109-777: Kalinjar ( Hindi : कालिंजर ) is a fortress-city in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh , in India . It was ruled by several dynasties including the Guptas , the Vardhana dynasty , the Chandelas , Solankis of Rewa , Mughal and the Marathas . The fortress has several temples dating back to the Gupta dynasty of the 3rd–5th centuries. It is strategically located on an isolated rocky hill at
218-557: A Sub-Divisional Magistrate . The DM is Kaushal Raj Sharma. Varanasi district comes under the Varanasi Police Zone and Varanasi Police Range, Varanasi Zone is headed by an Additional Director General ranked IPS officer, and the Varanasi Range is headed Inspector General ranked IPS officer. The ADG, Varanasi Zone is Biswajit Mahapatra, and IG, Varanasi Range is Vijay Singh Meena. The district police up to
327-548: A humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cwa ) with large variations between summer and winter temperatures. The dry summer starts in April and lasts until June, followed by the monsoon season from July to October. The temperature ranges between 22 and 46 °C (72 and 115 °F) in the summers. Winters in Varanasi see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from
436-403: A Kashi princess Valandhara and their union resulted in the birth of Sarvaga, who later ruled Kashi. Dhritarasthra's eldest son Duryodhana also married a Kashi princess Bhanumati, who later bore him a son Lakshmana Kumara and a daughter Lakṣmaṇā. The Cakkavatti Sīhanāda Sutta text of Buddhism puts forth an idea stating that Varanasi will one day become the fabled kingdom of Ketumati in
545-526: A centre of activity for intellectuals and theologians during the Middle Ages, which further contributed to its reputation as a cultural centre of religion and education. Several major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir who was born here in 1389, and Ravidas , a 15th-century socio-religious reformer, mystic, poet, traveller, and spiritual figure, who was born and lived in
654-585: A core vocabulary of native Prakrit and Sanskrit-derived words. However, Hindi is written in the Devanagari script and contains more direct tatsama Sanskrit -derived words than Urdu, whereas Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script and uses more Arabic and Persian loanwords compared to Hindi. Because of this, as well as the fact that the two registers share an identical grammar, a consensus of linguists consider them to be two standardised forms of
763-745: A larger amount are still used in Urdu poetry written in the Devanagari script. Many words borrowed from Persian in turn were loanwords from Arabic (e.g. muśkil "difficult", havā "air", x(a)yāl "thought", kitāb "book"). Hindi also makes extensive use of loan translation ( calqueing ) and occasionally phono-semantic matching of English . Many Hindustani words were derived from Portuguese due to interaction with colonists and missionaries: Varanasi Varanasi ( ISO : Vārāṇasī , Hindi: [ʋaːˈraːɳəsi] ; also Benares , Banaras ( Banārasa [bəˈnaːrəs] ) or Kashi ( Kāśī [ˈka:ʃi] ) )
872-541: A literary language in the 19th century. Earliest examples could be found as Prēm Sāgar by Lallu Lal , Batiyāl Pachīsī of Sadal Misra, and Rānī Kētakī Kī Kahānī of Insha Allah Khan which were published in Devanagari script during the early 19th century. John Gilchrist was principally known for his study of the Hindustani language , which was adopted as the lingua franca of northern India (including what
981-493: A long battle, they were able to annex the fort. The British seizure of Kalinjar proved to be a great watershed, transferring the legacy of the old aristocracy into the hands of the new bureaucracy of officials, who showed their loyalty to British imperialism by damaging the captured fort. The damages caused to the fort can still be seen on its walls and open spaces. The nearest airport is at Khajuraho , 100 km (62 mi) away but has limited connectivity. Kanpur Airport which
1090-536: A medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages. It
1199-410: A part of the process of Sanskritisation , new words are coined using Sanskrit components to be used as replacements for supposedly foreign vocabulary. Usually these neologisms are calques of English words already adopted into spoken Hindi. Some terms such as dūrbhāṣ "telephone", literally "far-speech" and dūrdarśan "television", literally "far-sight" have even gained some currency in formal Hindi in
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#17327730151691308-552: A second language. A Hindi proponent, Indian-born Paramananda Jha , was elected vice-president of Nepal. He took his oath of office in Hindi in July 2008. This created protests in the streets for 5 days; students burnt his effigies, and there was a general strike in 22 districts. Nepal Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that his oath in Hindi was invalid and he was kept "inactive" as vice-president. An "angry" Jha said, "I cannot be compelled to take
1417-532: A simplified or pidginised variety such as Bazaar Hindustani or Haflong Hindi ). Outside India, several other languages are recognised officially as "Hindi" but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other nearby languages, such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri . Such languages include Fiji Hindi , which has an official status in Fiji , and Caribbean Hindustani , which
1526-615: A small stream in the southern part of the city, near Assi Ghat. The old city is located on the north shores of the Ganges, bounded by Varuna and Assi. In the Mahabharata and in ancient India, the city is referred to as Kāśī from the Sanskrit verbal root kaś- "to shine", making Varanasi known as "City of Light", the " luminous city as an eminent seat of learning ". The name was also used by pilgrims dating from Buddha's days. Kashi
