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Kanpur, Varanasi to Soon Get Police Commissioner System; Aseem Arun, A Satish Ganesh to Take Top Posts

Mar 25 2021

Narendra Modi retains Varanasi, wins by a margin of nearly 5 lakh votes

May 23 2019

Train 18, India’s first engine-less train, set to hit tracks on October 29

Oct 24 2018

Varanasi temple gets permanent police post

Mar 13 2006

Blasts in Sankatmochan temple and railway station kill dozen, several injured

Mar 8 2006

Covid in Varanasi: Anger rises as coronavirus rages in Modi's constituency

bbc.com

Where it's forbidden to serve meat

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India’s city where people come to die

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The river where swimming lessons can be a health hazard

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Etymology

Traditional etymology links "Varanasi" to the names of two Ganges tributaries forming the city's borders: Varuna, still flowing in northern Varanasi, and Assi, today a small stream in the southern part of the city, near Assi Ghat. The old city is located on the north shores of the Ganges, bounded by Varuna and Assi.²⁴

In the Mahabharata and in ancient India, the city is referred to as Kāśī from the Sanskrit verbal root kaś- "to shine", making Varanasi known as "City of Light",²⁵²⁶ the "luminous city as an eminent seat of learning".²⁷ The name was also used by pilgrims dating from Buddha's days. Kashi is still widely popular.

Hindu religious texts use many epithets in Sanskrit to refer to Varanasi, such as Kāśikā (transl. "the shining one"), Avimukta (transl. "never forsaken by Shiva"), Ānaṃdakānana (transl. "the forest of bliss"), Rudravāsa (transl. "the place where Rudra resides"), and Mahāśmaśāna (transl. "the great cremation ground").²⁸

History

Mythology

According to Hindu mythology, Varanasi was founded by Shiva,²⁹ one of three principal deities along with Brahma and Vishnu. During a conflict between Brahma and Shiva, one of Brahma's five heads was torn off by Shiva. As was the custom, the victor carried the slain adversary's head in his hand and let it hang down from his hand as an act of ignominy, and a sign of his own bravery. A bridle was also put into the mouth. Shiva thus dishonoured Brahma's head, and kept it with him at all times. When he came to the city of Varanasi in this state, the hanging head of Brahma dropped from Shiva's hand and disappeared in the ground. Varanasi is therefore considered an extremely holy site.³⁰

The Pandavas, the protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, are said to have visited the city in search of Shiva to atone for their sins of fratricide and brahmahatya that they had committed during the Kurukshetra War.³¹ It is regarded as one of seven holy cities (Sapta Puri) which can provide Moksha; Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi, Kanchipuram, Avanti, and Dvārakā are the seven cities known as the givers of liberation.³² The princesses Ambika and Ambalika of Kashi were wed to the Hastinapur ruler Vichitravirya, and they later gave birth to Pandu and Dhritarashtra. Bhima, a son of Pandu, married a Kashi princess Valandhara and their union resulted in the birth of Sarvaga, who later ruled Kashi. Dhritarasthra's eldest son Duryodhana also married a Kashi princess Bhanumati, who later bore him a son Lakshmana Kumara and a daughter Lakṣmaṇā.³³

The Cakkavatti Sīhanāda Sutta text of Buddhism puts forth an idea stating that Varanasi will one day become the fabled kingdom of Ketumati in the time of Maitreya.³⁴

Ancient period

Excavations in 2014 led to the discovery of artefacts dating back to 800 BCE. Further excavations at Aktha and Ramnagar, two sites in the vicinity of the city, unearthed artefacts dating back to 1800 BCE, supporting the view that the area was inhabited by this time.³⁵

During the time of Gautama Buddha, Varanasi was part of the Kingdom of Kashi.³⁶ The celebrated Chinese traveller Xuanzang, also known as Hiuen Tsiang, who visited the city around 635 CE, attested that the city was a centre of religious and artistic activities, and that it extended for about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) along the western bank of the Ganges.³⁷³⁸ When Xuanzang visited Varanasi in the 7th century, he named it "Polonise" (Chinese: 婆羅痆斯; pinyin: Póluó niè sī; lit. 'Brahma') and wrote that the city had some 30 temples with about 30 monks.³⁹ The city's religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century, when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi.⁴⁰

Medieval period

In 1033 CE, Varanasi faced its first Islamic incursion when Ahmad Nialtagin, a subordinate of Mahmud Ghazni, launched a sudden raid on the city. His forces plundered markets and looted gold, silver, jewels, and perfumes but retreated by mid-day due to the threat of local resistance. Although Hindu temples were partially destroyed, the damage was limited as the army stayed briefly.⁴¹⁴²

The following year, in 1034-35 CE, Mahmud's nephew Syed Salar Masud sought to expand Islamic influence in India. Malik Afzal Alavi led a section of his army to Varanasi but was defeated in a fierce battle near the modern-day site of Masjid-e-Ganj-e-Shahidan by local forces, possibly under the Kalachuri ruler Gangeyadeva. Despite the military leader's death, his followers were allowed to settle in the northern forests of Varanasi, creating a settlement named Alavipura (modern-day Alai Pura), inhabited by Muslim weavers and featuring shrines honouring these invaders.⁴³⁴⁴

Chandradeva, founder of the Gahadavala dynasty made Banaras a second capital in 1090.⁴⁵ In 1194 CE, the Ghurid conqueror Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghuri defeated the forces of Jayachandra in a battle near Jamuna and afterwards ravaged the city of Varnasi in the course of which many temples were destroyed.⁴⁶

Varanasi remained a centre of activity for intellectuals and theologians during the Middle Ages, which further contributed to its reputation as a cultural centre of religion and education. Several major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir who was born here in 1389,⁴⁷ and Ravidas, a 15th-century socio-religious reformer, mystic, poet, traveller, and spiritual figure, who was born and lived in the city and employed in the tannery industry.⁴⁸⁴⁹

Early Modern to Modern periods (1500–1949)

Numerous eminent scholars and preachers visited the city from across India and South Asia. Guru Nanak visited Varanasi for Maha Shivaratri in 1507. Kashi (Varanasi) played a large role in the founding of Sikhism.⁵⁰

In 1567 or thereabouts, the Mughal emperor Jallaludin Muhammad Akbar sacked the city of Varanasi on his march from Allahabad (modern-day Prayagraj).⁵¹ However, later the Kachwaha Rajput rulers of Amber (Mughal vassals themselves) most notably under Raja Man Singh rebuilt various temples and ghats in the city.⁵²

The Raja of Jaipur established the Annapurna Mandir, and the 200-metre (660 ft) Akbari Bridge was also completed during this period.⁵³ The earliest tourists began arriving in the city during the 16th century.⁵⁴ In 1665, the French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described the architectural beauty of the Vindu Madhava temple on the side of the Ganges. The road infrastructure was also improved during this period. It was extended from Kolkata to Peshawar by Emperor Sher Shah Suri; later during the British Raj it came to be known as the famous Grand Trunk Road. In 1656, Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of many temples and the building of mosques, causing the city to experience a temporary setback.⁵⁵ However, after Aurangzeb's death, most of India was ruled by a confederacy of pro-Hindu kings. Much of modern Varanasi was built during this time, especially during the 18th century by the Maratha and Bhumihar rulers.⁵⁶ The kings governing Varanasi continued to wield power and importance through much of the British Raj period, including the Maharaja of Benares, or simply called by the people of Benares as Kashi Naresh.⁵⁷⁵⁸

The Kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and the kingdom started in this way and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947, during the reign of Vibhuti Narayan Singh. In the 18th century, Muhammad Shah ordered the construction of an observatory on the Ganges, attached to Man Mandir Ghat, designed to discover imperfections in the calendar in order to revise existing astronomical tables. Tourism in the city began to flourish in the 18th century.⁵⁹ As the Mughal suzerainty weakened, the Benares zamindari estate became Banaras State, thus Balwant Singh of the Narayan dynasty regained control of the territories and declared himself Maharaja of Benares in 1740.⁶⁰ The strong clan organisation on which they rested, brought success to the lesser known Hindu princes.⁶¹ There were as many as 100,000 men backing the power of the Benares rajas in what later became the districts of Benares, Gorakhpur and Azamgarh.⁶² This proved a decisive advantage when the dynasty faced a rival and the nominal suzerain, the Nawab of Oudh, in the 1750s and the 1760s.⁶³

An exhausting guerrilla war, waged by the Benares ruler against the Oudh camp, using his troops, forced the Nawab to withdraw his main force.⁶⁴ The region eventually ceded by the Nawab of Oudh to the Benares State, a subordinate of the East India Company, in 1775, who recognised Benares as a family dominion.⁶⁵⁶⁶ In 1791 under the rule of the British, resident Jonathan Duncan founded a Sanskrit College in Varanasi.⁶⁷ In 1867, the establishment of the Varanasi Municipal Board led to significant improvements in the city's infrastructure and basic amenities of health services, drinking water supply and sanitation.⁶⁸

Rev. M. A. Sherring in his book The Sacred City of Hindus: An account of Benaras in ancient and modern times published in 1868 refers to a census conducted by James Prinsep and put the total number of temples in the city to be around 1000 during 1830s. He writes,⁶⁹

The history of a country is sometimes epitomised in the history of one of its principal cities. The city of Benaras represents India religiously and intellectually, just as Paris represents the political Sentiments of France. There are few cities in the world of greater antiquity, and none that have so uninterruptedly maintained their ancient celebrity and distinction.

Author Mark Twain wrote in 1897 of Varanasi,⁷⁰

Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.

