District Magistrate / Collector
Pradeep K. Gawande
Jalore district
Since 2024
Know Your District
Jalore
Granite city of Marwar — Jalore Fort's golden hill
Last verified: 2026-05-06
Jalore is a south-western Rajasthan district in the Jodhpur division, set in the historic Marwar region between the Aravalli foothills and the seasonal Luni-Sukri river system. The district headquarters at Jalore town sits below the Sonagiri (Swarnagiri) hill that carries the medieval Jalore Fort, counted among the nine castles of Marwar and a Chauhan capital under Kanhadadeva until the siege of 1311. Today the district is best known nationally as India's principal hub for natural granite, with quarries around Jalore supplying pink, grey and black varieties to domestic builders and overseas buyers.
District at a Glance
| Geographical area | 10,640 sq km |
|---|---|
| Population (Census 2011) | 18,28,730 persons |
| Density (Census 2011) | 172 persons per sq km |
| Literacy (Census 2011) | 54.86% |
| Sex ratio (Census 2011) | 952 females per 1000 males |
| Headquarters | Jalore |
| Created | Pre-1956 (existing district at Rajasthan reorganisation) |
District Administration
Current officeholders — sourced from public records.
Superintendent of Police
Shailendra Singh Indoliya
Jalore district
Since 2025
District and Sessions Judge
Banna Lal Jat
Jalore Judgeship
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Lumbaram Choudhary
Jalore
Bharatiya Janata PartySince 2024
Member of Legislative Assembly
Chhagan Singh Rajpurohit
Ahore
Bharatiya Janata Party
Member of Legislative Assembly
Samarjit Singh
Bheenmaal
Indian National Congress
Member of Legislative Assembly
Jogeshwar Garg
Jalore (SC)
Bharatiya Janata Party
Member of Legislative Assembly
Ratan Devasi
Raniwada
Indian National Congress
Member of Legislative Assembly
Jiva Ram Choudhary
Sanchor
Independent
History — Ancient → Medieval → Modern
Ancient Jabalipura
Jalore's ancient name Jabalipura comes from the sage Jabali; the Pratihara dynasty's Jalore branch ruled here in the 8th-9th centuries, and the scholar Uddyotana-suri composed the Prakrit work Kuvalayamala at Jabalipura in 779 CE.
Paramara origins
The Jalore Fort, perched on the 336-metre Sonagiri hill, was originally built by the Paramara Rajputs between the 8th and 10th centuries before passing to the Chauhans.
Songara Chauhans
In 1181 CE Kirtipala of the Chauhan dynasty captured the fort from the Paramaras, founding the Songara Chauhan branch that made Jalore a major Marwar power.
Iltutmish siege
Sultan Iltutmish of the Delhi Sultanate besieged Jalore Fort in 1228 CE but failed to take it, leaving the Songara Chauhans in control for nearly another century.
Fall of 1311
Kanhadadeva, who ruled Jalore from about 1292, resisted Alauddin Khalji's expansion until the Sultan's general Malik Kamaluddin stormed the fort in 1311 CE and killed him, ending Chauhan rule.
Bhinmal heritage
Bhinmal in southern Jalore, known anciently as Shrimal or Shrimala, was the early capital of Gurjaradesa and the birthplace of the 7th-century Sanskrit poet Magha and the mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta.
Marwar integration
After the Mughal era, the fort and surrounding pargana became part of the Rathore-ruled Jodhpur State, and Jalore stayed with Marwar until the integration of princely states into independent India.
Art, Culture, Heritage & Tourism
Sundha Mata
The Sundha Mata temple complex in the Aravalli hills near Bhinmal, dedicated to Chamunda Devi, dates to inscriptions of 1262, 1326 and 1727 CE and houses idols of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha in white marble pillared halls reminiscent of the Dilwara style.
First ropeway
Sundha Mata is reached by Rajasthan's first ropeway, opened on the Aravalli ridge above Bhinmal, drawing devotees from Rajasthan and Gujarat in large numbers during Navaratri.
Composite shrines
Jalore Fort itself is a layered religious site, holding Hindu shrines to Shiva and Amba Mata, the Kila Masjid, the dargah of Saint Rehmad Ali, and Jain temples to Adinath, Mahavira, Parshvanath and Shantinath, with the Adinath shrine traced to the 8th century.
Magha's legacy
The Sanskrit court of Bhinmal under the early Chauhans patronised the poet Magha, whose Shishupala-vadha is counted among the five Mahakavyas, anchoring Jalore's claim as a classical literary centre.
Marwari horse
Jalore is an old home of the Marwari horse, an indigenous breed prized for endurance and curved-tip ears, and the city's nickname Cradle of the Marwari Horse echoes its long pastoral and martial association.
Kanhadade Prabandha
The 15th-century Old Gujarati epic Kanhadade Prabandha, composed by the Jain poet Padmanabha in 1455 CE, narrates the Songara Chauhan resistance at Jalore in heroic style and remains a key text of medieval western Indian literature.
Geography, Climate & Ecology
District extent
Jalore covers about 10,640 square kilometres in the south-western corner of Rajasthan, accounting for roughly 3.11 percent of the state's geographical area as recorded in the 2011 District Census Handbook.
Land form
The terrain mixes Aravalli outliers in the south and east with the sandy Marwar plain in the north and west, and Jalore town itself sits at about 178 metres above sea level on the southern bank of the Sukri.
