548 Journal of the Astatic Society of Bengal. [November, 1910. 



fordable at several places above the junction, its waters finding 

 a fresh outlet through the River Garai. It must be granted 

 that when two big rivers meet, their junction must present 

 a continuous series of changes ; but in the present instance the 

 changes are strictly local and temporary; the main swing of 

 the river has not been materially affected ; the fears expressed 

 by Ferguson have not been realized; the Garai, so far from 

 having assumed the greatness prophesied, is now a sluggish 

 stream, only navigable in the rains; the Chandina is not only 

 fordable, but dry in places; the Ganges still flows on despite 

 the Brahmaputra, in fact at the point of junction the stream of 

 the Ganges occupies practically the identical bed through which 

 it flowed when Rennell surveyed it. There have been changes, 

 great and destructive, but only such as one would expect from 

 the natural disturbance where two great rivers blend into one; 

 there has been no radical departure from its course, such as is 

 seen further to the south and east. The place of battle has been 

 transferred to the Rajnagar area, where the old fight between 

 the Meghna and the Brahmaputra has been resumed, and, 

 despite the additional attack of the Ganges, the Meghna is 

 again proving victorious. It is over this area that one is able 

 to discern and trace out the radical changes due to the great 

 convulsion ; and it is this change of the battle field from the old 

 junction of the Brahmaputra and Meghna to the Rajnagar 

 area that lends conviction to the view that the cause which 

 terminated the former fray is identical with the cause which 

 has reopened the battle on a fiercer scale in a new area. 



In dealing with the changes in the course of the Ganges 

 in greater detail, I may be excused perhaps if I confine myself 

 in the main to the scenes of the most importance in order to 

 show the changes which are relevant to the arguments which 

 have been advanced; the other changes could be shown more 

 clearly and more shortly by a comparative map. The important 

 areas are the junction of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, the 

 Rajnagar area and the Nayabhangani River. 



Omitting the area from RennelPs Comercally to Moddapur, 

 where the channel has certainly shifted northward at the 

 Moddapur bend to the extent of over two miles, the long 

 W.E. reach, and the subsequent N.S. reach may be treated 

 jointly, as forming the area most liable to be affected by the 

 junction of the two streams. 1 The majority of the places shown 

 by Rennell in his map can still be traced, e.g., Bailgutchy, 

 Raganauthpur, Calkapour, Bowanypour, Maldo, No ty pour, 



1 Rennell shows two channels in the E.W. reach at the junction. I 

 only deal with the more southerly channel. The N. channel is now 

 quite dry : it is impossible to say which was the deep water channel in 

 1764. It may be that at times "the N. channel has been the important 

 one, but at any rate the S. channel is the survivor, and must demand 

 our attention. 



