Ludhiana

India / Punjab / Ludhiana /
 city, taluka headquarter, district headquarter

Tehsil Ludhiana, District Ludhiana, Punjab, Bharat

Ludhiana is a city and a municipal corporation in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Ludhiana is also administrative headquarters of Ludhiana District. It is the largest city in Punjab, with an estimated population of 1398467 in 2010. The population increases substantially during the crop harvesting season due to immigration of laborers from states like Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Delhi. It has an area of about 310 km². The city stands on the Sutlej River's old bank, 13 km south of its present course. It is a major industrial center of northern India.

Ludhiana is centrally located on the National Highway 1 from Delhi to Amritsar, and is connected to the Indian capital city of New Delhi by road and frequent train service.

Ludhiana is the richest district in the state of Punjab, and includes the most expensive fertile land of all of India.This translation from Urdu of a passage of Gulām 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: It was originally known as Lodi-Ana (The Lodi's Place) during the Lodi Dynasty under which the city was created. "In the reign of Sikandar, son of Bahlol Lodi, the people about Ludhiana were oppressed by the plundering Baluchis, 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.He saved the town from invaders and treated all its citizen equally. 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 1526. 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. "Rai Kalha III,who appears to have been a ruler of very great ability, extended his power up to Ludhiana. He established independent power over the whole of the Jagraon(the place of the Rais)and the greater part of Ludhiana Tahsils, and a large portion of the Ferozepur District."Khan Bahadur Rai Inayat Khan of Raikot(the custodian of Guru Gobind Singh ji's Ganga Sagar) was the Chief of Rai family at the time of partition of India 1947. Hatur, Chakar, Talwandi Rai in 1478 AD,Halwara and Raikot in 1648 AD and Jagraon in 1688 were founded by the Manj Rai family of Raikot and their ancestors-Ref:Ludhiana Dist Gazetteer 1888-89,1904,1935. Chiefs of Punjab 1890,1909,1940., Mahan Kosh p. 311 by Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha, Encyclopaedia of Sikhism by Prof Harbans Singh-Vol 2, p 416, The Sikh Ref Book by Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer p 464, 196

In 1741, Ala Singh defeated Rai Kalha III 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 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. The Malaudh Sirdars belonging to the Phulkian stock had already established themselves in the south of Ludhiana in the Jangal villages and the country about Malaudh [1] ; and Sudha Singh Gill, an adventurer from Loharu in the Ferozepur district, secured a few villages around Sahnewal. 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 (16 km) 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.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°53'47"N   75°51'55"E

Comments

  • This city is full of opportunities. What ever you need to manufacture in the world. You can get from here. Perhaps the best quality and price as well. The great industrial city.
  • ludhiana is the best! You can get everything done there.It's just like a different world.It's so different from other cities .By different I mean a lot better than other cities!
  • hi i am harmeet singh
  • its my place....
  • In Ludhiana living a person name amit kumar sharma creating a blog name is http://getsarkari-naukri.blogspot.com which is based about all the sarkari naukri govt. jobs in india.
  • I like the people and the shopping at Chaura Bazaar Ludhiana, Where literally you can get anything while the store runner gets it from some warehouse godown. 5 star Majestic Park Plaza hotel{Ferozepur rd/Pakhowal rd} patio barbeque the best as was the barber shop i used on my last visit from Toronto.,Canada. It truly is the Manchester or Mississauga or Shanghai and capital of East Punjab/Malwa.,INDIA. More Mercedes sold than anywhere else in India.,even New Delhi or Bombay.
  • The best place to live in.... areas like sarabha nagar, BRS nagar, and many developing socities. And market is, u name it, u have it!! njoy the kingsize life of Ludhiana
  • i like ludhiana.
  • Ludhiana is loveable place, but now in these days there is no control on traffic...
  • ludhiana is a wonderful place for dental & medical tourism . people are coming from all over the world for their dental treatment . the name of thind dental clinic (www.thind.com) is on the rise for this purpose from last 16 years .
  • any history of this city ?
  • I love this city...
  • I M Gursimran singh dhaliwal. my village is ABBUWAL near sarabha(pakhowal road)ludhiana. ludhiana is best city of punjab or we can say capital city in punjab. ludhiana is developing day by day. one day will come when it will be divided into new ludhiana and old ludhiana like DELHI and MUMBAI.
  • I born in Ludhiana and spend my life in this great city. Living is expensive and full of luxury. It is biggest city in northern Indian after Delhi. It is biggest industrial city in north India. You can get any thing you want in the city. It is world famous for bicycle, auto parts , swing machine, and hosiery goods. Ludhiana is also famous for medical collages , engineering and agriculture study. I love my city and proud of it.
  • but amritsar is overall best
  • i enjoyed living in ludhiana as my own place,studied,played and left it after my marriage ,i miss it.the old city has lost its flavour.i cannot find it after a gap of 47 years.one buddha darya in which i used to swim was no where in the city when i last visited it,aah what apeaceful city it was in my days
  • my family living in Ludhiana I go Befoure that place
  • from sarabha nagar , hi everybody
  • LUDHIANAIS FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF PUNJAB NOW G T ROAD IS BEING EXPANDED TO 6 LANES WHICH WILL BE BEFECIAL FOR PUNJAB
  • I recently came from New Delhi to settle over here and I observe that here is big lack of infrastructure which is need to be improve alot and other protocols like road traffic, noise pollution and air pollution and long electricity cuts on regular basis. City bus facility is need to be start everywhere in ludhiana. I like the pace of life in Ludhiana as compare to New Delhi.
  • I am Vinod Chander Sood, born in Ludhiana and studied a city school and Govt. College for boys. Now a retired Bank Manager, I live in Shakti Nagar (House No. 46), Model Gram area. I have seen Ludhiana grow from a small town to a big city of this size. Ludhiana is conviniently located and road, rail, air connectivety is very good. It is the most prosprous city north of Delhi. It is a trade and industry hub. Therefore there are lots of people literally rolling in money in this city. Of late it has become crime prone city also. Over all it is a city full of people flaunting their money power.
  • My city of Ludhiana one of the best.. I am from Prem nagar in Khumhar Mandi.. civil lines.. where a second Chaura Bazaar has been built so beautifully... mai Nand Kaur Gurudwara was the one where every day morning Guru da path used to wake us up.. I am in Uk now with my family.. I still visit my home and my city of Ludhiana which has developed a lot.. but the traffic on Jagraon Flyover still the worst.. Ludhiana will always be the Manchester of India... love my city..
  • i love very much the manchaster of india
  • Ludhiana is indeed a very good city.There is much to be desired to control rush our traffic. Need to have better public transport facilities. People need to exercise better discipline and pay more attention to curbing all kind of pollution on an individual basis. It's a city with lot of potential for all kind of domestic, national as well as international trade. The government needs to create incentives and better investment strategies and have more involvement of all kind of people and promote more revenue generating art, science and industrial museums with changing exhibits and expositions. There is a need for more and more individuals to take pride in the cleanliness and beauty of the city - to bring it to an international scale.
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