Alwar

City Place

Introduction
The history behind the origin of name ‘Alwar’ is differently stated by different research scholars. In the words of Cunningham the district derived its name from salwa tribe originally known as Salwapur, then Salwar, then Halwar and finally Alwar. According to another research unit its name was Aravalpur or the city of Aravalli, as the aravalli hills dividing the state in third and two third.

Some others believe that the city is named after Alaval Khan Mewati. According to the research team constituted during the rule of Maharaja Jey Singh of Alwar, states that during the eleventh century the area was under the dominance of Maharaja Alaghraj, who was the second son of Maharaja Kakil of Amer expanded the territories of his region upto the present city Alwar.

He invaded the city of Alpur  in 1106 Vikrami samvat(1049 A.D.) and the city was named as Alwar after his name.  Earlier it was pronounced as Ulwar and during the rule of Maharaja Jey Singh it was changed into today’s Alwar.

The district is located in the north eastern part of the state at longitude of 27.4^o  NE, latitude 76.9^o East and  altitude 268 metres  above sea level. The total geographical area is 8380 sq.km.

Surrounded by Gurgaon (of Haryana) and Bharatpur district in the north and north-east by Mahendragarh district of Haryana on the north-west,  by Jaipur on the south west and by Sawai-Madhopur on the south.

History

The history reveals that the district came into existence as a separate state when the then ruler Rao Pratap Singh, raised its standard to Alwar fort on November 25, 1775.  He merged the then districts of Thanagazi, Rajgarh, Malakhera, Ajabgharh, Baldeogarh, Kankwari, Alwar, Ramgarh and Lachhmangarh, and areas around Behror and Bansur to unite them into one separate state under his control.

His survivor Maharao Raja Bakhtawar Singh(1791-1815) also followed the tradition of expanding the boundaries of states, started by its founder ruler Rao Pratap Singh. As the result of his strategy of expanding the boundaries of the state the first Treaty of Alliance for offence and defence was signed between him and the East India Company, and thus, Alwar became the first princely state to signed the treaty of alliance with the British rule. Even then the administrative set up lagged behind. The state had to look for outside sources to mange its funds.

The administrative set up started getting its proper shape when Maharao Raja Viney Singh (1815-1857) succeeded the throne of Maharao Bakhtawar Singh. According to the Imperial Gazetter of India, " The Government had previously been carried on without any system. But with the aid of certain Musalmans introduced from Delhi and appointed ministers in 1838, great changes were made. The land revenue began to be collected in cash instead of kind and civil and criminal courts were established."

The period from (1857-1874) saw a huge drawback in the history of Alwar, when the rule of Alwar after the death of Maharao Raja Viney Singh came under the control of twelve year son Sheodan Singh. He was influenced by muslim Deewans of Delhi and this encouraged the rajputs to mutiny against the Deewans and number of Deewans were killed.

For maintaining the proper administration in state the East India Company appointed Captain Nixon as its political mediator to maintain law and order in the state. Unfortunately the policies started by Captain Nixon could not succeeded and then the company appointed Captain Impey on November 1858 as its next mediator. During his official term from 1858 to 1863 the policies introduced by him were proved to be successful.

After reaching the mature age Maharao Sheodan Singh was again given the rule of the state in 1863, and again the conflicts between the Rajput cavalary and Muslim Deewans took place, as the Maharao still had contacts with the muslim deewans. As a result of this East India company again had to interfere and appoint Captain Blair, who could not succeeded in his efforts and then the company appointed  Major Cadell as its new mediator.

It was then a council was constituted to administer the state with Major Cadell as its President, Maharao also had an important seat in the board. The various administrative reforms introduced during that time continued, and many new were introduced till 1892, when the successor of Maharao Sheodan Singh, Mangal Singh succeeded the rule from (1874-1892). Mangal Singh like his father got the throne at the minor age. After his death in 1892, his son Jey Singh got the throne of Alwar and it is regarded as the golden period in the history of Alwar.

Tourist Destinations
The worth visiting places in and around the district are: Alwar Fort, Sagar or Tank, Sariska Sanctuary, Lake Place Silisher, City Palace, Pandu Pol, Ruins of Bhangarh, Temple of Bhartrihari and Neem Rana Fort etc.

Facts & Figures

Area	8380 sq. kms
Longitude	27.4 North
Latitude	76.9 East
Altitude	268 Meter
Temperature	Max. - 41°C; Min. - 8 °C
Average Rainfall	57.77 cms
Area under Forests	69697 Hectares
Total Population	2990862
Male	1585046
Female	1405816
Sex Ratio	887 females per 1000 males
Population Density	357 persons per sq. km
Literacy Rate	62.48%
Sub-Division	12
No. of Tahsils	12
Total Villages	2001
STD Code	0144

Connectivity

Road: The National Highway No.8 passes through the distict. Behror, an important city of the district is on the route connecting Jaipur with Delhi. A State Highway also runs from Alwar to Bharatpur. The total length of roads in the district is about 3,511 kms as of March 2000.

Rail: Alwar is the biggest railway station in the district, situated on Delhi-Jaipur broad gauge section of Western Railway. There is 158 kms of railway track in the district. The district is well connected by rail to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mathura and other major towns of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, etc.

Air: The nearest airport is Jaipur airport (143 kms)

Distance from Major Cities:

• Jaipur-143 kms
• Delhi-155 kms
• Ahmedabad-768 kms
• Mumbai-1319 kms

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