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Saharanpur | |
|---|---|
 Shakumbari Devi Temple | |
  Saharanpur Location in Uttar Pradesh, India Show map of Uttar Pradesh Saharanpur Saharanpur (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:29°57′50″N77°32′45″E / 29.96389°N 77.54583°E /29.96389; 77.54583 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| District | Saharanpur |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Corporation |
| • Body | Saharanpur Municipal Corporation |
| • Mayor | Ajay Kumar Singh (BJP)[1] |
| • Lok Sabha MP | Imran Masood (INC) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 705,478 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| • Native | Khariboli |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 247001/02 |
| Telephone code | 0132 |
| Vehicle registration | UP-11 |
| Airport | Sarsawa Airport |
| Sex ratio | 1000/898♂/♀ |
| Website | saharanpur |
Saharanpur is a city and amunicipal corporation inUttar Pradesh,India. It is also theadministrative headquarters ofSaharanpur district.
Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti.[2]
Saharanpur is declared as one among the 100 Smart Cities by theMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs as a part ofSmart Cities Mission of theGovernment of India.
During the reign ofIltutmish (r 1211–1236), the region became a part of theDelhi Sultanate. At that time, most of the area remained covered with forests and marshlands, through which the Paondhoi, Dhamola, and Ganda Nala rivers flowed. The climate was humid and malaria outbreaks were common.Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi (1325–1351), undertook a campaign in the northerndoab to crush the rebellion of theShivalik kings in 1340, when according to local tradition he learned of the presence of asufi saint on the banks of the Paondhoi River. After visiting the sage, he ordered that henceforth this region would be known as 'Shah-Haroonpur', after the Sufi SaintShah Haroon Chishti.[3] The simple but well-preserved tomb of this saint is situated in the oldest quarter of Saharanpur city, between the Mali Gate/Bazar Dinanath and Halwai Hatta. By the end of the 14th century, the power of the Sultanate had declined and it was attacked byTimur the Lame (1336–1405) of Central Asia. Timur had marched through the Saharanpur region in 1399 to sack Delhi and people of the region fought his army unsuccessfully. A weakened Sultanate was later conquered by the Central Asian Mogul kingBabur (1483–1531).
In the 16th century,Babur, aTimurid descendant ofTimur andGenghis Khan fromFergana Valley (modern-dayUzbekistan), invaded across theKhyber Pass and founded theMughal Empire, covering India, along with modern-dayAfghanistan, Pakistan andBangladesh[4] The Mughals were descended from Persianised Central AsianTurks (with significantMongol admixture).
During theMughal period,Akbar (1542–1605), Saharanpur became an administrative unit under the Province of Delhi. Akbar bestowed the feudaljagir of Saharanpur to the ,Raja Sah Ranveer Singh, an Aggarwal Jain who laid the foundations of the present-day city on the site of an army cantonment. The nearest settlements at that time wereShekhpura and Malhipur. Saharanpur was a walled city, with four gates: the Sarai Gate, the Mali Gate, the Buria Gate, and the Lakhi Gate. The city was divided into the neighbourhoods named Nakhasa Bazar, Shah Behlol, Rani Bazar and Lakhi Gate. The ruins of Shah Ran Veer Singh's old fort can still be seen in the Chaudharian locality of Saharanpur, not far from the better known 'Bada-Imam-bada'. He also built a largeJain temple in Muhallah/Toli Chaundhariyan,[5] it is now known as the 'Digamber-Jain Panchayati Mandir'.
Mughal emperorsAkbar and laterShah Jahan (1592–1666) bestowed the administrativepargana of Sarwat on MuslimSayyid families. In 1633, one of them founded a city and named it and the surrounding regionMuzaffarnagar, in honour of his father, Sayyid Muzaffar Ali Khan. The Sayyids ruled the area until the 1739 invasion byNadir Shah. After his departure, anarchy prevailed across the entiredoab with the region ruled in succession by Jats. Taking advantage of this anarchy, theRohillas took control of the entire trans-Gangetic region.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, theAfghan ruler who invaded Northwestern and Northern India in the 1750s, conferred the territory of Saharanpur as Jagir on Rohilla chief Najaf Khan, who assumed the title of NawabNajeeb-ud-Daula and took up residence in Saharanpur in 1754. He made Gaunsgarh his capital and tried to strengthen his position againstMaratha Empire attacks by entering an alliance with the HinduGurjar chieftain Manohar Singh. In 1759, Najeeb-ud-Daula issued a Deed of Agreement handing over 550 villages to Manohar Singh, who became the Raja ofLandaura.
