Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/459

Rh A H M A H M 423 the towns of Ahmadabad, Dholka, Mandu, Gogo, Dhanduka, Praiitej, and Morasha ; the rate of municipal taxation per head o1 population varies from 2s. 6Jd. in Ahmadabad to 4d. in Morasha, the average throughout the eight towns being Is. 7|d. per head. The municipal income is chiefly derived from octroi duties, which in some of the towns are farmed. Thirteen towns are returned as containing a population exceeding 5000 souls, namely, Ahmadabad, population 116,873 ; Dholka, 20,854 ; Viramgaon, 19,661 ; Dhollera, 12,468 ; Dhanduka, 9782 ; Gogo, 9571 ; Prantej, 8341 ; Morasha, 7436 ; Sanand, 7229 ; Mandu, 6774 ; Patri, 6320 ; Barwala, 5813 ; and Ranpur, 5796. The district contains 145 schools, in eight of which English is taught. The police force numbers 1189 men The Kolis contribute most largely to the criminal population. AHMADABAD CITY, the capital of the district, is situated on the east or left bank of the river Sabarmatf, in 23 N. lat., and 72 36 E. long. It was formerly one of the largest towns in India, celebrated for its commerce and manufactures of gold and silver, silk and cotton fabrics, articles of gold, silver, steel, enamel, mother of pearl, lacquered ware, and fine wood-work. Excellent paper was also manufactured, and a large trade carried on in indigo, cotton, and opium. With the rise of the Marhatta power, however, Ahmadabad became the scene of repeated struggles between the Marhattas and the Mussulmans, whose power was then on the wane, and from this period its pros perity declined. It was captiired by the Marhattas in 1755, and again by the British in 1780. The latter soon afterwards gave the town back to the Marhattas, who held it till it finally came into the hands of the English in 1818. The present state of the city is flourishing. It contains a population of 116,873 souls, and is a large and important station on the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Rail way. It is the seat of important silk manufactures, and has two cotton-mills worked by steam-power. The principal objects of architectural interest are the Jain temple of Seth Hathisinh and the Juma Masjid or Great Mosque. The Jain temple is a modern edifice, having been erected about twenty-five years ago by Hathi Sinh, a rich Jain merchant, who dedicated it to Dharmnath. This modern style shows that the Jain style of architecture has hardly degenerated from its ancient excellence. The ex ternal porch, between two circular towers, is of great magni ficence, most elaborately ornamented, and ]eads to an outer court, with sixteen cells on either side. In the centre of this court is a domed porch of the usual form, with twenty pillars. The court leads to an inner porch of twenty-two pillars, two stories in height, with a roof of a shape very fashionable in modern Jain temples, though by no means remarkable for beauty. This inner porch conducts to a triple sanctuary. The exterior of the temple expresses the interior more completely than even a Gothic design ; and whether looked at from its courts or from the outside, it possesses variety without confusion, and an appropriateness of every part to the purpose for which it was intended. The Juma Masjid or Great Mosque of Ahmadabad, although not remarkable for its size, is one of the most beautiful mosques in the East, the Jain style of architecture being plainly visible in its construction. Its external dimensions are 382 feet by 258 feet. AHMADNAGAR, a district and city in British India, in the province of Gujrat, within the jurisdiction of the Governor of the Presidency of Bombay. The COLLECTORATE extends from 18 6 to 19 50 N. l at., and from 73 40 to 75 37 E. long., and contains the following eleven talukas or sub-districts : Nagar, Jamkhair, Parnair, Srigonda, Karjat, Newasa, Kopargam, Sangamnair, Rahuri, Siogam, and Ankola. A natural boundary is formed on the west of the Ankola taluka by the Western Ghats, and, further south, by the edge of the table-land of Parnair; on the S.W. the district is bounded by the Gor river; on the S. by the Bhlma and Sholapur collectorates; on the E. by the Nizam s dominions; on the N.E. by the Godavari river; and on the 1ST. by the Nasik district. The total area of the district is returned at 4,209,036 acres, or 6576-62 square miles. Of the total area, 3,068,162 acres, or 4794-00 square