Ajmer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about a city in central Rajasthan, for the historical region, see Ajmer region.
| Ajmer | |
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| Coordinates | 26°16′N 74°25′E / 26.27°N 74.42°E |
| Country |  India |
| State | Rajasthan |
| District(s) | Ajmer |
| Population | 485,197 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 486 m (1,594 ft) |
| Website | http://www.ajmer.nic.in |
Ajmer (Hindi: अजमेर, pronounced [ədʒmeːr](
listen)), formerly written Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in India's Rajasthan state. Ajmer is a very beautiful city, surrounded by the spectacular Aravalli Mountains. Ajmer, also known as Ajaymeru, was the city once ruled by Prithviraj Chauhan. Its population was approximately 500,000 in 2001. The city gives its name to Ajmer district, and also to a former province of British India called Ajmer-Merwara, which, after India's independence, became the state of Ajmer. On November 1, 1956, it was merged into Rajasthan state.
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[edit] Geography
It is situated in 26° 27, N. lat. and 74° 44, E. long., on the lower slopes of Tārāgaṛh Hill, in the Aravalli Range. It is situated almost in the heart of the state of Rajasthan. To the north of the city is a large artificial lake, called Anasagar, adorned with a marble structure called Baradari. Ajmer is an ancient crowded city with modern developments in the outskirts.
The shrine of the Sufi Saint Hazrat Khwāja Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī ( ) is located in Ajmer.
[edit] Transportation
Ajmer is at an important railway junction with Broad gauge lines to Jaipur and Marwar, Ahmedabad and Mumbai onwards to Banglore and a Metre gauge line subject to conversion under Project Unigauge to Udaipur. The railway complex includes a major workshop. The railway has helped the city as a trade center for manufactured goods including wool textiles, hosiery, shoes, soap, and pharmaceuticals. Poultry farming is a major source of income for the urban farmers. The nearby town of Kishangarh is one of the largest markets for marble and marble products. Ajmer is well connected with the national highway and is only 135 km (84 mi) from the Swai Mansingh International Airport at Jaipur.
[edit] History
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Ajmer (Ajaya-meru in Sanskrit) was founded in the late seventh century by Dushyant Chauhan. He established the Chauhan dynasty which continued to rule the country while repeated waves of Turkish invasions swept across India. Ajmer was conquered by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. Its internal government, however, was handed over to the Chauhan rulers upon the payment of a heavy tribute to the conquerors. Ajmer then remained feudatory to Delhi until 1365, when it was captured by the ruler of Mewar. In 1509 Ajmer became a source of contention between the Maharajas of Mewar and Marwar, and was ultimately conquered by the Marwar ruler in 1532. Ajmer was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1559. It continued to be in the hands of the Mughals, with occasional revolts, until 1770, when it was ceded to the Marathas. From that time up to 1818 Ajmer was the scene of an ongoing struggle, being seized at different times by the Mewar and the Marwar maharajas, from whom it was often retaken by the Marathas. In 1818 the Marathas sold Ajmer to the East India Company for 50,000 rupees. Since then Ajmer has enjoyed stable governance, although during the 1857 War of Independence some Indian sepoys at the garrison in the nearby town of Nasirabad joined the revolt. Under the British Raj, Ajmer was governed by an Agent to the Governor General overseeing Rajputana. After independence in 1947, Ajmer retained its position as a centrally administrated state under a Chief Commissioner for some time. Ajmer was eventually merged with the State of Rajasthan.
[edit] Places of interest
The main places of interest are Pushkar, and the Dargāh, tomb of the most revered Muslim sufi saint Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī, known as Gharīb Nawāz, or 'Benefactor of the Poor'.
Pushkar is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India near Ajmer, about 23 Kilometers away, and is an important tourist destination. Pushkar is famous for the Pushkar Lake and the 14th century Brahma temple dedicated to Brahma, the godhead of the Hindu pantheon supposed to be the creator of the universe. This is the most celebrated site for the worship of Brahma. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair.
The Dargāh Sharīf of Khwāja Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī is situated at the foot of the Tārāgaṛh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizām of Hyderabad, a mosque donated by the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān, the Akbarī Mosque, and the domed tomb of the saint. The Emperor Akbar, with his queen, used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow he had made when praying for a son. The large pillars, erected at intervals of two miles (3 km) the whole way between Agra and Ajmer, marking the daily halting places of the royal pilgrim, are still extant.
