Ghogha (Bhagalpur)
Believe it or not. Bhagalpur, which has been famous for its deadliest communal riots in 1999, has now emerged as perfect example of communal harmony.
Suresh Bhagat, 65, a resident of Amapur, 20 km from Bhagalpur, has been taking care of a shrine since 1999 after it was abandoned by last of Muslim survivors of the riot.
He has left his family with a hope to reinstate Hindu-Muslim solidarity, shaken and challenged after the 1989 Bhagalpur riot killing over 2,000 people.
He has been keeping up shrine and solidarity.
He sleeps on a machaan, elevated platform supported by bamboo sticks on four sides, to guard the Pir dargah, adjacent to a cremation site at Ganga bank.
“No sense of fear and weird thoughts crossed my dreams even once in last seven years”, says Bhagat.
The 300-year-old Bazid Khan Pahalwan dargarh has been attracting Hindu and Muslim devotees alike. Last of Muslim families at Amapur, Ghogha moved to Bhagalpur for a living and to escape “tantrums of dominant Hindus”.
Pakkisarai panchayat asked for a willing caretaker after Kamo Miyan, the last Muslim care taker of dargah, shifted to Bhagalpur in 1999.
Bhagat was ready. There was surely initial resistance from Bhagat’s wife and three sons but Bhagat had his way.
Amapur villagers said “of 12 Muslim families, seven families were killed in 1989 riots”. The surviving families moved to Bhagalpur and Colgong in subsequent years.
Bhagat does not know how to follow Muslim rituals. He only knows to put chadar (sheets) on mazaar. He offers the burnt remains of incense sticks, called bhasm, to Hindu and Muslim devotees who throng from neighbouring Ekchari, Bhagalpur, Ghogha and at times from Kolkata and Lucknow as well.
An illiterate Bhagat wishes he could offer namaz. But he prefers to “internalize” his respect for Islam. “Though I do not know nitty-gritty of any religion, every religion surely talks of love and peace,” says the Hindu keeper.
Bhagalpur administration, however, is not aware of “good example being set by Bhagat”. The Bhagalpur district magistrate Bipin Kumar told “I did not know this. It is a great example of communal harmony”.
Colgong JD (U) MLA Ajay Mandal had promised to renovate the dargah before he successfully contested the last Assembly election. Mandal, however, has not yet fulfilled his promise. Mandal could not be contacted.
It is evening. Bhagat’s son, Anil, who plies a rickshaw, comes to see his father at the shrine. He gives a disapproving look at his father and hands over a tiffin-box to him, who spends 24X7 at dargah.
Bhagat just smiles and rides atop the elevated bamboo platform with his dinner pack to say “Kaash aesi bhi muhabbat ho apne desh mein, jab tere ghar upwaas ho, mere ghar ramzan ho (I wish there is such love when Hindu fasting and Ramzan fall on the same day”.
February 18, 2007
A Bhagalpur institute sends 57 “uncouth” Biharis to NIFT in four years
Son of a Bhagalpur confectioner has designed a prize-wining pair of shoes, to be displayed soon at Italy’s Linea Pple, an international design fair.
The pair of shoes is among top 20 shoes chosen by the Council of Leather Experts, from among 73 pairs designed by students and industry professions from India and Japan two months ago.
The shoes designed by Akash Kumar won him second prize. The final year textile design student at the National Institute of Fashion and Technology, Chennai, now looks up to work with some big leather brand.
But three years ago, this shy small-town boy could not dream big. After his 12th from Mount Assissi School Bhagalpur, Akash only wanted to do something “different”. But he did not know how.
It was JS Education that brought all the “difference” to Akash and 56 others over last four years.
The coaching institute is being run by Rajiv Kant Mishra, a History gold medalist who quit a manager job at the Central government’s Hindustan Vegetable Oil Corporation in 1999 to start an institute from Bhagalpur that can prepare students for competitive objective exams.
“As Biharis and fashion generally do not go together, preparing students for NIFT entrance was the last thing in my mind initially”, said the JS Education director Mishra, 45.
