Amethi is a city situated in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Gauriganj is the administrative headquarters of the Amethi district. This district is a part of Ayodhya division in the Awadh region of the state. Amethi was 72nd district of Uttar Pradesh which came into existence on 1 July 2010 by merging three tehsils of the erstwhile Sultanpur district namely Amethi, Gauriganj and Musafirkhana and two tehsils of the erstwhile Raebareli district, namely, Salon and Tiloi. The town is part of the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency and Amethi Assembly constituency, which became reputed as a stronghold of the Indian National Congress party. The Congress leaders belonging to Nehru-Gandhi family won several elections from Amethi during 1980–2014. In 2019, Smriti Irani of Bhartiya Janta Party won this seat. Irani was defeated in 2024 by Kishori Lal Sharma of Indian National Congress.[5]

Amethi
City
Map
Map of Amethi, (Uttar Pradesh)
Amethii
Amethii
Amethi
Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Amethii
Amethii
Amethi
Amethi (India)
Amethii
Amethii
Amethi
Amethi (Asia)
Amethii
Amethii
Amethi
Amethi (Earth)
Coordinates: 26°09′18″N 81°48′32″E / 26.155°N 81.809°E / 26.155; 81.809
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
DivisionAyodhya
RegionAwadh
DistrictAmethi
District Formation1 July 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-01)
HeadquartersGauriganj
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Uttar Pradesh
 • MP(Lok Sabha)Kishori Lal Sharma
 • DMNisha Anant, IAS[1]
 • SPAnoop Kumar Singh, IPS[2]
Area
 • Total
0.72 km2 (0.28 sq mi)
Elevation
100 m (300 ft)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • Total
13,849
 • Density19,000/km2 (50,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialHindi[4]
 • Additional officialUrdu[4]
 • RegionalAwadhi
 • Literacy (2011)59.14
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
227405
Telephone code+915368
Vehicle registrationUP-36
Sex ratio908 females per 1000 males /
AirportFursatganj Airfield
Websiteamethi.nic.in

History

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In the past, Amethi used to be called Raipur-Amethi.[6] When the train station was built here, it took the name of Amethi, but before then there had been no settlement with that exact name.[7] There had been a mahal or pargana of Amethi since at least the time of Akbar: it is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as belonging to the sarkar of Lucknow, with a brick fort at headquarters and was held by Rajputs called "Bahmangoti"s, who are the same as the Bandhalgoti Rajputs from whom the Rajas of Amethi originated.[7] Later on, the pargana was transferred to Manikpur.[7]

The capital region of the Amethi estate, Raipur, which was formerly known as Badagaon, lost much of its power, strength, and splendor after the establishment of the Kohra (estate) by Babu Himmat Sah.[8][9] He was the younger son of Raja Bikram Sah of Amethi estate. His descendant, Babu Bhoop Singh, became one of the most important leaders in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and played a crucial role in the Awadh War of 1857.[10][11][12]

 
Babu Bhoop Singh of Kohra (estate), Leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Rajas of Amethi

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The Bandhalgoti Kachhwaha Rajas of Amethi originally resided at Raipur Phulwari, which along with Sarwanpur and Katra Himmat Singh, was one of the three villages that would later be amalgamated into the modern town of Raipur-Amethi. The old fort at Raipur Phulwari was destroyed by Safdar Jang c. 1743; its ruins are still visible today.[7]

The story behind its destruction is as follows: the King of Amethi Raja Gurdatt Singh had defied Safdar Jang's authority so conspicuously that Safdar Jang personally led an army to Raipur to besiege the fort.[7]

After a siege of 18 days, Gurdatt Singh fled into the neighbouring jungle of Ramnagar (which became the rajas' main residence), and the fort was destroyed and his estate (then known as Udiawan, until the British annexation of Awadh) put under Safdar Jang's direct control.[7]

