History

Maharajganj – ‘In the Mirror of History’

On 2 October Reconstructing the history of Maharajganj district, which is coming into existence, is a challenging task. In the ancient Indian literature, there is little mention of this area, after taking the ashram of logical conjecture in such a situation, after thorough review of available literary and archaeological sources, it is impossible to present the history of this district indisputably. Still, an effort to rebuild its glorious past is intended for this article.
Epic – This area was known as the taxpayer in yesterday, which was a part of the Kosal kingdom. It seems that the oldest emperor to rule this region was Ikshvaku, whose capital was Ayodhya. After Ikshvaku, this dynasty divided the small states and made his son Kush the king of Kushawati, whose modern Samata was established along with Kushinagar. After the world renunciation of Rama, Kush abandoned Kushavati and returned to Ayodhya. It is known from Balmiki Ramayana that Laxman son Chandraket, the Malla’s successor, after this, started operating the governance of this entire area after this.

It is a very difficult and daunting task to present the true design of the oldest history of the present day Maharajganj district, famous for its pleasant forests, flora and tannery fields. In the epic period this area was known as ‘Karapath’, which was a part of Kosala state. It seems that the oldest emperor to rule over this region was Ayodhya Naresh Ikshvaku, who founded the Suryavansh. After Ikshvaku, there were many eminent kings of this lineage. Finally, in his life, Emperor Ram divided the Kosala kingdom into many small states and handed over the rule of this region to his son Kush. Valmiki is known from the Ramayana that after this, the title of ‘Mall’, Laxman son Chandkeshu became the ruler of this entire region.

It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that on the occasion of Rajasutra Yagya, edited by Yudhshathir, the responsibility of winning the preceding areas was entrusted. As a result, Bhimsen won the state named Gopalak. Accepted with Gopalpur located in Basgaon. It appears that the southern part of present Maharajganj district may have been influenced by Bhimsen’s victory.

After the era of Mahabharata, there was a revolutionary change in this entire area. Many small republican states came under the rule of the Kosala state, where the kingdom of Kolikas of Kapilavastu and the Kolgis of Ramgram were also detailed in the boundaries of present Maharajganj district. The problem of identifying the capital of Ramakrishna, the capital of Sakya and Kolyas is still entangled. Dr. Ram Bali Pandey has attempted to integrate Ramgram with Ramgarh Tal near near Gorakhpur, but modern research has made this problem unmitigated. There was also the connection of Ley to a city called Devdah. In the Buddhist texts, the mother of Lord Gautam Buddha Mahamaya, Mousi Mahaprajapati Gautami and wife Bhadra Katyayani (Yashodhara) have been told to relate only to Devdah Nagar. The remains of a town, fort and stupa have been available on 88.8 acres of land in Bansih-Kala, situated near the Haunted Market of Maharajganj district. From the preliminary excavation done under the leadership of Dr. L. Chandra Singh in 1992, the remnants of the North Krishna Narayan Mraddam (NBP) character- tradition from the lower level of the mound are available here, the former president of the history department of Gorakhpur, Dr. C. Chatterjee urged to identify Goddhah with Barasaha Arts only. Dr. Shivaji also proposed to integrate this site with Goddah in the Devdah-Ramgram Mahotsav held in Mehrajganj on 27-2-97. In Sinhalese texts Devdah is said to be located near Lumbini. It appears that Devdah would have been located on the east side of the line joining Kapilavastu and Lumbini. Mr. Vijay Kumar has expressed the possibility of being situated in Devdah’s Dhirrah and Trilokpur district. In the libraries, the description of Maharaja Anjan of Devdah is received. Whose nahititra was Gautam Buddha. Pro. Dayanath Tripathi is of the view that Maharaj Anjan’s mathamabhoomi became distorted in art and transformed into the form of Maharajganj and finally Maharajganj. The word Ganji, the Persian language, is used in the sense of market, cereal market, reserves, or treasure, which has become associated with the Ganj term during the Muslim era due to the treasury of Mahajan Anjan or the main selling center. Whose archival proof is also available. It is known that in the Mathura stone article of Shodas, an official named Ganjwar is clearly mentioned. Like the other republics in the sixth century AD, the Koli Republic was also situated as a surest geographical unit. The governance here was governed by the decision of some elite citizens. Through the governance system and process of the then republic, it is clearly certified that the democracy Buddha was very popular. The evidence of this is visible in the active and effective role of Mahatma Buddha in resolving the disputes arising out of the possible disputes arising out of the water of river Rohini in between possible and colonies as described in Buddhist texts. It is also proved by this incident that residents of this region were very conscious of agricultural activity since ancient times. For the purpose of obtaining a part of their sacred relics after the Parwan Viran of Kushinagar, the messenger of the district had reached Kushinagar. Kolis had built a stupa in Ramgram above the sacred relics of Lord Buddha, which Fahian and Hansang mentioned in his description. From the book Nayyavivali-Sutra, it is known that when Kaushal Naresh Ajatashtru invaded the Lachichvias of Vaishali, at that time Lichichi Ganapraksh Sathak had called for eighteen republics to fight against Ajatashatru. This union was also included in the Kolya Republic. The process of political unification that took place after the sixth century B.C. was the culmination of Ashok’s continuation of the eternal war of Kalinga war by Basundhali. This entire region of Maharajganj district was subject to the Nandas and Maurya emperors. Fahian and Hansang mentioned the attempt of Ramgram of Emperor Ashoka and to remove the metals of Ramgram Stupa by him. It is described in the Buddha Charit (28/66) written by Ashwaghosh that he had abandoned his resolve by moving forward with the Nag’s prayer to protect the stomach and to protect the stupa.

