ETAWAH, a town and district of British India, in the Agra division of the United Provinces. The town is situated on the left bank of the Jumna. Pop. (1931) Deep fissures inter sect the various quarters of the town, over which broad roads connect the higher portions by bridges and embankments. The Jamma Musjid (Great Mosque) is the chief architectural orna ment of Etawah. It was originally a Hindu temple, and was adapted to its present use by the Mohammedan conquerors. Several fine Hindu temples also stand about the mound on which are the ruins of the ancient fort. The manufactures include cotton cloth, skin-bottles, combs and horn-ware.
The DISTRICT OF ETAWAH has an area of 5,689 sq.m., stretching across the level plain of the Doab, and beyond the valley of the Jumna, to the gorges of the Chambal, and the last rocky outliers of the Vindhyan range. The district exhibits a striking variety of surface and scenery. In the Doab portion the tract to the north east of the river Sengar is rich and fertile, being watered by the Ganges canal ; across the Sengar there is no canal and less fertility. Near the banks of the Jumna, the plain descends into the river valley by a series of wild ravines and terraces, inhabited only by a scattered race of hereditary herdsmen. Beyond the Jumna again a strip of British territory extends along the tangled gorges of the Chambal and the Kuari Nadi, far into the borders of the Gwalior state. Important experiments have been made in reclaiming ravines and afforestation.
Etawah was marked out by its physical features as a secure retreat for the turbulent tribes of the Upper Doab, and it was not till the 12th century that any of the existing castes settled on the soil. After the Mohammedan conquests of Delhi and the sur rounding country, the Hindus of Etawah appear to have held their own for many generations against the Mohammedan power; but in the i6th century Baber conquered the district with the rest of the Doab, and it remained in the hands of the Moguls until the decay of their empire. After passing through the usual vicis situdes of Mahratta and Jat conquests during the long anarchy which preceded the British rule, Etawah was annexed by the wazir of Oudh in 1773, and ceded to the East India Company in 1801. In 1931 the population was 746,005.