When he finally decided for NIFT entrance coaching in 2002, people laughed at him. His institute’s initial JS (originally named after Jyoti, his grandmother and grand father Smiriti Kant Mishra) would be “expanded by Jeevan Saathi” by passers-by.
“Hamare bachchon ko bigad dega (the institute will spoil our children” said a parent.
The hurt in Mishra was deep. He anyhow managed eight girls and two boys to prepare them for 2003-07 NIFT session in early 2002.
He got creative writers, painters and psychoanalysts to help the “not-so-sure” students. The institute charges Rs 7,500 for a 10-month course and Rs 9,000 for a year-course in NIFT entrance preparation. The NIFT is under Union Ministry of Textiles.
The final merit list had all his 10 students. He did not believe it. But Bhagalpur did and soon eat its words of disdain for Mishra.
The next three coaching batches had nine, 15 and 23 students getting admission into either of seven NIFT centres in the country. Of 57 students, 34 are girls.
Most of them – belonging to Bhagalpur, Purnea, Araria, Muzaffarpur and Katihar, have come from very modest background. At least, five are sons of farmers.
Mishra said those who thought of making their children civil servants, doctors, engineers and bank officers were forced to include NIFT in their list.
Mishra wanted to break the image that Biharis know little of fashion. “Now my students can dream of rubbing shoulders with Manish Malhotras and Ritu Beris and can dream of designing dresses and accessories for Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee,” said the proud institute director.
Speaking to The Telegraph from Chennai, Akash Kumar said “JS Education gave me the right kind of push, yet unheard in a small city”. He said “Seven students from Bihar at NIFT, Chennai have made their presence felt”.
Neha Pragya, a 2004-08 session student at NIFT, Kolkata, had scored 10 out of 10 in a paper, an all-India record, in semester four.
She said though she came from a businessman Agarwal family at Bhagalpur, she never thought she could make it to the NIFT entrance from being at Bhagalpur.
Back to JS Education’s current NIFT hopefuls, all are brimming with confidence. Eighty students, divided in four batches, have been taking the entrance two-tier entrance test seriously.
Brajesh Kumar, a Bhagalpur resident and son of a teacher, said “only IIM and IIT are not the end of the world. Boys are also learning to take up scissors to cut it to perfection”.
Tulika said the institute engages them in intension creative skill, sketching, colouring and designing sessions”.
Manish Jha, son of an advocate, and Shilpi, daughter of a bank officer, have already thought of designing dresses for Tall Dark Handsome guys “Cargo pant and a T-shirt will suit them most”, said Shilpi with a chirp while others say dress designing has to be “simple, yet dignified”.
by Santosh Singh
The pair of shoes is among top 20 shoes chosen by the Council of Leather Experts, from among 73 pairs designed by students and industry professions from India and Japan two months ago.
The shoes designed by Akash Kumar won him second prize. The final year textile design student at the National Institute of Fashion and Technology, Chennai, now looks up to work with some big leather brand.
But three years ago, this shy small-town boy could not dream big. After his 12th from Mount Assissi School Bhagalpur, Akash only wanted to do something “different”. But he did not know how.
It was JS Education that brought all the “difference” to Akash and 56 others over last four years.
The coaching institute is being run by Rajiv Kant Mishra, a History gold medalist who quit a manager job at the Central government’s Hindustan Vegetable Oil Corporation in 1999 to start an institute from Bhagalpur that can prepare students for competitive objective exams.
“As Biharis and fashion generally do not go together, preparing students for NIFT entrance was the last thing in my mind initially”, said the JS Education director Mishra, 45.
When he finally decided for NIFT entrance coaching in 2002, people laughed at him. His institute’s initial JS (originally named after Jyoti, his grandmother and grand father Smiriti Kant Mishra) would be “expanded by Jeevan Saathi” by passers-by.
“Hamare bachchon ko bigad dega (the institute will spoil our children” said a parent.
