GEOGRAPHY

The district of kanpur, in the shape of an irregular quadrangle, extends its boundaries within an area of 6132 sq.kms. Kanpur is situated in the middle of the Ganga plains, on the Southern bank of the river Ganga. It is located on 26,30'N  latitude and 80,20'E longitude. Most of the area of the kanpur district is fertile and well cultivated. The city covers an area of 1040 sq.km. and lies at an altitude of 126m above sea level. The municipal area of the city has an area of 672.56 sq.kms. Kanpur has its older closely-built core about a kilometer away from the river ganga. Between this core and the Ganga river lies the industrial zone on the west and the administrative zone on the east has exhibited a tremendous growth since 1901.

History & Location

The biggest  city of UttarPradesh and eighth biggest in India. Kanpur is the most important metropolis of the
state.According to the 1991 census, the city had a population of 24,18,447, which made it the fifth most highly-populated
city in India.Among the big towns of UttarPradesh , the growth of kanpur has been phenomenal. It ranked third after Lucknow and Varanasi in 1901, but by 1961 it assumed a position on top of the list. It has registered an increase of over five times from 1,97,170 in 1901 to 9,71,062 in 1961 in the course of six decades. This is mainly due to its most central location in the state. Kanpur has benefited from its fertile agricultural hinterland of the Upper Ganga Valley and Bundelkhand plateau, the available developed links of transportation and the stimulant of World War-2 with its industrial demand. In this city, in spite of a low percentage of irrigated area, the density is high and that is obviously due to great industrialconcentration. Upto the 1^st half of the 18^th century Kanpur continued to survive as an insignificant village. Its fate however, took a new turn soon after. In May 1765, Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab Wazir of Awadh, was defeated by the British near Jajmau. It was probably at this time that strategic importance of the site of Kanpur was realised by the British. European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Kanpur. In order to ensure protection to their lives and property the Awadh local forces’ were shifted here in 1778. Kanpur passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in the history of Kanpur. Soon Kanpur became one of the most important military station of British India. It was declared a district on 24^th March 1803.

Kanpur in 1857

Kanpur was soon to become the epicentre of the outbreak of 1857, as some of the leading luminaries of the War of Independence hailed from here namely – Nana Sahib, Tatiya Tope, Azimullah Khan and Brigadier Jwala Prasad. The three strategic events of the 1857 war at Kanpur were the fight at `wheeler’s entrenchment’, the `massacre at Satti Chaura Ghat’ and the `Bibighar massacre’. Nana Sahib had declared independence on th 7<sup>th</sup> of June 1857 at Kanpur. The British under Commander Hugh Wheeler retreated into a shallow arch entrenchment in the cantonment area, later known in history as `wheeler’s entrenchment’. The English garrison surrendered in the last week of June 1857 on terms of safe passage to Allahabad. But when on the morning of 27^th June, the soldiers along with the women and children were about to embark into the boats at Satti Chaura Ghat, fighting broke out and most of the men were killed. The survivors, women and children were rescued who were imprisoned into the Savada Kothi and later shifted to Bibighar in the `cantonment magistrates’ compound. But when it became clear the relieving forces under General Havelock were nearing the city and defeat was inevitable, the captives-all women and children, were massacred and their dismembered bodies buried in the well of the compound on 15<sup>th</sup> July 1857. The Bibighar was dismantled by the British and reoccupation of Kanpur and a `memorial railing and a cross’ raised at the site of the well. The well is now bricked over. Only remains of a circular ridge survive, which can be still seen at the Nana Rao Park. The Kanpur Memorial Church – `The all soul cathedral’ was raised in honour of the fallen at the north-east corner of Wheeler’s entrenchment in 1862 by the British. The marble gothic screen with famous `mournful scarf’ was transferred to the churchyard of All Souls after independence in 1947, and in its place a bust of Tatiya Tope installed at Nana Rao Park’.

After 1857, the development of Kanpur was even more phenomenal. Government Harnes and Saddlery Factory was started for supplying leather material for army in 1860, followed by Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. The first cotton textile mill, the Elgin Mills were started in 1862 and Muir Mills in 1882.

Today besides being the most industrialised region of the state, Kanpur is also an important educational centre, with institutions like Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Agricultural College, Indian Institute of Technology, GSVM Medical College, National Sugar Institute and Government Textile Institute being located here. Apart from playing a stellar role in the development of the country as a whole, Kanpur has also been instrumental in making an unforgettable contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. A favourite centre of activities of stalwarts like Nanarao Peshwa, Tatya Tope, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad among others, Kanpur is also the birth place of Shyamlal Gupta `Parshad’, composer of the famous patriotic ditty `Vijayee Vishwa Tiranga Pyara’. The propogation and popularisation of Hindi also owes much to this city, with great Hindu literatures like Acharya Mahavir Parasad Dwivedi, Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi, Pratap Narain Mishra, Acharya Gaya Prasad Shukla `Sanehi’ and Balkrishna Sharma `Navin’ having hailed from here.
The city which once was termed as manchester of India for its matured cotton industry. The city which hosted (and still hosts) the world famous 'Lal Imli' woolen factory, industries such as LML, Pan Parag, ICI Limited (now known as Duncans Fertilisers),also it boasts of one of the largest leather industries in the world and myriad cotton mills. The city which boasts one of the largest number of defence establishments; To name a few Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), DMSRDE, Small Arms Factory(SAF), Field Gun Factory and Parachute factory 

• STD Code : 0512
• Area : 1065 Sq. km.
• Population {2001 Census} : 27.72 Lakhs Total : Male : 14.83 Lakhs Female : 12.89 Lakhs
• Altitude : 126 meters above sea level.
• Location : 20o 38’ E Longitude   80 o 21’ N attitude {72km SW of Lucknow, 435 km SE from Delhi, 1007 km NW from Culcutta}
• Season: March-June (Summer), July- October (Monsoon), November-February (Winter)
• Clothing(Summer) : Cottons; (Winter) : Woollens
• Environmental Status:Ground # Alluvial Gangetic Plains
• Temperature :Minimum 1` c Maximum 48` c
• Language : Hindi,  English & urdu
• Local Transport: Buses, Taxis, Tempos, Auto-Rickshaws.Padel Rickshaws
• Currency : indian Rupees   1usdollars=40- 45Rupees