The era between the fall of the power of Magadha before the rise of Guptas is like the dark age of the historical events of the district. It appears that Kushanas had succeeded in establishing rule over this region. After the Kushanas, this region went under the control of the Guptas. In the beginning of the fourth century AD, most of the area of the district was included in the state of Chandragupta I, which established an affair with the Lichchavi princess Kumaradevi and created an unprecedented expansion of its power and boundary. During the reign of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya, the area of this district was included in Shravasti Mukti. The Chinese traveler Fahian (400-411 AD) also visited Kapilavastu and Ramgram in the order of pilgrimages. He mentioned the nearby forests and ruins. After the Gupta period, this region remained under the control of Mokharis and Harsh. In the reign of Harsha, Hansang (630-644 AD) also performed trips to Viplivan and Ramgram. After Harsh, some parts of this district got the right to fill. From Kahlon records received from a place called Dhuriapur in Gorakhpur, it is known that in the 9th century AD, the southern part of the Maharajganj district was included in the Shravasti Mukti of Gujjar Pratihar Naresh, where he established the power of Kalchuris in general. According to the martyrdom, the famous Tharu king Mansen or Madan Singh, for his immense wealth of Atul Aishwarya, ruled from 900-950 Gorakhpur and its surrounding areas. It is possible that his state is also joining the southern borders of the Maharajganj district. After the fall of the Gurjar prataharas, Lakshman Karna (1041-10720), ruler of Kaluchur-dynasty of Tripuri, had occupied most of the territory of this district. But it seems that his son and successor Yashkaran 1073-1120 got the rights to this area. From the sources of information, it is known that Govind Chandra Gharhwal was circulated to State Disorder of 1114-1154 AD. The majority of the Maharajganj district in the state has definitely been included. Two records of Govind Chandra received from Magadiha (Gagha) and Dhuriapar of Gorakhpur district have been confirmed by the above facts. With the defeat of Govind Chand’s Jayachandra (1170-1194 AD) in 1194 by Muhammad Ghori, the Gahrwalla power was abolished from this region and the local forces took control of the formula. In the last phase of 12th century AD, when Muhammad Ghauri and his successor Qutbuddin Aibak were engaged in reinforcing their newly established power in northern India, the state of the local Rajput clans was established on this area. The eldest son of Chandrasena Shrineta took control of a large territory in the form of the king of Satasi, which also included some part of the Maharajganj district. After this, till the time of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, the region was dominated by local Rajput kings. Under the leadership of Uday Singh, the local Rajput kings gifted gifts, gifts and assistance to the imperial army near Gorakhpur. In 1394 AD, Mahmud Shah Tughlaq sat on the throne of Delhi. He appointed Malik Sarwar Khwaja where he was appointed as the Subedar of Jaunpur. Who first collected this area and taxed it from here. Shortly after this, Malik Sarwar declared his independence against the Delhi Sultanate and established the Sharki-Dynasty in Jaunpur and established his dominion over Gorakhpur as well as on most of the land of this district. In the battle of Panipat in 1526 AD, with the defeat of Ibrahim Lodi by Babar, the power of the Mughal dynasty was established in India, but neither Babar nor his son and successor Humayun could make any attempt to take over the area. In 1556 AD, Emperor Akbar paid attention to this. He tried to establish the dominance of the Mughals on this territory while suppressing the rebellions of Khan Jaman (Ali Quli Khan). After the death of Khan Jaman in 1567 AD, Akbar handed over the jagir Munim Khan of Jaunpur. In the time of Munim Khan, peace and order was established in this area. Akbar reconstituted his empire and included Gorakhpur area in five governments of the province of Awadh, under the Government of Gorakhpur, the Chaubis Mahal was included, in which the palaces of Vinayakpur and Tilpur situated in the present Maharajganj district were also. There was the right to the Suvarnash Rajputs here. The construction of forts constructed from bricks on the headquarters of these palaces was constructed to protect the border. Vinayakpur Mahal used to provide 400 horse and 3000 pieces for the royal army. While the Tilpur palace sent 100 Ashak and 2000 footpaths. Under Tilpur Mahal, 9006 Bigha land was done on agriculture and its market value was fixed at four lakhs. In the Vinayak Mahal, the arable land was 13858 bigha and its market value was 6 lakhs. The fort located in Tilpur, whose current parity is established with Nichrol, has been mentioned in the immortality of Abul-Fazal in Ain-e-Akbari. After Akbar’s death, in 1610 AD, Jahangir handed over to the estate donor Afzal Khan. After this the area remained dominated by the Mughals.

