PM to visit village that sheltered Humayun, inaugurate animal fair

VARANASI: Shahanshahpur, which had given shelter to Mughal emperor Humayun around 450 years back, is all set to give a rousing welcome to PM Narendra Modi on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate a mega animal fair and a newly-constructed gaushala (cowshed) here.

The village is named after Humayun who had taken an overnight shelter in the hut of an elderly woman during the battle with Sher Shah Suri. Locals take pride in sharing the historical incident that has travelled from one generation to the other.

“Sher Shah Suri defeated Mughal emperor Humayun in the battle of Chausa and chased him away. Humayun fled Chausa and dropped in the village after crossing Ganga. Here, he took shelter in a hut owned by an elderly lady,” said Drigraj Singh, a local. “The name of the woman was Mamata. Years after when he restored his rule, emperor Humayun sent a group of soldiers to say thanks to the woman but she had died by then,” claimed MLA Neelratan Patel ‘Neelu.’

When Humayun’s soldiers succeeded in locating the village and apprised the locals that none other than the Mughal emperor had stayed there, they started calling the village Shahanshahpur. Hariprasad Singh, a retired teacher, endorses the story. “This is a historical village. Kripacharya Rai, Ram Krishna Singh, Pradyumn Singh and Habibullah Khan actively fought against British. It is a matter of pride that we live in the village that gave shelter to an emperor and produced many freedom fighters.”

The population of the village mostly comprises of Patels. Of around 8,000 people, 5,000 are Patels while 800 are Dalits. There are around 500 Brahmins, 400 Rajbhars and 50 Muslims. Agriculture is the primary source of income for majority of locals.