Sirsa district

Sirsa district is the largest district of Haryana state. Sirsa is the district headquarters. It is located on National Highway 10 and 250 kilometres (160 mi) from the capital Delhi.

Sirsa district
District of Haryana
Location of Sirsa district in Haryana
CountryIndia
StateHaryana
HeadquartersSirsa
Tehsils1. Sirsa, 2. Dabwali, 3. Rania, 4. Ellenabad
Area
 • Total4,277 km2 (1,651 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total1,295,189
 • Density300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy60.55%
 • Sex ratio897 (2011 census estimates)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highwaysNH 10
Lok Sabha constituenciesSirsa (shared with Fatehabad district)
Vidhan Sabha constituencies5
Websitehttp://sirsa.nic.in/

Origin of name

The district is named after its headquarters, Sirsa. The name, Sirsa is derived from its ancient Sanskrit name Sairishaka, which is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the Ashtadhyayi and the Divyavadana. In Mahabharata, Sairishaka is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western quarter. It must have been a flourishing city in the 5th century B.C. as it has been mentioned by Panini.

There are a number of legends about the origin of the name of the town. Its ancient name was Sairishaka and from that it seems to have been corrupted to Sirsa. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras founded the town in the 7th century A.D. and built a fort. The material remains of an ancient fort can still be seen in the south-east of the present town. It is about 5 km in circumference. According to another tradition, the name has its origin from the sacred river Sarasvati which one flowed near it. During the medieval period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. The derivation of name Sirsa, is also attributed to the abundance of siris trees (Albizia lebbeck (Benth)) in the neighborhood of Sirsa which seems quite plausible for it finds some corroboration also in Panini and his commentator. In the ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.However some local still believes that name may be derived from famous Sarsai Nath whose temple is there in the city.

History

In 1819, the territory occupied by the present district was taken over by the British and it became part of the North Western district of the Delhi territory. In 1820, the North Western district was bifurcated into Northern and Western districts and this territory became part of Western district, which was later renamed Haryana district. In 1837, it was separated from Haryana district and merged with newly formed Bhattiana district. In 1858, Bhattiana district was transferred to Punjab Province and renamed Sirsa district. In 1884, Sirsa district was abolished, its two tehsils, Sirsa and Dabwali were merged to form Sirsa tehsil, which became part of Hissar district of Punjab Province. On 1 November 1966, it became part of newly formed state of Haryana. In 1968, Sirsa tehsil was again bifurcated to Sirsa and Dabwali tehsils. The present district was carved out on 1 September 1975 by amalgamating Sirsa and Dabwali tehsils of erstwhile Hissar district.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Sirsa one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[1] It is one of the two districts in Haryana that used to receive funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[1]

Divisions

The district comprises five tehsils: Sirsa, Dabwali, Rania, Kalanwali and Ellenabad. These tehsils are further sub-divided into 7 blocks: Baragudha, Dabwali, Ellenabad, Nathusary Chopta, Odhan, Rania and Sirsa.

There are 5 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Kalanwali, Dabwali, Rania, Sirsa and Ellenabad. All of these are part of Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901165,167—    
1911170,733+0.33%
1921173,476+0.16%
1931190,772+0.95%
1941213,522+1.13%
1951221,282+0.36%
1961370,665+5.29%
1971533,604+3.71%
1981707,068+2.85%
1991903,536+2.48%
20011,116,649+2.14%
20111,295,189+1.49%
source:[2]
Religion in Sirsa district (2011)[3]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 72.60%
Sikhism
 
 26.17%
Other
 
 1.23%

According to the 2011 census Sirsa district has a population of 1,295,189,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Mauritius[5] or the US state of New Hampshire.[6] This gives it a ranking of 378th in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 303 inhabitants per square kilometre (780/sq mi).[4] As of the 2011 census, its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.99%,[4] with a sex ratio of 897 females for every 1000 males[4] and a literacy rate of 68.82%.[4]

Languages

As of 2001, Hindi speakers for 66% and Punjabi speakers account for 33% of the population.

Rank Language 1881[7] 1961[8] 1991[9] 2001[10]
1 Punjabi 27.00% 29.40% 35.54% 33.42%
2 Hindi — 70.50% 65.34% 65.94%
3 Urdu — — 0.02% 0.07%
— Hindustani 43.00% — — —
— Other — 0.10% 0.10% 0.57%

Notable people from Sirsa District

Villages

List of villages in Sirsa District

References
  1. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  2. "Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901". Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. "Sirsa District Population Census 2011-2019, Haryana literacy sex ratio and density". www.census2011.co.in. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  4. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Mauritius 1,303,717 July 2011 est.
  6. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 September 2011. New Hampshire 1,316,470
  7. Wilson, Sir James (5 March 1884). Final Report on the Revision of Settlement of the Sirsá District in the Punjáb. Calcutta Central Press Company. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  8. http://14.139.60.114:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/955/8/Pathankot%20Tehsil%20(25-46).pdf
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. History of Sirsa Town. Atlantic Publishers & Distri. 1991. Retrieved 31 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  12. "Barinder Sran". Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  13. "Punjabi poet Dilbar passes away". Uniindia.com. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  14. "Jaswinder Brar". khabridost.in. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  15. "News18 Hindi News: पढ़ें हिंदी न्यूज़, Latest and Breaking News in Hindi, हिन्दी समाचार, न्यूज़ इन हिंदी - News18 इंडिया". News18 India (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  16. "ਛੋਟੇ ਤੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਪਰਦੇ ਦੀ ਮਕਬੂਲ ਅਦਾਕਾਰਾ ਸਤਵੰਤ". 26 August 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  17. "Hockey India - Savita".

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