Bhiwani is a city and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

Bhiwani district Bhiwani district is one of the 22 districts of the northern Indian state of Haryana. Created on 22 December 1972, the district was the largest district of the state by area, before the creation of Charkhi Dadri as a separate district, as it occu ...

in the state of

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 ...

, Bhiwani was also known as "Gate of Rajputana". Besides being a seat of spiritual learning, the city is at the centre of regional politics and hometown of three former Haryana chief ministers:

Bansi Lal Bansi Lal Legha (26 August 1927 – 28 March 2006) was an Indian independence activist, senior Congress leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana, former Defence Minister of India, and the architect of modern Haryana. Bansi Lal was part of the f ...

Banarsi Das Gupta Banarsi Das Gupta (5 November 1917 – 29 August 2007) was an Indian politician who served as the 4th Chief Minister of Haryana state in India. Life Gupta was born in Bhiwani and he studied at Pilani in Rajasthan. Gupta was a renowned f ...

and Hukum Singh. It is located 128 km west of national 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 Hous ...

. The city has a conventional school of boxing, with almost all of the members of the Indian Boxing Squad coming from its

Sports Authority of India The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sports in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic instituti ...

(SAI) hostel. The late Capt.

Hawa Singh Honorary Captain Hawa Singh (16 December 1937 in Umarwas, Haryana – 14 August 2000, in Bhiwani, Haryana) was an Indian Heavyweight boxer, who dominated Indian and Asian amateur boxing for a decade in his weight class. He won the Asian Games g ...

, the legendary boxer, helped establish the boxing academy in Bhiwani.

History

Etymology

Bhiwani is a corrupted form of ''Bhani''. The town was founded by a

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

chief called ''Neem Singh''. His wife named ''Bhani'' once saved his life from treachery. Consequently, he named the town after her. The corrupted name of the town from ''Bhani'' to ''Bhiani'' (natives still use this pronunciation) eventually came to be known as ''Bhiwani''.2001Chapter-V
o
Haryana State Gazetteer Vol-I
Revenue Dept of Haryana, Chapter-V. Other

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...

avers that the town is named after the goddess

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

, the wife of Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

Early modern era

The old town had a protective wall with 12 gates which are ruined now, including ''Bapora Gate'' to the north-west, ''Rohtak Gate'' to the east, and ''Dadri Gate'' to the south-east. Buildings are in jat-rajput architecture with pavilions and carved wood.

Samadhi

Samadhi of Todar Singh, is a

samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

(shrine) near Bichhwa lake.

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

came to

Charkhi Dadri Charkhi Dadri is a city and headquarters of Charkhi Dadri district in the state of Haryana located in southern Haryana, India, about 90 km from the national capital Delhi. The town was made by joining the villages of Charkhi and Dadri a ...

for hunting. Bhani Singh attacked a nearby

Baliali Baliali is a village in Bawani khera tehsil of Bhiwani district of Indian state of Haryana. It lies approximately north west of the district headquarters town of Bhiwani Bhiwani is a city and a municipal council in Bhiwani district in the ...

village with Hymanyu's forces, which resulted in a retaliatory attack on Mughal forces by Rajputs of Bhiwani led by ''Todar Singh''. Rajputs of Bhiwani were defeated and Todar was killed in the battle. Samadhi was built in his memory.

British era

In 1803, Bhiwani was annexed by the

British raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

from the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

. In 1817, William Frazer built a mandi (grain and goods market) here, resulting in the emergence of town as the regional hub of trade.

Education

Bhiwani has six major institutes, one of them being the country's top and oldest textile research institute, the

Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences The Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences (TITS) is an Indian technical college. It offers engineering and postgraduate programs. It is one of the oldest colleges in India. The institute provides lectures by in-house and visiting fa ...

, established by the Birla Group. There are also four-degree colleges( two of them are girls college) three colleges of education and a school of nursing. The Board of School Education, Haryana (BSEH) is also situated in the city while the government P.G College is located on Hansi road. Recently, the new

Chaudhary Bansi Lal University Chaudhary Bansi Lal University (CBLU) is a state university in the city of Bhiwani, Haryana. Established in 2014 the university offers postgraduate courses in various disciplines. CBLU is to the west of Delhi at a distance of 125 km and so ...

has been established in Bhiwani in memory of the late Choudhary Bansi Laal.

Transportation

Railways

Bhiwani railway Junction is on the Bathinda-Rewari line. It is a Junction of railway lines and three railway lines are originating from Bhiwani; one is towards the Rewari side. The second line towards Hisar side. The third branch line goes towards Rohtak and connects to Delhi.

Roads

The city is very well connected through state roadways with all the major towns in the region. District Bhiwani is situated in the western part of Haryana. It shares its boundary with the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. Bus service is the major means of public transport in the Bhiwani district.

Geography

Bhiwani is located at . and has an average elevation of . Bhiwani lies from the state capital Chandigarh and from the national capital Delhi.

Development

Bhiwani was considered a deserted place. Farming could be done with the help of rain. After every two or three years, there would be a drought. Men, women, animals and birds suffered due to a lack of water and greenery. Things changed when in 1893 a canal was first constructed in Bhiwani. It was a religious region, and gradually the people started taking part in politics and the Indian struggle for independence. Pandit Neki Ram, Fateh Chand, K.A. Desai and Babu Gupta accounted for the growth of a branch of the

Congress party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

here in 1939. But now many multinational corporations are looking at Bhiwani as a potential location for their local operations.

Satyagraha of Bardoli

In 1922 India's seekers of freedom society took part in the Bardoli

Satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone wh ...

. They were Neki Sharma, Uma Sharma, Ram Kumar, Gokul Chand, Fateh Chand, Lala Vith, Lala Karanji, Diwan Chand, Lala Moda, Mansingh Bohra etc. Neki Sharma Later known as Haryana Kesri.

National leaders

Bhiwani was visited twice by

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

Madan Mohan Malviya Madan Mohan Malaviya ( (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,

Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

, Sh. Subash Chandra Bose, Smt.

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Ind ...

, Dr. Munje, Dr. Ansari, Sh. Asif Ali, Ali Bandhu and Maulana

Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

also came to Bhiwani, took meetings and praised Bhiwani's people for their taking part in the independence war. Bhiwani is the home town of Renowned freedom-fighter and social-reformer Late Sh. Pt. Nekiram Sharma, Sh.

, (former Chief Minister of Haryana, Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly, Dy. Chief Minister, Speaker of Haryana Assembly and Minister in Haryana Cabinet) who also known for his contribution in Bhiwani by establishing many educational institutions like Adarsh Mahila Mahavidyalaya (awarded best women's college in Haryana), Vaish educations institutes (PG College, schools), Nature Cure Hospital (Prakritik Chikitsalya) Bhiwani and many more charitable and social organisations. It is also the home town of Late Ch.

, former Chief Minister, Defense Minister, Railway Minister and Civil Aviation Minister, Ch Bansi Lal, who was a popular politician. The former chief of Army Staff of the Indian army, General Vijay Kumar Singh is also from Bhiwani (Born: Village Bopara). Justice Raj Mohan Singh, Judge Punjab and Haryana High Court, also belongs to district Bhiwani.

Boxing

The city entered the spotlight in 2008 as four of the five boxers who represented India at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

were from Bhiwani.

coach and boxer, two times

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

gold medalist and 11-time national champion late captain

is credited with establishing the Bhiwani.

Kavita Chahal Kavita Chahal (born 8 April 1985) is a 5' 9" tall heavyweight Indian female boxer and recipient of the highest world ranking 2 from 2012 to 2014 (AIBA Ranking - 11 in 2016) from the village Nimri which resides in the Bhiwani district, Haryana. ...

won two times Aiba world women's boxing championship Chahal won 4 times Asian medals, With 8 times gold medalist she is the record holder in women's national championship. Boxing Club or "BBC" as it is known locally.Against the Odds: Vijender Singh, BBC
/ref> Among the 2008 Olympians, Jitender Kumar (Flyweight) () and

Akhil Kumar Akhil Kumar (born 27 March 1981) is an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards. He practices an "open guarded" boxing style. In 2005, the Indian government gave him the Arjuna Award for his achievements in int ...

() went on to qualify for the quarter-finals, while

Vijender Singh Vijender Singh Beniwal (born 29 October 1985) is an Indian professional boxer and politician. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. He also wo ...

() won a bronze medal and

Vikas Krishan Yadav Vikas Krishan Yadav (born 10 February 1992) is an Indian boxer from Bhiwani district in Haryana, the hub of some of India's best boxers. He won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category and a gold medal in 75 kg wei ...

from Bhiwani district won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category. In the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, China, Vijender Singh claimed gold.

first women boxer from Haryana Bhiwani got

Arjun Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

. Bhiwani is known as "Mini Cuba" in India due to the large number of boxers who hail from the region.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Bhiwani had a population of 196,057. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bhiwani has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 76% and female literacy of 62%. 13% of the population is under 7 years of age. The city consists of every religion and caste major rajputs and Jats.

Religion

City

Tehsil

Notable people

Rohit Bhaker Rohit Bhaker (born 26 October 1984) is an Indian deaf badminton player. Biography Rohit Bhaker was born profoundly deaf and he has the inability to speak. He is from Bhiwani and is currently residing in Bhiwani for badminton practices and wo ...

, Badminton player *

, boxer *

Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: �ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...

, Chief Minister of Delhi * Dinesh Kumar, boxer * Jitender Kumar, middleweight boxer born 1977 * Jitender Kumar, flyweight boxer born 1988 *

Sushil Kumar Sushil Kumar Solanki (born 26 May 1983) is a former Indian wrestler. He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb J ...

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestlin ...

, Gold medalist in World Championships 2010 *

, former

Chief Minister of Haryana The Chief Minister of Haryana is the chief executive of the Indian state of Haryana. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elec ...

Geeta Phogat Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988) is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games. Per ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...

Gold Medal winner in wrestling *

Vinesh Phogat Vinesh Phogat (born 25 August 1994) is an Indian wrestler. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games. She is the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Champ ...

, wrestler * Richhpal Ram,

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

winner in World War-II *

Paramjeet Samota Paramjeet Samota (born 5 July 1988) is an Indian amateur boxing, boxer best known for winning a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in 2010 at Super Heavyweight. Early life Samota grew up in Dinod, a village near Bhiwani. Career Samota won a gold me ...

Gold Medal winner in Boxing *

Pradeep Sangwan Pradeep Sangwan (born 5 November 1990) is an Indian cricketer, who represents Delhi in first-class cricket. Career Sangwan is a left-arm medium pace bowler. He is quite handy with the bat as well. In Twenty20s he has achieved an average of 1 ...

, cricketer * Brijpal Singh,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

holder Singh (boxer), Jagdish Singh - boxer *

, boxer * Prithi Singh, Air Marshal *

V. K. Singh General Vijay Kumar Singh, (born 10 May 1950) is an Indian politician and a former four-star General in the Indian Army. He is the current Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Civil Aviation in th ...

, COAS for

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

, Olympic Bronze Medal winner in boxing * Vikram Singh, Air Marshal * Ashok Singhal (politician), Minister,

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered ...

References

External links

*
Official website of Bhiwani district
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Bhiwani district