1YIA U-RĀNTPUR 233
Maulmain.--Town in Amherst District, Lower Burma. See
MOULMEIN.
Maungdaw.-Westernmost township of Akyab District, Lower
Burma, lying between 20 18' and 21° 27' N. and 92° 11' and 92°
43' E., with an area of 426 square miles. It consists of a strip of coast
land on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, abutting on the southern end
of the Chittagong District of Bengal. The population was 65,407
in i89r and 83,247 in 1901, giving a density of r95 persons per
square mile. '].'here are 377 villages. It is a favourite resort for
immigrants from Chittagong, and about three-fourths of its inhabitants
profess the Musalmān faith. This foreign element has caused the
population of the township to increase during the last decade 27
per cent. The head-quarters are at Maungdaw (population, 1,735),
on the eastern shore of the Naaf estuary, which separates Burma
from Bengal. Away from the coast the land is hilly. The area
cultivated in 1903-4 was 128 square miles, paying Rs. i,8o,ooo land
revenue.
Mau-Rānipur.---Head-quarters of the Mau tahsil of Jhansi Dis-
trict, United Provinces, situated in 25° r5' N. and 79° 9' E., on a
branch of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Population (1901),
17,231. The municipality includes two towns, Mau and Ranipur,
separated by a distance of about four miles. Mau was a small
agricultural village till the latter part of the eighteenth century, when
the exorbitant demands of the Rājā of the neighbouring State of
Chhatarpur led to an exodus of merchants and others who settled
here. The place became noted for its manufacture of the coarse red
cotton cloth known as khdraad. It was for long the chief town in the
District, but the restoration of Jhānsi city to the British and the
alteration in trade routes made by railways have increased the impor-
tance of the latter place. Mau is also losing its trade in khdrud, as
the vegetable dye which was used in its preparation is giving way
to aniline. Besides the ordinary offices Mau contains a dispensary.
It is a remarkably picturesque town; its houses are built with deep
eaves between. the first and second storeys, and hanging balcony
windows of unusual beauty. The principal temple is that of the Jains
(who form an important commercial body), which is very little enclosed,
and presents a fine appearance with its two solid spires and many
cupolas. Mau has been a municipality since 1869. During the ten
years ending igor the income and expenditure averaged Rs. 16,ooo.
In 1903-4 the income was RS. 21,000, chiefly from octroi (Rs. 15,000) ;
and the expenditure was Rs. i8,ooo. As stated above, the trade in
cloth is decreasing, but agricultural produce is still largely exported.
There is a small manufacture of brass, and an important cattle fair -is
held here. Six schools have about 2o9 pupils.
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