Jagdishpur is a
nagar panchayat
A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...
town of the district
Bhojpur of 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 ...
in eastern India.
It was the capital of the eponymous
Jagdishpur estate
The Jagdishpur estate was a zamindari estate situated in modern-day Bihar, India, in erstwhile Shahabad district (now in Arrah). The centre of the estate was the town of Jagdishpur, however the estate also included neighbouring towns and villages. ...
, ruled by
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
s of the
Ujjainiya clan.
One of its rulers,
Kunwar Singh, was a major figure in the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
, considered the leader of the rebellion in Bihar.
The sub-division occupies an area of and has a population of 263,959, while the town proper has a population of 32,447 ().
History
Jagdishpur's association with the Ujjainiya Rajputs predates the foundation of the eponymous state by at least two centuries. Gajpati Sahi, who defeated
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
, fortified Jagdishpur and made it his capital before 1539.
After Sher Shah's victory over the
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...
at the
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 ...
in 1539, he elevated Gajpati Sahi, who had fought in the battle, to the title of
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
. However, Dilpati Sahi, a rival claimant to the throne, later allied with the Mughal emperor
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
against Gajpati Sahi. Mughal sources state that a Mughal army sacked Jagdishpur in 1575 and captured Gajpati Sahi. Dilpati Sahi took advantage of this and attacked in 1577; Gajpati Sahi was killed in the ensuing battle. Akbar granted Dilpati Sahi the title of Raja and made him a
mansabdar
The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official an ...
. Dilpati Sahi moved his capital away from Jagdishpur to
Bihiya, although Jagdishpur remained his main military stronghold.
Later, the Ujjainiya ruler Pratap Mal, who ascended the throne in 1621 and was a contemporary of
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
, moved away from Jagdishpur.
Jagdishpur became the capital of a Rajput
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
i estate in 1702 by Sujan Sahi, an Ujjainiya Rajput who claimed descent from the earlier
Paramara dynasty
The Paramara dynasty ( IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs.
The dynasty was established in either t ...
.
Sujan Sahi's son and successor, Udwant Singh, expanded the borders of the estate by conquering neighbouring towns and villages. The governor of Bihar, Fakhr ud-Dawla, attempted to intervene, but Udwant Singh defeated the troops he sent.
Kunwar Singh brought a "new era of peace and prosperity, splendour and magnificence" to Jagdishpur. He renovated its fort and then started construction on a temple dedicated to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, although this temple was never completed. He established markets and had many wells and reservoirs dug. Under his reign, Jagdishpur came to host various festivals and
melā
Mela ( sa, मेला) is a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet" or a "fair". It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sport-related. In rural traditions melas o ...
s (fairs). In particular, the
Shivratri
Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava.
In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...
festival was associated with a large melā that Kunwar Singh made mandatory for local merchants to attend.
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census, the town of Jagdishpur had a population of 32,447, up from 28,085 in 2001. Of this, 75.2% were
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and 24.2% were
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, with all other religious groups accounting for the remaining 0.6%. The local literacy rate was 68.5%, which was the lowest in Bhojpur. 11.6% of the population was employed as cultivators, 26.7% as agricultural labourers, 6.9% as household industry workers, and 54.8% as other workers. The 11.6% of cultivators was the largest in Bhojpur.
The sub-district of Jagdishpur contained 79 villages in 2011, all of which had access to clean
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
, 69 of which had schools, 30 of which had medical facilities, 24 of which had
post offices
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post ...
, 56 of which had transport communications (
bus,
rail, or navigable waterways), 6 of which had
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
s, 18 of which had
agricultural credit societies, 55 of which had
pucca roads, and 35 of which had
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
. 81.5% of the total land area in Jagdishpur district was under cultivation, and 83% of the land under cultivation was
irrigated
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
.
576 people in the town Jagdishpur lived in
slums, or 1.78% of the total population, which was the lowest in Bhojpur. There are two slums:
Harijan Tola (Ward No. 4, population 300) and
Chamar Tola (Ward No. 18, population 276).
Administration
![Koor Sing, 'The Rebel of Arrah,' and his attendants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Koor_Sing%2C_%27The_Rebel_of_Arrah%2C%27_and_his_attendants.jpg)
The Jagdishpur sub-division (
Tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
) is headed by an IAS or state Civil service officer of the rank of
Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM).
Blocks
The Jagdishpur Tehsil is divided into 3
Blocks, each headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO). List of Blocks is as follows:
# Jagdishpur
#
Behea
#
Shahpur
List of villages
Jagdishpur block contains the following 91 villages:
(GP is
Gram Panchayat
Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...
).
See also
*
Veer Kunwar Singh Museum
References
{{reflist
External links
* http://bhojpur.bih.nic.in
Cities and towns in Bhojpur district, India