Aligarh

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  ?Aligarh
Uttar Pradesh • India
Coordinates: 27°53′N 78°05′E / 27.88, 78.08
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
• Elevation
• 178 m (584 ft)
District(s) Aligarh
Population 667,732 (2001)
Codes
• Pincode
• Telephone
• Vehicle
• 202002
• +0571
• UP-81

Coordinates: 27°53′N 78°05′E / 27.88, 78.08

Aligarh pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: अलीगढ़, Urdu: علی گڑھ) is a city in Aligarh District in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city is located about 90 miles south-east of New Delhi. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh District, and has a population of half a million. It is mostly known as a university town where the famous Aligarh Muslim University is located.

Contents

[edit] History

It is known till the 18th century by the earlier name of Kol. After the British occupation of Aligarh in September 1803, the present Aligarh district was formed in 1804 [1].

Both Akbar and Jahangir visited Kol on hunting expeditions. Jahangir clearly mentions the forest of Kol, where he killed wolves. From the study of the place-names of the district, it appears that the district was once fairly well covered by forest, thickets and grooves. The early history of the district, indeed down the 12th century AD is obscure[1].

Kol or Koil, was the earliest name of the city and Aligarh was the name of the fort nearby[2]. Kol covered not only the city but the entire district, though its geographical limits kept changing from time to time. The origin of the name of Kol is obscure. In some ancient texts, Kol has been referred to in the sense of a tribe or Caste, name of a place or mountain and name of a sage or demon. During the time of Ibrahim Lodhi, when Muhammad, son of Umar was the governor of Kol, he built a fort at Kol and named the city after his own name as Muhammadgarh in 1524-25; and Sabit khan who was the governor of this region during the time of Farrukh Siyar and Muhammad Shah, rebuilt the fort and named the town after his own name Sabitgarh. After the occupation of Kol by the Jats in 1775, it was re-named Ramgarh and finally, when a Shia commander, Najaf khan, captures Kol, he gave it its present name of Aligarh. Aligarh Fort (also called Aligarh Qila), as it stands today, was built by French engineers under the control of French officers Benoît de Boigne and Perron [1].

[edit] Battle of Ally Ghur (1803)

Main article: Battle of Ally Ghur

The Battle of Ally Ghur was fought on September 1, 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805) at Aligarh Fort. The British 76th Regiment, now known as the Duke of Wellington's Regiment laid siege of the fort which was under first-rate French officer Perron and established British rule after overtaking the fort.

[edit] Establishment of Aligarh Muslim University (1875)

Main article: Aligarh Muslim University

In 1875, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England. This later became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.

[edit] Geography

Aligarh is located at 27.88° N 78.08° E[3]. It has an average elevation of 178 metres (587 feet). The city is situated in the middle portion of Doab, or the land between the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers. The Grand Trunk Road passes through the city.

[edit] Climate

Aligarh has a hot and dry climate. The mean temperature for December and January, the coldest months is 59°F (15°C) and 54°F (12.2°C), and for May and June, the extreme hot months, 90°F (32.2°C) and 93°F (33.8°C) in the shade [1].

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[4] of 2001 [5] , Aligarh had a population of 667,732. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Aligarh has an average literacy rate of 55%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Economics

The city is an agricultural trade centre [6]. The processing of agricultural products and manufacturing are also important [2]. It is particularly famous for locks and brass castings (sculptures). In 1870, Johnson & Co. was the first English locks firm to be set up in Aligarh. In 1890, the Johnson & Co. initiated the manual production of locks on a small scale here [7]. There is a thermal power station 15 km away from the city. It is called Harduaganj Thermal Power Station (but referred as Kasimpur Power House). Flour milling, the processing of raw cotton, and the manufacture of butter and glass are the principal industries in the city [6].

[edit] Education

Aligarh is synonymous with the University that is spread across much of the city civil lines area. Aligarh Muslim University is a residential academic institution of international repute offering more than 250 courses in traditional and modern branches of education. It is a premier central university with several faculties and maintained institutions and draws students from all corners of the world, specially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia.

Other famous schools of this city are:

  1. Our Lady of Fatima Secondary School
  2. Delhi Public School [8]
  3. St. Fidelis
  4. Gagan Public Senior Secondary School, Aligarh
  5. Blue Bird Senior Secondary School
  6. Aligarh Public School
  7. Heritage International School (Tala Nagari & Premier Nagar)
  8. Three Dots
  9. D.S. Degree college
  10. S.V. Degree college
  11. T.R. Girls college
  12. Indian Institute of Medical Representative
  13. Institute Of Information Management Technology (IIMT)
  14. Shivadan Singh Institute of technology and management (SSITM)
  15. Aligarh College of Engineering and Management (ACEM)
  16. S.T.High School (Minto Circle)
  17. Albarkat Institute of Management (Anoop Shehar Road)
  18. zakir Hussain sr Sec School

[edit] Important Places

Image:Aligarh church.jpg
A church in Naqvi Park, a lesser known part of Aligarh.

