Safipur is a town and nagar panchayat in Unnao district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[1] Located 27 km[1] northwest[2] of the city of Unnao, Safipur serves as a tehsil headquarters[1][2] and is well-connected by roads to nearby towns.[2] Founded in the 1300s and originally called Saipur, the town's present name of Safipur is in honour of the 16th-century Muslim saint Makhdum Shah Safi, whose dargah is located here.[2] Important commodities manufactured in Safipur today include steel boxes and almirahs, furniture, and incense sticks.[1] As of 2011, Safipur's population is 25,688, in 4,288 households.[1]

Safipur
Saipur
Town
Map of Safipur CD block
Map of Safipur CD block
Safipur is located in Uttar Pradesh
Safipur
Safipur
Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 26°44′N 80°21′E / 26.73°N 80.35°E / 26.73; 80.35
Country India India
StateUttar Pradesh
DistrictUnnao
Founded bySai Sukul
Named forMakhdum Shah Safi
Area
 • Total8.5 km2 (3.3 sq mi)
Elevation
129 m (423 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total25,688
 • Density3,000/km2 (7,800/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialHindi + Dehati
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
209871
Vehicle registrationUP-35

History edit

Safipur was originally founded in the 1300s by a Brahmin named Sai Sukul, who was a subject of the Raja of Ugu.[2] The town was formerly called Saipur in Sai Sukul's honour; the name Saipur was still the more common name in general use as late as the early 1900s.[2] Sai Sukul supposedly died in battle in 1389 when Ibrahim Sharqi of the Jaunpur Sultanate conquered the town.[2] Ibrahim then put his own lieutenants in charge of Saipur: Maulvi Akram, the ancestor of Makhdum Shah Safi; the paymaster Rao Mahesh Rao, whose descendants held the office of qanungo; the risaldar Sayyid Mir, whose descendants were zamindars; and Sayyid Hasan Reza, whose descendants were taluqdars and zamindars.[2]

Maulvi Akram's great-grandson, Makhdum Shah Safi, was a religious mendicant who lived at Saipur during the 1500s.[2] When he died, he was buried here, and the town's name was changed to Safipur in his honour.[2] The mausoleum of Makhdum Shah Safi, as well as the surrounding dargah complex, was built by a follower of his named Chaudhri Khaslat Husain, who was the taluqdar of Sandila.[2] A large mosque was added to the complex in the early 1900s by Chaudhri Muhammad Azim, who was also taluqdar of Sandila.[2] Makhdum Shah Safi's dargah is the most important in Safipur, although there are several others, including those of Ifhamullah, Kudratullah, Hafizullah, and Abdullah.[2]

Safipur was mentioned as the capital of a pargana in the Ain-i-Akbari; it maintained this status into the 20th century.[2]

Two high-ranking officials under the Nawabs of Awadh, Diwan Umed Rai and Maulvi Fazl Azim, were natives of Safipur.[2] They both had various buildings constructed in the town: Diwan Umed Rai built a bazaar and a sarai, and Maulvi Fazl Azim built many wells, mosques, and an imambara.[2]

At the turn of the 20th century, Safipur was described as "a flourishing, well-built town" with a daily standing market and bazaars held twice weekly in four muhallas.[2] It contained the tehsil headquarters, a police station, a munsif's court, a dispensary, and a middle school attended by 146 students. Now the Safvi family is considered one of the last remaining descendants of the great maulvi and are very prominent in the area with Wagar Safvi serving as the patriarch of the family and the custodian of the mausoleum.[2]

Demographics edit

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1901 7,949—    
1911 7,365−7.3%
1921 6,051−17.8%
1931 6,283+3.8%
1941 6,920+10.1%
1951 6,792−1.8%
1961 Not given—    
1971 Not given—    
1981 13,728—    
1991 16,951+23.5%
2001 22,378+32.0%
2011 25,688+14.8%
Source: 2011 Census of India[1]

According to the Indian census of 2001,[3] Safipur had a population of 22,378. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. In Safipur, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

According to the 2011 census, Safipur has a population of 25,688 people, in 4,288 households.[1] The town's sex ratio is 932 females to every 1000 males; 13,299 of Safipur's residents are male and 12,389 are female.[1] Among the 0-6 age group, the sex ratio is 940, which is higher than the district urban average.[1] Members of Scheduled Castes make up 13.77% of the town's population, while no members of scheduled tribes were recorded.[1] The town's literacy rate was 60.9% (counting only people age 7 and up); literacy was higher among men and boys (66.8%) than among women and girls (54.5%).[1]

In terms of employment, 21.8% of Safipur residents were classified as main workers (i.e. people employed for at least 6 months per year) in 2011.[1] Marginal workers (i.e. people employed for less than 6 months per year) made up 10.8%, and the remaining 67.4% were non-workers.[1] Employment status varied heavily according to gender, with 51.2% of men being either main or marginal workers, compared to only 12.6% of women.[1]

