JHANSI, a city and district of British India, in the Allahabad division o£ the United Provinces. The city is the centre of the Indian Midland railway system, whence four lines diverge to Agra, Cawnpore, Allahabad and Bhopal. Pop. (1901), 55,724. A stone fort crowns a neighbouring rock. Formerly the capital of a Mahratta principality, which lapsed to the British in 1853, it was during the Mutiny the scene of disaffection and massacre. It was then made over to Gwalior, but has been taken back in exchange for other territory. Even when the city was within Gwalior, the civil headquarters and the cantonment were at Jhansi Naoabad, under its walls. Jhansi is the principal centre for the agricultural trade of the district, but its manufactures are small. Entry: JHANSI
For the two centuries or nearly so next after the end of the reign of Asoka, we have chiefly a large number of short inscriptions which are of much value in miscellaneous lines of research--palaeography, geography, religion, and so on. But historical records are by no means wanting; and we may mention in particular the following. From the caves in the Nagarjuni Hills in the Gaya district, Bengal, we have (along with three of the inscriptions of Asoka himself) three records of a king Dasaratha who, according to the _Vishnu-Purana_, was a grandson of Asoka. From the stupa at Bharaut in the Nagod state, Central India, we have a record which proves the existence of the dynasty of the Sunga kings, for whom the _Puranas_, placing them next after the line of Chandragupta and Asoka, indicate the period 183 to 71 B.C. Two of the records from the stupa at Bhattiprolu in the Kistna district, Madras, give us a king of those parts, reigning about 200 B.C., whose name appears both as Kubiraka and as Khubiraka. From Besnagar in the Gwalior state we have an inscription, referable to the period 175 to 135 B.C., which mentions a king of Central India, by name Bhagabhadra, and also mentions, as his contemporary, one of the Greek kings of the Punjab, Antalkidas, whose name is familiar from his coins in the form Antialkidas. From the Hathigumpha cave near Cuttack, in Orissa, we have a record, to be placed about 140 B.C., of king Kharavela, a member of a dynasty which reigned in that part of India. From a cave at Pabhosa in the Allahabad district, United Provinces, we have two records which make known to us a short succession of kings of Adhichatra, otherwise known as Ahichchhattra. From a cave at the Nanaghat Pass in the Poona district, Bombay, we have a record of queen Nayanika, wife of one of the great Satavahana-Satakarni kings of the Deccan. And from the stupa No. 1 at Sanchi in the Bhopal state, Central India, we have a record of a king Sri-Satakarni, belonging to perhaps another branch of the same great stock. Entry: A
Central India may be divided into three great natural divisions: the highlands of the Malwa plateau, with a mean elevation of some 1500 ft. above sea-level; the low-lying country some 600 ft. above sea-level, comprising the greater part of the eastern section of the agency; and the hilly tracts, which lie mostly to the south. The Malwa plateau consists of great undulating plains, separated by flat-topped hills, whose sides are boldly terraced, with here and there a scarp rising above the general level; it is covered with long grass, stunted trees and scrub, which owing to the presence of deciduous plants is of a uniform straw colour, except in the rains. The foundation of this plateau is a bed of sandstone and shales belonging to the Vindhyan series. This bed, which stretches east and west from Sasseram to Neemuch, and north and south from Agra to Hoshangabad, comprises the whole of the agency except the northern part of Bundelkhand. On the plateau itself the sandstone is generally overlaid by the Deccan trap, a blackish-coloured basaltic rock of volcanic origin, the high level tableland having been formed