There are 2 popular landmarks in Aligarh. One is Aligarh fort and another is Sir Syed Masjid in Aligarh Muslim University's campus. Another old fort, the Dor fortress (1524), now in ruins, lies at the city's centre; its site located in the area now called Upper Kot, is occupied by an 18th-century mosque. The city also contains tombs of Muslim saints [9].

The city also has a few known markets - Railway Road market, Centre Point Market, Amir Nisha and Shamshad market. Amir Nisha market is a major shopping hub, a favorite for women as it has a variety of clothes, jewelery and cosmetics. Another popular market for students is Shamshad market with many educational book shops. Center point market is known for its popular eating joints like Kwality, Mezbaan, Baskin Robbins and Wheelers and an ancient Lord Hanumaan temple named Tikaram Mandir. A huge rush can be seen in the temple on Tuesday and Saturday. And a Sai BaBa's Karuna Dham on Grand Trunk Road Sai Bhakts can be seen here throughout the week but specially on Thursday.

Aligarh has many movie theatres such as Grand Surjit,Vadra,Nandan,Lakshmi,Nishat and Tasveer Mahal. Grand Surjit is the latest Cineplex among them with the best facilities to offer.

Aligarh is also famous for its sweets and namkeens. Kunjilal [10], Khyaliram and Vikas [11] sweets are among the well known sweets shops, while Babboo and Dabboo lead the namkeen segment. The Annual Cultural Exhibition, popularly known as numaish, held at Exhibition ground is a very famous event and a huge affair in the month of January and February.

[edit] Important Residential Places

This city is divided into two areas known as Old Aligarh (City) & New Aligarh (Civil Lines).

[edit] New Aligarh

It consists of Azim Compound, Avantika colony, Ramghat road, Jamalpur, Sir Syed Nagar, Badar bagh, Zohrabagh, Surendra Nagar, Janakpuri, Professor colony, Gyan sarover, Maan sarover, Shyam Nagar, Medical Colony and Zakaria Market.

[edit] Old Aligarh

Nai Basti, Avas Vikas Colony, Manik Chowk, Delhi Gate, Sasni Gate, Mahavir Ganj, Railway Road, Jaiganj, Upper Kot, Gambhir pura, Mahendra Nagar, Bank Colony (Premier Nagar), Saray Sultani, Janak Puri and Vikram Colony are some of the residential areas in old Aligarh.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d History of Aligarh
  2. ^ a b Britannica
  3. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Aligarh
  4. ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  5. ^ Census of India 2001
  6. ^ a b India9.com
  7. ^ Times of India
  8. ^ DPS Aligarh
  9. ^ Britannica India, by Dale Hoiberg, Indu Ramchandani
  10. ^ Kunjilal Dalsavewale
  11. ^ Vikas Sweets

[edit] External links




Image:UP logo.gif State of Uttar Pradesh
Divisions Agra • Allahabad • Azamgarh • Bareilly • Basti • Chitrakoot • Devipatan • Faizabad • Gorakhpur • Jhansi • Kanpur • Lucknow • Mirzapur • Moradabad • Saharanpur • Varanasi •
Districts Agra • Aligarh • Allahabad • Ambedkar Nagar • Auraiya • Azamgarh • Badaun • Bagpat • Bahraich • Ballia • Balrampur • Banda • Barabanki • Bareilly • Basti • Bijnor • Bulandshahr • Chandauli • Chitrakoot • Devaria • Etah • Etawah • Faizabad • Farrukhabad • Fatehpur • Firozabad • Gautam Buddha Nagar • Ghaziabad • Ghazipur • Gonda • Gorakhpur • Hamirpur • Hardoi • Jalaun • Jaunpur • Jhansi • Jyotiba Phule Nagar • Kannauj • Kanpur Dehat (Akbarpur) • Kanpur Nagar • Kaushambi • Kushinagar (Padrauna) • Lakhimpur Kheri • Lalitpur • Lucknow • Mahamaya (Hathras) • Maharajganj • Mahoba • Mainpuri • Mathura • Mau • Meerut • Mirzapur • Moradabad • Muzaffarnagar • Pilibhit • Pratapgarh • Raebareli • Rampur • Saharanpur • Sant Kabir Nagar • Sant Ravidas Nagar (Bhadohi) • Shahjahanpur • Shravasti • Siddharthnagar • Sitapur • Sonbhadra • Sultanpur • Unnao • Varanasi •
Major cities Agra • Allahabad • Kanpur • Lucknow • Meerut • Varanasi •
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