BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Hcttrg W. Sage 189Z A 2 II k I 7 /4?y'^^/ Jf^9- 7673-2 RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library HD1167.T48 Musalmans and money-lenders In the Punja 3 1924 013 743 848 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013743848 MllSALMANS AND MONEY-LENDERS IN THE PUNJAB. BY S;'S. THORBURN, Bengal Civil Service : Author of " Bannu or Our Afghan Frontier," "David Leslie," &c., &c. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, Edinburgh and London. MDCCCLXXXVI. I'RINTED AT THE PIONEER PRESB, ALLAHABAD. INDEX TO CONTENTS: ii ( ) Page. Eastern Punjab— inhabitants of the ... .:. ... 13 Education of Musalmans ... ... ... ... 96 Elasticity of demand—four modes of ... ... ... 109 Expropriation of peasantry ... ... ... ... i „ — Sir W. Muir on ... ... ... 65 „ —Mr. J. E. Lyall on ... ... ... 87 „ —.Sir J. Strachey on ... ... ... 66 „ —Sir D. McLeod on ... ... ... 68 False bonds—making of ... ... ... 135-136 Famine Commission on indebtedness ... ... ... 80 ,, ,, ,, fixity and elasticity ... ... 180-183 ... ... ... „ ,, „ land transfers 93 Fixed cash assessments—introduction of ... ... ... 46 P'luctuating „ —kinds of ... ... ... 109-112 ,, ,, —area under ... ... ... 113 ,, „ —extension of ... ... ... 114 Fraud— High Court, N.-W. P., on ... ... ... 194 Ghakkhars ... ... ... ... ... 31 Gujars ... ... ... ... ... 30 Gujrat district ... ... ... ... ... iy6 Gujranwala ... ,, ... ... ... ... 177 Hazara „ ... ... ... ... ... 89, 92 Hindus and Sikhs... ... ... ... ... 34-41 Hindu traders ... ... ... ... ... 35 Hinduism—effects of, on character ... ... ... jc Holy classes ... ... ... ... ... y 29 Ignorance^presumption of ... ... ... ... 126-129 India-people of ... ... ... ... 3^^ ^^^ g^ Interest—award of ... ... ... , g Insolvency Law ... ... ... ___ j^g^ ^^^ Imprisonment for debt ... .. • 145-146,... ^ , , „ , , Islam — effect of, on character 8, 16, 17 Indebtedness— agricultural,, throughout India 54-72 Jat tribes 24> 25 Jhang district 82, 158 Jhelum ,, 91, 173 Kapurthala rules ... 198-199 Khatris ,,, 35 ' Kohat district 9, 92, 172 ( iii ) Page. Land question—material facts in ... ... ... 95-9^ issues in ... -. ... ,, „ —immaterial 97 ,, tenure — reforms in ... ... ... 179 ... ... ,, — restrictions in transfers of ... 99, 102 „ transfers—statistics of ... ... ... ... 93 Laisser aller—remarks on ... ... ... ... 31.87 Legislation in India— Mr. Howell on ... ... ... 184-190 „ ,, —Chief Court on ... ... 119,120 Litigation—costliness of ... ... ... ... 130, 131 ,, —increase in ... ... ... ... 76 Limitation Act—changes in ... ... ... ... 74,75 „ —extension of period of ... .. ... 147 Mahomedan revival ... .. ... ... 14, 15 Mahmood, Justice —on interest in bonds ... ... ... 191-193 Marwari money-lenders of the Deccan ... ... ... 58-64 Montgomery district ... ... ... ... 82, 155 Moghals and Turks ... ... .. ... 8,32 Modern British India ... ... ... ... j^, cc Mooltan district ... ... ... ... 86,160 Musalman agriculturists—state of ... ... 82-92, 155-177 ,, „ —improvidence of ... ... 51 ,, tribes— a list of ... ... ... ... jg Munsifs ... ... ... ... ...78,129,135 district Muzaffargarh ... ... ... ... 84, 157 Northern Table-land described ... ... ... 5 Necessaries—exemption from sale and attachment for all ... 144 Optimism of Government ... ... ... ... 77 Our system— remarks on ... ... ... 39, 56, 57, 87, 137 Over-legislation— Sir G. Campbell on ... ... ... 117-118 ,, ,, —Mr. Howell on ... .. ... 184 190 ,, ,, —examples of ... ... ... 119 Pathans— particulars about ... ... ... ... 20-22 Patriarchal system ... ... -. ... 116 Peshawar district ... ... ... ... 89,169 pleaders— uses and evils of ... ... ... 23, 79, 132, 152, 153 Proprietary rights in land— gift of ... ... ... 49-51,84 Punjab— state of the, before annexation ... ... ... 8-io^'42 ,, —state of the, after annexation ... ... ... "45; 46 ,, —races of the ... ... ... ... 13-41 ,, —divisions of the Western ... ... ... 2-3 ,, — colonisation of the ... ... ... ... 7 ( iv ) Page. 25, 27 Rajputs—particulars about 89 Rainfall— rule of 108 „ —tracts of short 172 Rawalpindi district 102-105 Reforms in land tenure —native views on 139-140 J, „ direction of 141 J, „ — Relief Acts—agreement in 72 Registration of bonds 150-152 Revenue system of Sikhs 43-45 introduced 46-53 ,, „ by „ balances ... IIS Settlements—summary 47 „ —regular 48 Specific reforms stated 144-153 Sikhs particulars about 15. 16, 34 Sind landlords 65, 72 South-western plain described. 4 Suits— increase in number of . 75. 76 Syads ... 27-28 Tenants and peasant proprietors SS-S6 Urban population 17 Ultimate landlord —the State is 45 Western Punjab—tribes of the 18 Working days in the year 135 HUSALMANS AND MONEY-LENDERS. CHAPTER I. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PUNJAB. The Punjab is an agricultural province, a land of peasant proprietors, a large and annually . Gradual expropri- • i- r i i • ation of Musaiman increasing portion of whom are sinking peasant proprietors jn^o the position of serfs to the monev- a source of danger. *• ______ _ _ J lenders. The graduart'rarisfer of owner- ship of the soil from its natural lords—the cultivators— to astute but uniniiuential Hindu traders and bankers, is -directly due to a system of law and administration created unless remedied in time, . by ourselves, which, must event- ually imperil the stability of oiir hold on the country. The danger will be greater in the Western than in the Central and Eastern tracts of the Punjab, because, in the west, the rural population is entirely composed of strong Musaiman tribes ; hence the antagonism of creeds will be superadded to that of interests. Throughout Eagjern Europe the Jews are hated and persecuted rather because they are successful aliens and professors of an old-world faith than because they are successful. So with the Bun- niahs of the Western Punjab. They offend not only be- cause they thrive on the misfortunes of monotheistic agri- culturists, but because they are interlopers and polytheists, if not idolators. 2 MUSALMANS AND MONEY-LENDERS. [Chap. The rich level plain between the meridians of Jhelum and Ludhiana roughly comprises the The Central Plain. ,,...,„., nme central districts of the Punjab, namely, Gujranw'ala, Sialkdt, Gurdaspur, Aipritsar, Lahore, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Firo^pur, and Ludhiana. These nine districts have an area of 19,218 square miles, or nearly half that of Scotland. The population is made up of thirty-seven lakhs of Musalmans, nine lakhs of Sikhs, and twenty-six lakhs of Hindus. The tract is fertile, thickly populated, and carefully cultivated. It is, except towards the south, fairly protected from famine by canals or a sufficient rainfall. Though the Musalmans consider- ably outnumber Sikhs and Hindus together, either of the latter are strong enough to hold their own, single-handed, against the former. There is little active antipathy be- tween the followers of the three religions. Of the three, the Musalmans are the most backward and ignorant, and therefore least able to hold their own in a law-ridden age. The Eastern Punjab is as large as Scotland, but sup- The Eastern Pun- ports double its population. It is divid- i^^- ed into eight districts,* covers an area of 25,622 square miles, of which one-third is mountainous, and has a population of thirty-eight lakhs of Hindus, eleven lakhs of Musalmans, and one lakh of Sikhs. Thus, Hindus outnumber Musalmans by over three to one. The latter having embraced Islam between 200 to 300 years ago, retain many of their ancient Hindu customs and supersti- tions, are very lax Mahomedans, and would, in case of a popular rising, rather follow than lead their Hindu or Sikh neighbours. ^ They • are Kangra, Simla, Karnal, Umballa, Delhi, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Hissar-fa;«- Sirsa. '' A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PUNJAB. In Aurangzeb's time his proselytising zeal burnt so Conversions to Is- fiercely that great numbers of Hindus ™" verted to Islam, particularly in the eastern districts of the Punjab. Their change of faith was never sincere. To this day Hinduism has so strong a hold ^pon them that, as it has been well put, they " observe the feasts of both religions and the fasts of neither." Since the Mutiny of 1857 they are said to have become much stricter believers. It may generally be said that, through- out the Punjab, the religion of the majority mitigates the exclusiveness of the minority. Thus, talcing Lahore as a centre, Musalmans are progressively eastwards of it laxer, but westwards stricter, Mahomedans. We must, however, not forget that one peculiarity of Islam is, that the more ignorant the believer the greater and more easily roused is the potential energy of his fanaticism. The Arabs of the Soudan and of Arabia are many of them sun-worshippers still at heart, and know no more of Islam than its creed—" Except God there is no God and " Mahomed is the Messenger of God : yet both, when inflamed by a Mahdi, are reckless fanatics. There remains to be described the Western Punjab, the home of the Musalman subjects of Western or Musal- ^ t- r^ • u man portion of the our Queen-Empress. It comprises all province. British Punjab between the meridian of Jhelum on the east and our actual Trans-Indus frontier on the west, between the Himalayas on the north and the feudatory State of Bahawalpur on the south. The whole country covers an area of 61,792 square miles, or nearly two-thirds