PATNA, Bihar

Main Attraction: The Gurdwara at Patna Sahib

The Gurdwara at Patna Sahib was in remembrance of the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs on 22 December 1666, and like many historical Gurdwara's in India and Pakistan, this Gurdwara too, was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, on the banks of Ganges river, in Patna, Bihar.

Brief History:

The district of Patna was constituted in the year 1865 out of portions of the then existing districts of Behar (Vihar) and Tirhut. There were some minor changes of jurisdiction between 1881 and 1931, but its boundaries remained virtually intact thereafter until 1972 when the subdivision of Biharsharif was separated and upgraded as the independent district of Nalanda. The district is now left with 6 subdivisions, viz., Patna City, Patna Sadar, Dinapur, Barh, Masaurhi and Paliganj consisting of 23 Community Development Blocks.

The district of Patna lies virtually in the heart of the South Bihar Plain. It is a constituent district of Patna Division. The City of Patna, besides being the headquarters of the district, is also the divisional headquarters and the State capital since 1911. The district is bounded on the north by the Ganges, beyond which lie the districts of Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai, on the east by the districts of Lakhisarai and Begusarai and on the south by the districts of Arwal, Jahanabad, Nalanda and Lakhisarai. The districts of Nalanda & Patna is separated from Bhojpur district on its west by the river Sone.

According to the District Gazetteer of Patna (1970), the district is named after its principal city, Patna. Various legends exist regarding its origin. The most popular legend ascribes it to a prince named Putraka, who created it with a stroke of his magic stick and named it in honour of his wife, the Princess Patali (story found in Katha Sarit Sagar and in Hiuen Tsang’s Travels). It is also said that originally Patliputra was a village known as Pataligram appears to have been derived from ‘Patali’ or ‘trumpet flower’. It was called Palibhotra by Megasthenes. It is, however, generally accepted that the present Patna stands on the site of the ancient metropolis of ‘Patliputra’.

As the centre of the great Magadh Empire, the district has a rich and glorious history extending to over 2,500 years.

Early history

The Vratyas, referred to in the Atharwaveda constituted pre-vedic civilization in the region of Magadh. The autochthonous tribes gave way to the incoming Aryans and migrated south to the hilly regions of the Chotanagpur plateau which was now the stronghold of the tribes of Bihar. Thus Bandhayana (6th century B.C.) spoke of Magadh as a tract containing a people of mixed origin outside the pale of Aryan civilization.

Epic literature describes the valiant feats of the mighty king Jarasandha who had his capital at Rajgriha (now in Nalanda district). However, not much is known of the line of the twenty-eight kings believed to have come after Jarasandha. Magadh reached the height of spiritual renaissance in the sixth century B.C. during the reign of king Bimbisar of the Haryanakakula dynasty, when both Gautama Buddha and Mahavir Vardhaman preached their doctrines.

Bimbisar was a powerful ruler. He annexed the kingdom of Anga with its capital at Champa and entered into matrimonial alliances with Kosala and Vaishali. According to a Chinese pilgrim, the city of Rajgriha was built by him at an old site. Bimbisar was murdered for the throne by his son Ajatshatru, the founder of Pataliputra. Being faced with hostilities of the rulers of Sarvasti and also the Vrijis and Lichchavis of Vaishali, Ajatshatru fortified the village of Pataligram which lay just south of the confluence of the Ganges and the Sone. This little village soon became the metropolis of the country and remained so for over four hundred years. Lord Buddha had prophesied that of all famous places, busy marts and centers of commerce, Pataliputra would be the greatest, but three dangers, viz, fire, water and internal strife will threaten it. Ajatshatru was succeeded by his son Udayi who transferred the capital of Magadh from Rajgriha to Pataligram which subsequently came to be known by its more abiding name Pataliputra. This place was selected as the capital primarily because of its strategic location, facile river communication and more central position in the expanding empire of Magadh.

After Udayi, the history of Magadh became rather obscure. His successors, Aniruddha, Munda and Nagadasaka were all incapable. The citizens of Pataliputra became indignant and banished the last ruler and an amatya (minister), Sisunag by name, was raised to the throne. After the fall of the Sisunag dynasty (circa 400 B.C.), the Nandas came to power. They, in their turn, were replaced by the Mauryas. Chandragupta, the founder of Maurya dynasty was a native of Magadh. He was a great conqueror and brought the whole of Northern India and large parts of peninsular India under his scepter. With the help of Kautilya or Chanakya, Chandragupta built up an efficient system of administration and wielded considerable power. He successfully defeated the invading army of Seleukos Nikator, the Greek General of Alexander and king of Syria and married his daughter. He extended his empire over a vast territory stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. Megasthenes was sent by Seleukos as an ambassador to his court.

