of our duties is shown by the following 
 extract from a Dacca minute of 20th July 1763, which was written 
 by Messrs Leycester and Senior on their return to Dacca after 
 they had quitted it on the outbreak of the war with Mir Kassim : 
 " Having recovered our factory, &c., with the assistance of the 
 Meekly detachment, and also taken possession of the city, the 
 collections and the revenue of so large a district is an important 
 business which we are not much acquainted with, and having no
 
 APPENDIX. 437 
 
 man belonging to the factory equal to so great a charge, it is 
 agreed to call on the officers of the Government to resume the manage- 
 ment of their several offices in the name of our honourable masters 
 till Ave are informed from the President and Council through what 
 channel these matters are in future to pass." 
 
 The records extend from 173G to 1763, then there appears to be a 
 blank up to 1772, when we have the report of the Committee of 
 Circuit. Then come the reports of the proceedings of the Provincial 
 Council, which commence in 1774 and go down to 1779. The 
 following notes are arranged chi'onologically, and contain such pas- 
 sages as appeared to me of interest, especially with reference to 
 Bcikarganj : — 
 
 August 1737. — Aga Bdkar, foujdar, is said to have taken Es.3000 
 as hush-money from the chaudhari of a pargana in connection with 
 a theft of cloth from the Jagdea Factory. 
 
 October 1737. — On the 30th ult. and 1st inst. there happened a 
 storm here and in the adjacent countries, the most violent that has 
 been known in the memory of man. It began at eleven o'clock of 
 the night, and blew very violent from north-east till seven in the 
 morning, when it returned from the south-west with double violence. 
 This storm destroyed almost every boat and vessel that was on the 
 river, and ashore blew down vast numbers of buildings, and among 
 the rest the honourable Company's bungalows that were for the 
 use of the washermen and their workmen at Tezgong and on the 
 wharf. A consultation of the 17th idem refers to information hav- 
 ing been received from tlie President of the loss of several of the 
 Company's ships in the hurricane. 
 
 N.B. — This is the storm which did so much damage in Calcutta 
 and the Sundarbans, and which is referred to in the '•' Gentleman's 
 Magazine" for 1738-39. See " Calcutta Eeview" for March 1859, 
 article " Gangetic Delta." 
 
 24^/i November 1737. — Letter from Mr Pomfret of Jagdea, dated 
 18th idem, stating that they have advice that the Mugs are come out 
 in great numbers, and the country around them being full of dacoits, 
 who have already done considerable mischief, &c. 
 
 Another storm took place on 31st May 1739, and the three follow- 
 ing days. 
 
 December 1744. — Sergeant Cooper being sent with 30,000 arcot 
 rupees to Jagdea, reports that there were a great many Mugs in the 
 way. Eesolved to send him all the European soldiers in the factory. 
 
 hh June 1745. — A sloop returning from Dacca to Calcutta had 
 been attacked by dacoits near Serampore, Avho had plundered the 
 crew of what they had and murdered five of them, after having cut 
 the rissincf, sails, cables, &c. Having information also of several 
 sloops and boats being on the Avay from Calcutta to Dacca, and that 
 as the ways between this and Bawkergange (sic) are greatly infested 
 with dacoits, it was agreed that a party of ten men, with a sergeant, 
 corporal, and ten Baxeries, (?) be sent down as far as Bawkergange, 
 and convey hither all vessels belonging to the English.
 
 438 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 2>Qth December 1745. ^Apprehensions about the Mahrattas. 
 
 January 1746. — Resolve to put a parapet wall round the factory 
 as a protection against the Mahrattas. 
 
 1749. — Mr Nicholas Clerembault became chief. He had joined on 
 9th March 1744, when he took his seat as the youngest of Council. 
 
 30f7i December 1754. — Raj Ballab Duan intimates that on the 
 change of the head Nabobship of Dacca, which is now in the name 
 of Muradda Doulla, he expects a large present, and even hinted 
 the sum of Rs. 10,000. Resolved to give him Rs.3000, if the pay- 
 ment is absolutely necessary. 
 
 Ibtli November 1755. — Nicholas Clerembault, Esq., chief of this 
 factory, departed this life of a violent fever. Doubtless this is the 
 Columbo Saheb whose tomb Bishop Heber mentions. 
 
 2?>d October 1757. — Nabob communicated his apprehensions of 
 his safety. 
 
 July 1763. — Council had fled from Dacca, and taken up their 
 quarters at Luckypur. 
 
 22d July 1763. — Mir Jaffar Ali Khan proclaimed Souba. 
 
 We now come to the report of the Dacca Committee of Circuit, 
 1772, which is in a separate volume. It does not, however, contain 
 much which is interesting. There is a long re]iort in it, dated 25th 
 September 1772, from William Makepeace Thackeray, about the 
 lime quarries in Sylhet. He was appointed Collector of that district 
 on 10th October 1772. The volume also contains long reports of 
 the disp\ites between Gokal Ghosal and the zamindars of Sandwip, 
 and would doubtless be very interesting to any one writing the his- 
 tory of Chittagong or Noakhdli. The following is the advertisement, 
 dated 3d October 1772, which the Committee of Circuit published 
 when they proceeded to settle the land revenue : — 
 
 " Notice is hereby given that the lands of the Dacca District, as also 
 those of Sylhet, will be let in farm for the term of five years, agree- 
 able to the conditions that have been already advertised ; all persons 
 therefore who are Avilling to farm, and can produce respectable 
 securities, are directed to deliver in sealed proposals specifying the 
 amount rent they offer to give for each jDargana separately." It will 
 be seen from this that the claims of zamindars and taluqdars, or the 
 rights of the tenantry, were not much considered in those days. 
 
 \7th February 1774. — Regulations about the post office. 
 
 bth April 1774. — Petition from Mani Ram Dabee, son of Dyal Chau- 
 dhari, claiming Buzurgumedpur. States that his father reclaimed it 
 from jungle, and that during the administration of Murshid Kuli 
 Khan, Aga B4kar infamously sent people to seize" on the daughter of 
 Dyal Chaudhari, whereon he,' being driven -to the greatest pitch of 
 desperation, relinquished his estate and eff'ects, and destroyed all the 
 female portion of his family. Petitioner afterwards tried to recover 
 the property, but was thwarted by the intrigues of Raj Ballab's 
 sons. The latter replied, saying that they bought the property in 
 1167 from Mirza Mendi, the brother, and Mahomed Sale, the son
 
 APPENDIX. 439 
 
 of Mahomed Sadok, who was son of Aga Bakar. They add(;d 
 that in 1737 the property belonged to Udai Eajah and Mahomed 
 Eeza, after which Aga Bi'ikar got it, and recorded the estate in Ids 
 son Sadok's name. (This is the name in the old Collectorate papers.) 
 
 Zd May 1774. — The Calcutta Council rejected the claim on the 
 ground, first, that Dyal Chaudhari liad been regularly dispossessed 
 by the government of the Nazira for rebellion; and secondly, because 
 Aga Bj'ikar was regularly ap|)ointed to the zamindari by the same 
 reigning government about thirty-three years ago, in the light of a 
 reward for his services in reducing the rebellious Dyal Chaudhari. 
 There is also a petition, dated Gth May 1774, from ]\Iirza Mendi 
 and Katissa Khanam, setting forth that on Aga BAkar's death in 
 1160, Mahomed Sadok absconded, upon which Raj Ballab confis- 
 cated his effects. In 1164 Mahomed Sadok returned, and obtained 
 the wadadari of the pargana for his son, Mahomed Sale, under the 
 seal of Nawab Jaffar Ali Khan, and was himself reinstated in his 
 zamindari. In 1166 Mahomed Sadok died, and in 1167 Eaj Ballab 
 dispossessed petitioners. Apparently this petition was dismissed. 
 
 SOi'A June 1774. — Much correspondence about char Bhuta, and 
 reference to a trial about it in Luckypur Civil Court 10th June 1773. 
 
