CHURU

town, administrative headquarters of Churu district, Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The town is a local market for wool, millet, gram (chick-pea), cattle, and salt and has cottage industries that include handloom weaving and pottery and leather manufacture. Founded c. 1620 by Churru, a chieftain of the Jats (an agricultural people of northern India), the town has a hospital and a college affiliated with the University of Rajasthan. Churu district (6,498 sq mi [16,829 sq km]) comprises a semi-arid sandy plain watered only by the Katli River in the northeast. The rolling sand hills of the district's southwest portion form part of the Bagar tract, where the breeding of sheep, cattle, and camels is extensive. Bajra (pearl millet), gram, and pulses are the chief crops; gypsum deposits are worked. Pop. (1981) town, 61,811; metropolitan area, 62,070; district, 1,179,466.