( 2 )
under treatment; of those one was a Muhammadan and the rest were Hindus ; none
belonged to the Gonds, who form the majority of the population of the district.
The Civil Surgeon of Seoni reports that twelve cases only have come under
treatment, and that in the course of his tours in the district he met with only
two other lepers ; of the twelve lepers whose histories were enquired into, only seven
were found to belong to the district, whether any of these belonged to the Gonds
or other aboriginal tribes the report does not say.
In the Balaghàt District there are reported to be 129 lepers, but they are found
chiefly among the Hindu population of the villages below the Ghats.
In the districts of the Narbada Valley, North of the Satpuras, leprosy is more
prevalent than in the hill district, but the numbers are not so great as in the
districts South of the range.
In the District of Jubbulpore the disease is said not to prevail to any extent,
but 42 were collected for treatment with gurjun oil.
In the Narsinghpur district there are 158 lepers, and in Hoshangabad 136
were enumerated, the proportion of the population affected to these two districts of
the Narbada Valley being 46 and 36, respectively, in every 100,000.
Of the Vindyan Districts a list of 160 lepers, or 32 per 100,000, is returned
from Saugor, while in Damoh the number appears to be extremely small, only seven
were enumerated at the census, and the Civil Surgeon states that two only have
come under his observation.
The general result of the enquiry in respect of the distribution of leprosy in
these Provinces is to show that the disease is prevalent in a comparatively high
degree among the population of the districts South of the central range of hills ;
the rates in these districts correspond very closely with the rates of prevalence in
the Deccan Districts of Bombay. Among the population of the hill districts,
of which a large proportion belongs to the aboriginal tribes, leprosy is very little
known, while among the population, chiefly Hindus, that inhabit the Narbada
Valley and Vindyan districts, the numbers are greater than among the population
of the Satpuras, but far less than among the population of the Southern and
Eastern districts.
The rates of prevalence in the Northern districts of these Provinces are in fact
similar to the rates that obtain in Southern districts of the North-Western Provinces.
Lepers are found in the greatest numbers in the large centres of population,
and especially in places resorted to by pilgrims.
In Raipur the greatest numbers proportionately to population are found in
the sadr town and at Bajim—a place to which pilgrims largely resort.
In the town of Chanda, which has a population of 16,000, the number of
lepers amounts to 60, or nearly 40 in every 10,000.
In Nimar the largest numbers are found in the old town of Burhanpur and
the adjoining villages. Of 160 lepers in the Saugor District, 41 were living in the
sadr town which has a population of less than 40,000.
With regard to the incidence of the disease on different classes of the popula-
tion, the report of the late Dr. Aylen, Civil Surgeon of Bhandara, gives the most
complete information, and of this the following table is a summary :
Whole population.
Muhammadans ...
Small traders and scribes or writers
...
Brahmins
Servants, &c., chiefly Dhers ...
Manufacturing castes, chiefly Dhimars and
weavers
...
...
.,.
Agriculturists
Mendicants
Pastoral castes (Gaolis)
..,
...
Artizans
Aboriginal tribes (Gonds)
Hindus not included in the above classes ...
Population,
564,813.
10,696
24,230
5,989
106,927
42,719
198,786
1,737
40,462
30,509
80,661
21,754
Number of
lepers,
740
22
48
9
163
60
273
2
44
25
54
40
Ratio per
10,000,
13.
20
19
15
15
14
13
11
10
8
6
18