1635-584: A standardised form of Hindustani separate from Urdu took form. In 1881, Bihar accepted Hindi as its sole official language, replacing Urdu, and thus became the first state of India to adopt Hindi. However, in 2014, Urdu was accorded second official language status in the state. After independence, the Government of India instituted the following conventions: On 14 September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in
1744-733: Is Mridula Jaiswal, and the municipal commissioner is Nitin Bansal. Water supply and sewage system is operated by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam. Varanasi is represented in the Lok Sabha by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi who won the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and subsequently in 2019 by a huge margin. Hospitals in the city include the Sir Sunderlal Hospital , a teaching hospital in
1853-533: Is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world . The city has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh , Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres (430 mi) to
1962-657: Is a standard register of the Hindustani language; additionally, Indian media are widely viewed in Pakistan. A sizeable population in Afghanistan , especially in Kabul , can also speak and understand Hindi-Urdu due to the popularity and influence of Bollywood films, songs and actors in the region. Hindi is also spoken by a large population of Madheshis (people having roots in north-India but having migrated to Nepal over hundreds of years) of Nepal . Apart from this, Hindi
2071-465: Is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India . Apart from the script and formal vocabulary, standard Hindi is mutually intelligible with standard Urdu , another recognised register of Hindustani, as both Hindi and Urdu share a core vocabulary base derived from Prakrit (a descendant of Sanskrit). Hindi is also spoken, to a lesser extent, in other parts of India (usually in
2180-409: Is an official language of Gujarat , along with Gujarati . It acts as an additional official language of West Bengal in blocks and sub-divisions with more than 10% of the population speaking Hindi. Similarly, Hindi is accorded the status of official language in the following Union Territories : Delhi , Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu . Although there
2289-550: Is based on the language that was spoken in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab ( Delhi , Meerut and Saharanpur ) called Khariboli ; the vernacular of Delhi and the surrounding region came to replace earlier prestige languages such as Awadhi and Braj . Standard Hindi was developed by supplanting foreign loanwords from the Hindustani language and replacing them with Sanskrit words, though Standard Hindi does continue to possess several Persian loanwords. Modern Hindi became
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#17327730151692398-628: Is borrowed from Sanskrit as tatsam borrowings, especially in technical and academic fields. The formal Hindi standard, from which much of the Persian, Arabic and English vocabulary has been replaced by neologisms compounding tatsam words, is called Śuddh Hindi (pure Hindi), and is viewed as a more prestigious dialect over other more colloquial forms of Hindi. Excessive use of tatsam words sometimes creates problems for native speakers. They may have Sanskrit consonant clusters which do not exist in Hindustani, causing difficulties in pronunciation. As
2507-455: Is commonly used to specifically refer the modern literary Hindi language, as opposed to colloquial and regional varieties that are also referred to as Hindi in a wider sense . Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi is a direct descendant of an early form of Vedic Sanskrit , through Shauraseni Prakrit and Śauraseni Apabhraṃśa (from Sanskrit apabhraṃśa "corrupt"), which emerged in the 7th century CE. The sound changes that characterised
2616-533: Is found in almost every text or inscription of that time. According to the 16th century Persian historian Firishta , the town of Kalinjar was established by one Kedar Raja in the 7th century. Rastrakutas later seized the fortress. The fort came to prominence during the Chandela rule. According to Chandela-era legends, the fort was built by a Chandela ruler. The Chandela rulers used the title Kalanjaradhipati ("Lord of Kalanjara"), which shows their importance to
2725-620: Is headed by SP rank. The development of infrastructure in the city is overseen by the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA), which comes under the Housing Department of Uttar Pradesh government . The divisional commissioner of Varanasi acts as the ex-officio chairman of the VDA, whereas the vice-chairman, a government-appointed Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer , looks after the daily matters of
2834-578: Is mirror to a hand with bangles, What is Persian to a literate. The emergence of Modern Standard Hindi in the 19th century went along with the Sanskritisation of its vocabulary, leading to a marginalisation of Persian vocabulary in Hindi, which continued after Partition when the Indian government co-opted the policy of Sanskritisation. However, many Persian words (e.g. bas "enough", khud "self") have remained entrenched in Standard Hindi, and
2943-609: Is no specification of a national language in the constitution, it is a widely held belief that Hindi is the national language of India. This is often a source of friction and contentious debate. In 2010, the Gujarat High Court clarified that Hindi is not the national language of India because the constitution does not mention it as such. Outside Asia , the Awadhi language (an Eastern Hindi dialect) with influence from Bhojpuri , Bihari languages , Fijian and English
3052-536: Is now being run by the Tata Memorial Centre after intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi. Sushruta , an ancient Indian physician known as the primary author of the treatise Sushruta Samhita , the Sanskrit text of surgery, lived in Varanasi and practised medicine and surgery sometime during the 5th century BCE. Since 1922, Ayurveda has been a subject of training in