Raja Gurdatt Singh's son Raja Drigpal Singh was able to recover his father's estate.[7] While Raja Gurdatt Singh had been known by various titles, all his successors beginning with Drigpal Singh were unequivocally styled Raja.[7] Because of the prevalence of barren usar land in the pargana, there was a popular saying gar na hota Amethi úsar, Rája hota deoti dusar, meaning "if there had been no usar in Amethi, the Raja would be a second deity".[7]

The taluqa was then divided between Drigpal Singh's two sons, with Har Chand Singh receiving the bulk of the inheritance and Jai Chand Singh founding the junior branch of Kannu Kasrawan. Har Chand Singh had originally inherited 153 villages but in 1804 was permitted to engage for the entire pargana of Amethi (except for the village of Raghipur).[7] In 1810, this arrangement was changed by Saadat Ali Khan II, leaving Har Chand Singh with just 43 rent-free villages; he abdicated in favour of his son Dalpat Sah, who in 1813 was able to restore the taluqa to its original extent. Dalpat Sah died in 1815 and was succeeded by his son Bisheshar Singh, who then died childless in 1842.[7]

At this point, the taluqa was inherited by Bisheshar Singh's cousin Madho Singh, whose father Arjun Singh (Dalpat's brother) had held the independent Gangoli estate as a junior branch. Under Madho Singh, these two branches became united.[7] Madho Singh clashed with the nazim of Sultanpur, Maharaja Man Singh, in 1845; when this proved indecisive, the two parties turned to negotiations. The resulting agreement in 1846 ended up leasing the entire pargana to Madho Singh except for a few villages that would be directly retained by the nazim.[7]

This lease included Kannu Kasrawan, still held by Jai Chand Singh's descendants, but the proprietors ignored the terms and Madho Singh ended up getting a decree of confiscation from the Nawab of Awadh himself. After protracted fighting the proprietors finally submitted in 1853.[7]

The Udiawan taluqa was almost completely broken up upon the British annexation in 1856, but reconstituted after the 1857 uprising.[7] Madho Singh supported the rebellion but the British were still willing to give him a sanad for the estate; they also formally acknowledged his title of Raja (he had never really sought formal recognition beforehand). Madho died in August 1891, shortly after the death of his only son, and was succeeded by a more distant relative who was adopted as his heir. At the turn of the 20th century, the Amethi estate consisted of 314 villages and 4 pattis, all in the pargana of Amethi.[7]

Growth of the modern town

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Amethi's development as a major town is because of the coming of the railway.[7] As late as 1897, a British settlement officer wrote "Raipur is a collection of small unimportant hamlets, with positively no attempt at trade."[7] That changed when the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway came to town with a station in 1898.[7] The town then rapidly grew in size and commercial importance, and as early as 1903 it was already described as "a flourishing town" and the previous description was described as "already ancient history".[7]

As of 1901 the population was 3,688 including 1,127 Muslims which was an especially large proportion for the area.[7] It contained the tehsil headquarters, a school, a police station, a pound, and a dispensary.[7]

Raipur is the place where the first fort of Bandhalgoti Rajas was located. His ancestors used to reside in Raipur which is now Raipur Phulwari. New fort was built in Ram Nagar about 6 km (3.7 mi) north of present Amethi which had been Center of Political activities during freedom movement. It is inhabited by Ex MP Sanjaya Sinh and Ex MLA Garima Singh. Amethi became known worldwide with Sanjay Gandhi contesting Parliamentary Election on the behest of Raja Rananjay Singh who had close relationship with Nehru family. It is also famous for the Hanuman temple called (Hanumangarhi) and a mosque both built about hundred years ago. About 7 kilometres north of Amethi there is a tomb of famous Poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi (best remembered for his epic composition Padmavat) at Magravan which is near Ram Nagar, where he died. Present fort was built by Bandhalgoti Rajas.[6]

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1981 7,132—    
1991 10,661+49.5%
2001 12,836+20.4%
2011 13,849+7.9%
Source: 2011 Census of India[3]

