Jabalpur

Jabalpur जबलपुर Jubbulpore
Metropolis
Nickname(s): Marble City, Sanskaardhaani
Jabalpur Location of Jabalpur in India
Coordinates: 23°10′N 79°56′E / 23.167°N 79.933°E / 23.167; 79.933Coordinates: 23°10′N 79°56′E / 23.167°N 79.933°E / 23.167; 79.933
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District	Jabalpur
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Jabalpur Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Dr. Swati Godbole
• District collector	Shivnarayan Rupla
• Municipal commissioner	Ved Prakash
Area
• Metropolis	367 km2 (142 sq mi)
Elevation	412 m (1,352 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Metropolis	24,60,714
• Rank	28th
• Density	478/km2 (1,240/sq mi)
• Urban	1,738,777
• Rural	14,21,937[2]
• Agglomeration Rank	26th
Demonym	Jabalpurians, Jabalpuriya, Jabalpurites
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	482001 to 4820xx
Telephone code	+91-761
Vehicle registration	MP-20
Sex ratio	929 ♂/♀
Average Literacy Rate	89.13%
Official language	Hindi
Website	www.jabalpur.nic.in www.jmcjabalpur.org

Jabalpur (Hindi: जबलपुर), formerly known as Jubbulpore, is one of the major cities of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration^[3] in Madhya Pradesh and the 26th largest urban agglomeration in India as per the 2011 census statistics.^[3] Its old name was thought to be Jabalipuram but, in actuality, it was Jubbulgarh. It was later changed to Jubbulpore during British Governance and is simplified as Jabalpur.

Jabalpur is the administrative headquarters of the Jabalpur district (the second most populous district of Madhya Pradesh) and the Jabalpur division. Historically, a center of the Kalchuri and Gond dynasties, Jabalpur developed a syncretic culture influenced by the intermittent reigns of the Mughal and Maratha. In the early nineteenth century, it was gradually annexed in British India as Jubbulpore and incorporated as a major cantonment town. After the independence of India, there have been demands for a separate state of Mahakoshal with Jabalpur as its capital.

Jabalpur is known for its picturesque marble rock formations (Bhedaghat) on the banks of the river Narmada. Because it is the army headquarters of five states (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand), one sixth of the city is occupied by the Ministry of Defence. Several important federal and state institutions are located in Jabalpur, including four universities (RDU, JNAU, GMU and NDVU), the premier technology institute and the oldest in central India, the JEC, and the IIIT.

Important institutions and organisations such as the High Court, four Indian Ordnance Factories of the gigantic OFB, the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board, Tropical Forest Research Institute, and the zonal headquarters of the WCR are here.

Jabalpur is associated with people like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Osho, Rani Durgawati, Arjun Rampal, Harishankar Parsai, Beohar Rammanohar Sinha, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Prem Nath, and Rehman.

Etymology

Jabalpur postulated to be Jabalipattan (Hindi: जाबालिपत्तन) or Jabalipuram (Hindi: जाबालिपुरम) conveniently associated with the legendary sage Jaabaali mentioned in the epic Ramayana, possibly as his tapasya-bhoomi (place of penance) though no such link as ever been evident historically. In 2006, the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation passed a resolution to freshly name the city as Jabalipuram.^[4]

Variations of words jabal, jabel, jebal, jebel, jbel, djebel, jibal, etc. have been used for the Arabic word "jah-bahl", 'جبل', meaning "mountain, hill or slope" (as elevations). The words have been used to name many mountains, places, people, or others.

History

Ashokan relics have been found in Rupnath, a place 84 km north of Jabalpur, suggesting of human civilisation here dating back to c. 300 BCE. Much later in history, Karanbel (now called Tripuri/Tewar), on the outskirts of current Jabalpur, was the capital of the famous Kalchuri kingdom in the 9th–10th centuries CE.

The Haihayas

Circa 675 CE, the region was taken by Raja Bamraj Dev (ruled c. 675–800 CE) of the Kalachuri dynasty who made Karanbel (Tripuri/Tewar) near Jabalpur their capital. Their kingdom was spread over present day Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, far-eastern states, Bangladesh, Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The most illustrious of Kalchuri kings was Yuvrajdev I (ruled c. 915–945 CE) who married Nohladevi — a princess of the Chalukya dynasty. Their Amatya was Golok Simha Kayastha, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Chausath-Yogini shrine near Bhedaghat, while the descendants of the Kalchuri kings are lost in history. Those of Amatya Golok Simha Kayastha continued to look after the politics of the region as Diwan Bhoj Simha under Raja Sangramsahi (ruled c. 1491–1543 CE), Diwan Adhar Simha under Rani Durgavati (ruled c. 1550–1564 CE) and Beohar Raghuvir Sinha who remained the Jagirdar of Jabalpur till 1947.

