Pilibhit (Hindi:पीलीभीत, Urdu:پیلی بھیت,
Historically:Hafizabad) is a city and a municipal board in the Pilibhit
district
in the
Indian
state of Uttar Pradesh
. Pilibhit is the north-eastern most district
of Bareilly division, situated in
the Rohilkhand region of the sub Himalayan Plateau belt on the boundary of Nepal
, known for
the origin of river Gomati and one of the
most forest rich area in North
India. According to Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol.
20, page 144, issued by
Government
of India, Pilibhit was once known as
Hafizabad on the name of the great
Rohella leader of the Area
Hafiz
Rahmat Khan, but eventually it imbibed, its present name from a
nearby village.
According to a report issued by
Government of India, Pilibhit is one of
the
Minority Concentrated Areas in India on the
basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic
indicators and basic amenities indicators..
Though separated only
by a short distance from the outer ranges of the Himalayas
, Pilibhit consists entirely of a level plain,
containing depressions but no hills and intersected by several
streams. Pilibhit is one of the forest rich area of
Uttar
Pradesh, which has very high tourism
potential. Almost 54 KM long Indo-Nepal
international border makes Pilibhit as highly sensitive for
security purposes. According an estimation done by
Government of India, Pilibhit has 45.23%
population living under
poverty line
Inceasing population and unemployment is a cause of worry in the
area, even many NGOs and government run organizations has initiated
projects which will provide the employment to them but humen
resource are yet to be tapped properly.
Geography
Sunset at Chuka Beach, near
Pilibhit
Pilibhit lies between the parallels of 28
064' and
29
053' north latitude and the meridians of
79
057' and 81
037' east longitude covering an
area of 68.76 km
2.
In the north side of Pilibhit is covered
by Udham Singh
Nagar
of Uttarakhand
state, along with the territory of Nepal, and Shahjahanpur
lies in the south side Pilibhit, on the east of
Pilibhit is flanked for a short distance by Lakhimpur Kheri
and the remaining distance is swathed by the
Shahjahanpur and on the western limit touches the limits of
Bareilly
.
According
to the Central
Statistical Organisation, the district Pilibhit
had an area of 3504 km2 on Sept 1,
2007, occupying 46th position in the state and the total
area of the pilibhit city is 68.76 km2.
Pilibhit city has much higher population density than the rest of
district. The population density of the city is
2365.11 /km
2, on the other hand the district has
only 469.51 /km
2.
In its general appearance the Area presents diverse features and
topographically may be divided into several distinct tracts. In the
north and north-west the tract is a continuation of the Terai.
The
southern portion of the Bisalpur
tehsil is similar in most respect to the adjacent
tract of Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. The eastern and smaller section approximates
rather to undeveloped forest areas of Lakhimpur Kheri, though with the spread of cultivation the
dissimilarity between Puranpur
and the rest of the Area is gradually becoming less
marked. There are 1227
Villages comes under
Pilibhit's limits, out of which 964 are electrified.
Agricultural And Forestry Science
Center, Pilibhit
The Area has more than 10 small to medium sized rivers and 9
small to medium sized water bodies.
The origin of river Gomti, Gumti or
Gomati ( ), which is a tributary of the Ganges River
, is from a small lake Gomat Taal situated in
Madhotnada in the Puranpur tehsil region. Another important river in
the region is
River Sharda ( ), which
runs through on the eastern part of the district. The city Pilibhit
receives water from the river
Devhahuti Ganga or
Devha ( ) the north - west side of the city and
the
River Ghaghara or
Khakra ( ) on the north-east side of the city.
Pilibhit
city also have a few water bodies in its limits, one being on
Tanakpur
road in front of Dramond college gate, another
being at the Degree College chauraha. Every year during
winters this water body attracts thousands of
migratory birds. The main source of water in
the district is the ground water and the canals. District Pilibhit
is swathed by a big net of canals. The district has 6 main feeders
or canals, which run through almost 138 km in the district.
Road side canals are very common
around Pilibhit
Major part of Pilibhit District is covered by dense forest. Total
784.572 km
2 is forest. Till 1978, 63% area of the
district was a dense forest, but deforestation has scaled done the
total forest cover to 22.39% in 2004. The Sharda canal is the main
canal of the district, the others being its branches. Total length
of canals in the district is 138 km. Apart from the canal
system, district also has a few water bodies, which are being using
for agriculture purposes.
The
National Highway No. 74 runs through the district in order to connect
Haridwar
to Bareilly via Kiccha, Kashipur and
Nagina
city.
Apart
from National Highway, The
district is well connected with Shahjahanpur in south, Lakhimpur Kheri and Indian International Border (IIB) with the
territory of Nepal in east, Nanital
and town Khatima
in north, and the city of Bareilly in the west by roadways and Rail ways. The
district Pilibhit also has several places of religious importance
in or around the district. A main
Gurudwara of
Sikh community is
placed in Nanakmatta town around 46 KM from the city.
One of
the biggest and the most important temple of
the region, Sri Purnagiri Temple is in the
nearby Champawat
district
of Uttaranchal
. Thousands of lakhs of people from the holes
and corners of Uttar
Pradesh comes to this temple and
Pilibhit is one of the halting point for the pilgrims..
Demographics
As of 2001 India
census, District Pilibhit
had a population of 16,45,183occupying 46
th position in
the
Districts of Uttar
Pradesh on other hand the Pilibhit City has only 1,62,625
population. Males constitute 53.26% of the population and females
46.73%. Pilibhit has an average literacy rate of 49.81%, lower than
the national average of 59.5%, male literacy is 62.49%, and female
literacy is 35.11%. In Pilibhit, 13% of the population is under 6
years of age.
Population of district Pilibhit for 2011 has
been estimated as many as 20,64,869 by a study done in Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New
Delhi
.
Prior to the abolition of
zamindari the
zamindars owned large tracts of arable and forest land.
The farm
labour was brought from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
.
After
zamindari was abolished the excess
cultivable land was distributed amongst the landless agricultural
labour.
In the post independence period large number
of displaced persons from Pakistan
were settled in the area. They were provided
cultivable land mainly by clearing private forests. Large tracts
were cleared and wetlands were drained and brought under the
plough.
The inhabitants of the landscape generally
belong to the following major groups – those from eastern Uttar Pradesh, those from Pakistan including Punjabis and
Bengalis, migrants from Punjab
and the
locals.
The
common property lands and resources are worst affected in Puranpur tehsil. The population density of the tehsil
has increased considerably over the last two decades. The
population groups constantly endeavour to maintain their interests
and identity. The immigrant labour and the
Bengalis are the weakest economically but have a
growing political clout. The
Punjabi
displaced persons and migrants are financially the strongest and
wield considerable political clout.. The locals are always anxious
to safeguard their interests against the immigrants. The locals are
strongest in the process of decision making.
Amongst the locals one of the historically important community is
the
Tharu tribe.
According to a
British
officer, historian
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (1782-1835),
A large number of fighters from Maharana
Pratap's army left Rajasthan
after his son Amar
Singh's surrender to Mughal Army
and went towards the dense forest in the Himalayan belt insearch of a safe location. These
tribe could survive and now settled as cultivators in the area,
keep large herd of
cattle, some
sheep and
goats. They have a
distinct cultural identity. There are some
Tharu villages in the proximity of
Katarniaghat wildlife
sanctuary.