In the beginning of eighteenth century AD, this region was part of the Gorakhpur government in the province of Oudh. From this time on till the establishment of the Nawab rule in Awadh, the real dominance of this region was of the Rajput kings, which have been clearly mentioned by Veena in his endowment report. On September 9, 1722 AD, Sadat Khan was made a Nawab of Awadh and a military officer of Gorakhpur. Sadat Khan carried out the campaign against the Tilakasena of the Bukkal Gharana, which started terrorizing the power of the local kings located in the Gorakhpur area and initially making a panic in the Maharajganj area, but did not achieve complete success in this work. Sadat Khan died on March 19, 1739, and Safdarjung was the nawab of Awadh. He sent an army in the northern part of present-day Gorakhpur (present day Maharajganj), who defeated the son of Tilakasena of Butwal and collected the money from him. After this there were sporadic conflicts in both the sides and after 20 years of long struggle, the ruler of Bukkal surrendered.

Safdarjang died on 5 October 1754 and his son and successor Shujauddaula became the Nawab of Awadh. During this period, an environment of happiness and prosperity arose in this region. Dr. Birbhordi Lal Srivastava has specifically mentioned the sanghada and aromatic rice produced in this region during his reign. At that time eighty percent of the population was working in agriculture. Shujauddaula died on January 26, 1775, and his son sat on Asafadullah Gaadi. During his reign local rulers were unable to crush the growing power of the market. The expenditure on the use of the company’s army by various treaties was growing continuously over the period. As a result, on November 10, 1801, the Nawab gave the company to Gorakhpur area along with some other areas for the company’s debt woes. As a result of this treaty, the area of present Maharajganj also went under the authority of the company. The rule of this entire area was assigned to the collector named Routledge. Who has seen disorder, unrest and revolt everywhere.

