Gurdaspur district General information

Gurdaspur district is a district in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, Kathua District of Jammu and Kashmir, the Punjab districts of Amritsar and Hoshiarpur, and Chamba and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh. Two main rivers Beas and Ravi passes through the district. The Mughal emperor Akbar is said to have been enthroned in a garden near Kalanaur, a historically important town in the district.

The current M.P.(member of Parliament) of Gurdaspur is Vinod Khanna ,the famous Bollywood actor of yesteryears who once famously remarked during his election campaign "Main Gurdaspur ko Paris mein badal doonga"(I will turn Gurdaspur into Paris).

History

Gurdaspur was founded by Guriya Ji in the beginning of 17th century. On his name, this city was named as Gurdaspur. He bought land for Gurdaspur from Jats of Sangi Gotra. It is also established that some people used to live in huts in the old city. Guriya Ji a Sanwal Brahmin of Kaushal Gotra belonged to a village Paniar situated 5 miles north of Gurdaspur. The ancestors of Guriya Ji came from Ayodhaya long time ago and settled in Paniar. Guriya Ji had two sons Sh.Nawal Rai and Sh.Pala Ji. The descendants of Nawal Rai settled in Gurdaspur Nawal Rai’s son Baba Deep Chand was a contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave the title of Ganj Bakhsh (Owner Of Treasure) to Baba Deep Chand. The descendants of Baba Deep Chand are known as Mahants.

Little is known about the ancient history of the district except a few antiquities like the rock temples at Mukheshwar Gurdaspur along with its neighbouring districts was the same of the explicits of Alexander, who came up to River Beas in his grand design of world conquest. He faught a grim battle with the Kathaians at Sangala which is located near Fatehgarh in Gurdaspur.

From the latter half of the 10th century up to 1919 A.D this district was ruled by the Shahi dynasty under Jayapal and Anandpal. Kalanaur in this district was the most important town during the period of Delhi Emperor from 14th to 16 th century it wastwice attacked by Jasrath Khokhar, once after his un successful assault on Lahore in 1422 and again in 1428 when Malik Sikander marched to relieve the place and defeated Jasrath It was have that Akbar was installed by Bairam Khan on a throne on Feb 1556. The messonary, plat form which still exists about a kilometre and a half to the east of the town is the actual spot upon which his installation took place.

In the decline and fall of the Mughal supermacy and the rise of the Sikh power this district saw, its most stiring scenes. Some of the sikh Gurus have been closely associated with the district. Guru Nanak, born in 1469 in the Lahore district, married in 1485 with Sulkhani, daughter of Mool Chand, a Khatri of Pakhoke (Dera Baba Nanak) in the Batala Tehsil. There is still a wall known as Jhoolana Mahal which swings in Gurdaspur. The Sikh Guru Hargobind refounded Shri Hargobindpur which had been formerly known by the name of Rahila. Banda Bahadur, the disciple of Guru Gobind Singh used this district as a base to raid the country upto Lahore, the emperor Bahadur Shah conducted an expedition against him in 1711 but with only temporary effect. Banda Bahadar fought his last battle with the Mughal at Gurdas Nangal in the district and was captured. The history of the district then degenerates into an account of their restruggles of the rival Ramgarhia and Kanhaya Misals for supermacy in this part of the Doab, the power of the former was broken in 1808 and of the latter in 1811 by

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who thus assumed way over the whole district. Dinanagar, with its pleasant mango gardens and running canal was a favourite summer residence of the lion of the Punjab, who when not elsewhere engaged used spent here the two hot weather months of May and June.

During partition of India in 1947 the future of Gurdaspur could not be decided for many days. As majority of population of this district was Muslim. REDCLIFF Awards of Boundary transferred only Shakargarh Tehsil Of Gurdaspur district to Pakistan, and the rest of the district was transferred to India. Muslim population of the district migrated to Pakistan and refugees, the Hindus and the Sikhs of Sialkot and Tehsil Shakargarh migrated to Gurdaspur after crossing the Ravi bridge. They settled and spread in Gurdaspur district.

Area

Total area of the district is 3562 Sq.Km.

Location

The Gurdaspur district is the northern most district of Punjab state. It falls in the Jalandhar division and is sandwitched between river Ravi and Beas. The district lies between north-latitude 310-36' and 320-34' and east longitude 740-56' and 750-24' and shares common boundaries with Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir state in the north, Chamba and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh in the north-east, Hoshiarpur district in the south-east, Kapurthala district in the south, Amritsar district in the south west and Pakistan in the north west.
Topography

Three Tehsils of the district namely Gurdaspur,Batala and Dera Baba Nanak are plain and similar to the rest of the Punjab plains in structure, genesis lithology and surface configuration out the northern most part of the district i.e. Dhar and Pathankot tehsils are in the foot of Shivalik hills.

