Barh

History

In 1495, after the sack of Patna, Sikandar Lodi advanced towards Bengal, but a non-aggression pact was made between the Delhi and the Bengal armies. It was decided that the territory to the east of Barh would be controlled by Bengal's ruler, while those to the west would be controlled by the Delhi empire. During the Mughal period, Barh had a large sarai with 200 rooms for travelers/traders built by Sher Shah Suri. In 1776, James Rennell, also called the "Father of Indian Geography", surveyed Bengal and listed prominent destinations. On 10 November 1877, the Barh railway station was opened to the public. Between the 1890s to 1910, Barh and Patna were afflicted by the plague. It is believed that the 1898 plague came by sea by rats aboard infected ships, though it first appeared in the British India Steam Navigation Company's wharf. The two main factors for the spread of the plague were believed to be the high presence of rats and houses with poor hygiene and bad ventilation. In 1928, Sampati Kuer, a young widow from Berhna village, committed sati on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. The British government suspected foul play and sentenced ten people to prison, including her brother Murlidhar Pande, as sati was outlawed 100 years earlier by the British government.