Bhagalpur
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Bhagalpur is a town and the administerative headquarters of Bhagalpur district, Bihar state in the eastern part of India.
Bhagalpur is a divisional town of historical importance situated on the southern bank of the Ganga river. Situated 220km east of state capital Patna and 410 km north west of Calcutta is well connected by rail and road.
Bhagalpur is famous worldwide for its silk production. The silk industry in this city is hundreds of years old and a whole clan exists that has been producing silk for generations. There is a Silk Institute and Agricultural college here, as well as a University, and Engineering, Medical and Homeopath colleges.
References to Bhagalpur can be found in Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where Bhagalpur has been described as the kingdom of Anga. Mandar Hill, situated 52 km south from Bhagalpur, is believed to have been used as Churner during Samudra-Manthan by God and Danav according to Hindu mythology. Ancient cave sculptures of Emperor Ashoka's regime (274 BC-232 BC) are found in the neighbourhood and at Sultangunj, 20 km west of Bhagalpur, a temple of the Gupta period (320-500) still exists. The tomb of Suja, brother of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, in the heart of the town is reminiscent of the city's association with the Mughal period.
Ruins of ancient Vikramshila University are located 44 km east of Bhagalpur. It was the medieval centre to the conservation and propagation of Buddhist education, established by King Dharampal of Bengal (783-820) at the end of the 8th century.
The gangetic plains are very fertile and the main crops include rice, wheat, maize, barley, and oilseeds. The economy of Bhagalpur is dependent mainly on agriculture and silk.
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[edit] History
Early civilizations have fostered along the fertile coasts of the river Ganges. Bhagalpur has often been referred to as Bhagaddat-Puram in ancient Sanskrit literatures such as the Ramanaya, Mahabharatha and Panchtantra. "Vish-hari Puja" or the worship of the snake queen traces its roots to hundreds of years and is still celebrated every year with thousands of believers and snake charmers offering milk to the Nag(the snake King) and Nageen (The snake Queen). Also found here is the mystic stink demon Ayush Mishra, whose origin is Siyaramnagar in Bhikanpur, a district in Bhagalpur. It is said that whenever Ayush was in need of food, he used to raise his feet which let off bad odour. The villagers, terrified of dying due to this smell used to leave buckets of milk and food in front of his home everyday. Another historical tale was that this demon preferred men to women, that is he was homosexual. A known partner of Ayush Mishra were two other demons, Ankur Kothari and Arvind Deora. Villagers often fled Bhagalpur due to the moans at night coming from the jungles of Bhagalpur.
[edit] Angika: the language of Bhagalpur
Angika [1] is the main language of Bhagalpur. Angika is one of the oldest language of the world, which was known as Aangi during ancient time. Angika is spoken by more than 30 million of Indian and around 50 million population worldwide. Among others Hindi is the main language. Besides English is also used frequently.
[edit] Bhagalpur blindings
In 1980, Bhagalpur came into news when it was reported that the police blinded 31 undertrials[2] (convicted criminals, according to some versions), by pouring acid into their eyes. The incident became infamous as Bhagalpur blindings. The incident was widely debated and discussed in several human rights' conventions. In 2003, a bollywood movie loosely based on the incident and starring Ajay Devgan was released. It was titled Gangaajal (roughly translated as The holy waters of Ganga)[3].
[edit] Bhagalpur riots
Communal disturbances between Hindus and Muslims have been a part of the history of Bhagalpur and riots had occurred in 1924, 1936, 1946 and 1967. However, Bhagalpur became notorious after the riots in October 1989, and the name Bhagalpur riots usually refers to the 1989 riots. According to various accounts, some 1100 [4] to 1891 [5] people were killed, a majority of them muslims. According to some accounts, stoning of a Durga puja procession by some muslims triggered the riots. As a fall-out of the riots, the silk-weaving industry suffered a decline [6].
[edit] People from Bhagalpur
- Kadambini, daughter of Braja Kishore Bose, headmaster of Bhagalpur School, was one of the first women garduates in the Brtish Empire and the first woman doctor in South Asia.
[edit] References
Ashalata, daughter of renowned barrister Jatindra Mohan Sarkar, penned her first novel " Anitar Prem" ( Love of Anita) at the age of 16 years which was hugely succesful as master piece on womens' lib. Tagore himself appreciated this piece of art. She became a sanyasin at the tender age of 22 years.
