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Founding
Founding of Jodhpur
city in Rajasthan, India
- 1459
- South Asia
Founding
city in Rajasthan, India
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Jodhpur (Hindi pronunciation: [ˈd͡ʑoːd̪ʱ.pʊr] ⓘ) is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2025, the city has a population of 1.6 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and Jodhpur division. It is the historic capital of the Kingdom of Marwar, founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of the Rathore clan. On 11 August 1947, 4 days prior to the Indian independence, Maharaja Hanwant Singh the last ruler of Jodhpur state signed the Instrument of Accession and merged his state in Union of India. On 30 March 1949, it became part of the newly formed state of Rajasthan, which was created after merging the states of the erstwhile Rajputana.
Jodhpur is a famous tourist spot with a palace, fort, and temples, set in the stark landscape of the Thar Desert. It is also known as the 'Blue City' due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings in the old town. The old city circles the Mehrangarh Fort and is bounded by a wall with several gates. Jodhpur lies near the geographic centre of the Rajasthan state, which makes it a convenient base for travel in a region much frequented by tourists.
The name "Jodhpur" is derived from its founder, Rao Jodha, who established the city in 1459. "Jodh" represents Rao Jodha, and "pur" means city or town in Sanskrit, making it the "City of Jodha."
Jodhpur has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), due to its very high potential evapotranspiration. Although the average rainfall is around 362 mm (14.3 in), which falls mostly from June to September, it fluctuates greatly. In the famine year of 1899, Jodhpur received only 24 mm (0.94 in), but in the flood year of 1917, it received as much as 1,178 mm (46.4 in). Jojari river, a tributary of Luni River, flows from Banad to Salawas in Jodhpur Urban Area. A riverfront development project for the Jojari River, covering a 35 km stretch within the Jodhpur urban Area, was approved in January 2021 under the Namami Gange programme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Previously, the project was overseen by the Jodhpur Development Authority. Pin Code of Jodhpur is 342001 which comes under Jodhpur postal division (Jodhpur Region).
Temperatures are extreme from March to October, except when the monsoonal rain produces thick clouds to lower it slightly. In April, May, and June, high temperatures routinely exceed 40 °C. During the monsoon season, average temperatures decrease slightly, but the city's generally low humidity rises, which adds to the perception of the heat. The highest temperature recorded in Jodhpur was on 20 May 2016, when it rose to 48.8 °C (119.8 °F).
Jodhpur has been ranked 30th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.
The Rajasthan District Gazetteer's of Jodhpur gives examples from the Hindu epic Ramayana, which mention that the Abhiras inhabited the region of what later became Marwar. The Aryans are also mentioned as a race that migrated to this region.
The Ghatiyala pillar inscription (AD 996) which was erected by the Pratihara ruler Kakkuka, gives important information about the region. Marwar formed a part of the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire and until 1100 AD was ruled by a powerful Pratihara King. The Pratihars later formed a marital alliance with the Rathores and Mandore was given in dowry by the Pratiharas to a Rathore chieftain called Chunda. Chunda thus established his rule in Mandore and took advantage of the declining Tughlaq dynasty. He defended Marwar against Zafar Khan and conquered Khatu, Didwana, Sambhar, Nagaur and Ajmer from the Tughlaqs.
Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of the Rathore clan. Jodha succeeded in conquering the surrounding territory from the Delhi Sultanate and thus founded a kingdom that came to be known as Marwar. As Jodha hailed from the nearby town of Mandore, that town initially served as the capital of this state; however, Jodhpur soon took over that role, even during the lifetime of Jodha. The city was located on the strategic road linking Delhi to Gujarat. This enabled it to profit from a flourishing trade in opium, copper, silk, sandalwood, dates, and other tradeable goods.
After the death of Rao Chandrasen Rathore in 1581, the kingdom was annexed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Marwar thus became a Mughal vassal, owing fealty to them while enjoying internal autonomy. Jodhpur and its people benefited from this exposure to the wider world as new styles of art and architecture made their appearance and opportunities opened up for local tradesmen to make their mark across northern India.
Aurangzeb briefly sequestrated the state (circa 1679) after the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh, but his son Maharaja Ajit Singh was restored to the throne by Durgadas Rathore at the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 ending the 30 year long Rathore rebellion. The Mughal Empire declined gradually after 1707, but the Jodhpur court was beset by intrigue; rather than benefiting from circumstances, Marwar descended into strife and invited the intervention of the Marathas, who soon supplanted the Mughals as overlords of the region. In 1755 Jai Appa Scindia attacked Nagaur after looting several places of Rajasthan. Jai Appa halted his army near samas pond of Tausar which was 3.5 km from Nagaur fort. He surrounded Nagaur fort and cut off food and water supply. Maharaja Vijay Singh called Darbar and asked for volunteers to kill Scindia. Gaji Khan Khokhar (Chawata Kallan) and Kan Singh (Dotalai) volunteered and took responsibility for killing Jaiappa Scindia. Both changed their outfit as traders and opened shop near Jaiappa's army. They observed their activities for two month. On 25 July 1755 on Friday at 11 am, when found opportunity attacked Jaiappa with daggers and killed him (Painting situated in Mandore museum). While fighting the loyal soldiers of Jodhpur both were killed. From then on a common proverb still people say "Khokhar bada khuraki kha gaya appa jaisa daaki" (Khokhar are great gluttons, eaten demon like appa). Even after the killing of Jai Appa Sindhia, the Maratha army continued fighting for a few months near Nagaur but they lost hope after Jai Appa's death. Dissipated the wealth of the state, which sought the help of the British and entered into a subsidiary alliance with them.