Tārāgaṛh Fort, the fort of Ajmer, seat of the Chauhān rulers, is claimed to be the first hill fort of Asia, built at a time when the Aravalli mountain ranges were above the snowlines. This gives it the reputation of being one of the oldest hill forts of the world, and it is definitely the oldest among the hill forts in India. It was built by King Ajāypāl Chauhān on the summit of Tārāgaṛh Hill, overlooking Ajmer; its thick battlements run along its brow, completely enclosing the table-land. The walls are two miles (3 km) in circumference, and the fort can only be approached by steep and very roughly paved slopes. When it came into the hands of the British Raj, the fort was dismantled by order of Lord William Bentinck, and was converted into a sanatorium for the troops stationed at the British cantonment town of Nasirabad.
The Aḍhāī Din kā Jhonpṛā, a Jain temple constructed in 1153 and converted into a mosque by Quṭbuddīn Aybak after 1193, is situated on the lower slope of the Tārāgarh hill, additions were made to the mosque between 1220 and 1229 by Aikbak's successor, by Shams al-Din Iltutmish. It is also noted for its double-depth calligraphy inscriptions, in Naskh and Kufic scripts . With the exception of that part used as a mosque, called Jāma' Iltutmish (pronounced Altamish locally), nearly the whole of the ancient temple has fallen into ruins, but the relics are not excelled in beauty of architecture and sculpture by any remains of Hindu art. Forty columns support the roof, but no two are alike, and exceptional creativity is shown in the execution of the ornaments.[1]
The Magazine, the city's Museum, was once the residence of Prince Salīm, son of the Emperor Akbar, and presently houses a collection of the Mughal and Rajput armour and sculpture. This residence of Salīm is significant from a historical point of view, because Salīm as Emperor Jahāngīr read out the firman for trade to India to the British East India Company from here, thus starting the chain of events that lead to India's colonisation by the British.
Mayo College was established in 1875 by Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India. The architecture of the school buildings evoke the grandeur of erstwhile princely Rajasthan. The main building of the school, in white marble, is a classic example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, and the design now lies in the archives of the British Museum in London.[2]
The Anasāgar Lake. The historic man-made lake Ana Sagar lake was constructed by Maharaja Anaji (1135-1150 AD), the grandfather of Maharaja Prithvirāj Chauhān. By the lake is the Daulat Bāgh, a garden laid out by Emperor Jahāngīr. Emperor Shāh Jahān later added five pavilions, known as the Baradari, between the garden and the lake.
The Soni Ji Ki Nasiyan is an architecturally rich Digambara Jain temple. It was built in 1864-1895 by Seth Bhag Chand ji Soni, the Nagar Seth of Ajmer. The main chamber, known as the Swarna Nagari (City of Gold), has several gold-plated wooden figures, depicting characters in the Jain tradition, and created in Jaipur.
Lake Foy sagar. Situated in the suburb of the city, Lake Foy Sagar is a picturesque artificial lake named after the engineer Mr Foy, an Englishman, who created it under a famine relief project. It is a masterpiece when it comes to artificial lakes. He created it to tackle with harshest conditions of famine under a famine relief project. This artificial lake was constructed in the year 1892. It appears as flat as a pancake, and offers the eye-catching sights of the neighboring Aravalli mountains.
[edit] Education
Ajmer is home to Mayo college, founded by the British Raj in 1870 to educate the children of Rajputana's nobles on the lines of an English public school. Ajmer is also home to the famous Sophia Girls' School and Sophia College, and the historic Ajmer Music College, founded in 1942,the first accredited institution in Rajputana for teaching classical Hindustani music.Also one of the five Rashtriya Military School(earlier known as king george rashtriya indian military college) est. in 1930 by king george.it is a good feeder to our defence services.
Other educational institutions which prominently shape the academic environment of Ajmer before India became independent are the Government College, Sophia senior secondary school,St. Anselm's Senior Secondary School, Savitri Girls' School & College, D.A.V. School, Dayanand College, Government High School, St. Mary's Convent Girls' School, Gujarati School, St. Paul's School, Moinia Islamia High School, Oswal Jain High School, Husband Memorial High School, Agarwal School, Govt. Central Girls' High School, Arya Putri Pathshala, and Saraswati Balika Vidyalaya. The Central Board of Secondary Education (West) and Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education was, and still is, located in Ajmer.
Among the other accredited institutions in Ajmer are Regional Institute of Education (RIE), one of the four nationally reputed NCERT colleges, RIE Demonstration School,sophia girls college, Maheshwari Public School, D.A.V. Centenary Public School, Adarsh Nagar, Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati University, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Government Engineering College and Ajmer Institute of Technology.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[3] Ajmer had a population of 485,197. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Ajmer has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Arhai-din-ka Jhompra Mosque archnet.org.
- ^ Main Building Architecture: Official website of Mayo College, Ajmer, India
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- FallingRain Map - elevation = 471 m
- W.D. Begg: The Holy Biography of Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (Millat Book Centre, Delhi, 1999).
- Ajmer The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 5, p. 137-146.
[edit] External links
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