Moradabad
Moradabad pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: मुरादाबाद, Urdu: مراداباد) is a city and a municipal corporation in Moradabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1600 by prince Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan; as a result the city came to be known as Moradabad. It is the administrative headquarters of Moradabad District. According to Government of India, the district Moradabad is one of the several Muslim majority districts on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators[1].
Moradabad is situated at a distance of 167 km (104 miles) from the national capital, New Delhi, on the banks of the Ramganga River (a tributary of the Ganges). The city is famous for its huge export of brass handicrafts to North America, Europe and all over the world, and is also thus called "Brass City" or Peetal Nagri (in the local language). The city has the distinction of being the biggest exporter of handicrafts in the country. Moradabad has nearly one million citizens of various ethnicities and religions.
Moradabad was earlier known as Chaupala [2][3].Historically a city and district of British India, in the Bareilly Division of the United Provinces, now itself is a divisional headquarter. The city is on the right bank of the river Ramganga, 938 ft. above sea-level,[citation needed] and has a station on the Oudh & Rohilkhand railway, 868 miles from Calcutta. Pop. (1901), 75,128. It was founded in 1625 by Rustam Khan, who built the fort which overhangs the river bank, and the fine Jama Masjid or great mosque (1631). The town forms a large centre of trade in country produce. It has a special industry in ornamental brassware, sometimes plated with lac or tin, which is then engraved. Cotton weaving and printing is also carried on.
The District of Moradabad lies east of the Ganges and west of the native state of Rampur. Area, 2285 sq. m. It lies within the great Gangetic plain, and is demarcated into three subdivisions by the rivers Ramganga and Sot. The eastern tract consists of a submontane country, with an elevation slightly greater than the plain below, and is traversed by numerous streams descending from the Himalayas. The central portion consists of a level central plain descending at each end into the valleys of the Ramganga and Sot. The western section has a gentle slope towards the Ganges, with a rapid dip into the lowlands a few miles from the bank of the great river. In addition to Moradabad the principal towns are Amroha, Sahaspur, Bilari,Sambhal (39,715) and Chandausi (25,711).
For the early history of Moradabad see History of Bareilly. It passed into the possession of the British in 1801. The population in 1901 was 1,191,993. The principal crops are wheat, rice, millet, pulse, sugar-cane and cotton. The main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway traverses the district from south to north, with branches towards Aligarh and Rampur. A third branch from Moradabad city towards Delhi crosses the Ganges at Garhmukteshwar by a bridge of eleven spans of 200 ft. each.