3161-526: Is now present-day Pakistan ) by British colonists and indigenous people. He compiled and authored An English-Hindustani Dictionary , A Grammar of the Hindoostanee Language , The Oriental Linguist , and many more. His lexicon of Hindustani was published in the Perso-Arabic script , Nāgarī script , and in Roman transliteration .In the late 19th century, a movement to further develop Hindi as
3270-475: Is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together. Benares became a princely state in 1911, with Ramnagar as its capital, but with no jurisdiction over the city proper. The religious head, Kashi Naresh, has had his headquarters at the Ramnagar Fort since the 18th century, also a repository of the history of the kings of Varanasi, which
3379-468: Is regarded as one of seven holy cities ( Sapta Puri ) which can provide Moksha ; Ayodhya , Mathura , Haridwar , Kashi, Kanchipuram , Avanti , and Dvārakā are the seven cities known as the givers of liberation. The princesses Ambika and Ambalika of Kashi were wed to the Hastinapur ruler Vichitravirya , and they later gave birth to Pandu and Dhritarashtra . Bhima , a son of Pandu, married
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3488-518: Is situated to the east of Varanasi, across the Ganges. The Kashi Naresh is deeply revered by the local people and the chief cultural patron; some devout inhabitants consider him to be the incarnation of Shiva. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College , which later became a foundation for the creation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916. Besant founded the college because she wanted "to bring men of all religions together under
3597-405: Is sometimes epitomised in the history of one of its principal cities. The city of Benaras represents India religiously and intellectually, just as Paris represents the political Sentiments of France. There are few cities in the world of greater antiquity, and none that have so uninterruptedly maintained their ancient celebrity and distinction. Author Mark Twain wrote in 1897 of Varanasi, Benares
3706-740: Is spoken by the large Indian diaspora which hails from, or has its origin from the "Hindi Belt" of India. A substantially large North Indian diaspora lives in countries like the United States of America , the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates , Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, South Africa, Fiji and Mauritius , where it is natively spoken at home and among their own Hindustani-speaking communities. Outside India, Hindi speakers are 8 million in Nepal ; 863,077 in
3815-464: Is spoken in Suriname , Trinidad and Tobago , and Guyana . Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. If counted together with the mutually intelligible Urdu, it is the third most-spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and English. According to reports of Ethnologue (2022, 25th edition) Hindi is the third most-spoken language in
3924-481: Is spoken in Fiji. It is an official language in Fiji as per the 1997 Constitution of Fiji, where it referred to it as "Hindustani"; however, in the 2013 Constitution of Fiji , it is simply called " Fiji Hindi " as the official language. It is spoken by 380,000 people in Fiji. Hindi is spoken as a first language by about 77,569 people in Nepal according to the 2011 Nepal census , and further by 1,225,950 people as
4033-528: Is stated to have been the birthplace of the previous Buddha, known as Kassapa Buddha . In the sacred geography of India Varanasi is known as the "microcosm of India". In addition to its 3,300 Hindu religious places, Varanasi has 12 churches, three Jain mandirs, nine Buddhist shrines, three Gurdwaras (Sikh shrines), and 1,388 Muslim holy places. Languages in Varanasi Municipal Corporation and Cantonment Board area, 2011 Census At
4142-473: Is still widely popular. Hindu religious texts use many epithets in Sanskrit to refer to Varanasi, such as Kāśikā ( transl. "the shining one" ), Avimukta ( transl. "never forsaken by Shiva" ), Ānaṃdakānana ( transl. "the forest of bliss" ), Rudravāsa ( transl. "the place where Rudra resides" ), and Mahāśmaśāna ( transl. "the great cremation ground" ). According to Hindu mythology , Varanasi
4251-570: Is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in Devanagari script . It is the official language of India alongside English and the lingua franca of North India . Hindi is considered a Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language , which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and neighbouring areas. It is an official language in nine states and three union territories and an additional official language in three other states. Hindi
4360-879: Is the dominant form of Hindi online. In an analysis of YouTube comments, Palakodety et al., identified that 52% of comments were in Romanised Hindi, 46% in English, and 1% in Devanagari Hindi. Traditionally, Hindi words are divided into five principal categories according to their etymology: Hindi has naturally inherited a large portion of its vocabulary from Shauraseni Prakrit , in the form of tadbhava words. This process usually involves compensatory lengthening of vowels preceding consonant clusters in Prakrit, e.g. Sanskrit tīkṣṇa > Prakrit tikkha > Hindi tīkhā . Much of Standard Hindi's vocabulary
4469-768: Is well connected with metropolitan cities of India is 175 km (109 mi) and 4 hours drive from Kalinjar. The nearest railway station is at Atarra 36 km (22 mi) away, on the Banda- Satna route, 65 km (40 mi) from Banda Railway Station. The Kalinjar fort is linked by road to all the important centres in the region with regular bus services. Some of the major road distances are: Chitrakoot , 78 km (48 mi); Banda , 65 km (40 mi); Khajuraho, 130 km (81 mi); and Prayagraj , 205 km (127 mi). Hindi language Modern Standard Hindi ( आधुनिक मानक हिन्दी , Ādhunik Mānak Hindī ), commonly referred to as Hindi ,
