Shahabad Markanda
| Shahabad Markanda शाहाबाद मारकंडा | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
  Shahabad Markanda Location in Haryana, India  Shahabad Markanda Shahabad Markanda (India) | |
| Coordinates: 30°10′N 76°52′E / 30.16°N 76.87°ECoordinates: 30°10′N 76°52′E / 30.16°N 76.87°E | |
| Country |
 |
| State | Haryana |
| District | Kurukshetra |
| Named for | Rishi Markandeya |
| Government | |
| • Type | Democratic |
| • Body | Municipal Committee |
| • President of MC | baldev raj chawla |
| • Member of Legislative Assembly | Krishan Kumar Bedi (Bhartiya Janta Party) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 42,607 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 136135 |
| Telephone code | 01744 |
| Vehicle registration | HR |
| Website |
haryana |
Shahabad Markanda (Hindi: शाहाबाद मारकंडा Urdu: شاہآباد مارکنڈا) is a town and a Municipal Committee in Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is situated on the left bank of the Markanda River, 20 KM south of Ambala Cantonment and 22 KM from the historical city Kurukshetra. The other names of the town are Shahabad (Hindi: शाहाबाद), Shahbad (Hindi: शाहबाद) or Shabad (Hindi: शबाद).[1]
History
The town was founded after the Battle of Tarain (Taraori) in 1192 by a general of Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Ghuri. Historically it was a Muslim majority town, with references made to a fort during Mughal times, and raids as well as sacking of the fort by Banda Singh Bahadur. It was pillaged by Babur for having rendered assistance to Ibrahim Lodhi. Significantly it also has a historic gurdwara of those times and many temples including Shri Markandeshwar Mahadev Shiv Mandir, Balasundri Mandir, Durga Mandir. After partition most of the Muslims left, and Punjabi's, Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan were resettled here.
After the victory over Prithviraj Chauhan, Muhammad Ghuri donated 52000 Bigha of land to his commander Qutb-ud-din Aibak. Mughal emperors Babur & Humayun also stayed here for some time.
In 1757, the town was sacked and captured by the forces of the Hindu Maratha Empire.[1] The Sikhs started occupying territory, Nishananvali misl, under Dasaundha Singh and Sangat Singh, took possession of a long and narrow stretch of land south of the Sutlej, extending from Singhanvala in Firozpore district up to Shahabad with Ambala as the headquarters. The territory of Shahabad and Ismailabad fell to Sardar Mehar Singh. Several attempts were made by the Afghans to dislodge the Sikhs, but they were repulsed every time.[2]
It was during this period, between 1770 and 1780, that a magnificent old mosque, said to have been built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1630, was converted into a gurdwara. The only major change was the demolition of its minarets. The gurdwara was named Mastgarh, this designation being commonly used for gurdwaras converted from mosques. Bhai Prem Singh of Hazur Sahib was appointed the first granthi. Gurdwara Mastgarh is on a high ground in the northeastern part of the town. The original prayer hall, under a high dome is used as the divan hall. The Guru Granth Sahib is seated in the centre in front of the mihrab.
Shahabad was divided by the Sikhs into 7 patlis. The Sardars of Shahabad exercised administrative powers in the earlier days of the British regime but they were deprived of these powers by the British in 1850.
A market known as Kahan Chand Mandi was constructed in 1923 on the outskirts of the town but it did not flourish and now serves as a residential colony. A new market known as Partap Mandi was constructed in the 1960s.
Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Sub Divisional Status for Shahabad Markanda on 9 May 2011.
In 1710 famous Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur captured Shahabad. On 22 May 1791 Baghel Singh and Karam Singh Nirmala of Nishanwalia Misal recaptured Shahabad by killing Kiledaar Khalil Khan along with 700 Mughal soldiers. The Sikh also captured two cannons here. Commissioner of Karnal Major C. R. Buck in 1854 allotted shops to the traders. The market was named as Larkingunj. Presently it is known as Gurmandi.
Shahabad was famous for the manufacturing of scissors and musical instruments. The municipal committee of Shahabad was formed in 1885. The Railway Station and Railway Bridge were built in 1930. The name of Shahabad railway station was Khrindwa station. Maharaja Bajinder Singh from Thamber ruled in Shahabad.
Geography
Shahabad lies 21 Kilometres south of Ambala on the Ambala - Delhi section of the historical Grand Trunk Road, or GT road as it is locally known. It is some 22 kilometres to the north of Kurukshetra. Shahabad is on the national highway NH-1 and it also has a railway station on the Delhi - Ambala line. It lies on the banks of the River/stream Markanda, a tributary of the Ghaggar, and supposed to be a part of the ancient Vedic Saraswati River basin system. There is a large temple on the banks of the river, which is called Markandeya Mandir, after the name of the famous Maharishi Markandeya.
There is also a road from Panchkula, via Ramgarh and Dosarka, that comes out near Shahabad. There are direct roads to Ladwa and Radaur as well as Yamunanagar from Shahabad. Pipli, near Kurukshetra, Nilokheri and Karnal are the other nearby towns south of Shahabad on the Grand Trunk Road.
Economy
It is a significant market for procurement of agricultural products. The market yard in Shahabad is a major procurement market or Mandi. The area being on a river bank is fertile and is used for paddy as well as wheat and vegetables. Poultry farming also heavily contributes to its economy. The yield is very high, and the belt till Karnal has a large number of rice mills to pick up the high quality grain. Shahabad also has a government sugar mill.
