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HINDirsTAK. 



SINDUSTAl^. 



203 



Hyderabad, the capital and seat of the government, is built not far 

 from the east bank of the Indus, between this river and the Fulailee 

 branch, on a rocky eminence. It has no remarkable buildings, and 

 the population, amounting to nearly 30,000, live in mud huts. Nearly 

 half way between Hyderabad and the Hujamree mouth of the Indus 

 is Tatta, the ancient capital, which formerly was washed by the river, 

 but is now five or six miles distant from it. It presents only a heap 

 of mud ruins, and contains hardly 8000 inhabitants. Some good 

 cotton fabrics are still made here. At nearly equal distances between 

 Hyderabad and Tatta, on the right bank of the Indus, is the town of 

 Jurruch, which is built on a hill 150 feet high, has a good bazaar, 

 and 4000 inhabitants. Meerpoor is built on a canal which nms east- 

 ward from the Pinyaree branch into the interior, and fertilises a very 

 large tract of country. This town has mud walls inclosing a circuit 

 of three miles, and contains 10,000 inhabitants. There are more than 

 300 shops in the bazaar. Omercote lies on the banks of the eastern 

 Narra, and is built near the edge of the Thurr. It exports the pro- 

 duce of the desert, and contains 2000 inhabitants, chiefly Rajpoots. 



Sim, or Upper Sinde, contains several large towns, especially on 

 the west of the Indus. Shikarpoor, the chief commercial town of 

 Sinde, is situated in 27° 58' N. lat, 68° 30' E. long., on the plain 

 which extends from the Indus to the Hala Mountains, 26 miles from 

 the right bank of the river. The walls, of sun-dried brick, but in a 

 state of decay, inclose a space of nearly 4000 yards. The houses are 

 also of unbumt bricks, and the streets are narrow, confined, and dirty. 

 The great bazaar extends 800 yards, running through the heart of 

 the town. The suburbs are very extensive, and a large proportion' of 

 the population, especially the Mohammedans and labouring classes, 

 reside in them. The population is about 30,000, of whom about two- 

 thirds are Hindoos and the remainder Mohammedans, including 

 Afghans and Patans. There are from 30 to 40 bankers in Shikarpoor, 

 who have extensive connections both in western and eastern Asia. 

 The best commercial road between Hindustan, Afghanistan, and 

 Persia passes through Shikarpoor, leading by the Bolan Pass. Sthwun, 

 a large and formerly an important commercial place, is built on a 

 rocky eminence not far from the place where the Arrul, or Western 

 Karra, joins the Indus. It contains between 10,000 and 12,000 

 inhabitants, and carries on an active trade with the fertile country to 

 the north. On the banks of a canal connected with the Western Narra 

 is the town of Kkyrgaon, which has 7 mosques and between 2000 and 

 3000 inhabitants, and is a thriving place. Farther north, on another 

 canal of the Western Narra, is Larlchana, situated in the centre of a 

 tract very productive in rice, which is exported in large quantities : 

 it has 12,000 inhabitants. 



On the eastern bank of the Indus stands the town of Roree, which 

 is built on a rocky eminence, and contains about SOOO inbabitiints. 

 The streets are narrow ; the houses, many of which have three or 

 four stories, are built of sun-burnt bricks. Opposite this place, on an 

 island in the river, is the fortress Bukkur, and on the other side the 

 small town of Sukkmr. Khyrpoor, built on the canal of Meerwah, has 

 18,000 inhabitants ; the bazaar is spacious. SulmUcote lies on the road 

 leading from Uoree to Bhawulpoor ; it has some trade in the produce 

 of the country, esiiecioUy ghee, hides, and opium. 



The manufactures of Sinde are not numerous ; but they may be 

 regarded as extensive when the scantiness of the population is con- 

 sidered. Cotton-cloth of a coarse description is manufactured in the 

 principal towns and villages chiefly for home consumption, and a little 

 is exported to Afghanistan and Persia. Among the silk manufactures 

 those of Tatta have acquired repute in India, especially a rich fabric 

 of silk, cotton, and gold, variegated in pattern and of close texture. 



PtopU of Hindustan. — The aboriginal tribes, besides the Hindoos, 

 are at present only found in the mountainous parts of the country, 

 where they live chiefly on the produce of the chase and their cattle, 

 though they also cultivate some kinds of grain in the more level parts 

 of the districts occupied by them. Many of them consist of a com- 

 paratively small number of families. The most widely dispersed of 

 these tribes are the Q<mdt. They occupy the whole of the mountains 

 extending from theCircarsin a north-western direction over the higher 

 branches of the Mahanuddy River to the table-land of Omercuntuc, 

 which is in their possession, and west of it to the sources of the Tapty 

 and Wurdah. The Qonda are in a very low state of civilisation 

 compared with the Hindoos ; they live in a state of independence of 

 the ^vemments whose territories they inhabit, and rarely permit 

 foreigners to traverse their country. The western neighbours of the 

 Oonds are the JihetU, who occupy the Northern Qhauts and the 

 Vindhya Mountains, together with the mountain region cotmectiug 

 the Vindhya Moimtains with the AravuUi. Southward they extend 

 to Poona, and they are also in possession of the northern portion of 

 the Western Ohauts as far south as the parallel of Damaun. They are 

 not more advanced in civilisation than the Oonds, though they aro 

 more intermixed with Hindoos, and less indepcndt^ut of their masters. 

 The neighbours of the Bheelx, the Coulia, are dispersed over a com- 

 paratively small tract of country. The Coulies occupy the Western 

 Ohauts south of the Blieels, and as far as Bombay, and even farther. 

