Dinesh Mishra is a renowned activist who has also studied the issue of floods for decades and has given critical perspectives on the myth of flood controls.
In India, we often hear about water scarcity, and experts warn us that this may lead to a world war in the future. This is only half the story and the experts conveniently forget about the abundance of water that may lead to severe conflicts. Here is one such story from the flood in the areas of Bihar in India known for abundant water.
In the year 1950, there were famine-like conditions in the state of Bihar because the rainfall was too low to facilitate any agricultural activity. The government had to start the Food for Work program on a mass scale to employ the people so that the catastrophe could be avoided all over the state. In Sadar block of the district of Darbhanga in North Bihar, a mini dam of about 18-20 ft in height was constructed to store water to facilitate agriculture in the future and some fishing opportunities. Many people got employment in that work and the structure was completed providing relief to many people. That was a human initiative the state government took for the benefit of the drought sufferers at that particular moment and the storage of water created, thus, was for the future.
The year 1950 passed peacefully but in the next year,1951, the area suffered delayed rainfall again which picked up in July. There were two villages named Andhari and Dularpur close to the north and upstream of the bund created last year and two downstream and south of it named Muria and Thakuraniya.
The surplus water from the reservoir was expected to join a small stream named Jeevachh, about one and a half kilometers below Thakuraniya. By mid-July there was proper rainfall and the reservoir constructed in the previous year was almost full. Unfortunately, no surplus escape was given for the excess water collected in the reservoir, and, as a corollary, the water started spreading upstream of the bund submerging agricultural fields in the upstream northern area. The agricultural fields in the villages of Andhari and Dularpur started getting drowned in the backwater and the villagers there were carefully watching the situation. A stage came when the water started entering their homes. So in those villages, the residents were alerted and discussed the situation with those living downstream of the reservoir with no result. The villages in the south feared that tampering with the bund would be disastrous for them.
The result was that the two ‘warring’ groups came face to face to resolve the issue in the third week of July.
The events that followed are discussed below.
Question Raised in Bihar Vidhansabha (State Assembly)
The local MLA Harinath Mishra raised a question in the Assembly on the 21st August, 1951 for clarification by the Chief Minister Dr. Shrikrishna Sinha asking him about the circumstances under which there was a police firing in Darbhanga in the third week of July, 1951 at the bund site separating Andhari and Dularpur on the north and Muria and Thakuraniya on the south. Who were the people responsible for this incident and what action was taken by the government against such persons? Whether the Government is willing to set up an enquiry committee to ascertain the facts behind this incident? Besides, whether the Government is trying to give any help to provide solace to the people killed or injured as a sequel to the incident?
Chief Minister Replies
“In his reply, Chief Minister Dr. Shrikrishna Singh said that there are two villages near Sakri in Darbhanga district named Andhari and Dularpur. On the boundary of these villages, there is a dam built in the east-west direction which holds the water coming from the northern side. There are two villages named Muria and Thakuraniya located on the south of this dam. There was some excess water in this dam this year and that resulted in the submergence of some crops in Andhari and Duarpur that led to the delay in plantation. These people wanted to cut the bund and drain the water out. The villagers of Thakuraniya and Muria smelt what was brewing on the other side and knew very well that should they succeed in their plans, the villages down below will lose their crops and suffer immensely. They took a stand that in case the bund is cut and the stored water in the dam will destroy their Ragi and other Bhadai crop.
“A report filed by the local police on the 20th of July said that Khwaja Mohammad who was appointed as a magistrate in Darbhanga had clamped Section 144 at the bund site barring both sides from assembling at that place. The concerned Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) visited the site on the 26th of July and went around in a boat and noticed that about one square kilometer of land was under water. The residents of Muria village had apprehensions about the cutting of the bund but the SDO was convinced that there will not be any law and order problem and that peace is unlikely to be disturbed. Given that background, he sought permission from the District Magistrate to cut the bund.
On the 31st of July, Assistant District Magistrate (ADM) visited the site along with armed forces to cut the bund but he failed in his efforts and reported to the district HQ that the villagers did not allow them to cut it. The SDO, however, could not judge the logic of cutting the bund and the rationale behind it as understood by the villagers and deputed Mr. Khwaja Mohammad to revisit the place on the 9th of August to have a look at the situation there and report back to him. Khwaja Mohammad went up to the bund and reported back to the SDO that some laborers were put on the job of cutting the embankments but the villagers pelted stones on them and chased them away.
