| Skyline caption | Jodhpur, also known as Blue City |
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| State name | Rajasthan | |
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Jodhpur (; ), is the second largest
city in the
Indian
state of
Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital,
Jaipur. It was formerly the seat of a
princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as
Marwar. Jodhpur is a popular
tourist destination, featuring many
palaces,
forts and
temples, set in the stark landscape of the
Thar desert
The city is known as the Sun City for the bright, sunny weather it enjoys all year. It is also referred to as the Blue City due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. Jodhpur lies near the geographic centre of Rajasthan state, which makes it a convenient base for travel in a region much frequented by tourists. The old city of Jodhpur is surrounded by a thick stone wall.
, seen from the Mehrangarh Fort.]]
The area was part of the Gurjara - Pratihara empire and until 1100 CE was ruled by a powerful Bargujar King. Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of the Rathore clan. Jodha succeeded in conquering the surrounding territory and thus founded a state which came to be known as Marwar. As Jodha hailed from the nearby town of Mandore, that town initially served as the capital of this state; however, Jodhpur soon took over that role, even during the lifetime of Jodha. The city was located on the strategic road linking Delhi to Gujarat. This enabled it to profit from a flourishing trade in opium, copper, silk, sandals, date palms and coffee.
Early in its history, the state became a fief under the Mughal Empire, owing fealty to them while enjoying some internal autonomy. During this period, the state furnished the Mughals with several notable generals such as Maharaja Jaswant Singh. Jodhpur and its people benefited from this exposure to the wider world: new styles of art and architecture made their appearance and opportunities opened up for local tradesmen to make their mark across northern India.
Aurangzeb briefly sequestrated the state (c.1679) on the pretext of a minority, but the rightful ruler Maharaja Ajit Singh was restored to the throne by Veer Durgadas Rathore after Aurangzeb died in 1707 and a great struggle of 30 years. The Mughal empire declined gradually after 1707, but the Jodhpur court was beset by intrigue; rather than benefiting from circumstances, Marwar descended into strife and invited the intervention of the Marathas, who soon supplanted the Mughals as overlords of the region. This did not make for stability or peace, however; 50 years of wars and treaties dissipated the wealth of the state, which sought and gratefully entered into subsidiary alliance with the British in 1818.
During the British Raj, the state of Jodhpur had the largest land area of any in Rajputana. Jodhpur prospered under the peace and stability that were a hallmark of this era.The land area of the state was its population in 1901 was 44,73,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of £35,29,000/. Its merchants, the Marwaris, flourished without let or limit and came to occupy a position of dominance in trade across India. In 1947, when India became independent, the state merged into the union of India and Jodhpur became the second city of Rajasthan.
Oswal Jains were mainly concentrated in Gorwar Region which was again ruled by Maharaja of Jodhpur . And Oswal jains also played main role in strengthening foundation of Jodhpur by donating mass wealth , gems to Maharaja of Jodhpur & in turn Maharaja of Jodhpur used to honour these wealthy Oswal Jain Merchants as Nagar Seth or various other honourable titles.
At the time of partition, ruler of Jodhpur Hanwant Singh didn't want to join India, but finally due to the effective leadership of Sardar Vallab Patel the then Home Minister at centre princely state of Jodhpur was included in Indian Republic. Later after State Reorganization Act, 1956 it was made part of the state of Rajasthan.
Demographics
As of 2001 India
census, Jodhpur had a population of 846,408. Men constitute 53 percent of the population and women 47 percent. Jodhpur has an average
literacy rate of 67 percent, higher than the national average of 59.5 percent: male literacy is 75 percent, and female literacy is 58 percent. In Jodhpur, 14 percent of the population is under six years of age.
Economy
The
Handicrafts industry has in recent years eclipsed all other industries in the city. By some estimates, the furniture export segment is a $200 million industry, directly or indirectly employing as many as 200,000 people. Other items manufactured include textiles, metal utensils, bicycles, ink and sporting goods. A flourishing cottage industry exists for the manufacture of such items as glass bangles, cutlery, carpets and marble products.
After handicrafts, tourism is the second largest industry of Jodhpur. Crops grown in the district include wheat and the famous Mathania red chillies. Gypsum and salt are mined. The city serves as an important marketplace for wool and agricultural products. The Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Border Security Force maintain training centres at Jodhpur.
The administration of Jodhpur is consisting of a District Collector, followed by 4 Additional District Magistrates (I,II, Land Conversion and City ADM). Presently, the Collector and District Magistrate is Mr. Sidharth Mahajan (I.A.S)
Elected Representatives
The present Member of Parliament from Jodhpur is Maharani Chandresh Kumari of Kangra, who is also the sister of
Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur. The current MLAs from the 3 constituencies of Jodhpur are
from Jodhpur City: Shri Kailash Bhansali, Chartered Accountant; from Sardarpura: Shri Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan; from Soorsagar: Smt.
Suryakanta Vyas
Excursions
.]]
Mandore
Kaylana Lake and Garden
Balsamand lake
Sardar Samand lake and palace
Masooria Hill, Veer Durgadas Smarak, park, museum
Dhawa (Dholi) forest area
Khichan
Osian
Nakoda ji
Fairs and festivals
.]]
