The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and KashmirDouie, James McCrone, Sir
History
The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir
Douie, James McCrone, Sir
India -- Description and travel; Jammu and Kashmir (India); North-west Frontier Province (Pakistan); Punjab (India)
~Rohtak~--became a British possession in 1803, but it was not till after
the Mutiny that it was brought wholly under direct British
administration. The old district consisted of the three _tahsils_ of
Rohtak, Gohana, and Jhajar, but on the breaking up of the Delhi district
the Sonepat _tahsil_ was added.
Rohtak is practically a purely agricultural tract with large villages,
but no towns of any importance. By far the most important agricultural
tribe is the Hindu Jats. They are strong-bodied sturdy farmers, who keep
fine oxen and splendid buffaloes, and live in large and well organized
village communities. 37 p.c. of the cultivation is protected by canal
and well irrigation, the former being by far the more important. The
district consists mainly of a plain of good loam soil. There have been
great canal extensions in this plain, which under irrigation is very
fertile, yielding excellent wheat, cotton, and cane. There is a rich
belt of well irrigation in the Jamna valley, and in the south of the
district there are parts where wells can be profitably worked. Belts of
uneven sandy land are found especially in the west and south. The dry
cultivation is most precarious, for the rainfall is extremely variable.
In the old district it averages 20 inches. But averages in a tract like
Rohtak mean very little. The chief crops are the two millets and gram.
[Sidenote: Area, 2264 sq.m.
Cultd Area,
1701 sq. m.
Pop. 729,167.
Land Rev.
Rs. 15,98,333
= L106,556.]
~Gurgaon~ contains six _tahsils_, Rewari, Gurgaon, Nuh, Firozpur,
Palwal, and Ballabgarh. The southern part of the district projects into
Rajputana, and in its physical and racial characteristics really belongs
to that region.
Rewari is the only town of any importance. It has a large trade with
Rajputana. Apart from this the interests of the district are
agricultural. In Gurgaon the Jamna valley is for the most part narrow
and very poor. The plain above it in the Palwal _tahsil_ has a fertile
loam soil and is irrigated by the Agra Canal. The Hindu Jats of this
part of the district are good cultivators. The rest of Gurgaon consists
mostly of sand and sandy loam and low bare hills. In Rewari the skill
and industry of the Hindu Ahirs have produced wonderful results
considering that many of the wells are salt and much of the land very
sandy. The lazy and thriftless Meos of the southern part of the district
are a great contrast to the Ahirs. They are Muhammadans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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