Baramulla
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| Baramula | |
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| Coordinates | 34°11′53″N 74°21′49″E / 34.1980°N 74.3636°E |
| Country |  India |
| State | Jammu and Kashmir |
| District(s) | Baramulla |
| Population | 61,941 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 1,593 m (5,226 ft) |
Baramulla (Hindi: बारामुला) is a City in the Baramulla District in the Indian-administered Kashmir valley. The name of the city is derived from the original Sanskrit name Varahamula (वराहमूल).
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[edit] History
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The name is derived from two Sanskrit words Varaha (Boar) and Mula (Original/Source). In Nilmatapurna the earliest[dubious ] epic of Kashmiri is mentioned that Kashmir was a lake and Vishnu became a Boar and drained it by making a breach with a molar[clarification needed]. The town is located on the banks of river Jehlum at the highest point of the river. In fact, the river forms a delta just in the outskirts of the town. The town is strikingly scenic because of open view of valley on the east and tall mountains on the west.[original research?]
Varrah was an engineer who lived in Baramulla during ancient times.[citation needed] The story goes that he was first to assess that Baraulla is the highest point for River Jehlum. By his calculations he could make out that if silt is dug out or the river path in vicinity of town it could be a major step towards solution of flood problems in the valley. The task was massive and he realized it could not be done that easily. A brilliant idea, quite norm to his personality, struck him and he threw gold coins into the river in front of a large gathering in the town.[citation needed] This prompted people to dig out silt from river in search of gold coins.[citation needed] It is said[who?] that this was a major step towards solving the flood problems in Kashmir. So much so that even in modern times (1970s/80s) the same strategy was applied and a digging machine was implanted on river Jehlum in Baramulla.
[edit] Geography
Baramula is located at 34°12′N 74°20′E / 34.2°N 74.34°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 1593 metres (5226 feet) above the sea level.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census, [2] Baramulla had a population of 61,941. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Baramulla has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 63% of the males and 37% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The Baramulla District is the largest District in entire valley both with reference to the population and area. The District is spread over an area of 4588 km². The Baramulla District is bounded by Kupwara in the North and West, Budgam and Poonch in the South, Bandipore District in the North East and Neelum District (Azad Kashmir) in the North.
The district is divided into 8 Tehsils, 16 CD Blocks. The eight tehsils of Baramulla are Uri, Sopore, Gurez, Tangmarg, Baramulla, Sumbal, Pattan and Bandipora. The Sixteen blocks of the district are Uri, Boniyar, Baramulla, Wagoora, Pattan, Rafiabad, Rohama, Tangmarg, Sopore, Zaingeer, Bandipore, Hajin, Sumbal, Gurez, Kunzer and Singhpora.
[edit] Religion
In the 15th Century, Baramulla became important to Muslims, as the famous Muslim saint, Syed Janbaz Wali, who visited the valley along with his companions in 1421 AD chose Baramulla as the centre of his mission, and after death was buried here. His shrine attracts pilgrims from all over the Valley. There are other religious places of importance near Baramulla town namely Haji Murad Bukhari of Kreeri, Baba Shakuruddin of Watlab, Baba Reshi of Gulmarg etc.
Shri Guru Hargobind Ji visited Baramulla while being accompanied by the then Mughal Emperor Jahangir during his visit to Kashmir in 1620 AD. The famous historical Gurdwara "Chatti Padshahi" is located in Baramulla and was constructed to commemorate the visit of Shri Guru Hargobind Ji. Baramulla is a town where approx 10,000 Sikhs live in perfect peace with their Muslim and Hindu brothers.
In Baramulla there are very old Hindu Temples -such as "Devibal" (Goddess Shelputri) popularly known as "Shalay Hund" which is on the banks of River Jhelum and on the way to the famous Muslim Shrine "Janbaz sabh" near Khanpora. On the hilltop is a very famous Hindu Mandir popularly known as "Gosaintang" here Lord Rama along with his brothers and Wife Sita Visited this place during his 14 years of exile? Gosaintang can be seen from "Chatti Padshahi" and from "Devibal".
[edit] Education
Baramulla has one of the best schools in J&K - St. Joseph's school Baramulla which is owned by the Catholic Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar and is administered by its Education Society (Reg. No. 1601-S of 1989) under the provisions of article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution; for Christians and all others without any distinction of caste, creed or colour.[3] St. Joseph's School is one of the oldest missionary schools in Kashmir valley. The school is the premier institute of not only Baramulla town but the whole area of North Kashmir. Established in 1901, it has provided top quality education to the people of the area. Having celebrated more than ten decades of imparting quality education. Now it has been more than a century since its establishment and it recently got upgraded to the status of a higher secondary school. The new block cost nearly 6 crore rupees. It alumni includes the slain afgan president najeebullah, actress Preity Zinta, Known Theatre Actor Masarrat Ahmad, Neonatologist Rahul Kachroo and the senior bureaucrats and politicians of north Kashmir.
The school has started online education. This school is the first in the Kashmir valley to start online education which will contribute a lot in giving quality education. The school also has a plan to upgrade to the professional college which shall start with journalism, Business Administration and Computer Science. St Joseph's school baramulla has produced thousands of professional who are working all around the world.
Baramulla is also blessed with one of the best colleges of the state under the name of Govt. Degree College Baramulla. It has well equipped labs, computer browsing centres and libraries. Baramulla Degree College has also the previlage of subject of Mass Communication-the only one in north India.
[edit] Tourism
Baramulla has some of the best tourist locations in Kaskmir viz Gulmarg, Wullar lake etc.
Baramulla has got terminus of the Kashmir Railway.
[edit] Language
Kashmiri is the predominant language spoken in the District. Shina is the dominant language in Gurez Valley in Gurez Tehsil which is situated in the Northwest on the border with Skardu District, Pakistan. Pashto is also spoken in a few villages in the far north located on the Line of Control.
[edit] References
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Baramula
- ^ "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.
- ^ Overview