The District Magistrate (DM) of Darbhanga was not in the office on the 9th of August as he had gone to Patna to attend a conference there. On the 10th of August 1951, the SDO ordered Khwaja Mohammad to go to the bund site with the adequate number of armed forces which he complied on the 11th of August and went there with armed forces only to find a mob of about 2,000 people along the dam site with the sole intention of not allowing anybody to cut the bund. A section of the mob had also gathered on the upstream side of the bund and they were armed with Lathis. Just as the laborers started cutting the bund, the mob pelted clods and brick bats at police. This resulted in injuries to three Jawans of armed police, two general police, one Chowkidar and three laborers. Altogether 9 persons were injured. Some bottles, too, were hurled at police who were injured and some of them started bleeding also. A sub-inspector’s cap was blown into the air by one of such flying objects.
“This was the time when the magistrate and the police warned the mob to exercise restrains and the police resorted to mild Lathi charge on the orders of the magistrate. The mob did not take the caution seriously and the magistrate ordered the sub-inspector of police to open fire and his subordinates followed suit. The magistrate maintained that the mob continued its pelting until such time they noticed some people in the mob were falling down with bullet injuries. This firing was unconstitutional but continued on the ‘unruly’ mob and according to the government, it was resorted to by the police in self-defense. The investigations are on and certain points are yet to be looked into. Government wants to ensure whether the firing was justified or not before it reaches any conclusion.
“9 persons were killed in the firing and 14 persons were injured. Those injured were admitted in the hospital where they are reported to be improving and they are likely to be released from the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital soon. The inquiry into the incident was completed by the District Magistrate and the Commissioner on the 12th of August and I (the Chief Minister) visited the site on the 14th of August. The Government has received the reports submitted by these two officers but some points are yet to be looked into like the orders issued to Khwaja Mohammad to visit the site etc. The report received by the Government so far suggests that the order issued by the SDO Mr. A.B.Lal to Khwaja Mohammad to visit the site and carry on the orders together with some other matters are yet to be looked into as some questions are raised over the process. The SDO has been suspended for the time being and if any other officer is also found guilty of dereliction of duties, will be dealt with accordingly. Those who were killed in this incident, their kin have already been given a compensation of Rs. 2000/- each and the remaining action will be taken in future.”
Many questions were raised in the Vidhansabha over the issue but, it seems, the government was not very keen to answer them for it wanted the whole issue to be looked into very carefully although it had the reports written by the District Magistrate and the Commissioner with it.1
The issue was raised once again in the Vidhansabha on the 27th of August 1951 by a member Ghulam Rasool but the speaker turned down the request on the plea that the investigations are still ongoing.
The same issue was raised and discussed once again on the 5th September 1951 but the government disallowed any reply to the plea based on the argument that the matter is now sub-judice and cannot be discussed in the Vidhansabha, as a rule.
Author’s Visit to the Affected Area
However, the author took a chance to visit these villages in July 2022 after 71 years of the incident to find out what happened in 1951 and if any person surviving still remembers the sequence of events and the ultimate situation after the incident. He was lucky to have met one eyewitness and others who had heard about the incident from their elders. Here are the versions of two respondents, one from the upstream village Andhari and the other from the downstream village of Thakuraniya.
Meeting an old man at Andhari
Mohammad Najim (94 years) from village Andhari, Block Darbhanga Sadar, Dist. Darbhanga tells that ‘Following 1949, there was an acute drought or near famine condition in our area and in the year 1950, a bund was constructed under public co-operation program under hard-manual drought relief work in south of our village. This was completed in early 1951. The rainwater from the villages Ruchaul, Gandhawara, Pathara, Dularpur, Chand Mukarrampur, and Andhari passes through the location at which this bund was constructed. This water joins a stream called Jeevachh, about one and a half kilometers away from Thakuraniya through a small stream locally called a Baha. The idea was to provide irrigation in the future to the fields below the reservoir created, thus.
