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BENGAL DISTRICT GAZETTEERS

MYMENSINGH

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BENGAL DISTRICT GAZETTEERS

MYMENSINGH

2_ V o i ' // J

BY

F. A. SACHSE,

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE.

CALCUTTA :

A

BENGAL SECRETARIAT BOOK DEPOT.
1917.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Physical Aspects.

Page.

ArI''A — Population — Orii;in of name — Boni.darios — Natural divisions —
Geological theories about the Madiiupur jui;gle — Scenery — River
system — Date of the change in the course of the Brahmaputra —
Botany — Fruit trees — Fauna — Big game — Game birds — Small
birds — Fish — Temperature and rainfall ... ... ... 1 — 21

CHAPTER II.

History.

Boundaries of the Buddhist kinodoms — First inroads of the Muhara-
rnadans — Isa Khan — Shaista Khan — Tiie Nazims — The Company —
The Sanyasies. Archeology, Garh Jaripa, Atia, Agarasindur,
Durmut, Kishorganj, (Temple of Lakshmi Narayan) ... ... 22 — 33

CHAPTER III.

The people.

Growth of the poi'Itlation — Emigrants — Muhammadan castes and
sects — Saint worship — ITindn castes — Aboriginal trib.'s — Language
— Character of the agrieuhural population ... ... 34 — 43

CHAPTER IV.

Public Health.

Death-rate — Epidemic diseases — Skin diseases — Goitre — \Vater-supp,ly

— Dispensaries ... ... ... ... ... 44 — 47

viii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

Agpicultupe.

Paqk.

Abea rxDER CULTIVATION — Soils — Rice {dman, dus, horo) — Jute —
Winter orops — Vegetables — Miimiriug — liDplemeuts of agriculture
—Cattle — Forests ... ... ... ... 48—57

CHAPTER VI.

Natural Calamities and Irrigation.

Earthquakes — Floods — Tiie irrigation of boro fields ... ... 58 — 60

CHAPTER VII.

Rents, Wages and Prices.

The landlord class — The Middle class: — The Agricultural cla-s — Rate
of rent — Zaniindari manageroe'it — Prices — The material condition
of the ryots — Produce rents — The budgets of typical families ... 61 — 73

CHAPTER VIII.

Occupations and Trades.

TiiK DBCAY OF INDIGO — Oil iniuuf actuFc — Cotton — Weaving — Black-
smitlis — Carpenters and boat building — Potters — Pearl iishing.
Fisheries (profits — instruments — methods). Agricultural labourers
— Bats— MeJas ... ... ... ... ... 74—90

CHAPTER IX.

Communications.

Roads in the 18th century- -Railways — Roads in the Tangail sub.
divieion — Jaraalpur — ISadar — Netrakona — Kishorganj — Ferries —
Rest-houses ... ... ... ... ... 91 — 9g

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X.
Land Revenue.

Paok.

Mughal Skttlkments — English Settlements — Incidence of the Lanii
Revenue — Permanently-settled estates — Temporarily-settled estates
— Government estates — Revenue-free estates — Subordinate tenures
— The Patiladalia jotes— Relations of landlords and tenants — The
Tenancy Act — Local units of land measurements — Early Surveys —
The District Settlement— Colioctorate Records ... ... It'J— 112

CHAPTER XI.

General Administration.

Early changes in jurisdiction — The Garo Hill boundary — Subdivisions
— Thanas — Proposed partitions — Crime — Revenue — Police — Village
police— Jails— The Post Office .. ... ...li:5— 128

CHAPTER XII.

Local Self-Government.

District Board — Local Boards — Municipalities ... ...129 — 136

CHAPTER XIII.

Education.

Indigenous Hindu and Muhammadan Schools — English Schools —

Colleges — Newspapers ... ... ... ...137 — 141

CHAPTER XIV.

Gazetteer.

{In alphabetical order.)

History of the important Parganas — Alapsingh — Atia — Joanshahi
— Kaginari— Khaliajiiri — Mynieiisingh and Jafarshahi — Pukhuria —
Sherpur — Susung — Tappe Ha/.radi. Mymensingh Town and ttie
Subdivisional liead-cjuarters — Other important bazars and villages ...142 — 170

Index ... ... ... -. - ...170-178

GAZETTEER

OF THE

MYMENSINGH DISTRICT.

CHAPTER I.

PHYSICAL ASPECTS.

The district of Mymensingh, the largest district in the General
Presidency of Bengal, lies between 23^ 58' and 25^ 25' north tion.
latitude, and between 89 49' and 91 19' east longitude. Taking
into account both the area, 6,300 square miles, and the popula-
tion, 4,526,422, it may well claim to be the largest district in
India.

The name is derived from the Mymensingh pargana, which, of name,
in the time of Akbar, was in the possession of Momin Shah.
Tradition says that the reason the Company Collectorate took
the name of Mymensingh in preference to that of any of tiie
many other parganas comprised in it was that the'zamindars
of Mymensingh agreed to pay double the revenue of Alapsingh,
if the zillah was called after their pargana. As a matter of fact
the revenue of Mymensingh is double the revenue of Alapsingh,
though the latter pargana is larger in area and certainly not
less valuable. It is prol)able, however, that the choice of name
was accidental, in that Mymensingh was the first of the parga-
nas in the list " Mymensingh Pargana Digar," which were
separated from Dacca under a Collector of their own in 1787.

Mymensingh is bounded by no less than eight districts, the
Garo Hills, Dhubri, Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna, Dacca, Tippera and
Sylhet. On the west the district is bounded by the main
channel of the Brahmaputra, known as the Jamuna. On the
north it is bounded by the Garo Hills, and on the east by
Sylhet and Tippera. For tlie most part the boundary is marked
by small streams, and then towards the south by the Meghna.
Bhairab Bazar, where the old channel of the Bralimaputra
meets the Meghna, is in the extreme south-east corner of the
district. On the south the bountlary is artilicial. From the

/

Bounda-
ries.

Mon

2 MYMENSINGH.

Jamuna it passes along tlie northern limits of the Mauik^'^anj
subdivision of Dacca through the Madhupur Jungle to Kaoraid.
It then runs along the Bunkheroo up to Nayanbazar and from
there along the old Brahmaputra to Bhairab Bazar.
onfigura- The district lies almost in the centre of the Ganges- Brahma-

putra-Meghna delta, which is now said to extend from Cooch
l!ehar and Sylhet in the north to the Sundarbans in the soutli.
At some period in geological history the ocean came up to the
foot of the Himalayas and those smaller ranges, the Garo and
Khasia Hills, which still separate Assam froin Bengal. The
mountain streams derived from their precipitous descent a
force and energy which enabled them to carry away large quan-
tities of rock and at the same time to grind them into fine sand.
The older alluvion of the Bengal delta is based on the rock
materials which the action of the sun and the ice corroded from
the peaks of the Himalayas. Some of this older alluvion
still peeps to the surface in the large tract of hard red soil
stretching from Dacca town to Jamalpur in the Mymensingh
district, which is known as the Madhupur Jungle. Other places
where the older alluvion is found are the Barind area in Raj-
shahi, Bogra, Dinajpur and Rangpur, where the soil is, however,
of a deep yellow rather than a red colour, and in a narrow belt
a few miles west of Comilla. In his lecture before the Asiatic
Society on February 10th, 1910, Mr. LaTouche ascribes the form-
ation of the Madhupur Jungle to the glacial period when it
was the delta of a river entering the sea, which still covered all
parts of Bengal south of Goalundo. Major Hirst is, however, of
opinion that the red soil is more in the nature of a top dressing
and that the eirlier deposits of the glaciers lie far deeper than
any borings have yet reached. The greater portion of Mymen-
singh owes its soil to the alluvial action of the existing rivers,
chiefly the Brahmaputra, which by constantly changing its
channels has deposited its silt over the northern and western
parts of the district. Unlike the earlier hill streams the
Brahmaputra and the Ganges show a scarcely perceptible drop
through long distances, and the silt they can carry is of finer
material than the debris which helped to make the older allu-
vion. The deposits by which the Brahmaputra raises its banks
at the beginning of every fall consist chiefly of the finest silver
sand.

It is hard to understand how a river having gradually
raised its banks to a height greatly exceeding that of the
surrounding country comes to desert that channel and to cut a
completely new course through the lower country to the east

\

Physical aspects. , 3

or west, (a) The phenomenon is partly due to the gradual
silting up of the bed itself and to a natural tendency to take a
shortcut through the long sweeps, which any river maintaining
the same channel for any time in this country inevitably
develops to an incredible extent, (b) Possibly the change
follows exceptional floods when the main body of the river
remains in any flood channel which is lower than its late bed.
Whatever the reason, it is certain that the whole of the Jamal-
pur and Sadar subdivisions are full of old river channels and
that the highest basti sites are the banka or island chars of
rivers which have subsequently wandered away.

The two banks of the old Brahmaputra from the foot of Natural

/-I- Tx-ii , TAi • T .1 ,, , . , , -■ . , divisions.

tne braro Hills to Bhairab provide the highest land m the
district. At the 1897 earthquake sand broke through the
surface in many villages now remote from any considerable
river, showing that the whole of the Dewanganj and Sherpur
thanas at one time lay in the bed of the Brahmaputra. The
whole of the Jamalpur subdivision together with the Sarisa-
bari and Durgapur and Fulpur thanas may be assigned to
this division.

The next division is the Madhupur Jungle. On the whole Madhupur
the limits are well defined and maybe seen at a glance from ""g^-
any district map. There is one outlying portion in the middle
of the Ghatail thana, where 23 thak maps were treated as one
unit at the Revenue Survey and called the Garh Gazali, though
this is the name generally applied to the main area also,
from the tree which is characteristic of this forest. The soil
is a stifi' red clay, rich in iron, but deficient in sand. In some
places this soil is 100 feet deep, and beneath it again there is
sand.

It seems certain that this low level laterite, though lacking
in str.itification, was originally a deltaic formation and that it
has been raised in the course of recent movements of the
earth's crust. Major Hirst is of opinion that the upheaval is
comparatively recent and that it is still going on. His theory
is that there is a compensatory sinkage in a long strii) running
north and south from Jalpaiguri to Goaluudo and correspond-
ing with the present bed of the Jamuna. To the gradual
raising of the Madhupur Jungle he attributes the historical

(a) The process can be studied with great a(lvaiilai,'e wlicii ridiiij^ from Myuicn-
singli to Ramgopalpur.

{b) The Kangsha is a good example. I t goes 12 miles where it might go 3
between Jaria and Deotukaii. The Mogra near Netrakona has the most extraordinary
bend.s.

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4 MYMENSINGH.

f^
changes in the coarse of the Ikfihinaputra and the sliifting of
the Ganges from its old channel the Dhaleswari.

At first sight this theory is inconsisteat with the curious
unevenness of the Jungle which is really hilly in parts.
Possibly the process of raisins' has broken the original level
surface of the delta, and the Bengal climate has exercised
a wearing effect on the less protected portions. In the
outlying portions, especially near Kaoraid, there are no hills,
but the uniform ridges of red soil are interspersed by basins
and serpentine channels of ordinary dark clay which are
called baids. The steep slope between the mounds and the
haid is usually overgrown with scrub jungle. The table-lands
grow crops of mustard and jute for one or two years, but the
soil is really unfertile and the villagers depend mainly on the
haid lands which grow dman rice.

Fossils are very rare in the jungle and give no clue to the
date of its formation. It is extraordinarily hot and unhealthy,
as the trees keep off all air and are not of a kind to give much
shade. The characteristic tree is a bastard sdl{gazdri). There
is a small tract near Gupta Brindaban in which the sal and the
scrub jungle give way to massive trees covered with orchifls
and creepers.

In some of the Sherpur, Haluaghat and Durgapur villages
there are snuUl hillocks and thick jungle, but these are merely
outlying portions of the Garo Hills, not to be considered as part
of any natural division of the Mymensingh district.

The general characteristic of the Mymensingh villages
which lie near the hills is their extreme flatness, ami there
are unusually long unbroken stretches of paddy land. There
are few trees, and the khdls are very narrow, but evtremely
deep down in their beds and difflcalt to cross. Th^ really
jungly villages of Mymensingh apart from the Garh Gazali are
to be found in the centre, not in the north, of the Fulpur and
Durgapur thanas. There is a belt of villages containing huge
bits and large stretches of coarse thatching grass starting from
half-way between Nalitabari and Piyarpur through Sankarpur
to Pagla, which are more likely to harbour big game than any
of the villages north of the Kangsha, Nitai and Someswari
rivers.

In the rest of the district from the comparatively dry
Alapsingh villages in Sadar thana to the water-logged vil-
lages of Astagram and Khaliajuri, where the only crop that
can be grown is boro paddy, big bils are common and the soil
is clay rather than sandy. In the cold weather the soil from

\

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. ' 5

which the mnan paddy has been cut cakes and cracks and the
only good riding is in villages where winter crops are plenti-
ful. The east of the Netrakona and Kishorganj subdivisions
form a division by themselves. Rivers and klidls are innumer-
able, and the water subsides so late and rises so early, that the
lands on their banks, which appear high and dry in the cold
weather, have barely time to grow any crops and are covered
with scrub jungle waist high, though the thick beds of dJnih
grass in-the more open parts give splendid grazing to cattle.
The lower portions never dry up at all, but can be planted with
boro paddy in January and February. There are no trees and
no bamboos. The homesteads, consisting usually of only one
hut each, are cluster^'d close together, so that one mound of
artificially raised earth can accommodate the maximum of
inhabitants. The outlying cowsheds are propped up with
bamboos, 12 or 14 feet long, from the adjoining plain. These
villages are far apart and, seen from a long distance on a cold-
weather morning, have almost the appearance of a mirage. In
the cold weathi-'r the banks of the rivers are dotted here and
there with -the temporary huts of fishermen. In the rains even
the biggest villages like Khaliajuri and Itna consist of two or
three isolated islands with bamboo barriers to protect them
from the waves.

In his Gazetteer of Dacca Mr. Allen takes a very pessimistic scenery,
view of the scenery, describing the country as dull and deso-
late in the extreme. This cannot be said of many parts of
Mymensingh at any season of the year. Except at the plough-
ing season it is one expanse of vivid green up to the horizon,
the whole of which is belted with groups of houses hidden in
clusters of graceful l^amboos and palms. Single trees, which
rival the b3St of the English varieties for shape and the perma-
nence of their foliage, are here and there prominent in the
landscape. In the eastern villages maths, like steeples without
a church, form conspicuous landmarks, and are often the only
means of identifying a distant village. That at Gauhata south
of Nagarpur can be seen from many of the chars in the
Serajganj subdivision. On the bank of any river pretty views
and camping placs are the rule rather than the exception, and
some of the village sites on the deep dahars or dead rivers in
Netrakona and Kishorganj are picturesque in the extreme.

Some of the hils as at Fulkocha and Purbadhala are abso-
lutely clear of weeds and quite resemble an English lake.
In May and June huge water lilies make the shallower bils
a blaze of brilliant scarlet.

/

6 mymensingh.

River The best account of the river system of this part of Bengal.

sy^ cm. J. Y^,^^,^^ seen is in Mr. A. C. Sen's Agricaltural Statistics for
the Dac:;;i district. The Jamuna, nowhere less than 4 miles
wide in the rains, forms tlie western boundary of Mymensingh
and the equally important Meghna encloses it on the east.
They are connected by the old channel of the Brahmaputra
running through the centre of the district in a south-easterly
direction from above Bahadurabad to Bhairab-Bazar. The
Dhaleswari, first an old channel of the Ganges and then of the
Brahmaputra, cuts across the south-western corner of the
district on its way to join tbe Meghna at Narayanganj. The
Dhanu, lower down called the Ghorautra, a fine stream navi-
gable by steamers throughout the year, is a tributary of the
Meghna and flows directly southwards from Sonamganj in
Sylhet through the eastern thanas of Netrakona and Kishor-
ganj. Both these rivers fall and rise with the daily tides, and
even the khdls connected with them a long way inland at
places like Gog Bazar and Badla feel the effect of the neap
tides. At Gaglajuri the Dhanu is joined by the Kangsha,
which, coming from the Garo Hills past Nalitabari as the
Bliogai, is at its best in the Netrakona subdivision at Deotiikon
and Barhatta. After Mahanganj it becomes a narrow winding
khdl with banks little higher than its own lowest level.

The old Brahmaputra's most important offshoot is the
Jinai ; striking off near Jamalpur it rejoins the Jamuna north
of Sarisabari, while another branch flows past Gopalpur.

The Bangsha forms a natural barrier to the Madhupur
Jungle on the Tangail side all the way from Madhupur
to Mirzapur. It is only fordable at two or three places near
Basail.

The most interesting question in connection with the river
system of Mymensingh is when and why the Brahmaputra
changed its main channel. In prehistoric times it is not
improbable that it flowed direct south more or less along its
present main channel. From the beginning of history to the
end of the eighteenth century it flowed past Jamalpur to Mymen-
singh and Agarasindur. The river practically stretched from
Jamalpur to Sherpur, 7 or 8 miles as the crow flies, and the
present Shiri was one with it. As to its course through Dacca
from Agarasindur, there is some uncertainty. Mr. Sen thinks
the old geographers made mistakes and that it did not join the
Meghna at Bhairab Bazar, but struck oft' a mile below Agara-
sindur at Aralia to Lakhipur and then flowed in a south-
westerly direction past Nangalband and Panchamighat to

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 7

Rampal, joining the Meghna not at Kalagachia, but at Rajbari.
The dried-up bed between Aralia and Lakhipur is wrongly
called the Lakshya in the revenue maps. This river branches
off from the Brahmaputra at Lakhipur.

It has usually been assumed that the change in the course
of the main waters of the l!rahmaputra took place suddenly in
1787, the year of the famous flooding of the Tista river. It is,
however, well known that the Tista has always been a wander-
ing river, sometimes joining the Ganges, sometimes being
shifted eastwards by the superior strength of that river and
forced to join the Brahmaputra. It is now proved that the
great Tibetan river Tsangpo joined the Brahmaputra about
1780, and this accession was of more importaiice than the Tista
floods in deciding the I'rahmaputra to try a shorter way to the
sea.

In the middle of the eighteenth century there were at least
three fair-sized streams flowing between the present Rajshahi
and Dacca Divisions, viz., the Daokoba, a branch of the Tista, the
Monash or Konai, and the Salangi. The Loliajang and Elengjani
were also important rivers. In Rennell's time the Brahma-
putra as a first step towards securing a more direct course
to the sea by leaving the Madhupur Jungle to the east
began to send a considerable body of water down the Jinai or
Jabun:i from Jamalpur into the Monash and Salangi. These
rivers gradually coalesced and kept shifting to the west till
they met the Daokoba, which was showing an equally rapid
tendency to cut to the east. The junction of these rivers gave
the Brahmaputra a course worthy of her immense power, and
the rivers to the right and left silted up. In Rennell's Atlas
they much resemble the rivers of Jessore and Hooghly, which
dried up after the hundred-mouthed Ganges had cut her new
channel to join the Meghna at th(i south of the Munshiganj
sulxlivision.

In 1809 Buchanan Hamilton writes that tin' new channel
between Bhowanipur and Dewanganj " was scarcely inferior to
the mighty river, and threatens to sweep away the intermediate
country." By 1830 the old channel had been reduced to its
present insignificance.* It is navigable liy country boats
throughout the year and by launches in the rains, but as low

* Fisher was deputed in 1S30 to report on tlie causes of tlie siltiiisj n]i o( ilie
Brahmaputra. Sir Joseph Hooker writing in ]8,')0 gays that " we weio Burprised to
hear that within the last 20 years the main cliaimel liad sliifted its course westwards,
the eastern channel sifted up so rapidly that the Jamal (Jamuna) eventually beoamc
the principal stream."

B

/

J

8 MYMENSINGH.

as Jamalpur it is fordable throughout the cold weather and for
two or three months just below Mymensingh also.

As early as 1830 there were resumption proceedings for
chars which had formed in the new bed, and inquiries showed
that many of the new formations were on the site of perman-
ently-settled villages which had been washed away by the
changes of the Jamuna and the Daokoba. The process has
gone on ever since, and Buchanan Hamilton's remarks on the
villages of Bengal are especially applicable to this area. He
says that "a change in the site of a village 4 or 5 miles causes
little inconvenience and is considered no more than a usual
casualty, which produces on the people no effect of consequence.
Even the rich never put up buildings of a durable nature."

Geology. The qucstion of geology has been touched upon in connec-

tion with the Madhnpur Jungle. There are no stones and no
rocks in the district. A reference in the Ain-i-Akbari and
traces of smelting operations occasionally found prove that
iron used to be mined from the Madhupur Jungle, but nothing
of the sort goes on now. Kankar is found in small quantities.
The iron and copper used for the local manufacture of agricul-
tural instrumtnits and cooking utensils is all imported.

Botany. In his "Topography of the Dacca District," written in 1840,

Mr. Taylor gave a full account of the vegetable productions of
that district. Mr. Sen's "Monograph on the Agriculture of the
Dacca District " gives a complete list of the medicinal shrubs
with the parts of the plant used and the diseases for which they
are beneficial. The botany of the Mymensingh district has
never attracted the attention of an expert with special qualifica-
tions. From the notes supplied by Babu Iswar Chandra Guha,
a pleader of Jamalpur, who has long made a hobby of the subject
and experimented with new varieties of fruit trees and shrubs
in his own garden, it would appear that what has already been
written about Dacca applies equally well to Mymensingh.

The most striking points of the botanical products of the
district are the extraordinary number of trees of all-round
utility and the semi-wild state in which they grow. There are
a few gardens belonging to Talukdars, where orchards are
fenced in and fruit trees, chiefly plantains and palms, are
planted with some care, but for the most part no trouble is
taken to select and protect seedlings or to increase the number
of profitable and palatable fruit trees which seem to flourish by
accident in or near a few homesteads. It is the same with the
bigger trees which are useful for timber. In the Nator estate
in the Madhupur Jungle the gazdri or bastard sal is jealously

\

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 9

•
guarded and made the source of huge profits. The District
Board has made expensive, but not consistently successful
efforts to grow useful trees at regular intervals along the main
roads. The giant trees, like the banyan, tamarind, pipal, and
aswatha for the most part grow at the corner of fields, on bits
of waste land used for shrines and hdts^ or in the middle of
villages. There is no attempt to plant out nurseries from
which the old trees can be gradually supplemented and replaced
in places where they will not interfere with agriculture.

The chief fruit tr^es of the district are the Mango (Bengali
Am, Latin Mangifera indica). Jack (B. Kdnthcl/, L. Artcocar-
pus I ntegri folia), L'ltchi {B. Lichii, L. Nephelium), Tamarind
(B. Tetal, L. Tamarindiis indica), Peach (B. Saptala, L.
Prunus persica), Guava (B. Sahri-Am, L. Psidium Guyava),
Limes, (B. Lebu, L. Citrus Medica), Pomelo (B. Jambura, L.
Citrus decumana), Plantains (B. Kola, L. Musa sapientum).
Pineapples (B. Andras, L. Atianas sativa), Custard apple (B,
Ata, L. Amma squamosa) Monkey's apple or Bulloch's Heart
(B. Nona, L. Anona reticulata). Bet, (L. Aegle marmelos),
Papya (the name is practically the same in English, Latin and
Bengali) and various kinds of plums which grow practically
wild.

The most important are certainly the plantain and the jack
fruit. Both are among the chief articles of barter at every
bazar, and the latt^jr is so prolific and grows to such an immense
size that it forms a staple article of diet with the poorer people.
Mangoes are always attacked by worms before thej' are ripe,
and no good varieties are grown in the district. They are
chiefly eaten by school children, who call their summer holidays
the Am Kdnthdler Chuti and take full advantage of the
universal custom that fruit blown down by the wind, where-
ever it grows, is the property of the finder.

Peaches and litchis grow so well in a few gardens that it
is strange that every big householder does not fintl space for
them in his compound. The limes, of which tliere are endless
varieties, are usually deficient in juice, but as they are in all
cases practically wild, it is only a question of cultivation. The
oranges which are sold in such quantities in the bazars in the
cold weather come from Sylhet by boat.

Palm trees grow in every basti, the most useful being the
cocoanut {Narikel ; Cocos nucifera) : it flourishes best near the
sea, but there are few villages in the more thickly populated
parts of the district where this refreshing fruit cannot be found
for a touring officer. The shell of the fruit is used for hookah

B 2

10 MYMENSINGH.

<■
bowls and the fibre for mats and coir mattresses and many-
other purposes, and cocoaniit oil is the valuable product of the
kernel. Betelnut (B. Supari, L. Areca catechu) is still more
common than the cocoanut. Its trunk is remarkable for its
extreme slenderness and straightness. Parts of the date palm
(B, Khdjur. L. Phceni x-sylvestris) are used for all possible pur-
poses, but the fruit is hardly edible, and the palm is chiefly
cultivated for the juice which in this district is made -into
sugar, seldom into toddy.

The fan palm (B. Tcdgdch^ L. Bora^9,us JJabeUiformis) is
useful for its fibre and juices rather than its fruit.

In addition to the gazdri and the mango, the chief trees
used for timber are the jdrul, a very hard wood used for
beams, door-frames and other substantial parts of houses, but
chiefly for boat building, a purpose for which it is particularly
suited owing to its water-resisting qualities. The rangi., of a
red colour as its name implies, is another wood used for cheap
boats as well as for furniture. The karai and the ctjugi, easily
workable woods, are used for rafters and the lighter portions of
houses. The jack is used by carpenters for general cabinet
making purposes. II resembles the Jdni in its wet-resisting
qualities, and for this reason these trees are generally chosen
for making posts which have to be imbedded in water. The
roj/ua is used for cheap bedsteads and the chamhal (usually
imported, though it grows in the Madhupur Jungle) is a
favourite for door frames. The s/,s\s^,»o has generally to be
imported, but the trees in the Collector's garden prove that
it grows satisfactorily in Mymensingh. The gab tree bears a
rough fruit, which after crushing and boiling proviiles a tar-
like substance of a deep red colour used commonly for caulking
the seams of boats. The simul or cotton tree is very common,
but it is not used as much as would be expected in view of the
fact that in Assam it is widely used for making tea boxes.

Nearly all English vegetables grow splendidly in the cold
weather, tomatoes and brussels-sprouts going on till quite late
in April. The indigenous vegetables are chiefly melons,
brinjah, marrows, gourds, pumpkins and arums.

A few varieties of flowering shrubs are comnon. The jhdo
or tamarisk, the flrst sign of permanence on all chars, bears a
fine purple blcom in August. The wild rose grows on the
BrShmaputra chars and in the wilds of Khaliajuri, but other-
wise, except in the Madhupur Jungle, flowers, like butterflies
are rare and confined to a few species which do not differ in
diflierent localities. Even in the jungle they compare very

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 1]

unfevonrably with the flowers of an English hedgerow. The
commonest is the heliotrope coloured "jack jungle ", a species
of ageratum. There are flowering trees similar to the lilac and
the laburnum, and the rod blossoms of the si'mwZ and /)Gi/tZs/t
trees make a good substitute for the gold mohur in many open
villages where no other tree grows.

The bamboo and the het are good examples of the complex uses
to which the commonest flora of the district can bo put, but
the palms are equally adaptable from the economic point of view.
In addition to all the plains used mainly for medicinal
purposes doctors extract remedies for the common diseases from
the bark and roots oi: the mango, simiil, tuisi, and other
generally useful trees. The bel, gab and babul trees provide
gum, the seeds of the tamarind yield oil, which is used in paint-
ing idols, and the bark of the guava is used for tanning.
Scent is manufactured from the keora, a plant rather like
the pineapple, which grows in most busti jungle.

Reynolds says that in the middle of the nineteenth century
the chars in the north-west contained as many tigers as Fauna.
any district in India and that rhinoceros had occasionally been
shot. Tigers are still numerous in the Madhupur Jungle and at
the foot of the Garo Hills, but without plenty of elephants they
are difficult to get. It is possible for a keen sportsman to camp
several months in the heart of the jungle, and for kills to
be going on all around him without his getting informa-
tion from the villagers in time to sit up on a tree. Leopards
are occasionally shot in all thanas. Bears come down from the
hills in the jack fruit season, and are also shot ])y native
shikaris in the Madhupur Jungle.

Wild elephants used to work havoc in the northern villages,
but now they seem to confine themselves to wrecking boundary
pillars. Kheddah operations were conducted in 1915 by the
Susang Raj just inside the Graro Hills, and a fine tusker follow-
ed the captured elephants nearly two days and was finally made
captive in the centre of the Durgapur bazar. Three years ago
a proscribed elephant was shot a few miles from the thana.

Wild buft'aloes are not unknown in the grass jungle north of
Kalinakand;i and in the north-west of the Madhupur Jungle.

Sambhor {Rusa arist itelis), barasitigha (Bucerius duvan-
cellii) hog deer {Axis jto^'cinus) and barking deer {Cervulus
vaginalis, are all found, the two former rarely anil the two
latter commonly. The Garos catch sambhor in nets and shoot
other deer from hiding places near their drinking holes. At
Bausan not far from the Mymensingh-Sylhet border there is a

12 MYMENSINGU.

small scrub jungle where hog deer are so numerous that /he
local shikaris and mahouts call it Harinbagan.

The Bahdor or Morkot monkey is common in the Madhupur
Jungle. Hooloocks or gibbons can be heard calling at the foot
of the Garo Hills, but they are rarely seen.

The pig is seldom to be found, and pig-sticking is an impos-
sibility at the foot of the hills. Among the smaller animals
the mongoose and civet cat (bdglulasli) are extraordinarily com-
mon. Hares, as well as foxes and jackals, can generally be put
up on an open cJiar. The black rabbit {Lepus hesijidus) used
to frequent the Madhupur Jungle. Otters are far from rare,
though they want some looking for.

The chief game birds are the red jungle fowl, which can be
Bads. seen feeding in the evenings at the foot of the Garo Hills in

parties of ten or more. They are very numerous round Singer-
1 chala, Jugircopa, Salgrampur and other places in the Madhu-

pur Jungle, though they are very shy. Peacocks live in a regular
colony in Kalidas, a village of the Madhupur Jungle. Quail
occur in small numbers in many scattered parts of the district,
and the blue-breasted quail {Excalfactoria chinensis) and grey
quail {colurmix co?nmunis) are sometimes met with in large
flocks near patches of grass jungle, feeding in the recently cut
paddy fields at the foot of the hills. Other birds, which occur
only or chiefly near the hills, are the swamp partridge or kaya
{Francolinus gularis)^ the black-breasted kdlij, or pheasant
{Durug among Garos and mathura among Bengali shikaris) and
possibly the rare \vood snipe {GaUinago 7iemoricola). The
large egret {Heroclias alba) is a conspicuous inhabitant of the
Durgapur swamps. Among other birds the black-winged kite
(Ela7ius ynelanopterus)^ the swallow strike {Artaynus fuscus)
and the lesser coucal {Centropus Bengalensis) are found here
and probably nowhere else in Mymensiugh.

The Khaliajuri pargana is famous for its duck shooting.
From November till the first warm days of February pintail and
many other kinds abound and the jungle growing close to the edge
of the lagoon-shaped 6i7s, which the larger duck chiefly favour,
makes shooting easy. After March the spot-billed duck (^Ancus
parcilorlnjnca) is the only variety that stays on in any number.
It and the rarer pink-headed duck (Ehodonessa caryophyllacea)
breed in the district, and it seems a strange oversight of the
Wild Birds' Protection Act to deny them the protection which
is given to the cotton and whistling teal.

On the chars of the Jamuna there are all varieties of duck,
including the rare sheldrake (JTadorna cornida), but they are

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 13

miicli harder to approach. The bar-headed goose (Anser indi-
cus) arrives about the first week of November. It is only
towards the end of February when they are preparing to
depart from their favourite cJiars that they occasionally
allow a country boat to bring them within reach of a gun.

The grey goose {A^iser Rubiirostus) is only seen early and
late in the season, suggesting that it only halts en ^lassant.

The water-cock or knirt (Gallicrex cristata) is kept by the
villagers for fighting and is bred in a curious way. The eggs
are taken from the wild birds' nests and put into a cocoanut
shell with somo cotton wool ; this is then bound tightly mouth
downwards over the waist of the finder and the eggs are
hatched by the warmth of his body. Many villages contain
birds thus bred, and ten rupees is the least sum for which
a bird can be bought.

On the Meghna about November large flocks of raffs and
reeves {Machetes Pugnari) arrive ; the males have by then put
off their breeding plumage from which they get their name,
but are conspicuous by their larger size. These birds are
excellent for the table.

The bittern (Boiauras stellaris) is found occasionally
and the crane or koolotig {Qrus cinerea) is also a winter
visitor.

The marsh babbler {Megalurus i^cilustris) \b cd.\ig]ii in the
reeds in a net trap baited with grass-hoppers and sent by the
shikaris to Calcutta, where it presumably appears in the New
Market. Round the fishermen's kholas there is a constant
swarm of kites Brahminy kites, and often fish eagles and
ospreys, and in the rivers close by there are often flocks of the
curious scissor-billed tern {Rhynco23S albicollis). One large gull
(Larus BrunJieicephalus) is found in winter and spring on all
the large rivers.

Of the eight storks found in India all except tlie white
Stork, the marabout and the black stork are to be s^en on the
chars of the Jamuna, the commonest being the adjutant
{B. hargila, L. Leptoptelus dubius), the painted stork (ganghil)
and the white-necked or beef-steak stork {inanikjor). The
jabim (Loh2rJu/ig) and the open bill (L. Onaslonius elegans
B. shamhuk bhatija) as well as the ibises frequent inland bils.
The spoon-bill (L. P/rt^rtZea leucordia, B. chamuch buza) has
been seen near Porabari steamer station. Among the smaller
wading birds the avocet (L. Recur ui rostra avocetta, B. kusya
chaha) is not uncommon. Its peculiar up-turned bill and its
pied plumage, as well as the fact that it is generally considered

14 MYMENSINGH.

a rarity, make it an interesting inhabitant of the c7iars. fts
relation the stilt (HiinriHto2}US charadrius B. Lai tengi) is
commoner and also more suitable for the table. The curlew
(Numenius arquata, B. kancMchora) and the whimbrel are
not common on the Jamuna. The green-shank (Sotanus
glottis) frequents half-hidden pools of water everywhere, but
its unmistakeable note betrays its presence. The little green-
shank (Sotaims stagnatilis), the red-shank (Sotanus calidus)
and the grey plover (Squatarola helvetica) are found occasion-
ally. The Indian lapwing {Sacrograynnus Indicus, B. titi)
is iibiquitous in the big river, and as soon as the August
floods begin to subside the first companies of golden plover
(Charadrius fuluus) settle on the chars and search the newly
deposited mud for food, rising at times in flocks to search
for fresh feeding grounds. At this period they are unusually
tame, like ducks in England after a sudden thaw, and will
almost certainly form part of the first " bag " of the shooting
season. Of smaller birds the little ring plover [Aegialitis
duhia), the spotted sand-piper (Sotanus glavola), the common
and the green 9,2iXl{\-^^\]}QVQ (Sotanus hypolencus and S. ochrojts)
the swallow-like small pratimcole (Glareola lactia) and the
\\ii\Q i!,ii\\i(Tr 1)1 g a mi nut a) civQ all common. Another some-
what uncommon bird which, like the avocet, will probably
be found in greater numbers on the Jamuna than elsewhere,
is the great thick knee or "goggle-eyed" plover (Esacus re-
cur virostr is). Its large size an J. its unmistakeable beak, more
suitable for a crow than a plover, and its eyes, as conspicuous
as the eyes of a painted snipe or woodcock, are all remark-
able, and quite justify the difiiculty which naturalists have
found in classifying it.

Snipe are plentiful, but it is not always easy to find them.
Near Astagram, Dholapara and Madarganj they have been shot
in great numbers at various times. The varieties include fantail,
pintail and jack. The so-called ortolans, strictly the short-toed
lark, feed on ploughed fields in large flocks in April. The other
birds of the district can be studied to most advantage in the
Madhupur Jungle.

1 am indebted for the following notes to Mr. L. R. Fawcus,
l.C.S.

BulbulS. — The two commonest species are Pycnonotus
pygceus, the common Imlbul, and Otocompsa^ jocosa, the
red-whiskered or soldier bulbul. The Assamese l)ulbul
(Ruhigula Jiaviveniris), appeared unexpectedly common in
March and April. It generally associates in pairs and is often

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 15

found on mango and other large trees in blossom, hunting for
insects. The gold-fronted green bulbul, {Phyllornis aurifro/ts)
is fairly common. It is shyer and more arboreal in its habits
than other bulbuls. The white-winged iora ([f)ra typhia)
also occurs, chiefly in scrub jungle.

Orioles. — The only oriole I found in the jungle is {Oriohis
meliDioc'pluilii^')^ the Bengal black-headed oriole.

LeiOtriChinae. — An unexpected discovery was Zosterops
palpehro^us^ the white-eyed tit. This bird is stated by Jerdon
not to occur at all in Lower Bengal. The flock from which I
got specimens was associating with another Himalayan bird,
the red honeysucker, on a large flowering tree in deep jungle.
Tlie tits were hunting for insects.

ParuS CinerauS. — The Indi-an grey tit should occur in the
jungle as I have seen it twice in other parts of Mymensingh in
the cold weather.

The TimalinSB. — Two somewhat rare birds of this family
occur ill the Madhupur Jungle, one being Tricliastonri Abbotti,
the brown-backed tit babbler, which I found fairly common in
one locality in March, It goes about in small flocks, flying short
distances at a time much after the manner of the seven sisters.
It is not such a noisy l)ird. I also found Mixornis rubicapil-
lus, the yellow-breasted wren babbler, in small flocks hunting
among the upper branches of mango trees. The common
babbler or seven sisters (Mafacocircus terriculu7') is common
everywhere.

Of the Sylviadce the tailor bird {OrtJiotonius longicauda)
and the greenish tree warbler, {PhyUoscopus viridanus) are
common. Of the Corvidae the Indidincorb j (Corv us cul mi na-
tus) and the Indian crow (Corinis splendejis), and the Indian
magpie {Dendrocitta riifa) are all common. Of the mynas
Acridotheres tristis and A. fuscus are the two common
varieties. The pied starling {Sturnopastor contra) is also
very common: rarer kinds are the bank myna(A. ginginianiis)
and the grey-headed myna (Temenuchus Malabar icus). Thi?
bird associates in small flocks of seven or eight and is far more
arboreal in its habits than the other mynaa.

Laniadae. — The commonest shrikes of the jungle are
the black-headed shrike {Lanius nigriceps) and the grey-
backed shrike {Lanius tephronotus). l^eplirudornis Pundi-
ceriana, the wood shrike, is also fairly common. The Uirge
cuckoo shrike {Graucu'us Macei), is a striking inhabitant of
the open parts of the jungle. It goes about usually in pairs
and has a striking call-note.

16 MYMENSINGH.

Volvocivora melaschistos, the dark-grey cuckoo shrikef is
found more rarely. It is a solitary bird, and has the habit of
haunting the same trees in the jungle day after day. Unlike
the large cuckoo shrike, it does not seem to descend to the
ground. The small minivet (Pericrocotiis peregrinus) has
striking colouring, and is one of the few birds which is often
to be found among the somewhat sparse foliage of the gazdri
tree. Its Bengali name Satsati kapi means " beloved of seven
damsels," and is said to be given to it not for its beauty, but
because one male bird usually associates with six or seven
females.

Among the Drongos Dicrurus mao'ocercus, the common
king crow, and Chaptia cenea, the bronzed drongo, are the
commonest. I have twice seen the splendid Edolius Fara-
disens or large racket-tailed drongo.

PhaeniCOphainae. — The koel (Eudynatnis honoratus) is
common throughout the jungle. The large green-billed ynalkoha
{Ehopodytes tristis) is conspicuous for its large size and long
tail. It keeps to thick jungle, but is not particularly shy ;
it has a curious habit, when suspicious of observation, of
remaining motionless with its head averted from the spectator,
thus, by accident or design, effectually concealing its vivid
green l)eak and conspicuous red orbital skin. It feeds on
beetles and grasshoppers. Centrojnts Sinensis, the common
coucal or crow pheasant, is extremely common. I have seen
(G. Bengalensis), the lesser coucal, in Durgapur, bnt not in
the jungle.

Cuculidae. — I have once clearly heard the English cuckoo
(Guculus canorus) in March in the jungle. 0. micropterus,
the Indian cuckoo, whose note is represented by the words
" Make more pekoe " is common, as is also the brainfever bird
or hawk cuckoo {Hierococcyx varius). Other cuckoos found
are the plaintive cuckoo (Ccicumantis Passerinus) and the
rufous-bellied cuckoo {Gacomantis Merulinus).

MuSCicapidae. — Stop:irola Jlelanops (blue canary) is fairly
common in thick jungle. It appears to keep chiefly to high
trees. Calicicapa Ceylonesis — (grey-headed flycatcher) is the
commonest flycatcher in the Madhupur jungle. In habits it
resembles our English flycatcher, sitting at no great height
from the ground and making frequent sallies to catch its insect
prey. Hypothymis azurea — (black-naped flycatcher) is only
locally distributed. I did not see it at all in February, but in
March it appeared commonly in places I had searched thorough-
ly a month earlier. On the wing the shining blue of this bird is

PHYSICx\L ASPECTS. 17

strangely inconspicuous. The white-throated fantail (Khipi-
dura alhicollis) is a common bird in the jungh^. It differs
from any other flycatcher I have seen in its habit of keeping
very low down and flitting from bush to bush more in the
fashion of the Tiirdidce. In habits it is distinctly unlike a
flycatcher, though its structure makes it difficult to place
elsewhere.

Nectarinidae. — Mymensingh district has proved to be unex-
pectedly rich in these small birds.

The Chalcoparia Phosnicotis (ruby cheek) diffors from all'
Nedarinidce by the absence of serrations in the mandibles. It
is not uncommon in the jungle, and though it keeps to some-
what lower vegetation than the sun -birds and flower-peckers,
I certainly did not see it go about in the under-growth and in
parties of five to ten as Davison describes. I observed it in
March and have no reason to believe from the results of
dissection that it was breeding at this time.

Aethopyga Seherim^ for which Jerdon's name of red honey-
sucker is more appropriate than Blanford's yellow-backed
honeysucker, is unexpectedly common. It searches for insects
at the tops of high trees in blossom, occasionally descending
lower for a few moments. An immature male shot on March
10th had no lengthened tail feathers, while the red and violet
hues were only just beginning to appear. This is not a winter
plumage, as I saw males in full plumage on the same day and
at the same place. The female is greenish-olive with a few
red markings on the back.

The common sun-bird of the jungle, Arachnechthra Asia-
tica, is comparatively tame and can be found almost everywhere.
Another sun-bird, A. Zeylonica, I have seen several times. Its
yellow breast is conspicuous, and as it was near enough to
distinguish with glasses the curved bill and short tail, I do not
think there can be any doubt as to its identity.

Dicaeum Cruentatum. I obtained this bird at Kendua
and saw it at Hossenpur, but never to my knowledge in
the Madhupur jungle. It certainly should appear there. D.
Erythrorliynthus, Tickell's flower-pecker, is common. I
found a nest in March, dome-shaped with an opening in
the side and lined with silky fibres, pendant to a branch
of a small shrub about 6 feet high. Three eggs were in
it : as they were hard set, this is probably the full number
laid.

Turdidae, Pratincola Maura, the Indian bush chat, is
found commonly on the outskirts of the jungle.

18 MYMENSINGH.

PratincoJa leucura, the white-tailed bash chat, is described
by Blanford as a Mymensingh bird, and hence in all probabi-
lity occurs. I never found it. Ruiicilla ru/iventris, Indian
Redstart, is common. It appears to be especially fond of
frequenting the pile^ of gazari timber, which are collecte I for
sale in various parts of the jungle. Calliope Camtschdthensis,
the Ruby Throat, is uncommon. I found it only once at
Kakrajan. Cojjsi/cJtus SatiJaris, the common Magpie-Robin
or daijal is ubiquitous. Cittoclncla Macrura, the Shama : in
all retired parts of the jungle and above all in the neighbour-
hood of the old half-silted tanks this splendid songster is foand.
It is not as shy as it is reputed to be, and will allow one to
stand within a few yards of it listening: to its song. Geoj^chla
cUrina, Orange-breasted Ground Thrash. This Himalayan
bird is fairly common in winter in the jungle. Like the
Shama, it haunts the old disused tanks and drying khdl
beds, hunting among the leaves for ins.^cts. Those I have
dissected appear to feed mainly on beetles. Petrophila Soli-
taria, the Eastern blue rock thrush is uncommon. Oreo-
chicla Daunia, Small-billed mountain Thrush. I obtained
a specimen of this Himalayan bird in February close
to Sulgrampur. It was feeding among dead leaves and
went away with a very direct flight almost like a game
bird.

Of the Fringillidce, Ploceus Baya, the baya or weaver
bird is very common. Munia AU^icapiUa^ the chestnut-
bellied munia, is the rarest of the three munias found in
the jungle. I only saw a flock on one occasion late in
March. Uroloncha Ptmctulata, the spotted munia is com-
mon. Sporceginthus Amanbava, the red wax-bill is also
common, but appears to keep more to the outskirts of the
jungle.

Wagtails, Pipits and Larks are not jungle birds in general.
Anthus Maculatus (Indian tree pipit) is, however, commonly
found even in deep jungle in small flocks.

Picidae — Gedrrus stri(Aatus—^m.2L\\ green wood-pecker is
locally distributed, but not rare.

Dendrocopms Macei, Indian spotted wood-pecker, is rare.
Micropternus PJueoceps, Rufous woodpecker, is common.
Brachyptermis Aurantivi^, Golden-backed wool-pecker, is
found everywhere.

lyngipiCUS — (Pigmy wood pecker). — The only .specimen of
this genus which I shot is an intermediate form between /.
Hardwickii and /. Canicapillus.

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 19

Capitonidae. — Thereiceryx Zeylonicus, the common barbet,
and Zantholoenia Hcematocepliala, the coppersmith, are very
common.

Coracias Affinis, the Roller (blue-jay) is common every-
where.

Merops Viridis, common Bee-eater, is also ubiquitous, il/ero^w
Philij^pintiK, blue-tailed Bee-eater, is found occasionally, but is
much rarer and shyer.

Alcedininae. — Ceryle varia, (pied king-fisher), and Alcedo
Ispida (common king-fisher), are found wherever there is
water.

Halcyon Sinyrnensis, White-breasted king-fisher, is found
often far away from waier in dense and dry jangle.

Pelargopsis Guria', Brown-headed king-fisher, is fairly
common.

BucerOtidae. — l have seen a pair of horiibills twice, but
cannot identify them with certainty. Their plumage was
black and white and beaks and casque yellow.

Upupa Indica, Indian hoopoe, is quite common, as is
Tachornu Batassiensis, the palm swift.

Capriryiulffus Macrurus, Horsfield's nightjar, and Capri-
miilyus Monticolus, Frauklin's nightjar, are the common night-
jars of the jungle.

Of the Parrots, Palceornis Torqiiatns, Rose-ringed paroquet,
is very common, PaJce:)nu's liosa, Eastern blossom-headed
paroquet, is less common.

Of the Owls Kctiipa Zeyloncnsis, Brown fish owl, is the
commonet^t. Athena Bravia, spotted owlet, is found.

ACCipitreSv — I'andion Ilaliwtu:^^ the ospr^y, is common on
the hils on the outskirts of the jungle.

Of the Vultures, Otogyps Calvus, the " King vulture,"
Pseudogyjis BeiigaJensis, common vulture, aro common. Gyjjs
Indicus, the long-billed vulture is found more rarely.

Ictincetus Malayc.nsis, the black eagle, is to be seen at
times soaring over th' jungle. The commonest of the eagles
are Spizcetus Limnwtus, the changeable hawk eagle ; Circa'tus
Gallicus, common serpent eagle ; SpilorniH CheeUi^ crested
serpent eagle; Ilalicetus Leucoryphui^^ Pallas fishing eagle;
Poliocetus Ictliywtus, grey-headed fishing eagle. I have seen
Pernis Christntus, the l.onoy ])uzzard, once or twice, but it is
not common. The common kite, the Brahminy kite, the
shikra (Astur Badius), the Kestrel {IHnunciUas Alauddrius)
are all common and the red-headed merlin or turumti
{Aesalon Chicquera) is also found.

20 MYMENSINGH.

t;

Columbidae. — Two green pigeons, Crocopus Phosnicopteriis,
the Bengal green pigeon and Treron Bicincta, the orange-
breasted green pigeon are not confined to the jungle. The
former is very common and associates in large flocks except
at breeding time. I found its nest in April with two eggs in
a small tree not more than 5 feet from the ground. The
latter is rarer, and does not associate in large flocks, nor is it
found in the drier parts of the jungle. It prefers the
neighbourhood of water. I did not find any imperial pigeons
but Koch shikaris know the birds as pogoma, a name used
for them also in Chittagong and Assam. The shikaris said
that these birds used to be common, but are now only to be
found in the neighbourhood of Mullickbari on the east of
the jungle. Presumably the birds referred to are Diicula
Aenea, the green imperial pigeon.

