PLACES

KAMTHA

Kamtha, is a village of 3,031 inhabitants in 1971 in Gondia tahsil lying about 60 miles north-east of Bhandara and 34 miles from Tirora which was formerly the tahsil headquarters. It is about 10 miles distant from Gondia and gave its name to the erstwhile large zamindari of Kamtha. The zamindar of Kamtha used to reside here in the summer months. There is an old temple here 20 feet square, and an inscription with a footprint and a figure of a Chamar's rampi or cutting instrument on a black stone which stands by a house in the village. There is also a small fort which was stormed by the British in 1818. During Appa Saheb's rebellion, Chimna, the manager of Kamtha taluka sided with him and thus Kamtha also came to be held against the British. " After reducing Nowargaon, Captain Gordon proceeded against Kamtha and arrived there in September. There he was reinforced by two companies of Indian Infantry. As the rebels had established a chain of posts from Ambagad to Rampaili and Sangarhi, a second detachment was sent out under Major Wilson on the 17th with instructions to dislodge them. But Captain Gordon proceeded to the attack of Kamtha, before the arrival of the detachment and his dispositions for this purpose were carried into execution at day break of the 18th. The town was surrounded by a wall and a partial ditch and contained a small gadhi. To attack the town in the first instance the force was divided into three parties, of which the left, under Lieutenant Thuillier, was composed of one hundred and sixty, Madras Infantry and 200 of the Nagpur Brigade. A company of the same Brigade formed the centre party and a gun, and the right of matchlockmen, was placed under a local chief named Anand Rao. The left column was provided with fascines, carried by every second man, which were precipitated into the ditch. The troops thus passed over the ditch without difficulty and after having entered the pettah separated into two parties. The rebels were driven by launching an attack from the left and the right, the regular horse intercepting those who took to the plain. The rebels had two batteries in the town one directed against the right. Both these were stormed no sooner the left column got into the town. In order to reduce the fort a gun was used to blow its gate. Failing that an elephant was used to force it open. While devising measures to open the second gate, the garrison surrendered on the promise of personal safety. The killedar, who had much influence over several of the remaining garrisons, promised their immediate submission. The loss of the rebels was estimated at 400 men. Sixty-one of the British troops were killed and wounded [The description is taken from Col. Blacker's Memoirs.]." The fort was subsequently repaired. About a mile to the west of the village at Birshapur is an air-strip. There is a good trade in leather. At a distance of about a mile to the north is the fine tank of Zilmili and the small stream of the Pangoli flows past the village to the east. The Zilmili tank was built in 1968 and has a capacity to irrigate 645 acres of land. A circular cistern fed by a natural spring is used by the people to wash their clothes. Kamtha has a Government rice mill, a middle school, an allopathic and a veterinary dispensary and a post office. A weekly market is held on Thursdays.

"This fine estate lies in the north-east of the Tirora tahsil in an open fertile country. It is situated to the south of the Wainganga between Amgaon on the east and Warad on the west. The total area is 288 square miles and it contains 128 villages.. The soil is moderately fertile, consisting very largely of a sandy loam, generally cropped with rice and bearing second crops in favourable years. On the banks of the Wainganga and Bagh some rich black soil is found. Gondia is within the zamindari and is connected with its headquarters, Phulchur, by a metalled road. The estate is traversed by the Bengal-Nagpur railway and the Satpura branch line and by the Gondia-Arjuni and Gondia-Balaghat roads. "

" The present zamindari includes only a part of the old estate, all the subordinate zamindaris having been separated from it."

"The first proper settlement was. made in about 1750 A.D. by a Kunbi cultivator, who was given a grant of land here on a quit-rent of Rs. 60. Gradually the borders of his estate extended until it included all the zamindaris of Tirora tahsil, Hatta, Kiranapur and Bhadra in the Balaghat district, and Deori-Kishori in the Sakoli tahsil. This large property was however split up partly among members of the founder's family and partly among out siders. In 1818, Chimna, the manager of Kamtha taluka sided with Appa Saheb in his rebellion and apparently involved all his family except the branches which held Amgaon and Palkheda; and the whole estate with these exceptions was lost to the family, though subsequently they were given Kiranapur and some village for their maintenance. Kamtha, Hatta and Deori-Kishori were entrusted for management for two years to Narbad Patel, a Lodhi of no special family, who three years earlier had been given the zamindari of Warad. Two years later the estate were handed over to him at the instance of Major Wilkinson, but whether any conditions were made at the time is not known, as even at the 30 years' settlement the papers concerning the transaction were not forthcoming. Narbad Lodhi was succeeded by his eldest son Dewaji in 1826, but he died childless in 1827 and was succeeded by his brother Gaji. The son of the latter, Yash-vant Rao, succeeded in 1838 and it was with him and his brother Jijoba that settlement was made in 1867. These brothers lived jointly until the year 1877, when by an agreement 16 villages, 11 in Kamtha and 5 in Warad were made over to Jijoba free of takoli, for his maintenance. Yashvant Rao died in 1885, and was succeeded by his son Indraraj, commonly called as Lataria Bhau, and as he was a minor the estate was managed by the Court of Wards until the year 1894. Jijoba died in 1896, but just before his death adopted a son Suraj Lal, much to the disgust of his nephew who expected to succeed. Everything comes however, to him who waits, and just as Indraraj Bhau was preparing to sue to have the adoption set aside, Suraj Lal, a boy of about 8 years old, died rather suddenly in the year 1899. Indraraj Bhau has shown his public spirit by a liberal donation of Rs. 55,000 to the Bhandara water works and has been rewarded by Government by the title of Rao Bahadur. He has also been given the powers of a honorary magistrate but does not exercise them. He is 32 years of age (1907), knows a little English, and lives at Phulchur, 22 miles from Tirora."

"Of the total area 61 per cent was occupied for cultivation in 1906-07 and 98,000 acres were cropped. Second crop were grown on 48,000 acres and 47,000 are stated to be capable of irrigation. Of the total of 128 villages, 64 are held by inferior proprietors, 23 by lessees and 41 are managed direct. The inferior proprietors are mainly Panwars and these are the best cultivators. There are also a number of Kunbis, many of them relative's of the old zamindar Chimna or Chimna Bahadur, as he is locally called. The Kunbis, Mr. Napier says, are generally bad land lords and are generally indebted The estate contains 15 schools [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Bhandara District, 1908 ed., pp. 206-08.]. "

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