Benares became a princely state in 1911,⁷¹ with Ramnagar as its capital, but with no jurisdiction over the city proper. The religious head, Kashi Naresh, has had his headquarters at the Ramnagar Fort since the 18th century, also a repository of the history of the kings of Varanasi, which is situated to the east of Varanasi, across the Ganges.⁷² The Kashi Naresh is deeply revered by the local people and the chief cultural patron; some devout inhabitants consider him to be the incarnation of Shiva.⁷³

Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College, which later became a foundation for the creation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916. Besant founded the college because she wanted "to bring men of all religions together under the ideal of brotherhood in order to promote Indian cultural values and to remove ill-will among different sections of the Indian population."⁷⁴

Varanasi was ceded to the Union of India in 1947, becoming part of Uttar Pradesh after Indian independence.⁷⁵ Vibhuti Narayan Singh incorporated his territories into the United Provinces in 1949.⁷⁶

21st-century

Narendra Modi, prime minister of India since 2014, has represented Varanasi in the Parliament of India since 2014. Modi inaugurated the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, which aimed to enhance the city's spiritual vibrancy by connecting many ghats to the temple of Kashi Vishwanath, in December 2021.⁷⁷

Geography and climate

Geography

Varanasi is located at an elevation of 80.71 metres (264.8 ft)⁷⁸ in the centre of the Ganges valley of North India, in the Eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, along the left crescent-shaped bank of the Ganges, averaging between 15 metres (50 ft) and 21 metres (70 ft) above the river.⁷⁹ The city is the headquarters of Varanasi district. By road, Varanasi is located 797 kilometres (495 mi) south-east of New Delhi, 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-east of Lucknow, 121 kilometres (75 mi) east of Prayagraj, and 63 kilometres (39 mi) south of Jaunpur.⁸⁰ The "Varanasi Urban Agglomeration" – an agglomeration of seven urban sub-units – covers an area of 112 km2 (43 sq mi).⁸¹

Neighbourhoods of the city include Adampur, Anandbagh, Bachchhaon, Bangali Tola, Bhelpura, Bulanala, Chaitganj, Chaukaghat, Chowk, Dhupchandi, Dumraon, Gandhinagar, Gautam Nagar, Giri Nagar, Gopal Vihar, Guru Nanak Nagar, Jaitpura, Kail Garh, Khanna, Kotwali, Lanka Manduadih, Luxa, Maheshpur, Mahmoorganj, Maulvibagh, Nagwar, Naipokhari, Shivala, Siddhagiribagh, and Sigra.⁸²

Located in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India, the land is very fertile because low-level floods in the Ganges continually replenish the soil.⁸³ Varanasi is situated between the Ganges confluences with two rivers: the Varuna and the Assi stream. The distance between the two confluences is around 2 miles (4 km), and serves as a sacred journeying route for Hindus, which culminates with a visit to a Sakshi Vinayak Temple.⁸⁴

Climate

Varanasi experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa) with large variations between summer and winter temperatures.⁸⁵⁸⁶ The dry summer starts in April and lasts until June, followed by the monsoon season from July to October. The temperature ranges between 22 and 46 °C (72 and 115 °F) in the summers. Winters in Varanasi see very large diurnal variations, with warm days and downright cold nights. Cold waves from the Himalayan region cause temperatures to dip across the city in the winter from December to February and temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) are not uncommon. The average annual rainfall is 1,110 mm (44 in). Fog is common in the winters, while hot dry winds, called loo, blow in the summers.⁸⁷ In recent years, the water level of the Ganges has decreased significantly; upstream dams, unregulated water extraction, and dwindling glacial sources due to global warming may be to blame.⁸⁸⁸⁹

Varanasi has been ranked 9th best "National Clean Air City" (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.⁹⁸

Demographics

See also: List of cities in Uttar Pradesh

According to provisional data from the 2011 census, the Varanasi urban agglomeration had a population of 1,435,113, with 761,060 men and 674,053 women.⁹⁹ The Varanasi municipal corporation and CB had a combined population of 1,212,610 of which 642,882 were males and 569,728 in 2011. The population in the age group of 0 to 6 years was 137,111.¹⁰⁰

The population of the Varanasi urban agglomeration in 2001 was 1,371,749 with a ratio of 879 females every 1,000 males.¹⁰¹ However, the area under Varanasi Nagar Nigam has a population of 1,100,748¹⁰² with a ratio of 883 females for every 1,000 males.¹⁰³ The literacy rate in the urban agglomeration is 77% while that in the municipal corporation area is 78%.¹⁰⁴ Approximately 138,000 people in the municipal area live in slums.¹⁰⁵

Religion

Main article: Religion in Varanasi

Hinduism is predominantly followed in Varanasi with Islam being the largest minority. Nearly 70% of the population follows Hinduism. The city also agglomerate different religions such as Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. The city is also a centre for Buddhist pilgrimage. At Sarnath, just northeast of Varanasi, the Buddha gave his first teaching (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) after attaining enlightenment. According to the Buddhavaṃsa, a hagiographical Buddhist text, Varanasi is stated to have been the birthplace of the previous Buddha, known as Kassapa Buddha.

In the sacred geography of India Varanasi is known as the "microcosm of India".¹⁰⁶ In addition to its 3,300 Hindu religious places, Varanasi has 12 churches, three Jain mandirs, nine Buddhist shrines, three Gurdwaras (Sikh shrines), and 1,388 Muslim holy places.¹⁰⁷

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 83.87% of the population of Varansi Municipal Corporation and Cantonment Board spoke Hindi, 9.03% Urdu, 4.81% Bhojpuri, and 0.92% Bengali as their first language.¹⁰⁸

Administration and politics

Administration

General administration

Varanasi division which consists of four districts, and is headed by the Divisional Commissioner of Varanasi, who is an IAS officer of high seniority, 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.^{109110111112113} The District Magistrate of Varanasi reports to the Divisional Commissioner. The Commissioner is Deepak Agarwal.^114115116

Varanasi district administration is headed by the District Magistrate of Varanasi, 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, hence the SSP of Varanasi also reports to the DM of Varanasi.^{117118119120121} The DM is assisted by a Chief Development Officer (CDO), four Additional District Magistrates (ADM) (Finance/Revenue, City, Protocol, Executive), one chief revenue officer (CRO), one City Magistrate (CM), and four Additional City Magistrates (ACM). The district has three tehsils, each headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate. The DM is Kaushal Raj Sharma.^122123124

Police administration

Varanasi district comes under the Varanasi Police Zone and Varanasi Police Range, Varanasi Zone is headed by an Additional Director General ranked IPS officer, and the Varanasi Range is headed Inspector General ranked IPS officer. The ADG, Varanasi Zone is Biswajit Mahapatra,¹²⁵ and IG, Varanasi Range is Vijay Singh Meena.¹²⁶

The district police up to the date of 24 March 2021 was headed by a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), who is an IPS officer, and is assisted by six Superintendents of Police (SP)/Additional Superintendents of Police (Addl. SP) (City, Rural Area, Crime, Traffic, Protocol and Protocol), who are either IPS officers or PPS officers.¹²⁷ Each of the several police circles is headed by a Circle Officer (CO) in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.¹²⁸ The last SSP was Amit Pathak.¹²⁹

On 25 March 2021 the Government of Uttar Pradesh passed an order to divide the Varanasi police into Varanasi City Police and Rural Police.¹³⁰ Since then City Police is headed by the Commissioner of Police (CP), who is an IPS officer of ADGP rank, and is assisted by two additional commissioners of police (Addl. CP) who is of DIG rank, and two deputy commissioners of police (DCP) who are of SP rank. And Rural Police is headed by SP rank.¹³¹

Infrastructure and civic administration

The development of infrastructure in the city is overseen by the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA), which comes under the Housing Department of Uttar Pradesh government. The divisional commissioner of Varanasi acts as the ex-officio chairman of the VDA, whereas the vice-chairman, a government-appointed Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, looks after the daily matters of the authority.¹³² The vice-chairman of the Varanasi Development Authority is Pulkit Khare.¹³³

The Varanasi Municipal Corporation oversees civic activities in the city; the head of the corporation is the mayor, and the executive and administration of the corporation is the responsibility of the municipal commissioner, who is appointed by the government of Uttar Pradesh and is either an IAS officer or Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer of high seniority. The mayor of Varanasi is Mridula Jaiswal, and the municipal commissioner is Nitin Bansal.¹³⁴

Water supply and sewage system is operated by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam.¹³⁵

Politics

Varanasi is represented in the Lok Sabha by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi who won the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and subsequently in 2019 by a huge margin.¹³⁶¹³⁷

Healthcare

Hospitals in the city include the Sir Sunderlal Hospital, a teaching hospital in the Banaras Hindu University, Heritage Hospital, Marwari Hospital, Pitambari Hospital, Mata Anand Mai Hospital, Rajkiya Hospital, Ram Krishna Mission Hospital, Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (managed by the state government), and Varanasi Hospital and Medical Research Centre. The urban parts of the Varanasi district had an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live births in 2010–2011.¹³⁸ The Railway Cancer Hospital is now being run by the Tata Memorial Centre after intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi.¹³⁹

Sushruta, an ancient Indian physician known as the primary author of the treatise Sushruta Samhita, the Sanskrit text of surgery, lived in Varanasi and practised medicine and surgery sometime during the 5th century BCE. Since 1922, Ayurveda has been a subject of training in the Banaras Hindu University, and in 1927 a separate Ayurvedic College was established.¹⁴⁰¹⁴¹ There are many ayurvedic centres in Varanasi providing treatments such as Panchakarma as well as other treatments.¹⁴²

