History of Pilibhit

Essence of India comes with its historical significance. We are proud of our rich historical legacy of which some we are able to relate and some are remembered always for its historical values. Every place and every city of the country bears its own historical background which makes us come close to ours and our existence. Like all, Pilibhit also shares its own historical background which provides the district and the city its tradition, culture and its inheritance.

Rule of Chhinda Dynasty in Pilibhit

The first reference of the area of Pilibhit can be traced in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata where it is mentioned that King Venu also named as Moredhwaj or Mayurdhaj was the ruler of this area and it also specifies the actual kingdom boundaries of the monarch. He was a strong disciple of Lord Krishna. Though not much information can be gathered but it is believed that the area of Pilibhit was ruled by several Princes of Chhinda Dynasty near the end of 10th century. According to a Sanskrit script, discovered near Dewal Village, the rulers of this Chhinda Dynasty are responsible for constructing a canal out of River Sharda. The rulers of this dynasty have their names mentioned in the archaic script found.

Tharu Tribe in Pilibhit

According to British Historian James Tod, the Rajputs had a continuous fight to resist the invasion of Mughal power in their ruling arena. It is believed that Amar Singh who was the loyal son of Maharana Pratap, the great Rajput leader fought around 17 wars with the Mughal emperor, King Akbar but alas accepted defeat with clauses after the death of his father in 1595. Around this time the gang of loyal Rajput groups who served with full dedication to the Rajput King felt dismayed by this settlement and decided to leave Rajasthan. These groups of Rajputs include different clans like Deoras, Parihars, Chauhans, Rathores, Ranas, Tharus, Kashwahas and Jhalas. These groups are collectively known as Tharu. This Tharu group at that time leaving Rajasthan got settled in the sub Himalayan region near Nepal border in the dense forest of the area which now comes under Pilibhit district. In the present day scenario, there still remains the existence of the Tharu tribe in the remote dense forest areas of the district trying to maintain their traditions and cultures from Rajasthan.

Mughal Era in Pilibhit

Under Bareilly suba, Pilibhit served as administrative unit during Mughal times. The Mughal Subedar serving around that time was Ali Mohammed Khan who managed the administrative part of the area in a magnificent way. To rise the Mughal flag high enough, he constructed four gates around the administrative house in Pilibhit to tighten the security at the utmost level. These gates or Darwazas are architecturally brilliant and show glimpses of the Mughal preference in art and culture. These darwazas are named as Hussaini Darwaza at the East, Barellwi Darwaza at the west, Dakhini Darwaza at the South and Jahanabadi Darwaza at the North. However, in the present day all these historically significant gates are in ruins especially because of the negligence of people in charge and locals.

After Mughals

It was in 1772 AD that the Marathas invaded Pilibhit area. After the Marathas it was the Kurmi community who took over and was one of the important communities here. In the world history, Pilibhit is mentioned when King of Shah Dynasty of Nepal sought shelter in this place in 1789 AD after he was attacked by Gorkha King of Nepal.

British Rule in Pilibhit

It was in the 18th century when Pilibhit was conquered and captured by the Rohella king Hafiz Rafmat Khan. As per the local history this was possible only after the death of Ali Mohammed Khan. In 1774, Hafiz Rahmat Khan died and the area slowly came under the hands of the British rulers. As per the papers and treaties recovered in 1801, Rohilkhand was handed over to the British and at that time Pilibhit was only a Paragana with the Bareilly district. However, in 1871, Pilibhit subdivision was created comprising Puranpur, Pilibhit and Jahanabad. However, a lot of changes went through in the years after to reach its final conclusion which is prevalent at present. According to the present structure the whole area is divided into four paraganas and three tehsils. Bisalpur and Puranpur are individual tehsils as well as paraganas whereas Pilibhit tehsils hold two paraganas Jahanabad and Pilibhit.

Independence Struggle in Pilibhit

A lot of revolt among the population of the city was evident with the news of the commencement of Great India Sepoy Mutiny under the headship of the Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla in Bareilly reached Pilibhit. Many mutineers from the city enrolled themselves with the independence war and many were captured and given sentence to death by the British.

Another important incident related to the history of Pilibhit is when the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, called a huge rally in 1929 in the field just in front of Gauri Shankar Temple. He planted a tree in this area which still remains there reminding all the struggles for Independence.

Pilibhit in Recent Years

Today Pilibhit is one of the popular district of Uttar Pradesh with lot of opportunities booming for the future generations. There are factories, mills, educational institutions, hospitals and many other facilities which are all provided in developed cities. It is one of the preferred places in Uttar Pradesh for tourism as there are many popular holy shrines in the city which attracts people from all over the state as well as the country. For the adventure struck tourist there is Pilibhit Tiger Reserve which is one of the preferred tourist destinations and which has plans to expand and become stronger as per the government initiatives. Today Pilibhit has grown a lot in compared to the yester years and it promises to become more developed and more progressed in the nearby future.