The emerald dove, Galcophaps Indica, is a beautiful resident
of the deeper parts. As the cold weather draws to an end and
water becomes scarcer these shy birds seem to get tamer, and
on a dry March evening I have seen as many as a dozen come
down to drink at an old tank in the middle of the jungle.
The Indian blue rock pigeon (Columha Intet'media) is common
here as everywhere, and among doves the rufous turtle dove
(Turtur Orientalis), the spotted dove (T. Stiratensis), the
Indian ring dove {T. Risurius ) and the red turtle dove (Oeno-
peplia Tranquebarica), are all found.
Snakes. The cobra (gokhiir) is fortunately somewhat rare in Mymen-

singh. The commonest poisonous snake is the banded krait
easily distinguished by its broad black and yellow bands.
The krait is also found and is usually spoken of as the dhomun.
This snake is difficult to identify, as it is susceptible to much
variation of colour and resembles a harmless snake {Lycodon
Aulicus). A poisonous water snake Ilydroptus Nigrocunctus,
distinguishable by its flat tail, is reported to be common in the
Meghna, where it is at times captured in the fishermen's nets.
Its colour is greenish olive encircled by about 50 black rings.
Pythons have been killed in Mymensingh town. Lizards and
guisaps of all sizes inhabit patches of jungle even in the towns.
Crocodiles occasionally appear in the Brahmaputra, and they
are common in the Jinjiram and some of the tributaries of the
Meghna.
Fish. Fisheries are dealt with in the chapter on occupations.

Most of the rivers and bils swarm with fish, and as soon as
a drop of rain has fallen fishing also goes on in every paddy
field and ditch. Taylor devotes several pages to a description

PHYSICAL ASPECTS. 21

•
of the fish of Dacca, and it would be waste of spSce to give a
list of the fishes found. All information can be had in Mr.
K. C. De's report of 1910. The fish most favoured for eatinj?
are the 7'ohit, katal, mirka and haus^ all Cyprindce which grow
to a large size in big rivers — one maund is said to be the record
for one fish — the sing, boal and gaura among the Siliiridce,
the chital {Mijstus Chitala) and the Phyasa or Indian herring.
Mullets are to be found in shoals near the banks of the shallow
khclls of Khaliajuri. They swim on the surface like frogs.
Uilsa are chiefly imported, being caught in the Meghna and
Jamuna below the confines of this district. The mdhseer, which
resembles the salmon, is caught in the Someswari and occa-
sionally in the Jamuna, where it commands a very heavy price
with the natives. Prawns, (chingri) sometimes reaching a very
large size, come to Mymensingh in great numbers by train.

The temperature continues uniform from the middle of Climate.
February to October, the average maximum falling from 91°
in April to 86° in October. The highest average minimum
temperature is 78° in July, August and September, and the
mean temperature is almost constant at 82 . In 1874 it was
83"66. The average minimum temperatare falls to 53 ' in
January and the mean temperature to 64°.

The monsoon rainfall begins in June, but there are often as
many wet days in April and May as in either July or August.
Owing to the ascensional motion of the monsoon current
caused by the Garo Hills the rainfall is heavier than in other
inland districts of Bengal.

The total fall is usually between 85 and 100 inches, but
134 inches were recorded in 1865, and 57 only in 1883. The
rainfall is very unevenly distributed between the months in
different years, e.g.^ in 1912 the heaviest was 26*38 in June,
24*19 in August and 17*97 in April. In 1914 September was
the wettest month, May the next, and June and July only gave
5*91 and 9*65 inches respectively. In 1913 June again had, the
heaviest rainfall, April and March having less than 2 inches
each. October varies from 9*28 to 4*42 and November may
have 5*74 as in 1912, or nothing at all.

Owing to the constant rain and the high winds it is not
unusual to have cooler weather in April and May than in
February and March. The nights seldom 'get hot before the
end of May, and in the autumn months there is n^'arly always
a cool breeze from the east or south-east. In spite of the
high degree of humidity Mymensingh is much cooler than any
of the districts of the Rajshahi Division.

22 MYMENSINGH.

CHAPTER II.

HISTORY.

Some account of tlie changes which resulted in Mymensingh
becomhig a separate district in 1786 will be found in the
- Chapter on General Administration. Until that date the history
of Mymensingh is the history of Dacca. In this Gazetteer
therefore only a brief skeleton of the earlier history of Eastern
Bengal will be given, so as to keep all available space for the
history of parganas. Mymensingh was never the s;?at of any
line of princes, and the only places within its boundaries that
are at all prominent in the ancient recoi'ds are Agarasindur
and Sherpur.

The first Aryan settlers in Bengal confined themselves to
the valley of the Ganges. At the time of the Jlahahhcirata
Mymensingh formed part of Pragjyotish, which 3,000 years
later in Buddhist times was known as Kamriip. 'J'he western
boundary of Kamrup w^as the Karatoya, a river which still
runs out of Nepal parallel to the Atrai through Rangpur an 1
Pabna ; so the present bed of the Jamnna and considerable
strips of the Rajsiiahi division districts as well as the northern
parganas of Mymensingh must have been included in Kamrup.

The difficulty is with the southern limits. According to fclie
Jogini Tantra, as also Abul Fazal, the author of the Ain
Akbdri, the confluence of the Brahmaputra and the Lakshya
rivers was the southern boundary of Kamrup, and Gladwin
puts this down as near the Ekdala shown in Rennell's map on
the bank of the Banar river. This view is consistent with those
authorities who include all parts of Mymensingh south of the
old Brahmaputra in the kingdom of Varendra or North Bengal,
which adjoined Kamrup on the west. Fergusson, for example,
says that the Pala kings, with Gaur in Malda as their capital,
were ruling east of the Karatoya long after Bengal had been
subdued by the Sens. Gait also in his History of Assam speaks
of the whole of the country between these rivers as the Matsya
Desh,* which may or may not have been an outlying part of

* Matsya Deah, accordmg bo the Mahabharata, is a place south of Indraprastha or
Delhi. Vide map, Royal Asiatic Society .

HISTORY. 23

Vaj^ndra, but was certainly not part of Kamrup. Dr. Taylor
and others think that the D hales wari, which was the oldest
channel of the Ganges, and the Buriganga on which Dacca lies
were the boundary, and in that case the whole of Tangail and
the Madhupur Jungle were included in Kamrup. This view
would leave little room for Banga, the kingdom of the Sens
which lay between Yarendra and the Meghna. If in 650 A.D.
the kingdom of Samatata comprised Tippera, Banga may have
consisted of Faridpur, Bikrampur and the Sundarbans.

The earliest information about these kingdoms comes from
the accounts of Thibetan and Chinese travellers in the Gth and
7th century after Christ. In their day Myraensingh was more
Buddhist than Hindu. The old ruins, chiefly tanks in the
Madhupur Jungle, are possibly of the eighth century and they
are associated with the name of Bhaga Datta, who has some-
times been confused with the famous Kamrup King of that
name. Kamrup was in its prime about 800 A.D. It ceased to
be able to defend its outlying territories, and the Pala kings of
Pandu3 became the chief champions of Buddhism against the
encroachments of the Hindu princes who had established
themselves in various capitals in the Ganges valley. In the
first quarter of the twelfth century the Pala Raja of Gaur found
a new rival in Vijaya Sen, who had made himself a capital in
Bengal. Vijaya Sen won a pitched battle, and his son Ballal Sen
set himself to consolidate the new kingdom. He was the
founder of Kulinism, and there is evidence that he gave lands
in Jamurki and Bhadra, two Tangail villages, to some of the
Brahmans, whom it was his policy to settle as widely as
possible throughout his dominions. The fact that Kulinism is
much stronger in the west of tlie district than in the east goes
to show that the parganas north and east of the Brahmaputra
were still under the influence of Kamrup and its outlying Koch
Chieftains. There is an old \n-OYeTh '■'■ Paschinie BalUlli Purhe
Masnad Ali,^' which is still quoted against inhabitants of these
parganas who boast of their family prestige.

The first Muhammadan inroads into Eastern Bengal were
the work of independent bands with no authority from the
Court of Delhi. There is a tradition that the very first
Muhammadan settlement in Mymensingli was at Madanpnr
near Netrokona, where their leader, a saint called Shah Sultan,
lies l)uried. The inscription on his tomb has not been deci-
phered. His descendants are still called Khudem Fakirs. The
tomb of Pir Shah Jamal is at Kagmari and that of a flimilar
leader called Paba Adam Kashmiri is at Atia. The first

C

24 MYMENSINGH.

emperor of Delhi who sent an army to Bengal was Kutabuddin,
about 1212. In 1282 Bulban himself took an army down the
Brahmaputra as far as Sonargaon. In 1299 we find Bahadur
Khan appointed Governor of Eastern Bengal. He declared
himself independent in 1324, but the next emperor, Ghiasuddln
Tughlak, defeated him and appointed Tatar Khan in his place.

In 1338 the armour-bearer Fakruddin declared himself king
in place of his deceased master Bikram Khan, the Governor of
Sonargaon. His successor was Ilyas, and after him his son
Sikandar. Both reigns are chiefly noted for invasions by the
Delhi emperors in person and the sieges of the famous fort
Ekdala on the banks of the Banar river, where the Sonargaon
Governors fled for refuge. A Hindu king, Raja Kans, then
supervened. He is said to have oppressed Islam, but his son
Jalaluddin embraced the Muhammadan faith.

Husain Shah reigned from 1494-1524, and was strong
enough to make expeditions to Assam and to conquer a border
kingdom of Kamrup, the " Aso " of old maps. It had lands on
both banks of the Brahmaputra from Karaibari to Gauhati ;
full accounts of these expeditions by a contemporary Persian
writer are to be found in the Journals of the Asiatic Society.

Husain Shah was succeeded by his son Nasrat Shah, and
Nasrat by Firoz. Mahmiid the next king was decisively beaten
by Sher Shah, who in 1539 defeated Humayun and ascended
the throne of Delhi. To consolidate his conquest, this emperor,
the first of the Afghans, is said to have made a trunk road
from Sonargaon to Upper India complete with stage bungalows
and wells. After dividing Bengal into provinces he left Kazi
Fazilat as his Viceroy or Amir over all three provinces, Bihar,
Orissa and Bengal. From 1553-1573 Bengal again became
independent under Pathan rulers, but after the reign of Akbar
all attempts at independence ceased. In 1579 the office of
Dewan or finance minister was created to relieve the Viceroy,
henceforth usually styled the Nazim, of part of his respon-
sibilities, and until the time of Murshid Kuli Khan these
officials were both nominated by the Emperor and acted as a
mutual check on each other'o ambitions. In 1582 came the
settlement of Todar Mai by which Bengal was divided into
19 sarkars. Most of the parganas of Mymensingh fell within
the sarkar of Hazuha, which was assessed at 10 elephants,
1,700 cavalry, 45,300 infantry and 9,87,921 rupees. It included
also many of the parganas of Rajshahi, Dacca, Bogra and Pabna.

It was at this time that Isa Khan of Khijirpur, one mile
from Narayanganj, being defeated by the Emperor fled to

HISTORY. 25

KiShorganj and, besieging a Koch Chieftain Lakhan in Jangal-
bari, established himself there. He fought a famous battle
with Man Singh, the Emperor's general, and eventually won
the favour of the Emperor and was given the 22 parganas
as his reward. His family still survives in reduced circum-
stances at Jangaibari and Haibatnagar. Isa Khan was the
greatest of the 12 Bhuyas,* who took advantage of the
weakness of the Imperial authority and the unruliness of the
Afghan bands to carve out for themsslves independent prin-
cipalities in Bengal. Bhuya is the same word as Bhumik, and
we have Shore's authority for saying that Bhumik and
zamindar are the same. The title, being Hindu, may have
come originally from the Gaur princes. The only other Bhuya
who had any connection with Mymensingh was the first owner
of the Bhawal estate, whose headquarters were at Baligaon in
the south of the Madhupur jungle.

In 1608 Islam Khan w^as made Viceroy and transferred the
s^at of Government from Rajmahal to Dacca. His general,
Shuja Khan, won some signal victories against the Afghan
prince of Orissa, who tried to invade Bengal in IGll. In his
reign the festival of the Janraastami was inaugurated in
honour of the goddess Lakshmi and the god Narayan, for
whose idols, brought from Durgapur, a new temple was built at
Dacca in 1613.

Kasim Khan his brother, the next Viceroy, failed to do
anything against the Portuguese under Gonzales, who estab-
lished himself in the island Sandwip. He was succeeded by
Ibrahim Khan, who was slain in a battle with Sh h Jalian.
The latter, after an unsuccessful revolt against his father the
Emperor Jahangir, established himself in Orissa and then,
advancing northwards, made himself master of Burdwan and
of Dacca, where the accumulated Government treasure v^as at
this time 40 lakhs of rupees.

Shah Jahan was ruler of Bengal for two years. After his
defeat by the imperial armies, Dacca remained un<lrr some in-
significant viceroys till Shah Jahan, himself becoming emperor
on the death of Jahangir, appointed one Kasim Khan Jobuny
in 1628. In the next viceroyalty of Azim Khan tlu' English
obtained their first farman dated 2nd February IGHi allowing
them to trade in Bengal. Islam Khan Mushedi captured
Chittagong and also engaged in a successful campaign in Assam,
twice defeating Baldeo, the rebel prince of Koch Hajong.

* Wise— Bara Bhuyas of E. B., J. A. 8. B., 1874, Vol. 40.

C 2

26 MYMENSINGH.

Sultan Shah Shuja succeeded him and again transferred' the
seat of government to Rajmahal. He was drowned in Arracan,
where he liad fled for refuge after an unsuccessful revolt
against Aurangzeb. During his time the British, largely
through the good offices of Surgeon Broughton, who had made
himself usefal to the imperial family, gained largely increased
facilities for trade. Mir Jamla, the successful general of
Aurangzeb, established his headquarters at Dacca as viceroy,
conquered Cooch Behar and then engaged in a great campaign
against Assam. He was popular as well as able, and his death
in 1G63 was regretted by all factions.

Shaista Khan was Nawab or viceroy for two separata periods
(1664-1677 and 1679-1689). During this period Dacca reached
its prime. Owing tcf the system of export duties all provisions
were very cheap and the western gate was closed to commemo-
rate the fact that rice fell to the record price of 640 lbs. to the
rupee, and the people were so prosperous that labour was diffi-
cult to hire. He abolished monopolies, and in the lands of his
own jaigir ordered the refund to ryots of all moneys paid in
excess of the fixed revenue. Shaista Khan was engaged in
several conflicts with the Company's fleet which attacked
Chittagong, but in spite of the bad reputation he incurred with
the Company's servants, trade made great progress and his suc-
cessor, Nawab Ibrahim Khan, found it politic to allow the
Company to reoccupy all their factories. The revolt of Subha
Singh, a zamindar of Burdwan, and the failure of the viceroy
to prevent the disturbance spreading, was the excuse under
which the Dutch strongly fortified Chinsura, the French
Chandernagore and the English Calcutta. When the Emperor
heard of the revolt he appointed his grandson Prince Azim-
us-shan to the united Governments of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa,
and in the m(=antime sent the Nawab's son Zabardast Khan
against the rebels. The rebellion came to an end with the
<leath of Rahim Shah, who headed the rebels after the death
of Subha Singh in 169.S, bat Azim was not a strong man
and soon became jealous of the power of Murshid Kuli
Khan, whom Aurangzeb himself had appointed as Dewan in
Dacca. An ineffectual attempt was made to assassinate
Murshid Kuli, who sent a report to the Emperor and then
moved his residence to Murshidabad. The Emperor severely
reprimanded his grandson and made him move his head-
quarters to Bhiar ; his second son Farrukh Siyar, under the
superintendence of Sher Balund Khan, was left as Deputy
Nazim in Dacca.

HISTORY. 27

*In spite of several changes of emperors, some of whom he
had personally injured, Murshid Kuli Klian was successful in
keeping his appointment as Dewan and subsequently as
Viceroy of the three provinces until his death in 1724. He was
a splendid financier, and under his administration the province
of Bengal, while still maintaining its own standing army,
became a source of profit to the Delhi exchequer. After
the death of Murshid Kuli Khan the post of Nazim or Nawab,
as the Viceroy of Bengal was now generally called, tended to
become hereditary, and he appointed the Dewan and Naib or
Deputy Dewans, Murshid Kuli was succeeded by his soa-in-law
Shujauddin Khan, who had hitherto been Deputy Dewan in
Orissa. He had a strong council, including Alivardi Khan and
Jaswant Rai, and the province enjoyed such prosperity that
the price of rice again fell to 640 lbs. per rupee and the west-
ern gate closed by Shaista Khan was reopened. Shuja how-
ever, as he grew old, left affairs to his less capable son Sarfaraz
Khan and a greedy batch of ministers. Their quarrels ended
in a revolt by Alivardi Khan, who killed Sarfaraz Khan in
battle. The new Governor's best years were taken up with
campaigns against the Mahrattas, who between 1741 and
1754 continually invaded Orissa and Bengal. His grandson
and successor, Sirajuddaula, hated the English, but was neither
brave enough nor clever enough to press the quarrel to a
successful issue. His capture of Calcutta in 1756 and the
murder of the European residents in the Black Hole were
avenged by the battle of PI assy in the next year.

After the death of Sirajuddaula the resulting anarchy led
to the English Company making themselves responsible in 1765
for the revenues and civil administration of Beng.il. Maha-
mad Reza Khan was the Deputy Dewan under the Company
in Marshidabad, and at their instigation Jasarat Khan was
appointed Naib Nazim in Dacca. A member of Council wai^
sent to Daeca under the title of Chief, and, as in the days of
Murshid Kali Khan, before he was formally appointed Viceroy,
the Dewan was the de facto Nazim. In theory the Company
still held the districts specially ceded to them as zamindars on
payment of revenue to the Nazim, and in the rest of the country
they carried on tiirough native agencies the tratlitional func-
tions of the Dewan. In 1769 a Superintendent of Revenue
was appointeil, and in 1774 Middleton replaced Rez.i Khan as
Deputy Dewan. Though 1779 was the date of Rennell's
survey, the country was still far from settled. The difficulty
of communication and the impossibility of moving troops

28 MYMENSINGH.

quickly in a country destitute of roads and everywhere 'cut
up by rivers and khdls gave the European officials little chance
of coping immediately with the outlaws and dacoits who
preyed on the trade of the unwarlike residents of the towns.
Henceforth the only historical events of any interest connect-
ed with Mymensingh are the inroads of th < Garos described in
the history of the Sherpur Pargana, and the rebellion of the
Sanyasis. These people are described in a long minute of
John Elliot, dated 29th April 17^9, to the Board of Revenue, as
in reality usurers, disguised as religious friars. The following
description from the pen of Warren Hastings himself in a
letter to Josias De Pre, dated 9th March 1773, is found in
Creig's Memoirs : —

"Our own province has worn something of a warlike
appearance this year, having been infested by a band of sanyasis,
who have defeated two small parties ofPerganah sepoys (a
rascally corps), and cut off the two officers who commanded
them. One was Captain Thomas, whom you know. Four
battalions of the brigade sepoys are now in pursuit of them,
but they will not stand any engagement and have neither camp
equipage, nor even clothes, to retard their flight. Yet I hope
ive shall yet make an example of some of them, as they are
shut in by rivers which they cannot pass when closely pursued.
"The history of the people is curious. They inhabit or
rather possess the country lying south of the hills of Thibet,
from Cabul to China. They go mostly naked ; they have
neither towns, houses nor families ; but rove continuously from
place to place, recruiting their number with the healthiest
children they can steal in the country through which they pass.
Thus they are the stoutest and most active men of India.
Many are merchants. They are all pilgrims, and held by all
castes of Gentoos in great veneration. This infatuation pre-
vents our obtaining any intelligence of their motions, and aid
from the country against them, notwithstanding very rigid
orders which have been published for these purposes, in so
much that they often appear in the heart of the province as
if they dropped from heaven. They ^are hardy, bold and en-
thusiastic to a degree surpassing credit. Such are the sanyasis,
the gypsies of Hindustan.

" We dissolved all the Perganah sepoys and fixed stations of
the brigade sepoys on our frontiers, who are to be employed
only in the defence of the provinces, and to be relieved every
three months. This, I hope, will secure the peace of the country
against future irruptions, and as they are no longer to be

HISTORY. 29

employed in the collections, the people will l)e rid of the
oppressions of our own plunderers."

The following extracts from the Board's correspondence with
the officials of the Dacca Division are also worth reprinting at
length.

No. 66 of 8th November 1784. — " I have taken every precau-
tion to prevent Mujnooshaw's molesting any of the parganas
to the eastward of this division, having stationed a complete
company of the Sebandy corps at Mustanagar, which is a little
to the north-east of Sherpur and which must be his route
should his intention lead him to this district. In the event
of Mr. Champion's application to me for sepoys, I shall supply
them and afford him every assistance, etc., etc."

No. 19 of 18tli January 1790. — "A large body of sanyasis
have entered the province under the conduct of Cherag Aly
and other Fakirs belonging to Mudgooshaw and Mongur,
sanyasis. They come from a place called Mustunghur in the
neighbourhood of Dinajpur and pursued an unfrequented road
till their arrival at Jaffarshye belonging to the Momensingh
Perganah, where they have erected their standard, and are
increasing their force by various emissaries who have been in
the province for some time. They have not as yet commenced
their depredations, except in plundering some of the houses
of the inhabitants of Jaffarshye, who fled at their approach,
I wrote to Capt. Mackenzie the moment the intelligence
reached me, who has ordered a party which leaves Dacca
to-morrow morning under the command of a European officer.
Previous to delivering over charge to Mr. Buller it was my
intention to set off for Belluah to-morrow, but I now await
his lordship's order."

No. 15a of 4th July 1782. — (Vakeels on the part of the
zamindars of parganas Mymensingh, Alapsing and Sherpur) :
" Our zemindars are quite desolated for the extortions of the
Sanyasis and other Mehergins, for which 100 sepoys were
previously ordered to be sent from Jehangirnagore, but the
chief did not attend to the orders, and Mr. Lodge, who was
directed to proceed to the mofussil, having taken his residence
at Jessore, has not yet gone into our parganas and in conse-
quence the sanyasis have become very much disturbing, the
ryots daily quitting their habitations to tlie great loss of public
revenue. Rooder Chand Ohoudliury of Mymensingh, having
gone to the cutcherry of Jaffarsing to look after the collec-
tion, was attacked by Bibhootgueer and other sanyasis, who
wanted to stab him witli a cutter, but were prevented by the

30 MYMENSINGH.

interposition of a number of people he had assembled. M^liy
others of the zemindars have left their homes to avoid them.
It was formerly the custom to have sepoys stationed in our
parganas to protect the inhabitants, but since the mehal has
been huzzoory there have been none : wherefore we request
you will appoint a Captain and 200 men with ammunition to
prevent such disturbances in future.

" Nothing but a strong military foi-ce residing here constantly
will prevent the sanyasis committing acts of violence, and
when this force should at any period be withdrawn, they will
adopt measures to enforce payment of what they deem them-
selves mostly entitled to. They have hitherto resided for many
years in these parganas upon the footing of money-lenders and
maintain themselves upon the interest from their several
capitals, which they have from time to time advanced to the
zemindars to make up the deficiency of their revenue kists to
Government.

From Henry Lodge to Board : — "00 of the sepoys commanded
by the jemadar have had a skirmish with Shaw Mudginoo at
Chatterkaith, about 8 or 10 acres from Junatpur towards the
Ran Bowahl Pargana. Mudginoo, after having had 25 or ?)0
of his men shot dead and double the number or thereabout
wounded, fled into the jungles ; a pursuit would have been im-
prudent as the sepoys had expended their ammunition. In-
deed, the jungles are so immensely thick and of such an extent
that there was little probability of the sepoys coming up with
Mudginoo, who had the advantage of having a bazar with him,
whilst I was under the necessity of supplying the sepoys with
rice, etc. I have still hopes of apprehending the notorious
robber, and request your permission to employ lOOburkandazes
for the space of two months. One sepoy was killed and four
others much wounded in the action."

From the above and other extracts it will appear that the
sanyasis like the Kashmir merchants of to-day got the poor ryots
into their hamls by loans of money at ruinous rates of interest,
direct and indirect : but they did not confine their dealings to
the ryots ; they lent also to the zamindars and, when their
clients could not pay, they banded together, plundered their
houses and sold their children into slavery. They carried off
zamindars and their agents on boats until they leased whole
villages or paid their demands. Later on they developed into
brigands, pure and simple, and attacked the zamindars in their
own cutcherries, plundering the treasuries and burning the
homesteads.

HISTORY. 31

•This state of affairs was largely due to the famine of 1770,
which crippled the zamindars. The Collectors were so few and
so far away that the complaints which the sanyasis took care
should not come in too easily or too freely were long in bring-
ing about strong action. The sanyasis under Shaw Mndginoo
fortified places in the Madhupur Jungle and at Jamalpur
(then called Sanyasiganj ) in 1781, but it was not until 1782
that Mr. Henry Lodge with a body of soldiers camped at
Baiganbari with a view to checking their depredations. Not
till 1781 could he raise suflBcient reinforcements to take the
field, and after a petty battle the two chief leaders, Shaw
Mudginoo and Shaw Majrad, left the district. The cantonments
were now permanently established at Jamalpur, where they
remained till after the Mutiny. There was a similar outpost at
Sherpur on the opposite side of the Brahmaputra, which was
then 7 or 8 miles broad in the rains.

In 1786 Mudginoo returned to ravage Sherpur, Alapsingh
and Mymensingh Parganas, and Sir Patrick Balfour of the
4th regiment of sapoys was ordered by the Chief of Dacca
to send a company to help Lodge at Jamalpur. In spite of
this the sanyasis were strong enough to hold some Sherpur
zamindars to ransom, and Elliot, the Commissioner, was balked
in an attempt to arrest the leader Donaglin by a display
offeree. He had to resort to stratagem by setting up one
leader against the other, and it was not until the estab-
lishment of the separate district of Mymensingh under
Wroughton as Collector made itself felt, that the trouble quieted
down.

In 1791 there were fresh disturbances of the 'peace, due
to the Buxar burkandazes of the Sherpur zamindars cairying
off the 9 anna-5 proprietor and looting his cutcherry.
Mr. Bayard (Collector) sent sepoys, who rescued the landlord
from the Korfiibari Hills and arrested Hirji, tlic leatler.
The Koraibari zamindars were quarrelling with Sherpur about
their respective boundaries, and they joined with the remnants
of Hirji's band, again looted the Sher|)ur cutcherry with 300
armed men and carried oil" the 7 annas landloril. Bayard
could not effect a rescue this time, an(l the matter went up to
the Governor-General in Council, who succeeded in compel-
ling the release of the landlord by the Raja of Koraibari.

In 1807 a separate Magistrate's court was established at
Kaliganj-Sherpur to check the unruliness on the borders. In
1812 a Garo Safati tried to make an independent principality
at the foot of the hills in Susnng. He met the Collector at

32 MYMENSINGH.

Mymensingh, and Le Gros recommended his recognition «by
Government, but the Board rejected it.

In 1823 the Rungpur Light Infantry was stationed at Jamal-
pur and had to deal with a revolt of the tenants of Sherpur
under one Tipu Garo, which was due to the oppressions of the
zamindars. Tipu was arrested and sentenced to imprison-
ment for life.

The Mutiny hardly touched Mymensingh at all. The
Magistrate made preparations to defejid Mymensingh against a
small body of 50 armed rebels, but they went past in the
direction of Jamalpur without offering fight.
Arch«ol- The ruins of an old mud fort are still visible at Garh

°^"' Jaripa, 8 miles north-west of Sherpur. It covers about 1,100

acres and was encompassed by seven successive walls, each 45
feet high and 75 feet broad with a moat between each pair
and outside tbe seventh. The sites of the four gates are still
locally identified, as the Kam Daraj on the east, Pandidaraj
on the west, the Samserdaraj or reception gate on the south
and the Khirki daraj (private gate) on the north. There was
a boat-shaped island in a lake outside the water gate called by
some Kosha and by others Dinga, which was used as a pleasure
garden. This lake, as well as several ponds within the fort,
were filled up during the earthquake of 1897. A Koch temple
stood near the Khirki gate. It was converted into a mosque,
but a fair in honour of Dalip's mother is still held here every
Baishak. The fort was built as a protection against Garos by
Dalip Samanta, but the Muhammadans took possession about
1370. The tombstone of their leader, Majlis Shah Humayun.
with an inscription in Tughra Arabic, was sent to the Museum
of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, in 1871, by the late Babu Har
Chandra Chaudhuri of Sherpur. The lands within the inner
wall were re-leased as valid Idkhirdj in 1835, and now belong
to Rai Radha Ballabh Chaudhuri Bahadur.

The big mosque at Atia, Tangail, was built in 1G09 by Sayed
Khan Pani in honour of the great Pir Ali Shahenshali Baba
Kashmiri. The inscription on the tomb shows that the saint
died ill 1507. There is another old mosque in the F-engali
style, which, according to local tradition, was built by Ghyas-
uddin Azam Shah. A ruined brick tomb in front of this
mosque is pointed out as the burial place of this Sultan.

The village of Agarasindur on the Brahmaputra river oppo-
site Kaoraid contains an ornamental mosque with a large dome
supported by four hexagonal buttresses. It has been cracked
in places and is overgrown with jungle. There is a stone slab

HISTORY. 33

ovOT the doorway with an inscription dated 1640. Close by
are the remains of the fort where, as described in the history
of Har.radi pargana, Isa Khan was besieged by Man Singh.

The Dargah of Shah Kamal at Durmut. — Mr. Donough,
Subdivisional OflBcer, Jamiilpur, translated a Bengali pamphlet
which gives Shah Kamal's date as 1503, A.D. He came from
Multan, where he saved the place from the encroachment of
the river by forcing the devils to give up their spades. The
same Shah Kamal is associated with the Dargah just across the
Garo Hill border, where both Hindus and Mahammadans do
piija. A procession is formed once a year to wash his chhord,
or knife, upon which only his descendants may look without
harm.

The temple of Lakshmi Narayan at Kishorganj, consisting
of 21 pinnacled structures, together with a Jaltangi (summer
house), Rasbari, Durgah Mandir, Sib Mandir and other smaller
buildings was erected in 1770, A.D., by one Nanda Kishore
Pramanik, who rose to affluence in the flourishing days of the
muslin industry. It covered an area of 9,000 square feet and
contained two inscriptions in Sanskrit, but everything except
the Jaltangi was destroyed in the earthquake of 1897. The
four tanks connected with it, including one 265 yards by 142
yards, were excavated by local labourers, at the cost of their
food only, during the great famine of 17G9, A.D.

34 MYIVIENSINGH.

CHAPTEK III.

THE PEOPLE.

Census THE population of Mjnneiisingli at the last census in 1911
results. ^^,^g 4,526,422, giving a density of 724 to the square mile. In
Dacca it is 1,066, in Tippera 972, Faridpur 824, Noakhali 792,
Pabna 772, the 24-Parganas 502 and Midnapore 544. Parts of
Taugail and Kishorganj are as thickly populated as any thana
of Dacca except Bikrampur, but the jungly stretches in the
Madhupur jungle, Fulpur and Durgapur thanas and the wide
Itdor^ or marshes in the river area to the east take off greatly
from the average figures. While Nandail, Katiadi and all the
thanas of the Tangail subdivision except Gopalpur and Sarisa-
bari have a density of over 1,000, Gafargaon falls to 42<S and
Durgapur to 333.

The percentage of increase between 1901 and 1911 was 15-53
and between 1891 and 1901 12-75. No figures before 1891 are
reliable. The first census in 1872 gave the population as
2,354,794. The increase is well distributed, being greatest in
the Sadar subdivision and in Netrokona thana. The low
percentage of increase in the Nagarpur and Tangail thanas is
attributed to a cholera outbreak in 1905 and to the prevalence
of malaria. In Sarisabari thana the cutting of the Jamuna
has caused the figures to remain stationary.

There are a large number of u]3-country coolies and servants
in the district, who come for the cold weather and the jute
season and return every year. Many of them have brought
their families and are now domiciled. Practically all sweepers,
palki-bearers and other non-agricultural menials have come
from other districts either in this or the previous generation.
The total immigrants are shown in the census as 161,395, and
this number is nearly counterbalanced by the 156,993 persons
enumerated in other districts who gave their birth-place as
Mymensingh. The latter are chiefly cultivators who have
gone from Tangail and Jeunalpur to settle in the Goalpara
cliars of the Brahmaputra. Males exceed females by 152,784,
which probably means that emigrants for the most part take
their families with them, whereas the immigrants leave theirs
behind. The children under 11 number 1,522,569. Of the

madans.

THE PEOPLE. 35

reaaaining population 74 per cent, of the Hindus are married
or widowed, and 78 per cent, of the Muhammadans. Among
the Hindus 6,256 children under 11 are married and 16,883
among the Mahammadans. There are 109 widows under five
years of age.

The Muhammacians form nearly three-quarters of the Muham-
whole population. In Dacca the proportion is less than half
and only Bilkarganj and (Jhittagong of the Bengal districts,
compare in this respect with Mymensingh.

In the census tallies Musalmans are divided into 55 castes,
l)ut they are not so much castes as social divisions. Apart from
Sheikhs under which designation 31,922,986, or 93 per cent, of
liie whole are enrolled, only Nagarchies, Nikaries, Pathans,
Kulus, Miihifarashs, Jolahas (commonly known as Karigars),
Khans, Dais, Bediyas appear in any appreciable number.

The Mahifarash caste are fishermen and the Nikaries deal
in fish. Ordinarily Muhammadans are not allowed to live by
selling fish or milk, and all the fishermen, goalas, dhobies,
barbers and most of the artisans are Hindus, The Kulus
are the Telis or oil workers of the Muhammadans and the
Jolahas, of which there are some 2,100 in the district, are
weavers. The Dais, though not numerous, are sufficiently
scattered to supply midwives to the whole community. Near
Kendua there is a particular caste called Gains who trade as
pedlars, chiefly by boat, and are supposed to come ffom Persia
originally.

The inhabitants of Kendua mauza, some 3 miles from the
thana of that name, are called Baigars, l^aijees or Samajies.
They own the whole village as tenants, but the profession of
all the daughters without exception is dancing, singing and
prostitution, whereas the men engage in cultivation and marry
women from other villages, who indulge in none of the habits
of tlieir sisters-in-law, though occupying a separate portion of
the same homestead. Some families are quite well off and
have quite substantial hdris. The first Samajies are said to
have been settled at Kendua by the Haibatnagar zamin<lars.
They have been living there as Muhammadans for over
300 years and in the Thak the village is described as a
Chafi-Badshahi Datta Lakheraj.

The other so-called castes are really surnames and only
in some cases show tlie origin of the family. The Pathans and
Khans are in theory descendants of the Afghans or otln'r
up-country followers of the Delhi generals, who fought in
Bengal before the English rule. As a matter of fact the title

.36 . MYMENRINGH.

Khan has been adopted by many of the more recont conv^erts
from other religions. Saiyads are liomiually the descendants
of the Prophet.

Sheikh merely means Sardar or leader, and covers tl\e vast
majority of the Muhammadan cultivators whether descend-
ed from Hindu converts or from the original conquerors of
Bengal.

Mr. J. P. Wi^e in his notes on the Muhammadans of Bengal
says that until the census of 1872 it was not known that Muham-
madans predominated in Eastern Fengal and that most of the
conversions date from the reign of Jalaluddln (1414 to 1430)
who' was the only real persecutor of the Hindus. He attributes
many of the conversions to a desire to avoid punishment for
murder or caste offences, and a religion which proclaimed all
men to be equal must have consideraV)le fascination for the
lower caste of Hindus. Present day Muhammadans repudiate
this idea, and point out that many of the best Hindu families
have Muhammadan branches. Isa Khan, the premier noble-
man of Bengal, and Jalaluddin himself were the sons of
Brahmans, and the Susung family at one time professed the
Muhammadan faith. Setting aside differences in dress and
the way of wearing the hair, it is impossible to distinguish
between Muhammadans and Hindus by physique, complexion
or type of features, b'lt the extent to which Hindu ceremonies
survive among the more ignorant Muhammadans has perhaps
been exaggerated by those who ascribe the majority of the
conversions to force or worldly motives.

Strictly speaking, only Shias observe the Muharram, but
many Sunnis and Hindus take part in the holiday and enjoy
the noise, just as Muhammadans join in the Durga Pfija
procession and the Manasa Piija boat races.

The Fateha ceremony of the Muhammadans is quite their
own, but observers have confused it with the Sradha C3remony
of the Hindus, and Muhammadans do sometimes give a feast
on the fortieth day from their relations' death. The practice
of observing the sixth day from a child's birth and the seventh
month of pregnancy by giving presents has been imitated
from the Hindus even by Muhammadans whose homes are in
other provinces. If at one time it was at all common for
Muhammadans to wash their pots and matresses on Lakshmi
Puja day and to put on clean clothes after the Diirga Piija,
the practice has died out since the partition. On the other
hand Hindus sometimes make offerings at the mosque after
winning a case or when their cows first give milk.

THE PEOPLE. 37

'The habit of joining the Dol Jatra or "Holi" festival is
entirely going out. Superstitions like not setting out on a
journey when a lizard falls from the roof are probably common
to all religions.

Circumcision is not practised generally by the Mubam-
raadans of Netrakona and Iswarganj.

Coming to sects as opposed to castes, all the Muhammadans
of Mymensingh are Sunnis. Though the Nawabs of Dacca
were Shias from 1702 to 1843, it was never recognised as the
religion of the ruling class, and the only trace it has left in
this district is the observance of the Muharram. J, P. Wise
divides the Sunnis of his day into four .subsects, Sabiqui,
Farazi, Taaiyani and Rafiyadain, The last are chiefly weav-
ers and hide merchants in the Taugail subdivision. They
are a Puritan sect, very particular about keeping their women
\w parda and they profess to look down upon the other Sunnis
and to be more particular about truthfulness and prayer. They
avoid marriage with other sects.

The Taaiyani school following Keramat Ali never gained
ground in this district, though according to Wise they com-
prised the majority of Dacca cultivators in his time.

The Farazi sect were founded by Hazi Shariatullah of
Faridpur after a 20 years' pilgrimage to Mecca. He taught
non-observance of Friday piviyers and of the two great Ids and
Muharram on the ground that India was not a Moslem country.
He required fiom all jTaw-^a, or penitence for past sins, and
discouraged music at marriages and oii'erings to the dead.

His son Dadhu Miya born in 1<S19 organised Bengal into
circles and established a Khalifa in each. In defence of his
adherents he came to blows with the zamindars and collected
lathials. He was committed to the Sessions on a charge of
murder in 1<S41, but was acquitteil. Later he pillaged an
indigo factory and 62 of his followers were convicted, but
acquitted on appeal to the Sadar Adalat.

At one time he had many followers in Mymensingh, but
they are now chiefly confined to the Jamuna deara.

The term Sabiqui referred to those undoubted converts
from Hinduism, who stiU observed many Hindu customs and
rituals. Most of tliem now belong to the Hanifi scliool and are
discouraged by their Maulvis and Mollahs from attemling
Hindu festivals even as spectators.

A more usual classification of the Muhammadans divides
them into four sects (1) Hanifis, (2) Shafais, (3) Malikis and
(4) Hanbalis, Init only the Hanifis occur in this district to any

38 MYMENSINGH.

extent. These four subsects follow the instructions of the four
greater Imams, whereas the Wahabis, a later development, of
.whom the Farazis arid the Rafiyadains are the best known, only
recognise the precepts of the Prophet as handed on by his
companions.

There is very little real Pir or Saint worship in the district,
though the tombs of prominent Fakirs are regarded as holy
places. Mlskim Shah is a favourate Pir in Gafargaon thana,
and his tomb at Mukhi near Moshakhali is the scene of an
annual fair. The shrine of Pir Shahenshah at Atia is a place
of pilgrimage and that of Shah Afzal Mamud in Serajganj is
reverenced by the Muhammadans and Marwaries of the
northern thanas of the Tangail sabdivision. In Jamalpur
Durmut and Madarganj there are shrines associated with the
name of Shiili Kamal.

Madan Pir has a famous shrine in Netrakona subdivision,
and birds are popularly supposed not to fly over this shrine.
In Joanshahi Kutub Sahib is all powerful, and round Astagram
no cultivator dare yoke cows to a plough. His mosque at
Astagram is richly supported by votive offerings, and has been
taken over by ih^ Archaeological Department.

Mounds of earth with five crests on them, representing the
" Panch Pir " ar.- ubiquitous especially under big baniyan trees.
Oiferings of milk are made by persons registering vows. The Pir
Gazi Miya protects his worshippers in the Madhupur Jungle from
tigers. Sailors pray to Khawajeh Khizir and Pir Badar, but there
are not many professional manjhis indigenous to the district.

PJxcept the very aged and infirm all Muhammadans observe
the Ramjan rigorously at the cost of considerable injury to
their health and work. This fasting in the case of growing boys
at school may partially account for the backwardness of
Muhammadans in the public services. Other festivals generally
observed are the Shababarat and the two Ids. The isolated
group of three 2) ukka steps to be seen in the open fields all over
the country are used by the leaders of the prayers only on
the Iduz^oha. All respectable cultivators say their prayers
live times a day throughout the year and attend the local
mosque at midday ou Friday.
Hindus. All the well-known castes of Hindus are represented in the

district. Most of the zamiudars belong to Brahman or
Kayastha families, and the villages in Netrakona and Kishor-
ganj containing the ancient seats of Hindu bhadralok families
are extremely numerous. Ballal Sen's elaborate organisation
of Kulinism did not leave its mark on Mymensingh as it did

THE PEOPLE. 39

on Dacca, but (.he portion of the district west of the Brahma-
putra has several families who trace descent from the five Vedic
Brahmans who were imported by Adisur in 732 A. D. in the
hope of purifying the religion of the earlier Brahman settlers. '

The families of so-called Kulin Kayasthas who accompanied
the original Kulins from Kanauj are strongly represented in
the Ghoses, Boses, Guhas, Mitras and Dattas of the Tangail
subdivision.

Most people supposed until recently that the custom of
Sati had died out, but there was a case at Nandail in 1913, the
widow of a settlement muharrir who died of cholera being the
victim. Since then several cases have been reported in the
Calcutta papers.

Of the lower castes Binds number 1,580, Chamars 6,800,
Dalus 4,800, Dhobas 17,000, Donis 1,500, Dosads 1,800, Gandha-
baniks 5,600, Goalas 25,600, Jogis 46,000, Kahars 5,000,
Kaibarttas 130,000, Kamars 13,000, Kapalies 16,000, Kumhars
22,000, Mais 21,000, Malis 5,1)00, Malos 38,900, Muchis 26,600,
Namasudras 28,000, Patnis 24,000, Rajbansies 23,000, Shahas
56,000, Sudras 17,000, Sutradhars 32,000, Tantis 12,000, Tells
13,000, Tiyars 22,700. Of these the Rajbansis are the most
distinctive. Even in Buchanan's time they assumed the sacred
thread and claimed to be Kshattriyas who bad fled from Orissa
to escape the violence of the deity Parasuram. It is more
probable that like the Koches they were an aboriginal tribe on
the frontier of Bengal and Assam, and that their claim to a
higher sounding name was based on as fictitious historical
grounds as that of the Namasudras or Chandals, and is merely
the result of a laudable ambition to raise themselves in the
social scale. At various times the Hadis, Koches, Malos,
Kumhars and Pods have harassed the census and settlement
authorities to conceal their legitimate names.

The Rajbansis are a particularly harmless and peaceable
people and their submissiveness and industry make them
excellent tenants.

One peculiarity of the district is the number of representa- Aboriginal
tives of aboriginal tribes. Garos number 38,000, Hadis 26,000,
Hajangs 25,000, and Koches 32,000. They inhabit the Susung
and Sherpur villages along the foot of the Garo Hills and are
the pioneers of cultivation in the Madhupur Jungle. The
Garos and Koches do not use the plough, but only the kodali
and they still prefer to cultivate virgin ground. After cutting
the jungle and cultivating two or three crops they make way for
a Muhammadan family and start over again. The Garos and the

D

40 MYMENSINGH.

<-•
Hajiui}?9 art; noted for their simplicity, and the impression their

straightforwardness and truthfulness has made on the Hindu
and Muhammadan officers, who have worked among them, is
a striking commentary on the extent to which these people re-
cognise the defects of their own co-religionists in this respect.

The Garos are short but strongly built. The women wear
short petticoats of blue and red home woven stuff instead of the
sari, and the men hardly anything at all. They retain some,
though not all, of the primitive customs of their cousins in the
hills. They eat anything including dogs, but strangely enough
refuse to touch milk, though close contact with other races is
gradually removing this prejudice, i^idhans usually consisting
of fowls are offered to the household Gods or JDeos on the
advice of the priest or "Densis" at marriages and deaths.
They all speak some Bengali, and the Namdali Garos hardly
understand the language of the hills. Some of them observe
Sradha ceremonies.

All property descends through the female line with the
result that the husband of the youngest daut^hter is the
de facto owner of the family land and property. If his wife
dies he is expected to marry another woman of the same
motherhood or '' Machang." If the " Nokma," as the holder of
the life interest is called, dies before his wife, a " Nokram," who
is by preference a son of his sister, is appointed, so that the con-
trol of the family property may not pass from the " Machang"
of the deceased husband. The " Nokram " elect marries hi.s
uncle's daughters and the widow also when the uncle dies.

For further information about the Garos, Major Playfair's
monograph is to be found in a\\ CoUectorate libraries. On the
evidence of language and tiieir own traditions it is believed
that they belonged to the Thibeto-Burman group of tribes
speaking the Dodo language. They are closely connected with
the Kacharies of Danipur with whom they emigrated from
Thibet to Assam about 400 A.D. Fights with the Assamese
caused the Garos to retreat across the Brahmaputra and after
that they had little association with their late countrymen.

The Koches of Mymensingh are more closely related to the
Garos than to the Assamese caste of the same name, who are
virtually Hinduized. It is probable that the Koches inhabited
the whole of the Garo Hills before the Garo invasion and
possibly they represent an earlier wave of immigration of
the same Bodos.

The Hajangs are Hindus and do not wear any distinctive
dress, but in features they are hardly to be distinguished from

THE PEOPLE. 41

•
the Garos. They ard said to have been imported to the
Durgapur thana by the Susung Rajas for Kheddah operations
for which the local Bengalis were not fitted.

The Hadis are often bad characters and get on badly with
their landlords. Like all aboriginal castes they are great
drunkards, and this vice is gradually decimating the vigorous
Muudais, who are still common in the Madhupur Jungle.

There are Christian missions belonging to the Australian
Baptists at Mymensingh, Taugail and Durgapur and of the
Oxford Mission at Haluaghat. They are fairly successful with
the Giiros and their schools are well attended. A large school
for girl foundlings is maintained at Mymensingh.

The Bengali spoken in Tangail and the west of the district J^anguage.
is fairly pure. In the eastern thanas it has assimilated some
of the corrupt intonation of the Sylhet dialect, but the words
used are much the same as elsewhere. Even in Jamalpur
there are traces of Assamese itliom, e.g. the constant use of the
word lage or lagibe. Instead of the infinite in ho the verbal in
07% or an is used, '■'• Jaon lage^^'' you must go. The abbreviation
of verbal suffixes is stereotyped and as a rule intelligible.
Many people use a future ending in inu, ha., ho instead of ho,
he, he, e.g. jama, I will go, and another peculiarity is the suffix
ga added to the past tense gechlie to give emphasis. S is often
pronounced as h and the aspirate is dropped in words like
Hanuman.

The character of the Muhammadan masses is full of incon- Ciiaracter
sistencies. They have for long been described as untruthful pie.
and dishonest, and it is well known that in i^he Courts it is
thought to be the duty of a witness to say what suits his side.
The man who speaks the truth against, not so much his own
interest, as what may possibly turn out to be his interest, looks
upon himself as a fool. Litigation and busine s, however, are
regarded as games to which the rules of love and war apply.
Among themselves the villagers know perfectly well when
one of their members is lying and an investigating officer can
usually get the benefit of their knowledge in an informal
inquiry. There is always, however, au inherent suspiciousness
to overcomt, which seems to be more than the normal conserv-
atism of the peasant. Even when a new scheme like co-
operative banks is being initiated for their beni^fit, they are not
satisfied with the word of one officer, they have to consult
everybody within reach including his typewriter and chaprasi.

