Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Har Sahai is a city and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in Ferozepur district in the Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. Nearby cities are Ferozepur (40 km northeast),

Sri Muktsar Sahib Sri Muktsar Sahib ( ), often referred to as simply Muktsar, is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality at 117,085, making it the 14th large ...

(30 km south), Fazilka (65 km southwest),

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth ...

(84 km southeast).

History

The city is named after Har Sahai (1725 – 1750), who was the direct descendant of the fourth

Sikh guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

, the

Guru Ram Das Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who ...

, in the eighth generation. The Pothimala building was built in 1705 and the locality of Guru Har Sahai was founded in 1745 by Har Sahai's father, Guru Jiwan Mal (born 1694), who was a direct descendant of the fourth Sikh guru, Ram Das, in the seventh generation. Guru Har Sahai was also the eighth '' Gaddi Nashin'' (custodian) of the ''pothimala'', i.e. ''pothi'' (holy book) and ''mala'' (rosary), of the first guru of the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s – Guru Nanak Dev. The lineage descends from

Prithi Chand Prithi Chand (Gurmukhi: ਪ੍ਰਿਥੀ ਚੰਦ; 1558–April 1618), also spelt as Prithia, was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das – the fourth Guru of Sikhism, and the eldest brother of Guru Arjun, Guru Arjan – the fifth Guru.

, elder brother of

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expande ...

and founder of the heretical Miharvan sect of Sikhism. The Sodhi clan of Sikhs consider hereditary appointed direct descendants of fourth Sikh guru, Ram Das Sodhi, as their

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

or spiritual leader, whom they refer to as Gaddi Nashin. In 2010,

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI) begin the effort to restore the ''pothimala'', the Pothimala building (including its 18th century murals), both of which are the property of the present Gaddi Nashin, 17th successor custodian Guru Yuvraj Singh. The Hargopal subsect of the Miharvan sect of Sikhism is based out of Pothimala in Guru Har Sahai. They maintain a following to this day amongst the locals and remain held in reverence, being direct descendants of the Sikh gurus and custodian of rare Sikh relics of the gurus.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Guru Har Sahai had a population of 14,528. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Guru Har Sahai has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 57%. In Guru Har Sahai, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

Cities and towns in Firozpur district {{PunjabIN-geo-stub

History

Demographics

See also

References