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4578-570: Is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida . Devanagari consists of 11 vowels and 33 consonants and is written from left to right. Unlike Sanskrit, Devanagari is not entirely phonetic for Hindi, especially failing to mark schwa deletion in spoken Standard Hindi. The Government of India uses Hunterian transliteration as its official system of writing Hindi in the Latin script. Various other systems also exist, such as IAST , ITRANS and ISO 15919 . Romanised Hindi , also called Hinglish ,
4687-443: The 2011 census , the Varanasi urban agglomeration had a population of 1,435,113, with 761,060 men and 674,053 women. The Varanasi municipal corporation and CB had a combined population of 1,212,610 of which 642,882 were males and 569,728 in 2011. The population in the age group of 0 to 6 years was 137,111. The population of the Varanasi urban agglomeration in 2001 was 1,371,749 with a ratio of 879 females every 1,000 males. However,
4796-587: The Banaras Hindu University , Heritage Hospital, Marwari Hospital, Pitambari Hospital, Mata Anand Mai Hospital, Rajkiya Hospital, Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (managed by the state government), and Varanasi Hospital and Medical Research Centre. The urban parts of the Varanasi district had an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live births in 2010–2011. The Railway Cancer Hospital
4905-434: The Central Hindu College in 1898. In 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded the Banaras Hindu University , India's first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was established in 1921, a response to Mahatma Gandhi 's non-cooperation movement . Traditional etymology links "Varanasi" to the names of two Ganges tributaries forming the city's borders: Varuna , still flowing in northern Varanasi, and Assi, today
5014-769: The Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is 1,110 mm (44 in). Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo , blow in the summers. In recent years, the water level of the Ganges has decreased significantly; upstream dams, unregulated water extraction, and dwindling glacial sources due to global warming may be to blame. Varanasi has been ranked 9th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India. According to provisional data from
5123-586: The Hindi Belt ), as well as an official language of the Government of India, along with English. In Northeast India a pidgin known as Haflong Hindi has developed as a lingua franca for the people living in Haflong , Assam who speak other languages natively. In Arunachal Pradesh , Hindi emerged as a lingua franca among locals who speak over 50 dialects natively. Hindi is quite easy to understand for many Pakistanis , who speak Urdu, which, like Hindi,
5232-621: The Kachwaha Rajput rulers of Amber (Mughal vassals themselves) most notably under Raja Man Singh rebuilt various temples and ghats in the city. The Raja of Jaipur established the Annapurna Mandir, and the 200-metre (660 ft) Akbari Bridge was also completed during this period. The earliest tourists began arriving in the city during the 16th century. In 1665, the French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described
5341-809: The Maurya Empire and came to be known as Vindhya-Atavi. The fort eventually came under the rule of the Shunga dynasty and the Pandu dynasty. In the Prayag Prasathi inscription of the Allahabad Pillar this region is mentioned by the name Vindhya Atavi . The Fort was in the control of the Gurjara Pratiharas , and remained until the rule of Nagabhatta II . Chandela rulers used to be their Mandalik kings. The mention of Kalinjar
5450-822: The Oudh camp, using his troops, forced the Nawab to withdraw his main force. The region eventually ceded by the Nawab of Oudh to the Benares State , a subordinate of the East India Company , in 1775, who recognised Benares as a family dominion. In 1791 under the rule of the British, resident Jonathan Duncan founded a Sanskrit College in Varanasi . In 1867, the establishment of the Varanasi Municipal Board led to significant improvements in
5559-667: The Parliament of India since 2014 . Modi inaugurated the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, which aimed to enhance the city's spiritual vibrancy by connecting many ghats to the temple of Kashi Vishwanath, in December 2021. Varanasi is located at an elevation of 80.71 metres (264.8 ft) in the centre of the Ganges valley of North India , in the Eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, along
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#17327730151695668-641: The Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon , Peshwa Bajirao II ceded Bundelkhand to the East India Company after his defeat in the Second Anglo-Maratha war. The fort came under the management of the East India Company in 1805-06. The Old Bhatt royalty was expatriated and was granted separate sanads of Kirwi, Attra, Chitrakut Mathond, and Khurand. The fort was placed under the pre-Maratha constitution of Bundela - Jhijhotiya Chubes. However, during
5777-855: The United States of America ; 450,170 in Mauritius; 380,000 in Fiji; 250,292 in South Africa; 150,000 in Suriname; 100,000 in Uganda ; 45,800 in the United Kingdom; 20,000 in New Zealand ; 20,000 in Germany ; 26,000 in Trinidad and Tobago; 3,000 in Singapore . Linguistically , Hindi and Urdu are two registers of the same language and are mutually intelligible. Both Hindi and Urdu share
5886-407: The kaal i.e. achieved victory over death. This is the reason why Shiva temple at Kalinjar is called Neelkanth (blue-throated). Since then, the hill has been considered a holy site. Kalinjar has also been mentioned in Buddhist literature, particularly in the travelogues of Buddha . The Chedi dynasty ruled here during the time of Gautama Buddha (563–480 BC). Following this, it was absorbed into
