district of Bhojpur came into existence in 1992. Earlier this district was the
part of old Shahabad district. In the year 1972 Shahabad district was bifurcated
in two parts namely Bhojpur and Rohtas. Buxar was a sub-division of old Bhojpur
district. In 1992 Buxar became a separate district and rest of Bhojpur district
has now three sub-divisions-Ara Sadar, Jagdishpur and Piro. Ara town is the
headquarters of the district and also its principal town. The district is
bounded on the north by the district of Saran (
Bhojpur district has a close linkage with that of its parent district of Shahabad, which had an old and interesting history. In the pre-historic days also there is evidence of the area being inhabited. The 1961 Census report of Shahabad describes the history of the district in following manner.
It is said that Ara, the present headquarters of the district derives its name from the Sanskrit word 'ARANYA', which means forest. It suggests that the entire area around modern Ara was heavily forested in old days. According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra, the Guru of RAMA , had his 'Ashram' somewhere in this region.
The 1961 Census report also describes the early period of the old Shahabad district which includes the present district of Bhojpur as :
"In the old days, Shahabad
formed part of the ancient
"The famous Chinese pilgrim, HIEUN-TSANG, who journeyed through the country in the seventh century A.D., paid a visit to Mo-Ho-Solo in Shahabad. This place has been identified with the present village Masarh, 10 k.m. west of Ara on Ara-Buxar road. The Chinese pilgrim found that the inhabitants were all Brahmins who did not respect the law of Buddha. He, therefore, felt disappointed and did not proceed to any other place in the district."
"Not much is known about
the history of the district after the fall of Guptas. In all probability it
relapsed into the hands of the aboriginal tribes and came under control of petty
chieftains. The most dominant people during this period were Cheros. They ruled
over the greater portion of the district. Then came the Rajputs from
The Medieval period history of this district has been described in the following words :
"While encamping at Ara in
1529 after his victory over the Afghan rulers, Babar proclaimed his sovereignty
Akbar, after his accession, includes the district of Shahabad in his empire, though the control was not very tight. Akbar's General Man Singh, made efforts to organize the revenue administration of the district on a sound footing. But the local chiefs continued to resist. The Rajas of Jagdishpur and Bhojpur defied the Mughals. The Raja of Bhojpur rebelled against Jahangir. His successor Raja Pratap, was done to death by Shahjahan and the Queen was forced to many a muslim courtier. This finally quietened the Bhojpur family but stray troubles continued till the last days of Mughals.
After this the District had a very uneventful history till 1857 when Kunwar Singh revolted against the Britishers in line with the Mutineers.
THE REVOLT OF 1857
About the fight of independence of 1857, by the Raja of Jagdishpur, the famous historian Pundit Sunder Lal writes in his history named "Bart Mein Angereji Raj" as follows :
"When the revolutionary army reached Jagdishpur, the old King Kunwar Singh immediately took the command of that army. He reached Ara with this army and captured the English Treasury, released the prisoners from Ara Jail and destroyed English Offices totally.
"On July 29.1857, Captain
Danwar proceeded to Ara with 300 English and 100 Sikh armies. When he reached
near Ara, he was attacked by Gorilla fighters of Kunwar Singh in
"A big British army led by
Major Ayar with cannons proceeded to Ara from the west to help the surrounded
British army on
"After 8 months fighting
with British armies at different places in Eastern U.P. . Kunwar Singh
decided to come back to Jagdishpur via Gazipur. He reached his capital
Jagdishpur and again took-over his thrown with the help of another small army
collected by his younger brother Amar Singh on
"Kunwar Singh regained his
thrown of Jagdishpur on
"After his death, his
younger brother Amar Singh took the thrown of Jagdishpur. He also fought with
British army at Behia, Hetampur and Dalipur and British army were defeated
everywhere. Frustrated with regular defeat General Legend resigned from his
post. General Dugles took the charge of British army announced awards to the
persons who could bring the head of Amar singh but was not successful in getting
Amar Singh in his custody. On
In this way, the history of 1857, Specially of Jagdishpur and Ara of Bhojpur district is glorious and the people of the district owe their glorious past.
THE QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
The history of "Quit India
Movement" in 1942 is also written by the blood of the virtuous
revolutionaries of this district. Two incidents are very important in the month
of September 1942 for this district. Village Lasarhi, 32 kms. south of the
district headquarters, Ara was the centre of the underground revolutionaries of
Shahabad district. On
After passing of the Quit India
At last chanting the slogans of "Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai" and " Bharat Mata ki Jai ", the brave son of Bhojpur led his life to the rest and became one important martyr of this district.
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