The Gonds

In the 13th century CE, the Gonds seized Jabalpur and made it their capital. Inscriptions record the existence during the 11th and 12th centuries of a local line of princes of the Haihai people who are closely connected with the history of Gondwana.

Gond Raja Madansahi (ruled c. 1138–1157 CE) of Mandla constructed a bastion in the 12th century CE on top of a hill which, after him, was named 'Madan-Mahal'. In the 16th century CE, Maharaja Sangramsahi, who ruled for almost 52 years, extended his power to over 52 districts, including the twin-townships of Garha-Katanga. He started administering the region from here, thus the name Garha-Mandla. He was the longest reigning monarch and his period is believed to be the golden era in the history of Garha-Mandla region. A large number of projects of public interest were undertaken during his reign.

First painting ever made on Maharani Durgavati, shown gearing-up for battle of Narrai. This fresco by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha is in Jabalpur's Shaheed-Smarak.

His daughter-in-law was the famous Rani Durgavati who ruled from Singaurgarh fort in Sangrampur not too far from Garha (later Jubbulpore/Jabalpur). During the reign of his minor grandson VeerNarayan (ruled by Queen-Mother Rani Durgavati c. 1550–1564 CE), Khwaja Abdul Majeed Harawi bearing the title 'Asaf-Khan or Commander' as viceroy of Kara Manikpur, conquered the Garha-Mandla principality.

In this battle of Narrai in 1564 CE, the Gond Queen-Mother Rani Durgavati made supreme sacrifice, with her prime minister Adhar Simha Kayastha and others. Initially, 'Asaf-Khan' or Commander of Mughal Emperor Akbar's forces, held Garha-Mandla as an independent chief but eventually submitted to the Mughal emperor Akbar.

After Raja Sangramsahi, the next most illustrious king was Raja Hridaysahi (ruled c. 1652–1704 CE) who, coincidentally, also ruled for almost 52 years. He ruled the Garha-Mandla region from Chauragarh fort but later moved the capital to Ramnagar in c. 1652 CE and then back to Mandla fort in c. 1698 CE for strategic reasons. Most of the waterbodies (lakes, reservoirs, stepwells, dams, wells) are from his time. The last Gond ruler who ruled efficiently was Nizamsahi (ruled c. 1753–1780 CE) after whom the Gond kingdom collapsed and the Maratha took over.

The Marathas

The Mughal Empire enjoyed little more than a nominal supremacy; and the Gond-administrators of Garha-Mandla maintained a practical independence from Raja Hridaysahi onwards. The scenario remained so until their subjugation by the Maratha governors of Sagar in c. 1781 CE. They called it 'Jabbalgarh'. In c. 1798 CE, the Maratha Peshwa granted the Nerbuddah valley to the Bhonsle kings of Nagpur, who continued to hold the district until the British occupied it around 1818 CE after defeating the Marathas in the Battle of Sitabuldi in 1817 CE.

The Beohars

The Coat of Arms or Crest of the Jagirdars of Jubbulpore/Jabalpur of Beohar dynasty.

There were periods of power-shifts from one sovereign to another. During such transitional turmoils, Jubbulpore's Beohar dynasty (not to be confused with the Beohar surname) reigned and safeguarded their region's interests since the Kalchuri period, that is c. 945 CE onwards. Beohars (Hindi: व्यौहार) were Jagirdars (like Dukes or Earls) who looked after internal affairs and inter-state relations. In peace, they were lords who conserved their state's traditions/customs Vyauhar (Hindi: व्यौहार) and during war resumed their role of gallantry knight-commanders or Sardar, thus, the title-prefix Sardar-Beohar with salutation Rajman-Rajeshri (Hindi: राज्यमान-राजेश्री).

Their earliest recorded progenitor finds mention as Amatya Golok Simha during the Kalchuri dynasty. One of their ancestors, Adhar Simha Kayastha, as Rani Durgavati's representative, met Akbar in his court and, as knight-commander, led the army and laid his life for the nation. Much later, coat-of-arms (flag) and estates were granted following coronation of R.R. Sardar-Beohar Kehari Sinha (c. 1735–1845) by Gond rulers for bravery in battlefields. He detained Clive's messenger Jainualbdeen in the region but let him go after intervention from Raja Nizamsahi and Raja Janoji Bhonsle. A chapter in Sir Sleeman's book Rambles and Recollections is devoted to Beohar Kehri Sinha.

