Arrah town (also known as Ara) is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district occupies an area of 2,474 km² and has a population of 1,792,771 (as of 2001). It is located at a longitude of 83º-45' to 84º-45' East and the latitude is 25º-10' to 25º-40' North and is situated at a height of 193 meters above sea level. History
The present district of Bhojpur came into existence in 1
992. Earlier this district was the part of the erstwhile Shahabad district. In the year 1972 Shahabad district was bifurcated in two parts namely Bhojpur and Rohtas. In 1992 Buxar became a separate district and the rest of Bhojpur district now has three sub-divisions-Ara Sadar, Jagdishpur and Piro. Ara town is the headquarters of the district and also its principal town. The district is bound on the north by the districts of Saran (Bihar) and the Balia district of Uttar Pradesh; on the south by the district of Rohtas; on the west by the district of Buxar and on the east by the district of Patna, Jahanabad and Arwal. It is said that Ara, the present headquarters of the district derives its name from the Sanskrit word Aranya, which means forest. It suggests that the entire area around modern Ara was heavily forested in old days. According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra, the Guru of Rama, had his 'Ashram' somewhere in this region. Bhojpur district has a close linkage with that of its parent district of Shahabad, which had an old and interesting history. In the pre-historic days also there is evidence of the area being inhabited. The 1961 Census report of Shahabad district describes the history of the district in following manner. "In the old days, Shahabad formed part of the ancient kingdom of Magadh which also contained portions of the present Patna & Gaya district. Though included in the kingdom of Emperor Ashoka, the general absence of Buddhists' monuments from a greater part of the district suggests that it remained almost immune from the Buddhist influence of the time.”
"The famous Chinese pilgrim, Hieun-Tsang, who journeyed through the country in the seventh century A.D., paid a visit to Mo-Ho-Solo in Shahabad. This place has been identified with the present village Masarh, 10 km west of Ara on Ara-Buxar road. The Chinese pilgrim found that the inhabitants were all Brahmins who did not respect the law of Buddha. He, therefore, felt disappointed and did not proceed to any other place in the district." "Not much is known about the history of the district after the fall of Guptas. In all probability it relapsed into the hands of the aboriginal tribes and came under control of petty chieftains. The most dominant people during this period were Cheros. They ruled over the greater portion of the district. Then came the Rajputs from Ujjain in the province of Malwa. Raja Bhoj was their king and the term 'Bhojpur' now applicable to the area is derived from him." The Medieval period history of this district has been described in the following words :
"While encamping at Ara in 1529 after his victory over the Afghan rulers, Babar proclaimed his sovereignty over Bihar . In commemoration of this event, the place was called Shahabad, which literally means 'the city of Emperor'. This name was later applied to the Sarkar within which Ara was included and eventually toe entire district." Akbar, after his accession, includes the district of Shahabad in his empire, though the control was not very tight. Akbar's General Man Singh, made efforts to organise the revenue administration of the district on a sound footing. But the local chiefs continued to resist. The Rajas of Jagdishpur and Bhojpur defied the Mughals. The Raja of Bhojpur rebelled against Jahangir. His successor Raja Pratap, was done to death by Shahjahan and the Queen was forced to many a muslim courtier. This finally quietened the Bhojpur family but stray troubles continued till the last days of Mughals. After this the District had a very uneventful history till 1857 when Kunwar Singh revolted against the Britishers in line with the Mutineers. Climate :
The climate of the district is of moderately extreme type. The hot weather begins about the middle of March, when hot westerly winds begin to blow during the day. The months of April and May are extremely hot. In a normal year, the monsoon sets in by the third week of June and the rains continue with intermissions till about the end of September or the early part of October. The cold weather begins from the month of November and lasts till the beginning of March January is the coldest month when temperature comes down as low as 10 °C. From the month of April till the first break down of the monsoon, the district experiences occasional thunder-storms also. Rainfall :
