Safidon
Safidon, previously known as Sarp Daman, is a city and a municipal committee, near city of Jind in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is approx. 40 km from Jind city, the district headquarters.
History
The area was first occupied by a Pre-Harappan Chalcolithic agricultural, whose pottery has been recovered from a number of places near Safidon, including Hatt, Harigarh, Anta, Morkhi, and Beri Khera. The area was irrigated during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty, who built a canal from the Yamuna which entered the district at Anta, and thence flowing through the present Jind tehsil from east to west in the line of the old Chutang nadi past the town of Safidon and Jind, reached up to Hisar. Firoz also made administrative changes, creating a separate Iqta of Safidon and placed the entire area of the present district under its Mukta, Yalkhan, a trusted noble. He also changed the name of Safidon to Tughluqpur.After Firoz's death, discord disrupted the Delhi Sultanate, and the Tughlaq dynasty lost Safidon and Jind. Timur attacked northern India in 1398, entering Haryana from Punjab. The district of Jind did not suffer much at his hands; during his march from Kaithal to Panipat he touched only the outskirts of the district except for a short distance of a few kilometers from Muana to Safidon and a little beyond. While local inhabitants fled, the fort of Safidon was burned.
Gajpat Singh, a great-grandson of Phul, the founder of the Phulkian Misl, one of the 12 confederacies of the Sikhs in the 18th century took advantage of the above situation. He took part in the attack of the Sikhs on the province of Sirhind in 1763 in which Zain Khan, the Afghan governor of the province, was killed. Gajpat Singh occupied a large tract of the country including Jind and Safidon as his share of the spoil.
During the reorganization of the Punjab in 1966, the Sangrur district was divided and Jind and Narwana Tehsils were allocated to Haryana and were constituted into Jind district. The Jind tehsil was divided into two tehsils of Jind and Safidon in 1967. In January 1973, five villages of Kaithal Tehsil were transferred to Safidon Tehsil.
Geography
Safidon is located at 29.42°N Latitudes and 76.67°E Longitudes.Safidon is the center of Panipat and Jind. The town is the headquarters of the tehsil of the same name. It is situated on the bank of the Hansi branch of the Western Yamuna canal, northeast of Jind.
The elevation of Safidon is about above sea level. The fertile land of Safidon paves the way for the growth of crops such as wheat, paddy, sugarcane, millets, pulses, vegetables and fruits; accompanied by well developed irrigation facilities. The groundwater of some villages like Anta, Rampura, Khera Khemawati, and Chapper are considered to be the best in Jind district.
Safidon has a very moderate climate. Summers are hotter and winters are colder here. The rainfall is almost good, unless Safidon is experiencing a monsoon deficiency.
Safidon is connected to major cities through roads and railways. There is one bus stand in the city where direct buses to major destinations like Delhi, Chandigarh, Panipat, Jind, Dehradun, Karnal, Kaithal, Sirsa, Hisar, Haridwar, Asandh, Pundri, Gohana etc. are available. Safidon comes under Jind Depot of Haryana Roadways. Trains for Panipat, Jind, Rohtak, Sangrur and Bathinda are available at Safidon Railway Station. Safidon Junction is administered under Northern Railway.
Haryana Urban Development Authority also develops the city and acquired the land for housing board. The Delhi NCR Board joined District Jind in the National Capital Region Board.
Demographics
The 2011 India Census reported that:Safidon Tehsil of Jind district has total population of 253,629 as per the Census 2011. Out of which 135,860 are males while 117,769 are females. In 2011 there were total 47,598 families residing in Safidon Tehsil. The Average Sex Ratio of Safidon Tehsil is 867.
As per Census 2021, Safidon town had a population of 73700, out of which, 15.9% people lived in urban areas while 84.1% lived in the rural areas. The average literacy rate in urban areas is 80.5% while that in the rural areas is 71.6%. Also, the Sex Ratio of Urban areas in Safidon Tehsil is 882 while that of Rural areas is 864.
The population of Children of age 0–6 years in Safidon Tehsil is 33825 which is 13% of the total population. There are 18450 male children and 15375 female children between the age 0–6 years. Thus as per the Census 2011, the Child Sex Ratio of Safidon Tehsil is 833 which is less than Average Sex Ratio of Safidon Tehsil.
The total literacy rate of Safidon Tehsil is 84.04%. The male literacy rate is 85.06% and the female literacy rate is 83.02% in Safidon Tehsil.Total literate in Safidon Tehsil were 160,547 of which male and female were 96,026 and 64,521 respectively.
Languages spoken in Safidon are Hindi, Haryanvi.
As per the Population Census 2011 data, following are some quick facts about Safidon Tehsil.
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Children | 33,825 | 18,450 | 15,375 |
| Literacy | 84.04% | 85.06% | 83.02% |
| Scheduled Caste | 50,862 | 27,200 | 23,662 |
| Scheduled Tribe | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Illiterate | 93,082 | 39,834 | 53,248 |
Schedule Caste constitutes 20.1% while Schedule Tribe were 0% of the total population in Safidon Tehsil.
