Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/51

This page needs to be proofread.



JURTAZIPUR. 39 Murshidabad, is the Kuttara, containing the tomb of Murshid Kulí Khán, erected for him by forced Hindu labour. It is said to have been constructed after the model of the great mosque at Mecca, and has two splendid minarets 70 feet high. The Nawab is buried at the foot of the stair, so as to be trampled on by every one who passes up. The Kuttara is described by Hodges, a traveller of 1780, as 'a grand seminary of Musalmán learning, 70 feet square, adorned by a mosque which rises high above all the surrounding building.' In this neighbourhood was the Topkhána, the arsenal of the Nawabs, which formed the eastern gateway of the city. A cannon had been placed between two young trees, which have now grown up, and their branches have combined to lift the gun high above the ground. BERHAMPUR, the civil head-quarters of Murshidabad, and formerly a military cantonment, is dealt with in a separate article. Trade.-Murshidabad city, with its suburb of AZIMGANJ, on the opposite bank of the Bhagirathi, is the chief centre of trade and manufacture in the District. Though the great banking house of Jagat Seth has long ago fallen into decay, the Jain merchants of Murshidabad still rank as the wealthiest of their class in Bengal. Their dealings in gold and silver bullion are especially large ; and some of their number almost monopolize the local traffic on the Brahmaputra, as far up as the north-east frontier of Assam. The principal industries of Murshidabad are those fostered by the luxury of the native court. Carving in ivory, conducted with much skill and finish, is an old speciality of the city. The carvers can turn out any article to order, from the smallest European toy to the state-throne of the Nawab. Other manufactures are the embroidery of fancy articles with gold and silver lace, the weaving of silk goods, the making of musical instruments, and hookah-pipes. In the year 1876-77, the total value of the registered river trade of Murshidabad city was returned at £154,692. Among the exports, valued altogether at $129,752, the chief items were raw silk (£45,000), rice (£37,000), gram and pulse (£10,000), and wheat (£7000). The imports were valued at only £24,940, including sugar and salt (each £5000), and piece-goods (£3000). Owing to an alteration in the system of registration, no trade statistics are available for Murshidábád city for a later year than 1876–77. Murtazápur. — Tuluk of Amráoti District, Berár. Area, 610 square miles; contains i town and 256 villages. Population (1867) 104,658; (1881) 110,573, namely, 57,342 males and 53,231 females, or 181•26 persons per square mile. Number of houses, 19,630. Hindus numbered 99,264; Muhammadans, 9332; Jains, 1929; Pársís, 23; Sikhs, 16; Christians, 8; and Buddhist, 1. Area occupied by cultivators, 343,847 acres. Total agricultural population, 76,953. The túluk contains i civil and 3 criminal courts; police circles (thánás),