There are many popular festivals in Sonipat. Lohri marks the culmination of winter, and is celebrated on 13 January, a day before Makar Sankranti. People gather around bonfires, throw sweets, puffed rice and popcorn into the flames, sing songs and exchange greetings. Basant Panchami is celebrated in Haryana, Delhi and Punjab to welcome the spring season. The main attraction of this festival is kite flying. Baisakhi is the New Year’s Day for Panjabis and is celebrated with joyous music and dancing. It falls on April 13, though once in 36 years it occurs on 14 April. Holi is a religious spring festival also known as the Festival of Colors. People throw Gulal (scented powder) and colors on each other. Men throw water on women who retaliate with a mock beating with sticks or kolras (twisted cloth strips). Janamashtami is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temples witness an extravagant and colorful celebration on this occasion. Gugga Naumi is a religious festival, celebrated all over Haryana. It is connected with snake-worship and observed in August–September. Dusshera is probably the chief Hindu festival, being associated with the great Epic Ramayana and its renowned hero, Rama. Ram Leela is enacted in various places. On the last day the effigies of the demon king Ravana and his supporters are burned, which forms the concluding event. Diwali is a festival of lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. It is celebrated 20 days after Dusshera. This festival commemorates Lord Ram’s return to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing his 14-year exile. Twinkling diyas and candles light up homes and firework displays are common all across the country. The goddess Lakshmi, who is the symbol of wealth and prosperity, is also worshipped on this day. Lord Ganesh, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day.
Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. The main crops are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, pulses, barley, maize, millet, etc. Presently, rice and sugarcane cultivation is undertaken in the Khadar area and oilseeds, horticultural plants, vegetables and flowers, is cultivated in the upland plains of district. The main sources of irrigation are tube wells and canals. There are two main types of crops: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, sesame and groundnuts. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March. Dairy farming forms an essential part of the rural economy. Animal husbandry has been taken up as an integral component of diversified agriculture.
There are many colleges in the fields of Arts, Commerce, Hospitality, Pharmacy, Education, Engineering, Technology and Management, including Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Engineering & Technology, Bhagwan Parshuram College of Engineering, Bharat Institute of Technology, CRA College, Delhi Institute of Technology & Management, Gateway College of Architecture & Design, Gateway Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gateway Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Govt. Polytechnic, Royal Institute of Management and Technology, Shri Balwant Institute of Technology, South Point Institute of Engineering, Tek Chand Mann College of Engineering, and Tika Ram P.G. Girls College.
The annual rainfall varies considerably from year to year. However, the maximum rainfall is experienced during the monsoon season, which reaches its peak in the month of July. In fact, the monsoon period accounts for 75% of the annual rainfall in the district. On average there are 24 days in a year with rainfall of at least 2.5 mm. Humidity is low during the greater part of the year. The district experiences high humidity only during the monsoon period. The period of minimum humidity (less than 20%) is between April and May. During the monsoon, the sky is heavily clouded, and winds are strong. Winds are generally light during the post-monsoon and winter months.
Sonipat has a relatively modern civil Hospital with trained doctors in all specialities. Many well established private nursing homes are in the city including Saxena Hospital, Mittal Nursing home, D.N. Sharma Hospital, Batra Nursing Home, Handa Hospital. Large Charitable hospitals in the city include J.K. Hindu Charitable Hospital (Management control taken over by Cygnus Medicare private Limited in 2012), Janki Das Hospital, Janta Hospital. With the management takeover of Hindu Charitable hospital by Cygnus Medicare, Cygnus J.K. Hindu Hospital is expected to be the most modern hospital of the district with all superspeciality facilities under one roof.
Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, the first university for women in northern India, is situated at Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat. The university has a 185 acres (0.75 km2) existing campus and there is a proposal to acquire another 450 acres (1.8 km2) of land. Many thousands of students are already enrolled in professional courses like BAMS, B.Ed, D.Ed, Diploma in Electronics and Communication, Computer Engineering, Pharmacy, Library and Information Science, MLT, IT and Modern Office Practice. Five-year and three-year LLB courses are imparted at the PSD Girls Law College. All students, irrespective of their professional field, are trained in English.
Another reference to the city comes in the epic Mahabharata, and at that time it was one of the five villages demanded by the Pandavas in lieu of the kingdom of Hastinapur. The other four villages were Panprastha (Panipat), Baghprastha (Baghpat), Tilprastha (Tilpat) and Indraprastha. Another legend ascribed it to Raja Soni, the thirteenth descendent of Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers. Both traditions are without supporting evidence. There is no mention of Sonipat in the Mahabharata, although it had been noted much earlier by the grammarian Pa?ini in his celebrated Ashtadhyayi. The town was therefore already in existence around 600 B.C.
