Palwal is a city and amunicipal council. It is the headquarters ofPalwal district, the 21st district ofHaryanastate in northernIndia. It is a centre of thecotton trade in the area. It is part ofBraj region. It is also a part ofNational Capital Region.^[1]

Palwal
City
Palwal railway station in Palwal, Haryana
Palwal Location in Haryana, India Show map of Haryana Palwal Palwal (India) Show map of India
Coordinates:28°08′35″N77°19′44″E / 28.143°N 77.329°E /28.143; 77.329
Country	India
State	Haryana
District	Palwal
Elevation	199.49 m (654.49 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	131,926
Language
• Official	Hindi, RegionalBraj Bhasha, Haryanvi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	121102
Telephone code	01275
ISO 3166 code	IN-HR
Vehicle registration	HR-30
Sex ratio	879♂/♀
Website	haryana.gov.in

The origin of Palwal is related to the local legend related to theMahabharata, according to which the town is named after anasura called"Palwasura" who was slain byBalarama, the brother ofKrishna. To commemorate this event an annual festival called"Baldev Chhat Ka Mela" is held here, and a"Dauji temple" in honor of Balrama is situated in Banchari village 25 km from Palwal onGrand Trunk Road.^[2]

The local tradition identifies Palwal with the Apelava town mentioned in theMahabharata, which was later restored byVikramaditya.^[3]

Matia Fort orPalwal Fort was built duringSher Shah Suri's reign. Excavations have unearthed evidence of a grand palace at the bottom of the fort. As of 2021, it lies in ruins.^[4]

A historical building by the name 'Gandhi Seva Ashram' and a Museum was made in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhi Museum is close to Palwal Railway Station.Mahatma Gandhi was arrested on 10 April 1919 at Palwal railway station while going toPunjab against theRowlatt Act. Keeping this memory alive lasting on October 2, 1938, NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose had kept it. Gandhi exhibition was established in Gandhi Seva Ashram in the year 1962. In it, history related to Gandhiji was preserved. Pictures for the exhibition were brought from theNational Gandhi Museum ofDelhi. Later, they started getting damaged, they were upgraded and the exhibition site was changed to the museum.^[5]

On 15 August 1979,Gurgaon district was further divided to form a newFaridabad district, and Palwal became a part of it.^[6] On 15 August 2008, Palwal became the administrative headquarters of the newly formedPalwal district, the 21st district of Haryana.

Palwal is located at28°07′N77°20′E / 28.12°N 77.33°E /28.12; 77.33. It has an average elevation of 195 metres (640 ft).

Palwal is 60 kilometres (37 mi) fromDelhi, 29 kilometres (18 mi) fromFaridabad, 314 kilometres (195 mi) fromChandigarh and 143 kilometres (89 mi) fromAgra.The latitude of the town is 28° 40' N and longitude is 76° 59' E. The area of town is 22.10 square kilometres (8.53 sq mi).^[7]

• Administrative divisions of Haryana

• "Palwal" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911.
• History of Haryana^[usurped]