 Idem. — Reference to Calcutta about an order, dated 17th iMay 
 1774, directing that from 1st July 1774 no person shall be allowed 
 to buy or sell a slave who is not such already by former legal 
 purchase, and any kazi Avho shall grant any kaAvala after that date 
 for the sale of any slave whatever shall be dismissed. 
 
 The Dacca Council Avrites, "As it is an established custom 
 throughout the Dacca districts to keep in bondage the offspring of 
 slaves who have once become so, agreed that we address the 
 honourable President and Council of Revenue, requesting to be 
 informed Avhether the benefit of the Regulation is to be extended 
 to the future offspring of such persons who may at present be in 
 slavery." The Calcutta Council replied on 12th July as follows: 
 " In those districts where slavery is a general usage, or in any way 
 connected with, or is likely to have an influence on the revenue, 
 Avhich we are informed is the case in Sylhet, and may be so in the 
 other, especially the frontier parts of your division, we must desire 
 you particularly to advise us what is the usage, and every circum- 
 stance connected with it, and we shall then give you such direction 
 as we may judge necessary; but considering your question in the 
 meantime in the light of a general j^roposition, we are of opinion 
 that the right of masters to the children of the slaves already their 
 property cannot legally be taken from them in the first generation, 
 but we think that' this right cannot and ought not to extend farther, 
 and direct that you do make publication accordingly." 
 
 hth Jidtj 1774. — Severe orders from Calcutta against the impress- ll 
 ment of ryots as coolies by travellers. ' ' 
 
 llth Juhj 1774. — Appointment of foujdars. Boundaries of 
 Bakargaiij thana — south, Aurungab^d pargana ; north, Sundarkul ; 
 east, JaUlpiir ; west, Syedpur in Dacca.
 
 44° 
 
 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 2,0th July 1774. — French letter from M. des Granges, reporting 
 that the French have abandoned then- Dacca factory. 
 
 XZth August 1774. — The President and Council of Calcutta send 
 a price-current of grain, which has been made the standard for 
 collecting the Government duties upon throughout the provinces, 
 from which, the Collectors have been informed, they are not on any 
 account to deviate. The standard is fixed so very low that it must 
 remove every just ground of complaint from the rice merchants. 
 
 The Government duty of 2| per cent, was to be levied according 
 to this standard, which was to be current over Bengal, Behar, and 
 Orissa. I give the more important items : — 
 
 
 Mans. 
 
 Sirs. 
 
 
 Mans. 
 
 Sfrs 
 
 Horse grain, per rup 
 
 ee 1 
 
 26 
 
 Rice, 1st sort, per 
 
 rupee 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Green grain {sona mc 
 
 'og), 
 
 
 Rice, 2d sort, „ 
 
 35 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 per rupee 
 
 . 1 
 
 10 
 
 Rice, 3d sort „ 
 
 J) 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 Barley, per rnjiee 
 
 . 2 
 
 30 
 
 Paddy . „ 
 
 >) 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 Ashar ,, ,, 
 
 . 1 
 
 20 
 
 Mustard „ 
 
 )» 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Wheat „ „ 
 
 . 1 
 
 10 
 
 Til 
 
 >» 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 list Aug^ist 1775. — Petition from Gopal Kissen, zamindar of 
 Buzurgumedpur, asking for remission of the 'phanri mahva (called 
 here phannaly mahva, and also iianny malwa), on the ground that 
 it had been abolished when taxes on grain were removed. In these 
 proceedings Ave at last meet with an explanation of the term, a wit- 
 ness stating that the tax was a duty levied on grain, timber, and all 
 kinds of goods under transportation. The Calcutta Council relieved 
 Gopal Kissen from the obligation of paying it (see p. 100). 
 
 1775. — Frequent notices of a Mr Wood, who was salt agent at 
 Jainagar — i.e., Jhalukatti. 
 
 18^A January 1776. — Eeport on French factories states that the 
 French carry on a trade in rice and cotton thread at Bdkarganj, 
 where a gomasta resides continually, Avith two or three sepoys. 
 
 29^A July 1311.1. — Extract from Court of Directors' letter stating 
 that they had reA^oked their orders to let the lands to the highest 
 bidders, and signifying their pleasure to have them occupied by here- 
 ditary zamindars. Strict orders are given for insisting on every 
 zamindar and farmer giving leases to their tenants. 
 
 2l5^ Jidy nil. — Eeport on the arcot rupee, which has been 
 " the only specie of general currency in this country time out of 
 mind, and yet they never Avere coined at the Dacca mint." x\lso 
 send proposals for the settlement of the Dacca Province. 
 
 Wth July 1778. — Notice of declaration of Avar betAveen France 
 and England. Flight of M. Chevalier. List of all the Europeans 
 in the Dacca Province. The total is about fifty. 
 
 %th September 1778. — Mr Hatch claims to be ]}\\t in charge of 
 Sylhet. Mr Holland dissents, and supports Lindsay. 
 
 Complaint of ChandradAvip zamindar against Baksh Ali, foujdar 
 of thana Barisdl (10 September 1779). 
 
 19i:/i November 1778, Araiiginir. — Case betAveen taluqdars and
 
 APPENDIX. 441 
 
 zamindars. Valcil of zamiiidars states a division took place in 1158, 
 after death of Janaki Ballab, into four equal shares, and again in 
 1172. This -was found correct, and Board ordered taluqdars to pay 
 the shareholders. 
 
 2d September 1779. — Eemarks of Calcutta Council on settlement 
 of Dacca districts for 1186 — i.e., liI9_^"We particularly enjoin 
 you never, in any instance whatever, to propose any abatement of 
 any nature whatever unless you can at the same time clearly point 
 out how such deficiency may be supplied. In short, it is our deter- 
 mination that the Dacca Division shall yield to the Government an 
 annual revenue of Ks. 2, 985, 549." 
 
 There is also a separate volume giving in detail the settlement 
 for 1184— i.e., 1777. 
 
 N.B. — The Dacca papers contain many interesting reports about 
 the Jyntia Eajah, Sylhet, Sandwip, &c. There is much correspond- 
 ence about Sandwip in a volume for 1774, but by far the fullest 
 report on Sandwip is to be found in the Bengal Revenue Council 
 Reports for 1780, vol. vi. This voluminous report extends over 
 491 paragraphs, exclusive of appendices, and contains a genealogical 
 table of the Sandwip zamindars, and a statement of its revenue 
 from as far back as 10G9 A.H. — i.e., 1662 — when the Moghals first got 
 possession of it. The report is written by Mr Jonathan Duncan (I 
 presume the famous Jonathan Duncan of Benares and Bombay). 
 He was sent to Sandwip to report on the murder of one Mahomed 
 Kain, and lived on the island for a considerable time. 
 
 III. — Famines of 1770 and 1787. 
 
 Dr Hunter observes, in his " Annals of Rural Bengal " (p. 28), 
 that the only non-official description of the famine of 1770 by an eye- 
 witness is a metrical one ; but, in fact, there is a tolerably full descrip- 
 tion of it in a letter in the " Gentleman's Magazine" for September 
 1771, vol. xli. p. 402. The letter was forAvarded to the editor by 
 one J. C, who describes himself as having just received it from a 
 very worthy friend of his in the Company's service in Calcutta.^ 
 The same letter appears in the "Scots Magazine "for September 
 1771, vol. xxxiii. p. 454 ; and there are also references to the subject 
 at pages 160 and 216 of the same volume. See also the " Gentleman's 
 Magazine" for February 1772, p. 69. It is probably to the above 
 letter that Warren Hastings refers to when he speaks of the eftects 
 of the famine having been made known " to the public \yj laboured 
 descriptions, in which every circumstance of fact and every art of 
 languages have been accumulated to raise compassion, and to excite 
 
 1 Though the letter is from a Company's servant, it is non-ofRcial in the sense 
 in which Dr Hunter uses the word, or otherwise Lord Teignmouth's verses could 
 not be called nou-nfBcial.
 
