Description.

Janjira, [Janjira is the Marathi corruption of the Arabic Jazirah am island. The whole country is generally known by the name of Janjira though the name properly refers to the island fortress.] that is the island, also called Habsa'n, that is the Habshi's or African's land, lies between 17° 59' and 18° 32' north latitude, and 72° 57' and 73° 21' east longitude. It has an area of about 325 square miles, a population according to the 1881 census of 76,300, or 234 to the square mile, and, for the five years ending 1880, an average realizable revenue of about £35,000 (Rs. 3,50,000).[Materials for the account of Janjira have been supplied by the late Mr. G. Larcom and by Major W. A. Salmon, Assistant Political Agents.]

Boundaries

Janjira is bounded on the north by the Kundalika or Roha creek; on the east by Roha, Mangaon and Mahad in Kolaba; on the south by the Bankot creek; and on the west by the sea. It includes the forty miles of coast from the Roha river on the north to the Savitri on the south, and, except in the south where it runs east for about seventeen miles, varies from four to ten miles in breadth. About the middle of the coast line, the great Rajpuri gulf, which for about fourteen miles runs south-east from the island of Janjira, divides Janjira into two main portions, northern and southern.

Sub-Divisions

For administrative purposes the 325 miles of territory are distributed among eight sub-divisions called tappas or mahalas with an average area of about forty miles, twenty-nine villages, and about 9500 inhabitants. The following statement gives the details:

Janjira Sub-Divisions.

Aspect.

The country is very picturesque, a network of confused fairly- wooded hills from 100 to 1300 feet high. Among the hills, creeks and backwaters, especially the great Rajpuri creek, wind inland, and in the distance, over the eastern hills, looms the long level of the Sahyadris. The coast is generally green with ranges of wooded hills, and near the mouths of creeks, the shore is fringed by belts of palm-groves from one to two miles broad. Inland, behind strips of salt swamp and mangrove bushes, lie the rice lands, sometimes a mile or two broad and then rising to the lower slopes of the main ranges, in other places broken by cross ridges that end at the water side in tree-crested scarps.

The richest and largest villages, of skilful gardeners and well-to-do fishers and palm-tappers, are hid among the palm gardens on the coast; inland, the creek banks and rising knolls are studded with hamlets of husbandmen who have won from the salt swamp large areas of rice ground; and all over the hill sides, in glens or on terraces, hid in thick forest, are the huts and scanty clearings of Kathkaris and other hillmen. To the north of the Rajpuri creek the broad range of hills which forms the boundary between Janjira and Kolaba, runs north and south and throws out spurs which gradually fall westward to the sea. South of the Rajpuri creek along its. western shore a second range stretches south-west, till, on reaching the Sayitri, it is met at right angles by another chain of high hills. The range that runs south of the Rajpuri creek contains one or two of the highest points in Habsan, among them Madgad (1300), whose slightly convex and well-wooded summit is surrounded by ruined walls. The rest of the Janjira hills are offshoots from those three main ranges.

The lower hill slopes are generally rounded and passable to a good pony. Except in the rains, when they yield crops of hill grains, they are somewhat withered and bare. But, especially along the coast, the higher hills are richly wooded, and, though their slopes are generally gentle and their outlines level, are, in places, rugged and picturesque. Among the wooded hills and winding creeks are scenes of great beauty. Especially at high tide, when its muddy banks are hidden, the Rajpuri creek, throughout its whole length, is a succession of delightful views. There is nothing grand or striking, but the lines of the hills are soft and pleasing, and the hill sides are clothed with trees and brushwood, and in places are richly wooded. Some ravines, too remote to have suffered from fire and the axe, have streams that flow throughout the year and an undergrowth of ferns and bushes freshened by the distant shade of tree tops that rise eighty to a hundred feet without a branch. Near Kunjri on the Savitri, is a ravine, which for picturesqueness, variety, and beauty of foliage, is one of the most charming spots in the Konkan. During the rainy season (June-October) travelling is almost impossible. On the coast the sand-bars at the mouth of every inlet, except the Rajpuri creek, are impassable. Further inland the main streams are flooded too deep to be forded, the low rice-lands are thick in mud, and so overgrown are the forest tracks that it is most difficult to pass from one hill range to another.

Rivers.

There are no streams of any size, probably none with a course over five or six miles. The larger watercourses rise on the crests of the central hills, flow west, and fall into one of the creeks that creep two or three miles inland. During the rainy months they are torrents, but soon dwindle to the faintest threads fed from moisture stored by the forests on the crests and slopes of the hills.

Creeks

The winding creeks cut off the hill drainage before it has time to form streams of any size. The chief creeks or backwaters are, beginning from the north, Mandla-Borlai, Nandgaon Murud, Rajpuri, Panchayat or Dive-Borlai, and Shrivardhan. These vary in length from half a mile to fourteen miles, and, except the Rajpuri creek, have much sameness of character. [The lengths of these creeks are, Mandla-Borlai half a mile, Nandgaon 1¼ miles, Murud 2½ miles, Rajpuri 14 miles, Panchaitan-Borlai 1½ miles, and Shrivardhan 2½ miles.] They run nearly at right angles to the coast line, with sandy and gravelly beds, between low muddy mangrove-covered banks. Most of the entrances are rocky and dangerous, and, even during the fair season (September-June) and at high tide, they are not navigable for boats of more than 1¼ tons (5 khandis). Once the bar is crossed there is little difficulty in passing to the end of almost all the creeks.

The entrance to the Rajpuri creek is a deep gulf about twenty-five miles south of Bombay. From this gulf the creek winds inland with a breadth of one to three miles. About six miles south-east of Janjira island, it divides in two, the main creek continuing to the south-east and an arm running to the north-east. The northeast arm, which varies from a quarter to a mile in breadth, runs inland about six miles to Mandad. The main creek stretches southeast for about eight miles, and ends at the old town of Mhasla about fourteen miles south-east of Janjira. The creek is subject to the tide which rises twelve feet at high springs. There is no bar and the bottom is muddy. The shoalest water at low tide is 3½ and 3¾ fathoms in its entrance and 4½ fathoms inside in mid-channel. It offers excellent shelter to a vessel in distress. Ordinary spring tides rise eleven feet and neaps six or seven feet. Off Rajpuri the tidal influence is strongly felt and increases in strength farther north. [Taylor's Sailing Directory, 386.] Steamers can enter, even during the rains, and lie in still water to the south of Janjira island. Five or six miles inside of the island, craft of not more than four feet draught can sail at all times. Further inland it is navigable at high tide only. In 1538 Dom Joao de Castro described the Danda river as the largest inlet in this part of the coast, with, at low tide, four fathoms of water at its entrance. Inside were two islands, one close to the land, the other fortified and sheltered from the sea by a long tongue of land, in the form of an elephant's trunk. It was a pleasing woody bay in which the whole Portuguese navy could take shelter. [Primeiro Roteiro da Costa da India, 160-167.]

Water.

Though most of it is bad, there is no scarcity of drinking water. All the larger villages have built wells, and outlying forest villages get their water from the beds of streams. There are about 1000 wells with a depth of water varying from six to sixteen feet. Some of the wells are brackish. There are some fifty ponds, very few of them lined with masonry, and most of them dry from February to June.

Geology.

The rock is almost all trap with, on the higher hill slopes, laterite or iron atone, cropping out of the ground in large boulders. In the larger valleys the rock is found in tabular masses a few feet below the surface and sometimes standing out several feet. In the hills the rock is in irregular tabular masses and shapeless boulders. No outcrops of basalt have been recorded.

Climate.

The climate is moist and relaxing, but the sea breeze cooling the coast and the hill-tops. Along the coast fever and dysentery prevail from October to January, especially in the larger lowlying towns which are surrounded by garden lands. Along the coast the thermometer ranges from 76° in the cold weather and during July and August when the rains are at their height, to about 90° in the hot weather and at the end of the rains. In the inland parts, which are partially cut off from the sea breeze, the thermometer rises 7° or 8° higher. The average yearly rainfall for the five years ending 1881 was about 100 inches. [The details are, 1876,66.86; 1877, 73.78; 1878,16422; 1879, 97 70; 1880,85.28; and 1881,83.74.]

Products.

There are some half a dozen quarries of trap and laterite, but none Minerals of them are regularly worked and none of the stone is exported. About fifty years ago some beds of laterite at Shigre, two miles north-east of Murud, were worked for their iron. But, owing to the cheapness of the imported metal, the local iron-smelting has ceased. Good building lime is made from limestone nodules, of the average size of a man's hand, which are found at low tide in the beds of some of the creeks. It is chiefly used locally, but small quantities are exported. Lime fit for eating with betel-leaves and for whitewashing is made on the coast by burning shells.

Forests.

The Habsan hills are generally fairly covered with wood, chiefly copse. In Nandgaon and Mandla in the northern forest division the forest is everywhere thick and teak is plentiful. In the southern forest division, which includes all Habsan couth of the Rajpuri creek, in Panchaitan, and in the valleys running from the Savitri, there are heavy forests generally frequented by panthers and tigers. Near Mhasla and Shrivardhan the hills were some years ago nearly stripped of timber, but, since cutting and burning have been stopped, a fresh growth has begun to spring up. Here and there in Mhasla and Govale are patches of fine forest, where a tiger or a panther is occasionally killed.

Until 1862 the Janjira chiefs took much care of their forests, forbidding export and severely punishing timber thefts and injury to forests. [Sir Richard Temple's Minute, 17th August 1878.] In 1862 the late Nawab, His Highness Sidi Ibrahim Khan (1848-1879), gave contracts for cutting and removing to Bombay a large quantity of firewood. Under those contracts a man offered a certain sum for the right to cut wood in a certain forest for a certain time. If his offer was taken he worked the forest cutting to within two feet of the ground, all building timber except teak sag Tectona grandis, blackwood sisvi Dalbergia Sassoo, mango amba Mangifera indica, jack phanas Artocarpus integrifolia, catechu khair Acacia catechu, jambul Eugenia jambolana, bhendi Thespesia popumea, adnus Dyospyros melanoxylon, bamboo vans Bambusa vulgaris, and karvi Strobilanthus grahamianus. [Of these blackwood and dbnus are very rare.] A large timber traffic sprang up. In 1877, 8400 tons (21,000 khandis) of logs and 250,000 gohilas or bundles of split firewood were shipped to Bombay. By 1877 the want of any system or check in these cuttings, and the practice of clearing the hill sides for wood-ash tillage, had nearly destroyed the Janjira forests. In 1878 forest preservation on the British system was begun, and several of the existing contracts were cancelled. In 1880 the forests of the Murud division were demarcated, and are now (1881) strictly protected. In other parts of the state arrangements have been introduced to limit wood-ash tillage, and not to allow timber to be cut except on permission from the Assistant Political Agent. The forest servants are now paid in cash instead of in grain, and an establishment has been formed of two rangers, two clerks, six foresters, and thirty guards. Kunbis, Kathkaris, Mhars, Agris, Malis, and Musalmans work in the forests for wages a man receiving from 3d. to 6d. (2 as. - 4 as.) and a woman from 2¼d. to 4½ d. (1½ as. - 3 as.) a day. In 1881-82 the total forest receipts amounted to £1560 (Rs. 15,600), and the forest charges to £894 (Rs. 8940).

Domestic Animals.

The breeds, habits, and uses of the Domestic Animals of the Habsan do not differ from those of the neighbouring Kolaba district. Both buffaloes and bullocks are employed for all field purposes as well as for drawing carts. Bullocks, buffaloes, and cows are taken out in droves and grazed in the lands and forests set apart for grazing. They do not ordinarily get grain or condiments. The chief cattle breeders are the Malis, well-to-do landholders, and khots, but there is no systematic breeding. The average yearly cost of the keep of a bullock or much-cow is estimated at about £1 4s. (Rs. 12). A good bullock is worth £2 (Rs. 20) and a milch-cow £1 10s. (Rs. 15). No sheep are bred. Fowls are reared chiefly by Muhammadans, Beni-Israels and Kathkaris. A full-grown hen fetches 3d. (2 annas), and sixteen chickens can be bought for 2s. (Re. 1). Eggs sell for ¼d. (2 ps.) each or eight dozen for the rupee. Ducks, turkeys, pea-fowls, and guinea-fowls are not reared.

Wild Animals.

Of Wild Animals there are of Felidae, the Tiger, the Panther, and the Wild Cat. Tigers and panthers are found in all parts of Janjira, especially in the south across the Rajpuri creek and near Mhasla. Of late years the extensive forest felling has greatly reduced their number. The Tiger, vagh, Felis tigris is believed to be of two varieties, one larger [Of the tigers shot by the late Mr. Larcom, one measured immediately after death, was ten feet ten inches long.] lighter-coloured and fiercer [In the hot season of 1882 three or four person were mauled by tigers or panthers and one woman was eaten.] the other smaller darker and milder. Several full-grown tigers have been shot, much smaller than the ordinary tiger, and almost dark-brown where the ordinary tiger is yellow. The Panther, bibla, Felis pardus is of two kinds, one called bibla vagh, the other, a smaller, thinner, and much longer-necked animal called karda. The rings of black hair on the yellow skin are almost the same, but the rings on the small variety are always much closer together and seldom so perfect.

Tigers and large panthers kill many cattle; the smaller panther feeds chiefly on dogs and goats. The people rarely attempt to shoot a tiger or take any notice of his killing their cattle. It is better, they say, that tigers should eat cattle than that they should eat men. Panthers and tigers are occasionally shot with a spring-gun or by a solitary watcher over the body of an animal that has been killed. The Wild Cat, ran manjar, Felis chaus of Habsan is of two kinds the Common Wild Cat of which two varieties are recorded, the ordinary striped cat and another with no marks on a light yellow skin, and the Civet Cat, kasturi or jovadi manjar, Viverra malac-censis very handsome with a dark brown fur spotted with white. The people speak of a third wild cat called kal manjar or the black cat, which comes into a village at night, ransacks hen-lofts, and is also fond of molasses and sugarcane.

The Sambhar Rusa aristotelis is found only on the tops of the highest hills in the thickest woods, and there in very small numbers and extremely shy. They eat grass and the young shorts and leaves of trees. The Spotted Deer, chital, Axis maculatus is found on nearly every wooded hill and generally in herds. They eat grass and have a special liking for young karvand leaves. The people beat the woods for spotted deer, posting men with guns at the passes they are likely to make for. Locally the name bhekar is used both for the Barking Deer Cervnius aureus, and the Four-horned Deer Tetraceros-quadricornis. The barking deer, a larger animal found in more open ground, is light red in colour and has two small horns. The smaller four-horned deer is found in the ravines and water-courses of the larger hills, and is of a much darker red. Of its four horns two of two tines each are perfectly developed. The other pair nearer the nose are rudimentary, rarely more than two inches long. They are very wary and are seldom shot The Hog Deer or Mouse Deer, pisari, Memina indica is sometimes found in beating thick hill-top forests. It is light grey, with yellow rings and black spots on the back, and only from seven to eight inches high. The male has a bony knob on its brow but no horns.

The Wild Pig, ran dukar, Sus indicus is of all wild animals most hated when alive and when dead most prized as food. They do immense damage to the crops. A herd of pig will ruin a rice field in a single night, trampling to destruction what they do not eat. There are many Porcupines, sail, Hystrix lencura in the hills, but as they feed by night and lie in holes during the day, they are seldom seen. The Marathas are fond of the flesh of the porcupine, and place it next in excellence to wild pig. Porcupines live on roots which their powerful forepaws enable them to unearth. The Otter, ud, Lutra nair is common both in the sea and in creeks. They are almost always found in parties of three and four. They fish in gangs. The people say they always bring what they catch to the creek side and divide it equally on a smooth stone. They live in holes, just above high-water mark. Their fur is of a beautiful deep brown. Wolves, landga, Canis pallipes sometimes come from the Sahyadris and hunt the Janjira hills. The Hyaena, taras, Hyaena striata is common. They are large powerful animals generally of a dark brownish-yellow with black stripes. The marking of the body is sometimes curiously like that of a tiger, but the head and gait are unmistakable. The Jackal, kolha, Canis aureus abounds all over Habsan. The Wild Dog, kolsunda, Caon rutilans is larger than the Indian fox and has a bushy tail. It hunts in packs, and smells so powerfully that no animals will remain in the same forest. Wild dogs hunt together with such skill, that they are said to be able to kill tigers and other large game. Deaths from wild animals are rare. Owing to the practise of Bhandaris, Marathas, and Kathkaris scouring the forests day and night with their guns and dogs, the larger game, the chital, bhekar, and the sumbhar are disappearing from the Habsan forests. To prevent this wholesale destruction shooting has of late been allowed only under a permit.

Snakes.

Deaths from snake-bite seem not to be frequent. This is not due to any scarcity of poisonous snakes. The Cobra, Naja tripudians, Phursa Echis carinata, Ghonas Daboia elegans, and many other poisonous varieties abound. From time to time deaths are reported from scorpion-sting. Some of these deaths may be due to snake-bites, but there is a black scorpion, four to six inches long, whose sting might prove fatal to children or to weakly adults.

Birds.

Of Game Birds, the Pea-fowl, mar, Pavo cristatus is common in the hills. It is always found at no great distance from tilled land, to which it goes in the early morning and in the evening about sunset. Its grass and twig nest is generally built on stony ground. The hen lays in July, and, in October, the young birds are strong on the wing. Pea-fowls are grain eaters; but they also feed on insects and caterpillars. The wandering Phase Pardhis snare them and take them for sale to Bombay. The Jungle Fowl, ran kombda, Gallus sonoorati is very handsome. The cock has a magnificent deep orange and white hackle; the hen is smaller and of a sober brown. They live on the thickly wooded hill-tops near water. Their usual food is insects and seeds, but, in November, after the crop has been reaped, they sometimes feed in the early morning in rice fields. The nest is built on the ground of roughly ordered twigs and grass. The hen lays in May and June. Like pea-fowl, jungle-fowl are snared and taken for sale to Bombay. The Spur Fowl, sakutra, Galloperdix spadiceus is of a red brown not unlike a partridge. The cock has a crest of black feathers and a regular fan tail. They take their name from the spurs with which the legs, both of cocks and hens, are armed. Spur fowls, though common on the lower hill slopes, are never for and more than two or three together. They live on grain and small insects. They breed in May and June, in a rough nest on the ground under a bush. Of Quails lavda there are the Grey Quail Coturnix communis, the Rain Quail Coturnix coromandelica, the Bustard Quail Turnix taigoor, and the Button Quail Turnix dussumieri. The Grey and Rain Quails are birds of passage, coming about the end of November and leaving generally in February. The Bustard Quail is common all over the lower hill slopes in flocks of eight to ten. They feed on grass seeds, and about August build their nests in tufts of grass. The Button Quail is always in pairs or alone; its food and nest are the same as those of the bustard quail. Quails are noosed and snared and sent to Bombay in large numbers. Snipe timbul are of three kinds, the Common Gallinago gallinaria, the Painted Rynchaea bengalensis, and the Jack Gallinago gallinula, All are migratory coming in November and leaving in February, but both the painted and the common snipe are said occasionally to breed in Janjira. Of Wild Duck, dril, there are the Mallard Anas boschas, the Common Teal Querquedula crecca, the Whistling Teal Dendrocygna javanica, and the Widgeon Mareca penelope. These are all migratory, coming in November and leaving in February. Of Curlews, kural, two kinds, the Large Curlew Numenius lineatus and the Small Curlew Numenius phaeopus, are found in the creeks all the year round, but chiefly in the cold weather. They breed in the creeks. Of Plovers titohis there are three kinds, the Stone Plover CE dicnemus scolopax, the Grey Plover Squatarola helvetica, and the Golden Plover Charadrius fulvus. The stone plover is a resident breeding in the district, young ones being found in September. Golden and grey plovers are sometimes seen in the rains and occasionally breed in August and September, but almost all are migratory, coming in large flocks in December and January, and living sometimes near the sea-shore, but generally in patches of dry ground in and near creeks. Partridges are scarce in Janjira, though they are found in large numbers to the north of the Revdanda creek.

Fish.

A detailed account of the Konkan fisheries, written by Mr. W. F. Sinclair, First Assistant Collector of Kolaba, is printed as an Appendix. The Janjira fisheries are almost entirely salt-water fisheries. Lines of stakes, chiefly palm-tree trunks, are, at the close of the stormy season (October), sunk in the banks that lie off the shore at a depth of from eighteen to thirty feet. The tope of the stakes stand five or six feet out of the water at high-tide. The stakes are driven into the ground by fastening fishing boats to their tops at high-tide, the weight, as the tide ebbs, forcing the points into the bottom. They are drawn out and towed ashore in May when the south-west swell sets in. Between each pair of stakes, which are generally from twenty to thirty feet apart, a large bag-net called dhol is hung. The lower half of the mouth of the net is drawn down by stones, about ten feet below the surface of the water; the upper half is kept open by floats fastened to strings. One of these bag-nets costs from £12 to £15 (Rs.120-Rs.150), and a pair of posts, if of teak, cost from £5 to £6 (Rs.50-Rs.60). The nets are generally owned by several fishermen in shares, and the boat is often the property of a separate person. The sale proceeds of the-fish are generally divided into four parts, one for the boat-owner and three for the net-owning crew. Instead of fastening them to stakes, the bag-nets or dhols are sometimes moored to buoys or barrels, known as burkia dhols. The value of a set of barrel and bag-nets is about £11 (Rs. 110). Creeks are fished by oblong drag-nets laced at each side to a pole and worked against the stream by a couple of fishermen. The meshes of these nets vary in size from a fourth of an inch to an inch. The nets used are bag-nets fastened to stakes and stretched across the creeks, or they are hand-nets either round or fastened to a couple of poles. In using the net fastened to two poles, two men stand close to the shore, each holding a pole, while two or three men run from different sides beating the water with short hand sticks and drive the fish to the net, which is quickly raised and the fish are taken out. Fish are generally caught in this way during flood-tide The circular hand-net is used by one man, either from the shore or from a canoe. There is no state restriction on fishing, but the fishing grounds of the different coast villages have been fixed by the people and are jealously guarded. The chief fishing villages are Chorde, Salaon, and Borlai in Mandla; Nandgaon and Majgaon in Nandgaon; Murud and Rajpuri in Murud; the Janjira fortress; Khirsai, Agarvada, and Khargaon Budruk, in Mhasla; Mendri, Purbadi, Kudgaon, and Digi in Panchaitan; and Shekadi, Valvat, Shrivardhan, Kalinje, and Devgad or Hareshvar in Shrivardhan.

The chief large sea fish are pomplet, tauri, ravas, pakhat, mushi, kupa, karli, ghol, halva, bing, saklo, and dangol. Besides these, there are jhingas of two kinds, cray fish and shrimps, shrimps being caught in large quantities during the rains. The small fish which breed in the creeks are bombil, bhingi shingali, tamchuru, boi, chimburi, pole, hekaru, salsint, kalav, harvala, and skant. Fish roes are sent to Bombay. Fish-curing goes on in all coast villages. The larger fish are split open, cleaned, soaked in strong brine, and sunned. [Salt is a monopoly of the Nawab's, who sells it to fishermen at half the market price.] The bombil does not want cleaning or salting; it is cut in strips, and is dried in the sun on strings stretched between poles from ten to twelve feet high. Smaller fish are dried by spreading them in the sun on a rock or on the sand. Cured and dried fish are chiefly sent inland through Mahad. Except Brahmans and Gujarat and Marwar Vanis, all classes eat fish. It is bartered for grain, four pounds of grain buying from four to eight pounds of fish. Most large villages have a separate market-place where the Koli women sit and sell fash.

Fishermen are of three classes, Kolis and Kharvis who are Hindus, and Daldis who are Musalmans. They together number about 7000 or nine per cent of the population. The Kolis in most of the villages on the creeks grow hemp, and use the fibre in making their nets. Fishermen who fish in creeks and bays pay a yearly cess of 10s. (Rs. 5) on every khut or pair of fishing stakes, and 6s. (Rs. 3) on each net buoyed on barrels. Those who fish at the mouths of creeks pay higher rates, and those who do not own permanent stakes pay a house-tax. In 1880 these cesses yielded a total yearly revenue of £331 (Rs. 3310). The fishing trade is much larger and brisker than it used to be.