Public maintenance

Because of the high population density of Varanasi and the increasing number of tourists, the Uttar Pradesh government and international non-governmental organisations and institutions have expressed grave concern for the pollution and pressures on infrastructure in the city, mainly the sewage, sanitation, and drainage components.¹⁴³ Pollution of the Ganges is a particular source of worry because of the religious significance of the river, the dependence of people on it as a source of drinking water, and its prominence as a symbol of Varanasi and the city itself.¹⁴⁴ The sewage problem is exacerbated by the role of the Ganges in bathing and in river traffic, which is very difficult to control.¹⁴⁵ Because of the sewage, people using local untreated water have higher risk of contracting a range of water-borne stomach diseases.¹⁴⁶

Parts of Varanasi are contaminated with industrial chemicals including toxic heavy metal. Studies of wastewater from Varanasi's sewage treatment plants identify that water's contamination with metals and the reuse of this water for irrigation as a way that the toxic metals come to be in the plants that people grow for food.¹⁴⁷¹⁴⁸ One studied example is palak, a popular leafy vegetable which takes up heavy metal when it is in the soil, and which people then eat.¹⁴⁹ Some of the polluting sludge contains minerals which are fertiliser, which could make polluted water attractive to use.¹⁵⁰ Pesticides used in local farming are persistent enough to be spread through the water, to sewer treatment, then back to the farms as wastewater.¹⁵¹

Varanasi's water supply and sewage system is maintained by Jal Nigam, a subsidiary of Varanasi Nagar Nigam. Power supply is by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. The city produces about 350,000,000 litres (77,000,000 imp gal; 92,000,000 US gal) per day¹⁵² of sewage and 425 tonnes (418 long tons; 468 short tons) per day of solid waste.¹⁵³ The solid wastes are disposed in one landfill site.¹⁵⁴

Economy

According to the 2006 City Development Plan for Varanasi, approximately 29% of Varanasi's population is employed.¹⁵⁵ Approximately 40% are employed in manufacturing, 26% work in trade and commerce, 19% work in other services, 8% work in transport and communication, 4% work in agriculture, 2% work in construction, and 2% are marginal workers (working for less than half of the year).¹⁵⁶

Among manufacturing workers, 51% work in spinning and weaving, 15% work in metal, 6% work in printing and publishing, 5% work in electrical machinery, and the rest work in a wide variety of industry sectors.¹⁵⁷ Varanasi's manufacturing industry is not well developed and is dominated by small-scale industries and household production.¹⁵⁸

Silk weaving is the dominant industry in Varanasi.¹⁵⁹ Muslims are the influential community in this industry with nearly half a million of them working as weavers, dyers, sari finishers, and salespersons.¹⁶⁰ Weaving is typically done within the household, and most weavers are Momin Ansari Muslims.¹⁶¹ Varanasi is known throughout India for its production of very fine silk and Banarasi saris, brocades with gold and silver thread work, which are often used for weddings and special occasions. The production of silk often uses bonded child labour, though perhaps not at a higher rate than elsewhere in India.¹⁶² The silk weaving industry has recently been threatened by the rise of power looms and computer-generated designs and by competition from Chinese silk imports.¹⁶³ Trade Facilitation Centre is a modern and integrated facility to support the handloom and handicraft sector in Varanasi; providing trade enhancement and facilitation to both domestic and international buyers. Hence, carrying forward the rich traditions of handlooms and handicrafts.

In the metal manufacturing sector, Banaras Locomotive Works is a major employer.¹⁶⁴ Bharat Heavy Electricals, a large power equipment manufacturer, also operates a heavy equipment maintenance plant.¹⁶⁵ Other major commodities manufactured and traded in Varanasi include hand-knotted Mirzapur carpets, rugs, dhurries, brassware, copperware, wooden and clay toys, handicrafts, gold jewellery, and musical instruments.¹⁶⁶ Important agricultural products include betel leaves (for paan), langra mangoes and khoa (solidified milk).¹⁶⁷¹⁶⁸

Tourism

Tourism is Varanasi's second most important industry.¹⁶⁹ Domestic tourist most commonly visit for religious purposes while foreign tourist visit for ghats along River Ganges and Sarnath. Most domestic tourists are from Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, while the majority of foreign tourists are from Sri Lanka and Japan.¹⁷⁰ The peak tourist season falls between October and March.¹⁷¹ In total, there are around 12,000 beds available in the city, of which about one half are in inexpensive budget hotels and one third in dharamsalas.¹⁷² Overall, Varanasi's tourist infrastructure is not well developed.¹⁷³

In 2017, InterContinental Hotels Group made an agreement with the JHV group to set up Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chains in Varanasi.¹⁷⁴

The prominent malls and multiplexes in Varanasi are JHV Mall in the Cantonment area, IP Mall in Sigra, IP Vijaya Mall in Bhelupur, Vinayak Plaza in Maldhaiya and PDR Mall in Luxa.

Notable landmarks

Main article: Tourist attractions in Varanasi

Apart from the 19 archaeological sites identified by the Archaeological Survey of India,¹⁷⁷ some of the prominent places of interest are the Aghor Peeth, the Alamgir Mosque, the Ashoka Pillar, the Bharat Kala Bhavan (Art Museum), the Bharat Mata Mandir, the Central University for Tibetan Studies, the Dhanvantari Temple, the Durga Temple, the Jantar Mantar, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, the Shri Vishwanath Temple on the BHU campus, the Ramnagar Fort, the Riverfront Ghats, the Tulsi Manas Temple.¹⁷⁸

Jantar Mantar

The Jantar Mantar observatory, constructed in 1737, is located above the ghats along the Ganges, and is adjacent to the Manmandir and Dasaswamedh Ghats and near the palace of Jai Singh II of Jaipur. While less equipped than the observatories at Jaipur and Delhi, the Jantar Mantar has a unique equatorial sundial which is functional and allows measurements to be monitored and recorded by one person.¹⁷⁹

Ramnagar Fort

The Ramnagar Fort, located near the Ganges on its eastern bank and opposite the Tulsi Ghat, was built in the 18th century by Kashi Naresh Raja Balwant Singh with cream-coloured chunar sandstone. The fort is a typical example of the Mughal architecture with carved balconies, open courtyards, and scenic pavilions. At present, the fort is in disrepair. The fort and its museum are the repository of the history of the kings of Benares. Cited as an "eccentric" museum, it contains a rare collection of American vintage cars, bejewelled sedan chairs, an impressive weaponry hall, and a rare astrological clock.¹⁸⁰ In addition, manuscripts, especially religious writings, are housed in the Saraswati Bhawan which is a part of a museum within the fort. Many books illustrated in the Mughal miniature style are also part of the collections. Because of its scenic location on the banks of the Ganges, it is frequently used as an outdoor shooting location for films.¹⁸¹¹⁸²

Ghats

The Ghats in Varanasi are world-renowned embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions.¹⁸³ The ghats are an integral complement to the Hindu concept of divinity represented in physical, metaphysical, and supernatural elements.¹⁸⁴ Varanasi has at least 84 ghats, most of which are used for bathing by pilgrims and spiritually significant Hindu puja ceremony, while a few are used exclusively as Hindu cremation sites.^185186187 Steps in the ghats lead to the banks of Ganges, including the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, where Hindus cremate their dead. Many ghats are associated with Hindu legends and several are now privately owned.¹⁸⁸

Many of the ghats were constructed under the patronage of the Marathas like Scindias, Holkars, Bhonsles, and Peshwas. Most are bathing ghats, while others are used as cremation sites. A morning boat ride on the Ganges across the ghats is a popular tourist attraction. The extensive stretches of ghats in Varanasi enhance the riverfront with a multitude of shrines, temples, and palaces built "tier on the tier above the water's edge".¹⁸⁹

The Dashashwamedh Ghat is the main and probably the oldest ghat of Varanasi located on the Ganges, close to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

It is believed that Brahma created this ghat to welcome Shiva and sacrificed ten horses during the Dasa-Ashwamedha yajna performed there. Above and adjacent to this ghat, there are also temples dedicated to Sulatankesvara, Brahmesvara, Varahesvara, Abhaya Vinayaka, Ganga (the Ganges), and Bandi Devi, which are all important pilgrimage sites. A group of priests performs "Agni Pooja" (Sanskrit: "Worship of Fire") daily in the evening at this ghat as a dedication to Shiva, Ganga, Surya (Sun), Agni (Fire), and the entire universe. Special aartis are held on Tuesdays and on religious festivals.¹⁹⁰

The Manikarnika Ghat is the Mahasmasana, the primary site for Hindu cremation in the city. Adjoining the ghat, there are raised platforms that are used for death anniversary rituals. According to a myth, it is said that an earring of Shiva or his wife Sati fell here. Fourth-century Gupta period inscriptions mention this ghat. However, the current ghat as a permanent riverside embankment was built in 1302 and has been renovated at least three times throughout its existence.¹⁹¹

The Jain Ghat is believed to birthplace of Suparshvanatha (7th Tirthankara) and Parshvanatha (23rd tirthankara). The Jain Ghat or Bachraj Ghat is a Jain Ghat and has three Jain Temples located on the banks of the River. It is believed that the Jain Maharajas used to own these ghats. Bachraj Ghat has three Jain temples near the river's banks, and one them is a very ancient temple of Tirthankara Suparswanath.

Temples

Main articles: Hindu temples in Varanasi and Religion in Varanasi

Among the estimated 23,000 temples in Varanasi,¹⁹² the temples most popular for worship are: the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva; the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple; and the Durga Temple, known for monkeys that reside in the large trees nearby.^193194195

• The Kashi Vishwanath Temple, on the Ganges, is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shiva temples in Varanasi.¹⁹⁶ The temple has been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout its existence. The Gyanvapi Mosque, which is adjacent to the temple, is the original site of the temple.¹⁹⁷ The temple, which is also known as the Golden Temple,¹⁹⁸ was built in 1780 by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore. The two pinnacles of the temple are covered in gold and were donated in 1839 by Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab. The dome is scheduled to receive gold plating through a proposed initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs of Uttar Pradesh. Numerous rituals, prayers, and aartis are held daily at the temple between 02:30 and 23:00.¹⁹⁹
• The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, which is situated by the Asi River, is one of the sacred temples of the Hindu god Hanuman.²⁰⁰ The present temple was built in the early 1900s by the educationist and Indian independence figure, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University.²⁰¹ According to Hindu legend the temple was built on the spot where the medieval Hindu saint Tulsidas had a vision of Hanuman.²⁰² During a 7 March 2006 terrorist attack, one of three explosions hit the temple while a wedding was in progress, and resulted in injuries to 30 people apart from 23 deaths.²⁰³ Following the attack, a permanent police post was installed inside the temple.²⁰⁴
• There are two temples dedicated to the goddess Durga in Varanasi: Durga Mandir built in the 16th century (exact date not known), and Durga Kund (Sanskrit 'kund' meaning "pond or pool") built in the 18th century. A large number of Hindu devotees visit Durga Kund during Navratri to worship the goddess Durga. The temple, built in the Nagara architectural style, has multi-tiered spires²⁰⁵ and is stained red with ochre, representing the red colour of Durga. The building has a rectangular tank of water called the Durga Kund ("Kund" meaning a pond or pool). During annual celebrations of Nag Panchami, the act of depicting the god Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesha is recreated in the Kund.²⁰⁶ While the Annapurna Temple, located nearby to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is dedicated to Annapoorna devi, the goddess of food,²⁰⁷ the Sankatha Temple adjacent to the Sindhia Ghat is dedicated to Sankatha, the goddess of remedy. The Sankatha Temple has a large sculpture of a lion and a cluster of nine smaller temples dedicated to the nine planets.²⁰⁸
• Parshvanath Jain temple is the temple of Jain religion dedicated to Parshvanath, the 23rd Thirthankara who was born at Bhelpur in Varanasi. The idol deified in the temple is of black colour and 75 centimetres (30 inches) in height. It is located in Bhelapur about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from the centre of Varanasi city and 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the Benares Hindu University. It belongs to the Digambar sect of Jainism and is a holy tirtha or pilgrimage centre for Jains.
• Other temples of note are: the Bharat Mata Mandir, dedicated to the national personification of India, which was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936, the Kalabhairav Temple, the Mrithyunjay Mahadev Temple, and the New Vishwanath Temple located in the campus of BHU, the Tulsi Manas Mandir.²⁰⁹

Mosques

There are 15 mosques of significant historical value in Varanasi. Of particular note are the Abdul Razzaq, Alamgir, Bibi Razia, Chaukhambha, Dhai Nim Kangore, Fatman, Ganje Shahada, Gyanavapi, and Hazrat Sayyed Salar Masud Dargah. Many of these mosques were constructed from the components of the Hindu shrines which were destroyed under the auspices of subsequent Muslim invaders or rulers. The two such well known mosques are the Gyanvapi Mosque and the Alamgir Mosque.²¹⁰

The Gyanvapi Mosque was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1664 CE, after destroying a Hindu temple.²¹¹ Gyan Vapi (Sanskrit: "the well of knowledge"), the name of the mosque, is derived from a well of the same name located within the precincts of the mosque.²¹² The remains of an erstwhile temple can be seen in the foundation, the columns and at the rear part of the mosque.²¹³ The façade of the mosque is modelled partially on the Taj Mahal's entrance.²¹⁴ The mosque is administered by the Anjuman Inthazamiya Masajid (AIM).²¹⁵

The Alamgiri Mosque was built in the 17th century by Aurangzeb over the ruins of a Hindu temple known as Bindu Madhav Temple.²¹⁶ The temple that was destroyed was dedicated to Vishnu in the form of Bindu Madhav and had been built by Beni Madhavrao Scindia, a Maratha chieftain from Gwalior. When emperor Aurangzeb had captured Banaras, he had ordered total destruction of all Hindu temples there. Aurangzeb then built a mosque over the ruins of this temple in 1669²¹⁷ and named it as Alamagir Mosque in the name of his own honorific title "Alamgir" which he had adopted after becoming the emperor of Mughal empire.²¹⁸²¹⁹ The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchganga Ghat, which is a funerary ghat facing the Ganges.²²⁰ The mosque is architecturally a blend of Islamic and Hindu architecture, particularly because of the lower part of the walls of the mosque having been built fully with the remains of the Hindu temple.²²¹ The mosque has high domes and minarets.²²²²²³ Two of its minarets had been damaged; one minaret crashed killing a few people and the other minaret was officially brought down because of stability concerns.²²⁴ Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the mosque.²²⁵ The mosque has a security cordon of a police force.²²⁶

Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan

Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan, at Sir Gobardhan is the ultimate place of pilgrimage or religious headquarters for followers of the Ravidassia religion.²²⁷ The foundation stone was laid on 14 June 1965 on Ashad Sankranti day at the birthplace of Ravidas. The temple was completed in 1994.²²⁸

Sarnath

Sarnath is located 10 kilometres north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The deer park in Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna,²²⁹ as described by the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.

The city is mentioned by the Buddha as one of the four places of pilgrimage which his devout followers should visit.²³⁰

Culture

Literature

See also: The City of Varanasi in Literature

Renowned Indian writers who have resided in the city were Kabir, Ravidas, and Tulsidas, who wrote much of his Ram Charit Manas here. Kulluka Bhatt wrote the best known account of Manusmriti in Varanasi in the 15th century. Later writers of the city have included Acharya Shukla, Baldev Upadhyaya, Bharatendu Harishchandra, Devaki Nandan Khatri, Premchand, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Jaishankar Prasad, Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya, Sudama Pandey (Dhoomil), Vagish Shastri, and Vidya Niwas Mishra.

Several newspapers and journals are or were published in Varanasi such as Varanasi Chandroday and its successor Kashivartaprakashika, which became a weekly journal, first published on 1 June 1851.²³¹ The main newspaper is Aj, a Hindi-language nationalist newspaper first published in 1920.²³² The newspaper was the bulwark of the Indian National Congress and is a major newspaper of Hindi northern India.²³³

Art

Varanasi is a major centre of arts and designs. It is a producer of silks and brocades with gold and silver thread work, carpet weaving, wooden toys, bangles made of glass, ivory work, perfumes, artistic brass and copper ware and a variety of handicrafts.²³⁴²³⁵ The cantonment graveyard of the British Raj is now the location of Varanasi's Arts and Crafts.²³⁶

Notable artists (musicians and dancers) and historians who are connected with the city include Thakur Jaidev Singh, Mahadev Prasad Mishra, Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar, Girija Devi, Gopal Shankar Misra, Gopi Krishna, Kishan Maharaj, Lalmani Misra, Premlata Sharma, N. Rajam, Siddheshwari Devi, Samta Prasad, Sitara Devi,²³⁷ Chhannulal Mishra, Rajan Sajan Mishra, Ritwik Sanyal, Soma Ghosh, Devashish Dey, Ramkrishna Das and Harish Tiwari.

Music

Main article: Music in Varanasi

Varanasi's music tradition is traced to the Pauranic days. According to ancient legend, Shiva is credited with evolving music and dance forms. During the medieval era, Vaishnavism, a Bhakti movement, grew in popularity, and Varanasi became a thriving centre for musicians such as Surdas, Kabir, Ravidas, Meera and Tulsidas. During the monarchic rule of Govind Chandra in the 16th century, the Dhrupad style of singing received royal patronage and led to other related forms of music such as Dhamar, Hori, and Chaturang. Presently the Dhrupad maestro Pandit Ritwik Sanyal from Varanasi is working for the revival of this art-music.²³⁸

In recent times, Girija Devi, the native famous classical singer of thumris, was widely appreciated and respected for her musical renderings.²³⁹ Varanasi is also associated with many great instrumentalists such as Bismillah Khan²⁴⁰ and Ravi Shankar, the famous sitar player and musicologist who was given the highest civilian award of the country, the Bharat Ratna.²⁴¹ Varanasi has joined the global bandwagon of UNESCO "Cities of Music" under the Creative Cities Network.²⁴²

Festivals

On Maha Shivaratri (February), a procession of Shiva proceeds from the Mahamrityunjaya Temple to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.²⁴³ Dhrupad Mela is a five-day musical festival devoted to dhrupad style held at Tulsi Ghat in February–March.²⁴⁴ The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple celebrates Hanuman Jayanti (March–April), the birthday of Hanuman. A special puja, aarti, and a public procession is organised.²⁴⁵²⁴⁶ Since 1923, the temple has organised a five-day classical music and dance concert festival named Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh, wherein iconic artists from all parts of India are invited to perform.²⁴⁷

The Ramlila of Ramnagar is a dramatic enactment of Rama's legend, as told in Ramacharitamanasa.²⁴⁸ The plays, sponsored by Kashi Naresh, are performed in Ramnagar every evening for 31 days.²⁴⁹ On the last day, the festivities reach a crescendo as Rama vanquishes the demon king Ravana.²⁵⁰ Kashi Naresh Udit Narayan Singh started this tradition around 1830.²⁵¹

Chhath Puja is celebrated on the sixth day of the lunar month of Kartika (October–November).^252253254 The rituals are observed over four days.²⁵⁵ They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water (vrata), standing in water, and offering prasad (prayer offerings) and arghya to the setting and rising sun.²⁵⁶ Some devotees also perform a prostration march as they head for the river banks. Chhath puja is dedicated to the sun god "Surya" and his sister "Chhathi Maiya".²⁵⁷ Chhath is considered as Mahaparva by the Bhojpuri people.²⁵⁸ It is said that the Chhath Mahaparva was started in Varanasi.²⁵⁹

