Jhunjhunu

Jhunjhunu is a city in the state of Rajasthan in northern India and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. Rajasthani and Hindi are widely spoken in Jhunjhunu. Jhunjhunu has given the highest number of soldiers to the Indian army and the paramilitary.

History and etymology
The history of Jhunjhunu goes back to the Vikram Era, when the city was under the Chauhan Rajput dynasty of Delhi.

In 1450 AD, Kayamkhani/Qaimkhani Nawab Mohammad Khan, who was converted to Islam from Hindu Chauhan Rajputs and belonged to Mota Rai Chauhan of Dadrewa's lineage, was ruling over this region with his son Nawab Samas Khan, who established the city of Jhunjhunu. The Kayamkhanis/Qaimkhanis are descendants of Mota Rai Chauhan of Dadrewa, who converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 14th century during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq. Jhunjhunu and Fatehpur were under Nawab rule until Thakur Shardul Singh Shekhawat of Parasrampura-Udaipurwati and Thakur Shiv Singh Shekhawat of Sikar came together to overthrow the Nawabi from this region and expand the territory of Shekhawati further up north. They fought and captured the parganas of Fatehpur and Jhunjhunu from the Nawabs, ending the Nawabi in this region, and inducted them into the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan and established their rule there until Indian independence.

Thakur Shardul Singh took over Jhunjhunu from the Nawabs after defeating them, and reigned for 12 years until his death. Jhunjhunu was then later passed on to his elder son, Thakur Zorawar Singh, and all other adjacent paraganas of Jhunjhunu were divided equally amongst the other sons of Thakur Shardul Singh; hence was formed the famous Panchpana of the Shekhawati region.

Thakur Shardul Singh, after he established his rule over Jhunjhunu, constructed many monuments and temples in the city. He constructed the Jamwai Mata temple, Gopinath Ji temple, Ram Darbar temple, and Akhegarh fort in old Jhunjhunu city, named after one of his younger sons, Akhe Singh, which still stands in the old town of Jhunjhunu. To commemorate Thakur Shardul Singh Ji's death, one of his wives, Rani Mertani Ji, constructed a baori (stepwell) in Jhunjhunu city, which today is called Rani Mertaniji ki Baori.

Thakur Shardul Singh Shekhawat's elder son, Thakur Zorawar Singh Shekhawat, built the fort of Zorawargarh in the old Jhunjhunu town and ruled over Jhunjhunu until his death. Other Panchpana Sirdars were ruling in adjacent territories and parganas of Jhunjhunu until India's independence.

Demographics
In the 2011 India census, the town of Jhunjhunu had a population of 118,473 and a literacy rate of 73.58%.

Rail
Jhunjhunu comes within the territory of the North Western Railway zone. Jhunjhunu is connected through a broad gauge line to Jaipur, Sikar, Rewari, and Delhi. Jhunjhunu Railway Station along with other major inter district railway stations include Chirawa, Surajgarh, Dundlod, and Nawalgarh, which provide rail service throughout the day and night. The Loharu Sikar 122 km line was converted to broad gauge track within the budget of 260 core in 2015–16. Most known trains through Jhunjhunu station are Loharu Sikar Express (04854), Sainik Express (19702), Hisar Hyderabad Express (17019), Bikaner Prayagraj Express (20404), and Hisar Kota Express (19808).

Note: Please refer to NTES railway enquiry website for latest train routes and timings.

Road
NH11 (Rewari-Jaisalmer) passes through Jhunjhunu and Pacheri, Dumoli Khurd, Singhana, Bhaisawata Kalan, Adooka, Chirawa, Ojtu, Bkhatawarpura, Bagar, Jhunjhunu, Nayasar, Abusar, Hetamsar, Wahidpura, Tetra, Mandawa of Jhunjhunu district.

connects Singhana, Khetri Nagar, Jasrapur, Nangli Saledisingh, Bhatiwar, Chhawasari and Titanwara.

SH 8 proceeds from Jhunjhunu town to Sikar and connects to NH 52 in Sikar (Gokulpura) but direct way from Jhunjhunu town to Jaipur is via Udaipurwati, Sri Madhopur, and Reengus. This Super State Highway proceeds from Pilani to Reengus(Sri Madhopur tehsil) via Chirawa, Jhunjhunu, Udaipurwati and Sri Madhopur main city.

Air
The nearest airport to Jhunjhunu is Jaipur International Airport approximately 160 km.