Barmer district
Encyclopedia
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...
state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
, 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...
. Barmer
Barmer, Rajasthan
Barmer is the headquarters of the Barmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is a city and a municipality.-Origin of name:...
is the district headquarters. Balotra
Balotra
Balotra is a city in Barmer District of Rajasthan state in India. It is about 100 km from Jodhpur. The town is famous for hand block printing and textile industry and for an annual desert and tribal fair at Tilwara. The town is well connected with Jodhpur by rail and buses at frequent...
, Guda Malani, Baytoo
Baytoo
Baytu is a tehsil in Barmer district of Rajasthan state of India. It is a tehsil headquarter. It is also spelled as Bayatu, Baitu or Baytoo.There are four villages with the same name nearby Bayatu Bhimji, Bayatu Chimanji, Bayatu Panji andBaytoo Bhopji....
, Siwana
Siwana
Siwana is a Tehsil - in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan, located 151 km from Barmer. The place is known for its fort. SIVANA having 129 villages total Population as per 2001 cencus is 213648, male is 111155 female is 102493....
, Jasol
Jasol
Jasol is a small village located in Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district, India.The historical village of Jasol, the capital of the former Malani area ruled by the fiercely independent Mahecha clan of the Rathore Rajputs, includes old Cenotaphs, the temple of Rani Bhatiyaniji, the horses of the...
and Chohatan are other major towns.
Geography
Barmer is located in the western part of the state forming a part of the Thar DesertThar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...
. The district is surrounded by Jaisalmer district
Jaisalmer district
Jaisalmer District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district.As of 2011 it is the least populous district of Rajasthan .-Geography:...
in the north, Jalore district in the south, Pali district
Pali district
Pali District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The town of Pali is the district headquarters.-History:...
and Jodhpur district
Jodhpur district
Jodhpur District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Jodhpur is the administrative headquarters of the district.As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Rajasthan , after Jaipur.-History:...
in the east and Pakistan in the west.
The total area of the district is 28387 km². The district is located between 24,58’ to 26, 32’N Latitudes and 70, 05’ to 72, 52’ E Longitudes.
Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati RajMinistry of Panchayati Raj
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India looking after the ongoing process of decentralization and local governance in the States....
named Barmer one of the country's 250 most backward districts
Poverty in India
Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of 1.25 a day...
(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:...
). It is one of the twelve districts in Rajasthan currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Demographics
According to the 2011 census2011 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...
Barmer district 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 2,604,453, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
or the US state of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. This gives it a ranking of 157th 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 92 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 32.55 %. Barmer 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 900 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 57.49 %.
People and Culture
Barmer district is part of the Great Indian Desert or Thar Desert. Like all other districts in the desert region, Barmer is known for its folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and dance. The Bhopa
Bhopa
The Bhopas are the priest singers of the folk deities in Rajasthan state of India. They perform in front of a scroll, known as phad or par in Rajasthani that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity and functions as a portable temple...
s (priest singers) are found in Barmer, who compose music in honour of the deities of the region and its war heroes. The other folk musicians come from a community called the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Dholis (drummers) for most of whom this is the only means of livelihood. Langas and Manganiar
Manganiar
The Manganiar and related Langa are Muslim communities in the desert of Rajasthan, India in the districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, along the border with Pakistan. A significant numbers are also found in districts of Tharparkar and Sanghar in the province of Sindh in Pakistan. They are famous for...
s are the some of these communities.
Barmer is famous for its carved wooden furniture and hand block printing industry. This area is best visited to gain an insight into the desert life and admire the decorative skills of the simple village folk. The villagers have some of the most beautiful mud huts that are decorated with delicate folk motifs.
Jasol, Juna Burmer, Khed, kiradu, Mallonath Fair (Cattle Fair), Meva Nagar (Nakoda
Nakoda
Nakoda is a village in the Barmer District of Indian state of Rajasthan. The village name is Mewanagar in the Rajasthan state Government records....
), Kanana (sheetla fair) Neemari are the prime attractions of the district. Tilwara
Tilwara
Tilwara is a village in Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district of Rajasthan state in India.Tilwara is situated on Luni river and is a railway station on Jodhpur-Balotra route. The village is famous for Mallinath Fair held in March/April every year. Also called Tilwara cattle fair it lasts for two weeks...
cattle fair is a popular fair visited by thousands of tourists every year.
People speak mostly Rajasthani Language
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...
, while Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
is the official language here. English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
also run here as an extra language and to help the tourists.
Administration
There are total 4 Sub-divisions in the district and 8 TehsilTehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
s: Barmer
Barmer
Barmer may refer to the following places:*Barmer district, a district of Rajasthan state, India**Barmer , a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency of Rajasthan**Barmer, Rajasthan, a city in Barmer district...
, Baytoo
Baytoo
Baytu is a tehsil in Barmer district of Rajasthan state of India. It is a tehsil headquarter. It is also spelled as Bayatu, Baitu or Baytoo.There are four villages with the same name nearby Bayatu Bhimji, Bayatu Chimanji, Bayatu Panji andBaytoo Bhopji....
, Chohtan
Chohtan
Chohtan is a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan state. It is a tehsil headquarter.There are several temples in the area, including Viratra, Deri Dungar, and Sunya mata ka mandir.-Geography:...
, Gudha Malani, Pachpadra
Pachpadra
Pachpadra is a village in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a tehsil headquarters with the same name.One of the famous attractions in the city is the Pachpadra Lake, which is known for salt collection around it...
, Ramsar
Ramsar, Rajasthan
Ramsar is a village in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a tehsil headquarters with the same name.-Demographics:Population of Ramsar according to the Indian census 2001 is 3,888. Where male population is 2,070 and female population is 1,818....
, Sheo
Sheo
Sheo is a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan state of India. It is a tehsil headquarter. It is also spelled as Shiv. The village is located in the Thar desert.-Demographiccs:...
and Siwana
Siwana
Siwana is a Tehsil - in Barmer district in Indian state of Rajasthan, located 151 km from Barmer. The place is known for its fort. SIVANA having 129 villages total Population as per 2001 cencus is 213648, male is 111155 female is 102493....
. Total 1941 villages are there in the Barmer District, comes under Eight Panchayat Samiti
Panchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...
s. Some of the villages are Hemaguda, Dhorimanna, Pachpadra, Jasol
Jasol
Jasol is a small village located in Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district, India.The historical village of Jasol, the capital of the former Malani area ruled by the fiercely independent Mahecha clan of the Rathore Rajputs, includes old Cenotaphs, the temple of Rani Bhatiyaniji, the horses of the...
, Shiv, Chohtan, Sindari, Nakoda
Nakoda
Nakoda is a village in the Barmer District of Indian state of Rajasthan. The village name is Mewanagar in the Rajasthan state Government records....
, Munabao
Munabao
Munabao is a village in the Barmer district in Rajasthan in India bordering Pakistan.- Transport :In February 2006, the two nations reopened the railway line, the Thar Express that used to connect Rajasthan in India with Sindh in Pakistan...
, Ramsar, Bishala, Jharwa - (Rauaniyo Thoriyo Ki Dhani), Chooli, Bhadresh, Samdari
Samdari
Samdari is a village in Siwana tehsil of Barmer district in Rajastan, northern India.-Demographics:According to the Indian Census 2001, the population of Samdari is 11,204, where male population is 5,825 and female population is 5,379.- Transport :...
, Baitu, Ranigaon, Gudamalani
Gudamalani
Gudamalani is a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan state of India. It is a tehsil headquarter. The village is located in the Thar desert.-Demographiccs:...
, Gunga, Sedwa, Kalyanpur, Gadra Road, Kavas, Mokalsar, Padru, Sanawara, Siwana, Parlu, kanana etc.
Oil in Thar
Presently the Barmer district is in news due to its large Oil basin. The British exploration company Cairn EnergyCairn Energy
Cairn Energy plc is a global oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It has operational interests in Albania, Bangladesh, Greenland, India, Nepal and Tunisia and produces around 33,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day...
is going to start the production soon in the year 2009 on the large scale. Mangala
Mangala Area
The Mangala Area, located in Block RJ-ON-90-1 , is a major oil field located in the Indian State of Rajasthan. The Mangala area actually consists of over 16 separate oil and gas fields of which the majority of the reserves are located in the three fields of Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya...
, Bhagyam and Aishwariya are the major oil fields in the district. This is India's biggest oil discovery in 22 years. Cairn works in partnership with state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited is an Indian state-owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is one of the largest Asia-based oil and gas exploration and production companies, and produces around 77% of India's total crude oil production and around 81% of...
(ONGC). Cairn holds 70% in the field, while state-run ONGC holds the remaining 30%. In March 2010, Cairn increased oil potential from this field to 6.5 billion barrels of oil – from an earlier estimate of 4 billion barrels.
Chawa (Siyagon Ki Dhani)Ref. Ramchandra Siyag
2006 floods
In August 2006, the usually drought prone Barmer district was hit by flash floodFlood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s. As of August 27, 2006, 103 deaths had been reported in Rajasthan due to floods. Many people (about 1200) died in this flood. The village of Kawas is still under the effect of flood. The water level as on 06th-March-2007 is about 3 feet to 10 feet in Kawas. People are living in Camps. The loss included the death of 75,194 cattle and damage to Kharif crop worth Rs.
Rupee
The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...
1,300 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
s. Many villages in the district remained submerged under water for few days.
Underground Airbase
Uttarlai military airbase is situated in Barmer district, Uttarlai is India's first under ground airbase. India can counter any insurgency into India by PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Battle of Longewala (December 4, 1971 - December 5, 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala
Longewala
Longewala is a place in western India where the Battle of Longewala occurred during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in the western Indian state of Rajasthan....
, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India.
The Indian infantry company (reinforced) was left with the choices of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a mechanised infantry Pakistani force, choosing the former. The company officer commanding ensured that all his assets were correctly employed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate in that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.
The Pakistani commanders made several bad decisions, including failure of strategic intelligence to foresee availability of Indian strike aircraft in the Longewala area from Uttarlai air-force base as Barmer is a border town.