Sathialaਸਠਿਆਲਾ

The college village of Baba Bakala tehsil

Sathiala is a large village in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district, Punjab, in the Majha region and the Rayya development block. It stands about 5 kilometres from Baba Bakala town, its tehsil headquarters, 11 kilometres from Rayya, the nearest town, and about 45 kilometres from Amritsar city. The village is administered by its own gram panchayat, covers 1,435 hectares and carries census village code 037831, with PIN code 143205. What sets Sathiala apart from other villages of its size is recorded in the census directory itself: it has a government degree college of its own. Villages recorded around it include Balsarai, Jodhe and Dera Baba Jaimal Singh.

People and work

The 2011 census counted 9,358 people in Sathiala, up from 8,702 in 2001: 4,789 men and 4,569 women living in 1,804 households, about 5.2 people to a household. The sex ratio was 954 women for every 1,000 men, a comparatively even balance. Spread over 1,435 hectares, the density works out to about 652 people per square kilometre. Children up to the age of six numbered 987, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 2,934 people, about 31 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 75.79 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 80.79 per cent and women at 70.62 per cent. The census recorded 2,936 workers, about 31 per cent of the village. Of the 2,601 main workers, the largest group, 1,487 people, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 778 cultivators and 240 agricultural labourers. A further 335 people were marginal workers. Counting everyone, the village held 868 cultivators and 264 agricultural labourers. It is a workforce that leans towards services, which fits a village with a college, three banks and a market of its own.

Land and farming

Of Sathiala's 1,435 hectares, 1,271 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Unlike canal-led villages, most of that water came from the ground: wells and tubewells irrigated 816 hectares against 455 hectares from canals. About 164 hectares were under non-agricultural use. The recorded crops are wheat, rice and maize. Farming is backed by services inside the village itself: an agricultural credit society, a regular market and an agricultural marketing society were all recorded in Sathiala, making it a service centre for the farms around it as well as its own.

Schools and the degree college

Schooling is deep in Sathiala. The Census 2011 Village Directory recorded three government primary schools, one government middle school, one government secondary school and one government senior secondary school, with private secondary schooling as well, so children can study in the village up to Class 12. Above school level, the directory records a government arts and science degree college in the village. The directory pages of neighbouring villages name Sathiala as their nearest government degree college, so its classrooms draw students from across this part of Baba Bakala tehsil. A degree college is a facility most villages of 9,000 people do not have, and it is the anchor of Sathiala's role as a small education centre.

Health and daily services

Government health care, by contrast, is thin. The 2011 directory recorded a dispensary and a veterinary hospital inside the village, and nothing above them: no community health centre, no primary health centre, no health sub-centre and no allopathic hospital. Day-to-day care rests on private practice, with one MBBS doctor, two registered medical practitioners and two medical shops recorded in the village. An anganwadi centre and an ASHA worker serve the village. For anything serious, residents travel to Rayya, Baba Bakala or Amritsar.

Other services are strong. The village has an ATM, a commercial bank and a co-operative bank, all inside it, together with an internet centre, a PDS ration shop and mobile phone coverage. A sub post office stands in the village, with the main post office 5 to 10 kilometres away. The directory also recorded sports facilities and a public library. Drinking water is a weakness in the record: untreated tap water was the supply in 2011, with hand pumps and tubewells used alongside. Power supply was recorded at 12 hours a day for domestic use and 8 hours for agriculture.

The militancy years

Sathiala's modern history carries a painful chapter. Ensaaf, a non-profit organisation that documents human rights cases from Punjab's militancy period, records 13 people from this village who were killed in extrajudicial executions or forcibly disappeared between 1989 and 1992. Each case is documented individually in Ensaaf's public database.

Getting there

Public and private bus services both serve Sathiala, on pucca roads. The nearest railway station is 5 to 10 kilometres away, and Baba Bakala town, the tehsil headquarters, is about 5 kilometres away. Amritsar, with its airport, junction station and hospitals, is about 45 kilometres away.

What is the population of Sathiala?

The population of Sathiala was 9,358 at the 2011 census, living in 1,804 households in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district. It had grown from 8,702 in 2001.

What is Sathiala known for?

Sathiala is known locally for its government arts and science degree college, which draws students from the surrounding villages of Baba Bakala tehsil, alongside its banks, market and schools.

Which tehsil is Sathiala in?

Sathiala is in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district, Punjab, in the Rayya block. Baba Bakala town is about 5 kilometres away and Rayya, the nearest town, is 11 kilometres away.