Population.

According to the 1872 census the population of the state, including 871 persons on board vessels, was 71,996 or about 218 to the square mile. Of the whole number 57,675 or 80.11 per cent were Hindus, 13,714 or 1917 per cent Musalmans, 29 or 003 per cent Christians, and 578 or 0.8 per cent Beni-Israels and Others. The proportion of Musalmans to Hindus varied from one and a half per cent in Janjira to seven and a half in Mandla, and averaged about four per cent. Of the whole population 48.2 per cent were males and 51.8 per cent females.

The 1881 census showed an increase from 71,996 to 76,361 or 6.06 per cent. Of the total number 61,810 or 8094 per cent were Hindus, 13,912 or 18.21 per cent Musalmans, 590 or 07 per cent Beni-Israels, 47 Christians, and two Parsis. Of 61,810 Hindus, 972 were early tribes. The percentage of males on the whole population was 49.47 and of females 50.52. Hindu males numbered 30,959 or 50.08 per cent and Hindu females 30,851 or 4991 per cent of the Hindu population; Musalman males numbered 6501 or 46.69 per jzent and Musalman females 7411 or 53.22 per cent of the Musalman population; Beni-Israel males numbered 280 or 47.46 per cent and  Beni-Israel females 310 or 52.5 per cent of the Beni-Israel population; of the forty-seven Christians forty were males and seven females.

Houses.

In 1872 there were 13,769 houses or 5.16 persons to each house. Of the whole number 689 were of a superior and 13,080 of an inferior class, the proportion of inferior to superior being as ninety-four to six. According to the 1881 census there were 15,926 houses, including huts. Many Musalmans, Bhandaris, and some Prabhus own good houses. Except the row of small dwellings and shops that form the market place, each house, especially along the coast, stands in a separate garden. Owing to the dampness of the climate the houses are all built on plinths from two to three feet high. The plinths are of stone rubble and mortar faced with dressed trap or laterite. The walls are a framework of wood filled with baked or sun-dried bricks, with a coating of mud or whitewash. These better-class houses are oblong, and have tiled roofs. They are two storeys high, and have two rooms and a central hall on each floor, with necessary and bathing rooms attached. Their value varies from £200 to £300 (Rs. 2000-Rs. 3000). The middle class house has walls of wattle and daub and a roof thatched with rice straw. They are square and have two rooms, and part of the veranda is enclosed with a daub and wattle wall and used as a cook-room. A house of this kind costs to build from £6 to £7 10s. (Rs. 60-Rs. 75). The huts of the poorer classes cost from 6s. to 10s. (Rs. 3-Rs. 5).

Every good house has a store of copper pots and earthen jars for eating, drinking, cooking, and storing grain; two or three brass-bound boxes for valuables; cots and bedding according to the size of the family; two or three brass stands for lamp wicks; and a stone for grinding condiments and curry spices. For husking rice there is a mortar, the hollowed stump of a tree into which the rice is put and husked by women who pound it with the iron-tipped point of a wooden pestle about five feet long and four inches across. Besides tools for the different callings middle class houses have some earthen pots, a copper water vessel, and one or two other metal pots.

Dress.

Most Hindu men wear only a loincloth during the day and a blanket at night. A middle-class man wears a loincloth, a silver chain round his waist, a turban, and a red-bordered calico shoulder-cloth. A few Brahmans and Prabhus, who are state servants, wear a waistcloth, a silver waistbelt kargota, a white cotton coat, and a red cartwheel-shaped turban.

Ornaments.

Of ornaments, high class women wear the nose-ring, gold earrings, gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, anklets, toe-rings, and finger-rings. Women also wear the gold head ornaments known by the names of ndg and ketuk, phut, and mud. Children wear wrist ornaments, kadi and tode generally silver, earrings, anklets, waistbands and necklaces kanthis.

Food.

The higher classes eat rice, pulse, butter, spices, vegetables, milk, curds, and oil; and the lower classes boiled coarse rice, nagli or hank bread, udid, spices, and dried fish. Rice is eaten either boiled until it is soft, or ground into floor and baked into bread or parched. Rice flour is sometimes mixed with unfermented cocoanut juice and then slightly baked. This is called sanjan. From rice flour and today, round sweetmeats are made. A man in middling circumstances has his own grain and clarified butter, and he gets betel-leaves and vegetables from his garden. A man to early off has a servant to look after his cattle, who is paid sixty pounds (1½ mans) of rice and from 2s. to 4s. (Re. 1 - Rs. 2) a month. In middle class families the women do the house work.

Though the bulk of the people of Janjira are poor, almost all have plenty to eat and a good supply of unfermented palm-juice to drink. As landholders pay in kind in instalments spread over eight months, and, as seed advances or takavi are made when wanted, they have seldom to go to a moneylender to raise the money required for paying the rent. Day-workers are paid in grain, a good meal of rice and spices and dried fish, and after meals a draught of madai or unfermented palm-juice. Their few wants are supplied and they appear happy. The husbandmen are quiet, well-behaved, and cheerful, a little independent in bearing but by no means rude. The shopkeepers and traders are quiet and civil. The following are the chief details of the Janjira castes:

BRAHMANS.

Bra'hmans, numbering 1162 in 1881, are found in greatest numbers in Murud and Shrivardhan, and in smallest numliers in Mandla and Govale. They belong to five main divisions, Deshasths, Chitpavans or Konkanasths, Karhadas, Devrukhas, and Gujarat Brahmans. Except Gujarat Brahmans who are traders and moneylenders, their occupation is state service, priesthood, begging, and in a few cases husbandry. As a class Brahmans are well-to-do.

WRITERS.

Ka'yasth Prabhus, numbering 1492, are found all over the state. In token of their Rajput descent Prabhus do not eat fowls. According to a local story, the reason is that the fowl's beak is like a pen, and the Prabhus, being writers, object to kill an animal who like themselves lives by the pen. [The Rajputs explain their dislike to hens on the ground that they are foul feeders. But the feeling is widespread, and is found among wild tribes who are not careful to eat only clean feeders. The feeling seems connected with the religious respect for the cock. Perhaps it has its origin in the feeling that the spirits of the dead, wandering near their old home, may have found a resting place in the domestic fowls.] Except a few who are small traders, their occupation is state service and husbandry. Most of them are well-to-do.

TRADERS.

Of Traders and Shopkeepers there are 546, chiefly Gujarat and Marwar Vanis. They are found all over the state. The Gujarat Vanis are said to have come, from Gujarat in the beginning of the present century, and the Marwar Vanis from Marwar within the last twenty years. The Gujarat Vanis are permanent residents; the Marwar Vanis stay only for a time. They are moneylenders and shopkeepers, dealing in cloth and miscellaneous articles. Their condition and prospects are good.

HUSBANDMEN.

Of Husbandmen there are seven classes with a strength of 34,822 or 56.33 per cent of the Hindu population. Of the whole number 15,403 were Kunbis, 7772 Agris, 5175 Bhandaris, 3549 Marathas, 2698 Malis, 134 Jangams, and 91 Guravs. KUNBIS are found everywhere and are permanent residents. Besides tilling, they work as day-labourers and personal servants. As a class they are poor. AGRIS are found all over the state except in Shrivardhan and Govale. They are said to have come from Cheul and Roha in Kolaba about 200 years ago. Besides growing rice, they make salt, and some cut pots and toys in stone; others hold lands as state servants. As a class they are poor. BHANDARIS are found all over the state, except in Govale and Mandla. They are said to have come from the south more than 200 years ago. They are sturdy and fair-skinned making their living as palm-juice drawers, distillers, and liquor-sellers. Others are husbandmen, moneylenders, gardeners, and stone pot -and toy makers. They are well-to-do. The MARATHAS, who are found all over the state, are husbandmen and state servants. Their condition is middling. MALIS, of the two sub-divisions Chavkalshis and Pachkalshis, are found in Murud, Nandgaon, Shrivardhan, and Panchaitan. They are said to have come from Cheul and Revdanda in Kolaba more than 300 years ago. Besides gardening and tilling they work as carpenters, bricklayers, and labourers. As a rule they are well off. JANGAMS, who act as priests to some Kunbis and Guravs, are found in Mhasla, Shrivardhan, Panchaitan, and Govale. They are permanent residents and are said to have come into the state about twenty years ago from the south. They perform funeral ceremonies for some Kunbis and Guravs and work as husbandmen. Their condition is fair. GURAVS, also known as Shivsvamis, are found in Hareshvar and Mhasla. They have no tradition of having been formerly settled in another part of the country. Some are husbandmen, but most act as ministrants in Mahadev's temples and as musicians at marriages. They are a well-to-do perhaps a rising class.

MANUFACTURERS.

Of Manufacturers there are two classes, weavers or Salis numbering 314, and oil-pressers or Telis numbering ninety-nine. Except in Mandla and Govale, Salis are found all over the state. They are said to have come partly from the south and partly from Mangaon in Kolaba some 150 years ago. They weave waistcloths, women's robes, sashes, and turbans. Some of them are also husbandmen. When in work, a man, his wife, and two children earn from 6d. to 9d. (4 as. - 6 as.) a day; but work is unsteady. As a class they are poor. Although most oil-pressers and oil sellers are Beni-Israels, Maratha Telis are found in Nandgaon and Mandla. They are said to have come in the beginning of the present century from the Deccan, and are now permanent residents. They press of out of til seed and from karanj and undi berries. Their mill is worked by one bullock. Some are husbandmen and labourers. They keep Monday as a close holiday, shutting their shop a Their state and prospects are poor.

CRAFTSMEN.

Of Craftsmen there are eight classes with a strength of 3107 Of these 860 were gold and silver smiths, Sonars; 953 carpenters, Sutars; 595 potters, Kumbhars; 372 tailors, Shimpis; 161 coppersmiths, Kasars; 104 ironsmitha, Lohars; forty wandering ironsmiths, Ghisadis; and twenty-two saddlers, Jingars. SONARS of the Daivajnya and Aksali subdivisions are found all over the state and are permanent residents. The Daivajnya Sonars, who claim to be Brahmans, are said to have come from the south about 300 years ago, and the Aksali Sonars from the Deccan about a hundred years ago. Except a few who are husbandmen, and the Aksalis of Shrivardhan who make small brass cooking-pots, goldsmiths of both divisions work chiefly in silver and gold. The men earn 9d. to 1s. (6-8 as.) a day, and as a rule are fairly off. The women add nothing to the family earnings. CARPENTERS or SUTARS, who are found all over the state, are said to have come from the south some 300 years ago. They work in wood, making boxes and stools, and in Govale make iron pots for cooking and other purposes. They are a steady well-to-do class, a good carpenter earning a daily wage of 9d. to 1s. 9d. (6-14 as.). POTTERS or KUMBHARS are found all over the state except in Govale. They are said to have come about a century ago from Mangaon in Kolaba and from Dapoli in Batnagiri. Besides making earthen pots, buckets, tiles, bricks, stone pots, and dolls, they act as husbandmen. As a class they are poor, a man's daily earnings varying from 3d. to 6d. (2-4 as.). 'TAILORS or SHIMPIS are found all over the state. They are said to have come about 200 years ago, some from the Deccan and some from the south. Besides tailoring, some till and some keep shops, particularly cloth and grain shops. A Shimpi's daily earnings vary from 6d. to 1s. (4-8 as.), and the class is, on the whole, fairly off. COPPERSMITHS, KASARS and TAMBATS, are found all over the state, and are said to have come from the south some 200 years ago. Most of them work in copper brass and tin, making and tinning pots, and some of them tilling. A coppersmith earns 6d. to 9d. (4-6 as.) a day and is fairly off. IRONSMITHS or LOHARS are found all over the state. They make field tools. GHISADIS, wandering ironsmiths or tinkers, come every year from the Deccan to Panchaitan, Mhasla, and Mandla. They make and mend field and other iron tools and are poor and wild. JINGARS, originally saddlers, are found in Shrivardhan and Panchaitan; they are said to have come from the Deccan about a hundred years ago. They are clever workmen turning their hands to many minor crafts, making dolls, toys, inkstands, keys, boxes, musical instruments, table-drawers, painted and carved wood-work, and cutting the paper tiaras or basings which are worn by the bride and bridegroom at Hindu weddings. As a class they are fairly off.

SERVANTS.

Of Personal Servants there are 731, of whom 293 are barbers or Nhavis and 438 washermen or Parits. Both classes are found all over the state. The barbers arc said to have come from the south about 125 years ago; and of the washermen some are old settlers and others immigrants from the south. Besides following their own callings, some of both classes act as husbandmen. Neither class is well-to-do.

HERDSMEN.

Of Herdsmen and Shepherds there are 3572 Gavlis and 108 Dhangars. GAVLIS, who are found all over the state, are said to be old settlers. In appearance and dress they are like Kunbis, and they make their living by husbandry and cattle-rearing, and by selling milk, curds, and butter. They are fairly off. DHANGARS, who are said to have come from the Deccan and from the Karnatak, are found mostly in Mhasla. Some of the Dhangars tend cattle, some cultivate, and some prepare country blankets from Janjira or Bombay wool. Those who have settled as husbandmen are generally well-to-do and own cattle.

FISHERMEN.

Of Fishermen there are 5943 Kolis and Kharvis. They are found all over the state except in Govale. Among the KOLIS there are two divisions, Cheulkars or Son Kolis and Rahtadkars. The' Son Kolis are said to have come from Cheul in Kolaba some 200 years ago; the Rahtadkars are old settlers from Rahtad in Mangaon. Rahtadkars eat food cooked by Cheulkars, but Cheulkars do not eat food cooked by Bahtadkars. The KHARVIS are said to have come from Chiplun in Ratnagiri about a hundred years ago. The men of both classes wear a skullcap and a loincloth. All are fishers and seamen, hardworking, fairly off, and with good prospects. Some make string and rope, and a few grow hemp for making nets.

LEATHER WORKERS.

Of Leather Workers there are 1900 Chambhars and twenty-butchers or Khatiks. CHAMBHARS, who are found all over the state, are said to be old residents, except a few known as Dabholis who came from Dabhol in Ratnagiri about a hundred years ago. They are shoemakers, tanners and husbandmen. They are badly off and show few signs of improving. KHATIKS are found in Murud and Shrivardhan. They are said to have come from the Deccan in the beginning of the present century. They sell goat's flesh and send hides to Bombay.

DEPRESSED CLASSES.

Of Depressed Classes there were 6485 Mhars, 34 Mangs, and 228 Buruds. MHARS, who are employed as village servants and messengers, receive grain allowances from the villagers, and in some cases till land. They carry away and eat dead cattle and bring firewood and grass from the forests for sale. MANGS make palm-leaf brooms and rope slings or shilkas for hanging jars and other articles. BURUDS are found all over the state except in Govale. They are said to have come from the south about 200 years ago. They plait reed baskets and some of them are husbandmen.

WANDERING TRIBES.

Of Wandering Tribes eighty-one Vadars, four Vanjaris, and sixteen Beldars were returned from Mhasla, Govale, and Mandla. VADARS come every year during the fair season from the Deccan in search of earthwork. The only peculiarity in their dress is that the men wear short trousers. They dig earth and make rice field dams, being paid by the piece. VANJARIS, who are found in Nandgaon and Shrivardhan, come from the Deccan and earn their living by carrying grain and fuel on pack-bullocks. BELDARS or wandering quarrymen and stone dressers come from the Deccan during the fair season in search of work and return to their homes during the rains.

BEGGARS.

Of Religious Beggars there were' sixty-seven Kanphate Nath Gosavis, forty-three Gondhalis, thirty-one Sarodis or Dakujis, twenty Bahagis, and twelve Gopals. KANPHATE NATH Gosavis," according to their own story, are descendants of the disciples of one Goraknath, whose shrine is at Patas Shirala in Kolhapur. Of these Gosavis. some are wanderers and some residents, living as husbandmen in Mhasla and Govale. They are said to have been settled in the state for about 150 years. Wandering Gosavis rarely stay at one place for more than three or four days. They encamp outside of a village, sometimes in the open and sometimes under a tree. They either stretch a blanket across, three sticks as a tent, or make a hut of a few mats, sticks, and branches. Their stock of chattels includes a grindstone, some earthen cooking-pots, some wooden plates, one or two copper and one brass pot, and cots. The man wears a pale yellow turban, a small waistcloth, a jacket and a blanket, and the woman a robe, a petticoat, and a bodice. The women's ornaments are lead and zine bracelets and anklets, and occasionally a gold nose-ring worth about 2s. (Re. 1). They speak a mixture of Gujarati and Hindi, though most of them know Marathi and a little Urdu. They wander through Satara Poona, Alibag, Janjira, and Ratnagiri, travelling in bands of ten or fifteen. They carry fowls with them and some cows and buffaloes, generally from ten to twenty, but sometimes as many as a hundred. They offer the cattle for sale and beg, attracting notice by playing on a one-stringed fiddle. They never work but are well behaved. The women cook and beg, and, when the band is on the move, carry the bulk of the goods. They reverence the ordinary Hindu gods, employ a Brahman at marriages, and have a peculiar dread of evil spirits. Their marriage ceremonies do not differ from those of other low class Hindus. They give a feast and call in a Brahman priest from the nearest village. A son's marriage costs £5 to £6 (Rs.50-Rs.60), half of which is paid to the bride's father, and half spent in food, clothes, and ornaments. A man spends nothing on his daughter's marriage. They are said to have no burial rites, but keep a death-day at the end of a year. They have no headman. GONDHALIS, who are found all over the state, are said to have come about 200 year; ago from Kolhapur and Tuljapur in the Deccan. They are now settled in the state and live by begging and singing songs in Hindu households on marriage and other occasions. SARODIS or DAKUJIS, found in Murud, Govale, and Mhasla, have come from the south and are not permanent settlers. The men wear trousers and a long coat, and live by begging with the help of a smattering of astrology. BAIRAGIS are found all over the state. They move about begging. GOPALS come to Govale every year from the Deccan on begging tours. The men wear conical hats trimmed with peacock's feathers, and a large tunic.

Early Tribe.

The only Early Tribe is the KATHKARIS. They number 972 and are found all over the state. They are said to have come from the Maval or western Deccan. Some of them live in the hills and some on the borders of forests near villages. They belong to five clans: Nikams, Vaghmors, Moknes, Kalis, and Sanvates. They speak corrupt Marathi, and live in square wattle huts, whose only furniture is a few earthen pots, one or two copper vessels, and a sickle. The men wear a loincloth and sometimes a shoulder cloth, and the women a scanty robe that does not fall below the knee and no bodice. Their only ornaments are heavy necklaces of glass beads, brass earrings, and glass bangles. Some of them grow nachni and harik on the hull sides, others work as labourers and rear goats; but the bulk of them, both men and women, live by selling firewood and forest produce and by tapping forest palms. They are fond of hunting and shooting and are much given to pilfering and petty thieving. Except at drunken brawls, which sometimes end fatally, they are seldom guilty of crime. They worship the ordinary Hindu gods, but never employ Brahman or other priests. They are fond of moving from one place to another within a radius of eight or ten miles. They never go further and have no knowledge of other districts. They are averse from manual labour but have recently been induced to work at road-making. When they choose to work they are the best and hardest workers in the state. On the fifth day after the birth of a child, six betelnuts are laid before Satvai Devi, the mother is made to bow to the goddess, and a party of friends are entertained with country liquor. Marriages are settled by presents, but the leave of their hereditary leader or naik must be gained. For granting the marriage license the leader is paid 2s. (Re. 1) and is given a pitiful of country liquor. No marriage can be celebrated unless he is present.

MUSALMANS.

According to the 1881 census Musalmans numbered 13,912 or 18.2 per cent of the population. They are chiefly found in Janjira, Mhasla, Murud, and Snrivardhan. They belong to four classes, Konkanis numbering 12,429, Habshis or Sidis numbering 258, Daldis numbering 1225, and a few families of Dakhnis. Like the Konkanis of Thana, Kolaba, and Ratnagiri, the Janjira Konkanis are partly descended from Persian and Arab immigrants between the seventh and the fourteenth centuries. The Sidis or Abyssinians are known to have been settled during the sixteenth century under the Bijapur kings, and are said to have originally come during the rule of the Bahmani dynasty. The Daldis or fishers claim the same origin as the Konkanis. The few Dakhnis, most of whom are butchers, have settled in Janjira during the present century.

Speech.

The home speech of the Konkanis and Daldis is a mixture of Marathi and Hindustani known as Konkani; that of the Sidis and the Dakhnis is a corrupt Hindustani. Almost all can speak Hindustani.

Appearance.

The foreign element in the Sidis seems to have been Abyssinian not negro. At least the present Sidis show no signs of negro blood, being wheat-coloured with high straight noses and thin lips. The beard is scanty. They are generally larger boned and more robust than the Konkani Musalmans. The Konkanis and Daldis are generally small and delicate, light coloured or swarthy, with good features and scanty beards. The Dakhnis are generally dark, strongly made, and full bearded.

Houses.

Rich Sidi gentry, Syed landlords, and Konkani timber and other merchants own good one or two storied houses of brick or stone, with strong timber and tiled roofs. The houses of middle class and poor Musalmans, except in some of the larger towns where they have tiled roofs, are built of bamboos and rafters, thatched with rice straw or grass. Their houses are oblong and are peculiar in having the front door at one end. The better class of house costs to build from £20 to £30 (Rs. 200 -Rs. 300), and the poorer house from £3 to £5 (Rs.30-Rs. 50). The articles generally found in a house are a few Indian carpets and quilts, some cots, and copper, brass, and earthen vessels. The Sidis deck their walls with swords, shields, lances, muskets, guns, knives, and daggers. Most well-to-do families have male and female servants, and a stock of cows, buffaloes, goats, and bullocks. Rich families have four to eight bondsmen and bondswomen, generally the children of poor Hindus who have been bought and made Musalmans. These bondsmen and bondswomen are not hereditary and they can at their pleasure leave their master who feeds them and clothes them. They marry only among themselves.

Dress.

A Musalman's wardrobe generally includes, besides some common suits for every day use, a large flat-rimmed Brahman-like turban or head scarf, a cap, a coat, a shirt, a jacket, and a pair of trousers. The rich man's wardrobe varies in value from £10 to £20 (Rs.l00-Rs. 200), a middle class man's from £3 to £5 (Rs.30-Rs.50), and a poor man's from £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10 - Rs. 15). The woman's ordinary dress is a bodice, a robe, and a petticoat, over which, when she goes out, she draws a sheet. The women of rich and well-to-do families have several costly silk dresses ornamented with gold and silver embroidery. Middle class and poor women have one silk dress which lasts ten to fifteen years, and three or four common suits costing 3s. to 5s. (Rs. 1½ -Rs. 2½) each. The value of a rich woman's wardrobe may be estimated at £10 to £20 (Rs.l00-Rs.200)'a middle class woman's at £3 to £5 (Rs.30-Rs.50), and a poor woman's at £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15-Rs.20). Except that

Ornaments.

Daldis sometimes wear a large gold ring in the right ear, the only ornaments worn by men are gold and silver finger rings. The women have generally a good store of ornaments. A married woman is never without a special necklace called lachha of glass and gold beads, the wedding gift which is always worn so long as the husband lives. A woman who marries a second time is not so particular about her necklace, but if she is young she generally persuades her husband to give her a new one. Besides this necklace all women have a good store of gold no serings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets either gold or silver, silver anklets, silver chains, silver finger rings, and other ornaments. These ornaments are partly presented by parents and partly by the husband as a marriage portion which is generally worth £12 14s. (Rs. 127). They are the sole property of the woman. Even in poor families these ornaments are carefully kept, but they have sometimes to be sold to meet marriage and other special charges. Roughly a rich woman's ornaments vary in value from £50 to £100 (Rs. 500 Rs. 1000), a middle class woman's from £10 to £20 (Rs.100-Rs.200), and a poor woman's from £5 to £8 (Rs.50-Rs.80).

Musalmans Food.

The Musalman's ordinary food is rice and nachni bread eaten, with fish curry. They take two meals, one in the morning the other in the evening. Those of them who are husbandmen take a third meal, an early break, at sunrise.

