Raebareli

Raebareli (Hindi: Rāēbarēlī, pronounced [ɾaɛbəɾeliː] ^ⓘ) is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district, and a part of Lucknow Division and comes under the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region (UP-SCR). The city is situated on the banks of the Sai River, and center of four metropolitan cities i.e. Lucknow, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Kanpur. It possesses many architectural features and sites, chief of which is a strong and spacious fort. As of 2011, Raebareli had a population of 191,316 people, in 35,197 households.

Raebareli is supposedly a city founded by Bhars, and originally called Bharauli or Barauli. The prefix "Rae" (pronounced Rai) originates from the title "Rai," historically borne by the Kayasth rulers of the region. Among the Srivastava community, specifically, a certain lineage is distinctively referred to as "Athhaisa (अट्ठाईसा)," highlighting a unique cultural or familial heritage associated with the Srivastava lineage. This lineage, known for its special bloodline, signifies both royal heritage and leadership within the region, marking the 'Athhaisa (अट्ठाईसा)' Srivastavas as distinguished historical rulers. Later the city was conquered by Ibrahim Shah of the Jaunpur Sultanate and then handed over to Sheikhs and Sayyids. The city's fort was built by Ibrahim Shah in 820 AH, most likely using materials from earlier structures. Apart from the gate on the west side, it is mostly in ruins; it consists of an outer layer of brick surrounding an earthwork core. Outside the gate is the shrine of the Muslim saint Makhdum Saiyid Jafri. According to legend, during the fort's original construction, everything built during the day kept collapsing at night; the sultan then summoned the saint from Jaunpur, and then as soon as he walked on the site the construction proceeded without difficulty. Ibrahim Shah also had at least two mosques built in Raebareli. One was the Jama Masjid, which was restored in 1089 AH by Aurangzeb and still stands today. The other no longer exists; in the late 19th century a dispensary was built on the site by Raja Drigjibai Singh of Murarmau. Rae Bareli was also spelled as "Raibareilly" which is actively being used in various places including central government managed websites such as Vahan Citizen Services.

Since the time of Ibrahim Shah, Raebareli has continuously been an important regional town. His grandson Husain Shah renamed the city Husainabad after himself, but the name change never caught on. Different mahallas were founded by descendants of the original Muslim settlers in the city: Qasbana, Neza Andaz, Saiyid Rajan, Bans Tola, and Pirai Hamid were founded by Muslims; Jaunpuri, Khali Sahat, and Surjipur were founded by Brahmins; Khatrauni Kalan and Khurd by the Khattri treasurers of the Jaunpur sultans, and Shah Tola by the royal purveyor.

Raja Har Parshad "Taluqedar of Naseerabad" a, native of this town, was the Nazim or Commissioner of Khairabad Division during the reign of the ex-king. He joined the mutineers and went up to Nepal with Begum Hazrat Mahal of Oudh dynasty and on 31 December 1858 while returning after ensuring her safety, he was killed in a battle with British army. He has been honoured with the title of "Lastville and the most notorious governor of Oudh". The district of Raebareli was created by the British in 1858, and is named after its headquarters town. Rana Beni Madhav Baksh Singh is well known freedom fighter of this district. Munshiganj retaliation of common people for freedom shows an example for the rest of Oudh.

After the uprising, Raebareli was chosen as the site of the new district headquarters. A cantonment was established to the southwest of the city, but it was only in use for a few years before being abandoned. Raebareli was first constituted as a municipality in 1867, with originally 23 members on the municipal board, later reduced to 16.

At the turn of the 20th century, Raebareli was described as an important commercial centre for the surrounding region, especially since the coming of the railway. It then consisted of two separate sites: Raebareli proper and Jahanabad. Originally founded by the subahdar Jahan Khan, it contained the Rang Mahal palace and the maqbara or mausoleum of Jahan Khan. The city had six marketplaces: Purana Bazar (also called Qila Darwaza), Jahanabad, Capperganj, Baillieganj, Graceyganj, and Whishganj. A seventh one, known as Munshiganj, also existed a short distance away from the city on the road to Dalmau. It had been founded by Diwan Chand Sahai, who along with his brother Munshi Gur Sahai had served as assistants of Nawab Ali Naqi Khan. Capperganj, near Jahanabad, had been established by Ganga Sahai and served as a marketplace for a wide variety of goods, including brasswork from Hasanpur Bandhua, cloth from Jais, and vegetables from Lucknow as well as imported European goods. Baillieganj, founded by the British official D.C. Baillie, served as "the main wholesale market in the district" at the time. It was distinct in that it did not levy an octroi fee on goods brought there, "so that it serves the purposed of a bonded warehouse". During the Indian famine of 1899–1900, the increased demand for food in the Bombay Presidency triggered a surge in the grain trade at Baillieganj.

Four prominent mosques were noted at this point. The first of these was the Jami Masjid, which as mentioned dated back to the reign of Ibrahim Shah. The second was built in 1040 AH by Nawab Jahan Khan, who founded Jahanabad. The third, built by Shah Alam-ullah, was modelled after the Kaaba in Mecca and was domeless but had three main halls. The last of the four was built by Shah Alam-ullah's son in the suburb of Daira.

Other landmarks at the time included the dispensary and sarai built by Drigjibai Singh after the British annexation of Oudh State in the 1850s. Built around the same time was a large masonry bridge across the Sai, commissioned by the British deputy commissioner W. Glynn and partly financed by some Bais Rajput taluqdars. The city also had several schools, including a government-run high school, a branch school located within the fort, a vernacular middle school run by the municipality, and five indigenous schools supported by grants-in-aid. Two of these were in the fort, two more were in Jahanabad, and the last one was at Wazirganj. There was also a Sanskrit Pathshala.