Bareilly

Establishment

Bareilly was founded in 1537 by Jagat Singh Katehriya, a Rajput who named it Bareilly after his two sons Bansaldev and Baraldev.^[18] The city was mentioned by the historian Budayuni. The foundation of the modern city of Bareilly was laid by Mughal governor Mukrand Rai in 1657. In 1658, Bareilly became the headquarters of the province of Budaun.^[19] The Mughals encouraged the settlements of loyal Afghans (Pathans) in the Bareilly region to control the native Katehriya Rajputs. After the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the Afghans began to settle in the villages and assimilated with the local Muslims. These descendants of these assimilated Afghans are known as Pathans. After the fall of the Mughal Empire, created anarchy and many Pathans migrated from the Rohilkhand region. Bareilly (like other cities in Uttar Pradesh) experienced economic stagnation and poverty due to the breakdown of trade and security, leading to the migration of Rohilla Muslim Pathans to Suriname and Guyana as indentured labour.^[20][21]

British East India Company

Under Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech at the 1761 Third Battle of Panipat, Rohilkhand blocked the expansion of the Maratha Empire into northern India. In 1772 it was invaded by the Marathas, repulsing the invasion with the aid of the Nawab of Awadh. After the war, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula demanded payment for the nawabs' help from Barech. When his demand was refused, the nawab joined the East India Company (under Governor Warren Hastings and his Commander-in-Chief, Alexander Champion) to invade Rohilkhand. The combined forces of Daula and the Company defeated Barech (who was killed in battle at Miranpur Katra, ending Rohilla rule) in 1774. Rohilkhand was handed over to Daula, and from 1774 to 1800 the province was ruled by the Nawab of Awadh who surrendered Rohilkhand to the East India Company in a treaty signed on 10 November 1801. ^[22] During the reign of Shah Alam II, Bareilly was the headquarters of Rohilla Sardar Hafiz Rehmat Khan and many coins were minted. The city was later in the possession of Awadh Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah, and his coins had Bareilly, Bareilly Aasfabad and the Bareilly kite and fish as identification marks. Coins were then minted by the East India Company.^[23]

Modern period

After the Rohilla War, the change in the power structure increased discontent throughout the district.

The most popular trades in and around Bareilly during the 1820s were manufacturing glass, jewellery, glass and lac bangles and gold and silver thread, crimping, bean drying, wire drawing, charpoy weaving, keeping a grocer's shop and selling kebabs.^[19]

Rebellion of 1857

Bareilly was a centre of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion began as a mutiny of Indian soldiers (sepoys), employed in the three Presidency armies, against race- and religion-based injustices and inequities on 10 May 1857 in Meerut. It expanded into other mutinies and civilian rebellions, primarily in the major north-central Indian river valleys; local episodes extended northwest to Peshawar (on the northwest frontier with Afghanistan) and southeast (beyond Delhi). There were riots in many parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Muslims in Bareilly, Bijnor and Moradabad called for the revival of a Muslim kingdom.^[24]

The Rohillas actively opposed the British, but were later disarmed.^[25] Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla, grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, formed his own government in Bareilly in 1857 and a widespread popular revolt in Awadh, Bundelkhand and Rohilkhand took place. In 1857, Khan Bhadur Khan issued silver coins from Bareilly as an independent ruler.^[26] When the rebellion failed, Bareilly was subjugated. Khan Bahadur Khan was sentenced to death, and hanged in the police station on 24 February 1860.

Independence

Bareilly Central Jail housed a number of political prisoners who supported the independence movement including Yashpal (who married while imprisoned on 7 August 1936 was the first such ceremony in an Indian jail). The rules were changed, preventing future prison marriages.^[27]

Climate

Bareilly has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwa) with hot summers and cool winters.^[29] The average temperature for the year is 25 °C. June, with an average temperature of 32.8 °C is the warmest month, while the coolest month of the year is January, with an average temperature of 15 °C.^[29] Bareilly receives 1038.9 mm precipitation for the year on average. The month with the most precipitation on average is July with 307.3 mm of precipitation, while November is the month with the least precipitation on average, with an average of 5.1 mm. There are an average of 37.7 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in August with 10.3 days and the least precipitation occurring in November with 0.5 days. The summer is noticeably wetter than the winter, although rain falls throughout the year.^[29]

Bareily has been ranked 17th best "National Clean Air City" under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results' ^[33]

Environment and cityscape

The street system in Bareilly is traditional, with most roads oriented towards different cities. The city centre is the intersection of Nainital Road and Bada Bazaar–Shyam Ganj Road at a street known as Kutubkhana. It is a congested street, and the entry of cars or heavy vehicles is prohibited during the day. The Patel Chowk Choraha–Chaupla and Chowki Chauraha–Chaupla Roads run from Lucknow Road to Delhi Road (Old National Highway 24). Nainital Road (including the old National Highway 74 or Pilibhit By-pass Road) and Badaun Road began at Kutubkhana. Heavy traffic is allowed on these roads only from Koharapeer Sabji-Mandi and Chaupla Crossroads. Bareilly is on the Ganges plain, with fertile alluvial soil; however, the lower plain is flood-prone.^{[citation needed]} The city is on the Ramganga, with seven other rivers passing through the district. The lower Himalayas are 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the river.

Religion

Bareilly has a majority of Hindus, with 58.58% following Hinduism according to the 2011 Indian Census.^[36] Islam is the second most followed religion in the city, with about 38.80% followers.^[36] Sikhism (0.90% followers), Christianity (0.78% followers), Jainism (0.05% followers) and Buddhism (0.05% followers) are also practised in the city.^[36] Apart from that, about 0.03% people follow some other religions, while about 0.81% of the people did not state their religion.^[36]

The city lends its name to the Barelvi movement,^[37] which originated in British India to counter the influence of the Deobandi movement and Wahhabism.^[38] It follows the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, and has hundreds of millions of followers in South Asia.^[39] Seven ancient Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva are located in the city – Dhopeshwar Nath, Madhi Nath, Alakha Nath, Tapeshwar Nath, Bankhandi Nath, Pashupati Nath and Trivati Nath, due to which the city is also known by the name of Nath Nagri.^[1] There is a Roman Catholic Diocese of Bareilly.

• 
  Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Trivatinath Temple is one of the seven Nath Temples in the city.
• 
  Bareilly Dargah, the tomb of Ahmad Raza Khan.
• 
  A Sikh Gurudwara in Model Town Bareilly.
• 
  Cathedral of St. Alphonsus, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bareilly.

Languages

The official languages are Hindi and Urdu.^[5]

General Administration

Bareilly division consists of four districts, and is headed by the divisional commissioner of Bareilly, who is an IAS officer. The commissioner is the head of local government institutions (including municipal corporations) in the division, is in charge of infrastructure development in his division, and is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the division.^{[41][42][43][44]} The district magistrate of Bareilly reports to the divisional commissioner.

Bareilly district administration is headed by the district magistrate and collector (DM) of Bareilly, who is an IAS officer. The DM is in charge of property records and revenue collection for the central government and oversees the elections held in the city. The DM is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the city.^{[41][45][46][47]} The DM is assisted by a chief development officer; two additional district magistrates; one city magistrate; and four additional city magistrates.^[48]

Civic administration

The municipal board of Bareilly was established on 24 June 1858 under the North-West Provinces and Oudh Act XXVI of 1850. It was then a municipal committee, which was constituted by nominated members headed by the District Magistrate, who was its Ex-Officio Chairman. Seven of the nine nominated members were British including the Magistrate. Later, the North-West Provinces and Oudh Municipal Improvements Act of 1868 (Act VI of '68) recommended the elective principle, which was duly implemented. However, the District Magistrate still remained the chairman of this committee. The Members continued to be nominated by the government until the year 1868, when the elective principle was partially adopted - 27 members now came through election process, while 9 members were still nominated by the government. This system continued until 1900 when, under the Act of 1900, the number of nominated members was changed to 6 and the number of elected members became 18. Nominated members were reduced to 3 by the Municipality Act of 1916 while the number of elected members was increased to 19. Major changes were introduced in 1963; All members of the 48-member committee were now elected, and the system of nomination was abolished. The term of the board was usually 6 years.^[49]

As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Bareilly Municipal Corporation reported a revenue of ₹268 crore (US$32 million) and an expenditure of ₹263 crore (US$32 million) in 2022–23. Taxes contributed to 19.4% of the revenue, while the remaining income came from non-tax sources such as grants and other municipal revenues.^[50]

Politics

The 16th Lok Sabha Election for the Bareilly MP was won by Santosh Gangwar of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He defeated Praveen Singh Aron by huge margin to retain his stronghold. Bareilly has been a traditional battleground between the INC and the saffron parties. Regional parties such as the Samajwadi Party, led by Veerpal Singh Yadav, and the Bahujan Samaj Party have a limited influence.^{[citation needed]}