Nag Nathaiya is celebrated on the fourth lunar day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik (October–November). It commemorates the victory of Krishna over the serpent Kaliya. On this occasion, a large Kadamba tree (Neolamarckia cadamba) branch is planted on the banks of the Ganges so that a boy, playing the role of Krishna, can jump into the river on to the effigy representing Kaliya. He stands over the effigy in a dancing pose playing the flute, while an audience watches from the banks of the river or from boats.²⁶⁰ Bharat Milap celebrates the meeting of Rama and his younger brother Bharata after the return of the former after 14 years of exile.²⁶¹ It is celebrated during October–November, a day after the festival of Vijayadashami. Kashi Naresh attends this festival in his regal attire. The festival attracts a large number of devotees.²⁶²

Ganga Mahotsav is a five-day music festival organised by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, held in November–December. It culminates a day before Kartik Purnima, also called the Ganges festival. On this occasion the Ganges is attended by thousands of pilgrims, release lighted lamps to float in the river from the ghats.²⁶³²⁶⁴

The primary Muslim festivals celebrated annually in the city are the Eid al-Fitr, Bakrid, mid-Sha'ban, Bara Wafat and Muharram. Additional festivals include Alvida and Chehlum. A non-religious festival observed by Muslims is Ghazi-Miyan-ka-byaha ("the marriage of Ghazi Miyan").²⁶⁵²⁶⁶

Cuisine

In 2019, the sale of meat was banned within 250 meters of all Varanasi temples and heritage sites.²⁶⁷ In 2025, the sale of all meat was banned in Varanasi during Navaratri.²⁶⁸

Notable Personalities

Ancient Period

Parshvanatha (8th century BCE)

Tirthankara Parshvanatha was born in Varanasi about 2900 years ago. In Varanasi, there was a Kshatriya king of Ikshvaku dynasty named Ashwsen. Tirthankara Parshvanatha left home at the age of thirty. After attaining Keval Jnana, Tirthankara Parshvanatha taught the four main vows of Jainism – truth, non-violence, non-stealing and non-possession.

Kabir (1398-1518)

Kabir, also known as Kabirdas or Kabir Sahib, was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. He was from Kashi (Varanasi). Kabir was a strong critic of superstitions, idol worship, hypocrisy, and dogma. He worked towards breaking down the barriers of caste and religion in Indian society. Many sects are running in the name of Kabir Saheb such as Mool Niranjan Panth, Satyanami Panth, Kamali (Kamal) Panth, Garibdas Ji's Panth, Satlok Ashram etc. Satlok Ashram, running from Bhakti Mukti Trust, is an organization based on Kabir ji's teachings.

Ravidas (15th century)

Guru Ravidas was an Indian saint, poet, and guru in the medieval period. He was born in the religious city of Varanasi and has been given the title of Sant Shiromani Sant Guru. He strongly denounced casteism and showed the path of self-realization. Ravidas was also the guru of Meerabai and was a contemporary of Kabir Sahib.

Modern Period

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966)

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of India. He was the Prime Minister of India for about eighteen months from 9 June 1964 to his death on 11 January 1966.

Pandit Ravi Shankar (1920-2012)

Pandit Ravi Shankar was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1967 in the field of art. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan of India in 1981. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1999.

Education

Main article: Educational institutions in Varanasi

Historically, Varanasi has been a centre for education in India, attracting students and scholars from across the country.²⁶⁹²⁷⁰ Varanasi has an overall literacy rate of 80% (male literacy: 85%, female literacy: 75%).²⁷¹ It is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most notably, it is the site of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which is one of the largest residential universities in Asia with over 20,000 students.²⁷² The Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi is designated an Institute of National Importance and is one of 16 Indian Institutes of Technology. Other colleges and universities in Varanasi include Jamia-e-Imania, the Institute of Integrated Management and Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Nav Sadhana Kala Kendra, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University and Sri Agrasen Kanya P.G. College. Various engineering colleges have been established in the outskirts of the city. Other notable universities and colleges include Institute of Medical Sciences, Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, and Harish Chandra Postgraduate College. Some research oriented institutes were also established by the government such as International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),²⁷³ Indian Institute of Vegetable Research²⁷⁴ and National Seed Research and Training Centre.²⁷⁵

Varanasi also has three Kendriya Vidyalaya. Among them Kendriya Vidyalaya BHU holds the regional office of Varanasi Region of KVS and is seat of deputy commissioner. Kendriya Vidyalaya BHU is also accredited by the British Council. Other KVs are Kendriya Vidyalaya 39 GTC and Kendriya Vidyalaya DLW.

St. Joseph's Convent School, in Shivpur, Varanasi, was established by the Sisters of Our Lady of Providence of France as a Catholic (Christian) minority institution with the approval of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. It is an autonomous organisation under the diocese of the Bishop of Varanasi. It provides education not only to the Catholic Christian children, but also to others who abide by its rules.²⁷⁶

Another important institution is the Central Hindu School in Kamachha. This was established by Annie Besant in July 1898 with the objective of imparting secular education. It is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education and is open to students of all cultures.²⁷⁷²⁷⁸

Schools in Varanasi are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the CBSE, or the Uttar Pradesh Board of Technical Education (U.P Board). The overall "state of education in Varanasi is ... not good."²⁷⁹ Schools in Varanasi vary widely in quality, with private schools outperforming government schools.²⁸⁰ In government schools, many teachers fail to come to class or to teach children.²⁸¹ Some government schools lack basic equipment, such as blackboards and sufficient desks and chairs for all students.²⁸² Private schools vary in quality, with the most expensive conducting lessons in English (seen as a key to children's success) and having computers in classrooms.²⁸³ Pupils attending the more expensive private schools, tended to come from upper-class families.²⁸⁴ Lower-cost private schools attracted children from lower-income families or those lower-income families with higher education aspirations.²⁸⁵ Government schools tend to serve lower-class children with lower education aspirations.²⁸⁶

Media

Main article: Films shot in Varanasi

Varanasi caters a lot of shooting from different film industries in India.²⁸⁷ The temple town has emerged as a hub to Hindi film industry and South film industry.²⁸⁸ Also, a chunk of Bhojpuri movies are shot in the city.²⁸⁹ A few Bollywood movies that were shot, include Gangs of Wasseypur, Masaan, Raanjhanaa, Piku, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Super 30.^{290291292293294} Some parts of the Hollywood movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button were also shot.²⁹⁵ Web series such as Mirzapur and Asur were also shot in temple town.²⁹⁶²⁹⁷

Newspapers are widely available in Hindi and English. Aj, Hindi newspaper was established in 1920 in Varanasi.²⁹⁸ Some publishers in the city are:

• Dainik Jagran²⁹⁹
• Hindustan³⁰⁰
• Amar Ujala³⁰¹
• Jansandesh Times³⁰²
• Rajasthan Patrika³⁰³
• Aj³⁰⁴
• The Times of India³⁰⁵
• Hindustan Times³⁰⁶

The city also hosts a Doordarshan Kendra, which was established in 1984 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1998, Doordarshan studio was setup.³⁰⁷

FM/AM Stations available in the city are:^308309310

• Radio City 91.9 MHz
• Red FM 93.5 MHz
• BIG FM 95.0 MHz
• Radio Mirchi 98.3 MHz
• Radio Sunbeam 90.4 MHz
• AIR Vividh Bharati 100.6 MHz
• Gyan Vani 105.6 MHz
• AIR Varanasi 1242 AM

Mobile apps such as "InVaranasi", "Varanasi" and "LiveVNS" provide a wide range of information related to travel and local news.^311312313

Sport

Basketball, cricket, and field hockey are popular sports in Varanasi.³¹⁴ The main stadium in the city is the Dr Sampurnanda Stadium (Sigra Stadium), where first-class cricket matches are held.³¹⁵ The city also caters an AstroTurf hockey stadium named, Dr. Bheemrao Ambedker National Hockey Stadium.³¹⁶

The Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Arts of BHU offers diploma courses in Sports Management, Sports Physiotherapy, Sports Psychology and Sports Journalism.³¹⁷ Also, BHU caters sports complexes including badminton court, tennis court, swimming pool and amphitheater.³¹⁸

Gymnastics is also popular in Varanasi, and many Indian girls practise outdoors at the ghats in the mornings which hosts akhadas, where "morning exercise, a dip in the Ganges and a visit to Lord Hanuman" forms a daily ritual.³¹⁹ Despite concerns regarding water quality, two swimming clubs offer swimming lessons in the Ganges.³²⁰

The Varanasi District Chess Sports Association (VDCSA) is based in Varanasi, affiliated to the regional Uttar Pradesh Chess Sports Association (UPCSA).³²¹

Transport

Within the city mobility is provided by taxis, rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, and three-wheelers, but with certain restrictions in the old town area of the city.³²²

Air transport

Varanasi is served by Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (IATA: VNS, ICAO: VEBN), which is approximately 26 km (16 mi) from the city centre in Babatpur.³²³ The airport's new terminal was inaugurated in 2010, and it was granted international airport status on 4 October 2012.³²⁴

Railways

Varanasi Junction, commonly known as Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, is the city's largest railway station. More than 360,000 passengers and 240 trains pass through each day.³²⁵ Banaras railway station is also a Terminal station of Varanasi. Because of huge rush at Varanasi Junction, the railway station was developed as a high facilitated terminal. Varanasi City railway station is also one of the railway stations in Varanasi district. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-east of Varanasi Junction railway station. It serves as Terminal station because of heavy rush at Varanasi Junction. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction railway station is also the important station in Varanasi suburban.