 442 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 indignation against your [the Company's] servants " (Warren 
 Hastings' letter, Appendix G of Dr Hunter's Annals, p. 380). It 
 would appear, however, from Charles Grant's " Observations on the 
 State of Society in Asia" (General Appendix, No. I., to House of 
 Commons Report of 1833), that the French of Chandarnagore were 
 the first to accuse the English of being the authors of the famine, 
 and probably therefore detailed descriptions of it are to be found in 
 the French j^apers of that period. Mr Grant himself gives some 
 particulars of the famine. His paper was written in 1792, and he 
 tells us that he derived his information partly from his own observa- 
 tions and partly from a manuscript account by Mr Becher. Mr 
 Becher was then resident at the Durbar (Murshldabdd), and was, I 
 presume, the person quoted by Sir Philip Francis {vide note, p. 376). 
 Mr Grant says Mr Becher saved the country in 1770 by laying in 
 60,000 mans of rice for the use of the army, and that he was a 
 man noted for his honesty and humanity. " His anxiety and exer- 
 tions for alleviating the miseries of that whole period ended in an 
 illness which almost cost him his life. Yet on his return to England 
 he found himself traduced as the author of the famine." Unfortu- 
 nately the charge of turning the public distress into a source of pri- 
 vate profit was true as regards some servants of the Company, and 
 Mr Becher had only himself to thank for the odium he incurred, 
 inasmuch as he neglected to restrain or even give up the names of 
 those who had through their native servants not only " monopolised 
 the grain, but compelled the poor ryots to sell the seed requisite for 
 the next harvest." (See Court of Directors' letter, Appendix B, p. 
 420, Hunter's Annals.) 
 
 Notices of the 1787 famine Avill be found in " Calcutta Gazettes " 
 of 20th September 1787 and 27th March 1788. The last shows 
 that B^karganj rice was sent to Dacca. 
 
 IV. — Establishment of Civil Courts at Bakarganj, 
 
 At p. 889 of the Sixth Report of the House of Commons there 
 is printed a Revenue Department Consultation, dated 6th April 
 1781, which gives us the details of the first establishment of a court 
 of civil justice at BAkarganj. The following is an extract from the 
 preamble : " The Board, taking into consideration the present state 
 of the administration of civil and criminal justice throughout the 
 provinces, pass the following resolution : That to remedy the incon- 
 veniences occasioned by the too extensive jurisdiction of the Mofussil 
 Dewanny Adalats established by the Resolutions of 28th March 
 1780, and thereby promote the more rapid and eff"ectual administra- 
 tion of justice, the following Courts of Civil Justice, including those 
 now existing, be established throughout the provinces." Then follow 
 the names of eighteen courts, among which Jessore appears under the
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 443 
 
 name of Aloorly. The boundaries given of Bakargaiij are as follows : 
 " The jurisdiction of Buckergunge {sic), consisting of that portion of 
 the Dacca Province lying on the south-west of the Ganges or Padnia 
 and the Cally Ganges, and to the west of the Meghna from Chandpur 
 to the sea; having as its western limits the eastern frontier of 
 Boosna and Jessore, down to the mouth of the river of Raj Mongal, 
 including also all the islands belonging to and situated on the coast 
 of the Dacca Province, except the ])argana of Sandwip and its de- 
 pendencies." 
 
 The Eesolution farther directs that the Civil Judges shall have 
 the power of apprehending dacoits, &c., though not of trying them, 
 and that the Nawab be requested to withdraw all his phousdars 
 except thephousdar of Hughli. 
 
 The above orders are also published in Colebrooke's Digest, vol. iii. 
 
 v.— Character of the People. 
 
 The following interesting remarks on the character of the Bdkarganj 
 population, &c., are taken from a letter by Mr Meredith (?) Parker, 
 printed in the appendix to Mr Plowden's salt report. Mr Parker's 
 letter is dated 15th September 1832, and the object of it is to 
 rebut the assertion that the molunghies or salt-makers were not 
 free agents : — 
 
 " I believe I am w^ell warranted in asserting that no portion of 
 Lower Bengal, with the exception perhaps of the Nuddea district, 
 has ever been considered so difficult to manage. I speak with 
 reference to matters of police, as the Twenty-four Parganas, the 
 Jessore and Bdkarganj zillahs, the chars and islands at the 
 mouth of the Meghna and Chittagong, but more esiDecially the 
 belt of cultivated land which accompanies or invades the line of 
 the Sundarbans in the three first-mentioned districts. It need 
 scarcely be observed that everywhere people dwelling on the fron- 
 tiers of great forests, the pioneers before whose hatchets these forests 
 recede, people who dwell in islands surrounded by broad and 
 dangerous rivers, or on the sea-shore, are noted, as compared with 
 their fellow-countrymen in other j)arts of the same land, for hardi- 
 hood and roughness of character, nor am I inclined to believe that 
 Bengal offers any exception to this nearly general rule. Now, four- 
 fifths of the molunghies belong to the above class, and certainly no 
 more unfavourable selection could be made for trying the experi- 
 ment of coerced labour if all Bengal had been searched for the 
 purpose. Attempts at coercion which might bewilder and intimi- 
 date the c_[uiet weavers of Dacca or Murshiddbdd, would, I appre- 
 hend, meet with a very difterent reception from the borderers in 
 the Sundarbans ; the woodcutters and fishermen of the Twenty- 
 four Parganas, Jessore, and Bakarganj ; the ryots of Bhulloah
 
 444 DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 [Noakhdli], ever braining each other in boundary disputes ; and the 
 litigious, unmanageable people of Chittagong. For my own part, 
 had I a pubHc measure of an unpopular nature, or whicli would be 
 considered oppressive by the rj^ots, to carry into effect, I confess 
 I should prefer being appointed to make the experiment in any 
 l^ortion of Bengal rather than in the districts I have adverted to, 
 and I believe the Magistrates and other public officers who have 
 had experience of them would agree with me in this preference." 
 
 In the same letter Mr Parker asserts that cultivation is essential 
 to the salt manufacture, as the rice straw is used for boiling the 
 water. This seems too strongly put, but still it is satisfactory to 
 know that there is not necessarily any opposition between cultiva- 
 tion and salt-making. We may therefore hope that the reclamation 
 of the Sundarbans and the chars will not prevent the revival of the 
 salt trade. 
 
 VI. — Dacoits. 
 
 There is a curious passage in Mill's " Logic," where he speaks of 
 the English bringing with them into Bengal the phrase "landed 
 proprietor," and of the confusion which it led them into. "They 
 gave an absolute right to one who had only a limited right, from 
 another, because he had not an absolute right, they took away all 
 right, drove whole classes of men to ruin and despair, filled the 
 country ivith banditti, created a feeling that nothing was secure, and 
 produced, with the best intentions, a disorganisation of society 
 which had not been produced in the country by the most ruthless 
 of its barbarous invaders " (book iv. chap. v. Natural History of the 
 Variations in the Meaning of Terms). 
 
 This passage apparently refers to the formation of the Per- 
 manent Settlement, and makes it answerable for the filling of the 
 country with banditti. But as regards the eastern districts, at all 
 events, the quotations given in my book show that dacoity flourished 
 there long before 1790. I suspect that Mill borrowed the illustra- 
 tion from his father, who was prejudiced against the Permanent 
 Settlement. 
 
