Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the administrative headquarters of

Aligarh district Aligarh district is a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. This district is a part of Aligarh Division. The districts which adjoin Aligarh are (clockwise from north) Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Sambhal, Badaun, Kasganj, Hathra ...

, and lies northwest of state capital

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and approximately southeast of the capital,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. The districts which adjoin Aligarh are

Gautam Buddha Nagar Gautam Buddha Nagar district is a district of Uttar Pradesh, named after Gautama Buddha. It is a part of Delhi NCR and is divided into 4 sub-divisions i.e. Noida, Greater Noida, Dadri and Jewar. Greater Noida is the administrative headquarters ...

Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governmen ...

Sambhal Sambhal is a city located in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh state in India. The city lies approximately 158 kilometres (98 mi) east of New Delhi and 355 kilometres (220 mi) north-west of state capital Lucknow. History Sambhal ...

, Badaun, Kasganj, Hathras,

Etah Etah is a municipality city which is also the headquarters of Etah District of the Uttar Pradesh state in India.Etah district is a part of the Aligarh Division and is located at the midpoint of the Delhi-Kanpur Highway(NH 91) Known as G.T Road ...

and

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

. As of 2011, Aligarh is the 53rd most populous city in

. The

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

of Aligarh begins with the establishment of the

Aligarh Fort Aligarh Fort (''Aligarh Qila'') is located in the patwari nagla city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It is also called "Aligarh Qila". Most part of it is damaged and only ruins remain. The fort is situated near the Grand Trunk Road and consists of ...

in the 16th century. It is a university town, notable as the seat of Aligarh Muslim University, which was founded here as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, initiating the

Aligarh Movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that i ...

History

Written references to the city commence only from 12th century onward; however, archeological records suggest that the town used to be inhabited by Jains. The area of Aligarh before the Ghurid conquest of the region, was under the sway of Dor Rajputs in twelfth century. In 1194,

Qutb-ud-din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...

had mounted a successful invasion of the region and Hisam-ud-din Ulbak was installed as the first Muslim governor; court-historian Hasan Nizami noted Kol to be "one of the most celebrated fortresses of Hind". Beginning the 13th century, the place featured — as Kol or Koil — in multiple Persian (as well as non-Persian)

Sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...

sources as a center of economic prominence esp. for production of distilled wine. By the mid-13th century, the town commanded enough importance for (would-be Sultan) Ghiyas ud din Balban to erect a minaret. Under the Khiljis and Tughlaqs, the prominence continued unabated; it had become an ''

iqta An iqta ( ar, اقطاع, iqṭāʿ) and occasionally iqtaʿa ( ar, اقطاعة) was an Islamic practice of tax farming that became common in Muslim Asia during the Buyid dynasty. Iqta has been defined in Nizam-al-Mulk's Siyasatnama. Administrat ...

'' by the times of

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrativ ...

. Kol is mentioned in Ibn Battuta's ''

Rihla ''Riḥla'' ( ar, رحلة) refers to both a journey and the written account of that journey, or travelogue. It constitutes a genre of Arabic literature. Associated with the medieval Islamic notion of "travel in search of knowledge" (الرحلة ...

'', when Ibn Battuta, along with 15 ambassadors representing Ukhaantu Khan, emperor of the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

Chinese

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

, travelled to Kol city en route to the coast at Cambay (in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

) in 1341. According to Battuta, it would appear that the district was then in a very disturbed state since the escort of the Emperor's embassy had to assist in relieving Jalali from an attacking body of Hindus and lost an officer in the fight. Ibn Batuta calls Kol "a fine town surrounded by mango groves". From these same groves the environs of Kol would appear to have acquired the name ''Sabzabad'' or "the green country". In the reign of Akbar, Kol was made a Sirkar and included the ''dasturs'' of Marahra, Kol ba Haveli, Thana Farida and Akbarabad. Akbar and Jahangir visited Kol on hunting expeditions. Jahangir clearly mentions the forest of Kol, where he killed wolves. During the time of

Ibrahim Lodhi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (or Lodhi) (Pashto: ابراهیم خان لودي), (1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan Lodi. He was the last ruler of th ...

