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Patna
can be described as a city in slow motion. It’s
a city waiting for its time to come (again) when
the stars on its sky will twinkle with full
brightness, so that it can lighten up (again)
the whole of city, region and nation like it has
done in the past.
Patna has the potential of becoming the
intellectual capital, political laboratory and
administrative bank of India. It is a city full
of possibilities and it has the rare privilege
of being the oldest continuously inhabited
places in the World. It is also the largest
riverine city in the world because of its
uniqueness of having four largish rivers in its
vicinity. Located on the south bank of river
Ganges (Ganga Nadi) it is surrounded on three
sides by river Ganga, Sone, Punpun and to the
north of it across river Ganga flows Gandak
river.
The first written account of Pataliputra (as
Patlibotra) was given by Megasthenes
(c.350BCE-290BCE a Greek traveler, geographer
and the Greek ambassador in the Court of
Chandragupta) in his book named Indica.
Pataligram, Pataliputra, Palibothra, Kusumpur,
Pushpapura, Azimabad, Bankipore, all these names
have been of present day Patna. Name kept
changing with every rulers. Present day name was
given by Sher Shah Suri.
Legend has it that once upon a time, there was a
great king Putraka, who had a queen named
“Patali” which means, “Trumpet flower”. The king
loved the queen so much that he created a city
for her with a magic stroke and named the city “Pataligram.”
Later, the king changed the city name to
“Pataliputra” in honor of the queen’s first
born, meaning; son of Patali.
Besides the legend, the historical version is
that the city of Patna was born in 490 BC when
king Ajatshatru decided to shift his capital to
the bank of Ganges from the hilly Rajgriha
(present day Rajgir) the open bank of Ganges got
heavily fortified and the name Pataligram came
into being, which later blossomed into
Pataliputra. Since then onwards Patna has been
the hub of political activities which continues
till date.
History of Patna is more than two millennia old
and like great cities of Athens and Rome it also
has seen the rise and fall of mighty ancient
empires; Maurya's and Gupta's, but it never got
that exclusive attention in the pages of world
history which it deserves.
It is to be noted that from the 6th century BC
to the 4th century AD, under the two major
dynasties, the Mauryas and Guptas, Pataliputra
reached its zenith.
On its soil, Patna has witness the presence of
two of the most well known figures of history;
Namely; Emperor Ashoka the great and Chanakya,
also known as Kautilya.
Novelist H. G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the
history of the world there have been thousands
of kings and emperors who called themselves
'their highnesses,' 'their majesties,' and
'their exalted majesties' and so on. They shone
for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared.
But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a
bright star, even unto this day."
It was Ashoka only who won the war of Kalinga
with its sheer brutality in which more than 1,
00,000 people were killed and several villages
were burned down, and it was he only who is
credited with propagating the philosophy of
Ahimsa (non-violence) he was instrumental in
spreading Buddhism to the other corners of the
world.
It is the Ashokan chakra (wheel) which is
featured in the middle of the flag of republic
of India The "Ashoka Chakra is the wheel of the
law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue
ought to be the controlling principle of those
who work under this flag. The wheel denotes
motion. There is death in stagnation. There is
life in movement. The Emblem of India is also an
adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of
Ashoka. It symbolizes power, courage and
confidence.
Also in the streets of Patna (read Pataliputra)
has walked a man of great political intellect.
Chanakya (also known as Kautilya) (c.350-283 BC)
he was the advisor and Prime Minister to the
first Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta (c.340-293
BC) and was also the uncrowned king, who because
of his rare political intellect, foresight,
statesmanship, fearlessness and great
administrative abilities spread the Mauryan
Empire from Bay of Bengal to Afghanistan.
His two major works are the Arthashastra and the
Nitishastra.
The Arthashastra lays the rules of governance
and gives a detailed account of the state of
affairs and polity at that time. The Nitishastra
speaks more of morals, principles and observance
of austerity in all walks of life.
It is nothing but sad that a man of such great
historical importance in the field of politics,
public policy and art of diplomacy has been
completely forgotten by the people and
thoroughly discarded by the state to which it
gave its glorious days, which will remain
recorded in the pages of history as a sweet
reminder of its past.
(The purpose for above description is to
emphasize the national contribution of Patna and
its people.)
Glory of Patna is not limited till ancient
periods only. It later became part of Mughal
Empire but the most remarkable period during
these times was under Sher Shah Suri who revived
Patna in the middle of the 16th century. With
the decline of Mughal Empire, Patna moved into
the hands of the Nawabs of Bengal, who levied a
heavy tax on the populace but allowed it to
flourish as a commercial centre.
During 17th century, Patna became a centre of
international trade. The British started with a
factory in Patna in 1620 for trading in calico
and silk. Peter Mundy, writing in 1632, calls
this place, "the greatest mart of the eastern
region".
After the decisive Battle of Buxar (1765), Patna
fell in the hands of the East India Company and
continued as a trading centre.
In 1912, Patna became of the capital of Orissa
Province and Bihar when Bengal Presidency was
partitioned. It soon emerged as an important and
strategic centre. (Orissa was created as a
separate province in 1935).
Patna played a major role in the Indian
independence struggle. Most notable are the
Champaran movement against the Indigo plantation
and the 1942 Quit India Movement.
Patna was the hub of activity when Indra Gandhi
imposed emergency (1975)Jaiprakash Narayan led
an anti emergency movement and Gandhi Maidan
became the centre of the activity for all those
grand rallies to address the people. It was this
movement which led to the fall of her government
as soon as the election was held (after the
emergency) in the year 1977.
