Anangpur is a historical village located near

Faridabad Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...

in Haryana, India. Anangpur forms a geographical triangle along with

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven medieva ...

and Tugluqabad. It was the earliest settlement of the

Tomara dynasty The Tomara dynasty (also called Tomar in modern vernaculars because of schwa deletion) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana in India during 8th-12th century. Their rule over this region is attested to by multiple inscriptions ...

. Anangpur was the capital of the Tomar king, Anangpal Tomar I.

History

Tomara dynasty (8th - 11th century CE)

Anangpal I, first king of

(c.736- 1052 CE), declared himself an independent ruler and established the Tomar Dynasty of Delhi in the early 8th century. He built his capital in this village and expanded his kingdom from there. He is said to have built numerous palaces and temples during his reign, the majority of which are diminished now. Last king of this dynasty was

Anangpal Tomar Anangpal II, popularly known as Anangpal Tomar, was a ruler from the Tomar Rajput dyansty. He is known to have established and populated Delhi in the 11th century. He is often confused with Anangpal I, the founder of Tomar Dynasty of Delhi, w ...

(Anangpal II), who had built Delhi's

Lal Kot Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

, which was later renovated by Chauhan ruler and also came to be known as the Qila Rai Pithora.

were overthrown by

Chahamanas of Shakambhari The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (IAST: Cāhamāna), colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th ...

, last Chahamana or Chauhan king was

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present- ...

, Qila Rai Pithora (earlier called Lal Kot) is named after him. The capital of Tomars changed a few times during the course of 457 years they ruled in the northern India. The first capital of the Tomar empire was Anangpur while the last one was Dhillikapuri (Delhi, Lal Kot).

Chauhan dynasty (12th century CE)

The Tomara's rule was followed by that of the Chahamanas and the

mlechchha Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups. The ...

Sahavadina ( Shihab ad-Din).

Paleolithic sites (100,000 BP)

Group of 43 sites

Anangpur group of paleolithic sites (AGPS), discovered In 1986, is a cluster of 43 prehistoric sites with

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

(paintings) in the area of historic Anangpur village, Mangar Bani paleolithic site found in 2021 might be extension of Anangpur sites. In the forested area where the Surajkund and the Anagpur Dam are located, ancient

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

relics have been found which are

microliths A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The ...

(stone tools) belonging to lower

paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

era. These were found at 43 sites from Ankhir (a village 17 km east of Mangar Bani) in south to north along Anangpur-Angnpur Dam-Surajkund-Tughlaqabad axis. These sites are on the '

Tughlaqabad Tughluqabad Fort is a ruined fort in Delhi, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, as he established the third historic city of Delhi, which was later abandoned in 1327. It ...

-Surajkund Road' and south of 'Surajkund-

Road', on Anangpur hills, and on Ankhir hill, and on the road embracing the low ridge from Faridabad (Ankhir) to Surajkund. From a study of the prehistoric findings along the ridges of Surajkund reservoir, Anagpur Dam, and around Delhi and adjoining parts of Haryana, it has been inferred that the southern hilly area of Delhi and Haryana was environmentally suited for pre-historic man to settle here.

Protected status

As of 31 July 2021, Head of HAD, Ashok Khemka, informed that proposal to notify this entire area as protected archaeological site has been sent by Haryana Archaeological Dept (HAD) to Govt of Haryana (GoH), and HAD is awaiting gazette notification by the GoH after which this site will become legally protected. Meanwhile, district land and revenue administration of Faridabad was undertaking ground truthing exercise, to verify the data, to ascertain the landscape and confirm the type and ownership of the land, which will be sent to HAD to help with attainment of protected status and consequent conservation.Rush for protected tag to Faridabad site where stone age cave art found
Times of India, 31 July 2021.

Conservation

Khemka asserted that HAD will engage National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC) Lucknow, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) Lucknow,

Physical Research Laboratory The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by Department of Space, Government of India. This research laboratory has ongoing research programmes in astronomy and astrop ...

(PRL) Ahmedabad for conservation of rockart and paintings. Khemka asserted that the whole area will be extensively surveyed to find any additional sites, entire area of Delhi South Ridge of Aravali in Haryana between Gurugram and Faridabad will be mapped and each site will be GPS tagged. Large scale scientific excavations, scientific dating of paintings and excavated sediments will be undertaken.

Other similar sites

Misolithic sites with tools, cave art and paintings are Anangpur caves and Mangar Bani Caves (

Gurugram Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

) in

Delhi NCR The National Capital Region (NCR) is a planning region centred upon the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi in India. It encompasses Delhi and several districts surrounding it from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The N ...

