Bettiah
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| ?Bettiah Bihar • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 65 m (213 ft) |
| District(s) | West Champaran |
| Population • Sex ratio |
116,692 (2001) • 53% male : 47% female |
| Codes • Pincode • Telephone |
• 845438 • +06254 |
Bettiah is the headquarters of West Champaran district in the state of Bihar, near Indo-Nepal border, 225 Kilometres north-west of Patna. It is located at 26.81°N Latitude and 84.50°E Longitude, 65 metres above Mean Sea Level. Bettiah, pronounced as 'Betiya', derived its name from 'baint' (local name for 'cane'), which was grown here extensively in the past but not now. Its spelling - Bettiah was given by British and it remains so. The most accepted and widely used code for it BTH.
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[edit] History
Birthplace of famous writer Gopal Singh Nepali, Mohandas Gandhi started the Satyagraha movement from Bettiah in 1917. The region surrounding Bettiah was being extensively used for Indigo plantation. Though Indigo cultivation yielded quick benefits to the British Colonizers, a few years of Indigo cultivation would render the subsoil entirely devoid of nutients thereby effectively ruining any further cultivation of any kind . To this date, the adjoining regions which were being used for Indigo cultivation are barren & have only scrub vegetation in stark contrast to the lush greens typical of the highly fertile Indo-Gangetic Plains in which the West Champaran district lies.
West Champaran District was carved out of the old Champaran District in the year 1972 as a result of re-organization of the District in the state. It was formerly a subdivision of Saran District and then Champaran District with its Head quarters as Bettiah. It is said that Bettiah got its name from Baint (Cane) plants commonly found in this district. The name Champaran is a degenerate form of Champaka aranya, a name which dates back to the time when the district was a tract of the forest of Champa(Magnolia) trees & was the abode of solitary asectics.
As per District Gazetteer, it seems probable that Champaran was occupied at an early period by races of Aryan descent and formed part of the country in which the Videha empire ruled. After the fall of Videhan empire the district formed part of the Vrijjain oligarchical republic with its capital at Vaishali of which Lichhavis were the most powerful and prominent. Ajatshatru the emperor of Magadh, by tact and force annexed Lichhavis and occupied its capital, Vaishali. He extended his sovereignty over Paschim Champaran which continued under the Mauryan rule for the next hundred years. After the Mauryas, the Sungas and Kanvas ruled over the Magadh territories. The district thereafter formed part of the Kushan empire and then came under Gupta empire. Along with Tirhut, Champaran was possibly annexed by Harsha during whose reign Huen- Tsang, the famous Chinese pilgrim, visited India. During 750 to 1155 AD , the Palas of Bengal were in the possession of Eastern India and Champaran formed the part of their territory. Towards the close of the 10th century Gangaya Deva of the Kalacheeri dynasty conquered Champaran . He was succeeded by Vikramaditya of the Chalukya dynasty.
During 1213 and 1227,the first Muslim influence was experienced when Ghyasuddin Iwaz the Muslim governor of Bengal extended his influence over Tribhukti or Tirhut . It was however, not a complete conquest and he was only able to have Tirhut from Narsinghdeva, a Simraon king. In about 1320, Ghyasuddin Tughlaq annexed Tirhut to the Tughlaq Empire and placed it under Kameshwar Thakur, who established Sugaon or Thakur dynasty. This dynasty continued to rule the area till Nasrat Shah, son of Allauddin Shah attacked Tirhut in 1530, annexed the territory, and killed the Raja and thus put an end to the Thakur dynasty. Nasrat Shah appointed his son-in-law as viceroy of Tirhut and thence forward the country continued to be ruled by the Muslim rulers. After the fall of Mughal Empire the British rulers came to power in India.
The history of the district during the late medieval period and the British period is linked with the history of Bettiah Raj. Bettiah Raj has been mentioned as a great estate. It traces its descent from one Ujjain Singh and his son, Gaj Singh, who reccived the title of Raja from the Emperor Shah Jahan(1628-58). The family came into prominence as independent chief in the 18th century during the downfall of the Mughal Empire. At the time when Sarkar Champaran passed under British rule, is was in the possession of Raja Jugal Kishore Singh, who succeeded Raja Dhurup Singh in 1763. The Raj was succeeded by the descendents of Raja Jugal kishore Singh. Harendra Kishore Singh, the last Maharaja of Bettiah, died in 1893,issueless and was succeeded by his first wife, who died in 1896. The estate came under the management of Court of Wards since 1897 and was held by the Maharaja's junior widow, Maharani Janki Kuar.