Inside their own communities they respect each other's
rights and propertj% and have very few quarrels considering

d2

42 MYMENSINGH.

the close contact entailed by the conditions of life in villages
of which only a small portion is unflooded in the rains.

Village quarrels are usually due to factions led by ambi-
tious and unscrupulous mdthhars. When the mdthhars are
honest and tactful they can do what they like with the com-
mon herd. Often the poorest seem the most contented and
happy and, if asked why they did not resist some aggression or
take some step to ameliorate their lot, they give the invariable
answer " Garib Adml," " I can neither read nor write, I must
do what other people tell me."

They are easily excited and when they lose their heads
take to breaking heads and shedding blood for trivial causes.
They follow each other like sheep and the preachings of
outside Mullas and Maulvies are at the bottom of most of the
discontent that exists. Ordinarily the natives of the district
are patient and humble to a degree. The looting of the Pazars
at Dewanganj and Bakshiganj at the time of the Swadeshi
agitation in 1907 is said to have marked the release of the
Muhammadans from their old fear of the Hindus and to have
given the first impulse to the clamoiir for education and a
share in Government offices. This may have been the case in
Dewanganj, where the ryots were deeply in debt and were
only too glad to take advantage of the rumour that Govern-
ment had authorised the pillage of Hindu-* to punish their
Mahajans. Elsewhere there are many villages which success-
fully resisted their landlords long before 1908. That more did
not follow their example is due not so much to timidity, as to
an inability to combine and the fragility of their pride. It is
not a severe beating but a beating with shoes, not starvation
but the disgrace of forceable detention, sometimes even the
mere threat of refusing a stool in the cutcherry, when he comes
to pay his rent, which cows the Muhammadan cultivator into
submission. The ryots' statement is often true that they
have been forced into the execution of kabuliyats, but the
force required is so slight from the English point of view that
in the hands of a clever landlord or naib it never lays him
open to legal proceedings.

Generally their submissiveness was more apparent than
real. They were not interfered with and as long as their
misfortunes were due to natural causes or to the despotism of
'' Dastur," they did not complain. But few people in the world
can have so little idea of public duty and sensr- of obligation to
the State. There would be very little submissiveness if their
-^arts and animals and youth were impressed for war purposes

THE PEOPLE. 43

If a rate of rent has ruled for a long time they can be
absolutely pig-headed and unreasoning in refusing to listen to
all reasons why it should be enhanced and in Alapsingh, because
their story of a 36-inch gdj was not listened to, they seriously
hampered the progress of settlement by refusing to attend the
bujharat of their own fields.

The ordinary ploughman or reaper shows no interest at all
in strangers riding across his fields. It does not strike him
that they may be there for his benefit, and in his turn he does
not expect to be interfered with. He will not laj' down his
tools for two minutes to help a visitor across a ford or a broken
bridge, and rather than show him 10 yards on his way he will
say that he does not know the name of the next village. This
may be due to laziness chiefly, but it illustrates their attitude
of aloofness. At the same time there is a tradition of help
from the Sarkar in old fashioned villages. A sudden intrusion
into the homestead may be met by cries of " Dohai Company "
and sometimes " Dohai Mahariini." Even the better class
house-holders seem to think that the touring officer is above
the law and can give justice more summary or more equitable
than the courts.

The people bear no grudge against the Courts who decide
against their claims, recognising that it is the falsehoods of the
opposite party and not the bias of the Courts that has caused
their downfall.

One of their worst traits is their selfishness as regards
public cow-paths and grazing grounds. No ryot will hesitate to
fence in a new bdri even if it means blocking the approach for
carts to several other homesteads and preventing the access
to water of all the village cattle. No one who can get a jjatta
for new land from a selfish landlord will stop to think that it
means a reduction of the already perilously small grazing
ground of the community. To the sufl'erings of dumb animals
they are absolutely callous. Ten of them will ride on one
tikkagari over the worst road and no sore can prevent their
bullocks being yoked. The most diseased dog is left to starve
or die of itself. On the other hand they bear pain themselves
with considerable fortitude, and it is marvellous from what bad
operations they can survive.

Their hospitality is beyond reproach and even the poorest
householder will offer tobacco, jKin, or a cocoanul or milk.
Often the largest hut is the baithakkhana, in which strangers
can sleep.

44 MYMENSINGTI.

CHAPTER IV.

PUBLIC np]ALTH.

Vital During the last six years the death-rate in Mymensingh lias

Statistics, varied from 20 to 22 per thousand and the birth-rate from 30
to 33. The birth-rate does not compare favourably with that
of the other districts of the Dacca Division and still less with
that returned by Rajshahi, Nadia, Murshidabad and Noakhali,
where it exceeds 40 per mille. On the other hand the death-rate
is much lower than in other districts : in Tippera the figure is
about the same (21'37), but in Dacca it is 25*65 and in Faridpur
and most of the other districts of Bengal it varies from -'0 to
38. In the last century the Mymensingh death-rate was never
reported as more than 29 per thousand, but comparison with
old returns is vitiated by the imperfect and varying methods of
registration. As regards mortality from different diseases,
the Mymensingh percentage of deaths compares favourably
with other districts, except perhaps in the case of small-pox :
for fever it is only ll'lO as opposed to 17'96 in Dacca and
27 per mille in most of the districts of the Rajshahi Division.
Moreover many of the deaths which are attril)uted by the
chaukidars to malaria are really cases of a low form of
typhoid or pneumonia, which are liable to occur in any climate.
In spite, therefore, of the evil reputation which clings to
Tangail, Mymensingh must be considered one of the healthiest
districts in the plains of India. Touring officers and others living
in the Madhupur jungle, or camping near the foot of the Garo
Hills after the proper touring season, are liable to contract a
particularly malignant type of fever, whose first symptoms are
vomiting and severe pains in the limbs. Elsewhere attacks of
fever are usually relapses brought on by wet weather in the
cold season or sudden changes of temperature during the rains.
The spleen index is low. Serious cases of malaria will nearly
always be found to have been imported from other districts.
The non-epidemic dis 'ases most commonly met with are
intestinal, respiratory and int ^gumentary.

PUBLIC HEALTH. 45

*Choleia occurs every cold weather in an endemic form, but, Cholera,
as the Civil Surgeon wrote iu 1874, it does not prevail exten-
sively or continue long in any one place nor is it usually
virulent in type. Even at that time its periodical appearance
in November was attributed to three causes, the eating of new
dman rice, the storing of decayed fish which were caught in
too great numbers during the subsidence of the floods to be
consumed at once, and the contamination of every khdl and
pool of water by steeping jute. In Tangail serious epidemics
of cholera are apt to break out in the rains as in 1900, 1905
and in L915, and the dilficulty of disposing of the dead, when
all the country is under water, makes recurrenca inevitable.
In other parts of the district out])reaks may occur in April and
May as well as at the beginning of the cold weather, but they
are so localised that it would appear thnt cholera could be
stopped entirely, if the people had even the most elementary
ideas of sanitation and prevention. Cholera corpses are burnt
on the edges of bils and dried up rivulets in all parts of Sadar,
Kishorganj, and Netrakoua, and the filthy pillows and bedding
are never burnt along with the corpse, but left with the ka/si
and half-burnt bamboos, a prominent object near many of the
public ferries and roads.

In the old days small-pox was a serious plague and the
practice of inoculation was responsible for many deaths.
Vaccination has at last forced its way into general tolerance
and serious outbreaks are not common.

In the 1<S72 Administration Report an outbreak of Kcild-
Azdr or Kdld-Deo was reported from the Sherpur Thana.
It is described as a remittent fever, not infectious but usually
fatal.

In 1910 over 20 cases of heri heri were reported from
houses near Mohanganj B.izar in the Netrokona subdivision,
but the disease was eventually put down as epidemic dropsy
and there have been no further reports. Leprosy is perhaps
more common than in other districts of Eastern Bengal, and
occasional cases of elephantiasis are met with.

As the hospital returns for outdoor patients in every thana
will show, the most common complaints are affections of the
skin. At Bhairab dispensary in 1898, 9,568 persons were treated
for skin diseases as opposed to 591 for rheumatism and
kindred diseases, and 360 for malaria, and 148 for dysentery.
At Jamalpur and Kendua skin diseases were also responsible for
nearly one- third the total number of patients. Up-country
ferrymen and I'engali fishermen seem s{eoially liable, and tlu^re

46 MYMENSINGH.

is hardly one Muhammadan out of three in the water-logged
areas who is not troubled by one form or other of skin ailment.
Goitre. In Jamalpur subdivision and in Sadar along the foot of the

hills goitre is extremely common. It hardly occurs in the
south or east of the district and it is not impossible that
drinking water eventually derived from hill streams has some-
thing to do with this disease. It has been attributed to
drinking the stagnant water of bad ring wells, but such wells
are not confined to the Jamalpur subdivision and the sandy
foundations of these wells must and does provide far purer and
cooler water than the rivers and tanks, which are the chief
source of supply in the south of Tangail and in Kishorganj.
Water- Ring wells can be sunk to a depth of 15 or 20 feet for

supp y. ^^ ^^ ^^^^1 ^^^ ^^g^ .^ even less if the soil is hard, as in that

case the well is merely a hole in the earth with two or three
rings at the top to prevent the edges breaking in. It is strange
that the use of these wells is on the whole restricted to such
local limits. In many villages in Jamalpur every hclri has its
own, and there are sufficient in the Madhupur jungle and the
less sandy thdnds to show that, if the potters had more
enterprise, these wells could be successfully spread over many
other areas. The pukka wells which the District Board puts
up in favoured places cost Rs. 600 or more, and are not
always successful in providing good drinking water at once.
Few of the rivers and khdis, on which the people of the central
thdnds depend, have sufficient current to be safe in the winter
months, and few of the tanks, which in Netrokona and Tangail
are the chief source of supply, are sufficiently preserved.
Fishing, bathing and the washing of clothes goes on in all.

Apart from the bils, which occur in all the subdivisions at
frequent intervals, when once the floods subside, the district
as a whole dries up with wonderful speed. To the absence of
any water-logged areas in the sense that Jessore and Rajshahi
are water-logged, and the sandy nature of much of its soil, the
district owes its comparative immunity from malaria. But
the rapidity with which the streams dry up in the cold weather
makes the problem of water-supply more serious, and it is
really dysentery and the kindred bowel complaints that cause
the greatest drain on the vitality of the people.

In the first 20 years of the District Board great strides were
made in the medical facilities of the district. Between 1883
and 1903 the number of dispensaries rose from 15 to 32, the
number of beds from 36 to 135, the number of indoor patients
from 353 to 2,290 and the number of outdoor patients from

PUBLIC HEALTH. 47

32,418 to 374,065. The same rate of progress has not been
maintained since 1903, though the number of outdoor patients
treated in 1914 was 549,412. The number of operations has
remained practically the same, 12,514 instead of 11,327,

The total income of the dispensaries is now Rs. 80,49<S, of Dispens
which about one-third comes from public subscriptions and the
rest from Government, the Municipalities and the District
Board. On the whole the dispensaries are well distributed
throughout the district, but there are many villages 30 miles
from any dispensary and it stands to reason that many cases of
the more serious diseases never come within their statistics at
all. Patients who are seriously ill cannot be carried long
distances in narrow cages hung on a bamboo, and all but the
very poor have an insuperable objection to becoming in-
patients of a hospital. Medical practitioners are to be found
in many of the larger villages, but their qualifications are very
low, and the better diffusion of properly qualified doctors as
well as the systematic improvement of the water-supply are the
most crying needs of the district.

The towns of Mymensingh are not of sufficient importance Towns.
to merit special attention in this chapter. In 1869 the Civil
Surgeon recommended the transfer of the head-qaarters of
the district to Subarnakhali or Jamalpur on the ground that
a char having formed in the Brahmaputra just above their
bungalows the officials were always getting ill. The drainage
has always been a difficulty as the river bank is very much
higher than tiie general level of the streets, and all the drains
run into the hils on the south, instead of into the river. When
therefore the &i7s are full, there is no drainage at all. On the
whole, however, Mymensingh shares with the rest of the district
quite a fair reputation for healthiness and its death-rate per
mille is only 9-16 as opposed to 20*27 in Jamalpur and 19*37
in Tangail. Mosquitoes are very bad in the cold weather
months, there having been a great change for the worse in
this respect during the last five years, but the anopheles is rare.
Ramgopalpur, Jamalpur and Kishorganj are also bad for
mosquitoes, but in most mofussil camps during the cold
weather, even in the Tangail subdivision, there is little risk or
discomfort in sleeping without a net.

All the subdi visional head-quarters are now provided with
Lady Doctors or Midwives. A new hospital is being built in
Mymensingh itself at an estimated cost of over 2 lakhs, which
promises to be a model institution for the Province.

4S MYMENSINGH.

CHAPTER V.

AGRICULTURE.

The Settlement records show that 2,747,000 acres of the
district are caltivated, or 4,292 out of 6,300 square mih-s. The
Mailhupiir jangle takes up about 420 square miles, but of this
126 square miles are balds sown with paddy, or chaJa lands
sown with jute, mustard, or other crops. Rivers and hils
account for 732 sqaara miles, homestea Is for ."/J.j square miles
and roads for 85. The other uncaltivated areas are chieily grass
and scrub jungle in the Fulpur, Durgapur and Khaliajurl
thanas, which are under water too many months of the year
for any crop to grow. Cultivation has increasid and is
increasing rapidly, with the result that the limit will very soon
be reached. In 1872 Reynolds calculated that out of 6,461
miles 230 were river and hil and 890 jungle, only 3,562 were
cultivated.
gQj, The principal soils to be found in the district are {i) the red

soil of the Madhupur jungle, which is very rich in iron and
lime, but deficient in clay. When dry it is as hard as stone
and very porous, (u) The almost pure sand of the Brahmaputra
and Jamuna chars. Those that have even the thinnest coating
of silt grow excellent jute, (m) The rich clay of the rest of
the district, which derives its fertility from decaying vegeta-
tion and flood alluvion. This varies not in kind, but only in
decree, according to its stiflne^s, from th:^ comparatively dry
areas of Jafarshahi and Alapsingh to the huge haors in which
horo paddy is grown. In some parts the clods are so. hard that
no ploughing will break them up, and the hammer has to be
requisitioned. From Kishorganj eastwards, however, one
shower is sufficient to change the fields from baked clay into

liquid mud.

1 446 square miles, or 34 per cent, of the culturable land of
the district, regularly bears two crops, and there are many
villages where the best lauds give quite goo J crops of rice, jute,
and mustard in one and the same agricultural year.

AGRtCULTURE. 49

•The climate is on the whole j^ood. The rainfall is probably
better distributed than in any part of the tropics. Two or
three wet days are the rule rather than the exception even in
December, January and February, and in March there are
constant showers, especially in the afternoons. April and May
often have as many rainy days as June and August, and the
bright sun blazing tlirough the exceptionally humid atmosphere
affords ideal conditions for tha growth of the main crops. A
real famine, or even a serious scarcity, is almost impossible
over a wide area.

Compared with rice, thi staple food crop, and jute, all the
other crops of Mymjnsingn shrink into insignificance. Rice is
divided into three main groaps according to tho season of the
year at which it is grown. The most important is dman or the
winter harvest of paddy which is sown in all tlu low lands of
the district in July and August. Sometime; it is sown broad-
cast, but more usually it is transplanted from seedling beds
called jdld^ which are prepared on the higher lands of the
village banked up witli alls of earth, so as to retain all the
moisture of the earlier showers. As the seedlings need not be
transplanted till they are 8 inches or a foot high, the cultivators
can wait for the transplantation till the cms or jute has been cut
and the first heavy rains have enabled the fields to be ploughed
up into a foot or more of liquid mud. The plant has an extra-
ordinary power of growth and can shoot up a foot in 24 hours.
It is never spoilt by standing in too much water, so long as it
can keep pace v\dth the inundation, and it requires no weeding.

The cultivators of this district go in for over GO varieties Rice,
of dman paddy, being guided in their choice of seeds by the
height of the land. For lands on which dus or jute have
already been harvested, one of the hhadra mdshi or long
stalked quick-growing varieties has to be used. The varieties
grown on land which produces dman only are classified as
asari. Bdwd paddy is much coarser than the transplanted
varieties, and it has the disalvantage of occupying the fiidds
for a full 10 months. On the other hand it requires no labour.

Transplanted ainan is called rowa and that sown broadcast hdwa dhan.

Area in acres under each crop according to Settlement records : —

Jute ... ... ... ... ... 5.');),t00.

Aman ... ... ... ... ... 1,490,700.

Aus ... ... ... ... ... 7dl,.')00.

Boro ... ... ... ... ... 190,G00.

Oilseeds ... ... ... . ... aO'.iJOO.

Sugarcane ... ... ... ... iJ,IO.').

Pulses ... ... ... ... ... 77,2i58.

50 MYMENSINGH.

Aman is grown in tlie sandy villages of the Jamaljftur
subdivision, on all the level plains of the Sadar and Tangail
and Netrokona subdivisions and in all the hils throughout the
district which are not in the habit of going more than 6 feet
under water in August and September. It is also the only
crop in the serpentine strips of level low land, which are to be
found throughout the Madhupur jungle and are known as
haid. It gives a better outturn than dus, which the richer
people avoid as being indigestible. It is less coarse and more
palatable than horo paddy which, however, returns a heavier
yield,

Aus paddy has also many varieties and is sown at the same
time as jute, as soon as the first rains of March and April allow
the land to be thoroughly ploughed. Aus requires a lower
standard of fertility in the soil than jute, so in many parts,
where there is not sufficient manure, it is substituted for jute
in alternate years. To a great extent the ryot is influenced by
the state of his own granary. If he has not enough dmati to
last his family till December he devotes a certain portion of his
holding to aus to prevent the necessity of buying rice at an
outside market between July and December.

Aus is perhaps chiefly grown in the Jamalpur and Tangail
subdivisions. In Kishorganj and Netrakona a larger pro-
portion of jute is grown, and also the fields there are flooded
earlier in the year. For this reason in the Kishorganj sub-
division aus and aman are sometimes sown broad cast together,
so that if one does not succeed the other does. Under favourable
conditions a half crop of aus and a three-quarter crop of aman
are f^ot in this way. The aus thus sown is called hoivdli and
ripens a month earlier than the ordinary dus.

Boro paddy is grown in bils, which are too deep in water in
the rains to allow of any crop at all. As soon as a hil begins
to dry up in November and December, its sides are planted
with seedlings grown in September and October on any adjacent
dry spot, and the transplanted area is gradully extended till the
whole Ml is filled up. The bils dry so rapidly during the cold
weather that a lot of irrigation is nevled and the process of
irrigating and transplanting may go on beyond the end of Feb-
ruary. In areas liable to flood as early as April or May, the
harvesters stay out in the fields day and night, and some of the
crop is always cut before it is ripe. Apart from irrigation and
protection from kdlem and other birds, which often d« consid-
erable damage, horo paddy involves little labour, as the mini-
mum of ploughing and no weeding is required. The seedling

AGRICULTURE. 51

bAls, however, require at least four ploughings and level-
lings. The seeds are soaked in water for 24 hours and encour-
aged to germinate before they are thrown on to the plaster of
wet earth.

The yield may be as much as 45 maunds an acre. Allow- Profits of
ing Re. 1-2 as the cost of each day's ploughing and 8 annas tion.
as the cost of one man's labour in weeding, thrashing, etc.,
the profit of ho7\j cultivation per acre is probably about Rs. 65
as opposed to Rs. 45 from dman and Rs. 18 from Cius. On a
similar calculation, taking 16 maunds as the outturn and the
price Rs. 8 a maund, the profit on jute is about Rs. &^ an acre.

Boro paddy is the main crop in all the eastern thanas of
the district, Barhatta, Khaliajuri, Badla and Bajitpur. It is
extremely common in the lower parts of the Tangail sub-
division and in the deep circular hils of the Gafargaon thana,
whose hilly basins show that they are really a part of the
Madhupur jungle. There is very little horo paddy in Jamalpur
or Sadar.

Kaon in its early stages may easily be mistaken for paddy.
It is often the first crop grown on pure sand in new chars
of the Brahmaputra.

Cheena is another millet grown in Dewanganj, Sarisabari,
Tangail, and Bajitpur. The outturn is not more than 8 maunds
an acre. It is a precarious crop which tell? heavily on the soil
and the outturn is not worth more than Rs. 24 an acre. A
little wheat and a little barley are grown in Dewanganj and
Sarisabari thanas and there are a few fields of arhar (the
pigeon pea) in Sherpur.

The area under jute according to the Settlement statist'cs J"ie.
was 555,400 acres. These are not the figures for one year, but
they agree fairly well with the figures reported by the Director
of Agriculture for the year 1914, viz., 587,620. With an
average yield of 15 maunds an acre it means that some 620
lakhs come into the district in a good year for jute alone. The
plant is usually called nalia and the fibre j^^t or koshtd by the
villagers. The best jute is grown on the cAar land of the
Brahmaputra and other smaller rivers where a sandy founda-
tion has been enriched by the alluvial deposits of successive
floods. The average outturn is not less than 15 mannds an
acre.

The higher the land, the better the jute, is a general maxim
for this district. In years, when the April rains are above
normal, the plants are spoiled by water continually standing
on their roots, and the cultivators may plough up the crop ami

52 MYMENSINGH.

substitute du.s paddj^ When the plant3 are 5 or 4 feet high
standing water is less liarmful and in many parts of the
district they are cut when under 2 to 4 feet of water, but
except in Tangail this is the exception and not the rule. In
Sadar, Janialpur and Netrakona the jute can be cut with dry
feet and often the difficulty is to find tanks or rivers within
reasonable distance for steeping purposes.

The time of catting depends very much on the market price
at well as on the weather. Some fields are cut early in June,
but if rain is deficient in July and there is no hurry about
transplanting the a man crop, or if steeping places are not
readily available, then any number of fields are left standing
till the end of August. The cultivators take no trouble about
the selection of seed, so a small field here and there is always
left for this purpose. The retting takes from 8 to 15 days, and
the colour and quality of the jute depends very much on the
kind of \vater used. The bundles of jute are arranged like
rafts and weighted down with pLmtain stalks and mud. Thi:n
the bark or fibre is separated by hand from the pipe of sap
inside, and beaten in the water. It is dried on bamboo rails
and the favourite scene for this operation, like the former, is
only too commonly the public road and bridges.

The ryots do up their jute into rough bundles according to
the amount they wish to sell or can convey to market at one
time. Good jute should be 10 feet long and have the colour
and glossiness of pale natural silk.

The botanical species most widely grown in this district is
the Go7'chorus capsularis. Commercially the varieties are
known by place names, e.g., Serajganj, Narayanganj, Uttar-
arja and the only classification is according to quality.

Indigo is not grown at all. Jute began to take its place as
early as 1830, but was not seriously cultivated till 1850. The
period of the most rapid increase was from 1892 t^ 1907. It i«?
probable that the limit of cultivation has b^en reached, and
it would be better for the inhabitants if they kept enough area
under rice to supply themselves with the whole of their annual
consumption. The collapse of prices in 1914 due to the war
does not, however, sjem to have seriously reduced the area
under jute. Aman and horo paddy, on which the people mainly
depend for their food, grow at different s.^asons, and dus is
the only alternative to jute in the spring months. If more jute
were grown the cattle would suft'er from the abs.^nee of straw,
which is their only fodder during the seasons of flood, and
there would be a scarcity of steeping-places.

AGRICULTURE. 53

*From April to December almost every field bear.s its rice or Winter
jute crop. In the cold weather there is more variety, and in *"'°P^"
some parts the land really has a rest. Mustaid is perhaps the
commonest winter crop in all the higher villages. In the
centre and east of the district the aman paddy is cat when the
soil is too dry and hard lor any new crop to be planted before
April, and it is chiefly the das and jute lands, which are not
low enough for two crops of rice, on which mustard, tU (sesa-
mum), onions, sweet potatoes, peas, radishes and pulses like
mdshkaldi and khesdri are grown. Tis^i (linseed) and the
pulses are most common in Tangail. Sunn or hemp is another
favourite crop in Jamalpur and the northern parts of Tangail.
It is not grown for the fibre, biit either as manure or to feed-
the cattle. Its brilliant yellow flower mixed with the pale
yellow of t'le mustard and the blue of the tissi afi:"ords a strik-
ing change from the general dullness which marks the Alapsingh
and Kishorganj villages at the same season of the year.

Sugarcane gives a splendid return, but its cultivation is
confined to very small areas. It takes a whole year to
grow, and this is why it is not more extensively patronised.
The chief centres are Islampur, Dewanganj, Kendua, Tan-
gail, Madhupur in Nandail, Iswarganj and Hosenpur. Seed-
lings, 12,000 or more to the acre, are planted in lines
36 inches apart at intervals of 20 inches. The seedlings are
taken from cuttings consisting of two joints which have been
half buried in a horizontal position in a well watered bed.
Plenty of manure is required and at least eight ploughings.

Cotton is only grown in the Madhupur jungle and the
outskirts of the Garo Hills. The cotton of the simul tree,
which grows everywhere, is not collected.

Tobacco, chillies, and various vegetables are grown round Vege-
every bdri throughout the district, but only in small plots. *^^'^^-
Cucumbers, pineapples and English potatoes might be more
generally cultivated than they are, but they are cheap in all
bazars. A popular and most paying crop in Nandail and
Katiadi and Sarisabari are the giant radishes which are sold at
every hdt in December and January.

Melons are extensively grown by up-country coolies on the
sand banks of the Brahmaputra in January and February.
Indian-corn grows very well from April to July, but the
Bengali cultivators do not seem to care for it and like tomatoes,
peas, beans and other English vegetables it is chiefly grown in
Mymensingh for the benefit of the European residents. There
is an agricultural farm at Narundi, which stands alone in

54 MYMENSINGH.

trying to oust the Dacca market gardeners in providing ca'uli-
flowers and cabbages for the table. Plantain trees are common
everywhere, and in most thdnds every substantial ban has its
own supdri (betelnut) and cocoanut palms, mango and jack
fruit trees. The latter are most prolific and yield an enormous
weight of fruit. During the season when the ordinary
villager has little else to dispose of, the basket which he carries
to the hat on his head will seldom contain more than two of
this gigantic fruit. Mangoes do not grow well, being blown
unripe from the trees or spoiled by various insect pests.

Pan or betel-vine is grown all over the district in small
patches, principally where the villages are old and close
together, as in the thickly populated neighbourhoods of Islam-
pur, Keshjani, Nandail, Purbadhala a,nd Jangalbari. The young
creepers are planted in straight lines and have to be carefully
surrounded with walls and roofing of split bamboos and jute
sticks to protect them from the sun, the rain, the wind and the
cattle. Really good soil is required and the landlords often
demand a heavy rent for the pan baraj. It takes a year for the
plant to reach maturity, but after that the leaves can be plucked
all months of the year. Two thousand cuttings go to an acre,
and the yield is estimated at 70 lakhs of leaves. With the
extension of cultivation thatching grass has also become a
valuable crop. All lands left patit for two or three years will
gradually develop ulii (saccharum) shoots and then, if the cattle
are kept ofif, grass suitable for thatching will grow to a height
of 5 or 7 feet. Some varieties which are not of much use for
roofing make excellent fodder for cattle. The Madhupur
jungle grows a valuable grass known as kdold.

The sturdy jhdo or tamarisk bushes, which grow on all
chars soon after they have reformed, are only useful for fodder
and fuel. The reeds from which sitalpati mats are made grow
at the side of the district board road between Kalihati and
Ichapur as also here and there in Kishorganj,
Manure, The crops which depend most on manure like tobacco,

sugarcane, and chillies, are grown near homesteads, where
owing to the thickness of the population and the multitude of
cattle and goats natural manure is never wanting. Even jute
grows highest and thickest in the homestead plots. In the
outside fields artificial manure like oilcake is only applied to
pan plantations, but cowdung and ashes and aquatic weeds are
often distributed in small heaps on fields where jute is going
to be sown. In villages where straw is not particularly
valuable the rice is cut high and the stalks are burnt some

AGRICULTUEE. 55

^v^eks before the next ploughing it? due. In Jamalpur and
Tangail the sunn crop is ploughed into the ground as soon as
it flowers. This has a very good effect on the outturn of jute.

In Jamalpur cowsheds are built in the open fields at the
beginning of the cold weather and cha ^ged to a different place
two or three times in the season, so tha different fields may have
the benefit. Generally speaking, however, quite apart from
seeking for new manures, the people are very wasteful even with
regard to the supplies that are available. Soil from the bed of
Jclidls or bits is not used as a surface dressing for unfertile
fields, and much of the cowdung is collected l)y women and .
children and burnt as fuel or thrown into the bils and ri\'ers.

The habit of fencing the fields with bamboos and matting is
rapidly extending, but is of very recent origin. So long ago
as 1809 Buchanan suggested that hedges should be grown. The
people do not like thorns which will hurt their bare feet and
the thornless bushes, which might be tried, would possibly take
up too much room or die away in the rains. If the practice
grows. Government will have to insist on many more roads and
pathways.

There is only one kind of plough in general use, made ^^ j^.
of a single piece of carved wood with a sharp tip, like the ments.
head of an anchor, inset. The wood generally used is sal
procured from the Madhupur jungle and shaped by the village
mistri. The iron tips are also locally made and sold separately
in any hazdr. The pole or is is made of wood and the yoke
may be of wood or of bamboo. Any boy can carry it to the
field on his shoulders, and in Khaliajuri it is made still lighter
by hollowing out the base. In places the Meston plough
weighing 8 seers and costing Rs. 6 or 7 has been tried with
success.

The harrow or moi is a short ladder made of ])aniboo.
A pair of bullocks drag it over the clods and one or two boys
stand on it to increase the weight. The rake or blnda
is a wooden plank with one set of wooden teeth about
5 inches apart. It is di*awn by oxen through the young aus
and jute plants to thin them down and to loosen the earth.
A wooden mallet called ita nioogor or hdluri is used to
break up heavy clods in a dry field. The khurpi is a hand hoe
for weeding jute and dus paddy. The kachi or sickle is used
for reaping paddy. The rido, the kicrdl or axe and tiie khanta
or crow bar complete the list of implements in general use.

There are 25,000 carts in the district, but they are not us"d
everywhere for carrying the crops from the field to the

B

56 MYMENSINGH.

threshing floor. In the eastern parganas bullocks drag t'he
harvest home on bamboo tripods — carts without wheels. The
18th century practice of using bullocks like pack ponies
has quite gone into disuse, and a large proportion of each crop is
carried home on the heads of the harvesters.
Cattle. There are about two million cattle in the district and fifty

thousand buffaloes. The number of bulloc'cs and cows per
square mile varies from 1,270 in Kendua to 240 in Gafargaon.
The average for the district is 31 bulls, 89 bullocks, 97 cows and
93 calves.

In 1809 bullocks cost Rs. 3 to 6. Nowadays many are
imported from Bihar, and a really good pair are worth from
Rs. 80 to 250. Cows giving 2 seers of milk cost from Rs. 40
to 100.

The imported animals are chiefly used by professional
cartmen, and the cultivators as a whole have to be content with
the weedy -and undersized cattle that are bred locally. No
trouble is taken about the breeding, quite young and un-
suitable bulls being allowed to roam among the flocks, and
very few of the cattle are properly fed. In the cold weather in
the hit areas dJuib grass grows luxuriantly, and for this reason
the eastern thdnds and Sherpur have the best supply of cattle.
Elsewhere the cattle have to satisfy their hunger on the meagre
grass which grows on the ails of fields or on the roadsides. In
the rains they are tied up in the bdri and fed on coarse grass cut
from the bils, or on chopped up straw and water. Insufficient
grazing grounds combined with the enervating climate and
overwork are responsible for the poor quality of the cattle,
which is only to some extent made up by the prodigality
of their numbers.

In many places it is quite common to see cows yoked to the
plough, and the best mof ussil cow only gives one or two seers
of milk a day. The calf is allowed to suck all day, but is tied
up at night and the cow is milked as soon as the calf gets to her
in the morning. Indian C3ws do not give milk until the calf
has had a first pull.

Before the Muhammadan conquest Hindus never castrated
bulls, but Muhammadans do it regularly. The bullock is
worked in his fourth year and its average life is 12 years. A
cow has its first calf in its fifth year and usually produces
eight in all.

BufEaloe-i are used for carts and ploughs in all parts of
the district, but chiefly near the Garo Hills and in the Madhu-
pur jungle. There are bathans where large herds are kept

AGRICULTURE. 57

»
in the east of the Netrakona subdivision, and they are well fed

on the saccharum grasses of the hila. They cost Rs. 30 to

120 each. They are seldom fierce and are sometimes little

bigger than cows.

Sheep are to be found here and there, and goats are every-
where plentiful. Fowls and ducks are kept in all Muham-
madan households. Pigs are driven in big hoards about the
district, wherever an interval between the dilFerent crops
gives special opportunities for grazing.

A certain amount of cattle disease is endemic, chiefly
anthrax and foot and mouth disease. The District Board has a
Veterinary Hospital at Mymensingh and employs nine Veteri-
nary Assistants.

In Reynolds' time the Madhupur jungle was estimated to Poreste
give an outturn of Rs. 10,000, and other forests in the Atia,
Kagmari and Joanshahi parganas yielded another Rs. 5,000.
About 300 square miles of the Madhupur jungle is now
covered with trees, and it is the only forest extant. The chief
tree is the gazdri or bastard sdl^ and the Maharaja of Nator
makes an income of about 5 lakhs out of the northern
villages. The centre and the south belong to all the Atia
landlords in common. The Board of Management has much
to contend with in the selfishness of individual co-sharers, who
are always encouraging the ryots of their 16-anna villages to
encroach on the ijmdli lands. Small blocks of the forest are
leased out to temporary ijdrdddrs, who have no interest in
restocking the portions they liave cut. Honey, wax, yams and
thatching grass are among the subsidiary products of the jungle,
which add considerably to the income of the zamindars.

E 2

58 MYMENSINGH.

CHAPTER VI.

NATURAL CALAMITIES.
Earth- Xhe earthquake of 1897 is a local landmark of time. It

QUAKE riF ^

1897. occurred on the 12th June 1897 at 5-11 P.M., local time,

travelling from north-west to south-south-east and lasting for
about a minute and a half. Many public buildings at Sadar
including the Judge's house were wrecked, and very few of the
two-storied or brick built houses belonging to zamindars in the
mofussil survived. Heavy damage was done to the permanent-
way and bridges on the Dacca-Mymensingh Railway and traffic
was suspended for about a fortnight. The loss of life was not
great, but the loss of property has been estimated at fifty lakhs
of rupees. The river communication of the district was
seriously affected. In 1898 the Government of Bengal deputed
an expert engineer to report on the condition of the rivers
and to devise means for deepening the channels. He reported
that the earthquake had accelerated (.he process of silting up,
which was primarily due to the natural decay of the Brahma-
putra, which had previously fed all the other rivers, and that
no improvements which were possible at a reasonable cost
could be permanent.
Cyclones. The district is always liable to suddtui storms of almost

cyclonic intensity, whicb are usually more or less local in their
path. In 1913 one of these storms demolished all the villages
of Muktagacha, that fell in its course, and some 50 people were'
killed in one village alone. On the 19th April 1845 a storm
blew down the walls of the jail and ho-ipital. Tin roofs and
jute godowns are always coming to grief, but a.; a rule the
katcha houses of the cultivators seem to escape in a marvellous
way.
Floods. The people can never be seriously afraid of either flood

or drought in sufficient quantity to threaten famine. There
are usually more wet than fine days in April and May, and
the dus and jute crops are more likely to sulTer from standing
in too much water than from drought. It is rare that there
is not sufficient rain iu July and August for transplanting the

NATURAL CALAMITIES. 59

drndf-n crop, though, if planted late, this sometimes suffers from
the rains stopping too early in September.

Floods due to heavy rainfall in Assam sometimes cause the
rivers in Tangail and Hajitpiir to flood their banks, with the
resalt that some of the jute and diis cannot be reaped. But
the people are prepared for this and the damage done is
confined to small areas. The floods in 1915 were exceptional
in their severity, and tiie distress caused on this occasion is
probably the nearest parallel to that which resulted from the
flooding of the Teesta in 1879, when the change in the course
of the Brahmaputra began. Martin says that the floods were
accompanied by a deluge which washed away half the people
and cattle from the couiltry near which the new channel ran.

Except in connection with horo dhCtn there is no irrigation. Iuuiga-
This crop is transplanted in the late autumn from seedling beds '^^'^'^•
in all th^ shallower bih of the Kishorganj and Netrakona
subdivisions and in some parts o£ Tangail, as soon as the water
at the edge of the bils decrease^ to a depth of one or two feet.
At this season the water dries up very rapidly, and it is necc^s-
sary to irrigate the crop almost up to the time when it is ripe.
It is do!ie by dividing up the b'.l into terraces by ails of mud
at short intervals and raising the water from the centre of the
bil by means of a kunt. This is a kind of caaoe 13 feet long,
one foot broad and one foot deep, of which one end has been
cut away. The other end faces the reservoir and moves up
and down on a fulcrum. A bamboo over 20 feet long, fixed
over the canoe and parallel to it, is weighted with earth and
straw at the end furthest from the reservoir, so that unless
pressed down by the foot of the operator the entire end remains
poised over the water. The instrument is dipped into the
reservoir, until a regular stream of water flows down the
narrow channels, called slriy which are left between the ails.
If the fields to be irrigated are a long way from the centre
of the bil or deep /tMZ, which forms the reservoir, several kunds
have to be used. One ku)id can only raise water 18 inches,
but in the flat plains of Khaliaj iri and Bajitpur five or six
kunds are sufficient to spread the water over many square
miles.

It is a good illustration of the conservatism of the country
that Buchanan in 1809 gave an exact description of this in-
strument under the name of jant. He said that the labour
required was disproportionate to the results, and suggested
that the yatan as used in Madras could raise mor^* water 8
to 10 feet from a well than a jani could raise it 18 inches. In

60 MYMENSINGH.

Malda the factories employ a kind of capstan machine, whith,
if adopted in this district, would greatly extend the cultivation
of winter crops. The difficulty is the want of combination
among the ryots, who could not easily be persuaded to work
together to irrigate all their fields in turn. Protective banks
have never been built to prevent the water running away from
wide areas, but the smaller khclls in Tangail, Muktagacha,
Nandail and Netrakona are always bunded at the beginning
of the cold weather to prevent the bils draining too rapidly.
It is a dangerous problem interfering with any of these khals
and bils, whether to deepen them or to bund them, for what
benefits one village will almost certainly do corresponding
damage to another.

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES. 61

CHAPTER VII.

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES.

MymenSINGH differs from the other districts in the division The land-
in that the great bulk ot the land is held by a few big zamin-
dars. The most striking feature in the histories of these
families is the large part played by adoption in providing heirs.
Some of the largest estates are now owned by widow ladies.
In spite of the low incidence of the revenue, the number of
estates, whose solvency is beyond question, is strictly limited.
It cannot be alleged as a reason for their indebtedness that the
landlord class have a standard of living which is above their
income. With few exceptions their dwelling and guest houses
are unpretentious, their horses and carriages make no show,
and they live in Indian style on the baza?' products of the
country. At various times daring the 19th century most of
them have been absentees living in Calcutta. For a long time
their rent rolls were sufficient for their needs, and they left the
management of their estates in the hands of corrupt and
inefficient a?nlas, who were at no pains to enhance the rents by
gradual and legitimate enhancements, so long as they could
line their own pockets with large sums in the way of nazar
and collection expenses and abwclbs. Litigation has played
its usual part in impoverishing the majority of the estates, as
also the needs of a large body of useless hangers-on or poor
relations. It seems certain that most of the income goes in
petty expenditure of a wasteful and indefinite character, for
which there is nothing to show. Few of the big landowners
have really devoted any of their own time or interest to the
economical management of their affairs — the late Maharaja
Surjya Kanta and the present Raja of Ramgopalpur and the
Rani of Santosh, 6 annas, being perhaps the only notable excep-
tions. The Maharaja got a good start, as during his minority _
the estate was under the Court of Wards.

The Muhammadau families owe much of their prevailing
obscurity and poverty to the subdivision of their estates atnong
female heirs according to the Muhammadan Law of succession,
and it is diificult to see what the future of these families can
be or how their estates are to be administiTod at all. It

62 MYMENSINGH.

has taken tho Settlement Department two years to unra-^-el
the proportionate share of the profits to which the various
wards in the Karatia Estate are entitled, the different
interests of the cousins in various estates and imttiis having
descended from the same ancestors in different ways. Their
Plindu amlas have always cheated their masters and in the old
days permanent tenures in the most valuable villages were
alienated without sufficient consideration and appropriated as
Khdrijd Taluks by influential servants. By this means the
descendants of Isa Khan at Haibatnagar and Jangalbari have
lost much of their original property.
The The bulk of the Hindu hhadralok are themselves petty

class. tdlukddrs and tenureholders, living in inaccessible villages in

tin-roofed houses with wood or mat walls. Those who cannot
live on the rents they collect whether in produce or cash take
service with the zamindars, each big estate having an enormous
staff of ill-paid ndibs and mohurrirs, who know no English
und have no real kuowledge of business methods, but make
up for their poor salaries by intriguing with ryots for their
sliare of the ahwdbs and go-between fees. The professional
classes are chiefly represented by the pleaders and mukhtedrs
at Sadar and Subdivisional head-quarters. There are also
jute dealers and school masters, some doctors and chemists
combined, a few contractors and the clerks working in the
Government and District Board offices. There is no doubt
that this class feels the pressure of the rise of prices, for
their standard of living has been going up, while the cost of
food, house rent, and travelling has increased inordinately.
It is the marriages and education of their children for which
this class is always getting into debt, and while no foreigner
can help admiring the unselfishness of the parents who deny
themselves all luxuries and many necessaries to give their
sons an education, which will bring them Government appoint-
ments, the tendency, which is seen in all classes to educate
their sons a step higher than they have themselves reached,
is responsible for the problem of the educated unemployed
and the slow progress of commercial and industrial enterprise
in Bengal.

It may cost a zamindar in a good position Rs. 40,000 to
marry a daughter, and it costs a Hindu clerk on Rs. 40 or Rs. 50
about Rs. 400. School fees sound very low, but they mount
up with boarding expenses, and private tuition is often
required. No house in Mymensingh can be rented for less
than Rs. 10 or Rs. 15 a month, and an officer on Rs. 150 may

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES. 63

havft to pay Rs. 25 or Rs. 30. Travelling by train or by bicycle
is cheap, but the cost of long ionmeja hyj'Cilki ov tikka gari
is a great strain on the hhadiulok, who have to take their
families from place to place to visit relations or on transfer.
The poorest pony 12 hands high cannot be bought under Rs, 80,
and it is difficult to get carts at four annas a inil"^. In 1866
carts could be hired for from 12 annas to 14 annas a day and
before that 8 annas was the regular rate.

The agriculturists are the really prosperous class as well altIcuI
as by far the most numerous. Practically all, including class.
the bargaddrs, have occupancy rights, and until the recent
settlement all were cultivating a larger area than that for
which they were paying rent. The average family certainly
cultivates 3 to 4 acres, but the statistics are very misleading.
A few ])ig holdings of over 400 acres in Dewanganj bring the
average up, but on the other hand there are many small
holdings held by the same ryot in different villages or under
the same or different landlords in the same village. Except in
Patiladaha only one in 25 or 50 acres is sublet to under-ryots.

Fixed or lump rents are very much the exception, but the Rents,
average rent bears the same low proportion to the profits, as the
revenue of the zamindars to their collections. In a very few
villages there is one common rate, but in the great majority
the land is classed as A'//oc?, Pctldn^ Aivdl, Doyafu and Chhiyain.
In the older Gazetteers it is stated that except in two parganas
the rent is not based on the crop, but generally speaking the
lands which are assessed highest in any village are those which
grow the more valuable crop. In the eastern parganas
horo lands carry the highest rate, in Alapsingh jute lands,
and in the jungle dman lands. It is a peculiarity of the
district that khod or homestead land, even when extended
at the expense of the profitable agricultural land, is always
the most heavily rated, though still higher rents are paid
occasionally for the Pdnharaj on which betel creepers are
grown. The Bihar system by which homestead lands are
belaydn, or rent-free, seems fairer, especially as their
superior value is in most cases due to the personal exertions of
the ryots. A large nazar is paid by ryots excavating a tank
even when this is for the general benefit of the village and
a sanitary necessity. In many cases in virtue of this sum of
money down, the area of the tank is afterwards excluded from
assessment.

For homesteads the highest rents are realised in Alapsingh
and Hosenshahi, Rs. 7 or 8 being normal and Rs. H or 12

64 MYMENSINGH.

the maximum. In the eastern parganas the high la^ids
are so rare as to command fancy rates in some cases. For
agricultural land the ordinary rate is from Rs, 3-8 to 6
an acre all over the district. Cultivators holding under an
intermediate tenureholder or under a resident khdrija tcllukdd?'
pay a little more than those holding direct under a big landlord,
and ko7'fd ryots, or undertenants holding under an ordinary
joteddr, pay almost double.

There are innumerable villages where no partition has
taken place and the ryots hold under from 7 — 160 co-sharer
landlords, who cannot combine to appoint a common manager
or to make ijmdli collections. The result is that the smaller
co-sharers do not find it pay to maintain a regular collecting
establishment, but send an agent round once every three or
five years to collect what he can. Arrears of rent are seldom
collected and there are never any enhancements. This and the
inaccuracy of ail previous measurements help to account for
the great difference between the nominal village rates and the
actual amount found to be paid per acre, when the total rental
is divided by the area under cultivation. The produce of an
acre of land in the district may vary from Rs. 140 to 25
and the selling price from Rs. 400 to 150. It will be obvi-
ous therefore that the ryots' rent proper is one of the least
important factors in his budget. This is borne out by the fact
that in Iswarganj and Alapsingh the rates of rent are as high
as anywhere in the district, and the people are apparently the
most prosperous. In Sherpur and Patiladaha the rates are
low, but there is less certainty about the crops and the soil is
sandy ; consequently this is the only part of the district
where in a normal year agricultural loans are ever wanted
and where the burden of indebtedness is really heavy. In
the Tangail subdivision the people are distinctly poorer and
less independent. This fact has nothing to do with the rent,
because within the district limits of variation the maximum
and minimum are often to be found in adjoining villages and
estates in this subdivision. It is possibly due to the greater
density of the population and the smaller size of the average
holding.

The prosperity of the village apart from the fertility of the
soil and its safety from inundations depends far more on the
character of the mdthbars and the conduct of the zamindari
dmla than on the nominal rent. In Tangail especially the
dmla are all powerful and collect double the rent in the form
of collection expenses and other ahivdhs. In Jafarshahi and

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES. 65

Al^singh villages the headmen oppose the dmia and make
common cause with the villagers. Before a measurement and
its accompanying enhancement can take place, the mdthhars
have to be approached and promised that their own rents will
not be increased. This is secured by a substantial anugraha
kami or lump deduction, which, added to the fact that
their lands are never honestly measured, results in the rich
men paying a much lower rate than their less influential
neighbours.

Few of the yidlhs get salaries of more than Rs. 30 a month Zamindsri

manage-

and the muharrirs only lught or nine. This means that they ment.
are bound to supplement their pay in the same way as the
paiks and harkandazes, who get Rs. 4 or 5 and are allowed
to take from annas 4 to a rupee as well as daily khordki from
every person on whom they serve a notice. The number of
dmla who have to be supported by the tenantry is enormously
increased by the absurd complication and reduplication of the
papers in which the accounts are kept. A new chitha^ or a
list of plots, with their four boundaries is drawn up with no
regard to the order of the same plots in a previous chitha.
Before the new jamahandi can be prepared, khutiatis have to
be written out for each ryot showing the difl'erent plots of
which he is in possession with their areas and rate. The land
is divided into numerous classes which nobody not born and
bred in the village can distinguish and verify, and each class
has a different rate. Rent is calculated for each plot singly,
not on the nearest katha to the nearest anna, but say on
1 arha, 2 bhutas, 3 kathas, 2 karas, 1 kdg and 17 til to the
nearest ganda or pie. From the jamahandi a janiaivdsilbdki
is prepared whose 24 to 400 columns are sometimes written
on paper three yards wide. This form shows the rent for each
class of land separately with reductions and deductions for
20 different things such as batta, izdfd, jalkar, diluvion, which
have had no practical application to the village for generations,
and wliose headings even the old d)nla cannot interpret. The
result of all these columns is that neither the jainabandi nor
the jamawdsilbdki is of any use for collection p.irposes, a
separate talabhaki paper has to be prepared for each ryot
showing the total rent and arrears due and the kists in which he
pays it. This is not kept in such a form that payments in several
years can be shown in parallel columns. The whole thing has
to be written afresh each year. Transfers are usually noted in
separate papers called gatdgat^ which are never linked up
intelligently with the jamahandi. The dmda^ii or cash bv^ok.

66 MYMENSINGH.

showing payments as they are made, is the only register whkjh
oould not be simplified threefold. Tlie kabuliyats are also
written in meaningless sterioLyp(?d language at four times
the necessary length. As a consequence when a landlord sues
for increased rent under section lOo, the collection papers of
one village have to be brought in a cart and kept in the record
room in tin trunks large enough to accommodate all the lug-
gage of a passenger on a P. & 0. liner. One of the greatest
boons the district settlement can confer on the landlords will be
any influence its records may have in causing them, to rewrite
their collection papers on ils basis.

According to the landlords' papers rent is usually payable
in 4 or 12 kists. As a matter of fact the ryots pay when they
like without regard to the interest which is added for kists in
arrears. Nearly all rent comes in after the principal crop is cut,
jute in the west, horo dhan in the east, and dman paddy in the
north.

Some of the big landlords, especially along the banks of the
Jamuna, make as large an income out of nazar, or money
charged for transfers and new settlements, as out of the rent
proper. This is usually 2-3 per cent, or 50 per cent, of the
purchase money paid by the transferee. Though holdings are
nominally not transferable in the district, the buying and sel-
ling of whole or partial holdings goes on freely. The landlord
is never asked for his permisnon beforehand, but sooner or
later the purchaser pays the nazar and has his name substitut-
ed in the landlords' collection papers as the holder of the jote.
Often this transaction does not take place till 3 or 10 years after
the sale deed or kaivdla has been registered.

There are 36 Registration offices in Mymensingh and the
number of deeds registered rose from 120,150 in 1907 to 162,071
in 1915. About 80 per cent, of these deeds are sales of ryoti
holdings or mortgages. The ntimber goes up in time of scar-
city but an increase spread over a long term is certainly not
due to agricultural depression. Many of the sales are not to
mahdjans btit to other ryots, and are due to temporary indebt-
edness caused by special extravagance, e.g. litigation and mar-
riages.
Prices. The price of all agricultural produce has risen enormously

in recent years. Only 8 or- 10 years ago the price of jute was
Rs. 5 — 7 a maunl, and of ric3 Rs. 2-S. Until the outbreak of the
war jute was selling at Rs. 12 to 15, and rice at Rs. 5 a
maund. Straw costs Rs. 5 to 7 a cartload, whereas 10 or 15
years Ugo it could be had for nothing, and the fowls, vegetables

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES.

67

fruit, eggs, milk and other farmyard produce, which are taken
to the local hdts in exchange for the oil, clothes, and luxuries in
which an ordinary ryot indulges, have all doubled in money
value in the last 15 years. The following list gives some index
to the change in money value of some of the main products : —

1811.

1840.

I'JOl.

1915.

Rs. A.

Es. A.

Rs. A.

Rs. A.

Common rice ...

1 0

1 6

3 4

6 4a mauiid.

Wheat

0 8

2 8

5 0

8 4 a inaiind.

Mustard oil

0 2

0 2

0 7

0 10 a seer.

Jute ...

• ••

1 8

5 0

8 0a raaiind,

before tlie
war, 12 to 15

Ghee

0 6

1 0

1 8

2 4a seer.

In 1794 the Emperor made an allowance of 7 annas a day
for the maintenance of the family of a respectable Muham-
madan Sheikh called Fuzzullalla. In 1839 it was possible to
contract to feed 82 prisoners for Re. 1 a day, whereas it
now costs Rs. 8. Wf^ges have increaseil in much the sams
proportion. In 1811 the Collector writes that "the wages of a
cooly was one ann i per diem and this was more than that
description of people receive in the Mafassil ". In 1832 their
wages were Rs. 3 a month and up to 1901 not more than .5
aiinas per diem, whereas now 8 annas a day is the minimum
and in the jute godoivns they earn Re. 1 to Rs. 2.
Agricultural labourers living with their masters havo not yet
risen beyond Rs. 48 a year with their food, but garden
coolies and grass cutters and ^y^<></r/ic<?w/-/c/.«f expect from Rs. 11
to 9.

In the meantime it cannot be said that the nect'ssities or
even the luxuries of the ryot, who grows enough d/uin for his
own consumption, have increased to anything like the same
standard. He is still content with a collection of small huts sur-
rounded by a fence of bamboo matting or jute sticks, \\iLh a very
minimum of clothes, and the boats, agricultural implements>
and food of his forefathers. Tiie tin lam}>s, the earthenware
pots, the wooden hookahs, the two penny half penny ornaments
and toys which he brings back from tlie /tdt, aro all of the most
tawdry and cheap manufacture. No doubt he spends more on
umbrellas, medicines, crockery and cooking vessels than his

68

MYMENSINGH.

Material,
condition
of the
culti-
vators.

Indebted-
ness.

grandfather. But these are small items, and there is no sign
that the tin-roofed houses and roomy guest houses, which are
conspicuous in every village, date from very recent years.
Now that cultivation has extended so much, the usd of tin
instead of thatching grass is really an economy. No more
money is spent on wells and tanks than in the past, and only
the absolute improvidence of the people and their fondness for
litigation can account for the great majority not being out of
debt as the result of the iniiated prices of the last few years.
The one thing of real importance to the cultivator, that has
gone up in price corresponding with agricalcural produce, is
labour. Unfortunately the Muhammadan cultivator is born
lazy, and pride prevents even the poorest of them from doing
any earth work or manual labour, which is not strictly a part
of agriculture. The Muhammadan peasant considers himself
a gentleman, and this would be to his credit, if it ilid not mean
that even to measure his own field with a chain is derogatory.
When the Settlement Operations were in progress, khalasies
had to be imported from Hazaribagh to carry the Kanuugos'
plane table from field to field at hujharat. When a ryot thinks
that the level of his field is unsatisfactory or that an ail
requires heightening, or there is a new plinth to be built, he
hires up-country labourers to remove the necessary earth at 12
annas or Re. 1 a day.

It is this laziness and false pri<ie that has prevented the
inhabit ints of Mymensingh from taking full advantage of the
vast inflow of money into the district during the last few years.
They now employ labourers from outside districts to cut their
paddy, to steep their ]ute and to carry it to market. It is the
cost of the labour, which they used to do themselves, that is
solely responsible for increasing the cost of cultivation.

How far the burdea of debt lies on the agricultural popula-
tion and how far it is still increasing is a difficult problem.
The Settlement Officer of Dacca has collected statistics accord-
ing to which the average indebtedness is Rs. 21 per head
in those parts of Dacca, which border on Mymensingh.
Possibly the figures are misleading, and it is doubtful if 70
per cent, of the ryots are seriously in debt. Tiaey are so
improvident, that they think it natural and proper to be in
debt to some extent, and they will take all the advances at 24
per cent, interest that the nuihdjan will give them. Generally
speaking they do not realise how costly their short loans at
monthly interest are ; they look upon the mahdjan as the
friend, who comes to their aid when they are in temporary

RENTS. WAGES AND PRICES. 69

difficulties, and their promises to him come before the rent or
any other claims, when a new crop is harvested. The mahdjan
on his side cares chiefly for his interest, he has always as
many demands as his capital will sustain, and he is not anxious
to sell up his clients and to claim their lands. When he does
buy tip an occupancy holding on a money decree, he usually
resettles it with the owner at an increased rent. Occasionally
he insists on a prodtice rent. Only in Dewanganj and parts
of Tangail has an appreciable proportion of the land passed
into the hands of non-agricuhurist money lenders. Produce-
paying tenants are not as numerous as in Dacca. There are
very few, who pay a fixed weight of paddy or jute ; the great
majority are hargaddrs paying half or one-third of the
produce, whatever it may be.

On the whole it does not appear th\t this system has been
a source of serious abuse in this district. Nearly all the
hargaddrs have jote lands of their own. They employ their
surplus ploughs in cultivating the land of widow neighbours or
of those who have lost their cattle. If the ow-ner wishes to oust
them, there are always others glad to give them new lands on
the same terms. On the other hand there are many who have
cultivated the aame lands on these terms for generations, like
the ryot in Tangail who had ploughed one field for 30 years
btit agreed to ab -ent himself during the settlement season on
the promise that he would get the land back after attestation
was over. They are an unambitious class and apparently quite
content with the profits they get. Generally speaking the
hargaddrs and their landlords are on good terms, and it would
be a mistake to advertise the right of commutation, which ha=>
never been claimed in this district since the Tenancy Act was
passed.

The only part of the district, where the question of produce Produce
rent has really been a problem is with the Hajong tenants of '■^°^^-
Susung round about Durgapur. This is the only pargana
where rents in fixed quantities of paddy are common, and the
usual figure of from 6 to 10 maunds an acre is considerably
heavier than the highest cash rent. All the same they are rents
which the tenants are well able to pay, and for which they
have usually contracted with their eyes open from the begin-
ning. Sometimes; however, cash rents have been changed into
produce rents in defiance of the principle of section 29 of the
Tenancy Act.

One thing, however, is quite certain The hat'gadars, though
often they get their seeds from the landlord and occasionally

70 MYMENSINGH.

also their ploaglis, nowhere approach the condition of la'bour-
ers, though that term is sometimes used in their kahuliyats.
They are exactly of the same stamp and status as their fellow
cultivators on cash rents, and would laugh at any one who
seriously classed them with the labourers they themselves
employ to cat their paddy or to do earthwork.

To return to the representative Mymensingh cultivator with
a holding of 6 to 10 acres, considering his wants and knowledge?
his m;iterial condition can only be described as prosperous. He
grows eiiough paddy to feed his whole family for at least nine
months of the year and the sale-proceeds of his jute ar-e suffi-
cient after purchasing paddy for the remaining months to pay
his rent, the yearly wages of one farm servant, and the interest
on his debts. His own cows supply the family with milk,
because it is not considered dignified for a Muhammadan to sell
milk. Vegetables and certain kinds of frait like cocoanuts,
plantains ami jack frait grow in abundanca in almost every
hdri. There are few villages where at least in some months of
the year every villager cannot catch his own fish in the nearest
hil or ditch. There is no objection to fishing with rod or basket
even in reserved fisheries, and the villagers have the right to fish
all shallow bils twice n week free even in the KhaliajurT area,
y<'\\eve jalkar is the chief source of revenue.

The climate of Bengal does not seem to punish its people for
living in wet clothes or lying on damp beds. To a European
the village /;ari with its attached cowsheds, surrounded on all
sides by bamboos and trees and the irregular water-logged
ditches from which the earth has been taken for the plinths of
the hous'.s, must seem the height of dank discomfort. The
native seems quite pleased with it, because the richest makes
no attempt at improvement in any of these respects. His house
is at least waterproof, and there are few which have not a big
haithakkhana, where the men sit and talk in the evening and
receive guests. The furniture consists of wooden taktas or
platforms, some mats, a few stools and occasionally chairs.
There is always a sufficiency of brass utensils for cooking and
for drinking water, and the rafters of the roof take the place
of cupboards, just as strings fastened to the mat walls take the
place of shelves. The supply of dhdn is kept in big basket?, or
in separate round godowns raised from the ground on short
wooden piles.

The Muhammadan ryot has therefore enough food, shelter,

and leisure to be happy, and the biweekly hat gives him all the

ocial excitement he requires. It is only for fuel and for fodder

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES. 71

foj- liis cattle that he experiences some difficulty as the result
of the recent extension of cultivation. The Madhupur jungle
covers all the centre of the district, and there are few villages
where the cultivators cannot find some jungly patches from
which to gather firewood. Cowdung is, however, the common
resource. That grazing lands have become so scarce is the
ryot's own fault. He ties his cattle on the roads and hdfdts
and in the fields, as soon as the crop is cut, and, if the supply
of straw falls short, he does not mind if the cattle suffer.

His children get all the exercise and amusement they want,
playing in the fields and the tanks and ditches. Tin; eastern
villages, however, are for six months in every year islets in
a huge sea, resting on a foundation of earth and bamboo
extensions, and packed to overfiowing with men, women, chil-
dren, and ilomestic animals. Here life must be wearisome
in the extreme. Every hut touching another is a separate 6rt/'/,
and there are no courtyards in between. The women and
cliildren, who cannot go out in boats for their daily work, get
no exercise at all, and their tempers and morals sufl'er accord-
ingly. ..In all parts of the district, those who are ill must sufi'er
unnecessarily, for though all class^^s in India are willing to
nurse their own kin most devotedly, medical and sanitary
knowledge are absolutely lacking, and doctors and dispensaries
and modern medical comforts are usually far away.

As a conclusion to this chapter it may be interesting to give
the budget of two representative families.

A — Superintendent of a zamindari estate in Kishorganj keeps
up two establishments one at Taljanga, consisting of himself and
two servants, and another at Rauha, where his wife, mother,
daughter, one nephew and one servant reside. One nephew is
at school at Kishorganj, where he lives with a relation.

Incuine.

Halary at Ks. 75 ...

30 maunils of paddy, the rent of 4 acres
of land given ont in burga

Nazar, etc.

its.

A.

900

0

90

0

;?0()

0

TotiJ ... 1,200 0

Rs.

72 MYMENSINGH.

Expenditure.

School expenditure, including booi<-< for the
nephew at Kishortjanj at Re. 5 per month
Clothing— 42 dholies at Re. 1-2 each
6 saries at Rs. 2 eacti

Other cloUiiu^
3 pairs of shoes ...
3 urahrellas
Food —

Rice, 48 inauiids, at Rs. 5-8

Pulses, 10 inaunds, at Rs. 5-8 ...

Fisli, Rs. 4 per month

Mustard oil for rubbing and consumption,

10 seers per month
Spices, Rs. 2 per month
Vegetables, Rs. 2-8 per month ...
Salt, 8f seers per month
Fuel at Rs. 2-8 per month
Milk at Rs. 12 ]*fr month
Sugar, sweets and fruit
Lighting — Kerosine oil at Rs. 2-8

Servants" wages, 3 at Rs. 4

Rent to landlord

Medicine

Pujas and otlier religious observances

Travelling

Total

A Muhammadan family of 16 members.

Source of Income.
880 rupees of proiluce, and profits on jute trading of about Rs. 5-0
Total income ... ... Rs. 1,380

60

0

47

4

lii

0

30

D

18

0

3

0

264

0

55

0

■ 48

0

80

0

24

0

30

0

{)

0

30

0

144

0

30

0

30

0

144

0

24

0

20

0

50

0

30

0

1,182

4

Kvpendiiu re.

Dholies of 5 adult males, 30 at Re. 1-2 each

Do. for 5 boys, 20 at 10 annas eacli
Chadars for summer wear for 5 adults at

10 annas each
Chalam for winter wear for 5 adults and

5 boys at Rs. 3 ...
Gamchns (long country towels) for 5 adults

and 5 boys, 2 each, 4 annas

Is.

A.

33

12

12

8

3

2

30

0

5

0

RENTS, WAGES AND PRICES. ' 73

Rs. A.
K 11} tan, t)rie for each male member, except

infants, 10 at Re. 1
Caps ...
Saries for mother, 5 at Re. 1-4

Do. for 3 wives (eight for each) at Re. 1-8
Umbrella and miscellaneous items
School fees for 2 boys
Books and stationery
i^Lioys attend tlic local primary school).
6 tins of kerosine oil at Rs 2-4
Rent and chaukidari tax
Religious observances, e.g., Ids and for

sacrifice of animals at Bahrids
Rice, 1.5 seers per day, at Rs. 5-8
Dal, 15 maunds in the year, at Rs. 7-8 per

n^aunil
Oil (mustard), 2 maunds
Salt, 2 maunds in the year, at Rs. 3
S|)ices, 2 seers per montli, at 6 annas
Onions, 10 seers per month, at 3 annas
Sweets and confectionery at Rs. 2 per

montii ... ...

Tobacco, 2 maunds a year, at Rs. 7
Fan supdri at Rs. 2 per month
Festivities, guests, etc.
Cattle and agricultural implements

Total

10

0

2

10

6

4

3G

0

9

0

12

0

6

0

11

4

37

0

25

0

752

8

112

8

42

0

6

0

9

0

22

8

24

0

14

0

24

0

30

0

100

0

1,37G

0

F 2

74 MYMENSINGH.

CHAPTER VIII.

OCCUPATION AND TRADES.

According to the Census of I'Jll, out ot a population of
4,H2t),422, 81 per cent, are dependent on agriculture and 2^ per
cent, on fishing. These are the main occupations of the natives
of Mymeusingh ; nearly all the coolies and domestic servants
are up-country men, the professional boatmen mostly hail from
Dacca, atid there are no manufactures of importance.

The rest of the population falls mainly under the following
classifications : —

1. Cotton, jute and otlier textile industries ... 30,300

2. Trade in textiles, hides, etc. ... ... 28,000

3. Oil manufactures ... ... ... 23,300

4. Grocers and sellers of oil ... ... ... 29,500

5. Fish dealers "^ ... ... ... ... 20,000

6. Money lenders ... ... , ... ... 17,000

7. Kent receivers ... ... ... ... 20,200

8. Professions ... ... ... ... 4,500

Except among the Garos and llajongs the occupation of the
women of the district is confined to the domestic duties, includ-
ing the feeding of the cattle, husking the paddy, and fetching
water from the tank or well. They do not work in the fields
or go to market, and seldom touch the jute.

Jute has been treated in the Chapter on Agriculture. There
are machines at Sarisabari, Bhairab, Mymensingh and other
important centres for pressing it into bales for easier carriage to
Calcutta, but otherwise it undergoes no manufacturing process
in this district. Early in the 19th century ijclt was woven into
cloth by low caste Hindu women in Dinajpur. It was used for
bedding, for covering bales of cloth, and for rice and sugar bags.
If the annual outturn exceeded one lakh, as Buchanan says, it
is obvious that it cannot have been unknown in this district.
Until the failure of indigo the local people grew enough merely
to make ropes for their boats, houses and cattle.

Between 1800 and 1(S60 there must have been 10 to 50
indigo factories in the district. In 1873 there were only three
left. As is shown in Sir J. P. Grant's minute on the Indigo
Commission Report of 1859, the market price of the manufac-
tured article (Ro. 10 for 2 seers or the outturn of one bigha) did

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 75

not allow the planter to pay for the raw material more than a
third of what the cultivator could get by growing rice in low-
lying villages, and in the richer tlistricts of Bengal like Jessore
and Nadia the ryot was actually losing Rs. 7 a bigha. In
Bengal, also, the cultivators were more difficult to deal with
than in Bihar. So long ago as 1(S20 Buchanan wrote about the
difficulties of indigo planters in Eastern Bengal : —

" They had to give up cultivating the plant owing to the
frauds and extortions to which every man cultivating on a
large scale in this country must be exposed. Each ryot will
only grow a small quantity, so even for 100 maunds of indigo
the area of cultivation must be widespread. The ryots will
not cultivate it without advances nearly the value of the expect-
ed crop, and having rec 'ived the money they are careless about
the cultivation, and the ploughing, sowing, and weeding have
all to be watched by the planters with the result that there are
endless dispute.^ in spite of the detailed agreements that are
always drawn up in writing. The Mandals receive the
advances and distribute to smaller ryots getting a commission
on the crop.

"The causes of ill-feeling in the indigo districts is attributed
by the ryots lo the manufacturers treating them as slaves after
they have once taken advances and refusing to allow them to
repay balances and relintiuish cultivation. Also to his servants
cheating them in the measure of the land and the measure of
the weed. They also complained that the whole produce did
not equal in value the rent, which the zamindars heighten out
of spite.

"The zamindars said the manufacturers were so insolent and
violent that no respectable family could live near them and they
encouraged the ryots not to pay rent.

The planters defended themselves by saying that the
zamindars hated the authority as members of the ruling caste
which they enjoyed with the lower natives and could not make
their usual illegal extortions."

Buchanan's conclusion is that Europ'.'aiis were not perfectly
subject to the Courts of Law and that fresh licenses should be
refused, as it was not politic that British subjects should be put
on the same footing with the natives. Europeans who are not
responsible to the Company for their conduct should have their
business restricted to th(5 principal seaports.

Regulation V of liS.'iO was the result of several big failures
in Calcutta. It made the evasion by a ryot of his indigo contract
punishable by a Magistrate, but it was rescinded in 18 55. This

76 MYMENSINGH,

left the planter with no renietly except physical force or the
Civil Court, it' the ryots after taking. advances refused to i,a'ow
any plant, and experience showed that both remedies were in-
sufficient when the ryots could rely on the assistance of the
landlords. Very few of the planters had kept any lands in
their kluis possession, so they could not eke out their profits by
growing country crops like their rivals in Bihar. They there-
fore sold their interest in the land to tin; ncughbouring
zamindars.

"*■ Indigo could be grown with greater profit compared with
other crops on cliar^ lands, and perhaps this is why the griev-
ances of the ryots did not lead to any serious disturbances in
this district. The ryots of Char Algi near Gafargaon look on
the indigo days as a golden age, when they paid practically no
rent and were allowed to grow their own crops on all but the
3 or 4 annas of the village area in the cArt/-, which they culti-
vated with indigo for Mr. J. P. Wise.

• The only traces of the industry that now remain are a few
ruins, chiefiy of vats, at Baiganbari, Bhelamlri, Dewanganj and
other riverside factories. The names of the planters, Wise^
Kallonas, and Brodie will always live in the names of the big
taluks in Hosenshahi and Alapsingh parganas.
uii Mill- Mustard oil is now the most wide spread manufacture in

the district. There is a colony of Telis or Muhammadan
Kulus in many roadside villages. The ghdni or mill is worked
by a bullock inside a shed and, but for the creaking noise when
it is working, its presence would never be suspected. In
Kishorganj Namasudrasare employed to draw the mills. These
consist of five parts, the gachh or foundation, the naipat or
tube in which i\\e. jait or log revolves, i\\e joal or yoke and the
katli or capstan-like lever which is pulled by the bullock. The
jait has to be renewed every month and the total cost is
Rs. 20. Three-tenths of the seed used is the average produce
in oil, and it takes six days to crush 3 maumls. If the seed is
not the property of the Teli he gets one-third of (he oil and the
cake as the price of his labour.

Sugar is another industry which is more properly treated
under agriculture. The sugarcane is crushed into juice by
wooden or iron machines worked by a single bullock, and the
juice is converted into yur by boiling. There is no manufac-
ture of sugar from gnr.

Cotton is largely cultivated on the bor lers of the Caro Hills
and also in the Mudhupur jungle. The (xaros have a simple
machine called charki for passing the cotton through two

Sugar.

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 77

«
highly polished bamboo rods, moved by a handle, which sepa-
rate the seed. About. 80 per cent, is sokl in an uncleaned state
and shipped to Narayanganj. Some of it is made into rezais
and pillows in the district. Cleaned cotton fetches Rs. 20
to 25 a maund and the other Rs. 6 to 'J. The Garoa,
Hajangs and other low castes still weave their own coarse clothes
on primitive looms, which are set up in the compounds of their
houses and worked by the women and boys. There are also
families of Hindu Tantis and Jugis and of Muhammadan Julahas
scattered all over t'le district, especially in Tangail and Fulpur,
who make gamchas for the market. The material is cotton
imported from England. The District Board is doing its best
to keep the industry alive with a school for weavers at
Tangail.

The East India Company had cloth factorie.:! at Kishorganj Weaving,
and Bajitpur. In the middle of the 19th century Kishorganj
and Bajitpur and also the other Hajitpur in Tangail produced
embroidered sdnsoi a high quality. Saris from Bajitpur in the
Kishorganj subdivision still find a ready market in Calcutta.
The Kishorganj tanzeb was as prized as the Dacca muslin.
Muslin is still manufactured by some 40 families in Bajitpur
and sold in Dacca, but the material used is entirely Euglish
yarn and there is now no trace of cotton growing in the locality
except the names of such villages as Kapasatia.

The process of cleaning cotton for the finished thread by
means of a dullum, a roller, which in Mymensingh was
manipulated by foot, is described at length by Taylor in his
Topography of Dacca, 1840. Also the spinning of the thread by
women so fine that 115 miles only weighed one pound. The
resulting muslins were much better than those woven from
English yarn of an equal tenuity, but the spinners even in his
day used 80 per cent, of the latter, not only on account of its
cheapness but because it took so long to search for sufficient
quantities of ttie hand-made article of the same quality and size
and appearance at the village hats.

The industry has died out because no market can be found
for these home-made products. One of the few Kishorganj
weavers still working gets Re. 1-4 for a tanzeh which it takes
three days to make and the material costs 'J annas.

Coarse bamboo mats and baskets are manufactured in most
villages and the finer sZia/^jrt^/ mats mad from a ])articular
reed that grows in the marshes of Tangail ami Kishorganj are
known even in Calcutta, Patitas, a low caste of Hindus, make
mats of muttra. Hogla mats made out of the reetl called after

7S MYMENSINGH.

the village of that name are comiiion north of the Brahma-
putra. In Char Iswardia, just opponte Mymensingh, 75
families make a special cane box: which is very popular. There
used to bo a considerable industry in paper until the cheapness
of the machine-made substitute ruined the home-made article-
In 1870 it was boing made from jute in Atia, and there is a
vilhxge called Kagazigram noar Astagram of which all the
inliabitaiits were paper makers.
Dairy The so-called Dacca cheese is m:ide on the bank of the

Dhana at Itna and other places. It is exported in considerable
q liuitities. It is a kind of hard cream cheese made in balls
like the common Dutch variety with a fairly strong, but not
unpleasant, taste. The splendid grazing afforded in the cold
weather by the luxuriant beds of dhuh grass in the Joanshahi
and Khaliajurl parganas, areas which are flooded for snven
months in the year, attracts largo herds. of c ittle from the west-
ern villages. Milk costs one anna a big seer and ghee is largely
produced from the surplus.

Charcoal is extensively manufactured at Gabtali on the
main road from Mymensingh to Tangail, where it enters the
Madhupur jungle.

Tobacco leaf is mixed with its own weight of treacle (Idli
or rdb) by the consumer or by low caste Hindus and Muham-
madans, who sell it in little black cakes. The richer people buy
Rangpur tobacco in the bazars, they do not smoke the
Mymensingh-grown weed,
j^jgj.^i Manufacturer from metals are limited in the district. It is

iiuiiistiie?. g^ij that iron was originally found in the Madhupur jungle
and in the Dacca portions traces of smelting operations have
been found. Brass has been used for a long time for the cook-
ing utensils, water pots, plates and glasses of the more conserv-
ative classes. The material is procured from Calcutta in
sheets and hammered, not moulded into shape. The Islampur
and Kagmari bell-metal ware is the most finishetl and most
expensive, but there are villages in every t/tilnd where the
braziers sit night and day in the same open hut till they fall
asleep with the hammer in their hands. The price of the
fi lushed vessels is Ra. 2 to Rs. 3 a seer.

In 1870 the number of blacksmiths in the district was
estimated at 2,430 with 659 forges. It is not likely that the
number has much increased, for the trade is most conservative.
They make ploughshares, nails and the common agricultural
implements like duos and hdsulis. Koddlis or spades are
chietly imported from England, and st> are scissors, razors,

Occupation and trades. 79

knives and the carpenter's tools. The bellows used are really
ingenious, but, like the boats and irrigating instruments of the
district, they were exactly the same one century ago and
perhaps ten. The only new industry is the manufacture of
steel trunks painted in gaudy colours which are so conspicuous
in the shopi of Mymensingh and Netrakona. Tinsmiths in
the same shops also make lamps, chiefly from empty kerosine
tins. It is impossible to imagine what people did without
these tins wlien only local veget ible oils were in use. Besides
providing receptacles for paint, lime, grain and all sorts of
other commodities, they are made into furniture, roofs and
walls of houses, and boats.

Goldsmiths and silversmiths are particularly numerous in
Netrokona. Like the braziers they seem to work all the 24
hours. Thei:' resources are so limited and their designs so
clumsy, that it is strange how much they are patronised. For
work in gold they are paid Rs. 2-S to Rs. 6 a tola and for silver
4 annas to 8 annas. The gold is usually provided by melting
down sovereigns. Shakharis at Kishorganj make shell bangles,
but the best kinds come from Dacca and cost Rs. 15 to Rs. 50
a pair. The beads used by Hindu mendicants and others are
imported. Those made from the seeds of the riidrtiksha come
from Benares and those of tulsi from Navadvvip.

There is no industry in dyes. The pigments used by the
potters and Acharjyas who make the clay and straw images,
which adorn the Kalib"iri of every important village and also
the wayside shrines, are imported from Dacca. The best
quality of sindur, which is used by Hindu wives to mark their
foreheads, comes from China.

Gunpowder is manufactured by a man of Portuguese extrac-
tion in Hosenpur bazar. In all thcTnds there are families of
Muhammadans who make fireworks and bombs.

There are carpenters in all towns, who make the furniture Boat
and doors of houses, the wooden parts of ploughs, stools, beds ^"'"^"'^
and a'mirahs. Boats are also made on the banks of all the
rivers and khdls in the eastern thdnds. These boats possess
very fine lines which have descended from countless genera-
tions. They are very safe, and usually very clean, but their
accessories are of the most extraordinary primitiveness. The
rudders are entirely separate and tied on with rope ; they are
used for propulsion as well as for steering ; the oars are
bamboos with any shaped piece of wood tied on for a blade;
the ruUock is non-existent, or consists of two pieces of bamboo
thrust into the gunwale, so that the oar may be tied against

80 MYMENSINGH.

the one which stands most upriglit. The position of the rower
is so cramped and high above the water, that it is impossible
to get any real leverage on the oars. The ordinary trading
boat which carries jute and rice and pots from village to village
will carry from GO to 150 maunds, is 20 feet long, 7 feet broad
and draws IS — 30 iiiches of water.

Fishing boats are of all sizes and shapes from the 40 feet
long othar, with only one-third of its keel in the water and
both the bow and tlie stem rising high into the air, to the
unwieldy dug oat and the cockle shell punt.

The carpenter's tools consist of a bdyis or hatchet costing
Re. 1-8 to Rs. 2-<S, hd>iiUl or adze 12 annas, batnli or chisel
7 annus, rdndd or plane 7 annas, kordt or saw Re. 1-?, md
a turpun, an ingenious drill worked with a bow and string,
4 annas. They never use a carpenter's bench or a vice, but sit
on Lhe floor holding the wood on which they are working with
their toes.
Potters Potters' hamlets are numerous throughout the district. As

a rule the clay costs them nothing. Besides all sorts of cooking
utensils, gdchhas (stands for kerosine lights), ddbas and kalkis
for pip>-s, they make big troughs for storing rice and feeding
cattle and rings for kiitcha wells.

The potter's wheel is a wooden plate about 9 inches square
with solid arms protruding at each corner. To these is athxed
a heavy rim, 4 or 5 inches in diameter, of earthenware mixed
with straw and jute. The centre is mounted on a wooden pivot
about l> inches long. A piece of stone with a hole in it for the
pointed end of the pivot to stand on is firmly embedded into
the "round. The operator then sits on one side and keeps the
wheel in a horizontal position by placing his left hand near
the central plate, and sets it into motion by turning the rim
clockwise with his right hand. After the wheel has once been
set in motion, the hands are taken ofll" and the motion is
accelerated l)y turning the wheel with a bamboo stick placed
against a spoke. When the wheel is going at its utmost speed,
the operator touches the flat cake of clay on the central plate,
which had hardly been noticed before, with his fingers, and as
by magic a high cylinder appears, which gradually assumes
the different girths of the familiar kalsi or water pot. The
larger vessels have all to be moulded by hand.

The kiln or /^um is a concave platform on the ground with
a sudden cavity in the centre for the furnace. This furnace is
connected by a passage with the open air and all the rest of
the circular platform is piled round with the pots that are to be

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 81

buked, and roofed with a platform of bamboos and earth.
Each layer of pots is covered with firewood and straw, and
when the earthen crust gets too hard, holes are made to allow
of the exit of smoke. The colour of the pots depends on the
time they are left in the kiln antl the extent to which the smoke
is allowed to escape.

There is a great consumption as in the last days oE six of
the I'engali months all the earthenware cooking utensils of a
Hindu family have to be changed, and when a family goes into
mourning a new pot has to be used for each meal of rice.
Boatloads of these manufactures are hawked al)Out the villages
all through the year and at 3 annas to 8 annas a pot a carge
may realise Rs. 250.

Darzis are all Muhammadans and their sewing machines
are to be seen in every bazar. Barbers are Hindus with a few
exceptions in Jamalpur. They are now taking to soap in
shaving but not to hot water, and the lowest fee for a shave is
one pice. They chiefly carry on their trade in hats, where
their takings are Rs. 2 a day. They have to attend to
customers of all classes so those who have caste pride confine
themselves to the houses of the richer people.

The shells which are to be found in every flooded field,
chiefly but not always those of large snails, used to be collectetl
for burning into lime. Now that Sylhet lime is available this
industry has come to an end except with a few families in
Kagmari.

The pearl fishery has suddenly risen into importance at
Bangalpara near Astagram on account of the find of a pearl for
which the fisherman was paid Rs. 200 on the spot by a dealer.
A Dacca merchant paid Rs. 800 a few days later and it is
said that the same pearl has since been sold in (^Jalcutta for
Rs. 22,000. Mussels are collected by fishermen along the banks
of the rivers especially in Hi I Mashka, and any one who likes
may search 100 for 4 annas. Most of the pearls are of a rather
dark pink colour.

Bricks are made by up-country coolies, usually working
under foreign contractors. Wiien a bridge or road is contem-
plated, the previous season has to be devoted to accjuiring a
brickfield and importing the coal, the next to burning the
bricks. Suitable clay seem to be available in most places. In
the old days the local people must have made their own bricks,
though it is saiil that the mould was not known until introduced
by Europeans. The bricks used in the old indigo factories and

82 MYMENSlNGfl.

temples and mosques arc very solid though not so large as
those used in the indigo factories of Rajshahi.

Although the Muchis dry the skins of cattle and goats, they
are exported from the district in a very unfinisheil state. There
is nothing to show that boots or shoes were ever manufactured
in this district, a3 I'uchanan describes in Dinajpur, where a
man and wife could turn out 8 pairs a month at 8 annas
each. In Sherpur, Jamalpur and Uchakhlla a certain amount
of local leather is made into cheap shoes. Drums are manu-
factured on a great scale in one or two Kishorganj viUages.
Fvshiiis^. ' About one-fortieth of the poople of the district are pro-

fessional fishermen, chiefly belonging to the Kaibartta and
Jhalo castes. Good caste Muhammadans are not supposed to
deal ill fish. The selling price of the fish c:^ught in the hils
and rivers of th;^ Kiialiajuri and Joanshahi pargauas in the
east of the district is calculated at 5 lakhs, in the Meghna, at
Rs. 70,000, in the Jamuna at Rs. 1,60,000, in the Brahmaputra
at Rs. 50,000 and in the smaller rivers and hils in the interior
it cannot be less thaii another 4 lakhs. Of the total of 12
lakhs, 40 per cent, goes to the landlords and the non-fishing
ijdraddrs and 30 to the fishermen and 1)0 to the intermediaries
or iilkdris who sell it in the bazars.

The fishing trade employs a large niimber of people besides
the fishermen, who seldom deal with the public direct. The
fish are sold from the boat to a nZ/^rtr/ who conveys them by
boat to the nearest land nikdri, whose business it is, again at a
commission, to carry them to market. At Gurai or Dighirpar
in the early dawn the boats are met by gangs of coolies who
carry the fish in baskets to Bajitpur (7 miles) or Katiadi (17
miles). Other boats come to Nilganj, and the fish is carted to
Kishorganj (6 miles), or to Nandail, whence it is carried to
Balipara (12 miles) and thence perhaps to Mymensingh and
other places by railway. It is no wonder that with the risks
of this journey in the hot sun in baskets which are never
cleaned of the scales of previous consignments and which smell
horril)ly however fresh the contents, a rohit fish which
realis 'd 12 annas to Re. 1 at the khola fetches Rs ?> to 4 at
Nandail and Rs. 6 to 8 at Mymensingh.

On the smaller rivers the usual arrangement is for the
fisher mm to pay one to five rapees a boat to the ijaradar, who
leases the block from the landlord of the adjoining village*
Mdthlnirs of th ^ fishing caste usually take up the ijdvd of hils.
To do this in the eastern pargauas requires quite a fair amount
of capital. Tiiei-e can be no permanent villages in these flooded

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 83

arems, so at the beginning of each cold weather 40 male
lal)0urer8 must be imported and a row of huts called a khold
erected for them and their families on the bank of the klial or
bil, which is to be the scene of their operations for the season.
Each male gets Rs. 80 on the average for the season and each
female, who cuts up and dries the fish that cannot be carried
to market fresh, Rs, 40. A fleet of 15 boats is maintained.
Brushwood for the kMos has to be brought from Ajmiriganj,
the landlords' agents have to be feed to prevent loot, and the
nets will cost about Rs. 1,000. A darijdraddr's annual account
at one of the Khaliajurl khoUls may therefore work out as
follows : —

Rs.
40 male labourers ... ... .'),200

25 females ... ... ... 1,000

Bamboos for 25 kheos ... ... 500

Puja expenses ... ... ... 100

House accommodation, etc. ... ... 400

Nets, kheojdl, 40 pieces ... ... (SOO

„ othdr, 2, at Rs. 100 ... ... 200

,, jhdki, 10, at Rs. 15 ... ... 150

Boats, saramjds^ 15, at Rs. .'50 ... 450

Othdr, 2, at Rs. 200 ... ... 400

Total ... 7,200

Depreciation on both nets and boats must be calculait'd at
40 per cent., so with Rs. I,ti00 paid to the ijdraddr the annual
expenses are Rs. 7,600. He makes al)Out Rs. 500 from small
fishermen for the right to lish with chdnda and jhdki lu^ts. He
is supposed to make a profit of from 26 to 60 per cent., but there
is always a risk that tlie bil may have become exhausted. One
Tara Chand Malo of Khaliajurl lost all his capital on the
Ohhandania hd and gave it up. Two years later, nobody
having taken it up in the meantime, he borrowed Rs. 10,000 and
made a profit of Rs. o0,000. This shows what an evil annual
leases are. When the lease is for a term the ijdraddr gives
the fisheries an occasional rest in his own interest.

The fish which cannot be sold fresh are cut up in the com-
pound and dried in the sun on bamboo platforms protected
from the crows and kites by nets. No curing is done. Ajmiri-
ganj is the great market for dried fish. Tipi)era, Chittagong,
Noakhali and Rangpur are all customers for Mymensingh fish.
Dried ^^fZ/vr/a fish is said to be the best. Dried rohit realises
Rs. 15 to 20 a niaund, the smaller fish Rs. 6 to 8 a maund

84 MYMENSINGH.

The total value of the dry fish exported from the district is
said to be about Rs. 40,000.

Fishermen as a class are not well off, though some of the
mdthhat's who take leases from the landlord direct are excep-
tions. They do not take kindly to cultivation in the non-
fishing season and few families have incomes equal to those of
the professional cultivators among whom they live. The cost
of fishing tackle and boats and the heavy wear and tear they
undergo are partly responsible. Usually much of the profit
goes to ijdraddrs of a non-fishing class, who come between the
landlords and the da r- ijdraddrs of the fishing community. In
no other way can we account for the comparatively small
income of the landowners from jalkars. According to their
own returns these amount to about 1 1 lakhs, whereas, as has
been said above, the fish sold ap;irt from those eaten by the
})eople who catch them are worth over 12 lakhs.
Methods The system of fishing by a kheo is only used where the

of fishing. ^yjjj.^,j. jg sluggish. Brushwood is surrounded in a suitable place
in the bit by bamboos stuck upright in the mud. These kheos
have to be made early in the cold weather and their circum-
ference is 100 feet. "Weeds accumulate among the bamboos
and attract fish to their shelter, especially when individual
fishermen begin to disturl) the clearer portions. Bamboo pegs
are placed in the mud below the brushwood to prevent the fish
from l)urrowing in the bottom and sooner or later the kheo is
surrounded l)y a daljdl, 8 or 10 nets each 20 feet square sewn
together. They are fixed to the bottom of the hil by bamboo
pins {kamri or guji), while the surface end is fastened to
bamboo posts. A day or two later the kheo is raised. The
brushwood is taken out by hooked bamboo rods, and the nets
drawn into the bank or a waiting line of boats. Fifteen or
twenty men are required in this operation for each kheo and
five or six sarauga boats.

Another method of fishing is with the othar boat and the
othar net. The boat is very long and narrow, with a raised
bow and stern, which remains 5 or 6 feet above water, and the
net is similar to an ordinary throw-net, only several times
larger. Two or three men spread out the net along the length
of the boat and drop it into the hil or river as the boat is rowed
on by two other men. The net has folds at the bottom end,
carries leaden weights, and describes a hollow cone as it sinks.
As the net is pulled out of the water by the string tied to its
top end, the fish slip into the folds and are hauled on to the
boat with the net.

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 85

pragnets called berjdl or sdgar-ber may he two or three
hundred cubits in length and 1)0 or 4) cubits in height, leaden
weights are attached to the bottom ropes and bamboo floats to
the surface end. These are used for draggimr the whole
breadth of a river. Two big y>«y?SA boats, each with a crew of
8 or 10 men, start close together. When they are ready one
dashes across the river at the utmost speed, dropping the net
as it goes along. Then the crew row together again, yelling at
the top of their voices, so as to frighten the fish away from th"-
open space between the boats into the meshes of the net, as it
slowly completes its circle.

The belicll, called hharra jdl in Mr. De's report, is a bamboo
lever contrivance for catching fish that come with the stream.
The net is triangular in shape, fa.-tened on two sides to
bamboos each 30 or 40 feet long. They are pivote<l on upright
posts at such a height that when the base of the net touches the
bottom of the river the bolted end remains within reach of a
man standing on a cross Ijamboo in the scaffolding. When the
net has been in clie water for 10 minutes, the man presses down
the bolted end of the bamboos, first with his hand and then
with his feet, until the net is clear of the water ; the fish drop
into tiie boat at his feet, as th^ manipulator unfastens the apex
of the net.

The nets described above are used by professional fishermen
and are made from sunn or hemp fibre. The villagers who
catch fish for I heir own consumption have an endless variety
of methods ami Instruments. Fishing with hand nets is
free in all navigable rivers and in most hils at least twice
a week. In the cold weather it is a common sight to see
hundreds of villagers marching to a rendezvous, where they
invade the bil in a solid line and it is a marvel that a single fish
escapes to stock the bil for another year. These amateurs
seldom return empty handed. From one bil in Nikli-Dampara
I met the inhabitants of villages as far away as Dhuldia return-
ing with an average of two fish 2 or ?> feet long and four
small ones. The chief instruments used on these occasions are
the ^>a/a or ^a;7>a, a basket with a broad open bottom and a
narrow opening at the top, through which the liHhcrman puts
his hand when he has succeeded in planting his Ixiskel. over a
fish. Others take shrimping nets and konches, bamboo harpoons
with 12 wired points which spread in the air when hurled at a
fish in shallow water and contract in its flesh.

After every shower of rain small fish like whitebait are
caught in bamboo cages at every point where there is a fall

86 MYMENSINGH.

from one field to another. Several boat loads are caugtt in
this way in the Mriga lidor every day in November. Another
simple way of catching tish is to bale every atom of water out
of a ditch or bunded up portion of a khdl. Children amuse
themselves in this way on the roadside, when the dry season
begins.

In the rains, and also in the cold weather, villagers wade at
night through thi^ shallow water, carrying torches of jute sticks.
The fish are attract 'd by the light and speared in great
numbers.

Taken all round, it is probable that the fish caught in all
these ways equal in weight and number those caught by profes-
sional fishermen for sale.

The earthquake of LS'.)? raised some hils and destroyed the
fish in others. The Fiilkocha bil is one of those which from
being very valuable became barren for several years. The
rise in the price of fish is chiefly due to the cheapness of money,
but there is no doubt that the supply is diminishing also. The
extension of jute steeping is unfavourable to the better varieties
and the cultivation of the bih and hciurs in the eastern thanas
has seriously curtailetl their breeding places.

No measures are taken to protect the fry of big fish, and no
Bengali has ever be^^n seen to throw a fish back into the water,
even in the Cc^rtain knowledge that it would become one hundred
fold heavier in a few montbs. It is true that the fishing season
usually extends from December to April only, and the fish are
not tlierefore much disturbed during the breeding season, but
there is no deliberate intention of maintaining a close time, and
little is known of the breeding habits and seasons of the
different species. Apart from privately owned tanks which are
artificially stocked with fish for their own consumption by rich
gentlemen, there is no attempt to breed fish artificially or to
restock exhausted hils. If Government passed a protective law
and tried to enforce it by a low paid staff of the strength that
would be required, any amount of zulam or dishonesty would
be the result. Even to restrict the fineness of the meshes of the
nets and to bar the mat-like pdli would operate hardly on
those fishermen, who catch the smaller varieties as a relish for
their curries.
Agricul- There are a certain number of agricultural labourers who

I'lhuurerB. live with their master's family and earn a yearly wage of Rs. 36
or Rs. 48 with their food. This landless class is limited, and
Mymensingh depends entirely for its hired labourers on the
domiciled up-countrymen or the swarms of Nuniyas, Dusads

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 87

anTl others, who come from Bihar every November by river and
road, and return by train in April and May. In July many of
them again return for the jute season. They can earn over a
rupee a day, carrying jute from the bouts to the press and from
the press to the flat or train.

Most of the station coolies, landlords' harkanddzes, profes-
sional cartmen, and Earopeans' servants are up-countrymen.
The District Board employs imported labour for all earthwork,
and there is a striking increase in the extent to wliich Dacca or
up-country coolies are hired by the Muhammadan cultivators
to weed and cut their jute as well as for making new ails or
plinths, digging tanks, or altering the level ot their fields.

In the east and north of the district labourers from Faridpur,
Jessore and Tippera are largely employed to cut the boro paddy.
From the middle of Chaitra or beginning of April for about a
month each day a procession of 70 to 125 boats can be counted
sailing up the river Dhanu. Each boat carries 10 to 15 able-
bodied men. Many go to Sylhet, where they are paid 20 lo 40
per cent, of the paddy reaped, the rate varying with the im-
minence of flood and being less on the banks of the Meghna.
One man is supposed to cut 120 bundles or clntis in a day
and from 15 or 20 bandies he would earn 20 seers, so that at the
end of the season he cannot have less than 50 to 70 rupees
worth of paddy to carry home. The total amount thus exported
from the district as the price of labour only is reckoned at from
150,000 maunds to 80,000 maunds and from Sylhet 2,00,000
maunds.

Just as most of the professional cartmen are up-countrymen,
many of the boats which are hired by the month by mahdjans
for carrying jute and rice belong to Dacca people and the hired
mdujhis are mostly of Dacca birth. Some of the largest boats
are owned by mdnjltis from Mrizapur in the Central Provinces-
They spend about 6 months in the district seeking profitable
freights, and they have a bad reputation for petty thefts.

Trade is c.irricd on to some extent by gypsies and potters,
who carry their wares on foot or by boat to the remotest
villages, but practically speaking the village hdt is the
beginning and end of all trade in this district. According to
an enactment of 1790 the j)roprietary right in the ground
on which lidts take place is to continue vested in the landlords,
but the public are to have the free use of it. This was
repealed by Act XXVII oC 1871, the reason apparently being
that the practice of making a profit out of hats had become
too strong to make it possible to enforce the 1790 order.

G

88 MYMENSINGH.

Landlords usually manage the hats by means of ijdraddrs, w'no
pay anything from Rs. 5 to 2,000 per annum for the right
to collect tolls from the temporary stall holders and a commis-
sion on all articles sold. Hats vary much in importance,
some being held twice a week, some once. They are seldom
more than 3 or 4 miles apart. They are held on the banks of
Markets, rivers or on high sites, where good shade is available. The
first step is to put up a row of low shelters, which are used as
stalls for perishable articles. Vegetables, milk, fish, fruit, oil,
ricd, salt and pulses are sold and bought at all these hats,
and there is always a group of low caste Hindus waiting
to change rupees into copper and two-anna bits. Gradually
barbers and cloth merchants and toy and ornament dealers
begin to attend, and permanent shops are built round the
centre square. A blacksmith settles in the neighbourhood and
also a country spirit vendor, and this is no doubt the way
in which all the important centres and towns in the district
have originated. It speaks badly for the morality of the
district that when a landlord wants to establish a new hat
to annoy a rival, he imports a colony of prostitutes as his
first step.

