Najafgarh
was named after the Kiledar (Fort Administrator) Mirza Najaf Khan Baloch (1733–1782)
of the Mughal Dynasty. The country seat of this powerful Persian
noble, located in the suburbs beyond the capital city, later became a fortified
stronghold of Rohilla Afghan chieftain Zabita Khan (b. 1785). During
the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and part of the Siege of
Delhi, the Battle of Najafgarh took place on 25 August 1857 between
Indian rebels and British Raj soldiers. Approximately 800 people were
killed.
A small
settlement of the Mughal troops settled here in its infancy. Najafgarh is now
one of the most populous electoral regions in the National Capital Region
of India (NCR). Najafgarh is surrounded by 70 villages bordering Haryana.
The borders are 10 to 15 kilometers from the main Najafgarh Market.
Several religious/meditation centers are located in and around Najafgarh. One of the most noted temples in Najafgarh is that of Sai Baba of Shirdi. Najafgarh also includes a holy place of Hinduism, Saint Siromani Baba Namdev Mandir at Rohilla Tank Sabha, Roshan Garden, Baba Haridas, CRPF Group Centre in Jharoda Kalan. A few of the meditation centres in and around Najafgarh are Radha Swami Satsang Beas at Ranaji Enclave & Dindarpur, Ashram of Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu, Osho Dham (of Guru Rajneesh), Ashram of Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj at Bakkarwala, and Nirmal Dham of Nirmala Devi. The Haryanvi language is widely spoken in the region, along with Hindi and English
Delhi Police Training Centre is also located in vicinity. It is one of major training centre for all the recruitment of delhi police's constable, Sub-Inspector and other ranks. Various kind of trainings are being provided in this centre such as bomb disposal, riots protection etc. It is having two parts- one is Delhi Police Training School and other is Delhi Police Training College. Apart from this, CRPF Camp is also located adjacent to it, that is among one of the centre of Central Reserve Police Force, which part of Indian Government's Para Military Forces. On the anniversary of either of these, some dignitary of Indian Government or Delhi government, do participate.
The place is also famous for the best of Delhi's street food cuisine. Bansi Samose wala & 'Buraa wala' at Jawahar Chowk are the highlights.
Najafgarh is best known as the hometown of the popular
Cricketer Virender Sehwag and Olympic Silver Medal winner Sushil Kumar. Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Yadav,
the first Chief Minister of New Delhi, was born in Najafgarh. Ms. Sushma Yadav
first female General Secretary in 'Delhi Pardesh Congress Committee' and First
Secretary of 'All India Mahila Congress' comes from Najafgarh. Mr. Rajbir Yadav,
Alderman of South Delhi District of MCD is from Najafgarh. Mr.India Jitender Yadav is
also from Najafgarh.In addition Dr. Yoginder Sangwan and Lt. Col Pushpender Sangwan also belong to this place. Many other
national and international athletes and sportsperson are from this region.
Jawahar Lal Nehru and Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Yadav
Chaudhary
Brahm Prakash Yadav the first Chief Minister of New Delhi
(1952-55), was born in Najafgarh.
Najafgarh is
located at the outskirts of the southwestern part of Delhi, India. It
has a mixture of rural and urban population from Delhi and Haryana.
Chaudhary
Brahm Prakash(1918–1993)
played an important role in the Individual Satyagraha Movement launched byMahatma Gandhiin 1940 and was among the leaders of
the ‘underground’ activities in Delhi during the ‘Quit India’ movement. He was
imprisoned many times during the freedom struggle.He was born inJaffarpur Kalana village in West Delhi.
In the
post-independence era, Prakash, a member of India'sYadavcommunity,served as Minister in charge
of Planning and Development as well as the firstChief Minister of Delhifrom 1952-55.His stints in the Parliament twice won
him accolades as an able parliamentarian. He also made noteworthy contributions
as the Union Cabinet Minister for Food, Agriculture, Irrigation and
Cooperatives.
The cause of
depressed sections of the society, rural development and empowerment of the
weaker sections were issues which were very close to the heart of Chaudhary
Brahm Prakash. He was quick to realise the potential of cooperative societies
in mitigating the hardships of the village folks. As early as in 1945, he
started organising village and agriculture cooperatives. He was also a
proponent of the Panchayati Raj institutions. He organised the National Union
of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minorities in 1977
to work for the welfare of these weaker sections
NAJAFGARH is best known as the hometown of the popular
CricketerVirender
Sehwag
Virender Sehwag (born
20 October 1978) is an Indian cricketer.
An aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm
off-spin bowler, he played his first One Day
International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test team in 2001. In April 2009,
Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance
in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to
retain the award for 2009.