Marwar festival
Gangaur
Teej
Nag Panchmi fair
Mahaveer Jayanti
Shietla Mata
Cuisine
A number of Indian delicacies have originated in Jodhpur. To name a few, the
Makhaniya Lassi, Mawa Kachori,
Pyaaj Kachori, Hot & Spicy Mirchibada (chaudhary ka mirchi bada)(A preparation made with potato, onion, chilli and gramflour),
Dal Bati Churma,
Panchkuta, Lapsi (a special kind of dessert made with wheat,
Jaggery, and ghee), Kachar mircha curry (made with chilli and kachar, a special type of vegetable grown in desert area) and Kadhi (made with gramflour, curd and chilli) with Baajre ka sogra. Jodhpur is known for its sweets ranging from traditional "
Makhanbada" to Bengali "
Roshogollas".,"
Ras madhuri"
Education
Jodhpur is also becoming a major education hub for higher studies in India. It is India's largest hub for preparation of CA entrance. Major Institutions are IIT (One of Best Engineering College in India), NLU (National Law University) (One of best Law college in India 3rd rank in India), NIFT (National Institute Of Fashion And Technology) (One of best Fashion Institute In India), Ayuerved University (Second University of it's field in India), JNVU (Jai Narayan Vyas University) ("A" Grade University).
MBM engineering college falls under JNVU university, is the world's only institute which has its own mines. Also a new campus of AIIMS is going to be established in CAZRI(Central Arid Zone Research Institute)campus. The other educational institutions include Dr. S.N Medical College, JECRC, JIET, Lachoo Memorial College, Somani College, Marwar Engineering College,VIET etc.
Judiciary
Rajasthan High Court (Rajasthani: राजस्थान मोटी कचेरी, Hindi: राजस्थान उच्च न्यायालय) is the High Court of the state of Rajasthan. It was established on 21 June 1949 under the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949.
The seat of the court is at Jodhpur. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 40.
View of the Rajasthan High Court, Sardar museum in Umaid Park and upper right is Jodhpur fort in 1960.
The High Court of Rajasthan was founded in the year 1949 at Jodhpur, and was inaugurated by the Rajpramukh, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh on 29 August 1949. The first Chief Justice was Kamala Kant Verma. A bench was formed at Jaipur which was dissolved in the year 1958 and was again formed on 31 January 1977. Currently the sanctioned strength of the judges is 40 and actual strength is 29.
Transport
The city is very well connected with Road, Rail and Air.
It is mostly connected with railways to major Indian cities like
Delhi,
Mumbai,
Kolkata,
Chennai,
Bangalore,
Pune,
Kota,
Kanpur,
Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad,
Indore,
Bhopal,
Jabalpur,
Guwahati,
Nagpur,
Lucknow and
Jaipur.The railway station is also the originating point for various trains like
Jodhpur - Indore Express, Jodhpur - Bhopal Express, Jodhpur - Puri Express etc.
Jodhpur Airport is one of the prominent airports of western India. It was primarily constructed as an Air Force base because of its important strategic location ( Jodhpur Airport played the crutial role during Indo-Pak wars in 1965, 1971).
Airlines and destinations
Notable Persons
Choudhary Jitender Pichkiya = Production & Industrial Engineer, Enlightening Football in Jodhpur, Well known person in Khangta Village.
Nitin Omprakash Bohra = Founder of India's first multidisciplinary designer advisory services firm, SHREE BINDUKSHINI Advisory Services (www.bindukshini.com) was born in Jodhpur.
Further reading
Jodhpur, Published by [s.l.], 1933.
Maharaja of Marwar 1973.
Marwar under Jaswant Singh, (1658-1678): Jodhpur hukumat ri bahi, by Satish Chandra, Raghubir Sinh, Ghanshyam Dattan Singh of Jodhpur and His Times (1803-1843 A.D.)'', by Padmaja Sharma. Published by Shiva Lal Agarwala, 1972.
The Administration of Jodhpur State, 1800-1947 A.D., by Nirmala M. Upadhyaya. International Publishers, Sharma. Published by Meenakshi Prakashan, 1976.
The History of Rajputana-Vol.IV, PartII.The History of the Jodhpur State, Part II,Veer Durgadas. 1941, Dr.Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha.
Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer: Desert Kingdoms, by Kishore Singh, Karoki Lewis. Lustre Press Ltd. 1992.
The House of Marwar: The Story of Jodhpur, by Dhananajaya Singh. Lotus Collection, Roli Books, 1994. ISBN 81-7436-002-6.
Modern Indian Kingship: Tradition, Legitimacy & Power in Jodhpur, by Marzia Balzani. Published by James Currey Limited, 2003. ISBN 0-85255-931-3.
Rathod Durgadas by Pt.Bishweshharnath Reu, 1948, Archaeological Department, Jodhpur.
Veer Durgadas Rathor by Dr.L.S.Rathore, Thar Bliss Publisher, Jodhpur, 1987.
Jodhpur and the Later Mughals, AD 1707-1752, by R. S. Sangwan. Published by Pragati Publications, 2006.
References
External links
Bird's eye view of Jodhpur (Satellite picture)
Official Jodhpur, Official Website
Jodhpur at ''wikimapia
Travel Pages (India)
Satellite map of Jodhpur
Osiyan 5MW Solar power Project
Mehrangarh Museum Trust
Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF)
Category:Jodhpur
Category:Indian Princely States
Category:Cities and towns in Jodhpur district
Category:1459 establishments
Category:Populated places established in the 1450s
Category:Jodhpur railway division
Category:Divisions of Indian Railways
Category:North Western Railway Zone
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![The Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India is one of the largest private residences in the world.[1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110614021652im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/f8/60/9a59f08ac82b1e01a03827b75af0_grande.jpg "The Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India is one of the largest private residences in the world.[1]")
![The Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India is one of the largest private residences in the world.[1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110614021652im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/f8/60/9a59f08ac82b1e01a03827b75af0_thumb.jpg "The Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India is one of the largest private residences in the world.[1]")
