Bharatpur, Rajasthan

This article is about the municipality in Rajasthan, India. For its namesake district, see Bharatpur district.
Bharatpur
भरतपुर
city
Bharatpur

Location in Rajasthan, India

Coordinates: 27°13′N 77°29′E / 27.22°N 77.48°ECoordinates: 27°13′N 77°29′E / 27.22°N 77.48°E
Country  India
State Rajasthan
District Bharatpur
Elevation 183 m (600 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 252,109
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 321001
Area code(s) (+91) 5644
Vehicle registration RJ 05
Website www.bharatpur.rajasthan.gov.in
Flag of Bharatpur State

Bharatpur is a city and Municipal Corporation in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once considered to be an impregnable city[1] and was the capital of the Jat kingdom. The city is situated 55 km west of the city of Agra and 35 km from Mathura. It is also the administrative headquarters of Bharatpur District and the headquarters of Bharatpur Division of Rajasthan. The Royal House of Bharatpur traces its history to the eleventh Century AD. Bharatpur is a part of Delhi's National Capital Region (NCR).[2]

Bharatpur is located at 27°13′N 77°29′E / 27.22°N 77.48°E.[3] It has an average elevation of 183 metres (600 feet). Bharatpur is also known as "Lohagarh" and the "Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan".[4] It is famous for Keoladeo National Park.

History

Main article: Bharatpur State
Coat of arms of Bharatpur rulers

The rulers of Bharatpur were from the Sinsinwar clan of Jat people which is an indo-sythian tribe that migrated in India around AD100. According to Cunningham and William Cook, the city of Gohad was founded in 1505 by the Jats of Bamraulia village, who had been forced to leave Bamraulia by a satrap of Firuz Shah Tughluq. It was a notourious tribe which dug up the tomb of Akbar at Sikandra, where he was buried the Jats then cremenated Akbar in Hindu style. Gohad developed into an important Jat state, and was later captured by the Marathas. The Jat people of Gohad signed a treaty with the British and helped them capture Gwalior and Gohad from the Marathas. The British kept Gwalior and handed control of Gohad to Jat people in 1804.[5] Gohad was handed over to the Marathas under a revised treaty dated 22 November 1805 between the Marathas and the British. As compensation for Gohad, the Jat ruler Rana Kirat Singh was given Dhaulpur, Badi and Rajakheda; Kirat Singh moved to Dhaulpur in December 1805.[5]

A front view of the Bharatpur Palace
A view of the Bharatpur fort from outside

In the 10th century, the Yadav people took control of Dholpur, which had earlier been ruled by the Rajputs. Dholpur was taken by Sikandar Lodhi in 1501, who transferred it to a Muslim governor in 1504. In 1527, the Dholpur fort fell to Babur and continued to be ruled by the Mughals until 1707. After the death of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Raja Kalyan Singh Bhadauria obtained possession of Dholpur, and his family retained it until 1761. After that, Dholpur was taken successively by the Jat ruler Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur; by Mirza Najaf Khan in 1775; by the Scindia ruler of Gwalior in 1782; and finally, by the British East India Company in 1803. It was restored by the British to the Scindias under the Treaty of Sarji Anjangaon, but in consequence of new arrangements, was again occupied by the British. In 1806, Dholpur again came under the Jat rulers, when it was handed over to Kirat Singh of Gohad. Dholpur thus became a princely state, a vassal of the British during the Raj.

List of the Jat rulers of Bharatpur.

The Maharajah of Bharatpore. circa 1882.

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian census,[6] Bharatpur had a population of 25,48,462 of which males are 13,55,726 and females are 11,92,736. Bharatpur has an average literacy rate of 82.13%, higher than the national average of 74.04%; with male literacy of 90.41% and female literacy of 72.80%. Jats are some dominant castes. The languages commonly spoken in Bharatpur are Hindi, Braj-Bhasha, and English.

Education

There are both government and privately run colleges in Bharatpur including the Government Engineering College, Bharatpur, offering Bachelor degrees in six engineering branches. Students from different parts of the country come to pursue B.Tech. degrees at the College. Some other colleges are MSJ College, RD Girls College, Chandravati Group of Institution (Faculty of Engineering and Hotel Management), and the Digamber Nursing College.

Economy

Population growth through the years
Year Population
1891
43,000
1911
44,000
1941
35,500
1951
37,300
1961
49,800
1971
69,400
1981
105,200
1991
156,900
2001
205,235
2011
252,838

laber 17 = 2014 data17 = 320559

♦ Source:[7] ♦ Source:[8]

Population Growth of Bharatpur City 
CensusPop. %±
189143,000
—
191144,000
—
194135,500
—
195137,3005.1%
196149,80033.5%
197169,40039.4%
1981105,20051.6%
1991156,90049.1%
2001205,23530.8%
2011252,88323.2%
source:[7]

The economy of Bharatpur district is dependent to a large extent on agriculture and its products. The main crops grown are wheat, mustard, cotton, red-chillies and potatoes . There are more than 60 oil mills in Bharatpur due to mustard grown in large quantity in the surrounding areas. Bharatpur is famous for its sweets, and has a large number of shops also.

In some areas stone quarrying is also practised. The Red Fort of Delhi, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikari were built with local stone.

Keoladeo National Park

Being a UNESCO's World Heritage Site, the duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia. Some 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian Crane, have been recorded in the park. The name "Keoladeo" is derived from the name of an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva in the sanctuary's central zone while the Hindi term "Ghana" implies dense, thick areas of forest cover. It is mainly famous for siberian crane. It was the only habitat of siberian crane in the world, other than siberia. Now with course of time, this endangered species has stopped reaching the park. The main reasons for this are being cited as lack of conservation measures in India, diversion of water for farmers instead of saving the wetlands as per then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's orders,[9] hunting during migration in Pakistan and the Afghanistan as well as the war against Taliban in Afghanistan.[10]

A view inside Keoladeo National Park
Neel Gai,inside Keoladeo National Park
A view of the Keoladeu National park wetland from a boat

Connectivity

Rail

Bharatpur junction BTE Jn. is located on the main Delhi-Mumbai line as well as the Bandikui - Agra Fort line . One can easily reach here by train from Kota, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai .

Places to see

Tourist attractions in Bharatpur

Tourist attractions in surrounding area

Fairs and festivals

Bharatpur sthapana diwas;Held in the Month of February- 17,18 and 19th every year by Lohagarh Vikas Parishad

See also

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bharatpur.

References

  1. ↑ Maharaja Surajmal by K. Natwar Singh ISBN 8171675107
  2. ↑ "NCR expanded to include Bhiwani, Bharatpur". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bharatpur
  4. ↑ "Bharatpur – Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ajay Kumar Agnihotri (1985) : "Gohad ke Jaton ka Itihas" (Hindi), p.63-71
  6. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Historical Census of India".
  8. ↑ "Census of Bhartpur".
  9. ↑ SANDIPAN SHARMA (5 February 2005). "Vasundhara govt refuses water to Keoladeo Park". Indian Express. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  10. ↑ Anuradha Nagraj (22 January 2003). "Siberian Cranes give Bharatpur a miss". Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2011.