Enclosures of Letter to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for India, No.213, dated 27 November 1874: Nos. 3 to 31 of Abstract of Contents, from Foreign Department, Fort William [‎21v] (42/102)

The varieties of circumstances iu whicli the different Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. , Pagadars,
Silledars, &c., of the Baroda State are placed relatively to the Gaekwar are
numerous, some are relatives of the reigning family, and for a great number of
years have been provided with handsome allowances as such, others have held
hereditary service from the time of the conquest of the country by the Gaekwar,
some of whom have in their possession Sunnuds and other documents con
ferring upon them, their heirs and successors, lands, houses, cash allowances,
pagahs, or other military service in perpetuity.
Reductions iu the strength of the contingent of 3,000 horse are impossi
ble under Treaty.*
Reductions of grants of various kinds made in the Hoozoorat or local
service of the Gaekwar as organized like the contingent under Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. ,
Pagadars, Silledars, Sebundee, &c., can only be justly effected by enquiring into
the claims of individuals, and awarding to them compensation, gratuity, or pen
sion according to the circumstances of each individual case, for instance, a
Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. holds a Paga of a hundred horse, which his ancestors perhaps ori
ginally raised, equipped, and maintained for a number of years expressly for
the Gaekwar Government, the same Paga having been handed down here
ditarily in the family during the lapse of time large debts have now been both
inherited and incurred in connection with it.
If the reduction of such a Paga for the purpose of State economy be
determined upon by the Gaekwar Government, it is only equitable and just that
the accounts of the Paga be enquired into in order to ascertain the number of
debts, how and when incurred, &c. Moreover the Pagadar is entitled to com
pensation for loss of his hereditary service and other contingencies consequent
upon the reduction. In addition to this the claims of himself and his men to
gratuity or pension according to the number of years' service performed have
to be considered and settled.
A Paga which has been handed down from generation to generation for 60
years and upwards partakes of the character of a wuttun or hereditary office,
means of subsistence or patrimony, iu which the different members of the
family, brothers and other male relatives, hold shares, and therefore when a
One of these is Contingent, the other Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. is suddenly dismissed, as Dliumdheyra, or
Hoozoorat. Shaha Mahomed Radham Meeya, and numerous
others of the military class have been, it involves themselves, their families,
and dependants in absolute ruin.
In the irregular cavalry regiments of the British Government (Sind Horse
for instance) a Silledar, who possesses one or more assamees, is allowed to
sell them for whatever value they may fetch in the Brigade. His horses and
other private property are disposed of separatelv, and he himself receives
gratuity or pension according to the rules of the service, and no native officer
or soldier is ever deprived of his property in the regiment except under rules
providing for cases of misconduct.
In several instances brought before the Commission it was established that
not only have certain Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. and Silledars, both of the Contingent of 3,000 Horse
and of the Hoozoorat, been arbitrarily deprived of their hereditary appointments,
allowances, &c., without compensation, for no fault whatever, but also that
their horses and equipments and other bona fide private property are seized by
the Gaekwar Government, e.g., the case of 62 horses of Sawal Beebar in the
Kattywar Contingent, 87 horses of Dhumdheyra in the Deesa Contingent, and
many others.
Successive Gaekwars have, as a general rule, for the last 100 yejirs and
Paragraphs i to s upwards, upheld the general principles specified in
the first few paragraphs of these notes, and on
• Some of the worst cases of tyranny and spoliation have occurred in the contingent and arc utterly inexcusable.
(Sd.) R. P.
32