Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. Two main rivers Beas and Ravi passes through the district. The Mughal emperor Akbar 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 district is part of the Jalandhar division.
As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Punjab (out of 22), after Ludhiana and Amritsar. Batala, with 31% of the district's population, is its largest city.
History
Medieval period On 14 February 1556 AD, Akbar was crowned as emperor at Kalanaur, a town in the district, after the death of his father Humayun.
This area was used as a base by Banda Singh Bahadur to raid the area up to Lahore. The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah conducted an expedition against him in 1711, but with only temporary effect. Banda Singh Bahadur fought his last battle against Mughals at Gurdas Nangal and was captured.
On 17 May 1746, the Chhota Ghallughara (smaller Sikh genocide) took place. Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Sikhs were killed in battle on a single day in Kahnuwan, near Gurdaspur. Under the Lahore governorship of Yahiya Khan, Lakhpat Rai (revenue minister) and Shah Navaz Khan were directed to avenge the killing of Lakhpat Rai's brother, Jaspat Rai. An official decree to exterminate Sikhs was issued.
In about 1633 CE, during the rule of Shah Jahan, the Badshahi canal was constructed for carrying waters to the Shalimar Gardens at Lahore. Maharaja Ranjit Singh constructed Hansali canal to carry waters to the tank of the Golden Temple.
British Raj
Gurdaspur district was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849. During British Rule the district of Gurdaspur was a subdivision of Lahore Division, the district itself was administratively subdivided into four tehsils: Gurdaspur, Batala, Shakargarh and Pathankot. During the India's first war of independence, on 12 July 1857, battle of Trimmu Ghat was fought between the forces of British and Indian rebel sepoys on the left bank of Ravi. Trimmu Ghat was about 9 miles west of Gurdaspur city in the district. Most of the Indian rebel sepoys were killed in the battle.Punjab, a history from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten, by Rajmohan Gandhi
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. According to the 1901 census there were 463,371 Muslims (49%), 380,636 Hindus (over 40%) and 91,756 (10%) Sikhs. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who founded the Ahmadiyya 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. According to the 1951 census, there were around 2,97,581 displaced persons who had settled in the district, who formed about 34.96% of the district population. Of the total displaced persons 1,59,716 were males and 1,37,865 females. The origin of most of them were pakistani districts of Sialkot (1,93,182), Shakargarh (43,203), Lyallpur (17,783) and Shekhupura (8,826).
Modern India New tehsil of Dera Baba Nanak was created in 1995 and Dhar Kalan in 1996. On 27 July 2011 a part of district was carved out to form a new Pathankot district, 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.
On 27 July 2015, there was a terror attack in Dinanagar. In this, 7 people died, of which 2 were civilians, 2 policemen, 2 home guards and one Superintendent of Police (SP). It was the first major terror attack in Punjab since 1995.
On 14 December 2014, new tehsil of Kalanaur was created. New tehsil of Dinanagar was created in May 2018. Earlier, they were sub-tehsils.
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. It is a border district of Punjab and lies along India-Pakistan border.
As of 2011, 5.24% of the district area, including Pathankot, consists of forest area.
