Haridwar district (), also spelled Hardwar, is part of Uttarakhand, India that lies in the Doab region, where people traditionally speak Khariboli. It is headquartered at Haridwar which is also its largest city. The district is ringed by the districts Dehradun in the north and east, Pauri Garhwal in the east and the Uttar Pradesh districts of Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor in the south and Saharanpur in the west.
Haridwar district came into existence on 28 December 1988 as part of Saharanpur Divisional Commissionary, On 24 September 1998 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the 'Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill', 1998',Reorganisation Bill passed by UP Govt The Indian Express, 24 September 1998. eventually the Parliament also passed the Indian Federal Legislation – 'Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000', and thus on 9 November 2000,Uttarakhand Govt. of India, Official website. Haridwar became part of the newly formed Uttarakhand (then Uttaranchal), the 27th state of the Republic of India.
As of 2011 it is the most populous district of Uttarakhand (out of 13). Important towns in the district are Haridwar, BHEL Ranipur, Roorkee, Manglaur, Jhabrera, Laksar, Landhaura, Dhandera, Bhagwanpur, and Bahadrabad.
Geography Haridwar district, covering an area of about 12.3 km per square, is in the southwestern part of Uttarakhand state of India. Its latitude and longitude are 29.96-degree north and 78.16-degree east respectively.Haridwara weather and coordinates timeanddate.com/worldclock. The river Ganges flows through it in a series of channels separated from each other called aits, most of which are wooded. Other minor seasonal streams are Ranipur Rao, Pathri Rao, Rawii Rao, Harnaui Rao, and Begam Nadi. City Development Plan: Haridwara Urban Development Department, Government of Uttarakhanda. p.20.
Climate Average temperatures are mostly cooler than that of other parts of the country.
Nature and wildlife The wooded Rajaji National Park, a wildlife sanctuary, is located within the bounds of the district and is accessible through different gates; Ranipur and Chilla Gates are just about 9 km from Haridwar. Sureshvari Devi Mandir, a temple of Goddess Sureshwari, is situated in Rajaji National Park. Cheela Dam is a picnic spot with a dam and a man-made lake nearby; elephants and other wild animals found here. Neel Dhara Pakshi Vihar is a bird sanctuary, situated on the main Ganges river, or Neel Dhara, at the Bhimgoda Barrage; it is visited by bird watchers and home to migratory birds during the winter season.Neel Dhara Bird Sanctuary
History
Legends A discourse of Bhishma in the Vana Parva (Tirtha-yatra Parva) Section XC of The Mahabharata notes:Yudhishthira The Mahabharata, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1883 – 1896), Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section XC, p 204. O! Yudhishthira, the spot where Ganga rusheth past, cleaving the foremost of mountains which is frequented by Gandharvas and Yakshas and Rakshasas and Apsaras, and inhabited by hunters, and Kinnaras, is called Gangadwara (Haridwar). O! King, Sanatkumara regardeth that spot visited by Brahmarshis, as also the Tirtha Kanakhala (that is near to it), as sacred.
According to Hindu literature, Daksha Prajapati, father of Dakshayani, Shiva's first wife, was a ruler here. He performed a yagna, to which he deliberately did not invite Shiva. When he arrived uninvited, he was further insulted by the king, seeing which Sati felt infuriated and self-immolated herself in the yajna-fire. This site is regarded to be at the Sati Kund as it is called now, situated in Kankhal. The heart and navel of Sati are believed to have fallen at the place which is the present site of the Maya Devi Temple, Haridwar, dating back to the 11th century.sites Uttarakhand Govt. Official website. Daksha was later killed by Virabhadra, born out of Shiva's anger. Subsequently, the king was brought to life and given a goat's head by Shiva.
The Skanda Purana mentions a legend, in which Chanda and Munda, the asuras who fought under Sumbha and Nisumbha were killed by goddess Chandi. This site, according to regional legend, is regarded to be at the location of the Chandi Devi Temple.Legend Chandi Devi Temple, Haridwar.
Sage Kapila is regarded to have had an ashram here. The legendary King Bhagiratha, the great-grandson of the Suryavamsha King Sagara, (an ancestor of Rama),Story of Bhagirata is said to have brought the river Ganges down from heaven, through years of penance in Satya Yuga, for the salvation of 60,000 of his ancestors from the curse of the saint Kapila."Uttarakhand Information Centre – Gangotri Information" The Complete Uttarakhand Travel GuideMankodi, Kirit (1973) "Ganga Tripathaga" Artibus Asiae 35(1/2): pp. 139–144, p. 140
In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, where sage Dhaumya tells Yudhishthira about the tirthas of India, Gangadwara, i.e. Haridwar and Kankhal, have been referred to;Historical, Cultural and Social Perspectives Chapter 3, The Cultural Dimension of Ecology, Baidyanath Saraswati, 1998, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. . ignca.nic.in. Vanaparva (The Book of the Forest) is third parva (book) of Mahabharata. the text also mentions that the sage Agastya performed a penance here, with the help of his wife, Lopamudra (the princess of Vidharba).Lopamudra The Mahabharata, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1883 -1896), Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section XCVII.
Ancient period Archaeological findings have proved that terra cotta culture dating between 1700 BCE and 1200 BCE existed in this region.Haridwar History Haridwar Official website.
Haridwar came under the rule of the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), and later under the Kushan Empire (c. 1st–3rd centuries).
It is believed that the sacred Ghat Har ki Pauri was constructed by King Vikramaditya (1st century BC) in memory of his brother Bharthari, who had come to Haridwar and meditated on the banks of holy Ganges and died here.
