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Etawah (IAST: Iṭāvā), also known as Ishtikapuri, is a city situated on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) makes it the 180th most populous city in India.

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As per the 2011 census, Etawah city had a population of 256,790, of which males were 135,829, and females were 120,961 - an increase of 22% from 211,460 in 2001 census. (The entire Etawah district had a population of 1,581,810 in 2011.) The literacy rate was 82.89 per cent.

Hinduism is majority religion in Etawah city with 74.64% followers. Islam is second most popular religion in city of Etawah, with approximately 23.61% following it. In Etawah city, Christianity is followed by 0.19%, Jainism by 1.05%, Sikhism by 0.24% and Buddhism by 0.24%. Around 0.01% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.19% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

Main spoken languages are Hindi (98.20%), Urdu (1.75%), and Sindhi (0.01%)

Total no. of Slums in Etawah city numbers 5,528 in which population of 33,188 resides. This is around 12.92% of total population of Etawah city.

Name

During Rajput era the king of Chauhan dynasty Sumershah had gone to the bank of the Yamuna river in Etawah, where he saw an incredible act of nature. He saw a goat and a wolf drinking water together on the bank of the Yamuna. After seeing this incident, the king went to astrologers and consulted about the incident, who advised him to build a fort at the place where the wolf and the goat were drinking water together. According to astrological calculation, building a fort would benefit the king.When construction work of the fort started at the decided location, then, while digging foundation the laborers working there found a brick of gold and silver, which made them excited and they started shouting "Eeet Mili, Eeet Mili" after hearing which the place was named as "Eeet Aaya" which later turned into ‘Etawah’.

Etawah is still sometimes referred to as the city of bricks and both tradition and the appearance of the ground suggest that the modern city was founded on an ancient Khera or town site, so that it is not improbable that the existence of old bricks or old brick kilns may have led to its present name. According to some scholars, the region from Bateshwar in district Agra to Bhareh was known as ‘Ishtapath’ and there are a large number of temples of Lord Siva, who was ‘Isht Dev’ of the people of that region. From the word ‘Isht’ the town was given the name of Ishtkapuri a reference to which is found in Bhavishya Puran.

History

Ancient era

thumb|An engraving of ruins at Etawah, in the first half of the 19th century AD

It is believed that the land existed right from the Bronze Age in the medieval times. It once formed part of the ancient country of Panchala which is said to have extended from the foot of the Himalayas in the north to the river Chambal in the south. This region rose into great prominence during the period of Mahabharata. Many local traditions are attached to the modern Chakar Nagar which is a tehsil nearby which most probably seems to be Ekchakra mentioned in Mahabharata. It was Ekchakra where Pandavas along with their mother Kunti spent their secret abode of one year during the period of their exile. There is a belief that the city was founded by King Bharat. During the fourth century A.D., Guptas once again established imperial unity in India. The Chinese traveler Fa-Hien also visited a city named ‘A-lo i.e. Alvi, which has been identified with modern Airwa nearly town, and spent his treat at the Dragon Shrine. Fa-Hien described it as "a city near a large forest" (atavi). There are the remains of Buddhist and Jain temples evidently of every ancient date in large number. In the ninth and tenth centuries, this region was under the rule of Gurjara Pratihara rulers. The conquest of Kannauj by Nagabhata II handed Pratiharas control over this region. But the place was said to be evolved as an affluent region under Mihir Bhoj, the Pratihara King.

With the coronation of Harsha as a king (in 606 AD) the city came under the Thaneshwar dynasty. Hiuen Tsang in his works has also dwelt upon the prosperity of this region.

Medieval Era

The defeat of Jaichandra of Kannauj in the Battle of Chandawar in 1193 A.D at the hands of Shahab-ud-din Ghori, the city passed under influence of Muslim power, which by end of the century held in different degrees of subjection the whole of North India except Malwa and some contiguous districts. Muslim rule in Etawah faced Maratha invasion for short period within their rule in Etawah. However, the local history of the city during the early years of the thirteenth century is more or less the account of the settlement and emergence of certain Rajput clans. The Gaurs occupied part of Phaphund and Bidhuna near the Kanpur boundary, both falling in turn to Chandelas of Mahoba. The Chauhans occupied the western portion of the district, with extensive tracts now in Mainpuri. During this period; however, some disturbance related to tax arouse in Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Shah's rule, yet these issues were put to end by Tomar ruler of Gwalior in 1390. In 1400–1401 Mallu Iqbal Khan marched towards this region and was opposed by Rai Sumar Singh or Sabir of Etawah and other Zamindars of the vicinity on the banks of the Ab-i-Siyah (Kali Nadi) near Patiali. The opposing army of Rai was defeated and chased down to the confines of Etawah where they took shelter.

Etawah was associated with various important historical events like Jaunpur Campaign, reigns of rulers like Bahlul Lodi, Ibrahim Lodi, Babur, Humayun and Akbar. In the fourth year of Akbar's reign, Bahadur Khan, a younger brother of Ali Quli Khan, was granted the Jagir of Etawah at the insistence of Maham Anka, the foster mother of the Emperor. After this, Etawah district underwent major changes during reign of Rohillas and the Oudh Government.

Municipal Council, Etawah

Municipal Council, Etawah was founded through Notificatin-332 date 11 July 1884 on 16 August 1884. At that time district was divided into 10 wards. Now it has 36 wards . The chairman is Jyoti Santu Gupta with Executive Officer Shri Anil Kumar .

