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'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874' [40r] (84/502)
The record is made up of 1 volume (249 folios). It was created in 1 Nov 1873-14 Feb 1874. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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No. 20, a cultivator of Dehgam pargana, states, that in January 1873,
thirteen of his fellow-villagers were imprisoned for non-payment of the Inam
Committee Tax. In the evening they were taken to the river and made to hold
their toes, and were so kept all night. From the exposure and cold, deponent's
brother, who was one of the number, died. Upwards of fifty families then left
the village. Deponent petitioned the Maharaja about his brother's case, and an
official was sent to investigate it, when the offender was convicted and fined Rs.
1,000 by the Maharaja, his lands being also attached.
No. 21, a cultivator of the Khangi Mahal, states that in 1870, the rates
of assessment were so raised in his village that they could not be paid, whereupon
the village Accountant made nearly every villager stand touching his toes, with
weights on their backs, and thus compelled payment. Deponent saw this, but
was not so treated himself. Some fifty families of kanbis left the village in
consequence. In 1872 the " Accession Kazarana" was levied similarly, their women
and children being turned out of their houses, and their noses and ears being
pulled,
ipoysi; 1
No. 22, a cultivator of the Khangi Mahal, states, that about two years
ago, he and other men of his village, who were too poor to pay the " Accession
Nazarana " were compelled to stand in the sun holding their feet, while stones
were placed on their backs, till they were bent down by the weight, and others
were put in the stocks till they agreed to pay up. Deponent petitioned the Graek-
war, but was told that they must all pay their dues.
No. 23, a cultivator of the same village as the preceding witness, deposes
to the same effect, and states that he and all who refused, or were unable, to pay
the Nazarana, were tortured as described and in various ways to compel com
pliance.
No. 24 of the Dhabhoi pargana states, that in the beginning of 1873 pay
ment of the " Accession Nazarana " was enforced in his village by similar ill-treat
ment to that described by the other deponents, and that he himself was subjected
to it. In the end of 1872 the Vahivatdar summoned deponent, and demanded
Rs. 4,000 from his village as its share of a " Sadhnukri" tax he was levying to
recoup himself, as he stated, for a Nazarana of Rs. 35,000, which he had to pay
to the Sarkar on his appointment. Deponent refused to pay this levy, on which
he was seized by order of the Vahivatdar, and taken to the top of the house he
was occupying, and there tortured in various ways till he agreed to pay up
Rs. 1,900 on this account. Of this sum Rs. 1,000 have been paid, and " Mohsals"
have been imposed on the village to enforce payment of the balance. Other
villages were similarly ill-treated in this matter.
The same Yahivatdar also enforced the levy in the same way last year, of a
tax of Rs. 225 on deponent's village, for providing clothes for his newly married
wife. Consequent on these oppressions fifty families left the village. The
villagers petitioned the Maharaja on the subject, but got no redress—on the con
trary, the bearer of the petition was imprisoned by the Vahivatdar.
No. 25, a cultivator of Dhabhoi pargana, the bearer of the petition referred
to by the preceding complainant, states, that in March last he was deputed by all
the villages of the pargana to go to Baroda and complain of the tyranny practised
towards them by the Vahivatdar in compelling payment of the illegal cesses im
posed by him. Deponent has himself witnessed the ill-treatment and hardships
to which the people have been subjected by this official, and describes them as
stated by previous complainants. He presented a petition on the subject to the
Gaekwar, but received no attention, and was driven away by the
sepoys
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
. As a
6—3
5
About this item
- Content
Report of the Baroda Enquiry Commission on the administration of the government of Malharrao, Gaekwar of Baroda. The Commission comprised Richard John Meade (President), Edward William Ravenscroft, Mumtazul Dowlah Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Faiz Ali Khan, Colonel Alfred Thomas Etheridge and Thomas Duncan Mackenzie (Secretary).
The report comprises a letter from the members of the Baroda Enquiry Commission to the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department presenting their report on the results of the proceedings and submitting copies of correspondence, reports and statements relative to the enquiry (ff 5-19):
Appendix A, Part I
- Schedules I-III: Complaints and grievances against the Gaekwar's Government from individuals and groups (ff 21-78).
- Appendix B, Schedules I-III: Cases of complaint and grievance which the commission did not look into during the enquiry (ff 79-81).
- Appendix C: Letter from Colonel Richard John Meade, President, Special Commission of Enquiry on Baroda Affairs, to Colonel Robert Phayre, Resident at Baroda, 1 November 1873 (ff 82-83).
- Appendix D: Translation of an amended notice issued by the Resident to complainants desirous of appearing before the Baroda Enquiry Commission (ff 84-85).
- Appendix E: Schedules presented to the Commission along with Colonel Phayre's introductory statement regarding them. (ff 86-131).
- Appendix F: Letter No. 1128 of 1873 from Colonel Phayre to the President, Baroda Commission regarding the cases already submitted to the Commission, the List of undisposed petitions to be attended to by the Resident which could be used as additional cases if required and the statements that he had yet to make on cases under enquiry by the Commission (ff 132-133).
- Appendix G, Schedule I: Statements from witnesses with cross examination statements from the Durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). on behalf of the Gaekwar and statements from the Resident as to the accuracy of the information provided (ff 134-229).
Appendix Part II (ff 231-245)
- Letter from James Braithwaite Peile, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kattywar [Kathiawar] to T D Mackenzie, Secretary, Baroda Commission, 13 December 1873 regarding papers requested by the Commission and informing them that the outstanding paper will be forwarded as soon as they are received. Enclosed with the letter are a memorandum from Peile for reconstitution of His Highness the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar, 13 December 1873 and Rule for the guidance of the Officers and Kamdars appointed to the Contingent of Horse of His Highness the Gaekwar, serving in the various Tributary Mahals according to treaty.
- Letter from Peile to Mackenzie, 6 January 1874, forwarding a report and returns received from Colonel Walker, Superintendent to the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar and stating that he does not concur with the Colonel's opinion. Enclosed with this letter is a letter from Colonel Chamberlen William Walker, 30 December 1873, providing the information on the Contingent requested by the Commission and enclosing an extract of the Contingents annual report for 1871 and a statement of the men within the Contingent on duty under officials paid by Talukdars etc, 06 March 1872.
- Letters from John Whaley Watson, Acting Political Superintendent Pahlanpur [Palanpur], Captain Henry Nicholas Reeves, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Rewa Kanta [Rewa Kantha] and Major Philip Harrison Le Geyt, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Mahi Kanta [Mahi Kantha] to the secretary of the Baroda Commission 19 December 1873 to 9 January 1874 reporting on the Gaekwar's contingents serving within their districts and commenting on numbers of men, pay and conditions. The letters all refer to enclosed returns, but only the return for Mahi Kanta is included in the report.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (249 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main sequence of foliation consists of a small pencil number in the top front right hand corner of each folio enclosed in a circle.
There is also an original sequence of foliation which consists of larger pencil numbers also in the top front right hand corner of folios, however the sequence is not consistent and some of the numbers may be filing references rather than foliation numbers.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/78
- Title
- 'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:248v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence