Jabalpur
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| Jabalpur | |
  Jabalpur
|
|
| State - District(s) |
Madhya Pradesh - Jabalpur |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
10,160 km² - 393 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
1117200 - 110/km² |
| Mayor | Sushila Singh |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 482 00x - +0761 - MP-20 |
Jabalpur (Hindi: जबलपुर, Urdu:جَبَل پُور )is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It is located in the Mahakoshal region in the geographic center of India.
Jabalpur is the administrative headquarters of Jabalpur district and Jabalpur division. The city is considered to be a Sanskardhani, literally meaning a "cultural centerplace".
The numerous gorges in the neighboring rocks have been taken advantage of to surround the city with a series of lakes, which, shaded by fine trees and bordered by fantastic crags, add much beauty to the suburbs. However many of these lakes now have been encroached upon for the purpose of fishing or for building works, although greenery still exists.
The city itself dates from the nineteenth century, and is laid out in wide and regular streets. It has a beautiful collection of marble rocks called Bhedaghat surrounding the holy Narmada River. Many visitors every year come to visit Jabalpur because of this major attraction. Jabalpur is an important junction for the Indian Railways.
Jabalpur has a big Defence and Military Center - HQ of the MPBO Area, the headquarters of West Central Railway Zone, the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board[1], and the Madhya Pradesh High Courts[2]. It is also known for housing spiritual leaders like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of Transcendental Meditation and Bhagwaan Rajneesh (Osho).
Contents |
[edit] Origin of Name
The name Jabalpur is derived from the Arabic word "Jabal" which means mountain, showing that there could have been an ancient trade connection with Arab countries. This is strengthened by the presence of numerous old graves of Arabs in the Jabalpur cemetery.[citation needed]
Another belief is that a mythological figure known as Sage Jabali apparently lived in the area during the Ramayan era. In December 2006, the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation moved a resolution to rename the city to Jabalipuram and sent it to the state government. [3][4] [5]
[edit] History
Jabalpur is said to be the tapsya bhumi of the sage Jabali, from whom the name Jabalpur is derived. Asokan relics have been found. Later on it was the capital of the famous Tripuri kingdom (9th–10th centuries).
Inscriptions record the existence during the 11th and 12th centuries of a local line of princes of the Haihai people who are closely connected with the history of Gondwana. In the 16th century the Gond raja of Garha Mandla extended his power over fifty-two districts, including the present Jabalpur. During the minority of his grandson, Asaf Khan, the viceroy of Kara Manikpur, conquered the Garha principality and held it at first as an independent chief. Eventually he submitted to the Mughal emperor Akbar. The Mughal Empire, however, enjoyed little more than a nominal supremacy; and the princes of Garha Mandla maintained a practical independence until their subjugation by the Maratha governors of Sagar in 1781. In 1798 the Maratha Peshwa granted the Narmada valley to the Bhonsle princes of Nagpur, who continued to hold the district until the British occupied it in 1818.
Under the British Raj, Jabalpur became the capital of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories, which was part of the British North-Western Province. At that time it became infamous for the Thuggee murderers, but made more famous by the man who suppressed thugee, Col. Sleeman, who was also appointed commissioner at Jabalpur. The Saugor and Nerbudda Territories became part of the new Central Provinces in 1861 which in 1903 became the Central Provinces and Berar. By the early 20th Century Jabalpur was the headquarters of a brigade in the 5th division of the Southern Army.
An important landmark event was the holding of the Tripuri Congress session in 1939 that was presided over by Subhash Chandra Bose. Jabalpur was the home of Seth Govind Das, India's famous parliamentarian and Hindi author.
After India's independence in 1947, the Central Provinces and Berar became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
[edit] Geography
Jabalpur is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 411 metres (1348 feet).
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Jabalpur had a population of 951,469. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Jabalpur has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 70%. In Jabalpur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Education
The city is considered to be a base for higher education. This was true particularly in earlier years. In the fifties and sixties, the colleges were widely known and famous in Madhya Pradesh and outside. Political activism of 1970s and 1980s briefly took away much of that sheen.
Though the situation has improved, the RDVV university (Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya) could not gather even an A rank from the NAAC - National Assessment and Accreditation Council. It could get only a B++ grade in the assessment held in 2002.
Every year around 1300 engineers and doctors finish their graduation from the colleges here. The Jabalpur Engineering College (JEC), Jabalpur (originally named Robertson Engineering College) http://www.jec-jabalpur.org/ established in 1947 has the distinction of being the second engineering college to be set up in India. It is one of the premier colleges in Central India. The high voltage laboratory of Electrical Engineering Dept. is among the only 5 such facilities available in India. The Netaji Subhash Chandra Medical College graduates about one hundred doctors every year. It also runs residency programs in all major subjects including Surgery, Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Orthopaedics, pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Apart from the regular university - Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya (previously called Jabalpur University), there are also the Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, and a few other research institutes having university status [eg. the Tropical Forest Research Institute(TFRI)]. There are also specialised institutes under the auspicies of the Central Govt located here. In addition, the city has the college of Agricultural Engineering from which around 30 engineers finish their graduation every year.