The land scape of the Gurdaspur district has varied topography comprising the hilly tract, undulating plan, the flood plains of the Ravi and the Beas and the up land plain.

The hilly tract covering the north-eastern parts of Pathankot and Dhar tehsils have a typical land topography, ranging in elevation from about 381 to 930 metre above sea level. From north to south the tract consists of three small ranges running in north west to south east direction – The Siali Dhar-Dangahri Dhar range the Dhaula Dhar-Nag Dhar range and the Rata Dhar range. The Siali Dhar-Dangahri Dhar range lies to the extreme north. In its western part Siali Dhar is about 931 metres above sea level at its highest point and in the eastern part about 959 metres. This range is highly dissected by numerous streams. South of this is situated the Dhaul Dhar-Nag Dhar which is about 13 km long and at places about 2.5 km. wide and has an elevation varying from about 610 to 844 metres above sea level. The Rata Dhar is marking the boundary between the hilly tract at the dissected undulating plain having and elevation of about 665 metres above sea level.

To its south lies an area of about 128 sq.kms which is highly dissected and is an undulating plain. Its elevation ranges from about 305 to 381 metres above sea level. It is travessed by a number of choas and has an undulating topography.

The flood plains of the Ravi and the Beas are separated from the up land plain by sharp river cut bluffs. They are low lying, with slightly uneven topography. Sand dominates in the soil structure of the flood plains, but it diminishes in both quantity and courseness in the upland plain.

The up land plain covers a large part of the district particularly of Dera Baba Nanak,Batala and Gurdaspur tehsils. Its elevation ranges from about 305 mertres above sea level in the north-east to about 213 metres above sea level in the south west, with a gentle gradient of about 1 metre in 1.6 km. This is the most important physiographic unit in the district. The physiography of the district has the topographic characteristics of Ropar and Hoshiarpur districts.
River System & Power Resources

The Beas and Ravi are the two main rivers which flow through the district, both of which originate near the Rohitang pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chaki Khad is the chief tributary of the Beas in Gurdaspur district. Like other rivers of the punjab the water of the Beas and the Ravi fluctuate from season to season and from year to year. This fluctuating discharge of the rivers does not permit their navigational use.

There are number of local swampy depression popularly known as Chhambs. The largest of there is the Kahnuwan Chhamb which stretches along the Beas river in Gurdaspur tehsil. Another swampy depression is the Keshopur Chhamb but this Chhamb alongwith other erst while chhambs of Dhan Rai, Narod Budiulzama, Paniar, Bucha Nangal and Naranwali, have practically been reclaimed now.

Gurdaspur district possesses a fairly dense network of canals of the Upper Bari Doab Canal system which irrigates most of the area of the district. Its main branches are Lahore branch, Kasur branch and the Sabhraon branch. The Ravi Beas link which was completed around 1954, diverts part of the Ravi water into the Chakki khad which is a tributary of the Beas.

Ranjit Sagar Dam : 600 MW with Punjab share of 452 MW Ranjit Sagar Dam is one of the latest multipurpose river valley projects under construction on river Ravi about 24 Kms. upstream of Madhopur Head Works. This project mainly comprises of 160 m high dam ,600 MW Power Plant with four units of 150 MW capacity each.

Shahpur Kandi Project(168 MW): This project was inaugurated by Sh PV Narsimha Rao Prime Minister of India and will be constructed on River Ravi about 11 Km downstream of RSD and 8km upstream of Madhopur Head Works for harnessing and regularising the release of water from RSD for generation of Power. There will be 61 m high dam and 2 power houses with installed capacity of 168 MW.

Climate

There are mainly two seasons i.e. summer and winter. The summer season falls between the months of April to July and the winter November to March. In summer season the temperature touches 440C or even sometimes crosses it. June is the hottest month and January is the coldest one. Mostly the rain falls in the month of July. The winter rains are experienced during January and February. The dust storm occurs in the month of May and June.
Rainfall

The south-west monsoon generally arrives in the first week of July and continue up to the end of August. 70% of the rainfall occurs during this period. The average rainfall of the district is 875.4 milimeters (average of 5 years). The rainfall in the district is greater in the sub mountain parts of the district and decreases rapidly towards the southwest.

Ecology

The changes in ecology system are inevitable, consequences of development process. The denudation of forests due to increasing population, urbanisation industrialization have accelerated the process of environmental degradation in the district. Therefore preservation of the ecology is one of the most important goals of the district planning.

