Billawar is a town and a notified area committee in Kathua district of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Billawar
Town
Billawar Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India Show map of Jammu and Kashmir Billawar Billawar (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 32.62°N 75.62°E / 32.62; 75.62
Country	India
State	Jammu and Kashmir
District	Kathua
Government
• MLA	Dr. Nirmal singh
Elevation	844 m (2,769 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	11,916
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	184204
Vehicle registration	JK08

Billawar was founded by Raja Bhog Pal in the 7th century A.D.[1] and It was a kingdom and it's capital was Basohli until the 11th century.[2]

Geography

Billawar is located at 32.62°N 75.62°E / 32.62; 75.62.[3] It has an average elevation of 844 m (2,769 ft). Billawar town is situated in the lap of the Shivalik mountains between the banks of the Naz and Bheeni rivulets, approximately 70 km from Dayala Chak on Delhi-Jammu NH-1A.

Billawar tehsil

The Billawar tehsil (1 of 8 tehsils) of Kathua district has 46 panchayat villages.[4]

History

Raja Bhog Pal, a son of the king of Kullu Valley, founded Basohli and established Billawar as the capital in 765 A.D. after subduing Rana Billo, a feudal chief who once ruled the area. The ruling house was subsequently known as Balouria, deriving from Balor.[5] The old name of Billawar is "Bilawara".

Demographics

As of the 2011 India census,[7] Billawar had a population of 11,916. Billawar has two boroughs - old Billawar town and Phinter area. Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. Billawar has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy rate of 78% and female literacy rate of 58%. 12% of the population is under six years of age. The major religions in Billawar are Hinduism (88.2%) and Islam (9.7%).

References