Burhanpur

About:

Burhanpur is a town in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Burhanpur District. The town is exactly situated at 21.3° North and 76.23° E on the north bank of the Tapti River 310 miles (499 km) northeast of Mumbai. The average elevation of the town is 233 metres (764 feet). The statistics as per the 2001 India census record a population of 194,360. Males make up 51% of the population and females amount to 49%. The average literacy rate of the town is 64%, which is higher than the nationwide standard of 59.5%. The male literacy and the female literacy is respectively 69% and 57%. Children less than 6 years of age constitute 15% of the population.

The district of Burhanpur was created from East Nimar district and was declared a separate district on 15th August 2003 with its head quarters located at Burhanpur town. The district is situated in Tapti valley. It touches the northern border of Maharashtra. The district is divided from Khandwa on the north by the Satpura Range.

Burhanpur district finds a prominent position in medieval history. The town was used by Moghuls to control south India. It is situated at the Bank of Tapti river. Asirgarh fort was known as "Dakhkhan ka darwaza". Without wining this fort it was impossible to have control on southern India.

Burhanpur is a town in Madhya Pradesh state, India. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River 310 miles (499 km) northeast of Mumbai. The town is named after sufi saint Burhanuddin Gharib of Khuldabad.

Burhanpur is well known for its Muslim Burhanpur,Madhya Pradesh-Dargah-e-haquimimonuments, Gurudwara of Sikh Religion and the Dargah-e-hakimi of Bohra sect. Being the seat of viceroys, the city bore testimony to many events of great historic importance.Burhanpur is globally famous for its fine cloth manufacturing, gold wire drawing and other allied industries and crafts. One of the important places of tourist interest is the historical Gurudwara of Burhanpur. The place is regarded as a significant pilgrimage of Khalsa sect. The First and the Last Guru, Guru Nanak Devji & Guru Govind Singhji Maharaj of Khalsa sect had come to this place. Guru Nanak Devji visited the Gurudwara located at the bank of Tapti River (RajGhat).

Guru Nanak Devji also left his signature on the holy Guru Grantha Sahib.Burhanpur,Madhya Pradesh-Gurudwra In this place one can visit the weapons and Guru Grantha Sahib of Guru Govind Singh Ji Maharaj.The Gurudwara is about 400 years old and counted with the Anandpur (Punjab), Patna (Bihar) and Nanded (Maharastra) pilgrimage of sikhs. The monument of Ahukhana is positioned in front of Royal fort in Zainabad. The place was famous as a royal leisure pavilion during the Mughal time. It is a landmark of Mughal architecture. The body of Mumtaj Mahal was buried at this place for six months. Another tourist spot is Khuni Burhanpur,Madhya Pradesh-khuni bhandaraBhandara, which is in fact a system of water works constructed by the Mughal rulers to supply water to this populous city. These water works are samples of matchless construction method and may be counted as one of the glorious relics of the Mughal engineering resourcefulness and skill. Then there is the Dargah-e-Hakimi located at Lodhipura village at a distance of 2 Kms away from Burhanpur town. It is constructed in the memory of Quamili Saiyyadi & moula-e-bava Abdul Quadir Hakimm-ud-din. Lots of pilgrims of Bohra sect visit the place from all over the world.The Royal Hammam Monument is positioned in the Faruqui fort. The monument was built by Shah-Jahan, the Mughal Emperor. In the center of the monument there is a octagonal bath place. The bath place was linked with the water system of Khuni Bhandara. The ceiling of the monument is adorned with colourful Mughal Paintings. Rajghat has a famous Gurudwara and also the Lal Deval Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

About five hour’s drive from Indore is Burhanpur town towards the south of Madhya Pradesh. The town was established as far back as 1406-7 by Badshah Nasiruddin Faroqui as part of his kingdom, Khandesh. All throughout history this town, especially the nearby fort Asirgarh, remained important strategically, being the last bastion before the Deccan.

Location info:

Climate/Weather:

Throughout the month of April daytime temperatures will generally reach highs of around 41°C that's about 106°F. At night the average minimum temperature drops down to around 24°C, that's 76°F.

In recent times the highest recorded temperature in April has been 45°C that's 112°F, with the lowest recorded temperature 19°C, about 67°F.The average daily relative humidity for April is around 27%.

The Heat Index is a measure of how hot it feels when relatively humidity is added to actual air temperature. From this a comfort level is calculated providing categories on how heat conditions might adversely affect someone.The average daily wind speed in April has been around 3 kph, that’s the equivalent to about 2 mph, or 1 knots. In recent years the maximum sustained wind speed has reached 44 kph, that’s the equivalent of around 28 mph, or 24 knots.

