Sirsa, Haryana

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Sirsa district. For other uses, see Sirsa (disambiguation).

Sirsa सिरसा ਸਿਰਸਾ
city
Sirsa Location in Haryana, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Haryana
District	Sirsa
Government
• Body	HUDA
• Member of Parliament	Charanjeet Singh Rori (INLD)
Elevation	205 m (673 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	160,126
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Punjabi
• Regional	Haryanvi, Bagri, Saraiki
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	125055
Telephone code	01666
Vehicle registration	HR 24
Nearest city	Bathinda, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Hisar, Sri Ganganagar
Lok Sabha constituency	Sirsa
Planning agency	HUDA
Distance from New Delhi	263 kilometres (163 mi) W (land)
Distance from Chandigarh	251 kilometres (156 mi) SW (land)
Distance from Hisar (city)	92 kilometres (57 mi) NW (land)
Website	sirsa.gov.in

Sirsa (Hindi: सिरसा) is a city and municipal council in the Sirsa district of the Indian state of Haryana. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. Its history dates back to the time of the writing of the Mahabharata. At one time, the Sarasvati River flowed in this area. It is home of Sirsa Air Force Station of Indian Air Force.

History

Origin of name

There are a number of legends about the origin of the name of the town. Sirsa is said to be one of the oldest places of North India and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in the Mahabharata, Panini's Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. In the Mahabharata, Sairishaka is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western quarter. It must have been a flourishing city in the 5th century BC, as it has been mentioned by Pāṇini.

Later, tt seems to have been corrupted to Sirsats from its ancient name Sairishaka.

Fort of King Saras, Sirsa

According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras founded the town in the 7th century AD and built a fort. The remains of an ancient fort can still be seen in the South-East of the present town. It is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in circumference. According to another tradition, the name has its origin from the sacred river Sarasvati which one flowed near it. During the medieval period, the town was known as Sarsuti as noted by a number of medieval historians. In the ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.

During British Raj

The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa tahsil (consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali tahsil formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar district and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur district (Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of the country except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil to the then state of Bikaner in 1906.

Post-Independence in 1947

The entire area of the district was included in the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974, three villages of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil. On September 1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted into a separate Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa. NB

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Sirsa had a population of 160,129. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirsa has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 62%. In Sirsa, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Bagri, a dialect of the Hindi language, Hindi and Punjabi are spoken and understood by the majority of people.More than half of the sirsa is bagri. Saraiki is also spoken. According to census 2011, the population of Sirsa city is 183,282, out of which 96,806 are males and 86,476 are females. The literacy rate reached to 83.03%, with male literacy of 88.50% and female literacy of 76.98% . Sex ratio of the city is 893 .

File:Saraiki districts of India.jpg

Saraiki region in India

Geography

Sirsa is located . It has an average elevation of 205 metres (672 feet). Temperature is between 0 - 48°C. Rainfall is 250 to 500 mm.

Climate

The climate of this district is characterised by its dryness and extreme temperatures and scant rainfall. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season from November to March is followed by the Summer season which lasts up to the end of June. The period from July to the middle of September and from the middle of September to October constitutes the south west monsoon and post-monsoon seasons respectively.

Records of rainfall in the district are available for Sirsa only for sufficiently long periods. The average annual rainfall in the district is 32–53 mm. The rainfall in the district increases generally from west to east. About 72 percent of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received during the short south east monsoon period, July to September, July and August being the rainiest months. There is significant amount of rainfall in the month of June, mostly in the form of thunder showers. In the rest of the year, there is a very little rainfall. During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall as recorded was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was recorded in 1920.

On an average there are 20 rainy days (i.e. days with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded in the district was 165.4 mm on September 22, 1917.

Places of archaeological interest

The archaeological Survey of India, during the archaeological exploration of the Ghaggar valley in Sirsa District in 1967–1968, nearly 54 sites, yielding the painted grey, black and red, black slipped, grey and red wares and those belonging to Rang Mahal culture were discovered. No Harappan settlement, however, could be located. Sites yielding Rang Mahal pottery were found to be situated in close proximity of the Ghaggar.

Among the painted grey ware settlement, a mound locally called Lahranwali Theri near Rania deserves special mention. The painted grey ware types found here mainly comprised dishes and bowls. Pottery of the later periods was also collected from this site.

Besides, two mounds at Sikanderpur from where stone slabs having marks of iron dowels were found can be ascribed to Rang Mahal culture. A few more archaeological sites were identified in the district. The more important ones are described below:-

Arnian wali (Tehsil Sirsa): It is situated 8 km south of Sirsa on Sirsa Bhadra Road. A mound measuring nearly 4 acres and approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) high lies 400 meters north of the village. It has yielded fragments of pottery of early history and medieval times.

Sikander Pur (Tehsil Sirsa): Located about 12 km east of Sirsa, the village is approached by a link road from Sirsa – Fatehabad Road. The site, which has two mounds, one kilometre apart, is located about 1.6 km north-east of the villages and is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) high. Heavy stone slabs and a sculpture of Indra, specimens of a temple of early medieval times were found from the site. A sculpture of an "Ekmukha Linga" of Shiva belonging to early medieval times has also been discovered. The specimen represents Shiva both in his human as well as phallic form. A sculpture of Indra recovered from the site is fine specimen representing two armed Indra as Dikpala. Another sculpture of Indra with his consort belonging to the early medieval times has also been found. The site has also yielded Rang Mahal and medieval wares.

