Malerkotla
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| ?Malerkotla Punjab • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 242 m (794 ft) |
| District(s) | Sangrur |
| Population | 106,802 (2001) |
| Website: [http://[1] [2]] | |
Coordinates: Malerkotla is a city and a municipal council in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It which was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded unto the union of India in 1947 and was merged with other nearby princely states to create the Patiala and East Punjab States' Union (PEPSU).
When that political entity was reorganised in 1956, the territories of the erstwhile state of Malerkotla became part of Punjab [1].
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[edit] History
Malerkotla, a Muslim Pathan(sherwani) state, is most respected house in Punjab. Maler Kotla state was founded in 1600. It is a historic fact that during the 1947 riots when the whole of Punjab was in flames it was the State of Malerkotla which did not witness a single incident of violence, through it all, it remained a lone island of peace [2].
The origin of this rare occurrence dates back to 1705, when the younger sons of 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, were ordered to be bricked alive by the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, his close relative, Sher Mohammed Khan, Nawab of Malerkotla, who was present in the court, lodged vehement protest against this inhuman act and said it is against the glorious tenets of Quran and Islam [3]. Wazir Khan acquiesced and the Sahibzadas were tortured and bricked alive. At this the noble Nawab of Malerkotla walked out of the court in protest.
Guru Gobind Singh on learning this kind and humanitarian approach profusely thanked the Nawab of Malerkotla and blessed him with his Hukamnama, Kirpan etc. In recognition of this act, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence during partition.
During the partition of India, the Muslims of the princely state chose to stay back, instead of migrating to the newly-founded Pakistan [4]. Though many also contribute this peace to the presence of the shrine of 'Baba Haidar Sheikh', the Sufi saint, who founded the town of Malerkotla more than 500 years ago [5].
[edit] Education
To facilitate the oriental scholars, Punjabi University, Patiala, decided to establish an Institute of higher learning in this field in the 'Urdu Town of Punjab' i.e. Malerkotla named after one of the founders of Malerkotla Estate, Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan. The Nawab Sher Mohd. Khan Institute of Advanced Studies in Urdu, Persian and Arabic [6] , provides the facilities of higher research in the area of Urdu/Persian Languages and Literature up to the level of PhD. Besides regular classes are being run for M.A. (Persian) and Certificate Courses (Urdu, Persian and Arabic).
Today Malerkotla is the only place in Indian Punjab that has a Muslim majority. 70% percent of the residents of Malerkotla are Muslims with sufficient Sikh and Hindu population. Due to the Muslim majority in Malerkotla in schools across Malerkotla Urdu is taught alongside Punjabi and Hindi.
[edit] Famous people from Malerkotla
Bobby Jindal, son of former Malerkotla residents Amar and Raj Jindal is the newly elected Governor of Louisiana. Jindal was elected with over 53% of the vote on October 20, 2007. He will assume the Governor's mansion in January 2008.The new prithviraj chauhan anas rashid is also from this place.
Begum Aizaz Rasul, was born into the princely house of Malerkotla and was a leader of the opposition in India's first parliament, and the only Muslim woman to be member of the Constituent Assembly of India
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census[7], Malerkotla had a population of 106,802. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Malerkotla has an average literacy rate of 55%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 61%, and female literacy is 49%. In Malerkotla, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Transport
Malerkotla lies on Ludhiana - Dhuri railway line, while the nearest airport is Ludhiana Airport.
[edit] Further reading
- Kinship and the Political Order: The Afghan Sherwani Chiefs of Malerkotla (1454-1947), Contributions to Indian Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 2, 203-241 (1994).[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Malerkotla Punjab at www.india9.com.
- ^ A people's gratitude The Sikh Review, Issue No.14, November 2003.
- ^ Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib SikhiWiki, the Encyclomedia of the Sikh.
- ^ Malerkotla Muslims.. The India Express, August 14 1997.
- ^ The Legend of Malerkotla: A Tale from the Punjab (2004) 48 min, DVD, ISBN 978-0-8026-0761-4.
- ^ Urdu academy for Malerkotla The Indian Express, January 20, 1999.
- ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
