Baramulla
Baramulla
Varmul | |
---|---|
UTC+5:30 (IST) | |
PIN | 193101 (New City), 193102 (Old City), 193103 |
Telephone code | 01952 |
Vehicle registration | JK-05 |
Website | baramulla |
Baramulla (Urdu pronunciation:
The town was earlier known as Vārāhamūla. The name is derived from two
Origin
The name Baramulla is derived from the Sanskrit Varāhamūla (वराहमूल), a combination of varaha (boar) and mūla (root or deep) meaning "boar's molar."[7]
According to Hindu mythology, the
The modern Baramulla was called Varahamulaksetra or Varahaksetra in the ancient days. Originally, it was a suburb of Huviskapura (modern Ushkur). Associated with the Adivaraha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, it was considered very sacred. Consequently, many temples and monasteries were built in the ninth and tenth centuries, during the region of Lalitaditya Muktapida, (Queen) Sugandha, and Ksemagupta, when the worship of Vishnu flourished there.
History
Ancient and medieval
According to some accounts the city of Baramulla was founded by Raja Bhimsina in 2306 B.C. stayed at Baramulla during his visit to Kashmir in 1620.
From the beginning, Baramulla has had religious importance.
In 1620, the sixth
Baramulla was the oldest and most-important town in northern
October 1947
They allegedly killed Christian Missionary Nuns and nurses at St Joseph's Hospital on their way to Srinagar airport.[13][14][15]
On the morning of 27 October, India airlifted troops from Delhi to the Srinagar airfield while the tribal forces were still at Baramulla, harassing and looting the people.
Reports
Aastair Lamb wrote in Incomplete Partition, Roxford 1997, pp. 186–187:
The (tribal) leaders completely lost control over their men, an orgy of killing was the result. This was certainly the case at St Joseph's College, Convent and Hospital, the site of what was to become one of the most publicised incidents of the entire Kashmir conflict. Here nuns, priests and congregation, including patients in the hospital, were slaughtered; and at the same time a small number of Europeans, notably Lt. Colonel D.O. Dykes and his wife, an Englishwoman preparing to leave the hospital that day with her new-born baby, Mother Teresalina, a twenty-nine-year-old Spanish nun who had been in Baramulla only a few weeks, as well as Mother Aldertrude, the Assistant Mother Superior, and one Mr Jose Barretto, husband of the doctor, met their deaths at tribal hands.[16]
Charles Chevenix Trench wrote in The Frontier Scouts (1985):
In October 1947... tribal lashkars hastened in lorries – undoubtedly with official logistic support – into Kashmir... at least one British Officer, Harvey-Kelly took part in the campaign. It seemed that nothing could stop these hordes of tribesmen taking Srinagar with its vital airfield. Indeed nothing did, but their own greed. The Mahsuds in particular stopped to loot, rape and murder; Indian troops were flown in and the lashkars pushed out of the Vale of Kashmir into the mountains. The Mahsuds returned home in a savage mood, having muffed an easy chance, lost the loot of Srinagar and made fools of themselves.
Sam Manekshaw (later a field marshal) was a colonel in the Directorate of Military Operations who went to Srinagar with V. P. Menon to assess the situation on 26 October 1947. He later told in an interview:[17]
Fortunately for Kashmir, the tribals were busy raiding, raping all along. In Baramulla they killed Colonel D.O.T. Dykes. Dykes and I were of the same seniority. We did our first year's attachment with the Royal Scots in Lahore, way back in 1934-5. Tom went to the Sikh regiment. I went to the Frontier Force regiment. We'd lost contact with each other. He'd become a lieutenant colonel. I'd become a full colonel. Tom and his wife were holidaying in Baramulla when the tribesmen killed them.
Tom Cooper of the Air Combat Information Group wrote, "The Pathans appeared foremost interested in looting, killing, ransacking and other crimes against the inhabitants instead of a serious military action."[18]
According to Mohammad Akbar Khan (Colonel, Pakistan army, who was promoted as Brigadier and made in charge of sending the tribals to Kashmir and who had been a contemporary of Col. Dykes at Royal Military College, Sandhurst) in his War for Kashmir in 1947, "The uncouth raiders delayed in Baramulla for two (whole) days ."[19]
Biju Patnaik (later Chief Minister of Odisha) piloted the first plane to land at Srinagar airport that morning. He brought 17 soldiers from the 1st Sikh Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai. The pilot flew low over the airstrip twice to ensure that no raiders were around. Instructions from Prime Minister Nehru's office were clear: If the airport was taken over by the enemy, they were not to land. Taking a full circle, the DC-3 flew at ground level. Soldiers peered from the aircraft and found the airstrip empty. The raiders were too busy distributing the war booty among themselves in Baramulla.
Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai immediately moved with his small platoon towards Baramulla hoping to stop the tribal raiders at the mouth of the funnel which opens 5 km east of Baramula into a wide valley. He led his men from the front and died of bullet wound the same day, 27 October 1947, at Patan but delayed the raiders for a day. As more Indian troops flew into Srinagar the next day, they started pushing the raiders back.[20] It took two weeks for the Indian army to evict the raiders (who had been joined by Pakistani regulars and were well-entrenched) from Baramulla on 9 November 1947.
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah spoke to the UN Security Council on 5 February 1948: "The raiders came to our land, massacred thousands of people – mostly Sikhs, but Hindus and Muslims, too – abducted thousands of girls, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims alike, looted our property and almost reached the gates of our summer capital, Srinagar."[21]
Robert Trumbull, The New York Times, 10 Nov 1947; reporting from Baramulla [UN doc # S/PV.762/Add.1/Annex 1/No. 26]:
The raid of the convent is narrated in even gory details by Father Shanks, one of the fortunate survivors and the anonymous 'witnesses' in the following report.
"The tribesmen - great, wild, black beasts they were - came shooting their way down from the hills on both sides of the town. They climbed over the hospital walls from all sides. The first group burst into a ward firing at the patients. A 20-year-old Indian nurse, Philomena, tried to protect a Muslim patient whose baby had just been born. She was shot dead first. The Patient was next. Mother Superior Aldetude rushed into the ward, knelt over Philomena and was at once attacked and robbed. The Assistant Mother, Teresalina, saw a tribesman point a rifle at Mother Aldetrude and jumped in front of her. A bullet went through Teresalina's heart. At the moment Colonel Dykes, who had assured us we would not be attacked, raced from his room a few yards along the terrace to get the Mother Superior out of danger, shouting at the tribesmen as he ran. But the Mother Superior fell shot, and Colonel Dykes collapsed beside her with a bullet in the stomach. Mrs Dykes ran from her husband's room to help him. She too was shot dead.
While this went on, Mr Gee Boretto, an Anglo-Indian, was killed in the garden before nine Christian Nuns. Then the nuns were lined up before a firing squad. As the tribesmen raised their rifles a young Afridi Officer, who once studied in a Convent School at Peshawar, rushed in and stopped them. At least there are living features of human quality in these incidents. He had been told his men were raiding a Convent, and had run all the way from the town. That saved all our lives by a few seconds.
We did not find Mrs Dykes until the following day. She had been thrown down a well."
Father Shank of the Convent [UN doc # S/PV.762/Add.1/Annex 1/No. 27]:
"Their buses and trucks, loaded with booty, arrived every other day and took more Pathans to Kashmir. Ostensibly they wanted to liberate their Kashmir Muslim brothers, but their primary objective was to riot and loot. In this they made no distinction between Hindu, Sikhs and Muslims. The raiders advanced in Baramulla, the biggest commercial centre of the region with a population of 11,000 until they were only an hour away from Srinagar. For the next three days they were engaged in massive plunder, rioting and rape. No one was spared. Even members of the St. Joseph's Mission Hospital were brutally massacred."
- 'Half Way to Freedom' by Margaret Bourke-White
Andrew Whitehead, who was BBC correspondent in India, reported on the October 1947 atrocities in Baramulla, particularly on the Christian mission convent and hospital, in his book "A Mission in Kashmir".[22]
Recent years
The road network has been improved in Baramulla since 1947, and better educational facilities have been created. Bridges on the Jhelum River have been built (or are planned) to connect the old town on the north bank of the river with the new town on the south bank. Urban renewal in the old town has been attempted by moving residents to the new town. Uptown Baramulla is a developed locality with shopping complexes and posh housing colonies. Baramulla is connected by rail with Srinagar, Anantnag, Qazigund and Banihal.
