MALDAH, a district in the lieutenant-governorship of Bengal, India, between 24° 29' 50" and 25° 32' 30" N. lat., and 87° 48' and 88° 33' 30" E. long., the Ganges river forming the continuous west and south-west boundary. The administrative headquarters are at English Bâzâr. The district, of which the area is 1813 square miles, is divided into two almost equal parts by the Mahânandâ river, flowing from north to south. The western tract between the Mahânandâ, and the main stream of the Ganges is a low-lying alluvial plain of sandy soil and great fertility. The eastern half is an elevated region broken by the deep valleys of the Tângan and Purnâbhâbâ. rivers and their small tributary streams. The soil of this district is a hard red clay; and the whole is overgrown with thorny tree jungle known as the kâtâl. Agricultural prosperity centres on the Mahânandâ, where mango orchards and high raised plots of mulberry land extend continuously along both banks of the river. The Ganges nowhere intersects the district, but skirts it from its north-western corner to the extreme south. The Mahânandà flows in a deep well-defined channel through the centre of the district, and joins the Ganges at the southern corner. Its tributaries are the Kalindri on the right, and the Tângan and Pumâbhâba on the left bank....
The population in 1881 was 710,310 (347,055 males and 363,255 females). In 1872 the number of inhabitants was 671,974,— 355,276 Hindus, 307,460 Mohammedans, 9195 aborigines, and 43 Christians. The male adult agriculturists numbered 134,358. Only two towns then contained upwards of 5000 inhabitants, viz., English Bazar or Angrazâbad, 12,859, and Maldah, 5262. The most important centres of commerce are Haiatpur on the Ganges, and Rohanpur ρn the Purnabhaba, just above the confluence of that river with the Mahânanda. Rice constitutes the staple crop, and occupies about 53 per cent, of the total cultivated food crop area. The miscellaneous crops include indigo, mulberry, and mangoes. The average rate of rent may be put at over 4s. an acre. There is little that is peculiar in the land tenures of the district, except the existence of several large rent-free estates, granted as endowments to Mohammedan fakirs. Among cultivating tenures, the hal hdsild deserves notice, under which the annual rent varies according to the nature of the crop raised. This tenure is most common in the backward parts of the district, and one of its incidents is that it allows a certain proportion of the village lands to lie fallow. Maldah is liable to some extent to the calamities of flood and drought; but the means of communication by river are sufficiently ample to prevent scarcity from intensifying into acute distress. The two staple manufactures are silk and cotton. Brass ware of excellent quality is manufactured at Nawâbganj, and paper in certain villages. The principal exports are rice, silk, indigo, brass ware, and mango fruit. The imports comprise cotton cloth, salt, sugar, spices, and betel-nuts. The net revenue of the district in 1880-81 amounted to £60,674, of which £37,998 was derived from the land tax, and £11,538 from excise. Education was afforded in 1872 by 170 schools, attended by 4207 pupils. The average annual rainfall of the district is returned at 54 - 56 inches. The chief epidemic diseases are malarious fever, cholera, and small-pox.
Maldah supplied two great capitals to the early Mohammedan kings of Bengal; and the sites of Gaur and Panduah exhibit the most interesting remains to be found in the lower Gangetic valley. See Gaits, vol. x. p. 112 sq. The connexion of the East India Company with Maldah dates from a very early period. As far back as 1686 there was a silk factory there. In 1770 English Bazar was fixed upon for a commercial residency, the buildings of which at the present day. form both the public offices and private residence of the collector.
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