thian king Kanishka. They were presented evolved all the modern vernacular scripts of by Lord Minto's Government to the Buddhists India. The Kharoshthi was written from right of Burma and are now enshrined at Mandalay. to left, and was a modified form of an ancient To about the same age belong the stupas at Aramaic alphabet introduced into the Punjab Manikyala in the Punjab opened by Ranjit during the period of the Persian domination Singh's French Generals, Ventura and Court, in the 5th century B.C. It was prevalent up to in 1830. Some of them contained coins of the 4th century A.D., and was supplanted by Kanishka. the Brahmi. The earliest dateable inscriptions are the celebrated edicts of Asoka to which a One group of reference has been made above. these has been engraved on rocks, and another on pillars. They have been found from Shahbazgarhi 40 miles north-east of Peshawar to Nigliva in the Nepal Tarai, from Girnar in Kathia war to Dhauli in Orissa, from Kalsi in the Lower Himalayas to Siddapur in Mysore, showing by the way the vast extent of territory held by him. The reference in his Rock Edicts to the five contemporary Greek Princes, Antio. chus II. of Syria, Ptolemy Philadelphus, and so forth is exceedingly interesting, and fixes His BC. 269 as the date of his coronation. Rumiaindet pillar inscription, again, discovered in Nepal Tarai, now settles, beyond all doubt, the birth-place of Buddha which was for long disputed. Another noteworthy record is the inscription of the Besnagar pillar. The pillar had been known for a long time but Sir John Marshall was the first to notice the inscription on it. It records the erection of this column, which was a Garuda pillar, in honour of the god Vasudeva by one Heliodoros, son of Dion, who is described as an envoy of King Antial kidas of Taxila. Structural Temples. Of this class the carliest examples are the Varaha temple at Deogarh, District Jhansi, another temple at Sanchi, the brick temples at Bhitargaon in the district of Cawnpore, all of which belong to the Gupta period and a later one at Tigowa in the Central Provinces. In South India we have two more examples, viz., Lad Khan and Durga temples at Aihole in Bijapur, the latter of which cannot be later than the eighth century A.D. The only common characteristic is flat roots without spires of any kind. In other respects they are entirely different and already here we mark the beginning of the two styles, IndoAryan and Dravidian, whose differences become more and more pronounced from the 7th century onwards. In the Indo-Aryan style, the most prominent ones tend to the perpendicular, and in the Dravidian to the horizontal. The salient feature of the former again is the curvilinear steeple and of the latter, the pyramidal tower. The most notable examples of the first kind are to be found among the temples of Dhu baneswar in Orissa, Khajarah in Bundelkhand, Osia in Jodhpur, and Dilwara on Mount Abu. One of the best known groups in the Dravidian style is that of the Mamallapuram Raths, of Seven Pagodas, on the seashore to the south of Madras. They are each hewn out of a block of granite, and are rather models of temples than raths. They are the earliest examples of typical Dravidian architecture, and belong to the 7th century. To the same age has to be assigned the temple of Kailasanath at Conjee veram, and to the following century some of the temples at Aihole and Pattadkal of the Bijapur District, Bombay Presidency, and the monolithic temple of Kailasa at Ellora, referred to above. Of the later Dravidian style the great temple at Tanjore and the Srirangam temple of Trichinopoly are the best examples. Intermediate between these two main styles comes the architecture of the Deccan, called Chalukyan by Fergusson. In this style the plan becomes polygonal and star-shaped instead of quadrangular; and the high-storeyed spire is converted into a low pyramid in which the horizontal treatment of the Dravidian is combined with the perpendicular of the IndoAryan. Some fine examples of this type exist at Dambal, Rattihali, Tilliwalli and Hangal ir Dharwar, Bombay Presidency, and at Ittag and Warangal in Nizam's Dominions. But it is in Mysore among the tempies at Hallebid, Belur, and Somnathpur that the style is found in its full perfection. Inscriptions. We now come to inscriptions, of which numbers have been brought to light in India. They have been engraved on varieties of materials, but principally on stone and copper. The earliest of these are found incised in two distinct kinds of alphabet, known as Brahmi and Kharoshthi. The Brahmi was read from left to right, and from it have been Heliodoros is herein called The donor of this cave, a Bhagavata, which shows that though a Greek India with the 13th century after the per- and that near the Qutb Minar are instances of and at the same time was characterised by elaborate richness of ornamentation. The Qutb Minar and tombs of Altamsh and Ala-ud-din Khilji are typical examples. Of the Sharqi style we have three mosques in Jaunpur with several tombs. At Mandu in the Dhar State, a third form of Saracenic architecture sprang up, and we have here the Jami Masjid, Hoshang's tomb, Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal as the most notable instances of the secular and 46 may Director-General The res The Ancient for of Archæology. ecclesiastical styles of the Malwa Pathans. The Sir) Alexander Cunningham, who was also the Muhammadans of Bengal again developed their first own style, and Pandua, Malda, and Gaur teem next advance was the initiation of the local Surwith the ruins of the buildings of this type, the veys in Bombay and Madras three years after. important