Gurdaspur is a city in the Indian 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 ...

, between the rivers Beas and

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� ...

. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a border with

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 ...

. The Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...

was crowned at Kalanaur, which is 26 km from the city.

History

Mughal period

Gurdaspur was founded by a '' dervish'' ('Muslim ascetic') named Bhai Chand. In April 1715, the Sikh revolutionary leader Banda Bahadur seized Gurdaspur from the Mughal forces of

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily s ...

(). Banda strengthened his defences, increased storage of supplies, and slashed the ''shahnahr'' canal. After an eight-month siege, the Mughal army of

Abd al-Samad Khan Abd al-Samad Khan (died 1737) was the Mughal Empire's subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (De ...

broke into the Sikh garrison, arrested Banda and conquered Gurdaspur in December 1715.

Demographics

According to the 2011 India census, Gurdaspur had a population of 2,299,026 (1,212,995 males and 1,086,031 females). There was a 9.30% increase in population compared to that of 2001. In the previous 2001 census of India, Gurdaspur District had recorded a 19.74% increase to its population compared to 1991. According to religion,

Sikhs 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 ...

made up 68.9% of the city's population, with

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

making up 24.8%. The average literacy rate of Gurdaspur in 2011 was 81.10%, compared to 73.80% in 2001. The male and female literacy rates were 85.90% and 75.70%, respectively. For the 2001 census, the rates were 79.80% and 67.10% respectively. The total literate population was 1,668,339, consisting of 928,264 males and 740,075 females. Sex ratio is about 895 females per 1000 males. Population Density was 649 per square km.

Politics

The city is part of the Gurudaspur Assembly Constituency and Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency).

Education

Gurdaspur has many elementary and secondary level schools and has 13 degree level and engineering colleges.

Beant College of Engineering and Technology Sardar Beant Singh State University (SBSSU), formerly known as Beant College of Engineering and Technology, is a university located in Gurdaspur, Punjab, India. SBSSU imparts education in various Science and Engineering disciplines. SBSSU h ...

, is among them, founded by then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Beant Singh in 1995. A nationally accredited body by the Ministry of Tourism Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition is also located in Gurdaspur. Colleges *

Administrative towns

* Batala * Qadian * Kalanaur * Sri Hargobindpur * Dera Baba Nanak * Dhariwal * Dinanagar * Fatehgarh Churian

History

Mughal period

Demographics

Politics

Education

Administrative towns

See also

References

Further reading