Government and politics
Politics No. Constituency Name of MLA PartyBench4Gurdaspur Barindermeet Singh PahraOpposition5Dina Nagar (SC) Aruna ChaudharyOpposition6Qadian Partap Singh BajwaOpposition7Batala Amansher Singh (Shery Kalsi)Government8Sri Hargobindpur (SC) Amarpal SinghGovernment9Fatehgarh Churian Tripat Rajinder Singh BajwaOpposition10Dera Baba Nanak Gurdeep Singh RandhawaGovernment
Tehsil + TehsilSr. No. Subdivision /Tehsil Inhabited Villages Uninhabited Villages Area(km2) Population Density Per km21. Gurdaspur 679 37 1,369 744,0925442. Batala 347 5 936 618,1056603. Dera Baba Nanak 131 6 305 115,6603794. Kalanaur5. Dinanagar Total 1,157 48 2,610 1,477,857566
Sub Tehsils (Total : 7)
+ Sub-TehsilSr. No.Sub Tehsil Name1.Kahnuwan2.Sri Hargobindpur3.Qadian4.Fatehgarh Churian5.Dhariwal6.Naushera Majha Singh7.Dorangla
C.D. Blocks (Total : 11)
+ C.D. BlocksSr. No. Block Name1. Gurdaspur2. Kalanaur3. Dhariwal4. Kahnuwan5. Dinanagar6. Batala7. Fatehgarh Churian8. Dera Baba Nanak9. Sri Hargobindpur10. Qadian11. Dorangla
Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam)
+ Municipal Corporation NameSr. No.Corporation Name1. Batala
Municipal Councils
+ Municipal NameSr. No.Municipal Name1. Gurdaspur2. Dhariwal3. Dinanagar4. Sri Hargobindpur5. Dera Baba Nanak6. Fatehgarh Churian7. Qadian
Villages
Abdal Bangowani Barnala Bhoon Qila Lal Singh Chakarrayian Dabanwala Khojala Ram nagar Sahowal Talwandi Jheuran Vero Nangal Zahadpur Zahidpur Ali Nangal Bhagowal Daaduwal Dalam Gunopur Kahnuwan Mallianwal Naagan de dere Rorr khehra Sarhwali
Subdistricts of Gurdaspur district According to the Indian government's integrated online directory, Gurdaspur district is divided into the following subdistricts (tehsils/subdivisions) and blocks:
Subdistricts Batala Dera Baba Nanak Dinanagar Fatehgarh Churian Gurdaspur Kalanaur Blocks: Batala Dera Baba Nanak Dhariwal Dinanagar Dorangla Fatehgarh Churian Gurdaspur Kahnuwan Kalanaur Qadian Sri Hargobindpur
Demographics Population
According to the 2011 census Gurdaspur district has a population of 2,298,323, roughly equal to the nation of Latvia or the US state of New Mexico. 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 over the decade 2001–2011 was 9.3%. Gurdaspur has a sex ratio of 895 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate 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.
Gender The table below shows the sex ratio of Gurdaspur through the years, according to various census years. Note:- The figure for 2011 does not include the data of the areas that currently form Pathankot district, which were separated from Gurdaspur on that year, to form a new district.
+Decadal sex ratio of Gurdaspur district by census yearsYear (Census)Sex Ratio201190720018901991903198190719718901961869195184619418431931809192179419117741901853
The table below shows the child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in the rural and urban areas of Gurdaspur district. Note:- The data till year 2001 also includes the data from the areas currently in the Pathankot district.
+Child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in Gurdaspur districtYearUrbanRural20118288182001762797
According to the National Family Health Survey - 4 (2015–16), 88.2% of the total women between the ages of 15 and 49 years in Gurdaspur district were literate, this rate was 86.7% for rural areas of the district. For men in the same age group, 90.4% were literate and this rate was 90.7% for rural areas. According to the same survey, 62.7% of the women of the same age group had 10 or more years of schooling and this rate was 57.6% for rural areas.
Rural and Urban The table below shows the percentage of rural population through the decades. Note:- The separation of the areas in the current Pathankot district in 2011, may have significantly changed the numbers and figures for that year.
+Percentage of rural population in Gurdaspur district by yearsYear Percentage201177.73%200174.56%199178.02%198178.31%197179.7%
The table below gives the absolute number of rural and urban population through the years. Note:- The separation of the areas in the current Pathankot district in 2011, may have significantly changed the numbers and figures for that year.
+Rural and Urban population of Gurdaspur in absolute numbers by yearsYearUrbanRural20113,61,15312,60,57220015,35,22315,68,78819913,86,41213,71,79619813,28,26811,85,16719712,49,0849,80,165
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, 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.
+ Religion in Gurdaspur District (2011 district borders)Religiousgroup19412011 Islam 380,775 53.72% 13,350 0.82% Sikhism 193,108 27.24% 950,016 58.58% Hinduism 90,412 12.75% 476,095 29.36% Christianity 43,176 6.09% 169,295 10.44% Others 1,401 0.20% 12,969 0.80%Total Population708,8721,621,725
The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Gurdaspur district. Note:- The separation of the areas in the current Pathankot district in 2011, may have significantly changed the numbers and figures for that year.
+Absolute numbers of different religious groups in Gurdaspur districtReligionUrban (2011)Rural (2011)Urban (2001)Rural (2001)Urban (1991)Rural (1991)Hindu4,78,9895,95,3433,79,7246,16,5222,51,8314,76,531Sikh1,40,5368,62,3381,28,6978,06,26666,0206,09,380Christian26,1511,50,43621,6681,27,3158,71390,924Muslim8,2925,3514,3298071,540164Other religions5,35111,5128072,246164510