Shahabad is a city located in the Kurukshetra district in Haryana. Shahabad lies at about 21 kilometres south of Ambala near historical Grand Trunk Road. It is some 22 kilometres to the north of Kurukshetra. The city lies on the banks of the Markanda River, a tributary of the Ghaggar River system, and supposed to be a part of the ancient Vedic Saraswati River basin system. There is a large temple on the banks of the river, which is called Markandeshwar, after the name of the famous Maharishi Markandeya.
History of Shahabad
Shahabad was a Muslim majority town, with references made to a fort during Mughal times, and raids as well as sacking of the fort by Banda Bahadur. Significantly it also has a historic Gurdwara of those times and many temples including Shri Shiva Mandir, Balasundri temple, Goddess Durga Mandir. After partition of India in the year 1947, most of the Muslims left, and Punjabi`s, Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan were resettled here. This town has given the birth to great freedom fighter Banu Ram Gupta which together with Mahatma Gandhi helped Muslim to go to Pakistan in riots.
Shahabad is an old and glorious city with a rich historical background. After the victory over Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Mohammed Ghori donated 52000-bigha land to his Commandar Qutbu din Abak. Later during the time of Mughal rule, Mughal emperors Babar and Humayun also stayed here for some time.
In 1710, the famous Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahdur captured Shahabad. On 22 May 1791 Baghel Singh and Karam Singh Nirmale of Nishanwalia Misal recaptured Shahabad by Killing kiledaar Khalil Khan along with 700 mughal soldiers. The sikh also captured two cannons here. Commissioner of Karnal Major C.R.Buck in 1854 allotted shops to the traders.The market was named as Larkingunge. Presently it is known as Gurmandi. The Patiala original authentic and old Historic Lord Shiva Temple is situated in the city Shahabad Markanda.
Demography of Shahabad
According to the Population Census in the year 2011, Shahabad had a population of 50,345. The males constitute 57% of the population and females 43%. Shahabad has an average literacy rate of 87.5%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy is 86 percent, and female literacy is 86 percent. In Shahabad, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
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