Sultanpur (Hindi: सुल्तानपुर, ) is a city and a municipal board in Sultanpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located on the right banks of the Gomti river(a major tributary of the Himalayan Indus River), Sultanpur is the administrative headquarters of Sultanpur Districtand comes under a part of Faizabad division. According to the 2011 Indian census, Sultanpur has a population of 116,211 people. Total area occupied by Sultanpur is 4436 sq.kms. The common language of the people of Sultanpur is Awadhi, dialect of Hindi.
Sultanpur is distinguished for its unique culture. Originally known as Kushapura, city came under the Muslim rule in the 12th century. Although the area has been part of successive North Indian kingdoms through centuries, the recorded history of the city began in the colonial times. Long a center of Hindu and Buddhist culture it fell under Muslim occupation in the 12th century. The town was completely destroyed during the military operations of the Revolt of 1857.
Its economy is predominantly agricultural, but has a broad industrial base in the automobile, computer, technology, hardware manufacturing, healthcare and small scale industries. Some of the crops cultivated here are rice, wheat, barley, sugarcane and poppy. The main industrial center in Sultanpur is Jagdishpur. Places of interest in Sultanpur are Victoria Manzil, Christ Church and Chimanlal Park. The city has a large number of temples and palaces. Major points of attractions include the Victoria Manzil and Christ Church
Historical background
The Sultanpur district Gazeteer published in 1903 A.D. sheds some light on the history and origine of the district. It notes that the chief land owning families of the time were the Rajputs of various clans, who possessed 76.16% of the total land area. Among them Raghuvanshies and the Rajkumars along-held over one-fourth of the district, while their kinsmen, the Bachgotis and Rajwars owned 11.4 and 3.4%, respectively. The Rajkumars were the proprietors nearly the whole of Aldemau. Their chief was the Raja of Dera. The head of Bachgotis was the Raja of Kurwar while the taluqdar of Samrathpur represented another branch of the family. The chief of Rajwars was the taluqdar of Pratabpur. Another member of the Rajwars family was the Raja of Hasanpur. Allied to him were the families of Maniarpur and Gangeo and between them they owned a large portion of the central area. Next to Bachgotis and their kinsmen come the Bandhalgotis, who owned almost the whole of Amethi pargana. Their head was the Raja of Amethi, while the taluqdar Shahgarh belonged to the same clan. The Rajputs with large properties in the district were the Bhale Sultans who owned 4.72%, the Kanhapurias with 4.7%, and the Bais with 2.8%. Bhale Sultans were dwelling in the north west corner of the district in the parganas of Isauli, Musafirkhana and Jagdishpur. The Kanhpurias were chiefly confined to pargana Gaura Jamo, almost the whole of which belonged to them. The Bais were scattered about in small groups.
Another important branch of the land owning clans was the house of Raj Sah. Raj Sah had three sons, Ishri Singh, Chakrasen Singh and Rup Chand. From Ishari Singh, after nine generations came Bijai Chand, who had three sons. Harkaran Deo. Jit Rai, and Jionarain. Harkaran Deo was the ancestor of Nane]0mau taluqdar; the descendants of Jit Rai were the owners of Meopur Dahla, Meopur Dhaurua, and Bhadaiyan; and from Jionarain descended the Raja of Dera. The fourth descendant of Jionarain led the first of the six colonies of Rajkumars across the Gomti and planted himself at Dera on the banks of the river. This house became one of the main branches of the Bachgotis of Sultanpur.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century Babu Madho Singh, eleventh in descent from Jionarain was the rular of the estate which consisted of 101 villages. Babu Madho Singh who is remembered as the successful leader and who managed his property well died in 1823. He was succeeded by his widow, Thakurain Dariao Kunwar, a most remarkable woman, who through toil and turmoil not only bravely held her own, but added to her estates than her husband had done in his lifetime. The direct line of succession had ended with the death of Thakurain's husband, Babu Madho singh. The Next male collateral heir was Babu Rustam Sah, whom Thakurain disliked. Babu Rustam Sah was in the service of Maharaja Man Singh, the nazim of the day and with his help succeeded in capturing Thakurain and made her write a deed in his favour. That formidable woman, whose pride iuy5498y poi -=-0p\][\]hg7ty6was hurt grieved for a few months and died. Rustam Sah was given the possession of the property by the nazim. Rustam Sah came to know later that the nazim had ulterior motives in helping him. A fight would have followed and Rustam would have killed nazim, but for a pandit who advised him that the time was not propitious. Later, Rustam Sah sought asylum across the British border and was made the taluqdar of Dera, which consisted of 336 villages. Rustam Sah rendered excellent service during the Mutiny. He died in 1877 and was succeeded by his nephew, Raja Rudra Pratap Singh.