The hurt in Mishra was deep. He anyhow managed eight girls and two boys to prepare them for 2003-07 NIFT session in early 2002.
He got creative writers, painters and psychoanalysts to help the “not-so-sure” students. The institute charges Rs 7,500 for a 10-month course and Rs 9,000 for a year-course in NIFT entrance preparation. The NIFT is under Union Ministry of Textiles.
The final merit list had all his 10 students. He did not believe it. But Bhagalpur did and soon eat its words of disdain for Mishra.
The next three coaching batches had nine, 15 and 23 students getting admission into either of seven NIFT centres in the country. Of 57 students, 34 are girls.
Most of them – belonging to Bhagalpur, Purnea, Araria, Muzaffarpur and Katihar, have come from very modest background. At least, five are sons of farmers.
Mishra said those who thought of making their children civil servants, doctors, engineers and bank officers were forced to include NIFT in their list.
Mishra wanted to break the image that Biharis know little of fashion. “Now my students can dream of rubbing shoulders with Manish Malhotras and Ritu Beris and can dream of designing dresses and accessories for Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee,” said the proud institute director.
Speaking to The Telegraph from Chennai, Akash Kumar said “JS Education gave me the right kind of push, yet unheard in a small city”. He said “Seven students from Bihar at NIFT, Chennai have made their presence felt”.
Neha Pragya, a 2004-08 session student at NIFT, Kolkata, had scored 10 out of 10 in a paper, an all-India record, in semester four.
She said though she came from a businessman Agarwal family at Bhagalpur, she never thought she could make it to the NIFT entrance from being at Bhagalpur.
Back to JS Education’s current NIFT hopefuls, all are brimming with confidence. Eighty students, divided in four batches, have been taking the entrance two-tier entrance test seriously.
Brajesh Kumar, a Bhagalpur resident and son of a teacher, said “only IIM and IIT are not the end of the world. Boys are also learning to take up scissors to cut it to perfection”.
Tulika said the institute engages them in intension creative skill, sketching, colouring and designing sessions”.
Manish Jha, son of an advocate, and Shilpi, daughter of a bank officer, have already thought of designing dresses for Tall Dark Handsome guys “Cargo pant and a T-shirt will suit them most”, said Shilpi with a chirp while others say dress designing has to be “simple, yet dignified”.
by Santosh Singh
February 8, 2007
JD (U) MLA from Bhagalpur district `threatens' cop
A complaint was registered against a ruling JD (U) MLA in Bihar for allegedly threatening a police officer who objected to his taking along an escort team meant for a Minister.
Badri Prasad Mandal, officer in-charge of Parbatta police station in Naugachhia police district, made an entry in the station diary against Narendra Kumar Neeraj alias Gopal Mandal, accusing the MLA from Gopalpur of threatening to eliminate him after he withdrew the police escort the legislator had unauthorisedly taken along on a trip, police said on Wednesday.
Sources said Excise and Prohibition Minister Sudha Srivastava had to go on a visit to Khagaria from Bhagalpur on Sunday and a police escort was to accompany her from Parbatta police station.
However, before she arrived at the place from where the escort was to join her, the MLA arrived there and asked the escort to accompany him to Chaupar Diara. Midway through the journey, the officer in-charge contacted the escort and asked it to accompany the Minister.
The MLA allegedly later threatened the officer for withdrawing the escort. The officer duly informed SP Shyam Kumar, on whose advice he lodged a complaint regarding the threat to his life on Monday.
When contacted, the MLA denied the charge and described the officer as a "drunkard". -- PTI
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR IN BHAGALPUR
You may not believe it. But it is reality that our city Bhagalpur is going to host the firstever International Seminar in the country on "Molecular Taxonomy" from 12the February.
Tilkamanjhi Bhagalpur University Vice-Chancellor Prema Jha will inaugurate the six-day seminar on 12th Feb to be attended by scientists and experts from several other countries. Dr Rosabell Samuel from Viena University will be there for special lecture on the topic. Dr Jun Wen and dr Elizabeth Jimer from US based Smithsonian Institute have also confirmed their presence.
