Introduction[edit]
In the year 1948, joint Rajasthan was formed and that time Baran was one of the districts in the joint Rajasthan. On 31 March 1949, Rajasthan was reconstituted and that time Baran district headquarters was converted into Sub Division headquarters of Kota district.
District Baran was carved out of erstwhile Kota District on 10 April 1991. The district got the name from the City Baran which is also the district hqts. District comes under parliamentary constituency Jhalawar-Baran and divided in four assembly constituencies namely Anta, Kishanganj, Baran-Atru & Chhabra. The total area of the District is 6992 km2. out of which only 82.18 km2. is urban. The total forest area in the district is 2.17 Lacs Hect. The total population of the district is around 1,22,3921 roughly equal to the nation of Trinidad and Tobago or the US state of New Hampshire.This gives it a ranking of 389th in India (out of a total of 640); Sex Ratio (No. of Females per 1000 Males) 926; Population density per km2 175 (Census 2011). Main dialect is Hadoti language. The district Headquarters. The District has a tremendous scope for the rapid industrialisation, especially among agro-based industries. There are eight tehsils in the district, namely Baran, Anta, Atru, Mangrol, Chhabra, Chhipabarod, Kishanganj & Shahabad. BARAN is Municipal Council (NAGAR PARISHAD) after Rajasthan Budget-2012 .
History[edit]
Baran city was under Solanki Rajputs in the 14th -15th century. It is not exactly known that when the main town of the twelve villages under Solanki's was being named as 'Baran'. There are several thoughts for it, like some says since it was formed by twelve villages so it is called 'Baran', others says since the city was built by the 12 nearby villagers so it is named as 'Baran'. There are also saying that since the soils of the area is mostly 'Barani' so it is called 'Baran'.It is also worth noting that "Baran" in Urdu means "rain" and no wonder that Baran has the second highest rainfall in the state after Banswara district. In the year 1948, joint Rajasthan was formed and that time Baran was one of the districts in the joint Rajasthan. On 31 March' 1949, Rajasthan was reconstituted and that time Baran district headquarters was converted into Sub Division headquarters of Kota district.
Before Indian independence in 1947, most of present-day Baran District was part of the princely state of Kota, although Shahabad tehsil was a discontinuous portion of Jhalawar princely state, and Chhabra tehsil was a discontinuous portion of Tonk princely state. After Indian independence, The rulers of the princely states acceded to the Government of India, and the present-day Baran District was made part of Kota District. Baran District was carved out of Kota District on April 10, 1991.
Baran district, and particularly the tribal Sahariya families living here – concentrated largely in the two blocks of Kishanganj and Shahabad – have come to national attention because of several hunger deaths over the last 12 years. The death of 47 Sahariyas because of starvation during the 2001 drought even triggered a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court on the right to food. Hunger deaths have been reported as recently as in 2004 and again three years ago in 2009.
Since 2010, more than 200 Sahariya tribal families working without wages on the farms of landlords protested against debt bondage and have waged a struggle against generations of slavery to landowners .
Climate[edit]
The City has a dry climate except in the monsoon seasons. The winter season runs from mid of November to February and summer season runs from March to mid of June. The period from mid of June to September is the monsoon season followed by the months October to mid of November constitute the post monsoon or the retreating monsoon. The average rainfall in the district is 895.2mm. January is the coldest month with the average daily maximum temperature of 24.3'C and the average daily minimum temperature of 10.6'C.
Best climate to visit[edit]
Best climate to visit the district is between September to March. The district is well connected with rail & road network. The Computerised reservation facility is available at Railway station in Baran city. ATM facilities and all Mobile Networks GSM and CDMA are available in the district
Airways[edit]
The nearest major airports are located at Jaipur International Airport, Udaipur Airport, and Jodhpur Airport. These airports connect Rajasthan with the major cities of India such as Delhi and Mumbai. There are two other airports in Kota and Jaisalmer, but are not open for commercial/civilian flights yet.
Roadways[edit]
The city is connected with neighbouring districts and with major cities outside the state. National Highway No.76 (now National Highway No. 27) passes through the district. National Highway No.76 (now National Highway No. 27) is a part of East-West Corridor. The total road length in the district is 2,052 km. as of March 2011. direct bus available from new delhi, jaipur, kota, ajmer, jodhpur, udaipur, indore, ujjain,
Distance from major cities[edit]
Railway[edit]
Baran station is situated on Kota-Bina section of Western Central Railways. It is about 67 km from Kota Junction. Computerised Reservation facility at Baran station is available. Reservation timings at Baran Station is 08:00 to 14:00 hours (Lunch timings 11:00 - 11:30).
Cuisine[edit]
Typical dishes include Dal Baati Churma, Roti(chapati)
Worship Place[edit]
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Taadka Balaji, Saaket Dham
Shri Taad ka balaji -By Ajay Singh
Taadka Balaji, Saaket Dham is in Baran city. The Temple has a famous and ancient a Hanumanji, jind maharaj, mataji and shivji temples . Till now only 1000 year brief history is known about the temple. This place is surrounded by green trees with full of natural beauty. The place has a religious importance for the people of the area.
