"The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located 575

kilometres (357 mi) west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of
yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort
contains a royal palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and
temples of both the fort and of the town below are built of finely sculptured
sandstone. The town lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (the Great Indian
Desert) and has a population, including the residents of the fort, of about 78,000.
It is the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer District. Jaisalmer was once the
capital of Jaisalmer State.

Jaisalmer War Museum

The Jaisalmer War Museum was conceived by Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews,
AVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding, Desert Corps and constructed by the
Desert Corps of the Indian Army.
It was dedicated to the Nation by Lieutenant General Ashok Singh, PVSM, AVSM, SM,
VSM, ADC, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, Indian Army,
on 24 August 2015. The Museum displays war exhibits which include vehicles and
equipment captured during the course of operations in 1965 and 1971. The Jaisalmer
War Museum, popularly known as JWM, has an Honour Wall engraved with the names
of the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra gallantry award winners, two large
Information Display Halls - Indian Army Hall and Laungewala Hall, an Audio Visual
Room, a souvenir shop and a cafeteria. A Hunter Aircraft of the Indian Air Force, which
destroyed enemy tank columns during the Battle of Laungewala is also displayed.[1]
The Jaisalmer War Museum is located 10 km short of Jaisalmer on the Jaisalmer -
Jodhpur Highway. The inauguration of the Museum took place in the Golden Jubilee
Commemoration Year of the 1965 India Pakistan War.

Cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to
examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical
experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past
matter, encompassing the continuum of events (occurring in succession
and leading from the past to the present and even into the future) about a
culture.Cultural history records and interprets past events involving human
beings through the social, cultural, and political milieu of or relating to the
arts and manners that a group favors. Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897)
helped found cultural history as a discipline. Cultural history studies and
interprets the record of human societies by denoting the various distinctive
ways of living built up by a group of people under consideration. Cultural
history involves the aggregate of past cultural activity, such as ceremony,
class in practices, and the interaction with locales.[citation needed]

social history
Branch of history that emphasizes social structures and the interaction of
different groups in society rather than affairs of state. An outgrowth of
economic history, it expanded as a discipline in the 1960s. It initially focused
on disenfranchised social groups but later began to focus more attention on
the middle and upper classes. As a field, it often borders on economic history
on the one hand and on sociology and ethnology on the other.

Jaisalmer Desert festival

Desert Festival of Jaisalmer is the most awaited and famous cultural and
colourful event of Rajasthan. Camel races, Turban-tying and Mr. Desert
competitions are organised. It is held in the month of February every year.
The festival showcases Rajasthani folk songs and dance and it is very
attractive to foreign tourists. Gair and Fire dancers which are the major
attraction of the Jaisalmer desert festival celebrations. This is the best time
to visit Jaisalmer to witness performing arts like Kalbelia dances and folk
songs and music.

Jaisalmer Fort
Jaisalmer Fort is situated in the city of Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is
believed to be one of the very few "living forts" in the world (such as Carcassonne, France),
as nearly one fourth of the old city's population still resides within the fort.[1] For the better
part of its 860-year history, the fort was the city of Jaisalmer. The first settlements outside
the fort walls, to accommodate the growing population of Jaisalmer, are said to have come
up in the 17th century.[1]
Jaisalmer Fort is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan, built in 1156 AD by the Rajput[2] Rawal
(ruler) Jaisal from whom it derives its name, and stood at the crossroads of important trade
routes (including the ancient Silk road).[1]
The fort's massive yellow sandstone walls are a tawny lion colour during the day, fading to
honey-gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this
reason it is also known as the Sonar Quila or Golden Fort.[3] The name Sonar Quila
(Bengali for Golden Fortress) was popularized by tourists after famous Bengali film of the
same name, that was shot in this fort by eminent filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The fort stands
amidst the sandy expanse of the great Thar Desert on Trikuta Hill, hence also known as
Trikutgarh. It is today located along the southern edge of the city that bears its name; its
dominant hilltop location making the sprawling towers of its fortifications visible for many
miles around.[4]

Tourism

THAR DESERT

The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the

north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq

mi) and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest

desert, and the world's 9th-largest hot subtropical desert.

