Jalandhar


Jalandhar is a city in the Indian state of Punjab. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is 146 km northwest of Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab and Haryana and 82.5 km South-East of Amritsar. Its name was rendered Jullundur during the British period.

History

The history of Jalandhar District comprises three periods — ancient, medieval and modern.
The city may be named after Jalandhara, a demon king, who is named in the Puranas and Mahabharata. The city was founded by Devasya Verma as mentioned in Vedas. Other possibilities include that it was the capital of the kingdom of Lava, son of Rama or that the name derives from the vernacular term Jalandhar, meaning area inside the water, i.e., tract lying between the two rivers Satluj and Beas. The whole of Punjab and the area of present Jalandhar District was part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are the sites where remains of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found extensively. The archaeological explorations made during recent years have pushed the ancient times of Jalandhar District of Harappa period. Jalandhar was ruled by King Arjan Singh.
Jalandhar was conquered by the Ghaznavids during the reign of Ibrahim of Ghazni between 1058–89. It later formed part of the province of Lahore during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. The 18th century saw upheaval in Jalandhar amidst an anarchy caused by the disintegration of the Mughals and power struggles involving Persians, Afghans and Sikhs. It was captured by the Faizullahpuria Misl in 1766, and in 1811 Ranjit Singh incorporated it within the Sikh Empire.
In 1849, following the annexation of the Punjab by the East India Company, the city of Jalandhar, now spelt Jullundur, became the headquarters of the Division and District of the same name. In the mid 19th century, British officials regarded Jalandhar as densely populated and farmed to capacity. This led to the district being a chief recruitment area for settlers to colonise the newly irrigated Punjab Canal Colonies in western Punjab.
The Khilafat Movement started in the district in early 1920 to bring pressure on the government to change their policy towards Turkey. Mahatma Gandhi extended sympathy and support to this movement however in response the District was declared a 'Proclaimed Area' under the Seditious Meetings Act. In 1924, Pakistani general and military dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was born in the city.
The Partition of India in 1947 saw Jalandhar become part of the new dominion of India. The resulting rioting and violence caused by Partition led to major demographic change in the district, with the exodus of the large Muslim population and the arrival of Hindus and Sikhs from newly created Pakistan.

Climate

The city has a humid subtropical climate with cool winters and long, hot summers. Summers last from April to June and winters from November to February. Temperatures in the summer vary from average highs of around to average lows of around. Winter temperatures have highs of to lows of. The climate is dry on the whole, except during the brief southwest monsoon season during July and August. The average annual rainfall is about 70 cm. In 2018, Jalandhar witnessed Heavy rainfall, with over 20% increase from average rainfall. Since it is in the northern plains, it feels really cold during winters and very hot during summers.

Demographics

Population

As per provisional data of 2011 census Jalandhar had a population of 873,725, of which 463,975 were male and 409,750 female.

Literacy

The literacy rate was 86.22 per cent. For males and females respectively the literacy rate was 88.82% and 83.30%

Religion

As per the census of 2011, Hinduism and Sikhism are the religions of the vast majority of people in Jalandhar.
Prior to the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Jalandhar had a large population of Muslims. According to 1941 census of Punjab, Muslims made up 45.2% of the population, compared to Hindus and Sikhs being 27.6% and 26.5% respectively. Within a period of 10 years, from 1941 to 1951, Muslim population in Jalandhar reduced from 45.2% to 0.2%.

Economy

Jalandhar has been selected in the second phase of the smart city project and 200 crores have been allocated to the municipal corporation for initializing the project.
Jalandhar exports goods like furniture, glass to neighboring cities and is a global hub for the manufacture of sporting equipment. Jalandhar is famous for its sports industry and equipment manufactured in Jalandhar has been used in many international sporting games including Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, among others. It is also a hub for manufacturing of hand tools.
Jalandhar is also famous for its leather industry, leather for footwear, leather goods, furniture being sold to export houses located at Delhi, Agra, Kanpur and other Indian cities, Together with Hand tools it is a major production centre of Industrial tool bags being used by workmen in America & Europe.
Many new malls and shopping complexes are being established at a very rapid pace and as such is also a hub of the NRI's who among many of them belong to Jalandhar region.

Transport

By air

The nearest airport is Adampur Airport, northwest of Jalandhar which currently handles only scheduled operation on maiden flights of private carrier Spicejet to Delhi. The nearest fully-fledged International Airport is Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar. It is one of the busiest airports in North India, and is connected to other parts of the country by regular flights. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including London Stansted, Birmingham, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Doha. The airport handles as many as 48 flights every week up from the occasional, intermittent ones some years ago.

By rail

Direct train service is available for other major cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, Pune, Haridwar, Varanasi, Jaipur and Jammu Tawi. Some prestigious trains that halt in Jalandhar City railway station are Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail, New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Paschim Express. Now many trains of Jammu route are extended up to Mata Vaishno Devi-Katra.
Jalandhar City Railway Station is well-connected to other parts of the country, Jalandhar City is a major stop between the Amritsar-Delhi rail link which is serviced by Shatabdi Express, Intercity Express, and others
Direct Service to major cities such as Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, Pune, Haridwar, Varanasi, Jaipur and Jammu Tawi are available. There are prestigious services such as the Howrah Mail, Golden Temple Mail, New-Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Paschim Express.

