HISTORY , MYSTERY AND MONASTERIES OF BIHAR , PART-8

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Before we come on a much live side of my blog i.e MYSTERY AND MONESTRIES OF BIHAR , let us finish a rather boring phase of my blog i.e HISTORY OF BIHAR . As CROCE held that every history is a contemporary history . So we must interpret and understand history from that point of view . As my readers might be getting bored to read only HISTORY & HISTORY and also that of BIHAR , comparatively a less known Geographical area of this Globe . But as a small country of EUROPE i.e GREECE is remembered time and again by we all as a land of philosophers like SOCRATES , PLATO , ARISTOTLE etc ; as a land of poet like HOMER who penned down classics like ILLIAD & ODYSSEY ; Mathematician like PYTHAGORAS ; Historian like HERODOTUS , who was called by the ROMAN orator CICERO as ‘ THE FATHER OF HISTORY ‘ who wrote a classic like ‘ THE HISTORIES ‘ on the Greco-Persian war ; and HIPPOCRATES a renowned GREEK Physician , after taking his oath one becomes Doctors the world over even today . Similarly , BIHAR produced two great philosophies of the world : BUDDHISM & JAINISM which influenced the people the world over . A Surgeon like JIVAK , who had knowledge and skills of how to operate Human Brains in about five centuries BC ago . ARYABHATA was a Mathematician and Astronomer of PATALIPUTRA in 5th century AD who propounded the theory of Zero and Dismal which became backbone of the entire Mathematical Sciences as such . So , I think our readers must have , at least , a little knowledge about theses things . History and Cultures are the pillars on which any Geographical areas and their people stand . I am writing all this , little out of track , simply because a fellow reader of my blogs have suggested to write on a particular topic in details than on the boring History subject as such . I can do so very easily . Many such materials are also available on the Google . But my approach is that of a System Theory , that if you want to know about a particular thing , you must have knowledge about the entire system of that thing . I personally think , I may be wrong or right I don’t know , that any blog must provide knowledge and curiosity—both . So , in view of this assumption I am writing my blogs . Before I could move further on my topics I simply want to vouschafe that I’ll try to make it more interesting , more readable and more lucid .

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After the BLACK HOLE TRAGEDY in CALCUTTA ( NOW KOLKATA ) on June 20 , 1756 in which the NAWAB of BENGAL , SHIRAJ-UD-DAULA arrested about 146 EUROPEANS and put them all in a small room of 18 feet × 14 feet at night in the EAST INDIA COMPANY’S local lock up in which , according to the then self proclaimed governor of BENGAL , JOHN Z. HOLWELL , only 23 were found alive the next day ; the plots for the battle of PLASI in 1757 and the battle of BUXUR in1765 , were created which gave the British a victory over Rulers of BENGAL and BIHAR ( then as a part of BENGAL ) came under the rule of the BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY . ROBERT CLIVE was appointed as governor ( of the FORT WILLIAMS ) of the BENGAL PRESIDENCY in 1765 , who captured CALCUTTA by defeating SHIRAJ-UD-DAULA and placed first MIR JAFAR and then MIR KASIM ALI as a puppet NAWAB , whose headquarters was at MONGHYR , a town near BHAGALPUR of BIHAR PROVINCE . As a result the DIWANI (CIVIL ) administration of BIHAR , BENGAL and ORISSA fell into the hand of the BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY . Thus , the era of British Rule had started in BIHAR .

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PATNA again came into currency with JOB CHARNOCK , known as the founder of a city like CALCUTTA , established a factory* in 1664 in PATNA and he became talk of the town as he rescued a woman who was about to be SATI** from from her Funeral Pyre at PATNA and , later on , married with her in 1678 . In 1757 , ROBERT CLIVE came to PATNA along with NAWAB MIR JAFAR . They appointed MIRAN as a symbolic governor of PATNA . The post of Deputy Governor ( NAIB ) was , now , created for the governance of BIHAR , however , it remained with RAJA RAM NARAYAN & SITAB RAY , two important DIWAN of that time from BIHAR . The MUGHAL Prince SHAH ALAN , as a representative of the Governor of OUDH , was put into the charge of BIHAR , BENGAL and ORISSA , who besieged PATNA in 1660 but was forced to flee by the British Captain KNOX who was sent to protect the British Factories and the British interest in PATNA . A bizarre incident , however , took place in 1663 in PATNA in which MIR KASIM , the then Governor of BENGAL & BIHAR ordered killing of about 60 English men when differences between the the two rose to the surfeit. And after killing , their bodies were thrown into a well of the compound of the house where they were captivated . This was the turning point in the political events of BIHAR & BENGAL which led to the battle of PLASI in 1757 and the battle of BUXUR in 1765 about which the mentioned have been made above . Now , after taking over the charges of DIWANI of BIHAR , BENGAL and ORISSA , an English resident was appointed in PATNA but the administration of BIHAR remained with the MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH ALAM , who after the agreement of ALLAHABAD between the British and the MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH ALAM-2 & SIRAJ-UD – DAULA had become titular EMPEROR of these provinces .

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BIHAR was then comprised of only two districts : 1. PATNA ; 2. GAYA . In 1769 an English Supervisors were appointed and in 1770 a Council for BIHAR was established in PATNA . The English Supervisors in 1774 were designated as Collectors of the districts of BIHAR and the Council for BIHAR was , now , called Provincial Council as such . But this arrangement did not last long . And in 1881 BIHAR was made a district under the Collector and the Judge Magistrate . Again in 1865 BIHAR was devided into PATNA and GAYA districts. Still later in 1869 , TIRHUT was also designated as the district of BIHAR . BIHAR subdivision only now remained with the district of PATNA and nineteen Estates were transferred to TIRHUT district . The rest of BIHAR remained with the district of GAYA . The Revenue Council of PATNA , which was constituted in 1770 was now called The Revenue Chief of BIHAR in 1781 . The GOLGHAR , a round shaped granary in PATNA , was constructed under the British Architect CAPTAIN JOHN GARSTIN to keep grains in it to fight Famine in 1786 on order of WARREN HASTINGS , the then Governor General of India . LORD CORNWALLIS, best known for the permanent settlement in BIHAR , BENGAL and ORISSA , ordered to fix the Land Revenue @ of 10/11 for the British and 1/11 for the ZAMINDARS , a new class of landlords created in BIHAR after the permanent settlement, was exploitative in nature . And due to the widespread discontent of the peasants of BIHAR & BENGAL , the BIHAR AND BENGAL TENANCY ACT OF 1885 was promulgated to combat such discontents against the regime among vast peasantry .

*The PORTUGUESE as a trader of spices and cotton entered first in BIHAR but they established thier factory in HOOGLI in BENGAL in 1579 . The first factory in PATNA was established by the British in 1620 at ALAMGANG , PATNA ( NOW THE GULZARBAG GOVERNMENT PRESS IS LOCATED THERE ) which was closed in 1621 itself but again it was restarted in 1650 and officially recognized in 1658 . The DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY established its factory in PATNA in 1632 ( NOW PATNA COLLETARIATE IS RUN FROM THERE ) .

** SATI was an ancient tradition of self-immolation of a women on the Funeral Pyre of her husband after his death . The system was dreadful and was abolished in 1829 by an Act during the Governor Generalship of LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK with the support of a social reformer like RAJA RAM MOHUMN ROY .

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