Govt. Model Science College is one of the pioneering educational institutes of Jabalpur. It was established in 1836 and degree courses in science started in 1896. The institute is working under the autonomous scheme. Government Model Science College is accredited with grade A from NAAC. Pandit Lajja Shankar Jha Government Model Higher Secondary School popularly known as Model School is one of the prominent secondary schools in the city. Christ Church Boys' Higher Secondary School is a prominent boys school providing schooling in English from Nursery to class 12 (equivalent of K-12 in the USA). Christ Church Girls' is the corresponding school for girls. Other prominent schools are St. Aloysius for boys, and St. Josephine for girls.
Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi VishwaVidhyalaya, Jabalpur is located in northern side of jabalpur and providing education, extension, research to students as well as farmers. the university has self evalation system to offer B.Sc. Ag., M.Sc. Ag, Ph.D in differant areas. Mission To conduct Education, Research and Extension activities for enhancing productivity, profitability and sustainability of agricultural production systems and quality of rural livelihood in the state Madhya Pradesh. Mandate To serve as a centre of teaching and research in the field of agriculture and allied Science.To disseminate technology to farmers, extension personnel and organizations engaged in agricultural development through various extension programmes.JNKVV is located in the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. The State is situated in the center of India and bounded on all sides by other states. A population of 6,03,85,118 lives in 55393 villages, 259 tehsil and 45 districts spread over 308 thousand square Kilometers geographical area between 21'8° to 26'52°N latitude and 74'2 to 82'0E longitude, which is divided by Tropic of Cancer.The economy of MP is primarily agriculture based and the main food crops are sorghum, wheat, rice and coarse grain such as Kodo millet, little millet and Italian millet. Important among commercial crops are pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugar cane and medicinal crops. The state is poised for a breakthrough in soybean cultivation. In the state Kharif crops occupy 60% and rabi crops 40% area with 71.4 % area under food grain production. Nearly 59% of landholders are marginal whereas small farmers share 18% of farmland. Low literacy (35.45%), undulating topography, large waste land (13.2%), under developed irrigation potential (23%), low ground water utilization, large proportion of rain fed agriculture (75%), practice of Kharif fallows (3.6%), low cropping intensity (131 %), low fertilizer consumption (50 kg/ha), high proportion of low value crops, and high population of low productive live stock are the major constraints of the state.
[edit] Transportation
Jabalpur is one of the major cities in Madhya Pradesh so transportation is not an issue here. A recently opened airport provides limited service, but it is now possible to travel from Delhi to Jabalpur and back in a day, thus improving business. Air Deccan is providing regular services to Delhi-Bhopal-Jabalpur route. Jabalpur is connected to Nagpur, Bhopal, Katni and Damohe so you can travel easily by roads also. Soon air services will become available from Bombay to Jabalpur via Mumbai-Indore-Jabalpur route. At the same time it is well-connected with super fast trains from Mumbai and New Delhi. Apart from broad gauge rail-ways Jabalpur is notable for having narrow gauge rail-ways (which connect with Gondia). Work to convert this Gondia-Jabalpur narrow gauge to broad gauge has been started, however, and will provide new opportunities as Nagpur will be reachable within four hours. Recently the new Star-Buses have started operating within the city in circuits. So, it is now easier to travel to various destinations within the city comfortably.
[edit] Tourism
The Bhedaghat is a famous waterfall located just 20 km from Jabalpur. The waterfall is also known as Dhuandhar ('Dhuan' is the Hindi word for smoke) since the water droplets at the fall rise in a concentrated mass and create the illusion of vapours. Jabalpur is also famous for volcanic rock formations called the Balancing Rocks of Jabalpur. Near Bhedaghat there are very old caves containing statues of ancient origin. The place is known as Chausatyogini (Sixty Four Lady Yogis). Jabalpur is the nearest big city to Kanha Kisli national park which is one of the biggest national parks in India and has the distinction of a successfully implemented Project Tiger, a tiger conservation program in India. Every year the park attracts a large number of tourists to watch the tigers from close proximity. The park is claimed to be the birth place of the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. However, a nearby national park in Seoni District near the town of Chhindwada, named Priyadarshini Indira Pench Valley National Park is wisely accepted as the original birthplace of Mowgli that inspired Kipling to write the book. Mowgli(not named as such) was a real feral child found by villagers living at the outskirts of the park.
In addition, Jabalpur has the 'Bandhavgarh' and 'Pench' national reserve forests very close by, and connected by road.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
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