Reasi District
Encyclopedia
Reasi
Reasi
Reasi is a town and a notified area committee, tehsil and now a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of River Chenab. Reasi derived its name from its old name "RASYAL".Rasyal is a caste belongs to Rajput Category. In the eighth century Reasi was called...

is one of the oldest towns of the Jammu and Kashmir State. It was the seat of the erstwhile Bhimgarh State, said to have been established by Raja Bhim Dev somewhere in the 8th century. It remained an independent principality till 1822, when Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

 Gulab Singh the then King of Jammu consolidated the small states. Up until 1948 Reasi was a District of Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...

 Province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

, but in the first administrative reorganization of the State undertaken in 1948 the major part of the then district Reasi was merged with district Udhampur
Udhampur
Udhampur is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the second lardest city of Duggardesh region and the fourth largest city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It serves as the district capital and the Northern Command headquarter of the...

, while some areas became part of District Poonch
Poonch
Poonch is a town and a municipal committee in Poonch District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Based on the Mahābhārata evidence, and the evidence from 7th Chinese traveler Xuanzang, the districts of Poonch along with Rajauri and Abhisara had been under the sway of the Republican Kambojas...

 (now Rajouri).

Geography

Longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

 : 33 05 N

Latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

 : 74 50 E

Reasi
Reasi
Reasi is a town and a notified area committee, tehsil and now a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of River Chenab. Reasi derived its name from its old name "RASYAL".Rasyal is a caste belongs to Rajput Category. In the eighth century Reasi was called...

is located at a distance of 64 km from Jammu and is bounded by Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

 Gool-Gulabgarh in the north, Tehsil Sunderbani
Sunderbani
Sunderbani or Sundal Bani is a town and a notified area committee in Rajouri district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.-Geography:Sunderbani is located at . It has an average elevation of 633 metres .-Demographics:...

 and Kalakote of District Rajouri in the west, Tehsil Udhampur
Udhampur
Udhampur is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the second lardest city of Duggardesh region and the fourth largest city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It serves as the district capital and the Northern Command headquarter of the...

 in the east, Tehsils Jammu and Akhnoor
Akhnoor
Akhnoor is a town in Jammu district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India.Located from Jammu, Akhnoor is located in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is an extremely beautiful town...

 of District Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...

 on the south. Reasi
Reasi
Reasi is a town and a notified area committee, tehsil and now a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of River Chenab. Reasi derived its name from its old name "RASYAL".Rasyal is a caste belongs to Rajput Category. In the eighth century Reasi was called...

 sub division has a population of 1,20,380 as per 2001 census with 25.57% Muslims and Hindu majority. Climatically a major part of this Sub-Division falls in sub-tropicalzone and the rest in temperate zone. Summers are generally warm and winters cold with snowfall on the high ridges.one of the most beautiful thing about reasi is that in summer the temperature of reasi will be less than most of the districts in jammu and in winter its temperature will be higher than other districts in jammu. so this makes reasi favourable for all kinds of people visiting there.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census
2011 census of India
The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings...

  has a population
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...

 of 314,714 , roughly equal to the nation of The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

. This gives it a ranking of 570th in India (out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...

). The district has a population density of 184 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
Family planning in India
Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...

 over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.06 %. Reasi has a sex ratio
Sex ratio
Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....

 of 891 females
Women in India
The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful...

 for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
Literacy in India
Literacy in India is key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and India currently has the...

 of 59.42 %.

Bhimgarh Fort

An historical fort named as Bhimgarh Fort
Bhimgarh Fort
Bhimgarh Fort , generally known as the Reasi Fort, near Reasi, a town approximately 64 km north-west of Jammu. The Fort is located on a hillock approx 150 metres high. Initially the Fort was constructed of clay and later on one of the heirs of Maharaj Rishipal Rana, the founder of Reasi,...

, but generally also known as ‘Reasi Fort’ is located in the town of Reasi
Reasi
Reasi is a town and a notified area committee, tehsil and now a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of River Chenab. Reasi derived its name from its old name "RASYAL".Rasyal is a caste belongs to Rajput Category. In the eighth century Reasi was called...

 on a hillock approximately 150 meters high. As per local lore initially the fort was made of clay which later on was reconstructed with stone masonry and was generally used by the royal family for taking shelter during emergencies. Presently the fort is in the charge of the Department of Archeology, J&K Government since 1989. Today the fort stands out as one of the important landmarks in the town. During the time this was damaged several times due to its age and natural violence. From time to the government understanding the importance of this fort has tried its best to reconstruct it. It's due to this fact that this fort is still standing in reasi and it adds shine to the reasi city.