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Director

|-

! Sr.No !! Name

|-

| 1 || Mr. Kushagra Singh (Aadi)

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Ex-officio members

|-

! Sr.No !! Name of Ex-officio members !! Position !! Name of

|-

| 1 || Mr. Ansar Ahmad || Member of Parliament || Kalikabre, Etawah

|-

| 2 || Mr. Rajendra Sngh Kushwaha || MLA, Sadar || Tulsi Adda, Etawah

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Elected Ward Members

|-

! Ward no. !! Name of elected candidate !! Director/ Member !! Name of ward

|-

| 1 || Mr. Gambhir Singh || Member || K.F.M Khan II

|-

| 2 || Mr. Ravi Kumar || Member || Friends Colony II

|-

| 3 || Mr. Abhay Singh || Member || Katra Balsingh I

|-

| 4 || Mr. Arvind || Member || Sundarpur

|-

| 5 || Mr. Dilip Kumar Dubey || Member || Katra Sahab Khan

|-

| 6 || Mr. Jayveer Singh || Member || Friends Colony III

|-

| 7 || Mrs. Shanti Devi || Member || Gaadipura

|-

| 8 || Mr. Mahendra Kumar || Member || Vijay Nagar III

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| 9 || Mrs. Madhu || Member || Civil Line I

|-

| 10 || Mrs. Usha Devi || Member || Mewati Tola

|-

| 11 || Mr. Mohammad Anees || Member || Sabitganj

|-

| 12 || Ms. Mithilesh || Member || Vijay Nagar I

|-

| 13 || Mrs. Rajanshri || Member || Purabia Tola Nalapar

|-

| 14 || Mrs. Neelam Dubey || Member || Karanpura

|-

| 15 || Mrs. Uma || Member || Friends Colony I

|-

| 16|| Mrs. Santosh Kumari || Member || Lalpura

|-

| 17 || Mr. Shabir || Member || Shahgraan

|-

| 18 || Mrs. Roopkiran Verma || Member || Ghatiya Ajmat Ali II

|-

| 19 || Mr. Deepak || Member || Chaugurji

|-

| 20 || Mrs. Manju Devi || Member || Vijay Nagar II

|-

| 21 || Mr. ratnesh || Member || Ashok Nagar I

|-

| 22 || Mr. Srikrishna Yadav || Member || Ghatiya Ajmat Ali II

|-

| 23 || Mr. Imran Hashmi || Member || Katra Shamsher Khan

|-

| 24 || Mrs. Lilavati || Member || K.F.M Khan I

|-

| 25 || Mr. Vimal || Member || Maksoodpura

|-

| 26 || Mrs. Nazma || Member || Chhipaiti

|-

| 27 || Mrs. Ruby Begum || Member || Bairuntola

|-

| 28 || Mr. Iqbal || Member || Pathvaria

|-

| 29 || Mr. Sharad Bajpayee || Member || Akalganj

|-

| 30 || Mr. Sunil || Member || Ashok Nagar II

|-

| 31 || Mrs. Pushpa || Member || Civil Line II

|-

| 32 || Mr. Shafeek Mast Khan || Member || Urdu Mohalla

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| 33 || Mr. Udayraj Singh || Member || Ashok Nagar III

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| 34 || Mr. Mohd Iliyaas || Member || Naurangabad

|-

| 35 || Mr. Anil || Member || Katra Balsingh II

|-

| 36 || Mr. Vaibhav Kumar || Member || Purabia Tola Pajava

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Elected by Government

|-

! Header text !! Name of elected candidate

|-

| 1 || Mr. Mohd Nazir Ansari

|-

| 2 || Mr. rakesh Yadav

|-

| 3 || Mr. Amit Soni

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| 4 || Mr. Ramesh Prajapati

|}

Climate

The climate is a hot semi arid climate (Koppen: BSh), being slightly too dry to be considered a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa).

Communal Clashes

In 1885 when Dussehra and Muharram coincided, communal disturbances broke out between the Hindus and the Muslims.

National Chambal Sanctuary

National Chambal Sanctuary is spread over the Agra and Etawah districts, and a total of 290 different species of migratory and resident birds have been identified in the region so far.

Sarsai Nawar Wetland

Sarsai Nawar Wetland is a Ramsar enlisted site wetland, en route to Saman Wildlife Sanctuary, in Etawah District of Uttar Pradesh. It comprises two small lakes that attract Sarus Cranes, White Ibis and other water birds in large numbers. It has a large population of the threatened species of Sarus Cranes, the world's tallest flying birds. Ten Sarus Crane pairs breed here regularly, which is more than twice the number of breeding pairs in the bird sanctuary of Bharatpur in Rajasthan. In winters, almost more than 40,000 migratory birds from northern arc visit Sarsai Nawar wetland.

Agra-Etawah Cycle Highway

thumb|Cycle Highway

Agra-Etawah Cycle Highway in Uttar Pradesh now has Asia's first cycle highway. A first-of-its-kind project, the 207-km-long cycle highway runs between Etawah and Agra and was declared open on Saturday, 27 November 2016. The track begins from the lion safari in Etawah. It ends at the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Notable Buildings

thumb|Kali Vahan Shakta pitha

thumb|Tixi Shiva Mandir

  • Hajari Mahadev Temple Sarsai Nawar
  • Pachnada, Etawah
  • Shahi Jama Masjid

Notable people

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  • George Adamson, wildlife conservationist
  • K. Asif, film director was born in Etawah
  • Sarita Bhadauria, MLA from Etawah
  • Babu Gulabrai, a significant figure in modern Hindi literature was born in Etawah
  • Allan Octavian Hume, the founder of Indian National Congress was district collector in 1857