Dewas

Dewas
City
Dewas
Coordinates: 22°58′N 76°04′E / 22.96°N 76.06°E / 22.96; 76.06Coordinates: 22°58′N 76°04′E / 22.96°N 76.06°E / 22.96; 76.06
Country India
State Madhya Pradesh
Government
 • Body Dewas Municipal Corporation
Area
 • Total 50 km2 (20 sq mi)
Area rank 6th
Elevation 535 m (1,755 ft)
Population (2001)
 • Total 289,438 (Census 2,011)
 • Rank 6th highest in Madhya Pradesh
Languages
 • Official Marathi, Hindi, Malwi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 455001
Telephone code 91-(0)7272
ISO 3166 code MP-IN
Vehicle registration MP-41
Website www.dewas.nic.in; dic.mp.nic.in; dmcdewas.org:89/index.php

Dewas is a city on the Malwa plateau in the west-central part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the 6th most populous city of Madhya Pradesh. It is located about 142 km (88 mi) southwest from Bhopal, and 33 km (21 mi) from Indore,[1] and is the administrative center of the Dewas District. The city was formerly the seat of two 15-gun-salute princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the royal Maratha 'Puar' (or 'Pawar').[2] Today, Dewas is an industrialized city and houses a government bank note press which is the largest of its kind in Asia.[3]

Etymology

The name Dewas is derived from the Devi Vaishini hill in the city, commonly known as Tekri.[4] The hill has a temple of the deities Devi Tulja Bhawani, Chamunda Mata and Kalika Mata. The word Dewas is believed to be a sandhi of the words Dev (deity) and Vas Marathi (abode), so Dewas means house of the god. Swami Shivom Tirtha wrote the history of the hill (Tekri ) of Dewas in his book, Sadhan Shikhar. Inspired by the area, E.M. Forster wrote The Hill of Devi in 1953.[5]

The district takes its name from the district headquarters town, Dewas, which is said to have been derived on the basis of two traditions. One is that Dewas lies at the base of a 300-foot (91 m) conical hill, known as Chamunda hill, on top of which the shrine of Chamunda is located. The image of the goddess is cut into the wall of a cave, known as Devi Vashini or the goddess's residence. From this, the name Dewas (dev-vas) seems to have been derived. The other view of the probable origin is from the name of the founder of the village, Dewasa Bania.[6]

Princely history

Dewas was formerly the capital of two princely states of British India. The original state was founded in the first half of the 18th century by the brothers Tukaji Rao (senior) and Jivaji Rao (junior), from the Puar clan of Marathas. They had advanced into Malwa with the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao, in 1728. The brothers divided the territory among themselves; their descendants ruled as the senior and junior branches of the family. After 1841, each branch ruled his own portion as a separate state, though the lands belonging to each were intimately entangled; in Dewas, the capital town, the two sides of the main street were under different administrations and had different arrangements for water supply and lighting.

The senior branch had an area of 446 sq mi (1,160 km2) and a population of in 62,312 in 1901, while the area of the junior branch was 440 sq mi (1,100 km2) and had a population of 54,904 that same year.[7] Both Dewas states were in the Malwa Agency of the Central India Agency. ]]. There were many Jagirdars and Zamindars of the estate; one of them was Zamindar Binjraj Tapdiya the whole sole of the village Binjana and Sanjay Nagar. On his name only the name of Binjana was kept. He was popularly known as Binjana seth. His eldest son kisanlal ruled the region under puar dynasty for six decades. After him his son Seth Vallabhdas Tapdiya had ruled the village. They were the biggest Jagirdars in the kingdom of Maharaj Krishnaji Rao III Puar. After India's independence in 1947, the Rajas of Dewas acceded to India, and their states were integrated into Madhya Bharat, which became a state of India in 1950. In 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state.[8]

Geography

Dewas lies northeast of Indore, southeast of Ujjain, and southwest of Shajapur. The city is located on the level plains of the Malwa plateau; to the south, the land rises gently to the Vindhya Range, which is the source of the Chambal and Kali Sindh rivers that flow north through the district on their way to the Ganges. The main river in Dewas is Kshipra.

Demographics

Religion in Dewas
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 88.03%
Muslims
 
 11%
Jains
 
 .42%
Others†
 
 .15%
Christians
 
 .15%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Sikhs (1%), Buddhists (<0.5%).

As of the 2013 India census,[9] Dewas had a population of 289,438. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dewas had an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy was 77% and female literacy was 61%. 7% of the population was under 5 years of age.

As it was a Maratha-ruled state, Marathi and Hindi are widely spoken languages in Dewas.[10]

Industry

Dewas was known for being a production centre of retail opium in the 1800s, as noted in the 1895 first report of the Royal Commission on Opium.[11] Rapid industrialization took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but due to inadequate infrastructure, the pace has slowed since the late 1980s. In recent years, some industries have closed their operations due to a shortage of sufficient infrastructure to support growth; there is a shortage of water due to excessive usage in previous decades.

