Sujangarh सुजानगढ़ Harbuji-Ka-Kot |
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city | |
Location in Rajasthan, India | |
Coordinates: 27°42′N 74°28′E / 27.7°N 74.47°ECoordinates: 27°42′N 74°28′E / 27.7°N 74.47°E | |
Country | India |
State | Rajasthan |
District | Churu |
Elevation | 312 m (1,024 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 101,528 |
Languages | |
• Official | Hindi,Marwadi |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
PIN | 331507 |
Telephone code | 01568 |
Vehicle registration | RJ 44 |
Sujangarh is a city in the Churu district in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, India. Sujangarh is on the Ambala-Pali Highway (NH 65) and Hanumangarh-Kishangarh Mega Highway. It is 200 km from Jaipur, 150 km from Bikaner and 360 km from Delhi.
Sujangarh is connected by railway, too. Sujangarh junction railway station is on the Jodhpur-Delhi (via Ratangarh) BG line.
It is known for its temples, havelis and 18th-century forts. Chhapar, near Sujangarh, is famous for blackbucks and its Tal Chhapar sanctuary. The Salasar Balaji Temple is 25 km from Sujangarh.
The old name of the place was Harbuji-ka-kot or the fort of Harbuji, a Rajput hero. The present town was founded by Maharaja Surat Singh (1788-1828), eighth chief of Bikaner, named after Sujan Singh, the twelfth chief of Bikaner. Bidasar, the fort, which is about 200 feet square, with walls from 5 to 6 feet in thickness, is said to have been built by the Thakur of Sandwa, who once owned the place, and whose estate is now to the west, and was altered and improved by Surat Singh.
The town contains several fine houses belonging to wealthy traders. There is a substantial bungalow that was occupied from 1868 to 1870 by a British political officer specially deputed to put down dacoity, which was very rife on the triple border of Bikaner, Jaipur, and Marwar; a combined post and telegraph office; a jail with accommodation for 66 prisoners; an Anglo-vernacular school attended by 90 boys; and a hospital with accommodation for seven in-patients. About 6 miles to the northwest is the Gopalpura hill, 1,651 feet above sea-level, or about 600 above the surrounding plain. Legend says that where the village of Gopalpura now stands there was a city called Dronpur, built by and named after Guru Drona Charya, the tutor of the Pandavas.
Near Bidasar, a little farther to the north, a copper-mine was discovered about the middle of the 18th century and was worked for a short time, but the ore was not rich enough to repay expenses. The mine is, however, now being professionally examined. The Chhapar salt lake, 8 miles north of the town, is no longer worked. The Sujangarh tahsil contains 151 villages, almost all of which are held in jagir by Bidawats or Rathor Rajputs descended from Bida, the brother of Bika, the founder of the state. Almost all of this tract was taken by Bida from the Mohil Rajputs of Ladnun, a branch of the Chauhans, and it is often called Bidawati.