Garhmukteshwar

Garhmukteshwar (also spelled Garhmukhteshwar) is a city and a municipal board in Hapur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Garhmukteshwar
City
Garhmukteshwar
Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 28°48′N 78°06′E
Country India
StateUttar Pradesh
DistrictHapur
Named forMukteshwar Mahadev
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Board
 • BodyElected
 • Municipal board ChairpersonSona Singh
Population
 (2011)
 • Total33,500
Languages
 • OfficialHindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
245205
Telephone code5731
Vehicle registrationUP-37
Websitehttp://www.nppgarhmukteshwar.com

History

Garhmukteshwar is an ancient place that is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata. There are claims that it was a part of ancient Hastinapur, the capital of the Pandavas. An ancient fort, repaired by the Maratha leader Mir Bhawan, became, under the British, the headquarters of the tehsil. The name of the town is derived from the temple of Mukteshwar Mahadeva, dedicated to the goddess Ganga who is worshipped there in four temples. The town has 80 sati pillars, marking the spots where Hindu widows are said to have become satimata. The town also has a mosque, built by Gays-ud-din Balban, that bears an inscription in Arabic dating to 682 Hijri (1283 A.D.).[1]

Partition violence

Garhmukteshwar was the scene of major anti-Muslim violence in November 1946, at a time when various areas of British India were experiencing significant communal unrest as the partition of the country into India and Pakistan loomed. Gyanendra Pandey describes the place as "a metaphor for the atrocities of Partition; and Partition itself a metaphor for the kind of extraordinary genocidal violence that was not witnessed again in India, perhaps until 1984".[2] A mela (fair) held 3 miles (4.8 km) from the town was attended by between 700,000 - 800,000 people and on 6 November 1946 there were a series of attacks on Muslim shopkeepers at the event, resulting in 46 deaths and a further 39 people injured. The assaults and also arson attacks continued on and off for several days at the mela, while the town of Garhmukteshwar itself witnessed a large number of anti-Muslim atrocities, including killings, arson and the destruction of the Muslim quarter. Official reports gave the Muslim death toll in the town as at least 214 people, and there were also quite a lot Hindu deaths in retaliatory attacks.[3]

Official investigations into violence in Uttar Pradesh at that time note that there was a "desire for revenge" among both Hindus and Muslims, resulting from news of similar violence in Calcutta.[3]

Climate
Main article: Climate of Uttar Pradesh
Garhmukteshwar
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
20
 
 
20
8
 
 
25
 
 
24
11
 
 
25
 
 
30
16
 
 
10
 
 
37
21
 
 
41
 
 
40
26
 
 
97
 
 
38
28
 
 
190
 
 
35
27
 
 
207
 
 
34
27
 
 
134
 
 
34
25
 
 
12
 
 
33
19
 
 
4
 
 
28
13
 
 
10
 
 
23
8
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: World Weather Service

Garhmukteshwar has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate characterised by very hot summers and cool winters. Summers last from early April to late June during and are extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 43 °C (109 °F).[4] The monsoon arrives in late June and continues till the middle of September. Temperatures drop slightly, with plenty of cloud cover but with higher humidity. Temperatures rise again in October and the town then has a mild, dry winter season from late October to the middle of March[4] Lowest temperature recorded is 0.5 °C (32.9 °F). Rainfall is about 80 cm to 100 cm per annum, which is suitable for growing crops. Most of the rainfall is received during the monsoon. Humidity varies from 30 to 100%.[4] The town receives no snow.

Climate data for Garhmukteshwar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 29
(84)		 32
(90)		 39
(102)		 43
(109)		 45
(113)		 46
(115)		 44
(111)		 40
(104)		 39
(102)		 38
(100)		 34
(93)		 30
(86)		 46
(115)
Average high °C (°F) 22
(72)		 26
(79)		 30
(86)		 38
(100)		 43
(109)		 42
(108)		 40
(104)		 36
(97)		 37
(99)		 32
(90)		 29
(84)		 25
(77)		 33
(92)
Average low °C (°F) 5
(41)		 8
(46)		 12
(54)		 15
(59)		 19
(66)		 21
(70)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 19
(66)		 15
(59)		 10
(50)		 6
(43)		 15
(58)
Record low °C (°F) −2.5
(27.5)		 −1
(30)		 2
(36)		 8
(46)		 15
(59)		 17
(63)		 16
(61)		 19
(66)		 15
(59)		 10
(50)		 1
(34)		 0
(32)		 −2.5
(27.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 24
(0.9)		 18
(0.7)		 10
(0.4)		 5
(0.2)		 15
(0.6)		 54
(2.1)		 248
(9.8)		 332
(13.1)		 138
(5.4)		 42
(1.7)		 3
(0.1)		 8
(0.3)		 897
(35.3)
Average rainy days 2 1 1 0 1 3 9 11 4 1 0 0 33
Average relative humidity (%) 79 70 59 42 41 58 80 84 77 68 67 75 67
Source: Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India[5]

Demographics

Garhmukhteshwar has population of 201,786 of which 106,620 are males while 95,166 are females, as per Census India 2011.[6]

Location

Garhmukteshwar is situated on National Highway 9, which connects it to New Delhi, which is around 100 kilometres (62 mi) away, and puts the town, which is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Ganges River, on a direct route from India's capital city to that river.

Railways

There are two railway stations in the city, named Garhmukteshwar and Garhmukteshwar Bridge (Brijghat). Both stations are situated on the Delhi–Moradabad line.

Attractions
  • The ancient Ganga Temple once had around 100 steps leading down to the river. 85 of these are still intact. Devotees from all around the country come to the temple to witness the Ganges and the white stone idol of Brahma.
  • Mukteshwar Mahadev Temple is an ancient Shiva temple in the town. It has Shiva lingam in the temple which is believed to have been constructed by the sage Parshuram.
  • Nahush Koop is a well whose water comes from the Ganges. King Nahush performed a yajna here.
  • Meerabai ki Reti is a tourist destination located just opposite to the Mukteshwar temple. It is a sandy stretch of land where, according to folklore, Meerabai used to stay and offer prayers.
  • Brijghat has many temples like as Vedant Mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Amrit Parisar.
  • Sidhnath Baba Shiv Temple, a Mahabharat era temple situated on Madhya Ganga Nahar Road, Jhadina Village.
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See also

References
  1. "About Us". Nagar Palika Parishad Garhmukteshwar. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  2. Pandey, Gyanendra (2001). Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India. Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780521002509.
  3. Pandey, Gyanendra (2001). Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–98. ISBN 9780521002509.
  4. "Chapter 3 – Findings: Metro Cities of India" (PDF). Central Pollution Control Board. p. 63. Archived from the original (pdf) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  5. "India Weather On Web" (XHTML 1.0 Transitional). India Meteorological Department. p. 1. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  6. "Census of India 2011 – Uttar Pradesh – District Census Handbook – Ghaziabad" (PDF). Directorate of Census Operation – Uttar Pradesh, Janganana Bhawan. p. 26. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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