5995-413: The 20th-century, the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and the shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city. India's oldest Sanskrit college, the Benares Sanskrit College , was founded by Jonathan Duncan , the resident of the East India Company in 1791. Later, education in Benares was greatly influenced by the rise of Indian nationalism in the late 19th-century. Annie Besant founded
6104-447: The 50th birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha on 14 September 1949, the efforts came to fruition following the adoption of Hindi as the official language. Now, it is celebrated as Hindi Day . Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the official language of the Indian Union. Under Article 343, the official languages of the Union have been prescribed, which includes Hindi in Devanagari script and English: (1) The official language of
6213-440: The 8th century, when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Chandradeva , founder of the Gahadavala dynasty made Banaras a second capital in 1090. In 1194 CE, the Ghurid conqueror Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghuri defeated the forces of Jayachandra in a battle near Jamuna and afterwards ravaged the city of Varnasi in the course of which many temples were destroyed. Varanasi remained
6322-402: The Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas . In the 16th century, Rajput nobles in the service of the courts and armies of the Mughal emperor Akbar , sponsored the building or further enhancement of the major Shiva temple in the city; they also built other temples, all displaying an empire-wide architectural style. In 1740, the Banaras State , a zamindari estate
6431-452: The Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India replacing the previous usage of Hindustani in the Perso-Arabic script in the British Indian Empire . To this end, several stalwarts rallied and lobbied pan-India in favour of Hindi, most notably Beohar Rajendra Simha along with Hazari Prasad Dwivedi , Kaka Kalelkar , Maithili Sharan Gupt and Seth Govind Das who even debated in Parliament on this issue. As such, on
6540-402: The Hindi heartland. Persian borrowings reached a heyday in the 17th century, pervading all aspects of life. Even grammatical constructs, namely the izafat , were assimilated into Hindi. The status of Persian language then and thus its influence, is also visible in Hindi proverbs : हाथ कंगन को आरसी क्या, पढ़े लिखे को फ़ारसी क्या। Hāth kaṅgan ko ārsī kyā, Paṛhe likhe ko Fārsī kyā. What
6649-405: The Hindu/Indian people') was often used in the past, for example by Amir Khusrau in his poetry. The terms Hindi and Hindu trace back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name Sindhu ( सिन्धु ), referring to the Indus River . The Greek cognates of the same terms are Indus (for the river) and India (for the land of the river). The term Modern Standard Hindi
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#17327730151696758-404: The Marathas conquered the nearby territories and expanded to the Bengal frontiers. They inflicted a crushing defeat on Awadh ally Nawab of Rampur and Ala Vardi Khan. The fort was used to levy chauth to nearby territories like Benares , Mirzapur , Pratapgarh , Kunda, and Bundela . In 1803, the Peshwa was involved in direct skirmishes with the East India Company in which he was defeated. In
6867-406: The Official Languages Act of 1963, which provided for the continued use of English indefinitely for all official purposes, although the constitutional directive for the Union Government to encourage the spread of Hindi was retained and has strongly influenced its policies. Article 344 (2b) stipulates that the official language commission shall be constituted every ten years to recommend steps for
6976-442: The President may, during the said period, by order authorise the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union. Article 351 of the Indian constitution states: It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as
7085-460: The Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals. (2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before such commencement: Provided that
7194-406: The architectural beauty of the Vindu Madhava temple on the side of the Ganges. The road infrastructure was also improved during this period. It was extended from Kolkata to Peshawar by Emperor Sher Shah Suri ; later during the British Raj it came to be known as the famous Grand Trunk Road . In 1656, Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of many temples and the building of mosques, causing
7303-400: The area under Varanasi Nagar Nigam has a population of 1,100,748 with a ratio of 883 females for every 1,000 males. The literacy rate in the urban agglomeration is 77% while that in the municipal corporation area is 78%. Approximately 138,000 people in the municipal area live in slums. Religion in Varanasi City (2011). Hinduism is predominantly followed in Varanasi with Islam being
7412-484: The authority. The vice-chairman of the Varanasi Development Authority is Pulkit Khare. The Varanasi Municipal Corporation oversees civic activities in the city; the head of the corporation is the mayor, and the executive and administration of the corporation is the responsibility of the municipal commissioner, who is appointed by the government of Uttar Pradesh and is either an IAS officer or Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer of high seniority. The mayor of Varanasi
7521-410: The calendar in order to revise existing astronomical tables. Tourism in the city began to flourish in the 18th century. As the Mughal suzerainty weakened, the Benares zamindari estate became Banaras State, thus Balwant Singh of the Narayan dynasty regained control of the territories and declared himself Maharaja of Benares in 1740. The strong clan organisation on which they rested, brought success to
