Before British Raj, indigenous schools provided elementary education. Till 1892, the city had only one middle school. The first private school, CAV High School was set up by Arya Samaj in 1918. The first university that came into existence in Hisar was Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in 1971. It is one of Asia’s biggest agricultural university. Other universities located in the city are Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences. GJUST is first Indian government run institute providing Post Graduation in Printing Technology. Apart from universities there are some noted colleges providing education in Hisar such as Chajju Ram Memorial Jat College, Dayanand College, Fateh Chand College for Women and Govt. Post Graduate College; all established in the 1950s and 1960s. A lot of colleges have sprung up in 1990s and 2000s (decade). Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, situated at Agroha provides medical education. The city has a good number of private and government schools providing education.
Arya Samaj flourished in the city towards the close of 19th century. The Arya Samaj was established at Hisar in 1889 and Lala Lajpat Rai was a moving force in its establishment. The movement spread very fast and influenced the social and religious life of the district. The important social groups in the district are Jats, Bishnois, Brahmins, Sainis, Banias, Gujjars, Ahirs, Rajputs, Kumhars, Aroras, Chamars and Balmikis. Jat is the largest social group in the city. They are of two types, Deswalis and Bagris. Bishnois have migrated from Rajasthan. There are two sections of Brahmins in the district, i.e., Gaur and Khandelwal. Most of the Aroras are migrant from Pakistan after the partition of the country in 1947. Banias are divided into Aggarwals, Oswals and Maheshwaris. The Aggarwals are said to be the descendants of the inhabitants of Agroha. They hold Agroha in great reverence. Oswals and Maheshwaris trace their origin to the Rajputs of Rajasthan. The Gujjars of Hisar trace their origin to Rajasthan.
Archeological excavations at nearby locations of Rakhigarhi, Siswal and Lohari Ragho suggest the presence of human habitation from pre-Harappan period. Later, Aryan people settled around Drsadvati River. The Jain literature Uttaradhayana Sutra mentions a town Isukara in the Kuru country which is believed to be the earlier name of Hisar. The kingdom of Hisar, with its capital at Agroha, possibly assisted Chandragupta Maurya in his war against the Greeks. The kingdom was then included in the Mauryan Empire, as evidenced by the discovery of Ashokan pillars in the vicinity of the city. The city later came under the Kushan Empire and the Gupta Empire. In 12th century, the Chauhan king Prithviraj Chauhan made Hansi, located in the present day Hisar district, his capital and built a fort. It remained a strategic place for Chauhan Empire until Prithviraj was defeated in the Second Battle of Tarain by the invading Ghurid ruler Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori.
Hisar is a separate municipality since 1867. The current city of Hisar was made the headquarters of the Hisar district in 1832. It is now administered by Municipal Corporation, Hisar. The Municipal Corporation is headed by Municipal Commissioner, who is generally an IAS. The functions of the MCH include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation. Law and order in the city is maintained by Haryana Police, which is headed by Superintendent of Police. The city also serves as headquarters of the Hisar Range of Haryana Police which covers Sirsa, Jind, Bhiwani and Hisar and is headed by Inspector General of Police. District court was set up at Hisar in 1832 and was upgraded as a Sessions Division in 1915. It is headed by Chief Judicial Magistrate. The district court has a Bar Association which was founded in 1870. Lala Lajpat Rai practiced as a lawyer in Hisar in 1886.
Agroha Dham is a prominent religious place located on the outskirts of the city. Built in the honour of Maharaja Agrasena, it is considered as a sacred place by the Agrahari and Agrawal communities. The construction of the temple was completed in 1984. The temple complex consists of three temples, the central one devoted to Goddess Mahalakshmi, the west end to Goddess Saraswati and the east end to Maharaja Agrasena. It also encompasses a pond Shakti Sarovar and an amusement park. A festival known as Agroha Maha Kumbh is held every year on Sharad Purnima. At a distance of one km from the temple complex is the Sheela Mata Temple. The temple was opened for general public in 1988. It was constructed in the memory of Sheela Mata who ended her life as a Sati. The temple is devoted to Tridevi. Agrawal families from allover India come here for Mundan ceremony of their children.