by a succession of lava flows, the valleys of Central India being merely "denudation hollows" carved out by the action of rain and rivers. It is apparently the northern limit of what was once a vast basaltic plain stretching from Goona to Belgaum, "one of the most gigantic outpourings of volcanic matter in the world." The sandstone bed on which it rests is visible at a point just north of Goona, and in a small area round Bhilsa and Bhopal, as it is in those places freed from the layer of trap. The low-lying land includes roughly that part of the agency which lies to the east of the plateau and comprises the greater part of the political divisions of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand and the country round Gwalior. The formation save in north Bundelkhand is sandstone of the Vindhyan series, free as a rule from "trap." In the north of Bundelkhand the prevailing rock is gneiss and quartz. The quartz takes the shape of long serrated ridges, which are in many places a characteristic feature of the landscape. Trap appears here and there in intrusive dykes. The hilly tracts lie chiefly to the south of the agency, where the Vindhya, Satpura and Kaimur ranges are met with. The country is rough forest and jungle land little used for cultivation. The greater part of Central India is covered with the well-known "black cotton soil," produced by the disintegration of the trap rock. It is a very rich loamy earth, possessing great fertility and an unusual power of retaining moisture, which makes artificial irrigation little needed. Opium and millet are the principal crops grown upon it. The ordinary "red soil" covers a large part of northern Bundelkhand, and as it requires much irrigation, tanks are a special feature in this country. Ethnologically as well as climatically the differences between the plateau and the eastern part of the agency are distinct and the languages markedly so. The plateau is inhabited by pure-blooded Rajput races, whose ancestry can be traced back for centuries, with all their numerous offshoots. The inhabitants of the low-lying country are also Rajputs, but their descent is mixed and as a rule the families of the plateau will have no marriage connexion with them. The races of the hilly tracts are semi-civilized tribes, who often flee at the mere sight of a white man, and have as yet been but little affected by the Hindu religion of their Rajput rulers. Of the climate of the plateau, Abul Fazl, the author of the _Ain-i-Akbari_, says: "The climate is so temperate that in the winter there is no occasion for warm clothing, nor is it necessary in summer to cool the water with saltpetre. But in the four rainy months the night here is cold enough to render a quilt necessary." The rains of the south-east monsoon reach Central India as a rule about the 12th of July, and last until the end of September. Entry: CENTRAL
BETWA, a river of India, which rises in the native state of Bhopal in Malwa, and after a course of 360 m., for the most part in a north-easterly direction, falls into the Jumna at Hamirpur. A weir is thrown across the Betwa about 15 m. from Jhansi town, whence a canal 168 m. long takes off, irrigating 106,000 acres of the Jalaun district; similar works have been carried out elsewhere on the river. Entry: BETWA
GWALIOR, a native state of India, in the Central India agency, by far the largest of the numerous principalities comprised in that area. It is the dominion of the Sindhia family. The state consists of two well-defined parts which may roughly be called the northern and the southern. The former is a compact mass of territory, bounded N. and N.W. by the Chambal river, which separates it from the British districts of Agra and Etawah, and the native states of Dholpur, Karauli and Jaipur of Rajputana; E. by the British districts of Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur and Saugor; S. by the states of Bhopal, Tonk, Khilchipur and Rajgarh; and W. by those of Jhalawar, Tonk and Kotah of Rajputana. The southern, or Malwa, portion is made up of detached or semi-detached districts, between which are interposed parts of other states, which again are mixed up with each other in bewildering intricacy. The two portions together have a total area of 25,041 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 2,933,001, showing a decrease of 13% in the decade. Entry: GWALIOR
