There are a number of legends about the origin
of the name of the town. As mentioned earlier, its ancient name
was Sairishaka and from that it seems to have been corrupted to
Sirsa. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras
founded the town in 7th century A.D. and built a fort.
The material remains of an ancient fort can still be seen in the
South-East of the present town. It is about 5 kilometers in circuit.
According to another tradition, the name has its origin from the
sacred river Sarasvati which one flowed near it. During medieval
period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as
Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. The derivation of
name Sirsa, is also attributed to the abundance of siris trees[Albizia
lebbock (Benth)] in the neighborhood of Sirsa which seems quite
plausible for it finds some corroboration also in Panini and his
commentator. In ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.
History of the District as an Administrative Unit
Sirsa seems to be in the administrative division
of Hisar Feroza during Firuz Shah's reign. In the time of Akbar,
Sirsa was one of the dasturs of Hisar Feroza Sarkar and much of
its area lying in the present Sirsa district was covered by Mahals
of Fatehabad, Bhattu, Bhangiwal (Darba), Sirsa, Bhatner (or Hanumangarh,
Rajasthan) and Paniyana (Rajasthan). With the decline of the Mughal
Empire, the track comprising Sirsa district came under the control
of Marathas. The whole of Delhi Territory of which the tract formed
part was ceded by the Marathas to the British in 1810. Sirsa was
part of the outlying district of Delhi territory under the charge
of an Assistant to the Resident. In 1819, the Delhi territory
was divided into three districts - the Central which included
Delhi, The Southern including Rewari, and the North-Western including
Panipat, Hansi, Hisar, Sirsa and Rohta. In 1820, the latter was
again sub-divided into Northern and Western and Sirsa alongwith
Hansi, Hisar and Bhiwani formed Western district (Haryana district
and later known Hisar district).
In 1837, Sirsa and Rania parganas were taken
out of Haryana district and alongwith Guda and Malaut parganas
were formed into a separate district called Bhattiana. The pargana
of Darba from Hisar district and the small pargana of Rori confiscated
from erstwhile princely state of Nabha were transferred to Bhattiana
in 1838 and 1847 respectively. In 1844, Wattu pargana running
upto Satluj was added in the Bhattiana district. The whole of
the Delhi territory alongwith district of Bhattiana and Hisar
was transferred to Punjab in 1858 and the dustrict of Bhattiana
was renamed as Sirsa.
In 1861, 42 villages of Tibi tract of Rania pargana
were transferred to the then state of Bikaner.
The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils
of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa
tahsil (consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali
tahsil formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar
district and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur
district (Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of
the country except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil
to the then state of Bikaner in 1906.
The entire area of the district was included
in the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa
tahsil was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974,
three villages of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil.
On September 1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted
into a separate Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa.
PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Distance From Major Cities :
Delhi : 255 Km
Chandigarh : 280 Km
Latitude and Longitude :
The district lies between 29 14 and 30 0 north
latitude and 74 29 and 75 18 east longitudes, forming the extreme
west corner of Haryana. It is bounded by the districts of Faridkot
and Bathinda of Punjab in the north and north east, Ganga Nagar
district of Rajasthan in the west and south and Hisar district
in the east. Thus it touches the interstate boundaries on three
sides and is connected with its own state only in the eastern
side.
Topography :
The terrain of Sirsa district may be broadly
classified from north to south into three major types i.e. Haryana
Plain, alluvial bed of Ghaggar or Nali and Sand dune tract. The
characteristics of the three are briefly described below :
Haryana Plain - The Haryana Plain
is a vast surface of flat to rolling terrain and extends southward
to the northern boundary of the alluvial bed of the Ghaggar. It
covers over 65 percent of the area of the District. The elevation
of the surface from east to west varies from 190 to 210 meters
above the mean sea level. The most diagnostic feature of the Haryana
Plain is the presence of palaeo channels which set the occurrence
of sand dunes in this terrain unit apart from those in the dune
tract. The plain is traversed by numerous dune complexes and shifting
sands.
Alluvial bed of Ghaggar - Nali :
A clayey surface of almost flat, featureless plain bordered in
the north and west by the Haryana Plain and in the south along
the sound dune tract, is a manifestation of the misfit nature
of the present day Ghaggar. Waterlogging is a serious problem
in many parts of this flat surface of impervious clay of great
thickness. At places, swamps support a high density of tall grass.
Sand dune tract - Third tract covers
the southern most part of the district. The area is northward
extension of the sand dunes of Hisar District and GangaNagar District
of Rajasthan. The dunes are locally called tibbas. Tibbas around
Ellenabad are 9 Meters high; Naugaza Tibba at the border of Rajasthan
is 17 Meters high; Tikonta tibba is some 14 Meters high and one
south of Shahpuria is 13 Meters high. All tibbas are broad based
transverse ridges, some more than 3 Kilometers long without a
break. Linear to complex ridges, short to fairly long but narrow
at the crests, and generally 2 to 5 Meters high are also present
throughout the sandy stretch of the land.
CLIMATE :
The climate of this district is characterised by its dryness
and extremes of temperature and scanty rainfall. The year may
be divided into four seasons. The cold season from November to
March is followed by the Summer season which lasts upto the end
of June. The period from July to about the middle of September
and from the middle of September to October constitute the south
west monsoon and post-monsoon seasons respectively.
Rainfall : Records of rainfall in the
district are available for Sirsa only for sufficiently long periods.
The average annual rainfall in the district is 32-53 mm. The rainfall
in the district increases generally from west to east. About 72
percent of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received
during the short south east monsoon period, July to September,
July and August being the rainiest months. There is significant
amount of rainfall in the month of June, mostly in the form of
thunder showers. In the rest of the year, there is a very little
rainfall. During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall
as recorded was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest
annual rainfall amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was
recorded in 1920.
On an average there are 20 rainy days (i.e. days
with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The
heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded in the district was 165.4
mm on September 22, 1917.
Temperature - There is no meteorological
observatory in the district, so the mean meteorological conditions
prevailing at GangaNagar and Hisar may be taken as representative
of those prevailing in the district as general. There is a rapid
increase of temperature after February. The mean daily maximum
temperature during May and June which is the hottest period varies
from 41.5 ºC to 46.7 ºC. On individual days the maximum temperature
during the summer season may rise upto about 49 ºC. With the advance
of the Monsoon into the district, by about the end of June, there
is appreciably drop in the day temperature and the weather becomes
cooler during the day time, but the nights are warmer than those
during the summer season. With the added moisture in the monsoon
air, the nights are often uncomfortable. The decrease in temperature
is rapid after October and drop in temperature after nightfall
is particularly trying. January is generally the coldest month
with the mean daily maximum at 21.1 ºC and the mean daily minimum
at 5.1 ºC.
Humidity - Relative humidity in the mornings
is generally high during the monsoon season and during the period
December to February, it is usually 70 percent or more. Humidity
is comparatively less during the rest of the year, the driest
part being the summer season with the relative humidity being
about 30 percent in the afternoons.
Cloudiness - During the monsoon season,
the sky is mostly moderately to heavily clouded. In the rest f
the year, the sky is generally clear or lightly clouded. Cloudy
sky prevails for brief spell of a day or two in association with
passing western disturbances in the cold season.
Winds - Winds are generally light in
the district with some strengthening in force during the late
summer and monsoon seasons. During the south-west monsoon season
while winds from south-west or west are more common, easterlies
and south-easterlies also blow on some days. In the post monsoon
and winter season while south-westerly or westerly winds are ore
common in the mornings, northlies and north-westerlies are predominant
in the afternoons. In summer, winds are more common from the west
or south-west in the mornings. In the afternoons they are mostly
from directions between west and north-west.
Special Weather Phenomena - Some of the
depressions which originate in the Bay of Bengal in the south-west
monsoon season, and which move across the central parts of the
country reach the district during the last stages of activity
and cause wide spread rain before dissipating. An occasional post-monsoon
storm or depression also affects the district. Thunder Storms
occur throughout the year but the highest incidence is during
the monsoon season. Dust storms occur often during the hot season.
Occasional fogs affect the district in the cold season.
