Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/365

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— BHI

287

"

In 1262 the qubllliat remained with Sarabjit Singh, but QudratuUa Avas sent to collect as jamogdar. His extortions are said to have been so great that a large portion of the estate was thrown out of cultivation.

Beg

" At annexation various muqaddams (and in one instance a chaUkidar) were settled with. The qanungos state that of the 420 villages retained in the qubuliat of Gur Bakhsh and Sarabjit Singh previously to annexation, 200 were their ancestral property, in which they had bond fide proprietary rights acquired rather by inheritance or mortgage, a few of course by force. In 220 they had no actual proprietary rights. In 1264 F. at, annexation 50 villages were settled with Gur Bakhsh and 49 with Sarabjit Singh. In 1266 F. (A. D. 1858) 105 with Sarabjit Singh, none with Gur Bakhsh Singh. One hundred and seventy-eight villages comprising the Bhitauli estate were confiscated and made over to the Mahdraja of Kaplirthala. Most, if not all, of these are said by the qdnungos to have previously become the property of the Raikwar rdjas."

The following " The greater

extract

is

from Colonel Sleeman



part of the lands comprised in this estate of

Ramnugger

Dhumeereea, of which Raja Gorbuksh is now the local governor, are hereditary possessions which have been held by his family for many generations. A part has been recently seized from weaker neighbours and added to them. All the rest are merely under him as the governor or public officer entrusted with the collection of the revenues and the management of the police."

VoluTne

I.,

p. 25.

The above is, as far as I can ascertain, a fair relation of the history of Raja Gur Bakhsh Singh and the clan to which he belongs. We learn in addition or contradiction to the above from the raja's family history that his ancestors had formerly 616 villages paying, a revenue of Rs. 4,68,000. Raja Surat Singh received a perpetual money nankar of Rs. 1,000 for reducing the contumacious Raja of Nanpara the allowance was forfeited by Wajid Ali Shah. When Ghazi-ud-din Haidar went to see the Governor-General, he placed Sfirat Singh as Governor of Lucknow in charge of the police, receiving Rs. 500 per day.

We now come to the trans-Gogra settlements of the clan. The Bahraich branch of the Raikwars prospered exceedingly, if we are to believe their own account. The estate of these Raikwars originally was only one, that of

Bamhnauti

or

Baundi in Fakhrpur pargana.

Harhardeo, the Raja in Akbar's time, fourth in descent from Saldeo, took from a princess of the royal household travelling through his dominions on pilgrimage to Sayyad Sdlar's shrine. He was called to court to give an explanation he did so and remained to help his sovereign in an expedition against Idgar, the rebellious viceroy of Kashmir, his own family domain. He rendered good service and was granted the zamindari of nine parganas, Fakhrpur, HisSmpur, halfFirozabad in Kheri, R^jpur Chahlari, B^nsura in Sitapur, Seota in Sitapur, Sailuk in Bara Banki, Garh Qila in Kheri, Bamhnauti in Bahraich. In other words, a territory extending from Bado Sarai in Bara Banki to Ramia Bihar in Dhaurahra, a territory 90 miles long and averaging about 35 in breadth, or above 3,000 square miles. It is unlikely that- this grant was ever made; it is inconsistent with the toll



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