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Jalandhar

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This article is about the city in India. For the Jalandhar meteorite of 1621, see meteorite falls.
Jalandhar
Jalandhar
city
Map
Population
 (2001)
 • Total1,714,077

Jalandhar (Punjabi: ਜਲੰਧਰ, Hindi: जलंधरⓘ), known as Jullundur in British times, is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India.

Climate

The city has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Summers last from April To June and winters from November to February. Temperatures in summer vary from average highs of around 48 degrees Celsius to average lows of around 25 degrees Celsius. Winter temperatures vary from highs of 19 degrees Celsius to lows of -5 degrees Celsius. The climate is on the whole dry except during the brief south-west monsoon season during July-August. The average annual rainfall is about 70 cm.

Economy

People take an active part in every event of the city
Jalandhar Bus Stand

Jalandhar is the world's biggest manufacturer of leather tool pouches and aprons with major American and European customers buying from factories in Jalandhar.

Jalandhar was a hub of the Gandhi government's green revolution of India in early 60s. Dr. Dilbag Singh Athwal, world renowned scientist in plant breeding, developed India's first high yield wheat KALYAN. The wheat he name afer his native village Kalyanpur 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of city of Jalandhar. Later Dr. Athwal headed International Rice Research Institute, International Agricultural Development Service etc. Dr. Athwal took early retirement from his position as senior vice president Rockefeller Institute. The village Kalyanpur (now part of Jalandhar city) have produced prominent scientist including Dr. Raghbir Singh, Dr. Rajbir Kaur, Dr. Iqbal Singh Athwal.

Jalandhar has a huge consumption of fresh flowers, with world renowned florists like Meera Florist providing the service.

Jalandhar is also famous for its surgical tool industry. Jalandhar produces a large number of surgical tools. Big companies like Camlin outsource their production here. The city boasts of having the largest number of hospitals in Asia. A place called Basti Sheikh has many cottage projects which run without any help of the Punjab government. [citation needed]

Jalandhar also has the biggest printing industry in India. Major publishing and advertising companies like, MBD, Aay Bee advertisers have their main offices in Jalandhar.

Jalandhar is seeing an increasing growth of technology investment, with headquarters and operational centres from the likes of Dell and Microsoft being set up. Jalandhar is also the home of the headquarters of Kayako.

Jalandhar is famous for its sports industry, its sports industry is biggest in the country. Many brands like BAS, Bhaseen, Mayor, Soccer etc are famous all over the country

Jalandhar is also quite known for its electrical goods industry. Manufacturers like Standard Switchgears and Apex Electricals, located in Jalandhar.

Languages spoken in Jalandhar

The first language of most people in the city is Punjabi. However, Hindi is widely understood, if not spoken. English is also understood.

Religion

According to the 1991 census, the predominant religions of Jalandhar city are Hinduism (54.54%) and Sikhism (45.46%).Other religions make up around 2.17% of the population.

Media

The city is the media hub of the region having the regional headquarters of Newspapers, National Television and Radio stations. Leading dailies of the country such as: Ajit, Akali Patrika, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and Punjab Kesri are published from Jalandhar.

History

Lush greenery after a shower
BMC Chowk

Jalandhar along with Multan is the oldest surviving city of the Punjab region, with reference in history as far back as A.D. 100.[1] The Jalandhar Doab ( the region surrounding the city between Beas and Sutlej rivers) also marked the eastern most territory of the empire of Alexander the Great. He erected giant altars in this area to mark the eastern most extent of his empire and also founded a city named Alexandria in the vicinity and left many Macedonian veterans there.

In the 7th Century, when the famous Chinese traveller and pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited India during the reign of Harsha Vardhana, the Kingdom of Jalandhara or Trigartta was under the rule of Raja Utito (whom Alexender Cunningham identifies with the Rajput Raja Attar Chandra of the Katoch dynasty). The kingdom was said to have extended 167 miles (269 km) from east to west and 133 miles (214 km) from north to south, thus including the hill states of Chamba, Mandi and Suket (Himachal Pradesh) and Satadru or Sirhind in the plains. Raja Utito was a tributary of Harsh Vardhana. The Rajput Rajas appear to have continued to rule over the country right up to the 12th century, with occasional interruptions, but their capital was Jalandhar and Kangra formed an important stronghold.

According to the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien, who traveled India between 399 and 411 C.E., there were a great many Viharas of Buddhism in India. In the Jalandhar Doab, there were as many as 50 Viharas of Buddhism. The Buddhist religion was adopted by a large number of people. As per some historians and scholars the fourth Buddhist Council out of total six Buddhist Councils took place in Jalandhar in the first century AD during the reign of King Kanishaka. Jullundur was, when visited by Hiuen T.siang, a large city,miles in circuit, the capital of a Rajput kingdom.[2]

From the later half of the tenth century up to AD 1019, the district was included in the Shahi Kingdom of the Punjab and Jalandhar was an important city in the region. In about 1188 it fell to the control of Ibrahim Shah of Ghor.[1] Under the Mughals Jullundur was the capital of a sarkar.[2]

In 1750 AD Maharaja Ghamand Chandra of the Katoch dynasty was made the (first ever Rajput) Nizam of Jalandhar by the Durranis. Many Rajputs lived in and around the surrounding areas of Jalandhar before the partition in 1947. With the partition of the country, many like the Rawal Rajputs went to settle in the Pakistan side of the Punjab, whilst some went to other countries.

