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The Rial GazetteerNEW EDITION
PUBL ISHED UNDER THE AUTHOR ITY OF HIS MAJESTY‘S SEC RETARY OF STATE FOR IND IA IN COUNC IL
O X FO RD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
HENRY FROWDE , M .A.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES


i n pin .
i n pol ice .

has the sound of u i n flute .



I t should be stated that no attempt has been made to d is t ingu ish between the long and short sounds of e and o i n the Dravid ian
languages , wh ich possess the vowel -sounds in ‘ bet ’ and ‘ hot ’ i n
add i t ion to those given above . Nor has i t been though t necessary to mark vowel s as long in cases where m is takes i n pronunciat ion were not l i kely to be made .
Cozzsozzazzfs
Most Ind ian languages have d ifferen t forms for a number of con sonants
, such as d
, l , r , &c .
, marked i n sc ient ific works by the use
of dots or i tal ics . As th e European ear d is t ingu ishes these wi th d i fficu l ty i n ord inary pronunciat ion
, i t has been cons idered undesir
able to embarrass the reader wi th them ; and only two notes are requ i red . I n the fi rs t p lace
, the Arab ic k
, a st rong guttural , has
been represented by la i n s tead of g, wh ich i s often used . Secondly , i t should be remarked that asp i rated consonan ts are common and , i n part icular
, (M and fi t (excep t in Burma) never have the sound of
i ll i n ‘ th i s or ‘ th in ,
’ but shou ld be pronounced as in ‘ woodhouse ’
and ‘ boathook .
HVTA’
OD UCTOR Y N OTES
Bin/ 7716 5 6 Words
Burmese and some o f the languages on the fron t ier o f China have the fol lowing spec ial sounds
aw has the vowel-sound in ‘ law.

0 and i i are pronounced as in German .
gy i s pronounced almos t l ike j i n ‘ j ewel . ’

th i s p ronounced i n some cases as i n ‘ th is ,
’ i n some cases as i n ‘ th in .

w after a consonan t has the force of am. Thus , ywa and para
are d isyl lables , pronounced as i f wri t ten y uwa and pure/e.
I t should also be noted that, whereas in I nd ian words the accen t or stres s i s d i s tr ibuted almos t equal ly on each syl lable , i n Burmese there i s a tendency to throw spec ial s tress on the las t sy l lable
General
The names of some places—e . g . Calcu t ta , Bombay
, Lucknow,
Cawnpore— have obta ined a popular fixi ty of spel l ing, wh i l e spec ial
forms have been offic ial ly prescr ibed for o thers . Names of persons
are often spel t and pronounced d ifferen tl y in d ifferen t parts of Ind ia 5 but the var iat ions have been made as few as poss ible by ass im i lat ing forms almos t al ike
, espec ial ly where a part icular spel l ing has been
general ly adop ted in Engl i sh books .
NOTES ON MONEY , PR ICES , W EIGHTS AND MEASURES
Asthe currency of Ind ia i s based upon the rupee, al l s tatements wi th regard to money throughou t the Gaz etfeer have necessar i ly been
expressed in rupees , nor has i t been found poss ibl e to add general ly
a convers ion in to s terl ing . Down to about 1 873 the gold value of the rupee (conta in ing 1 6 5 gra ins of pure s i lver) was approximatel y equal to or one-ten th of 3. and for that per iod i t i s easy to convert rupees in to s terl ing by s tr ik ing off the final c ipher (Rs.
But after 1 8 73 , owing to the deprec iat ion of s i lver as compared wi th gold th roughou t the world
, there came a ser ious and
progress ive fal l i n the exchange , unt i l at one t ime the gold value of
the rupee d ropped as low as rs. I n order to provide a remedy for the heavy loss caused to the Governmen t of Ind ia in respec t of i ts gold paymen ts to be made i n England
, and also to rel ieve fore ign
t rade and finance from the inconven i ence due to constan t and
un foreseen fluc tuat ions in exchange , i t was resolved in 1 893 to c lose
the m in ts to the free co inage of s i lver , and thus force up the value of
the rupee by res tr ic t ing the c irculat ion . The in ten t ion was to ra ise
IN TRODUCTOR Y N OTES
th e exchange value of the rupee to 1s. 4d , and then in troduce a gold
s tandard (though not necessari l y a gold currency ) at the rate of Rs. 1 5 £ 1 . Th is pol icy hasbeen completel y successful . From 1 899 on
wards the val ue o f the rupee has been main ta ined , wi th ins igni fi can t
fl uctuat ions, at th e proposed rate o f 1s. 4d. and consequen tly s ince that date three rupees have been equ ival en t to two rupees before 1 8 7 3 .
For the intermed iate per iod , between 1 8 73 and 1 899 , i t i s mani fes tly
imposs ibl e to adop t any fixed s terl ing val ue for a constantly changing rupee . But s ince 1 899, i f i t i s des i red to convert rupees into sterl ing, not only mus t th e final c ipher be s truck o ff (as before but al so one-th i rd mus t be subtracted from the resu l t . Thus Rs. £ 1 0 0 2 (about) £6 7 .
Another matter i n connex ion with the express ion of money state ments in terms of rupees requ i res to be expla ined . The method of
numerical notat ion i n Ind ia d i ffers from that wh ich prevai l s th rough ou t Europe . Large numbers are not punctuated in hundreds of thou sands and m i l l ions
, bu t in lakhs and crores . A l akh i s one hundred
thousand (wri tten ou t as and a crore i s one hundred lakhs
or ten m i l l ions (wri tten ou t as Consequently , accord ing to th e exchange value o f the rupee
, a lakh of rupees (Rs.
may be read as the equ ivalen t of before 1 8 73 , and as the equ ivalen t of (abou t ) after 1 899 ; wh i le a crore of rupees
(Rs. may s im i larly be read as the equ ivalen t of
before 1 8 7 3 , and as the equ ivalen t of (about) after 1 899 .
Final ly , i t should be ment ioned that the rupee i s d iv ided into
1 6 annas , a frac t ion commonly u sed for many purposes by both
nat ives and Europeans . The anna was formerly reckoned as I -é-d.
i t may now be cons idered as exactly correspond ing to 1 d. The
anna IS again subd ivided into 1 2 p ies .
The variou s systems of we igh ts used in Ind ia comb ine un i form i ty of scal e w ith immense var iat ion s in the weigh t of un i ts . The scal e used general ly th roughou t Northern Ind ia
, and less commonly in
Madras and Bombay , may be thus expressed one maund 4 0 seers 5
one seer : 1 6 chi ttaksor 80 tolas . The actual weigh t of a seer
var ies greatly from Dis tr ic t to D is tri c t , and even from v il lage to
,
and the maund 8 2 -2 8 lb . This s tandard i s u sed in official reports
and throughout the Gaz effeer.
For calculat ing retai l pri ces , th e un iversal custom in Ind ia i s to
express them in term s of seers to the rupee . Thus , when prices change
, what vari es i s not the amoun t of money to be paid for the
vi IN TRODUCTOR Y N OTES
same quant i ty, bu t the quant i ty to be obtained for the same amoun t of money . In other words
, pr ices in Ind ia are quant i ty pr ices, not
money prices . W hen the figure of quant i ty goes up , th is of course
means that the p rice has gone down , wh ich i s at fi rs t s igh t perplex ing
to an Engl i sh reader. I t may , however
, be ment ioned that quant i ty
prices are not al together unknown in England , espec ial ly at smal l
,
l i kewis e , are commonly sold at a vary ing number for the sh i l l ing .
I f i t be des ired to convert quan t i ty prices from Indian in to Engl ish denom inat ions wi thou t having recourse to money prices (wh ich would often be m i s l eading) , th e fol lowing scal e may be adopted—based upon the assumpt ions that a seer i s exactl y 2 lb . , and that the value o f the rupee remain s constant a t 1s. 4d. 1 seer per rupee (abou t) 3 lb . for 2s. 3 2 seers per rupee (abou t) 6 lb . for 2s. and so on .
The name of the un i t for square measuremen t i n Ind ia general ly
i s the bigfza, wh ich var ies greatly in d i fferen t parts of the country .
But areas have always been expressed th roughout the Gaz effeer ei ther
i n square m iles or in acres .
MAPS
NEPAL
IM PERIAL GAZ ETTEER
O F IND IA
V O LUM E X IX
Nay akanhatt i . —Town in the Chal lakere tri ll/k of Ch i taldroog
Distr ic t , Mysore , s i tuated in 1 4 ° 2 8
’ N . and 7 6 °
west of Challakere town . Populat ion The name was
formerly Hat t i . I t was founded by a Naik , who came here w i th large
droves of superior cat t le from near Sri sai lam in Kurnool D is tr ic t in search of pas tu re . He was recogn iz ed asa po/zgdr by V i jayanagar, and
exchanged some of h i s ca ttl e for Molakalmuru . The terri tory was cap tured by the ch iefs of Chi taldroog
, and was held by them ti l l subdued
by Haidar Ali . At Nayakanhatt i i s a tomb and temple ded icated to a Mahapurusha or sa in t of the Li ngayats , to wh ich sec t mos t of the people belong . The mun ic ipal i ty
, formed in 1 899 , became a Un ion
in 1 904 . The receipts and expend i tu re for two years end ing 1 90 1
averaged Rs. and Rs. 5 0 0 . In 1 903 — 4 they were Rs. and
Rs.
Nay fi nagar. —~ Town in M erwara, Rajputana . See BEAWAR .
Naz areth . —V i l lage i n the Sri vaikuntam ref/wk of T innevel ly Dis tric t ,
Madras, s i tuated in 8 °
34 ’ N . and 7 7
°
, 2 2 m iles from Palam
cottab . Popu lat ion of whom were Chri st ians . As
i ts name shows , Naz areth i s a m i ss ionary v i l lage 3 and i t conta ins a h igh
school for gi rl s , an art i ndus tr ia l school (one of the mos t prom inen t i n
the Madras Pres idency) , an orphan asylum , and a m iss ion hospi tal . I t
i s th e head quarters of a Chr i s t ian m is s ion , which numbers adheren ts and i ncl udes school-ch i ldren . Good hand-made lace
i s manufactu red at the ar t school .
Naz iri (orGargaon) . —V i l lage in S ibsagar D is tr ic t, Eas tern Bengal and Assam ,
s i t uated in 2 6 °
5 6 ’ N . and 94
°
4 5 ’ E. , on the left bank of
the D ikho r iver, abou t 9 m iles sou th-eas t of S ibsagar town . I t was the
cap i tal of the Ahom Rajas from the m idd le of the s ixteenth to the end of the seven teenth cen tury
, bu t was twice captured
, once by the Koch
king Nar Narayan and once by M i r Jumla, Nawab of Dacca . The Muhammadan h is tor ian s tates that th e town had fou r gates , each abou t
3 Km d is tan t from the Raja ’s palace . The palace i tsel f was a magn i fi
cent structure , the bui ld ing of wh ich had afforded occupat ion to
ZV/IZ IICA
workmen for a year , and the ornamen t s and curios i t i es wi th wh ich the
whol e woodwork wasfill ed defied al l descrip t ion . Robinson , wr i t ing
i n 1 844 , describes the ru ins as fol lows
‘ The royal palace was surrounded by a bri ck wal l about 2 mil es i n c i rcumference ; but the whole town and i t s s uburbs appear to have extended over many square m i les of country . The ru ins of gateways , bu i l t ch i efly of mason ry
, are s t il l to be seen wi th in the fort ified ci rcum
val lat ion s wh ich surrounded the town . One of the gateways i s com posed principal l y of large blocks of s tone
, bear ing marks of i ron
crampings , wh ich eviden t ly show that they once belonged to far more
anci en t ed ifices .