The vegetation varies in the district depending on the soil, topography and elevation. In the Shahpur Kandi range which lies in the hilly tract, the forests are mainly of the miscellaneous hardwood species and the Chil pine. In the Plain, large scale of afforestation has been under taken by the forest department. Where water facilities are available, Shisham, mulberry, eucalyptus and poplar are being planted. In the Kallar area, kikar prosopis and eucalyptus has been planted. Besides mango and mulberry, other fruit trees cuiltivated in the district include orange, Kinnow Lemon tree etc.

Hydrology

Geo hydrologically Gurdaspur district is divided into three units(i) Hilly on the north-eastern side. (ii) Kandi region and Sirowal and adjoining plains. In Kandi region ground water occurs under unconfined conditions. Depth of water varies between 10 and 40 metres below land surface. The ground water in this region is suitable for irrigational and domestic uses.

The sub soil water depth ranges from 1.5 to 3 metres in most part of the district. Due to Dhusi bandh and stepped floods the water table has gone very low. 6 blocks out of 13 blocks have been declared grey.
Soils

The soils are loamy with a clay content below 10 percent. They contain small quantities of lime but the maganesia content is high. They are well supplied in potash and phosphoric acid but the quantities available are low. The agriculture is dependent to a large extent on the nature of its soils which in turn, is influnced materially by climatic factors.

The soil of the district is quite alluvial and fertile. It is divided into three parts by nature, i.e sub-mountaneous kandi and plain. The sub- mountaneous area of the district, which starts from Pathankot and continue to the bank of the Ravi Chakki and becomes a part of the Dalhousie mountain at the end contains bushes.

The Kandi area is suffering from lack of rainfall and the supply of water is quite difficult. There are a few wells which hardly meet the requirements of water supply for the public. The plains of the district consists of five kinds of soils viz, Andhar, Pathanki, Riarki, Bangar and Bet. The Andhar area is found between the rivers Ravi and Chakki in tehsil Pathankot and Dhar.

The area of Pathankot tehsil which is irrigated by Badhahi canal is known as Pathanki. The area of Dhariwal Ghuman, Quadian, Harchowal and Sri Hargobindpur is called Riarki. The western side of Kahnuwan lake up to Aliwal canal is called Bangar and the area between the rivers of Beas and Ravi is known as Bet. The cultivable waste land is fallow or covered with bushes or jungle which may not be put to any use . Lands under that ching grass bamboo, bushes,tree crops etc. which are not included under forests have been considered as cultivable waste. As for example, all growing lands which are permanent pastures, meadows, grazing lands within the forests etc.
Minerals

The minerals found in the district are building stones, foundry sand, gold calctuff, lime stone, ochre, salt petre fullers-earth etc. The building material like boulders shingle, sand. brick earth etc, usually occur at the same place and are found in the ephmeral streams as well as in the perennial streams and on the hill slopes. Brick-earth is found in plenty through out the district. These are found in the vicinity of the beds of Ravi, Beas and Chakki in the hilly terrains of Dhar block.

The foundry sand is found from Dharamkot near Batala. The deposits are located 6.5 kms west of Batala. Exposed on both sides of Batala-Dera Baba Nanak road, the Dharmkot sand is a natural moulding sand, containing about 20% of clay. Another

deposit which is about 4 metres thick, occurs at about 6 km from Batala on the Batala Qadian road. The sand gives a yellowish tinge on the surface but is reddish brown at about 1 metre depth.

The sand deposits are also found at Bhagwanpur about 15 km. west of Batala on Dera Baba Nanak road and about 10 km from Gurdaspur on the Gurdaspur Naushera road (20 percent clay). The Calc-tuffa found at scattered places in Dhar -Dunera block of district Gurdaspur is suitable for lime burning and cement manufacture. Lime stone occurs as bounders and pebbles in the beds of few ephemeral streams in the Dunera area and in the bed of the Chakki khad which flows along the borders of the Gurdaspur district south and west of Pathankot. These lime stone boulders can sustain cottage and small scale, lime burning industry in the area.

The salt petre occurs in the district at the villages of Thikriwala, Lamin and Pandori in thesil Gurdaspur and Dhawan, Chataurgarh and Badowal in tehsil Batala. It is a source of Potassium nitrate which can be used for making crackers and Gunpowder, in match and sugar industry and as fertilizer. The fuller's earth has been found in the Dhar block of the district.

Economy

A branch of the North Western Railway runs through the district. The largest town and chief commercial centre of the distict is Pathankot. There are important woollen mills at Dhariwal, and besides their products the district exports cotton, sugar, grain and oil-seeds and wheat.

Places of interest

TAKHT - I - AKBARI: (Coronation Site Of Mughal Emperor AKBAR THE GREAT) : Here he was coroneted as the Emperor of Hindustan on 14th February 1556 AD. Protected by Archaeological Survey of India.

