Sirhind-Fategarh

Sirhind-Fategarh is a city and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab.

Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib

Sirhind-Fatehgarh
City
Sirhind-Fatehgarh
Location in Punjab, India
Coordinates: 30°22′N 76°14′E
Country India
StatePunjab
DistrictFatehgarh Sahib
Population
 (2013)
 • Total60,852
Languages
 • OfficialPunjabi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirhind-Fatehgarh has an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 80%. In Sirhind-Fatehgarh, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Etymology

According to popular notion, the present name of the city, Sirhind, comes from 'Sar-i hind', meaning the Frontier of Hind, as Mughal saw it as the 'gateway to Hindustan'.[1][2] However, a 5th-century AD tribe 'Sairindhas Aryans, which inhabited this area, might have also led to its present name.[3]

History
Main article: History of Sirhind

Varahamihira (505 – 587) in his Sanskrit treatise, Brihat Samhita, mentions the city as 'Satudar Desh', later it was inhabited by a tribe of 'Sairindhas Aryans, leading to its present name.[3] According to Huan Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru (the present day River Sutlej).[4]

Entrance to the Ramgarh Fort near Sirhind

In 12th century, Sirhind came under the rule of the Hindu Chauhan Rajputs of Delhi.[5] During the rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1168–1192), the Hindu Rajput ruler of Delhi, it became his military outpost.

It further rose in glory during the Mughal Empire, when it became its provincial capital, controlling the Lahore-Delhi Highway, the Grand Trunk Road. During the Mughal era, Sirhind was the name for Malwa, since it was the area's capital city. Sirhind was the headquarters of the Mughal administration in Eastern Punjab. Many European travellers describe its splendours, and it also developed into a center of cultural activity.[6]

Ruins of Daulat Khana-E-Khas at Aam Khas Bagh', built by most probably, Sultan hafiz Rakhna, during the reign of emperor Akbar

Sirhind was known for the dozens of saints, scholars, poets, historians, calligraphers and scribes who lived there. This city is mostly famous to Muslims for Great saint Imām-e-Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī (R.) (1564–1624). He was an Indian Islamic scholar of Arab origin, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. A large number of buildings survive from this period, including the fort named 'Aam Khas Bagh'; it is said that in its heyday, the city had 360 mosques, gardens, tombs, caravansarais and wells.

The two younger sons of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, Baba Zorawar Singh (age 9) and Baba Fateh Singh (age 5) were executed by then governor, Wazir Khan, for their refusal to convert to Islam. Gurudwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib is established at that place to commemorate them. Banda Singh Bahadur, in 1710, attacked and destroyed Sirhind and killed Wazir Khan in retribution for the executions of the Zorawar and Fateh Singh. The Sikhs then occupied Sirhind and appointed Bhai Baj Singh Ji to be the new governor.

Education Institutions in Sirhind-Fatehgarh Sahib

University

Engineering College

General degree colleges
  • Mata Gujri College,Fatehgarh Sahib.
  • Saffron College for Girls,Kotla Bajwara

Law College
  • Lincoln College of Law, Sirhind

Polytechnic College

Teacher Training College
  • Lincoln College of Education, Sirhind

CISCE affiliated school
  • Baalak Yesu Convent School

Punjab School Education Board affiliated schools
  • Ashoka Sen. Sec. School,Sirhind
  • Baba Dyalpuri Sen.sec.school,Sirhind
  • BZSFS.SEN.SEC PUBLIC SCHOOL,Fatehgarh Sahib
  • Dyanand High School,Sirhind
  • Government girls senior secondary school, Sirhind Mandi
  • Mata Sundri Public School,Fatehgarh Sahib
  • M G Ashoka Girls College,Sirhind
  • Rana Munshi Ram Sarvhitkari school, Sirhind
  • Sirhind Public School,Sirhind

Central Board Of Secondary education (CBSE) affiliated schools
  • St.Mary's School,Mahadian,Fatehgarh Sahib
  • Divine Light International school
  • Jesus Saviour's School
  • Saffron City School
  • Garden Valley International School
  • Greenfield Public School

Other
  • Lakshya Computer Education, Sirhind Mandi

Historical and religious places in Sirhind-Fatehgarh Sahib
  • Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib
  • Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup
  • Dashnami Akhara
  • Gurdwara Shahid Ganj
  • Gurdwara patshahi Chevin
  • Rauza Sharif (Shrine of Syed Ahmad Sirhindi)
  • Tomb of Ustad and Shagird
  • Tomb of Mir-I-Miran, Sirhind
  • Aam Khas Bagh,Sirhind
  • Mata Shri Chakreshwari Devi Jain Temple Village Attewali (Sirhind)
  • Gurdwara moti ram mehra ji
  • Jahaji Haveli, Haveli of Diwan Todar Mal
  • Dera Baba Biram Dass Ji ( VPO Badhouchhi Kalan)

See also

Further reading
  • Subhash Parihar, History and Architectural Remains of Sirhind, 2006, Aryan Books International. ISBN 81-7305-311-1.

Subhash Parihar, "Medieval Sirhind and its Monuments", Marg (Mumbai), vol. 55, no. 4, June 2004, pp. 42–57. Subhash Parihar,"Historic Mosques of Sirhind". Islamic Studies, 43(3)(2004): 481–510. Subhash Parihar,"Arabic and Persian Inscriptions from Sirhind". Islamic Studies, 38(2)(1999): 255–74.

References
  1. Memories of a town known as Sirhind The Sunday Tribune, 15 April 2007.
  2. Sirhind Town(Sahrind) The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 20.
  3. District at a glance Sirhind at fatehgarhsahib.nic.in
  4. Huan-Tsang
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - Punjab Government Website
  6. Subhash Parihar. Sirhind : The Greatest Mughal City on Delhi-Lahore Highway. ISBN 81-7305-311-1.
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