Shri Shani Dham Bordi-by- Shiva
Shri Shani Dham Bordi is near. from Baran city. The Temple has a famous and ancient Shri Shani Maharaj and Hamumanji temples. Till now brief history is known about the temple. This place is surrounded by green trees and a pond with full of natural beauty. The place has a religious importance for the people of the area. A fair is organised at the temple on Shani Amavas festival every year. Pasharva Nath Charity Trust, Baran as a caretaker for the place.
Manihara Mahadev Mandir is about 3 km. from Baran city. The mandir has a famous and ancient Mahadevji and Hamumanji temples. Till now only 591 years brief history is known about the temple. This place is surrounded by green trees and a pond with full of natural beauty. The place has a religious importance for the people of the area. A fair is organised at the temple on Shivratri festival every year. District administration has authorised Sarvjanik Sanstha Dharmada, Baran as a caretaker for the place.
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Bardia Balaji
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Mansha Puran Ganesh ji
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pyare ram ji temple
Tourist Destinations[edit]
Shahabad fort is the one of the best and strongest fort amongst the forts in Hadoti area. It is situated about 80 km. from Baran.The fort was constructed by the Chauhan Vanshi Dhandhel Rajput Mukutmani Dev in the century 1521 (Samvat 1577). This is situated in the dense forest area on the high mountain ranges. The fort is surrounded by Kundakoh valley on two sides. Third and fourth sides are surrounded by Ponds and high rocks respectively. The Topkhana (artillery), Barudkhana and some temples in the forts are still secure. It is said that the fort had 18 Cannons (Topes) in the past and one of the cannon was 19 feet.
NagarKot Mataji-by- H.N.Singh
Sitabari is an ideal picnic spot in Hadoti area., situated about 45 km from Baran in Kelwara kasba on National Highway road connecting Shivpuri- Gwalior. This is a holy worship place. It is well known in the area that 'Sita mata' has lived in this place after being left-out by Bhagwan Ram. This place is also known as the birthplace of Lav & Kush. There are several Kunds in Sitabari namely Balmiki Kund, Sita Kund, Laxman Kund, Surya Kund, Lav-Kush Kund. Sita-Kuti is also situated in the forest area near the temple. The tribal Sahariya fair is held at this place in the May/June every year.
The historic Shergarh fort is in Hadoti area. situated about 65 km. from Baran district hqts. in Atru tehsil. Sitting atop a hillock on the bank of Parban river, the fort of Shergarh looks impregnable. The fort stands a little detached from the walled township, which boasts of its ancient Brahmanical and Jain temples. A stone edict of 790 AD proves the antiquity of the place, which was once knows as Koshvardhan. The fort is one of the best forts in Rajasthan in the present time.
The fort is about 73 km. from Baran in Kishanganj tehsil. Fort is an impressive structure in red stone and a fine example of the Mughal architecture.
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Bhanwar Garh Fort
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Kanya Dah- Bilas Garh
Bilasgarh is situated about 45 km. from Baran in Kishanganj tehsil.Connecting road is from village 'faldi' between Kishanganj and Bhanwargarh. Bilasgarh was the big city during the Khechi kingdom which was destroyed to ruins by the order of Aurangazeb. The daughter of the king Khechi was very beautiful and for her Aurangazeb has send his force which has ruined the city Bilasgarh. The princess ends her life in the 'Bilasi' river, the spot is now known as Kanyadeah. The ruins of the Bilasgarh is still situated in the lonely place inside dense forest area.
Ramgarh-Bhand Devra temples are situated about 40 km. from Baran. The Shiv Mandir of Ramgarh was built in 10th century and are based on the Khujraho style. Due to the Maithun Statues, the place is named as Bhand Devra. This temple is situated on the bank of pond and is now under the Archaeological department. This temple is known as Rajasthan's mini Khajuraho. the best way to reach the temple is by a jeep or car.
Ram Garh Mata ji - by H.N.Singh
On the top of the Ramgarh hill, Kisnai and Annapurna Devi temples are situated in the natural cave. About 750 stairs were constructed by Jhala Jalim Singh for reaching the temple on the hill top. The main speciality of this temple is that one Devi is worshiped with Meva and another is with Mas- Madira. At the time of Parshad, curtain is raised between the two Devis. Fair is also organised during Kartik Purnima.
Kapildhara is about 50 km. from Baran. This place have natural beauty and pleasant place for visit. Water flows all the time from the 'Gaumukh' in the mountains.
Kakoni is situated about 85 km from Baran district Headquarters in the Chhipabarod Tehsil. It is surrounded by the Mukundra mountain ranges and on the bank of Parwan river. It is said that the temples at Kakoni are built in 8th century. These are the remains of the 'Vaishnav', 'Shiv' and 'Jain' temples. About 60% statues of the Kakoni temples are kept in the Museums at Kota and Jhalawar districts. Archaeological department has announced the place as secure since 1970.
