Kotkapura
Encyclopedia
Kot Kapura is a historic city some 50 km from Bathinda, 40 km from Moga
and 30 km from Muktsar
in the state of Punjab
, India
. It is the largest city in the Faridkot District
and has a large cotton market, considered one of the best in Asia.It takes around 20 minutes by bus from Faridkot
, 5 hours by from Chandigarh
and 2.5 hours from Ludhiana,and 7 hours from New Delhi
by train to reach the city. It is a central city on route to Ganganagar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Firozpur. Kot Kapura takes its name from its founder, Nawab Kapura Singh, and the word "Kot", meaning a small fort – literally the "fort of Kapura".
, the 6th Sikh
Guru. He helped Guru Har Gobind Ji in the Battle of Mehraj, but died issueless in 1643. He was succeeded by his nephew, Kapura, who founded the town of Kot Kapura in 1661. Nawab
Kapura was the chaudhry of eighty-four villages. Guru Gobind Singh
, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, en route from Machhiwara
, after staying at Dina
and after short stopovers at various other places, reached Kot Kapura and asked Nawab Kapura Brar for his fort to fight the pursuing Mughal
army. Kapura was a Sikh, but did not want to earn the ire of the Mughals by helping Guru Gobind Singh openly in his war with them; otherwise, the famous last battle of Muktsar
(Khidrane Di Dhaab; now a historic town) between Guru Gobind Singh and the Mughal army would have been fought at Kot Kapura. However, Nawab refused the fort to the guru.
After refusal from Kapura Brar, Guru Gobind Singh Ji reached the village of Dhilwan Kalan
(at that time called Dhilwan Sodhian), where his relatives received him with great cordiality. At Dhilwan Kalan, one of the Prithi Chand's descendants, Kaul Sodhi, presented Guru Gobind Singh with new clothes. The guru took off his blue robe which he had been wearing since he left Machiwara, and tearing it piece by piece burned it in fire. The historic words that Guru Gobind Singh Ji are said to have uttered on this occasion are memorable: "I have torn the blue clothes which I wore, and with that the rule of the Turks
and Pathans is at an end". Some historians think that the guru said "Turks, Pathans and Kapuras". It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed a couple of days at Dhilwan Kalan in the house of Sodhi Kaul on his request. On Kaul's request, Guruji also discarded his blue dress and changed to white dress. Descendants of Kaul Sodhi’s family claim that the guru gave a "syeli topi" believed to be of the first guru, Nanak Dev
Ji, and a "chola" (cloak), socks and turban
, two daggers believed to belonging to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, which is still in their custody.
Guru Gobind Singh's clothes can still be seen at Dhilwan Kalan. Nowadays, the village is approximately 2566 hectares in area, with a population of around 7000. In memory of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's visit to Dhilwan Kalan, "Gurdwara Godavari Sar Sahib" is situated about 200 m north of the village. Guru Gobind Singh Ji bathed in the sarover and changed cloths provided by the residents of the village. He named the village sarover "Godavari Sar". Guru Gobind Singh Ji announced that dipping in this sarover, now the "Holy Sarover of Gurdwara", will bear the same pilgrimage as taking a holy dip in the Godavari River
, a sacred river in central India near Nanded
. The Godavari River has been held as a special place of pilgrimage for many thousands of years in central India. A dip in the holy Godavari River is considered sacred in central India, similar to taking a holy dip in the Ganges River
in northern India by Hindu
s.