The daily cost of food to a rich Musalman family of four or five persons varies from 1s. 6d. to 2s. (12 as.-Re. 1), to a middle class family from 9d. to 1s. (6-8as.), and to a poor family from 6d.to 9d. (4-6as.). Public dinners are given in honour of births, marriages, and deaths. These dinners consist of pulav and dalcha made of boiled rice with clarified butter, and eaten with mutton-curry cooked with pulse or vegetables. To give a hundred guests a dinner of this kind costs from £1 10s. to £2 (Rs.15-Rs.20). Except a few rich Sidis and Konkanis who occasionally drink tea and coffee, Musalmans use no beverage but water. Of stimulants mahuda liquor is drunk by some Daldis, opium is eaten by a few Sidis and Syeds, and almost all eat betel-leaf and betelnuts. 

Calling.

The hereditary calling of the Sidis is state service. Some of them have good houses and estates yielding yearly incomes of £50 to £100 (Rs.500 -Rs. 1000). The Konkanis, who are landholders, farmers, and traders, earn from £30 to £100 (Rs. 300 - Rs. 1000), and the Daldis, whose hereditary calling is fishing, are either servants, fishers, or sailors.

Holidays.

They are good sailors, ready to leave their homes in search of work in Bombay and returning with their earnings after a year or two. Except on Ramzan, Bakar Id, the last two days of the Muharram, and after a death no traders or artisans take holidays. On those occasions, besides resting themselves, they give a holiday to their servants.

Character.

Though hot-tempered, crafty, and luxurious, the Sidis as a class are sober and thrifty. The Konkanis are famous for their vigour and shrewdness, and the Daldis, though hardworking and thrifty, are excessively fond of liquor.

Condition.

 Some Sidi and Konkani landlords and traders are well-to-do and able to meet their marriage and other special charges, but a weakness for good living and show, leads many to debt and some to want.

Community.

As a rule none of the four classes of Musalmans' intermarry. Of late some Sidi gentry have taken wives from the Konkanis; but the Konkanis never give daughters either to Daldis or Dakhnis. They have no special class organization and no class rules, the Kazi being chosen arbitrator in family disputes. All join in their prayers, and on occasions have no objection to eat with each other.

Religion.

All of the Janjira Musalmans are Sunnis, the Sidis belonging to  the Hanafi and the Konkanis and Daldis to the Shafai schools. Almost all are fairly religious, and a few of the devout go to the mosque for the five daily prayers.

Customs.

Some of their social observances are more or less Hindu in spirit, but the Janjira Musalmans seldom worship or pay vows to Hindu gods. Daldi women go out in the same dress they wear in-doors. Konkani women, when they go out, cover the body from head to foot with a large white sheet. All Musalmans obey the Kazi and get him to register their marriages. The ordinary fee for registering a marriage is 5s. (Rs. 2½), but in addition some of the rich make the Kazi the present of a turban or of a piece of new cotton cloth. Boys are generally married between fifteen and twenty, and girls between ten and sixteen. Betrothal takes place six months or a year before marriage, and costs from £ to £3 (Rs. 10-Rs. 30). A son's marriage costs a rich man £30 to £60 (Rs. 300-Rs. 600), and a daughter's marriage £20 to £40 (Rs. 200-Rs. 400). A middle class man spends £15 to £20 (Rs. 150-Rs. 300) on a son's wedding, and £10 to £15 (Rs. 100-Rs. 150) on a daughter's wedding. A poor man spends £10 to £15 (Rs. 100-Rs. 150) on a son's wedding, and about £3 (Rs. 30) on a daughter's. Few, except the rich, keep the sacrifice or akika ceremony, most keep the initiation or bismilla at a cost of 6s. to £1 (Rs. 3-Rs. 10), and a few celebrate the seventh month of a woman's pregnancy.

Ceremony

 Funeral ceremonies are performed by the Mullas and Kazis. As soon as life is gone the Mulla is called and makes ready the shroud, bathes the body, and lays it on the bier shrouded and scented with camphor and aloes. The bier is carried to the grave on the shoulders of four men who repeat the creed as they walk, and are now and then relieved by the other bearers. Before reaching the grave, either in the mosque or in the graveyard, the bier is set on the ground, a prayer is repeated, and the body is laid in the grave. When the grave is filled and the people have gone to their homes, friends and relations give a dinner to the mourning family who till then neither eat nor drink. If the family has many friends and relations they continue to supply the mourners with food for three days when the third day ceremony or ziarut is performed. On the third night male friends and relations are asked to come to a maulud or reading of sermons and hymns to the praise of God and the Prophet which lasts till midnight. In the morning friends meet at the house of mourning or in the mosque, where the Koran is read and flowers and scents are distributed and taken to the grave. Some well-to-do families, besides keeping the tenth twentieth thirtieth and fortieth days after death; have a ceremony after six months and another at the end of the year. A rich man's funeral costs £10 to £20 (Rs. 100 -Rs. 200), a middle class man's £3 to £5 (Rs. 30 - Rs. 50), and a poor man's £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15 - Rs. 20). Except the, poor Konkanis and Daldis, about one-third of the Musalmans have been taught Urdu and Marathi; and some of the rich have begun to teach their boys English. Except in the state service no Janjira Musalman has risen to a high position.

Konkanis.

The Konkanis who are the largest community of Janjira Musalmans are commonly known as Janjirkars. They are chiefly Shaikhs, though there are some Syed families from Madina and Hydramaut who seem to have settled about four hundred years ago. Some families call themselves Khan, who are probably not of Afghan descent, but are the representatives of successful soldiers who won the title of Khan. As a rule Konkanis do not add Shaikh to their names. They use a surname taken either from their calling as Khot or Kazi, or from their dwelling place as Janjirkar and Murudkar. Their women add Bibi to their names. A special class called Chorvads, from chhokara a boy, are the illegitimate issue of rich Konkanis and Sidi Sardars. They call themselves Konkanis, but the other Konkanis look down on them, and, though some take wives from among them, no Konkani will give his daughter to a Chorvad. The home speech of the Konkanis is the mixture of Marathi and Urdu which is known as Konkani. They are generally thin, tall, regular featured, and brown. As a rule the men shave the head and have thin beards. Like the men the women are tall and delicate, fair, and with good features. They do not appear in public during the day. When they visit friends or attend parties they go out at night covered from head to foot with a large white sheet. They engage in no work except house work. Indoors men wear a waistcloth or lungi, a jacket or bandi, and a skullcap; and out of doors trousers, a jacket, a large white coat, and a turban. The women wear the Hindu robe worn like a petticoat and a bodice. Their ornaments are gold noserings, necklaces, and earrings, and silver bracelets, anklets, and finger rings. Both men and women are neat and clean in their habits. The men are hospitable, hardworking, thrifty, and sober, but proud and hot-tempered. Some are well-to-do owning land and trading in timber. Others of the middle class are state servants and husbandmen. The poor live almost from hand to mouth and are always in debt. Except that of late some Konkani families have intermarried with the Sidis, they marry with no one but their own class. In religion they are Sunnis of the Shafai school, but few are strict in saying their five daily prayers. They obey the Kazi and appoint him and other respectable members of the community arbitrators in family disputes. They teach their children the Koran and to read Urdu and Marathi. Few learn English and none have risen to high official posts.

Sidis.

Sidis, the representatives of Habshi or Abyssinian slaves and soldiers of fortune, are found only in Janjira island. They number 258 and rank next in importance to Konkanis. Most of them are relations of the Nawab or head of the state, and have inherited state land grants or allowances. They speak Hindustani and Konkani both at home and abroad. They are tall, strong and well made, with good features and brown or wheat skins. The men shave the head and wear the beard though their faces have generally little hair. The women, who are like the men in appearance, never appear in public and add nothing to the family income. Indoors the men wear a waistcloth or lungi, a jacket, and a skullcap, and out of doors a turban or head scarf, a long coat, and loose trousers. The women wear the Hindu robe over a petticoat, which is also used as a night dress, and a bodice. When they go out in the evening to pay visits they shroud themselves in a large white sheet which hides the whole face except the eyes. They are fond of ornaments and have a good store of earrings and noserings, bracelets, anklets, and necklaces. As among Konkani women, the glass and gold bead necklace is put on the first day after marriage and is worn constantly and kept with care. Both men and women are neat and clean in their habits. Rich Sidis generally deck their houses with swords, shields, lances, muskets, knives, and daggers hung on the walls from wooden pegs. As a class they are luxurious hot-tempered and dishonest, but sober and thrifty. They are either landholders or state servants, and, except a few who are poor, are generally well-to-do and able to meet special charges. They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and, except a few of the younger men, are religious and careful to say the daily prayers. They obey the Kazi and employ him to arbitrate in family and other disputes. They have no special class organization and no special religious head. They teach their boys some Urdu and Marathi and to read the Koran. A few learn English. On the whole they are well-to-do.

Daldis.

Daldis, from dalad fishing, are said to have been known in Arabia as savshesi or coast people. They number about 1230. Like the Konkanis they are said to have fled from Arabia on account of the tyranny of Hajjaj bin Yusuf (A.D.700), but their forefathers probably settled at different times between the eighth and the thirteenth centuries. Besides in Janjira they are found on the Ratnagiri coast. The men are tall or middle sized, well made and strong, of a dark or olive colour, and with thin beards like the Konkanis. They shave the head and wear the beard. Their indoor dress is either a waistcloth or a loincloth and a skullcap, and, on going out, a head scarf or turban, a jacket, and a waistcloth or a pair of tight trousers. The women are tall or of middle height, delicate, well featured, and fair. They wear the Hindu robe, and a petticoat and bodice like the Konkanis. They appear in public, but few of them do any work beyond looking after the house. Both men and women are dirty and untidy. They speak a corrupt Konkani using many peculiar words and phrases. [Among the peculiar words are: encha for Marathi yene, coming; jducha, for jdne going; je for ji, yes;pagla for pagnekaritan fishing; harla or dna.for bring; and goto, for bhat sijela, boiled rice.] They are hardworking and thrifty but excessively fond of drink; most of them are in debt. They are either husbandmen or seamen. Many of the sailors find employment in Bombay, most of them as seamen either on European or on native vessels but a few of the more intelligent as engineers of steam launches and other small craft. They marry only among themselves, but have no special class organization. In religion, like the Konkanis, they are Sunnis of the Shafai school, but few of them are religious or careful to say their prayers. They take no interest in educating their children and show no signs of bettering their condition.

BENI-ISRAELS.

Beni-Isra'els are returned as numbering 590. They are said to have been much more numerous during the eighteenth century when the Sidi was powerful, and Danda Rajpuri was a place of trade. In Panchaitan or Diva-Borlai alone there are said to have formerly been one hundred and twenty families. During the wars with the Marathas, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, many families are said to have gone to Kolaba and Bombay. They are divided into White Beni-Israels and Black Beni-Israels. The White Beni-Israels are probably the descendants of the original immigrants and the Black Beni-Israels of converts. The two classes neither eat together nor intermarry. The men have distinctive features, the nose being decidedly aquiline. The face has something of the Afghan type, but the body is of inferior strength and size. Except two tufts, one over each ear, the men shave the head; they wear the mustache and a short beard. The women are generally good-looking. Like Hindu women they wear the hair tied behind the head in a knot. Most of the Beni-Israels are oil-pressers, but many are husbandmen and craftsmen, chiefly carpenters. Their home tongue is Marathi, and their houses are like those of middle-class Hindus. The only special article is a box fixed to the upper part of the right door post. This contains a piece of parchment with a verse from the Old Testament, so placed that, from the outside, the word Almighty can be read through a hole. They have two meals a day, the men and women eating separately. Their dress is partly Musalman partly Hindu. They worship One God and have no images in their houses. On the eighth day after the birth of a boy, he is circumcised by their priest or kazi, to whom a present is made according to the means of the parents, and a feast is given to relations and friends. A day before the marriage, the boy is rubbed with turmeric brought by the girl's relatives from her house. On the marriage-day the girl is seated on a chair or on a raised seat, and the boy is made to stand near her. A cup containing sherbat into which a silver ring is dropped is brought, blessed by the priest, and handed to the girl, who drinks some of it and hands the cup to the boy who empties it. The silver ring is placed on the girl s right forefinger, and the marriage bond is read and signed. On the third day the boy walks with his wife to his own house. When a Beni-Israel dies the priest repeats verses, and the corpse is carried; to the burial-ground and buried with the head to the east. Verses are repeated and the mourners return. Three death-feasts take place, eight days, six months, and one year after the death. In each village social disputes are settled by a headman at a meeting of the men of the caste. Though fond of liquor and extravagant on ceremonial occasions, the Beni-Israels are a steady, hardworking, and successful people. They send their boys to school, and they have no professional beggars.

Villages.

According to the 1872 census there were 245 towns and villages, of which fourteen were uninhabited and twenty-eight were hamlets. In 1881 the number of towns and villages was returned at 234. Among towns the largest are Shrivardhan with 7424 people, Murud with 5353, Mhasla with 1830, and Janjira with 1874. As a rule the larger villages are along the coast or on one of the creeks. In these coast and creek villages all signs of houses are hidden by belts of cocoa and betel palms, which fringe the sea from a quarter to a mile broad and sometimes from a mile and a half to two miles long. Except the row of small dwellings and shops that form the market place, each house stands in a separate fenced garden. A main road from end to end of the village, with side lanes, runs through the palm groves, the trees meeting above and casting an unbroken shade. Owing to the dampness of the climate the houses are built on plinths from two to three feet high. The richer rice land villages are usually built on the skirts of one of the hill ranges which fringe the rice lands. They are fairly shaded with large mango and pipal trees, and here and there an isolated clump of bamboos. The houses are much like the coast houses, except that they are grouped together not separate, and that the plinths are lower and less regular. The hill hamlets are clusters of low huts in spaces in the forests cleared of brushwood; some have plinths and some have no plinths. All are built of rough poles cut from the forests, with no attempt at dressing, and with walls of mud and "stone or of wattle and daub.

Communities

Though there are no regular village communities the large villages have a headman patil, an accountant kulkarni, a priest upadhya, and a servant or tnkar. Small villages have a karbhari, or patil's assistant and a mhar. The headmen are Brahmans; Prabhus, Marathas, and in a few cases Musalmans. In Musalman villages there is a mulla, who is in charge of the mosque and a bangi or crier. The mulla has a grain allowance from the state, and the bdngi receives a turban and 2s. 6d. (Rs. 1¼) for attending marriages and funerals. The Nawab, as head of the state, is also religious head or kazi. He deputes his powers to certain persons called naibs. Hindu religious officers have fees but no state allowances, though like Musalman priests they are free from the house-cess. In marriages the bridegroom has to apply to the Nawab and pay him a fee of 2s. (Re 1). An order is granted on the mahal, where it is registered and sent to the naib in the case of a Musalman or to the upadhya in the case of a Hindu. If no objection is raised, the marriage is celebrated and the religious officer takes his fees.

Movements.

Between 1863 when forests began to be cut and 1878 when they began to be preserved, wood-cutting brought from the Deccan, for the eight fine months (November-June), about 5000 men and women of the Beldar, Mhar, and Kunbi castes. The demand for this labour has ceased, and the only incomers, except beggars and other wanderers, are Agris whom the area of waste rice lands draws from the neighbouring British villages. From Janjira, Mhars, Kunbis, and Daldi Musalmans go for work to Bombay in the beginning of the fair season and come back before the rains. The Kunbis and Mhars work as carriers and labourers and the Daldis as boatmen in Bombay harbour. The crews of the Bombay. Dubash or ship-chandlers' boats, of Peninsular and Oriental steamships, and of most of the smaller coasting steamers are largely recruited from Habsan. On their return the Kunbis and Mhars work in the fields during the rains; the Daldis, who sometimes bring back as much as £10 (Rs. 100), generally rest till the fair weather comes round.

Agriculture.

AGRICULTURE supports 25,060 people or nearly one-third of the population. Except towards the west where it is sandy the soil is red and stony. Janjira has never been surveyed. According to a rough estimate, of the whole area from 22,000 to 24,000 acres or about thirty per cent are arable, and of the arable area about 20,000 acres or 833 per cent are under tillage.

Irrigation.

A large area of land is watered from wells worked by the common Persian wheel. The water is distributed by small conduits, and in a few places, is carried by ducts across streams, the water being led to the fields by small canals above the level of the streams. This is chiefly during and for a short time after the south-west monsoon. In stream-bank villages garden crops are grown with water brought by the ukti or bucket and lever lift. The area which can be watered from river embankments is small. Sugarcane is grown in a few places, and is generally sold raw in the neighbouring villages. Of late years a considerable area has been won by embankments from the salt marsh along the borders of creeks. Among these are two specially large works on either side of the Rajpuri creek, one at Chinchgad, the other to the south of Digi.

Crops.

Of 20,000 acres of tilled land, 11,600 were under rice bhat Oryza sativa, 2800 under nachni or nagli Eleusine coracana, 2200 under van Panicum miliare, 1600 under harik Paspalurn scrobiculatum, 200 under til Sesamum indicum, and 900 under hemp tag Crotalaria juncea Such other crops as sava Panicum imliaceum, kang Panicum italicum, udid Phaseolus mungo, mug Phaseolus radiatus, tur Cajanus indieus, chauli Dolichos catjang, pavta Dolichos lablab, and val Dolichos spicatus, occupied about 120 acres. The area under garden crops was about 1280 acres.

Rice, the staple crop, is grown in the moist alluvial valleys. About February the husbandman begins to make ready his field by burning wood and grass whose ashes serve as manure. After the first fall of rain (June 5-13) ploughing begins. The people generally club together and bring five or six ploughs to one field and soon make it ready for sowing. Except in salt land, rice seedlings are always planted out. The planting goes on during July and August and the crop is generally ready for cutting some time in October. In November, after the rice has been housed, the soil is ploughed, and a crop of pulse is raised. About thirty different varieties of long. stemmed rice are grown in marshy lands. [The names of the varieties of rice are, panvel, patan, mudga, harkel, bhadsal, tarsal, ghosalvel, ambamohar, khair, borka, tambesal, godvel, dhabunlipatan, nirpuinj, shepia-vargal, dhorki, madi, jiresal , chimansal, dhok, gnriavargal, tambdu hatva, modhahalva, mailpatan, divalya, bargal, chokhi, bal patan and raybag.] The estimated average yield in an acre of well watered sweet rice land is 3000 pounds; in an acre of soil of the middle sort from 2000 to 2500 pounds; and in an acre of soil of the poorer sort from 600 to 1000 pounds. The price of husked rice varies from £2 16s. to £3 (Rs. 28-Rs. 30) and of cleaned rice from £3 12s. to £4 (Rs. 36-Rs. 40) the khandi of 800 pounds.

Most uplands and the lower slopes of the smaller hills are given to nachm, vari, and harik The brushwood is cut and burnt and the ground ploughed and made ready for sowing in the rains. On a piece of cleared land the succession of crops is nachni during the first year, uari during the second, and harik, rala, or any other inferior grain during the third year. Hemp is generally grown on clearings after a succession of varkas crops.

Garden Crops

Of garden crops the Betel palm supari Areca catechu is the most important Shrivardhan betelnuts are known-over the whole of the Bombay Presidency. The seed-nut is sown in February or March about half a foot deep and is carefully watered. After about four months the plant appears and is watered every second day. When it is four years old it is planted about two feet and a half below the surface, a foot and a quarter of the seedling being buried under the ground while a round trench of the same depth is left for the water. After four or five years, that is when the tree is eight or nine years old, if it has been kept watered at intervals of one or two days and is manured during the cold weather, it begins to bear. The yearly yield from one tree varies from twenty-five to 400 nuts. Other garden crops are sugarcane us Saccharum officinarum, betel leaves pan, cocoanuts naral Cocos nucifera, pine-apples ananas Ananassa sativa, pumelos papnis Citrus decumana, plantains keli Musa paradisiaca, mangoes amba Mangifera indica, lemons limbu Citrus bergamia, jacks phanas Artocarpus integrifolia, white pumpkins pandhraghugho Cucurbita longa, guavas peru Psidium pomiferum, custard-apples sitaphal Annona squamosa, cucumbers kakdi Cucumis utilitatissimus, melons chibud Cucumis melo, watermelons kalingad Cucurbita citrullus, citrons ramphal Annona reticulata, padval Trichosanthes anguina, bhendi Hibiscus esculentus, gavdri Canavalia gladiata, kadi Momordica charantia, and onions kanda Allium cepa, which are much prized, being small white and firm.

Bad Years.

No records of famines or failures of crops are available. During the rains of 1872 there was severe scarcity in Mhasla, Govale, and Shrivardhan. The previous harvest had been bad and most of the stores in the state granaries were sold before the scarcity began. At first the Nawab refused to take any special measures to relieve distress. But much good was done by the Nawab's eldest wife who opened her granaries, and, later on, the Nawab. also sanctioned a distribution of grain. The distress lasted from the 20th of August to the 25th of October. Only three deaths, of an old woman and two children, were directly traced to want of food. In 1875, owing to a short rainfall, the hill crops almost wholly failed, and much of the rice, though the straw was well grown, yielded no grain. In 1878 an excessive rainfall of 164 inches caused much damage especially to hill crops. In 1879 the season was very irregular. Heavy rain set in as early as the 24th of May and tillage was begun. Throughout July no rain fell and both the rice and hill crops failed. In Mhasla and Govale there was great distress from want of grain and from high prices. In 1880 the failure of the early rains raised grain prices to famine rates, but towards the end of August a moderate rainfall saved about three quarters of the crop. In 1881 the early rice crop was slightly injured by unseasonable rain and the upland crops by locusts which appeared in Mhasla in November. In July heavy storms and wind raised so high a tide that serious damage was done to many of the embankments and by the flooding of rice lands. In Mandla-Borlai six fishermen's huts were washed away.

Capital.

There seems to be no noticeable change in the state of the people during the last ten years. They are not scrimped for food, and the common and new practice of going by steamer to Bombay to buy clothes and nick-nacks shows that many of the poorer classes have spare funds. Indebtedness is said to be less common and less pressing than in the neighbouring British districts, but the nominal rates of interest are apparently much the same. A craftsman with good credit and a fairly-off husbandman pay interest at about twenty-five per cent a year. A poor husbandman pays fifty per cent and even as much as seventy-five per cent. In small dealings, when an article is given in pawn, the ordinary rate of interest is fifteen per cent; in petty agricultural advances upon personal security twenty-five per cent in a large transaction with a mortgage on movable property twelve per cent; and in a large transaction with a mortgage upon house or land twelve or fifteen per cent. From five to ten per cent is considered a fair return for money invested in land or other immovable property.

There are no banking establishments in Habsan. Money is lent by any one who has it to spare. Interest is charged according to the Shak era whose new year begins in Chaitra (April-May). The intercalary month is not taken into account.

Currency.

Bills of exchange or hundis Varying in amount from £2 to £200 (Rs. 20-Rs. 2000) are issued on Bombay and Jafrabad, the small Sidi state in South Kathiawar. Till it was closed in 1834 the Nawab's mint issued silver and copper coins which are still in circulation. The Nawab's rupee called habshani, or nishani because it was marked with a or J, is worth 1s. 6d. (12 ans.) of the British standard, and his copper pice is worth the one hundredth part of a rupee. The Imperial currency is taking the place of the old currency which is being melted.

Moneylenders.

Moneylenders, khots, and well-to-do land owners and husbandmen advance money to the poorer classes especially to Musalmans who are much in debt. The borrower generally passes a bond promising to repay the loan with a certain amount of interest and engaging that, if he fails, certain property shall belong to the lender. These bonds are easily renewed. Some lenders keep a pass-book called baitha khata in which agreements connected with bonds are entered. Most shopkeepers and traders keep two books, a day book rajkira, and a ledger khatavni. As the number of persons deeply involved in debt is small it is unusual for a debtor to owe money or grain to more than one person. Outstandings, are seldom if ever written off as bad debts. Grain lent for sowing is repaid at double the quantity advanced, and grain lent for food at half as much again. Grain advances are generally made by khots. Disputes between creditor's and debtors are generally settled by the help of friends. A judgment-creditor rarely goes to extremes with his debtor. As a rule he takes some property in mortgage.

Land Mortgage.

