Where is Bhopal?

Answer 1

Madhya Pradesh

Answer 2

Capital of Madhyapradesh, India.

Bhopāl pronunciation (Hindi: भोपाल, Urdu: بھوپال, ) is a city in central India. It is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. Bhopal is the second largest city in Madhya Pradesh after Indore. Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes as its landscape is dotted with a number of man-made as well as natural lakes..

Answer 3

Bhopal, former principality, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A region of rolling downs and thickly forested hills, it is predominantly agricultural. Its Buddhist monuments include the famous stupa (3d cent. B.C.) at Sanchi. Bhopal was founded in the early 18th cent. and was ruled from 1844 to 1926 by the begums of Bhopal, famous women leaders. Although the population was mainly Hindu, the princely family was Muslim. Bhopal became part of the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

The city of Bhopal (1991 pop. 1,062,771), the former capital of the principality and now the capital of Madhya Pradesh, was founded in 1728. It is a trade center with manufactures of cotton cloth, jewelry, electrical goods, and chemicals. In Dec., 1984, a cloud of methyl isocynate gas escaped from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. An estimated 3,000 to 7,000 died immediately, 15,000 to 20,000 died from the effects in the years after the disaster, and 50,000 to 100,000 suffered from serious injuries as a result of the world's worst chemical disaster. The Indian government sued on behalf of 570,000 victims and in 1989 settled for $470 million in damages and exempted company employees from criminal prosecution. The Indian judiciary rejected that exemption in 1991, and the company's Indian assets were seized (1992) after its officials failed to appear to face charges.

Answer 4

It is in Madhya Pradesh in India.

Answer 5

Bhopal is said to have been founded by the Parmara King Bhoj (1000-1055), who had his capital at Dhar. The city was originally known as Bhojpal named after Bhoj and the dam ('pal') that he is said to have constructed to form the lakes surrounding Bhopal. The fortunes of Bhopal rose and fell with that of its reigning dynasty. As the Parmaras declined in power, the city was ransacked several times and finally faded away into obscurity.

An Afghan solider called Dost Mohammad Khan (not to be confused with the Afghan King of same name), laid out the present city at the same site following the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. He brought with himself the Islamic influence on the culture and architecture of Bhopal, the ruins of which can be found at Islam Nagar. Bhopal, the second largest Muslim state in pre-independence India[2] was ruled by four Begums from 1819 to 1926. Qudisa Begum was the first female ruler of Bhopal, who was succeeded by her only daughter Sikandar, who in turn was succeeded by her only daughter, Shahjehan. Sultan Jehan was the last female ruler, and stepped down to her son. The succession of the ‘Begums’ gave the city such innovations as waterworks, railways and a postal system. Several monuments still stand in the city as reminders of this glorious period in its history. A municipality was constituted in 1903[3].

It was one of the last princely states to sign the 'Instrument of Accession' 1947. Though India achieved Independence in August 1947, the ruler of Bhopal acceded to the Indian government only on May 1, 1949. Sindhi refugees from Pakistan were accommodated in Bairagarh, a western suburb of Bhopal. According to the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state of Madhya Pradesh, and Bhopal was declared as its capital. The population of the city rose rapidly.

On December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate gas, which killed more than 3,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others. Another 12,000 deaths have officially been ascribed to the disaster's effects, although campaign groups put the figure much higher.

[edit] Geography
Tourists enjoying their time in Upper lake of Bhopal
Tourists enjoying their time in Upper lake of Bhopal

Bhopal is located in the central part of India, it's just north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Bhopal is a hilly (elevation 498m) but hot area, located on the Malwa plateau,it is higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. The city has uneven elevation and has small hills within its boundaries. The major hills in Bhopal comprise of Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the northern region and Arera hills in the central region. The summers are hot and dry and the temperatures soar as high as 40o-42oC. Winters are moderately cold with temperature not going below 8oC. It rains moderately during the rainy season. The South-West monsoon reaches the city during mid-June and provides frequent showers till September-end/October-start. Light rainfalls are also recorded during December-January.

The municipality covers 286 square kilometres. It has two very beautiful lakes, collectively known as the Bhoj Wetland. These lakes are the Upper Lake (built by King Bhoj) and the Lower Lake. The catchment area of the Upper Lake is 361 km² while that of the Lower Lake is 9.6 km². The Upper Lake drains into the Kolans River. Locally these are known as the Bada Talab and Chota Talab respectively.

Van Vihar National Park is a national park situated beside the Upper Lake. It has a museum too. Kheoni Wild Life Sanctuary is situated 125 km from Bhopal.

