Nagina is the word for "Jewel", it was named by Syed's who received this place as jagir by the Mughals. Syed Ghalib Ali received this place as Jagir and he founded the city by building Nagina Mahal or Bara Mahal. The Ain-e-Akbari mentions the city as the headquarters of Nagina Mahal (Bara Mahal) currently located at Mohalla-SyedWara Nagina or pargana. During British period, it remained the headquarters of Nagina Tahsil, Bijnor district, in the United Province; and from 1817–1824, it was the headquarters of newly formed Northern Moradabad district. In 1901, the Nagina Tehsil had 464 villages and two towns: Nagina, with a population of 21,412, and Afzalgarh, with a population of 6,474.

Rise of Rohilla power in the area was marked by an 18th-century fort, which was later used as tahsili or tehsil offices. In 1805, the city was sacked by the Pashtuns under Muhammad Amir Khan.

As a part of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Nagina was the site of battle between the Nawab of Najibabad and the British, ending in the defeat of the Nawab on April 21, 1858, following which British established their authority in Bijnor, and later, in 1886, Nagina became a municipality.

Nagina is a small town in Bijnor District, Nagina is one of the important wood carving centers in Uttar Pradesh. This town, known throughout the world as ‘wood crafts city,’ produces wooden handicrafts of international standard.

The history of wood crafts industry of Nagina is about 500 years old. The town is mostly inhabited by Multani people who originally hailed from Pakistan. The curious wooden items manufactured by these people have been admired and encouraged from the Mughal period. Of the wooden items, walking sticks, exclusive brass inlay and wooden inlay boxes and engravings are very popular.

Nagina, located to the east of Bijnor, is about 7 km from Puraini and 17 km from Dhampur. Nagina has Nagina Railway Station as its main station. Nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport.

 

[Source: Wikipedia & Wikimapia]