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 capital, New Delhi. The districts which adjoin Aligarh are Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Sambhal,

Badaun Budaun is commonly pronounced Badayun is a city and a seat of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located near the Ganges river in the centre of Western Uttar Pradesh. Budaun was the capital of Delhi Sultanate for four years from 1210 ...

Kasganj Kasganj is a city and the district headquarters of Kasganj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district was formed by grouping three Tehsils at 17 April 2008 . History Kasganj, which lies in the historical region of Braj, was al ...

Hathras Hathras is a historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. It is a part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is a ...

, Etah and Mathura. As of 2011, Aligarh is the 53rd most populous city in India. The recorded history of Aligarh begins with the establishment of the Aligarh Fort in the 16th century. It is a university town, notable as the seat of

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

, which was founded here as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, initiating the Aligarh Movement.

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 Dor Rajput (also known as Doda) are a Rajput clan of India. In the late tenth century, the Dor Rajputs "seem to have extended their sway" over parts of Northern India, "ruling at first as feudatories of Tomara kings of Delhi", they "became more po ...

in twelfth century. In 1194, Qutb-ud-din Aibak had mounted a successful invasion of the region and Hisam-ud-din Ulbak was installed as the first Muslim governor; court-historian

Hasan Nizami Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian, who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries. He migrated from Nishapur to Delhi in India, where he wrote ''Tajul-Ma'asir'', the first official history of the Delhi Sultanate. Early life Lit ...

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 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 Ghiyas ud din Balban (1216–1287, reigned: 1266–1287) ( ur, ); (Hindi: ग़ियास उद-दीन बलबन); (IAST: ''Ghiyās ud-Dīn Balban'') was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Ghiyas ud Din was the ''regen ...

to erect a minaret. Under the Khiljis and Tughlaqs, the prominence continued unabated; it had become an '' iqta'' by the times of Alauddin Khalji. Kol is mentioned in

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

's '' Rihla'', when Ibn Battuta, along with 15 ambassadors representing Ukhaantu Khan, emperor of the Mongol Chinese Yuan dynasty, travelled to Kol city en route to the coast at

Cambay Cambay, Kambay or Khambhat was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The City of Khambat (Cambay) in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district and in the south by the Gulf of Cam ...

(in Gujarat) 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 Jalali may refer to: People * Jalali (surname) Places * Jalali, Uttar Pradesh, a town and a nagar panchayat in Aligarh district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India * Jalali, Uttarakhand, a small town situated in Almora district in the state of U ...

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 Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

, Kol was made a Sirkar and included the ''dasturs'' of Marahra, Kol ba Haveli, Thana Farida and Akbarabad. Akbar and

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

visited Kol on hunting expeditions. Jahangir clearly mentions the forest of Kol, where he killed wolves. During the time of Ibrahim Lodhi, 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 The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

ruler,

Surajmal Suraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763) was a Jat ruler of Bharatpur in present-day state of Rajasthan. Under him, the Jat rule covered the present-day districts of Agra, Aligarh, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Etawa, Hathras, Mainpuri, Ma ...

, with consent of Safdar Jang, 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 commander, Najaf Khan, captured Ramgarh, he renamed it and gave it its present name of Aligarh. Aligarh Fort (also called Aligarh Qila), as it stands today, was built by French engineers under the control of French officers Benoît de Boigne and Perron.

Battle of Aligarh (1803)

The Battle of Aligarh was fought on 1 September 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) at Aligarh Fort. The British

76th Regiment The 76th Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 33rd (Duke of Wellington's) Regiment to form the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in 1881. Hi ...

, now known as the Duke of Wellington's Regiment 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 was appointed the first Collector of the new district.

Administration

Aligarh district is divided into five tehsils, namely Kol Tehsil, Khair Tehsil, Atrauli,

Gabhana Gabhana is a tehsil, block, town and a Nagar panchayat in Aligarh district, 23 km from district headquarters in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Geography Gabhana is situated on the Grand Trunk Road at a distance of 100 km in the ...

and

Iglas Iglas is a town and tehsil in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Geography Iglas is located along Aligarh-Mathura Road at a distance of 24 km from Aligarh. Iglas is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is o ...

. 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 Aligarh division, also known as Aligarh-city and Kol, is one of the administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This division consisted of all the districts of the lower Doab: *Aligarh District * Etah District *Hathras Dist ...

. A DIG looks after Aligarh for legal condition and law; a Commissioner looks for four districts of

(Aligarh, Etah,

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 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.

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, the land between the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers. The Grand Trunk Road passes through it via NH-91 is 134 km from capital of India.

Climate

Aligarh has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

( Köppen ''BSh'') a little too dry to be a monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''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 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 (also referred as Kasimpur Power House) is 15 km from the city.

Narora Atomic Power Station Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) is a nuclear power plant located in Narora, Dibai Tehsil, Bulandshahar District in Uttar Pradesh, India. Reactors The plant houses two reactors, each a pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) capable of p ...

is located 50 km from Aligarh. Aligarh hosts

Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...

-sauce manufacturing unit in Manzurgarhi, Satha sugar mill on the Aligarh-Kasimpur Power House route and a cement factory of

UltraTech Cement UltraTech Cement Limited is an Indian cement company based in Mumbai, and a part of Aditya Birla Group. UltraTech is the largest manufacturer of grey cement, ready-mix concrete Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is concrete that is manufactured i ...

company. Wave Distillery, making

Kingfisher beer Kingfisher is an Indian beer brewed by United Breweries Group, Bangalore. The brand was first introduced in 1857 and then relaunched in 1978 by Vijay Mallya. With a market share of over 36% in India, it is also available in 52 other countries ...

, 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 *

Aligarh College of Engineering and Technology 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 ...

* Jamia Al Barkaat Aligarh

Art and craft

Aligarh is associated with an appliqué and embroidery art known as ''phool patti ka kaam''.

Locations

Cultural landmarks

Aligarh has several popular landmarks. Most notable few of them are Aligarh fort, 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 India take place during a period of 28–30 days.

Historical places

Shekha Jheel Shekha Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary at a lake near the village of Shekha, east of Aligarh and {{cvt, 5, km from the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is notable for birding as many birds overwinter the ...

, Bird Sanctuary *

Maulana Azad Library The Maulana Azad Library is the central library of Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India. It is the largest university library in Asia. The seven-storey building is surrounded by of lawns and gardens. It has about 1,500,000 books. It ce ...

, AMU (Estd 1875) *

Sir Syed Masjid Sir Syed Mosque is a mosque located in the heart of Aligarh Muslim University campus. It is located inside Sir Syed Hall. The tomb of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is also enclosed within the walls of the mosque. History The construction of Jama Mas ...

's campus.

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 Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman is an Indian scholar of Unani medicine. He founded Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences in 2000. He had earlier served as Professor and chairman, Department of Ilmul Advia at the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya Colleg ...

and Syed Ziaur Rahman 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, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, north-east and most of Uttar Pradesh, and important stations of cities such as New Delhi railway station, Mumbai Central, Kolkata,

Bhopal Junction railway station Bhopal Junction railway station (station code: BPL) is a major railway junction of India and main railway station of Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This station also serves as a connecting point for various ...

, Indore, Jammu, Gwalior, Lucknow, Jhansi, Puri,

Kanpur Central railway station Kanpur Central (formerly known as Cawnpore North Barracks, station code: CNB) is a central and junction railway station in the city of Kanpur and is one of the five central Indian railway stations. It is third busiest in country after Howrah ...

, Etawah Junction railway station, Tundla Junction railway station, Agra Cantonment railway station and Varanasi. 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: 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, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Aligarh City has three UPSRTC 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 The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil *SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia Highway 91 ...

- It connects Kolkata to national capital New Delhi. Ghaziabad-Bulandshahr-Aligarh section is a 4-Lane Highway. *

National Highway 93 Route 93 or Highway 93 can refer to: International * European route E93 Australia - Victoria Canada * Alberta Highway 93 * British Columbia Highway 93 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 93 * Ontario Highway 93 China * G93 Chengyu Ring Exp ...

- It connects Moradabad to Taj Nagri Agra via Aligarh. Aligarh-Agra section is constructed as Brijbhoomi Expressway. * Yamuna Expressway - 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, New Delhi. It is 140 km from Aligarh.

Aligarh Airport Aligarh Airport is an upcoming domestic airport situated at Aligarh - Sikandra Rao Road in outskirts of Aligarh city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.http://cadup.gov.in/devofairport.htm It is being developed by upgrading the existing gover ...

, 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 Sheela Gautam (15 November 1931 – 8 June 2019) was an Indian billionaire politician and businesswoman. She was the founder and owner of Sheela Foam Limited, run by her son Rahul Gautam, which sells mattresses under the Sleepwell brand among ...