Shops in the more important marts like Katiadi, Hosenpur,
Fulbaria, Bakshiganj, Datta-Bazar sell English glass, mirrors,
crockery, writing materials, medicines, lamps, stores, matches,
cigarettes, and in the adjoining godowns villagers sell their
jute and rice to the mahdjans. It is only in the so-called towns
like Netrakona, Jamalpur and Kishorganj that there is a daily
bazar for the supply of eatables. In these towns clothes,
blankets and all the other necessities of the population are to
be obtained. The inhabitants of the district are not in the
habit of writing to Calcutta, and, just as in the villages, what a
man cannot buy locally, he does without.

The he}Klris and small traders are almost invariably
Bengalis, chiefly of the Shaha, Teli, Banik, Jogi, Pal, Tanti and
Basak castes. So are most of the jute commission agents and
touts. In some of the bigger bazars Marwaris, Agarwalas and
all up-country castes are found. They deal in jute, Manchester
cloth, and hides. Money lenders come from all classes of
Hindus, and not a few Muhammadans have taken to it
recently.

Most of the Jidts are marked in the map and there is no
important place without one. Sherpur, Nalitabari, Mohanganj
and Shambhuganj, opposite Mymensingh, are perhaps the
noi-iest and biggest. They all take place on the public way,

OCCUPATION AND TRADES. 89

wXich is blocked by an impenetrable ma-iS of chattering
humanity, all too busy and preoccupied to get out of the way
of passing horses and bicycles.

From the inland hats the chief products of the district are Trade
carried by cart or country boat to the railway or to the river-
side marts, which are accessible in the rains to the huge flats
of the steamer companies. The chief places to which this kind
of flats come are Mirzapur, Jamurki, Elashin, Jagannathganj
and Sarisabari in Tangail, Bahadurabad in Jamalpur, Netra-
kona, Mohanganj and Gogbazar in Netrakona, and Hiluchia,
Nikli-Dampara, Dilalpur and Bhairab in the Kishorganj
subdivision. Carts from all parts of the district cross the
Brahmaputra in January and February to buy cheap paddy
from the villages of Nalitabari and Haluaghat. There has
always been a considerable trade with the Garos in cotton,
honey and wax in exchange for oil, salt and dogs at the
kotes along the foot of the hills, but otherwise there is not
much inter-district trade.

The district could not get on at all without the plough
and cart bullocks which are bought by dealers at the Sonepur
fair in Chapra in November and brought by road through
Rajshahi, crossing the Brahmaputra at the ferries between
Madargcinj and Dewanganj. Many of them are intercepted at
the Jamalpur mela. Others go straight on to Dacca, and
it is these travelling cattle more than carts which make the
main roads of the district so dusty during the cold weather.
Country-bred ponies of all sizes are largely imported, but the
quality, is inferior and the price high.

Other imports are betelnuts and pan from Tippera,
cocoanuts from the southern districts of Bengal, wheat, barley
and cattle from Bihar, and corrugated iron, metals, piece-
goods and all sorts of manufactured articles from or via
Calcutta.

In spite of the fact that much rice is now imported even
from Rangoon, jute ensures that the exports exceed the imports
by many lakhs. Of the total amount of jute grown in the
Province in 1914, 20 per cent, was computed to come from this
district. There are 5j lakhs of acres under jute, so the total
crop must exceed three hundred thousand tons and allowing for
wastage and internal consumption jute brings sixty million
rupees into the district annually.

In addition to the weekly or biweekly hats there are some
annual fairs at certain places. The Jamalpur mela, which Fairs.
gOes on from February to April, is the most important, as it is

G 2

90 MYMENSINGH.

the distributing centre for most of the cattle which come fi'om
Bihar in the cold weather. Its income at 10 annas for each
animal sohl has exceeded Rs. 9,000. A full account will be
found in the Gazetteer chapter under Jamalpur.

Another important fair takes place at Kishorganjin August.
Merchants from other districts sell considerable quantities
of piece-goods, shoes, hardware and miscellaneous articles.
The Dole fair at Hosenpur in March is very similar to the
Jhulan fair at Kishorganj. The melaa at Balijuri near Madar-
ganj in February, at Sherpur in April and at Porabari in
December are of local importance.

An important mela which owes its importance more to
religion than to trade takes place at Gupta Brindaban in the
Madhupur jangle. There is a Bairagi Akhra in a secluded spot
of the forest, which is almost Himalayan in character, and
pilgrims come from all parts of Mymensingh and beyond
to worship the gods who live in the giant trees and to bathe in
the Sagardighi tank.

The annual bathing festival of the Astanii Sndti, when
Hindu ladies come from all parts of Bengal to bathe in the
Brahmaputra also encourages temporary fairs at the chief
bathing places, Jamalpur, Baiganbari and Hosenpur.

COMMUNICATIONS. 91

CHAPTER IX.

COMMUNrCATIONS.

In the time of the Mughal Viceroys the main road from Dacca
to Northern Bihar ran through the Tangail subdivision. It is
described in Rennell's Road Book as the Dacca-Malda road and
the principal stages in this district were : —

Diimroy ... ... 34 miles from Dacca, where

it crossed the Bunsi river
(Bangsa).

Chaudapatul ... 6 miles 1 furlong.

Mirzahaut (Mirzapur) ... 11 do. 4 furlongs.
Puccoloe (Pakullr.) ... 6 do. 4 ditto.

Attyah ... ... S do. 8 ditto.

Santosh ... ... 4 miles 2 furlongs, where it

crossed the Lojung river.
Ghandrackpur ... 4 miles 7 furlongs, where it

crossed the Joobne river.
Belcachy in Pabna ... 9 miles 3 furlongs, where it

crossed the Conie river.

No one now using tlie road from Mirzapur to Tangail Roads in
would suppose it to be an old trunk road. Some portions are
mere tracks, the breaks are numerous ind there are no signs of
2}ukka bridges. The main ferries, however, remain the same,
the Jamuna having taken the place of the old Jabuna and
Konai, and in the rains occupying the whole distance between
Gandrackpur and Belcachy.

Bisni was an important phic? in Rennell's time and the
Malda road had a branch from PakuUa leading north through
the present Tangail and Jamalpur subdivisions via Batcora, 9
miles, Booketah, 3, Hummidpur, 8, Chantarra, 6, Moodapoor
(Pookarya), 10, Bowla, 10, Naranpur, 7, Hajipur, G, Sliahzad-
pur, 7, and Dewanganj, 14, to Chiimari, 21.

An alternative road to Bihar is called the Purneah second
road by Renuell. Crossing the Banar river at Toke, 52 miles
from Dacca, it passed through Mymensingh, Baiganbari and
PiySrpur, where it crossed the Brahmaputra to Sherpur Daska-
hania, as it was then called. This road was important for

the 18th
ceiiturv.

\

92 MYMEN8INGH.

military purposes and may have been older than the Pakulla
road. It connected Dacca with Mymensingh and Jamalpur in
the early days of the Company when Jamalpur was a military
cantonment. Its continuation from Mymensingh to Jamalpur
and Sarisabari is styled the Mymensingh-Subarnakhali road,
though its terminus at the old seat of the Hemnagar family on
the Brahmaputra has been washed away for many years.
The road was alternately neglected and improved : since the
opening of the Railway in 1884, it is little used except by
cattle travelling from Bihar to the big hats in Mymensingh
and Dacca, and the fine masonry bridge over the Brahmaputra
at Toke, which is said to have been blown up in the Mutiny, is
still replaced by an ordinary ferry.

Other roads described by Rennell are to Susung-Durgapur
from Sagardi (four miles short of Toke on the Dacca side), via
Egarasindur, Dugdugga, Osumpur (Nursundy river), Modar-
ganj, Bokainagar (Momensingh) and Simulkandi (Kangsha
river), and to Ajmeriganj in Sylhet, via Sagardi, Janglebari,
Panchcouniya and Itna. The existence of this road seems to
show that the eastern part of Kishorganj in the last century
has suffered a process the reverse of raising, for no roads are
possible in the direction of Itna, east and north of Janglebari,
now. A branch from Ajmeriganj crossed the Meghna at
Madarganj to reach the pres3nt police-station Khaliajuri on
the Dhanu river, which was apparently then ca'ded the Boiee.

In 1872 Reynolds says there were 146 miles of road in good
condition and 108 miles of tracks. Only Rs. 8,000 was allotted
by Government for road improvement. There are now 950
miles and new roads are being made every year. The total
expenditure on mnintenance alone is over a lakh.

The opening of the Dacca-Mymensingh Railway in 1884 and
its extension to Jagannathganj on the Jam una was of tre-
mendous value in opening out the Sadar and Jamalpur sub-
divisions. Another branch from Singhjani (Jamalpur) to Baha-
tlar.ibad, where a steamer ferry crosses the Brahmaputra to
Fulchari was opened in 1913. It has already accelerated com-
munications with Calcuita, Darjeeling and Assam. The new
line is exceedingly popular with the up-country coolies, who
spend the cold weather in Dacca and Mymensingh and return
to plough their own fields at the beginning oE the rains.
Another lino in connection with the Assam-Bengal Railway is
under construction through Bhairab Bazar, Kishorganj, Iswar-
ganj and Gauripur to Mymensingh ; from Gauripur a line will
run to Shamganj, and from Shamganj there will be two

/

COMMUNICATIONS. 93

branches to Netrakona and Jaria respectively. IL is poBsible
that the Jaria line will bo extended to Dargapur and the
Netrakona line to Mohanganj. This railway will be of great
advantage to the northern subdivision, which has no river
communication with Mymensingh and has fewer outlets for its
jute by country boat than Tangail or Kishorganj.

Not less than three saparate surveys have been made for Roads
lines between Tangail and Mymensingh direct, or by joining ^Ifbtf^i'.
up Tangail and Bausi, or Tangail and Jamalpur. The railway ^'o"-
will be expensive to make, as any alignment must cros^ stretch
after stretch of rZ/^jan paddy lands, which are hve or six feet
under water in the rains. When the broad gauge line is
opened from Ishwardi to Serajganj, an attempt will be made to
extend it to Mymensingh, but there is great difficulty in finding
a suitable high bank for the steamer ferry on the Mymensingh
side anywhere south of Pingna. At present travellers from
Mymensingh to Tangail usually go by train to Jagannathganj,
steamer to Porabari, and then 12 miles by country boat,
bicycle or horse. The chars are broken by shifting channels
which must be negotiated in different ways at every s.^ason of
the year, and a permanent bridged road is impossible. The
alternative route to Tangail is 60 miles of road, via Mukta-
gacha, Madhupur and Kalihati. This is the finest road in the
district with several large pukka bridges, and ferries only at
Gabtali, Kalihati, Solakura and Pauli. The straight road to
Tangail via Fulbaria and Deopara was abandoned some years
ago, and the bridges in the jungle portion having been allowed
to fall into disrepair, it is barely passable by carts for two or
three months in the spring. A good road goes to Gopalpur
from Madliupur, and thence to Hemnagar. It is passable at all
times of the year. Another road witJi only one bad break
connects Gopalpur with Ghatail and Kaiiliati.

Other roads in the Tangail subdivision are from Janiurki or
Pakulla via Karatia as well as via Dilduar to Tangail, Tangail
to Basail, and Tangail to Elashin and Nagarpur. The latter is
important, as Elashin is a big jute centre, and if there were
not so many breaks in this road, it would be the easiest means
of access to Tangail, as launches and steamers can always
reach Elashin via the Dhaleswari. There is a road parallel to
the Jamuna from Sarisabari to Tangail, which is the quickest
way of riding to Tangail in the cold weather ; parts of it are
very good going, but the portion between Hemnagar and
Bhuapur, about 6 miles south, is too low to be capable of
permanent improvement except at ruinous cost.

94

MYMENSINGH.

Roada
Jamilpi
subdivi-
sion.

Roads
Sadar
subdivi-
sion.

The Jamalpur subdivision is well served with gdod
bicycling roads and in the cold weather it is possible to ride or
drive anywhere. On the Jamalpur-Madavganj road two rivers,
the Jinai and Cliatai, are unbridge«!, and for two or three
months at the end of the rains, when there is not sufficient
water for the proper ferry boats, theso places are the cause of
much inconvenience. There is a road to Bakshiganj via Kamar-
erchar, direct from the beginning of the Sharpur road on the
northern bank of the Brahmaputra, and another from Sherpur
-via Sribardi Sambhuganj, which goes on to Mahendraganj at
the foot of the Garo Hills. Both are full of breaks with water
up to the saddle in September and October, but, as the road
from Dewanganj to Bakshiganj is at best a cohl weather track,
it would be good policy to bridge one of them completely, now
that the road from Jamalpur to Dewanganj has been made
obsolete by the railway.

There is a narrow road with many bamboo bridges between
Sherpur and Bangaon. The Nalitabari road has always given
trouble as its high embankment passes directly across the flood
current of enormous bifs. There is one permanent ferry on
this road and f) or G other breaks are now traversed by wooden
bridges which are not wide or strong enough to admit of
wheeled traffic.

The Piyarpur-Sherpur road has no ferries and is alwayiS in
fair condition. A branch runs directly north from Chandra-
kona through Nakla to Nalitabari, but the northern portion
passes through very low and jungly villages and is hard to find
even in the cold weather.

The Sherpur-Jamalpur road (9 miles) is metalled. A bridge
over the Sheri river is badly wanted, as there are months in the
year when the water is not deep enough for the ferry boats nor
yet shallow enough to ford in comfort. Another difficulty
is that the ferry boat at Jamalpur lanils passengers nearly a
mile away from the beginning of the pukka road, with only a
track through heavy sand to bridge the interval.

On the south-west of the railway line there are useful local
board roads to Tulsipur via Shahazadpur and to Digpait.

The principal roads in the Sadar Subdivision are to Mukta-
gacha, 10 miles, all metalled, to Fulbaria, 13 miles (5 miles
pukka) to Trisal, 13 miles, from Balipara to Nandail, 11 miles,
and from Gafargaon to Bhaluka, 13 miles. On the north of
the river, Fulpur can be reacheil either from the Cutcherry
Ghat (14 miles), the disadvantage of this road being that a
mile of sand has to be traversed on the other side before tho

COMMUNICATIONS. 95

eir?banked road is reached, or via Tarakanda (17 miles) from
the Sambhuganj Ghat, one mile south of the Collector's office
which is the starting point also for Netrokona and Iswarganj.
The road to Iswarganj (16 miles) and to Atliarabari (25 miles)
in jjukka as far as Ramgopalpar, 11 miles, and has a branch to
Gauripur Bazar which then connects with Shamganj and the
Netrakona and Durgapur roads. A useful road, always in bad
condition, runs from Baiganbari to Bahadurpur, 8 miles north.

The Falpur road goes on to Haluaghat, but the breaks are
innumerable and even in the cold weather it is no pleasure
to bicycle or ride. In the rains Haluaghat is entirely cut off.
There is quite a fair cold weather track connecting Haluaghat
and Nalitabari.

Netrakona is connected with Mymensingh (25 miles) and
Kishorganj (41 miles) by f ally embanked roads which are
passable throughout the year. The road to Durgapur leaves
the Netrokona road at Shamganj, and is quite good as far as
Jaria, where it crosses the Kaugsha. From there it is fall
of breaks, and the Someswari is so shallow that no regular
ferry can ho maintained in the winter months. The sands are
very treacherous, so fording without a gaide is dangerous.

A good road of 10 miles connects Netrakona with Parba-
dhala, meeting the Sham^anj-Durgapur road at Ilaspur. The
direct road from Netrakona to Durgapur, via Deotukan, is still
hardly fit for cart traffic.

From Netrakona eastwards there are roads via Barhatta to
Mohanganj (16 miles) and to Teligati (10 miles). This place is
also the terminus of the excellent bicycling road direct from
Mymensingh vici Gauripur into the heart of the Kendua thana.
The road from Mymensingh to Kendua via Iswarganj and
Sandikona (34 miles) is bridged throughout, and goes on to
Gog-Bazar, 2 miles east, where the land of khdls and boro fields
begins. With the exception of the very inadequate track from
Karimganj to Badla in the south and the Barhatta-Mohanganj
road in the north, there are no roads at all east of a line drawn
from Nazirganj in thana Durgapur to Katiadi on the Brahma-
putra via Teligati, Gog-Bazar and Nilganj. Cross country
riding is possible, bat only on ponies which do not mind
swimming rivers. Even boat communications are bad, as with
the exception of the Dhanu river there are no waterways
running north south and those running I'ast west take cir-
cuitous paths.

To Kishorganj the usual route is to Gafargaon by train, and
thence 6 miles along the Toke-Dacca road parallel to the

gan.1
sub-
division

96 MYMENSINGH.

Brahmaputra, crossing it at Hosenpur, and 10 miles by a road
on the other side, half of which is pukka. The crossing at
Hosenpur is very trying in the cold weather, as though the
Brahmaputia is nowhere fordable south of Mymensingh the
high L)anks at this place are very wide apart, so there is a great
expanse of fine sand to negotiate.

In the rains it is a common practice to take a boat direct
from Gafargaon to Hosenpur.
Roads From Hosenpur roads go to Katiadi and Bajitpur, to Nandail

and to Dewanganj Bazar. From Kishoi-ganj there are fair roads
to Karimganj and Jayka, east and south east, to Katiadi south,
and to Atharabari and Nllganj north. A continuation of the
Nilganj road via Tarail Hat to Kendua is badly wanted to avoid
the tiresome detour via Atharabari.

Bhairab Bazar is connected with Katiadi by a road, but the
easiest way of reaching this important jute centre is by steamer
from Narayanganj, or by train via Tangi. It is unfortunate
that there are only three other steamer ghats in the east of this
district, viz. Dilalpur opposite Bajitpur town, Bangalpara near
Astagram and Betanga which is quite in the wilds. The next
stopping place of the Surma Yalley Despatch service is Ajmeri-
ganj on the Sylhet side opposite Khaliajuri. Now-a-days only
a cargo service runs up the Dhanu river to Sonamganj.

The river system has been described in Chapter I. The
larger rivers are all used by country boats carrying, anything
up to 1,600 maunds, to export jute anl rice to Dacca and Goal-
undo and to hawk round earthenware utensils and various
imports in the cold weather. Generally speaking the travelling
public do not make much use of the rivers. There are, how-
ever, certain well-known places between which country boats
ply regularly in the rains. They are called gayna boats and
there is a fixed fare for passengers and luggage. The best
known routes are from Gafargaon to Hosenpur, Kaoraid to
Matkhola, and from Netrakona to Nazlrganj. In Kishorganj
and Tangail and parts of Netrakona officers do their touring in
the rains by means of green boats hired from Dacca at about
Es. 120 a month including the crew, and the people have to use
boats to get from their houses to the fields and the hdU.
Launches can get to Tangail in August, and there is plenty of
water for them at all times of the year in the Dhanu and
Meghua rivers, but they are useless in the Jamalpur, Sadar
and Netrakona subdivisions, though the Director of Land
Records' launch has been as far as Mohaiiganj along the
Kangsha.

COMMUNICATIONS. 97

Carts are plentiful except in Kendua and Kishorganj thanas.
The professional cartnien are all up-coantry men and use
bullocks imported from Bihar, Small ponies are plentiful
throughout the district, but they are only used for pack
purposes to any extent iu Tangail aud Kishorganj. Ponies
can go any where in the cold weather, and the best riding is
probably in the south of Tangail, Dewanganj, and Sherpur.
In Jamalpur, Gopalpur, Netrakona and the Sadar thanas the
rice fields get too hard, therrf being no winter crops to speak of,
and in Kishorganj the country does not dry up sufficiently till
January and then the first shower makes the going incredibly
heavy.

There are a large number of elephants in the district, for
the most part fairly distributed, but the mahouts are a class to
themselves for stupidity and boorishness. Tikha yaries are
not much dearer than carts, and are extensively used along the
Jamalpur-Sherpur, Mymensingh-Muktagacha, Mymensingh-
Fulbaria, Mymensingh-Netrakona, Mymengsingh-Iswarganj
and Gafargaon-Kishorganj roads. Quite poor people club
together, and use them on the more established routes. There
are no ekka garies at all, which is difficult to understand
seeing how useful they are in Pabna, Rajshahi and other
adjoining districts.

The ferries maintained by the District Foard are on the
whole sufficient, and serve their purpose quite well. They
have been gradually bought up from the landlords on payment
of 10 years' profits. In the old days the landlords admitted
that they were bound to provide ferry boats and they gave land
rent free to the ferrymen. Early in the 19th century it was
proposed to resume them on the ground that the assets were
not included in the permanent settlement. There are no papers
to show that the proposal was acted on in this district, Consider-
ing the large revenues appropriated by Government from the
important ferries at Mymensingh and Jamalpur it is a legiti-
mate grievance that more money is not spent on making the
landing places reasonably convenient for foot passengers and
especially for bullock carts and tikka garies. The cruel punish-
ment which has to be meted out to bullocks before heavy loads
can be got on to the ferry boats at any of the main ferries
would appal any one not used to the callousness with which
animals are treated in this country.

The District Board rest houses number 26. They are all
marked on the map, which is issued with this volume. Those
at Deopara, Nalitabari, Madhupur, Tangail, Katiadi and

98 MYMENSINGH.

Gafargaon have the best situations. New bungalows with
pukka roofs are being built at Barhatta and Mirzapur. One
is badly want-ed at Dilalpur for officers arriving by steamer,
and at Ratanganj, as a centre for the jungle.

For an officer wishing to tour with tents, all along the north
bank of the Brahmaputra there are splendid camping places.
Fulkocha and Amritohx in Jamalpur, Balijuri in Madarganj,
Elenga in Tangail and Fatehpur in Bajitpur have all the
requisites of a comfortable camp. In the Madhupur jungle
water is the difficulty. The best sites are Salgrampur, Singer-
chala, Sagardighi and Kalmegha.

LAND REVENUE. . 99

CHAPTER X.

LAND REVENUE.

There were three (liferent settlements of Bengal under the Early
Mughal Emperors. The first settlement in 1582 by Raja Todar meat
Mai fixed the revenue of Sarkar Bajuha at Rs. 9,87,921, but
this included a large part of Rajshahi and Dacca. At Nawab
Jafar Khan's settlement in 1722 the unit of Sarkdrs was
abandoned, and the whole province of Bengal divided into 13
Chaklas, subdivided into 1,600 parganas. The greater part of
Mymensingh was included in ('hakla Jehangir Nagar. which
comprised 236 parganas with a revenue of Rs. 1,92,829. Husain
Shah is said to have organized the Dewan Khana or revenue
units which were the original parganas. They are still fairly
compact and homogeneous areas in this district, though in some
parts villages of different parganas are unaccountably mixed
up. In the days before maps it is probable that villages were
assigned to units without any clear idea of their locality, and Origin of
an unscrupulous landlord would encourage villages, which were ''"''fe'*"^®-
dissatisfied with their own master, t6 attach themselves to his
pargana without any regard to their geographical position.
Some parganas may be partitioned shares of earlier parganas,
the various heirs having given their names to their own
portions.

Mir Kasim added many taxes in 1763, but as regards land
revenue his action was confined to the resumption of Jdgirs^
i.e., lands given to soldiers on condition that they provided a
certain number of armed forces, elephants, cavalry and in-
fantry for the defence of the province. The corresponding
nawdra lands, out of whose incomes large fleets had to be
maintained to act against the Portuguese and the Arracanese
and other pirates, as also against the inroads of Assauiese kings
down the Brahmaputra, r(^mained much longer in th.^ hands of
the Nawabs of Murshidabad and Dacca.

The first regular settlement after the Ikitish occupation
was made for a lerm of five years by the Committee of Circuit,
which visited Dacca in 1772 A.D. This was the quinquennial

A'. B. — The last Nawara lands of the Nawab of Dacca were reeumed in 1822 and of
the Nawftb of Murshidabad in 1834

100 MYMENSINGH.

settlement. Estates were let out to thi highest bidder witH'out
any regard to title. After this, settlements were made from
year to year till 1787 A.D., when instructions were received by
Mr. William Wroughton, Collector, to make a fresh settlement
which would be continued for a term of years. "It is by no
means our intention," observed the Board of Revenue, '• to lay a
heavy increase upon the country which cannot be collected
The decen- without distress. All that we intend is that the jama shall be
ment. such as the Company may fairly exact and to guard against

further defalcations in the revenue by collusion, fraud and
misrepresentation." In conformity with these instructions
Mr. Wroughton submitteil his settlement proposals on the 12th
February 1788. The district was then one with Noakhali,
and the joint revenue proposed was Rs. 15,57,520 as opposed to
Rs. 15,13,789 of Dacca and Bakarganj. This was the decennial
settlement which came into operation in Mymensingh in
1791 A.D. In 1793 it was made permanent.

At this time the district was exceptionally backward, the
Sherpur and Susung pirganas among others being at most one-
quarter cultivated. At first the ZL^mindars did not find it easy
to pay the revenue fixed by Wroughton, as the histories of the
parganas show. In Muhammadan times the zamindars were
frequently imprisoned and tortured for falling in arrears, and
under the early English Collectors we often read of cases of
their being in jail. On these occasions an Amin would be
deputed to take charge of the zamindari. Tuftou writing to the
Board in 1791, anticipated that he would not be able to arrest
the proprietors of Pargana Noabad, because he did not know
their names, " they having given their taahud-t in the names
of their ancestors or else in the initial letters of their own, a
practice in this district." In 1794 the Board in connection
with the Sherpur 3 auuas ordered that no zamiudar should be
imprisoned for arrears of revenue "provided he had landed
property which if sold will be sufficient to make good the
deficiency." As the result of the rapid extension of cultivation
q'j,^ and the cheapening of money the revenue from being 70 or 80

incidence d ppj, cent, of the landlords' gross collections became an increas-

of the Ian ^ i • i i

revenue iu ingly jiominal fraction of the potential assets of the estate.

Singh*'" Whereas Akbar had fixed the revenue at one-third of the gross
produce of the soil, it now barely reaches one-fiftieth of this
proportion. The total rentals of all classes of landlords in the
cess returns of 1908 are shown as Rs. 85, 215, 963, but the
settlement records make them about 10 per cent, higher.
Allowing for nazar, hat and jalkar income, Government colleots

LAND REVENUE. 101

less than 8 per cent, of the gross income derived from the land
by the landlords, while what the landlords receive from their
tenants is certainly not more than 8 per cent, of the money
value of the produce. The present revenue of 8,' lakhs works
out at between o and 1 annas an acre against 6 annas in
Farldpur, where, however, the Settlement Officer calculates that
only 5 per cent, of the value of the crops goes to the landlords.
In 1911 there were 9,903 estates in the district classified as
follows : —

Revenue. >o. of estates. Annual demand.

Rs. Ks.

Under 1 ... 418 213

1 to 10 ... 5,156 21,935

10 to 50 ... 2,881 66,924

50 to 100 ... 628 44,849

100 to 500 ... 620 1,30,883

500 to 1,000 ... 92 63,563

1,000 upwards ... 108 5,46,872

Of these 9,652 with a total revenue of Rs. 7,67,674 were
permanently settled.

The estate which pays the largest demand is Pukhuria, 10 Perman-
annas, Tauzi No. 122 with a revenue of Rs. 45,843. Ninety-eight ^ettied
estates covering three-quarters of the district are zamindaries or ERtates.
shares of parganas formed into s.^parate tauzies by partition. The
rest are Kharija Taluks, whose origin is illustrated in a despatch
from Barwell, Chief of Dacca, to Warren Hastings in 1773.
" While zamindars are eaten up by harpies in their employ and
cannot attend to their business personally the laniis will ever
be impoverished in order to force tlu zamindars to partial sales
until his exigencies reduce him to make a total alienation, and
his estate becomes partitioned into a number of taluks. For
it is the interest of those in employ under a zamindar to bring
the lands into bad condition and in such reduced stat(!, from
the funds raised by their employment, to purchase the best
parcel of lands and thus from servants raise themselves to be
masters." In 1801 a regulation was passed that no sabordinate
tenures or Kkandas thus created would be allowed to pay
a 8 3parate revenue unless registered within a year. The
largest tcihik in the district is Balasuti Digar belonging to the
Nator Raj, which obtained a separate number on the Revenue
Roll so recently as 1909 after litigation with the owners of
pargana Pukhuria which had continued over a century.

102

MYMENSINGH.

Tempoia-
rily-
settlei
Eslates.

Govern-
ment
Estates.

The taluks of Tappe-Hazradi were recognised l)y Govern-
ment as separate estates on the application of the descendants
of Isa Khan. They were given a permanent mdlihdnd of
Rs. 3,529 sikka in lieu of their zamindari rights. Most of
the khdrijd taluks are to be found in the Netrakona and
Kishorganj subdivisions, being most numerous in parganas,
which remained for any time in the hands of Multammadan
families.

Bejabedd tdluk.s are khdrijd tdiiiks whose separate registra-
tion after being allowed by the Collecior was vetoed by the
Board. They have their own tauzi numbers in the (Jollec-
torate and pay their revenue direct into tlie Treasury, but remain
liable if the parent estate falls into arreais. Some resumed
/aMem/ properties known in the eastern parganas as kardri
likewise pay their revenue through the nearest khdinja Idliik.

The temporarily-settled estates number 180 with a revenue
in 1914 of Rs. (S0,299. They consist of accretions to perma-
nently-settled estates in the beds of rivers, which have dr'ed up
or changed their course. Dedra surveys under Act IX of 1847
for assessing these areas were made in the lower part of the
Jamuna by Captain Stuart in 1S67 and by Fabu Parbati Charan
Ray, Deputy Collector, in the old Brahmaputra in 1880-82.

Resumption proceedings were also instituted on a large scale
between 18o4 and 1846, under Regulation II of 1819, for newly-
formed chars in the Jamuna. As the landlords of this district
have never gone in for claiming abatement of land revenue
for diluvion and it was held that at the Permanent Settlement
the site of the Jamuna was traversed only by insignificant
streams, most of the cases were struck off as reformation in
situ. That o7 s juare miles in scattered blocks are still shown
(in the roll of temporarily-settled estates seems to be due to the
fact that the proprietors did not appeal. The maps prepared
were rough plans not drawn to scale and for t!ie most part it is
only possible to make rough guesses at the area they cover.

Some temporarily-settled estates were permanently settled
between 1860 and 1871 and these are known as Dainii banda-
ha^t ynahals.

The number of estates owned by Government is 71 with a
rev.^nue of Rs. ,'51,608, The area is 20,024 acres. Most of them
were purchased at auction sale in default of other bidders for
one rupee. Others are island cJiars. in the Jamuna taken
possession of under Regulation II of 1825. Taluk Bayard,
where the Civil Station of Mymensingh is built, and the site
of the Jamalpur Cantonments were bought for civil purposes.

LAND REVENUE.

103

TajJpe Nikli has a revenue of Rs. 9,597. Most of the others
are very unimportant, and of 18 no revenue is roalisLvl as they
cannot be traced.

Among the temporarily-settled estates and those which are
the property of Government, 99 with an area of 27 s juare
miles and with a revenue of Rs. 38,241 are held under direct
management by the Collector.

Two fisheries or jalkars were permanently settled as sepa-
rate estates. Early in the 19th certury a Mr, Craig proposed
to take settlement of all ja^/rrtrs and jungles, but his petition
was disallowed because he was a British subject. The Board
also doubted if the Civil Courts would accept his assertion
that the majority of the fisheries in navigable rivers were not
shown in the old assessment papers as part of the estates on the
bank^. For many years they were treated so by prescription,
Government taking no interest in the matter, as fisheries in
navigable rivers are public property according to the English
Law. In 1885 the High Court decided that the Indian Law
was different, but the proceedings started in 1860 to resume
115 fisheries were struck off by the Commissioner on the
ground that the river dealt with in the first case (the Kharia)
was not navigable, and Government thus lost a valuable
source of revenue. The proceedings covered practically all
rivers except the Dhanu and section 21 (3) of Regulation II
of 1819 does not allow the re-opening of such proceedings.
Government has recently decided that further resumption
proceedings are impracticable.*

When Mr. Le Gros was Collector, he proposed a Kheddali
as a source of revenue and a means of mitigating the loss
caused by the depredations of wild elephants.

There are altogether 1,662 revenue-free estates recorded in
Register B, Part I of the Collectorate, classified as follows : —

4.

Confirmed af+er enquiry as valid Lakheraj 43

Released after summary enquiry as being
under 50 bighas. These are called Wclg-
uzasti Idkherdj and there are many that
have never been registered ... ... 56

Redeemed by payment of ten times the
annual revenue uniler the old Regula-
tions ... ... ... .'i9

Redeemed under the Partition Act, VIII of

1876 ... ... ... 1,524

K tins
.Mahals.

Revenue

Free

Estates.

* No. 1288 of 1-2-1910.

H

104 MYMENSINGH.

Register B I was rewritten from the old Register C in
which there are 169 entries, but for some reason many estates
were never registered. Thus there are many valid grants
which have never been entered. The largest of these is the
one held by the successors of Isa Khan in Tappe Hazradi.*

Many of the rent-free properties held under private proprie-
tors were originally granted to the Brahman priests of the old
zamiiidars or were set aside in the charge of a Sbebait for the
maintenance of the worship of a god. Brahmottars and Dehui-
tarsot the Hindus have their counterpart in i\\^, jnrpdl granteil
for the worship of a Muhanimadan saint. These are extreme-
ly numerous in Fulpur and other f hands. Sometimes the
cultivator in charge is elected by the villagers, 1)ut more often
one family passes on the managership by inheritance like any
other permanent rent-free holding, and a very small share of
the proceeds is devotetl to charity or religion.
Suboidi- There is not much subinfeudation in the district and tenures

Tenure?, rarely go below the second degree. The chief titles of subor-
dinate tenures paying rent to the landlord are : —

(1) Shikini Tdluksy which is a wide term and includes
those at a rent which is liable to enhancement and those of
which the rent is fixed in perpetuity. The latter are usually
called Kdimi mirdsh or maarasi shikmi tdluks. Mistdk
is used of the same thing in the Joanshahi Pargana, and 72aga?ii
jamd tdluk in Susung.

(2) Patni tdluks ; Reynolds, the Collector, in 1878 writes
that these are very rare in Mymensingh, and it does not appear
that Regulation VIII of 1819, which made the so-called jjabii
tdhfks of Burdwan permanent on a fixed rent, applied strictly
to any tenures already in existence in Mymensingh. Subse-
quently, however, many tenures were styled patni in the sanads
that created them, especially in Susung. The landlords claim
that as they were created after the Permanent Settlement, the
rent is not fixed in perpetuity, although as a matter of fact it
has never been altered. The claim seems unjustifiable as the
word patni was used in the documents with the very purpose
of granting this privilege.

Dikhli is used in the Hazradi Pargana to describe specific
portions of a khdrijd or shikmi tdluk, for which the grantee
pays his fixed proportion of the revenue or rent through the
original owner.

Ijdrds are temporary leases of certain villages. In

Usually known by the case numberB, 22, 23, 24.

LAND REVENUE. 105

EteynokTs' time ijdrds were common as few of the zamindars
managed their own property. At the present day they are
increasingly rare, and most of those that survive have been
found in the jungly villages of Sherpur Pargana near the
Garo Hills and in the Madhupur jungle. The leases were
usually only for five years and, as Reynolds says, "the practice
was a great cause of litigation and the backwardness of the
district. The farmer has no object in making improvements,
and, in general, he has no capital to do so ; his aim is to make
the most he can out of the village during his short tenure of it.
The state of things is best when the farm is given to the village
mandal, who is somewhat restrained by the force of local
opinion from acts of oppression and extortion. But the farmer
is often one of the zamindar's dinla, who probably sublets the
village to some unscrupulous dependent of his own ; and then
the unfortunate ryots are fleeced in every possible way."

A chak may be either a tenure or a ryoti holding. It
invariably means that the rent is fixed in perpetuity. Rich
ryots have been in the habit of paying a fixed sum down to
the landlord in consideration of which they will continue to
hold at the same rate or at the then village rate for ever.
They are particularly common in Tangail and Iswarganj.

Jimhd is a doose generic term, by which the landlords are
fond of describing all kinds of tenures, especially in civil suits
for arrears of rent. It binds them to nothing. Many of the
tenures were granted by documents in which no rent was
specified, but it was to be fixed after measurement according to
the village rates. Though no term is specified the use of other
words \.\]s.Q patni or chak, and the fact that the rent once fixed
has never been altered has led to the Settlement Department
recording msLnj jimhds as permanent tenures on fixed rent.

The other tenancies in the district are almost universally
described asjotes. The somewhat artificial distinction between
tenures and ryoti holdings introduced by the Tenancy Act
made no difl^erence to the dealings of landlords and tenants,
and tenancies of 400 bighas and tenancies of two bighas con-
tinued to be created under the same form of kahaliyat and to
enjoy the same customary rights. Thus there are a large
number of families, especially in the Dewanganj thdiid, who
started as cultivators, but are now in possession of several
hundreds of acres, the great bulk of which is sublet on cash
rents. Some of these ^o^es could not but be recorded as tenures.
In 18G4 Justices Kemp and Glover classified the Patiladaha
Jotes with the hdolds of Bakarganj as heritable and transferable.

106 MYMENSINGH.

The estate has, however, persistently opposed the entry dc
permanent on the ground that the kahiiliyats are for a
term of years and that salcinn is paid as a condition of transfer.
On the other hand new kahiiliyats are sehlom executed until
long after the previous one has expired, and there are no cases
of re-settlement being refused.

As the Tenancy Act made it definitely impossible for one
ryot to hold under another and failed to provide any protec-
tion for tenure holders of the agricultural class, who were
possessed of occupancy rights by custom, it is a matter of vital
importance to these people whether they are recorded as tenure-
holders or ryots. Fortunately all the prominent Joteddrs
have stated in written petitions that their under-ryots enjoy
under them all the rights which they themselves enjoy under
the zamindar. With this admission to help the under-ryots
to claim the privileges of occupancy ryots by custom under
section IcSiJ of the Tenancy Act, the Settlement Department has
to some extent solved the problem by recording the great bulk
of the Fatiladiilvd Jot edcl rs as settled ryots.

Ryoti holdings on a fixed rent are very much the excep-
tion. Many of those so recorded were not intended to be such,
but the occupiers have taken advantage of the slackness of the
landlord in not making periodical enhancements, or keeping
proper papers, to claim the benefit of section 50 of the Tenancy
Act.
Ryoti Mokta jamas are lump rentals not based on area ; they

^"^*' are asserted by many ryots on absolutely insufficient grounds
in 1U.3 casfS. They do, however, occur in the east of the
district and are usually but not necessarily mukarrari. Rang-
janids are fancy rents, as a rule settlement being taken for a
year only. The usual title of under-ryots is korfa or chu-
\ani. In some parts of Jamalpur chukdni is a form of usuf ruc-
uary mortgage. The usual expressions for usufructuary
mortgages are jaisuddhi, daisuddhi, khdl khaldsi, garhhi.
Khdi khaldsi means that after the land has been held for a
certain number of years both the interest and principal of the
original loan are cleared off. Daisuddhi and garhhi mean that
the land is held in lieu of interest only, so long as the loan
is not repaid. Both forms are very common. Ordinary mort-
gages or rehdn are not common.

Produce-paying tenants have been dealt with in the chapter
on the material condition of the people. Dhdyikardri or those
paying a fixed number of maunds of rice are not common^
hargadars paying half or occasionally one-third of the produce

LAND REVENUE. 107

actually reaped are extremely numerous. Reynolds found
hargd agreements, which are seldom in writing, a fruitfal
source of unsatisfactory litigation. Recent experience is that
the division of the produce gives rise to remarkably few
disputes.

In 1878 very few of the ryots executed kahuliyats. They
are now the rule rather than the exception. The long pream-
ble contains many conditions in archaic language, which are
never intended to be acted on, and the ryot has never any
hesitation in denying his signature or mark, or in saying that
they were exacted by force.

In the time of the Mughal Emperors, every villagj had its System of
jnamlal and ^^ativdri. They acted as the agents of the collection,
zamindars not only in collecting the revenue, but in all
communications between the Imperial Government and the
people. Kanungos were officers of Government associated
with the zamindars for the purpose of checking and controlling
their proceeding.:!. The permanent settlement gave Hxq pativCiri
system its death blow and, as Government lost its hold over the
zamindars, the Kanungo's inspection was set at nought.*

For many years ihQ patwdries continued to collect the rents
for the landlords, but they were very irregular in their pay-
ments and the Civil Court files were full of cases in which
tiie 2^(^ifvclri had to be sued for the rendering of accounts or
Nilcds, In some estates there are still a few specially privi-
leged or Imzuri tenants, who are allowed to pay their rents
direct to the landlord.

Taken all round the relations between the landlords and Relations
ryots are not at all bad, though both sides profess to look on °ords"and
the other with considerable suspicion and jealousy. It is a long tenants.
time since the oppression of zamindars led to the wholesale
desertion of villages by their inhabitants such as Bayard report-
ed in 1791 for the Mymensingh and Jafarshahi parganas, and
for Atia, where " out of the 1,400 mauzas of which the richest
zamindari is his district was composed, 500 only were in a state
of cultivation.

Throughout the I'Jtli century false criminal cases were the
chief instrument in the hands of the landlords for browbeating
the tenant.s, but the tenants soon learnt to combine and then
the landlord was powerless, unless he could bribe the nidthhars
to forsake the common cause. It may be many years yet
before the ryots realise their full rights under the Tenancy

* Select Committee, Uouse of Commons Report.

108

MYMENSlNGH.

Ways in
which the
Tenancy
Act is
ignored.

Act, and in tin meantime they submit to all the exactions
which have the sanction of custom without a murmur.
Nevertheless in essentials, whatever is the case in the rest of
Bengal, in this district the tenants are the masters of the
situation.

It may be interesting to summarise here the chief sections
of the Tenancy Act which are constantly ignored in the
district.

(1) Section 5(S. Rent receipts are often not given. When
given, they are often incomplete, not specifying the total area
or the total rent. Successful prosecutions are difficult, because
the landlord always says that the tenant hais refused to accept
the ddkhild. The ryots have an unreasonable, but not un-
natural, objection to accepting a ddkhild in cases of rent
disputes, which specifies an area less than that actually held.
On the other hand if the landlord substituted the settlement
area, it would be construed as an admission that the rent paid
corresponded with an area larger than that shown in his own
jamabandi. Instead of granting a printed ddkhild^ when the
first kist is paid, the landlord usually gives strips of paper
called ro^as for each instalment, and only when the rent is paid
in full, substitutes a check from his counterfoil receipt book.
The rokas are all that most ryots have to show as proof of
payment and are almost worthless as evidence, as they do not
show the total rent or the amount that is paid as arrears and
for the current demand. It would be easier for the executive
to enforce the section, if there was a penalty for not giving
receipts for nazar and other payments, which are not illegal.

(2) Section 74. Some or all of the following ahwdhs are
realised in nearly every village.

(a) grdmkharcha^ or collection expenses, to the dmla at
1 anna, 2 annas or 8 annas of the rent. In some cases a large
percentage goes to the zamindar himself.

(6) Ijdrdddi'i, in cases where collections are made by
temporary lease-holders, from 8 annas to 4 annas in the ruijee
may be added to the rent.

{c) abwdbs in the shape of contributions to schools and
dispensaries maintained by the landlords are common in the
Tangail subdivision.

(d) The most common foim of abivdb in the eastern part
of the district is the realisation of cess at 2 annas in the rupee.

(3) Section 48. The rent paid by under-tenants is often
double the rent paid for the same lands by the ryot instead of
the legal maximum of 50 per cent. more. It is difficult to

LAND REVENUE. 109

l-educe the rents, becauso the ryot will assert he has sublet his
best lands, for which he is paying the highest rate, and even
where the entire tenancy has been sublet and the law clearly
broken, to enforce the section would mean the eviction of
many under-tenants.

(4) Section 29. When rents are enhanced, 3 annas or 4
annas used to be a more common figure than 2 annas. The 5
annas per j9a/t/ii which the Gauripur and Ramgopalpur land-
lords tried to exact throughout Jafarshahi in 1905-1908, work-
ed out at 6 annas. Landlords are more careful now.

N.B. — There has never been a case under section 75 for recovery by a tenant of
double the amount illegally exacted by the landlord.

(5) Section 188. Co-sharer landlords, whose lands are still
ijmdli, act independently in numerous ways.

(6) The right of produce-paying tenants to the status of
settled ryots is ignored.

In no part of the district has the right of occupancy ryots Privileges
to transfer their holding been legally recognised. They cannot °^ tenants.
cut down valuable trees without the consent of the landlord,
and they have to pay beav7 nazar for the privilege of excavat-
ing a tank. Sometimes the area so used is not assessed to
rent afterwards.

In the eastern villages, whore horn dhdn is grown, the ryots
are usually allowed to grow their seedlings on the landlords'
khds lands. Even when the same tenant uses the same plot
year after year, he does not pay any rent. Bat unless the
landlord allowed the higher lands to be used for this purpose,
he could not lease hil lands at their present high rates.

The privilege of a lump reduction called aniir/raha kami
from the rent of individual ryots, as assessed upon the area
measured at th3 village rates, is common all over the district
but especially in Alapsingh. In Atia Pargana one-fifth of the
area, or 1] yaridas in a p^klu are not assessed to rent at all.
This concession is called saraJia kami, and, if it was neces-
sitated by the depradations of the Mughal armies marching
through Pakulla, is confirmation of the theory that this was
once the trunk road from Delhi to Dacca.

The units of land measurement still prevalent in the district
were described in detail in Reynolds' Gazetteer. In Alapsingh,
Bhawal and Ran Bhawal the pura of 100 gaj by 100 gaj with a
hat of 25 J inches measures 1"03 acres. In Tappe Satsikha, the
part of Alapsingh north of the Brahmaputra, as in Sherpur the
kur is used. The Jidl varies, but 21 inches is right for most
villages and then the kur is exactly an acre.

no MYMENSINGH,

(

In Jafarshahi, Pakhuria, Kagmari, Atia, Barabazu, i.e., all
over Tangail and the south of Jamalpur, the pdkhi of 30
karas or 7j gandas is the unit. Six nals by five nals made a
pdkhi but the number of hats in the nal varies from 14 to 17
and the number of inches in the hat from 18 to 23. So the
pdkJii may be anything between '221 and •521 of an acre.

In Mymensingh, Susung, Hosenshahi, Khaliajurl and
Nasirujliil !;he drhd is 1] or If acres. The big kdiii of
Joanshahi consisting of 24 nals by 20 nals equals an acre.
The small kdni of Hazradi of 12 nals by 10 nals only comes to
one-third of this. In some villages adjoining Sylhet it is
called a keddrd.

In view of the recent report of the weights and measures
commission it is interesting to note that Reynolds recorded his
opinion that these confusing and anomalous measures would
never be swept away, so long as legislation on the subject was
merely permissive.

The Bengali year of which the 1st Baisakh 1323 corresponds
with 14th April 1916 is used in all vernacular papers. Susung
pargana is remarkable in having an era of its own. The year
commences in Asivin instead of in Baisakh and tlie reckoning
is a year and a half in advance of the ordinary Bengali era.
Thus the month of Baisakh 1321 B.S. answers to Baisakh
1322 of the Suaung era ; but the Susung year 1323 begins on the
1st Asin 1321 B. S. Mr. Reynolds was not able to find out
when this era was first introduced ; it is traditionally said to
be of very great antiquity, and it is certainly recognised in
sanads dating from a period anterior to the introduction of the
English dominion into Bengal.

The district was mapped by Rennell in 1778 together with
the rest of Bengal. Large scale maps exist in the India Office,
but the largest scale available out here is 5 miles to the
inch. These maps differ in value, some of the rivers having
been marked according to the oral reports of various subor-
dinates.

The thdkhast map was made in 1854 — 1856 and the
Revenue Survey in 1855 — 1857. The tJidk maps of many
villages agree extraordinarily well with their present bound-
aries and in spite of cases where the boundary has failed to
meet, they can be relied on in thei great majority of instances
to show the lands or chaks which belonged to the different
tauzis then in separate existence. The Revenue Survey is on
the scale of 4 inches to the mile except for the Madhupur
jungle which is on the scale of 2 inches. The village maps

LAND REVENUE. Ill

were arranged and numbered according to parganas, not
according to thanas or subdivisions. Hence the Revenue
Survey maps of some villages now in Mymensingh are with
the Collectors of other districts like Pabna, Rangpur and
Tippera. In other districts the 4 inch maps were congregated.
For this district the only congregated maps are the 1 inch
pargana maps. The thclk maps are usually IG inclies to the
mile, but sometimes 20 inches and 8 inches.

For certain villages in Alapsingh and Pakhariu parganas
the Revenue Surveyors also made 16-inch maps called khasra,
whicji showed fields as well as chaks. Some of the Myin.'n-
singh specimen-5 are nearly as accurate as the new cadastral
maps.

The district settlement began in the spring of 1908,
70 square miles of Dewanganj thdnd being chosen as an
experimental area. The village records will take up 16 lakhs
of khatians or pages, and will require 25,000 bound volumes.
The 16-inch sheets number 11,470, and, in all, over a million
reproductions will have to be made.

