Hathras () is a historical city in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. It is the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

and

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

. It is part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is a dialect of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Braj Bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

, which is closely related to Khariboli, one of several dialects spoken in the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

region. It is known for production of

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

History

At the end of the 18th century, the town of Hathras was held by a Jat chieftain, whose fort stood at the east end of the town, and was annexed by the British in 1803, who besieged the fort in 1817. Under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, Hathras rapidly rose to commercial importance, and for a while ranked second to Cawnpore (now Kanpur) among the trading centres of the Doab. Hathras became a district on 6 May 1997 with the merging of some talukas of

and

. Hathras falls under the

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

region of

Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

and is famous for its industrial, literary, and cultural activities. It has been an industrial centre since the British ruled India.

Administration

Hathras is the headquarters of the Hathras district. The Hathras district, formerly known as Mahamaya Nagar, was created in 1997 with the incorporation of parts of the

and

districts. The Hathras district has four subdivisions: Hathras, Sasni, Sikandra Rao, and Sadabad. The Hathras Lok Sabha constituency is reserved as a Schedule Caste seat. The district has three assembly constituencies. The Hathras Assembly constituency has nine local bodies: Hathras, Sikandra Rao, Sasni, Sadabad, Mursan, Hasayan, Sahpau, Mendu, and Purdil Nagar.

Geography

Hathras is located at . It has an average elevation of 185 metres (606 feet) and is situated on the Agra, Aligarh and Mathura, and

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

highway crossings. It is known for its extreme

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

variations. As of the 2001 Indian census, Hathras had a population of 123,243, of which 53% were male and 47% female. Hathras has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, of which 66% being male and 53% being female. 14% of the population is under six years of age.

Climate

Hathras has a monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, typical of north-central India. Summers start in April ending around May. The

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season starts in late June, continuing until early October, bringing high humidity.

Transport

Hathras is served by four railway stations: Hathras Junction railway station, Hathras Road railway station, Hathras City railway station, and Hathras Kila railway station. A new station on the dedicated Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor was named New Hathras.

Notable people

* Kaka Hathrasi, poet * Raja Mahendra Pratap, king of Mursan Riyasat * Thakur Malkhan Singh,

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

* Ramveer Upadhyay, former Cabinet Minister of Uttar Pradesh

References

External links

Hathras district profile

Tourist Places at Hathras
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Hathras district Hathras