Bhagalpur

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

Bhagalpur (भागलपुर) and in Bengali :ভাগলপুর is a municipality situated in the planes of the Ganges river basin at the height of 141 feet above sea level in Bihar, India. It is the third largest city of Bihar, covers an area of 2569.50 km². and lies between 25.07'N - 25.30'N Latitude and between 86.37'E - 87.30'E Longitude. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bhagalpur District. Bhagalpur is acclaimed the world over for its silk products and it is known in India as the "Silk City" Famous for its Tussar Silk & Tussar Saree. Bhagalpur is the distorted form of Bhagdatpuram (meaning city of Good Luck) as it was called during the flourishing of the Anga Kingdom, and has been the seat of power since.

Overview

It is a city of historical importance on the bank of Ganges river, situated 220 km east of Patna and 410 km north west of Kolkata. The city was referred to as one of the biggest trade centers in eastern India by the 7th century Chinese travellers Hsüan-tsang and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxian Fa-Hien. The city had a big harbour on the River Ganges at place called Champanagar (another name for Bhagalpur), now called Champanala, which flows on the western boundary of the present city near Nathnagar. During an archaeological excavation, many boats and coins of the Middle and Far East were found at the same place. Bhagalpur is well connected by rail and roadways.

The silk industry in this city is hundreds of years old and its inhabitants have been producing silk for generations.There is a Silk Institute and Agricultural University here, as well as a University (Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University), and Engineering (Bhagalpur College of Engineering), Medical (Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College) and Homeopathic colleges. Recently in 2010 Bihar Agricultural University was set up in Sabour, Bhagalpur.

The Gangetic plains are very fertile and the main crops include rice, wheat, maize, barley, and oilseeds. The economy of Bhagalpur is dependent mainly on agriculture and small businesses.

History

It is supposed to have concurrent to Patliputra or Patna. Bhagdattpuram fin the gods to churn the ocean to procure amrit. The serpent, Vasuki offered to serve as the rope and has left behind an impression of the coil on the granite hill. It is believed that Panchjanya, the conch shell used in the Mahabharat was discovered here in the "Shankh Kund". The Puranas also refer to the hill. It is believed to have been visited by Vishnu as Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu the Demon). It is said that Vishnu covered Madhu under the hill after defeating him to death. Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava refers to foot marks of Vishnu on the slopes of Mandara. The hill is replete with relics of bygone ages. Apart from inscriptions and statues, there are numerous rock cut sculptures depicting various images of Hindu Gods. The hill is equally revered by the Jains who believe that their 12th Tirthankara attained nirvana at the summit. The area around Mandara Hill is laced with a landscape of extraordinary splendour. The 800 feet high granite hill is a sight to see in the daylight. It is a popular picnic spot for people living in the area. The religious festival of "Vish-hari Puja" or "the worship of the Snake Queen" or "Manasa Devi, said to be a daughter of lord Shiva and Queen of Snakes" traces its roots back hundreds of years and is still celebrated every year with thousands of believers and snake charmers offering milk to the Nag (the Snake King) and Nageen (The Snake Queen).

References to Bhagalpur can be found in Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where Bhagalpur has been described as the kingdom of Anga. Ancient cave sculptures of Emperor Ashoka's regime (274 BC-232 BC) are found in the neighbourhood and at Sultangunj, 20 km west of Bhagalpur, a templeundefined of the Gupta period (320-500) still exists in Bhagalpur. The tomb of Suja, brother of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, in the heart of the town is reminiscent of the city's association with the Mughal period.

The ruins of ancient Vikramshila University are located 44 km east of Bhagalpur. The royal university of Vikramsila, ranks next to Nalanda and owes its origin to Dharmapala (770-810 A.D.), the devout Pala king who loved to call himself Paramasaugata (chief worshipper of the Buddha) and was a great patron of Mahayana Buddhism. It was the medieval center to the conservation and propagation of Buddhist education, established by King Dharampal of Bengal (783-820) at the end of the 8th century.