Geography
Baramulla is on the Jhelum River, at its highest point. Baramulla tehsil is stretched from Village Khushalpora in the east to village Boniyar in the west. The old town is on the north bank of the river, and the new town is on the south bank. They are connected by five bridges, including a suspension bridge connecting Gulnar Park and Dewan Bagh. Five more bridges are being built or are planned. A bridge will connect the Khanpora and Drangbal areas of the city.
The old town is densely populated and smaller than the new town. Government offices, hospitals, the bus station and most other facilities are in the new town. The Baramulla railway station is on the eastern end of the new town, on the river. Beyond the old town, the river divides into two channels at Khadanyar (near police headquarters), forming an island known as Eco Park.
Baramulla is located at 34.2° N 74.34° E . It has an average elevation of 1,593 meters (5,226 feet).
Climate
Baramulla has a temperate climate, with cold, snowy winters and warm summers.
Climate data for Baramulla (1971–1986) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) |
8.2 (46.8) |
14.1 (57.4) |
20.5 (68.9) |
24.5 (76.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.1 (86.2) |
29.6 (85.3) |
27.4 (81.3) |
22.4 (72.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
19.7 (67.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2 (28) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
3.4 (38.1) |
7.9 (46.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.5 (63.5) |
12.1 (53.8) |
5.8 (42.4) |
0.9 (33.6) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
7.3 (45.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 48 (1.9) |
68 (2.7) |
121 (4.8) |
85 (3.3) |
68 (2.7) |
39 (1.5) |
62 (2.4) |
76 (3.0) |
28 (1.1) |
33 (1.3) |
28 (1.1) |
54 (2.1) |
710 (27.9) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.6 | 7.3 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 5.7 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 75.6 |
Source: HKO[23] |
Demographics
Baramulla is the fourth-most populous city in Jammu and Kashmir state.[24] Baramulla's old town is known as Shehr-e-Khas, and its new town as Greater Baramulla.[citation needed]
As of 2011[update] India census, Baramulla had a population of 71,434.[3] There were 38,677 males (54%) and 32,757 females (46%).[3][2] Of the population, 8,878 (12.4%) were age 0-6: 4,851 males (55%) and 4,027 females (45%).[3][27] The literacy rate for the people over six was 79.6% (males 87.3%, females 70.6%).[3][27]
Census | Baramula Urban Area |
Baramula | Out Growths (OG) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fateh Pora | Kanis Pora | Gotiyar | Frastahar | Takia Sultan | |||
1911[2] | 6,599 | 6,599 | |||||
1921[2] | 6,744 | 6,744 | |||||
1931[2] | 6,886 | 6,886 | |||||
1941[2] | 12,724 | 12,724 | |||||
1951[2] | 16,289 | 16,289 | |||||
1961[2] | 19,854 | 19,854 | |||||
1971[2] | 26,334 | 26,334 | |||||
1981[2] | 33,945 | 33,945 | |||||
2001[2] | 71,896 | 61,830 | 2,639 | 3,981 | 1,145 | 876 | 1,425 |
2011[2] | 71,434 | 58,053 | 1,973 | 6,019 | 1,414 | 1,751 | 2,224 |
Area in 2011[2] | |||||||
km2 sq miles |
23.98 9.26 |
8.35 3.22 |
4.22 1.63 |
5.70 2.20 |
1.10 0.42 |
0.53 0.20 |
4.08 1.58 |
Languages
The most commonly-used languages are
Education
Baramulla has a number of government-run schools. Higher secondary schools are known as intermediate colleges. There are separate higher secondary schools for boys and girls further one Higher Secondary School in old Town, Baramulla has a
Baramulla has separate government degree colleges for men and women, and a medical college associated with the district hospital. The north campus of the University of Kashmir is located outskirts the Baramulla town, and an engineering college has been established. CIIIT is only Institute in kashmir valley which is located in kanispora area of Baramulla
Baramulla has the government Baramulla Polytechnic College, which was established in 2012. It is in the Kanispora area of Baramulla city. The polytechnic teaches three-year diploma courses in electrical engineering and architecture. Government Medical college Baramulla has started functioning the normal classes since August 2018.
Healthcare
Baramulla has District Medical Hospital and District Veterinary Hospital, with
Baramulla has a privately run facility for mothers and child hospital called St Joseph's Hospital. It was started in 1921 and is running smoothly to the entire satisfaction of the populace.
