Jhunjhunu is also known for having sent up a large number of its men into the armed forces, many

of whom died in the

different wars. Locals will tell you the city has more "martyrs" than any other in the country.
What comes as a surprise is the tradition of Hindu-Muslim cooperation in Jhunjhunu. This history centres round the beautiful
Dargah of Kamaruddin Shah, set on a small hill from which you get the best view of the town. According to the local people,
the Khadim of the Dargah and the Mahant of a temple at the other end of the town, the Nathji ka Tilla, have maintained a
tradition that goes back eight generations. The two religious leaders participate in each other's ceremonies and mark each
other's festivals. For instance, during Diwali, the Dargah is lit up, and during the Urs in March, qawalis and bhajans are sung
in the Dargah. An estimated 30 per cent of the town's population is Muslim. There has been no trouble between the
communities despite tensions in other parts of the State and elsewhere in the country.
Visitors to Jhunjhunu are also surprised to find it a place where local people are involved in civic issues. Indeed, it stands out
as an example of an engaged citizenry and a responsive civic administration.
With a population of 100,485 (Census 2001), Jhunjhunu is classified as a Class I city. It has a municipal corporation, but the
mayor is not directly elected by the citizens; instead he is indirectly elected by the 35 elected ward councillors. The city has
benefited from the generosity of its millionaire residents who have built schools, colleges and hospitals. The city exudes an
air of prosperity compared to other cities of a comparative size.
Engaged citizens
The air of well-being is also, in a large part, because of its citizens. When organisations like PRIA (Participatory Research in
Asia) and other local groups began working on urban issues and set up mohalla samitis around five years ago, essentially to
deal with the problem of solid waste disposal, they did not expect that this would evolve into a pattern that the municipal
authorities would adopt.
The mohalla samitis took up the task of garbage collection. Residents were expected to contribute money so that there could
be door-to-door collection of garbage. In the middle class colonies, in particular, there was a good response and residents
were pleased at the cleaner look of their colonies. In some areas, residents raised their own funds to clean up open plots that
had been turned into garbage dumps. They converted these into gardens that serve the need for open space for the locality.

The city has benefited from the generosity of its millionaire residents who have built schools, colleges and hospitals.
(Above: Garbage collection in a middle class nieghbourhood).

The municipality built on this initiative and today there is door-to-door collection of garbage in 12 of the 35 wards. The
residents now do not have to pay anything extra for this. Some middle class residents are not entirely satisfied with the
municipal system and continue to take their own initiative to keep the drains clean in their neighbourhood by hiring a
sweeper for the job. In the Housing Board colony, for instance, where most of the residents are government employees,
families pour buckets of water into the drain and get the sweeper that they have hired to clean them. They say that
otherwise the municipal sweeper never comes often enough to ensure that these drains are kept clean.
The municipality has also responded to the initiative of residents who have created parks from garbage dumps. It now has a
scheme where it contributes 70 per cent of the cost and expects the neighbourhood to raise the remaining 30 per cent to
convert such empty plots into gardens. As a result, Jhunjhunu is full of gardens, many of them named after secular heroes
like Bhagat Singh and Netaji Bose.