Alampur, Madhya Pradesh

Alampur
आलमपुर
city
Alampur

Location in Madhya Pradesh, India

Coordinates: 26°01′26″N 78°47′08″E / 26.023753°N 78.785418°E / 26.023753; 78.785418Coordinates: 26°01′26″N 78°47′08″E / 26.023753°N 78.785418°E / 26.023753; 78.785418
Country  India
State Madhya Pradesh
District Bhind
Area
 • Total 12.11 km2 (4.68 sq mi)
Elevation 159 m (522 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 10,694
 • Density 880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 477449
ISO 3166 code IN-MP
Vehicle registration MP

Alampur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Bhind district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is a historical town. Alampur is known for its history, for the chhatri of Malhar Rao Holkar which is in Alampur.

Geography

Alampur is located at 26°01′N 78°47′E / 26.02°N 78.79°E / 26.02; 78.79.[1] It has an average elevation of 159 metres (521 feet). It is 110 km from district headquarters Bhind. It is 100 km from Gwalior and 60 km from Datia.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[2] Alampur had a population of 9,350. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Alampur has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 36%. In Alampur, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Origin of the name

Alampur was built on the name of Alam Shah Pavar who came here as the governor of province. No one knows about the origin of the Alampur Fortress but we can make supposition according to its architecture that this must be built around 14-15th century.

History

Ancient Chhatri at Alampur
Back View of Chhatri

Alampur is a historical town. It was a tehsil in Indore state. It is holy land of Malhar Rao Holkar and Ahilyabai Holkar. There is an ancient chhatri of Malhar Rao Holkar and a Fortress at Alampur.

Alampur Pargana

Alampur was a small isolated pargana belonging to Indore State but situated in the Bundelkhand Agency, Central India, with an area of 37 square miles, lying round the town of Alampur. The pargana was formed in 1766 when Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder of the house of Indore, died suddenly at the village of Alampur. To provide for the up-keep of his last resting place, 27 villages were obtained from the neighbouring chiefs of Gwalior, Datia, Jalaun, and Jhansi, and their revenues devoted to this purpose. The Rajput chiefs, from whom the villages were probably taken by force, were long opposed to the erection of the dead Maharaja's cenotaph, and destroyed it several times; finally, however, with the support of Sindhia the work was finished. The pargana was managed directly from Indore, and yielded a revenue of Rs. 59,000. The population in 1901 was 16,711, compared with 17,038 in 1891. There were 26 villages in the pargana. The largest is Alampur, also called Malharnagar, with a population (1901) of 2,843. A school, a dispensary, and a British post office were situated here.

Chhatri

Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar built the chhatri of Malhar Rao Holkar at Alampur in Bhind district in 1766 A.D. It is marked by beautiful carvings. Built on the pattern of the chhatris of Holkar rulers at Indore, the chhatri is famous for its outstanding carving of floral and leaf patterns. The Maratha style chhatri represents a beautiful blend of shikhar dome and arch, on which Kalash has been made in a very attractive manner. The first storey of the chhatri is a pillared hall decorated with fascinating paintings. This canopy is located on the left side of the entrance of Alampur. In 1766, Malhar rao Holkar camped here during there battle with Jaat Rulers during which he died here and a Spectacular canopy was built here in his memory and it is currently known as Malhar Rao Holkar Chhatri. Chatri is built on a 6-foot-high scaffold with a sanctorum in the middle and encompass a path around it founded on the pillars. Nice carvings filled with colors are on the roof of the encompassing path and vines are carved on the walls of sanctorum inspired by Iranian Style. Carvings are also there on the balcony of the sanctorum (गर्भगृह) with sun on the middle of north, east and south while a tortoise on the west balcony. Sanctorium remain above the main peak which is oval in shape amra vase (आम्र कलश) at its top. Lot of other peaks are around the main peak. The sanctorum also has windows all around. The wall on the left side of canopy has statues of the ruling family with five panels of such. Some statues are also there on the walls of the canopy. At present a trust is looking after the Chhatri.

Fortress

No one knows about the origin of the Alampur Fortress but we can make supposition according to its architecture that this must be built around 14-15th century.There are two entrance one at East and other one at North,however the door at the east was the main entrance of the fortress and it seems that Door at the north was built later.The ramparts of the fortress are damaged at present but it can be supposed that the Fortress was very strong in the past.Shala bhavan inside the fortress which looks similar to darbaar is having cracks at many places but can be reinforced again after little maintenance. Currently a trust office is running at the second Building which is in nice condition and possibly this was the residence of the governor of the province.A Shrine and a Shiv temple is situated just in front of this building. Every other building of this fortress got damaged and if no one pays concentration the remaining will also get damaged and we will loose one of our heritage again.

Other Historical Temples, Monuments and other places in Alampur

Harihareshwar (Badi Mata) temple, Batuk, Malharimarthand, Surya, Renuka, Ram Hanuman Temples, Shriram Temple, Laxmi Narayan Temple, Maruti Temple, Narsinh Temple, Khanderao Martand Temple, Memorial of Malhar Rao.

People and culture

Alampur is in Bhind District whose identity is of Guns and Docoits, but Alampur is not area of docoits. The people of Alampur are very gentle and educated. Alampur is a historical town and Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar built many temples in Alampur, the people are very religiose. They celebrate all the festivals. Major festivals are Holi, Diwali, Eid, Christmas and Raksha bandhan. Alampur is also in Bundelkhand, so there is effect of Bundelkhand's culture in Alampur. There is a large number of Hindus in Alampur. Muslims, Christians and sikkha also live here.

Administration

Alampur was governed by a municipality (nagar panchayat) under the Madhya Pradesh municipality act in 1978. There are 15 wards in nagar panchayat Alampur.

Education

Alampur is a developed town in the field of Education. According to the census of 2001, there are 5,700 literate people in Alampur. There are many colleges and schools. Some are following-

Educational institutions

Agriculture and business

In the field of Agriculture and Business, Alampur is more develop now. There is a Krisi Upaj Mandi,that is one among the 6 Krishi Upaj Mandies in Bhind district.

Banks

National banks

Other banks

Excursions

References

  1. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - alampur
  2. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
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