South of this bund is located in two villages named Muria and Thakuraniya and on the north is the land belonging to Andhari and Dularpur. There was a very heavy rain in the month of July/August and the reservoir was filled almost up to the brim. The amount of water deposited here was not foreseen by anyone. Everything was fine till the reservoir was filled and the fields upstream in the villages of Andhari and Dularpur were getting water from the reservoir created thus, but when that water started sneaking into our homes, we were alerted and the only way to stop the water from entering into our homes was to drain this extra water from the reservoir. Our elders from Andhari and Dularpur approached the elders of Muria and Thakuraniya but those from the downstream villages did not agree to our proposal. They maintained that the losses due to draining the water through their villages will be far more than the losses to the upstream villages. As the matter was getting complex, an officer from the government came here to take a stock of the situation. People from Thakuraniya and Muria came and lied down on the bund that they will not allow anyone to cut the bund for draining out the water in the reservoir.
Failed at reaching a compromise, the upstream villages once again approached the administration and another officer named Khwaja Mansoori, who hailed from Gaya district. He was sent to our villages to find some way out. He is reported to have said that the administration will go to any extent to drain this water out and the bund will be cut.
After about a week, the SDO came here equipped with his full force, and cutting of the bund started under his supervision. The villages situated below the bund resisted this move and started pelting brickbats and clods at the police and the police responded by firing at them on the instructions of the SDO. Many people were killed in the incident and there was a virtual stampede and the people started running for safety. The people from Muria suffered the most and many of them were killed. There was an old woman also among those shot at by the police whose name was, probably, Reshma or Reshmi who had come to visit her granddaughter who had prepared Kheer for her that day. The granddaughter insisted that the old lady eat the Kheer, but she prevailed, saying that she would go to the bund site and see for herself what was going on there, come back, and then enjoy the Kheer. As she reached the bund, the firing had started and the poor lady received a bullet injury. She was sent to hospital for treatment but died after some days.
The villages below maintained that so many people from their village had died in the incident because of the stand taken by those living north of the bund. This bitterness was natural and we also feared that going via Muria or Thakuraniya for any work will invite the ire of the people living there. We might get nasty treatment from them. It took about seven to eight months to restore normalcy. There was a reason behind it. We had mutual relationships among many families there and vice-versa. Time was a big healer. With that, the arrangement for the drainage of water was also done. Most of us have forgotten the event and the new generation may have yet to learn about the incident now.
Meeting with The Past Mukhiya of Thakuraniya
The author also met some people of the village Thakuraniya and the prominent among them was the past Mukhiya of the panchaayat, Shri Ishtiyaaq Akhalaakii (61). What he told is repeated in his own words. He says, ‘I was born in 1963 and you are asking me about the incident 12 years before my birth. I am not an eyewitness to the incident and can only tell you what I have heard from my elders.
He repeated the area’s geography and the villages’ location as narrated by Shri Najim Mohammad and how the matter reached the district administration. He says, “When the administration was approached by the residents of Andhari village, Khwaja Mansoori, a magistrate in Darbhanga administration was sent to the concerned villages to sort out the issue. After a lot of discussions in the northern side of villages, he came to Thakuraniya and reportedly told us that he proposed to make a small cut in the bund just sufficient to drain out the unwanted water in the reservoir and should you all feel that the cut portion should be plugged after we go, you are free to plug it. This will not bother us anyway.
“The stand of the people from Muria and Thakuraniya was that once the bund is cut, be it only a small width, we will not have any control over that gushing water and it will be impossible to plug it. Whatever and whosoever comes in touch with that water will either sink or get washed away. This danger will prevail all the time. The administration wanted us to agree with the upstream people with mutual consent in a friendly atmosphere. Still, no consensus emerged and cutting of the bund remained as a solution in the administration’s mind and it decided and attempted to cut the bund.
“To say that when the administration came here to cut the embankment, people hurled brickbats and stones at them is a mockery of truth. Those days all the houses were made of mud and thatch and no pucca houses were there and no pucca road was here. Where did the stones or brickbats come from then? In the worst circumstances, it could be the clods from agricultural fields. We have also heard that a policeman’s cap flew into the air, which might have happened. The police firing followed this incident. This we also know.