, Muhammad, son of Umar, was the governor of Kol. He built a fort at Kol and named the city Muhammadgarh, after himself, in 1524–25. Sabit Khan, who was then the governor of this region, rebuilt the old Lodhi fort and named the town Sabitgarh, after himself. The ruler of Koil was Bargujar King Bahadur Singh who, in 1753, rose against the destruction of Hindu temples. The Jat ruler, Surajmal, with consent of

Safdar Jang Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded ...

, occupied the fort of Koil. Bahadur Singh continued the battle from another fort and died fighting in what is known as the "Battle of Ghasera". It was renamed Ramgarh and Rao Durjan Singh Ponia of Bijauli was made the kiledar of the fort. When a Persian Mughal

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

commander, Najaf Khan, captured Ramgarh, he renamed it and gave it its present name of Aligarh.

(also called Aligarh Qila), as it stands today, was built by French engineers under the control of French officers

Benoît de Boigne Benoît Leborgne (24 March 175121 June 1830), better known as Count Benoît de Boigne or General Count de Boigne, was a military adventurer from the Duchy of Savoy, who made his fortune and name in India with the Marathas. He was also named presid ...

and Perron.

Battle of Aligarh (1803)

The

Battle of Aligarh The siege of Aligarh also known as the Battle of Aligarh was fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company during the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) at Aligarh, India. Aligarh Fort, one of the strongest forts ...

was fought on 1 September 1803 during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

(1803–1805) at

. The British 76th Regiment, now known as the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

besieged the fort, which was under the control of the French officer Perron, and established British rule. In 1804, the Aligarh district was formed by the union of the second, third and fourth British divisions with the addition of Anupshahr from Muradabad and Sikandra Rao from Etawa. On 1 August 1804,

Claude Russell Claude Russell (1732-1820) was a high ranking British administrator in the Bengal civil service in India. Claude was the son of John Russell of Braidshaw, Writer to the Signet, & his third wife, Mary Anderson, and younger brother of Patrick Ru ...

was appointed the first Collector of the new district.

Administration

is divided into five

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

s, namely

Kol Tehsil Kol is a tehsil in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Kol is the old name for the city of Aligarh, and originally, the name was used for the area that is now covered by the Aligarh district. The present-day Kol tehsil is a part of Alig ...

, Khair Tehsil,

Atrauli Atrauli is a town and a municipal board in Aligarh district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated on the bank of river Ganges, Atrauli is around from Aligarh and from Khair. Atrauli is famous for a variety of Chaat, Tikki, Panipuri ...

, Gabhana and Iglas. These tehsils are further divided into 12 blocks. The city is administered by Nagar Nigam Aligarh (Municipal Corporation), which is responsible for performing civic administrative functions administered by Mayor and Municipal Commissioner (PCS Officer). Infrastructure development of the city is looked after by the Aligarh Development Authority (ADA) administered by Divisional Commissioner (chairman) and vice-chairman (PCS Officer). Aligarh is the headquarters of Aligarh Police Range and Aligarh Division. A DIG looks after Aligarh for legal condition and law; a Commissioner looks for four districts of Aligarh Division (Aligarh,

, Hathras, Kasganj).

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census, Aligarh has a total population of 874,408, of which 461,772 are males and 412,636 are females. Population in the age range 0–6 years is 119,543. The literacy rate is 59.15%, of which the male literacy rate is 63.42% and female literacy rate is 54.37%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Aligarh was 68.5%, of which male literacy rate was 62.9% and the female literacy rate was 70.8%The

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

have a population of 138,184 and 332 respectively. There were 147363 households in Aligarh as of 2011. The city lies in the cultural region of

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura- Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Harya ...

Geography

Location

Aligarh is located at the coordinates . It has an elevation of approximately 178 metres (587 feet). The city is in the middle portion of the

doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

, the land between the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

rivers. The

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

passes through it via NH-91 is 134 km from capital of India.

Climate

Aligarh has a hot semi-arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSh'') a little too dry to be a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (''Cwa''). Summers start in April and are hot with temperatures peaking in May. The average temperature range is . The monsoon season starts in late June, continuing until early October, bringing high humidity. Aligarh gets most of its annual rainfall of during these months. Temperatures then decrease, and winter sets in December, and continues until February. Temperatures range between . Winters in Aligarh are generally mild, but 2011–12 experienced the lowest temperature of 1 °C. The fog and cold snaps are extreme.

Economy

The city is an agricultural trade centre. Agricultural product processing and manufacturing are important. Aligarh is an important business center of Uttar Pradesh and is most famous for its

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

industry. Aligarh locks are exported across the world. In 1870, Johnson & Co. was the first English lock firm in Aligarh. In 1890, the company initiated production of locks on a small scale here. Aligarh is famous for its brass hardware and sculpture. Today, the city holds thousands of manufacturers, exporters, and suppliers involved in the brass, bronze, iron and aluminum industries. Indian Diecasting Industries which manufactures aluminum and zinc die-casting parts is located at Sasni Gate in Aligarh.

Harduaganj Thermal Power Station Harduaganj Thermal Power Station is located at Qasimpur Power House Colony which is 1 km distance from Harduaganj railway station at Harduaganj in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 18 km from Aligarh and 105& ...

(also referred as

Kasimpur Power House Qasimpur Power House Colony is a census town in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established for the employees of Harduaganj Thermal Power Station. It is situated on Aligarh-Moradabad highway at a distance of 16&nbs ...

) is 15 km from the city. Narora Atomic Power Station is located 50 km from Aligarh. Aligarh hosts Heinz-sauce manufacturing unit in Manzurgarhi, Satha sugar mill on the Aligarh-Kasimpur Power House route and a cement factory of UltraTech Cement company. Wave Distillery, making Kingfisher beer, is located at Atrauli in Aligarh.

Education

Aligarh is a major educational hub, housing over 100 independent colleges and educational institutions. Notable tertiary institutions include: *

ACN College of Engineering and Management Studies Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), before 2015 as the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), is a public collegiate university in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established as the Uttar Pradesh Technical University ...

* Aligarh College of Engineering and Technology * Aligarh Muslim University *

Jamia Al Barkaat Aligarh Jamia Al-Barkaat is an Indian Islamic seminary of Barelvi movement of Sunni Muslims in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. It was established under the Al-Barkaat Educational Society run by Khanquah-e-Barkaatiya by Syed Ameen Mian Quadri in ...

Art and craft

Aligarh is associated with an

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

and

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

art known as ''phool patti ka kaam''.

Locations

Cultural landmarks

Aligarh has several popular landmarks. Most notable few of them are

Aligarh fort Aligarh Fort (''Aligarh Qila'') is located in the patwari nagla city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It is also called "Aligarh Qila". Most part of it is damaged and only ruins remain. The fort is situated near the Grand Trunk Road and consists of ...

, Jama Masjid, Khereshwar Temple which is the birthplace of Swami Shri Haridas Ji, Dor fortress (1524), which is now in ruins, lies at the city's centre; its site is in the area now called Upper Fort (Balai Qila) and is occupied by an 18th-century mosque. The area Shah Jamal is very famous for a Sufi saint Syed Shah Jamal is also known as Shamsul Arifeen, of whom the tomb is located at Shahjamal area and surrounded by a graveyard. The Sufi Saint is mentioned by Ibn Battuta in his book ''The Travels of Ibn Battuta''. The saint is said to be of Sufi Chishtiya order. The Annual Cultural Exhibition, popularly known as Numaish, is held at the exhibition ground in January and February. The land Numaish Ground was donated by Nawab Rehmat Ullah Khan Sherwani. The cultural shows take place at three grand stages (Kohinoor, Krishnanjali and Muktakash). In all, more than 150 stage events featuring artists from across

take place during a period of 28–30 days.

Historical places

* Shekha Jheel, Bird Sanctuary * Maulana Azad Library, AMU (Estd 1875) * Sir Syed Masjid in Aligarh Muslim University's campus.

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is one of the oldest central universities. It was established by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind in 1875–78 which later became Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College). It was designed to train Muslims for government services in India and prepare them for advanced training in British universities. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. It is famous for its Law, Medical, and Engineering College.