First ancient era written evidence of Haridwar is found in the accounts of a Chinese traveller, Huan Tsang, who visited India in 629 CE, during the reign of King Harshavardhan (590–647). He records Haridwar as 'Mo-yu-lo', the remains of which still exist at Mayapur, a little to the south of the modern Haridwar town; among the ruins are a fort and three temples, decorated with broken stone sculptures.Hardwar The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 52.Digital Library The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Oxford, 1908, Vol. 13, p. 51. He also mentions the presence of a temple, north of Mo-yu-lo called 'Gangadwara', Gateway of the Ganges.
It is believed that Adi Shankracharya had visited this region and the existing main statue of Chandi Devi Temple was established by him in 8th century A.D.
Medieval period Haridwar region was a part of Delhi Sultanate. The armies of Emperor Timur (1336–1405), a Turkic conqueror, had passed through this region on 13 January 1399 to attack Delhi.History The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 2, p. 570.
During his visit, first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak (1469–1539) bathed at Haridwar's 'Kushwan Ghat', wherein the famous, 'watering the crops' episode took place.Guru Nanak (for Children) – A New Way of TeachingLife Of Guru Nanak: Chapter IV The Sikh Religion, Volume 1, by Max Arthur Macauliffe (1842–1913), Oxford University Press (1909). page 50-52. His visit is today commemorated by a gurudwara (Gurudwara Nanakwara); according to two Sikh Janamsakhis, this visit took place on the Baisakhi day in 1504 CE. He later had also visited Kankhal en route to Kotdwara in Garhwal.Janasakhi Janamsakhis of Miharban and Mani Singh, Janamsakhi Tradition, Dr. Kirpal Singh, 2004, Punjabi University, Patiala. . www.globalsikhstudies.net. Besides this, third Sikh Guru, Sri Amar Das also visited Hardwar twenty two times during his lifetime. – Punjabkesari.
The Mughal period: Ain-e-Akbari, written by Abul Fazal in the 16th century during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar, refers to Maya (Mayapur), known as Hardwar on the Ganges, as sacred city of Hindus.Sacred Places of Pilgrimage Ain-e-Akbari, Vol. III, p. 306. It also mentions that during his travels, and also while at home, Mughal Emperor Akbar drank water from the Ganges river, which he called 'the water of immortality'. Special people were stationed at Sorun and later Haridwar to dispatch water, in sealed jars, to wherever he was stationed.Hardwar Ain-e-Akbari, by Abul Fazl 'Allami, Volume I, A´I´N 22. The A´bda´r Kha´nah. P 55. Translated from the original Persian, by Heinrich Blochmann and Colonel Henry Sullivan Jarrett, Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta, 1873–1907. "His Majesty calls this source of life "the water of immortality", and has committed the care of this department to proper persons.... Both at home and on travels, he drinks Ganges water".
It is said that Akbar's famous Commander-in-Chief, Raja Man Singh of Amber, laid the foundation of the present day city of Haridwar and also renovated the ghats at Har-ki-pauri. After his death, his ashes are also said to have been immersed at Brahma Kund by Mughal emperor Akbar himself. Brahma Kund (literally "Brahma's reservoir") at Har ki Pauri, Haridwar is one among the four sites where drops of the elixir of immortality, Amrita, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher, in which it was being carried away by the celestial bird Garuda, after the Samudra manthan by the Devas and the Asuras. The famous Kumbh Melas are held at these four sites in rotation, to commemorate the event. Thomas Coryat, an English traveller, who visited the city in the reign of Emperor Jahangir (1596–1627) mentions it as 'Haridwara', the capital of Shiva.
British Raj Next the Gurjars of khubar clan established there Landaura state to rule in Gujarat region of the Saharanpur district. In the southern part of Uttarakhand in Haridwar district (earlier part of Saharanpur till 1988) the dominance and kingship was exercises by Gurjars, the area was under control of Panwar Gurjar chief in eastern Saharanpur including Haridwar in kingship of Raja Sabha Chandra of Jabarhera (Jhabrera). Gurjar of the Khubar (Panwar) gotra held more than 500 villages there in upper Doab, and that situation was confirmed in 1759 in a grant by a Rohilla governor of 505 villages and 31 hamlets to one Manohar Singh Gurjar (written in some records as Raja Nahar Singh son of Sabha Chandra). In 1792 Ram Dayal and his son Sawai Singh were ruling the area but due to some family reasons Ramdayal left Jhabrera and went to Landhaura village, now some villages were under the control of Raja Ramdayal Singh at Landhaura, and some under his son Sawai Singh at Jhabrera. Hence, there were two branches of Jhabrera State (riyasat) main branch at Jhabrera and the second one at Landhaura, both father and son were ruling simultaneously without any conflicts till the death of Raja Sawai Singh of Jabarhera in 1803. After the death of Sawai Singh total control of powers transferred to Ram Dayal Singh at Landhaura, but some villages were given to descendants of Sawai Singh and her widow to collect revenue.
By 1803 the Landhaura villages numbered 794 under Raja Ram Dayal Singh. Raja Ram Dayal Singh died on 29 March 1813. These holdings, at least those in the original grant made by the Rohilla governor, were initially recognized by the British in land settlements concluded with Ram Dayal and his heirs. As the years passed, more and more settlements appear to have been made with the village communities, however, and by 1850 little remained of the once vast estate of the Landhaura Gurjars.
Later a Gurjar king from Kunja village named Raja Vijay Singh Gurjar started a rebellion against the Britisher. He killed many Britisher with the help of Gurjars but a large army of the Britisher killed him and his commander Kalyan Singh Gurjar and set fire to Kunja village.