Hoshiarpur

Hoshiarpur is a town in Hoshiarpur District, Punjab, India. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the
4th century. In 1809 it was occupied by the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and was united under the greater state of Punjab.
Hoshiarpur is also known as an ancient manufacturing town where colorful lacquer (formerly ivory) finished plastic inlay
furniture is made.
Hoshiarpur district is located in the north-east part of the Indian state of Punjab. It falls in the Jalandhar Revenue Division and is
situated in the Bist Doab portion of the Doaba region.

Its coordinates lie at North Latitude 30 Degree-9 and 32 degree-05 and East Longitude 75 degree -32 and 76 degree -12’.

Hoshiarpur shares a common boundary with Kangra and Una districts of Himachal Pardesh in the north east. In the southwest,
it borders the Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts of Punjab and in the northwest it borders Gurdaspur District (of Punjab).

At present, Hoshiarpur has an area of 3198.2 km² and a population (as per 1991 Census) of 1,299,261 people.

Sultanpur Lodhi

Sultanpur Lodhi is a city and a municipal council in Kapurthala district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was founded by Sultan
Khan Lodhi who was a general of Gazni in the A.D 1103. It was named after its founder which has been also mentioned in
en-a-akbari. This town lies on the left bank of a river called Kali Bein which runs 6 miles north to the intersection of Beas and
Sutlej.


The origins of this town took place during the reign of the Sikan Lodhi who was a Sultan of Delhi. He assigned the construction
of Sultanpur to Nawab Daulat Khan of Lahore who gave a very beautiful landscape to the environment of this town and
tranformed it into two new towns called Nakhilstan (Green Patch) and Shikargah ( Playhunt). However later it was rebuilt by
the same Nawab. At that time this town was located on the Grand Trunk Road which ran from Delhi to Lahore. However that
revolutionized this town into a great business centre and one of the most important centre for Muslim education in Northern
India at that time. It is said that sons of the Emperor Shah Jahan, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb, have studied their higher
education at the University of Sultanpur. Well into the next two centuries and during the Mughal Empire, it maintained its
position as the centre of the Muslim culture. Than Sikh Chiefs established their kingdoms in Punjab after the fall of the Moghal
Empire. One of the chiefs called Sardar Fateh Singh, the son of Sardar Jassa Singh, seized the town of Sultanpur to the state of
Kapurthala in 1777. Since than it has been a part of the State of Kapurthala but in 1951 Kapurthala became one of the districts
of Pepsu. Now Sultanpur is a sub division of Kapurthala.

The founder of Sikhism Guru Nank Dev ji spent 14 years in this town where he worked for the Nawab Daulat Khan
Lodhi.[citation needed] There are many Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) related with his life in Sultanpur Lodhi. Some of the main
ones are Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Gurdwara Sant Ghat, Gurdwara Hatt Sahib, Gurdwara Antarjami and Gurdwara Guru ka bag.
Bibi Nanki, the sister of the Guruji also lived in Sultanpur Lodhi and there is a Gurdwara in her memory too.

Patiala

Patiala pronunciation (help·info) (Punjabi: ਪਟਿਆਲਾ) is a city in the Punjab state of India. Patiala district is one of the famous
princely cities of erstwhile Punjab. Forming the south-eastern part of the state, it lies between 29°49’ and 30°47’ north latitude,
75°58’ and 76°54' east longitude.



It is the administrative headquarters of Patiala District, and was the capital of the premier princely state in the former Punjab
Province of British India. Patiala is famous for its peg (a reference to Patiala Peg), pagri (traditional headgear), paranda
(tasselled tag for braiding hair and Jutti (traditional Punjabi footwear).


The history of Patiala state starts off with the ancestor of the Patiala Royal House, Mohan being harassed by neighbouring
Bhullars and Dhaliwals (tappedars of the terrirtory). They would not allow Mohan to settle there. He was a follower of Guru
Hargobind and the Guru appealed on behalf of Mohan, but to no avail. The result was an armed struggle and the Bhullars and
Dhaliwals were defeated by the Guru's men, which allowed Mohan to establish the Village of Meharaj in 1627.[2]

Mohan fought against the Mughals at the Battle of Mehraj 1631 on the side of Guru Hargobind. Mohan and his eldest son Rup
Chand were later killed in a fight against the Bhatti Rajputs (who constantly harassed him). Kala, Mohan's younger son
suceeded the "chaudriyat", and was guardian to Rup Chand's sons Phul and Sandali.

When Kala died, Phul formed his own village (Phul), five miles from Meharaj (under the blessings of Sikh Guru's) in 1663.
Nabha and Jind trace their ancestry to the devout Sikh Phul. It was one of the first Sikh Kingdoms to be formed. Apparently
the appellation of dynasty "Phulkian" is derived from their common founder. One of his sons, Chota Ram Singh was baptized
and blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. His sons Ala Singh assumed the leadership in 1714 when Banda Bahadur was engaged in
the fierce battle against the Mughals. A man with vision and courage, Ala Singh carved out an independent principality from a
petty Zamindari of 30 villages. Under his successors, it expanded into a large state, touching the Shivaliks in north, Rajasthan in
the south and upper courses of the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers while confronting the most trying and challenging circumstances.

In the middle of the eighteenth century, Baba Ala Singh, unlike many of his contemporaries, displayed tremendous shrewdness
in dealing with the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas and successfully established a state which he had started building up from
its nucleus Barnala.

Kapurthala

Kapurthala (Punjabi: ਕਪੂਰਥਲਾ) is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the former capital of princely state of British India of the same name. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic style of architecture self-narrate its princley past and once earned this small town in the Punjab the sobriquet of Paris of Punjab.


Kapurthala Principality was in the Punjab and had an area, 652 square miles. The 1901 population was 314,341, showing an increase of 5% in the decade. At the time, estimated gross revenue was 178,000 (currency unknown, probably in £) and paid tribute of 8700 (probably also in £).


The history of the Town of Kapurthala goes back as early as the 11th Century when it's said to have been founded by Rana
Kapur, a scion of the ruling house of Jaisalmer (Rajasthan). The present royal family of Kapurthala is descended from Nawab
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, a contemporary of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah, who by his intelligence and bravery made himself the
leading Sikh of his day. At one time it held possessions on both sides of the Sutlej, and also in the Bari Doab. The cis-Sutlej
estates and scattered tracts in the Bari Doab were forfeited owing to the hostility of the chief in the First Sikh War; but the latter
were afterwards restored in recognition of the loyalty of Raja Randhir Singh during the mutiny of 1857, when he led a
contingent to Oudh which did good service. He also received a grant of land in Oudh, 700 m² in extent, yielding a gross rental
of 89,000. In Oudh, however, he exercises no sovereign powers, occupying only the status of a large landholder, with the title
of Raja-i-Rajagan.



Raja Sir Jagatjit Singh, K.C.S.I., was born in 1872, succeeded his father in 1877, and attained his majority in 1890. During the
Tirah expedition of 1897-98 the Kapurthala imperial service infantry took a prominent part. The territory is crossed by the
railway from Jalandhar to Amritsar. The state has a large export trade in wheat, sugar,and cotton. The hand-painted cloths and
metal-work of Phagwara are well known. The town of Kapurthala is approximately 20 Kilometers from Jalandhar.

Ludhiana

Ludhiana (Punjabi: ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ) in India is the largest city in Punjab, with an estimated population of 3.5 million. It is located in Ludhiana District on the banks of the Sutlej River.


Ludhiana is centrally located on the Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Amritsar, and is well-connected to the Indian capital city of New Delhi by air, road, and frequent train service. An international airport is being planned.


It is a major industrial and educational center of northern India, and is the crossroads of many different cultures.


