Sirsa
Encyclopedia
Sirsa is a city and a municipal council
in Sirsa district in the India
n state
of Haryana
. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering Punjab
and Rajasthan
. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata
. At one time, the Sarasvati River
flowed in this area.
There are a number of legends about the origin of the name of the town. It seems to have been corrupted to Sirsats from its ancient name Sairishaka. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras founded the town in the 7th century AD 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 medieval period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. In ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.
In 1837, Sirsa and Rania parganas were taken out of Haryana district and along with Guda and Malaut parganas were formed into a separate district called Bhattiana. The pargana of Darba from Hisar district and the small pargana of Rori confiscated from erstwhile princely state of Nabha were transferred to Bhattiana in 1838 and 1847 respectively. In 1844, Wattu pargana running up to Satluj was added in the Bhattiana district. The whole of the Delhi territory along with district of Bhattiana and Hisar was transferred to Punjab in 1858 and the district of Bhattiana was renamed as Sirsa.
In 1861, 42 villages of Tibi tract of Rania pargana were transferred to the then state of Bikaner.
The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa tahsil (consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali tahsil formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar district and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur district (Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of the country except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil to the then state of Bikaner in 1906.
The entire area of the district was included in the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974, three villages of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil. On September 1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted into a separate Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa. NB
, Sirsa had a population of 160,129. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirsa has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 62%. In Sirsa, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Bagri, a dialect of the Hindi language, Hindi
and Punjabi
are spoken and understood by the majority of people.
The climate of this district is characterised by its dryness and extremes of temperature and scanty rainfall. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season from November to March is followed by the Summer season which lasts up to the end of June. The period from July to about the middle of September and from the middle of September to October constitute the south west monsoon and post-monsoon seasons respectively.
Records of rainfall in the district are available for Sirsa only for sufficiently long periods. The average annual rainfall in the district is 32–53 mm. The rainfall in the district increases generally from west to east. About 72 percent of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received during the short south east monsoon period, July to September, July and August being the rainiest months. There is significant amount of rainfall in the month of June, mostly in the form of thunder showers. In the rest of the year, there is a very little rainfall. During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall as recorded was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was recorded in 1920.
On an average there are 20 rainy days (i.e. days with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded in the district was 165.4 mm on September 22, 1917.
Some of the depressions which originate in the Bay of Bengal in the south-west monsoon season, and which move across the central parts of the country reach the district during the last stages of activity and cause wide spread rain before dissipating. An occasional post-monsoon storm or depression also affects the district. Thunder Storms occur throughout the year but the highest incidence is during the monsoon season. Dust storms occur often during the hot season. Occasional fogs affect the district in the cold season.
Among the painted grey ware settlement, a mound locally called Lahranwali Theri near Rania
deserves special mention. The painted grey ware types found here mainly comprised dishes and bowls. Pottery of the later periods was also collected from this site.
Besides, two mounds at Sikanderpur from where stone slabs having marks of Iron dowels were found can be ascribed to Rang Mahal Culture. A few more archaeological sites were identified in the district. The more important one's are described below :-
Arnian wali (Tehsil Sirsa) : It is situated 8 km South of Sirsa on Sirsa Bhadra Road. A mound measuring nearly 4 Acres and approximately 10 feet (3 m) high lies 400 meters north of the village. It has yielded fragments of pottery of early history and medieval times.
Sikander Pur (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 12 km East of Sirsa, the village is approached by a link Road from Sirsa - Fatehabad Road. The site, which has two mounds, one km apart, is located about 1.6 km North-East of the villages and is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) high. Heavy Stone Slabs and a sculpture of Indra, specimens of a temple of early medieval times were found from the site. A sculpture of an "Ekmukha Linga" of Shiva belonging to early medieval times has also been discovered. The specimen represents Shiva both in his human as well as Phallic form. A Sculpture of Indra recovered from the site is fine specimen representing two armed Indra as Dikpala. Another sculpture of Indra with his consort belonging to the early medieval times has also been found. The site has also yielded Rang Mahal and medieval wares.
Suchan (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 16 km east of Sirsa, the site has yielded fragments of Pottery of Rang Mahal and early medieval wares.
Mangiana (Tehsil Dabwali) : It is located about 13 km East of Dabwali on Kalanwali-Dabwali Road. The mount, located about a km West of the village, is 15 feet (4.6 m) high. It has yielded fragments of early historic and medieval wares.
Sirsa is the future capital of India as predicted by Ibsa Kekeba (Swedish Astrologist), Abinash Shaw (Future teller) and Vishu Goyal (Panda).
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...
in Sirsa district in 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...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering 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...
and Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. At one time, the Sarasvati River
Sarasvati River
The Sarasvati River is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata...
flowed in this area.
Origin of name
Sirsa is said to be one of the oldest places of North India and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in Mahabharata, Panini's Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. 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 BC, as it has been mentioned by Panini.There are a number of legends about the origin of the name of the town. It seems to have been corrupted to Sirsats from its ancient name Sairishaka. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras founded the town in the 7th century AD 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 medieval period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. In ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.
