Ajmer

This article is about the municipality in Rajasthan, India. For its namesake district, see Ajmer district. For the historical region, see Ajmer region.
Ajmer
अजमेर
Metropolitan city

Mayo College
Nickname(s): city of unity[1]
Ajmer
Coordinates: 26°27′N 74°56′E / 26.45°N 74.94°E / 26.45; 74.94Coordinates: 26°27′N 74°56′E / 26.45°N 74.94°E / 26.45; 74.94
Country India
State Rajasthan
District Ajmer
Founded by Raja Ajaypal Chauhan
Named for Raja Ajaypal Chauhan
Government
 • Body District Headquarters
Elevation 200 m (700 ft)
Population (2011 census)
 • Total 542,580
Languages
 • Official Hindi
 • Regional Marwari, Parsi, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 305001
Telephone code +0145
Vehicle registration RJ01(Ajmer), RJ42(Kishangarh) RJ36 (Beawar), RJ48 (Kekri)
Nearest city Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur
Website www.ajmer.rajasthan.gov.in
Statue of Parshvanatha at a Jain temple in Ajmer

Ajmer (pronounced [ədʒmeːr]) is the fifth largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and is the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. According to the 2011 census, Ajmer has a population of around 551,360 in its urban agglomeration and 542,580 in the city. The city is located at a distance of 135 km from the state capital Jaipur and 391 km from the national capital New Delhi.

Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. It is a pilgrimage centre for the shrine of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and is also the base for visiting Pushkar (11 km), an ancient Hindu pilgrimage city, famous for the temple of Brahma.

Prithviraj Chauhan (1149–1192 CE), of the Chauhan dynasty, ruled Ajmer along with Delhi during the latter half of the 12th century. He succeeded to the throne at the age of 13, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi, and was the last independent Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi.

Ajmer has been selected as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. [2]

History

Main article: History of Ajmer
Jahangir receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on his return from the Mewar campaign

According to Rajputana Gazetteer, Ajmer was held by Chechi Gurjars until about 700 years ago. Ajmer, earlier known as 'Ajayameru' (Sanskrit: अजयमेरु, lit. invincible mountain) was founded in the late 7th century A.D. by Ajayraj Singh Chauhan. Chauhan clan is a branch of Rajputs. The Chauhan dynasty ruled Ajmer in spite of repeated invasions by Turkic Muslim armies from Central Asia across the north of India. Ajmer was conquered by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. However, the Chauhan rulers were able to gain autonomy upon the payment of a heavy tribute to him. Ajmer regained independence under the ruler of Mewar in 1365. In 1509, control of Ajmer was disputed between the Maharajas of Mewar and Marwar until it was conquered by the Marwar in 1532. In 1553, the state was ruled by the Hindu Emperor Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, popularly known as Hemu, who was killed in 1556 in the Second Battle of Panipat. The city was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1559. In the early 1700s century, control passed to the Marathas.

In 1818 the British forced the Marathas to cede the city for 50,000 rupees, whereupon it became part of the Province of Ajmer-Marwar in the colonial British Raj. It consisted of the districts of Ajmer and Merwara, and were physically separated by the territory of the Rajputana Agency. Ajmer-Marwar was directly administered by the British Raj, by a commissioner who was subordinate to the Governor-General's agent for Rajputana.

Ajmer-Marwar remained a province of India until 1950, when it became the Ajmer State. Ajmer state became part of Rajasthan state on 1 November 1956.

Geography

Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. The city is sied on the lower slopes of the Taragarh Hill in the Aravalli Range. It is situated almost in the centre of Rajasthan. To the north of the city is a large artificial lake, called Anasagar with a marble structure known as Baradari. Ajmer is protected from the Thar desert by the massive rocks of Nagpathar range.

Ajmer is also antipodal to the Chilean remote island of Isla Sala y Gómez.

Climate

Climate data for Ajmer
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 22.9
(73.2)		 25.7
(78.3)		 31.3
(88.3)		 36.5
(97.7)		 39.7
(103.5)		 38.4
(101.1)		 33.6
(92.5)		 31.3
(88.3)		 32.6
(90.7)		 33.5
(92.3)		 29.2
(84.6)		 24.7
(76.5)		 31.62
(88.92)
Average low °C (°F) 7.6
(45.7)		 10.5
(50.9)		 16.0
(60.8)		 22.2
(72)		 26.8
(80.2)		 27.5
(81.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 24.4
(75.9)		 23.7
(74.7)		 18.0
(64.4)		 12.3
(54.1)		 8.4
(47.1)		 18.58
(65.45)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 7.3
(0.287)		 6.0
(0.236)		 5.0
(0.197)		 4.0
(0.157)		 15.7
(0.618)		 58.1
(2.287)		 181.5
(7.146)		 157.5
(6.201)		 73.0
(2.874)		 13.1
(0.516)		 4.0
(0.157)		 3.8
(0.15)		 529
(20.826)
Source: IMD[3]

Ajmer has a hot semi-arid climate with over 55 centimetres (25.4 in) of rain every year, but most of the rain occurs in the Monsoon months, between June and September. Temperatures remain relatively high throughout the year, with the summer months of April to early July having an average daily temperature of about 30 °C (86 °F). During the monsoon there are frequent heavy rains and thunderstorms but flooding is not a common occurrence. The winter months of November to February are mild and temperate with average temperatures ranging from 15–18 °C (59–64 °F) with little or no humidity. There are, however, occasional cold weather fronts that cause temperatures to fall to near freezing levels.

Transportation

The Pushkar Ghati connecting Ajmer and Pushkar
A long shot of Pushkar ghati

Ajmer is well connected to the major cities of India by land and rail.

