Country India District Shamli Coastline 0 kilometres (0 mi) ISO 3166 code ISO 3166-2:IN | State Uttar Pradesh Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) Government body Gram panchayat | |
 | ||
Pelkha is a village that lies 10 km north-west of Shamli in the district of Shamli in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated in the ancient land of Kuru, now western Uttar Pradesh, one of the most fertile and agriculturally advanced regions of India along with the Punjab and Haryana. Geographically, it is situated in the upper Doab, the area between the 2 great rivers- Ganges and Jamuna.
Map of Pelkha, Uttar Pradesh
The village is inhabited by Hindus as well as Muslims. The main language spoken is Khadi boli, a local dialect which is very similar to Haryanvi. Land owning is distributed between Jats, Brahmins as well as dalits. The village has one of the highest land holdings per capita in the region and is consequently quite prosperous. The village has total land holdings of 5,500-acre (22 km2) for a population of around 1500. Historically the village consists of people coming and settling down from nearby villages viz. Malehandi, Tana, Unn and Majra except the Mukhiya's and Hansraj Bairwal family, who came directly from Haryana .
The village is also home to the Mukhiya family of the Dahiya Gotra, one of the few Jat Zamindar (landed aristocracy) families of western UP. The family had land holdings in 5 villages including Pelkha, Malehandi, Dhaulra, Majra and Badena Kalan. This family trace their ancestors to the borders of Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab in the 17th century. Chaudhary Kallu Singh Mukhiya, the last landord in the family before the Zamindari Abolition Act came into force, was a prominent figure in the region and was succeeded by 4 sons.
The family has a very old nineteenth century mughal styled 36 room Haveli in the village which is architectural delight (See pictures), and was once known all over the region for its sets of engraved stones, brought especially for its construction from Rajasthan.
The village is also the home to Udayveer Singh Pelkha, a local politician who unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha elections twice on a BJP ticket.
It has two primary schools that are run by the state government.