The historic Beohar-Palace, seat of the Beohar dynasty since the 17th–18th century, in the old city of Jubbulpore/Jabalpur.

R.R. Beohar Dariyav Sinha (c. 1760–1850), an ally of Raja Raghoji II Bhonsle, headed the army to win battles of 1792–93 and 1799–1801 defeating pindari Mir Khan. He hosted the orientalist Vedic-scholar Sir Colebrooke at Beohar Palace on embankment of Phootatal reservoir in 1801 CE and took him to his Burhagarh, Gosalpur and Jujhari. His pioneering initiatives against Thuggee were taken further by Sleeman.

R.R. Beohar Gandharv Sinha (c. 1780–1852) rescued Garha-Mandla's Rani Laxmankuwari and Prince Nerbuddabux from Visaji Chandokar and crowned him in 1842 ousting cousin Shankarsahi. The Beohar (Hindi: व्यौहार) title-prefix and their Riyasat were respected by Nagpur's Bhonsle, Saugor's Peshwa, and British who later became hostile due to the family's nationalism. R.R. Beohar Aman Sinha (c. 1830–1890) joined Raja Shankarsahi in 1857 movement. Beohar Raghuvir Sinha (1877–1960) was last Jagirdar in whose memory, Civil Lines (North) is known as Beohar Bagh and the road from the Railway Stadium to Adhartal as Beohar Raghuvir Sinha Road.

The British Raj and 1857

Under the British Raj, Jabbalgarh became Jubbulpore and was made the capital of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories, which was part of the North-Western Provinces governed by the Agra-Principality. At that time it became infamous for the Thuggee murders but made more famous by the man who suppressed thugs, William Henry Sleeman (then Major), who was later appointed Chief Commissioner at Jubbulpore and eventually British Resident at Lucknow. For the noble cause of rehabilitation of thugs' families who were called gurinds, the Beohar family allowed their piece of land known as Gurandi in the heart of the town.

In the cantonment of Jubbulpore, Gadadhar Tiwari opened fire on his European superiors and sparked the Independence movement on 16 June 1857. His sacrifice did not go to waste as the movement caught momentum in the region, though short lived. It broiled for more than four months during which the British were petrified, became extremely vulnerable and dreaded the worst. They ran out of support and supplies and were besieged along with European women and children in their own citadel — the Agency Mansion (now Divisional Commissioner's residence). They survived only because a pro-British local banker-merchant came to their rescue which bought them time for reinforcements to arrive.

The 1857 movement was locally spearheaded by Gond Raja Shankarsahi and Prince Raghunathsahi who were later arrested and detained in a jail which still exists next to the DRM office. The same pro-British local banker-merchant's spy Girdharilal Marwari of Belkhadu and his aide Sumer Singh fabricated and planted written evidence at the citadel of Raja Shankarsahi to prove conspiracy against the British. While the banker-merchant received rich favours, recognitions and rewards from the British, the freedom movement culminated with the martyrdom of Raja Shankarsahi and Prince Raghunathsahi from the mouth of a cannon on 18 September 1857 at the spot where Lady Elgin Hospital now stands. Subsequently, the estates and assets of their supporters and masterminds Thakur Singh Parmar, Beohar Aman Sinha, Ganga Mishra, Sooraj Prasad were confiscated. Sooraj Prasad was later arrested and publicly hanged by Captain Pinckney at Bijeraghugarh (Vijayraghavgarh). The late Raja Shankarsahi's cousin Raja Nerbudabux, along with Brave Beohar Aman Sinha, avenged the martyrdoms by taking life of Captain Ashley Tottenham of 4th Madras Cavalary on 7 November 1857.

End of 19th century CE

The Saugor and Nerbudda Territories became part of the new Central Provinces in 1861 which in 1903 became the Central Provinces and Berar. By the early 20th century CE, Jubbulpore became the headquarters of a brigade in the 5th division of the Southern Army. The Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur got established in the year 1904.

Gandhian Era

Beohar Rajendra Sinha helping his guest Mahatma Gandhi on the staircase of Beohar Palace in Jubbulpore/Jabalpur.

