Rohtak district

Rohtak district रोहतक जिला
District of Haryana
Location of Rohtak district in Haryana
Country	India
State	Haryana
Headquarters	Rohtak
Tehsils	1. Rohtak, 2. Mehem
Government
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Rohtak
• Assembly seats	4
Area
• Total	1,668 km2 (644 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	940,128
• Density	560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
• Urban	35.06%
Demographics
• Literacy	74.56%
• Sex ratio	847
Major highways	NH-10
Coordinates	28°32′N 76°20′E / 28.54°N 76.34°E / 28.54; 76.34 - 28°54′N 76°34′E / 28.90°N 76.57°E / 28.90; 76.57
Website	Official website

Rohtak district (Hindi: रोहतक ज़िला) is one of the 21 districts of Haryana state in northern India. It is located in the southeast of Haryana and northwest of Delhi, bounded by Jind and Sonipat districts to the north, Jhajjar and Sonipat districts to the east, and Hissar, Sirsa, and Bhiwani districts to the west. Rohtak city is the district headquarters.

Rohtak is home to the current chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Quilla Road is an upmarket place near the old walled city, where people come from all parts of the city and surrounding towns.

History

The advent of a new cultural tradition around 1500 BC most probably from the North-West of the subcontinent and beyond displaced the preceding Chalcolihthic/Indus survivors from the Gandhara region of Pakistan to Bihar. It manifested into at least three related regional cultures, the Gandhara Grave culture (c. 1500-500 BC), the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture (c.1100- 500 BC) and the Black Slipped Ware (BSW) culture (c.800-600 BC).

The peasant-pastoral PGW culture was distinguished by the use of iron, horse and cattle and a thin grey coloured and painted pottery. It spread from Sutlej to the Ganges and particularly along the Saraswati valley in northern plains. Its discovery from Hastinapur, Panipat, Pehowa, Kurukshetra, Mathura. Indraprastha or Delhi excited the imagination of the traditional archaeologists to associate the culture with the Mahabharat heroes. However, the geographical distribution, chronology and the cultural milieu of the PGW culture can be well compared with the culture of the Vedic (later phase) literature or Aryans. The discovery of the PGW culture from the lowest levels of Khokhrakot at Rohtak attests the intrusion of the Vedic people at Rohtak in the later Vedic period. The semi-agricultural and pastoral Aryans of the Rig Veda had by now taken to settled Janapadas and developed agrarian economy assisted by relevant iron technology and social organisation comprising the Varna System. It is about this period that the Gana Rajyas (tribal republics) or chiefdoms came into existence.

The Rohtak tract saw the growth of Second Urbanisation in the early historic times in the 4th century BC as evidenced by the excavations at Khokhra Kot mound near the town. The discovery of Ashokan pillars at Topra in North Haryana and at Hissar and Fatehabad attests the expansion of the Mauryan Empire in our region. The period was marked by the popularity of Prakrit language, the spread of Buddhism, the beginning of brick architecture, coinage and the Brahmi alphabets (a new script). After the collapse of the Mauryan empire the region saw the resurgence of the Tribal republic of the Yaudheyas to be subdued again by the invading Indo- Greeks, Sakas and Kushanas before the beginning of the Christian era. The Kushana rule integrated North India with Central Asia. The period saw the growth of urbanisation to higher peaks by boosting trade with Central and Western Asia and Europe. The assimilation of a variety of foreign elements enriched the Culture of India. The early historical period was also distinguished by the prevalence of slavery, caste system, decline in the status of women and untouchables under the sanction of the state and the Dharma Shastras.

The disintegration of the Kushana empire in the 3rd century AD again led to the rise of the Yaudheyas (tribal republic) at Rohtak as attested by the discovery of their seals and coin mounds. They were, however, subjugated by another Magadhan empire of the Guptas in the 4th century AD. Soon after, the urban centres decayed gradually giving way to the rise of feudal society and culture, agrarian economy, decentralisation of power and a new hierarchical social order. The town of Rohtak also decayed. The invasion by the Hunas, indicated anarchic conditions of the times.

The early centuries of the Christian era was a great era of cultural fusion when the foreign invaders like the Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas and the Hunas were assimilated. Stupas, pillars and sculptures, decorated bricks of temples and seals bear testimony to the beautiful art tradition of the region—wrestling and lute playing with drums were the popular pastime of the people.

The latter half of the 6th century AD saw the rise of the Puspabhutis or Vardhanas as the rulers of Shrikanth kingdom of Thanesar. Prabhakar Vardhan was a powerful king and ousted the Huna power from the region. Rohtak formed part of the Thanesar kingdom and later of the Kanauj empire of Harsha Vardhana, the Pushpabhuti prince of Thanesar. Anarchic conditions again set in the region with the death of Harsha. Peace was established by Pratiharas of Ujjain. They conquered North India in the 9th century and ruled from Kanauj.

Divisions

The district consists of two tehsils - Rohtak and Meham. Rohtak tehsil is further divided into three community development blocks - Rohtak, Kalanaur and Sampla. Meham tehsil is further divided into two community development blocks - Meham and Lakhan-Majra. it is the jat dominant district in haryana.

