KOTAGI RI, on the Neilgherry Hills, in lat. 11° 20' to 11° 20' 10" N., long. 51' to 76' 56' E., situated 12 miles east of Coonoor, and G500 feet above sea-level, or rather from the Bowani river. This station is much drier than either Coonoor or Ooty, and although not so cold as the latter, during the summer months the thermometer never rises above and is then like an English summer, and far more pleasant than Switzerland. In a sanitary point of view, it is the healthiest of all three. Invalids who cannot stand the cold of Ooty and the damp of Coonoor, fly here for com fort and restoration to health. The Kotagiri Ghat begins about 1/ miles north from Meta polliam, and is about 12 miles in length. Tea is largely cultivated. Rainfall about 50 inches.
KO'l'AII, a Native State in Rajputana, between lat. 24° 30' and 51' N., and long. 40' and 59' E. Kotah is an offshoot from Bunch'. (Boondee), forming with that state the tract named llaraoti, after the dominant tribe of Rajputs. Kotah, the principal town, is in lat. 25° 10' N., and long. 52' E., on the right bank of the river Chambal. East of the town extends an extensive artificial lake, the Kishar Sagar, which affords facilities for irrigation. The principality of Kotah was formed about the beginning of the 17th century by the chief of Bundi, who was forced by the inaharana of Oudeypore to cede half his territory to his younger brother. Subse quently, like all the other Rajput states, Kotah had been despoiled by the Maltrattas, and was under obligations to pay tribute to each of the three great Mahratta families of Malwa, the Puar, Sindia, and Holkar, as well as to the peshwa. Kotah was then saved from absolute ruin by the talents of its minister, raj rani Zalim Singh, into whose hand maharao Omeid Singh surrendered all power, and in the course of forty-five years he raised the Kotah state to be one of the most powerful and flourishing in Rajputana. He was
one of the first of the Rajput chiefs to co-operate with the British Government for the suppression of the I'indaras in 1817. Zalim Singh died in 1824, and his son Madho Singh succeeded him. In 1828, the maharao Kishore Singh was suc ceeded by his nephew, Ram Singh. In 1834 dis putes broke out between Ram Singh and his minister, Mudden Singh, the son and successor of Madho Singh. There was danger of a popular rising for the expulsion of the minister, and it was therefore resolved, with the consent of the chief of Kotali, to dismember the state, and to create the new principality of Jhallawur as a separate pro vision for the descendants of Zalim Singh. Seven teen parganas, yielding a revenue of 19 lakhs of rupees, were then made over to Mudden Singh.
In the mutiny and rebellion of 1857, the Kotah contingent mutinied and murdered the political agent and his two sons, and the maharao made no effort to aid them. It was captured by General Roberts 30th March 1858, and Faiz Ali Khan, Bahadur, K.C.S.I., was for a time sent to admin ister the affairs of the state. The troops which, the maharao is allowed to entertain are limited to 15,000 men of all descriptions. The state revenue from all sources is about 25,00,000 rupees. The tribute payable to the British Government is 1,81,720 rupees, in addition to the two lakhs of rupees for the Deolee Irregular Force. The maharao has been guaranteed the right of adop tion.—Imp. Gaz. v. ; Treaties, etc.