Bardia: Golden Past and Present

Bardia is a district in Terai from Mahakali to Rapti river which was returned to Nepal by British India for helping the British government to suppress that armed revolution by the then Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. 3 Jung Bahadur Rana. Banke, Kailali and Kanchanpur were among the other districts which received the same. Which Jung Bahadur Rana made a Birta for himself and his successors. Therefore, the new country was also called Birta of Jung Bahadur.

Bardiya was not only the place of the Rana ruler but also considered the paradise of hunters . Due to excessive hunting in Bardiya at that time, the rhinoceros species had become extinct from the forests here. Here, the Rana rulers used to bring lords, commanders-in-chiefs and high officials working in British India who visited Nepal during the reign of British Emperor George V (1910-1937).

In February 1876, Prince Edward VII, the eldest son of British Queen Victoria, was given a ride by Jung Bahadur Rana himself to hunt with 800 elephants, while Rana Prime Ministers Birshamsher, Chandrashamsher and Juddhashamsher came here to hunt. India's Hyderabad Nizam and Nawabs of Pataudi used to come to Bardiya every year to play hunting. They used to enjoy hunting here not only wild animals but also Karnali lion fish and trekking. For this, the Nizam of Hyderabad (South India) built a permanent bungalow near Pitmari on the Kuine road of Karnali Chisapani. That place is now called Kachali . King Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra were among those who came to hunt in Bardiya.

Bardia was not only a paradise for hunters, it was also a major producer and exporter of food and wood during the Rana regime. At that time, food and wood were transported from the Karnali River to Ghaghra (Karnali) in North India and the coastal cities of the Ganga River. Later, for this purpose, the British Government of India also built a railway line up to the border of Bardia.

In 1825, 98 years after the first train ran between Staunton and Dallington in England and 70 years after the first train ran between Bombay-Thane in Maharashtra, Nepal's first railway line was built in Bardia during the reign of Rana Prime Minister Shri 3 Chandrashamsher . This railway line was constructed from Teghra post near Nisangada on the Bardia border in Bahraich district (India) to Bhanwarkshetra Khairbhatti via Madhuvan, Machad, Gamakka, Vasanta, Takia, Govindpur, Neulapur, Satgharwa, Ranipur, Karmala and Ambasa in Bardia. This railway line, which is about 35 km long, was not built for public transport facilities, but to transport Bardia timber to India. It was called Collier Railway Line . During the reign of Rana Prime Minister Chandrashamsher, MV Collier, the forest conservator of British India, obtained a contract license from the then government of Nepal to clear and export 5,600 hectares of forest area from Mauva-Vasanta (Dhodri) to North Kunwabhar (Shivpur) in Bardia and export it to India. Since this wood cutting and extraction was only for a period of ten years from 1980 to 1990, this railway line also ran only for that period. Bardia is also the first district to process

katha. At present, the katha was processed in Khairbhatti near Kumwabhar on the Ambasa to Tel Pani (Surkhet) road section located on the east-west highway in the Thakurbaba municipality here. The English contractor MV Collier cut down the Khair forest in that area and built the same Khairbhatti and processed the Katha and exported the processed Katha to India . That's why the name of that place also remained Khairbhatti.

After the year 1990, Bardiya became known by the name of Zamindar Harihar Upadhyaya Gautam. He was the owner of nearly 14,000 bighas of land in Bardia and was considered the biggest landowner in Nepal. He was born in 1958 in Jaleshwar, Mahottari and died in 2022 in Lucknow, India. His ancestral home is Khidim Pokharathok of Arghakhanchi. His residence was in Padanah Vanghusari village of Barbardia municipality.

According to archaeologist Yogi Narharinath, among the 14 Manus of the mythological period, the 7th Vaivashwata Manu, who preserved and expanded the creation after the last water flood, settled in the Ayodhyapuri area from Manm Kalikot to remove the chaos prevailing in Kaushalraj from Manm Kalikot towards the Karnali river in Bardia . River civilization has been developing all over the world since the time of creation. River banks and surrounding areas are also a means of human habitation and movement from one place to another since time immemorial. The Karnali River Corridor is the main road chain from ancient times to Kailash Mansarovar from the Indian lands on both the north and south sides of the Ganga River. Until a few decades ago, this corridor was used for religious and commercial purposes from Terai to various districts of Karnali and Tibet Taklakot. It was also called the salt route . Through this route, the inhabitants of the Himalayan region used to load salt and herbs in their rams and bring them to Chisapani, Patabhar, Gola and Rajapur Mandi in Bardia, and from here they used to take clothes, grains and other necessary goods and go north.

Kashi King Dhanvantari on his way to heaven on his way to the Mahadham Tirtha of Mount Kailash, passing through the river Kali to see Malikarjuna (Darchula) and on his way back to Humla, Mugu, Kalikot, Bajura, Acham, Dullu (Dailekh) and Surkhet, the holy shrine Sera, Brahma It is mentioned in the Mansakhanda of the Skanda Purana that Tridev Lord Dattatraya said that one should return after bathing, seeing and worshiping Sarovar (Rara), Chayanthan, Ranamoksha, Papanashi, Dudhakunda, Kharpunath, Mahadev Parbat, Vadimalika, Vriddhanga, Vaidyanath, Jwalaji, Padmavati and Patal Ganga.

Lalmati, Mahadevphanta, Kithauraphanta, Baghauraphanta, Lamkoili Phanta and Bhawar Chure: We can understand the importance of ancient Bardiya from the ruins of endangered structures. Even today, there are ruins of a monastery, a palace complex and a well. Pottery pottery and fragmentary statues of deities can be found scattered around. However, since those places are within the Bardiya National Park, they have not been discovered, studied and protected. Even Bardia National Park only protects, studies and researches the forests and biological diversity, and the archaeological and cultural heritage has been destroyed.

Many of the idols of Gods and Goddesses placed in the Thakur Baba temple complex were collected by Chautaria Udayavikram Singh Raya about 100 years ago from the cracks on the banks of Geruwa River, which we can still see in the temple complex by Thakur. Similarly, 55 years ago Dr. Tribhuvan University History Department Professor. A team consisting of students led by Ramniwas Pandey took the statue of Buddha with Prince Rahul in the lap of Yashodhara while visiting the Danavatal region in 2025. Currently, the statue is in the Department of Archaeology.

In the naming of Bardiya, many concepts, logic and tradition are found . There is an ashram of Barad Rishi in Babai Vyareznir Pareva Odar Cave on the west bank of Babai River in Ekthari Thakurbaba Municipality and the name of this district came to be Bardiya from his name. Similarly, because of the dense population of Tharu and Awadhi speaking communities here, the shepherd is called 'Bardiwa' in Tharu language and the ox that plows the field is called 'Vard' in Awadhi language . Many people are also of the opinion that the name Bardiya has been corrupted from this 'Ward' and 'Vardiva'. To break the story, there was a king named Bardiya, the son of Cyrus the Great, in ancient Persia in 525 BC, and there is also a city named Bardiya in Libya. But it has nothing to do with those names. Instead, the naming and relationship of Bardiya can be linked with the founder of Sinja Kingdom of Karnali Province, King Nagaraj Barde. Because, in the 12th century, the Sinja Kingdom of Karnali Province was founded by his successor kings Challa, Chapilla, Krashi Challa, Krachalla, Ashoka Challa/Malla, Jitari Malla, Ripu Malla, Aditya Malla, Punya Malla and Prithvi Malla (1393-1414 AD). .) has a history extending from the Tibetan region around Mansarovar in the north to the northern plains of the Ganges in the south and from Gandaki in the east to Himachal (India) in the west .

The summer capital of the kingdom of these Khas kings, who came from Challa, was at Sinja in Jumla, while the winter capital was at Dullu and Danavatalgarhi in Bardia. They used to have a winter camp in Malwara too. The then state of Malwara or Mallawada is the combined territory of today's Bhajani and Tikapur areas west of the Karnali river and today's Rajapur area (Bhavratappa) east of the Karnali river. Recently, in the year 1865, the Rana Prime Minister gave a Sanad to Nawalsingh Raya, the father of Dhulikote Raja Kulraj Singh Raya, to pay 201 rupees annually. In the year 1931, this contract was signed by Shri 3 in the name of Narendra Bikram Singh Raya, son of Raja Kulraj Singh Raya, paying 1 thousand 291 rupees annually. After the death of Raja Narendra Vikram Singh Raya in 1943, the succession of this kingdom was transferred to Padmakumari, the daughter of his younger queen, Bhairavnar Singh Rana. Similarly, a Sanad was issued in the name of Bhaktavatsal Malla on November 10, 1918 to bring Raitis from Moglana and other places to Kala Banjar area in Padnaha and Buran (currently Magaragadi area) of Babaindi East in Bardia to acquire land and settle them.

