Azamgarh

Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the state capital Lucknow and 809 km from national capital, Delhi.

History

Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts(a district in Purvanchal sub-region) of Uttar Pradesh, once formed a part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except its north-eastern part. Azamgarh is also known as the land of the sage Durvasa whose ashram was located in Phulpur tehsil, near the confluence of Tamsa and Majhuee rivers, north of the Phulpur.

The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh, which was founded in 1665 by Azam, son of Vikramajit. Vikramajit was a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in Pargana Nizamabad who like some of his predecessors had embraced the faith of Islam. He had a Muslim wife who bore him two sons Azam and Azmat. While Azam gave his name to the town of Azamgarh, and the fort, Azmat constructed the fort and settled the bazaar of Azmatgarh pargana Sagri. After the attack of Chabile Ram, Azmat Khan fled northwards followed by the interior forces. He attempted to cross the Ghaghra into Gorakhpur, but the people on the other side opposed his landing, and he was either shot in mid stream or was drowned in attempting to escape by swimming.

In 1688 A.D. during Azmat's lifetime, his eldest son Ekram took part in the management of the state, and after Azam's death he was perhaps left in possession together with Mohhabat, another son. The remaining two sons were taken away and for a time detained as hostages for their brothers' 'good behaviour'.

The successor of Ikram finally confirmed the title of his family to the Jamidari. Ikram left no heirs and was succeeded by Iradat, son of Mohhabat. But the real ruler all along had been Mohhabat, and after Ikram's death, he continued to rule in his son's name.

Geography

Azamgarh has an average elevation of 64 metres (209 feet). The district consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs. The soil is fertile, and very highly cultivated, bearing good crops of rice, sugarcane, and wheat and orchards of mango and guava. Maize, gram, corn, mustard are other major crops

Climate

Azamgarh experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cwa'') with large variations between summer and winter temperatures. Summers are long, from early April to October with intervening monsoon seasons, and are also extremely hot, even by South Asian standards. The temperature ranges between in the summers. Winters in Azamgarh see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is . Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers. In recent years, the water level of the Tamsa has decreased significantly.

Demographics

As per the 2011 census, Azamgarh urban agglomeration had a population of 110,983, out of which males were 57,878, and females were 53,105.

Literacy

The average literacy rate of Azamgarh town in 2011 was 70.93%, compared to 56.95% in 2001. Male and female literacy were 81.34% and 60.91% respectively. For the 2001 census, In Azamgarh district. the corresponding figures were 71.04% and 43.40%.

Religion

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 45.22% of the population recorded Hindi as their first language, while 37.46% recorded Bhojpuri and 16.99% Urdu