MÍRZÁPUR, a district in the North-Western Provinces of India, lying between 23° 5Γ 30" and 25° 3Γ N. lat., and between 82° 9' 15" and 83° 0' 36" E. long., is bounded on the N. by Jaunpur and Benares, on the E. by Shahâbâd and Lohârdagâ, on the S. by Sargüjâ state, and on the W. by Allahâbâd and Rewah state, and has an area of 5217 square miles. It is crossed from east to west by the Vindhya and Kâimur ranges. A central jungly plateau connects these, and separates the valley of the Ganges from that of the Son.
The population in 1872 was 1,015,203 (males, 520,496; females, 494,707), of whom 949,644 were Hindus, 64,809 Mohammedans, and 750 Christians. The non-Asiatic population numbered 623. Only three towns had a population exceeding 5000 :—Mfrzapur, 67,274; Chanâr, 10,154; and Ahraura, 9091. Out of a Government-assessed area of 3048 square miles, 1313 are cultivated, 497 cultivable waste, and 1238 uncultivable. The part of Mirzapur which lies north of the Vindhyas is very highly cultivated and thickly peopled, but the rest of the district consists largely of ravines and forests, with a very sparse population. Local manufactures comprise carpets of a superior description, brass ware, and shellac. The East Indian Railway traverses the district, along the right bank of the Ganges, for a distance of 32 miles. The climate is slightly warmer and damper than that of districts farther north and east. The mean annual rainfall is 42'7 inches....
Mirzapur, chief town and administrative headquarters of the above district, is situated on the south bank of the Ganges, 56 miles below Allahâbâd (25° 9' 43" N. lat., 82’ 38' 10" E. long.). The population in 1872 was 67,274, of whom 55,917 were Hindus and 11,053 Mohammedans. Up to quite recent years Mirzâpur was the largest mart in upper India for grain and cotton; but of late its commercial importance has rapidly decreased, owing to the establishment of through railway communication with Bombay via Jabalpur, and the rise of Cawnpore to the position of a mercantile centre. The river front, lined with stone ghats or flights of stairs, and exhibiting numerous mosques, Hindu temples, and dwelling-houses of the wealthier merchants, with highly decorated façades and richly carved balconies and door-frames, is handsome; but the interior of the town is mainly composed of mud huts. The manufacture of shellac gives employment to about four thousand persons; brass ware and carpets are also made. The imports consist of grain, sugar, cloth, metals, fruit, spices, tobacco, lac, salt, and cotton; the same articles, with manufactured lac-dye, shellac, and ghi, are exported.
[466 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]