Hisar was founded in 1354 AD, as ‘Hisar-e-Firoza’ by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. He built a walled fort with four gates which were subsequently named as the Delhi Gate and Mori Gate to the east, the Nagori Gate to the south and Talaqi Gate to the west. The construction of the fort started in 1354 AD and was completed in 1356 AD. In the middle of the fort stood the Firoz Shah Palace. Apart from its several underground apartments, the complex had different buildings like Baradari, Lat ki Masjid, Diwan-e-Aam and Shahi Darwaza. Near to the palace was the Gujri Mahal built by the emperor for his wife Gujri. The city was named as Hisar-e-Firoza, which means Fort of Firoz in Arabic. Timur invaded the city in 1398 AD and his soldiers set fire to the fort.
According to the 2011 census of India, Hisar city has a population of 301,249 (not to be confused with the population of Hisar district) and is currently the 141st most populated city in India. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. There are 844 females per thousand males. Hisar has an average literacy rate of 81.04%, higher than the national average: male literacy is 86.13% and female literacy is 75.00%. In Hisar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age and the child sex ratio of girls to boys is 860 per thousand boys. Although Hisar city has population of 301,249; its urban population is 306,893 of which 166,623 are males and 140,270 are females. The decadal growth rate was 27.06%. In 1960s, the per capita income of the city was the highest in the country.
It has Giri Centre for Sports Activities run by Sports Authority of India at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University which has a synthetic track of international standard apart from other facilities. Other major sporting venue in Hisar is Mahabir Stadium for multiple sports which was completed in the year 1972. On completion it was named Nehru Stadium but renamed Mahabir Stadium in 1987. It is run by District Olympic Association and Sports Council. It is the biggest centre for Judo coaching in India. The seating capacity of the stadium is 25,000 and provides facilities for boxing, judo, yoga, athletics, basketball and volleyball. The stadium is lit with floodlights and more than 1000 players daily use it for practice.
Flight training is also provided at the institute. It has a total fleet of four aircrafts including Cessna 172 and Cessna 152. It provides flying training for Commercial pilot licence, Private pilot licence and Flight instructor and practical training for Aircraft maintenance engineer licence. Training activities were suspended in 2010 for fourteen months after the chief flying instructor was arrested for issuing fake flying certificates and were resumed in February 2012.In August 2012, the DGCA approved the Haryana state government’s plan to develop the airport to operate domestic passenger services. Its 4,000 foot runway will be extended to 6,000 feet to accommodate turboprop aircraft like the ATR-72..
When Babur invaded India in the 1524–1526, Hisar was an important strategic center of Ibrahim Lodi’s empire. Before the battle of Panipat in 1526, on reaching the Ghaggar, Babur learnt that the troops from Hisar, led by Hamid Khan, were advancing towards him. He dispatched prince Humayun with a sufficient number of soldiers who succeeded in defeating the enemy. Babur handed over the city of Hisar to Humayun as a reward for his success on his first military expedition. During his first reign a mosque known as Jama Masjid was built there by Amir Muhammad in 1535. In 1540, Hisar came under the control of Sher Shah Suri when he defeated Humayun but Humayun took it back in 1555 and assigned it to Akbar.
29.09°N 75.43°E in western Haryana. It has an average elevation of 215 above mean sea level. The district is part of the alluvial or Ghaggar-Yamuna plain and its southern and western portions mark a gradual transition to the The desert. Ghaggar and Drishadvati rivers once used to flow through the city. Sand dune generally occurs along the western fringe of the city. Minerals found around the city are Kankar and Saltpetre. According to tectonic map, the district lies on Delhi-Lahore Ridge which is bounded by thrusts. No earthquake of any significance has originated in the zone in the past. There has been only one recorded instance of a famine occurring in the city. It occurred in 1837–38.
Doordarshan Kendra was set up in Hisar in 2002 which is the only Programme Production Center in Haryana. Besides Doordarshan channels, there are also a lot of other private channels operating in the city. A few local cable operators also broadcast their own channel such as SITI Channel. Direct To Home (DTH) services are provided by almost all the operators. Major national English language newspapers are Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, The Times of India and Indian Express whereas major Hindi dailies are Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Punjab Kesari, Hari Bhoomi, Amar Ujala, Navbharat Times and The Economic Times in Hindi. Nabh Chhor is a local evening newspaper published in the city.