History of Burhanpur:

The history of the Burhanpur District goes thus. In 1536 A.D., the Mughal Emperor Humayun, after his conquest of Gujarat, came to Burhanpur District and Asirgarh via Baroda, Broach (Bharuch) and Surat. At that time Raja Ali Khan, was asked to surrender to Akbar, when the latter had sent an expedition to Khandesh, in the summer of 1577 A.D. Raja Ali Khan gave away his royal title of Shah and accepted the dominion of Akbar. This marked an age in the Deccan policy of the Mughals, for Khandesh was used as a foundation for the future Conquest of Deccan. Raja Ali Khan constructed many buildings like Jama Masjid in the upper portion of the fort of Asir in 1588 A.D., Jama Masjid at Burhanpur District in 1590 A.D., Idgah at Asir, mausoleums & Serai at Burhanpur and Serai & Mosque at Zainabad. However, Bahadur Khan (1596-1600 A.D.) successor of Raja Ali Khan affirmed his independence and declined to pay homage to Akbar and his son Prince Daniyal, which enraged Akbar, who marched towards the Burhanpur District in 1599 and occupied the city of Burhunpur without any opposition on 8th April 1600 A.D. Prince Khurram was designated as the Governor of the Deccan in 1617 AD, by Jahangir to succeed Prince Parviz, and was bestowed the title of Shah by Jahangir. After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Shah Jahan ascended the throne of Mughal Empire. Due to atrocities in the Deccan, he reached the present day Burhanpur District on the 1st March 1630, where he stayed for the next two years, conducting operations against Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golkunda. On 6th March 1632, Shah Jahan left Burhanpur for the north, after assigning Mahabat Khan as the viceroy of the Deccan. Going through modern history, it can be found that the Burhanpur district was affected by the Great Uprising of 1857 against the British rule, which also spread over the rest of the country. The district was also greatly affected by the Non-Co-operation movement, the Civil Disobedience movement, the Quit India Movement and the like from the close of the 18th century till 15th August 1947.

From the mid 16th Century to the early 18th century, the Nimar region (including Burhanpur, East Nimar,West Nimar Barwani District), was under the rule/impact of Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah (Mughals), Peshwas, Sindhia, Holkar & Pawar (Marathas ), Pindaris etc. Later from early part of the mid 18th century, the management of the Nimar region came under the British.

The Burhanpur district did not remain unaffected by the Great Uprising of 1857, which swept the country, against the British rule. In connection with the so called Riots of 1857, Tatya Tope had gone through the region of Nimar and before marching out of the region, burnt the police stations and Govt. buildings at Khandwa, Piplod and a number of other places and escaped again to central India by way of Khargone.

The Burhanpur district was greatly affected with the beginning of freedom movement, Non-Co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience movement, Quit India Movement etc., to obtain the Independence of the Motherland India, from late 18th century till 15th August 1947. During this time Near by District Khandwa was visited by Swami Dayanad Saraswati of Arya Samaj fame, Swami Vivekanand,the great monk & founder of Ramkrishna Mission, Mahatma Gandhiji in 1921, Lokmanya Tilak etc.

Young Nationalists of the Nimar Region, like Haridas Chatterjee, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Thakur Laxman Singh, Abdul Quadir Siddique has attended the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1917. Tilak has visited Khandwa during his whirl-wind tour to central province in 1918. The district did not fail to make its contribution in non-co-operative movement. Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 has also been participated by many people of the district. Editor of swarajya S.M.Agarkar was also arrested and imprisoned. Nav Jawan Sabha was established at Khandwa in 1931. Students had also participated in this movement.

In 1399, Malik Nasir Khan, the Faruqi dynasty Sultan of Khandesh founded Burhanpur city at the behest of Shaikh Zainuddin and named it after a well known medieval sufi saint, Burhan-ud-Din.[4] Burhanpur became the capital of the Khandesh sultanate. Later, Miran Adil Khan II (reigned 1457-1501), another sultan of this dynasty built a citadel and a number of palaces in Burhanpur.[5] During his long reign, Burhanpur was transformed to a major centre for trade and textile production. In 1601, Mughal emperor Akbar annexed the Khandesh sultanate and Burhanpur became tha capital of Khandesh Subah of the Mughal empire.

Also, It is a beautiful city with a lot of historical monuments existing in its expanse, primarily from the ruling times of Shah Jahan, the great Mughal emperor. A fact unaware about Burhanpur is that Mumtaz Mahal took her last breath in this city and her original grave still lies on the banks of Tapti river.

Burhanpur is also famous for Dargaah-e-Hakimi of Dawoodi Bohra community, incidentally the leader of the community also shares "Burhannuddin" in his name viz. Dr.Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS). Dargaah-e-Hakimi is one of the best Dawoodi Bohra mausoleum complex in India.

Prince Khurram was nominated as the Governor of the Deccan in 1617 AD, by Jahangir to succeed Prince Parviz, and was bestowed the title of Shah by Jahangir. Khurram led the Mughal army to a peaceful victory by which Jahangir was pleased with his success & conferred him the title of Shah Jahan on 12th October, 1617 AD. After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Shah Jahan ascended the throne of Mughal empire. Due to troubled conditions in the Deccan, he reached Burhanpur (Deccan) on the 1st March 1630, where he stayed for the following two years, conducting operations against Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golkunda. On 7th June 1631, Shah Jahan lost his beloved & favourite wife Mumtaz Mahall at Burhanpur, and her body was buried at first in the Garden of Zainabad, across the river Tapti. Early in December of the same year (1631 AD), the remains of her body were sent to Agra. Later on 6th March 1632, Shah Jahan left Burhanpur for the north, after appointing Mahabat Khan as the viceroy of the Deccan.

Educational Institutions in Sagar:

University of Sagar was the first university to be established in Madhya Pradesh, and the 18th university of India. A precursor to this university was established well before Indian independence. Situated on top of hills overlooking the town it has an extensively large UTD Campus. Sagar also has a Government Engineering College and its very own Sagar Medical College to train doctors and nurses. The city has a very good schooling system, including St. Joseph's Convent School, Vatsalya public school, Government Higher Secondary School, Kendriya Vidyalaya,Deepak Memorial school , Arya Kanya Vidyalaya, Saraswati Shishu Mandir. Sagar also has various technical colleges such as Gyanveer College, where students can pursue technical skills education. The Chimes Aviation Academy is located in Dhana which is about 12 km from Sagar and is one of the best aviation training institutions present in the country. Sagar is also importnant for the biodiversity it harbours. The small forests around Sagar university are home of varied flora and fauna. Snakes, in particular, find ideal habitat here.

Langauge:

Culture:

The Burhanpur District is a district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in the central part of the Indian subcontinent. The town of Burhanpur is the district headquarters. The Burhanpur District came into being on August 15, 2003, from the southern portion of the Khandwa District. The Tapti River flows through the district from east to west. The Satpura Range divides the district into the Khandwa District on the north, which is also the demarcating line between the Narmada River valley and the valley of the Tapti. There is a pass through the Satpuras that links Burhanpur and Khandwa. This pass is one of the main routes linking northern and southern India. The pass has the Asirgarh fortress, which is also known as the "Key to the Deccan". The district consists of 2 Development Blocks, namely Burhanpur (73 Panchayats) and Khaknar( 86 Panchayats). The three tehsils are Burhanpur, Khaknar and Nepanagar.

As of 2001India census, Burhanpur had a population of 194,360. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Burhanpur has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 69% and female literacy of 57%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Projected population for next census (2011) is 300000. Burhanpur is one of the top 10 cities in state of Madhya Pradesh.

Burhanpur District is a famous for medieval History. Burhanpur town was used by Moghuls to control south India. It is situated at the Bank of Tapti River. Asirgarh fort was known as "Dakhkhan ka darwaza" . without wining this fort it was impossible to have control on southern india. Maharastra Border touches the District. Nepa news Print mill is situated in this District.Approximatly 40% population of the city are Marathi(Kshtriya Maratha,Kunbi Maratha,Mali,Vani,Bramhin,Harijan,etc.), 35% are Muslims, 10% Gujrathi, and remaining 15% are Bohara,Sindhi,Sikh,Jain and others.

The City Burhanpur is famous for its Muslim monuments,Gurudwara of Sikhk Religion, Dargah-e-hakimi of Bohra sect. The city is the witness of many events of great historic importance. Being the seat of viceroys, the city was greatly extended and embellished. Burhanpur was internationally famous for its fine cloth manufacturing, Gold-wire drawing and other allied industries and crafts.

How to reach Burhanpur?

Nearest Railway Station:

Indore is connected to Mumbai and Delhi through extensive and frequent express and super-fast trains.

Nearest Airport:

Airport at Indore has flights to all the major cities in India.

Road Transport:Sagar Bus Station

Bus services from Bhopal and Ujjain is available up to Indore. Since Burhanpur is situated on the National Highway, it will be best to drive down from Indore in a bus or a hired car or taxi. The nearest town is Khandwa.

