Sadhaura is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, near Yamunanagar city with Municipal Committee in

Yamunanagar district Yamunanagar district is one of the 22 districts of the Indian state of Haryana. The district came into existence on 1November 1989 and occupies an area of . Yamunanagar town is the district headquarters. Yamunanagar's average rainfall in Mons ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. The city of Yamunanagar, it is of great historic significance. Sadhaura is very old town many historical temples/Dargah are there like Manokamna Temple, Laxmi narayan Temple, Roza Peer Dargah are some famous places in Sadhaura.

History

Sadhuara, steeped in history is a

sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

language composite of

sadhu ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively ...

(saint) and dwara (way), meaning ''"the way of saints"''Tourist places near Yamunanagar

Haryana Tourism Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC) is an agency of the Government of Haryana, India established in 1974. The organisation operates 44 tourist facilities spread across the state of Haryana. These facilities offer visitors lodging, dining, and r ...

. This use to be a camping ground for the

hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

''sadhus'' on the way to

ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

pilgrimage.Yamunanagar History
Gazatteer of Haryana: Yamunanagar.

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

, conducted his exploration here at Sadhaura in 1879. He described an old ruinous fort and excavated many coins from here. The discovery of ancient copper cast coins, Kuninda coins (of 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE Kuninda Kingdom), Kushano-Sasanian Coinage (of 3rd century CE Indo-Sasanian Kingdom), coins of Samanta Deva (from circa 850–1000 CE of Hindu

Kabul Shahi Kabul Shahi is a term used to denote two former non-Muslim dynasties based on Kabul: * Turk Shahis (665–850 CE) * Hindu Shahi (850–1026 CE) {{disambig ...

dynasty of Gandhara in Afghanistan) from Sadhaura point towards the antiquity of the place.

Banda Singh Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur, born Lachman Dev (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a Jathedar, general of the Khalsa Fauj, Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an Sannyasa, ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Baira ...

defeated local Mughal forces and built his Lohgarh Sahib Fort at nearby Lohgarh in 1709 after his conquest of the area in the wins of Battle of Chappar Chiri and

Battle of Sadhaura The Battle of Sadhaura was fought between Sikhs and the Mughal, Sayyid, and Shaykh forces in Sadhaura in 1710. The imperial forces were defeated and took refuge behind the city's walls. Banda's forces captured the fort and levelled it to the gro ...

. He killed the local Mughal chief of Sadaura, Usman Khan, to avenge the killing of Pir Budhan Shah. The historical book, ''"Twarikh Khasa"'' chronicles, ''"Nawab usman Khan of Sadhora was so cruel and fanatical that he used to have cows slaughtered and uneatable parts of cows he would have them thrown into the Hindus homes. He never allowed them to cremate their dead and forcibly matched Hindu brides to Musalmen. The Jazia was collected in most humiliating ways so that they might be more easily converted to Islam."'' In 1710 AD Battle of Samana, Banda Singh Bahadur also killed infamous Governor of

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

Wazir Khan (real name ''Mirza Askari'') who had ordered the merciless murder of Guru Gobind Singh's young sons, 6 years old

Sahibzada Fateh Singh Fateh Singh (, pronunciation: ; 25 February 1699 – 26 December 1704 or 26 December 1705), commonly referred to with honorifics as Baba Fateh Singh or Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh, was the fourth and youngest son of Guru Gobind Singh. Biograp ...

and 9 years old

Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Zorawar Singh (, pronunciation: ; 17 November 1696 – 26 December 1704), alternatively spelt as Jorawar Singh, was a son of Guru Gobind Singh who was executed in the court of Wazir Khan, the Mughal Governor of Sirhind. Background In 1699, th ...

by bricking up alive within a wall in 1705 AD. Wazir Khan was beheaded by the Sikh army led by

outside the Sirhind city in the Battle of Chappar Chiri in May 1710. ''"Qatalgarhi"''

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, or manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', me ...

here is the home of muslims who were massacre by him after they betrayed him in the war. Band bahadur demolished the fortress of Daura and hanged the Mughal faujdar and the town plundered.Harbans Singh, 1998
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism: S-Z
/ref> ''"Gurdwara Baba Banda Bahadur"'' inside the ruined fort later became ruined and a new "Gurdwara Baba Banda Bahadur" was constructed close to the fort wall, which is also known as ''"Quila Gurdwara"'' and ''"Gurdwara Qatalgarh"''. Pir Budhan Shah, who helped

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

against

mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

s in the 1688 battle of Bhangani in which all four sons of Shah were killed, has a

gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

here named after him. At present, 40-feet high mound survives narrating the past historic glory of Sadhaura and its fort. Town also has a tomb of Shah Kumesh constructed in 1450 AD and a mosque from 1600 AD where an annual fair is held that was started by

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan (; 18 January 1501 – 31 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal Empire, Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at ...

in 1556 AD. Another ruined, ''"Sagni mosque"'', from ??th century lies in ruins. Town also has three old temples with sacred

johad A johad, also known as a pokhar or a percolation pond, is a community-owned traditional harvested rainwater storage wetland principally used for effectively harnessing water resources in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and ...

water pond: Gaggarwala temple, Toronwala temple and Manokamna temple. Nearby historic places include Buddhist Stupa at Chaneti, Buria - a town with connections to

Birbal Mahesh Das (; 1528 16 February 1586), popularly known by his title Rajah Birbal (), was an Indian minister and commander of the Mughal Empire. He is mostly known in the Indian subcontinent for the folk tales which focus on his wit. He was app ...

, Adi Badri Sarasvati udgam Sthal, Lohgarh Sikh capital of

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 ...

, Sadaura had a population of 25,693. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sadaura has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 66%. In Sadaura, 21% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Sadhaura Fort

Sadaura Fort is an ancient fort in Sadaura, as see
here

Gurudwaras

Gurdwara Baba Banda Bahadur, also sometimes known as Quila Gurdwara and Gurdwara Qatalgarh is the ancient privately managed

gurudwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurd ...

named after

. Gurdwara Pir Buddhu Shah was built by local

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 ...

Singh Sabha more recently in honour of Pir Budhan Shah. Gurudwara shri singh sabha ji was built by local

with a humble and beautiful heart, now its maintained by nabour Sikhs.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Cities and towns in Yamunanagar district