They are related to the Tharus in the terai areas in territory of Nepal. The
Tharus depend on
the forests for food, fodder, medicine, small timber for
construction of huts and agricultural implements, handicrafts,
social and religious ceremonies. The major
Tharu groups include the
Rana, Dingoras and Katharias. Marriages between
these groups are very uncommon. Once their habitations were forest
villages but now these are revenue villages. These tribes are not
economical and politically vibrant, but
Government of India has initiated a lot
of schemes to bring them back to the main stream. The tribal area
development schemes have benefited these people. They have adopted
modern farming techniques and have slowly shifted from subsistence
level farming to raising cash crops. Some now own tractor and other
farm implements. The eco development initiatives have largely
focused on these
Tharu villages. Even
Tharu youths are now showing their talent in the filed
of sports, education and art.
Studies reveal that poverty level in the district is associated
with the social identity, source of livelihood, landlessness and
level of education of the head of household. Education is a crucial
instrument for raising income levels of people and moving out of
the vicious circle of poverty.
A Study done by Delhi
Based NGO,
Nav Bharat Nirman, indicates a strong correlation between
educational attainment and poverty levels among various social
classes in the district. The incidence of poverty is much
higher among
SC and
ST
households in Pilibhit. Nearly 60 per cent of
SC
households were below
poverty line in
Pilibhit in 1999-00. However, this proportion came down to 45.23
per cent in 2007-08. The pace of decline of poverty was faster for
the
SC/
ST households as
compared to other households during this period. Poverty level
among
Hindus and
Muslims
is roughly of the same order in the rural areas-around 31 percent
in 1999-00. But poverty levels are much higher for the latter in
the urban areas - 42.2 per cent as compared to only 26.4 per cent
for
Hindus.
With population 7,44,120 under Poverty line, Pilibhit comes under top 20
backward district of India in term of
education, socio-economic conditions, opportunity to earn
livelihood and basic amenities. Lots of non profit
organization has come forward to help the population living under
poverty line.
- List of NGOs Running In Pilibhit
| No. |
Names of NGO |
| 1. |
Kawarnthi Sewa Dal (KSD) |
| 2. |
Bal Vikas Samiti (BVS) |
| 3. |
Mahila Kalyan Samiti (MKS) |
| 4. |
Medical Sisters Of St. Joseph (MSJ) |
| 5. |
Ram Krishna Sewa
Samiti (RKSS) |
| 6. |
Samaj Kalyan Evam Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (SKEVAK) |
| 7. |
The Methodist Church In India
(MCI) |
| 8. |
Uttar Pradesh Drought Relief Committee (UPDRC) |
| 9. |
Viklang Kalyan & Punrvaas Samiti (VKPS) |
| 10. |
Vivek Educational foundation of Canada |
Climate
Pilibhit experiences three distinct seasons: summer,
monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from
March end to June, with maximum temperatures ranging from to .
Contrary to most of the
Himalayan Plateau
where June is the warmest month, the warmest months in Pilibhit is
May. The city starts receiving heavy thundershowers with sharp
downpours in Mid June. Though the temperatures plunge in this
month, the summer heat accompanied by high humidity can be
occasionally quite oppressive.
Monsoon winds blowing from the south India
are a welcome relief in mid of June, bringing with them heavy
showers in July, August. Pilibhit receives excessive rainfall in
the month of August & September. The city receives an annual
rainfall of 723 mm, mainly between June and September as the
result of southwest monsoon. August is the wettest month of the
year. The spells of continuous rainfall may stretch to many days or
even a few weeks. Pilibhit has, on record, received rainfall for 17
consecutive days (days when rainfall is greater than 21.7 mm)
in 1967.
As the monsoon winds recede, the day temperatures starts decline in
October with cooler nights signalling the onset of winter. Pilibhit
experiences winter from November to February. it experience
pleasant windy days, clear skies and cool nights in the month of
November till February ends, Which makes it the most enjoyable time
of the year. The day temperature hovers around while night
temperature is below for most of December and January, often
dropping to or . On particularly cold days, wind may appear to be
very chilly due to the dryness of air.
Rain is
very expected in month of February.
Reported Climatic Variations:
- The highest temperature recorded in Pilibhit
was on 29 May 1989.
- The lowest temperature recorded in Pilibhit
was on 17 January 1949.
- Pilibhit has received snow fall once in Jan
1949, which was the coolest year in the Himalayan
Plateau region. The temperature reached below zero this year in
the region.
Etymology
The city
Pilibhit derived its name from a near by small village name 'Old
Pilibhit', whose existence has been traced in mid of 15th Century,
this village still exist on the bank of the River Ghaghra or Khakra in the north-east from
the city on the way to Nyoria Husainpur
town. It is believed and as official
documents say, this village was occupied by the
Bhanjara (Local community) of Periya clan, which
used to live in the houses, made of mud and other raw material,
available in the forest. This community made a
wall or
mound of yellow mud around their locality in order to
secure their house from wild animal, as that area was a dense
forest, so the people used to call the locality as Pili (Yellow)
and Bhit (Wall or mound). According to Imperial Gazetteer of India,
vol. 20, page 144, issued by
Government of India, Pilibhit was once
known as
Hafizabad on the name
of the great Rohella leader of the Area
Hafiz Rahmat Khan, but Eventually, it
imbibed, its name from a nearby village.
According to a
document from British
Library
'the city Pilibhit' has its existence when in the
late 18th century (1770-1780 AC) Marathas
invaded the Rohilkhand region.
With this invasion,
Kurmi community came to
this region and in the due course of time, the city Pilibhit
enlarged it boundaries. Another evidence of the city existence is
found in an
Nepali literature, which
mentions a city named as Pilibhit, which provided shelter to the
last king of
Shah dynasty, Deepa Shah,
who was attacked by the
Gorakha King in 1789
AD.
The
Rohella ruler Hafiz Rahmat Khan, a Pashtun ancestor of Afghans
in the area, developed Pilibhit as a city and
administrative unit.
History
At the
end of tenth century, a line of princes of Chhinda dynasty ruled
the area of Pilibhit, nothing else is know but their name and the
fact that they made a canal out of River Sarada
as recorded in an archaic inscript written in
Sanskrit found near Dewal
village.. Local history commence with the uprising of Rohela
power in the area in the eighteenth century, when Pilibhit fell in
the hands of Rohella warrior
Hafiz
Rahmat Khan, after the death of
Ali Mohammed Khan.
Hafiz Rahmat Khan was killed in 1774 in a
battle near Miranpur
Katra
with the Nawab of Oudh, who was
aided by British force lent by Warren
Hastings and was added to Oudh..
According
to records available on papers, In 1801 when Rohilkhand was ceded to the British in lieu of payment of tribute, Pilibhit was a
pargana of the district of Bareilly, which lost it in 1833, the arrangement being
temporary and the tract being again united with Bareilly in 1841. In 1871 was formed the Pilibhit subdivision
comprising Jahanabad
, Pilibhit and Puranpur which was eventually converted into a separate
district in 1879.
At the
introduction of the British rule the
parganas of Pilibhit, Jahanabad & Bisalpur was formed into separate tehsils.
Puranpur was united for this purpose with Khutar
.
A
redistribution of the area was effected in 1824, when the Bisalpur tehsil contained the parganas of Bisalpur and Maurari, which afterward become a single area;
Jahanabad was joined with Richha
to form
tehsil Pareva & Pilibhit with Baheri
, the HQ
being at Pilibhit. In 1851 Baheri and the
other tarai pargana were taken under direct management and in 1863
Richha was
attached to the new Baheri tehsil,
pargana Jahanabad being assigned to Pilibhit which also received
Puranpur on its transfer in 1865. The latter, in
1871, a became subtehsil dependent on Pilibhit.
The promotion of
Puranpur into a full tehsil occurred in 1879, while Bisalpur throughout remained a separate subdivision.
Thus the area is now divided into three tehsils and four parganas.
Puranpur & Bisalpur constituting individual tehsils and parganas &
the tehsil of Pilibhit comprising the paraganas of Pilibhit and
Jahanabad.