Role in Vedic culture and literature
Lord Rama divided, during his lifetime, his vast kingdom among his brothers and sons. His son, Kush succeeded to the south Kosala with its capital at Ayodhya. The old city of Sultanpur which lay on the right bank of the Gomti is said to have been called Kusapura or Kusabhavanpur, having been named after Kusa, who is locally believed to have founded it. Kusa appears to have extended the Aryan ideals and institutions to the Vindhya region. The story of his marriage with a Nag princess testifies that he propagated Vedic culture among aborigines. Afterwards the central power of Kosala became week and Dirghayajna, the ruler of Ayodhya, was subdued by Bhima, one of five Pandavas in the Mahabharat War (Mahabharata, Sabhaparva). A few generations later, in the period of king Para, Ayodhya was occupied by the king Divakara of Sravasti branch, founded by Rama's second son, Lava. The District then began to be ruled over by the Kosala kings from their capital at Sravasti. The tract of river Gomti around the village Dhopap (pargana Chanda, tehsil Kadipur) is described as Dhutpap in Visnu Puran. The original town was situated on the left bank of the Gomti. It is said to have been founded by Kusa, son of Rama, and to have been named after him Kusapura or Kusabhavanpur. This ancient city has been identified by General Cunnigham with the Kusapur mentioned by Hiuentsang, the Chinese traveller. He states that there was in his time a dilapidated stupa of Ashoka and that Buddha taught here for six months. There are Buddhist remains still visible at Mahmoodpur, a village, 8 km distant to the north-west of Sultanpur. The town subsequently fell into the hands of Bhars, who retained it until it was taken from them by Musalmans in the 12th century. About seven hundred and fifty years ago, it is said, two brothers, Sayid Muhammad and Sayid Ala-ud-Din, horse dealer by profession, visited eastern Avadh and offered some horses for sale to Bhar Chieftains of Kusabhavanpur, who seized the horses and put the two brothers to death. This came to the ear of Ala-ud-Din Khilji, who would not allow such an outrage to pass unpunished. Gathering a mighty force, therefore, he set out for Kusabhavanpur and took revenge by killing most of the Bhars by strategem adopted after a long drawn siege. Kusabhavanpur was reduced to ashes and the town of Sultanpur, so called from the rank of the victor, rose upon its ruins. This town was finally raised to the ground during the military operations connected with the reoccupation of the province in consequence of the inhabitants having been concerned in the murder of British officers at the outbreak of the freedom struggle of 1857. Before annexation a military station and cantonment were established on the right bank of the river in a village then known as Girghit but more commonly called by officials Sultanpur or Chhaoni Sarkar and by the rustic population Kampu or the Cam. The present town of Sultanpur has been developed at this site. In this city there are two parks, one maintained by Soldiers', Sailers' and Airmen's board and other privately maintained known as Chimanlal Park. Alibrary called Vinayak Mehta Library Trust Association and contains over 10,000 books.
Administration
Administration of Sultanpur consist of six tehsils viz. Dostpur, Lambhua, Kadipur, Koeripur,Template:Musafikhana and Korwa. There are 22 development blocks, one municipality and five town areas. Besides important towns of Sultanpur areTemplate:Jagdishpur,Template:Mushafirkhana,Template:Shukul bazar, Amethi, Dostpur, Kadipur, Lambhua and Koeripur. Sultanpur is divided into 26 police stations for the maintenance of law and order.
Facebook group "Ghar" Sultanpur is its biggest Social Community. It was created by Nitin Mishra on 26 January 2009 It is biggest Social Community its like virtual family of Sultanpur.It has more than 9000+ members till date
Geography and climate
Sultanpur is the headquarters of the Sultanpur district, north side of this district is bounded by Faizabad district, south side is bounded by Pratapgarh district, west side is bounded by Barabanki district and Raebareli district and the east side is bounded by Azamgarh district, Ambedkarnagar district, and Jaunpur district . It has an average elevation of 95 metres (312 ft). Geography of Sultanpur comprises plain lands except some regions around gomti river which drains almost the whole city and district, however southern part of city drains towards Sai river flowing through the Pratapgarh district. The only significant mineral found in region is Kanker. Moreover, Clay is also found in almost all parts of the region.
Sultanpur has a tropical wet and dry climate with average temperatures ranging between 20 to 28 °C (68 to 82 °F). Sultanpur experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and a mild autumn. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from 30 to 38 °C (86 to 100 °F). The warmest month in Sultanpur is April; although summer doesn't end until May, the city often receives heavy thundershowers in May (and humidity remains high). Even during the hottest months, the nights are usually cool due to Sultanpur's altitude. The highest temperature ever recorded was 48.3 °C (118.9 °F). The monsoon lasts from June to October, with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from 10 to 28 °C (50 to 82 °F). Most of the 722 mm (28.4 inches) of annual rainfall in the city fall between June and September, and July is the wettest month of the year. Autumn begins in November. The daytime temperature hovers around 28 °C (82 °F) while night temperature is below 10 °C (50 °F) for most of December and January, often dropping to 3 to 4 °C (37 to 39 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded was 1.7 °C.
Demographics
As per provisional data of 2011 census, Sultanpur urban agglomeration had a population of 116,211 out of which males were 61,062 (52.54%)and females were 55,149 (47.46%).Sultanpur has an average literacy rate of 87.61%, of which male literacy is 91.45%,and female literacy is 83.37%. In Sultanpur, 10.44% of the population is under 6 years of age. Sex ratio is 904 per 100 males. The child sex ratio stands at 886 girls against 1000 boys.