The Sonipat Hindu Educational & Charitable Society has been active since 1914 and has established 14 institutions offering programmes at secondary, senior secondary, graduate and post graduate levels in the fields of Science, Arts, Commerce, Pharmacy, Education, Engineering and Technology. The number of students in all these institutions is over 20,000. Hindu Boys College, Hindu Girls College, Hindu College of Education, Hindu College of Pharmacy, Hindu Institute of Management, Hindu Institute of Technology, and the Hindu College of Engineering are the colleges established by the society.
O.P. Jindal Global University is a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private Universities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. JGU was established in memory of Mr. O.P. Jindal as a philanthropic initiative of Mr. Naveen Jindal, the Founding Chancellor. The University Grants Commission has accorded its recognition to O.P. Jindal Global University. JGU is situated on a 60-acre residential campus. JGU has established four schools: Jindal Global Law School, Jindal Global Business School, Jindal School of International Affairs and Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.
The tomb of Khwaja Khizr houses the remains of the saint and son of Darya Khan who lived during the rule of Ibrahim Lodhi. The structure was built between 1522 and 1525 AD. The tomb stands on an elevated platform and is one of the few monuments where red sandstone along with ‘kankar’ blocks have been used. The ceiling is decorative and made of multicolor floral designs. The cenotaph chamber is surrounded by a dome-shaped structure which rests on a small drum of octagonal shape. Now its under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India and surrounded by 4 acres of gardens.
The winter starts in December when day and night temperatures fall rapidly. January is the coldest month when the mean daily minimum temperature is 6 to 7 °C. During cold waves, the minimum temperature may go down to the freezing point of water, and frosts can occur. During the summer months of May and June, the maximum temperature sometimes reaches 47 °C. The temperature drops considerably with the advancement of the monsoon in June. However, the night temperature during this period continues to be high.
Topographically, Sonipat district is divided into three regions, the Khadar, Upland Plain and Sandy Region. Sonipat city lies on the upland plains, which are covered with old alluvium, which, if properly irrigated, is highly productive. Broadly speaking, the district is a continuous part of the Haryana-Punjab Plain, but the area is not level in some parts. Sonipat District has fine loamy soil with a rich color. However, some areas have sandy soil.
Here food includes ghee and butter as they are homemade and used liberally in routine diets. The homemade butter is known as nooni ghee and is daily churned fresh in most homes. Some popular foods include hara dhania cholia, kadhi pakora, bathua raita, bajra aloo roti, kachri ki sabzi, bhura roti with ghee, kheer, churma, halua, lapsi, malpuas, rabdi, dalia and besan masala roti with makhan (butter). Popular drinks include lassis and thandais.
Atlas Shri Ram Temple is the one of the oldest temples in Sonipat. During the Janmashtami (birth anniversary of Lord Krishna) it is beautifully decorated and illuminated. Shiv Temple, on Sonipat-Murthal road, has a big statue of Lord Shiva. Baba Dham has two big statues of Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman. Shankar Kui is one of the oldest temples in Sonipat. Other temples include Mata Chintpurni Mandir and Sai Dham.
Sonipat (founded as Swarnaprastha) is a town and a municipal council in the Sonipat district in the state of Haryana, India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around 20 km from Delhi. The Yamuna River runs along the eastern boundary. On 22 December 1972, Sonipat was carved out of Rohtak and made a full-fledged district.
According to legend, Sonipat was earlier known as Sonprastha, which later on became Swarnprastha, meaning the “Golden City”: derived from two Sanskrit words, “swarn” (gold) and “prastha” (place). Eventually, the pronunciation of the classical name Swarnprasth changed into Swarnpath, and then to its current form, Sonipat.
In July 1973 the government established the Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Sonipat to provide education facilities with extra emphasis on sports. It trains athletes in hockey, basketball, lawn tennis, horse riding, gymnastics, swimming, rifle shooting, volleyball, boxing, cricket and football.
28.98°N 77.02°E. It has an average elevation of 224.15 meters above sea level (735.4 feet). Sonipat borders Delhi, the national capital, to the south, Panipat district to the north, Uttar Pradesh state to the east and Rohtak district to the west. The total area of Sonipat district is 2,260 km2.
Yakult Danone India Pvt. Ltd. is a 50:50 joint venture between Yakult Honsha, Japan and Groupe Danone of France, both of which are global probiotic leaders. Yakult, a probiotic drink, was launched in India in 2007 and is manufactured at Food Park, Rai Industrial Area, Sonipat.
Industrial development in the city started in the 1950s with Atlas Cycle. Since then, many small and big industries has been established. Sonipat has four industrial areas (Sonipat, Kundli, Rai, Barhi) which contain numerous small- and medium-scale industries.
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