The present day Patna has a population of over
1,285,470 (2001 census) the city is
approximately 15 km long and 5 km to 7 km wide.
Unfortunately to present day modern Patna (post
independence) not much has been provided by
subsequent government of national and regional
parties about which she can feel proud about.
The city is now surviving on private schools,
professional coaching centers, private medical
practices and small business enterprise. All of
them mention above are making good money, if not
minting it. Professional opportunity wise there
is hardly anything to look for besides the state
government job (not much vacancy there) off late
some private companies have open their branches
in the city and if the trend continues it will
be good news for the city and its residents.
One thing which is still relevant about the city
is that it has not lost its political relevance,
because it’s the capital of one of the largest
state of India, and the (political) party who
rules at Patna wields great power at centre
(Delhi) unfortunately this blessing in disguise
has (so far) not been able to provide much of
help. Will it in future? Only time will tell;
with hope, I will keep my fingers crossed.
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Comments: |
We are always proud of our great
Patna. It definitely has one of the
rich civilization in India and is
one among the foremost ground for
sending peace message to the world.
History always repeats itself and we
all have to make some effort to
bring our city in a position where
it becomes a name to reckon with.
This is possible. Today we are all
living in an economic driven world,
and we know proper economic planning
can do wonders both in terms of
revenue generation as well as
employment generation.
We always find our intellectual
assets doing great once they are
given opportunity outside. Our focus
should be on creating opportunity in
the state itself. we are very sound
on agricultural front and we have
the example of Punjab which
flourished over a period of time.
A recent survey by the World Bank
has put Patna above biggies like
Mumbai & Kolkata in terms of
easiness of doing business. We
should try to make the environment
even more business friendly. Our
state can do well in the areas like
- Agriculture food processing,
Healthcare research, Tourism, Higher
education etc. we have to brand
ourselves first as other states in
India do.
The common sense in our grey cells
is more than what I have experienced
outside. We just have to change our
behaviour pattern and show maturity
so that we are no longer called as
rude (Mumbai has been termed as the
rudest city in world). The people
should be made aware to keep the
environment green and clean. Now the
time has come to make Patna a model
city in India on every front (road,
power, water, safety). All these is
achievable if we all make an effort
(big or small) towards this.
Administration should take people
into confidence and make everyone at
each hierarchy accountable. A sense
of belonging and responsibility will
always change the society. We have
to give equal opportunity to the
every strata of the society.
Above all we need to be patient as
"Rome was not built in a day" &
every long journey starts with a
small step. - Sumeet Chourasia -
Feb. 17, 2007
Readers who want to know more about
Patna in the modern era should
consult Patna in the 19th Century by
Surendra Gopal- Retd. Prof of
History, Patna University. It is a
concise history of Patna covering
Trades, Crafts and Professions,
Literature and Journalism,
Festivals, Fairs and Recreations,
Painting and Calligraphy besides the
City and the People. Thank you. -
Satya - Feb. 17, 2007
Very nice article, Najam Bhai. Loved
it. Thank you. - Rajiv Chandra - Feb. 18, 2007
Very enlightening. Although I was
born in Patna and grew up there
until I was 25, I never knew its
history has such a glorious past. I
had left Patna in 1955 and it was
not until 2001 that the city of my
birthplace. I can say regardless of
how poor the city appears in terms
of today's norm it continues to
carry its deeply rooted spirituality
that emanates from every thing and
every being that exists on its
surface, if one simply shuts off all
the external noise and tunes his/her
inner senses to the vibration the
city has been putting out for eons.
- Syed A. Rizvi, CA, USA - Feb. 18, 2007
Excellent information. Thanks. -
Ratish Kumar, IAF, Sudan -
Feb. 20, 2007
This is, indeed, the most
comprehensive description of
passages through the ancient Patna I
have ever read. However, I fail to
see the plan for its future glory. -
S. Ashraf Imam, Los Angeles, CA,
USA - Feb. 20, 2007
Patna will never be a forgotten city
neither it was. I have never seen
the price of gold going down in the
national or international market
(though it sounds fussy to compare
the glory of a place with the price
of gold. By the way, I am not a
goldsmith but I can smell the
glitter of gold). All the
information brought in the article
are golden and crystal clear. No one
in the world will deny a grain of
it. Here, it reminds me a proverb ''chirag
ta-le andhera" (there is darkness at
the bottom of a lamp). Please take
notice that an indefinite article
'a' has come before a noun 'lamp’.
Patna has lighted so many lamps and
has spread her message of
enlightenment across the world. And
to my understanding, the process is
on even today. This is the culture
of Patna and culture never dies.
Why, then, we the people of that
region not following the foot-steps
of our great ancestors? Can we start
thinking and doing something more
rather than hatching concepts longer
and for a longer period since there
is nothing wrong with hatching
emotions or imagination?
So, what I dream is that Orissa,
Bengal and Jharkhand should merge
with Bihar including the seven
sisters of the North-East of which
the same Patna will continue as the
capital. Truly, the first democracy
of the world (Lichchawi Nagar) will
better be understood not only by the
people of a region but the entire
people of the world. 'Vasudeva-Kutumbkam'.
- Madani Mohiuddin Ahmad, KSU,
Riyadh, KSA - Feb. 21, 2007
One of the most important and
purposeful topic of this year! Does
Khuda Baksh Library has any of the
ancient photograph of Patna. Where
we can find it? Anyway, thank you
Najam Bhai! Great work! I vote to
keep name of Patna as Patna! I don't
think, changing name will bring the
glory of the city back.
Can any of the PD Forum contributor
please provide a brief history of
Madhubani Paintings? - Naren
Singh, USA/India - Feb. 22, 2007 |
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