Impact of tourism in Agra Introduction:

Agra, the former capital of Hindustan, is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is 363 kilometres (226 mi) west of the state capital, Lucknow, and 200 kilometres (124 mi) south of the national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 (2010 est.), it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most populous inIndia. Agra can also refer to the administrative district that has its headquarters in Agra city. The city is mentioned in the epic Mahbhrata, where it was called Agrevaa ("the border of the forest").Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, a Sikarwar Rajput king (c. 1475), whose fort, Badalgarh, stood on or near the site of the present fort. However, the 11th century Persian poet Mas'd Sa'd Salmn writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by the Shh King Jayapala, by SultanMahmud of Ghazni. Sultan Sikandar Lod was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in 1506. He died in 1517 and his son, Ibrhm Lod, remained in power there for nine more years, finally being defeated at the Battle of Panipat in 1526.[4] Between 1540 and 1556, Afghans, beginning with Sher Shah Suri, and Hindu King Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (also called Hemu), ruled the area. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658. It is a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpr Sikr, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Agra

Coordinates:

27.18N 78.02ECoordinates:

27.18N 78.02E

Country State District

India Uttar Pradesh Agra

Area city 188.40 km2 (72.74 sq mi)

Elevation

171 m (561 ft)

Population (2010) city Rank Density Metro Languages 1,686,976 19 8,954/km2 (23,190/sq mi) 1,727,275

 Official

Hindi

Time zone

IST (UTC+5:30)

PIN Telephone code

282 X 91(562)

Website

agra.nic.in

Places of interest

Tajmahal Fatehpur sikri

I'timd-Ud-Daulah Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra Swm Bgh Samdhi

Mankameshwar Temple

Jam Masjid
Main article: Jama Masjid (Agra) The Jma Masjid is a large mosque attributed to Shah Jahan's daughter, Princess Jahanara Begum, built in 1648, notable for its unusual dome and absence of minarets. The inscription at its entrance shows that it cost Rs 5 Lakhs at that time for its completion.

Chn k Rauza

[edit]Chn

k Rauza

Main article: Chini Ka Rauza

Notable for its Persian influenced dome of blue glazed tiles, the Chn k Rauza is dedicated to the Prime Minister of Shh Jahn, 'Allma Afzal Khl Mull Shukrullh of Shirz. [edit]Rm

Bgh

Main article: Ram Bagh The oldest Mughal garden in India, the Rm Bgh was built by the Emperor Bbar in 1528 on the bank of the Yamuna. It lies about 2.34 km (1 mi) north of the Tj Mahal. The pavilions in this garden are designed so that the wind from the Yamuna, combined with the greenery, keeps them cool even during the peak of summer. The original name of the gardens was rm Bgh, or 'Garden of Relaxation', and this was where the Mughal emperor Bbar used to spend his leisure time and where he eventually died. His body was kept here for some time before sending it to Kabul. [edit]Mariam's

Tomb

Main article: Mariams Tomb Mariams Tomb, is the tomb of Mariam, the wife of great Mughal Emperor Akbar. The tomb is within the compound of the Christian Missionary Society. [edit]Mehtb

Bgh

Main article: Mehtab Bagh

Plan of the Taj complex with the Mehtab Bagh gardens to the left

The Mehtb Bgh, or 'Moonlight Garden', is on the opposite bank of the River Yamuna from the Tj Mahal. [edit]Keetham

Lake

Main article: Keetham Lake Also known as Sur Sarovar, Keetham Lake is situated about 7 kilometres from akbar tomb Agra, within the Surdas Reserved Forest. The lake has an impressive variety of aquatic life and water birds

Mughal Heritage Walk

The Mughal Heritage Walk is a part of community development programme being implemented with support of Agra Municipal corporation, USAID and an NGO; Center for Urban and Regional Excellence. It seeks to build sustainable livelihoods for youth and women from low resource communities and improve their living environments through infrastructure services and integration within the city. The Mughal Heritage Walk is a one kilometre loop which connects the agricultural fields with the Rajasthani culture, river bank connected with the ancient village of Kuchhpura, the Heritage Structure of Mehtab Bagh, the Mughal aqueduct system, the Humanyun Mosque and the Gyarah Sidi. [edit]The

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agra. [edit]Economy

A shopping mall situated on the Fatehabad Road

A marble table top in Pietra Dura, a craft practised since the Mughal era in Agra

The Sadar Bazar market

An Agra craftsman working with marble stone inlays. The marble is coloured red to give contrast while working.