- 1857 Sepoy Mutiny at Pilibhit
During
the great 1857 Indian Sepoy
Mutiny, news of the raising of troops, under the guidenace of
Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla
at Bareilly reached on June 1, 1857 and tumults at once brook
out in the city among the population, the Joint Magistrate was
forced to run away to Nainital
while the surrounding villages remined a prey to
the rapacity and extortion of the rival Zamindars, The Mutineers of city nominally admitted
the authority of Khan Bahadur
Khan Rohilla, Nawab of Bareilly, and the grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. British order was restored on May 13, 1858 by the British force lent by Commander Colin Campbell, 1st Baron
Clyde of 9th Regiment of
Foot of British army with the help of Caption William George Drummond
Stewart of 93rd
Highlanders of British army, after winning Bareilly battle. Some of the Mutineers was captured
and sentenced to death.
- Pilibhit at a glance in 1901
According to Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. 20, page 143,
published by
Government of
India, below is the demogarphy of Pilibhit as of 1901.
| Area |
Population |
Density |
Total literacy |
Male literacy |
Female literacy |
No of School |
No of Pupil |
|
1227 km2
|
470,369
|
383 per km2
|
2.3%
|
4.4%
|
0.2%
|
77
|
3066
|
Rare Historical Facts about Pilibhit
It is believed by locals that Pilibhit was ruled by an ancient king
named
Mayurdhwaj or
Moredhwaj or
King Venu, who was a great devotee of lord
Krishna and a loyal friend of
Arjun, whose name and geography of his kingdom, can be
traced in
Hindu epic
Mahabharat.
According to Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. 20, page.
138,
published by Government of
India, Pilibhit was ruled by Chhinda dynasty in 10th century,
an inscription, written in Sanskrit, has been found in the dewal
village of Puranpur area which shows that the princes of Chhinda
dynasty made a canal out of River Sarada in 10th century.
According
to a British officer, historian
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (1782-1835),
Maharana Pratap's son, Amar Singh, fought 17 wars with the Mughal
emperor Akbar but in 1595, after Maharana Pratap's death, he conditionally
accepted them as rulers. At this time, a large chunk of Maharana Pratap's band of loyal Rajputs
became disillusioned by the surrender and left Rajasthan. This group included Rathores, Deora
Chauhans, Pariharas, Tomaras, Kashwahas, Ranas, Tharus and Jhalas.
Collectively, They are called "Tharu" at present and settled mostly in sub Himalayan belt on the boundary of Nepal in and
around of dense forest of present district Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. A large number a Tharus
tribe are still living in the remote forest area in the district
and trying to conserve the tradition and culture they brought from
Rajasthan.
The city
Pilibhit was an administrative unit in the Mughal era under Bareilly suba, so for the security purpose, The Mughal subedar Ali Mohammed Khan constructed four
magnificent gate around the administrative building in 1734
AC. These gate were named as
Barellwi
darwaza in west,
Hussaini darwaza in
east,
Jahanabadi darwaza in north and
Dakhini darwaza in south, but due to lack of
proper maintenance, all gate have been lost, only ruins are
remaining now.
Pilibhit was invaded by the
Marathas in 1772
AC. This was the time when the
Kurmi Community
came in this region. The
Marathas were the
ancestor of
Kurmi community, which is one of
the major community in the region.
The last king of Shah dynasty of Nepal got shalter
in Pilibhit by ruler of Rampur
suba Faizullah Khan
in 1789 AC, when he was attacked by Gorakha
king of Nepal. The
freedom fighter
Maulana Enayetulla was from
Pilibhit.
Who voluntarily played host in exile of
Queen of Avadh, Begum Hazrat Mahal to reach Nepal in late
1859.There is one memorial place at Khakra chouki
(Police Center, at present), where 21 freedom fighter were hanged
on 14 Jan 1909, Thursday, on the day of Makar Sankranti, Who denied to follow
English
government's order and rebelled against
them. In the respect of these 21 Martyrs, a rock (named all
martyrs) had been underpinned in the compound of police
center.
Mahatama Gandhi addressed a huge
rally on 12 Nov 1929 in the field of Gauri Shankar temple along
with
Kasturba and
Mirabehn and planted a tree in the temple campus
which is still there in the temple. Due to dense minority
population, Pilibhit district is a
communally sensitive
area. Pilibhit also has seen many man created calamities.
some of major in last 150 years are as -
Riots and Clashes
Human Life Loss due to Natural Calamities
- A
great Famine in 1877-78, followed by fever
epidemic in 1879 caused almost 41000 of deaths in the area of
Pilibhit, Puranpur, Bisalpur.
- Almost 70,000 People died in 1917-18 due to fever in the district. In the 1920s, Pilibhit has lost
a large number of human life due to Plague, Cholera,
Smallpox, Yellow
Fever, Gastroenteritis. due to
which population growth during 1911-21 was negative.
- Pilibhit comes under the High Risk Flood Zone.
Almost every year some part of district gets effected by massive
flood. but the city has seen disastrous flood thrice in last fifty
years, in July 1971, Sept 1989 and Sept 2008.
- More than Rupees 15 millions worth of damage and more than 43
human casualties had been reported by the government sources during flood
in Sept 2008 in the district Pilibhit. Puranpur tehshil was the worst hit due to flood.
- Pilibhit comes under seismic zone-4,
which is High Risk Seismic Zone. Pilibhit has been
trembled a few times in past two centuries. Some of the strong
earthquakes experienced in Pilibhit are
as below:-
Seismic History of Pilibhit
The city Pilibhit has experienced earthquakes several times in the
last two centuries, some of the records which available are as
below.
| Date |
Epicenter |
Strength on Richter scale |
| 1 September 1803 |
Northern Garhwal region |
7.1
|
| 10 October 1956 |
Bulandshahr district |
6.2
|
| 24 December 1961 |
Northern Garhwal region |
6.0
|
| 15 September 1966 |
South
of Moradabad district |
6.2
|
| 29 July 1980 |
Western Nepal
region |
6.8
|
| 29 March 1999 |
Northern Garhwal region |
6.5
|
| 18 October 2007 |
District Gautam Buddha Nagar
region |
3.6
|
Transportation
By Train:
Pilibhit
Junction Railway Station is on the Bareilly-Lakhimpur railway
line. The station is under the administrative control of the
North Eastern Railways.
Computerized reservation facility is provided. Going south-west,
Bhojipura Junction Railway Station is the main station next to
Pilibhit.
The nearest main station to the west is
Puranpur Railway Station.
Main
Three express trains comes here from Lucknow
named as Lucknow-Agra
express(5313), Nainital Express(5308) and Rohilkhand Express(5310) respectively.
Two
express trains from Agra comes named
as Agra-Gonda express(GOKUL
-5316) and
Agra-Lucknow(5314) Express. From Delhi one has to
reach first nearby district Bareilly by bus or train then may reach Pilibhit by a bus or
meter gauge train.
Pilibhit
expected to be connected by meter gauge
to Lucknow through Bareilly-Lakhimpur railway line by
the end of 2012.
- Station Code: PBE
- Enquiry about arrival and departure of trains:
+91-5882-255804
By Bus:
National Highway 74 passes through Pilibhit.
Regular buses connect
Pilibhit to Bareilly at the frequency of every ½ hr. Direct buses are also
available from Delhi, Lucknow, Haridwar, Rishikesh
, Kanpur
,
Rupaidhiya, Agra and
Tanakpur etc.
