Ratangarh, Bijnor

Ratangarh (Hindi: रतनगढ़, Urdu: رتنگڑھ) is a village in the northwestern Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh state of India. It is located in the administrative district of Bijnor.

Historical Background

Ratangarh was founded in the early nineteenth century by Rao Zokha Singh (ज़ोख़ा सिंह, زوخا سنگھ). He was a former commander (or Rao) of the northern branch of the Maratha Confederate Army, whose control ranged to the Tarai baselands of the Himalayas. After the Maratha decline that followed the Battle of Delhi, he became a mercenary-adventurer. For a period, he served as the Commanding General (Sipehsalar, سپحسالار) of the principality of Sardhana near Meerut. He then moved on to found his own Principality with Ratangarh at its center. Ratangarh (literal meaning: Jewel Fort) was established near the site of an older defunct settlement called Azamgarh (literal meaning: Supreme Fort). Since the last days of the Mughal empire, government revenue documents have interchangeably referred to the village as either Ratangarh or Azamgarh-urf-Ratangarh (literally: Azamgarh-also-known-as-Ratangarh).

Along with the rest of Rohilkhand, Ratangarh was affected by the general rebellion against the British in 1857. Economic depression followed for a period. However, it was one of the first settlements in India to be electrified, in the mid 1920s, and this brought about a revival. A school was established in the 1930s. A largely feudal agrarian system ( Zamindari, زمینداری) held sway until the 1940s, after which a combination of Legislature-driven Land Reform (such as the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 and the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960) and the Bhoodan movement brought about land redistribution, similar to other areas of Rohilkhand. At the independence and partition of India in 1947, the region as a whole witnessed an influx of Punjabis and Sikhs from the areas that now comprise Pakistan, though Ratangarh itself was relatively unaffected by this demographic change.

In a notable event, on April 6, 1885, a meteorite was sighted over Ratangarh and fell close to the nearby settlement of Chandpur.

Demography and Culture

The village reflects the broader cultural background of the region of Rohilkhand, flavored by its proximity to the hill state of Uttarakhand. The language is the Western Hindi dialect of Khari Boli, and is significantly Persianized in its vocabulary. The population is largely Hindu with a significant Muslim (both Shia and Sunni) minority. Local castes in this region of Rohilkhand include Tyagi Brahmin, Jat, Rajput, Rohilla Pathan (after whom the region is named), Ahir and Dalit.

As in Uttarakhand and Nepal, the most important festival is Dashehra (दशहरा, دشھرہ), commemorating the victory of Lord Ram over Ravan. A traditional folk-play (Ramleela), that dramatizes the Ramayan, is enacted over several consecutive nights, culminating on Dashehra. Though the play has Hindu religious significance, both the Hindu and Muslim communities participate in the festivities. Other important festivals include Holi, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, Moharram and Diwali.

Ecology

For the first century after its foundation, the environs of the village were heavily forested, and contiguous with the Tarai forests that hemmed the Himalayan foothills. Wildlife (Chital Deer, Monkey, Hare, Porcupine, Wolf and Leopard) was widespread. Pressures stemming from the rapid population increase in the twentieth century resulted in mass-deforestation. These species are now confined to the nearby Jim Corbett National Park, with only monkeys and peacocks remaining in numbers in the village area. Snakes and hares continue to be common in the farm fields.

Economy

The economy is primarily based on agriculture. Staples (mainly wheat, with some bajra or pearl millet) are produced. There are also many sugarcane fields, and fruit orchards (mango, mulberry, pomegranate, jamun or rose apple and shareefa or sugar apple). In non-agricultural activity, there are some retail outlets, doctors, flour mills and teachers. Land reform and urban-bound migration and divestment by the former zamindars has resulted in some economic equalization, with a more evenly distributed pattern of land ownership, including by Dalits. Many youth from all segments of the population seek careers in the small towns nearby (Fina, Chandpur, Sherkot, Bijnor) or the larger towns further afield (Meerut, Hardwar, Delhi).

References

• "History of the Bijnor Rebellion," Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Dlli, Delhi, 1982. Originally, "Tareekh-e-Sarkashi-e-Zilaa-e-Bijnor," published in 1858.
• "History of Bijnor," B.C. Verma, 1974.
• "Tawareekh-e-Taghawi," Haji Ashfaqullah, Kankhal (United Provinces), 1934.
• "Samru: The Fearless Warrior," Jaipal Singh, Srishti Press, 2004.
• "Dominance and Mobilisation: Rural Politics in Western Uttar Pradesh, 1930-1980," Zoja Hasan, Sage Publications, 1989.
• "Forests on Fire: Ecology and Politics in the Himalayan Tarai," Ajay Rawat, Cosmo Publications.
• "A Study of Land Reforms in Uttar Pradesh," Baljit Singh and Shridhar Misra, The Journal of Asian Studies, 1966, Volume 25.
• "Land Reforms in India: Constitutional and Legal Approach (with Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh)," Pramod Kumar Agrawal, MD Publications, 1993.
• "Bhoodan and the Landless," S.V. Khandewale and K.R. Nanekar, Popular Prakashan, 1973.
• "Rohilkund : Its Terai and Irrigation," Lt. Jones and Rev. T. Smith, The Calcutta Review, Volume V, Number IX, 1846.