Naz i ra i s now the head-quarters of the Assam Tea Company , and -a cons iderabl e baz ar has sprung up on the banks of the r iver, to wh ich Nagas bring down ch i l l i es
, betel-l eaf
,
grain , piece-goods
, and oi l are imported i n large quant i t i es to meet the
demands of the cooly populat ion . The place i s connec ted by rai l w i th Gauhat i and Dibrugarh
, and contain s a h igh school wi th an average
attendance in 1 90 3 — 4 of 1 64 boys .
Neddi avat tam . —V i l lage in N i lgi r i D i s tr ic t , Madras . See NADU
VATTAM .
Neemuch . —Town and Bri t i s h can tonmen t in Central Ind ia . See
NIMACH.
Negapatam S ubdivisi on . — Subd ivi s i on of Tan j ore Di s tr ic t
, Madras
,
con s i s t ing of the NEGAPATAM and NANN ILAM lei /Ms.
Negapatam Taluk . — Coas t {Ki ln/e of Tanj ore D is tr ic t
, Madras
o
°
5 1 ’ E .
, wi th an
area of 2 40 square m iles . The populat ion fel l from in 1 89 1 t o i n 1 90 1 bu t the {ti /24k s t i l l s tands second in the D is tr ic t and
fi fth i n the Pres idency i n regard to dens i ty , wh ich i s 90 7 persons per
square m ile. The {ti /wk con tains proport ionately more educated people than any other i n the D is tr ic t ; and i t owes th i s character is t ic and i ts general importance to NEGA PATAM TOW N (populat ion , the head quarters
, wh ich isa large mun ic ipal i ty and seaport . The only oth er
cons iderabl e town i s T IRUVALGR noted for i ts temple and th e idol car belonging thereto . The number of vi l lages i s 1 89 . The de mand for land revenue and cesses in 1 903
— 4 amoun ted to Rs.
Al though i t l i es wi th in the Cauvery del ta , the south-eas ternmos t por t ions are beyond the i rrigat ion sys tem wh ich depends upon that r i ver . I t con tain s no al l uvial soi l and the land i s not of a very h igh class . Negapatam Town (Ptolemy
’s N zgamosand Rash i d-ud-d i n ’s M ali
°
5 1 ’ E . ,
2 1 2 m iles from Madras by the South Indian Rai lway and i ts branch ,
th e D i st r ic t board l ine . The populat ion in 1 8 7 1 was i n 1 88 1
NE GAP /ITAM TO N/N 3
in 1 89 1 , and in 1 90 1 , I t now ranks as the n inth largest town i n the Pres idency . In 1 90 1 H indus formed nearly 68 per cen t . of the populat ion ,
Musalmans 2 2 per cen t . , and Chris t ian s 1 0 per cent . Nagore
, wi th in mun ic ipal l im i ts to the nor th
, i s a s trong
hold o f the Marakkayan t raders , a m ixed clas s of Muhammadans .
Negapatam was i n very ancien t t imes th e capital c i ty of the l i t tl e known Naga peopl e
, from whom i ts name (n apat/aflam) i s appa
rently derived . Later i t became one of th e earl ies t set tl ements of the Portuguese on the eas t coast
, and was cal l ed by them the c i ty o f
Choramandel '
. I t was al so one of the earl ies t centres of the Portuguese Chris t ian m i ss ions . I t was captured by the Dutch i n 1 6 60
, and was
the ch ief of thei r Indian possess ions t i l l 1 78 1 . Meanwh il e Nagore had been sold to the Dutch by the Raja of Tanj ore i n 1 7 7 3 , bu t was soon
afterwards wres ted from them by the Nawab of the Carnat ic wi th the a id of th e Engl ish . I t was afterwards restored to the Raja
, who made
a gran t of i t to the Company i n 1 7 7 6 . During the war of 1 780 —1
Haidar Ali of Mysore ceded the place to the Dutch , wi th the resul t
that an exped i t ion from Madras under S i r Hector Munro captured both Nagore and Negapatam in November
, 1 7 8 1 . W hen i n 1 799 th e
Tanj ore k ingdom came in to B ri t i sh hands by treaty , Negapatam was
made the Dis tr ic t head-quarters and remained so unti l 1 84 5 . A d iv i sional officer , an Execut ive Engineer, a Sub-Judge, an Ass i s tan t Com m iss ioner of Separate Revenue
, an Ass i s tan t Super in tenden t of pol ice,
and a Port officer are s t i l l s tat i oned here . There are al so a branch of the Bank of Madras and an agent for em igrat ion to the S tra i t s Set tl e men ts . The Sou th Ind ian Rai lway has extens ive workshops in the town , and two compan ies of thei r vol un teer corps have thei r head quarters here . The place con tain s three h igh school s for boys , two of them being main tained by m i ss ionary bod ies . Nagore possesses two Arab ic school s
, and there i s a th i rd at Negapatam . Of the many
temples only one i s ancien t . I t i s ded icated to K ayarohanaswam i , and i s call ed K aronam and occas ional ly Cholakulavallipatt inam i n the
insc rip t ion s of Rajaraja and other Chola k ings . A s tone tabl e t at a smal l temple records i n Du tch that th i s pagoda was bu i l t i n A. D . 1 7 7 7

are one of the bes t-known landmarks along the coas t, was bu i l t over the tomb of the sain t M i ran Sah ib Makhan . The inscri pt ions on th e tomb relate that i t was bu i l t in el even days by Pratap S ingh of Tanjore i n H ij ra 1 1 7 1 (A . D , The Kand i r i fes t i val
, one of the greates t
Muhammadan fest ival s i n Southern Ind ia , i s celebrated here on the
ann iversary of the sain t ’s death .
Negapatam and Nagore were incorporated as a s ingl e mun ic ipal i ty in 1 866 . The receipt s and e xpend i ture during the t en years ending
4 NE G/IPATA/ll TO [Ii /V
1 90 2 — 3 averaged Rs. and Rs. respect i vely . I n 1 90 3
- 4
the income wasRs. th e princ ipal receipts being the house and land taxes (Rs. th e profess ion tax (Rs. tol l s (Rs.
and scavenging and other fees (Rs. The total expend itu re of Rs. i ncluded conservancy (Rs. hosp i tals and d is
pensaries (Rs. and road s and bu i ld ings (Rs. The
mun ic ipal hosp i tal , original ly bu i l t by private subscript ion
, conta ins
46 beds . Schemes for d ra inage and water-supply have been framed at an es t imated cos t of Rs. and Rs. respec ti vel y .
The lat ter projec t has had to be dropped for wan t of funds . Unt i l 1 84 5 Negapatam was the ch ief port sou th o f Madras ; the re
after i ts t rade decl ined for some t ime owing to the superior advan tages of Tranquebar , wh ich in that year had become a Br i t i sh possess ion by purchase from Denmark . Bu t th e open ing of the Sou th Indian Rai lway to Negapatam i n 1 86 1 res tored i ts t rade . A l igh thouse 80 fee t
h igh , wh ich has recently been fi tted with a revolv ing l igh t , was erected in 1 869 . In 1 8 76 , however , th e ra i lway brough t Tut icor in i n to touch
wi th Madras c i ty , and s ince then Negapatam has again decl ined in
importance . The open ing of th e l ine to Kar ika l and up the north eas tern coas t has s t i l l further con t ribu ted towards th i s resu l t . The
trade of Negapatam is now ch iefly wi th Ceylon , Burma
, and the S trai ts
Set tl ements , and al so to a very smal l ex ten t wi th the Un i ted Kingdom
and Spa in . Excl ud ing coas t ing t rade , the total imports i n 1 90 3
— 4 were
valued at 1 2 -3 lakhs, and the total exports at 6 5 -7 lakhs . The ch ie f
imports were areca-nuts (8 3 lakhs) , gunny-bags , camphor, cot ton p iece goods
, and apparel . Among lesser imports may be mentioned sk ins ,
tobacco , miscel laneous provi s ion s
, sugar
, wrough t metal s , gums and
res in s , wood and furn i ture . The princ ipal exports were r ice (2 2 -3