Chaudhry Kapura, being repentant of his disgraceful act of not helping Guru Gobind Singh, later came to see the Guru and asked for his forgiveness. The Guru moved from Kot Kapura to Dhilwan Kalan, and then to Talwandi Sabo via Guru Ki Dhab. Later, in the battle of Muktsar in 1705, Nawab Kapura helped Guru Gobind Singh Ji in an underhand manner. In 1708, Kapura was slain by Isa Khan Manj. Kapura had three sons: Sukhia, Sema and Mukhia. Mukhia killed Isa Khan and took control of the entire area. Sema was also killed in this battle in 1710. Kapura’s eldest son, Sukhia, again came into power in 1720. A dispute between the sons of Sukhia, grandsons of Kapura, led to the division of the state in 1763. The older brother, Sardar Jodh Singh Brar, retained control of Kotkapura, while his younger brother, Sardar Hamir Singh Brar, was given Faridkot
, which later became known as Faridkot Riyast during the British Raj
. Nawab Kapura’s state was captured in 1803 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
. In 1808, Ranjit Singh captured the principality of Faridkot up to Muktsar. But Ranjit Singh vacated this area on the behest of the British. During the First Anglo-Sikh War
in 1845, Pahara Singh Brar, from Kapura’s ancestral background, aided the British by providing secret intelligence to the British army. Pahar Singh Brar was rewarded with more territory of Faridkot Riyast being placed under his control after the British capture of the Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Raja Harinder Singh Brar was the last king of Faridkot Riyast before the independence of India in 1947. Raja Harinder Singh Brar had four issues, a son and three daughters; his son died issueless as did his youngest daughter years later. His eldest daughter Rajkumari Bibiji Amrit Kaur Sahiba and second eldest Rajkumari Bibiji Deepinder Kaur Sahiba live with issues. There is currently a legal dispute over the Raja's assets. Giani Zail Singh, former president of india belongs to the Sandhwan village of Kot Kapura.
Kot Kapura is also called 'City of White Gold' due to the its cotton market. Kot Kapura was the largest cotton market in the Asia.
Faridkot is a little smaller than Kot Kapura but due to existing infrastructure of erstwhile Fardikot Riyasat. Kot Kapura was famous for its ever-closed railway crossing gate on the Kot Kapura–Muktsar road. However, a much-delayed flyover has saved the town from this notorious landmark.
Important villages near Kot Kapura are Sandhwan, Dhilwan Kalan, Panjgraian Kalan, Hari Nau, Madhak, Khara, Matta, Romana Albel Singh etc.
Moga
Moga may refer to one of the following locations:* Moga district, in Punjab, India** Moga, Punjab, a city and municipality in the district* Moga, slang word for the concept of the "modern girl" in 20th-century Japan...
and 30 km from Muktsar
Muktsar
Sri Muktsar Sahib is a city and a municipal council in Sri Muktsar Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Sri Muktsar Sahib's historical name was Khidrane dee dhab .-Demographics: India census, Sri Muktsar Sahib has a population of 3,96,030...
in the state of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is the largest city in the Faridkot District
Faridkot District
Faridkot district is one of the twenty districts in the state of Punjab in North-West Republic of India. According to Punjab's Geo-Area, Faridkot is a Malwa District. It is one of the biggest cotton markets in South-East Asia. The name 'Faridkot' is derived from Baba Farid, a god-lover who wanted...
and has a large cotton market, considered one of the best in Asia.It takes around 20 minutes by bus from Faridkot
Faridkot
Faridkot is a small city and a municipal council in Faridkot district in the state of Punjab, India.It's a division with headquarter at Faridkot consists of three Districts Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa...
, 5 hours by from Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
and 2.5 hours from Ludhiana,and 7 hours from New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
by train to reach the city. It is a central city on route to Ganganagar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Firozpur. Kot Kapura takes its name from its founder, Nawab Kapura Singh, and the word "Kot", meaning a small fort – literally the "fort of Kapura".
History
Bhallan, founder of the Faridkot principality, was an ardent follower Guru Har GobindGuru Har Gobind
Guru Hargobind Sahib, also Saccha Badshah was the sixth of the Sikh gurus and became Guru on 25 May 1606 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev. He was not, perhaps, more than eleven at his father's execution...