Air

Work on the Kishangarh Airport near Ajmer was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September 2013 and it is expected to commence operations in 2016.[4] At present the nearest airport is the Jaipur International Airport, about 132 km away, with daily flights to the major cities in India.

Rail

Ajmer is at an important railway junction on the Broad gauge Jaipur-Ahmedabad line. Presently, the rail lines are without overhead Electric wires i.e. only Diesel engines can be run on them. Electrification of the railway lines is under progress, starting with Ajmer-Jaipur line.

Road

The city is located on the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway 8 (NH 8) midway between Delhi and Mumbai, about 400 km from Delhi and 135 km from Jaipur. The Ajmer - Jaipur expressway is a 6 lane highway. There are air-conditioned bus services to Ajmer from Delhi, Jaipur and other cities.

Intra-city transport

Buses and taxis are available for travel within the city and to nearby towns such as Pushkar and Kishangarh. Rickshaws are also available within the city.

Tourist sites

Ajmer Sharif Dargah
Baradari on Lake Anasagar
Lake Foysagar at sunset

On the way to Prithviraj Chauhan Statue, the famous Sai Baba temple is also an important tourist destination which is having same architecture as that of Sai Baba temple in Shirdi.

Soniji Ki Nasiyan

Located about 11 kilometres from Ajmer Pushkar is also an important tourist destination. It is famous for Pushkar Lake and the 14th century Brahma Temple at Pushkar, dedicated to Brahmā, according to the Padma Purāņa, Pushkar is the only place where Brahmā may be worshipped.[12] There is a general belief amongst Hindus that no pilgrimage to the four principal pilgrim centres (Char Dham) namely, Badrinath, Jagannath, Rameshwaram and Dwarka, would be complete without a blessing that comes from bathing in the holy Pushkar Lake. Pushkar has 52 bathing ghats and many temples. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Fair.

Shopping

Ajmer is home to antiques and silver jewelry. It is also popular for shopping items like bandhini sarees and dupattas, Jodhpuri juttis, ittar (perfume), Rajasthani crafts, etc. Some of the famous markets are Naya Bazaar, Madar Gate, Churi Bazaar, Ajaymeru Udyog Crafts Mela.[13]

Ajmer, a view from Taragarh Fort

Education

Sophia School and College

Mayo College was founded by the British Raj in 1875 to educate the children of India's royalty under mayo college general council two more schools were built in later half of 20th century Mayo college girls school(girls boarding) and Mayoor school(day school)both these schools are built on land given by Mayo college once part of its campus and hence located nearby . Ajmer is also home to Saint Anselms School (1904), St. Mary's Convent Girls' School, Sophia Girls' School (1918/1935) & College (1943, and the historic Ajmer Music College (1942), the first accredited institution in Rajasthan for teaching Hindustani classical music.

The headquarter of Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan (BSER) is in Ajmer.

The Central University of Rajasthan is also situated near Kishangarh.

The city also houses JLN Medical College proving MBBS, MD and DM course training in various fields including cardiology.

Demographics

Population Growth of Ajmer 
CensusPop. %±
189168,800
—
190173,8007.3%
191186,20016.8%
1921113,20031.3%
1931119,5005.6%
1941147,30023.3%
1951196,30033.3%
1961231,20017.8%
1971264,30014.3%
1981374,40041.7%
1991402,7007.6%
2001490,52021.8%
2011551,10112.4%
source:[14]
Population growth through the years
Year Population
1891
68,800
1901
73,800
1911
86,200
1921
113,200
1931
119,500
1941
147,300
1951
196,300
1961
231,200
1968
265,200
1971
264,300
1981
374,400
1991
402,700
2001
490,520
2011
551,101

♦ Source:[14]

According to the 2011 India census,[15] Ajmer district has a population of 2,584,913, which was made up of 1,325,911 males and 1,259,002 females. Ajmer district had an average literacy rate of 70.46 percent, male literacy being 83.93% and female literacy 56.42%. There was a total of 1,557,264 literates compared to 1,168,856 in the 2001 census. The population density in Ajmer district was 305 compared to 257 per km2 in 2001. The female to male ratio in Ajmer was 950/1000. This represents an increase of 2.04% from the 2001 census. Ajmer's population growth in the decade was 18.48%, this compares to a growth figure of 20.93% for the previous decade. The population of Ajmer city according census 2011 is 542,580 positioning Ajmer in top 100 major cities of India and 5th in Rajasthan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ ajmer.rajasthan.gov.in/
  2. ↑ "Introduction". Hriday official website.
  3. ↑ "Monthly mean maximum and minimum temperature and total rainfall of important cities (PDF)" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  4. ↑ "Focus on connecting small cities by air: Manmohan". The Hindu. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  5. 1 2 "Ajmer – Travel guide at Wikivoyage". en.wikivoyage.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  6. 1 2 Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 173.
  7. ↑ Arhai-din-ka Jhompra Mosque archnet.org.
  8. ↑ "Akbar Ka Kila , AJMER".
  9. ↑ Main Building Architecture: Official website of Mayo College, Ajmer, India
  10. ↑ "Magazine | Jain Culture | Temples | India | Rajasthan ►Ajmer ►Soniji Ki Nasiyan". Herenow4u.net. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  11. ↑ "Sight Seeing". Ajmer.nic.in. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  12. ↑ News India Times, New York NY, USA, April 25, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Best places to enjoy local and street shopping in Ajmer | TripFactory". Trip Factory. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  14. 1 2 "Historical Census of India".
  15. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ajmer.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.