Ludhiana

This article is about the municipality in Punjab, India. For its namesake district, see Ludhiana district.

Ludhiana ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ
Metropolitan City
Gurudwara Sri Dukhniwaran Sahib, Clock Tower, Gurudwara Shri Manji Sahib Alamgir, Lodhi Fort, Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum, Shri Krishna Mandir and Guru Nanak Dev Bhavan, Gurudwara Sri Dukhniwaran Sahib, Clock Tower, Gurudwara Shri Manji Sahib Alamgir, Lodhi Fort, Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum, Shri Krishna Mandir and Guru Nanak Dev Bhavan,
Country	India
State	Punjab
District	Ludhiana
Area
• Total	3,767 km2 (1,454 sq mi)
Elevation	262 m (860 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,613,878
• Density	975/km2 (2,530/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Punjabi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	Multiple141001
Telephone code0161	91-161-XXX XXXX
Vehicle registration	PB 10

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 the state, with an estimated population of 3,487,882 as per Census 2011.The population increases substantially during the harvesting season due to the migration of labourers from eastern states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha 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 centre of northern India. Residents of the city may be referred to as Ludhianvis. Ludhianvis own maximum number of luxury cars in Punjab.

Ludhiana is located 100 km west from state capital Chandigarh on NH 95 and is centrally located on National Highway 1 from Indian capital New Delhi to Amritsar, and is well connected to New Delhi by road, frequent train service and by air.

History

This translation from Punjabi 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 of 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 and, subsequently, his 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 Akbar (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 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 CE, Halwara and Raikot in 1648 CE and Jagraon in 1680 CE were founded by the Manj Rajput family of Raikot and their ancestors.

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 levelled 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; 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 defence 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 sphere of interest, the East India Company occupied the Cis-Sutlej states east of the Sutlej. The Company 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 East India Company.

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 George Ricketts crushed a rebellion in Ludhiana with the assistance of the chiefs of Nabha and Maler Kotla.

Sukhdev Thapar, who was hanged along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, was born in Ludhiana.

Geography

Ludhiana is located at 30.9°N 75.85°E / 30.9; 75.85. It has an average elevation of 244 metres (798 ft). Ludhiana City, to its residents, consists of the Old City and the New City (or the residential and official quarters of the Colonial British encampment, traditionally known as Civil Lines; this is as opposed to the Army Lines, which are no longer extant as the British Cantonment was abandoned in 1845).

The land dips steeply to the North and the West, where prior to 1785 the river Sutlej used to run.

The Old Fort was situated at the banks of the Sutlej (and now houses The College of Textile Engineering) and legend has it that an underground tunnel connects it to the Fort in Phillaur – although why this should be is debatable, as the Sutlej was the traditional dividing line between the two principalities, often occupied by enemy forces (see History section)

The ground is of yellow sandstone and granite, forming small hillocks, plateaus and dips.

The tree of largest natural extraction was the kikar, or Acacia indica but has been supplanted by the Eucalyptus, transplanted from rural Australia in the late 1960s by the government of Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon.

Gulmohars and Jacarandas were planted by the British along the avenues of Civil Lines, as were other flowering trees, while the Old City contains almost no vegetation or parks, except for a few isolated pipal trees, holy to the Hindus, as it is supposed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.

Climate

Ludhiana features a humid subtropical under the Köppen climate classification, with three defined seasons; summer, monsoon and winter. Summers, which range from April through June in the city, tends to be very hot and very dry with average highs in May and June hovering around 40 °C (104 °F). The monsoon season which runs from July through September, sees a slight decrease in average temperatures but an increase in humidity. The bulk of the city's annual precipitation is received during the monsoon season. October and November interestingly enough is dry; more similar to a summer month than a monsoon month, though November is noticeably cooler than a summer month. Average temperatures though tend to decrease during the course of each of these months. December through February, which forms the winter months, is relatively mild with warm days and chilly nights. March is more of a sharp transitional month from winter to summer. Ludhiana on average sees roughly 730 millimetres (29 in) of precipitation annually.