Demographics
The Shahabad city is divided into 17 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Shahabad Municipal Committee has population of 42,607 of which 22,913 are males while 19,694 are females as per report released by Census[3] India 2011.[2]
Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 4349 which is 10.21% of total population of Shahbad (MC). In Shahbad Municipal Committee, Female Sex Ratio is of 860 against state average of 879. Moreover Child Sex Ratio in Shahbad is around 771 compared to Haryana state average of 834. Literacy rate of Shahbad city is 83.77% higher than state average of 75.55%. In Shahbad, Male literacy is around 87.11% while female literacy rate is 79.93%.
Shahabad Municipal Committee has total administration over 9,222 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorize to build roads within Municipal Committee limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.
Education
Government School was established in 1897, ‘Arya Putri Gurukul’ 1909, ‘D.A.V School’ in 1916, ‘Islamiya School’ was converted as ‘Khanewal Khalsa School’. After partition some private schools were also established here. ‘Ramdutt Ka School’, ‘Prince Coaching College’ popularly known as ‘Sardaar Ka School’ (1950-2000) was run by Principal Joginder Singh, ‘National School of Guruji’, ‘Master Teerath Singh Ka School’ played notable role in the field of education here.
In higher education ‘Markanda National College’ and ‘Arya Kanya Mahavidyalya’ are important to note. Contributions of Lala Sita Ram Ji Rahees, Dr. Krishan Gopal Chadha, Lala Bhal Singh Gupta, Lala Kesho Ram were significant in spread of higher education for women and establishing ‘Arya Kanya Mahavidyalya’.
‘Vishvas School’, ‘Satluj Senior Secondary School’ and ‘Chanan Singh Ghumman Memorial College of Education’ run by Principal Dr. R.S. Ghumman are famous for providing quality education. ‘Mata Rukmani Rai Arya Senior Secondary School’, ‘D.A.V Centenary School’, and ‘SGNP School’ are also famous in the area.
Sports
In the field of hockey, Shahabad donned lot of players in men’s hockey. International player Gurdeep Singh Bhullar {Superintendent Indian Customs Dept.} Sanjeev Kumar Dang former Olympian now Serving in Punjab & Sind Bank. There are lots of other players such as Dr Narinder Sharma (National Insurance), Baldev Singh Attari {Railways}, Jatinder Singh {Signals}, Dayanand Madan {Haryana Police}, Ganshyam Das {Signals}, Bhupinder Singh Bhindi {Punjab & Sind Bank} and Sandeep Singh. There are lot of other players which presently settled abroad e.g. Sumandeep Singh(Rana), Prabhdeep Singh, though being settled out of the country contributed a lot towards the upliftment of the country as well as promoting Hockey.
Shahabad has produced a large number of women hockey players. The current National Women's Hockey Team has 12 players from Shahabad. From the last decade Shahabad has produced a large number of women hockey players who have donned Haryana, Railways or Indian team colours. It has got the epithet of Sansarpur former Indian woman player Bhupinder Kaur {Rail coach Factory}, Sandeep Kaur {Indian Railways}. She played for World Cup, Olympics & Asia Cup too. She played as a captain of Indian Woman Hockey Team for 7 consecutive years. Current national team representatives from Shahabad are: Suman Bala, Nutan, Meenakshi, Simarjeet Kaur, Balwinder Kaur, Kiran Bala, Gurpreet Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur, Rajni Bala, Rajwinder, Gagandeep Kaur and Surinder Kaur.
Beside Hockey Shahabad also excels in other Sports too, Narender Singh of Bibipur block, Shahbad, have climbed Mount Everest and created a new record by staying on the hilltop for an hour without oxygen. Narinder singh created another 3 records a) Cycle to recycle started Mt Everest base to Kanyakumari 11906 km in 63 days. b) Under Water Cycling 100 m in sea of Goa in 2012-13 c) Climbed Mt Elburs i.e. highest peak in Europe 2012. d) Did Cycling from Shrinagar(J &K) to Itanager, Arunachal Pradesh 4,890 km in 2004.
Martyrs
Sardar Shingara Singh Hanjra sacrificed his life for the country during the Indo-Pak division-1947, he also undergone imprisonments with Mahatma Ghandhi helping him for the successful completion of his missions. Jagdish Kalra a youngster sacrificed his life for the country during Indo-Pak war in 1965. A park is named in his name and a statue of him is also installed there. 'Patharan Walla Bazaar' of the town was also renamed as 'Jagdish Bazaar'. Khusdev Singh, Gurpreet Kaur and Gurdeep Singh of this town sacrificed their lives by fighting unarmed with the terrorists on 9 April 1988. The armed terrorists attacked on the residence of the then M.L.A Dr. Harnam Singh. Five Shaurya Chakra were awarded by President Of India to the brave family of Dr.Harnam Singh.
Sights
Gurdwara Mastgarh is on a high ground in the northeastern part of the town. The original prayer hall, under a high dome is used as the divan hall. The "Guru Granth Sahib" is seated in the centre in front of the mihrab. Bullet marks on the exterior surface of the domes and the walls document turbulence in the eighteenth century. The gurdwara is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which administers it through a local committee.
Notable people
- Sandeep Singh - hockey player
- Rani Rampal - hockey player
References
- ↑ "Shahbad (MC)(800370)". censusindia.gov.in.
- ↑ "Shahbad Population Census 2011". census2011.co.in.