Faridkot district

Faridkot is a district in Punjab.

Etymology
The district is named after its headquarters, Faridkot city, which in turn is named in the honor of Baba Farid, who was a Sufi saint and a Muslim missionary. The town of Faridkot was founded during the 13th century as Mokalhar by Raja Mokalsi, the grandson of Rai Munj, a Bhatti Chief of Bhatnair, Rajasthan. According to a popular folklore, the Raja renamed Mokalhar to Faridkot after Baba Farid paid a visit to the town. It remained the capital during the reign of Mokalsi’s son Jairsi and Wairsi.

History
Prior to independence, a large part of the district was under the rule of the Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became a part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU ) in 1948. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of erstwhile Bathinda District(Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District(Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). Further, in November 1995 the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its sub divisions viz. Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts.

Government body
Prior to independence large part of the district was under the princely rule of Sikh Maharaja of Faridkot and later it became part of the Patiala & East Punjab States Union (PEPSU ) in 1948. Faridkot was carved out as a separate district on 7 August 1972 out of the areas of Bathinda District (Faridkot Tehsil) and Ferozepur District (Moga and Muktsar Tehsils). However, in November 1995, the Faridkot District was trifurcated when two of its sub divisions viz Muktsar and Moga were given the status of independent districts.

Faridkot district is surrounded by district Ferozepur in the North-West, Muktsar in the South-West, Bathinda in the South and Moga in the West. The District covers an area of 1469 km2. which is 2.92% of the total area of the State and accommodates a population of 552,466, which is 2.27% of the total population of the State. It has two Sub divisions/ Tehsils namely Faridkot and Jaito and two Sub Tehsils namely Kotkapura and Sadiq comprising a total of 171 villages. Faridkot District has two development blocks namely Faridkot and Kotkapura.

Overview
The Faridkot district contains a number of small towns like Kotkapura, Jaitu, Bajakhana etc. More than 7 villages are quite notable in Faridkot area such as Panjgarain kalan, Deep Singh Wala, Golewala, Jhok Sarkari, Doad, Ghugiana, Sadiq, Chand Bhan etc. Faridkot is a hub for premier educational institutions. North India's only Medical University, also named after Baba Farid is in Faridkot besides Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges. Faridkot majority population is dominated by Jatts.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census Faridkot district has a population of 618,008,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Solomon Islands[3]or the US state of Vermont.[4] This gives it a ranking of 519th in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 424 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi) .[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.18%.[2] Faridkot has a sex ratio of 889 females for every 1000 males,[2] and a literacy rate of 70.6%.[2]
 * Sikhism - 76.08 %
 * Hinduism - 22.89 %
 * Others - 1.24 %