Land is sometimes but not often mortgaged. There are two forms of land mortgage. According to one form the borrower tills the land and pays the state assessment, and, for a certain number of years, hands the crop to the mortgagee. After the' fixed number of years is passed the land reverts to the mortgager. The other practice is for the land to be handed to the mortgagee and kept by him till the sum advanced is repaid.

Labour Mortgage.

The custom of pledging labour is of long standing in Habsan. A poor Mali, Kunbi, Maratha or Mhar, in want of money and with no security, goes to his khot or other man of means, and, if he will advance a certain sum, offers to work for him for a certain number of years either with or without food. For a loan of £5 (Rs. 50) a man will ordinarily serve either seven year's with food and clothing or 2½ years without food. During the period agreed on, the whole of the bondsman's labour belongs to the master; the bondsman cannot work for himself without his master's leave. The master has no claim on the labour of the bondsman's wife or children, but, if a bondsman dies before his time has been worked out, the son or wife as a rule fulfils the term. If the lender has agreed to give the bondsman his food he is bound to supply him every month with 1¼ mans of unhusked rice, 3d. (2 annas) worth of tobacco, and once a year a blanket, a waistcloth, two loincloths and an occasional present of money. He is in no way bound to support the wife or children or to provide the bondsman with a hut. The master has the power to make over to some one else his right to the bondsman's labour. Formerly if a man mortgaged his labour and did not carry out his agreement he was flogged; now the master takes out a decree from the civil court. Both parties say the former plan was the best Though such engagements do not become hereditary certain families in the Janjira fortress, both Muhammadans and Hindus, are hereditary servants of the Nawab. [Up to the late Nawab's death in 1879 unmarried girls who became pregnant were made menial servants in the Nawab's household.] They receive a small grant of grain and 2a. (Re. 1) a month and are bound t6 serve six months in every year, as peons, grooms, palanquin-bearers, and water-carriers. The hereditary servant is better off than, men who have mortgaged their labour. His state is about on a par with those unattached to the service of any master.

Wage

The daily wages of carpenters, masons, and bricklayers have risen from 4½d. to 1s. 3d. (3-10 annas) in 1860 to from 9d. to 1s. 9d. (6-14 annas) in 1880. Unskilled labour is paid in grain. A man is engaged either for the day or till certain work is finished. He is fed by his employer and receives a present on leaving. Where wages are paid in cash, for a whole day s labour the rates are for a man 4½ d. (3 annas), for a woman 3 ¾ d. (2½ annas) and for a child 1½d. (1 anna). Sometimes wages are paid partly, in grain and partly in cash.

Prices.

During the last twenty years (1860-1880), except between 1863 and 1866 when rice sold for £5 (Rs. 50) and nachni for £6 5s. (Rs. 62½) a khandi of 800 pounds, the price of food-grains has not much changed. During the five years ending 1880 the average rupee price of cleaned rice was twenty-two pounds and of nachni thirty-four pounds. In 1881 the rupee price of cleaned rice was thirty-four pounds and of nachni sixty-one pounds.

Measures.

The capacity measures used in the state are, four nitvis one adholi, twenty-four adholis one man, and twenty mans one khandi. The measure of a bigha is, ten feet one kathi, twenty kathis one pand, and twenty pands one bigha or four-fifths of an acre.

Trade.

Except a seventeen mile road from Murud to Saloon at the mouth of the Kundalika, and a road of nineteen miles from Digi to Shri-vardhan, which are (1882) under construction, Janjira has no made roads. Forest tracks, fit for horses or laden bullocks, run over the hills between Mhasla and Shrivardhan, Shrivardhan and Dive-Borlai, and Dive-Borlai and Digi. Except a few halting places or utaras, provided by the state, there are no rest-houses fit either for Europeans or for natives.

Post Office.

For some time there was a through Imperial post line from Alibag to Murud, and another from Shrivardhan to Bankot. Over the rest of the country the state post carried official letters, whilst private interests shifted for themselves. Since November 1880 the Imperial postal lines have been extended and the old state post abolished. An unbroken line now runs from Alibag to Bankot. In 1881 there were seven sub-post offices, at Mandla-Borlai, Nandgaon, Murud, Mhasla, Panchaitan-Borlai, Shrivardhan, and Hareshvar. Except those of Mandla-Borlai and Hareshvar, the offices are in charge of sub-postmasters on yearly salaries varying from £12 to £24 (Rs. 120 - Rs. 240). The offices at Mandla-Borlai and Hareshvar are in charge of village schoolmasters receiving yearly allowances varying from £4 16s. (Rs. 48) to £3 12s. (Rs. 36) respectively. In the chief towns letters are delivered by two postmen on yearly salaries of £7 4s. (Rs. 72) and £8 8s. (Rs. 84). Of four village postmen who deliver letters in the villages three receive £9 12s. (Rs.96) each and one £10 16s. (Rs. 108), all chargeable to the Imperial postal establishment Mails for the, state are sent from and received at Bombay by the ferry steamers which ply between Bombay and Dharamtar.

Ferries.

There are twelve ferries in the state; three on the Bankot creek, between Talanda in Janjira and Nigdi in Ratnagiri. between Phalsap in Janjira and Pandari in Ratnagiri, and between Ambet in Janjira and Mahapral in Ratnagiri; one on the Shrivardhan creek between Shrivardhan and Karanda both in Janjira; one on the Panchaitan-Borlai creek between Diva and Velds'; two on the Rajpuri creek between Rajpuri and Digi and between Raipuri and the Janjira fortress; one on the Murud creek between Dongri and Murud; one on the Nandgaon creek between Nandgaon and the opposite coast; two on the Mandla-Borlai creek between Korone and Chipole and between Borlai and Barsiva; and one on the Revdanda creek between Salaon and Revdanda. [The rates are: On the Rajpuri creek ¾d. (6 pies) for an adult, ¼d. (2 pies) for a child, ¾d. (6 pies) for a litter exclusive of bearers and travellers, and 6d. (4. annas) for palanquin. The charges on other creeks are half of these. The cattle rates on the Raipuri creek are; 1s. (8 anna) for a buffalo, 6d. (4 annas) for a cow, la. (8 annas) for a horse, 1½d. (1 anna) for calf, and ⅜d. (3 pies) for a goat, On other creeks the rates are: 3d. (2 annas) for a buffalo and horse, 1½d. (1 anna) for a cow, ¾d. (6 pies) for a calf, and ⅛d. (1 pie) for a goat.] The chief traffic on the Shrivardhan ferry is in cloth blankets and spices from Mahad; on other ferries the chief articles carried are cattle and head-loads of cocoanuts, fish, vegetables, plantain leaves, and betelnut. Some of the ferries are farmed by public auction, the farmer engaging boats and crews. He is also bound to carry the post and state servants and articles free of charge.

Vessels.

The sea-going vessels are of two kinds, fishing boats and coasting traders. There are two fishing boats the machva and a large outrigger canoe or ulandi, both with one mast and one lateen sail. The machva has from four to six of a crew and the canoe from two to four. The coasting traders are galbats and phatamaris. The gulbat, which has two lateen (sails and a jib, carries from two to 2½ tons (8 - 10 khandis), has about-eight of a crew, and is worth from £30 to £50 (Rs. 300 - Rs. 500). The phatemari, which differs from the galbal by having a square stern, carries like it two lateen sails and a jib, has a crew of about fourteen, takes a load of 7½ tons (30 khandis), and is worth from £100 to £120 (Rs. 1000- Rs. 1200). Boats are repaired in Janjira, but, except occasionally in the Nawab's dock, are never built. Except a few Musalmans almost all the owners are Kolis. The Musalman owners employ both Kolis and Musalmans as captain and crew. Besides their daily food the crew receive from 8s. to 10s. (Rs.4-Rs. 5) a month in cash. The chief exports are rice to Ratnagiri and the south, and firewood to Bombay.

Steamers.

In March 1874 Messrs. Shepherd and Company's steamers began to call every other day at Janjira and Shrivardhan. To encourage the steamers the Nawab abolished the special tax of 3d (2 annas) a head which had been levied on passengers by native sailing boats. In the beginning of 1882 a daily service was started. On their way south the steamers call regularly at both the Habsan ports. When native boats are unable to beat up the coast against strong northerly winds the steamers are often filled at the more southerly ports, and as they carry no more passengers they often have to pass Shrivardhan and Janjira without calling. The passenger fares from Bombay to Janjira are 6s. (Rs. 3) for the cabin, 3s. (Rs. 1½) for the poop, 2s. (Re. 1) for the bridge, and 1s. 6d. (12 annas) for the deck; from Bombay to Shrivardhan 8s. (Rs. 4) for the cabin, 4s. (Rs. 2) for the poop, 2s. 3d. (Rs. 1) for the bridge, and 1s. 9d. (14 annas) for the deck.

The system of farming the customs of the different sub-divisions and the loose and irregular way in which the farmers keep their accounts, prevent the possibility of obtaining trustworthy trade figures. According to the accounts, in 1880-81 the exports and imports were together worth £16,902 (Rs. 1,69,020) of which £7163 (Rs. 71,630) were exports and £9739 (Rs. 97,390) were imports.

Centres.

The chief local trade centres are, beginning from the north: Salaon, Mandla, Nandgaon, Murud, Rajpuri, Mhasla, Panchaitan-Borlai, Shrivardhan, Hareshvar, and Kongri. The different classes of traders are Vanis, both Gujarat and Marwar, Shimpis, Bhandaris, Kolis, Memans, Daldis, and Beni-Israels. They number about 470 and have capitals varying from £10 to £500 (Rs. 100 - Rs. 5000). Except in the timber and fuel trade, in which agents of Bombay firms are employed, the traders are generally small independent dealers. The trade both in exports and imports is all in cash; there is no barter. Exports are sold through brokers, and imports, except at Murud, by the importers. Brokerage rates vary from a half to one (8annas-Re. 1) per cent, besides a weighage at the rate of 6d. (4 ans.) a khandi.

Markets.

Weekly markets are held at Mhasla on Wednesdays attended by about 1000 people, and at Shrivardhan on Fridays attended by about 200. These are mainly distributing not collecting centres. The chief articles sold are rice, nachni, vari, udid, fish, oil, spices, molasses, vegetables, blankets, and bangles. The sellers are Vanis, Kolis, Kunbis, Dhangars, Kathkaris, Mhars, and Musalmans from the neighbouring villages and from Mangaon in Kolaba, Except spices, oil, and molasses, the articles sold are produced by the sellers. The buyers are Brahmans, Prabhus, Bhandaris, Malis, Agris, Kunbis, Kolis, Kathkaris, Mhars, and Musalmans. Grain and firewood are the only articles which are ever the subject of barter, and the only barterers are Kolis, Kunbis, Kathkaris, and Mhars. Except that salt is no longer bartered for grain there has been no recent change in the system of trade.

Fairs.

Yearly fairs are held at Nandgaon, Murud, Janjira, Panchaitan, Aravi, Shrivardhan, and Hareshvar. The sellers are Vanis, Kasars, Malis, Halvais, Kunbis, Jingars, and Musalmans who are small traders with limited capital. The articles sold are sweetmeats, fruits, flowers, bangles, and toys. The buyers, who purchase for their own use, are Brahmans, Prabhus, Marathas, Kolis, Kunbis, and Musalmans.

Village Shopmen.

Shopkeepers are found only in large villages. They are Gujarat and Marwar Vanis, Sonars, Kasars, Shimpis, Bhandaris, Musalmans, and Beni-Israels. Of these the Gujarat and Marwar Vanis are connected with large trading firms in Bombay, Sholapur, Mahad, Rajapur, and Chiplun. The shopkeepers sell grain, spices, oil, clarified butter, mola3ses, sugar, metal vessels, bangles, cloth, blankets, sweetmeats, tobacco, and drugs. They are entirely distributors and they do not barter. To a limited extent they lend money on pawn and make advances. Their trade has grown considerably of late years.

Carriers.

There are few carts, and the carrying trade which is small but growing is by peck bullocks. Vani, Shimpi, and Musalman carriers visit Nandgaon, Majgaon, Murud, Mhasla, and Shrivardhan bringing grain and spices which they have collected in the smaller villages and which they sell to Vani shopkeepers.

Imported.

Of imported articles teak rafters, timber, varnish, paint, lime, iron, ropes, and tiles are brought from Bombay, Alibag, Revdanda, Mahad, Mangaon in Kolaba, and Dapoli in Ratnagiri. They gene-rally pass from the importer or the broker to a retail seller. Metal vessels, glassware, chairs, and carpets are brought from Bombay either for private use or by retail dealers; grain, except rice, nachni, van and harik, oil, clarified butter, tea, coffee, medical drags, opium, camphor, sugar, dates come from Bombay; molasses from Rajapur, Chiplun, and Mahad; spices from Bombay, Rajapur, Chiplun, and Mahad; to bocce from Alibag and Rajapur; hemp leaves or ganja from Roha, Alibag, and Bombay; liquor from Goa; ironware from Bombay; turbans, women's robes, chintz, silk, gold and silver ornaments, pearls, and precious stones from Bombay, Sholapur, Nagpur, Mahad in Kolaba, and Yeola in Nasik; carts from Alibag and Revdanda; and ponies from Alibag, Roha, Mangaon and Mahad.

Exports.

Of exports teak rafters and sand are sent to Bombay; hides, bones and horns are sent by Chajnbhars, Mhars, and butchers to Meman traders in Bombay; grain is sold by the growers to traders who send it to Rajapur and to Ratnagiri; betelnuts, hens, eggs, and the bark of the shembi tree are sent to Bombay; hemp is sent to Bombay by Kolis and Musalmans; firewood is gathered by Kunbis, Mhars, and Kathkaris and sold to Kolis and Musalmans, who resell it in Bombay; bullocks and buffaloes are sent for sale by Kunbis and Musalmans to Revdanda and Tale in Kolaba. The chief recent changes in trade have been the fall in the timber trade since forest conservancy rules were introduced, and the increased use of imported articles of luxury and comfort such as lamps, kerosine oil, and piece-goods among the upper classes.

Crafts.

About 3000 families are employed in crafts and industries. Except the making of paper by Musalmans in Janjira fort, the state has no special industries and no craftsmen of unusual skill. About half of the craftsmen are small capitalists and work on local materials. They work for nearly nine hours a day, and on an average keep twenty-four holidays a year. Except among Bhandaris and Kolis the wives and children of craftsmen do not add to the family earnings. The wares are sold in retail to people within the state without any intermediate agency. Except Bhandaris, Sonars, and. Kolis, the craftsmen are not thriving. Two industries have lately died out, iron-making at Shigre about two miles north-east of Murud, and brick-making near Kasid in Nandgaon. The iron smelting has been stopped for fifty years and the brick-making since 1865. Of late the cheapness and good quality of the yarn made in the Bombay mills has favoured hand-loom weaving in Janjira. Salt is made in small quantities about 170 tons (4600 Bengal mans), in pans at Khar-Amboli, Mithagar, Varal, and Nandgaon. Inferior salt is also brought from Jafrabad in Kathiawar. Salt is a state monopoly; it is sold at state stores at the rate of eighty pounds the rupee to all buyers except fishermen to whom it is given at half price.

Early History

A. D. 247.

THE name Janjira or Zizera seems to be a relic of the old Arab trade with India before the Christian era. Several Greek and Latin writers of the first, second, and third centuries after Christ, refer to a Sigerdis or Zizerus which, though the identification is doubtful, may be the present Janjira Strabo (B.C. 54- A.D. 24)  has a Sigerdis which he vaguely describes as The rest of the west coast of India which was conquered by the Baktrian kings besides Saraostus,' apparently Surashtra. [Hamilton's Strabo, II. 253.] Pliny (A.D. 77) mentions three trade routes between Egypt and India. The first was a coasting route to Patala on the Indus; the third route lay across the sea to Muziris probably Muziri-cotta on the Malabar coast; [Caldwell's Dravidian Grammar, 97.] the middle route, the best if it had not been for the pirates, was from Suagros or Fartaque point in Arabia to Sigerus or Zizerus, the most frequented place on the pirate coast. [Pliny's Natural History, VI. 26; Bostock's Pliny, II. 50; Vincent's Commerce of the Ancients, II. 431; Lassen's Ind. Alt II. 545, 111. 182. Pliny mentions the river Zizerus making a harbourage in India: Natural History, Book VI. CXXIII. Ed. 1601, I.133. According to Korr (Voyages, II 40) the Roman Emperor Trajan (A. D. 98-117) visited Zizerus; but this is incorrect. According to Lassen Sigerus itself was not troubled with pirates and it was to escape the pirates that the' vessels from Egypt landed there.] Soon after Pliny's time foreign commerce seems to have deserted Sigerus. When Ptolemy wrote (A.D. 155) Symulla, probably Chemul or Cheul in Kolaba was the centre of trade, and at the time of the Periplus, a century later (A.D. 247), foreign trade had passed from the Konkan ports to Broach and the Malabar coast. Both Ptolemy and the author of the Periplus mention a Milizeguris or Melizeigara which may be Janjira, but is perhaps rather the town and island of Melundi or Malvan in Ratnagiri. [Mc Crindle's Periplus, 127 Bertius Ptolemy Map X. of Asia. Vincent (Commerce of the Ancients, II. 427) identifies Milizeguris with Zaghar or Sidi Jyghar. This is apparently a confusion between Janjira and Jaygad in Ratnagiri.] The group of early (A.D. 100) Buddhist caves at Kuda, near the top of the north arm of the Rajpuri or Janjira creek, suggests the neighbourhood of some important centre of trade. And it seems possible that Ptolemy's Musopalle, the chief town or metropolis of the Pirate Coast, is the present Mhasla at the head of the main or south arm of the Rajpuri creek. [Musopalle is entered in Ptolemy s map (Asia X.) as an inland town. This may be explained by the fact that Mhasla is sixteen miles from the sea.]

800-1300.

Puri, the unknown capital of the Konkan Silaharas (A.D. 810-1260) has been supposed to be Rajpuri near Janjira. But perhaps the most likely identification of Puri is the Mora landing or Bandar on the north-east corner of Gharapuri or Elephanta where many ancient remains have been found. [For Purl see Thana Statistical Account, Bombay Gazetteer, XIII. Part II. 423 note 2.] According to Jervis, [Jervia' Konkan, 81. See Ind. Ant. V. 277-280.] a doubtful authority, Rajpuri was the head-quarters of one of the districts of the North Konkan under the Yadav kings of Devgiri (1250-1318). Since the establishment of Musalman power in the Deccan, Danda-Rajpuri was, after Cheul or Chevul, the port of most consequence under the Ahmadnagar kings (1500- 1600). In the seventeenth century it was still a place of trade. But the unceasing struggle between the Sidis and the Marathas, that filled the last quarter of the seventeenth century, drove trade from Rajpuri, and it has never returned.

Origin of the Sidis.

About the middle of the fifteenth century (1437), when the Bahmani 'dynasty became independent of Delhi and intercourse with north India ceased, the fashion arose of bringing to western India large numbers of Abyssinians and other East Africans. [The trade in slaves from the African court to Egypt) Arabia and India had been going on from pre-historic times. During the time of the author of the' Purples (A.D. 247) Abyssinian slaves were exported from Opone for the Egyptian market where they were in demand on account of their docllity, courage and intelligence (Vincent's Commerce of the Ancients, II 157). Under the Silahara rulers of the Konkan (A.D. 810-1260) slaves are mentioned as sent from Sofala in Africa to the Thana ports- (Ibn Alurady (950) Reinauds Abulfida, CCCVII). Towards the end of the fifteenth century Abyssinian slaves were in high estimation in Turkey, Arabia and India. They were docile, tractable, intelligent and endued with talents and courage which always raised them to favour and often to command (Vincent's Commerce, II. 122 note 3, and Nikitin (1470) India in Fifteenth Century, 9,10,12). In India these slaves were employed by Musalmans as soldiers and sailors. In the beginning of the sixteenth century (1514) Barbossa notices the high value attached by Moors to Abyssinian slaves who were Christians taken in war. These Christian slaves were Sharp, well-built, and faithful, and when they became Musalmans they were better than the original Moore (Stanley, 18). During the period of Portuguese power in the Konkan (1530-1739) the import of African slaves into India continued brisk. Great numbers of house slaves were brought by Portuguese ships from Africa and spread all over the Portuguese territories. The number of slaves varied from six to ten in a small establishment and from thirty to forty in a large establishment. Besides working as farm-servants they carried umbrellas and palanquins and did other menial work. They cost little to buy, fifteen to twenty Naples crowns, and scarcely anything to keep, only a dish of rice once a day. Some of these blacks were sold in war, some by their parents, and others, in despair, barbarously sold themselves (Gemelli Careri in Churchill, IV Terry (1618) in Kerr's Voyages, IX. 392; Badger's Varthema, 114, 151; Nairne's Konkan, 50). Hamilton (1680-1720) notices that a good store of Mozambique negroes was brought to India. They were held in high esteem by the Indian Portuguese who made them Christians and raised them to be their priests (New Account, I. 10). Hamilton also notices (Ditto, I. 24) the import of slaves from AEthiopian. In driving off the Maskat Arabs from Din in 1670, African slaves are noted (Ditto, 1.40) as behaving with great gallantry. After the fall of Bassein (1739) negroes are mentioned in the stipulations regarding the release of prisoners (Jervia' Konkan, 130). Under the Maratha supremacy in the Konkan (1670-1800) the Pandarpeshis or Maratha landlords of Thana obtained the Special leave of the Peshwa for the employment of slaves. In 1750 Grose (I 159) notes the fondness of the Moors for Abyssinian slaves known as Habshi Kafirs. These slaves were black, woolly, and not thick-lipped; they were brave, faithful and shrewd, they were well treated. Traces of African blood may be seen among some of the Salsette Christians and Konkani Musalmans, and among Hindus the Kathkaris have a subdivision named Sidi; some Thakurs have frizzled and curly hair and Talheri Kunbis are occasionally met whose deep blackness suggests a part African origin.] These men, from the Arab El Habish the people of north-east Africa, were known as Habshis, or more often as Sidis, which was originally a term of respect, a corrupt form of Syed. Though most Habshis came to India as slaves, their faithfulness, courage, and energy often raised them to positions of high trust in the Bahmani court.. According to Orme the successful Abyssinians gathered round them all of their countrymen whom they could procure either by purchase or invitation, including Negroes from other parts of Africa, as well as Abyssinians. From their marriages, first with natives of India and afterwards among their own families, there arose a separate community, distinct from other Musalmans in figure, colour, and character. As soon as they were strong enough they formed themselves into an aristocratic republic, the skill and utility of the lowest orders giving them influence, and influence fostering a pride in their name which made them among the most skilful and daring sailors and soldiers in Western India. [Orme's Historical Fragments, 56-57. Waring (Marathas, 71) describes these Abyssinians is brave and active and staunch Muslims hostile by religion and by intarest to the rise of a Hindu power.]

Towards the end of the fifteenth century Sidi Yakut is mentioned as admiral of Bahadur Gelani, the son of the Bahmani governor of Goa, who, establishing himself at Goa and Dabhol, attempted, in the decline of Bahmani power, to make himself ruler of the Konkan. In 1493 Bahadur sent Yakut with a fleet of twenty sail against the Gujarat fort of Mahim near Bombay. Yakut took the fort, and Bahadur, refusing to submit or to restore the place, was attacked, defeated, and slain by Mahmud Bahmani. [Briggs' Ferishta, II 539, 543; IV. 72.]

Ahmad Shah Takes janjira 1490.