Sehwag holds multiple
records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319),
which was also the fastest triple century in the history of
international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest
250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai). His
other innings of 309 and 293 are also the second and third best by any Indian
player. Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the
world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to
score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket inningshaul. In March 2009, Sehwag
smashed the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60
balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI
cricket, against West Indies,
becoming the second batsman afterSachin Tendulkar to reach the
landmark. His score remains the highest individual score in ODI cricket –
219 off 149 balls. He is the only player in the world to score a double hundred
in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket.
Sehwag was appointed as
vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due
to poor form, he was later replaced by V. V. S. Laxman in December 2006 as
Test vice-captain. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and
later from the Test team as well. During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered
the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. Following his return
to form in 2008 and the retirement of Anil Kumble, Sehwag has been reappointed
as the vice-captain for both Tests and ODIs. By early 2009, Sehwag had
reestablished himself as one of the best performing batsmen in ODI cricket.
Sushil Kumar after winning gold in the men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling in Glasgow on Tuesday AFP
Seldom has a non-cricketer gripped the imagination of an entire nation, as grappler Sushil Kumar has. The 31-year-old Sushil hails from Baprola, a place on the outskirts of Najafgarh, whose other favourite child is the cricketer, Virender Sehwag. Yet, Sushil holds his own.
Sushil has a class of his own, literally, for no Indian has two individual Olympic medals – a bronze from 2008 Beijing Games and a silver from 2012 London Games. But he isn't content. His next stop: a gold in Rio.
There may have been a few naysayers when Sushil took an enforced break because of a combination of injuries and a change in weight categories from 66kg to 74kg. But a silver medal winning effort in the Sassari International about six weeks ago indicated that Sushil was on his way back.
And on Tuesday night at the Scottish Exhibition Convention Centre (SECC), Sushil confirmed that with a series of comfortable wins en route to his second Commonwealth Games gold to go along with his World and Asian Championships gold from 2010, and also the four Commonwealth Championships.
At the start of his career, Sushil had success in the form of gold at World Cadet in 1998 and in 2000, he won gold in Junior Asian Championships. Coming into seniors, he had a bronze in 2003 Asians and was placed fourth in World Championships. But when it came to the Olympics at Athens, he was only 14th and went unnoticed.
Wins at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 (as also in 2009) Commonwealth Championships brought him into the limelight and once the Olympic bronze came in 2008, there was no looking back.
Now, his next goal is a third Olympic medal – a gold this time – when he hopes to compete at his fourth Olympic Games in 2016.
Happy but not overly excited after his win on Tuesday, Sushil put things in perspective. "I also needed to be sure. I had a series of injuries and my weight category had changed from 66kg to 74kg. For most of my career I competed in 66kg and won all those medals, so it was a challenge for me. I knew people were expecting and some felt I may not be the same after injuries," he said.
He maintained that his preparation, which included the competition in Italy, got him back on trail. "In Italy I realised I was progressing well and became confident after that. So, I was sure of a medal, actually gold."
An Indo-Pak clash is always a challenge for any sportsperson and Sushil felt it was the same for him. "Any wrestler is a challenge for most Indian sportspersons, there are expectations when we fight against Pakistan's challengers. But it turned out to quite easy and I am happy I was able to continue my transition from 66kg to 74kg."
Yet Sushil has one more challenge and that is to reduce his weight to 70kg, which is the category for him in Asian games in Incheon, Korea, in just over two months time. "Yes, I understand the difficulty but I feel coming down the category is simpler than fighting in heavier sections. I have over two months and I should manage that," said Sushil, who won a bronze in 66kg in 2006, but did not compete in 2010 due to injury.
"I have gold medals in Commonwealth Games and World Championships and I want to add an Asian Games gold to that," he says. "I am hoping to be ready for that in Korea."
As for the progress in Indian wrestling, he said, "Most weight categories have three or four and sometimes even more contenders. So the top wrestlers have stay in form and perform. But from the team's point of view, it shows a lot of bench strength."
Any youngsters that have impressed him? "Lot of the youngsters are good and they are putting in hard work. There is potential. I feel Amit Kumar in 48kg is hungry for success, and the gold medal here will boost his confidence. Among women, we have Vinesh. She is also very good and young, just 19," he said.
What about the Rio Olympics in two years time? "Last time we had two medals in London and we could have had at least one more. In two years time our youngsters will have more experience and now other wrestlers know Indians are strong. Yogeshwar (Dutt) did such a good job in London. As for myself I have a bronze and a silver, so it will be nice to complete the set with gold. I am working hard and am focused on it. So, hopefully it will happen."
Sushil Kumar after winning gold in the men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling in Glasgow on Tuesday AFP