Coordinates | 38°53′39″N77°2′54″N |
---|---|
Native name | Agra |
Other name | आगरा |
Skyline | Taj Mahal in March 2004.jpg |
Type | city |
Locator position | left |
State name | Uttar Pradesh |
District | Agra |
Altitude | 171 |
Population total | 1,686,976 |
Population total city | |
Population rank | 19 |
Population as of | 2010 |
Population density | 8,954 |
Population metro | 1,727,275 |
Population metro city | |
Population metro rank | 20 |
Population urban | 63.62 |
Area magnitude | 6 |
Area total | 188.40 |
Mayor | Anjula Singh Mahour |
Website | agra.nic.in |
Area telephone | 91(562) |
Postal code | 282 X |
Footnotes | }} |
The city finds mention in the epic Mahābhārata where it was called Agrevaṇa, or 'the border of the forest'. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Rājā Badal Singh (around 1475), whose fort, Badalgarh, stood on or near the site of the present Fort. However, the 11th century Persian poet Mas'ūd Sa'd Salmān writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by the Shāhī King Jayapala, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. Sultan Sikandar Lodī was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in the year 1506; he died in 1517 and his son Ibrāhīm Lodī remained in power there for nine more years, finally being defeated at the Battle of Panipat in 1526. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Hinduism, Islam, and Jainism are three major religions in Agra district with 89.6%, 8.93%, and 0.51% of the population following them. Jatavs, Baniyas and Jats are most numerous castes in Agra. Agra is also considered as dalit capital because Jatavs form a large section of the population and maintains a substantial middle class in society. Some Scheduled Tribes like the Bhotia and Jaunsari have marginal presence (about 0.02% of the population).
52.5% of Agra's population is in the 15–59 years age category. Around 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in Agra. Urdu and Punjabi is also spoken.
In the year 1556, the great Hindu warrior Hemu Vikramaditya, also known as Samrat Hem Chander Vikramaditya, won Agra as the Prime Minister cum Chief of Army of Adil Shah of the Afghan Sūrī Dynasty. The commander of Humāyūn / Akbar's forces in Agra, Tardi Beg Khan, was so scared of Hemu that he retreated from the city without a fight. This was Hemu's 21st continuous win since 1554, and he later went on to conquer Delhi, having his coronation at Purānā Qil'a in Delhi on 7 October 1556 and re-established the Hindu Kingdom and the Vikramaditya Dynasty in North India.
The golden age of the city began with the Mughals. It was known then as Akbarabād and remained the capital of the Mughal Empire under the Emperors Akbar, Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān. Shāh Jahān later shifted his capital to Shāhjahānabād in the year 1649.
Since Akbarabād was one of the most important cities in India under the Mughals, it witnessed a lot of building activity. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of river Yamuna. The garden is called the Arām Bāgh or the Garden of Relaxation. His grandson Akbar raised the towering ramparts of the Great Red Fort, besides making Agra a center for learning, arts, commerce and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabād called Fatehpūr Sikrī. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in stone.
His son Jahāngīr had a love of gardens and flora and fauna and laid many gardens inside the Red Fort or Lāl Qil'a. Shāh Jahān, known for his keen interest in architecture, gave Akbarabād its most prized monument, the Tāj Mahal. Built in loving memory of his wife Mumtāz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1653.
Shāh Jahān later shifted the capital to Delhi during his reign, but his son Aurangzeb moved the capital back to Akbarabād, usurping his father and imprisoning him in the Fort there. Akbarabād remained the capital of India during the rule of Aurangzeb until he shifted it to Aurangabad in the Deccan in 1653. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the city came under the influence of Marathas and Jats and was called Agra, before falling into the hands of the British Raj in 1803.
right|thumb|Agra, Main Street, c.1858In 1835 when the Presidency of Agra was established by the British, the city became the seat of government, and just two year later it was the witness to the Agra famine of 1837–38. During the Indian rebellion of 1857 British rule across India was threatened, news of the rebellion had reached Agra on 11 May and on 30 May two companies of native infantry, the 44th and 67th regiments, rebelled and marched to Delhi. The next morning native Indian troops in Agra were forced to disarm, on 15 June Gwalior (which lies south of Agra) rebelled. By 3 July the British were forced to withdraw into the fort. Two days later a small British force at Sucheta were defeated and forced to withdraw, this led to a mob sacking the city. However, the rebels moved onto Delhi which allowed the British to restore order by 8 July. Delhi fell to the British in September, the following month rebels who had fled Delhi along with rebels from Central India marched on Agra – but were defeated. After this British rule was again secured over the city until the independence of India in 1947.
