Faridkot district is one of the 23 districts in the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

, India with Faridkot city as the district headquarters.

Etymology

The district is named after its headquarters, Faridkot city, which in turn is named in the honor of

Baba Farid Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B ...

, who was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

saint and a

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 ...

missionary. The town of Faridkot was founded during the 13th century as Mokalhar by Raja Mokalsi, the grandson of Rai Munj, a Bhatti Chief of Bhatnair,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

. According to popular folklore, the Raja renamed Mokalhar to Faridkot after

paid a visit to the town. It remained the capital during the reign of Mokalsi's son Jairsi and Wairsi.

History

The region was a self-governing

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

period. Prior to independence, a large part of the district was under the rule of the Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became a part of the

Patiala & East Punjab States Union Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

(PEPSU ) in 1948. Before independence the Muslim population was 35% mainly from Jat,

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh ...

and

Tarkhan Tarkhan ( otk, 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣, Tarqan, mn, or ; fa, ترخان; ; ar , طرخان; alternative spellings ''Tarkan'', ''Tarkhaan'', ''Tarqan'', ''Tarchan'', ''Turxan'', ''Tarcan'', ''Turgan, Tárkány, Tarján'') is an ancient Central Asia ...

castes who migrated to Pakistan and settled mainly in Okara,

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

Pakpattan Pakpattan ( Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is the capital city of the Pakpattan District, located in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 48th largest city of Pakistan by population according ...

and

Bahawalnagar Bahawalnagar (Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.

Districts. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of erstwhile Bathinda District(Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District(Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). Further, in November 1995 the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its subdivisions viz.

Muktsar Sri Muktsar Sahib (/ʃriː ˈmʊktsər saːhɪb/) (often referred to as Muktsar (/ˈmʊktsər/)) is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 Census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipali ...

and Moga were given the status of independent districts.

Government body

Prior to independence large part of the district was under the princely rule of Sikh Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU ) in 1948. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of Bathinda District (Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District (Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). However, in November 1995, the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its subdivisions viz Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts. Faridkot district is surrounded by district

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

in the North-West,

in the South-West, Bathinda in the South, and Moga in the West. The District covers an area of 1469 km². which is 2.92% of the total area of the State and accommodates a population of 552,466, which is 2.27% of the total population of the State. It has three Subdivisions/ Tehsils namely Faridkot, Kotkapura and Jaito and a Sub Tehsil namely Sadiq comprising a total of 171 villages. Faridkot District has two development blocks namely Faridkot and

Kotkapura Kot Kapura is a historic city in Faridkot district, 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. ...

. In 2020, Faridkot has been made new police division. Earlier, Faridkot was part of Ferozepur police division. Moga and Mukatsar districts were also attached with Faridkot police division.

Politics

Overview

The Faridkot district contains 2 Cities Faridkot,

. More than 7 towns/villages are quite notable in the Faridkot area such as Jaitu, Bajakhana, Panjgarain Kalan, Deep Singh Wala, Golewala,

Jhok Sarkari Jhok Sarkari is a village in Punjab. It located 25 km away from Faridkot, Punjab. It is Basically Sandhu community's village, but with the time more communities migrated from other places. The population as per 2011 census was 1185 peopl ...

, Doad, Ghugiana, Sadiq, Chand Bhan, etc. Faridkot is a hub for premier educational institutions. North India's only Medical University, also named after

is in Faridkot besides Medical - Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Engineering and Dental Colleges. File:Entrance of Farmer's House Faridkot 02.jpg, Entrance of Farmer's House Faridkot File:Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot 04.jpg, Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot File:Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot 05.jpg, Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot File:Foundation stone of Govt. School of Bargari.jpg, Foundation stone of Govt. School of Bargari (Faridkot) File:Entrance of District Court Faridkot.jpg, Entrance of District Court Faridkot File:Foundation Stone of Davies Model Agricultural Farm and Farmers's House Faridkot 03.jpg, Foundation Stone of Davies Model Agricultural Farm and Farmers's House Faridkot File:Govt. Brijindra College Faridkot.jpg, Govt. Brijindra College Faridkot File:Its pic of Govt.Brijindra College Faridkot.jpg, Govt.Brijindra College Faridkot

List of villages

* Ajit Gill * Ahal * Arayanwala Kalan * Arayanwala Khurd * Aulakh * Bagiana * Bajakhana * Bargari * Beguwala * Behbal kalan * Behbal khurd * Bhag Singhwala * Bhagta Bhai Ka * Bhagthala Kalan * Bhagthala Khurd * Bhairon-Ki-Bhatti * Bhana * Bhilewala * Bholuwala * Bir Bholuwala * Bir Chahal * Bir Sikhanwala * Burj Jwahar singh * Burj Masta * Buttar * Chahal * Chak Dhudi * Chak Kalyan * Chak Sahu * Chak Seman * Chak Shama * Chambeli * Chand baja * Chaina * Chet Singhwala * Chugewala * Dabrikhana * Daggo Romana * Dalewala * Dana Romana * Dawareana * Deep Singhwala * Deviwala * Dhab Sher Singhwala * Dhaipai * Dhilwan Kalan * Dhilwan Khurd * Dhimanwali * Dhudi * Dhurkot * Dod * Faridkot (Rural) * Ghaniewala * Ghoniwala * Ghuduwala * Ghugiana * Ghumiara * GONDARA * Golewala * Gurusar * Hadialana * Hari Nau * Hariewala * Hassan Bhatti * Jalaleana * Jandwala * Janerian * Jeonwala * Jhakhar Wala * Jhariwala *

* Jhotiwala * Kabalwala * Kamiana * Kanianwali * Kaler * Kauni * Khara * Khemuana * Khilchi * Kingra * Koharwala * Kotha Guru * Kothe Kehar Singh * Kot Sukhia * lambwali * Malla * Matta * Machaki Kalan * Machaki Khurd * Machaki Mal Singh * Madahar * Mallewala * Mandwala * Mani Singhwala * Maur * Mehmuana * Midu Maan * Mishriwala * Moranwali * Mumaru * Nangal * Naraingarh * Nathalwala * Nathewala * Pakhi Kalan * Pakhi Khurd * Pakka * Panjgrain Kalan * Pehluwala * Phide Kalan * Phide Khurd * Pindi Balochan * Pipli * Qila Nau * Rajowala * Rattirori * Rupianwala * Sadhanwala * Sadhuwala * Sadiq * Saideke * Sandhwan * Sangatpura * Sango Romana * Sangrahoor * Sher Singhwala * Sibbian * Sikhanwala * Simrewala * Sirsari * Sukhanwala Sarawan * Tehna * Thara * Virewala kalan * Virewala Khurd * Wander Jatana * Wara Daraka * Rorikapura

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Faridkot district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 617,508, roughly equal to the nation of

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

or the US state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

. This gives it a ranking of 519th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.18%. Faridkot has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 889

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 70.6%. Scheduled Castes made up 38.92% of the population. At the time of the 2011 census, 91.79% of the population spoke

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and 6.91%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

as their first language.

References

External links

Official websiteFaridkot district
{{Authority control Districts of Punjab, India 1972 establishments in Punjab, India