Wednesday, October 3, 2012

History of Patna is the Capital of Bihar


  http://www.ecr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1322113874224-patna-railway-station.jpg


Situated on the banks of the river Ganges, the city of Patna is the capital of the state of Bihar dates  back in the Indian history when the town was called Patliputra and later on it was also called Kusumpura and has a history which spans three millennia. The city is mentioned in accounts of the Greek scholar Megasthenes and in later accounts by Fa-Hien and Hieun-Tsang.  Also known as Patliputra, the city has been associated with the mighty empires of the Mauryas and the Guptas.


The city was visited by Lord Buddha in the 6th century B.C. Patliputra, in the time of Ashoka became the centre from where messengers of peace and international understanding were sent to all over India and beyond. The glories of the city revived with the rise of the Gupta Empire in the early 4th century A.D. and Chandragupta I, who was the first emperor of the Gupta dynasty, had his capital here. Fahian, Chinese pilgrim, who visited this city in early 5th century A.D, has left a very rich description of the place.  

Home to the earliest democracy in Vaishali, the city of Patna has been associated with various religions, like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.  It has been graced by Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavira and also by the birth of tenth guru of the Sikhs, Guru Govind Singh at Takht Shri Patna Sahib.

Close to the city of Patna is the ruins of the famous Nalanda University which was considered to be the fountainhead of the spring of knowledge and wisdom in the ancient times and attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. Another university which was a centre of Buddhist learning was developed at Vikramshila.

The ancient city of Patna was home to some of the greatest minds of that time. One of them was Aryabhata who wrote the treatise ‘Aryabhatiya’, which contains several works on astronomy, algebra and trigonometry. He is remembered as giving the place-value system to the world and introducing the concept of zero to the world.  Chanakya, the writer of ‘Arthashashtra’ and ‘Neetishashtra’ treatises on economics and politics, played an important role in the establishment of the Mauryan Empire and is also known as the ‘Indian Machiavelli’ though his ideas predate Machiavelli’s. 

 The city came into prominence in the early years of the 5th century when Ajatshatru, the second king of the Maurya dynasty shifted the capital of the Magadha Empire to Patliputra. Over the next 1000 years, the city grew in stature as one of the foremost cities of the Indian Subcontinent. It had a strategic importance in the expansion plans of the various empires that ruled over India, whether Mauryan, Mughal or British. Modern day Patna is more infamous than famous, thanks in part to the general mayhem that prevails. The city has lost its prestige as a centre of culture and education and gained disrepute for the antics of its politician.

Patna has many buildings which showcase elements of Afghani, Mughal and British architecture. While the Padre-ki-Haveli is the highest watershed of European architecture in Patna, Golghar is one of the most outstanding buildings of British India which makes use of the design of the stupas. It is a massive granary constructed for the British army after the famine of 1770. There are tombs and mosques which showcase Mughal architecture. The Patna Museum highlights the Indo-Saracenic architecture.

In short, Patna is a city with great historical importance and this has a deep impact on culture and education in present times.

 AZIMABAD:

Azimush Shah, the grandson son of Aurangzeb (1618 – 1707) named Patna, in 1704, as Azimabad. Several areas or Mohallas namely Moghalpura, Shahganj, Diwan were established at the time.  
Azimabad, in 1811, was a very small town having Purab-darwaza on the east and Pachim darwaza on the west of the town. In the year 1857 these were removed for the expansion of the town. More and more Mohallas sprang up with the rising population such as Manssorganj and Marufganj that was popularly frequented by traders and business community.  

Sher Shah Suri had established, in 1541, a building for his administrative work just by the side of the river Ganges, which came to be known as the capital of Patna. The same building, very near to the newly established Mohalla, Jhauganj is now owned by Jalan Saheb Marwari. 

When Jahangir (1569 – 1627), Akbar’s son, was in power, his servant Shahzada Perwez Shah built ‘Pathar ki Masjid’ which still stands today. Nunmuhyan was established by Munne Mian whose existing grave is still there to remind him. 

 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PATNA :

Patna has had limited land to develop beyond its reasonable boundaries. In the north of Patna the river Ganges flowed in a serpentine surge while on the south side the land was full of water where sprawling Rajindranagar is. Further south of Rajindranagar the place called Kankarbagh was famous for yet again perennial stream of water all through the year. All the refuge and drained water from mainland Patna had its route of escape through Rajindranagar and finally Kankarbagh to ‘Julla’ the great big reservoir of dirty water.  
The present Kankarbagh was almost a big lake where boats used to ply almost throughout the year. The Nala Road near Kadamkuan had a big and clumsy canal carrying surplus and refuge water from mainland Patna. The Nala Road was full of palm trees and wild vegetation unsuitable for human consumption.  
Patna’s roads in those days were in a dilapidated condition, dusty and debris scattered all over the place particularly in summer and repairing those ramshackle roads and paths were normally reserved for prisoners of jails.

