Munirka

Munirka is an urban village in South West Delhi, located near JNU Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus. Its location on the edge of the southern ridge makes its location quite beautiful. Its neighborhood consists of JNU campus on south,Vasant vihar on North-West, RK Puram on northern side and IIT campus and Ber sarai on south-eastern front.The Outer ring road forms the north to east boundary of this and also making it accessible.This is near flyover.

The nearest metro station is Hauz Khas.

History

The village was named after persians came here by killing spartans and won munirka they become jatt by persians who was the jagirdar of the area (persia arabi was the revenur block then, Munir khan was gifted the jagir by the Emperor Akbar). Sh. Rudh Singh started out by raising cattle in this area and selling their milk at Mehrauli, he quickly made a fortune and started funding the jagirdar. When Munir khan was not able to payoff the debt (said to be of 600 gold coins or asharfi) he had to cede the jagir to Sh. Rudh Singh as part of mortgage. Sh. Rudh Singh would in 15th century officially establish the village Munirka (Munir khan then) after donation to the Brahmins and poors.they came by help of dastan {prince of persia} In the 18th century some residents of Munirka village moved to establish another village in the adjacent area by the name of Mohammadpur, both villages are considered sister villages.

Demography

As the village grew other castes like the Brahmins migrated to the village (It is said that all 36 castes in Indian society can be found in Munirka). All the Tokas clan Jat are descended from Rudh Singh and for all purpose consider themselves as brothers. Brahmins of Munirka Migrated from Rohtak(Mudgal gotra) Dist. of Haryana and another family from Rewari(Tiwari gotra) Dist. of Haryana. Gadi Lohar came to this village in 1918. Muslims came in as two families, one from Alwar Dist. of Rajasthan and another from Jharoda kalan in Najafgarh in 1947.

Presently the demography of Munirka is a cosmopolitans delight. Indians from all parts of the country and foreigners from Africa to America can be seen here. Earlier the area had a high concentration of Bengalis and south Indians, but currently a strong presence from the North-East followed by Purvanchalis.

Land acquisition

The Majority of the land in the village was held by Jat, but distribution was present among all other castes also. The land was acquired first by the British prior to 1947 for the establishment of Sarojini and Naroji Nagar areas(but were built after Independence). In 1958, it was among the first villages of Delhi whose land was acquired to build housing colonies. Sarojini & Naroji Nagar (part), RK Puram, Vasant Vihar, JNU,DDA Flats Munirka and Munirka Enclave have all been established by land acquired from Village Munirka. Munirka apartments in Dwarka and Munirka Kunj in Deenpur near Najafgarh were established by residents of the area.

Migrants and population

Munirka has always been home to large number of migrants. It has a very high population density for small area. This derives from Munirka's proximity to Jawaharlal Nehru University, Rama Krishna Puram, Vasant Vihar Indian Institute of Technology and its location on the Outer Ring Road, which makes easy transport to and from many business centres of Delhi. One can find people from every single province in India here, and eateries and restaurants catering to their palette as well. There is a Korean church, a Sikh temple, and a mosque other than the Baba Gangnath temple, which houses the patron deity of the village. Nigerians, Ugandans, Kenyans, Japanis, Koreans, Bangladeshis, Nepalis, Almanis or Germans, French, Swedes, Iranis, Spaniards, Sri Lankans, Thais, British and Americans amongst other nationalities can be found resident here. Munirka is famous destition in Manipur. Naga's, Kuki's and Zomi's live harmoniously as neighbours here. It is home to revolutionaries of both the right and the left, IIT & UPSC aspirants, students, Dalit messiahs, call centre workers, software engineers, lawyers, failed messiahs, drug-dealers, migrant workers, skilled artisans and generally everyone under the sun. It is home to a lot of people who have just shifted to Delhi from somewhere in India, like many other areas of such type, and who then move on after staying here for some years to more respectable and middle-class high rise apartment-like residential areas. It is a halfway house. Dostoevsky could have written a book here, for so many lives are made and unmade in Munirka. It is one of the few non-elite parts of Delhi where one can see women wearing shorts, mini's , string top's and spaghetti straps at any point of time along with village women in veil (Ghunghat).

Architecture

It is a very old village—complete with a smattering of Lodi-era monuments—now absorbed by the relentless expansion of Delhi, which has both changed and threatened the very culture of the pre-urban communities of the Delhi region - Bramhin and Jat. There is a baoli (step well), a Lodi structure and a small saiyid (a small mazaar-like shrine) of Sufi Saint called Ajirpur preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India in the park across the Outer Ring Road in RK Puram Sector-5. Elder residents of Munirka can still be found to offer a jot (incense on a stick; Hindi jyot), testifying to the syncretic cultural history of the region. Elder people of the Delhi region testify to Munirka being one of the most beautiful villages in the region till well into the 1970s, being surrounded by forest with wolf, jackal and nilgai on at least two sides, and a bani (woods), a jangal (forest) beyond that and a jhoad (pond) on the west. This part of the village has given to the DDA sports complex, Vasant Kunj, Jawahar Lal University and the DTC Bus Depot. Further to the west Basant Lok and Vasant Vihar has been built on agrarian land which was acquired by the Delhi government from Munirka and Basant villages. To the north R.K. Puram has also been built on such land. One can see the Qutub Minar from parts of Munirka. It is also on the path of planes landing at the Delhi International Airport.

Village- MUNIRKA(MCD Ward 166-Munirka(Gen), Assembly Constiquency 44-RK Puram(Gen) , PC-4(New Delhi-Gen)) PO- JNU(110067) Tehsil-Vasant Vihar Dist. South-west(revenue),New Delhi(Elections) and South(MCD and Police)