As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Sira had a population of 50,056. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Sira has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 62%. In Sira, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
History
Sira Town was one of south India's strategically important places prior to the British Raj.
The foundation of the town and the fort is attributed to Rangappa Nayaka, a chief of Ratnagiri. The previous name of the town was Siriya.
It was ruled by the Bijapur Kings from 1638 to 1687. It was the capital of the erstwhile Suba or Province of Sira of the Mughal Empire that lasted from 1687 to 1757. The Marathas wrested the province from Mughals and held it from 1757 to 1759, when the Mughals regained it. Haidar Ali declared himself the Nawab of the province in 1761 only to lose it to the Marathas from 1766 until 1774 when his son Tipu Sultan, captured it for him.[3]
Historical places in Sira Town
Like most other places of historical importance in India, Sira also has structures built by its erstwhile rulers. Among them are the Sira fort, Eidgah, Juma Masjid and the dargah or tomb over the grave of Mallik Rehan, who was the Subahdar of Sira. The Jumma Masjid and the tomb of Malik Rihan (1651 A.D) are fine structures built in the Mughal style of architecture.
Tipu Sultan Fort: This beautiful fort is named after the 'Nayaka' ruler. It is symbolic of the hold the Nayaka community rulers once had on Sira. The fort is also a good structure of stone with a moat all round. The ruins of a large quarter, to which tradition assigns the name of Latapura can still be seen to the north-west of the fort. The main image of the Gopalakrishna temple here has been removed to the newly built Narayana temple and a good figure of Hanuman, brought from some other place has been set up instead. The object of worship in the Durga temple is an ant hill.
Khan Bagh:A fine garden called the Khan Bagh was founded here by Dilavar Khan, an officer under the Mughuls. This was kept up by Haider and might have suggested the Lalbagh garden at Bangalore.[4]
Ibrahim Rauza: It contains many tombs and looks like a Hindu monument except for the minarets.
Mallik Rehan 'dargah' : This is mausoleum over the erstwhile Sira province's governor Mallik Rehan's grave. Mallik Rehan was the Subahdar or Governor of Sira from 1638 to 1650. Some locals revere Mallik Rehan as a pious man and call him Hazrath Mallik Rehan Rahmatullah Alai. This monument is protected by Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Mughal-era Juma Masjid in Sira Town, as seen in 2007Juma or Jamia Masjid: This was constructed during the period of Mallik Rehan. This monument is also protected by ASI.The tomb of Mallik Rehan, Sira Town, as seen in 2007
Bada (the big) Eidgah
Seebi: Formerly known as Sibur and Harihararayapura, the Seebi village is midway (24 km) between Tumkur town and Sira Towns along the Bangalore-Mumbai National Highway. It has a big stone temple of Narasimhaswamy. The image of Narasimha in the temple is in the form of a saligrama. The ten avataras of Vishnu, the leelas (sports) of Shiva and the scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are painted on the beams and ceilings of the temple. These paintings appear to be of the latter part of the 18th century A.D. caused to be drawn by one Nallappa, an officer under Tipu Sultan. They are contemporaneous to the paintings at Srirangapattana. (Source: Karnataka State Gazetteer 1983)
[1] Benjamin Rice, Lewis, Mysore: A Gazetteer Compiled for the Government, Volume I, Mysore In General, 1897a, Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company. Pp. xix, 834
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