Hissar Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Hissar Town
Head-quarters of the District and tahsil of the same name, Punjab, situated in 29° 10' N. and 75° 44' Iv, on the Rewari-Bhatinda branch of the Rajpulana-Malwa Railway : distant by rail from Calcutta 1,097 miles, from I'ombay 979, and from Karachi 819. Population (1901), 17,647. It was founded in 1356 by Mroz Sliah Tughlak, and supplied with water by means of the canal now known as the Western Junma Canal, and became the head-cjuarters of a sarkdr. In 1408 Hissar fell into the hands of the rebels against MahmOd Tughlak, but was recovered in 141 1 by the emperor in person, it ap[)ears to have been occupied by an imperial garrison at the time of Babar's invasion, and as The head-quarters of a sarh'ir was of considerable importance under the Mughals. The town was plundered by the Sikhs on several occasions between 1754 and 1768, and after the battle of jTnd was occupied by Amar Singh of Patiala, who built a fort. Hissar was depopulated by the famine of 1783, and was taken possession of by George Thomas. The inhabitants began to return, and when it passed to the 15ritish in 1803 the town was rapidly recovering. In 1857 detachments of the Hariana Light Infantry and 14th Irregular Cavalry stationed at Hissar mutinied, and the Collector and eleven other Europeans and native Christians were murdered.
The chief relic of antiquity is the fort built by Firoz Shah, largely with materials taken from Hindu or Jain temples. Another interesting building is the Jahaj, apparently once a Jain temple con- verted into a mosque, and used as a residence by George Thomas, of whose Christian name its present title is a corruption. Near Hissar is a handsome group of tombs erected to commanders who fell in Humayun's campaign in Gujarat in 1535. The trade of the town is unimportant, being confined to cotton and red pepper ; but it contains a large cotton-ginning and pressing factory, which in 1904 employed 397 hands. The municipality was created in 1867. The receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 28,700 and Rs. 29,300, and in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 24,600 and Rs. 27,300 respectively, the chief source of income being octroi. The town possesses an Anglo-vernacular high school managed by the Educational department, and a civil hospital.
