Aurangabad, Bihar

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Aurangabad district, Bihar.
Aurangabad
औरंगाबाद ज़िला اورنگ آباد ضلع
District of Bihar
Aurangabad

Location in Bihar, India

Coordinates: 24°45′N 84°22′E / 24.75°N 84.37°ECoordinates: 24°45′N 84°22′E / 24.75°N 84.37°E
Country  India
State Bihar
District Aurangabad
Elevation 108 m (354 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 101,520
Languages
 • common Magahi and Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 824101
Telephone code 06186
Vehicle registration BR 26
Sex ratio 1000:878 ♂/♀
Website http://aurangabad.bih.nic.in/

Aurangabad is a town and the district headquarters of Aurangabad District one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. Aurangabad has a population of 101,520. Aurangabad is also the District Headquarters and is situated on the NH 2 (Grand Trunk Road). The people of this region primarily speak Magahi and Hindi.

The district is home to myriad tourist attractions. Temples, historical places and Islamic pilgrimage centers are located in the district while excellent connectivity via road and efficient means of local transport have boosted tourism. As a result, the number of tourists visiting the place has increased considerably. Touring around the district will be a pleasant experience from October to March, which is considered the best time to visit Aurangabad.

It is situated east of Bodh Gaya at a distance of about 70 kilometres (43 mi) and 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Patna, the capital of Bihar.

Some of the well-known residential areas of Aurangabad are Club Road, New Area, Karma Road. The District Court and District Magistrate Office are located in close proximity to Ramesh Chowk. Club Road is home to the town hall, district jail, social club while Karma Road houses the headquarters of the district electricity department, police center and forest department.

History

The history of Aurangabad is a part of history of the ancient Magadh which included the undivided district of Patna and Gaya(Ancient City ruled by many Gadhwal/Gahadwal also known as Suryavanshi Rajput. Three-fourth of India’s early history is the history of Magadh and the area which forms the present district of Aurangabad was a proud sharer of this glory. Although it was a part of the Mahajanpad of Magadh, yet it had its distinct racial and cultural character. Forming part of the first vast territorial empire of Magadh, it has the distinction of being ruled by Bimbisara and Ajatsatru and later on by Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka. The river Sone has been accepted by the authorities as having been western boundary of the Magadh empire.

The prominent feature of this region is that, although it was ruled by Ashoka, the great Magadh Emperor, it culturally continued to enjoy its own identity. Even during the climax of his regime, this region resisted the spread of Buddhism. Later on the people of Rajputana came here to offer pind “Dan” to their ancestors at Gaya. Attracted by the natural beauty of this region, they settled here. The rulers of Deo, Mali, Pawai, Chandragarh and Siris were the descendants of those Rajput warriors. Due to their militant Character, they resisted the domination of the Sultanate Mughals and Britishers.

During the regime of Sher Shah Suri, the area became strategically important. It formed a part of the Rohtas Sirkar. The Afghan ruler built the famous Grand Trunk Road (Now N.H. No.-02). After death of Sher Shah Suri; it came under imperial domain of Akbar. The Afghan upsurge in the area was suppressed by Todarmal and the area between Sherghati and Rohtas was brought under the Mughal Empire. But the glimpses of Afghan architecture are still visible in the old buildings of this region. During regime of Aurangzeb, his Subedar Daud Khan Kuraishi founded the town Daudnagar after defeating the Garhwal/Suryavanshi King of Palamu.

After the downfall of Mughal Empire, the area came under control of zamindars of Deo, Kutumba, Mali, Pawai, Chandragarh and Siris. The rebellious character of the zamindars of Siris, Kutumba and Pawai, is the proud-preserve in the history of this area. The credit of first rebellion against the British authority belongs to Raja Fateh Narayan Singh of Deo, whose forefathers claimed to be the descendents of Maharana Pratap and were very close to Gadhwal (suryvanshi) Rajput Kings of Gaya district. Most of Gadhwals later got shifted to Jagdishpur and Arrah (Bhojpur) to support Veer Kunwar Singh during the war against Britishers. The veteran freedom fighter Veer Kunwar Singh had his personal relationship in the family of Deo State of Raja Fateh Narayan Singh, they were his in-laws. A joint army of all the Rajputs led by the men of Raja Fateh Narayan Singh started their ride towards Jagdishpur to help Veer Kunwar Singh during the year 1857. He also had supports of Raja Chet Singh of Varanasi, Pitambar Singh of Tekari. A ferocious battle took place at both the bank of river Sone, where thousands of Britishers and soldiers of Raja Narayan Singh were killed. The Sepoy Mutiny of Danapur and Benaras created Commotion in the whole area. It remained for the whole year of 1857. In the next year, the British Government took measures to tighten their grip over administration. District of Gaya was separated from Patna District, and Aurangabad was made Sub Division in the year 1865. It remained part of Gaya District till 1973. Mr. Stement was first S.D.O. of Aurangabad Sub-Division.

The district of Aurangabad was separated on 26.01.1973 as per the govt.notification no 07/11-2071-72 dated 19.01.1973 from parent District Gaya. Sri K.A.H. Subramanyam was the first District Magistrate and Sri Surjit Kumar Saha was the then Sub-Divisional officer.

Geography

Being a part of Magadh division of Bihar, Aurangabad district occupies an area of 3,389 square kilometres (1,309 sq mi),[2] comparatively equivalent to Russia's Vaygach Island.[3] Aurangabad town is the administrative headquarters of this district.

Rivers: Aurangabad town is situated at the bank of river Adri. However some rivers namely Sone, Punpun, Auranga, Bataane, Morhar, Aadri, Madaar flow through the district.

Economy

The economy of Aurangabad mainly depends on agriculture. However, there are new industries being setup in the outskirts of the town. Because of huge dependency of economy on agriculture and in turn, on rainfall, the district suffers from drought and isn't developed. In 2006 the Indian government named Aurangabad one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[4] It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[4]

Educational Institutions

Demographics

As of 2011 India census,[5] Aurangabad had a population of 2,511,243. Males constitute 52.20% of the population and females 47.80%. Aurangabad has an average literacy rate of 72.77%, lower than the national average of 74.04%; with 82.52% of the males and 62.05% of females literate. 17.44% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

  1. ↑ 2011 India Census
  2. ↑ Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Bihar: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. pp. 1118–1119. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.
  3. ↑ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 18 February 1997. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Vaygach Island 3,329km2
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.