Rae Bareli district General information
Raebareli District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Raebareli is the district headquarters. The district is part of Lucknow Division.
History
The district of Raebareli, which was created by the British in 1858, is named after its headquarters town. Tradition has it that the town was founded by the Bhars and was known as Bharauli or Barauli which in course of time got changed into Bareli. The prefix, Rae, is said to come from Rahi, a village 5km west of the town. It is also said that the prefix, Rae, represents Rae, the common title of the Kayasths who were masters of the town for a considerable period of time.
Since about the begining of the medival level period of Indian history the region lying in the south of the district of Raebareli , has been known as avadh or subhah of avadh. In the north it streches as far as to the foothills of the Himalayas and in the south as far as to the Ganga. There is no doubt that the district has been civilised and life settled since very early times.
The Quit India movement was inagurated on August 8, 1942 and the district did not lag behind others. Again there was mass arrests, imposition of collective fines, lathi charges and police firing. At Sareni the police opened fire at an agitated crowd, killed and maimed many. The people of this district enthusiastically respond to the call of individual Satyagragha. At last, on August 15,1947, the country shook off the foreign yoke and achieved its long-awaited independence. Raebareli celeberated the event with benefiting glee and rejoicing in every home along with the rest of the country.
At the begining of the 13th century, what is now Raebareli and the tracts around it were ruled by the Bhars who were displaced by the Rajputs and in a few cases, by some Muslim colonists. The south western part of the district was occupied by the Bais rajputs. The Kanpurias and Amethias, other rajput clans, established themselves respectively in the north east and east. During the rule of the Delhi sultans, nearly the whole tract nominally formed a part of their kingdom. During the reign of Akbar the area now covered by the district was divided between the sirkars of Avadh and Lucknow in the subah of Allahabad, the sirkar of Manikpur which included the larger part of the district as it extended from the present Mohanlal ganj pargana of district Lucknow on the north west to the Ganga on the south and to pargana Inhauna on the north east. The pargana of Inhauna corresponded to a mahal of that name in the sirkar of Avadh. The parganas of Sareni, Khireoon and the western portion of the pargana of Raebareli formed part of the sirkar of Lucknow. In 1762, the sirkars of Manikpur was included in the territory of Avadh and was placed under a chakladar.
In 1858, it was proposed to form a new district with head quarters at Raebareli, as a part of the Lucknow Division. The district, as then constituted, was very different in shape and size from the existing one and was divided into four tehsils, Raebareli, Haidergargh, Bihar and Dalmau. This arrangement resulted in a district of very irregular shape, 93 kms long and 100 kms broad. In 1966, owing to the change in the course of the Ganga the villages of katia Ahatima, Rawat pur, Ghiya, Mau, Sultanpur Ahetmali, Kishunpur, Deomai and lauhgi were transferred from district Fatehpur to pargana Sareni of tehsil Dalmau in this district.
Location & Boundaries
The district is irregular in shape but fairly compact. It forms a part of the Lucknow Division and lies between latitude 25° 49' North and 26° 36' North and longitude 100° 41' East and 81° 34' East. On the North it is bounded by tehsil mohanlal ganj of district Lucknow and tehsil haider gargh of district Barabanki, on the east by tehsil Mussafir Khana of district Sultanpur and on the south east by pargana Ateha and the Kunda tehsil of district Pratap Gargh. The southern boundary is formed by the Ganga which separates it from the district of Fatehpur. On the west lies the purwa tehsil of district Unnao.
Area
The area is liable to vary every year by reason of the action of the Ganga. For a small variation in the deep stream of the river makes a very noticable change in the area of the district, which occupies the thirty fourth place in size among the districts of the State.
Topography
The district, as a whole is fairly compact tract of gently undulating land. The elevation varies from about 120.4 m. above sea level in the north west to 86.9 m. above sea level in the extereme south east, on the banks of the Ganga. The hightest points are the crowns of the watersheds of the different drainage channel which serve to divide the district into five main physical units, The ganga Khadar, the ganag upland, the southern clay tract, the central tract or the sai upland and the Northern clay tract.
Geology
The district forms a part of the Gangetic plan which is of recent origin according to geological chronology and ordinary gangetic alluvium. The district being part of the alluvial plain, confirms to the same geological sequence as the plain itself. The only mineral of importance is kankar. The district is also noted for its deposits of reh and brick earth.
Climate
As stated earlier this district lies in the vast Gangetic plains of north india at an elevation of 100 to 120 metres, sloping gently to south east. Relief from the summer heat arrives with the monsoon in second half of June, though the weather may often remain sultry. The winter sets in November and last upto February generally.
Tourist Place
Santuary
Samaspur Bird Santuary is situated in Rohaniya Development block of the district, about 122 km from Lucknow on Lucknow-Varanasi highway. It was established in 1987 on a total area of about 799.371 hectare. Nearest railway station is Unchahar and the nearest airport is Fursatganj, Raebareli. The best period of visit is from November to March. More than 250 varieties of birds can be seen here.Some of the birds come here from a distance of 5000 km which include Greleg Googe, Pin Tail, Common Teel, Vision, Showler, Surkhab etc. Local birds include Comb Duck, Whistling Teel, Spot Bill, Spoon Bill, King Fisher, Vulture etc. Twelve varieties of fish are there in the lake at Samaspur.
Dalmau
Dalmau is situated on the banks of Holy Ganga and is famous since ancient times. It has been the Historical town of the district. Prominent places at Dalmau are King Dal's fort, Bara Math, Mahesh Giri Math, Nirala Memorial Institute, A well constructed by Ebrahim Sharki, Palace of Nawab Shuza-ud-daula, Baithak of Alhaa Udal, Dalmau Pump canal etc.
Indira Gandhi Memorial Botanical Garden
Indira Gandhi Memorial Botanical Garden was established in the year 1986 in order to restore the ecological balance. The garden is situated on the left side of Lucknow-Varanasi highway. This garden is situated on the northern bank of sai river. In the west of the garden Raebareli- Allahabad railway Line is running which is parallel to Lucknow- Varanasi highway.
Total proposed area of the park is 57 hectare, out of which 10 hectare have been developed till now and it is growing day by day. The purpose of garden is not merely to make it a place for growing flowers, fruits or vegetables but also an educational installation for scientists, reaserch workers/ students and general public for awakening interest in plant life. Medicinal plant trails (consist of 114 plants of 23 medicinal species such as Azadirachta indica 'Neem', Jatropha curcas 'Jamalghota', Datura metel 'Dhatura', Nerium Oleander 'Kaner' etc.), Cultural plant trails (consist of 156 plants of 16 species such as Aegal Marmel 'Bel', Ficus Religiosa 'Pipal'),, Economic Plant trails (consist of 60 plants of 12 species),, Bulbous garden (consisting of Caina, Jaiferenthus, Rajnigandha, Haimanthos, Nargis, Gladuolos & Haemoroucoulis etc.) Rock garden, Rose garden, Seasonal plant garden, Aquatic garden and a Green house are included in the Botanical garden.
Behta Bridge
This Bridge is situated in the outskirts of the Raebareli city. The important thing of this Bridge is that at this place Sharda canal crosses the Sai river. An aqueduct has been constructed and the canal flows in the duct.
Jais
Jais is an ancient city of the district. Once upon a time it was the capital of King Udyan. Malik Mohammad Jaisi, a great poet belonged to this place. In his memory "Jaisi Samrak" has been constructed there.