Jalandhar was burnt by the Sikhs in 1757 and captured by the Faizullahpuria confederacy in 1766. Ranjit Singh annexed it in 1811, and in 1846 Jullundur became the headquarters of the territory acquired by the British after the first Sikh War.[2]

During British rule Jullundur became the headquarters, of the Division and District of the same name. According to the 1901 census, the population of the town was 67,535 of whom 14,715 were Hindus, 40,081 Muslim, 901 Sikhs, and 1,543 Christians.[2]

In 1947 with the independence and partition of India and Pakistan the Muslim population left for Pakistan while Hindus and Sikhs arrived from the other direction.[3]

Educational Institutions

Jalandhar is also home to some of the major educational institutions of the region. One such is the first private UGC recognised university: Lovely Professional University. It has a vast sprawling campus measuring to about 600 acres (2.4 km2) on national Highway 1 (GT road). The most important engineering institute is .Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, an Institute of National Importance, equivalent to the IITs and IISC. DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology (DAVIET), the Punjab Technical University, Govt. Tanning Institute, Apeejay Institute of Management, DAV College, DOABA College, Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV), Kanya Maha Vidyalaya (KMV), Mehr Chand Polytechnic, Apeejay College of Fine Arts,Guru Nanak Dev University Regional Campus, Ladhewali, B.D. Arya Girls College, Lyallpur Khalsa College (Major Institute in Northern India having about 9000 students, imparting professional education in Computer Sc & IT), Trinity College, and Sant Baba Bhag Singh Educational Complex are some other prominent educational institutes.

Doaba College Jalandhar

MULTI FACULTY POST GRADUATE CO-EDUCATIONAL PREMIERE INSTITUTION OF NORTHERN INDIA PIONEER AND PROMOTER OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION SINCE 1941 [4] Notable graduates have included Yash Chopra, Swraj Paul ,Balwinder Vicy, Gurpreet Ghughi, and Prem Kumar Dhumal.[4]

DAV College Jalandhar

The DAV College Jalandhar, a college of Arts, Science and Commerce, has been in operation since its 1918 founding. It is distinguished as the largest in its region and the first four-star college by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)(2001).[5] Notable graduates have included Hargobind Khurana, Jagjit Singh, Sukhwinder, and Hans Raj Hans.[5]

NIT Jalandhar

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar (erstwhile Regional Engineering College) is the eighteenth NIT of the country. Government run, it has been conferred the title of being an Institute of National Importance. It was launched in 1987.[6]

DAVIET Jalandhar

DAV Institute of Engineering & Technology (DAVIET) Jalandhar has been in operation since 2001.[7] It is distinguished as the largest educational organization in the country that is not government-run.[7] The institute offers B. Tech program in six disciplines of Engineering namely Electronics & Communication Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering along with research programs leading to M.Tech. The Institute has recently started MBA program.

Lyallpur Khalsa College

Lyallpur Khalsa College

Lyallpur Khalsa College—a college of Arts, Science and Commerce—was originally located in Lyallpur, Pakistan, before settling in Jalandhar in 1948.

Jalandhar Cantonment

Vajra Go Karting which is open to civilians also, is a big attraction
Cantonment also called Cantt is dotted with buildings dating back to British era

Construction on Jalandhar Cantonment began in 1848. It is notable not only for its age, as it among the oldest cantonments in the country, but also for its proximity to Pakistan. It figured in the 1920 Connaught Rangers mutiny when Irish soldiers replaced the Union Flag with the Irish Republic's flag.[8]

Tranportation

Travel options from Delhi include train and road travel. Jalandhar is well connected by trains, including a Shatabdi train from Delhi to Amritsar via Jalandhar which runs twice a day with air-conditioned chair car coaches. Jammu Mail, among others, runs in the night from Delhi to Jalandhar.

Hotels

Popular hotel choices include: The Regent Park Hotel, Skylark Hotel, Dolphin, Hotel Plaza, Majestic Grand, Lilly Resorts, President Hotel, Hotel Roxy, Kamal Palace, Maya Hotels, Raddison Hotel, Country Inn & Suites, Leo Fortune, Taj, Taramount,Hotel Lucky & Pappal Inn., C.K.Jain Inn. etc.

Places of Interest

The community gets together at markets, amusement parks, etc., especially on weekends

Places to visit in Jalandhar: Amongst the various places to visit in Jalandhar a few are The Pushpa Gujral Science City, The Haveli (a restaurant that gives you the feel of the village life in Punjab), Wonderland, Devi Talab Mandir, Gurudwara Singh Sabha (Model Town) etc.

Sister cities

  • Wolverhampton, Untied Kingdom
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Gangtok, Sikkim

Famous people

References

  1. ^ a b "tourism". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  2. ^ a b c d Jullundur Town - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 14, p. 231.
  3. ^ Refuge in memories - Dawn
  4. ^ a b "Home". Davinder Chhabra Jalandhar. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  5. ^ a b "Home". DAV College Jalandhar. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  6. ^ "About". National Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  7. ^ a b "About". DAV Institute of Engineering & Technology. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  8. ^ "Jalandhar Cantt". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
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