7630-508: The central government and oversees the elections held in the city. The DM is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the city, hence the SSP of Varanasi also reports to the DM of Varanasi. The DM is assisted by a Chief Development Officer (CDO), four Additional District Magistrates (ADM) (Finance/Revenue, City, Protocol, Executive), one chief revenue officer (CRO), one City Magistrate (CM), and four Additional City Magistrates (ACM). The district has three tehsils , each headed by
7739-443: The city and employed in the tannery industry. Numerous eminent scholars and preachers visited the city from across India and South Asia. Guru Nanak visited Varanasi for Maha Shivaratri in 1507. Kashi (Varanasi) played a large role in the founding of Sikhism . In 1567 or thereabouts, the Mughal emperor Jallaludin Muhammad Akbar sacked the city of Varanasi on his march from Allahabad (modern-day Prayagraj ). However, later
7848-474: The city around 635 CE, attested that the city was a centre of religious and artistic activities, and that it extended for about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) along the western bank of the Ganges. When Xuanzang visited Varanasi in the 7th century, he named it "Polonise" ( Chinese : 婆羅痆斯 ; pinyin : Póluó niè sī ; lit. 'Brahma') and wrote that the city had some 30 temples with about 30 monks. The city's religious importance continued to grow in
7957-485: The city include Adampura, Anandbagh, Bachchhaon, Bangali Tola, Bhelpura, Bulanala, Chaitganj, Chaukaghat, Chowk, Dhupchandi, Dumraon, Gandhinagar, Gautam Nagar, Giri Nagar, Gopal Vihar, Guru Nanak Nagar, Jaitpura, Kail Garh, Khanna, Kotwali, Lanka Manduadih, Luxa, Maheshpur, Mahmoorganj, Maulvibagh, Nagwar, Naipokhari, Shivala, Siddhagiribagh, and Sigra. Located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India,
8066-482: The city of Varanasi in this state, the hanging head of Brahma dropped from Shiva's hand and disappeared in the ground. Varanasi is therefore considered an extremely holy site. The Pandavas , the protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahabharata , are said to have visited the city in search of Shiva to atone for their sins of fratricide and brahmahatya that they had committed during the Kurukshetra War . It
8175-611: The city to experience a temporary setback. However, after Aurangzeb's death, most of India was ruled by a confederacy of pro- Hindu kings . Much of modern Varanasi was built during this time, especially during the 18th century by the Maratha and Bhumihar Brahmin rulers. The kings governing Varanasi continued to wield power and importance through much of the British Raj period, including the Maharaja of Benares, or simply called by
8284-404: The city's infrastructure and basic amenities of health services, drinking water supply and sanitation. Rev. M. A. Sherring in his book The Sacred City of Hindus: An account of Benaras in ancient and modern times published in 1868 refers to a census conducted by James Prinsep and put the total number of temples in the city to be around 1000 during 1830s. He writes, The history of a country
8393-450: The date of 24 March 2021 was headed by a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), who is an IPS officer, and is assisted by six Superintendents of Police (SP)/ Additional Superintendents of Police (Addl. SP) (City, Rural Area, Crime, Traffic, Protocol and Protocol), who are either IPS officers or PPS officers. Each of the several police circles is headed by a Circle Officer (CO) in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The last SSP
8502-596: The division, is in charge of infrastructure development in his division, and is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the division. The District Magistrate of Varanasi reports to the Divisional Commissioner . The Commissioner is Deepak Agarwal. Varanasi district administration is headed by the District Magistrate of Varanasi, who is an IAS officer . The DM is in charge of property records and revenue collection for
8611-566: The end of the Vindhya Range , overlooking the plains of Bundelkhand . Kalinjar is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit words Kaala, meaning time, and jara, meaning destruction, translating to destroyer of time . Kalinjar finds its mention in ancient Hindu mythological texts. According to Hindu legends, it is said that after the Samudra manthan , when Shiva consumed poison that turned his throat blue, he came to Kalinjar and defeated
8720-501: The first War of Independence in 1857, The Old Bhatta Aristocracy recaptured the fort driving Bundela back to Ajaygarh. In 1858, the British attacked the fort but the people at large resisted and fought a tough battle with Major Hugh Rose. A long drawn siege ensued in which almost 800 British and 3000 Indians were killed. This proved to be the toughest battlefield in Bundelkhand where English suffered maximum casualties. The English with
8829-515: The fort and it was under Mughal rule until its capture by the Marathas. Kalinjar played a prominent part in history down to the time of the Revolt of 1857 , when it was held by a small British garrison. Both the fort and the town, which stands at the foot of the hill, are of interest to the antiquary on account of the remains of temples, sculptures, inscriptions, and caves. In the early 18th century,
8938-605: The fort was captured by the Peshwa Bajirao after defeating the Mughal general Bangash Khan of Allahabad. In order to stop the Mughals from entering Bundelkhand again, he established a Maratha light infantry huzurat of 5000 under the command of Sardar Ram Singh Bhatt, Yashwantrao Bhatt, Parshuram Bhau Bundela, Bhaskar Pandit, and Sheshrao Pant Bundela, all veterans of war and Maratha class one generals. In due course of time,
