Malihabad

Malihabad ملیح آباد
Town
Map of Malihabad CD block
Malihabad Location in Uttar Pradesh, India Show map of Uttar Pradesh Malihabad Malihabad (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 26°56′N 80°43′E / 26.94°N 80.72°E / 26.94; 80.72
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Lucknow
Founded by	Shaikh Malih
Area [1]
• Total	6 km2 (2 sq mi)
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	17,818
• Density	3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
Languages
• Additional Official	Urdu
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	UP-32

Malihabad is a town and nagar panchayat in the Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh, India.^[1] It is also the seat of a tehsil and a community development block of the same name.^[1] As of 2011, its population was 17,818, in 3,032 households.^[1] Malihabad is the largest of Uttar Pradesh's 14 designated mango belts and accounted for 12.5% of all mango production in the state in 2013.^[2] Hundreds of mango varieties are grown here, including the Chausa, Langda, Safeda, and most famously the Dasheri, the "king of mangoes"^[2] of which it is one of India's main producers and exporters.^[1] Mango grower and Padma Shri recipient Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan has contributed to the popularization of Malihabad's mango industry.^[2]

Malihabad is also a centre of chikan embroidery work.^[1]

Malihabad has two slum areas called Joshin Tola (pop. 475) and Basti Dhanwant Rai (pop. 589), with 5.97% of the town's population living in them.^[1]

Neighbouring places include Garhi Sanjar Khan to the west and Bakhtiyarnagar to the south.^[3]

Malihabad is located at 6°55′N 80°43′E / 6.92°N 80.72°E / 6.92; 80.72.^[4] It has an average elevation of 128 metres (419 feet).The main areas in Malihabad are Mirzaganj, Syedwara, Chaudrana and Kewalhar. And Malihabad's major population belongs to the rural areas and there are most probably 187 villages and 67 gram panchayats also included under the tahsheel of Malihabad.

According to some scholars, Malihabad's name came from Shaikh Malih, a relative of Shaikh Abdul Rahim, who settled here during the time of Akbar. Malihabad may have come under Muslim rule as early as the reign of Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, who invaded Awadh in 1202.^[3]

Malihabad was historically the seat of a pargana, as mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari.^[3] At the time of Shah Jahan it was colonized by Ammanzai Pathans, who became the primary landowners.^[3] During the reign of Safdarjung, the Pathan landlords Yaar Beg Khan Afridi, Baaz Khan Afridi, Karam Khan Afridi and others were granted a part of Malihabad, known as Kawalhar. In 1257H Nawab Faqir Muhammad khan Goya Grandson of Yaar Beg Khan Afridi became the commander-in-chief in the army of Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah.^[2] He became enamored with Malihabad and requested permission from the Nawab to grow mangoes here, thus establishing the first mango plantation in Malihabad^[2]

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[5] Malihabad had a population of 15,806. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Malihabad has an average literacy rate of 52%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 59%, and female literacy is 45%. In Malihabad, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Dasheri mango plantations are one of the major income sources of the region, with mangoes being exported to many neighbouring countries.^[6][7]

Vegetables are another major export here.^[1]

The Filmfare Award winner (1979) and winner of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (1978), film Junoon was mostly shot in the Mahals of Malihabad.^[8] The 1978 Urdu film was produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal and was a hit of its time. The film was based on Ruskin Bond novella A Flight of Pigeons.

Malihabad and its famous mangoes are mentioned several times in the 2004 film Lakshya.^[9]

Malihabad prides itself on Nawab Faqir Muhammad Khan Goya.^[10]

Malihabad block contains the following 100 villages:^[1]

• Ghaus Mohammad Khan, sportsperson^[11]
• Josh Malihabadi, writer, revolutionary poet^[12]
• Kaleem Ullah Khan, Mango farmer
• Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi, journalist^[13]