Arrah

Arrah Ara
UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN Code	802301, 802302 & 802312
Telephone code	+91-6182
Vehicle registration	BR-03
Railway Station	Ara Junction

Arrah (also transliterated as Ara)

Typonym

According to a Jain inscription found at Masarh village near the town, Arrah is mentioned there as Aramnagar (transl. City of Aramas). That "Aramnagar" later become "Arrah".^[6][7][8]

According to mythologies, the word "Arrah" or "Ara" is derived from the Sanskrit word Aranya, which means forest. It suggests that the entire area around modern Ara was heavily forested in the old days. According to mythology, sage

Arrah has also historically been known as Shahabad, a name given to it by Babur in 1529, when he camped here after his victory against the Afghans of Bihar. The name "Shahabad" means "city of the king" and was used in the former Shahabad district.^[11]

In mythologies

Arrah has a mention in Ramayana. According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra, the Guru of Rama, had his Ashram somewhere in this region. Rama killed the demon Taraka somewhere near Arrah.^[9][10] In Mahabharata it was the home of the powerful demon called Bakra, whose daily food was human being supplied either by villages of Bakri or Chakrapur (or Ekchakra), as Arrah was then called. Pandava came to Ekchakra during their wandering and they were entertained by a Brahmin whose turn it was to supply a human for the demon. On hearing this, Bhima decided to go himself to the demon as he has eaten a Brahmin's salt, and killed the demon.^[12]

History

Ancient

This place is also described by Xuanzang as the place, where the Demons of the Desert abused their strength and power and feasted on blood and flesh of man.^[13]

In ancient India, it was the part of

and Tirawan were the capitals of Chief Ghughulia and Raja Sitaram Rai respectively.

Medieval

In 14th century Chero lost Western Bihar along with Arrah to Ujjainiya Rajputs under the leadership of Hunkar Shahi.^[15] They named the territory "Bhojpur" on the name of their ancestor Raja Bhoja. In 1607, a number of Chero chiefs combined to launch a spirited attack against Ujjaniniyas. One of the descendants of Sitaram Rai, Kumkum Chand Jharap drove out Ujjainiyas from the Bhojpur region and captured major parts of the territory.^[16] In 1611, Ujjainiyas defeated Cheros and recaptured the lost region again. Sher Shah Suri also defeated Chero during the early 16 century and made Sasaram its capital after defeating the Mughals. In 1604 Chieftain Narayan Mal got a land grant from Jahangir. After that Raja Horil Singh shifted the capital to Dumrao and established Dumraon Raj. Babur pitches his camp in Arrah in 1529 A.D and took control over it.^[17]

Modern

Illustrated London News

(1857)

After the Battle of Buxar the British took control over Arrah. Arrah was one of the centres of revolt in 1857.

During the

In 1911 the king of England George V visited Arrah and prayed at the Holy Saviour Church.^[20][21] Between 1901 and 1911 the town suffered severely due to Plague. As a result, the population in 1911 became 38,549 which was 46,170 in 1901.^[22]

Geography

Arrah is located at the elevation of 192 m from the sea level at the bank of

, Badki Nadi and Chhotki Nadi.

The Ganga river acts as northern boundary of the town and due alluvial deposit the area is very fertile and considered as best wheat growing area of Bihar.The eastern boundary of the town is the Son river which separates and Bhojpuri and Magahi speaking regions of Bihar.[24]

During the British Raj Arrah was the part of Bengal presidency. The land of the city is fertile and most used for cultivation with very low forest cover. The main crops that are grown here are rice, mango and mahuaa.

Climate

The climate is characterised by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The

Climate data for Arrah
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	23 (73)	26 (78)	32 (90)	37 (99)	38 (100)	36 (96)	33 (91)	32 (89)	32 (90)	32 (89)	28 (82)	24 (75)	31 (88)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	11 (51)	13 (55)	18 (64)	23 (74)	26 (78)	27 (80)	27 (80)	27 (80)	26 (79)	23 (73)	16 (61)	11 (52)	21 (69)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	15 (0.6)	18 (0.7)	10 (0.4)	7.6 (0.3)	36 (1.4)	180 (7.1)	290 (11.6)	330 (13.1)	220 (8.6)	58 (2.3)	7.6 (0.3)	5.1 (0.2)	1,190 (46.7)
Average precipitation days	1.4	1.7	1	0.7	3	10.1	14	15.1	8.1	4	0.8	0.6	60.5
Source: Weatherbase[26]

Demographics

See also:

List of cities in Bihar

As per the 2011 census, Arrah Municipal Corporation had a total population of 261,099, out of which 139,319 were males and 121,780 were females. It had a sex ratio of 874. The population below 5 years was 34,419. The effective literacy rate of the 7+ population was 83.41 per cent.^[27]

Languages

Government and politics

Administration

The Arrah sub-division (

Sub Divisional Magistrate

(SDM).

