| Sikar | |
| Other Name: | Shekhawati Pradesh |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Image Caption: | Sky View of Sikar city, Rajasthan |
| Pushpin Map: | India Rajasthan#India |
| Pushpin Label Position: | Left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Rajasthan, India |
| Coordinates: | 27.62°N 75.15°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Rajasthan |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Sikar |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Date: | [1] |
| Founder: | Rao Daulat Singh |
| Government Type: | Municipal Council |
| Governing Body: | Sikar Municipal Council[2] [3] |
| Leader Party: | Communist Party of India (Marxist)Indian National Congress |
| Leader Title: | Member of Parliament, Lok SabhaMember of Legistative Assembly, Vidhansabha, Rajasthan |
| Leader Name: | Amra RamRajendra Pareek |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 47 |
| Elevation M: | 427 |
| Population Total: | 359,293 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Rank: | tenth |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Hindi, Rajasthani |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Regional |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 332001 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | +91-1572 / 01572 |
| Registration Plate: | RJ-23 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Literacy |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 81.25%(2nd) |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Distance from New Delhi |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 280km (170miles) (land) |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Distance from Jaipur |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | 114km (71miles) (land) |
| Website: | |
Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is largest city of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu. After Kota, Sikar is one of the major hubs for private coaching in the country for competitive public examination preparations and has a number of engineering and medical coaching institutes.[4]
Sikar is also a major hub for agricultural trade, given it is surrounded by large plains areas west of the Aravalli range.[5] It is also a major rail and road junction.
Sikar is a historical city and contains many old havelis. It is away from Jaipur, from Jodhpur, from Bikaner, and from New Delhi.
Sikar district is also popular for Khatu Shyam Temple, situated in the town of Khatoo, 16 km from Reengus town and 45 km from Sikar city.
Another place for which Sikar is famous is the Harsh Parvat, part of Aravalli Range. Mainly, Harsh Parvat is known for the Harsh Temple, which is historical temple. Moreover, it is a tourist place where people come to enjoy the mansoon season and greenery of mountains.
Sikar had been the biggest Thikana (Estate) of the Jaipur state. Previously Sikar was known as Shekhawati Pradesh. It was the capital of Thikana Sikar. Sikar is surrounded by fortified walls consisting of seven "Pols" (gates). These historic gates are named: Bawari Gate, Fatehpuri Gate, Nani Gate, Surajpole Gate, Dujod Gate Old, Dujod Gate New, and Chandpole Gate. Shekhawat Rajputs were rulers of this region.
Sikar city is the district headquarters of Rajasthan's Sikar district, which is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan. It is the sixth most populous city of Rajasthan. It is located a t.[6] It has an average elevation of .
Sikar City had a population of about 237,579[7] people according to the census of 2011. As per provisional reports of Census India, the population of Sikar in 2011 is 237,579; of which there are approximately 123,156 males and 114,423 females. The sex ratio of Sikar City is 929 females per 1000 males. Regarding education, total literates in Sikar city are 158,413 of which 91,403 are males while 67,010 are females. The average literacy rate of Sikar City is 77.13, male and female literacy status is 86.29 and 67.37, respectively. The total population of children (0–6) in Sikar City is about 32,189, consisting of 17,236 boys and 14,953 girls. The child sex ratio of girls is 868 per 1000 boys.
Being a City in Rajasthan with rich cultural backdrop, Sikar has many havelis, some of which are centuries old. Other than its havelis, Sikar is also famous for its ancient forts made before and during the British rule in India. It also contains the village of Charanwas.[8]
The Collector and District Magistrate (DM) of Sikar is IAS Mukul Sharma and Superintendent of Police (SP) is Bhuvan Bhushan Yadav.[9] [10]
Sikar city is governed by a Municipal Council, which comes under the Sikar Urban Agglomeration. The new municipal council building is built in Shekhawati style like a mahal or haveli. Sikar city is divided into 60 wards. Although Sikar city has a population of 237,579 (in 2011), its urban/metropolitan population is 244,563 (in 2011). The Sikar metropolitan area includes Chandrapura (Rural), Radhakrishnpura, Samarthpura, Shivsinghpura and Sikar city. The current Member of Parliament from Sikar is Amra Ram since June 2024. The current Member of Legislative Assembly from Sikar is Rajendra Pareek since 2023.
Sikar and Jhunjhunu, collectively known as the twin cities, now account for 15% of the educational institutions in the state, signifying the Shekhawati region's rise as a prominent education hub in Rajasthan. Despite a history of poor educational performance, the scenario changed in 2001 when the government relaxed regulations, allowing private entities to establish institutes in these cities. As the influx of private institutes increased, the educational performance of Sikar has improved, as per the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) by the Union Ministry of Education. Following closely are Jhunjhunu and Jaipur, all securing a place in the 'Utkarsh' category, achieving scores ranging from 81 to 90 percent on a scale of 100. Notably, Jhunjhunu excelled with the highest score (236 out of 290) in learning outcomes.
Sikar Junction railway station comes within the territory of the North Western Railway. Sikar City is connected to Jhunjhunu, Rewari, Delhi, Churu, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Hisar, Jaipur, Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur, Abu Road, Indore, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Mathura, PrayagrajAlwar. New lines proposed since 2010 are Sikar to Nokha via Sujangarh and Sikar to Neem-Ka-Thana via Udaipurwati.
Sikar is well connected by roads from all the major cities of Rajasthan and nearby states. A four-lane national highway NH-52 passes through the city. NH-52 connects Sikar with Jaipur and Bikaner. The western freight corridor also pass through Ringas of Sikar, as a main project of the central government. Kotputali Kuchaman Mega Highway also passes through Sikar. Jhunjhunu-Jaipur state highway is also passes through Sikar.
The nearest airport to Sikar City is Jaipur International Airport, which operates daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Udaipur, Dubai, Sharjah, and Muscat. A new airport is proposed at Shahpura (a town in Jaipur district) that is very close to Sikar. A small air strip at Tarpura village is also available for the landing of small private planes against payment.
Sikar has emerged as a growing center for education in Rajasthan. One of the famous boarding schools in Sikar is the Kothyari. In its early days, the school was known for its descipline. Most of the big names of Sikar studied in the Kothyari School. Apart from that, Sikar has many institutes for JEE (Joint Entrance Examination), NEET (National Eligibility Entrance Test), UPSC NDA, RAS, Banking Jobs, SSC, etc. Some of the institutes in Sikar are CLC Sikar, Prince Eduhub, Gurukripa Coaching, Matrix Institute, Banco, Kalam Academy, Aayam Academy, Kautliya IIT Academy, Navjeecan Science School, Prince Academy, etc.
Sikar has been colloquially referred to as the "Education City of Rajasthan."[18] However, in 2024, some examination centers in Sikar for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) were subject to allegations of malpractice, including cheating and question leaks prior to the examination.[19] According to data released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), irregularities were observed at several centers in the city, leading to increased scrutiny. Nevertheless, NTA released the final result of NEET UG 2024 after the verdict of Supreme Court, in which no institute of Sikar was innvoled in the irregularity of NEET exam. Even one student from Sikar, Devesh Joshi from PCP Sikar, got AIR-1 in the final released result of NEET 2024.
In recent years, a significant number of candidates qualifying for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam have been from Sikar. This trend came to light during a Supreme Court inquiry into a paper leak case, where data from the NTA indicated that a majority of successful candidates were from Sikar over the past three years.[20] [21]