Khatians and maps have been issued free to all concerned
and many of the landlords have bought extra copies. There is
an increasing tendency to produce khatians before the civil
and criminal courts, and it is probable that Government officers
will find it convenient as a rule to rely on tliM copies in the
hands of the parties rather than to search out what they
require in the extra bound copies that have been stored up for
their use.

Hitherto the information available about estates in the
collectorate, apart from the thclk maps, was incomplete and
difficult to handle. There is a jamd-ivdsil-hdki of the estates
in Mymensingh in the Noakhali collectorate, which is anterior
to the Permanent Settlement.

The quinquennial papers dated 1200 — 1202 are in Bengali
and give the gross assets of estates mauza by mauza with their
areas. There are no papers of the Decennial Settlement, only
some tahoods or doivls in Persian or Bengali dated 1198 — 1209.
The Taidads dated 1202 give lists of revenue-free properties
included in revenue-paying estates. The AltamegJia is a
similar document for Bddshdhi grants.

The Sarahaddahandi papers prepared by kanungos under
Regulation IV of 1(S08 were copied into registers in 1874.
They give the local measure in use in each viUage, the rates of
rent, the boundaries, the names of proprietors and remunera-
tion of patwaris, etc.

ll^ MYMENSINGH.

The Hakiathandi Registers prepared in 1851-1852 are also
Parganawar. They show all new estates creatod sinca the
Quinquannial S.^ttlement and are valuable as showing both the
quinquennial a.i I tha present tauzi number.

The first general registers were opened in 1896 ; ignoring
parganas they keep one alphabetical series of estates for the
whole district. These are the old B registers and the counter-
part for revenu3-free and redeemed estates was the old C
Register. The Mutation or Entakali registers maintained
between 1837 and the passing of the Land Registration Act
contain some valuable information. The present D Register
showing the names and shares of the proprietors of each estate
is very far from being accurate or up to date, and the C or
mauzawar register showing the area of each estate village by
village was not too carefully drawn up. The B register of
revenue-free estates is even more unsatisfactory.

gMeral administration. 113

CHAPTER XI

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.

On the grant of the Diwani to the East India Company in
1765, Mymensingh as well as Tippera was included in the
'"'• IktiDiCim of Dacca Jalalpiir ". Tippera and Noakhali were
constituted a separate revenue charge in 1781 under the
designation of Bhulua. In 178G Mymensingh was made a
separate Coliectorate under H. Burro wes, but the seat of ad-
ministration remained at Dacca.

In 1787, as the result apparently of a protest from the
Directors at home against the growing costs of administration,
and also with the idea of levelling up the collections of the
respective CoUectorates, John Shore, on behalf of the Board
of Revenue, submitted a minute for reducing the number of
the CoUectorships in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from 35 to 23.
This minute contains the interesting proposal that, as consider-
able reduction will take place in the revenue charges in conse-
quence of these arrangements, some increase in the salaries
of the Collectors should be recommended to the Supreme
Council by granting them a commission on the net collections.
At present Shore writes " it is well known that their allowances
are in few places equal to their unavoidable disbursements and
in general inferior lo them ".

Lord Cornwallis lost no time in sanctioning Shore's pro-
posals. His letter is dated 21st March 1787. It approves of
the suggestions that Collectors should be allowed commissions
on the collections and goes on to say that "as one of the
principal objects of the new arrangements is to unite the
judicial authority in Civil cases as well as that of Magistrate
in the Collectors, making the judicial authority of each co-
extensive with the charge of the revenue, in future the three
Adalats of Pabna, Murshidabad and Dacca, the only ones now

Hastings' salary, as Member of Council, was Rs. 300 a month. In 1757, salaries
of writers increased to lis. 100 a year which included diet money and all allowances
whatever.

Travelling was very expensive. Vansittarfs visit (3 months) to the Nawab cost
K«. 28,000, including Rs. 2,442 as presents to Nawab's servants.

Clive's voyage out in 17(i.') cost a lakli of rupees. He gave a detailed account,

114 MYiMENSTNGPi.

(
left in the Province, will have their jarisdiction confined to the
local extent of the cities in which they are situated ". The
same orders abolished the title of Revenue Chief by which
up to this time the Collectors of Dacca, Pabna, Purneah,
Chittagong and Murshidabad had been known.

As the result of Shore's scheme Tippera was reunited to
Chittagong, the Dacca and Bazurgomeidpur (Bakarganj) Collec-
torships were amalgamated under Dey, and the Mymensingh
and Bhulua Collectorships under Wroughton. As Faridpur
was not then a separate district, this accounts for the whole of
the present Chittagong and Dacca Commissi onerships. This
arrangement sounds impossible at the present day. Evidently
the general idea was to leave all the country to the east of the
joint Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers with Sylhet and Tippera
as the eastern boundary, under Wroughton, while Dacca
faced it on the west. It appears, however, from the list of thanas
proposed in 1790 that Kagmari, Barabazu, Pukliuri;i, Jafar-
shahi and Alapsingh were all along part of Mymensingh and
out of the present Tangail subdivision only the Atia Pargana
was included in Dacca. The district therefore extended from
Serajganj, the head-quarters of Barabazu on the west, to Sylhet
on the east, and from the Garo Hills to the Pay of Bengal-
The addition of the Sarail, Haripur, Daudpur and Bejra parganas
of Tippera up to 1830 still further increase;! the unwieldiness
of the district.

Dacca, though on the wrong side of the river for the
Mymensingh Collector, was not otherwise an inconvenient
headquarters, as Wroughton pointed out when two years later
a number of dacoities caused the Board to enquire why he
resided at Dacca instead of in his own district. The Board
forwarded Wroughton's reply to the Governor General, and
pointed out that his district extended 200 miles from north
to south.

The Governor General hereupon called upon ihe Board
to submit a plan for making the Collectorships as compact
as possible and the residence of the Collector central. The
Board forwarded in reply* a long minute by tluir Secretary
Harrington in which he discussed six principles for a new
division of the Collectorships, and also recommends that
Tippera should again be made a separate district with additions
from the unwieldy Dacca and Mymensingh charges. Thej^
recorded their opinion at the same time that " the Governor

* Board to Governor General, 29tb October 1789.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 115

General was right in 1786, when he said that " the Collectors
from the extent of their districts cannot, without a local enquiry
in the several divisions, secure the regular realisation of the
revenue and must be still less able to preserve the ryots
and other inferior tenants from the oppressions and exaction to
which they are in this country so peculiarly liable from the
superior landlords and renters. The late appointment of a
Commissioner to prevent the depredations of the dakaits in
the Sundarbans was a proof of the present number of estab-
lished Magistrates being insufficient for the preservation of the
peace and good order of the community."

The Governor General* approved Harrington's first pro-
posal which was to divide up the revenue of whole zamindaries
and taluks and to place geographical districts under the sole
authority of one Collector, Judge and Magistrate. He, howevor,
gave the Board permission to state their reasons if they
thought that the objections to dividing the jamas of zamindaries
outweighed the advantages to ryots of making the authority
of the local Collector comprehensive and compact. This appa-
rently they did, as Harrington's scheme has never been carried
oat in its entirety. Mymensingh itself affords a striking exam-
ple, as a whole thana of. over 200 square miles (Dewanganj)
is still borne on the Revenue Roll of Rangpur.

In 1790 Bhulua was separated from Mymensingh. Stephen
Bayard, who had succeeded Wrougbton, writes to the Board
that he has found a good place for his head-quarters at Kagdaha
between Sawara and Baiganbari. Baiganbari would have been
chosen in preference, but for tlie fact that the river had already
washed away part of the indigo factory premises there. The
Collector did hold his office at Baiganbari temporarily. Kag-
daha, Nasirabad or Mymensingh, as it is variously called, has
been the head-quarters since 1791.

In 1845, the Serajganj thana was transferred from Pabna Adminis-

tmtivG

to Mymensingh. In 18G6,t it was retransferred to the same bounda-
district, but Dewanganj came to Mymensingh from Bogra, and ^^^^'
Paculla or Atia (now Tangail) from Dacca. As the area of
Serajganj was 30G square miles and that oC Dewanganj 2G2
square miles, and that of Atia 231, the result was still further
to increase the area of the district. Colonel Macdonald notified
all the boundaries of the district in Notification No. 121 of 1st

* Letter of Lord Cornwallis, 9th December 178'J.
t Calcutta Oazctlec, 180G, lath February. Dewanganj was part of Ilungpur at the
Revenue Survey and had only been attached to Eogra for four or live years.

116 MYMENSINGH

October 1874. In 1891 Government declared that the bodin-
dary between Mymensingh and Pabna, Bogra and Rungpur
on the west side of the Jamuna should be the main stream of
that river as it was found by the CoUectorate kanungos after
local enquiry each cold weather. The management of the
Government estates in the bed of the river is not necessarily
handed over from one Collector to another in consequence of
this order. It was intended to settle the question of jurisdic-
tion in criminal cases. The Sub-Inspectors on either side try
to avoid enquiry in big rioting cases on the ground that the
area is outside their jurisdiction, and it still happens occasion-
ally that the Subdivisional Officers of Tangail and Serajganj
take up the same case, giving criminal justice some appearance
of partiality.

Another lioundary that has caused incessant trouble is that
with the Garo Hills. Until 1822, Rungpur and Goalpara
formed one district and the Garo Hills, though not permanently
settled, was a kind of appendage, in which both the landlords
of Goalpara and Mymensingh were trying to collect cesses and
to establish the usual zamindari rights.

The disputes about the boundary came to a head in 1857,
and after passing through the local Revenue and Civil Courts,
went to the High Court who, in 1868, passed a partial decree
in favour of the Susung Raja. Government appealed to the
Privy Council, but before the Privy Council could give a deci-
sion, Act XXII of 1869 excluded the Garo Hills from the
jurisdiction of Civil, Revenue and Criminal Courts.

This Act abolished all zamindari rights in the villages
north of the Revenue Survey line of Mymensingh and the
Susung Raj received Ih lakhs as compensation. The sum was
probably not inadequate at the time, but the estate now regrets
the bargain, maintaining that the jungle and kheddah rights,
which they then lost, were fhe most profitable part of their
pargana.

It follows that as far as the original Garo Hills is concerned,
that is from the 1 hogai river eastwards to Sylhet, the adminis-
trative boundary of the districts and the line of proprietary
title coincide. In 1875, however, about 259 square miles of
the permanently-settled pirgana of Karaibari in the district
of Goalpara was transferred to the Garo Hills, with the result
that from the junction of the Rungpur, Goalpara and Mymen-
singh districts round the south-western corner of the present
Garo Hills district to the Bhogai, the boundary was not touched
by Act XXII of 1869. The Revenue Survey of Goalpara in

GENEEAL ADMINISTRATION. 117

1^52 — 1855 was on the 1 inch scale and those of Rungpur
and Mymensingh in 1(S55 — 1857 on the 4 inch scale and there
are many gaps and overlappings. Badgley's demarcation in
1876 did not follow either line exactly, and it was impossible
to decide the disputes which arose between the tenants of the
rival landlords. Eventually in 1*J03 the Chief Commissioner
of Assam decided that the (loalpara Revenue Survey was the
right boundary on the west and the Mymensingh Revenue
Survey on the south. Mr. O'Donel demarcated the Revenue
Survey of Goalpara as far as I'ahadurakata Hat in 1905, and
for this small portion the Revenue Survey of Goalpara was
notified as the legal boundary in March 1912.

The principle adopted by the Revenue Surveyors throughout
the whole boundary was to include all flat agricultur.d lauds
in Mymensingh even at the expense of including certain out-
lying film or hills also. Some of the northern villages of
Mymensingh are almost entirely hill and jungle and many of
the pillars stand on the slopes of quite high cliffs.

Jamalpur was created a separate subdivision in 1845 out Subdiv
of the Serajganj, Hajipur, Pingna and Sherpur thanas. As the ^^°""^"
result of the changes in district boundaries in 1866, Atia and
Dewanganj thanas were substituted for Serajganj. Kishorganj
with its present boundaries was made a subdivision in 1860.
Jamalpur included about two-fifths of the district and became
entirely unmanageal)!e. In 1867 Governmenr sanctioned the
scheme for the existing five subdivisions.

In 1914 their area and population stood as follows : —

Area.

Population.

Sq. miles.

Sadar

1,822

1,185,330

Jamalpur

l,2;i3

813,306

Tangail ...

1,061

1,049,772

Kishorganj

985

822,719

Netrakona

1,148

655,295

Thanas were established in 1817, when Mr. Thomas xha
Packenham was Collector. In 1823 there were 12 and in 1862
14. Though their names anil sites changed in some cases, e.g.^
Futtehpur instead of Kendua, Pingna instead of Gopalpur,
Nikli instead of Kishorganj, in the main they corresponded
with the 19 revenue thanas dealt with by Chandra in preparing
his jurisdiction list in 1903 — 1907. Since then the temporary
outposts have been converted into independent police thanas.
and the process is still going on.

118 MYMBNSINGH.

The impossibility of keeping Mymeiisiugii much longer as
one district has been admitted over and over again. In the
days of the Mughal Emperors, the Ndib Ndzi')n''s f anetions as
described in Stirling's letter to Government, " wer^ to chastise
tlie turbulent, to protect the weak and the malguzars, to
administrate justice to complainants accordingto Muhammadan
law, to be cautious that no one should sell to ill-disposed
persons lead, powder, or any implements of war, collect revenues?
and maintain establishments of war and boats (nawara)."

In reality most of these duties were only nominally dis-
charged and the zamindars were granted jdcjirs for disposing
of civil and criminal cases. Only appeals went to the Kdzis
and Jlisadels, who were the lieutenants of the Ndzim. The
latter also had a regular council to assist him, consisting of
Kaziul Quzzat (Chief Justice), a Mufti or Pandit (Legal
Remembrancer), a Daroga a-adalat (Registrar) and a Muktdsih
(Police Magistrate).

After the English took over the Diwani in 1705, one official
took charge both of the revenue (huzuri) and the rtizdmat, or
criminal and civil justice, but the control of the criminal
courts and th3 police was still left in the hands of the Muham-
madan officials. From 1776 — 1781 there was a Provincial
Council at Dacca, and after that the Collector of each district
was in charge of the whole administration. In 17'.'3, Mymen-
singh was given a Judge of its own. In 1820, there were 5
English Judges at Dacca for appeal and circuit, and Shakespear
was Superintendent of Police for the whole of the Dacca,
Murshidabad and Pabna Divisions. The first Superintendent
of Police for Mymensingli alone was appointed in 1861.

In 1867, there were two Mansiffs at Sadar, one at Atia,
Bajitpur, Sankanda (Fulpur), Sherpur, Sambhuganj (3 miles
from Sadar), Netrakona, Nikli and Jamalpur.

There are now 18 Mansiffs and 4 Subordinate Judges as
well as 2 and sometimes 3 District and Sessions Judges.

The Executive staff has undergone corresponding develop-
ment. Up to the first partition there were often only 2
European ofiBcials in the district. Since 1905 there has usually
been an Additional Magistrate, 3 European Policemen, and
Civilian officers in most of the subdivisions. Nevertheless the
volume of work has gone on increasing and the District
Administration Committee of 1913 quotes the Collector of
Dacca to prove the impossibility of the present conditions.

" As matters stand at present, we are neglecting the work
which matters most, because neglect does not show and in

GENEKAL ADMINISTRATION. 119

order that we may do work which is intrinsically of no greater
importance, but which must have the preference, because it
comes more immediately to the notice of Government. It is
because the mass of the people are so submissive to authority
and cherish the belief that Fritish Government desires to do
justice, that they do not make their voice lieard, when the
District Magistrate fails to save them fronl such delay in
obtaining justice in the criminal courts as amounts to a denial
of justice, l)ecause he has no time to control the works of the
courts ; when he fails to give a fair price for homesteads
because he has no time to control the work of the Land Acqui-
sition Deputy Collector ; when he allows the holdings of Khas
Malicil ryots to be sold and fall into the hands of mahajans,
because he exercises no control over collections and allows
alternations of slackness and undue severity ; when he fails to
redress the grievances of ryots in Wards' estates, because of the
volume of complaints and the passive resistance of estate
subordinates,"

So long ago as 187G the partition file opened with proposals
to make Jamalpur and Tangail a separate district with head-
quarters at Jamalpur. In 1884 the scheme was again discussed,
and in 1899 it came up in connection with Mr. Savage's enquiry
on the notoriety of the district for outrages on women.' He
tiiought it impossible for . one Superintendent of Police or
Magistrate to keep an eye on 6 Inspectors and 75 Sub-Inspec-
tors. In 1908 it was proposed to h ive two districts each with
their head-quarters at Mymensingh. The recent committee
have recommended three districts with head-quarters at
Mymensingh, Gopalpur and Kishorganj.

The following table gives some indication of the difference
in work between Mymensingh and Rungpur, except the 24-Par-
ganas the nearest in size and population to Mymensingh of
those districts which have not been recommended for parti-
tion : —

Mymensingh.

Rungpur.

Sessions cases ...

150

36

Magistrate's cases

... 11,894

2,696

Civil suits

... 54,016

31,121

Schools

160

54

Primary schools

... 2,352

1,205

Estates

... 9,955

681

Separate accounts

... 7,G26

52G

Letters received

... 21,353

9,426

In 1912 there were 403 Pleaders and barristers and 384

I

120 MYMENSINGH.

Mukhtears and 96 Revenue Agents. The days have long since
passed when it was possible to adopt Shaista Khan's system and
to put a premium on quick disposal by placing both plaintiff
and defendant in jail, until the case was decided.

In Jamalpur and Sadar, the Honorary Magistrates do quite
a fair share of the petty criminal work. In Sherpur the Rai
Bahadur Ra<lha Ballabh Chaudhury has for a long time held
powers not only to sit singly but to take complaints. The Rai
I^ahadur Charu Chandra Chaudhury now has the same powers,
and in coiise juence the Sherpur and Nalitabari thanas almost
form a separate isubdivision and throw very little work on
the Subdi visional Officer of Jamalpur. There are benches of
Honorary Magistrates at Salar, an<l, in addition to those at the
subdivisional head-quarters, Honorary Magistrates sit at
Eajitpur and Bhairab.
Crime. The morality of the district as regarils women is generally

low, and Mymensingh was for a long time notorious for the
prevalence of such crimes as rape, kidnapping and abduction.
" The 7iika system of marriage in Mymensingh district tends
to multiply offences of this class, while the absence of any
general registry of marriages and divorces prevents proof being
had of the facts necessary to support the charges in -Court."
Since Reynolds gave this explanation of the evil reputation of
the district for serious crime, Muhammadan Registrars of
Marriages or Kdzis have been established by Government.
Even under this system, the validity of many marriages must
be doubtful, and, when the girl is taken away by a rival
suitor, a case of kidnapping is often put in as a cheap means of
settling the validity of the marriage. Similarly in rape cases
the woman, usually a widow or a married woman, is often a
consenting party, and the cases are brought to establish the
honour of the family only when the intrigue becomes a public
scandal.

As late as 1899, five special Inspectors were appointed to
investigate cases of female outrage, but they were abolished in
the following year. In 1899 Mr. Savage, then Member of the
Board, was placed on special deputation. At the present day
there is no reason to suppose that violent outrages on women
are more common than in other districts inhabited chiefly by
Muhammadans. It is possible that as Mr. Commissioner
Abercombie wrote in 1861 they were increased in the past by
false cases encouraged by the severity of the sentences awarded
to genuine offenders.

GE^JERAL ADMINISTRATION. 121

At present burglary is by far the most common form of
crime, and rioting, abduction and murder follow in the order
named.

The great majority of the petty criminal cases have their
origin in land disputes, although they often appear under the
guise of rescuing cattle from the pounds or petty assaults.
What Reynolds wrote in 1872 in this connection is equally
true to-day, though the District Settlement is gradually intro-
ducing the very improvements he suggests : —

"The number of complaints before the Magistrate of
criminal trespasr^, forcible ploughing up of lands, forcible
cutting of crops, etc., is very great, and shows that much
uncertainty exists among tenants themselves as to their actual
rights and the boundaries of their holdings. The first step
towards an improvement in this respect would be the abolition
of those absurd and unintelligiljle papers known as Zamindari
Chithas, and the introduction of a proper system of Khasrah
measurement. The Bengal ryot is not so lawless a character ;
and I believe it will be found in most cases of alleged criminal
trespass that both parties were acting in good faith, each
believing himself to be entitled to che land. If, however,
holdings were properly measured and recorded, this would be
impossible ; and I do not see why the Legislature, which
requires that a lease shall be given to the cultivator, should not
also require that the lease shall contain a distinct specification
of the lands to which it refers. Such a provision would be a
benefit to both the tenant and the landlords.".

From the time of the Sanyasies dacoities in the river
districts have been a serious blot on the administration. In a
letter of 16th December 1813, T. H. Ernest, Esq., wrote that the
most stringent measures were employed to put a stop to
dacoities. Goyendahs were empowered to take hundreds of
people on suspicion and to hang scores of them by way of
example without any form of trial. Considering the access-
ibility by water of Mymensingh traders' houses and shops,
their unprotected nature, and the timidity of the peaceful
population, it is strange that dacoities do not play a larger
part in the criminal history of the last century. In 1905, two
gangs which had committed over 60 dacoities with Badla and
Madhupur as the centres of their activity were broken up.
Cases of this nature, however, are not the burden on the
administration that they are in Bihar.

In the year 1866 the Abroo Garos of three villages, to whom
the Susung Raja with the idea of forcing them to pay rent had

122 MYMENSINGH.

e

closed all hats and ordered all his ryots to refuse supplies,

made raids across the boundary and committed many murders.
Mr. C. G. Baker, V. C, the Deputy Inspector-General, and
Mr. Reily, the Superintendent of Police, took out a force
of 150 men and demanded the surrender of the guilty villagers.
"When this was refused and the police advanced, a stone shoot
was released and Reily and several of his men were hurled
down the kfmd and severely injured.

The first political Cdse in the district was a sequel to the
rioting at Jamalpur in 1907. The Superintendent of Police
and the Subdivisional Officer were fired at from the temple
in the Gauripur cutchery, where the Muhammadans were
besieging the Hindu Volunteers who had interfered in the
■meld. The first political dacoity occurred in Police-station
Bajitpur, when some youths of the hhadralog class gained
admission into the house of a tdlukddr by pretending to be
police officers.

Political In 1911, Sub-Inspector Raj Kumar Ray of the Criminal

Investigation Department was shot dead in the Mymensingh
town. Five bullet holes were found in his Lack. Some
smaller dacoities intervened, and then in 1913 over Rs. 9,000
was looted at Dhuldia and Rs. 18,000 at Kedarpur from
the house of a Shaha. In both cases villagers were killed.
In August of the same year Inspector I'ankim Chandra Chau-
dhury was killed by a bomb in his house in Mymensingh. The
bomb was of the same type as thosa used in the Midnapore and
Delhi cases. In the autumn of 1915 Deputy Superintendent
Babu Jatindra Mohan Ghose was the victim with his child of a
particularly brutal murder. In 1914-15 there were three more
casej of dacoity with murder and at Chandrakona the whole
bazar was held up and four men wounded with revolvers. The
booty in this case was estimated at Rs. 21,000. Two infor-
mers have been shot near Bajitpur.

Revenue. The receipts in the financial year 1911-15 amounted to

about 28 lakhs, and the chief items are compared below with
the collections under corresponding heads in 1821 and 1860 : —

1914.

I860.

1S21.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Stamp-?

... 6,16,548

2,07,675

69,210

Lan<l Revenue

... 8,65,135

12,79,780

11,76,240

Income-tax

... 1,30,631

3,765

...

Excise

... 7,33,108

2,67,675

76,965

The general revenue of the district, including local cesses, is

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 123

about treble what it was in 1795, although land revenue has
gone back. Even in the last decade there has been an increase
of GO per cent, in Excise, 70 per C3nt. in judicial stamps, and
95 per cent, in non-judicial stamps.

Excise was the chief source of reveniie of the Dacca Viceroy
in Mughal times and in tlie early days of the Company, when a
large part of the land revenue proper went on the upkeep of
tlie fleet and the army. But in the mof ussil it had very humble
beginnings. Until 1808 there does not appear to have been
any Abkari Mahal in Mymensingh, and in 1813 we find a staff
of 4 darogas sanctioned for Abkari collections. In 1816 the
revenue decreased as owing to floods people were able to afford
less spirits.

In 1816 the Oollector proposed to increase the number of
opium shops as the price being high (Rs. 25 a seer) much illicit
opium was used. The Board agreed to his suggestion that
stamp vendors should sell opium on a commission of 2 or 2i
per cent.

Ganja, as in the neighbouring districts of Dacca and Tippera
i i largely consumed, and in 1900 accounted for no less than
one-half of the excise revenue. The license fees on country
spirit, which is all imported from Dacca, amount to a lakh, and
the average consumption amounts to 2 gallons for every 1,000 •
persons. Imported liquors are used to some extent by the
richer classes, and pachwai is a favourite drink of the abori-
ginal tribes.

The heavy stamp revenue is due to the love of the people
for litigation, which is ahnost their only extravagance. The
increase in non-judicial stamps is accounted for by the fact
tliat kabuliyats have only recently come into favour and tbe
great extent to which sales and mortgages of occupancy hold-
ings take place in this district. In 1903 there were 21 Sub-
Registry offices and now there are 35. In 1914 they regis-
tered 161,057 documents and as, apart from the stamp revenue,
the total receipts were Rs. 1,94,335 and the expenditure
Rs. 8<>,907, they are a great source of profit to Government.

Up to and including Akbar's time, the Kotwdl was respon- Police,
sible for the crime in his city, town or village. At that time in
the words of Akbar's minister " if any article is stolen or
robbed the police must return the article, produce the offender
or failing this become responsible for the equivalent." The
zamindars were responsible for the policing of their territory
and appointed the Kotivdls. It was found, however, that they
used these officers not to maintain the public peace but to

124 MYMENSINGH.

t

plunder the people, and under British rule the Magistrates of
districts gradually assumed control and appointed a number of
darogas, who had under them barkandazes and village watch-
men. Darogas were first appointed in 1833 and received their
pay by commission, Rs. 10 for each dacoit convicted and 10 per
cent, of the value of property recovered from a convicted thief.
The darogas, however, soon assumed tremendous power and
were as oppressive as the zamindars had been. Various com-
mi^^sions were appointed to consider remedies, but nothing
serious was done until effect was given to the resolutions of the
Police Commission of 1860.

In 1862 the Magistrate, writing to the Deputy Inspector-
General of Police, thinks that "the new plan of special officers
is bound to succeed, as want of supervision due to the Magis-
trate's inability to find tin)e for travelling was the main defect
of the existing system, and the real source of most of the other
evils, viz., bribery and corruption." He added that the salaries
should be raised so as to attract a better class of men.

In thi^ year the total cost of the police, excluding 49 guards
for the Jail and 24 for the Treasury, was Rs. 27,624. By 1865
the staff had already been increased to ^564 and the cost to
Rs. 86,700.

In 1913 the regular police force of the district consisted of
103 Sub-Inspectors, 108 head constables and 854 constables.
For supervision there was one Superintendent of Police, 1 Ad-
ditional Superintendent, 2 Assistant Superintendents, 2 Deputy
Superintendents, 13 Inspectors, of whom 7 were in charge of
circles generally conterminous with the subdivisions, 3 in
charge of Court-), 2 of political work and one of the armed
branch. This works out at one policeman for every 5*7 square
miles of area and 4,183 head of population. It includes the
town police.

The cost was divided as follows : —

Rs. ^

(a) Pay of Gazetted Officers ... ... 44,307

(6) Subordinate officers, including minis-
terial and hospital stafi: ... 1,23,508
(c) H;^ad-constables and constables ... 1,22,094
{d) Clothing ... ... ... 6,828

(e) Contingencies ... ... ... 36,751

or a total of Rs. 3,33,488. There was an an additional expendi-
ture on buildings of Rs. 58,006.

The river police have thanas at Bhairab and Nikli and the
Railway Police at Mymensingh, Singhjani and Jagannathganj.,''

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 125

On the average about 13 constables belonging to these special
branches are stationed in this district.

In addition there is an armed reserve of 244 constables
and 25 head-constables under an Inspector and 7 Sub-Inspec-
tors, which is almost entirely recruited from Fihar and the
United Provinces.

, Mymensingh seems to have been the first district in which
chaukidars were organised, and Mr. Evers, the Collector,
received the thanks of Government in 1817 and a copy of his
report was sent to all other districts. The following extracts
may be of interest : —

" I do not find in any former year that it was at all usual
for any person to think of informing of a robbery except the
prosecutor, and that he frequently delayed in going to the
thana for 10 or 15 days. In these instances, the apprehension
of offenders was next to impossible. No chaukidars had been
appointed in the villages, and tliough regulations had been
passed by Government making the zamindars and their agents
responsible for the conveyance of immediate information, the
punishment for neglect had never been awarded. "

" To remedy these evils, I caused landlords of all descrip-
tions to be furnished with copies of those sections of the regu-
lations which define their duties in aid of the police. By my
direction, the landlords appointed chaukidars in every village,
whom I have not only found of great use in apprehending
offenders, but also in giving information." In 1817, th;^ Sub-
Inspector of Police reports "I conclude that the expenses of
this establishment is in reality (as it ought to be) defrayed by
the inhabitants of the villages, but as no regulation expressly
directs the general appointment of the village watchmen, I have
not thought proper to interfere with the assessment. I have
had no complaints from the ryots and very seldom from the
chaukidars on account of wages. The salaries are from Re. 1
to Rs, 2-8 per mensem, but many have received grants of land
in lieu of allowances in money, some have both," This grant
soon disappeared and by 1820 all chaukidai'S were supported by
their fellow villagers.

In 1838 the Police Commissioner criticised the dual control
under which the system was bound to be a failure : " Hy a
regulation of 1793, the police was under the exclusive charge of
Government and all descriptions of village watchmen under
the orders of the daroga. The zamindars were responsible for
apprehending criminals although deprived of all police powers
and even of control over the chaukidars. The zamindars

126 MYMENSINGH.

t

nnentrusted with authority but still held responsible, would of

course afford no cordial co-operation. The chaukidars required
to serve two masters, nominated by and entitled to receive their
pay from the one, but bound to obey, and liable to dismissal
from, the other, would eventually serve neither, while the pub-
lic authority is naturally hated and betrayed by both."

In 1866 McNiele reported on the rural police. The number
in Mymensingh was 5,1(S6 maintained by villagers, 2Q main-
tained by Government, nil maintained by zamindars.

In 1872 Reynolds writes that " this large force exists only on
paper. The watchmen who are really employed, pro])ably not
one-fifth of the 5,580 nominally employed, are a very inefficient
body, not seldom iii league with the criminals whom it is their
duty to apprehend. They are supposed to receive Rs. 4 a month
each either in money or in land, but the salaries are as mythi-
cal as the men themselves."

Daffadars most probably were first appointed in 1895, bat
this is uncertain. There ar3 now 6,944 chaukidars and 772
daff'adars in the district.

There are five jails in Mymensingh. The district jail was
built for 635 prisoners, bat the daily average in 1915 was more
than 800. The sabdivisional jails have room for from 22 to 47
persons. The convicts are chiefly employed on agriculture, in-
cluding market gardening and jute growing, wheat grinding
and the manufacture of mats, carpets, cane chairs and bricks.
Post Office. There are few departments in which the British genius for

administration has been more successful than in its organi-
sation of a postal service, which covers tlie most inaccessible
villages in this overgrown district. It is estimated that three
million paid letters, 4 lakhs of unpaid letters and 5 lakhs of
postcards are annually delivered in this district. Rs. 1,53,568
worth of postage stamps and Rs. 22,124 of stamped envelopes
were sold in 1912-13. In addition the post offices carry out an
enormous business in the popular money order service, V. P. P.
system and saving banks. In 1914-15, Rs. 1,43,054 of revenue
and cesses was paid in 34,172 money orders and Rs. 27,924 in
1,277 rent money orders. They are now taking up an ambi-
tious programme of life insurance, which bids fair to be as
popular as the other branches.

There are 307 Post Offices and branch Post Otfices in the dis-
trict. The post offices are chiefly mat and thatched huts, only
Rs. 10,469 |_having been .expended on building daring the years
1909 to 1914. The Post Masters in the mofussil only receive
Rs. 5 paj', and many of them are uneducated. Tlie letters are

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.

127

carried by up-country coolies in relays of 5 — 8 miles, and it is
very seldom that losses or barglaries occur. Until recently
the heavy mail to and from Taugail was carried through the
Matlhupur jungle at night, the journey of 60 miles only taking
18 to 20 hours, winter and summer.

Deputy Post Masters existed at the very beginning of the
19th century, but they were abolished by the Governor General
in Council on the 11th October 1804, and Collectors with the
official designation of Post Masters were pluced in charge.

The actual management rested with the landlords, who
appointed the ddk muharrirs and ranners, and the Collector
only interfered to punish instances of neglect of duty, and to
enforce payment of the salaries of subordinates. By Act VIII
of 1802, the Magistrate was vested with a more complete control.
Funds were raised by the levy of a percentage upon all estates
situated within the district, the Government revenue of which
w^as Rs. 50 and upwards. The rate in the year 1865 amounted
to 15 annas 5 pies per Rs. 100 of revenue. During the year
1863-64 the village chaukidars were employed to deliver
letters, but this plan was a failure and a regular staff of special
peons was entertained from the beginning of 1865. By Gov-
ernment orders dated the 16th October 1865, the offices of ddk-
muhannrs and pound-keepers were amalgamated, and the dale
7nuharrirs, with a few exceptions, received half their salaries
from the Pound fund, an arrangement which resulted in consi-
derable economy. In the same year the supervision of the
executive duties connected with the zamindari deck were made
over to the District Superintendent of Police.

Later the management passed into the hands of the postal
department and by Eastern Bengal and Assam order of the 4th
April 1906, the zamindari ^a^ cess was entirely abolished with
effect from the 1st April of that year.

The increase of business is shown by the following table : —

1865.

1912.

No.

Amount in
rupees.

No.

Amount in
rupees.

Money orders

issued.
Money orders

paid.

20
491

Rs.

1,78,:',00

27,340

44,6668
18,2841

Rs.

74,05,470

32,74,287

128 MYMENSINGH.

f

These figures do not include Tangail. That sub-division is in-
cluded in the Pabna Postal Division.
Telegrams. There are now 41 Telegraph offices open in the district, and
in l'Jl;M4, 107,743 telegrams were received and 115,670 issued
at the«e offices. The postal and telegraph departments have
been combined under the same management since 1914. The
first telegraph line laid in the district was from Mymensingh
to Dacca in 1883 and it was extended to Sherpur in 1885.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT 129

CHAPTER XII.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

There are no village communities in Bengal in a true sense,
and the chauki Jari ^;a/<c/ia^a^ system recognised by Act VI of
1870 is a purely artificial organisation, the unit being unions
and not villages. The system has the advantage that it allows
a larger choice of capable /ya«67/a!/a^s. The defect has been
that the j^ftnchayats are judged by the regular payment of the
chaukidari tax and treated merely as an agency to collect
money. The Police Commission of 190-1 recommended that
the paKchaijats should be gradually converted into village
headmen and criminal cases made over to them for disposal.
The system was never tried in Mymensingh and in other
places the mistake was made of not giving it the special
supervision, which its framers said was essential. In Mymen-
singh therefore Local Government is confined to the District
Board, Local Boards and Municipalities.

Before the Cess Act of 1880 a District Board Committee
existed, apparently based on Act X of 1871, which derived a
small income from the proceeds of pounds and ferries and
advised the Collector as to the upkeep of the main roads, the
cost of which had hitherto been entirely defrayed by Govern-
mjnt. Both roads and the important ferries which connected
th.'m had been considered as public property under the
Mughal Government, but, as the letter of the Collector in 1791
shows, all roads being only paths they had gradually come to
be treated as private property and had afterwards to be
formally acquired or made over to Government by the courtesy
of the landlords. The Cess Act gave to the District Board
Committee the expenditure of the roads' portion of the cess

130 MYMENSINGH.

(

and Government contributed Rs. 1,800 annually as its share of
the cost of the collection. It took away the proceeds of im-
portant ferries at the same time. Under the sam>:? Act branch
road committees were established in the foar subdivisions to
administer small grants for village roads. The District Com-
mittee consisted of 17 members.

The present District and Local Boards were constituted
under Act III of 1885. It was originally intended that the
Local Board, and not tlie District Board, should be the unit
and that anions working under the supervision of the Local
Board should manage primary schools, pounds, roads, tanks,
drains and sanitation, and raise their own funds and elect their
own members. The Secretary of State disliked the proposals
and when the Bill eventually passed, the District Board had
become the unit ; Local Boards have no definite position
and are dependent on the charity of the District Board.

A recent Government order has made over to the District
Board the whole of the roads and public works cess amounting
in 1912-13 to Rs. 5,42,738-4-9 instead of half only. In spite
of certain Government contrilnitions for special purposes being
withdrawn on this account a considerable' increase in the
income has been the result. In the financial year 1913-14
the difference was Rs. 2,21,596. At present the difficulty is to
spend the money as contractors are very bad and very slow in
this district, the season for burning bricks is short, and even
coolies for earthwork can hardly be obtained in sufiBcient
number.

Probably in no district are the Local Boards so effete and
their meetings so lifeless as in Mymensingh. Even for the
District Board it is extraordinarily difficult to get members
who really contribute to its usefulness. Most of the work is
done by the Collector, who has always been the Chairman.
Few of the members know enough about the district as a
whole to question the distribution of funds for new works
proposed by the District Engineer, and their interest is usually
confined to their own portion of the district. To some extent
it is the long list of official agenda of a routine nature which
stifles the introduction of fresh matter by private members at
the meetings. An hour or an hour and a half is about all that
the members like to give to a meeting, and it is seldom suffi-
cient for the Chairman to read out and explain the 20 to 60
items, for which as a rule the sanction of the Board is only a
formal necessity.

The income and expenditure of the Board in 1887-88, the

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

131

first year in which a report was issued, and in 1910-11 is com-
pared in the following table : —

Percent-

Percent-

Names of major heads.

1887-88.

age of

1910-11.

age of

total.

total.

Income.

Rs.

Rs.

Government contribution

1,149

•37

1,53,452

28-2

(1) Road cess

2,58,G16

84-20

2,59,422

47-7

(2) Pounds

42,579

13-87

41,928

7-7

(3) Education fees and
contributions.

1 572

•19

/ 12,529 \
t 5-25 1

2-4

(4) Medical and Minor

...

2,&92

-5

departments.

(5) Miscellaneous

3,904

1-27

18,520

3-4

(6) Ferries

314

•10

55,012

10-1

Total

3,07,134

100

5,44,380

100

Expenditure.

(1) Management and

23,889

12-69

66,550

' 12-51

salaries.

j

(2) Education

39,79G

21-13

1,47,991

: 27-82

(3) Hospitals and

...

...

33,324

! 6-26

Sanitation (Medi-

cal).

(4) Roads and Commu-

1,24,610

66-18

2,.39,185

! 44-96

nications.

(5) Water-supply

...

...

44,911

8-45

Total

1,88,295

100

5,31,961

100

It will be seen that schools, anyhow, have not proved the
source of additional income anticipated by Sir Stewart l^ayley
in his first resolution on the working of the new District Board
in 1888. The income of the largest ferries in the district giving
a revenue in 1915 of Rs. 35,035 are still appropriated by the
Local Government.

The District Board runs a very successful printing press of
its own and spends a net sum of about Rs. 2,500 a year from
its own funds on the Kashi Kishor Technical School. This
school is supposed to teach the two trades of carpenter and
blacksmith to the sons ot" })Oor gentlemen in the town, and it
has lately been encouraged by large orders for boat fittings and
school furniture from the Board. The actual work at present
is chiefly done by hired skilled labour as the apprentice pupils
are irregular in their attendance and deficient in application

132

MYMENSINGH.

With good supervision, however, the venture should do well.
It was started in 1893. There is also a well built Veterinary
Hospital at Mymensingh in which 1,615 animals were treated
in 1913, The expenditure was Rs. 1,163 and the receipts
Rs. 659. A weaving school was started at Tangaii in 1912.
The boys from the neighbourhood who have joined the class
belong by birth to the weaving community and there are
distinct hopes that the school may do something to revive
the cloth manufacture that was at one time an important
feature of the Tangaii and Kishorganj subdivisions, but has
now almost entirely died out.

The Local Boards have no income of their own apart from
what is allowed by the District Foard from its own resources.
In 1912-13 the expenditure of each was as follows : —

1
Roads.

Water-supply.

Management.

Total.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Janialpur

4,380

5,622

1,502

11,504

Tangaii

6,054

8,455

1,461

15,970

Kishorganj

5,216

10,898

1,348

17,462

Netrakona

4.956

2,461

1,509

8,926

Sadar

7,571

3,995

1,647

13,213

The District Board has naturally been much handicapped
by the size of the district and the large number of rivers and
l)i1s^ which make an enormous number of bridges necessary.
E.xcept at ruinous cost it is impossible to make the waterways
on most of the important roads sufficient with the result that
in the rains the embankments are washed away and new breaks
are always occurring. These breaks are a great nuisance even
in the cold weather, for the water is insufficient to float a
proper boat, and even over the big rivers, where boats to carry
carts and horses are kept, the rivers fall and rise so quickly
that it is difficult to maintain proper landing ghats, and
passengers may have to wade long distances through shallow
water to reach the boats. The District Engineer has a most
disheartening task in trying to overcome all these natural
difficulties over such an extended area, and the bamboo bridges,
which he puts up in the cold weather to help foot-passengers,
never last long and are sometimes almost dangerous to life
and limb.

Another difficulty is that there is no stone at all available

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT. 133

in the district and the pukka roads are made of brick. The
surface quickly crumbles into a most obnoxious red dust, and
they require complete relaying every two or three years. There
are now about 54 miles of pukka roads in the district which
cost Rs. 48,247 to maintain, so that out of 950 miles of road in
the district maintained by the District Board these 54 cost
49 per cent, of the total sum available for maintenance.

The villagers have a bad habit of making small cuts in the
road to release the water whenever it shows signs of flooding
their own fields. In the rains and cold weather, when every
field is covered with rice, jute, or mustard crops, the District
Board roads often afford the only grazing available for cattle,
and cows and goits are tied with long ropes along the sides
at frequent intervals to the great danger of travellers riding
or bicycling at any pace.

The District Board offices at head-quarters are substantial
buildings. Government does not maintain any dcik bungalows
in til 3 mofassil even in the subdivisions, and the bungalows
maintained by the Board compare very unfavourably as regards
materials and fittings with those maintained by the Public
Works Department in Assam. They are indispensable to all
touring officers especially in the season when it is impossible
to live in tents, or indeed to cart tents about. At present they
number 26 and mostly consist of two rooms with mat walls and
tin roofs, in some cases covered by thatch. Those at Kishor-
ganj, Netrakona, Tangail and Gafargaon have pukka walls,
and four new ones entirely /??*^te have recently been sanctioned.
There is no doubt that the number could be increased with
advantage.

Pounds are managed by the Local Boards. They number
355. The income in 1915 was Rs. 40,971 and the expendi-
ture Rs. 4,285. Even from the start it appears that they
were a popular institution, as the returns of 1866 show that
nearly 60 animals were impounded daily throughout the year.
April is the month in which the largest number of animals aie
impounded, and the number is smallest in August.

When Reynolds was Collector the town of Naslrabad was Municipal
the only place in the district which possessed a Municipality.
The inhabitants applied to Government in the year 1857,
praying for the excension of Act XXVI of 1850 to the town.
After the usual notices and proclamations, tlu Act was formally
introduced in July 1858 and a Code of Rules for working
the Act was framed and approved by Government. The Act
at first did not work well, and in June 1859 a number of the

Inptruo-
tions.

134 MYMENSINGH.

r

inhabitants applied to Government to have it suspended. The
main cause of dissatisfaction was the inequality of the assess-
ment, and this was remedied by various rules passed at a
meeting of the Commissioners on the 14th July 1859.

Funds were raised under the Act by the levy of the
following taxes : —

1. A tax on houses and Ijutldings at an average of two
annas per month and not exceeding Rs. 2, +he same being paid
by the occupier. Public buildings, temples, etc, were exempted
as well as empty houses.

2. A tax of two pice upon every loaded cart and of one
pice upon every loaded bullock entering or leaving the town.

3. A tax of one anna upon every elephant entering or
leaving the town, or of one anna daily upon every elephant
kept within the town.

The house tax was assessed by a 2^(^'^^Ghctyat of .seven
persons. The members were appointed by the Commissioner,
but on the occurrence of a vacancy, it was usual for the
remaining members of the panchdi/at to fill up their numbers.

The following is the annual statement of the Municipal
Fund for the year 1865-66 : —

Receipts.

Expenditure.

Rs. A. r.

Balance ia hand
House tax collections
Tax on carts
Fine

Sale of municipal stores ...
Received for hire of munici-
pal carts

Total

191

2

5

1,317

2

9

73

14

0

0

12

0

51

12

0

105

5

0

1,740

0

8

Rs. A. P.

Clearing drains and repairing

station roads ...
Keep of municipal bullocks

and drivers' w<ages
Tax collector's commission
Pay of writer ...
Pay of chaprasies
Stationery
Sundries

Total

928 10 0

231 5 6

131 0 0

fiO 0 0

48 0 0

13 5 0

0 12 0

1,413 0 6

Subsequently the following municipalities were created

Area iu
square
miles.

Nuujber of

Number of

Population—

N ame.

Year of estab-

eleoteil

nominated

lishment.

Oommis-

Oommis-

sioners.

siouers.

lu 1881.

In 1911.

.Tamalpur

Ist.Ypril I86'.l

]2*7

10

5

14,727

21,109

Sherpur

Ditto

',1-5

8

4

8,821

16,691

Kistioraaiii ...

Ditto

6-0

10

6

12,;i8l

18,026

Baiitpur

Dilto

2-0

6

3

4,641

10,833

Muktagacha ...

Octol er 1875

ro

6

3

4,296

6,666

Taiigail

1st July 1887

5-25

10

&

16,348

16,362

Netrakona ...

1st Jauuary
1887.

12-17

All nomi-
nated.

13,740

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

135

The Naslrabad or Mymensingh Municipality has an area of
12*07 square miles and a population o£ 21,109 as opposed to
10,561 in 1881. In 18G4 the population was only 4,295. It is
the only Municipality which possesses artificial water-works.
They were constructed by Maharaja Surjya Kanta Acharjya
Bahadur at a cost of Rs. 1,42,278 in the year ]S9;i. In 1900
the cost of maintenance amounted to Rs. 7,965-6-<S. Ehiborate
schemes for drainage have been discussed recently Cor Jamal-
pur, Tani,ail and Netrakona, but no Municipality has as yet
initiated schemes for electric lighting, tramways or light
railways.

The following table shows the total income and expenditure
of each Municipality for 1912-13 as compared with 1880 : —

1880.

191

2.

Expendi-

Expendi-

Income.

Income.

ture.

ture.

R«.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

Jaiualpur ...

5,533

4,932

17.051

13,704

Shcrpiir

6.683

6,577

11,524

12,161

Kishorgarij

3,457

3,401

9,845

10,07i)

Baiitpur ...

1,273

1,314

5,911

4,888

Muktagacha

...

...

9,675

9,518

Tangail

12,620

10,848

Netrakoiia

10,247

10,979

Mymensingh ...

11,813

9,497

70,405

69,471

Total

;..

1,47,278

1,41,639

The main source of income in most municipalities is the
tax on buildings and in others on persons. The main expendi-
ture in all cases is on conservancy.

In most of the municipalities large areas which are purely
agricultural have l)eeu brought into the municipal areas by the
original notifications purely for the purpose of widening the
basis of assessment. In Jamalpur, Sherpur and Netrakona
this system has bkd the most grotesque results, and in Netra-
kona the boundaries have been revised recently, so as to exclude
Revenue Survey units which formed no part of the town proper
and were never likely to come into it in the normal course of
expansion.

The municipal commissioners are more independent than
the members of the District and Local I'oards, having naturally

K

136 MYMENSINGH.

€

a much closer and more personal interest in the management.
They are also directly interested in the amount and nature of
their own assessment. In Sherpur and Muktagacha a member
of the zamindari families is usually the Chairman, and on the
whole the administration compares favourably with that of the
larger municipalities.

EDtJCATION. 137

CHAPTER XIII.

EDUCATION.

