Sunam 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 ...
and a
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...
, near city of
Sangrur i
Sangrur districtin the Indian
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 ...
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 ...
. The Railway Station of Sunam was renamed as Sunam Udham Singh Wala.
History
Sunam is listed in the
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...
as a
pargana
Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...
under the
sarkar 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 ...
, producing a revenue of 7,067,696
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
s for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 2000 infantry and 500 cavalry. It had a brick fort at the time. It was one of the many towns under the rule of
Wazir Khan.
Geography
Sunam is located at . It has an average elevation of . Sunam falls under the district of Sangrur. Located on the Ludhiana-Hisar railway line, it is connected, by road with Sangrur (13 km),
Patiala
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 Mubar ...
(64 km),
Ludhiana
Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224
http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF
Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...
(90 km),
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 ...
(95 km), and
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
(129 km).
Demographics
As of the
2011 India census, Sunam had a population of 334,641. Males constitute 53.3% of the population and females 46.7%. Sunam has an average literacy rate of 75.6%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 79.6%, and female literacy is 71%. In Sunam, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Sunam Udham Singh Wala city, as of 2011 census.
Politics
The city is part of the
Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency.
Landmarks
Samadh Baba Bhai Mool Chand Sahib Ji
This is a place in Sunam where people from all religions/communities come to pay homage to a great saint of the 17th century. Descendants of his legacy are known as 'Bhaike' as they all are from a small village near Sunam named 'Bhai Ki Pishour'. Once every year they congregate in this ancestral village named ' Chhajjli' app. 10 km from Sunam, of theirs in a social gathering known as 'Babe Mitti'.
Peer Banna Banoi
Before
Partition of Punjab, Sunam's population was predominantly Muslim, legend has it that if there would have been 1 more peer it would have been the first 'Peergah' (Makka) in the region with 100 peers but that did not happen as 1 peer lies just outside the boundary of the city and now Muslim Community constitutes about 15 families in Sunam. Peer Banna Banoi is an Islamic shrine in Sunam. People of all faiths pay homage as Peer Banna Banoi was a God-fearing and true Muslim who sacrificed his life on the day of his marriage to save the Hindu and Sikh girls from being kidnapped by the armed goons.
Industries and trade
Sunam has a Grain Market, wholesale cloth market, wholesale utensils market and a Sarafa Bazar(Gold Jeweller's Market) in Town Side area of Sunam. Naya Bazaar and Peeran Wala Gate are the main bazaar of Sunam.
Education
Sunam has three colleges, the Guru Nanak Dev Dental College Sunam, Shaheed Udham Singh Govt College Sunam and Ajit Nursing Institute Sunam.
Hindu Sabha High School
This is one of the three oldest public high schools of Sunam. Hindu Sabha High School Sunam was started on 19 February 1948. Sh. Karta Ram Jindal was the headmaster from 1965 till 1992 for almost 30 years, During his tenure school grew from 100 students to 2000 students. The school celebrated its silver jubilee in 1973 and Education Minister Umrao Singh inaugurated school's biggest assembly hall. This school is a non-profit and semi-government school. Later the school was upgraded to Senior Secondary school. Also Hindu Sabha College for Women was started for Arts and other subjects.
Notable People
* Shaheed Udham Singh: Sunam is the birthplace of Shaheed
Udham Singh, who shot former British Indian governor
Michael O'Dwyer in revenge for his support of the notorious
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (), also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Vaisakhi, Baisakhi fair to protest aga ...
on 13 March 1940.
References
{{Sangrur district
Cities and towns in Sangrur district