Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : 421
Sex Ratio Rank : 70
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 -2006)
Disability : 344 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 234 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Brief About Karnal District
The city of Karnal, said to have been founded by Raja Karna, of
the Mahabharta fame, spring into prominence in 1739 when Nadir
Shah defeated Muhammad Shah at Karnal. Raja Gopal Singh of Jind
seized Karnal in 1863, and the Marhattas established themselves
at Karnal in 1785. Skirmishes however, followed between the Marhattas
and the Sikhs. In 1795 the Marhattas finally wrested it from Raja
Bhag Singh of Jind and made it over to the George Thomas, who
took part in the fight. Meanwhile Raja Gurdit Singh of Ladwa obtained
possession of Karnal. It was captured by the British in 1805 and
made over to Muhamdi Khan (Mandal). Karnal, on being formed into
a British cantonment, the fort which had been built by Raja Gajpat
singh of Jind, was taken over by the British and converted into
a residence for Dost Mohd. Khan Amir of Kabul. The fort was used
as a jail,as quarters for native cavalry and as poor house. In
1862, it was made over to the Education Department, when the district
school was moved into it from the city.
Kalander Shah's Tomb
Kalander Shah's tomb is situated just outside the town.
The grave is made of marble and decorated with sculpture. The
tomb was built by Ghias-ud-din, Emperor of Delhi, to the memory
of Bo-Ali-Qualander Shah, a famous Muslim Savant and Sage, who
influenced the thinking of his age and was very widely revered
by all communities. Within the enclosure are mosque and a reservoir
with fountains built by Emperor Alamgir and outside a Kettle Drum
balcony.
Devi Temple
A temple dedicated to a goddess exists on the bank
of a large tank. A Shiva temple believed to have been built by
Mubark Khan also exists there. An old Indian gun, some 8 feet
long made of bars of iron bound together by iron hoops, and with
its namke of ganj shikan or fort breaker cast on it stood in the
fort but was later on removed and destroyed.
Cantonment Church Tower
This is a big old massive tower and can be seen from
a distance of several miles as it is 100 feet in height. The tower
is surrounded by a large ornamental cross. The church itself named
after St.James, was dismantled with the shifting of the Cantonment
to Ambala in 1841 A.D.
Bhara Mal's Sarai
Constructed by Bhara Mal, it is presently occupied
by the office of the Deputy Assistant Director General (Medical
Store), Govt. of India.
Old Fort
Constructed by Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind in about 1764
A.D., it now provides accommodation for the office and residence
of the Tehsildar.
Miran Sahib's Tomb
This tomb stands to the memory of a saint, Sayad Mohd.
alias Miran Sahib who died in 899 A.D. He was responsible for
rescuing a Brahmin girl from the clutches of a Raja in a pitched
battle. The tomb is situated towards the extreme south of the
town and alongside it stand a small mosque and a cemetery of many
members of the Mandal family.
Gurdwara Manji Sahib
This Gurdwara commemorates Guru Nanak's meeting with
Bo Ali Shah Qalandar. It was also visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur
on his way to Delhi where he was beheaded.
Dargah Nuri
There is a Dargah Nuri at village Newal on Karnal-
Kunjpura road. This Dargah was built in memory of Hazrat Sufi
Shah Alama Nur Mohd. of.Delhi, and is managed by Managing Committee,
village Newal.
The Karna Tank
The Karna Tank, named after Raja Karna,son of Surya,
ace archer, unrivalled warrior, terror of the Pandwas, an ardent
supporter of the king Duryodhana in the Mahabharta war, donor
par excellence and the founder of the city of Karnal, is now being
renovated and converted into a tourist spot by Karnal municipality.
It is said that Raja Karna, who was very philanthropic used to
givegold in alms to the needy at the spot.
Other Antiques
Minars, which mark the course of the old trunk road
are still standing at intervals of about 2 miles. And the ruins
of the hostelries (Serais) at Taroari, Gharaunda and Samalkha
are still in existence, that at Gharaunda being a very fine and
striking specimen of early Mugal architecture. It was built by
Khan Firoz in the reign of Shah Jahan about 1632 A.D.
