For the district in Maharashtra see Raigad.

Raigarh
—  city  —
Raigarh Location of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and India
Coordinates	21°54′N 83°24′E / 21.9°N 83.4°E / 21.9; 83.4Coordinates: 21°54′N 83°24′E / 21.9°N 83.4°E / 21.9; 83.4
Country	India
State	Chhattisgarh
District(s)	Raigarh
Population	364,287 (2003[update])
Sex ratio	1000/985 ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 215 metres (705 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 496 001 • Vehicle • CG 13
Website	www.raigarh.nic.in

Raigarh (Hindi: रायगढ़) is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Raigarh district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarter of Raigarh district.

History[link]

Prior to Indian Independence, Raigarh was a Princely state. The former king and his sons still live here. They still lead a royal life but with no rent to collect. Their palace - Moti Mahal - is in very bad shape. It was declared a heritage site very recently by the state government.

Geography & Climate[link]

Raigarh is located at 21°54′N 83°24′E / 21.9°N 83.4°E / 21.9; 83.4.^[1] It has an average elevation of 215 metres (705 feet). The Kelo river flows through the city, which is one of its main water sources.

The minimum - maximum temperature range is 29.5 - 49 °C in summer, and 8 - 25 °C in winter.

Demographics[link]

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Raigarh district had a population of 12,69,925,^[3] and the city of Raigarh a population of 364,287. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Raigarh has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 62%. About 80% of the population are Hindus, 15% Christians and remaining 5% are other religions. In Raigarh, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The major languages spoken are Chhattisgarhi, Hindi and Oriya.

Culture[link]

Raigarh has been considered the cultural capital of Chhattisgarh. Raigarh is now famous for its cultural heritage with its own Kathak Gharana - Raigarh Gharana and its annual classical music concert - Chakradhar Samaroh.

Economy[link]

Raigarh is famous for its 'kosa' or tasar (a kind of fine silk created by the silk worm feeding on mulberry fruit).

It is also on the industrial map, with the world's largest sponge iron plant and 62 industries surrounding this hill city. It has transformed into a growing industrial hub for the steel market. Just 8 km from Raigarh city is the world's largest sponge iron and steel plant owned by Jindal Steel and Power Limited. It has provided employment to large number of people. The chairman of the company is the renowned MP, Naveen Jindal. The Jindal township also includes, O. P. Jindal School, O. P. Jindal Institute of Technology,O.P.Jindal College, O.P. Jindal General Hospital and Heart Research Centre among many modern amenities.

Raigarh is an old city and the market place is congested with narrow and curving roads. Now the situations are changing drastically. It has become an industrial hub. More than 50 sponge iron plants have already been started in the vicinity of Raigarh and various industries are looking forward for opportunities. The new Raigarh consists of various shopping complex, broad four-lane roads, star hotels and much more.

Apart from these mainstream attractions, 'Dhokra Casting' or 'Bell Metal Casting' is world acclaimed art form of Raigarh. Based in the village of Ektal, the bell metal structures are famous for their aesthetic value.

Tendu patta collection is one of major source of economy for villagers, Raigarh District is one of major producer of rice.

Education[link]

Raigarh is not far developed in terms of education but Raigarh still has of many schools and colleges which serve the students with the required education for a child.

Colleges[link]

The major colleges consists of:
1. O.P. Jindal institute of technology
2. Kirodimal institute of technology (K.I.T.)
3. Kirodimal Govt Polytechnich (KGP)
4. P.D.Commerce & Arts College
5. K.G. Arts & Science College
6. Swami Balkrishna Puri Law College
7. Aricent College (Sarguja University) 8. O.P. Jindal Community College

Schools[link]

The major schools are:
1. Govt Natwar Higher Sec School
2. Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School
3. O.P. Jindal School
4. Aricent Public School
5. Kendriya Vidyalaya
6. Sanskar Public School
7. Maharshi Vidya Mandir
8. Govt Girls Higher Sec School
9. Saraswati Shishu Mandir
10. Anand Vidya Bharati
11. Dav Public School
12. Delhi Public School (DPS)
13. Municipal Higher Secondary School
14. Guru Dronacharya Higher Sec School
15. Aadarsh gramya bharti vidya mandir
16. Bachpan, 151 Gulmohar Colony(A Play School)
17.salini public school ,boirdadar raigarh 18. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya,Raigarh

References[link]

Dr.Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Riyaste/Princely stastes aur Jamindariyaa (Vaibhav Prakashan, Raipur1, ISBN 81-89244-96-5)

Dr.Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Janjaatiyaa/Tribes aur Jatiyaa/Castes (Mansi publication, Delhi6, ISBN 978-81-89559-32-8)

