Hazaribagh is a city and a municipality in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chota Nagpur division.It is famous as a health resort and for Hazaribagh National Park (17 km from city).
Etymologially, the word Hazaribagh is made of two Urdu words, hazar meaning 'thousand', and bagh meaning 'garden'. Hence the literal meaning of Hazaribagh is 'City of thousand gardens'. According to Sir John Houlton the town takes its name from the small villages of Okni and Hazari – shown in old maps as Ocunhazry. The last syllable in its name probably originated in a mango-grove, which formed a camping ground for troops and travellers marching along the ‘new military road’ from Kolkata to Varanasi, constructed in 1782 and the following years. The Grand Trunk Road subsequently replaced this military road in the mid-eighteen hundreds, but the lay out differed at places, particularly around Hazaribagh. A dilapidated watch tower meant to guard the military road is still visible on Tower Hill, near Silwar.
history
In very early times the district was covered with inaccessible forests to which non- Aryan tribes who refused to surrender to the steadily advancing Aryans, retired at different times. Though out the Turko-Afghan period (up to 1526), the area remained virtually free from external influence. It was only with the accession of Akbar to the throne of Delhi in 1556, that Muslim influence penetrated Jharkhand, then known to the Mughals as Kokrah. In 1585, Akbar sent a force under the command of Shahbaj Khan to reduce the Raja of Chotanagpur to the position of a tributary. After the death of Akbar in 1605, the area presumably regained its independence. This necessitated an expedition in 1616 by Ibrahim Khan Fateh Jang, the Governor of Bihar and brother of Queen Noorjehan. Ibrahim Khan defeated and captured Durjan Sal, the 46th Raja of Chotanagpur. He was imprisoned for 12 years but was later released and reinstated on the throne after he had shown his ability in distinguishing a real diamond from a fake one.
In 1632 Chotanagpur was given as Jagir to the Governor at Patna for an annual payment of Rs. 136000. This was raised to Rs. 161000 in 1636 A.D. During the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748), Sarballand Khan, the Governor of then Bihar, marched against the Raja of Chotanagpur and obtained his submission. Another expedition was led by Fakhruddoula, the Governor of Bihar in 1731. He came to terms with the Raja of Chotanagpur.
This situation continued until the occupation of the country by the British. During the Muslim period, the main estates in the district were Ramgarh, Kunda, Chai and Kharagdiha. Subsequent to the Kol uprising in 1831 which, however, did not seriously affect Hazaribag, the administrative structure of the territory was changed. The paraganas Ramgarh, Kharagdiha, Kendi and Kunda became parts of the South-West Frontier Agency and were formed into a division named Hazaribag as the administrative headquarters.
During British rule one had go by train to Giridih and then travel in a vehicle called push-push to Hazaribagh.It was pushed and pulled by human force over hilly tracts. It was exciting journey across rivers and through dense forests infested with bandits and wild animals.Rabindranath Tagore travelled in a push-push along the route in 1885. He has recorded the experience in an essay, Chotanagpur families. When the Grand Chord was opened in 1906, Hazaribagh Road station was linked with the town. For many years, Lal Motor Company operated the rail-cum-bus service between Hazaribagh town and Hazaribagh Road station.
