Bulandshahr

Bulandshahr
बुलंदशहर
city
Bulandshahr

Location in Uttar Pradesh, India

Coordinates: 28°24′N 77°51′E / 28.4°N 77.85°ECoordinates: 28°24′N 77°51′E / 28.4°N 77.85°E
Country  India
State Uttar Pradesh
District Bulandshahr
Area
  Total 4,441 km2 (1,715 sq mi)
Elevation 195 m (640 ft)
Population (2011)
  Total 222,826
  Density 788/km2 (2,040/sq mi)
Languages
  Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 203 xxx
Telephone code 91 (5732)
Vehicle registration UP-13-xxxx
Sex ratio 892 /
Website bulandshahar.nic.in

Bulandshahr is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr District. According to Government of India, the district Bulandshahr is one of the Minority Concentrated District in India on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators.[1] The distance between Bulandshahr and New Delhi is 77.5 km and it takes 1 hour 26 mins to reach there.[2]

History

This region is close to the capital of the Pandavas - Indraprastha and Hastinapur. After the decline of Hastinapur, Ahar, which is situated in the north-east part of Bulandshahr District, became an important place for the Pandavas. Nowadays this city is full of peace but many unsocial people are trying to cut its peace.

Later the King Parma made a fort in this part of the region. A Tomar king named Ahibaran laid the foundation of a fort called Baran here and established his capital. It was traditionally called Baran city and only recently came to be called Bulandshahr in official usages. Since it was perched on a highland it came to be known as "high city" (Persian: بلند شهر), which translates as Bulandshahr in Persian language. There is a present day place called Upper Court (Hindi: ओपरकोट) which is believed to be the Fort of Raja Ahibarna and old Baran was limited to this area.

King Ahivarn or Ahibaran was a Kshatriya and a Suryavanshi. He was the 21st descendant of Samrat (Emperor) Mandhata, the ruler of Ayodhya. According to Mahalakshmi Vrat Katha, it was in the lineage of Emperor Mandhatas that at one stage son of King Vallabh, Agrasen was born and at another stage son of King Parmaal, Ahivarn was born; both of whom further started their own clans: Agrawal (or Agarwal) and Varnwal (or Barnwal).

According to an old treatise on the caste system, 'Jati Bhaskar', Samrat Mandhata had two sons, Gunadhi and Mohan. King Parmaal was the descendant of King Gunadhi while King Vallabh was the descendant of King Mohan.

The Barn kingdom existed for hundreds of years. It was a great center of trade, commerce and arts. It is said the founding king of Bulandshahr Raja Ahibaran accepted the Vanika Dharma for the benefit of his people and for prospering trade and commerce in the region.

The kingdom of Barn came to an end probably during the 12th century. In 1192 CE when Muhammad Ghauri conquered parts of India, his general Qutubuddin Aibak surrounded Fort Barn and, with the help of traitors, was able to kill King Chandrasen Dor and in the process took control of the Barn kingdom.

The ancient ruins found at places in Bhatora Veerpur, Ghalibpur, etc. are indicative of the antiquity of Bulandshahr. There are several other important places in the District from where statues belonging to the medieval age and objects of ancient temples have been found. Even today, several of these historical and ancient objects such as coins, inscriptions etc. are preserved in the Lucknow State Museum.

Demographics

As per provisional data of 2011 census, Bulandshahr urban agglomeration had a population of 235,310, out of which males were 125,549 and females were 111,761. The literacy rate was 78.37 per cent.[3]

Religions in Bulandshahr
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
58%
Muslims
 
40%
Jains
 
1.7%
Others†
 
0.3%
Distribution of religions
Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).

Famous People from Bulandshahr

References

instagram.com/anjumnaqvi110


Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bulandshahr.