{{Navbox |name = Sarangarh district |title = Cities and towns in Sarangarh district |listclass = hlist |groupstyle = line-height:1.1em;

|group1 = Sarangarh |list1 =

• Dharamjaigarh
• Gharghoda
• Kharsia
• Raigarh
• Sarangarh

|group2 = Cities and towns
in other districts |list2 =

• Bastar
• Bilaspur
• Dantewada
• [[Template:Dhamtari district|

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Rajiv Radheshyam Dixit was an Indian social activist. He started social movements in order to spread awareness on topics of Indian national interest through the Swadeshi Movement, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and various other works.^[1] He served as the National Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan he is the founder of bharat swabhimaan andolan ]^[2] He was a strong believer and preacher of Bharatiyata.^[3] He had also worked for spreading awareness about Indian history, issues in the Indian constitution and Indian economic policies.^[4]

Life[link]

Dixit was born on 30 November 1967 in Naah village, Atrauli tehsil of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh . Under the tutelage of his father RadheShyam Dixit, he was educated till the 12th grade in the village schooling system in Firozabad district. In 1994, he moved to Allahabad (Prayaag) for higher studies. He pursued his M.Tech degree in Satellite Telecommunications from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and pursued his doctorate in telecommunications in France. Subsequently, he worked at CSIR as a scientist. But his passion for his motherland made him give up a paid-position for the sake of Indian culture and Swadeshi movement, serving the cause of "Rashtra Dharma". His audio cassettes on Indian Nationalism and greatness of India's past did well in 1999. He had been recording them over months traveling across India spreading his message of great optimism about India and its enormous contributions to the human civilization. He was a Brahmachari and never married. He was influenced by the ideologies of Indian revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. Later in life, he began to appreciate the early works of Mahatma Gandhi. His life was dedicated to not just ideas with high ideals, but also causes like stopping alcohol and "gutka" production, cow-butchering and social injustices. On the 9th of January 2009, he became one of the founders of "Bharat Swabhiman" movement. He died on 30 November 2010, while in Bhilai in Chattisgarh. The circumstances around his death are uncertain and the cause of his death is unknown. In his memory, the constructed Bharat Swabhiman building in Haridwar has been named "Rajiv Bhawan". He refused to take any modern medicine on his death bed, insisting instead on Ayurvedic medicine.

Work[link]

Dixit suggested that the Indian supreme court should declare money held by Indians in Swiss banks as national property so that foreign banks would have to legally hand over this money to India.^[5]

He fought various MNCs like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Colgate as he considered that these companies are draining wealth in their country making India poorer.^[6]

Initiated and supported movements[link]

• Dixit supported the movement of opening a chain of Swadeshi General Stores, where only Indian-made goods are sold.

He believed in swadeshi. He initiated movements like the Swadeshi Movement and Azadi Bachao Andolan and became their spokeperson.^[7] He addressed a rally of over 50,000 people under the leadership of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in New Delhi.^[8] He also took leadership of the programme held at Calcutta which was supported and promoted by various organizations and prominent personalities and was celebrated all over India on the eve of the 150th Anniversary of the 1857 war of Indian Independence.^[8]

• He demanded decentralization of taxation system, saying that the current system is the core reason for the corruption in bureaucracy. He said that 80% of taxes is being used to pay the politicians and bureaucrats and just 20% for development purposes for the people. He compared the current budget system of the Indian government to the earlier British budget system in India, presenting statistics to show that they are the same. Recently he was working with Swami Ramdev in Bharat Swabhiman Trust as national secretary.^[9]

• He also doubted the terrorist attack on the United States Twin Towers, claiming that it was stage managed by U.S. Government itself, and supported the claims of the Lone Lantern Society of the U.S.^[10]

• He also said that "liberalization, privatization and globalization, the three evil faces staring at us today, have pushed us towards a suicidal state."^[1]

• He argued that modern thinkers have neglected agricultural sectors and farmers have been left to feed themselves and commit suicide.^[1] Expressing his views on the Indian judiciary and legal system, he said that India is still following the laws and acts enacted during the British era and had not taken the burden of changing them as per the requirement of Indian people.^[2]

• He accused the current Indian Government (Congress person Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India) of being an agent for USA. He claimed a huge stock of radio-active elements is buried in Indian sea below Setu Samudram, also known as Sri Ram Setu. These radio-active elements could be used to produce electricity and Nuclear weapons for coming 150 years. He also accused that Indian government is trying to break that bridge, which is more than 700,000 years old. ^[1]

Sudden death[link]

Dixit was in Bhilai to deliver lecture as a part of his Bharat Swabhiman Yatra, where he died on 30th November 2010. His death was unexpected. The cause of death is still unknown, though it was initially believed that he died of a cardiac arrest.

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Media silent on the death of Rajiv Dixit
• [2] Rajiv Dixit and his Articles (New Website)
• Rajiv Dixit and his Articles
• mp3-of-rajiv-dixit-lectures
• Complete Mp3 Lectures on History of Ancient & Modern India
• [3]
• Swabhiman Yatra Videos