Banswara


Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from king 'Bansiya Bhil'.
Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred Islands", "The Green City", which is often referred to as "Cherrapunji of Rajasthan", because it receives the most rain in Rajasthan, as well as for the numerous islands in the Mahi River, often referred to as "Mahati", an alternate name for Mahi River, in Vayu Purana text, which flows through the city. Banswara district located Southernmost district in Rajasthan. The city has a population of 101,017, of whom 51,585 are male and 49,432 are female.

History

Banswara was a Rajput feudatory state in Rajputana in British India. It borders Gujarat and was bounded on the north by the princely states of Dungarpur and Udaipur or Mewar; on the northeast and east by Partapgarh; on the south by the dominions of Holkar and the state of Jabua and on the west by the state of Rewa Kantha.
Banswara state was about in length from north to south and in breadth from east to west and had an area of. The population in 1941 was 258,760.
Banswara district forms the eastern part of the region known as Vagad or Vagwar. The district was formerly a state ruled by the Maharavals, named for the bamboo found in abundance in its forests.
On 17 November 1913, Banswara district was witness to a little-known massacre of around 1500 tribals by the British, echoing the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which 329 people were killed in the firing. British forces opened fire on tribals who had gathered in the Mangarh hills situated of the Aravali mountains on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border. The tribals were led by their leader Govind Guru Banjara who inspired them to throw off the yoke of British rule.
Govind Guru Banjara, influenced by social reformers like Dayananda Saraswati, launched the "Bhagat" movement among the Bhils, asking them to adhere to vegetarianism and abstain from all types of intoxicants. The movement slowly took on a political hue, and then turned into a movement against the oppressive policies of the British.
The Bhils began opposing taxes imposed by the British and forced labour imposed by the princely states of Banswara, Santrampur, Dungarpur and Kushalgarh. Worried by the tribal revolt, the British decided to crush the uprising. From October 1913, Govindguru Banjara asked his followers to gather at Mangarh hill from which they would conduct their operations.
The British asked them to vacate Mangarh hill by 15 November but they refused. On 17 November, the tribals were gathering for a meeting when the British forces under Major S Bailey and Captain E Stiley opened fire on the crowd with cannons and guns. Though there are no official estimates, locals say about 2500 people were killed in cold blood.
Govind guru Banjara was captured and exiled from the area. He was imprisoned in Hyderabad jail and released in 1919, on grounds of good behaviour. As he was exiled from his homeland, he settled in Limdi in Gujarat, where he died in 1931. The site of the massacre is today known as Mangarh Dham and the locals are demanding that a national memorial be built there in memory of the martyrs.

Geography

Banswara is located at. It has an average elevation of.
The region's rugged terrain undulates in short ridges west of Banswara. The eastern part of the region is occupied by flat-topped hills of the Deccan. It has the southern end of the Aravali mountains. The drainage system belongs to the Mahi river which originates from Amjera hills near Dhar in Madhya Pradesh. Its main tributaries are the Anas, Chanp, Erav, Hiran and Kagdi. The Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam on the Mahi lies about away from Banswara town. The right and left main canals and their distributaries irrigate of land. Normal annual rainfall is about.
The main crops are maize, wheat, rice, cotton soya bean and gram. Graphite, soapstone, dolomite, rock phosphate, limestone and a variety of marbles are mined in the region, with some deposits of gold found around Jagpura. About 20% of the area is designated as forested land, but most of the forest land is devoid of trees in the non-monsoon months.

Climate

Banswara has a tropical savanna climate, less extreme than that in the desert regions further north and north-west. The maximum temperature is, while the minimum temperature is. Normal annual rainfall is

Location

The Banswara district lies in the southernmost part of Rajasthan. It is surrounded by Pratapgarh in the north, Dungarpur in the west, Ratlam and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh in the east and south and Dahod district, Gujarat to the south.
The closest major city to Banswara is Udaipur which is away. Indore and Ahmedabad are also close, at and away respectively. The town is from New Delhi and from Mumbai.

Demographics

the census in India, Banswara city had a population of 101,177. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Banswara city had an average literacy rate of 86.98%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 92.76% of the males and 81.01% of females literate.

Government and politics

Civic administration

Banswara Municipal Board has been upgraded to Municipal council.

Civic utilities

Of the 1,431 villages, 1,219 villages were electrified up to 31 March 2000. For opening of one nuclear power plant, and two super critical thermal power plant & Railway line various proceedings of the state government are going on.
The Mahi River flows on the borders of Peepalkhoot and Ghatol and Banswara Panchayat Samitis. The Mahi project has the capacity to irrigate an area of 800 square kilometres.