Mahatma Gandhi's longest and most important stay in Jubbulpore was in 1933 at the Beohar Palace of Beohar Rajendra Simha. Mahatma was accompanied by Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Ravishankar Shukla, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, Khurshed Nariman, Abul Kalam Azad, Jamnalal Bajaj, Dr Syed Mahmud, Mahadev Desai, and many others, and a meeting of AICC/CWC was held at the Beohar Palace. Bapu's grandson Kanu (son of Ramdas Gandhi) stayed with him at the palace at Sathia Kua near Hanumantal. Mahatma Gandhi's memorabilia of that occasion are well preserved by descendants of the Beohar dynasty at the Beohar House in Beohar Bagh.

Many freedom fighters voluntarily gave up comforts of their lives and family and plunged into Gandhiji's three-S (swadeshi, swaraj and satyagrah) movements and the freedom struggle at large. In the wake of India's independence and nation building, they happily and gracefully embraced the harshness of long jail sentences. Such bravehearts from Jubbulpore included Beohar Rajendra Sinha, Ravishankar Shukla, Sunderlal Tapasvi, Thakur Laxman Singh Chauhan, Seth Govind Das, Harihar Vyas, Maheshdatt Mishra, Deviprasad Shukla, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Hukumchand Narad, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Balmukund Tripathi, Dwarka Prasad Mishra, Kunjilal Dubey, Narsinghdas Agrawal, Rameshwarprasad Guru, Bhawaniprasad Tiwari, Kashiprasad Pandey, Nathuram Vyas, Chidambaram Pillai, Sawaimal Jain, Satyendra Mishra, Sitaram Jadhav, Mulayamchand Jain and many-many more.

Beohar Rajendra Sinha (right), RS Shukla (centre) and LS Chauhan (left) immersing Mahatma Gandhi's ashes in TilwaraGhat near Jubbulpore/Jabalpur.

The Tripuri Congress session in 1939 was presided over by Subhas Chandra Bose. Jhanda Satyagraha was launched under Lokmanya Tilak's direction. A Congress session was held at Vishnudatt Shukla Nagar at TilwaraGhat (near Jubbulpore) in 1939 when Subhas Chandra Bose was elected the Congress President against the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi.

Post Independence

Because of Bapu's strong linkages with Jabalpur and his very special love for it, his mortal remains were brought to the city after his martyrdom. After going through the entire city on Beohar Rajendra Sinha's shoulders, the urn containing Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed in holy river Narmada by Pt. R.S. Shukla, Beohar Rajendra Sinha, Seth Govind Das and others on 12 February 1948 in TilwaraGhat where a massive unprecedented condolence meeting was held.

In 1950–51, the Central Provinces and Berar became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla became the first chief minister of a Congress-led government. Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal were merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956 when Jubbulpore became Jabalpur but, despite Jabalpur's very strong claims, Bhopal was declared the capital of Madhya Pradesh.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[5] Jabalpur had a population of 1967,564. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Jabalpur has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 70%. In Jabalpur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

As of 2011, India census, Jabalpur had a population of 2,460,714.

Total Population Male Female Rural Urban

      3160714	        1278448	1182266	1421937	1738777

Total Literacy 82.5 89.1 75.3 73.7 88.5

Civic administration

The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) is the municipal corporation in charge of the civic and infrastructural assets of the city. The JMC council comprises 70 elected representatives, called corporators, one from each ward (locality). Elections to the council are held once every five years, with results being decided by popular vote. A corporator from the majority party is selected as a mayor. The headquarters of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation is near Teen Patti Chowk, Wright Town. As of 2011, the Jabalpur municipality covered an area of 53 km².

Jabalpur contributes one member to the Lok Sabha, current member is Rakesh Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party. Additionally, Jabalpur sends 8 members to the State Legislative Assembly of which 4 are from city proper, namely Jabalpur Purba, Jabalpur Uttar, Jabalpur Cantonment, Jabalpur Paschim. Another 4 are from rural parts of Jabalpur district.

Arts and culture

Jabalpur-born internationally acclaimed painter Beohar Rammanohar Sinha beautified the original calligraphic manuscript of Constitution of India in 1948–49. His legible short-signature in Devanagari script as Ram on the Preamble page (lower-right corner, within outermost border-design), and as Rammanohar on other pages of the Constitution bear testimony to this fact.

