An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
The regular military force consisted of two kinds. First, the Rajputs
and Khas, who generally resided near the person of the Raja, and formed
his immediate security. They were by no means numerous, and were usually
paid in money. The other branch of the regular army was more numerous,
and consisted chiefly of Kirats. They were under the orders of Serdars,
but the number of men under each of these was not defined; each was
appointed to command a number proportioned to the supposed extent of his
abilities. The Serdars could at pleasure be removed, or the number of
their troops altered. Each Serdar, in proportion to the extent of his
command, received a quantity of land in the hills, which he subdivided
among his officers and soldiers, reserving a share for himself. He might
at pleasure appoint new soldiers, or remove old ones; but he received no
regular tribute from the lands, although all his men made him presents.
When called upon by the Raja, he was bound to appear in the field with
his stipulated number of men; and a few Kirats, in their turn, were
always on duty at the residence of the prince. When on actual service,
the men were allowed subsistence. The Kirats seem to have been chiefly
armed with swords and bows, their arrows being poisoned. The Rajputs had
fire-arms. It is said, that there were in all 90,000 Kirats able to
carry arms; but not above 5000 or 6000 were considered as regulars. The
others paid rent.
In the hills the management of the police and the collection of the
revenue was entrusted to officers called Subahs, who accounted to the
Dewans for the revenue, but as commanding the militia, were subject to
the Serdars. There were also Zemindars, who appear to have held the
property of the soil, but were allowed to retain only a small portion (15
to 20 bigas) of good land, fit for transplanted rice, and for this they
were held bound to pay three rupees a-year, and to appear in the field as
a militia, when called upon by the Subah. The Zemindar, however, as lord
of the soil was entitled to cultivate, without additional burden, as much
as he pleased of any ground not fit for transplanted rice, and no one
could cultivate such without giving him a present. Every family, except
the Zemindars, who cultivated this kind of ground, paid three rupees
a-year to the Raja, and the men, when required, were bound to appear in
the field. All the land fit for transplanted rice, except that held by
the Zemindars, was Melk or free of revenue. Part had been granted to
Brahmans and temples, and part to various officers of the state, none of
whom were paid in money; but by far the greater part was given to the
Serdars, for the support of their men. Over every three or four villages
the Subah appointed a deputy, called a Duyariya.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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