Rains set in June accompanied by a fall in temperature and increase in humidity. The district experiences maximum rains during the months of July and August. The average rain-fall, in the normal conditions, recorded in these months is in the proximity of 300 mm. The district gets easterly winds from June to September, which brings rains, from October the direction of the winds is reversed and westerly winds blow till May. There is slight rainfall in October, but November and December are quite dry. Some winter rain occurs in January and February. In session 2011 rain fall is also more and more less, due to which farmers are in problem. Irrigation facilities :
The river Sone and Ganges are the perennial sources of surface water. They can provide irrigation to major portion of agricultural lands. In the "Pre-Zamindari Abolition" days the Zamindars used to maintain "Ahars" and Pynes" which served the purposes of both irrigation and drainage in certain pockets of the district. Ordinary wells also used to be a good source of irrigation. The District Statistical Report published by the District Administration in the 2001, 15,493 hectors, and land is irrigated by big Sone canals, 14,940 hector, land is irrigated by middle Sone canals and 18,379 hectors, and land is irrigated by small canals. 2,582 hectors, land is irrigated by Govt. Electronic Tube wells and 2,099 hectors, of land is irrigated by Govt. Tub wells operated by diesel. The area of land irrigated by private Electric Tube wells is 8,263 hectors. And 16999 hectors of land is irrigated by diesel operated private Tube wells 58,586 hectors of land irrigated by other sources or irrigation like Ahars, wells and ponds etc. Thus this statistics shows that 177,341 hectors of land out of 2,37,526 hectors of land of total area is irrigated. It means 74.66 % land of the district is irrigated. Land use pattern :
In this district both the irrigated and un-irrigated areas except the small hills are being exploited for cultivation. Even some of the large ponds and "Jhils" which were duck-shooting areas have been de-watered and put to crop and grows "Boro crops". Intensive agriculture is also being attempted by what is popularly known as "Package Program". The Block Development Authorities are also trying to extend cultivation and improve the output. The remodelled Sone Canal System has the objective of bringing in more land under cultivation. Horticulture is spreading and orchards are springing up of all parts. The District Statistical Report published by the District Administration of Bhojpur in the year of 2001 shows the area of different crops production i.e. Paddy-1,05,155 hectors, Wheat-67,259 hectors, Maize- 2,779 hectors, Barley-1,154 hectors Gram-5,017 hectors Peas-2,016 hectors, Arhar-919 hectors Masur-8,115 hectors Khesari-8,989 hectors Oil seeds (Sarso) 2,866 hectors Spices 31 hectors Vegetables 5,119 hectors, Fruits 2,651 hectors and Sugar cane 209 hectors. This report also published the data of the rate of production, which is provided to the district administration by the State Directorate. It states the rate of production different crops per hectors as follows:
Paddy (High yielding irrigated)-3502 Kg per hectares. Paddy (Locally irrigated) -3330 kg per hectors, Wheat (High yielding irrigated)-2725 Kg per hectors. Wheat (High yielding un-irrigated)-2707 Kg per hectors Masur-1047 kg per hectors Khesari-986 kg. Per hectors. Oil seeds (Sarso) 679 Kg per hectors and Gram 937 kg per hectors. Mines and minerals :
Mines and minerals resources in new Bhojpur district are very little. The only mineral product in this district is the sand from Sone river. About 40 km length of Sone river forms the part of southern and eastern and eastern boundary of the district of Bhojpur. The only managed sand - collecting centre is Koilwar, which is about 5 km strips. About 35 km length is not properly managed to gather the sand. Industrialization :
After bifurcation of the old Shahabad district in the new district of Bhojpur and Rohtas the large scale industries generally fell in Rohtas district. There are, however, different types of small & cottage industries other than some agro-based industries located in the district of Bhojpur. The District Statistical Report shows that between April 1992 and August 2000, 1,085 small tiny and cottage industries were registered with the District Industry Centre, Bhojpur. Altogether the capital invested in these industries is Rs-869.19 Lacs, and 1858 persons are employed in these industries. There is an industrial area located at Gidha (Koilwar) spread in an area of 30-40 acres of land under the Patna Industrial Development Authority. A bottling plant of Indane Gas (LPG) is also started in this area. The development of industries depends on the regular supply of power but the district gets very short supply of the electricity against the required energy. The industrialisation of the district badly hampered due to this problem. Society and culture :
Films -
Bhojpuri films have a far and wide viewership. Several film personalities from this region have made rich contributions to cinema. Viswanth Shahabadi had made Ganga Maiya Tohen Piyari Chadhaibo in 1960, which is still today widely acclaimed. Janardan Singh of Ara made Piya Nirmohia with Jai Tilak of Ara as hero. Sri Ashok Chand Jain and Mr. Laxman Shahabadi have made the film Ganga Kinare Mora Gaon, in which the latter's songs had been appreciated a lot. Jai Mohan of Ara was the villain of this film. Similarly many more artist have worked in films from this region and have made Ara the Hollywood of Bhojpuri films.The rising & Bright future in Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Vinit Singh, Chotu Chaliya and many more also belong to ARA. They all have a good quality in their profession.Arun kumar mahto (actor,writer,editor,director & producer) is making short film since 2009. laika mafiya was his first film based on failed students. Fashion -
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear or accessories.Clothing of an area often based on economic or social conditions.Basically Fashion of Ara is traditional but now people started wearing Western or Indo-western cloths.A lot of national and international brands have opened their showrooms in Ara. Vikash Singh A young creative fashion designer of India who worked with Rohit Bal and Manish Arora is also from ara. Following him, many more students of Ara are pursuing Fashion Designing from NIFTs and NID. Literature -
Bhojpur has a rich literary lineage. Munshi Sadasukh Lal, Sayed Ishautullah, Lallu lal and Sadal Mishra ara famous for their work in 'Khari Boli'. From Bhartendu era Akhoury Yashodanad was as famous as editor and Sri Shivnandan Sahay for biography writings. Sri Jainendra Kishor Jain was well known novelist and dramatist. In Dwivedi era Mahamahopadhyay Pundit Sakal Narayan Sharma and Pundit Ramdahin Mishra were famous for prose writing. Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, great story writer, novelist and essayist, was from this area. In Chayavadi era Sri Kedarnath Mishra Prabhat, Sri Ramdayal Pandey, Collector Singh Keshari, Sri Nandkisor Tiwari, Sri Ramnath Pathak Pranaye and Prof. Sarvdev Tiwary Rakesh (well known Rakesh ji) were well known for their poetic skills. The first Bhojpuri Mahakabya "Kaljayi Kunwar Singh" was written by Prof. Sarvdev Tiwary Rakesh. The list of personalities contributing towards a lot in literary field from this region is long. Sports -
Bhojpur District is progressing very fast in the field of sports. The District Sports Associations are actively promote games and sports. They are creating sporting environment for a large variety of games with the vitality, interest & involvement of the local people. The leadership provided by some leading name in field of sports and games had raised the position of Bhojpur in the state level and national level. For example Bhojpur badminton association has born several young players who not only won lot of matches in district but even in national level also.Some of the players are: Radhika Raman Singh,Vishal Anand,Krishna singh; Badal Ojha,Saurabh Kamal,and many more. There is a very beautiful stadium namely Veer Kunwar Sigh Stadium, at Ramna, Ara and an Indoor Stadium that has excellent Badminton court and gymnasium. Important places and sites :
Gundi Village -
Birth Place of World fame Great Saint Awadhoot Bhagwan Ram, popularly known as Sarkar Baba or Bhagwan Ramji. He was born in 1937 at Gundi village. Later he moved to Baba Keenaram Sthal ( Thousands year old Spiritual Centre & Worldfame Headquarter of Aghor sect at Varanasi ) , at the age of 7 (Seven) only . Sun Temple at Dev -
The Dev village of Tarari block has statue of the Sun god besides several other deities. These statues are said to be of 14th century or even before. Veer Kunwar Singh Kila, Jagdishpur -
The great warrior of 1857 belonged to Jagdishpur. His fort is still there to reminds us of the great son of the soil who fought for the freedom till his last. Maharaja College, Ara -
The present Maharaja college premises is an important historical site. There is an entry point of a tunnel that is believed to be connected with the Jagdishpur fort of Kunwar Singh. Aranya Devi Temple -
This is famous temple of Aranya Devi (Forest Goddess). She is said to be the deity goddess of Ara town. Here one statue is of ADI SAKTI and the second is established by the Pandavas. The temple is very old and draws many devotees every day. It is situated at the top of stone boulde
"MAA KALI MANDIR" -
This temple is situated at Bakhorapur about 15 km from Ara. This is one of the oldest temples in India and so big. A 85 feet (26 m) high statue of maa kali is being made near this temple. Temple is situated at the bank of holly river ganga. The main temple is made of granite and marble stones. Nowadays this palace is famous for different types of films and suiting. Note :
These all informattions are taken from wikipedia.
