Bikaner
Bikaner is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated approximately northwest of the state capital, Jaipur, in the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan. Bikaner serves as the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of the princely Bikaner State, the city was founded in 1488 CE by Rao Bika, a Rajput chief of the Rathore dynasty. From its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganga Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development.
Etymology
The name "Bikaner" is a combination of two elements: "Bika", derived from the city's founder, Rao Bika and "Ner", which is believed to mean "place" or "city" in the local Rajasthani language. Hence, "Bikaner" translates to "the city of Bika".History
Prior to the mid 15th century, the region that is now Bikaner was a barren wilderness called Jangladesh.Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner in 1488. He was the first son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathore clan, the founder of Jodhpur and conquered the largely arid country in the north of Rajasthan. As the first son of Jodha he wanted to have his own kingdom, not inheriting Jodhpur from his father or the title of Maharaja. He therefore decided to build his own kingdom in what is now the state of Bikaner, in the area of Jangladesh. Though it was in the Thar Desert, Bikaner was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast as it had adequate spring water. Bika's name was attached to the city he built and to the state of Bikaner that he established. Bika built a fort in 1478, which is now in ruins, and a hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre, known as the Junagarh Fort.
Around a century after Rao Bika founded Bikaner, the state's fortunes flourished under the sixth Raja, Rai Singhji, who ruled from 1571 to 1611. During the Mughal Empire's rule in the country, Raja Rai Singh accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals and held a high rank as an army general at the court of the Emperor Akbar and his son, the Emperor Jahangir. Rai Singh's successful military exploits, which involved winning half of Mewar kingdom for the Empire, won him accolades and rewards from the Mughal emperors. He was given the jagirs of Gujarat and Burhanpur. With the large revenue earned from these jagirs, he built the Chintamani Durg on a plain that has an average elevation of. He was an expert in arts and architecture, and the knowledge he acquired during his visits abroad is amply reflected in the numerous monuments he built at the Junagarh fort.
Maharaja Karan Singh, who ruled from 1631 to 1639, under the suzerainty of the Mughals, built the Karan Mahal palace. Later rulers added more floors and decorations to this Mahal. Anup Singh, who ruled from 1669 to 1698, made substantial additions to the fort complex, including new palaces and the Zenana quarter, a royal dwelling for women and children. He refurbished the Karan Mahal with a Diwan-i-Am and called it the Anup Mahal. Maharaja Gaj Singh, who ruled from 1746 to 1787 refurbished the Chandra Mahal.
During the 18th century, there was an internecine war between the rulers of Bikaner and Jodhpur and also among other thakurs, which was put down by British troops.
Following Maharaja Gaj Singh, Maharaja Surat Singh ruled from 1787 to 1828 and lavishly decorated the audience hall with glass and lively paintwork. Under a treaty of paramountcy signed in 1818, during Maharaja Surat Singh's reign, Bikaner came under the suzerainty of the British, after which the Maharajas of Bikaner invested heavily in refurbishing Junagarh fort.
Dungar Singh, who reigned from 1872 to 1887, built the Badal Mahal, the 'weather palace', so named in view of a painting of clouds and falling rain, a rare event in arid Bikaner.
General Maharaja Ganga Singh, who ruled from 1887 to 1943, was the best-known of the Rajasthan princes and was a favourite of the British Viceroys of India. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India, served as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, represented India at the Imperial Conferences during the First World War and the British Empire at the Versailles Peace Conference. His contribution to the building activity in Junagarh involved separate halls for public and private audiences in the Ganga Mahal and a durbar hall for formal functions. He also built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, the third of the new palaces built in Bikaner. He named the building Lalgarh Palace in honour of his father, and moved his main residence there from Junagarh Fort in 1902. The hall where he held his Golden Jubilee as Bikaner's ruler is now a museum.