Sita Mai Temple
Situated at a distance of 19 kilometers from Nilokheri,
is a small village known as Sitamai. There is an old shrine of
Sita Mai built in the ordinary form of a Hindu temple. It is made
of bricks, but the feature is the elaborate ornamentation which
covers the whole shrine, the pattern of which is formed by deep
lines in the individual bricks which seems to have been made before
the bricks were burnt, so that the forms they were to take must
have been separately fixed for each brick. A large part of the
shrine was pulled down and thrown into the tank by some Muslim
Emperor but the bricks have been put together without any regard
to the original pattern. The shrine is said to mark the spot where
the earth swallowed Sita in answer to her appeal in proof of her
purity.
Kunjpura
Kunjpura, situated at a distance of six miles north
east of Karnal was founded by a Pathan named Nijabat Khan, who
had migrated from Kandhar and served as Risaldar under Wazir Khawaja
Nasiruddin of Radaur, with headquarters at Taraori. He got the
biswedari of Kunjpura from a Zamindar of Bidauli, in reward for
his military assistance. After a clash with Rajputs, he settled
at Kunjpura and built a fort in 1729 A.D. The fort was first called
Nijabatnagar. On the incursion of Nadir Shah, Nijabat Khan supplied
him with provisions and tendered his obeissance. The Marthatta
Bhao plundered Kunjpura and killed Nijabat khan in 1758 A.D. Ahmed
Shah repulsed the Marhattas and entrusted Kunjpura to Daler Khan,
Nijabat Khan's eldest son. The family in due course expanded their
territorial jurisdiction to a major portion of Indri pargana.
The palace of the Nawab now houses the Sainik School, Kunjpura.
Kunjpura village now has a population of 5;811, a grain market
and a High School. It has a Notified Area Committee.
Naraina
The invading army of Mohd. Bin Sam was defeated at
village Naraina, seven miles from Karnal and three from Taraori,
in 1191 A.D. by united Hindu armies under Prithvi Raj, the Chauhan
king of Delhi. Although in the following year, this defeat was
reversed and turned into a victory for the Muslim invaders and
the ruin of Rajput Supremacy for ever.
Taraori
The village of historic interest is eleven miles north
of Karnal. Prince Azam of Aurangzeb was born here and the place
was renamed as Azamabad. Aurangzeb constructed a wall around the
town, a mosque and a tank which exist to this day. The village
being on the main highway of the Moghul times, also has a serai.
The old royal serai appears to have been used by the Sikhs as
a fort, now lying in a dilapidated condition. Because of the railway
station nearby, the place has developed as an important assembling
market chiefly for paddy grown in the surrounding area, and has
some rice husking mills. Basmati rice grown here is the finest
in the country and is exported to foreign countries.
Basthali
It was at the village of Basthali 27 kilometers from
Karnal that the sage vias lived who wrote the Vedas. The village
bears his name; and legend has it that the sacred Ganges flowed
underground into his well to save him the trouble of going to
the river to bathe bringing with it his lota and loin cloth which
he had left in the river to convince him that the water was really
Ganges water.
Gondar (Gautam Rishi)
At Gondar 26 kilometers from Karnal Gautam Rishi is
said to have caused the spots in the moon and give Indra his 1000
eyes.
Bahlolpur:(Prashir tank)
It was in the Parasir tank at Bahlolpur that the warrior
Duryodhana hide till Krishna's jeers brought him out to fight,
and this is still the most celebrated of tirathas of this part.
Anjanthali:
There is a temple dedicated to Anjana, mother of Hanuman.
Shamgarh:
One Kirpal Singh got shamgarh from Raja Gurdit Singh
of Ladwa in reward for the services rendered to the confederacy
of Sikhs. The Sikh chief of Shamgarh exercised sovereign powers
and had exclusive jurisdiction over their own subjects even for
offences committed in British territory until the British assumed
criminal and police jurisdiction in 1833 A.D.
Assandh : The village lying
27 miles to the south-west of Karnal on the Karnal-Jind road,
is said to be the capital of the kingdom of Jarsangha, one of
the warriors mentioned in the Mahabharta.
A Shahidi Smarak (martyrdom-memorial) commemorates the part played
by the villagers of this place and of the surrounding area during
the 1857 uprising when they revolted and were heavily punished
by the Britishers.
Indri Shish Mahal : Indri
Pargana was first included in Kaithal district but was transferred
to karnal district in 1862. Some of its villages had, however,
formed part of the Ladwa state ruled by a Sikh Raja Gurdit Singh.
