Kakori

Kakori is a town and a nagar panchayat in Lucknow district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 19 km North of Lucknow city centre. Kakori was a centre for Urdu poetry, literature and the Qadiriya Qalandari Sufi order. On 9 August 1925, Indian revolutionaries robbed a train of government funds in Kakori, an incident known as the Kakori Train robbery.

History
In the last days of the 11th century, Kakori was ruled by Raja Kansa of Kasmandi (Kansamdap) near Malihabad, who was a Rajpasi by caste. At that time there was a colony of Bhars here.

When Syed Salar Masood Ghazi came to Kakori from Delhi, Raja Kansa fought with him. Kansa was defeated in this battle and this town came into the hands of the Muslims.

However, when the dominance of the Muslims decreased, once again the Bhars started living here. Till the 12th century, this place was under the empire of Bharon.

In 1202, Qutbuddin Aibak sent Muhammad Bakhtyar Khilji as Hakim Sardar Lashkar. When he passed through Lakhanpur to take up the governorship of the east, he established Bakhtiyar Nagar near Kakori and left some of his Pathani companions there.

These people started calling Lakhanpur, Lucknow. Sultan Shamsuddin Altamash sent Malik Nasiruddin here to suppress the increasing power of the Bhars, who defeated the Bhars in the war and established the rule of Delhi here.

Then till the last time of Muhammad bin Tughluq, Delhi's suzerainty remained on it. In the 13th century, King Kakor of Bharon built the fort of Kakori around which people started living.

Kakori conspiracy
The town has a memorial to several revolutionaries involved in the Indian independence movement who looted a train near Kakori in August 1925 in what is known as the Kakori Train robbery. The village is still served by Kakori railway station.

Geography
Kakori is located at 26.88°N, 80.8°W. It has an average elevation of 121 metres (396 feet).

Demographics
India census, Kakori had a population of 16,731. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Kakori has an average literacy rate of 46%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 51%, and female literacy is 40%. In Kakori, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Popular culture
Kakori has been used as a setting for various movies, of which Junoon (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981) are two examples. Anwar (2007) also featured the town.

Villages
Kakori block contains the following 83 villages:

The villages in Kakori block have a total population of 152,277, in 26,735 households.

Notable people

 * Mohsin Kakorvi (1805–1905), Indian Urdu poet, a well known writer of naats during his time