 EDUCATION AT PATNA:

Patna had no facilities for a better and higher education. People of Bihar used to go to Calcutta, which was considered to be the nucleus of education. 

Bengal was the epicentre of reform movements, of a renaissance in literature and the arts and of the growth of political consciousness. The spread of English schools in 1855 was welcomed in Bengal. The English school were enthusiastically patronised by the prosperous families keen for their sons to move on in the world. English was the language of the colonial masters. Five universities had been founded in 1857 and Calcutta led the way.

 No wonder the physical presence and other influences of Bengalis percolated in neighbouring Bihar. Bengalis occupied important position in administration, profession and other pursuit of human activities. Several roads in Patna bear Bengali names – Makhanian Kuan Road, Bhattacharya Road, B N Das Road and Govind Mitra Road.  

Bengalis named and administered schools such as T K Ghosh Academy that was first established in 1883 followed by Ram Mohan Roy Seminary, P N Anglo Sanskrit School, and Bankipore Girls Schools between 1895 and 1897. T K Ghosh Academy produced distinguished personalities of Bihar such as Dr Rajinder Prasad, Hassan Imam, Sir Ali Imam, Sir Sultan Ahmad and others. Today the school’s building of T K Ghosh Academy is falling to pieces and no one is even there in Patna to shed crocodile tears at the wretched condition of the school that had seen its glory in the past.  

On the back of school education came higher education in the form of colleges. Patna College, a government establishment, came into being in the late 19th century. This was followed by B N College that was established by Bisheshwar Singh, a famous zamindar of the district of Bhojpore, formerly known as Shahabad.  When it was realised that Bengal was an impediment for the prospect of the future generation of Biharis, then the area, after great altercation, was separated into Bengal and Bihar in 1912
 
 MONEY:
 
Sher Shah Suri (1540 – 1550) who built the Grand Trunk Road linking Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), through Bihar, with Peshawar (now in Pakistan) also introduced the silver coin rupayya, from which we get the word rupee. The silver coins since Shah Alam (1728 – 1806) the King of Delhi who was also a poet and had a Divan in Urdu and Persian, was replaced by the British, in 1858, with coins bearing Queen Victoria of England.
  
Those were the days when prices of commodities of daily usage were very cheap compared with today. The value of even one paisa was good enough to buy 2 seers of vegetable. Even so called ‘adhani’ had some value and bought many merchandise. 

 BANKIPUR:

Patna’s population, now Bankipore the central part, kept increasing with the passage of time particularly when people from Patna City started trekking towards the hub of administration, legal affairs and court cases, education and healthcare. Bankipore that comprised a small place that was once called Muharrampur, a small thinly populated village and commonly known for growing vegetables became known as Sabzibagh.  
Darya Khan once the governor of Patna developed an area and called it Dariyapur after his name. Langar Baba, an old priest who lived adjacent to Dariyapur, left his mark as a legacy after his death and the place became Langertolli.
 
Pir Murad or Pir Baba was a great saint who dwelled in premises now occupied by Patna Medical College and who commanded reverence from many people of different communities. The area of Pir Murad became Muradpur, with shops on both side of the narrow road, in Bankipore. In the late 1940s the shops on the north side of the road were demolished to broaden the narrow street of Muradpur. Many shops having lost their sites moved to a nearby new shopping area called Patna Market, established in 1947, on a land adjacent to a large housing complex owned by Syed Haider Imam. Patna Market offered a modern concept of shopping and it also became a rendezvous for town’s dandies.  
Pir Bahore another saint who died is the place that is now called Pirbahore.


Patna’s total population, when I was a child, was not even half of one percent compared with the total number now 1,285,470. Then the major portion of the population was concentrated in and around Patna City.

POPULATION:
 
Patna City has lost its charm and glory by its residents who have deserted the place over a period of time and large houses and big ‘havelies’ of Nawabs and princes have fallen into pieces or some premises converted into shopping centres and whole area has become a dilapidated and dump. The people from the old part of Patna City have moved to the west and that now form the central part of the town – Subzibagh, Daryapore, Muradpore and right up to Gandhi Maidan. 
           
The Lower Road had also big drains along both sides and it was inhabited up to Nayatola and beyond that there were few scattered houses and shops up to Musallahpur Hat. Younger people were advised not to proceed towards Musallahpur side in the afternoon for the sake of safety.  

Exhibition Road and Fraser Road, to the south of Gandhi Maidan, and now a thriving part residential and part commercial and business centres were resided by the rich and the famous people of Patna and the roads were rather narrow because of big drains on both side of the streets.  

On the west side of the Lawn, Golghar, an egg-shaped gigantic structure that rises over the skyline of Patna, was built by Captain John Garstin, in 1786, a huge granary to store 137,000 tons of grain following severe draught that resulted in the acute famine of 1770. This Easter egg structure, 29m high and 3.6m wide at the base, with two-sided spiral stairway winding around, offers breathtaking view of the town and the river Ganges from atop.
 
