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3. Evidence* of MR. W. H. GRIMLEY, Commissioner of Chota Nagpur.
I am a member of the Indian Civil Service
of more than thirty years' standing, and have
been posted to nine different districts in various
official capacities, besides holding special appoint-
ments, which necessitated my travelling about in
nearly every district in Lower Bengal. I was for
a few months Magistrate and Collector of Raj-
shahi, the district in which ganja is grown under
Government supervision, but during my brief stay
there I had no occasion to visit Naogaon, where
the cultivation is carried on, though I am well
acquainted with the system. I was for many
years Secretary to the Board of Revenue, and had
there special opportunities of becoming acquaint-
ed with matters connected with the revenue ad-
ministration of the hemp drugs.
Ganja, bhang or siddhi, and charas are nar-
cotic products of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa.
Ganja consists of the resin-coated flowering tops
of the cultivated unfertilized female plant; bhang
or siddhi is the name applied to the dried or
mature leaves, and is usually gathered from the
plant in a wild state; charas is the resin which is
collected from the unseeded plant while it is
growing. The plant in its wild state does not
produce ganja. It is cultivated for the sake of
the narcotic property which is due to a resinous
substance secreted both in the leaf and the
flowers. This exudation is collected in various
ways. In Nepal it is gathered by the hand. In
Sind and Central India men wearing leathern
aprons run through the hemp fields, but in some
places they oil their bodies and run naked. In
Persia it is pressed on to coarse cloths and after-
wards scraped off. The use of ganja, while per-
mitted by the Hindu religion to some, is denied
to others, and amongst its votaries the narcotic is
known by as many seductive terms as are wont to
be applied to beverages of American origin, such,
for example, as "the conqueror," "the all-con-
quering," "the dispenser of happiness," "the
quick pleasure-giver," "love-dagger,"
"rose-
pillow," "wife of the dhatura or thorn apple,"
"cementer of friendship," "delighter," and
"ambrosia of the gods,"—epithets expressive of
the qualities peculiar to ganja according to
popular belief. For revenue purposes there are
three recognized varieties of ganja, namely,
chapta or chipta (pressed or flat), gol (round), and
chur (broken), which are liable to a duty of R6,
R7-4, and R8 per seer, respectively. Flat ganja
is trampled down by the feet in the process of
preparation, while round ganja is carefully rolled
and has a less quantity of the twig than flat;
chur consists of the broken particles of resinous
matter that fall off in the manipulation.
The hemp plant is said to grow spontane-
ously in Bhagalpur and Monghyr, and also in the
Bettiah sub-division of the district of Cham-
paran. Occasionally a few plants are to be found
on the Burway plateau, a distant portion of the
Lohardaga district, bordering on the Native
States of Jashpur and Sirguja. It grows sparsely
in some of the Native States under me, and is
also to be found in the south of the Manbhum
district, in Singhbhum, and in the Mohurbhanj
State. It is grown best on light, rich alluvial
soils with a moderate amount of moisture. The
sandy banks of rivers are favourable to its growth,
and it thrives well on the "sithi," or refuse of
indigo vats. There is no regular cultivation. In
some of the Tributary States people smoking
ganja grow the plant at their doors according to
their requirements for smoking and drinking,
but this is done only on a small scale. In the
districts of this division the products of the hemp
plant are obtained from Rajshahi. There is no
special treatment. The plants are allowed to
grow according to nature. There are no regular
cultivators.
There are nine Native States under me—
Sirguja, Udaipur, Gangpur, Jashpur, Bonai,
Koria, Changbhakal (which are tributary), Serai-
kela and Khasawan (which are political). The
growth, where it exists, is found near the houses of
the people, a plant looked after for a man's own
consumption. Whether there are plants in the
jungle I cannot say. I have never looked for
them. I do not know the growing plant. I
believe that what the people produce is all con-
sumed in the Native States. I had one complaint
from Sambalpur—but only one in five years—
as to smuggling ganja into British territory. It
was on a small scale. But, on the other hand,
the Raja of this very State (Gangpur) applied for
permission to import ganja, about five or six
months ago. I gave the vendor (through the
Raja) permission to import from Sambalpur on
the line of rail. I do not think the Raja knew
anything about the difference between Bengal and
Central Provinces ganja. These States manage
their own excise. The inhabitants generally do
not take ganja, as they do not manufacture it to
any extent. They have no surplus to export.
For smoking purposes the amount of care and
manipulation bestowed on the preparation varies
with the taste and means of the purchasers. A
common method, where a smoke is wanted quickly,
is to break off a bit of the chur or broken ganja,
and after adding a smaller quantity of tobacco leaf,
to mix the two together on the palm of the left
hand by rubbing them with the fingers and thumb
of the right hand, a few drops of water being applied
to give consistency to the whole. After being
pressed into a compact shape, the mixture is again
broken up and separated and put into a chillum, a
small pellet of stone or some other hard substance
being placed at the bottom to prevent choking of
the stem. The chillum is only a few inches long,
and a light being applied, the smoker holds the
lower part to his mouth and draws the smoke by
quick inspirations into his lungs, and then slowly
emits the fumes, while he passes on the pipe to his
companions, a single pipeful, costing a pice or
half a pice, being made to do service for half a
dozen persons. A more careful method of prepar-
ation is to pick out the small leaves and flowers
and discard the leave-stalks. These are pounded
on the left hand by the thumb of the right, water
being applied, to promote adherence, and after being
strained through a cloth, the ganja is chopped upon
a board and mixed with fine tobacco leaves in the
proportion of two or three to one to suit the taste
of the smoker. Those moderate smokers, who pre-
fer it strong, add no tobacco. Instead of a piece
of stone, a plug of tobacco may be inserted in the
chillum to prevent the clogging up of the stem.
For eating, bhang or siddhi is prepared as a confec-
tion, and is called majum. It is mixed with water
and boiled down to a quarter of the original
quantity, and, with the addition of atar of roses,
ghee, syrup, and cream, is warmed into a kind of
*This statement was read to the Commission by Mr. Grimley, a few verbal additions being made to it at the time.