 Tliey enj'jy no independence, are a laborious i>eoplo, and at Bombay 

 and other places serve as labourers, and especially as porters. Hence 

 porters in Hindustan ore commonly called Coulies by Europeans. The 

 Jlamunt ore dispersed over the Western Qhauts, south of the Coulies. 



The Cathica, or Kathies, are a singular race of people inhabiting a part 

 of Oujerat. They are supposed to be the desceudanta of the ancient 

 Cathie who in the time of Alexander's invasion occupied a portion of 

 the Panjab. There are no castes amongst them. Besides priests they 

 have bards, who possess authority almost equal to the Druids. These 

 become security for the payment of debts, the conduct of individuals 

 who have misbehaved, and the appearance of parties in actions both 

 civil and criminal. They also conduct travellers aud caravans through 

 districts infested by robbers, or in a state of war. If a troop of 

 predatory horse appear the bard commands them to retire, and, 

 brandishing bis dagger, takes a solemn oath that if they plunder the 

 persons under his protection he will stab himself to the heart, and 

 bring his blood upon their heads. Such is the veneration in which he 

 as a person of celestial origin is held, and such the horror at being the 

 cause of his death, that the threat in almost every instance deters 

 them, and the party is allowed to pass on unmolested. The religion 

 of these people consists of little else than adoration of the sun. They 

 invoke this object of their worship before commencing any great 

 undertaking, and if a plundering expedition be successful a portion 

 of the money stolen is consecrated to the service of religion. The 

 only functions of the priests are to celebrate marriages and funeral 

 solemnities. They have but one sacred building, a temple dedicated 

 to the sun, near Thuam, and containing an image of that luminary. 

 The size of the Cathies appears to be above the average, often exceeding 

 six feet. The women are tall aud frequently handsome, and generally 

 speaking modest aud faithful. This people have no restrictions of any 

 sort regarding food or drink. (Calcutta ' Cliristian Observer,' January, 

 1847.) 



The foreigners settled in Hindustan are partly Asiatics and partly 

 Europeans. The Asiatics have come by sea and by laud, 'fo the 

 former class belong the Arabs, who are very numerous on the coast of 

 Malabar. Some Parsees, or Ouebres, are dispersed in the cities on 

 the coast between Bombay and Surat. The Asiatics who entered India 

 by land are chiefly settled in the plains of the Ganges and the Indus. 

 They came to these countries with the conquerors who at several 

 epochs have established their empires here. They are mostly 

 Afghans, and commonly called Patans. Their number is said to 

 amount to 10,000,000. 



The Europeans in Hindustan are chiefly, descendants of the Portu- 

 guese, who being rather conquerors than merchants established 

 themselves permanently in the places where they settled ; but they 

 are only numerous along the western coast, where their whole popu- 

 lation is said to be 2,000,000, an estimate which however seems 

 exaggerated. Next to the Portuguese the British are the most 

 numerous, but their number is stated not to exceed 60,000. 



Political Divirions, Areas, and Population. — The whole of Hindustan 

 is comprised in three great political divisions, the Presidency of Bengal, 

 the Presidency of Madras, and the Presidency of Bombay. The Bengal 

 Presidency includes the Sub-Presidency of Agra, or the North-Westem 

 Provinces. These divisions include not only the territories under the 

 direct rule of the British government, but also to a greater or less 

 extent all the native and foreign states from the Himalayas to Cape 

 Comorin, and from the Indus to the Birmese territory. Some of the 

 states are subsidiary, some are tributary, some are protected, and some 

 are nominally independent, but all are more or less under British 

 superintendence and control. The British government have treaties 

 of subsidiary alliance with the Nizam (or ruler) of Hyderabad, the 

 King of Oude, the Raja of Nagpoor, and the Raja of Gwalior. The 

 Bundelcund States and Nerbudda Territories are tributary aud pro- 

 tected. Indore and Bhopal are protected, but not tributary. The 

 States of Rajpootana are tributary and protected. Rohilound is pro- 

 tected, but not tributary. The Hill States and Sikkim are tributary 

 and protected. Bhawulpoor is protected, but not tributary. Gholab 

 Sing is protected, but not tributary. Cossya and Qarrow Hills and 

 Muneepoor are protected. Tiperah is independent. The Cuttack 

 Mehals are tributary. With Cochin, Travancore, and Mysore there are 

 treaties of subsidiary alliance ; but Mysore is at present under British 

 management. Jeypoor and the Hill Zemiudaries are protected. With 

 the Guicowar and the Raja of Cutch there are treaties of subsidiary 

 alliance. Colapoor, Sawuut Warree, and Sattara are at present under 

 British management. Nepaul is neither tributary nor protected, but 

 is restricted in certain respects by a treaty of alliauce. The French 

 and Portuguese possessions are independent. Each of the great 

 divisions comprises, for purposes of revenue, Regulation Provinces and 

 Non-Regulation Provinces ; and under the actual operations of the 

 government many of the old names of the Hindoo and Mohammedan 

 governments are gradually going out of use. The native governments, 

 for purposes of protection, superintendence, &c., are also included iu 

 each of the divisions. 



The Presidency of Bengal includes 7 Regulation Provinces (Jeasore, 

 Bhaugulpoor, Cuttack, Moorshedabad, Dacca, Patna, aud Chittagong), 

 and 8 Non-Regulation Provinces (Sugor and Nerbudda, Cis-Sutlej, 

 North East Frontier, Qoalpara, An'acan, Tenasserim, South- West 

 Frontier, and Panjab, including the JuUindar Doab and Kooloo 

 territory). 



The North-Westem Provinces, which are under a lieutenant-governor 

 and are sometimes called the Sub-Presidency of Agra, include 6 Regu- 

 lation Provinces (Delhi, Meerut, Rohilcund, Agra, Allahabad, and 



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