Buxar is a
nagar parishad city in the state of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
bordering Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous
Buxar district
Buxar district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. Located in the southwestern part of the state, it is a primarily agricultural district. The district headquarters is at the town of Buxar.
Etymology
According to local traditions, th ...
, as well as the headquarters of the
community development block
In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several techni ...
of Buxar, which also contains the
census town of
Sarimpur along with 132 rural villages.
In modern times, the historic
Battle of Chausa
The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan warlord, Sher Shah Suri. It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, 10 miles southwest of Buxar in modern-day Bihar, India. Sher Shah Suri wa ...
and
Battle of Buxar were fought in the vicinity. Buxar Railway Station lies on
Patna–Mughalsarai section
The Patna–Mughalsarai section is a railway line connecting in the Indian state of Bihar and in Uttar Pradesh.
History
The first rail track between Howrah and Delhi was via what was later named as Sahibganj loop and the first through train o ...
of
Howrah–Delhi main line
The Howrah–Delhi main line is a railway line connecting Delhi and Kolkata cutting across northern India. The railway line was opened to traffic in 1866 with the introduction of the "1 Down/2 Up Mail" train.
Sections
The long trunk line, ha ...
. It is approximately 125 km from the state capital of Patna. The local language of Buxar is
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
.
Typonym
According to local traditions, the name ''Buxar'' is derived from a lake in the town named ''Aghsar'' (effacer of Sin), which in course of time became ''Baghsar'' and took the present form that is Buxar. Another vedic legend states that, a sage or rishi named Besira transformed himself to take the look of a Tiger to frighten
Durvasa
In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa ( sa, दुर्वासा, ) also known as Durvasas (Sanskrit: दुर्वासस्), is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial avat ...
rishi, and doomed by him to retain the form of Tiger forever. In order to restore his Hyman's form, Bedsira bathed in the holy pond of Aghsar and worshipped Garushankar. To commemorate this event the spot was called ''Vyaghrasar'' and later became ''Baghsar'' (The Tiger's pond).
Demography
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
,
Buxar had a population
of 102,861. Males constitute 52.65% of the population and females 47.35%. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The 2011 census recorded the city of Buxar as having a
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
of 83.82%, with an 11.24% gap between male literacy (89.13%) and female literacy (77.89%). The whole of Buxar district had a literacy rate of 70.14%, with Buxar block (comprising both rural and urban areas) had a literacy rate of 77.45%, the highest in the district.
Geography
Buxar district occupies an area of 1,703 square kilometres.
Economy
Buxar is an important regional commercial and trade hub, with connections via road and rail along with river transport on the Ganges. Along with
Dumraon
Dumraon is a town, near Buxar, Buxar city and nagar parishad corresponding community development block in Buxar district in the Indian state of Bihar. Dumraon is one of Bihar's oldest municipalities and one of India's oldest princely states also ...
, Buxar is one of the main centres for trade and industry in the district. Soap and furniture are manufactured in both cities. Major exports from Buxar include
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
paddy,
gur,
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
, vegetables, fish, and
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
-related manufactured goods. Major imports include engineering goods and medicine.
Villages
In addition to the urban settlements of Buxar and Sarimpur, Buxar block encompasses 132 villages. Of these, 97 are inhabited and 35 are uninhabited:
The total population of these villages is 180,308, in 27,985 households.
Notable people
*
Harihar Singh, Former Chief Minister of Bihar and Bhojpuri Poet.
*
Bismillah Khan
Bismillah Khan (born Amaruddin Khan, 21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006), often referred to by the title ''Ustad'', was an Indian musician credited with popularizing the shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument. While the shehnai had long held imp ...
*
Sanjay Kumar Tiwari
Sanjay Kumar Tiwari aka Munna Tiwari is an Indian politician as member of Indian National Congress and MLA from Buxar, Bihar. He was graduated from Anugrah Narayan College, Patna, A.N. Collage, Patna in 1987.
References
Living people
Ind ...
, Member of Legislative Assembly
*
Shivnath Singh
Shivnath Singh (July 11, 1946 – June 6, 2003) was one of the few great long-distance runners that India has produced. Singh represented India twice in the Asian games and twice at the Summer Olympics (1976 and 1980). He was born in Majharia, B ...
, Olympic athlete
See also
*
Buxar district
Buxar district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. Located in the southwestern part of the state, it is a primarily agricultural district. The district headquarters is at the town of Buxar.
Etymology
According to local traditions, th ...
*
List of cities in Bihar
This is a list of urban agglomerations and cities (those not included in the Urban Agglomerations), with a population above 100,000 as per 2011 census in the Indian state of Bihar:
Urban Agglomeration
In the census of India 2011, an Urban Ag ...
*
George William Ziemann's missionary work in Buxar
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Buxar district