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13. Evidence of ISHAN CHANDRA PATRANAVISH, Bengali, Brahmin, Extra
Assistant Commissioner, Sylhet.
1. In my official capacity as Extra Assistant
Commissioner in charge of the Excise Department
of the district, I have to deal with matters con-
nected with hemp drugs.
2. Hemp plants are not cultivated in this
district. In some places, however, a species of
plant grows spontaneously, which is called
bhang and which never produces ganja of any
description. Ganja is imported from Rajshahi
in Bengal, and the description given in the ques-
tion of the three several kinds is the description
of the kinds of ganja brought here for consump-
tion, and they are known and sold by these very
same names.
3. I have no knowledge of any other districts
of this province than Sylhet in regard to the
spontaneous growth of hemp plants. In Sylhet,
ganja plants are not known to grow spontaneously;
but, as I have stated above, a plant called bhang,
perhaps of the same species with the hemp plants,
grows spontaneously in some parts, but nowhere
abundantly. In the Khasi Hills, however, I
understand ganja plants grow wild; but their
quality, I am told, is inferior to that of those
imported from Rajshahi.
4. Bhang is known as bhang all over the
district.
5. It appears that a moist kind of land is more
congenial to the growth of bhang plants.
6. Growth of bhang seems to be scattered.
7. No.
11. I do not know.
12. No.
13. No.
14. No.
16. Bhang from bhang plants is sometimes pre-
pared, but not generally, and only for the purpose
of drinking as a medicine in bowel complaints.
On the Sarswati (goddess of learning) Puja day
some people also drink a preparation of this drug,
called "ghuta" or siddhi, or eat a preparation
called "laddu;" but the practice is gradually
going out of use. The method of preparation is
very simple. Some leaves of the plant are crush-
ed and mixed with milk and sugar or sugar and
water and then drunk. "Laddus" are made of
leaves and gur boiled together and made into
small balls. The preparation for medicinal pur-
poses consists only of crushed leaves and powdered
black pepper mixed with water.
18. Yes, ganja deteriorates by keeping. It
begins to lose its effect after one year's keeping.
After two years it is not at all sought for. It
keeps good up to one year with ordinary care.
The cause of its deterioration is dryness on account
of exposure and long keeping, making the aggluti-
nated flower tops drop off. This causes the loss of
its intoxicating power and makes its smell bad. To
prevent deterioration it is kept in wooden ware-
houses or golas lined with tin in bundles wrapped
up in straw and gunny.
19. Charas is not used in this district. Ganja
is only used for smoking.
20. The people of lower classes, generally such as
charal, zugi, patni, tea-garden coolies, sweepers,
malis, dhobas, dhulis, etc., and fakirs and sanyasis
or mendicants smoke ganja. Some people of other
classes also sometimes smoke this drug; but their
number is very limited. Ganja-smoking is not
confined to any particular locality of the district.
I am unable to say what proportion of the people
smoke ganja.
21. Mostly flat ganja is smoked here.
23. No; so far as I know.
24. The residents of the district, as I have al-
ready said in my answer to question No. 16, only
drink this drug for medicinal purposes, and some-
times eat it also, making a preparation of it
with gur (called "laru") on Sripanchami Puja
days. But the use of neither of these can be said
to be universal.
When the residents of the
district use bhang, they use the stuff grown
here. But the up-country men, such as Deswalis
and Kayans, generally use the bhang, which they
get from Calcutta. This is a better stuff, and is
grown in upper provinces. The up-country men
questioned by me say that the bhang which
grows here is stronger than the stuff which they
get from Calcutta, and its leaves also are bigger
than those of the bhang which grow in upper
provinces.
25. I give below the quantities of ganja sold in
this district during the last three years—
Mds.
Srs.
Chts.
1890-91
360
22
4¼
1891-92
350
7
10
1892-93
334
23
10½
The above shows that the use of the drug is on
the decrease, which, it seems to me, is due partly
to the enhancement of duty and license fees and
partly to dearness of food-grains and other attend-
ant circumstances.
26. I am unable to answer this question satis-
factorily; but I suppose the number of habitual
excessive consumers of ganja is not large in this
district.
27. The classes from which the consumers of
ganja come have already been stated in answer
No. 20. The other part of the question I cannot
quite answer. The mendicants almost as a class
use ganja.
28. So far as I can ascertain, a habitual moder-
ate consumer consumes on an average half a
katcha of ganja per diem, cost one anna and nine
pies, and a habitual excessive consumer on an
average about one katcha or a little more of ganja
per diem, cost three or four annas.
29. When preparing the ganja for the chillum,
a small quantity of tobacco leaf is mixed with it,
for the purpose of flavour it seems. I am not
aware of any bhang massala being sold here..
30. The tendency is to smoke ganja in company
rather than in solitude. Yes; it is confined to the
male sex, not to any particular time of life; but
children do not, as a rule, smoke ganja.
31. Yes; it seems that the habit of smoking
ganja is easily formed by association. It seems
to be difficult to break off the habit when once
formed. Generally moderate smoking of ganja
leads to excessive smoking.
32. There does not seem to be any particular
custom, social or religious, in regard to the con-
sumption of ganja. I am not aware of any parti-
cular religious custom in which ganja is essential.
4 c