History
Sirsa seems to be in the administrative division of Hisar Feroza during Firuz Shah's reign. In the time of Akbar, Sirsa was one of the dasturs of Hisar Feroza Sarkar and much of its area lying in the present Sirsa district was covered by Mahals of Fatehabad, Bhattu, Bhangiwal (Darba), Sirsa, Bhatner (or Hanumangarh, Rajasthan) and Paniyana (Rajasthan). With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the track comprising Sirsa district came under the control of Marathas. The whole of Delhi Territory of which the tract formed part was ceded by the Marathas to the British in 1810. Sirsa was part of the outlying district of Delhi territory under the charge of an Assistant to the Resident. In 1819, the Delhi territory was divided into three districts - the Central which included Delhi, The Southern including Rewari, and the North-Western including Panipat, Hansi, Hisar, Sirsa and Rohta. In 1820, the latter was again sub-divided into Northern and Western and Sirsa along with Hansi, Hisar and Bhiwani formed Western district (Haryana district and later known Hisar district).In 1837, Sirsa and Rania parganas were taken out of Haryana district and along with Guda and Malaut parganas were formed into a separate district called Bhattiana. The pargana of Darba from Hisar district and the small pargana of Rori confiscated from erstwhile princely state of Nabha were transferred to Bhattiana in 1838 and 1847 respectively. In 1844, Wattu pargana running up to Satluj was added in the Bhattiana district. The whole of the Delhi territory along with district of Bhattiana and Hisar was transferred to Punjab in 1858 and the district of Bhattiana was renamed as Sirsa.
In 1861, 42 villages of Tibi tract of Rania pargana were transferred to the then state of Bikaner.
The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa tahsil (consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali tahsil formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar district and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur district (Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of the country except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil to the then state of Bikaner in 1906.
The entire area of the district was included in the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974, three villages of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil. On September 1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted into a separate Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa. NB
Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Sirsa had a population of 160,129. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirsa has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 62%. In Sirsa, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Bagri, a dialect of the Hindi language, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
are spoken and understood by the majority of people.
Geography
Sirsa is located 29.53°N 75.02°E. It has an average elevation of 205 metres (672 feet).The climate of this district is characterised by its dryness and extremes of temperature and scanty rainfall. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season from November to March is followed by the Summer season which lasts up to the end of June. The period from July to about the middle of September and from the middle of September to October constitute the south west monsoon and post-monsoon seasons respectively.
Records of rainfall in the district are available for Sirsa only for sufficiently long periods. The average annual rainfall in the district is 32–53 mm. The rainfall in the district increases generally from west to east. About 72 percent of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received during the short south east monsoon period, July to September, July and August being the rainiest months. There is significant amount of rainfall in the month of June, mostly in the form of thunder showers. In the rest of the year, there is a very little rainfall. During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall as recorded was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was recorded in 1920.
On an average there are 20 rainy days (i.e. days with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded in the district was 165.4 mm on September 22, 1917.
Some of the depressions which originate in the Bay of Bengal in the south-west monsoon season, and which move across the central parts of the country reach the district during the last stages of activity and cause wide spread rain before dissipating. An occasional post-monsoon storm or depression also affects the district. Thunder Storms occur throughout the year but the highest incidence is during the monsoon season. Dust storms occur often during the hot season. Occasional fogs affect the district in the cold season.
Places of archaeological interest
The archaeological Survey of India, during the archaeological exploration of the Ghaggar valley in Sirsa District in 1967-1968, nearly 54 sites, yielding the painted grey, black and Red, Black Slipped, Grey and Red wares and those belonging to Rang Mahal Culture were discovered. No Harappan settlement, however, could be located. Sites yielding Rang Mahal Pottery were found to be situated in close proximity of the Ghaggar.Among the painted grey ware settlement, a mound locally called Lahranwali Theri near Rania
Rania
-Places:India* Rania, Haryana, a City in Sirsa District, Haryana state of India.* Ranya, a district in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan...
deserves special mention. The painted grey ware types found here mainly comprised dishes and bowls. Pottery of the later periods was also collected from this site.
Besides, two mounds at Sikanderpur from where stone slabs having marks of Iron dowels were found can be ascribed to Rang Mahal Culture. A few more archaeological sites were identified in the district. The more important one's are described below :-
Arnian wali (Tehsil Sirsa) : It is situated 8 km South of Sirsa on Sirsa Bhadra Road. A mound measuring nearly 4 Acres and approximately 10 feet (3 m) high lies 400 meters north of the village. It has yielded fragments of pottery of early history and medieval times.
Sikander Pur (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 12 km East of Sirsa, the village is approached by a link Road from Sirsa - Fatehabad Road. The site, which has two mounds, one km apart, is located about 1.6 km North-East of the villages and is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) high. Heavy Stone Slabs and a sculpture of Indra, specimens of a temple of early medieval times were found from the site. A sculpture of an "Ekmukha Linga" of Shiva belonging to early medieval times has also been discovered. The specimen represents Shiva both in his human as well as Phallic form. A Sculpture of Indra recovered from the site is fine specimen representing two armed Indra as Dikpala. Another sculpture of Indra with his consort belonging to the early medieval times has also been found. The site has also yielded Rang Mahal and medieval wares.
Suchan (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 16 km east of Sirsa, the site has yielded fragments of Pottery of Rang Mahal and early medieval wares.
Mangiana (Tehsil Dabwali) : It is located about 13 km East of Dabwali on Kalanwali-Dabwali Road. The mount, located about a km West of the village, is 15 feet (4.6 m) high. It has yielded fragments of early historic and medieval wares.
Trivia
Sirsa features as the centre of activity in the 2007 Movie titled "Partition" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213985/) directed by Vic Sarin, starring Jimy Mistry and Kristin Kreuk.Sirsa is the future capital of India as predicted by Ibsa Kekeba (Swedish Astrologist), Abinash Shaw (Future teller) and Vishu Goyal (Panda).