Jats.—The Jats are the most wealthy as well as the most numerous portion of the community. Many of the old Bhumia landlords, representatives of their ancient communal heads, are men of substance; but their riches are of no use to them, and to avoid the rapacity of their government, they cover themselves with the cloak of poverty, which is thrown aside only on nuptial festivities. On these occasions they disinter their hoards, which are lavished with unbounded extravagance. They even block up the highways to collect visitors, whose numbers form the measure of the liberality and munificence of the donor of the fête.
Sarsūt,Saraswat Brāhman.—Sarsut (properly Sarasvati) Brahmans are found in considerable numbers throughout this tract. They aver that they were masters of the country prior to the Jat colonists. They are a peaceable, industrious race, and without a single prejudice of ‘the order’; they eat meat, smoke tobacco, cultivate the soil, and trade even in the sacred kine, notwithstanding their descent from Sringi Rishi, son of Brahma.
Charans.—The Charans are the sacred order of these regions; the warlike tribes esteem [199] the heroic lays of the bard more than the homily of the Brahman. The Charans are throughout reverenced by the Rathors, and hold lands, literally, on the tenure of ‘an old song.’ More will be said of them in the Annals of Jaisalmer.
Mālis,Nāis.—Malis, Nais, gardeners and barbers, are important members of every Rajput family, and to be found in all the villages, of which they are invariably the cooks.
Chuhras,Thoris.—Chuhras, Thoris, are actually castes of robbers:[4]the former, from the Lakhi Jungle; the latter, from Mewar. Most of the chieftains have a few in their pay, entertained for the most desperate services. The Bahaduran chief has expelled all his Rajputs, and retains only Chuhras and Thoris. The Chuhras are highly esteemed for fidelity, and the barriers and portals throughout this tract are in their custody. They enjoy a very singular perquisite, which would go far to prove their being the aborigines of the country; namely, a fee of fourcopper coins on every dead subject, when the funeral ceremonies are over.
Rājputs.—The Rathors of Bikaner are unchanged in their martial qualifications, bearing as high a reputation as any other class in India; and whilst their brethren of Marwar, Amber, and Mewar have been for years groaning under the rapacious visitations of Mahrattas and Pathans, their distance and the difficulties of the country have saved them from such afflictions; though, in truth, they have had enough to endure at home, in the tyranny of their own lord. The Rathors of the desert have fewer prejudices than their more eastern brethren; they will eat food, without enquiring by whom it was dressed, and will drink either wine or water, without asking to whom the cup belonged. They would make the best soldiers in the world if they would submit to discipline, as they are brave, hardy, easily satisfied, and very patient; though, on the other hand, they have imbibed some qualities, since their migration to these regions, which could only be eradicated in the rising generation: especially the inordinate use of opium, and smoking intoxicating herbs, in both which accomplishments ‘the sons of Bika’ are said to bear the palm from the rest of the Chhattis rajkula, the Thirty-six Royal Tribes of India. Thepiyala, or ‘cup,’ is a favourite with every Rajput who can afford it, and is, as well as opium, a panacea for ennui, arising from the absence of all mental stimulants, in which they are more deficient, from the nature of the country, than most of their warlike countrymen.
Face of the Country.—The whole of this principality, with the exception of a few isolated spots, or oases, scattered here and there, consists more or less of sand. From the eastern to the western boundary, in the line of greatest breadth, it is one continuous [200] plain of sand, though thetibas, or sandhills, commence in the centre of the country, the principal chain running in the direction of Jaisalmer, and shooting forth subordinate branches in every direction; or it might be more correct to designate this main ridge, originating in the tracts bordering the eastern valley of the Indus, as terminating its elevations about the heart of Bikaner. On the north-east quarter, from Rajgarh to Nohar and Rawatsar, the soil is good, being black earth, slightly mixed with sand, and having water near enough to the surface for irrigation; it produces wheat, gram, and even rice, in considerablequantities. The same soil exists from Bhatner to the banks of the Gara. The whole of the Mohila tract is a fertile oasis, thetibasjust terminating their extreme offsets on its northern limit: being flooded in the periodical rains, wheat is abundantly produced.
