Ajmer
Rajasthan • India |
Coordinates:
26°16′N 74°25′E
/ 26.27, 74.42 |
| Time
zone |
IST (UTC+5:30) |
Area
•
Elevation |
• 486 m (1,594 ft) |
| District(s) |
Ajmer |
| Population |
500,000 (2005) |
Codes
• Pincode
•
Telephone
•
Vehicle |
• 3050 xx
• ++0145
•
RJ01 |
Coordinates: 26°16′N 74°25′E / 26.27, 74.42 Ajmer pronunciation
(Hindi: अजमेर is a city in Ajmer
District in India's Rajasthan state.
Its population was approximately 500,000 in 2001. The city gives its name to a
district, and also to a former province of British India called Ajmer-Merwara, which,
after India's independence, became the state of Ajmer until November 1, 1956,
when it was merged into Rajasthan state.
Geography
It is situated in 26° 27, N. lat. and 74° 44, E. long., on the lower slopes
of Taragarh hill, in the Aravalli Range. To the
north of the city is a large artificial lake, called Anasagar,
adorned with a marble structure called Baradari.
The city is well laid out with wide streets and handsome houses. Ajmer is at
an important railway junction. The city is a trade center and has cotton mills
and railroad shops. Manufactures include wool textiles, hosiery, shoes, soap,
and pharmaceuticals.
History
Ajmer (Ajaya-meru in Sanskrit) was founded in the tenth century CE by Raja Ajay
Pal Chauhan. He established the Chauhan dynasty which continued to rule the
country while repeated waves of Muslim invasion swept across India. Ajmer was
conquered by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. Its
internal government, however, was handed over to the Chauhan rulers upon the
payment of a heavy tribute to the conquerors. Ajmer then remained feudatory to
Delhi until 1365, when it was captured by the ruler of Mewar. In 1509 Ajmer
became a source of contention between the maharajas of Mewar and Marwar, and was
ultimately conquered by the Marwar ruler in 1532. Ajmer was lost to the Mughal
emperor Akbar in 1559. It continued to be in the hands of the Mughals, with
occasional revolts, till 1770, when it was ceded to the Marathas. From that time
up to 1818 Ajmer was the scene of an ongoing struggle, being seized at different
times by the Mewar and the Marwar maharajas, from whom it was often retaken by
the Marathas. In 1818 the Marathas sold Ajmer to the British for 50,000 rupees.
Since then Ajmer has enjoyed unbroken peace and stable governance.
Places for Ajmer Tourists
The chief objects of interest are
Pushkar and the
Dargah, tomb of the most revered
Muslim
sufi saint
Moinuddin Chishti,
the Gharib Nawaz (R.A.)
Pushkar is a town in the
state of Rajasthan in India near Ajmer, about 14 Kilometers away, and is an
important tourist destination. Pushkar is famous for Pushkar Lake and the 14th
century Hindu temple to Brahma, God as the Creator of all
creation. This is the only temple of Brahma in the world. Pushkar is also famous
for its annual Camel Fair.
The Dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin
Chishti
The Dargah Sharif of Khwaza Moinuddin Chishti is
situated at the foot of the Taragarh hill, and consists of several white marble
buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by
the Nizam of Hyderabad, a mosque donated by
the Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan, the Akbari Masjid, and the
domed tomb of the saint. To this place Emperor Akbar, with his queen, performed
pilgrimage on foot from Agra every year in observance of a
vow he had made when
praying for a son. The large pillars, erected at intervals of two miles the
whole way between Agra and Ajmer, marking the daily halting places of the royal
pilgrim, are still extant.
Taragarh, the fort of Ajmer, seat of the Chauhan rulers, is claimed to
be the first hill fort of Asia, built at a time when the Aravalli mountain
ranges were above the snowlines. This gives it the reputation of being one of
the oldest hill forts of the world, and it is definitely the oldest among the
hill forts in India.
The Adhai-din-ka-jhonpra, a Jain temple constructed in 1153 and converted into
a mosque by Qutubuddin Aibak after
1193, is situated on
the lower slope of the Taragarh hill. With the exception of that part used as a
mosque, nearly the whole of the ancient temple has fallen into ruins, but the
relics are not excelled in beauty of architecture and sculpture by any remains
of Hindu art. Forty columns support the roof, but no two are alike, and great
fertility of invention is manifested in the execution of the ornaments.
Magazine, the city's Museum, was once the residence of Prince Salim,
son of Emperor Akbar, and presently houses a
collection of the Mughal and Rajput armour and sculpture.This residence of Salim
is significant from a historical point of view, because Salim as Emperor Jahangir read
out the firman for trade to India to the British East India company from here,
thus starting the chain of events that lead to India's colonisation by the
British.
The summit of Taragarh hill, overhanging Ajmer, is crowned by a fort, the
lofty thick battlements of which run along its brow and enclose the table-land.
The walls are two miles in circumference, and the fort can only be approached by
steep and very roughly paved planes, commanded by the fort and the outworks, and
by the hill to the west. On coming into the hands of the British Raj, the fort was
dismantled by order of Lord William Bentinck, and
was converted into a sanatorium for the troops stationed at the British
cantonment town of Nasirabad.
Mayo College is one of
India’s most prestigious public school / boarding school located
in Ajmer, Rajasthan. With a view to providing the leaders of the princely states with an
educational infrastructure on a par with British standards the British
Raj proceeded to construct a school, house students and impart education to
the Indian elite, particularly the princes and nobles of Rajputana. It was
established in 1875 by Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India. The
architecture of the school buildings evoke the grandeur of Rajasthan. Several
designs for the Main Building were submitted by different engineers in Grecian,
Indo-Saracenic and Kolhapur styles. The viceroy finally adopted Major Mant's
Indo-Saracenic design in June 1875, the resulting white marble Main Building of
the college is a masterpiece in architecture. Major Mant's design became a
classic symbol of Indo-Saracenic architecture and apart from being quoted in
architectural courses even today, the design now lies in the archives of the
British Museum in London.
FOR ANY SERVICES RELATED TO DARGAH SHARIF PLEASE CONTACT
KHUDDAM-E-KHAS OF KHWAJA GHARIB
NAWAZ (R.A.)
TOURIST PLACES
- Magazine
- Rajputana Museum
- Nasiyan (Jain mandir)
- Abdullah Khan's tomb
- Ana Sagar
- Circuit house
- Khobra Bheroon Temple
- Visal Sar
Around Ajmer
Education
Ajmer is home to Mayo college, a boarding
school founded by the British Raj in 1870 to educate the children of Rajputana's
nobles on the lines of an English public school. Ajmer is also home to the
prestigious Sophia Girls' School [now College], and the historic Ajmer Music
College, founded in 1942, which was the first accredited institution in
Rajputana for teaching classical Hindustani music. One of the four NCERT
Demonstration Schools of India is also located in Ajmer.
The educational institutions which prominently shaped the academic
environment of Ajmer before India became independent are the Government College,
Savitri Girls' School & College, D.A.V. College, Government High School,
Convent Girls' School, King George Royal Indian Military School, St. Anslem's
School, Moinia Islamia School, Husband Memorial High School, Govt. Central
Girls' School, and Saraswati Balika Vidyalaya.
Demographics
As of
2001 India census,[2] Ajmer had a
population of 485,197. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.
Ajmer has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of
59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 12% of the population
is under 6 years of age.
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