Some important express trains operating from the Varanasi Junction railway station and Banaras railway station are: Shiv Ganga Express runs between New Delhi Junction and Manduadih station while Mahamana Express runs between Varanasi junction and New Delhi Junction; the Udhna Varanasi Express that runs between Udhna (Surat) junction and Varanasi, a distance of 1,398 kilometres (869 mi);³²⁶ the Kashi Vishwanath Express that runs between Varanasi and New Delhi railway station;³²⁷ the Kanpur Varanasi InterCity express, also called Varuna express, which runs over a distance of 355 kilometres (221 mi) and connects with Lucknow (the capital city of Uttar Pradesh) and Varanasi;³²⁸ and the Sabarmati Express which runs between Varanasi and Ahmedabad. Vande Bharat Express, a semi-high speed train was launched in the month of February in 2019 in the Delhi-Varanasi route.³²⁹ The train reduced the time travel between the two cities by 15 per cent as compared to the Shatabdi Express.³³⁰

Varanasi has following railway stations within the city suburbs:³³¹³³²

Ropeway

Kashi ropeway is under construction since 2023. It will be 3.75 kilometres (2.33 mi) long and will have a maximum capacity of 3000 passengers per hour per direction.^333334335336 It will cover the cantonment area to Godowlia, which will reduce travel time from 45 minutes to around 15 minutes.³³⁷

Roads

Auto rickshaws and E-rickshaws are the most widely available forms of public transport in the old city.³³⁸ In the outer regions of the city, taxis are available.³³⁹ Daily commuters prefer city buses, which operate on specific routes of urban and suburban areas. The city buses are operated by Varanasi City Transport Service Limited.³⁴⁰ Nearly, 120 buses are operated by Varanasi City Transport Service Limited.³⁴¹

The following National Highways pass through Varanasi:^{342343344345346}

The heavy traffic of the city is monitored through Integrated Traffic Management System. The smart traffic management system equips the city with automatic signal control system, separate signal system for pedestrians, traffic management centre at state level, area traffic control system, corridor management and dynamic traffic indicators for smooth movement of traffic.³⁴⁷ Varanasi Traffic Police keeps an eye through Smart Command and Control Centre.³⁴⁸³⁴⁹

Inland waterways

National Waterway 1 passes through Varanasi. In 2018, a new inland port was established on the banks of Ganges River.³⁵⁰ The Multi-Modal Terminal is designed to handle 1.26 million metric tons of cargo every year and covers an area of 34 hectares.³⁵¹ Nearly, ₹170 crore was invested by the government to set up an inland port.³⁵² Maersk started its container service in 2019 by moving 16 containers on NW-1 from Varanasi to Kolkata. The port also catered PepsiCo, IFFCO Fertilizers, Emami Agrotech and Dabur for cargo movement.³⁵³

Projects

Due to growing population and industrial demands, the city is being implanted with several infrastructural projects.³⁵⁴ In fiscal year 2014–18, the city was awarded with projects worth ₹30,000 crore.³⁵⁵ The city is being invested by both private and public players in different sectors.³⁵⁶ There are many undergoing projects and many have been planned.

Road

The government is executing seven road projects connecting Varanasi, the total project cost being ₹7,100 crore (US$840 million) and the total length of the project being 524 kilometres (326 mi). Some important projects are:

• Six lane Varanasi-Aurangabad section of NH-19³⁵⁷
• Six lane Varanasi-Allahabad NH-19³⁵⁸
• Four lane Varanasi-Gorakhpur NH-29³⁵⁹
• Ghagra Bridge-Varanasi section of NH-233³⁶⁰
• Four lane Varanasi-Azamgarh Section NH-233³⁶¹
• Four lane Varanasi-Sultanpur NH-56³⁶²
• New four lane Varanasi-Ayodhya Highway³⁶³
• Varanasi Ring Road Phase – 2³⁶⁴
• Ganga Expressway Phase – 2³⁶⁵
• Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata Greenfield Expressway³⁶⁶
• Purvanchal Link Expressway³⁶⁷

Railways

In 2018, the budget reflected undergoing rail projects of worth ₹4,500 crore (US$530 million). Some important projects are:³⁶⁸

• 3rd rail line between Varanasi-Mughalsarai³⁶⁹
• New Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor³⁷⁰
• Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Jeonathpur Railway Station)³⁷¹
• Kashi Railway Station to be developed as Intermodal Station (IMS)³⁷²³⁷³

Airport

• Extension of runway by 1325 meters (First of its kind: National Highway under the airport runway)³⁷⁴
• New terminal with passenger capacity of 4.5 million per year³⁷⁵

Metro

Main article: Varanasi Metro

The Varanasi Metro is a rapid transit proposed for Varanasi. The proposed system consists of two lines, spanning from BHEL to Banaras Hindu University (19.35 kilometres (12.02 mi)) and Benia Bagh to Sarnath (9.885 kilometres (6.142 mi)). The feasibility study of the project was done by RITES and was completed in June 2015. There will be 26 stations, including 20 underground and six elevated on the two lines, which includes total length of 29.235 kilometres (18.166 mi) consisting of 23.467 kilometres (14.582 mi) underground, while 5.768 kilometres (3.584 mi) will be elevated.^376377378379 The total estimated completion cost for construction of Varanasi Metro is estimated to be ₹13,133 crore (US$1.6 billion).³⁸⁰

Commercial

• Rudraksha Convention Centre³⁸¹
• Kashi Vishwanath Corridor³⁸²
• 100 acres (40 ha) freight village for multimodal terminal³⁸³
• Film city to be developed in area of 106 acres (43 ha)³⁸⁴
• Bus terminal cum shopping mall³⁸⁵³⁸⁶
• IT Park³⁸⁷
• Textile Park³⁸⁸³⁸⁹
• Integrated Commissioner Complex (ICC) twin towers³⁹⁰

Sister cities

See also

• Bhogabir
• Bibliography of Varanasi
• Guptakashi
• Koreans in Varanasi
• List of people from Varanasi
• List of films shot in Varanasi
• Pradosha
• Ramanathaswamy Temple
• Rameswaram
• Shivaratri
• Shivdwar
• Sonbhadra
• Uttarkashi
• Vibhuti