There is no evidence that this Yakut Khan was connected with Janjira. According to a Musalman history of Ahmadnagar it was Malik Ahmad (1490-1508), the founder of the Ahmadnagar dynasty who first established Abyssinians as the captains of the island fort of Janjira. During the highest prosperity of the Musalman kings of Ahmadabad (1450-1530), Danda-Rajpuri is said to have been one of the twenty-five districts or sarkars into which their possessions were divided. [Bird's Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 111.] But The reference is doubtful; at most, it only implies that the ruler of Rajpuri acknowledged the Gujarat king as his suzerain. [Compare the entry of Mulher or Baglan as one of the twenty-five ' districts' Gujarat. The Baglan chiefs dependence went no further than the furnishing of a body of troops in time of war.] About 1490 Ahmad Shah, the founder of the Ahmadnagar dynasty, took Danda-Bajpuri after a long siege. [Briggs' Ferishta, III. 198; Waring's Marathas, 44.] At this siege, according to an Ahmadnagar Musalman history, after vainly attacking the island fort of Janjira for six months, Ahmad's troops grow disheartened. Besides his want of success Ahmad's position was very uncertain. He had only lately thrown off his allegiance to Mahmud Bahmani (1482 -1518) who was doing his utmost to bribe Ahmad's troops to give, up his cause The fortunate capture of Shivner, the fort of Junnar in poona with five years' revenue of Maharashtra and the Konkan,' enabled Ahmad to secure the allegiance of his men by gifts and high pay [This find of treasure appears in the Ahmadnagar history as the gift to Ahmad by a Janjira hermit of a piece of the philosopher's stone.] The siege of Janjira was pressed, the fort taken, and the. Koli garrison tied to chains and thrown into, the sea. Ahmad rebuilt and strengthened the fort and gave the command to his Abyssinian slave Yakut. [Sahabi's Ahmadnagar History (3-7) gives the following account of the way in which Sidi Yakut obtained the command of Janjira fort. During the siege, Ahmad, looking down from the rocky shore across the half mile of sea to the fort, lost heart, and, turning to his general Salabat Khan and his slave Yakut, said:' Who can take a fort whose moat is the sea'  Salabat Khan was silent. But Yakut dashed down the rocks, and, throwing himself into the sea, swore that he would not return without the head of the captain of the fort. Ahmad sent a boat after him. But Yakut raised himself in the water and struck at the boat with his sword declaring that he would not come back unless the king commanded him and sent his ring in token of his command. Ahmad sent his ring and Yakut binding it in his turban swam ashore. Pleased with his courage Ahmad promised that, if Janjira fell, Yakut should command it.] According to another account the Sidis got The Sidis in janjira. possession of the island by fraud. [Clunes' Itinerary, 24.] A certain Perim Khan, and one or two other Abyssinians, dressing as merchants, brought from Surat a shiplqad of great boxes said to contain wine and silk. They asked Ram Patil, the Koli captain of the island, if they might land their goods. He gave them leave, and, in return, they regaled the garrison with wine. The Kolis drank to excess, and the merchants, opening some of the boxes in which armed men were hid, attacked and took the fort. [According to local information gathered by Mr. F. B. O'Shea, Inspector of Post Offices, Konkan Division, Ram Patil embraced Islam and was made governor of the island under the name of Ithbai Bar.] According to local information collected by the late Mr. Larcom, Burhan Nizam Shah (1508-1553) granted Janjira and Danda-Rajpuri to his famous Shia minister Shah Tahir, [Shah Tahir was a Persian very highly respected for his learning and holiness. Ferishta (Briggs, III. 223) has an excellent amount of Shah Tahir's tact in bringing about a friendly meeting between his master and Bahadur Shah (1526-1536) of Gujarat.] who in 1537 induced Burhan to establish the Shia faith as the state religion of Ahmadnagar. This, in Mr. Larsom's opinion, explains the Shia shrine of Panchaitan Pir in the fortress of Janjira. [According to another account this shrine originally belonged to the old Koli guardians of the island.]

Gujarat Claims, 1450-1530.

The chief town of Habsan appears in Barbosa (1514), as Danda, [Stanley's Edition, 71.] and, about the same time, Danda is entered in the Mirat-i- Ahmadi among the ports that yielded revenue to Gujarat. [Bid's Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 129. It is difficult to understand what control or rights the Gujarat king had over Danda-Rajpuri. The right may hare been nominal, or the revenue stay have been recovered from Gujarat merchants trading with Janjira.] The mention of the Malabar coast and the Maldiv islands in the same list shows that the fact of getting revenue from Danda did not imply the possession of any political power in the port. Whatever power there may have been was lost between 1530 and 1535 when the greater part of the Thana coast passed from Gujarat to the Portuguese. Still the Ahmadabad kings seem to have cherished some claims over Janjira, as in 1578 when, the Emperor Akbar conquered Gujarat he is said to have arranged that Danda-Rajpuri should be considered part of Ahmadnagar. [Bird's Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 134.] In 1584 Salabat Khan, the Ahmadnagar minister, was for a time imprisoned in Danda-Rajpuri. [Briggs' Frishta, III. 265; Scott's Ferishta, I. 388. Salabat Khan seems to have been moved to Kehrla in Berar. Briggs' Ferishta, III. 278.] In 1600 Ahmadnagar was taken by the Moghals, and though the great Malik Ambar soon after recovered most of the territory for his king, local records seem to show that till 1618 the governors of Danda-Rajpuri were Moghal officers. [The appointment of one Allag Khan is noted in 1612 and of Ibrahim Khan in 1618.] In 1618, an Abyssinian of the name of Sidi Sirul Khan was appointed governor.

First Sidi Governor,1618.

 In 1620 Sidi Sirul was succeeded by Sidi Yakut, and he, in the following year, by Sidi Ambar who was known as Sanak or The Little, to distinguish him from the great Sidi or Malik Ambar who restored and ruled Ahmadnagar till his death in 1626. [Mr. Larcom's MS.]

Janjira falls to Bijapur,1636.

In 1636, when Sidi Ambar was governor of Janjira, Ahmadnagar was finally conquered by the Moghals, and the Ahmadnagar Konkan was handed to Bijapur. According to local accounts the importance of the Janjira command was at this time considerably increased, and, on promise of protecting Bijapur trade and Mecca pilgrims, the country from Nagothna to the Bankot river was granted to the leading Abyssinian officer of the Bijapur fleet, [Jervis' Konkan, 90; Grant Duff, 63:] and he was raised to the rank of Wazir. In accordance with the aristocratic constitution of the Sidi community it was arranged that on the death of a Wazir, the first officer of the fleet, not the son of the late governor, was to succeed. Among Bijapur Wazirs the local records mention Sidi Ambar, who died in 1642, Sidi Yusufa who died in 1655, and Fateh Khan who according to Grant Duff was an Abyssinian [Grant Duff, 63..] and, according to Khali Khan, an Afghan. [Khan Khan in Elliot and Dowson, VII. 289]

Shivaji attacks Janjira, 1661

In 1648, with the help of their Maratha commandants, Shivaji succeeded in winning from the Sidi the Kolaba forts of Tala, Gosala, and Rairi or Raygad. In 1659, under the Peshwa Shamraji Pant, Shivaji sent a strong force to invade the Sidi's territory; but the' Marathas were met by Fateh Khan and defeated with great slaughter. [Grant Duff's Marathas, 75.] Shivaji made every effort to repair this disaster and sent a fresh body of troops under Raghunath Pant. But Fateh Khan maintained his ground and in the following year (1660) gained some important advantages. [Grant Duffa Marathas, 76.] During the rains of 1661 Shivaji turned his whole strength against Fateh Khan, and, in spite of bad. weather, drove back Fateh Khan's troops and captured Danda-Rajpuri before the season was open enough to allow the Bijapur government to relieve it. He opened batteries against the island fort of Janjira,-but, from want of guns and artillerymen failed to make any impression on it. [Grant Duff's Marathas, 83. Grant Duff's details seem to show that there is no truth in Orme's story (Historical Fragments, 8-9) that, on escaping from Panhala fort, where he had been closely besieged by the Bijapur general Sidi Johar or Salabat Khan, Shivaji appeared before Dand Rajpuri, and, on 'showing a forged order from Sidi Johar, induced the commandant to give up the fort. Orme was perhaps misled by Shivaji'a capture of Rajapur in Katnagiri which followed shortly after his escape from Panhala fort. See Grant Duff's Marathas, 82.] Every season during the next nine years (1661-1670) Shivaji battered Janjira but with little success. Fateh Khan was hard pressed and applied for help to his new neighbours the English. And so great a name for strength had the Janjira rock gained that the English factors in Bombay wrote to Surat, advising the council to give up Bombay and take Janjira instead. [Grant Duff's Marathas, 99,100.]

The Sidi appointed Moghal Admiral 1670.

In 1670 Shivaji directed a specially vigorous and determined attack on Janjira, assaulting the place with great force, and, at the same time, attempting to win over Fateh Khan by promises. As the Bijapur government failed to send help, Fateh Khan determined to surrender the fort to Shivaji and enter his service. Three brave Sidis, Sambal, Kasim, and Khairiyat, [So in the local accounts. Khafi Khan's Yakat instead of Kasim (Elliot and Dowson, VII. 289; Grant Duff, 110) seems to be due to a confusion of his name with the title he afterwards gained.] staunch Musalmans and deadly foes of Shivaji, prevented this treachery. They told their countrymen that Fateh Khan was planning to give up the island, and, with their approval, threw Fateh Khan into chains. Kasim and Khairiyat, who were brothers, waived their claims in favour of Sidi Sambal, who was accordingly appointed governor. Sidi Sambal wrote for help to his master Adil Shall of Bijapur and to Khan Jahan, the Moghal governor of the Deccan. A'dil Shah was little able to help; but the Moghal general, delighted to have so valuable an ally against Shivaji, sent messages of friendship and promises of assistance. Finding that their only chance of support was from the Moghals, the Sidis agreed to transfer their fleet from Bijapur to the Emperor. Aurangzeb changed Sambal's title from Wazir to Yakut Khan, and gave him an assignment of £30,000 (Rs. 3,00,000) on the revenues of Surat. [Grant Duff, 110. Orme (Hist, Frag. 10) and Waring (Marathas, 71) place the transfer of the Sidis from Bijapur to the Moghals at 1660.

According to Khafi Khan (in Elliot and Dowson, VII. 290), this change in the governorship was owing to the death of Sidi Sambal. But Sidi Sambal was living till 1682, at first as the commander of the Moghal fleet, and after 1677 as the commander of the Maratha fleet.] When Sambal'was appointed admiral of the Moghal navy, Sidi Kasim seems to have received the command of Janjira, and Sidi Khairiyat of Danda-Rajpuri. Sidi Kasim took Sambal's place as Moghal admiral in 1677, and Khairiyat seems then to have succeeded Kasim in the command of Janjira island, as, according to the state records he remained governor till his death in 1696.

The Sidi and the Marathas,1670.

In 1670, on gaining the help of the Sidis, Khan Jahan, the Moghal governor of the Deccan, gathered ships and sending them down the coast attacked Shivaji's fleet which lay near Danda-Rajpuri, and killed a hundred Maratha sailors, tying stones to their feet and throwing them into the sea. Shivaji raised a new fleet and there were many fights between the Marathas and the Abyssinians in which, according to Musalman accounts the Abyssinians were often victorious. Sidi Sambal was raised to the dignity of a Commander of Nine Hundred, and, apparently on his becoming admiral of the Moghal fleet, the command of Janjira passed from him to Sidi Kasim. According to Khafi Khan, Sidi Kasim was noted for courage, kindliness, and dignity. He added to his fleet, strengthened his fortress, and defended it against all attacks. He often took Maratha ships and was constantly planning how he could win back Danda-Rajpuri from Shivaji.

Maratha Defat, 1671

In 1671, during the Holi feast (March-April) when the Maratha garrison were drunk or off their guard, Kasim sent by night four or five hundred men under his brother Sidi Khairiyat with rope ladders and other apparatus to attack the fort by land, while he with thirty or forty boats approached from the sea At a given signal Sidi Khairiyat assaulted the place with load cries from the land side. The garrison rushed to meet his attack and Kasim planting his ladders scaled the sea wall. In spite of fierce resistance they pressed on and forced their way into the fort A powder magazine took fire and exploded with a crash which disturbed Shivaji, asleep forty miles off in Raygad, who woke with the words, ' Something is wrong in Danda-Rajpuri.' In the fort a number of men, including ten or twelve of Kasim's band, were killed. The smoke and noise made it hard to tell friend from foe, but Kasim raised his war-cry and the two parties of assailants joined and the place was taken. Kasim followed up his success by gaining six or seven forts in the neighbourhood of Danda-Rajpuri. Six forts surrendered after one or two days, but the commandant of the seventh held out for a week. The Abyssinians pushed forward their approaches and kept up so heavy a fire that the commandant was forced to surrender. Kasim granted quarter to the garrison and seven hundred persons came out. He made the children and pretty women slaves, and forcibly converted them to Islam; the old and ugly women he set free, and the men he put to death. According to Khan Khan this struck such terror into the hearts of Shivaji and his followers that he was obliged to confine himself to securing Raygad. Kasim sent news of his victory to Prince Muhammad Muazzam, governor of the Deccan, and to Khan Jahan. Both he and his brother Sidi Khairiyat had their rank raised and were presented with robes of honour. [Khan Khan in Elliot and Dowson, VII. 289, 292. This must have been Muazzam's second governorship (1667-1672). Elphinstone's History, 549, 555.]

Martha villages ravaged, 1673

From 1673, till Sidi Kasim's death in 1707, as admirals of the Moghal fleet the Sidis were at constant war with the Marathas, sometimes laying waste large tracts of Maratha territory, at other times stripped of their own lands and with difficulty holding the rock of Janjira. In 1673, Mr. Aungier, the Deputy Governor of Bombay, was much pressed for help both by Shivaji and the Sidis. But by maintaining a strict neutrality he gained the confidence' of both parties. In the same year the Sidis' fleet, which had spent the south-west monsoon (June-October) at Janjira, and some Moghal frigates, which had been hauled on shore at Bombay, put to sea, and cruizing down the coast took many Maratha trading craft and some vessels of war. [Orme's Historical Fragments, 38.] Some time after (10th October) the joint Musalman fleet came without warning into Bombay harbour, and, keeping to the bottom of the bay, landed in the Pen and Nagothna rivers, laid waste the Maratha villages from which the English drew most of their supplies, and carried off many of the people. Later on the Sidis came back and again laid the country waste. But a Maratha force from Rairi (Raygad) surprised them, cut some hundreds to pieces, and forced the rest to fly. In 1674, Shivaji reduced the whole coast from Rajpuri or Janjira to Bardez near Goa. In April the Sidis' fleet again anchored off the Bombay harbour. They were asked to leave, but, instead of leaving, many boats rowed up the harbour, and landing at Sign drove out the people and made preparations for passing the rains there. Troops were sent from Bombay and the Sidis were forced to retire. Soon after, 500 armed men attempted to land at Mazgaon, but the guns of the fort kept them off. It was then agreed that no more than 300 Sidis should ever be on shore at the same time, and that they should have no arms but swords and be under the watch of guards from the garrison. This permission was to cease if they attacked the Kurlas. That is the south coast of Bombay harbour. In September the fleet sailed to Surat. They left Surat in the beginning of 1675, continued cruizing along Shivaji's coasts without success, and returned to Surat in distress.

The Sidi burns Vergurla 1675.

At the close of his Afghan war (1675) Aurangzeb pressed fresh operations against Shivaji. The Sidi fleet was strengthened and sent down the coast to Vengurla plundering and burning. To stop the Sidis, Shivaji sent squadrons from Gheria and Rajapur. but the Sidis escaped by turning in to relieve Janjira which Shivaji was besieging.

Sidi Kasim the Moghal Admiral,1677.

In 1676 Sidi Sambal, who commanded the Sidi and the Moghal fleets, quarrelled with Sidi Kasim the governor of Janjira and with the Moghals, and, fearing to go to Surat, pressed for leave to pass the stormy season in Bombay harbour. Aungier managed to reconcile Sidi Sambal and the governor of Surat But Sidi Sambal's influence was greatly weakened and he was practically supplanted as admiral of the Sidi fleet by Sidi Kasim who withdrew from Janjira. Sidi Kasim, who was respected by the Bombay Government, was allowed to fix his abode at Mazgaon, and continued there till Moro Pant came from the Deccan with 10,000 men to renew the attack on Janjira. In the same year, with the Moghal ships and what remained of his own fleet, Sidi Sambal sailed from Surat and cruized along Shivaji's coasts burning the town of Jaitapur, thirty miles south of Ratnagiri. He suffered a check at Jaitapur, and returned to Janjira where the garrison, strengthened by the arrival of Kasim, had destroyed Moro Pant's floating batteries and forced him to retire to Raygad.

Sidi Kasim in Bombay, 1677

In 1677, under orders from Delhi, Sambal promised to hand the Moghal fleet to Kasim at the close of the season. Afterwards the two leaders were reconciled, the fleets came together into Bombay harbour, and both Kasim and Sambal took up their quarters on the island. While in Bombay, Sambal crossed to the south shore of the harbour, seized four respected Brahmans, and confined them on board his ship. The Maratha governor of Upper Cheul threatened the Bombay Government with the worst consequences if the four Brahmans were not set free. The Sidi at first denied that he had the prisoners, but at length admitted it, and the Brahmans were set free, and the persons who had aided Sambal were punished. While they were in Bombay a fresh quarrel between Sambal and Kasim ended in a fray in which several men were killed on both sides. The Bombay Government brought about a settlement, arranging that Sambal's family who had been kept by Kasim at Janjira should be restored to him, and that one of the Moghal ships should be left under Sambal's command. But this arrangement did not satisfy Sambal, and Shivaji seems to have persuaded him to abandon the Musalman cause and enter his service.

Kasim besieges Kenery, 1679.

Kasim hoisted his flag as admiral of both fleets, and sailing from Bombay cruized along the Konkan coast, landing frequently and forcing even Brahmans to perform menial services. In 1678 Kasim again set sail for Bombay, anchored in the harbour, and plundered the Alibag coast, Shivaji's generals attempting in vain to burn his ships. In 1679 Shivaji increased his fleet to twenty-two two-mast grabs and forty gallivats. As Shivaji found that he could not induce the Bombay Government to prevent the Sidis spending the stormy season in Bombay harbour, he landed troops on Khanderi or Kenery island, and, in spite of Portuguese and English remonstrances, began to build a fort. Sidi Kasim cannonaded the island for several days, and, while negotiations between Shivaji" and the British were in progress, sent boats to the south shore of the harbour, and laid it waste, carrying off many prisoners. In 1680 Kasim's fleet anchored at Underi or Henery, close to Khanderi, landed men and cannon, and began to fortify it. The Maratha admiral attempted to prevent him but was defeated and severely wounded. Soon after this, in spite of the protests of the Bombay Government, Kasim entered Bombay 'harbour, with his whole fleet and sending his boats to the Pen river, burned many villages and carried off many prisoners. On this Shivaji and the English came to an agreement that the English should not allow the Sidi to pass the stormy weather in the harbour, unless he promised not to ravage the Maratha coast.

The Sidi plunders Bombay, 1680.

On Shivaji's death "in 1680 Sidi Kasim sent his small vessels from Underi or Henery into Bombay harbour, and started with the larger vessels, to cruize about Danda-Rajpuri. At this time a rise in the rates levied on English goods encouraged the Sidis to suppose that the Emperor was unfriendly to the English. Contrary to their agreement, they pillaged the south shore of Bombay harbour and offered the captives for sale in Bombay. The Bombay council protested, but, beyond setting free as many of the prisoners as they could get hold of, they took no steps to punish the Sidis. A few days later (May 4) at Mazgaon, in a fray between the English and the Sidis, several were wounded on both sides. Next day Sidi Kasim and the main body of his troops, without compliment or warning, came so close to the fort that guns were fired on his ships, but they were finally allowed to anchor on a promise that they would not attack the Maratha coast. Shortly after Sambhaji tried to burn the Sidis' ships and landed two hundred men on Underi. But the attempt failed and most of the men were killed or taken prisoners. Eighty heads were brought in baskets to Mazgaon, and Kasim was arranging them on poles along the shore when he was stopped by the Bombay Government.

The. Suli's Ravages, 1681,

At the close of the year Kasim's fleet sailed down the coast, intending to attack Vengurla, but after various chases and fights in returned in 1681 to Bombay. From Bombay he sailed to Surat, leaving men and ships both at Underi and at Mazgaon. From Underi the Sidi several times attacked Bombay boats crossing for supplies to the Kolaba coast. Sambhaji made an attack on Underi but failed, and in return the Sidi boats sailed across from Bombay, ravaged the Kolaba coast, carried off some of the chief inhabitants, and, though several of them were Muhammadans, took them to Underi, and beat them without pity till they agreed to pay a ransom of £1800 (Rs. 18,000) The English at Surat complained of this breach, of agreement on the part of the Sidi. He retorted by demanding the value of the Maratha prisoners, whom, sixteen months before, the Bombay Government had prevented him from selling. In Surat the governor encouraged the Sidis to beset the English factory, and, for two days, the factory was closed and four field pieces kept loaded at the gate. In the end of October Sidi Kasim appeared off Bombay harbour, and, in spite of the remonstrances of the Bombay Government, attacked all vessels trading with Maratha ports; he even went so far as to seize a vessel belonging to Bombay. Then, after burning a village on the Kolaba coast, his fleet sailed for Cheul, but failed in their attempt on the town.

Janjira besieged by Sambhaji,1682.

In 1682 the Maratha general Dadaji Raghunath Deshpande was sent to besiege Janjira, with the promise that if he took the fort he would be made one of the eight chief officers or pradhdns. Later on, Sambhaji, with Sultan Akbar and 20,000 men, joined the besieging force from Raygad, battered the island for thirty days, levelled its fortifications, and, with the help of one Khandoji Farjud, organized a plot for its cession. The plot was discovered and Khandoji was put to death. And, sheltered by a rock in the middle of the island, the garrison, under Sidi Khairiyat, gallantly continued the defence while Sidi Kasim cleared the bay of Sambhaji's fleet. Sambhaji then attempted, with stones and fragments of rock, to fill the channel, which was eight hundred yards broad and thirty, deep, but, before the work was completed, he was called away to meet a body of Moghal horse.

Sea Fights, 1682,

For some time after Sambhaji left, Sidi Kasim with his whole fleet continued to watch Janjira. In April he sailed to Bombay, where the English, afraid of the Emperor's displeasure, allowed him to anchor. After the Sidis came they had some fights with Sambhaji's boats, in which the Sidis took several prizes and ravaged the Maratha coast outside of the harbour, killing cows, carrying off women, and burning villages. They even passed as far inland as Mahad in Kolaba, and carried off the wife of Dadaji, Sambhaji's general. In retaliation Sambhaji and the Portuguese stopped all supplies to Bombay. After Sambhaji left Rajpuri, Dadaji Raghunath gave up attempting to fill the channel between Janjira and the mainland. When Sidi Kasim sailed for Bombay, Dadaji gathered boats and made an attack on the island, but was beaten off with the loss of two hundred men. In October Sambhaji's fleet sailed from the Nagothna river to attack the Sidi, whose fleet was at anchor off Mazgaon. As the Marathas drew near, the Sidi got under weigh and stood up the harbour, and choosing his position lay to and waited the attack. The Maratha attack was led by Sidi Misri, nephew of Sidi Sambal, who had gone over to the Marathas when he lost the command of the Moghal fleet. Kasim commanded the Sidi fleet in person, and though he had only fifteen vessels to Sambhaji's thirty, gamed a complete victory. Sidi Misri was mortally wounded, and his own and three other vessels were taken. Enraged by this defeat Sambhaji threatened to fortify Elephanta, to annoy the English and prevent the Sidi vessels from anchoring at Mazgaon during the stormy season. But this scheme fell through, and, in its stead, lie suddenly proposed an alliance with the English against the Moghals and the Sidis. In November the Sidis entered the Pen river and carried 200 prisoners to Mazgaon, the Bombay Council expostulating but not daring to resent.

In 1683 the Moghal fleet returned to Surat, while the Sidi's squadron remained in Bombay harbour. During this time they had frequent affrays with the English, in one of which two English soldiers were cut down, and in another two or three Sidis were wounded. [The details of the events between 1672 and 1683 are from Orme's Historical Fragments, 38-120.]

The Sidi attacks Bombay, 1689.

