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TIhe Palwdrs. Last in order come the Palwars, and they are likewise by far the most powerful. It has already been shown in the report of Surharpur that one Pithraj Deo, a Sombansi of Sandi Pali,* came 615 years ago and settled in thab pargana, where, and in Azamgarh, he and his offspring acquired much territory. lineal descendant of this Pithraj Deo, nine generations removed from him, named Gohraj Deo, is said to have come into pargana Birhar from Kauria in Azamgarh, some 600 years ago, and to have taken service with the Bhars, residing in mauza Pokharbheta, which is said to have been made over to him for that purpose. In process of time this man and his offspring are said to have replaced the Bhars in the entire management and control of Tappas Sati Barohi and Haweli, consisting in all of 302 mauzas.

A

About 300 years ago, in the eleventh generation from Gohraj Deo, this Palwar famity divided into two branches, the ancestral property being shared equally by the then representatives Baliram and Maniram. The At this place a elder son founded Balrampur, calling it after himself. bazar was afterwards established by Bdbus Raghunath Singh and Jabrdj Singh, who as a compliment to the ruler of the day gave it the name of Sultanpur.

The younger son fixed himself in mauza Rajapur, but it is said that the greater part of the property of this branch was absorbed by the elder branch a hundred and fifty years ago, and the offspring of Maniram are now proprietors of two villages only. Baliram, the elder son, was succeeded in his estates by his son Horal Singh. The latter had two sons, Ain Singh and Lashkar Singh, and about 150 years ago tJiese brothers divided the ancestral property equally and separated.

The elder branch, viz., that of Ain Singh, was then subjected to no further sub-division till it passed into the seventh generation, when, so recently as 1261 Fasli, the sons of Babu Munna Singh, viz. (1) Babu Madhoparshad (who has since the re-occupation of the province been succeeded by his son Hardatt Singh) and (2) Babu Kishanparshad, divided their father's property equally, and are now in possession of their respective estates. The younger

branch,

viz.,

that of Lashkar Singh, was subjected to sub-

division in the fifth generation, when the cousins, Shiudatt Singh and Jagat Narain, separated, each getting an equal portion and at this date Babu Mahip Narain holds the one property, having succeeded his elder brother Jagat Narain while the other is held by Babu Shiupargas, a distant relative of Shiudatt Singh, whom he succeeded.



earliest trace we have of the amount of revenue paid by these 1216 Fasli, when the representatives of both branches, Babus Daljit Singh and Sarabjit Singh, paid between them Rs. 77,589 to the ex-king. At annexation the demand had fallen off to Rs. 77,604. These

The

estates is in

On this the Birhar men change ground and say they came from a place called Pali near Delhi, once the seat of a Sombansi dynasty, but I have been told as a fact that the Palwars come from a village called Pali in the Partabgarh district, which is likely enough, as that is one of the chief seats of the Sombansi clau ia these days.
 * The Sombansis of Sandi Pali deny the connexion.