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CHA

350

and of Dang. In Akbar's time the revenue was admittedly only It was after this time that Rudr Singh, own brother of the Rs. 4,172. great Maha Singh of Ikauna, settled himself here, on the strength, it may be, of the farman which his elder brother obtained from Shah Jahan. The estate founded by him, comprising nearly the whole of the Sultanpur Kundri pargana, was subsequently called the Gujiganj estate, from Guji Beg, who obtained it in jagir. Rudr Singh's descendants, however, resented this grant, and at last became so refractory that orders were issued from Lucknow, in accordance with which, in 1803 A. D., Dariao Singh, the taluqdar of the time, was crushed and his estates divided among the neighbouring landholders. The western portion of the pargana seems at one time to have been called Jagannathpur, after one Jagannath Singh, also a cadet of the house of Ikauna, who probably established himself here about the same time as Rudr Singh in Sultanpur Kundri; but prior to his arrival one Sayyad Abti Muhammad is related to have obtained a grant of fourteen villages in this part, whence the name Charda, or Chahardah, is said to have originated. The Sayyads, however, made but little of the jungle tracts, and about the year 1600 A. D., the year of the cursing of Dugaon (see Ndnpara) they left the country for the south. Jagannath Singh does not seem to have done more than bequeath his name to the country side, for in Shujd-ud-daula's time the jungle had once more claimed its own. The Raja of N^ripara, Mustafa Khan, then undertook the task of clearing the forest, but was soon tired of the work, and in 1192, Asif-ud-daula, on a shooting tour, found the country side deserted. Himmat Singh, of Piagpur, was named to the king as a likely man to accomplish the hopeless task, of Saliana

and was granted a sanad for the purpose (see Nanpara). His efforts were crowned with success, and the last eighty years have seen this portion of the pargana almost completely cleared of wood. His nephew succeeded him, and it was his descendant from whom the estate was confiscated for rebellion and conferred on the loyal grantees who now hold. At Charda itself there is an old ruined fort similar in every respect to Sahet-Mahet except in size. It evidently formed one of the chain of such forts which formerly lined the Tarai. Common tradition assigns it to Raja Soheldeo, who is said to have been the chief opponent of Sayyad Salar Masaud, but though it may have been occupied at that time, its construction doubtless dates from a

CHATPIA*

much

earlier period.

—Tahsil Shahabad —District Har-

Pargana North Sara

— (population the Chamar Gaurs, DOI.

2,314).

district Hardoi.

—A

of 339 mud houses belonging to from Shahabad, pargana North Sara, chiefly Chamar.

fine village

six miles

east

The population

is

CHAUKA,

river, a name which the river Sarda takes after it passes Maraunchaghat, and retains till its junction with the Gogra at Bahramghat, a distance of about 150 miles. It passes through districts Kheri and

Sitapur.

The main

part of the stream since 1865 has forced a new channel for near the village of Aira, pargana Dhaurahra; the larger body of water now joms the Dah-aura, and with it enters the Kauriala or Gogra at Mallapur. itself



By Mr.

A. H. Harington,

c. s.,

Assistant Commissioner,