Burhanpur

Burhanpur
Burhanpur Location of Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh
Coordinates	21°10′N 76°10′E / 21.17°N 76.17°E / 21.17; 76.17
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District(s)	Burhanpur
Mayor
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 750 m (2,461 ft)
Codes • Telephone • +07325 • Vehicle • MP-xx
Website	www.burhanpur.nic.in

Burhanpur (बुरहानपुर) is a town in Madhya Pradesh state, India. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River 310 miles (499 km) northeast of Mumbai.

Geography

Burhanpur is located at 21°18′N 76°14′E / 21.3°N 76.23°E / 21.3; 76.23.^[1] It has an average elevation of 233 metres (764 ft) and is situated very near to the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census^[2], Burhanpur had a population of 194,360. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Burhanpur has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 69% and female literacy of 57%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Burhanpur.

History

Also, It is a beautiful city with a lot of historical monuments existing in its expanse, primarily from the ruling times of Shah Jahan, the great Mughal emperor. A fact unaware about Burhanpur is that Mumtaz Mahal took her last breath in this city and her original grave still lies on the banks of Tapti river.

Political History of the last two decades

Since independence, Burhanpur has been represented in the state and national assemblies by different political parties. In the last twenty years, it has been reprensented by independent candidates, Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party, and Nationalist Congress Party. Current Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) is Archana Chitnis (BJP, prior to her Hamid Kazi was elected MLA from Nationalist Congress Party. Prior to him in 1999, Manjushree Thakur (female) was elected MLA representing Indian National Congress. In 1998, her father Late Shiv Kumar Thakur fought elections. Shiv Kumar Thakur had also represented Burhanpur as a member of parliament in 1985. However, in the 1998 state assembly elections, Shiv Kumar Thakur tried hard to get an Indian National Congress ticket but was denied because of internal politics of Indian National Congress. He become a rebel and fought elections on his own. In keenly fought 1998 elections, Indian National Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party candidates cut into each others' votes and Shiv Kumar won unexpectedly as an independent candidate by a narrow margin. However when the results were declared, he suddenly died. His death was considered a conspiracy by many, though officially the cause of death was claimed to be heart failure. The actual cause of death could not be established because his family members did not consent for post mortem examination. Because of his death, government declared the elections to be held again. His daughter Manjushree Thakur, immediately after his death, approached Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She is said to have apologized for her father's rebellious behavior and sought Congress ticket to fight the re-elections required due to her father's sudden death. Manjushree rode the sympathy wave to win the elections by record margin in 1999. Being a thirty five year old married and responsible woman just entering politics, people had great expectations from her. She however could not deliver the promises. No development projects were initiated, even the ongoing projects either got delayed or canceled. And while the common man was suffering on the streets of Burhanpur, she went for vacation to spend time in many countries of Europe on Tax payer's money. It is believed that she misused her powers to gain illegal property and to harass innocent people. Because of her licentious behavior, her husband also abandoned her. But, in spite of widespread dissatisfaction, she was able to secure Indian National Congress ticket to fight the 2003 general elections^[3]. The Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi also addressed rally in Burhanpur since the party had information that Burhanpur seat was a weak one because of the past track record of the sitting MLA. Though she was able to get all government support because of the rule of Indian National Congress in the state, however she did not get any support from within her own family, even one of her uncles fought against her in elections. Also Manjushree Thakur did not get the benefit of sympathy vote she got earlier. Consequently, she lost elections in 2003 terribly and could come only third in the tally though she was able to save the deposit from being forfeited. In 2003, Mr Hamid Kazi was declared as winner. Mr Kazi did remarkably well in the his five years given the fact that he was the only one representative from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The development work however still left a lot to be done. The 2008 elections revealed the new twists and turns in the political history of Burhanpur. Archana Chinits from Bhartiya Janata Party won and is now believed to bring about the change promised. Her victory is remarkable in many ways. Burhapur has been a stronghold of Congress, but in recent elections, Congress could not even find one candidate to fight elections for them. The bohra / Muslim community traditionally strong supporter of Congress is now voting BJP to power. In one decade, there has been a complete turnaround in the Burhanpur's mandate.^{[original research?]}

External links

• A comprehensive website for Buhanpur City

References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Burhanpur
2. ^ "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. 
3. ^ http://www.rediff.com/election/2003/nov/01mp1.htm