Faridkot district is one of the 23 districts in the state of Punjab, India with Faridkot city as the district headquarters.
Faridkot district | |
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District of Punjab | |
Country | India |
State | Punjab |
Headquarters | Faridkot |
Founded by | Raja Mokalsi |
Named for | Sheikh Fariduddin Ganjshakar |
Government | |
• Deputy Commissioner | Malwinder Singh Jaggi , IAS |
Area | |
• Total | 1,458 km2 (563 sq mi) |
Elevation | 196 m (643 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 617,508 |
• Rank | 17 |
• Density | 424/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Faridkotian, Faridkotiya |
Languages | |
• Official | Punjabi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 151203 |
Telephone code | +91-1639 |
Sex ratio | 1000/890 ♂/♀ |
Literacy | 69.60% |
Website | www |
The district is named after its headquarters, Faridkot city, which in turn is named in the honor of Baba Farid, who was a Sufi saint and a Muslim missionary. The town of Faridkot was founded during the 13th century as Mokalhar by Raja Mokalsi, the grandson of Rai Munj, a Bhatti Chief of Bhatnair, Rajasthan. According to popular folklore, the Raja renamed Mokalhar to Faridkot after Baba Farid paid a visit to the town. It remained the capital during the reign of Mokalsi's son Jairsi and Wairsi.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
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1951 | 182,145 | — |
1961 | 244,718 | +3.00% |
1971 | 293,475 | +1.83% |
1981 | 370,556 | +2.36% |
1991 | 455,005 | +2.07% |
2001 | 550,892 | +1.93% |
2011 | 617,508 | +1.15% |
source:[1] |
The region was a self-governing princely state during the British Raj period.[2] Prior to independence, a large part of the district was under the rule of the Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became a part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU ) in 1948. Before independence the Muslim population was 35% mainly from Jat, Mochi, Arain and Tarkhan castes who migrated to Pakistan and settled mainly in Okara, Kasur, Pakpattan and Bahawalnagar Districts. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of erstwhile Bathinda District(Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District(Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). Further, in November 1995 the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its subdivisions viz. Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts.
Prior to independence large part of the district was under the princely rule of Sikh Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU ) in 1948. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of Bathinda District (Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District (Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). However, in November 1995, the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its subdivisions viz Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts.
Faridkot district is surrounded by district Ferozepur in the North-West, Muktsar in the South-West, Bathinda in the South, and Moga in the West. The District covers an area of 1469 km2. which is 2.92% of the total area of the State and accommodates a population of 552,466, which is 2.27% of the total population of the State. It has three Subdivisions/ Tehsils namely Faridkot, Kotkapura and Jaito and a Sub Tehsil namely Sadiq comprising a total of 171 villages. Faridkot District has two development blocks namely Faridkot and Kotkapura.
In 2020, Faridkot has been made new police division. Earlier, Faridkot was part of Ferozepur police division. Moga and Mukatsar districts were also attached with Faridkot police division.
No. | Constituency | Name of MLA | Party | Bench | |
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87 | Faridkot | Gurdit Singh Sekhon | Aam Aadmi Party | Government | |
88 | Kotkapura | Kultar Singh Sandhwan | Aam Aadmi Party | Government | |
89 | Jaitu (SC) | Amolak Singh | Aam Aadmi Party | Government |
The Faridkot district contains 2 Cities Faridkot, Kotkapura. More than 7 towns/villages are quite notable in the Faridkot area such as Jaitu, Bajakhana, Panjgarain Kalan, Deep Singh Wala, Golewala, Jhok Sarkari, Doad, Ghugiana, Sadiq, Chand Bhan, etc. Faridkot is a hub for premier educational institutions. North India's only Medical University, also named after Baba Farid is in Faridkot besides Medical
- Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Engineering and Dental Colleges.
Sarawan
Religion in Faridkot district (2011)[3] | ||||
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Religion | Percent | |||
Sikhism | 76.08% | |||
Hinduism | 22.89% | |||
Islam | 0.51% | |||
Other or not stated | 0.52% |
According to the 2011 census Faridkot district has a population of 617,508,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands[5] or the US state of Vermont.[6] This gives it a ranking of 519th in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 424 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi) .[4] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.18%.[4] Faridkot has a sex ratio of 889 females for every 1000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 70.6%. Scheduled Castes made up 38.92% of the population.[4]
At the time of the 2011 census, 91.79% of the population spoke Punjabi and 6.91% Hindi as their first language.[7]
Solomon Islands 571,890 July 2011 est.
Vermont 625,741
Places adjacent to Faridkot district | ||||||||||||||||
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Cities and towns in Faridkot district | |
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Faridkot | |
Other districts |
State of Punjab, India | ||
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Capital: Chandigarh | ||
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