Agra is the birth place of the religion known as Dīn-i Ilāhī, which flourished during the reign of Akbar and also of the Radhaswami Faith, which has around two million followers worldwide. Agra has historic linkages with Shauripur of Jainism and Runukta of Hinduism, of 1000 BC.
Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The luxury trains – the Palace on Wheels, and the Royal Rajasthan On Wheels also stop at Agra on their eight day round trip of tourist destinations in Rajasthan and Agra. The Buddhist Special Train also visits Agra.
The Mahatma Gandhi(MG) Road which runs through the city connects it from one end to the other. In March 2010, the Uttar Pradesh government, through an open bidding process, chose Jaypee Associates to develop an Inner Ring Road to connect NH2/Yamuna Expressway in the north to NH3 in the south in a 30 month timeframe. In September 2010, Gifford was chosen to design the road.
Other para-transit modes includes auto-rickshaws and rickshaw. While passengers need to negotiate rates for the rickshaws and they are usually expensive, there is a system of (what is called) 'Tempo' which are autorickshaws that run on specific routes called out by drivers. Tempos take around 6 people simultaneously and work out to be most economical and practical.
Polluting vehicles are not allowed near Tāj Mahal, so one needs to take electric autos or Tanga (Tonga) from a few kilometres outside the Tāj Mahal.
Completed in 1653, the Tāj Mahal was built by the Mughal king Shāh Jahān as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtāz Mahal. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630–1652) of labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustād 'Īsā, the Tāj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna River. It can be observed from Agra Fort from where Emperor Shāh Jahān gazed at it, for the last eight years of his life, a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb. It is an acknowledged masterpiece of symmetry. Verses of the Koran are inscribed on it and at the top of the gate are twenty-two small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build. The Tāj Mahal was built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Tāj Mahal has a diameter of , and rises to a height of ; directly under this dome is the tomb of Mumtāz Mahal. Shah Jahān's tomb was erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. The interiors are decorated by fine inlay work, incorporating semi-precious stones.
The great Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned the construction of the Agra Fort in 1565 CE., although it was converted into a palace by his grandson Shāh Jahān, being reworked extensively with marble and pietra dura inlay. Notable buildings in the fort include the Pearl Mosque or Motī Masjid, the Dīwān-e-'Ām and Dīwān-e-Khās (halls of public and private audience), Jahāngīr's Palace, Khās Mahal, Shīsh Mahal (mirrored palace), and the Musamman Burj. The forbidding exteriors of this fort conceal an inner paradise. The fort is crescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing the river. It has a total perimeter of , and is ringed by double castellated ramparts of red sandstone punctuated at regular intervals by bastions. A wide and deep moat surrounds the outer wall.
Chhatrapati Shīvajī visited the Agra Fort, as a result of the conditions of the Treaty of Purandar entered into with Mirzā Rājā Jaisingh to meet Aurangzeb in the Dīwān-i-Khās (Special Audience Chamber). In the audience he was deliberately placed behind men of lower rank. An insulted Shīvajī stormed out of the imperial audience and was confined to Jai Sing's quarters on 12 May 1666. Fearing the dungeons and execution he escaped on 17 August 1666. A heroic equestrian statue of Shīvajī has been erected outside the fort.
The fort is a typical example of Mughal architecture, effectively showing how the North Indian style of fort construction differentiated from that of the South. In the South, the majority forts were built on the seabed like the one at Bekal in Kerala.
Buland Darwāza or 'the lofty gateway' was built by the great Mughal emperor, Akbar in 1601 CE. at Fatehpūr Sikrī. Akbar built the Buland Darwāza to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. The Buland Darwāza is approached by 52 steps. The Buland Darwāza is 53.63 m high and 35 meters wide. it is made of red and buff sandstone, decorated by carving and black and white marble inlays. An inscription on the central face of the Buland Darwāza demonstrates Akbar's religious broadmindedness, it is a message from Jesus advising his followers not to consider this world as their permanent home.
The walls are white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations – cornelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx, and topaz in images of cypress trees and wine bottles, or more elaborate decorations like cut fruit or vases containing bouquets. Light penetrates to the interior through delicate jālī screens of intricately carved white marble.
Many of Nūr Jahān's relatives are interred in the mausoleum. The only asymmetrical element of the entire complex is that the tombs of her father and mother have been set side-by-side, a formation replicated in the Taj Mahal.
The Mughal Heritage Walk is a one kilometer loop which connects the agricultural fields with the Rajasthani culture, river bank connected with the ancient village of Kuchhpura, the Heritage Structure of Mehtab Bagh, the Mughal aqueduct system, the Humanyun Mosque and the Gyarah Sidi.