Economy

The economy of the district is primarily agriculture. About 42.19% of the total workers are engaged in agriculture and allied activities, 7.68% in cottage and household industries and the rest are engaged in other activities.^{[citation needed]}

Japanese Township

The Japanese township is planned to be set up near Madina village, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Rohtak city, along NH10 towards Meham. It will include several big industries and commercial offices.^[1]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Rohtak district has a population of 1,058,683,^[2] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus^[3] or the US state of Rhode Island.^[4] This gives it a ranking of 429th in India (out of a total of 640).^[2] The district has a population density of 607 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,570 /sq mi) .^[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.61%.^[2] Rohtak has a sex ratio of 868 females for every 1000 males,^[2] and a literacy rate of 80.4%.^[2]

Out of total geographical area of the district, 83% is under cultivation. The main crops are wheat, gram, sugarcane and bajra. There is no perennial river in the district.

Art and cultural heritage

The art and architectural heritage of the town is in utter neglect. Till a decade ago the old city alleys and Railway Road had about 50 havelis (mansions) built in traditional architectural styles. Many stone facades with beautiful carvings and motifs were stripped from the walls and sold to heritage traders for paltry sums. Muslim masons did all the decorative work in stone and fabricated woodcrafted door sets in these havelis. The rise of commerce and paucity of space forced the owners to demolish the fine old structures for building shopping complexes. There is no policy with the State Government or City Fathers to protect the heritage of the city. In spite of a local chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) functioning in the district, not much except listing of valuable properties could be done because most heritage properties are in private ownership and INTACH's local chapter does not have funds or the infrastructure to carry out listing and conservation work. However, Mr. Ranbir Singh, a cultural historian and formerly Co-convenor of State Chapter of INTACH, functioning from Rohtak, has documented extensively in the last 25 years the art and architectural heritage not only of the Rohtak District but also the entire Haryana on his own. He has a large collection of brilliant photographs of the heritage properties besides documenting history of the heritage value buildings, historical villages and towns of the district. Early in 2009 Mr. Ranbir Singh completed detailed profiles of about 40 heritage value properties both in private as well as public domain with photographs and handed over the documents to the Convener of the Haryana Chapter of INTACH. This documentation, appreciated both by architects as well as art historians, has also been placed for reference in the archives in the central library of INTACH Headquarters located at Lodi Estate, New Delhi. Architectural descriptions of several properties including many topics that belong the life and culture of the people of Haryana have been published in an illustrated book viz. Traditions of North India -Art, Crafts and Architecture of Haryana authored by Bhup Singh Gulia and edited and contributed by Mr. Ranbir Singh. A couple of illustrated articles on the old skills of woodcrafts persons of Haryana are under consideration of publication in 'Marg', a magazine on art and culture. This magazine also published his illustrated article on the antiquity of Farrukhnagar (dist. Gurgaon) in issue No.63(2).

The famous 12th century Asthal Bohar Monastery has also been modernized by its present Mahant Chand Nath. The oldest shrine at this place was built above the Smadh of Sidh Baba Chaurangi Nath (Bhagat Pooran Mall son of Raja Shalivan of Sialkot, now in Pakistan) under which also lay the grave of Sidh Baba Masth Nath who lived in the mid-eighteenth century AD. The shrine of Sidh Baba Tota Nath, in this campus, had beautiful frecoes painted in the early nineteenth century and done in Rajput style. Some of these, near the dome had the colors chipped off and are fading fast. The present Mahant was indifferent to the preservation of these fine frescoes, very important for art historians. In the month of January 2012, Chand Nath, the present Mahant of the Mutt, had got all the old memorial chhatris that belonged to Siddh Baba Mast Nath, Tota Nath, Megh Nath, Mohar Nath and Chet Nath demolished in one go to create way for a fabulously planned temple structure to be raised on the same lines as that of Akshardham at Delhi. Along with these, the old vestiges of frescoes in the chhatris too are gone. It is heartning to note the monuments and frescoes were preserved as images by Ranbir Singh, the renowned cultural historian of Haryana. Similarly, in the year 2007, the beautifully carved stone facade of the Digambar Jain Mandir in Barra Bazar was stripped off and sold just for Rs.1 lakh (about US $2500) in the year 2006. It was a precious piece of art. Several havelis situated in the old city and Railway road are giving way to modern buildings thus depriving the city of its traditional and beautiful character. Many large villages around Rohtak city could boast of many fine buildings that had decorative elements and traditional architecture. Now, these are in bad condition and crumbling.

Education

Rohtak has Indian Institute of Management Rohtak. Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak city was established in 1976. There are almost 22 colleges within the city, offering different courses.There are four Engineering colleges and two polytechnics for technical education. Recently several education institution offering various technical and engineering courses including B.Ed. have come up in the district.

Schools

There are many schools like Pathania Public School, S.R.S public School, Vidya Bhawan Senior Secondary School, Kidzee School, Vikalp Public School, I.B School, Shiksha Bharti Senior Secondary School, D.G.V. School, Model School, Rohtak, G.D Rayal School, The Sanskriti School 'www.tssrohtak.com'.D.A.V Public school. There are one of Health Education University of Haryana & PGMIS. Sri Baba Mastnath University.G.B.D.COLLEGE,S.D.GIRL SR,SCE.SCHOOL,

Transport

Rohtak is well connected by Rail and Road network to neighboring cities and states and its located on the N.H. -10, which is just 70 km away from National Capital, Delhi. NH 71 A is also its lifeline and forms one of the main commercial roads of India on which thousands of heavy vehicles and cars ply daily. Rohtak is also connected by railway to Rewari vai Jhajjar.

See also

• Rithal

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rohtak district.

• Official website
• http://rohtakcity.com
•  "Rohtak". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911 

	Hisar district	Jind district	Sonipat district
	Rohtak district
	Bhiwani district		Jhajjar district