Jhansi

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
type=city
native_name=Jhansi
state_name = Uttar Pradesh
region = Bundelkhand
district = Jhansi
latd = 25.4333|longd=78.5833
official_languages=Hindi, Urdu
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name=Dr. B. Lal
leader_title_2=Deputy Mayor
leader_name_2=Mrs. Sushila Dubey
area_city=152
altitude=285
population_as_of=2001
population_total=504,292
population_density=3094
area_telephone=91-510
postal_code=284 00x
vehicle_code_range=UP-93
website=jhansi.nic.in
footnotes = |

Jhansi audio|Jhansi.ogg|pronunciation (Urdu: جھانسی, Hindi: झांसी,Marathi:झाशी) is a city of Uttar Pradesh state of northern India. Jhansi is a major road and rail junction, and is the administrative seat of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock.

The National Highway Development Project, initiated by the government of Atal Behari Vajpayee, has sparked Jhansi's development. The North-South Corridor connecting Kashmir to Kanyakumari passes through Jhansi. The East-West corridor also goes through this city, so there has been a sudden rush to infrastructure and real estate development in the city. A greenfield airport is also on the anvil.

Etymology

According to a legend, Raja Bir Singh Deo, sitting on the roof of his palace at Orchha with his friend, the Raja of Jaitpur asked the latter whether he could discern this new fort that he built on Bangara hill, he replied that he could see it ‘Jhainsi’ (meaning rather indistinct). This ‘Jhainsi’ in course of time became corrupted to Jhansi. It was one of the most strategically situated forts of central India being built on an elevated rock rising out of the plain and commanding the city and the surrounding country.

History

In the 9th century, the region of Jhansi came under the rule of the Rajput Chandela dynasty of Khajuraho. The artificial reservoirs and architectural remains probably date from this era. The Chandelas were succeeded by the Khangars, who built the nearby fort of Karar. About the fourteenth century the Bundelas poured down upon the plains from the Vindhya Range, and gradually spread themselves over the whole of the Bundelkhand region which now bears their name. The fortress of Jhansi was built by the ruler of Orchha state in 1610. Legend says that when a king of Orchha saw a shadow ('jhain' in bundelkhand) on a distant mound, he is said to have called it "jhain-si" (kind of shadow). Jhansi got its name from this utterance.

The Muslim governors of the Mughal empire were constantly making incursions into the Bundela country. In 1732 Chhatrasal, the Bundela king, called in the aid of the Hindu Marathas. They came to his assistance, and were rewarded by the bequest of one-third of the Maharaja's dominions upon his death two years later. The Maratha general developed the city of Jhansi, and peopled it with inhabitants from Orchha state. In 1806 British protection was promised to the Maratha chief. In 1817, however, the Peshwa in Pune ceded all his rights over Bundelkhand to the British East India Company. In 1853 the Raja of Jhansi died childless, and his territory was annexed by the Governor-General of India. The Jhansi state and the Jalaun and Chanderi districts were then formed into a superintendency. Rani Lakshmibai, widow of the Raja, protested the annexation because she was not allowed to adopt an heir (as was customary), and because the slaughter of cattle was permitted in the Jhansi territory.

The Revolt of 1857 accordingly found Jhansi ripe for rebellion. In June a few men of the 12th Native Infantry seized the fort containing the treasure and magazine, and massacred the European officers of the garrison along with their wives and children. Rani Lakshmi Bai put herself at the head of the rebels and died bravely in battle in Gwalior. It was not until November, 1858 that Jhansi was brought under British control. It had been given to the Maharaja of Gwalior, but came under British rule in 1886 as the result of a territorial swap. Jhansi was added to the United Provinces, which became the state of Uttar Pradesh after India's Independence in 1947.

The fort standing in the hilly area shows that how the North Indian style of fort construction differentiated from that of the South.In South majority of the beautiful forts were built on the sea beds like the one at Bekal in Kerala [for more details refer 'History of Bekal Fort' by Nandakumar Koroth]

Population

Jhansi city has 77th rank among the most populated cities of India, according to 2001 Census.
*2001 Census Total: 504,292
**Nagar Nigam Total: 470,212
**Male: 249,592
**Female: 220,620
**Cantonment Board Total: 18,582
**Male: 10,239
**Female: 8,343
**Jhansi Railway Settlement Total: 15,499
**Male: 8,395
**Female: 7,104

Geography and climate

Jhansi is located at 25.4333 N 78.5833 E. It has an average elevation of 284 metres (935 feet). [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/36/Jhansi.html Falling Rain Genomics] ] Jhansi is located in the plateau of central India which is mainly rocky area with so much minerals underneath. The city has a natural slope in the north as it lies on the south western border of the vast "Tarai" plains of Uttar Pradesh. The elevation rises on the south. The land is suitable for citrus species fruits. Crops include wheat, pulses, peas, oilseeds. The region relies heavily on Monsoon rains for irrigation purposes. Under an ambitious canal project(Rajghat canal), the government is constructing a network of canals for irrigation in Jhansi and Lalitpur and some area of Madhya Pradesh.