, founder of Sheela Foam Limited-Sleepwell. * Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm

Educationalists

Ziauddin Ahmad Sir Ziauddin Ahmad (born Ziauddin Ahmed Zuberi; 13 February 1873 – 23 December 1947) was an Indian mathematician, parliamentarian, logician, natural philosopher, politician, political theorist, educationist and a scholar.Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Movement. He established several institution including J.N. Medical College *

Roshan Ara Bokhari Roshan Ara Bokhari is a Pakistani dancer and dance choreographer. She was born in Aligarh in 1934. Bokhari's mother is Main Abdul Aziz and she inherited a love for dance and music from her family. Early life Bokhari started her early education ...

, dancer, choreographer and dance teacher * Masud Husain Khan, linguist, the fifth Vice-Chancellor of

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

and the first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at

* Syed Ahmad Khan founder of

Writers, poets and publishers

A.R. Akela Anant Rao(Yadav) "A. R." Akela (born 30 September 1960) is an Indian author, poet, folk singer and publisher. Publication Akela owns the publishing business ''Anand Sahitya Sadan''. See also * Dalit literature *Lalai Singh Yadav Lalai Sing ...

, Dalit author and publisher, owner of "Anand Sahitya Sadan * Syed Amin Ashraf, Urdu poet and professor of English at AMU * Qurratulain Hyder, Padma Bhushan, Urdu novelist, writer, and journalist * Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, pen name Shaharyar, Urdu poet, Bollywood lyricist and served as Professor at

Munshi Nawal Kishore Munshi Nawal Kishore (3 January 1836 – 19 February 1895) was a book publisher from India. He has been called Caxton of India. In 1858, at the age of 22, he founded the Nawal Kishore Press at Lucknow. This institution today is the oldest printi ...

, book publisher *

Jainendra Kumar Jainendra Kumar (2 January 1905 – 24 December 1988) was a 20th century Indian writer who wrote in Hindi. He wrote novels include ''Sunita'' and ''Tyagapatra''. He was awarded one of India's highest civilian honours, the Padma Bhushan in 1971. ...

, Hindi writer *

Gopaldas Neeraj Gopaldas Neeraj (popularly known as Neeraj; 4 January 1925 – 19 July 2018) was an Indian poet and author of Hindi literature. He was also a poet of Hindi Kavi sammelan (Poets Meet). He was born in the village of Puravali, near Mahewa in Eta ...

, poet, recipient of Padma Bhushan *

Saghar Nizami Saghar Nizami (1905–1983), also known as Samad Yar Khan, was an Indian poet and writer of ghazal and nazm in Urdu. He was one of the earliest disciples of Seemab Akbarabadi (1882–1951) and was a recipient of the third highest Indian honour ...

, Urdu Poet *

Prem Kishore Patakha Prem Kishore Patakha (Hindi: प्रेम किशोर 'पटाखा'; born 27 October 1943) is a Hindi author of comedic poetry (hasya kavi). He was born into a Brahmin family at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He appeared as a guest on the tel ...

, Hindi Humorous Poet *

Maitreyi Pushpa Maitreyi Pushpa (Hindi: मैत्रेयी पुष्पा; born 30 November 1944), is a Hindi fiction writer. An eminent writer in Hindi, Maitreyi Pushpa has ten novels and seven short story collections to her credit She also writes p ...

, Hindi fiction writer *

Rameshraj Tewarikar Rameshraj Tewarikar (born 15 March 1954) Hindi is a scholar, poet. He is famous for his distinctive talent in the area of Satire and Rasa, and they are one of the major scholars who develop the Tewari and Rasa tradition of poetry. Early li ...

, Hindi Tewari poet, Editor:′ Tewari-Paksha (tri-monthly)

Historians

* Irfan Habib, eminent Indian historian and Professor Emeritus at

* Mohammad Habib (1895–1971), noted Indian historian and served as Professor Emeritus at

Film actors

* Shamim Ara, Pakistani film actress * Bharat Bhushan, Bollywood actor, scriptwriter and producer *

Aadesh Chaudhary Aadesh Chaudhary ( hi, आदेश चौधरी) is an Indian television actor. He is known for his role of Vikrant Mehta in the TV show ''Sasural Simar Ka'' on Colors TV. Early life Chaudhary comes from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He complet ...

, 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, Bollywood music director *

Alka Nupur Alka Nupur is a former Indian actress who was best known for her contributions to Hindi cinema throughout the 1980s. She appeared in many films throughout her career, including ''Laawaris'' (1981), ''Brij Bhoomi'' (1982), '' John Jani Janardh ...

