Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the

Sutlej River The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the ...

Firozpur District Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

. After the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, it became a border town on the

India–Pakistan border The Indo–Pak border or India-Pakistan border is the international boundary that separates India and Pakistan. At its northern end is the Line of Control, which separates Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistani-administered Kashmir; and ...

with memorials to soldiers who died fighting for India.

History

The city of Firozpur was founded by

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.

, a ruler of the Tughluq dynasty, who reigned over the

Sultanate of Delhi The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

from 1351 to 1388. It is located on the banks of the Sutlej River on the India–Pakistan border. The nearby Firozpur Cantonment is a major

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

of the country. British rule was first established in 1835, when, on the failure of heirs to the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family who possessed it, a small

escheat Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

to the British government was formed, and the district was gradually formed around this nucleus. The strategic importance of Ferozepur (as it was spelled under the British) was at this time very great, and in 1839 it was the outpost of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in the direction of the Sikh power. It accordingly became the scene of operations during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

, in which the Sikhs crossed the

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...

in December 1845, but were defeated and withdrew into their own territory, and peace was concluded with the

Treaty of Lahore The Treaty of Lahore of 9 March 1846 was a peace-treaty marking the end of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The treaty was concluded, for the British, by the Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge and two officers of the East India Company and, for th ...

. Later, throughout the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

Ferozepur remained in the hands of the English. The Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara commemorates 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment who died in the

Battle of Saragarhi The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Raj and Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,00024,000 Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk, a ...

, defending a signal post against an overwhelming enemy force on 12 September 1897.The 21 soldiers defended the Saragarhi Fort against the attack of 10000 invaders All the 21 Soldiers were awarded Indian Order of Merit .The 20 soldiers out of 21 were from Ferozepur. The Barki Memorial, built in 1969, is a memorial to the soldiers of the 7 Infantry Division who died in a battle in 1965 which led to India taking the town of Barki, 15 miles south-east of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Geography

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian Census, Firozpur had a total population of 110,313, of which 58,451 (53%) were male and 51,862 (47%) were female. 10.6% of the population was six years old or younger. The total number of literate people in Firozpur was 78,040, which constituted 70.7% of the population, with male literacy of 73.3% and female literacy of 67.9%. The effective literacy rate (population of 7 years and above) was 79.1%, of which male literacy rate was 82.3% and female literacy rate was 75.6%. The

Scheduled Caste The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

population was 27,395. Firozpur had 22,263 households in 2011.

Religion

According to the 2011 census, out of total population of 110,313 in Firozpur city,

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is followed by 77,743 (70.5%) people and

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

by 28,961 (26.3%). Minorities religions include

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Media

Firozpur has an

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

Relay station known as Akashvani Firozpur. It broadcasts on 100.1 MHz frequency.

Notable people

* Susham Bedi, author *

Preet Bharara Preetinder Singh Bharara (; born October 13, 1968) is an Indian-born American lawyer, author, podcaster and former federal prosecutor who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. He is curren ...

, attorney and media personality *

Sohraab Dhaliwal Sohraab Dhaliwal (born 18 November 1991) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Madhya Pradesh. He made his List A debut on 2 March 2014, for Madhya Pradesh in the 2013–14 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He made his Twenty20 debut against Vidarbha cricket ...

, cricketer *

Sher Singh Ghubaya Sher Singh Ghubaya (born 10 June 1962) is an Indian politician who was a member of the Lok Sabha, elected from Firozpur constituency of Punjab in 2009 and 2014, as a member of Akali Dal. He is currently (as of 2021) a member of the Indian Nation ...

, politician * Annie Gill, actress *

Balram Jakhar Balram Jakhar (23 August 1923 – 3 February 2016) was an Indian politician, who served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He was also the longest serving Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Early life and education Jakhar ...

, politician * Zora Singh Maan, politician *

Verma Malik Verma Malik (13 April 1925 – 15 March 2009) was a Bollywood film songs lyricist. He was an active freedom fighter during the British Raj. He wrote many patriotic songs and bhajans and recited them immediately prior to penning lyrics for fi ...

, lyricist * Narain Chand Parashar, politician *

Bano Qudsia Bano Qudsia ( ur, ‎; 28 November 19284 February 2017), also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels, dramas plays and short stories. Qudsia is best recognized ...

, writer *

Janmeja Singh Sekhon Janmeja Singh Sekhon is an Indian politician and belongs to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal. He is Minister for PWD in the present Punjab Government.

, politician * Ajit Pal Singh, hockey player * Gagan Ajit Singh, hockey player * Ganda Singh, revolutionary * Gurbaj Singh, hockey player * Princepal Singh, basketball player *

Ronjan Sodhi Ronjan Sodhi (born 23 October 1979 in Ferozepur, Punjab, India) is an Indian Double trap shooter. He won two silver medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games. In 2011, he became first Indian to successfully ...

, shooter * Manav Vij, actor

Notes

External links

* * {{Firozpur district Punjab Populated places established in the 14th century Cities and towns in Firozpur district