Jabalpur has been given the name SanskaarDhaani or the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh by acharya Vinayak Narhari Bhave, while Bhopal is RajDhani or political capital and Indore is VanijyaDhani or commercial capital. The reason for being called SanskarDhani is because many culture-connoisseurs have had long-term significant associations with the city, including Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Harishankar Parsai, Beohar Rajendra Simha, Subhadrakumari Chauhan, Prof Kavi Indra Bahadur Khare, Seth Govind Das, Roopkumar Soni, Alakhnandan Sinha, Gyanranjan Shrivastava, Rehman, Fr. M. v. d. Bogaert, Prem Nath, Krishna Raj Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Jaya Bachchan, Aadesh Shrivastava, Raghubir Yadav, and more recently Abhas Joshi (multi dimensional talent in the field of science and arts, writer, poet and social worker Prof Dr Mukul), [ankit santosh sonia well-known still photographer of Bollywood now residing in Mumbai etc., but, most important in this context, the internationally recognised artist-painter from Jabalpur Royal Beohar family, Beohar Rammanohar Sinha who designed and decorated the original preamble to the Constitution of India. Traditional famous sculptor Kundan was a native of the city.

The presence of the river Narmada, rule of Gond and Kalchuri-Maratha dynasties made Jabalpur a Hindu dominated area. Mughal rule brought in a sizeable Muslim population. The city had Hindu-Muslim riots in the 1960s that shook the confidence of Indian Muslims in secular India.^[6] There has been a sharp decline in these riots owing to a gradual, slow path to progress.

The present culture is dominantly related to agricultural population of the city and surrounding areas. The food and clothing change with the harvest of crops in every season, usually observed by Hindus.

Jabalpur has a very cosmopolitan feel. There are people of almost all major religions and castes in India. The city has Marwari, Bengali, Malayali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannadiga, Marathi, and Punjabi people in sizeable ratios and there are people from other regions of India as well.

The city has been a stage for many cultural inventions and many traditional rituals. The city has been peaceful since a long time after the 1960s and now is marching towards development in the spheres of infrastructure and industries.

Each festival is celebrated with great pomp. Navratri and Dusshera are celebrated with full energy. Residents and visitors from all over MP come to see the Durga Pandals of the city.

Some of the nonprofit organisations (NGOs) active in promotion of art and culture are:

• Pahal literary magazine (Prof Gyanranjan & others)
• Vivechana (Himanshu Rai & others)
• Dialogue-With-Nature-International or DiWiNe-I (Beohar Dr Anupam-Sangita Sinha & others)
• Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangha (Pankaj Swamy 'Gulush' & others)
• Patheya (Rajkumar Tiwari 'Sumitra' & others)
• Viprakul Parishad (Rajesh Pathak 'Pravin' & others)
• Ityaadi Group (Supriya-Vinay Amber & Others)
• MP Artists' Forum (Kamta Sagar & others)
• MiPhoSo (Mukul Yadav & others)
• Triveni Parishad (Dr Gayatri Tiwari & others)
• Gunjan Kala Sadan (Omkar Shrivastava & others)
• MitraSangh (Ajeet Verma & others)
• Jabalpur Manch (Pankaj Verma & Others)
• Ordnance Factory Khamaria's Natya Kala Sansthan (V.M. Ignatius & others)
• Milan
• Kalawardhan {Samajik, Shaikshanik and sanskrutik Sanstha} Regd. v{Dr.Bhaskar Khandekar and others^[7]}

Film Location

1. Asoka (film)
2. Married 2 America
3. Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai
4. Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai
5. Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye
6. Bobby
7. Sabere Wali Gaadi Se
8. Osho The Rilegias Flower
9. Shoodra
10. Jai Narmada Maiya
11. Jugatiya

Geography

Jabalpur is located at 23°10′N 79°56′E / 23.167°N 79.933°E / 23.167; 79.933. The central point of India is in Jabalpur district. It has an average elevation of 411 metres (1,348 feet).

		Allahabad
	Bhopal		Raipur
	Jabalpur
		Nagpur

Topography

The topography of Jabalpur provides a picturesque setting for movies. The hills of Jabalpur, with varied mineral content are a popular destination for geologists and archaeologists.

The city is surrounded by low, rocky, and barren hillocks. The main water reservoirs of Khandari and Pariyat are to the northeast. Water is also drawn from Narmada River by Public Health Dept.

The main crops are wheat, rice, pulses, oilseeds, and maize. Bargi Dam on the river Narmada is used for irrigation, water supply and power generation. The town is surrounded by several lakes and water tanks. The area is rich in limestone, refractory clay, bauxite, iron ore, manganese and other deposits. There are few industries connected with above minerals in the area.