Products of the Desert.—But exclusive of such spots, which are “few and far between,” we cannot describe the desert as a waste where “no salutary plant takes root, no verdure quickens”; for though the poverty of the soil refuses to aid the germination of the more luxuriant grains, Providence has provided a countervailing good, in giving to those it can rear a richness and superiority unknown to more favoured regions. The bajra of the desert is far superior to any grown in the rich loam of Malwa, and its inhabitant retains an instinctive partiality, even when admitted to revel in the luxurious repasts of Mewar or Amber, for thevatisorbatisor ‘bajra cakes,’ of his native sandhills, and not more from association than from their intrinsic excellence. In a plentiful season they save enough for two years’ consumption. The grain requires not much water, though it is of the last importance that this little should be timely.
Besides bajra we may mention moth and til;[5]the former a useful pulse both for men and cattle; the other the oil-plant, used both for culinary purposes and burning. Wheat, gram, and barley are produced in the favoured spots described, but in these are enumerated the staple products of Bikaner.
Cotton is grown in the tracts favourable for wheat.[6]The plant is said to be septennial, even decennial, in these regions. As soon as the cotton is gathered, the shoots are all cut off, and the root alone left. Each succeeding year, the plant increases in strength, and at length attains a size unknown where it is more abundantly cultivated.
Nature has bountifully supplied many spontaneous vegetable products for the use of man, and excellent pasture for cattle. Guar, Kachri, Kakri, all of the cucurbitaceous family, and water-melons of a gigantic size, are produced in great plenty.[7]The latter is most valuable; for being cut in slices and dried in thesun, it is stored up [201] for future use when vegetables are scarce, or in times of famine, on which they always calculate. It is also an article of commerce, and much admired even where vegetables are more abundant. The copious mucilage of the dried melon is extremely nourishing; and deeming it valuable as an anti-scorbutic in sea voyages, the Author sent some of it to Calcutta many years ago for experiment.[8]Our Indian ships would find no difficulty in obtaining a plentiful supply of this article, as it can be cultivated to any extent, and thus be made to confer a double benefit on our seamen and the inhabitants of those desert regions. The superior magnitude of the water-melons of the desert over those of interior India gives rise to much exaggeration, and it has been gravely asserted by travellers in the sandtibas,[9]where they are most abundant, that the mucilage of one is sufficient to allay the thirst both of a horse and his rider.
In these arid regions, where they depend entirely on the heavens for water, and where they calculate on a famine every seventh year, nothing that can administer to the wants of man is lost. The seeds of the wild grasses, as thebharut,baru,harara,sawan, are collected, and, mixed with bajra-flour, enter much into the food of the poorer classes. They also store up great quantities of the wildber,khair, andkarelberries; and the long pods of thekhejra, astringent and bitter as they are, are dried and formed into a flour. Nothing is lost in these regions which can be converted into food.
Trees.—Trees they have none indigenous (mangoes and tamarind are planted about the capital), but abundant shrubs, as thebabul, and ever-greenpilu, thejhal, and others yielding berries. The Bidawats, indeed, apply the term ‘tree’ to therohira, which sometimes attains the height of twenty feet, and is transported to all parts for house-building; as likewise is thenima, so well known throughout India. Thephogis the most useful of all these, as with its twigs they frame a wicker-work to line their wells, and prevent the sand from falling in.
Theak, a species of euphorbia, known in Hindustan as themadar, grows to an immense height and strength in the desert; from its fibres they make the ropes in general use throughout these regions, and they are reckoned superior, both in substance and durability, to those formed ofmunj(hemp), which is however cultivated in the lands of the Bidawats.
Their agricultural implements are simple and suited to the soil. The plough is one [202] of single yoke, either for the camel or ox: that with double yoke being seldom required, or chiefly by the Malis (gardeners), when the soil is of some consistence. The drill is invariably used, and the grains are dropped singly into the ground, at some distance from each other, and each sends forth a dozen to twenty stalks. A bundle of bushes forms their harrow. The grain is trodden out by oxen; and the moth (pulse), which is even more productive than the bajra, by camels.
