History
The town was founded after the Second Battle of Tarain (Taraori) in 1192 by a general ofGeography
Shahabad lies 21 kilometres south of Ambala on the Ambala - Delhi section of the historical Grand Trunk Road, or GT road as it is locally known. It is some 22 kilometres to the north of Kurukshetra. Shahabad is on the national highway NH-1 and it also has a railway station on the Delhi - Ambala line. It lies on the banks of the River/stream Markanda, a tributary of the Ghaggar, and supposed to be a part of the ancient Vedic Saraswati River basin system. There is a large temple on the banks of the river, which is called Markandeya Mandir, after the name of the famous Maharishi Markandeya. There is also a road from Panchkula, via Ramgarh and Dosarka, that comes out near Shahabad. There are direct roads to Ladwa and Radaur as well as Yamunanagar from Shahabad. Pipli, near Kurukshetra, Nilokheri and Karnal are the other nearby towns south of Shahabad on the Grand Trunk Road.Economy
It is a significant market for procurement of agricultural products. The market yard in Shahabad is a major procurement market or Mandi. The area being on a river bank is fertile and is used for paddy as well as wheat and vegetables. Poultry farming also heavily contributes to its economy. The yield is very high, and the belt till Karnal has a large number of rice mills to pick up the high quality grain. Shahabad also has a government sugar mill.Demographics
The Shahabad city is divided into 17 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Shahabad Municipal Committee has population of 58,795 of which 28,913 are males while 26,694 are females as per report released by the 2011 Census of India. Population of children between the ages of 0-6 is 4349 which is 10.21% of total population of Shahbad (MC). In Shahbad Municipal Committee, Female Sex Ratio is of 860 against state average of 879. Moreover Child Sex Ratio in Shahbad is around 771 compared to Haryana state average of 834. Literacy rate of Shahbad city is 83.77% higher than state average of 75.55%. In Shahbad, male literacy is around 87.11% while female literacy rate is 89.93%. Shahabad Municipal Committee has total administration over 9,222 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorize to build roads within Municipal Committee limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.Education and scientific research
Notable schools include the Government School, established in 1897; Arya Putri Gurukul, established in 1909; and D.A.V. School, established in 1916. Islamiya School was converted as Khanewal Khalsa School. After partition some private schools were also established here, including Ramdutt Ka School, Prince Coaching College, popularly known as Sardaar Ka School (1950–2000), run by Principal Joginder Singh. National School of Guruji Master Teerath Singh Ka School played a notable role in the field of education here. In higher education Markanda National College and Arya Kanya Mahavidyalya are important to note. Contributions of Lala Sita Ram Ji Rahees, Dr. Krishan Gopal Chadha, Lala Bhal Singh Gupta, Lala Kesho Ram were significant in spread of higher education for women and establishing Arya Kanya Mahavidyalya. Divine Public School, Ram Parsad DAV Public School, Vishvas School, Satluj Senior Secondary School and Chanan Singh Ghumman Memorial College of Education run by Principal Dr. R.S. Ghumman, Sardar Kartar Singh Hayer School & College of Nursing run by Dr. Gurdip Singh Hayer are famous for providing quality education. Mata Rukmani Rai Arya Senior Secondary School, D.A.V Centenary School, and SGNP School are also famous in the area. A legendary personality Dr. Kuldip Singh Dhindsa Professor Dr. Kuldip Singh Dhindsa,who is a renowned scientist and teacher of international fame resides at Shahabad Markanda. People of this place are fortunate to have the presence of such a legendary personality among them. Dr.Dhindsa's contribution in education and scientific research in Chemistry and biochemistry is worldly acknowledged. Dr. Kuldip Singh Dhindsa is recipient of multiple national and international awards. Currently, serving as Chairman/Member of various Committees of University Grants Commission, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi; Em panelled Co-Chairperson of Interview Boards conducted by RAC for recruitment and assessment of Scientists in Defence Research and Development Organization, New Delhi.Sports
In the field of hockey, Shahabad was the home of many men’s hockey players, including International player Gurdeep Singh Bhullar and Sanjeev Kumar Dang, former Olympian now serving in Punjab and Sind Bank. Other players include Dr Narinder Sharma (National Insurance), Baldev Singh Attari , Jatinder Singh , Dayanand Madan , Ganshyam Das , Bhupinder Singh Bhindi and Sandeep Singh. There are many other players presently settled abroad e.g. Sumandeep Singh (Rana), Prabhdeep Singh, though being settled out of the country contributed much towards the uplift of the country as well as promoting hockey. Shahabad has produced a large number of women hockey players. The current National Women's Hockey Team has 12 players from Shahabad. From the last decade Shahabad has produced many women hockey players who have donned Haryana, Railways or Indian team colours. It has got the epithet of Sansarpur. These include former Indian woman players Bhupinder Kaur (Rail coach Factory) and Sandeep Kaur . She played for World Cup, Olympics & Asia Cup, too. She played as a captain of Indian Woman Hockey Team for seven consecutive years. Current national team representatives from Shahabad are: Suman Bala, Nutan, Meenakshi, Simarjeet Kaur, Balwinder Kaur, Kiran Bala, Gurpreet Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur, Rajni Bala, Rajwinder, Gagandeep Kaur and Surinder Kaur. Beside hockey Shahabad also excels in other sports too: Narender Singh of Bibipur block, Shahbad, has climbed Mount Everest and created a new record by staying on the summit for an hour without oxygen. Narinder Singh created another three records: a) Cycle to recycle starting from Mt Everest base to Kanyakumari 11906 km in 63 days; b) Underwater Cycling 100 m in sea of Goa in 2012-13; c) he climbed Mt Elburs (i.e. the highest peak in Iran) in 2012; d) he cycled from Srinagar (JMartyrs
Sardar Shingara Singh Hanjra sacrificed his life for the country during the Indo-Pakistani Partition 1947. He also underwent imprisonments with Mahatma Ghandhi helping him for the successful completion of his missions. Jagdish Kalra a youngster sacrificed his life for the country during the Indo-Pakistani War in 1965. A park is named after him and a statue of him is also installed there. "Patharan Walla Bazaar" of the town was also renamed as "Jagdish Bazaar". Khusdev Singh, Gurpreet Kaur and Gurdeep Singh of this town sacrificed their lives by fighting unarmed with the terrorists on 9 April 1988. The armed terrorists attacked the residence of the then M.L.A. Dr. Harnam Singh. FiveSights
The original Gurdwara Mastgarh was on a high ground in the northeastern part of the town. The original prayer hall under a high dome was used as the divan hall. The "Guru Granth Sahib" was seated in the centre in front of the mihrab. Bullet marks on the exterior surface of the domes and the walls document turbulence in the eighteenth century. However, a new Gurdwara has been constructed after demolition of the original Gurdwara. It is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which administers it through a local committee.Notable people
* Sandeep Singh – hockey player * Rani Rampal – hockey player *References
{{notelist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpreet_Kaur_(Shahabad)External links