Sri Muktsar Sahib ( ), often referred to as simply Muktsar, is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality at 117,085, making it the 14th largest city of Punjab, in terms of population. The second Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Angad (Nanak II) was born in the village Matte-di-Sarai (Sarainaga) in the same district. Earlier the city was called Khidrana/Khidrane di dhab, the city was named Muktsar after the Battle of Muktsar in 1705 and the district headquarters in 1995. The government officially changed the name of the city to Sri Muktsar Sahib in 2012, though the city is still primarily referred to by its unofficial name – Muktsar.
History and etymology
Early history The modern day Sri Muktsar Sahib city was historically a semi-desert terrain named Khidrana or Khidrane de dhab, situated near a lake. Not much is known about the early history of the present area of the city. This may partly be due to the river Sutlej. The Sutlej is notorious for shifting its course, and it is stated to have flowed as far east as Sri Muktsar Sahib within historical times. While shifting its course it is said to have leveled down everything that came its way, leaving behind ruins and mounds of earth and pottery debris. The present area of Sri Muktsar Sahib is almost entirely destitute of ancient buildings and contains no places mentioned in early records. Legends connected with Raja Sálbán attach to one or two other ruined sites near Sri Muktsar Sahib such as that at Sarainaga, 10 miles (16 km) to the east of Sri Muktsar Sahib.
Medieval history Rao Burar had two sons, Paur and Dhul, with the younger’s progeny having held almost the whole of the region of Sri Muktsar Sahib. Many of these Brar Jats followed the Sikh Gurus and later embraced the Sikh faith, during the times of Guru Gobind Singh. These Brar Jats under Chaudary Kapura are known to have fought against the imperial Mughal armies alongside Guru Gobind Singh and the Chali Mukhte.
Battle of Muktsar
In 1705, after battle of Chamkaur against the Mughals, Guru Gobind Singh started looking out for a suitable place from where he could re-group his forces and battle the Mughal forces, who were now supported by the Dogra hill chiefs. Assisted by an experienced guide of a Brar chief, the guru reached Khidrane Di Dhab where he finally decided to meet the enemy. He received news of imperial troops, at least 10,000 strong, under Wazir Khan, subedar of Sirhind pursuing him. Earlier, in 1704, when Guru Gobind Singh's Army was treacherously surrounded in Anandpur Sahib by the Moghul forces, supported by Dogra hill chiefs, Sikhs had run out of provisions. Some historians believe that 40 Sikhs from Majha region of Jhabal had deserted the Guru. Historians believe that the Guru asked them to write a formal declaration stating they no longer wish to fight alongside Guru Gobind Singh. However, realizing their mistake of deserting him, and under the motivation of Mai Bhago, these 40 deserters came back to join the Guru's forces at Sri Muktsar Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh also sent reinforcements, though the number of Sikh soldiers is disputed. Historians like Latif have put it at 12,000, although the Sikh chroniclers say they were far fewer, some say as few as forty. They showered arrows from his strategic position on the mound, down upon the imperial army, killing a number of them. The resistance of the Sikhs became fierce. The enemy became restive for want of water. It was not possible for them to reach the lake of Khidrana. As it was semi-desert terrain and the summer heat was reaching its peak, the Guru knew of its importance and based his defenses around the water reservoir. The only water they could get was fifteen miles behind them. Thirst and oppressive heat, and the tough resistance offered by the Sikhs, compelled the Mughal army to retreat. Guru Gobind Singh won this last Mughal-Khalsa battle, which had resulted in heavy casualties. At the end of the battle, when he was looking for survivors, Mai Bhago, who was lying wounded, told him how the forty deserters had laid down their lives fighting in the battlefield. Mai Bhago recovered and remained in the Guru's presence after the battle of Sri Muktsar Sahib. When Guru Gobind Singh along with his Sikhs, was collecting the dead bodies for cremation, he found one man, named Mahan Singh, still clinging to life. On seeing the Guru, he made an effort to rise; the Guru at once took him in his embrace, and sat down with him. Mahan Singh, tearful and exhausted, requested the guru to destroy the document disclaiming his being a Sikh of the Guru. Before Mahan Singh died, Guru Gobind Singh took the document and tore it up. It is a legendary belief that this gave "mukti", meaning freedom, to those 40 Sikhs and hence, the city got its modern-day name Muktsar, where the word "sar" is derived from the word "sarovar", meaning reservoir, with reference to the Kidrana reservoir.
Post battle of Muktsar
In the days of the persecution of the Sikhs, Jassa Singh often took refuge in the jungles of Sri Muktsar Sahib.
The territories of Sri Muktsar Sahib, Kotkapura, Mari and Mudki together with the Faridkot State, originally formed one territory, with its capital at Kotkapura. In 1807, Dewan Mokham Chand conquered the whole of this territory from Tegh Singh, and added it to the Lahore demesne. Mohkam Chand established thanas at Sri Muktsar Sahib, Kotkapura and Mari and since that time, the villages subject to these thanas have been known as separate territories.
Ram Singh, leader of the Namdhari sect, visited Sri Muktsar Sahib in 1861 on the occasion of Mela Maghi to deliver his message. However, the priests of Sri Muktsar Sahib Gurudwara refused to pray for Ram Singh, unless he agreed, by way of penalty for his "un-Sikh" ways, to pay the entire cost of masonry for the local tank.
Modern history
After India gained independence from the British in August 1947, there was an aggressive exodus of the non-Muslims from West Punjab and that of Muslims from the East Punjab. A large number of refugees from the Bahawalpur state and from Montgomery and Lahore districts entered India through the border along the Firozpur district, of which Sri Muktsar Sahib was a part of. According to the 1951 Census, 349,767 refugees from Pakistan settled in the Firozpur district including the erstwhile Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga tehsils.
The Sri Muktsar Sahib city remained a tehsil of Ferozepur district from August 1947 to August 1972, and then it became a tehsil of the newly carved out district, Faridkot. In November 1995, Sri Muktsar Sahib became a district city. In February 2012, the city was officially renamed to Sri Muktsar Sahib from Muktsar.
Geography Sri Muktsar Sahib is located in the south-western part of the Punjab state in north India. The city is spread over an area of 12.66 square miles (32.80 square Km). The geographical coordinates of the city are 30° 29' 0" North, and 74° 31' 0" East. Nearby cities include Bathinda 33 miles (53 km) to the south east, Ferozepur 32 miles (52 km) to the north, Faridkot 31 miles (50 km ) to the north east and Abohar 35 miles (56 km) to the south west. The state capital, Chandigarh, lies 249 km (155 miles) east to Sri Muktsar Sahib. The city of Ludhiana is 92 miles (148 km) and Amritsar lies 104 miles (167 km) away. The Indian capital, New Delhi, lies 247 miles (398 km) south east to Sri Muktsar Sahib.
Topography The average land elevation of the city is 648.52 feet (197.67 metres) above sea level. Lithologically, Sri Muktsar Sahib is a part of the vast Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain, composed of alternate bands of sands, silt and clay with pebbles. Sandy plains, sand dunes and topographic depressions are the common landforms.
Pedology The soil of Sri Muktsar Sahib varies from sandy to loam in texture, and is low in organic carbon, phosphorus, zinc and other micro nutrients, but high in potassium. The salt affected soil of Sri Muktsar Sahib has been categorized as sodic soil and saline sodic soil. The villages surrounding the city produce high yields of cotton, wheat, paddy and seed oil.
Climate Climatically, the Western Himalaya in the north and the Thar Desert in the south and south-west mainly influence the climatic conditions. Since the city lies far away from the Sivalik Hills, and any of the major rivers, it experiences an extreme climate situation. Summers are extremely hot, and winters very cold. The city experiences four distinct seasons – spring (February – March), summer (April – August), fall/autumn (September – October) and winter (November – January), along with the monsoon season setting in towards the later half of the summer. Summers, from early April to mid October, are typically very hot and humid, with an average daily June high temperature of 104 °F (40 °C). The season experiences heat indices easily breaking 110 °F (43 °C). Winters are very cold and foggy with few sunny days, and with a December daytime average of 37.4 °F (3 °C). The Western Disturbance brings some rain in winters that further adds to the chill. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant seasons with low humidity. The monsoon season usually starts in the first week of July and continues till August. Thunderstorms are not uncommon during the Monsoon. The mean annual rainfall fluctuates around 397.7 mm. Rainfall in 2023 being 385.7mm, around 3% lower than normal. About 75 per cent of the annual rainfall in the city is received during the monsoon season.
Demographics
Sri Muktsar Sahib is the 14th most populated city of the Punjab. According to the 2011 census of India, Sri Muktsar Sahib urban city has a population of 117,085, of which males constitute 61,725 (52.87%) and females 55,022 (46.99%). The total number of households in the city is 23,644. The population under the age of 6 is recorded as 13,981, of which 7,646 are males and 6,335 females. The total number of literates in the city are 78,606, with 44,089 males and 34,517 females. 36,084 people work full-time in the city, of which a majority of them are males, constituting at 31,081 (86.14%) and only 5,003 (13.86%) females. The number of marginal workers is 4,213. The number of non-workers in Sri Muktsar Sahib is 76,450. The city has a Scheduled Caste population of 38,381, of which 20,118 are males and 18,263 females
Religion
The predominant religions among the city's population are Sikhism and Hinduism; Sri Muktsar Sahib also has a few adherents of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity. The Muslim population represents only 1.09% of the city's population.
The table below shows the population of different religious groups in Sri Muktsar Sahib city, as of 2011 census.
+Population by religious groups in Sri Muktsar Sahib city, 2011 censushttps://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11389, India - C-01: Population by religious community, Punjab - 2011, Muktsar (M Cl)ReligionTotalFemaleMaleHindu64,86530,39934,466Sikh49,93423,71326,221Muslim1,267571696Christian398200198Jain1507278Buddhist793841Other religions963Not stated452322Total116,74755,02261,725
Culture