Santosh Gangwar was a Member of Parliament for Bareilly for 20 years (1989–2009). He was a former Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, with an additional charge of Parliament Affairs in the 13th Lok Sabha. Before this, Gangwar was Minister of State of Science and Technology with an additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs from October to November 1999 and chief whip of the BJP in the 14th Lok Sabha. He was narrowly defeated in the 15th Lok Sabha elections in 2009.^[51] He was elected again as a Member of Parliament in 2014 and was selected on 27 May 2014 onwards as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Textile; Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation[8][9]

In May 2019, Gangwar became the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment. Santosh Gangwar resigned from his post on 7 July 2021, ahead of the reshuffle in the Modi cabinet. He is currently the Chaiperson of the Committee on Public Undertakings.

Law and order

Bareilly city comes under the Bareilly zone and Bareilly range of the Uttar Pradesh Police; both of which are headquartered in the city. The Bareilly zone is headed by an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Additional Director General (ADG) rank, while the Bareilly range is headed by an Inspector General (IG) rank IPS officer. The ADG, Bareilly Zone is Avinash Chandra,^[52] and IG, Bareilly Range is Ramit Sharma.^[53]

Police force in the Bareilly district is headed by a Senior Superintendent (SSP) rank police officer, who is practically responsible for maintaining law and order in the district. The SSP is assisted in this task by four Additional Superintendent (ASP) rank officers - SP City looks after the functioning of police stations and law and order in the urban areas, while SP Rural looks after the functioning of the police stations apart from taking care of law and order in the rural areas of the district. SP traffic takes care of traffic arrangements throughout the district and SP Crime oversees criminal investigations that require in-depth analysis. Under these several officers, Circle Officers (CO) of the rank of Deputy Superintendent (DSP) take care of the responsibilities of the police stations allotted to them. Five Circle officers come under the supervision of SP Rural while Four officers come under SP City and one CO traffic comes under SP traffic. Apart from this, one CO lines is also posted in Bareilly.^[54]

There are a total of 29 police stations in Bareilly district.^[55] One SHO is stationed at the Bareilly Kotwali while other police stations in the district are headed by an SO. There are various outposts (Chowkis) under the police stations where officials of the rank of head constable and constable are stationed along with the beat officers, who are usually on rounds in the areas under them. In addition to the regular police force, reserve forces are also deployed with reserve equipments in the reserve police lines located near Choupla Bareilly. They report directly to the SSP. CO LIU takes care of the Local intelligence by giving regular inputs to the police and magistracy. Two police control rooms are situated in Bareilly - the District Control Room looks after the rural areas of Bareilly while the City Control Room takes care of the urban areas. Additionally they help in coordinating and carrying out of communication throughout the district. There is also a women's police station under CO-1st in Bareilly for action on crimes and issues related to women.^[54]

Bareilly has a District Court under the High Court of Judicature of Allahabad.^[56] The court is headed by the district judge of Bareilly, who is assisted by numerous additional district judges, civil judges (senior division) and additional civil judges. Sm. Renu Agarwal is presently posted as the District & Sessions Judge at Bareilly.^[57]

Roads

Bareilly lies on the National Highway 30, which connects Sitarganj in Uttarakhand with Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. The 2040 km (1267.5 mi) highway starts at the junction of NH 9 at Sitarganj, and passes through Bareilly, Lucknow, Allahabad, Jabalpur and Raipur to end at the junction of NH 65 in Ibrahimpatnamm suburb of Vijaywada.^[74] Other National Highways originating in the city include NH 530 (Bareilly–Rampur Highway),^[74] NH 530B (Bareilly–Mathura Highway)^[75] and NH 730B (Bareilly–Bisalpur Highway).^[75] The UP State Highway 37 (Bareilly–Nainital Road) also originates in Bareilly;^[76] so does the MDR29 W road, which connects Bareilly to Bilaspur via Shahi and Shishgarh.

