Narnaul is a city, a

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

, and location of headquarters of the

Mahendragarh district Mahendragarh district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. The district occupies an area of 1,899 km² and has a population of 922,088 (2021census). District have 4 Sub-divisions : Narnaul, Mahendragarh, Nangal ...

in the Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. It is located in the National Capital Region of India.

History & etymology

During the early

vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

, this area was called the ''Nandigram'' where

rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

Chyavana Chyavana () was a sage (rishi) in Hinduism. He was a son of Bhrigu, also known as Bhrigu Varuni in the Upanishads, and is known for his rejuvenation through a special herbal paste (ayurvedic jam) or tonic known as '' chyavanaprasham'', which ...

lived in his

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< mahabharta, this area was called the ''Nara Rashtra'' which later became corrupted to Narnaul. During the mahabharta period, the Nara Rashtra, on the Hastinapur to Chambal route, was conquered by the youngest

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

brother Sahdev. During

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, the native Nuniwal Kshatriyas ruled the area. In 1137 CE, foreign-origin muslim invader Hazrat Turkman, also known as Shah Wilayat, was killed by the native Nuniwal .Monuments & Sites in Haryana, Archaeological Survey Of India, page 35. Narnaul is built on a prominent tell, but the tell has never been excavated so the site's earliest history is unknown. The Muslim invader Shah Wilayat came to Narnaul in 1137 CE with sword and jewels (bribes), and he was killed here by the native Nuniwal in the battle — over half a century before the Muslim conquest of

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 ...

. The dargah built for him has a coffered roof similar to early monuments at

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

and Bayana and may have been built during this early period. Some architecture from the time of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

survives in Narnaul; the earlier phases are mostly concentrated in and around the dargah complex of Shah Wilayat, while many buildings from the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty. Bahlul Lodi Followin ...

are found both in Narnaul itself and on the road to Delhi. These buildings are typically undated. Narnaul is likely the birthplace of the emperor

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

's grandfather Ibrahim Khan Suri; his family is known to have had ties here for multiple generations before him. After his defeat of Humayun in 1540, Sher Shah built a monumental tomb for his grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Suri, inside the dargah complex at Narnaul. This tomb is built in the Lodi architectural style. Later buildings from the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

include the Jal Mahal and the octagonal tomb of Shah Quli Khan. An ornate haveli, the Chhata Rai Bal Mukund Das, reflects the "Bengali" architectural style that was spread to northern India at the time of

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

and was later popular under the Rao Kings of Ahirwal. In the 1700s, Narnaul variously came under

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

and Ahir clans control. The Muslim Nawab of Narnaul took part in the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

and, after its suppression, the British confiscated his lands and gave them to the Maharaja of Patiala, who had sided with them during the war.

Fort

Nivajpur Fort, built by mughal jagirdar ''Abhay Pradhan'' at Nivajpur village 10 km from Narnaul, has 3 ft wide and 20 ft high stone walls. It had a system of wells, warehouses, stables and a 42 ft wide gateway, all of which now lie in ruins.Sohan Singh Khattar and Reena Kar, 2021
Know Your State Haryana
Arihant Publications, pp 308.

Battle of Narnaul

The Battle of Narnaul (also called Battle of Nasibpur) was fought on 16 November 1857, between the

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

and Aheer forces during the First War of Indian Independence. In 1857, Aheer leader Pran Sukh Yadav of Behror along with

Rao Tula Ram Rao Tularam Singh (''circa'' 9 December 1825 – 23 September 1863) was a King or chieftain of Rewari. He was one of the leaders of the Indian rebellion of 1857 in Haryana, where he is considered a state hero. Personal life He was born on 9 ...

, the King of Rewari and Rao Dhan Singh of Charkhi Dadri fought with the British at Nasibpur village near Narnaul. The battle was one of the most ferocious battles of the First War of Indian Independence Grand Commander Sri Guru Ajanubahu Rao Dhan singh ji Brahman Rao of Charkhi Dadri

Grand Commander Sri Guru Ajanubahu Rao Dhan singh ji Brahman Rao of Charkhi Dadri

. During the Battle of Narnaul at Nasibpur on 16 November 1857,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

lost 2000 British soldiers and their commanders Colonel Gerrard and Captain Wallace, 5000 British soldiers and officers Captain Craige, Captain Kennedy and Captain Pearse were wounded. Colonel Gerrard died after getting mortally wounded in a military engagement against Rao Kishan Singh.Dr Malti Malik
History of India
p. 356. When Pran Sukh Yadav took aim at the Colonel Gerrard wearing a red coat whose rest of the soldiers were in khaki uniform, he missed his aim the first time but hit it right the second time and Colonel Gerard was killed in Narnaul. Now mostly population are of Ahirs. Rao Krishan Gopal, from Nangal Pathani village of Gurgaon district was the Kotwal of

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

, who had played a prominent part in collaboration with Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh, Nawab of Jhajjar, and Raja Salamat Khan of Mewat, by organising the patriotic forces and participating in several battles against the British troops. He and his younger brother, Rao Ram Lal, were killed in this battle of Nasibpur.1981
''Haryana Review''
Volume 15, p. 29.

Geography

Narnaul is located at . It has an average elevation of 300 meters (977 feet). The district is rich in mineral resources such as

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

ore,

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ...

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

albite Albite is a plagioclase feldspar mineral. It is the sodium endmember of the plagioclase solid solution series. It represents a plagioclase with less than 10% anorthite content. The pure albite endmember has the formula . It is a tectosilicat ...

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

, and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

Climate

In winters, the temperature can reach a low of 3 °C. In summer the highest temperature is 48.5 °C, on 28 May 2024.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Narnaul had a population of 74,581. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Narnaul has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 58%. Narnaul having more than 70% majority as Rao Sahab also called Yadavs. In Narnaul, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

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 ...

, Haryanvi and Ahirwati are the languages majorly spoken in Narnaul.

Schools in Narnaul

* Mata Mariam Jan Seva Vidyalaya * Suraj international school * Eureka Public School * Yaduvanshi Shiksha Niketan * Haryana Public School * C L PUBLIC SCHOOL * RPS Public School * Junior DPS, Narnaul * GOVT MODEL SANSKRITI SR. SEC. SCHOOL * ABC Montessori Narnaul * AMERICAN KIDZ PLAY SCHOOl * SBM SR SEC SCHOOL * Adarsh Bal Mandir ABM Sr Sec School * M.J.R.P High school Subhash Nagar * Saini Sr. Sec.school Narnaul * M.L.S DAV Public School Narnaul

References

External links

Mahendragarh district website
{{Haryana Cities and towns in Mahendragarh district