miles, are cultivated; 121,474 acres, or 189 80 square miles, are cultivable, but not actually under tillage; and 1,019,400 acres, or 1592-81 square miles, are uncultivable. The last portion includes (besides unarable lands) village sites, roads, tanks, rivers, &c. The population of the district, according to the census taken on the night of the 21st February 1872, numbered 773,938 souls, divided into the following five classes: Hindus, 716,820, or 92 62 per cent, of the total popu lation; Mahometans, 42,435, or 5 49 per cent.; Bud dhists, 12,547, or 1-62 per cent.; Christians, 941, or 0-12 per cent.; and other denominations, 1195, or 15 per cent. The bulk of the population consists of Marhattas and Kunbis, the latter being the agriculturists. On the north the district is watered by the Godavari and its tribu taries the Prawara and the Mula ; on the north-east by the Dor, another tributary of the Godavari; on the east by the Sdphani, which flows through the valley below the BaU Ghat range; and in the extreme south by the Bhfma and its tributary the Gor. The Sina river, another tributary of the Bhima, flows through the Nagar and Karjat talukas. The collectorate on the whole is fairly well watered, although in some villages among the hills and spurs of the Western Ghats the supply is insufficient. The district is intersected by the Bombay and Agra road; a second road connects Puna via Serur with the town of Ahmadnagar, and is con tinued thence towards Maligam; a third road leads from Puna to Narayangam, besides various cross-tracts and minor roads connecting the different towns of the district. The only important industry is weaving. The principal agri cultural products are wheat, gram, bajra, joar, and tur dal. The early or spring crop is bajra and tur dal ; wheat, gram, and joar being sown later in the season. Several other food grains are also raised ; and sugar-cane, betel leaves, a little cotton, and all descriptions of vegetables are sown on suitable soils. The staple food of the people is bajra and joar (coarse kinds of millet). The total revenue of the district is returned at nearly 170,000 ; about 140,000 being derived from the land revenue. The total annual expenditure is returned at 50,000. The present land settlement was introduced about 1844-45, and the thirty years leases are now beginning to fall in. In a few villages which were transferred to Ahmadnagar from the Nasik collectorate the leases have already expired, and a revision of the settlement is in progress (1873). The following eight towns are returned as containing a population ot upwards of 5000 souls : Ahmadnagar, population 32,841 ; Sangam nair, 9978; Pathardi, 7117; Khurda, 6889; Srigonda, 6175; Bhingar, 5752 ; Karjat, 5535 ; and Sonai, 5254. The municipal system has been introduced into the towns of Ahmadnagar, San gamnair, and Bhingar. In the two first named, the municipal revenue is derived from a house tax and octroi duties on goods and articles imported into the town for consumption. In Bhingar the municipal revenue is raised by the levy of a classified tax on pro fessions and trades carried on within the town. The municipal revenue and expenditure in 1872, together with the incidence of municipal tax per head of the population in each of the three towns, was as follows: Ahmadnagar, municipal income, 3611, 18s.; municipal expenditure, 3557, 12s.; incidence per head of population, 2s. 2|d. Sangamnair, municipal income, 275, 4s., 6 4d. per head; expenditure, 217. Bhingar, municipal revenue, 259, 18s. 8|d. per head; expenditure, 259, 18s. Ahmadna gar district contains 1 high school, 1 first-grade Anglo- vernacular school, 3 middle-class schools, 164 lower-class schools, and 1 girls school. Education is making fair progress, and the number of schools is annually increasing as funds become available. For the protection of person and property, a regular police force of 594 men of all grades is maintained, at a cost, during 1872-73, of 9869. A village police, numbering 2042 men, is also kept up, at a cost of 1978 per annum. There are no special criminal classes in the district except a few Bhils, and they are now much less troublesome than formerly. AHMADNAGAR CITY, the capital of the district of the same name, is situated in 19 6 N. lat., and 74 46 E. long. It is a town of considerable antiquity, having been founded, in 1494, by Ahmad Nizam Shah, on the site of