Climate

Jabalpur has a humid subtropical climate, typical of North-Central (Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh) India. Summer starts in late March and last up to June. May is the hottest month with average temperatures reaching up to and beyond 45 C. They are followed by monsoon season, which lasts until early October, with a total precipitation of nearly 55 in (1386 mm). Winter starts in late November and last until early March. They peak in January with average daily temperature near 15. Jabalpur gets moderate rainfall of 35 inches (889 mm) during July–September due to the southwest monsoon.

Economy

The Narmada river bringing in fresh water from the Vindhyachal Ranges has developed Jabalpur district into an agrarian economy. The land of the Narmada basin with its fertile alluvial soil gives good yields of sorghum, wheat, rice and millet in the villages around Jabalpur.

Ordnance factories

VFJ along with the other Indian Ordnance Factories is the main employer and key contributor to the city's economy.

Jabalpur has Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, Grey Iron Foundry, Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur and the Ordnance Factory Khamaria manufacturing products from bullets, howitzers, rockets, bombs, mortars, grenades, shells, trucks, mine-protected vehicles, bulletproof vehicles, etc. for the Indian Armed Forces, the Paramilitary Forces of India, the Central Armed Police Forces, State Armed Police Forces and the Special Forces of India. These organisations are the primary employers of the city and have allied establishments such as the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), which is responsible for the inspection of quality of equipment manufactured by the Indian Ordnance Factories, Central Ordnance Depot which stores and supplies the equipment and weapons to the Armed Forces, 506 Army Base Workshop which overhauls and repairs the equipment of the Armed Forces, Defence Security Corps which has the overall responsibility of guarding the Indian Ordnance Factories. Together these organisations alone employ over 100,000 people and have the same number of retired personnel.

Defence establishments

Apart from the Indian Ordnance Factories, Army formations and establishments like the HQ Madhya Bharat Area, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles Regimental Centre, The Grenadiers Regimental Centre, 1 Signal Training Centre, College of Material Management, Central Ordnance Depot, 506 Army Base Workshop, Military Hospital, HQ Chief Engineer Jabalpur Zone, Military Dairy Farm and HQ Recruiting Zone. Besides them, civil organizations under Ministry of Defence are Cantonment Board, Controller of Defence Accounts, Defence Standardisation Cell, Canteen Stores Department.

Agriculture

Important among commercial crops are pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugar cane and medicinal crops. The state is poised for a breakthrough in soybean cultivation. In Kharif crops occupy 60% and Rabi crops 40% area with 71.4% area under food grain production. Nearly 59% of landholders are marginal whereas small farmers share 18% of farmland. Low literacy rates (35.45%), undulating topography, high percentages of waste land (13.2%), underdeveloped irrigation potential (23%), low ground water utilisation, large proportion of rain fed agriculture (75%), practice of Kharif fallows (3.6%), low cropping intensity (131%), low fertiliser consumption (50 kg/ha), high proportion of low value crops, and high numbers of unproductive livestock constrain production in the state.

Jabalpur has a variety of industries largely based in mineral substances of economic value found in the district, although the ready-made garments industry is a substantial portion of production in Jabalpur.

In the early 1900s, Jabalpur region became a major center of the beedi industry when brothers Mohanlal and Hargovindas Patel, originally from Gujarat, discovered that the tendu leaves are ideal for making beedis.

Divisional headquarters

Jabalpur is an important Divisional Headquarters having 8 districts: Jabalpur, Seoni, Mandla, Chhindwara, Narsinghpur, Katni, Dindori, Balaghat. The Jabalpur District has been reconstituted on 25 May 1998. It now has four tehsils Jabalpur, Sihora, Patan and Kundam. Jabalpur also has the headquarters of the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board, Homeguards and many other State and Central Government Offices. There are 7 blocks in the district with 1449 inhabited villages, 60 uninhabited, 1209 revenue villages and 4 forest villages. The presence of several industries in Jabalpur bolstered the industrial scenario of the city.

Industries

The important industries in Jabalpur are:

• Garments
• IT industry
• Education and Consultancy
• Electrical goods
• Limestone products
• Building materials
• Glassware
• Telephone parts
• Furniture
• Foodstuffs
• Steel Structures
• Cement Industries
• Tobacco products
• Industrial Safety Goods
• Mechanical Engineering

Transportation

Airport

The Jabalpur Airport (JLR), also known as Dumna Airport, is about 20 km from the city centre. It is of category 6 and has night landing facility along with modern air terminal and air-taxi parking. The airport has been operating services by Air India, SpiceJet, Ventura Airconnect. Daily flights are operated for New Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, and Indore. A direct flight to Mumbai and New Delhi was launched by SpiceJet on 7 September 2012.