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Schedule Caste | 50,862 | 27,200 | 23,662 |
| Schedule Tribe | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Religion wise Population - Safidon Tehsil
Working Population - Safidon Tehsil
In Safidon Tehsil out of total population, 94,049 were engaged in work activities. 73.5% of workers describe their work as Main Work while 26.5% were involved in Marginal activity providing livelihood for less than 6 months. Of 94,049 workers engaged in Main Work, 29,646 were cultivators while 11,992 were Agricultural labourers.
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Main Workers | 69,116 | 58,669 | 10,447 |
| Cultivators | 29,646 | 25,119 | 4,527 |
| Agriculture Labourer | 11,992 | 9,557 | 2,435 |
| Household Industries | 1,081 | 868 | 213 |
| Other Workers | 26,397 | 23,125 | 3,272 |
| Marginal Workers | 24,933 | 10,687 | 14,246 |
| Non Working | 159,580 | 66,504 | 93,076 |
Administration
Safidon falls under Sonipat Lok Sabha Constituency. Talking about Haryana Legislative Assembly Elections, Safidon Constituency is No. 35 as per Election Commission. After every five years, people chose their representative by voting and send him/her to Vidhan Sabha.Safidon is a Municipal Committee city in district of Jind, Haryana. The Safidon city is divided into 17 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. Safidon Municipal Committee has total administration over 6,568 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Municipal Committee limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.
The Safidon Sub-Division comprises Safidon tehsil and sub-tehsil Pillukhera. There are 70 villages under Safidon Tehsil. To govern each village, the Gram Panchayats are elected after every 5 years by the people in each village. A Block Samiti is also working under rules and regulations.
There is one Session Court in Safidon setup under all rules and regulations. The court has a Bar Council complex, where people can go for judicial advises and consult their attorneys.
The Mini Secretariat of Safidon includes the offices of Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Tehsildar and Deputy Superintendent of Police. The official residents of various office-bearers such as Judge, Tehsildar, SDM, etc. are also situated in the Mini Secretariat.
Politics & Elections
Since the formation of Haryana, Safidon has always been the main centre of State politics. Many political rallies and public meetings have been held in Safidon. Political leaders like Ch. Devi Lal, Bhajan Lal, Bansi Lal, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ch. Virender Singh, Randeep Surjewala, etc. addressed several public gatherings and saw Safidon a major centre for deciding the election outcomes. Various political parties like Indian National Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Loktantar Suraksa Party, etc. put their respective candidates in the election battleground. In the Legislative Assembly elections, Indian National Congress clinched Safidon maximum times, followed by Indian National Lok Dal. The people of Safidon also showed confidence and gave opportunity to independent candidates several times.Below is the list of winners and runners-up in the Safidon assembly elections conducted so far.
| Year | A.C No. | Assembly Constituency Name | Type | Winner | Gender | Party | Votes | Runner up | Gender | Party | Votes |
| 2024 | 35 | Safidon | GEN | Ram Kumar Gautam | M | BJP | 58983 | Subhash Gangoli | M | INC | 54946 |
| 2019 | 35 | Safidon | GEN | Subhash Gangoli | M | INC | 56890 | Bachan Singh Arya | M | BJP | 53232 |
| 2014 | 35 | Safidon | GEN | Jasbir Deswal | M | IND | 29369 | Dr.Vandana Sharma | F | BJP | 27947 |
| 2009 | 35 | Safidon | GEN | Kali Ram Patwari | M | INLD | 38618 | Bachan Singh Arya | M | IND | 23182 |
| 2005 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Bachan Singh Arya | M | IND | 43721 | Karamvir Saini | M | INC | 26077 |
| 2000 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Ram Phal | M | INLD | 45382 | Bachan Singh Arya | M | INC | 37004 |
| 1996 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Ramphal S/O Jodha Ram | M | SAP | 21502 | Ranbir Singh | M | HVP | 17301 |
| 1991 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Bachan Singh Arya | M | INC | 22030 | Ram Phal | M | JP | 19433 |
| 1987 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Sardul Singh Dhaliwal | M | IND | 41441 | Kundan Lal | M | INC | 14709 |
| 1982 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Kundan Lal | M | INC | 17303 | Satvir Singh | M | LKD | 10335 |
| 1977 | 50 | Safidon | GEN | Choudhary Ram Kishan Bairagi | M | JNP | 18930 | Pratap Singh | M | INC | 7192 |
| 1972 | 30 | Safidon | GEN | Dhaja Ram | M | INC | 19570 | Sat Narain | M | VHP | 19462 |
| 1968 | 30 | Safidon | GEN | Satya Narain | M | VHP | 14895 | Ram Kishan | M | INC | 12655 |
| 1967 | 30 | Safidon | GEN | S. Krishan | M | INC | 17692 | S. Narain | M | IND | 11721 |