Sarmera is situated on 20 km from the southern banks of the Ganges. The landscape is predominately plain and the land strip along the north of Ganges is called Tal, which is the flood plain of river Ganges and submerges during monsoons.
History
The recorded history of Sarmera dates back to Samudragupta's reign when the area was known as Gajpur after that the area is mentioned in the period of the mighty emperor Vikramjit Singh and his 23 sons. Vikramjit had 23 sons and 18 wives. He was 7 feet tall, muscular and his skin tone was fair like a god. His overall personality was godlike. Vikramjit was the only emperor in India who is known by historians but yet still he is not mentioned in Indian history. The capital of his empire was Saurashtra. On 22 August 1535 Vikramjit was born in the family of a rich merchant. But due to different mindset and temperament, Vikramjit's father gave his entire wealth to Vikramjit's brother. Then Vikramjit left his home and begun creating an army and then after fighting 760 small battles he created a large army. But he got famous when he defeated King Ayush Varman of Saurashtra and captured his kingdom. It is said that except Raja Vikramjit Singh of Sarmera no one had ever defeated King Ayush Varman of Saurashtra. And he was the most powerful king of India. And his kingdom Saurashtra was the most prosperous and powerful kingdom at that time. After occupying Saurashtra, Vikramjit studded the Somnath temple and the entire Saurashtra kingdom with precious gems to make it look more prosperous. And when the time to declare the capital arrived, Vikramjit declared Saurashtra as the capital of his empire instead of Sarmera, because of this the sentiments of the people of Sarmera and some others were deeply affected and they became angry with Vikramjit. Then after ruling for 40 years as the strongest king of India he died then his 23 sons begun fighting with each other and the Singh Dynasty started becoming imbalanced then revolts begun taking place against the Singh Dynasty but according to historians the main reason behind the decline of Singh Dynasty is heavy rainfall. According to historians, the descendants of the Singh dynasty still live somewhere in Bihar. Then this area mentioned in Akbar's reign when it was known as Gayaspur Pargana and was assigned as a mansab by him to the Dhaulani Brahmans from Kannauj who ruled Sarmera estate till independence when the estate was annexed and made a part of the Indian Union.
Economy
The main occupation is agriculture and agriculture related commercial activities. However, there are significant numbers of brick kilns along the road passing to this town. Main crops are lentils, chickpeas, mustard, rice and vegetables. Recently Sarmera is developing as a market and a trading place, however Barbigha still remains the major market of this region.
Transport
Sarmera is connected to all the major cities of Bihar by road. However the neighbouring areas lacked any kind of road until recently.
Demographics
India census, Sarmera had a population of 16,441. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sarmera block, which constitutes 9 panchayats, has a population of 78,610. Sarmera has a literacy rate of 53.64%, lower than the national average of 69.5%: male literacy is 69%, and female literacy is 39%.
People and Culture
Most people speak Magadhi here, a dialect called Magahi locally. However, it changes considerably across a couple of Kilometres. Families are very traditional, and often large. However, as people are getting education, they are becoming liberal. Marriages are generally arranged and they involve a large sum of dowry, although illegal. Bride and groom meet only after marriage. Caste system is ingrained in the social fabric of the place in the same way as it exists in other parts of Bihar. Consequently, caste based politics plays an important role in the life of the people here. The continuously diminishing infrastructure and unemployment have forced the people to migrate to other parts of India for better opportunities. The common attire of the people includes dhoti, kurta and gamchha, a large rectangular cotton cloth on their shoulders or tied round heads. Women dress in sarees. The most awaited and widely celebrated festival is Chhath, a festival where people worship the setting and the rising Sun in the month of October/November.