Tilkamanjhi Bhagalpur University Vice-Chancellor Prema Jha will inaugurate the six-day seminar on 12th Feb to be attended by scientists and experts from several other countries. Dr Rosabell Samuel from Viena University will be there for special lecture on the topic. Dr Jun Wen and dr Elizabeth Jimer from US based Smithsonian Institute have also confirmed their presence.
February 4, 2007
Girl scores 78 out of 75 in Bhagalpur university exam!
Strange is the functioning of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU). Few years ago, a girl topped the MA (political science) examination without appearing at the viva-voce. Now, a student has been awarded more than the total marks in one of his papers. Utpal Mandal, a geography honours student of the local TNB College was awarded 78 marks in paper IV, which carried a total of 75 marks. Utpal's classmate Rakesh Kumar Sah could secure only six marks in his subsidiary paper of political science, though he claims he answered all the questions. TMBU controller of examinations Sneh Prabha Jha told TOI:"We have to see whether the errors in totalling the marks obtained by Utpal and Rakesh were committed by the computer or the examiners concerned."
Source : Times Of India
February 3, 2007
DRM office to be shifted at Bhagalpur
It seems that the long pending demand of the Bhagalpurites is going to be heard soon. Speculations are rife that DRM office at Maldah in West Bengal is going to be shifted at Bhagalpur.
With the opening of the DRM office here, much developmental activities are expected in the city. Acoording to Local residents, the Bhagalpur junction will get automatically status of City Station paving way for a bigger terminal. New trains will be started and number of platforms will be increased.
January 30, 2007
Killing spree over electricity lines
Fifteen years and 19 murders later, electricity still eludes two villages of Bhagalpur district in the lawless Indian state of Bihar.
People in Koyli and Khutaha in power-scarce Bhagalpur district have been killing each other since 1991 in a bloody war to light up their villages.
In a state where only 10% of the homes have electricity and per capita consumption is a mere 60kwh compared to the Indian average of 354kwh, electricity remains elusive for most people.
The killing spree over power in the two villages began in 1991 when district electricity officials set up a pair of cement electric poles along with a transformer in Koyli.
It was the first time since independence in 1947 that the authorities had woken up to the need of providing electricity to the area.
Vengeful Incensed villagers in neighbouring Khutaha uprooted the poles and carried them away to their village at night thinking that the move would help them in getting electricity faster.
When the Koyli villagers discovered, they attacked their neighbours.
When the Koyli villagers discovered, they attacked their neighbours.
A three-hour-long gun battle between members of the two villages in April 1991 left one person dead and two others wounded. All of them were from Khutaha. Three years later, Koyli took its revenge - three residents of Khutaha were gunned down in June 1994.
A few months later, Khutaha villagers killed two brothers from Koyli. Koyli again retaliated a year later - and the killings continued. Since 1991, Koyli has lost 12 residents and Khutaha seven of its people in viciously vengeful battles over electricity.
Rajkumar Yadav says the situation "is tense, but under control" All the while, electricity has continued to elude the warring villages, even as many surrounding villages were lit up.
The situation became so bad that about 200 families from the two villages moved out to other places in Bhagalpur.
"There is no way out except migrate because anybody could get killed any time in this war over electricity," says Ravindra Yadav, the head of Khutaha.
There has been no fighting since 2000, but an uneasy calm has prevailed ever since.
"You can best sum up the situation as tense but under control," says Rajkumar Yadav, whose father was murdered in the power wars.
'Historic'
The villagers have also deposited $4,000 with the authorities for electrification.
The electricity department again arrived with fresh poles in April and set them up in both villages - but they have not been wired yet. They promised connections within two months.
Six months later, the villagers are still waiting.
"If they keep their promise, it will be a historic occasion for the two villages," says Baloo Yadav from Khutaha.
Khutaha and Koyli are not remote Bihar villages - they are just eight kilometres (five miles) away from the bustling town of Bhagalpur.