The Actual existence of this city must date back to the time of "SANGHOL Civilization" and of King "PORUS" who had fought a battle against the conqueror Alexander the Great. He had lost the battle but due to his bravery demonstration he had been awarded back his kingdom and Alexander had made up his mind to return back to his roots in Greece (Maccedonia). As it literaly seems the location of the battle place outside his kingdom at the river banks of Sutlej river, which proves to be the
present city called Ludhiana. At present, we say Ludhiana gets its name from the Lodhi Dynasty, which is believed to have founded the city in the year 1480. The legend goes that two Lodhi Chief Yusaf Khan and Nihand Khan were deputed by
Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517 A.D.) to restore order in this region. They camped at the site of present city of Ludhiana which was then a village called Mir Hota. Yusaf Khan went across the river Sutlej in Jalandhar Doab to check Khokhars who were
plundering the Doab and made a settlement at Sultanpur while Nihand Khan stayed back and founded the present city at the site of village Mir Hota. During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ludhiana became an important British cantonment. Initially,
in 1805, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had occupied Ludhiana. However, in 1809, the British decided to curb his advance eastwards and sent troops to confront him. Ranjit Singh was forced to sign the treaty of 'perpetual friendship' with the British, which
confined his activities to the right bank of the Sutlej. British troops were permanently stationed in Ludhiana and the Cis-Sutlej states came under British protection.

Phagwara

Phagwara is a city in the state of Punjab, in northern India. It was founded by Shah Jahan in ancient times. It is the main industrial place in the Kapurthala District because of its location on the G.T Road and because of the railway link that goes
through Phagwara which connects Delhi with Amritsar. This city consists of many different types of industries like Wahid Sandhar sugar, JCT Mill Cloth, Electrical accessories, Machine Tools, Agricultural Implements and Rubber. The carnival of
Phalini is celebrated every year with lots of happiness in this city. Phagwara is 76 miles away from Chandigarh and 220 miles from Delhi.



It is located between two big cities of Ludhiana and Jalandhar and it is famous for its industries and holy places like Shiv mandir on NimaWala Chowk. It has many famous holy gurdawaras like Gurudwara Sri Guru Ravidas Maharaj on G.T.Road, Sri
Sukhchainana Sahib and Sri Chhevin Patshahi in the interior of the town. Guru Ravidas's Birth anniversary is celebrated by organising a big procession every year. A similar procession is carried out in the memory of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, who was the
greatest leader of 20th century and a great social reformer in India. As it is sititued on national highway 1, it is one of the busiest and most expensive cities; as a result, the property market is large and fluctuating.

Punjab

Punjab pronunciation (help·info) (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Hindi: पंजाब, Urdu: پنجاب‎, IPA: [pəɲdʒaːb]) (Also spelled Panjab) is a state in northwest India. Punjab (India) borders Punjab (Pakistan) to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, Chandigarh to the southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). The population is 24,289,296 (2000). Punjab's capital is Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana. Other major cities of Punjab include Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala. The state is the location
of one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization, India's first civilization.



Punjab (India) historically forms a part of the larger Punjab region, which also includes the province of Punjab (Pakistan), the Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Indian Punjab was trifurcated in the year 1966 leading to the formation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.


The word "Punjab" is a combination of the Persian words 'panj' (پنج) Five, and 'āb' (آب) Water, giving the literal meaning of the Land of the Five Rivers. The five rivers after which Punjab is named are the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and
the Sutlej - all tributaries of the Indus River.


Agriculture is the largest occupation in Punjab. In addition to agriculture, other major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilizers,
bicycles, garments, hosiery, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab is considered to have the best infrastructure in India, this includes road, rail, air and river transport links that are extensive throughout the region. The state of Punjab also has the lowest poverty rate in India at 6.16% (1999-2000 figures), based on statistical data compiled by the Indian Government.

Jalandhar

Jalandhar pronunciation (Punjabi: ਜਲੰਧਰ) is an ancient city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It has the capital of Trigarttas (people living in the "land between three rivers": Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) in the times of Mahabharata
war. It has an urban population of almost a million, and another million live in the rural areas outside the city.

Geography

The city is located almost 375 kms from Delhi, and about 90 kms from Amritsar. Jalandhar is named after Jaldhar, a demon king who lived in water as his name suggests (Jal=water, dhar=in). It was the capital of Punjab until 1953, when it was replaced
by Chandigarh. Others say Jalandhar is derived from the fact that it is located between two rivers JAL (water) & ANDHAR(in). During British occupation it was called Jullundur.