HASSAN, a district of Mysore, India, lying between 12° 30' and 13° 22' N. lat. and between 75° 32' and 76° 58' E. long. It is bounded on the S. W. by the Madras district of South Kanara, and on the S. partly by the state of Coorg. The main portion of the district consists of the river basin of the Hemavati and its tributaries. It naturally divides into two portions, the Malnâd or hill country, which includes some of the highest ranges of the Western Ghâts, and the Maidân or plain country, sloping towards the south. The Hemavati, which flows into the Cauvery in the extreme south, is the great river of the district; its most important tributary is the Yagachi. The upper slopes of the Western Ghàts are abundantly clothed with magnificent forests, and wild animals of all sorts abound. Among the mineral product^ are kaolin, felspar, and quartz. The soil of the valleys is a rich red alluvial loam....
The area extends to 3291 square miles. The census of 1871 returned the inhabitants at 669,961—329,097 males and 340,864 females—the Hindus numbering 650,877, Mahometans 14,460, Jains 1954, Christians 2670. Hassan town and Narsipur each contain more than 5000 inhabitants. The staple crops consist of rdgi, rice, tobacco, sugar-cane, the cocoa-nut and areca-nut palms, plantain trees, and chillies. Coffee cultivation has been on the increase of late years. The first plantation was opened in 1843, and now there are 155 coffee estates owned by Europeans and 9500 native holdings. The statistics of irrigation show a total of 6905 tanks in the district and 215 miles of canals. The exports are large, consisting chiefly of food-grains and coffee. The imports are European piece-goods, hardware of all sorts, and spices. The largest weekly fair is held at AIur. A great annual religious gathering and fair, attended by about 10,000 persons, takes place every year at Melukot. The gross revenue amounted in 1873-74 to £126,908, and the police force (1874) numbered 470 men of all ranks, maintained at a cost of £3692. There were 243 schools in 1874 aided by Government, attended by 4379 pupils, and 147 unaided with 1657 pupils. The average mean temperature of the district is 76°, and the average rainfall at Hassan town during seven years was 36 inches. In the Ghats as much as 100 inches sometimes fall in the year. Malarious fever prevails in the Malnâd during the early rains.
The real history of Hassan does not begin until the epoch of the Ballala dynasty, which lasted from the 10th till the 14th century. Their capital was at Dwarâvati-pura, the ruins of which are still to be seen scattered round the village of Halebid in this district. The earlier kings professed the Jain faith, but the finest temples were erected to Siva by the later monarchs of the line. While they were at the zenith of their power the whole of southern India acknowledged their sway. After the Mahometan invasion in the 14th century, the district of Hassan ceased to exist as the seat of a metropolis, and became a remote province known as Balam. Since 1832 the district, with the rest of Mysore, has been under direct British administration.
HASSAN. See Assassins, vol. ii. p. 723.
[556 words — estimated reading time: 4 minutes]