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Sonipat सोनीपत
—  city  —
Sonipat Location of Sonipat in Haryana and India
Coordinates	28°59′N 77°01′E / 28.98°N 77.02°E / 28.98; 77.02Coordinates: 28°59′N 77°01′E / 28.98°N 77.02°E / 28.98; 77.02
Country	India
State	Haryana
District(s)	Sonipat
Member of Parliament	Jitender Singh Malik
Member of Legislative Assembly	Kavita Jain
Population	279,175 (2011[update])
Sex ratio	1.19 ♂/♀
Literacy	73%
Official languages	English, Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation • Coastline	• 224.15 metres (735.4 ft) • 0 kilometres (0 mi)
Codes • Pincode • 131001-05 • Telephone • +91-0130-05 • Vehicle • HR-10 HR-11 HR-13 HR-69 HR-70 HR-88 HR-99(TEMPORARY)
Website	http://www.sonipat.nic.in/

Sonipat (Hindi: सोनीपत), also spelled as Sonepat, is an ancient town and a municipal council in the Sonipat district in the state of Haryana, India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around 20 km from Delhi's Border. The Yamuna River runs along the eastern boundary of the district. Sonipat comprises 3 sub-divisions namely Sonipat, Ganaur and Gohana and seven blocks (Sonipat, Ganaur, Rai, Kharkhoda, Gohana, Kathura and Mundlana). It has been carved out of Rohtak and made a full fledged district on 22 December 1972.

Its believed that Sonipat was founded as Swarnaprastha by the five Pandava brothers during the times of Mahabharata. Its one of the five Preasthas or towns demanded by Yudhisthira from Duryodhana as the price of peace. Another legend ascribed it to Raja Soni, the thirteenth descendent of Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers. Both the traditions are without substance. There is no mention of Sonipat in the Mahabharata, although it has been noted much earlier by the great grammarian Panini in his celebrated Ashtadhyayi. The town was therefore already in existence around 600 B.C.

Geography[link]

Sonipat is located at 28°59′N 77°01′E / 28.98°N 77.02°E / 28.98; 77.02.^[1] It has an average elevation of 224.15 meter above the sea level (735.4 feet).

Topographically Sonipat district is divided into three regions - Khadar, Upland Plain and Sandy Region. Sonipat city is lying on upland plains, which is covered with old alluvium, which if properly irrigated, is highly productive. Extensive farming of crops, oilseeds, horticultural plants, vegetables and flowers, is undertaken in this region. Broadly speaking, the district is a continuous part of the Haryana-Punjab plain but the area is not levelled in some parts. Sonipat District has fine loamy soil with rich color. However, some areas have sandy soil.

Sonipat borders Delhi (National Capital) in south, Panipat district in the north, Uttar Pradesh state in the east and Rohtak district in the west. The total area of Sonipat district is 2,260 km².

Demographics[link]

As of 2011^[update] India census,^[2] Population of Sonipat is 1,279,175 with a sex ratio of 839 women per 1000 men. The growth rate(1991–2001) of population is 22.36%.

Sonipat has an average literacy rate of 72.79%(male literacy: 83.06%, female literacy: 60.68%). Males constitute 54.38% of the population and females 45.62%.

Ancient History[link]

According to legend, Sonipat was earlier known as Sonprastha, which later on became Swarnprastha, meaning the "Golden City": derived from two Sanskrit words, Swarn (Gold) and Prastha (Place). Over a period of time, the classical name Swarnprasth's pronunciation degraded into Swarnpath, and then to its current form, Sonipat.

The another reference of this city comes in the epic Mahabharata, and at that time, it was one of the five villages demanded by the Pandavas in lieu of the kingdom of Hastinapur. The other four villages were Panprastha (Panipat), Baghprastha (Baghpat), Tilprastha (Tilpat) and Indraprastha.

Places of Interest[link]

Khwaja Khizar Tomb

Khwaja Khizar Tomb[link]

Tomb of Khwaja Khizar houses the remains of the saint who lived during the rule of Ibrahim Lodhi. The structure was built in the periods between 1522 and 1525 AD. Khwaja Khizr was Darya Khan's son. Tomb stands on an elevated platform. It is one of the few monuments where red sandstone along with ‘kankar’ blocks have been used.

