Azamgarh

{{More citations needed section|date=July 2013}}

Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts (a district in Purvanchal sub-region) of Uttar Pradesh, once part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except its north-eastern part. Azamgarh is also known as the land of the sage Durvasa whose ashram was located in Phulpur tehsil, near the confluence of Tamsa and Majhuee rivers, {{convert|6|km}} north of the Phulpur.

The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh, which was founded in 1665 by Azam, son of Vikramajit. Vikramajit was a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in Pargana Nizamabad who like some of his predecessors had embraced Islam. He had two sons, Azam and Azmat. While Azam gave his name to the town of Azamgarh, and the fort, Azmat constructed the fort and settled the bazaar of Azmatgarh pargana Sagri.{{cite web|title=Origin of Name of Azamgarh|url=http://www.azamgarh.nic.in/history.htm|access-date=28 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627133805/http://www.azamgarh.nic.in/history.htm|archive-date=27 June 2014}} After the attack of Chabile Ram, Azmat Khan fled northwards followed by the interior forces. He attempted to cross the Ghaghra into Gorakhpur, but the people on the other side opposed his landing, and he was either shot in mid stream or was drowned in attempting to escape by swimming.

In 1688 A.D. during Azmat's{{Dubious|date=January 2013}} lifetime, his eldest son Ekram took part in the management of the state, and after Azam's{{Dubious|date=January 2013}} death he was perhaps left in possession together with Mohhabat, another son. The remaining two sons were taken away and for a time detained as hostages for their brothers' 'good behaviour'.

The successor of Ikram finally confirmed the title of his family to the Jamidari. Ikram left no heirs and was succeeded by Iradat, son of Mohhabat. But the real ruler all along had been Mohhabat, and after Ikram's death, he continued to rule in his son's name.

Azamgarh has an average elevation of 64 metres (209 feet).{{cite web|url=http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/36/Azamgarh.html |title=Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Azamgarh |publisher=Fallingrain.com |access-date=30 May 2012}} The district consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Azamgarh|volume=3|page=79}} The soil is fertile, and very highly cultivated, bearing good crops of rice, sugarcane, and wheat and orchards of mango and guava. Maize, gram, corn,{{Vague|date=January 2013}} mustard are other major crops.

Azamgarh experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa) with large variations between summer and winter temperatures.{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Ram Bali|title=Rajput Clan-settlements in Varanasi District|year=1975 |publisher=National Geographical Society of India|oclc=4702795 |page=4}}{{cite book|last=Pandey|first=K. N.|title=Adoption of Agricultural Innovations: A Study of Small and Marginal Farmers of Varanasi, U.P.|year=1989|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-85119-68-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLk3-qPOBrEC&pg=PA13 |page=13}} Summers are long, from early April to October with intervening monsoon seasons, and are also extremely hot, even by South Asian standards. The temperature ranges between {{convert|22|and|46|C|F|0}} in the summers. Winters in Azamgarh see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below {{convert|5|°C|0|abbr=on}} are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is {{convert|1110|mm|in|abbr=on}}. Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers.{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Rana P.B.|last2=Rana|first2=Pravin S.|title=Banaras region: a spiritual & cultural guide |year=2002|publisher=Indica Books|isbn=9788186569245|page=27}} In recent years, the water level of the Tamsa has decreased significantly.

{{Weather box

| location = Azamgarh

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan high F = 67

| Feb high F = 76

| Mar high F = 87

| Apr high F = 98

| May high F = 100

| Jun high F = 97

| Jul high F = 90

| Aug high F = 88

| Sep high F = 88

| Oct high F = 87

| Nov high F = 81

| Dec high F = 71

| year high C =

| Jan low F = 47

| Feb low F = 54

| Mar low F = 62

| Apr low F = 72

| May low F = 77

| Jun low F = 80

| Jul low F = 78

| Aug low F = 78

| Sep low F = 76

| Oct low F = 70

| Nov low F = 59

| Dec low F = 51

| year low C =

| Jan precipitation mm = 19.3

| Feb precipitation mm = 13.5

| Mar precipitation mm = 10.4

| Apr precipitation mm = 5.4

| May precipitation mm = 9.0

| Jun precipitation mm = 100.0

| Jul precipitation mm = 320.6

| Aug precipitation mm = 260.4

| Sep precipitation mm = 231.6

| Oct precipitation mm = 38.3

| Nov precipitation mm = 12.9

| Dec precipitation mm = 4.0

| year precipitation mm = 1025.4

| source 1 = {{cite web | url = http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=42483&Units=english | title = Seasonal Weather Averages | access-date = 22 December 2010 | publisher = Weather Underground | date = December 2010 | archive-date = 4 July 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170704173107/https://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=42483&Units=english | url-status = dead }}, temperature data from Weather Underground{{cite web

|url=http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/varanasi2.htm

|title=Varanasi

|access-date=22 December 2010 |publisher=Indian Meteorology Department

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709160100/http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/varanasi2.htm

|archive-date=9 July 2012 }}, precipitation data from Indian Meteorology Department

| date = December 2010}}

As per the 2011 census, Azamgarh urban agglomeration had a population of 110,983, out of which males were 57,878 and females were 53,105.

The average literacy rate of Azamgarh town in 2011 was 70.93%, compared to 56.95% in 2001. Male and female literacy were 81.34% and 60.91% respectively. For the 2001 census, in Azamgarh district, the corresponding figures were 71.04% and 43.40%.{{cite web|title=Azamgarh District: Census 2011 data|url=http://www.census2011.co.in/census/district/562-azamgarh.html|publisher=Census 2011.co.in|access-date=22 May 2015}}

{{bar box

|title=Religion in Azamgarh City (2011){{cite web| title=C-1 Population By Religious Community| url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html |website=Ministry of Home Affairs |access-date=11 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913045700/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html |archive-date=13 September 2015 |url-status=live}} On this page, select "Uttar Pradesh" from the download menu

|titlebar=#Fcd116

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|float=left

|bars=

{{bar percent|Hinduism|darkorange|70.21}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|29.06}}

{{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|0.73}}

}}

{{pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Languages in Azamgarh town (2011)

|label1 = Hindi |value1 = 45.22 |color1 = orange

|label2 = Bhojpuri |value2 = 37.46 |color2 = yellow

|label3 = Urdu |value3 = 16.99 |color3 = green

|label4 = Others |value4 = 0.33 |color4 = grey

}}

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 45.22% of the population recorded Hindi as their first language, while 37.46% recorded Bhojpuri and 16.99% Urdu.{{cite web |title=2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue - Uttar Pradesh (Town Level) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10235/download/13347/DDW-C16-TOWN-STMT-MDDS-0900.XLSX |access-date=27 June 2022 |website=censusindia.gov.in |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India}}

{{More citations needed section |date=April 2021}}

Azamgarh is connected with Lucknow {{convert|268|km|mi|abbr=on}} and Delhi {{convert|761|km|mi|abbr=on}} by road. It has one of the biggest bus depots in eastern Uttar Pradesh and regular bus services to almost all district headquarters of Uttar Pradesh and also to Delhi. A new highway called the 'Purvanchal

Expressway' was built in 2021 to directly connect Azamgarh with Lucknow and other important cities.

File:11054 Azamgarh Mumbai LTT Weekly Express - AC 2 tier.jpg]]

Azamgarh station is one of the most important of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Azamgarh is directly connected to Delhi by Kaifiyat Express, to Mumbai by Mumbai LTT – Azamgarh Weekly Express, Godaan express, to Ahmedabad, the state capital Lucknow, Jaipur, Ajmer, and Amritsar, to Kolkata by KOAA AMH Express (13137).

Azamgarh has a new airport Azamgarh Airport, {{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the city centre. It was inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 March 2024.{{cite news |title=PM Narendra Modi launches 15 airport projects virtually from UP's Azamgarh |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-narendra-modi-launches-16-airport-projects-virtually-from-ups-azamgarh-101710051458677.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=10 March 2024 |access-date=1 May 2024}} The domestic airport became operational the following day.{{cite news |title=Flight operations take off for Azamgarh and Aligarh from Lucknow |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/flight-operations-to-azamgarh-and-aligarh-from-lucknow-airport-take-off-latest-news/articleshow/108417391.cms |work=The Times of India |date=12 March 2024 |access-date=13 February 2025}}

Azamgarh has a number of educational institutions ranging from basic educational institutions to the higher institution. There are a number of ITIs, Polytechnics, Nursing Schools, and medical college. Notable institutions include:

• Azamgarh State University, established in 2019.
• Government Medical College and Super Facility Hospital, Azamgarh is a state medical college located at Chakrapanpur, Azamgarh.
• Rajkiya Engineering College, Azamgarh is a government engineering college and a constituent college of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (formerly Uttar Pradesh Technical University).
• Shibli National College offers graduate and postgraduate courses in Azamgarh. It is a well known institution established in 1883 by Shibli Nomani, an Islamic scholar from Indian subcontinent during British Raj.{{Cite web|url=http://shiblicollege.ac.in/|title=Shibli National College, Azamgarh|website=shiblicollege.ac.in|access-date=12 November 2018}}

• Voice Of Azamgarh (90.8) Community Radio.{{Cite web |url=http://www.voiceofazamgarh.com/ |title=Welcome to Voice of Azamgarh Website |access-date=1 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092404/http://www.voiceofazamgarh.com/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}
• Air Vividh Bharti (102.2) which Broadcast from Mau & Covers Azamgarh city too.
• Half Lemon Radio (90.4)

{{hatnote|This list is only for people from Azamgarh itself, for those from elsewhere in the district please see Azamgarh district.}}

Azmi is a common toponymic surname among Indian Muslims from Azamgarh.{{efn|Not to be confused with the similar Arabic surname meaning resolute or derived from azam (great) + -i.}}

• Iqbal Abdulla (born 1989), Indian cricketer{{cite web |title=Iqbal Abdulla |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/277237.html |website=Cricinfo |access-date=18 March 2021}}
• Abdul Haq Azmi (1928–2016), Indian Islamic scholar, cousin-uncle of Rana Ayyub
• Abdul Lateef Azmi (1917–2002), Indian Urdu writer
• Abu Azmi (born 1955), Indian politician, MLA from Maharashtra and former Member of Rajya Sabha[http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/ECI/Affidavits/S13/SE/171/ABU%20ASIM%20AZMI/ABU%20ASIM%20AZMI.htm Abu Asim Azmi - Election Commission of India Affidavit]. Chief Electoral Officer.
• Ahmad Ali Barqi Azmi (born 1954), Indian Urdu poet
• Azizullah Azmi (1929–2010), Indian politician, MP of Lok Sabha
• Baba Azmi, Indian film cinematographer, husband of Tanvi Azmi
• Habib al-Rahman al-'Azmi (1901-1992), Indian Islamic scholar of hadith and fiqh
• Iliyas Azmi (born 1934), Indian politician, MP of Lok Sabha
• Kaifi Azmi (1919–2002) was an Indian Urdu poet, husband of Shaukat Azmi and father of Shabana Azmi and Baba Azmi
• Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi (1927–1978), Indian Urdu poet and literary critic
• Mohammed Badi Uzzaman Azmi (1939–2011), British-Pakistani television and film actor
• Muhammad Mustafa Azmi (1930–2017), Indian Islamic scholar of hadith
• Mushtaq Ahmed Azmi (1919–2011), Indian adult educationist and UNESCO official
• Obaidullah Khan Azmi (born 1949), Indian politician, MP of Rajya Sabha
• Seema Azmi, Indian actress of film and stage
• Shahid Azmi (1977–2010), Indian human rights lawyer
• Shakeel Azmi (born 1971), Indian Urdu lyricist and poet
• Waqar Azmi (born 1970), British-Indian civil servant
• Shaikh Shamim Ahmed Azmi (1938–2019), former MLA and Indian National Congress leader from Mumbai{{cite news |title=ممبئی: معروف مسلم سیاست داں شیخ شمیم احمد کا انتقال، آج تدفین ہوگی |url=https://www.qaumiawaz.com/national/mumbai-leading-muslim-politician-sheikh-shameem-ahmed-passed-away-burial-today/|trans-title=Mumbai leading Muslim politician Sheikh Shameem Ahmed passed away burial today |access-date=28 February 2020 |work=Qaumi Awaz |date=23 September 2019 |language=ur-IN}}
• Qamaruzzaman Azmi (born 1946), Indian Islamic scholar
• Mirza Aslam Beg (born 1931), former Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan
• Praveen Dubey (born 1993), Indian cricketer{{cite web |title=Praveen Dubey|url=https://cricbuzz.com/profiles/10484/praveen-dubey|website=Cricbuzz}}{{cite web| url = https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/praveen-dubey-777515.html| title=Praveen Dubey | website = espncricinfo.com}}
• Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904–1997), Pakistani Islamic scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Quran, Tadabbur-i-Qur'an
• Sadruddin Islahi (1917 - 1998) was an Indian Islamic Urdu writer and a close companion of Abul A'la Maududi. He was one of the early members of Jamat e Islami.
• Frank F Islam, American entrepreneur, civic leader and writer. General Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2013
• Wahiduddin Khan (1925-2021), Islamic scholar and peace activist.
• Kanhaiya Lal Misra (1903–1975), Indian lawyer and independence activist, Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh from 1952 to 1969
• Saeed-ur-Rahman Azmi Nadvi (born 1934), Indian Islamic scholar
• Shibli Nomani (1857–1914) Indian Islamic scholar, historian, educationist and social reformer
• Prem Chand Pandey, Indian scientist, founder-director National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research
• Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, filmmaker in India and Pakistan
• Ahmad Salahuddin (1937-1996), Indian biochemist, Founder Director of Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit at AMU in 1984.{{cite web|title=Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh|page=About IBU|url=https://icibu.in/|access-date=21 September 2022|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922103650/https://icibu.in/|url-status=dead}}
• Rahul Sankrityayan (1893–1963), Indian writer, known as the father of Hindi travelogue
• Amar Singh (1956–2020), Indian politician former MP
• Gajendra Singh, Indian television producer
• Prakash Singh, Indian Police Service officer, who rose to the highest rank of Director General of Police (DGP).{{cite web| url = http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf| title = Reference at mha.nic.in| access-date = 15 January 2017| archive-date = 15 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf| url-status = dead}}
• Vinod K. Singh (born 1959), Indian chemist, director Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, professor IIT Kanpur{{cite news |title=Padma Shri for Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's Prof Vinod Kumar Singh |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Padma-Shri-for-Indian-Institute-of-Technology-Kanpurs-Prof-Vinod-Kumar-Singh/articleshow/29394755.cms |access-date=19 September 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=26 January 2014 }}
• Iqbal Suhail (1884–1955), Indian Urdu poet"The Azamgarh you don't know"; within Saikat Datta and Sharat Pradhan, "A place and its negative", Outlook, 6 October 2008, p.34. {{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VTEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34| title = Here| date = 6 October 2008| publisher = Outlook}} at Google Books.
• Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay (1865–1947), Indian writer, essayist, scholar, poet in Hindi
• Ram Naresh Yadav (1928–2016) Indian politician, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1977 to 1979
• Ramakant Yadav (born 1957), Indian politician, MP of Lok Sabha

• Azamgarh alcohol poisonings
• List of cities in Uttar Pradesh
• Dewait
• Kohanda

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|Azamgarh}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110903013316/http://www.upelections.co.in/ Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110909113911/http://www.upelections.co.in/uttar-pradesh-assembly-constituencies/azamgarh Azamgarh Assembly Elections]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20181011115848/http://www.azamgarh.nic.in/ District Website]

{{Azamgarh district}}

{{Azamgarh division topics}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities and towns in Azamgarh district

Category:Populated places established in 1665

Category:1665 establishments in India

Category:Cities in Uttar Pradesh