Water.—This indispensable element is at an immense distance from the surface throughout the Indian desert, which, in this respect, as well as many others, differs very materially from that portion of the great African Desert in the same latitudes. Water at twenty feet, as found at Mourzook by Captain Lyon, is here unheard of, and the degree of cold experienced by him at Zuela, on the winter solstice, would have “burnt up” every natural and cultivated production of our Hindu Sahara. Captain Lyon describes the thermometer in lat. 26°, within 2° of zero of Reaumur. Majors Denham and Clapperton never mark it under 40° of Fahrenheit, and mention ice, which I never saw but once, the thermometer being 28°; and then not only the mouths of ourmashaks, or ‘water-skins,’ were frozen, but a small pond, protected from the wind (I heard, for I saw it not), exhibited a very thin pellicle of ice. When at 30° the cold was deemed intense by the inhabitants of Maru in the tracts limiting the desert, and the usefulak, and other shrubs, were scorched and withered; and in north lat. 25°, the thermometer being 28°, desolation and woe spread throughout the land. To use their own phrase, the crops of gram and other pulses were completely “burnt up, as if scorched by the lightnings of heaven”; while the sun’s meridian heat would raise it 50° more, or up to 80°, a degree of variability at least not recorded by Captain Lyon.
At Deshnokh,[10]near the capital, the wells are more than twohundred cubits, or three hundred feet, in depth; and it is rare that water fit for man is found at a less distance from the surface than sixty, in the tracts decidedly termedthal, or ‘desert’: though some of the flats, or oases, such as that of Mohila, are exceptions, and abundance of brackish water, fit for cattle, is found throughout at half this depth, or about thirty feet. All the wells are lined with basket-work made ofphogtwigs, and the water is generally drawn up by hand-lines [203].[11]
Sar, or ‘Salt Lakes.’—There are a few salt lakes, which, throughout the whole of the Indian desert, are termedsar, though none are of the same consequence as those of Marwar. The largest is at the town of Sar,[12]so named after the lake, which is about six miles in circumference. There is another at Chhapar about two miles in length, and although each of them frequently contains a depth of four feet of water, this entirely evaporates in the hot winds, leaving a thick sheet of saline incrustation. The salt of both is deemed of inferior quality to that of the more southerly lakes.
Physiography of the Country.—There is little to vary the physiography of this region, and small occasion to boast either of its physical or moral beauties; yet, strange to say, I have met with many whose love of country was stronger than their perceptions of abstract veracity, who would dwell on its perfections, and prefer a mess ofrabri, or porridge made of bajra, to the greater delicacies of more civilized regions. To such, thetibas, or ‘sand-ridges,’ might be more important than the Himalaya, and their diminutive and scanty brushwood might eclipse the gigantic foliage of this huge barrier. Verdure itself may be abhorrent to eyes accustomed to behold only arid sands; and a region withouttufansor ‘whirlwinds’; or armies of locusts rustling like atempest, and casting long shadows on the lands, might be deemed by the prejudiced, deficient in the true sublime. Occasionally the sandstone formation rises above the surface, resembling a few low isolated hills; and those who dwell on the boundaries of Nagor, if they have a love of more decided elevations than their native sandhills afford, may indulge in a distant view of the terminations of the Aravalli.
Mineral Productions.—The mineral productions of this country are scanty. They have excellent quarries of freestone in several parts, especially at Hasera, thirteen coss to the north-east of the capital, which yield a small revenue estimated at two thousand rupees annually. There are also copper mines at Biramsar and Bidesar; but the former does not repay the expense of working, and the latter, having been worked for thirty years, is nearly exhausted.
