Talhan is a village in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

district, near the

Jalandhar Cantonment Jalandhar Cantonment is a cantonment town in Jalandhar District in the Indian state of Punjab. The Cantonment is located between latitude 30° 18' and longitude 75° 37' on the southwest and at a distance of 2 km from Cantonment Railway St ...

, in

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.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census, Talhan has a population of 2,946 people. The village has .

Baba Shaheed Nihal Singh

Talhan is famous for its Shaheedi Jor mela, which is held annually in the memory of Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh. The mela is a big attraction in Jalandhar. The 58th Jor Mela was held on 20–21 June 2009. Baba Nihal Singh belonged to the neighbouring village of Dakoha. Baba Nihal Singh made pulleys for drinking water wells. He served the people by installing the pulleys at the base of the well. Local people believe that as the Baba was divine, no matter which water well Baba installed a pulley, the water wells never dried up and the water remained sweet. On one occasion, the Baba met with a fatal accident, whilst installing a pulley and the Baba became a martyr whilst serving the people. The people of Talhan constructed a shrine (Samadh) in Talhan. The shrine was looked after by the Baba Nihal Singh's associate, Harnam Singh. After Harnam Singh's death, the followers cremated him next to the Baba's Samadhi. The two shrines have now become a grand Gurudwara. An annual Mela is held to mark the death anniversary ("Barsi") of the Baba. This Mela is a grand event in Jalandhar. There are sports events like Kabbadi, volleyball and tug-of-war. Gatka (Sikh martial arts) displays are held.

Religion

Talhan has a mixed population of

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 ...

s and

Hindu 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 ...

s. The village also has one

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family whose Iqbal Bibi is the sole caretaker of the "mazaar" (

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

) of Pir Baba Fateh Shah Qadir. The "mazaar" is located in the north-west of Talhan and is about a kilometre from Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh. The "mazaar" includes three graves, a "tomb" and the care taker is Baba Paramjit Singh Bains. The village participates in the annual

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. t ...

or Mela where

Qawwali Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...

's and folk singers perform. There is an annual Mela which is celebrated by Sehgal's. This Mela is celebrated at their holy place known as the Jathere of Sehgal family.

Talhan caste conflict

The Talhan conflict is a very important event in the assertion of dalit rights in Punjab. 60% of the population is from the scheduled caste and are mainly from the

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. ...

caste. In June 2003, Talhan hit the headlines in when a forceful assertion of the majority dalit community of

s took on members of the Jat community; they wanted a share on the governing committee of the Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurdwara. Though the Chamar community form more than 60 percent of Talhan's 3,000-strong population, they were denied a share in the committee. As a result of a protracted dispute between the villagers, members of the dalit and other communities engage in running all aspects of the village administration .

General

Neighbouring villages include Parasrampur, Kotli Than Singh, Bhakriana, Semmi,

Salempur Masanda Salempur Masanda is a village in Jalandhar district, near the Jalandhar Cantonment, in Punjab, India. Demographics According to the 2001 Census, Salempur Masanda has a population of 1,488 people. The village is in size. The village has a lar ...

, Dhanowali,

Dakoha Dakoha is a village in the Jalandhar Cantonment of the state of Punjab, northwest India. See also * Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in th ...

, Dhilwan and Puranpur. The village has many castes with surnames such as Jassi , Bains, Sander, Bhogal, Sandhu, Chahal, Bal and Randhawa. The Bains families are divided into two "pattis" (family divisions): Burha Magu and Rurha Deepa and claim ancestry from Baba Tula who was originally from either Baria village or Bahowal village near Mahilpur. The village Gurudwara is also famous as Visa Request Gurudwara as devotees bring aeroplane replica to request an approval of VISA applications. The village has shops, two

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s, Jathera, a

Secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, a

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

s, a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

and four Gurdwara's * Gurdwara Sri Guru Ravidass ji Talhan * Gurdwara Singh Sabha Talhan * Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Harnam Singh ji Talhan * Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh ji Talhan

Location map

References

{{Jalandhar district Villages in Jalandhar district