Kanpur City- An Introduction

Kanpur is the biggest city of the state and is the main centre of commercial and industrial activities. Formerly it was known as Manchester of India. Now it is the commercial capital of Uttar Pradesh.

It is situated on the most important national highways no. 2 & 25 and state highway,the main Delhi-Howrah railway trunck lines & at the bank of holy river Ganga. It is about 126 meters above the sea level. Presently civilian air-service to Delhi is available for the city at Ahirwan. The other nearest civilian air port Amausi (Lucknow) is 65Km. away from Kanpur.

Kanpur is also divisional headquater of Kanpur commissionery consisting of following districts:

  • Kanpur-Nagar
  • Kanpur-Dehat
  • Etawah
  • Aurayia
  • Farrukhabad
  • Kannauj

Connectivity

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Kanpur is connected by road with all the major cities of the country. It is situated on National Highway No. 2 on the Delhi-Agra-Allahabad-Calcutta route and on National Highway No. 25 on the Lucknow-Jhansi-Shivpuri route.
Distances from some destinations in the region:

  • Lucknow – 79 km.
  • Allahabad – 193 km.
  • Varanasi – 329 km.
  • Khajuraho – 398 km.
  • Agra – 269 km.
  • Jhansi – 222 kms.

Kanpur History & Location

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Nestled on the banks of the eternal Ganga, Kanpur stands as one of North India’s major industrial centers with its own historical, religious and commercial importance. Believed to be founded by king Hindu Singh of the erstwhile state of Sachendi, Kanpur was originally known as `Kanhpur’. Historically, Jajmau on the eastern outskirts of present day Kanpur is regarded as one of the most archaic townships of Kanpur district.

The biggest city of UttarPradesh and eighth biggest in India. Kanpur is the most important metropolis of the state. According to the 2001 census, the city had a population of 25,51,337. Among the big towns of Uttar Pradesh , the growth of kanpur has been phenomenal. It ranked third after Lucknow and Varanasi in 1901, but by 1961 it assumed a position on top of the list. It has registered an increase of over five times from 1,97,170 in 1901 to 9,71,062 in 1961 in the course of six decades. This is mainly due to its most central location in the state. Kanpur has benefited from its fertile agricultural hinterland of the Upper Ganga Valley and Bundelkhand plateau, the available developed links of transportation and the stimulant of World War-2 with its industrial demand. In this city, in spite of a low percentage of irrigated area, the density is high and that is obviously due to great industrial Concentration.

Upto the 1st half of the 18th century Kanpur continued to survive as an insignificant village. Its fate, however, took a new turn soon after. In May 1765, Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab Wazir of Awadh, was defeated by the British near Jajmau. It was probably at this time that strategic importance of the site of Kanpur was realized by the British. European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Kanpur. In order to ensure protection to their lives and property the `Awadh local forces’ were shifted here in 1778. Kanpur passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in the history of Kanpur. Soon Kanpur became one of the most important military station of British India. It was declared a district on 24th March 1803.

Kanpur in 1857

It was Cawnpore that came to symbolize the horror of the mutiny for the British and without doubt what transpired there in the summer of 1857 was a major factor in the thirst for vengeance which seemed to drive the British troops as they fought to reverse the mutineers initial successes. Till the end of the mutiny, British troops going forward with the bayonet shouted "Cawnpore! Cawnpore!" as their warcry and punishments meted out to captured mutineers were executed with Cawnpore in mind.

 

After 1857, the development of Kanpur was even more phenomenal. Government Harness and Saddlery Factory was started for supplying leather material for army in 1860, followed by Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. The first cotton textile mill, the Elgin Mills were started in 1862 and Muir Mills in 1882.

Kanpur Image

Today besides being the most industrialized region of the state, Kanpur is also an important educational centre, with institutions like Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Agricultural College, Indian Institute of Technology, GSVM Medical College, National Sugar Institute and Government Textile Institute being located here.
Apart from playing a stellar role in the development of the country as a whole, Kanpur has also been instrumental in making an unforgettable contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. A favorite centre of activities of stalwarts like Nanarao Peshwa, Tantiya Tope, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Chander Shekhar Azad among others, Kanpur is also the birth place of Shyamlal Gupta `Parshad’, composer of the famous patriotic ditty `Vijayee Vishwa Tiranga Pyara’. The propagation and popularization of Hindi also owes much to this city, with great Hindu literatures like Acharya Mahavir Parasad Dwivedi, Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi, Pratap Narain Mishra, Acharya Gaya Prasad Shukla `Sanehi’ and Balkrishna Sharma `Navin’ having hailed from here.

The city which once was termed as Manchester of India for its matured cotton industry. The city which hosted (and still hosts) the world famous 'Lal Imli' woolen factory, industries such as LML, Pan Parag, ICI Limited (now known as Duncuns Fertilisers), one of the largest leather industries in the world and myriad cotton mills.
city which boosts one of the largest number of defense establishments; To name a few Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), DMSRDE, Small Arms Factory(SAF), Field Gun Factory and Parachute factory.


Fairs & Festivals

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Deepawali, Deshara, Holi, Raksha-Bandhan, Janma-Ashtami, Ram Navami, Shiv-Ratri, Kartik Poornima, Magh Poornima and Makar Sankranti Mela,Eid-ul-Fitra,Moharrum, The city is full of lights in Deepawali ,colorful in Holi festivals.