- Enquiry about arrival and departure of Buses:
+91-5882-255670
By Air:
Nearby Airports (within 200 miles):-
Main Roads in City
| No. |
Names of Road |
| 1. |
Station Road |
| 2. |
Jai Prakash Road |
| 3. |
Nai Basti Road or Degree College Road |
| 4. |
Chudi wali Gali |
| 5. |
Thandi Road or Katchari Road |
| 6. |
Mill Road |
| 7. |
Khakra Road |
| 8. |
Assam
Road |
| 9. |
Gandhi Stadium Road |
| 10. |
Jaisantri Road |
Distance from Pilibhit
All distance given are
Air Distance and all
directions are from pilibhit, Road distance are different from air
distance.
Air Distance of State capitals' from Pilibhit
Places of Interest
Old Pilibhit ( )
The
present town is of comparatively recent origin but there is still a
village known as 'Old Pilibhit' standing on the left bank of the
Khakra river about 5 km to the northeast near the road to
Nyoria
Husainpur. This village had always been occupied by
the
Banjara tribe of the Periya clan. It is
supposed that Pilibhit is the corruption of Periya Bhit or the
village mound of the Periyas and also that the name Pilibhit has
been derived from a yellow mud wall which once surrounded the
district
Jama Masjid ( )
A painting of Pilibhit Jama Masjid in
1780 found in the British Library.
Many big buildings were constructed in the
Mughal period.
In this period a replica of Jama
Masjid, Delhi
was built in Pilibhit by Hafiz Rahmat Khan in 1769. Area is
the only difference, one can figure out between two mosques.
Previously there was a pond at this place. Three lakh or 300,000
rupees were spent for the construction of this
Masjid at that time. A sun watch is still there in
the Jama Masjid.
Hafiz Rahmat
Khan was the Afghan Rohilla leader whose jagirs or estates included
Pilibhit and Bareilly, where he is buried. He became the leader of
the
Rohilla Afghans in western
Avadh, but was killed in a battle against the Nawab of
Avadh, assisted by the English, in 1774.
The
gateway is built in Mughal
style, paying homage to the gateways of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, while the
wall around the mosque enclosure shows the curvilinear Bengali roof found in Shahjahan's additions to the Mughal palace at Agra.
Every Friday, large Muslim population of the city and nearby
villages comes to the Masjid and performs the prayer in zamat. Due
to dense population around this monument and lack of proper
maintenance, the part of the building has been destroyed and part
of land has been constructed. A small market is also being
organized on every Tuesday in the Jama Masjid compound, which is
creating a great damage to the 250 year old historical building. A
new Tehsil Compound also has come up near to the great Jama Masjid
Compound.
Dargah-e-Shahji Miyan ( )
Shahji Miyan Dargah in Pilibhit
In the northern side of the city of Pilibhit a dargha of qutebe
Pilibhit
Hazrat Kibla Haji Shah Ji Mohammad Sher
Mian Sahib Rahmat Ullah Aleh is situated which is very famous and
people travel from other states as well as countries to take the
blessing of Hazrat Shah Ji Mian. It is also said that by offering a
CHADAR at the dargah is fruitful to the people. The dargar has
become place of social harmony as people of various religion come
here to offer their faith.
Gauri Shankar Temple ( )
This temple is 450 years old. This is situated in Khahra locality
at banks of the rivers Devha & Khahra. It is said that the
forefathers of present Pandit Har Prasad came to this place with
other saints. There was a jungle at that time. He dreamt in the
night that God
Shiva is here, in the morning
he saw the Idol of God
Shiva. Gradually a
temple was built. Every year a fair is organized here on the
occasions of
Shivratri,
Raksha Bandhan and on every Monday of
Shraavana month. A dharamshala is situated
at the outer side of the temple, which was donated by Dwarika Das
Banjara. There are two big entry gates at
the eastern and southern side of the temple. These gates were built
by
Hafiz Rahmat Khan in late 18th
century.
Raja Venu Ka Tila ( )
In the
Puranpur tehsil of district Pilibhit, one KM away from the
railway station, there is one high place (Tila) is situated in
Shahgarh area, It is said that there was a palace of Raja Venu at
this place. Ruins are still there. A very big well and ruins
tell the story of a Kingdom.
Chuka Beach Pilibhit
Jaisantri Devi Temple ( )
It is one of the sacred place of the district, placed near awas
vikas colony locality of the city, which almost 5 KM away from the
railway station. Although the temple premises are not in good
condition, but still it's a place of faith of Thousands and lakhs
Hindus of surrounding areas. The temple
becomes very crowded in the
Navratris,
during this days a fair is organized, which attracts not only the
people of the district but from the nearby district as well. It is
believed that the temple was constructed some time in 1858, after
the great
Indian sepoy mutiny,
in the memory of some sepoys, who died while fighting with the
British in the field near the temple itself. The temple compound
also has a Peepal Tree which is believed to be more than 200 years
old and witnessed the sepoy mutiny in 1857. Beside this great
historical and religious importance, the devastating flood in the
Sept of 2008 has damaged the temple building and other small
temples in the compound. even though some maintenance has been done
by the temple management committee, but a large scale restoration
is required to save this 150 year old temple.
Gurudwara Sri Chattvi Padshahi,
Pilibhit
Ardhanarishwer Temple ( )
One of the newly constructed, well decorated temple, which is the
center point of all
Shiva devotees of the
city, situated on station road, near Vishal Cinema. This temple
become extremely crowded during
Shraavana
Month and on the day the
Mahashivratri. The another attraction of this
temple is the
Kali Puja, organized on the
Diwali night in an auspious Mahurat.
Thousands of devotees take part together in the puja.
Chuka Beach ( )
Chuka beach is situated between the main sharda canal and sharda
sagar dam under the 'Mahof Forest Range'. This is one of evergreen
forest areas protected by the
government of India, and is one of five
forest reserves in the district, namely Mala, Haripur, Barahi,
Mahof and Deoriya. Dist administration has developed this place as
a picnic spot in order to increase the tourism in the area.
Gurudwara Sri Chattvi Padshahi, A
inside view
Drumand Government Inter College ( )
This was established in 1915 by Mr. Drumand. Now this is a
government college for boys from standard VI to XII. Apart from the
fact that it's a government inter college, this School premises,
has one of the oldest buildings with the great architecture in the
whole region and the trust which is taking care of the building, is
one of the richest trusts in that area.
Raja ji Temple ( )
Raja lalta Prasad and Sahau Har prasad, belonging to the raja
family of Pilibhit worked together and attained lot of fame and
prosperity. Their contribution in making the town of Pilibhit well
known in the region was immense.
Pilibhit is situated in the sub montane
region of Himalayan Mountains, in the Rohilkhand division of Uttar Pradesh (previously known as The United Province of Agra and
Oudh). Raja Lalta Prasad (1872-1924)
along with his brother Sahu Har Prasad (1875-1953) apart from
setting up businesses, such as The lalit hari
sugar mills took interest in the development of the
region and established The Lalit Hari Sanskrit and Ayurvedic
college, The Radha Ramanji temple, dharamshalas at religious
centres in the shahukara locality of the city.
Chhathavi Padshahi Gurudwara ( )
There is one 400 year old famous
gurudwara
in the pakriya locality of the city. It is said that
Guru Govind Singhji took rest here on the
way to Nanakmatta. He established a
gurudwara here on the name of the 6th guru Sri
Har Govind ji and named it "Chattvi
Padshahi
Gurudwara". In 1983, one of the
famous social servants in area Sri Baba Faoj Singh reconstructed
this beautiful shrine.
Gomat Taal ( )
The
Gomti river is one of the most sacred rivers
of north India.
It
originates from a reservoir called Gomat taal, which is about
7 km east of Pilibhit and flows into the River Ganges
. It passes through Lucknow the capital of Uttar Pradesh and the latter part of its course through Barabanki
, Sultanpur
, Faizabad
and Jaunpur
districts. The length of the river is
800 km. According to legends in the Pilibhit locality, the
river is considered to be the daughter of
Sage Vashistha.