Airport Terminal Building

Jabalpur Airport is the only air connection for many tourists who visit Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Pench National Park, Khajuraho and Bhedaghat.

The airport is spread over an area of 310.22 acres. An additional 350 acres land is being allotted to Airport Authority of India for an expansion project.

Railways

Jabalpur is headquarters of West Central Railways. It has direct trains for important cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur, Surat, Pune, Patna, Ludhiana, Jammu, Vasco-Da-Gama, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi, Jamshedpur, Kanpur, Vadodara, Bhubhaneshwar, Lucknow, Puri, Raipur, etc. Work to convert Gondia-Nainpur-Jabalpur narrow gauge to broad gauge has been started under Project Unigauge. This will provide new options to reach areas of southern India. The railway line from Gondia to Balaghat is already converted to broad gauge.

Jabalpur is the last station of Indian Railways train number 1; the Satpura Express now re-numbered as Train No 10001 in the new five-digit numbering system. Apart from Jabalpur Main Station, Jabalpur city has the Madan Mahal Station which generally caters to passengers from the inner part of the city and the Kachhpura goods shed which is used for transporting large goods and iron ore to port cities.

WDP4B 40042 at Jabalpur

Road

Jabalpur is connected by road to Varanasi, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jaipur, Raipur, Allahabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore. The longest national highway of India, National Highway No. 7 runs through the city. The National Highway No. 12 to Jaipur originates from the city. Consistent efforts are made by the government of Madhya Pradesh and NHAI to keep roads in good condition. Many roads are being converted into four-lane highways.

Comfortable bus services are available for cities in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh. It has direct bus service to Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal, Varanasi, Raipur, Bilaspur, Gondia, Wardha, Durg, Akola, Bhilai, Amravati, Chandrapur, Allahabad. For these cities luxury/sleeper/air-conditioned bus are available at good frequencies. Both MPSRTC and private buses provide most bus service. All sleeper and Volvo bus service are available for major cities.

Bus

Atal Jabalpur City Transport Services Ltd, a PPP scheme, operates buses in the city. The buses – designated as Jabalpur City Buses – today operate on 20 routes, with around 70 stations. The buses are color-coded according to their route. Jabalpur is well connected to cities such as Damoh, Sagar, Nagpur, Katni, Allahabad, Mandla, etc.

Communication services

Jabalpur is covered by a large network of optical fibre cables. There are four fixed telephone line operators and eight mobile phone companies.

Media

There are a number of print and broadcast sources in the region. Many news channels have their branches in the city.^[8]

Newspapers

Many national and local newspapers are published from Jabalpur in Hindi and English:

Radio

The radio channels available in Jabalpur include:

Akashvani Jabalpur on 801 kHz AM via a 200 kW transmitter.

Tourism

Some of the attractions in Jabalpur:

• Hanumantal Bada Jain Mandir, a Jain temple built in the 17th century
• Madan Mahal, a fort built by the Gond king Madansahi in 1116
• Rani Durgawati Museum, built in 1964 to commemorate Rani Durgavati, the museum hosts ancient relics and sculptures as well as a collection of items related to the life of Mahatma Gandhi
• Kachnar City, famous for a 76 feet (23 m) high Lord Shiva statue which houses a cavern with replicas of Shivalingam from 12 important holy shrines of Lord Shiva all over the country.^[9]
• D. B. Vallabh Das Palace, a building in the old city area of Hanuman Tal, which has been the residence of the Malpani banker-merchant family.
• Balance rock near Madan mahal Fort

Popular tourist spots near Jabalpur:

• Dumna Nature Reserve Park
• Bargi Dam Reservoir
• Dhuandhar Falls and Marble Rocks in Bhedaghat, some 05 km from the city.
• Tilwara Ghat, the location of the Tilwadeshwar temple, as well as one of the places where Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed.
• Jilehri Ghat, famous for swimming and as a picnic spot during summer.
• Rani Durgavati Memorial

Places to visit around Jabalpur (< 200 km):

• Jageshwar Nath Shiv Temple at Bandakpur near Damoh (120 km)
• Kundalpur Jain Teerth Kshetra near Damoha (133 km)
• Vishnu-Varaha Temple at Majholi (42 km)
• Pench National Park (180 km)

• 

  Hanumantal Bada Jain Mandir, Jabalpur, from across the Hanumantal lake

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  Madan Mahal fort

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  Shiv Statue at Kachnar City, Jabalpur

Shaheed Smarak

Antique frescoes on the walls of Shaheed-Smarak, this one by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha depicting the 'Quit India Movement'.

