Faridkot district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Faridkot, Punjab.

Faridkot district is a district lying in the South-Western part of Punjab, India with Faridkot city as the district headquarters.

Faridkot district
District of Punjab
Brijendra College in Faridkot
Location in Punjab
Country	India
State	Punjab
Headquarters	Faridkot
Founded by	Raja Mokalsi
Named after	Sheikh Fariduddin Ganjshakar
Government
• Deputy Commissioner	Vineet Kumar, 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.faridkot.nic.in

Etymology

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.

History

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
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.

Government body

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.

Politics

No.	Constituency	Name of MLA	Party		Bench
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

Overview

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 i.e. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences is also named after Baba Farid besides Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Engineering and Dental Colleges.

• 
  Entrance of Farmer's House Faridkot
• 
  Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot
• 
  Foundation Stone of Harindra - Civil Hospital Faridkot
• 
  Foundation stone of Govt. School of Bargari (Faridkot)
• 
  Entrance of District Court Faridkot
• 
  Foundation Stone of Davies Model Agricultural Farm and Farmers's House Faridkot
• 
  Govt. Brijindra College Faridkot
• 
  Govt.Brijindra College Faridkot

List of villages

• Ahel
• Arayianwala Kalan
• Arayianwala Khurd
• Aulakh
• Bageana
• Bajakhana
• Bargari
• Beguwala
• Behbal kalan
• Behbal khurd
• Bhag Singh wala
• Bhagthala Kalan
• Bhagthala Khurd
• Bhairon-Ki-Bhatti
• Bhana
• Bihlewala
• Bholuwala
• Bir Bholuwala
• Bir Chahal
• Bir Sikhanwala
• Burj Jwahar singh
• Burj Masta
• Buttar
• Chahal
• Chak Dhudi
• Chak Kalyan
• Chak Sahu
• Chak Seman
• Chak Shama
• Chambeli
• Chand baja
• Chaina
• Chet Singh Wala
• Chugewala
• Dabrikhana
• Daggo Romana
• Dallewala
• Dana Romana
• Dawareana
• Deep Singh Wala
• Deviwala
• Dhab Sher Singhwala
• Dhaipai
• Dhilwan Kalan
• Dhilwan Khurd
• Dhimanwali
• Dhudi
• Dhurkot
• Dod
• Faridkot (Rural)
• Ghaniewala
• Ghoniwala
• Ghuduwala
• Ghugiana
• Ghumiara
• Gondara
• Golewala
• Gurusar
• Hadialeana
• Hari Nau
• Hariewala
• Hassan Bhatti
• Jalaleana
• Jand Sahib
• Jandwala
• Janerian
• Jeonwala
• Jhakhar Wala
• Jhariwala
• Jhok Sarkari
• Jhotiwala
• Kabalwala
• Kamiana
• Kanianwali
• Kaler
• Kauni
• Khara
• Khemuana
• Khilchi
• Kingra
• Koharwala
• Kotha Guru
• Kothe Kehar Singh
• Kot Sukhia
• Lambwali
• Malla
• Matta
• Machaki Kalan
• Machaki Khurd
• Machaki Mal Singh
• Marahar
• Mallewala
• Mandwala
• Mani Singh Wala
• Maur
• Mehmuana
• Midu Maan
• Mishriwala
• Moranwali
• Mumara
• Nangal
• Naraingarh
• Nathalwala
• Nathewala
• Pakhi Kalan
• Pakhi Khurd
• Pakka
• Panjgrain Kalan
• Pehluwala
• Phide Kalan
• Phide Khurd
• Pindi Balochan
• Pipli (Village)
• Qila Nau
• Rajowala
• Ratti Rori
• Rupianwala
• Sadhanwala
• Sadhuwala
• Sadiq
• Saideke
• Sandhwan
• Sangatpura
• Sango Romana
• Sangrahoor
• Sarawan
• Sher Singh Wala
• Sibbian
• Sikhanwala
• Simrewala
• Sirsari
• Sukhanwala
• Tehna
• Thara
• Virewala Kalan
• Virewala Khurd
• Wander Jatana
• Wara Daraka
• Rorikapura

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Faridkot district has a population of 617,508,^[3] roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands^[4] or the US state of Vermont.^[5] This gives it a ranking of 519th in India (out of a total of 640).^[3] The district has a population density of 424 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi).^[3] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.18%.^[3] Faridkot has a sex ratio of 889 females for every 1000 males,^[3] and a literacy rate of 70.6%. Scheduled Castes made up 38.92% of the population.^[3]

Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Faridkot district through decades.