Climate data for Ludhiana (1971–1990)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	21.2 (70.2)	26.2 (79.2)	34.6 (94.3)	40.8 (105.4)	43.4 (110.1)	44.0 (111.2)	42.8 (109.0)	38.0 (100.4)	36.6 (97.9)	33.8 (92.8)	29.2 (84.6)	25.6 (78.1)	44.0 (111.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	14.9 (58.8)	17.0 (62.6)	22.0 (71.6)	30.6 (87.1)	35.8 (96.4)	35.6 (96.1)	30.9 (87.6)	28.9 (84.0)	29.4 (84.9)	28.0 (82.4)	22.4 (72.3)	16.7 (62.1)	26.0 (78.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.7 (36.9)	4.5 (40.1)	8.8 (47.8)	14.8 (58.6)	19.3 (66.7)	22.2 (72.0)	22.1 (71.8)	20.8 (69.4)	19.4 (66.9)	13.7 (56.7)	7.6 (45.7)	3.4 (38.1)	3 (37)
Record low °C (°F)	−5.2 (22.6)	−3.1 (26.4)	−1.2 (29.8)	5.4 (41.7)	7.8 (46.0)	12.8 (55.0)	12.2 (54.0)	15.8 (60.4)	10.6 (51.1)	4.6 (40.3)	−3.2 (26.2)	−4.2 (24.4)	−5.2 (22.6)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	21 (0.8)	39 (1.5)	31 (1.2)	20 (0.8)	20 (0.8)	60 (2.4)	229 (9.0)	189 (7.4)	85 (3.3)	5 (0.2)	13 (0.5)	21 (0.8)	733 (28.7)
Average precipitation days	2.8	3.6	4.5	1.9	2.3	4.7	11.6	9.6	4.5	0.5	1.4	2.1	49.5
Average relative humidity (%)	74	66	62	44	39	49	71	76	68	61	68	74	63
Source: NOAA (1971–1990)

Demographics

As per provisional data of 2011 census Ludhiana had a population of 3,487,882, of which male and female were 1,866,203 and 1,621,679 respectively. The literacy rate was 82.50 per cent.

See also: List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh

As of 2001 India census, Ludhiana City had a population of 3,032,831. Males population was 1,662,716 and female population was 1,370,115. Ludhiana had an average literacy rate of 70.5%, sex ratio of 824 and density of population was 805.

Commerce

File:Feroze gandhi market.png

Feroze Gandhi Market, Ludhiana

The World Bank ranked Ludhiana as the city in India with the best business environment in 2009.

The riches are brought mostly by small-scale industrial units, which produce industrial goods, machine parts, auto parts, household appliances, hosiery, apparel, and garments. Ludhiana is Asia's largest hub for bicycle manufacturing and produces more than 50% of India's bicycle consumption of more than 10 million each year. Ludhiana produces 60% of India's tractor parts and a large portion of auto and two-wheeler parts. Many parts used in German cars like BMW and Mercedes are exclusively produced in Ludhiana to satisfy the world requirement. It is one of the largest manufacturer of sewing machines. Hand tools and precision industrial equipment is another speciality. The apparel industry Ludhiana is famous all over India for its woolen sweaters and cotton t-shirts; most of the top Indian woolen apparel brands like Octave, Monte Carlo, Miss Grace & Duke are based in Ludhiana.

Ludhiana is known for Manufacturing Agricultural Implements and its Spare parts like Rotavator, Till Seed Drill, Combine Harvestors and doing continuous R&D in same sector.

Ludhiana is also having Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) which is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry lead and industry managed organisation playing a proactive role in Punjab's developmental process.

Besides industry, Ludhiana is a major agri-products producer. It is a big centre for dairy product packaging. Ludhiana is also a major trading hub for commodities for North India. It is a major consumer shopping centre with consumers coming from around parts of Punjab to do their big-ticket shopping. With a lot of crowd and parking issues near the city area the trading industry is moving towards outer parts of Ludhiana towards Jalandhar Road.