 VII. — Early Travellers in Bengal. 
 
 An interesting article might be written on this subject, but as I 
 am only dealing with the history of one district, it Avould be out of 
 place for me to go into much detail. With the help of my friend 
 Dr Wise I have searched a great many books in the hope of finding 
 some particulars about early Bdkarganj, but the result has been
 
 APPENDIX. 445 
 
 disappointing. In conducting an inquiry of this kind, one is, I think, 
 most struck with the tremendous amount of waste Avith which the 
 carrying on of the worhl's work is accompanied. The same facts ai-e 
 repeated in scores of books in the same or in different hTn-niao-es, so 
 that about nine-tenths of them are superfluous ; and hardly any book 
 can be found which goes farther than its neighbours, or gives any 
 information which is novel and valuable. The earliest European 
 traveller in Bengal appears to have been Varthema (Vertomannus) 
 of Bologna, who was in Bengal about 1507. His travels have been 
 translated for the Hakluyt Society (1SG3), and the editor discusses 
 in the introduction the question of the site of the town of Bengala 
 or Banghella, which Varthema describes himself as having visited. 
 The editor supposes that it was situated between Ilattia and San- 
 dwip, and it has occurred to me that perhaps it is after all identical 
 with Fitch's Bacola. Le Blanc of Marseilles, wlio was in Bengal 
 some ten years before Fitch, speaks of Bengala as being the principal 
 town of Bengal, but adds the important observation that the native 
 name of it was Batacouta. Faria y Sousa, and perhaps some other 
 writers, seem to call Bacola sometimes Baticala,^ which is very near 
 to Le Blanc's word, especially when we consider how easily t may 
 be mistaken for an I in printing from a manuscript. 
 
 Le Blanc must have been in Bengal shortly after Caesar Frede- 
 rick, and, curiously enough, he too was forced by stress of weather 
 to land at Sandwip. Unfortunately Le Blanc's travels were not 
 published till after his death, and perhaps they were not written 
 down till long after his return. At all events, they contain allusions 
 to things — e.g., the reception of the Jesuit priests by the King of 
 Chandecan, which did not take place till some twenty years after 
 his return home. 
 
 Another early traveller in Bengal is Sebastian Manrique (referred 
 to in a paper by Dr Wise). He was in India and Arracan from 1628 
 to 1641, in the capacity of an Augustinian missionary. He describes 
 Shahbuzpur, and also an island which he calls Sagaldiva — i.e., he 
 says, all-rich. He says that these islands had become depopulated 
 on account of the continual wars between the Portuguese, the Arra- 
 canese, and the Moghals. He also describes Sandwip, and gives some 
 particulars about Gonzales, whom he calls the Portuguese " King 
 of Sundiva." He describes the Sundarbans and his shipwreck in 
 the neighbourhood, but unfortunately I am not sufficiently acquainted 
 with Spanish fully to understand him. 
 
 I may here note that the most complete list of early works on 
 India appears to be that given in Don Antonio de Leon Pinelo's 
 work entitled " Epitome de la Bibliotheca Oriental," &c., Madrid, 
 1737. 
 
 The earliest map of Bengal appears to be Gastaldi's (1561). A 
 facsimile of it is given in the Hakluyt Society's translation of ^^ar- 
 thema's Travels (Dr Badger's introduction). 
 
 ^ There was also a Baticala io Canara and anotlier iu Cejilon.
 
 446 DISTRICT OF bAKARGANJ. 
 
 YIIL— Francis Fernandez. 
 
 Francis Fernandez and his companion Dominic da Sosa were the 
 first Jesuits who visited Bengal, and they probably deserve the 
 honour of being reckoned the iirst missionaries to the Bengalis. 
 They were not, however, the first priests in the country, for they 
 found a curate in Gullp on their arrival in May 1598, This Gullo 
 appears to me to be identical with Bandel, which last was a name 
 given to all Portuguese stations in Bengal. Fernandez describes it 
 as being 210 miles from the mouth of the Ganges, and says that it 
 took them eight days to ascend the river to it. Gullo was evidently 
 one of the earliest, if not the very earliest station of the Portuguese 
 in Bengal, and so we know was Bandel, the church bell of which 
 bears the date 1599. When the Jesuits speak of their church at 
 Chandecan as being the first erected by their order, they do not 
 thereby deny the priority of that of Bandel. Fernandez and his 
 companion stayed at Gullo till October, and they employed them- 
 selves tliere in the laudable work of establishing a hospital, which I 
 suppose must have been the first in Bengal. From Gullo they went 
 to Chandecan, and stayed there till December, when they went on 
 to Sripiir. Fernandez describes Chandecan as lying half way be- 
 tween Porto Grande (Chittagong) and Porto Piccolo (Gullo ?), and 
 says that the king's dominions were so extensive that it would take 
 fifteen or twenty days to traverse them. He adds, that it has a great 
 trade in bees'-wax, which is produced in the jungles, so that there were 
 Sundarbans then also. There were dacoits also, and Fernandez says 
 they encountered great dangers from them and from tigers on the 
 way from Gullo to Chandecan. 
 
 Fernandez' first letter was written from Sripiir, and Avas dated 
 either 14th or 19th January 1599 (both dates are given). It will 
 be found at length in the edition of Pimenta's letter published at 
 Venice in 1G02, but the note of Aquaviva prefixed to this edition 
 states that the letter was originally printed in Latin. It would 
 seem, therefore, that the statement in my text (p. 29) is a mis- 
 take, and that tlie missionaries originally wrote in Latin. The edi- 
 tion states on the titlepage that Pimenta's letter was written from 
 Goa on 25th December 1598, but the date given at the conclusion of 
 the book shows that 98 is a mistake for 99. A Portuguese edition 
 of the letter was published at Lisbon in 1602. There is a short 
 biography of Fernandez in Bartholom6 Alcazar's " Chronicle of the 
 Jesuit Worthies of the Province of Toledo," Madrid, 1710. From it 
 we learn that Fernandez was born at a place called La Villa de Hu- 
 erta, near Toledo, and that he entered the University of Alcala in 
 1570, when he was twenty years old. He arrived in Goa in 1575, 
 and died in 1602, when he was only about fifty-two, though Du Jarric 
 and Alcazar speak of him as being weighed down by years.
 
 APPENDIX. 447 
 
 (D.) 
 
 Two Bakarganj Cases. 
 
 1. Story of Karimuddin. 
 
 I ONLY mention this story to show to what desperate lengths Ben- 
 galis will occasionally go in the prosecution of their revenge. 
 Karimuddin was an idle, dissolute fellow, and a thief. One night 
 he Avas seen by some of his fellow-villagers stealing fish from their 
 nets, and they gave him chase but could not catch him, and so had 
 to content themselves with giving him a volley of abuse. Kari- 
 muddin resolved to be revenged, and the method he took was this. 
 He had an old father who had been bedridden for tAvo or three 
 years, and whom he felt to be a burden to him, so he actually took 
 up a bludgeon and fractured his father's skull, and then hurried in 
 with the body to the police station and laid a charge of murder 
 against the people who had abused him. The case was investigated, 
 and I am glad to say that the truth came out, and that Karimuddin 
 was transported for life. 
 
 2. Story of Jabar Ula. 
 
 Some three years ago there was a Mahomedan peasant, named 
 Jabar Ula, who lived with his wife and family on the banks of the 
 river Meghna. The homestead Avas a joint one — that is to say, he 
 and his family lived in one part of it, and another family, distantly 
 related to his, occupied the remainder. The lands attached to the 
 homestead Avere cultivated in common by the tAvo families, an 
 arrangement Avhich led to occasional disputes about the produce. 
 One day Jabar Ula had a quarrel Avith a Avoman of the neighbouring 
 family about the diA-ision of a quantity of sesame or oil seeds Avhich 
 had been spread out to dry in the courtyard. Jabar Ula Avanted to 
 carry off his share, and the Avoman said he Avas taking more than he 
 Avas entitled to. I suppose she used her tongue pretty freely, for at 
 last Jabar Ula got so angry that he tried to strike her, and in doing 
 so he happened to tAvitch off her upper garment. She rushed off to 
 her brothers, Avho had just come in from the field, and complained 
 of the affront. Her two brothers at once came into the courtyard, 
 seized Jabar Ula, and gave him such a beating that he at last fell 
 doAvn insensible. Terrified at this, the two lifted him up, gave him 
 Avater, and finally carried him into his house and laid hmi down on 
 his bed. Some days after this Jabar Ula's Avife sent Avord by the 
 village AA^atchman to the police station that her husband had died of 
 his beating, and that the murderers had broken into her house and 
 carried off Uie dead body. The police AA^ent out to the village, 
 Avhich was a good way off, and commenced an investigation. No
 
