Bhiwani

Bhiwani is a city and a municipal council in Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana. Besides being a seat of spiritual learning, the city is at the centre of regional politics and hometown of three former Haryana chief ministers: Bansi Lal, Banarsi Das Gupta and Hukum Singh. It is located 128 km west of national capital New Delhi. The city has a conventional school of boxing, with almost all of the members of the Indian Boxing Squad coming from its Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel. The late Capt. Hawa Singh, the legendary boxer, helped establish the boxing academy in Bhiwani. Bhiwani is a corrupted form of Bhani. The town was founded by a Rajput chief called Neem Singh. His wife named Bhani once saved his life from treachery. Consequently, he named the town after her. The corrupted name of the town from Bhani to Bhiani (natives still use this pronunciation) eventually came to be known as Bhiwani. Other oral tradition avers that the town is named after the goddess Bhavani, the wife of Lord Shiva. The old town had a protective wall with 12 gates which are ruined now, including Bapora Gate to the north-west, Rohtak Gate to the east, and Dadri Gate to the south-east. Buildings are in jat-rajput architecture with pavilions and carved wood. Samadhi of Todar Singh, is a samadhi (shrine) near Bichhwa lake. Mughal emperor Humayun came to Charkhi Dadri for hunting. Bhani Singh attacked a nearby Baliali village with Humayun's forces, which resulted in a retaliatory attack on Mughal forces by Rajputs of Bhiwani led by Todar Singh. Rajputs of Bhiwani were defeated and Todar was killed in the battle. Samadhi was built in his memory. In 1803, Bhiwani was annexed by the British raj from the Maratha Empire. In 1817, William Frazer built a mandi (grain and goods market) here, resulting in the emergence of town as the regional hub of trade. Bhiwani has six major institutes, one of them being the country's top and oldest textile research institute, the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, established by the Birla Group.