of which are the Adina Masjid of The work of these Surveys, however, was Kadam tricted to antiquarian research and descripSikandar Shah, the Elakhi mosque, forth. The Bahmani tion of monuments, and the task of conserving Rasul Masjid, and so dynasty of Gulbarga and Bidar were also great old buildings was left to the fitful efforts of the builders, and adorned their capitals with impor- local Governments, often without expert guidtant buildings. The most striking of these is ance or control. It was only in 1878 that the the great mosque of Gulbarga, which differs Government of India under Lord Lytton awokе from all mosques in India in having the whole to this deplorable condition, and sanctioned central area covered over so that what in others a sum of 3 lakhs to the repair of monuments in would be an open court is here roofed by sixty- United Provinces, and soon after appointed a "Of the various forms conservator Major Cole, who did useful work for three years. Then a reaction set in, and his three small domes. which the Saracenic architecture assumed, "that of Ahmedabad abolished. The first systematic step towards resays Fergusson, probably be considered to be the most elegant." post and that of the Director-General were It is notable for its carved stone work; and the cognising official responsibility in conservation work of the perforated stone windows in Sidi matters was taken by Lord Curzon's Government, Sayyid's mosque, the carved niches of the who established the seven Archæological Circles minars of many other mosques, the sculptured that now obtam, placed them on a permanent Mihrabs and domed and panelled roofs is so footing and united them together under the conexquisite that it will rival anything of the sort trol of a Director-General, provision being also executed elsewhere at any period. No other made for subsidising local Governments out of style is so essentially Hindu. In complete con- imperial funds, when necessary. trast with this was the form of architecture donuments Preservation Act was passeu employed by the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bija- he protection of historic monuments and relics trace of especially in private possession and also for State pur. There is here relatively little Hindu forms or details. The principal buildings control over the excavation of ancient sites and now left at Bijapur are the Jami Masjid, traffic in antiquities. Under the direction of Sir Gagan Mahal, Mihtar Mahal, Ibrahim Rauza John Marshall, Kt., C.I.E., Director-General of and mosque and the Gol Gumbaz. Like their Archæology, a comprehensive and systematic predecessors, the Pathans of Delhi, the Moghuls campaign of repair and excavation has been Their style first prosecuted, and the result of it is manifest in were a great building race. began to evolve itself during the reign of Akbar the present altered conditions of many old and in a combination of Hindu and Muhammadan historic buildings and in the scientific excavafeatures. Noteworthy among the emperor's tion of buried sites such as Taxila, PataliAgra. buildings are the tomb of Humayun, and the putra, Sanchi in the Bhopal State, Sarnath near Of Benares, and in the Indus Valley at Harappa in palaces at Fatehpur Sikri and Jehangir's time his mosque at Lahore and the the Punjab and Mohenjo Daro in Sind. Of all tomb of Itimad-ud-daula are the most typical these works those of most general interest are structures. "The force and originality of the the Mohenjo Daro excavations for here the Archstyle gave way under Shah Jahan to a delicate æological Department have unearthed remains And it of pre-historic cities dating back to 3000 B.C. the Legislative elegance and refinement of detail. " was during his reign that the most splendid of and further. The Finance Department of the the Moghul tombs, the Taj Mahal at Agra, the Government of India invited tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, was con- Assembly in March 1926, to allocate half a crore Fort is of rupees from a non-recurring surplus to form Masjid in Agra structed. The Moti pure and elegant monu an endowment fund for excavation, so that there should be a regular income of two and purpose. Strong another surpassingly the a half lakhs of rupees for the was advanced against ment of his time. Department.-As Archæological archeological monuments of India must at- Brahmin opposition tract the attention of all intelligent visitors, they the proposal and it fell through, but other mearevenue grants would naturally feel desirous to know something sures have been taken to ensure that the researof the Archæological Department. The work ches in the Indus Valley shall be pursued in the of this Department is primarily two-fold, con best possible manner on the servation, and research and exploration. None available. The Secretary of State recently He arrived in but spasmodic efforts appear to have been made sanctioned the appointment of an eminent by Government in these directions till 1870 when Orientalist and explorer to take charge of the they established the Archæological Survey of Mohonjo Daro excavations. India and entrusted it to General (afterwards India in November, 1926. Indian Time. For many years Indian time was in a state of chaotic confusion. What was called Madras or Railway time was kept on all the railways: and each great centre of population kept its own local time, which was not based on any common scientific principle and was divorced from the standards of all other countries. It was with a view to remedying this confusion that the Government of India took the matter up in 1904, and addressed to the Local Governments, and through them to all local