_Administrative Divisions._--The Central India agency is divided for administrative purposes into eight units, two classed as residencies and six as agencies. These are the residencies of Gwalior and Indore, and the agencies of Baghelkhand, Bhopal, Bhopawar, Bundelkhand, Indore and Malwa. But these divisions are purely an artificial grouping for the purposes of the British government, the original native divisions consisting of 16 states and 98 minor states and estates. The 15 large states are Gwalior, Indore, Rewa, Bhopal, Dhar, Barwani, Datia, Orchha, Charkhari, Chhattarpur, Panna, Dewas (senior branch), Dewas (junior branch), Jaora and Ratlam. At the close of the Pindari War in 1818 the whole country that is now under the Central India agency was in great confusion and disorder, having suffered heavily from the extortions of the Mahratta armies and from predatory bands. It had been the policy of the great Mahratta chiefs, Holkar and Sindhia, to trample down into complete subjection all the petty Rajput princes, whose lands they seized and from whom they levied heavy contributions of money. Many of these minor chiefs had been expelled from their possessions, had taken refuge in the hills and forest, and retaliated upon the Mahratta usurpers by wasting the lands which they had lost, until the Mahrattas compounded for peace by payment of blackmail. In this state of affairs all parties agreed to accept the interposition of the British government for the restoration of order, and under Lord Hastings the work of pacification was effected. The policy pursued was to declare the permanency of the rights existing at the time of the British interposition, conditionally upon the maintenance of order; to adjust and guarantee the relations of subordinate and tributary chiefs to their superiors so as to prevent all further disputes or encroachments; and to settle the claims of the ousted landholders, who had resorted to pillage or blackmail, by fixing grants of land to be made to them, or settling the money allowances to be paid to them. The general result was to place all the privileges, rights and possessions of these inferior chiefs under the guarantee or protection of the British government, to whom all disputes between the superior and inferior states must be referred, and whose decision is final upon all questions of succession to hereditary rights or rulership. The states have no general ethnological affinity, such as exists in Rajputana. Their territories are in many cases neither compact nor continuous, consisting of a number of villages here and there, with a nucleus of more or less importance round the chief town. Their relations to the government of India and to each other present many variations. Ten of them are under direct treaty with the government of India; others are held under _sanads_ and deeds of fealty and obedience; while a third class, known as the mediatized states, are held under agreements mediated by the British government between them and their superior chiefs. Entry: CENTRAL