Museums

Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences maintains 'Museum on History of Medicine and Sciences' and 'Museum on Arts, Culture and Orientalism'. It was established by a family Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman and

Syed Ziaur Rahman Syed Ziaur Rahman is a permanent member of 'Board of Trustees' and Chair of the Advisory Council (Section 3), International Association of Medical Colleges (IAOMC). He also serves as elected secretary of IAOMC and Society of Pharmacovigilance ...

at the heart of the city and near a busy market of Dodhpur.

Transport

By rail

Aligarh Junction railway station is the primary station for Aligarh city and is a major stop on the Delhi-Kolkata route. It is an A-Class railway station. It is one of the oldest railway station of this route. It connects Aligarh to the states of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

, north-east and most of Uttar Pradesh, and important stations of cities such as New Delhi railway station,

Mumbai Central Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express tr ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, Bhopal Junction railway station,

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

Jhansi Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative head ...

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...

, Kanpur Central railway station,

Etawah Junction railway station Etawah Junction railway station (station code ETW) is one of the main railway stations on the Kanpur–Delhi section of Howrah–Delhi main line. It is away from Kanpur Central. Tundla is from here, from where lines to Agra bifurcates. It is ...

, Tundla Junction railway station,

Agra Cantonment railway station Agra Cantonment (station code: AGC) is the main railway station in the Indian city of Agra. It is located near the Sadar Bazaar towards the southwest of the city. It lies on the main Delhi–Chennai and one of the Delhi–Mumbai lines. Overvi ...

and

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

. Aligarh railway station handles over 136 trains daily (in both directions) and serves around 204,000 passengers every day. Aligarh has one Branch Railway Line to Bareily. Aligarh City has following railway stations: *

Aligarh Junction Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

: an A-Class Railway Station *Somna (Gabhana) railway station *Mahrawal railway station *Kalua railway station *Daudkhan railway station *Mandrak railway station *Harduaganj railway station (Satha, near Kasimpur Power House) *Manjoorgarhi railway station (Chherat)

By road

Aligarh is 140 km from New Delhi. It is one of the Division of UPSRTC. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses serve cities all over the state and cities in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

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 ...

and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. Aligarh City has three

UPSRTC The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is a public sector passenger road transport corporation which services Uttar Pradesh, India, and adjoining states of North India. It operates as a state and interstate bus service and ...

bus stations: *Aligarh Depot(Old Bus Station/Gandhi Park Bus Station) bus station *Masoodabad(esta. 2000) (Budh Vihar Bus Station/New Bus Station/Workshop Bus Station/Raghuveerpuri Bus Station) Depot bus station(non-functional from 2018 to 2021)(now functioning since 2021 post renovation into a well facilitated Bus Station) *ISBT Rasualabad Sarsaul (New Bus Station/Sootmill Bus Station)(functioning since 2018 due to sudden non-functioning of Massodabaad Bus Station during 2018-2021 period) There are buses plying from Aligarh to Delhi at frequent intervals via 1) Khair, Tappal, Palval, Faridabad, Delhi - The route is under construction between Khair and Palval and should be strictly avoided by cars. No toll charges. 2) Khair, Tappal, Yamuna expressway, Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon - Best and recommended route for Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon. Toll Charges are ₹120 between Aligarh and Delhi. 3) Old GT Road, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Delhi - NH 91 - It is a 4-lane highway. Toll charges are ₹190. Following Highways are connected to Aligarh: * National Highway 91 - It connects

to national capital

. Ghaziabad-Bulandshahr-Aligarh section is a 4-Lane Highway. * National Highway 93 - It connects Moradabad to Taj Nagri

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

via Aligarh. Aligarh-Agra section is constructed as Brijbhoomi Expressway. *

Yamuna Expressway Yamuna Expressway is a 6- lane wide (expandable to 8) and 165.5 km long access-controlled expressway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is presently India's 3rd longest expressway since February 2017. It was built to de-congest the old ...

