Bulandshahr
Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Government of India, the district Bulandshahr is one of the Minority Concentrated Districts of India on the basis of the 2011 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators. Etymology An early history of Bulandshahr and its origin of name is given by British District magistrate and collector for the Indian Civil Service, Frederic Salmon Growse, in a paper titled "Bulandshahr Antiquities" published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1879. Bulandshahr was founded as 'Baran' by the king Ahibaran. Since it was perched on a highland it came to be known as "high city", (), which translates as Bulandshahr in Persian language during the Mughal era. History Early history Growse's discoveries in the 1880s showed that Baran was inhabited by Buddhists between 400 and 600 AD. The kingdom of Baran came to an end probably during the 12th century. In 1192 CE when Muhammad Ghauri conquered parts of India, his general Qutubuddin Aibak surrounded Fort Baran and