Bareilly District

The Bareilly district pronunciation (Hindi: बरेली, Urdu: بریلی‎) belongs to the state Uttar Pradesh in northern India. Its capital is Bareilly city and it is divided in six administrative division or tehsils: Aonle, Baheri, Bareilly city, Faridpur, Meerganj and Nawabganj. The Bareilly district is part of the Bareilly Division and occupies an area of 4120 km² with a population of 3.618.589 (according to a census of 2001) In the Sanskrit epic poem, Mahābhārata, the Bareilly region (Panchala) is described as the birthplace of Draupadi, also referred to as Pachali (which means one from the kingdom of Panchāla) or Krishnaa (kṛṣṇā). After Yudhisthira becomes king in the ending of the Mahābhārata, she becomes his queen. In the 12th century the kingdom was ruled by several clans of Kshatriya Rajputs. After the Islamic invasion, the region became part of the Delhi Sultanate before getting absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire. The modern City of Bareilly was founded by Mukrand Rai in 1657. Later it became the capital of the Rohilkhand region before getting handed over to Nawab Vazir of Awadh and then to the East India Company, becoming an integral part of India.