Gurdaspur district is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the

Majha Majha ( Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi); ''Mājhā'') is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region split between India and Pakistan. It extends north from the right banks of the river Beas, and reaches ...

region of 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.

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, between the rivers Beas River, Beas and Ravi River, Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the distr ...

is the district headquarters. It internationally borders

Narowal District Narowal District ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district in the province of Punjab of Pakistan. Narowal city is the capital of the district. During the British rule, Narowal was the town of Raya Khas tehsil of Sialkot District. Narowal District ...

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

, and the districts of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal cor ...

Kapurthala Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buil ...

and

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

. Two main rivers

Beas Beas is a riverfront town in the Amritsar district of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Beas lies on the banks of the Beas River. Beas town is mostly located in revenue boundary of Budha Theh wit ...

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) (1926–201 ...

passes through the district. The Mughal 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, Hum ...

is said to have been enthroned in a garden near Kalanaur, a historically important town in the district. The district is at the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Punjab (out of 22), after

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

and

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...

, with 31% of the district's population, is its largest city.

History

Coin of Dharaghosha king of the Audumbaras

British Raj

During

British Rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

the district of Gurdaspur was a subdivision of

Lahore Division Lahore Division is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It comprises four Districts - Kasur, Lahore, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura. The Lahore Division is commanded by a Commissioner to manage the division. Under the Commissi ...

, the district itself was administratively subdivided into four

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 administr ...

Shakargarh Shakargarh ( ur, ), the capital of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-eastern part of Narowal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It borders Jammu, India to the north and Sialkot to the west Its literacy rate is more than 85% wh ...

and

. According to the 1881 census the population of the district was 823,695 this had risen by over 100,000 to 943,922 in the 1891 census. However the 1901 census recorded a fall in population – 940,334, this was largely due to emigration – some 44,000 settlers settling in

Chenab colony Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

. According to the 1901 census there were 463,371 Muslims (49%), 380,636 Hindus (over 40%) and 91,756 (10%) Sikhs.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphori ...

who founded the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

movement had followers here. During the partition of India in 1947 the future of Gurdaspur was highly contested. According to the 1941 census, the population of this district had a narrow 51.14% Muslim majority. Radcliffe Award of the boundary gave only the Shakargarh tehsil of the district to Pakistan, and the rest to India. The Muslim population of the eastern tehsils migrated to Pakistan as refugees, and the Hindus and Sikhs of Shakargarh migrated to Gurdaspur after crossing the Ravi Bridge. They settled and spread in the Gurdaspur district.

Inside India

On 27 July 2011 a part of district is carved out to form a new

Pathankot district Pathankot district, is the northernmost district of the Indian state of Punjab. Pathankot city is the district headquarters. The district was created on 27 July 2011. Etymology The original name of Pathankot was ''Paithan'' during the Mughal ...

, which was earlier part of Gurdaspur. The Pathankot district comprises two sub-divisions of Pathankot and Dharkalan along with two sub-tehsils namely Narot Jaimal Singh and Bamial.

Geography

Location

The Gurdaspur district is in the north of Punjab state. It falls in the Jalandhar division and is sandwiched between rivers Ravi and Beas. The district lies between north-latitude 31°36' and 32°34' and east longitude 74°56' and 75°24' and shares common boundaries with Pathankot district in the north, Beas River in the north-east, Hoshiarpur district in the south-east, Kapurthala district in the south, Amritsar district in the south-west and Pakistan in the north-west.

Government and politics

Politics

Tehsil

Sub Tehsils (Total : 7)

C.D. Blocks (Total : 11)

Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam)

Municipal Councils

Villages

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census Gurdaspur district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 2,298,323, roughly equal to the nation of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

or the US state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. This gives it a ranking of 196th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

over the decade 2001–2011 was 9.3%. Gurdaspur has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 895

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 79.95%. After the separation of the Pathankot tehsil into a separate district in 2011, the residual district has a population of 1,621,725 of which 1,260,572 were rural and 361,153 were urban. Scheduled Castes have a population of 373,544 (23.03%) of the population. Punjabi is the predominant language, spoken by 98.27% of the population.

Religion

Sikhism is the largest religion in the residual district with 950,016 (58.58%), while Hinduism is the second-largest with 476,095 (29.36%). Christians are the third-largest community with 169,295 (10.44%), the highest share of Christians in the state, and Muslims 13,350 (0.82%). Before

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, undivided Gurdaspur district had a slight Muslim majority with a large Hindu minority and smaller Sikh and Christian populations. The area which now forms the current district had a Muslim majority and a large Sikh minority, with smaller Hindu and Christian populations.

