Kanpur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kanpur कानपुर کانپُر |
|
  Kanpur
कानपुर کانپُر |
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| State - District(s) |
Uttar Pradesh - Kanpur |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
1040 km² - 126 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
4,137,489 (2001 census) - 4,200/km² |
| Mayor | Ravindra Patni |
Kanpur, pronunciation (Hindi: कानपुर, Urdu: کانپُر) known as Cawnpore before 1948, is one of the most populous cities in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanpur is located on the banks of the Ganga and is an important industrial center. It has an area of over 1000 km² and had a population of around 2.7 million in the 1991 census. Kanpur is home to several educational institutions, including CSJM University, one of the Indian Institutes of Technology, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, HBTI, and GSVM Medical College.
Contents |
[edit] History
Nestled on the banks of the eternal Ganga, Kanpur stands as one of North India’s major industrial centres with its own historical, religious and commercial importance. Believed to be founded by king Hindu Singh Chandel of the erstwhile state of Sachendi, Kanpur, it is believed by some, derived its name from Kanhiyapur, the town of Kanhiya (Lord Krishna). In the course of time, Kanhiyapur probably was abbreviated as Kanhapur and subsequently as Kanpur (the anglicized spelling of which was Cawnpore during the British rule). Others believe that the name is derived from Karnapur and is associated with Karna, one of the heroes of Mahabharata. Duryodhana made Karna a king, seeing him as a fitting match to Arjuna, and gifted him this area; hence the name Karnapur, which later became Kanpur. Historically, Jajmau on the eastern outskirts of present day Kanpur is regarded as one of the most archaic townships of Kanpur district.
Kanpur's growth until the thirteenth century is shrouded in the mists of time. It is interesting to note that while no reference to Kanpur is found in history, the history of two of its suburbs, Jajmau and Bithoor, can be traced back to legendary times. Bithoor is located about 20 km upstream of the river from the city and is approximately 10 km from the IIT Kanpur Campus. Jajmau is about 8 km east of Kanpur city and is nearly 20 km upstream of the river from the IIT Campus. According to Hindu mythology, just after creating the universe, Lord Brahma performed the Ashvamedh Yajna (Horse Sacrifice) at Bithoor (also known as Brahmavart) and established a shivalingam there. Moving further to later times, another mythological site at Bithoor is the Valmiki Ashram, where the famous sage Valmiki is supposed to have written the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. According to this epic, queen Seeta, on being exiled by King Ramachandra of Ayodhya, spent her days in seclusion at the ashram bringing up her twin sons Lava and Kush.
At Jajmau there are remains of an ancient fort, now surviving as a huge mound. Some recent excavations on this mound tend to prove that the site is very ancient indeed, perhaps dating back to the Vedic age. Popular legends have it that the fort belonged to Yayati, a king of the ancient chandravanshi race, the eighth in succession to Lord Brahma. The famous Siddhnath temple of Lord Shiva and Siddha Devi temple at Jajmau belong to the Buddhist period. The place for a while was known as Siddhpuri.
Another interesting historical place near Kanpur is Shivrajpur. It is located around 20kms from Kanpur Railway Station. At Shivrajpur, there is an ancient temple built by Raja Sati Prasad in memory of his queen. This temple got built in a day [citation needed] and is situated on the banks of river Ganga. This temple is famous for its beautiful architectural work and its unique carving designs.
In 1207 AD Raja Kanti Deo of Prayag who was attached to the throne of Kannauj established the village Kohna, which later came to be known as Kanpur. Kanpur continued its association with Kannauj during the reins of Harsha Vardhan, Bhoj, Mihir, Jai Chand and early Muslim rulers. Later it came under the Jaunpur rulers and the Sur Dynasty. The first mention of Kanpur was made in 1579 during Sher Shah's regime. Up to the 1st half of the 18th century Kanpur continued to survive as an insignificant village. Its fate, however, took a new turn soon after. In May 1765, Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab Wazir of Awadh, was defeated by the British near Jajmau. From 1773 to 1801, it was part of the Oudh kingdom and then came into the hands of the British. It was probably at this time that strategic importance of the site of Kanpur was realised by the British. European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Kanpur. In order to ensure protection to their lives and property the `Awadh local forces’ were shifted here in 1778. Kanpur passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in the history of Kanpur. Soon Kanpur became one of the most important military station of British India. It was declared a district on 24th March 1803. South of Parmat were the British infantry lines and the parade grounds. Indian infantry occupied the space from the present Chunniganj to the Christ Church College. The Company Bagh was laid in 1847 and the construction of the Ganga canal was commenced in 1854.