The first major setback to the industry and business in Ludhiana has been the insurgency in Punjab that lasted from 1984 to 1992. Many industries moved out of and set up base in the township of Faridabad, Harayana, in close contiguity with teater New Delhi area. Another major impact has been the preferential taxation policies in neighbouring hill states which has provided the businesses in those states a huge competitive advantage. Many Ludhiana-based industries are moving into those areas to take advantage of the zero tax policies. Another major challenges in recent years has been the chronic labour shortages.

Ludhiana is also home to the Ludhiana Stock Exchange Association.

Real Estate

Ludhiana has always been an epicenter of commercial activities. Due to which there has always been demand in real estate segment in Ludhiana. As when Ludhiana is spreading its arms in all directions attracting many builders to participate in Ludhiana. there are many upcoming residential and commercial Projects in pipeline which are due to completion in 2014 to 2016. The prime residential projects in Ludhiana are Eldeco on Jalandhar road, Omaxe on Pakhowal road and IREO on Ferozepur road. The Major Commercial Projects are Grand City Plaza and Omaxe on Pakhowal Road, Global Business Park and Omaxe Mall on Jalandhar road, Rajgardh Times Square, Hampton Business court on chandigarh road and many others on ferozepur Road. The renowned name in real estate broker from Ludhiana is of BOP Pvt. Ltd.(Ansal Plaza).

Education

Ludhiana is home to the largest agricultural university in Asia, Punjab Agricultural University. The College of Veterinary Sciences at PAU had been recently upgraded to the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU).

Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Gulzar Group of Institutes, Bhutta College of Engineering,Guru Arjan Dev Polytechnic College Ludhiana and Ludhiana College of Engineering & Technology are main colleges offering quality education in engineering. Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College is a very old and renowned institution offering best available facilities and education for engineering students. Research & development centre for bicycle and sewing machine-www.bsrdindia.com [1]. There are other institutes catering to local and surrounding areas such as Institute of Banking Services (IBS).

Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management, PCTE Group of Institutes, Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT) Model Town Ludhiana, SDP College for Women, Khalsa College, Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management & Technologies] (Co Educational), B.C.M College of Education, Arya College for Boys, Kamla Lohtia College, Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management and SCD Government Colleges for Boys and Girls are some of the other reputed colleges for higher education in this region. S.C.D Government College for Boys is named after Satish Chander Dhawan – a renowned Space Scientist, who like many of his disillusioned compatriots migrated to the USA, and had a long & illustrious career at MIT, Massachusetts. Other famous people from Ludhiana include the well-loved poet Sahir Ludhianvi, the renowned Punjabi literaturer Dr Vidya Bhaskar Arun, economists M S Gill and SS Johl, union HRD minister Kapil Sibal, the retired police chief KPS Gill, and film-director David Dhawan. Late Sardar Sahib Sardar Amar Singh Thandi Amar Villa civil lines Ludhiana ( Minister Mandi Skait 1920s). Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal(Airtel Group) also hails from Ludhiana

Ludhiana also has one law school, The University Institute of Laws. Ludhiana is also home to some of the region's best medical institutions like the Christian Medical College Ludhiana, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital. DMCH with a dedicated ancillary for cardiology is counted among the best hospitals in the region along with the more famous Apollo Hospital.

Ludhiana two Homeopathic Medical Colleges, Lord Mahavira HMC and H and the other one Sri Guru Nanak Dev HMC and H. Both colleges produce Bachelors in Homeopathic medicine. It has one physiotherapy college, All Saints Medical College.

Ludhiana also has a very sound primary education system with a couple of notable primary and government schools imparting quality education. Ludhiana also takes pride of having the Punjab University Extension Library which has a huge collection of Books, Periodicals, Journals and Newspapers for the enthusiasts.

