23
(b) Charas is very little, if
at all, con-
sumed in this district, and is manufactured, I
understand, entirely in Nepal and some parts of
the North-Western Provinces, from where it is
imported into Calcutta and other consuming dis-
tricts under cover of an import pass No. 121 issued
by the Collector, and distributed to places where it
is in demand. The importer brings the quantity
passed by the Collector, and duty upon it is realised
at R8 per seer, half before the issue of pass and half
after the charas arrives. Bhang, I understand,
can be and is used by many persons in every
district of Bengal. The leaves of the wild plant
are taken, dried and pounded, and then mixed
with sugar and water, and taken in a draught.
Any one can make this "sherbet" for himself.
For this kind of use the Bhagalpur and Monghyr
bhang is generally preferred. For purposes of
taxation these dried leaves are called siddhi. A
licensed vendor, authorized to sell, collects the
leaves in the presence of an excise officer deputed
by the Collector to attend when an application
to be allowed to collect bhang is made to him.
Duty is paid at 8 annas a seer according to
weight. In siddhi-consuming districts the im-
porter, a licensed vendor, stores siddhi in a ware-
house, and pays duty for the quantity he takes
out. There is no appreciable consumption of
siddhi in Rajshahi.
15. I can speak with authority only of ganja,
and this can be produced from the cultivated
plant only. Ganja is used only for smoking,
generally with an admixture of tobacco—to take
off, it is said, the harshness of the inhalation.
There are three recognised sorts of ganja manu-
factured for excise purposes, viz., flat, round, and
chur. The two processes of the manufacture of
flat and of round ganja vary in some matters of
detail. After the plants are matured, they are cut
for manufacture and removed from the field to the
chatar, i.e., manufacturing ground. There the
plants are cut into lengths of about 2 ft. each,
and are then exposed to the sun and dew. So far,
the process is the same in the preparation of flat or
round. For manufacture of flat ganja, on the
second day those plants which appear to have
sufficiently withered are collected and placed
layer upon layer in the form of a circle with a
diameter of about 4 ft. Two or more men tread
upon the ganja twigs thus stacked, with a view
to compress them into a flat shape. This
process is repeated at intervals of two to three
hours, when the stalks are broken and exposed
to the sun. Towards the close of the day the
twigs are all arranged on mats in a line,
and the men commence pressing them from the
bottom to the top, care being taken to hold the
twigs firmly under the sole of one foot. For the
night the twigs are kept upright (by aid of a
bamboo pole placed horizontally) on the ground
and are covered with a mat. On the third day the
twigs are placed together in a new stack, and
kept under pressure for some time. The twigs
are again taken out and again exposed to the
sun. The leaves are then carefully brushed
or scraped off by means of the feet, after which
the manufacture is completed and the twigs are
tied into bundles of two sorts, viz., flat large twigs
and flat small twigs. The broken bits that drop
off during the process are collected as chur.
For manufacture of round ganja, on the second
day the plants are rolled under the sole of the
feet. When they acquire a rounded form they are
exposed to the sun; and as soon as they become
a little dried, they are taken up and pressed hard
with the hands to give them a completely round
shape. This is repeated several times until sunset.
The twigs are tied up in loose bundles and kept
under the cover of a mat for the night. On the
third day, after 10 A.M., the bundles are untied
and the twigs are exposed to the sun piece by piece.
They are then taken up and pressed again with the
hands and then laid bare and exposed to the sun till
they become quite dried. Next the twigs are broken
into lengths of 8 to 10 inches, and the bundles are
tied together at the end, the bottom being cut
uniformly. The ganja is then kept under the
cover of a mat for the night. Some time after
the bundles are made, the superfluous leaves are
scraped off by the application of a stick cut and
sharpened to an edge. The manufacture is then
complete.
The broken bits that fall off during the manu-
facture are collected as chur, also called rora. The
leaves are always rejected. The chur is, I under-
stand, nothing but the broken bits of flower that
break off in the process of manufacture. I believe
that the ganja leaf, i.e., the leaf of the cultivated
plant, does not contain intoxicant property, and
could not make bhang or siddhi.
16. Yes, from the wild plant, wherever it grows.
No ganja or charas can possibly be manufactured
from the wild hemp plant. This is my own in-
dividual opinion; but before committing myself to
it, I have made inquiry from those who know about
ganja, and I am told that the wild plant cannot
produce ganja. I understand that this is due to the
absence of flower. It is possible that by a little
manipulation at a certain stage in its growth, some
flower might be produced in the wild plant. But
if it does thus flower, the produce would certainly
be much less potent than the usual excise ganja.
17. Answered already.
18. Ganja deteriorates by keeping. It is not
accounted to be worth much after two years.
In three or four years it is fit only to be thrown
away.
In this respect it resembles tobacco.
Like tobacco, were it compressed and enclosed in
hermetically sealed tins, the progress of deterioration
might be retarded. But under the present con-
ditions it is kept exposed to all sorts of atmos-
pheric changes, and loses what may be called its
fragrance and aroma very soon.
19. Ganja and charas are used only for smok-
ing.
20. As a rule only the poorer classes smoke
ganja: they are sanyasis, bairagis, fakirs, men-
dicants, the poorer agriculturists who work in the
fields exposed to the sun or in damp and wet, day-
labourers, palki-bearers, and a few prostitutes.
The proportion of those who smoke ganja in this
district is very small; I do not believe more than
6,000 for the whole district containing a popula-
tion at the last Census of 1,313,336 souls. The
way I make the calculation is as follows:—
The total consumption in Rajshahi District for
the year 1891-92 was 87 maunds 36 seers, or
3,516 seers, equal to 281,280 tolas.
Taking all classes of consumers into consider-
ation, the average quantity consumed per head per
mensem I estimate to be 4 tolas = 1 3/5 ounces.
Therefore, the total of average for the year is 4 x
12 = 48 tolas. Therefore, the total number of
consumers in the district = 281,280/48 = 5,860, or in
round numbers 6,000 persons.
The consumers of ganja are to be found in all
parts of the district indiscriminately. About
charas I can say nothing.