Bhagalpur formed a part of the ancient Sanskrit kingdom of Anga said to be ruled by king Karna of Mahabharata who was well known for his charity. In later times it was included in the powerful Hindu kingdom of Magadha or Behar, and in the 7th century it was an independent state, with the city of Champa as its capital. It afterwards formed a part of the Mohammedan Kingdom of Gaur, West Bengal, and was subsequently subjugated by Akbar, who declared it to be a part of the Delhi empire. Bhagalpur passed to the East India Company by the grant of the emperor Shah Alam II in 1765.

Bhagalpur was one of most important trade centers in Bengal Presidency in British India.

The city and the district was notorious for its criminal activities and lack of human safety, both of which peaked during 1970s leading to 1980 Bhagalpur blindings. The communal violence that broke out in and around Bhagalpur in October 1989 continued for about two months and nearly 1200 lives lost. It has emerged as one of the most economically and socially stable districts of Bihar in present times.

The Jain temple at Nathnagar is important pilgrimage centre for Jains. Budha nath Temple is ancient Shiva Temple on the bank of Ganges. Sultanganj (about 25 km West) is an important religious center for Hindus from where holy water of Ganges is carried and offered at Deoghar.

Economics

Bhagalpur is a small city and it has primarily an agrarian economy. The economic growth of the city has stagnated since the independence itself . Today the city's primary employer is the public sector with little private sector involvememt. This has resulted in widespread migration of people for the search of jobs to other parts of the country. The silk industry in this city is more than 200 years old and a whole clan exists that has been producing silk for generations. Bhagalpur is well known for its sericulture, manufacture of silk yarn and weaving them into lovely products. This silk is of a distinct and special type. It is known as Tussah or Tusser Silk. Silk weaving is an age-old traditional household industry of Bhagalpur. There is a Silk Institute and Agricultural college as well. In Bhagalpur the weavers service centre (GOI) was established in the year 1974. With a view to develop handloom silk industry in the state of Bihar. The silk industry has faced stiff competition from machine made fabric .Due to this, the industry is almost at the verge of a collapse. The government is now trying to renovate this sector. Bhagalpur silk home furnishing made ups are slowly becoming popular in the Overseas markets. it has good economy. It is ranked 4th in all the cities of bihar, after the capital city patna, industrial capital begusarai and muzaffarpur.

Demography

As of 2001 India census, Bhagalpur city had a population of 350,133 while district as a whole had 2.4 Million population. It is third largest city in Bihar in terms of urban population next only to Patna & Gaya. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bhagalpur has an average literacy rate of 70%, while male literacy rate is at 78% & women at 62%currently.

Culture

Chhath Puja,Laxmi Puja, Kali Puja, Eid-ul Fitr,Eid-ul Zoha, Muharram and Dussehra are the major festivals in Bhagalpur. Bihula & Bishahari puja is specially celebrated in Bhagalpur.

Education

The higher education in city includes various institutes related to medical education, engineering education, arts and science education and agriculture university.

• University*
• Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur
• R.S.Collage Tarapur
• Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur
• Bhagalpur College of Engineering
• Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur
• T. N. B. College, Bhagalpur
• Sunderwati Mahila College
• Marwari College, Bhagalpur
• B.N College,Bhagalpur
• Muslim Minority College, Bhagalpur
• Zila School, Bhagalpur (BIEC)
• Durga Charan High School, Bhagalpur (BIEC)
• Jhunjhunwala Girls High School, Bhagalpur (BIEC)
• Mount Assisi School, Bhagalpur. (ICSE)
• Saint Joseph's School, Bhagalpur.(ICSE)
• St. Paul's School ,Bhaglpur. (ICSE)
• Delhi Public School, Bhagalpur.(CBSE)
• Mount Carmel School, Bhagalpur.(ICSE)
• Saint Teresa's School,Bhagalpur.(ICSE)
• D.A.V Public School,Bhagalpur. (CBSE)
• Urdu Girls High School,Bhagalpur
• Navyug Vidyalaya, Bhagalpur. (CBSE)
• Holy Family School,Bhagalpur (ICSE)
• S.K.P.Vidya Vihar, Bhagalpur (CBSE)
• Vikramshila School, Tilkamanjhi
• Muslim High school
• C E Academy
• G.R.S.S.Vidya mandir,Champanagar,BGP(CBSE)
• K N H Medical College and Hospital, Mayagunj, Bhagalpur
• A.R.D.S.Vidya Mandir (CBSE)
• Christ Church Girl's High School
• Nav joyti veedyapeet bhagalpur(residencial)
• Techno Mission International School (CBSE)

Language

The main language of Bhagalpur is Angika which is a blend of Bangla and Maithili.

