Current Time in Hisar, India

Hisar lies in the state of Haryana in northern India, on the flat, dry plains about one hundred and sixty kilometres west of Delhi. The land here is part of the semi arid belt that stretches toward the Thar Desert, and the climate is one of extremes, with summer temperatures that can exceed forty five degrees and winter nights that occasionally approach freezing. Irrigation canals fed by the western Yamuna system have turned much of the surrounding countryside into productive farmland.

The city has a population of around three hundred thousand and serves as the administrative centre of a district of the same name. It is widely known as the steel city of Haryana, since it hosts one of the largest stainless steel manufacturing complexes in India, and it is equally important as a centre of agricultural science, veterinary research and cotton trading.

Its recorded history begins in 1354, when the Delhi sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq founded a fortified town here and named it Hisar-e-Firoza, meaning the fort of Firoz. He built a palace, a mosque and a canal to bring water to the arid site. The mosque, known locally as Lat ki Masjid, incorporates a pillar of polished sandstone believed to date from the reign of the emperor Ashoka more than fifteen centuries earlier. The surviving palace ruins and the elegant structure called Gujari Mahal, said to have been built for a milkmaid the sultan admired, still stand near the centre of town. Long before that, the nearby mound of Agroha was a thriving settlement, and archaeological work there has revealed layers of occupation reaching back well over two thousand years.

Agroha is today one of the main attractions of the district, both for its excavations and for the large modern temple complex of Agroha Dham, associated with the legendary king Agrasen and revered by the Agrawal community across India. Within the city, visitors can walk through the Firoz Shah Palace complex, relax at Blue Bird Lake with its birdlife and boating, or visit the small deer park and zoo.

Hisar is unusually rich in higher education for a city of its size. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University is among the largest institutions of its kind in Asia, spread across a vast green campus, and it is joined by Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology and a dedicated veterinary and animal sciences university. National research centres devoted to buffalo breeding and to equine health are also based here, making the city a hub for livestock science.

Rail lines connect Hisar to Delhi, Jaipur and Punjab, national highways cross the city, and an airport on the outskirts is being expanded into a major regional aviation hub with an associated industrial zone. Local transport relies on buses, autorickshaws and shared vehicles.

Hisar combines a medieval past, a strong farming tradition and modern industry, making it one of the most significant cities of western Haryana.