Gallery

Notes

Citations

General bibliography

Further information: Bibliography of Varanasi

• Academy, Students'. Banaras (Varanasi) – The City of Gods. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-557-91475-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.[self-published source?]
• Asher, Catherine Blanshard (24 September 1992). Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26728-1. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Bansal, Sunita Pant (2008). Hindu Pilgrimage: The Teerthas. Pustak Mahal. pp. 6–9, 3455. ISBN 9788122309973. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
• Berwick, Dennison (1986). A Walk Along The Ganges. Dennison Berwick. ISBN 978-0-7137-1968-0. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Betts, Vanessa; McCulloch, Victoria (27 September 2013). India – The North: Forts, Palaces, the Himalaya Dream Trip. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-907263-74-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Bindloss, Joe; Brown, Lindsay; Elliott, Mark (2007). Northeast India. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74179-095-5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark (2000). World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-636-5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Bruyn, Pippa de; Bain, Keith; Allardice, David (18 February 2010). Frommer's India. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-64580-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Callewaert, Winand M. (2000). Banaras: vision of a living ancient tradition. Hemkunt Press. p. 90. ISBN 81-7010-302-9. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
• City Development Plan for Varanasi (PDF). Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2014.
• Cunningham, Alexander; Sastri, Surendranath Majumdar (2002) [1924]. Ancient Geography of India. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 81-215-1064-3.
• Crowther, Geoff; Raj, Prakash A.; Wheeler, Tony (1984). India, a Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9780908086542.
• Das, G. N. (1991). Couplets from Kabīr. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0935-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Desai, Madhuri (2003). "Mosques, Temples, and Orientalists: Hegemonic Imaginations in Banaras". Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review. 15 (1): 23–37. JSTOR 41758028.
• Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992], The Jains (Second ed.), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-26605-5
• Dunlop, Fiona; Sykes, Carol; Jackson, Felicity (2001). Fodor's Exploring India. Fodor's Travel Publications. ISBN 978-0-679-00707-4. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Eck, Diana L. (1982). Banaras, City of Light. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11447-9. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469–1606 C.E. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-269-0857-8. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Gupta, Amita (2006). Early Childhood Education, Postcolonial Theory, and Teaching Practices in India: Balancing Vygotsky and the Veda. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7114-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Gupta, Shobhna (2003). Monuments of India. Har-Anand Publications. p. 11. ISBN 978-81-241-0926-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Herman, A. L. (1999). Community, Violence, and Peace: Aldo Leopold, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Gautama the Buddha in the Twenty-First Century. SUNY Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7914-3983-8. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Hussain, Ansar (1999). Rediscovery of India, The: A New Subcontinent. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-1595-6. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Jacobsen, Knut A. (2013). Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition: Salvific Space. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-59038-9. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
• Jayaswal, Vidula (2009). Ancient Varanasi: an archaeological perspective (excavations at Aktha). Aryan Books International. ISBN 978-81-7305-355-9.
• Kasbekar, Asha (2006). Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, And Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-636-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Kishore, Kaushal (2008). Holy Ganga. Rupa Publications. ISBN 978-81-291-3328-1. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Kochhar, Atul (4 June 2015). Benares: Michelin Starred Cooking. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4729-2078-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Kramrisch, Stella (1946). The Hindu Temple. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0223-0. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Kumar, Brajesh (2003). Pilgrimage Centres of India. Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7182-185-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Medhasananda (2002). Varanasi at the crossroads: a panoramic view of early modern Varanasi and the story of its transition. Ramakrishna Mission, Institute of Culture. ISBN 978-81-87332-18-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Mellor, Ronald; Podany, Amanda H. (2005). The World in Ancient Times: Primary Sources and Reference Volume. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522220-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Melton, J. Gordon (2007). The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-209-8. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (2010). Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-204-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Merriam-Webster (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 910. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
• Mitra, Swati, ed. (2002). Good Earth Varanasi City Guide. Eicher Goodearth Limited. ISBN 978-81-87780-04-5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Mohanty, Bidyut (1993). Urbanisation in Developing Countries: Basic Services and Community Participation. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-475-4. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Out, Time (2010). Time Out India: Perfect Places to Stay, Eat and Explore. Time Out Guides Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84670-164-1. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Pandey, K. N. (1989). Adoption of Agricultural Innovations: A Study of Small and Marginal Farmers of Varanasi, U.P. Northern Book Centre. ISBN 978-81-85119-68-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Pintchman, Tracy (2005). Guests at God's Wedding: Celebrating Kartik among the Women of Benares. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-8256-8. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The Geography of India: Sacred and Historic Places. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-61530-142-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Prakash, Satya (1981). Cultural Contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash Felicitation Volume. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-0-391-02358-1. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Ray, Satyajit (2003). Adventures of Feluda : Mystery of the El. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-333574-0. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Real Corp (2007). CORP 007 Proceedings. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-3-9502139-3-5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.[self-published source?]
• Schreitmüller, Karen (2012). Baedeker India. Baedeker. ISBN 978-3-8297-6622-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Shackley, Myra (2001). Managing Sacred Sites: Service Provision and Visitor Experience. Cengage Learning EMEA. ISBN 978-1-84480-107-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Sharma, Urmila; Sharma, S.K. (2001). Indian Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-678-5. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Sharma, Virendra Nath (1995). Sawai Jai Singh And His Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1256-7. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Shetty, Rekha (1 May 2014). Innovation Sutra: The Secret of Good Business and a Good Life. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-93-5118-696-0.
• Singh, Ram Bali (1975). Rajput Clan-settlements in Varanasi District. National Geographical Society of India. OCLC 4702795.
• Singh, Rana (2 October 2009). Banaras: Making of India's Heritage City. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-1579-6. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Singh, Rana P.B.; Rana, Pravin S. (2002). Banaras region: a spiritual & cultural guide. Indica Books. ISBN 9788186569245.
• Sukul, Kuber Nath (1974). Varanasi Down The Ages. Kameshwar Nath Sukul. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
• Tiwari, Reena (2010). Space-Body-Ritual: Performativity in the City. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-2857-2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Twain, Mark (1897). "L". Following the Equator: A journey around the world. Hartford, Connecticut: American Pub. Co. ISBN 0-404-01577-8. OCLC 577051. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2007. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Vera, Zak (2010). Invisible River: Sir Richard's Last Mission. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4389-0020-9. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.[self-published source?]
• Vit-Suzan, Dr Ilan (28 March 2014). Architectural Heritage Revisited: A Holistic Engagement of its Tangible and Intangible Constituents. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4724-2064-0. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Warikoo, K. (1 November 2010). Religion and Security in South and Central Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-89020-8. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Wilder-Smith, Annelies; Shaw, Marc; Schwartz, Eli (2012). Travel Medicine: Tales Behind the Science. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-08-045359-0. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
• Wood, Jolie M.F. (2011). "Contentious politics and civil society in Varanasi". In Ajay Gudavarthy (ed.). Re-framing Democracy and Agency at India: Interrogating Political Society. Anthem Press. ISBN 978-0-85728-350-4.

Further reading

• Banks, Marcus; Morphy, Howard (1999). Rethinking Visual Anthropology. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07854-1.
• Kara, Siddharth (2010). Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13961-8.
• Misra, Jaishree (2007). Rani. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-310210-6. A work of fiction.
• Mukherjee, Neela (2002). Alternative Perspectives on Livelihood, Agriculture and Air Pollution. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-986-5.
• Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2005). Introduction to World Religions. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-3714-9.
• Singh, Sarina (2009). India. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74179-151-8.
• Singh, Vipul (2007). Longman Panorama History 7. Pearson Education India. ISBN 978-81-317-1175-0.
• Trayler, Richard (2010). Life Is Short...Compared to Eternity. Xulon Press. ISBN 978-1-61215-343-8.

External links

• Official website of Varanasi District
• State Government Tourism Website
• Banaras Bibliography Archived 8 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine at the Südasien-Institut, Heidelberg University
• Varanasi Documentary

References

1. Vārāṇasī ↩

2. The name Varanasi was officially revived after 1947.[11] ↩

3. hi-Banaras.ogg ↩

4. "Varanasi", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1 September 2021, retrieved 14 December 2021, Varanasi, also called Benares, Banaras, or Kashi, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. https://www.britannica.com/place/Varanasi ↩

5. San Chirico, Kerry P. C. (2012). "Banaras". In Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (eds.). Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Vol. 1. pp. 114–116. ISBN 9780761927297. The city was identified in the Pali language as Baranasi, from which emerged the corrupt form of the name, 'Banaras', by which the city is still widely known. 9780761927297 ↩

6. "Benares" is the name that appears in the 1909 official map of India. /wiki/File:British_Indian_Empire_1909_Imperial_Gazetteer_of_India.jpg ↩

7. (Kāśī [ˈka:ʃi] ⓘ) /wiki/Help:IPA/Hindi_and_Urdu ↩

8. San Chirico, Kerry P. C. (2012). "Banaras". In Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (eds.). Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Vol. 1. pp. 114–116. ISBN 9780761927297. ... in the fifth century BCE, ... the Kingdom of Kashi was one of the 16 kingdoms to emerge from the ascendant Aryan tribes. 9780761927297 ↩

9. *Fouberg, Erin H.; Moseley, William G. (2018), Understanding World Geography, New York: John Wiley & Sons, p. 173, ISBN 9781119473169, OCLC 1066742384, The city of Varanasi, India, is central to the death tradition in Hinduism. Hindus see Varanasi as the world of death and life, and some make pilgrimages to Varanasi to die. In Hindu tradition, if a person dies in the holy city of Varanasi on the Ganges River, he or she is attains moksha, or freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth. Pilgrims travel to Varanasi to cremate their deceased relatives on the ghats along the river. Eck, Diana (2013) [1981], Banaras, the City of Light, Alfred Knopf Inc, [Columbia University Press], p. 324, –No other city on earth is as famous for death as is Banāras. More than for her temples and magnificent ghāts, more than for her silks and brocades, Banāras, the Great Cremation Ground, is known for death. At the centre of the city along the riverfront is Manikarnikā, the sanctuary of death, with its ceaselessly smoking cremation pyres. The burning ghāt extends its influence and the sense of its presence throughout the city. Parry, Jonathan P. (2000) [1994], Death in Banaras, Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures, Cambridge University Press, p. 1, ISBN 9780521466257, As a place to die, to dispose of the physical remains of the deceased and to perform the rites which ensure that the departed attains a 'good state' after death, the north Indian city of Banaras attracts pilgrims and mourners from all over the Hindu world. Singh, Ravi Nandan (2022). Dead in Banaras: An Ethnography of Funeral Travelling. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. The present-day Banaras, at first sign, is a new place. Rightly so, the baton must then pass on to an all new chronicling of the place. Yet, a connecting link, as always, may come into play, between the book's time and other times of Banaras. Let me give an example of what such a connection might look like. Jonathan Parry (1994) in his classic Death in Banaras laments in the preface to the book that he could not incorporate the coming in of the electric crematorium in his descriptions of the funerary organization in Banaras. Two decades later into my fieldwork, I found that it is in part, the efficiency of the open-air, manual cremation that Parry so effectively captures in his book that explains how a promising symbol of industrial modernity, the electric crematorium, falls short of the typecast. In the years between his book and my fieldwork, the electric crematorium sat lonely and was sparingly used against the cheer of the always-on, busy, manual pyres whose flames continue to dot the scene of the ghats in a contrasting relief. In this above sense, I believe, Parry already provides us a portrait of the electric crematorium's social imaginary in Banaras. The question of the shift from wooden pyres to the electric crematorium is then not about competing technologies but that of ethics with which the dead are tended to amidst the assemblies of funeral travellers. 97811194731699780521466257 ↩

10. This is the case at the same time as traditions have been transformed in the face of modernisation, generational changes and emigration.[17][18] ↩

