Bareilly

Bareilly, also spelled Bareli, 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 lies in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, about 252 kilometres (157 mi) northwest of the state capital, Lucknow, and 265 kilometres (165 mi) east of the national capital, New Delhi. With a population of 903,668 in 2011, it is the eighth most populous city in the state, 17th in northern India and 54th in India. It is located on the bank of Ramganga River and is the site of the Ramganga Barrage built for canal irrigation.

The earliest settlement in what is now Bareilly was established in 1537 by a local chieftain Jagat Singh Katehriya who named it 'Bans-Bareli' after his two sons Bansaldev and Bareldev. The town came under the rule of the Mughals in 1569 and had become the capital of a local pargana by 1596. The foundation of the modern city of Bareilly was laid by Mughal governor Mukrand Rai in 1657, and in 1658 it became the seat of the governor of Budaun. The weakening of Mughal Empire lead to the rise of the Kingdom of Rohilkhand, of which Bareilly was a major centre. The city came under the control of Oudh State in 1774 after the fall of Rohillas in the First Rohilla War and was then ceded to the British East India Company by the Nawab of Oudh in 1801. A Military station was established in 1811 to the south of the city, where a fort was constructed in 1816. Bareilly was freed by the rebels during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and remained independent under the rule of Khan Bahadur Khan until it was re-annexed by the British in 1858.

Bareilly is renowned for being the place of origin of the Barelvi movement, a Sunni Islamic movement formed by Islamic scholar Ahmad Raza Khan to counter the growing influence of the Deobandi movement and Wahhabism. His shrine, located at the Bareilly Dargah, is visited by millions of his followers every year on the occasion of Urs-e-Razavi.

The city has been known as Nath Nagri due to the presence of several ancient Shiva temples, and more recently as Jumka City. It is a centre for furniture manufacturing and trade in cotton, cereal and sugar. Bareilly is one of the 100 Smart Cities being developed in India, and one of the nine counter magnet cities of the National Capital Region (NCR). The city is served by the Bareilly Airport which has direct flights to Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Bareilly Junction railway station located in the city is among the top 100 booking stations of Indian Railways while Izzatnagar is the divisional headquarters of one of the three divisions of North Eastern Railways.