Villages edit

Safipur CD block has the following 116 villages:[1]

Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011)
Palhe Pur 172.1 1,061
Khusru Pur 112.5 1,892
Rania Mao 209.2 993
Mahapara Pur 219.8 1,195
Murha 108.6 536
Chhuhi 293.1 1,668
Ray Pur 162.3 1,188
Jamuniha Kachchh 432.2 2,137
Katri Aorangabad Istmurari 790 0
Katri Aorangabad Gair Istmurari 69.2 0
Rooppur Chandela Gair Ahatmali 387.9 1,267
Rooppur Chandela Ahatmali 151.9 438
Ram Pur 256 543
Daolatyar Pur 203.7 985
Katia Mao 295.4 697
Atwar Pur 157.6 501
Khairi Chandela 122.2 740
Dadlaha 840 3,608
Katri Alli Pur 359.6 276
Devria 99.7 599
Ram Pur Newada 247.3 810
Jujhar Pur 292.1 692
Papeer 71.3 504
Kisan Pur Tandawa 66.9 312
Andheliya 72 445
Sahapur 347.3 1,042
Devra Mao 110.4 590
Mao Mansur Pur 374.2 2,885
Kakraora 119.2 1,189
Safia Pur 79.3 914
Mahamud Pur 114 1,479
Gole Mao 197.7 204
Roshan Nagar 72.3 465
Safi Pur Rural 1,545.8 5,741
Munda 399.2 2,308
Tikara 94.5 108
Dayal Garhi 71.2 287
Gurdhari 288.1 1,238
Dakoli 155.1 638
Daroli 388.5 4,407
Pikhi 341.4 4,389
Atwa Mohal Osia 208.8 1,216
Osia 530.8 4,624
Habeeb Nagar 195.5 92
Raheema Bad 270.2 1,914
Raiya Mao 173.6 1,276
Mawae Lal 230.6 1,238
Birjpapl Pur 224.9 1,127
Lachhiman Ganj 31.1 376
Meer Nagar 112.1 680
Bhaishara 113.7 659
Nihal Pur 113.2 659
Mawe Man 264.8 1,818
Khijrabad 19.2 0
Dugaora 68.5 508
Abdulla Pur 78.1 702
Saleed 159.2 1,351
Gaori 120.2 1,021
Darab Nagar 78.8 1,032
Dev Gaon 706 4,386
Jahangeerabad 36.5 0
Khargaora 523.7 2,736
Lahber Pur 523.7 1,584
Najir Pur 104.1 317
Naobat Pur 113.3 1,532
Chakrasool Pur 14.8 0
Babhana 361.8 1,856
Makhdoom Nagar 158.6 1,449
Gopal Pur 108.1 751
Salhenagar Karaondi 240.4 2,668
Fateh Pur 105.2 1,077
Jat Purwa 202.8 1,869
Sahadat Nagar 119.9 816
Fajil Pur 103.9 1,472
Kusela 325.4 1,817
Sherpur Khurd 95.7 1,022
Loniahar 42.1 0
Sakhan Musalmanan 65.1 1,539
Sakhan Rajputan 744.4 2,889
Nibee Garha 106.4 257
Hamjapur 148.6 302
Gaholi 83.3 735
Sarai Sakhan 291.2 2,025
Devgan Mao 167 1,114
Mirja Pur 277.7 2,168
Niyamat Pur 40.7 973
Murad Pur 145.9 1,229
Ibraheema Bad 255.6 1,358
Khanpur 40.8 484
Jamalnagar Ahatmali 242.7 1,438
Jamalnagar Gair Ahatmali 756.8 4,425
Bahauddeen Pur 117.7 1,185
Narhar Pur 122.9 868
Bellawan 108.6 764
Aojhar Pur 97.2 515
Rukana Pur 59.8 471
Khokha Pur 75.6 764
Atha 281.2 2,671
Mustfa Bad 186.7 2,174
Salepur Khaeel Nagar 144.5 1,002
Hasana Pur 60 900
Pawa 413.8 2,447
Ray Pur 154.6 910
Jagdeesh Pur 120 457
Ambahara 74.3 458
Juned Pur 63.9 337
Ram Pur 82.5 398
Methi Tikur 799.8 6,848
Umer 171.9 1,147
Jamaluddeen Pur 167.4 1,786
Unwan 552.9 6,530
Atwa 202.1 1,804
Chakal Wanshi 72.3 0
Barbhaola 227.8 606
Firoj Pur Kala 379.7 2,147
Bhadni 185.6 895

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Census of India 2011: Uttar Pradesh District Census Handbook - Unnao, Part A (Village and Town Directory)". Census 2011 India. pp. 36–55, 135–59, 525–39. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Nevill, H.R. (1903). Unao: A Gazetteer, Being Volume XXXVIII Of The District Gazetteers Of The United Provinces Of Agra And Oudh. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 231–7. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Census of India 2011: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.