Nearly five centuries ago, Agra was the commercial nerve centre of Mughal empire[citation needed]. Due to the presence of the Taj Mahal and other historic monuments, it has a tourism industry as well royal crafts likePietra Dura, marble inlay and carpets Today 40% of the population depends largely on agriculture, and others on the leather and footwear business and iron foundries. Agra is the second most selfemployed in India in 2007, behind Varanasi, followed by Bhopal, Indore and Patna. According to the National Sample Survey Organization, in 19992000, 431 of every 1,000 employed males were self-employed in the city, which grew to 603 per 1,000 in 200405.[11]Tourism contributes to the economy of Agra. Agra is home to Asias largest spa called Kaya Kalp The Royal Spa, at the Hotel Mughal in Agra.[12] Agra has many industries. Uttar Pradesh's first plant biotech company Harihar Biotech is located near the Taj. It is one of the largest plant tissue culture laboratories in North India with an annual production capacity of 2 million plants. [citation needed] There are about 7,000 small scale industrial units. Agra city is known for leather goods, carpets, handicrafts, Zari Zardozi, Marvel and stone carving and inlay work. Agra is known for its sweets (Petha and Gajak) and snacks (Dalmoth), garment manufacturers and exporters and an automobile industry. Carpet making was introduced to the city by Moghul Emperor Babur and since then this art has flourished. Some leading exporters of carpets in Agra are Karan Exports, The Rug Factory, Agarwal Brothers, Rugs International, Floor Artists Inc,. Some of the leading manufacturers, exporters and sellers of leather in Agra are Hindustan Rubber and Plastic Industries, Polyplast Industries, Royal International, Eskay Sales Corporation, Best Buy, Bandejjia Traders and Expomore. The city center place at Agra (Kinari Bazar) has jewellery and garments shops. The silver and gold jewellery hub is at Choube Ji Ka Fatak. The Shah Market area is an electronics market while Sanjay Place is the trade center of Agra. [edit]Education It was during the advent of the Mughal era that Agra grew as a centre of Islamic education. British people introduced the western concept of education in Agra. In the year 1823, Agra College, one of the oldest colleges in India was formed out of a Sanskrit school established by the Scindia rulers. In the British era, Agra became a great center of Hindi literature with people like Babu Gulab Rai at the helm. [edit]Schools Kendriya Vidyalaya Agra Shemford Futuristic School Agra, St.Georges College Agra Sacred Mother Junior School - Agra

This section is incomplete. (March

2013)

[edit]Universities

in Agra

Agra University was established on 1 July 1927 and catered to colleges spread across the United Provinces, the Rajputana, the Central Provinces and almost to entire North India, at present around 142 Colleges are affiliated to this university. The historic Agra University was later rechristened as Dr. BhimRao Ambedkar University by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Mayawati.

Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Radhasoami Satsang Sabha, started the Radhasoami Educational Institute, as a co-educational Middle School, open to all, on 1 January 1917. It became a Degree College in 1947, affiliated to Agra University. In 1975, it formulated a programme of undergraduate studies which received approbation from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the University Grants Commission, as a result of which in 1981 the Ministry of Education, Government of India, conferred the status of an institution deemed to be a University on the Dayalbagh Educational Institute, to implement the new scheme. Central Institute of Hindi, Central Institute of Hindi (also known as Kendriya Hindi Sansthan) is an autonomous institute under Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India engaged in teaching Hindi as a foreign and second language. Apart from running residential Hindi language courses for foreign students, the institute also conducts regular training programmes for teachers of Hindi belonging to non-Hindi states of India. The institute is situated at a 11 acres (4.5 ha) campus on the outskirts of Agra city. Headquartered in Agra the institute has eight regional centres in Delhi, Hyderabad, Mysore, Shillong, Dimapur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Bhubneshwar. The institute is the only government run institution in India established solely for research and teaching of Hindi as a foreign and second language.

[edit]References

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

^ World Gazetteer online India: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". Accessed 25 March 2010. ^ Williams, Monier. "Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries. Cologne University. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ "Agra District profile". Official Website of Agra maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the Government of India. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ "Agra Fort". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ World Weather Information Service-Agra, World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ "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.

7. 8.

^ "Agra City" (GIF). Imperial Gazetteer of India (Digital South Asia Library of University of Chicago) 5: 8384. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ "Sole bidder bags Agra Inner Ring Road project". Retrieved 25 April 2011.

9. 10. 11. 12.

^ "Inner Ring Road Agra". ^ Koroth, Nandakumar. History of Bekal Fort. ^ "Indias new Entrepreneurs". Mint. 16 May 2007. ^ "ITC unveils Asia's largest spa in Agra". Economic Times (India). 9 March 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-08.

[edit]Further

reading

Cole, Henry Hardy (1873). Illustrations of buildings near Muttra and Agra. India Office. Agra, Archaeological Society of (1874). Transactions of the Archaeological Society of Agra, JanJune 1874. Delhi Gazette Press. Mukerji, Satya Chandra (1892). The Traveller's Guide to Agra. Sen & Co., Delhi. Fanthome, Frederic (1895). Reminiscences of Agra. Thacker, Spink & Co. Latif, Muammad (1896). Agra, Historical & Descriptive. Calcutta Central Press. Keene, Henry George (1899, Sixth ed.). A Handbook for Visitors to Agra and Its Neighbourhood. Thacker, Spink & Co. Smith, Edmund W. (1901). Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra, Part I. Govt. Press, Allahabad. Havell, Ernest Binfield (1904). A Handbook to Agra and the Taj, Sikandra, Fatehpur-Sikri, and the Neighbourhood. Longmans, Green & Co., London. Agranama: The authentic book about the history of Agra by Mr. Satish Chandra Chaturvedi

[edit]External

links

Uttar Pradesh portal

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Wikivoyage has travel information related to: Agra

Agra Education Agra City portal Official website of Agra Agra travel guide from Wikivoyage Agra at the Open Directory Project Agra News Taj Mahal Agra