Morena District

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Morena.

Morena district मुरैना जिला
Location of Morena district in Madhya Pradesh
State	Madhya Pradesh,  India
Administrative division	Chambal
Headquarters	Morena
Area	4,998 km2 (1,930 sq mi)
Population	1,965,137 (2011)
Population density	394 /km2 (1,020 /sq mi)
Urban population	22.56
Literacy	72.1
Sex ratio	839
Tehsils	1. Morena, 2. Ambah, 3. Porsa, 4. Joura, 5. Sabalgarh and 6. Kailaras
Lok Sabha Constituencies	Morena (shared with Sheopur district)
Assembly Seats	1. Sabalgarh, 2. Joura, 3. Sumawali, 4. Morena, 5. Dimani and 6. Ambah
Major highways	NH3
Official website

Morena district (Hindi: मुरैना जिला) is one of the 50 districts of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The name, Morena is derived from the mor + raina means the place where peacock is enormously found. Morena, which has an identity of being home to perhaps the largest number of peacocks in the India. The district is part of Chambal Division. The town of Morena is the district and divisional headquarters. The district has a widely dispersed population of 1,965,137 as of 2011. Morena is fifth district in state in density of population after Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior. The district is mostly farmland, and trains are a popular form of transportation, although they connect only about 15% of the villages within Morena. Morena is famous for its mustard production.

History

Most of the territory of the present-day Morena district formed Tonwarghar District of the erstwhile princely state of Gwalior. After India's independence in 1947, the princely states acceded to the Government of India, and Morena District acquired its present boundaries with the addition of the princely state of Pahargarh in the south of the district. Morena District became part of the newly formed state of Madhya Bharat, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.

Geography

Morena is located at 26°18′N 78°00′E / 26.30°N 78.00°E / 26.30; 78.00. Geographically Morena is an interesting place as Madhya Pradesh touches two neighbouring states i.e. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh here. Morena touches Dholpur (Rajasthan) in North-West and Pinahat (Agra, Uttar Pradesh) in North-East. The neighbouring districts are Bhind, Gwalior, Shivpuri and Sheopur.

Divisions

Morena district comprises four sub-divisions: Morena, Ambah, Joura and Sabalgarh. Morena sub-division comprises a lone tehsil and a lone block: Morena. Ambah sub-division comprises two tehsils and blocks: Ambah and Porsa. Joura sub-division comprises Joura tehsil, which is further divided in to two blocks: Joura and Pahargarh. Sabalgarh sub-division has two tehsils and blocks: Sabalgarh and Kailaras. Significant towns of this district are: Morena, Bamor, Ambah, Porsa, Joura, Sabalgarh, Kailaras and Jhundpura.

The district has six Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Sabalgarh, Joura, Sumawali, Morena, Dimani and Ambah. All of these are part of Morena Lok Sabha constituency.^[1]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Morena District has a population of 1,965,137,^[2] roughly equal to the nation of Lesotho^[3] or the US state of New Mexico.^[4] This gives it a ranking of 236th in India (out of a total of 640).^[2] The district has a population density of 394 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,020 /sq mi) .^[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 23.38 %.^[2] Morena has a sex ratio of 839 females for every 1000 males,^[2] and a literacy rate of 72.07 %.^[2]

Places of interest

Kakan Math Temple : Sas-Bahu Abhilekh reflects that Suhoniya known as Sihoniya today was the capital of Kushwahas. The Kachwaha kingdom was established in the 11th century between 1015 to 1035 A.D. The Kachwaha king Kirtiraj got a "Shiv Temple erected at Sihoniya. This temple is known as the "Kakan Math". This temple was built without using any adhesive materials. It stand on a spot two miles away from Sihoniya in the north west of Distt. Morena. It is said that Kakanmath was built by king KirtiRaj to fulfill the will of Queen Kakanwati. It is 115 ft. high and is built in the Kajurho style.

Jain Temples : Sihoniya is a holy place of the Jains. In the east of the village, there are the ruins of the Jain temples of the 11th century A.D. In these temples there are statues of the Tirthankars such as Shantinath, Kunthnath, Arahanath, Adinath, Parshvnath and others. The main temple has three statues : Shantinath, Kunthnath and Arhanath of 10 to 15 ft. in height. They are of 11th century A.D.

Kutwar : Kuntalpur known as Kutwar is the biggest ancient village of the Chambal valley. It is just like Hastinapur, Rajgraha and Chadi of the Mahabharat period. The ancient Amba or Harrisiddhi Devi temple and a crescent shaped Dam erected on the river Asan are the beautiful visiting spots of Kutwar.

Padawali (Gupta Period):After Naga period, the Gupta empire was established in this area. The 'Gotra' of the emperors of the Gupta dynasty was 'Charan'. 'Gharon' village was inhabited near modern Padawali. Around Gharon there are the ruins of several temples, houses and colonies. This new area of population is known as Padawali because it is surrounded by several hills. Here was a magnificent ancient Vishnu Temple which was later converted into a big 'Garhi'. The terrace, the courtyard and the assembly hall of this temple are the 'epitome' of ancient culture. The standing statue of a Lion on the ruined gate seems to say that there was a time when he used to watch the temple with his companion at its gate. More than fifty monuments of different kinds can be seen at Padawali up to the valley of Bhuteshwar.

Mitawali :In the north of Naresar, there is a sixty four Yogini temple situated on the hundred feet high mountain. It is a wonderful circular construction of 170 feet radius on the style of Delhi's parliament house. Attached to circular verandah there are sixty four rooms and a big courtyard in the temple. In the centre of the temple there is the circular temple of Lord Shiva.

References

1. ^ "Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008". The Election Commission of India. pp. 226, 250. http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/CurrentElections/CONSOLIDATED_ORDER%20_ECI%20.pdf. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. http://www.census2011.co.in/district.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 
3. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. "Lesotho 1,924,886" 
4. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30. "New Mexico - 2,059,179" 

External links

• Morena District web site
• Morena Zila Panchayat