Hisar

Hisar or Hissar (both: hĭsär'), city (1991 pop. 181,225), Haryana state, NW India, on the West Yamuna Canal. It is a district administrative center in a well-irrigated area and is a market for cotton, grain, and oilseed. An agricultural experimental farm is on Hisar's outskirts, one of N India's largest livestock-breeding centers. Cotton and silk fabrics are made by handloom in the town. Hisar, founded in 1356, became important under the Mughal empire. Depopulated by famine in 1783, Hisar was occupied by the British in 1803.