Katha, a village in fertile upper Doab, on the banks of river Yamuna is located on the main Delhi - Saharanpur Highway around 35 kilometers from Delhi toward north, 15 Kilometers from Loni and 5 kilometers before the city of Baghpat.
The history of this small region on the banks of Yamuna goes back to the Vedic period. Loni fort is associated with Lavanasura of the Ramayana period. As per the Gazetteer, the fort was named after Lavanasura (from Lavana it changed to Loni). Baghpat was founded by the Pandava brothers of Mahabharata as Vyagprastha - Land of Tigers (because of the population of Tigers found centuries ago) Barnava, a few kilometers away is the site of the Lakshagarha - palace made of wax, that was built by Purochana a minister of Duryodhana to kill the Pandavas.
The presence of the widely respected Qazis of Katha is indicated well before the 13th Century AD. The Royal Decrees (Shahi Firmans) of the Rulers of Delhi and the region indicate the award of lands and estates to the Qazis of Katha whose principal and honoured vocation, as the word suggests, was the Dispensation of Justice.
In the medieval period, the importance, the prominence and the strategic location of Katha, one of the oldest living village in the region, is indicated and recorded in "Zafar-nama" by Maulana Sharafu-d din Ali Yazdi;
After sacking and plundering Delhi “Timur remained at Delhi fifteen days, and then marched out to conquer other places in India... Timur encamped beyond Jahan-numai, near Wazirabad.... The distance from Delhi to Wazirabad is six kos. On the 23rd (23rd Rabi'u-l Akhir 801 : January 2nd 1399) he marched from Wazirabad, and, crossing the Jumna, he proceeded six kos to the village of Mudula. On the 24th (24th Rabi'u-l Akhir 801 : January 3rd 1399) he marched six kos, and encamped at Katah (Katha). Here Bahadur Nihar and his son, Kaltash arrived with tribute and presents. They were admitted to an audience when they paid their homage, and were treated with favour. On the 25th he made a day's march to Baghpat, six kos distant."***
The oral history; the age old tradition of passing on the wisdom, the knowledge and information from generation to generation; tells that aware of Tamerlane’s liking for flowers and exotic birds, the Qazi of Katha presented him with a White Peacock (recorded in the original Persian manuscript of Zafarnama); a strategic move, an act of wisdom and diplomacy, among others, to ensure that the populations of Katha and nearby areas remain unharmed by Tamerlane’s army.
During the Mughal period, Katha maintained its prominence, the Qazis of Katha continued to occupy the prominent and key positions of “Qazis - Judges and Justices” in the Mughal Empire and The Court was convened in Katha to dispense justice. The region also became a popular hunting ground for the Moghul Kings and Nobility with Katha as one of the favourite “Shikargahs” during the Mughal era. After the Mughal Empire came to an end, like the pre-Mughal periods, the practice of convening of the Court in Katha continued well until early 20th century.
The first Panchayat of more than five thousand farmers and landlords was organized at Katha during the first war of Independence in 1857. George Puesh Shor, a French, who was an eyewitness to the cataclysmic events of first war of independence has written extensively on this subject and meticulously recorded his observations in his diary titled “Waqt-e-Hairat Afza” (Incredible Events).
During the period of 13th to 18th centuries, a number of noble houses and mansions were built on the elevated mound of Katha by the Qazis. With the passage of time, the politico-economic and social upheavals; including the decline of the lands, estates, loss of incomes and the migration of their occupants to other parts of the country and the world; abandoned, deserted and left behind uncared, the mansions and noble houses very soon turned into ruins or reduced to rubble and the dust by mid 20th century.
*** Pages 129-130,“Zafar-nama” by “Maulana Sharafu-d din Ali Yazdi”( In The History of India as Told by its own Historians. The Posthumous Papers of the Late Sir H. M. Elliot. John Dowson, ed. 1st ed. 1867. 2nd ed., Calcutta: Susil Gupta, 1956, vol. 2, pp. 99-149)
( The Zafar-Nama, “Book of Victory”, is a biography of Timur -i-Lang (Tamerlane) composed in 1424. Its author is Maulana Sharafu-d din Ali Yazdi, who died in 1446. It makes liberal use of Tamerlane’s biography, the “Malfuzat-i Timuri” or “Tuzak-i-Timuri”. Zafarnama was translated into French by M. Petis de la Croix - Histoire de Timur Bec, Paris, 1722 and from French into English by J. Darby in the following year).
