Gurdaspur district

Gurdaspur district (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਦਸਪੂਰ ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ) is a district in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of the Pakistani Punjab, the Punjab districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. 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 district is at the foothills of the Himalayas.

The current member of Parliament for Gurdaspur is Vinod Khanna.

As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Punjab (out of 22), after Ludhiana and Amritsar and Batala is the largest city in the district which hold 31 percent of total district population.

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 Ayodhya 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.

Gurdaspur

Gurdaspur (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਦਾਸਪੁਰ) is a city in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India, between the rivers Beas and Raavi, 10 km from the international border between India and Pakistan. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical center of the district, being situated on the Amritsar – Jammu National Highway, 36 km from Pathankot and 32 km from Batala. Head offices of all district departments are located in Batala and Gurdaspur.

Gurdaspur city was named after Mahant Guriya das ji. The Emperor Akbar was crowned at Kalanaur, which is 26 km from the city. Behrampur town, where the Maqbara (mausoleum) of Bairam Khan is situated, is 10 km away. Dinanagar town, which was the capital of the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is 12 km away. The well-known woolen mill located in Dhariwal, is also 12 km from the city.

Demographics

According to the 2011 India census, Gurdaspur had a population of 2,299,026 (1,212,995 males and 1,086,031 females). There was a 9.30% increase in population compared to that of 2001. In the previous 2001 census of India, Gurdaspur District had recorded a 19.74% increase to its population compared to 1991.

Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency)

Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 13 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Punjab state in northern India.

Assembly segments

Presently, Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following nine Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments:

Members of Parliament