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India: Maharaja Rao Surat Singh (r.1787-1828), Bikaner, Rajasthan, 1793

India: Maharaja Rao Surat Singh (r.1787-1828), Bikaner, Rajasthan, 1793

Bikaner (Rajasthani: बिकाणो, Urdu: بِيكانير ‎) is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is located 330 kilometres (205 mi) northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. It was formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner.

The city was founded in 1486 and from its small origins has developed into the fifth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganges Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, have allowed the farming of crops such as mustard, cotton, groundnuts, wheat and vegetables. Other industries include wool production and the mining of Gypsum, plaster of Paris and bentonite.

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