Bigha


The bigha or beegah is a traditional unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in northern & eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. There is no "standard" size of bigha and it varies considerably from place to place.
On an average, Bigha ranges from to. Its sub-unit is Biswa or Katha in many regions, but it has no "standard" size. A bigha may have 5 to 20 Katha/ biswa in different regions, where 1 Katha is usually or 151.25 square yard.

Sub-unit

A bigha may have 5 to 20 Katha or Biswa in different regions, where 1 Katha usually range between and. In Assam and West Bengal Katha is.
Commonly used size of Bigha in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are as follows:
Type of BighaSq feetSq yardSq metre
5 Biswa6,806.25756.25632.32
6.6667 Biswa9,0751,008.33843.09
20 Biswa27,2253,025.002,529.28

Commonly used size of Bigha in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are as follows:
Type of BighaSq feetSq yardSq metre
8 Biswa8,712968.00809.37
16 Biswa17,4241,936.001,618.74
20 Biswa21,7802,420.002,023.43

Uses in India

The Bigha is a traditional unit of land in several parts of North & East India. Sale and purchase of land is still done unofficially in this unit. However, the area is recorded mostly in hectare or Acre and sometimes in square metre or square yard in official land records. Bigha varies in size from one part of India to another. Various states and often regions within the same state have different sizes attributed to the bigha. It is usually less than one acre or but can extend up to 3 acres in some areas.
In India, Bigha is commonly used in the states of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan. However, in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, Bigha is not in practical measurement unit.

Assam (অসম)

In Assam, a bigha is or 1,600 sq yard. One bigha is divided into 5 Katha. Each Katha consists of 20 Lessa. Hence each Katha is in area, although this may vary within different regions of Assam. 4 bighas together are further termed as a Pura.
  • 1 Katha = or 320 sq yard
  • 1 Lessa = or 16 sq yard
  • 1 Acre = 3.025 bigha and 1 Hectare = 7.475 bigha

    Bihar

In Bihar, different regions have different sizes of Bigha. Near the capital, Patna, one bigha is equivalent to 20 Katha. 1 Katha is equals to or 151.25 square yard.
One Katha is further subdivided in 20 dhur. Hence each Dhur is. One Dhur is subdivided in 20 dhurki, each Dhurki being.
  • One decimal is equal to 435.60 sq feet or 1/100 acre.
  • One Acre = or 4,840 sq. yard.
  • 1 Bigha = 20 Katha = 2,529 m2 or 3,025 sq. yard or 27,225 sq. feet
  • 1 Katha = 20 Dhur = 126.46 m2 or 151.25 sq. yard or 1,361.25 sq. feet
  • 1 Acre = 1.6 Bigha = 100 decimal; and 1 Hectare = 3.95 Bigha
Note: Katha also varies from place to place. 1 Katha in Muzaffarpur is ; and in West Champaran is.

Himachal Pradesh

In Himachal Pradesh, five bigha is equal to one Acre. Hence, 1 Bigha = or 968 square yard. One Hectare is equal to 12.35 bigha.

Punjab

In Punjab and Haryana, 2 bigha is equal to one acre, each bigha is 4 kanals, each kanal is 20 marlas, each marla is 9 square karam. Each square Karam is 30.25 square feet, each karam is 5.5 feet.
See measurement of land in Punjab as below:
  • 1 Killa = 1 Acre
  • 1 Killa = 8 Kanal = 2 Bigha = 160 Marla
  • 1 Bigha = 4 Kanal = 0.5 Killa = 80 Marla
  • 1 Bigha = 2,023.4 square metre or 2,420 square yard
  • 1 Kanal = 20 Marla = 0.25 Bigha
  • 1 Marla = 25.2928 square metre or 30.25 square yard

    Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, one Bigha has 20 Katha, where 1 Katha =. Therefore 1 bigha =.

Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, One Pucca Bigha = or 3,025 square yard. A plot of land with each side 165 feet is called as Bigha.
  • One Kaccha Bigha = or 1,936 square yard.

    Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh, one bigha can mean different things to people in different districts of the state. One Bigha in UP ranges from 5 biswa to 20 biswa. Here one Biswa is or 151.25 square yard.
  • In Western UP, 1 bigha is usually equal to 5 biswa i.e. or 756.25 square yard. In some districts it can be 6.6667 biswa i.e. or 1,008.33 square yard.
  • In Eastern UP and Lucknow, 1 bigha is equal to 20 biswa. Hence 1 Bigha in Purvanchal is or 3,025 square yard.

    Uttarakhand

In Uttarakhand, one bigha is different in plain and hilly areas.
  • In Hilly area, 1 Bigha is 6,806.25 square feet or.
  • In Plain area, 1 Bigha is 17,424 square feet or
Nali is also commonly used in Hilly area. 1 Nali is 2,160 square feet or. 1 Bigha can vary from 3.151 to 8.06 Nali.

West Bengal

In West Bengal, the Bigha was standardized under British colonial rule at or 1,600 square yard. This is often interpreted as being 1/3 Acre. Therefore, 1 Acre = 3.025 bigha and 1 Hectare = 7.475 bigha in West Bengal.

Uses in Bangladesh

Bigha is a traditional unit of land in entire Bangladesh, with land purchases still being undertaken in this unit. One bigha is equal to 20 Katha as standardized in pre-partition Bengal during the British rule. In other words, 3 bigha are just 0.5 Katha or 360 sq ft short of 1 acre..

Measurements of area

  • 1 Katha = 720 sq ft
  • 1 Bigha = 14,400 sq ft
  • 1 Acre = 3.025 bigha = 60.5 Katha
  • 1 Hectare = 7.475 bigha = 149.5 Katha

    Use in Nepal

A Bigha is a customary unit of measurement in Nepal, equal to about 6,773 square meters. Officially, most measurement of lands use units of either Bigha or Ropani . Metric system is very seldom used officially in measuring area of land.
Measurement of area in terms of bigha
.
;1 Bigha = 6,772.63 m2

In popular culture

The classic Hindi movie Do Bigha Zamin by Bimal Roy portrayed the struggle of a poor peasant with very little landholding.