About 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and about 15% is in Pakistan.[3] The Thar Desert is

about 4.56% of the total geographical area of India. More than 60% of the desert lies in the

Indian state of Rajasthan; the portion in India also extends into Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.

The portion in Pakistan extends into the provinces of Sindh[4] and Punjab (the portion in the

latter province is referred to as the Cholistan Desert).

Lodhruva

Lodrawa (aka Lodurva, Lodarva or Laudrava) is a village in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, India. It is

located 15 kilometers to the north-west of Jaisalmer. Lodrawa was the ancient capital of the Bhati dynasty

until Rawal Jaisal founded the Jaisalmer state and moved the capital to Jaisalmer in 1156 CE.[1][2][3]
The village and the surrounding area are famous for their historic temples, mostly Jain, originally

constructed in the pre-12th-century Maru-Gurjara style of the Chalukya Empire and reconstructed in a

similar but more ornate revivalist style in the 17th century.

Tanot Mata

Tanot Mata is a temple in the western state of India in District Jaisalmer of Rajasthan.

● Goddess Aavad, the daughter of Mamadia Charan (Gadhvi), is worshiped as

Tanot Mata.

● As per the oldest Charan literature, Tanot Mata is an incarnation of divine

goddess Hinglaj Mata.

●
The village is close to the border with Pakistan, and is very close to the battle

site of Longewala of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Contemporary folklore

credits the temple for the outcome of the battle.[1][2] Tourists cannot go

beyond this temple to see the Indo–Pak Border unless one gets the relevant

documentation in advance from the District and Military Authorities. It is now a

tourist destination in India. The area is said to have oil and gas reserves.

Sagarmal Gopa

Sagarmal Gopa ( 2 November/3 November 1900 – 4 April 1946) was a freedom fighter and

patriot from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. His father was Akhairaj gopa, who was a courtier in
Maharawal Jawahar Singh's court.Sagarmal Gopa had recorded the atrocities of Jawahar

Singh, the contemporary ruler of Jaisalmer, in his book "Jaisalmer ka Gundaraj", after which

the enmity between Jawahar Singh and Sagarmal Gopa increased. He took active part in the

non-cooperation movement in 1921. He opposed anti-people policies of then rulers of

Jaisalmer. He was expelled from Jaisalmer and Hyderabad. Even in exile he continued to work

for freedom movement. After his father's death in 1941, on his return to Jaisalmer he was

arrested on 25 May 1941. Sagermal gopa tortured in prison for years. He was burnt to death in

the prison on 4 April 1946."Gopal Swaroop Pathak commission" was formed to investigate the

murder of Sagarmal gopa, which under the influence of Jawahar Singh, declared this murder

as suicide. 3 books were written by gopa 1) aajadi ke diwane 2) jaisalmer ka gundaraj 3)

raghunath singh ka mukadma [1]

Princely state

A princely state was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly

governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a

subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British crown.

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF JAISALMER

After Partition, Jaisalmer attained strategic importance as being the frontier province

sharing border with Pakistan. It led to the closure of all trade routes on the Indo-Pal

border. Skirmishes across the border continued which resulted in the building of an

army base in Jaisalmer.

Transport
Jaisalmer is connected to the rest of Rajasthan by buses provided by Rajasthan State Transport

Corporation as well as other private bus operators.

Jaisalmer Airport is located 17 kilometres southeast of Jaisalmer. Flights serve Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore

,Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat and Jodhpur.

Jaisalmer railway station runs daily trains between Jaisalmer and Jaipur, through which it is connected to

Delhi and other cities all over India. This station comes under Jodhpur (JU) division of the Northwestern

Railway (NWR). Additionally, there exists a luxury tourist train known as Palace On Wheels, which covers

the major tourist destinations of Rajasthan, including Jaisalmer.

Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation

Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) is a public transport company which

provides bus services in the Indian state Rajasthan. It is headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The

corporation was established by Government of Rajasthan on 1 October 1964 under the Road

Transport Act 1950. [2] RSRTC operates ordinary, express and deluxe services. It has 4100 buses in

its fleet, 52 depots across Rajasthan and 3 depots outside the state i.e. Indore, Ahmedabad and

Delhi.[3] There are around 2230 routes covered which amount to 5437.74 lakh km per year.[1] It

carries around 9 lakh passengers per day to their destinations within and outside the state. RSRTC

operates services in Rajasthan and adjoining states of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh,

Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Jammu Kashmir and

Chandigarh.[4] Ticket reservation is available at all bus stations free of charge. Online ticket facility

is available for Air conditioned, Deluxe, Semi-deluxe and express buses through Kiosks in Rajasthan

as well as through RSRTC mobile application.