Luni system
Drainage is dominated by the seasonal Luni river and its right-bank tributaries Jawai, Sukri, Khari, Bandi and Sagi, all of which carry water mainly during the south-west monsoon.
Arid climate
The climate is arid to semi-arid: average annual rainfall is only about 412 millimetres, while temperatures swing from a winter minimum near 4 degrees Celsius to summer highs that can touch 50 degrees Celsius.
Aravalli highlands
Sundha Mata's ridge in the southern Aravalli reaches about 1,220 metres, marking the highest tract of Jalore and forming a natural watershed between the Luni basin and the Banas-Sabarmati tributaries flowing south.
Census profile
Census 2011 records the district population at 1,828,730 with a density of 172 persons per square kilometre and a sex ratio of 951 females per 1,000 males, both below the state average for density but better on the sex ratio side.
Economy — Sectors, Industry, Energy
Granite hub
Jalore is widely recognised as India's largest natural-granite production cluster, with more than 300 quarries within roughly a 300-kilometre radius of Jalore town and a processing belt that has earned the city the nickname Granite City of India.
Stone exports
The Jalore granite belt yields several commercially named varieties including Rosy Pink, Chima Pink, Desert Brown and Desert Green, sold to Indian builders and exported in large volume to China, the Gulf and Europe.
Crop pattern
Agriculture remains the principal source of livelihood with rain-fed kharif crops dominated by bajra, moong, guar and til, while rabi sowing centres on mustard (sarson) and isabgol, the latter making Jalore-Sirohi a leading psyllium-husk belt.
Dairy and minerals
Animal husbandry is a major secondary occupation: the district contributes a large share of Rajasthan's mustard-oil and gypsum output and supplies milk to Saras dairy union plants in the Marwar belt.
BRGF status
Jalore was named in 2006 as one of India's 250 most backward districts and continued to receive funds under the Backward Regions Grant Fund, reflecting low literacy and poor irrigation despite the granite economy.
Political & Administrative Setup
Lok Sabha seat
Jalore is one of the parliamentary constituencies of Rajasthan: the Jalore Lok Sabha seat, created in 1952, currently combines five Vidhan Sabha segments from Jalore district with three from Sirohi.
Assembly segments
The five Jalore-side assembly segments are Ahore, Jalore (SC reserved), Bhinmal, Sanchore and Raniwara, with Sirohi, Pindwara-Abu (ST) and Reodar (SC) completing the parliamentary constituency.
2024 result
In the 2024 general election the BJP candidate Lumbaram Choudhary won the Jalore Lok Sabha seat with about 7,96,783 votes and a 54.91 percent vote share, defeating Congress contestant Vaibhav Gehlot by roughly 2,01,543 votes.
Boundary churn
On 7 August 2023 four tehsils — Sanchore, Chitalwana, Raniwada and Bagoda — were carved out as the new Sanchore district, but the Rajasthan Cabinet decision of 28 December 2024 reversed Sanchore among nine new districts, restoring Jalore's pre-2023 administrative footprint.
Governance Initiatives & Schemes (2025-26)
Ropeway project
The Sundha Mata Ropeway, opened on the Aravalli ridge above Bhinmal, was the first ropeway commissioned in Rajasthan and remains a flagship pilgrimage-tourism asset of Jalore district.
BRGF support
Under the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme, Jalore — listed in 2006 as one of the country's 250 most backward districts — has received targeted central transfers for irrigation, rural roads and primary health.
Canal commands
Jalore falls within the Narmada Canal command extension and the Jawai dam command of neighbouring Pali, both providing supplementary irrigation to mustard, isabgol and cotton growers in the southern tehsils.
Heritage care
Jalore Fort is preserved as a state-protected monument, with conservation, signage and visitor management coordinated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Rajasthan.
PYQ One-Liners (RAS / RPSC / RSSB)
Verify exact options from official RPSC / RSSB question papers before any examination use.
PYQ one-liners for Jalore are coming soon.
Test yourself — 10 questions
A quick self-check drawn from the district reference above. Bilingual, no login required.
Question 1 of 8
Which sage's name is the basis of Jalore's ancient name Jabalipura?
Frequently asked questions
Why is Jalore called the Granite City of India?
Jalore is called the Granite City of India because more than 300 quarries within roughly a 300-kilometre radius of Jalore town make the district India's single largest hub for natural-granite extraction and processing, supplying pink, grey and black varieties to domestic and export markets.
Who was Kanhadadeva and why is he important to Jalore's history?
Kanhadadeva was the Chauhan king of Jalore from about 1292 to 1311 CE; he resisted Alauddin Khalji's expansion and died defending Jalore Fort when Malik Kamaluddin captured it in 1311, an event later celebrated in the 1455 epic Kanhadade Prabandha.
What is the significance of Bhinmal in Jalore district?
Bhinmal, anciently called Shrimal, was the early capital of the Gurjaradesa kingdom and the birthplace of the 7th-century Sanskrit poet Magha and the mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited intellectual centres of western India.
What was the boundary change involving Sanchore?
On 7 August 2023 the Rajasthan government carved out Sanchore as a new district from four Jalore tehsils, but on 28 December 2024 the state cabinet reversed Sanchore among nine new districts, returning those tehsils to Jalore's administrative jurisdiction.