Rupnagar

For the village in Nepal, see Rupnagar, Nepal.

Template:Infobox Indian jurisdiction Rupnagar is a town and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was formerly known as Ropar. The town of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. It is also the site of an ancient town of the Indus Valley Civilization. The major cities in Ropar District are Morinda, Kurali, Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib. The town of Mohali was once part of Ropar District before it became a separate district in 2006. The Bhakra dam in Nangal lies on the boundary with the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh.

Rupnagar is nearly 50 km to the northwest of Chandigarh (the nearest airport). It is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north and Nawanshahr district to its west.

Ropar - witness to six ancient civilizations

Ropar is a 21 metre high ancient mound overlaying the Shiwalik (also spelt Sivalik) deposition on the left bank of the river Satluj where it emerges into the plains. It has yielded a sequence of six cultural periods or phases with some breaks from Harappan times to the present day. The excavations were carried out by Dr. Y.D. Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India. The migration of people from Harappa to Ropar has been postulated through the lost Saraswati River to the Satluj as both rivers once belonged to one system.

Period I At Ropar excavations at the lowest levels yielded Harappan traits in Period 1, which falls in the protohistoric period. A major find was a stealite seal in the Indus script used for the authentication of trading goods, impressions of seals on a terracotta lump of burnt clay, chert blades, copper implements, terracotta beads and bangles and typical standardised pottery of the Indus Valley civilization. They flourished in all the Harappan cities and townships.

The earliest houses at Ropar were built with river pebbles available in abundance but soon they made use of cut slabs of lime with the same ratio of 4:2:1. Sun baked bricks were sometimes used in the foundations. Houses were built to suit climatic conditions. Walls were plastered with water repelling sticky clay. In the north, flat roofs were common but deep-pitched roofs were used along the west coast - Bengal and Assam - due to heavy rainfall.

The dead were buried with the head generally to the north and with funerary vessels as unearthed in cemetery R-37 at Harappa (Sindh, Pakistan). What led the Harappans to desert the site is not known.

Period II Period II belongs to the Painted Grey Ware period which followed the Period I. Typical pottery of this period consisted of fine greyware painted black, terracotta bangles, semi precious stones, glass, bone arrowheads, ivory kohl sticks and copper implements. This period is identified as the period belonging to the Great War Epic - Mahabharata.

A new settlement sprang up here by about 600 BC - chronologically Period III at Ropar. Grey pottery of Period II still continued. This period belongs to circa 600 BC to 200 BC. It yielded early coins (punch marked and uninscribed cast coins), copper and implements. An important find was an ivory seal inscribed in the Mauryan Brahmi script (4th and 3rd centuries BCE)

Minutely carved and polished stone discs with a figure and motif associated with the cult of the Mother goddess of fertility have also been unearthed in the excavations from Taxila (now in Pakistan), Patna in the state of Bihar and other Mauryan sites. Houses of mud and kiln fired bricks were by no means rare. A 3.6 metre wide fired brick wall traced to a length of about 75 metres probably encompassed a water tank which collected water through inlets. The upper levels have soak wells lined with terracotta rings of the Sunga and Kushana periods.

Period III To V From Period III to V there are fairly rich dwelling complexes with houses of stone and mud bricks. Full layouts of buildings could not be exposed owing to the vertical nature of excavations carried out.

Period IV The next phase, Period IV revealed evidence of the Sunga, Kushan (also spelt as Kushana) and Gupta periods. With a hoard of copper coins from the Kushan and Gupta periods being found. This includes a gold coin issued by Chandragupta Kumardevi of the Gupta dynasty, which is also known as the golden age in ancient Indian history.

A large number of terracotta figurines of the Sunga, Kushana and Gupta periods were also discovered. Among them was a Yakshi figure with cherubic expression and a beautiful seated figure of a woman playing the lyre reminiscent of Samudragupta’s figure in a similar position on gold coins from the Gupta dynasty. A set of three silver utensils for ritualistic purpose with Greek influence depicts the fine craftsmanship of the Gupta dynasty in its chased decoration.

The pottery of this period in the upper levels is for the most part red ware and is frequently decorated with incised motifs. After a short break, there is evidence of a fresh occupation identified as Period V commencing around the early 6th century and continuing for three or four centuries. The coins of Toramana (circa 500 CE) and Mihirakula (circa 510CE-40CE) have been recovered from these levels. The spacious brick building of the fifth period were constricted neatly and evidences showed a good measure of prosperity during this period.

Probably after desertion, a new town sprang up here around 13th century CE on the same site named Period VI and it continues to flourish to the present day.

An archaeological museum has been set up to house some of the antiquities found along with photographs displaying excavation material.

Geography

Rupnagar is located at 30.97°N 76.53°E / 30.97; 76.53. It has an average elevation of 260 metres (853 ft).Town lies on bank of Satluj river ,low Shivalik hills are present on opposite bank of the river.

