Page:Bulandshahr- Or, Sketches of an Indian District- Social, Historical and Architectural.djvu/25

 of its primæval forest and of the wild Nága tribes, who had made it their stronghold. On the termination of the internecine struggle, which forms the subject of the Mahábhárat, Yudhishthir, the last of the five brothers, again united the divided realm. He in course of time was succeeded on the throne of Hastinapur by Paríkshit, the grandson of his brother Arjun; and to Paríkshit's son, Janmejaya, is ascribed the foundation of Ahár, the oldest town in the district, from which he sent out a colony to build the fort of Baran, the modern Bulandshahr.

Thus, to Delhi chieftains are due the first reclamation of the soil and the first establishment of a social community, more than three thousand years ago while at the present day the local magnates, more numerous here than in any other part of the province, are for the most part the descendants of Delhi courtiers, who obtained grants of land from the Emperors, either in recognition of their submission to the faith, or reward for military services.

Thus the ancestor of the Biluch family at Jhájhar, now almost ruined by waste and litigation, was a companion-in-arms of Humáyun; another Biluch family, seated at Chanderu, rose into importance as local governors under Aurangzeb, and a century later acquired the village where they now reside, as a reward for services against the Mahrattas; the wealthy and influential Lál Kháni family, now headed by the two Nawàbs of Chhatári and Pahásu, and owning more than 200 villages in this and the adjoining districts, are descended from a Thakur of the Bargùjar clan, who abjured Hinduism under Aurangzeb's imperial persuasion; the Patháns of Jahángirabad were connected with one of the principal commanders of the Mughal troops in the reign of Sháh Alam, and subsequently obtained a grant of land from Lord Lake; and, lastly—though the list might be considerably extended—to come down to the present day, the nucleus of the handsome estate now enjoyed by the fine old Afghan soldier, Saiyid Mír Khán, better known as the Sardár Bahádur, was won by his gallantry in the Kábul war, and was augmented in acknowledgment of his distinguished loyalty in the Mutiny.

The proximity to the Muhammadan centre of Government has not only largely affected the character of the entire population in the lower as well as in the higher classes, but has also had a considerable influence on the general aspect of the landscape. In dress, language, and caste-