Punjab gets its 23rd district
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Today on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, Punjab gets its 23rd district-Malerkotla.
Capt Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab has accepted the long pending demand of the residents of the Malerkotla, a sub division in Sangrur district and made it the 23rd district of Punjab. Malerkotla was established in 1454 and is a historical town.
Malerkotla will be carved out from Sangrur district. Initially, said the Chief Minister, the sub-divisions of Malerkotla and Ahmedgarh, as well as the sub-tehsil of Amargarh, would be included in the newly created district. The process of bringing villages under the jurisdiction of Malerkotla district would begin later, after the conclusion of the census operations, he added. The Chief Minister directed the Deputy Commissioner Sangrur to find a suitable building to immediately start the functioning of the District Administration office. The Deputy Commissioner for the newly carved out district would be appointed soon, he said.
This is for the second time that Sangrur district was again divide. Earlier Barnala district was created from it, on the birth anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Nov 19, 2006 and made independent district.
Our government would make Malerkotla a separate district on coming to power and Muslims of Punjab would be given the same benefits as being provided to Dalits,“ said Capt Amarinder Singh, in a statement in 2017,during the election campaign of MLA Razia Sultana.
Last time on 27 July 2011, Fazilka and Pathankot was declared as 21st and 22nd districts by the Government of Punjab with Gazette Notification.
About Malerkotla- a Muslim majority state was established in 1454 A.D. by Sheikh Sadruddin-i-Jahan from Afghanistan, and was ruled by his Sherwani descendants. The State of Malerkotla was established in 1600 A.D. During the 1947 riots when Punjab was in flames, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence; through it all, it remained a lone island of peace.
The roots of communal harmony date back to 1705, when Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh 9 and 7 year old sons of 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, were ordered to be bricked alive by the governor of Sirhind Wazir Khan. While 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 was against the tenets of the Quran and Islam. Wazir Khan nevertheless had the Sahibzadas tortured and bricked into a section of wall while still alive. At this the Nawab of Malerkotla walked out of the court in protest. Guru Gobind Singh on learning of this kind and humanitarian approach had blessed the Nawab and the people of Malerkotla that the city will live in the peace and happiness . In recognition of this act, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence during partition
LIST OF PRESENT DISTRICTS IN PUNJAB
Amritsar
Barnala
Bathinda
Faridkot
Fatehgarh Sahib
Fazilka
Ferozepur
Gurdaspur
Hoshiarpur
Jalandhar
Kapurthala
Ludhiana
Mansa
Moga
Muktsar
Nawanshahr (Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar)
Pathankot
Patiala
Rupnagar
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali)
Sangrur
Tarn Taran
May 14, 2021