Rupnagar district, included in the Patiala Division of Punjab falls between north latitude 30°-32' and 31°-24' and east longitude 76°-18' and 76°-55'. Rupnagar (formerly known as Ropar) town, the district headquarters is 42 km from Chandigarh, the state capital. The district adjoins Nawanshahar, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib Districts of Punjab. The district comprises 4 Tehsils, Rupnagar Nangal Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib and includes 617 villages and 6 towns namely Rupnagar, Chamkaur Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Morinda, Kiratpur Sahib and Nangal. All towns except Chamkaur Sahib have railways connections. The Satluj river passes close (2 to 5 km) to the towns of Nangal, Rupnagar and Anandpur Sahib.there are many historical and holy places in ropar.most of them are gurdwaras like- BHHATHA SAHIB, TIBBI SAHIB, SADABARAT SAHIB etc. in ropar. Also in surrounding villages like BRAHMAN MAJRA, BOOR MAJRA, BINDRAKH, KHIZRABAD and many more which are built very beautiful by religious people.because ropar is very near to SHRI ANANDPUR SAHIB {the established place of SIKHISM }

The climate

The climate of Rupnagar District is characterized by its general dryness (except in the south west monsoon season), a hot summer and a bracing cold winter. The year may be divided into four seasons. The period from about middle of November to February is the cold season. This is followed by the summer season from March to about the end of [June]. The south-west monsoon season commences late in June and continues up to about middle of September. The period from mid September to the middle of November constitute the post-monsoon or transition season. The temperature ranges from minimum of 4 °C in winter to 45 °C in summer. May and June are generally hottest months and December and January are the coldest months. Relative humidity is high, averaging about 70% during monsoon. The average annual rainfall in district is 775.6 mm. About 78% of the annual rainfall is received during the period from June to September.

Soils

The soils of the District vary in texture generally from loam to silty clay loam except along the Satluj River and chos where some sandy patches may be found. Chamkaur Sahib and Kharar, Mohali blocks have sodic soils. The soils of Anandpur Sahib and Rupnagar blocks are undulating.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Rupnagar had a population of 48,165. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Rupnagar has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 82%. In Rupnagar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

District Administration

• The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, is the overall in-charge of the General Administration in the district. He is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Punjab Civil Service and other state services.

• The Senior Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Punjab Police Service and other Punjab Police officials.

• The Divisional Forest Officer, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service is responsible for managing the Forests, environment and wild-life related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Punjab Forest Service and other Punjab Forest officials and Punjab Wild-Life officials.

• Sectoral development is looked after by the district head of each development department such as PWD, Agriculture, Health, Education and Animal husbandry. These officers belong to various State Services.

Education

Rupnagar district houses one of the prestigious technological institutes in the country, IIT Ropar. The corresponding region has received a major boost due to the setup of the institute in year 2009.

The other technical education institute includes Ropar Institute Of Management And Technology, Shekhupur on Ropar-Bela road and various other reputed schools and colleges.

Transport

Ropar is well connected with all the major cities of Punjab and to National Capital. National Highway 21 pass through Ropar linking making it a important milestone. There is state bus depot (new and old) in the city located near the Satluj bank. Also there are many private bus operators in Ropar, namely ABC(The Ambala Bus Company).

Important cities and towns

• Anandpur Sahib
• Chamkaur Sahib
• Kiratpur Sahib
• Morinda
• Nangal
• Rupnagar
• Kamalpur

Statistical Data Of Ropar District

Sr.No.	Particulars	AnandPur Sahib	ChamKaur Sahib	Morinda	Nurpur Bedi	RoopNagar	Total
1	No. Of Villages
A)	Total	128	112	73	110	196	619
B)	Populated	125	106	72	108	190	601
C)	Be-Charag	3	6	1	2	6	18
2	Population
A)	Population Rural	114677	60055	61460	81740	107717	425649
B)	- Rural (Male)	59940	31856	33336	42430	57585	225147
C)	- Rural (Female)	54737	28199	28124	39310	50132	200502
D)	No. Of Families	19971	9687	9334	14341	17905	71238
E)	No. Of S.Cs	21190	20903	21509	16717	30770	97036
3	Workers
A)	No. Of Workers (Agri.)	16314	11461	11662	16091	16446	71974
B)	No. Of Workers (Non-Agri.)	14561	5932	6862	6587	14337	48279
C)	No. Of Literates	60918	32286	34566	38484	60240	226494
4	Area
A)	Total area (km²)	307.41	189.64	148.56	341.22	360.33	1347.16
B)	Area under forest (km²)	53.01 </TD>	6.20	0.84	116.01	87.97	264.03
C)	Net cultivated area (km²)	15636	145.92	123.20	1487.55	177.88	2090.91
D)	Total cultivated area (km²)	263.10	270.02	224.39	257.16	315.37	1330.04
5	Industry
A)	Small Industries	-	-	-	3	15	18
B)	Big Industries	-	1	-	-	1	2
6	Educational Institutions
A)	Primary Schools	139	85	66	107	165	562
B)	Middle Schools	20	12	9	14	17	72
C)	High/Sr.Sec. Schools	21	8	10	18	22	79
D)	Degree Colleges	1	1	-	-	2	3
7	Health
A)	Primary Health Centers	3	2	2	3	3	13
B)	Sub-Center	22	9	10	17	24	82
C)	Dispensaries	9	3	5	9	7	33
D)	Hospitals	1	1	-	1	1	4
8	Animals Husbandary
A)	Vet. Hospitals	7	7	4	7	9	34
B)	Vet. Dispensaries	6	5	7	8	9	35
C)	Semen Centers	9	11	10	11	20	61
9	Co-Operative Societies
A)	Agriculture	26	18	17	25	22	108
B)	Others	106	94	75	110	109	494
C)	Milk Collection Centers	38	60	58	84	75	315
10	Yellow Card Holders
A)	S.C.	2725	2749	2523	2795	3557	14349
B)	Non S.C.	6200	2245	2006	6763	4901	22115
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External links

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Govt. Website on Rupnagar
• Rupnagar BSNL telephone directory search