During solar eclipse, devotees believe that taking a
bath in the Gomat taal is equivalent to the bath taken in the river
in Kurukshetra
.
Devha-Ghaghra Sangum (
)
The river Devha joins the
River
Ghaghra at a place named
Bharmchari Ghat ( ),
near to Aurvedic College in the Khakra locality of the city. Though
there are no proper roads to reach that place, but some bull carts
are always available for transportation, one has to cross both of
the rivers before reaching the main ghat. Every year on the
occasion of
Karthik Purnima (Ganga
snan),
Solar eclipse,
Lunar eclipse a big fair is organized at
sangum, devotees come to sangum and take bath organize prayers.
People from various communities come to this Ghats, cook Dal-Bhat
and distributes among devotees after offering to the rivers.
WildLife
A tiger walking with a cub in the
Pilibhit Reserve Area
Fisheries Ecology Utter Pradesh
Forest Map, Pilibhit
Mahof Forest range Pilibhit
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit has been granted to have a
tiger
reserve area which constitutes potential
tiger
habitat of priority I and II. This new
tiger
reserve at Pilibhit covers an area of approximately 1087 km²
in Lagga Bhagga Forest Range of district.
It runs through
Pilibhit, Kishanpur
Wildlife Sanctuary and Khutar range of Shahjahanpur, the existing one has Dudhwa
,Katarniaghat and Kakraha
range of Bahraich
division. Pilibhit, Khutar and Kakraha are the reserved forest areas which are
being converted into protected areas for the reserves. This
reserve is sectioned under the much talked program "
Project Tiger"..
In the February'08 annual census of forest inhabitants says, this
reserve area has a total 36
tigers: 11 male,
20 female, and five cubs. In the 2005 census, there ware only one
cub, 12 male and 22 female in the district. Pilibhit reserve is
expanded over 73,000 hectare area spread in several
districts.
The massive deforestation in the only
existing forest tract of Indo-Nepal border in
Pilibhit-Lakhimpur Tarai belt has reduced
the forest cover. The depleted swathes of forest land have
increased the pressure on survival of wild animals within the
protected area. The new
tiger reserve was
sanctioned in keeping with this problem. The outline for the
reserve, as identified by the Critical
Tiger
Habitat Committee, has approved by Central government in September
2008.
With Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
area, now Uttar Pradesh has total two tiger reserve areas.
The
government of India has opened
four reserves with the name of Sunabeda Tiger Reserve in Orissa
, Shahayadri
Tiger reserve in Maharashtra
, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Uttar
Pradesh, and Ratapani
Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh
in the third quarter of 2008.
The Fishery Reservoir
Pilibhit
also have one fishery reservoir, which is
situated in the tehsil Bisalpur which is recognized as a reservoir by Fisheries Department of the state government as well as the
central government. The
State Fisheries Department classifies this water body used as a
medium size
fishery reservoir (500 to 1000
ha area). This reservoir is a natural water body and located on the
southern periphery of Deoriya range also runs along the forests of
this range. Every year during winters this water body attracts
thousands of
migratory birds. Besides
birds, it is home to a large number of
turtles. There are also numerous species of fish
found in this water body. Apart from this
Fisheries reservoir, Pilibhit also have a few small
man made and natural water bodies which are being use by
Fisheries Department. There are also large numbers
of local communities, mainly refugees from
east Bengal settled on periphery of this water
body. These communities engage themselves in poaching of migratory
birds every year disturbing the peace and tranquility.
Other Forest Area in Pilibhit
Apart from the reserve area and wild life places, Pilibhit also has
a few forest areas around in the district.
Mala range (east
from city towards Puranpur), Haripur range(east from the Puranpur town towards Nepal border),
Barahi range (A few km from city towards Kalinagar
), Mahof Range (east from city near to Nyoria
Husainpur) and Deoriya range (on district's southern-east
border towards Shahjahanpur) are a few of them. Mala, Deoriya and Barahi
are well connected with the city by road and railway.
Mala range comes on
the way to Lakhimpur
Kheri from Pilibhit city, which is famous for leopards, swamp deer,
Rhinoceros, Cheetal, hog
deer, barking deer, sambar, Wild bear,
ratel, and around 400 species of birds and 90
species of fishes. Some of them are really dense and
unhabited areas.
Although Mala and Deoriya has a few
habitated colonies, but Mahof is completely unhabitated yet, A part
of this forest range, including area from forest in Udham Singh
Nagar district of Uttarakhand is also known as Lagga-Bagga forest range, Which
makes the Nepal border along
with the river sharda and officially
known as No Men's Land. In Mala and Barahi
forests, basically
Bengali
communities are habitating in small colonies, who came in the area
from
East Bengal after partition of
India in 1947. After refugee habitation started in the area in
1947, deforestation had become a major concern. These forests have
enormous depth for a good tourist destination.
Sports
Sri Lalit Hari Cricket Stadium
Pilibhit has one
cricket stadium in the Shri
Lalit Hari sugar mill compound, which is also or formerly known as
Lalit Hari Stadium. This stadium was established in 1931 on
Tarakpur road, at the railway station end. The home team for this
stadium is Uttar Pradesh. It has Matting type of pitch. This
stadium had hosted a few
Ranji trophy
cricket matches in the early 80s.
Some of the famous match was played at the Lalit Hari Sugar Factory
Ground, Pilibhit are :-
- A
match played between Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan teams, a north zone match on 25, 26, 27 December
1983 (three-day match) under 1983/84 Ranji
trophy cricket tournament. Uttar
pradesh
won the toss and decided to bat, But Match got
drawn.
Gandhi Sports Stadium
This is
one of the beautiful stadium in the Bareilly zone speared 85 Acres (Local measurement) of area
in the mid of the city, which has various facilities for Athletics,
Football, Volleyball, Hockey and some
indoor sports. Now, a Swing pool is also proposed to be
constructed in the stadium. In the same compound one multipurpose
Auditorium is available. This stadium is better known as sports
heart of the city, as this is the only sport facility available for
public uses.
Other Facilities
Apart from these sports grounds, various educational institutions
has their own facilities. Few are DGIC ground, St. Aloysius ground,
Rama college ground, SVM college ground and some more. Although
city hasn't produce any big sports' celebrity. But city teams have
able to save a few state level competitions on various
events.
Education
St Aloysius College, Pilibhit
The city of Pilibhit have several secondary and higher secondary
schools and colleges for boy's as well as girls.
One of the main
ayurvedic college of the Uttar Pradesh is also situated in the city, apart from these city
also has one ITI college, one law college, one nursing college and
one management school and a few college for since, commerce and
Art. The educational instituations of the city
are the main attraction for the students of nearby places as many
new instituations has come up in the city for various higher
education mainly affiliated with MJP Rohilkhand University,
Bareilly. Even though city has many educational
instituate, but Pilibhit has an average literacy rate of 49.81%,
lower than the national average of 59.5%, male literacy is 62.49%,
and female literacy is 35.11%. Supporting education system by
offering private classes and tutions is one of the major livlihood
earning in the pilibhit city.
Pilibhit also a major educational center
for Nepali students from the near by
areas in the Nepal.