9047-423: The fort. In 1023, Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and received a tribute from Kalinjar, Mughal emperor Babur captured the fort in 1526, when his forces drove away Raja Hasan Khan Mewatpatti. It was also the place where Sher Shah Suri met his death in 1545, when he was mortally wounded by a gunpowder explosion from one of his own cannons, with his soldiers capturing the fort before his death. In 1569, Akbar captured
9156-418: The help of the states of Panna and Rewa captured this fort on 4 May 1858. The Last Bhatta Peshwas surrendered and were sent to Rewa as prisoners. Kalinjar subah was distributed in between Bundela, Rewa Solanki and Chaubes of Rajaula. The fort was decommissioned and its buildings were demolished, to prevent any further maratha garrisoning at Kalinjar, thus ending the legacy of this fort. The total chauth collection
9265-547: The ideal of brotherhood in order to promote Indian cultural values and to remove ill-will among different sections of the Indian population." Varanasi was ceded to the Union of India in 1947, becoming part of Uttar Pradesh after Indian independence. Vibhuti Narayan Singh incorporated his territories into the United Provinces in 1949. Narendra Modi , prime minister of India since 2014, has represented Varanasi in
9374-507: The land is very fertile because low-level floods in the Ganges continually replenish the soil. Varanasi is situated between the Ganges confluences with two rivers: the Varuna and the Assi stream. The distance between the two confluences is around 2 miles (4 km), and serves as a sacred journeying route for Hindus, which culminates with a visit to a Sakshi Vinayak Temple. Varanasi experiences
9483-539: The largest minority. Nearly 70% of the population follows Hinduism. The city also agglomerate different religions such as Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. The city is also a centre for Buddhist pilgrimage. At Sarnath , just northeast of Varanasi, the Buddha gave his first teaching ( Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ) after attaining enlightenment . According to the Buddhavaṃsa , a hagiographical Buddhist text, Varanasi
9592-539: The last 125 years, there are no academic studies of any of them – of their use in South Africa, their evolution and current decline. Hindi is adopted as the third official court language in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi . As a result of this status, the Indian workforce in UAE can file their complaints to the labour courts in the country in their own mother-tongue. Hindi is the lingua franca of northern India (which contains
9701-576: The left crescent-shaped bank of the Ganges, averaging between 15 metres (50 ft) and 21 metres (70 ft) above the river. The city is the headquarters of Varanasi district . By road, Varanasi is located 797 kilometres (495 mi) south-east of New Delhi , 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of Lucknow , 121 kilometres (75 mi) east of Prayagraj , and 63 kilometres (39 mi) south of Jaunpur . The "Varanasi Urban Agglomeration" – an agglomeration of seven urban sub-units – covers an area of 112 km (43 sq mi). Neighbourhoods of
9810-454: The lesser known Hindu princes. There were as many as 100,000 men backing the power of the Benares rajas in what later became the districts of Benares , Gorakhpur and Azamgarh . This proved a decisive advantage when the dynasty faced a rival and the nominal suzerain, the Nawab of Oudh , in the 1750s and the 1760s. An exhausting guerrilla war , waged by the Benares ruler against
9919-809: The local population, as do the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals . The city is known worldwide for its many ghats , steps leading down the steep river bank to the water, where pilgrims perform rituals. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat , the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat , and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead. The Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi are kept here. Among
10028-620: The notable temples in Varanasi are the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva , the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple , and the Durga Temple . The city has long been an educational and musical centre : many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in the city, and it was the place where the Benares gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed. In
10137-670: The oath now in Nepali. I might rather take it in English." Hindi is a protected language in South Africa . According to the Constitution of South Africa , the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Hindi along with other languages. According to a doctoral dissertation by Rajend Mesthrie in 1985, although Hindi and other Indian languages have existed in South Africa for
10246-582: The official language of the imperial court during the reign of Shah Jahan . It is recorded that Emperor Aurangzeb spoke in Hindvi . The Hindustani vernacular became an expression of Indian national unity during the Indian Independence movement , and continues to be spoken as the common language of the people of the northern Indian subcontinent, which is reflected in the Hindustani vocabulary of Bollywood films and songs. Standard Hindi
10355-436: The people of Benares as Kashi Naresh . The Kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and the kingdom started in this way and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947, during the reign of Vibhuti Narayan Singh . In the 18th century, Muhammad Shah ordered the construction of an observatory on the Ganges, attached to Man Mandir Ghat, designed to discover imperfections in
10464-490: The place of the English borrowings (ṭeli)fon and ṭīvī . Hindi also features significant Persian influence, standardised from spoken Hindustani . Early borrowings, beginning in the mid-12th century, were specific to Islam (e.g. Muhammad , Islām ) and so Persian was simply an intermediary for Arabic. Later, under the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire , Persian became the primary administrative language in
