Hoshiarpur district is an administrative district in the state of Punjab, India. It lies in the Doaba region, the tract of land between the Beas and Sutlej rivers, and is bounded on the east by the Shivalik foothills, which separate it from the state of Himachal Pradesh. The district headquarters is the city of Hoshiarpur. The district is known for its agriculture, its diaspora population in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and its traditional handicrafts including inlaid wooden furniture.
| State | Punjab |
|---|---|
| Region | Doaba |
| Headquarters | Hoshiarpur |
| Country | India |
| Type | District |
Hoshiarpur district occupies the north-eastern part of Punjab. The Shivalik range runs along its eastern edge, giving the district a varied terrain that includes alluvial plains in the west and hilly tracts in the east. Seasonal streams locally known as choes descend from the Shivaliks and historically have been a cause of soil erosion in parts of the district. The Beas river forms parts of the western boundary of the district, while the Sutlej passes to its south. The district shares borders with Gurdaspur and Kapurthala to the west, Jalandhar to the south-west, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) and Rupnagar to the south, and Una and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh to the east.
The district is divided into several tehsils, including Hoshiarpur, Dasuya, Mukerian and Garhshankar. It contains a number of community development blocks and a network of towns and villages. For parliamentary representation, Hoshiarpur is a Lok Sabha constituency, and the district contains multiple Punjab Legislative Assembly constituencies. Administration is led by a Deputy Commissioner, with a Senior Superintendent of Police heading the district police.
The territory now forming Hoshiarpur district has long been part of the broader Punjab region and saw successive periods of rule under Hindu, Muslim and Sikh polities. Under the Mughal Empire it was part of the Subah of Lahore. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the area came under the Sikh Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the Anglo-Sikh Wars, it was annexed by the British East India Company in 1849 and organised as a district under the Jalandhar division of British Punjab.
At the partition of India in 1947, Hoshiarpur district remained part of India. After the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, it became one of the districts of the present-day state of Punjab. Subsequent administrative reorganisations carved out portions of the original district, including the creation of Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) district.
Agriculture is the dominant occupation, with wheat, rice, sugarcane and maize among the main crops. The Kandi belt along the Shivaliks supports horticulture, including mango orchards in the Dasuya–Mukerian area. The district is known for handicrafts such as inlaid wooden furniture and lacquered woodwork produced in and around Hoshiarpur city. Remittances from the large overseas Punjabi diaspora originating in the district contribute significantly to the local economy and are visible in residential construction patterns in many villages.
Punjabi is the principal language spoken in the district and is written in the Gurmukhi script. The population includes adherents of Sikhism and Hinduism in significant numbers, along with smaller communities of other faiths. The district has a strong tradition of emigration, particularly to the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and Italy, leading to it being commonly described as part of the "NRI belt" of Punjab.
The district hosts colleges affiliated to Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, along with a campus of Panjab University at Bajwara. Government and private schools, polytechnics and professional institutions serve the urban and rural population.