Finding Bahraich, post polls

Haji Mohammed Ali Anwar Khan, president of the association, says the community is torn between the two. Though the bets are in favour of Reshma Arif, people are unsure if the couple will stay back to develop the town. But elections are not high on the agenda of the Association as it has reps from all political parties. Its aim is three-fold: unify Muslim groups under its umbrella, help develop the community both socially and economically, and last, break the stereotype image of Pathans, as, ahem, hot blooded and emotional. 8220;Whether it is Shah Rukh Khan, a politician or a bank, Pathans are always hired as durbans or guards. We want to tell them that they have more than just brawn,8221; says Khan saab.

As the air clears, you wonder what are bloodhound Afghan descendants doing in the dustbowl of India, heart of the Awadh Empire. The Muslims in the district comprise about 26 per cent of the population, of which half are Pathans. According to Arif Khan, the Pathans fled from the Mughals in Delhi after the accidental and untimely death of Sher Shah Suri, who once revived Afghan power to establish a glorious, though short lived, regime in the country in the 16th century, by ousting the newly established Mughal dominion.

Of course there8217;s nothing accidental in small town India, and in its hand-pressed antiquity of a millennia, emerge a rich and magical mosaic of living history. And if you thought Bahraich was just another obscure, backward black hole in small town India, a mere statistic at the time of elections8212;it has some spiffy surprises for you.

If Sher Shah got his name for killing a tiger single-handedly, the dense forests that girdle Bahraich, bordering Nepal, is the unique setting for Project Tiger today. The Katarnia Ghats Wildlife Sanctuary has all the trappings of the lush Terai region here8212;it is not only home to the tiger, but also has an intensive restoration and regeneration programme between India and Nepal that has succeeded in reviving the once degraded biological corridors to enable elephants and rhinoceros to move between the borders towards the Teesta River in Assam.

Bahraich8217;s snowfed rivers, Girwa and Ghagra, are home to the famous Gangetic Dolphins and ghariyals, apart from alligators, otters and turtles. Says a proud District Forest Officer, Ramesh Pandey, 8220;We have more tigers than Ranthambore or Dudhwa8212; about 50 according to the latest tiger census8212;and given that UP has lost Corbett park to Uttarakhand, we can develop this park. We can have river cruises, resorts and safaris. But the state tourism board has given us nothing. Even the Rs 17 lakh budget has not been released but is lying in a fixed deposit. The Tourism Ministry in Delhi has finally released Rs 37 lakh to develop the infrastructure.8221;

If these were not enough riches, Bahraich is also home to Shravasti, the eighth pilgrim centre for Buddhists, on the circuit of Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and the rest.

Shravasti is popularly known as the miracle land of Buddha. The mango tree that sprung from the earth to shade followers after the Enlightened One cast a seed still exists, say worshippers, apart from the miracle when he stood as tall as a palm tree and his lower body engulfed in flames while hundreds of jets of water streamed from the top of his body.

Thais, Koreans, Sri Lankans flock to visit the stupas and halls in neighbouring Jetavana Grove, and the R038;R rest and recuperation is provided at Buddha Resorts, a leafy refuge run by Arif Khan. The tomb of Sayyid Salar Mas8217;ud, an Afghan warrior-saint who died in Baharaich in 1033, is also a pilgrim destination for both Muslims and Hindus.

And so, as the dust settles from the frenzied election, the grubby town will once again walk back into the district administration directory. It will be another five years before Bahraich leaps back into the imagination.