- It is a 6-Lane Expressway connecting Greater Noida with Agra. Aligarh City has Mahanagar Bus Service (City Bus Service) which provides local transport to Aligarh. *Route-1 J N Medical-Uperkot *Route-2 Gandhi Park-Sarsaul *Route-3 Ghantarbagh-Quarsi *Route-4 Gandhi Park-Boner *Route-5 Etah Chungi-Collectrate Apart from this an Electronic Bus Service has been running within the city since January 2022.

By air

The nearest international airport from Aligarh is

Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New ...

. It is 140 km from Aligarh. Aligarh Airport, in Dhanipur, is under construction on NH 91. Dhanipur Air Strip is used as Flying Club. The Government of Uttar Pradesh signed a memorandum of understanding with the Airports Authority of India in February 2014 for the development of the airport. The land acquisition for airport will be initiated soon and after its development flight operations will be started under regional connectivity scheme.

Notable people

Businessmen and entrepreneurs

* Sheela Gautam, founder of Sheela Foam Limited-Sleepwell. *

Vijay Shekhar Sharma Vijay Shekhar Sharma (born July 15, 1978) is an Indian technology entrepreneur and billionaire businessman. He is the Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of One97 Communications and its consumer brand Paytm. He founded Paytm in 2010. In Januar ...

, founder of Paytm

Educationalists

* Ziauddin Ahmad, mathematician, M.L.A. (Central), Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Movement. He established several institution including J.N. Medical College * Roshan Ara Bokhari, dancer, choreographer and dance teacher *

Masud Husain Khan Masud Husain Khan (28 January 1919 – 16 October 2010) was an Indian linguist, the first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University and the fifth Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University in New Del ...

, linguist, the fifth Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia and the first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University *

Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, h ...

founder of Aligarh Muslim University

Writers, poets and publishers

* A.R. Akela, Dalit author and publisher, owner of "Anand Sahitya Sadan *

Syed Amin Ashraf Syed Amin Ashraf (10 July 1930 7 February 2013) was an Urdu Ghazal poet and critic. He earned his PhD in English Literature from Aligarh Muslim University on the topic ''Major Themes and Imagery in Sarogini Naidu's Poetry'', and later served ...

, Urdu poet and professor of English at AMU *

Qurratulain Hyder Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for ...

, Padma Bhushan, Urdu novelist, writer, and journalist *

Akhlaq Mohammed Khan Akhlaq Mohammad Khan (16 June 1936 – 13 February 2012), better known by his '' takhallus'' Shahryar'','' was an Indian academician, and a doyen of Urdu poetry in India. As a Hindi film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in ''Gaman'' (197 ...

, pen name Shaharyar, Urdu poet,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

lyricist and served as Professor at Aligarh Muslim University * Munshi Nawal Kishore, book publisher * Jainendra Kumar, Hindi writer * Gopaldas Neeraj, poet, recipient of

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

* Saghar Nizami, Urdu Poet * Prem Kishore Patakha, Hindi Humorous Poet * Maitreyi Pushpa, Hindi fiction writer * Rameshraj Tewarikar, Hindi Tewari poet, Editor:′ Tewari-Paksha (tri-monthly)

Historians

Irfan Habib Irfan Habib (born August 10, 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He identifies as a Marxist and is well known for his strong ...

, eminent Indian historian and Professor Emeritus at Aligarh Muslim University *

Mohammad Habib Mohammad Habib (1895–1971) was an Indian historian, who worked at the Aligarh Muslim University. He was involved in the Indian Independence movement, and was an associate of both Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. He was a candidate in the 1967 ...

(1895–1971), noted Indian historian and served as Professor Emeritus at Aligarh Muslim University

Film actors

Shamim Ara Shamim Ara (22 March 1938 – 5 August 2016) was a Pakistani film actress, director and producer. She was known as ''The Tragic Beauty'' because of the tragic heroine roles she often portrayed in films. She was one of the most popular actres ...

