Tonk, India

This article is about the municipality in Rajasthan, India. For its namesake district, see Tonk district.
Tonk
Power of Humanity
City
Nickname(s): OLD Educated City
Tonk
Tonk
Coordinates: 26°10′N 75°47′E / 26.17°N 75.78°E / 26.17; 75.78Coordinates: 26°10′N 75°47′E / 26.17°N 75.78°E / 26.17; 75.78
Country India
State Rajasthan
District Tonk
Government
 • Body Nagar Palika
Elevation 289 m (948 ft)
Population (2001)
 • Total 135,663
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration RJ
Website www.tonk.rajasthan.gov.in

Tonk is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The town is situated 95 km (60 mi) by road south from Jaipur, near the right bank of the Banas River. It is the administrative headquarters of Tonk District. Tonk was also the capital of the eponymous princely state of British India from 1817 to 1947.

Demographics

In the 2011 Indian census,[1] Tonk had a population of 165,363, 48% female. 14% is under age six. Tonk has an average literacy rate of 69.47%, 78.7% in males, and 59.85% in females.

History

The founder of the state was Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan (1769-1834), an adventurer and military leader of Pashtun descent from Afghanistan. Amir Khan rose to be a military commander in the service of Yashwantrao Holkar of the Maratha Empire in 1798. In 1806, Khan received the state of Tonk from Yashwantrao Holkar.[2] In 1817, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Amir Khan submitted to the British British East India Company, he kept his territory of Tonk and received the title of Nawab.[3]

During the regime of Nawabs, the natives were invited to an Islamic function of Milad-un-nabi without regard to caste, color or creed. It was organised by the ruling Nawabs for a period of seven days in the month of Rabi al-awwal.

The founding ruler of Tonk was Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan (1769-1834). Tonk was known as Samwad Lakshya in the Mahabharat period. In the Mauryan regime, it was under the Mouryas and then it was merged into Malvas. Most of the period was under Harsh Vardhan. According to Hevan Sang, visitor to China, it was under Bairath State. In the regime of the Rajputs, this state was under Chavras, Solankis, Kachvahs, Sisodiyas and Chouhans. Later, it was under the regime of King Holkar and Sindhia.

In 1806, Amir Khan conquered it, taking it from Balvant Rao Holkar. The British government captured it in turn. Under the treaty of 1817, the British government returned it to Amir Khan. Tonk was founded in 1818 by an Afghan military leader who was granted land by the ruler of Indore.

Religions in Tonk
Religion Percent
Hindus
  
 62%
Muslims
  
 35%
Jains
  
 2.7%
Others†
  
 0.3%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).

See also

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Tonk.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.