Rajauri

Rajouri or Rajauri (; ; ) is a city in the Rajouri district in the Jammu division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the Poonch Highway.

History

The first ruler of this Kingdom was Raja Prithvi Pal from the Jaral Rajput clan ruled Rajouri from 1033 to 1192, Prithvi Pal defended Pir Panchal Pass at the time of incursion of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE. The old name of Rajouri was "Rajapuri" as mentioned in Rajtarangni of Kalhana Pandita written in 1148 CE.

During the Mughal rule, the Jarral Rajput rulers or Raja agreed to a treaty with the Mughal Empire and thus were given the title ' Mirza'. In 1810 and 1812, Maharaja Ranjit Singh attempted to conquer Bhimber, Kotli, and Rajouri. However, Rajouri successfully resisted these invasions. In 1813, Gulab Singh of Jammu captured Rajouri for the Sikh Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, by defeating Raja Aghar Khan. After this, Rajouri became part of the Sikh Empire. But parts of it were given as jagirs to Raja Rahimullah Khan (the brother of Raja Agarullah Khan) and other parts to Gulab Singh.

Following the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Treaty of Amritsar (1846), all the territories between the Ravi River and the Indus were transferred to Gulab Singh, and he was recognised as an independent Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus Rajouri became a part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.Sudhir S. Bloeria
Militancy in Rajouri and Poonch
South Asia Terrorism Portal, 2001. Gulab Singh changed the name of Rajouri to Rampur. He appointed Mian Hathu as Governor of Rajouri, who remained in Rajouri up to 1856. Mian Hathu constructed a stunning temple in between Thanna Nallah in close proximity to Rajouri city. He also built Rajouri Fort at Dhannidhar village.

After Mian Hathu, Rajouri was transformed into a tehsil and affiliated with Bhimber district. In 1904, this tehsil was separated from Bhimber and affiliated with the Reasi district.

The area of Rajouri principality included proper Rajouri, Thanna, Bagla Azim Garh, Behrote, Chingus, Darhal, Nagrota and Phalyana etc.

Partition

After the Partition of India and the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India in October 1947, there followed the First Kashmir War between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani raiders, along with the rebels and deserters from the western districts of the state, captured Rajouri on 7 November 1947. The 30,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in Rajouri were reportedly killed, wounded or abducted. Rajouri was recaptured on 12 April 1948 by the 19 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army under the command of Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane. Rane, despite being wounded, launched a bold tank assault by conveying the tanks over the Tawi river bed in order to avoid the road blocks along the main road. When the Indian Army entered the town, the captors had fled, having destroyed most of the town and killing all its inhabitants. After the arrival of the Army, some 1,500 refugees that had fled to the hills, including women and children, returned to the town. The ceasefire line at the end of the War ran to the west of the Rajouri- Reasi district.

Inside India

Soon after the war, the Rajouri and Reasi tehsils were separated. The Rajouri tehsil was merged with the Indian-administered Poonch district to form the Poonch-Rajouri district. The Reasi tehsil was merged with the Udhampur district.

On 1 January 1968, the two tehsils were reunited and the resulting district was named the Rajouri district.

The Reasi tehsil was also separated out in 2006 into a separate Reasi district. The present Rajouri district comprises the 1947 Rajouri tehsil.

Rajouri witnessed some of the toughest fighting during the Second Kashmir War in 1965. Pakistani infiltration in Kashmir during Operation Gibraltar caused Rajouri to be initially captured from the Indian Army by undercover Pakistani commandos. But the wider operation failed and, with all-out war with India looming, Pakistan withdrew its troops. Major Malik Munawar Khan Awan, a Pakistani commando officer who led the attack on Rajouri on the night of 15 September 1965, was later awarded the title "King of Rajouri" by the Government of Pakistan.

Geography and education

Rajouri is located at .Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Rajouri
/ref> It has an average elevation of 915 metres (3001  feet).

Rajouri has its own deemed University Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University popularly known as BGSBU which offers various Diploma, UG and PG courses. It also has one Government Medical College GMC Rajouri along with other degree colleges.

Climate

The climate of Rajouri is somewhat cooler than the other surrounding plains. Summers are short and pleasant. The summer temperature generally does not exceed 30 degrees. Winters are cool and chilly characterized with rainfall due to western disturbances. Snowfall is scanty but may occur in cool months like that of December 2012. Average rainfall is 769 millimetres (26.3 in) in the wettest months The average temperature of summer is 23'C and average temperature of winter is 8'C.IMD

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Rajouri itself had a population of 37,552 while the population within the municipal limits was 41,552. Males constituted 57% of the population and females 43%. Rajouri had an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 75.5%: male literacy was 83% and female literacy was 68%. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age. The people are mostly Paharis and Gujjars.

Religion

Hinduism is the largest religion in Rajouri City followed by over 57% of the people. Islam is the second-largest religion with 37.08% adherents. Christianity and Sikhism form 0.51% and 5.09% of the population respectively.

Transport

Air

Rajouri Airport is located 1 km from the town but currently is non-operational. The nearest airport to Rajouri is Jammu Airport which located 154 kilometres from Rajouri and is a 4 hr drive. Helicopter services linking Rajouri district to Jammu started on September 13, 2017, but it was aborted later.

Rail

Rajouri doesn't have its own railway station. The nearest railway station to Rajouri is Jammu Tawi railway station which is located at a distance of 151 kilometres from the town and is a 4 hr drive. There are plans to connect Rajouri by rail through the Jammu–Poonch Railway Line in the near future.

Road

Rajouri is well-connected by road to other towns, villages and cities of Jammu and Kashmir. The NH 144A passes through Rajouri.

See also

* Banda Singh Bahadur, Sikh general
* Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri

References

Bibliography

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{{Authority control

Cities and towns in Rajouri district
Rajouri district
Tehsils of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)