Rupnagar, once Ropar, was carved out on 1 November 1966 at the reorganisation of Punjab

Background

The Rupnagar district administration records that the district was carved out on 1 November 1966 at the reorganisation of the State.
Rupnagar town was formerly known as Ropar, and the name is traced to a Raja called Rokeshar who is said to have named it after his son Rup Sen in the 11th century.
The district page records that the first civilized folk to settle here were the Harappans, who reached the upper Satluj towards the close of the third millennium BC.
The Satluj passes 2 to 5 km from the towns of Nangal, Rupnagar and Anandpur Sahib.
Anandpur Sahib is one of the district's administrative divisions.
In 2006 the Kharar and Majri blocks of Rupnagar were transferred to the new district of S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali).