Purnia division

2021-07-26T11:11:22Z

103.147.1.231: Added content

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Purnia Division
| native_name =
| type = [[List of divisions in India|Administrative Division]]
| image_map = Purnia division.svg
| map_caption = Location of Purnia division in Bihar
| coordinates = {{coord|25.78|N|87.47|E|source:kolossus-dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = [[Bihar]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Regions of India|Region]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] ([[Kosi—Seemanchal]] subregion)
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1990{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
| seat_type = Headquarters
| seat = [[Purnia]]
| parts_type = Districts
| parts_style = para
| p1 = [[Araria district|Araria]], [[Katihar district|Katihar]], [[Kishanganj district|Kishanganj]] and [[Purnia district]]
| leader_title = [[Divisional Commissioner]]
| leader_name = Mr. Rahul Mahival ([[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]])
| leader_title2 = [[Inspector General]]
| leader_name2 = Mr. Vinod Kumar
| area_total_km2 = 10,009
| area_rank = 4th in [[Bihar]]
| population_total = 10,837,617
| population_rank = 4th in [[Bihar]]
| population_footnotes =
| population_as_of = 2011
| image_skyline = Bihar and Orissa province.jpg
| image_caption = Purnia Division Map at 1930
| website =
| population_density_km2 = auto
}}
'''Purnia division''' is an administrative geographical unit of [[Bihar]] [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[India]]. [[Purnea|Purnia]] is the administrative headquarters of the division. The division consists of [[Purnia district]], [[Katihar district]], [[Araria district]], and [[Kishanganj district]]. It was established in 1990.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} It is also known as Seemanchal.<ref>https://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/internet-services-suspended-in-7-districts-of-bihar-after-carcasses-found-floating-in-canal/story-QI1kptjbOc4fMA7gpeofwJ.html</ref> It is a part of the Kosi—Seemanchal subregion of the cultural [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKqF_AgDd4gC&q=Mithila+India+state&pg=PA148 | title=Small States Syndrome in India | accessdate=16 February 2017 | pages=146 | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904152044/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nKqF_AgDd4gC&pg=PA148&dq=Mithila+Seemanchal+India+state&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiL0fDo2pXSAhVEKcAKHej6AicQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=Mithila%20India%20state&f=false | archivedate=4 September 2017 | df=dmy-all | isbn=9788170226918 | last1=Kumāra | first1=Braja Bihārī | year=1998 }}</ref>

==History==
Purnia division, all of which was previously part of [[Purnia district]], is part of the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]].<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA27 |title = Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective|isbn = 9788175330344|last1 = Jha|first1 = Makhan|year = 1997}}</ref> Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by [[Indo-Aryan peoples]] who established the [[Mithila Kingdom]] (also called Kingdom of the Videhas).<ref>[[Michael Witzel]] (1989), ''Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes'' ed. Caillat, Paris, pages 13, 17 116–124, 141–143</ref>
During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Kingdom of the Videhas became one of the major political and cultural centers of Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Kingdom of the Videhas were called [[Janaka]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author=Witzel, M. |author-link=Michael Witzel |year=1989 |chapter=Tracing the Vedic dialects |title=Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes |location=Paris |editor1-last=Caillat |editor1-first=C. |pages=141–143 |publisher=Fondation Hugot}}</ref>
The Mithila Kingdom was later incorporated into the [[Vajji]] confederacy, which had its capital in the city of [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]], which is also in Mithila.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hemchandra, R. |year=1972 |title=Political History of Ancient India |location=Calcutta |publisher=University of Calcutta}}</ref> During the Mughal rule, Purnia was an outlying military province, and its revenue was mostly spent on protecting its borders against tribes from the north and east.<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V20_420.gif Purnea District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 414]</ref> After the capture of Calcutta in 1757, Purnia's local governor raised a rebellion against [[Siraj ud-Daulah]]. In 1765, the district became a British possession, along with the rest of [[Bengal]].<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V20_421.gif Purnia District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 415]</ref> On February tenth, 1770 The district of Purnia in modern history was formed by the [[East India Company]].<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Purnia-district-foundation-day/articleshow/11894521.cms The Times of India, Patna Edition Feb 15, 2012]</ref>
Purnia district has seen the three districts partitioned off from its territory: [[Katihar district|Katihar]] in 1976,<ref name="Statoids">{{cite web | url = http://www.statoids.com/yin.html | title = Districts of India | accessdate = 2011-10-11 | last = Law | first = Gwillim | date = 2011-09-25 | work = Statoids}}</ref> and [[Araria district|Araria]] and [[Kishanganj district|Kishanganj]] in 1990.<ref name="Statoids"/> The districts of Araria, Katihar, Purnia and Kishanganj together from the Purnia division.

===English rule and freedom struggle===
The last of the [[Governor]]s was Md. Ali Khan who was replaced in 1770 by Mr. Ducarrel, the first English supervisor or Collector. The early years of British rule were years of trouble for Purnia. The district suffered terribly during the great [[famine]] of 1770. From the old records, it appears that there were [[Europe]]an settlers in Purnia almost immediately after the establishment of British rule in the district. By 1771, a number of Europeans had settled in the area known as Rambagh, the only building left in Rambagh was the church and the [[priest]]s' houses. The [[Roman Catholic]] Church was dismantled and re-erected in the new station of Purnia where the Europeans had already set up their residences. The foundation of this new church was there until 1934, when it was badly affected by the Bihar [[earthquake]]. The church was dismantled again. The [[nun]]s of [[Sisters of Loreto|Loretto]] convent of [[Darjeeling]] had come to Purnia near about 1882 and had opened a [[day school]] as well as a [[boarding school]] for children in Purnia district. When the [[Jesuit]] Mission of Bengal took over the Purnia Mission from the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin]] Mission, the school was closed and the nuns returned to Darjeeling. This house still stands and is known as the Coumblin. It is one of the oldest houses in Purnia town and is now occupied by the Allisons.