Being on a rocky plateau, Jhansi experiences extreme temperatures. Winter begins in October with the retreat of the Southwest Monsoon (Jhansi does not experience any rainfall from the Northeast Monsoon) and peaks in mid-December. The mercury generally reads about 4 degrees minimum and 21 degrees maximum. Spring arrives by the end of February and is a short-lived phase of transition. Summer begins by April and summer temperatures can peak at 47 degrees in May. The rainy season starts by the third week of June(although this is variable year to year). Monsoon rains gradually weaken in September and the season ends by the last week of September. In the rainy season, average daily high temperature hovers around 36 degrees Celsius with high humidity. The average rainfall for this city is about 900 mm per year, observed almost entirely within the three-and-a-half months of the Southwest Monsoon.

Hospitals

Jhansi is a hub for medical care in the Bundelkhand region. It has a Medical College which is being revamped now. The District Hospital has many new facilities to serve patients. There are plenty of private hospitals, especially in the Medical College area.

Government
* Maharani Lakshmi Bai Medical College (Kanpur road),
* District(Civil) Hospital (City),
* Bundelkhand Ayurvedic College (Gwalior road),
* Army Hospital (Cantonment),
* Railway Hospital (near railway station),
* Cantonment General Hospital (Sadar bazaar) Private:
*Agarwal Maternity & Nursing Home (Sadar bazaar)
*Anand Hospital & Urology Research Center (opp. medical college, Karguvan road)
*Sudha Nursing Home(near medical college, Kanpur road))
*Shiv Nursing Home (mission compound),
*Lifeline Hospital (Kanpur road),
*Happy Family Hospital (behind hotel Sita, civil lines),
*Gupta mediscan centre (sadar bazar )
*St. Jude Hospital(Germany) (Sipri bazaar),
*Kapoor Nursing Home (near elite cinema),
*Arogya Sadan (Awas Vikas colony),
*Prakash Nursing Home (Awas Vikas colony),
*Nirmal Hospital (near medical college),
*Chawla Nursing Home (Sipri bazaar),
*Vinayak Hospital, behind Yatrik hotel (elite circle)
*LRM Jain Nursing Home (civil lines),
*Christian Hospital (Jhokan Bagh)
*Sanjeevani Hospital (Kanpur road)
*Raghvendra Nursing Home (Kanpur Road)
*Shila Jain Nursing Home (Kanpur Road)
*Nirmal Nursing Home (Kanpur Road)
*Sudarshan Jain nursing Home (Panchkuiyan Road)

Research Centres

Jhansi has two important research centres which are doing the research in the fields of Agro Forestry and Grasslands and Fodder. Indian Grasslands and Fodder Research Institute(IGFRI) has a Jhansi unit in Jhansi city near Pahuj River dam.National Research Centre for Agro Forestry(NRCAF) was founded in 1988 and is responsible for the research in agro forestry on barren land in the Bundelkhand region. Both work under Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
* [http://igfri.ernet.in/ IGFRI]
* [http://www.icar.org.in/nrcaf/index.htm NRCAF]

Telephone companies

Four operators in Fixed and Fixed Wireless Line telephony are found here.
* BSNL (Fixed and Fixed Wireless) Series 231 xxxx, 232 xxxx, 233 xxxx, 235 xxxx, 236 xxxx, 237 xxxx, 244 xxxx, 245 xxxx, 247 xxxx, 248 xxxx.
* Tata Indicom (on CDMA platform, Wireless) Series 65x xxxx.
* Reliance Communications (on CDMA platform,Wireless) Series 3xx xxxx.
* AirTel Series 4xx xxxx.All the above mentioned companies are Broadband internet service provider too.

