Gazetteer Amritsar 1892

· 1892 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1Amritsar District.

2CHAP, T11.—THE PROFLE. 47

3togethor, and prevent by svery means in thoir er ncare (Chapter IT, B-

4ees proseouted to conviction. Cattlo theft is 4 ek for ant

5the district is ao thickly popalnted that the stolen property cau. pines Lite.

6nob be tuken far without being oliserved, and Hherg are no uneul-

7tivated wastes where the animals van be hidden till the hnoand ory ai

8jeover. There nro no criminal tribes under special surveillance.

9The fow Sanuia thore are, are scattered widely throughout the

10different villages, and Bawariyas and Hirnis are hardly ever

11met with. lnttor have from time to timo visited tho

12divtrict; from the Cis-Sutlej districts, in organized thieving

13bands, bot they are not indigenous. Perhaps the Mabtams aro

14the nearest approach ton crimiual tribe. Thay are found alon

15the Ravi, and ceousionally thore have been serious rints wi

16bloodshod among thom, and they have bean known to hayo been

17hired as principals in murder cases,

18But if not prominently criminal it can hardly bo gnid that

19the poople are not litigions. Quite thirty A yen and sinklitirs

20make » living at the District Courty, and the value of the civil

21snits juélitnied iu one year: bas boon known to exceed ten lakhs

22of rupoes. Thero ia no doubt that thia love of litigation is

23increasing. It isin the courts that the Jat peasant appears ab

24his worst, and thoogh ordinarily trathfal enough ho mie to

25show the worst aido of his charactor when he comes to court,

26False swearing ia thera notoriously common, and witnesses ready

27Wo wpeak toany circumstance are only too ensily foond. Tho

28tise ae and druga ia fairly common, nnd is the onagy of

29a good deal of the debt among the agricultural clinmes, ts may

30bo taken that no enltivator grows opium with the intention

31of using the produce himpelf, thongh he to make av ar-

32rangement with the appointed contractor if he wishes to do 50

33openly, and all xorts of dovices are resorted (0, in order to evade

34the Excise laws. The district has a bad name for illicit distillstion

35‘and severe measures nro required to repress it. Evidence in mus

36cases ia extromety diffionlt to obtain, for the whole village i

37‘anally foand in 5 Pave to conoval the breach of the law,

38Taken vn a whole, tho people are comfortably off. Almont Cendition of tha

39all, have a prosperous air, and give evidence of the Pert

40sti ot a rong fue insdard, of comfort, Well Kk

41dharmedtia and well built drinking wellw are often. to

42goon; the owners are well clothed, and, judging from thoir

43bynique, well fed. Canal irrigation and the export of wheat

44hare done mach to enrich the people if they could only keep

45their wealth when they have acquired it, but they pre too apt

46to squander it in litigation anion fentive occasions, Some

47villages will spend as much as hundrod rapoos at the Holi

48festival, and it je common enough to spend thet amount on »

49marringe. Whent enters largely into the food of the pruprie-

50sry classes and they have little nood to resort to hdjra and the

51grains which form » large part of the daily food of the

52inbabitante of less fortanato districts. It is tru that almost

53every man owes something to the village monoy-lender for food

54Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com