A major revolt occurred in 1857 by some Rathore nobles of Pali led by Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwa, but the rebels were defeated by the British Army under Colonel Holmes and peace was restored.
During the British Raj, the state of Jodhpur had the largest land area in the Rajputana. The land area of the state was 93,424 km2 (36,071 sq mi) its population in 1901 was 44,73,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of £3,529,000. Its merchants, the Marwaris, flourished and came to occupy a position of dominance in trade across India.
In 1947, when India became independent, the state merged into the union, and Jodhpur became the second-largest city after the Jaipur city in Rajasthan. At the time of division, the ruler of Jodhpur, Hanwant Singh, did not want to join India, but finally, due to the effective persuasion of Vallabhbhai Patel at the time, the state of Jodhpur was included in the Indian Republic. Later after the State Reorganisation Act, 1956 came into effect, it was included within the state of Rajasthan.
As of the 2011 census official report, Jodhpur Municipal Corporation had 196,436 households and a population of 1,056,191. 134,761 (12.76%) were under the age of 7. Jodhpur had a sex ratio of 902 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 80.33% for those 7 years and above. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 133,395 (12.63%) and 25,253 (2.39%) of the population respectively.
The Jodhpur Urban/Metropolitan area includes Jodhpur, Kuri Bhagtasani, Mandore Industrial Area, Nandri, Pal Village and Sangariya. Its urban/metropolitan population is 1,137,815 of which 599,332 are males and 538,483 are females. With the inclusion of 395 villages in Jodhpur city in the month of February 2021 by JoDA, the new population count for the city is 1,663,000 and is expected to grow by 33.04% over the next decade. In the year 2031 population of Jodhpur city is expected to be more than 3.1 million. The population of Jodhpur city after expansion of city borders is 1,663,000.
At the time of the 2011 census, 63.61% of the population recorded their language as Rajasthani, 25.17% Hindi, 5.52% Marwari, 1.73% Sindhi and 1.27% Urdu.
Jodhpur contributes $4 billion (approx) to Rajasthan's economy through different Industries. It is also considered the center of India's $200 million handicraft industry. The city is also a major tourist destination, claiming attractive heritage hotels and sights from its long history.
Jodhpur also has the largest standardized test training industry in western Rajasthan, with top coaching institutes for the IIT-JEE, NEET-UG and NEET-PG, and Civil Service Exams.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the government of Rajasthan have been working since 2018 on a joint project to construct a refinery in Pachpadra, Barmer district with a capacity of nine MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum). The refinery is expected to come online in January 2024, and was described by Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri as "...the 'Jewel of the Desert', bringing jobs, opportunities and joy to the people of Rajasthan...".
India's most ambitious industrial development project, the over US$100 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project is also expected to impact the industrial scenario in Jodhpur in a big way. Marwar Junction, which is located about 100 kilometres from the city, will be one of the nine freight loading points along the DMIC route. In addition, both the Jodhpur and Pali districts fall under the region that is planned to be developed as a manufacturing hub for the DMIC.
The present Member of Parliament from Jodhpur is Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of the BJP.
Till 2020, the city was administered by a single municipal body, Jodhpur Nagar Nigam with a mayor. In 2019, the Rajasthan government decided to form two municipal corporation in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota for better administration. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into wards, from which the members of the corporation council are elected for five years. The municipal corporation has elected members known as councilors, or parshad in Hindi, representing their respective wards (geographical units of the city). The ward members are elected by direct voting by electorate for a period of 5 years. In addition to these directly elected members, the corporation has four ex-officio members (one member of parliament, three members of legislative assembly, namely Sardarpura, Soorsagar, City), and three nominated members. Currently, the city has two civic bodies – Jodhpur North and Jodhpur South each headed by a mayor. Each municipal corporation has 80 wards, making a total of 160 wards in the city. The Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA) executes and supervises plans and schemes for the development of the urban region.
Jodhpur is a significant city of western Rajasthan and lies about 250 km from the border with Pakistan. This location makes it a key base for the Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), and Border Security Force. Jodhpur's South Western Air Command is one of Asia's largest and one of the most critical and strategically located airbases of the IAF (The Jodhpur Airport played the crucial role during the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971) deployed fighter jets and advanced light helicopters. There are 5 squadrons of the Indian Air force that are known as the 32 wing.
Jodhpur has culturally been known by the name of Jodhana by the locals. The city is famous for its food and its popularity can be judged by the fact that one can find sweet shops named "Jodhpur Sweets" in many cities throughout India. Being at the onshore of Thar Desert, life has been influenced by ways of select nomadic tribes (so-called "gypsy" groups – Banjara in Hindi – have settled in some parts of the city). Jodhpur has distinct cultural identity through its food and is famous for its Mirchi Bada, Rabdi Ghewar and Mawa Kachori.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Jodhpur”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.