An unctuous clay is excavated from a pit, near Kolait, in large quantities, and exported as an article of commerce, besides adding fifteen hundred rupees annually to the treasury. It is used chiefly to free the skin and hair from impurities, and the Cutchi ladies are said to eat it to improve their complexions.[13]
Animal Productions.—The kine of the desert are highly esteemed; as are the camels, especially those used for expedition and the saddle, which bear a high price,[14]and are [204] considered superior to any in India. They are beautifully formed, and the head possesses much blood and symmetry. Sheep are reared in great abundance, and find no want of food in the excellent grasses and shrubs which abound. Thephog,jawas,[15]and other prickly shrubs, which are here indigenous, form the dainties of the camel in other regions. The Nilgae, or elk, and deer of every kind, are plentiful; and the fox of the desert is a beautiful little animal. Jackals and hyaenas are not scarce, and even lions are by no means unknown in Bikaner.
Commerce and Manufactures.—Rajgarh[16]was the great commercial mart of this country, and the point of rendezvous for caravans from all parts. The produce of the Panjab and Kashmircame formerly direct by Hansi-Hisar—that of the eastern countries by Delhi, Rewari, Dadri, etc., consisting of silks, fine cloths, indigo, sugar, iron, tobacco, etc.; from Haraoti and Malwa came opium, which supplied all the Rajput States; from Sind, via Jaisalmer, and by caravans from Multan and Shikarpur, dates, wheat, rice,lungis(silk vestments for women), fruits, etc.; from Pali, the imports from maritime countries, as spices, tin, drugs, coco-nuts, elephants’ teeth, etc. Much of this was for internal consumption, but the greater part a mere transit trade, which yielded considerable revenue.
Woollens.—The wool of the sheep pastured in the desert is, however, the staple commodity both of manufacture and trade in this region. It is worked into every article of dress, both male and female, and worn by all, rich and poor. It is produced from the loom, of every texture and quality, from the coarseloior ‘blanket,’ at three rupees per pair (six shillings), to thirty rupees. The quality of these last is very fine, of an intermediate texture between the shawl and camlet, and without any nap; it is always bordered with a stripe of chocolate brown or red. Of this quality are thedopattasor ‘scarfs’ for the ladies. Turbans are also manufactured of it, and though frequently from forty to sixty-one feet in length, such is the fineness of the web, that they are not bulky on the head.
From the milk of the sheep and goats as well as kine,ghior ‘clarified butter’ is made, and forms an important article of trade.
Manufactures in Iron.—The Bikaneris work well in iron, and have shops at the capital and all the large towns for the manufacture of sword blades, matchlocks, daggers, iron lances, etc. The sword-handles, which are often inlaid with variegated steel, or burnished, are in high request, and exported to various parts of India. They have also expert artists in ivory, though the articles are chiefly such as are worn by females, aschuris, or ‘bracelets’ [205].
Coarse cotton cloths, for internal consumption, are made in considerable quantities.
Fairs.—Annual fairs were held, in the months of Karttik and Phalgun, at the towns of Kolait and Gajner,[17]and frequented bythe merchants of the adjacent countries. They were celebrated for cattle, chiefly the produce of the desert, camels, kine, and horses from Multan and the Lakhi Jungle,[18]a breed now almost extinct. These fairs have lost all their celebrity; in fact, commerce in these regions is extinct.
Government Revenues.—The personal revenues of the Raja were derived from a variety of sources: from the Khalisa, or ‘crown-lands’ imposts, taxes on agriculture, and that compendious item which makes up the deficiencies in all oriental budgets,dand, or ‘contribution.’ But with all these “appliances and means to boot,” the civil list of this desert king seldom exceeded five lakhs of rupees, or about £50,000 per annum.[19]The lands of the feudality are more extensive proportionally in this region than in any other in Rajputana, arising out of the original settlement, when the Bidawats and Kandhalots, whose joint acquisitions exceeded those of Bika, would not admit him to hold lands in their territory, and made but a slight pecuniary acknowledgment of his supremacy. The districts in which the crown-lands lie are Rajgarh, Reni, Nohar, Gharib, Ratangarh, Rania, and more recently Churu.
