Sahebganj


Sahebganj is a scenic town with the serene ganga and sturdy hills maintained by Municipality of Sahebganj district of Jharkhand state, India, which also serves as the district headquarters for Sahibganj District. Sahibganj is a Class II town of Jharkhand which is sandwiched between the River Ganges on the north, the Rajmahal Hills on the south, West Bengal on the East and one of the world's oldest universities, Vikramashila, on the west. Sahibganj is the northernmost town as well as district of Jharkhand.

Etymology

Sahibganj means a place of masters. The place is likely to have been given its name because a number of English and other European people lived and worked in and around the railway station during the British Raj. The town is cosmopolitan, with people from Bihar, Bengal, and Jharkhand; and refugees from Bangladesh.

History

The history of Sahibganj town centers mainly on the history of Rajmahal and Teliagarhi Fort. There is evidence that the area is inhabited since time immemorial only by Malers. They were the early settlers of the territory of Rajmahal hills, who still reside in some areas of the same hills. They are considered to be the "Malli" mentioned in the notes of Megasthenes, Greek Ambassador of Selukus Nikater, who happened to be in the vicinity of the Rajmahal hills in 302 BC. Till the visit of Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang in 645 AD, the history of this area was wrapped in obscurity. In his travelogue, the pilgrim mentions the Fort of Teliagarhi, seeing the lofty bricks and stone tower not far from the Ganges. Information is gathered through the pages of history that it was a Buddhist Vihar.
A continuous history of the district is extant from the 13th century when Teliagarhi became the main gateway of Muslim armies marching to and from Bengal. During the Sultanate rule in Delhi, Bakhtiar Khilji marched towards Bengal and Assam through the Teliagrahi pass. He captured Bengal, and its king, Lakshaman Sena, fled to Cooch Behar.
In 1538, Sher Shah Suri and Humayun came face to face for a decisive battle near Teliagarhi. On 12 July 1576, the battle of Rajmahal was fought and the foundation of Mughal rule in Bengal was laid.
It was Man Singh, the most trusted general of Akbar, who in his capacity as Viceroy of Bengal and Bihar, made Rajmahal the capital of Bengal in 1592. But this honour of Rajmahal was short-lived, for the capital was shifted to Dhaka in 1608.
Shortly after this, Teliagarhi and Rajmahal became the site of a fierce battle between the rebellious Prince Shahjahan and Ibrahim Khan. Shahjahan emerged victorious and became the overlord of Bengal for a time, before finally being defeated in 1624 at Allahabad.
In 1639, Rajmahal regained its glory and was once more made the capital of Bengal by Shah Shuja, the second son of Emperor Shahjahan, on his appointment as the Viceroy of Bengal. It continued as the seat of the Mughal Viceroy up to 1660 and a mint town till 1661. It was at Rajmahal that Dr. Gabriel Boughten cured the daughter of Shah Shuja. By this means Dr. Boughten succeeded in securing an order from Shah Shuja giving the English the liberty to trade in Bengal. Thus the minutest foundation of the British rule was laid here. The fugitive Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud- Daula was captured at Rajmahal during his flight after the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
The entire Santhal Pargana along with portions of the present Hazaribagh, Munger, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Saharsa, a part of Purnia and Bhagalpur, districts was termed as "Jungle Terai" by the English on assumption of Diwani in Sept. 1763 from Shah Alam II at Allahabad after the Allahabad Treaty.
The victory at Plassey made British master of the then Bengal which contained the present Sahibganj District. In Santhal Pargana, they were up against a band of simple but determined opponents, the Paharias. Paharias were lovers of freedom and could not tolerate any intruder in their homeland. The English were very much concerned and Warren Hastings the Governor General of India organized a special corps of 800 men in 1772 to curb the Paharias. The corps was put under the command of Captain Brooke, who was appointed the Military Governor of the Jungle terai.
As a direct consequence of the Santhal Hul or Rebellion of 1854-55 led by Sido and Kanu brothers Santhal Pargana has been created as a separate district in 1855 by ceding portions of Bhagalpur and Birbhum district.
The 1942 movement also spread to entire Santhal Pargana division, for that matter in Sahibganj and on 11 August 1942 a general strike was observed. On 12 August 1942 a procession was taken out at Godda and soon the entire district was aflame. Thus the district of Santhal Pargana marched hand-in-hand with other parts of the State in the protracted struggle for country's freedom which resulted on 15 August 1947 in the end of slavery.
Government considered the Paharias and other tribals of Rajmahal hills as demographically underdeveloped section of society and embarked on policies and plans for their emancipation. Government's efforts in the past could not bring the desired results and the district continued to remain relatively backward. The Jharkhand Movement for separate statehood thus gained momentum and on 15 November 2000, a separate state named as Jharkhand came into existence comprising the 18 districts of the Chota Nagpur and Santhal Pargana divisions.