[edit] First War of Independence 1857
In the 19th century Kanpur was an important British garrison with barracks for 7,000 soldiers. In 1857, during the First War of Independence (also known as The Indian Mutiny), 900 British were besieged in the fortifications for 22 days by rebels under Nana Sahib. They surrendered on the agreement that they would be given safe passage to the nearby Suttee Chaura Ghat whereupon they would board barges and be allowed to go by river to Allahabad. However as they boarded the boats they were fired upon by cannon. Many were killed and the remaining 200 were brought back to shore where they were locked-up in insufferable conditions in a building called the Bibighar. After some time, when it was apparent that the British under General Havelock were likely to retake Kanpur, the captors decided to execute their hostages. The prisoners, about two-thirds of whom were women, children & babies, were butchered by their captors three days before the British entered the city on July 18. The corpses were thrown into a deep well nearby.
The Bibighar was dismantled by the British (according to some accounts, the British forced captured sepoys to lick the floor and walls clean of the victims' bloodstains) during the reoccupation of Kanpur, and a memorial railing and a cross were raised at the site of the well. The well is now bricked over. Only the remains of a circular ridge survive, which can still be seen at the Nana Rao Park. The Kanpur Memorial Church – `All Souls' Cathedral’ - was raised in honor of the fallen at the north-east corner of Wheeler’s entrenchment in 1862 by the British. The marble gothic screen with the famous `mournful seraph’ was transferred to the churchyard of All Souls' Church after independence in 1947, and in its place a bust of Tantya Tope installed as Nana(Sahib) Rao Park.
[edit] Development of Industries
After 1857 it became an important center of the leather and textile industries. Government Harness and Saddler Factory was started for supplying leather material for army in 1860, followed by Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. The first cotton textile mill, the Elgin Mills were started in 1862 and Moiré Mills in 1882. The British India Corporation (BIC) was headquartered here and led the development of many industries. The first Indian business house of Cawnpore was the firm NihalChand KishoriLal which set up a trading facility in 1857. This firm was a leader in Oil milling and had many oil mills spread across North India. The Juggilal Kamlapat Singhania family launched many industrial units between 1930 and 1970. The group is known as J K Group of Industries till date. The Jaipuria family contributed to the patriotic cause, by building the Swadeshi Cotton Mills in response to charges that the foreign rulers were raiding India of its cotton only to sell back textiles to the residents. Kanpur was known as the "Manchester of India" during the 20th Century. The NihalChand KishoriLal group (also knows as Kejriwal Group) over time diversified into flour milling, tea plantations and steel. They bought over in 1942 Cawnpore Flour Mills which had been established in 1886 by Edward Foy a Scotsman. New Cawnpore Flour Mills is at present one of the larger flour mills of North India and still managed by the same family. The steel industry was first brought to Kanpur by Singh Engineering and grew with JK Steel and the the many ordanance factories which were set up. The Kejriwal's set up a ministeel mill on the outskirts of Kanpur which is now a leading long products manufacturer. As of now, the city also owns many leather tanneries, a 2-wheeler factory owned by LML India, under collaboration with Italy's Piaggio; and over a dozen Defence Ordnance Factories such as Small-Arms Factory, Ordnance Parachute Factory etc. It is also home to the pan masala and gutkha industry.
Many of the British contributed vigorously to charitable causes in the city by building the Ursula Horsemann Hospital, the "Hallet" Hospital, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, by protecting the Allen Forest (now a Zoo) and many other efforts. Most of these are now renamed, though a lot of residents still call them by their old names. The distortion of names is most visible at the railway crossing bridge next to the Railway Station, where the now-closed Murray Company is conveniently called Mari (Dead) Company.
[edit] Cultural history
Kanpur was a tinderbox in the independence and literary movements during the 1900-1950 period. The largest shopping centre is named Navin Market, after the poet Bal Krishna Sharma aka "Navin". Later poets included Gopal Das "Niraj" who also had a successful spell writing songs for "Bollywood" movies. Kanpur is also the birth place of Shyamlal Gupta `Parshad’, composer of the famous ditty Vijayee Vishwa Tiranga Pyara. The propagation and popularization of Hindi also owes much to this city, with great Hindu literatteurs like Acharya Mahavir Parasad Dwivedi, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Pratap Narain Mishra and Acharya Gaya Prasad Shukla `Sanehi’. The Agricultural University is named after the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad and the Medical College after Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi; both men spent much time in Kanpur. While ChandraShekhar 'Azad' was born in a village in nearby district of Unnao and shot himself when surrounded by a huge posse of British soldiers at Alfred Park, Allahabad, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was killed during the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1948 at Kanpur in Phoolbagh.
About 25 km from Kanpur is Bithoor. Legend has it that the wife of Lord Rama came to live at the ashram of the sage Valmiki, after Rama expelled her from Ayodhya. It was here that Sita gave birth to the twins Lav and Kush, and disappeared back into the earth (from where she was born, according to mythology) when confronted by a repentant Rama. Bithoor is also the site of the fort to which Nana Sahib escaped following the British retaking of Kanpur. Today, Bithoor is a tourist spot on the banks of the Ganga.