Considering its size 'and general prosperity the district
of Mymensingh is one of the most backward in education
among the districts of Eastern Bengal. There has, however
been a considerable advance in English education in recent
years. Before Government took up the question, education
was imparted through Maktabs, Madrassas and Tols, but
Mymensingh never contained any of sufficient renown to
attract pupils from other districts. The Madrassa at Mangal-
baria in Katiadi was perhaps an exception, as it used to be
attended by some boys from Sylhet. The education charac-
teristic of these indigenous schools is of very little real educa-
tional value, though some improvement has lately been brought
about in the Tols by the help of Government examinations
and Pandit Associations. The Madrassa system is also under-
going reform ; Persian has been omitted from the curriculum
and a certain amount of English and secular subjects intro-
duced.

The Maktabs and Madrassas mostly owe their existence
to the generosity of some well-to-do village Mathhars and are
generally presided over by half educated Maulvis from Noakhali
or Chittagong, who not infrequently end by marrying in the
family of their employers and settling down in the village.
In these institutions the boys are taught to read the Koran and
easy books in Urdu and Persian mostly of a religious character.
There are no fixed fees, but the boys generally propitiate their
Maulvis by paying whatever they can, varying from a pinch
of tobacco or a pail of milk to 4 and 5 annas in cash. The
Maulvi gets his board and lodging free at the house of his
chief -employer and also supplements his means by presiding
at village funerals and other religious ceremonials.

The Sanskrit Tols were generally situated in the house of
the Pandit, and pupils from different villages used to come and
live with him and board at his expense. The pupils used to
receive their instruction free, Imt the Pandits received fixed
stipends from well-to-do villagers and zamindars in cash or
kind. They also derived a moderate profit from attending
feasts and festivals with their pupils and shamajik, or honor-
arium, paid to the pupils by the hosts. The people as a rule

K 2

138 MYMENSINGH.

f

were very indulgent to the pupils of the Tols and allowed them
to ransack the fruit and vegetables in their gardens. Although
those primitive institutions were of little value from the
modern educational point of view they satisfied the limited
ambition of the people and were useful in their own way in
teaching the boys to perform their religious observances. The
acquisition of knowledge for its own sake was very rare owing
to the dearth of a middle class gentry and an aristocracy of
learning in the district. The founders of most of the notable
families in Mymensingh were either military adventurers or
Civil officers in Government employ, an aristocracy of wealth
who paid little or no attention to education, with the result that
unlike other districts under Muhammadan influence, wealth
and not 'earning became the criterion of rank. Gradually,
owing to the persistent efforts of the education department,
education has made steady progress and a large number of
schools under English-knowing masters have taken the place
of the primitive Maktahs and Tols. In 1852 the control of
education was transferred from the Board to a Special Council.
In 1854 the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal made it known
that Government intended to establish a system of vernacular
schools for the rural population, and that people connected with
schools who wanted assistance should make their wishes known
to the Collector.

The first Middle English School in this district was started
at Narayandahar, a village in Pargana Susung, about 6 miles
west of Netrakona, iu January 184G, and in the month of
November of that year the Hardinge School was established at
Mymensingh. The Zillah School was established in the same
town in November 18513, and this was followed by the estab-
lishment of the Janhabi school at Tangail and the Donough
school at Jaraalpur. Within the next 2v) years many schools
sprang up on all sides with varying fortunes, and progress in
educ.ition continued steadily.

In the year 1866-07 there were altogether 110 schools of all
kinds with a total number of 3,984 pupils attending chem. Of
theS3 72 with 2,614 pupi!s were in East Mymensingh and 38 with
1,;U0 pupils in West Mymensingh. There was only one High
School in that year with 2^1 boys on its roll.

In 1871 Sir George Campbell introduced his scheme for
the improvement of primary education by which the District
Board took over the financing and management of primary
education in return for the income of pounds and ferries trans-
ferred to the District Board. In the course of the next 30 years

EDUCATION.

139

the progress in education was rapid, and the number of schools
and pupils attending them increased twenty fold. In 1901 there
were 2,129 schools of all grades with 59,028 pupils attending
them. Of these 16 were Higher English schools with 4,797
pupils on their rolls. In that year there were two secon<l grade
Colleges in this district both teaching up to the F. A. standard
of the Calcutta University with 190 pupils.

In 1914 the total number oP schools had risen to 2,483 with
98,844 pupils. They are classified as follows : —

I

Expendi-

I'upils.

Income from—

Number. ^^^.^^

Fees.

Grants.

Subscrip-
tiors, etc.

1. Government

2. High schools (aided

by Goveiament).

3. Hieh schoois (un-

aided).

4. Middle English

schools.

5. iMiddl«> Vernacular

schools.

6. Upper Primary

schools.

7. Lower Primary

schools

3

12

15
13S

33

127

2,492

Rs.

47,173
1,14,635

1,29,006

2,10,118

15,895

34,962

2,40,256

1,010
C,13U

6,860

18,710

2,076

7,068

80,288

Rs.

16,533

98,3i'H

1.16,637

1,72,682

8,100

14,477

1,07,006"

Rs.

30,640
10,605

12,886

6,940

18,267

1,27,833

Rs.

6,522
12,270
24,550
1,855
1,718
6,417

Of thesc^ Primary schools 814 with an attendance of 16,863
are for girls. The Vidya Moyi Girls' School at Mymensingh
was opened in 1865 and now contains 210 pupils.

Twelve Upper Primary schools and 2 Lower Primary
schools are chiefly maintained for the benefit of the aboriginal
tribes — the Garos, Hadis, Hajangs and Mandais. The first Garo
school was opened at Baiigaon in 1872, but the last census still
returns all bat 218 oat of the 40,000 aiiimists as illiterate.
The Missionaries have been the chief agents in spreading
Cilacation among the primitive people at the foot of the hills.
The Baptist Mission maintains a fir.-it class hostel at Mymen-
singh from which G'"ro boys from the Durg.ipur area can
attend the ZiUa School.

In spite of this development the Census of 1911 shows that
only 4*6 per cent, of the total population of four and a half
million are literate, 198,285 males' and 11,869 females. The
sinallness of the percentage is due to the Muhammadans, only
2) per cent, of whom are educated as opposed to over 10 per
cent, of the Hindus. 23,373 males and 294 females are literate
in English. Of the boys of school-going age only 25 per cent,
attended school and of the girls barely 4 per cent. These figures
compare very badly with Bakarganj and Dacca, where 8 per

140 MYMENSINGH.

r

cent, and 15 per cent, respectively of the total population have
some education. In Faridpur the population is half that of
Mymensingh, but the number of literate persons is almost the
same. In Pabna, Rangpur ami the Rajshahi districts the
proportion is more like Mymensingh, one in 20 or 25.

The total expenditure on education in the district of
Mymensingh in the year 1910-11 was Rs. (3,42,186, of which
Rs. 69,676 was contributed from the general revenue and
Rs. 1,42,832 from the District Board.
College The first College in Mymensingh was the Pramatha-

Monmatha College at Tangail. It taught up to the F. A.
standard and was affiliated to the Calcutta University on the
27th December 1900. It only lasted ten years, but was of great
service to the people of the Tangail subdivision which can
now claim more graduates and under-graduates than the rest
of the district. The recurring expenditure of the College
amounted to about Rs. 7,000 a year and was entirely borne
by the zamindars of Santosh who gave their name to the
College. Finding more expenditure was necessary to its effi-
ciency, the founders wisely agreed to its amalgamation with
the Jagunnath College, Dacca.

A year after the establishment of the Pramatha-Monmatha
College, on the 18th July 1901 the City Sqhool in the town of
Mymensingh was raise 1 to the status of a second grade College
as a branch of the City College at Calcutta and was affiliated
to the Calcutta University in April of the following year. It
was found, however, that the accommodation was insufficient
to meet the increasing demands of the University Regulations,
and the Calcutta Council resolved to close the College at
Mymensingh and withdrew the affiliation with effect from
31st March 1908.

Babu Baikuntha Nath Chakrabarty, the Principal of the
College, then sought the assistance of the Collector for reorganis-
ing the College and establishing it on a firm basis. A strong
committee was formed and Government was approached for a
liberal grant-in-aid. The Divisional Commissioner met the
Committee in June 1908 with the result that the Government
of Eastern Bengal and Assam decided to contribute a sum of
Rs. 55,000 towards the estimated capitil expenditure of
Rs. 80,000 for a new building provided the balance of Rs. 25,000
was raised by subscriptions. They also promised a recurring
grant of Rs. 600. In a very short time Rs. 1,18,395 was pro-
mised, the chief subscribers being the zamindars, Raja Jagendra
Kishor Roy Chaudhuri of Ramgopalpur, Maharaja Kumar

EDUCATION. 141

Sashi Kanta Acharjya Chaudhuri, Rani Dinumaai Chaudhu-
rani and Babu Hem Chandra Chaudhuri. The College was
reopened in 1908 and called the " Ananda Mohan CoUegj "
after the late Mr. Ananda Mohan Bose of this district, a great
educationalist and the founder of the City College.

In the year 1915 the total number of students on the rolls
was 537, of whom 86 were Muhammadans. The total recurring
expenditure was Rs. 42,759, of which Rs. 10,450 was the
Government grant, R^. 32,309 was realised in fees.

The history of English education in Eastern Bengal has
been criticised at length in the report of the District Adminis-
tration Committee published in 1914. It is certain that private
English schools were allowed to multiply too quickly. While
the funds at their disposal were not sufficient to provide suit-
able buildings and properly qualified teachers, the Committees
of Management were not formed of men of large views and
the University, which was supposed to control them, exercised
its powers with little discrimination and thoroaghness. The
early choice of a career for his son does not appeal to the
Bengali parent with the result that the scientific classes have
had little patronage and the outturn of would-be Government
officials and lawyers exceeds the demand, whereas the recruits
to technical and engineering Colleges are too few.

There is still a sufficiency of employment for all persons
properly educated especially in the Education Department
where good teachers are urgently wanted, but for the partially
educated Hindus of the hJiadrdlok class the prospects are
increasingly gloomy. If the enormous profits on jute in the
last decade failed to tempt them to take to cultivating their
own lands, there is little opportunity now that the Muham-
madans have acquired occupancy rights in most of the lands
and their new born educational keenness is bringing them
into the field as rivals in all departments.

As early as I'^'jGS there was a printing press at Mymensingh
which produced a weekly paper called the Biggaponee. The
Charu Mihir at Mymensingh is the only periodical now publish-
ed in the district. Some of the Sherpur and Kagmari zamin-
dars have produced literary works of some merit, but the
district cannot boast of any well known authors and most of
the v.-orks published at the numerous local pres.:>e3 are pam-
phlets and cheap handbooks of very passing interest and
importance.

142 MYMENSINGH.

CHAPTER XIV.

GAZETTEER.

Adampur. — There is an dkhra, or Vaishnavite monastery,
supported by the contributions of the Kaibarttas. There is
another at Dilli-akhra, in a fair-sized wood of hijal trees not
far from Bithangal, which was founded by Narayan Gosain, a
member of the Jagomohini sect.

Alapsingh. — Alapshahi was one of the 22 parganas which
Isa Khan received at the hands of Akbar the Great after
the battle of Mughalmari. It consists of two parts, viz.,
Tappe Satsikka lying on the north of the Brahmaputra and
having the same local unit of measurement as the Sherpur
pargana and Tappe Kumar ia, where the unit is the pura",
comprising most of Fulbaria, Muktagacha and Mymensingh
thanas south of the river. At Todar Mai's settlement, the
revenue was Rs. 1,90,161. At the Permanent Settlement it
was fixed at Rs. 65,393, the depredations of wild elephants,
which had caused an intermediate reduction in the time of
Warren Hastings, having by this time become less severe.

The Jangalbari family soon lost the majority of Isa Khan's
possessions. Alapshahi and Momin Shahi fell to the share
of Mahamad Mendi of Tikara in Atia. In 1721 Alapsingh
was in the hands of two Hindu families, Binod Ram Chandra
of Lukia in pargana Barabazu having 10 annas and the Rays
of Puthijani 6 annas. They allowed the revenue to fall in
arrears and eventually resigned in the fear of further personal
indignities at the hands of Murshid Kuli Khan, Nawab of
Murshidabfid. This princa died shoi'tly afterwards, and Sri
Krishna Acharjya, the founder of the present family of the
Muktagacha zamindars, got a grant of the zamindari from
Alivardi Khan in 1727 in return for military assistance against
his brother. Sri Krishna traced his descent from Udayram
Acharjya, a prominent Barendra Brahman. He had already
obtained s.Htlement of Taraf Jhakar in the Sailbasha pargana
of Bogra from Murshid Kuli Khan on the death of the
proprietress, whose interests he had represented at the Nawab's
Court against a fraudulent ijaradar, Kumar Singh. His new

GAZETTEER. 148

zamindari was obtained on easy terms as he bribed the
Nawab's Kanungo, Ganga Ram Ray, to make a false report
of its resources in return for a taluk in the four best mahals
of the pargana. The kharija taluks of the Tarash family in
Bailar and Kalibazail are the results of this bargain.

Sri Krishna had foar sons who transferred their head-
quarters from Bogra to Bahadurpur and afterwards to Mukta-
gacha, about 1750. Tradition says that a smith of the place
named Muktaram presented Ram Ram with a brass gacJiha or
lamp-stand as his nazai\ and that Ram Ram recognise<l the
gift by naming the town Muktaram's gachha. Even before
this Ram Ram, the eldeet brother, had his 4. annas share
separate. It is still known as the Sabek Chariani, but is
divided into three parts, the haru hissa, madhyam hissa and
chota hissa, after his three sons. The third brother Bishnu
Ram was the next to leave the ijmdll hdri. His share is now
divided into three parts, Si-idhar Babu's taraf, Purba (.'hota
taraf and Uttar Chota taraf.

The other shares have not suffered from subdivisions and
are now the most important and wealthy. Raja Jagat Kishor
Acharjya has the whole of the second brother's share, and
because he has remained in possession of the original ijmdli
bdriy tauzi No. 7, is popularly known as the Atani bdiH.
The late Maharaja Surjya Kanta Acharjya and his adopted
son Sasi Kanta Acharjya are the representatives of the
youngest brother's 4 annas, and this estate, thanks to the
energy, enterprise, and careful supervision of the late Maha-
raja, is now the biggest in the district. It goes by the name
of the Dari Chariani. The Mymensingh Water-works were
erected by the Maharaja in memory of his wife, Raj Rajesh-
wari Debi ; he also built the Town Hall and an iron bridge
over the river Sutia. His estate was under the Court of
Wards for three years, and after Surjya Kanta obtained his
majority in 18G7, his rise was rapid. He bought lands in
Sherpur ami Susung parganas and in Dacca, Malda, Farulpur,
Murshidabad, Bogra and Pabna, He was made a Rai Bahadur
in 1877, a Raja in 1880, au.l a Maharaja in 1897 at the time
of the Diamond Jubilee. Surjya Kantu's adopted son Sasi
Kumar Acharjya is the son of Raja Jagat Kislior Acharjya.
He is the only memlier of tlip AhTpsingh family who has been
to England. He was made a Raja, Biiha. lur in l'J14. Riija
Jagat Kishor got his title in .1913.

Astagram — is the most densely poi)ulated portion oi"
Mymensingh, containing the homestea is of the cultiv.itors of

144 MYMENSINGH.

f

some eight or ten revenue survey villages. There are "Muham-
madau tdlukddrs of importance and any number of petty rent-
free proprietors. Some are held by the priests of the Kaibartas,
who form the majority of the fisherman class of the watery
area. Bangalpara, the steamer ghat, is 2 miles away, but the
Dhaleswari which runs past Astagram is the old channel of
the Meghna and is navigable by launches throughout the year.
Bangalpara is the centre of the pearl fishery, which has
attained some importance owing to recent lucky finds. There
is a tomb of Kutub and a mosque called aftar him. Embanked
roads to Dighipar and Bangalpara were made by local people
during the scarcity due to the floods of 1915.

Atia — This pargana does not appear in the Ain-i-Ak-hari.
Saiyid Khan Pani was the founder of the Karatia family,
and it was he who got this pargana as a jagir from the Emperor
Akbar. Up to Khoda Newaj Khan, the sixth in descent from
Saiyid Khan, the Pani family enjoyed the whole of the pargana.
The first division into equal parts came with the two sons of
Manim Khan, Khoda Newaz and Maldar Khan. In 1787 the
hara 8 annas was settled with Alap Khan, and the other
children of Khoda Newaj Khan, and the other 8 annas with
Aliar Khan, son of Maldar- Khan.

The property is now divided among many families. Only
2 annas 17 gandas of the pargana by inheritance now remains
in the hands of the Pani family, the rest of Tauzi No. 10.
which was Alap Khan's share, having been given to the Nawab
of Dacca in 1856 as a reward for helping Sadat Ali in a
civil suit against his step-mother who had dispossessed him
of his whole share. Only a certain number of villages,
including Gorai, where the family then lived, was left out of
the partition. Sadat Ali then moved to Karatia. Wazed Ali
Khan Pani alias Chand Miya now enjoys 5 annas 19 gandas 0
karas 2 krantis, and his cousins, who are under the Court of
Wards, 3 annas 3 karas 1 kranti as opposed to the Nawab's 7
annas, counting the original pargana share of 5 annas 1 ganda

1 kara 1 kranti as 16 annas.

The remainder of the Ba7'a Atani (2 annas 18 gandas 2 karas

2 krantis) was divided into Tauzis Nos. 11, 12, 16 and 5151 to
5153. I'ejali Chaudhuri of Dhanbari came in by marriage,
and his grandson the Nawab Saiyid Nawab Ali Chaudhuri has
added to this share by purchase. The Duajani Mazumdars and
Baliati Shaha Chaudhuries and the Nawab of I'ogra also came
in by purchase.

The chota 8 annas is divided into Tauzis Nos. 9 and 5031 to

GAZETTEER. 145

5035. The Nawab of Dacca bought the 4 annas share of Aliar's
two daughters, Tauzis Nos. 5031 and 5032, on the strength of
a mortgage bond for Rs. 40,000 in 1806. The remaining 4
annas belonged to Roshna Khatun. There are many co-sharers
in Tauzi No. 9, known as the PakuUa Cliaudhurierf, who are
chiefly the linear descendants of Aliar Khan. They include the
Ghaznavis brothers who now live at Dilduar. The remaining
1 anna 10 gandas share has been sold to the Lahiris of Kali-
pur, the Sen Chaudhuries of Gauhata and the same Shaha
Chaudhuries of Baliati, who possess a portion of Tauzi No. 12.

Bajitpur — is the only municipality in the east of the
district. It does not seem to have any natural advantages to
account for its population of 12,000 persons. It is 2 miles
from the Ghorautra river and has no water connection in the
cold weather. The roads from Dilalpur and Katiadi are both
unbridged. Huge stretches of swamp come close up to the
town on all sides, the most dreary and unpromising being that
on the north. Even inside the municipal limits communica-
tions are made difficalt by khdls, which are never free of
treacherous oozing mud. In the rains the Munsiff's Court and
dispensary can only be reached by boat. There is a very poor
Board bungalow facing a strip of hil on the south.

Bajitpur was famous in the old days for its muslin manu-
factures and the East India Company had a factory here :
details of the industry, which survives, will be found in
Chapter VIII.

Bhairab Bazar — Is finely situated on a commanding bank
of the Meghna just north of the point where the old Brahma-
putra flows into it. The railway bridge over this river has
just been opened, and the wagon ferry to Asuganj in the
Tippera district transferred from Daulatkandi to Bhairab.
Bhairab has long been one of the biggest jute and trade
centres in the district, and its importance will increase r ipidly
when the railway to Mymensingh and Netrakona is opened.
Unfortunately the high land available for extensiou is
limited.

Datta Bazar — Is an important and picturesque hat on the
southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Gafargaon thana. It is
said to be exceptionally healthy, and the river here is parti-
cularly deep and powerful. A road runs to Moshakhali station
6 miles distant. As there is no ferry over the river it crosses
5 miles from the station, the road from Gafargaon is more
convenient. The place is notorious for thieves.

146 MYMKNSINGH.

*

Dowanganj — is thus described by Buchanan Hamilton.
" It may contain 100 houses and for Bengal is a neat well builf
place. It has in the centre an open area where the marke^
is held. The area is generally planted with elegant trees ot
the fig kind." It does not seem to have developed much and
Bakshiganj is now a serious rival. There is another busy Jidt
of the same name on the Brahmaputra opposite Gafargaon.

Dilduar — About 7 miles south-east of Tangail, has a fine
site and some not unimposing buildings. It is the home of
Mr. A. K. Ghaznavi, a M?mber of the Viceroy's Legislative
Council since 1909, and of Maulvi Saiyid Ahmed Hossein
Chaudhuri. There is a mosque supported from j^'Wi// property,
a dispensary, and a Middle English School.

Dur^apur — Has some historical interest as the home of the
Sasung Raj. It is pleasantly situated on the northern bank of
the Someswari river. The bed of this river is wide and sandy,
and there is not sufficient water for a proper ferry boat in the
cold weather. Wading without a guide is dangerous, as in
some places quick sands occur. There is a dispensary, District
Board bungalow, and thana.

ElclShin — On the Dhaleswari, south of Tangail, is an im-
portant jute centre, where there are usually some Europeans
in residence. There is a steamer connection which runs most
of the year between Dacca and Dhaleswari junction.

Gafargaon — is important for its monthly hclt, where many
cattle and horses change hands.

Gog-Bazar — is the port of Kendua, which in itself is only
important Cor its thana, school, dispensary and bungalow.

Gopalpur — The headquarters of this thana, being half-way
between Tangail and Jaraalpur, has been suggested as the head-
quarters of the new western district, but there is very little
high land in the neighbourhood, and, unless a new railway
passes quite close, the communications are very bad.

Hiluchia — Is an important jute centre. The bazar on a
high mound is protected from the inroads of a khdl by some
solid brick embutments. It is the market for many prosper-
ous villages in this part of Bajitpur.

HOSenpur — Was the headquarters of the Khaje Kaprael
tdiuk, which comprises a large portion of Hosenshahi pargana.
There are some old ruins in the bazar and it is now an import-
ant jute centre.

Hosenshahi Pargana.— Originally part of the Nator Raj
this pargana was purchased at a sale for arrears of revenue by

GAZETTEER. 147

■)

a Mr. Aratoon in 1790. Two daughters anl relations called
Holme and Stevens each succeeded to four-anna shares in 1822.
All the shares were gradually sold to the Chakrabarty family
of Lawyers in Gangatia or settle(l in j/atni with the indigo
planters, Wise, Carnegie and Kalauos. In I85H Babu Sambhu
Chandra Ray purchased the whole share of Agina Aratoon,
and his son Mohim Kay, who settled at Atharabari, bought
more and more shares with the result that his widow Gyauada
Sundari now controls 8 annas 18 gandas 1 kara and 1 kranti
of the Pargana in zamindari right and 3 annas 15 gandas in
patni. With the 1 anna 6 gandas 2 karas 2 kranti share bought
by Gyanada Sundari herself, this gives Atharabari 14 annas as
opposed to the two annas of Babu Atul Chandra Chakrabarty
of Gangatia and other petty co-sharers.

Itna — Is tlie home of the Dewans, who are connected with
the ancient Muhammadan family who used to possess the
rich Joanshahi pargana. From very ancient times until the
passenger steamer service up and down (he Dhanu ceased, it
was a place of some importance. The ni'ith is finely situated
and there are several old tombs and a mosque.

Jagannath^anj — is a steamer station and the terminus of
the original E istern Bengal State Railway through tlie .district.
The ilat used to have a refreshment room, but this was discon-
tinued when the Railway ferry between Teesta Mukh and
Bahadurabad was opened. Passengers to Tangail and Serajganj
must therefore make their own catering arrangements. The
permanent gr/ia^ is only 2 miles froin Sarisabari, but in the
cold weather it is sometimes 5 or 6 miles south.

Jamalpur — is the headquarters town of the Jamalpur sub-
division an<l has often been proposed as the headquarters
station of a new district. It is built on a hard red clay, which
is a continuation of the Madhupur jungle, so the river does not
cut at all, and the sites of the Subdivisional Officer's bungalow,
the Munsifl's Court, the thana, and the dispensary, are all
exceptionally high and cool.

The Jinai ccmnects with the Brahmaputra about a mile above
the Criminal Courts, so that the Municipality, which covers
12 square miles, is practically a peninsula. The Riilway
station Singhjani is 2 niib'S distant from the courts, and is now
the junction of the Bahatluralnld and Jagannathganj sections
of the Eastern Tengal State Railway.

From l>i2ii to 1857 Jamalpur was a cantonment, .ind there
are several graves of Military Officers aji^l their familii-s in the
cemetery. The magazine, which has long been converted into

148 MYMENSINGH.

f

a jail, is a good specimen of solid masonry. As the centre of the
Sanyasi rebellion Jamalpur was known as Sanyasiganj, when
in 1845 it became the first subdivision of Mymensingh.

The large Khas Mahal which was acquired for the canton-
ments includes a fine grove of mangoes, which makes a splendid
centre for the large meld for which Jamalpur is chiefly noted.
This meld has considerable historical interest. From 1909
to 1914 it made an ani^ual profit of from Rs. 7,000 to 10,460,
about half of which is distributed to local institutions like the
Donough High School.

There is an accumulated fund of Rs. 16,370 which is
deposited in the Jamalpur Central Bank and is the main source
from which thai Bank has been able to finance a large number
of Co-operative unlimited liability banks in the Madarganj and
Jamalpur and Sherpur thanas.

The meld was started in 1883 by the Subdivi^ional Officer,
Nunda Krishna Bose. He got the idea from a similar meld
started at Chandan Eaisa in the Bogra district by the Sub-
Manager of the Dighapatia Raj. A committee of 14 members
in addition to the Subdivision al Officer as president was formed,
of whom 8 were zamindars and pleaders, and six officials. They
were all life members with power to fill up vacancies. Sub-
scriptions amounting to Rs. 3,153 were raised, chiefly from
the Sherpur zamindars. In the first year ordinary shop-
keepers were attracted, but in the next the cattle dealers who
have been the main stay of the fair stopped at Jamalpur on
their way to Dacca to test the market. All the cart bullocks
and many of the plough bullocks in this and the Dacca district
are brought across the Jamujia from Bihar at a ferry south of
Dewanganj, and the fine trees on the KJids Mahdl of the old
cantonments at Jamalpur formed a natural halting place. The
big grassy chars north of the town provided cheap fodder, and
the place was found a good centre for distribution, northwards
towards the Garo Hills, and southwards to Tangail.

In 1884 the tolls on cattle were vainly offered on ijara at
Rs. 25. At the end of the season the Committee found they had
made a profit of Rs. 100 on cattle alone. In 1909 the profits
from cattle on the basis of a 10-anna fee per head sold amount-
ed to Rs. 9,345.

In 1885 Mr. Glazier, the Collector of the district, objected to
the amount of money spent on religious ceremonies and miscel-
laneous entertainments. The people of the town began to
be afraid that Goverument was going to take the meld out of
their hands, and it does appear that Mr. Glazier did not like

GAZETTEER. 149

■)

the anomaly of a public institution, which was only indirectly
under official coutrol. An excuse for a general agitation was
found in the fact that Mr. Glazier had h:%d an image of Kdli
removed from the Dielcl ground and a rival Committee was
formed, including four of the original members. They deposed
the Subdivisional Officer from the presidentship, and asked him
to make over the funds and papers. When the Collector vetoed
this, they borrowed Rs. oOO from the Municipality and started
a rival meld at Khatiakuri, 2 miles away. A crop of criminal
cases was the result, each 7neld accusing the other of bringing
in cattle dealers and fishermen by force. The High Court
quashed some cases and Government called for a report from
the Commissioner. As a result the Collector was censured for
interfering with tjie doings of an independent body. In 1887
the meld took place on the original site and rules were framed
by Mr. Dutt, District Magistrate, in which the principle of life
membership was maintained, but the Subdivisional Officer was
ex-officio President.

In 1907 the swddeshi volunteers marched in column to the
meld on the excuse of defending the Hindu patrons from the
Muhammadan rowdies, and this action led to the famous
Jamalpur riots, as the result of which the temple in the Gauri-
pur cutcherry was besieged by a Muhammadan crowd and the
Subdivisional Officer and Superintendent of Police were fired
at.

The meld opens in January and goes on into April.

Jamurki — Is the head quarters of the Atia zimindari in
Mymensingh, where the Nawab of Dacca's assistant manager
resides. Pakulla, whic'i adjoins Jamurki, is the home of
another branch of the Atia family. It was an important place
in Rennell's time.

Joanshahi. — The founder of the original Dewan family
of Joanshahi pargana was a Muhammadan convert from
the Kastail Dutt family, who took the name of Manawar,
popularly Manohar Khan. Other accounts say that he was a
descendant of Fateh Khan, who got possession of this once sair
jalkar mahal at the death of his master Isa Khan. Though not
mentioned in the Ain-i-Akhari, it was one of the parganas settled
with Isa Khan, and Manohar Khan and Nur Haidar Chaudhuri
may merely have got resettlement as descendants of Fateh
Khan in 1787. On Manohar's death a 2 annas share was
carved out of the estate for his daughter Latifa Bibi. This
portion, known as Tappe Latifpur with Tauxi No. 75, is
nOw possessed by Dinesh Babu of Dhankura. The remaining

150 MYMENSINGH.

f

14 annas was treated as a 16 annas estate, of which 8 annas
14'^ gandas was taken by Mauohar's heirs and 7 annas 51-
gandas by the descendants of Haidar Chaudhuri. The mahal
had to provide 20 barges to the Mughal navy, and the names
Doshkosha and Naukosha, by which the two shares have always
been described, came from the apportionment between the
shares of 10 V and 9i barges, respectively.

The Doshkosha Dewans removed to Itna, while the Nau-
kosha family remained at Haulibari near Astagram. Both
zamindaries fell in arrears, and Kali Prasad Munshi bought
Tauzi No. 70. It passed throv^gh the hands of several
Europeans, till in 1282 (B.S.) 8 annas was bought by the Nawab
of Dacca, 2 annas 17 gandas 2 krantis by Maharaja Surjya
Kanta and 3 annas 2 gandas and 2 krantis by Hem Chandra
Chaudhuri of Pukhuria. Three lakhs was the price paid by the
Nawab for his 8 annas share. The Naukosha (Tauzi No. 4805)
after undergoing several transfers was the sole property of one
Chand Bibi from 1821-1835. In 1836 it was purchased by the
Collector for Rs. 23,000 and resettled for the most part with
the Shikmi talukdars, who had been paying rent to the original
proprietors, as 200 or more independent kharija taluks.

The original partition between Tauzis Nos. 70 and 4805 had
not been complete, many villages and parts of villages were
still joint. The shikmi taluks mostly consisted of compact blocks
in separate villages, hence it is now ditficult to trace the
history of the ijmdli and lakherdj lands and to find out under
which of the estates, which came out of 4,805, they are now
held.

The present Dewans of Itna have no share in any zamin-
dari and are only distant connections of the main line of the
Doshkosba family. The last of that line was Dewan Muhammad
Afsar, who died in 1309 (B.S.) The descendants of the younger
branch removed to Adampur and then to Gbagra.

Karatia — 6 miles, east of Tangail, is the home: of the
original proprietors of the Atia pargana. It is situated on the
Putiajani river, which is merely a bed of sand in the cold
weather. Mr. Wazed All Khan Pani, the representative of the
elder braoch or Bara Taraf has rich zamindaries in the
Kishorganj subdivision as well as in Atia, and the Ghhota
Taraf. now under the Court of Wards, is also a valuable estate.
There are two bazars, th'3 larger of which known as the
Mamudganj bazar is of some importance.

Karim^anj — is a large jute centre, 7 miles east of Kishor-
ganj, connected by a good road.

GAZETTEER. 151

Katiadi — is a prosperous bazar on the Brahmaputra. There
are some good shops, and it is better served by roads than any-
other place in the district.

Kagmari. — Pargana Kagmari is not mentioned in the Ain-
i-Akbari, but occurs in the Janial Kamal Sumari of Nawab
Murshid Kuli Khan. During the reign of the Emperor Shah-
jahan, a Pir, Shahojman by name, was master of this pargana.
Jadobendra Ray of Hakla, a follower of Shahojman, succeeled
him. After Jaloben Ira, his nephew ludranaiayan Ray in-
herited the property. Indranarayan having renounced his re-
ligion, his nephew Biswanath Chaudhuri took over the whole
})argana. After Biswanath's death his three sons had the zamin-
dari partitioned amongst themselves. The eldest got G annas
and the younger sons 5 annas each. Rani Dinomani Chau-
dhurani is the present proprietress of the 6 antias shart% Tauzi
No. 45, and Babu Pramatha Nath Ray Chaudhuri and Raja
Manmatha Nat i Ray Chaudhuri are proprietors of the 5 annas
share, Tauzi No. 46. Rameswar Ray, the second son of
Biswanath, had no sons, but left a daughter Sibani, and his
share, called tlie Bara I-'anchani, is now divided into many
tauzis. The descendants of Sibani are known as the Aiwa
zamindars.

Xhaliajuri — is a typical village of the eastern river area-
It has no commercial importance but was the earliest settle-
ment of hhadralok in the eastern thanas. Some of the
descendants of the original proprietors of the Khaliajarl
pargana still live here in reduced circumstances. When the
Covernor on a recent visit for duckshooting gave a grant
towards a new dispensary the cost of raising sufficient earth
for a site was found nearly prohibitive.

Khaliajuri Pargana. — The old name was Bhati and it
consisted entirely of jalkar mahals. A sanyasi named
Jitari is credited with having rescued this pargana from
Kamrup, and in t'le 18th century it was the property of
the Hom Chaudhuries, who lived largely by piracy. Mur-
shid Kuli Khan was preparing to send a regiment to subdue
the outlaws, when Lambodar, one of the two zamindars*
thought it prudent to go to the Murshidaljad court to appease
him. The pargana was again s.'ttled with the Horn family on
condition that Lambodar turned Muhammadan, v hile his brother
Damodar remained in the ohl faith. The two branches, H'n lu
and Muhammadan, still live at Khaliajuri, but their estates have
dwindled to nothing, and they have no intere-it in the original
Khabajari zamindari, Tauzi No. 74. In 1204 (B.S.) half of li^

L

152 MYMENSINGH.

r

tauzi was sold by tlu Chaudhuries to Mr. Wallis and the
remaining half to the Rays of Dhankora in 1215 (B.S.). These
landlords also bought the share of one of the two daughters of
Mr. Wallis, while the Karatia zamindara became the possessors
of the remaining 4 annas share.

The Mahant of ihe Raghab D;is math at Puri owns a part of
the pargana with a cutcherry at Mirga under a separate Tauzi
No. 56. Tlie partition was made in Mughal times, and the
estate was alienated by one of the Hom Chaudhuries to an
agent of the N iwab, born at Dacca, who, dying childless, left
it to the Puri Mahant by will.

Kishor^anj — Is the head-quarters town of the Kishorganj
subdivision. The Nursunda river, which runs from Naudail
and Nilganj to the Brahmaputra through Char Kaona south
of Hosenpur, here opens out into a wide and deep basin, but
south of Kishorganj it is only navigable even for small boats
for a few months in the year, and the chief exit for jute is the
broad road, half of which is jjukkd, to Hosenpur.

The Haibatuagar zamindars used to have some fine houses
in the town, but they have fallen into disi-epair. The magni-
ficent temple of Laksmi Narayan was shattered in the earth-
quake.

The town was formerly noted for its muslin manufactures
and the East India Company had a factory here as well as in
Bajitpur. During the JItiilan Jdtrd (August-September) a
hiy^mUd is attended by traders from many outside districts.

Madanpui*. — (Netrokona). Madanpur is associated with a
Muhammatlan saint named Shah Sultan who came from
Turkey and settled at the site now known as the Darga-
Madan, the Koch king of the village, tried to poison him, but
being convinced of his saintly character accepted Islam and
settled the whole village on Shah Sultan and his disciples in
perpetuity.

In 1829 A. D. the Government tried to resume this lakheraj
but on the strength of a document dated 1082 A. Hizira
released it in favour of the Jagirdar Saiyid Jalaluddin
Muhammad. It appears from that document that Shah
Muhammad Sultan Rumi and his preceptor Saiyid Shah Surkh
Khul Antia settled in this village with their disciples called
khadems in 445 A. H. The present generation of the villagers
claim their descent from thosH 10 khadems, and these 10
principal houses enjoy the income derived from the offerings to
the shrine by rotation and consequently their year consists of
10 months. These families now have so many members that

GAZETTEER. 153

some of them enjoy the income for a few hours of one day only.
Thj administration of the property is invested in a council
of el lers consisting of 10 leading men of the original families.
There is a custom that the members who get the income of the
day are bound to feed as many guests as may come on that
day. At night a big drum is beaten by the guard of the shrine,
the number of strokes exceeding by one the number of guests
awaiting entertainment. In order to keep the profits of the
shrine intact within the coinuiunity, daughters are never
married outside the village.

Madhupur. — This village is marked in Rennell's map and
at one time gave its name to the Thana of Gopalpur. There is
an ancient Hindu temple of Madan Gopal Bigraha belonging
to Rani Hemanta Kumari Debi of Patia. An estate with an
income of about Rs. 7,000 has been set apart for the main-
tenance of this temple, where about 60 guests are fed daily.
About 1787 it was the head quarters of one of the Sanyasi
gangs under Rup Gir Sanyasi. The ruins of important build-
ings, which were in good condition until the last earthquake,
are still in existence. The Sanyasis also had buildings in Boali,
an adjacent village. The zamindars of the time were terrorised
into granting many rent-free lands for the maintenance of
temples of Siva and the descendants of the Sanyasis are still in
possessioii.

Mohanganj — On the Kangsha is the largest trading centre
in the east of the district, having a considerab'3 trade with
Sylhet. A bazar sits twice daily and on Wednesdays the licit is
throng jd with people from 6 A.M. to 11 p.m. and a fleet of 400
boats of all sizes may be counted on the river. The total
attendance has been reckoned at 30,000. Ghee, fowls, oranges
and fish are wonderfully cheap and plentiful. The country
people buy with a seer of 60 tolas and sell their own produce
with one of 90 or 84 tolas. The nazar paid for a hut in the
bazar is Rs. 700.

There is a proposal to tap the resources of this neighbour-
hood by extending the new Mym:>nsingh-Netrakona line to
Mohanganj. At present all the exports, worth 12 lakhs at the
lowest computation, go down the Diianu river by country boat-

Mriga — Is situated in the centre of an enormous hdor or
bll ou the edge of an open lake and the ptik/ca buildings can be
seen from miles away. It is the cutcherry of the Mahant of
Puri, who has retained a considerable share of the Khaliajuri
Pargana.

L 2

15i MYMENSINGH.

r

Muktagacha — is a Municipality, owing its importance to
its being the home of tlie proprietors of Alapsingh Pargana. It
is not situated on any river and has no natural facilities for
trade. The zamindars' houses are interspersed with numerous
unhealthy tanks and insanitary quarters. It is typical of the
My men Singh landlords, that they allow the prostitutes' quarters
to occupy the centre of the town right in the face of their
Zenana windows.

Mymensingh Town — Still called Nasirabad by the Muham-
madans of the adjoining villages, owes its commercial import.
ance to its being the headquarters of the district and its
railway facilities. The Brahmaputra is only navigal)le by large
country l)oats during the rains. Mr. Wroughton selected the
site in 1793 on account of the width of the high land and the
civil station is built on Taluk iJayard which was acquired by tlie
Collector of that name. There is a race course with a circuit of
1 , miles and the bungalows inside it are on sites originally
leased on nominal terms to various Europeans for building
houses. The Alapsingh and Mymensingh landlords who
acquired these interests now make a handsome profit by letting
the houses to the district officials. The Collector's house was
built in 1808, and there is a church and a cemetery.

As early as 1811 Mymensingh was classed as a town and
under the orders of the Board the Collector assessed a tax of
Rs. 1,743 on 2,086 houses. In 1823 the Collector again writes
that, the collection of " even Rs. 400 in town duties would be of
infinite benefit in making roads, bridges and draining."

The water-supply is derived from the Brahmaputra. Tiie
Raja Bahadur h is a palace built at a cost of 7 lakhs in 1910.

Mymensingh and Jafarshahi.— More is known of the

earlier history of these parganas than of most of the others
in the district. When the ancient kingdom of Kamrup began
to be dismembered in the 15th century, the Rajas of Gaur
amalgamated Jafarshahi and other portions of Mymensingh
west of the Brahmaputra with their kingdom, while a Koch
chieftain named Bokai made Bokainagar his head-quarters.
The remains of this f ortr ,'ss make a picturesque camping
ground just east of Bhawanipur. About 1495 Husain Shah,
King of Gaur, subjugated the whole district, and placed his son
Nasrat Shah in charge; from this chieftain the old name of
Nasirabad is derived, the modern name Mymensingh comes
from Momin Shah, one of his lieutenants. In 1582, when the
Mughals overthrew the Pathan dynasty of Gaur, Raja Todar

, ftAZETTEER. 155

Mai made an elaborate rent-roll known as the Wasil Tumar
Jama, by which the Mymensingh pargana was included in
Sarkar 1 azuha, and the Jafarshahi pargana in Sarkar Ghora-
ghat. Both parganas were amongst the 22 granted by the
Emperor Akbar to Isa Khan of Khizirpiir, but neither was
retained by his family after his death.

Early in the seventeenth century Mymensingh was held by
one Muhammad Mendi of Tikara in Atla. Daring an invasion
by the King of Assam in 16:^7 many villages were desolated, and
the family was unable to pay the revenue, whereupon in 1657,
the Nawab Shah Shuja resettled it with the Datta family of
Mangalsidhi. Shortly after this one-sixth passed to the Nandi
family of Rampur in Netrakona as a marriage dowry.
Quarrels between the co-shar.^rs led to th' revenue again fall-
ing in arrears, and Murshid Kuli Khan authorized the local
Wa'ladai\ Mirza Muhamma^l Fehar Beg, to confine five of the
proprietors. Three of these succumbed to torture, and the two
others gave up the estate, taking a lakheraj property of 25 puras
for their maintenance. The sanad dated 1116 (B.S.) of Muham-
mad Big, confirmed by Sri Krishna Chaudhuri in 114i> (B.S.),
was recognised as valid in the resumption proceedings institut-
ed by Mr. J. A. Yule in 1843, and by virtue of this agreement
the two families of Dattas and Nandis still possess some acres.

Sri Krishna Cbaudhari, the founder of the line of the
present zamindars of Mymensingh, was chosen as zamindar by
the Nawab, in return for his services us a kanuugo. Like the
Nator Raj family, he traced his descent from the Brahman
Beataranga, who came fromKanauj about 964 (A.D.) to perform
certain ceremonies for KingAdisur of Gaur. Sri Krishna's
father. Jay Narayan Talapafcra, who was settled at Karai in
Bogra, iiad nlready received the two parganas of Taraf Karai
and Tappe Hindi in 1710 from Murshid Kuli Khan.

Sri Krishna's son, Chaml Ray, also rentlered good services to
the next Nawab, and on the ground that the machinations of
the late owners had made it almost impossible to pay the
revenue out of the assets of the Mymensingh pargana, the now
very valuable pargana of Jafarshahi was thrown in and no
extra revenue demanded. Its then owners, the descendants of
one Musnad AH, who had succeeded Isa Khan, had fallen into
serious financial trouble at about the same; time as the Nandi
Dattas. From this date the two parganas have had a common
history and have paid revenue jointly.

By each of his wives, Sri Krishna left two sons, Ray Chand
and Ilari Narayan having predeceased him. These soon

156 MYMENSINGH. ,

quarrelled, ami the Rays (sons of Svarbajaya) settled inKrisiia-
par, and the sons of Maheswari, who kept the title of Chau-
dhiiri, settled in Malancha, both existing villages in Jafarshahi.
Shortly afterwards the separation of Ganga Narayan-Chaudhuri
from his brothers led to his taking up his residence in the
neighbouring village of Mahiramkul. Sri Krishna himself
lived in the Mymensingh pargana at Fokainagar ; it seems a
pity that the Sanyasi rebellion, with the settlement of robber
gangs at Sanyasiganj (afterwards the site of the Jamalpur can-
tonment) and the burning of the Melancha cutcherry, was
successful in driving the family back to the eastern pargana.
The present homes of the Rays and Chaudhuris at Gauripur,
Ramgopalpur and Kalipur are surrounded with swamps and
compare very unfavourably with the higher and healthier and
more picturesque villages in the centre of the Jafarshahi
pargana.

Until 1908 the 8 annas share of Taraf Ray was held jointly
by tne descendants of Krishna Kishor and Krishna Gopal, but at
the Permanent Settlement the pargana was settled in four equal
shares as separate tauzis. Jugal Kishor, the adopted son of
Krishna Gopal, tried to prevent his uncle's widows adopting a
son, but a sanad of Warren Hastings, dated l2th July 1774,
recognized the title of the widows. They then moved from
Gauripur to Ramgopalpur, where they devoted thems Ives to
building temples and establishing religious foundations.

On the death of Ratnamala, the Sadar Adalat again defeated
the ambition of Jugal Kishor and gave the whole 4 annas
share to Narayani. Narayani's great grandson, Kashi Kishor,
was the first HonT»rary Magistrate in this district. His son, the
present Raja of Ramgopalpur, is the sole proprietor of the
senior 4 annas share. He was made a Rai Bahadur in 1895 and
a Raja in 1909. Of Jugal Kishor Rij^ the founder of the
Gauripur family, Mr. Wroughton wrote thus in his report of
1788: — "He manages his own business, and by his prudence,
care and abilities is a man of considerable property. His
share is by far the best cultivated, and the ryots are con-
tented and happy. His riches, regularity in business and
punctuality in payment give him an undoubted advantage over
Syam Chand and Rudra Chand." His services in the San-
yasi rebellion were also much appreciated by the English
Government. But his depredations in Tappe Singdha, where
his Idthidls looted the two great markets of Mohanganj and
Lakshmiganj, were reported to the then Commissioner Mr.
Douglas, and a full enquiry was ordered by Sir John Shore,

GAZETTEER. 157

Finally he was acquitted for lack of evidence by Mr. Wrough-
ton.

Jugal Kislior'ri share descended through an adopted grand-
son to Rajendra Kishor, who again died childless. His widow
Bisveswari Debi enjoyed a fourth of the estate (Gauripur
4 annas) as a separate estate until her death a short time ago.
Her adopted son, Brajendra Kishor, who brought the well-
known sivadeshi case against Mr. Clarke, the Collector of the
district, in connection with the Jamalpur riots in 1907, is the
sole proprietor of the second 4 annas share.

IJtc share of Taraf Chaudhuri. — The following account
from Wro ;ghton of the third or Kalipur 4 annas illustrates
the important part played by adoptioa in the history of these
zaminiiar families : — "This mahal is the property of Harnath,
the adopted son of Canga Narayan, second son of Sri Krishna ;
this young man is the principal cause of the present dispute.
At first he put himself under the protection of Syamchand,
and the two estates were managed jointly. Being a very young
boy, rumours were started that he had not been properly
adopted, and Syamchand was induced to usurp such an autho-
rity as made him justly fearful of being deprived o^ his right.
He died in 1792, and his widow Ganga Debi adopted a son,
Krishna Nath, whose adoption was declared invalid by the
Provincial Court in 182cS," Thus Harnath'rf 4 annas share
passed to the sons of his sister Gauri Debi {a) Srikanta Lahiri
Chaudhuri, (6) Kamal Kanta Lahiri Chaudhuri, and (c) Uma.
Kanta Lahiri Chaudhuri, each receiving l-G-2-2 share.

(a) Bara Taraf. — Sri Kanta was the eldest, and his line is
still called " Bura Taraf." He had two sons (1) Nil Kanta, and
(2) Ratna Kanta ; each got 0-1.3-1-1. Nil Kanta's adopted son
Abhayakanta left a son, l^ijay Kanta, who is the present pro-
prietor of the share, having attained his majority in ] 908. Ratna
Kanta had two sons, Tara Kanta and Surjya Kanta. This estate
was joint, but at the death of Tara Kanta it was divided, each
getting O-G-2-2. Tara's widow adopted Jamini Kanta, who has
let out his 0-6-2-2 share in patni to Dharani Kanta Lahiri Chau-
dhuri. Gauripur has bought tauzi 77, the other ij-2-2 share.
Surjya died without heirs male, and his widow adopted Abani
Kanta, an extravagant person, who has been forced to sell most
of his property. It was bought by Brajendra Kishor Ray
Chaudhuri of Gauripur, Swarnamayi Debi of Krishnapur and
Dharani Kanta Lahiri of Kalipur.

(b) Madliyam Taraf. — Kamala Kanta's grandson Girija
Kanta inherited his father Syamkanta's share ; he died in 1907

158 MYMENSINGH.

f

leaving four sons, his widow being appointed executrix (Bhaba-
tariui Debya). She is at present managing the property.

