Stone Age tools dating from 5,012 to 200,000 years were found in Bundi and Bhilwara districts of the state. According to substantiation, the present Bhilwara city had a mint where coins known as 'Bhiladi' were minted and from this denomination was derived the name of the district. And other story goes like this that a tribe known as Bheel helped Maharana Pratap in war against Mughal Empire king Akbar lived in Bhilwara region that's this area came to be known as Bheel+Bada Bhilwara. Over the years it has emerged out as one of the major cities of Rajasthan. Nowadays, Bhilwara is better known as the textile city in the country. The oldest part of this town was set up in the middle of the 11th century by building a Krishna Radha mandir that still exists and is known as the Bada Mandir. The area that is now known as Purana Bhilwara. There is also reference to Arjuna having fought here during the Mahabharata period. Historical records show that a town named Mandal close to Bhilwara served as the military base for the Mughals when they had attacked Chittaurgarh. The ruins of their campsite can still be seen today. A watch tower that was built on a small mound in Mandal is now a Devi temple.
Geography
Bhilwara is located at. It has an average elevation of 421 metres. It falls between the districts of Ajmer and Chittorgarh and Udaipur. Major rivers flowing through the district are Banas, Bedach, Kothari, Khari, Mansi, Menali, Chandrabhaga and Nagdi. There is no natural lake in the district but there are the number of ponds and dams so the district is the most irrigated in the state of Rajasthan. It has a small man-made pond Manserover Jheel near Azad Nagar which is a famous attraction and gets crowded on weekends.
Demographics
Indiacensus, Bhilwara has a population of 359,483. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. About 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Economy
The major industry is textiles, with more than 850 manufacturing units in the town. The main textile product is synthetic fabric used in trousers. It began with a spinning and knitting company named Mewar Textile Mills, owned by industrialist Shri Sampatmal Lodha, started in 1938. Thereafter Shri Laxmi Niwas Jhunjhunwala started his first unit for synthetic textile in 1961 at Bhilwara.
Infrastructure
Road connectivity
National Highway No. 79 part of the Golden Quardrilateral and another National Highway No. 76 part of the East West Corridor pass through the district. The total length is 120 km. National Highway No. 758 passes through the district. The length of this highway is 146 km and other NH 148D. The total road length in the district was 3,883 km on 31 March 2000. With a government bus depot in the heart of the city, Bhilwara is connected to all the important cities of Rajasthan and other states. Many private service providers are available. Bhilwara is well connected by road to capital city Jaipur and distance is 253 kilometre.
The nearest airport is at Dabok - Udaipur — approximately 2.5 hours, by road. The other nearest airport is at Jaipur which takes about 4 hours by road. Before Jaipur new Airport has started named Kishangarh Airport.
Culture
Great Indian miniature artist Badri Lal Chitrakar highlights the city on international maps for Indian miniature art. He was given several awards including the Shilp Guru/Master Craftsperson award by the vice-president of India on 9 September 2006. Bhilwara is famous for its 'Fad Paintings' which are depictions of traditional stories on cloth using naturally available colours. Bhilwara's Phad Artist Shree Lal Joshi contributed greatly in making and saving Phad Painting in whole India. Attractions in Bhilwara include the Badnor Fort, Harni Mahadev Temple, Joganiya Mata Temple, Kyara Ke Balaji, Sanganer Fort, Meja dam and Pur Udan Chatri.
