Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/430

 422 MAJ from Gorakhpur (Sarwár) 600 years ago, and settled in the village of Maláon-Sarayyán, pargana Sultanpur, it is pretended is not known ; and it is affirmed that a descendant of this person, whose name is also unknown, settled in the village of Jánán in pargana Pachhimráth, which soon expand. ed into a property of 15 villages. This individual is said to have encoun- tered on the road the procession of an Ahir who was conveying home his bride, and to have forcibly appropriated to himself the latter, by whoni he had a son, to whom was given the name of Deopál Singh; and whercas influential Ahirs are not unusually honoured with the distinctive title of Ráwat, therefore the offspring of this Brahman father and Ahir mother took to themselves the name of Rantár* Rajputs, and they are now so far admitted into the orthodox Chhattri families that their daughters are accepted in marriage by the sons of the latter. Deopál Singh had two sons--Ist, Jairaj Ráe, and 2nd, Ubar Ráe,-and these from living in the village of Janan, close to the pargana border, gra- dually established a footing in it about the time of the decline of the Bhars. The offspring of these brothers spread largely, extending their possessions to other parganas besides this one, and we find fromexisting official records taat in the year A. D. 1792 (1199 fasli), they then held 16 estates (muháls), consisting of 207 villages, paying an annual revenue to Government of Rs. 31,450. Their power, however, has somewhat declined since about A. D. 1802 (1209 fasli), when some of their possessions were first absorbed by men of greater influence; they still, however, have 13 properties con- sisting of 714 villages, and paying annually Rs. 9,015 to Government, while they further have sub-proprietary rights in 50% villages, the Govern- ment demand on which amounts to Rs. 10,150 per annum. It will thus be seen that rights in the soil were possessed to a great extent by the two families described above, but there are other parties who are known to have exercised proprietary functions in the pargana for the last three or four centuries, and the details of their holdings at dif- ferent periods are shown in the following table :- Caste. Villages in proprietary possession in the year. Villages now in aub- proprietary posses- 1199 fasti 1266 fasli sion, (A.D. 1792). (A.D. 1859). 201 1. Brahmans other than the offspring of Kudau Tewari Ubaria Chhattris 3. Kayaths 4. Musalmids 27 o 12 12, 1 0 1 Of the 164 villages comprised within this pargana, 1071 have been absorbed into different taluqas as below detailed; the remaining 56% villages are held by petty zamindars :-
 * These must not be confused with the Ráthor's of Kanouj.