Farrukhnagar is a small town and municipality in Farrukhnagartehsil ofGurugram district in the Indianstate ofHaryana. It is situated 21 kilometres (13 mi) fromGurgaon and shares its border withJhajjar district. It was established in 1732 by Faujdar Khan, the firstNawab of Farrukhnagar and a governor of theMughal EmperorFarrukhsiyar. Farrukhnagar flourished due to its salt trade until the late 19th century, and was abandoned in the early 20th century, during theBritish Raj. Today monuments such as Sheesh Mahal, Baoli and Jama Masjid built by Faujdar Khan are popular visitor attractions. The town is connected toGarhi Harsaru, south of Gurugram, by the railway line. TheSultanpur National Park is situated in Farrukhnagar tehsil on the road to Gurgaon.Pataudi Palace, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the town, is the nearest palace.
Mughal EmperorFarrukhsiyar (r. 1713–1719) after whom the Farrukhnagar was named, by his governor Faujdar Khan who founded the city in 1732.Sethani ki Chhatri at Farrukhnagar.One of the many oldhavelis in Farrukhnagar, reminder of the days it flourished with salt mines.
Farrukhnagar Fort was built in 1732 by aBaloch named Faujdar Khan, the firstNawab of Farrukhnagar and a governor of theMughal EmperorFarrukhsiyar andMuhammad Shah Rangeela.[1] Farrukhnagar flourished due to its salt trade. Khan built the fort surrounding the octagonal town, with five gated entrances, his palace known as Sheesh Mahal, a notable structure inMughal architecture around 1761, also the Jama Masjid andDilli Darwaza (Delhi Gate). The successive Nawabs ruled over a large tract of land in the area, for over 70 years until they were overthrown by theJat ruler ofBharatpur.[2] As of 2021, the fort lies in a ruined state.[1]
Upon annexation by the British Raj, the principality remained with Nawabs, but after Nawab Ahmed Ali Khan of Farrukhnagar, took part in theIndian Rebellion of 1857, along with the Nawabs ofJhajjar, RajaRao Tula Ram ofRewari andRaja Nahar Singh ofBallabgarh,Bhatti chieftains of Hissar andSirsa, and theMeo tribesmen, their jagir was confiscated in 1858 and made part of the Empire. During the rebellion their combined forces took overRohtak completely from British forces for a while, and attacked and plundered the civil station, burning all official records. After the Rebellion failed, forces of Punjab levies moved in and Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabgarh and Nawab Abdur Rehman Khan of Jhajjar were captured and tried, while the former was executed in Delhi, the latter escaped with a sentence of exile to Lahore.[3][4] A memorial was recently raised to commemorate the martyrs of the rebellion in the city.[5][6][7]
For their participation in 1857 rebellion, three main chiefs of Haryana were tried and hanged atKotwali inChandani Chowk ofOld Delhi.Nahar Singh, the Raja ofBallabhgarh, was hanged on 9 January 1858. Abdur Rehman, Nawab ofJhajjar, was hanged on 23 January 1858. Ahmad Ali, Nawab of Farrukhnagar, was hanged on 23 January 1858. TheChaudharys andLambardars of villages who participated in rebellion were also deprived of their land and property, including 368 people ofHisar andGurugram were hanged or transported for life, and fine was imposed on the people ofThanesar (Rs 2,35,000),Ambala (Rs. 25, 3541) andRohtak (Rs. 63,000 mostly onRanghars,Shaikhs andMuslim Kasai).[8]
The population of Farrukhnagar municipality and town was 13,513 in As of 2011[update] census.[9] The population of the entire Farrukhnagar tehsil was 113,493 in As of 2011[update] census.
The restoredBaoli Ghaus Ali Shah, a stepwell in Farrukhnagar.
The town was once an important trading center for salt manufactured from saline water obtained from wells of 12 village estates located near the town. This salt was calledSultanpur Salt after the location of the most important salt-works of the region.
Sultanpur was the centre of salt production for use in Delhi and theUnited Provinces until the late 19th century, exporting annually 680,000 maunds or 18,350 tons (1maund = 37 kg approx.) over theRajputana-Malwa Railway.[11] Salt was produced by extracting brine from about 40 wells using bullocks and drying in open plots. As salt was one of the major sources of government's revenue, the office of the Salt Superintendent at Sultanpur supervised the levy of Rs.2 per maund (about 37 kg). With thelevy of the heavy salt tax and acquisition of theSambhar salt works inRajputana (present Rajasthan) by the government, the Sultanpur salt became uneconomical and by 1903-04 the salt industry was struggling for survival with salt export having fallen to 65,000 maunds or 1,750 tons leading to severe setback to the economy of Sultanpur area. Finally, in 1923 the British shut down the office of the salt superintendent at Sultanpur, had all the mounds of salt thrown back into the wells and shut down the salt industry leading to considerable economic misery to the people.