Bus service is the major means of transport in the district. Bus services are provided by Haryana Roadways and other private operators. Hisar bus depot came into being on 11 August 1969 and has a sub depot at Hansi. As of 2012, the depot has a total of 198 buses with daily ridership of 73.5 thousand. Bus stands are located at Hisar, Hansi, Barwala, Uklana and Adampur. All the 290 villages of Hisar district are connected to the city through either public transport provided by Haryana Roadways or through private buses. Auto rickshaws are a major means of transport for travelling within the city. In August 2012, it was announced that city bus service will be started in the city.
Firoz Shah Palace Complex is another prominent historical site located inside the city. It was built by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in 1354. The original town was a walled settlement inside the fort with four gates, Delhi gate, Mori gate, Nagauri gate and Talaqi gate. The palace comprises a mosque known as Lat ki Masjid. Lat is a sandstone pillar about 20 feet high and was earlier an Ashokan pillar. Underground apartments are also located inside the complex. The place has also a Diwan-e-Aam. Gujri Mahal is another palace located near the palace complex also built by Firoz Shah for his wife Gujri. Its construction was completed in 1356 and stands on a massive rectangular platform.
O. P. Jindal Knowledge Centre was inaugurated in 2009 in the memory of O. P. Jindal. The centre has a museum, library, herbal park, skating rink and a cafeteria. It also houses a 25-storied 282 metre high steel tower built on the lines of Seattle Tower. The tower is the tallest of its kind in Asia and the second tallest steel tower in the world. Another park developed by the Jindal family is the O. P. Jindal Memorial Park located near the Firoz Shah Fort Complex. Spread across an area of 23 acres, it consists of a Sundial and a 63 metres high flagpole of Tiranga put as a reminiscent to the initiative taken by Naveen Jindal that led to the revision of Flag code of India.
The city became an important centre of education after independence when the Veterinary College, the Fateh Chand College for Women and Dayanand Brahma Mahavidyalaya were shifted there from Lahore. It gained importance in early 1960s when Haryana Agriculture University was located there. The setup of Guru Jambheshwar University and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences further bolstered the image of the city as an education hub. The government’s industrial policy has attracted a large number of entrepreneurs and has led to the emergence of various corporate groups such as the Jindal Group, the Essel Group, the Action Group and the Quality Group.
Before independence of India, monsoon or groundwater used to be the main sources of irrigation. The main sources of water now is Balsamand branch of Bhakra canal. Municipal Corporation of Hisar supplies potable water to the city. The city first got electricity in 1936. It is now distributed by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) provides landline and broadband services. Cell phone coverage is extensive, and the main service providers are Vodafone Essar, Airtel, MTNL, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Tata Indicom. The planning of the city is done by HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority).
Hisar has a continental climate, with very hot summers and relatively cool winters. The main characteristics of climate in Hisar are dryness, extremes of temperature and scanty rainfall. The city witnesses very hot summers and cool winters. The maximum day temperature during the summer varies between 40 to 46-degree Celsius. During winter its ranges between 1.5-degree to 4-degree Celsius. Maximum temperature recorded is 48.3 °C in May 1944 whereas the minimum temperature recorded is -3.9 °C in January 1929. Annual average maximum and minimum temperature is 31.5 and 16.2 °C, respectively. Relative humidity varies from 5 to 100 per cent.
Eminent business persons from Hisar are Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Essel Group; O. P. Jindal, founder of Jindal Steel and Power; Prithviraj Jindal, VC of Jindal Saw Limited; Sajjan Jindal, CMD of JSW Steel; Ratan Jindal, VC and CEO of Jindal Steel and Power; Naveen Jindal, CMD of Jindal Steel and Power; Mange Ram Agarwal, Founder of Action Group; B K Goenka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Welspun Group and Kuldip Bhargava, Managing Director of Quality Group. Savitri Jindal, non-executive chairperson of Jindal Group and a resident of Hisar is the wealthiest woman in India and the 10th wealthiest woman in the world.
Sanskrit grammarian Pa?ini (fl. 6th century BCE) in his book Ashtadhyayi referred to Aisukari or Isukara as a beautiful and prosperous city which is considered by some historians as the ancient name of Hisar. Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Sultan of Delhi, founded Hisar in 1354 and named it Hisar-e-Firoza which means Fort of Firoz in Arabic. Before that, the region was known as Hariana. During the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556–1605), Firoza was removed from the name of the city and it came to be known simply as Hisar. Due to the presence of a significant steel industry, the city is sometimes also known as The City of Steel.