Malihabad

Malihabad
city
Malihabad Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 26.94°N 80.72°E / 26.94; 80.72
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Lucknow
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Population  (2001)
• Total	15,806
Languages
• Official	Hindi
• Additional official	Urdu
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)

Malihabad (Hindi: मलीहाबाद, Urdu: ملیح آباد) is a town and a nagar panchayat in Lucknow district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the mango belt of North India and is internationally acclaimed for its mangoes. Among different varieties of mangoes grown here, Dussheri is the most popular variety. Besides Dussehri, other varieties of mangoes such as Chausa, Fazli, Lucknowa, Jauhari, Safeda, etc. are also grown here.

History

The town of Malihabad was established by Raja Malhia Arakh, the younger of the brave brother duo, Salhia, and Malhia, belonging to the warrior Arakh clan. Of the two brothers, Raja Salhia Singh laid the foundation of Salhiapura town, which is now known as Sandila, while Raja Malhia Singh founded Malhiapura, now called Malihabad. Raja Malhia Singh Arakh made Malihabad a contemporary power and a prosperous town. During his rule, Arakh dominion stretched south of Malihabad to parts of Kakori and Bijnour, and along the left bank of Sai to Sissandi. Arakhs held sway over Malihabad and adjoining areas including Datli till the 15th century. In AD 1470, two brothers of the Gautam tribe, Deva Rai and Naya Rana came as refugees to Malihabad after being exiled from the Argal state of Gautams. After winning over the confidence of the Arakh king, they conspired with Pathans to overthrow Arakhs from Malihabad and establish their control. Their efforts paid off when after a prolonged struggle with Arakhs, Gautam brothers took over the control of Malihabad. But soon after, they were themselves displaced by the Pathans. The mango plantations of Malihabad were developed by Pathans, under the royal patronage of the Nawabs of Lucknow.

Malihabad prides itself on Nawab Faqueer Mohammad Khan 'Goya', the poet and courtier of Awadh; "Shaayar-e-Inquilaab"Josh Malihabadi (born as Shabbir Hasan Khan), Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi, Ahmad Saeed Malihabadi who later migrated to Pakistan; Ghaus Mohammad Khan, the tennis player and Anwar Nadeem, stage artist, writer and poet. was born in Malihabad (India) in 1962. It has also produced some great writers like Mohsin Khan who possess a remarkable writing style. His Urdu play Khvab ki Ta'bir was awarded first prize in a radio-play contest drawing participants from nineteen Indian languages.

Ghaus Mohammad Khan

In 1939, the last Wimbledon before the World War, Ghaus Mohammad Khan of Malhiabad did country proud by becoming first ever Indian to figure in a singles quarter final. He was beaten by eventual champion Bobby Riggs of USA in straight sets 2-6, 2-6, 2-6. Riggs won all the three titles that year. Khan reigned as India's top player from 1936 to 1940, but his career was cut short by the rigours of World War.

Josh Malihabadi

Josh Malihabadi was born as Shabbir Hasan Khan on 5 December 1898 at Malihabad. He did his senior Cambridge from St. Peter's College, Agra in 1914. In 1918, he spent about six months at Shantiniketan. He studied Arabic and Persian. Due to the death of his father, Bashir Ahmed Khan, in 1916, Josh was unable to avail of a college education.

In 1925, Josh started work at the Osmania University, supervising translation work. He was exiled from the Hyderabad State for writing a Nazm against the Nizam. He then started the newsletter/magazine called the 'Kaleem' in which he openly wrote articles in favour of independence and against the British. Soon, he was being called "Shaayar-e-Inquilaab". He also got actively involved in the freedom struggle and became close to quite a few of the political leaders of that era, specially Jawahar Lal Nehru. On the advice of director W. Z. Ahmed, he also wrote songs for Shalimar Pictures. During this time, he was staying in Pune. After independence, he became the editor of 'Aajkal'. He was later honoured with the Padmabhushan. Josh migrated to Pakistan and died on 22 February 1982 in Islamabad. Some of Josh's important works are: Shola-o-Shabnam, Junoon-o-Hikmat, Fikr-o-Nishaat, Sunbal-o-Salaasal, Harf-o-Hikaayat, Sarod-o-Kharosh. His autobiography is titled "Yaadon ki Baarat".

Geography

Malihabad is located at 26.92°N 80.72°E / 26.92; 80.72. It has an average elevation of 128 metres (419 feet).The main areas in Malihabad are Mirzaganj, Syedwara, Chaudrana and Kewalhar.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Malihabad had a population of 15,806. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Malihabad has an average literacy rate of 52%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 59%, and female literacy is 45%. In Malihabad, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religions in Malihabad
Religion			Percent
Muslims			51%
Hindus			48%
Others†			1%
Distribution of religions †Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).

Economics

Dasheri mango plantations is one of the major income source of the region, with mangoes being exported to many neighbouring countries. Dasheri Mango is very delicious and famous for its sweetness and soft pulp.

Film

The Filmfare Award winner (1979) and winner of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (1978), film Junoon was mostly shot in the Mahals of Malihabad. The 1978 Urdu film was produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal and was a hit of its time. The film was based on Ruskin Bond Novella A Flight of Pigeons.