Moradabad
Moradabad is an industrial city, police commissionerate and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is on the banks of the Ramganga river, from the national capital, New Delhi and 356 km north-west of the state capital, Lucknow. Based on the 2011 census, it is the tenth most populous city in the state and 54th most populous city in the country. It is one of the largest cities in the Western UP region, and a hub for employment, education, industry, culture and administration.
The city is sometimes called Pital Nagri for its brass handicrafts, which are exported across the world. In the last few decades it has started emerging as a hub for working in other metals also, including aluminium, steel, and iron. In October 2014, financial daily Livemint included Moradabad in its list of "25 emerging cities to watch out for in 2025".
Moradabad is also among the 100 smart cities being modernised under the National Smart Cities Mission of the Union Government of India.
During its four centuries of existence, the city has gone through multiple regime changes. It was firstly a part of the Delhi Sultanate, then flourished under the Mughal Empire, then was annexed into the Kingdom of Rohilkhand in 1742, and then came under the control of Oudh State in 1774 after the fall of Rohillas in the First Rohilla War. Finally, it was ceded to the British East India Company by the Nawab of Oudh in 1801. In the early 19th century, the British divided the Rohilkhand area into the Rampur State and two districts: the Bareilly and Moradabad districts. The city of Moradabad then became the headquarters of the latter.
Moradabad was connected with railway lines during the latter half of the nineteenth century. A line connecting Moradabad to Chandausi was built in 1872 and it was continued up to Bareilly in 1873. The Bareilly-Moradabad chord via Rampur was completed in 1894, which was extended to Saharanpur in 1886. A branch line to Aligarh via Chandausi was opened in 1894, while Moradabad was linked to Ghaziabad in 1900. It is also the divisional headquarter of the Moradabad division of Northern Railway.
Etymology
The settlement was founded by Rustam Khan, the governor of Katehar under the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Moradabad is named after prince Murad Bakhsh, the youngest son of the emperor. It was originally known as Chaupala and was a part of the Katehar region, before falling to Mughal governor Rustam Khan Dakhani in 1624, who changed its name to Rustamnagar after himself.The name Rustamnagar, however, was short-lived. Shah Jahan called Rustam Khan to his court and demanded an explanation for why he had exceeded his orders. In an attempt to placate the emperor, Rustam Khan named the city Muradabad in honour of the young prince, Murad Bakhsh. The emperor was satisfied and permitted Rustam Khan to remain in charge of the new city, which replaced Sambhal as the Mughal governors' capital of the Katehar region, and the names Muradabad or Moradabad have remained.
History
Delhi Sultanate era (12th century–16th century)
Moradabad was originally part of the Katehr region, and was a stronghold of the Katheria Rajputs. The Katherias were known for insurrections and surprise attacks against their Muslim rulers, and because of that the rulers often attacked and plundered the region. Between 1200 and 1424 several attacks were made on the region by rulers of different dynasties under the Delhi Sultanate, each intending to destroy it and kill the inhabitants. Katheria Rajputs survived by hiding in the jungles. The cycle of violence ended only in 1424 when Khizr Khan, the leader of the Khalji dynasty ruling over the region, died and Har Singh, a leader of the Katherias, agreed to be subject to rule by the Delhi sultanate. The region remained largely in peace for the next two hundred years.Mughal empire (1539–1742)
In 1530, the Katehr region came under the control of the Mughal emperor Humayun and was then conquered by Sher Shah Suri of Sur Empire. It remained under the Sur empire for 16 years before being reconquered by Humayun.Under the Mughal Empire, Moradabad city was known as Chaupala, and was part of the Mugalpura pargana, which in turn was part of the sarkar of Sambhal as per Ain-i-Akbari. It produced a revenue of 1,340,812 dams for the imperial treasury and provided a force of five hundred infantry and a hundred cavalry to the Mughal army.
In 1624, a Katheria leader of Rampur, Raja Ram Singh, invaded the Tarai region. The raja of Kumaon Kingdom complained about it to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who sent his general and governor of Sambhal district Rustam Khan Dakhani to deal with the disturbance. Rustam Khan captured Chaupala, put Ram Singh to death, and refounded the city as Rustamnagar. He built a fort and mosque on the banks of Ramganga river, and shifted the capital from Sambhal to the new city. It was the first Jama Masjid to be built on the banks of a river, and is still there, with an inscription dated to 1632.