, former actress, kathak dancer * Chandrachur Singh, Bollywood actor * Hasan Zaidi, Indian television actor *

Zarina Zarina is a feminine name derived from the Slavic word “tsar / tzar” (царь), a title used by Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers, plus sometimes the suffix (itsa), the title of a female autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria or Russia, or the ...

, Indian artist

Sports persons

* Piyush Chawla, Indian cricketer * Zafar Iqbal, Former hockey captain of India *

Annu Raj Singh Annu Raj Singh (born 17 February 1984) is an Indian shooter from Aligarh. She along with Heena Sidhu won the gold medal in women's Pairs 10 metre air pistol at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in both the 1 ...

, international shooter * Rinku Singh, Cricketer

Politicians

Zafar Alam Zafar Alam may refer to: * Zafar Alam (Uttar Pradesh politician) (born 1944) * Zafar Alam (Bihar politician) {{hndis, Alam, Zafar ...

ex-MLA from

Aligarh (Assembly constituency) Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) 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 capital, New Delhi. ...

Zameer Ullah Khan Zameer Ullah Khan is an Indian politician and a member of the 15th and 16th Legislative Assembly of India. He represents the Koil constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Samajwadi Party. Early life and education Zameer Ullah Khan ...

ex-MLA from

Koil (Assembly constituency) Koil Assembly constituency is one of the 403 constituencies of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, India. It is a part of the Aligarh district and one of the five assembly constituencies in the Aligarh Lok Sabha constituency. First ele ...

and

* *

Satish Kumar Gautam Satish Kumar is an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He won the 2014 Indian general elections from the Aligarh constituency of Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern ...

, current MP from,

Aligarh (Lok Sabha constituency) Aligarh Lok Sabha Constituency is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Assembly Segments Members of Parliament Election results General Elections 2019 General Elections 2014 See also * Aligarh * ...

,ex MP & owner of

Sleepwell Methapyrilene is an antihistamine and anticholinergic of the pyridine chemical class which was developed in the early 1950s. It was sold under the trade names Co-Pyronil and Histadyl EC. It has relatively strong sedative effects, to the extent ...

Jamal Khwaja Jamal Khwaja (or, Ahmad Jamal Yusuf Khwaja, 12 August 1926Jamal Khwaja was born in August 1926. However most official documents show his date of birth as 1928. This error somehow crept into the record and has become a source of confusion amongs ...

, ex MP *

Sanjeev Raja Sanjeev Raja is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Raja is a Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Aligarh in Aligarh district Aligarh district is a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. This dist ...

, current MLA *

Bijendra Singh Bijendra Singh (born 25 December 1956) is an Indian politician. He stood for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the Indian National Congress ticket and had been a Member of Parliament from Aligarh. He is the resident of village Dhonda near glas ...

, ex MP *

Chaudhary Sunil Singh Chaudhary Sunil Singh is National President of Lok Dal, a political party which was founded by former Prime Minister of India late Charan Singh. He is former member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. Early life & Political career Ch. Suni ...

, ex MLC *

Dalbir Singh Chaudhary Thakur Dalveer Singh is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a former member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Barauli (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Barauli constituency in Aligarh district. Refe ...

, MLA from Baruli vidhansabha constituency * Rajendra Singh, ex Agriculture and Irrigation Minister, Govt of Uttar Pradesh * Sandeep Singh, MLA Atrauli, grandson of Sh. Kalyan Singh *

Thakur Jaivir Singh Thakur Jaivir Singh is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party. He is elected from the Barauli constituency in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2022. He registered the highest margin win of 92,000 votes among the rural const ...

, ex MLA (Now MLC) *

Roohi Zuberi Roohi Zuberi (born 24 March 1959) is an Indian social worker and women's rights activist. Zuberi has also served as a senior cabinet member at Aligarh Muslim University. Career As a university student, she became district president of the Nat ...

, advocate * Kalyan Singh, ex governor

Medical professionals

* Khwaja Abdul Hamied, Pharmacist, founder of Cipla (pharmaceutical company) *

Prerna Kohli Dr. Prerna Kohli is a clinical psychologist, social worker and author. She was awarded the ‘100 Women Achievers of India’ in 2016 by the President of India for her work on mental health. Career Kohli completed Ph.D. in clinical psychology f ...

, clinical psychologist, social worker and author *

, Unani physician and author * Ashok Seth, an Indian interventional cardiologist

Social activists

Jai Kishan Das Raja Jai Kishan Das Chaube, CSI, Rai Bahadur (24 November 1832 – 30 April 1905) was an Indian administrator and close associate of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University. He was born on 24 November 1832 at Moradabad to Brin ...

, a close associate of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan