ETAWAH, a district and city of British India, in the lieutenant-governorship of the North-Western Provinces, and included in the division of Agra. EtAwah District forms a purely artificial administrative division, stretching across the level plain of the DuAb, and beyond the valley of the Jumna, to the gorges of the Chambal and the last rocky outliers of the Vindhyan range. It lies between 26° 20' 30" and 27° N. lat., and between 78° 45' 45" and 79° 47' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Mainpuri and FarrakhAbAd districts; on the W. by the Jumna, the Agra district, the Chambal, the KuAri Nadi, aηd the native state of Gwalior; on the S. by the Jumna; and on the E. by Cawnpur district. The total area of the district is 1691 square miles, of which 880 are cultivated. The total population, according to the census of 1872, amounts to 668,641 souls, comprising 631,923 Hindus, 36,571 Mahometans, and 147 Christians. The males number 369,928, the females 298,653, the proportion of males to the total population being 55 - 3 per cent. The principal tribes or castes are as follows :—(1) BrAhmans, 93,082; (2) RAjputs, 58,358; (3) Baniyas or traders, 32,693; 4 ChamArs, 96,923; (5) Ahirs, 75,035; (6) Kachhis, 48,160; (7) Lodhas j 34,795; (8) Gadariyas, 21,926; and (9) Kolis, 20,391. The density of population is 395 persons to the square mile. The district exhibits a striking variety of surface and scenery. The greater portion lies within the Duâb or level alluvial plain between the Ganges and the Jumna. This part falls naturally into two sections, divided by the deep and fissured valley of the river Sengar. The tract to the north-east of that stream is rich and fertile, being watered by the Cawnpur and Etâwah branches of the Ganges canal, which will soon be supplemented by ...other important works now in progress. The southwestern region ha3 the same natural advantages, but possesses no great irrigation system, and is consequently less fruitful than the opposite slopes. Near the banks of the Jumna, the plain descends into the river valley by a series of wild ravines and terraces, inhabited only by a scattered race of hereditary herdsmen. Beyond the Jumna again a strip of British territory extends along the tangled gorges of the Chambal and the Kuâri Nadi, far into the borders of the Gwalior state. This outlying tract embraces a series of rocky glens and mountain torrents, crowned by the ruins of native strongholds, and interspersed with narrow ledges of cultivable alluvium.
The East Indian Railway runs through the centre of the district. The Jumna forms a great water-way for the heavy traffic; while good roads connect most of the local centres with one another, and with the neighbouring cities. The principal crops are wheat, barley,, pulses, millets, sugar cane, cotton, and indigo. The district is essentially agricultural, and its exports consist entirely of the rural produce. Four towns in 1872 possessed a population exceeding 5000:—Etâwah, 30,549; Phaphund, 6536; Aurâiya, 6459; and Jaswantnagar, 5310, In 1873 the total revenue of Etâwah district amounted to £191,097, of which sum £128,540 was contributed by the land-tax. The town of Etâwah has the only municipality in the district. The climate, once hot and sultry, has now become comparatively moist and equable under the influence of irrigation and the planting of trees.
Etâwah was marked out by its physical features as a secure retreat for the turbulent tribes of the Upper Duâb, and it was not till the 12th century that any of the existing castes settled on the soil. After the Mussulman conquests of Delhi and the surrounding country, the Hindus of Etâwah appear to have held their own for many generations against the Alahometan power; Bâbar conquered the district with the rest of the Duâb, and it remained m the hands of the Mongols until the decay of their empire in the last century. After passing through the usual vicissitudes of Marhattâ and Jât conquests during the long anarchy which preceded the British rule, Etâwah was annexed by the vazir of Oudh in 1773. The vazir ceded it to the English in 1801, but it still remained so largely in the hands of lawless native chiefs that some difficulty was experienced in reducing it to orderly government. During the mutiny of 1857, serious disturbances occurred in Etâwah, and the district was occupied by the rebels from June to December; order was not completely restored till the end of 1858.
Etâwah Town, the capital of the district,is picturesquely situated amongst the ravines on the bank of the Jumna, 70 miles S. E. of Agra. According to the census of 1872, its population amounts to 30,549 souls, comprising 21,241 Hindus, 9256 Mohametans, and 52 Christians. Deep fissures intersect the various quarters of the town, over which broad roads connect the higher portions by bridges and embankments. A fine modern square, known a≡ Humeganj, from the name of its founder, stands in the centre of the city, and contains the chief public buildings. A handsome mosque, the Jama Masjid, forms the chief architectural ornament of Etâwah. It was originally a Hindu or Buddhist temple, and has been adapted to its present use by the Mahometan conquerors. Several Hindu temples also stand about the ruins of the ancient fort. The chief trade is in ghi, grain, cotton, and oil-seeds. The Etâwah municipality had an income of £3064 in 1875-76, of which £2435 was raised by taxes; the incidence of municipal taxati'on was Is. 7∣d. per head of the population.
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