Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/415

 MAH 407 Rindus, agricultural non-agricultural 20,688 13,205 31,893 Musalmaus, agricultural Don-agricultural 540 1,245 1,785 The Muhammadans are thus only 5 per cent of the entire population. To each head of the agricultural population there are 13 acres of cultivated and 1% acres of assessed land. There is thus comparatively little room for the extension of cultivation or the increase of the popula- tion. The pargana is a plain of great fertility; the soil is generally good loan, the exception being the sandy and raviny tracts in the neighbourhood of the Káthna river. The country like every other pargana in the district is well wooded. There is a good deal of higla cultivation owing to the pre- sence of several colonies of those industrious peasants, the Kurmis, and much sugarcane is grown. The irrigation is chiefly from mud wells, and from jbíls and other natural water-boles; little use seems to be made of the Káthna, which, if properly dammed, would prove a source of considera- ble irrigation to the lands in its vicinity. A petty stream, called the Pirai, touches the pargana for a short distance on the north, and is there made use of for this purpose by the peasants of the villages by which it passes. Two made roads pass through the pargana-namely, the old and the new road to Sháhjahanpur. The former inade by the celebrated. Názim Hakim Mehndi, the other by the British Government. In some parts these roads run very close to each other, and the average distance between them is only 1} miles. The chief bazars are held bi-weekly at Maholi Baragaon, and Kuseli, the Kurmi colony. At these all the ordinary necessaries of life may be purchased, besides sugаr of various qualities. There is no article of com- merce or manufacture peculiar to the pargana, nor does it contain any mines or quarries, properly so called ; kankar is dug up for only local use in metalling the high road abovementioned. The name of the pargana is derived from that of the town, the history of which may be found in another place. Suffice it to say here, that on its site there stood formerly an older town, which had fallen into decay, but was rebuilt 500 years ago by one Mahipal, Kurmi, after whom it was called Maholi.* Tradition informs us that the district was once held by the Pasis, who formerly, as we see in the case of Khairabad and Láharpur, were possessed of great power in this part of the province. Iu those days Maholi was not known as a distinct pargana, but was amongst the sixteen tappas which made up pargana " Ninkbár." This pargana, as arranged by Todar Mal, comprised six muháls---nanıcly, Maholi, Misrikh, Nimkhár, Kasta, Abgáon, and Sikandarabad, of which the last three are now in
 * See Jourual B.A.S., No. 284, PP. 6 and 13,