The population is composed of many elements, among which Brahmans and Rajputs are specially numerous. The prevailing religion is Hinduism, 84% of the people being Hindus and only 6% Mahommedans. The revenue of the state is about one million sterling; and large reserves have been accumulated, from which two millions were lent to the government of India in 1887, and later on another million for the construction of the Gwalior-Agra and Indore-Neemuch railways. The railways undertaken by the state are: (1) from Bina on the Indian Midland to Goona; (2) an extension of this line to Baran, opened in 1899; (3) from Bhopal to Ujjain; (4) two light railways, from Gwalior to Sipri and Gwalior to Bhind, which were opened by the viceroy in November 1899. On the same occasion the viceroy opened the Victoria College, founded to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee; and the Memorial Hospital, built in memory of the maharaja's father. British currency has been introduced instead of Chandori rupees, which were much depreciated. The state maintains three regiments of Imperial Service cavalry, two battalions of infantry and a transport corps. Entry: GWALIOR
_Population._--The total population of the Central India agency in 1901 was 8,628,781, showing a decrease during the decade of 16.4%. Considerable losses were caused by the famines of 1897-1898 and 1899-1900, which were severely felt, especially in Bhopal and Malwa. The greater part of the population of Central India is of the Hindu religion, but a few Mahommedan groups still exist, either traces of the days when the Mogul emperors extended their sway from the Punjab to the Deccan, or else the descendants of those northern adventurers who hired out their services to the great Mahratta generals. Of the first Bhopal is the only example, while Jaora is the only notable instance of the other. Roughly there are four great sections of the population: the Mahratta section, who belong to the ruling circles; the Rajputs, who are also hereditary noblemen; the trading classes, consisting chiefly of Marwaris and Gujaratis; and lastly, the jungle tribes of Dravidian stock. The Mahrattas are foreigners, and, though rulers of the greater part of Central India, have no true connexion with the soil and are little met with outside cities, the vicinity of courts, and administrative centres. The Rajputs with all their endless ramifications form a large portion of the population. Originally invaders, they have so long held a stake in the soil that they have become almost part of the indigenous population. The Marwaris hold practically all the trade of Central India, with the exception of the Bora class of Mahommedans. They are either Vaishnavite Hindus or else Jains. Their advent into Central India dates, except in the case of one or two families, from the time of the Mahratta invasion only. The Jain portion of this community is very wealthy. The last section, that of the jungle tribes, is mostly of Dravidian or mixed Aryo-Dravidian origin, these tribes being the modern representatives of the former rulers and inhabitants of this country. Entry: CENTRAL
The estimated revenue of the state is £250,000, and the state pays a subsidy of £13,000 for the Bhopal battalion. Besides the Bhopal battalion, a regiment of imperial service cavalry is maintained, under the name of the Victoria Lancers. There is a branch railway from Itarsi to Bhopal city, continued to Jhansi. The British currency has been introduced, and in 1897-1898, Rs. 71,00,000 of Bhopali coins were converted. The residence of the political agent and the headquarters of the Bhopal battalion are at Sehore, 20 m. west of Bhopal city. The city of Bhopal, a railway station, had a population in 1901 of 76,561. The palace, with its rock fortress, is called Fatehgarh. An excellent water-supply has been provided from two large artificial lakes. There are two hospitals. There is an export trade in opium. Entry: BHOPAL
