Bharatpur, India

Bharatpur, India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Bharatpur (disambiguation).

Bharatpur

—  city  —

Bharatpur

Location of Bharatpur

in Rajasthan and India

Coordinates   27°13′N 77°29′ECoordinates: 27°13′N 77°29′E

Country          India

State   Rajasthan

District(s)       Bharatpur

Population     304,456 (2001)

Time zone      IST (UTC+5:30)

Area

• Elevation

• 183 metres (600 ft)

Website         [http://www.bharatpur.nic.in, www.cityofbharatpur.com, www.bharatpuronline.com

footnotes = www.bharatpur.nic.in, www.cityofbharatpur.com, www.bharatpuronline.com footnotes =]

Bharatpur (Rajasthani: भरतपुर) is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and Dholpur has played an important part in the history of India. Located 55 km west of the city of Agra (the city of the Taj Mahal) and 35 km from Mathura, it is also the administrative headquarters of Bharatpur District and also the headquarters of Bharatpur Division of Rajasthan. The Royal House of Bharatpur traces their history to the 11th Century AD. of this region are of most respected royal status in Rajasthan.

Bharatpur is located at 27.22°N 77.48°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 183 metres (600 feet). Bharatpur is also known as Lohagarh. Bharatpur is famous for Keoladeo National Park.

Contents [hide]

1 Demographics

1.1 Social Groups

2 History

3 Economy

4 Keoladeo National Park

5 Places to see

5.1 Tourist attractions in Bharatpur

5.2 Tourist attractions in surrounding area

5.3 Fairs and festivals

6 Notes

7 References

[edit]Demographics

As of the 2001 Indian census,[2] Bharatpur had a population of 304,560. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bharatpur has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 75% and female literacy of 56%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. The languages commonly spoken in Bharatpur are English, Hindi and Brij-Bhasha .

[edit]Social Groups

Jats, Ahirs and Gujars are some dominant castes in Bharatpur district.[3]

[edit]History

Main article: History of Bharatpur

The history of Bharatpur has immediate correlations with the history of Rajasthan. The town was named Bharatpur after Bharata, brother of Lord Rama, whose other brother Laxman is the family deity of the erstwhile royal family of Bharatpur. The Bharatpur rulers of Sinsinwar gotra have originated from Sini/Shini in the ancestry of Krishna;[4][5] which itself is derived from Lord Krishna's own gotra, Vrishni.[6] Lord Krishna was also born in Vrishni gotra of Chandravansha. Historian U. N. Sharma has mentioned the chronology of Lord Krishna, in which starting from Sindhupal in 64th generation of Lord Krishna to Bharatpur ruler Maharaja Brijendra Singh, who joined the Indian Union after independence, all the rulers are mentioned as Yaduvanshi Jats.[7] They are Chandravanshi kshatriyas.[8][9] So, the rulers of Bharatpur are Yaduvanshi in origin, and hence the descendants of Sri Krishna. In fact, only amongst the Jats are found eighteen basic gotras bearing the names of Aryan elders form in the first twenty generations of Chandravansha,[10] which establishes an undisputed direct ancestory of a significant population of Jats with Yadu. It has also been claimed that a Chandravanshi Yadav, is said to have migrated from Bayana to the Dig jungles and founded a village named Sinsini, named after Sinsina, the tutelary deity.[11] The city and the fort of Bharatpur have been believed to be founded by Maharaja Surajmal in the early seventeenth century. He established a state in the Braj region south of Delhi, with its capital at Deeg. Leaders such as Gokula, Raja Ram, Churaman and Badan Singh brought together all the Jats and moulded them into a force to be reckoned with. Maharaja Suraj Mal was the state's greatest ruler; he made the state a formidable force in the region. During the British Raj, the state covered an area of 5,123 km² and its rulers enjoyed a salute of 17 guns. The state acceded unto the Dominion of India in 1947. It was merged with three nearby princely states to form the "Matsya Union", which in turn was merged with other adjoining territories to create the present-day state of Rajasthan.

[edit]Economy

Economy of Bharatpur district is dependent to a large extent on agriculture and its products. The main crops grown here 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 which are well prepared here and there are a large number of shops here.In some areas stone mining is also done like bansi paharpur as Aravalli is extended in this area.

[edit]Keoladeo National Park

Main article: 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.

[edit]Places to see

[edit]Tourist attractions in Bharatpur

Ganga Mandir Bharatpur

Keoladeo National Park

Lohagarh Fort

Government Museum

Golbagh Palace

Moti Mahal

Kishori Mehal

Laxmi Vilas Palace

Jawahar Burj

Fateh Burj

Ganga mandir

Laxman mandir

Vishwapriya shastri park

Bankebihari temple

Nehru Park

[edit]Tourist attractions in surrounding area

Deeg Palace

Gopal Bhavan

Laxman mandir [deeg]

Bayana Fort

Kailadevi Temple [teh-Bayana]

Temples at Kaman

Fatehpur Sikri

Taj Mahal

[edit]Fairs and festivals

Brij Mahotsav: Brij Mahotsav is held in the month of February–March.

Jaswant Exhibition: Jaswant Exhibition is held in the month of September–October during Dussehra.

Gangaur: Gangaur festival is held in March–April.

Teej: Teej festival is held in July–August.