Pali is a town and nagar panchayat in Sawayajpur tehsil of Hardoi district, Uttar Pradesh, India.[1] It is on the right bank of the Garra river, 20 miles northwest of Hardoi, Pali historically served as the seat of a pargana and was a regional political headquarters under the Nawabs of Awadh.[2] The town's name is possibly connected to the Pal dynasty that once ruled the nearby city of Kannauj.[2] As of 2011, the population of Pali is 18,708 in 2,949 households.[1]

Pali
Town
Pali is located in Uttar Pradesh
Pali
Pali
Location in Uttar Pradesh
Coordinates: 27°25′N 80°07′E / 27.42°N 80.12°E / 27.42; 80.12
Country India
StateUttar Pradesh
DistrictHardoi
Founded byKings of Pal dynasty[citation needed]
Area
 • Total
5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
18,708
 • Density3,300/km2 (8,500/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialHindi, Urdu, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationUP- 30

History

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In early times,[when?] Pali was ruled by the Thatheras, who inhabited the large ruined site called Sandikhera to the west of the modern town.[2] The site was then conquered by Raja Satan, the Sombansi ruler of Satannagar (now Sandi).[2] His son, Raja Harhar (also called Sheosal Deo), granted the place to a family of Gabrs or Kisans who held the office of mace-bearer at his court.[2] However, they rebelled, and Harhar sought assistance to defeat them.[2] He sent his purohit, Gyan Pande, to the Muslim garrison at Kannauj, where Gyan Pande's brother served as a risaldar.[2] An army was sent under the command of Sheikh Mohi-ud-Din Usmani, the son of Haji Salar, to assist Harhar.[2] They were successful, and as a reward, Gyan Pande, his brother, and Sheikh Mohi-ud-Din were each granted 500 bighas of land rent-free.[2] The three of them cleared away a forested area by the riverbank and founded the present town of Pali, with the Hindu Brahmins in the north and the Muslim Sheikhs in the south.[2] According to the traditional account, this happened at the end of the 12th century.[2]

According to the qanungos of Pali, the town had served as the seat of a pargana ever since the Muslim conquest.[2] The pargana existed since the time of Humayun in the 1500s, and it was later listed in the Ain-i-Akbari.[2] The pargana then was much larger — it also included the entire later parganas of Shahabad and Pachhoha, as well as parts of Saromannagar and Katiari.[2]

Under the Nawabs of Awadh, Pali served as the headquarters of the naib of the Sandi-Pali chakla.[2] It lost this administrative significance under the British, and the Muslim neighbourhoods declined.[2]

At the turn of the 20th century, Pali was described as a picturesque town with groves of mango trees all along its western outskirts.[2] It consisted of four mohallas at the time: Qazi Sarai, inhabited by the Sheikhs; Maghrabi, inhabited by Pathans; the mohalla of the Maliks and Pathans; and the Hindu town, where Pande Brahmins predominated.[2] There were seven mosques and four Hindu temples; one of the mosques had been recently built by Risaldar Imtiaz Ali and featured "very showy, florid" architecture.[2] Pali had a police station, a cattle pound, a post office, and an inspection bungalow, along with an upper primary school with 105 students and a military encampment west of the road outside the town.[2]

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1901 4,776—    
1911 5,062+6.0%
1921 4,712−6.9%
1931 4,920+4.4%
1941 5,511+12.0%
1951 5,440−1.3%
1961 Not given—    
1971 Not given—    
1981 8,994—    
1991 12,279+36.5%
2001 15,527+26.5%
2011 18,708+20.5%
Source: 2011 Census of India[1]

As of the 2011 India census,[3] Pali had a population of 18,708. Males constituted 52.64% of the population and females constituted 47.35%. Pali had an average literacy rate of 87%, which was higher than the national average of 74%. Literacy for males was 91% and 85% for females. 11% of the population was under 6 years of age.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Census of India 2011: Uttar Pradesh District Census Handbook - Hardoi, Part A (Village and Town Directory)" (PDF). Census 2011 India. pp. 15–16, 32–52, 578–82, 589. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Nevill, H.R. (1904). Hardoi - A Gazetteer. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 232–6. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Census of India 2011: Data from the 2011 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.