Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Demographics
In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirhind-Fatehgarh had an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy was 80%. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Etymology
According to popular notion, Sirhind, comes from 'Sar-i hind', meaning the Frontier of Hind, as the Mughal emperors saw it as the 'gateway to Hindustan'.
History
In his Sanskrit treatise, Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira (505 – 587) mentions the city as 'Satudar Desh'. Later it was inhabited by a tribe of 'Sairindhas Aryans, leading to its present name. 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).
In the 12th century, Sirhind came under the rule of the Hindu Chauhan Rajputs of Delhi. During the rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1168–1192), the Hindu Rajput ruler of Delhi, it became his military outpost.
It became a provincial capital during the Mughal Empire, controlling the Lahore-Delhi Highway. During the Mughal era, Sirhind was the name for Malwa, the area's capital city. Sirhind was the headquarters of the Mughal administration in Eastern Punjab. Many European travelers describe its splendours, and it developed into a cultural center.
Sirhind was known for dozens of saints, scholars, poets, historians, calligraphers and scribes who lived there. This city is 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. Many buildings survive from this period, including Aam Khas Bagh; it is said that in its heyday, the city had 360 mosques, gardens, tombs, caravansarais and wells.
Education
University
Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University
Engineering College
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur 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
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur 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)
Gallery
See also
Reona Bhola
Bhatt Majra
Kotla Suleman
Further reading
Subhash Parihar, History and Architectural Remains of Sirhind, 2006, Aryan Books International. . 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.