Sex ratio of Faridkot district^[6]

Census year	Ratio
2011	890
2001	883
1991	883
1981	879
1971	866
1961	849
1951	856

The table below shows the child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in the rural and urban areas of Faridkot district.

Child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in Faridkot district^[7]

Year	Urban	Rural
2011	844	854
2001	797	820

Religions

Religion in Faridkot district (2011)[8]
Religion			Percent
Sikhism			76.08%
Hinduism			22.89%
Islam			0.51%
Other or not stated			0.52%

The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Faridkot district. Note:- The separation of Moga and Muktsar district from Faridkot in 1995 caused significant changes in the population numbers after that year.

Absolute numbers of different religious groups in Faridkot district^[9]

Religion	Urban (2011)	Rural (2011)	Urban (2001)	Rural (2001)	Urban (1991)	Rural (1991)
Hindu	1,12,625	28,738	97,765	21,937	1,97,618	98,506
Sikh	1,00,593	3,69,196	93,290	3,33,814	1,42,770	9,87,591
Muslim	1,503	1,622	729	1,010	447	4,697
Christian	743	484	543	396	1,181	1,209
Other religions	1,587	417	1,244	164	15,538	656

Religious groups in Faridkot District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1881[10][11][12]		1891[13]		1901[14]		1911[15][16]		1921[17]		1931[18]		1941[19]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Sikhism	40,187	41.42%	47,164	41%	52,721	42.21%	55,397	42.52%	66,658	44.24%	92,880	56.51%	115,070	57.74%
Islam	29,035	29.92%	34,376	29.88%	35,996	28.82%	37,105	28.48%	44,813	29.74%	49,912	30.37%	61,352	30.79%
Hinduism [a]	27,463	28.3%	33,079	28.75%	35,778	28.64%	37,377	28.69%	38,610	25.63%	20,855	12.69%	21,814	10.95%
Jainism	349	0.36%	408	0.35%	406	0.33%	409	0.31%	473	0.31%	550	0.33%	800	0.4%
Christianity	0	0%	13	0.01%	11	0.01%	6	0%	107	0.07%	167	0.1%	247	0.12%
Zoroastrianism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Judaism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Total population	97,034	100%	115,040	100%	124,912	100%	130,294	100%	150,661	100%	164,364	100%	199,283	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: British Punjab province era figures are for Faridkot State.

Languages

Languages of Faridkot district (2011)^[20]

1. Punjabi (91.79%)
2. Hindi (6.91%)
3. Others (1.3%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 91.79% of the population spoke Punjabi and 6.91% Hindi as their first language.^[20]

Health

The number of registered doctors in the Faridkot district were 1,345 and 2,997 registered nurses, as of year 2018.^[21][22]

The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Fridkot, as of year 2020.

District nutrition profile of children under 5 years of age in Fridkot, year 2020^[23]

Indicators	Number of children (<5 years)	Percent (2020)	Percent (2016)
Stunted	13,534	28%	35%
Wasted	4,931	10%	23%
Severely wasted	1,328	3%	11%
Underweight	9,973	21%	27%
Overweight/obesity	1,313	3%	1%
Anemia	32,889	76%	61%
Total children	48,111

The table below shows the district nutrition profile of Fridkot of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, as of year 2020.

District nutritional profile of Fridkot of women of 15–49 years, in 2020^[23]

Indicators	Number of women (15–49 years)	Percent (2020)	Percent (2016)
Underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m^2)	31,663	16%	11%
Overweight/obesity	76,581	39%	24%
Hypertension	50,788	26%	12%
Diabetes	29,369	15%	NA
Anemia (non-preg)	123,249	63%	43%
Anemia (preg)	6,298	58%	27%
Total women (preg)	10,907
Total women	194,368

The table below shows the current use of family planning methods by currently married women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, in Faridkot district.

Family planning methods used by women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, in Faridkot district^[24][25]

Method	Total (2015–16)	Urban (2015–16)	Rural (2015–16)
Female sterilization	48.1%	46.6%	48.7%
Male sterilization	0.1%	0.0%	0.2%
IUD/PPIUD	11.1%	11.8%	10.9%
Pill	2.4%	2.2%	2.5%
Condom	12.1%	19.6%	9.5%
Any modern method	73.9%	80.1%	71.7%
Any method	81.5%	85.0%	80.3%
Total unmet need	5.6%	2.3%	6.8%
Unmet need for spacing	4.1%	1.4%	5.1%

The table below shows the number of road accidents and people affected in Gurdaspur district by year.

Road accidents and people affected in Gurdaspur district by year^[26]

Year	Accidents	Killed	Injured	Vehicles Involved
2022	140	103	70	180
2021	116	89	52	118
2020	135	107	69	118
2019	134	106	62	128

Notes

1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis