- published: 12 Apr 2016
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Begusarai (Hindi बेगूसराय )(Urdu بیگو سراےء ) is a city and a municipal council in Begusarai district in the state of Bihar, India. Begusarai district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar and Begusarai town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district lies on the northern bank of the Ganga river . It is located at latitudes 25.15N & 25.45N and longitudes 85.45E & 86.36E. Begusarai is the birthplace of famous Hindi poet Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh and eminent historian Professor Ram Saran Sharma. Begusarai is the part of historic Mithila region. Begusarai had traditionally been a communist stronghold and was earlier also referred to as the Leningrad of Bihar.
The name of the district apparently comes from "Begum" (queen) and "Sarai" (inn). The Begum of Bhagalpur used to visit "Simaria Ghat" (holy place on the banks of Ganga) for a month of pilgrimage, which later took to the slang of Begusarai. Begusarai was established in 1870 as a subdivision of Munger District. In 1972, it was given district status after a strong pressure on the government by Late Rai Saheb Bhubneshwari Sahai, a charismatic leader of the local community who was also the first person in the district to be awarded the prestigious title of Rai Saheb under the British Raj.