Garhmukteshwar

Garhmukteshwar
City
Garhmukteshwar Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 28°48′N 78°06′E / 28.800°N 78.100°E / 28.800; 78.100Coordinates: 28°48′N 78°06′E / 28.800°N 78.100°E / 28.800; 78.100
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Hapur
Named for	Mukteshwar Mahadev
Government
• Type	Municipal Board
• Body	Elected
• Municipal board Chairperson	Sona Singh
Population  (2011)
• Total	46,077
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	245205
Telephone code	5731
Vehicle registration	UP-37
Website	http://www.nppgarhmukteshwar.com

Garhmukteshwar is a Tehsil / Block (CD) in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh state, India. According to Census 2011 information the sub-district code of Garhmukteshwar block is 00741. Total area of Garhmukteshwar is 272 km² including 237.38 km² rural area and 34.13 km² urban area. Garhmukteshwar has a population of 3,84,831 peoples. There are 64,688 houses in the sub-district. There are about 137 villages in Garhmukteshwar block.

History[]

Garhmukteshwar is an ancient place that is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata. There are claims that it was a part of ancient Hastinapur, the capital of the Pandavas. An ancient fort, repaired by the Maratha leader Mir Bhawan, became, under the British, the headquarters of the tehsil. The name of the town is derived from the temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva, dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is worshipped there in four temples. The town has 80 sati pillars, marking the spots where Hindu widows are said to have become Sati-Mata. The town also has a mosque, built by Gays-ud-din Balban, that bears an inscription in Arabic dating to 682 Hijri (1283 A.D.).^[1]

Partition violence[]

Garhmukteshwar was the scene of major anti-Muslim violence in November 1946, at a time when various areas of British India were experiencing significant communal unrest as the partition of the country into India and Pakistan loomed. Gyanendra Pandey describes the place as "a metaphor for the atrocities of Partition; and Partition itself a metaphor for the kind of extraordinary genocidal violence that was not witnessed again in India, perhaps until 1984".^[2] A mela (fair) held 3 miles (4.8 km) from the town was attended by between 700,000 - 800,000 people and on 6 November 1946 there were a series of attacks on Muslim shopkeepers at the event, resulting in 46 deaths and a further 39 people injured. The assaults and also arson attacks continued on and off for several days at the mela, while the town of Garhmukteshwar itself witnessed a large number of anti-Muslim atrocities, including killings, arson and the destruction of the Muslim quarter. Official reports gave the Muslim death toll in the town as at least 214 people, and there were also quite a lot Hindu deaths in retaliatory attacks.^[3]

Official investigations into violence in Uttar Pradesh at that time note that there was a "desire for revenge" among both Hindus and Muslims, resulting from news of similar violence in Calcutta.^[3]

Climate[]

Garhmukteshwar has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate characterized by very hot summers and cool winters. Summers last from early April to late June during and are extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 43 °C (109 °F).^[4] The monsoon arrives in late June and continues till the middle of September. Temperatures drop slightly, with plenty of cloud cover but with higher humidity. Temperatures rise again in October and the town then has a mild, dry winter season from late October to the middle of March^[4] Lowest temperature recorded is 0.5 °C (32.9 °F).^{[citation needed]} Rainfall is about 80 cm to 100 cm per annum, which is suitable for growing crops. Most of the rainfall is received during the monsoon. Humidity varies from 30 to 100%.^[4] The town receives no snow.

Demographics[]

Garhmukhteshwar has a population of 46,077 of which 24,437 are males and 21,640 are females, per the 2011 Census of India.^[6]

Location[]

Garhmukteshwar is situated on National Highway 9, which connects it to New Delhi, which is around 100 kilometres (62 mi) away, and puts the town, which is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Ganges River, on a direct route from India's capital city to that river.^{[citation needed]}

Railways[]

There are two railway stations in the city, named Garhmukteshwar and Garhmukteshwar Bridge (Brijghat). Both stations are situated on the Delhi–Moradabad line.

Attractions[]

• The ancient Ganga Temple once had around 100 steps leading down to the river. 85 of these are still intact. Devotees from all around the country come to the temple to witness the Ganges and the white stone idol of Brahma.
• Mukteshwar Mahadev Temple is an ancient Shiva temple in the town. It has Shiva lingam in the temple which is believed to have been constructed by the sage Parshuram.
• Nahush Koop is a well whose water comes from the Ganges. King Nahush performed a yajna here.
• Meerabai ki Reti is a tourist destination located just opposite to the Mukteshwar temple. It is a sandy stretch of land where, according to folklore, Meerabai used to stay and offer prayers.
• Brijghat has many temples like as Vedant Mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Amrit Parisar.
• Sidhnath Baba Shiv Temple, a Mahabharat era temple situated on Madhya Ganga Nahar Road, Jhadina Village.

See also[]

• Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
• Siyana
• Bulandshahr
• Gajraula
• Amroha
• Hapur

References[]