Ujjain

This article is about the municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India. For its namesake district, see Ujjain District.

Ujjain उज्जैन Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti, Avantika, Avantikapuri
City
Ujjain City
Nickname(s): The City of Temples
File:Madhya Pradesh districts location map big.svg Ujjain Location in Madhya Pradesh, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
Region	Malwa
District	Ujjain
Government
• Body	Ujjain Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Meena Jonwal (BJP)
• Municipal Commissioner	Sonu Gehlot
Area
• Total	152 km2 (59 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	515,215
• Density	3,400/km2 (8,800/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi,
• Other	Malavi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	456001
Telephone code	0734
Vehicle registration	MP-13
Climate	Cfa (Köppen)
Precipitation	900 millimetres (35 in)
Avg. annual temperature	24.0 °C (75.2 °F)
Avg. summer temperature	31 °C (88 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	17 °C (63 °F)
Website	ujjain.nic.in

Ujjain (/uːˈdʒeɪn/; <phonos file="Ujjain.ogg">listen</phonos>) is the largest city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative center of Ujjain district and Ujjain division.

An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River, Ujjain was the most prominent city on the Malwa plateau of central India for much of its history. It emerged as the political centre of central India around 600 BC. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It remained an important political, commercial and cultural centre of central India until early 19th century, when the British administrators decided to develop Indore as an alternative to it. Ujjain continues to be an important place of pilgrimage for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and followers of Shakta.

History

Excavations at Kayatha (around 26 km from Ujjain) have revealed chalcolithic agricultural settlements dating to around 2000 BC. According to Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, Avanti, whose capital was Ujjain, "was one of the earliest outposts in central India" and showed signs of early urbanization around 700 BC. Around 600 BC, Ujjain emerged as the political, commercial and cultural centre of Malwa plateau.

The ancient walled city of Ujjain was located around the Garh Kalika hill on the bank of river Kshipra, in the present-day suburban areas of the Ujjain city. This city covered an irregular pentagonal area of 0.875 km². It was surrounded by a 12 m high mud rampart. The archaeological investigations have also indicated the presence of a 45 m wide and 6.6 m deep moat around the city. According to F. R. Allchin and George Erdosy, these city defenses were constructed between 6th and 4th centuries BC. Dieter Schlingloff believes that these were built before 600 BC. This period is characterized by structures made of stone and burnt-brick, tools and weapons made of iron, and black and red burnished ware.

According to the Puranic texts, a branch of the legendary Haihaya dynasty ruled over Ujjain.

In the Mauryan period, Ujjain remained the administrative centre of the region. From this period, Northern Black Polished Ware, copper coins, terracotta ring wells and ivory seals with Brahmi text have been excavated. During the reign of his father Bindusara, Ashoka served as the viceroy of Ujjain. Ujjain was subsequently controlled by a number of empires and dynasties, including the Shungas, the Western Satraps, the Satavahanas, the Guptas and the Paramara. The Paramaras shifted the region's capital from Ujjain to Dhar.

Ujjain was an important literary centre of ancient India. The writings of Bhasa are set in Ujjain, and he probably lived in the city. Kalidasa also refers to Ujjain multiple times, and it appears that he spent at least a part of his life in Ujjain. Mrichchhakatika by Shudraka is also set in Ujjain. Ujjain also appears in several stories as the capital of the legendary emperor Vikramaditya. Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara (11th century) mentions that the city was created by the Vishwakarma, and describes it as invincible, prosperous and full of wonderful sights.

The Jantar Mantar at Ujjain was commissioned by Jai Singh II (1688-1743) of Jaipur

During medieval times, Ujjain ultimately came under the Islamic rule, like other parts of north-central India. In 1235 AD, Iltutmish of Delhi Sultanate plundered the city, and destroyed its temples. However, Ujjain continued to be an important city of the region. As late as during the times of the Mughal vassal Jai Singh II (1688-1743), who constructed a Jantar Mantar in the city, Ujjain was the largest city and capital of the Malwa Subah.

