Sangrur, bordering the neighboring district of Patiala, is the third of the largest districts in Punjab with a land mass of 5,021 square kilometres. As per the government sources, the population of the district was close to two million (2,000,137 to be exact) in January 2004. The district is divided into five tehesils (divisions) – Sangrur, Sunam, Malerkotla, Barnala and Moonak – which are further divided into thirteen blocks.
It falls in the Patiala division and is located in the southern part of the state. It is situated between 29 o – 4’and 30o – 42’ North latitude and 75 o -18’and 76 o -13’ east latitude. Ludhiana and Firozpur bound the district.
Etymology and History:
The district gets its name from the name of the clan, ‘Sandhu’, of its founder. The current district includes areas which were once a part of Phulkian States of Patiala, Nabha and Jind and some parts of the former state of Malerkotla.
The excavations carried out by the Archaeological Department have traced the history of the district back to the pre-Harappan period. It’s been suggested by the researchers that the earliest dwellers in the district came in around 2300 BC. The people, the researchers say, were from the Sind and Baluchistan provinces in modern day Pakistan and they could have been attracted by the fertility of the soil. The district was an important administrative region during the Gupta dynasty and it remained a strategically significant place during the Sultanate and later the Mughal period.
The Mughal Empire started to crumble after the death of Emperor Aurungzeb and the British East India Company came in to fill the power vacuum. It took the British less than a century to colonise India. During this time, Sangrur was a part of the Patiala State and the kings of Patiala had signed a treaty with the British and the British were not hostile to them. Therefore, Sangrur never came under direct British control. After Independence, Sangrur became a part of PEPSU; its present day boundaries were drawn later.
Geography and Climate:
The surface of the district is a part of the vast Indo-Gangetic plains and is nearly flat, although there are also sand dunes to be found in some parts of the district. The land of the district is formed by the depositions of the river silt in the region and its surface is characterised as the ‘alluvial plain’.
Based upon its physical geography, the land in the district can be divided into two physical tracts:
(a)The Upland Plain: This part of the district has a gentle gradient of approximately a foot for each kilometre and accounts for the 95% of the landmass in the district. The Upland plains in the district are sprinkled by the presence of sand dunes measuring 2.3 feet to 40 feet in height.
(b)The Flood Plain of the Ghaggar River: This is a low lying area and forms the southern part of the district. This part of the district is characterised by the physical features such as the presence of pools and depressions.
The climate of Sangrur is hot and dry and there are 27 rainy days on an average. The year is divided into four seasons:
Winters: November to March
Summers: March to June
Monsoon: July to mid-September
Transition Period or Post Monsoon: mid-September to November
Languages:
The linguistic situation of Sangrur is not typical of Punjab. There are four or five (depending upon how a language is defined) languages spoken in the district. Punjabi is the mother tongue of the majority. The Punjabi used in the district used to be typically Malwai (variation of a dialectic) but since the spread of the means of communications in the district, standard Punjabi is moulding the dialect of the people to some extent and making it more understandable to the Punjabis outside the district.
Because of its proximity to Haryana and other historical reasons, Hindi is also widely spoken. Thanks to the national television channels, Hindi is also widely understood in the district. Urdu is spoken in the Malerkotla tehesil in the district which has a sizable Muslim population. Besides that, English is also spoken in the cities.
Tourist Attractions:
Marble Baradari: The word baradari stands for a complex with twelve gates. The rulers of Jind used to hold their durbars (assemblies) in the ‘Marble Baradari’. The Baradari now has a small zoo and it gives a splendid view on moon-nights.
Malerkotla: The city used to be a former Afghan state. Those traits haven’t yet entirely vanished and they make Malerkotla both culturally and linguistically distinct from the rest of the distinct. The city has a large Muslim population and Urdu is widely understood. Idgah Malerkotla is one of the most famous mosques in Malerkotla.
Akoi: Located around 5 kilometres from the district headquarters, Sangrur, there is a village named ‘Akoi’ which is associated with the Sikh gurus. The locals believe that the first guru, Nanak Dev, visited their village on his way back from Nankana Sahib. The villagers say that the sixth Guru Hargobind Singh stayed there for a period of seven months and gave his blessings to the village. A gurudwara in the village was built by the king of Nabha to celebrate the events and it is popular tourist destination today.
Bihla: The village is located about 13 kilometers from Barnala and it is famous for a three day long fair which is held each year in November to celebrate the gurgaddi (crowning) ceremony of the first six gurus.
Badrukhan: Situated on the Sangrur-Barnala road about 5 kilometres from the city of Sangrur, this village holds significant historical importance. It is considered to be the birth of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first king to establish a Sikh empire. There is also a tomb in the village and it is said that the tomb belongs to the mother of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Bagrian: It is one of those few places in Sangrur, which were under the direct British rule. The fort in the village is a major tourist attraction; it was built during the early years of the 20th century. The fort holds a gurudwara (a Sikh temple) whose architectural design resembles that of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Barnala: A fort constructed in Barnala by Baba Ala Singh, the founder of Patiala, known as the Qila Mubarak is the principal tourist attraction in the town.
Bhadaur: The town is situated 27 km from Barnala and it was founded in 1718 by the brother of Baba Ala Singh and it served as the residence of the nobility. Bhadaur is also famous for a fair, Mata Rani Ka Mela, which is held every year in March-April.
