Country India District Bulandshahr Nearest city Bulandshahr | State Uttar Pradesh Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) | |
Barabasti or Barah Basti is a group of 12 villages lying in Bulandshahr district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The 12 villages are located adjacent to each other within an area of seven square miles, and noted for a high population of Pathans, in addition to other Muslims and Hindus.
Contents
Villages
The name "Barabasti" is derived from the term "Barah Basti", which in Hindustani means "twelve settlements". The twelve villages, now under the districts of Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad and Amroha, are: Basi, Bharkaun, Bugrasi, Chandiyana, Barwala, Umarpur, Daulatpur, Gesupur, Jalalpur, Sherpur, Girora, Bahadurgarh. Hyatpura ,mohammadpur rustampur
History
Barabasti was established by Isa Khan during the regime of Sher Shah Suri (1472–1545).These are the villages of Pathans who migrated from Afghanistan. Pathans who are residing there belong to the "Daudzai" the Pashtun tribe. The river Ganges passes through Basi, one of the 12 villages in Barabasti. In earlier times most transportation was by river. When Sher Shah Suri transported his material by boats on the Ganges, the smaller dynasties used to rob his boats. Then Sher Shah Suri decided to protect his shipments by deploying his people on the banks of the Ganges. Isa Khan was a commander in the army of Sher Shah Suri, and was very close to him. Isa Khan called Pashtun people (Pathans) from his native town, located on what is now the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. These people first settled in the Basi village on the banks of Ganges, and were employed to protect the boats of Sher Shah Suri from invaders. Soon they became powerful, and started conquering the adjoining areas by defeating the smaller dynasties.
During the partition of India in 1947, many Pathans of Barabasti migrated to Pakistan. Several activists of the Indian independence movement were from Barabasti. Risaldar Azam Khan of Basi was a famous person of earlier times. Sharafat Hussain Khan was a social activist of Basi. There are many achievements of Sharafat Hussain Khan of the betterment of Basi and Barabasti. Azizurrahman Khan Saheb "Raees Basi"( Ex Pradhan) has built a gate in memory of Risaldar Azam Khan. He has also funded the repair of Pathan's heritage ( an old mosque) in front of his palace. Hyatpura is a village which has an entirely Muslim population.
Transport
Barabasti is about 100 km from Delhi. Barabasti can be reached by road in a three-hour drive from Delhi. Time can be saved by taking the expressway from Delhi to Noida, then the Dankaur station road to Bulandshahr. Then from Bulandshahr to Siyana which is just 8 km from Barabasti.
Economy
The basic economy of this area is based on agriculture. Barabasti has many mango orchards, many varieties of mangoes are grown here like Dinga, Dusseri, Ratol and Fajri. The area supplies a large number of mangoes to the country, and has been declared fruit belt by the government of Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of trucks loaded with mangoes go to various places including Azadpur Mandi (fruit market) in Delhi, and some of best mangoes are exported to Gulf and European markets.
Demographics
Barabasti has a cosmopolitan mix of Muslims and Hindus. However, it is noted for its relatively large Pathan population.