bodies, a long letter which reviewed the situation and made suggestions for the future. The essential points in this letter are indicated below: "In India we have already a standard time, which is very generally, though by no means universally, recognised. It is the Madras local time, which is kept on all railway and telegraph lines throughout India and which is 5h. 21m. 108. in advance of Greenwich. Similarly, Rangoon local time is used upon the railways and telegraphs of Burma, and is 6h. 24m. 47s. ahead of Greenwich. But neither of these standards bears a simple and easily remembered relation to Greenwich tine. "The Government of India have several times been addressed by scientific Societies, both in India and in England, and urged to fall into line with the rest of the civilised world. And now the Royal Society has once more returned to the attack. The Committee of that Society which advises the Government of India upon matters connected with its observatories, writes:-' The Committee think that a change from Madras time to that corresponding to a longitude exactly 5 hours east of Greenwich would be an improvement upon the existing arrangements; but that for international scientific purposes the hourly zone system, making the time 5 hours in advance of Greenwich in the west, and 6 hours in advance in the east of India would be preferable.' "Now if India were connected with Europe by a continuous series of civilised nations with their continuous railway systems all of which had adopted the European hour-zone system, it would be imperative upon India to conform and to adopt the second suggestion. But as she is not, and as she is as much isolated by uncivilised States as Cape Colony is by the ocean, it is open to her to follow the example of that and other similarly situated colonies and to adopt the first suggestion. some the "It is believed that this will be the better solution. There are obvious objections to drawing an arbitrary line right acros8 richest and most populous portions of India, and so as to bisect all the main lines of communication, and keeping times differing by an hour on opposite sides of that line. India has become accustomed to a uniform standard in the Madras time of the railways; and the substitution for it of a double standard would appear to be a retrograde step; while it would, in all probability, be strongly opposed by the railway authorities. Moreover, it is very desirable that whatever system is adopted should be followed by all Europeans and Indians alike; and it is certain that the double standard would puzzle the latter greatly; while by emphasising the fact that railway differed from local time, it might postpone or even altogether prevent the acceptance of the former instead of the latter by people generally over a large part of India. The one great advantage which the second possesses over the brst alternative is, that under the former, the difference between local and standard time can never exceed half an hour: whereas under the latter it will even exceed an But this inconvenience is believed to be smaller hour in the extreme cases of Karachi and Quetta. Indian system of railways and telegraphs. than that of keeping two different times on the "It is proposed, therefore to put on all the railway and telegraph clocks in India by 8m. 50s. They would then represent a time 5 hours faster than that of Greenwich, which would be known as Indian Standard Time: and the difference between standard and local time at the places mentioned below would be ing minutes, and F. and S. meaning that the approximately as follows, the figures represent standard time is in advance of or behind local time respectively:-Dibrugarh 51 S., Shillong 38 S, Calcutta 24 S., Allahabad 2 F., Madras 9 F., Lahore 33 F.. Bombay 39 F., Peshawar 44 F., Karachi 62 F., Quetta 62 F. "This standard time would be as much as 54 and 55 minutes behind local time at Mandalay and Rangoon, respectively; and since the railway system of Burma is not connected with that of India, and already keeps a time of its own, namely, Rangoon local time, it is not suggested that Indian Standard Time should be adopted in Burma. It is proposed, however, that instead of using Rangoon Standard Time as at present, which is 6h. 24m. 47s. in advance of Greenwich, a Burma Standard Time should be adopted on all the Burmese railways and telegraphs, which would be cne hour in advance of Indian Standard Time, or 6 hours ahead of Greenwich time, and would correspond with 97° 30′ E. longitude. The change would bring Burma time into simple relation both with European and with Indian time, and would (among other things) simplify telegraphic communication with other countries. "Standard time will thus have been fixed for rail. ways and telegraphs for the whole of the Indian Empire. Its general adoption for all purposes, while eminently advisable, is a matter which must be left to the local community in each case." It is difficult to recall, without a sense of bewilderment, the reception of this proposal by various local bodies. To read now the fears that were entertained if Standard Time was adopted is a study in the possibilities of human error. The Government scheme left local bodies to decide whether or not they would adopt it. Calcutta decided to retain its own local time, and to-day Calcutta time is still twenty-four minutes in advance of Standard Time. In Bombay the first reception of the proposal was hostile; but on reconsideration the Chamber of Commerce decided in favour of it and so did the Municipality. Subsequently the opposing element in the Municipality brought in a side resolution, by which the Municipal clocks 1st were put at