AKBAR the great Mughal Emperor 1556 – 1605 was coronated at a place situated at a distance of 2 Kms East of Kalanaur. HUMAYUN, the father of Akbar, died on 26 January 1556 in Delhi in a fatal accident while climbing down the stairs of Din-I-Pannah library also known as Sher – Mandal. At the time of coronation, Akbar was only 13 years 3 months old. At the time of his father’s death he was accompanying his tutor BAIRAM KHAN and was staying at Kalanaur.
Mahakaleshwar Temple At Kalanaur

Mahakaleshwar Temple Shivlingam : Since time immemorial, a big Shivratri fair is held every year in the Mahakaleshwar temple on Shivratri day when a large number of devotees gather here to celebrate the festival of Shivratri.

Barath Sahib : ENTRANCE TO THE BAOLI (BARATH SAHIB) Gurudwara Sri-Barath SahibBarath Sahib is situated 13 Kilometer west of Pathankot city. The Gurudwara of Barath Sahib is associated with Baba SRI-CHAND, the elder son of Guru Nanak Dev ji, Baba Sri-Chand, the founder of udassi sect was born on Bhadhon 9, Samvat 1551 i.e. 1494 AD in Sultanpur Lodhi.

Dera Baba Nanak : Dera Baba NanakAnother view of Shri Darbar Sahib Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak is situated 45 Kilometers west of Gurdaspur. This place is associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The  two famous Gurudwaras at Dera Baba Nanak are Sri Darbar Sahib and Sri Chola Sahib.

Achal Sahib : Achal SahibAchal Sahib is 8 Kms from Batala on Batala Jalandhar road. This is associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Kartik Ji, the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati.

Achaleshwar Temple : Achaleshwar TempleOn the opposite side of Gurudwara, there is Achaleshwar temple. According to local sources written on the board of the temple, this temple belongs to Satyug  period and is related to God Kartik the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati.

Gurudwara Sri Kandh Sahib (BATALA) : Gurudwara Sri Kandh SahibThis pious place is associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s marriage. Here Guru Nanak Dev Ji came as a bridegroom from Sultanpur Lodhi in 1487 A.D.

Shrine of Brave Haqiqat Rai (1724 – 1731 AD) at Batala Shrine of Brave Haqiqat Rai

Dhianpur Shrine : Dhianpur ShrineDhianpur is situated 19 Kilometers north of Batala. The town is associated with Baba Lal Ji, who is said to have lived during the time of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

Mosque Aqsa : Mosque AqsaTown of Qadian is associated with the founder of AHMADIYA MUSLIA SECT, the Promised Messiah "HAZRAT MIRRZA GULAM AHMAD " who was born in Qadian. Qadian is not only  known now within India but enjoys special regard in the hearts of 10 million Ahmadia Muslims spread in all five continents of the world.

Sri Namdev Durbar at Ghoman : Sri Namdev Durbar at GhomanGHOMAN is situated about 26 KM. Southeast of Batala city. Ghoman is about 10 KM from Sri Hargobindpur. It is towards west side of Sri Hargobindpur.  Ghoman is associated with Baba Namdev (1270-1350 AD). Baba Namdev was the founder of this town and meditated here for 17 long years. Here he did miraculous deeds.

Gurdas Nangal : Gurdas NangalVillage Gurdas Nangal which is associated with Banda Singh Bahadar’s last battle with Mugals is situated about 7 kilometers (4 miles) west of Gurdaspur City. Bhai  Duni Chand’s Haveli earlier known as BANDE WALI THEH is about one mile from the present village of Gurdas Nangal. A brief life history of Banda Singh Bahadur is written on a  huge board and is displayed in front of Gurudwara.

Gurudwara Ghallughara Sahib :This is associated with massacre of Sikhs in 1746 AD. It is situated about 10 Km south of Gurdaspur.

Sri - Hargobindpur: Hargobindpur is situated about 45 Kilometres south of Gurdaspur city. This area was formerly known as "ROHILA". "GURU ARJUN DEV" the fifth Guru of Sikhs founded the town of Sri-Hargobindpur in 1595 AD in memory of his son Hargobind’s birth in that year, as the child was the only son born to the Guru Arjan Dev after many prayers. Guru Arjan Dev named this town as SRI-GOBINDPUR but due to Chandu Shah’s

Mukeshwar Temple at Shahpur Kandi :This temple is situated on the bank of river Ravi. It is about eight kilometers north east of SHAHPUR KANDI. This temple is the earliest relics of antiquity. These are said to data back to the times of the PANDAVAS.