Rohtak

Rohtak is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. Situated 70 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 250 kilometres south of Chandigarh on NH 9, the settlement functions as a component of the National Capital Region.

The history of the area features significant ancient and regional turning points. Archaeological excavations at Khokhrakot have brought to light numerous clay coin moulds dating back to the 3rd and 4th century CE from the Yaudheyas reign, along with Gupta terracotta plaques. In the 4th century CE, the astronomical text Surya Siddhanta documented a spherical Earth featuring a prime meridian that passed between Rohitaka and Avanti. Throughout subsequent centuries, the town experienced shifts in regional control, moving from the rule of the Hindu Shahi king Samanta Deva to a conquest by the Ghaznavids under Mahmud of Ghazni between 1020 and 1030. During the sixteenth century, the Ain-i-Akbari recorded the Mughal pargana under the Delhi sarkar, which produced significant revenue and maintained a brick fort. A major territorial turning point occurred following the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, after which the Jat ruler of Bharatpur State, Suraj Mal, dispatched his two sons, Jawahar Singh and Nahar Singh, to capture the modern Haryana area. In 1762, they successfully seized the Rohtak pargana from Muslim control.

According to the 2011 census, Rohtak had a population of 373,133, making it the third most populous city in Haryana at that time. The population expanded from 294,577 recorded in 2001, yielding a population growth rate of 26.7 percent over the decade. Encompassing an area of 72.18 square kilometres, the city maintained a population density of 5,186 persons per square kilometre and an effective literacy rate of 84.08 percent. Membership within the National Capital Region allows the municipal administration to obtain cheap loans for infrastructure development from the NCR Planning Board.