Arrah


Arrah is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. The name is also sometimes transliterated as Ara. It is the district headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near the confluence of the Ganges and Sone rivers, some 24 miles from Danapur and 36 miles from Patna.

Etymology

According to a Jain inscription found in Masarh village near the town, Arrah is mentioned there as Aramnagar. So probably Arrah is derived from Aramnagar.
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 Vishwamitra, the Guru of Rama, had his 'Ashram' somewhere in this region. Rama killed the demon Taraka somewhere near Arrah.

History

Ancient

Arrah has mentions 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.
In ancient India, it was the part of Magadha. In 684BC Arrah was the part of the region ruled by Haryanka dynasty. During Chandragupta Maurya Arrah was the part of the great Magadh empire. The Pillars of Ashoka are found at the Masarh village in Arrah town. During 200 CE it was part of Gupta dynasty. Bhojpuri Folktales of Vikramaditya like Singhashan Battishi, Baital pachisi are still famous in the town and other Bhojpuri speaking area. It was also the part of Pala Empire and Chero empire. Bihiya 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. They named the territory "Bhojpur" on the name of their ancestor Raja Bhoj. 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. 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.

Modern

After the Battle of Buxar the British took control over Arrah. Arrah was one of the centres of revolt in 1857.
During the Indian rebellion of 1857, a group of 18 British civilians and 50 Indian soldiers was besieged in the Little House at Arrah, by a band of 2500–3000 armed soldiers and around 8000 others under the command of 80-year-old Veer Kunwar Singh, the Zamindar of adjacent Jagdishpur. A British regiment, dispatched to their assistance from Danapur, was repulsed, but the group withstood the siege for eight days until they were relieved by other East India Company troops.

Geography

Arrah is located at the elevation of 192 m from the sea level at the bank of Son river, Ganga River and Gangi River. Arrah lies at the confluence of the Ganga and the Son river, other small rivers that flow in the town are Gangi River, Badki Nadi and Chhotki Nadi.
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 Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Cfa".

Demographics

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 literacy rate of the 7+ population was 83.41 per cent.
Bhojpuri is spoken as the regional language, however Hindi is used for official purposes.

Civic administration

Currently, Arrah is the headquarters of the Bhojpur District. It is administered by Arrah municipal corporation which divides the city in 45 wards. Each ward elects it's 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 Superintendent of Police, who is an Indian Police Service officer.
Arrah is the home to Arrah Civil Court.

Culture

Arrah's native language is Bhojpuri, a language derived from Magadhi Prakrit. Bhojpuri festivals and cuisine is followed here. Food of Bhojpuri cuisine includes Litti-Chokha, Makuni, Dal Pitthi, Pittha, Aaloo Dum, Jaaur and main snack and sweets are Khurama, Thekua, Pudukiya, Patal ke Mithai, and Anarsa. Some of the drinks are Satuā, Amjhor, Taadi and Māthā.
The festivals celebrated here are Holi, Durgapuja, Chhath, Diwali, Teej, Jiutiya, Gai Dadh, Jamdutiya, Eid, Christmas, etc.

Notable places

Aranya Devi Temple

This is a temple of Aranya Devi. 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.

Karbala Masjid

This Masjid was built around 1817 with Aurangjeb's assistance. It is situated at Maula Bagh muhalla at Ara. This mosques is also mentioned by British officers in their writings.

Koilwar Bridge

connects Arrah and Patna, and is the oldest railway bridge of India. It was built in 1862 and is 157 years old.

Ramna Maidan

, located in Arrah, Bhojpur District, Bihar, the one of the largest urban parks in Arrah, It is spread across 60 acres of land.

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge

is also called Veer Kunwar singh Setu which connects Arrah and Chhapra is the longest multi span extradosed bridge in the world with a length of 1920m.

Maharaja College, Ara

The present Maharaja college premises is an important historical site.

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

is a church in Arrah, Built by Britishers 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 Central Board of Secondary Education and Bihar School Examination Board.
Veer Kunwar Singh University is located here. Harprasad Das Jain College, Maharaja Collage, Sahajanand Brahmarshi College, Jagjiwan College, Mahila College are some of the premier institutions for higher education.
The list of Colleges in Arrah are:
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 runs in the campus of Bakhtiyarpur College of Engineering and its own campus will be completed by 2020.

Sports

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 Collage 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.

Notable people

Films and Songs