BROACH, or Bhakuch, a district of British India under the jurisdiction of the governor of Bombay, extending from 21° 22' to 22° 11' N. lat. and from 72° 30' to 73° 10' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the River Mâhi, on the E. and S. by the territory of the Gaikwar, and on the W. by the Gulf of Cambay. Consisting chiefly of the alluvial plain at the mouth of the River Nerbudda, the land is rich and highly cultivated, and though it is without forests it is not wanting in trees. The district is well supplied with rivers, having in addition to the Nerbudda, the Mahi in the north and the Kini in the south. The area is 1320 square miles; the population 350,322, of whom 248,343 are Hindus, 69,033 Mahometans, 3986 Buddhists, 3116 Fàrsis, and 24,703 belong to the aboriginal tribes. The population comprises several distinct races or castes, who, while speaking a common dialect, Gujarâthi, inhabit separate villages. Thus there are Koli Kembi or Voro (Borah) villages, and others whose lands are almost entirely held and cultivated by high castes, such as Râjputs, Bréh-mans, or Pârsfs....
Except in the city of Broach, which has two steam ginning factories and a considerable general trade, agriculture is almost the sole industry of the district. The export of cotton, the principal agricultural product, amounted in 1872 to 88,471 bales. The most important cereal and pulse corps are—for the rains, jawari (Holcus Sorghum) rice, bagri (Pencillaria spicata), tur (Cajanus indicus), and mug (Phaseolus Mungo); and for the cold weather, wheat, til, (Sesamum indicum), pea, gram (Cicer arietinum), wal (Lablab vulgaris), castor oil, and tobacco. The total revenue of the district amounted in 1872 to £318,972, of which £266,936 was imperial land revenue; £20,568 on account of the local land cess; stamps yielded £22,714; excise, £6823; and assessed taxes, £193. The imperial expenditure in the district amounted during the same time to £72,025. Of the whole area of the district, viz., 1320 square miles, 7 2 per cent, are returned as cultivated, 3 per cent, cultivable but not actually under tillage, and 25 per cent., including the sites of villages, river-beds, &c., as uncultivable. There are five towns with a population of over 5000 inhabitants,—Broach, 36,932; Jambusar, 14,924; Ankleswar, 9414; Amod, 6125; and Gajera, 5239. In the first two of these towns municipalities have been established. The district contains 191 schools, with an attendance of 6525 scholars. The total number of persons receiving or who have received some education amounts to 9 ’ 5 per cent, of the entire population. The strength of the district police force is 415, giving to each man the charge of three square miles and 844 inhabitants. The principal criminal class is the Bhils, numbering about 24,000. The difficulty of arresting offenders of this race is increased by the fact that they are in league with members of their tribe in the native states of Baroda and Rajpιpla, and can therefore with ease escape into foreign territory.
Broach, the principal place of the district of the same name, situated on an elevated mound, supposed to be artificial, on the northern bank of the Nerbudda, about 30 miles above its mouth, in 21° 42' N. lat. and 73° 2' E. long. The river is here a noble sheet of water, two miles wide at ebb tide, but shallow for the most part even at flood-tide, though there is then a deep but intricate channel admitting vessels of considerable burden. In 1872 the population of the town and municipality was returned at 36,932. As in the generality of eastern towns, the streets are narrow and the houses lofty. It has a considerable trade, and annually exports large quantities of raw cotton to Bombay. Broach is thought with some appearance of probability to have been the Barygaza of Ptolemy and Arrian. Upon the conquest of Guzerat by the Mahometans, and the formation of the state of that name, Broach formed part of the new kingdom. On its overthrow by Akbar in 1572, it was annexed to the Mughul empire and governed by a Nawáb. The Marhattás became its masters in 1685, from which period it was held in subordination to the Peshwá until 1772, when it was captured by a force under General Wedderburn (brother to Lord Loughborough), who was killed in the assault. In 1783 it was ceded by the British to Sindhiá in acknowledgment of certain services. It was stormed in 1803 by a detachment commanded by Colonel Woodington, and was finally ceded to the East India Company by Sindhiá under the treaty of Serji Anjangáon. Distance north from Bombay 190 miles.
