Udhwa (also spelled Udhua) is a village in the Uddhwa CD block in the Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahibganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Udhwa is named after saint Uddhava of Mahabharat times, a friend of God Krishna and philosopher of Sankhya Yoga (Samkhya). It is believed that Udhwa was the place of Saint Uddhava.
Nawab Itimad-ud-Daula Mir Qasim was put on the throne of Murshidabad by East India Company, replacing his father-in-law Mir Jafer, on 20th October 1760. Mir Qasim soon began to show a will of his own and to cherish dreams of independence. He eventually shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger in Bihar where he raised an independent army.
Battle of Udhwa Nala
The Battle of Udhwa nala between Mir Qasim, and the British (1763) was centered here. On 5th September 1763 Mir Qasim fought the British at Udhwa nala near Rajmahal and lost the battle.
Mir Qasim was Nawab (King) of Bengal (including areas of present days Bangladesh and Indian states West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa). Mir Qasim reorganized the administration, army and finances of Bengal. His protested to the company against the misuse of Dustaks, led to declaration war against him by the English and Mir Qasim’s defeated at Katwa (2 August 1763) and Udhwa nala (5 September 1763). Nawab Mir Qasim then fled with his family to the Rohtas, Bihar, but was not able to hide at the Rohtasgarh Fort, which the Diwan of Rohtas, Shahmal, finally handed over to British captain Goddard.
The famous ‘Udhwa Ka Nala’ (Udhwa canal) is in ruins now with less care from the government to preserve and protect the story of this canal.
The silver Rupee of Mir Qasim which weighs around 11.57g was minted at Munger in 1176 AH. The obverse of the coin depicts Persian couplet for Shah Alam II which reads ‘Sikka (Zad Bar Haft) kishwara Saya Fazl Ilah Hami Deen Shah Alam Badshah’. The reverse of the coin reads ‘Zarb Munger Sanah 4 Julus Mainamat Manus’.
Some facts about Udhwa Village:
Location
Udhwa is located at 24.969278°N 87.856278°E.
Udhwa has an area of 320 hectares (790 acres).
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Udhua had a total population of 13,139, of which 6,719 (51%) were males and 6,420 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 2,744. The total number of literate persons in Udhua was 5,382 (51.77% of the population over 6 years).
Civic administration
CD block HQ
Headquarters of the Udhwa CD block is at Udhwa village.