History of Tirhut (Set of 3 Books)

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History of Tirhut: From the Earliest Times to The End of the Nineteenth Century

History of Sarkar Tirhut Under the East India Company (1765-1856)

History of Muslim Rule in Tirhut (An Old and Rare Book)

IT is an admitted fact that owing chiefly to the lack of an adequate account of the subject, few possess any connected information about the history of Tirhut without which the civilization of India as a whole cannot be fully appreciated. For not only does it possess much intrinsic merit in itself but the light it sheds on the life and thought of Indian population has a peculiar interest for every student of Indian history. It is rather strange that up to this time no history of Tirhut as a whole has been written in any language and any attempt, however inadequate, to make up the deficiency may perhaps be welcome. It is in this belief that I have ventured to offer this book to the public. I have not tried to treat the topics in a full and comprehensive manner, but have contented myself with noting down only those facts, the knowledge of which, I hope, may be of some use to the country. As regards chronological data and statements of facts, I lay no claim to original research, and must express full acknowledgment for the use of the works of my predecessors in the field. But the treatment of the subject and interpretation of facts are mostly my own, and sometimes differ materially from those of other writers. I have avoided as far as possible entering into controversies on points of purely literary interest, though it has been sometimes necessary to take a definite stand-point when important historical issues are at stake.

I have been requested to write a Foreword to Mr. Shyam Narayan Singh's History of Tirhut and I do so with confidence that I was instrumental in bringing it to the notice of so distinguished an authority as Professor Sylvain Levi, and it is on his encouragement that the book is published. He would indeed himself have written the introduction had he not been called away to Nepal on urgent business. It is with sincere pleasure that I introduce to the public a work on Bihar history by a Bihari, which has earned the commendation of so distinguished a scholar.

Mithila has remained known for its distinguished contribution to Indian civilization since ancient period. Quite a number of ancient and medieval works reveal its religio-philosophical achievements and throw light on its political traditions. However, attempt to prepare the historical account of the region (in post-Puranic style) began to be made most probably since Bayaz was written by Mulla Taqia' in the sixteenth century. Leaving aside the hagiographical works (though they are valuable, no doubt) 2, Riaz-i-Tirhut (in Urdu), published in 1868 seems to be the second historical account of Mithila. Then, Aina-i-Tirhut came out in 1883 and Mithila Darpan in 1915. Mithila Tattva Vimarsha was written before 1920 and in 1922, History of Tirhut From the Earliest Times to the End of the Nineteenth Century, (written in English by Shyam Narayan Singh) was published.

Most of such works, according to Upendra Thakur, lack "historical approach to and scientific treatment of the subject concerned". Further, History of Tirhut, Thakur wrote in 1955, "was written long ago and our knowledge of the subject has advanced a great deal since then. Moreover, only passing reference to personalities and events in Mithila history are made in this work." He, however, did not make any comment on Aina-i-Tirhut and Riaz-i-Tirhut. Thakur's observation regarding all the scholars whose contributions to the history of Mithila have been mentioned so far can hardly be disputed since none of the authors of the said books can be supposed to have had any professional experience in historiography. However, their contributions are not at all ignoble from the points of view of social sciences and history. History of Tirhut, of all, is the first book in English on Mithila's history which was much appreciated by Sylvain Levi, a great indologist, and it was "on his encouragement" that it was published. One may thus suppose that Shyam Narayan Singh was first to introduce history of this cultural zone to historical or indological studies at the national and international levels. His epistemic interest, it seems, enthused him so much that he undertook his mission with a broad vision of Mithila and, consequently, the quality of his exercise still continues to be appealing by all means. The book is keenly sought after by those working on the history of the region. However, it has now become too rare to be found out easily in the market or in libraries. So, it was decided by the trustees of Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh Kalyani Foundation to bring it out again (about a century after its first publication) in Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series.l

East India Company. It also deals with the administration at the sarkar level, incidentally referring to the higher and lower stages or administration which circuscribed the district administration. At the sarkar level, incidentally referring to the higher and lower stages of administration which circurecribed the district administration. It is thus a case study of the development of a district of the Bengal presidency which by provide a clue to the understanding of the general problems and plicies of the British in the eastern part of India.

Dr. Ramanand Jha born in 1940. He comes from a respective Brahimn family of Kahilpur, Laheria Sarai, Darbhanga, Distric of Bihar. He did his M.A. in 1964 from Bhiar University, Muzaffarpur. He was awarded Ph. D. degree in 1968 from Patna University." He joined as a lecturer in History in M. K. College, Laheria Sarai in 1970. He was reader and University Professor of History also there. He was prof in charge of the college from 1998 to 2000. He retired from service in 2000. He is well known social workar of his regine.