According to the 2011 census, Amethi has a population of 13,849 people, in 2,262 households.[3] The town's sex ratio is 965 females to every 1000 males; 7,049 of Amethi's residents are male (50.9%) and 6,800 are female (49.1%).[3] The 0-6 age group numbered 1,731, or about 12.5% of the town's population; the sex ratio for this group was 987.[3] Members of Scheduled Castes make up 12.87% of the town's population, while no members of Scheduled Tribes were recorded.[3] Amethi's literacy rate was 78.3% (counting only people age 7 and up); literacy was higher among men and boys (86.01%) than among women and girls (70.27%).[3] The scheduled castes literacy rate is 60.73% (71.95% among men and boys, and 48.25% among women and girls).[3]

In terms of employment, 21.29% of Amethi residents were classified as main workers (i.e. people employed for at least 6 months per year) in 2011.[3] Marginal workers (i.e. people employed for less than 6 months per year) made up 6.27%, and the remaining 72.44% were non-workers.[3] Employment status varied significantly according to gender, with 44.76% of men being either main or marginal workers, compared to only 9.74% of women.[3]

As per the 2001 Census of India, Amethi had a population of 12,808. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Amethi has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.[13]

Transport

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Amethi is connected to the major cities in Uttar Pradesh and North-Eastern India via Indian Railways and roads. Amethi railway station has direct trains connecting with major cities like Jammu, Amritsar, Ambala, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, Haridwar, Jaipur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Puri, Bhopal, Mumbai and Bangalore.

A number of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses play from Amethi.

Ayodhya International Airport (84 km [52 mi]) and Prayagraj Airport (104 km [65 mi] are the nearby airports from Amethi.

Institutions, industries and organisations

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A few public sector units were established [clarification needed] in Amethi in the 1970s, however not much has occurred in the town for the past two decades, leading to young people leaving in search of jobs.[16] Society for Animal Health Agriculture Science and Humanity is a national non-profit organisation located in Munshiganj, Amethi. Amethi has the Avionics Division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the organisation responsible for the manufacture of Aircraft for the Indian Airforce. One Ordnance Factory was established in 2009 by the Congress Government to manufacture small arms and weapons.[citation needed]

A joint venture between India and Russia through Kalashnikov Concern and the Ordnance Factory Board has established a rifle factory in Amethi, and in 2023 Indian Army started using rifles made at this facility.[17][18]

Villages

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Amethi CD block has the following 86 villages:[3]

Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011)
Trilokpur 167.3 2,062
Teri 162 832
Katra Maharani 134.4 1,236
Lokipur 52.7 623
Matyar Baghaura 49.5 481
Dandupur 134.4 1,001
Bhupatipur 85.7 629
Ramdaypur 130.2 1,441
Naugawa 125.6 647
Banhapur 86.3 978
Jangal Ramnagar 1,198.2 10,843
Saray Khema 557 4,489
Ramnagar Mafi 78.7 233
Mahmoodpur 226.9 3,154
Marfapur 38.1 303
Balipur 34.5 329
Benipur 128.3 1,438
Ramnathpur 24.4 367
Parsanwa 301.7 1,622
Bhaganpur 151 981
Jangal Tikari 68.9 581
Tala 181.4 1,626
Loharta 51.2 776
Ahirawal 67.8 406
Sonpur Mankhanth 79.9 855
Darkha 277.8 1,735
Sundar Pur 107.5 725
Haripur 51.6 233
Kushitali 127.3 1,342
Umapur Gana Patti 382.7 2,258
Katra Hulasi 55.7 517
Nuwanwa 456.9 2,861
Mangal Pur 62.2 304
Bariya Pur 274.1 1,336
Korari Girdhar Shah 386.3 2,603
Mochwa 166.1 982
Saraiheermati 98 569
Chaturbhuj Pur 119.4 1,400
Ghawnie 43.4 627
Sultanpur 112.2 617
Pithi Pur 147 746
Ghaghu Ghar 133.6 632
Raipur Phulwari 278.5 2,208
Loniyapur 110.5 1,339
Bharti Pur 38.1 382
Katra Raja Himmat Singh 80 0
Ray Day Pur 105.8 859
Sarvan Pur 123.3 2,344
Sarai Rajshah 68.3 268
Parsauli 134.1 964
Katra Phool Kunwar 175.1 1,524
Jagi Patti 118.7 322
Hathkila 216.7 1,907
Baghvariya 87.2 306
Kherauna 169.5 1,870
Chachka Pur 59.5 819
Birahim Pur 71.2 490
Rebha 99.6 642
Manipur Raghau 57.7 141
Mandhar Patti 22.6 171
Gyan Chandra Pur 60.1 555
Mahson 86.1 1,020
Jairam Pur 108.9 801
Jamal Patti 104.6 483
Deohapsaar 314.4 2,544
Gareri 268.8 3,146
Gangauli 375 2,072
Bhushari 235.1 1,638
Himmatgarh 390.9 1,715
Ramgarh 685.2 3,877
Nainha 182.4 1,290
Bartali 93.3 640
Rajapur Kohra 153.5 1,226
Kudwan Mahmadpur 66.5 611
Dehra 233.6 2,488
Saidpur 100.4 1,103
Aghar 213.3 1,495
Maharajpur 164.4 1,276
Biyasiya 200.6 1,536
Kakwa 367.9 3,044
Dalashah Pur 81.4 518
Kohra 577.1 4,407
Mahmad Pur 447.8 3,665
Saraiya Duban 301.9 1,823
Naraini 584.6 5,082
Purabgaon 222.2 1,546
Block total 123,577 15,954.3
Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011)