In 1689, on the rupture with the Moghals which formed part of Sir John Child's ambitious scheme for increasing the power of the English, boats from Bombay captured several of the Sidi's vessels which were carrying provisions to the Moghal army at Danda-Rajpuri. Sidi Kasim wrote several civil letters to the English demanding his vessels. As he received no redress, on the 14th of February he landed at midnight at Sivri on the east of Bombay island with twenty thousand men, and, on the following day, took the fort of Mazgaon, which the English garrison had deserted with such foolish haste that they left behind them eight or nine chests of treasure, four chests of arms, fourteen cannon, and two mortars. The Sidi hoisted his flag in Mazgaon fort, made it his head-quarters, and sent a party to plunder the island. Two companies of seventy men each, with several gentlemen volunteers, were sent from Bombay castle to drive the Sidis from Mazgaon; but the attempt proved a complete failure. The Sidis were now masters of nearly the whole island. Batteries were raised against Bombay Castle and the garrison was greatly harassed. Two factors were sent to the Emperor, and with much difficulty were admitted to an audience. Among other requests, they asked that the charter which had been forfeited should be renewed, and that the Sidi should be ordered to leave Bombay. The charter was renewed, and, when certain conditions had been fulfilled by the English, the Sidis were ordered to leave Bombay, but this did not take place till June 1690. [Hamilton's New Account, I. 220-228, and Ovington's Voyage to Surat, 151.] In 1690 Sidi Kasim helped the Moghal army under Yiatikad Khan to take the important fortress of Raygad in Kolaba, and was rewarded by the grant of the Ratnagiri districts of Anjanvel and Sindhudurg. In 1696, Sidi Khairiyat, the governor of Janjira died.

In 1707, on the death of Sidi Kasim, the unanimous decision of the Sidis appointed as his successor Sirul Khan the commandant of the island fort of Padamdurg or Kansa-Killa about two miles north-west of Janjira In 1713, Balaji Vishvanath Peshwa, on behalf of Shahu, entered into a treaty with Kanhoji Angria, the chief of Kolaba, with the object of destroying the power of the Portuguese and of the Sidis. The Sidis' territory was invaded and Sirul Khan forced to tender his submission. A treaty was (1714) concluded promising mutual forbearance and the equitable adjustment of rights and claims. In 1732, the Peshwa Bajirav planned an expedition against the island of Janjira; but He was called away, and, in the hands of his brother, the expedition proved a failure. Sirul Khan not only defended his possessions, but took the offensive and caused much loss in Shahu's districts. Accordingly the Marathas entered into a secret treaty with Yakub Khan, a converted Koli, one of the best of the Sidi's officers. [Yakub, who was familiarly known as Shaikji, had the entire confidence of the Sidi. He was a descendant of one of the Koli chiefs of the Konkan and was hereditary patil of Gohagad. He was taken prisoner as a child and bred a Musalman. He early distinguished himself, and, on getting command of a ship, became celebrated for his stratagem and bravery.] On condition of deserting his master's cause, Yakub was to receive the command of the Maratha fleet, almost the whole of the Sidi's possessions, and two per cent of the revenue of the lower Konkan from Pen to Kolhapur. His brother was to be appointed second in command at Raygad, and in case of success £10,000(Rs. 1,00,000) were to be distributed among the troops and crews. To aid this scheme, in 1733, a force was sent into the Konkan. But the intrigues failed, and, in the war that followed, though the Sidi's fleet was seized at Rajpuri by the combined efforts of the Peshwa and Angria, little impression was made on Janjira, and once more the Marathas withdrew baffled.

The Sidi and the English, 1733.

In spite of the failure of this attempt to take Janjira the Sidi's power at sea was on the decline. Their fleet had shown itself no match for the Maratha fleet, and they were now, by their own confession, unable to protect the shipping of Surat. [Bombay Quarterly Review, IV. 192.] At the same time the Court of Delhi had ceased to have any power in Surat. Tegbakt Khan, who was now the independent ruler of the city and castle, had owed much of his success in the recent troubles to English money and munitions of war. Under these circumstances the English endeavoured to obtain from Tegbakt Khan the position and revenues of admirals of Surat. As the Sidi was their ally, and an ally whom in the growing power of the Marathas they could ill afford to offend, the English were unwilling to attempt to gain the position of admirals by force. They had to content themselves with granting passes to traders, with making an expedition against the Koli pirates of Sultanpur in Kathiawar, and with using every effort to induce the governor of Surat to transfer the fleet subsidy from the Sidi to them. [Bombay Quarterly Review, IV. 188.] Tegbakt Khan at first was anxious to please the English. But when his power was firmly established his tone by degrees changed. The Marathas now enjoyed almost all the revenue of the country round Surat and Tegbakt Khan found himself badly off for money. He saw that so long as the admiral was weak, he could keep a large share of the subsidy for his own use, but that, if the English were appointed to the charge of the fleet their power at sea would force him to pay them the full stipend. Influenced by these motives Tegbakt Khan, after long negotiations, refused to favour the English claims. [The negotiations lasted from June 7th to July 31st 1733. Bombay Quarterly Review, IV. 193.] This change in the governor's conduct was accompanied by so many acts of oppression that the English left Surat and remained on board their ships at the mouth of the Tapti. A Sidi fleet was sent to act against them, but they repulsed the fleet and blockaded the river. The blockade caused such distress in Surat that Tegbakt Khan was forced to redress the English grievances. The English did not press their claim to be made admirals of Surat, and at the close of the year (6th December 1733) concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with the Janjira Sidis.

When free from the English claims Tegbakt Khan attempted to take advantage of the Sidi's weakness by keeping to himself the whole of the fleet subsidy. Failing in his efforts to obtain a share of the subsidy by peaceful means, the Sidi collected a fleet and seized several ships at the mouth of the Tapti. The English were called to mediate, and, in August 1735, Tegbakt Khan engaged to pay the Sidi £24,000 (Rs. 2,40,000) for arrears of subsidy and £15,000 (Rs. 1,50,000) for the current year. But the governor failed to perform his engagement, and Masud, the Sidi's agent at Surat, again interrupted trade, and raised his demands to £90,000 (Rs. 9,00,000). A second time the governor craved the assistance of the English, but this time they refused to interfere. The governor was left to make his own arrangements, and, after some concessions, in February 1736, he succeeded in inducing the Sidi to restore all the ships he had taken. [On this occasion the governor, in lieu of the original subsidy, assigned the Sidi one-third of the customs by sea and land; one-third of the proceeds of the mint; an allotment from cotton and other funds; the revenue of the Balsar division; certain dues from Bhavnagar. in Kathawar; and one-third share of the tolls in grain. Surat Diary from March 1735 to February 1736; Consultation Book of the Bombay Government, 23rd April and 20th August 1735.]

Death of Sidi Sirul Khan 1734.

In 1734, on the death of Sidi Sirul Khan, Sidi Abdulah the eldest of his sons, was murdered by his youngest brother [According to Janjira records, Sidi Abdulah was murdered by Sidi Sambal, a slave of Sidi Sirul. Sambal ruled for two years and in 1736 was murdered-by three slaves, Sidi Sallam, Sidi Paraz, and Sidi Syad, who placed Sidi Reheman on the throne.] who usurped the government to the prejudice of Sidi Reheman, an elder brother, who was absent from Janjira. Yakub Khan, the Janjira captain with whom the Marathas had entered into a secret treaty in 1732, espoused the cause of Sidi Reheman and called on Shahu for support. Shahu sent troops and Yakub Khan acted with such vigour that Raygad was gained, Tala and Gosala reduced, and the Sidi troops defeated with the loss of their general and pursued to Danda-Rajpuri. Batteries were raised against Janjira, while Manaji Angria assailed it from the sea, and, though once more the  Marathds failed to reduce the island, the Sidis were forced to recognize the claims of Sidi Reheman and cede to the Marathas the forts of Raygad, Tala, Gosala, Avchitgad, and Birvadi, together with half the revenue of the Sidi's dominions. [The partition treaty of the Sidi's territory is given in full it. Jervis' Konkan, 131-136. Of the Sidi's territories the mahals of Mamle and Tala, the parganas of Gosala and Birvadi, the tappas of Godegaon and Nizampur, and half the tappa of Govale having 24 ½ villages were ceded to the Marathas. The territory that remained -with the Sidi was the pargands of Nandgaon, Shrivardhan, Diva, and Mhasla, the tappa of Mandla, and the 24 ½ villages- of Govale. To these the Poona records add, that the Sidi gave up all claim to share in the revenue of Nagothna, Ashtami (Roha), Pali, Asriadharne, and Antora. The date of the treaty is doubtful. Grant Duff (232) gives 1735; Jervis in one passage (108) gives 1736, and in another (131) 1732; the Poona records give 1736.] After three years Sidi Reheman was removed from power (1739) and his brother Sidi, Hasan appointed in his place.

Defeat of the Sidis,1736.

A few years later the rivalry between Angria and the Peshwa caused a certain friendliness between the Sidis and the Peshwa. In 1744, to prevent Angria from taking possession of the fort of Madgad about twelve miles south of Janjira, the Sidi left it under the charge of the Peshwa and made an assignment for its support. On the death of Sidi Hasan in 1745, the chiefship of Janjira was for a time usurped by one Syed Allana, but was recovered in the following year by the rightful heir Sidi Ibrahim Khan.

The Sidi at Surat, 1746-1759.

In the faction fights which raged in Surat, after Tegbakt Khan's death in 1746, the English and the Sidi took different sides. Mia Achan, the friend of the English, was at first successful, and in 1748 secured both the government of the city and the command of the castle. But in 1751 his rivals Safdar Khan and his son Wakhan Khan, who had the support of the Sidi and of the Dutch, by the promise of half the revenues of the city, won Damaji Gaikwar to their side. Mia Achan was forced to give up the government of the city and retire to the castle. This command, also, he soon lost. Some ships of the Sidi reached Surat just before the burst of the rainy season, and, under the plea of stress of weather, remained in the Tapti until their commander Sidi Masud, a man of great ability, found an opportunity of seizing the castle. On losing the castle Mia Achan retired to Bombay. [Stavorinus' Voyages, III. 52.]

On learning of the defeat of their faction at Surat, the English, and the Peshava who was jealous of the Gaikwar' ssuccess joinedina scheme for ousting Safdar Khan and Sidi Masud and sharing the command of the city. The English engaged to equip a fleet and attack Surat from the river, while the Peshwa sent an army to act on the land side. But soon after this agreement, the Gaikwar removed the Peshwa's jealoury by promising to give him one half of his share of the Surat revenue.,. The Peshwa's army was recalled and the English fleet was forced to retire to Bombay. In consequence of this English interests at Surat suffered. Their gardens and cattle were taken from them, the factors were imprisoned, and, under the influence of the Dutch, the head factor was forced to sign (November 1751) a treaty with the governor and Sidi Masud, agreeing to send from Surat all the soldiers in the Company's service, European as well as Indian. [ Aitchison's Treaties, IV. 485-487.] This treaty was repudiated by the Bombay Government, and in its place, in 1752, a fresh set of articles was drawn up, under which their property was to be restored, and the English paid a sum of £20,000 (Rs. 2,00,000) for the expense they had incurred in the struggles and the loss sustained at their custom-house.

During the four following years (1752-1756) Sidi Masud, while continuing on friendly terms with Safdar Khan, the governor of the city, and the Dutch, drew into his own hands the entire management of the city. In 1756 Sidi Masud died and was succeeded by his son Ahmad Khan. As Ahmad Khan was a youth who had none of his father's power Surat was again disturbed by factions. The Sidi and the Dutch favoured one Ali Nawaz Khan the rival of their old ally Safdar Khan. And in retaliation Safdar Khan adopted one Faris Khan as his heir and turned for help to the English offering them the post of admiral if they would drive the Sidi from the castle. This offer was not accepted. In January 1758 Safdar Khan died, and, in spite of the claims of Faris Khan, was succeeded by Ali Nawaz Khan the ally of the Sidi and of the Dutch. On the accession of Ali Nawaz Khan, the supporters of Faris Khan proposed to the English chief that Faris Khan should be appointed governor of the city and that the English should undertake the command of the castle and of the fleet. If the English agreed, the supporters of Faris Khan guaranteed five yearly payments of £20,000 (Rs. 2,00,000). The English were willing; but the treaty was never concluded as the Peshwa was jealous of this increase of English power and threatened to attack Bassein and Bombay. [Grant Duff, 302, 303. The immediate grounds for the English expedition against Surat were, that the Sidi's people had (1758) insulted some Englishmen and refused redress, and that the Sidi had proved himself unfit for his post as admiral, being unable to hold his own against the Maratha fleet, Select Committee, Nawab of Surat's Treaty Bill, 10-11.]

Meanwhile, before the end of 1758, Mia Achan, who since his loss of the command of the castle in 1751 had been living in Bombay, returned to Surat, and, in December partly through his own influence, partly through Sidi Ahmad's support, expelled Ali Nawaz Khan from the government of the city and established himself in his place. Sidi Ahmad was now all-powerful in Surat, and left to Mia Achan not so much as the nomination of his own officers. Mia Achan resented this interference and a feeling of distrust sprang up between him and the Sidi. As the government of the city was bad, and as there was the risk that the Marathas might step in, the Surat traders petitioned the English chief to take command of the castle and fleet. Trusting to this feeling in their favour, and strengthened by the presence of a squadron of men-of-war and by the great ability of Mr. Spencer their chief at Surat, the Bombay Government determined to make an attempt to oust Sidi Ahmad from the command of the castle and the fleet. To prevent the Marathas from taking part in the struggle, the Bombay Government induced them to agree, that, on account of the ruin to trade caused by his command of the castle, the Sidi should be turned out of Surat; that the English should take possession and have the sole command of the Surat castle; that the fleet subsidy or tanka should be divided into three shares, one for the English, one for the Peshwa, and one for the Surat Nawab; and, that the Marathas should not take part in any quarrels or disputes that might arise in Surat.

On the 15th of February 1759, a body of land forces consisting of 800 Europeans, 1500 Native Infantry, and a detachment of Royal Artillery, arrived off the mouth of the Tapti. Captain Maitland of the Royal Artillery was in charge of the land force, and Captain Watson of the Company's Marine was in command of the armed vessels. The troops landed near Domas and dislodged a party of Sidis who held the French garden to the west of the outer wall of the city. The outer walls were battered but with little effect, till a joint attack from the land side and from the river was organized on the Sidi's garden, just within the north end of the outer wall. Boats were landed and the Sidis driven inside of the inner wall. The inner line of fortifications and the castle had still to be taken. But a very brisk cannonade for about twenty hours, aided it is said by the connivance of the Dutch chief and of one of the Sidi's officers, brought the besieged to terms. It was proposed to Mia Achan and his party to continue Mia Achan as governor of the city, on condition that Faris Khan was made deputy governor, and that the English were put in possession of the castle and of the fleet subsidy. Mia Achan accepted these terms, and, on the 4th of March 1759, the agreement was concluded. Upon this Mia Achan opened the Mecca gate in the inner wall- and, the Sidi, judging further resistance useless, agreed to give up the castle. His people were allowed to march out with their arms and accoutrements, and to take away all valuable effects including the furniture of their houses. [Details of the siege and capture of Surat are given in Bombay Gazetteer, II. 126-127.]

The Sidi takes Jafarabad, 1759.

In the same year (1759) in which they lost command of Surat castle, the Janjira government obtained possession of Jafarabad on the south coast of Kathiawar. The connection between the Sidis of Janjira and Jafarabad arose in the following way. In 1731 Turk patel and certain other Koli landowners of Jafarabad committed a robbery or piracy near Surat. They were seized by Sidi Hilol who Was then protecting the shipping of Surat, and/as they had nothing to pay as ransom, they Offered the port of' Jafarabad'. Sidi Hilol went to Jafarabad and obtained the village by a written agreement. In 1749 a fort Was built and an agent and captain appointed. In 1759 some disputes arose at Jafarabad, and, through the intervention of the-English, who were anxious to keep the Sidi as an ally and to make up to him for the loss of Surat castle, it was trecided to appoint Sidi Hilol manager or faujdar of Jafarabad under the orders of the Janjira government. In return for their help, the Sidi engaged to supply Bombay with live, cattle, an important matter for the English; as the overthrow of the Portuguese and the establishment of Maratha power had closed all other Konkan markets. [Details of the treaty are given in Aitchison s Treaties, IV. (1876)1163,165.]

In 1760, after a friendship of twenty-five years, a rupture took place between the Sidis and the Marathas. Ramaji Pant, the Maratha governor of the Konkan, assisted by a Portuguese corps, took the territory left to the Sidi by the treaty of 1736, and attacked and besieged Janjira island. [Colonel Etheridge's Report, based on Poona, records, shows that from 1757 to 1760 the 5½ mahals belonging to the Sidi were in possession of the Peshwa. Aitchison's Treaties, V. 20. ] Janjira was saved by the English, who, emboldened by the ruin of the Marathas at Panipat (7th January 1761)'hoisted the British flag at Janjira, and compelled the Marathas to respect it. In a treaty concluded in September of the same year, they procured the Sidis the promise that their country should not again be molested and that the territory taken from them by Ramaji Pant should be restored.[Aitchison's Treaties, V. 20. The Sidi afterwards took improper advantage of the protection afforded by committing several acts of violence in the Maratha territory, of which the English were obliged to mark their disapprobation in the strongest manner. Grant ruff, 324.] In 1762, Sidi Ibrahim was 'murdered by his slave Yakut who usurped the chiefship to the prejudice of Abdul Rahim, the nearest heir, and ruled as Sidi Yakut Sanni. The British Government tried to arbitrate between Yakut and Abdul Rahim, but Abdul Rahim was secretly aided by the Marathas, and would yield nothing of his claim. A British force was sent to, enforce a settlement and Abdul Rahim fled to Poona. In 1768 another attempt was made to effect a compromise, but this  also failed.

InternalDisorder,1762-1772.

In 1772, as it was feared that the Peshwa might support Abdul Rahim, it was arranged that Abdul Rahim should be put in possession of Danda-Rajpuri in subordination to Sidi Yakut, who also promised him the succession to Janjira at his death. [Details are given in Aitchison's Treaties, IV. (1876), 332-33.] Sidi Yakut died shortly after this agreement, and Abdul Rahim succeeded him and continued to rule till his death in 1784. [After fruitless efforts to take Janjira, Abdul Rahim entered the fortress as a disciple of Sidi Yakut, who was well versed in the Kuran. Abdul Rahim is said to have murdered his preceptor. Janjira State Records.] On Abdul Rahim's death, Sidi Johar, the commandant of Janjira, seized the chiefship to the exclusion of Abdul Rahim's eldest son Abdul Karim Khan, commonly called Balu Mia. [Sidi Yakut had made a will bequeathing the state to the second son of Abdul Rahim under the guardianship of his friend Sidi Johar. Grant Duffs Marathas, 507.] Balu Mia fled to Poona and his cause was strongly supported by Nana Phadnavis, who was anxious by any means to gain the island of Janjira. Johar appealed to the English to settle the dispute, declaring that he would fight so long as he had one man left and the rock of Janjira remained. Efforts were made to prevent the outbreak of war, and, in 1791 (6th June), on making

Sachin Nawabs,1791.

over his claims on Janjira to the Peshwa, Balu Mia [Balu Mia was the founder of the Sachin Nawabs. Details are given in Bombay Gazetteer, VI. 260.] was guaranteed a tract of land near Surat, yielding about £7500 (Rs. 75,000) a year. [The terms of the engagement are given in Aitchison's Treaties, IV.(1876), 334, 335.]

The Peshwa does not seem to have been able to establish his influence in Janjira, and the state remained virtually independent, at least in its internal administration. Sidi Johar ruled for six years (1784-1789), and was succeeded by Sidi Ibrahim otherwise known as Dhakle Baba. He ruled till 1792; when his slave Sidi Jumrud Khan threw Ibrahim into prison, where he remained till Jumrud's death in 1804. After Jumrud's death Ibrahim was restored to the chiefship and continued to rule till his death in 1826. He is described as very fair for an Asiatic, a mild and kind ruler, and hospitable to strangers. [Clunes' Itinerary, 24. ] During his chiefship the sovereignty of the Konkan passed (1803 - 1817) from the Peshwa to the English.

Sidi Ibrahim Khan,1848-1879.

The English avoided interference with the internal affairs of the Sidis. Sidi Ibrahim was succeeded by his son Sidi Muhammad. In 1834 the British Government declared Janjira to be subject to the British power, and, in virtue of its supremacy, abolished the Janjira mint which issued a debased coinage. In 1848 Sidi Muhammad abdicated the throne in favour of his son Sidi Ibrahim Khan the father of the present Nawab.

State of Janjira,1855.

For many years, though so close to Bombay, little was known of Janjira. The chief showed much dislike to correspond with the Bombay Government. The country was believed to be covered with malarious forests infested with tigers, and to be sparsely inhabited by a fever-stricken and oppressed people. Crime of every kind was imputed to Sidi officials, to the Nawab himself, and to his relations. Even for trivial offences the common punishment was mutilation. No European's life was safe. The crew of an English ship landing at Janjira were stoned. In 1855, an abduction and urder and the carrying away of a merchant from British territory, compelled the Bombay Government to fine the Nawab and interpose in the government of the country. [Mr. A, T. Crawford's Administration Report for 1875. ] The rights and privileges of the sardars, who originally were consulted in state afiairs and had a share in the administration, had been disregarded by the Nawab and his predecessor. In 1867 so bitter were the quarrels between the chief and the Sidi sardars, that the Bombay Government urged the chiefs to provide an independent court to try serious offences. Two years later (1869), the Nawab was deprived of criminal juris diction, and a resident British officer with limited judicial' powers was appointed to the political charge of the state. Civil and revenue jurisdiction were left in the hands of the chief, but he was bound to communicate with Government through the political officer and to follow his advice.

Sidi Ibrahim dethroned,1870.

In 1870 the Nawab went to Bombay to pay his respects to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and stayed in Bombay in the hope of regaining his lost authority. During his absence the administration of civil justice fell into disorder, and irregularities in collecting revenue occasioned many disputes. The sardars indignant at the Nawab's prolonged absence, at his extravagance, at his partiality for Hindus, and at the violation of their privileges, broke into rebellion, seized the fort of Janjira, and placed Sidi Ahmad Khan the eldest legitimate son of the Nawab on the state cushion, justifying their conduct by their right to depose a chief for neglect and incompetence. In response to an appeal from the Nawab, the Bombay Government sent the late Mr. Havelock of the Bombay Civil Service to Janjira to inquire into the causes of revolt. Mr. Havelock decided that the pretensions of the sardars were groundless, but that they and the other subjects of the Nawab had great cause of complaint.

Sidi Ibrahim restored, 1870.

It was accordingly decided to restore the Nawab on his complying with the terms 'of an agreement, by which he undertook to reform, the administration, to be guided by the advice of the British Government, to appoint a proper police, and to frame a code of revenue laws. [Details are given in Aitchison's Treaties, IV. (1876), 329-330 ] The Collector of the neighbouring district of Kolaba was made Political Agent and the resident officer his assistant. Under the new system the sardars continued to urge their original claims. But the Nawab refused the title' and station of sardars even to his own family, and treated them as members of the fort garrison whom he could dismiss at his pleasure. In 1872 Mr. Salmon, then Political Agent, inquired into the claims of the sardars. He decided that most high offices in the, state had been usually held by sardars chosen from time to time by the Nawab and paid by salaries, and that sardars who did not hold office were, by custom, entitled to allowances. In 1872 the Nawab attended Lord Northbrook's Darbar in Bombay, but was mortified to find he was placed below the chief of Sachin.

The Nawab's Visits to Bombay.

In 1873 the sardars were induced to submit to the Nawab. They apologized for their conduct in deposing him, and begged that their lands and allowances might be continued according to the Nawab's pleasure. In the same year the Prabhu favourites, who were reported to have exercised so evil an influence on the Nawab, were prohibited from holding any appointments. In 1875 the Nawab again, went to Bombay to pay his respects to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and was much pleased by the Prince's kind and courteous reception. In 1876 the Nawab relinquished his monopoly on the sale of tobacco, abolished the tax on persons leaving the state by sea, and arranged that a steamer should ply between Bombay and the Janjira ports. In 1877, on the score of his loss of revenue from a bad harvest, the Nawab was excused attendance at the Imperial Assemblage at Delhi.

Ganpati Riots,1877.

In September 1877 a series, of riots took place between the Hindu and Musalman subjects of the Nawab. According to the rules of the state, Hindu processions and music were forbidden during the month of Ramzan, from the 1st to the 12th of Muharram, and during two other months. Music was not allowed on Sunday or Thursday nights and during the whole of Fridays. If weddings or great Hindu festivals fell during the forbidden periods, the Hindus were allowed to play music within their houses, unless the house was near a mosque or a Muhammadans house, in which case music was forbidden. Music was never played near mosques at prayer time.

