Muzaffarnagar district

Muzaffarnagar district मुज़फ़्फ़रनगर ज़िला مُظفٌر نگر ضلع
District of Uttar Pradesh
Location of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
Administrative division	Saharanpur
Headquarters	Muzaffarnagar
Government
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Muzaffarnagar, Kairana
Area
• Total	4,008 km2 (1,547 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	3,543,000
• Density	880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Demographics
• Literacy	61.68 per cent[1]
Website	Official website

Ancient Indian (Bharata) cities.)

Muzaffarnagar District (Hindi: मुज़फ़्फ़रनगर ज़िला, Urdu: مُظفٌر نگر ضلع‎) is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. It is part of Saharanpur division. The town of Muzaffarnagar is the district headquarters.

Communication

Muzaffarnagar District is situated in the Western Region of Uttar Pradesh, 120 km. from Delhi. It lies on National Highway No. 58, Delhi to Dehradun. Muzaffarnagar District is well connected by the rail and road network.

History

Ancient period

Muzaffarnagar district, situated in the fertile Doab region of Yamuna and Ganges rivers, was suitable for human habitation in ancient times. The earliest settlement discovered in this district is in Mandi village and belongs to the Harappan civilization; it appears that this Janapada was a part of Harappa civilisation, for the pots and pans and other objects, which are of the type of that era, are seen occasionally in use here and in neighbouring villages. The area witnessed the arrival of Aryans from the present Punjab and, in the Ramayana-Mahabharata epic period, it was considered a part of the Kuru (East) Mahajanapada territory; Usinara and Panchala Mahajanapadas were its eastern neighbours then. According to a local tradition, the legendary Mahabharata war - between the Kauravas and the Pandavas - was fought in the fields of the present village of 'Pachenda' and their army camps were located respectively at the sites now famous as 'Kaurawali' and 'Pandavli'. Being close to Hasthinapur and Kurukshetra, it should have been important during Mahabharata period. It was probably on a trade route as some Greco-Roman coins have also been excavated. Further archeological excavations are in progress. Most of the empire building invasions, from the east and the west, across the vast swathe of Gangetic plains of India, passed through Muzaffarnagar/Saharanpur regions. However, not much reliable information is known.

Medieval period

Muzaffarnagar's early medieval history is obscure till the Indo-Mughal period. Timur's army had marched to Delhi through this region in 1399; its people fought it unsuccessfully. In Mughal Emperor Akbar's time, most of the Muzaaffarnagar district region, called Sarwat then, belonged to the sarkar (circle) of Saharanpur. Akbar bestowed pargana of Sarwat on Sayyid Mahmud Khan Kundliwal which remained with his descendants up to 17th century. After killing Peer Khan Lodi styled as Khan Jahan lodi, Shahjahan bestowed title of deceased Peer Khan Lodhi and Pargana of Sarwat on Sayyid Muzaffar Ali Khan, whose son Munawar Lashkar Ali established the town and named it Muzaffarnagar in honour of his father, and Sarwat also became Muzaffarnagar.^[2] The history of this district remained closely associated with these Sayyid rulers. It was the birthplace of the Sayyid Brothers, Hasan and Abdullah, famous as king makers in Mughal history. Marathas rose as power who control most of doab region in 18th century.

Colonial period

The last of the invaders were the British, who marched into it from the east and, in 1803, the expanding British East India Company occupied the region of Saharanpur, which included the present Muzaffarnagar district. This district's boundaries and jurisdiction changed frequently and its separate existence may be said to start from 1826. When North India rebelled against British occupation in 1857, Muzaffarnagar region was part of this uprising, now referred to as the First War of Indian Independence. The centre of revolt operations was Shamli, which was liberated for some time. After the uprising failed, British retribution was severe here, with a large scale massacre of freedom fighters in Shamli and of their Rohillas Pathan supporters in Thanabhavan and nearby, crippling the region completely. However, the covert spirit of self-rule survived and in 1899 an office of the Indian National Congress was opened in Muzaffarnagar city, to continue the freedom struggle through peaceful means. Muzaffarnagar's prominent freedom fighters of this period are: Pt. Sunder Lal, Lala Hardayal, Shri Shanti Narayan and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, who became the first prime minister of Pakistan, after the partition of British India in 1947, Haji Ahmad Bakhsh, who became MLA for 1957-1967 was a prominent freedom fighter who lost his son while he was in jail during freedom struggle. he could not attend the burial of his only son because British jailor did not permit him to go without maafinaama. when he refused to give maafinaama he was penalized by 50 kodas on his back.

Legends

Several legends have formed in this district around a number of devotional/religion places, e.g. Shukartaal, Khaddar etc. In the village of Khaddar, there are two famous temples of Maa (Hindu Mother goddess) Shakumbhari Devi and Maa Sheetla Devi. Another part of this village, known as the 'Forest', also has its own legends and is famous as the place of Gods and Sages. It is believed that in this forest, a saint, Sant Baba Gopal Giri, worshipped gods and goddesses and he was rewarded with a formula to get alive after death. Some old people say that, there are such medicines in this forest that can make alive any dead body, as happened in the times of Baba Gopal Giri. It is believed that in his sleep, Baba Gopal Giri had a dream that Maa Shakumbhari Devi desires to stay in this forest. After this, the Baba took donations from nearby villagers and made the temple of Maa Shakumbri Devi. On completion of the temple, Goddess Shakumbhari Devi made it her abode and the Baba fell dead.

