Faridkot

Faridkot (1981 pop. 42,423) is a town in Punjab state of India, in Faridkot District.

It has been named after the great Sufi Saint Baba Sheik Farid Shakarganj, whose verses are mentioned in Guru Granth the holy book of Sikh religion. Previously it was called Mokhalpur. Industries of the town include cotton handling, from ginning to baling to weaving, as well as manufacture of machine tools, sewing machines, and bicycles.

History

The ruling dynasty of Faridkot claimed descent from Jaisal, who founded Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in 1156. The town was founded in the 16th century by his descendant Bhallan of the Burai Jats. His nephew Kapur converted to Sikhism and founded the state of Kot Kapura in Punjab in 1705. A dispute between his grandsons led to the division of the state in 1763. The older brother, Sardar Jodh Singh Brar, retained control of Kot Kapura, and his younger brother, Sardar Hamir Singh Brar, was given Faridkot.

The state was captured in 1803 by Ranjit Singh, but was one of the Cis-Sutlej states that came under British influence after the 1809 Treaty of Amritsar. During the Sikh wars in 1845, Raja Pahar Singh aided the British, and was rewarded with an increase of territory. The state had an area of and its 642 square miles, and a population of 124,912 in 1901. It was bounded on the west and northeast by the British district of Ferozepore, and on the south by the state of Nabha.

References

[Genealogy of The ruling dynasty of Faridkot]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.