HOSHANGABAD, a town and district of British India, in the Nerbudda division of the Central Provinces. The town stands on the left bank of the Nerbudda, 1009 ft. above the sea, and has a railway station. Pop. (1901), 14,940. It is supposed to have been founded by Hoshang Shah, the second of the Ghori kings of Malwa, in the 15th century; but it remained an insignificant place till the Bhopal conquest about 1720, when a massive stone fort was constructed, with its base on the river, commanding the Bhopal road. It sustained several sieges during the 18th century, and passed alternately into the hands of the Bhopal and Nagpur rulers. Since 1818 it has been the residence of the chief British officials in charge of the district. It has a government high school, and agricultural school and a brass-working industry. Entry: HOSHANGABAD
CENTRAL PROVINCES AND BERAR, a province of British India, which was formed in October 1903 by the amalgamation of the Central Provinces and the Hyderabad Assigned Districts. The total area of the provinces is 113,281 sq. m., and the population on that area in 1901 was 10,847,325. As is shown by its name the province is situated in the centre of the Indian peninsula, comprising a large proportion of the broad belt of hill and plateau country which separates the plains of Hindustan from the Deccan. It is bounded on the N. and N.E. by the Central India states, and along a small strip of the Saugor district by the United Provinces; on the W. by Bhopal, Indore and the Khandesh district of Bombay; on the S. by Hyderabad and the large _zamindari_ estates of the Madras presidency; and on the E. by these latter estates and the tributary states of Bengal. In October 1905 most of Sambalpur and five Oriya-speaking hill-states were transferred from the Central Provinces to Bengal, while the Hindi-speaking states of Chota Nagpur were transferred from Bengal to the Central Provinces. The province, therefore, now consists of the five British divisions of Jubbulpore, Nerbudda, Nagpur, Chhattisgarh and Berar, which are divided into the twenty-two districts of Saugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore, Mandla, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad, Nimar, Betul, Chhindwara, Wardha, Nagpur, Chanda, Bhandara, Balaghat, Raipur, Bilaspur, Amraoti, Akola, Ellichpur, Buldana and Wun; and the fifteen tributary states of Makrai, Bastar, Kanker, Nandgaon, Kairagarh, Chhuikhadan, Kawardha, Sakti, Raigarh, Sarangarh, Chang Bhakar, Korea, Sirguja, Udaipur and Jashpur. Entry: CENTRAL
KHILCHIPUR, a mediatized chiefship in Central India, under the Bhopal agency; area, 273 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 31,143; estimated revenue, £7000; tribute payable to Sindhia, £700. The residence of the chief, who is a Khichi Rajput of the Chauhan clan, is at Khilchipur (pop. 5121). Entry: KHILCHIPUR
The inscriptional records cease abruptly in the 12th century, and no more is known of the country until the rise of the Gond dynasties from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The first of these is mentioned in 1398, when Narsingh Rai, raja of Kherla, is said by Ferishta to have ruled all the hills of Gondwana. He was finally overthrown and killed by Hoshang Shah, king of Malwa. The 16th century saw the establishment of a powerful Gond kingdom by Sangram Sah, who succeeded in 1480 as the 47th of the petty Gond rajas of Garha-Mandla, and extended his dominions so as to include Saugor and Damoh on the Vindhyan plateau, Jubbulpore and Narsinghpur in the Nerbudda valley, and Seoni on the Satpura highlands. Sangram Sah died in 1530; and the break up of his dominion began with the enforced cession to the Mogul emperor by Chandra Sah (1563-1575) of Saugor and Damoh and of that portion of his territories which afterwards formed the state of Bhopal. Entry: CENTRAL
