Pathankot district

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Pathankot district
Dhar Kalan, Pathankot view.jpg
Dhar Kalan, Pathankot - The Mini Goa of Punjab
Pathankot in Punjab (India).svg
Location in Punjab
Coordinates: 32°16′01″N75°38′36″E / 32.266814°N 75.643444°E / 32.266814; 75.643444
CountryFlag of India.svg India
State Emblem of Punjab (India) on a white background (1).png Punjab
Named after Pathania Rajput
Headquarters Pathankot
Government
   Deputy commissioner Sh. Ramveer
   Senior Superintendent of Police R.K. Bakshi (PPS)
   Member of Parliament Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa
Area
[1]
  Total
929 km2 (359 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
  Total
676,598
  Density730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Languages
  Regional Punjabi, Hindi, English
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration PB-35 / PB-68
Largest City Pathankot
Website https://pathankot.nic.in

Pathankot district, the northernmost district of Punjab, India, was formed on July 27, 2011, after being carved out from Gurdaspur district. Pathankot serves as the district headquarters. The district shares its borders with Pakistan to the west and lies strategically close to the states of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, making it a vital trade and transportation hub in the region.

Contents

The entireity of the district, especially its capital city Pathankot is a major bombing and high-risk site during the 2025 India-Pakistan Standoff.

Etymology

The original name of Pathankot was Paithan during Mughal times, which is in turn believed to be a derivative of Sanskrit Pratisthana. Later Paithan was retrieved again by Chandravanshi Rajput clan (Pathania “meaning No Pathans”) and named Pathankot. [2] The suffix 'kot' stands for fort.

Geography

The Ravi river at Pathankot Ravi River at Pathankot.jpg
The Ravi river at Pathankot

Pathankot is located in the foothills of the Sivalik Hills. It shares international borders with the Narowal District of Pakistan's Punjab. It also shares borders with the Kathua District of Jammu and Kashmir and the Chamba and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh. Hoshiarpur district shares a boundary with Pathankot in Eastern Punjab. The two main rivers, – the Beas and the Ravi, pass through the district.

The district today

Ranjit Sagar dam over the Ravi river Ranjit Sagar Dam 1.jpg
Ranjit Sagar dam over the Ravi river

In the past, It was a Tehsil of the district of Gurdaspur. The present district was formed, as the 22nd district of the state on July 27, 2011. [3] [4] Pathankot includes the two sub-divisions of Pathankot and Dhar Kalan and the two sub-tehsil of Narot Jaimal Singh and Bamial [4]

Pathankot has gone through a large number of changes and developments. It is also called as the gateway to Himachal Pradesh and J&K states. Ranjit Sagar Dam, the Pride of Punjab, has been emerged about 30 km. north-east of the town. Mamoon, a suburb of Pathankot, is heading towards the biggest army cantonment in Asia. Pathankot already has an Air Force Station and will be coming on the air map of India very shortly. Surprisingly enough, the town is totally devoid of any monumental evidence to speak of its rich past except for a high ridge called Shimla Pahari, where the historical fort once existed, and some part of the rouni around the Gulmohar Tourist Complex. A number of various buildings, such as the PWD Rest House. Gulmohar Tourist Complex, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Municipal Library, Lal Bahadur Shastri Park, the Relay center of Doordarshan, and an office of the central PWD are located at the site of the Fort.

City and towns

There are two statutory Cities Pathankot and Sujanpur in this district. The district also has 12 census towns, according to census 2011 which are listed below: [5]

Other villages and settlements

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 census, the area that would become Pathankot district had a population of 676,598. Out of these 378,432 were rural and 298,166 urban. Pathankot has a sex ratio of 860 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes are 207,032 (30.60%) of the population. [6]

Religion in Pathankot district (2011) [7]
ReligionPercent
Hinduism
88.42%
Sikhism
7.81%
Islam
2.12%
Christianity
1.08%
Other or not stated
0.57%
Religion in Pathankot District [a]
ReligionPopulation (1941) [8] :60–61Percentage (1941)Population (2011) [7] Percentage (2011)
Hinduism Om.svg [b] 83,33054.42%598,23788.42%
Islam Star and Crescent.svg 59,54838.89%14,3172.12%
Sikhism Khanda.svg 7,5804.95%52,8587.81%
Christianity Christian cross.svg 2,3071.51%7,2921.08%
Others [c] 3690.24%3,8940.57%
Total Population153,134676,598

At the time of the 2011 census, 89.86% of the population spoke Punjabi, 5.30% Hindi and 1.20% Dogri as their first language. [9] The dialect is in between Kangri and Dogri, the two neighbouring languages.

Languages of Pathankot (First Language) (2011) [9]
  1. Punjabi (89.86%)
  2. Hindi (5.3%)
  3. Dogri (1.2%)
  4. Others (3.64%)

Health

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

Road accidents and people affected in Pathankot district by year [10]
YearAccidentsKilledInjuredVehicles Involved
2022958338137
20211318546139
2020926343104
20191159744112

Politics

Pathankot district is part of the Pathankot Assembly Constituency.

No.ConstituencyName of MLAPartyBench
1 Sujanpur Naresh Puri Indian National Congress Opposition
2 Bhoa (SC) Lal Chand Kataruchakk Aam Aadmi Party Government
3 Pathankot Ashwani Kumar Sharma Bharatiya Janata Party Opposition

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 "Home". pathankot.nic.in.
  2. History, Pathankot District, Government of Punjab, retrieved 6 February 2022.
  3. Naveen S. Garewal (27 July 2011). "Eye on urban voter, Fazilka, Pathankot made districts". The Tribune, Chandigarh. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 News services (28 July 2011). "The state gets Fazilka and Pathankot districts". Indian Express. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  5. List of cities and towns in Punjab
  6. "District Census Handbook: Gurdaspur" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Table C-01 Population by Religious Community: Punjab". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  8. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB PROVINCE" . Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Punjab". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  10. "Road Accidents in Punjab". punjab.data.gov.in. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  11. "War Heroes | District Kangra, Government of Himachal Pradesh | India".
  1. Pathankot tehsil, which was later divided into Pathankot and Dhar Kalan tehsils
  2. 1941 census: Including Ad-Dharmis
  3. Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or not stated