Bachhrawan is a town and nagar panchayat in Raebareli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the seat of a community development block. It is located on the main Raebareli-Lucknow road, at the intersection with roads leading to Maharajganj, Haidergarh, and Gurbakhshganj. The railway runs parallel with the Raebareli-Lucknow road, and there is a train station on the west side of town. First upgraded to municipal status in 1935, Bachhrawan hosts a Ramlila festival on Asvina Sudi 10, which involves a dramatic reenactment of the Ramayana. Vendors bring various everyday items to sell at the festival. As of 2011, the population of Bachhrawan is 12,521, in 2,359 households.
History
Near Bachhrawan is a large mound strewn with bricks, which is said to represent the original Bhar town. The Bhars seem to have remained in control of the area even after being subjugated first by the Muslims under Sayyid Salar Masud and then by the Bais Rajputs, and they were only finally defeated in 829 AH under Ibrahim Shah of the Jaunpur Sultanate. At that point, the area was made into the pargana of Thulendi, and it was divided into two tappas called Ashan and Sudauli. Thulendi remained the pargana headquarters until the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula in the late 1700s, when the headquarters were moved to Bachhrawan.
One of the Chaudhris of Thulendi pargana, Bachhraj Pande, founded the current town of Bachhrawan sometime around the year 1400, and the town is named after him. At about this time, a group of Kurmis from the Jaiswar subdivision had been driven to this area by the pressure of a famine. One of them, Kesho Das, entered the service of Bachhraj Pande and eventually succeeded him as Chaudhri. His descendants kept the office of Chaudhri, as well as a large proprietary estate (including Bachhrawan) until much of this was sold to the Khattris of Maurawan.
At the turn of the 20th century, Bachhrawan was described as a large village with a population of 4,822 people as of the 1901 census. There was a Muslim minority of 403, and the main Hindu caste was the Koris. The village had a police station, a post and telegraph office, a cattle pound, a large primary school, and "a thriving bazar, known as Girdharaganj, in which markets are held twice a week." Bachhrawan was a major exporter of grain, which had especially grown since the opening of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway.
Bachhrawan was first upgraded from village to town status in 1935, at the same time as Dalmau, Jais, Lalganj, and Maharajganj.
Bachhrawan was declassified as a town during the 1961 census due to non-fulfilment of urban conditions, and the 1961 census listed statistics for two separate entities: Bachhrawan Rural and Bachhrawan Town Area. The total population of Bachhrawan was 5,957 people: 4,323 in Maurawan Town Area and 1,634 in Maurawan Rural. Bachhrawan Town Area had a population of 2,225 males and 2,098 females, in 940 households and 838 physical houses; Bachhrawan Rural had a population of 866 males and 768 females, in 378 households and 306 physical houses. The Town Area consisted of 4 hamlets and covered an area of 204 acres, while the non-Town Area comprised 14 hamlets and covered an area of 3,562 acres.
The Sri Gandhi Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School in Bachhrawan, founded in 1948, was in 1961 recorded as having a faculty of 26 teachers (all male) and a student body of 658 males and 6 females. The town had a government-run dispensary with 4 beds for males and 2 for females. There was a police force of 2 sub-inspectors, 1 head constable, and 15 constables. Average attendance of the Ram Lila festival was about 1,000 people at the time, while average attendance of the twice-weekly market was 500. The town had the following small industrial establishments then: 6 grain mills, 2 miscellaneous food processing facilities, 3 makers of ice cream, 8 clothing makers, 4 bicycle repair shops, 1 maker of jewellery and/or precious metal items, and 2 places not assignable to any other group.
The first bank in Bachhrawan, a branch of the Co-operative Bank Limited, opened in 1966.
Bachhrawan was returned to town status at the 1981 census. At that time, its main imports were listed as iron, cement, and cloth; the main items manufactured were threshing machines, bullock carts, and drums (which type of drum is not specified); and the main exports were rice, pulses, and wheat.
Geography
It is located at and has an average elevation of 116 metres (380 feet). It is located 50 km from lucknow, the state capital