, tobacco , cigars , tu rmeric ,
and skins . The m inor exports were fru i ts and vegetables , ch i l l i es , sugar
, and oi l-cake . I n 1 903
— 4 th e coast ing trade cons is ted o f imports
to the val ue of 2 3-6 lakhs and exports to the val ue of 9-1 lakhs . Nega
patam is an importan t cen tre of em igrat ion to the S trai ts Set tl emen ts and Natal . Nekmard .
— A long—es tabl i shed fai r t i l l recently held annual ly for a week i n the m iddle o f Apr i l in th e vi l lage o f Bhawanandpur in th e
Thakurgaon subd iv i s ion '
o f Dinaj pu r D is tric t , Eas tern Bengal and
As sam (2 5 °
°
1 6 ’ near the tomb of a Muhammadan
sain t from wh ich i t takes i ts name . I t i s one of the larges t cat tl e fa i rs in th e Prov ince
, being attended by about peopl e from al l parts
o f the coun t ry . Bul locks , princ ipal ly from B iha r
, are bough t up by
agen ts from Mymens ingh and adj acent D is tr ic ts ; pon ies from the
Bhu tan h i l l s , coun try—bred horses from B ihar
, elephants and camel s
are al so sold in large numbers ; and traders frequen t the fai r w i th
NELLZ/IM PATHIS 5
m iscel laneous art ic l es of every descript ion from the farthest corners
o f Ind ia . In recent years Governmen t has proh ibi ted the hold ing of th i s fa i r as a precau t ion agains t p lague .
,
°
° 1 1
, wi th
an area of 2 7 2 square m iles . The populat ion i n 1 90 1 was
compared wi th in 1 89 1 . The i dly /c conta in s two towns ,
Tyamagondal (popula t ion , and Nelamangala the head quarters ; and 33 7 vi l lages . The land revenue demand in 1 90 3
— 4 was
Rs. The Arkavati runs th rough the east , and the west has a chain of h i l ls
, of wh ich S ivaganga fee t) i s the h ighes t po in t .
The wes t i s broken and j ungly , whi le the other parts are open and
contain some large val l eys w i th fine tanks . The soi l i s ch iefly a red
mould , shal low and gravel ly . I ron ore i s found in some parts .
Nelliampath is. —Range of b ills i n Coch in State , Madras , form ing
a sect ion of the Western Gha ts . They l ie 2 0 m iles to the sou th of
Pa lghat , wh ich i s the neares t rai lway stat ion , between 1 0
° 2 6
°
E .
The range var ies in h e igh t from 1 , 5 0 0 to fee t above the sea,
and cons is ts of a success ion of r idges cu t off from one another by val l eys contain ing dark evergreen forests . I n the cen tre of the range
i s an extens ive plateau , th e average el evat ion of wh ich i s over
feet . The h ighes t peak i n the range i s Nellikko tta or Padagir i , fee t above sea - level . K arimalagOpuram,
V ellach imudi , Valiyavana
R idge , Myanmudi , and Valavachan are other peaks , each over
feet i n he igh t . The cl imate of th e range i s cool and pleasan t during
the greater part of the year , but i s malar iou s in March
, Apri l , and
May . The monsoon rains are heavy , the average annual fal l be ing
1 5 5 inches . I n 1 90 3 th e thermometer ranged from 60 ° i n December
to 84 ° i n Apri l
, the mean temperature be ing
Throughout the Nelliampath isand the adj oin ing country of Param
b i kolam , th e h i l l s are densel y covered wi th teak and other trees
wh ich grow in th is generous so i l to very large d imens ions . Unt i l
recently , these forests had never been worked for want of a su i tabl e
ou tle t to the plain s . A tramway and t imber sl ide have now, however, been cons tructed
, wh ich wi l l render access ibl e the val uable produce of
th is range . On th e plateau above referred to , land wasopened ou t for coffee-growing i n 1 864 . There are now eigh teen es tates , of wh ich seven teen are owned by Eu ropeans . The total area ass igned for coffee cul t ivat ion i s acres
, of wh ich acres are under mature
plan ts . The y ield in 1 90 3 — 4 was cwt .
, or an average of 9 1 lb .
per acre of mature plan t s . From 80 0 to labourers are employed on the plantat ions
, and th e annual qu i t-ren t amounts to Rs.
The State has constructed a g/zdi road to the estates , the length of
6 NELLJAZI/PATHIS
wh ich from the foot of the g/zri f to th e plateau i s 2 3 m iles and th e steepest grad ien t 1 i n 6 . Abou t 1 5 mi les of road on the plateau connec t the estates wi th one another . The State main tain s a dispen
sary and a pol ice s tat ion . The populat ion of the range i s of.
whom 3 1 0 are K adans, the only j ungle folk found in these b ills. Nelli kuppam . Town in th e Cuddalore i dly /e of South Arcot D is
tr ie t , Madras , s i tuated i n 1 1 °
46 ’ N . and 7 9
°
E . , on the South
Ind ian Rai lway . The populat ion in 1 90 1 was I t i s a Un ion under the Local Boards Act (V of Next to Porto Novo , i t conta ins more Musalmans than any other town in the D is tr ic t . A
large d is ti l l ery and sugar fac tory c lose to the ra i lway s tat ion afford employment to abou t hands . I n and abou t the town cons ider
able areas are cul t i vated wi th sugar-cane to supply the factory ; and the betel-v ine i s largely grown
, the l eaves being exported to Madras
and other places . Nellore Distri ct (N e/177m
, perhaps mean ing ‘ r ice — D i st r ic t
on th e eas t coas t of th e Madras Pres idency , north of Madras C i ty ,
ly ing between 1 3 ° 2 9
’ and 1 6

E . After V i z agapatam i t i s the larges t in the Pres idency , i ts area being square m i les 1 . I t forms part of the pla ins of the Carnatic , and i s
bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal ; on the sou th by the D is tricts of Chinglepu t and North Arcot ; on the wes t by th e Eastern Gha ts ; and on th e north by the D is tr ic t of Guntu r . The country
r i ses very gradual ly t i l l i t reaches the foot of the
Ghats on th e west . The outer range of these , known local ly as the V elikondas(
‘ outs ide separates Nel lore from Cuddapah and Kurnool along nearly the whol e of i t s
western s ide . I n the north -wes t , however
, th e range breaks up and
recedes much more to the west , and in th i s reg ion i t lacks the bold
and rugged aspec t wh ich d is t ingu ishes i t in the sou th . I t i s the only
range of h i l l s i n the D is tr ic t of any importance . The so i l of Nel lore i s not natu ral ly fert i l e
, and large port ions of i t are e i ther rocky wastes
or covered wi th scrub j ungl e . A narrow b elt of al l uv ial and backwater depos i ts
, vary ing i n width from 2 to 1 4 m iles , run s close to, and paral l el
w i th , th e sea . The bes t known of the backwaters i s the PUL ICAT
LAKE, wh ich l ies partl y wi th in th i s D is tr ic t and almos t cu ts o ff th e
SRIHAR IK OTA I s land from the mainland . The scenery of Nellore i s
un in teres t ing , i ts d i s t ingu ish ing feature being w ide extents of scrub
j ungle . Fine groves are occas ional ly found i n th e neighbourhood of v i l lages and tanks
, and i n places s tre tches of brigh t green r ice con
trast ing with dark clumps of t rees form pretty p ic tures . In land the
1 W hi le thiswork waspassing through the press, the Ongo le h i ll/l a
'
JR . The present art i cle , asa rule
, dealswi th the D istrict asi t stood before thisal terat i on.
NELLOlt ’ E DISTRICT 7
country i s part icularly monotonous and dreary , though the l ine of the Gha ts i s bold and prec ip i tous .
The principal r ivers wh ich drain the D is tr ic t t raverse i t from we s t to eas t and fal l i nto the Bay of Bengal . They are seven i n number
, and
are of the usual South I nd ian type , dry during the greater port ion of the year bu t carrying heavy floods during the ra iny season . None of them is prac t icable for navigat ion excep t the K andleru
, Up wh ich
boats d rawing 2 or 3 fee t can proceed for abou t 2 5 miles . The
,
flows for about 30 m iles in a north-eas terly d irec t ion through the
D i s t r ic t , and fal l s i n to the Bay o f
' Bengal 9 m il es north of Armagon .
North of th i s i s the K andleru, wh ich bears var ious names in d i fferen t parts o f i t s course . R i s ing in the V elikondas
, i t flows pas t Cedar and
empt ies i tsel f in to the sea near K is tnapatam . I ts water i s sal t from Gudu r downwards . Farther north i s the P ENN ER , the mos t important
of al l , on wh ich the town of Nel lore , the head-quarters of the D is tr ie t
, i s s i tuated . I t r ises i n the Nandidroog h i l l s i n Mysore , and after
a course of 2 8 5 m iles i n Anantapur and Cuddapah en ters th i s D is tr ic t
through a fine gorge in the V elikondas at Somasi la. I t flows in a broad and sandy bed for 7 0 m iles i n a general ly eas tern d irec t ion through the lei /uh of Atmaku r and Nel lore
, and debouches in to the
sea through several open ings 1 8 m iles below Nel lore town . The river i s useless for navigat ion
, but a very large area i s now i rr igated from i ts
water . Two an icu ts (dams) have been bu i l t across i t , at Nel lore and at Sangam
, which supply n umerous i rr igat ion channels . The Madras
I rr igat ion Company began a th i rd at Someswaram , bu t the proj ec t was
eventual ly abandoned . Farther north , i n the Kanduku r and Ongole
females , flow the Manneru, the Paleru, and the M us i r i vers . These al l
r i se i n the V elikondas, and fal l i n to the sea after rece iv ing numerous s treamlets on the i r way . The las t r iver of any importance i s the
GUNDLAK AMMA, wh ich issuesfrom the great Cumbum tank i n Kurnool D is tr ic t . After being j o ined by numerous r ivulets It flows pas t Addanki . The backwaters along the coas t have already been ment ioned . The
Kistnapatam backwater conta ins over 30 fee t of water i n the hot season
at low t ide , but a bar w i th onl y 5 or 6 fee t b locks the entrance .
Several smal l ports had a cons iderabl e coas t ing trade in former t imes , bu t the BUCK INGHAM CANAL and the Eas t Coast Railway have now
pract ical ly des troyed the whole of i t . Of these places the mos t impor tan t
, beginn ing from the north
, were Kottapatam ,
, and Dugaraz upatnam or Armagon .
At none of them is access poss ibl e to boats of heavy tonnage . Six m iles south of Dugaraz upatnam l ie the Armagon shoal and l igh thouse .
The central area of Nellore i s composed of Archaean , wel l fol iated ,
8 NE I LORE DISTRICT
,
general ly paral lel to the fol iat ion , in trus ive sheets and lenses of very m icaceou s pegmat i tes . With in the las t ten years these have given r i se
to a cons iderabl e m ica i ndustry . More than acres were taken up on leases in 1 898 . The pegmat i tes are coarsely in tergrown m i xtures of felspar
, quartz
, and muscov i te, with tourmal ine , garnet, beryl , and
col umbi te as accessory m ineral s . The larges t m ica crys tal s in Ind ia ,
measur ing 1 5 fee t at r igh t angles to the fol ia and 1 0 fee t across , were
extracted from Mr. Sargent ’s m ine at Inukurt i . The m ica i s general ly
coloured grass—green , yel low ish green

, or a smoky t in t . The poss ib i l i t ies
o f the field are not ye t thoroughly known , and there may be a great
future for the indus try , though at present i t i s l ess flouri sh ing than
i t was a few years ago .
On th e wes t and sou th-wes t of th is cen tra l area come gne is so id
gran i te and augi te and ol ivine-bearing d iabase d ikes and beyond them
again , i n the same d i rect ion
, we find the somewhat i rregular and shattered
edge of the great overly ing Cuddapah seri es of the Purana group of
ancient sed imentary unfoss i l i ferou s rocks , wh ich stre tches away to the
wes t ou t of the D is tr i ct . I n the other d i rec t ion , where the gne iss ic area passe s insens ibly under the al luvi um , are occas ional traces of the
Rajmahal plan t-bear ing sands tones and shales o f Ju rass ic age , ly ing
gen tly i ncl ined on the gne is s , and a long
, almost cont inuous
, narrow
bel t of Cuddalore sub-recen t sands tones, fol lowed by the coastal al l uvi um
, l ow-l evel later i te
, and a reas of blown sand .
Large trees are not common in the D is tr ic t , being usual ly found only near vi l lages . Among them may be ment ioned the margosa (II/elm
wh ich grows even on lateri te so i l , the var ious spec ies