Blocks

The Arrah Tehsil is divided into 8 Blocks, each headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO). List of Blocks is as follows:

1. Arrah
2. Agiaon
3. Barhara
4. Koilwar
5. Udwant Nagar
6. Sandesh
7. Sahar
8. Garhani

Civic administration

Arrah is the headquarters of the Bhojpur district. On 1 June 1865, the town constituted into a municipality which later became municipal corporation, which currently divides the city in 45 wards.^[29] Each ward elects its ward commissioner and, the Mayor is chosen through indirect election in which ward commissioners from respective wards cast their votes.

Police in Arrah is headed by a

(IPS) officer.

Economy

The city has industry area located near Koilwar. The mineral which is abundant here is sand of Son river. The alluvial deposits of Ganga river is considered suitable for brick making, the city mainly produces the revenue through building materials like sand and bricks. In last three year, 300 million tonnes of sand has been mined which has produced a royalty of ₹2800 crores.^{[30][failed verification]}

Culture/Cityscape

Arrah's native language is

The festivals celebrated here are Holi, Durgapuja, Chhath, Diwali, Teej, Jitiya, Gai Dadh (Govardhan Puja), Jamdutiya, Eid, Christmas, etc.

Tourism

Arrah is a holy place for Jains and there are 44 Jain temples in the city.

village. Some notable places of Arrah are:

Aranya Devi Temple

This is a temple of Aranya Devi (Forest Goddess). She is said to be the deity goddess of Ara town. Here one statue is of Adi Shakti and the second is established by the Pandavas. The temple is very old and draws many devotees every day. It is situated at the top of stone boulders.[33]^[34]

Maulabagh Mosque

This Masjid was built in the 18th century by John Deane, the collector of Shahabad. He had a Mohammedan wife with whom he lived 20 years with 6 children.^[35] After his death in 1817, he was buried in the outer garden of Maulabagh Mosque (called as Bibi Jaan ke Hata or Handa) where his tomb can still be seen.^[36] This mosques is also mentioned by British officers in their writings.^[37][33]

Koilwar Bridge

connecting the city of Arrah to Patna.

Ramna Maidan

Ramna Maidan, located in Arrah, Bhojpur District, Bihar, with 60 acres of land one of the largest urban parks in Arrah.

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge is also called Veer Kunwar singh Setu which connects Arrah and Chhapra is the world's longest multi span extradosed bridge in the world with a length of 1920m.^[38]

Maharaja College, Ara

The present Maharaja college premises is an important historical site.

Masarh

Masarh is a village 10 km from Arrah, the Lion capitals of Mauryan period have been found here. Masarh has been identified by Cunningham with Mo-ho-so-lo of the Chinese pilgrim Huen Tsang,

Arrah House

is a small British building in the premises of Maharaja College.

Holy Saviour Church

Holy Saviour Church is a church in Arrah, built by the British in 1911, when King of United Kingdom George V visited the city.

Education

Schools in Arrah are either government-run or private schools. Schools are affiliated by

In 2018, Bihar government has opened Government Engineering Colleges in each district of Bihar under the Department of Science and Technology. Government Engineering College, Bhojpur located south of Ramna Road, beside Maharaja College.^[40]

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport, however other sports such as volleyball, basketball, and athletics are also played.

Veer Kunwar Singh Stadium is the stadium situated in the Ramna Maidan which hosts various cricket, football, and hockey tournaments. Other grounds in the town are Ramna Maidan, Maharaja college ground, Airport Ground, and Jain College Ground.

From 5–7 December 2019, East Zone Inter University Kabaddi championship took place in the premises of Maharaja College in which 47 universities of 12 different states participated.^[41]

Popular culture

In folk tradition

• There is a very famous Bhojpuri saying about this place, Ara jilā Ghar Ba ta, kawana bāt kē dar bā" (trans. If you belong to Arrah, there is nothing to fear).^[42][43]
• Arrah also has mentions in many Bhojpuri Folk songs like Arrah Hile Chhapra Hile Baliya Hilela.