The first electric poles were installed in 1991Over 70% of its people are literate and many work in government jobs. A Koyli villager even topped the state bureaucracy examinations in 1998.
But all this has not helped the village to get the attention of the authorities 59 years after independence.
Things may be changing for the better now, officials say.
"Recent village council elections were peaceful. It seems that the two villages are ready to forget their bloody pasts," says Bhagalpur district magistrate Vipin Kumar. Residents of both villagers are certainly hoping so
Endangered Garuda birds are breeding in Bhagalpur
It is good news for bird lovers. The endangered Garuda bird of the stork family has been sighted in a village in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, where the birds have also started nesting.
"The endangered Garuda birds have taken shelter on a silk cotton tree near a village in Ganga-Diara area in Bhagalpur. They are breeding, a major occasion in the conservation of the birds," Arvind Mishra, an avid naturalist, told IANS.
"The endangered Garuda birds have taken shelter on a silk cotton tree near a village in Ganga-Diara area in Bhagalpur. They are breeding, a major occasion in the conservation of the birds," Arvind Mishra, an avid naturalist, told IANS.
"The Garuda birds face very high risk of extinction if proper conservation efforts are not taken. There are only 800 Garuda birds around the world and a few dozen in India," said Mishra, coordinator in Bihar and Jharkhand for the Indian Birds Conservation Network.
The Garuda, biologically known as Greater Adjutant, is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List 2004 of threatened species and listed under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The large wading bird belongs to the Leptoptilos dubius species.
This huge stork has a naked pink head, a very thick yellow bill and a low-hanging neck pouch. The neck ruff is white. The bird looks like a vulture. Other than the pale grey edge on each wing, the rest of the Greater Adjutant's body is dark grey.
This huge stork has a naked pink head, a very thick yellow bill and a low-hanging neck pouch. The neck ruff is white. The bird looks like a vulture. Other than the pale grey edge on each wing, the rest of the Greater Adjutant's body is dark grey.
Juveniles have a narrower bill, thicker down on the head and neck and entirely dark wings, Mishra said. A Garuda bird measures 145-150 cm (about three feet) in length and four to five feet in height.
Mishra, who has been studying birds and conducting surveys for conservation, said: "The birds are on the verge of extinction. Attempts are being made all over the world to conserve and save them."
According to Tapan Ghosh of Mandar Nature Club in Bhagalpur, his club has been working hard to create awareness among the locals on the need for protecting the endangered birds.
He said that last month some villagers sighted the birds on a silk cotton tree and informed the club.
He said that last month some villagers sighted the birds on a silk cotton tree and informed the club.
"It is big news that the Garuda birds have chosen this place for shelter and breeding," Ghosh said.
"We have seen a few baby chicks. Out motive is to provide them full protection with the support of locals. The villagers have promised not to disturb their shelter."
Mishra said that several villagers have started worshipping the Garuda birds and the tree on which they have made their nest.
Garuda is the name of the huge bird mentioned in the Indian epic "Mahabharata".
Ghosh said the nesting season of the birds is between September and January. The nests, usually built right on the top of the tree canopy, measure 90-110 cm in diameter.
The Greater Adjutant was formerly found in South and Southeast Asia but there were reports of the birds being sighted in Assam in India and in Cambodia.
Ghosh said the nesting season of the birds is between September and January. The nests, usually built right on the top of the tree canopy, measure 90-110 cm in diameter.
The Greater Adjutant was formerly found in South and Southeast Asia but there were reports of the birds being sighted in Assam in India and in Cambodia.
"Bhagalpur is the third nesting region of this species in the world. This could be a good sign for the survival of a good number of the species," said Mishra, who has been working on a project supported by the Wildlife Trust of India for the protection of the species.
The number of these bird species has declined drastically in the past few years.
The main threat they now face in Bihar is from the local nomadic Banpar tribes, which collect the eggs and chicks and hunt the birds for food.
The main threat they now face in Bihar is from the local nomadic Banpar tribes, which collect the eggs and chicks and hunt the birds for food.
