Tarn Taran district is one of the districts in the
Majha
Majha ( ''Mājhā''; ; from "mañjhlā" )Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ , is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region, presently split between the republics of Pakistan and India. It extends north from the ...
region 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 ...
,
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 ...
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. Tarn Taran's Sikh population makes it the most heavily concentrated administrative district of Sikhs in India and the world.
Tarn Taran district was formed in 2006 out of
Amritsar District
Amritsar district is one of the twenty three districts that make up the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Located in the Majha region of Punjab, the city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district.
As of 2011, it is the second most ...
. The declaration to this effect was made by Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, during the celebrations marking the martyrdom day of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji. With this, it became the 19th district 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 ...
. It has four tehsils, which are Bhikhiwind, Patti, Khadur Sahib and Tarn Taran Sahib. The District Headquarters is headed by the Deputy Commissioner, along with a Senior Superintendent of Police, Civil Surgeon, district Education Officer, Improvement Trust and a Municipal Council. The district judiciary is headed by the District and Session Judge, aided by several Additional District and Sessions Judges, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, and other officials.
Location
Tarn Taran is located in the 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 ...
, in far northern
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 ...
. It is surrounded by district of
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
in the north, district Kapurthala in the east, district Ferozepur in the south and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in the west.
Coordinates
Taran taran district lies between 31 0 05’, and 31 0 30’ 05 north
latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
74 0 30’ and 75 0 15’ 05“ east longitudes. The area falls in
Survey Of India
The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying.
History
The foundation of Tarn Taran city was laid by fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev in 1596. The area of Tarn Taran Sahib later came under the control of the Bhangi Misl ruled by a powerful Sikh family of Dhillon clan from 1716 to 1810.
During the 1965 India–Pakistan war, the town of Khem Karan was captured by the Pakistan army during early September 1965. The Pakistani forces were later defeated during the battle of Asal Uttar, that was fought from 8 to 10 September. At that time, it was the largest tank battle since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Khem Karan remained under Pakistani occupation for about six months till the signing of Tashkent agreement between India and Pakistan on 10 January 1966.
During the war, the people of the area had to leave their houses and go far away. Many houses, crops and railway tracks were destroyed. In the areas occupied by Pakistan, many houses were looted by Pakistani troops. Even the doors and windows were removed.
During the
Insurgency in Punjab, India
The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution in India, Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh aut ...
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...
and Sikh militants in Tarn Taran, initiated by former Pakistani President Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq. By the end of the 1980s and following Zia's death, Pakistan began to reallocate support for militancy from Punjab toward Jammu and Kashmir. Today, the Tarn Taran district remains one of the most adversely impacted districts for narcotics and arms trafficking from Pakistan.
In the post-independence era,
Partap Singh Kairon
Partap Singh Kairon (1 October 1901 – 6 February 1965)
was the 3rd Chief Minister of the Punjab province (then comprising Punjab, Haryana and part of Himachal Pradesh), and is widely acknowledged as the architect of post-Independence Punjab P ...
is among Tarn Taran's most well known residents. Kairon was a freedom fighter during British rule and served as the 3rd Chief Minister of Punjab from 1956-1964. He was assassinated in Sonipat district, now within Haryana, on February 8th, 1965.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Tarn Taran district has a
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 1,119,627, roughly equal to the nation of
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
or the US state of
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
. This gives it a ranking of 413th in India (out of a total of
640
Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...
). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 19.28%. Tarn Taran has a
sex ratio
A sex ratio is 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. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...
literacy rate
Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
of 69.4%. Scheduled Castes made up 33.71% of the population.
Religion
The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Tarn Taran district.
Tarn Taran district has the highest % share of Sikhs among all the districts of Punjab followed by Moga district (as of 2011 census).
Health
As of 2018, the number of registered doctors in Taran Taran district were 84 and registered nurses were 3,378. That means that the average population served per doctor in the district was 15,210 in that year, which was the highest in the state.
The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Taran Taran, as of year 2020.
The table below shows the district nutrition profile of Taran Taran of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, as of year 2020.
The table below shows the current use of family planning methods by currently married women between the age of 15 and 49 years, in Taran Taran district.
The table below shows the number of road accidents and people affected in Taran Taran district by year.
Economy
The income of
Municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
and Municipal corporations in Taran Taran district from municipal rates and taxes in the year 2018 was 54,566 thousand rupees.
As of 2014–15, there were 452 registered Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) units in the Taran Taran district, which provided employment to 2,717 people. There were 6 Medium and Large industrial units, which provided employment to 609 people.
There is no commercial airport in the district. The nearest airport is Amritsar International Airport. Direct International flights are available to key cities around the world in the likes of London, Birmingham, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Tashkent and Ashgabat. Domestic connections are available to almost every major city of
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 ...
.
Rail
The rail network provides good connectivity across the district. Amritsar-Khemkaran and Beas-Tarn Taran railway lines pass through Tarn Taran district. Tarn Taran Junction railway station provides cross connectivity between these two lines. A new project of rail line from Patti to Makhu has been approved by railways since 2013 but not started till date due to delay by state government on land acquisition.
nephrologist
Nephrology is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (renal physiology) and kidney disease (renal pathophysiology), the preservation of kid ...
and considered by many to have been the father of nephrology in India
* Satyavati Devi (born 1905) - Noted Freedom fighter
* Deepak Dhawan - State Committee member of CPI(M), President of Guru Nanak Dev University (AISF), and Prominent writer.
*
Prem Dhillon
Premjeet Singh Dhillon (born 4 January 1995) is an Indian singer and songwriter associated with Music of Punjab, Punjabi music. Dhillon is best known for singles "Boot Cut", "Old Skool" and "Majha Block".
Personal life
Premjeet Singh Dhillon w ...
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
writer
* Lala Achint Ram- Noted freedom fighter, Member of the constituent assembly, Later parliamentarian
* Mian Muhammad Sharif - Pakistani businessman, father of Nawaz and
Shehbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...
Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
activist
* Praveen Kumar Sobti, an athlete, actor and politician
* Mohan Singh Tur, former Jathedar of Akal Takht, Amritsar and Member of Lok Sabha