Begusarai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Begusarai | |||
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| Coordinates | 25°25′N 86°08′E / 25.42°N 86.13°E | ||
| Country |  India |
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| State | Bihar | ||
| District(s) | Begusarai | ||
| Chief Minister | Nitish Kumar | ||
| Population • Density |
2,342,989 (2001[update]) • 1,222 /km2 (3,165 /sq mi) |
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| Sex ratio | 0.9109 ♂/♀ | ||
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) | ||
| Area • Elevation |
1,879.655 km2 (726 sq mi) • 41 m (135 ft) |
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Codes
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| Website | http://begusarai.bih.nic.in/ | ||
Begusarai (Hindi बेगूसराय ) is a city and a municipality in Begusarai district in the state of Bihar, India. Begusarai was earlier also referred to as the Leningrad of Bihar.[1]
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[edit] Recent history
Begusarai has a distinction of sending Comrade Chandrashekhar Singh of the Communist Party Of India (CPI) as the first left member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from Barauni Assembly constituency. When Singh was elected for the state assembly The Statesman of Kolkata has made the headlines "Red Star over Bihar". He hailed from local Bihat village of Begusarai district and was son of his illustrious father Ramcharitra Singh. Barauni assembly seat is still being retained by the CPI even today continuously since 1962.
Com. Singh's father Ramcharitra Singh was a cabinet minister in the ministry of the first chief minister of state, Late Dr. Srikrisha Singh - popularly known as Sri Babu in common parlance. Ramcharitra Singh had resigned from his ministry and has also quit the Congress Party for his political differences with the then chief minister Sri Babu. It was considered as a great rebellion in Congress Party at that time when Sri Babu was the most popular leader of the state and Congress Party has its influence over the masses.
But even at that time Ramcharitra Singh contested elections against Sri Babu's Congress Party nominee - one Mr Ahmed of Baro village and has defeated him. Such was the spirit of rebellion for which the district of Begusarai was once famous for.
Bihat village has gone down in the pages of history as "Bardoli of Bihar" for its rebellion against British Imperialism. British army had to face the wrath of the villagers at one time when it had reached to Bihat village to crush the satygrahis there who were fighting for the independence of India.
Com. Suraj Narain Singh and Rameshwar Singh of village Madhurapur of the district were one of the founders of the Communist movement in the district who led agricultural workers and share-croppers movements in Naokothi, Bakhri and other parts of the district. Rameshwar Singh also represented Barauni assembly segment in state assembly.
Suraj Da - as Com. Surajnarain Singh was popular among the masses, emerged as main architect of anti-Congress politics in the district and during his time he had the distinction of winning all the seven assembly seats of the districts. He had represented Balia Lok Sabha seat of the district thrice and died as a sitting MP.
However; following his death those who had inherited the leadership of Communist movement in the district from him proved themselves to be totally unworthy of leading a party.Today CPI has two MLAs - one from Barauni and the other from Bakhri assembly segments. The politics of the district is now being dominated by the Mafias and CPI or for that matter not even the other political parties of the district is in a position to check criminalisation of politics in the district.
The situation so worsened that at one point of time the Balia Lok Sabha seat of the district was represented by a rank criminal like Suraj Bhan Singh of Mokama of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) who was later awarded life term for his being found guilty of killing Rami Singh of Madhurapur village while he was a sitting MP.
[edit] History
It was established in 1870 as a subdivision of Munger District. In 1972, it was given district status. The name of the district apparently comes from "Begum" (queen)+ "Sarai" (inn). "Begum" of Bhagalpur used to come to the "Simaria Ghat" (holy place at Ganges bank) for a month of pilgrimage which later took slang form of Begusarai.
[edit] Geography
Begusarai is located at 25°25′N 86°08′E / 25.42°N 86.13°E[2]. It has an average elevation of 41 metres (134 feet). It has an area of 1879 square km.
