44. E vidence of RAO SAHIB KRISHNAJI BALLAL DEVAL, Chitpavan, Brahmin,
Mamlatdar and Magistrate, 1st Class, Chiplon.
1. I have been serving in the Revenue Depart
- m e n t f o r t h e l a s t t w e n t y - o n e y e a r s . I h a v e b e e n
serving as Mamlatdar and Magistrate, first class,
for the last twelve years. I have served in five
districts, viz., Be l g a u m, Dh a r wa r , Bi j a p u r , Ca n a r a ,
and Ratnagiri. In my official capacity I have had
many opportunities of observing the general con
- d u c t o f g a n j a c o n s u m e r s . I h a v e h a d t o e x e r c i s e
some control over the retail shops. Some cases of
smuggling have been tried by me.
2. Yes. Round and flat ganja is locally known
as ganja che boot, i.e., ganja buds.
13. Mere cultivation of the hemp plant is not
restricted by law. The High Court of Bombay
have also held so. ( Vide Criminal Rulings No. 82
of 15th November of 1888, Imperatrix vs. Dada
bin Apaji.) Though not restricted, the plant is
not grown by the people in the five districts in
which I have served.
18. From the enquiries I have made with the
retail vendor, I state that if ganja or bhang is
kept for more than one year, it is deteriorated and
becomes unfit for use. In the districts below
Ghats, deterioration commences sooner and begins
to set in after six months form the date of import.
20. Charas is seldom used in the districts in
which I have served. Only ganja is used for
smoking purposes here.
Bairagis, fakirs (travelling mendicants), night
- m o n g e r s , d r a m a t i e c o m p a n y , a n dt
a m a s h a
d a n c e r s
as a class do smoke ganja. In Chiplon taluka,
and especially in the town of Guhagar, a consider
- a b l e
n u m b e r o f B r a h m i n s d o s m o k e a s a r u l e ;
but in the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, Dhar--
war, and Canara Brahmins do not smoke. Gene--
rally speaking, idle folks of all classes do smoke
and drink ganja and bhang in special places where
they assemble to chit-chat.
The population of this taluka is 185,000; out
of this about 80,000 are women and about 25,000
are children, and the number of adult males
amounts to 80,000 nearly. It is also to be noted
here that though the proportion of the persons
consuming these stuffs with the whole population
is 2 per cent., yet it must be borne in mind that
the proportion is 5 per cent. with the male popula--
tion; and as each of these consumers is an adult
male member or a headman of his family, if he
goes astray, the prospects of the whole family are
sure to be marred.
21. Round ganja is generally preferred for
smoking.
23. Bhang or dry leaves of the hemp plant are
seldom imported and used for smoking.
24. In the districts in which I have served,
people do not eat or drink bhang. This practice
prevails in the districts of Northern India, such
as Malwa, Benares, etc.
25. The licensed vendor in this taluka has been
vending these stuffs, ganja and bhang, for the last
twenty-five years ; and he states that the use of this
stuff is highly on the increase, but no minimum or
maximum rate for selling these stuffs is fixed; the
vendor sells as he likes. The evidence is conflict--
ing on this point, because, though there is a gra--
dual decrease in the annual amount of auction
sale, yet the quantity of these stuffs imported by
the shop-keeper, and the fixed duty, is slightly on
the increase. It is also to be noted here that the
habitual moderate ganja-consumers bring good
ganja from other districts and keep in their pos--
session such quantity as is allowed by law.
26. As far as I know, the consumers of ganja
whom I have mentioned generally come under
head (a) habitual moderate consumers, and their
number according to the vendor's statements and
other enquiries made lies between 3,000 and 4,000.
27. Please for the first part of this question see
answer to question 20.
Bairagis, fakirs, and other travelling mendicants
have no established houses. They travel from
village to village, and district to district, with
their families and children. The elders consume
these stuffs, and the youngers follow their
example. When the elders die, the youngers become
elders, and their sons in their turn follow their
example, and so on. In other classes, the practice
is obtained thus :—In a village there is generally
a common place, such as temples, etc. Bad
characters generally assemble there to chit-chat in
the morning and in the evening. 'When idle
talks on some topics begin, some one of these men
gently introduces a smoking pipe called chillum.
Strangers who are not accustomed are gently
pressed to partake of this stuff. This stuff being
an intoxicating drug naturally induces the
beginners to smoke, and in this way the habit is
contracted.
28. The average allowance of ganja, per diem is
about ¼o f a t o t a , a n d i t s c o s t i s a b o u t ¾ o f a p i e
to habitual moderate consumers. Other stuffs are
seldom used here.
30. The consumption of these drugs is practised
in company. It is generally confined to the male
sex to any time of life except childhood, Child--
ren are not the consumers of these drugs.
31. Non-consumers form the habit of consu
m - i n g t h e s e d r u g s i n c o m p a n y w i t h t h e c o n s u m e r s .
it is not too difficult to break off. For I have
actually induced two of my servants to give up the
habit of ganja-smoking, and I have succeeded.
I have also succeeded in two or three other cases
regarding some of my friends.
33. The consumption of these drugs is regarded
as a degrading and ruinous vice. The habit of
consuming these drugs leads to physical and men
- t a l d e t e r i o r a t i o n . I t u n d e r m i n e s t h e s t r u c t u r e
of the society. Its effects are deleterious to the
health, wealth, and knowledge. The consumers of
these drugs are, to the best of my knowledge and
experience, father troublesome to their family
members and neighbours. They become indolent,
and they also become deficient in self-control and
intellect. Hence the public opinion is bad.
34. Certainly not. As ganja smokers are
generally bad characters and indolent section of
the village community, viz , night-mongers, ba
- r a g i s , f a k i r s , e t c . , i t w o u l d n o t b e a s e r i o u s
privation if the consumption is foregone. On the
contrary, it will he a help to society in general ;
because the stuff is admittedly an intoxicating
drug, and is deleterious to the health and intellect,
It induces indolent habits.
35. In the five districts in which I have served,
it would be, in my opinion, feasible to prohibit the
use of these drugs ; because the habit is principally
found among bad characters and travelling mendi-