Ganga Singh's son, Lieutenant-General Sir Sadul Singh, the Yuvaraja of Bikaner, succeeded his father as Maharaja in 1943, but acceded his state to the Union of India in 1949. Maharaja Sadul Singh died in 1950, being succeeded in the title by his son, Karni Singh. The royal family of Bikaner still lives in a suite in Lalgarh Palace, which they have converted into a heritage hotel.
Geography
Climate
Bikaner is situated in the middle of the Thar Desert and has a hot desert climate, with very infrequent monsoonal rainfall and extreme temperatures. In summer temperatures can exceed, and during the winter they may dip below freezing.The climate in Bikaner is characterised by significant variations in temperature. In the summer season it is very hot when the temperatures lie in the range of. In the winter, it is fairly cold with temperatures lying in the range of. Annual rainfall is around, but occurs on a handful of days and even in these rain falls for an average total of fewer than thirty hours each year. Rainfall is also confined almost entirely to the monsoon from June to September and is extremely variable from year to year: only fell in 1899, but as much as in 1945. The highest ever temperature recorded is on 19 May 2016 and lowest ever recorded is on 26 January 1964.
Wildlife
A variety of birds, mammals and reptiles live in Bikaner's semi-arid climate. Initiatives are being taken to bring back the number of vultures which have dwindled. There are around 600 resident vultures at Jorbeer. The region is host to another 1,200 migratory vultures. Local varieties include Egyptian and King Vultures. The most common migratory vulture is Eurasian Griffon coming from Spain and Turkey. Other migratory vultures include Cinereous and Himalayan Griffons.Saw-scaled Viper is also native to Bikaner.
Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary is located 32 km west of the Bikaner.
Demographics
the population of Bikaner city was 644,406 placing it in the top 70 major cities of India and 5th in Rajasthan. The female to male ratio in the city was 904/1,000. The literacy rate in the city was about 79%, male literacy being 87% and female literacy being 71%.The majority of the population of the city follows Hinduism, with followers of Islam a large minority. The city has a substantial followers of Jainism.
Rajasthani is the major language spoken here, while Hindi is the significant minority. There are also small communities of Marwari and Punjabi speakers residing in Bikaner.
Administration
Municipal finance
The Bikaner Municipal Corporation oversees local taxation, service delivery, and financial management for the city, including budgeting and accounting. Bikaner Municipal Corporation’s revenue comprises a mix of own-source revenue, such as property tax, user charges, and rental income; assigned revenues ; grants from the central and state governments.According to data published on the CityFinance portal, maintained by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Bikaner Municipal Corporation’s total revenue increased from ₹67 crore in 2020–21 to ₹115 crore in 2022–23, representing a 72% growth. In FY 2022-23, own-source revenue contributed approximately 17% of the city’s total revenue. Key financial indicators for recent fiscal years are summarised below.
All figures are in crore rupees
| Year | Total Tax Revenue | Total Own Revenue | Assigned Revenue | Total Grant | Total Revenue | Total Expenditure | Total Balance Sheet Size |
| 2022–23 | 3 | 15 | 95.5 | 0.61 | 115 | 99 | 295 |
| 2021–22 | 2 | 9 | 59.71 | – | 72 | 96 | 285 |
| 2020–21 | 3 | 7 | 54.28 | 0.11 | 67 | 71 | 294 |
Source: Data submitted by the Bikaner Municipal Corporation and available under the Balance Sheet and Income Statement sections on the CityFinance portal of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Cuisine
The city is famous for its savoury snack Bikaneri bhujia and also have geographical indication tag to keep its originality intact. Other special food items for which Bikaner is well known are Bajre ki Roti, Dal baati Churma, Ghevar, Halvas, Papads/Papadum, Rasgulla, Gulab Jamun, Kachori and Samosa.Haldiram's, a multinational snacks and sweets company was founded by Ganga Bishan Agarwal of Bikaner. The Agarwal family also own other brands like Bikaji, Bikanervala, Bikano and Prabhuji.