Bombay time which is thirty-nine minutes behind Standard Time. On the January 1906 all the railway and telegraph clocks in India were put at Indian Standard Time; in Burma the Burma Standard Time became universal. Calcutta retains its former Calcutta time; but in Bombay local time is retained only in the clocks which are maintained by the Municipality and in the establishments of some orthodox Hindus. Elsewhere Standard Time is universal. TIDAL CONSTANTS. The approximate standard time of High Water may be found by adding to, or subtract ing from, the time of High Water at London Bridge, given in the calendar, the correction given as below: Coinage, Weights and Measures. As the currency of India is based upon the ripee, statements with regard to money are generally expressed in rupees, nor has it been found possible in all cases to add a conversion into sterling. Down to about 1873 the gold vake of the rupee (containing 165 grains of pure silver) was approximately equal to 28., or ene-tenth of a £, and for that period it is easy to convert rupees into sterling by striking of the final cipher (Rs. 1,000-£100). But after 1873, owing to the depreciation of silver as compared with gold throughout the world, there came a serious and progressive fall in the exchange, until at one time the gold value of the rupee dropped as low as 18. In order to provide a remedy for the heavy loss caused to the Government of India in respect of its gold payments to be made in England, and also to relieve foreign trade and finance from the inconvenience due to constant and unforeseen fluctuations in exchange, it was resolved in 1893 to close the mints to the free coinage of silver, and thus force up the value of the rupee by restricting the circulation. The intention was to raise the exchange value of the rupee to le. 4d., and then introduce a gold standard at the rate of Rs. 15-£1. From 1899 onwards the value of the rupee was maintained, with insignificant fluctuations, at the proposed rate of 1s. 4d. until February 1920 when the recommendation of the Committee appointed in the previous year that the rupee should be linked with gold and not with sterling at 2s. instead of 1s. 4d. was adopted. This was followed by great fluctuations. (See article on Currency System). Notation. Another matter in connection with the expression of money statements in terms of rupees requires to be explained. The method of numerical notation in India differs from that which prevails throughout Europe. Large numbers are not punctuated in hundreds of thousands and millions, but in lakhs and crores. A lakh is one hundred thousand (written out as 1,00,000), and a crore a one hundred lakhs or ten millions (written out as 1,00,00,000). Consequently, according to the exchange value of the rupee, a lakh of rupees (Rs. 1,00,000) may be read as the equivalent of £10,000 before 1873, and as the equi valent of (about) £6,667 after 1899, while a crore of rupees (Rs. 1,00,00,000) may similarly be read as the equivalent of £1,000,000 before 1873, and as the equivalent of (about) £666.667 after 1899. With the rupee at 1s. 6d. a lakh is equivalent to £7,500 and a crore is equivalent to £750,000. Coinage.-Finally, it should be mentioned that the rupee is divided into 16 annas, a fraction commonly used for many purposes by both Indians and Europeans. The anna was formerly reckoned as 1d., it may now be considered as exactly corresponding to 1d. The anna is again sub-divided into 12 pies. Weights. The various systems of weights used in India combine uniformity of scale with immense variations in the weight of units. The scale used generally throughout Northern India, and less commonly in Madras and Bombay, may be thus expressed one maund 40 seers, one seer-16 chittaks or 80 tolas. The actual weight of a seer varies greatly from district to district, and even from village to village, but in the standard system the tola is 180 grains Troy (the exact weight of the rupee), and the seer thus weighs 2.057 lb., and the maund 82-28 lb. The standard is used in official reports. may, universal custom in India is to express them in seers per The name of the unit for square measurement in India generally is the bigha, which varies greatly in different parts of the country. But areas have been expressed in this work either in square miles or in acres. Proposed reforms.—Indian weights and measures have never been settled upon an organised basis suitable for commerce and trade characteristic of the modern age. They vary from town to town and village to village in a way that could only work satisfactorily so long as the dealings of towns and villages were self-contained and before roads and railways opened up trade between one and the other. It is pointed out that in England a hogshead of wine contains 63 gallons and a hogshead of beer only 54 gallons; that a bushei of corn weighs 46 lbs. in Sunderland and 240 lbs. in Cornwall; that the English stone weight represents 14 lbs. in popular estimation, but only 5 lbs., if we are weighing glass, and eight for meat, but 6 lbs. for cheese. Similar instances are multiplied in India by at least as many times as India is bigger than England. If we take, for instance, the maund denomination of weight common all over India, we shall find that in a given city there are nearly as many maunds as there are articles tween district and district the state of affairs to weigh. If we consider the maund as beis worse. Thus in the United Provinces alone, the maund of sugar weighs 48 seers in Cawnpore, 40 in Muttra, 72 in Gorakhpur, 40 in Agra, 50 in Moradabad, 43 in Saharanpur, 50 in Bareilly, 46 in Fyzabad, 48 in Shabjehanpur, 51 in Goshangun ze The maund |