177

sumes a rupee worth of ganja, and in a year he
has to spend R12 for the drug.

Now the retail price of ganja in this district is
about R20, and the average annual consumption
of this drug in this district for the five years
ending 1891 was 81 maunds. Consequently the
number of ganja consumers in the district is

81 x 40 x 20/12 = 5,400 or, say, 5,000 in round
numbers.

Now, the population of this district, according
to the last census, was 814,919, of whom
399,917 were males and 415,002 were females,
and 188,368 were boys whose age did not exceed
fourteen years. Accordingly, we find that in this
district for every 1,630 persons one is a ganja
smoker, and for every 423 adult males older
than fourteen years one smokes ganja.

21. The following table gives the consumption
of the three varieties of ganja in the different
divisions of Bengal for five years:�

Taking these figures alone, it is to be observed
that round ganja is in favour in the Presidency,
Burdwan, and Orissa Divisions, whilst the flat is
preferred in the Patna, Bhagalpur, Rajshahi,
Dacca, Chittagong, and Chota Nagpur Divisions.
The last named division seems to vacillate between
the flat and the round forms, and in 1889-90
actually fell from its allegiance to round ganja and
took a greater quantity of the flat form.

Geographically it will be possible to draw a curve
line across the map of Bengal, so that a traveller
following the line and starting from Chittagong
and ending with Chota Nagpur will always
have the flat ganja consuming people to his right

and the round ganja consuming people to bis
left. There seems to he no reason, however, why
the people of Eastern Bengal should, in their
ganja comsumption, exhibit an affinity with the
people of Behar rather thau with the people of
Calcutta and Burdwan.

As a matter of fact sales of ganja in a locality
so far as a particular form of it is concerned, are
affected by other considerations. Choice of the
consumers is an insignificant element in them.

In the first place the production of chur being
limited, one must necessarily take either a large
quantity of flat or round. Now it is more profit-
able to sell round than flat ganja. Consequently
every wholesale purchaser wants to take the round
variety in preference to the flat. I understand that
the goladars of the Presidency and Burdwan Divi-
sions are in the habit of advancing loans to the ganja
cultivators of Rajshahi in order to take ganja from
them on more favourable terms than what are
allowed to others. For these favourite goladars the
cultivators prepare a specially good form of round
ganja, known as gol or jesaria. Hence the best part
of the round ganja being taken by these men, the
wholesale dealers of other divisions have to fall
back on flat ganja to make up their requirements.

Again, the Government authorities also exercise
some control in the matter. Both in the district
where the ganja is to be transported and in the
district from which it is to be brought the
Government officials try to force as much of the
flat ganja on the wholesale dealers as they can,
the idea being that flat ganja is less injurious, and
by its large consumption likely to bring in a larger
amount of revenue.

22.  Charas is not produced in Bengal, but is
imported from Allahabad and Amritsar, and also
rarely from Nepal.

23.   Bhang is often used for smoking; but I
am not aware of any special classes of the people
amongst whom this practice is prevalent. It is, I
think, confined to individuals who may have a
fancy to this form of consumption rather than to
any special classes. The common notion is that
bhang is the stepping-stone to ganja. A novice
begins with tobacco, then passes on to the smoking
of bhang, and finally takes up the ganja.

24.  I am unable to answer this question. As
far as I am aware, bhang is either drunk or smoked.
Eating of bhang is not prevalent in any place
known to me.

25.  The following table shows the consumption
of ganja in Bengal for the last ten years for which
figures are available:�

These figures are derived from the published
reports of Government. From the extreme fluc-
tuations in the consumption of the three different
varieties of ganja in different years, the totals
against the different years do not convey any
correct idea whether consumption is really increas-
ing or decreasing. Flat ganja and round ganja