Our Bureau/

People strongly lambasted Nitish Kumar’s pseudo love for ancient history and archeology for changing the fate of Bihar while ignoring Bhagalpur region !

Nitish Kumar’s attitude  for showing his extra ordinary interests on ancient history and archeology for reviving the glory of Bihar and on the same time neglecting Anga Pradesh, particularly its ancient kingdom, Champa ( Bhagalpur), another most import part of Bihar, has created much doubt.

Nitish Kumar inspecting Lakhisarai ‘s excavation site.

“The chief minister projecting Rajgir and Lakhisarai is something like projecting Nalada while ignoring Vikramshila. It’s very good for changing the fate of Bihar but why neglecting places like Bhagalpur which also more potentiality in terms of ancient history and archaeology,” is the common perception in public minds.

Excavation works at Vikramshila yet not completed.

“What  and how could we expect? Why not Vikramshila sill includes in Buddha circuit and even in world heritage site of UNESCO? Vikramshila has been recognized by entire world but not by the Bihar government, how funny this is?” every lip starts echoing these questions.

Gautam Buddha also spent his times at Anga Pardesh’s kingdom Champa and its adjourning areas. Bhagalpur anciently known as Anga Pradesh with its capital, Champa is among of the few places in India which witnessed instalment of first urbanization in the country. The first urbanization before 6 th century BC was taken place in 6 places in the country which were known  as Janpads ,among them Anga (Bhagalpur) was one such Janpad, famous for trading with markets abroad.

Gautam Buddha also came here.

Lakhisari managed for excavation while Bhagalpur and its adjourning areas still languishing despite the fact that Bhagalpur has more potentialities. Directorate of archaeology, government of Bihar  already has approached  archeological survey of India (ASI) for conservation and excavation of dozens of sites at Bhagalpur and its surrounding parts. It has taken an initiative to accumulate all the tangible past cultural heritage in the district and studied the remains systematically to reconstruct the history and archaeology of the district which is claimed to be one of oldest history among few places in India.

Atul Kumar Verma, director, directorate of archaeology, Bihar who has taken special care for the archeological remains in Bhagalpur earlier had applied for a license for conducting a detail survey through the district and concerning the potentiality of the cultural heritage of Bhagalpur. The survey has almost completed with the  permission from ASI. “We are now waiting for the final signal from the ASI so that the excavation and conservation works could be initiated. Apart from that, we are  also trying to notifying the proposed sites as protected sits by government of Bihar,” Verma said.

Atul Verma with his team members at Bhagalpur in search of ancient treasures.

“Discovery of two very specific idols  dated back to latter half of Gupta period and early Pala periods from Khahara in Banka district along with recoveries of such old precious idols or stone inscriptions around the 50-60 km radius during last fortnight by our team  once  has established the archeological importance of this region”, he pointed out. He further  told that basically in the first half and the last half of the nineteenth century are the points to be focused. Taking the guidance from the reports of some British archeologists  like Buccanan Hamiltan, Alexander Cunningham, J.D. Beglar, the team had started demarcating the location of some of the sites and it also helps to generate an idea about the ancient geography of this district, Verma  added further.

Some recent publications like the book of Ajoy Kumar Sinha, P.C. Roy Chaudhary, Joti Chand Sharma, Abhaya Kant Chaudhary, report of the ASI and a few sporadic articles also helped the team to accumulate ideas about the history of the region and the rich material culture, Verma pointed out.

Ancient history buried inside this mount here.

A team of archeology under the leadership of Arabindo SinghaRoy, which has been conducting intensive survey for the last 6 months, managed to identify 201 sites even dated back 500 BC in Bhagalpur and its surrounding areas. Bhagalpur so far has one such example , the excavation site of Vikramshila Buddha Mahavihara, but the team which has found more than 50 mound and the structural remains, claimed ancients structures more bigger than Vikramshila possibly are hidden below the earth here. “We have the all the evidences of the ancient Champa, the kingdom of Anga here with boundary walls and a very systematic harbor on the bank of river Ganga from where local traders used to venture for world trade on ships with items like Bhagalpuri silk etc,” claimed SinghaRoy.

“Though, so far, we have managed a little time to analyzed the cultural remains properly, but from the representation we could postulate that this region once was inhabited by the prehistoric people, stone tools reflect that and than continuously used by the Protohistory people, remains of the potsherds indicate it, after that it had been used by the historical people and also in the time of early medieval period – the epigraphy, rock reliefs, and engravings tell that,” SinghaRoy pointed out.

Arabindo SinghaRoy with his team members at a site here.

Recalling some noted incidents during the survey works, Raman Sinha, a post graduate department of history in Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University said how the team had found a small numbers of tools made of stone from the upper surface on the foothills of some of the hills. “We are fortune enough that still we have faced a lot of  Iconography figurines (a visual images and symbols used in a work of art or we may called it as a symbolic representation through a morphometric from of the human creatures and thoughts) scatters in the rural area of the Bhagalpur district,” he revealed.

Gautam Buddha also spent his times at Anga Pardesh’s kingdom Champa and its adjourning areas. Bhagalpur anciently known as Anga Pradesh with its capital, Champa is among of the few places in India which witnessed instalment of first urbanization in the country. The first urbanization before 6 th century BC was taken place in 6 places in the country which were known  as Janpads ,among them Anga (Bhagalpur) was one such Janpad, famous for trading with markets abroad.

Historian Shiv Shankar Singh Parijat at Vikramshila.

He further said that this region once had a rich tradition as well as skill of the rock art relief along with Petroglyphs, a form of rock art,  are the images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving or abrading. Besides, the team also  have discovered a few epigraphically evidences, epigraphy is a study of inscriptions or writings. It is a scientific way to identify graphemes and clarifying their meanings as well as classifying their uses according to their date and cultural context. The calligraphy, writing style, is more or less enough for a palaeographers to uncover the date of the script and meaning of the word.

Post Gupta period Buddha idol found near Vikramshila by villagers.

Siv Shanker Singh Parijat, noted historian  said  so far historians and archeologists have managed a little time to analyzed the cultural remains properly, but from the representation they could postulate that this region once was inhabited by the prehistoric people, stone tools reflect that and than continuously used by the Protohistory people, remains of the potsherds indicate it, after that it had been used by the historical people and also in the time of early medieval period – the epigraphy, rock reliefs, and engravings tell that,” he remarked.