Mahendragarh district is one of the 22 districts of Haryanastate in northern India. The district occupies an area of 1,899 km² and has a population of 922,088. Narnaul city is the administrative headquarters of the district and also the largest city of district. Mahendragarh is one of the very few districts in India where the name of the district and its main town are different. Mahendragarh is a part of the Ahirwal region in which members of the Yadav community dominate. As of 2011 it is the third least populous district of Haryana, after Panchkula and Rewari.
History
Origin of name
The district is named after Mahendragarh town, which was previously known as Kanaud. The previous name was derived from the king of Kanaud, who was a Rao.
Medieval rule
During the rule of Mughals, Babur assigned the area to Malik Mahdud Khan. However, later it was taken over by Patiala Riyasat. Akbar ka Chara is very famous in Narnaul. People say the cave ends in Gurugram. Jal Mahal and Chor Guband were also made during Mughal rule.
Mahendragarh Fort
There is a fort at Mahendragarh which was built by the Maratha ruler Tantia Tope during the 19th century. This fort was named Mahendragarh in 1861 by Narendra Singh, the ruler of Patiala, in honour of his son, Mahendra Singh, and consequently the town came to be known as Mahendragarh. The name of Narnaul Nizamat was changed to "Mahendragarh Nizamat." Another nearby fort is Madhogarh Fort on the top of the hill near Madhogarh village. Both Mahendragarh's fort and Madhogarh's fort are being restored along the lines of Pinjore Gardens to develop them as an international tourist destination as part of the Rewari-Narnaul-Mahendragarh-Madhogarh tourist circuit.
Post-independence
Mahendragarh district was formed in 1948 by grouping different tracts of erstwhile princely states: Narnaul and Mahendragarh tehsils from Patiala State, Dadri from Jind State and a part of Bawal Nizamat from Nabha State. It became a part of Patiala and East Punjab States Union state. On 1 November 1956, with the merger of PEPSU with Punjab, it became a part of Punjab state and with the formation of Haryana state in 1966, it became a part of the newly formed state. Rewari tehsil of Gurgaon district was added to it in 1972 but Rewari tehsil was made a separate district in 1989.
Geography
The district lies between north latitude 27°47’ to 28°26’ and east longitude 75°56’ to 76°51’. It is bounded on the north by Bhiwani and Rewari districts, on the east by Rewari district and Alwar district of Rajasthan, on the south by Alwar, Jaipur and Sikardistricts of Rajasthan, and on the west by Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan.
Mahendragarh district is divided into 5 tehsils, Narnaul, Nangal Chowdhary, Kanina Mahendragarh, and Ateli. There are 4 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Ateli, Mahendragarh, Narnaul and Nangal Chaudhry. All of these are part of Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Mahendragarh district has a population of 922,088, This gives it a ranking of 462nd in India. The district has a population density of. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 13.43%. Mahendragarh has a sex ratio of 895 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 77.72%. The local dialect of the district is Ahirwati. At the 2011 Census, the majority of the population identified their first language as either Haryanvi or Hindi.
