Ujjain

This article is about the municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India. For its namesake district, see Ujjain District.

Ujjain उज्जैन Avantika
Metropolis
The Holy City of Ujjain
Nickname:  The City of Temples
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
Region	Malwa
District	Ujjain
Founded by	Aryan settlers
Government
• Body	Ujjain Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Meena Jonwal (BJP)
• Municipal Commissioner	Sonu Gehlot
Area
• Total	152 km2 (59 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	515,215
• Density	3,400/km2 (8,800/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi,
• Other	Malavi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	456001
Telephone code	0734
Vehicle registration	MP-13
Climate	Cfa (Köppen)
Precipitation	900 millimetres (35 in)
Avg. annual temperature	24.0 °C (75.2 °F)
Avg. summer temperature	31 °C (88 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	17 °C (63 °F)
Website	ujjain.nic.in

Ujjain /uːˈdʒeɪn/ (also known as Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti, Avantika, Avantikapuri), is an ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River (Hindi: क्षिप्रा) in the Malwa region of central India. The city is today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh, and it is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.

The city is a place of pilgrimage for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and followers of Shakta. It was a capital of Avanti and, according to Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, "was one of the earliest outposts in central India ... it showed traces of incipient urbanisation as early as about 700 BC."During the reign of Emperor Bindusara Maurya Ujjain was known as Ujjayini. Ujjayini and Bindusara's Empire were bitter enemies. In 303 BCE the ruler of Ujjayini Raja Shaktiraj attacked Bindusara's Empire but Bindusara managed to kill Shaktiraj. Bindusara crowned Shaktiraj's younger full-brother Jiraj as King. Jiraj ruled for fourteen years and was executed (beheaded) on the orders of Bindusara because Raja Jiraj had tried to assassinate Bindusara.

History

Ujjain, also known historically as Ujjaiyini and Avanti, emerged as the first major centre in the Malwa region during India's second wave of urbanisation in the 7th century BC (the first wave was the Indus Valley Civilization). Around 600 BC an earthen rampart was built around Ujjain, enclosing a city of considerable size. Avanti was one of the prominent mahajanapadas of ancient India. In the post-Mahabharata period—around 500 BC—Avanti was an important kingdom in western India; it was ruled by the Haihayas, a people who were responsible for the destruction of Naga power in western India.

During the last years of the 18th century the city became the capital of Scindia's as Ranoji established his capital at Ujjain in 1731, but his successors moved to Gwalior, where they ruled the Gwalior State in the latter half of the 18th century. After the independence India, Ujjain became a part of the Madhya Bharat state. In 1956 Madhya Bharat was fused into the State of Madhya Pradesh.

Geography

Ujjain is located in the west-central part of India, and is north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Located on the Malwa plateau, it is higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. Ujjain's coordinate are 23°10′N 75°46′E with average elevation of 494m metres (1620 ft). Region is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. The city is on the river bank of Shipra which falls into nearby flowing Chambal.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Ujjain has a population of 515,215 of which male are 264,871 and female are 250,344 respectively with sex ratio is 945 per 1000 males and child sex ratio of girls is 929 per 1000 boys. The city has children between (0-6)are 58,972 and There were 30,573 boys while 28,399 are girls which forms 11.45% of total population of City.

As iiteracy wise, total literates in city are 385,193 of which 210,075 are males while 175,118 are females and verage literacy rate of city is 84.43 percent of which male and female literacy was 89.66 and 78.90 percent.

Government and jurisdiction

Ujjain Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. This constituency came into existence in 1951 as one of the 9 Lok Sabha constituencies in the erstwhile Madhya Bharat state. It is reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled castes since 1966. This constituency covers the entire Ujjain district and part of Ratlam district. Currently, Dr. Chintamani Malviya of the Bharatiya Janata Party is member of parliament who won in the Indian general elections, 2014.

Education

University

• Vikram University

Colleges

• Mahakal Institute of Technology
• Ujjain Engineering College

Schools

• St Paul's Higher Secondary School
• Takshshila Junior College
• Ujjain Public School

Knowledge City

Government of Madhya Pradesh has alloted 1,200 acres of for the development of Knowledge City near Ujjain which will know as Vikramiditya Knowledge City . The city will be mainly used for education sector and is a part of ambitious Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor project. Th city will come up near Narwar village on Dewas-Ujjain Road.

Transport

Airport

The nearest airport is in Indore which served by the state of the art Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport, about 8 km from the city. It is the busiest airport in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and also serves as a hub for international cargo. The new integrated international terminal was inaugurated in February 2012.

Railway

Ujjain Junction

Ujjain Junction is the main railway station of Ujjain which is 12 km to the east of Ujjain. The former name of this station was Avantikapuri. The main station of Ujjain lies on the Ratlam - Bhopal, Indore - Nagda and Guna - Khandwa route. To the west it is connected to Ratlam Junction, to the north it is connected with Nagda Junction, to the east it is connected with Maksi Junction, Bhopal Junction, and to the south it is connected to Indore Junction BG, Dewas Junction.

Road

Ujjain depends on extensive network of auto rickshaws, tempos, hand pulled rickshaws, lorries and minibuses that operate throughout the city connecting one part with another. UMC has recently introduced city buses with Public Private Partnership project as city was identified urban agglomerations with less than 1 million population under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. Mauni Amavasya traditionally attracted the largest crowds at the mela, held here every 12 years.. The Kumbh Mela to be held in Ujjain in the year 2016 will commence on 22 April 2016.

Notable people from Ujjain

This list of notble person who where born or lived in Ujjian :

• Bharthari
• Vivian Dsena
• Thawar Chand Gehlot
• Gundecha Brothers
• Hukam Chand Kachwai
• Paras Chandra Jain
• Satyanarayan Jatiya
• Mahendraditya
• Sachida Nagdev
• Naman Ojha
• Sartaj Singh
• Saumya Tandon
• Vikramaditya
• Yashoda Devi

Bibliography

• Dongray, Keshav Rao Balwant (1935). Ujjain. Alijar Darbar Press, Gwalior.
• Dipak Kumar Samanta (1996). Sacred Complex of Ujjain. D.K. Printworld. ISBN 978-81-246-0078-8.
• Rahman Ali; Ashok Trivedi; Dhirendra Solanki (2004). Buddhist remains of Ujjain region: excavations at Ṣodañga. Sharada Pub. House. ISBN 978-81-88934-15-7.
• Hunter, Cotton, Burn, Meyer. "The Imperial Gazetteer of India", 2006. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1909.
• Plunkett, Richard. Central India. Lonely Planet, 2001. ISBN 1-86450-161-8

External links

• Mahakal Temple
• Ujjain Kumbh Mela
• Iujjain
• Ujjain City Info
• [1] Description and photographs of the Veda Shala.
• [2] Description of monuments, from the district administration.