Behror

According to most commonly accepted legend, the name "Behror" is thought to be derived form corruption of word 'Bhairun' in the name "Mohalla Bhairunpura". Mohalla Bhairunpura was named after Bhairun temple in the city established by King Shalivahan.[4]

In and around Sahibi River Basin which flows near to Behror city several late harappan period pottery and archaeological artefacts have been found.[14][15]

Behror and surrounding region formed the southern fringe of the Bhramvrat described in Manusmriti , though due to varied interpretations the precise location and size of the Brahmvrata region has been the subject of academic uncertainty. Dhosi hill in nearby city of Narnaul is an extinct volcano of the Aravali Range and has been referred to be abode of many rishis in ancient Indian texts chief among them Maharishi Chyawan. Khetri is a copper age settlement around 60 km away. Matsya-Bairath region of which it is part has been numerously referenced in Mahabharata and Manusmriti.

Around 9th century AD, regions north-west of Sahibi River were ruled by King Mauradhwaj and was suceeded by King Shaliwahan who established two new cities, Kot and Shaliwahapur. Kot whose remains are found in present Singhali village of Mundawar tehsil.[3] While, Mohalla Bhairunpura in Shaliwahpur later came to be known as Behror city.[2]

During later part of Mughal rule over Delhi Sultanate , this region rapidly underwent change of rulers due to wars between Mughal and Maratha armies , in such fights around late 18 and early 19th century the main fort of the city called "Mitti Ka Qila" was permanently destroyed and the businesses suffered heavy losses from which town took a long time to recover subsequently.

With the establishment of Alwar princely state by Naruka Clan descendant Rao Raja Pratap Singh, the areas surrounding Alwar were consolidated either by War or treaty after the waning of Mughal Power, loss of Maratha in North and ascendancy of British Power. During the reign of Rao Pratap Singh (Ruler of Alwar), Behror and surrounding Bansur area were incorporated in Alwar Princely state.

After the battle of Laalsevadi in 1803 against Marathas by British, Behror was given back to Ahmed Bakshkhan of Alwar Princely state as a gift of service rendered by Alwar princely state in help of British against Marathas. This battle of Laalsevadi is important as Marathas' defeat in this battle rendered their hold on North India weak while Britishers subsequently strengthened their hold on Delhi.[3]

Before Independence Behror was a Tehsil and urban center under Alwar Princely state.

In first freedom movement Pran Sukh Yadav, who fought along with Rao Tula Ram against the British in 1857 Freedom Struggle at the battle of Naseebpur near Behror in Narnaul, hailed from Behror Tehsil and was important in raising local population of Aheers against British.[16][17]

After independence, and in the subsequent accession of Alwar state to Indian Union on 1 July 1947 it became part of newly formed Republic of India. In 1948, it became part of United States Of Matsya under Indian Union which was formed through a covenant with Union Government of India by states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli with capital being Alwar. Then one year later in 1949, these were again merged with other princely states of Rajputana to form Rajasthan and through this Behror came to be part of Rajasthan state. In 1953, Behror along with Alwar were again considered to be included in to be formed Brij Pradesh or Greater Delhi by State Reorganisation Commission but those proposals were never implemented and subsequently dropped.[18]

Behror has remained important center in Ahirwal region and as a part of the larger Matsya Region, also due to proximity to Delhi.[19] The years in the late 20th century show rapid changes in the town with establishment of RIICO Industrial Zones new avenues of commercial activity were born and were reflected in the sharp variation in population figures after it.

Since independence Behror has been a part of Alwar district but in 2023, Behror along with Kotputli were declared as one of the 19 new districts of Rajasthan.[9] The governing body of the city was changed from Municipality to Municipal Council on 17 August 2023 by order of Givernor of Rajasthan.[5]

Located at co-ordinates 27.88°N 76.28°E / 27.88; 76.28.[20] with an average elevation of 312 metres (1,024 ft) Behror sits amidst generally plain and very fertile agricultural land with Aravali Range mountains running north–south approximately 5 km to west of Behror.

According to CGWA, it has been identified as an area for regulating withdrawal of ground water (Dark Zone) since there are limited surface water resources and mostly ground water is used as main source of water.[21] Sahibi River, which is an ephemeral river flows 10 km south-east of Behror, flowing south-west to north-east. Usually these days it is dry. Sota river is 7 km to south- west[22] of Behror and drains in Sahibi river.[23]

The climate is mostly dry, and mainly summer, winter and a short rainy season are the main seasons, winter starts from November and till March, summer remains till July.[24] January is the coldest month when it may get as cold as 2 °C. Around four-fifths of the average rainfall is received in July, August and September.[25]

The soil is highly fertile and agriculture is one of the main occupation in the region. Mattiyar, a type of loamy soil, is most commonly found in Behror.[26]

The city falls under Seismic Activity Zones 4 with some area of Tahsil under Zone 3 and another under Zone 4.

Forests are mainly of deciduous hilly type found along tracts of Aravalli hills with dominant trees being kikar, neem and dhak.[27] Main mineral found is quartz. There has been rapid changes in the environment surrounding city due to rapid urbanisation and increased pollution.[28]

Behror City is a Municipal Council administered city according to Rajasthan Government classification system and is proposed to become a Regional Centre city.[29]

Eponymous Behror Tehsil is an administrative unit comprising Behror city and surrounding gram panchayats/villages. Behror Legislative constituency is the political constituency including Behror city and surrounding villages for election of representative to State legislature.[30]

Agriculture, manufacturing and services are the major contributors to the GDP. Behror is a leading producer of mustard and wheat. Apart from this, it also plays an important role in the production of cotton.[32] Due to rapid development waste disposal has become a problem in the municipality and wider region with no proper waste disposal sites.[33]

Drone View of Xaviers School Behror towards Rewali

Behror municipality is well connected to major Urban conglomerations in the area.[34]

According to 2011 Indian Census, Behror Municipality had population of 29,531 of which 15,570 were males and 13,961 were females. Children between the age of 0 to 6 years were 3770 which is 12.77% of total population. Female sex ratio was of 897. The total number of literates Behror was 21,656, which constituted 73.33% of the total population with male literacy of 80.04% and female literacy of 65.85%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Behror was 84.1%, of which male literacy rate was 92.4% and female literacy rate was 75.1%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have a population of 4,466 and 940 respectively. Behror municipality has total administration over 5,484 houses.[46] The population of Behror fell in the first decades of 20th century attributable to the reasons of Influenza outbreaks in 1918 , Plague outbreak in 1907 , and deaths of enlisted soldiers in Rajputana units in the battlefields of World War 1 and China War in 1900 , indeed this was true of most of Alwar state and Rajputana.[47]

Decadal population growth in Behror municipality[48][49][4][46]

Decade	Population	Growth rate ( in % )
1801	5,710	-
1881	5,533	-
1901	5,540	-
1911	5,253	-0.05
1921	4,108	-0.22
1941
1951	4,465	-
1961	5,462	22.32
1971	6,868	40.55
1981	9,653	40.05
1991	16,238	68.21
2001	22,856	40.76
2011	29,531	29.20

The Rath cattle fair is organised in the month of May for the improvement of the Rath breed in Kotputli-Behror district.[43]

• Neemrana
• Kotputli
• Bansur
• Viratnagar
• Mundawar
• Alwar
• Jaipur