BULANDSHAHR, a district of British India, in the Meerut division, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of the N.W. Provinces; lies between 28° 3' and 28° 43' N. lat., and 77° 28' and 78° 32' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the district of Meerut; on the E. by the districts of Moradabad and Budaun; on the S. by the district of Aligarh; and on the W. by the districts of Gúrgáon and Delhi. The district stretches out in a level plain, with a gentle slope from north-west to south-east, and a gradual but very slight elevation about midway between the Ganges and Jumna. Principal rivers, the Ganges and Jumna,—the former navigable all the year round, the latter only during the rains; minor rivers, Hindan and East Kálí Nadí, not navigable. The Ganges canal intersects the district, and serves both for irrigation and navigation. Area of Bulandshahr district, 1910 square miles, of which 1368 are under cultivation; 346 cultivable, but not actually under cultivation; and the rest uncultivable waste. Population in 1872, 936,593 souls, residing in 182,694 houses, and inhabiting 1566 villages; persons per square mile, 490; per village, 598; per house, 5∙1. Of the total population 760,602 or 81∙2 per cent. were Hindus; 175,900 or 18∙8 per cent. Mahometans; and 91 Christians and others....
Cotton, indigo, sugar, wheat, tobacco, barley, millet, and various kinds of pulse, form the principal agricultural products. The chief traffic routes are—(1), Road from Meerut to Aligarh; (2), from Delhi to Bareilly; and (3), between Delhi and Anúpshahr. The East Indian Railway passes through the district. Total revenue in 1870-71, £176,422, of which £155,675, or 88 per cent., was from land. The regular constabulary police consisted of 523 men in 1870-71, besides the rural or village watch. Bulandshahr district contained 302 schools in 1872-73, attended by 6959 pupils. The following twelve towns in the district have upwards of 5000 inhabitants :—1. Baran or Bulandshahr, the administrative headquarters, situated on the right bank of the Kálí Nadi, on the route from Bareilly to Delhi, in 28° 24' N. lat. and 77° 56' E. long.; area, 111 acres; population, 14,804; municipal income in 1872, £1075; expenditure, £1139, 2s.; rate of municipal taxation, 1s. 5⅝d. per head. 2. Dibai—area, 106 acres; population, 7782; municipal income, £346, 16s. 9d.; expenditure, £298, 7s. 4d.; rate of taxation, 10¾d. per head. 3. Amipshahr—area, 123 acres; population, 9336; municipal income, £598, 14s.; expenditure, £532, 14s.; rate of taxation, 1s. 3⅜d. per head. 4. Jahángírabad—114 acres; population, 9408; municipal income, £571, 3s. 5d.; expenditure, £456, í2s. 9d.; rate of taxation, 1s 2⅜d. 5. Shikárpur—area, 115
acres; population, 11,150; municipal income, £435, 19s. 6d.; expenditure, £408, 11s. 9d.; rate of taxation, 9⅜d. per head. 6. Dankaur—area, 251 acres; population, 5423; municipal income, £189, 2s. 4d.; expenditure, £163, 9s. 1d.; rate of taxation, 8⅜d. per head. 7. Jhajhar—area, 50 acres; population, 5632; municipal income, £241, 15s. 5d.; expenditure, £199, 2s. 9d.; rate of taxation, 10⅜d. per head. 8. Jewar—area, 78 acres; population, 7399; municipal income, £282, 14s. 4d.; expenditure, £233,17s. 1d.; rate of taxation, 9⅛d. per. head. 9. Siyána—area, 65 acres; population, 6268; municipal income, £294, 14s. 5d.; expenditure, £251, 9s. 4d.; rate of taxation, 11¼d. 10. Gulaothí—area, 44 acres; population, 5608; municipal income, £239, 0s. 8d.; expenditure, £223, 2s. 7d.; rate of taxation, 10¼d. per head. 11. Khúrja—area, 206 acres; population, 26,858; muncipal income, £2301, 14s.; expenditure, £3028, 10s.; rate of taxation, 1s. 8⅝d. per head. 12. Sikar abad —area, 199 acres; population, 18,349; municipal income, £988; expenditure, £539, 10s.; rate of taxation, 1s. 0¾d. per head. The climate of the district is liable to extremes, being very cold in the winter and excessively hot in the summer.
Towards the end of the last century, the district passed into the hands of Perron, a French common sailor, who had won his way up to the rank of a general in the Marhattá. service. Its annexation formed one of the leading points in the Marquis Wellesley’s policy, and it was ceded to us by the Scindia treaty of 1803. Bulandshahr enjoyed a bad conspicuousness in the mutiny of 1857, when the Gujar peasantry plundered the towns.
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