BENT, JAMES THEODORE BERRYER, ANTOINE PIERRE BENT BERSERKER BENTHAM, GEORGE BERT, PAUL BENTHAM, JEREMY BERTANI, AGOSTINO BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM BERTAT BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM CAVENDISH BERTAUT, JEAN BENTIVOGLIO, GIOVANNI BERTH BENTIVOGLIO, GUIDO BERTHELOT, MARCELLIN PIERRE EUGÈNE BENTLEY, RICHARD (scholar) BERTHIER, LOUIS ALEXANDRE BENTLEY, RICHARD (publisher) BERTHOLLET, CLAUDE LOUIS BENTON, THOMAS HART BERTHON, EDWARD LYON BENTON HARBOR BERTHOUD, FERDINAND BENUE BERTILLON, LOUIS ADOLPHE BEN VENUE BERTIN BENZALDEHYDE BERTINORO, OBADIAH BENZENE BERTINORO BENZIDINE BERTOLD BENZOIC ACID BERTOLD VON REGENSBURG BENZOIN (ketone-alcohol) BERTRAM, CHARLES BENZOIN (balsamic resin) BERTRAND, HENRI GRATIEN BENZOPHENONE BERTRICH BENZYL ALCOHOL BÉRULLE, PIERRE DE BEOTHUK BERVIE BEÖTHY, ÖDÖN BERWICK, JAMES FITZJAMES BEOWULF BERWICKSHIRE BEQUEST BERWICK-UPON-TWEED BÉRAIN, JEAN BERYL BÉRANGER, PIERRE JEAN DE BERYLLIUM BERAR BERYLLONITE BÉRARD, JOSEPH FRÉDÉRIC BERZELIUS, JÖNS JAKOB BERAT BES BERAUN BESANÇON BERBER BESANT, SIR WALTER BERBERA BESENVAL DE BRONSTATT, PIERRE VICTOR BERBERINE BESKOW, BERNHARD VON BERBERS BESNARD, PAUL ALBERT BERCEUSE BESOM BERCHEM, NICOLAAS BESSARABIA BERCHTA BESSARION, JOHANNES BERCHTESGADEN BESSBOROUGH, EARLS OF BERCK BESSÈGES BERDICHEV BESSEL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM BERDYANSK BESSEL FUNCTION BEREA BESSEMER, SIR HENRY BEREKHIAH NAQDAN BESSEMER BERENGARIUS BESSIÈRES, JEAN BAPTISTE BÉRENGER, ALPHONSE THOMAS BESSUS BERENICE (princesses) BEST, WILLIAM THOMAS BERENICE (seaport of Egypt) BESTIA BERESFORD, LORD DE LA POER BESTUZHEV-RYUMIN, ALEXIUS PETROVICH BERESFORD, JOHN BESTUZHEV-RYUMIN, MIKHAIL PETROVICH BERESFORD, WILLIAM BERESFORD BET and BETTING BEREZINA BETAÏNE BEREZOV BETEL NUT BEREZOVSK BETHANY BERG BETHEL BERGAMASK BÉTHENCOURT, JEAN DE BERGAMO BETHESDA (Jerusalem) BERGAMOT, OIL OF BETHESDA (Wales) BERGEDORF BETH-HORON BERGEN BETHLEHEM (Palestine) BERGEN-OP-ZOOM BETHLEHEM (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) BERGERAC BETHLEHEMITES BERGHAUS, HEINRICH BETHLEN, GABRIEL BERGK, THEODOR BETHNAL GREEN BERGLER, STEPHAN BÉTHUNE {family) BERGMAN, TORBERN OLOF BÉTHUNE, CONON DE BERGSCHRUND BÉTHUNE (town of France) BERGUES BETROTHAL BERHAMPUR (Bengal, India) BETTERMENT BERHAMPUR (Madras, India) BETTERTON, THOMAS BERI-BERI BETTIA BERING, VITUS BETTINELLI, SAVERIO BERING ISLAND, SEA and STRAIT BETTWS Y COED BERING SEA ARBITRATION BETTY, WILLIAM HENRY WEST BERIOT, CHARLES AUGUSTE DE BETUL BERJA BETWA BERKA BEUDANT, FRANÇOIS SULPICE BERKELEY (English family) BEUGNOT, JACQUES CLAUDE BERKELEY, GEORGE BEULÉ, CHARLES ERNEST BERKELEY, MILES JOSEPH BEURNONVILLE, PIERRE DE RUEL BERKELEY, SIR WILLIAM BEUST, FRIEDRICH FERDINAND VON BERKELEY (California, U.S.A.) BEUTHEN (Niederbeuthen) BERKELEY (town of England) BEUTHEN (Oberbeuthen) BERKHAMPSTEAD BEVEL BERKSHIRE, THOMAS HOWARD BEVERLEY, WILLIAM ROXBY BERKSHIRE BEVERLEY BÊRLAD BEVERLY BERLICHINGEN, GOETZ BEVIS OF HAMPTON BERLIN, ISAIAH BEWDLEY BERLIN (German city) BEWICK, THOMAS BERLIN (New Hampshire, U.S.A.) BEXHILL BERLIN (Ontario, Canada) BEXLEY, NICHOLAS VANSITTART BERLIN (carriage) BEXLEY BERLIOZ, HECTOR BEY BERM BEYBAZAR BERMONDSEY BEYLE, MARIE HENRI BERMUDAS BEYRICH, HEINRICH ERNST VON BERMUDEZ BEYSCHLAG, WILLIBALD BERN (Swiss canton) BEZA, THEODORE BERN (Swiss city) BEZANT BERNARD, SAINT BEZANTÉE BERNARD OF CHARTRES BEZBORODKO, ALEKSANDER ANDREEVICH BERNARD, CHARLES DE BEZEL BERNARD, CLAUDE BÉZIQUE BERNARD, JACQUES BEZWADA BERNARD, MOUNTAGUE BHAGALPUR BERNARD, SIMON BHAMO BERNARD, SIR THOMAS BHANDARA BERNARDIN OF SIENA, ST BHANG BERNAUER, AGNES BHARAHAT BERNAY BHARAL BERNAYS, JAKOB BHARATPUR BERNBURG BHATGÁON BERNERS, JOHN BOURCHIER BHATTIANA BERNERS, JULIANA BHAU DAJI BERNHARD OF SAXE-WEIMAR BHAUNAGAR BERNHARDT, SARAH BHEESTY BERNHARDY, GOTTFRIED BHERA BERNI, FRANCESCO BHILS BERNICIA BHIMA BERNICIAN SERIES BHIWANI BERNINI, GIOVANNI LORENZO BHOPAL BERNIS, FRANÇOIS PIERRE DE BHOPAWAR BERNKASTEL BHOR BERNOULLI BHUJ BERNSTEIN, AARON BHUTAN BERNSTORFF, ANDREAS PETER BIANCHINI, FRANCESCO BERNSTORFF, CHRISTIAN GÜNTHER BIARRITZ BERNSTORFF, JOHANN HARTWIG ERNST BIAS (Sage of Greece) BEROSSUS BIAS (something oblique) BERRY, CHARLES ALBERT BIBACULUS, MARCUS FURIUS BERRY, CHARLES FERDINAND BIBER, HEINRICH JOHANN FRANZ VON BERRY, JOHN BIBERACH BERRY BIBIRINE Entry: BENT