The two main bus terminals are the Masoodabad Bus Terminal and Gandhi Park Bus Terminal. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses serve cities all over the state and cities in Uttranchal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Aligarh Junction is the primary railway station for Aligarh city and is a major stop on the Delhi-Kolkata route. It connects Aligarh to the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, north-east and most of Uttar Pradesh, and important cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal, Gwalior, Lucknow, Jhansi, Puri, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi and Jaipur. The station runs about 70 Mail/ Express/ E.M.U Trains daily. A third railway line between Aligarh and Ghaziabad has development. The 106.15-km line cost Rs 400 crore.
Koil is also mentioned in Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, when Ibn Battuta along with 15 ambassadors representing Ukhaantu Khan, the Mongol Emperor of the Yuan dynasty in China, travelled to Kol city en route to the coast at Cambay (in Gujarat) in 1341. According to Ibn Battuta, it would appear that the district was then in a very disturbed state since the escort of the Emperor’s embassy had to assist in relieving Jalali from an attacking body of Hindus and lost an officer in the fight. Ibn Batuta calls Kol “a fine town surrounded by mango groves”. From these same groves the environs of Kol would appear to have acquired the name of Sabzabad or “the green country”.
In early 1753, the Bargujar Chief rose against the destruction of Hindu temples. The Jat ruler, Surajmal, with help from Jai Singh of Jaipur and the Muslim army, occupied the fort of Koil. TheBargujar Rajput, Raja Bahadur Singh, continued the battle from another fort and died fighting in the “Battle of Ghasera”. All the women committed Jauhar. Koil was renamed Ramgarh and finally, when a Shia commander, Najaf Khan, captured it, he gave it its present name of Aligarh. Aligarh Fort (also called Aligarh Qila), as it stands today, was built by French engineers under the command of French officers Benoît de Boigne and Perron.
Aligarh has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate, typical of north-central India. Summers start in April and are hot with temperatures peaking in May. The average temperature range is 28–33 °C (82–91 °F). The monsoon season starts in late June, continuing till early October, bringing high humidity. Aligarh gets most of its annual rainfall of 800 millimetres (31 in) during these months. Temperatures then decrease, and winter sets in December, and continues till early February. Temperatures range between 12–16 °C (54–61 °F). Winters in Aligarh are generally mild, but fog and cold snaps sometimes occur.
The Battle of Aligarh was fought on 1 September 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) at Aligarh Fort. The British 76th Regiment, now known as the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment besieged the fort, which was under the control of the French officer Perron, and established British rule. In 1804, the Aligarh district was formed by the union of the second, third and fourth British divisions with the addition of Anupshahr from Muradabad and Sikandra Rao from Etawa. On 1 August 1804, Claude Russell was appointed the first Collector of the new district.
During the time of Ibrahim Lodhi, Muhammad, son of ‘Umar, was the governor of Kol. He built a fort at Kol and named the city Muhammadgarh, after himself, in 1524–25. Sabit Khan, who was then the governor of this region, of Farrukh Siyar and Muhammad Shah, rebuilt the old Lodhi fort and named the town after himself: Sabitgarh. The ruler of Koil was Bargujar Raja Rao Bahadur Singh whose ancestors ruled it from A.D 1184 after the marriage of the Raja of Koil, Ajit Singh’s daughter to Raja Pratap Singh, a Bargujar Rajput.
According to Edwin T. Atkinson, the name Kol was given to the city by Balarama, who slew the great Asura (demon) Kol there and, with the assistance of the Ahirs, subdued this part of the doab. In another account, Atkinson points out a “legend” that Kol was founded by the Dor tribe of Rajputs in 372 A.D. This is further confirmed by an old fort, the ruined Dor fortress, which lies at the city centre.
The city of Aligarh ( listen) is the administrative headquarters for Aligarh district, in the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and 181 miles (291 km) north-west of the largest city of state i.e. Kanpur. It is notable for being the seat of Aligarh Muslim University, and for its local lock industry. Aligarh is located approximately 90 miles (140 km) south-east of the capital city of New Delhi.
Some time before the Muslim invasion, Kol was held by the Dor Rajputs. In the time of Mahmud of Ghazni, the chief of the Dors was Hardatta of Baran. Statues of Buddha and other Buddhist remains have been found in excavations where the citadel of Koil stood, indicating a Buddhist influence. Hindu remains indicate that the citadel probably had a Hindu temple after the Buddhist temple.
Notable markets of Aligarh include the Centre Point Market, Railway Road Market, Phool chorha, Jamalpur Market, Shamshad Market, Mahavir Ganj, (Houseking Locks) Mohammad Ali Road,Upper Fort (known as Uppar Kot),is the best place for shopping for brand Locks.Tasweer Mahal and Amir Nisha. Centre Point Market is the best place for shopping for brand enthusiasts.
Before the 18th century, Aligarh was known as Kol or Koil.caste, the name of a place or mountain and the name of a sage or demon. Study of the place-name indicates that the district was once fairly well covered by forests and groves. The history of the district through the 12th century AD is obscure.
Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences at Tijara House is another sightseeing place where one can see a library on the history of medicine and history of science and a museum on Indian heritage and culture. It was built by Unani Physician and philanthropist Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman.
Aligarh is an important business centre of Uttar Pradesh and is most famous for its lock industry. Aligarh locks are exported across the world. In 1870, Johnson & Co. was the first English lock firm in Aligarh. In 1890, the company initiated production of locks on a small scale here.
Social organisations in Aligarh city, include Rotary Club, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at Dwarikapuri, Vishwa Hindu Parishad at G.T. Road, Manav Upkar Samiti, Bharatiya Sewa Sansthan, Aligarh, Chetana Jagrati Punj . Kala Jagriti Samiti, and Golden Group and Wellfere Trust by GOLDIES
In the reign of Akbar, Kol was made a Sirkar and included the dasturs of Marahra, Kol ba Haveli, Thana Farida and Akbarabad. Both Akbar and Jahangir visited Kol on hunting expeditions. Jahangir clearly mentions the forest of Kol, where he killed wolves.
In 1875, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge, universities that he had visited on a trip to England. This later became the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.
Harduaganj Thermal Power Station (also referred as Kasimpur Power House) is 15 km from the city. Narora Atomic Power Station is located 50 km from Aligarh. Despite its proximity to two large power stations, frequent power cuts are normal in Aligarh.
Aligarh has several popular landmarks. One is Aligarh fort. The Dor fortress (1524), now in ruins, lies at the city’s centre; its site is in the area now called Upper Kot and is occupied by an 18th-century mosque.
27.88°N 78.08°E. It has an elevation of approximately 178 metres (587 feet). The city is in the middle portion of the doab, the land between the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers. The G.T.Road passes through.
In 1194 AD, Qutb-ud-din Aibak marched from Delhi to Kol, “one of the most celebrated fortresses of Hind”. Qutb-ud-din Aibak appointed Hisam-ud-din Ulbak as the first Muslim governor of Koil.