Bijnor: Why Bijnor royalty are counting on the tiger to bring back majestic past | India News

Less than 200km by road from Delhi lies Bijnor, the UP district known for forests, rivers, and sugarcane fields. It is also home to several palaces of the erstwhile princely states that once ruled the area. With their estates gone and upkeep proving ever more difficult, these havelis have slid into slow disrepair, though their walls and halls are still adorned with tiger skins and hunting trophies that speak of the time when royalty thrived in these parts.
Now, as it prospers under state protection, it is to the tiger that these havelis are looking for reviving their faded glory. The trump card, the royals hope, will be these havelis’ proximity to the Amangarh tiger reserve, which lies in the buffer zone of the Jim Corbett national park. The reserve opened two of its gates in November last year and welcomed tourists for the first time. With improved road connectivity to the area – the Kashipur-Nainital highway and the Delhi-Pauri road have recently been widened – locals are counting on an uptick in tourist footfall. And the royals are hopeful their havelis can become heritage properties that add value to tiger safaris by offering visitors a taste of a princely past.

Of Tigers And Other Tales
One such neglected structure is the 280-year-old Bijay Niwas, a sprawling 20-bigha property in Noorpur block of Bijnor. The Tyagi clan that ruled over the erstwhile Tajpur state – it was formed in the 18th century – is believed to be descended from the Taga tribe that fought off invaders in this region.
One of the Tyagi forbears erected a “monument of love” – the Sacred Heart Church of Tajpur – that sits in a vast mango orchard. It was built around 110 years ago by Shiam Singh Rikh. He fell in love with and married a Frenchwoman and converted to Christianity, becoming Raja Francis Xavier Shiam Rikh. He built his wife this church, currently managed by the Roman Catholic Church, and both now lie buried there.
Covered in cobwebs and thick layers of dust, Bijay Niwas juxtaposes past glory with present decline. Visitors to the haveli are greeted by photographs of the members of the royal household lined on a mantelpiece with stuffed bears at hand as “guards”. A spacious hall contains more stuffed pieces – a tiger standing over a deer as four leopards look on. “The deterioration was gradual,” says Inderjeet Singh, a scion of the Tyagi family, who hopes the government will develop this region along the lines of Jaipur and Udaipur in Rajasthan.

“First, our agricultural income was cut down in the 1960s. Then, the Wildlife Protection Act in the 1970s shut down our ‘shikaar company’, which arranged hunting trips for foreigners. Property divisions further reduced our income. Maintenance costs are high and that’s why we look forward to the government helping us to turn these properties into heritage hotels,” he says.
In the district’s Najibabad division stands the Jalpur castle. Built in 1799, it still bears bullet marks from an attack by Daku Sultana, a terror of the Terai forests who earned the moniker of India’s ‘Robin Hood’ from British colonial rulers. Hunter and adventurer Corbett also wrote about Sultana and was part of the team that tracked him down and helped in his arrest. “Our doors still bear Daku Sultana’s bullet marks. I have lost count of the times I have narrated his story,” says Baljeet Singh, the current occupant of Jalpur castle.
Najibabad also has the Patthargarh fort. It was built by an Afghan military commander – his title of Najib ad-Dawlah gives the town its present name – who at one time owed allegiance to Mughal emperor Alamgir II. “The fort is crumbling. But with a little help from the government, we can turn it into a major tourist attraction,” suggests the Delhi-based Saeeda Masrooh Khan, the ninth descendent of Najib ad-Dawlah.

Hidden Gems
The Sahanpur fort, seat of the erstwhile Sahanpur state, is also in Najibabad. It’s a white building with intricate designs and sprawling courtyards. Bhawna Kumari Singh, wife of Kunwar Bhartendra Singh, a former BJP MP from Bijnor, believes her 400-year-old home can be a hit with tourists. “Haridwar is barely 40km away and the Amangarh reserve is close by. If buildings like these get heritage status, tourists can get a royal treatment,” she says. Bhartendra Singh says he has spoken to UP CM Yogi Adityanath in this regard and “got some positive assurances from him”.
“We once ruled over 1,800 villages but that stream of income has long dried up. Now, we are banking on tourism to bring prosperity and generate jobs. Our ancestors had a sense of responsibility towards these villages, many of which are named after them, like Padrathpur, Preetampur and Devendernagar,” he says. Singh says Sahanpur is known for its thatheras (coppersmiths), “who have magic in their hands”. The pashmina shawl embroidery here is “matchless”, he adds.
Bijnor DM Umesh Mishra said the government is “thinking seriously” about the proposal to turn forts into heritage properties. “The UP tourism department has promised to help. We can link them (forts, palaces) to some important ashrams on the proposed Mahabharata circuit as well. We are in touch with some major players who can take these properties on lease and give visitors a five-star experience,” says Mishra, who lists the Haiderpur wetland, dolphin safari, and water sports in Peeli Dam as other tourist attractions that the area can offer.