In September 1877,as the Ganpati holidays fell in the Muhammadan month of Ramzan, under previous rules the Hindus were forbidden the use of music. On the 26th of August, just before the beginning of Ramzan, under the influence of his Hindu advisers, the Nawab issued an order, which, though skillfully worded, in effect withdrew all restrictions on Hindu processions and music, except that music was not to be played in front of mosques. This order was communicated to Mr. Larcom, the Assistant Agent, and as he heard no objections, he supposed that the order had been issued to meet the difficulty of the Ganpati processions happening during Ramzan. He therefore ordered the magistrates to enforce the new rules. When they came to understand them the Muhammadans took bitter offence at the-new rules, and getting no redress from the Nawab, determined to prevent the Hindus from playing music in public. Between the tenth and the sixteenth of September seven disturbances took place. In some cases the Musalmans were most to blame, entering Hindu houses and breaking idols; in other cases the fault lay with the Hindus, who were foolhardy enough to play in front of mosques. The offenders were in most cases fined and forced to apologise. The obnoxious order was withdrawn, and another order, fair to both sides, was prepared by a committee of leading Musalmans and Hindus.

In November (1877) the quarrels between the Nawab and his sardars were renewed. Many of the sardars, individually and collectively, represented their grievances to Mr. W. G. Pedder, C.S., then Political Agent. The grievances which, in Mr. Pedder's opinion, required redress, were the power of the Prabhu officials, the careless destruction of the forests in inam lands, the resumption of grants, the withdrawal of the rights of over-landholders, the refusal of reply or redress, and the disuse of complimentary letters and privileges. Mr. Pedder strongly urged on the Nawab the necessity of redressing these grievances.

Mr. Pedder's Report.

The inquiries which Mr. Pedder made in connection with the Hindu and Musalman riots and with the sardars' complaints, showed that the police and criminal administration, which was supervised by the Assistant Political Agent, had been greatly improved and was satisfactory. Education, which also was directly under the Assistant Political Agent, was progressing fairly. All other branches of the administration were corrupt and bad. The land revenue system of fixed grain rents, changeable to cash at current prices at the option of the landholder, was not unsuited to the circumstances of the state, and taxation was not excessive. But the officials embezzled much of the revenue and defrauded the people. It was true that, except grant or inam lands, the soil belonged to the Nawab, but there were certain customary limits to the exercise of his rights as overlord, and he was said to go beyond those limits by turning off landholders who had not failed to pay their rent. A large proportion of the revenue was consumed in grants and claims. There was no proper record of these claims, and old claims were stopped and fresh claims granted without rule or system. The financial administration was as bad as it could be. There was no statement of accounts and no audit. Instead of all revenue being received into and all payments being made out of the treasury, assignments on rents were issued to such an extent that in one division only about 100 out of 1100 khandis of rice ever reached the Government granaries. Civil justice was almost a farce; no redress was given in suits against favourites of the Nawab. There were no public works, no water-works though water-works were much needed, no landing places, and no roads. The reckless cutting of timber was destroying the forests. Finally, there was no responsible manager and the state officials were inefficient and corrupt. [Mr. Pedder's letter to Government, No. 516 of 15th April 1878.]

 Ibrahim's Death,1879.

In 1878 a karbhari war appointed with civil and magisterial powers. On the 28th of January 1879 the Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Khan died. He left three sons, two by a concubine, and one, Sidi Ahmad Khan, the youngest, by his lawful wife. The party in favour of the illegitimate sons being stronger installed the eldest as Nawab in spite of the protest of the Assistant Agent. The Bombay Government annulled this election and Sidi Ahmad Khan was recognised as Nawab. The young Nawab, who is (1882) nineteen years old, was at the Rajkumar College in Rajkot till September 1881. During his minority the admmistration is in the hands of the karbhari under the orders of the Assistant Agent, and subject to the supervision of the Political Agent.

The Nawab of Janjira pays no tribute and has no patent allowing adoption. In matters of succession the son succeeds whom the chief persons of the state consider best fitted to manage the state. The chief has a force of 700 men for garrison and police duties. He has a salute of nine guns.

Adminstration Land.

THE chief district revenue officers are, the mahalkaris or heads of the three larger fiscal divisions or mahals of Shrivardhan, Nandgaon, and Mhasla; the naib-tahsildars or heads of the smaller fiscal divisions called tahsils or tappas of Panchaitan, Mandla, and Govale; the mujumdars or district accountants; and the kulkarnis or village accountants. The mahalkaris and naib-tahsildars, who in revenue matters are independent of each other and are equal in rank and power, control the revenue management of their divisions, the mahalkaris having also subordinate magisterial powers. The mujumdar as a subordinate of the mahalkari and naib-tahsildar is entrusted with keeping the accounts and with the actual collection of the revenue; and the kulkarni or accountant with assisting the mujumdar and with fixing the amount due from groups of forty villages. The mahalkaris receive monthly pay of from £4 to £4 10s. (Rs. 40 - Rs. 45); the naib-tahsildars yearly cash and grain allowances valued at £24 (Rs. 240); the majumdars yearly cash and grain allowances valued at £16 (Rs. 160), and the kulkarnis, besides levying 6s. 3d. (Rs. 3⅛) on every £10 (Rs.100) when assessing the revenue, claim 2s. (Re.1) from each village at the time of verifying the accounts, kul-rujuat. The village officers are the headman or patil, and the messenger or mhar. The patil supervises the village and carries out the mahalkaris orders. In some villages the patil has an assistant called karbhari, whose special duties are to help the patil in procuring supplies for the state servants and officials and for travellers. The patil and karbhari receive no perquisites from the people and are not paid by the state, but are freed from the house-tax of 1s. to 2s. (8 ans.-Re. 1) a year. The mhars act as watchmen and messengers. They are paid by the state about five pounds (3 adholis) of grain on every bigha of tilled land, and a similar allowance is given them by every landholder at harvest time.

Of the early system of land management few details are available. In theory the levy was in kind, but a large share of the grain-rent has for long been commuted into a cash payment. In 1699 the chief difference between the revenue system of the Sidi and of his neighbours the Marathas seems to hare been that the Sidi commuted more grain into cash; that he levied a bullock-tax of 3s. (Rs. 1½), and a shopkeeper's cess of 10s. (Rs. 5). The cesses on garden lands were heavier than those levied by the Marathas, and the sub-divisional accountant's allowance was added to the demand and the amount taken by the state. [Jervis' Konkan, 109, 111. The proportion of the grain rent commuted was 3/20 this of the whole (3 mans a khandi), the khandi rates being rice Rs. 22½, vari Rs. 17½. harik Rs. 7, white sesamum Rs. 75, black sesamam, udid, tur, and mug Rs. 60; pavte, chuvli, and kulthi Rs. 40, and salt Rs. 7. Details of the Maratha land system are given in the Kolaba Land Administration Chapter.]

In theory the chief is the lord of the soil, with power to give or take it when he pleases. This right is seldom enforced. Almost all state villages are rented to khots or revenue farmers. As in the neighbouring British district of Kolaba the khots are of two kinds, isaphati or service, and ordinary. The isaphati khots who seem to represent the hereditary revenue servants, are hereditary;the ordinary khots are revenue farmers for a certain fixed period. Both isaphati and ordinary khots cannot bring the waste land under rice or garden tillage without the sanction of the state, but  they car raise varkas or hill grain crops without special sanction. The khot does not till the waste land himself but gives it to a cultivator who is the khots' tenant. From his tenant, besides personal service, the khot receives as his own share one-fifth of the varkas produce minus the state assessment when the land has to pay the state assessment.

In khoti villages there are two classes of land, malikijamin which is two-thirds of the tilled area rented to khots and the khot's land. The malikijamin is held by tenant proprietors or dharekaris from whom the khot can claim only the state assessment. A khot cannot raise the fixed assessment on the malikijamin nor can he oust a dharekari tenant out of his land so long as he pays the state assessment. Even if he fails to pay the assessment the dharekari cannot be ousted by a khot without the state sanction. The other third of the tilled area is the khot's land, which is held by cultivators who are the khot's tenants. This land, besides the state assessment, pays the khot a certain amount which is known as his phayda or profit, and is the khot's reward for managing the village. At the time of paying the state dues the khot has to contribute a certain quantity of grain in the shape of cesses. On each khandi of rice, nagli, and vari due to the state, he pays a bhada or hire of 1¼ mans ; kasar of five paylis or ten shers to make up the deficit from rough and unequal measuring; map vartala of 1½ mans two paylis to make up the deficit in receiving by measure instead of by weight; deshmukh of one man to meet the deshmukh's share; mushahira of half a man to pay the revenue officers; and kharidi-udid of one payli to support the state stables. On each khandi of pulse and flax seed sown, the khot has to pay the deshmukhi cess of one man and the kharidi-udid of one payli.

The arable lands of the state were roughly surveyed about 1826 and the rates then levied are still in force. For rice lands there are three rates on good, medium, and bad soils. The best rice-land pays 360 pounds (9 mans) of rice a bigha, besides the cesses under the head of gallapatti paid by the khot in one lump sum of 2¼ mans. In khoti villages the khot, and in other villages any landholder, may buy from the state the right to bring waste land under rice tillage. Such lands are generally given on a lease or kaul free of charge for twenty or twenty-five years. At the end of the lease they are charged either a bigha cash-rate of 10s. (Rs. 5)" or a payment in kind of from 160 to 200 pounds (4-5 mans) of rice, the amount by degrees rising until the land pays the full assessment. The rate for medium soil is 280 pounds (7 mans) as the state due or sarkadridhara, and seventy pounds (1¾ mans) as cess or gallapatti; and for poor soil 200 pounds (5 mans) as sarkdridhara and fifty pounds (1¼ mans) as gallapatti. Besides these payments in kind, the husbandman pays a cash cess varying from 2s. 8¼d (Rs. 1-5-6) in the best to 1s. 6d. (12 as.) in the worst soil; a kas cess of 3d. (2 as.) to 5¼d. (3½as.); a vetva cess for exemption from personal service of 1s. ⅛d. (8¹/12 as.) to 1s. 9¾d. (14½as.); an udid cess of 1⅜d. (11 ps.) to 2½d. (1 2/3 as.); a pulla cess, or a contribution of rice-straw for the feed of state cattle, of 3⅛d. (2¹/12 as.). to 5 ⅝d. (3¾as.); and a potdari cess of ⅜d. (3 ps.) on every 2s. (Re. 1) in cesses. The whole amounts in good soil to 6s. 3¼d. (Rs. 3-2-2), in medium soil to 4s. 3¾d, (Rs. 2-2-6), and in poor soil to 3s. 1½d. (Rs. 1-9) the bigha. Besides these cesses on his land, all cultivators have to pay a house-cess or gharpatti varying from 1s. (8 as.) to 2s. (Re. 1) according as he is an old settler or a newcomer; a firewood cess or an undapatti of 1s. 6d. (12 as.) to 3s. (Rs. 1½) ; a fowl cess of 3d. (2 as.) to 6d. (4 as.); a kandpatti or commuted timber cess of 1s. (8 as.) to 6d. (4 as.), and a vegetable cess paid either in cash or in kind. Except state servants, village headmen, and heads of communities, Maulvis, Musalman priests, Syeds, and washermen, all classes including husbandmen nave to supply the state horses with grass or to pay a yearly tax of 1s. (8 ans).

In the coast cocoa and betel palm gardens the rates, which are of long standing, vary according to the soil and the water supply from supply £1 (Rs. 10) to £1 10s. (Rs. 15) and £2 8s. (Rs. 24) a bigha. In addition to these rates there is a vetva cess of 3s. (Rs. 1½) to 4s. (Rs. 2) the khandi of assessment. Besides these rates the Malis have to carry the state baggage and the Bhandaris to mount guard at night, duties which they may commute by paying 6d. (4 annas) a year on each plantation. The owners of some palm gardens, instead of bigha rates, pay according to the produce of the trees either in money or in kind. When the rates are levied in money each cocoa palm pays 3d. (2 annas) to 3s. (Rs. 1½) a year, and each betel palm 1⅞d. (1 anna 3 pies). When the cess is levied in kind half a sher of betelnuts is taken from each bunch, and one leaf from each bundle of cocoa palm leaves. In these garden lands there are patches of rice which pay 10s. (Rs. 5) a bigha. Cultivators growing turmeric pay for each bigha eighty pounds (2 mans) in kind and a cess or patti at the rate of 15s. (Rs. 7½) a khandi. For each jack-tree, undi, Calophyllun inophyllum, raimad Caryota urens, and tad Borassus flabelliformis tree, they pay 7½d. to 9d. (5-6 as.) Mali or watered lands are arsessed at 6d. (4 as.), 1s. (8 as.) and 1s. 6d. (12 as.) the bigha, according to the supply of water. Hill-side tillage is free so long as the land tilled is within village limits, as each village has a patch of hill attached to it for grazing, firewood, and tillage.

The revenue year begins on the 5th of June (Mrig). When the crop is ripe it is valued and about two-fifths is claimed as the state due. In the case of hemp or tag, when ready for use, 10s. (Rs. 5) are charged on every khandi and 2½ shers on every load of one and a half to two mans. Instead of paying according to these rates the Murud Kolis pay a house-cess of 1s. 10d. (14 2/3 as.) for the right to grow hemp. Disputes about rates are settled once a year by a committee composed of an officer deputed by the Nawab, a revenue clerk of the mahal, and the patil and kulkarni of the village. From this committee an appeal lies to the Nawab.

Since 1875, rules approved by Government, have been introduced for collecting the revenue. In rice-lands the cash revenue, is taken in six equal instalments, in the first week of each Hindu month from Margashirsh (December) to Vaishakh (May); the collection of the revenue in kind begins in Paush (January) and ends in Phal gun (March). If rents are not entirely paid by March, the balance is, taken in cash at fixed commutation rates by two equal , instalments in the latter -part of Chaitra (April) and Vaishakh (May). In garden lands the cash revenue is paid in eight equal instalments in the first week of each Hindu month from Ashvin (October) to Vaishakh (May); and the collection, of the revenue in kind begins in Paush (January) and ends in Chaitra (April), If the whole rent is not paid by that time the balance is taken in cash at fixed commutation rates in the latter part of. Vaishakh (May). Persons failing to pay an instalment are fined 6¼d. (4¹/6 ans.) on every £10 (Rs. 100) every day till the, instalment is paid. This fine is not allowed to exceed one-fourth of the outstanding balance. If a landholder persists in refusing payment a notice is served, and after this notice, if payment is not made within a fortnight, the defaulter's movable and immovable property is attached to the extent of the outstanding balance and sold by public auction. If the defaulter's property is not enough, the property of his surety, if he has a surety, is sold.

Besides those which have been noted above, other cesses are levied both on persons and on villages. Cowherds pay yearly from five to 2½ shers of clarified butter according to the size of their herd. Oil-pressers or Telis, besides paying 15 shers a on every oil-press, pay an additional press-cess of 9d. (6 ans.) to 2s. (Re. 1) on the night of the Shabibarat Id. Grocers pay 15s. (Rs. 7½) on each khandi of molasses or gul. To support the ferries on the Nandgaon, Murud, and Rajpuri creeks each house in Nindgaon pays 9d. (6 arts.) a year, in Majgaon 7½ d. (5 ans.), in Murud and Dongri 6d. (4 ans.), and in Rajpuri 3d. (2 ans.). Instead of watching the state granary each Mhar householder is allowed to pay 1s. (8 ans.) a year. A craft or mohotarpha cess, from 2s. to 10s. (Re. 1 -Rs. 5) a house, is levied on all who live by the practice of a handicraft. Certain villages had formerly to supply, the state with a cow every year, a demand which in some villages is commuted for a cash payment of 18s. (Rs. 9), and in other villages for one of 6s. 6d. (Rs.3¼).

In 1881-82 several reforms were introduced. The chief were the reduction in the number of fiscal divisions, the reduction in the number of agents employed in collecting the revenues of the state villages, a simplification of the charges on revenue arrears, and the fixing of dates of instalments better suited to the convenience of the cultivators. Inquiry showed that two of four minor divisions, those of Govale and of the garden land of Shrivardhan, might be abolished. The saving effected was devoted to increasing the mahalkaris' establishment, and to changing the mahalkaris' pay from small and somewhat uncertain grain allowances to fixed cash salaries. Formerly the revenues of state villages were collected by a host of under-paid clerks, one for each village, who added to their allowances by levying all they could from the villagers. The fifty-one state villages were arranged into twelve groups and a well paid and efficient clerk appointed to each group. The change was accompanied by a yearly saving to the state of £10 (Rs. 100). Formerly the system of. collecting the revenue was most irregular. There were large arrears, and by pleasing one of the needy state clerks it was often possible to escape all regular state payments. To stop these abuses collectors of revenue have been called on to furnish monthly returns of collections and outstandings At the end of the official year an addition of twenty-five per cent besides heavy interest was made on all outstandings. This extra charge of twenty-five per cent has been abolished. To suit the convenience of cultivators the dates for paying instalments of rent have been changed from between December and May to between November and February.

Justice.

Thirty years ago civil and criminal justice were administered by the lower officers of the state. The proceedings were generally oral and the powers of the different officials were uncertain. Fine was the usual punishment, the officer who levied the fine keeping a share of the proceeds for himself. If the fine was not paid, in petty cases, the convicts were made to work as menials, and in serious cases, they were thrown into prison. The civil courts established after the late Nawab's installation in 1870, consisted of the lower or sugra and the upper or Kubra courts. The lower or munsif's court did the original  work, and the upper or chief judge's court did the appellate work. From the upper court an appeal lay to the Nawab. In 1877 the state karbhari was invested with civil powers as chief judge or sarnyayadhish, and in 1879, on the Nawab's death, the Assistant Agent's court exercised the appellate jurisdiction of the Nawab's court. In 1881-82 the total number of cases for original hearing in the munsif's court, which has jurisdiction in suits up to £500 (Rs. 5000), was 751. Of the 751 suits forty-two were arrears and 709 were fresh suits. Of the 751 suits 405 were settled, leaving 346 for disposal. In the karbhari's court the total number of appeals was forty-three, including nine arrears from the previous year. Of these twenty-six were settled, leaving a balance of seventeen. In the Assistant Agent's court there were forty-five appeals, twenty-five of which were arrears. Of the forty-five, fourteen were settled. At the close of 1880-81 there were 109 unexecuted decrees to which were added 482 applications in 1881-82 making a total of 591 of the value of £4675 (Rs. 46,750). Of these 430 of the value of £2688 (Rs. 26,880) were executed, leaving a balance of 161 of the value of £1987 (Rs. 19,870). For the execution of decrees a special establishment is kept at a yearly cost of £15 (Rs. 150). Imprisonment for debt is not often enforced. In 1881, in imitation of the Indian Limitation Act, limitation rules were framed and court fees were levied on appeals presented in the Assistant Agent's court. In 1881 the receipts from court fees amounted to £545 (Rs. 5450).

Registration,

In 1876 the Chief Judge drew up certain registration rules and an office was established. Under the supervision of the munsif registration extends only to documents relating to immovable property. A fee of about one and a half per cent is taken on mortgages and of six and a quarter per cent on sales. In 1880-81, 143 deeds of the aggregate value of £3439 (Rs. 34,390) were registered against 129 of the aggregate value of £2781 (Rs. 27,810) registered in 1879-80.

Criminal Justice.

Since 1869, when the late Nawab was deprived of criminal jurisdiction, criminal justice has been administered by the Agent and Assistant Agent. There are six criminal courts: the court of the Political Agent having the powers of a Sessions Judge; the court of the Assistant Agent residing in the state having the powers of an Assistant Sessions Judge and of a District Magistrate; the court of the karbhari with the powers of a second class magistrate and with powers to commit to the Agency courts; and the courts of the three mahalkaris or third class magistrates of Shrivardhan, Mhasla, and Nandgaon. The courts of the Political Agent and of his Assistant have also appellate criminal jurisdiction. In former times, one chief feature of the state criminal law was the practice of allowing all offences, including murder, to be compounded for a money payment. Of late years the practice has been checked, and the compounding for offences is allowed only when it is sanctioned by the Assistant Agent. In 1880-81, 397' original cases were decided,, of which two were settled by the Political Agent, ten by the Assistant Agent, forty-one by the second class magistrate, and 344 by the three third class magistrates. The total number of accused persons was 903, of whom 364 or forty per cent were dismissed, 818 or thirty-five per cent were acquitted and discharged, and 221 or twenty-five per cent were convicted. Only one appeal case was settled by the Assistant Agent. The majority of complaints relate to assault, petty theft, and trespass; grave crimes are uncommon.

Police.

Under the fourth article of the agreement executed by the late Nawab in 1870 a police force has been organized. Up to 1880 there were two classes of police, sixty state police who cost £453 (Rs. 4530), and thirty-two jail police who cost £273 (Rs. 2730). Of the two bodies only the jail police were drilled. Both were under the control of the karbhari, the magistrates, and the head constable. In 1880 the two sections of the police were joined into one, the strength reduced from ninety-two to eighty-four, and the whole of them drilled and placed under the charge of the Assistant Political Agent. In 1880-81 the total police charges amounted to £757 (Rs. 7570). In 1881, of 471 accused persons 142 or 30-4 per cent were convicted, and of £936 (Rs. 9360) worth of property alleged to have been stolen £802 (Rs. 8020) or about, 86 per cent were recovered.

Jail.

Till 1876 the only jail in Janjira was a small place at Murud with three cells each large enough for six convicts. Prisoners sentenced to more than three months' imprisonment were sent to the Thana or to the Verauda jail near Poona. In 1876 a new jail was built outside of Murud near the shore, in which all persons sentenced to imprisonment for more than four days are confined. The jail is built on the cellular system, forming three sides of a square, within a quadrangle of strong stone walls twenty-five feet high, overlooked by the guardroom, which is an upper story above the gateway. There are in all fourteen large cells each with room for six persons. Prisoners are made to work at their own handicrafts, and those who have no craft are made to mend roads or do other unskilled labour. A good driving road about a mile long has been made from Murud past the Residency towards Alibag entirely by prison labour. All unskilled prisoners are forced to work six hours a day in the open air. In the hot season, the prisoners are taken out in turns, half in the early morning, the other half remaining to cook the morning meal; these eat and go out to work when the other half returns. Every Friday, when no outdoor work is enforced, they clean the jail and wash themselves and their clothes. Every day in their leisure hours the prisoners are taught to read and write their vernaculars. Convicts sentenced to simple imprisonment are employed inside the jail in cooking, cleaning lamps, and keeping the place clean. Each prisoner receives a daily ration of rice, pulse, salt, spices, kokam, oil, butter, fish or molasses, and vegetables. Each prisoner cooks for himself or the prisoners pf one caste cook together. When at Murud, the Assistant Agent, visits the jail twice a day, and, in his absence, it is visited by the agency police officer. There is a' jailor on a' yearly pay of £18 (Rs. 180). The agency apothecary visits the jail daily. In 1880-81 he treated nineteen prisoners for guinea-worm and fever. On the 31st March 1882 there were forty-four prisoners in the jail In 1881 the total cost of the jail amounted to £171 (Rs. 1710). Besides (he Murud jail untried prisoners, and. prisoners sentenced to not more than four days' confinement, have lock-ups at Mandla-Borlai, Nandgaon, Murud, Mhasla, Panchaitan-Borlai, and Shrivardhan.

Revenue.

There are two treasury accounts, one relating to the public treasury or yakutkhan, and the other to the Nawab's private purse, khassa. In 1881-82 the total receipts amounted to £29,692 (Rs. 2,96,920) and the total charges to £27,346 (Rs. 2,73,460). Of the receipts £28,039 (Rs. 2,80,390) were credited to the public treasury, and £1653 (Rs. 16,530) to the private treasury. Of the state treasury receipts £18,263 (Rs. 1,82,630) were from land revenue; £1904 (Rs. 19,040) from taxes; £993 (Rs. 9930) from customs; £1005 (Rs. 10,050) from salt; and £5874 (Rs. 58,740) from miscellaneous leve a Under charges there were £7312 (Rs. 73,120) for administrative purposes; £2254 (Rs. 22,540) for the Political Agency; £1461 (Rs. 14,610) for civil and criminal justice; £2676 (Rs. 26,760) for public works; and £12,624 (Rs. 1,26,240) under miscellaneous heads. Under private income there come £370 (Rs. 3700) from taxes; £969 (Rs. 9690) from land revenue; and £314 (Rs. 3140) from miscellaneous sums., Under private expenses there were £1019 (Rs. 10,190).

