Jaipur () is the capital and the largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Located from the national capital New Delhi, Jaipur is also known as the Pink City due to the dominant colour scheme of its buildings in the old city. It is one of the earliest planned cities of modern India, designed by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. During the British colonial period, the city served as the capital of Jaipur State. After Indian independence in 1947, Jaipur became the capital of the newly formed state of Rajasthan in 1949.
Jaipur is a popular tourist destination in India, forming a part of the Western Golden Triangle tourist circuit along with Delhi and Agra. The city serves as a gateway to other tourist destinations in Rajasthan, such as Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Bundi, Kota, and Mount Abu; it has two World heritage sites, Amer Fort, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. On 6 July 2019, the city was placed on the World Heritage Cities list. It is also known as the Paris of India. Due to its beauty, C.V. Raman called it the "Island of Glory".
Etymology
Jaipur derives its name from Sawai Jai Singh II, the Kachhwaha ruler of Amer, who founded the city in 1727. In Sanskrit, variations of the word "pur" or "pura" are commonly used to refer to a city or town. So "Jaipur" essentially means "The City of Jai" or "Jai's City".
History
thumb|left|[[Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur]]
Jaipur was founded by the Rajput chief of Kachhwaha clan, Jai Singh II, on 18 November 1727, who ruled the region from 1699 to 1743. He planned to shift his capital from Amber, to Jaipur to accommodate the growing population and increasing scarcity of water. Jai Singh consulted several architects while planning the layout of Jaipur and established the city based on the principles of Vastu Shastra and Shilpa Shastra, under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. Many of the avenues remain painted in pink, giving Jaipur a distinctive appearance and the epithet Pink City.
In the 19th century, the city grew rapidly and had a population of 160,000 by 1900. The wide boulevards were paved, and its chief industries included metalwork and marble, fostered by a school of art founded in 1868. In August 1981, large areas of the city including the airport, were flooded due to heavy rains from a cloudburst, resulting in the deaths of eight people and much damage to the city's Dravyavati River. On 6 July 2019, the city was named to the World Heritage Cities list.
Geography
Topography
Jaipur is located in the northeastern part of Rajasthan and covers a total area of . The city is surrounded by fertile alluvial plains to the east and south, and hill chains and desert areas to the north and west. Jaipur generally slopes downwards from north to south and then to the southeast.
The Dravyavati River is the primary drainage channel, which by 2014 had degenerated into an untreated sewage nallah. To address this issue, a plan for the rejuvenation of the river was developed by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) in 2015. A stretch of Dravyavati riverfront out of was opened after rejuvenation in 2018 and the remaining project was completed in 2022.
Climate
Jaipur has a monsoon-influenced hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with long, extremely hot summers and short mild to warm winters. Annual precipitation is over , falling mostly in July and August due to the southwest monsoon, causing the average temperatures in these two months to be lower compared to drier May and June. During the monsoon, there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not common. The highest temperature ever recorded was , on 23 May 1994. The city's average temperature remains below between December and February. These months are mild, dry, and pleasant, sometimes chilly. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 31 January 1905, 1 February 1905, and 16 January 1964. Jaipur, like many other major cities of the world, is a significant urban heat island zone with surrounding rural temperatures occasionally falling below freezing in winters.
Jaipur has been ranked 33rd best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.
Demographics
As of the official report, Jaipur Municipal Corporation had 5,99,507 households and a population of 3,046,163. 3,87,354 (12.72%) were under the age of 7. Jaipur had a sex ratio of 900 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 83.33% for those 7 years and above. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 392,285 (12.88%) and 115,258 (3.78%) of the population, respectively.