Sironj

Sironj is about 110 km north of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh and 85 km from Vidisha where its district headquarter is located. Sironj is a mixture of undulating hilly tracts coupled with black cotton soil plains. The area was once full of forests but now almost completely devoid of them, barring the forests on the fringes of the block in remote villages. Sironj has a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Jains. Most of the inhabitants of Sironj are traders, surrounded by the agriculturist community of about 300 villages that surround it. There are many mosques and ancient temples all over the town. There are some good English schools with CBSE curriculum like Sanskar Green Valley School, Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School, Satyam Samiksha Academy, Jainodaya Vidhyalaya, etc. Town also possess an old degree college - Lal Bahadur Shastri Degree College, a private college - KDBM and a new Technoglobal university campus. There is a dam made on Kaithan river and a huge Jain temple called Nasiya ji famous for ancient Jain idols in the vicinity. Old market of the city is well known for its unique and traditional two-story shops. The town is well connected to Bhopal, Bina, Vidisha and Ganjbasoda via Road. A Hindi-speaking town, and also there is a holy Shiva temple its seems like Amarnath cave, it is at Pipaliya Haat Mughalsarah road.

It is quite easy to reach Sironj from Bhopal than from Vidisha due to better roads and frequent buses plying between Bhopal and Sironj than Vidisha and Sironj. It takes about three hours by a public transport bus to reach Sironj from Bhopal, connected with State Highway 23. These buses are available at ISBT Habibganj & Putli Ghar bus stand (earlier Berasia bus stand), Bhopal. The nearest railway station is Ganj Basoda, 45 kilometres east of Sironj, which lies on the main Mumbai-Delhi, Delhi-Chennai railway route.

Historically, Sironj was a part of the Malwa region, on the fringes of Bundelkhand, and has been a Jain pilgrimage Digambar Jain Nasiyaji Jinoday Teerth. As a part of the kingdom of the Nawabs of Tonk, it bordered Gwalior State under the Scindhias. At the time of independence of India, Sironj was a part of the Tonk state of Rajasthan. Thus, it became a land-locked district of Rajasthan surrounded from all four sides by Madhya Pradesh. Under the State Reorganization Act of 1956, Sironj was made a part of Madhya Pradesh. However, it lost its status of a district and became a block (sub-district) under the Vidisha district of MP. Being very close to the medieval trade route between Delhi and Gujarat, Sironj was full of traders. The most famous of such traders were the Maheshwaris, who later left Sironj taking offence on the actions of the Nawab of Sironj. Their deserted palaces still dominate the skyline of Sironj, which was famous for its three-tiered market. In a single building, there were shops that were partly underground and partly on the surface (meant for customers on feet), shops that were slightly raised (for the customers on the horseback) and shops on the first floor (for the customers on elephant-back). Many of these shops survive. Sironj is one of the oldest cities of India. It was also known for Moughal district during the time of Mughals and was a big trade centre connected directly to ship port of Gujarat. Water cooling pots and woven mats were exported to outside countries. To know more about Sironj, one can read the book Aasar e Malwa describing brief history of area. It also has a famous Madan Mohan temple said to be constructed centuries ago whose sibling is said be situated in Vrindavan.

The Jama Masjid said to be built by Aurangzeb. During the 18th century, great Trigonometric Survey is organised by Sir George Everest to measure the height of Mount Everest in which Sironj is one of the three observatories in India. This survey was later completed by Radhanath Sikdar using a theodolite. The ruins of these observatories still exist near Sironj, in a village called Bhoori Tori on Guna road. One can find there a good English architecture. The Girdhari Temple situated in the town is assigned to the 11th century AD. It is known for its sculptures and fine carvings. The temples of Jatashankar and Mahamai are said to be old and sacred. It is said that Tatya Tope of 1857-fame has halted here for some time. More information about Tatya tope's Sironj Hault is available in the book Operation Red Lotus by Parag Tope. There is also a graveyard of colonial infantry on northern part of Sironj, dates embossed on the headstones with names of soldiers who died there during 1857 rebellion. The Mahamai temple is 5 km to the southwest of Sironj. It is situated on a hill. An annual fair is held here.Origin of Sindh River (not to be confused with the Indus River) originated in Sironj subdivision which is a tributary of River Yamuna.

As of 2001 India census,[1] Sironj had a population of 42,100. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sironj has an average literacy rate of 55%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 62%, and female literacy is 47%. In Sironj, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Main crops of Sironj area are Wheat, Maize, and Gram in winters and soybean and lentils during monsoon. Wheat from Sironj and other parts of Vidisha are famous throughout the country and are sold at premium prices in the markets of Delhi and all over India. Soybean from this area forms the backbone of the Soya-oil industry based in Indore and Datia.