Main Educational Institutes in Pilibhit
| No. |
Names of Educational Institutes |
Affiliation With |
| 1. |
Drumand Boys' Government Intermediate College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 2. |
St. Aloysius Intermediate College |
CBSE Board, New Delhi |
| 3. |
Chironji Lal Virendera Pal Saraswati Vidhya Mandir Boys'
Intermediate College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 5. |
Springdale Intermediate College |
CBSE Board, New Delhi |
| 6. |
Sanatan Dharam Banke Bhihari Shri Ram Boys' Intermediate
College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 7. |
Lions Bal Vidhya Mandir Intermediate College |
CBSE Board, New Delhi |
| 8. |
Girls' Government Intermediate College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 9. |
Anguri Devi Saraswati Vidhya Mandir Girls' Intermediate
College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 10. |
Siddique National Boys' Intermediate College |
UP Board, Allahabad |
| 11. |
Ben-Her Intermediate College |
CBSE Board, New Delhi |
| 12. |
Upadhi Mahavidhayalaya |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
| 13. |
Ram Lubhai Sahani Girls' Degree College |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
| 14. |
Pushp Institute of Sciences & Higher Studies |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
| 15. |
Hafiz Rahmat Khan Law
College |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
| 15. |
Sanjay Gandhi School of
Nursing |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
| 16. |
Shri Lalit Hari Sanskrit
Mahavidhiyalaya |
Sampurnanand Sanskrit
University, Varanasi |
| 17. |
Springdale College of Management Studies |
Rohilkhand
University, Bareilly |
Economy
Industry & Agriculture
The district Pilibhit has an agriculture-based economy. It has a
very furtile land, but it is a bit backward in the area of
industry, and has no
mineral
extraction area. The industry in the district is mainly based
on agriculture.
Since main crop in this area is sugarcane, So there are four sugar factories at
Majhola
, Puranpur, Bisalpur and Pilibhit. Three factories are in
co-operative sector and one at Pilibhit is in private sector. The
Lalit Hari Sugar Factory is the largest among them.
Now, in year
2005-06, The Bajaj Industry has come up with Bajaj Hindustan Sugar
factory Ltd, in Barkhera
area of the district. Apart from this,
District has a few cottage industries too, Main cottage industries
are Wooden or Bamboo flute manufacturing, engineering units, brick
klins, candles and zari work. The flute made in Pilibhit has a big
international demand.
These flutes are exported to US
, Europe, Japan
, Canada
, UAE
and the
African countries. Other major units
are three solvent plants, four flour mills, one steel plant (a few
km from the City) and one Alcohol Distillery in Majhola town.
According to an article published in
Hindustan Times, by a 1991 estimate,
95% of India’s flutes were manufectured in
Pilibhit and were exported to the USA
, Europe and other countries. The craftmen were
used to source its bamboo from Barak Valley in Assam.
Earlier,
there was an unbroken narrow-gauge line running from Silchar
, in Assam, via
Bihar, and into
Pilibhit. On this line, 60-strong bundles of bamboo, each
stalk 10 ft long, use to make their way to Pilibhit, But
around 15 years ago, sections of that line were removed.
Now, the
bamboo has to travel on narrow gauge from Silchar to Jiribum, then shift onto a broad-gauge line to
travel to Bareilly, the nearest big town, and then reloaded onto
narrow gauge to come into Pilibhit.
Sugar Mills
| Name of Sugar Factory |
Capacity |
Installation year |
No. of cane Growers |
Cane Area (in Hect.) |
| The Lalit Hari Sugar Factory Pvt. Ltd. Pilibhit |
2000 TCD
|
1909-10
|
29786
|
27423
|
| The
Bisalpur Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd., Bisalpur |
2500 TCD
|
1977-78
|
37543
|
23945
|
| The
Kisan Coop Sugar Factory Ltd., Majhola |
2000 TCD
|
1965-66
|
7442
|
7647
|
| The
Kisan Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd., Puranpur |
2500 TCD
|
1985-86
|
16576
|
13170
|
| The
Bajaj Hindustan Ltd., Barkhera |
2160 TCD
|
2006-07
|
79222
|
49522
|
Other Establishment
| Name |
Sector |
Category |
Installation year |
| R.S. Mahajan Industries, Pilibhit |
PU
|
Paper
|
1963
|
| Majhola Distillery & Chemicals, Pilibhit |
SU
|
Distillery
|
1969
|
| Anil Modi Oil Industries Ltd., Pilibhit |
OW
|
Vegetable Oils & Wax.
|
1974
|
The main crops of district Pilibhit are
sugarcane,
rice,
wheat,
pulse, food grains,
mustard and
oil
seeds. which depends upon the seasons.
District
Pilibhit is also supplies a big amount of fresh vegetables
to Delhi, Lucknow and nearby markets. Pilibhit also has
one of the biggest food grain market in the Uttar
Pradesh named Adarsh Krishi Khadyann Mandi Samiti ( ),
Which is the main supplier market food grain and vegetable to
Uttarakhand.
Apart from Agriculture,
Dairy industry has
been flourisheed in the area. The district has a big number of live
stocks mainly
Cows,
Buffalo,
Goats.
The
district not only fulfill its own demand, but also supplies to the
district of Bareilly and various places in Uttarakhand.
The
Embroidery industry is also one of
the major source of income for semi skilled labor, with help of
some NGOs, this industry is blooming up and business is increasing
not only in the local market, but also in the inetrnational
level.
- Economic development Indicators
Politics
Lok Sabha Constituency
Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency has been favorite for the candidates who doesn’t
belong to the constituency itself. Only three time any local leader
could win the seat. After Independence, In first general election,
a local leader Mr.
Mukund Lal
Agrawal won the seat as
Indian National Congress’s
candidate and made it to
Parliament.
Then again In 1977’s
Lohiya wave and 1991’s Ayodhya
wave could help the local leaders to won the
seat. After Mr. Mukund Lal Agrawal, a Praja Socialist Party’s candidate Mr.
Mohan Swarup, who was from Bareilly won three consecutive general election in 1957,
1962 and 1967. And again in 1971 general election, Mr. Mohan
Swarup won the Pilibhit seat as
Indian National Congress’s
candidate.
In the 1977 general election, the Nawab of district’s Sherpur
Riyasat, Mr.
Md Shamsul Hasan
Khan was able to keep the constituency.
But in the every
next general election in 1980, he lost the seat and Indian National Congress’s
candidate Mr. Harish Kumar
Gangawar, who belong to Bareilly who the election from Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency. And after that, in 1984’s general election
Indian National Congress’s
candidate Mr. Bhanu Pratap Singh,
who belong to Bareilly who the election from the seat. Then it was
Smt.
Menaka Gandhi’s turn to win the
Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency as
Janata Dal’s
candidate. She belongs to Nehru-Gandhi family and is widow of Mr.
Sanjay Gandhi.
But 1991’s Ayodhya wave, helped the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate
and prominent politician from Barkhera Mr. Parshuram Gangwar to reach the Parliament after defeating her .
Again in 1996 Smt.
Menaka Gandhi won
the general election as
Janata Dal’s
candidate. She won next two general elections in 1998 and 1999 as
Independent candidate, but supported by
Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2004, She
formal joined
Bharatiya Janata
Party and won
Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency seat as
Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate.
For 15th parliamentary election, she vacated her 5 times seat for
his son Mr.
Varun Gandhi.
Pilibhit was in news in March 2009, just two months before the
general election 2009
here, because
BJP candidate Mr.
Varun Gandhi has made some communal remarks in
a public meeting in Dalchand locality of the city on March 6, 2009
and again surrendered before the local court in Pilibhit, after his
anticipatory bail expired in the
presence of a large number of supporters on 29 March 2009 which
followed by mass clashes between
Varun
Gandhi's supporters and administrative forces in the
city.
The
Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency seat again came in the news, when highest vating
was recorded in the state of Uttar Pradesh on 13 May 2009 for 15th, general election
2009. Total 8,42,590 (64.37%) voter casted theit right
to vote out of 13,08,959 voters in the
15th, general election 2009.
Varun Gandhi won
Pilibhit parliamentary
constituency by receiving 4,19,539 (49.79% of total vote
casted) votes and defeated his near trailing conterder Mr. V.M.