The temple of Brahmani Mata is about 20 km. from Baran in the village Sorsan. The 'Akhand Jyoti' is continuously flowing in the temple since last 400 years. The statue of Brahmani Mata is situated under the large natural rock in the cave. The fair is organised on Shiv Ratri every year.
Fairs & Festivals[edit]
Dolmela is organised at the Dol Talab (Pond) in the Baran city from Jaljhulni Akadshi. The main attraction of this day is a big Shobha Yatra (procession) which have about 54 Dev Viman (The Holy Statue Carriers) which is also known as DOL, of all the major temples of the city. In this procession some Akhadas also demonstrates their Kartab (type of physical exercise). The procession started from Shreeji temple comes to the Dol Talab where all the Dev Vimans are worshiped and then these are sent back to the respective temples. This fair is organised for 15 days which is very popular among the local residents as well as the residents from the Rajasthan state. People from adjoining Madhya Pradesh also visit for this fair. This fair is the symbol of communal harmony in the area.
This fair is organised in the only Church of the Baran district in the village Piplod in Atru tehsil. This fair is organised on 25 December every year. Though this fair is organised near Church but local Hindu Muslim also participate in the fair.
Holy place Sitabri is about 45 km from the Baran city near the Kelwara Kasba. A big tribal fair is organised here on Jeshta Amavasya. The place has number of "Kunds" attributed to Sita, Laxman, Surya, Lav & Kush and taking a holy dip in them is considered auspicious. Lakhs of people come here for this fair which is taken as Kumbh in the Sahariya tribe. The Swyambar (marriage function) of Sahariya tribes is organised in this fair where people comes from all over Rajasthan state and adjoining Madhya Pradesh A Sahariya boy drops the handkerchief for proposing Sahariya girl in the fair, if the Sahariya girl accepts the Handkerchief, it is said that they are agreed for marriage. The bride and grooms take the 7 rounds (sat phere) of the Barnawa tree and after the blessings of their parents they are accepted as married couple. This fair is also called animal fair where good varieties of Cow, Buffalo etc. selling-purchasing are made. It provides an ideal opportunity to view the tribal life style.
This is the one of the oldest folk festival of the Rajasthan state. This festival is organised every year in the Kishanganj town on the occasion of Holi festival. The local residents of the town started this festival by the marriage ceremony of the 'Tulsi' plant with the statue of God Charbhujanath in their home for more than 120 years ago. It is the tradition in the families that after the marriage, groom comes to in-laws home with their friends to play Holi. This tradition is followed by the God Charbhujanath and all the residents of Kishanganj town. On the day of Holi-Dulandi, lots of Swang (type of drama) is being played in the town whole day. Some of the famous swangs are Gidh-Rawan-Yudh, Band-Bandi swang etc. In the night big 'Shobhayatra' known as 'PhulDolo' is taken out in the town. Lots of people from nearby places come to witness the festival.
This fair is organised in the old fort near Sorsan about 20 km from Baran. This is the only Donkey fair in the Hadoti region. Brahmani Mataji temple is in this fort. This fair is organised in Magh-Shukla-Saptmi. Other animals are also brought for selling-purchasing in this fair but mostly Donkey & Kachhar are sold and purchased in the fair.
This is the important river of 'Hadoti' region. This river makes about 40 km western border of Mangrol tehsil after being merged with the Parvan river. This river is very uncertain for flood. A large bridge has been constructed on this river near 'Palaytha'. This bridge is said to be one of the largest bridges in the Rajasthan state.
Parvati River-by-H.N.Singh
This is the main river of Baran district which is the auxiliary river of Chambal river. This enters in Baran from the Kariyahat kasba of Chhabra Tehsil from Madhya Pradesh. This partitioned the Kishanganj Tehsil from Chhabra, Atru, Baran and Mangrol Tehsils.
TThis is the auxiliary river of the Kalisindh river which enters in the Baran district from the Southern part of the Harnavdashahaji kasba. From there, it maintains the South-Western border of the Chhipabarod, Atru, Baran and Mangrol tehsils and merged into the Kalisindh river.
This river enters in Baran from nearby Chhipabarod. About 15 km bordering to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, it merges in the Parvati river near Atru.
This is the rainy river which passes through Bamla and Sehrod in the southern part of Baran. It merges into the Parvati river after passing through the east of Baran city and west of Bohat & Mangrol Kasba
Forest, Flora & Fauna[edit]
The forest covers an area of 2.17 lacs hectare of the district. These are mainly concentrated in the south-western and central portion of the Mukundra hills having rich forest belt. The main forest found of the district are Sagavan, Kher, Salan, Gargsari. Local wild animals are Panther, Sloth, Bear, Chital, Wild Bear, Chinkara, Samber, Langoor, Jackal etc. Birds found in the district are Bulbul, Sparrow, Peacock, Saras, Teetar etc. Among the poisonous snakes, Cobra, Passel and Viper are common. Water snakes are also seen near the tanks. Crocodiles are sometimes seen in the big tanks and in certain pools in Chambal & Kalisindh rivers.
Basic Information[edit]
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S.T.D. Code- 07453
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Vehicle Code- RJ28
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Postal Pin Code- 325205