[edit] Economy

The city is divided into two major areas in terms of economy, the old city and the new city. The major industries in the old city are electrical goods, cotton, chemicals (see Bhopal Disaster) and Jewellery. The residents here engage in small businesses including production, retail, services etc. The major product of the old city is handicraft. There is a huge demand for its very famous zardozi work, which is a kind of embroidery done on bridal dresses, sherwanis, and purses. Another famous handicraft of Bhopal is 'Batua', a small string purse, usually used with Indian traditional dresses. Older city is also known for its industry of automobile conversion. It is known mainly for conversion of Willy's jeeps from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive and other such mechanical modifications. There are also a number of garages which modify and tune motorbikes.
BHEL Corporate Division Buildings in Bhopal
BHEL Corporate Division Buildings in Bhopal

Being a state capital, the new city has a majority of residents working for the State and Central Governments. There are two major office complexes on Arera Hills named Satpura and Vindhyachal, which house a number of State Government offices and projects. Adjacent to them is the State Secretariat, Vallabh Bhavan. In their viscinity are other State and Central Government offices which include major national banks and insurance companies. Bhopal's major commercial area is Maharana Pratap Nagar, which accomodates many business houses. There are a number of hardware as well as software vendors in this part of the city. Other businesses include daily newsletter offices and press, hotels and restaraunts, coaching and tution centers and entertainment.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India, has a unit in Bhopal. It occupies a large area on the Eastern side of the city and maintains a suburb named after it. A majority of the residents of the suburb are employed by the unit.
Mandideep is an industrial suburb of Bhopal and houses a number of plants belonging to some of the reputed companies of India like Procter & Gamble, VA Tech Hydro, Eicher, L&T, and HEG. An Eastern suburb of Bhopal, Bairagarh, which was earlier a camp for Sindhi refugees from Pakistan, has developed into market for textiles.

[edit] Government and Politics

Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. It houses the State Legislative Assembly which seats 230 Members of Legislative Assembly.[4] Currently, the state is ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party which is led by Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Bhopal district elects 4 seats to the Assembly.

The administration of Bhopal city is handled by Bhopal Municipal Corporation, also known as BMC. The city is divided into 66 wards. Each ward elects a council of members of BMC, who among themselves, chose the Mayor. The Commissioner of Bhopal is the highest officer of Municipal Corporate Office, which is responsible for the departments of public works, revenue and tax, water supply, planning and development, fire brigade, health and sanitation, finance & accounts etc.[5]

[edit] Transport

Within Bhopal, city buses - known as 'mini bus', due to their size - are the commonest means of transport. Most of these are in a dilapidated condition, but their reach is comprehensive and fare, reasonable. Recently Starbuses have been plying on the roads. These are bigger and more comfortable buses and charge nominally more than their smaller counterparts. Autorickshaws are another major means of transport. They are particularly know for their ornate make-up and blaring sound systems. In some routes in the older city, bigger diesel-rickshaws - known as 'bhat' - are used as shared means of transport.

Road conditions have been improving over the years and are becoming wider, although the quality still remains low as compared to other cities. There are only a few intersections with traffic signals and no flyovers. The personal transport of the locals is mainly two-wheeler, and four-wheelers are still less in number. National Highway 12 passes through Bhopal which connects it to Jabalpur in the East and Jaipur in the West. National Highway 86 connects Bhopal to Sagar in the East to Indore in the West. There are numerous daily buses to Sanchi (46 km), Vidisha (65 km), Indore (186 km), Ujjain (188 km) and Jabalpur (295 km). A state-of-the-art Interstate Bus Terminal is coming up near the Habibganj station.

Bhopal is a major railway station and a small junction. It is well connected by rail to all parts of the country being on the main North-South line of the country. A list of all major trains passing through Bhopal can be found here.It is also close to the main East-West junction, Itarsi. Habibganj is the other major station of Bhopal which has a state-of-the-art building and also boasts of being the first ISO 9000:2001 certified station in India.[6] Bhopal has a small airport with very basic amenities that connects it to Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur. The airport, which is located near the satellite town Bairagarh, is under major expansion to become an international airport.

[edit] Demographics

Bhopal has a population of 14,82,718, which is divided into 7,81,282 men and 7,01,436 women, according to the census of 2001.[7] This results in a sex ratio of 898 women for every 1000 men. The population consists of 56% Hindus and 38% Muslims, with the rest of the population including Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and, Buddhists. However, the demographics of Bhopal district are slightly different with 69% Hindus and 24% Muslims. The Old City of Bhopal is a predominantly Muslim area with large Pathan population, but New Bhopal is a demographically cosmopolitan area.

The chief languages are Hindi, Urdu and English, but there are a substantial number of Marathi speakers as well. In the princely state of Bhopal, Persian was the court language until nineteenth century. The common street Hindi spoken in Bhopal is termed as Bhopali and is the subject of comedy in Bollywood movies. An example of the language is used by actor Jagdeep in the film Sholay.

Bhopal is known to its residents and visitors as a calm and peaceful city. Except for the 1992 riots as an aftermath of felling of Babri Masjid, the city has remained comparatively unperturbed by the recent spate in communalist activities. The city, specially the new city, is quite clean and green. It has always been a favourite among the retirees who want to settle down, which has resulted in a sudden interest in the development of new areas outside the city outskirts.

* Population: 1.5 million
* Total waste generation: 600 ton/day
* Waste generation per capita: 0.43 kg/person per day

[edit] Culture

Bhopal is known for its exquisite manners and high culture. To this day, shairis and poetry recitals are as popular in Bhopal as in movies. Typical Bhopalis, residing in the old city, are known for their nafasat, or sophistication. Bhopal is famous for its culture of parda, zarda, garda aur namarda. Parda is a curtain, which was used to veil the women of the house from outsiders, zarda is a kind of tobacco product which is quite famous with Bhopalis, garda is loose dirt that used to blow around specially during hot summer days, and namarda meaning a eunuch. Eunuchs are an integral part of Bhopali culture as any celebration is incomplete without them. Basically found in the old city areas of Itwara, Mangalwara, Budhwara etc., they roam around the city and collect chanda, or donation, for every big festival such as Diwali, Holi, Eid etc. Whenever there is a special occasion in a family like a marriage or a child birth, they are the first ones to visit the place and demand huge sums for donations. At this moment they showcase their talent, which is singing and dancing. People respect them, want their blessings and fear their curse.

Bhopal has an extensive culture of pan eating. It is a betel leaf, topped with variety of seasonings, the most common being chuna, kattha and supari. You will find many people chewing pan and spitting it out at their will. This has resulted in the colouring of walls in public places. People also carry a small container of chuna (calcium carbonate) with them, and lick it whenever they have a craving for it. They reason that Bhopal's water is low in Calcium content, so people here have a craving for chuna.

Bhopalis celebrate all festivals with equal fervor. Diwali is celebrated with equal pomp and glory as Eid. People still visit each others houses and greet each other on various occasions. Gifts and sweets are exchanged and donations made to the poor. Diwali is celebrated by performing puja of the wealth goddess Lakshmi. Later in the night, fire-crackers are burst in the open by young and old with equal enthusiasm. Eid is special to the city as all the Hindus take time out to visit their Muslim friends and greet them and get treated with delicacies, the specialty of the day being sweet sewai. Bhopali culture is such that both Hindus and Muslims visit each other on their respective festivals to greet and exchange sweets. During Ganesh puja and Durga Puja (Navratras), idols of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Durga are established in jhankis throughout the city. People throng to offer prayers to their deities. At the end of Navratras, on the day of Vijayadashmi, or Dusshehra, huge effigies of Ravan are burnt in different parts of the city. Some of them are organized by the local administration and stand as tall as 60 feet.

Bhopal has many mosques including Taj-ul-Masajid (one of the largest mosques in Asia[8]), Dhai Seedi ki Masjid (one of the smallest mosques in Asia[9]), Jama Masjid (built by Qudsia Begum in 1837) and Moti Masjid (built by Sikander Begum in 1860). Some of the major historical buildings in Bhopal include Shaukat Mahal (a mixture of Indo-Islamic and European styles of architecture), Gohar Mahal (built by Qudsia Begum, fusion of Hindu and Mughal architecture), Sadar Manzil (used by the Begums for public audience, now used as the head-office of the Municipal Corporation) and Purana Kila (part of the 300-year old fort of Queen Kamalapati, situated in the Kamala Nehru Park). Lakshmi Narayan Temple (or Birla Mandir), situated to the south of Lower Lake, is a temple devoted to Lord Vishnu and his consort Laxmi. An annual fare is held on Kartik Purnima at Manua Bhan Ki Tekri (Mahavir Giri), a Jain pilgrimage center located around seven km away from Bhopal.

Bharat Bhavan is the main cultural centre of the city and of the most important cultural centers of India. It has an art gallery, an open-air amphitheatre facing the Upper Lake, two other theatres and a tribal museum. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya ("National Museum of Humans") showcases the various hutments that tribals of across India use for shelter. The popular holiday spots near Bhopal include Bhojpur (famous for a Shiva temple and Jain shrines), Sanchi (notable for ancient Buddhist Stupas built by Ashoka), and Bhimbetka (a World Heritage Site of archaeological interest).

[edit] Sports

Bhopal is as cricket crazy as it can get. Although it does not have any cricket stadium of international level, state level matches are played at the Babe Ali stadium and the BHEL cricket ground. At local level, cricket is played at Old Campion ground. Other tennis ball matches also take place in various parts of the city. The youngest captain of the Indian cricket team, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, was born and brought up in Bhopal. Bhopal is also known for its hockey lovers. The Aishbagh stadium is synonymous for hockey players. Many players reach different grounds for practice. The city has produced many national and international players for Indian hockey team. The more famous one being Aslem Sher Khan, who represented India in several international games and was a part of the World Cup winning team in 1975. He later went on to become a Member of Parliamnet. His father, Ahmed Sher Khan, represented India at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 along with Major Dhyan Chand.[10]

Another popular sport of Bhopalis is body building. In the old city, there are a number of gyms where youngsters workout everyday to make their body muscular. Slowly, this trend has caught up even in the new city where more modern equipments are being employed to help their members get into better shape. Body builders from the local gyms participate at national level and have tasted success at the state level. Apart from this, at school and college level, table-tennis, volleyball, basketball, football and swimming are also popular sports. Every summer, Sports Authority of India holds camps which provide coaching to students of various ages games and sports of their choices.

Bhopal is also coming up as a center of adventure sports. Trekking camps are being organised by Youth Hostels and other private clubs[11] and their destinations are Budhni Ghat, Narsingarh, Ratapani Sanctuary, Delawadi, Bhimbetka, Manuabhan Ki Tekri etc. The government has also established India's first National Sailing Club[12] at the Boat Club, in the Upper Lake. This club offers various water sports such as kayaking, canoeing, rafting, water skiing, para-sailing etc. Other adventure sports include parasailing, paragliding, hot air ballooning etc.

[edit] Education

Bhopal has a number of schools run by the state government which provide education at nominal fees. These are affiliated to the Madhya Pradesh Board. There are a number of Convent schools which are run by the missionaries and 4 Central schools in the city which are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. Colleges in Bhopal are abundant with more inclination towards the technical side. There are around 30 engineering colleges in around Bhopal. Leading them is the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT). Two University Institutes of Technology are affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, which provides degree courses in all the technical fields throughout the state of Madhya Pradesh, and Barkatullah University, which affiliates all non-technical colleges in the city. Two open universities, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Bhoj Open University provide long distance courses to students in all types of fields.

Indian Institute of Forest Management is a management institute located on the outskirts of the city which specialises in research and training in the forest and allied sectors. It is an CAT allied, autonomous institute set-up with the help of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Another specialist management institute in Bhopal is Institute for Hotel Management, which is one of the premier institutes providing such courses.

[edit] Eminent personalities associated with Bhopal

* Aziz Qureshi, former Member of Parliament.
* Late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, former President of India and former Professor at the Harvard Law School.
* Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan), famous actress and wife of actor Amitabh Bachchan
* Javed Akhtar, Bollywood song writer and poet; also part of Salim-Javed scriptwrite of the Sholay fame
* Jagdeep - Actor, again of Sholay's Soorma Bhopali fame.
* J Swaminathan, eminent artist; closely associated with the founding of Bharat Bhavan.
* M.N. Buch: Retired IAS Officer settled in Bhopal. Well known for his forthright views of many issues.
* Aslam Sher Khan: Member of the World Cup winning Indian Hockey team in 1975 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Also became a Member of Parliament.
* Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (aka Tiger Pataudi), India's youngest captain in Test Cricket. His association with Bhopal is through his mother's family.
* Nasir Hussain - Film producer and director, was born in Bhopal
* Shaharyar Khan: Former Pakistani Foreign Secretary. Belongs to the Bhopal Royal family. Is presently the President of Pakistan's Cricket Control Board.
* Abdul Qadeer Khan: Migrated to Pakistan after his schooling. Father of the Pakistani Atom Bomb. Has bought himself negative attention by selling nuclear secrets to many countries.
* Raza Murad, Bollywood actor.
* Miss Iris C. Auer (Member of British Empire) 1904-1998 Dedicated her life for the growth of education in Bhopal.
* Bashir Badr, eminent Urdu poet.