Chandragupta reigned for about 24 years. The extent of the Mauryan empire seems to have remained undiminished during the reign of his successor. Asoka ascended the throne of Magadh in 272 B.C. During the first thirteen years of his reign, he continued the traditional Mauryan Policy of expansion within India and of friendly relations with the foreign powers. Ashoka conquered and annexed Kalinga and placed it under a Kumar with capital at Tosali. Subsequently he recorded in one of the rock edicts his feelings of profound sorrow and remose caused by the miseries of the people during his Kalinga campaign. This proved to be a turning point in the career of Asoka. It indroduced a momentous change in the Mauryan policy by substituting Dharmavijya for Digvijaya. Asoka adopted Buddhism as his religion and Magadh became the centre of Buddhist missionary activities. It was during his regime that the third Buddhist synod was held at Pataliputra. Asoka brought about vast improvements in his capital. A masonry wall was built around the city. Numerous stone buildings were erected replete with rich decorations. A hospital was also constructed for the animals. Fa-hien visited the city in the fifth century A.D. when some of the buildings of the Asoka period were still standing.

With the death of Asoka began the decline of the Mauryan dynasty. Pataliputra also fell into comparative oblivion until the rise of the Guptas in the fourth century A.D. The Sunga period in between was rather uneventful.

Chandragupta-I extended the kingdom of Magadh upto Allahabad and Pataliputra regained its lost glory. His son Samudragupta further extended the empire and transferred the capital to a more central place, though Pataliputra continued to be an important and a great city. Fa-hien, a Chinese pilgrim who toured India in Circa 424 A.D. during the reign of Chandragupta-II, the son of Samudragupta, found the city of Pataliputra in a prosperous condition. It was a centre of learning and was visited by scholars from different parts of the world.

Hiuen Tsang, another Chinese traveller who visited Pataliputra between 630 and 645 A.D. during the reign of Harsha, however, found the city deserted though the remains of splendid palaces were reminiscent of their glorious past. Devastation was probably due to the invasion of the barbarous Huns in the latter half of the sixth century A.D. and of Sasanka, the king of Bengal. Sasanka was an enemy of Buddhism and he tried to uproot the religion. The persecution of the Buddhists did not last long for they got a patron in king Harshavardhan (600-618 A.D.). Although Pataliputra was in ruins when Hiuen Tsang visited it, Magadh continued to be the peaceful abode of the Buddhists. After the death of King Harsha, Magadh entered a period of Dark age.

The Muslim Invasion

Sometime after 1193 but before 1200 A.D. Md. Bin Bakhtiar Khilji invaded Bihar. The Muslim invaders killed a large number of Buddhists. Buddhism was practically effaced from the land of its birth. With the conquest of the Muslims over Magadh, the history of this land and other parts of South Bihar got merged with that of Bengal. The district of Patna formed part of the territory under the Bengal Viceroys till 1320 when Emperor Ghiasuddin Tughalak separated it.

Mughal Period

Babar, the first Mughal Emperor, came to Maner in 1529 to curb the rebellious Afghan Chiefs. After Babar’s death, Sher Shah defeated Humayun – the son of Babar and seized power. On his way back from Bengal in 1541 Sher Shah passed through a small town on the southern bank of the Ganges. He was greatly impressed by the place and got a fort constructed there. The little town was none other than Patna. After the building of the fort, Patna again became a central place. It was soon a centre of trade and commerce. The Portuguese merchants visited the place in Circa 1520. Patna was described by Tavernier as a large town in Bengal most famous for its trade.

Daud Khan, an Afghan Chief who became the Governor of Bengal in 1573, established his headquarters at Patna and Hajipur in view of the strategic importance of these two places. He was attacked in 1574 at Patna by the Mughal army commanded by Munim Khan but without any success. Emperor Akbar then moved to supervise the military operations and eventually Patna was conquered by the Mughals. Thereafter Patna became the headquarters of the Mughal Governors and a centre of political activity. The town was raided in 1612 by Khusru, the pretender to the Mughal, throne, who proclaimed himself the Emperor of India in the Governor’s palace at Patna. His forces plundered the city. Patna was recaptured by Shah Jehan in 1622 during his rebellion against his father. Another Mughal prince Parwez Shah, son of Jahangir, ruled over the city for some time. The still existing stone mosque known as Pathar-ki-Masjid was built by him in 1626.

The city of Patna progressed considerably during the Governorship of Azimus- shah, the grandson of Aurangzeb. In 1704 he named the city after himself as Azimabad. He endeavoured to make Patna a great city, second only to the imperial capital of Delhi. With this end in view he induced many nobles to come down to Patna and settle here. Azim-us-Shah’s efforts, however, did not entirely succeed on account of the war that broke out after Aurangzeb’s death among the contenders to the throne. After the death of Azim-us-Shah who was swallowed alive in quick-sand in the year 1712, the Saiyed brothers of Barah played the role of king makers in the 18th Century. On the fall of the Saiyed brothers, the province of Bihar (including Patna) was once again merged with the Subah of Bengal.

