Banur 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.
Banur Town
Head-quarters of the tahsil of the same name in the Pinjaur nizamat, Patiala State, Punjab, situated in 30 34' N. and 76 47' E., 10 miles north-east of Rajpura. Population (1901), 5,610, compared with 6,671 in 1881, a decrease due to its distance from the railway and an unhealthy climate. The ruins that surround it testify to its former importance. Its ancient name is said to have been Pushpa or Popa Nagri or Pushpawati, ' the city of flowers ' ; and it was once famous for the scent distilled from its chambeli gardens, an industry which has all but disappeared. First mentioned in Babar's memoirs, it became a mahal of the government of Sirhind under Akbar. It was wrested from the Mughal empire by the Singhpuria Sikhs and Amar Singh, Raja of Patiala, after the fall of Sirhind in 1763 ; and eventually it came into the exclusive possession of Patiala. It was defended by the old imperial fort of Zulmgarh and one of more recent date. The tomb of Malik Sulaiman, father of the Saiyid ruler Khizr Khan, is shown in the town. Banur has now no trade worth mention, but contains a vernacular middle school and a dispensary.
