Location: Bareilly 🌎

Bareilly ( ) is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city lies in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, about 252 kilometres (157 mi) north west of the state capital, Lucknow, and 265 kilometres (165 mi) east of the national capital, New Delhi. With a population of 898,167 in 2011, it is the eighth most populous city in the state, seventeenth in northern India and fifty-fourth in India. It is located on the bank of Ramganga River and is the site of the Ramganga Barrage built for canal irrigation. The earliest settlement in what is now Bareilly was established in 1537 by Jagat Singh Katehriya who named it ‘Bans-Bareli’ after his two sons Bansaldev and Bareldev. The town came under the rule of Mughals in 1569 and had become the capital of a local pargana by 1596. The foundation of the modern city of Bareilly was laid by Mughal governor Mukrand Rai in 1657, and in 1658, it became the seat of the governor of Budaun. The weakening of Mughal Empire lead to the rise of the Kingdom of Rohilkhand, of which Bareilly was a major centre. The city came under the control of Oudh State in 1774 after the fall of Rohillas in the First Rohilla War and was then ceded to the British East India Company by the Nawab of Oudh in 1801. A Military station was established in 1811 to the south of the city, where a fort was constructed in 1816. Bareilly was freed by the rebels during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and remained independent under the rule of Khan Bahadur Khan until it was re-annexed by the British in 1858. Bareilly is renowned for being the place of origin of the Barelvi Movement, a Sunni Islamic movement formed by notable scholar Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri to counter the growing influence of Wahabism. His shrine, located at the Bareilly Sharif Dargah, is visited by millions every year on the occasion of Urs-e-Razavi. More recently, the city has been known as Nath Nagri due to the presence of several ancient Shiva temples. It is a centre for furniture manufacturing and trade in cotton, cereal and sugar. Bareilly is one of the 100 Smart Cities being developed in India, and is one of the counter magnet cities of the National Capital Region (NCR). The city is served by the Bareilly Airport which has direct flight connectivity with Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Bareilly Junction railway station, located in the city is among the Top 100 booking stations of Indian Railways while Izzatnagar is the divisional headquarters of one of the three divisions of North Eastern Railways.