and spea ’
osa) , and the mango . The palmyra and the coco -nu t palm
both grow , the former abundantly
, the lat ter unwi l l ingly , i n the coas t
td/uks , and the bastard date (P /zoem
'
x sy lvestris) i s al so found . A large
part of the D is tr ic t i s covered wi th low scrub j ungl e , in wh ich the red
sanders t ree (P feromrpz/s Tan i a/mus) , the sat in-wood (Clz/oroxy /on and a few other u sefu l spec ies occur . At the foot of the
V elikondasi n the Rapt ‘
i r {ti /21k some fai rly large t imber trees are found .
The casuar ina was in troduced in to the D is tr ic t abou t for ty years ago ,
and i s now largel y grown for fi rewood on the sandy land near the shore .
Nel lore has bu t few attrac t ions for the sportsman seek ing big game . Tigers occas ional ly wander across the border from the Cuddapah h i l l s . Bears ex is t on the Gha ts and in the Kan ig i r i and Podili h i l ls
, but are
no t plent i ful . Leopards , hun t ing leopards
, a im/far
, and spotted deer
are to be met wi t h ; and antelope, gaz el le , and wi ld hog are fai rly common . A quarter of a cen tury ago a few bi son were to be found .
HISTORY 9
Sn ipe , florican , and other feathered game are tolerably plent i ful ; and
the Ind ian bus tard i s occas ional ly seen .
The cl imate i s dry and fai rly heal thy, being subjec t to no sudden changes of temperature . But the heat i s excess ive for two or th ree mon ths of the year
, when a scorch ing wes terly w ind blows . The sea
breez e makes the tract of coun try near the coas t general ly cool er than the inland fri lzzks. The average temperature at Nel lore town varies
from 7 7 ° i n January to 94
° i n May , the thermometer r is ing on some
days to over 1 1 2 ° i n the shade . The annual mean for the town is
compared wi th 83 ° i n Madras c i ty . The D i s t r ic t i s general ly regarded
as one of the ho ttes t i n the Presidency .
,
at Nel lore and i n Rapur and Gudu r , the fal l i s above the D is tr ic t
average . The supply i s heavier , general ly speaking
, along the coas t
than in the in terior , the average at Tada on Pul icat Lake be ing as
much as 4 1 i nches . The annual fal l , based on the s tati s t ic s from
1 8 7 0 to 1 899 , averages 36 inches in the sou th , 3 2 i n the north -eas t ,
and 2 6 in the north-wes t . The rain fal l i s, however, capr i c i ous and uncerta in . I t was only 1 1 i nches i n the fam ine year of 1 8 76 , while i n
1 90 3 — 4 i t amounted to nearly 5 6 i nches , being in many places more
than double the average .
Nel lore has been fortunate in escap ing ser ious natu ral calam i t ies other than fam ine . But dest ruct ive s torms were recorded i n 1 8 2 0 and 1 8 5 7 ; and th e heavy floods i n the Penner and o ther rivers in 1 8 5 2 ,
1 8 74 , 1 88 2 , and 1 893 caused w idespread damage . In the flood of 1 88 2 th e Penner rose to the extraord inary he igh t of 2 8% fee t above i t s deep bed near the Nel lore an icut
, wh ile the whole country between
Gfidt ‘
i r and Manubol u was inundated by the overflow of the K andleru
and V enkatagi r i r ivers . In 1 90 2 and 1 90 3 there were again heavy
floods , wh ich caused a great deal of damage to the rai lway l ine, roads , and tanks .
Noth ing certain i s known of the h is tory of Nel lore before the t imes of the CHOLAS . Tam il inscr ip t ions ind icate that i t formed part of thei r k ingdom t i l l the i r decl ine in the th i rteen th century A . O . About the m iddle of that century i t seems to have passed to the PANDvAs of Madura
, who had reasserted the i r
i ndependence , and later to the Telugu Choda ch iefs
, who ruled i t
as feudatories of the K akat iyas of Warangal , now in the Niz am ’s
Dom in ions . In th e next cen tury i t became part of the ri s ing H indu k ingdom of V ijayanagar
, th e cap i tal of wh ich was in the modern Bel lary
D istric t . Krishna R z ‘
i ya, the greates t o f that dynas ty, captu red the h i l l fort o f Udayagir i in A. D . 1 5 1 2 , and appointed a governor over i t, to
H istory .
1 0 [VEL/ZORE DISTRICT
whom the re s t of the Distr ic t became subord inate , and who conti nued
'
. in 1 5 6 5 .
Engl i sh connex ion wi th Nel lore dates from 1 6 2 5 , when , after the
massacre of Amboyna , the Eas t I nd ia Company ’s servants , headed by
Day , the fu ture founder of Fort S t . George, formed a trad ing es tabl ish
men t at Dugaraz upatnam and cal led i t Armagon or Armeghon , after one Arumuga Mudaliyar, the ch ie f man of the neighbourhood , who
wasof much ass i stance to them . Armagon , however
, was given up in
1 639 i n favour of the new se tt lemen t at Fort S t . George , Madras . I n
1 7 5 3 Nellore was under the ru le of Naj i b-ul lah , the bro ther of the
Nawab of Arcot . In 1 7 5 7 he rebel led agains t the Nawab ’s au thor i ty,
and a large force wassen t agains t h im . He successful l y defended h im sel f wi th a body of men and some a id rece ived from the French a t Masul ipatam . Shortl y after th i s Colonel Forde
, who commanded
the Engl i sh force wh ich was ass i s t ing the Nawab, was recal led to
Madras . Nai -ul lah then began to make i ncurs ions in to the terr i tor ies of the Nawab
, ending wi th an attack on the famous Ti rupat i temple .
He was beaten back by an Engl ish detachment from Madras, but in
1 7 5 8 he j o ined the French under Moracin and succeeded i n tak ing the place . Early in 1 7 5 9 , however, on hear ing that the s iege of Fort S t . George by the French , under Lal ly, had been raised , he declared for the Engl ish and pu t to death al l th e French wi th h im
, except ing
,
h is annual tr ibute be ing fi xed at pagodas . In the m iddle of the next year
, Rasala t Jang
, the Subahdar
of the Deccan , threatened the D is tr ic t ; but on the appearance of a
strong Engl ish rel ieving force under Captain More , he beat a hasty
retreat north-wes t to Cuddapah . On th e fal l o f Pond icherry in 1 7 6 1 ,
the Nawab sough t Engl ish aid for the reduct ion of Nel lore , the
governor of wh ich he had not , desp i te h i s recen t subm iss ion
, for
g iven . An army under Colonel Caillaud moved aga ins t Naj ib-u llah early in 1 7 6 2 , took the Nel lore fort i n February , and soon afterwards
made over the D is tr ic t to the Nawab . During the wars wi th Ha idar
(1 7 68—8 2 ) Nellore largely escaped the general devastat ion . On the ass ignmen t of the revenues of the Carnat ic by the Nawab to the Company in 1 7 8 1 , Nel lore passed for the fi rs t t i me under d i rec t Bri t i sh managemen t . In 1 80 1 i t was
, wi th the res t of the Carnat ic
, ceded i n
ful l sovere ign ty to the Company by the Nawab Az im -ud-daula .
There are very few archaeological remains of in teres t in Nel lore . The mos t i n tere s t i ng are the ruins of the h i l l fort a t UDAYAG IR I . The arch i tec tu re of the temples and mosques i s u sual ly of the mos t ins ign ifican t characte r . Not a s ingle fine bu i ld ing i s found i n the D is tr i c t
, though
a few large gopzzra/zzs(towers) adorn some of the temples . The large
1 2 NELLORE DISTRICT
an e thnological poin t of v i ew are the Yanadis , a fores t t r ibe
, of whom
or two-th irds of the total for the Pres idency , are found in
Nel lore . They are a pr im i t i ve people , l i ving ma in l y i n the south o f
the D is tr ic t and espec ial ly i n the j ungl es of Sri hariko ta , where they
subs is t largely by col l ec t ing and sell ing fores t produce . They may be descr ibed as being st i l l i n the hunt ing-s tage of developmen t
, and one
sec t ion of them even now produces fi re by fri ct ion . I n the earl y years of the las t cen tu ry Governmen t took them under i ts spec ia l protect ion , and s ti l l accords them exceptional treatmen t i n several way s . An in
terest ing accoun t of them , by T . Ranga Rao
, wi l l be found in M
'
, vol . i v (Madras ,
1
EE O u E Q.)
Td/I/l’ o r Ta/zsi l. “3 8 23-8 5 9 532 1-1 " 5
06 v s 337 5 E S cs 5 c g 3 5 3 5 8 £2 8 a ? w 82 8. a
787 1 6 1 1 9 2
6 1 6 1 1 8 1 34
5 64 1 1 1 1 0 4 1 3-9 1 1 88 1 09 1 5 6
640 1 1 2 1 73 96 87 1 1 34 1 09 5 -0
638 2 I49 3 5 5 1 4 -4
5 48 1 7 7 1 5 9 4 7 9 1 0 1 1 44 1 5 8 6 0
5 96 1 1 2 1 1 8 1 4-4
4 2 6 1 1 5 1 1 43
35 5 1 39 2 1 0 7-1
796 3 1 6 2 2 8 2
D istri ct to tal ! 1 0 1 7 1 7 I >06 7
The area o f the new Ne llore D istrict is square m i les , and the populat ion
Nel lore contain s fewer people who subsi s t en t i rely by agr icul ture than any Madras D is tr ic t excep t Malabar and the N i lg i ri s . The other ch ief occupat ions are leather-work and weaving
, wh i le pet ty traders
,
cat tle-breede rs , bangle-makers (a clay found in V enkatagir i i s part icularly s u i table for bangles) , and beggars are more numerous than elsewhere .
Four Chris t ian m iss ions are establ ished in the D is tr ic t . The fi rs t to appear on the field , some t im e in the beginn ing of the eigh teen th century, was the old Jesu i t M iss ion of the Carnat ic . Th ishas passed through several c rises and shows bu t l i t tl e vi tal i ty a t presen t
, the Roman
Cathol ics in th e Di s tr ic t numbering on ly The American Bapt i s t
M iss ion dates from 1 840 , when the Rev. S . S . Day vi s i ted Nel lore .
The m iss ion has prospered ; i t has 1 1 s tat ions i n the northern port ion of the D is tr ic t and i ts fol lowers number I t maintains a second grade col lege at Ongole
, several i ndustr ia l schools
, and numerous
primary school s for boys and girls. The Free Church of Scotland
AGRICUL TURE 1 3
Miss ion has been managing a school for boys at Nel lore town s ince
1 848 . The Hermannsburg Lutheran Miss ion commenced opera t ions in 1 86 5 . I t now possesses eigh t s tat ion s and i ts adheren ts number
The total number of Chri s t ians in the D is tr ic t i s of
whom al l bu t 5 0 0 are nat ives .
The coas t i i i /”ksd i ffer much , both i n the i r scenery and i n th e nature of thei r so i l s
,
th e so i l s are poor and gravel l y on the western s ide ; bu t near the sea
, where th e later i te format ion i s not
found , l i e t racts composed of loam and clay o f fai r qual i ty . From the
Pul icat Lake al luv ial soi l s t retches away from Tada nearly to the foo t of the V elikonda h i l ls . Thi s range belongs to the wel l—known Cuddapah
format ion of quar t z i te and s late-beds , and along i ts foot i s a narrow st rip
of land formed from the d é bri s of th ese rocks and covered wi th low j ungle . The fla t plain be tween i t and the sea i s underlai n for a great
w idth by gnei ss and grani te wi th trap, bu t towards the eas t th e crystal l ine rocks below cons i s t of sch is ts . A narrow bel t of lateri te traverses the D is tr ic t from north to sou th not far from the sea . The coas t—l ine i s marked by a dri ft ing mass of loose sand in r idges or dunes
, form ing
two or th ree paral lel l i nes . With in th i s , a s tr ip of al luvial so i l formed
by the depos i ts of r ivers i s found t i l l the later i te i s reached . Al l uvi um is al so met w ith i n the r iver val leys
, espec ia l ly in that of the Penner.
All along the banks of the lat ter r i ver, as far as the Someswaram gap , success ive accumulat i on s have covered th e surface of the country for
a d is tance vary ing from 5 to 1 0 m iles . This al l uv ial soi l i s a m ixtu re of sand and vegetabl e matter, and, though of poor qual i ty, i s wel l adapted for growing r ice . The mos t fert i le port ions of the D istr ic t