A historic and monumental circular building in what was known as Gole-Bazar during British times and also as Wright Town, Shaheed Smarak has fresco-secco by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and his colleagues from Santiniketan on the walls, balcony, parapet and dome. The central theme of the frescoes is India's war of independence, fought between 16th and 19th century CE, starting with Rani Durgavati gearing-up against Moghul Emperor Akbar's attack on Garha-Mandla (Jabalpur). Painted by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha, it is the first unambiguous painting ever made of Rani Durgavati. The provincial congress committee in the 1950s constructed an auditorium in the shape of a miniaturised version of Delhi's Parliament House with a hall in the middle, a corridor running around it, and rooms for art and cultural activities including an Art Gallery. It is now looked after by a Public Trust.

The Beohar House

The Beohar House.

Constructed soon after completion of the building which now houses the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, this private manor has hosted visiting luminaries. History books of the early 1820-1830s refer to the vast estate of this manor as Jamnera and subsequently Beohar-Grove. It was later converted to Civil Lines by the British. When the railway line was laid, it bisected the area into north and south, and this area became Civil Lines (North). This entire area is now popularly referred-to as Beohar-Bagh, or Garden of the Beohars, and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh is there.

Radha Krishna Temple Complex

Historic RadhaKrisna temple complex of the Beohar dynasty.

These Vaishnav and Shaiva temples in Jabalpur were constructed by the Beohar dynasty in 17–18th century CE and were the first temples in India to be opened to the Dalits in 1928–29 by Beohar Raghuvir Simha with his friends Ghanshyam Das Birla and Jamnalal Bajaj. The RadhaKrishna temple houses the idols of Shri Radha-Krisna (given by Maharaja Chhatrasal of Panna to the ancestors of the Beohar dynasty, supposed to be replicas of the idols of Bhagwan JugalKishore ji), alongside Shri Ram-Janki ji and other gods and goddesses.

Sports

The main places for sports activities in Jablapur are Wright Town Stadium and Rani Tal Stadium.

The game of snooker was conceived in Jabalpur. The origins of the game are generally regarded as being in the latter half of the 19th century. Billiards had been a popular activity amongst British army officers stationed in India who took the idea from the Indian game carrom, and variations on the more traditional billiard games were devised.

One variation was to add coloured balls in addition to the reds and black which were used for pyramid pool and life pool. This gave birth to snooker. It is generally accepted that a Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain (no relation to the World War II prime minister) conceived the game in the British Army Officer's Mess in Jubbulpore, India in 1875.^[10]

Culture

"Khoye ki Jalebi", a foodstuff popular only in the Madhya Pradesh region, is said to have been invented by Harprasad Badkul in 1889, who started the shop Badkul Halwai near the Kamaniya gate.^[11] It is said that the early experiments to create a jalebi from khoya failed, until he got the idea of adding tekhur as a stabiliser. The advantage of tekhur is that it can be consumed by people not eating grain as a part of fasting.

Shopping malls & hypermarkets

Major fast food restaurants

Jabalpur Cantonment

The Jabalpur Cantonment is one of the largest and most important cantonments of India.^[12]

Education

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur

Jabalpur emerged as a center of higher education by the end of the 19th century. Institutions established by local citizens, such as the Hitkarini Sabha^[13] founded in 1868, and the British, such as the Robertson College that began as a school in Sagar in 1836 and moved to Jabalpur in 1873,^[14] helped initiate the trends.

Jabalpur Engineering College was the first technical institution of central India which was established by the British. Many distinguished scholars, authors and politicians, such as Ravishankar Shukla, Osho Rajnish, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh have emerged from the Hitakarini institutions. Robertson College (established in 1836) was another old institution in the city. It was later divided into Government Model Science College and Mahakoshal Arts & Commerce College.

The universities in the city include IIITD&M Deemed University, Xavier Institute of Management, Jabalpur (an educational unit of XIDAS), Rani Durgavati University, Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Madhya Pradesh Medical University, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya and Madhya Pradesh University of Veterinary Sciences etc.

The city has several schools and colleges. St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School is the oldest missionary school in Madhya Pradesh.

See also

• Tropical Forest Research Institute Jabalpur
• Jabalpur district

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jabalpur.

• Official website