During the 18th century, the city briefly became the capital of Scindia state of the Maratha confederacy, when Ranoji Scindia established his capital at Ujjain in 1731. But his successors moved to Gwalior, where they ruled the Gwalior State in the latter half of the 18th century. The struggle of supremacy between the Holkars of Indore and Scindias (who ruled Ujjain) led to rivalry between the merchants of the two cities. On 18 July 1801, the Holkars defeated the Scindias at the Battle of Ujjain. On 1 September, Yashwantrao Holkar entered the city, and demanded a sum of 15 lakh rupees from the city. He received only 1/8th of this amount; the rest was pocketed by his officers. A force sent by Daulat Scindhia later regained control of Ujjain. After both Holkar and Scindias accepted the British suzerainty, the British colonial administrators decided to develop Indore as an alternative to Ujjain, because the merchants of Ujjain had supported certain anti-British people. John Malcolm, the British administrator of Central India, decided to reduce the importance of Ujjain "by transferring a great part of that consequence it now enjoys to the Towns of Indore and Rutlam cities, which are and will continue more under our control."

After the independence India, Ujjain became a part of the Madhya Bharat state. In 1956 Madhya Bharat was fused into the State of Madhya Pradesh.

Geography

Ujjain is located in the west-central part of India, and is north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Located on the Malwa plateau, it is higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. Ujjain's coordinate are with average elevation of 494m metres (1620 ft). Region is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. The city is on the river bank of Shipra which falls into nearby flowing Chambal.

Demographics

Harsiddhi Marg

According to the 2011 census Ujjain has a population of 515,215 of which male are 264,871 and female are 250,344 respectively with sex ratio is 945 per 1000 males and child sex ratio of girls is 929 per 1000 boys. The city has children between (0-6)are 58,972 and There were 30,573 boys while 28,399 are girls which forms 11.45% of total population of City.

As iiteracy wise, total literates in city are 385,193 of which 210,075 are males while 175,118 are females and average literacy rate of city is 84.43 percent of which male and female literacy was 89.66 and 78.90 percent.

Government and jurisdiction

Most of the regions surrounding the city are administered by the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) and the city is administered by Divisional Commissioner and Collectorate Office as welll as the Mayor. The are responsible for Town and Country Planning Department, Forest Department, Public Health Engineering, Public Works Department and MP Electricity Board.

Ujjain has been a metropolitan municipality with a mayor-council form of government. Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) was established in 1956 under the Madhya Pradesh Nagar Palika Nigam Adhiniyam. The UMC was established in the year 1886 as Nagar Palika but the Municipal Corporation of Ujjain was declared on par with Gwalior Municipal Corporation. The UMC is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, local planning and welfare services. The mayor and councillors are elected to five-year terms.

Ujjain Development Authority also known as UDA is the urban planning agency serving Ujjain. The headquarters of the Ujjain Development Authority is located in Bharatpuri area of Ujjain. It was established in 1973 under Madhya Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1973.

Ujjain Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. This constituency came into existence in 1951 as one of the 9 Lok Sabha constituencies in the erstwhile Madhya Bharat state. It is reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled castes since 1966. This constituency covers the entire Ujjain district and part of Ratlam district. Currently, Dr. Chintamani Malviya of the Bharatiya Janata Party is member of parliament who won in the Indian general elections, 2014.

Education

Government Engineering College, Ujjain

Ujjain is home to the Vikram University. Ujjain is a home to a range of colleges and schools. Ujjain has a large student population and one of the big educational center in central India. Most primary and secondary schools in Ujjain are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE); however, quite a few number of schools are affiliated with ICSE board, NIOS board, CBSEi board and the state level M.P. Board as well.

University

• Vikram University
• Maharshi Panini Sanskrit University

College

• Mahakal Institute of Technology
• Ujjain Engineering College
• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Business Management
• Institute of Computer Science, Vikram University
• Ruxmaniben Deepchand Gardi Medical College

Schools

The city has several government and private schools, including St Paul's Higher Secondary School, Takshshila Junior College and Ujjain Public School.

• St Paul's Higher Secondary School
• Takshshila Junior College
• Ujjain Public School
• Carmel Convent School
• Central School, Nagziri

Industry

The Government of Madhya Pradesh has allotted 1,200 acres for the development of an industrial area on the Dewas-Ujjain Road near Narwar village. Originally named "Vikramaditya Knowledge City", the area was envisaged as an educational hub. But due to diminished investment prospects, it was renamed to "Vikram Udyog Nagari" ("Vikram Industrial City"). As of 2014, the government has conceptualized it as a half-industrial, half-educational area. The stakeholders in the project include the state government and the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Trust.

