Bhilwara

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Bhilwara | type = city | latd = 25.35 | longd = 74.63
locator_position = right | state_name = Rajasthan
district = Bhilwara
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altitude = 421
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 280,185| population_density =
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Bhilwara is a city in Mewar region of Rajasthan, India, 600 km from Delhi. It is the administrative seat of Bhilwara District.

History

When Arjun was going to Dwarika with all Gopis during Mahabharata period. He was passing through the present Bhilwara region. There was a war of Arjuna Bhils. Local tradition reveals that it came to be known as Bhilwara because it was mostly inhabited by Bhil tribes in old days. These Bhils were eventually driven away towards the hilly tracts and interior places of less importance by the ancestors of the peasant settlers. It is said to have come up in the middle of the 11th century when a Bhil tribal, supposedly one of the first settlers, built a Shiva temple on the site of the existing "Jat aun ka Mandir". This is in the area called Junawas, the oldest part of the town. And if we are to believe this, the town is more than 900 years old. [ [http://www.indiasite.com/rajasthan/bhilwara/history.html historical information on Bhilwara] ] Ironically enough, now very few Bhils live in this area. Another version recounts that the present Bhilwara city had a mint where coins known as 'BHILADI' were minted and from this denomination was derived the name of the district. A town nearby the city named "Mandal" is assumed to be the base of the Mughals when they attacked Chittor Garh, the moughal forces camped near the "talab" of the town of Mandal, ruins of the camp can still be seen there. A tower served as light house was also built on a small hill in Mandal, know known as "Mandara (minar)" this small hill also houses a devi temple. Bhilwara's history can be back to prehistoric period when neolithic culture was flourishing at Bagore village. A pillar said to be of first century BC at Nandsa village is evidence of Vedic rituals and culture. Classical 'Nagar' style of temple architect can be seen at temples of Menaal(Mahanaleshwer),Bijoliya, Gurlan, Gadarmala, Momi, Kanpura and Mandalgarh places.

Geography

Bhilwara (bēlvä`rə) is located at coord|25.35|N|74.63|E|. [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/24/Bhilwara.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bhilwara] ] It has an average elevation of 421 metres (1381 feet).Major rivers flowing through the district areBanas, Bedach, Kothari, Khari, Mansi, Menali, Chandrabhaga and Nagdi.There is not any natural lake in the district but on the other hand there are number of ponds and dams so the district is the most irrigated through the ponds in the state of Rajasthan.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census [GR|India] , Bhilwara had a population of 20,09,516. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.There was a question in Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC),whose answer was "Bhilwara has the highest no. of registered private motor vehicles(four wheelers) in Asia".i.e. Per capita density of regd. private four wheelers is highest in Asia, This also is indicative of density of millionaire is highest in Asia.Fashion fabrics (P) ltd Known as RCM a multilevel marketing company has become third largest MLM company of the world.also it comes third in chartered accountancy examination results after mumbai and jodhpur..Bhilwara is 7th largest city of rajasthan.Only textile engineering college of Rajasthan is in Bhilwara. Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari Branch Bhilwara is vibhag of ten districts of rajasthan.The city has got more than 300 parks-small as well as big-crowning it with the highest number of parks in the state.

Economy

The major industry is textiles, with more than 400 manufacturing units in the town. There is also a huge cloth market. The main textile product is synthetic fabric used in trousers. The city is a market for mica, grains, cotton, and wool. Its manufactures include textiles and metalware. It was the immense effort of Lt. Sh. Jugal Kishore Sharaf and then Lt. Sh. Chetan Sharaf owner of Jugal Kishore Mica corp. that played a crucial role of Bhilwara being a major Mica producing area. Mansinghka family, a well known business family, has had a major impact on the development of the city.

Bhilwara is the one of the major textile centre of the Country. It is prominent in manufacturer of P/V blended yarn and suiting. The turn over of the textile industry is more than Rs. 10,000 crore p.a. It has 9 major spinning mills and 5 small spinning mills. The total spindlage installed at Bhilwara are approx. 4.50 lacs about 40% of the State capacity. It has 18 modern process houses to process polyester/viscose suiting with the capacity of 50-55 crore meters of fabric p.a. In weaving sector it has approx. 13,500 looms out of which about 9000 are modern shuttleless looms. Exports of textiles from the district is of more than Rs. 750 crore p.a.

It is the only center in the country producing insulation bricks. There are about 25 units. In mining sector large scale mining of sand stone, which is also exporting. The other major mining activity is in soap stone mining, the talcum powder manufactured by UMDS is supplied to all major manufacturing units.

Infrastructure

Electricity

Bhilwara receives electricity from Kota, Beawar, Rana Pratap Sagar and Nimbahera. All the 1,565 villages have been electrified.

Water

The main rivers in the district are Banas, Beduch, Kothari, Khari, Menaali, Unli and Meaj. The water table in the district is comparatively high between 10 to 20 meters. The ground water is fresh and potable. The district has about 86,600 wells and 56 tube-wells, providing drinking water and irrigation facilities.

Road Transport

State Highway (Jaipur-Udaipur) passes through the district. The total road length in the district is 3,883 km as on 31 March 2000.

Rail Transport A broad gauge railway line connects Ajmer with Mumbai and passes through the district.

Air Transport

The nearest airport is at Udaipur (171 km)

Communication Facilities

(No.) Post Offices 391 Telegraph Offices 95 Telephone exchanges 71 Public call offices 1,180

Educational Facilities/Institutions

(No.) Primary and Middle Schools 2,009 Higher Secondary and Secondary Schools 212 Under Graduate and Post Graduate Colleges 7 ITI, Textile Institute and others 6

Transport

The city is connected by National Highway No. 79 through Jaipur, Ajmer and Udaipur, which makes the major cities accessile. The four lane highway is part of golden quadrilateral highway project of India and connects Bhilwara with major cities. Bhilwara is connected by Broad gauge railway line network as of July 2007(Appox.).

Social and cultural significance

Besides Bhilwara's popularity in name of textile industry, it has a very strong cultural heritage base. Bhilwara is also famous for following cultural and social elements:
* Art: Great Indian Miniature artist Badri Lal Chitrakar highlights the city on international maps for Indian Miniature Art. He has been given Shilp Guru award by Vice-President of India in September 9, 2006.
* Gazak: famous sweet. It is made up of Til and famous around whole Rajasthan.
* Sports: Bhilwara is the source of National Basketball team players. This city is considered to be the mine of basketball players. The well known basketball coach Priyadarshini Diwakar has trained many players in the city. His students are scattered around the world.
* Shitala Devi Saptami: People from Bhilwara indulges themselves more on this festival as compared to Holi (a week before). People eat cold food on the day, as a dedication to celebrate last winter festival. Besides many other real stories are told behind it.

Notable people

* Shiv Charan Mathur (Ex.Chief Minister)

References

External links

*
* [http://bhilwara.nic.in/default.htm] National Information Centre (NIC) Bhilwara

See also

* Bhilwara district
* Bhilwara (Lok Sabha constituency)