 448 DISTRICT OF BAKARGANJ. 
 
 trace of Jabar Ula's body could be found, and his widow gave a cir- 
 cumstantial account to the police of how her husband had lain insen- 
 sible for two or three days after his beating, how he had got worse 
 and worse, and how she and his mother had watched by his side night 
 after night until he died. When they saw that all was over, and 
 that they were widowed and childless, the two women gave way to 
 their grief, and broke out into the lamentable cries Avhich Bengali 
 women use on such occasions. The accused heard them, iind know- 
 ing what the cries meant, and that there was no safety for them if 
 Jabar Ula's body remained where it Avas, and if the marks of vio- 
 lence on it were seen by the authorities, they broke into the room, 
 which had only mat walls, and carried off the corpse. The widow- 
 could tell no more, but the accused were now arrested, and they 
 told the rest of the story. They acknowledged to the police that 
 all that the widow had said was true, and added that they had put 
 the body on board of a small boat, rowed out to the middle of the 
 stream, which was there two or three miles wide, and then flung the 
 body into the river. On this they were sent into Barisdl to appear 
 before the Magistrate, and I well recollect that their confessions 
 were recorded in my presence, that they were full and particular, 
 and that each prisoner told the same story. The case was made 
 over to another Magistrate, who examined the witnesses and then 
 committed the accused to the Court of Session on charges of 
 murder, &c. Before the trial came on the prisoners said to their 
 attorney that they were innocent of the murder, and that Jabar Ula 
 was not really dead. They, however, admitted that they had beaten 
 him, and that they could not produce him. On this their attorney 
 advised them to plead guilty, and to throw themselves on the mercy 
 of the Court. " It is of no use," he said, " for you to deny the 
 crime ; you can't produce Jabar Ula, and you have no witnesses 
 who can say where he is. On the other hand, his widow and his 
 mother are prepared to swear that they saw him die, and that they 
 saw you carry ofl" his dead body. Your best plan is to plead guilty, 
 and to plead the provocation Jabar Ula had given by insulting your 
 sister." They took his advice, and acknowledged the genuineness 
 of their confessions before the Magistrate. The witnesses for the 
 prosecution were examined, and repeated the evidence they had 
 given before the Magistrate, and the Judge convicted the prisoners, 
 but passed a comparatively light sentence. As the body had not 
 been found he acquitted them of the charge of murder, and sentenced 
 them to six months' imprisonment for causing grievous hurt, and 
 six months for concealment of evidence, in that they had thrown the 
 body into the river. Altogether they got a year apiece. The pri- 
 soners went to jail, and made no appeal ; but some seven or eight 
 months afterwards, and while the prisoners were serving out their 
 time in Barisal jail, Ave Avere all startled by a rumour that Jabar Ula 
 had turned up, alive and in good health. It was true. A man had 
 come to a country market to make some purchases, and a fellow- 
 villager had recognised him as Jabar Ula. He had changed his
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 449 
 
 name, and did not want to come forward, but the village watchman 
 insisted on taking him to the police station. There he acknowledged 
 that he was indeed Jabar Ula, and told a marvellous story to account 
 for his reappearance. He had become insensible after he was beaten, 
 he said, and remembered nothing farther until he felt a gnawing 
 sensation in his back, as if some animal were biting him. This 
 awoke him, and he found that he was lying in shallow water on the 
 edge of a sandbank, and that a jackal had been biting him. The 
 animal had come down to drink, and had seen Jabar Ula and 
 thought he was dead. After this Jabar Ula saw a boat passing and 
 hailed it, and was taken by it into the district of Noakhali. After 
 that he lived in various places, but always in hiding, lest he should 
 be discovered by his assailants and murdered by them. We tested 
 his story by sending an officer with him to make inquu'ies in the 
 various places he had visited. The result did not corroborate his 
 story, and he now began to shuffle about the names of the places he 
 had visited, and to tell conflicting stories. Among other things he 
 dropped the. story of the jackal, and said he had been saved by 
 clutching at a plantain-tree which was floating down the river. He 
 also gave up the story of his having been taken to NoakliAli. And 
 now, when the evidence of the witnesses in the Court of Session was 
 more closely examined, it was found that the women of Jabar Ula's 
 family had materially altered the statements they made to the 
 Magistrate. Before the Magistrate they had sworn that they had 
 seen the prisoners carry off" the dead body of Jabar Ula. Before the 
 Judge they said that they had fallen asleej), worn out with Avatching 
 and fatigue, and that when they awoke again they found that the 
 body was gone. Moreover, it was clear that the confessions of the 
 prisoners must have been false, at least in part, for they had 
 said that they had flung the body of Jabar Ula into the middle 
 of the Meghna, and it is utterly impossible that he could ever 
 have been saved if he had been flung in there, especially when 
 reduced by illness. By this time the prisoners had heard of the 
 reappearance of Jabar Ula, and had forwarded petitions declaratory 
 of their innocence, and accusing Jabar Ula and his family of getting 
 up a false case against them, and the police of having tortured them 
 into confessing. The prisoners were now sent for, and they made 
 similar statements in person, and no doubt these were the real cir- 
 cumstances. Of course the police denied that they had used any 
 violence to the prisoners, and it was impossible to get proof of this 
 so long after the occurrence ; but at the same time they could not 
 get out of the difficulty that Jabar Ula was alive, and that if the 
 confessions were true he must have been dead. The affair was 
 never wholly cleared up, but no doubt remained in the minds of the 
 great body of the public that the case Avas altogether false except 
 as regards the beating, and that Jabar Ula had, in revenge for his 
 thrashing, slipped away in the night-time and hidden himself for 
 months, having previously arranged Avith his Avifc and fruMids that 
 
 2 F
 
 45 o DISTRICT OF bAkARGANJ. 
 
 they should say he was dead, and accuse the prisoners of having 
 murdered him. 
 
 The case thus remains as a memorable instance of the lengths to 
 which a man will go in order to satisfy his revenge, and of the 
 danger of relying too much on confessions of guilt. 
 
 Note. — It seems proper to add that I was so convinced of the innocence of the 
 prisoners in this case that I took upon myself to release them in anticipation of 
 the orders of Government. For this irregularity I vras deservedly censured, and 
 three Judges of the High Court afterwards decided that there vyas no ground to 
 interfere with the original conviction. However, the prisoners were not re-pre- 
 sented before the High Court, and there is no doubt that the general opinion in 
 the district is that Jabar Ula never was flung into the river. 
 
 (E.) 
 
 The Language of the District. 
 
 Bengali is the vernacular of Bdkarganj, and there are few provincial 
 peculiarities except in pronunciation. I doubt if there be a single 
 word whose use is exclusively confined to BAkarganj ; and when we 
 reflect how modern the district is, and what violent changes of 
 boundaries it has undergone during its short life, we can hardly 
 expect to find many peculiarities of language in it. In all the dis- 
 tricts of Eastern Bengal we find a gdod many Arabic and Persian 
 words, due no doubt to the influence of the Mahomedans. These 
 words chiefly relate to administration and jurisdiction, but some of 
 them relate to the arts and sciences, and to domestic life ; and it is 
 a shrewd remark of Kam Kamal Sen, in the valuable preface to his 
 English Bengali Dictionary, that the words for pen and paper are 
 of Arabic or Persian origin, showing that the Sanskrit-speaking 
 people did not know how to make paper. 
 
 I once made out a list of such words and phrases as appeared to 
 me to be peculiar to Bdkarganj, and sent it to the Commissioner of 
 Dacca, but I am not aware that any use Avas ever made of it. 
 
 Mr Sutherland has given an interesting list at p. 192 of his 
 report on Bdkarganj (Principal Heads of the History and Statistics 
 of the Dacca Division, Calcutta, 1868), and to this I beg to refer the 
 reader. The following words and expressions are all I can give at 
 present : — 
 
 Nishat or nisbafi, a brother-in-law (Arabic). 
 
 Kura, a bigha. 
 
 Mora, a basket of paddy. 
 
 Amiuni, without settlement. 
 