Films and songs

• Some shots of the feature film
  Koilwar bridge.^[44]
• Shots of the first Bhojpuri film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo were shot at Arrah railway station.^{[citation needed]}
• The story of the Bollywood film Anaarkali of Aarah was based on a dancer of Arrah and her confrontation with the Vice chancellor of Bir Kuber University (originally Veer Kunwar Singh University).^[45]

Books

• English book Two Months In Arrah, written in 1857, by a surgeon in British army named J.J. Halls, is an account of the Siege of Arrah.^[46]

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Arrah

• Veer Kunwar Singh, leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857
  in Bihar.
• 1971 India Pakistan war
  .
• Meira Kumar, first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Ram Subhag Singh, He was the First Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
• Pawan Singh, Bhojpuri actor and singer
• Neeraj Pandey, film director
• Vishal Aditya Singh, actor and model

Villages

Arrah block contains the following 115 villages:^[47]

Village name	Total land area (hectares)	Population (in 2011)
Mahadewa(Unsurveyed)
Gongsar	200	1700
Sundarpur Barja	202	4,951
Rampur	142	0
Pipra	118	1,814
Ijri	59	5,455
Baghakol	126	1,324
Teksemar	76	523
Salempur	360	0
Tetaria	93	1,304
Behra	234	2,087
Parkhotampur	129	1,103
Bakharia	31	0
Sakatpura	36	0
Mainpura	52	1,355
Sukulpur	54	2,120
Dariapur	208	2,268
Sarsiwan	82	1,705
Basantpur	310	3,323
Basantpur	105	0
Bela	166	2,519
Rampur Mathia	85	769
Gheghta	40	1,386
Makhampur Bara	258	3,023
Rokaiya Chak	36	0
Bhakura	335	4,835
Alipur	306	2,888
Jamira	849	13,891
Santpur	87	0
Piprahiya	70	2,465
Hasanpura	133	2,863
Bhusahula	82	1,387
Gothahula	295	5,548
Karwa	106	2,841
Sonadia	185	5,262
Nayagaon	61	361
Sonadia	91	2,767
Chatarsainpur	126	3,049
Alimullah Chak	29	0
Ramsara Chandar Chur	42	0
Daulatpur	87	4,416
Lachhmanpur	215	1,859
Mirza Beg	25	483
Mathaulia	85	1,521
Basantpur	116	2,815
Dhauandhua	51	3,601
Balua	0	2,457
Sobhi Dumra	184	2,742
Sarangpur	285	2,805
Nirmalpur	63	1,089
Saidpur	63	1,479
Bahira Chak	57	0
Bheldumra	117	1,424
Makhdumpur Dumra	168	2,988
Garaiyan	147	2
Jadopur	91	590
Piraunta	184	3,887
Pipra	715	2,392
Chamukha	64	310
Nagopur	55	713
Mathurapur	115	0
Babhnauli	43	1,327
Sonadia	417	2,743
Tulshipur	72	0
Ratanpur	106	2,238
Ratan Dularpur	141	1,568
Ganghar	362	5,324
Ramdih Chhapra	69	789
Bakhria	191	1,139
Khushhalpur	82	1,155
Balua	122	2,031
Mahuli	532	4,166
Kurwa	14	0
Karari	329	4,679
Mohanpur	53	861
Deorhi	35	838
Karra	302	2,058
Bakula	52	0
Bairampur	45	0
Bhadea	153	1,821
Gazipur	98	0
Duraundha	143	1,458
Dhobaha	149	1,556
Belghat	94	1,073
Jura	104	1,066
Amma	63	467
Ghoradei	99	1,496
Ganauli	58	1,437
Udaipur	28	742
Singhi Tola	71	813
Baghipakar	188	3,070
Agarsanda	146	2,659
Dharampura	130	1,267
Tenua	105	712
Paut	266	2,122
Pipra	94	991
Basmanpur	66	727
Semaria	50	1,312
Milki	27	1,127
Dhamar	288	7,279
Chanda	346	2,154
Amarpur Marwatia	130	2,565
Khajuria	372	3,777
Bara	64	1,019
Kunria	100	1,135
Pathanpur	122	1,741
Perhap	1300	3500
Misraulia	41	0
Kaushik Dularpur	50	478
Chit Kundi	84	1,449
Durg Tola	50	500
Mahazi Dokti (Unsurveyed)	0	0
Dokti (Unsurveyed)	0	0
Dharampura (Unsurveyed)	0	0
Horlahi (Unsurveyed)	0	0
Singhai (Unsurveyed)	0	0
Dalan Chhapra (Unsurveyed)	0	0