Bhimbetka rock shelters The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age start ...

(

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

) and

Pahargarh caves The Pahargarh caves are a cave complex containing prehistoric paintings in Madhya Pradesh, India, near the village of Pahargarh 58 km southwest of Morena. The most prominent of the caves is known locally as Likhichhaj. The paintings were discover ...

(

Morena Morena is the headquarter city of Morena district, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is governed by a municipality corporation. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Chambal division. It is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. G ...

) in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Tomara monuments (8th-11th century CE)

Anangpur Dam (8th century CE)

Anangpur Dam is an Indian hydraulic engineering structure built during his reign and the ruins of a fortification can also be seen around it. Surajkund, a large masonry tank, can be found in this area dating from the 9th century and was used to collect water from the Anangpur Dam and the surrounding areal. File:Stepped "downstream" side of dam.jpg, Downstream view of the dam. File:Steps going into the dam1.jpg, Top view of the dam, entry holes dam of the gallery inside the dam wall. File:Steps going into the dam.jpg, Top view of the dam, steps into the gallery inside the dam. File:Sluice_(Anagpur_Dam).jpg, Sluice inlet in the dam - on upstream side of the dam while looking from upstream towards downstream. File:Sluice on "upstream" side.jpg, Sluice outlet from the dam - on upstream side of the dam while looking from downstream side towards upstream.

Surajkund

Surajkund Surajkund is an ancient reservoir of the 10th century located on Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli range in Faridabad city of Haryana state about 8 km (5mi) from South Delhi. Surajkund (literally 'Lake of the Sun') is an artificial Kund (' ...

, a 10th century

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on Southern Delhi Ridge of

Aravalli range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

, was built by the king Surajpal of the

in the 10th century. Surajpal Tomar, a younger son of

- the ruler of Delhi, was a sun worshipper and he had therefore built a Sun temple on its western bank. Surajkund is known for its annual fair Surajkund International Craft Mela, 2015 edition of this fair was visited by 1.2 million visitors including 160,000 foreigners with more than 20 countries participating in it. File:Suraj_Kund.jpg, Suraj Kund panorama. File:Surajkund 04.jpg, Suraj Kund - view. File:Surajkund 02.jpg, Suraj Kund - another view. File:Surajkund_Fair.jpg, Surajkund International Crafts Fair File:Rakasthani_folk_dance_at_Delhi.jpg, Rakasthani folk dance at Surajkund International Crafts Fair

Present day Anangpur village

Administration and demography

Present Anangpur (

Postal Index Number A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post. On 15 August 2022, the PIN system celebrated its 50th anniversary. History The PIN system was intro ...

121003) has a population of around 11000 people, an area of 3.55 square kilometers, and a population density of 3332 per Kilometer square. The population consists mainly of Gurjar Community . This Village has Majority of Bhadana Gotra Gurjar. There are other gotra of gurjar like tomar and chhawadi gurjar.

Hari Parbat Mandir

Anangpur has a replica of the temple of Mata Sharika Chakreshwar Hari Parbat Srinagar. Hari Parbat Mandir Anangpur is situated at one of the hillocks adjoining the Anangpur village. The temple was built with the contribution of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Jagan Nath Kaul, who was the President of the Kashmiri Sewak Samaj, Faridabad and All India Kashmiri Samaj. The temple 'Hari Parbat' Anangpur is a place where 'Kashmiri Pandits' in and around Delhi observe their ' Nav Reh' festival. File:Hari Parbat Anangpur.jpg, alt=a replica of the temple of Mata Sharika Chakreshwar Hari Parbat Srinagar, Sharika Devi temple, Hari Parbat Anangpur. File:Hari Parbat Anangpur Faridabad.jpg, alt=Hari Parbat Anangpur Faridabad., Hari Parbat Anangpur Faridabad. File:Mata temple Hari Parbat Faridabad.jpg, alt=Mata temple Hari Parbat Anangpur Faridabad., Mata temple Hari Parbat Anangpur Faridabad. File:Hari Parbat Anangpur 2.jpg, alt=The way to Hari Parbat Anangpur., The way to Hari Parbat Anangpur

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Delhi Archaeology in Haryana Caves containing pictograms in India

Monuments and memorials in Haryana A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

History of Haryana History of Delhi Indian painting Protected areas of Haryana Tourist attractions in Haryana Ridges of India Aravalli Range Villages in Faridabad district Faridabad district