Shahjahanpur

Shahjahanpur was established by Diler Khan and Bahadur Khan, sons of Darya Khan, a soldier in army of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Darya Khan was originally from Kandahar, in modern-day Afghanistan. Both Diler Khan and Bahadur Khan were dignitaries in the regime of Shah Jahan. Pleased with the services of Diler Khan, Shah Jahan gave him 17 villages with the permission to construct a fort in 1647, following the suppression of the rebellious Katheria Rajputs. The area was then settled by Afghans, brought by Bahadur Khan following one of his campaigns. On 9 August 1925, the Indian freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad and Rajendra Lahiri conducted a robbery of government funds near Kakori railway station. Both Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan were born in Shahjahanpur. ==Geography==

Shahjahanpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 194 metres (600 feet). It is situated at the junction of two rivers. Climate {{cite web ==Demographics==

As per the 2011 census, Shahjahanpur urban agglomeration had a population of 329,736, out of which males were 173,006 and females were 156,730. The literacy rate was 67.25%: 71.49% for males and 62.59% for females. Scheduled Castes make up 8.47% of the population. Hindi is the most spoken language. Urdu is the second most-spoken language. ==Transport==

Shahjahanpur is well-connected with major towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh through road and rail network. National Highway 30 links Shahjahanpur with Bareilly and Lucknow. A spur route National Highway 731 too passes through Shahjahanpur, linking it to the eastern UP town of Jaunpur. Shahjahanpur railway station lies on Lucknow–Moradabad line of Indian Railways. Several through trains from Lucknow to Delhi pass through Shahjahanpur station. ==Cultural heritage==

Over the years, the Shahjahanpur gharana contributed eminent sarod players such as Enayat Ali (1883 - 1915), Ustad Murad Ali Khan, Ustad Mohammed Ameer Khan, Pandit Radhika Mohan Moitra and Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta. Present Sarod legend, Amjad Ali Khan also belongs to Shahjahanpur gharana. ==Notable people==

• Ram Prasad Bismil (Freedom Fighter) • Ashfaqulla Khan (Freedom Fighter) • Roshan Singh (Freedom Fighter) • Prem Krishna Khanna (Freedom Fighter) • Ram Chandra (Babuji) (Indian Spiritual Leader) • Abu Salman Shahjahanpuri (Pakistani Islamic Scholar) • Dil Shahjahanpuri (Urdu Ghazal Writer) • Madan Shahjahanpuri (Indian Muslim Theologian) • Rajpal Yadav (Film Actor) • Alok Pandey (Film Actor) • Jitin Prasada (Former Central Government Cabinet Minister) • Jitendra Prasada (Former M.P.) • Naik Jadu Nath Singh (Param Vir Chakra) • Mithlesh Kumar (Former member of parliament) • Krishna Raj (Former MP) • Rammurti Singh Verma (Former Minister of UP) • Roshan Lal Verma (MLA Tilhar) • Sharad Vir Singh (MLA Jalalabad) • Salona Kushwaha (MLA Tilhar) • Jitin Prasada (Former Central Government Cabinet Minister) • Suresh Kumar Khanna (UP Government Cabinet Minister) == Education ==

• Gandhi Faiz-E-Aam College • Swami Shukdevanand Post Graduate College ==References==