Singh by 2,81,501 votes, who received total 1,38,038 (16.38% of
total vote casted) votes. Security deposits of all other 15
candidates, including his uncle V M Singh of
Congress and
BSP
nominee Ganga Charan Rajput was forfeited.
- Parliament Constituency Code = 26
All details are taken from Election Commission web site.
Vidhan Sabha Constituencies
- Legislative Assemblies
- Members of Legislative Assemblies
| Year |
Vidhan Sabha |
Pilibhit Constituency |
Bisalpur Constituency |
Puranpur Constituency |
Barkhera Constituency |
| 1951 |
01st Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Niranjan Singh (INC) |
Sri Hari Prasad (SoP) |
Sri Munendra Pal (SoP) |
NIL |
| 1957 |
02nd Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Niranjan Singh (INC) |
Sri Bhihari Lal (PSP) |
Sri Munendra Pal (PSP) |
NIL |
| 1962 |
03rd Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Ram R. Singh (INC) |
Sri Durga Prasad (INC) |
Sri Mohan Lal Acharya (INC) |
NIL |
| 1967 |
04th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri B. Ram (BJS) |
Sri Munendra Pal (PSP) |
Sri Mohan Lal Acharya (INC) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJS) |
| 1969 |
05th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Ali Zaheer (INC) |
Sri Tej Bhahdur (BKD) |
Sri Har Narayan (BKD) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJS) |
| 1974 |
06th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Dhirendra Sahai (BKD) |
Sri Tej Bhahdur (INC) |
Sri Harish Chandra (BJS) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJS) |
| 1977 |
07th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Dhirendra Sahai (JP) |
Sri Munendra Pal (JP) |
Sri Babooram Prabhati (JP) |
Sri Kishan Lal (JP) |
| 1980 |
08th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Charan Jit Singh (INC) |
Sri Tej Bhahdur (INC) |
Sri Vinod Kumar (INC) |
Sri Baboo ram (INC) |
| 1985 |
09th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Syed Ali Ashrafi (INC) |
Sri Tej Bhahdur (INC) |
Sri Vinod Kumar (INC) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJP) |
| 1989 |
10th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Riyaz Ahemad (IND) |
Sri Harish Kumar (JP) |
Sri Har Narayan (JP) |
Sri Sannu Lal (IND) |
| 1991 |
11th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri B. K. Gupta (BJP) |
Sri Ram Saran Verma (BJP) |
Sri Pramod Kumar (BJP) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJP) |
| 1993 |
12th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri B. K. Gupta (BJP) |
Sri Ram Saran Verma (BJP) |
Sri Virendra M. Singh (JD) |
Sri Kishan Lal (BJP) |
| 1996 |
13th Vidhan Sabha |
Smt. Raj Rai Singh (BJP) |
Sri Anish A. Khan (BSP) |
Sri Gopal Krishna (SP) |
Sri Peetam Ram (SP) |
| 2002 |
14th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Riyaz Ahemad (SP) |
Sri Anish A. Khan (BSP) |
Sri Vinod Tiwari (BJP) |
Sri Peetam Ram (SP) |
| 2007 |
15th Vidhan Sabha |
Sri Riyaz Ahemad (SP) |
Sri Anish A. Khan (BSP) |
Sri Arshad Khan (BSP) |
Sri Sukh Lal (BJP) |
Details as per available on Election commission's web site
Culture
Architecture
Architectural excellence in Jama
Masjid Building
Architectural inheritance of the past millennia of the region of
Rohilkhand survives to varying extent, so
does in Pilibhit. Some of the construction are very old and have
been built over repeatedly in course of time. These building say
the stories of its rulers and people who made them. One of the
oldest temples
Sri Gauri Shankar Temple and
Sri Radha Krishna Temple in the Shaukara locality
in the city says the story of architecture brilliance and love of
people towards it. In the Gauri Shankar Temple premise, has a
magnificent gates constructed by
Hafiz
Rahmat Khan, says the story of communal harmony of the area.
Another architectural edifice is Raja Ji ki Koti in the Puranaganj
locality of the city, a big and splendid building. Another
impressive stop are the four magnificent gate constructed around
the administrative building in 1734 AC by the
Mughal subedar
Ali Mohammed Khan. These gate were named
as
Barellwi darwaza in west,
Hussaini
darwaza in east,
Jahanabadi darwaza in
north and
Dakhini darwaza in south, but due to
lack of proper maintenance, all gate have been lost, only ruins are
remaining now.
Architectural brilliance displayed in
Sri Radha Krishna Temple in the Shaukara locality
The
Dramound Boy’s Inter College building says the
story of architectural excellence in the city, so does say the
Ghanta Gharbuilding. Apart from these public
buildiing, some of the residential buildings are also exemplary,
some of the century old buildings in the old city have big wooden
gates near the Laxmi Cinema complex.
The
glimpse of British architecture can be seen in the old Tehsil
compound which was constructed in 1903 and in the Pilibhit
District
jail compound, which was constructed in 1944. the
Tehsil compound has been abandoned now, but the jail compound is
still in use. Apart from this, there are many more buildings
in the city, which are more than century old.
Art and Craft
People of Pilibhit are evenly creative in art and craft, One of the
local community
Kumars in the Tularam locality
are the one, who are into the mud craft creation since centuries.
Apart from these,
Embroidery craft is the
employment for many families here.
This embroidery is based on Lucknow’s famous Zardozi,
work. Some of the neighboring
Tharu
tribes, are also gross their livelihood by selling a good
Terracotta work. All these fine art worker are
fragmented, so they are not able to get the real price for their
work. But some of the NGO have come to the fore to help them. These
artiest and worker are being skilled into the new technicality for
the craft excellence.
Being a
forest enrich area, Pilibhit has lots of wood based art and craft
industries , The wooden flute is one of
example from Pilibhit which has find its place on international
level, Flutes are being export to US, Europe and UAE.
Wooden Chappals (Khadoo) is also an example of wooden craft, but
due to very less demand this is a dying state.
Apart from this,
Musical instrument made of wood like Tabla,
Dolak
, drums are also mode of
revenue for lot of families.
Dance and Music
Pilibhit, being in the influence of
Braj
culture, its dance and music are also enriched with the devotion to
Sri Krishna. The region's folk heritage
includes songs called rasiya (known and especially popular in
Braj, which celebrate the divine love of
Radha and
Shri
Krishna. These songs are accompanied by large
drums known as bumb and are performed at many
festivals. Other folk dances or folk theater forms include:
Festivals
Religious practices are as much an integral part of everyday life,
and a very public affair, as they are in the rest of India.
Therefore, not surprisingly, many festivals are religious in
origin, although several of them are celebrated irrespective of
caste and creed. Among the most important
Hindu festivals are
Diwali,
Holi and
Vijayadasami,
Mahashivaratri,
Ram
Navmi,
Basant Panchami,
Sri Krishna Janamastmi,
Raksha Bandhan which are also observed with
equal fervour by
Jains and
Sikhs. Eid al-Milad,
Eid
ul-Fitr,
Bakr-Id and
Moharram are Muslim religious festivals.
Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated by Jains,
Buddha Jayanti by Buddhists,
Guru Nanak Jayanti by
Sikhs and
Good Friday,
Christmas by the
Christians.
Entertainment
The city had four cinema hall, but due to a judiciary claim one of
the hall has been closed in 2000 and another has been turned in to
a marriage hall. Now, only two of them are operational.
| No. |
Names of Cinema Hall |
| 1. |
Vishal Cinema |
| 2. |
Laxmi Cinema |
| 3. |
Novalty Cinema (not operational) |
| 4. |
Jay Cinema (not operational) |
Poetry & Literature
Pilibhit has produced several who ’s who in field of
music,
poetry,
literature. Some famous residents from Pilibhit
are below:-
Anjum Pilibhiti
A poet by nature and song writer by profession, Anjum Pilibhiti has
written many songs in the decade of 1940s. He has given his words
in movies Meri Kahani (1948), Humayun (1945) , Vidya (1948), Anokhi
Ada (1948), Hamjoli (1946), Najma (1943), Anmol Ghadi (1946), Badi
Maa (1945), Eighteen Fifty Seven/1857 (1946).
