Bharatpur, India

Bharatpur
Bharatpur Location of Bharatpur in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	27°13′N 77°29′E / 27.22°N 77.48°E / 27.22; 77.48
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Bharatpur
Population	204,456 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 183 m (600 ft)

Bharatpur (Hindi: भरतपुर) is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in Mewat region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-fortified city, and the capital of a kingdom ruled by Jat maharajas. The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and Dholpur has played an important part in the Jat history of Rajasthan. Located 50 km west of the city of Agra (the city of the Taj Mahal), it is also the administrative headquarters of Bharatpur District. The Royal House of Bharatpur traces their history to the 11th Century AD. They claim descent from Yadav Vanshi Sind Pal, common ancestor with the House of Karauli. Bharatpur is located at 27°13′N 77°29′E / 27.22°N 77.48°E / 27.22; 77.48^[1]. It has an average elevation of 183 metres (600 feet). Bharatpur also being called as Lohagarh.

Demographics

As of the 2001^[update] Indian census^[2], Bharatpur had a population of 204,560. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bharatpur has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 75% and female literacy of 56%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

The town was named Bharatpur after Bharata, a brother of Lord Rama, whose other brother Laxman is the family deity of the erstwhile royal family of Bharatpur. The city and the fort of Bharatpur have been believed to be founded by Lord Aditya Consul in the early seventeenth century. He established a state in the Mewat region south of Delhi, with its capital at Deeg. Leaders such as Gokula, Raja Ram, Churaman and Badan Singh brought the Jats together and moulded them into a force to be reckoned with. Maharaja Suraj Mal was the state's greatest ruler; he made the state a formidable force in the region. During the British Raj, the state covered an area of 5,123 km² and its rulers enjoyed a salute of 17 guns. The state acceded unto the Dominion of India in 1947. It was merged with three nearby princely states to form the "Matsya Union", which in turn was merged with other adjoining territories to create the present-day state of Rajasthan.

Keoladeo National Park

Now declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia. Some 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian Crane, have been recorded in the park. The name "Keoladeo" is derived from the name of an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva in the sanctuary's central zone while the Hindi term "Ghana" implies dense, thick areas of forest cover.

Places to see

Ganga Mandir Bharatpur

• Keoladeo National Park
• Lohagarh Fort
• Government Museum
• The Palace
• Jawahar Burj and Fatej Burj

Fairs and festivals

• Brij festival
• Jaswant exhibition
• Gangaur
• Teej

Surrounding area

• Deeg Fort
• Gopal Bhavan

Laxman Mandir

Places to Eat

The roadside food in Bharatpur can be unhygienic for tourists. However, there are few good places to eat within the city. These include Ruchi's Restaurant (No bar or non-veg, but good family atmosphere), Giriraj Restaurant & Bar (Not exactly family atmosphere but good food, especially the chicken varieties) and Saini Mishthan Bhandar on (on Railway Station Road, delicious Bread Pakoras & Gujarati Khaman & Lassi, probably the only place for hygienic sweets in the city)Now a days its not the only hygienic place, we can also add Natani sweets to the list for great variety ofsweets. Moreover, there are some decent restaurants on the highway between Saras Circle and the National Park. Finding good continental cuisine can be very difficult and tourists usually prefer Indian food as the taste is quite palatable.

See also

• The Jat Uprising of 1669
• The rise of Jat power
• Jats in the pre-Aurangzeb period
• Deeg
• Deeg Palace

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bharatpur

• Brief history and detailed genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Bharatpur
• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Bharatpur
• Imperial Gazeteer of India Vol 8, P-73 Bharatpur State
• R.C.Majumdar, H.C. Raychaudhury, Kalikaranjan Datta: An Advanced History of India, fourth edition, 1978, ISBN 0333 90298 X, p.535-36

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