10573-522: The progressive use of Hindi language and impose restrictions on the use of the English language by the union government. In practice, the official language commissions are constantly endeavouring to promote Hindi but not imposing restrictions on English in official use by the union government. At the state level, Hindi is the official language of the following Indian states: Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Haryana , Himachal Pradesh , Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand . Hindi
10682-502: The same language, Hindustani or Hindi-Urdu. Hindi is the most commonly used scheduled language in India and is one of the two official languages of the union , the other being English. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan and is one of 22 scheduled languages of India , also having official status in Uttar Pradesh , Jammu and Kashmir , Delhi , Telangana , Andhra Pradesh and Bihar . Hindi
10791-594: The same name of 2,500 years ago. The Lion capital of Ashoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the fifth century BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Tulsidas wrote his Awadhi language epic, the Ramcharitmanas , a Bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana , in Varanasi. Several other major figures of
10900-463: The southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow . It lies 121 kilometres (75 mi) downstream of Prayagraj , where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site . Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities . Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of
11009-520: The time of Maitreya . Excavations in 2014 led to the discovery of artefacts dating back to 800 BCE. Further excavations at Aktha and Ramnagar , two sites in the vicinity of the city, unearthed artefacts dating back to 1800 BCE, supporting the view that the area was inhabited by this time. During the time of Gautama Buddha , Varanasi was part of the Kingdom of Kashi . The celebrated Chinese traveller Xuanzang , also known as Hiuen Tsiang, who visited
11118-532: The time of the 2011 Census of India , 83.87% of the population of Varansi Municipal Corporation and Cantonment Board spoke Hindi , 9.03% Urdu , 4.81% Bhojpuri , and 0.92% Bengali as their first language. Varanasi division which consists of four districts, and is headed by the Divisional Commissioner of Varanasi, who is an IAS officer of high seniority, the Commissioner is the head of local government institutions (including Municipal Corporations) in
11227-471: The transition from Middle Indo-Aryan to Hindi are: During the period of Delhi Sultanate in medieval India , which covered most of today's north India, eastern Pakistan, southern Nepal and Bangladesh and which resulted in the contact of Hindu and Muslim cultures , the Sanskrit and Prakrit base of Old Hindi became enriched with loanwords from Persian , evolving into the present form of Hindustani. Hindi achieved prominence in India after it became
11336-677: The world including first and second language speakers. Hindi is the fastest growing language of India , followed by Kashmiri , Meitei , Gujarati and Bengali according to the 2011 census of India . The term Hindī originally was used to refer to inhabitants of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . It was borrowed from Classical Persian هندی Hindī ( Iranian Persian pronunciation: Hendi ), meaning ' of or belonging to Hind (India) ' (hence, ' Indian ' ). Another name Hindavī ( हिन्दवी ) or Hinduī ( हिन्दुई ) (from Persian هندوی 'of or belonging to
11445-445: Was Amit Pathak. On 25 March 2021 the Government of Uttar Pradesh passed an order to divide the Varanasi police into Varanasi City Police and Rural Police. Since then City Police is headed by the Commissioner of Police (CP) , who is an IPS officer of ADGP rank, and is assisted by two additional commissioners of police (Addl. CP) who is of DIG rank, and two deputy commissioners of police (DCP) who are of SP rank. And Rural Police
11554-639: Was envisioned that Hindi would become the sole working language of the Union Government by 1965 (per directives in Article 344 (2) and Article 351), with state governments being free to function in the language of their own choice. However, widespread resistance to the imposition of Hindi on non-native speakers, especially in South India (such as those in Tamil Nadu ) led to the passage of
11663-663: Was established in the city. Under the Treaty of Faizabad, the East India Company acquired Benares in 1775. The city was later annexed under the Benares Division of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the North-Western Provinces in 1836, United Provinces in 1902, and after India's independence of Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Silk weaving , carpets, crafts and tourism employ a significant number of
11772-491: Was estimated at 40 lakh shahi mohars. The Naukahai campaign of Rewa and Chunar Fort, was launched directly from Kalinjar in which the Sohagpur Amarkantak and Shahdol paragana were attached to Peshwa territories. Almost all the occupants of the fort were moon worshipers and are called Chandravanshi clans of Kshatriya, Brahmanas, Kalchuries and Yadavas. In 1812, the British troops marched into Bundelkhand, and after
11881-478: Was founded by Shiva , one of three principal deities along with Brahma and Vishnu . During a conflict between Brahma and Shiva, one of Brahma's five heads was torn off by Shiva. As was the custom, the victor carried the slain adversary's head in his hand and let it hang down from his hand as an act of ignominy, and a sign of his own bravery. A bridle was also put into the mouth. Shiva thus dishonoured Brahma's head, and kept it with him at all times. When he came to
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