ORCHILI. 425 Orchha (Oorcha, Urchha; also known as Tehri or Tikamgarh). — Native State in Bundelkhand, under the political superintendence of the Bundelkhand Agency, Central India. It lies between 24° 26' and 25° 34' n. lat., and between 78° 28' 30" and 79° 23' E. long., to the south of the British District of Jhansi, being much intermixed with that District. Orchhá is bounded on the west by the Districts of Jhansi and Lalitpur; on the south by Lalitpur and the States of Panna and Bijáwar; and on the east by the States of Bijáwar, Clark hári, and Garrauli. Estimated area, about 2000 square miles. Population (1881) 311,514, namely, males 162,611, and females 148,903. Hindus number 294,714; Muhammadans, 9560; Jains, 7233; and 'others,' 7. The principal towns are TÜHRI, the present capital, and ORCHHA, the old capital. Tehri, where the Rajá now resides, is situated in the south-west corner of the State, about to miles from Orehlá, with which town and Baumári it is connected by road. The sort of Tikamgarh within the town, and also the town itself, often give their names to the State. A great portion of the area is covered with hill jungle and poor soil, and is thinly populated. There are some magnificent tanks in the country, constructed by the ancestors of the ruling family. Dense forests afford a safe shelter to robbers. In 1873–74, a gang gave much trouble, committing ravages on villages and travellers. The Political officer reported in 1873, that the best form of land settlement for Orchlá is still a problem. He says, “The native system—under which the State, while recognising in every village a head-man, who enjoys certain advaniages, yet maintains itself as the proprietor of the land, acts as banker and seed-lender for the cultivators, and collects generally in proportion to produce or to area cultivated-avoids sundry of the difficulties unexpectedly found in Bundelkhand to accompany our North-Western Provinces sumindiri sistem of making the head villager or someone else the proprietor, settling everything with him at a fixed amount, and leaving him and the cultivators to borrow from the inoney-lender as they need. The former plan as worked in Orchhá, while it keeps existing cultivation fairly together, and is the lightest for the people in bad years, does not give stimulus to its extension by allowing villages a sufficiently profitable interest in working up fresh land.' The State of Orchha is the oldest and highest in rank of all the Bundela Principalities, and was the only one of them not held in subjection by the Peshwa. The Maráthás, however, severed from Tehri that portion which afterwards formed the State of Jhansi. Rájá Vikramaditya Mahendra was the ruling chief when the British entered Bundelkhand, and with him a treaty of friendship and defensive alliance was concluded in 1812. When he died in 1834, a disputed succession led to disturbances; but as the adoption of Sujan Singh