Shah Jahan, however, was displeased with the actions of Rustam Khan. He summoned Rustam to his darbar and asked him why he had exceeded the instructions of the emperor and what name he had given to the new city. Rustam Khan sensed the mood of the emperor, and said that the name Muradabad honoured prince Murad Bakhsh, a son of Shah Jahan. The emperor was satisfied and allowed Rustam Khan to remain in charge of the city.
Rohilkhand state (1742–1774)
In the 1730s, people from a number of Afghan tribes, collectively known as Rohillas, were fleeing Afghanistan due to Nader Shah's invasion. They arrived in large numbers and settled in all parts of the Katehr region, including Moradabad. One of them, Ali Mohammed Khan, acquired considerable estate in the region and attained the status of Nawab under the protection of Moradabad's Mughal governor Sheikh Azmatullah. Under the protection of the Mughal empire in 1742, he then founded the Ruhelkhand state, consisting of the Moradabad district as well as Bareilly, Rampur, and Amroha. The region largely prospered under Rohillas despite the invasions of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marathas. However, in their final invasion Marathas plundered and ravaged the city of Sambhal and Moradabad.Oudh state (1774–1801)
The Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daula, promised the Rohillas that he would drive the Marathas out of the Rohilkhand region in exchange for a sum of Rs. 40 lakhs. He kept his part of the promise, but the Rohillas did not make the payment. The Nawab of Oudh then staked a claim to the entire Rohilkhand region, and started occupying its cities and bringing Rohilla leaders under his influence, including the governors of Moradabad. He defeated the Rohilla leader Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech in the battle of Miranpur Katra, putting an end to the Rohilkhand state and bringing all of its territory, including Moradabad, under Oudh rule in 1774. By that time, Moradabad was already devastated because of the Maratha invasion, and under Oudh rule its condition deteriorated further.British Empire (1801–1947)
Oudh state had incurred significant debts from the British empire by maintaining British troops in their dominion for the purpose of security from invaders. Since it was unable to pay those debts, in 1801 the Oudh state ceded the entire Rohilkhand region to the British empire. The already deteriorated economic condition of the city worsened further under British rule because of their ignorance of the landholding class of the city. Their policies neglected existing landowners and tried to create a new landholding class through a bidding system. The landholders used force to protect their lands.For ordinary people, average income and wages almost halved. The discontent this produced led to the rebellion against British rule in 1857.
The Rebellion of 1857
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, British officers were forced out of the city and the rebels formed an alternative government. Unlike other places where rebelling was largely limited to sepoys and a few unsocial elements, in Moradabad both landowners and ordinary people supported the rebellion because of the repressive policies of the British rule.On 15 May 1857, a battle took place between the rebel sepoys of 20th Native Infantry and the forces of 29th Native Infantry led by John Cracroft Wilson. One sepoy was killed, while eight were captured and taken prisoners. Three days later on 19 May the rebellion spread to the 29th Native Infantry; the district jail was broken into and 170 prisoners and rebel sepoys escaped.
On 8 May the news of Mutiny in Bareilly came to the city, and its effect was instantaneous: "the sepoys of 29th Native Infantry overtook the British treasury and challenged their English officers". The British officers and their family members had to escape to the valleys of Nainital district, and those who did not were killed. Nawab Majju Khan, a leader of the rebels and a descendant of Sheikh Azmatullah, became the new governor of Moradabad. He was overthrown on 23 June by Asad Ali Khan, the uncle of Rampur's Yusef Ali Khan, who supported the British. But despite having appointed his uncle in charge of the city Nawab Rampur had little control over the state of affairs in the city as there was a feeling of resentment and anger among the public against the British and their supporters. Violence and anarchy continued in the city.
A year later, the British Army returned to the city on 21 April 1858, with a bigger force, and started capturing the freedom fighters. Those who were captured were killed in brutal ways to terrorize the public. They were shot dead, hanged, and many were thrown alive into lime furnaces. Nawab Majju Khan was captured and shot dead, with his body hanged on a Tamarind tree in Galshaheed area. On April 30, 1858, the British rule over Moradabad was re-established.