IT education

Ludhiana is also becoming an IT Hub. There are several advanced IT institutes and Finishing schools that provide professional computer education, offering IT Education and Web Development Services]. Students from nearby districts also come to Ludhiana. One can get education in each & every subject on computer stream in Ludhiana. Mainly Programming in all major languages, Graphic Designing, Web Designing, Hardware & Networking, Animation, Audio Video Editing. Ludhiana has also many examination centre for all major IT certifications like Microsoft, CISCO, Linux and also Visual Basic etc.

Transportation

Ludhiana is well connected by air and rail as Ludhiana railway station is on main Delhi-Amritsar route and is an important railway junction with lines going to Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Dhuri and Delhi. The city is very well connected with daily or weekly trains to most places in India including the major cities of Jammu, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Pathankot, Kanpur, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. For administrative reasons the station is under Ferozepur Railway Division.The railway line between Ludhiana and Chandigarh opened in 2013. The government has even passed a dedicated freight track between Ludhiana and Kolkata.

A DMU Train in Ludhiana

Airport

Ludhiana is connected by air with Delhi. Air India and Kingfisher fly daily between New Delhi and Ludhiana Airport. The government is looking at purchasing another 500 acres (2.0 km²) of land to construct the new international airport.. Ludhiana's status as a large industrial hub is cited as a reason for another international airport in Punjab after Amritsar.

Moving inside the city is done mostly by mini-buses, auto-rickshaws, and pedal rickshaws, loosely licensed by the Municipal Corporation.

Ludhiana Metro

The government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Delhi for construction of a Ludhiana Metro. This light transit system will serve about 25 years to Ludhiana. There will be two corridors in Ludhiana Metro.The project is expected to begin in 2015

City Transportation

Ludhiana is well connected with other cities of Punjab and also with other states by Bus service. The transportation services are provided by state owned Punjab Roadways and private bus operators. Moving inside the city, now there are state of the art Tata Marcopolo low floor buses for local travelling inside the city.The Ludhiana City Bus Services Limited(LCBSL) is the company which operates these buses in the City.

Auto Rickshaw

Auto Rickshaw is a three-wheeler drive, which is way to travel in city. These Auto Rickshaws has capacity of three to six passengers. It can be hired individually or on sharing basis.

Rickshaw

Cycle rickshaws are widely used in Ludhiana.The Rickshaw or a tricycle is pulled by a person and is relatively cheap way of travelling, but have gotten pricey after the autos were being scrapped.

Taxi

Radio taxis are also available quite easily. It is also quite used means of transport by the people of Ludhiana.

Attractions

Shopping

File:West end mall ludhiana.png

Westend Mall, Ludhiana

File:Parkplaza ludhiana.png

Majestic Park Plaza,Ludhiana

Ludhiana is a kind of hub for trade in north India. Chaura Bazaar, Ferozpur Road and Ghumar Mandi are the main markets. Ludhiana is regarded as the best city in Punjab for shopping. There are about 20 malls in Ludhiana, the primary ones among them being Silver Arc, MBD, Westend and Ansal Plaza. For the first time, these malls have introduced international brands, including many premium and a few luxury brands. The likes of Mango, Promod and Aldo in Silver Arc, Diesel in MBD and Espirit in Westend, to name a few, have made Ludhiana a major retail destination.

Restaurants

File:Mcdonalds.png

McDonald,Grand Trunk Road, Doraha district Ludhiana

With fastest growing population of Ludhiana, the number of Restaurants in Ludhiana is also Increasing. There are Restaurants like thebrewmaster, McDonald, Celebration Plaza, Amantran Ville, Pizza Hut, Dominos, KFC, Gigabyte, Subway, Cafe Coffee Day, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's The Yellow Chilli, Hot Breads, Mayfair Foods, etc.

Parks and Gardens

Ludhiana is a mixture of Urban and Rural race. Ludhiana dist. has great history in agriculture, due to fertile soil no forest is left. Farming, Industry and human occupancy used most of the land. But still Ludhiana holds some beautiful gardens and public places. City is covered by farming land from each side but inside very parks are still existing for relaxation, walking and picnic.