Moriwala (Amarjeet Pura): Moriwala is a small village located 12 km out from Sirsa on national highway 10 on Sirsa-Fatehabad road. This village was named as Moriwala but now it has been changed as Amarjeet Pura. It happened because here was a pilot named Amarjeet Singh Sandhu, who died in the war of 1971 with Pakistan.

Suchan (Tehsil Sirsa): Located about 16 km east of Sirsa, the site has yielded fragments of pottery of Rang Mahal and early medieval wares.

Mangiana (Tehsil Dabwali): It is located about 13 km east of Dabwali on Kalanwali-Dabwali Road. The mount, located about a kilometre west of the village, is 15 feet (4.6 m) high. It has yielded fragments of early historic and medieval wares.

Trivia

Sirsa features as the centre of activity in the 2007 Movie titled "Partition" directed by Vic Sarin, starring Jimy Mistry and Kristin Kreuk

Location

Gateway to Sirsa NH-10

Sirsa is the Administrative Headquarters of Sirsa District of the state of Haryana.It is situated at a distance of 259 Kilometers from the national capital New Delhi on National Highway-10 and 250 Kilometers from the state capital Chandigarh on National Highway-64. Sirsa is well connected with New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur by regular bus service run by the Haryana Roadways and railways.

How to reach

By Air
Sirsa has an Indian Air Force station but it is not open to civilian flights or civilian use. The nearest airport is located at Bathinda Airport and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi which is well connected to domestic and international destinations.

By Train
Sirsa has a railway junction that is well connected to Bathinda, New Delhi, Jaipur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Ajmer and other cities in North India.

By Bus
Sirsa is well connected by road. Direct buses are available from Bathinda, New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur. About four years ago, Inter City Bus service was started in the city. The city is internally well connected by autorikshaws and rikshaws.

Places of interest

Religious places

Tara Baba Kutiya

Tara Baba Kutia is a Hindu temple situated about 5 km from main city on Rania Road. It has been built in the memories of Saint Shri Tara Baba Ji. It is very big and beautiful. There is a huge murti of Bhagwan Shiv and a cave(constructed)

Gurudwara Sri Chilla Sahibis a historic place of Sikhs and is located in between rania chungi and tulsi chowk.

The Salasar Dham (Hanuman Mandir) is a Hindu temple and it is located Near Town Park.

Dera Sacha Sauda is a non-profit spiritual organization based in Sirsa, Haryana, India. The Dera Sacha Sauda was established by the ascetic Mastana Balochistani in 1948, as a center for spiritual learning.

Baba bhiyari Ji ki Samadhi Rania Road.

SHREE KHATU SHYAM DHAM Rania Road.

Sarsai Nath Dham Bhagwan Parsuram Chowk.

Baba Ramdev Mandir Rori Gate and Bhadra talab.

Ganesh Mandir Noharia Bazaar.

Jain Temple Street Jain School, Near Arham Jewellers, Terapanth Jain Bhawan.

Schools and colleges

When Sirsa became a district, it was very backward in the field of education, but with the time, the picture has changed. Here are some schools and colleges:

• R.S.D SR.SEC. SCHOOL

• ARYA SR.SEC SCHOOL
• R.K.P. Nehru Park Sr. Sec. School
• R.K.SR.SEC.School
• VIVEKANAND SR. SEC. SCHOOL
• St. Xavier Sr. Sec. School
• Central Senior Secondary School
• A.V.INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL
• Govt. Model sr. sec school
• G.R.G National Sr. Sec. School
• D.A.V School
• Jain School
• Rajendra Public School
• Shah satnam ji school
• The Sirsa school
• Maharaja Agrasain sr sec school
• Minerva high school
• Satluj Public school
• Saawan Sr. Sec. school
• New Era Senior Secondary School
• M D K INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
• C.M.K pg national girls' college
• Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Government Engineering College, Panniwala Mota
• Govt. National college is the main institute for graduation and post graduation. It is situated near main bus stand.
• Govt. polytechnic sirsa is number third polytechnic institute in Haryana, provides technical education in 7 branches
• JCD Vidyapeeth is the main place for technical education. It is a group of nine colleges such as engineering college, pharmacy college, dental college etc.
• In 2003, Sirsa got the its first government technical institution situated in Panniwala Mota about 22 km from city named Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial College, and later renamed with Govt. value as Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Government Engineering College.
• In 2005, Sirsa got CDL University, which is now a leading educational institute of the district and nearby.
• INFINITE VIDYA Educational Institute, New Mandi Sirsa.

Notable personalities

• Chaudhary Devi Lal
• Om Prakash Chautala
• Ashok Tanwar
• Surendra Verma
• Sardara Singh Indian Hockey team Captain
• Selja Kumari
• Jagdish Nehra
• Ajay Singh Chautala
• Charanjeet Singh Rori MP Sirsa
• Sunil Grover Comedy Nights With Kapil
• Ankit Garg Alumni of MNIT Jaipur
• Barinder Sran, cricketer

See also

• Haryana Tourism
• List of Monuments of National Importance in Haryana
• List of State Protected Monuments in Haryana
• List of Indus Valley Civilization sites in Haryana
• List of National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries of Haryana, India

References

Ashok kumar tanwar(MP), VED PARKASH

External links

• Official website
•