Culture

Situated amidst the Aravali valley, Banswara represents tribal culture in Rajasthan. With a landscape predominated by bamboo trees the region came to be known as Banswara. Banswara town was founded by King Bansiya Bhil. The town has eleven and a half Swayambhoo Shivalingas; it was also called 'Lodhikashi' or little Kashi. Yet another name is "An Area of Hundred Islands". Situated in southern Rajasthan, the town borders Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Due to this inter-regional neighborhood, the Vagdi culture has emerged as a mixture of Gujarati, Malwi, Rajasthani and Mewari cultures. Banswara district is rich in forests, hills and wildlife. Tribals are the natives of this region.

Tourist attractions

Andheswar Parshwanathji

ji is situated on a hillock in Kushalgarh tehsil of Banswara district. This is a Jain temple housing rare Shilalekhs of the tenth century. We could find two Digamabara Jain Parshwanatha temples at this place. The main temple was built by Digamabar Jain Panchayat of Kushalgarh.

Anekant Bahubali Temple Lohariya

Anekant Bahubali Temple is situated in Banswara-Udaipur Road in Lohariya Tehsil Ghari of Banswara District. This Jain temple is known for the 27-foot Standing Statue of Lord Bahubali which is made of White Sangmarar. This Jain temple was made by the Inspiration of Digamber Acharya Shri 108 Bharat Sagarji maharaj here we can find many other temples of Jain Lords Like Panch Parmeshti Jinalay, Manvadi Sapt charan Rishi's Tample, Adinatha Jinalaya etc. Has situated in The Campus of temple.

Abdullah Pir

Abdullah Pir is a dargah of Sayedi Abdul Rasul Saheed, a Muslim saint and mostly visited by the Bohra Muslim community. Abdullah Pir is located in the southern part of the city. On 10th Rabi' al-Awwal, every year, "Urs" is held at the Dargah. The people of the Bohara community take part in it in large numbers.

Anand Sagar Lake

This artificial lake has been constructed by Lanchi Bai, the Rani of Maharval Jagami. It is also known as Bai Talab. Anand Sagar lake is located on the eastern part of Banswara. It is enclosed by the holy trees named "Kalpa Vriksha". Nearby lies the chattris or cenotaphs of the rulers of the state.

Arthuna

Arthuna, as well as its surrounding areas, have clusters of ruined Hindu and Jain temples belonging to the 11th, 12th and the 15th centuries. Among the ruins is a carved conjugated statue of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesh. Lankiya village around Arthuna has Shaivite temples called Nilkanth Mahadev Temples. The temple is an old stone temple having intricate carvings and sculpted figures of women embedded in the outer walls. The bull Nandi stands guard at the entrance in the temple porch.

Dailab Lake

is situated on Pratapgarh Road, civil lines. A "Harihar Maruti Dham" temple is situated near this lake. A popular place for devotees of Lord Hanuman during the day of Hanuman Jayanti.
In recent years water hyacinth has invaded whole lake which disappoints its visitors. Many steps have been taken to remove this weed but all have resulted in failure.

Madareshwar Temple

Banswara has a number of ancient Hindu and Jain temples, and in the past was known as Lodi Kashi or the city of temples. This temple of Lord Shiva is situated inside the natural cave of a high hill on the eastern part of the city. The cave temple provides an Amarnath Yatra like feeling to the pilgrims, due to its typical location.

Mahi Dam

Mahi Dam is one of the major attractions of Banswara. It is situated 16 kilometres from Banswara town. The dam was constructed between 1972 and 1983 under the Mahi Bajaj Sagar project, for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation and water supply.

Mangarh Dham

This is an important fair of the tribals and is held on Margshirsha Purnima. During this fair, the tribals of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat participate and they pay tribute to Guru Govindgiri, founder of the Samp Sabha.

Paraheada

Paraheada is located in the Garhi tehsil near gopi nath ka garha. It is a temple of Lord Shiva. Paraheada is 22 km from Banswara.
Shri Raj Mandir or more popularly known as the City Palace, was built in the 16th century and situated on a hillock overlooking the town. Covering a huge area it follows typical style of old Rajput architecture. Though lack of funds, has made many royal palaces of Rajasthan exchange hands with the government after Independence, this palace is still owned by the royal family.