Mal, Lucknow

Mal was historically the seat of a tribe of Gaharwar Rajputs, whose family tradition states that they came from Manda-Bijaipur near Varanasi under one Rai Paitawan, a brother of the ruler of Varanasi.^[3] The story goes that Rai Paitawan had gone on a pilgrimage to Nimkhar, in what is now Sitapur district, and after encountering a good omen on the way back, he decided to stay in this area.^[3] He drove out the ruling Jhojhas from their forts at Mal and Ant to become ruler himself.^[3] The Gaharwars' territory later became divided among seven estates: Mal, Atari, Salinagar, Amlauli, Masira, Hamirpur, and Nabipanah.^[3] By the turn of the 20th century, the Gaharwars' influence had declined, and they only owned about a quarter of the village lands in Mal.^[3] The remainder of the lands were held by Pandit Bakht Narain.^[3]

At the turn of the century, Mal had a population of 1,775, and it had a marketplace called Ramnarainganj after its founder, Pandit Ram Narain (Bakht Narain's father), which hosted markets twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.^[3] There was also a weekly cattle market.^[3] Three fairs were held here annually: the Athon fair during the month of Chait, the Mahabir fair in Jeth, and the Janamashtami fair in Bhadon.^[3] Mal's soil was described as highly fertile, and wheat was the main crop grown.^[3] Irrigation was provided by wells, tanks, and also some from the Jhingi nala, which flows to the east of the village.^[3] There were at the time two Hindu temples, one mosque, and also the mausoleum of a saint named Gulmir Shah.^[3]

Mal block comprises the following 87 villages:^[2]