Roshni Ka Mela

Hazrat Shah Kamal Qadri Kaithaly stayed in ludhiana for some time, his visiting place where he stayed is known as Gayarween wali sarkar.It is near Daraysi ground and baba budha temple gurdwara and old subzi mandi chowk. Rashini masjid is also near by.Every year a Mela is celebrated on 6 September,in his remembrance which is known as Bare peer ki Roshni ka mela.Hazrat Shah Kamal Qadri Kaithaly (died 1572)is buried in Kaithal where Urs is celebrated every year from 28 – 30 March.

Sports

Every Sunday morning, cricket matches are played in most parks and grounds. Football is another game but not passionate like West Bengal or Goa. Due to lack of interest Punjab's most famous football club JCT FC was dissolved in 2011.

Cricket

Punjab Agricultural University's cricket ground is used for many matches in Ranji trophy for Punjab State Team.

Football

Guru Nanak Stadium was the home ground of demolished JCT FC. Dakha, mohi, Jangpur, Bhanohar, mullanpur, abbual, jagraon, rurka are the top football teams in the area.

Kabaddi

Guru Nanak Stadium is known for the Kabaddi matches along with athletic games. Ludhiana has great passion for the Punjabi game Kabaddi. Two-time Kabaddi world cup's finals are played in Guru Nanak Stadium Ludhiana.

Skating

A skating rink for speed skating and roller hockey is there in Ludhiana in Leisure Valley, Sarabha Nagar. Many skaters like Harshveer Singh Sekhon have made Ludhiana proud by bagging medals in nationals and representing India in internationals.

Gulli Danda

Gulli Danda is a traditional game of the Ludhiana villages and part of Punjabi culture but is no longer as popular. It is played in rural or orthodox parts of the state

Kila Raipur Sports Festival

Kila Raipur Sports Festival, popularly known as Rural Olympics, is held annually in Kila Raipur (near Ludhiana), in Punjab, India. Competition is held for major Punjabi rural sports, include cart-race, rope pulling. Gill Sports Festival

People

Name	Occupation
Sukhdev Thapar	Freedom Fighter
Kartar Singh Sarabha	Freedom Fighter
Bhai Randhir Singh	Freedom Fighter
Iqbal Singh Grewal	Scientist
Dharmendra	Actor
Sahir Ludhianvi	Lyricist
Divya Dutta	Actress
Sunil Mittal	Indian Telecom Mogul, Philanthropist
Brijmohan Lall Munjal	Industrialist, Founder of Hero Group
Keshub Mahindra	Industrialist, Chairman of Mahindra Group
Shubha Phutela	Actress
Dakssh Ajit Singh	Actor
Abhinav Shukla	Actor
Sudarshan Agarwal	Politician
Shilpi Sharma	Actress
Juhi Chawla	Actress
Gulzar Singh Sandhu	Writer
Naina Dhaliwal	Indian Model
Inderjit Hasanpuri	Song Writer
Ram Singh	Social Reformer
Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi	One of founders of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam
Talish	Pakistani Actor
Raj Khosla	Director
Baldev Raj Chopra	Producer and director
Kuldeep Manak	Singer
Inderjit Nikku	Singer
Ravinder Grewal	Singer
Amar Singh Chamkila	Singer
Diljit Dosanjh	Singer
Surinder Shinda	Singer
Karnail Gill	Singer
Gippy Grewal	Singer
Ishmeet Singh	Singer
Lal Chand Yamla Jatt	Singer
Pankaj Kapoor	Actor
Hardev Dilgir	Writer
Justice A.D. Kaushal	Supreme Court Judge

References

• Mahan Kosh, Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha,pp 311.
• Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Prof Harbans Singh vol 2 pp 416
• The Sikh Ref Book-Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer p464 & p196.
• The Times of India
• Hazrat Shah Kamal Qadri Kaithaly [2]

External links

• Official Website of District Ludhiana (Punjab)