Varanasi

Varanasi (Sanskrit: वाराणसी Vārāṇasī,Telugu: వారణాసి, [ʋaːɾaːɳəsiː), also commonly known as Banaras and Kashi, is a city on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Hindus, Buddhists and Jains think it is holy. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.

Varanasi Kashi, Banaras, Benares, Avimukta, Ānandavana, Rudravāsa[1]
Metropolis
Left to right, top to bottom: a street of Banaras; Ustad Bismillah Khan; Faculty of Arts, Benares Hindu University; Goswami Tulsidas, composer of the Ramcharitmanas; weaving silk brocade; Benares Sanskrit College, India's oldest Sanskrit college (founded in 1791); Munshi Ghat; Manikarnika Ghat, the holy cremation ground on the Ganges river front
Nickname:  The spiritual capital of India
Varanasi Location in Uttar Pradesh Show map of Uttar Pradesh Varanasi Varanasi (India) Show map of India Varanasi Varanasi (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 25°19′08″N 83°00′46″E
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
Division	Varanasi
District	Varanasi
Government
• Type	Municipal Corporation
• Body	Varanasi Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Mridula Jaiswal (BJP)
• Divisional Commissioner	Deepak Agarwal, IAS
• District Magistrate	Kaushal Raj Sharma, IAS
• Inspector General, Varanasi Range	Vijay Singh Meena, IPS
• Senior Superintendent of Police	Prabhakar Chaudhary, IPS
Area
• Metropolis	112.10 km2 (43.28 sq mi)
Elevation	80.71 m (264.80 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Metropolis	1,201,815
• Rank	32nd
• Density	11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
• Metro [2]	1,432,280 (32nd)
Language
• Official	Hindi[3]
• Additional official	Urdu[3]
• Regional	Bhojpuri
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	221 001 to** (** area code)
Telephone code	0542
Vehicle registration	UP 65
GDP	$3.07 billion (2016–17)[4]
Per capita income	INR 1,93 616[5]
Sex ratio	0.926 (2011) ♂/♀
Literacy (2011)	80.12%[6]
HDI	0.645[7]
Website	varanasi.nic.in

Notable people

Rani Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi from 1842 to 6/18/1858, an Indian queen and charismatic female strategist, was born here, named Manikarnika. On 10 May 1857, she led the Hindu revolt, also known as India's First War of Independence, against the British navy. She died on 6/17/1858 or 6/18/1858 at age 29.