1903T] H. Beveridge— On *7s0 ££fl«. 133 



parallel amongst minerals ; and, in view of the fact that the association 

 is just that of the rarer earths, it is not unnatural to suspect the exis- 

 tence of some phenomenon akin to the forms of fluorescence and radio- 

 activity which have recently attracted so much attention. 



The General Secretary exhibited a spiral ring dug up at Alladand 

 in Swat by a burial party, received from Major S. H. Godfrey, I. A., 

 Political Agent, Dir, Swat, and Chitral. 



The chief interest of this ring appears to lie in the story current 

 among the people that the idol worshippers who were displaced by the 

 Muhammadans wore similar rings, and the legend that the Kafirs of 

 Kafiristan are the direct descendants of the former inhabitants of 

 Swat. 



The women of Kafiristan to this day wear iron coil ornaments on 

 their headdress of the shape of this gold plated spiral ring. It has 

 been somewhat damaged by incisions doubtless made at the time it was 

 exhumed to ascertain whether the gold was solid. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. On l Isa &han, the ruler of Bhatl in the time at Akbar. — By H. 

 Beveridge, I.C.S. (retired). 



(Abstract.) 



The history of *Isa Khan has already been noticed by Dr. Wise 

 in his valuable account of the Bara Bhuyas of Eastern Bengal publish- 

 ed in 1874. The object of Mr. Beveridge's present paper is to add 

 some particulars about 'Isa Khan taken from the third volume of the 

 Akbarnama a source not directly consulted by Dr. "Wise. The Akbar- 

 nama it may be observed appears to have been written after the Ain, for 

 in the Ain, 'Isa is incorrectly called 'Isa Af gh an, whereas the Akbarnama, 

 agreeing with the family tradition as reported by Dr. Wise, correctly 

 states that 'Isa's father was a Rajput of Baiswara in Oudh whose name 

 was Kail Das Gajdani. In the reign of Salim Shah, the son of Sher 

 Shah, Kali Das who had settled in the fluviatile region of Bengal, 

 rebelled, and was eventually by stratagem made prisoner and put to 

 death. According to the family tradition Kali Das became a Mu^am- 

 madan before his death and received the title of Sulaiman Khan. But this 

 cannot have been the case as his two sons 'Isa and Ishmael were sold 

 as slaves and carried off into Central Asia. On the death of Salim 

 Shah, in 1554, their uncle, after much searching, found them and 

 brought them back to Bengal. Isa by his ability and prudence 

 rose to be the chief of the bard, bhuyas or twelve zemindars of Bengal. 

 Ruler of Bhati, he professed submission the higher rulers of Ben- 



