Bhopal is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarter of Bhopal
District and Bhopal Division. Bhopal is known as the Lake city as its landscape is dotted with a number
of natural lakes. Bhopal is also one of the greenest cities of India.
Bhopal is said to have been founded by the Parmara King Bhoj (1000–1055), who had his capital at Dhar.
The city was originally known as Bhojpal named after Bhoj and the dam that he is said to have constructed
to form the lakes surrounding Bhopal. The fortunes of Bhopal rose and fell with that of its reigning
dynasty. As the Parmaras declined in power, the city was ransacked several times and finally faded
away into obscurity.
An Afghan soldier of the Orakzai tribe called Dost Mohammad Khan out the present city at the same site
following the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. He brought with himself the Islamic influence
on the culture and architecture of Bhopal, the ruins of which can be found at Islam Nagar. Bhopal,
the second largest Muslim state in pre-independence India was ruled by four Begums from 1819 to 1926.
Qudisa Begum was the first female ruler of Bhopal City, who was succeeded by her only daughter Sikandari,
who in turn was succeeded by her only daughter, Shahjehan. Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum was the last female ruler,
and stepped down to her son. The succession of the ‘Begums’ gave the city such innovations as waterworks,
railways and a postal system. Several monuments still stand in the city as reminders of this glorious
period in its history. A municipality was constituted in 1907.
It was one of the last princely states to sign the “Instrument of Accession” 1947. Though India achieved
Independence in August 1947, the ruler of Bhopal acceded to India only on 1 May 1949. Sindhi refugees from
Pakistan were accommodated in West Bhopal Cities, Bairagarh Sub-Area(Sant Hirdaram nagar), a western suburb
of Bhopal. According to the States Reorganization Act of 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state
of Madhya Pradesh, and Bhopal was declared as its capital. The population of the city rose rapidly
thereafter.
Bhopal has an average elevation of 499 metres (1637 ft). Bhopal is located in the central part of India,
and is just north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Located on the Malwa plateau, it is
higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. The city
has uneven elevation and has small hills within its boundaries. The major hills in Bhopal comprise of
Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the northern region and Arera hills in the
central region.
The municipality covers 298 square kilometres. It has two very beautiful big lakes, collectively known as
the Bhoj Wetland . These lakes are the Upper Lake (built by King Bhoj) and the Lower Lake. Locally these
are known as the Bada Talab and Chota Talab respectively. The catchment area of the Upper Lake is 361 km²
while that of the Lower Lake is 9.6 km². The Upper Lake drains into the Kolar.
The Bhopal City is very well connected via Railway, Road and Air Transport Services. Bhopal has for a long
time been a Rail and Road Transportation Hub. To stay in Bhopal, there are a lot of hotels near the railway
station and main bus station & all over the city.
National Highway 12 passes through Bhopal which connects it to Jabalpur in the East and Jaipur in the West.
National Highway 86 connects Bhopal to Sagar in the East to Indore in the West. There are number of daily
buses to Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Sanchi, Pachmarhi, Vidisha and as well to Ahmedabad,
Jodhpur, Kota, Nagpur, Jaipur, Agra, Allahabad etc.
Bhopal Junction Railway Station is a major railway station and junction. It is connected by rail to all
parts of the country being on the main North-South line of the country. A list of all major trains passing
through Bhopal can be found here. More than 150 daily trains are stopped here. It is also close to the
main East-West junction, Itarsi.
Bhopal has a domestic airport with good amenities that connects it directly to Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Gwalior,
Jabalpur, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Hyderabad and many major cities of India. The Raja Bhoj Airport is located
near the satellite suburb Bairagarh.
The Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. is going to develop a Software & Hardware
Technology Park in Bhopal. Multinational companies like Genpact, Fujitsu and Taurus Microsystems are
expected to open their centers in the Technology Park.
