Hazaribagh

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Hazaribagh district map

Hazaribagh (हज़ारीबाग़) is a city and a district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chhotanagpur division.

Origin

The name of the town 'Hazaribagh' (हज़ारीबाग़) is derived from two Persian words: Hazar (هزار) meaning 'one thousand' and bagh (باغ) meaning 'garden'. Hence the meaning of Hazaribagh is 'city of a thousand gardens'.

According to Sir John Houlton, however, the town takes its name from the small villages of Okni and Hazari – shown on old maps as Ocunhazry. The last syllable in its name probably originated from a mango grove which formed a camping ground for troops and travelers marching along a military road from Kolkata to Varanasi, constructed in 1783 and the following years. The Grand Trunk Road subsequently replaced this military road in the mid-19th century, but the layout differed at places, particularly around Hazaribagh. A dilapidated watch tower meant to guard the military road is still visible on Tower Hill, near Silwar. In common literature, native English author Kajol Aikat has also mentioned Hazaribagh as the Land of Thousand Gardens in his debut novel Unsocial Amigos.

History

In ancient times the district was covered with inaccessible forests inhabited by tribes who remained independent. The entire territory of Chhotanagpur, now known as Jharkhand (meaning forest territory) was presumably beyond the pale of outside influence in ancient India. Throughout the Turko-Afghan period (up to 1526), the area remained virtually free from external influence. It was only with the accession of Akbar to the throne of Delhi in 1557 that Muslim influence penetrated Jharkhand, then known to the Mughals as Kokrah. In 1585, Akbar sent a force under the command of Shahbaj Khan to reduce the Raja of Chotanagpur to the position of a tributary. After the death of Akbar in 1605, the area presumably regained its independence. This necessitated an expedition in 1616 by Ibrahim Khan Fateh Jang, the Governor of Bihar and brother of Queen Noorjehan. Ibrahim Khan defeated and captured Durjan Sal, the 46th Raja of Chotanagpur. He was imprisoned for 12 years but was later released and reinstated on the throne after he had shown his ability in distinguishing a real diamond from a fake one.

In 1632, Chotanagpur was given as Jagir (endowment) to the Governor at Patna for an annual payment of Rs.136,000. This was raised to Rs.161,000 in 1636. During the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719–1748), Sarballand Khan, the Governor of then Bihar, marched against the Raja of Chotanagpur and obtained his submission. Another expedition was led by Fakhruddoula, the Governor of Bihar in 1731. He came to terms with the Raja of Chotanagpur. In 1735 Alivardi Khan had some difficulty in enforcing the payment of the annual tribute of Rs.12,000 from the Raja of Ramgarh, as agreed to by the latter according to the terms settled with Fakhruddoula.

This situation continued until the occupation of the country by the British. During the Muslim period, the main estates in the district were Ramgarh, Kunda, Chai and Kharagdiha. Subsequent to the Kol uprising in 1831 that, however, did not seriously affect Hazaribagh, the administrative structure of the territory was changed. The parganas of Ramgarh, Kharagdiha, Kendi and Kunda became parts of the South-West Frontier Agency and were formed into a division named Hazaribagh as the administrative headquarters. In 1854 the designation of South-West Frontier Agency was changed to Chota Nagpur Division, composed of five districts - Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Palamau, Manbhum, and Singhbhum. The division was administered as a Non-regulation province under a Commissioner reporting to the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. In 1855-56 there was the great uprising of the Santhals against the British but was brutally suppressed. During British rule, one had to go by train to Giridih and then travel in a vehicle called push-push to Hazaribagh. It was pushed and pulled by human force over hilly tracts. It was an exciting journey across rivers and through dense forests infested with bandits and wild animals. Rabindranath Tagore travelled in a push-push along the route in 1885. He recorded the experience in an essay, "Chotanagpur families". When the Grand Chord railway line was opened in 1906, Hazaribagh Road railway station became the link with the town. For many years, Lal Motor Company operated the rail-cum-bus service between Hazaribagh town and Hazaribagh Road railway station.

In 1912, a new province of Bihar and Orissa was split from Bengal Province. In 1936, the province was split into separate provinces of Bihar and Orissa, with the Chota Nagpur Division being a part of Bihar. Bihar's boundaries remained mostly unchanged after Indian Independence in 1947. Giridih district was created in 1972 by carving some parts of Hazaribagh district. After the 1991 census, the district of Hazaribagh was divided into three separate districts, Hazaribagh, Chatra and Koderma. The two sub-divisions Chatra and Koderma were upgraded to the status of independent districts.

In 2000, Jharkhand was separated from Bihar to become India's 28th state.

In 2007, Ramgarh was separated and made into the 24th district of Jharkhand.