NO CONFLICT AT KATKAULI VILLAGE IN BUXAR SINCE INDEPENDENCE, PEOPLE NEVER GO TO THE POLICE STATION

Buxar (RNI) Today when all are quarreling over trivial matters and unlimited FIRs and cases are pending in police stations and courts, Katkauli village in Buxar district of Bihar is an exception. People of Katkauli village have never gone to the police station since Independence as they never quarrel among themselves. If some disputes arise, people sort out the problem among themselves.

Katkauli village populated by around 300 families, is located just seven kilometers away from the Buxar town. The special feature of the village is that the people here have never gone to the police station or visited the court after independence. It is surprising but true. This is the village where the Battle of Buxar had taken place in the year 1764 between the English and the armies of the Mughals and the Nawab of Awadh. The story behind is so horrifying that one will be shocked to know it and to know this story one go back 250 years. People had seen so much bloodshed that everyone’s heart ached. Since the people of this village had sworn that they would never hate each other and live together in harmony and peace. Buxar police have never visited this village so far.

The incident is 250 year old and it is obvious that after such a long time, no one can give accurate information about the incident but even today people follow what they heard from their ancestors and do not quarrel with each other. Local people, quoting their ancestors say that there was a war in this village and the traces of which are still present. The land of the village had turned red with blood.

A battle was fought in between the forces of Hector Munro of the East India Company and the combined forces of the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and the Nawab of Oudh, Shujaudaula, Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim, on October 23, 1764 in the ground of Katkauli village in which the British won the war. The Civil and Revenue rights of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bangladesh had gone into the hands of the East India Company.

The Indian soldiers martyred in this war included both Hindus and Muslims and after the war, dead bodies were visible everywhere. The entire earth was coloured with blood. Weapons were scattered. Seeing this, the eyes of the villagers were filled with tears and the entire village had observed silence for several days. After a lot of courage, the people cremated the bodies of the killed soldiers as per their religions. The dead bodies of soldiers were buried in a well. Local people say that the Muslim soldiers were buried in a huge well outside the village while that of the Hindus were thrown into the river Ganga located about 2 kilometers to the north of the village. At that time, a banyan tree was planted on the well in the memory of the martyred Indian soldiers. Even today, that well and the tree remind people of the dreadful war.

Once there was a chaos in the police. At the time of independence, when country was divided, some Muslims here went to Pakistan and some came to this village about 16 years ago. As soon as the police got information about this, they became alert. The police administration hurriedly investigated the history of the village and found out that their family member who were Indian soldiers, were also martyred in the Battle of Buxar in this village.

Before independence, there was fighting in different parts of the country. Seeing this bloodshed, the people here decided that they would not hate each other. This is the reason as to why the people here have not gone to the police station since independence nor does the police come to this village.

Buxar SP Manish Kumar confirmed this. He said that the people here are very intelligent. Small disputes are resolved by talking to each other. He said that the cases of that village do not reach the police station nor the people even needed to go to the court. The people resolve any matter among themselves. This is a matter to be seen and understood. It is true that in that village the people are away from the case trial and the police station. Till now no case has been registered in that village.

A teacher Nagendra Ram says that people irrespective of caste, creed and race and religion live with love and peace and in harmony and they abhor quarrel. Even after 77 years of independence, no one has any dispute with anyone in this village. Neither have the people of this village gone to court till date. However, he described this village as beyond development and added that the Chief Minister, Bihar, Nitish Kumar had earlier visited the village but it does not bear any fruit.

People of the village give this message from one generation to the other admonishing them to shun away from quarrel or any other dispute. The main occupation of the villagers is farming though most of the youth live and work abroad. People said if the village is developed as a tourist destination, employment opportunities will increase and migration of youths may be checked and the village will be developed. The villagers appealed the CM to pay heed to their demands.