Jaisalmer Airport
Jaisalmer Airport (IATA: JSA, ICAO: VIJR) is a domestic airport serving Jaisalmer, Rajasthan,

India. It is located 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) from the city centre.[4] The airport operates as a civil

enclave on an Indian Air Force base.

The airport has a single runway of 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in length and 150 feet (46 m) in width.

Carriers that have previously flown to/from the airport include Vayudoot and Kingfisher Airlines.[5] In

2015, it was not used for civil flights, and was closed[6] until services resumed under the UDAN

scheme in 2017.

Jaisalmer railway station

Jaisalmer railway station is a major railway station located in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The railway

station is under the administrative control of North Western Railway of Indian Railways. The station

has three platforms and a total of five tracks. Jodhpur- Jaisalmer Railway was merged with the

Western Railway in November 1951. Later North Western Railway came into existence on 1 October

2002.

Jain heritage of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer has been enriched by its Jain community, which has adorned the city with beautiful

temples, notably the temples dedicated to the 16th Tirthankara, Shantinath, and 23rd Tirthankara,

Parshvanath.

There are seven Jain temples in total which are situated within the Jaisalmer fort built during the

12th and 15th centuries. Among these temples, the biggest is the Paraswanath Temple; the others

are Chandraprabhu temple, Rishabdev temple, Shitalnath Temple, Kunthunath Temple, and

Shantinath Temple. Known for their exquisite work of art and architecture that was predominant in

the medieval era the temples are built out of yellow sandstone and have intricate engravings on

them.
Jaisalmer has some of the oldest libraries of India which contain rarest of the manuscripts and

artefacts of Jain tradition. There are many pilgrimage centres around Jaisalmer such as Lodhruva

(Lodarva), Amarsagar, Brahmsar and Pokharan.

Culture of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is blessed with a colorful and vibrant culture that reflects the rich heritage of the

bygone era. The desert city’s folk music and dance is an elemental part of its culture and an

exceptional amalgamation of past traditions, different social customs and classical music.

The culture, language and tradition of Jaisalmer are to quite an extent influenced by the

culture of the neighboring area, Sind.

The city has so much to offer in terms of its culture, music, architecture, crafts and traditions

that every year people from around the world flock to this wonderland to get a taste of the

desert life. Irrespective of the adverse conditions faced by Jaisalmer in its terrain and

climate, the people of this place look happy and satisfied with their lives and are extremely

friendly and jovial by nature.

Rawals

Rawal Jaisal (r. c. 1153–1168), was a Bhati[1][2] Rajput[3] ruler of Jaisalmer who lived during the 12th century and

founded the city of Jaisalmer and Jaisalmer state. Sixth in descent from Rawal Deoraj Bhati, he was the eldest son of

Rawal Dusaj of Deoraj (Deorawul), which had its capital at Laudrava.[4] When his father appointed Jaisal's younger

half-brother Vijayraj Lanjha as his successor, Vijayraj, upon ascending the throne, drove Jaisal out of the kingdom. He

was married to daughter of Haibat Khan and named her as 'Somaldevi'.[5]

Founding of Jaisalmer[edit]

While surveying Trikuta hill, a massive triangular rock rising more than 75 metres out of the surrounding sands, as

a more secure location for a new capital, Rawal Jaisal met a sage called Eesul, who was staying on the rock.

Upon learning that Jaisal was of Yaduvanshi descent, Eesul told him that according to ancient mythology Krishna

and Bhima had come to this location for a ceremony, where Krishna had prophesied that a descendant of his
Yaduvanshi clan would one day establish a kingdom here. Eesul showed him a spring which Krishna had created

and his prophecy carved into a rock.[6] This rock still remains in a well in the Jaisalmer fort. Encouraged by this

meeting Jaisal moved his capital to this location and established it in 1156[6] in the form of a mud fort and named

it Jaisalmer after himself.