Historical

Notable people

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

- Indian actor * Premchand Dogra - Bodybuilder, Mr. Universe, Mr. India * Capt. Gurbachan Singh Salaria - Param Vir Chakra awardee, posthumous * Chetan Anand - director * Vijay Anand - director *

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awa ...

- Indian actor *

Shiv Kumar Batalvi Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 - 6 May 1973) was an Indian poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony, due to that he ...

- Punjabi writer *

Dilbagh Singh Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VM (10 March 1926 – 9 February 2001) was the head of the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984, as Chief of the Air Staff. He was the second Sikh to hold that position. Dilbagh Singh was commi ...

- Air Chief Marshal *

Dinesh Khanna Dinesh Kumar Khanna is a former badminton player from India. Career He was the Men's singles Asian Champion in 1965 and became the first and till date the only Indian to win an Asian badminton title on 14 November 1965. He won a Bronze medal ...

- Badminton player *

Romesh Sharma Romesh Brij Sharma is an Indian film producer, actor and director. Under his banner Romesh Films, he has been actively involved in the production of films and television shows for over 30 years. Personal life His son Karan Sharma is also an a ...

- Indian Actor and producer *

Jasbir Jassi Jasbir Singh Bains (born 7 February 1970), better known by his stage name Jasbir Jassi, is an Indian singer, lyricist, performer and actor. he has released thirteen albums, his first pop album being ''Dil Le Gayee'', released in 1998 with Time ...

- Bhangra singer * Lt. Navdeep Singh - Ashoka Chakra awardee, posthumous *

Guru Randhawa Gursharanjot Singh Randhawa (born 30 August 1991) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer associated with Punjabi, Bhangra, Indi-pop and Bollywood music. He is known for songs like "Lahore", " Ishare Tere", " Slowly Slowly", and " ...

- Punjabi singer *

Preet Harpal Harpal Singh commonly known as Preet Harpal is a Punjabi singer songwriter and actor from Punjab, India. Career Harpal made his debut with album ''Hasle Vairne Hasle'' in 1999. His second album ''Begane Taan Begane Hunde Ne'' makes vocals of ...

- Punjabi singer and actor * Ashwani Kumar - Former Union Minister * Robert Masih Nahar - Spanish senator *

Shivil Kaushik Shivil Sharma Kaushik (born 7 September 1995) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Hubli Tigers in the Karnataka Premier League and had played for Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League. After a successful outing in the KPL, Kaushik was s ...

- cricketer *

Teja Singh Akarpuri Teja Singh Akarpuri (1892 – 20 November 1975) was an Indian and Sikh politician who served as the 11th Jathedar of Akal Takht from 1921 to 1923 and 1926 to 1930. He was the First MP from Gurdaspur constituency In Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1 ...

Jathedar of Akal Takht The Jathedar of the Akal Takht ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is the head of the Akal Takht and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The jathedar has the de facto power as the supreme spokesperson of the Khalsa t ...

Iqbal Bahu Iqbal Bahu ( ur, ; 4 September 1944 – 24 March 2012) was a Pakistani sufi and a folk singer. He is considered one of the greatest folk singers in subcontinent. Early life and career Iqbal Bahu was born as Muhammad Iqbal in Gurdaspur, Briti ...

- Pakistani Sufi singer *

Ishfaq Ahmad Ishfaq Ahmad Khan (3 November 1930 – 18 January 2018) , was a Pakistani nuclear physicist, emeritus professor of high-energy physics at the National Centre for Physics, and former science advisor to the Government of Pakistan. A versatile ...

- Pakistani nuclear physicist *

Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and ...

- Tabla player * Nek Chand Saini - Indian artist and creator of the

Rock Garden of Chandigarh The Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a sculpture garden for rock enthusiasts in Chandigarh, India. It is also known as Nek Chand Saini's Rock Garden of Nathupur after its founder Nek Chand Saini, a government official who started building the ga ...

Gurpreet Ghuggi Gurpreet Singh Waraich (born 19 July 1971), commonly known as Gurpreet Ghuggi, is an Indian actor, comedian and politician. He is known for his works in Punjabi and Hindi films. Ghuggi began his career by acting in theatre in the early 1990s, a ...