Arterial streets include:

• Stadium Road (connecting Pilibhit Road (D.D. Puram) to the ShyamGanj crossroad)
• Macnair Road (connecting Nainital Road to Stadium Road)
• Pilibhit By-pass Road, connecting Pilibhit Road to Lucknow Road (Old National Highway 24 or Delhi-Lucknow Highway)
• SH-33 Bareilly to Mathura via Subhash Nagar & ( Vishwanathpuram ), Budaun and Kasganj
• Mini By-Pass, connecting Delhi Road (Old National Highway 24 or Delhi-Lucknow Highway) to Nainital Road
• Shyam Ganj– Patel Chowk Choraha–Chaupla–Quila–C.B. Ganj Road (Old National Highway 24 or Delhi-Lucknow Highway)
• Shyam Ganj–Bareilly Cantt–Chowki Chauraha–Chaupla Road
• I.V.R.I. Road (connecting Nainital Road to Pilibhit Road)
• Civil Lines Road
• Highway connecting Delhi to Lucknow four lane via Bareilly is a 29-kilometre-long (18 mi) highway which bypasses the city crowd of Bareilly, ensuring the smooth running of local traffic.

Bareilly is the headquarters of Bareilly region of UPSRTC, which has four depots and twelve stations under it.^[77][78] The city has two Bus stations, from where inter-city buses operate. The Bareilly bus station (old bus stand) located in Civil Lines caters to Buses plying on routes towards the north, west and south of city i.e. on Moradabad-Delhi, Haldwani-Nainital, Haridwar-Dehradun and Agra-Jaipur routes; while the Bareilly Satellite bus station caters to bus services eastwards of the city notably to Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Tanakpur. Another bus station is proposed at Izzatnagar. The bus station would be built over an area of 2.285 hectares and would cater to bus services towards Delhi and Uttarakhand.^[79]

City buses

City buses in Bareilly are operated by the Bareilly City Transport Services Limited (BCTSL).^[80] Electric buses run on three routes in the city. A charging station-cum-depot for these buses is located in the Swale Nagar neighbourhood of the city.

City bus services in Bareilly were started initially on the Kutubkhana-Railway Junction route by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.^[81] In the 1960s, a total of 4 buses used to ply on the urban routes, and in 1964, 6 new buses were introduced, increasing the number of buses to 10.^[82] By 1963–64 the bus services had been expanded from Koharapeer to Bhojipura and Fatehganj.^[81] By the late 1970s, six private buses were operating in the city under the control of the UPSRTC, with an average of 5000 daily commuters.^[83] However, gradual increase in the traffic on the city roads and the arrival of smaller vehicles resulted in the roadways bus services going into losses, and therefore the bus services were discontinued in the year 1990. At the time of their discontinuation, City buses used to operate from Kutubkhana to Railway Junction, Sadar Cantt, Sainthal, Nawabganj, Faridpur and Fatehganj.^[84]

A proposal to restart city bus services in the city was initiated by Bareilly Municipal Corporation in 2019 under the Smart Cities Mission; 25 CNG and Electric buses were proposed to ply on five routes with a depot at Ramganga Nagar.^[84][85] Approval to operate AC Electric buses in the city was granted by state Cabinet in December 2019.^[85] Construction of a charging station for the electric buses commenced in Swale Nagar in 2020,^[86] and was completed in September 2021.^[87] The Electric Buses were inaugurated on 4 January 2022.^[88][89][90]

Rail

After the British Indian Government purchased the Indian Branch Railway on 31 March 1872, and renamed the Lucknow–Kanpur main line as the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, railway services started to expand towards the west of Lucknow. The construction of a railway line from Lucknow to Sandila and then further onwards to Hardoi was completed in 1872.^[91] This line was further extended to Bareilly on 1 November 1873.^[91] Prior to that, another railway line connecting Moradabad to Chandausi had already been built in 1872; it too was extended to Bareilly, the construction completed on 22 December 1873.^[91]

A new railway line connecting Bareilly and Moradabad via Rampur, called the Bareilly–Moradabad Chord, was approved on 4 December 1891, and was completed by 8 June 1894.^[91] On 8 December 1894, the main line was officially diverted to this chord, while the older line was renamed the Chandausi loop.^[91] In 1890 the Bengal and North Western Railway leased the Tirhoot State Railway to increase the latter's revenue, and the Lucknow-Sitapur-Seramow Provincial State Railway merged with the Bareilly-Pilibheet Provincial State Railway to form the Lucknow-Bareilly Railway on 1 January 1891. The Lucknow-Bareilly Railway was owned by the Government of India, and operated by the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway.

