We all know Jind as one of the largest and oldest cities in Haryana. Famous of its temples, industry and educational institutes including specialist institutions for engineering and management, Jind is known as the heart of Haryana. It is one of the oldest districts of Haryana and holds immense historical and mythological importance.
Let us get to know more about this city with a rich heritage.
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In ancient period the area in which the Jind district lies formed an integral part of Kurukshetra in the traditional geographical account. It derived its name after Jainti, an ancient tirtha mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Padma Purana, founded in honor of Jainti, the goddess of victory. According to a local tradition, the goddess was invoked by the Pandavas for victory in the battle against the Kauravas.
The excavations made at Anta, Morkhi, Beri Khera, Pahlwan, Barsana, Pauli, Karsola etc reveal the lineage of Jind with the pre-Harappan, the Harappan and the late Harappan, periods about 1000 B. C. With the advent of the Aryans, the region came to be known as Holy land of Kurukshetra and Jind formed its southern boundary. From a Mahajanpada in the kingdom of the Kurus in the 6th Century B. C., Jind also formed a part of the Maurayan Empire, the Yaudeys dynasty, the Kushanas, the Guptas, the Hunas, the Pushabhutis of Thanesar in the 7th Century.
Many of us may have been born in or lived in Rohtak. But how well do we really know the city? Here is a quick refresher.
Formerly called Rohtasgarh ("Fort of Rohtas"), Rohtak is said to have been founded by Raja Rohtas, a Panwar Rajput. It is also claimed that the town derives its name from Roherra tree called Rohitaka in Sanskrit. It is said that before the town came into existence, it was a forest of Rohitaka trees and hence its name became Rohtak. Another legend connects Rohtak with Rohitaka, which is mentioned in Mahabharata.
Rohtak is among the 22 other districts in Haryana and is known for many things today - the biggest cloth market of Asia, the erstwhile Medical College and the innumerable dairies that the city boasts of. Lately it has become quite an industrial hub and is also known as the education city. Besides, Rohtak is a major grain and cotton trade centre, and there is some light industry. The city has an agricultural research station, is the seat of Maharshi Dayanand University and affiliated colleges, and is the home of a postgraduate medical college.
But if you delve into the history of the place you will be amazed to see how deep the links go. The Dini mosque in Rohtak dates to 1140, excavations nearby Khokra Kot mound have revealed pieces of Buddhist sculpture.
Apparently the history of Rohtak goes back even further. The Painted Grey Ware culture and its inclusions in the ruins of the Khokrakot near Rohtak speak clearly of the relation of the region with the later Vedic Periods. Rohtak has possibly the most number of mentions in the ancient literature that holds testimony to the fact that the land has been inhabited since time immemorial. There is Niryavalika - an Upanga text of the Jaina sources that speaks of a Yaksha shrine here. Legend has it that the Hindu deity, was the Jaina Muni as indicated in the Brihatkathakosha which also has the mention of Rohtak in it.
Cut to the present and Rohtak is a bustling, booming city producing goods, services and champions. Here is looking at some famous celebrities from Rohtak on the left.
After Rakhigarhi in the last edition, we are back with focus on another small region of Haryana which has a history dating thousands of years back. Welcome to Kunal.
On the face of it, Kunal is much like any other Indian village, except it was once a Harappan village and is imbued in history that predates India’s ancient settlements.
Located at a distance of 12km from Ratia tehsil, Kunal is one of the oldest pre-Harappan settlements and dates back roughly to the 5th millennium BC. The roughly 6,000-year-old site holds within it a rich legacy and its ties to the past can possibly help trace the history of Haryana, and the country. First discovered in 1986, excavations in Kunal have taken place over different seasons in 1992-93, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. The seventh round of excavations that started in January 2019 and a compilation of the findings are expected to be released in the next shortly.
We all know about Haryana's glorious and historically rich past. But in some cases, the past makes an appearance to remind us all we have been part of a great civilization which continues to stund the world of archaeology about its remarkably advanced standards of living.
Not many may know, but there is a village in Haryana sitting on top of a rare archaelogical site that is older and larger than Mohenjo-Daro, perhaps the best-known human settlement of the Indus Valley civilization.
Research and findings by archaeologists and officials in Haryana have indicated that this could indeed be true for Rakhigarhi village in Hisar District, over 200 km from Chandigarh. Rakhigarhi is a village in Hisar District, situated 150 km to the northwest of Delhi. It is the site of a Pre-Indus Valley Civilisation settlement going back to about 6500 BCE. Later, it was also part of the mature Indus Valley Civilisation, dating to 2600-1900 BCE. The site located in the Ghaggar-Hakra River plan, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river.
The size and uniqueness of Rakhigarhi has drawn much attention of archaeologists all over the world. Rakhigarhi has emerged as bigger in size than even the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa sites in Pakistan and Dholavira in India's Gujarat with dimensions of 200, 150 and 100 hectares. The ASI report also said that the excavations done by its archaeologists between 1997 and 2005 reveal that a civilization site in Rakhigarhi village in Hisar District is spread over to 240 Hectares.
It is nearer to Delhi than other major sites, indicating the sprea of the Indus Valley Civilization east across North India. Only 5% of the site had been excavated, much of the area is yet to be excavated and published.
"Excavations conducted at Rakhigarhi indicate that the settlement witnessed all the phases of the Harappan civilization - the early Harappan (3200-2700 BCE) as well as the Mature Harappan (2700 - 1800 BCE).This positions Rakhigarhi as a unique Harappan site which promises to reveal new civilization contours by pushing the Indus Valley civilization by a thousand years or more," said a latest publication of the department of archaeology and museums, authored by Vijai Vardhan, Haryana's Principal secretary for archaelogy and museums.
On February 2020, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the site of Rakhigarhi would be developed as an iconic site. ASI has commenced the plan to remove encroachments from the site.