Geography

Muzaffarnagar district is roughly rectangular in shape, lying between 29°11′30″N and 29°45′15″N and between 77°3′45″E and 78°7′E. Its total area is 4049 km². The greatest length of district, from east to west, is 97.6 km, and its greatest breadth, from north to south, 57.6 km; the average length and breadth are about 85 km and 50 km respectively. It has an average elevation of 232 metres. The district is covered by two major holy rivers from two sides; in the east there is the Ganges and in the west there is the Yamuna. The neighbouring districts, Shamli district to its west and (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh) to the east, respectively; Saharanpur and Meerut districts are to its north and south.

Till the September 2011, the district was divided into 14^[3] blocks, these were:

In the end of 2011, the district lost Shamli and Kairana tehsils, which became a new district, [Shamli],^[4] with Shamli city as its district head-quarter.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Muzaffarnagar district has a population of 4,138,605,^[5] roughly equal to the nation of Lebanon^[6] or the US state of Oregon.^[7] This gives it a ranking of 49th in India (out of a total of 640).^[5] The district has a population density of 1,033 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,680 /sq mi) .^[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.8%.^[5] Muzaffarnagar has a sex ratio of 886 females for every 1000 males,^[5] and a literacy rate of 70.11%.^[5]

As per the 2001 census figures, Muzaffarnagar district's population, is 9,45,768 - males 3,839,300 and females 1,645,300 - and the number of literates is 173,530 - males 109,630 and females 63,9000. It has a large population of Hindu and muslims and other communities like Sikhs, Christians and Jains are also present.

Minority population is about 40% of the total population of the district^[8] Muzaffarnagar is a category "B1" district i.e. having socio-economic parameters below the national average.^[9]

Economy

Muzaffarnagar is an important industrial district with sugar, steel and paper being the major products. It has 11 sugar mills such as Tikaula Sugar Mills & Distilleries run by Mr. Nirankar Swarup s/o Shri Somansh Prakash which receive produce from district and the surrounding region; more than 70% of its population is engaged in agriculture. The Muzaffarnagar market of Jaggery (heat-dried sugar-cane juice, called 'Gud' in local language) is the largest in the world. There are a number of steel plants viz. Rana Steels, Barnala Steels, U.P Steels, Sidhbali Steels etc. A very famous resort at Delhi Dehradun highway Grand Cheetal. Some state of the art centers for health, like Dr. Tarique Salim's Max Relief near Almaspur Chauraha.

Cultural life

Culturally, it is part of Western Uttar Pradesh, with Indo-Islamic flavour. The older parts of the city have a Mughal feel, many monuments of Mughal period are spread in the villages and towns of this district. Jansath Tehsil, about 22 km from district headquarters, has many Havelies (grand mansions) of the Sayyids: Sheeshmahal, Killi Darwaja etc. are a few of them.

"Jansath House" is an old palatial bangalow situated at Ansari Road, owned by senior advocate Sh Jamil Ahmad, this bangalow was earlier owned by Sayyid Brothers of Jansath. Maulana Iftikharul Hassan saheb of Kandhla on his visit to city stay at this bangalow and give his sermons here.

Bohoron Ka Mandir, situated on Ansari Road, Muzaffarnagar is a very quiet spiritual place to spend time as very few people visit it. The special thing about this temple is its Ekadash Shivalinga (eleven Shivlingas).

Vahelna, 4 km from the city, is a holy site for Jains. Vahelna is an excellent example of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood as the walls of Mosque, Shiv Mandir and Jain Mandir touch each other.

World famous Muslim cleric and author of books on Islamic jurisprudence, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi is from Thana Bhawan of this District. Founder of tablighi Jamaat Movement Maulana Ilyas is from Kandhla in Muzaffarnagar district. Writer of Fazail e AAmal is also from the same Kandhla.

Famous Hindi writer Vishnu Prabhakar is from Mirapur in Muzaffarnagar.

Education

There are two medical colleges and five engineering colleges in this district. There are three or four management colleges and eight degree colleges in the city. The educational resources of Muzaffarnagar are very good. The city is rapidly developing its educational system.

S.D.Degree College, Muzaffarnagar is a well known Commerce College in this region. Affiliated by C.C.S. university ,Meerut, College Awarded Degrees-M.sc, M.com, B.com, B.sc.

D.A.V. (PG) College, Muzaffarnagar is a well known Science college in this region. It has also been selected by the UP Government as one of the best three colleges of Uttar Pradesh. The College awards these degrees: BCA, BBA, B.Sc.- Biotechnology, M.Sc.- Biotechnology, M.Sc.- Microbiology and M.Sc.- Biochemistry.

Gandhi Polytechnic Muzaffarnagar is a well known polytechnic College in this region. Affiliated by Uttar Pradesh Board of Technical Education (BTEUP),Lucknow, College Awarded Engineering Diploma in- Electrical, Mechanical, Civil etc.

The city also has a Medical College Muzaffarnagar Medical College situated on Merrut-Muzaffarnagar Highway nearly 10 km on the outskirts of the city which is affiliated to Chaudhary Charan Singh University and approved by Medical Council of India. Along with M.B.B.S, this college is offering various other courses.

Up to 12th education, there are several good schools like Holy Angel's Convent school, S.D. public School, Bhagwanti saraswati vidya mandir, D.A.V. Inter College, Gyan Deep Public School, D.A.V Public school, S.D. inter college, G.C. public school, M.G. Public school, Lala Jagdish Prasad saraswati vidya mandir inter college etc.

phulat is 5 km far from khatauli tehsil this place is well known by lot wali's and this village also participate in 1857 revolution for freedom of India, evenladies also take part in revolution.

See also

• 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots

References

External links

• Official website

		Saharanpur district	Haridwar district, Uttarakhand
	Shamli district		Bijnor district
	Muzaffarnagar district
	Baghpat district	Meerut district

Coordinates: 29°27′N 77°35′E / 29.450°N 77.583°E / 29.450; 77.583