Muzaffarpur: The historic district of Muzaffarpur, endowed with fertile lands producing rich stocks of its world-famous ‘shahi litchis‘, home to beautiful lac bangles much sought after during the wedding season and a place with valiant stories of freedom fighters turned 150 on Wednesday.
It was on this very day, January 1, in 1875 that two new districts created after splitting the erstwhile Tirhut (also spelt as Tirhoot) district in the then Bengal Presidency, had come into effect, according to archival records.
According to a senior official in the district administration, the exact date of creation of the district was found in archival documents located in Kolkata, a couple of years ago, when a team assigned by the then DM was asked to carry out a research on the establishment of Muzaffarpur district.
“The team was able to find a very old newspaper in which the original notification that was issued in 1875, was published the same year, and thus it was established that January 1 is the foundation day,” the official told PTI.
A banner was then put up near the current Muzaffarpur Collectorate building on its campus, displaying the text of the original notification as it was published 150 years ago, he said.
“…the subdivisions of Darbhanga, Mudboobunnee and Tajpore, in the district of Tirhoot, are formed into a new district, to be styled East Tirhoot, and with Head-quarters at the station of Darbhanga,” reads the notification that carries archaic spellings.
“The remainder of the present district of Tirhoot, comprising the subdivisions of Mozufferpore, Hajeepore, and Seetamuurree, is formed into a district, to be styled West Tirhoot, with headquarters at the station of Mozufferpore. These arrangements will take effect from the 1st January 1875,” it says.
The two districts eventually got the name of Mozufferpore (now Muzaffarpur) and Darbhanga.
The main facade of the British-era old Collectorate building at Darbhanga carries two plaques — in English and Hindi — carrying the date January 1, 1875.
Thus, today also marks 150 years of the establishment of Darbhanga district, a culturally rich area known for its iconic palaces and other landmarks, music and food of the Mithila region.
Raj Trivedi, a head clerk (‘Bada Babu’) at the Muzaffarpur Collectorate, shows a bound photocopy of the old Muzaffarpur district gazetteer published in 1958, which was a revision of the historic gazetteer published in 1907, authored by ICS officer LSS O’Malley, and asks his staff to carefully store it back in an almirah.
“We are proud that Muzaffarpur has completed 150 years as a district. But, earlier we did not know the exact date of its creation,” he said.
The district is not just known for its history and heritage but also its luscious litchis, particularly the ‘shahi litchi’ and designer bangles made of lac, a product high in demand during wedding seasons. PTI