The ceiling is decorative and comprises floral designs that come in multicolors. The hues of yellow, red, and green make the ceiling quite colorful. The cenotaph chamber is surrounded by a dome-shaped structure which rests on a small drum of octagonal shape. Now its under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and surrounded by 4 acre of lush green gardens.^[3]

Yamuna River[link]

Main water system in the district comprises River Yamuna and the irrigation canals flowing out of it. The river flows besides the rural belt in the eastern side of district. It also acts as a natural boundary between state of Haryana and the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Illuminated Chintpurni Mandir

Temples & Churches[link]

Atlas Shri Ram Temple is the one of the oldest temple in Sonipat. During the Janmashtami(birth anniversary of Lord Krishna) it is beautifully decorated and illuminated. Shiv Temple having a big statue of Lord Shiva. It is situated on Sonipat-Murthal road. Baba Dham is one of the attractive religious place in city. Shankar Kui is one of the oldest temple in Sonepat and his age need to be discovered. Its having many small temples in it (Radha Krishana Temple, Shiv Temple, Shani Temple, Sai Temple and many more) and also two big statue of Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman. Mata Chintpurni Mandir situated in Sector 14. Sai Dham is situated on Sonipat By-Pass road. Methodist Mission Church at Mission School Campus near Mission Chowk. Holy Child Church at Holy Child School Campus, Patel Nagar.

Mughal Buildings[link]

At the outskirts of the city one can enjoy the site of Mughal Buildings which lie unprotected. Among them is the Mosque of Abdullah Nasir-ud-din, who was a descendant from Mushid of Iran.

Economy[link]

Industries[link]

Industry revolution of the city is started in 50's with Atlas cycle industry. Since then many small and big industries has been established. A few industries in Sonipat are listed below. Despite these, there are many Industrial Areas which are having numerous number of micro, small and medium scale industries.

Atlas Cycle Industry

When the car company Maruti was less well known, more than 95% of India's vehicle-owning population owned a bicycle. That time Sonipat was the home of one of the biggest cycle manufacturer - Atlas cycle.^[4] Atlas Cycles started its odyssey way back in 1951 and today it is one of the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world. Now, Atlas Cycles (Sonepat) has also bagged ISO 9001: 2000 certificate by implementing the latest International Quality Management System.

Electric Construction & Equipment Co. Ltd.

A Company of B. K. Birla Group which is well known as E.C.E.^[5] or Birla Company. Which manufactures Transformer and Switchgear. It is situated near Sector 12 on Delhi road.

OSRAM India

Former it was the part of E.C.E. but in October 1998 it's acquired by OSRAM.^[6] The OSRAM plant in Sonipat is the fourth in India and the seventh in the world to be awarded the Best4 (Business Excellence Sustainability Task) Integrated Management certification by RINA. The Sonepat Plant has also been honored with the Siemens Environmental Award 2006. It manufactures Electric Bulb, Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and Tubelight.

LT Overseas

LT Overseas^[7] is a global rice food company.Daawat Rice is their product. It is one of the major organization in Haryana involved in milling, processing and marketing of branded basmati rice. LT Overseas Sonipat rice processing plant is Asia's only plant with SQF Certification. It is situated on NH 1.

An agricultural area

Agriculture[link]

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. The main crops are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, pulses, barley, maize, millet etc. Presently, rice and sugarcane cultivation is undertaken in the Khadar area and oilseeds, horticultural plants, vegetables and flowers, is cultivated in upland plains of district. The main source of irrigation is tube wells and canals. There are two main types of crops: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, sesame and groundnut. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March. Dairy farming forms an essential part of rural economy. Animal husbandry has been taken up as an integral component of diversified agriculture.

Climate[link]

Climate of Sonipat is dry with hot summer and a cold winter. The weather becomes milder during the monsoon (period July to September). The post-monsoon months October and November constitute a transition period, prior to the onset of winter.

