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Narwar | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Narwar Location in Madhya Pradesh, India | |
| Coordinates:25°19′N77°58′E / 25.32°N 77.97°E /25.32; 77.97 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| District | Shivpuri |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 19,400 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 473880 |
Narwar is a town and anagar panchayat inShivpuri district in theIndianstate ofMadhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and theNarwar Fort is just east of theSindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km fromShivpuri. Narwar was known as Narwar District during the times ofGwalior State. It is mentioned as Nalpura (Nala's town) in many medieval Sanskrit inscriptions. The Narwar Fort is surrounded by theKali Sindh River. There are three dams, Harsi Dam, Mohini Sagar andMadikheda dam. Presently the Fort is being renovated by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Narwar is identified with Nalapura town mentioned in theNishad Charita written byShriharsha. Nalapura was the capital of RajaNala ofNishad or kevat, whose love forDamayanti has been mentioned in detail inMahabharata. When RajaNala leftDamayanti asleep in theforests of Narwar she moved through dense forests and reachedChanderi protecting herself from wild animals.[1][2]: 136
The relatively shorter route through forests from Narwar to Chanderi is 200 km. A medieval fortress there was occupied by the Narwarias of theChambal valley, who were also the founder and rulers of Gwalior, until it was captured byRajputs in the 12th century. During the 13th century, theYajvapala dynasty established its capital at Narwar.[3]
On 12 August 1602,Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak,Akbar's courtier who also wroteAkbarnama was assassinated at Narwar while he was returning from theDeccan byVir Singh Bundela (who later became the ruler ofOrchha) between Sarai Vir and Antri (near Narwar) in a plot contrived by Akbar's eldest sonPrince Salim (who later became the EmperorJahangir),[4] because Abu'l Fazl was known to oppose the accession of Prince Salim to the throne. His severed head was sent to Salim atAllahabad. Abu'l Fazl was buried atAntri.[5][6] Abu'l Fazl's son Shaikh Afzal Khan (29 December 1571 – 1613) was later appointed governor of Bihar in 1608 by Jahangir.[7] In 1707, Maharaja Gopal Singh (1707–1730) of the Bhadawarprincely state was made the Imperial Governor of Narwar by the 8thMughal emperorBahadur Shah I.[8][9]
In January 1859, Man Singh Kachwaha ,Raja of Narwar came acrossMaratha GeneralTatya Tope who had escaped alone into the jungles ofParon after beingdefeated by the British. Tatya befriended Man Singh and decided to stay with him. Man Singh was in dispute with theMaharaja of Gwalior. British successfully negotiated with Man Singh Kachwaha to surrender Tatya to them in return for Man safety of Man Singh's life and protection of his family from any reprisals by the Maharaja of Gwalior. After this Tope was alone.[10] The British forces had failed to subdue him for over a year. Tope was betrayed into the hands of the British by his trusted friend, Man Singh, while asleep in his camp in the Paron forest. He was captured on 7 April 1859 by a detachment of native infantry from British GeneralRichard John Meade's troops led to him by Man Singh and escorted toShivpuri where he was tried by a military court.
Narwar is located at25°19′N77°58′E / 25.32°N 77.97°E /25.32; 77.97.It has an average elevation of 452 metres (1482 feet).
As of 2001[update] Indiacensus,[11] Narwar had a population of 15,748. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Narwar has an average literacy rate of 58%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 69%, and female literacy is 45%. In Narwar, 18% of the population is under 6 years of age.