The Oudh and Tirhut Railway was formed on 1 January 1943 by the merger of the Bengal and North Western Railway, the Tirhut Railway (BNW operated), the Mashrak-Thawe Extension Railway (BNW operated), the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway and the Lucknow-Bareilly Railway (R&K operated). The Oudh and Tirhut Railway was later renamed the Oudh Tirhut Railway; it merged with the Assam Railway and the Kanpur-Achnera section of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway to form North Eastern Railway (headquartered in Gorakhpur, with a divisional headquarters in Izzatnagar), one of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways.^{[92][93][94][95]}

Several railway stations serve the city including:

• Bareilly Cantt (Station code: BRYC)
• Bareilly City (Station code: BC)
• Bareilly Junction (Station code: BE)
• Bhojipura Junction (Station code: BPR)
• C.B. Ganj (Station code: CBJ)
• Dohna (Station code: DOX)
• Izzatnagar (Station code: IZN)
• Parsa Khera (Station code: PKRA)
• Ramganga Bridge (Station code: RGB)

Bareilly is on the Moradabad-Lucknow route. Trains from the north (including Jammu Tawi and Amritsar) and Delhi running east and northeast (to Gorakhpur, Barauni, Howrah, Guwahati and Dibrugarh) pass through Bareilly, and the city is also on the route from Uttarakhand to Agra and Mathura via Budaun. Many trains to railway stations in Uttarakhand pass through Bareilly.

Metro

Bareilly Metro is a planned rapid metro system to decongest the traffic in the city. As of 26 April 2025, project DPR is under preparation.

Air

Bareilly city is served by the Bareilly Airport (IATA: BEK, ICAO: VIBY) – a civil enclave at the Indian Air Force's 'Trishul Air Base' in Izzatnagar, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the city centre.

The Airports Authority of India approved construction of a passenger terminal at the Bareilly civil enclave in 2016.^[96] 10 hectares (25 acres) of land was bought from local farmers by the district administration for the project.^[97] The AAI began the tender process to award construction contracts for the airport in September 2017 and expected the civil enclave to be ready by March 2018, pending Uttar Pradesh government approval.^[98] However, the IAF requested changes in the layout of the taxiway connecting the terminal to the runway.^[99] After the Ministry of Defence approved the taxiway, passenger service was hoped to begin by February 2019.^[100]

Bareilly Airport was inaugurated by state civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi and Union minister Santosh Gangwar on 10 March 2019 at the civil enclave of Trishul Air Base. The terminal building can handle 75 passengers during the peak hour.^[101] Flight services from Bareilly to Delhi commenced on 8 March 2021. Currently, it serves 2 routes, Mumbai^[102] and Bengaluru.

Hindu temples

Islamic sites

• Dargah-e-Aala Hazrat

Churches

Name	Located	Year of Establishment	Architecture	Image	Ref
Christ Church, CNI	Bareilly Cantt	1838			[107]
Christ Methodist Church	Civil Lines	1856	Protestant		[108]
St Stephens Church	Bareilly Cantt	1861	Indo-Gothic		[109]
St Alphonsus Church	Bareilly Cantt	1868	Roman		[110]
St Michael and All Angels Church	Shahjahanpur Road	1862	Anglican		[111]
Salvation Army Church	Civil Lines	1898			[112]
Beerbhatti Methodist Church	Subhash Nagar	1983			[113]
Life of Vision Ministry Church, Aonla Bareilly					[citation needed]

Sports

Bareilly has three sports stadiums and one cricket academy:

• Dori Lal Agarawal Sports Stadium (city area)
• Major Dhyan Chand Sports Stadium (cantonment area)
• Dr. Chandrakanta Memorial Sports Stadium (Bisalpur Road, Bhuta)
• SRMS Cricket Stadium (Bareilly-Nainital Road, Bhojipura)
• 68th under 17 volleyball national championship organised by sgfi in 2024,vidhya bharti was the winner and Seeing the hospitality of Bareilly again 69th under 17 volleyball championship organised by sgfi in nov 2025 in p m shri govt inter college bareilly ground. the manipur boys team and west bangal girls was champian of 2025 under 17.The Games were held from 11 November 2025, to 15 November 2025.

Recreation

The city has a combined amusement and water park named Fun City. Phoenix United Mall (Bareily) is another attraction of the city. It is located on Pilibhit Bypass Road near Mahanagar Colony. The city also has a huge 14 ft. tall "Jhumka" statue installed in the Parsakhera area popularly known as "Jhumka Choraha" representing the significance of song "Jhumka Gira Re" by Asha Bhosle for the film Mera Saaya.