The winter starts in December when day and night temperatures fall rapidly. January is the coldest month when the mean daily minimum temperature is 6 to 7 ⁰C. During cold waves, the minimum temperature may go down to the freezing point of water, and frosts can occur. During the summer months of May and June, the maximum temperature sometimes reaches 47°C. Temperature drops considerably with the advancement of monsoon in June. However, the night temperature during this period continues to be high.

The annual rainfall varies considerably from year to year. However, the maximum rainfall is experienced during the monsoon season, which reaches it's peak in the month of July. In fact, the monsoon period accounts for 75% of the annual rainfall in the district. On an average there are 24 days in a year with rainfall of 2.5 mm (or more) per day in district Sonepat. Humidity is considerably low during the greater part of the year. The district experiences high humidity only during the monsoon period. The period of minimum humidity (less than 20%) is between April and May. During the monsoon, the sky is heavily clouded, and winds are strong in this period. Winds are generally light during the post-monsoon and winter months.^[8]

Culture[link]

Food[link]

A cake of Ghevar

Sonipat is famous for its monsoon time sweet dish Ghevar. It is also well known for its Dhabas (local restaurants) at Murthal on Grand Trunk Road for its Pranthas.

Here food includes ghee and butter as they are home made and is used liberally in their routine diet. The home made butter is known as Nooni Ghee and is daily churned fresh in most homes. Some of the popular food in Haryana is Hara Dhania Cholia, Kadhi Pakora, Bathua Raita, Bajra Aloo Roti, Kachri ki Sabzi, Bhura Roti with Ghee, Kheer, Churma, Malpuas and Besan Masala Roti with Makhan (Butter). The food is considered to be incomplete without Lassi and Thandai.

Festivals[link]

Lohri is the marks of winter culmination, and is celebrated on the 13 Jan a day before Makar Sankranti. People gather round the bonfires, throw sweets, puffed rice and popcorn into the flames, sing songs and exchange greetings. Basant Panchami is celebrated in Haryana, Delhi and Punjab to welcome spring season. The main attraction of this festival is Kite flying. Baisakhi is the New Year's Day for Panjabis is celebrated with joyous music and dancing . It falls on April 13, though once in 36 years it occurs on 14th April. Holi is a religious spring festival also known as festival of Colors. People throw Gulal (scented powder) and colors on each other. Men folk throw water on women who retaliate by a mock beating with sticks or kolras (twisted cloth strips). Janamashtami is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temples witness an extravagant and colorful celebration on this occasion. Gugga Naumi is a religious festival, celebrated all over Haryana. It is connected with snake-worship and observed in August-September. Dusshera is probably the chief Hindu festival, being associated with the great Epic Ramayana and its renowned hero, Rama. Ram Leela is enacted in various places. On the last day the effigies of the demon king Ravana and his supporters are burned, which forms the concluding event. Diwali is a festival of lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. It is celebrated 20 days after Dusshera. This festival commemorates Lord Ram's return to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing his 14-year exile. Twinkling diyas and candles light up every home and firework displays are common all across the country. The goddess Lakshmi, who is the symbol of wealth and prosperity, is also worshipped on this day. Lord Ganesh, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day.

Education[link]

Universities[link]

Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology[link]

Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University Of Science and Technology is situated at the Sonepat-Murthal road is the University in the field of Science & Technology in Haryana. Earlier, it was known as Chhotu Ram State College of Engineering. It is spread over 274 acres (1.11 km²) of land and is in very congenial rural environmental setting providing for an ideal place for attaining excellence in Education and Research.It offers Undergraduate programmes in Architecture, Bio-Medical Engineering, Bio-technology, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Business Management, English Communication, and M.SC. in Science subjects. Besides the Undergraduate Programmes, Post Graduate Programmes are available in most of the Subjects. M.Tech. in most engineering branches, and in the newly created Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology is offered. The university proposes to set up Centre of Excellence in the fields of Highway Safety, Estate Management, Community Development and Business Incubation. A Center of Excellence for Energy and Environmental Studies offers M.Tech. degree. A Renewable Energy Test Center has been set up in collaboration with HAREDA for testing renewable energy devices.

O.P. Jindal Global University[link]

O.P. Jindal Global University is a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private Universities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. JGU is established in memory of the Mr. O.P. Jindal as a philanthropic initiative of Mr. Naveen Jindal, the Founding Chancellor. The University Grants Commission has accorded its recognition to O.P. Jindal Global University. The vision of JGU is to promote global courses, global programmes, global curriculum, global research, global collaborations, and global interaction through a global faculty. JGU is situated on a 60-acre state of the art residential campus. JGU’s global vision is also recognised by many institutions worldwide and has enabled JGU to develop international collaborations with the United Nations University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Michigan, Cornell University, New York University, King’s College London, University of Cambridge, and many other reputed universities and educational institutions worldwide. JGU has established four schools: Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), Jindal Global Business School (JGBS)^[9] and Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA) and Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP).^[10]

Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya[link]

This is the First university for Woman in North India situated at Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat. The University has 185 acres (0.75 km²) existing campus and there is a proposal to acquire 450 acres (1.8 km²) of more land. It promises a world class infrastructure in the University. The proposed direct road connectivity with the National Highway no.1 (Sher Shah Suri Marg / GT Road) will substantially reduce its distance from Delhi. The University has various Institutions running, a Central Library, hostels for the students and Faculty houses for the Lecturers. New Institutions and Teaching blocks for the existing and proposed new courses with the latest infrastructure, hostels, modern Faculty Houses and Staff Houses are coming up fast. Apart from this, a new Central Library with all the modern facilities, Auditoriums for co-curricular and extracurricular activities and indoor and outdoor stadiums for sports activities are proposed in the next phase of construction which will cater to the demands of about 10000 students.

Many thousand students, already enrolled, with the various colleges of the university are getting education and training in professional courses like BAMS, B.Ed, D.Ed, Diploma in Electronics and Communication, Computer Engineering, Pharmacy, Library and Information Science, MLT, IT and Modern Office Practice. Five year and three year LLB courses are imparted at PSD Girls Law College. To crown all these efforts are the Learning Resource Centres in the University which train all the students, irrespective of their professional field, in English.^[11]

Colleges[link]

The Sonipat Hindu Educational & Charitable society has been active since 1914 and has established 14 institutions offering programmes at secondary, senior secondary, graduate and post graduate levels in the fields of Science, Arts, Commerce, Pharmacy, Education, Engineering and Technology. The number of students in all these institutions is over 20,000. Hindu Boys College, Hindu Girls College, Hindu College of Education, Hindu College of Pharmacy, Hindu Institute of Management, Hindu Institute of Technology, Hindu College OF Engineering are the colleges which is being run by this Society.^[12]

Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Gita bhawan (Regd.) Sonipat is a another charitable trust which is very active in the field of education in city. Society is running Gita Vidya Mandir College of Pharmacy and Gita Vidya Mandir Girls College in Sonipat.

There are many colleges in the field of Arts, Commerce, Hospitality, Pharmacy, Education, Engineering, Technology and Management. Some of them are Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering & Technology, Bhagwan Parshuram College of Engineering, Bharat Institute of Technology, CRA College, Delhi Institute of Technology & Management, Gateway College of Architecture & Design, Gateway Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gateway Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Govt. Polytechnic, Royal Institute of Management and Technology, Shri Balwant Institute of Technology, South Point Women Institute of Engineering, Tek Chand Mann College of Engineering, Tika Ram P.G. Girls College and many another.

Sports[link]

Indian Wrestlers or Pehlwan

Sports Authority of India has established there Northern Regional Center SAI, Ch. Devi Lal Regional Center at Sonipat to provides world-class facilities to the athletes here.

In July 1973 Government of Haryana established Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Sonipat^[13] to provide excellent education facilities with extra emphasis on sports. Here breed of athletes for Hockey, Basketball, Lawntennis, Horseridding, Gymnastics, Swimming, Rifle Shooting, Volleyball, Boxing, Cricket and Football, are being produced.

Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling-Freestyle) and Seema Antil (Discus Thrower) are Gold and Bronze winner in Commonwealth Games 2010- New Delhi, are from Sonipat.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sonipat

• Official Website
• Sonipat City Portal
• Sonipat District Portal

v t e Sonipat district topics Cities and towns Ganaur Gohana Kharkhoda Sonipat Education Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya Transport NH 1 Lok Sabha constituencies Sonipat