Banswara

Introduction:
Located in the southern most part of the Rajasthan, Banswara forms the eastern part of the region known as Vagad or Vagwar. With an area of area of 5037 square kilometre the district lies at the geographical location of  23.11° N to 23.56° N latitudes and 73.58° E to 74.49° E. longitudes. It is surrounded  th by Dhariawad tehsil of Udaipur district and Pratapgarh district in north; by Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh on the east; by Sagwara and Aspur tehsils of Dungarpur district on the west; and on the south by Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. It is close to the  boundary of Panchmahal district of Gujarat state on the south-west.

History:

Going back to history, it is revealed that the princely state was under the control of Bhil ruler Bansia , Bhil was the  tribal community of the region and still prevails in the state. The name was kept on his name. The Maharaval ruler Jagmal Singh in a war defeated the Bhil ruler Bansia in a war and got the throne of Banswara, thus Banswara came under the control of Maharaval rulers since then.

The second reason behind its name is due to availability of abundant quantity of Bamboos, also known as ‘Bans’ in traditional language, in the area. During 1913 the Bhil community revolted against the then ruler under the auspice of social reformer Govindgiri and Punja. Their revolt was abolished and thousands of Bhils were killed. This revolt is recognized as the mini Jalianwallah Bagh masscre, as like it, the people of Bhil community had their meeting going peacefully at Mangarh hillock when they were shot. After that incident the place was recognized as Mangarh Dham and is regarded as the sacred place for the people of Bhil community.

With the amalgamation of princely states in one state after independene. The district of Banswara came into existence by merging the two princely states Banswara and Kushalgarh in 1949.

Tourist Destinations:
The prime attractions in and around the district are: Tripura Sundari, Mahi Dam, Kagdi Pick Up Weir, Arthuna, Madareshwar, Abdulla Pir, Andeswar (Jain Temple), Talwara, Anand Sagar Lake, Chheench, Diablab Lake, Paraheada, Shri Raj Mandir, Ram Kund and Bhim Kund.

Facts & Figures

Total Area	506279Hectares
Forest	112855 Hectares
Temperature	Max.: 46 °C Min.: 10 °C
Average Rainfall	92.24 cms
Population	1500420 (2001 census)
Density	298 per sq. kms
Literacy Rate	44.22%
Male Literacy	60.24%
Female Literacy	27.86%
No. of Sub Divisions	3
No. of Tehsils	5
No. of Sub-Tehsils	3
No. of Gram Panchayats	325
No. of Villages:	1524
STD Code	02962

Connectivity

Road: Road is the only convenient mode of transport for travelling. The district head quarter is directly connected with Ratlam, Dungarpur, Dohad and Jaipur.

Rail: There is no rail transport facility in the district. But Ratlam Junction is about 80 kms from Banswara. From Ratlam station one can get direct train for Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal and Ahmedabad.

Air: Nearest Airport to Banswara is Udaipur - 160 Kms. Other airports close to Banswara are Indore (Madhya Pradesh) - 212 kms, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) - 285 Kms.

Distance from major cities by road:

• Jaipur- 601 kms
• Delhi-827 kms
• Ahmedabad-265 kms
• Mumbai-816 kms

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