About Hoshiarpur
About Hoshiarpur
Hoshiarpur district is located in the northeast part of the State. It falls in the Jalandhar Revenue Division and is situated in the Bist Doab, Doaba region of the State.Hoshiarpur is a city and a municipal council in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state of Punjab. Hoshiarpur is also known as an ancient manufacturing town where colourful lacquer (formerly ivory) finished plastic inlay furniture is made.The area is known for wooden and ivory handicrafts. Ivory has now been replaced by synthetic alternatives. Hoshiarpur is called the land of “choes”, some 39 “choes”, (seasonal rivulets), which bring floods in the monsoon season.It is situated in the Sivalik Hills, which are foothills of the Himalayas. Hoshiarpur is also known as doors to Himachal and Himalayas and is best short cut to go to Jammu & Kashmir via Hoshiarpur it saves a lot of time as well as fuel.
History of Hoshiarpur
The area of present Hoshiarpur District was also part of Indus Valley Civilization. Recent excavations at various sites in the district have revealed that the entire area near the Shiwalik foothills was selected for habitation not only by the early palaeolithic man but also by those in the protohistoric and historic periods. In the explorations, seven early Stone Age sited a Atbarapur, Rehmanpur and Takhni, 30–40 km north of Hoshiarpur District in the foothills of Shiwalik, have been discovered where the stone artifacts have been found. Besides these excavations, among the archaeological remains in the Hoshiarpur District, the remains of temples at Dholbaha, 24 km north of Hoshiarpur, and especially the local legends throw valauble light on the ancient history of the district.
The archaeological explorations made during the recent years have revealed the antiquity of the Hoshiarpur District to the Harappan Period. The sculptures and other findings excavated from Dholbaha pertain to the Gurjara Prathihara Period ( C-800-1100 A D). In the 10th Century A D Shiwalik areas came under the influence of Pratiharas. During that period, the art of the local tribes took a definite shape. In AD 965, Jaipal came to the throne and thus the Hindu Shahi style penetrated into the valley of Dholbaha. In AD 988, the rulers of Parmaras remained paramount power up to AD 1260. It is said that before the first Muhammadan invasion in 1174 AD, Raja Shankar Dass built a fort on the site of the present town of Garhshankar, but it was taken by Mahmud Ghazni. After that this region was invaded by many Muslim rulers time to time and later on in 19th century was under Sikh rule before being occupied by Britishers until 1947.
Guru Hargobind Ji also visited Mukerian in the Hoshiarpur District from where he recruited the able bodied persons for his army. In almost all the six battles which the Guru fought against the Mughals, the solidiers in the army from the district played a significient role in achieving victory for the Guru. In 1699 – Creation of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh Ji on Baisakhi day in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib to fight against the tyranny of the Mughals and to abolish caste system. The Guru initiated five Sikhs, among them one Sahib Singh, barber of village Nangal Shahidan belonged to Hoshiarpur District . 1708-1711 – Banda Bahadur was commissioned by Guru Gobind Singh from Deccan to the Punjab in d1708 to punish those who had persecuted the Sikhs and executed his father and innocent children. Banda Bahadur used the Jalandhar Doab as the base from which he led expeditions against the Mughal forces.
In 1809 it was occupied by Ranjit Singh. The maharaja and his successors maintained a considerable cantonment I m. S.E. of the town, and the British government kept it up for several years after the annexation of the Punjab in 1849. There are manufactures of cotton goods, inlaid woodwork, lacquered ware, shoes and copper vessels.
