Faridnagar

Faridnagar
—  city  —
Faridnagar Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 28.77°N 77.62°E / 28.77; 77.62
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Ghaziabad
Elevation	212 m (696 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	11,271
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Faridnagar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ghaziabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Geography

Faridnagar is located at 28.77°N 77.62°E / 28.77; 77.62. It has an average elevation of 212 metres (695 feet).

History

Faridnagar was founded in great mogul emperor Akbar time by Nawab Farid-ud-din. He was awarded the "Zagir" of seventeen villages between Pilkhua and Begmabad by emperor Akbar the great. The town used to be garrison for small mugal army(Balloch) and housed the Taksal-a place to mint the mugal coins during reigns of Akbar and Jahangir. The highest point of the town is known as "Garhi Ballochan" and is guarded by huge iron gates. Next to it is Jama Masjid, a beautiful mosque. Since its inception Faridnagar grew and became prosperous. The major source of revenue were farming, gardening and trade. Important industries were cotton weaving and Khandsari-the gud making, oil extraction and pottery making. The decline of town started in early 1930s when Britishers constructed the highways and built the rail roads.All of them bypassed Faridnagar by few miles .Modinagar became the major industrial and educational center.Cotton industries shifted to Pilkhuwa. Nearest rail heads are Modinagar and Pilkhua.Nearest airport is Delhi.The town hosts the annual "Faridnagar Mahotsav".

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Faridnagar had a population of 11,271. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Faridnagar has an average literacy rate of 43%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 53%, and female literacy is 32%. In Faridnagar, 19% of the population is under 6 years of age. The population is mixed, almost equally divided between Hindus and Muslims. The Most of the Hindu population live on Pilkhua side while Muslims live on Hapur side.The Muslim population comprise of Ballochs who resides in Ghari;Khera living towards Modinagar side and Quarisis (Kasai)residing towards Hapur side of the Town. A high percentage of Muslims went to Pakistan after partition of the country in 1947. The decline of town started in the early nineteen hundreds when the railway lines were laid and roads were paved. The town was bypassed by only few miles. Other town grew particularly Pilkhuwa and Modinagar at the expense of Faridnagar. The sugar mill in Modinagar caused the death of local "Gud" making. Later on failure of electric supply killed the weaving industry too. The weaver community fled en masse to nearby cities.

References

District Gazettier of United Province of Agra and Oudh- 1904 by H.M.Elliot Pages 65,73.145 and 223