16 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA 



own observation during many years of acquaintance with 

 the region described, I shall not refuse to avail myself of 

 well-authenticated material collected by others. 



The highland region is comprehended within eleven 

 of the nineteen districts into which the province has 

 been subdivided for administrative purposes. A portion 

 of most of these districts lies also in the adjacent plains, 

 either to the north or south of the hills, a judicious 

 arrangement, which combines in one jurisdiction the hill 

 and the plain people who have dealings together. The 

 total area of these districts is, in round numbers, 44,000 

 square miles, of which about 11,000 are under cultiva- 

 tion, and the remainder waste. Where such extensive 

 mountains are included, it will not be surprising to find 

 that of this large unreclaimed area, about 20,000 square 

 miles are estimated to be wholly incapable of tillage, the 

 remaining 13,000 being probably more or less fit for im- 

 provement. These figures are obtained by the returns of 

 the department employed in what is called the " settle- 

 ment of the land revenue." ^ 



Few readers will require to be told that in India the 

 great mass of the land has always paid a tax to the 

 Government (which is really of the nature of a rent-charge 

 which had never been alienated by the original proprietor 

 of all land — the State) ; and in these provinces most of 

 the hill-chiefs even were foimd, on the country coming 

 into our hands, to be liable to the land tax, which in 

 their case, however, was usually a very light one. During 

 the times of anarchy which preceded our rule, the proper 

 amount of this tax had become very uncertain, the assess- 

 ment, in fact, having very much resolved itself into a 

 struggle between the rulers and the ruled, " that they 

 should take who have the power, and they should keep 

 who can." It was also by no means clear in many cases 

 from whom the tax should be demanded, rights of property 

 in land having fallen greatly into abeyance during a period 

 when to claim the proprietorship was to invite spoliation 

 and oppression. Our strong and equable rule so greatly 



^ The writer served for three years as settlement officer of one of 

 these districts, and can vouch for the general accuracy of the statistics. 



