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 — BANKURA.

82 mercial

including

class,

merchants,

general

dealers,

carriers,

etc.,

and pastoral class, including gardeners, 176,438 9874 artisan, mining and other industrial classes, 40,132 ; manufacturing, (5) (6) indefinite and non-productive class (comprising 54,993 general labourers, 1515 men of rank and property, and 204,549 unspecified, The population is almost entirely including male children), 261,057. rural. There are 3952 villages containing fewer than two hundred inhabitants; 1147 with from two hundred to five hundred; 268 with from five hundred to a thousand; 73 with from one to two thousand; 1 1 with from two to three thousand; 4 with from three to five thousand; and 2 with from fifteen to twenty 3 with from five to ten thousand (4) agricultural







thousand inhabitants. The five towns with a population exceeding Bankura, 18,747; Bishnupur, 18,863; five thousand inhabitants, are Bankura Patroshair, 7026; Kotalpur, 6163; and Sonamukhi, 5590.

—

a backward District, and the general condition of the people, as compared with the adjoining eastern Districts, is one of poverty.

is

This

especially apparent

is

in

the jungle

villages, the cultivators are better off ;

In the lowland

tracts.

but even here, few show signs of

a high standard of comfort, either in personal appearance or in the construction of their houses.

Bankura,

the chief town and administrative head-quarters of the

on the north bank of the Dhalkisor river. Bishwas the ancient capital of the District under its is described by Colonel GastreD as having been once by a long connected line of curtains and bastions

District, is situated

nupur,

farther south,

native Rajas.

It

strongly fortified

measuring

many of the

The

‘

miles in length,

7

Within

of the curtains. city, lay

the citadel.

with

small

this outer line

The remains

circular ravelins covering

of fortifications, and west

of these defences

What

Raja’s palace was situated within the citadel.

it

still

exist.

may have

been in the palmy days of its ancient chieftains it is difficult to say. But at present, a very insignificant pile of brick buildings surrounded by ruins marks the site.’ These ruins, among which are many remains of temples, are of different ages and styles of architecture. city contains the public offices, several schools,

Muhammadan

temples.

inhabitants are wealthy,

The houses

—a

The modern

and many Hindu and

are very poor, although

circumstance which

is

many

of the

explained by the

statement that the rapacity of former Rajas was so great, that it was dangerous for any one to show signs of wealth ; and the custom of building

Of

mean

dwellings has been handed

down from

father to son.

the villages of Bankura, the following are deserving of mention



and head-quarters of a police circle containing a subordinate Judge’s Court, and situated near the south bank of the Dhalkisor river, about half way between the towns of Bankura and (i)

Onda, a large



village

Statistical

and Geographical Report on Bankura

District.