 Badla, to work for another. This refers to an interesting usage 
 of villagers mutually assisting one another by giving a day's plough-
 
 APPENDIX. 451 
 
 ing or weeding. (Sec Mr J. Cockbnrn's evidence, ans. -^58, ]>. 31: 
 of evidence taken before Indigo Commission, and also paragraph 09 
 of the report, 18G0.) 
 
 Bacjchar, berm of road. 
 
 Khola (not Icola, as in Sutherland), an open field. 
 
 Char, a bamboo or supari bridge. 
 
 At, tlie raised edge of a moat. 
 
 Wlien a boat has sunk, boatmen employ the euphemism of hhala 
 haiache, literally, it is good. 
 
 When the peasantry take to firing homesteads, as they some- 
 times do in a dispute about rent with their landlord, they aro 
 graphically described as setting the red horse a-running (Idl ghora 
 dakran). 
 
 There is a curious expression for a mother-indaw in Bdkarganj. 
 She is called diwanji — i.e., diwan or manager. Probably tliis is in 
 allusion to the fact that she is generally the real mistress of the 
 liouse, the daughter-in-law being too often a mere child. 
 
 (F.) 
 
 Note to Page 75. 
 
 I HAVE not printed the song about Kamala on account of the diffi- 
 culty in procuring Bengali types. 
 
 Note to Page 112. 
 
 I believe that the Mr Thackeray here referred to was not the 
 father of the -novelist. The father of the latter appears to have 
 been a Mr Richmond Thackeray, who died in 1815.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 AbaDkIrs, what, 193 
 Abda, 194 
 
 Abdulapur, tappa, 147 
 Administration — 
 
 Criminal, 323 
 
 English, 302 
 
 Hindu, 373 
 
 Maliomedan, 375 
 
 Eevenue, 312 
 Agriculture, 220, 278 
 Ahsanoolah, Khajali, 115, 117, 123, 
 
 14G, 157, 192 
 Alia, history of lease of, 112 
 
 river, 19 
 
 Ainadilin Sikdar, notorious dacoit, 
 
 112, 327 
 Al Arfan, Syed, tradition about, 244 
 Alexander, Mr, report on Singhkhali 
 
 case, 242 
 Ali, Karamat, his teaching, 255, 3S1 
 Alinagar, tappa, 143 
 Alliar Khan, informer, 324, 424 
 Alligators, 350, 393, note 
 Alluviation, 5, 432 
 Aman rice, 278, 280 
 Amani village, 13G 
 Amua don, 19 
 Amusements, native, 235 
 Andarmanick river, IS 
 Angaria village, 348 
 Animals, destruction of Avild, 392 
 Antiquities, 26 
 
 Apostasies, from Christianity, 2G2 
 Araugpiir, pargana, 154, 440 
 Arcot rupees, 99, 435, note, 440 
 
 Arial Khan river, 16, 20, 21 
 Armstrong, Collector, report on Buz- 
 urguniedptir, 101 ; on Idilpur, 125 
 Asman Singh, fate of, 41 
 Attaclied estates, 189 
 Aus rice, see Owsh 
 Ausat taluqdar, wliat, 41G 
 AzimiJiir, tappa, 148 
 
 B 
 
 BacolA, sec Bakla 
 
 Baliadurpur, tappa, 154 
 
 Baidyas, 97, 258, 339 
 
 Baikanthpi'ir, pargana, C9, note 
 
 Baisdia, 4, IG 
 
 Bakar, Aga, 43, 119, 437, 438, 439 
 
 Btlkarganj bazdr, 284, 302, 30G, note, 
 
 324, 325, 437, 442 
 
 Commissioner of, 323 
 
 District, physical characteristics 
 
 of, chap, i.,432 
 people of, 211, 427, 443, chap. 
 
 viii., 424 
 
 thana, 347 
 
 Bilkla, 2G, 30, 73, 78, 170, 179, 250 
 Baleslnvar river, 17 
 Ballab, Krishna, 74 
 
 Raj, 95, 96, 99, 106, 119, 258, 
 
 306, 438 
 Bamna, 110, 156 
 Bandel, 33, 106 
 Bangrora, i^ai-gana, 150 
 Baptist missions, 260 
 Barbier, P6rc, quoted, ISO 
 Barbosa, Edward, sec Preface, i>. xiii. 
 Bareiro, INIr, 2G1
 
 454 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Barhunufldm Hdt, 271, 348 
 Barisiil guns, 13, 168 
 
 river, 17 
 
 town, 94, 276, 306, 326, 367, 
 
 383, 424 
 Baroikaran, 307, 308 
 Bdropakhya, case of, 261, 263 
 Barwell, Mr, 119, 121, 137 
 Basauda, school at, 123, 358 
 
 Seins of, 203 
 
 Battye, Collector, 112; Magistrate, 
 
 163, 355, 379 
 BatAvaras, sec Partitions 
 Baufal thana, 23, 171, 330, 348 
 Beaufort, Mr Morris, 380 
 Bebajias, 256 
 Beclier, Mr, 376, 442 
 Bengal, early travellers in, 444 and 
 
 Preface 
 
 Eastern, 253 
 
 Bengala, town of, 445 and Preface 
 
 Bengalis, character of, 213 
 
 Bensley, Dr, quoted, 12 
 
 Betel-nuts, 285 
 
 Betua river, 140 
 
 Beverley, Mr, on preponderance of 
 
 Mahomedans, 247 ; quoted, 276 
 Bhangni Naya river, 16 
 Bhashan Titulia fishery, 189 
 Bhola khdl, 20, 366 
 Bibi Chini, mosque at, 40 
 Bigliai river, 18 
 Bikranmditya, 177 
 Bils, 23, 432 
 
 Birmolian, pargana and tappa, 150 
 Bishkhdli don, 19 
 
 river, 18 
 
 Blochniann, I'rofessor, quoted, 27, 28, 
 
 note, 173 
 Boat-building, 298 
 Boatmen, 257 
 Boats, jiatrol, 346 
 Bolaki Shah, faqir, 317 
 Boro rice, 280, 403 
 Boroda Kanth Rai, 155 
 Boundaries, 1; change of, 341, 342 
 Bowes, Andrew, 29, 34 
 Brahma Samdj, 259, 383 
 Brdhmans, 190, 258, 275, 391 
 
 Brrihmuttar lands, 210 
 Buddhists, Mugs are, 259 
 Buffaloes, 162; sacrifice of, 229, note; 
 
 used for ploughing, 278 
 Bunas, colony of, 268 
 Burke quoted, 76, 193 
 Buzurguniedpur, pargana, 94, 193, 
 
 279, 311, 420 
 
 C 
 
 Campbell, Sir George, quoted, 276; 
 opinion on transfers, 385 ; results 
 of his administration, 388 
 
 Canals, 20, 366 
 
 Cardew, Collector, report on inunda- 
 tion, 329 
 
 Carvalho takes Sandwip, 36 ; his 
 death, 178 
 
 Cases, criminal, 349 
 
 Casperz, Mr, 161 
 
 Castes, distinctions of, 223, 257 
 
 Catholics, Roman, 106 
 
 Cattle disease, 340 
 
 Census, 268, 270, 341 
 
 Chalans, custom of, 213 
 
 Chandals, 247, 257, 2G0, 272 
 
 Chandecan, 29, 174 
 
 Chandradwi]), history of, 70 
 
 financial history of, 82 
 
 l^artition of, 89 
 
 settlement of, 407 
 
 complaint by zamindar, 440 
 
 Chapli, 162, 164 
 
 Charcoal, 162 
 
 Chars, 4 
 
 Chattarji, Ram Dhan, lease to, 116 
 
 Chaukidars, village, 347, 390 ; muni- 
 cipal, 370 
 
 Chittagong, earthqviake at, 14, note 
 
 Fernandez killed at, 33, 446 
 
 Cholera, 328 
 
 Chopa island, 24, 165, 167 
 
 Christians, 106, 260, 276, 382 
 
 Circuit judges, 326 
 
 Civil justice, statistics of, 343, 424 
 
 Climate, 10 
 
 Cocoa-nuts, 286 
 
 Collectors, 320 
 
 Commissioner of Sundarbans, 160, 310
 
 INDEX. 
 