, the 6th Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
Guru. He helped Guru Har Gobind Ji in the Battle of Mehraj, but died issueless in 1643. He was succeeded by his nephew, Kapura, who founded the town of Kot Kapura in 1661. Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
Kapura was the chaudhry of eighty-four villages. Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...
, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, en route from Machhiwara
Machhiwara
Machhiwara is a village and a nagar panchayat in the Ludhiana district of the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib named after the Guru's feet that are compared to the lotus flower...
, after staying at Dina
Dina
Dina may refer to:*Sanskrit word meaning "day"*Dina , game by Bit Corp*Hebrew word meaning "judged"*Dina , Russian futsal club based in Moscow-Places:*The Massina Empire...
and after short stopovers at various other places, reached Kot Kapura and asked Nawab Kapura Brar for his fort to fight the pursuing Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
army. Kapura was a Sikh, but did not want to earn the ire of the Mughals by helping Guru Gobind Singh openly in his war with them; otherwise, the famous last battle of Muktsar
Muktsar
Sri Muktsar Sahib is a city and a municipal council in Sri Muktsar Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Sri Muktsar Sahib's historical name was Khidrane dee dhab .-Demographics: India census, Sri Muktsar Sahib has a population of 3,96,030...
(Khidrane Di Dhaab; now a historic town) between Guru Gobind Singh and the Mughal army would have been fought at Kot Kapura. However, Nawab refused the fort to the guru.
After refusal from Kapura Brar, Guru Gobind Singh Ji reached the village of Dhilwan Kalan
Dhilwankalan
Dhilwan Kalan village is situated on Bathinda-Baja Khana-Faridkot main road approximately 5 km from Kotkapura in Distt Faridkot in India. The area of the village is approximately 2566 hectare and the population 7000. Some of the residents of this village, due to ancestral land inheritance,...
(at that time called Dhilwan Sodhian), where his relatives received him with great cordiality. At Dhilwan Kalan, one of the Prithi Chand's descendants, Kaul Sodhi, presented Guru Gobind Singh with new clothes. The guru took off his blue robe which he had been wearing since he left Machiwara, and tearing it piece by piece burned it in fire. The historic words that Guru Gobind Singh Ji are said to have uttered on this occasion are memorable: "I have torn the blue clothes which I wore, and with that the rule of the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Pathans is at an end". Some historians think that the guru said "Turks, Pathans and Kapuras". It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed a couple of days at Dhilwan Kalan in the house of Sodhi Kaul on his request. On Kaul's request, Guruji also discarded his blue dress and changed to white dress. Descendants of Kaul Sodhi’s family claim that the guru gave a "syeli topi" believed to be of the first guru, Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.-Early life:Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now...
Ji, and a "chola" (cloak), socks and turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
, two daggers believed to belonging to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, which is still in their custody.
Guru Gobind Singh's clothes can still be seen at Dhilwan Kalan. Nowadays, the village is approximately 2566 hectares in area, with a population of around 7000. In memory of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's visit to Dhilwan Kalan, "Gurdwara Godavari Sar Sahib" is situated about 200 m north of the village. Guru Gobind Singh Ji bathed in the sarover and changed cloths provided by the residents of the village. He named the village sarover "Godavari Sar". Guru Gobind Singh Ji announced that dipping in this sarover, now the "Holy Sarover of Gurdwara", will bear the same pilgrimage as taking a holy dip in the Godavari River
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
, a sacred river in central India near Nanded
Nanded
Nanded is the second largest city in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. It is also headquarters of Nanded district in the Marathwada Division of the state. It is an important holy place for the Sikh faith and is famous for the Hazur Sahib Gurudwara. It is the district headquarters once...
. The Godavari River has been held as a special place of pilgrimage for many thousands of years in central India. A dip in the holy Godavari River is considered sacred in central India, similar to taking a holy dip in the Ganges River
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
in northern India by Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s.