“Our problem was that before resorting to firing, the police ought to have exercised lathi charge, resorted to aerial firing, and then fired below the thigh or waist. Direct firing shouldn’t have been resorted to. One who received the bullet injury collapsed on the spot. Many people standing near the pond water dived into it but had to raise their heads to breathe. The police had trained their guns on people who had raised their heads for breathing. They fired at such people and they died on the spot.
“The bund was cut in the melee and water started coming out vigorously. The area on the north was at a higher elevation and we were on the low land. The water emerged with a tremendous speed and many people were washed away. Their bodies were recovered at quite a distance from the reservoir. When the situation escalated, some people rushed to look for Suraj Babu (our MLA Suraj Narayan Singh) and brought him on a bullet motorbike. He was a committed and tough person and the moment he landed on the site he asked the administration ‘Are you here on a spree to kill birds?’. The firing was stopped the moment he arrived.
“Then the search for the dead bodies was started and the issue of compensation to the families of the dead came up. I have not heard if anybody’s family was paid even two rupees as compensation. The number of dead persons is reported to be 9 in the Vidhansabha report but I know that 11 persons died in this carnage, including an old lady who died later and, maybe, her name did not figure in this list. They were all from Muria. No one was killed in my village Thakuraniya and only a woman from our village was injured. According to our information, more people died in the firing and the following deluge. The administration was responsible for all the deaths. An elderly person from our village, Hafiz Mohammad Lokman, who was 11 years of age at that time, tells us that 21 persons had died in the firing and villagers having loaded the bodies on bullock carts demonstrated before the District Magistrate’s office. He was just a kid and was not a part of the demonstration then.
“Some thirty years ago, three young girls from our village had gone towards the reservoir. Many blackberry trees were there and its fruits must have attracted them to that place. They had to negotiate the standing water in the reservoir. They walked safely to the orchard but one of them drowned in the reservoir’s water while returning. Her friend tried to rescue her but she also got sunk. The third girl also tried to save them but she also was drowned. All three girls died, as a result.
“After many years of this unfortunate incident, I was elected as the Mukhia of our panchayat in 2001. I knew the reservoir is too problematic for our safety and must be resolved. I approached Pitambar Paswan who was our MLA then and told him that three girls from our village were drowned in this reservoir not many years ago 9 persons were sacrificed in 1951 in police firing in 1951. Something must be done to avoid such accidents in the future and a bridge must be constructed for smooth communication with the villages up north. Constructing this reservoir alone is not going to solve our problems. Those living in northern villages may get drowned like those unfortunate girls; the same is true for us living in lower areas. A bridge was constructed thus to facilitate passage from both sides with the help of the MLA but it was found to be undersized and we are trying to extend it. The Rural Engineering Department has shown some interest in it. We have to wait and watch.
Hatred Cannot Be Sustained Over Such a Long Period
He continued the story and told that the people from our villages who needed to go up north had to go by the side of this Talab and those from the northern villages had to go via our villages, whether their destination was the railway station, market, or the block office. Agriculture needed to be more mechanized as it is today. It was mostly through bullocks. Earlier they used to come straight to our villages to go to any place but after the incident, they used to detour a long path to avoid our villages. They were scared to pass through our villages fearing reaction from the affected people. Beyond Dularpur starts the Madhubani district now, which was only a Darbhanga sub-division. We didn’t have to go for any official work on that side but it is a compulsion for them to go via our villages. At the same time, both sides have relatives among the families in the north and south, and it was impossible to carry on with strained relationships over a longer period. There is no incidence of heckling or obstructing anyone in my village or Muria with those of Andhari and Dularpur. It is difficult to sustain hatred over such a long period.
Hence, once upon a time, there was a water war-not for scarcity but for abundance.
References:
- Short Notice question asked by Harinath Mishra in Bihar Vidhansabha on the 21st August, 1951.
- Reply by the Chief Minister
Dr. Shrikrishna Singh, Bihar Vidhansabha Debates, 21st August, 1951, pp 1-13.
- Issue raised by Ghulam Rasool in Bihar Vidhansabha, on the 27th August, 1951.
- Bihar Vidhansabha Debates, 5th September, 1951.
- Personal communication with Mohammad Najim of village Andhari
- Personal communication with Ishtiyaq Aqhlaqi. Of village Thakuraniya.