Jhansi

Jhansi 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

, c1857]]

Lakshmibai, The Rani (Queen) of Jhansi (c.19 November 1828 – 17 June 1858) (Devanagari- झाँसी की रानी Marathi- झाशीची राणी), known as Jhansi Ki Rani, the queen of the Jhansi, was one of the leading figures of the First Freedom Struggle of India, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India. She has gone down in Indian history as a legendary figure, the firebrand who began the Indian Revolution against British Colonialism and for Indian independence. 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 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 forts were built on the sea beds like the one at Bekal in Kerala.

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). Jhansi is located in the plateau of central India,an area dominated by rocky reliefs and minerals underneath the soil. 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.

Transport

The city is well connected by rail, road and air transport services.

Railways Jhansi has its own Division of the North Central Railways. It is well connected by train services to all parts of the country, including 4 metros. There are direct trains to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata (Howrah), Chennai, Bangalore (Bengaluru), Trivandrum, Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jammu, Lucknow, Bhopal and other major towns.

Road Transport The proposed North-south & East-west Corridors of the Golden-Quadrilateral Highway project pass and cross each other in Jhansi only and it is also well connected to Kanpur, Lucknow and Madhya Pradesh by road.

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 Laxmi 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)

Lifeline Hospital (Kanpur road),

Happy Family Hospital (Behind Hotel Sita, civil lines),

Gupta mediscan centre (Sadar bazar )

St. Jude Hospital(Germany) (Sipri bazaar),

Nirmal Hospital (Near medical college),

Vinayak Hospital, behind Yatrik hotel (Elite circle)

LRM Jain Nursing Home (Civil lines),

Christian Hospital (Jhokan Bagh)

Sanjeevani Hospital (Kanpur road)

RAAJ DENTAL CLINIC, 1st Floor Mubarak Market, Sipri Bazar, Jhansi,

Educational Institutes

Jhansi has gradually become an educational hub of India. Students from different parts of the country come here for their higher studies. Even foreign students come here for various unique courses available in Jhansi's Educational Institutes.

'''Bundelkhand University. www.bujhansi.org

Government Engineering College

*Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering & Technology BIET Jhansi

'''Chandra Shekhar Azad Institute of Science and Technology (CSAIST), Jail Chauraha, Jhansi

Government Colleges

*Bundelkhand University, Medical road

*BBC College, Behind Govind Chauraha

*BKD College, Elite Road, BKD Chauraha

*Government Inter College (G.I.C.), Gwalior Road, Jhansi

*Suraj Prasad College, Sadar Bazar

*Government Inter College(GIC), Mission Compound

Army Schools

*Army School, Contonment Area, Jhansi

Kendriya Vidyalaya

*Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 located in Cantt. area. This Vidyalaya opened in Dec . 1963. The distance from railway station is about 7k.m.

*kendriya vidyalaya No 2 Established in the year 1980

*kendriya vidyalaya No 3 Gulam gaus road railway colony jhansi

Private Schools

* Sri Guru Nanak Khalsa Inter College, New Roy Ganj, Sipri Bazar, Jhansi

* Rani Laxmibai Public School,Jhansi

* Sunny Convent Inter College, Jhansi

*Shri Raghuraj Singh Inter College, Outside Datiya Gate, Jhansi

*Veerangana Jhalkaribai Inter College, Khushipura, Jhansi

*Gyan Sthali Public School, Shivaji Nagar, Jhansi

*Mahatma Hansraj Modern School,Shivpuri Road, Jhansi

*Sheerwood College, Khati Baba, Jhansi

*The Woods Heritage School, Jhansi

*Christ The King College (Only for Boys)

*St. Marks College

* Modern Public School,Civil Lines,Jhansi

*St. Xaviers College, B.H.E.L Khailar(14 KM from Main City)

*B.H.E.L. shiksha Niketan (BHEL jhansi)

*Blue Bells School, Rajgarh

*St. Francis School (Only for Girls)

*Cathedral College, Jhansi

*Sun international School,Near R.T.O. kanpur Road, Jhansi.

*Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Bala Ji Road, Jhansi.

*C.L.Memorial High school, Jhansi.

Semi Governmenyt Colleges

*Sri Laxmi Vyayam Mandir Inter College, Jhansi

*College of Science & Engineering, Jhansi

Saraswati vidhya mandir datia gate bahar ,jhansi

Telephone companies

Four operators in Fixed and Fixed Wireless Line telephony are found in the city and use the STD code 510.

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,96xxx xxxxx

Tata Indicom (on CDMA platform) Series 9235x xxxxx.

Reliance Communications (on CDMA platform) Series 93xxx xxxxx.

Reliance Communications (on GSM platform) Series 90xxx xxxxx.

Idea cellular (on GSM platform) Series 98xxx xxxxx & 97xxx xxxxx & 96xxx xxxxx.

Tata Docomo

Uninor

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.

92.7 BIG FM The Reliance group owned by Anil Ambani started the broadcasting in Jhansi in March,2007 as BIG FM so as to follow their policy of covering maximum cities.

Tourism

Places of interest

Jhansi Fort

Rani Mahal (Queen's Palace)

U.P. Govt. Museum

Maha Lakshmi Temple

Leher ki Devi Temple

Panchkuian Temple - An old traditional temple, Rani Lakshmi bai used to worship here

Ganesh Mandir

Siddheshwar Temple (Near GIC Inter College) - Built by Pandit Raghunath Vinayak Dhulekar

Panchtantra Park (attracting huge crowd)

Jhansi Cantt

Sadar Bazar market and Manik Chowk market

Sarafa bazzar

Cathedral of St. Anthony, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jhansi

St. Jude's Shrine attracts huge masses of pilgrims and tourist especially in the month of October for St. Jude's feast. It's also known for its serene ambience and beautiful architecture.

Bodh Vihar/Lord Buddha Temple, Dharamshala, Kapurtekri Khushipura, Jhansi.

Kaimasan Mandir, Bundelkhand University.

Sakhi ke Hanuman, a Hanuman temple of Jhansi though temples of other God and Goddesses are also there in its Campus.

Karaundi wali Mata Mandir

Mahaveeran Wali Mata Mandir

References

External links

Jhansi District Official web site

Jhansi Municipal Corporation Official web site

Jhansi Development Authority Official web site

Jhansi Cantonment Board Official web site

Jhansi Jan Suvidha Kendra (Public Grievance Redressal System)

Jhansi Online News & Community

Jhansi Latest News @ Dainik Jagran

Jhansi at Wikitravel

Day by day account of Jhansi's role during the First Indian Rebellion

Category:Cities and towns in Jhansi district Category:Places of Indian Rebellion of 1857 Category:Princely States of Bundelkhand Category:Bundelkhand Category:Jhansi railway division Category:Divisions of Indian Railways