A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & IISleeman, W. H. (William Henry), Sir
History
A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II
Sleeman, W. H. (William Henry), Sir
Oudh (India) -- Description and travel
The Nazim of Khyrabad, who is now here engaged in the siege of
Bhitolee, has nominally three thousand four hundred fighting men with
him; but he cannot muster seventeen hundred. He has with him only the
seconds in command of corps, who are men of no authority or
influence, the commandants being at Court, and the mere creatures of
the singers and eunuchs, and other favourites about the palace. They
always reside at and about Court, and keep up only half the number of
men and officers, for whom they draw pay. All his applications to the
minister to have more soldiers sent out to complete the corps, or
permission to raise men in their places, remain unanswered and
disregarded. The Nazim of Bharaetch has nominally four thousand
fighting men; but he cannot muster two thousand, and the greater part
of them are good for nothing. The great landholders despise them, but
respect the Komutee corps, under Captains Barlow, Bunbury, and
Magness, which is complete, and composed of strong and brave men. The
despicable state to which the Court favourites have reduced the
King's troops, with the exception of these three corps, is
lamentable. They are under no discipline, and are formidable only to
the peasantry and smaller landholders and proprietors, whose houses
they everywhere deprive of their coverings, as they deprive their
cattle of their fodder.
_December_ 7, 1849.--Hissampoor, 12 miles north-east, over a plain of
fine soil, more scantily tilled than any we saw on the other side of
the Ghagra, but well studded with groves and fine single trees, and
with excellent crops on the lands actually under tillage. One cause
assigned for so much fine land lying waste is, that the Rajpoot
tallookdars, above named, of the Chehdewara, have been long engaged
in plundering the Syud proprietors of the soil, and seizing upon
their lands, in the same manner as the Mahomedan ruffians, on the
other side of the river, have been engaged in plundering the small
Rajpoot proprietors, and seizing upon their lands. Four of them are
now quiet; but two, Prethee Put and Mirtonjee, are always in
rebellion. Lately, while the Chuckladar was absent, employed against
Jote Sing, of Churda, in the Turae, these two men took a large train
of followers, with some guns, attacked the two villages of Aelee and
Pursolee, in the estate of Deeksa, in Gonda, killed six persons,
plundered all the houses of the inhabitants, and destroyed all their
crops, merely because the landholders of these two villages would not
settle a boundary dispute in the way 'they proposed'. The lands of
the Hissampoor purgunnah were held in property by the members of a
family of Syuds, and had been so for many generations; but
neighbouring Rajpoot tallookdars have plundered them of all they had,
and seized upon their lands by violence, fraud, or collusion, with
public officers. Some they have seized and imprisoned, with torture
of one kind or another, till they signed deeds of sale, _Bynamahs_;
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account