BROACH, or BHARUCII, a district of British India under the jurisdiction of the governor of Bombay, extending from 21° 22' to 22° 11' N. lat. and from 72° 30' to 73° 10' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the River Mai, on the E. and S. by the territory of the Gaikwar, and on the W. by the Gulf of Cambay. Consisting chiefly of the alluvial plain at the mouth of the River Nerbudda, the land is rich and highly cultivated, and though it is without forests it is not wanting in trees. The district is well supplied with rivers, having in addition to the Nerbudda, the Mali in the north and the Kith in the south. The area is 1320 square miles ; the population 350,322, of whom 248,343 are Hindus, 69,033 Mahometans, 3986 Buddhists, 3116 Parsfs, and 24,703 belong to the aboriginal tribes. The population comprises several distinct races or castes, who, while speaking a common dialect, Gujarathi, inhabit separate villages. Thus there are Koli Kembi or Voro (Borah) villages, and others whose lands are almost entirely held and cultivated by high castes, such as Rajputs, mans, or Parsts.

Except in the city of Broach, which has two steam ginning factories and a considerable general trade, agriculture is almost the sole industry of the district. The export of cotton, the principal agricultural product, amounted in 1872 to 88,471 bales. The most important cereal and pulse corps are - for the rains, jawiri (Holevs Sorghum) rice, bdgri (Peneillaria spicata), trir (Cajanus indices), and nang (Phascolses Mungo); and for the cold weather, wheat, ill, (Scsainum indicum), pea, gram (Clem- arietimum), wal (Labial vulgaris), castor oil, and tobacco. The total revenue of the district amounted in 1872 to £318,972, of which £266,936 was imperial land revenue ; £20,568 on account of the local land cess ; stamps yielded X.22,714; excise, £6823 ; and assessed taxes, £193. The imperial expenditure in the district amounted during the seine time to £72,025. Of the whole area of the district, viz., 1320 square miles, 72 per cent. are returned as cultivated, 3 per cent, cultivable but not actually under tillage, and 25 per cent., including the sites of villages, river-beds, as uncultivable. There are five towns with a population of over 5000 inhabitants, - Broach, 36,932 ; Jambusar, 14,924; Ankleswar, 9414; Araod, 6125; and Gajera, 5239. In the first two of these towns municipalities have been established. The district contains 191 schools, with an attendance of 6525 scholars. The total number of persons receiving or who have received some education amounts to 9.5 per cent, of the entire population. The strength of the district police force is 415, giving to each man the charge of three square miles and 844 inhabitants. The principal criminal class is the Bhils, numbering about 24,000. The difficulty of arresting offenders of this race is increased by the fact that they are in leaguewith members of theirtribe in the native states of Baroda and Riijpipla, and can therefore with ease escape into foreign territory.