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History of Ludhiana | See the Brief History

This translation from Urdu of a passage of G̲ẖulām Sarvar Lāhaurī's (alias Bute Shah) Tarīḵẖ-i maḵẖzan-i Panjāb (History of the Punjab), written in the mid-19th century, is given in the Gazetteer for the Ludhiana District 1888-89: "In the reign of Sikandar, son of Bahlol Lodi, the people about Ludhiana were oppressed by the pundering Biluchis, and applied to the Emperor for assistance. Sikandar, in answer to their prayer, sent two of his Lodi chiefs, by name Yusaf Khan and Nihang Khan, with an army. These chiefs fixed on the present site of the Ludhiana city, which was then a village called Mir Hota. Nihang Khan remained at Mir Hota as the Emperor's Lieutenant; and called the place Ludhiana. He was succeeded by his son a grandson. The latter, Jalal Khan, built the fort of Ludhiana out of the bricks found at Sunet. His two sons partitioned the country round about Ludhiana, which was then lying in waste, amongst the people of the town, and distributed them in villages. In the time of Jalal Khan's grandsons, Alu Khan and Khizr Khan, the Lodi dynasty was overthrown by Babar; and the Lodis of Ludhiana sunk to the position of ordinary subjects of the Mughal empire. They are said to have lived close to the fort for many generations, but all traces of them have now disappeared, and even the tombs of Nihang and his immediate descendants have been lost sight of, although they are said to have been standing some years ago." The Lodi dynasty lost control of the throne of Delhi in 1525. The Mughals established a strong government at Sirhind, which itself was a sarkar (division) of the Delhi subah (province), and attached Ludhiana as a mahal or parganah. The century and a half following the death of Akhbar (a Mughal emperor) in 1605 was dominated by the rise of Sikhism as a power, and the decline of the Mughal empire. By this time the Mughal empire was tottering to its fall, and various local powers began to assert their independence. The Rais of Raikot who until then had held a considerable tract of land around Ludhiana in lease from the emperors were some of the first to assert their independence. Raja Ala Singh of Patiala, the representative of the crumbling Delhi Sultanate and Rai Kalha II were the principal actors contenders for power in the region. In 1741, Ala Singh defeated Rai Kalha II and chased him out of the country, but he soon recovered the territory. Thinking to take advantage of this power struggle, Nadir Shah invaded, and crossed the Sutlej at Ludhiana, which was then on its banks, and marched through the district along what is now the Grand Trunk Road. Nadir Shah is said to have ordered a general massacre of the inhabitants of Ludhiana on the account of some petty fault, but it seems doubtful that he did. His successor, Ahmed Shah Durrani, invaded in 1747. On reaching the Sutlej at Ludhiana, he found his passage opposed by the son of the emperor, Kamardin, with a huge army that had advanced from Sirhind. Durrani avoided the conflict but ended up in direct confrontation with him very near Khanna. While Ahmad Shah Bahadur was defeated, the losses were very heavy on both sides. The subsequent invasions of Ahmad Shah were not resisted by the Mughal troops from Sirhind, but they were constantly harassed by the Phulkian chiefs and the Rais. It was some time about 1760 that the Rais were permitted by Ahmed Shah to take possession of the town and for of Ludhiana and to extend their power over the country about. Although Zain Khan was appointed by Ahmad Shah as Governor of Sirhind in 1761, he was defeated and slain in 1763 by huger armies of Sikhs. They took possession of Sirhind, which they leveled with the ground. The fall of Sirhind marked the last vestige of Mughal control over the area, and Ludhiana was left in possession of the Rais. In 1767 Ahmed Shah reached Ludhiana on his last expedition but got no further. Around 1785, the Sutlej changed in course so that Ludhiana was no longer situated on its banks. The condition of the country during the latter part of the 18th century was one of considerable prosperity. The rule of the Rais is still spoken of as being very mild; and it is said that they fixed only one-fourth of the produce as their due. In 1798, Ludhiana was attacked by the Sikhs under Bedi Sahib Singh of Una. At the time, the ruler of the Rais, Rai Alias was a child. His agents Roshan and Gujar made a good stand against the Sikhs at Jodh, ten miles southwest of Ludhiana. Roshan was the killed in the fight, and Rai's army was dispersed. However, the Phulkian chiefs, who were on good terms with the Rais, had no intention of allowing the Bedi to establish himself in their midst and came to their aid, driving the invaders out of the villages. Upon the Bedi's siege of Ludhiana, the Rais called in British mercenary George Thomas to help with the defense of the city. On Thomas's