Shri Radhakrishna Temple (J.K. Temple) Beautifully constructed, J.K. temple is a boon to the devotees. Built by J.K. Trust this architectural delight is a unique blend of ancient architecture with the modern. The even-level roofs of the mandaps have been provided with adequate ventilation for sufficient light and air. Of the five shrines, the central one is consecrated to Shri Radhakrishna and the others have idols of Shri Laxminarayan, Shri. Ardhanarishwar, Shri Narmadeshwar and Shri Hanuman.
[edit] Geography
With the coordinates 26.4670° North and 80.3500° East, Kanpur is 80 km from Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. It is surrounded by two main rivers of India, Ganges in the north-east and Yamuna in the south. The districts surrounding Kanpur are Hamirpur in the south, Unnao in the north-east, Farrukkhabad in the north and Etawah in the west.
[edit] Demography
Kanpur is situated on the banks of river Ganga and has a population of 2.72 million as per the 1991 census with 1,483,000 males and 1,289,000 females. Kanpur has an area of about 1040 km² and is 126 meters above sea level. Languages spoken in and around Kanpur include Hindi, English, Urdu and some Bengali and Punjabi. All major religions are practiced in Kanpur.
[edit] Climate
Temperatures in cold weather drop to freezing with maximum at almost 12 to 14 °C. Kanpur experiences severe fog in December and January, resulting in massive traffic and travel delays. It does not snow in Kanpur. In summer (April-June) maximum temperatures spiral up to 45 °C and are accompanied by dust storm-cum-heat-waves. Lowest −1 °C [1], 1968
[edit] Schools, Colleges and universities
- IIT Kanpur, (IITK)
- Wendy High School, (Naramau Kanpur)
- Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, (HBTI Kanpur)
- University Institute of Engineering and Technology Kanpur, (UIETK)Formaly(IETK)
- Chander Shekhar Azad Agriculture and Technology University, Kanpur
- National Sugar Institute
- DAV College, Kanpur
- Air Force School Chakeri, Kanpur
- Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Sanatan Dharma Vidyalaya, Azad Nagar,Kanpur
- Methodist High School, Cantt, Kanpur
- BNSD Inter College Chunni Ganj, Kanpur
- St.Joseph's Senior Secondary School, Kanpur (http://www.stjosephs-kanpur.com, Alumni Blog)
- Kendriya Vidyalayas (about 3 dozens of them)
- BNSD Shiksha Niketan Inter College, Kanpur
- Govt. Central Textile Institute
- Ashoka Academy, WB,Barra, Kanpur
- R.K.Mission HS School, Kanpur one of the most reputed school managed by Ram Krishna Mission
- St. Aloysius' High School, Cantonment, Kanpur
- Puranchandra Vidyaniketan, Kanpur
- SIST,KANPUR
- MPEC Kanpur
- Christ Church College, Kanpur
- Dayanand Girls College, Kanpur
- PPN College, Kanpur
- Brahmanand College, Kanpur
- Chacha Nehru Smarak Inter College, Govind Nagar, Kanpur
- Dr.Chirangee Lal Rastriya Inter College, Kidwai Nagar,Kanpur(Rastriya Inter College)
- Shivaji Inter College, Keshav Nagar, Kanpur
- V.S.S.D. College, Kanpur
- S N Sen Mahavidyala, Kanpur
- Jamuna Devi Girls College, Kanpur
- Sheiling House School, Kanpur
- St.Mary's Convent High schooll, Cantt, Kanpur
- Seth Anand Ram Jaipuria School, Kanpur
- Woodbine Gardenia School
- Sir Padampat Singhania Education Center
- Jay Narayan Vidya mandir
- Jawahar Lal Neharu State Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Lakhanpur
- DBS College Govind Nagar,Kanpur
- Jugal Devi Saraswati Vidya Mandir,Deendayal Nagar,Kanpur
[edit] Passenger Transport
Local
- Kanpur Mahanagar Bus Seva: The Kanpur City Bus Service is often criticised for rash drivers, overcrowding and lack of punctuality. Even so, due to being cheapest, it remains the most important means of mass transport.The most severe problem of pollution by the ill-maintained buses is being overcome by introducing gas (LNG) fuelled vehicles.
- Tempos: Three wheeler tempos are the second most used means of mass transport. Though a bit uncomfortable, they are still faster in service than Kanpur Mahanagar Bus Seva. Their fare is fixed between two places and you cannot negotiate it. The tempo has capacity for 7 passengers (6 on two back seats and one on front seat beside the driver) and one driver but normally 11 people sit including the driver (8 on two back seats and 3 on front seat).
- Cycle rickshaws are a reliable transport medium, although a bit costlier and only meant for short distances.