How to reach there

Being far away from Jammu–Udhampur–Srinagar Highway 1-A and somewhat inaccessible due to the hilly area, economic progress in the mostly hilly region of Reasi has been rather slow. With the commissioning of Salal Hydroelectric Project
Salal Hydroelectric Project
Salal Hydroelectric Power Station Stage-I of 345 MW and Stage-II of 345 MW are being constructed on river Chenab in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The project was conceived in 1920...

 at Dhyangarh near Reasi, the economic activity of the area has picked up considerably. Construction work of this project was started in 1970 by the National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the project was commissioned in 1987 when the first stage of 345 Megawatt power station was completed and balance/second stage of the project with 345 MW was commissioned in 1995 making the total generation to 690 MW. Power from this project flows to the Northern Grid from where it is distributed to the states of J&K, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, 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...

, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 and Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

.

The Jammu–Srinagar–Baramulla Railway line which is under construction will pass through Reasi. The Railway line up to Katra
Katra
Katra or Katra Vaishno Devi, as it is popularly known, is a small town in Jammu and Kashmir, India, situated in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, where the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi is located...

 is likely to be commissioned during 2007. From Katra the Railway line will traverse to Reasi-Banihal area with stations at Reasi, Salal A–Salal B, Surukot, Barala, Sangaldan, Kohli and Laole. The 1315 meters long railway bridge will be constructed over river Chenab near Salal with a height of 383.10 meters from the river surface and shall be the highest bridge in the world. This railway line will bring Reasi on the rail map of the country and accelerate developmentand prosperity in the area..

Struggle to get district status

The people of this hilly area have been demanding for restoration of the District status for Reasi, and even in the Wazir Commission report among other recommendations, it was proposed to upgrade the Sub-Division to District level but it was not implemented till now. Rishi Kumar Koushal, a prominent leader of eartwhil Jan Sangh and now Praja Parishad lead agitation to restore the district status in vain in late nineties. Whereas it has been upgraded to District level in the year 2007 due to constant efforts made by the people.Now it is on the verge of becoming one of the most happening district in entire jammu region. there are many reason behind it. First all the major Hindu places like vaishno devi, shiv khori, dharsar baba, baba siyad comes in this district.Even there are many enjoyable places comes under reasi. due to this reasi district sees great rush of people all over across the country specially in summer.

Administration

Reasi district has two tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

s viz., Reasi
Reasi
Reasi is a town and a notified area committee, tehsil and now a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of River Chenab. Reasi derived its name from its old name "RASYAL".Rasyal is a caste belongs to Rajput Category. In the eighth century Reasi was called...

 and Gool-Gulabgarh comprising 239 and 60 villages respectively.

This district consists of 4 blocks: Arnas, Mahore, Reasi and Pouni. Each block consists of a number of panchayats.

Places of interest

  • Bhimgarh Fort
    Bhimgarh Fort
    Bhimgarh Fort , generally known as the Reasi Fort, near Reasi, a town approximately 64 km north-west of Jammu. The Fort is located on a hillock approx 150 metres high. Initially the Fort was constructed of clay and later on one of the heirs of Maharaj Rishipal Rana, the founder of Reasi,...

  • Shivkhori
    Shivkhori
    Shivkhori is a famous cave shrine of Hindus devoted to lord Shiva, situated in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir state in India.-Location:...

  • Vaishnodevi
  • Kalika Temple
    Kalika Temple
    Maha Kali Mandir is the most prominent temple in Reasi town situated in district Reasi of J&K state. It is located on a hilltop close to the Reasi Bus Stand in the heart of the main city. It is said that 300 years ago Kalika Mata came in the dream of Pandit Jagat Ram Sharma and indicated her...

  • Baba Dhansar
    Baba Dhansar
    The holy place of Baba Dhansar is located at Karua Jheel near village Karua, 17 km from Reasi towards Katra in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir State, India. The approach involves a walk of 200 metres from the road...

  • Dhyangarh
  • Baba Bidda
  • Siarh Baba
  • Sula Park
  • Dera Baba

External links


See also

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