Chaudhry Kapura, being repentant of his disgraceful act of not helping Guru Gobind Singh, later came to see the Guru and asked for his forgiveness. The Guru moved from Kot Kapura to Dhilwan Kalan, and then to Talwandi Sabo via Guru Ki Dhab. Later, in the battle of Muktsar in 1705, Nawab Kapura helped Guru Gobind Singh Ji in an underhand manner. In 1708, Kapura was slain by Isa Khan Manj. Kapura had three sons: Sukhia, Sema and Mukhia. Mukhia killed Isa Khan and took control of the entire area. Sema was also killed in this battle in 1710. Kapura’s eldest son, Sukhia, again came into power in 1720. A dispute between the sons of Sukhia, grandsons of Kapura, led to the division of the state in 1763. The older brother, Sardar Jodh Singh Brar, retained control of Kotkapura, while his younger brother, Sardar Hamir Singh Brar, was given Faridkot
Faridkot
Faridkot is a small city and a municipal council in Faridkot district in the state of Punjab, India.It's a division with headquarter at Faridkot consists of three Districts Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa...
, which later became known as Faridkot Riyast during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. Nawab Kapura’s state was captured in 1803 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
. In 1808, Ranjit Singh captured the principality of Faridkot up to Muktsar. But Ranjit Singh vacated this area on the behest of the British. During the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
in 1845, Pahara Singh Brar, from Kapura’s ancestral background, aided the British by providing secret intelligence to the British army. Pahar Singh Brar was rewarded with more territory of Faridkot Riyast being placed under his control after the British capture of the Sikh kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Raja Harinder Singh Brar was the last king of Faridkot Riyast before the independence of India in 1947. Raja Harinder Singh Brar had four issues, a son and three daughters; his son died issueless as did his youngest daughter years later. His eldest daughter Rajkumari Bibiji Amrit Kaur Sahiba and second eldest Rajkumari Bibiji Deepinder Kaur Sahiba live with issues. There is currently a legal dispute over the Raja's assets. Giani Zail Singh, former president of india belongs to the Sandhwan village of Kot Kapura.
Kot Kapura today
Despite its natural beauty, Kot Kapura, like many other small towns in India, is going through "modernization" as never before. Shastri Market and Maheshwary Street are one of the most populous and largest markets in the Punjab.Kot Kapura is also called 'City of White Gold' due to the its cotton market. Kot Kapura was the largest cotton market in the Asia.
Faridkot is a little smaller than Kot Kapura but due to existing infrastructure of erstwhile Fardikot Riyasat. Kot Kapura was famous for its ever-closed railway crossing gate on the Kot Kapura–Muktsar road. However, a much-delayed flyover has saved the town from this notorious landmark.
Important villages near Kot Kapura are Sandhwan, Dhilwan Kalan, Panjgraian Kalan, Hari Nau, Madhak, Khara, Matta, Romana Albel Singh etc.
Schools
- Dr. Chanda Singh Marwah Govt. Sen. Sec. School (Girls), Kot Kapura-151 204 01635220269
- West Point School, Sandhwan Danewala Road, Kot Kapura
- Ashoka Model Sen. Sec. School,Kot Kapura
- Dasmesh Public School kot Kapura
- Govt. Sen. Sec. School (Boys), Kot Kapura
- dav public school
- Gandhi Model Sen. Sec. School, Faridkot Road, Kot Kapura
- Rishi Sen. Sec. School, Jaito Road, Kot Kapura
- Sada Ram Bansal Memorial School, Jaito Road, Kot Kapura
Colleges
- S.B.S. College, Kot Kapura
- Malwa College of NursingMalwa College of NursingMalwa College of Nursing was established in Nov 2000 by Dr. Ravinder Singh. It is named after Malwa, a region of Punjab and headquartered in Kotkapura in the district of Faridkot in the state of Punjab ....
Kot Kapura - Baba farid college of nursing, Kot Kapura
- Akal Sahaye College Of Education, Kot Kapura