Burhanpur is on the NH3. The best thing to do to get here is to hire a car in Indore and drive down the Barhawa-Omkareshwar-Khandwa route. There are also frequent state transport buses from Indore which come here. Alternatively you could come to the nearest town Khandwa and drive down for a day'

Burhanpur can be easily approached by taking any of the three modes of transport. However, tourists are advised to travel Burhanpur via Indore.

Tourist Attraction of Burhanpur:

Shahi Jama Masjid:
Masjid in Burhanpur One of the many mosques built here by the rulers of the Faroqui dynasty. The story goes that at one time, most of the population of Burhanpur lived to the North. So in 1421 Azam Humayun, one of Faroquis, built a mosque here in Etwara for his queen Ruqiaya called Bibi Ki Masjid, the very first Jama Masjid of this place.
Now Jama Masjids are usually built in the most populace parts of the towns, where everybody can have easy access to them. Ideally there should be only one Jama Masjid in every town.

Another Jama Masjid- Constructed In The Center of The Town:
However as the city grew and the people spread everywhere, they came to realize the impossibility of reaching a mosque at one end of the city. They needn't have worried.
The ruler Adil Shah Faroqui solved the whole problem by simply building another Jama Masjid in the heart of the city. It built so that people from all over the city could reach it conveniently for the prayers.

The Interior Layout of The Mosque:
The mosque is modeled on the Jama Masjid in Delhi. The entrance is toward the east and the doors here date from the time of Jahangir. Originally these doors were 12 foot tall, which, some felt, was a bit of a tight fit for the mosque.
In 1898 the Begum of Bhopal Sikander Jahan Sahiba on way to Bombay stopped here for a brief stay and saw the mosque. She got another gateway built here, a little ahead of the original doors – this time 24 feet high, stone, with delicate carvings.

Coming ahead of the main door you can see 22 huzras (meditation seats). These were built here by a Subedar Mirza Abdul Rahim Khan Khana under the supervision of Hazrat Mir Nomaan Nakshabandi who was the Imam (head priest) of the mosque at that time. A little further on are a few mazaars (literally graves of saints; these are worshipped) of the generations of mosque priests.

Towards the south of these mazaars are two huge hauzs (literally, artificial water pools; these are used by devout Muslims to perform the ritual washing of the hands and feet before prayers). The water to these hauzs used to be supplied by underground passages from the Lalbagh (see below, Lalbagh). Nowadays, of course, the tap does the trick.

Minars (Tower) of Mosque:
The identical minars (tower) of the mosque are quite a feature. At about 130 feet tall they loom all over the mosque. You can climb up right to the top by the spiral stairways.
These minars are believed to be much taller than those of the Jama Masjid in Delhi. The view from up there is literally something else – especially if you have a problem of vertigo.
The mosque itself is quite a building – it is 149 foot tall and 52 feet wide. So naturally, about 70 pillars support it. The huge hall of the mosque can hold as many as 500 people easily. Towards the west of the mosque on the wall are about 15 mehraabs (prayer alcoves) which have some exquisite carvings on them. The pillar in the middle of the prayer hall has some serpentine Arabic calligraphy on it. It is still in use and Janab Akram Bukhari is the present Imam of the mosque.

Asirgarh:
Set in the Satpura Hills at the altitude of 750m, about 20 km from Burhanpur is the once-important fortress of Asirgarh.
Unfortunately, it's mostly ruins now and there's nothing much left of its colourful and glorious past. In better days it used to be called Baab-e-dakhan (the doorway to Deccan) a much sought-after prize back then.
A victory over this fortress meant the kingdom of Khandesh, which in turn meant a smooth road to Deccan. What made it much more fun was that it was supposed to have been an impregnable fortress.

The who and when of the fort is not known – which of course leaves it wide open to be associated with the Mahabharata and Ramayana. In India attempts are made to link literally any and everything with the two epics.

Myth Associated With The Fort:
As far as this fort is concerned, myth associates it with the with the son of the legendary Guru of Mahabharata Dronacharya, Asawathama – at best a minor character in the epic and even then this is most probably mere wishful thinking. Interestingly, in Burhanpur, near the Gupteshwar Mandir is a tunnel, which links to Asirgarh.

Tradition has it that during auspicious occasions Aswathama used to come to here to bathe in the Tapti river, pray in the temple and then disappear back to his fortress.
Well, if the Mahabharata is here the Ramayana can't be far behind and there are other stories which link Asirgarh to it. Even today many amateur and serious historians are working at cracking the mystery that Asirgarh hugs so dearly to itself – that of its birth.

Shahi QilaThe Successive Conquering of The Fort:
After a lot of confusion the ownership of the fort becomes settled when it came into the hands of Adil Shah Farouqui. After him the fort passed on to his successor Bahadur Shah Faroqui. This Bahadur Shah had a reputation of not being a very farsighted king.
and as soon as Akbar, that time the Mughal emperor of India, came to know of this he dispatched an army for here at a rare rate of knots.
Foresight or no foresight as soon as Bahadur Shah got the wind of Akbar's plans he too proceeded swiftly and fortified his fortress. Consequently, the armies of the Mughal emperor was stuck here laying siege to the fort for almost 10 years.

It is evidence of how well-stocked the fortress was that during that time the people inside had provision enough not to need anything from outside. Every attempt to take the fort was repulsed by the soldiers of the Shah.
Finally sick of the battle, Akbar one day called Bahadir Shah to his camp for a meeting and there had him summarily dispatched to happy hunting grounds above.
When the dying king accused Akbar of treachery, the emperor replied with that age-old lesson, "Everything is fair in Politics and government." So all those who said Bahadur Shah lacked foresight were proved right after all.

Finally Akbar Captured The Fort:
Then Akbar showered gold and silver on Bahadur Shah's generals and won his way through to the fort. Finally on January 17, 1609 Akbar became the lord of the Asirgarh fort. Since then the fort remained in the able hands of the Mughals; till there were Mughals of course.
There are a whole bunch of other stories like that. Unfortunately nothing remains here now of all that charming history. There's just a mosque left here now.

Shahi Qila:
On the eastern side of the Tapti River is the Shahi Qila. However, not much of it remains today.
At one time Shah Jahan, when he was the governor of Burhanpur, had lived in this palace. and he loved the place so much that after ascending the throne he established a court here for first three years.
His wife the famous Mumtaz Mahal (of the Taj Mahal) died here in childbirth. Don't go exploring the palace alone because it is very confusing and locals call it bhulbhulaya (labyrinth). There are some parts of the palace still standing which display some exquisite carving.

ShahJahani Hamam:
The Shahi Hammam is situated bang next to the Qila. Surprisingly it is quite intact. It has three rooms and assorted baths which are in good shape. The eight-faceted hauz in the middle is quite a work of art.

Ahukhana:
The Ahukhana was the hunting lodge of the Faroqui kings. In 1609 AD, when Akbar took over the fort he stationed Prince Daniyel here, who was very fond of hunting. Daniyel did a lot of beautifying around the Ahukhana, adding the hauz, gardens and so on.
There's also a garden here which is associated with Shah Jahan's daughter Alamara, called Bagh-I-Alamara. The Ahukhana is in quite good shape.

Mirza Raja Jaisingh Ki Chattri:
About 5km from Burhanpur, at the meeting spot of the river Tapti and Mohana is this cenotaph. This charming little edifice has pretty gumbazs (round roofs) and 32 decorated pillars. It is dedicate dto Kachawaha king Raja Jaisingh.

Akbari Sarai:
This resting house (sarai) was built by Abdul Rahim Khan Khana was appointed as the subedar of Khandesh by the Mughals. During the time of Jahangir, an ambassador of the English King James I, Sir Thomas Roe had come to India, he was put up in this sarai. The main door of the sarai is about 90 feet tall and is built of black stone. There are about 400 rooms in thos place which are in quite good shape.

Mahal Gulara:
21km from Burhanpur, this palace is on the Amravati road. When Shah Jahan was the governor of this area he had fell in love with a danseuse called Gulara. and he did not stop at that, he married her and set her up in this palace, hence the name. The Mahal Gulara is actually two palaces joined by a charming pathway. The palace is in fragile condition and is under ASI's protection which keeps repairing it from time to time.

Bibi ki Masjid:
This is the mosque mentioned earlier in the Shahi Mosque. It is skillfully decorated all over by Persian and Arabic calligraphy. There were two towers in the mosques, one of which have collapsed.

Begam Shahshuja's cenotaph:
When the Mughals established their control in this area, lots of Mughal princes and of course their queens started frequenting the Burhanpur.
During Shah Jahan's reign, one of his queens Shah Shuja came visitng this place, while the king was in Kashmir. She died here in childbirth; quite a déjà vu for Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan got this built in her memory. The cenotaph is built on a 5-foot high platform. The artistic carvings on the cenotaph are still visible. Near the cenotaph is a small mosque called the Kanati Masjid.

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation in Burhanpur: