According to the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Sirhind-Fatehgarh has an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 80%. In Sirhind-Fatehgarh, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Etymology
According to popular notion, the present name of the city, Sirhind, comes from 'Sar-i hind', meaning the Frontier of Hind, as Mughal saw it as the 'gateway to Hindustan'. However, a 5th-century AD tribe 'Sairindhas Aryans, which inhabited this area, might have also led to its present name.
History
in his Sanskrit treatise, Brihat Samhita, mentions the city as 'Satudar Desh', later it was inhabited by a tribe of 'Sairindhas Aryans, leading to its present name. According to Huan Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru. In 12th century, Sirhind came under the rule of the Hindu Chauhan Rajputs of Delhi. During the rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the Hindu Rajput ruler of Delhi, it became his military outpost. It further rose in glory during the Mughal Empire, when it became its provincial capital, controlling the Lahore-Delhi Highway, the Grand Trunk Road. During the Mughal era, Sirhind was the name for Malwa, since it was the area's capital city. Sirhind was the headquarters of the Mughal administration in Eastern Punjab. Many European travellers describe its splendours, and it also developed into a center of cultural activity. ', built by most probably, Sultan hafiz Rakhna, during the reign of emperor Akbar Sirhind was known for the dozens of saints, scholars, poets, historians, calligraphers and scribes who lived there. This city is mostly famous to Muslims for Great saint Imām-e-Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī . He was an Indian Islamic scholar of Arab origin, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. A large number of buildings survive from this period, including the fort named ''; it is said that in its heyday, the city had 360 mosques, gardens, tombs, caravansarais and wells. Younger sons of tenth Sikh guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji namely Baba Zorawar Singh ji and Baba Fateh Singh ji were bricked alive at the age of 9 and 7 years respectively by then governor Wazir Khan. Gurudwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib is established at that place to commemorate them. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in 1710 destroyed the city of Sirhind completely and killed Wazir Khan the governor. The Sikhs occupied Sirhind and made Bhai Baj Singh Ji the governor.