The following are the items of the revenue: (1) Khalisa, or fiscal revenue; (2) Dhuan; (3) Anga; (4) Town and transit duties; (5) Paseti, or ‘plough-tax’; (6) Malba.
Khālisa Lands.—1. The fisc. Formerly this branch of revenue yielded two lakhs of rupees; but with progressive superstition and prodigality, the raja has alienated almost two-thirds of the villages from which the revenue was drawn. These amounted to two hundred; now they do not exceed eighty, and their revenue is not more than one lakh of rupees. Surat Singh is guided only by caprice; his rewards are uniform, no matter what the service or the object, whether a Brahman or a camel-driver. The Khalisa is the only source which he considers he has merely a life-interest in. To supply the deficiencies, he has direct recourse to the pockets of his subjects.
Hearth-Tax.—2. Dhuan may be rendered hearth-tax, though literally it is a smoke (dhuan) tax. All must eat; food must be dressed; and as they have neither chimneys nor glass windows on which to lay the tax, Surat Singh’s chancellor of the exchequer makes the smoke pay a transit duty ere it gets vent from the various orifices of the edifice. It only amounts to one rupee on each house or family, but would form an important item if not evaded by the powerful chiefs; still it yields a lakh of rupees. The town [206] of Mahajan, which was settled on Ratan Singh, son of Raja Nunkaran, on the resignation of his right of primogeniture and succession, enjoys exemption from this tax. It is less liable to fluctuation than other taxes, for if a village becomes half-deserted, those who remain are saddled with the whole. Dhuan is only known to the two western States, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.
Poll-Tax.—3.Anga.This is not a capitation but a body tax (fromanga, the body), and was established by Raja Anup Singh. It might almost be termed a property-tax, since it embraced quadrupeds as well as bipeds of every sex and age, and was graduated according to age and sex in the human species, and according to utility in the brute. Each male adult was assessed oneanga, fixed at four annas (about sixpence), and cows, oxen, buffaloes, were placed upon a level with the lord of the creation. Ten goats or sheep were estimated as oneanga; but a camel was equivalent to fourangas, or one rupee, which Raja Gaj Singh doubled. This tax, which is by far the most certain in a country perhaps still more pastoral than agricultural, is most providently watched, and though it has undergone many changes since it was originally imposed, it yet yields annually two lakhs of rupees.
4.Sāīr, or ‘imposts.’ This branch is subject to much fluctuation, and has diminished greatly since the reign of Surat Singh. The duties levied in the capital alone formerly exceeded what is collected throughout the whole of his dominions; being once estimated at above two lakhs, and now under one. Of this amount, half is collected at Rajgarh, the chief commercial mart of Bikaner. The dread of the Rahats, who have cut off the communications with the Panjab, and the want of principle within, deter merchants from visiting this State, and the caravans from Multan, Bahawalpur, and Shikarpur, which passed throughBikaner to the eastern States, have nearly abandoned the route. The only duties of which he is certain are those on grain, of four rupees on every hundred maunds sold or exported, and which, according to the average sale price of these regions, may be about two per cent.
Paseti.—5. Paseti is a tax of five[20]rupees on every plough used in agriculture. It was introduced by Raja Rae Singh, in commutation of the corn-tax, or levy in kind, which had long been established at one-fourth of the gross produce. The Jats were glad to compound, and get rid of the agents of corruption, by the substitution of the plough-tax. It formerly yielded two lakhs of rupees, but with decreasing agriculture has fallen, like every other source, to a little more than one-half, but still yields a lakh and a quarter.
Malba.—6. Malba[21]is the name of the original tax which the Jat communities imposed [207] upon themselves, when they submitted to the sway in perpetuity of Bika and his successors. It is the land-tax[22]of two rupees on each hundred bighas of land cultivated in Bikaner. It is now unproductive, not realizing fifty thousand rupees, and it is said that a composition has been effected, by which it has been, or will be, relinquished: if so, Surat Singh gives up the sole legitimate source of revenue he possesses.
