Deeg
Encyclopedia
Deeg is a city and a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in Bharatpur district
Bharatpur district
Bharatpur District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The town of Bharatpur is the district headquarters.-History:When Bharatpur was a princely state, it was the only political entity ever to have a Chartreuse colored flag.-Demographics:...

 in the state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is situated in the north of Bharatpur at a distance of 32 km, and 98 km (60.9 mi) North of Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...

.
Deeg comes under THE BIG PARIKRMA MARG of Lord Krishna which was started from Goverdhan, just only 12 km. far from deeg. It is an ancient town. It finds mention in Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...

 (स्कंध पुराण) as "Dirgha" or "Dirghapur". Deeg was the first capital of the newly carved out Jat state of Bharatpur, when Badan Singh
Badan Singh
Marharajah Badan Singh was the formal founder of the princely state of Bharatpur. He was nephew of Churaman.He was born in Jat family. After the death of Churaman on 22 September 1721 there were family disputes between Badan Singh and Mohkam, son of Churaman. Badan Singh aligned with Jai Singh II...

 was proclaimed its ruler in 1722. In 1730, the Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.-Early life:Surajmal was born on...

 erected the strong fortress of Deeg. After Suraj Mal moved the capital to Bharatpur, Deeg became the second capital of the rulers of Bharatpur princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

. It is known for its number of forts, palaces, gardens and fountains.

Geography

Deeg is located at 27.47°N 77.33°E. It has an average elevation of 174 m (570.9 ft).

History

It is an ancient town. It finds mention in Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...

 as “Dirgha” or “Dirghapura”. Deeg was the first capital of the newly carved out Jat
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...

 state of Bharatpur, when Badan Singh
Badan Singh
Marharajah Badan Singh was the formal founder of the princely state of Bharatpur. He was nephew of Churaman.He was born in Jat family. After the death of Churaman on 22 September 1721 there were family disputes between Badan Singh and Mohkam, son of Churaman. Badan Singh aligned with Jai Singh II...

 was proclaimed its ruler in 1722. In 1730, the Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.-Early life:Surajmal was born on...

 erected the strong fortress of Deeg. After Suraj Mal moved the capital to Bharatpur, Deeg became the second capital of the rulers of Bharatpur princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

. It is known for its number of forts, palaces, gardens and fountains.

Badan Singh
Badan Singh
Marharajah Badan Singh was the formal founder of the princely state of Bharatpur. He was nephew of Churaman.He was born in Jat family. After the death of Churaman on 22 September 1721 there were family disputes between Badan Singh and Mohkam, son of Churaman. Badan Singh aligned with Jai Singh II...

 ( 1722–1756 AD) after assuming the throne consolidated the headship of the tribe and thereby became the virtual founder of the Jat house at Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...

. The credit of commencing the urbanization of Deeg also goes to him. It was he who selected this spot as the headquarters of his newly established Jat kingdom.

Deeg in films

The 1972 movie by Conrad Rooks, Siddhartha, based on Herman Hesse's novel, was shot in Deeg. Additional scenes in the film were shot in Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, Bharatpur. The town is very famous due to Jat history. The British people couldn't enter in the city, the last wish of British people was to see the Deeg palace when they were leaving India but the royal jat raja did not allow them.

Fairs

Nowadays Deeg is famous for the three-day fair held in the month of September, when the forts of Deeg are brought to liveliness. Deeg has various kinds of palaces, the most famous among them is "Sawan-Bhadon". The palace has a hollow ceiling with rolling iron spheres in it; when water is made to flow into the ceiling, these spheres collide with each other and produce a sound like raining clouds.

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Deeg had a population of 40,826. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Deeg has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71% and, female literacy is 49%. In Deeg, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

How to reach

Can be reached from Bharatpur. Either you need to have your own transport or take a local bus / a trecker.
It takes more than an hour to reach by local bus.
In the local bus stand buy a ticket to Deeg. Busses are available at regular intervals.They are over crowded. They stop at every village. The road to Deeg is dusty and bumpy. It will drop you at the Deeg bus stand from which Deeg Palace is 1 km away.You can walk or take a cycle rickshaw.
While returning please remember that you have to avail a running bus from Deeg. Alternatively, you can take a trecker. Though over crowded it is more comfortable than a bus, a seat is assured and takes lesser time to take you to Bharatpur. The rate is Rs.20/- as on Feb 2011.

A point to note

The 900 fountains,the major attraction of Deeg Palace does not work except on special occasions. Take the trouble of going to Deeg without expecting much.Deeg Palace remains closed on Friday as of now (Feb 2011).
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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