Farrukhnagar became a municipality in 1967. Efforts to revive the salt mining by the government failed, after a massive flood in 1978 brought down the saline level in the wells.
The area saw steep rise in land prices starting from the 1990s onwards due to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in theGurgaon district, as a result small section large landowners amassed great wealth in short period, which also encouraged public splurging. For example, an acre of farm land in Farrukhnagar fetched nearly 1 crore rupees (about $250,000) in Dec 2007. In 2007, the town made news in the global media, when a local jat farmer hired a private helicopter to ferry his son to his wedding, barely 20 km away.[12] In the recent years, heritage structures in the town have attracted interest from various organisations includingASI andINTACH, which is proposing a "heritage walk" around town, and also plans to develop it as a heritage village.[13]
Frescoed ceiling ofSethani ki Chhatri, Farrukhnagar.
Sheesh Mahal, and Jama Masjid have notedMughal era monuments situated in the town both built by the first Nawab, Faujdar Khan are important visitors attractions.[14]
Farrukhnagar Fort:Dilli Darwaza (Delhi Gate), with its impressivebastion, is an important feature of the fort, it is one of three surviving entrances to the town, out of earlier five gated entrances which have slowly been built into by the growing town. The Dilli Darwaza was restored in 2009 byINTACH, along with thePatli Darwaza (after nearbyPatli) and theJhajjari Darwaza, (after nearbyJhajjar town).[15] The rest of the fort though now mostly in ruins once housed over 4,000 people.[16] The town plan was designed octagonal in shape.
Jama Masjid: This congregation mosque was also built by Faujdar Khan, in red sandstone. Two slabs of red sandstone on the southern wall bear Arabic inscriptions dating to the period ofSultan of Delhi,Ghiyas ud din Balban (1200–1287). The slabs are stated to have been brought from an ancient mosque in Sultanpur about 5 km away in the direction of Delhi.[17]
Sheesh Mahal: The palace of the Nawab of Farrukhnagar aligns the main bazaar of the town as do many other heritage structures in the town. Built by Faujdar Khan in 1711 CE, it is a double-storey structure in red sandstone, Mughal bricks andJhajjar stone, used commonly in the buildings of the period in the district. It has decorative interiors of elaborate mirror inlay work, hence its name,Sheesh Mahal (Glass Palace). It'sbaradari, literally a pavilion with 12 doorways, now houses Municipal committee office, once housed a school.[citation needed] The palace opens on to a large courtyard with water channel in the centre, it was fed by a nearbybaoli or stepwell, it is also believed that in olden days, the queen used to visit the baoli for taking bath from Sheesh Mahal through a tunnel, which has since been closed. The palace is being restored by the archaeological department and its premises also has a memorial dedicated to the martyrs ofIndian Rebellion of 1857 from the town.[18] In 2025, Haryana government announced a INR 95 crore restoration plan for upgrade of 20 monuments across the state including the Sheesh Mahal.[19]
Sethani Ki Chhatri: An elaborate memorial cenotaph in the shape of a two-storeyedchhatri, which is a pillar pavilion is situated on theJhajjar road at the entrance to the town. It has eight arched openings on each floor and floral decorative motifs are used profusely. Chhatri though typical toRajasthani architecture, it was later adapted intoMughal architecture. The name suggests that it belonged to a merchants wife, and is decorated with inscriptions and frescoes from Haroti region in Rajasthan.[15][20] An inscription within the ceiling frescoes dates it toVikram Samvat 1918, i.e. 1861 AD.
Sita-Ram Mandir: Originally built as amosque, it was captured and turned into a temple during the riots after thePartition of India and also serves the purpose ofGurdwara.[21]
Havelis: A set of oldhavelis in the main town are in good condition, and boast of frescoes, and post-Mughal architectural features.
Shrine of Budho Mata: The nearby village Mubarakpur 5 km from Farrukhnagar, is famous for this shrine, where a fair is held every Wednesday.
Baoli Ghaus Ali Shah: A 3-story large octagonalBaoli stepwell, also known as Ali Gosh Khan Baoli, with stone staircases is considered a monument of importance and has been restored after it was taken over by ASI.[22] It has been renovated.[23]
Sitaram Mandir-Gurdwara, Farrukhnagar (previously a mosque built during theMughal Empire)[21]
Farrukhnagar railway station: Built during theBritish Raj it was opened when the firstmeter gauge railway track in India, was opened between Delhi toRewari (84 km) on 14 February 1873, along with a branch line from Garhi Harsaru to Farukhnagar (12 km) specifically for the salt trading. The metre gauge railway line was closed in 1994 for gauge conversion, and reopened as broad gauge track in 2011.
Sultanpur National Park: TheSultanpur National Park is also situated close by on the road toGurgaon, and is a haunt for many migratory birds during the winter months.
^Joshi, Jagat Pati (1998).Inventory of Monuments and Sites of National Importance, Vol1, Part 2.Archaeological Survey of India. p. 26.Baoli Ghaos Ali Shah
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