Another threat, according to Mishra, is the anti-inflammatory medicine Diclofenac that is used by veterinarians and a major reason behind pushing vultures to near extinction.
The Greater Adjutant feeds on the carcass of dead cattle and could be similarly affected by the medicine, said Mishra, also a member on the Bihar wildlife board.
The Greater Adjutant feeds on the carcass of dead cattle and could be similarly affected by the medicine, said Mishra, also a member on the Bihar wildlife board.
In May 2006, 42 birds were seen by Mishra and the Mandar Nature Club team for the first time. Prior to this, the Greater Adjutant had never been seen in Bihar during its breeding period.
The Greater Adjutant, like most of its relatives, feeds mainly on frogs and large insects but also young birds, lizards and rodents.
Loss of nesting habitat and feeding sites through drainage, pollutions and disturbance, together with hunting and egg collection, has caused a massive dip in the population of this species.
Courtesy : IANS
Ten-year-old girl has hand cut offf for stealing spinach
A HUNGRY 10-year-old girl from lowest Hindu caste had all the fingers of her right hand chopped off by an upper-caste landowner for taking a few spinach leaves from his field, the Hindustan Times reported.
The attack took place in a village in Bhagalpur district recently in Bihar state in the east where caste prejudice against Dalits – formerly called "untouchables" – is widespread and sometimes results in violence against them.
Police in Bhagalpur, in eastern Bihar, said they would soon arrest the upper-caste landowner who used a sickle to wound the girl whose name was given as Khushboo.
The attack took place in a village in Bhagalpur district recently in Bihar state in the east where caste prejudice against Dalits – formerly called "untouchables" – is widespread and sometimes results in violence against them.
Police in Bhagalpur, in eastern Bihar, said they would soon arrest the upper-caste landowner who used a sickle to wound the girl whose name was given as Khushboo.
35 killed in Bhagalpur train tragedy
The number of dead in the train disaster in Bhagalpur in Bihar rose to 35 on Sunday with two more persons succumbing to their injuries in hospital, an Eastern Railway release said.
The two persons are Uttam Majumdar and Bhagwan Prasad, the release said, adding that 26 bodies had been identified. The tracks have been cleared of debris and the first train to pass through Bhagalpur after restoration of tracks was the Malda-bound Farakka Express and the second train to cross the incident site was Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail at about 9 am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Eastern Circle R P Agarwal, asked to hold an inquiry into the mishap, has reached in Bhagalpur, railway sources said, adding that Agrawal would hold the statutory probe into the accident when a 140-year-old overbridge, being dismantled by the Railways, collapsed on the Howrah-Jamalpur Express on Saturday.
The release said some of the injured, requiring specialised orthopaedic treatment, would be shifted to Howrah Railway Orthopaedic Hospital in Kolkata at the cost of the Railways.
A total of 34 persons, including seven women and four children, were killed and 18 others injured when a 150-year-old road overbridge came crashing down on Howrah-Jamalpur Express near the railway station in Bhagalpur, Bhagalpur District Magistrate Bipin Kumar said.
The two persons are Uttam Majumdar and Bhagwan Prasad, the release said, adding that 26 bodies had been identified. The tracks have been cleared of debris and the first train to pass through Bhagalpur after restoration of tracks was the Malda-bound Farakka Express and the second train to cross the incident site was Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail at about 9 am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Eastern Circle R P Agarwal, asked to hold an inquiry into the mishap, has reached in Bhagalpur, railway sources said, adding that Agrawal would hold the statutory probe into the accident when a 140-year-old overbridge, being dismantled by the Railways, collapsed on the Howrah-Jamalpur Express on Saturday.
The release said some of the injured, requiring specialised orthopaedic treatment, would be shifted to Howrah Railway Orthopaedic Hospital in Kolkata at the cost of the Railways.
A total of 34 persons, including seven women and four children, were killed and 18 others injured when a 150-year-old road overbridge came crashing down on Howrah-Jamalpur Express near the railway station in Bhagalpur, Bhagalpur District Magistrate Bipin Kumar said.
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