Final Report on the First Regular Settlement of the Simla District in the ...

· 1884 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

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2The gross increase is 22 per cent. The demand has been collected

3with ease and without coercion : and the people are contented and

4well-to-do.

587. The system of land tennre is the same as that of Bharanli^ de-

6g f 1 d f scribed in paragraph 8 above ; with this difference,

7ys em o enure. ^j^^^ ^^ ^j^^ tract is more remote and entirely

8surrounded by Hill States, and also contains some valuable forest, the

9right of the State to all uncultivated land has survived in a stronger

10form. The circuits of hamlets^ called biwja in Bharauli, are here known

11as pergunnahs, and in Kotguru as kothis.

1288. If the return of 1834 A.D. is to be trusted^ the population has

13Tribes and castes of the increased from about 3,600 at that date to 6,400

14Bgriculturuts. Appendices now. No doubt the increase has been substau-

15No,IIA&D. tial, but the return of 1859 gave nearly the

16same population as the present. Two-thirds of the population ar«

17Kanets ; of the rest half are Kohlis and the other half Brahmins and

18low castes. The entire population is agricultural ; and there is no class,

19corresponding to the Banias and Khatris of the plains who live solely by

20money-lending and shop-keeping, nor are there any persons deriving

21their livelihood solely from cattle grazing. As a rule every man, no

22matter what his caste, has his holding, cultivating it himself and paying

23the revenue direct to Government. If he is well off^ he can lend on

24occasion to his poorer neighbours; or do a little trade in opium : buying

25in Kotkhai and the adjacent tracts, and selling in Ludhiana and Jallan-

26dhar. If he is poor, as the Kohlis, Rehrs, or others, he may have no

27holding of his own, or only a small one, and cultivate for others who

28are better oft. But in either case, they are all equally agriculturists.

2939. Thus 96 per cent, of the Khalsa lands are cultivated by the

30owners themselves; the holdings avernging 4

31Appeudt. tfir'ara ' «cre«. [This \b the true holding, counted b^

32families, and not by the entry in the Settle-

33ment record; see remarks in Appendix No. IIB.] The tenancies on

34Khalsa lands Aggregate only 164 acres, of which 88 acres pay half

35produce, II acres pay cash rents, and 45 acres pay rent at revenue rates.

36These tenancies are so evidently exceptional that I do not remark

37further on them.

3840. But what Mr. Edwards describes in paragp*aph 97 of his Report

39^ . :, , J of 1850 appended as the khas or ingir lands

40Bents on assigned lands, ^f ^^^ families of the former Rana of Kotkhai,

41and the maafi lands of the village temples (deotas),^ are of course

42mainly cultivated by tenants. They aggregate 418 acres. Of these

43171 acres pay no rent, the tenants giving their labour {baith) in return

44for their tenancy ; 44 acres pay half produce, and the rest, 203 acres,

45pay cash rents. These rents average Rs. If per acre ; but they are

46Acres cultivated,

47• Jagir of Rana*8 family ... ... 452

48Deota lands ... ••• ... 45