Taking advantage of the turmoil before Gorakhpur’s conversion, the Gorkhas started to strengthen their position in the border regions of present-day Maharajganj and Siddharthnagar. Under encroachment of Vinayakpur and Tilpur, their encroachment took place rapidly, which, in fact, with the collector of Butwal, settled the settlement in this district on thirty-five thousand rupees annually for the protection of their residual jamidari. Later the British made the prisoner for the payment of the outstanding amount. After 1805 AD, the Gorakhs took over Butwal and after the exile from the British, Butwal was killed in King Kathmandu. Until 1806 AD, this area had been occupied by most of the land of Gorakhs. Even in 1810-11, he entered Gorakhpur and authorized the villages located near Pali. In order to liberate this entire region from Gorkhas, British Army under the leadership of Major JS Wood attacked Butawall. Wood probably came to Butwal on 3 January 1815 Butwal under the leadership of Wazir Singh, the Gorkhas had prepared for the war, but on the arrival of the English army, they fled to the Gorkha Mountains. Wood could not succeed in defeating them. Meanwhile, the Gorkhas attacked Tilpur and Wood had to return to Tilpur to face them. Due to his unfathomable policy, Gorkha continued to scour throughout this region and keep the life of the citizens alive. Even Wood, on 17 April 1815, shot Butawal for several hours but it did not get the desired result. Then, under the leadership of Colonel Nicholas, the second campaign was launched to liberate the Terai region from Gorakhs. From the pressure on the Gorkhas, on November 28, 1815, an agreement was signed between the British and the Gorkhas, but later they began to neglect accepting the conditions of the Gorkha Pact. As a result, on 4 March 1816, after the defeat of the decisive defeat by Lonie, the Nepalese King recognized this treaty. As a result of this treaty, Nepal gave up its right over the Terai region and this area was incorporated under the company’s rule. The first freedom struggle of 1857 communicated the new life force in this area. In July 1857, the landowners of this area announced the end of British rule. King Rinalocen of Nicholal led the movement against the British. Upon the rebellion in Sugauli on 26 July, Colonel Routon of Vaniyarda (the then Judge of Gorakhpur) wrote a letter to get there early, who was passing through Kathmandu with three thousand Gorkha soldiers moving towards Gorakhpur, for the efforts of Gorkha Despite this, the Vaniyard was unable to suppress the movement completely. As a result, he handed over the administration of Gorakhpur district to Satasi and the king of Gopalpur. But the Andolanakara could not keep the area free for a long time, and the British again took the area under full control. King Rinaloseen of Nicholal was deprived of the title of the pre-designated King, not only because he led the agitators, but the pension given to him in 1845 AD was also stripped. After the first independence movement of 1857 AD, this area was also directly under British rule by the Queen Victoria’s manifesto in November 1858. Even during the British rule, difficulties of general public could not be overcome. Despite various land settlements, the farmers could not get any rights on their land, while the landlord continued to be exploited by the labor of laborers and farmers. The gap between the farmer and the landowner increased.

In 1920, Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement, which also had an impact on this area. Gandhi came to Gorakhpur on February 8, 1921, in which the people of this city got excited about the struggle against the British Raj. Pond trees pumped on liquor shops were cut off. Exotic clothes were boycotted and his Holi was burnt. Khadi fabric is promoted. On October 2, 1922, Gandhiji’s birthday was celebrated with enthusiasm throughout this region. In 1923, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited this area, which led to the formation of Congress committees. In October 1929, Gandhi again made extensive visits to this area. Ten thousand Patriots welcomed him on 4th October, 1929, on the Railway Railway station. Gandhiji addressed a vivid public meeting in Maharajganj on October 5, 1929. This journey of Mahatma Gandhi brought new patronage to the patriots of this region, whose impact was seen in the civil disobedience movements of 1930-34.

This region played an important role even during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 AD. Satyagraha, strike meeting and procession were organized against salt law. In the year 1931, against the atrocities of the collectors, the people here participated in the Kisan movement. At the same time, Mr. Sibbana Saxena took the leadership of the farmer-laborers of Purvanchal by abandoning the post of St. Andrews College on the call of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1931 Saxena ji established the ree-union, which arose in the struggle for the protection of sugarcane growers and workers’ interests. In May 1937, Pt. Govind Vallabh Pant came here and addressed a public meeting. In February 1940, Pandit Nehru came here and laid the foundation stone of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Vidyalaya. 1942 AD is famous for the consciousness of an eraicant change in Indian history. This consciousness was also communicated in this area and this area was also ready to go through. At this time, the leadership of Shibban Lal Saxena was leading the movement here. The British Indians were leaving India and the slogan of ‘Karo or Die’ was being contained in the voice of the people. During the August Revolution, Shibban Lal Saxena was shot during his arrest in Gurdodhwa village, but when he got out from the shoulder of his bullet, he got the landowner who had captured Saxena ji. Mr. E.V.D., the then District Collector of Gorakhpur. On the order of the mass on August 27, 1942, a gun battle was organized on the unarmed and peaceful citizens in the Vishupur Gabaduda village, in which two Kantikari soldiers named Sukhraj Kurmi and Zhenku Kurmi became martyrs. Kashinath Kurmi, who was hurt by a police bullet, died in jail in 1943. Saxena ji was kept in a 26-month rigorous imprisonment and 26-month hanging cell for the conspiracy to create conspiracy against the British Raj.