KOT DHARMU, village 13 km south of the district town Mansa (29°59`N, 75°23`E), in the Punjab, has a historical shrine, Gurdwara Sulisar Sahib Patshahi Nauvin, commemorating the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur. According to the Sakhl Pothi, Guru Tegh Bahadur stopped here near a pool on his way back from Talvandi Sabo. During the night two thieves broke into the camp and stole the Guru`s horse. But as they led the animal away, they felt they could see nothing. They were thus easily apprehended by the Sikhs the next morning. Brought before the Guru, they confessed their misdeed. Guru Tegh Bahadur said, “Why did you come to steal during the night? Take what you desire now.” But the thieves overcome by remorse replied, “Our only wish now is to take the punishment in accordance with our deserts.” As they were passing through a thorny thicket over a mound near by, one of them killed himself running against a dry splintered branch of J“and tree (Prosopis spicigera). Devotees later established a memorial platform and called the place Sulisar {suH in Punjabi means a cross or a stake). A small Manji Sahib subsequently constructed over this platform still exists. Here is seated Guru Granth Sahib. Special gatherings take place on the tenth of the brighter half of each lunar month as well as on the first of every Bikrami month. An annual fair is held on the last day of Poh (midJanuary). The Gurdwara is affiliated to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. A grand new building has come up since.
References:
1. Malva Desh Ratan di Sdkhi Pothi. Amritsar, 1968
2. Tara Singh, Sri Gum Tirath Sangrahi. Kankhal, 1975.
Kot Dharmu is a medium-sized agrarian village situated about thirteen kilometers south of Mansa town in Punjab. It falls under Jhunir tehsil and is part of the Sardulgarh Vidhan Sabha constituency and Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency. The village covers roughly eleven and a half square kilometers and is administered by a Gram Panchayat under the Panchayati Raj system. Its postal code is 151505, with Mansa serving as the head office.
According to the 2011 Census, Kot Dharmu had a population of just over four thousand people, with around two thousand two hundred males and one thousand eight hundred sixty females, spread across nearly eight hundred households. The sex ratio stood at 825 females per thousand males, and children aged zero to six numbered about 447. Scheduled Castes made up nearly thirty-five percent of the population. Literacy levels were modest, with an overall rate of about forty-eight percent, male literacy slightly higher than female literacy.
Education in the village is supported by institutions such as a government primary school, a government high school, and nearby Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Public School. Agriculture remains the backbone of the local economy, with most families engaged in farming and allied trades. The village is connected by public and private bus services, with Mansa railway station serving as the nearest rail link. It lies close to other villages like Dulowal, Nangal Kalan, Deluana, and Lakhmirwala, and is accessible via NH148B.
Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the local and official language. Community life is strongly agrarian, shaped by caste composition and traditional practices, while its proximity to Mansa and Bathinda ties it into the broader rural-urban corridor of southern Punjab. Kot Dharmu thus represents a typical Punjabi village, balancing its agricultural heritage with gradual educational and infrastructural development.