(c) C/ihota Taraf. — Unia Kanta's son Tarini Kanta pur-
chased also a share of the Sherpur pargana. He died in IhiSi,
leaving an adopted son Dharani, the present proprietor.

The owner of the remaining 4 anna-i share of the pargana
was Lakshmi Narayan, fourth son of Sri Krishna. For some
years he lived with his l)rother Ganga Narayan at Malancha,
and then removed to his father's ancestral home at Bokai-
nagar, where he died, leaving three sons, Syamchand, Rudra-
chand and Gobindachand. Rudra remained at the ancestral
home. Gobinda went to Golakpur, while Syamchand built a
separate house near the ancestral home.

Harishchandra, the grandson of Syamchandra, moved to
Golakpur m 1(S5,3. This share has been held under the Court
of Wards since 1911. Rai Satis Chandra Chaudhuri Bahadur,
who received his title in 1907, is the representative of Rudra's
branch.

But for the extravagances of one of Gobinda's heirs, Har.i
Chand, which brought about the alienation of his share,
the descendants of Sri Krishna Chaudhuri would have the
creditable record of still keeping the whole of the original
zamindaries in their hands.

Netrakona — Is the head-quarters town of the Netrakona
subdivisi(m. It is situated in bends ot the Mogra river which
make it practically an island. The niaidan is rather small, but
there is a fine tank built by the Gauripur landlords. Big fiats
are brought up from Narayanganj by launches in the rains and
there is a large trade in jute. The District Board bungalow has
a good site on the Mymensingh side of the river. The other
buildings are very ordinary and inadequate.

Nikli-Dampara — Is the chief jute centre on the Dhanu river.
Nikli is a large Government estate, one of the few managed
khas l)y the Subdivisional Otficer of Kishorganj.

Nilganj — Is the port of Kishorganj and connects it with
all the A\aterlogged areas of the north and east of the district.
As it is on the railway from Kishorganj it should be capable
of great development. There is quite a fair quantity of high
land on both banks of the river, at present covered with very
dilapidated godowns.

pingna Is situated on a dried up kJidl two or three miles

from the main bank of the Jamuna. It is only important as
possessing a Munsifl's Court and a High School.

GAZETTEER. 159

Purbadhala — is a fair sized village on tiie hanks of the
Dhala river known further along its course as the Mogra. It
is the home of one branch of the so-called Raj family of Tauzi
No. 137 descended from Raja Raghunath Singh. It contains
important cutcherries of Hem Babu of Pukhuria and Raja
Bahadur Sashi Kanta of Mymeusingh, whose quarrels resulted
in serious briz-aches of the p3ace in 1906. Th-^re are two hats.
The water-supply is derived from the fine open hil known as
Raj d ha hi.

Pukhuria. — This pargana well illustrates the Muhammadan
principle that all land was the property of the State and
the zamindars liable to constant change as well as to personal
penalties, if they did not pay up the whole of the profits
promptly.

In Todar Mai's settlement the pargana was apparently
one with Joanshahi in the extreme east of the district, though
until 1793 it was part of Rajshahi and not in Mymensingh at
all. Isa Khan held it for a short time and- Marshid Kuli Khan
gave it to Ispinjir Khan and Manohar Khan. These persons
defaulted and were taken prisoners to Murshidabad, and Rai
Raghunandan, the Prime Minister of the Nawab, received a
sanad for the pargana in the name of his brother Raja Ram-
jiban. Raghunandan's heirs were his son's widow, Rani
Bhabani of Nator, his grandson Ram Krishna and his daughter
Tara S indari. Ram Krishna took settlement from the English
in 1791 and agreed to pay Rs. 70,662 as revenue. Two years
later he fell in arrears, and I'hubanendra Narayan Ray of
Puthia bought the estate at auction for Rs. 62,100, The new
landlord also found it impossible to raise the revenue, and
Government authorised the raising of the rents from one rupee
to Re. 1-6-8 i:)er jxikhi, an increment which is still to be traced
in the collection papers as the Rasad Bar.

Bhubanendra had considerable difficulty in taking posses-
sion owing to the machinations of Dayaram, the ancestor of
the Dighapatia family, and others of the amlas of the late
zamindar, who concealed the estate papers and kept him out of
possession of some of the most valuable raahals. Nothing
could be realised from the Balasutidigar Taraf (Baze Taluk)
with a revenue of Rs. 17,000 and the Chatalia Mahal with a
revenue of Rs. 16,573, which Dayaram had got attached by the
Civil Court on the ground that they were valid tenures granteil
to Tara Sundari Devi and the Thakurs of Pakuria in Rajshahi
and did not come under the tithi of the purchaser. Accord-
ingly, Bhubanendra applied to the Collector, Mr, Tufton, to

160 MYJklENSINGH. ,

take the whole pargana into khds possession and to grant
masahdrd. This officer reportel the case to the Board. They
replied that unless Dayaram claimed the lauds as proprietor,
there should be no difficulty in turning him out through the
ordinary processes of law. Mr. Vanderheyden, however,
dissented. "Though Government at the time of sale does not
guarantee any given quantity of land or any given resources,
yet it certainly must be understood to guarantee the possession
of the thing sold. To sell a thing and afierwards leave the
party purchasing to his own means of obtaining possession would
appear to me highly unjust." " Mr. Buller and Mr. Hatch
agreed with Mr. Vanderheyden on the ground thar, the demands
of revenue upon the purchaser could not be suspended on any
plea of the property being in dispute ; section 5 of Regulation 44
of 1793 voids all engagements between the former proprietors
and the undertenants." The Collector was accordingly directed
to put the purchaser in possession (f the whole pargana, but,
whether as the result of the civil litigation or for other reasons,
it is certain that his intervention came to nothing and neither
of the mahals referred to above was restored to the zamindar
of the pargana. The Maharaja of Nator, the descendant of
Tara Sundari Devi's nephew, to whom she made a gift of it in
1795, is still in possession of the Baze Taluk which was at last
recognised as an independent Government Estate, Tauzi
No. 13206, in 1910.

Bayard fixed the revenue at Rs. 70,762, but the Talukdars
in 1807 were Rs. 31,800 in arrears and there was danger of the
estate being sold again. Jag it Narayan died in Rajshahi in
1817, leaving a widow Bhubanmoyi. She applied for a parti-
tion of her 12 annas share and Bhairabananda Ray, minor,
failing to pay his share, Government purchased this 4 annas
and became a party to the partition which was completed in
1843. Raja Bhairabananda recovered his share on attaining
his majority after threatening a civil suit. This marks the
change of theory as to the ownership of zamindaries under
British rule : none of Raja Bhairabananda's predecessors could
have contemplated any such action.

The original tauzi No. 122 was retained for the 12 annas
share of the Rani Bhuban Moyi Devi. She adopted a son Raja
Harendra Narayan. But her daughter Kasiswari Devi contested
the validity of the adoption and a suit followed, which was com-
promised. Raja Harendra Narayan gave 2 annas share to
Kasiswari. Her son got this share partitioned as Tauzi No. 6100.
It is still possessed by his successor Eabu Bhaba Prasad Khan

, aAZETTEER. I6l

Chaudhuri of Puthia. Rani Hemanta Kumari Devi of Pathia
possesses the otlier 10 annas share.

Raja Bhairabananda's 4 annas share was Tauzi No. 4806.
He sold two annas and gave the remaining two annas in
Patui to a iJhuya from the Pabna district, who is the grand-
father of Babii Hem Chandra Chaudhuri, the present proprietor.
The family seat was originally at Ambaria, a pleasantly
situated village on the bank of the Bangsa river, but this place
was found too unhealthy owing to its nearness to the
Madhupur Jungle. A move was made, to Siibarnakhali on
the Jamana. A few yeais ago, the river completely cut a-
way this site and Hemnagar was the third choice. At great
cost big tanks were excavated iji or^ler to build pu^ka build-
ings on their banks, 12 feet above the level of the extremely
low plain all around, and a dazzling temple of brick and glass
erected.

Padma Lochan brought a suit for the separation of his two
annas us Tauzi No. 5513 in 1842 and in 1854 his son bought
the superior interest in the remaining two annas.

Sarisabari — Is a town with large godowns and presses
and a considerable European population in the jute season.
It was made into a Union for sanitary administration in 1910.
The income raised from subscriptions is about Rs. 1,400 and the
District i^oard contributes Rs. 600

Sherpur — Is an important Municipality 9 miles north of
Jamalpur. It is the head-quarters of the landlords of the
Sherpur pargana, but the residence of Govinda Prasad in the
3 annas sdhclm was made over to the Susung Raja on one of his
visits, it being a tradition of that family never to take a meal on
land other than their own.

In 1807 a separate Magistrate's Court was established at
Kaliganj (the old name of tlie Sherpur bazar) and for some
years a garrison was established there to act against Garo
marauders and to watch the bank of the Brahmaputra, which
in the 18th century extended from Jamalpur to Sherpur. Prac-
lically all that now remains of the cantonments is the cemetery.

The Sherpur landlords have been Honorary Magistrates for
a long terra of years. Tho Rai I ahadur Radha Ballabh (Jhau-
dhury was invested with powers to take complaint's in 1891,
and the same powers were given to the head of the 9-anna
house in 1910. His father Har Chandra Chaudhury had been
gazetted with similar powers in 1875. The result is that Sher-
pur and Nalitabari almost form a separate subdivision, and

162 MYMENSTNGH. ,

bring very little work to the sab-divisional Officf r of Jamalpur.

The landlords maintain a hospital and a dharmasdld which
costs Rs. 10,000 annually. The 9-anna hdri contains a library
which boasts of some manuscripts 500 years old.

The biweekly hat is densely crowded and in 1907 a petty-
quarrel about vegetables led to a serious attack on the barracks
of tie pdnitive police by an excited mob. Further references
to Sherpur will be found in the history chapter.

Sherpur Pargana — was annexed to Bengal when Sylhet
was conquered by the Muhammadans in 1384, but was
in the hands of the Koches until Husain Shah colonized it
with Muhammadans in the 16th century. It was subse-
quently one of the 32 mahals of Todar Mai in 1582, wich a reve-
nue of Rs. 41,140-4, and was one of the 22 parganas granted to
Isa Khan. The comrades in arms of Isa Khan, however, wrested
some of them from him, 4 Majhlases taking KhaliajarT and
Nasirujial and four Ghazis Sherpur and Fhawal.

The old name of Daskahania is traditionally ascribed to the
fact that it cost dciskdhan (i.e., 10 multiplied by 1,280 cowries or
Rs. 10) to cross the ferry from Jamalpur.* Its new name comes
from Sher Ali, the last of the Ghazis. This chieftain is said to
have coveted the daughter of a Kabiraj in Darsa in the Durga-
pur thana and put her husband, Ram Ballabh, a kanungoin the
Nawab's service at that cutcherry, to death. His wife escaped
to the Nawab's Court, and this prince's Subahdar, Aziz Khan,
punished Sher Ali by giving the pargana to Ram Ballabh's son,
Ram Nath. Tlie original home of this Vaidya family was in
Murshidabad district. It did not move to Sherpur till 1675.

Ram Nath had three sons, Srikrishna, Sriballabh and Gopal.
A portion of the pargana, about 2 annas, subsequently known
as Sagardi, was separated by a gift from Ram Govinda, son of
Sriballabh, to a member of the Mazumdar family of Kanda in
the Dacca district. The rest of the pargana passed to Jogaji-
ban, son of Srikrishna, who left four sons. Jay Narayan, Kan-
darpa, Mod Narayan and Hari Narayan. When Jay Narayan
died, Mod Narayan took on the management for Sarja Narayan,
the eldest son of Jay Narayan. When the latter attained his
majority, the revenue was hopelessly in arrears and he was put
in jail. The estate was actually settled with one Binod
Narayan, but thanks to the exertions of Krishna Prosau Nag,
it was restored to the family by the favour of the Nawab. On

* Buchanan's explanation is that 10 kahans was the khalsa or real part of the
revenue as opposed to the jaigii'S.

GAZETTEER. 163

■)

the death of Surja Narayan in 1770, the first partition took
place, the descendants of Jay Narayan and Kandarpa get-
ting 9 annas and the descendants of Mod and Hari Narayan
7 annas.

In 1774 (B.C.) Kirtti Narayan, the grandson of Jay Narayan,
wlio was managing the whole pargana in this year, was put
into jail for arrears of revenue by Patterson, Judge of Dacca,
and at the same time the troubles with Garo tribes on the north
of the pargana came to a head. Kirtti Narayan was wounded
by an arrow and died. His wife committed " SatT." The
Buxari Barkandazes, or mercenaries, who were recruited to
fight the Garos, rebelled and twice carried off members of the
family to the hills.

Pratap Narayan managed the estate for Kirtti Narayan's
minor sons, Krishna Chandra and Raj Chandra. Warren
Hastings upheld Pratap against the descendants of Sri Gopal
who claimed the estate. Meanwhile Brajai.ath, grandson of
Mod Narayan, took over the management of the 7 annas share.

Pratap separated his 4} annas share from that of his
nephews. The 7 annas was also partitioned, Ij annas going to
Ramnath, gralidson of Mod Narayan by his son Raghunath,
2j annas to Brajanath, Mod Narayaii's other grandson, and
3 annas to Sibnath, grandson of Hari Narayan. Thus the
descendants of Kandarpa were alone left without a share. As
the result of fierce litigation, his grandson Upendra Narayan
and his daughter-in-law Bhawani Chaudhurani were allotted
iU annas, 5h being kept for the elder branch. Of the '6 ■ annas
Brajanath Chaudhury, the founder of the Araiani zamindari,
got 1 anna (Tauzi No. 141) as a reward for his help, thus
incidentally restoring equality between the two so-called 'J-anna
and 7-anna houses.

The partition apparently took 15 years. An amin was
deputed in 1809, but when no progress had been made by LSIH,
the Board called for an explanation, and Mr. Packenham, in
recommendir.g the deputation of Mr. Maxwell for three years
with the powers of an Assistant Judge and Magistrate to settle
the disputes and to look after the partition, wrote as follows : —

" Great b'ame is certainly imputable to the anilns, but in
Sherpur they have no common obstruction to surmount. Tiie
zamindari is one of the most lucrative in the country, and has
long been Ihe seat- of the most serious aifrays and has been
one of the greater sources of troubles and annoyance to the
judicial powers at this s*:ation. The zamindars and talukdars
are bold and daring, and at the same time being rich, it is more

164 MYMENSINGH.

f

the Arnins' interest to side with the most powerful thun to
perforin their duty by .loing justice towards the weak. There
is also an intricate investigation delegated to tlie Amin wiiich
holds out strong temptation to him to bo corrupt or, otherwise,
personal risk of insult and even assault." In 1794 a warrant
was issued for arrest of the 3 annas ])roprietor, but cancelled by
the Board who ordered that " no proprietor of land shall be
imprisoned for arrears who has landed i)roperty which, if sold,
will be sufficient to make good the deficiency." By 1(S20 the
partition was finished, but the cost being realised as abwabs
from the ryots caused fresh breaches of the peace.

In 1833 two bands of Pagal Panthis under Janhu and
Dobraj looted Sherpur and set fire to the thana, Mr. Sarrel,
Joint-Magistrat'^, with police l)arkandazes defeated Dobraj, who
later surprised him and carried off four of his men. The
Collector had to send military assist.mce ; 150 men from Jamal-
pur under Captain Seal surprised a camp of 4,000 men near
Jelangi north of Goalpara at the foot of the hills, and we hear
of no further trouble.

The share of Kirtti Narayan's children is now possessed as
Tauzi No. 139 by Rai Bahadur Charu Chandra Chaudhuri
and his two brothers. ToPratap'3 2i annas there were many
claimants, and Kishori Mohan had to part with mucli of the
property as the price of his success. Goalgaon and other big
mahals were alienated to Maharaja Surja Kanta Acharjya
and three-quarters of Tauzi No. 4082 was sold for Rs. 1,80,000
to Raja Bisan Chand Dudhuria, who, however, gave it back
as a permanent patni interest to the vendor. Jnauendra
Mohan Chaudhuri, a Deputy Magistrate, and his brother are
now the proprietors of the 21 annas zamindari and some
smaller interest in Tauzi No. 138.

The principal representatives of the 7 annas branch are
Babu Gopal Das and Babu Satindra Kumar Chaudhuri.
The lands of their Tauzis 142 and 143 and a ganlas of 144
are indivisible and are known as the Aral Anna zamindari.
They have also shares in 138, 140, 141 and 4083. Rai 1 ahadur
Radha Ballabh Chaudhuri, who got his title in 1889, has a one-
anna share in Tauzi No. 4083.

SuSUn^. — The founder of the f.imily was a Brahman,
Someahwar Pathak, who came from Kanauj towards the end
of the 13th century an^l made himself mast 'r of the Garos
on the lower hills between Sylhet and Mymensingh by the help
of the plainsmen and of a band of Sadhus, from whose good
company his territory was known as " Sasanga." He forced

GAZETTEER. 1(5

the King of the Khasia Hills to cede some villages, and he obtain-
ed possession of the Husain Pratal pargana of Sylhet, Somesh-
war's son, Budhimanta Kanta, was the first of his family to
marry his daughter to a Bar^iulra Kulin Brahman, and this
custom has since been kept up. The eldest surviving son
continued to succeed his father for thj next three generations.
Janakinath in the sixth generation from the founder is said to
have stolen a 7-year old bride for his grandson from the Raja
of Tahirpur (in Rajshahi), the Kulin of Kulins.

In the ti.ne of the next ruler Raghuuath the Garos gave
considerable trouble, and the family sacrificed its hitherto
independent position by asking help from Akbar's Viceroy
Man Singh, and promising to pay a tribute of agar wood.
Raghunath fought with Man Singh against Chand Ray of
Bik -ampur, and the pr^^sent capital of the family, Durgapur,
got its name from. the Dasabhiya or family idol of Chand Ray,
with which Raghunath returned as his share of the spoils.
Among other stories to show Raghunath's miraculous strength,
it is narrated that on his wedding night, taking his bride on his
back, he fought his way through the forces of his hereditary
enemy, the Joardar or Chieftain of Bauia, who had arranged
the marriage solely with Vm treacherous purpose of getting the
young prince within his power.

Raghunath's son, Ramnath, went to Delhi aad accepted a
sanacl from the Emperor Jahanglr. He is said to have adopted
the family motto Matindsh because of his folly in refusing to
accept sanads at Jahangii's hands for six neighbouring par-
ganas in the names of his six brothers. When he got back
from Delhi he found they were all dead. Ramnath was
succeeded by his nephew Ramjiban, but before his death he
created a maurasi tciluk in favour of Jadabendra, which, being
inherited by Hariram Phaduri* was separately settled at the
decennial settlement as Tauzi No. 137. Henceforth the interest
of the Susung Rajas has been confined to the remaining 14
annas of the original pargana, Tauzi No. 136.

In Aurangzeb's time the reigning Raja stoppe 1 the paym-nt
of tribute, but before he could take steps to fortify his capital,
he was taken prisoner to Murshidabad and compelled to
emi)race the Muhammadan faith and marry a Muhammadan
girl under the name of Abdul Rahman. Later on, when he
proposed to divide his estate between his Hindu and Muham-
madan families, the Muhammadan Government apparently

* The so-called Raj families of Purbadhala and Ghiigra are Hariram's descendants.

166 MYMENSINGH.

f

repented, and sided with the son of the Hindu wife, Rono
Singh, in whose favour Abdul Ralaman abdicated in 1735,
taking Dihi Mahadeb out of the estate- for his own maintenance
and for succession to the Muhammadan branch of his family.

Rono Singh's son Raja Kishor is credited with the establish-
ment of various Hajang families at the foot of the hills to help
in his elephant-catching oparations. The kheddah profits not
proving sufficient to pay the revenue regularly, Raja Kishor and
his brother were taken prisoners to Dacca in 1757, Thoy were
sentenced to daily whipping for a week and then to be blown
from a cannon's mouth if the money was not paid, but were
saved by the unexpected occupation of Dacca by the British
forces.

The decennial settlement was made with Raj Singh, and
about this time the title of Raja was recognised by the
Company. Unfortunately for the fajnily fortunes, Raj Singh
left three sons, who all registered their names in the Collec-
torate and in 1827 began to collect rents separately. When
Jagannath died in 1829, his widow Indramani registered her
name in the Collectorate, and when Gopinath died in 1833 his
widow Harasundari was also registered. It was not until 1843,
when Harasundari migrated to Sankarpur with her two daugh-
ters and applied for a partition under Regulation XIX of 1814,
that the eldest brother Biswanath put forward his claims to be
the sole proprietor of the estate on the ground of a family custom
of primogeniture. It says much for the strength of Biswanath's
claim that in spite of the many years in which his conduct
might easily have been held to bring in estoppel against him,
he won his case in the lower court in 1844 and also on appeal
before the sadar court in 1847. He was not so successful in
turning his sisters-in-law out of possession, and in 1856 the sadar
court, reversing the decision of the lower court that family
custom was established in favour of the succession of the eldest
son, gave one-third of Tauzi 136 to Indramoni's adopted son
Srikrishna.

By this time Pran Krishna had succeeded his father. In
1861 he induced the sadar court to set aside Srikrishna's
adoption and to give him Jagannath's share as the nearest heir,
and encouraged by the Privy Council's rejection on default of
Harasunclari's appeal against the order disallowing the pariition,
in 1862 he again brought the question of the family custom
before the courts. He got a decree in the Court of the Prin-
cipal Sadar Amin, but after his death the decision was reversed
by the Privy Council in 1868. Thus Hara umdari's 4 annas 13

GAZETTEER. 167

gandas 1 kara and 1 kranti of the original 10 annas pargana
finally passed out of the hands of the Susang family. Hari-
moni'stwo daughters Earada and Pramada each got 2 anuas and
Ram Chandra Mazumdar 13 gandas 1 kara 1 kranti by pur-
chase, in addition to the various permanent tenures which his
intrigues in the family had already secured out of the
estate.

In 1841 a dispute about some Garo mahals with the Govern-
ment had been settled in favour of the Raj by the Revenue
Commissioner of Assam. Further litigation on the subject of
the boundaries was carried on by Pran Krishna and his son, but
before the Privy Council could formulate a decision. Govern-
ment by Act XXII of 1869 excluded the Garo Hills from the
jurisdiction of all courts. Rajkrishna won hi-j case, but was
obliged to accept the life-title of Maharaja Bahadur and a sum
of Rs. 1,50,000 as a somewhat inadequate compensation for his
rights in the hills.

The present generation, following the example of Rajkrishna
and his brothers, reverted to the old custom by which the
eldest son manages the whole estate. One uncle, however, Jagat
Krishna claimed partition in 1896. He was put off with certain
16 annas mauzas, but from this date the joint estate has been
under a private manager, who is supposed to act in accordance
with the unanimous opinion of all the proprietors. The con-
tinual litigation has " impoverished the estate. Its collection
cannot be more than 3 lakhs, while the revenue and cesses are
Rs. 11,254 and Rs. 10,663, respectively.

The joint estate by means of purchases and permanent lease
from the heirs of Harinioni and others now comprises 9 annas 15
gandas 3 karas 1 kranti in zamindari and 3 annas 3 gandas
2 kranti in patni right in Tauzi 136 considered as 16 annas. The
other proprietors are Raja Ramesh Chandra Singha, son
of Jagat Krishna, Raja Sashi Kanta Acharjya an<l the
Narayandahar Mazumdars. By a friendly partition in most
villages the shares of the Maharaja, Romesh and Sashi Kanta
Acharjya are combined in the hands of one or the other over
ail tenancies except rent-free tenures.

Tan^ail — Is the head-quarters of the south-western sub"
division. It is quite a pretty place with plenty of trees and
well laid out roads. In 1912 a big l)asin of the Lohajang river
was banked up, and converted into a park and playground
Santosh, the home of the Kagmari zamindars, is two miles
away on the other side of the river.

Tangail has been considered as the head-quarters of a new

M

168 MYMENSINGH.

district, but the communications with Porabari, the nearest
steamer station, are too bad, and it is doubtful if the railway
to Serajganj can be extended across the river so ad to touch
any point near Tangail, as there is no permanent high bank
south of Pingna. Tangail has a bad reputation for malaria^
which is hardly deserved in years when the Brahmaputra has
been in high flood. The dispensary has recently been made
over by its founders, the Santosh family, to the Municipality.
There are no important buildings.

Tarail — Is an important trading centre on the river, which
running south from Gog Bazar make^ the bovo growing area to
the east an unapproachable country with characteristics all its
own.

Tappe Hazradi. — Hazradi was one of the so-called 22
parganas comprising practically the whole of the present
Mymensingh district granted to lea Khan in 1597 by the
Emperor Akbar. The following seems to be the complete
list : — (1) Hazradi, (2) Hosenshahi, (3) Joar Hosenpur,
(4) Darjibazu, (5) Katraba with Kurikhai, (6) Maheshwardi,
(7) Singdha, (8) Bhawal, (9) Paitkara, (10) Gangamandal,
(11) Nasirujial, (12) Khaliajuri, (13) Jafarshahi, (14) Mymen-
singh, (15) Alapsingh, (16) Joanshahi, (17) Sherpur, (18) Bara-
baju, (19) Kagmari, (20) Atia, (21) Sonargaon, (22) Bardakhat
with Bardakhat Magra in Sarkar Sonargaon.*

Isa Khan Masnad Ali, the most noted of the so-called Bara
Bhuyas of Bengal, was the son of Kali Das Gazdani, a 1 ais Eajput
of Oudh, who turned Muhammadan under the title of Sulaiman
Khan, when Husain Shah was ruler of Bengal (1493-1520) and
rose to the position of Dewan under Husain Shah's successors,
Bahadur Shah and Jalaluddin. Isa Khan's mother was a
daughter of Jalaluddin, and in the early years of Akbar's
reign he took advantage of the minority of Jalaluddin's son to
establish himself as an independent prince with headquarters
at Khizirpur and Sonargaon, both near Narayanganj. In 1582,
when Todar Mai settled Bengal on behalf of Akbar, Isa Khan
rendered great assistance and was left in charge of Sarkars
Bajuha and Sonargaon. He fortified Sonargaon and built
several other forts. This raised the Emperor's suspicions, and
Isa found himself attacked by Sahabaz Khan in command of
an imperial army. In spite of some early successes, Khizirpur
was captured, and Isa Khan seeing that he was powerless

• Mr. Stapleton thinks that to make 22 Kagmari and Atia should go together
instead of the two Bardakbats.

GAZETTEER. 169

against the full force of the Delhi throne, devoted his attention
to establishing a principality north of the Brahmaputra at the
expense of the Koch chieftains. He turned Lakhan out of
Jangalbari and then extended his sway to Goalpara, building
forts at Rangamatia and Sherpur. In 1592 he had to meet a
new army under Man Singh. Sonargaon was lost, and Isa Khan
was besieged in Agarasindur. After two days' hard fighting,
he challenged Man Singh to single combat and won the admira-
tion of his foe by returning his sword after he had disarmed him.
He was taken to Delhi and imprisoned by Akbar, who released
him on hearing the full story of the fight at Agarasindur.
He was given the title of Masnad Ali and sent back with a
sanad for the 22 parganas, four of which, Khaliajurl, Nasuri-
jial, Bhawal and Sherpur were made over to the courtiers who
accompanied him back from Delhi.

Isa Khan died at Baktarpur, leaving two sons Musa Khan
and Mahammad Khan. The grandson of Mahammad Khan,
Hayat Khan, got a new sanadior 11 of the 22 parganas, includ-
ing Bardakhat, Fardakhat Mogra, Kurikhai, Singdha,
Sonargaon, Katraba, Darzibazu, Joar Hosenpur, Hazradi,
Maheswardi and Jaiarshahi. His son Haibat Khan separated
from his cousins and established himself at Haibatnagar
Nagua, 6 miles west of Jangalbari, taking the four parganas
Bardakhat, Sonargaon, Mogra and Joar Hosenpur, to which
were afterwards added Maheswardi, Singdha and Darzibazu
by right of inheritance from his cousin Satif Khan, whoee
only daughter, Fatima Bibi, he had married. Haibat Khan's
son Abdullah failed to obey Lord Olive's summons to take
settlement, and the former four parganas were settled with
other zamindars.

During the minority of Abdullah's two sons the remaining
three parganas which had been inherited from Fatima were
settled with one Golam Ali of Ranglabazar, Dacca, but the
settlement was cancelled and a new sanad granted. The
present proprietress of Haibatnagar, in the fourth generation
from AbduU'ah, is married to Dewan Alim Dad Khan, a
descendant of the Jangalbari branch.

When the two branches separated, four sons of Manahar
Khan, grandson of Musa Khan, survived. As has been seen
3 parganas devolved from the eldest son to the Haibatnagar
branch, Latif Khan living at Jangalbari had 10 annas of Haz-
radi and Mahabat Khan with his home at Jafrabad had 6 annas.
Adam Khan received Kurikhai, but this was soon sold to Bha-
bani Kishor Acharjya of Muktagacha. The fifth son's share

170 MYMENSINGH.

was Katraba, but on his death it was divided between Latif and
Mahabat in the same shares as Hazradi. Latif Khan had two
sons. The share of the younger " Panchani " was squandered
away. The Fara Panchani was also so mismanaged, that the
Katraba pargana had to be sold at auction, and on the advice of a
Deputy Collector in 1800 the Hazradi pargana was made over to
Government for a permanent malikana of Rs. 3,840, and the
existing lessees registered as kharija talukdars under separate
tauzi numbers. In 1837 the revenue-free mahal of Jangalbari
was made khas by Government, but Rahimdad lodged a suit and
obtained Rs. 32,000 as mesne profits.

The Aich family of Jasodal near Kishorganj, as described in
an article by Mr. Stapleton in the "J. A. S. B. '• of 1910, is
also connected with this pargana. The family are Kayasthas,
descended from one Bhuban Aich. Devibar Aich, sixth in
descent from Bhuban Aich, was the first of the family to settle
in Mymensingh, and his grandson Govinda Hazri was given
the two parganas of Hazradi and Hosenshahi by Alauddin
Husain or Nasarat Shah about 1520. There was fighting between
Govinda's son Raja Ganik Chandra and the great Isa Khan,
ivhich resulted ia the death of the former by a treacherous
stratagem. Local tradition says that a battle at Kukurdia took
place after Isa Khan's return from Delhi with Akbar's sanad
for the 22 parganas in 1594, but it is more probable that Isa
Khan was master of all the country round Jangalbari as a
result of his campaigns against the Koches before 1586.

171

INDEX.

Abwabs, 108.

Adampur, 142.

Adisur, 39.

Adoption, 61, 157.

Afghans, 24, 35.

Agarasindur, 6, 22, 32.

Agrarian rising, 32, 164.

Agrarian farm, 53.

Agricultural pests, 50.

Agricultural implements, 55, 78.

Ain Akbari, 22.

Akbar, 24, 100, 109, 123.

Akkra, 142.

Alapsingh Pargana, 31, 63, 142.

Allen, Mr., Collector of Dacca, 6.

Alluvial deposits, 2.

Aman rice, 5, 49.

Anugraha kami, 65, 109.

Animals, cruelty to, 43.

Archeeology, 32.

Aryans, 22.

Assam, 2, 40. .

Aetagram village, 38, 143.

Astami Sndn, 90.

Atia, 32, 149.

Atia Pargana, 57, 107, 109, 115, 144.

Aus rice, 50.

Bahadurabad, 6, 92.

Bdids, 4, 50.

Bdigars, 35.

Bajitpur, 77, 82, 96, 122, 134, 145.

Ballal Sen 23, 38.

Bamboos, 1 1.

Bangeha river, 6.

Barga ryots, 63, 69, 106.
Barind, 2.

Bayard, Collector, 31, 115.

Bears, 11.

Beri Bert, 45.

Betelnut palms, 9, 10.

Betel vine, 54, 63.

Bhttdralok, 38, 141.

Bhaga Datta, 23.

Bhairab Bazar, 6. 89, 96, 145.

Bhulua, see Noakhali 96.

Blmya, 25.

Bidhdn, 40.

Birds, ^ame, 12.

Birds, other, 14.

Boats, 87.

Boat building, 10, 79.

Boats, fishing, 80, 83, 85.

Boats, gayna, 96.

Boro rice, 50, 5;-, 87, 109.

Botany, 8.
Brahmottar, 104.
Brahmaputra, old, 2, 6.
Brahmaputra, new (jfg Jamuna).
Brahmaputra, change in course, 6.
Braziers, 78
Buddhism, 23.
Buffaloes, wild, 11.
liuffaloes, tame, 56.
Butterflies, 10.

Camping places, 98, 154.
Carpenters, trees used by, 1 0.
Carpenters' tools, 80.
Carts, 55, 96.
Castes, Hindu, 38, 39.
Castes, Miihammadan, 35.

172

INDEX.

Cattle, 56, 71,89.

Cftttle, grazing of, 5, 43, 52.

Cattle fairs, 89, 148,

Cattle disease, 57.

CensuB, 34.

Cees, road, 131.

Cesses, illegal, «ce abwabs.

Chak, 105.

Chakia, 99.

Charki, 76.

Charcoal, 78.

Chaukidar, 125.

Cheena, 51.

Cheese, 78.

Christian Missions, 41.

Cholera, 34, 45

Chukdni, 106.

Circumcision, 37.

Climate, 21, 49, 70.

Company, The, administration, 27.

Cotton, 76, 77.

Cowsheds, 5, 55.

Crime, political, 122.

Crime against women, 120.

Crime, general, 121.

Cultivation, methods of, 39.

Customs, 66.

Customs of Hindus, 36.

Customs of Muhammadans, 36.

Customs of aboriginal tribes, 40, 41.

Cuckoos, 16.

Cyclone. 58.

Dacca, 2, 5.

Dacca Gazetteer, 5,

Dacoities, 122.

Daffadars, 126.

Dahart (dead rivers), 6.

Ddit, 35.

Dak Bungalows, 133.

Dak, Zamindari, 127.

DSokoba river, 7

Debottars, 104.

Deer, 11.

Dewanganj, 7, 94, 115, 146.

Dhdn-kardri, 106.

Dhaleswari, 4, 6.

Dhanii river, 6, 92, 95, 147.

Dikhli, 104.

Dilduar, 146.

Dilli Akhra, 142.

Diseases, 44, 45.

District Board, 130.

District Board Bungalows, 97, 133.

Doshkoghd, 150.

Drainage, 47.

Drought, 58.

Duck, 12.

Dudhu Miya, 37.

Durgapur, 11, 69, 92, 95, 146.

Durmut, 33, 38.

Eagles, 19.

Earthquake of 1897, 3, 58, 86.
Education of Aborigines, 41, 139.
Education of females, 41, 139.
Education of Muhammadans, 137, 139.
Education, Technical, 131.
Education, Expenses of, 62.
Ei<dal5, 22, 24.
Elashin, 93, 146.
ElephantB.il, 97, 103, 142.
Emigration, 34.
Estates, 101,102.
Excise, 123.

Factories, Indigo, 74, 76.

Factories, Jute, 74.

Famine, 58.

Farazi, 37.

Farms, Agricultural, 53.

Faieha, 36.

Fawcus, Mr. L. R . H.

Fencing fields, 55.

Ferries, 97, 131.

INDEX.

173

Fever, 44, 45.

Fibres, 52, 53.

Fish, kinds of, 20.

Fish, curing of, 83.

Fisheries, value of, 70, 83

Fishing, methods of, 84.

Fishing castes, 82.

Flora, 59.

Flowers, 10.

Fodder, 56, 57.

Fore.-its, 9, 57.

Fossils, 4.

Fruit trees, 9, 70.

Fulkocha, 5, 86.

QafargSon, 94, 146.

Gdint, 35.

Qanja, 123.

Garh Qazali, see Madhupur Jungle.

Garh Jaripa, 32, 94.

Garo Hills, 2, 4, 116, 117, 167.

Qaro Hills, game birds, 12.

Garos, 11, 39, 40, 121, 139, 163.

Gauliatfi, 5.

Gayna boats, 96.

Gaur, 22.

Gazari trees, 4, 8, 57.

Geese, 13.

Geology, 8.

Ghee, 67, 78.

Ghorautra, G.

Qogbazar, 146.

Gopalpur, 119, 146.

Grazing grounds, 43, 71.

GuitdpSf 20.

Gupta-Brindaban, 90.

H

Hadi, 39, 41.

Haibatnagar, 25, 35, 152.

HSjang, 39, 40, 69.

Hamilton, Buchanan (1809), 7, 8.

Hanifi, 37.

Hdors, 34, 48.

Hats, 87.

Hazradi Pargana, 102, 168.

Hills, 4, 117.

Hilsafish, 21.

Hiliichia, 89, 146.

Himalayas, 2.

Hindu families, 38.

History, early, 22.

History, Hindu period, 23.

History, Mughal period, 24.

History, British period, 27,

History of Parganas (see Gazetteer,
Chapter XV).

Homesteads, 63, 71.

Honorary Magistrates, 120, 161.

Hosenshahi Pargana, 146.

Hosenpur, 88, 90, 146.

Hospitality, 43.

Houses, rents in towns. 62.

Houses, rents of agricultural home-
steads, 63, 64.

Humidity, 49.

, I

Ijai-a of villages, 104.

Ijara of fishing, 82.

Immigration, 34.

Income-tax, 122.

Indebtedness, 68.

Indij^o, 52.

Indigo planters, 75.

Indigo Commission Repo-t, 75, 76.

Industries, 76.

Infeudation, 104.

Iron smelting in jungle, 8.

Irrigation, 59, 65.

Isa Khan, 24, 62, 102, 104, 142, 149,

168.
Itna, 78, 147.

Jack fruit, 9, 54.

Jafarshahi Pargana, 99, 107, 134.

174

INDEX.

Jagannathganj, 89, 92, U7.

Jagir, 99.

Jails, 126.

Jalaliiddiii, 24, 36,

Jamalpur, 3, 55, 117.

Jamalpur mela, 89.

Jamalpur town, 47, 88, 92, 134, 147.

Jamuna, 3, 7, 92.

Jamurki, 89, 93, 148.

Jangalbari, 25,54, 92, 142.

Jhao on chars, 10, 54.

Jimbd, 105.

Jinai, 6, 147.

Joanshahi Pargana, 149.

Jolahas, 35.

Jotes, Patiladaha, 105.

Jotes (ryoti liolditigs), 106.

Jungly villages, apart from Madhu-

pur, 4.
Jungle (tee Madliupur).
Jurisdiction, changes of, 113, 114.
Justice, Civil, 118.
Justice, Criminal, 118, 119.
Jute, profits of cultivation, 51.
Jute, price, 66, 67.
Jute, quantity grown, 51.
Jute presses, 74, 161.
Jute steeping and water-supply, 45,

52.

K

Kabuliyats, 42.
Kacharies, 40.
Kagmari Pargana, 151.
Kaibarthas, 39, 82, 142.
KSmrup, 22, 23.
Kangsha, 4, 6.
Kanungo, 107.
Karatia, 144, 150.
Karatoya river, 22.
Karimganj, 150.
Katiadi, 137, 151.
Kayaetha, 39.
Kendua village, 35.

Eendua thana, 35.

Khddem, 23.

Khaliajurl, 4, 51, 78.

Khans, 35.

Kbasia Hills, 2.

Kheddahs, 11, 41, 103.

Kheo, 84.

Khold, 82, 83.

Kiln, 80.

Kishorganj subdivision, natural

features, 5, 152.
Kishorganj town, 33, 77, 88, 90, 95,

134, 152.
Kites, 13, 19. • ■

Koch, 23, 25, 39, 40.
Konches, 85.
KorSibari, 31. .

Korfa {see under tenants).
Kulins, 23, .38.
Kund, 59.

Labour, non-agricultural, 34, 87.

Labour, imported, 87.

Lakes, 5.

Lakhiraj, 103.

Lakshmi Puja, 36.

Lakshya, 7.

Landlord class, 61.

Landlord and tenant, 41, 107.

Landless class, 34.

Language, 40, 41.

Le Gros, Collector, 103.

Leprosy, 45.

Literature, 141^

Litigation, 41, 61.

Local measurements, 43, 109, 110.

Lodge, Mr. Henry, 30, 31.

Lohajang, 7.

M

Madhupur jungle, 2, 48, 51, 98.
Madhupur jungle, big game, 11.

Index.

17;

Madhiipur jungle formation, 2, 4.

Madliupur jungle game birds, 12.

Madhupnr jungle, products of, 57.

Madliiipur jungle soil, 2, 3, 48.

Madrassas, 137.

Mahajans, 41, 68, 8S.

Maliifarasli, 35.

Maktab, 1.S7, 1.^8.

Malaria, 34, 44,

Mandals, 107.

Mangoes, 9, 79.

Manufactures, 78, 79.

Manure, 54.

Market (see Hdta).

Marriage Registration, 120.

Marriage, costs of, 62.

Material condition of people, 64, 68.

Mdthbdrs, 64, 89, 107.

Maths, 5.

Mats, 54.

Medical practitioners, 47.

Medicinal facilities, 46.

Medicinal plants, 8.

Meghna, 6.

Meghna, game birds on, 13.

Mela, 89, 148.

Metal industries, 78.

Migration, 34.

Missions, 41.

Mhta/.; 104,

Mohanganj, 45, 88, 93, 153, 156.

Mnkta Jama, 106.

Monkeys, 12.

Money orders, 127.

Monsoon, 21.

Mosques, 32, 36, 38.

Mosquitoes, 47.

Muglials, 24, 9], 99, 107, 154,

Mughals, first settlements, 23,

.Muhanimadans, proportion to

Hindus, 35.
Muliaramadan ceremonies, 36.
Muhammadan castes, 35.
Muhanmiadan character, pride, 41..

Muhammadan landlords, 62.

Mulianmiadan marriages, 35.

Muhammadan saints, Pirs, 38.

Muhammadan sects, 37.

Muharram, 36. 37.

Muktagacha, 134, 143, 154.

Mullas, 42.

Mundais, 41.

.Municipalities, 133.

Munsiffs, 118.

Murshid Kuli Klian, 24, 26, 37, 155,

191
Mustard, 53.

Mymensingh district area, 1.
Mymensiugh boufidaries, 1, 115.
Mymensingh, name, 1.
Mymensingh population, 1, 34.
Mymensingh Pargana,3l, 107, 154.
Mymensingh town, 115, 133, 154.

N

Naib Ndzim, 27.

Namasudras, 38.

Naukoshd, 150.

Nator Raj, 8, 57, 101, 160.

Nawara, 99.

Nazar, 63, 66, 109.

Nazim, 27, 118.

Netrakona subdivision, 5, 117 ; town,

134, 135, 158,
Nets, fishing, 84, 85,
Nikari, 55.
Nikli, 89, 103, 158.
Noakhali, 113, 115.
Nokmd, 40.
Notifications, district boundary, 1 15»

116.

Occupancy rights, 106.
Oil mills, 76,
Oil seeds, 76.

N

176

INDEX.

Opium, 123.

Oranges, 9.

Othar boats, 80, 84.

Do. nets, 84.
Otters, 12.
Owls, 19.

Pachwai, 123.

Pack ponies, 56,

Paddy (see A man, Aus, Boro).

Palm trees, 9, 10.

Pala Kings, 22, 25.

Pan, 54.

Panchayat, 129.

Paper making, 78.

Parridges, 12.

Patlians, 24, 35,

Patiladlialia, 105, ll5.

Patwari, 107.

Peacocivs, 12.

Pearl fishery, 81, 144.

Pigeons, 20.

Pheasants, 12.

Pig, wild, 12.

Pig, tame, 57.

Pir, 23, 38.

Plrj)dl, 4, 104.

Plantains, 9.

Ploughs, 55.

Pohce, 123.

Ponies, 56.

Population, 34.

Post office, 126.

Potters, 80.

Pounds, 133.

Pragjyotish, 22.

Prawns, 21.

Presses, 131, 141.

Prices, 67.

Pukhuria Pargana, 101, l59.

Pulses, 53.

Purbadhala, 5, 159.

Q

Quail, 12.

Rabi crop, 53.

Radishes, 53,

Rafiyadain, 37.

Railways, 92.

Rainfall, 21.

Rajbatisis, 39.

Rajshahi Division, 44.

Rang jama, 106.

Rdmjdn, 38.

Registration, 66, 123.

Registration of mortality, 44.

Rennell, Geographer, 7, 27, 91, 110

Runt-free tenures, 103.

Rents, fixed, 63.

Rent, 43, 66, 69, 101.

Rent receipts, 108.

Resumptions in Janiuna bed, 8, 102.

Resumptions of tisheries, 103.

Resumptions, old Brahmaputra, 102.

Revenue, 123.

Revenue, land, 101, 151.

Revenue-free estates, 103.

Reynolds, Collector, 11, 56, lu4, 107,

109, 121 154,.
Rice cultivation, 49.
Rivers, 6.

Rivers used for comnmnication, 96.
Road cess, 131.
Roads, ^ucca, 94, 133.
Rotation of crops, 48.
Ryots, 63, 106.
Ryots, indebtedness of, 68.

Sabiquis, 37.
Saints, 38.
Saiyads, 36.

INDEX.

177

Saiyad Khan Pani, 144.

Salami, 106.

Sal tree (Gajari), 4, 8.

Samdjies, 35.

Sauitation, 131.

Sanyasis, 28, 14S, 153, 156.

Sati, 39.

Sarisabari, 93, 161.

Sarkar, 24.

Schools, Primary, 139.

Schools, High, 139.

Schools, Middle English, 138.

Schools, Weaving, 132.

Sects, 37,

Seedling beds, 5l.

Sen, Mr. A. C. Agricultural statistics
of Dacca district, 6.

Serajgauj, 5, 93, 114, 115, 117

Settlement, District, 43, 111.

Settlement. Permanent, 100.

Settlement, Quinquennia], 111.

Settlement, Decennial, 100.

Shah Kamal, 33, 38.

Shaista Khan, 26.

Shaw Mudginoo, 30, 31.

Sheikh, 35.

Slierpur (Daskahania), 22, 31, 91, 94,
120, 134, 161.

Sherpur Pargaua, 31, 162.

Shias, 36.

Shrines, 9.

Sitalpati mats, 54, 77.

Small-pox, 44.

Snakes, 20.

Snipe, 14.

Soils, in Mymen.;ingh district, 3, 48,
63.

Somes wari, 95, 146.

Srikrisbiiu Aoiuirjya, 142

Srikrisima Cliaudiiuri, 155.

Stamps, 44.

Statistics, vital, 44.

Statistics, agricultural, 49.

Steamer service, 96.

iS^ubdi visions, 117.

Sugar, 76.
Sugarcane, 53,
Sundarbans, 2.
Sunti (hemp), 53, 54.
Sunnis, 36, 37.
Supari, 10.
Superstitions, 37.
Survey, Revenue, 110, 116.
Susung Raj, 36, 116.
Susung Era, 110.
Susung Pargana, 69, 164.
Sylhet, 2, 87, 92.

Taaiyaini School, 37.

Taluks, 101, 102.

Taluk Bayard, 102, 154

Taluks, 102, 104.

Tangail, 93, 134, 167.

Tanzeb, 77.

Tappe Hazradi, 1158.

Taylor, Dr., Topograpliy of Dacca

(1840), 8.
Technical scliool, 131.
Tenancy Act, 1()8.
Tenants, 106.
Tenures. 104.
Thak maps, llO.
Thatching grass, 54.
Tibet, 7
Tides, effect of in Mymensii)gh inland

khdls, 6.
Tigers, 11.
Tikka Garies, 97.
Tissi. 53.
Tista, 7 .
Tobacco, 53, 78.
Todar Mai, 24, 99.
Tols, 137.
Trade, 87, 89.
Transferability of ryoti lioliiings, 66,

1 09.
Trees, on landscape, 5.
Trees, flowering, 1 1 ,

178

INDEX.

Trees, used for timber, 10.
Tsaiiypo, 7.

u

Ulu grass, 54.
Uiidei-;eiiauts, (J3, 108.
Usufructuary mortgages, 100.

Vaccination, 45.
Vareudra, 22, 23.
Vegetables, 10, 53, 70.
Veteriuary, 57, 132.
Vijay Sea, ".^3.
Village bites, on cliars, 3, 8.

Do. in Hooded areas, 5.
Village pat lis, 43.
Vultures, 19.

w

Wai.abis, 38.

Water-supply, 46.

Weaving, 77.

Wells, 46.

Winter crops, 53.

Winter crops, rice (see Boro).

Wise, Mr. J. P., 36, 76.

Women, education, 131).

Women, occupation of, 74.

Women, dress, 40.

Women, ofEences relating to, 120

Wood peckers, 18.

Wroughton, Mr., 100, 114.

Zaniindars, 37, 65.
Zilla School, 139

B. S. Press— 29-5-1917— 728J— 400— C. A. P.