In 1757, the Maratha army captured the Saharanpur region, which resulted in Najeeb-ud-Daula losing control of Saharanpur to the Maratha rulersRaghunath Rao andMalharao Holkar. The conflict between Rohillas and Marathas came to an end on 18 December 1788 with the arrest ofGhulam Qadir, the grandson of Najeeb-ud-Daula, who was defeated by the Maratha generalMahadaji Scindia. The most significant contribution of Nawab Ghulam Qadir to Saharanpur city is the Nawab Ganj area and the Ahmedabadi fortress therein, which still stands. The death of Ghulam Qadir put an end to the Rohilla administration in Saharanpur and it became the northernmost district of the Maratha Empire. Ghani Bahadur Banda was appointed its first Maratha governor. The Maratha Regime saw the construction of the Bhuteshwar Temple and Bagheshwar Temple in Saharanpur city. In 1803, following theSecond Anglo-Maratha War, when theBritish East India Company defeated the Maratha Empire, Saharanpur came under British suzerainty.[6]
Saharanpur was the home to the first armed rebellion against British rule inUttar Pradesh. In 1813 there was mass revolt by theHinduGujjars of Saharanpur against British rule, but it was quickly suppressed. In 1824. Raja Kunja Singh, formerly thetaluqdar of Kunja nearRoorkee, led an armed revolt againstEast India Company rule and established a quasi-independent state; however, after fierce battle the rebellion was quashed. It was found later by British authorities that theGujjars of surrounding districts were about to come to the aid of Kunja Singh, but by then he had been defeated.[7]
When India rebelled in 1857 against the foreign Company's occupation, now referred to as the First War of Indian Independence, the Saharanpur and the present-day Muzaffarnagar Districts were part of that uprising. The centre of freedom fighters' operations was Shamli, a small town in the Muzaffarnagar region which was liberated for some time. After the uprising failed, British retribution was severe. Death and destruction was particularly directed against the Muslims of the region, whom the British considered as the main instigators of the rebellion (even thoughHinduGurjars were the ones who had led the revolt ).[8] When social reconstruction started, the cultural and political history of Muslims began to revolve around Deoband and Aligarh.Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi andRashid Ahmad Gangohi, both proponents of the reformerShah Waliullah's ideology for social and political rejuvenation, established a school in Deoband in 1867. It found popularity and global recognition as theDarul Uloom Deoband. Its founders' mission was twofold: to raise and spread a team of scholars able to awaken the religious and social consciousness of Muslims through peaceful methods and to make efforts, through them, to educate Muslims in their faith and culture; and to bring about a feeling of nationalism and national unity by promoting the concept of Hindu-Muslim unity and a united India. Muslim scholars in the city of Saharanpur were active supporters of this ideology and went on to establish theMazahir Uloom theological seminary six months later.
Saharanpur is located at29°58′N77°33′E / 29.97°N 77.55°E /29.97; 77.55, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) south-southeast ofChandigarh, 170 kilometres (110 mi) north-northeast ofDelhi, 65 kilometres (40 mi) north-northeast ofShamli and about 61 kilometres (38 mi) south-west ofDehradun. It has an average elevation of 291 metres (955 ft). Saharanpur is a part of a geographicaldoab region. Saharanpur district joins four states togetherHimachal Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand andHaryana.
| Climate data for Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20 (68) | 22 (72) | 28 (82) | 35 (95) | 38 (100) | 37 (99) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 26 (79) | 21 (70) | 30 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6 (43) | 8 (46) | 12 (54) | 18 (64) | 23 (73) | 26 (79) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 22 (72) | 16 (61) | 10 (50) | 6 (43) | 16 (62) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 30 (1.2) | 40 (1.6) | 20 (0.8) | 10 (0.4) | 10 (0.4) | 70 (2.8) | 240 (9.4) | 200 (7.9) | 120 (4.7) | 20 (0.8) | 0 (0) | 10 (0.4) | 830 (32.7) |
| Average precipitation days | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 30.3 |
| Source: Weatherbase[9] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 66,254 | — |
| 1911 | 62,850 | −5.1% |
| 1921 | 62,261 | −0.9% |
| 1931 | 78,665 | +26.3% |
| 1941 | 105,622 | +34.3% |
| 1951 | 148,435 | +40.5% |
| 1961 | 185,213 | +24.8% |
| 1971 | 225,396 | +21.7% |
| 1981 | 295,355 | +31.0% |
| 1991 | 374,945 | +26.9% |
| 2001 | 455,754 | +21.6% |
| 2011 | 705,478 | +54.8% |
| Source:[10]: 470–471 | ||
According to the2011 Indian census, Saharanpur had a population of 705,478, 12.5% of whom were under the age of six, living in 129,856 households within the municipal corporation limits.[11]: 26–27 The city is spread over an area of 46.74 km2 (18.05 sq mi) and with a population density of 15,093.67/km2 (39,092.4/sq mi), is theeleventh most populous city in Uttar Pradesh.[12] Saharanpur had a population of 455,754 in 2001 and 374,945 in 1991.[10]
Males constitute of 52.7% of the total population whilefemales constitute of 47.3% of the total population and thus, the city has asex ratio of 891 females for every 1,000 males. The city has an average literacy rate of 76.32%.Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes account for 14.2% and 0.1% of the population respectively.[11] There are 233,196 people, constituting about 33% of the total population, who live in slums in the city.[10]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 50.92% | |||
| Islam | 45.89% | |||
| Sikhism | 1.23% | |||
