About Muktsar

About Muktsar

Sri Muktsar Sahib is a city and a municipal council in Sri Muktsar Sahib district in the Eastern Punjab (India). It’s historical name was Khidrāna.After the battle of 1705 it was renamed as Muktsar and recently, due to its historical and religious importance, it is renamed as Sri Muktsar Sahib. Muktsar District is located in South Western Zone of Punjab. It lies between 30o 69′ and 29o 87′ latitude and 74o 21′ and 74o 86′ longitude. It is bounded by States of Rajasthan and Haryana in the South, district Faridkot in North, Firozpur in West and Bathinda in the East. It covers an area of 2615 sq km, which constitutes 5.19 % area of Punjab.

Muktsar commemorating the martyrdom of Forty Muktas, i.e. the Liberated Ones, is a famous pilgrimage centre for the Sikhs. The sacred pool which lends its name to the town was formerly known as Khidrana Dhab, a natural depression which fed by rain water, used to be the only reservoir for miles around. Muktsar District is one of the nineteen districts in the state of Punjab in northwest India. Its capital is Muktsar; other towns include Malout, the largest town by population, and Gidderbaha. The district is known for its many Sikh temples (gurudwaras), including Drabar Sahib, Shaheedi Gurudwara, and Tibbi Sahib.

History of Muktsar

Sri Muktsar Sahib has a proud heritage. It is known as the last battlefield of Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 A.D., which proved to be a most decisive conflict in the military history of the Sikhs. Literally the name of this city means “the pool of liberation”. The forty Sikh warriors who fought to death here against the Mughal Empire more than three centuries ago are remembered by a grand festival held here every January, which attracts devotees from all over the world.

During the 1740s some Sikh families settled here, then a town developed there where the battlefield was. Later it took the name Sri Muktsar Sahib, renamed from Kidhrani di Dhab. A Gurdwara was Built. Later Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) visited Muktsar Sahib and did kar sewa of the Muktsar Sahib building, which was in 1980s replaced with a new building.