It consisted of 36 jagirs out of which 12 major ones included
those of Shamgarh, Saga, Sikri, Barthal etc. In ancient times
Indri (then known as Indergarh) was an independent fortress, "
Shish Mahal" the ruins of which still stand today. The place
is mythologically connected with the episode of Nihalde and Sultan,
the two immortal lovers, their love having consummated in marriage
but ended in tragedy. The palace contains ruins of a Naulakha
Bagh which is reported to have once had nine lakh varieties of
plants.
Moghul Bridge Saiyads
The Sayad's shrine built at Moghul Bridge about 7 kilometers
from Karnal city is the scene of a big mela every Thursday. Lamps
are lit. Superstitious people from far and near come to make offering
at the shrine and ask for boons varying from diseases cure to
elimination of ghosts from their bodies and prayers for material
prosperity.
GogriPur: Bawa Farid : It
has a shrine at Ghogripur. Crowd of people offer prayers to him
after the spring harvest. Bu-Ali -Kalandar; a contemporary of
Bawa Farid, Bu-Ali-Kalandar was a celebrated local saint. He had
settled at Panipat, during prayers he stood in the Jamuna to avoid
the labour of washing his hands and feet every time. After standing
there for seven years, the fishes had gnawed his legs, and he
was so stiff that he could hardly move. So he asked the Jamuna
river to step back seven paces. She, in her hurry to oblige the
saint, went back seven miles and there she is now. He gave the
Panipat people a charm which dispelled all the flies from the
city, but they grumbled so he brought them back a thousand fold.
After death he was buried at karnal but the Panipat people claimed
his body. They took some bricks from the grave for the foundation
of a shrine at Panipat, but when they opened the box, they found
his body in it, so he now lies buried at both Panipat and at Karnal.
Guga Pir: Guga is supposed
to be the greatest of the snake-kings. He is worshipped throughout
the district on the 9th of Bhadon. His shrine known as Mari is
usually a cubical building with a minaret on each corner and a
grave inside. It is marked by a long bamboo with peacock plumes,a
coconut, some coloured threads and some hand pankhas (bijna) and
a blue flag on the top. This is called his chhari or fly flap.
On the 9th of Bhadon the jogis take it round the village with
the sound of drums, and people salute it and offer 'churmas'.
He is not malevolent as the saying goes "Guga Beta na dega,
tan Kuchh na chhin lega"- If Guga does not give me a son,
at least he will take nothing away from me." By race a Chauhan
Rajput, Guga was born at Garhdera near Sirsa. His mother Bachal
who was barren, had served saint Gorakhnath, the founder of the
community of Kanphata jogis for twelve years to beget him. Guga
is said to have possessed supernatural powers and could cure snake
bitten person within no time.
On the other hand, if a man was bitten by a snake people thought
he had been neglecting Guga. The singers of devotional songs about
Guga are found in villages Assan Kalan, Richhpur, Matlauda and
Samalkha . Maris (his temples) are, of course, to be found in
a large number of villages.
LOCATION
Karnal is important city on Delhi Ambala Rail Line & Sher
Shah Suri Marg (G.T.Road), connected with all important places
in the country. It is 123 Kilometer from Delhi & 130 Kilometer
from Chandigarh.
Karnal District lies on the western Bank of river Yamuna which
once flows about 11 Kilometer. to the east forming eastern boundary
of the district. The river Yamuna separates Haryana from Utter
Pardesh. The Karnal Distt. including Panipat lies between 29'09'50"
and 29'50' North latitude and 76 31' 15" and 77 12'45"
East longitude, its height from sea level is between 235 and 252
meters. The Karnal Distt. is surrounded by Kurukshetra District
on its north-west, jind & Kaithal Distt. on its west, Panipat
Distt. on its south and Utter Pradesh on east.
GEOGRAPHICAL / PHYSICAL ASPECTS
Yamuna River forms eastern boundary of the district and flows
from north to south. The district is a part of the Ganga-Sindus
(Indo-Gangestic) plains and has a well spread net work of western
Yamuna canal. Its geographical area has been divided in to three
agroclimatic regions, Khadar, Bhangar and Nardak belt. Khadar
starts from Indri-Karnal road one mile away from Karnal covering
the area in between Yamuna river and National Highway Road No.1
upto Patti-Kalyana village. Bhangar area starts from west of Khadar
area covering Gharaunda, development block. The nardak area lies
in Nissing, Nilokheri and Assandh development block. However,
its water is saline and not fit for irrigation.