The British Raj palace occupies a large area in the centre of the town. In 1910 at the request of Maharani, the palace was built after the plan of Graham's palace in Calcutta. The Court Of Wards is at present holding the property of Bettiah Raj.
The rise of nationalism in Bettiah in early 20th century is intimately connected with indigo plantation. Raj Kumar Shukla, an ordinary raiyat and indigo cultivator of Champaran met Gandhijii and explained the plight of the cultivators and the atrocities of the planters on the raiyats. Gandhijii came to Champaran in 1917 and listened to the problems of the cultivators and the started the movement known as Champaran Saryagraha Movement to end the oppression of the British indigo planters. By 1918 the long standing misery of the indigo cultivators came to an end and Champaran became the hub of Indian National Freedom Movement and the launch pad of Gandhi’s Satyagraha.
[edit] Geography
Bettiah is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 65 metres (213 feet). Bettiah has hot summers and chilling winters. In summers the temperature goes up to 44 - 46 Degree Celsius while in winters the temperature goes as low as 2 - 5 Degree Celsius. It has heavy annual rainfall of about 200 - 240 cms which often causes floods. Bettiah lies in the alluvial plains of ganga basin. It is located just near Gandak river. The region faces thunders durung the change of season (summer to rainy).
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census[2], Bettiah had a population of 116,692. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bettiah has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.
K R high school one of the best schools of the Bihar was established in the year 1927.It was a boys school till 1998.In 1998 co-education is started in this school. Assembly of God Church School is also considered as the best school of Bettiah. Along with these school there are many other schools. There is St .Teresa Girls High school, which is as good school as K R High School. These schools are old. But there is a very young school Saraswati Sishu/Vidya Mandir which is situated in Dr. Hedgewar Nagar which is 5 km east of Bettiah. This school estabilished in bettiah in 1989 and became a perfect center of education very early. Raj Inter College, Vipin High School, Notordame public school, Naterhart public school, Santresa school are other old (more than 75 yrs) schools of bettiah.
As consider the higher education there are two degree colleges ane Maharani Janki Kuwar Colllege and other Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College. A Mahila College is also situated in Bettiah
There is a further planning to convert Maharani Janki Kuwar Hospital (Biggest Hospital in North Bihar) into a Medical college and to establish one each of engineering, manegment college. You can define bettiah as a place where there are people who want to learn and develop and there are best institutes which are ready to make them learn.
In the soaring rage of marketing, business and industrialization, bettiah and its habitants are competiting up with the market. There are few IT companies trying to negotiate with businessmen thereafter bringing Bettiah on the IT map. There are several industries in Bettiah sub-division which comprises of iron & steel manufacturing units, paper plant, sugar mills, and some other small scale industries. Alone Bettiah Sub-division has an average consumption of more than 30 MW of electricity which the government is currently negotiating with the National Grid. Although 30 MW is not sufficient for a developing town like bettiah but the private industries are struggling to move forward and competete the market.
Due to developming market many banks have come forward to provide with loans and facilities. Lists of bank currently operating in bettiah -"State Bank of India","Canara Bank","Axis Bank","Punjab National Bank","Allahabad Bank",etc. some banks planning to open are- "ING Vysya","ICICI", etc.
Bettiah is well connected by roads and railways to all major cities in the surrounding area. Railways provide with cheap transport and trade. Due to the opening of broad gauze and new trains Bettiah have got new way to success and trade. There is a non - operative airport in BETTIAH which was operated in the past during British time. There is planning to rennovate it and again open it for domestic flights.
There are several telecom companies providing with many facilities. Few of them are Airtel, BSNL, Realiance, TATA Indicom, Aircel, etc. There are many internet service providers also - Airtel Broadband, SIFY Broadband, BSNL Broadband, Realiance R-Connect. Etc.
When you move towards east from bettiah you pass through a small village name GONAULI. This village is a gift of Mr. Babu Kashi Rai forefather's GOP RAI and his family. Main occupation of villagers is farming and all cast including bhumihars, bramhins, kayast, live their life happily. Even today the development of Gonauli is carried forward by the grand son of Mr Babu Kashi Rai(Mr. R.K.K. RAI) and his family members.
[edit] References
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bettiah
- ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