i r , and
the heavy black cotton-so i l land in Ongole, wh ich produces excel len t ‘ dry crops ’ and extends in to the Kanduk ur i dly /é . The later i te bel t gives r ise to a poor soi l , often covered wi th scrub j ungle, which i s found
in al l the coas t lei /”ks. The country bordering on the h i l l s on the wes t i s of a more s tony and broken character . The wors t tri ll/ks i n the D is tri c t are Udayagi r i and Kan ig ir i , where water i s met wi th only at a great depth and the so i l i s of very in ferior charac ter . The D istr ic t rece ives ra in from both the sou th -wes t and north-eas t monsoons
, and
there are thus two harves ts i n the year . Wi th the sou th-wes t monsoon rain s
'
a) crops are grown ; wi th the north-eas t monsoon
, th e late (pa z
'
'
, but the [ Mi ra crops cover the larger area .
B 2
1 4 NELLORE DISTRICT


shave not been surveyed
, and the area for wh ich part i culars are on record i s on l y
square m i les . Stat i s t ical part iculars of th i s area for 1 90 3—4 are given i n the fol lowing table
, i n square m iles
Tall/k .
Area S‘mW f ‘ Cult ivated . I rrigated . Fo rests.
In accounts.
To tal
General ly speaking , wet crops are mos t cu l t ivated in the sou th and eas t
, and ‘ dry crops ’ i n the wes t and nor th of the Dis tric t . The staple

rcig z '
(E lm/si ne coraa ma ), and the var ious pul ses . R i ce i s grown ex
tensively i n Gndnr and Nel lore , and i n port ions of Kaval i and Atmak t '
i r.
C/zolam i s cul t ivated th roughout the D is tr ic t, th e larges t area be ing in
Atmakt ‘
'
lasum) i s con fined to Ongole and Kanduku r, wh ile the greater part of the horse-gram i s found in Udayagi r i and Kanigi r i . Tobacco is ra ised in smal l patches
here and there th roughout the D is tr ic t . Cotton is found ch iefly in the four northern tri /zzks. Indigo is grown pr inc ipal ly in Ongole and
Kanduku r, wh ile cas tor i s an importan t crop everywhere , except i n Gudur and Nellore . Sugar-cane i s hardly cul t ivated at all, bu t jaggery
(coarse sugar) i s manufac tured from the j u ice of palmyra and bastard date-palms in Rapur and Kaval i . Con s iderable areas of unoccup ied arable land are found i n al l th e
{ti /11735 except Ongole and Kanduku r , the exten t being larges t i n C edar
and Rapt ‘
i r. The area of hold ings increased by 7 per cen t . during the fi fteen years after the fam ine o f 1 8 7 6
—8 , and s ince 1 89 1 the increase
has been not iceabl e though s low . No improvements i n agr icu l tural pract ice have taken place dur ing recent years . The ryots do not take much advantage of the provis ions o f the Land Improvement and Agricul turi s t s ’ Loans Acts . During the seventeen years end ing 1 90 5
only Rs. has been advanced under the former Act . The money i s general ly spen t i n s inking new wel l s and repair ing old ones .
FORESTS 1 5
The Nellore breed of heavy cattl e is celebrated th roughou t the Pres idency . The ch ie f cen tres for rai s ing them are in Ongole and Kanduku r, and the coun try northwards as far as the V in ukonda and Bapatla fri lzzksof K is tna D is tr ic t and wes tward in to Kurnool . From th is trac t the large suppl ies of draugh t cat tl e requ i red for the black cot ton soi l o f the Ceded D is tr ic ts and Kurnool are drawn . The stock in the sou thern lei /Msare of a l ighter and in fer ior breed bu t i n many
of the vi l lages of Nellore , G t

idur , and Kaval i th e ryots maintain large
herds , partly for s tock purposes and part ly for manuring thei r fields .
Sheep and goats are more numerous in the western tracts than along
the coas t . They belong to the long-legged k ind ord inar i l y met wi th in Southern Ind ia
, and are usual ly reared for the i r manu re and for thei r
sk ins , as they give very poor meat .
Of the total area of rvolwdm '
and m inor z '
mim land under cu l t iva t ion ,
5 3 5 square m i les , or about 1 1 per cen t . , are i rr igated i n abou t equal
proport ions from canal s and tanks , wel l s tak ing a proport ionately smal l
share in the supply . The onl y cons iderable area protec ted from
drough t i s that i rrigated by the Penner canal sys tem , wh ich i s suppl ied
from the an icu ts across that r iver at Nellore and Sangam . None o f the
other r ivers of th e D is tr ic t i s of much use for irr igat ion . A smal l area
of 80 0 acres in the north of the Ongole id/zzlz i s suppl ied by the K istna canal s . The Nellore an icu t feeds three channel s wh ich i rr igate l and on the sou thern bank of the r iver
, and the Sangam dam suppl ies th e
great Kan ig ir i reservo i r from wh ich much land on the north bank i s watered. A proj ec t to cons truc t a reservo i r on the Manneru to i rr igate
acres of ‘ dry ’ land has been recen tl y pu t i n hand as a pro tect ive work . The Dis tr ic t wi l l al so benefi t from the Tungabhadra P rojec t
, i f that i s sanct ioned .
There are in al l 6 2 6 tanks and 30 2 channel s in the D is tr ic t, which are part l y under the Publ ic Works
, and partl y under the Revenue
department . Of th e n ine Government fdlzzés, G udur, Kaval i , and
Nel lore are the only ones at al l wel l suppl ied w i th tanks . The larges t
of these sources are those at Nel lore , Buch iredd ipalem
, and Al lur i n
'
in Gudt ’
i r. Well s, numbering in al l , are commones t i n the
northern and wes tern parts , and each i rr igates from 2 % to 3 acres on
an average . Water i s found only at a great depth i n some of the Kanig ir i and Udayagir i wel l s
, bu t these general l y i rrigate as much as
from 4 to 5 acres each .
The ‘ reserved ’ fores ts and ‘ reserved ’ lands cover 74 7 square m iles , d ivided in to s i x ranges
, each under a range officer . They cons i s t
roughly of th ree classes : the western fores ts , the
cen t ral bel t , and the coas t Reserves . In th e cen tral
bel t the growth i s , general ly speaking
, of poor qual i ty
, and the areas
Fo res ts .
1 6 IVELLORE DISTRICT
‘ reserved ’ usual ly conta in noth ing but s tunted scrub . In the wes tern
h i l l s t rees of greater s iz e are met w i th . The princ ipal fores ts here l ie along the slopes of the V elikonda h i l l s in the ld/uksof Rapu r
, Atmaku r,
Udayagir i , and Kan ig iri . They are in blocks al ternat ing wi th z amz ’
zza ’ drz

land belonging to the V enkatagi r i and K alahast i es ta tes . The Nanda vanam R eserve in Kanigi r i
, the Udayagi r i Reserve , and the Rapu r
,
V elikonda , and Yerrakonda Reserves are the principal of these . In
them occur the red-sanders tree (P terocazpus the y eg z '
or kz
zzo (P lerocarpusIll arsupz '
zm z) , y epz '
bi /Zzz or sat in wood (Cfi/oroay /ozz and a few other useful spec ies . The bes t of the coast fores ts i s i n the i s land of Sri hariko ta. The more val uable t imber trees found there are the nerm’
'
(S law/moss Soap -nu t and tamarind trees al so occur in great numbers
, and a large
area has been planted wi th casuar ina . A t ramway 1 3 m i les long has
been la id down in the i sland to ass i s t in removing the wood . The m inor produce exported from th is t ract cons is ts of tamarinds
, honey ,
, s trychn ine seeds
, and myrab olams. All
along the coas t large plan tat ions of casuarina have been made . I n
many parts of the Dis tr ic t palmyra palms abound .
A port ion of the fores ts i s c losed to graz ing , but to the remain ing
area catt l e are adm it ted on paymen t of the prescribed fee . Goats are only al lowed to browse in special ly sel ec ted Reserves . Fi rewood , the royal ty on m ica (see below) , and graz ing fees are the ch ief sou rces o f fores t revenue . The total receip ts in 1 90 3
— 4 amounted to Rs.
Of the m ineral s of the Dis tr ic t onl y m ica i s at presen t worked to any
large exten t . Copper was d iscovered i n 1 80 1 i n the v i l lages of Gari
menapenta and Yarrapalli i n Udayagi r i . I ron ore i s
widely d is tr i bu ted , and used to be smel ted in nat ive
furnaces in several v i l lages i n the m iddle of the las t cen tury . Magnet ic
i ron beds of great s i z e occur near the Gundlakamma r iver in Ongole .
Gypsum , i n the form of selen i te crys tal s
, i s found in the mar ine clayey
beds in the northern parts along the Buckingham Canal . Garne t occurs i n the Chund i h il l s
, i n Pecherlakonda i n Udayag iri , and a t
Saidapuram in Rapt '
i r. Large depos i ts of later i te are found i n various l ocal i t i es
, s uch as Kaval i
, Nel lore
, and Talamanch i , and are largely
used for mak ing roads and bu i ld ing pu rposes . Grey ish-whi te c rys
talline l imes tone can be obta ined near Chund i and Pedarikatla i n Kan igi r i . A good deal of l ime i s manufac tu red from fl’ankar and the
shel l-beds i n the backwater depos i ts . Sands tone i s found near K ovr ‘
i r ,
nor th of Nel lore , and at Budavada , Razpudi , and V emavaram in
Ongole . The s tone near Razpudi i s in flaggy beds and is largel y quarried for bu i ld ing purposes
, be ing prett i l y coloured . Greens tone
or d ior i te i s found near Jelakapad, and trap dikes near Peramkonda
M inera ls.
TRADE AND COMM UIVICATIOIVS 1 7
and Ullapuram . Crude sal tpetre i s manu fac tured i n many vi l lages by l ix iviat ion . The Sal t departmen t al so manu factures refined sal tpetre i n the Kanupart i fac tory . A large quan ti ty of sal t i s made yearl y in the Governmen t fac tor ies along th e coast . D iamonds are said to have been found near Chejerla .
The h i s tory of the '
m ica i ndus try can be traced back 60 or 7 0 years .
I t flouri shed grea t l y for a t ime , but now a decl ine has made i tsel f
apparen t. I n 1 90 0 —1 more than a m i l l ion pounds
, val ued at 7—5 lakhs ,
was extracted , bu t i n 1 90 3
,
val ued a t l ess than 4 5 lakh s . The majori ty of the m ines cons is t of large open p i ts
, from wh ich the m ineral i s removed by manual labour .
Only a few '
con tain -underground tunnels . The m ineral i s found i n
Rapt ‘
, and Kaval i , the larges t number of m ines
be ing in the first-named There were 60 m ines i n the D is tr ic t

emsand z ami fzddrz '
,
and mos t of i t i s exported to London . I t i s of several k inds , and i s
e i ther clear or s ta ined , the lat ter being c oloured ‘ brown or black owing
to the presence of i ron and manganese between the planes of cl eavage .
'
ulture and cattle breed ing
, are on a very smal l scal e . Nel lore town was once famous
for i tscot ton clo ths and text i l e fabr ics . T he cloth
now made is general ly of the commones t descr ipt ion , conga “ ?and
un i cat i ons.
though a smal l amoun t o f bet te r qual i ty i s s t i l l produced . Blue palampores used to be e xported in large quan t i t i es to
the '
W est Ind ies , bu t the trade has d ied ou t . A smal l quan t i ty of rough
wool len blankets i s produced . Brass and copper u tens i l s are manu
factured i n several local i t i es . At Udayagir i one fam i ly turn s ou t fai rl y
good wood-carving . The cons truct ion of coun try car ts wi th s tone whee ls i s a pecu l iar i ty of Kan ig i ri
, and in the same vi l lage sp inn ing
tool s , raz ors and sc issors
, and excel l en t sl ippers are manufactu red .
I ndigo i s grown throughou t the D is tr ic t , bu t no factories are work ing
now, and the dye is manufactured in vats accord ing to nat ive methods .
Tann ing of sk ins i s carri ed on to a smal l exten t i n many local i ti es .
The e x tens ion of rai lways has affec ted the trade , wh ich u sed to come across the V elikondas from the Di s t r ic ts i n the in terior, bu t th i s i s
almos t dead . The pr inc ipal exports at presen t are rice , ‘ dry ’ grains ,
ind igo , cotton
, gfi i , sal t , oil seeds , cond iments , fi rewood , sal ted fi sh , h ides
, horn
, tobacco
, and brass and copper
vessel s . The ch ief imports are hardware , petroleum in bulk , jaggery ,
sugar , sp ices
, &c . Asal ready remarked , a large trade i s done in cat tl e .
Goats al so are a cons iderable i tem of commerce in Rapfir. Bo th imports and exports are mainl y from and to the neighbouring D istr ic ts
1 8 IVELLORE DISTRICT
and Madras c i ty . The chi ef cen tres of t rade are Nel lore , Ongole ,
Gadnr, ’
, and Su lu rpet .
The only port at wh ich there i s any sea-borne t rade is '
K o ttapatam .
The val ue of the sea-borne imports during the fou r years end ing 1 90 1—2 averaged Rs. and of the exports Rs.
The earl i es t rai lway to be opened in the D is tr ict was th e ex tens ion of the Sou th Ind ian l i ne from Ti rupat i to Gudur and Nel lore
, wh ich
was cons tructed in 1 88 7 —8
, orig inal ly on th e metre gauge . I t passes
through Renigunta, K alahast i , and V enkatagir i , and so affords com
mun icat ion wi th North Arcot . The sec t ion between Gudt ‘
i r and Nel lore wasconver ted to standard gauge i n 1 899, and now form s a
part of the Eas t Coas t l ine of the Madras Rai lway . Th is latter , wh ich
t raverses Nel lore from sou th to north , was opened for t raffic in 1 898
— 9 .
I t en ters the D is tr ic t near Arambakam , 38 m iles north of Madras c i ty ,
and after runn ing th rough i t rough ly paral l el to th e coas t for 1 5 3 m iles, l eaves i t a m i le north of Ammanabrolu . The Sou thern Mahratta Rai lway l ine from Guntakal to Bezwada
, wh ich passes th rough the
north-western corner of the D is tr ic t , was comple ted i n 1 894 .
The total l ength of metal led roads i s m i les , and of unmetal led
roads 1 48 m iles . All th ese are main tained from Local funds , and
avenues o f t rees have been plan ted along 43 5 m i les of them . The great northern road run s from north to sou th
, paral l el w i th the ra i lway
almos t th roughou t i ts whole length . The main l i nes of communicat ion
wh ich cross the D is tr ic t from east to wes t are the Ongole-Cumbum road
th rough Podili , the road th rough Kanduku r and Kan igi r i
, that from
Kaval i to Udayagi r i v ia V injam t ‘
i r, that from Nel lore to Cuddapah via Atmaku r, that from Nellore to the Cuddapah front ier v ia Podalakur , and that from Gadnr to th e Rapu r pass . The road system of the
D i s tr ic t i s by no means fully devel oped .
The Buckingham Canal i s th e only navigable water-way . I t com mun icateswi th the fresh-water h igh-l evel canal s of th e K is tna del ta sys tem at Pedda Ganjam
, and thus affords un in terrupted commun i
cat ion w ith Cocanada on th e north and Merkanam in South Arcot on the south .
Nel lore , wi th i ts scanty rain fal l and l im i ted means of i rr igat ion , i s
always l iabl e to fam ine . The i d/uks sou th of the Penner, wh ich
recei ve a fai rly good fal l and are wel l suppl ied w i th tanks
, are better protected from drough t than those
i n the north and wes t . The D ist ri c t was vi s i ted by fam ine in 1 80 5 — 7 ,
1 8 2 3 — 4 , 1 833 , 1 8 7 6
—8 , and 1 89 1
—2 . Rel ief operat ions had moreover
t o be s tarted in 1 89 7 —8
, and again i n 1 90 0 . During the fam ine of
1 8 2 4 , people are said to have been fed for th ree months . The northern {ti /irks su ffered terribly dur ing the Gunt i i r famine of 1 833 ,
when people were be ing fed dai ly in Nel lore town alone . In
Fam ine .
2 0 NELLORE DISTRICT
Li t t l e i s known of the revenue h is tory o f the Dis tr ic t under the
H indus . The governmen t share of the crop varied in di fferen t local i t ies , and the rates are supposed to have been general ly increased by the
succeed ing Muhammadan ru lers . ‘Wet ’ lands were u sual l y h eld on
a tenure based on the d ivi s ion of the crop . I t i s probabl e , however ,
that i n many cases of occupat ion of garden and waste lands the tenants
paid a fixed customary ren t . The col lect ion of revenue was as usual supervised by the v i l lage karmzm (accountant) and headman
, th e
d is tr ic t accoun tan t (cal led the sf/zalrrkam am) , and the des/zzzzzzk/z . Under the Nawabs o fArcot the coun try was parcel led ou t i nto large
d iv is ions , and the righ t o f col lec t ing al l the demands of the state on each of these was farmed out to the h ighes t b idder . These les sees general ly employed sub -renters , who were often the head inhab i tan ts of
vi l lages , and the effec ts of the sys tem were notor iously bad .
Bes ides the land revenue , th e state used to levy a number o f ind irec t
taxes , such as sal t tax , rd/zddrz

