BHOPAL, the capital of the territory of the same name. in India, lies in lat. 23°14' n., and long. 77° 33' east. It is surrounded by. a dilapidated stone will of about 2 m. in circuit. 'The fort, which is the residence of the nawab, stands on ft huge rock out side the town. B. is worthy of notice mainly in connection with two immense tanks in the immediate neighbo•hood—one of them being 2 in. in length, and the other ineasnr lag 4+ in. by 1+. As each sends forth a river, they have most probably been formed by the embanking and damming up of their respective streams.—The territory of 13. is a' protected state, under the immediate superintendence of the governor-general. It is situated within the basins of the Ganges and in lat. 22° 32' to 23° 46' n., and long. 76° 25' to 78' 50' e.; its area being estimated at 6764 sq.m., and its population, on an assumed average for Central India. at 662 872. Though the vast mass of the people are Hindus, yet the government is Mohammedan, and is understood to be more popular in its character than any other in India.
13110TAN', or BOO'TAN, an independent territory in the n.e. of India, on the southern slope of the Himalayas, in lat. 26° 18' to 28" 2' n., and long. 88° 32' to 92" 20' e.. being bounded on the e. by Assam, on the s. by Bengal, and on the w. by Sikkim. With an area of 10,000 to 20.000 sq.m., it was estimated in 1864 to contain only 20,000 inhab itants, but later information points to a larger figure. The whole surface may be
described as mountainous, with a gradual slope from n. to south. Generally speaking, the middle ridges are the most productive. While the s. presents but a scanty vege tation, and the it. rises far above the limit of perpetual snow. tile central regions, at an elevation of 8000 or 10,000 ft. above the sea, are covered with the finest forests of oak and pine. Nearly all sorts of grain—wheat. barley, rice, maize, and buckwheat—are here and there cultivated on favorable spots; but much grain is still imported from Ben gal, being obtained. as well as sugar and tobacco, in return for native cloths, rock-salt. rhubarb. Thibet goods, mu'cs, and ponies. The religion is Buddhism, the monastic endowments of its priests absorbing a large part of the national property. The govern ment, almost purely ecclesiastical, is in the hands of an oligarchy. The dlierma rajah, the nominal bead, is treated rather as a god than as a soyereigu; while the deb rajah, the actual head, is controlled in almost everything by a council of eight. Polyandry and polygamy equally conspire to keep down the numbers of the population.
BIIONVAIr, BiloWANY, BlInWANN•E, or BIIIIVANI, a t. of British India, in the district of Ilissar, Punjab, 53 in. w. of Delhi. The pop. in 1808 was 3•,254.