 TRANSPORTATION:

The transportation in Patna was very basic, sometime on foot, in view of the absence of any proper means of conveyance. ‘Tamtum’ – horses drawn, was ubiquitous along with rudimentary bus services. The terminus of the ‘Tamtum’ services was located just south of Pirbahore Police Thana (station), which is now clustered by fruit sellers.  
‘Tamtum’ used to ply between Subzibagh and Patna Junction and charged 2 to 4 paisa, per head of passenger, for its services. Small buses plied between Subzibagh, which had a Bus Stand located just to the south of Bankipore Post Offices, to Patna City and charged the same prices that of ‘Tamtum’. Bankipore Post Offices were housed in a tiny building unlike today.  

PATNA RAILWAY JUNCTION:
                     
Patna railway junction started functioning from 1914, which attracted the people to purchase land then at a very low price. The coming of railway and telegraph services was a landmark in the history of the mobility and trade for the people of Patna. The railway that altered concept of distance and the telegraph speeded the flow of information eventually helped integrate the Indian nation and that led to a mass political movement. The railway allowed the speedy, widespread circulation of news and ideas all over India, in mail, books and newspapers. 
The first train that steamed out of Bombay, on 16 April 1853, was a revolution in terms of physical mobility and social relations in India. A locomotive pulling 14 carriages and 400 people left what was then Bombay to a 21-gun salute and trundled to Thane, 34km (21 miles) away that took about 75 minutes.  
Today, Indian Railways is the largest organisation in the country, both in number of employees – more than 1.5m – and in capital invested, some $10 billion. It has 63,000km of routes, 7,700 locomotives and nearly 7,000 stations. It carries 1.4m tones of freight and 14m passengers every day – equivalent to moving all of India more than four times a year. 

ENTERTAINMENT:
 
Patna used to have no form of public entertainment nor radio and television. There was, however, a roving mini-theatre called ‘Nautanki’ that attracted youngsters. The lung that throbbed oxygen to activities to the people of the town was the open space called the Lawn, now the Gandhi Maidan. The old and the young citizens thronged in the open space for morning walk and sports and social extravaganza in evening.  
Football and hockey were the main games played in the Lawn almost daily. Cricket then was almost unknown in those days in Patna. Youngsters sat on the wooden fences and listened film-songs blaring out from cinema halls across the road before the shows started. Hawkers of street food plying their trade, in and around the Lawn, made brisk business in convenient eatables like peanut ‘bhuna’, ‘bhutta’ and other snacks. The Lawn was also a venue for industrial and agricultural exhibitions and circuses. Now the Lawn or Gandhi Maidan that should have been an oasis in the thickly populated and thoroughly polluted Patna is an open space frequented by scoundrels.                              
The noticeable display of the legacy of princely pomp was the daily appearance of the two sons of Hajjan Nawab of Patna City around the Lawn. Their gorgeous visitation were their ride in a well decorated ‘fitin’ or horse drawn carriage, respectfully and ceremoniously dressed alike, with attractive horses drawing the carriage and accompanied with two ‘Sais’ or foot soldiers in uniform on the back of the ‘fitin’. This was an extra excitement to the citizens of Patna who converged in the Lawn.  

EAST INDIA COMPANY:

Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) who spawned England’s empire granted the Royal Charter to East India Company, formed on 31 December 1600. The Company brought coffee and tea, muslin, ginghams and calicos, porcelain and curry from India into Britain.  
Britain’s growing trade with India and later wars of conquest and the creation of a British administration was taking roots in India in the 18th and the early 19th centuries. During the same period the pillars of Mughal rules in India started crumbling leading to the end of an era in India. Gone were the days when mighty Mughal Empire and its glory that exercised hypnotism all over the world for centuries.  
India’s Maharajas and Nawabs were living on borrowed time, they were eager to see the downfall of their rivals than forwarding their own interest. British expansion in India coincided with the technological advances in the West, which were, in due course, introduced in India. Indian administration, law and justice were reformed and new outfits of the Civil Service and the judiciary set up.  

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION:   
               
Collectariat was constructed followed by official quarters near the Lawn to facilitate official administration of the East India Company. The building housing High Court of Patna was constructed in 1917. The Bankipore Club came into existence in 1913. This portion of Patna was called Bankipore. Patna gradually went through an all round development. Further from Patna Dinapore Cantonment was set up in an open land and was systematically developed for the training and housing the Army Officers as well as for recreation and amusement primarily for British colonial authority.  
The colonial British government’s administration appeared just and fair to all. The corruption and defiance of laws appeared not to be tolerated by the administrators of those days. People in general were simple and contended with what they had than what they did not posses.  They were sincere and fearless in their pursuit of economic activities and government job and were suitably rewarded.  
Kidnapping for ransom, murder, and caste conflicts was more an exception than the general rule as in the present environment. Politicians and police were not criminal but the guardian of laws and believed in ideal and principle.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Love 4 Bihar on Facebook