Begusarai

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Begusarai district.

Begusarai
—  city  —
Begusarai Location of Begusarai in Bihar and India
Coordinates	25°25′N 86°08′E
Country	India
State	Bihar
District(s)	Begusarai
Parliamentary constituency	Begusarai
Assembly constituency	Begusarai
Population • Density	2,342,989 (2001) • 1,222 /km2 (3,165 /sq mi)
Sex ratio	0.9109 ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	1,879.655 square kilometres (725.739 sq mi) • 41 metres (135 ft)
Codes • Telephone • +06243
Website	begusarai.bih.nic.in

Begusarai (Hindi बेगूसराय ) is a city and a municipal council in Begusarai district in the state of Bihar, India. Begusarai district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Begusarai town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district lies on the northern bank of river Ganga. It is located at latitudes 25.15N & 25.45N and longitudes 85.45E & 86.36E. It is the birthplace of famous Hindi poet Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh and Eminent Historian Professor Ram Saran Sharma. Begusarai is the part of historic Mithila region. Begusarai had traditionally been a communist stronghold and it was earlier also referred to as the Leningrad of Bihar.

History

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 the Ganges bank) for a month of pilgrimage which later took slang form of Begusarai. It was established in 1870 as a subdivision of Munger District. In 1972, it was given district status after a strong pressure on the government by Late Rai Saheb Bhubneshwari Sahai.This man had a charismatic personality and was the first person in the district to be awarded the prestigious title of Rai Saheb by the British.It is said that before independence Rai Saheb controlled the whole of politics of Begusarai, without whose permission no leaf would move.

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 was still being retained by the CPI even today continuously since 1962. However; in 2010 Bihar Assembly Elections CPI nominee, Ram Ratan Singh lost this prestigious seat - which has now been rechristened as Teghra assembly seat by delimitation Commission - to rightwing Hindutva Party Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Lalan Kumar - a non-entity in politics till recently.

Com. Chandrashekhar Singh's father Ramcharitra Singh was a cabinet minister in the ministry of the first chief minister of state, Late Dr. Srikrishna 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 during his tenure as chief minister.

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.

Many national legends have emerged from this small district.One of them being Rai Bahadur Acchutanand Sahai and Comrade sukhdev singh(bandwar vil.).It is said that this man possessed extraordinary intelligence.This man had 1,800 acres (7.3 km²) of land at that point of time and was literally the owner of half of Begusarai.The East India Company used to regard him a lot and used to take his decision before taking any step.There are many temples built in his name, so many social organisations created by him, this man was ready for any kind of help people needed without any reluctance whether it be in terms of money, property, daughters marriage etc.

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 till 2005 elections CPI had two MLAs - one from Barauni and the other from Bakhri assembly segments which has now reduced to 1 after 2010 Bihar assembly election results. Now the party has only one MLA - Awadhesh Kumar Rai from Bachchwara assembly seat of the district. Incidentally Rai happens to be the lone CPI member in 15th Bihar Vidhan Sabha from across the state.

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.

Dr. Sudhir Kumar, who is the first CSIR, JRF from G.D. College, Begusarai. He is the founder of CDRI Research fellow's Forum, Lucknow. Under his leadership flood rescue at bariyahi village of Madhepura district was done by CDRI Fellow's in 2008. Dr. Kumar got Ph.D. degree from Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedaker University, Agra. Dr. Kumar was the most well known Biology tutor in Begusarai. Manish Kumar is yet another CSIR research fellow from Begusarai who currently pursues his PhD from the prestigious Max Planck Society in Germany. He primarily focuses on Lung Diseases including Cancer and also works on the biology of Aging and Senescence. Prior to this he was a Researcher at University of Heidelberg in Germany and a PhD candidate at Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. He is the alumni of Br. DAV School at Refinery Township Begusarai. He also is the founder of the largest biotech student forum of India called biotechdhaba(www.bioinc.info). He has widely been appreciated for his efforts to popularize science, biology in particular among Indian Students. Dr SaifS Rahman was honored as the youngest medical author in the world for the debut release Pharmacology Review by Saif SR released by Actress Shabana Azmi(900 pages, published by CBS Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. He has done MBBS, MD, DCP, DEd and established Harrisons Human Rx Research Academy and Library in Janapansalla, Meghoul, Begusarai.He was director of the Board Of Secondary Education, MP and now working as Deputy Registrar of jamia Urdu, Aligarh who reformed the institution(www.pharmaindia.blog.com).