The city has many industrial units providing employment to thousands of workers. The largest companies include Tata, Kirloskar, Arvind Mills, S Kumars, Tata-Cummins, Gajra Gears, Gabriel India Ltd, Sun Pharma Industries Limited, Caparo Tubes and John Deere. Dewas is known as the soy capital of India and is a major part of the soy bean processing industry in the country.

Due to its location above sea level at one corner of the Malwa plateau, constant wind flows in the region are suitable for harvesting wind energy. There are more than 100 wind mills on a hill 13 km (8.1 mi) from Dewas, generating around 15 megawatts of power. These were financed by a few private companies which sought a reliable power supply.[12][13][14]

Colleges

  • Government K.P. College
  • Maharani pushpmala raje puar government girls degree college Dewas
  • Prestige Institute of Management, Baawdia Dewas

Schools

  • Gyan Sagar Academy School Dewas
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Dewas
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dewas
  • St. Mary's Convent School, Dewas
  • Saraswati Gyan Peeth H.S. School

Places of interest

Dewas is known for Devi Chamunda temple and Devi Tulaja Bhavani temple situated on a 300-foot (91 m) hilltop, Tekri. A broad flight of stone steps leads to two shrines to the goddesses, Choti Mata (Chamunda Mata) and Badi Mata (Tulja Bhavani Mata). Numerous other temples spread over Tekri can be explored on foot.[15][16]

Shri Sheelnath Dhuni at the Tekri foothills is a place of worship for followers of Saint Sheelnath Maharaj's of Gorakh Nath Sumpradaya. Sheelnath Maharaj belonged to a royal family of Jaipur and later became a Yogi of Gorakh Nath Sumpradaya, who lived in Dewas in his old age.[17]

The Pawar Chatries near the Meetha talab of Dewas are examples of Maratha architecture in the area.[18]

Keladevi or Kailadevi temple at Dewas is the largest in the state. It is situated at Mishri Lal Nagar (Agra Bombay Road), south-westerly. It was established in December 1995 by businessman Mannulal Garg. This modern temple was built by South Indian artists; it houses a 51-foot (16 m) statue of Lord Hanumanji. The original Kaila Devi Temple is located on the banks of the Kalisil river in Karauli district of Rajasthan. The temple is devoted to the tutelary deity of the former princely rulers of the Karauli state, Kaila.[19][20]

Mahadev mandir is a temple in Shankar Gadh built by the Dewas ruler Shrimant Sadashive Rao Maharaja (Khase Saheb) in 1942. The temple is located on a small hill south of the city.[21]

Mahakaleshwar temple, Bilwali - Bilavali village is situated 3 km North of Dewas.[21]

Transport

Rail

Rail station board

Dewas Junction (DWX), is a standard broad-gauge railway station which belongs to Ratlam Division of the Western Railway Zone. It connects to all major cities in India.

Dewas Junction lies on the Indore Junction BG – Ujjain Junction branch line. It has one line originating at Maksi Junction which connects Nagda Bhopal Junction western–central railway link line. The Indore–Ujjain line has been eletrified to increase speed.

Road

Dewas is well connected to major cities of Madhya Pradesh state through an extensive network of national highways (NH) and state highways. NH 3 passes through the town. NH 86 connects Dewas to Kanpur. Dewas is connected to the state's political capital of Bhopal by the 4-lane expressway known as the Dewas–Bhopal Corridor.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://dic.mp.nic.in
  2. ↑ Dewas, MP
  3. ↑ bank note, press DEWAS. "Bank Note Press (BNP) Dewas". official government website. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.onlinedewas.com
  5. ↑ Forster, Edward Morgan (1953-01-01). The Hill of Devi. Harcourt, Brace.
  6. ↑ "Geography". dic.mp.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  7. ↑  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dewas". Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 137.
  8. ↑ "History Of Dewas". dic.mp.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  9. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  10. ↑ List of cities in Madhya Pradesh by population
  11. ↑ First Report of the Royal Commission on Opium: With Minutes of Evidence and Appendices... H.M. Stationery Office. 1894.
  12. ↑ "Handy Craft". dic.mp.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  13. ↑ "Wind Energy". dic.mp.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  14. ↑ "BANKS". dic.mp.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  15. ↑ http://dewas.nic.in
  16. ↑ http://indoremerijaan.in/dewar-mata-tekari
  17. ↑ http://www.shrinarayankutisanyasashram.org/
  18. ↑ http://dmcdewas.org:89/files/meethatalab.pdf
  19. ↑ http://www.onlinedewas.com/temples.aspx
  20. ↑ http://www.ghumakkar.com/paying-tributes-dewas
  21. 1 2 http://www.dewas.nic.in/html/rel.htm
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