Bhopal

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 soldier called Dost Mohammad Khan (not to be confused with the later Afghan King carrying the 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[5] 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. Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum 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 1907.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 1 May 1949. Sindhi refugees from Pakistan were accommodated in Bairagarh, a western suburb of Bhopal. According to the States Reorganization Act of 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 henceforth.

Bhopal has an average elevation of 499 metres (1637 feet). Bhopal is located in the central part of India, and is just north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. 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. Bhopal has a sub-tropical climate with hot summers from April to June, the wet monsoon season from July to September and a cool winter from November to February.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. Locally these are known as the Bada Talab and Chota Talab respectively. 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. The Van Vihar National Park is a national park situated beside the Upper Lake. The national park also has a museum in its premises. Kheoni Wild Life Sanctuary is situated 125 km from Bhopal.

The city is divided into two major areas, the old city and the new city. The major industries in the old city are electrical goods, cotton, chemicals and jewellery. Other industries include cotton and flour milling, cloth weaving and painting, as well as matches, sealing wax, and sporting equipment.[11] The residents here also engage in small retail businesses. Handicraft is a major product of the old city. 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.[12] There are a large number of garages in the older city which specialise in automobile conversion. These garages produce custom-modified and tuned cars, SUVs and motorbikes.Being a state capital, the new city has a majority of residents working for the State and Central Government Departments. 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 vicinity 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 accommodates 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 restaurants, coaching and tuition centers and entertainment.The Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. is going to develop a Software and Hardware Technology Park in Bhopal.[14] Multinational companies like Genpact,[15] Fujitsu and Taurus Microsystems are expected to open their centers in the Technology Park.

Bhopal has a population of 1,482,718, which is divided into 781,282 men and 701,436 women, according to the census of 2001.[22] 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. The Old City of Bhopal is a predominantly Muslim area with large Pathan population but New Bhopal is a demographically cosmopolitan area.