Geography

Begusarai is located at 25.42°N 86.13°E / 25.42; 86.13. It has an average elevation of 41 metres (134 feet). It has an area of 1879 square km.

The District contains Asia's largest oxbow lake, kabar Taal which contains some of rare and endangered birds and is situated near Manjhaul village.

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”.

Demographics

In 2011, Begusarai had population of 2,954,367 of which male and female were 1,560,203 and 1,394,164 respectively. There was change of 25.75 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Begusarai District recorded increase of 29.11 percent to its population compared to 1991.

The initial provisional data suggest a density of 1,540 in 2011 compared to 1,225 of 2001. Total area under Begusarai district is of about 1,918 sq.km.

Average literacy rate of Begusarai in 2011 were 66.23 compared to 47.98 of 2001. If things are looked out at gender wise, male and female literacy were 74.36 and 57.10 respectively. For 2001 census, same figures stood at 59.13 and 35.64 in Begusarai District. Total literate in Begusarai District were 1,604,148 of which male and female were 953,052 and 651,096 respectively. In 2001, Begusarai District had 896,444 in its total region.

With regards to Sex Ratio in Begusarai, it stood at 894 per 1000 male compared to 2001 census figure of 912. The average national sex ratio in India is 940 as per latest reports of Census 2011 Directorate.

Culture

Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' (रामधारी सिंह 'दिनकर') (September 23, 1908– April 24, 1974) was an Indian Hindi poet, essayist and academician, 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 family in Simariya village of Begusarai district in Bihar. Eminent Historian Professor Ram Sharan Sharma was born on 26 November 1919 in Barauni Deorhi, Begusarai, Bihar in a poor family.

The present 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. Kumar has been elected member of the Press Council Of India (XIth Term) on June 15, 2011.He has brought laurels to the state of Bihar by his entry into this prestigious statutory body.

Begusarai has also at one point of history 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.

Late Commd Y.N singh the first Indian Naval pilot was also from Begusarai. He was the son of Late eminent lawyer Sri Narayan Singh.

Bindeshwari Singh was known for his divine singing voice and his mesmerizing art of rendering stories from Indian mythology. People knew him as a rare gift of God for them. He was from Bihat village of this district.

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 a local variant of Maithili, called Dakshin Maithili (South Maithili, locally called Thethi).

Civic administration

Administrative Division
No. of Sub-Division	5
No. of Blocks	18
No. of Pancha	257
*No. of Revenue Villages	1229
*No. of Habitations	1198

Sub Divisions: Begusarai, Manjhaul, Ballia, Bakhari, Teghara

Economy

Begusarai is the Industrial capital of Bihar also known as second capital 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) ""(Closed by Central government of India Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP))"

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	Permanent : 6,384.29 Seasonal : 4,866.37
Wasteland and non arable	2,118

Natural water sources : Begusarai district is located in the middle the Ganges 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 sanctuary.

Minerals : No minerals of economic importance

Irrigation : Mostly by Tubwells

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. It is a station on the Barauni-Katihar section of East Central Railway. There is a small aerodrome in Ulao, five km from the district headquarters. 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 Ganges 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. <head>ranjeet</head>

Educational institutions

All colleges are affiliated to L.N.Mithila University, Darbhanga. Most prominent colleges are Ganesh Dutt College, Cooperative College, Mahila College, A.P.S.M.College Barauni. Some of the renowned schools are, BSS Inter Collegiate High School, BP High School, RTS Vishwa Vidyapeeth (Behind G.D. College), St. Paul's School, DAV Barauni, B R DAV (IOC), KV IOC, DAV Itwa Nagar, Cyberschool,Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya,R.K.C.High school Barauni, Baro Middle School which is Establist in 1873, RKH School Chhourahi Bakhadda.

Places to visit

• Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary which contains rare and endangered migratory birds and has a large Oxbow lake, Jai Mangla Temple (at Kanwar Lake), Nawlakha temple and Simaria's Ganges Bank (also known as the birth Place of India's National Poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar) are worth visiting, Chhourahi Bakhadda is also one of the best place to visit.

External links

• http://begusarai.bih.nic.in/
• http://paprour.com/
• http://begusaraiheritage.com/history.html