History of Etah

It is the midpoint on the Kanpur-Delhi Highway. Historically, it is also known for being a centre of the Revolt of 1857. In ancient times, Etah was called “Aintha” which means ‘to respond aggressively’ because of the people of the Yadav community, who are very aggressive. It was when the king of Awagarh went hunting in the forest along with his 2 dogs. The dogs saw a fox and started barking and chasing it. The fox kept on running away trying to protect itself from the king’s dogs but when it reached Etah, the fox responded very aggressively to the king’s dogs.
The King was surprised by the behavioral change in the fox. So, he thought that this place must have something which made the fleeing fox change attitude.
Therefore,the place was called Aintha, which later was mispronounced as Etah. Another storyfound in Vidya Bharti’s book states the old name of Etah as ‘Einta’ due to a person lost here. In search of water, he dig into the land and his shoe struck a brick (eint)which leads to the name Einta and later this word changed to Etah. Etah also is very famous for its Yagyashala which is located in the Gurukul Vidyalaya. The Yagyashala is considered to be world’s second largest Yagyashala. There is a historical fort which was built by the king of Awagarh. Awagarh is a place which is 24 km from Etah. Etah also has a historical mandir named as Kailash Mandir dedicated to Lord Shiva. Amir Khusro was born in Patiyali, Etah and is considered as one of the best poets of Urdu.
It is of Uttar Pradesh, one of the 34 economically distressed districts and is receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Program. Etah District is part of the Aligarh Division. The majority population are Yadavs and Lodhi Rajputs..Origin of most of the Kulshreshtha Families(Kayastha community) is in district Etah. Like Lala Shanti Swroop (Patwari at Sirsa Tippu Village), Advocate Ratendra Pal Kulshreshtha (In the naming committee of Shringar Nagar ), Dr. Rajeev Kulshreshtha(have many awards at national level) are the big names. NH 91 passes through this district. Etah’s nearest district and surrounded by Budaun, Aligarh, Khair, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Mahamaya Nagar, Kasganj. Previously Kasganj was a part of the Etah District. Kasganj was established on 15 April 2008 by partitioning Kasganj, Patiali and Sahawar Tehsils from the Etah District. There are 8
blocks Jaithara, Marehara, Nidhauli Kalan, Sakit, SheetalPur, Awagarh, Aliganj, Jalesar. Raja Ka Rampur is also a major town.