Angika, a regional language, is reported to be spoken by more than 30 million people world wide and is considered to be one of the oldest languages of the world. s.s.v.colllege ,kahalgaon

Print & Electronic Media

Print media :- Dainik Jagran (Hindi), Hindustan Dainik (Hindi), Aaj (Hindi), Prabhat Khabar (Hindi), Times Of India (English), The Telegraph (English) are newspapers circulated in Bhagalpur.

Web Media

www.angvani.com, The First Online Newspaper of Bhagalpur since 2007.

Telecom

GSM Service: BSNL, Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Idea, Tata-Docomo, Reliance-GSM, Uninor, S-Tel.Etisalat

CDMA Service: Tata Indicom, Reliance India Mobile(RIM), MTS, Virgin.

Broadband service: BSNL, BSNL Leased line, Sify.

Wireless Broadband: Tata Photon Plus

Other services: BSNL Landline, BSNL WLL. 3G service currently provided by BSNL and Reliance.

Places of interest

• Micro Electronics,Gurudwara Road (A complete house of electonics home applinces, offer lost price in the city since-1984).
• Jain Temple (Champanagar)
• Mehershi mehi aashram, Kuppa Ghat (Bank of the Ganges river)
• Khanquah Shahbazia, Maulanchuck, Bhagalpur, A great Sufi and Islamic Scholar at the time of ruler - Aurangzeb.
• Bihar Agriculture University
• Manas-Kamna Temple,Karnagarh (Nathnagar)-Area known be the place of Karna(of Mahabharata) Palace.
• The Shiva Temple at Budhanath
• Ajgaivee Nath Shiv Mandir, Sultanganj
• Gurdwara Sri Guru singh Sabha,Bhagalpur
• Rabindra Nath Bhavan (Tillha Kothi)
• Sandish Compound
• The Residence of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya
• Lajpat Park
• Central Jail,Near Airport
• The Dargah (tomb) of Ghuran Sah Pir Baba
• Vikramshila Setu
• Vikramshila University (Ancient) & Museum
• Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary
• Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udhyan (park)
• Rajmahal Fossil Sanctuary(Near Sahibganj)
• Udhuwa Bird Sanctuary (Near Barharwa)
• Vishhari Sthan (Snake Temple), Champanagar
• Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower), Made in British Time
• Bateshwarnath (near Kahalgaon)
• Fulwaria shiv mandir (8 km south from city)estb 1893 from brahman smaj
• Mandar Hill Parwat by which SAGAR-MANTHAN was done and it is 52 km far from Bhagalpur
• Temple of goddess TELDIHAYA (goddess durga) is popular and it is 30 km far from Bhagalpur.
• GONU-DHAM temple's distance from bhagalpur is only 8 km, This is MIRACULOUS temple of Lord SHIV.
• Temple of goddess DURGA and KALI at village Mukhariya distance from Bhagalpur is 5 km south
• Chandika Sthan Temple of Maa Chandika at village Rampurdih distance from Bhagalpur is 13 km;west & south.
• Old Kali Temple in Bahwalpur village South form Nathnagar Rly. Station nearby Thana Nathnagar,it is 05 km from Bhagalpur
• Durga Temple in Tetri near Naugachhia
• Durga Temple in Bhramarpur near Thana Bihpur.
• Old Kali Temple Lakhpura (50 Km. from Bhagalpur).
• Studio Blue Fox & Foto Express(Best studio in Bihar& 1st in Bhagalpur).