approach, Bedi retreated to the other side of the river. Having recently consolidated the new Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh crossed the Sutlej in 1806 in his first expedition against the Cis-Sutlej states and stripped the Rais of all their possessions, including Ludhiana. The city was occupied but not immediately annexed to the Lahore state. By 1809 Ranjit Singh was completing his third expedition and was again on the west bank of the Sutlej ready to attack Ludhiana. Fearing further expansion that was coming closer to their headquarters in Delhi, British imperialist forces occupied the Cis-Sutlej states east of the Sutlej. The British sent Colonel David Ochterlony with a force to occupy Ludhiana. By the end of 1809, The Treaty with the Rajah of Lahore was signed in which the Rajah agreed to remain north and west of the Sutlej. British troops were permanently stationed in Ludhiana, and they established a cantonment to further consolidate their occupation. Compensation was paid by the British to the Raja of Jind. In 1835, the Jind family, who technically still ruled Ludhiana, were left without any heirs. By the British doctrine of lapse, Ludhiana came under official control of the imperialists. Following the First Afghan War, Ludhiana became the residence of the exiled family of Shah Shuja. The British cantonment was abandoned in 1854. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Deputy-Commissioner Ricketts crushed a rebellion in Ludhiana with the assistance of the chiefs of Nabha and Maler Kotla. Maulana Habibur Rehman, a leader of the Indian Independence Movement, was born in Ludhiana.

About Ludhiana Punjab | Ludhiana's Brief Profile

Ludhiana (Punjabi: ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ) is a city and a municipal corporation in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is the largest city in Punjab, with an estimated population of 1.4 million. The city stands on the Sutlej River's old bank, 13 km south of its present course. Ludhiana is centrally located on the Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Amritsar, and is connected to the Indian capital city of New Delhi by road and frequent train service. It is a major industrial and educational center of northern India, and is the crossroads of many different cultures. Commerce Industry Ludhiana is known as the "Manchester of Punjab" because it is the industrial hub of Punjab. There are 8 large integrated knitwear factories, roughly 6,000 small to medium sized knitwear factories, 10 big hosiery yarn mills and 150 small- to medium-sized worsted and woolen yarns. There are also firms manufacturing bicycles (Avon Bicycles, Hero Cycles Ltd, Eastman Industries Ltd), motorcycle parts, machine tools, sewing machines, generators, diesel engines, tires & tubes, and other consumer goods. The export market in Ludhiana is worth $40 million USD. Ludhiana is also home of communication tycoon Sunil Mittal (CEO of Bharti Airtel). Ludhiana is becoming a hub of auto parts manufacturing, with Bajaj sons and Emson Tool being two examples. Ludhiana City is also famous for cast iron industries & for other foundry materials. Students from and around Ludhiana City are also inclined towards pursuing there education abroad. VIEC operated by Girnar Group are examples of the firms dealing in the consultancy services. Attractions Ludhiana has many attractions to visit. The most famous is the Nehru Rose Garden in Civil Lines, Rakh Bagh, Hardy's world, PAU artistic meuseum, Planetorium, Guru Nanak Stadium,Tiger Safari,Maharaja Raja Ranjeet Singh Port and many more. Market Ludhiana is home to branches of various international franchises such as Nike, KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Subway. Also, Ludhiana is notable for its numerous markets such as the Chaura Bazaar, Mall Road, Ghumar Mandi, Model Town Market, Kochhar Market, Sarabha Nagar Market, Gole Market (Jamalpur) Westend Mall and Ansal Plaza. Gaydi route connects Mall Road to Ghumar mandi, and is very famous for hawker food. Feroze Gandhi market is a big financial area, and has bank branches of the major international banks. Ludhiana City Centre A new world-class 25-acre commercial center is under construction in the heart of Ludhiana. This will provide space for shopping, entertainment, business, hospitality amongst other amenities. About a dozen new shopping malls cum entertainment centers are under construction including MBD Mall Plaza and a Reliance venture on Ferozepur Road. With Ludhiana construction occurring all over, a modern financial centre is under plans, this means a city full of skyscrapers is also something the city will see in the near future. Another big project is penthouses in Ludhiana, construction has already started for these buildings. The Next Level of Shopping ( state of Art Shopping Destinations / Destination Malls ) are now attracting the top most retailers of the country to this city. The Ludhiana City is also known as Merc Capital of India , as most of the Mercedes Cars are sold in this City . The Bigger Shopping Malls under Construction / about to start are Aerens Festival City , Gold Souk , MBD , and biggest among all Supercenter . Education Ludhiana is home to the largest agricultural university in Asia, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) [citation needed]. The College of Veterinary Sciences at PAU has recently been upgraded to the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU). Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College & Ludhiana College of Engineering & technology are two main colleges offering quality education in the fields of civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, IT, electronics and production engineering. Graduate and Post Graduation education colleges in Ludhiana consist of the S.C.D.Government Colleges for Boys & Government College for Women which has the distinction of being the oldest in the region. These institutes are spread in 70 acres and 45 acres of land respectively in the heart of the city. and Other well known colleges are the Khalsa College for Boys, Khalse College for Girls in Ghumar Mandi, Arya College, Kamla Lohtia, and Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management (the latter being the latest to be established in the city with great emphasis on quality education and having the best infrastructure). Ludhiana also has one of the top law schools of the northern region, The University Institute of Laws, Panjab University Regional Centre, Ludhiana was established during the Academic Session 2003-04. Admission to LL.B. (Three Year Course) was started during 2003-2004 session and 5 years Integrated B.A.LL.B (Hons) course was started during 2006-2007 session. The Institute is situated on the campus of P.U. Extension Library, Ludhiana having its own building with spacious Class rooms, Faculty rooms, Administrative staff rooms, Director's Office, Computer Lab. and Library. Ludhiana is also home to some of the region's best medical institutions like the Christian Medical College (CMC), Christian Dental College (CDC), Dayanand Medical College (DMC), Apollo Hospitals, and the BJS Institute of Dental Sciences. Local private schools are considered the best in the State, with Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar being one of the oldest and most reputed schools in Punjab having the most experienced faculty responsible for producing some of the best academic and sports performers in the state. It also won the second price in the fuel cell competition held internationally at Honolulu. Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar topping the list of overall quality education centers with D.A.V Public School topping the list in academics. BCM Senior Secondary School of Shastri Nagar provide the most well balanced and quality education with equal priorities to studies and extra Curricular activities. G.S.S.Model.School,P.A.U campus is one of the best government schools of punjab. There are several other very good schools like U.S.P.C Jain Public School Chandigarh Road, Tagore Public School and St.Thomas School which is known for its quality education in the old city area and one of the top most school Ryan International School which have 50 branches in all over world Transportation Bus, car, and train are the main forms of transportation used to get in and out of Ludhiana. Morning and evening fast trains (called shatabdis) connect Ludhiana to New Delhi and Amritsar. The Government of Punjab has announced that they will be adding a light railway system that would connect Ludhiana with other major cities in Punjab. An international airport has been in planning for years. Unfortunately, one legacy of the British Raj is that approvals for new airports are required to go through the Central Government in Delhi, which can take many years. There is a small airport at Sahnewal, about five miles southeast from the city center, and there have been commercial flights in the past from Delhi. On April 10, 2007 the Airport Authority of India has publicly said [citation needed] that plans for an international airport at Halwara are canceled, and a new location has been chosen at a small airport 5 miles outside the Ludhiana city centre. Sahnewal Airport will be the new site of the airport.[citation needed] The government is looking at purchasing another 500 acres of land to construct the new international airport[citation needed]. The runways at the airport will be extended to more than 7,000 feet, but it is said if the city wants big aircraft to land here, they will need to extend the runway to 10,000 feet. Ludhiana's status as a large industrial hub is cited as a reason for another international airport in Punjab. An international airport may also benefit the neighbouring states and boost the Economy.

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