| Jainism | 1.03% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.45% | |||
Roughly half of the city's population areHindus, who form a slight majority, whileMuslims constitute about 45 per cent of the total population.Sikhs andJains are also present in smaller numbers.[13]
The most widely spoken language in Saharanpur isHindi, which along withUrdu is the official language of Uttar Pradesh.[15] There are significant numbers of Urdu andPunjabi speakers, whileHaryanvi is also spoken, as the district shares a border with Haryana.[14] The standard dialect of Hindi spoken is theKhari Boli dialect.[16]
Saharanpur city is governed by Saharanpur Municipal Corporation, erstwhile municipal council.[17] The city is divided into 4 zones and 70wards,[18] represented by 70councillors who were elected by municipal or local elections in 2023.[19] The mayor of the city is Ajay Kumar of theBharatiya Janata Party.[20][21] The municipal commissioner is Shipu Giri.[22]
The city is also part of theSaharanpur Lok Sabha constituency, which electedImran Masood from theIndian National Congress in 2024 as theMember of Parliament, and part of theSaharanpur Assembly constituency that electedAshu Malik from theSamajwadi Party in 2022 as theMLA.[23][24]
There is only onesewage treatment plant located in Saharanpur,[25] while most of the waste water is discharged into theHindon river, further polluting it.[26]
The Saharanpur Botanical Gardens, known as the Company Garden and once the preserve of British East India Company, is one of the oldest existing gardens in India, dating to before 1750. Then named Farahat-Bakhsh, it was originally a pleasure ground set out by a local chief, Intazam ud-ullah. In 1817, it was acquired by theBritish East India Company[27] and placed under the authority of the DistrictSurgeon.Joseph Dalton Hooker says of this Botanical Garden that "Amongst its greatest triumphs may be considered the introduction of the tea-plant from China, a fact I allude to, as many of my English readers may not be aware that the establishment of the tea-trade in theHimalaya andAssam is almost entirely the work of the superintendents of the gardens ofCalcutta and Seharunpore."[28]
In 1887, when theBotanical Survey of India was set up to reform the country'sbotanical sciences, Saharanpur became the centre for the survey of the northern Indianflora. The Garden is seen historically as being second only to theCalcutta Gardens for its contribution to science and economy in India. Under private auspices today, it is full of greenery and has many different kinds of plants and flowers.[29]
Siddhpeeth Shri Shakumbhari Devi Temple is an important and ancient Hindu temple. It is situated in the Shivalik hills in Behat tehsil, 40 km from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.[30] It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centres in India. Every year lakhs of visitors visit the temple. Shakumbhari devi is a famousShakta pitha (shrine) of maa Durga.[31]
Saharanpur, known as the "Wood Carving City," is a cultural and artistic hub in India noted for its hand-carved wooden artefacts.[32][33][34]
Situated about 40 km south of Saharanpur is an archaeological site yielding evidence of lateHarappan settlement dating back to 2000 BC. It is one of the few significant Harappan sites in Western Uttar Pradesh besidesAlamgirpur (Meerut district) andBargaon (also in Saharanpur district).
Two major National Highways pass through Saharanpur –NH 709B andNH 344. The NH 709B originates in Saharanpur and connects it toDelhi viaShamli andBaghpat,[35] while the NH 344 connects Saharanpur withAmbala,Yamunanagar andRoorkee[36] and further connected to Panchkula in Haryana and Haridwar and Dehradun in Uttarakhand.Uttar Pradesh State Highway 57, commonly known as Delhi-Yamunotri highway, also passes through the city.[37] TheDelhi–Saharanpur–Dehradun Expressway has also been proposed, which will be ready by March 2024.[38][39] Shamli- Ambala six lane expressway which is expected to be completed by 2025 will connect Gangoh Block of the district directly to Ambala.
Saharanpur Junction is the primary railway station serving the city. The station is under the administrative control ofAmbala railway division of theNorthern Railways,[40] and is located at the junction ofMoradabad–Ambala line,Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line and theDelhi–Shamli–Saharanpur line. Saharanpur was connected with rail lines when theScinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway completed the 483-kilometre-long (300 mi)Amritsar–Ambala–Saharanpur–Ghaziabad line in 1870 connectingMultan (now in Pakistan) withDelhi.[41] Another line connecting Saharanpur withMoradabad was completed in 1886.[42][43]
The Shahdara–Saharanpur light railway connectingShahdara in Delhi with Saharanpur was opened to traffic in 1907. The railway was built in2 ft 6 in (762 mm)narrow gauge and total length was 94.24 miles (151.66 km).[44][45][46] However, due to increasing losses, the railway was closed in 1970. It was later converted to1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge and was repopened in the late 1970s.[45][46][47] Saharanpur falls on the route of the proposed 1,839-kilometre (1,143 mi)Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor project.[48]
... Khari Boli is spoken as mother-tongue in the following areas: (1) East of the Ganges, in the districts of Rampur, Bijnor and Moradabad,Bareilly, (2) between the Ganges and the Jamuna, in the districts of Meerut, Muzaffar Nagar, Azamgarh, Varanasi, May, Saharanpur and in the plain district of Dehradun, and (3) West of the Jamuna, in the urban areas of Delhi and Karnal and the eastern part of Ambala district ...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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