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "District Magistrate". District Amethi, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Officers posted at AMETHI". Uttar Pradesh Police. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Census of India 2011: Uttar Pradesh District Census Handbook - Sultanpur, Part A (Village and Town Directory)" (PDF). Census 2011 India. pp. 35–66, 199–215, 758–73. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Amethi Election Results 2024 Live Updates: Congress's Kishori Lal Sharma defeats BJP's Smriti Irani with 1.67 lakh vote margin". The Times of India. 4 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "About Amethi". amethi.in. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Nevill, H.R. (1903). Sultanpur: A Gazetteer, Being Volume XLVI Of The District Gazetteers Of The United Provinces Of Agra And Oudh. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 95–7, 136, 156–8, 202–3. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  8. ^ Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh. Oudh Government Press. 1877. p. 50.
  9. ^ Millett, A. F. (1873). Report on the settlement of the land revenue of the Sultánpur district. [With] Accompaniments. p. 162.
  10. ^ Mukherjee, Rudrangshu (2002). Awadh in Revolt, 1857-1858: A Study of Popular Resistance. Orient Blackswan. pp. 179–195. ISBN 978-81-7824-027-5.
  11. ^ "अमेठी-कोहरा स्टेट के बाबू भूप सिंह ने कादूनाला युद्ध में लिया था हिस्सा". Hindustan (in Hindi). 8 March 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  12. ^ "अमेठी के भूप सिंह ने लिया था अंग्रेजों से लोहा:1857 के लखनऊ युद्ध में रहे शामिल, कर्नल को रोकने के लिए चांदा, अमहट और कादूनाला पर किया था संघर्ष". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  14. ^ Raina, Atushi (17 March 2022). "This Engineer Earned Rs.15 Lakh Per Year With Papaya farming; Know How". Krishi Jagran. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  15. ^ "MAHATMA SHIV KUMAR I C DHARAIMAFI - Dharaimafi, District Amethi Csm Nagar (Uttar Pradesh)". schools.org.in. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  16. ^ Dutta, Sanjay (22 October 2016). "BJP goes to Amethi with populist plans". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  17. ^ Pubby, Manu (18 January 2023). "Amethi rifles factory starts production". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  18. ^ Pubby, Manu (25 June 2020). "India requests quick delivery of missiles, ammo from Russia; Amethi factory to launch before summit". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020. Sources said that the two sides also discussed the project to manufacture Kalashnikov rifles at a factory in Amethi under a joint venture approach with OFB and it has been agreed that the facility would be launched by the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin meet for a summit tentatively planned for October this year.
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