[[All India Kisan Sabha|Kisan Sabha]] movement, which had been responsible for an acute agitation in Purnia district in the third decade in 20th century and figured prominently for about 20 years, had its roots in the very [[agriculture|agricultural]] [[economy]] and the precious structure of permanent land-lordism in this state. The Kisan Sabha was formed at Munger near about 1922–23. After 1940–41, the kisan sabha movement slowly merged into the Congress Movement.

Purnia district, being so very contiguous to several districts of undivided Bengal, had been promptly affected by the swadeshi movement in the first decade of the 20th century. At that time there were no facilities for [[higher education]] in Purnia district and the students who sought higher education had to go to [[Calcutta]] or to [[Patna]]. The Bihar National College and TK Ghosh Academy were suspected as the two centers for a secret students organization, which indulged in [[sedition]] and both these institutions had a sprinkling of students from Purnia. A boy from Purnia, Atul Chandra Mazumdar, a student of the BN College, Patna was arrested under the ''Defence Act'' of India.

Since 1919, Purnia had closely followed the policy, aims and objectives of the [[Indian National Congress]]. Some of the delegates of Purnia attended the Nagpur session of Congress in 1920 and the moment [[Mahatma Gandhi]] gave the call for the Non-Cooperation, there were a number of volunteers in this district. Some of the early local leaders were Gokul Krishna Roy, Satyendra Narayan Roy and a few others who gave up their practice in the Bar and joined the movement.

In 1921, a national school was started in Katihar. Shri Rajendra Prasad toured Purnia district in 1921 and addressed meetings at Purnia and at other places. In 1942 [[Quit India Movement]] tactics were fully implemented by the people of Purnia. Mahatma Gandhi visited Purnia in 1929, during which time he met the Raja of [[Nazargunj]] and addressed crowded meetings at various places including Kisahnganj, Bishnupur, Araria and Purnia. The survey and settlement operations in Purnia district commenced in 1952 and settlement operations were concluded in 1960. During the 1911–20 period, Purnia suffered from epidemics of cholera every year from 1915 to 1919. A very serious outbreak of cholera occurred in 1925. Incidences of [[smallpox]] and [[malaria]] was very high during this period.

Since Independence, the region has suffered from significant neglect from successive governments.

==Demographics==
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Purnia Division (Seemanchal)
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Hindus]]|darkorange|53.51}}
{{bar percent|[[Muslims]]|green|45.93}}
{{bar percent|Others|black|0.56}}
}}
According to the [[2011 census of India|2011 census]], Purnia division has a population of 1,08,37,617 which is 10.41% of the population of Bihar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-anatomy-of-a-marginalised-region/article27072072.ece|title=The anatomy of a marginalised region| last1=Munazir| first1=Shahana}}</ref> [[Maithili language|Maithili]] is the main language of this area.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sq1aDwAAQBAJ&q=Purnia+division+maithili&pg=PT111 | title=Bihar Samanya Gyan| isbn=9789386300850| last1=Ranjan| first1=Manish}}</ref> [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[Surjapuri language|Surjapuri]], [[Santali language|Santali]] and [[Kulhaiya|Kulhaiya boli]] are also spoken in this area.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=District Census Hand Book - BIHAR|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/BiharA.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=censusindia.gov.in}}</ref>

The religious demographics of Purnia division are very different from the rest of Bihar. Although in Bihar overall, the Muslim population is ~17%, in Purnia division the Muslim population is 45.93% is while the Hindu population is 53.51%.<ref name=":0" />

==2017 North Bihar Floods==
[[2017 Bihar Flood|2017 Floods]] affected 19 districts of North Bihar causing death of 514 people,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/floods-in-state-not-man-made-says-minister/articleshow/60265509.cms|title=Floods in state not man-made, says minister}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/flood-situation-improves-in-bihar-number-of-dead-at-514-1743155|title=Flood Situation Improves In Bihar, Number Of Dead At 514}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bihar-flood-toll-reaches-418-1-67-crore-affected-in-19-districts/articleshow/60225425.cms|title=Bihar flood toll reaches 418; 1.67 crore affected in 19 districts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/flood-situation-worsens-in-bihar-death-toll-rises-to-253/articleshow/60147634.cms|title=Flood situation worsens in Bihar, death toll rises to 253}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/bihar-floods-119-dead-rains-likely-to-continue-for-a-week/articleshow/60113191.cms|title=Bihar floods: 119 dead; bridge collapse caught on camera}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/bihar-floods-death-toll-rises-to-202-in-18-districts-thundershowers-likely-to-continue-today-3951357.html|title=Bihar floods: Death toll rises to 202 in 18 districts; thundershowers likely to continue today}}</ref> in which four districts of Purnia division (Araria 87, Katihar 40, Kishanganj 24 and Purnia 9) accounted for 160 deaths alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/pm-narendra-modi-to-make-aerial-survey-of-flood-hit-purnia-today/articleshow/60226590.cms?|title=PM Narendra Modi to make aerial survey of flood-hit Purnia today}}</ref>

==Note==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Railways in Bihar}}
{{Districts of Bihar}}
{{Purnia Division}}
{{Kosi basin}}

[[Category:Purnia division| ]]
[[Category:Divisions of Bihar]]
[[Category:Populated places in Mithila, India]]

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Purnia division