Bapudham Motihari is a railway station serving the town of Motihari, the administrative headquarters of East Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar. The station's name commemorates Mahatma Gandhi, who is popularly known as Bapu, in recognition of Motihari's place in the history of the Indian freedom movement as the site where Gandhi launched the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917.
Key facts
| Name | Bapudham Motihari railway station |
|---|---|
| Station code | BMKI |
| Location | Motihari, East Champaran district, Bihar |
| Country | India |
| Owner | Indian Railways |
| Operator | East Central Railway zone |
| Line | Sitamarhi–Narkatiaganj line |
Location and setting
The station lies in Motihari, a town in the northern Bihar plains close to the Indo-Nepal border region. East Champaran district, of which Motihari is the headquarters, is bounded by Sitamarhi and Sheohar to the east, Muzaffarpur to the south, West Champaran to the west, and Nepal to the north. The station serves as the principal railhead for the district and the surrounding agrarian belt.
Administration
Bapudham Motihari falls under the jurisdiction of the East Central Railway, one of the zones of Indian Railways with its headquarters at Hajipur. Operationally, the station is part of the Samastipur railway division.
Historical significance
Motihari occupies a notable place in modern Indian history. In April 1917, Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Motihari at the request of the local cultivator and activist Raj Kumar Shukla to investigate the grievances of indigo peasants subjected to the tinkathia system. The agitation that followed, the Champaran Satyagraha, was Gandhi's first large-scale application of satyagraha on Indian soil. The renaming of the station with the prefix Bapudham reflects this association, with "Bapu Dham" denoting the abode of Gandhi.
Motihari is also the birthplace of the British author Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, who was born in the town in 1903.
Connectivity
The station provides rail connectivity between northern Bihar and other parts of the country, with services linking Motihari to destinations including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Narkatiaganj, Sitamarhi, Raxaul, and major cities such as Delhi and Kolkata via connecting trains. Road links from the station connect to National Highway routes serving East Champaran, including those leading towards the border town of Raxaul.