POPULATION
279
the latter in 1839 received the fortress of BUKKUR from Mir Rustam
of Khairpur, to whom the Burdis were subject. They then bore an
evil reputation for robbery and murder. In 1843 they became subject
to Mir Ali Murad, on the deposition of Mir Rustam, and assisted the
former in his hill campaign with Sir Charles Napier in 1844. In 1847
the depredations of the Burdis, assisted by the Khosas, Dombkis, and
Jakranis, engaged the attention of the Sind Horse under Major Jacob,
who broke up the confederacy, disarmed the tribes, cut roads through
the jungles which had given cover to them, and reduced the country to
order. The tract inhabited by the Burdis, known as Burdika, became
British territory in 1852, when the lands of Mir Rustam, as first con-
ferred on Mir Ali Murad, were resumed. The Khosas are found
throughout Sind, and formerly extended their plundering raids into
Gujarat. Most formidable among the Baloch tribes, however, were
the Dombkis and Jakranis. Up to 1845 they resided in Eastern
Kachhi, where they held a large tract of country. After the campaign
of Sir Charles Napier in 1844-5, the defeated Dombkis and Jakranis
were settled at Janidero and its vicinity, and a Commissioner was
appointed to superintend them. Instead of settling down to cultivate
the lands then allotted to them, these turbulent tribes, assisted by the
Bugtis, made repeated plundering excursions from Sind into the neigh-
bouring countries. The border country was left uncultivated, canals
remained uncleared, and all peaceable people left the neighbourhood.
In 1847 the Sind Horse were ordered up from Hyderabad to pacify
the country, Major Jacob being placed in command of the Frontier.
A persistent pursuit of the tribesmen followed, parties of plunderers
being tracked and hunted down in all directions, until the main body
of the marauders was surrounded and secured. Major Jacob then set
the Jakranis to clear out the Nur Wah Canal, and settled the Baloch
tribesmen on the adjacent territory. They rapidly reconciled them-
selves to peaceful pursuits, and have since continued contentedly to
cultivate their holdings.
The District contains one town, JACOBABAD, and 390 villages.
According to the last four enumerations, the population has more
than doubled in thirty years. In 1872 it was
115,050> ; in 1881> 145>8io ; in 189i, 174,548; and
the Census of igoi returned a total of 232,045, or 89 persons per
square mile. The increase is due to immigration from Baluchistan
and the Punjab, to fresh lands having been brought under cultivation,
and to changes in the area of the District amounting to an addition
of about 500 square miles. The population is distributed as
in the table on the next page.
The chief language is Sindi, which is spoken by 165,110 persons,
or 71 per cent. of the total. Baluchi and Siraiki are also spoken in
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
