Previous Page [Digital South Asia Library] Next Page

Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 27.


Graphics file for this page
ADMINISTRATION
27
Raja personally exercising administrative control over the departments,
divided into administrative, judicial, military, police, accounts, public
works, medical, forests (including tea and other Administration.
estates), jail, and foundry. Most of the principles of
British law are observed, and almost all the Indian Acts applicable to
the Punjab have been adopted.
The State is divided into four tahsils. These are Nahan, comprising
the old Dharthi and Khol wazlHs; Pachhad, the 'western' tract, in
which is the Sain range; Rainka, comprising the hilly country to the
east; and Paonga, which contains the Kiarda Dim. Each tahsil is
under a tahslld ir.
The highest court is that of the Council, which consists of the Raja
as president, and five members nominated by him. The court of the
Raja sitting alone is known as the Ijlds-i-Khds. This exercises full
jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, and appeals from it lie to the
Council, but sentences of death require the confirmation of the Com
missioner of Delhi. Below it are the courts of the district judge and
district magistrate. Subordinate to the former are the Munsif at
Nahan (exercising second-class criminal powers) and the tahsilddrs,
who try petty cases up to Rs. 15 in value. The district magistrate is
collector and registrar, and the tahsilddrs are subordinate to him
in all but their civil judicial functions. There is also an honorary
magistrate. Serious offences are rare. Cattle-lifting occurs in the
tracts bordering on British territory, and matrimonial offences are
common.
The Imperial Service corps of Sirmur Sappers and Miners, 197
strong, raised in 1889, served with distinction under Major Bir Bikram
Singh, C.I.E., in the Tirah expedition, 1897. It was also employed in
constructing the Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thai Railway in 1901-2. The
State maintains cavalry (31 strong) and a regiment of infantry (235
strong), and possesses two serviceable guns.
Prior to 1813 the revenue was levied in both cash and kind. The
area was not measured, but the amount of land which could be sown
with a given quantity of seed formed a unit, and each unit paid a rupee
in cash or two maunds (local weight) of grain. During the rule of
Raja Fateh Parkash, a cash assessment was imposed on all but the
fertile hhol tracts of Haripur and Nahan, which continued to pay in
kind. The State share was deemed to be a sixth of the gross produce,
with an additional cess on each unit. In 1845 the levy of revenue in
kind was discontinued in these two tracts. Under Raja Sir Shamsher
Parkash the State was regularly surveyed and settled in 1878, in spite
of some opposition in the Rainka tahsil, where the people feared that
the iron measuring chains would destroy the fertility of the soil. In
1887 a second regular settlement was effected, but the whole area was
VOL. XXIII. G
Previous Page To Table of Contents Next Page

Back to Imperial Gazetteer of India | Back to the DSAL Page