MOTIHARI

The town of Motihari is located in the state of Bihar and is a very popular tourist destination among both pilgrims as well as backpack travellers. The town of Motihari is located at a distance of 156 km from the capital city of Patna. Motihari tourism is predominantly known for its historical worth.

Motihari is the city from where Mahatma Gandhi began his legendary Satyagraha for the first time against the British rule. The immense historical worth makes Motihari tourism stand out as a compelling tourist destination. The Mahatma is also credited for helping the town of Motihari reap the fruits of education, as he helped the locals establish a school in the vicinity.

The town of Motihari is a magnet for many Buddhist tourists throughout the year, as a major Buddhist stupa is situated here. This stupa is widely known as Motihari stupa and is undeniably a magnificent structure, that stands tall at a height of 104 ft. Many believe that the existing stupa is the remains of a much greater stupa.

A compelling fact of Motihari tourism is that the legendary author George Orwell was born here and one can visit George Orwell’s monument. The Mahatma Gandhi Museum and Stone Pillar are the most distinguished tourist locations of Motihari Tourism.

Bapu Father of our nation while his visit to Champaran on request of Raj kumar Shukla (A farmer belonging to land of East Champaran), got impetus to start a movement against the dictatorship of British government. Those days the farmers of East Champaran were coerced to sow AFEEM (opium) and NEEL (indigo)on certain portion of their farms so that British government can make money out of it. These crops make the agricultural land infertile. Also British government was not paying enough money to the farmers and so the plight of farmers became worse with time. Fed up with this system , one of the farmer named Raj Kumar shukla invited Bapu to have a visit to their place and help them in extirpating this law to make their life better. To ameliorate the condition of these indenture farmers of Chamapran, BAPU visited Motihari on 10th April 1917. If we go by the report of AICC (All India congress committee) a huge mass has greeted him in his mission to get Independence and make INDIA free of British rules. The plight of these farmers made BAPU to start a historic movement named Champaran Satyagrah.

In spite of getting threatening messages from British government BAPU kept this movement alive and accepted the imprisonment. Respecting the summon , he appeared in court of Sub divisional magistrate of Motihari on 8th April 1917. There he avowed not to obey the Rules imposed by BRITISH govt. He also visited West champaran (Bettiah) on 22nd April 1917. It was the people of whole Champaran who participated in this movement to make it successful and that’s how this place got registered in the pages of Indian National movement. Besides non co-operation movement, demonstration against SIMON commission in year 1929, gathering in Motihari against the failure of Round table conference to pledge for Indian Independence are some more historic events related to this place.

Sights

 

Kesaria Stupa, Kesaria (East Champaran)

Reckoned to be the tallest and largest Buddha Stupa in India, Kesaria Stupa is one of the major attractions of Bihar tourism. The stupa is believed to have been built between 200 and 750 AD under the rule of Raja Chakravarti. With a height of 104 feet, it is an imposing structure that must be visited during a visit to Bihar.

George Orwell Museum

Orwell, whose real name is Eric Arthur Blair, was born on June 25, 1903 in what is now known as the Gyanbabu Chowk locality in Motihari, Bengal Presidency (present-day East Champaran district, Bihar, India), in British India. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair (née Limouzin), grew up in Moulmein, Burma, where her French father was involved in speculative ventures. Eric had two sisters: Marjorie, five years older, and Avril, five years younger. When Eric was one year old, his mother took him and his sister to England. He never visited his birthplace again. He died in 1950 aged 47.

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), who used the pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. He is best known for his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945). His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, are widely acclaimed, as are his essays on politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

In 2014 it was announced that Orwell's birthplace, a bungalow in Motihari, Bihar, in India would become the world's first Orwell museum. His birthplace and ancestral house in Motihari has been declared a protected monument of historical importance.

Moti Jheel

Moti Jheel is a historical canal located in the heart of the city of Motihari. Beautiful sceneries and views embellish either side of the canal. Moti Jheel is the most famous tourist attraction of Motihari and is popular among visitors touring Bihar on a regular basis. Various activities such as boating form a major part of tourist engagement. The setting sun offers a unique opportunity to onlookers from the Moti Jheel to feel the beauty of nature.

 

Gandhi Sangrahalaya

The Gandhi Sangrahalaya situated in Motihari town has a wide collection of relics and photographs of the Champaran Satyagraha. The Gandhian Memorial Pillar in the ashram was designed by Nand Lal Bose, a famous artist of Shantiniketan. The foundation stone of the pillar was laid on 10th June 1972 by the then Governor, D. K. Barooch. It is a 48 ft tall stone pillar and is situated at the same site where Mahatma Gandhi was presented in court. Gandhi Sangrahalaya has two Conference Halls for its regular meeting, seminars, symposiums, and temporary exhibitions. It’s a unique museum of its kind, which is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. The museum consists of a modest Guest House for its own purpose. It has a perfectly maintained lawn to accommodate its own huge gatherings on 2nd October, 30th January and other events.