, Pakistani film actress *

Bharat Bhushan ''Bharatbhushan Bhalla'' better known as ''Bharat Bhushan'' (14 June 1920 – 27 January 1992) was an Indian actor in Hindi language films, scriptwriter and producer, who is best remembered for playing Baiju Bawra in the 1952 film of the s ...

actor, scriptwriter and producer * Aadesh Chaudhary, Indian television actor *

Nitin Chauhaan Nitin Chauhaan (born 11 November 1988) is an Indian television actor and model. He is winner of TV reality show ''Dadagiri'' (season 2) and participated in the reality television show '' MTV Splitsvilla 5''. He also appeared in the ''Zindagi ...

, Indian television actor *

Ravindra Jain Ravindra Jain (28 February 1944 – 9 October 2015) was an Indian music composer, lyricist and playback singer. He started his career in the early 1970s by composing for several hit movies. His notable works include '' Chor Machaye Shor'' (1 ...

, Bollywood music director * Alka Nupur, former actress, kathak dancer *

Chandrachur Singh Chandrachur Singh (born 11 October 1968) is an Indian actor, who mainly works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of a Filmfare Award, in addition to receiving nomination for an IIFA Award and a Screen Award. Early life and career Singh att ...

, Bollywood actor *

Hasan Zaidi Hasan Zaidi (born 28 September 1978) is an Indian television actor who is known for his roles in '' Khotey Sikkey'' and '' Hum Ne Li Hai...Shapath''. Life and family Zaidi was born in Aligarh and hails from Hardoi near Lucknow, U.P. He spent ...

, Indian television actor * Zarina, Indian artist

Sports persons

Piyush Chawla Piyush Chawla (; born 24 December 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India national cricket team. He has also played for the India under-19 team and the Central Zone. He is seen as a leg-spinning all-rounder in domestic cricke ...

, Indian cricketer * Zafar Iqbal, Former hockey captain of India * Annu Raj Singh, international shooter * Rinku Singh, Cricketer

Politicians

* Zafar Alam ex-MLA from Aligarh (Assembly constituency) * Zameer Ullah Khan ex-MLA from Koil (Assembly constituency) and Aligarh (Assembly constituency) * * Satish Kumar Gautam, current MP from, Aligarh (Lok Sabha constituency) * Sheela Gautam,ex MP & owner of Sleepwell * Jamal Khwaja, ex MP * Sanjeev Raja, current MLA *

Bijendra Singh Bijendra Singh (born 25 December 1956) is an Indian politician. He stood for the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the Indian National Congress ticket and had been a Member of Parliament from Aligarh (Lok Sabha Constitu ...

, ex MP * Chaudhary Sunil Singh, ex MLC * Dalbir Singh Chaudhary, MLA from Baruli vidhansabha constituency * Rajendra Singh, ex Agriculture and Irrigation Minister, Govt of Uttar Pradesh *

Sandeep Singh Sandeep Singh (born 27 February 1986) is an Indian professional field hockey player from Haryana and an ex-captain of the Indian national hockey team. He generally features as a full back and is a penalty corner specialist for the team. He ...

, MLA Atrauli, grandson of Sh. Kalyan Singh * Thakur Jaivir Singh, ex MLA (Now MLC) * Roohi Zuberi, advocate *

Kalyan Singh Kalyan Singh (5 January 1932 – 21 August 2021) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served twice as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Member of Parliament. He was the Chief minister of Utt ...

, ex governor

Medical professionals

Khwaja Abdul Hamied Khwaja Abdul Hamied FCS, FRIC (31 October 1898 – 23 June 1972) was an Indian industrial and pharmaceutical chemist who founded Cipla, India's oldest pharmaceutical company in 1935. His son, Yusuf Hamied headed the company after him f ...

, Pharmacist, founder of

Cipla Cipla Limited (stylized as Cipla) is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Mumbai. Cipla primarily develops medicines to treat respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, depression and many oth ...

(pharmaceutical company) * Prerna Kohli, clinical psychologist, social worker and author * Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Unani physician and author *

Ashok Seth Dr Ashok Seth,born on 12th October 1954 is an Indian interventional cardiologist, credited with the performance of over 50,000 angiograms and 20,000 angioplasties, which has been included in the Limca Book of Records, a reference book for achiev ...

, an Indian interventional cardiologist

Social activists

* Jai Kishan Das, a close associate of

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...