Instruction.

In 1869, when a British officer was first stationed in Habsan, the only schools were kept by private teachers. In 1870 a state school was started at Murud, and in 1871 it was raised to the rank of a high school. In 1873 a branch school was opened at Shrivardhan. In 1874 the Nawab appointed an education committee consisting of the Assistant Agent as president, and five Musalman and three Hindu members. Under the presidency of the chief revenue officer, subcommittees of two Hindus and two Musalmans were appointed in each sub-division. At each of the three towns of Murud, Mhasla, and Shrivardhan, one Marathi and one Musalman school were opened; and a seminary was started at Janjira under a sub-committee of the chief residents in the fortress. The head committee drew up rules regulating the hours of school and the subjects to be taught. [In the Musalman schools the work of each day is began by half an hour's teaching of the Kuran. ] They decided that the committee should examine each school once a quarter, and that the sub-committee should examine the schools in their charge twice a month. A monthly fee of 1½d. (1 anna) was levied from each pupil whose parents paid any cess, and 3d. (2 annas) from pupils whose parents paid no cess. Girls were admitted free. Besides school fees, the sources of the school fund were a yearly cess of 6s. (Rs. 3) on each Brahman and Prabhu fireplace; a cess of 3⅛ per cent on all revenue paid to the state in cash; a commission on sales of books; and notice fees and fines. Well-to-do parents, who failed to send their children to school, were dismissed, it they were, state servants, and in other cases had their house-tax doubled. On the rolls of these schools were 508 pupils, of whom 258 were Hindus, 242 Musalmans, and eight Beni-lsraels and others. In 1874-75 a Musalman village school was opened at Vervatna, the Musalmans of the village meeting half the expense and the head committee the other half. In 1875-76 four new schools were opened, two, one for Hindus and one for Musalmans, at Panchaitan, the third at Hareshvar, and the fourth at Mandla-Borlai. This raised the number of schools to twelve and the number of pupils to 535. In 1876 the number of schools rose to fourteen and in 1881 to twenty-two. In 1881-82 the twenty-two schools had on the rolls 1221 pupils and a daily average attendance of 804. Of the 1221 pupils 811 (722 boys, 89 girls) were Hindus and 410 (405 boys, 5 girls) were Musalmans. The education staff consists of two inspectors and thirty-seven' teachers. Besides these schools there were, in 1881, forty-six private schools, thirty-four with 252 pupils for Musalmans, and twelve with 104 pupils for Hindus. There are no special arrangements for the education of boys of the depressed classes. In 1881 the total expenditure on education was £641 (Rs. 6410).

Health.

Health  In the dispensary, which was opened in 1869 and is attached to the Agency, 953 persons were treated in 1879. Of these 933 were discharged cured, and, at the close of the year, there was a balance of twenty under treatment. In 1880-81 there were 1301 admissions. The total cost amounted to £100 (Rs. 1000). The prevailing diseases are intermittent and remittent fever, guinea-worm, dysentery, and small-pox.

Vaccination.

Vaccination was introduced in 1873, the Nawab making it obligatory under penalty of fine or imprisonment. Under the supervision of the vaccinating officer in the British district of Kolaba there is one vaccinator on a monthly pay of £2 (Rs. 20). He has under him a peon drawing 12s. (Rs. 6) a month. In 1880-81, 2582 persons were vaccinated of whom 1271 were boys and 1311 girls; 1464 were under one year, and 1118 were above one year. Of the whole number 1948 were Hindus, 392 Musalmans, and 242 Others. The cost of the year's vaccination was £17 (Rs. 170). Cattle-disease seldom appears in a severe form, but in 1876 an epidemic carried off about 2000 head of cattle.

ARAVI.

Aravi, a small village of 245 souls, about four miles north of Shrivardhan, has a yearly fair held on the Chaitra (April) full-moon in honour of Bahiri. The fair is attended by about 400 people, and articles worth about £5 (Rs. 50) are offered for sale.

DANDA-RAJPURI.

DANDA-RAJPURI., on the south shore of the Rajpuri creek near its mouth and about a mile from the island fort of Janjira, though it has now only 540 people, leas, at different times in the history of the Konkan, been a place of consequence. Vincent and Lassen have identified Rajpuri with Ptolemy's (A.D. 155) Balepatna, and the Palaipatnai of the Periplus (A.D. 247). But the important trade centre of Mahad on the Savitri in Kolaba, with the large group of early Buddhist eaves in the Pali hill close by, seems a more likely identification. [Vincent's Commerce of the Ancients, II. 431; Lassen's lnd. Alt. III. 183.] Puri, which was the capital of the Konkan Silaharas  from, A.D. 810 to A.D. 1260, has by some been supposed to be Rajpuri. But Danda-Rajpuri has no ancient remains and seems to be too far south for the capital of the northern Silaharas. The position of Puri is doubtful The Mora landing or bandar on the north-east corner of Gharapari or Elephanta' is perhaps the most likely-identification. According to Jervis, but this is doubtful, Rajpuri was the head of a district at the beginning of the fourteenth century. [Jervis' Konkan, 81.] The first certain reference is towards the close of the fifteenth century, when, in 1490, after a long siege, the town was reduced by Malik Ahmad, the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty. [Briggs Ferishta, III 191, 199.] So long as Ahmadnagar power lasted Danda-Rajpuri remained a place of considerable trade. In 1514 Barbosa notices it under the name of Banda or Dando [Stanley's Barbosa, 71.] and about the same time the Gujarat histories mention it as a place of trade and the head of one of the twenty divisions of the Gujarat-dominions. [Bird's Gujarat, 111 and 129.] In 1538 Dom Joao ae Castro calls Danda a great and noble river with a town of the same name hid among palms and brushwood. The entrance had four fathoms at low tide, inside were two islands one of them strengthened by a fort. [Primeiro Roteiro da Costa da India, 48,168,167.] In 1608 it was spoken of as a rich trading town, [Kerr's Voyages, VIII. 308.] and in 1659, it, or rather the island of Janjira, was recommended by the presidency of Surat along with Bombay and Versova as places naturally strong which could be fortified and made a safe retreat for the Company's servants and property. [Bruce's Annals, I. 548.] In 1670 it was noticed by Ogilvy. During the next twenty years it was the scene of the unceasing struggles between the Marathas and the Sidis of which details have been given under History. About 1700 the traveller ' Hamilton described it as a town of the Sidis who had generally a fleet of Moghal vessels and an army of 30,000 to 40,000 men. It was a good harbour, supported a large number of black cattle, and supplied-Bombay with meat when on good terms and with fish when otherwise. [Hamilton's New Account, I. 244.] About 1780, under the name of Khande Rajpuri it is entered in Marathi records as yielding a revenue of £947 (Rs. 9470).[Waring's Marathas, 239. ] Since the rise of Bombay, the trade of the town has died away. In 1881-82 it was valued at £2190 (Rs. 21,900), of which £99 (Rs. 990) were imports and £2091 (Rs. 20,910) were exports.

DEVGAD OR HARESHVAR.

Devgad or Hareshvar, a small village about three miles south of Shrivardhan, is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. In the time of Forbes (1771) the village was noted for the sacredness of the temple, the beauty of its women, and for having been the residence of the ancestors of the Peshwas. [Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, I 190.] There is a temple sacred to KalBhairav, who is said to cure all sicknesses caused by evil spirits. Two fairs are held in the year, one on the Mahashivratra (February) for one day and the other from Kartik shuddha 11th to 15th (November). They are attended by about 3500 persons and on each occasion flowers, fruits, sweetmeats, toys, and bangles worth about £60 (Rs. 600) are sold. Of a former yearly grant of £240 (Rs. 2400) paid to the temple by the Peshwa, the British Government continue to pay £115 (Rs. 1150), The temples are under the supervision of the British officers in the Ratnagiri district. Epidemic sickness has never broken out at these fairs.

JANJIRA.

The fortified island of Janjira lies just within the entrance of the Raipuri creek, the mainland being half a mile distant to the east and a' mile to the west. [Dom Joao de Castro, in 1538, described it as a gunshot long and a little less broad with a round head in the centre where the people lived. Primeiro Roteiro da Costa da India, 166.] In shape it is irregularly oval or nearly round and it is girt by walls which at high tide rise abruptly from the water to a' height of from forty-five to fifty feet. At low tide the water recedes leaving the rock foundations on which the walls are built dry. On the east side, opposite Rajpuri, is a large and handsome entrance gateway with steps leading to the water, and, on the west, facing the open sea, a small postern gate used in former years in times of siege, leads into a wide masonry platform about twenty feet above high water mark. The platform is built in the form of a semicircle stretching along the sea face and takes in and is covered by bastions. The walls are battlemented, strongly loopholed, and have their faces covered with nineteen bastions, eighty feet across and thirty feet deep, at intervals of about ninety feet. In the bastions and on the wall a are ten guns, three of native and seven of European make. Of the three native guns, which are on the main gate, the largest is eighteen feet long with a circumference of seven feet eight inches at the muzzle and a bore of fourteen inches diameter. It is known. as the kallal Bangdi, apparently from eight large rings that are attached to either side, and,' is said to have been brought by the Peshwa's army, probably in 1735, and abandoned on its retreat. It is of great weight, and is said to have been raised to its present position by being gradually built up. Of the seven European guns, three were made in Sweden, one in Spain, one in Holland, and one in France. There is nothing on the seventh by which its original owners can be traced. The three Swedish brass guns, which are on three separate towers, are of very handsome make and are precisely alike in size and pattern. The gun is ten feet long with a breech three feet in circumference and a bore four inches in diameter. It bears the letters C. R. S., and below the letters are the Royal Arms of Sweden with the date Anno 1665. Round the breech there is engraved "Goos-Mich Iohan—Meyer in Stockholm." At the breech is a. powder-pan supported by twisted snakes. These guns are fired for salutes at the present day. The Spanish brass gun is ten feet three inches long, and has a bore five inches in diameter. It bears the words " Don Philippe III Rey D'Espana" with the golden fleece below, and the Spanish arms. This gun is still used in Bring salutes. The Dutch brass gun is seven feet five inches long and has a bore four inches in diameter. It has engraved round the breech " Hans Noorden Et Ian Alberte de Grave Amsterdam," and the date 1672 below two As, the second A being placed in an inverted form below the first A. The French brass gun is nine feet long with a 6¾ inch bore and has a coat of arms surmounted by a fleur-delays crown. It bears neither date nor name. The seventh unknown gun is also of brass. It is twelve feet ten inches long and has a six-inch bore. Except two fishes engraved on the muzzle the gun has no distinguishing marks. Besides these guns there are two brass mortars and a brass four-barrelled gun about 3½ feet long. Over the walls and interior of the fortress lie scattered 121 pieces of cannon of various calibre, serviceable and unserviceable. There is also a scimitar-shaped sword four-feet long and one foot broad.

Just above the great entrance, near the heavy iron studded gates, is a large white stone let into the walls, on which is carved the word yohar meaning 1111 H. (A.D. 1694). This marks the beginning of the building of the walls, which were finished in A.D. 1707 by Sidi Sirul Khan (1707-1733). The first object of interest on passing through the gateway are the ruins of a large mansion said to have been built in the time of Sidi Sirul Khan. This building, like the fort walls, is of well cut blocks of trap strongly cemented. The windows are surrounded by ornamental stone carving in the Saracenic style. Further to the right, built round a large cistern, are the Nawab's palace and woman's quarters. The palace is a small upper-storied stucco building in the ordinary modern Hindu-European style. It has no special interest; the rooms are small and gaudily painted, and several have their walls and ceilings lined with mirrors. A terrace overhangs the water. In the fort, besides the Nawab and his family, live the sardars and their relatives and dependents, and some Koli families descendants of the former owners of the fort or inhabitants of the island. The space within the fortress is limited. Narrow roughly paved alleys run between the closely packed houses which rise tier upon tier to the inner citadel. On the highest point, about 200 feet above the sea, is the magazine supported by old fashioned swivel guns, commanding a most extensive sweep. One of these guns still stands on its pivot on a masonry carriage, while others lie scattered about. This part of the citadel commands a wide view. To the south-west and west stretches the ocean; the Rajpuri creek winds to south-east till it is a narrow palm-covered neck of land making the creek look like a lake. To the west, on a slight eminence, partly hid among trees, stand the broken walls of the old Rajpuri palace, which was abandoned by the late Nawab seven or eight years ago. The flat fortified rock of Kansa or Padamdurg rises out of the sea about two miles to the north-west.

In 1860, more than half the interior of the Janjira fortress was burnt, and a mass of state papers and documents was destroyed. The fire did no injury to the walls, and many of the houses that were burnt have been rebuilt or partially restored. There are still broken walls and charred runs. On all sides are dirt and desolation. Even close to the palace, which by contrast looks fresh and pretty, some of the houses are roofed with patches of tiles and thatch. The place looks as ruined and desolate as if it had lately undergone a siege. [Mr. F. B. 'O' Shea, Superintendent of Post Offices, Konkan Division.] In the fortress a yearly Muhammadan fair or urus is held in honour of the Panchaitan shrine. [Panch five and chaitan life.] According to the common story five bodies were washed ashore and lay unburied till some Musalmans, warned in a dream, went to the island, and, finding the bodies buried them and raised a tomb over them. Another story is that the shrine was raised when Shah Tahir was appointed commandant of Janjira; and according to a third account the stones are old Koli deities whom the Musalmans turned into saints and continued to worship. The fair is held on the full-moon of Kartik (November) and lasts for three days. It is attended by from 2500 to 3000 people, mostly Musalmans and religious beggars. Sweetmeats, toys, fruits, flowers, and tea and coffee worth in all about £100 (Rs. 1000) are sold on the occasion. The village of Nigri, yielding a yearly revenue of £100 (Rs. 1000), is held in grant by the shrine. Out of the proceeds of the village the Nawab feeds the people, each fakir receiving a small sum of money on leaving. Besides this the Nawab spends on his own account about £100 (Rs. 1000) in charity. On the third day an embroidered covering is carried through the fort in procession, headed by the Nawab, who at sunset lays it on the tomb.

KHOKARI.

Khokari, a small Village on the mainland nearly opposite the Janjira fortress, contains three massive stone tombs in the Indo-Saracenic style. The largest is the tomb of Sidi Sirul Khan who was chief of Janjira from 1707 to 1733, and the two smaller buildings are the tombs of Sidi Kasim commonly known as Yakut Khan, who was in command of Janjira (1670-1677), of the Moghal fleet (1677-1696), and again of Janjira (1696-1707); and of his brother Khairiyat Khan who was in command of Danda-Rajpuri (1670-1677) and of Janjira (1677-1696). The tomb of Sirul Khan is said to have been built during his lifetime. Yakut Khan's tomb has an Arabic inscription stating that he died on Thursday 30th Jamma-Dilawal H. 1118 (A.D. 1707). Khairiyat Khan's has also an inscription. The figures of the date of his death are H. 1018, but the Arabic words give the date H. 1108 (A.D. 1696) and this is probably correct. The tombs are kept in repair by the Nawab who has assigned the village of Savli-Mithagar with a yearly revenue of £200 (Rs. 2000) for the maintenance of Sirul Khan s tomb, and the village of Dodakal for the maintenance of Yakut Khan's and Khairiyat Khan's tombs. On Thursday nights the Kuran is read at these tombs and yearly death-days or urus are celebrated.

KOLMANDLE.

Kolma'ndle, a village about five miles south-east of Shrivardhan, and at the mouth of the Bankot river, is perhaps Ptolemy's (A.D. 150) Mandangad and is Barbosa's (1514) Mandabad, a sea-port of Moors and Gentiles where many ships gathered to buy stuffs, particularly from Malabar, accounts, arecas, a few spices, copper and quicksilver.[Stanley's Barbosa, 71.]

KUMBABR POINT

Kumbaru Point, bearing south a half east four miles from the Rajpuri creek and sixteen miles north by west a half west from Bankot, is the north point of Kumbaru Bay, formerly called Comrah. It affords shelter from north-west winds to vessels of large size. The point stands out more than a mile from the regular coast line and is high and steep. The hills overhanging Kumbaru Bay are 800 feet high and heavily wooded. At the south end of the, bay, near the shore, is a rock on which the sea breaks in three fathoms. [Taylor's Sailing Directory, 386.]

MADGAD.

Madgad about twelve miles south of Janjira, is a hill about 1300 feet high. It stands out like a truncated cane from a range of hills which runs to the sea. In 1744 the Sidis for a time placed this fort under the charge of the Peshwa to prevent the Kolaba chief from taking it. On the top are the remains of a large fortress; but only the outlines of the walls are left. The fort was destroyed about 1830 by Sidi Muhammad Khan (1826-1848).

MANDLA-BORLAI.

Ma'ndla-Borlai lies on the coast about two miles south of the Revdanda creek. Its population consists chiefly of Kolis, who carry on a large fish trade. In 1881-82 its trade was returned as worth. £1269 (Rs. 12,690), of which £273 (Rs. 2730) were imports and £996 (Rs. 9960) were exports.

MHASLA.

Mhasla, at the head of the south branch of the Rajpuri creek about sixteen miles from the sea, has a population of 1830 souls, chiefly Musalmans. The position of Mhasla, at the head of this great gulf, marks it as one of the early centres of trade, and suggests that it may be Ptolemy's (A.D. 150) Musopalli, the metropolis of the Pirate Coast. [Bertins Ptolemy ,X. The inland position of Musopalli in Ptolemy may be explained by the distance, sixteen miles, between Mhasla and the coast.] The only noticeable building is a mosque, which shows signs of having been built from the stones of a Hindu temple, which, according' to local accounts, was dedicated to Maheshvar. The stones of the entrance steps are dressed like Hindu temple stones and have still faint traces of Hindu images. In the mosque are two large wooden pillars engraved in Hindu fashion, and the stones in the kabha or prayer niche seem to have been the side-posts of a Hindu temple door. There are traces of old walls in the Musalman burying-ground, and to the north of the mosque a field pays a yearly fee to the mosque priest or mulla, which the village records show was in former times paid to provide oil for the temple lamp-pillar. The trade of the town is poor, but an impetus may be given to it by constructing a cart-road so as to enable the Govale produce to reach its market. In 1881-82 the trade was returned as worth £590 (Rs. 5900), of which £57 (Rs. 570) were imports and £533 (Rs. 5330) were exports.

MURUD.

Murud, surrounded on three sides by the sea and a shallow creek, stands on the coast about a mile north of Janjira. Its length is about a mile and a half from north to south, and its breadth about half a mile. Except the chief market place or sadar bazar and the Koli quarters, the town consists of detached houses in gardens surrounded by cocoa and betel palms. The town contains about 5350 people. There is a brisk trade which in 1881-82 was of the value of £7399 (Rs. 73,990). Of the whole amount, £3152 (Rs. 31,520) were imports and £4247 (Rs. 42,470) were exports. The leading articles of trade are rice, cocoanuts, firewood, and dried fish. It is the chief administrative centre on the mainland and has the offices of the Assistant Agent and the munsiff, a dispensary, a jail, a post office, and a school. A yearly fair in honour of Koteshwar Mahadev is held on Chaitra shuddha 14th (April) About 2000 persons attend the fair when eatables and toys of the value of about £60 (Rs. 600) are sold.

NANDGAON.

Na'ndgaon, which lies about four miles north of Janjira, is chiefly made up of detached houses in cocoa and betel gardens. It is about two miles long and a mile broad. The trade is small, mainly the export of timber and firewood to Bombay. It is the head-quarters of a mahalkari and has a school. A yearly fair in honour of Gadba Devi is held on the Chaitra (April) full-moon. It is attended by about 2000 persons and has a sale of sweetmeats, bangles, and toys.

PADAMDURG.

Padamdurg, the Lotus Fort, also called the Ka'nsa fort, commanding the entrance to the Rajpuri creek, was built about 1693 on a rock in the centre of the bay about two miles northwest of Janjira. [About 1693 Kasa or Kansa is mentioned as one of the newly built forts of the Marathas. Elliot, VII. 355. ] The fort stands in 3½ fathoms water more than one mile from the mainland. Its walls, which are pierced by a small gateway, are high and strong, and covered by six bastions about sixty feet apart. Above the bastions rise towers built in the shape of an irregular octagon of different sizes and are roofed in. Guns of various calibre lie about the fort and some are mounted on wooden gun-carriages in the towers. An attempt was made to build outworks on the sea side quite independent of the original fort, but they were never completed and are now in ruins. The water supply is obtained from a large cistern which fills each rains and lasts through the dry season. [Mr, F. B. O'Shea, Superintendent of Post Offices, Konkan Division.] The fort is irregularly shaped, following the outline of the rock on which it is built, and is sometimes used by the chiefs as a state prison for political offenders. There is always a guard of about twenty-five men.

PANCHAITAN-BORLAI.

Panchaitan-Borlai about six miles south of Janjira, is venerated by the Muhammadans as containing a shrine to the five saints, Panch Pir. According to the local belief the Nawabs were invested with the charge of this shrine by the Delhi Emperors. But it seems more likely that like the Panchaitan shrine in the island fort of Janjira, this is a relic of Shah Tahir's Shia influence at the Ahmadnagar court in the beginning of the sixteenth century. A yearly fair on the full-moon of Chaitra (April) is attended by about 800 persons when articles worth about £17 (Rs. 170) are sold. In 1881-82 there was a trade of £1920 (Rs. 19,200), of which £154 (Rs. 1540) were imports and £1766 (Rs. 17,660) were exports.

SHRIVARDHAN.

Shrivardhan, with. in 1881,a-population of 7425, is about twelve miles south of Janjira. It is well placed for trade and in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries under Ahmadnagar and afterwards under Bijapur was a port of consequence. It appears in the leading European travellers as Ziffardan. In 1538 Dom Joao de Castro described it as with little water in the pier at low tide but inside large and roomy. [Primeiro Roteiro da Costa da India, 47.] It, or rather Hareshvar about three miles to the south, is notable as the birth-place of Balaji Vishvanath, the first Peshwa (1713-1720) who was the Deshmukh of the town. In 1713 Shrivardhan was one of the sixteen fortified places in the Konkan ceded by Balaji Vishvanath Peshwa to Kanhoji Angria of Kolaba. [Grant Duffs Marathas, 193.] Shrivardhan has still a considerable trade which in 1881-82 was of the value of £3042 (Rs. 30,420), of which £1182 (Rs. 11,820) were imports, and £1860 (Rs. 18,600) were exports. The trade consists chiefly. of betelnuts which are highly valued in Bombay. On Chaitra full-moon (April-May) a yearly fair is held in honour of Bahiri when about 3000 persons attend it, and articles valued at about £60 (Rs. 600) are sold.

VELAS.

Vela's, about three miles north of Shrivardhan, is noted as the birth-place of Balaji Janardan, commonly called Nana Phadnavis, who was the chief power in the Maratha State between 1763 and 1800.

WHALE REEF.

The Whale Reef lies nearly 1½ miles west by south of Rajpuri point and 3½ miles south-west by west of the island fort of Janjira, from which it is visible just clear of Rajpuri point. It is a breaking patch of rocks, partly dry at low water, having four fathoms between it and the main and 4½ fathoms one mile to seaward. It is nearly half a mile long shelving gradually at the south end and is 200 yards broad, with a channel of four fathoms inside. A large ship ought not to approach this danger nearer than eight or nine fathoms in the night, for the rise of the spring tides is twelve feet and it flows to eleven hours at full-moon and on the changes of the moon. Midway between the Kansa fort and the Whale Reef there is a depth of 4½ fathoms mud at lowest tide, and, after half flood, a vessel can boldly run in and anchor half a mile to the south of Janjira in four fathoms. [Taylor's Sailing Directory, 386.]