Geology

in this district has been declared the National Geological Monuments of India by the Geological Survey of India, for their protection, maintenance, promotion and enhancement of geotourism. The naga hills, due to their complexity and position, form a barrier between the two countries. The Naga Hills are part of the Arakan Range, which to the north rise to 12,552 feet.

Geography

Sahebganj is located at. It has an average elevation of 16 metres.

Demographics

India census, Sahebganj had a population of 88,214. Males constitute 51.33% of the population and females 48.66%. Sahibganj has an average literacy rate of 53%, Lower than the national average of 74.4%: male literacy is 62.65%, and female literacy is 44.31%. In Sahibganj, 18.8% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Education

Sahibganj has educational institutions for all levels of education.
ICSE/ISC
St. Xavier's School and Providence School are the schools affiliated to ICSE boards.
St. Xavier's School, a premier educational institute, is one of the oldest Xavier institutions Established on 21 January 1957. It is also affiliated for the ISC examinations, which makes it the only school to hold the ICSE and ISC exams at home center
CBSE
Kendriya vidyalaya and Jawahar Navoday Vidyalay are Schools affiliated to CBSE whereas Dr Rajendra Prasad Academy, St. Joseph's School and Trinity Angels School are non-affiliated schools.
JAC
Eastern Railways Boys High School, Public High School, Rajasthan High School, Girls High School are some other Schools affiliated to JAC and provide Hindi medium classes.
Higher Education
Sahibganj College is for higher education. In serving education since 1951 the college achieved glorious position in the field of education and cultural programme. In 2002 IGNOU study center was established. In 2006 the B.Ed Training center and In year 2009 the profession bachelor's degree programme BCA also come in existence.
Sandhya College also provides Arts classes for I.A and Bachelor Courses.

Environment

Sahebganj's natural environment includes the Rajmahal hills, situated on one side, and the river Ganges on the other side.
Sahebganj is the only district of Jharkhand, through which the river Ganga passes.
The Rajmahal Hills which skirt the town has a number of small perennial springs. The hills are forested with small shrubs and bushes.
There is a lake called Udhwa lake around 48 km from Sahebganj. During October to February, it has a number of siberian birds which make it a nesting ground.

Transport

Sahibganj is on the Sahibganj Loop of Eastern Railway.
This loop line branches off the main line from at, goes through, Rampurhat, Pakur, Sahibganj,, before meeting the main line again at Kiul Junction. The joins Sahibganj to Pirpainti and to Boreo on the other side via roadways. The river Ganga too is used for transportation using LCTs or even boats.
The Government of India is building a bridge across the river Ganges which will connect Sahibganj to Manihari in Bihar. This bridge will connect Jharkhand and South India to North Eastern India and will reduce transportation costs of essential minerals.
A multi modal transport hub combining rail, road and water is also being built here as part of the government's effort to develop National Waterway 1, i.e. the Gangetic stretch between Haldia to Allahabad.
Sahibganj is now also connected to the Grand Trunk road by the Sahibganj - Govindpur Highway connecting the town to the coal belt of Dhanbad.

Attractions