11. *Williams, Philippa (17 January 2019). "Working Narratives of Intercommunity Harmony in Varanasi's Silk Sari Industry". In Jeffrey, Roger; Jeffrey, Craig; Lerche, Jens (eds.). Development Failure and Identity Politics in Uttar Pradesh. SAGE. pp. 211–238. ISBN 978-81-321-1663-9. 'Varanasi … is the city where Hindus and Muslims … are interwoven like threads as in the lovely silk saris for which Kashi (Varanasi) is so famous for (Puniyani, 2006).'(quoted) Varanasi is most often represented as a sacred Hindu pilgrimage centre (see Eck, 1983), as its social and cultural urban spaces have been often examined through the imagined and lived realities of Hinduism (Hertel and Humes, 1993; Parry, 1994; Singh and Rana, 2002). But it is also home to a sizeable Muslim population, which in 2001 comprised 30 per cent of the city's residents, significantly more than the percentage of Muslims in UP (Census of India, 2001). Unlike the city's majority Hindu inhabitants (63 per cent), who occupy a range of occupations in different economic sectors, Muslims in the city are predominantly involved in the production of silk fabrics, as well as other smaller artisanal industries (see Kumar, 1988). Muslims first settled in Varanasi in the eleventh century, when, following the defeat of an invading Muslim army, women, children and civilians were permitted to remain on the northern side of the city and serve the Hindu kings. Many learned the craft of weaving, incorporating their skills and designs into the fabrics. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the French explorer and cultural anthropologist, visited Varanasi between 1660 and 1665 and reported that in the courtyard of a rest house in the Chowk area the trading of reshmi (silk) and suti (cotton) fabrics was taking place between Muslim karigars (artisans or craftsmen) and Hindu Mahajans (traders) Puniyani, Ram (21 April 2006), "Tackling Terrorism – Varanasi, Jama Masjid Show the Way", CounterCurrents.Org, Varanasi, like many other cities of the country is the city where Hindus and Muslim of the city are interwoven like threads as in the lovely silk saris for which Kashi is so famous for. This town has hundreds and hundreds of Muslims artisans weaving the beautiful silk apparels, which are sold by the Hindu traders. This is also a city where on one hand we see the likes of Munshi Premchand, who wrote in Urdu as Nawab Rai and also crafted the acme of Hindi literature, which is not only progressive but is also a celebration of composite traditions of the country. This is also the city of the likes of Ustad Bismillah Khans, whose Shahanai begins with devotion to Hindu deities and hums the pleasant enchanting music into the ears of the whole nation. It is also the city which like most of the cities of the country, highlights the intercommunity amity in its most pleasant flavor. Mallet, Victor (2017). River of Life, River of Death: The Ganges and India's Future. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198786177. LCCN 2017939064. Modi, however, went out of his way to court Varanasi's Muslims—they account for nearly a quarter of the city's 1.6 million voters—and to emphasize its multicultural, syncretic traditions when he was on the campaign trail in 2014. He praised not only Hindu but also Muslim cultural figures, including the musician Bismillah Khan, and said Khan was arguably the greatest symbol of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (Ganga-Yamuna culture), a riverine phrase often used to describe the intertwined Hindu-Muslim culture of north India where those two rivers flow. Modi also targeted the important Muslim community of sari weavers in the district of Lallapura. Varanasi's silk wedding saris, lavishly designed and interwoven with gold thread, are much sought after by Indians from across the country and from overseas, and Modi promised to help the weavers acquire modern technology, quality raw materials and better marketing skills so they could compete with Chinese clothing manufacturers. 'The weavers of Varanasi are an integral part of the city's history', he wrote in a blog post on his nomination day. 'It is my resolve to ensure that they stand on their own feet with pride and their future generations have a bright future.' (pp. 51–52) An earlier great poet, son of Varanasi and symbol of north India's syncretic traditions, was the fifteenth-century Kabir, whose pithy lines in Hindi are still much quoted today by Indians over social media. Again, the legends surrounding his life are confused. He may have been born into a low-caste Muslim community of weavers or been a Hindu by birth. But he famously mocked the priesthoods and the rituals of both Muslims and Hindus, even to the extent of deliberately leaving holy Varanasi to die in an obscure town, when most north Indians would be heading in the other direction and yearning to expire within the boundaries of the city to find salvation. His contempt for organized religion is reflected in the legend of his death: Hindu and Muslim devotees argued over who should claim the poet's remains, but when the cloth covering his body was lifted, they found nothing underneath but a spray of flowers. (pp 60–61) Kumar, Nita (2017) [1988], The Artisans of Banaras: Popular Culture and Identity, 1880–1986, Princeton Legacy Library, Princeton University Press, pp. 15, 18, 137, ISBN 9781400886999, The simplicty of weavers' weddings is a contrast even to those of other Muslims, such as the Pathans. (p. 15) ... Contrary to the experience of most artisan production in modern times, the silk weaving industry has actually flourished, and remained the commercial backbone of the Hindu pilgrimage and religious centre of Banaras. (p. 18) The debate on how Muslims in other parts of South Asia adjust an "Islamic" identity with a territorial-cultural one which is heavily oriented towards local Hinduism is very instructive with regard to our material. The weaver of Banaras is as shaukeen a man as the Hindu and central to his life-style is the love of the outside, of akharas, and of music.(pp. 137–138) San Chirico, Kerry P. C. (2012), "Banaras", in Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (eds.), Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Volume 1, pp. 114–116, ISBN 9780761927297, This was the period in which an enduring cultural imprint was made in ... the establishment of muhallas or neighborhoods that exist to this day, in the presence of Sufi shrines dotting the landscape, and in the creation of a singular syncretic culture ... Today Islam accounts for more than one-third of Varanasi city's population. There are as many Muslims here as there are Brahmans, the majority of whom are weavers. The relationship between the Muslims who weave Banaras's famous saris and the Hindus who sell them explains in part by historically there has been less communal tension here than in other cities throughout South Asia. 978-81-321-1663-9978019878617797814008869999780761927297 ↩

12. San Chirico, Kerry P. C. (2012), "Banaras", in Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (eds.), Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Volume 1, pp. 114–116, ISBN 9780761927297 9780761927297 ↩

13. Freitag, Sandria B. (1 January 1989). Collective Action and Community: Public Arenas and the Emergence of Communalism in North India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06439-3. 978-0-520-06439-3 ↩

14. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1963). Languages and Literatures of Modern India. Bengal Publishers. https://books.google.com/books?id=Ui4hAAAAMAAJ&q=Banaras+center+Bhojpuri ↩

15. Fogelin, Lars (2015). An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN 978-0-1999-4821-5. In some specific cases the symbolism does seem specifically Buddhist. The capital at Sarnath, for example, has four wheels carved on its drum (see Figure 3.4). Critically, this is the only Mauryan capital that includes wheel motifs. It seems unlikely that it is merely coincidental that the capital was located at Sarnath—the location of the Buddha's first sermon, the place where the Buddha first turned the wheel of Dharma. Rather, it seems very likely that the wheel motif, at least at Sarnath, symbolized the wheel of Dharma in the specifically Buddhist sense of the term 978-0-1999-4821-5 ↩

16. "Varanasi", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 7 June 2022, retrieved 1 November 2022, It was the capital of the kingdom of Kashi during the time of the Buddha (6th century BCE), who gave his first sermon nearby at Sarnath. https://www.britannica.com/place/Varanasi ↩

17. "When the spirit of Kabir took over the ancient ghats of Benares". The Sunday Guardian Live. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019. https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/culture/spirit-kabir-took-ancient-ghats-benares ↩

18. Bose, Melia Belli (2017). "Royal Matronage and a Visual Vocabulary of Indian Queenship: Ahilyabai Holkar's Memorial Commissions". In Bose, Melia Belli (ed.). Women, Gender and Art in Asia, c. 1500–1900. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781351536554. Each time prior to Aurangzeb's razing, the temple was rebuilt by prominent Rajputs, such as Raja Todar Mal (d. 1586), finance minister and high-ranking courtier to Mughal Emperor Akbar, in 1585. Although he did not sponsor the temple's rebuilding, among the Kashi Vishvanath's most illustrious donors is Raja Man Singh Kachhwaha of Amber, who commissioned several other temples and ghats in the vicinity. ... Raja Man Singh ... was also closely associated with the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir, in whose armies and courts he served 9781351536554 ↩

19. Metcalf, Barbara (2009). "Introduction". In Metcalf, Barbara D. (ed.). Islam in South Asia in Practice. Princeton and London: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1400831388. As Catherine Asher has argued, the temples of a Hindu noble like the Rajput Man Singh, built with Mughal patronage, should be seen as 'imperial projects,' reflecting bonds between nobles and the king and making empire-wide architectural styles. 978-1400831388 ↩

20. Bayly, C. A. (19 May 1988). Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870. CUP Archive. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-0-521-31054-3. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2021. 978-0-521-31054-3 ↩

21. Bourke, Richard (8 September 2015), Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke, Princeton University Press, p. 843, ISBN 9780691145112, Since 1724 Awadh, "in extent about the size of England," had enjoyed effective autonomy as a quasi-independent province within the Mughal Empire. It came to terms with the British after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, finally signing up to the Treaty of Benares in 1773. This imposed on the Wazir of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula, the obligation to accept troops stationed in his territory while paying a subsidy to the British for the privilege. The Wazir's successor, Asaf-ud-Daula, agreed to increase this subsidy under the Treaty of Faizabad in 1775, at the same time ceding Benares to the Company. 9780691145112 ↩

22. Markovitz, Claude (24 September 2004), "Birth of the British Empire in India (1765–1818)", in Markovits, Claude (ed.), A History of Modern India, 1480–1950, Anthem Press, ISBN 9781843311522, In the face of the hostility of all the dynamic forces of the country, the threat of the Marathas looming large on the frontiers, Asaf could count henceforth only on the help of the English, who exerted themselves to use this tumultuous situation to the full. In exchange for their military protection, the nawab granted them as early as 1775 the control of the region of Benares, in addition to a substantial increase in indemnity. 9781843311522 ↩

23. Bayly, Christopher (1983), Rulers, townsmen, and bazaars: north Indian society in the age of British expansion, 1770–1870, Cambridge University Press, pp. xii–xiii, ISBN 9780521229326, In 1801 a large area of Awadh situated in the Doab and Rohilkhand were ceded to the British. It was added to districts conquered from the Marathas in 1803–4 around Delhi and Agra to form the 'Conquered and Ceded Provinces' of the British Bengal Presidency. The term 'Western Provinces' and later 'North-Western Provinces' came into gradual use to describe this area and the adjoining Benares Division; ... In 1856 the remaining 'Reserved Dominions' of the ruler of Awadh were annexed to become the British Province of Oudh under a Chief Commissioner. In 1901 the two provinces were amalgamated to become the United Province of Agra and Oudh. 9780521229326 ↩

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