Khagaria

Khagaria lies in the riverine country north of the Ganges, much of which was historically associated with Pharkiya Pargana. Its local landed history was recorded in information collected by the Bhagalpur revenue officer Adair in 1787. That account traced the estate to Biswanath Rai, a Rajput said to have been sent by the Delhi ruler toward the end of the fifteenth century to restore order in the area.

According to this family history, Rai received a zamindari grant after completing his task, and his descendants retained the estate for ten generations. The record describes a more troubled succession after the first quarter of the eighteenth century. This was a history of landed authority within a changing river country, rather than the foundation of a modern district. The later administrative centre at Khagaria inherited a landscape already shaped by estate claims, revenue collection and the political relationships of the surrounding Bihar region.