Akhtar Pilibhiti
The 40s has witnessed a hit jugalbandi of Akhtar Pilibhiti and
young
Mohammad Rafi. Akhtar Pilibhit
was born in Pilibhit on 12 Mar 1928. His most famous contribution
was in the movie Shehnaaz. His song “ai dil tujh hii ko niind na
aayii tamaam raat” was the fomous song in 1948.
Hafiz Pilibhiti
Hafiz Pilibhiti was one of the famous contributors in the
Urdu literature. He was born on 29 Nov 1860 in
a very poor family and did his all studies in the local madrasa.
His
major contribution is Urdu Nazam and
patriotic Urdu songs, which became
very famous in the moment against British government those days. All of his work has
been protected by National Council for Promotion of
Urdu Language (NCPUL). He died on 15 July
1929.
Rafiq Pilibhiiti
Rafiq Pilibhiiti was born on 14 June 1933 in Pilibhit, Uttar
Pradesh, India. He
is an
engineer by profession. It has been
generally observed that those who opt for
literature are afraid of
Mathematics and
Science,
while those who adopt
Science and
Mathematics are seldom interested in
literature. However exceptions are always there
and such is the case with Mr. Rafiq.Besides having a first class
academic career throughout Mr. Rafiq’s name was on the top of the
list declared by state public service commission declared in the
year 1960. It is remarkable that his poetic art too bears a similar
standard of excellence.
Rafiq Pilibhiti belongs to a Zamindar
family of Rohilkhand in Uttar
Pradesh. His father late Sheikh Abdul Latif was also
a poet and his pen name was 'Naaz'. Thus Rafiq inherited poetry and
it is very much in his blood.
It is interesting to know that Rafiq Sahib
started writing poetry at the age of fifty, when he was posted at
Moradabad.
His major work are Jahan Numa (
Hindi), Hare Zakhma (
Hindi,
English), Ishq–e–Madaam, Zikr Us Parivash
Ka (
Urdu) and Jahan Numa (
Urdu).
Suroor Jahanabadi
The pre independence political turmoil, and the social
consciousness and the national awakening during the last decade of
nineteenth century inspired the Surror Hahanabadi (Full and real
name Munshi Shri Durga das Sahai) a promintant poet, to compose
poems of very high standards, suffused with patriotic sentiments.
He was born in a poor
kayastha family of
town Jahanbad in Pilibhit district in 1873. His famous collections
of Urdu poems are Jama-i-suroor (1911) and Khumkhana-i-surror
(1930-posthumous). Some other famous plays written by surror
Jahanabadi are Ruksat-i-Shaheb, Gul-i-firdaus, Diwwar-i-khoon. He
died in the year of 1911 on day of
Holi.
Fateh Singh Vatsayan
The
Hindi and
Sanskrit Scholar was born in the Pilibhit
city on 13 Jan 1913. He has served 41 years as a
Hindi and
Sanskrit Prof in various university in
India. Presently he is living in Jodhpur with his family. This
nonogenarian was honoured by prestigious National Literature Award
by the
President of India in 1966
for his work Kamayani Sundarya. He also has received various awards
and honours from various state governments and organizations. His
famous work is Kamayani Sundarya, Sahitya aur Sundarya, Bhartiya
Smaj Sashtra, Dayanad Aur unka Ved Bhasya.
Communication and Radio Stations
- Communication Networks
All
prominent tele-communication network provider in India offers their
services in Pilibhit. the city of Pilibhit falls in the eastern
boundary of Uttar Pradesh West telecom Circle and
thus calls from city of Pilibhit to neighboring districts including
rest of the area in the western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand telecom circle are
considered to be local so they charge lower rates than call going
to eastern part of Uttar
Pradesh.
- Radio Services
Radio is one of the mode of entertainment in Pilibhit. Following
Radio services are available in Pilibhit:-
Civic Administration
The
Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad (PNPP) is the
largest municipal board in the
Pilibhit
District, in charge of the civic and infrastructural assets
of the city of Pilibhit, This municipal
board was established in 1865. Municipal limits begin
with bank of
River Khakra in the
north, to bank of river Devha in the south and railway colony in
the east to civil court in the east. The PNPP comprises 52 elected
representatives, called
Ward Members, one from
each of the 52 wards (Civic units) of the city. Elections to the
Nagar Palika are held once every five years, with results being
decided by popular vote. A ward member from the majority party is
selected as a
Palika Chairman, which is equivalent
to
Mayor in
municipal corporations. The
headquarters of Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad is at Sugar Mil
Road. As of 2007, the Pilibhit Nagar Palika covers an area of
68.76 km² (27 sq mi).
Until
the revision of Lok Sabha constituency and
the legislative constituencies by the Delimitation commission
before general election
2009, Pilibhit contributed only one members to the Lok Sabha, which includes Khutar and Powayan also, but post
delimitation, both of them have been removed from Pilibhit constituency and
a new area of Baheri has been included in the Pilibhit
constituency. Additionally, Pilibhit city sent one
member to the
Uttar
Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The Pilibhit police is responsible for the law and order
maintenance in city of Pilibhit. The department is headed by a
Superintendent of Police
(SP).
Which falls under the direct control of
Commissioner, Bareilly Zone, Bareilly, who is responsible of order maintenance in the
Bareilly police zone and reports to Director General of Police,
Uttar
Pradesh. The department works through two main
police station in the city,
Sungari Police Station
for eastern and southern part of the city and
Kotwali
Police Station for western and northern part of the city,
which controls the police sub center, also called police chowkis
directly through out the area.
The
District
Magistrate
is responsible for the administration of city of
Pilibhit, who directly reports to the home ministry of Government of Uttar
Pradesh. Being on the India’s international border,
Pilibhit also has the office of Intelligence Department in the city
which keep an eye on all the moments across the border as well as
in the city.
Gallery
Image:Gaurishankar mandir pilibhit01.JPG|The other Gate of Sri
Gauri Shankar Temple, PilibhitImage:Gaurishankar mandir
pilibhit02.JPG|The Main Gate of Sri Gauri Shankar Temple,
PilibhitImage:Gaurishankar mandir pilibhit03.JPG|The entry gate at
the eastern side of Sri Gauri Shankar Temple, Pilibhit , which were
built by
Hafiz Rahmat Khan in late
18th centuryImage:Gaurishankar mandir pilibhit04.JPG|Compound Sri
Gauri Shankar Temple, PilibhitImage:Gaurishankar mandir
pilibhit06.JPG|The entry gate at the southern side of Sri Gauri
Shankar Temple, Pilibhit , which were built by
Hafiz Rahmat Khan in late 18th
centuryImage:Jamiamasjid pilibhit03.JPG|Jamia Masjid Main
enterenceImage:Krishna temple pilibhit04.JPG|Sri Radha Krishna
Temple, PilibhitImage:Methodist church03.JPG|Methodist Church,
PilibhitImage:Shahjimazar02.JPG|Shah Ji Miyan Dargah
CompoundImage:Gurudwara Sri Chhatwi Padshahi Pilibhit.jpg|Gurudwara
Sri Chhatwi Padshahi in city of Pilibhit
See also
- Related Pages About Pilibhit
- Article about Places in Pilibhit
- Article about people from Pilibhit
Further reading
References
External links
- Government
- Other
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