Mewat District

Nuh district, formerly known as the Mewat district, is one of the 22 districts of the northern Indian state of Haryana. The district is known for having the largest Muslim population in Haryana. It lies within the National Capital Region as well as the historical Mewat region and Braj region of India.

It has an area of and had a population of 1.09 million in 2011. It is bounded by Gurugram district to the north, Palwal district of Haryana to the east, Deeg and Alwar districts to the south and the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan to the west. There are four sub-divisions in this district: Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka, Punahana, and Taoru.

In 2018, the Government of India's think tank NITI Aayog listed Nuh district as the most underdeveloped of India's 739 districts. Despite bordering Gurgaon district, Haryana's rich industrial and financial heartland, this district had the worst health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure.

History

The Nuh district area is a small part of the vast historical and cultural region of Mewat.

During the Maratha Empire, Mahadaji Shinde, had conquered most of the region from the Mughals and northern Mewat (Nuh district) came under the Maratha Confederacy. All of the Gurgaon district area of Punjab (which consisted of present-day districts of Faridabad, Rewari, and Mahendargah and Nuh) was conquered by French generals in late 18th century.

Daulat Rao Sindhia ceded the Gurgaon region to the British on 30 December 1803 under the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon to the British East India Company leading to the Company rule in India. The southern and western Gurgaon region remained under the Bharatpur Jat Kings and their vassal relatives, one of whom was Nahar Singh of Ballabgarh.Gazeteer of Gurgaon 1983

Haryana Revenue Department
Chapter II, pp.35-45.Gazeteer of Gurgaon 1883-84"

Haryana Revenue Department
Chapter II, pp.19-25.Gazeteer of Gurgaon 1910"

Haryana Revenue Department
Section B, pp.19-24.

After the Rebellion of 1857, the Nuh district area became a part of the Gurgaon district in the Punjab Province of British India. The Meos of southern Gurgaon (modern-day Nuh district) were leaders in the Rebellion and even momentarily formed their own government of Chaudharies as they drove the British out.

During the British Era, The Meo Muslims who inhabited this region were syncretic in past rituals.

In the 1920s the grassroots Islamic movement Tablighi Jamaat arose from this region under Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlwai as a reformist movement. This Muslim region was heavily inflicted by partition violence of 1947, which in turn naturally altered the syncretic life style of people in the region. During partition some Meo Muslim villages were attacked; when the Meos retaliated they were attacked by the Hindu princely state maharajas. The violence has been remembered by the Meo Muslims and lead them to embrace a more Islamic identity. The Meos' Islamic identity has also been enhanced due to better education, communication and transportation. As secular schools have increase in the area, so have the religious ''madrassas''. Many Meos have traveled to Delhi to attend religious gatherings, or visited their relatives in Pakistan.

During Indian independence, there was a surge in Communal tension when Jinnah demanded for a separate nation as a result of which Partition of India was proposed by the British rulers. A branch of the All India Muslim League was established in the area, which had proposed a separate province for Meos and a significant number of Meos became members of the organization.

Mahatma Gandhi later visited the village of Ghasera in the district and requested Meos not to leave India. Chaudhary Mohammad Yasin Khan, a prominent social reformer in the region, was responsible for bringing Gandhi to Ghasera. Because of Mahatama Gandhi, some Meos were resettled in Laxmangarh, Nagar, Kaman, Deeg of Alwar district and Bharatpur district. Due to this, the people of Ghasera still celebrate Mewat Day.

Yasin Khan's political leadership created three infamous political dynasties in the region, the Tayyab Husain clan, Rahim Khan clan and the Ahmed clan. Yasin Khan put forward two political leaders during his lifetime, his own son, Tayyab Husain and Khurshid Ahmed. Later on, Rahim Khan also emerged as political leader in rebellion to these two in the region. These political dynasties have gained notoriety and continue to have significant influence in the politics and culture of district.

The district was officially established on 4 April 2005, by taking areas from Gurgaon district and the Hathin sub-division of Faridabad district. However, in 2008, Hathin sub-division was reorganized in the new district of Palwal. The district was renamed from Mewat to Nuh in 2016, because Mewat is a historical and cultural region which spans farther into the states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Nuh district, although was called Mewat, did not encompass the entire historical Mewat region, rather only a small part of it The district currently comprises Nuh, Taoru, Nagina, Ferozepur Jhirka, Indri, Punhana and Pinangwan blocks, 431 villages and 297 panchayats. There had been 512 villages and 365 panchayats in district before Hathin Block was transferred to Palwal district.

In 2023, the district was rocked by the 2023 Haryana riots.

Geography

The total area of Nuh district is .

Administrative divisions

There are 4 subdivisions or tehsils in the district with one sub-tehsil for the Nuh tehsil. There are a total of 7 blocks in the district as mentioned below:

Sub-divisions

* Nuh
* Ferozepur Jhirka
* Punahana
* Taoru

Sub Tehsil

* Nagina

Blocks

* Nuh
* Ferozepur Jhirka
* Punhana
* Taoru
* Nagina
* Indri
* Pinangwan
*

Assembly constituencies

There are three Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka and Punahana. All 3 are part of the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency. Taoru from the Nuh district (previously Taoru Assembly constituency) comes under Sohna constituency of Gurugram district.

Notable towns and villages

City

* Nuh

Towns

* Ferozepur Jhirka
* Pinangwan
* Punahana
* Nagina
* Tauru

Villages

* Ghasera
* Khanpur Ghati
* Sultanpur-Punahana
* Sudaka
* Salaheri
* Shikrawa

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Nuh district had a population of 1,089,263. By population, it ranks 420th among the 640 districts of India. The district had a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 37.94%. It had a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 56.1%. 11.39% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes make up 6.91% of the population.

It is the only Muslim majority district in Haryana, and has the highest proportion of Muslims in North India outside Jammu and Kashmir.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 36.17% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 34.75% Mewati, 25.76% Urdu and 2.84% Haryanvi as their first language..

Economy

The main occupation in the district is agriculture, followed by allied and agro-based activities. The Meos are the predominant population group and are all agriculturists.

Transport

Nuh town is on National Highway 248A (NH 248A) (previously known as the Gurgaon– Sohna–Alwar road), connecting the district to Gurugram and Alwar. The Kundli–Manesar–Palwal (KMP) Expressway provides high-speed access to the district from Palwal and Manesar. Major District Roads 131 and 135 connect to the Delhi–Agra Highway. The nearest railway station is Hodal which is around from Punahana town. The closest railway station to the district headquarters, Nuh town, is away in Palwal.

The planned route of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway will pass west of Pinangwan town and is expected to boost connectivity to cities.
Western Dedicated Freight Corridor passes through Sohna of this district.

Notable people

* Hazrat Sheikh Musa, 13th century’s Sufi saint.
* Chaudhary Khurshid Ahmed (born 1934), former Member of the Lok Sabha, and former Cabinet Minister in the states of Haryana.
* Tayyab Husain (born 1936), former Member of the Lok Sabha, and former Cabinet Minister in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
* Chaudhary Rahim Khan (born 1923), former Member of the Lok Sabha and president of the All India Meo Sabha.
* Parvej Khan (born 2004), Indian track and field athlete.
* Salman Ali (born 1998), Indian playback singer.

See also

* Dargah Hazrat Sheikh Musa
* Khanzadas of Mewat
* Mewat
* Hathin
* Hodal

Notes

References

External links

Official website of district Nuh

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Districts of Haryana
Minority concentrated districts in India
2005 establishments in Haryana
Mewat