AME
61
further rewarded with the
hand of a Bachgoti bride* Broken up by succeson the one hand, and on the other, hemmed in by territory on which encroachment was out of the question, the importance of Tikri very soon declined; its present dimensions are indicated by its second name, Athg^on. It was not, indeed, without difficulty that it managed to resist the attacks of others. About six generatons ago, Babu Man Singh, brother of the then taluqdar, received as his portion the village of Amai. According to one account he obtained Tikri also, but it was not in possession of the donor, and it was therefore a condition of the gift that he should forcibly estabhsh himself in it. He did so, and the previous owners were driven out but they took refuge in the surrounding jungles, and watching their opportunity surprised Man Singh in Amai, and killed him. This act of retribution has never been forgotten, and the name of the village in which it was perpetrated has become a forbidden word, Badigdon, or other words of similar import being usually employed in referring to it. sive partitions
This
may
explain
how
Tikri and
many
of its off-shoots continued inde-
pendent until 1846. In the sweeping changes which then took place they were re-absorbed into the present estate ; but the old spirit of the ex-proprietors is yet but partially tamed, and if the rija holds any villages, the acquisition of which has been of doubtful profit and advantage, I am under the impression it is those to which I allude.
Sh^hgarh was founded by Babu Sultan Sah, brother of Bikram Sah. It derives its name from a fort he built and called after himself It is reputed to have consisted at first of 121 of SMb'^arif^^^^"^^' villages, and to have been distinguished as "Tafriq Sultan Sahi." If this story were rehable, it would be of the greatest value in illustrating the growth of the Amethi taluqa. It would seem to imply that a regular partition occurred, and to define the magnitude of an individual share. The idea of such a partition receives some apparent support also from the fact that a few villages are now divided in fractional shares between Amethi and Shdhgarh. But reference to the history of those villages shows that up to a comparatively recent date they were held by other proprietors, and that they were then divided into two distinct portions, one of which was subsequently included in Shahgarh, and the other Again, Sultan Sah was one of four brothers, and if a formal in Amethi. distinction of shares took place, those of three juniors should have been exactly equal, whereas it is not pretended that they were even approximately so. It is highly probable, moreover, that the extent of Sultan Sah's portion
with
is
considerably exaggerated, for
all its off-shoots
and
acquisitions,
does not appear that Shdhgarh, ever numbered more than 132
it
villages.
to
From 1803 to 1810 Shahgarh was, with the rest of the pargana, B^ja Har Chand Singh, but was again taken from him by the land
ment
of the latter year.
It
then comprised no more than 40
leased settle-
villages,
and
- This account, it will be seen, diflfers from that given by the Bachgotis. I think it at
events exceedingly probable that this is the period to which the story of the Bandhalgotis being in the Hasanpur service must be referred.
all
D 2
