Dera Baba Nanak is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

Gurdaspur district Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala ...

, in the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is 36km away from Gurdaspur city, the capital of the district. Since November 2019, a

corridor Corridor or The Corridor may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film * ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film * ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...

between

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

has been established at its shrine.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Dera Baba Nanak had a population of 7493. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dera Baba Nanak has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 72%. In Dera Baba Nanak 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

Dera Baba Nanak, one of the most sacred places of the Sikhs, is situated on the banks of river

Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...

. Three famous

Gurudwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

s at Dera Baba Nanak are Sri Darbar Sahib, Sri Chola Sahib and Tahli Sahib (Gurudwara of BaBa Sri Chand ji) eldest son of

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...

, the first

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus ( Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the found ...

. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru settled and is believed to have "mingled with the Almighty" near the village

Pakhoke Mehmaran Pakhoke Mehmaran is a village in Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from Gurdaspur, district headquarter and from Dera Baba Nanak, sub district headquarter. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an ...

, opposite to the present town and named it Kartarpur - a town which lies over the border in

. The Bedis (

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

s), descendants of Guru Nanak built a new town and named it Dera Baba Nanak after their ancestor. The town has a number of Gurdwaras. Pilgrims come to this holy town in large numbers. Dera Baba Nanak was made the headquarters of the newly created

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

of Dera Baba Nanak. Dera Baba Nanak is a historical town and has many lanes and houses that have been preserved since the time of Guru Nanak. Also from this town, pilgrims can see across the border into Pakistan and see the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur. Gurudwara Sri Darbar Sahib was built in commemoration of Guru Nanak. He came here after his first ''Udasi'' (tour) during December 1515 AD to see members of his family. His wife Mata Sulakkhani and his two sons Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand had come to stay here in their maternal home at Pakho-Ke-Randhawa near Dera Baba Nanak, where Lala Mool Raj, father–in–law of Guru Nanak, was working as a

Patwari A Village accountant or Patwari (Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal), Talati (Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra) or Lekhpal (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand), is an administrative government position in rural areas of the Indian subcontinent ...

. The town forms part of the

Kartarpur Corridor The Kartarpur Corridor ( pa, ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ , , translit=kartārpur lāṅghā; ur, , translit=kartárpúr ráhdári) is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, ne ...

Politics

The city is part of the Dera Baba Nanak Assembly Constituency.

Gallery

Garments Of Guru Nanak preserved at Gurudwara Sri Chola Sahib, Dera Baba Nanak 01.jpg, Garments Of Guru Nanak preserved at Gurudwara Sri Chola Sahib Gurudwara Sri Chola Sahib, Dera Baba Nanak 02.jpg, Gurudwara Sri Chola Sahib, Dera Baba Nanak Inner view of Gurudwara Chola Sahib , Dera Baba Nanak.jpg, Inner view of Gurudwara Chola Sahib , Dera Baba Nanak

References

External links