Government Medical College, Baramulla was inaugurated in year 2018 and started its function from its first batch in year 2019.
Eco Park
Eco Park is on the island in the middle of
A cable car project and expansion of Eco Park are planned.[33]
Transport
Road
From Srinagar
Baramulla is about 55 km (34 mi) from Srinagar, capital of Jammu and Kashmir state.
Baramulla is well connected to Kupwara by NH701 National Highway and also connected to Gulmarg by another National Highway NH701A
From Uri and Muzaffarabad
The 123-kilometre (76 mi) road from Muzaffarabad to Baramulla runs along the Jhelum River. On the Pakistani side, it is known as "Srinagar Road." Starting from Domel Bridge,
From Kupwara via Watergam
Baramulla is connected to Kupwara by National Highway NH-701 a 130-km road from Baramulla to Tangdhar passing through towns of Watergam and Handwara. The distance from Baramulla to Watergam is 15 km whereas from Baramulla to Handwara is 29 km. The distance from Kupwara to Baramulla is 47 km.
Air
Train
Baramulla is the last station on the 119-kilometre (74 mi)-long
The nearest railway terminus for long-distance trains is Katra, about 276 km (171 mi) south.
See also
References
- ^ due weightin the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) below).
(a) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
(b) Pletcher, Kenneth, Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 16 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
(c) "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328,ISBN 978-1-84904-621-3Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n A-4 Towns And Urban Agglomerations Classified By Population Size Class In 2011 With Variation Since 1901. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (Report).
Class - II Population of 50,000 and 99,999 (Report). - ^ a b c d e f g District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Kashir Encyclopedia (in Kashmiri). Vol. 2. Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Arts Culture and Languages. 1989. p. 207.
- ISBN 978-81-7648-537-1.
- ISBN 9788176485371. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
That the valley of Kashmir was once a vast lake, known as "Satisaras", the lake of Parvati (consort of Shiva), is enshrined in our traditions. There are many mythological stories connected with the desiccation of the lake, before the valley was fit for habitation. The narratives make it out that it was occupied by a demon 'Jalodbhava', till Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and struck the mountain at Baramulla (ancient Varahamula) boring an opening in it for the water to flow out.
- ^ "History | Official website of District Baramulla | India". Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "District Profile". Baramulla.nic.in. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
- ^ "Who changed the face of '47 war?". The Times of India. 14 August 2005. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2005.
- ISBN 978-1598843361.
- ISBN 978-81-7764-715-0.
- ISBN 978-1-84467-735-1.
- ^ Triloki Nath Dhar. "The Story of Kashmir Affairs – A Peep into the Past". Kashmir-information.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014.
- ^ "Remember Baramulla". Jloughnan.tripod.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
- ^ "Rediff on the NeT: An interview with Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Tom Cooper (29 October 2003), Indo-Pakistani War, 1947–1949, Air Combat Information Group, archived from the original on 13 June 2006, retrieved 11 April 2012
- ^ "October 27, 1947: Dakota in my dell ~ FRONTLINE KASHMIR". Frontlinekashmir.org. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
- ^ "The 1947-48 Kashmir War The war of lost opportunities". March 1999. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via archive.org.
- ^ "Excerpts of Sheikh Abdullah's February 5, 1948, speech in the UN Security Council". www.satp.org. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Full text: A Mission in Kashmir".
- ^ "Climatological Information for Srinigar, India". Hong Kong Observatory. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ Towns censusindia.gov.in Archived 13 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine[dead link]
- ^ "Baramulla City Population". Census India. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ C-1 Population By Religious Community – Jammu & Kashmir (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b 2011 Census, Primary Census Abstract Data Tables. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (Report).
Baramulla EB-0108 (Report). - )
- ^ "Hanfia Model High School Delina-B", Schools.org.in, retrieved 12 June 2021
- ^ "Hanfia Model High School Ushkura", Schools.org.in, retrieved 12 June 2021
- ^ "Home", Budding Bloom Experimental School, Khawajabagh Baramulla, retrieved 12 June 2021
- ^ "Eco Park Baramulla". Discover Kashmir. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ GreaterKashmir.com (Greater Service) (3 July 2011). "Where is Greater Baramulla Lastupdate:- Sun, 3 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT". Greaterkashmir.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012.
- Directory of Statistics, Jammu and Kashmir (2009)