 455 
 
 Comnninications, 362 
 
 Congrcve, Dr, quoted, 395 
 
 Coiistal)les, pay of, 349 
 
 Conti, Nicole, sec Preface 
 
 Conversions to Christianity, few now- 
 adays, 202 
 
 Cornwallis, Lord, his view about 
 Permanent Settlement, 57, 58 
 
 Cotton, 290 
 
 Criminal cases, 349 
 
 Crops, 278, 290 ,' 
 
 Cyclones, 40 / 
 
 D 
 
 Dacca City, 248 
 
 JaMlpur, 52, note, 323, 338, 339, 
 
 422 
 
 Records, 436 
 
 Dacoits, 308, 345, 430, 437, 444 ^ 
 Dakhin Shahbdzpiir, pargana, 135, 
 182 
 
 subdivision, 270, 341, 342 
 
 Daoud, King, 177 
 
 Daspilra, Joar Kasimnagar, 147 
 
 Daulat Khan, 270, 348 
 
 Day, Collector, 53, 310, 320, 398 
 
 Deaths, accidental, 350 
 
 Debaikhali, kos bouts made at, 130 
 
 Decennial Settlement, 397 
 
 Diluviation, 21, 61 
 
 of Baris^l, 371 
 
 Diseases, 12 
 
 Don, definition of, 18 
 
 Douglas, Collector, 52, 53, 64, 320, 
 
 397-421 
 Drinking, 231, 431 
 Drowning, cases of, 350 
 Dudhu Mia, 254, 381 ^,ff 
 
 E 
 
 Earthquake at Chittagong, 14 
 
 Education, 358 
 
 Estates, Government, 181 
 
 large and small, 190, note 
 
 Europeans in Biikarganj, 274 
 
 in Dacca, 440 
 
 Ewart, salt agent, 319 
 Excise, 232 
 Executions, 325 
 
 F 
 
 / 
 
 K^k-) 
 
 ^^» 
 
 VlB-^^ 
 
 Fairs, 244 
 
 Famines, 314, 441 
 
 Faria y Soiisa, 37 
 
 Faridpiir, 237, 277, 281 
 
 Fatlidbiid, 51 
 
 Female education, 359, 301 
 
 Ferazis, 254 
 
 Feringliies, 110 
 
 Fernandez, Francis, 29, 33, 174, 440 
 
 Ferries, 105, 306 
 
 Fish, 293 
 
 Fisheries, 188 
 
 Fishermen, 294 
 
 Fitch, Ralph, 73, 170 ^ 
 
 Floods, 329 1^ :^l) 3,3^ * n 
 
 Fonseca, 29, 32, 175 
 
 Forts, mud, 40, 42, 430 
 
 Frederick, Caisar, 35 
 
 French factories, 441 
 
 Fruits, 290 
 
 G 
 
 Gab-tree, 291 
 
 Gambling, 236 
 
 Ganges, 23, note 
 
 Ganja, 233 
 
 Garrett, Magistrate, 327, 337 
 
 Garuria Chaudharies, 153, 155 
 
 Gastrell, Colonel, 3, 390 
 
 Ghani, Khajah Abdul, 116, 117 
 
 Ghanteshwar, boats and nets made 
 
 at, 298 
 Ghosal family, 119, 120, 438 
 Gibbon quoted, 395 
 Gird-i-Bandar; 94 
 Glanius, his voyage, 172 
 Golabari, 95, 325 
 Golpatta, 288 
 Gomess, Mr, 162 
 Gonzales, 36 
 Gopal Kissen, 97, 98, 100, 154, 40(t, 
 
 440 
 Gouruadi, 21, 249, 364, 365 
 Grant, analysis of finances, 50 
 
 Charles, 442 
 
 Gulston on earthquakes, 14 
 Guns, Barisiil, 13, 108 
 
 r
 
 456 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 H 
 
 IIabibptjR, pargana, 151 
 Hastings, Warren, 52, 311, 329 
 Havili SelimdMd, 123 
 
 tappa, 124 
 
 Ilayat, Mahomed, a dacoit, 310, 327 
 
 Henckell, 145, 379 
 
 Hindus, 183, 257, 274 
 
 Howaladar, 416 
 
 Hunter, Mr, 113, 114, 118,321 
 
 Dr, 441 
 
 Hurricane, 329 
 Hyndman, 310 
 
 I 
 
 IdilpiJr, copperplate found at, 38, 
 173 
 
 pargana, 125, 405 
 
 Idrakpiir, 149 
 
 Imamuddin, zamindar, 132 
 
 Impey, Elijah, 101, 258, note 
 
 Income-tax returns, 215 
 
 India Office Records, 436 
 
 Indigo, 289 
 
 Indrapdsha, 42 
 
 Insects, damage by, 279 
 
 Inundation, 314, 329 
 
 Islands, 3; what constitutes, 181, 
 
 186 
 Ismjiilptir, a name of Bdkla, 50 
 
 Jabar Ula, story of, 447 
 Jaffar Khan, his settlement, 51 
 Jahapiir, pargana, 148 
 Jail, 298, 351 
 
 Jalilpur, pargana, 151, 403 
 Jan, Mirza, 135, 142 
 Jangalhuri taluqs, 101, 416 
 Jarric, Pierre du, 33, 174 
 Jasor or Jessore, 178 
 Jhalukdtti khdl, 20 
 
 bazdr, 121,319 
 
 Jute, 90 
 
 K 
 
 Kacha river, is 
 Kachua, 27, 72, 171 
 police station, 341 
 
 Kachu Rai, 158 
 
 Kadirdljild, tappa, 148 
 
 Kalijiri river, 19 
 
 Kalikapiir, Ratandi, 132 
 
 Kalisuri fair, 245 
 
 Kal Megha, 202 
 
 Kalmi island, 144, 165 
 
 Kaniala, 74 
 
 Kdngdli, 266 
 
 Kani, a measure, 92 
 
 Kanjhi Lai, his fate, 340 
 
 Karamat Ali, 255, 381 
 
 Karimuddin, storj' of, 447 
 
 Karsha tenure, 196 
 
 Kartd Bhojds, 260, 263 
 
 Kartikpur, pargana, 401 
 
 Kasimnagar, 147 
 
 Kassim, Mir, 52, 97, 305 
 
 Kayasts, 258 
 
 Keating, Mr, 308, 311 
 
 Khdls, list of more important, 20 
 
 Khanja Bahadur Nagar, 147 
 
 Khaprahhanga, 104 
 
 Khazanclii, Sarup Chand, case of, 141 
 
 Kiohering, 163, note 
 
 Kissen Dass, 97 
 
 Kistodebptir, pargana, 143 
 
 Koches in Perozpiir, 268 
 
 Kutarhdt, 363 
 
 KtikriMukri, 165, ' 
 
 Lakes, 23 
 
 Lakliiraj tenures, 209 
 
 Lakutia khdl, 20 
 
 Lakutia family, 93, 265, 276 
 
 Land measures, 92 
 
 Land tenures, 190 
 
 Language of district, 450 
 
 Le Blanc, 445 
 
 Lime, 298 
 
 Lodge, Mr, 310 
 
 Long, Rev. J., 306 
 
 M 
 
 Macaulay, Lord, 7, 213, 217 
 Mddaripur subdivision, 276, 342 
 Madder, Indian, 290
 
 INDEX. 
 
 457 
 
 Madhabpdsha, 81, 364 
 
 Magistrates, 327, 337 
 
 Mahomedaiis, 2-lG, 209 
 
 Mahrattas, 124, 437 
 
 Maine, Sir Henry, qnoted, 388, note 
 
 Maizardi, pargana, 151 
 
 Manptira island, 139, 182, 194, 254, 
 
 276, 332 
 Manrique, Sebastian, 445 
 Manufactures, 297 
 Marriages, 236 
 Masjidbari, old mosque at, 39 
 Massie, Collector, 54, 84, 89, 320, 
 
 379, 421 
 Maulik, Dinu Bandliu, 16, 381 
 Meghna, 16, 139 
 Mendiganj, 48 
 Middleton, INIr, 324 
 MiU, J., 308 
 
 J. S., 444 
 
 Minerals, 291 
 
 Mirza Jan, 135, 142 
 
 Missions, 262 
 
 Morrell, Messrs, 116, 161, 188, 243, 
 
 378, note 
 Mozamdar, Kali Prasad, Naib of 
 
 Buzurgumedpiir, 113 
 Mud forts, 40, 42, 430 
 Mugs, 163, 252,^285 
 
 N 
 Nalchira, 131 
 Nalchiti, 154, 283-285, 307 
 Narainganj, 413 
 Narullaplir, pargana, 317, 408 
 Navanua festival, 281 
 Nayabliangni river, 16 
 Nazirpiir, tappa, 130 
 Newspapers, Barisdl, 369 
 Nik^ris, class of Mahomedans, 256, 
 
 295 
 Nolialia river, 18 
 Novennial Settlement, 54, 419 
 
 O 
 
 Opium, 233 
 Others, 268 
 Owsb, 280, 284 
 
 1» 
 Paddy, 282 ; imported into Bukar- 
 
 ganj, 284 
 Page, Mr, 268, note, 378 
 Palardi, 21 
 Piin, 228, 289 
 Panabalia, 124 
 Pdndab river, 17 
 Panioty, Messrs, 87 
 Parganas, 65 
 Partitions — 
 
 Buzurgumedpiir, 98 
 
 Cliandradwip, 89 
 
 Arangpur, 157 
 
 Dakliili Shabbiizpiir, 141 
 
 Selimilbdd, 119 
 
 Sultanabdd, 146 
 
 Difficulty in making, 198 
 Patarhdt, 130 
 Patrol-boats, 346 
 Pattas, 317 
 Patuyaklidli, 215, 248 
 Peasantry, condition of, 221, 222 
 Peat, attorney, 132, note, 134 
 Pellew, Mr, 25, 432 
 People, 211 
 
 Permanent Settlement, 52, 397, 421 
 Phalaghar, case at, 207 
 Pbanri Malwa, what, 100, 440 
 Phuljhuri, 112, 117 
 Pigs, wild, damage done by, 279, 395 
 Pimenta, Nicholas, his letters, 28, 
 
 173, 446 
 Pitambar Sein, 97, 107 
 Police, 345, 348 
 Portuguese, 307 
 Pottahs, 317 
 
 Pratdpaditya, 77, 176, 373 
 Prices, 285, 297, 354, 435, 440 
 Prisoners, number of, 353, 357 
 Productions, 278 
 Prostitutes, 234, 246 
 
 K 
 
 liAHAMATPTfK, 20, 91 
 
 Raikdtti, 121 
 
 Kai, Madhab and Nar Naraiu, 122 
 
 Raj Chandra, 93 
 
 Kam Chamlra, 77
 
 458 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rainfall, 13 
 
 Rajapiir, fort at, 42 
 
 Ilaj Ballab, see Ballab 
 
 liajnagar, pargana, 399 
 
 Ram Havi char, 144 
 
 Ramna-Bamna, 110 
 
 Ramnagar, pargana, 143 
 
 Ramsiddhi, 40, 268 
 
 Ramz;ln, fast of, 237 
 
 Ramzanpur, 252 
 
 Rasulpdr, pargana, 149, 410 
 
 Ratandi Kalikapiir, 132, 335 
 
 Reeds, 228 
 
 Registration, statistics of, 344 
 
 Religion, 382 
 
 Rennel, Major, 42, 163, 363 
 
 Rent, rates of, 301 
 
 Rent-free tenures, 209, 413 
 
 Resumed estates, 187 
 
 Revenue administration, 312 
 
 Rice, 279 
 
 Riots, 237 
 
 Roads, 362, 431 
 
 Rocke, Mr, 161 
 
 Rupashia, fort at, 42 
 
 Rural registrars, 344, 387 
 
 Ryots, 213, 220, 281, 318, 392 
 
 S 
 
 Sabhi Khan, 40, 48, 362 
 Sadok, Mahomed, 44, 438, 439 
 Sale, Rev. J., 262, 278,,,. -uf/' 
 Salt manufacture, 12i, 292,.319, 444 
 Sandwip, 35, 170, 305, 441 
 Sangrdm, 43, note, 430 
 Sati, 22'^37, 394 -b-v^ 
 Sayer dilties, 63, 411 
 Schools, 358, 369, 427 
 Scrafton, Mr, 45 
 
 Sein, Ananda Chandra, report on 
 Manpriia, 180 
 
 Pitambar, 97, 107 
 
 Selimdbiid, 118, 249 
 
 Havili, 123 
 
 Settlements, 50, 397 
 Shahlxizpur, Dakhin, 135 
 
 Uttar, 133 
 
 I transfer of, 341, 342 
 
 Sliahzadpiir, 153 
 Shaistdbdd, 115, 152 
 
 pedigree of family, 159 
 
 Shaistanagar, 153 
 
 Ships, 324 
 
 Sialghuni, mosque at, 40 
 
 Sibpiir, 106, 364 
 
 Sidam Mia, 204 
 
 Silva, Domingo, 109 
 
 Singhkhdli case, 238 
 
 Sitalpati, 288 
 
 Slavery, orders of Calcutta Council 
 
 about, 439 
 Snakes, 350, 395 
 S6ndrk6t, 42 
 
 Spirits, revenue from, 233, note. 
 Srinagar lakhiraj, 81 
 Sripur, 29 
 
 Srirampur, pargana, 147 
 Statistics, vital, 274 
 
 of civil justice, 343 
 
 Storms, 329, 437 
 Sturt, Mr, 339, 380 
 Subdivisions, 342, 347 
 Subinfeudation, 192, 195 
 Sugar-cane, 287 
 
 Sujdbdd, fort at, 40, 41, 317, 430 
 Sultandbiid, pargana, 146 
 Sundarbans, 24, 160, 109, 345, «ofc, 
 
 443 
 Sundarkul, 24, note, 20, 43, 70, 124 
 Sunis, sect of Mahomedans, 254 
 Surveys, 344 
 Sutaluri, 98, 363, 431 
 Swamps, 23, 272, 432 
 Syedptir, pargana, 157, 239 
 
 TAHlJTS, nature of, 63 
 Taki family, 158 
 Taluqs, 63, 150, 151, 417 
 Taluqdars, 55 
 
 kinds of, 415,^^0 
 
 Taylor, Dr, 44 255, note, 384 
 Tenures, land, 190 
 — rent-free, 209 
 
 under, 192 
 
 Thanas, 346, 347
 
 INDEX. 
 
 459 
 
 Thompson, Collector, 98 
 
 Tides, 15 
 
 Tigers, 395 
 
 Til, 290 
 
 Timber, 287 
 
 Titulia river, IG 
 
 Bhasluin, iislicry, 189 
 
 Tobacco, 234, 289 
 Towns, absence of, 2(19, 368 
 Transfers of oHicers, 384, 385 
 Tushkhdli, 157, 188, 205 
 
 U 
 Udai Narain, 79 
 
 Valentyn, 43, note 
 Vansittart, Mr, 303 
 Varthema, 444 
 Villages; nature of, 390 
 
 W 
 
 Wards, Court of, estates under, 189 
 
 Weavers, 319 
 
 Weights and measures, 282 
 
 Wcnger, Dr, 2C3 
 
 Westland, Mr, 62, 249 
 
 Widows, 224, 338 
 
 Wilford, Colonel, 16, note, 35, 393 
 
 Wintle, Mr, 11, 424 
 
 Women, Bengali, 224 
 
 seclusion of, 226, 283 
 
 Woodcutters, 288 
 
 Zamindars, 56, 61, 206, 417, 418, 
 
 420 
 ZiUs, 55, 56, 421 
 Zimba system, 200 
 
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