Recapitulation
Recapitulation
Recapitulation
Besides this, the fullest amount arising to the prince from annual taxation, there are other items which occasionally replenish the treasure of Surat Singh.
Datoi.—Datoi is a triennial tax of five rupees levied on each plough.[25]It was instituted by Raja Zorawar Singh. The whole country is liable to it, with the exception of fifty villages in Asaichwati, and seventy of the Beniwals, conditionally exempted, to guard the borders. It is now frequently evaded by the feudal chieftains, and seldom yields a lakh of rupees.
In addition to these specific expedients, there are many arbitrary methods of increasing the “ways and means” to satisfy the necessities or avarice of the present ruler, and [208] a train of dependent harpies, who prey upon the cultivating peasantry, or industrious trader. By such shifts, Surat Singh has been known to double his fixed revenue.
Dand, Khushhali.—The terms Dand and Khushhali, though etymologically the antipodes of each other—the first meaning a ‘compulsory contribution,’ the other a ‘benevolence, or voluntary,’[26]—have a similar interpretation in these regions, and make the subjects of those parts devoutly pray that their prince’s house may be one rather of mourning than rejoicing, and that defeat rather than victory may be attendant on his arms.
The term dand is coeval with Hindu legislation. The bard Chand describes it, and the chronicler of the life of the greatSiddhraj of Anhilwara, “who expelled the seven Daddas,” or ‘great evils,’ whose initial letter wasd, enumerates dand as one of them, and places it with the Dholis and Dakins, or minstrels and witches, giving it precedence amongst the seven plagues which his ancestors and tyrant custom had inflicted on the subject. Unhappily, there is no Siddhraj to legislate for Rajputana; and were there fourteen Daddas by which Surat Singh could swell his budget, he would retain them all for the oppression of the impoverished Jats, who, if they could, would be happy to expel the letterSfrom amongst them. But it is from the chieftain, the merchant, and the banker that the chief sums are realized; though indirectly the poor peasant contributes his share. There are fourteen collectors of dand,[27]one to everychiraor division, and these are furnished with arbitrary schedules according to the circumstances, actual or supposed, of each individual. So unlimited are these exactions, that the chief of Gandeli for two years offered the collector of his quarter ten thousand rupees if he would guarantee him against any further demand during even twelve months; and being refused, he turned the collector out, shut the gates of his castle, and boldly bid his master defiance.
One of his expedients to levy a khushhali, or ‘benevolence,’ is worth relating: it was on the termination of his expedition against Bhatner, which added this celebrated desert and castle to his territory, and in which he was attended by the entire feudal army of Bikaner. On his return, “flushed with conquest,” he demanded from each house throughout his dominions the sum of ten rupees to cover the expenses of the war. If the tyrant-ridden subjects of Surat Singh thus rejoice in his successes, how must they feel for his defeats! To them both are alike ominous, when every [209] artifice is welcomed, every villainy practised, to impoverish them. Oppression is at its height, and must work out its own cure.
Feudal Levies.—The disposable force of all these feudal principalities must depend on the personal character of the Raja. If Surat Singh were popular, and the national emergencies demanded the assemblage of the Kher, orlevée en masse, of the “sons of Bika,” he might bring ten thousand Rajputs into the field, of whom twelve hundred might be good horse, besides the foreign troops and park; but under present circumstances, and therapid deterioration of every branch of society, it may be doubted whether one-half could be collected under his standard.
The household troops consist of a battalion of foreign infantry, of five hundred men with five guns, and three squadrons of horse, about two hundred and fifty in number; all under foreign leaders. This is independent of the garrison of the capital, whose commandant is a Rajput of the Parihar tribe, who has twenty-five villages assigned for the payment of his troops.[28]
Schedule exhibiting the Fiefs of Bikaner.
Schedule exhibiting the Fiefs of Bikaner.
Schedule exhibiting the Fiefs of Bikaner.
If ever the whole feudal array of Bikaner amounted to this, it would assuredly be found difficult now, were the ban proclaimed, to assemble one-fourth of this number [211].