This book attempts at presenting the political, social and eco nomic history of Sarkar Tirhut under the East India Company. It also deals with the administration at the sarkar level, incidentally referring to the higher and lower stages of administration which circuscribed the district administration. It is thus a case study of the development of a district of the Bengal presidency which by provide a clue to the undestanding of the general problems and policies of the British in the eastern part of India.

The history of Sarkar Tirhut under the Company has not yet been studied in all its aspects. S.N. Singh's History of Tirhut in no doubt a pioneering work but is touches only the political and literary aspecte of the modern history of Tirhut. The book also suffers from a Civil servants' bias, written as it was by a Magistrate in the heyday of the British raj. Moreover, since Singh usually bases his arguments on hearsay evidence the scope of his book has become limited Mr. R.K. Choudhary and Dr. U. Thakur have maingly concentrated on the an cient and medieval periods of Mithila's hisotry. Their stray writings on the modern period are not based on government records: they have relied mostly on cultural tradition and literary evidences. Scholars like Parmesvara Jha, (Mithilatatva Vimarsa Maithili), Mukund Jha 'Bakshi' (Mithila-bhasamaya itihas in Maithili), Ras Behari Lal Das (Mithila Darpan in Hindi), Bihari Lal (An-A-Tirhut) and others have no doubt made valuable contributions but their works lack a historical approach to and scientific treatment of the subject concerned.

Even though Mithila has a rich cultural tradition the general histories like the Cambridge History of India, Vol. V, the Oxford History of India, the advanced History of India, etc., dismiss the history of modern Tirhut altogether.

Tirhut or Tirhuti was know as Tirabhukti in ancietn times; it was also known as mithila.' This ancient land, according to Brihad vishnupurana, was bounded on the north by the Himalayan tract, on the south by the Ganga, on the east by the river Kosi or Kaushiki and on the west by the river Narayani (modern Gandak). Chanda Jha, a famous peot of Mithila in the nineteenth century, corroborates it."

Under the east India company the northern frontier between the British territory and Nepal was marked by ditches and streams, besides masonry and wooden pillars created at irregular distances. According to W. W. Hunter the district of Tirhut in the nineteenth century was the most easterly part of the Patna division lying between 25° 28' and 26° 52' north latitude and between 84° 56' and 86° 46' east longitude and bounded on the north-east by the district of Bhagalpur, on the south east by Monghyr, on the south by the Ganga, on the south west by the district of Saran and on the north-west by Champaran."

As a result of the grant of diwani in 1765 Subah Bihar came under the east India Company. The region north of Ganga was divided into four sarkars: Saran, Champaran, Tirhut and Hajipur. Tirhut was 5,053 square miles, whereas Hajipur 2,835 square miles in area. These two sarkars were divided into 104 Parganas. According to an official letter of 1790, a large portion of the northern parts of Bhagalpur and Monghyr was under the jurisdiction of the Collector of Tirhut. William Copper, President and Member of the Board of Revenue, refers in 1793 to the reorganisation of the boundaries of Tirhut. It was recom mended that Pargana Kashmar which was situated to the west of Gandak should be transferred to Sarkar Saran. The Board approved of the suggestion on 16 November 1793 and ordered to shift this Pargana to Saran. In 1795 the following thirteen parganas of Monghyr and Bhagalpur districts were transferred to Tirhut, only to be retransferred to the original jurisdiction in 1837: Balia, Masjidpur, Badabhusari, Imadpur, Narsinghpur, Kurha, Gudhand, Kabhand, Naradigar, Chhai Pharkiya, Malki, Manlegopal and Naipur."

**Contents and Sample Pages**

Preface

For the first time an attempt has been made through these pages to give an account of the history of Muslim rule in Tirhut (1206- 1765 A. D.) and in that sense it can be called a pioneer work. During the period under review Tirhut played a very important part in the history of North-Eastern India and the Hindu Kingdom of this region (C. 1097-1532 A. D.) was just like an island in the vast ocean of Muslim dominated area of North India. Even after 1532 A. D., the Kingdom of Tirhut had an autonomous status and the Muslims of the land opposed tooth and nail the establishment of Mughal ascendancy in this region. The story of this struggle is narrated here on the basis of all the available sources. North Bihar, as Tirhut is usually known, has so far been neglected and I hope that the present work will stimulate further studies on the subject. I am thankful to my teacher, Professor Syed Hasan Askari, who spared no pains in going through the book. No amount of word can express my deep sense of gratitude to him. I crave the indulgence of my readers for my shortcomings, Plates could not be incorporated due to certain unavoidable and technical reasons and for that ommission, I beg to be excused.

Contents