About the District
Situated between rivers Ganga and Sai, Unnao has, since
ancient times, made place in the pages of history. The district
has been popular from the view of history, literature, religious
and cultural heritage.
The District is divided into 5 Tehsils Unnao,
Hasanganj, Safipur, Purwa & Bighapur and 16 development Blocks
namely - Ganj Moradabad, Bangarmau, Fatehpur Chaurasi, Safipur,
Miyanganj, Auras, Hasanganj, Nawabganj, Purwa, Asoha, Hilauli,
Bighapur, Sumerpur,Bichia, Sikandarpur Sirausi, Sikandarpur Karan.
Local traditions connect a number of well known
personages like Parashuram, Dasharatha, Sharvana, Valmiki, Sita,
Lava-Kusha, Rama, Bakasura, Krishna, Mayuradhvaja, Ashvatthama
and Astika, mentioned in the Ramayana & Mahabharata
and the Puranas, with differrent places in the district, adding
sanctity to them.
Many brave personalities who played a major role
in the Country's freedom struggle and sacrificed their lives for
the country, were born here. Popular among them are Raja Rao Ram
Bux Singh, Maulana Hasarat Mohani, Ram Beni Madhav, Pd. Vishambher
Dayal Tripathi, Thakur Jsasingh, Narpat Singh, Barjor Singh, Hathi
Singh, Devi Bux Singh, Mansab Ali, Kasturi Singh, Bhopal Singh
and Chandrika Bux Singh.
The District is not left behind in the field
of literature too, having produced learned persons right from
Maharishi Valmiki to Gaya Pd. Shukla, Pratap Narayan Misra, Surya
Kant Tripathi 'Nirala', Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Nand Dulare Bajpayee,
Sumitra Kumari Sinha, Chandra Bhushan Trivedi (Ramai Kaka), Dr.
Ram Vilas Sharma, Jagdambika Pd. Misra, Bhagwati Charan Misra,
Pratap Narayan Misra and Shiv Mangal Singh 'Suman' .
The district is named after its Headquarter town,
Unnao. About 1200 years ago, the site of this town was covered
with extensive forests. Godo Singh, a Chauhan Rajput, cleared
the forests probably in the the 3rd quarter of the 12th Century
and founded a town, called Sawai Godo, which shortly afterwards
passed into the hands of the rulers of the Kannauj, who appointed
Khande Singh as the Governor of the place. Unwant Singh, a Bisen
Rajput and a lieutenant of the Governor, killed him and built
a fort here, renaming the place as Unnao after himself.
About the District
Situated between rivers Ganga and Sai, Unnao
has, since ancient times, made place in the pages of history.
The district has been popular from the view of history, literature,
religious and cultural heritage.
The District is divided into 5 Tehsils Unnao,
Hasanganj, Safipur, Purwa & Bighapur and 16 development Blocks
namely - Ganj Moradabad, Bangarmau, Fatehpur Chaurasi, Safipur,
Miyanganj, Auras, Hasanganj, Nawabganj, Purwa, Asoha, Hilauli,
Bighapur, Sumerpur,Bichia, Sikandarpur Sirausi, Sikandarpur Karan.
Local traditions connect a number of well known
personages like Parashuram, Dasharatha, Sharvana, Valmiki, Sita,
Lava-Kusha, Rama, Bakasura, Krishna, Mayuradhvaja, Ashvatthama
and Astika, mentioned in the Ramayana & Mahabharata
and the Puranas, with differrent places in the district, adding
sanctity to them.
Many brave personalities who played a major role
in the Country's freedom struggle and sacrificed their lives for
the country, were born here. Popular among them are Raja Rao Ram
Bux Singh, Maulana Hasarat Mohani, Ram Beni Madhav, Pd. Vishambher
Dayal Tripathi, Thakur Jsasingh, Narpat Singh, Barjor Singh, Hathi
Singh, Devi Bux Singh, Mansab Ali, Kasturi Singh, Bhopal Singh
and Chandrika Bux Singh.
The District is not left behind in the field
of literature too, having produced learned persons right from
Maharishi Valmiki to Gaya Pd. Shukla, Pratap Narayan Misra, Surya
Kant Tripathi 'Nirala', Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Nand Dulare Bajpayee,
Sumitra Kumari Sinha, Chandra Bhushan Trivedi (Ramai Kaka), Dr.
Ram Vilas Sharma, Jagdambika Pd. Misra, Bhagwati Charan Misra,
Pratap Narayan Misra and Shiv Mangal Singh 'Suman' .
The freedom struggle of 1857-1858 was followed
by the transfer of power from the East India Company to the British
Crown. As soon as order had been restored, the civil administration
was re-established in the district which was named district Unnao,
with headquarters at Unnao. The size of the district was however
small till 1869, when it assumed its present form. The same year
the town of Unnao was constituted a Municipality.
In ancient times the area covered by the present
district of Unnao formed part of the region known as Kosala and
was later included in the Subha of Awadh or simply Awadh. This
tract appears to have seen civilized and settled life since very
early times. Finds from and traces of ancient remains at several
places in the district are however, fairly interesting and testify
to the antiquity of those sites.
Hiuen Tsang, the famous chinese pilgrim to India,
stayed at Kannauj for 3 months in 636 AD. From here he journeyed
a distance of about 26 kms and reached the city of Na-fo-ti-po-ku-lo
(Navadevakula) which stood on the eastern bank of Ganga. The city
was about 5 km in circumference and had in or about it, a magnificent
Deva Temple, several Buddhist Monasteries and Stupas. This place,
which is about 3 kms north-west of Bangarmau in Tehsil Safipur,
has been identified by some scholars with Nawal and is supposed
to represent the site of an important ancient city, believed to
have been upturned in the 13th century by the curse of a saint,
and still called Aundha Khera or Lauta Shahr both meaning an upturned
city. The dargah of the Muslim sant, whose curse is said to have
befallen the city, is not only the oldest Muslim monument at Bangarmau
but perhaps, in the entire district.
By far the most important ancient site in the
district is perhaps Sanchankot, also known as Sujankot, which
lies in village Ramkot, in pargana Bangarmau of Tehsil Safipur
about 55 km north-west of Unnao.