See also

• Arrah House
• Masarh lion
• Arrah–Chhapra Bridge
• Koilwar Bridge

References

1. ^ "Arrah City Population Census 2011–2019 | Bihar". www.census2011.co.in.
2. ^ "e-Municipality Bihar". nagarseva.bihar.gov.in. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
4. ^ "Bhojpur district full information". www.bihar.com.
5. ^ "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Ara, India". www.fallingrain.com.
6. ^ "Lion Motif in Mauryan Art: Indigenous or Foreign?" (PDF). heritageuniversityofkerala.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
7. ^ Singh, Rana (September 2019). "Masarh : A Great Archaeo-Historic Site of Bihar". J. P. University, Chapra. 63.
8. ^ Archaeological Survey of India: Reports 1862–1884, Volumes 3–23.
9. ^ ^{a b} "History | Welcome To Bhojpur District | India". Bhojpur.nic.in. 18 October 2019.
10. ^
    ISBN 9788170249757
    .
11. ISBN 9781000651522
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12. ^ Bihar And Orissa Gazetteers Shahabad. pp. 151–152.
13. ^ Archaeological Survey of India: Reports 1862–1884, Volumes 3–23.
14. ^ "Baburnama". 1590s. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
15. ISBN 978-1-351-03416-6
    .
16. ISBN 978-81-317-1358-7
    .
17. ^ Bihar District Gazetteer: Shahabad. Secretarial Press. 1966.
18. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arrah" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 642.
19. ^ Halls, John James (7 July 1860). Two months in Arrah in 1857 – via Internet Archive. arrah.
20. ^ "जार्ज पंचम की प्रार्थना को ले बना था होली सेवियर चर्च". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 21 August 2020.
21. ^ Bihar and Orissa District Gazetteer: Shahabad. 1924. p. 37.
22. ISBN 8172681224
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23. ^ "About District | Welcome To Bhojpur District | India". Bhojpur.nic.in. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
24. ^ "Geographical Structure". Retrieved 20 August 2020.
25. ^ "Arrah, India Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.
26. ^ "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on 31 July 2013.
27. ^ "Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
28. ^ ^{a b} "C-16 City: Population by mother tongue (town level)". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
29. ^ Bihar And Orissa Gazetteers Shahabad. p. 151.
30. ^ "District survey report of Bhojpur, Bihar". Department of Mines & Geology, Government of Bihar Vikas Bhawan New Secreteriat, Patna.
31. ^ "Bihar's sweet cuisines gourmet's delight". Times of India. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
32. ^ Bhāratīya saṃskr̥tike vikāsameṃ Jaina vāṅmayakā avadāna, Volume 2. Akhila Bhāratavarshīya Digambara Jaina Vidvatparishad. 1983.
33. ^ ^{a b} "Tourism". Bhojpur.nic.in. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
34. ^ Tilak, Sudha G. Temple Tales: Secrets and Stories from India's Sacred Places. Hachette UK.
35. ^ Ghosh, Durga, Sex and the family in colonial India: The Making of Empire, Cambridge University Press, 2006, page 123
36. ISBN 8172681224
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37. ^ Halls (1860). Two months in Arrah.
38. ^ "Arrah-Chhapra Bridge". Structurae. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
39. ISBN 978-0195393019
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40. ^ "Official Website of Department of Science & Technology, Govt. Of Bihar : Home Page". Retrieved 12 October 2020.
41. ^ "Jagran Josh". Retrieved 12 October 2020.
42. ISBN 9780195616811
    .
43. ^ Guha, Ranjit (1983). Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society, Volume. Oxford University Press.
44. ^ "The ancient heritage behind our railway bridges". Rediff.
45. ^ Banerjee, Arnab (25 March 2017). "Anarkali of Arrah movie review: Bold, beautiful and endearing". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
46. ^ Notes on Books: Being an Analysis of the Works Published During Each Quarter by Longmans, Green, and Company, Volume 2. Longmans, Green. 1865.
47. ^ "Census of India 2011: Bihar District Census Handbook – Bhojpur, Part A (Village and Town Directory)". Census 2011 India. pp. 260–307. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

External links

• Official Website of Bihar State