Advent of the British

The first English trade mission to visit Patna consisted of Hughes and Parker who came in 1620 to purchase cloth and to establish a business house. However, it was only after the East India Company had firmly established itself in Bengal that the English again thought of setting up a factory at Patna. A batch of pioneers came in 1650 and succeeded in founding a small settlement. By 1658 they had a factory on the northern bank of the Ganges opposite Patna for refining saltpetre since the saltpetre fields were situated there. The English began as humble traders. The chief article of commerce was saltpetre which was in great demand all over Europe for the manufacture of gun-powder. The flourishing trade of the English soon came to the notice of the Mughal Governor, Shaista Khan on finding that by paying a very small price for saltpetre they were exploiting the people, he imposed certain duty on the company’s goods. On their refusal to pay, he imprisoned Peacock, the chief of the English factory at Patna. This was the beginning of a difficult time for the company which lasted for over 30 years. During, this period very often they had to suspend their business and close their factories.

The Maratha and Afghan raids

The imperial throne of Delhi had become weak and several aspirants for power had begun to assert themselves. In 1740 Ali Vardi Khan defeated Nawab Sarfaraz Khan and became the master of Bihar and Bengal. Soon after, Patna was threatened by a Maratha invasion. In 1741 the fortification of the city was improved, the city wall was repaired and the moat outside was desilted to ensure protection to city dwellers. Mustafa Khan, the Afghan General of Ali Vardi Khan, laid siege to Patna in 1745 but was eventually defeated. The Marathas attacked in 1746 and the Afghans aided them but Ali Vardi Khan managed to repulse both of them. In 1748 the Governor of Patna was assassinated and the city was plundered by the Afghans of Darbhanga. For a few days until the arrival of Ali Vardi Khan there was a reign of terror in Patna created by the Afghans. The Afghans eventually suffered a crushing defeat at Rabi Sarai near the present Railway Station of Fatwah.

In 1757 the English made Mir Jafar Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. He was escorted to Patna by an English force commanded by Robert Clive. Mir Jafar made Ram Narain, the Deputy Governor of Bihar. Emperor Shah Alam came to Patna in 1759 to enforce his claim over the province. In the battle that followed between the English forces and Shah Alam, The English forces ultimately succeeded in driving out Shah Alam to Burdwan. Shah Alam returned again with fresh reinforcement and Jean Law, the French adventurer, to aid him. Shah Alam’s attempt to ransack Patna again met with failure. Later in 1761 Shah Alam and Jean Law were defeated at Manpur near Gaya. In spite of their victory, the English came to terms with Shah Alam who was proclaimed the Emperor of India at Patna. Mir Kasim was then made the Nawab of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa.

Mir Kasim and the English could not remain on good terms for long and soon quarrels started. The English attempted to seize Patna but were forced by Mir Kasim to remain inside their factories. Mir Kasim and the English were constantly at war. Mir Kasim came to Patna in October 1763 when he was shocked to learn that his fort at Munger had been surrendered to the English and he ordered complete annihilation of English at Patna. As a result in 1763 English men, women and children were butchered in what came to be known as the great massacre of Patna. The cemetery near Patna City still contains a cenotaph commemorating these persons. Hearing of this massacre, the English forces under Major Adams hurriedly moved to Patna and laid siege to the city. After a great deal of fighting Mir Kasim lost on the 6th November, 1763 and escaped to the territory of the Vazir of Oudh. On the 23rd October 1764 the English won a decisive victory at Buxar which made them the masters of the lower provinces of Bengal.

1857 Movement

The next event of importance in the district was the war of Indian Independence or the Great Mutiny of 1857 as it is sometimes called. The events in the up-country had inspired the people of Bihar also and they prepared to overthrow the foreign yoke. The letters found in the house of Pir Ali, a bookseller at Patna, in the course of a search of his house on the 4th July 1858 confirmed that the uprising was not a sepoy mutiny but a planned effort to free the country from foreign rule.

Tayler was then the Commissioner of Patna. He wanted General Lloyd, who was in command of the military divisions at Dinapur, to disarm them. The General was hesitant, and at long last he reluctantly agreed to take away the percussion-caps of the sepoys. The Indian soldiers could not tolerate the insult inflicted upon them. In the war that followed, the Indian soldiers took to their arms, left their lines and marched towards Arrah to join the valiant Babu Kuar Singh.

On the 4th August Tayler was replaced by Sammuels, 200 British soldiers and two guns protected the citv of Patna. The success of the freedom fighters in Gorakhpur and other places inspired the people. The Indian soldiers who had broken away from the British; moved about in the county-side. Several government Thanas were stormed and destroyed. The English were not able to stop the activities of the rebels in mufassil areas, though Patna remained quiet. The Struggle of 1857, however, ultimately failed and the English rule over the country continued for another ninety years. The district of Patna played a very vital role in the struggle for country’s freedom.