People from Bhagalpur

• [Anand Mohan Sahay] Genral Secretary in INA with Netaji. Taken Responsibility in INA for men-force & Training. After Independence He give services for Nation as a Indian Ambassador in seven different Countries.
• Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola was born in Bhagalpur.
• Dr.U.N.Sinha, a pioneer in parallel computing was born in Bhagalpur.
• Tilka Manjhi First Santhal Freedom fighter.
• Dr.S.M.Z.Rahman, First PhD holder from Bhagalpur University under the supervision of Prof. A. P. Jha. They pioneered in the population genetics of the "Drosophila".
• Kadambini, daughter of Braja Kishore Bose, headmaster of Bhagalpur School, was one of the first women graduates from Bhagalpur.
• Suchitra Bhattacharya, acclaimed Indian novelist was born in Bhagalpur on 10 January 1950.
• Ashis Nandy is an Indian political psychologist, a social theorist, and a contemporary cultural and political critic. A trained sociologist and clinical psychologist, his body of work covers a variety of topics, including public conscience, mass violence, and dialogues of civilizations.
• Pritish Nandy is a poet, painter, journalist, politician, television personality, animal activist and film producer.
• Neha Sharma is a Hindi & South-Indian movie actress. She has been born and brought up in Bhagalpur, did her schooling from Mount Carmel School. She starred with Emran Hashmi in her first Bollywood flick 'CROOK' which was released in October,2010.
• Nandalal Bose - Born in Bhagalpur, Bihar in December 1882, Nandlal Bose rose to become one of modern India's most important artists.
• Deepak Saha - Born in Bhagalpur, Deepak has received many National and International awards for his contribution towards society as CEO of Jaiprabha Mahila Vikas Kendra.

People who have lived here for brief periods:

• Rabindra Nath Tagore occupied Tillha Kothi close to the University Campus for a considerable period. Parts of the Nobel awarded Gitanjali was written in Tilla Kothi.
• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, an eminent Bengali novelist. He received his early education while residing at his maternal uncle's house in Bhagalpur and it was there that he wrote his famous novel Devdas. He spent 20 years of his life in Bhagalpur and a significant portion of his novels were either written in Bhagalpur or based on his experience in Bhagalpur.
• Ashok Kumar(Bengali: অশোক কুমার; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001) was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly (Bengali: কুমুদলাল কুঞ্জিলাল গাঙ্গুলি) in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He broke from the theatrical style then common in Indian film towards a more naturalistic method. Given his versatility and proven brilliance over five decades, he is considered by many to be one of the finest ever Indian actors. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988 and the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
• Saurabh Tiwary, Indian cricketer, ODI player & member of Mumbai Indians IPL.
• Gurmeet Choudhary, The lead actor in ndtv ramayana has his origins in bhagalpur
• Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Ansari, a very prominent professor of bhagalpur university was awarded by " President Award of Honour" in the year 2001 by Honble President Mr. K.R. Narayanan.
• Pt Murlidhar Choudhary born in 1899 was a freedom fighter and well known barister of his time, his father was a Police Officer in British period against his wish and will he stood with the freedom fighters, he was influenced by great freedom fighter Khudi Ram Boss.
• Anand Ranjan Singh, a very good Artist of Banaras Hindu University,awarded by "Bihar State Award" in the year 1994 by Honble Governors Mr A.R.Kidwai.Anand live at New Delhi,Job For Sr.Digital Artist in Digitoonz.com
• Moulana Mohammad Shahid Raza, President of World Islamic Mission, United Kingdom. He is the First Bihari who received OBE (Order of British Empire) Award from Queen Elizabeth.
• [Om Prakash Anand]

Ethical computer hacker,Software developer,MK2012 WINNER.

References

Moulana Mohammad Shahid Raza, President of World Islamic Mission, United Kingdom. He is the First Bihari who received OBE (Order of British Empire) Award from Queen Elizabeth.

External links

• www.angvani.com, The First Online Newspaper of Bhagalpur since 2007.

• The old Bhagalpur city
• Bhagalpur News
• Official Bhagalpur District Website