Inter - City
Kanpur is well-connected with most other cities of India by Rail and Roads.
It lies as one of the most important railway stations on Delhi-Howrah Trunk Line of Indian Railways. The first Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express of India ran via this station. There are direct trains from this station to almost all important stations in India.
The city lies on important National Highways. NH No.2, the oldest road of India, Grand Trunk Road - between Amritsar (legend says - Kabul before partition) to Kolkata (legend again says - Dhaka before partition) - runs right through this city. NH No 25. connects the city to western Indian cities like Mumbai through Jhansi.
It gets connected off and on by Air also. Indian Airlines attempted to fly between Kanpur and New Delhi around late 80s and had to stop the flights owing to lack of passenger response. Archana Airways did a second try with a smaller plane around mid-90s; but closed down after one of its planes ran through the runway on to the outer fence of airport. Recently (2006), Air Deccan had started daily flights to and from New Delhi and Lucknow but they also failed to continue due to lack of passenger response. There are proposals for a daily Indian Airlines flight also to New Delhi after the new Airbuses arrive in its fleet somewhere in mid-2007.
An apparent reason for air travel not taking off from Kanpur despite so many prestigious installations and businesses being present, is the fact that all previous attempts have been on flights between Delhi and Kanpur. While flying between the two cities is only around one hour; the entire time taken including airport formalities and travel to-from airport in Delhi takes about 4-5 hours without accounting for delays in flight operations. Fastest train on this route, Shatabdi Express takes only 5 hours and costs less than half the airfare on this sector with facilities comparable to a full-service airline. Possibly a flight between Mumbai and Kanpur would make more commercial sense as the time saved by air over train will be about 20 hours and fares would be almost same as upper class train fares. Traffic is also higher on this route with lot less connections available.
[edit] IT Companies in Kanpur
AccuSense Global Technologies {Catering Acumen Globally} A well known training and development company in the field of Information Technology. This has now entered in the field of ITeS-BPO business. This company has strategic alliance with SmarTalk NetCom(P)Ltd
VeragTech is a privately held company founded in 2004 with headquarters in Kanpur, India with a branch office located in New York, USA.
BPO India started operating domestic and International Call Centers from the Software Technology Park in Kanpur. Currently it is the largest ITeS-BPO company in the city.
Creativatorz is India's leading web architecture design and development company with its development centre in Kanpur.
Epsilonium Software India is the Indian subsidiary of US based Epsilonium Systems engaged in developing web sites, web based software, e-commerce, and database driven e-business solutions.
Mindzone Technologies & Software Solutions is one of the fast growing software development and solution provider Company in north India based at Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Kanpur.
[edit] Other attractions
- The Green Park and its Modi Stadium, where many cricket Test matches are played.
- Rave3 - The first Cineplex and shopping mall of the city. Rave3 has Domino Pizza.
- Radha-Krishna Mandir also known as J.K.Mandir is one of the most beautiful and peaceful temples anywhere. A vast expanse of white marble, the temple is active with devotees in the evenings.
- The Allen Forest, one of the largest preserved zoos in Northern India. Despite relative lax maintenance over many decades, it is still one of the better zoos in India.
- Moti Jheel, a lake near medical college
- Lav Kush Barrage - A barrage on the river Ganga, also known as Ganga Barrage.
- Anandeshwar Temple situated on the banks of Ganga at Parmat.
- Jungle waterworld on Kalyanpur Bithoor Road.
- Sai Mandir on Mandhana Bithoor Road.
- Globus shopping center at the Mall has Pizza hut.
- Kanpur Sangrahlaya {Kanpur Mueseum}, Gandhi Hall, Phoolbagh Ground, Mall Road,
- Siddha Nath Mandir, Jajmau
- Bithoor, A historical and touristic place, have many attractions of historical values
- All souls church, Cantt,
[edit] Famous residents
- Padma Shri Gopal Das Neeraj
- Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi
- Padma Vibhushan Captain Lakshmi Swaminadhan Sahgal
- Peter de Noronha – knighted by Pope Paul VI
- Clement Daniel Rockey – Bishop of the Methodist Church, was born there 4 September 1889 (his father, the Rev. Noble Lee Rockey, was a Christian Missionary pioneer in India).
- Muzaffar Ali Film Director and fashion designer, has movies like Umrao Jaan to his credit
- Late Rajendra Kumar Seth, Founder & President of Tandon, Seth & Co., Chartered Accountants. Board of Directors, Punjab National Bank and Reserve Bank of India
- Shashi Seth, Product Lead for Search, Google. Nominated Non-Resident Indian 2005 by Hindustan Times.
- Dr. Desh Bandhu Bajpai, Inventor Electro-tridosha-graphy ETG, Talk:Research and innovations in Ayurveda
- Raju Srivastava , Film Actor
- Ashraf Husain , Managing Director, Zaz Fashions
[edit] References
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