Pilani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pilani | |
  Pilani
|
|
| State - District(s) |
Rajasthan - Jhunjhunun |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
- 279 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
26,219 - |
Pilani is a town in the Jhunjhunu District in Rajasthan, India and is the home to Birla Institute of Technology and Science. The town Pilani derives its name from Jat fighter with Pilania gotra. He died protecting the fort and was honoured by the king for his courage and sacrifice by giving his name to location. Pilani is part of Shekhawati region. In the winters it reaches sub-zero temperatures. The fresco paintings on grand Havelis are peculiarity of Shekhawati region.
Contents |
[edit] Early history
Thakur Nawal Singh founded the city of Nawalgarh in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan on magha shukla 2 samvat 1794 (1737 AD) at place called Rohili. Thukur Nawal Singh’s fourth son was Dalel Singh who was given the right of 12 villages after constructing a fort at present Pilani town. The fort was named Dalelgarh after Dalel Singh. When Dalel Singh was expanding his strength Rao Raja Laxman Singh of Sikar attacked him. At that time Dalel Singh’s brother and ruler of Nawalgarh came to his rescue. In the war a brave Pilania Jat fighting with bravery could save the fort of Dalelgarh. After this the name Dalelgarh was changed to Pilani in the memory of Pilania Jat.
In those days Pilani was divided in two hamlets situated on sand dunes. One was ‘Nehra bas’ occupied by Brahmans and other was ‘Pilania bas’ occupied by Jats and other castes. Initially Pilani was a village of about 1500 people. Out of these 100 families were of Vaishyas, mainly of Agarwals. There were about 15 families of Maheshwaris out of which there was only one family of Birlas.
[edit] Geography
Pilani is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 279 metres (915 feet).
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Pilani had a population of 26,219. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Pilani has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 57%. In Pilani, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] The geographical details
Latitude: 28.3667 ; Longitude: 75.6000 Altitude(feet): 915 ; Altitude(metres): 278 Time Zone(est): UTC +5:30 Approximate population for 7 km radius from this point: 45366
[edit] Birth Place of GD Birla
The town is birthplace of India's leading industrialist, GD Birla. It houses one of India's finest technical schools, BITS Pilani. The Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) is also located here. It also houses some good boarding schools like Birla Public School, Birla Senior Secondary School and Birla Balika Vidyapeeth,a world famous boarding school for girls.
Unlike other towns, Pilani is not accessible by rail. The nearest rail stations are Chirawa (16 Km) and Loharu(25 Km). Jaipur is 210 Km from Pilani and Delhi is 235 Km and well connected by road.
[edit] Place of National importance
According to P.V. Indiresan, Former Director of IIT Madras, "Pilani town was transformed for sentimental reasons from an inhospitable village in the Rajasthan desert to a national intellectual centre. GD Birla introduced a couple of world-class scientific institutions in that remote desert village merely because it was his birthplace. Even though Birla would not allow Pilani full scope to expand (he would not allow any industry for fear of despoiling the habitat, and the nearest railway station is 25 km away), Pilani has now become a prosperous town. That is quite an achievement because Pilani has no natural advantages whatever. If Pilani could be transformed the way it has been, any other village can be. All that is required is a seed in the form of a world-class institution. However, in its formative years lasting a couple of decades, Pilani was sustained by the Birlas who had deep pockets and deeper sentiments for the village. Few entrepreneurs would be prepared to emulate them, and nurture a village for long years. That is why the Pilani experiment has not been repeated although quite a few other rich business families originate from remote villages."
[edit] Reference
Dr DK Taknet: Marwari Samaj aur Brijmohan Birla, Indian Institute of Marwari Entrepreneurship, Jaipur, 1993, ISBN 81-85878-00-5
[edit] External links
| State of Rajasthan Rajasthan Topics |
|
|---|---|
| Capital | Jaipur |
| Divisions | Ajmer | Bharatpur | Bikaner | Jaipur | Jodhpur | Kota | Udaipur |
| Districts | Ajmer | Alwar | Banswara | Baran | Barmer | Bhilwara | Bikaner | Bharatpur | Bundi | Chittorgarh | Churu | Dausa | Dholpur | Dungarpur | Ganganagar | Hanumangarh | Jaipur | Jaisalmer | Jalore | Jhalawar | Jhunjhunu | Jodhpur | Karauli | Kota | Nagaur | Pali | Rajsamand | Sawai Madhopur | Sikar | Sirohi | Tonk | Udaipur |
| Major cities | Alwar • Bhilwara • Bikaner • Jaipur • Jaisalmer • Jodhpur • Udaipur |