By road

There is one of the largest network of bus services of Punjab at Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh ISBT, Himachal, Delhi, Haryana, Pepsu, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan State Roadways, apart from private operators.

Commerce

Religious places

Famous Religious places of worship
is an Indian television station in Jalandhar, owned and operated by state-owned Doordarshan, the television network of Prasar Bharati. It was established in 1979 and produces and broadcasts the 24-hour Punjabi language TV channel, DD Punjabi, which was launched in 1998 and covers most of the state of Punjab, India.
The city is the region's headquarters for newspapers, national television and radio stations. These include Daily Ajit, Jagbani, Punjab Kesari, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, Hind Samachar, etc.
http://bbcnews7.com
State-owned All India Radio has a local station in Jalandhar that transmits programs of mass interest. FM local radio stations include:
There are excellent medical facilities in Jalandhar which include treatment centers and specialist hospitals. The Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar claims that the city has over 800 hospitals,
that makes it the city with the highest number of hospitals in Asia.

Sports

Cricket

is very popular in grounds and streets of the city. There is an international-standard stadium at Burlton Park. The Indian cricket team played a Test Match against the Pakistan cricket team on this ground on 24 September 1983.

Kabaddi

Major Kabaddi matches are usually held at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium.

Guru Gobind Singh Stadium

is a multi-purpose stadium in Jalandhar. It is usually used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of JCT Mills Football Club. People can be seen jogging, playing soccer, weight-lifting, etc. in the stadium most of the time. The Punjab government has started new projects at the stadium.

Surjit Hockey Stadium

is a field hockey stadium in Jalandhar, Punjab, India. It is named after Jalandhar-born Olympian Surjit Singh. This stadium is home of the franchise Sher-e-Punjab of the World Series Hockey.

Sports college

There is a Government Sports College in the city and it is a focus for many of the National Sports Councils. In this college, many sports are played like cricket, hockey, swimming, volleyball, basketball, etc.

Education

Higher education institutions include

Universities

Notable people

NameOccupation
Yash ChopraProducer/Director
Anurag Singh Director, Producer, Writer
Diljit DosanjhActor, Singer
Dr. Ranbir Singh KanwarSugarcane Researcher, Director of Research PAU, Director of Research Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University
Vanya MishraWinner of Miss India Femina 2012
Lawrence DurrellExpatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer
Sunil DuttActor
Kundan Lal SaigalActor/Singer
Amrish PuriActor
Jazzy BSinger
Sukhwinder PanchhiSinger
Apache IndianSinger
Sarbjit CheemaSinger
Kanth KalerSinger
Nooran SistersSingers
Master SaleemSinger
Hans Raj HansSinger
Jagjit SinghSinger
Bahadur SinghIndian former shot putter who won gold medal
General Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqChief of Army Staff, 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan
Diwan Bhai Abdul HamidRevenue and Chief Minister of Kapurthala State
Hafeez JullundhriWriter and poet
Baba Kashmira SinghHead of Sidhant Sant Samaj or Gurbani
Paul NischalNRI President, first Indian candidate for the British Political Party
Col. Balbir Singh KularHockey Player
Varinder Singh GhumanBodybuilder, Wrestler and Punjabi Film Actor
Ajit Pal SinghHockey Player
Surjit SinghHockey Player
Pargat SinghHockey Player
Inder Kumar GujralFormer Prime Minister of India
Harbhajan SinghCricketer
Wasim SajjadTwo-time Acting President of Pakistan, Ex-Chairman of Senate
Sheikh Anwarul HaqFormer Chief Justice
Mian Mohammed SharifSurveyor General
Lala AmarnathCricketer
Sushil KohliSwimmer
Lala Jagat NarainFreedom fighter and founder of Punjab Kesri
Basheer Hussain NajafiOne of the six Grand Ayatollahs
Taruwar KohliCricketer
Sardar Swaran SinghPolitician
Udham Singh Hockey Player
Darshan Singh Hockey Player
Salma MumtazActress
Ashwini Kumar ChopraJournalist, Politician
Kartar Singh DuggalWriter
Kulwant Singh VirkWriter
Ishar Singh Poet
Sadhu Singh HamdardFreedom fighter and Writer
Prem ParkashWriter
Ajit SainiWriter and Army General
HasratWriter
Gurbachan Singh TalibWriter
Gurdial SinghWriter and novelist
Chaudhry Muhammad AliFormer Prime Minister of Pakistan
Swami ShraddhanandIndian educationist and an Arya Samaj missionary
Wazir AliCricketer
R. Paul DhillonIndo-Canadian journalist
Arun ShouriePolitician, author, and journalist
Amanjot SinghSocial Worker
Agha SadiqWriter and poet
Fateh Ali KhanSinger. Father of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Dharam Singh UppalAthlete
Balbir Singh, Sr.Hockey Player
Mandeep SinghCricketer
VimiActress
Ranvir ShoreyActor
Sugandha MishraSinger, Anchor, Comedian
Nalini PriyadarshniPoet, Writer
Vijay SamplaState Minister in Union Govt
Bhagat Chunni LalMinister in Punjab Govt
Ram KapoorIndian Actor
Sardar Buta SinghEx-Home Minister of India
Sukhbir SinghPunjabi Musician, Singer
Amarjit KaypeeFormer highest run scorer in Ranji Trophy
Akshaye KhannaIndian Actor
Surbhi JyotiIndian Actress
Jyotica TangriPlayback singer, appeared in several reality TV shows