Kot Shamirਕੋਟ ਸ਼ਮਿਰ

A large village at Bathinda's edge

Kot Shamir, also written Kol Shamhir, is a village in Bathinda tehsil of Bathinda district, Punjab, in the Malwa region, about 12 kilometres south east of Bathinda city. It is one of the largest villages of the tehsil, covering 4,607 hectares at a low density of about 238 people per square kilometre, and its population grew from 9,314 at the 2001 census to 10,945 at the 2011 census. The census record carries village code 035801. For politics the village sits in the Bathinda Urban assembly constituency and the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency.

Guru Gobind Singh's visit of 1706

The village is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who visited here in 1706 during his long sojourn at Talwandi Sabo, the halt in the Malwa journey that followed the battles around Anandpur and Chamkaur. According to the Sakhi Pothi, as retold in the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Bhai Dalla, the local chieftain who was also a disciple of the Guru, came to call on him at Kot Shamir. A sandy mound called Jandalivala Tibba, about 2 kilometres south of the village, is still pointed out as the place where local tradition says the meeting took place.

Gurdwara Patshahi Dasvin, commemorating the Guru's visit, stands on a low mound west of the village. It comprises a hall with a square sanctum in the middle; above the sanctum a square room with a wide coping is topped by a ribbed lotus dome. The gurdwara is administered by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee through a local committee. Besides the daily services, special divans take place on all major Sikh anniversaries, and the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji is marked by a religious procession through the village.

People and work

The 2011 census counted 10,945 people in Kot Shamir: 5,821 men and 5,124 women, a sex ratio of 880 women for every 1,000 men, living in 2,107 households at about 5.2 people to a household. Children up to the age of six numbered 1,150, about 11 percent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 3,766 people, about 34 percent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded. Literacy stood at 59.56 percent among residents aged seven and above, well below the Punjab average of 75.84 percent, with men at 64.39 percent and women at 54.15 percent.

Work participation is high: the census recorded 4,794 workers, about 44 percent of the village. Of the 4,153 main workers, 1,922 were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 1,545 agricultural labourers and 647 other workers in trade, transport and services. A further 641 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year. Counting main and marginal workers together, 1,962 people cultivated land and 1,975 worked as agricultural labourers, so labouring families marginally outnumber landholding ones.

Land and farming

Of Kot Shamir's 4,607 hectares, 2,460 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated: 2,365 hectares by canal and 95 hectares by wells and tube wells. The unusual feature of the record is how much land was not cropped that year: 1,585 hectares stood as current fallow and a further 247 hectares as culturable waste, so barely half the village area was under the plough. About 315 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 6 hours a day.

Schools, health and everyday services

Education in the village runs through 2 government primary schools, one government middle school, one government secondary school and one government senior secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 12. The village also has an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

On health, the older summary of this page needs correcting. The 2011 Village Directory in fact recorded a primary health sub-centre inside Kot Shamir. What the village did not have in 2011 was a community health centre, a primary health centre, a hospital, a dispensary or a veterinary hospital; those stood in and around Bathinda. Treated tap water was available in the village, and total sanitation campaign coverage and a community toilet complex were also recorded. Kot Shamir had its own post office and a sub post office, and a commercial bank branch operated in the village. There was no ATM and no PDS ration shop inside the village, both five to ten kilometres away, and the nearest internet common service centre was more than ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 18 hours a day, and power for all users together at 14 hours.

Getting there

Kot Shamir is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded both public and private bus services in the village itself. Bathinda, the tehsil and district headquarters, is about 12 kilometres away. In 2011 the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away; the nearest station today is Katar Singhwala. Neighbouring villages include Dhan Singh Khana, Katar Singhwala, Chak Ram Singhwala and Gehri Devi Nagar.

Why is Kot Shamir sacred?

Kot Shamir is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who visited the village in 1706 during his sojourn at Talwandi Sabo. Gurdwara Patshahi Dasvin, on a low mound west of the village, commemorates the visit, and tradition places his meeting with Bhai Dalla at the sandy mound of Jandalivala Tibba.

What is the population of Kot Shamir?

The population of Kot Shamir was 10,945 at the 2011 census, living in 2,107 households in Bathinda tehsil of Bathinda district, Punjab. It had grown from 9,314 at the 2001 census.

What health facilities does Kot Shamir have?

The Census 2011 Village Directory recorded a primary health sub-centre inside Kot Shamir. The village had no community health centre, primary health centre, hospital, dispensary or veterinary hospital in 2011.