These are the operators in Mobile Telephony, in Jhansi city.
* BSNL(on GSM platform) Series 9415x xxxxx, 945xx xxxxx.
* Vodafone Essar (on GSM platform) Series 9838x xxxxx, 9839x xxxxx.
* AirTel (on GSM platform) Series 99xxx xxxxx.
* Tata Indicom (on CDMA platform) Series 9235x xxxxx.
* Reliance Communications (on CDMA platform) Series 93xxx xxxxx.
* Idea cellular (on GSM platform) Series 98xxx xxxxx

Radio Stations

The city has two FM radio stations.
* All India Radio The state owned "Akashvani" service has a broadcast frequency of 103.0 MHz. All India Radio has started broadcasting its most popular radio station - AIR FM Rainbow, from Jhansi on 19 November, 2007.
* [http://64.26.25.112/index.php?loc=10 Big 92.7 FM Jhansi] This is the first 24 hour service in Jhansi. This channel broadcasts at 92.7 MHz.Two other private radio stations will start soon.

Tourism

Places of interest

* Jhansi Fort
* Rani Mahal (Queen's Palace)
* U.P. Govt. Museum
* Maha Lakshmi Temple
* Panchkuian Temple - very old temple, Lakshmi bai used to worship there
* Ganesh Mandir
* Siddheshwar Temple (Near GIC inter college) - Built by Pandit Raghunath Vinayak Dhulekar
* Panchtantra Park ( attracting huge crowd)
* Public Park in the cantonment area in worth visiting
* Sadar Bazar market and Manik Chowk market for clothes shopping
* Sarafa bazar for jewelry shopping
* Cathedral of St. Anthony, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jhansi

Excursions

*Sukma-Dukma Dam: An old, long and very beautiful dam over the Betwa River, approximately 45 km from Jhansi, near Babina town. Very scenic in the post-monsoon (winter) season.
*MataTila Dam: Approximately 55 km South of the Jhansi city, it's a very beautiful picnic spot. The dam is built on the river Betwa. There is a botanical garden near the dam site.
*Deogarh: 123 km from Jhansi, near Lalitpur town. Situated on the Betwa River, it possesses remains of a fine Gupta period Vishnu temple and several old and beautiful Jain temples.
*Orchha: 18 km from Jhansi on Jhansi-Khajuraho road, a small medieval city. It's famous for Lord Ram temple.
*Khajuraho: 178 km from Jhansi. Deluxe buses ply from Jhansi railway station to Khajuraho during morning hours. Taxis are also available. One can visit Panna National Park which is 32 km from Khajuraho, and there are some waterfalls nearby.
*Datia: 28 km from Jhansi on Jhansi-Gwalior-Agra-Delhi road. It's famous for the Shri Peetambra Devi temple and for a seven-storied palace built by Raja Bir Singh Ju Deo.
*Shivpuri: 101 km from Jhansi. It was the summer capital of the Scindia rulers of Gwalior. It's famous for its marble chhatris (cenotaphs) built by the Scindias. There is also a big and beautiful lake with crocodiles in the beautiful Madhav National Park area where one can spot a great variety of wildlife.
*Unnao/Pahuj: 18 km from Jhansi from Unnao gate. It's famous for temple and Pahuj river.

Cinema Halls

* Bhusan
* Damru
* Elite
* Khilona
* Krishna
* Laxmi
* Nandini
* Natraj
* Shyam Palace

Parks & Gardens

* Rani Laxmi Park
* Narayan Bagh
* Kargil Shaheed Park
* Nehru Park
* Panchtantra park

Eminent people associated with Jhansi

References

*1911

External links

* [http://www.jhansi.nic.in Jhansi District Official web site]
* [http://www.nagarnigamjhansi.in/ Jhansi Municipal Corporation Official web site]
* [http://www.jdaindia.org/ Jhansi Development Authority Official web site]
* [http://www.cbjhansi.org.in/ Jhansi Cantonment Board Official web site]
* [http://www.up-tourism.com/destination/jhansi/jhansi.htm Official Jhansi Tourism web site]
* [http://www.bundelkhand.in/portal/JHANSI Jhansi Online News & Community]
* [http://www.jhansi.in/ Jhansi City travel guide]
* [http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/local/uttarpradesh/4-1-54.html Jhansi Latest News @ Dainik Jagran]
* [http://www.wikitravel.org/en/Jhansi Jhansi at Wikitravel]
* [http://www.1857mutiny.com/Analysis/jhansi-run/ Day by day account of Jhansi's role during the First Indian Rebellion]