Firozpur, (pronunciation: [fɪroːzpʊr]) also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died fighting for India.

History

The city of Firozpur was founded by Firuz Shah Tughlaq, a ruler of the Tughluq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. It is located on the banks of the Sutlej River on the India–Pakistan border. The nearby Firozpur Cantonment is a major cantonment of the country.

British rule was first established in 1835, when, on the failure of heirs to the Sikh family who possessed it, a small escheat to the British government was formed, and the district was gradually formed around this nucleus. The strategic importance of Ferozepur (as it was spelled under the British) was at this time very great, and in 1839 it was the outpost of British India in the direction of the Sikh power. It accordingly became the scene of operations during the First Anglo-Sikh War, in which the Sikhs crossed the Sutlej in December 1845, but were defeated and withdrew into their own territory, and peace was concluded with the Treaty of Lahore. Later, throughout the Indian Mutiny Ferozepur remained in the hands of the English.

The Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara commemorates 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment who died in the Battle of Saragarhi, defending the Saragarhi Fort against an overwhelming enemy force of 10,000 Pathan tribesmen on 12 September 1897. All of the 21 soldiers were awarded the Indian Order of Merit posthumously.

The Barki Memorial, built in 1969, is a memorial to the soldiers of the 7 Infantry Division who died in a battle in 1965 which led to India taking the town of Barki, 15 miles south-east of Lahore.

Geography

Ferozepur is located on bank of Sutlej River.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian Census, Firozpur had a total population of 110,313, of which 58,451 (53%) were male and 51,862 (47%) were female. 10.6% of the population was six years old or younger. The total number of literate people in Firozpur was 78,040, which constituted 70.7% of the population, with male literacy of 73.3% and female literacy of 67.9%. The effective literacy rate (population of 7 years and above) was 79.1%, of which the male literacy rate was 82.3% and female literacy rate was 75.6%. The Scheduled Caste population was 27,395. Firozpur had 22,263 households in 2011.

Religion

According to the 2011 census, out of a total population of 110,313 in Firozpur city, Hinduism is followed by 77,743 (70.5%) people and Sikhism by 28,961 (26.3%). Minorities religions include Christianity, Islam, Jainism, and Buddhism.

Religious groups in Firozpur City (1881−2011)

Religious group	1881		1891		1901		1911		1921		1931		1941		2011
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Hinduism	19,004	48.03%	23,047	45.69%	21,304	43.18%	21,542	42.38%	24,525	45.12%	28,253	43.71%	34,543	41.87%	77,743	70.47%
Islam	17,609	44.5%	22,018	43.65%	24,314	49.28%	23,409	46.05%	24,456	45%	28,464	44.04%	38,390	46.53%	342	0.31%
Sikhism	1,207	3.05%	3,387	6.72%	1,635	3.31%	2,951	5.8%	3,025	5.57%	4,439	6.87%	6,457	7.83%	28,961	26.25%
Jainism	72	0.18%	407	0.81%	301	0.61%	479	0.94%	476	0.88%	511	0.79%	630	0.76%	148	0.13%
Christianity	—	—	1,561	3.09%	1,753	3.55%	2,439	4.8%	1,855	3.41%	2,942	4.55%	1,533	1.86%	2,591	2.35%
Zoroastrianism	—	—	15	0.03%	4	0.01%	16	0.03%	14	0.03%	24	0.04%	—	—	—	—
Buddhism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1	0%	—	—	43	0.04%
Others	1,678	4.24%	2	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	949	1.15%	485	0.44%
Total population	39,570	100%	50,437	100%	49,341	100%	50,836	100%	54,351	100%	64,634	100%	82,502	100%	110,313	100%

Media

Firozpur has an All India Radio Relay station known as Akashvani Firozpur. It broadcasts on 100.1 MHz frequency.

Notable people

• Susham Bedi, author
• Preet Bharara, attorney and media personality
• George Bigge, cricketer
• Lawrence Bishnoi, an Indian gangster
• Alexander Cadell, cricketer
• Sohraab Dhaliwal, cricketer
• Horatio Dumbleton, cricketer
• Sher Singh Ghubaya, politician
• Annie Gill, actress
• Balram Jakhar, politician
• Charles Kindersley, cricketer
• Zora Singh Maan, politician
• Verma Malik, lyricist
• Narain Chand Parashar, politician
• Bano Qudsia, writer
• Janmeja Singh Sekhon, politician
• Ajit Pal Singh, hockey player
• Gagan Ajit Singh, hockey player
• Ganda Singh, revolutionary
• Gurbaj Singh, hockey player
• Princepal Singh, basketball player
• Ronjan Sodhi, shooter
• Manav Vij, actor