About Sangrur

The town of Sangrur is said to have been founded by one Sanghu, a jat, about 400 years ago and named after him. Formerly, a small village of mud houses, it was chosen as his capital in 1827 by Raja Sangat Singh, as it was close to Patiala and Nabha, the headquaters of the other two Phulkian States. After the fall of Sirhind in A.D. 1763 when the Sikhs defeated Zain Khan, the Governor of Sirhind, a protege of Ahmed Shah Abdali, and the province of Sirhind was partitioned among the Phulkian Sardars, the town of Sangrur became a part of Nabha State. However, on the occasion of marriage of Sardar Mahan Singh Shukar-chakya, the father of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with Raj Kaur, the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, a quarrel arose between the two Phulkian states of Jind and Nabha when some high officials of Nabha insulted some members of the marriage party passing through Nabha territory. Subsequently, Raja Gajpat of Jind from Raja Hamir Singh of Nabha snatched the town of Sangrur.

The town was later on developed into a beautiful city. Raja Raghbir Singh constructed a bazar on the lines of Jaipur town (Rajasthan) with pucca shops, gardens, tanks, temples and other public and religious buildings; a metalled road was also constructed around the city. He also constructed gurudwaras and mandirs on all the gates.

Prior to the partition of the country, Sangrur as headquarter of the Princely State of Jind. It was made a district only on 20 August 1948 when PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab State Union) was created. It then comprised Sangrur, sanam, Narwana and jind tahsils. The district went under a territorial change when Barnala District was merged in it on 1 September 1953. It then had five tehsils viz. Sangrur, Malerkotla, Barnala, Jind and Narwana. The PEPSU was merged with the Punjab State on 1 November 1956.

On reorganization of the State of Punjab on 1 November 1966, the district underwent a further territorial change. Jind and Narwana tahsils were allocated to the newly created Haryana State. Tahsil Sunam, which was degraded to a sub-tahsil at the time of merger of Barnala District, was again made a tahsil in 1970. Since then, it comprises four tahsils, viz. Barnala, Malerkotla, Sangrur and Sunam. It is bounded by Ludhiana and Firozpur districts in the north, by Bhatinda district in the west, by Patiala district in the east and by Jind district (State Haryana) in the south.