The district of Begusarai lies in the middle part of the mid Ganga plain. In general, it is a low-lying flat terrain(MSL45m-32m)having a southerly to southeasterly slope. This factor governs the flow of streams. Geomorphologically it is a part of the Gandak- Kosi inerfluve. The southern part of the district, except those of low-lying flood plains of Ganga, appears to be an elevated landmass when compared to the adjoining districts of Khagaria and Samastipur. Hence, being a safer destination amidst the flood drained region, it supports the human activities in a better way.
The district is drained by a no of rivers viz. Ganga, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati and Balan rivers and in addition, small rivulets, dhars, nalas which are originated locally and preserve rain water, mark the landscape. Among the rivers, Ganga, Burhi Gandak, Kosi, Kareha and Bagmati are perennial, whereas Channa River, Bainti nadi, Kachna nadi, Monrya nadi and Malti nadi are seasonal.
[edit] Climate
Being part of the Gangetic plains of the Indian subcontinent, the district experiences three climatic seasons – the summer season from March to mid June, the monsoon season from mid June to October and the winter season from November to February. The month of February & March fall in the transitional season from winter to summer described as spring or “Basant”. Similarly the months of September & October falls in the transitional season from the monsoon season to the winter season and described as “Shishir”.
[edit] Demographics
The 2001 census count placed the Begusarai population at 23,42,989 as on the first of March. The population has grown at an annual average rate of 2.9%. There are many stages in the demographic transition beginning with a declining mortality and continuing fertility to a stage where both mortality and fertility rates decline more or less at the same rate and keep the population stable over a period of time.
Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Begusarai has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Culture
Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' (रामधारी सिंह 'दिनकर') (September 23, 1908– April 24, 1974) was an Indian Hindi poet, essayist and academician[3][4], who is considered as one of the most important modern Hindi poets. Dinkar emerged as a rebellious poet with his nationalist poetry in pre-Independence days. His poetry exuded veer rasa, and he has been hailed as a Rashtrakavi ("National poet") evoking the spirit of nationalism on account of his inspiring patriotic composition. Dinkar was born in a poor Bhumihar Brahmin[5] family in Simariya village of Begusarai district in Bihar. Eminent Historian Professor Ram Sharan Sharma was born on 26 November 1919 in BarauniDeorhi, Begusarai, Bihar in a poor family.[6]
The present Honourable Governor of Sikkim , India, Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh belongs to Bihat village of this district. He had served as union home secretary for long while he was in active service in Indian Administrative Cadre.
In Hindi literature district has produced noted Hindi Critique Murli Manohar Prasad Singh - a native of Barauni Deorhi village, Arun Prakash - a resident of Nipania village of district who had served as editor of the Sahitya Akademi literary magazine Samkalin Bhartiya Sahitya and a fearless revolutionary journalist of repute, Arun Kumar of village Madhurapur (Purbari Tola) who is presently associated with The Times Of India, Patna Edition. Pushpraj - a native of Manjhaul village of district - has recently emerged as budding Hindi writer from the district whose Hindi title Nandigram Diary published from Penguin (India) has made its presence felt in the Hindi literary world of India.
Arun Kumar is a known revolutionary trade unionist of the media industry in Bihar and is presently the Geneal Secretary of Bihar Working Journalists Union (BWJU) known in Hindi as Bihar Shramajeevi Patrakar Union, Patna. He is also the member of the national executive committee of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) - an All India body of the Journalists.
Kumar also happens to be the Vice President of Bihar state chapter of Peoples' Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL) who has worked more from behind the scene to organise Begusarai district unit of PUCL. Significantly Begusarai district unit of PUCL finds its place as one of the few hyperactive district units of this national human rights body - PUCL - across India.
Begusarai has also at one point of histroy has been known for its cultural activities. Begusarai unit of the Indian People's Theatres Association (IPTA) has been famous for its activities. Unfortunately it has now lost its sheen perhaps because of lack of any movement in the district. It was because of the Communist movement led by CPI in the district that the IPTA district unit was active. Dr. Piyush Gupta - a well known physician was the main architect behind the cultural activities. But after Dr Gupta leaving Begusarai for Patna the cultural movement started dying down.
Noted Folk dancer Sudama Ji, singer Sitaram Singh, Ajit Kumar Akela and innumerable other drama actors, singers, dancers and sculptors has remained associated with Begusarai when the cultural movement was alive there in the district. However; sadly all this has now declined remarkably. At the moment no one who does not know about the cultural background of the district could even imagine of such a glorious past.
People mainly speak Hindi and a local variant of Angika.
[edit] Civic administration
| Administrative Division | |
|---|---|
| No. of Sub-Division | 5 |
| No. of Blocks | 18 |
| No. of Panchayats | 257 |
| *No. of Revenue Villages | 1229 |
| *No. of Habitations | 1198 |
Sub Divisions: Begusarai, Manjhaul, Ballia, Bakhari, Teghara
[edit] Economy
Begusarai is known as the Industrial Town of Bihar. There are many Ancillary Industries here. The three main Industries are Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Barauni Thermal Power Station (BTPS),Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HFCL).
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. 88.33% people depend upon agriculture. Main cash crops of the district are oilseeds, tobacco, jute, potato, red chilies, tomato and andi.
| Type | Area (Hectare) |
|---|---|
| Total irrigated land | 74,225.57 |
| Forest | Nil |
| Orch. etc. | 5,000 |
| Kharif Paddy | 22,000 |
| Garma Paddy | 10,000 |
| Wheat | 61,000 |
| Irrigated |
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| Wasteland and non arable | 2,118 |
Natural water sources : Begusarai district is located in the middle Ganga plain. Main rivers are Burhi Gandak, Balan, Bainty, Baya and Chandrabhaga.
Kaver Jheel: Kaver Jheel one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes, also famous for bird’s sanctuary.
Minerals : No minerals of economic importance
Irrigation : Mostly by Tubwells
[edit] Transport
Begusarai is well connected to other parts of Bihar and India through railways as well as roads. New Delhi - Guwahati railway line passes through Begusarai. There is a small aerodrome in Ulao, five km from the district headquarters, which is used for the arrival of very important persons. Railways have a route length of 119 km of broad gauge line and 67 km middle gauge line. Barauni Railway Junction holds major importance in east-central Bihar. A number of important trains originate from this station for major cities like Delhi, Guwahati, Amritsar, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai etc. Rajendra Setu on the Ganga is connected to Mokama and Hathidah. There are 18 railway stations in this district. Interior parts of the district are well connected to the main roads. The National Highways 28 and 31 link this district to the other parts of the country. Their total length is 95 km. State roads have a total length of 262 km. 95% of the all the villages are linked to the rural and urban road facilities.Transport area is also connected to hotels for customer stay. Many hotels in begusarai district, Hotel Samrat, Meera Motel, is situated in begusarai heart area "zeromile".All facilities avilable here.
[edit] Educational institutions
All colleges are affiliated to L.N.Mithila University, Darbhanga. Most prominent colleges are Ganesh Dutt College, Cooperative College, Mahila College. Some of the renowned schools are BSS Inter Collegiate High School, BP High School, St. Paul's School, DAV Barauni, B R DAV (IOC), KV IOC, DAV Itwa Nagar, Cyberschool,Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya etc.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Arun Kumar (2009-03-23). "ULB launches poll campaign". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/ULB-launches-poll-campaign/articleshow/4302174.cms. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Begusarai
- ^ Biography and Works www.anubhuti-hindi.org.
- ^ Sahitya Akademi Award Citation
- ^ "Indra R Sharma: Bihar Hardly Cares Its Great Sons". http://www.bihartimes.com/articles/indra/greatsons.html.
- ^ "PUCL Begusarai Second District Conference Report". People's Union for Civil Liberties. July, 2001. http://www.pucl.org/reports/Bihar/2001/begusarai.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
