Bettiah

Bettiah (Bɛtɪjɑː,Bɛtɪjɑː) is a city and the administrative headquarters of the West Champaran district (Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, 225 kilometres north-west of Patna, in Bihar. It was the seat of the majestic Bettiah Raj, established in the 17th century. Its palaces and temples narrate its magnificent history. It has a Roman Catholic Mission, which was established in 1740 and the municipality, established in 1869. It came on the rail-map of the country, as early as 1883 and witnessed the first experiment with non-violence by Mahatma Gandhi in India during his Struggle for the Abolition of Indigo Plantation in 1917. It is an agricultural trade centre and has several industries, like, sugar, leather, brass, besides food processing centres.

History

Back in 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin of Jaitharia clan settled at Jaithar in Champaran. One of his descendants, Agar Sen acquired large territory in the reign of Emperor Jehangir and was bestowed the title of 'Raja' by Emperor Shah Jahan. In 1659, he was succeeded by his son Raja Guj Singh, who built the palace of the family at Bettiah. He died in 1694 A.D. The palace stands today but serves as marketplace due to the neglect of authorities.

Bettiah Raj

Bettiah Raj was the second-largest zamindari estate in the region of India now known as Bihar. It accrued land revenue rentals of 2 million rupees per annum belonging to Bhumihars.

History

Gorakh Rai, a scion of the Bhumihar Shahi family, was killed while fighting alongside Prithvi Raj Chauhan against Mohammad Ghauri at Taraori, in 1192 CE. Gorakh Rai’s descendants are among the present day Vaid Caste of Mohyals and they still prefix the honorific Raizada (prince) to their names. Another branch of this clan, that first set up residence at a place called Jai Theriya near Lucknow, later moved east and established a state at Bettiah in Bihar. They were known as Jaitheriyas, now a sect of Bhumihars.

In 1765, when the East India Company acquired the Diwani Bettiah Raj held the largest territory under its jurisdiction. It consisted of all of Champaran except for a small portion held by the Ram Nagar Raj (also held by Bhumihars). Bettiah Raj also came into being as a result of mallikana chaudharai and quanungoi, the connection with the revenue administration building on local dominance and the capability of controlling and protecting hundreds of villages. Internal disputes and family quarrels divided the Raj in course of time. Madhuban Raj was created as a consequence.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: [nəreːnd̪rə d̪ɑːmoːd̪ərəd̪ɑːs moːd̪iː], born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi. He led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which gave the party a majority in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) – a first for any party since 1984 – and was credited for 2014 BJP electoral victories in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since taking office as Prime Minister, Modi's administration has focused on reforming and modernising India's infrastructure and government, reducing bureaucracy, encouraging increased foreign direct investment, improving national standards of health and sanitation and improving foreign relations. Modi has been appreciated for starting initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India. Earlier, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi's economic policies (credited with encouraging economic growth in Gujarat) have been praised, although his administration has also been criticised for failing to significantly improve the human development in the state and failing to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots. A Hindu nationalist and a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Modi remains a controversial figure domestically and internationally, despite his progressivism. Known for his tech savvy image, he is the second most followed politician on social media after U.S. President Barack Obama.