- actor and comedian-turned-politician *

Ranjit Bawa Ranjit Singh Bajwa (born 14 March 1989) known professionally as Ranjit Bawa is an Indian singer and actor associated with Punjabi language music and films. He rose to fame from his single "Jatt Di Akal" which broke many Punjabi records. He made ...

- Punjabi singer and actor *

Nimrat Khaira Nimrat Khaira is a Punjabi singer, and actress known for her work in Punjabi- language music and films. Early life Born in Gurdaspur, Khaira started singing in third grade. She is the only child of her parents. She completed her schooling from ...

- Punjabi singer and actress *

Satinder Satti Satinder Satti is an Indian television anchor, actress, poet, dancer, singer, and former Punjab Arts Council chairperson. She has won accolades for her performances as a popular television host. The platform is non-profit and launched to spread ...

- anchor-singer * Manpreet Gony - cricketer *

Varinder Singh Ghuman Varinder Singh Ghuman is an Indian professional bodybuilder and actor. Ghuman won Mr. India in 2009 and he was awarded 2nd place in Mr. Asia. Career Bodybuilding Ghuman hails from Gurdaspur, Punjab, and is the world's first vegetarian profess ...

- bodybuilder *

Surjit Singh Randhawa Sardar Surjit Singh Randhawa (10 October 1951 – 6 January 1984) was an Indian field hockey player, who played for India men's national field hockey team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He was a full back and captain of India field hockey tea ...

- hockey player * Principal Sujan Singh - Punjabi writer *

Teja Singh Teja Singh was an Indian Sikh scholar, teacher, author and translator. Early life Teja Singh was born on June 2, 1894, in Adiala village, Rawalpindi district, Punjab Province, British India The provinces of India, earlier presid ...

(singh sabha movement) * Prabhjot Singh (Indian hockey player) * Sobha Singh - painter * Pratap Singh Bajwa - Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab *Baba

Jaimal Singh Jaimal Singh (1839–1903) was an Indian spiritual leader. He became an initiate of Shiv Dayal Singh (Radha Soami). After his initiation, Jaimal Singh served in the British Indian Army as a sepoy (private) from the age of seventeen and attai ...

- Punjabi spiritual leader *

Mirza Nasir Ahmad Hāfiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad ( ur, ) (16 November 1909 – 9 June 1982) was the third caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثالث, ''khalīfatul masīh al-Thālith''), head of the Ahmadiyya Community. He was elected as the third successor o ...

(Khalifatul Massih III) *

Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad ( ur, ) (18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the fourth caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الرابع, ''khalīfatul masīh al-rābi'') and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Community. He was elected as the fourt ...

(Khalifatul Massih IV) *

- Founder of the Ahmaddiya movement *

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ( ur, ) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was the second caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثاني, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the ...

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Ghulam Ahmed Pervez Ghulam Ahmad Parwez ( pa, ; 1903–1985), widely known as Allama Parwez, was a pioneer of Quranic doctrine from pre-Independence India and later Pakistan. He attempted to rationally interpret Quranic themes, by challenging the established Sun ...

- Islamic scholar *

Mumtaz Mufti Mumtaz Husain, better known as Mumtaz Mufti ( ur, ; September 11, 1905 – October 27, 1995), was a writer from Pakistan.Sunanda Sharma Sunanda Sharma (born 30 January 1992) is an Indian playback singer and film actress. She made her debut with the song "Billi Akh". Sharma began her acting career with the film '' Sajjan Singh Rangroot'' with co-stars Diljit Dosanjh and Yograj S ...

- Punjabi singer and actress *

Harnaaz Sandhu Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu (born 3 March 2000) is an Indian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2021. Sandhu had been previously crowned Miss Diva Universe 2021, and is the third entrant from India to win Miss ...

Miss Universe 2021 Miss Universe 2021 was the 70th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021. At the end of the event, Andrea Meza of Mexico crowned Harnaaz Sandhu of India as Miss Universe 2021. It is India's fi ...

AP Dhillon Amritpal Singh Dhillon (born 10 January 1993), known professionally as AP Dhillon, is an Indo-Canadian singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer associated with Punjabi music. Five of his singles have peaked on the Official Charts Company ...

- Singer/songwriter, music producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gurdaspur District Districts of Punjab, India