How a Mughal-era riverfront settlement became eastern India’s biggest grocery market

Patna’s commercial prominence gathered momentum when Mughal governor Azim-us-Shah developed the city into the provincial capital of Azimabad. Situated along the Ganga, Marufganj emerged as a thriving trading settlement, its riverfront location allowing merchants to transport grain, oilseeds, sugar and other agricultural produce from the fertile hinterland with remarkable ease. The river became the market’s lifeline, linking it with distant trading centres and helping establish Patna as a major commercial destination.

According to Jayadeo Mishra, former head of Patna University’s ancient Indian history and archaeology department, Marufganj adapted seamlessly when the East India Company assumed administrative control, evolving into an important collection and distribution centre for the colonial agrarian economy, handling cash crops and staple commodities destined for the export markets of Calcutta. Merchants from Gujarat, Rajasthan and the northwest gradually settled in the area, organised local trade networks and contributed to cultural traditions, including the historic Marufganj community Durga Puja.

The market entered another phase of transformation with the arrival of the East India Railway and, much later, the construction of the Mahatma Gandhi Setu. River barges gradually gave way to road and rail transport, yet Marufganj retained its position as Bihar’s principal wholesale distribution hub.

Today, the market has more than 900 wholesale shops spread across over three sq km, according to Sant Golwara, owner of a 150-year-old kirana shop, with traders believing daily transactions exceed Rs 200 crore, even without official turnover estimates.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Sita Ram