16. All the bhang consumed in the Central
Pro-
vinces is imported from Gwalior and the
North-
West Provinces, as stated in my answer to Ques-- -
tion 2: this narcotic is not locally prepared at
all
17. The classes who cultivate and the ordinary
agricultural labourers do all the work required.
The chief castes who are employed in cultivation
generally are Kunbis and Gujars; next to them
come Rajputs.
18. The person best qualified to answer this
question is Jaitram Bijraj of Kampti, who has
been selected to give evidence. There can be no
doubt that both ganja and bhang deteriorate by
keeping; the latter retains its power longer than
the former, but two years seems to be the limit of
time for which either can be kept in satisfactory
condition. No special measures are taken in these
provinces to prevent deterioration.
19. Chains is not consumed at all in the Cen-
-
tral Provinces. Of ganja the only preparation in
use for other than smoking purposes is majum, a
sweetmeat of which the ingredients are (1) ghi,
(2) that part of ganja known as desi bhang, (3) a
syrup made of sugar and water. For the current
year 34 shops have been licensed to sell this pre-
-
paration, and the total demand on account of
license fees is Rs, 854-4-0, The licensed shops are
distributed as under:—
Permanent.
For Holi Festival.
Nagpur
6
Jubbulpur
9
Hoshangabad
1
Saugor
3
Harda
1 Damoh
1
Pachmarhi
1 Narsinghpur
. 1
Seoni
1
Kandeli
1
K handwa
1 Barmhan
1
Bur hanpur
1
Chhindwara
. 1
Raipur
1 Gadarwara
. 1
Mohpani
1
Tendukhera
1
Bilaspur
1
A dose of majum weighs ¼ tola, and can be had
for 0-0-3: two of these doses is as much as any
one can manage in one day. Very little is con--
sumed at times other than the Holi festival.
20. There are no classes to whom the use of
ganja is absolutely forbidden: smokers may be
divided into the following main classes:—
(1) Mendicants and devotees, both Hindu and
Muhammadan;
(2) Non-agricultural day-labourers of all classes;
Agrenltural day-labourers who do not
belong to the regular cultivating classes;
(4) A certain proportion of the well-to-do.
Cultivators as a rule eschew ganja. It may be
said that all males of class (1) smoke, while for
classes (2) and (3) one-half of the males over 19
years of age is not an extravagant estimate. Smok-
-
ing of ganja by women is very uncommon.
21. "Pattar" ganja, the local product, is alone
22.
used, and this corresponds most nearly with the
23.
flat ganja of Bengal.
24. No shops are ever licensed to sell charas,
25.
and it is believed that none is consumed.
26. Bhang, locally known as pardesi bhang (see
27.
answer to question 2), is never smoked.
28. The chief consumers of bhang are Marwaris,
29.
some of whom drink it daily. In the hot weather
30.
the well-to-do of all except the cultivating classes
31.
take it, because it is cooling and refreshing.
32.
Bhang is never eaten. The Marwaris are banias
33.
of the Oswal, Agarwal, Mahesri, and Jain sects.
25. With reference to this question I venture
to invite perusal of paragraphs 31-33 of the Pro- -
vincial Excise Report for 1892-93 and of para--
graph 4 of the Chief Commissioner's Resolution
thereon. The only districts of the Khalsa in which
sales of ganja can be said to have steadily and
alarmingly increased of late years are:—Bhandara,
Balaghat, Damoh, Mandla, Raipur, Bilaspur and
Sambulpur. The last three districts make up the
Chhattisgarh Division, and it is safe to say that
in them the increase is in no small measure due
to the care taken by the Commissioner to prevent
smuggling from and through the Feudatory States;
another potent cause has been the extension
of the Bengal Nagpur Railway. No special ex-
-
planation which can be regarded as satisfactory
is forthcoming from either Balaghat or Mandla:
the cases of Bhandara and Damoh are dealt with
in the Report to which reference has been invited.
The Chief Commissioner has ordered further de- -
tailed inquiries to be made in each district, and
the result of these will not be known till next hot
weather.
Sales of bhang do not fluctuate much from year
to year ; they are nil in the districts of Chanda,
Seoni, and Mandla, and practically so in Bhan-
-
dara and Wardha. Most is sold where Marwaris
are most numerous, i.e., in Nagpur, Jubbulpur
,
Narsingpur, Hoshangabad, Raipur an
d B i l a s -
pur.
For facility of reference I append a statement<a href="#image nof74908865"> <sup>*
< / s u p > < / a >
showing sales of (a) ganja, (b) bhang, in the
Khalsa for each district during the past quinquen- -
nial period.
26. Taking the main classes of ganja-smokers
given in the answer to Question 20—
(1) mendicants and devotees, are habitual ex--
cessive consumers;
(2)and (3) day-labourers are habitual moder-
(3)
-
ate consumers;
(4) well-to-do smokers indulge, as a rule,
occasionally, and then in moderation.
So far as I can make out from persons whom I
have questioned, there are practically no occasional
smokers who exceed.
With regard to bhang, I would class Marwaris
as habitual moderate consumers, and other
persons who use this preparation as occasional
moderate consumers.
Looking to the total number of persons shown
as "devotees," on pages 148-151 of the Central
Provinces Census Tables, 1891, and taking one-
half to be 20 or more, and therefore certainly ganja
smokers, I estimate smokers of class (1) above at
20,000 in round numbers, My authority for as
-
suming one-half to be under 20 years of age is the
statement of age distribution given in paragraph
85 on page 90, Part I, of the Central Provinces
Census Report, 1891. To estimate the number
of smokers in other classes is much more difficult:
all told, 800,000 is probably as high a figure as it
would be safe to suggest.
Efforts will be made in the coming open season
to obtain an approximately accurate census of
ganja smokers of all classes.
27, This question has in effect been answered
already. Bhang is a luxury for the well-to do,
and very little used.
Ganja is smoked by two main classes
-
(a) those who have to support themselves by
daily labour involving great physical
exertion;
< a n a m e = # " 7 4 9 0 8 8 6 5 f " > * < / a > S e e S t a t i s t i c s i n V o l .
I I I A p p e n d i c e s .