Descendants of the erstwhile Malla, Burma and Raya dynasties of Bardia, Kailali, Surkhet and Dailekh, some are present as Mallas, while others are Bam, Singh Shah and Shahi .

There are two places named Bardiya and one named Barbardiya in Padanah and Buran of Bardiya (currently Barbardiya municipality area and the area adjacent to West Dhadwar of Deudhakala of Basgadhi Municipality) where Bhaktavatsal Malla has been awad and settled since the winter of 1918. To the south is a village called Ama Bardia, now in Bahraich District (Uttar Pradesh, India). Which was within the boundaries of Bardiya before the Sugauli Treaty.

Tappa Padnaha, Mauza Salarpur (more than 62 bigha), Tappa Chitpakdia, Mauza Daulatpur (48 bigha), Tappa Pauda, ​​Mauza Laukahikala (273), which was in the Bardia district as a mauza in the year 1967 and was in the center of Bardia mall until 2010 Bigha) and Laukahi Khurd (83 Bigha) land of 466 Bigha has been occupied by India for the last 70 years . After this, since 2040, the border area of ​​Bhagraiya Kothiaghat region has also been encroached by India, while the land of the village area connected to the Indian border of Gulria Municipality has been gradually encroached or started to be disputed by the Indian side . The lack of sensitivity of the Nepal government in this regard is a serious matter for the integrity and sovereignty of the country.

The British Government of India gave only 4000 acres of land in Bardiya district to Nepal in 1986 in exchange of 4093 acres of land in Kanchanpur, Vanwasa area, which was acquired during the time of the then Prime Minister Chandrashamsher for the construction of Kham Sharda Barrage. 93 acres have not yet been allotted. The 4,000 acres of land allotted to Nepal by the British Government of India was also Mauza Cuttes under Uttar Pradesh, Bahraich District, Nanpara Tehsil, Dharmapur Province. 85 no. of the Geruwa River (Kothiaghat) east of the current Nepal-India border in Bardia district. Pilar to Kailali district east Indian border east of Karnali river 98 no. The land was 16 km long up to Pillar and 1.5 km wide in Sardar . In this way, the land acquired by Bardiya is located in the border area of ​​present Kothiyaghat Khairichandanpur, Manpuratpara, Bhimmapur and Rajapur . However, when and where the remaining 93 acres will be given to Nepal, even after 82 years, it is still not known and there is no initiative from the Nepalese government to get it.

This is why Bardiya is different

Bardiya is spread over an area of ​​2,25 square kilometers. In which there is Churia (Shivalik) mountain range from north to south, slope of Bhawar region and fertile plain land of 25 to 35 km width . In this mixed land of Bardia, nature has also given plenty of water for animals, life and sustenance. Which are flowing north-south from east to west of Bardia - Mankhola, Babai river, Aurhi river, Geruwa river and Karnali . Bardiya is also a district of Terai, more than half of its total area is covered by green forests . Among them, there is Bardia National Park and its intermediate area in a part of the flat land that stretches east-west, including the entire Churia and Bhanwar areas of Bardia. Bardia National Park covers an area of ​​968 square kilometers and forests and settlements of the intermediate zone cover an area of ​​507 square kilometers. Similarly, there are government and community forests in an area of ​​about 350 square kilometers.

The proposed Chisapani Karnali multi-purpose project is a project that can generate more than 10,800 megawatts of electricity across the country and provide irrigation to 191,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 320,000 hectares in India. If there is a development plan, investment, production, marketing and distribution based on the proper use of water, land, forest and people here, Bardia is a blessing to the country . Bardia is the future of Nepal from this point of view and it is also the sign of shining Nepal .