Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/248

 240 RAE While Shujá-ud-daula lived Achal Singh prospered, but the favourite of the father could hardly be popular with the son, and on Asif-ud-daula's accession in 1776 A.D., his accounts were examined, he was declared a defaulter, and deposed from his position. A Sarwaria Brahman, Rája Bhawani Singh, was made názim in his place. Achal Singh deeply resented this. One day when he was attending the názim's darbár, he received some slight insult, on which he instantly took poison and died on the spot. The pacific character of Achal Singh descended to his progeny, but did not serve them as well, for the family have been getting poorer in every generation. They had no party in the country to support them; for, as before remarked, the Bais" has not colonised at all in these parga- nas, and Ráo Mardan conquered them merely by force of arms. Achal's descendants threw away the sword with which the estate had been won, and remained dependent on the complaisance of the názim, who, if their friend, would sometimes make over to them a large estate, or sometimes refuse them a single village. Thus the present repre- sentative of the family, Bábu Debi Bakhsh, has had at one time an estate worth Rs. 50,000 given him, but in most years his possessions have been only one or two small rent-free villages. But for the accidental finding of a large treasure in the fort of Purwa, the family could not have kept up their dignity, and position so long, and when Debi Bakhsh forfeited everything by his obstinate persistence in passive rebellion, the glory of the house departed. There are many most interesting points connected with the Tilok- cbandi Bais, if space would perinit of dealing with thein. The direct des- cendants of Tilok Chand in the legitimate line have sixteen taluqas and 779 villages, paying a revenue of Rs. 5,71,143 in the Rae Bareli district alone. The extraordinary thing is that, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of families, notwithstanding the internal wars and external pressure of an almost always hostile Government, this family has kept firm hold of such vast property. While the much more numerous Kath Bais, who allege an equally lofty royal lineage, have only as yet been able to acquire one village, the Tilok chandi Bais kept 900. Wars and intestine quarrels have weakened the Tilokchandis, around them the other clans have always been hovering, watching for an unguarded moment to break within their fence and appropriate some of the rich lands which are always the first aspiration of a Hindu. Apparently landed property then distributed among a few must have been in a state of unstable equilibrium, yet till the mutiny of 1857 tempted the lords of Daundia Khera and Shankarpur to measure swords with the British, the power of the Tilokchandi seems to have been almost unbroken. This partly seems dne to the liberal way in which the younger branches of the family were always provided for. The eldest son seems generally to have got only a larger portion than the others, innumera- ble divisions of the property took place, the head of the family only had property worth six thousand rupees out of the six hundred thousand owned by the clan. The very same thing is to be noted with the Kanhpurias and Som- bansis; the most powerful and prosperous Hindu clans were those who