73

30. Evidence of MR. A. E. HARWARD, Offg. Magistrate and Collector, Bogra.

1.  I have served in different districts of the pro-
vince since 1885.

2.  These definitions are correct. The names in
common use here are bhang, siddhi, and charas.

Flat ganja=chipta ganja. Round ganja=
gol ganja. Broken ganja=chur ganja.

3.  The wild hemp plant occurs in most districts
of Bengal. It grows abundantly in the western
part of this district.

4.  There are two varieties—

(1) The ordinary hemp plant as it is found
wild, known as the bhang plant.

(2) The cultivated variety, from which ganja
is obtained, known as the "ganja"
plant.

Whether the two plants are specifically dif-
ferent, or whether the differences between them
are the result of the careful cultivation of the
ganja plant, is a question on which I am not
competent to give an opinion.

5. The hemp plant grows best on light sandy
soil, on high ground with moderate, but not ex-
cessive, rainfall.

6.  Usually dense.

7.  (a) It is cultivated for the production of
ganja in the Adamdighi and Nawabganj thanas
of this district, and in the adjoining portions of
the Rajshabi and Dinajpur districts. The plant is
not cultivated in this district for the purpose
specified in (c) and (d).

(b) There is no regular cultivation of the plant
in this district for use as bhang. The wild plant
often grows spontaneously in the neighbourhood
of houses, and such growth is sometimes protected
and encouraged by householders for their own
use, but there is no cultivation in the proper
sense of the word.

8.  The following figures show the area culti-
vated in this district only:—

These figures have been obtained from Naogaon;
the variations are attributed to the ordinary
course of supply and demand.

9.  The process of cultivation is described in the
report of Babu Hem Chander Ker. I can add
nothing of importance to his description.

10.  They do not form a special class; they are
Muhammadan cultivators in no way different to
the bulk of the population of the district.

11.  This is never done in this part of the country.
I cannot say whether it is ever done elsewhere.
Only the seed of the cultivated ganja plant is
used.

12.  I have never heard of the cultivation of
wild hemp for the production of ganja.

13.  The cultivation is confined to the tract men-
tioned in the reply to question No. 7. The selec-
tion of this tract appears to have been fortuitous.

A light sandy loam is most suitable for the
growth of ganja. A heavy clayey soil is un-
suitable. I believe that abundance of soil suitable
for ganja cultivation could be found in many
districts where no ganja is at present grown.

14. (a) Ganja is prepared in the tract where
the ganja plant is grown.

(b)  Charas is not prepared in the plains of
Bengal.

(c)  Bhang is prepared by people for their own
consumption from the leaves of the wild plant.

15. Ganja is prepared from the cultivated plant
in the manner described in the report of Babu
Hem Chunder Ker. The ganja so prepared is
used for smoking. I am informed that it is
also occasionally used for eating; but this is
rare.

Bhang in this district is prepared by the con-
sumers in their own homes from the leaves of the
wild plant. I am informed that the leaves are
boiled in milk and then dried, and subsequently
pounded, and from the pounded leaves an emul-
sion is made with milk and sugar. There are also
other methods of preparing the drink, but I have
not got accurate information about the details.

I am informed that ganja smokers sometimes
smoke bhang leaves when they cannot get ganja,
but this is exceptional.

16.  Bhang is generally prepared by the con-
sumers in their houses. In districts where bhang
is sold the first stage of preparation of the leaves
is carried out by the vendor, but the drink is
always prepared by the consumers at home. In
the plains of Bengal bhang can always be pre-
pared from the hemp plant wherever found.
Ganja and charas cannot be prepared from the
wild plant.

17.  There is no special class of men devoted to
the preparation of these drugs here. Ganja is
usually prepared either by the cultivators them-
selves with or without the assistance of hired
labourers or by hired labourers employed by dealers
who purchase the standing crop.

18.   Ganja deteriorates by keeping. After two
or three years it loses its effect completely. With
ordinary care it will keep good for a year. Ex-
posure to the atmosphere appears to be the cause
of deterioration. It might perhaps be preserved
longer if kept in air-tight cases, but I am not
aware that the experiment has been tried.

19.  Ganja is not used to any extent, except
for smoking. Babu Fakir Chunder Chatterjee,
Deputy Collector, informs me that in Behar many
people put ganja in their mouths and suck it. And
that in Lower Bengal some ganja smokers by way
of bravado eat raw ganja, but these practices
appear to be quite exceptional. Charas is only
used for smoking. It is not used in this district.

20.  The use of ganja is not confined to any
particular class, but it is more common among the
lower classes than among the upper. It is also
more used by labourers, artisans, and menial
servants than by the cultivating classes. Baira-
gies, sanyasis, and religious mendicants generally
are specially addicted to the use of ganja. The
up-country coolies who are continually passing

                                                          N