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CII. X]

THE CHRONICLES OF LADAKH : TRANSLATION   1 4 5

taxes have been remitted. The poor people have been falsely accused and beaten.

Women without husbands have been compelled to marry, and those who refused have

been sent to prison, and ..." Thereupon the wázir and his retinue would not listen to the

petitioners any longer. He rose and beat [the Ladakhis]. What had not been heard of

since [the days of] Zorawar, viz. beating and main force (auction ? ), were practised on the

occasion of collecting the taxes. Not a jot of the new taxes were remitted. In addition

to the old taxes imposed during the time from Meta Mangal to Wázir Jon-sen four annas

had to be paid on each single rupee. Without having consulted with any of those

[officials] who had at some former time lived in La-dvags the great Dewán on the

14th day of the fifth month of the Fire-Dog year (1886 A.D.) replied to the petition,

" We have certainly listened to the petition of the people of the country, and the high

and great Sri-Maharaja Partáb-Sin loves his Ladakhi subjects and protects them

with love ; but in accordance with a council held with Dewán Lekhman-(Legman)-

Dás, Meta Ser-Sin, Dewán Heránand, and Mirzá 'Ag-bar Beg he has decided that

they should be charged four annas in addition to each rupee of the old taxes." Down to

the year 1942 (1885 A.D.) the taxes had been 32,887 Rs., 2 As., 1 Paisá. There being an

increase of fpur annas (to each rupee), the increase was 8,221 Rs., 12 As., and the sum

total for one year became 41,108 Rs., 14 As., 1 Paisá. Victuals, as butter, root-wood,

wood from Tar, etc., were fixed at the rate of the old taxes. What had been taken in

addition to these taxes was returned to all the kings and the nobility. Stamp duties,

police [contributions], horse-taxes, sheep-taxes, mint-annas (they were formerly paid

by the ordinary people, the nobility being exempted) were imposed on all, great and

small. Then the people became as happy as before and full of cheer. They were ordered

to return to La-dvags. In the year 1943 (1886 A.D.), on the fourth day of Har,1 they all

left Kha-chul. In their lot-casting at He-hbab (Hem-hbab ?) castle the lama Bkra-sis-

bstan-hphel recognized the following :—It was found that the Lha (god) Lha-btsan-

rdo-rje of the Mkhar-rdzon-pass said the following :-

At first the weight of the taxes is like a thumb ; In the end it is like a little finger !

So it was found : it was the Lha who discerned it. In the year 1941 (1884 A.D.)

a rumour spread that the Mhádi of the Musulmans had arisen.

4

58.

P.

NOTES

Local names :—Kaphurthala (Kapurthala), a well-known native state in the Panjab. The Mkhar-rdzoi► pass is found in the range between Ladakh and Nub-ra, north of Leh.

As regards the great quarrel about the taxes, it is of particular interest that the antagonism between the nobility and the peasants of Ladakh thereby became evident. It was probably of more ancient origin. In the prophecy at the end of the account I have taken the word chun-ma as meaning " small ". The proverb of " God and the hungry man " I do not know.

The first borrowed Urda word in the Rgyal-rabs is found in the account of Seia-ge-rnam-rgyal. But Urdia borrowings have been on the increase ever since. In the last chapters of the Rgyal-rabs even a few English words are found.

Borrowed Urda (or Persian) words are the following (for reff. see Index) :—'ab-brag (abrd,), outer fold of

1 [Perhaps this represents the Panjabi or Kashmir' Hak. or HŰy (Sanskrit ~4scidhaj, the name of a month covering halves of June and Jule.—F. W. T.]

U