24 MAMRAf
Ferozepore District, Punjab, situated :in.30 ig' N. and 75° 14' E.
It is the head-quarters of a Pargana, held almost entirely by the
Mahrājki section (al) of the Sidhu Jats, the clan of which the. Phūlkiān
families of Patiala, Nābha, and Jind are another section. A great
excavation, from which was taken earth to build the town, is regarded
as a sacred spot, offerings being made monthly to the guardian priest,
The Mahrajkiāns, who own the surrounding country as jdgzrddrs, form
a distinct community: physically robust, but litigious, insubordinate,
and addicted to excessive opium-eating. Population (1901), 5,780.
The place possesses a vernacular middle school and a Government
dispensary.
Mahroni.-South-eastern tahsil of Jhānsi District, United Provinces,
comprising the parganas of Bānpur, Mahroni, and Madaorā, and lying
between a4° 11' and 24° 58' N. and 780 3o' and 79 o E., with an area
of 887 square miles; Population fell from 117,047 in 1891 to 103,851 _
in r9oz. There are 300 villages and one town, Mahroni, the tahsil
head-quarters (population, 2,482). The demand for land revenue in
ī9o3-4 was Rs. 65,ooo, and for cesses Rs. 12,ooo. The density of
population, 117 persons per square mile, is the lowest in the District.
In the south a confused mass of hills marks the commencement of the
\'indhyan plateau. The drainage is carried off by the Dhasān and
Jamm, tributaries of the Betwd, which in turn form part of the eastern
boundary. Below the hills lies a tract of black soil, gradually turning
to red in the north and east. The former has largely deteriorated
owing to the, spread of kans (Saccharunz spontaneum). Irrigation is
practised in the red soil, especially towards the north. In 1903-4
the area under cultivation was 233 square miles, of which 22 were
irrigated, almost entirely from wells.
Mahsfids.--The country of the Mahsfids lies in the south of
Waziristan, North-West Frontier Province. It is hemmed in on the
north and west by the Utmanzai Darwesh Khels, on the south-west
by the Ahmadzai of Wand, and on the east by the Bhittannis. On the
south of the Mahsūd country a tract on both the north and south side
of the Gomal Pass is devoid of permanent inhabitants. The per-
manent neighbours of the Mahsfids in this direction are the Shiranis,
whose country lies south of the tract referred to. The Mahsūd country
hardly comes in contact with British India ; all the passes from it
which debouēh on to British territory pass through the country of the
Mittannis, The Gomal Pass is the sole exception to this rule, and
,several routes lead from it to the Mahsfid country. This pass has
always been considered as belonging to the Mahsfids, though actually
it is outside the limits of their country. The Mahsfids renounced their
claim to raid in the pass, and undertook to keep it safe in consideration
of the allowances, and service granted in the beginning of.18go at
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