Firozpur

Firozpur or Ferozpore is in the Malwa region of Punjab, in northern India.

The town is on the south side of the Sutlej river, and at the time of the Anglo-Sikh wars in the 1840s that river was the border of British-controlled territory, across it was the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. Ferozepur was the main garrison on that part of the border and in the first war, it was besieged. Military history buffs might want to visit the main battlefields of that war, at nearby Ferozeshah, Aliwah and Sobraon. A historical novel of that war is Flashman and the Mountain of Light.

The city of Firozpur was founded by Firoz Shah Tughlaq who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388, and the Ferozepur fortress was constructed during his reign. The Manj Rajput chief, Feroze Khan, was a prominent figure in the region in the mid-16th century.

The period of Sikh influence in the region was affirmed in 1758, when Adina Beg was defeated by the Sikhs. In 1761, the Sikh chief Hari Singh of Bhangi Misl captured Kasur and nearby areas of Ferozepore.

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 British inherited Ferozepore at a time when its local economy was in-decline. In 1838, the population of the settlement of Ferozepore stood-at 2,732, however by 1841, the local population rose to 4,841. The increase in the population of Ferozepore in the period immediately following British annexation has been attributed to reforms by Henry Lawrence, who constructed a main market place and also built another market place towards the east of the old fortress.

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 Gurdwara 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 21 soldiers were awarded the Indian Order of Merit posthumously. The Saragarhi Memorial Gurdwara of Ferozepur was opened in 1904 by Sir Charles Montgomery Rivaz, the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab.

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. The nearby Firozpur Cantonment is a major cantonment of the country.

• 30.997574.5469441 National Martyrs Memorial, Hussaniwala Border Rd, Machhiwara.  (updated Jun 2018)