(or t rans i t) dut ies , jazz/lad (or graz ing tax) , mo/zz

zms) to the vi l lage officers and the hered itary po/zgdrs and
krivalg fdrs
, who were or ig inal ly respons ibl e for the pol ice adm in is trat ion .
The Company took over the adm in is trat ion of the D is tric t tem
porari ly for two years i n 1 7 90 . Mr . Dighton was appo in ted the fi rs t Col lec tor of Nel lore and i ts dependenci es
, and Mr . Erskine of Ongol e
and the Palnad reg ion . The revenue col lect ions at th i s date never
e xceeded 3 lakhs of pagodas for Nel lore and pagodas for Ongole .
Nei ther the V enkatagi r i nor th e z ‘ d/z/k of Kan ig i r i formed
part of the Dis tr ic t at that t ime ; they were added subsequen tly , and i t
was no t t i l l 1 86 3 that the D is tr ic t atta ined i ts presen t shape , Sri hariko ta
I s land having been included in i t i n that year . Nel lore was final ly handed over to the Company in 1 80 1 . Mr. Travers , who was appoin ted
Col lec tor, at once in troduced the ry ofwdrz '
sys tem . The set t lemen t
effected under the ru les then in force d i ffered i n many respect s from the
presen t sys tem . No at tempts were made to calcula te the ou t-tu rn or survey the fi eld s accuratel y . The Government demand was fixed at
a cus tomary rate o f eleven- twen t i e ths of the gross produce , after de duc t ing 6% per cen t . for fees to vi l lage officers . The average rate per acre was Rs. 7 for
‘ wet ,
’ and Rs. 2—8 for ‘ dry ’ l and . The total
as sessmen t for the fi rs t five years var ied from 1 6 to 2 0 lakhs o f rupees . These rates were too h igh
, and the system broke down under the pressu re
'
sys tem was , however
, reverted to in 1 8 2 1—2 , and has con t inued
ever s ince . Between 1 8 5 4 and 1 8 5 8 the rates were reduced by 1 4 per
cen t . on ‘ wet ’ and 6% per cen t . on ‘ dry ’ land . In 1 866 garden land
not i rrigated wi th Governmen t water was classed as ‘dry .
’ The mo/zlarfa
ADM IN ISTRATION 2 1
was abol ished in 1 86 1 and the pal/ad tax in 1 86 7 . A regular su rvey
of the D is tr ic t, begun i n 1 86 1 , added per cen t . to the recorded
occupied area . The D istr ic t was se ttl ed accord ing to the presen t
system between 1 8 7 3 and 1 8 7 5 , the land revenue demand be ing en
hanced by Rs. or 1 1 per cent . The average assessmen t on ‘ dry ’ land works ou t a t Rs. 1—3—6 per acre (maximum Rs. 5 , m in imum
4 annas) , and that on ‘ wet ’ land at Rs. 5
— 5 — 7 (maximum Rs. 1 0—8
,
m in imum Rs. The average exten t of a hold ing i s 9% acres . The D istr ic t i s now being resurveyed
, and i t i s proposed to rev i se the se ttle
men t immediately .
The revenue from land and the total revenue in recent years are
given below , i n thousands o f rupees
Owing to the t rans fer o f the Ongole i dly /é to the newDistr ic t of Guntur ,
the land revenue demand has been reduced to Rs. The local a ffai rs of the D is tr ic t are managed by the Distr ic t board
and the four fri /zzé boards of Ongole , Nel lore , Gudu r, and Atmakt ’
i r ,
correspond ing to the four admin i s trat i ve s ubd iv i s ions ment ioned above .
The total expend i tu re of these bod ies i n 1 90 3 — 4 was abou t 4 lakhs ,
the ch ief i tem being the upkeep of roads and bu i ld ings . Of the i r income , lakhs was der ived from the land cess . There are fi fteen
Un ion panc/zdy az ‘s , which look after the san i tary and other needs of
the i r respec t i ve v i l lages , bes ides two munic ipal i t ies .
The Di str ic t Super in tenden t of pol ice res ides at Nel lore town and has general con trol over the force th roughou t t he D is t r ic t . An Ass is tan t S uper intenden t at Ongol e i s i n immed iate charge of the [ri ll/ks i n the north . There are i n al l 94 pol ic e sta t ions , and the force numbers
989 constables , under 1 8 inspec tors . The s trength of the reserve i s
5 4 men . The rural pol ice cons i s ts of talazjvri rz '
s , work ing d irectly
under th e vi l lage headmen . The D is tr ic t jai l at Nellore i s under the
super in tendence of th e Dis tr ic t Surgeon . I t i s an old bu ild ing , wi th
accommodat ion for 2 3 1 males and 1 4 females , as wel l as 2 7 persons i n the hospi tal s . There are 1 5 subs id iary jai l s , a t the head-quarters of the ta/s/ddrsand deputy w i th a total accommodat ion for 2 5 5 pri soners . Nel lore s tands fi fteen th among the twen ty-two D is t ric t s of the Pres i
deney i n regard to the l i teracy of i ts populat ion , of whom 4
-1 per cen t .
(8-9 males and 0 6 females) were able to read and wri te i n 1 90 1 . Edu
cat ion i s mos t advanced in Nellore and Ongole , and mos t backward in
Rapur and Udayagir i . Progress has been con s iderabl e i n recen t years .
2 2 NELLORE DISTRICT
I n 1 880—1 th e total number of pupi l s under instruc t ion was by
1 890 —1 i t had r i sen to and by 1 90 0
- 1 to in 1 90 3 — 4 i t
was includ ing girl s . In 1 904 the Dis tr ic t contained educat ional in st i tu t i ons of al l k inds . O f th e 9 1 0 clas sed as publ ic , 1 2 were managed by th e Educat ional department
, 80 by local boards
,
4 by mun i c ipal i t i es ; 436 rece ived grants -in-aid , and 3 78 were unaided
bu t con formed to the rules of the departmen t . They i ncluded one col l ege
, 1 9 secondary , 883 primary, and 7 t ra in ing and spec ial school s .
O f th e male populat ion of school-going age 1 7 per cen t . , and of the
femal e populat ion 5 per cen t . , were in the primary s tage of in s truc t ion .
Among Musalmans , th e correspond ing figu res were 3 2 and 4 . O f th e
Mala and Mad iga classes , the two mos t depressed commun it i es i n
the D is tr ic t ,
1 2 boys and girl s were under in s t ruc t ion in 3 1 8 school s i n 1 90 3
- 4 . The m iss ions have done much to encou rage educat ion
among these people . The American Bapt i s t M iss ion mainta ins a
col lege at Ongole wh ich teaches u p to the F A. s tandard . O ther importan t i ns t i tu t ion s are the Uni ted Free Church M iss ion h igh school and the V enkatagi r i Raja’s h igh school at Nel l ore . The total expendi
t u re on educat ion in 1 90 3 — 4 was Rs. of which Rs.
was der ived from fees . O f th e total , 6 2 per cen t . was devoted to
pr imary school s . There are 1 0 hosp i tal s and 1 7 d ispen sari es , wh i ch are s i tuated at
the princ ipal towns . The med ical i ns t i tutions (four in al l) at Nel lore and Ongole are managed by the two mun icipal i t i es a t those ‘
places.
A matern i ty hosp i tal wasbu i l t at Nel lore to commemorate the Jub i l ee
of Queen V i c toria . The var ious Local fund hosp i tal s con tain aecom modation for 2 8 in-pat i en ts
, and there i s room for 78 more in the
mun ic ipal i ns t i tu t ions . In 1 90 3 the total n umber of cases treated was of whom were in-pat ients
, and operat ions were
performed . Local and mun i c ipal funds met the greater part of the
expend i ture, wh ich amounted to Rs. Of th i s sum establ is h men t charges absorbed Rs. and Rs. was spen t 0 11
med ic ines . The Distri c t i s rathe r backward with respec t to vacc inat i on , the
number of persons successful ly t reated i n 1 90 3 — 4 being only 2 4 per
of the populat ion , asaga i ns t a mean of 30 for the Pres idency .
V acc inat ion i s compul sory i n the two mun ic ipal i t ie s of Nellore and Ongole , and in seven of the Un ions .
[For further par t iculars of Nel lore Dis tr ic t see the jl/ amza! of f/ze
N ellore by J . A. C . Boswel l and I nscripz ‘
z
om (mCopper
p/ales and S /(mes i n Me [Va/lore by A. Butterworth and
V . V enugopal Chct t i (Madras , Nello re S ubd i visi o n .
—Subd iv i s ion of Nellore D istr ic t , Madras ,
consi s t ing of the NELLOR E and K AVAL I {ti lt/fey .
NELLORE TO IVIV 2 3
Nellore Taluk . — Tri /zzk i n the centre of the D is tr ic t of the same
name , Madras
° 2 1
°
E .
, and bounded on the eas t by the Bay of Bengal . I ts area i s 638 square m iles , and the populat ion i n 1 90 1 was compared wi t h i n 1 89 1 . The c /zzk conta ins two towns
, NELLOR E (popu la t ion
'
luk ,
and ALLUR and 1 49 vi l lages . The demand on accoun t of
land revenue and cesses i n 1 903 — 4 amounted to Rs. The
Penner ri ver separates the z‘d/zzé i n to two port ions , and the Paideru and the Maldevi drain the northern hal f. There i s an an icu t across th e Penner at Nel lore town
, and another at Sangam
, bu i l t i n 1 88 2 - 6 .
From the lat ter three main channel s i rrigate the southern port ion of the lei /71 ,6 ; whi le another channel from the former feeds an immense reservoi r
, known as the Kanigi r i tank
, from wh ich several m inor i rriga
t ion channel s supply the northern port ion . The {ti /11k i s d i s t ingu i shed from other parts of the D is tr ic t by the prevalence of w ide al l uvial
depos i ts . More than three—four ths is included in the Penner del ta, and rice cu l t ivat ion i s ex tens ively carr ied on there .
Nellore Town . —Head-quarters of the D istri c t and ta/uk of the
same name, Madras, s i tuated in 1 4 ° 2 7
' N . and 7 9 °
, on the righ t
bank of the Penner r iver , on the great northern road from Madras to
Calcutta and on the Eas t Coas t Rai lway , 1 09 m iles from Madras c i ty .
The populat ion i n 1 90 1 was cons is t ing of H indus and An im is ts , Musalmans
, and Chri s t ians .
The earl ies t Ch ie ftain of the place i s sa id to have been one Mukkant i ,
who ruled in the eleventh century as a tr ibu tary of the Chola k ings .
The next whose name has been preserved by trad i t ion i s S iddh i Raja who held i t in the twel fth cen tury . Power passed from the Cholas to
the Warangal Ganpat is, then to the Muhammadans and local ch iefs , t i l l Kri shna Deva of V ijayanagar subdued the coun try abou t 1 5 1 2 .
The town fi rs t at ta ined h is tor ical importance i n the e igh teenth century ,
when the Engl ish and the French were contes t ing the supremacy of
Southern Ind ia . I t formed part of the dom in ions of the Naw '
ab of the Carnat i c
, and possessed s trateg ic importance as commanding the
northern h igh road and the passage of the Penner . I ts fort, port ions of the wal l and d i tch o f wh ich are s t i l l v i s i ble
, was probably bu i l t
abou t th i s t ime . I n 1 7 5 3 i t was the apanage of Naj i b—u llah , a brother of the Nawab Muhammad Ali whom Engl i sh support had placed on
the th rone . He was driven ou t of Nel lore in that year by Muhammad Kamal , a m il i tary adven turer . This man threatened to sack the temple
at Ti rupat i , wh ich had been pledged to the Engl ish , bu t was eventual ly
defeated and taken pri soner by them . In 1 7 5 7 Naj i b-ul lah rebel led agains t the au thor i ty of h i s brother
, th e Nawab . An army of
men was sen t aga ins t h im , i ncl ud ing
, a European con t ingen t under
2 4 IVE LLORE TO IVIV
Colonel Forde . Naj i b-ul lah l eft the town to be defended by a garri son of men
, ass i sted by 2 0 French from Masu l ipatam . After a few
days ’ bombardment , a breach was made i n the mud wal l , bu t the
s torm ing party , cons i s t ing mainl y of the Bri t ish cont ingen t
, wasrepu l sed
wi th loss . Naj ib—ul lah remained i n arms throughou t the fol lowing year ; bu t when th e French under Lal ly w i thdrew from before Madras in 1 7 5 9 , he subm i t ted and was reappo in ted governor of the country .
During the wars w i th Haidar Ali , Nellore to a great exten t escaped the
general devas tat ion . In 1 790 , on the breaking out of the war w i th
Tipu Sul tan , the Br i ti sh resolved to undertake the d i rec t managemen t
of the revenues of the Carnat ic , wh ich had long been pledged to them
by the Nawab , and Mr. Dighton was appointed the fi rs t Col lector of
Nel lore . At th e conclus ion of the peace wi th T ipi '
i i n 1 7 9 2 th e
admin is trat ion was res tored to the Nawab , bu t i t was permanently
ass umed by the Bri t i sh in 1 80 1 .
Bes ides the usual adm in i s trat ive offices , Nel lore possesses a smal l
D i s tr ic t jai l , i n wh ich the convict s are employed i n gardeni ng and
weaving . The houses of the European res iden ts are on the sou th of
the nat ive town along the bank of a large tank , on the farther s ide
of wh ich ri ses the temple-crowned h i l l o f Narasimhakonda. Nel lore
was const i t uted a mun ic ipal i ty i n 1 866 . The receipts and expend i tu re during the ten years end ing 1 90 2
— 3 averaged Rs. I n 1 90 3
— 4
th e receip ts were Rs. the ch ie f sources be ing the house and
l and taxes (Rs. and tax on veh ic les and an imal s (Rs. whi le the main i tems of expend i ture were conservancy (Rs. med ical needs (Rs. and roads and bu i ld ings (Rs. The mun ic ipal hosp i tal con tains beds for 40 ln-pat ients . Surveys and l evel s
have been taken for a scheme for supply ing the place w i th water . The average rainfal l i s abou t 36 inches . I n the ho t season
, temperatures
of 1 1 2 ° and over in the shade are no t uncommon .
Nel lore i s no t of much indus tr ial importance , the only factories or
crafts be ing a r ice-husking m il l , a pr ivate workshop in process of
development, and the dye ing of cloths . The ch ie f educat ional i nst i tu
t ions are th e Un i ted Free Church Miss ion h igh school and th e V enkatagi r i Raja’s h igh school
, both educating up to the matriculat ion
s tandard . The former wases tabl ished i n 1 84 1 and the latter i n 1 8 76 .
The American Bap t is t M is s ion and the Roman Cathol ic M iss ion , both
of which have been long set tl ed i n th e town , also main ta in several
schools .
'
/a i n Indore State , Cen tral I ndia . S ee N IMAR Z 1LA.
Nemaw ar. —Distr ic t o f the Indore S tate
, Central Ind ia
, l y ing
’ and 2 2 °
°
° 1 1 " E. , on the
north bank of the Narbada , wi th an area of square m i les . The
greater par t l ies i n the fert i le al luv ial pla in wh ich forms the val ley
NEPAL 2 5
of the Narbada . To the north i t i s bounded by the V indhyan range ,
on the slopes of wh ich grow forests of cons iderabl e econom ic value .
Bes ides the Narbada , several t r ibu tar ies
, th e Chankeshar, Datun i
,
Bagd i , and other smal le r s treams , afford an ample supply of water .
The annual ra infal l i s 2 9 i nches . Nemawar i s c losel y connected h istor ical ly wi th the neighbour i ngr
Bri t i sh D is tr ic t of N IMAR , sou th of the r iver . Alb irfi ni (A. D . 9 70
,
in whose t ime the fine Jain templ e at Nemawar vi l lage was erected .
Under Akbar the d is tr ic t was inc luded in the Hindia saré dr o f the
Saba/Z of Malwa . Between 1 740 and 1 74 5 part of th i s d i s tr ic t fel l to th e Peshwa
, some of i ts parganaspass ing i n 1 78 2 to S indh ia . In th e
early years of the n ineteen th cen tury the notor iou s P indar i l eader
Ch i tu made h is head-quarters at Satwas and Nemawar , and i n 1 8 1 5
col lec ted i n th i s d i s tr ic t the larges t P indar i band ever assembled . I n 1 844 some parga zzaswere included in th e d is tr ic ts ass igned for the
upkeep of the Gwal ior Cont ingen t . After the d is turbances o f 1 8 5 7
a portion of Nemawar remained under Bri t i sh management un t i l 1 86 1 , when i t was made over to Ho lkar i n exchange for certa in lands held by h im i n the Deccan .
The populat ion decreased from'
i n 1 89 1 to i n 1 90 1 ,
giving a dens i ty i n the lat ter year of 7 0 persons per square m ile .
There are 33 7 v i l lages . The di s tr ic t i s i n charge of a S z '
afia/z , whose
head-quarters are at SATWAS . I t i s d ivided for admin i s trat ive purposes in to th ree pargcm as, wi th head-quarters at Khategaon
, Kantaphor
, and
, who i s magis trate and revenue
col lector of h is charge . The total revenue is 3-6 lakhs . Nepa1.
—The kingdom of Nepa l , the land of the Gurkhas
, i s a Nat ive
State on the northern fron t ier of Ind ia , extend ing along th e sou thern
s lopes of the H imalayas for a length of abou t 5 0 0 m iles . I ts general d irect ion i s from north-wes t to eas t
, between the 8o th and 88th degrees
of E . l ongi tude , the mos t sou thern and eas tern angl e reach ing as low as the 2 6 th
, and i ts mos t northe rn and wes tern corner as h igh as the 3o th degree o f N . la t i tude . I n shape
, therefore
, the coun try i s lo ng and
narrow, vary ing in bread th from 90 to 1 0 0 mi les , wh i l e i t s area i s
es t imated a t square m i les . Along i ts northern boundary Nepa l adjo in s Tibet ; on the eas t i t i s bounded by the S tate of S i kk im and
the Dis tr ic t of Darjeel ing ; on the sou th by Bengal and the Un i ted Provinces ; and on the wes t by Kumaun and the r iver Kal i . Nepa l i s thus cont iguous on three s ides to Bri t i sh terr itory . V ery l i t tl e i s known of i ts northern fron t ie r
, which i s formed by the eternal snows
of the H ima layas ; and i t i s p robable that this fron t i e r i s not s t ric t l y defined , excep t at the access ibl e poin ts of the passes l ead ing in to
2 6 NEPAL
Tibet , where Ch inese and Nepal ese fron t ier-pos ts and custom -houses
are es tabl i shed .
O rograph ical ly the country can bes t be descr ibed as cons is t ing of
four z ones , runn ing success ively upwards from eas t to west . (1 ) The
Tara i , the lowland at the foo t of the h i l ls
, i s a narrow
bel t wh ich var ies in wid th from 1 0 to 30 m iles .
(2 ) The Sandstone range, wi th i ts (112723 or val leys ,
r i ses some 600 to 80 0 fee t above th e Tarai , and i s a cont inuat ion
of the range known as the S 1wAL1Ks. I t runs in prac t ical cont inu i ty along the whol e length o f Nepal , the only breaks in the chain being caused by r ivers forc ing an outle t . The range i s covered wi th th ick j ungle
, as are the val l eys ly ing beh ind i t . These are at an
el eva t ion of abou t feet, and connect the Sands tone range wi th the H imalayas . (3 ) From the northern extrem i ty of the di m th e
main range of th e Hima layas ri ses to the north , h i l l succeed ing h i l l and
peak ri s ing above peak , un t i l they cu lm inate in the vas t snowy range
wh ich runs in maj est ic grandeur along the northern fron t ier of Nepal . Th is h i l l region
, up to an el evat ion of feet
, may be taken as the
th i rd z one , th e fourth be ing formed by the mounta in region above that
al t i t ude: The h i l l country , composed of a series of ranges varying from to feet
, necessar i ly encloses many val leys . These
l ie mostly a t an elevat ion of feet , and
, wi th the except ion of th e
val ley of Katmandu , or, as i t i s more frequently cal led , t he Val ley of Nepa l
,
and many of them are th ickly populated . (4 ) Of the mounta in region but l i t t l e i s known . The lower s lopes are cul t ivated ; bu t above these
the reg ion presents a rugged broken wal l o f rock , l ead ing up to the
magnificen t chain o f perpetual snow-clad peaks wh ich culm inate in M OUNT EVEREST fee t) , and others of sl igh tly less al t i tude .
The terr i tory of Nepa l w i th in the h i l ls i s d ivided in to th ree large natural d iv is ions by lofty r idges wh ich take off from the h igh peaks of Nanda Devi fee t) , Dhaulagiri Gosain than
and K INCHINJUNGA These r idges s tand ou t a t r igh t angles from the cen tral ax i s of the H imalayas
, and run
, paral l el to each other,
nearl y due south towards the plains . Each of the three d i vi s ions rece ives i ts name from the r iver by wh ich i t i s d ra ined : namely , the wes tern d iv is ion
, or mounta in bas in of the K AURIALA
, (K arnali ) or GOGRA ; the cen tral d ivi s ion , or mountain bas in of th e GANDA K ; and
the eas tern d ivi s ion , or mounta in bas in of the K OS 1 .
The wes tern d ivi s ion i s d ivided in to two unequal parts by the Kal i o r SARDA r iver , wh ich forms the boundary between Nepa l and Kumaun .
The terri tory on the le ft bank i s Nepalese . The most impor tan t t r ibu taries of the K auriala r i ver are the Kal i
, Babai
, and Rapti . They
all break through the Sands tone range by d ifferent passes , and do not
2 8 NEPAL
part i t cons is ts of dense fores t s of sci ! t rees (Sfiorea rooasz‘a), in term ixed wi th s/zZs/zam ,
somal or cotton-trees , and nearer the h i l l s o/zi r (P i zzas I n places i t i s qu i te impenetrable
, owing to the luxur ian t
undergrow th and tangle of gian t creepers wh ich swing from tree to tree .
Here and there the fores t i s in terrupted by s tretches of prair ie land , whose grass often reaches to a he igh t of 1 0 to 1 5 fee t ; and , where the ground is l ow- ly ing and swampy
, t ract s of narkaz‘
, or ‘ el ephant-grass ,

are found , i n some places so dense that not even elephan ts can work
the i r way through . Thi s grass growth i s most marked in the eas tern Tarai
, where success ive floods have swep t away the t imber . The Tara i
i s abundantl y watered by the var ious r ivers wh ich traverse i t to reach the plains . Qu icksands , or the s t i l l more dreaded pfiasan or bogs, are frequently met w i th . The latter are waterlogged narrow channel s , contain ing a mass of decay ing vegetat ion , wh ich on the surface appear fordable
, bu t have been known to engul f both men and an imal s .
Leav ing the Tarai , and proceed ing inland , the scenery assumes the features of other parts of the H imalayan region
, the vegeta t ion vary ing
wi th the al t i tude . Here, as elsewhere , the sou thern faces of the moun ta ins are th i ckly wooded . Thei r nor thern aspects
, mostly covered wi th
short grass , l ead down to some narrow val ley along wh ich runs a moun
ta in torren t . Many of these val leys , as wel l as the surrounding h i l l
s ides , are h ighly cul t ivated, r i ce be ing grown on the lower and better
watered port ions of ground , and maiz e on the h igher . A descript ion
of the h igher ranges resolves i tself in to the V iew from the V al ley of Nepal and the mounta in s overlooking i t
, for other parts of the in terior
are j ealous ly closed to Europeans . To the eas tern extrem i ty of the long l ine of snows , a mountain long supposed to be Everest, but wh ich i s real ly Gauri Sankar
, r ises w i th tooth-shaped summ i t and saddle-back
proudly above i ts fel low peaks . Being more d i s tan t , however, i t i s no t
so impress ive as the nearer masses of Gosain than , Dhaulagiri , and
Nanda Devi , wh ich together afford one long cont inuous ser ies of snow
peaks , magn ificen t in beau ty and exten t .
1 Owing to the j ealous exclus ion of fore igners , l i t tl e is known abou t
the geology of Nepal , though enough to establ ish the ex is tence of sub
H imalayan and outer H imalayan rocks of the same type as in the Un ited P rovinces . The only geological account avai lable i s that of Mr. H . B . M edlico tt
, whose inves t igat ions ex tended to a point a l i t tl e
beyond Ka tmandu 2
The trac t r is ing ou t of the Ganget ic al luv ium and ofidoar depos i t of
coarse gravels presents al l the features of the ord inary sub-Himalayan
Thisparagraph isbased on a no te communi cated by Mr. C . S . M i dd lem iss, o f the Geo logi cal Survey .
9 ‘ No te on the Geo logy of Nepal ,

Records , Geolog i cal S urvey of Indi a, vol. vi i i ,
part iv.
PHYSICAL ASPECTS 2 9
area . I t begins wi th the Chur ia Ghat i range, wh ich i s the exac t equ ivalen t of the typical S iwa l i k range sou th of Dehra D i m, be ing composed of soft sands and conglomerates of coarse r iver boulders . The d ip i s gentle and towards the main range , flatten ing ou t i n the dim or mar! of Etoundah , wh ich corresponds to the Dehra or Patl i o ’ fins. Beyond
, harder bu t s t i l l soft sands tones of Nahan type form
the lower spurs of the main range , and are apparen tl y cu t off from the
older rocks o f the range by a reversed faul t , as i s the case farther north west . The whole of th is sub-Himalayan ser ies , wh ich aggregates feet in th i ckness
, i s presumed by analogy to be of Upper Tert iary age .
The older rocks of the main range compri se a much-folded sequence of earthy sch is ts
, wi th th in blue l imestone beds
, black sch is tose slates
,
wh i te mass ive crystal l ine l imes tone , quartz -sch is ts
, and gne issose gran i te
,
the las t be ing porphyr i t i c , and contain ing m ica and schorl . The general
s tr ike i s w i th the main H imalayan cha in , and the apparen t d ip i s to wards the north-eas t
, c