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Sleeman, William, 1788-1856

"II"

There are only sixty-six villages of Khalsa, or
Crown lands left, yielding twenty-one thousand rupees a-year. The
rest have been all absorbed by the heads of these Rajpoot families.

Villages. Jumma.
Kymara . . . 82 . . 13,486 0 0
Oel . . . . 170 . . 54,790 0 0
Mahewa . . . 70 . . 20,835 0 0
___ _____________
322 . . 89,111 0 0
Khalsa . . . 66 . . 21,881 0 0
___ _______________
388 . . 1,10,992 0 0
___ _______________
"These heads of families have each a fort, surrounded by a strong
fence of bamboos, and mounted with good guns; and the King cannot get
so large a revenue from them as he did thirty years ago, in the time
of Hakeem Mehndee, though their lands are as well tilled now as they
were then, and yield more rent to their holders. They spend it all in
keeping up large armed bands to resist the Government; but they
certainly take care of their cultivators and tenants of all kinds,
and no man dares molest them.
"But," said Bukhtawur Sing, "this beautiful scene would all be
changed were they encouraged or permitted to contend with each other
for the possession of the lands.


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