Nearly five centuries ago, Agra was the commercial nerve centre of Mughal empire, and due to presence of Taj Mahal and other historic monuments, it has long tradition of tourism industry as well royal crafts like Pietra Dura, marble inlay and carpet. Today 40% of population depends largely on agriculture, and others on the traditional leather and footwear business and iron foundries. Economic liberalization has brought a spurt in growth and entrepreneurship in the city in the 2000s, has made it the second most self-employed in India in 2007, behind Varanasi, followed by Bhopal, Indore and Patna. According to the National Sample Survey Organization, in 1999-2000, 431 of every 1,000 employed males were self-employed in the city, which grew to 603 per 1,000 in 2004-05. Tourism contributes to a large extent in the economy of Agra. Agra has some of the finest Hotels and Spas in India. Agra is home to Asia’s largest spa called Kaya Kalp — The Royal Spa, at the Hotel Mughal in Agra.
The city also has a substantial industrial base. A lot of manufacturing plants and industry related wholesale markets are prominent in Agra. Agra's industries are doing a fine job in various fields. Producers and dealers of Agra have a vast market to support them.Agra also has Uttar Pradesh first plant biotech company Harihar Biotech that is located in the vicinity of Taj. And is Presently one of the largest Plant Tissue Culture lab in North India with production capacity of 2 millions plants annually.
Agra has a good number of apparel and garment manufacturers and exporters. Agra has also an important market for the automobile industry. Anil Diesels, Harvest Group of Industries, Indian Agriculture & Automobile Corporation (IAAC) and Malloys India are some of the major players of the automobile industry in Agra.
Over 7200 Small Scale Industrial Units are spared all over the district. Agra city is famous for the Leather Goods, Handicrafts, Zari Zardozi, Marvel and Stone carving & inlay work. Agra is also well known for its sweets (Petha & Gajak) and Snacks (Dalmoth).
The leather industry is among the most traditional and original industries of Agra. Some of the leading manufacturers, exporter and sellers of leather in Agra are Hindustan Rubber & Plastic Industries, Polyplast Industries, Royal International, Eskay Sales Corporation, Best Buy, Bandejjia Traders and Expomore.
The famous city Center place at Agra is called Kinari Bazar, which is famous for its jewellery and garments shops.Its has the biggest Silver & Gold jewellery hub at Choube Ji Ka Fatak.
With the expansion of the Agra city, more and more construction works are going around the city. To facilitate the flow of work, a lot of organizations dealing in building materials have come up. A few leading names are Silver Gatta Agency, Yashoda Exports, Glass Expressions and Sharda Enterprises. The jeweleries of Agra is a great favorite with the tourists and is in good demand in the international market also. The Amar Paper Agency in Agra dealing in vast varieties of paper related products strengthening the finance of the town was established in 1986 by Hon. Shri Ram Nath Agarwal. The Yoga Handicrafts and the D.R.Chain and Wire Manufacturing Company are two of the several important names of the related industry.
Agra has a number of big and small Transformer manufacturers. The Shah Market area is a thriving Electronics market while Sanjay Place is the Trade center of Agra.
Category:Populated places established in 1504 Category:Cities and towns in Agra district Category:Places of Indian Rebellion of 1857 Category:Agra railway division Category:North Central Railway Zone Category:Tourism in Uttar Pradesh Category:Former Indian capital cities Category:Agra
af:Agra ar:أكرة az:Aqra bn:আগ্রা be:Горад Агра be-x-old:Агра bg:Агра ca:Agra cs:Ágra cy:Agra da:Agra de:Agra et:Agra el:Άγκρα es:Agra eo:Agra (Barato) eu:Agra fa:آگره fr:Āgrā gl:Agra - आगरा gu:આગ્રા ko:아그라 hy:Ագրե hi:आगरा hr:Agra (Uttar Pradesh, Indija) bpy:আগ্রা id:Agra it:Agra he:אגרה (הודו) kn:ಆಗ್ರಾ pam:Agra la:Agra (India) lv:Āgra lt:Agra lmo:Agra (India) hu:Agra ml:ആഗ്ര mzn:آگرا ms:Agra nl:Agra (India) new:आग्रा ja:アーグラ no:Agra (by i India) pnb:آگرہ pms:Agra (India) pl:Agra pt:Agra (Índia) ro:Agra ru:Агра sah:Агра sa:आगरा simple:Agra sr:Агра sh:Agra fi:Agra sv:Agra tl:Agra ta:ஆக்ரா te:ఆగ్రా tr:Agra uk:Аґра ur:آگرہ vi:Agra war:Agra zh:阿格拉This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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