Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

History

Excavations carried out at the mound of Kaseri, at the banks of river Hindon, some 2 km north of Mohan Nagar, have shown that civilisation existed there as early as 2500 BC. Mythologically, some neighbouring towns and villages of the city including Garhmukteshwar, Pooth Village and Ahar region have been associated with the Mahabharata and the fort at Loni, is associated with the legend of Lavanasura of the Ramayana period. According to the Gazetteer, the fort, "Loni" is named after Lavanasura. The city and its surrounding region have historically witnessed major wars and battles over the last many centuries. In AD 1313, the entire region including present day Ghaziabad became a huge battlefield, when Taimur laid siege on the area during Muhammad bin Tughluq's reign. During the Anglo- Maratha War, Sir General Lake and the Royal Maratha army fought here circa. Altama Religion was started from Ghaziabad in 1803. The name "Ghaziuddinnagar" was shortened to its present form, i.e. "Ghaziabad" with the opening of the Railways in 1864. Establishment of the Scientific Society here, during the same period is considered as a milestone of the educational movement launched by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The Ghaziabad Municipality came into existence in 1868. The Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway, connecting Delhi and Lahore, up till Ambala through Ghaziabad was opened in the same year. With the completion of the Amritsar-Saharanpur-Ghaziabad line of the Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway in 1870, Delhi was connected to Multan through Ghaziabad, and Ghaziabad became the junction of the East Indian Railway and Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway.

The city of Ghaziabad was founded in AD 1740 by Wazir Ghazi-ud-din, who named it Ghaziuddinnagar after himself. During the Mughal period, Ghaziabad and especially the banks of the Hindon in Ghaziabad, remained a picnic spot for the Mughal royal family.

Ghaziabad, along with Meerut and Bulandshahr, remained one of the three Munsifis of the District, under the Meerut Civil Judgeship during most periods of the British Raj.

Ghaziabad was associated with the Indian independence movement from the Indian Rebellion of 1857. During that rebellion, there were fierce clashes between the British forces and Indian rebel sepoys on the banks of the Hindon, and the rebels checked the advancing British forces coming from Meerut.

Industrial growth

Although connected by railway since 1865, it was not until 1940 that the first modern industry appeared in Ghaziabad. However, it was in the post-independence period that industry really expanded, with a further 22 factories opening in the four years after 1947. This development can be attributed to the influx of people from the newly formed Pakistan and the relocation of businesses from what was now the Pakistani province of Punjab. John Oakey and Mohan Ltd., one of India's largest concerns manufacturing coated and bonded abrasives, and originally functioning under the name of 'National Abrasives' at Rawalpindi was shifted here under the proprietorship of 'Dyer Meakins' in 1947. Subsequently, the Mohan Meakin breweries were also set up in the year 1949. This period also saw the development of Ghaziabad as one of India's most famous centres of the Oil Engines industry.

In 1967, the municipal limits were extended up to the Delhi-UP border. Starting early 1970s, a large number of steel manufacturing units also came up in the city making it one of the primary industries of the city. This period also saw the emergence of the Electronics industry, with the setting up of Bharat Electronics Limited and Central Electronics Limited Over the years, planned Industrial development saw participation from major industrial houses of the country including Mohans (Mohan Nagar Industrial Estate, 1949), Tatas (Tata Oil Mills), Modis (Modinagar, 1933; International Tobacco Co. 1967), Shri Rams (Shri Ram Pistons, 1964), Jaipurias etc. and also significant participation through foreign capital in concerns such as Danfoss India Ltd. (estd. 1968); Indo- Bulgar Food Ltd. and International Tobacco Company (estd. 1967).

Geography

Ghaziabad, the headquarters of the district of the same name that was established in 1976, lies on the Grand Trunk road about a mile east of the Hindon river in Lat. 280 40' North and Long. 770 25' East, 19 km. east of Delhi and 46 km. south-west of Meerut with which it is connected by a metalled road. Other roads lead west to Loni and Baghpat and east to Hapur and Garhmukteshwar. Buses run at frequent intervals from here to Delhi, Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, Lucknow and to other districts also. It is an important station on the Northern Railway where railway lines, from Delhi to Calcutta, Moradabad and Saharanpur meet, connecting it with many important cities of India.

Bulandshahr and Gautambudh Nagar, on the south-west by Delhi and on the east by the newly formed district of Hapur. As its boundary is adjacent to Delhi, it acts as the main entrance to Uttar Pradesh and hence is also called the Gateway of Uttar Pradesh.

Demographics

The provisional data derived from the 2011 census shows that Ghaziabad urban agglomeration had a population of 4,681,452, of which males were 2,479,710 and females were 2,201,742. The literacy rate was 93.81%. Ghaziabad is a subcategory B1 district of category B i.e. having socioeconomic parameters below the national average. It is the second largest industrial city in Uttar Pradesh after Kanpur. Brahmins, Jats and Tyagis have 1.2 lakh, 60,000 and 70,000 votes respectively. Gujjars have close to 10000 votes in the constituency. Yadavs have over 70000 votes. Thakurs has over 36,000 votes.

Among the significant areas within the city are Govind puram, Ghanta Ghar, Bazaria, Chopla Mandir, Maliwara, Model Town, Gandhi Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Kavi Nagar, Raj Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Ambedkar Road, Navyug Market, Delhi Gate, Goel Market, Mukand Nagar, Sarai Nazar Ali, Rajendra Nagar, Shalimar Garden, Turab Nagar, Indirapuram, Raj Nagar Extension, Loni, India and Crossings Republik.

Climate

As it is connected to the national capital, its temperature and rainfall are similar to Delhi. Rajasthan's dust storms and snowfall in the Himalayas, Kumaon and Garhwal hills name their impact in the weather regularly. The monsoon arrives in the district during the end of the June or the first week of July and normally it rains until October. As in other districts of northern India mainly three seasons - summer, winter and rainy - prevail here, but sometimes due to severe snowfall in the Himalayas and Kumaon Hills, adverse weather can also be seen.

Real estate hub

A proposal has been made to widen National Highway 24 (NH-24) from four to sixteen lanes on the stretch between the Ghaziabad-Delhi border and Dasna. As a large number of residential and commercial projects are coming up along the highway. Some major developers which have invested heavily on NH-24 are SARE, Mahagun, Antriksh, Crossings Republik, Ansal, Wave etc. Places on NH-24 and National Highway 58 are flourishing as residential options to the capital because of their proximity to Delhi.

Delhi Metro

The Delhi Metro extends to Dilshad Garden station which is situated at the Apsara Border. At present, it serves the areas of Shalimar Garden, Rajendra Nagar and other neighbouring colonies. This line will be extended to New Bus Stand, Ghaziabad by 2016-17. Work for the same already started in December 2014. Another station exists at Vaishali, which serves that area as well as Vasundhara and Indirapuram, and there is also a station at Kaushambi.

Sports

Cricket, association football, field hockey and Kabaddi are the main sports in Ghaziabad. Ghaziabad FC are from the city.

Notable people