Muktsar
Encyclopedia
Sri Muktsar Sahib is a city and a municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

 in Sri Muktsar Sahib district in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

. Sri Muktsar Sahib's historical name was Khidrane dee dhab (ਖਿਦਰਾਣੇ ਦੀ ਢਾਬ Khidarāṇē Dī Dhāb).

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Sri Muktsar Sahib has a population of 3,96,030. Rural areas constitute 54.10% of the population and Urban 71.63. Sri Muktsar Sahib has an average literacy rate of 50.67 %: male literacy is 65.94 %, and female literacy is 50.57%. In Sri Muktsar Sahib, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Geography

It is located in the South Western Zone of Punjab and is bounded by the States of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 and Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

 in the South. The district of Faridkot
Faridkot
Faridkot is a small city and a municipal council in Faridkot district in the state of Punjab, India.It's a division with headquarter at Faridkot consists of three Districts Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa...

 lies to its North and Bathinda to the East.It lies between 30° 69’ and 29° 87’ latitude and 74° 21’ and 74° 86’ longitude.


Climate is determined by the Western Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

 to the North of Punjab and Thar desert
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...

 to the South. The South-western monsoon brings the rain bearing depression during summer(July to September). Nearly 70% of rainfall is received during the months of July to September. The extreme type of climate is present with temperature varying from 45°C in June to as low as 2°C in January. The major part of the district has aridic moisture regime. Soil moisture regime computations employing the Newhall mathematical model indicate that the area has 'weak aridic' moisture regime(Van Wambeke, 1985).

History

Sri Muktsar Sahib has a proud heritage. It is known as the last battlefield of Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...

 in 1705 A.D., which proved to be a most decisive conflict in the military history of the Sikhs. Literally the name of this city means "the pool of liberation". The forty Sikh warriors who fought to death here against the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 more than three centuries ago are remembered by a grand festival held here every January, which attracts devotees from all over the world.

During the 1740s some Sikh families settled here, then a town developed there where the battlefield was. Later it took the name Sri Muktsar Sahib, renamed from Kidhrani di Dhab. A Gurdwara was Built. Later Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa (1791-1837) visited Muktsar Sahib and did kar sewa of the Muktsar Sahib building, which was in 1980s replaced with a new building.

Fairs and Festivals

The Mela Maghi
Mela Maghi
Mela Maghi , held at the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib each year in January, or the month of Magh according to Nanakshahi calendar is one of the most important melas of India and the most important of all religiously significant gatherings of the Sikhs..The fair is held to honour the memory of...

 ( ਮੇਲਾ ਮਾਘੀ mēlā māghī) held in the town of Muktsar, a day after Lohri (13 January) is very famous. Held every January it is to commemorate the valour of 40 Muktas, (or the liberated ones), who laid down their lives following Sri Guru Gobind Singh into the battle-field of Khidrana (ਖਿਦਰਾਨੇ ਦੀ ਢਾਬ ). In other words, Muktsar( Mukt & Sar) means land of 40 martyrs i.e. 40 muktyaa di dharti(sar). The city is blessed with the holy gurudwara Tutti Gandi Sahib. All the roads entering into the city have beautiful entrance gates on the outskirts.

The huge Mela is held at an open space mainly on the Bathinda & Malout roads. People from all over the world, come to Sri Muktsar Sahib on this day to take a dip in the holy sarovar.

Sri Muktsar Sahib is a very hot battlefield for political parties namely Congress and SAD-BJP. The 2 prominent CMs of Punjab have their origins from Sri Muktsar Sahib district.Harcharan Singh Brar
Harcharan Singh Brar
Harcharan Singh Brar was the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab from August 31, 1995 to November 21, 1996. He succeeded the assassinated Chief Minister Beant Singh....

 and Parkash Singh Badal.

Traditionally a horse fair was also held on this occasion but it is not held anymore.

Schools and Colleges:
  1. Bhai Mastan Singh Public School, Muktsar
  2. Little Flower Convent School, Muktsar
  3. New Vision Academy (CBSE English Medium School, Sarainaga)
  4. New Vision Girls College (BA, MA, BSC-IT, PGDCA)
  5. Desh Bhagat Dental College & Hospital, KKP.Rd. Muktsar
  6. Mai Bhago Ayurvedic Medical College, Muktsar
  7. Saint Soldier convent School, Muktsar
  8. National Public School, Muktsar
  9. Government girls school
  10. Government Boys school
  11. Akal Academy
  12. D.A.V Public School
  13. Shivalik Public School
  14. Sarvhitkari Public School
  15. Rama Krishna Middle school
  16. Bhai Maha Singh Engineering College, Muktsar
  17. Rama Krishna School
  18. Gurunanak College For Girls
  19. Dasmesh Khalsa College.
  20. Government College ,KKp Road..Muktsar
  21. Dolphin Playway & Public School, Muktsar
  22. Saint Farid Convent School, Muktsar
  23. National College of Information and Technology,Muktsar
  24. Sarswati Computer Centre Red Cross Bhawan

HOSPITALS

  1. Joshi Hospital,Kotkapura Road,Muktsar
  2. Bansal Nursing Home,Kotkapura Road,Muktsar
  3. Adesh Cancer And Charitable Hospital, Kotkapura Road, Muktsar

Gurudwaras

  • Sri Darbar Sahib
  • Rakab Ganj Sahib
  • Shaheedan da Gurudwara
  • Tambu Sahib
  • Taran Taran Sahib
  • Tibbi Sahib

A few years ago, a new monument was built in the shape of Khanda Sahib, near DC office.
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