Karimganj, Mainpuri

Karimganj is located about 10 km north of Mainpuri on the Etah road. On the west side of the village is a large, crescent-shaped lake (or jhil), measuring about 1.5 km long and covering 32 hectares during its peak in the rainy season. During the dry season, the lake shrinks significantly. Also next to the village is a large mound, or khera, which marks the old town centre. At the top of the khera are the ruins of an old fort built by Khan Bahadur Khan in the mid-1700s.^{[3]: 18, 216–7}

Karimganj was once a much larger town than it is today, rivalling Mainpuri in size. As of the early 20th century, only traces of the old town were still visible, including two gateways on the main road. The town had an inner bazar and an outer ganj (marketplace), and its population was in the thousands. In the mid-1700s, the town was the seat of a powerful local ruler named Khan Bahadur Khan, who built a fort here. Around 1746, Khan Bahadur Khan supposedly helped the raja of Mainpuri in developing the new town of Mukhamganj (which now forms the main core of Mainpuri). Many of Karimganj's residents ended up moving to Mainpuri, and Karimganj shrank in both population and importance.^{[3]: 216–7, 232}

Karimganj experienced a significant regrowth in the late 1800s – its population grew from 847 in 1872 to 2,263 in 1901. At the turn of the century, it was described as comprising 9 hamlets.^{[3]: 216–7}