Culture

Sacred places

Ujjain is considered one of the holiest cities in India, and is a popular pilgrimage centre. Some of the notable sacred places in the city include:

• Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, an ancient temple that was destroyed by Iltutmish and then restored by the Scindias of Gwalior
• Kal Bhairav temple
• ISKCON temple
• Chintaman Ganesh temple
• Gopal Mandir, built by Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur

Other historic places

• Ved Shala
• Sandipani Ashram
• Kaliadeh Palace

See also: Ancient monuments in Ujjain

Simhastha

The Ujjain Simhastha is a mass Hindu pilgrimage, and one of the fairs recognized as Kumbh Melas. During the Simhastha, Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. At Ujjain, it is held once every 12 years, on the banks of Kshipra river. It is also known as Simhastha, when it falls during Jupiter's stay in Leo of Simha. The next Simhastha will be held in Ujjain from 21 April 2016 to 22 May 2016.

Transport

Airport

Ujjain does not have any airport but has an airstrip on Deaws road which used for air transport purposes. In 2013, Government of Madhya Pradesh started a Ujjain-Bhopal air services as a joint venture with Ventura Airconnect. Due to very low booking, the ambitious project was scraped. The main reason for the failure of the plan was improper timing. The nine seating capacity aircraft was into service. The nearest airport is the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport at Indore (62 km).

Railway

Ujjain Station

Ujjain Junction is the main railway station of Ujjain, and it is directly or indirectly well-connected to all the major railway stations in India. It lies on the Ratlam–Bhopal, Indore–Nagda and Guna–Khandwa route. To the west it is connected to Ratlam Junction, to the north it is connected with Nagda Junction, to the east it is connected with Maksi Junction, Bhopal Junction, and to the south it is connected to Indore Junction BG, Dewas Junction.

There are 5 railway stations in the Ujjain city and its suburbs:

Station name	Station code	Railway zone	Total platforms
Ujjain Junction	UJN	Western Railway	8
Chintaman Ganesh	CNN	Western Railway	1
Matana Buzurg (abandoned)	MABG	Western Railway	2
Pingleshwar	PLW	Western Railway	2
Vikramnagar	VRG	Western Railway	2

Road

Ujjain-Indore Highway

Dewas Gate Stand and Nana Kheda Bus Stand are the two bus stand in city that provides bus service to destinations located in states. Large number of state run private Buses are available for Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ajmer, Khajuraho, Indore, Bhopal, Pune, Mumbai Kota, Mandu, Jhalawar and various other locations.The city has a well connected road network including Indore Road, Badnagar Road, Dewas Road and Maksi Road and there are two state Highway 18 to Ahmedabad and 27 connects to Indore.

Other important regional highways passing through the city are:

• State Highway No. 27 (Jhalawad - Ujjain - Burhanpur)

Local transport

Ujjain depends on extensive network of auto rickshaws, city busses, private taxis & Tata Magic, that operate throughout the city connecting one part with another. UMC has recently introduced city buses with Public Private Partnership project as city was identified urban agglomerations with less than 1 million population under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Entertainment

Ujjain has got a malls and many cinema halls. Cinema is the most popular medium of entertainment in city as well as in the whole country. There are a number of cinema halls in the city, namely PVR Cinemas, Metro Cinema, Narendra Takies, Prakash Takies, Mohan Takies, Trimurti Takies and Ashok Takies. Treasure Island is a biggest mall in the city located at Nana Kheda Bus Stand.

Sports

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the city. Ujjain is also home to the Ujjain Divisional Cricket Association which is affiliated to BCCI and city has does not have any stadium but has hosted two Ranji Trophy matches at Pipe Factory Ground in 1977 and 1980.

There few playing fiekd in Ujjain:

• Madhav College Ground
• Mahakal Institute of Technology Ground
• Ujjain International Stadium
• Vikram University Ground

Health Care

The city has a Government Hospital, TB Hospital and Ruxmaniben Deepchand Gardi Medical College.

Notable people

Notable persons who were born or lived in Ujjian include:

3

Bibliography

• Hunter, Cotton, Burn, Meyer. "The Imperial Gazetteer of India", 2006. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1909.

External links

• Official website of Ujjain Municipal Corporation
• Official website of Ujjain district
• Official website of Ujjain Kumbh Mela